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I'll spell that to you because it's not as you

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think, T -E -A -M -B -U -I -L -D -R .com. Welcome

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to the Behind the Shield podcast. As always,

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my name is James Geering and this week it is

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my absolute honor to welcome on the show former

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professional surfer, jiu -jitsu practitioner,

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and ocean lifeguard, Kyle Foyle. Now in this

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conversation, we discuss a host of topics from

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his journey into the world of surfing, the importance

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of fitness standards, martial arts, mentorship

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through the junior lifeguarding program, foundation

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training, the aging athlete, some notable rescues,

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and so much more. Now, before we get to this

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incredible conversation, as I say every week,

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please just take a moment, go to whichever app

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you listen to this on, subscribe to the show,

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leave feedback, and leave a rating. Every single

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five -star rating truly does elevate this podcast,

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therefore making it easier for others to find.

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And this is a free library of almost 1 ,100 episodes

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now. So all I ask in return is that you help

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share these incredible men and women's stories

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so I can get them to every single person on planet

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Earth who needs to hear them. So with that being

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said, I introduce to you Kyle Foyle. Enjoy. I

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want to start by saying two things. Firstly,

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thank you to our mutual friend, Jesse Salas,

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for connecting us. And secondly, I want to welcome

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you onto the Behind the Shield podcast today.

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Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm

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stoked to chat with you. Anybody that's friends

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with Jesse is a friend of mine. That guy's a

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10 out of 10 human. 100%. Absolutely. But we'll

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get to how you guys know each other when we get

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a little deeper in the timeline. First question,

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where on planet Earth are we finding you this

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morning? I am on the north shore of Oahu here

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in Hawaii. If you want to get more, probably

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about Pupakea area, Waimede area. Brilliant.

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Well, I would love to start the very beginning

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of your life's journey then. So tell me where

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you were born and tell me a little bit about

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your family dynamic, what your parents did, how

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many siblings. My parents were like in that wave

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of, I was first born, I was born, I think, out

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of Hawaii, which is it. Big Island. It's named

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Hawaii, but everyone just calls it the Big Island.

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I was born in Hilo in the 80s, which was a fun

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time to grow up in Hawaii. So it was pretty fun.

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It was definitely raw and real, and we lived

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on three acres of land that had no electricity,

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no water. So my dad, gangster back in the 80s,

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early 80s, late 70s, set up a generator, solar,

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and catchment. So we were totally off the grid.

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So growing up, like, no TV, obviously no internet.

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Like, and then we, my nearest neighbors were

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like a goat farmer and some people living in

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the bus. Like, it was very rural. It's called

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Hawaiian Acres. It's on the, kind of the side

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of the volcano on the Big Island, more towards

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Hilo. And, you know, as a kid, I hated it. Absolutely

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hated it, you know, because I wanted Nickelodeon.

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I wanted to be, you know, in the water. I wanted

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to be at the mall. And it was like. Looking back

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at it, I'm honored that I got to grow up that

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way, so I got to experience it. My parents were

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blue -collar workers. Dad was a talented cook

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but did construction. Mom was a stay -at -home

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mom until she became a teacher, which I laugh

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now because now I'm a teacher and now I'm a coach

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and stuff like that. It definitely runs in the

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family because my mom was an amazing teacher.

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I grew up there. I had an older sister. And my

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family dynamic was kind of what I do with my

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family. We were just super active, you know,

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like the ocean was our church. My dad always

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said, so it's like we surf. That was just what

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we did. I just, you know, on a boogie board on

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the front of my dad's surfboard, boogie board

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with my mom. Like we just, we're always active.

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We always did afternoon walks. It was a real,

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yeah, really tight family. Just a lot of love,

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you know, like my dad told me he loved me all

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the time. You know, it was just my, I saw my

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parents always, you know, very loving towards

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each other. So it was a very, you know, we were

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very blue collar almost to the, you know, poor

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level, but like the love there and just the,

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the, the love of the ocean that was this amazing.

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It was a great childhood. Were your parents native

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Hawaiians or did they come from somewhere else?

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They were first generation, uh, like California

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servers. Everybody came here in what sixties

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and seventies that my parents were from. Huntington,

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that's Huntington Beach. My mom's Manhattan Beach.

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You know, my dad was just like left. They all

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left houses at 17. And I think my parents were

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together since they were 16. And, you know, I

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think for what the story is, my dad was like,

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I'm going to Hawaii. You know, everybody was

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going to Hawaii. Hawaii was the place. And they

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do want to come with me. And she said yes. And

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they were together for 40 plus years, you know,

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until my dad passed away. And it was like. It

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was so cool to see them. They just jumped and

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just moved to Maui. And they kind of just learned

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as they go. And there was a place. It actually

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got taken over by the volcano called Kalapana

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on the south part of the Big Island. And it kind

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of was called the second North Shore. It had

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all these famous surf spots like drain pipes

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and like a wave that looked like sunset. And

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so my dad fell in love with that wave. So they

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lived on Maui for a while. And then they moved

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to the Big Island, I think, in the 80s, 1980.

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And that's when my sister came around. I came

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around a little after that. And yeah, it was,

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yeah, they just showed me the life and they just,

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they were always just like, we just wanted to

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always live in Hawaii. And they did it, you know,

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which was onto them for being 17 and no money,

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you know, like there was no like old financial

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backing or anything. It was just like, they just

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went and survived. I give huge credit for that.

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As we sit here in 2025, there are so many creature

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comforts. And I think a lot of people, are not

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uncomfortable anymore we're so comfortable you

00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:53.159
can drive through and drop off live your books

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and get food and get dry cleaning um and you

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know the the profession that you're in the profession

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that i'm from discomfort is definitely part of

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of the necessity if you're going to be effective

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in those rescue positions when you reflect back

00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.470
now at that very kind of basal upbringing And

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you contrast it with the technological age that

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we live in now. What was some of the pros of

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living arguably how humans have lived for millennia

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before that? I got to my imagination, you know,

00:10:25.690 --> 00:10:28.149
like me and my sister used to build forts like

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these crazy, you know, taking guava trees and

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cutting them and building these elaborate forts.

00:10:33.830 --> 00:10:36.470
So it was like a lot of imagination and using

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our hands. And I think it helped me. down the

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road because i i'm a visual learner so it helped

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me when i would meet my sister would be sitting

00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:47.049
there like building these things okay how am

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i going to bend this piece of wood to make a

00:10:48.509 --> 00:10:51.710
bow or whatever it was we i had to sit there

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and kind of stare at it and it easily translated

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to my martial art career my lifeguard career

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where like i can sit there and analyze it in

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my head where you know i look at my son he's

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12 and you know he's known nothing before the

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internet And I kind of worry about this generation,

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especially looking at the junior guards. You

00:11:08.629 --> 00:11:11.350
know, I get to deal with 600 kids every summer.

00:11:11.850 --> 00:11:13.750
That's, you know, so I get to see, like, oh,

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man, like, you know, that first week they're

00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:19.409
fresh out of school. They're sharp and they're

00:11:19.409 --> 00:11:21.169
energetic. And then you get to the fourth week

00:11:21.169 --> 00:11:23.610
and those kids have been on an iPad for three

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weeks. And we kind of get into that fourth week

00:11:26.129 --> 00:11:29.769
and you can kind of tell they're just, you know,

00:11:29.789 --> 00:11:32.110
they're not sharp. Their attention spans, you

00:11:32.110 --> 00:11:34.330
know, their imagination where of, like, they're

00:11:34.330 --> 00:11:36.460
kind of, like, I'm almost like a crackhead. They

00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:39.419
want their device back. So I'm very fortunate

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I grew up in that because it made me who I am

00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:44.919
today. I couldn't imagine just being stuck just

00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:48.100
doing that all day. It's scary. I'm kind of worried

00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:51.279
about our future that way. But the pros, I'll

00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:53.059
go back to your questions. The pros was I got

00:11:53.059 --> 00:11:56.940
to use my imagination a lot, and I'm okay to

00:11:56.940 --> 00:12:00.860
be quiet. I'm okay to be, you know, and which

00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:02.720
helps with lifeguarding is you've got to be able

00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:05.620
to watch and not. Our attention span is so short

00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:09.120
nowadays where I can sit there and stare at an

00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:11.340
ocean and watch everybody and not be like, oh,

00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:14.159
this is getting boring. I need to be on a device

00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.799
and swipe left and swipe right. So it's a pro

00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:20.399
that's helped me a lot through my life. I never

00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:22.519
thought of that element. I was a lifeguard, never

00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.419
on the ocean, but I did the open water and a

00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:26.899
lot of the pool lifeguarding too earlier. And

00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:29.460
yeah, you do have to sit there quietly and you

00:12:29.460 --> 00:12:31.379
have to scan. You have to be mindful. You have

00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:35.500
to try and keep awake. But in this low attention,

00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:37.200
because I grew up on a farm. So again, I kind

00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.220
of had that grooming. I was many, many times

00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:42.480
where I was out all day on my own. But being

00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:44.700
a young person now that grew up with this kind

00:12:44.700 --> 00:12:47.720
of seven second attention span that's been forced

00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:51.019
upon them really by technology, that would be

00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:53.519
a lot more challenging to be a lifeguard and

00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.320
actually stay engaged. Oh, for sure. I mean,

00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:00.730
it's harder for me because I'm in a... I'm a

00:13:00.730 --> 00:13:03.730
lieutenant, so I'm kind of the boss man. There's

00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:05.850
a chief, a captain. We have a captain for the

00:13:05.850 --> 00:13:07.690
whole North Shore, and then there's five lieutenants,

00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:11.690
and I'm one of them. So now when I go to the

00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:14.610
tower, I'm walking up behind the tower, and instead

00:13:14.610 --> 00:13:16.730
of seeing their heads up here, I'm seeing their

00:13:16.730 --> 00:13:20.049
heads down here, which is like, come on, guys.

00:13:20.210 --> 00:13:23.049
You don't want to be that person where you don't

00:13:23.049 --> 00:13:24.669
see the rescue, you're only going to hear the

00:13:24.669 --> 00:13:26.769
rescue because somebody's screaming for help.

00:13:26.929 --> 00:13:30.480
So it's a new challenge as a... And I'm guilty,

00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:33.000
too. I'm not saying I'm sitting here not on my

00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.419
phone, but it's a time and place. You know what

00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:38.720
I mean? Yeah, you can check it real quick. You

00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.980
take your breaks or whatever, but that's the

00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:44.840
new challenge of these young guys coming in where,

00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:48.940
why not? Why can't I be on my phone? Well, they're

00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:51.220
not watching the water. I tell these new guys,

00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:53.759
all I want from you is be in uniform, be on time,

00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:56.100
and watch the water. And if you can really focus

00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.899
on that last one. You'll do good in this job

00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:00.860
and you'll save a life and you won't be embarrassed

00:14:00.860 --> 00:14:03.960
because people have been sitting there for five

00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:05.480
minutes doing this in the water trying to get

00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:08.159
your attention and you're like this. So that's

00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:09.700
a new challenge for sure for this generation.

00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:12.879
Absolutely. Well, before we hit record, I know

00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:14.899
we're going to take a deeper dive into this,

00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:17.440
but you mentioned about the number of people

00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:20.659
in Hawaii that actually can't swim. So talk to

00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:22.879
me about your experience. How was your father

00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.720
able to kind of get you? to the point of being

00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:29.460
very confident in, you know, some of the more

00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:33.080
turbulent waters that we have. Um, it's just,

00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:34.820
we just, I just, I didn't know any difference.

00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:38.000
It was just like, that's what we did. Like I'd

00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.919
never saw my parents put on a pair of running

00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:42.360
shoes. I never saw my dad lift a weight. Like

00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:46.100
he was a Taekwondo guy. So that's what I think

00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:49.259
I gravitated towards martial arts. Um, but he.

00:14:49.789 --> 00:14:52.009
He was never like, oh, I'm going to go do squats,

00:14:52.029 --> 00:14:53.470
son. Do you want to come with me? Or I'm going

00:14:53.470 --> 00:14:55.029
to go run or I'm going to go play basketball

00:14:55.029 --> 00:14:58.129
or play football. Like my dad was just like surfing

00:14:58.129 --> 00:15:01.149
and only surfing or just anything, water, body

00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:04.710
surfing, boogie boarding, anything. So he just

00:15:04.710 --> 00:15:07.350
threw by trial, by fair, like fire. Like I think

00:15:07.350 --> 00:15:11.210
I did a three week course at American Red Cross,

00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:13.870
a swimming course when I was like eight. That

00:15:13.870 --> 00:15:16.419
was it. There was no like. oh kyle you got to

00:15:16.419 --> 00:15:18.100
turn your hands over your technique you know

00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:21.120
flutter kick all that stuff like i never learned

00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.000
that it was just like you go in the ocean and

00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.320
you learn by five travel by fire and i was definitely

00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.820
afraid of big waves growing up because big island

00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:31.440
it doesn't get big it's like six feet the most

00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.720
the danger of big island is like that much uh

00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:36.919
water between the reef and the reef is very much

00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.759
alive so i was more scared of hitting the bottom

00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.080
than the bigger ways but um My parents just put

00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:44.519
me in the water and just taught me everything.

00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:50.440
Then I luckily fell in love with surfing to obsession

00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.679
level. All I wanted to do was surf. If I could

00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.259
surf all day, I would. I looked at every surf

00:15:57.259 --> 00:16:00.500
magazine. I knew every ad. I knew every pro surfer.

00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:02.740
I knew every contest. It was just a complete

00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:05.879
obsession. My goal was always to go to the North

00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:12.769
Shore. Everybody has a vision board. I want a

00:16:12.769 --> 00:16:16.049
Bugatti. I want a mansion in the hills. Mine

00:16:16.049 --> 00:16:18.110
was just live on the North Shore and have a family

00:16:18.110 --> 00:16:22.850
and surf. That was it. If I accomplished that

00:16:22.850 --> 00:16:26.210
goal, which I have, I'm probably the most blessed

00:16:26.210 --> 00:16:31.389
man around, I was happy. My dad just supported

00:16:31.389 --> 00:16:34.169
me and just put me in contests. My mom was always

00:16:34.169 --> 00:16:37.090
there and my sister did contests. We were always

00:16:37.090 --> 00:16:41.299
in the water. I think that's Like anything in

00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:44.799
life, if you just do it repetition over and over

00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.379
again, you get comfort. It's like being in a

00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:48.600
fight. Your first fight, you watch guys do it

00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.759
on the streets or in an MMA match. Eyes are closed.

00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:54.120
They're swinging. They don't know. They're flinching.

00:16:55.019 --> 00:16:57.080
Fast forward, you go to their 20th fight. They're

00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:58.799
cool. They're calm. They can hear their coach.

00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:01.559
It's the same thing. And the same thing as lifeguarding.

00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:05.119
I remember panicking at Sandy's and running around

00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:09.339
and trying to talk to everybody. Now, flash forward,

00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:11.779
I'm about to celebrate 20 years of lifeguarding

00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:14.740
in six days. My first day of lifeguarding was

00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:20.440
May 26, 2005. And now I'm like, cool as a cucumber.

00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:24.119
You know what I mean? It translates just to those

00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:28.319
little reps, those little motions. When did you

00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:30.319
first become introduced to lifeguarding? Were

00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:33.539
you part of a junior program yourself? No. Okay.

00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:38.240
I didn't have a junior guard program in the 80s

00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:40.339
growing up in the Big Island. I think it was,

00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:44.759
I think it started in 96 out here. And then,

00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:48.539
so I didn't have it. So I moved to North Shore.

00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:51.859
You know, we can go to a whole long story on

00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:53.599
that. I was just like, you know, I want to be

00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:56.740
pro server. I wasn't good enough. Started working

00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:59.259
at little, you know, retail shops. And I was

00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:01.640
like, oh, I want to be a, in Hawaii, it's kind

00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.079
of, growing up, it's either you're a fireman.

00:18:04.569 --> 00:18:06.950
Like the jobs you want to get for like the local

00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:10.269
kids. It's fireman, construction, stevedore,

00:18:10.430 --> 00:18:13.490
or some kind of pro athlete. But fire is definitely

00:18:13.490 --> 00:18:17.390
like, oh, Sonny Boy made it. He's a fireman.

00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:19.170
He's in the academy, you know? So I wanted to

00:18:19.170 --> 00:18:22.069
be a fireman. And I think I don't think I really

00:18:22.069 --> 00:18:24.569
wanted to be, but that was just like, I don't

00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:26.609
want to go to college. I don't want to start

00:18:26.609 --> 00:18:28.309
a business. I don't want to work in retail. I

00:18:28.309 --> 00:18:30.690
don't want to work in offices. I'll go fire.

00:18:31.390 --> 00:18:35.440
And I came over. I was like, okay, I failed the

00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:39.380
fire test twice. I'm not good with those gears,

00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.279
man. I just couldn't do it. I passed once. They

00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.240
threw it out. I was like, you know what? I want

00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:48.279
to be an EMT. It's always been about I want to

00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:51.119
help people. I don't know why. It was in me.

00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:54.839
I went to KCC, which is a community college,

00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:58.140
to get my EMT license and all that stuff. Then

00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:01.000
I became friends with the lifeguards up here,

00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:02.900
of course, because I was surfing. all over the

00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:04.420
north shore and just kind of became friends with

00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:06.500
them and they were like one was like hey there's

00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:12.240
a tryout and i was like i don't know okay yeah

00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:14.920
i'll go try it out you know did the run swim

00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.799
did performance test and i remember telling my

00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:20.660
dad i was like ah i passed i'm gonna get into

00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:22.819
the recruit class i think i'll just do it part

00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:25.420
-time you know until something better comes around

00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:30.119
20 years later it's a bit like It's the best

00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:32.160
job in the world. You know what I mean? So I

00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.980
was never like how my son has been doing junior

00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:38.160
guards since he was nine. And he does every day

00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:39.880
with me because, unfortunately, he's my son.

00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:43.119
And so he's there every day. So it's like if

00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:44.880
he becomes a lifeguard, it's kind of been written.

00:19:45.339 --> 00:19:47.140
Like, oh, your dad was a lifeguard. You grew

00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:49.440
up in the ocean. You do junior guards for 10

00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.880
years, whatever it is. But for me, it was just

00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:54.119
kind of like organically just kind of was like,

00:19:54.180 --> 00:19:57.519
ah, I'll try it out. And then that path in life

00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:01.569
just. transition there and then i did i actually

00:20:01.569 --> 00:20:04.569
got my emt license and i did a bunch of ride

00:20:04.569 --> 00:20:08.950
-alongs and i give all credit to ems people they

00:20:08.950 --> 00:20:10.869
do not get enough credit in the world like you

00:20:10.869 --> 00:20:13.329
know i know fire is a hard job i know police

00:20:13.329 --> 00:20:16.890
has a hard job at ems what those people go through

00:20:16.890 --> 00:20:19.349
i they're not getting paid enough it's crazy

00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:23.009
absolutely well going back to the surfing track

00:20:23.009 --> 00:20:26.609
for a second what was it about your journey that

00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:29.200
you couldn't quite get to that pinnacle in surfing?

00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:35.039
I just, you know, I think I had the mind for

00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.460
it. Like, I was, you know, I'm very coachable.

00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:41.059
You tell me to go, I'll go. You want me to drill

00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:43.900
a move, I'll drill it for 10 minutes, whatever,

00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.259
straight. But I didn't have any, you know, not

00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:48.619
to make excuses, and there's never an excuse.

00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:50.259
I just didn't, you know, like nowadays in pro

00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:52.960
surfing, you have coaches. Like, right now I

00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:55.059
could go get my son a coach at 12 years old.

00:20:55.369 --> 00:20:56.829
And that guy will tell them, okay, your hand

00:20:56.829 --> 00:20:59.289
needs to be here. You know, paddle this way.

00:20:59.349 --> 00:21:01.049
Oh, you're in a heat. You need to go out there

00:21:01.049 --> 00:21:03.369
this way. Your feet are too wide. Your feet are

00:21:03.369 --> 00:21:05.470
too narrow. Oh, this board's different. This

00:21:05.470 --> 00:21:09.410
board's too thin. When growing up in the 80s

00:21:09.410 --> 00:21:11.670
or 90s more, I would say, it was like there was

00:21:11.670 --> 00:21:14.390
no coaching. And my dad, God bless him, you know,

00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:16.829
he supported me, but he didn't, like, coach me

00:21:16.829 --> 00:21:19.410
in a way. And so I didn't have anybody. So in

00:21:19.410 --> 00:21:23.930
my mind, I was like, oh, I'm killing it. My style

00:21:23.930 --> 00:21:26.950
is good. I watch it on video and I'm like, it's

00:21:26.950 --> 00:21:31.630
horrible. And I just, I didn't have the technique

00:21:31.630 --> 00:21:34.910
or the heat to make it through. Like I was sponsored,

00:21:34.990 --> 00:21:38.809
I got paid. But I didn't hit that world level

00:21:38.809 --> 00:21:43.549
CT level that I wanted to get. It's a very hard

00:21:43.549 --> 00:21:46.150
level to get to and just didn't have it. And

00:21:46.150 --> 00:21:50.029
I didn't want to be that 29 -year -old waiting

00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:53.759
tables. to pay for my surfing career. So at 21,

00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:57.059
22, I just kind of went, okay, I'm not making

00:21:57.059 --> 00:22:00.299
much money. To be honest, I don't have the talent.

00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:03.400
It's just, you know, just not going to make it.

00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:05.279
I don't have the resources to make it. I don't

00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:07.400
have the funds to make it. Okay, I'm going to

00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:11.859
switch gears. I still love surfing. I still work

00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:14.480
with several companies. So I'm still living the

00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:17.539
dream. It's just I didn't have that. Just didn't

00:22:17.539 --> 00:22:20.099
have it. Sometimes I think it's hard as an athlete.

00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:24.059
To go, you just don't have that little X factor

00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:26.720
that makes it between you're very talented, you're

00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.680
very good, but you're not a world champion. Or

00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:31.200
you're not at that little 1 % that makes it up

00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.019
there. So I just have to be honest with myself.

00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:35.980
Maybe I look back, maybe I could have, I don't

00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:39.339
know. But I'm happy where I'm at right now. Have

00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:42.539
you ever crossed paths with Kona Oliveira, MMA

00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:45.660
fighter surfer? I've known Kona since he was

00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:49.259
six years old. now he's a man child it's pretty

00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:51.839
awesome I had him on he just the episode only

00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:53.880
came out a few weeks ago a couple weeks ago but

00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:56.099
it was interesting because it was the same kind

00:22:56.099 --> 00:22:58.940
of thing like he got to this incredible level

00:22:58.940 --> 00:23:02.680
but he was also having this realization of the

00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.819
more pressure there is to air quotes win the

00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:07.859
less he was enjoying surfing and when he stepped

00:23:07.859 --> 00:23:10.140
away from the competition side he kind of fell

00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:14.220
in love with surfing again oh for sure no I like

00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:16.599
I said I'm always striving to be better like

00:23:17.159 --> 00:23:20.339
I'm the epitome of 1 % better every day. And

00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:22.400
I'm like, oh, I know I can do better. So I have

00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.420
one of my best friends actually is like CT level.

00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:28.539
I think he was number fifth in the world at one

00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:31.920
point. And he retired. He's got a family. But

00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:34.579
I remember like, you know, asking him like, hey,

00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:36.819
I feel like, how am I doing? You know, surfing

00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:40.319
is a really weird sport. It's very egotistical

00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:42.420
in the way of like, where me and you are playing,

00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:45.200
doing jujitsu. And I keep passing your guard.

00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:47.160
you will actually be like, dude, what am I doing

00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:49.160
wrong? And I'll be like, oh, okay, well, you

00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:52.059
know, you're too flat on your back. You're not

00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:55.140
bringing your knees to your chest. Surfing, me

00:23:55.140 --> 00:23:57.099
and you are surfing together, and I see you do

00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:59.519
a cutback, and, you know, your hands are all

00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:02.380
up doing weird. If I pile up to you and go, hey,

00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:05.799
you know, your cutback will look better, nine

00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:08.980
times out of ten, I'll be like, who the hell

00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:12.809
are you? You know what I mean? So it's a... It's

00:24:12.809 --> 00:24:15.109
really hard for surfers to get told that their

00:24:15.109 --> 00:24:18.490
style needs to be changed or it's ugly or they're

00:24:18.490 --> 00:24:20.190
not performing well. So I remember my friend

00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:22.349
Jack was like, I asked him, I was just like,

00:24:22.430 --> 00:24:24.950
hey, what am I doing wrong? He's like, are you

00:24:24.950 --> 00:24:28.150
sure? And I'm like, yeah. And he listed all these

00:24:28.150 --> 00:24:30.390
things. And I remember for like 10 minutes, I

00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:36.710
was like depressed, sad, angry. F him. And guess

00:24:36.710 --> 00:24:40.440
what? I went out there with this. ferocious feet

00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:43.279
like just went out on small days big days changed

00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:46.240
my stance watched where my arm was and it totally

00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:51.039
improved my surfing so if you don't have that

00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:55.640
like drive to like change yourself and it going

00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:58.519
back to what Conan said it's not fun I actually

00:24:58.519 --> 00:25:01.000
caught myself not this winter but last winter

00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.799
not having fun surfing because I go out there

00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:06.119
and like I know what I have to do now because

00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:08.609
now I've been told that you know, 40 years old,

00:25:08.650 --> 00:25:10.250
whatever I'm supposed to do. I wasn't having

00:25:10.250 --> 00:25:13.509
fun. I'd come in bummed on a surf session. We're

00:25:13.509 --> 00:25:16.569
like, dude, I'm not getting paid. My wife still

00:25:16.569 --> 00:25:19.049
loves me. I'm going to work on Monday. Like I'm

00:25:19.049 --> 00:25:21.170
not making the CT. I'm not doing heats. Like,

00:25:21.170 --> 00:25:23.670
and it's kind of saying like, yeah, you start

00:25:23.670 --> 00:25:26.250
to not have fun. And the whole point of surfing

00:25:26.250 --> 00:25:30.109
is, or to be in the ocean is to have fun. Like

00:25:30.109 --> 00:25:34.869
you put so much pressure on yourself. It's not

00:25:34.869 --> 00:25:37.109
fun. And surfing, unlike any other sport, you're

00:25:37.109 --> 00:25:40.109
in Mother Nature. You're in this crystal clear

00:25:40.109 --> 00:25:42.309
water. You're watching fish swimming. The sun's

00:25:42.309 --> 00:25:45.670
shining. You're riding this mythical, you know,

00:25:45.670 --> 00:25:49.670
moving object to make it to where, like, I got

00:25:49.670 --> 00:25:51.210
to be serious. And, oh, I need to get all the

00:25:51.210 --> 00:25:53.210
waves. And, oh, man, my bottom turns suck. Like,

00:25:53.210 --> 00:25:54.930
that's just, it's not a way to live. It kind

00:25:54.930 --> 00:25:58.730
of sucks in a sense. So, he's totally right.

00:25:59.309 --> 00:26:01.690
When I think of the origin of surfing, you think

00:26:01.690 --> 00:26:03.990
of that one with nature that, you know, literally

00:26:03.990 --> 00:26:05.750
no one could be watching and the person would

00:26:05.750 --> 00:26:07.829
be catching the wave and, you know, having the

00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:09.630
time of their life. And then there's this evolution

00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:13.410
to where competition comes in. And it kind of

00:26:13.410 --> 00:26:15.690
parallels what I've seen with a lot of youth

00:26:15.690 --> 00:26:18.910
athletes. And, you know, whether it's the school

00:26:18.910 --> 00:26:21.609
or the college squeezing performance out of them

00:26:21.609 --> 00:26:24.869
at the expense of their own wellness and longevity

00:26:24.869 --> 00:26:27.309
or the parents living vicariously through their

00:26:27.309 --> 00:26:30.099
kids. But there is this kind of journey from,

00:26:30.140 --> 00:26:32.559
you know, the beautiful game or the beautiful

00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:36.839
art like surfing to the pressure from competition.

00:26:37.220 --> 00:26:42.000
With surfing specifically, how was that humility

00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.940
lost? How was that tapping into just being one

00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:48.099
with the board kind of diluted by some of this

00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:51.740
pressure from competition now? Well, it's just,

00:26:51.980 --> 00:26:57.450
you have to, you're not being led. You are. you're

00:26:57.450 --> 00:26:59.269
trying to force the wave and you're trying to

00:26:59.269 --> 00:27:02.650
like not surfing is like, it's such a, it keeps

00:27:02.650 --> 00:27:05.349
you so present. It's, you know, like I said,

00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:07.069
the only thing I can relate to is like snowboarding

00:27:07.069 --> 00:27:09.049
or like jujitsu where like you really have to

00:27:09.049 --> 00:27:13.710
be in that moment. And surfing is if you're like,

00:27:13.750 --> 00:27:16.029
Oh, I need to get three hits, you know, three

00:27:16.029 --> 00:27:18.809
snaps to get the score I need to make this heat

00:27:18.809 --> 00:27:21.529
instead of just like, you know what? The waves

00:27:21.529 --> 00:27:23.130
actually give me a nice face. I'm going to do

00:27:23.130 --> 00:27:25.750
a big, nice cutback. Or I'm going to, like, stall

00:27:25.750 --> 00:27:27.809
for a little bit to get a nice big wrap around.

00:27:27.950 --> 00:27:29.410
Or, oh, that's a nice section I'm going to do

00:27:29.410 --> 00:27:31.690
with air instead of just, like, no, I've got

00:27:31.690 --> 00:27:35.990
to hit three big top turns, a big roundhouse

00:27:35.990 --> 00:27:38.289
cutback, and then I've got to do a big air 360

00:27:38.289 --> 00:27:40.769
at the end to, you know, really solidify it.

00:27:40.829 --> 00:27:43.109
Instead of just, like, or, you know, she's even

00:27:43.109 --> 00:27:46.450
riding funner equipment. You know, surfboards

00:27:46.450 --> 00:27:48.549
are, like, you can get them all different kinds,

00:27:48.730 --> 00:27:52.049
twin fins, thrusters, quads, big, small, wide,

00:27:52.170 --> 00:27:54.819
fat, and it's, like, it makes, oh my god that

00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:56.880
made that wave so much more fun instead of just

00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.759
like oh i need my five nine high performance

00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:03.140
porsche model thruster with the you know the

00:28:03.140 --> 00:28:05.940
you know not thousand dollar board with the 200

00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:09.319
fins and the wax has to be perfect and it's it's

00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:11.420
not fun after a while like because at the end

00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:14.319
of the day nobody cares in the sense like you

00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:16.059
know like people are watching but at the end

00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:19.440
of the day nobody nobody knows who won the 1999

00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:24.019
sunset contest I don't remember, and I love surfing.

00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:25.900
You know what I mean? So it's like you're just

00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:29.119
enjoying that moment of what this wave, this

00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:31.759
energy is coming towards you. And you make it

00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:33.740
to where you try to force it instead of just

00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:38.319
be with it. You've lost the point. And I've seen

00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:41.819
that through my son because being a North Shore

00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:45.339
dad is probably the most high -pressure thing.

00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:47.920
It's like the ultimate soccer dad. Cause like

00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:49.700
your son needs to be surfing pipe by the time

00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:51.519
he's six years old. Oh, he's not surfing pipe.

00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:54.420
Oh, I don't know about that. You know what I

00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:57.319
mean? So it's, you're trying to play this fine

00:28:57.319 --> 00:28:58.880
line where you have to give him a little bit

00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:02.960
of shove, but not do it to where like he hates

00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:05.299
it. You know, you've been around enough kids

00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:07.200
and parent and soccer parents to where it's like,

00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:09.440
the kid hates it. He doesn't want to be there.

00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:11.599
And it's like, I don't, I want my son to do what

00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:13.799
my dad did to me and just show me the love of

00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:16.279
surfing. Or just be in the ocean. Like my son

00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:18.859
loves body surfing. Like yesterday he was on

00:29:18.859 --> 00:29:21.000
a wave storm, which is like a longboard. And

00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:23.180
then the day before that he was on the shortboard.

00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:26.220
Like I just want him in the water playing around.

00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:27.960
He was on a boogie board last night when we went

00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:30.440
to white man. Like he's just so psyched to be

00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:33.279
in the water. And all I want him to do is just

00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:35.859
be, go on a surfer trip with me. I just want

00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:37.160
him to surf with me, you know? Cause I think

00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:40.180
he even thought I had the full, I was like a

00:29:40.180 --> 00:29:42.799
little win as a father. I got the full, I'm not

00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:45.829
you dad. comment one time we were surfing and

00:29:45.829 --> 00:29:49.230
I was like because I was trying to get him you

00:29:49.230 --> 00:29:52.230
know hey son pal over here hey scoot up on the

00:29:52.230 --> 00:29:54.789
board scoot back and he got frustrated with me

00:29:54.789 --> 00:29:56.930
and he said that line to me and I started laughing

00:29:56.930 --> 00:29:59.250
I was like and I was like hey I don't want you

00:29:59.250 --> 00:30:01.650
to be a pro surfer I don't I really don't if

00:30:01.650 --> 00:30:04.390
you do cool but I just want to surf with you

00:30:04.390 --> 00:30:07.049
son like this is just me and you bonding like

00:30:07.049 --> 00:30:09.109
I just want to surf with you and it kind of like

00:30:09.109 --> 00:30:11.549
I could see in his brain I think he was 10 at

00:30:11.549 --> 00:30:15.039
the time he was like Oh, yeah, dude. Because

00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:18.839
he sees all his other friends. Some are sponsored

00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:22.039
already, and their dads are just, get back out

00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:24.559
there. I want to see three more waves. And I

00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:27.019
was like, dude, I want to give you this gift.

00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:30.400
It's a beautiful gift to be able to surf and

00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:32.680
survive in the ocean and body surf and boogie

00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:34.680
board. I can give you any piece of equipment.

00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:38.799
Boogie board, fins, no fins. A paddle board.

00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:41.339
Stand up for it. And I want you to be able to

00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:43.019
go out there and just have a blast, no matter

00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:46.180
what the conditions are, 20 feet or ankle high.

00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:49.059
And so, you know, it's hard to explain that to

00:30:49.059 --> 00:30:50.900
a kid, but, like, that's my mission. It's like,

00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:53.720
yeah, of course, we're all dads. You would love

00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:55.559
to see your son up there on a podium winning.

00:30:55.740 --> 00:30:58.339
But, like, if he's just amped on surfing and

00:30:58.339 --> 00:31:00.559
he passes it on to my grandson or granddaughter,

00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:05.460
I'm blessed. You know, I've done my job as far

00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:07.359
as what my father has given me. And it's given

00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:09.460
me the best life ever through surfing, through

00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:12.559
the ocean. I think it's just that's what people

00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:14.900
need to hear. I mean, like you said, if you end

00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:17.660
up being that kind of unicorn, you're going to

00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:19.539
find your way to the top anyway. The kid's just

00:31:19.539 --> 00:31:21.759
going to be, you know, starting to win all these

00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:24.000
tournaments. OK, we do need to bring in a coach.

00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:26.420
OK, now he's, you know, he's thriving. The next

00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:28.519
thing he's Kelly Slater. OK, that's the point

00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:32.380
zero, whatever, one percent. But this whole rhetoric

00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:36.809
of, you know, what's the term they use? participation

00:31:36.809 --> 00:31:39.329
trophies it's like well that's what kids are

00:31:39.329 --> 00:31:41.349
supposed to do they're supposed to play sports

00:31:41.349 --> 00:31:43.670
they don't even need a trophy but they don't

00:31:43.670 --> 00:31:45.650
need to be told that if they don't win everything

00:31:45.650 --> 00:31:48.190
that they're a piece of shit that's not the message

00:31:48.190 --> 00:31:50.930
like just let the kid play sport you know i think

00:31:50.930 --> 00:31:53.289
this is something that we gotta re -find is yeah

00:31:53.289 --> 00:31:55.089
there's a select group that are gonna go and

00:31:55.089 --> 00:31:57.450
win the tournaments and that's great but everyone

00:31:57.450 --> 00:31:59.650
else like i can't stand the whole bench warmer

00:31:59.650 --> 00:32:02.470
thing like my son just joined a volleyball thing

00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:06.319
last uh last summer And it was one of those club

00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:08.960
tournaments. And he rode he and several other

00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:11.940
kids rode the bench the entire time. And, you

00:32:11.940 --> 00:32:14.960
know, I'm not deluded. My my son isn't the best

00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:16.799
player on the team, but he sure as shit wasn't

00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:19.500
the worst either. So and they were like, well,

00:32:19.579 --> 00:32:21.059
you know, we want to make sure that we win. Like

00:32:21.059 --> 00:32:23.119
that's missing the point. These kids just want

00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:25.579
to play the sport of volleyball. And I guarantee

00:32:25.579 --> 00:32:27.759
you they'd be happy to rotate everyone through.

00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:30.539
So I think what you're saying, staying connected

00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:33.880
to the love of the sport is so much more important

00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:38.119
than air quotes winning something. No, I mean,

00:32:38.119 --> 00:32:40.599
we did baseball for four seasons, which me and

00:32:40.599 --> 00:32:43.420
my wife were not ball people. Like, you know

00:32:43.420 --> 00:32:46.119
what I mean? Like, we're just martial art and

00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:47.859
surfing people. But we're like, hey, it's a team

00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:50.500
sport. He was into it. He wanted to do it. And

00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:53.819
so. And they sucked. They, all of them. It's

00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:55.640
like, there was one good kid and he would get

00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:57.460
frustrated, but the rest of them were like, just,

00:32:57.460 --> 00:33:00.519
you know, just horrible. And the best part of

00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:02.220
my son would get in the car. This is when he

00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:06.619
was like seven, eight, nine, maybe 10, 10. And

00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:07.980
he would get in the car after he was like, well,

00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:11.599
that was fun. You know, he was just such little

00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:14.619
like chipper. And I was like, yeah, like that's

00:33:14.619 --> 00:33:16.400
totally me and my wife would look at it. So like,

00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:19.279
okay, yeah, you did great. So I'm like, and it

00:33:19.279 --> 00:33:23.150
was. That was so cool for him to be like that.

00:33:23.329 --> 00:33:26.809
And then he even chose Jiu -Jitsu on his own.

00:33:27.589 --> 00:33:30.430
Because once you get to 10, it goes up. Has your

00:33:30.430 --> 00:33:32.890
kids done baseball yet? No, we've never gone

00:33:32.890 --> 00:33:35.630
into baseball, actually. Okay, so they go coach

00:33:35.630 --> 00:33:38.470
pitch, which is the coaches kind of lofting the

00:33:38.470 --> 00:33:40.410
ball at him. They get the hit. It's pretty awesome.

00:33:40.650 --> 00:33:43.549
And then they go player pitch. Player pitch is

00:33:43.549 --> 00:33:46.089
no joke. So you got – and he was getting into

00:33:46.089 --> 00:33:49.750
10. I think 10 went up to 12 years old. And all

00:33:49.750 --> 00:33:52.430
of a sudden these kids, the other team, is pitching

00:33:52.430 --> 00:33:54.829
this ball as fast as they can with no accuracy.

00:33:55.509 --> 00:33:58.049
So kids were just taking balls to the, like,

00:33:58.049 --> 00:34:02.490
leg, the head. And my son took a ball to the

00:34:02.490 --> 00:34:06.710
thigh and just dropped him. And he, you know,

00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:08.969
he finished the season. And I remember at the

00:34:08.969 --> 00:34:10.989
little graduation and barbecue thing, and I was

00:34:10.989 --> 00:34:12.650
like, so, you know, am I signing you up? And

00:34:12.650 --> 00:34:15.429
he was like, I think I'm going to take a break.

00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:20.019
I think I'm going to do jiu -jitsu. You know

00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:21.980
what I mean? But it was his own choice. But,

00:34:22.019 --> 00:34:24.519
like, even jujitsu, like, some of his teammates

00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:27.340
are, you know, we had a Naga, which is, like,

00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:29.780
a local tournament over here last weekend. And

00:34:29.780 --> 00:34:31.460
my son's like, well, should I do it? And I'm

00:34:31.460 --> 00:34:35.460
like, no, not yet, man. Like, just have fun with

00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:37.940
it. Because I don't want you going in there and

00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:39.820
getting more hard and then you hate it and you're

00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:44.119
crying. And I think going back to the not showing

00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:45.980
the importance of winning and losing is I still

00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:48.460
compete. I do, like, submission. Jiu -jitsu.

00:34:48.539 --> 00:34:50.960
I'm too old for MMA. I've done that dance. It's

00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:54.280
not enough money in it. But submission, like,

00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:56.860
jiu -jitsu is fun because it's kind of like MMA.

00:34:56.920 --> 00:34:59.659
I get an opponent. It's up on the stage. There's

00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:02.559
lights. It's a promotion. And so I still do that

00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:05.039
because I've still got the itch to compete. But

00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.760
I've lost some and I've won some while my son

00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:12.579
is sitting there watching. And he got frustrated

00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:14.739
on something. I forget what it was. Maybe like

00:35:14.739 --> 00:35:16.820
a year ago. And I was like, hey, do you remember

00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:19.780
when I lost that match in front of everybody?

00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:24.059
Spotlights on me. Your mom, you, you know, my

00:35:24.059 --> 00:35:27.340
whole team, tables, people, everyone. Did I cry?

00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.559
Did I whine? Did I bitch? Did I do all these

00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:31.659
things? He was like, no. I'm like, it doesn't

00:35:31.659 --> 00:35:33.679
matter, son. Like, you go out there and give

00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:37.039
your best. And, you know, I don't care if you

00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:38.659
win or lose. Like, you know what I mean? If you

00:35:38.659 --> 00:35:41.139
go out there and just perform well and you make

00:35:41.139 --> 00:35:43.480
it an entertaining match, whatever it be, entertaining

00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:47.000
game. dude you're good because like yeah this

00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:48.840
i don't i just want you to fall in love with

00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:50.920
all these whatever you get into and not put so

00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.460
much pressure on yourself now if it's you're

00:35:53.460 --> 00:35:56.539
19 and it's a state championship okay we got

00:35:56.539 --> 00:35:58.679
to crank up that that dob a little bit more but

00:35:58.679 --> 00:36:01.500
when you're 10 or 12 just be a kid dude you get

00:36:01.500 --> 00:36:03.920
your whole rest of your life to be stressed out

00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:06.380
and pressured like just have fun with it i think

00:36:06.380 --> 00:36:07.900
that's what we get lost with kids like we want

00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:11.780
them to especially nowadays with instagram how

00:36:11.780 --> 00:36:14.489
many videos you see of like a kid shadow boxing

00:36:14.489 --> 00:36:17.329
is seven or six they're like oh look at this

00:36:17.329 --> 00:36:19.570
phenom are you surfing pipeline at six years

00:36:19.570 --> 00:36:21.349
old wherever it is i know it's exaggeration but

00:36:21.349 --> 00:36:25.550
like just let the kid be a kid dude and especially

00:36:25.550 --> 00:36:29.230
now i've been in the north shore community for

00:36:29.230 --> 00:36:31.969
so long and i've seen these kids go up like kona

00:36:31.969 --> 00:36:34.969
like kona wasn't that great you know what i mean

00:36:34.969 --> 00:36:36.510
he wasn't that great of a surfer and then all

00:36:36.510 --> 00:36:40.030
of a sudden he hit like 15 16 18 all of a sudden

00:36:40.030 --> 00:36:43.940
like that manhood that adult strength that mental

00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:46.960
came in and like kids can get so fast are so

00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:51.980
good so fast from 14 15 pretty much 16 from 16

00:36:51.980 --> 00:36:56.500
to 20 they can accelerate to a pro level insane

00:36:56.500 --> 00:36:59.760
amount you know what i mean it's but people like

00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:02.340
they want their nine -year -old to be a world

00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:05.079
champion right it's like just let them enjoy

00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:07.860
that little 10 years of being a kid you know

00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:10.119
what i mean it's it's we get robbed of that and

00:37:10.119 --> 00:37:13.199
then all of a sudden now you're and you've got

00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:15.780
a girlfriend, and it just goes on from there.

00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:19.699
That reminds me, I did a tournament at my son's

00:37:19.699 --> 00:37:22.380
jiu -jitsu school years ago, and it was funny

00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:25.719
because it was supposed to be a no -gi bracket

00:37:25.719 --> 00:37:28.000
that I was in, but they had no one else doing

00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:29.980
no -gi, so they put a gi on me and I was lost.

00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:35.139
But he got second and I got second. So I got

00:37:35.139 --> 00:37:37.239
to watch him win one and lose one. And he got

00:37:37.239 --> 00:37:39.519
to watch me win one losing. It was three, three

00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:41.820
people in each of our brackets. And it was beautiful

00:37:41.820 --> 00:37:44.880
because it also debunks that my dad is Superman,

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:46.940
you know, that they have when they're younger

00:37:46.940 --> 00:37:48.920
and be like, no, no, it's okay. Like you said,

00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:51.940
the lesson of him watching me lose. And like

00:37:51.940 --> 00:37:54.760
you said, trying to be a good sportsman and congratulation

00:37:54.760 --> 00:37:58.239
to the person that beat you. That is such a powerful

00:37:58.239 --> 00:38:00.659
lesson versus, oh yeah, my dad always wins gold

00:38:00.659 --> 00:38:02.829
because that's. Not teaching them anything then.

00:38:02.969 --> 00:38:06.110
You're, again, more on a pedestal then. So being

00:38:06.110 --> 00:38:08.869
humble enough to say, yeah, I lost. The guy was

00:38:08.869 --> 00:38:11.289
better than me. You lost. The kid was better

00:38:11.289 --> 00:38:13.530
than you. Let's brush ourselves off and get back

00:38:13.530 --> 00:38:16.150
to it. That was one of the most powerful moments

00:38:16.150 --> 00:38:19.349
I've had with my son to date. That's epic. That's

00:38:19.349 --> 00:38:21.070
a great story. That's a cool moment. And you

00:38:21.070 --> 00:38:23.389
showed him. You won't know it now. How old is

00:38:23.389 --> 00:38:27.309
your son now? He's now almost 18. Yeah. So he'll

00:38:27.309 --> 00:38:29.550
remember that. He'll remember how that was such

00:38:29.550 --> 00:38:33.039
a cool moment. he'll take losses so much easier.

00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:35.480
And maybe, you know, I fire him up instead of

00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:37.000
like, some people take a loss and they're just

00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:39.280
done. They're mentally depressed and everything.

00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:41.280
Instead of being like, well, okay, on to the

00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:43.400
next. What's the next tournament? Yeah. Okay,

00:38:43.519 --> 00:38:45.000
I gotta adjust that little motion. You know,

00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:46.719
if you can get them, their mindset and that,

00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:49.139
that's where you get the world champions. Instead

00:38:49.139 --> 00:38:51.219
of the ones that are just like, throwing their

00:38:51.219 --> 00:38:54.480
board or, you know, stomping off the mat. Like,

00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:56.000
you don't want that, kids. Because that's not,

00:38:56.039 --> 00:38:57.820
that's going to translate into when your marriage

00:38:57.820 --> 00:39:01.380
gets hard or when your job gets hard or, I lost

00:39:01.380 --> 00:39:03.599
my job and I can't pay rent or whatever it is.

00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:05.800
Oh, I give up. It's like, you don't want that,

00:39:05.880 --> 00:39:08.960
you know? No, absolutely. He was about eight

00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:11.639
when I competed with him and he did several tournaments

00:39:11.639 --> 00:39:14.539
after that and lost every single one of them.

00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:17.539
And it was heartbreaking to watch as a dad. He

00:39:17.539 --> 00:39:19.719
just didn't have that kind of aggression in him

00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:22.590
at that point. But again, I watched him deal

00:39:22.590 --> 00:39:24.289
with loss several, several times. And he got

00:39:24.289 --> 00:39:27.289
into track and cross country and track. He actually

00:39:27.289 --> 00:39:29.230
did really well, ran a sub five minute mile.

00:39:29.329 --> 00:39:32.170
So that mental toughness from those losses then

00:39:32.170 --> 00:39:33.909
carried over to a completely different sport.

00:39:34.610 --> 00:39:36.969
Yeah, I mean, you can go back and look at what

00:39:36.969 --> 00:39:38.849
Michael Jordan lost. Everything got kicked off

00:39:38.849 --> 00:39:40.809
of the Fire City team. Like there's so many,

00:39:40.869 --> 00:39:43.389
the rare ones of where somebody always wins,

00:39:43.449 --> 00:39:48.809
like the John Joneses are like the... 0 .0000001

00:39:48.809 --> 00:39:52.329
% of like the population. Everybody loses. Nobody's

00:39:52.329 --> 00:39:55.650
Superman. And it's just, but how do you pull

00:39:55.650 --> 00:39:58.849
the Rocky and keep getting up and go put your

00:39:58.849 --> 00:40:00.789
mouthpiece back in and go, okay, let's do it

00:40:00.789 --> 00:40:04.389
again. Or just smile. I'm still here. I got four

00:40:04.389 --> 00:40:06.929
limbs. You know, my girlfriend loves, my boyfriend

00:40:06.929 --> 00:40:09.269
loves, my kid loves me. I still looking at the

00:40:09.269 --> 00:40:11.789
sky. Like you kind of have that little hippie

00:40:11.789 --> 00:40:14.389
ish mindset. Like you can take on the world.

00:40:14.489 --> 00:40:16.429
Nothing's going to bother you. Because you've

00:40:16.429 --> 00:40:19.530
mentally got that grit. If you have that grit

00:40:19.530 --> 00:40:22.989
to go, okay, I'll bite my teeth, go, oh, I lost,

00:40:23.010 --> 00:40:24.469
doesn't matter. I'm going to keep coming forward.

00:40:24.630 --> 00:40:27.309
You know what I mean? I think that's a lost art

00:40:27.309 --> 00:40:28.949
in most kids because they'll get like, well,

00:40:28.949 --> 00:40:31.550
it's okay. You know, it's, oh, you don't need

00:40:31.550 --> 00:40:33.610
to do it. You can quit. You can, you know, and

00:40:33.610 --> 00:40:35.570
it's like, no, no, no. Like, finish the game

00:40:35.570 --> 00:40:38.190
and let's do this because it's going to help

00:40:38.190 --> 00:40:40.969
you down the road. At least I think. It helped

00:40:40.969 --> 00:40:44.289
me for sure because I lost so many surfing teats.

00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:47.139
So many surfing meets. And I was like, well,

00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:49.699
I'll go try again. I'll go try again, you know?

00:40:51.239 --> 00:40:53.519
Absolutely. Well, you mentioned about your dad

00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:55.500
doing Taekwondo, which actually was my first

00:40:55.500 --> 00:40:58.179
main martial arts I competed with when I was

00:40:58.179 --> 00:41:01.559
younger. Walk me through your martial arts journey,

00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:05.139
how you found MMA, and then the beginning of

00:41:05.139 --> 00:41:09.440
jiu -jitsu especially. It's kind of fun. It's

00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:11.079
one of those ones, don't judge a book by its

00:41:11.079 --> 00:41:13.079
cover. You know, the kid in high school that

00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:15.920
was super quiet and dorky. Like, my dad tried

00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:19.400
to get me in Taekwondo when I was 11, 10, 11.

00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:23.199
Hated it. I think I got, like, what's the belt

00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:25.480
after white? Is it, like, orange? Orange, I think

00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:29.840
it was. Yeah. One belt. I did one little thing.

00:41:31.119 --> 00:41:32.960
Hated it. Just wanted to surf, surf, surf, surf,

00:41:32.980 --> 00:41:37.730
surf. And then... And dad kind of backed off,

00:41:37.829 --> 00:41:39.110
like, okay, you don't have to do it. Just surf,

00:41:39.230 --> 00:41:40.329
you know, as long as you're in the water, as

00:41:40.329 --> 00:41:41.829
long as you're outside. You know, he's like me.

00:41:41.929 --> 00:41:43.329
As long as you're outside, you can do whatever

00:41:43.329 --> 00:41:45.230
you want. I don't care what it is. Just be outside.

00:41:45.449 --> 00:41:50.289
So I surfed, moved to the North Shore. I think

00:41:50.289 --> 00:41:54.010
I was 20. So I would surf all day, work all day.

00:41:54.570 --> 00:41:56.550
Didn't have a girlfriend, living in a shoebox

00:41:56.550 --> 00:41:58.730
at Sunset Point, living the dream, right? It

00:41:58.730 --> 00:42:01.230
was 500 bucks. You know, it was literally like

00:42:01.230 --> 00:42:03.570
a room and like a bathroom. But I was stoked.

00:42:03.630 --> 00:42:06.320
I could literally walk out to Sunset Point. So

00:42:06.320 --> 00:42:10.500
I was living the dream. But at night, I swear

00:42:10.500 --> 00:42:12.780
I probably have adult ADHD. Because I'm one of

00:42:12.780 --> 00:42:15.599
those people that just, I need to do stuff. Like,

00:42:15.619 --> 00:42:17.400
I'm just active. I want to live life to its fullest.

00:42:17.460 --> 00:42:19.079
So I always want to do stuff. But I caught myself

00:42:19.079 --> 00:42:22.000
at home that wasn't out, you know, chasing girls

00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:24.260
or going to hang out with the boys. I would stay

00:42:24.260 --> 00:42:27.179
at home and drink. Not much. I like drunk, you

00:42:27.179 --> 00:42:29.340
know, two course lights. And I just remember

00:42:29.340 --> 00:42:31.780
being like, there's got to be something more.

00:42:32.460 --> 00:42:34.559
There's got to be something I can do at night.

00:42:36.010 --> 00:42:37.929
There was an old rec center down the road from

00:42:37.929 --> 00:42:40.610
me that they were doing jiu -jitsu at. And one

00:42:40.610 --> 00:42:43.050
of my coworkers was like a purple belt, big husky

00:42:43.050 --> 00:42:45.130
guy. And he kept on telling me, hey, you got

00:42:45.130 --> 00:42:47.929
to try jiu -jitsu. And I just verbatim remember,

00:42:48.030 --> 00:42:49.570
I was like, that shit's gay, dude. I'm not going

00:42:49.570 --> 00:42:52.889
to roll around. The gayest thing in the world,

00:42:52.989 --> 00:42:55.550
dude. Like, nah, I'm not going to do that. And

00:42:55.550 --> 00:42:58.530
I remember he tried everything. He's like, dude,

00:42:58.590 --> 00:42:59.949
there's girls there. You get to roll around with

00:42:59.949 --> 00:43:02.170
girls? Like, he was trying to sell me. And I

00:43:02.170 --> 00:43:04.480
was like, eh. I remember a whole year, I was

00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:06.420
just like, no, I'm not it. I don't know. And

00:43:06.420 --> 00:43:10.480
it was six days after my 20th birthday. I was

00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:12.920
like, you know what? All right, I'm going to

00:43:12.920 --> 00:43:14.980
do it. And my dad was all excited. He sent me

00:43:14.980 --> 00:43:17.039
this old karate gi. I think everybody that starts

00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:20.219
jiu -jitsu shows up in a karate gi. I always

00:43:20.219 --> 00:43:22.559
do. It was super rough. It was like sandpaper.

00:43:22.659 --> 00:43:25.059
It ripped my knees up. And I remember that first

00:43:25.059 --> 00:43:29.559
day, first night, it was like learning how to

00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:31.539
surf all over again. My first wave I ever stood

00:43:31.539 --> 00:43:37.940
up on. oh my God, this is the best thing ever.

00:43:38.179 --> 00:43:40.699
And I remember couldn't even move. Like, you

00:43:40.699 --> 00:43:42.719
know, that first one, you're all just super tense

00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:45.239
and every muscle sore. And I went home and I

00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:47.719
called my mom. I was like, I think I found my

00:43:47.719 --> 00:43:51.880
calm. I think I'm gay. Yeah. Yeah. Just so stoked.

00:43:52.420 --> 00:43:56.079
And, and I literally trained twice a day from

00:43:56.079 --> 00:43:59.300
then on. Literally went to two different gyms

00:43:59.300 --> 00:44:00.980
because one, the rec center was only Monday.

00:44:01.579 --> 00:44:03.280
wednesday fridays and i was like why anymore

00:44:03.280 --> 00:44:06.099
so i went found another gym on thursday friday

00:44:06.099 --> 00:44:10.559
literally got so obsessed like watched every

00:44:10.559 --> 00:44:12.960
usc video i literally skipped out on a couple

00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:15.880
dates because it was nogi night i gotta go to

00:44:15.880 --> 00:44:19.820
nogi night sorry i can't i can't like you idiot

00:44:19.820 --> 00:44:22.880
you missed out on a date to go to jitsu but i

00:44:22.880 --> 00:44:27.559
was just so infatuated with it and just obsessed

00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:29.659
obsessed you know six months later got my blue

00:44:29.659 --> 00:44:35.730
belt just competed, just had an amazing experience

00:44:35.730 --> 00:44:39.570
with it. And then my dad, of course, was a Taekwondo

00:44:39.570 --> 00:44:41.889
guy. So he's a striking, he's a stand -up guy.

00:44:42.329 --> 00:44:44.809
So there was always that little like, well, you

00:44:44.809 --> 00:44:46.210
got to learn some stand -up, son. You got to

00:44:46.210 --> 00:44:48.550
learn some stand -up. And I was like, no, but

00:44:48.550 --> 00:44:51.650
jiu -jitsu, you don't need to. You find the range,

00:44:51.750 --> 00:44:53.409
you close the distance, you take him down. He's

00:44:53.409 --> 00:44:55.869
like, yeah, but you got to be more well -rounded.

00:44:56.230 --> 00:44:59.369
Fine. So the one jiu -jitsu school I was going

00:44:59.369 --> 00:45:02.329
to had a Muay Thai class. Okay, I'll do that.

00:45:02.969 --> 00:45:06.170
So that was just another obsession of mine. I

00:45:06.170 --> 00:45:11.170
got into that. Did that, did that. All of a sudden,

00:45:11.349 --> 00:45:15.630
oh, I went to – one of my coaches, like, he just

00:45:15.630 --> 00:45:17.449
got back from Thailand. And I thought going to

00:45:17.449 --> 00:45:20.170
Thailand was like this mystical thing that you

00:45:20.170 --> 00:45:23.190
can never accomplish. And he's like, no, you

00:45:23.190 --> 00:45:24.630
can totally do it. I'll give you, like, you know,

00:45:24.630 --> 00:45:26.630
how to take a taxi, where to stay, where to train.

00:45:27.289 --> 00:45:29.329
And one of my co -workers was actually going

00:45:29.329 --> 00:45:31.670
down there forever. So he said, hey, you want

00:45:31.670 --> 00:45:34.449
to come with me? And I'll show you the ropes

00:45:34.449 --> 00:45:36.170
so you don't get robbed. You don't get taken.

00:45:36.329 --> 00:45:37.769
You know, Thailand's very safe. You know, it's

00:45:37.769 --> 00:45:39.889
a Buddhist country, but you still get taken advantage

00:45:39.889 --> 00:45:43.849
of. Took me down there. My first gym I went into,

00:45:43.969 --> 00:45:46.750
luckily, was Golden Glory, which was like, do

00:45:46.750 --> 00:45:47.949
you remember Golden Glory, like the All -Star

00:45:47.949 --> 00:45:51.929
Overeem days? I recognize, yeah, his name. Okay,

00:45:51.949 --> 00:45:58.639
so this was like 2009, 10. uh k1 was kickboxing

00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:01.920
was like exploded japan all -star over he was

00:46:01.920 --> 00:46:04.159
ubering you know just juiced out of his mind

00:46:04.159 --> 00:46:06.639
and the first time i walked into was this gym

00:46:06.639 --> 00:46:09.920
called golden glory which was the biggest kickboxing

00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:13.260
gym in europe they're from uh deutschland you

00:46:13.260 --> 00:46:16.139
know netherlands and so i walked in and so i

00:46:16.139 --> 00:46:19.280
had these mma guys that were in the ufc i had

00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:22.260
high level kick one kickboxers and i had the

00:46:22.260 --> 00:46:26.059
ties i just walked into like the heaven i mean

00:46:26.059 --> 00:46:29.559
i Did that. I came back. My coach was like, hey,

00:46:29.579 --> 00:46:33.199
you want to do your first Muay Thai fight? Yeah,

00:46:33.199 --> 00:46:36.699
sure. Did that one. Did another one. And I was

00:46:36.699 --> 00:46:39.159
like, you know, I'm a grappler first. Probably

00:46:39.159 --> 00:46:41.800
should, like, maybe try to use that jiu -jitsu

00:46:41.800 --> 00:46:44.559
a little bit. And so I signed up for a pancreation

00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:46.659
fight. That was the worst idea in the world because

00:46:46.659 --> 00:46:49.340
I didn't know the class. I don't know how fighting

00:46:49.340 --> 00:46:52.519
is in the rest of the United States, but Hawaii,

00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:54.280
it's like they'll tell you one thing, and then

00:46:54.280 --> 00:46:55.500
you show up the day of the fight, and it's a

00:46:55.500 --> 00:46:57.769
whole other thing. So it was like pancreation

00:46:57.769 --> 00:47:00.889
is supposed to be like boss rooting style, like

00:47:00.889 --> 00:47:04.909
puffy gloves, shin guards. It's striking, but

00:47:04.909 --> 00:47:06.389
once it goes to the ground, there's no striking,

00:47:06.510 --> 00:47:10.929
which as a grappler totally doesn't help because

00:47:10.929 --> 00:47:12.969
you can't use strikes to soften up the guy to

00:47:12.969 --> 00:47:15.610
open up a choke or anything. So I was like, okay,

00:47:15.690 --> 00:47:17.309
cool, but it's big gloves and shin guards. Okay,

00:47:17.449 --> 00:47:19.210
yeah, I'll take the fight. Who's the guy? Oh,

00:47:19.210 --> 00:47:21.369
he's some guy from Japan. Okay, yeah, I'll take

00:47:21.369 --> 00:47:24.630
the fight. Go there, show up. I show up, weigh

00:47:24.630 --> 00:47:30.210
in. day of the fight, they give me MMA gloves,

00:47:30.489 --> 00:47:33.329
like four -ounce MMA gloves. I'm like, what are

00:47:33.329 --> 00:47:35.170
these? He's like, these are your gloves. I'm

00:47:35.170 --> 00:47:36.389
like, where's the shin guards? He's like, oh,

00:47:36.630 --> 00:47:39.469
yeah, we changed the rules. It's still pancreation,

00:47:39.510 --> 00:47:41.849
but it's MMA. So no shin guards, MMA gloves,

00:47:42.130 --> 00:47:48.150
but no strikes on the ground still. Okay. Had

00:47:48.150 --> 00:47:52.090
no idea who my opponent was, Japanese guy. Go

00:47:52.090 --> 00:47:54.050
in the fight. Turns out the guy's a pro boxer

00:47:54.050 --> 00:47:58.460
from Japan. So, breaks my nose in the first two

00:47:58.460 --> 00:48:01.559
seconds. Because I never, he, when we squared

00:48:01.559 --> 00:48:03.900
off at the weigh -ins, he stood regular. So,

00:48:03.920 --> 00:48:05.539
I'm like, okay. Never saw any tape of him or

00:48:05.539 --> 00:48:08.420
anything. This was before we watched tape. And

00:48:08.420 --> 00:48:11.480
so, when he gets there, he turns southpaw. I

00:48:11.480 --> 00:48:13.300
don't know how to fight a southpaw. I haven't

00:48:13.300 --> 00:48:14.840
fought in my first fight. So, I don't have a

00:48:14.840 --> 00:48:17.059
coach that's like, hey, don't walk towards your

00:48:17.059 --> 00:48:18.500
right. You're going to walk right into a straight

00:48:18.500 --> 00:48:20.119
cross. Guess what I did in the first two seconds?

00:48:20.179 --> 00:48:22.300
Walked straight into a right cross. Broke my

00:48:22.300 --> 00:48:26.469
nose. Blood all over the ring, girls. whatever.

00:48:26.590 --> 00:48:28.630
I kept on taking him down, but I couldn't use

00:48:28.630 --> 00:48:31.809
strikes. But as soon as we get up, he would throw

00:48:31.809 --> 00:48:34.329
10 punches. I'd throw one. Cause he was just

00:48:34.329 --> 00:48:37.989
so, and I'd be like, you know, like, and that

00:48:37.989 --> 00:48:40.230
was it. And it was just, I actually won the fight,

00:48:40.309 --> 00:48:43.090
you know, just through grit. Guys kept coming

00:48:43.090 --> 00:48:46.170
forward, taking them down. And all of a sudden

00:48:46.170 --> 00:48:48.869
I was like, I, it was an entertaining fight.

00:48:49.329 --> 00:48:51.610
So I, all of a sudden the day after I got calls

00:48:51.610 --> 00:48:53.309
from all these local promoters, like, Hey, we

00:48:53.309 --> 00:48:55.500
got in that fight. Like, three months later,

00:48:55.559 --> 00:48:58.539
I was fighting for a belt in Kauai. It just escalated

00:48:58.539 --> 00:49:01.039
so quickly to where I was fighting for Pro Elite,

00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:04.219
which was Strikeforce at the time, at the Blaisdell

00:49:04.219 --> 00:49:08.340
against Ray Cooper, who, you know, he's Ray Cooper,

00:49:08.420 --> 00:49:10.420
the big fucking guy that, like, won a million

00:49:10.420 --> 00:49:12.760
dollars. He won PFL twice. He's a good friend

00:49:12.760 --> 00:49:14.579
of mine. But, like, all of a sudden, I was standing

00:49:14.579 --> 00:49:16.679
across the cage from him, like, in the Blaisdell.

00:49:16.900 --> 00:49:20.420
I'm like, wait, how did I get here? Because,

00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:22.760
you know, over mine, if you would have met me

00:49:22.760 --> 00:49:29.679
at 14, skinny, 125 pounds, huge Rob Machado Afro,

00:49:29.739 --> 00:49:33.320
who's like my idol surfing, didn't get in one

00:49:33.320 --> 00:49:35.500
fight. I got bullied a lot because I was a white

00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:39.519
kid in Hawaii. So I got punched a lot, but I

00:49:39.519 --> 00:49:42.980
never threw a punch back. But you translate from

00:49:42.980 --> 00:49:44.980
that guy at high school and elementary and intermediate

00:49:44.980 --> 00:49:50.360
to where I was at 28. I think my last fight was

00:49:50.360 --> 00:49:53.579
28. was just a journey in itself because you

00:49:53.579 --> 00:49:57.000
never know. That dorky, skinny guy that doesn't

00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:59.059
want any confrontation, just wants to be friends

00:49:59.059 --> 00:50:01.440
with everybody, scared to death to talk to girls,

00:50:01.860 --> 00:50:04.679
finding one of the baddest men on the planet

00:50:04.679 --> 00:50:08.099
in the middle of the big Blaisdell Convention

00:50:08.099 --> 00:50:12.440
Center in Honolulu. Crazy journey. And then after

00:50:12.440 --> 00:50:16.559
that, Ray knocked me out. I had gnarly CTE after

00:50:16.559 --> 00:50:19.760
that. And my wife was six months pregnant. I

00:50:19.760 --> 00:50:25.239
was like... I was in a lifeguard for almost 10

00:50:25.239 --> 00:50:28.860
years at that time. So I was like, yeah, okay,

00:50:29.059 --> 00:50:33.239
you know. And I remember Brandon Vera, UFC fighter,

00:50:33.360 --> 00:50:35.780
was like, wait, you have a job? I was like, yeah,

00:50:35.800 --> 00:50:37.460
I have a job. He's like, you can't do this. You

00:50:37.460 --> 00:50:39.360
can't. Because I wanted to go strike force. I

00:50:39.360 --> 00:50:42.039
wanted to go UFC. That was my goal. Like, I wanted

00:50:42.039 --> 00:50:43.800
to, just like surfing, I wanted to hit that top

00:50:43.800 --> 00:50:46.639
goal. But I was going to, the difference between

00:50:46.639 --> 00:50:48.079
surfing and this one was I was going to have

00:50:48.079 --> 00:50:50.329
to make a big sacrifice. I was like, I have to

00:50:50.329 --> 00:50:52.969
quit lifeguarding, probably move my family to

00:50:52.969 --> 00:50:55.369
Vegas to get the real training, real training

00:50:55.369 --> 00:50:59.409
partners, and give up an ocean lifestyle. You

00:50:59.409 --> 00:51:00.750
know, even though I moved to California, still,

00:51:00.889 --> 00:51:05.150
it's a change. And I was like, and the brain

00:51:05.150 --> 00:51:06.969
kind of stuff kind of scared me to the point

00:51:06.969 --> 00:51:10.989
where I was like, you know what? I'm good. You

00:51:10.989 --> 00:51:12.789
know what I mean? And I still spar to this day.

00:51:12.889 --> 00:51:14.630
You know, I still, you know, get in there and

00:51:14.630 --> 00:51:17.670
help guys and just, I'm still there. But, like,

00:51:17.710 --> 00:51:20.519
I was like, you know, I don't, As much as I love

00:51:20.519 --> 00:51:23.500
MMA and I love fighting, I love surfing more,

00:51:23.559 --> 00:51:27.880
and I think lifestyle -wise, raising my child

00:51:27.880 --> 00:51:31.380
then to be in the ocean in Hawaii was worth it

00:51:31.380 --> 00:51:34.440
more than my sacrifice to be a fighter in Vegas

00:51:34.440 --> 00:51:37.599
or Florida. Because that's the hubs, Vegas, California,

00:51:37.900 --> 00:51:40.179
Florida. If you want to be a pro fighter, you've

00:51:40.179 --> 00:51:43.320
got to move there if you want to succeed. That's

00:51:43.320 --> 00:51:46.000
a long -winded story of my martial art. Now my

00:51:46.000 --> 00:51:51.289
wife is almost a brown belt. You know, as a yellow

00:51:51.289 --> 00:51:54.670
belt. We trade all the time. That's my new journey

00:51:54.670 --> 00:51:57.769
is just getting my wife her black belt and getting

00:51:57.769 --> 00:52:00.949
my son to whatever he wants to be, you know.

00:52:01.710 --> 00:52:04.610
Just a capable man that can protect himself,

00:52:04.849 --> 00:52:09.010
you know. Once again, I don't like people just

00:52:09.010 --> 00:52:10.570
like surfing. They're like, oh, do you want your

00:52:10.570 --> 00:52:14.050
son to be a pro fighter? No. I mean, it's a rough,

00:52:14.130 --> 00:52:17.630
rough. Surfing's rough. Fighting's really rough.

00:52:18.010 --> 00:52:21.809
no money it's a long journey injury cte all that

00:52:21.809 --> 00:52:26.610
stuff but i will train him in fighting in mma

00:52:26.610 --> 00:52:30.369
in jujitsu in muay thai in wrestling because

00:52:30.369 --> 00:52:33.070
i want him to walk around this world not a victim

00:52:33.070 --> 00:52:35.250
that was my dad saying he's like i don't want

00:52:35.250 --> 00:52:36.510
you to be a fighter but i don't want you to be

00:52:36.510 --> 00:52:38.449
a victim and that's my thing with my son if he

00:52:38.449 --> 00:52:41.750
becomes a ufc heavyweight champion hey that's

00:52:41.750 --> 00:52:44.050
a great thing but i just don't want him to be

00:52:44.050 --> 00:52:47.559
that guy that's scared because He doesn't know

00:52:47.559 --> 00:52:50.760
how to protect himself. So that's my new MMA

00:52:50.760 --> 00:52:53.639
journey, martial art journey. I love that phrase.

00:52:54.059 --> 00:52:56.559
It's better to be a warrior in a garden than

00:52:56.559 --> 00:52:59.179
a gardener in a war. And I think that's so true

00:52:59.179 --> 00:53:01.199
because, I mean, even myself, I've never been

00:53:01.199 --> 00:53:04.099
a competitive full contact fighter apart from

00:53:04.099 --> 00:53:09.300
the WTF Taekwondo where you could knock him out

00:53:09.300 --> 00:53:10.900
with your feet but you could only punch through

00:53:10.900 --> 00:53:14.199
the stomach. That was about as high as I got

00:53:14.199 --> 00:53:16.039
in the competition side and the full contact

00:53:16.039 --> 00:53:19.079
side. but was a training partner for a lot of

00:53:19.079 --> 00:53:20.920
people that ended up in the UFC. I trained at

00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:23.519
Shootbox in L .A. for a little bit. Anthony Johnson

00:53:23.519 --> 00:53:26.079
was one of the guys I used to spar with. So you

00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:28.719
can still get good and be a weekend warrior and,

00:53:28.739 --> 00:53:31.239
like you said, help raise other people up without

00:53:31.239 --> 00:53:34.860
actually going all the way and being a competitor

00:53:34.860 --> 00:53:37.079
and taking some of the damage that some of these

00:53:37.079 --> 00:53:41.380
people do. Yeah. No, I mean, like I said, still.

00:53:42.339 --> 00:53:45.880
I have a great little MMA gym that I train with

00:53:45.880 --> 00:53:49.219
in Waipahu. And then even a bunch of us older

00:53:49.219 --> 00:53:53.900
MMA guys, I think we're all 40. But the three

00:53:53.900 --> 00:53:56.960
guys I train with have all been in the UFC. But

00:53:56.960 --> 00:53:58.880
we sit there and put small gloves on, shin guards.

00:54:00.079 --> 00:54:03.000
It's old man smart. It's real touch. But it's

00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:04.420
good because we're not sitting there getting

00:54:04.420 --> 00:54:06.679
TTE. It's stupid. We've all had a bunch of wars.

00:54:06.800 --> 00:54:09.019
We don't need to do that. But we still keep our

00:54:09.019 --> 00:54:11.760
skills sharp. Because it's, you know, heavy leg

00:54:11.760 --> 00:54:14.780
kicks, heavy takedowns, heavy that stuff. But

00:54:14.780 --> 00:54:17.280
the punches are controlled. But it's allowing

00:54:17.280 --> 00:54:20.099
me and you to stay in the pocket. Where, you

00:54:20.099 --> 00:54:22.139
know, I go to the Hawaii Elite, which is a great

00:54:22.139 --> 00:54:24.320
gym. But you got a bunch of young boys there.

00:54:25.119 --> 00:54:27.519
And it's, I walked out of there with a headache.

00:54:27.639 --> 00:54:29.719
Where I'm like, I don't want to do that, man.

00:54:29.860 --> 00:54:31.300
Because they're young. They're 20 and they see

00:54:31.300 --> 00:54:33.380
me in some little stepping stone. Like, oh, I

00:54:33.380 --> 00:54:35.500
can beat that black belt or whatever. And they

00:54:35.500 --> 00:54:39.119
just come at me just 100%. And it's like. your

00:54:39.119 --> 00:54:41.280
brain's a scary thing, man. Like you got to protect

00:54:41.280 --> 00:54:45.179
that thing. It's just so, and 20, you're full

00:54:45.179 --> 00:54:47.079
of piss and vinegar and you want to take over

00:54:47.079 --> 00:54:49.780
the world. That's cool. But at my age, I'm like,

00:54:49.880 --> 00:54:53.159
okay, I want to make, I want to be 60 and still

00:54:53.159 --> 00:54:54.940
throwing the gloves on and sparring with my son

00:54:54.940 --> 00:54:57.639
and some old guys at the UFC gym, you know, just

00:54:57.639 --> 00:55:00.320
to kind of stay. Cause I love it. I actually

00:55:00.320 --> 00:55:04.519
like genuinely love it. It's so fun. So addicting.

00:55:05.130 --> 00:55:07.550
But now I'm looking more of like longevity -wise

00:55:07.550 --> 00:55:09.650
to it. And still staying sharp because I still

00:55:09.650 --> 00:55:12.050
got to protect my family. You know, I still got

00:55:12.050 --> 00:55:14.190
to show my son that what a man is supposed to

00:55:14.190 --> 00:55:17.070
do, protect your family. So it's like, and it's,

00:55:17.070 --> 00:55:21.489
what martial arts has done has made me so much

00:55:21.489 --> 00:55:25.730
more confident as a man and less. I probably

00:55:25.730 --> 00:55:27.170
said this so many times in the story. It's like,

00:55:27.269 --> 00:55:31.570
I never got into a fight, a street fight, after

00:55:31.570 --> 00:55:34.239
the day, you know. After the first day I ever

00:55:34.239 --> 00:55:37.579
started training. And it was only when I signed

00:55:37.579 --> 00:55:39.539
the contract to actually go, I'm going to fight

00:55:39.539 --> 00:55:44.579
you on June 7th. Before that, growing up as a

00:55:44.579 --> 00:55:48.179
white kid in the 80s and 90s, you ask any local

00:55:48.179 --> 00:55:50.239
white kid that grew up in Hawaii in those times,

00:55:50.340 --> 00:55:53.519
it was brutal. Because we're the minority. Nowadays,

00:55:53.599 --> 00:55:55.380
it's a lot different. My son won't really ever

00:55:55.380 --> 00:55:57.940
see it. But in the 80s and 90s, especially on

00:55:57.940 --> 00:55:59.900
the Big Island, it's predominantly local Hawaiian

00:55:59.900 --> 00:56:03.420
and Japanese. So like I was the token white guy.

00:56:03.840 --> 00:56:06.760
So it was a lot of bullying towards me because

00:56:06.760 --> 00:56:10.119
I was the, you know, the colonizer. I was, you

00:56:10.119 --> 00:56:11.940
know, like kids in third grade were telling me

00:56:11.940 --> 00:56:13.980
so much that I was from California that I actually

00:56:13.980 --> 00:56:15.920
thought I was from California. You know what

00:56:15.920 --> 00:56:17.159
I mean? Because they were just like, well, you're

00:56:17.159 --> 00:56:19.699
a white guy. You know, you should be from California.

00:56:19.940 --> 00:56:22.260
And I remember going home like, dad, I'm from

00:56:22.260 --> 00:56:26.000
California, right? And he's like, what? You know

00:56:26.000 --> 00:56:29.340
what I mean? So it's, but. guys would call me

00:56:29.340 --> 00:56:31.800
Holly or other discriminatory names, and I'd

00:56:31.800 --> 00:56:34.400
be like, all right, we're fighting. Put my head

00:56:34.400 --> 00:56:36.980
down and start swinging. But the day I started

00:56:36.980 --> 00:56:39.480
training, it brought this, and I'm sure even

00:56:39.480 --> 00:56:42.380
around the martial arts guys, the most badass

00:56:42.380 --> 00:56:45.900
assassin, world champion, black belt, Muay Thai

00:56:45.900 --> 00:56:49.099
world champions, nine times out of ten are the

00:56:49.099 --> 00:56:52.659
nicest, most calm, cool guys you'll ever meet.

00:56:52.780 --> 00:56:54.860
Like, just like, hey, brother, how are you? Good

00:56:54.860 --> 00:56:57.809
to see you. Or the guy that... Been in the street

00:56:57.809 --> 00:57:00.570
fights, never trained in his daily life. What,

00:57:00.690 --> 00:57:02.230
bro? What? You like scrap? What, what, what?

00:57:02.409 --> 00:57:04.369
You know what I mean? Like, they're trying to

00:57:04.369 --> 00:57:07.369
overcompensate. Where martial arts, I've been,

00:57:07.429 --> 00:57:10.489
you know, I've been in altercations since then,

00:57:10.550 --> 00:57:12.230
but, like, they've never gone to a fist fight.

00:57:12.889 --> 00:57:15.829
Because they either, I go, yeah, cool, man. Yeah,

00:57:15.929 --> 00:57:18.369
I'm a bitch. Gotcha. Cool. And I just walk away.

00:57:19.909 --> 00:57:23.090
Or martial arts, you know, you've seen it. It

00:57:23.090 --> 00:57:24.429
actually makes people a little bit more, they

00:57:24.429 --> 00:57:26.360
have, like, an energy to them. You know what

00:57:26.360 --> 00:57:29.840
I mean? I'm not prey. I'm not prey. Because predators

00:57:29.840 --> 00:57:32.079
want prey. They want the easy guys that's going

00:57:32.079 --> 00:57:35.039
to back down and cower. If you see somebody walk

00:57:35.039 --> 00:57:37.300
around with their shoulders back, they just kind

00:57:37.300 --> 00:57:40.300
of have that chin up, that little bit of a, I

00:57:40.300 --> 00:57:42.820
mean, of course, my ears probably don't help

00:57:42.820 --> 00:57:46.159
show up either. But, like, I don't want to mess

00:57:46.159 --> 00:57:47.980
with that guy. Because I'm going to go to the

00:57:47.980 --> 00:57:49.679
hospital. I might win, but I'm probably going

00:57:49.679 --> 00:57:52.949
to go to the hospital at some point. I've even

00:57:52.949 --> 00:57:55.269
seen it with, like, my wife. Like, she tells

00:57:55.269 --> 00:57:57.010
a story. She lived in New York for a couple years,

00:57:57.190 --> 00:58:00.750
and she was the one female of all her friends

00:58:00.750 --> 00:58:03.849
that never got robbed, never got stood up, like,

00:58:03.849 --> 00:58:05.429
never got, you know, the knife or anything like

00:58:05.429 --> 00:58:07.650
that. Because if you watch my wife, she missed

00:58:07.650 --> 00:58:09.309
her calling. She would have been a badass MMA

00:58:09.309 --> 00:58:11.130
fighter. We were just a little behind the time.

00:58:11.570 --> 00:58:13.949
But she walks, and she can take care of herself

00:58:13.949 --> 00:58:16.030
to the point where, like, you can tell, like,

00:58:16.030 --> 00:58:19.250
I don't want to mess with that one. And it doesn't

00:58:19.250 --> 00:58:21.409
matter. I'm a small guy. I'm 5 '7". It's a change.

00:58:21.920 --> 00:58:25.599
i'm not a big six foot two guy but like i can

00:58:25.599 --> 00:58:27.659
tell with martial arts it's brought me to the

00:58:27.659 --> 00:58:30.619
point where i'm not cocky but i'm just like i

00:58:30.619 --> 00:58:32.519
got this confidence in me like i'm not the one

00:58:32.519 --> 00:58:35.320
but if you really want to go there all right

00:58:35.320 --> 00:58:37.960
let's go man you know what i mean like it's gonna

00:58:37.960 --> 00:58:40.199
end quickly so i think i want to translate that

00:58:40.199 --> 00:58:43.280
to my son and young men that i introduced into

00:58:43.280 --> 00:58:46.320
martial arts because it only makes them better

00:58:46.320 --> 00:58:49.579
young and women confident They're not going to

00:58:49.579 --> 00:58:51.760
try to pick a fight to prove themselves over

00:58:51.760 --> 00:58:55.480
a girl, over a guy at a party or in a parking

00:58:55.480 --> 00:58:59.960
lot trying to prove something. It's all it can

00:58:59.960 --> 00:59:02.420
help, I think, personally. Have you ever seen

00:59:02.420 --> 00:59:04.519
that in young people when they get martial arts?

00:59:04.920 --> 00:59:07.579
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think the best example

00:59:07.579 --> 00:59:10.860
of that is some of the most dangerous people

00:59:10.860 --> 00:59:14.900
I know in the police world have been hands -on

00:59:14.900 --> 00:59:17.980
less than any of their peers. Because when it

00:59:17.980 --> 00:59:20.119
goes to detaining someone, people look at them

00:59:20.119 --> 00:59:22.519
and go, yeah, I'm not going to try running from

00:59:22.519 --> 00:59:24.480
that guy. And they don't have to do anything.

00:59:24.599 --> 00:59:26.199
They're just in good shape. And a lot of them

00:59:26.199 --> 00:59:28.440
are, you know, black belts in jujitsu or whatever

00:59:28.440 --> 00:59:31.300
their background is. And they exude that confidence.

00:59:31.400 --> 00:59:33.079
And then also I'm going to touch with now because

00:59:33.079 --> 00:59:34.699
I'll probably get my ass kicked today when I

00:59:34.699 --> 00:59:37.400
leave the house. But up until this point, even

00:59:37.400 --> 00:59:39.800
the limited ability that I have, and I'm not

00:59:39.800 --> 00:59:42.199
being overly humble. It's just true. I've never

00:59:42.199 --> 00:59:44.420
been, like I said, a professional fighter or

00:59:44.420 --> 00:59:46.860
anything, but just. Having that physicality,

00:59:46.860 --> 00:59:48.900
especially when we get older, when you're a 51

00:59:48.900 --> 00:59:51.119
year old dude that's still in shape, people look

00:59:51.119 --> 00:59:53.440
at you a little bit more like, OK, well, you

00:59:53.440 --> 00:59:56.079
know, what's he hiding? So, yeah, I think just

00:59:56.079 --> 01:00:00.679
you can. It's it's such a good I forget the term

01:00:00.679 --> 01:00:02.760
they use now. But, you know, it's such a good

01:00:02.760 --> 01:00:06.139
deterrent for a lot of, like you said, opportunistic

01:00:06.139 --> 01:00:08.820
violence when you simply carry yourself. And

01:00:08.820 --> 01:00:11.559
because I've done this many times. you have the

01:00:11.559 --> 01:00:14.159
humility your ego can take it they go no no no

01:00:14.159 --> 01:00:16.460
i don't want any trouble you'd kick my ass you're

01:00:16.460 --> 01:00:19.760
such a big strong man i'm just gonna walk away

01:00:19.760 --> 01:00:21.599
i've done that before and then you walk away

01:00:21.599 --> 01:00:23.900
and go god was it that's all i needed to say

01:00:23.900 --> 01:00:25.960
was just stroke their ego a little bit and neither

01:00:25.960 --> 01:00:29.179
of us got into a fight so i think that the the

01:00:29.179 --> 01:00:32.360
ability coupled with the humility i think is

01:00:32.360 --> 01:00:36.420
the the superpower oh it's totally a superpower

01:00:36.420 --> 01:00:39.440
because it's just like and it And martial arts

01:00:39.440 --> 01:00:43.500
has also given me, like, because in a fight,

01:00:43.579 --> 01:00:45.639
like I said before, your first fight, you're

01:00:45.639 --> 01:00:48.159
breathing hard. Your first even jiu -jitsu match,

01:00:48.340 --> 01:00:50.639
you're holding on to the guy's geese for dear

01:00:50.639 --> 01:00:52.619
life, and you can't hear your coach at all, you

01:00:52.619 --> 01:00:54.420
know what I mean? And all of a sudden, boom,

01:00:54.480 --> 01:00:55.840
times, you're like, wait, what happened to the

01:00:55.840 --> 01:00:59.019
five -minute match? Translate, you go two years

01:00:59.019 --> 01:01:00.659
down the road, you know, you get to another,

01:01:00.820 --> 01:01:04.099
you know, you've done 30 jiu -jitsu matches.

01:01:04.219 --> 01:01:06.039
Now you're calm. You can hear your coach, all

01:01:06.039 --> 01:01:08.769
right? Push the knee aside, pass to the left.

01:01:08.949 --> 01:01:10.630
You can hear it. You start doing it. You can

01:01:10.630 --> 01:01:13.110
see the sweat on your opponent's, you know, head.

01:01:13.230 --> 01:01:14.670
And the same thing with fighting. Like, my first

01:01:14.670 --> 01:01:17.269
fight, don't remember it. I think I was walking.

01:01:17.349 --> 01:01:18.489
I was telling the story. I was walking down the

01:01:18.489 --> 01:01:20.989
stairs, you know, in the intro, crying, happy,

01:01:21.090 --> 01:01:23.710
scared, angry, crying. You know, you're just

01:01:23.710 --> 01:01:25.250
going through all these emotional adrenaline

01:01:25.250 --> 01:01:28.869
dumps. Don't remember anything. Literally blacked

01:01:28.869 --> 01:01:31.710
out. I won the fight, but blacked out. And then

01:01:31.710 --> 01:01:34.869
four or five fights later, I could hear my wife.

01:01:35.389 --> 01:01:37.389
My girlfriend at the time was screaming, you

01:01:37.389 --> 01:01:40.530
know, hands up, Kyle, or whatever it was. And

01:01:40.530 --> 01:01:43.289
so when it comes to like lifeguarding, you're

01:01:43.289 --> 01:01:47.269
in such this high pressure moment, you know,

01:01:47.269 --> 01:01:50.190
like I'm just, oh my God, this person's dying.

01:01:50.630 --> 01:01:52.989
You know, what's wrong with them? You know, lifeguarding

01:01:52.989 --> 01:01:57.130
is really unique compared to EMS or police, unless

01:01:57.130 --> 01:02:00.630
those guys roll up on scene. Like the accident

01:02:00.630 --> 01:02:04.420
happens in front of them. you know like the ms

01:02:04.420 --> 01:02:06.619
they'll get a call from us hey we got a 50 year

01:02:06.619 --> 01:02:09.400
old male uh condition five we're doing cpr right

01:02:09.400 --> 01:02:11.260
now so they kind of get their frame of mind you

01:02:11.260 --> 01:02:13.559
know okay we need to administer this drug do

01:02:13.559 --> 01:02:15.179
this you know we gotta get the greenie out get

01:02:15.179 --> 01:02:17.539
the where life parent is like you can be me you

01:02:17.539 --> 01:02:19.159
can be sitting here in the tower talking with

01:02:19.159 --> 01:02:23.019
each other blah blah blah blah then boom somebody

01:02:23.019 --> 01:02:25.940
cracks their head of pipe your whole world just

01:02:25.940 --> 01:02:27.619
got turned upside down now you've got to bring

01:02:27.619 --> 01:02:30.389
this person to shore okay Are they, you know,

01:02:30.409 --> 01:02:32.269
is it a head injury? Is it this? Is it that?

01:02:32.329 --> 01:02:34.050
Is it a broken back? Is it a possible broken

01:02:34.050 --> 01:02:36.090
femur? Okay, how are we going to administrate

01:02:36.090 --> 01:02:37.429
them? How are we going to, you know, oxygen?

01:02:37.889 --> 01:02:41.429
Are we doing AED? Is EMS rolling? Hey, we need

01:02:41.429 --> 01:02:42.710
to move them up. We're about to get hit by a

01:02:42.710 --> 01:02:44.130
wave. Get them on the back. You know, all these

01:02:44.130 --> 01:02:48.309
little things where if you panic and you're not

01:02:48.309 --> 01:02:50.190
hearing anybody, you're not working well as a

01:02:50.190 --> 01:02:54.769
team, somebody could die, let alone you getting

01:02:54.769 --> 01:02:58.710
knocked out or losing a jiu -jitsu match. somebody

01:02:58.710 --> 01:03:02.829
could die and it's on you in a sense. So, martial

01:03:02.829 --> 01:03:05.230
arts, especially fighting, MMA has made me a

01:03:05.230 --> 01:03:08.530
better lifeguard 100 % because I'm, you know,

01:03:08.570 --> 01:03:10.369
nothing's more terrifying than having another

01:03:10.369 --> 01:03:12.889
grown man that's capable and hard trying to beat

01:03:12.889 --> 01:03:15.269
the hell out of you and you trying to win and

01:03:15.269 --> 01:03:17.969
use strategy and ring craft and timing and range

01:03:17.969 --> 01:03:20.570
to compare to go lifeguard to where, what do

01:03:20.570 --> 01:03:22.829
you do? Okay, the person's dead, go. Bring him

01:03:22.829 --> 01:03:25.750
to the water. What are you going to do? And it's

01:03:25.750 --> 01:03:28.320
your friend. I'll sprinkle that on top of you.

01:03:28.380 --> 01:03:30.960
You know the person. Oh, and their whole family's

01:03:30.960 --> 01:03:33.300
around you screaming, yelling at you to do something.

01:03:33.980 --> 01:03:39.460
Go. Try to be calm. It's gnarly. And I thank

01:03:39.460 --> 01:03:41.780
God for martial arts who gave me that extra because

01:03:41.780 --> 01:03:43.960
it made me a better lifeguard for sure. And I

01:03:43.960 --> 01:03:46.920
think I've helped save people's lives through

01:03:46.920 --> 01:03:51.480
that. Talk to me about... the fitness standards

01:03:51.480 --> 01:03:54.639
and the requalification that you are required

01:03:54.639 --> 01:03:58.380
to do in your department as a lifeguard? So we

01:03:58.380 --> 01:04:00.719
have an annual physical, and it's just a run,

01:04:00.719 --> 01:04:04.519
swim, run, run, swim, run. Oh, sorry, run 100

01:04:04.519 --> 01:04:09.000
yards, 100 meters. No, sorry, 1 ,000 yards, 1

01:04:09.000 --> 01:04:11.599
,000 yards swim under a certain time. And then

01:04:11.599 --> 01:04:13.800
you have a paddleboard, down, back, down, back

01:04:13.800 --> 01:04:15.539
under a certain time. And then you have like

01:04:15.539 --> 01:04:18.780
a full -on sprint, swim, sprint. You pass that.

01:04:19.369 --> 01:04:22.230
Pretty much good for the year. You do, you know,

01:04:22.230 --> 01:04:24.409
we have a two day refresher, go through medical

01:04:24.409 --> 01:04:28.750
situations, you know, sexual harassment, you

01:04:28.750 --> 01:04:30.469
know, that's, there's a whole book side to it.

01:04:30.530 --> 01:04:32.829
And then second day is more like scenario. We'll

01:04:32.829 --> 01:04:34.849
go out in the field and we'll go like, okay,

01:04:34.869 --> 01:04:37.090
where's your waves? Oh, North Shore has waves.

01:04:37.130 --> 01:04:40.070
We'll go to North Shore. Okay. Go have, you know,

01:04:40.070 --> 01:04:41.670
we have fun with it. That's the cool of it. The

01:04:41.670 --> 01:04:44.650
guys that training is we'll be practicing. Okay.

01:04:44.710 --> 01:04:46.110
Two of you on the rescue board. Let's go out

01:04:46.110 --> 01:04:49.400
to Mackie Chun's. And we'll lose the board, and,

01:04:49.420 --> 01:04:51.300
you know, and you try to practice rescue guys,

01:04:51.380 --> 01:04:53.019
or we'll go to Sandy's, and we'll do fins and

01:04:53.019 --> 01:04:56.000
tube rescues, or we'll go to Macaw. So it's fun,

01:04:56.099 --> 01:04:57.619
and it's like, dude, you're getting paid to do

01:04:57.619 --> 01:04:59.239
this. Some guys hate it. I don't know why. I'm

01:04:59.239 --> 01:05:03.940
like, this is fun. As far as the annual performance

01:05:03.940 --> 01:05:07.800
test that you have to pass, I'm kind of old school

01:05:07.800 --> 01:05:09.139
in a way where I think you should be able to

01:05:09.139 --> 01:05:11.480
do that every day. I know a lot of guys, unless

01:05:11.480 --> 01:05:14.460
you're like 65, then I can give you a little

01:05:14.460 --> 01:05:16.539
bit of pass. But if you're anywhere under 50,

01:05:18.349 --> 01:05:20.050
I think he should be able to meet you and go

01:05:20.050 --> 01:05:23.510
do it right now. 100%. Because I don't want to

01:05:23.510 --> 01:05:27.369
be that person that has a heart attack or I can't

01:05:27.369 --> 01:05:29.150
swim out through shore break to rescue somebody.

01:05:29.269 --> 01:05:30.949
Especially on the North Shore. If you want to

01:05:30.949 --> 01:05:32.789
be a North Shore lifeguard, everybody wants that

01:05:32.789 --> 01:05:35.869
title. It's a very pretty title. Everybody wants

01:05:35.869 --> 01:05:38.590
it nowadays. You better be a black belt, dude.

01:05:38.670 --> 01:05:40.670
I don't want no blue belt. I want a black belt

01:05:40.670 --> 01:05:43.269
out. I want a brown and black belt out here that's

01:05:43.269 --> 01:05:46.929
going to keep on point. I think we're the only

01:05:46.929 --> 01:05:49.489
agency that actually has a performance test annually.

01:05:49.969 --> 01:05:51.750
I don't think fire does. I don't think police

01:05:51.750 --> 01:05:57.190
does. I don't know what EMS does. But we're also

01:05:57.190 --> 01:06:01.329
the few agencies where you're given a workout

01:06:01.329 --> 01:06:04.030
every day. Every day you go to work, you are

01:06:04.030 --> 01:06:07.389
guaranteed a workout. Like, you can go surfing.

01:06:07.469 --> 01:06:08.789
You can go working. You can go lift weights.

01:06:08.869 --> 01:06:10.969
You can run. You can swim. You can dive. You

01:06:10.969 --> 01:06:13.389
can paddleboard. You can do all these things.

01:06:13.789 --> 01:06:17.570
The city is paying you to stay on top. So I kind

01:06:17.570 --> 01:06:20.530
of, out of respect to the job, always want to

01:06:20.530 --> 01:06:22.989
be, you know, besides my own lifestyle, you know,

01:06:22.989 --> 01:06:25.269
I want to be, like I said, fighting when I'm

01:06:25.269 --> 01:06:27.230
60 and 70. I want to be rolling around with my

01:06:27.230 --> 01:06:29.010
grandson or granddaughter. Like, I want to be

01:06:29.010 --> 01:06:31.570
doing that. I want to be surfing until I drop

01:06:31.570 --> 01:06:34.750
dead, you know, at 90. So, but with lifeguarding,

01:06:34.789 --> 01:06:38.929
I don't want to ever miss a step because I'm

01:06:38.929 --> 01:06:41.900
Smith. sitting back on my phone and just not

01:06:41.900 --> 01:06:43.679
working out and sleeping on my breaks. Like,

01:06:43.699 --> 01:06:46.320
I think you're disrespecting the job. And I think

01:06:46.320 --> 01:06:48.880
you're disrespecting your coworkers on that.

01:06:49.300 --> 01:06:51.880
So it does sound strenuous, but you should be

01:06:51.880 --> 01:06:53.940
able, I think if you especially want to work

01:06:53.940 --> 01:06:55.199
in North shore, you should be able to do that.

01:06:56.659 --> 01:06:59.460
Now let's go stretch a little bit, but let's

01:06:59.460 --> 01:07:02.219
go. So, but otherwise, yeah, it's kind of on

01:07:02.219 --> 01:07:05.670
you to stay active and stay fit. See, this is

01:07:05.670 --> 01:07:08.349
what's so interesting. I had Jason Bitzer on.

01:07:08.429 --> 01:07:10.730
I've had some other motion lifeguards on. And

01:07:10.730 --> 01:07:14.269
it reminded me of when I was guarding. I can't

01:07:14.269 --> 01:07:16.250
remember if the Red Cross was every year or two

01:07:16.250 --> 01:07:18.889
years, but I would do it every year on summer

01:07:18.889 --> 01:07:21.030
camps there in the open water and lakes. And

01:07:21.030 --> 01:07:22.849
then, like I said, the pool lifeguarding, I think

01:07:22.849 --> 01:07:25.449
that might have been two years. But regardless,

01:07:25.590 --> 01:07:29.389
within 24 months, if you don't pass those tests,

01:07:29.530 --> 01:07:32.269
you're not a lifeguard. It's that simple. Yeah.

01:07:32.349 --> 01:07:35.679
And then you go into fire and EMS. And there

01:07:35.679 --> 01:07:38.320
is no standard. You might be put through the

01:07:38.320 --> 01:07:41.860
crucible in the academy. But after that, there's

01:07:41.860 --> 01:07:44.519
not even not a standard, but there are administrations

01:07:44.519 --> 01:07:47.519
or unions that will fight there being a fitness

01:07:47.519 --> 01:07:49.739
standard. And I just never understood that because

01:07:49.739 --> 01:07:52.719
unlike you where, you know, when you're guarding

01:07:52.719 --> 01:07:56.579
on a lake or on a beach, you know, you get your

01:07:56.579 --> 01:07:58.400
one hour break. I'm going to go for a swim. I'm

01:07:58.400 --> 01:07:59.800
going to swim to the buoy and back, whatever

01:07:59.800 --> 01:08:02.480
it is. Immediately, you have the ability to do

01:08:02.480 --> 01:08:06.619
that. We do go from mundane, someone rolled an

01:08:06.619 --> 01:08:09.159
ankle, now we've got a tummy ache. Now it's a

01:08:09.159 --> 01:08:11.059
28 -story building and there's a fire on the

01:08:11.059 --> 01:08:14.219
top floor and the elevators are out. So it can

01:08:14.219 --> 01:08:17.119
go from zero to 100. And I just don't understand

01:08:17.119 --> 01:08:21.520
how we've allowed the profession to fight the

01:08:21.520 --> 01:08:23.640
very thing that not only allows us to perform

01:08:23.640 --> 01:08:26.359
at a high level, but also forges longevity because

01:08:26.359 --> 01:08:29.460
we lose so many first responders to heart disease

01:08:29.460 --> 01:08:33.760
and other elements of obesity. Yeah, I mean,

01:08:33.779 --> 01:08:36.680
was it called Police Post? There's somebody on

01:08:36.680 --> 01:08:40.539
Instagram I follow. He's really about just, come

01:08:40.539 --> 01:08:42.739
on, guys, you got to stay fit. Like, you can't,

01:08:42.739 --> 01:08:45.140
like, you know, show, especially police, like,

01:08:45.220 --> 01:08:46.899
man, you got to be on top of your game. You're

01:08:46.899 --> 01:08:49.039
actually going to be physical with somebody.

01:08:49.500 --> 01:08:51.439
You know, my job is I'm going to be physical

01:08:51.439 --> 01:08:53.020
with somebody because I got to lift their dead

01:08:53.020 --> 01:08:55.859
body or lifeless body or even if they're alive

01:08:55.859 --> 01:08:58.619
through the most hazardous conditions up soft

01:08:58.619 --> 01:09:01.859
sand and might have to do that multiple times

01:09:01.859 --> 01:09:04.359
a day. You know what I mean? Like some days I

01:09:04.359 --> 01:09:07.619
think my record was like, well, I'm at bay on

01:09:07.619 --> 01:09:10.680
this crazy swell. We had like 18 rescues. It

01:09:10.680 --> 01:09:12.359
was just, you know, there was a contest. There

01:09:12.359 --> 01:09:14.460
was a bi -surf contest. And it was like, I remember

01:09:14.460 --> 01:09:16.579
coming out of the heat and running down and seeing

01:09:16.579 --> 01:09:19.699
my partners jumping in the water. Cause like

01:09:19.699 --> 01:09:21.779
this little rip just sent out five people at

01:09:21.779 --> 01:09:24.039
one time. And it was just, you know, it was nonstop.

01:09:24.039 --> 01:09:26.140
So like, I should be able to come out, sprint

01:09:26.140 --> 01:09:29.300
down the beach, sprint down, grab somebody. and

01:09:29.300 --> 01:09:31.720
not be out of breath and freaking out and bring

01:09:31.720 --> 01:09:34.199
them in be able to dry off boom do it again like

01:09:34.199 --> 01:09:37.279
i don't know i think i i don't see how that's

01:09:37.279 --> 01:09:39.920
a problem i think like if you are in love with

01:09:39.920 --> 01:09:43.279
the lifestyle it's a lifestyle lifeguard you're

01:09:43.279 --> 01:09:45.920
not going to get rich you know most first responders

01:09:45.920 --> 01:09:48.739
you know like when you talk to a fireman they

01:09:48.739 --> 01:09:50.560
don't ever say oh i'm making so much money what's

01:09:50.560 --> 01:09:52.960
their first like thing it's you know what's the

01:09:52.960 --> 01:09:56.140
perk of a fireman days off right it's always

01:09:56.140 --> 01:09:58.399
like oh i got you know i get three days off in

01:09:58.399 --> 01:10:00.680
a row lifeguard is like dude i get to be in the

01:10:00.680 --> 01:10:03.720
water all day yeah i make you know i barely make

01:10:03.720 --> 01:10:06.600
enough to pay rent but i'm living this lifestyle

01:10:06.600 --> 01:10:11.720
that most people work their whole year long to

01:10:11.720 --> 01:10:14.000
take their two week their 21 day vacation to

01:10:14.000 --> 01:10:16.500
come here you're living every day they're sitting

01:10:16.500 --> 01:10:19.039
there working making all this money to save up

01:10:19.039 --> 01:10:21.180
to come live your lifestyle you do keep that

01:10:21.180 --> 01:10:23.430
in your mind like Everybody has their choice.

01:10:23.510 --> 01:10:25.090
Everybody wants to say, oh, the Bugatti or a

01:10:25.090 --> 01:10:28.649
big house. My every day is worth $10 million.

01:10:29.289 --> 01:10:31.810
You know what I mean? I live a million -dollar

01:10:31.810 --> 01:10:33.250
lifestyle. I just don't have a million dollars.

01:10:34.069 --> 01:10:38.310
But ask me when I'm 90 on my deathbed if I didn't

01:10:38.310 --> 01:10:39.850
make the right choice, and I'm pretty sure I

01:10:39.850 --> 01:10:41.710
think I'll still be like, dude, I lived a great

01:10:41.710 --> 01:10:44.489
life. I lived more than most men have ever do.

01:10:44.649 --> 01:10:48.270
So I don't know how you could give up when you're

01:10:48.270 --> 01:10:52.630
given an opportunity to stay fit. to do something

01:10:52.630 --> 01:10:56.250
most people wait to the weekend to do, to stay

01:10:56.250 --> 01:10:59.050
fit. Why can't you do that? So it bothers my

01:10:59.050 --> 01:11:01.789
mind. Some guys don't like my attitude when I

01:11:01.789 --> 01:11:04.890
come to that, but I'm like, you can't go work

01:11:04.890 --> 01:11:07.970
out or swim. You're in a 10 -hour shift. We work

01:11:07.970 --> 01:11:11.890
four 10s. 10 -hour shift. You can't tell me one

01:11:11.890 --> 01:11:14.390
to two of those hours you can't go lift some

01:11:14.390 --> 01:11:18.630
weights, swim, surf. I think you need a new job.

01:11:19.050 --> 01:11:21.270
Not to be mean, but like you need to go work

01:11:21.270 --> 01:11:22.829
for Parks and Recs or something. I don't know.

01:11:23.989 --> 01:11:27.649
Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me. I agree. It

01:11:27.649 --> 01:11:29.550
was interesting listening to Kona. They work

01:11:29.550 --> 01:11:31.930
72 hours a week. A lot of our firefighters work

01:11:31.930 --> 01:11:35.029
56. So there's this myth that they have all this

01:11:35.029 --> 01:11:36.850
time off. And actually on paper, if you look

01:11:36.850 --> 01:11:40.609
at it, they don't. They work crazy hours. That,

01:11:40.609 --> 01:11:43.229
you know, I'm trying to kind of bring the 42

01:11:43.229 --> 01:11:45.729
hour work week to the fire service. So therefore

01:11:45.729 --> 01:11:47.890
they will have the rest and recovery. But then

01:11:47.890 --> 01:11:50.850
at the same time, simultaneously put fitness

01:11:50.850 --> 01:11:52.390
standards in where they should have been the

01:11:52.390 --> 01:11:54.989
whole time. Because I've always said it's very

01:11:54.989 --> 01:11:57.989
simple. Lives depend on you, whether it's your

01:11:57.989 --> 01:12:00.229
own, your partners, you know, the ability to

01:12:00.229 --> 01:12:02.670
go home to your family or the people that we

01:12:02.670 --> 01:12:05.810
serve. So it should never have been without fitness

01:12:05.810 --> 01:12:08.680
standards. But if we are going to. fix the things

01:12:08.680 --> 01:12:10.380
that are killing first responders, which a big

01:12:10.380 --> 01:12:12.899
part of it is the shift work, you know, and get

01:12:12.899 --> 01:12:14.239
them where they have more rest and recovery,

01:12:14.479 --> 01:12:17.359
we should simultaneously demand for them to be

01:12:17.359 --> 01:12:19.659
held at a high standard. And just as you said,

01:12:19.779 --> 01:12:22.399
that will then reveal that not everyone that's

01:12:22.399 --> 01:12:24.600
wearing a uniform should be. And, you know, I'm

01:12:24.600 --> 01:12:26.539
disliked probably from that, but I don't care.

01:12:26.739 --> 01:12:29.500
You know, if my child died because you tapped

01:12:29.500 --> 01:12:32.819
out on the fifth floor of a building, it's too

01:12:32.819 --> 01:12:35.399
late. My kid's dead. But we can prevent that

01:12:35.399 --> 01:12:37.939
by putting in standards and holding standards.

01:12:38.140 --> 01:12:40.600
And just like, you know, your swim test, it doesn't

01:12:40.600 --> 01:12:43.500
matter if you're 18 or 56. You either can or

01:12:43.500 --> 01:12:45.199
you can't. It's the same with my profession.

01:12:45.399 --> 01:12:47.600
You put on your gear to carry the equipment that

01:12:47.600 --> 01:12:49.920
we need. You either can or you can't. There's

01:12:49.920 --> 01:12:52.539
no lowering for ages. I think that part is ridiculous.

01:12:53.600 --> 01:12:56.600
No, not at all. I mean, that's the profession

01:12:56.600 --> 01:12:59.020
you chose. You signed up for it. It's not like

01:12:59.020 --> 01:13:01.260
we drafted you into being a lifeguard or a fireman.

01:13:01.300 --> 01:13:04.479
Like, you signed up for it. You did it. Just

01:13:04.479 --> 01:13:06.439
like if you were a stock trader and you're not

01:13:06.439 --> 01:13:08.920
bringing those commissions in, I'm sorry, you're

01:13:08.920 --> 01:13:11.739
fired. You know what I mean? Which hard do you

01:13:11.739 --> 01:13:13.579
want? Mentally hard, not bringing commissions,

01:13:13.779 --> 01:13:18.000
or staying fit, surfing and swimming and running

01:13:18.000 --> 01:13:20.979
and eating right and getting your sleep and your

01:13:20.979 --> 01:13:24.100
stress relief and all that stuff? I don't know.

01:13:24.640 --> 01:13:27.100
I'm not a mental guy. Not in that department,

01:13:27.199 --> 01:13:29.319
but I'm a physical guy, so shoot, sign me up.

01:13:29.399 --> 01:13:32.060
I'm doing it. But I like it, so maybe I'm a little

01:13:32.060 --> 01:13:35.939
different. Absolutely. Well, I want to talk about

01:13:35.939 --> 01:13:38.060
foundation training, but just before we do, when

01:13:38.060 --> 01:13:40.579
you reflect back now on the last two decades,

01:13:40.779 --> 01:13:43.619
what was some of the calls that you would term

01:13:43.619 --> 01:13:46.560
career calls that you had? Some of the most memorable

01:13:46.560 --> 01:13:53.920
saves? As far as the lifeguards? Yeah. I mean,

01:13:53.960 --> 01:13:57.319
there's just been so many crazy scenarios and

01:13:57.319 --> 01:14:01.840
rescues and like... To be able to save somebody,

01:14:02.239 --> 01:14:03.760
I mean, there's not like one particular one.

01:14:03.939 --> 01:14:07.359
I've been involved in a lot of head injuries

01:14:07.359 --> 01:14:09.819
at Pipeline, and going back to it, a lot of them

01:14:09.819 --> 01:14:13.300
were my friends. And so to be able to be there

01:14:13.300 --> 01:14:18.300
on a friend's worst day and be the face that

01:14:18.300 --> 01:14:22.899
they see or the calm voice or the help, it's

01:14:22.899 --> 01:14:25.319
worth its more weight in gold, honestly. It's

01:14:25.319 --> 01:14:31.430
crazy. Like, I like being the black cat. I call

01:14:31.430 --> 01:14:33.170
people, like, black cats. Like, because I know

01:14:33.170 --> 01:14:36.489
some lifeguards, they go years, nothing. Maybe

01:14:36.489 --> 01:14:39.310
a stubbed toe, a bee sting. And then there's

01:14:39.310 --> 01:14:41.670
guys that get every CPR case. They get every

01:14:41.670 --> 01:14:44.069
head injury. They get every drowning. And I was

01:14:44.069 --> 01:14:45.869
one of those guys, which I kind of like because

01:14:45.869 --> 01:14:49.909
I like being in the action, A. And, B, I feel

01:14:49.909 --> 01:14:51.489
like I'm a good, you know, this is probably the

01:14:51.489 --> 01:14:53.170
only time you ever hear me be cocky is, like,

01:14:53.170 --> 01:14:56.050
I think I'm a good lifeguard. I think I'm built

01:14:56.050 --> 01:14:59.380
for the job. I'm present in the moment. generally

01:14:59.380 --> 01:15:02.039
do love helping people i keep myself physically

01:15:02.039 --> 01:15:05.260
fit so it's like i'm i know i'm an asset to the

01:15:05.260 --> 01:15:07.439
team to the seal team when we are working on

01:15:07.439 --> 01:15:09.560
somebody so like you know when we have people

01:15:09.560 --> 01:15:11.960
like dusty pain several years got hurt paul christian

01:15:11.960 --> 01:15:15.260
pipeline more recently my friend uh mckay mcnamara

01:15:15.260 --> 01:15:18.119
you know like he almost died he was dead when

01:15:18.119 --> 01:15:20.420
we pulled him up like he was dead and to see

01:15:20.420 --> 01:15:23.359
him a couple days later at his house and give

01:15:23.359 --> 01:15:26.239
him a hug is just the most rewarding thing ever

01:15:26.239 --> 01:15:27.739
you know what i mean and that's just people i

01:15:27.739 --> 01:15:30.829
know just Just even the little ones of, like,

01:15:30.949 --> 01:15:33.409
I remember this one girl dislocated her elbow,

01:15:33.510 --> 01:15:34.970
which I didn't think it was even possible. It

01:15:34.970 --> 01:15:37.050
might have been a short break. And I remember

01:15:37.050 --> 01:15:39.350
helping her and keeping her calm until EMS and,

01:15:39.390 --> 01:15:41.289
like, having her all slinged up. She came back,

01:15:41.289 --> 01:15:43.710
like, two weeks later and, like, you know, took

01:15:43.710 --> 01:15:46.510
a picture of me. She was, like, 10. No, maybe

01:15:46.510 --> 01:15:49.149
11 at the time. You know, she was from Colorado.

01:15:49.229 --> 01:15:50.930
Guess what? She found me on Instagram, like,

01:15:51.029 --> 01:15:54.750
five years ago. And she's 22. And, like, you

01:15:54.750 --> 01:15:57.510
know, she still remembers it. Thank you so much,

01:15:57.590 --> 01:16:00.109
you know, and just even junior guards. That's

01:16:00.109 --> 01:16:04.470
been the most rewarding thing to me is I've been

01:16:04.470 --> 01:16:07.770
doing it. This will be my 19th year as a junior

01:16:07.770 --> 01:16:10.109
guard instructor being part of the program. So

01:16:10.109 --> 01:16:13.289
I got kids that I met that are 11 that are now,

01:16:13.430 --> 01:16:15.170
what, I can't even do the math, 40, you know

01:16:15.170 --> 01:16:21.149
what, 30, 31, 30? That's full. But they'll come

01:16:21.149 --> 01:16:23.130
up to me and be like, hey, Uncle Kyle, I'm still

01:16:23.130 --> 01:16:25.090
Uncle Kyle. That was the best week I ever had.

01:16:25.630 --> 01:16:28.529
Oh, I, I helped, you know, I got caught in a

01:16:28.529 --> 01:16:30.430
rip the other day and I, you know, I used that

01:16:30.430 --> 01:16:32.409
training you taught me, you know what I mean?

01:16:32.430 --> 01:16:35.750
So to have these, you know, that's 500 kids every

01:16:35.750 --> 01:16:38.189
summer. Like I can't even do the math of how

01:16:38.189 --> 01:16:40.649
many kids that I don't think I interacted with

01:16:40.649 --> 01:16:43.489
and like it made a difference, but I did for

01:16:43.489 --> 01:16:45.489
them to come and some of them became lifeguards,

01:16:45.590 --> 01:16:49.770
which is pretty awesome. But just all walks of

01:16:49.770 --> 01:16:53.340
life, kids that are now grown adults. that come

01:16:53.340 --> 01:16:55.600
up to me remember me from a week -long session

01:16:55.600 --> 01:16:59.439
10 years ago and still i'm uncle kyle and that

01:16:59.439 --> 01:17:02.520
was the best thing that's really rewarding to

01:17:02.520 --> 01:17:05.300
me you know i think the junior guard program

01:17:05.300 --> 01:17:07.180
and helping those kids and being part of their

01:17:07.180 --> 01:17:10.560
uh lives and then helping my friends like makai

01:17:10.560 --> 01:17:13.960
and those guys survive and live and just anybody

01:17:13.960 --> 01:17:15.520
i've helped in this community that's the most

01:17:15.520 --> 01:17:18.119
rewarding thing to me it's just i've given back

01:17:18.119 --> 01:17:20.199
to a community that's given so much to me and

01:17:20.199 --> 01:17:24.899
surf community the kids of this whole island.

01:17:26.500 --> 01:17:28.380
I'm a happy man. I'm blessed to be able to do

01:17:28.380 --> 01:17:32.680
that. So that's my wins. Beautiful, beautiful.

01:17:33.199 --> 01:17:35.039
Let's expand on the junior lifeguard program

01:17:35.039 --> 01:17:37.699
a little bit. A lot of the people I've had on

01:17:37.699 --> 01:17:41.859
the show, a lot of us, you know, had rough upbringings

01:17:41.859 --> 01:17:44.920
and more often than not, there was a mentor and

01:17:44.920 --> 01:17:46.859
it could be a female history teacher. It could

01:17:46.859 --> 01:17:48.920
be a junior lifeguard instructor, but there was.

01:17:49.369 --> 01:17:51.729
Someone or a handful of people that steered them

01:17:51.729 --> 01:17:54.890
into that right direction. And even with the

01:17:54.890 --> 01:17:57.310
recruitment crisis that we have in the first

01:17:57.310 --> 01:17:59.590
responder professions at the moment, where I

01:17:59.590 --> 01:18:02.310
see you can affect recruitment, you can even

01:18:02.310 --> 01:18:06.569
affect diversity because you're inviting people

01:18:06.569 --> 01:18:08.810
to come and reach that bar and giving them the

01:18:08.810 --> 01:18:11.270
training. I think mentorship is one of the least

01:18:11.270 --> 01:18:15.579
discussed, but most important elements of. Helping

01:18:15.579 --> 01:18:18.039
your community and raising young people up and

01:18:18.039 --> 01:18:20.920
setting them on a path to actually thrive rather

01:18:20.920 --> 01:18:25.199
than maybe spiral downwards. So what are some

01:18:25.199 --> 01:18:27.119
of the success stories when it comes to the Junior

01:18:27.119 --> 01:18:29.819
Lifeguard Program? And what are you seeing overall

01:18:29.819 --> 01:18:32.439
as far as the impact that's having on your community?

01:18:33.659 --> 01:18:36.100
Oh, I mean, it's just it's literally changing

01:18:36.100 --> 01:18:40.819
trajectory of lives. I mean, I think drowning

01:18:40.819 --> 01:18:43.779
is the number one death in Hawaii as far as young

01:18:43.779 --> 01:18:46.949
youth. Which is crazy. Number one debt is drowning.

01:18:47.430 --> 01:18:49.810
We live on an island. We're Polynesian people,

01:18:49.989 --> 01:18:52.569
Japanese, you know, we're water people in a sense.

01:18:53.010 --> 01:18:55.430
So that means kids, you know, in the central

01:18:55.430 --> 01:19:00.250
part of Oahu, you know, Waipio, Waipahu, Pearl

01:19:00.250 --> 01:19:04.050
City, have a beach. These kids are, they live

01:19:04.050 --> 01:19:06.229
on an island, yet they're not sharp swimmers.

01:19:06.550 --> 01:19:08.989
Or they don't have ocean knowledge of like, maybe

01:19:08.989 --> 01:19:10.909
I shouldn't go in the water at Waimea because

01:19:10.909 --> 01:19:14.590
it's eight to ten feet. And, you know, I just

01:19:14.590 --> 01:19:17.390
I'm not capable or they do find themselves in

01:19:17.390 --> 01:19:18.689
trouble. They don't know what to do. They're

01:19:18.689 --> 01:19:20.229
getting sucked out of a rip. They don't know

01:19:20.229 --> 01:19:23.050
to go, you know, inside of it. They panic and

01:19:23.050 --> 01:19:27.350
start swimming back this way. So it's there's

01:19:27.350 --> 01:19:29.529
one story when it was these two brothers. And

01:19:29.529 --> 01:19:32.250
if anybody knows Oahu, they're from like the

01:19:32.250 --> 01:19:34.470
Kahala side of the island, which is like kind

01:19:34.470 --> 01:19:36.949
of inland. But, you know, it's more of the richer

01:19:36.949 --> 01:19:39.829
area, just, you know, more mall people. I might

01:19:39.829 --> 01:19:41.970
give hell for that, but just they're not ocean

01:19:41.970 --> 01:19:46.010
people in the sense. And the mom drove them up

01:19:46.010 --> 01:19:48.750
every day. There was two. There was a younger

01:19:48.750 --> 01:19:50.250
brother that was in the younger program, and

01:19:50.250 --> 01:19:51.550
there was a brother in the older one. And they

01:19:51.550 --> 01:19:54.810
signed up the younger one first. He was kind

01:19:54.810 --> 01:19:58.569
of out of shape, a little chubby. Parents were

01:19:58.569 --> 01:20:01.710
full Japanese, so they weren't like that first

01:20:01.710 --> 01:20:04.090
generation. They just weren't water people. And

01:20:04.090 --> 01:20:06.069
she's like, I just want my son to be capable.

01:20:06.609 --> 01:20:10.649
And he's real quiet. That Monday, he was the

01:20:10.649 --> 01:20:14.710
last one on the run, last one on the swim. But

01:20:14.710 --> 01:20:18.670
by Friday, oh, my God, that kid made friends.

01:20:19.149 --> 01:20:21.090
He was in the middle of the pack. I'm not saying

01:20:21.090 --> 01:20:22.750
it's like a Disney movie where he was winning

01:20:22.750 --> 01:20:25.170
it, but he was in the middle of the pack. And

01:20:25.170 --> 01:20:27.569
then he inspired his older brother to sign up

01:20:27.569 --> 01:20:30.010
for the Eukai program. So we have an 8 - to 11

01:20:30.010 --> 01:20:32.170
-year -old program at Waimea. That's the first

01:20:32.170 --> 01:20:34.430
month of June. And then we take a break, and

01:20:34.430 --> 01:20:36.770
then we go four weeks of the older kids, which

01:20:36.770 --> 01:20:40.359
is 12 to 17. So we got a big demographic. So

01:20:40.359 --> 01:20:45.220
the brother, I think, was 15, 14, 15, whatever.

01:20:45.380 --> 01:20:48.579
But his younger brother inspired him, so he did

01:20:48.579 --> 01:20:50.699
the older one. And the younger one even jumped

01:20:50.699 --> 01:20:53.840
in a couple run swims because they were so inspired.

01:20:53.960 --> 01:20:56.600
The mom was just, like, in tears when I talked

01:20:56.600 --> 01:20:58.399
to her on the Friday, like, oh, my God, you changed

01:20:58.399 --> 01:21:03.140
it. That same, the older son, never surfed, never

01:21:03.140 --> 01:21:06.479
swam, like, just guess what now? He's a surf

01:21:06.479 --> 01:21:10.189
instructor. He's all about surfing. Like, I guarantee

01:21:10.189 --> 01:21:11.750
you'll probably become a lifeguard. Like, his

01:21:11.750 --> 01:21:14.550
trajectory went from, like, you know, not to

01:21:14.550 --> 01:21:17.270
be mean, but, like, working at the mall at GameStop

01:21:17.270 --> 01:21:20.770
to where, like, he got shown this love of ocean

01:21:20.770 --> 01:21:23.310
by just a one -week program to where now he's

01:21:23.310 --> 01:21:25.630
a surfing instructor in the ocean surfing all

01:21:25.630 --> 01:21:28.229
day long and just happy. He's lost, like, I saw

01:21:28.229 --> 01:21:30.930
him last summer and he's, you know, lost some

01:21:30.930 --> 01:21:33.609
weight. You look good. And I was like, oh, my

01:21:33.609 --> 01:21:37.279
God, that's so. Just so cool to see that kind

01:21:37.279 --> 01:21:40.699
of like that change. And I see it every week.

01:21:41.460 --> 01:21:43.819
There's always one or two kids that first week,

01:21:43.899 --> 01:21:46.619
that first Monday. And then by Friday, they're

01:21:46.619 --> 01:21:49.880
just, oh, it's like a totally different kid.

01:21:50.359 --> 01:21:52.220
They're just, they just walk differently. They

01:21:52.220 --> 01:21:54.699
got a glow to them. I mean, there was one kid

01:21:54.699 --> 01:21:56.779
last year where I had to go full David Goggins

01:21:56.779 --> 01:22:01.220
on. Just like, he just, he wasn't fat or anything,

01:22:01.279 --> 01:22:05.270
but he was just no. Ambition, no drive, no grit,

01:22:05.390 --> 01:22:10.050
no nothing. And he, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,

01:22:10.170 --> 01:22:13.770
was just pulling teeth. And I had to lie. The

01:22:13.770 --> 01:22:16.310
kids would be way down with the run, swim, and

01:22:16.310 --> 01:22:18.369
on to the next activity, and he'd still just

01:22:18.369 --> 01:22:21.510
be there just paddling like this. And I'd be

01:22:21.510 --> 01:22:23.149
right next to him, full David Goggins. You've

01:22:23.149 --> 01:22:26.529
got this. Come on. That's one of the parents

01:22:26.529 --> 01:22:28.010
called me. He's like, my God, Kyle, you're like

01:22:28.010 --> 01:22:30.289
David Goggins to that poor kid. Guess what happened

01:22:30.289 --> 01:22:32.739
Thursday? We have a thing called a burners where

01:22:32.739 --> 01:22:35.720
we do swim. You come up, you do 10 pushups, 10

01:22:35.720 --> 01:22:38.920
squats, 10 abs. And then you do like an RV crawl.

01:22:38.979 --> 01:22:40.520
You do it again. It's kind of like a punishment

01:22:40.520 --> 01:22:42.079
when the kids are messing around, but they liked

01:22:42.079 --> 01:22:47.739
it. He courses the last one. And then we, uh,

01:22:47.800 --> 01:22:49.680
I swim with him. He's swimming a little bit better,

01:22:49.699 --> 01:22:51.260
a little bit less complaining. Cause before he

01:22:51.260 --> 01:22:52.600
was his doggy pal. He's actually put his head

01:22:52.600 --> 01:22:54.680
down and we get up to the sand and he's like,

01:22:54.720 --> 01:22:57.619
will you do abs with me? Just that little comment

01:22:57.619 --> 01:22:59.500
before it was like, you know, you do push up.

01:23:00.409 --> 01:23:02.170
You know, even make the noise. I was just like,

01:23:02.189 --> 01:23:03.229
oh, my God. He was like, well, do you want to

01:23:03.229 --> 01:23:05.050
do abs with me? I was like, yeah, I'll do abs

01:23:05.050 --> 01:23:07.869
with you. And he fully, you know, did the abs.

01:23:07.989 --> 01:23:10.010
He's like, okay, it's push -ups time. So this

01:23:10.010 --> 01:23:11.710
kid that was fully, you know, I didn't meet his

01:23:11.710 --> 01:23:13.109
parents or anything like that, but he had fully

01:23:13.109 --> 01:23:16.409
given up on himself. I can't do it. I won't do

01:23:16.409 --> 01:23:19.109
it. I don't want to do it. To where, like, just

01:23:19.109 --> 01:23:21.210
that little bit of an uncle status. In Hawaii,

01:23:21.310 --> 01:23:25.390
it's all about uncles and aunties. And I gave

01:23:25.390 --> 01:23:27.970
him that uncle love in the sense of, like, I

01:23:27.970 --> 01:23:30.770
got you. I'm here with you. we can do it. I'm

01:23:30.770 --> 01:23:32.810
going to give you that little, that little push

01:23:32.810 --> 01:23:35.489
you need. And he changed. And it was like Thursday

01:23:35.489 --> 01:23:38.189
was just like this whole new kid. And, and it

01:23:38.189 --> 01:23:41.710
works for the females too. Like my wife, she

01:23:41.710 --> 01:23:44.630
got into the junior guards and has been an inspiration

01:23:44.630 --> 01:23:46.869
for the females. Cause most of us is all male

01:23:46.869 --> 01:23:49.729
instructors. Cause it's all lifeguards that instruct,

01:23:49.890 --> 01:23:53.449
but we have a huge demographic of young females

01:23:53.449 --> 01:23:56.789
from eight to 17. So my wife, you know, who's

01:23:56.789 --> 01:23:59.720
a bad -ass athlete. In shape, ripped, everything.

01:24:00.159 --> 01:24:03.539
Guess who she's inspiring? All these little eight

01:24:03.539 --> 01:24:06.159
-year -old girls because she's Auntie. Oh, I

01:24:06.159 --> 01:24:09.560
love you. Oh, Auntie, do you like my new bathing

01:24:09.560 --> 01:24:11.180
suit? All right, let's do the run -swim. And

01:24:11.180 --> 01:24:13.739
she'll run with all the girls, and then they

01:24:13.739 --> 01:24:17.399
all flock around here. So, like, she's showing

01:24:17.399 --> 01:24:20.560
these young girls, which translates back to what

01:24:20.560 --> 01:24:22.479
we were talking about, you know, Instagram and

01:24:22.479 --> 01:24:25.560
all that stuff. She's showing what a female should

01:24:25.560 --> 01:24:29.770
look like. Strong, fit. capable not just skinny

01:24:29.770 --> 01:24:33.289
and look at my my tits and ass and that's all

01:24:33.289 --> 01:24:36.149
I'm good for like showing her like I can be beauty

01:24:36.149 --> 01:24:40.430
and strength and bronze about it so it's been

01:24:40.430 --> 01:24:42.869
so cool last couple years after COVID because

01:24:42.869 --> 01:24:44.670
we took a break during COVID obviously the world

01:24:44.670 --> 01:24:47.869
did and then she got really involved in restarting

01:24:47.869 --> 01:24:50.890
it up and she's been such an inspiration to the

01:24:50.890 --> 01:24:52.869
girls like I've been doing it for so long I know

01:24:52.869 --> 01:24:55.210
I'm kind of inspiring these young men and women

01:24:55.710 --> 01:24:58.270
But let's get a female in there that's strong

01:24:58.270 --> 01:25:00.229
and beautiful and can do all these things and

01:25:00.229 --> 01:25:02.689
inspire them. It's like, oh, my God, I'm excited

01:25:02.689 --> 01:25:07.029
to see what this generation turns into on the

01:25:07.029 --> 01:25:09.590
North Shore as far as these kids. That's a long

01:25:09.590 --> 01:25:11.149
-winded story. That's pretty awesome. That's

01:25:11.149 --> 01:25:12.489
great, though. And I think this is the thing

01:25:12.489 --> 01:25:15.069
is when kids see themselves in someone who's

01:25:15.069 --> 01:25:16.609
doing it. I've got a friend, Steve -O Michelle,

01:25:16.989 --> 01:25:20.149
who's first generation after his mother moved

01:25:20.149 --> 01:25:23.539
them here from Haiti, lived in. arguably one

01:25:23.539 --> 01:25:26.159
of the worst areas of Orlando in absolute poverty,

01:25:26.399 --> 01:25:29.600
became a firefighter. Actually, he got a scholarship

01:25:29.600 --> 01:25:32.420
as a football player, then became a firefighter

01:25:32.420 --> 01:25:34.800
and then worked back in his neighborhood. So

01:25:34.800 --> 01:25:37.880
these young kids saw him as a firefighter. And

01:25:37.880 --> 01:25:39.920
I think it's the same, you know, with the women

01:25:39.920 --> 01:25:42.539
and any other group that feels underrepresented.

01:25:42.800 --> 01:25:45.260
But it's also that's why it's important to be

01:25:45.260 --> 01:25:47.239
in shape. If you're going to be that figure that

01:25:47.239 --> 01:25:49.189
everyone's looking at. that you need to make

01:25:49.189 --> 01:25:51.210
sure that you walk the walk as well and truly

01:25:51.210 --> 01:25:53.869
inspire these young people. Not, for example,

01:25:53.869 --> 01:25:55.989
say, well, they lowered the bar for me, so you

01:25:55.989 --> 01:25:57.930
can come in now. That's not the message we want.

01:25:58.149 --> 01:26:01.229
You rose to the bar, which is admirable, and

01:26:01.229 --> 01:26:03.409
now you inspire young people to do the same.

01:26:04.470 --> 01:26:08.189
Oh, kids are so – humans are an amazing species.

01:26:08.369 --> 01:26:11.430
Like, we are so more capable than we put on.

01:26:11.489 --> 01:26:13.409
And I see it with the kids because we first did

01:26:13.409 --> 01:26:16.510
the 8 to 11 -year -olds. we treat the 8 to 11

01:26:16.510 --> 01:26:18.689
year olds just the same as the older kids. The

01:26:18.689 --> 01:26:20.369
older kids program has been around for a lot

01:26:20.369 --> 01:26:22.829
longer than the younger kids. And so I was always

01:26:22.829 --> 01:26:24.029
part of the older kids. So when I went to the

01:26:24.029 --> 01:26:25.970
younger ones, I was like, well, you know, it

01:26:25.970 --> 01:26:27.529
was kind of a fill out process, but I treat them

01:26:27.529 --> 01:26:29.649
just the same. I pushed them just as hard. Of

01:26:29.649 --> 01:26:31.689
course, a lot more hugs, 8 to 11 year olds, they

01:26:31.689 --> 01:26:33.369
need a lot more hugs. They're a little more,

01:26:33.369 --> 01:26:35.630
you know, sweet that way. But the parents were

01:26:35.630 --> 01:26:38.569
like, I think the first couple of weeks, I, you

01:26:38.569 --> 01:26:40.090
know, I heard the murmurs of like, Oh my God,

01:26:40.130 --> 01:26:42.130
they're just being, they're just pushing our

01:26:42.130 --> 01:26:44.529
kids so hard. They're so hard, you know what

01:26:44.529 --> 01:26:47.529
I mean? But then the kids were doing it. The

01:26:47.529 --> 01:26:49.250
kids were crushing it. They were coming up to

01:26:49.250 --> 01:26:51.949
this level of, like, yeah, the kids. And all

01:26:51.949 --> 01:26:55.609
we're doing is paddling around, using fins, running,

01:26:55.729 --> 01:26:58.529
swimming, push -ups, you know, squats, like,

01:26:58.609 --> 01:27:00.850
just using our body. Your kids are made to use

01:27:00.850 --> 01:27:03.010
their body, and they're not. So they're totally

01:27:03.010 --> 01:27:06.630
capable. And, you know, especially in Hawaii,

01:27:06.770 --> 01:27:09.430
I feel like, at least knowing my son, my son

01:27:09.430 --> 01:27:11.569
won't listen to me at all when it comes to, like,

01:27:11.569 --> 01:27:14.420
surfing and jiu -jitsu. Some of it trickles in.

01:27:14.600 --> 01:27:16.619
But guess when we go to kids' class at jiu -jitsu,

01:27:16.659 --> 01:27:20.039
guess who he listens to? The other black belts.

01:27:20.100 --> 01:27:23.239
He doesn't listen to me. And I know that. And

01:27:23.239 --> 01:27:25.460
so I'll teach the other kids. And when I see

01:27:25.460 --> 01:27:28.619
my son making a mistake, I can tell my other

01:27:28.619 --> 01:27:30.420
black belts that are on the mat, they'll go and

01:27:30.420 --> 01:27:35.199
help him. So I can see these kids are not going

01:27:35.199 --> 01:27:37.720
to talk to their parents or listen to their parents,

01:27:37.800 --> 01:27:39.439
but they're going to listen to Uncle Kyle or

01:27:39.439 --> 01:27:43.640
Auntie Tiff or Uncle Mikey. I see that's how

01:27:43.640 --> 01:27:48.460
kids learn. I'm glad I'm just a positive. My

01:27:48.460 --> 01:27:50.939
family, my wife are a positive influence on these

01:27:50.939 --> 01:27:52.880
kids because this is our future. These are the

01:27:52.880 --> 01:27:54.680
people who are going to be taking care of me

01:27:54.680 --> 01:27:57.640
when I'm old and senile. I'm hoping I'm helping

01:27:57.640 --> 01:28:01.199
them out and making them better that way. It's

01:28:01.199 --> 01:28:03.460
pretty cool, man. Absolutely. Well, that's a

01:28:03.460 --> 01:28:06.100
good segue for the last thing. How did you come

01:28:06.100 --> 01:28:08.659
across Jesse and Eric and foundation training?

01:28:08.819 --> 01:28:13.060
And what impact has that had on your own physicality

01:28:13.060 --> 01:28:16.699
and wellness? Oh, my God. So I met Jesse through

01:28:16.699 --> 01:28:21.000
Kehea Hart, who's a big time sports professional,

01:28:21.180 --> 01:28:23.699
ex -pro surfer around here. And we were surfing

01:28:23.699 --> 01:28:25.359
one day. He's like, hey, I got a friend that

01:28:25.359 --> 01:28:27.960
wants to do Muay Thai. So I was coaching, pulled

01:28:27.960 --> 01:28:31.039
the pads. And he's like, you might like him.

01:28:31.869 --> 01:28:33.649
He didn't tell me he was doing foundation. I'm

01:28:33.649 --> 01:28:35.550
like, oh, yeah, you vowed for him. Yeah, give

01:28:35.550 --> 01:28:38.189
him my number. And then I met Jesse, and it was

01:28:38.189 --> 01:28:40.569
like a full bromance. It was like we have that

01:28:40.569 --> 01:28:44.550
same energy, same thirst for fitness and life.

01:28:44.630 --> 01:28:46.710
He was a first responder. He was a fireman. I'm

01:28:46.710 --> 01:28:49.970
a lifeguard. He loves martial arts. And if you

01:28:49.970 --> 01:28:52.350
met Jesse, he's just happy. He's just a happy,

01:28:52.409 --> 01:28:55.029
psyched guy. And he's helped me a lot through

01:28:55.029 --> 01:28:56.710
actually a lot of training camps. Like before,

01:28:56.869 --> 01:29:00.569
I was not. I wasn't doing anything to repair

01:29:00.569 --> 01:29:03.510
my body. I was just like, oh, I touched my toes

01:29:03.510 --> 01:29:06.130
once. Okay, I'm good. Let's go straight into

01:29:06.130 --> 01:29:09.729
rolling or whatever. What Eric and those guys

01:29:09.729 --> 01:29:11.890
have taught me as far as this, it worked. I had

01:29:11.890 --> 01:29:13.789
severe hip problems. Luckily, knock on wood,

01:29:14.010 --> 01:29:16.409
I've never had knee surgery and never had sole

01:29:16.409 --> 01:29:19.229
surgery. I probably will eventually, but I've

01:29:19.229 --> 01:29:22.789
saved my body from really having any bad surgeries

01:29:22.789 --> 01:29:25.229
or injuries. But I had a hip problem. My hip

01:29:25.229 --> 01:29:29.760
was a... tilted from a jiu -jitsu thing and so

01:29:29.760 --> 01:29:33.260
Jesse was so good on just like hey let's let's

01:29:33.260 --> 01:29:35.500
go through a founder let's go through an archer

01:29:35.500 --> 01:29:37.680
and I was like oh my god like I can feel things

01:29:37.680 --> 01:29:42.720
just moving around and just that and then he

01:29:42.720 --> 01:29:44.060
actually helped me a lot with my strength and

01:29:44.060 --> 01:29:47.640
condition I was lifting wrong I was doing too

01:29:47.640 --> 01:29:50.840
much actually I was lifting you know I was doing

01:29:50.840 --> 01:29:53.039
like I said I feel like I have little attention

01:29:53.039 --> 01:29:54.760
deficit you know i'm always constantly doing

01:29:54.760 --> 01:29:56.560
something so i'd like you know thursday through

01:29:56.560 --> 01:29:58.920
sunday i'd lift every day and then monday was

01:29:58.920 --> 01:30:01.479
training and of course surfing sprinkled in there

01:30:01.479 --> 01:30:04.039
and then thursday sparring i was just burning

01:30:04.039 --> 01:30:06.760
myself out so jess is like whoa whoa you don't

01:30:06.760 --> 01:30:09.239
have to do that okay you lift twice a week and

01:30:09.239 --> 01:30:11.000
we can do this and do foundation in the morning

01:30:11.000 --> 01:30:15.800
and he prepared me for my last uh my last uh

01:30:15.800 --> 01:30:19.699
submission match and he's just been such a just

01:30:19.699 --> 01:30:22.199
a good friend in the way of just nutrition and

01:30:22.199 --> 01:30:24.920
health and you know anything where from methylene

01:30:24.920 --> 01:30:29.279
blue to you know supplements and just and i think

01:30:29.279 --> 01:30:32.039
i've helped him through jujitsu you know i think

01:30:32.039 --> 01:30:33.779
he's got his blue belt now he's getting there

01:30:33.779 --> 01:30:37.619
and uh he's striking and found it eric guys are

01:30:37.619 --> 01:30:41.739
just so supportive and just making me like i

01:30:41.739 --> 01:30:43.520
said i want to be still sparring i still want

01:30:43.520 --> 01:30:45.220
to be surfing i still want to be doing jujitsu

01:30:45.220 --> 01:30:47.180
when i'm 90. And I think through Foundation,

01:30:47.199 --> 01:30:48.880
I've just strengthened that core, strengthened

01:30:48.880 --> 01:30:52.220
those little muscles. And those guys giving me

01:30:52.220 --> 01:30:54.939
so much time, which is the most valuable thing

01:30:54.939 --> 01:30:57.619
in the world, has been pretty awesome. So I owe

01:30:57.619 --> 01:30:59.640
a lot to Jesse and Eric and Foundation. It's

01:30:59.640 --> 01:31:01.659
definitely changed my life. I'm trying to get

01:31:01.659 --> 01:31:03.800
my wife and son to do it, but it's baby steps.

01:31:04.720 --> 01:31:07.579
I always credit them for saving my career. How

01:31:07.579 --> 01:31:10.520
I even came across them was I tore my back lifting

01:31:10.520 --> 01:31:14.239
a patient years ago. And was doing the PT route,

01:31:14.399 --> 01:31:17.899
was paying out for a Cairo. And the Cairo in

01:31:17.899 --> 01:31:19.840
his office was playing this video of this dude

01:31:19.840 --> 01:31:21.600
doing this funny thing where his legs are apart

01:31:21.600 --> 01:31:24.479
and his fingers are touched together. And he

01:31:24.479 --> 01:31:26.260
goes, you know, you should try this. Do it before

01:31:26.260 --> 01:31:29.279
you come every day. And so I started doing it

01:31:29.279 --> 01:31:31.960
and my recovery went from, you know, like 5 %

01:31:31.960 --> 01:31:35.779
to 45%. It was amazing. And then I ended up getting

01:31:35.779 --> 01:31:38.119
certified, teaching my whole fire department.

01:31:38.720 --> 01:31:40.939
And I just shout from the rooftops to this day

01:31:40.939 --> 01:31:42.659
because you're not only getting out of pain,

01:31:42.760 --> 01:31:45.680
but preventing injury and being able to deadlift

01:31:45.680 --> 01:31:48.319
and squat in a more biomechanically sound way.

01:31:48.460 --> 01:31:51.140
I mean, they just stumbled across something so

01:31:51.140 --> 01:31:52.880
incredible. And you look at the high performers,

01:31:53.060 --> 01:31:55.140
everyone from Kelly Slater to Lance Armstrong

01:31:55.140 --> 01:32:00.460
to the dude that plays Thor, Chris Hemsworth.

01:32:00.539 --> 01:32:02.600
Thank you. I mean, all these people swear by

01:32:02.600 --> 01:32:05.680
it, too. So every opportunity I can get to get

01:32:05.680 --> 01:32:08.600
a testimony from someone. is you know is worthy

01:32:08.600 --> 01:32:10.819
because they like i said who knows where i'd

01:32:10.819 --> 01:32:13.399
be if i'd listen to you know quacks and took

01:32:13.399 --> 01:32:15.920
pills and surgery would i even be walking around

01:32:15.920 --> 01:32:19.500
anymore maybe not no no and it's all about like

01:32:19.500 --> 01:32:23.279
you said like trying to uh longevity wise like

01:32:23.279 --> 01:32:25.039
trying to like okay you healed your back but

01:32:25.039 --> 01:32:27.439
like you're just trying to maintain that so you

01:32:27.439 --> 01:32:30.079
don't do it you know it's you don't want to fix

01:32:30.079 --> 01:32:32.500
it after it's already broken like i want to have

01:32:32.500 --> 01:32:34.520
my core like you know my back where i'm dead

01:32:34.520 --> 01:32:37.210
lifting whether it's martial arts or deadlifting

01:32:37.210 --> 01:32:39.189
a guy at a short break. You know what I mean?

01:32:39.250 --> 01:32:42.369
It's like a lot of my coworkers go out with back

01:32:42.369 --> 01:32:45.270
injuries, hip surgeries, all these things because

01:32:45.270 --> 01:32:47.649
they're just lifting something up or lifting

01:32:47.649 --> 01:32:50.369
a ski up, and there goes their back. And I don't

01:32:50.369 --> 01:32:53.350
want to do that. So I feel like even like I was

01:32:53.350 --> 01:32:55.329
never a deadlift kind of guy, and I love deadlifts

01:32:55.329 --> 01:32:58.409
now through Jesse, but I can feel how much the

01:32:58.409 --> 01:33:02.029
foundation has given me awareness in my body.

01:33:02.869 --> 01:33:04.270
Have you noticed that a little bit? Like when

01:33:04.270 --> 01:33:06.069
I do a deadlift, I can literally feel the muscles

01:33:06.069 --> 01:33:08.529
and the soles of my feet up through my calves,

01:33:08.710 --> 01:33:11.569
up through my quads. And like I can isolate to

01:33:11.569 --> 01:33:13.270
lift heavy weight, which I would have never,

01:33:13.350 --> 01:33:15.869
ever deadlifted that much weight. And I can do

01:33:15.869 --> 01:33:18.930
it smartly, you know, because now I know how

01:33:18.930 --> 01:33:20.810
to use my body. I think foundation has helped

01:33:20.810 --> 01:33:23.329
me that way. Because, you know, when you pivot

01:33:23.329 --> 01:33:26.170
your foot out. For the archer that way, you're

01:33:26.170 --> 01:33:28.729
like, okay, I really got to be in tune of where

01:33:28.729 --> 01:33:31.069
my hip's at. Where's my hand at? Where's my calf?

01:33:32.050 --> 01:33:34.770
It's like, oh, my front knee, don't bend it up.

01:33:34.890 --> 01:33:36.550
It's got to be straight. Don't be too far over.

01:33:36.630 --> 01:33:40.550
So it's given me a body knowledge that has translated

01:33:40.550 --> 01:33:43.229
into life and martial arts. You know what I mean?

01:33:43.310 --> 01:33:44.789
Because, I mean, how many times do you get injured

01:33:44.789 --> 01:33:46.130
in jiu -jitsu? You're always going to get injured

01:33:46.130 --> 01:33:48.329
in jiu -jitsu. But if you're aware of your body,

01:33:48.409 --> 01:33:50.470
you're like somebody spazzing out on top of you.

01:33:50.850 --> 01:33:53.829
Oh. I got to move my knee a different way. Okay.

01:33:53.890 --> 01:33:55.250
I got to move, you know, cause you become more

01:33:55.250 --> 01:33:58.890
aware of it. And yeah, I owe a lot to Jesse and

01:33:58.890 --> 01:34:01.229
Eric. They've definitely helped me become a better

01:34:01.229 --> 01:34:04.210
version of myself for sure. Absolutely. That's

01:34:04.210 --> 01:34:05.909
so great to hear. All right. Well, I want to

01:34:05.909 --> 01:34:08.470
be mindful of your time. So for people listening,

01:34:08.789 --> 01:34:11.569
where are the best places to learn more about

01:34:11.569 --> 01:34:14.170
you, your training or find you on social media?

01:34:15.289 --> 01:34:17.310
I'm pretty much only on Instagram. I never go

01:34:17.310 --> 01:34:20.899
on Facebook. So just Kyle foil. And, uh, All

01:34:20.899 --> 01:34:23.760
together, no crazy emojis or anything. It's California.

01:34:24.659 --> 01:34:27.079
Yeah, no, it's kind of fun. I've actually gotten

01:34:27.079 --> 01:34:29.520
a couple people to, like, some dads. You know,

01:34:29.579 --> 01:34:33.140
I'm 40, and it's like, you know, I hate the dad

01:34:33.140 --> 01:34:37.220
bod whole thing. I think that's the lamest Instagram

01:34:37.220 --> 01:34:39.680
thing, whatever, that's sexy right now. It's

01:34:39.680 --> 01:34:41.100
the dumbest thing in the world because, like,

01:34:41.119 --> 01:34:43.819
you're not ready to protect your family. You're

01:34:43.819 --> 01:34:46.779
going to be unhealthy. You're showing your kids.

01:34:47.369 --> 01:34:50.210
which I'm a firm believer what you do in front

01:34:50.210 --> 01:34:53.329
of your kids non -verbally dictates how they're

01:34:53.329 --> 01:34:55.390
going to be. So I want to show my son, I'm 40

01:34:55.390 --> 01:34:58.050
and I still got abs. You know, good genetics.

01:34:58.229 --> 01:34:59.829
I got good genetics, so it's nothing like that.

01:34:59.850 --> 01:35:05.390
But I want to show him this is what a dad at

01:35:05.390 --> 01:35:06.829
40 is supposed to look at. Now, I've actually

01:35:06.829 --> 01:35:10.310
got a couple guys I don't know DM me. Hey, you

01:35:10.310 --> 01:35:13.609
know, I work a lot. What can I do? And I'll try

01:35:13.609 --> 01:35:15.890
to help them as much as I can. Or at least just

01:35:15.890 --> 01:35:18.909
a... nice word to him. Hey man, you know, it's

01:35:18.909 --> 01:35:21.470
totally doable, you know? And it's, if I can

01:35:21.470 --> 01:35:23.829
aspire somebody that way, then shoot, that's

01:35:23.829 --> 01:35:26.550
another person. Like I would help lifeguarding

01:35:26.550 --> 01:35:28.430
or I would help the junior guards. Like, you

01:35:28.430 --> 01:35:30.850
know, cause it's just, it's a trickle. What are

01:35:30.850 --> 01:35:32.890
you doing? This life does not sound like gladiator,

01:35:32.949 --> 01:35:35.390
you know, after eternity. Cause like the kid

01:35:35.390 --> 01:35:37.970
that you help at jujitsu, the kid you help at

01:35:37.970 --> 01:35:40.130
junior guards or the guy you save it pipeline

01:35:40.130 --> 01:35:42.609
or the guy you just DM back. That's kind of a

01:35:42.609 --> 01:35:45.729
low point in his life. Cause you know, he's fat.

01:35:46.409 --> 01:35:48.550
His wife's yelling at him. You know what I mean?

01:35:48.590 --> 01:35:50.670
He's stressed at work. His kids are in pain.

01:35:50.869 --> 01:35:52.609
Like, if you can inspire him just to kind of

01:35:52.609 --> 01:35:55.470
go, okay, if I take care of this first, then

01:35:55.470 --> 01:35:59.149
I can take care of this, too. You know? So, yeah.

01:35:59.270 --> 01:36:02.630
It makes me feel good. Yeah. To help people is

01:36:02.630 --> 01:36:04.470
definitely – I mean, you were a fireman. You

01:36:04.470 --> 01:36:07.149
know how it is. It's the highest drug of high,

01:36:07.270 --> 01:36:09.409
man. If you truly enjoy doing it to help people

01:36:09.409 --> 01:36:12.710
and not the money and not the title, I think

01:36:12.710 --> 01:36:16.479
it's the best thing in the world. 100%. Well,

01:36:16.520 --> 01:36:18.100
I want to thank you so much. It's been such an

01:36:18.100 --> 01:36:19.979
amazing conversation, all these different layers

01:36:19.979 --> 01:36:22.579
of your kind of life's journey. And again, I

01:36:22.579 --> 01:36:24.439
always like to pull out the parallels from your

01:36:24.439 --> 01:36:27.300
profession. when applied to the fire service

01:36:27.300 --> 01:36:29.000
and law enforcement as well, because from the,

01:36:29.039 --> 01:36:31.659
the physical fitness side and the training standards,

01:36:31.739 --> 01:36:34.920
I think you guys are a great, um, profession

01:36:34.920 --> 01:36:37.000
to really hold ourselves to. And some departments

01:36:37.000 --> 01:36:38.340
are doing it really well, but I think there's

01:36:38.340 --> 01:36:40.880
a lot that could learn from, you know, the ocean

01:36:40.880 --> 01:36:43.640
lifeguards. So I want to thank you so much for

01:36:43.640 --> 01:36:45.739
being so generous with your time and coming on

01:36:45.739 --> 01:36:48.760
the behind the shield podcast today. No, I appreciate

01:36:48.760 --> 01:36:50.939
you. Yeah. I wish we could talk longer for sure.

01:36:51.060 --> 01:36:52.979
No, this is fun. And, uh, yeah, thank you for

01:36:52.979 --> 01:36:55.359
holding. You know, first of all, we're all a

01:36:55.359 --> 01:36:57.539
family. And thank you for kind of putting that

01:36:57.539 --> 01:37:00.500
word out that it's not okay to, you know, drop,

01:37:00.560 --> 01:37:04.239
like you said, be subpar and hit that. I hit

01:37:04.239 --> 01:37:06.800
that one little level. Like, you know, we're

01:37:06.800 --> 01:37:08.939
helping lives and our own lives at the same time.

01:37:08.979 --> 01:37:10.380
So thank you for being the voice for that.