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I'll spell that to you because it's not as you
think, T -E -A -M -B -U -I -L -D -R .com. Welcome
to the Behind the Shield podcast. As always,
my name is James Geering and this week it is
my absolute honor to welcome on the show former
professional surfer, jiu -jitsu practitioner,
and ocean lifeguard, Kyle Foyle. Now in this
conversation, we discuss a host of topics from
his journey into the world of surfing, the importance
of fitness standards, martial arts, mentorship
through the junior lifeguarding program, foundation
training, the aging athlete, some notable rescues,
and so much more. Now, before we get to this
incredible conversation, as I say every week,
please just take a moment, go to whichever app
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leave feedback, and leave a rating. Every single
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And this is a free library of almost 1 ,100 episodes
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share these incredible men and women's stories
so I can get them to every single person on planet
Earth who needs to hear them. So with that being
said, I introduce to you Kyle Foyle. Enjoy. I
want to start by saying two things. Firstly,
thank you to our mutual friend, Jesse Salas,
for connecting us. And secondly, I want to welcome
you onto the Behind the Shield podcast today.
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm
stoked to chat with you. Anybody that's friends
with Jesse is a friend of mine. That guy's a
10 out of 10 human. 100%. Absolutely. But we'll
get to how you guys know each other when we get
a little deeper in the timeline. First question,
where on planet Earth are we finding you this
morning? I am on the north shore of Oahu here
in Hawaii. If you want to get more, probably
about Pupakea area, Waimede area. Brilliant.
Well, I would love to start the very beginning
of your life's journey then. So tell me where
you were born and tell me a little bit about
your family dynamic, what your parents did, how
many siblings. My parents were like in that wave
of, I was first born, I was born, I think, out
of Hawaii, which is it. Big Island. It's named
Hawaii, but everyone just calls it the Big Island.
I was born in Hilo in the 80s, which was a fun
time to grow up in Hawaii. So it was pretty fun.
It was definitely raw and real, and we lived
on three acres of land that had no electricity,
no water. So my dad, gangster back in the 80s,
early 80s, late 70s, set up a generator, solar,
and catchment. So we were totally off the grid.
So growing up, like, no TV, obviously no internet.
Like, and then we, my nearest neighbors were
like a goat farmer and some people living in
the bus. Like, it was very rural. It's called
Hawaiian Acres. It's on the, kind of the side
of the volcano on the Big Island, more towards
Hilo. And, you know, as a kid, I hated it. Absolutely
hated it, you know, because I wanted Nickelodeon.
I wanted to be, you know, in the water. I wanted
to be at the mall. And it was like. Looking back
at it, I'm honored that I got to grow up that
way, so I got to experience it. My parents were
blue -collar workers. Dad was a talented cook
but did construction. Mom was a stay -at -home
mom until she became a teacher, which I laugh
now because now I'm a teacher and now I'm a coach
and stuff like that. It definitely runs in the
family because my mom was an amazing teacher.
I grew up there. I had an older sister. And my
family dynamic was kind of what I do with my
family. We were just super active, you know,
like the ocean was our church. My dad always
said, so it's like we surf. That was just what
we did. I just, you know, on a boogie board on
the front of my dad's surfboard, boogie board
with my mom. Like we just, we're always active.
We always did afternoon walks. It was a real,
yeah, really tight family. Just a lot of love,
you know, like my dad told me he loved me all
the time. You know, it was just my, I saw my
parents always, you know, very loving towards
each other. So it was a very, you know, we were
very blue collar almost to the, you know, poor
level, but like the love there and just the,
the, the love of the ocean that was this amazing.
It was a great childhood. Were your parents native
Hawaiians or did they come from somewhere else?
They were first generation, uh, like California
servers. Everybody came here in what sixties
and seventies that my parents were from. Huntington,
that's Huntington Beach. My mom's Manhattan Beach.
You know, my dad was just like left. They all
left houses at 17. And I think my parents were
together since they were 16. And, you know, I
think for what the story is, my dad was like,
I'm going to Hawaii. You know, everybody was
going to Hawaii. Hawaii was the place. And they
do want to come with me. And she said yes. And
they were together for 40 plus years, you know,
until my dad passed away. And it was like. It
was so cool to see them. They just jumped and
just moved to Maui. And they kind of just learned
as they go. And there was a place. It actually
got taken over by the volcano called Kalapana
on the south part of the Big Island. And it kind
of was called the second North Shore. It had
all these famous surf spots like drain pipes
and like a wave that looked like sunset. And
so my dad fell in love with that wave. So they
lived on Maui for a while. And then they moved
to the Big Island, I think, in the 80s, 1980.
And that's when my sister came around. I came
around a little after that. And yeah, it was,
yeah, they just showed me the life and they just,
they were always just like, we just wanted to
always live in Hawaii. And they did it, you know,
which was onto them for being 17 and no money,
you know, like there was no like old financial
backing or anything. It was just like, they just
went and survived. I give huge credit for that.
As we sit here in 2025, there are so many creature
comforts. And I think a lot of people, are not
uncomfortable anymore we're so comfortable you
can drive through and drop off live your books
and get food and get dry cleaning um and you
know the the profession that you're in the profession
that i'm from discomfort is definitely part of
of the necessity if you're going to be effective
in those rescue positions when you reflect back
now at that very kind of basal upbringing And
you contrast it with the technological age that
we live in now. What was some of the pros of
living arguably how humans have lived for millennia
before that? I got to my imagination, you know,
like me and my sister used to build forts like
these crazy, you know, taking guava trees and
cutting them and building these elaborate forts.
So it was like a lot of imagination and using
our hands. And I think it helped me. down the
road because i i'm a visual learner so it helped
me when i would meet my sister would be sitting
there like building these things okay how am
i going to bend this piece of wood to make a
bow or whatever it was we i had to sit there
and kind of stare at it and it easily translated
to my martial art career my lifeguard career
where like i can sit there and analyze it in
my head where you know i look at my son he's
12 and you know he's known nothing before the
internet And I kind of worry about this generation,
especially looking at the junior guards. You
know, I get to deal with 600 kids every summer.
That's, you know, so I get to see, like, oh,
man, like, you know, that first week they're
fresh out of school. They're sharp and they're
energetic. And then you get to the fourth week
and those kids have been on an iPad for three
weeks. And we kind of get into that fourth week
and you can kind of tell they're just, you know,
they're not sharp. Their attention spans, you
know, their imagination where of, like, they're
kind of, like, I'm almost like a crackhead. They
want their device back. So I'm very fortunate
I grew up in that because it made me who I am
today. I couldn't imagine just being stuck just
doing that all day. It's scary. I'm kind of worried
about our future that way. But the pros, I'll
go back to your questions. The pros was I got
to use my imagination a lot, and I'm okay to
be quiet. I'm okay to be, you know, and which
helps with lifeguarding is you've got to be able
to watch and not. Our attention span is so short
nowadays where I can sit there and stare at an
ocean and watch everybody and not be like, oh,
this is getting boring. I need to be on a device
and swipe left and swipe right. So it's a pro
that's helped me a lot through my life. I never
thought of that element. I was a lifeguard, never
on the ocean, but I did the open water and a
lot of the pool lifeguarding too earlier. And
yeah, you do have to sit there quietly and you
have to scan. You have to be mindful. You have
to try and keep awake. But in this low attention,
because I grew up on a farm. So again, I kind
of had that grooming. I was many, many times
where I was out all day on my own. But being
a young person now that grew up with this kind
of seven second attention span that's been forced
upon them really by technology, that would be
a lot more challenging to be a lifeguard and
actually stay engaged. Oh, for sure. I mean,
it's harder for me because I'm in a... I'm a
lieutenant, so I'm kind of the boss man. There's
a chief, a captain. We have a captain for the
whole North Shore, and then there's five lieutenants,
and I'm one of them. So now when I go to the
tower, I'm walking up behind the tower, and instead
of seeing their heads up here, I'm seeing their
heads down here, which is like, come on, guys.
You don't want to be that person where you don't
see the rescue, you're only going to hear the
rescue because somebody's screaming for help.
So it's a new challenge as a... And I'm guilty,
too. I'm not saying I'm sitting here not on my
phone, but it's a time and place. You know what
I mean? Yeah, you can check it real quick. You
take your breaks or whatever, but that's the
new challenge of these young guys coming in where,
why not? Why can't I be on my phone? Well, they're
not watching the water. I tell these new guys,
all I want from you is be in uniform, be on time,
and watch the water. And if you can really focus
on that last one. You'll do good in this job
and you'll save a life and you won't be embarrassed
because people have been sitting there for five
minutes doing this in the water trying to get
your attention and you're like this. So that's
a new challenge for sure for this generation.
Absolutely. Well, before we hit record, I know
we're going to take a deeper dive into this,
but you mentioned about the number of people
in Hawaii that actually can't swim. So talk to
me about your experience. How was your father
able to kind of get you? to the point of being
very confident in, you know, some of the more
turbulent waters that we have. Um, it's just,
we just, I just, I didn't know any difference.
It was just like, that's what we did. Like I'd
never saw my parents put on a pair of running
shoes. I never saw my dad lift a weight. Like
he was a Taekwondo guy. So that's what I think
I gravitated towards martial arts. Um, but he.
He was never like, oh, I'm going to go do squats,
son. Do you want to come with me? Or I'm going
to go run or I'm going to go play basketball
or play football. Like my dad was just like surfing
and only surfing or just anything, water, body
surfing, boogie boarding, anything. So he just
threw by trial, by fair, like fire. Like I think
I did a three week course at American Red Cross,
a swimming course when I was like eight. That
was it. There was no like. oh kyle you got to
turn your hands over your technique you know
flutter kick all that stuff like i never learned
that it was just like you go in the ocean and
you learn by five travel by fire and i was definitely
afraid of big waves growing up because big island
it doesn't get big it's like six feet the most
the danger of big island is like that much uh
water between the reef and the reef is very much
alive so i was more scared of hitting the bottom
than the bigger ways but um My parents just put
me in the water and just taught me everything.
Then I luckily fell in love with surfing to obsession
level. All I wanted to do was surf. If I could
surf all day, I would. I looked at every surf
magazine. I knew every ad. I knew every pro surfer.
I knew every contest. It was just a complete
obsession. My goal was always to go to the North
Shore. Everybody has a vision board. I want a
Bugatti. I want a mansion in the hills. Mine
was just live on the North Shore and have a family
and surf. That was it. If I accomplished that
goal, which I have, I'm probably the most blessed
man around, I was happy. My dad just supported
me and just put me in contests. My mom was always
there and my sister did contests. We were always
in the water. I think that's Like anything in
life, if you just do it repetition over and over
again, you get comfort. It's like being in a
fight. Your first fight, you watch guys do it
on the streets or in an MMA match. Eyes are closed.
They're swinging. They don't know. They're flinching.
Fast forward, you go to their 20th fight. They're
cool. They're calm. They can hear their coach.
It's the same thing. And the same thing as lifeguarding.
I remember panicking at Sandy's and running around
and trying to talk to everybody. Now, flash forward,
I'm about to celebrate 20 years of lifeguarding
in six days. My first day of lifeguarding was
May 26, 2005. And now I'm like, cool as a cucumber.
You know what I mean? It translates just to those
little reps, those little motions. When did you
first become introduced to lifeguarding? Were
you part of a junior program yourself? No. Okay.
I didn't have a junior guard program in the 80s
growing up in the Big Island. I think it was,
I think it started in 96 out here. And then,
so I didn't have it. So I moved to North Shore.
You know, we can go to a whole long story on
that. I was just like, you know, I want to be
pro server. I wasn't good enough. Started working
at little, you know, retail shops. And I was
like, oh, I want to be a, in Hawaii, it's kind
of, growing up, it's either you're a fireman.
Like the jobs you want to get for like the local
kids. It's fireman, construction, stevedore,
or some kind of pro athlete. But fire is definitely
like, oh, Sonny Boy made it. He's a fireman.
He's in the academy, you know? So I wanted to
be a fireman. And I think I don't think I really
wanted to be, but that was just like, I don't
want to go to college. I don't want to start
a business. I don't want to work in retail. I
don't want to work in offices. I'll go fire.
And I came over. I was like, okay, I failed the
fire test twice. I'm not good with those gears,
man. I just couldn't do it. I passed once. They
threw it out. I was like, you know what? I want
to be an EMT. It's always been about I want to
help people. I don't know why. It was in me.
I went to KCC, which is a community college,
to get my EMT license and all that stuff. Then
I became friends with the lifeguards up here,
of course, because I was surfing. all over the
north shore and just kind of became friends with
them and they were like one was like hey there's
a tryout and i was like i don't know okay yeah
i'll go try it out you know did the run swim
did performance test and i remember telling my
dad i was like ah i passed i'm gonna get into
the recruit class i think i'll just do it part
-time you know until something better comes around
20 years later it's a bit like It's the best
job in the world. You know what I mean? So I
was never like how my son has been doing junior
guards since he was nine. And he does every day
with me because, unfortunately, he's my son.
And so he's there every day. So it's like if
he becomes a lifeguard, it's kind of been written.
Like, oh, your dad was a lifeguard. You grew
up in the ocean. You do junior guards for 10
years, whatever it is. But for me, it was just
kind of like organically just kind of was like,
ah, I'll try it out. And then that path in life
just. transition there and then i did i actually
got my emt license and i did a bunch of ride
-alongs and i give all credit to ems people they
do not get enough credit in the world like you
know i know fire is a hard job i know police
has a hard job at ems what those people go through
i they're not getting paid enough it's crazy
absolutely well going back to the surfing track
for a second what was it about your journey that
you couldn't quite get to that pinnacle in surfing?
I just, you know, I think I had the mind for
it. Like, I was, you know, I'm very coachable.
You tell me to go, I'll go. You want me to drill
a move, I'll drill it for 10 minutes, whatever,
straight. But I didn't have any, you know, not
to make excuses, and there's never an excuse.
I just didn't, you know, like nowadays in pro
surfing, you have coaches. Like, right now I
could go get my son a coach at 12 years old.
And that guy will tell them, okay, your hand
needs to be here. You know, paddle this way.
Oh, you're in a heat. You need to go out there
this way. Your feet are too wide. Your feet are
too narrow. Oh, this board's different. This
board's too thin. When growing up in the 80s
or 90s more, I would say, it was like there was
no coaching. And my dad, God bless him, you know,
he supported me, but he didn't, like, coach me
in a way. And so I didn't have anybody. So in
my mind, I was like, oh, I'm killing it. My style
is good. I watch it on video and I'm like, it's
horrible. And I just, I didn't have the technique
or the heat to make it through. Like I was sponsored,
I got paid. But I didn't hit that world level
CT level that I wanted to get. It's a very hard
level to get to and just didn't have it. And
I didn't want to be that 29 -year -old waiting
tables. to pay for my surfing career. So at 21,
22, I just kind of went, okay, I'm not making
much money. To be honest, I don't have the talent.
It's just, you know, just not going to make it.
I don't have the resources to make it. I don't
have the funds to make it. Okay, I'm going to
switch gears. I still love surfing. I still work
with several companies. So I'm still living the
dream. It's just I didn't have that. Just didn't
have it. Sometimes I think it's hard as an athlete.
To go, you just don't have that little X factor
that makes it between you're very talented, you're
very good, but you're not a world champion. Or
you're not at that little 1 % that makes it up
there. So I just have to be honest with myself.
Maybe I look back, maybe I could have, I don't
know. But I'm happy where I'm at right now. Have
you ever crossed paths with Kona Oliveira, MMA
fighter surfer? I've known Kona since he was
six years old. now he's a man child it's pretty
awesome I had him on he just the episode only
came out a few weeks ago a couple weeks ago but
it was interesting because it was the same kind
of thing like he got to this incredible level
but he was also having this realization of the
more pressure there is to air quotes win the
less he was enjoying surfing and when he stepped
away from the competition side he kind of fell
in love with surfing again oh for sure no I like
I said I'm always striving to be better like
I'm the epitome of 1 % better every day. And
I'm like, oh, I know I can do better. So I have
one of my best friends actually is like CT level.
I think he was number fifth in the world at one
point. And he retired. He's got a family. But
I remember like, you know, asking him like, hey,
I feel like, how am I doing? You know, surfing
is a really weird sport. It's very egotistical
in the way of like, where me and you are playing,
doing jujitsu. And I keep passing your guard.
you will actually be like, dude, what am I doing
wrong? And I'll be like, oh, okay, well, you
know, you're too flat on your back. You're not
bringing your knees to your chest. Surfing, me
and you are surfing together, and I see you do
a cutback, and, you know, your hands are all
up doing weird. If I pile up to you and go, hey,
you know, your cutback will look better, nine
times out of ten, I'll be like, who the hell
are you? You know what I mean? So it's a... It's
really hard for surfers to get told that their
style needs to be changed or it's ugly or they're
not performing well. So I remember my friend
Jack was like, I asked him, I was just like,
hey, what am I doing wrong? He's like, are you
sure? And I'm like, yeah. And he listed all these
things. And I remember for like 10 minutes, I
was like depressed, sad, angry. F him. And guess
what? I went out there with this. ferocious feet
like just went out on small days big days changed
my stance watched where my arm was and it totally
improved my surfing so if you don't have that
like drive to like change yourself and it going
back to what Conan said it's not fun I actually
caught myself not this winter but last winter
not having fun surfing because I go out there
and like I know what I have to do now because
now I've been told that you know, 40 years old,
whatever I'm supposed to do. I wasn't having
fun. I'd come in bummed on a surf session. We're
like, dude, I'm not getting paid. My wife still
loves me. I'm going to work on Monday. Like I'm
not making the CT. I'm not doing heats. Like,
and it's kind of saying like, yeah, you start
to not have fun. And the whole point of surfing
is, or to be in the ocean is to have fun. Like
you put so much pressure on yourself. It's not
fun. And surfing, unlike any other sport, you're
in Mother Nature. You're in this crystal clear
water. You're watching fish swimming. The sun's
shining. You're riding this mythical, you know,
moving object to make it to where, like, I got
to be serious. And, oh, I need to get all the
waves. And, oh, man, my bottom turns suck. Like,
that's just, it's not a way to live. It kind
of sucks in a sense. So, he's totally right.
When I think of the origin of surfing, you think
of that one with nature that, you know, literally
no one could be watching and the person would
be catching the wave and, you know, having the
time of their life. And then there's this evolution
to where competition comes in. And it kind of
parallels what I've seen with a lot of youth
athletes. And, you know, whether it's the school
or the college squeezing performance out of them
at the expense of their own wellness and longevity
or the parents living vicariously through their
kids. But there is this kind of journey from,
you know, the beautiful game or the beautiful
art like surfing to the pressure from competition.
With surfing specifically, how was that humility
lost? How was that tapping into just being one
with the board kind of diluted by some of this
pressure from competition now? Well, it's just,
you have to, you're not being led. You are. you're
trying to force the wave and you're trying to
like not surfing is like, it's such a, it keeps
you so present. It's, you know, like I said,
the only thing I can relate to is like snowboarding
or like jujitsu where like you really have to
be in that moment. And surfing is if you're like,
Oh, I need to get three hits, you know, three
snaps to get the score I need to make this heat
instead of just like, you know what? The waves
actually give me a nice face. I'm going to do
a big, nice cutback. Or I'm going to, like, stall
for a little bit to get a nice big wrap around.
Or, oh, that's a nice section I'm going to do
with air instead of just, like, no, I've got
to hit three big top turns, a big roundhouse
cutback, and then I've got to do a big air 360
at the end to, you know, really solidify it.
Instead of just, like, or, you know, she's even
riding funner equipment. You know, surfboards
are, like, you can get them all different kinds,
twin fins, thrusters, quads, big, small, wide,
fat, and it's, like, it makes, oh my god that
made that wave so much more fun instead of just
like oh i need my five nine high performance
porsche model thruster with the you know the
you know not thousand dollar board with the 200
fins and the wax has to be perfect and it's it's
not fun after a while like because at the end
of the day nobody cares in the sense like you
know like people are watching but at the end
of the day nobody nobody knows who won the 1999
sunset contest I don't remember, and I love surfing.
You know what I mean? So it's like you're just
enjoying that moment of what this wave, this
energy is coming towards you. And you make it
to where you try to force it instead of just
be with it. You've lost the point. And I've seen
that through my son because being a North Shore
dad is probably the most high -pressure thing.
It's like the ultimate soccer dad. Cause like
your son needs to be surfing pipe by the time
he's six years old. Oh, he's not surfing pipe.
Oh, I don't know about that. You know what I
mean? So it's, you're trying to play this fine
line where you have to give him a little bit
of shove, but not do it to where like he hates
it. You know, you've been around enough kids
and parent and soccer parents to where it's like,
the kid hates it. He doesn't want to be there.
And it's like, I don't, I want my son to do what
my dad did to me and just show me the love of
surfing. Or just be in the ocean. Like my son
loves body surfing. Like yesterday he was on
a wave storm, which is like a longboard. And
then the day before that he was on the shortboard.
Like I just want him in the water playing around.
He was on a boogie board last night when we went
to white man. Like he's just so psyched to be
in the water. And all I want him to do is just
be, go on a surfer trip with me. I just want
him to surf with me, you know? Cause I think
he even thought I had the full, I was like a
little win as a father. I got the full, I'm not
you dad. comment one time we were surfing and
I was like because I was trying to get him you
know hey son pal over here hey scoot up on the
board scoot back and he got frustrated with me
and he said that line to me and I started laughing
I was like and I was like hey I don't want you
to be a pro surfer I don't I really don't if
you do cool but I just want to surf with you
son like this is just me and you bonding like
I just want to surf with you and it kind of like
I could see in his brain I think he was 10 at
the time he was like Oh, yeah, dude. Because
he sees all his other friends. Some are sponsored
already, and their dads are just, get back out
there. I want to see three more waves. And I
was like, dude, I want to give you this gift.
It's a beautiful gift to be able to surf and
survive in the ocean and body surf and boogie
board. I can give you any piece of equipment.
Boogie board, fins, no fins. A paddle board.
Stand up for it. And I want you to be able to
go out there and just have a blast, no matter
what the conditions are, 20 feet or ankle high.
And so, you know, it's hard to explain that to
a kid, but, like, that's my mission. It's like,
yeah, of course, we're all dads. You would love
to see your son up there on a podium winning.
But, like, if he's just amped on surfing and
he passes it on to my grandson or granddaughter,
I'm blessed. You know, I've done my job as far
as what my father has given me. And it's given
me the best life ever through surfing, through
the ocean. I think it's just that's what people
need to hear. I mean, like you said, if you end
up being that kind of unicorn, you're going to
find your way to the top anyway. The kid's just
going to be, you know, starting to win all these
tournaments. OK, we do need to bring in a coach.
OK, now he's, you know, he's thriving. The next
thing he's Kelly Slater. OK, that's the point
zero, whatever, one percent. But this whole rhetoric
of, you know, what's the term they use? participation
trophies it's like well that's what kids are
supposed to do they're supposed to play sports
they don't even need a trophy but they don't
need to be told that if they don't win everything
that they're a piece of shit that's not the message
like just let the kid play sport you know i think
this is something that we gotta re -find is yeah
there's a select group that are gonna go and
win the tournaments and that's great but everyone
else like i can't stand the whole bench warmer
thing like my son just joined a volleyball thing
last uh last summer And it was one of those club
tournaments. And he rode he and several other
kids rode the bench the entire time. And, you
know, I'm not deluded. My my son isn't the best
player on the team, but he sure as shit wasn't
the worst either. So and they were like, well,
you know, we want to make sure that we win. Like
that's missing the point. These kids just want
to play the sport of volleyball. And I guarantee
you they'd be happy to rotate everyone through.
So I think what you're saying, staying connected
to the love of the sport is so much more important
than air quotes winning something. No, I mean,
we did baseball for four seasons, which me and
my wife were not ball people. Like, you know
what I mean? Like, we're just martial art and
surfing people. But we're like, hey, it's a team
sport. He was into it. He wanted to do it. And
so. And they sucked. They, all of them. It's
like, there was one good kid and he would get
frustrated, but the rest of them were like, just,
you know, just horrible. And the best part of
my son would get in the car. This is when he
was like seven, eight, nine, maybe 10, 10. And
he would get in the car after he was like, well,
that was fun. You know, he was just such little
like chipper. And I was like, yeah, like that's
totally me and my wife would look at it. So like,
okay, yeah, you did great. So I'm like, and it
was. That was so cool for him to be like that.
And then he even chose Jiu -Jitsu on his own.
Because once you get to 10, it goes up. Has your
kids done baseball yet? No, we've never gone
into baseball, actually. Okay, so they go coach
pitch, which is the coaches kind of lofting the
ball at him. They get the hit. It's pretty awesome.
And then they go player pitch. Player pitch is
no joke. So you got – and he was getting into
10. I think 10 went up to 12 years old. And all
of a sudden these kids, the other team, is pitching
this ball as fast as they can with no accuracy.
So kids were just taking balls to the, like,
leg, the head. And my son took a ball to the
thigh and just dropped him. And he, you know,
he finished the season. And I remember at the
little graduation and barbecue thing, and I was
like, so, you know, am I signing you up? And
he was like, I think I'm going to take a break.
I think I'm going to do jiu -jitsu. You know
what I mean? But it was his own choice. But,
like, even jujitsu, like, some of his teammates
are, you know, we had a Naga, which is, like,
a local tournament over here last weekend. And
my son's like, well, should I do it? And I'm
like, no, not yet, man. Like, just have fun with
it. Because I don't want you going in there and
getting more hard and then you hate it and you're
crying. And I think going back to the not showing
the importance of winning and losing is I still
compete. I do, like, submission. Jiu -jitsu.
I'm too old for MMA. I've done that dance. It's
not enough money in it. But submission, like,
jiu -jitsu is fun because it's kind of like MMA.
I get an opponent. It's up on the stage. There's
lights. It's a promotion. And so I still do that
because I've still got the itch to compete. But
I've lost some and I've won some while my son
is sitting there watching. And he got frustrated
on something. I forget what it was. Maybe like
a year ago. And I was like, hey, do you remember
when I lost that match in front of everybody?
Spotlights on me. Your mom, you, you know, my
whole team, tables, people, everyone. Did I cry?
Did I whine? Did I bitch? Did I do all these
things? He was like, no. I'm like, it doesn't
matter, son. Like, you go out there and give
your best. And, you know, I don't care if you
win or lose. Like, you know what I mean? If you
go out there and just perform well and you make
it an entertaining match, whatever it be, entertaining
game. dude you're good because like yeah this
i don't i just want you to fall in love with
all these whatever you get into and not put so
much pressure on yourself now if it's you're
19 and it's a state championship okay we got
to crank up that that dob a little bit more but
when you're 10 or 12 just be a kid dude you get
your whole rest of your life to be stressed out
and pressured like just have fun with it i think
that's what we get lost with kids like we want
them to especially nowadays with instagram how
many videos you see of like a kid shadow boxing
is seven or six they're like oh look at this
phenom are you surfing pipeline at six years
old wherever it is i know it's exaggeration but
like just let the kid be a kid dude and especially
now i've been in the north shore community for
so long and i've seen these kids go up like kona
like kona wasn't that great you know what i mean
he wasn't that great of a surfer and then all
of a sudden he hit like 15 16 18 all of a sudden
like that manhood that adult strength that mental
came in and like kids can get so fast are so
good so fast from 14 15 pretty much 16 from 16
to 20 they can accelerate to a pro level insane
amount you know what i mean it's but people like
they want their nine -year -old to be a world
champion right it's like just let them enjoy
that little 10 years of being a kid you know
what i mean it's it's we get robbed of that and
then all of a sudden now you're and you've got
a girlfriend, and it just goes on from there.
That reminds me, I did a tournament at my son's
jiu -jitsu school years ago, and it was funny
because it was supposed to be a no -gi bracket
that I was in, but they had no one else doing
no -gi, so they put a gi on me and I was lost.
But he got second and I got second. So I got
to watch him win one and lose one. And he got
to watch me win one losing. It was three, three
people in each of our brackets. And it was beautiful
because it also debunks that my dad is Superman,
you know, that they have when they're younger
and be like, no, no, it's okay. Like you said,
the lesson of him watching me lose. And like
you said, trying to be a good sportsman and congratulation
to the person that beat you. That is such a powerful
lesson versus, oh yeah, my dad always wins gold
because that's. Not teaching them anything then.
You're, again, more on a pedestal then. So being
humble enough to say, yeah, I lost. The guy was
better than me. You lost. The kid was better
than you. Let's brush ourselves off and get back
to it. That was one of the most powerful moments
I've had with my son to date. That's epic. That's
a great story. That's a cool moment. And you
showed him. You won't know it now. How old is
your son now? He's now almost 18. Yeah. So he'll
remember that. He'll remember how that was such
a cool moment. he'll take losses so much easier.
And maybe, you know, I fire him up instead of
like, some people take a loss and they're just
done. They're mentally depressed and everything.
Instead of being like, well, okay, on to the
next. What's the next tournament? Yeah. Okay,
I gotta adjust that little motion. You know,
if you can get them, their mindset and that,
that's where you get the world champions. Instead
of the ones that are just like, throwing their
board or, you know, stomping off the mat. Like,
you don't want that, kids. Because that's not,
that's going to translate into when your marriage
gets hard or when your job gets hard or, I lost
my job and I can't pay rent or whatever it is.
Oh, I give up. It's like, you don't want that,
you know? No, absolutely. He was about eight
when I competed with him and he did several tournaments
after that and lost every single one of them.
And it was heartbreaking to watch as a dad. He
just didn't have that kind of aggression in him
at that point. But again, I watched him deal
with loss several, several times. And he got
into track and cross country and track. He actually
did really well, ran a sub five minute mile.
So that mental toughness from those losses then
carried over to a completely different sport.
Yeah, I mean, you can go back and look at what
Michael Jordan lost. Everything got kicked off
of the Fire City team. Like there's so many,
the rare ones of where somebody always wins,
like the John Joneses are like the... 0 .0000001
% of like the population. Everybody loses. Nobody's
Superman. And it's just, but how do you pull
the Rocky and keep getting up and go put your
mouthpiece back in and go, okay, let's do it
again. Or just smile. I'm still here. I got four
limbs. You know, my girlfriend loves, my boyfriend
loves, my kid loves me. I still looking at the
sky. Like you kind of have that little hippie
ish mindset. Like you can take on the world.
Nothing's going to bother you. Because you've
mentally got that grit. If you have that grit
to go, okay, I'll bite my teeth, go, oh, I lost,
doesn't matter. I'm going to keep coming forward.
You know what I mean? I think that's a lost art
in most kids because they'll get like, well,
it's okay. You know, it's, oh, you don't need
to do it. You can quit. You can, you know, and
it's like, no, no, no. Like, finish the game
and let's do this because it's going to help
you down the road. At least I think. It helped
me for sure because I lost so many surfing teats.
So many surfing meets. And I was like, well,
I'll go try again. I'll go try again, you know?
Absolutely. Well, you mentioned about your dad
doing Taekwondo, which actually was my first
main martial arts I competed with when I was
younger. Walk me through your martial arts journey,
how you found MMA, and then the beginning of
jiu -jitsu especially. It's kind of fun. It's
one of those ones, don't judge a book by its
cover. You know, the kid in high school that
was super quiet and dorky. Like, my dad tried
to get me in Taekwondo when I was 11, 10, 11.
Hated it. I think I got, like, what's the belt
after white? Is it, like, orange? Orange, I think
it was. Yeah. One belt. I did one little thing.
Hated it. Just wanted to surf, surf, surf, surf,
surf. And then... And dad kind of backed off,
like, okay, you don't have to do it. Just surf,
you know, as long as you're in the water, as
long as you're outside. You know, he's like me.
As long as you're outside, you can do whatever
you want. I don't care what it is. Just be outside.
So I surfed, moved to the North Shore. I think
I was 20. So I would surf all day, work all day.
Didn't have a girlfriend, living in a shoebox
at Sunset Point, living the dream, right? It
was 500 bucks. You know, it was literally like
a room and like a bathroom. But I was stoked.
I could literally walk out to Sunset Point. So
I was living the dream. But at night, I swear
I probably have adult ADHD. Because I'm one of
those people that just, I need to do stuff. Like,
I'm just active. I want to live life to its fullest.
So I always want to do stuff. But I caught myself
at home that wasn't out, you know, chasing girls
or going to hang out with the boys. I would stay
at home and drink. Not much. I like drunk, you
know, two course lights. And I just remember
being like, there's got to be something more.
There's got to be something I can do at night.
There was an old rec center down the road from
me that they were doing jiu -jitsu at. And one
of my coworkers was like a purple belt, big husky
guy. And he kept on telling me, hey, you got
to try jiu -jitsu. And I just verbatim remember,
I was like, that shit's gay, dude. I'm not going
to roll around. The gayest thing in the world,
dude. Like, nah, I'm not going to do that. And
I remember he tried everything. He's like, dude,
there's girls there. You get to roll around with
girls? Like, he was trying to sell me. And I
was like, eh. I remember a whole year, I was
just like, no, I'm not it. I don't know. And
it was six days after my 20th birthday. I was
like, you know what? All right, I'm going to
do it. And my dad was all excited. He sent me
this old karate gi. I think everybody that starts
jiu -jitsu shows up in a karate gi. I always
do. It was super rough. It was like sandpaper.
It ripped my knees up. And I remember that first
day, first night, it was like learning how to
surf all over again. My first wave I ever stood
up on. oh my God, this is the best thing ever.
And I remember couldn't even move. Like, you
know, that first one, you're all just super tense
and every muscle sore. And I went home and I
called my mom. I was like, I think I found my
calm. I think I'm gay. Yeah. Yeah. Just so stoked.
And, and I literally trained twice a day from
then on. Literally went to two different gyms
because one, the rec center was only Monday.
wednesday fridays and i was like why anymore
so i went found another gym on thursday friday
literally got so obsessed like watched every
usc video i literally skipped out on a couple
dates because it was nogi night i gotta go to
nogi night sorry i can't i can't like you idiot
you missed out on a date to go to jitsu but i
was just so infatuated with it and just obsessed
obsessed you know six months later got my blue
belt just competed, just had an amazing experience
with it. And then my dad, of course, was a Taekwondo
guy. So he's a striking, he's a stand -up guy.
So there was always that little like, well, you
got to learn some stand -up, son. You got to
learn some stand -up. And I was like, no, but
jiu -jitsu, you don't need to. You find the range,
you close the distance, you take him down. He's
like, yeah, but you got to be more well -rounded.
Fine. So the one jiu -jitsu school I was going
to had a Muay Thai class. Okay, I'll do that.
So that was just another obsession of mine. I
got into that. Did that, did that. All of a sudden,
oh, I went to – one of my coaches, like, he just
got back from Thailand. And I thought going to
Thailand was like this mystical thing that you
can never accomplish. And he's like, no, you
can totally do it. I'll give you, like, you know,
how to take a taxi, where to stay, where to train.
And one of my co -workers was actually going
down there forever. So he said, hey, you want
to come with me? And I'll show you the ropes
so you don't get robbed. You don't get taken.
You know, Thailand's very safe. You know, it's
a Buddhist country, but you still get taken advantage
of. Took me down there. My first gym I went into,
luckily, was Golden Glory, which was like, do
you remember Golden Glory, like the All -Star
Overeem days? I recognize, yeah, his name. Okay,
so this was like 2009, 10. uh k1 was kickboxing
was like exploded japan all -star over he was
ubering you know just juiced out of his mind
and the first time i walked into was this gym
called golden glory which was the biggest kickboxing
gym in europe they're from uh deutschland you
know netherlands and so i walked in and so i
had these mma guys that were in the ufc i had
high level kick one kickboxers and i had the
ties i just walked into like the heaven i mean
i Did that. I came back. My coach was like, hey,
you want to do your first Muay Thai fight? Yeah,
sure. Did that one. Did another one. And I was
like, you know, I'm a grappler first. Probably
should, like, maybe try to use that jiu -jitsu
a little bit. And so I signed up for a pancreation
fight. That was the worst idea in the world because
I didn't know the class. I don't know how fighting
is in the rest of the United States, but Hawaii,
it's like they'll tell you one thing, and then
you show up the day of the fight, and it's a
whole other thing. So it was like pancreation
is supposed to be like boss rooting style, like
puffy gloves, shin guards. It's striking, but
once it goes to the ground, there's no striking,
which as a grappler totally doesn't help because
you can't use strikes to soften up the guy to
open up a choke or anything. So I was like, okay,
cool, but it's big gloves and shin guards. Okay,
yeah, I'll take the fight. Who's the guy? Oh,
he's some guy from Japan. Okay, yeah, I'll take
the fight. Go there, show up. I show up, weigh
in. day of the fight, they give me MMA gloves,
like four -ounce MMA gloves. I'm like, what are
these? He's like, these are your gloves. I'm
like, where's the shin guards? He's like, oh,
yeah, we changed the rules. It's still pancreation,
but it's MMA. So no shin guards, MMA gloves,
but no strikes on the ground still. Okay. Had
no idea who my opponent was, Japanese guy. Go
in the fight. Turns out the guy's a pro boxer
from Japan. So, breaks my nose in the first two
seconds. Because I never, he, when we squared
off at the weigh -ins, he stood regular. So,
I'm like, okay. Never saw any tape of him or
anything. This was before we watched tape. And
so, when he gets there, he turns southpaw. I
don't know how to fight a southpaw. I haven't
fought in my first fight. So, I don't have a
coach that's like, hey, don't walk towards your
right. You're going to walk right into a straight
cross. Guess what I did in the first two seconds?
Walked straight into a right cross. Broke my
nose. Blood all over the ring, girls. whatever.
I kept on taking him down, but I couldn't use
strikes. But as soon as we get up, he would throw
10 punches. I'd throw one. Cause he was just
so, and I'd be like, you know, like, and that
was it. And it was just, I actually won the fight,
you know, just through grit. Guys kept coming
forward, taking them down. And all of a sudden
I was like, I, it was an entertaining fight.
So I, all of a sudden the day after I got calls
from all these local promoters, like, Hey, we
got in that fight. Like, three months later,
I was fighting for a belt in Kauai. It just escalated
so quickly to where I was fighting for Pro Elite,
which was Strikeforce at the time, at the Blaisdell
against Ray Cooper, who, you know, he's Ray Cooper,
the big fucking guy that, like, won a million
dollars. He won PFL twice. He's a good friend
of mine. But, like, all of a sudden, I was standing
across the cage from him, like, in the Blaisdell.
I'm like, wait, how did I get here? Because,
you know, over mine, if you would have met me
at 14, skinny, 125 pounds, huge Rob Machado Afro,
who's like my idol surfing, didn't get in one
fight. I got bullied a lot because I was a white
kid in Hawaii. So I got punched a lot, but I
never threw a punch back. But you translate from
that guy at high school and elementary and intermediate
to where I was at 28. I think my last fight was
28. was just a journey in itself because you
never know. That dorky, skinny guy that doesn't
want any confrontation, just wants to be friends
with everybody, scared to death to talk to girls,
finding one of the baddest men on the planet
in the middle of the big Blaisdell Convention
Center in Honolulu. Crazy journey. And then after
that, Ray knocked me out. I had gnarly CTE after
that. And my wife was six months pregnant. I
was like... I was in a lifeguard for almost 10
years at that time. So I was like, yeah, okay,
you know. And I remember Brandon Vera, UFC fighter,
was like, wait, you have a job? I was like, yeah,
I have a job. He's like, you can't do this. You
can't. Because I wanted to go strike force. I
wanted to go UFC. That was my goal. Like, I wanted
to, just like surfing, I wanted to hit that top
goal. But I was going to, the difference between
surfing and this one was I was going to have
to make a big sacrifice. I was like, I have to
quit lifeguarding, probably move my family to
Vegas to get the real training, real training
partners, and give up an ocean lifestyle. You
know, even though I moved to California, still,
it's a change. And I was like, and the brain
kind of stuff kind of scared me to the point
where I was like, you know what? I'm good. You
know what I mean? And I still spar to this day.
You know, I still, you know, get in there and
help guys and just, I'm still there. But, like,
I was like, you know, I don't, As much as I love
MMA and I love fighting, I love surfing more,
and I think lifestyle -wise, raising my child
then to be in the ocean in Hawaii was worth it
more than my sacrifice to be a fighter in Vegas
or Florida. Because that's the hubs, Vegas, California,
Florida. If you want to be a pro fighter, you've
got to move there if you want to succeed. That's
a long -winded story of my martial art. Now my
wife is almost a brown belt. You know, as a yellow
belt. We trade all the time. That's my new journey
is just getting my wife her black belt and getting
my son to whatever he wants to be, you know.
Just a capable man that can protect himself,
you know. Once again, I don't like people just
like surfing. They're like, oh, do you want your
son to be a pro fighter? No. I mean, it's a rough,
rough. Surfing's rough. Fighting's really rough.
no money it's a long journey injury cte all that
stuff but i will train him in fighting in mma
in jujitsu in muay thai in wrestling because
i want him to walk around this world not a victim
that was my dad saying he's like i don't want
you to be a fighter but i don't want you to be
a victim and that's my thing with my son if he
becomes a ufc heavyweight champion hey that's
a great thing but i just don't want him to be
that guy that's scared because He doesn't know
how to protect himself. So that's my new MMA
journey, martial art journey. I love that phrase.
It's better to be a warrior in a garden than
a gardener in a war. And I think that's so true
because, I mean, even myself, I've never been
a competitive full contact fighter apart from
the WTF Taekwondo where you could knock him out
with your feet but you could only punch through
the stomach. That was about as high as I got
in the competition side and the full contact
side. but was a training partner for a lot of
people that ended up in the UFC. I trained at
Shootbox in L .A. for a little bit. Anthony Johnson
was one of the guys I used to spar with. So you
can still get good and be a weekend warrior and,
like you said, help raise other people up without
actually going all the way and being a competitor
and taking some of the damage that some of these
people do. Yeah. No, I mean, like I said, still.
I have a great little MMA gym that I train with
in Waipahu. And then even a bunch of us older
MMA guys, I think we're all 40. But the three
guys I train with have all been in the UFC. But
we sit there and put small gloves on, shin guards.
It's old man smart. It's real touch. But it's
good because we're not sitting there getting
TTE. It's stupid. We've all had a bunch of wars.
We don't need to do that. But we still keep our
skills sharp. Because it's, you know, heavy leg
kicks, heavy takedowns, heavy that stuff. But
the punches are controlled. But it's allowing
me and you to stay in the pocket. Where, you
know, I go to the Hawaii Elite, which is a great
gym. But you got a bunch of young boys there.
And it's, I walked out of there with a headache.
Where I'm like, I don't want to do that, man.
Because they're young. They're 20 and they see
me in some little stepping stone. Like, oh, I
can beat that black belt or whatever. And they
just come at me just 100%. And it's like. your
brain's a scary thing, man. Like you got to protect
that thing. It's just so, and 20, you're full
of piss and vinegar and you want to take over
the world. That's cool. But at my age, I'm like,
okay, I want to make, I want to be 60 and still
throwing the gloves on and sparring with my son
and some old guys at the UFC gym, you know, just
to kind of stay. Cause I love it. I actually
like genuinely love it. It's so fun. So addicting.
But now I'm looking more of like longevity -wise
to it. And still staying sharp because I still
got to protect my family. You know, I still got
to show my son that what a man is supposed to
do, protect your family. So it's like, and it's,
what martial arts has done has made me so much
more confident as a man and less. I probably
said this so many times in the story. It's like,
I never got into a fight, a street fight, after
the day, you know. After the first day I ever
started training. And it was only when I signed
the contract to actually go, I'm going to fight
you on June 7th. Before that, growing up as a
white kid in the 80s and 90s, you ask any local
white kid that grew up in Hawaii in those times,
it was brutal. Because we're the minority. Nowadays,
it's a lot different. My son won't really ever
see it. But in the 80s and 90s, especially on
the Big Island, it's predominantly local Hawaiian
and Japanese. So like I was the token white guy.
So it was a lot of bullying towards me because
I was the, you know, the colonizer. I was, you
know, like kids in third grade were telling me
so much that I was from California that I actually
thought I was from California. You know what
I mean? Because they were just like, well, you're
a white guy. You know, you should be from California.
And I remember going home like, dad, I'm from
California, right? And he's like, what? You know
what I mean? So it's, but. guys would call me
Holly or other discriminatory names, and I'd
be like, all right, we're fighting. Put my head
down and start swinging. But the day I started
training, it brought this, and I'm sure even
around the martial arts guys, the most badass
assassin, world champion, black belt, Muay Thai
world champions, nine times out of ten are the
nicest, most calm, cool guys you'll ever meet.
Like, just like, hey, brother, how are you? Good
to see you. Or the guy that... Been in the street
fights, never trained in his daily life. What,
bro? What? You like scrap? What, what, what?
You know what I mean? Like, they're trying to
overcompensate. Where martial arts, I've been,
you know, I've been in altercations since then,
but, like, they've never gone to a fist fight.
Because they either, I go, yeah, cool, man. Yeah,
I'm a bitch. Gotcha. Cool. And I just walk away.
Or martial arts, you know, you've seen it. It
actually makes people a little bit more, they
have, like, an energy to them. You know what
I mean? I'm not prey. I'm not prey. Because predators
want prey. They want the easy guys that's going
to back down and cower. If you see somebody walk
around with their shoulders back, they just kind
of have that chin up, that little bit of a, I
mean, of course, my ears probably don't help
show up either. But, like, I don't want to mess
with that guy. Because I'm going to go to the
hospital. I might win, but I'm probably going
to go to the hospital at some point. I've even
seen it with, like, my wife. Like, she tells
a story. She lived in New York for a couple years,
and she was the one female of all her friends
that never got robbed, never got stood up, like,
never got, you know, the knife or anything like
that. Because if you watch my wife, she missed
her calling. She would have been a badass MMA
fighter. We were just a little behind the time.
But she walks, and she can take care of herself
to the point where, like, you can tell, like,
I don't want to mess with that one. And it doesn't
matter. I'm a small guy. I'm 5 '7". It's a change.
i'm not a big six foot two guy but like i can
tell with martial arts it's brought me to the
point where i'm not cocky but i'm just like i
got this confidence in me like i'm not the one
but if you really want to go there all right
let's go man you know what i mean like it's gonna
end quickly so i think i want to translate that
to my son and young men that i introduced into
martial arts because it only makes them better
young and women confident They're not going to
try to pick a fight to prove themselves over
a girl, over a guy at a party or in a parking
lot trying to prove something. It's all it can
help, I think, personally. Have you ever seen
that in young people when they get martial arts?
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think the best example
of that is some of the most dangerous people
I know in the police world have been hands -on
less than any of their peers. Because when it
goes to detaining someone, people look at them
and go, yeah, I'm not going to try running from
that guy. And they don't have to do anything.
They're just in good shape. And a lot of them
are, you know, black belts in jujitsu or whatever
their background is. And they exude that confidence.
And then also I'm going to touch with now because
I'll probably get my ass kicked today when I
leave the house. But up until this point, even
the limited ability that I have, and I'm not
being overly humble. It's just true. I've never
been, like I said, a professional fighter or
anything, but just. Having that physicality,
especially when we get older, when you're a 51
year old dude that's still in shape, people look
at you a little bit more like, OK, well, you
know, what's he hiding? So, yeah, I think just
you can. It's it's such a good I forget the term
they use now. But, you know, it's such a good
deterrent for a lot of, like you said, opportunistic
violence when you simply carry yourself. And
because I've done this many times. you have the
humility your ego can take it they go no no no
i don't want any trouble you'd kick my ass you're
such a big strong man i'm just gonna walk away
i've done that before and then you walk away
and go god was it that's all i needed to say
was just stroke their ego a little bit and neither
of us got into a fight so i think that the the
ability coupled with the humility i think is
the the superpower oh it's totally a superpower
because it's just like and it And martial arts
has also given me, like, because in a fight,
like I said before, your first fight, you're
breathing hard. Your first even jiu -jitsu match,
you're holding on to the guy's geese for dear
life, and you can't hear your coach at all, you
know what I mean? And all of a sudden, boom,
times, you're like, wait, what happened to the
five -minute match? Translate, you go two years
down the road, you know, you get to another,
you know, you've done 30 jiu -jitsu matches.
Now you're calm. You can hear your coach, all
right? Push the knee aside, pass to the left.
You can hear it. You start doing it. You can
see the sweat on your opponent's, you know, head.
And the same thing with fighting. Like, my first
fight, don't remember it. I think I was walking.
I was telling the story. I was walking down the
stairs, you know, in the intro, crying, happy,
scared, angry, crying. You know, you're just
going through all these emotional adrenaline
dumps. Don't remember anything. Literally blacked
out. I won the fight, but blacked out. And then
four or five fights later, I could hear my wife.
My girlfriend at the time was screaming, you
know, hands up, Kyle, or whatever it was. And
so when it comes to like lifeguarding, you're
in such this high pressure moment, you know,
like I'm just, oh my God, this person's dying.
You know, what's wrong with them? You know, lifeguarding
is really unique compared to EMS or police, unless
those guys roll up on scene. Like the accident
happens in front of them. you know like the ms
they'll get a call from us hey we got a 50 year
old male uh condition five we're doing cpr right
now so they kind of get their frame of mind you
know okay we need to administer this drug do
this you know we gotta get the greenie out get
the where life parent is like you can be me you
can be sitting here in the tower talking with
each other blah blah blah blah then boom somebody
cracks their head of pipe your whole world just
got turned upside down now you've got to bring
this person to shore okay Are they, you know,
is it a head injury? Is it this? Is it that?
Is it a broken back? Is it a possible broken
femur? Okay, how are we going to administrate
them? How are we going to, you know, oxygen?
Are we doing AED? Is EMS rolling? Hey, we need
to move them up. We're about to get hit by a
wave. Get them on the back. You know, all these
little things where if you panic and you're not
hearing anybody, you're not working well as a
team, somebody could die, let alone you getting
knocked out or losing a jiu -jitsu match. somebody
could die and it's on you in a sense. So, martial
arts, especially fighting, MMA has made me a
better lifeguard 100 % because I'm, you know,
nothing's more terrifying than having another
grown man that's capable and hard trying to beat
the hell out of you and you trying to win and
use strategy and ring craft and timing and range
to compare to go lifeguard to where, what do
you do? Okay, the person's dead, go. Bring him
to the water. What are you going to do? And it's
your friend. I'll sprinkle that on top of you.
You know the person. Oh, and their whole family's
around you screaming, yelling at you to do something.
Go. Try to be calm. It's gnarly. And I thank
God for martial arts who gave me that extra because
it made me a better lifeguard for sure. And I
think I've helped save people's lives through
that. Talk to me about... the fitness standards
and the requalification that you are required
to do in your department as a lifeguard? So we
have an annual physical, and it's just a run,
swim, run, run, swim, run. Oh, sorry, run 100
yards, 100 meters. No, sorry, 1 ,000 yards, 1
,000 yards swim under a certain time. And then
you have a paddleboard, down, back, down, back
under a certain time. And then you have like
a full -on sprint, swim, sprint. You pass that.
Pretty much good for the year. You do, you know,
we have a two day refresher, go through medical
situations, you know, sexual harassment, you
know, that's, there's a whole book side to it.
And then second day is more like scenario. We'll
go out in the field and we'll go like, okay,
where's your waves? Oh, North Shore has waves.
We'll go to North Shore. Okay. Go have, you know,
we have fun with it. That's the cool of it. The
guys that training is we'll be practicing. Okay.
Two of you on the rescue board. Let's go out
to Mackie Chun's. And we'll lose the board, and,
you know, and you try to practice rescue guys,
or we'll go to Sandy's, and we'll do fins and
tube rescues, or we'll go to Macaw. So it's fun,
and it's like, dude, you're getting paid to do
this. Some guys hate it. I don't know why. I'm
like, this is fun. As far as the annual performance
test that you have to pass, I'm kind of old school
in a way where I think you should be able to
do that every day. I know a lot of guys, unless
you're like 65, then I can give you a little
bit of pass. But if you're anywhere under 50,
I think he should be able to meet you and go
do it right now. 100%. Because I don't want to
be that person that has a heart attack or I can't
swim out through shore break to rescue somebody.
Especially on the North Shore. If you want to
be a North Shore lifeguard, everybody wants that
title. It's a very pretty title. Everybody wants
it nowadays. You better be a black belt, dude.
I don't want no blue belt. I want a black belt
out. I want a brown and black belt out here that's
going to keep on point. I think we're the only
agency that actually has a performance test annually.
I don't think fire does. I don't think police
does. I don't know what EMS does. But we're also
the few agencies where you're given a workout
every day. Every day you go to work, you are
guaranteed a workout. Like, you can go surfing.
You can go working. You can go lift weights.
You can run. You can swim. You can dive. You
can paddleboard. You can do all these things.
The city is paying you to stay on top. So I kind
of, out of respect to the job, always want to
be, you know, besides my own lifestyle, you know,
I want to be, like I said, fighting when I'm
60 and 70. I want to be rolling around with my
grandson or granddaughter. Like, I want to be
doing that. I want to be surfing until I drop
dead, you know, at 90. So, but with lifeguarding,
I don't want to ever miss a step because I'm
Smith. sitting back on my phone and just not
working out and sleeping on my breaks. Like,
I think you're disrespecting the job. And I think
you're disrespecting your coworkers on that.
So it does sound strenuous, but you should be
able, I think if you especially want to work
in North shore, you should be able to do that.
Now let's go stretch a little bit, but let's
go. So, but otherwise, yeah, it's kind of on
you to stay active and stay fit. See, this is
what's so interesting. I had Jason Bitzer on.
I've had some other motion lifeguards on. And
it reminded me of when I was guarding. I can't
remember if the Red Cross was every year or two
years, but I would do it every year on summer
camps there in the open water and lakes. And
then, like I said, the pool lifeguarding, I think
that might have been two years. But regardless,
within 24 months, if you don't pass those tests,
you're not a lifeguard. It's that simple. Yeah.
And then you go into fire and EMS. And there
is no standard. You might be put through the
crucible in the academy. But after that, there's
not even not a standard, but there are administrations
or unions that will fight there being a fitness
standard. And I just never understood that because
unlike you where, you know, when you're guarding
on a lake or on a beach, you know, you get your
one hour break. I'm going to go for a swim. I'm
going to swim to the buoy and back, whatever
it is. Immediately, you have the ability to do
that. We do go from mundane, someone rolled an
ankle, now we've got a tummy ache. Now it's a
28 -story building and there's a fire on the
top floor and the elevators are out. So it can
go from zero to 100. And I just don't understand
how we've allowed the profession to fight the
very thing that not only allows us to perform
at a high level, but also forges longevity because
we lose so many first responders to heart disease
and other elements of obesity. Yeah, I mean,
was it called Police Post? There's somebody on
Instagram I follow. He's really about just, come
on, guys, you got to stay fit. Like, you can't,
like, you know, show, especially police, like,
man, you got to be on top of your game. You're
actually going to be physical with somebody.
You know, my job is I'm going to be physical
with somebody because I got to lift their dead
body or lifeless body or even if they're alive
through the most hazardous conditions up soft
sand and might have to do that multiple times
a day. You know what I mean? Like some days I
think my record was like, well, I'm at bay on
this crazy swell. We had like 18 rescues. It
was just, you know, there was a contest. There
was a bi -surf contest. And it was like, I remember
coming out of the heat and running down and seeing
my partners jumping in the water. Cause like
this little rip just sent out five people at
one time. And it was just, you know, it was nonstop.
So like, I should be able to come out, sprint
down the beach, sprint down, grab somebody. and
not be out of breath and freaking out and bring
them in be able to dry off boom do it again like
i don't know i think i i don't see how that's
a problem i think like if you are in love with
the lifestyle it's a lifestyle lifeguard you're
not going to get rich you know most first responders
you know like when you talk to a fireman they
don't ever say oh i'm making so much money what's
their first like thing it's you know what's the
perk of a fireman days off right it's always
like oh i got you know i get three days off in
a row lifeguard is like dude i get to be in the
water all day yeah i make you know i barely make
enough to pay rent but i'm living this lifestyle
that most people work their whole year long to
take their two week their 21 day vacation to
come here you're living every day they're sitting
there working making all this money to save up
to come live your lifestyle you do keep that
in your mind like Everybody has their choice.
Everybody wants to say, oh, the Bugatti or a
big house. My every day is worth $10 million.
You know what I mean? I live a million -dollar
lifestyle. I just don't have a million dollars.
But ask me when I'm 90 on my deathbed if I didn't
make the right choice, and I'm pretty sure I
think I'll still be like, dude, I lived a great
life. I lived more than most men have ever do.
So I don't know how you could give up when you're
given an opportunity to stay fit. to do something
most people wait to the weekend to do, to stay
fit. Why can't you do that? So it bothers my
mind. Some guys don't like my attitude when I
come to that, but I'm like, you can't go work
out or swim. You're in a 10 -hour shift. We work
four 10s. 10 -hour shift. You can't tell me one
to two of those hours you can't go lift some
weights, swim, surf. I think you need a new job.
Not to be mean, but like you need to go work
for Parks and Recs or something. I don't know.
Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me. I agree. It
was interesting listening to Kona. They work
72 hours a week. A lot of our firefighters work
56. So there's this myth that they have all this
time off. And actually on paper, if you look
at it, they don't. They work crazy hours. That,
you know, I'm trying to kind of bring the 42
hour work week to the fire service. So therefore
they will have the rest and recovery. But then
at the same time, simultaneously put fitness
standards in where they should have been the
whole time. Because I've always said it's very
simple. Lives depend on you, whether it's your
own, your partners, you know, the ability to
go home to your family or the people that we
serve. So it should never have been without fitness
standards. But if we are going to. fix the things
that are killing first responders, which a big
part of it is the shift work, you know, and get
them where they have more rest and recovery,
we should simultaneously demand for them to be
held at a high standard. And just as you said,
that will then reveal that not everyone that's
wearing a uniform should be. And, you know, I'm
disliked probably from that, but I don't care.
You know, if my child died because you tapped
out on the fifth floor of a building, it's too
late. My kid's dead. But we can prevent that
by putting in standards and holding standards.
And just like, you know, your swim test, it doesn't
matter if you're 18 or 56. You either can or
you can't. It's the same with my profession.
You put on your gear to carry the equipment that
we need. You either can or you can't. There's
no lowering for ages. I think that part is ridiculous.
No, not at all. I mean, that's the profession
you chose. You signed up for it. It's not like
we drafted you into being a lifeguard or a fireman.
Like, you signed up for it. You did it. Just
like if you were a stock trader and you're not
bringing those commissions in, I'm sorry, you're
fired. You know what I mean? Which hard do you
want? Mentally hard, not bringing commissions,
or staying fit, surfing and swimming and running
and eating right and getting your sleep and your
stress relief and all that stuff? I don't know.
I'm not a mental guy. Not in that department,
but I'm a physical guy, so shoot, sign me up.
I'm doing it. But I like it, so maybe I'm a little
different. Absolutely. Well, I want to talk about
foundation training, but just before we do, when
you reflect back now on the last two decades,
what was some of the calls that you would term
career calls that you had? Some of the most memorable
saves? As far as the lifeguards? Yeah. I mean,
there's just been so many crazy scenarios and
rescues and like... To be able to save somebody,
I mean, there's not like one particular one.
I've been involved in a lot of head injuries
at Pipeline, and going back to it, a lot of them
were my friends. And so to be able to be there
on a friend's worst day and be the face that
they see or the calm voice or the help, it's
worth its more weight in gold, honestly. It's
crazy. Like, I like being the black cat. I call
people, like, black cats. Like, because I know
some lifeguards, they go years, nothing. Maybe
a stubbed toe, a bee sting. And then there's
guys that get every CPR case. They get every
head injury. They get every drowning. And I was
one of those guys, which I kind of like because
I like being in the action, A. And, B, I feel
like I'm a good, you know, this is probably the
only time you ever hear me be cocky is, like,
I think I'm a good lifeguard. I think I'm built
for the job. I'm present in the moment. generally
do love helping people i keep myself physically
fit so it's like i'm i know i'm an asset to the
team to the seal team when we are working on
somebody so like you know when we have people
like dusty pain several years got hurt paul christian
pipeline more recently my friend uh mckay mcnamara
you know like he almost died he was dead when
we pulled him up like he was dead and to see
him a couple days later at his house and give
him a hug is just the most rewarding thing ever
you know what i mean and that's just people i
know just Just even the little ones of, like,
I remember this one girl dislocated her elbow,
which I didn't think it was even possible. It
might have been a short break. And I remember
helping her and keeping her calm until EMS and,
like, having her all slinged up. She came back,
like, two weeks later and, like, you know, took
a picture of me. She was, like, 10. No, maybe
11 at the time. You know, she was from Colorado.
Guess what? She found me on Instagram, like,
five years ago. And she's 22. And, like, you
know, she still remembers it. Thank you so much,
you know, and just even junior guards. That's
been the most rewarding thing to me is I've been
doing it. This will be my 19th year as a junior
guard instructor being part of the program. So
I got kids that I met that are 11 that are now,
what, I can't even do the math, 40, you know
what, 30, 31, 30? That's full. But they'll come
up to me and be like, hey, Uncle Kyle, I'm still
Uncle Kyle. That was the best week I ever had.
Oh, I, I helped, you know, I got caught in a
rip the other day and I, you know, I used that
training you taught me, you know what I mean?
So to have these, you know, that's 500 kids every
summer. Like I can't even do the math of how
many kids that I don't think I interacted with
and like it made a difference, but I did for
them to come and some of them became lifeguards,
which is pretty awesome. But just all walks of
life, kids that are now grown adults. that come
up to me remember me from a week -long session
10 years ago and still i'm uncle kyle and that
was the best thing that's really rewarding to
me you know i think the junior guard program
and helping those kids and being part of their
uh lives and then helping my friends like makai
and those guys survive and live and just anybody
i've helped in this community that's the most
rewarding thing to me it's just i've given back
to a community that's given so much to me and
surf community the kids of this whole island.
I'm a happy man. I'm blessed to be able to do
that. So that's my wins. Beautiful, beautiful.
Let's expand on the junior lifeguard program
a little bit. A lot of the people I've had on
the show, a lot of us, you know, had rough upbringings
and more often than not, there was a mentor and
it could be a female history teacher. It could
be a junior lifeguard instructor, but there was.
Someone or a handful of people that steered them
into that right direction. And even with the
recruitment crisis that we have in the first
responder professions at the moment, where I
see you can affect recruitment, you can even
affect diversity because you're inviting people
to come and reach that bar and giving them the
training. I think mentorship is one of the least
discussed, but most important elements of. Helping
your community and raising young people up and
setting them on a path to actually thrive rather
than maybe spiral downwards. So what are some
of the success stories when it comes to the Junior
Lifeguard Program? And what are you seeing overall
as far as the impact that's having on your community?
Oh, I mean, it's just it's literally changing
trajectory of lives. I mean, I think drowning
is the number one death in Hawaii as far as young
youth. Which is crazy. Number one debt is drowning.
We live on an island. We're Polynesian people,
Japanese, you know, we're water people in a sense.
So that means kids, you know, in the central
part of Oahu, you know, Waipio, Waipahu, Pearl
City, have a beach. These kids are, they live
on an island, yet they're not sharp swimmers.
Or they don't have ocean knowledge of like, maybe
I shouldn't go in the water at Waimea because
it's eight to ten feet. And, you know, I just
I'm not capable or they do find themselves in
trouble. They don't know what to do. They're
getting sucked out of a rip. They don't know
to go, you know, inside of it. They panic and
start swimming back this way. So it's there's
one story when it was these two brothers. And
if anybody knows Oahu, they're from like the
Kahala side of the island, which is like kind
of inland. But, you know, it's more of the richer
area, just, you know, more mall people. I might
give hell for that, but just they're not ocean
people in the sense. And the mom drove them up
every day. There was two. There was a younger
brother that was in the younger program, and
there was a brother in the older one. And they
signed up the younger one first. He was kind
of out of shape, a little chubby. Parents were
full Japanese, so they weren't like that first
generation. They just weren't water people. And
she's like, I just want my son to be capable.
And he's real quiet. That Monday, he was the
last one on the run, last one on the swim. But
by Friday, oh, my God, that kid made friends.
He was in the middle of the pack. I'm not saying
it's like a Disney movie where he was winning
it, but he was in the middle of the pack. And
then he inspired his older brother to sign up
for the Eukai program. So we have an 8 - to 11
-year -old program at Waimea. That's the first
month of June. And then we take a break, and
then we go four weeks of the older kids, which
is 12 to 17. So we got a big demographic. So
the brother, I think, was 15, 14, 15, whatever.
But his younger brother inspired him, so he did
the older one. And the younger one even jumped
in a couple run swims because they were so inspired.
The mom was just, like, in tears when I talked
to her on the Friday, like, oh, my God, you changed
it. That same, the older son, never surfed, never
swam, like, just guess what now? He's a surf
instructor. He's all about surfing. Like, I guarantee
you'll probably become a lifeguard. Like, his
trajectory went from, like, you know, not to
be mean, but, like, working at the mall at GameStop
to where, like, he got shown this love of ocean
by just a one -week program to where now he's
a surfing instructor in the ocean surfing all
day long and just happy. He's lost, like, I saw
him last summer and he's, you know, lost some
weight. You look good. And I was like, oh, my
God, that's so. Just so cool to see that kind
of like that change. And I see it every week.
There's always one or two kids that first week,
that first Monday. And then by Friday, they're
just, oh, it's like a totally different kid.
They're just, they just walk differently. They
got a glow to them. I mean, there was one kid
last year where I had to go full David Goggins
on. Just like, he just, he wasn't fat or anything,
but he was just no. Ambition, no drive, no grit,
no nothing. And he, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,
was just pulling teeth. And I had to lie. The
kids would be way down with the run, swim, and
on to the next activity, and he'd still just
be there just paddling like this. And I'd be
right next to him, full David Goggins. You've
got this. Come on. That's one of the parents
called me. He's like, my God, Kyle, you're like
David Goggins to that poor kid. Guess what happened
Thursday? We have a thing called a burners where
we do swim. You come up, you do 10 pushups, 10
squats, 10 abs. And then you do like an RV crawl.
You do it again. It's kind of like a punishment
when the kids are messing around, but they liked
it. He courses the last one. And then we, uh,
I swim with him. He's swimming a little bit better,
a little bit less complaining. Cause before he
was his doggy pal. He's actually put his head
down and we get up to the sand and he's like,
will you do abs with me? Just that little comment
before it was like, you know, you do push up.
You know, even make the noise. I was just like,
oh, my God. He was like, well, do you want to
do abs with me? I was like, yeah, I'll do abs
with you. And he fully, you know, did the abs.
He's like, okay, it's push -ups time. So this
kid that was fully, you know, I didn't meet his
parents or anything like that, but he had fully
given up on himself. I can't do it. I won't do
it. I don't want to do it. To where, like, just
that little bit of an uncle status. In Hawaii,
it's all about uncles and aunties. And I gave
him that uncle love in the sense of, like, I
got you. I'm here with you. we can do it. I'm
going to give you that little, that little push
you need. And he changed. And it was like Thursday
was just like this whole new kid. And, and it
works for the females too. Like my wife, she
got into the junior guards and has been an inspiration
for the females. Cause most of us is all male
instructors. Cause it's all lifeguards that instruct,
but we have a huge demographic of young females
from eight to 17. So my wife, you know, who's
a bad -ass athlete. In shape, ripped, everything.
Guess who she's inspiring? All these little eight
-year -old girls because she's Auntie. Oh, I
love you. Oh, Auntie, do you like my new bathing
suit? All right, let's do the run -swim. And
she'll run with all the girls, and then they
all flock around here. So, like, she's showing
these young girls, which translates back to what
we were talking about, you know, Instagram and
all that stuff. She's showing what a female should
look like. Strong, fit. capable not just skinny
and look at my my tits and ass and that's all
I'm good for like showing her like I can be beauty
and strength and bronze about it so it's been
so cool last couple years after COVID because
we took a break during COVID obviously the world
did and then she got really involved in restarting
it up and she's been such an inspiration to the
girls like I've been doing it for so long I know
I'm kind of inspiring these young men and women
But let's get a female in there that's strong
and beautiful and can do all these things and
inspire them. It's like, oh, my God, I'm excited
to see what this generation turns into on the
North Shore as far as these kids. That's a long
-winded story. That's pretty awesome. That's
great, though. And I think this is the thing
is when kids see themselves in someone who's
doing it. I've got a friend, Steve -O Michelle,
who's first generation after his mother moved
them here from Haiti, lived in. arguably one
of the worst areas of Orlando in absolute poverty,
became a firefighter. Actually, he got a scholarship
as a football player, then became a firefighter
and then worked back in his neighborhood. So
these young kids saw him as a firefighter. And
I think it's the same, you know, with the women
and any other group that feels underrepresented.
But it's also that's why it's important to be
in shape. If you're going to be that figure that
everyone's looking at. that you need to make
sure that you walk the walk as well and truly
inspire these young people. Not, for example,
say, well, they lowered the bar for me, so you
can come in now. That's not the message we want.
You rose to the bar, which is admirable, and
now you inspire young people to do the same.
Oh, kids are so – humans are an amazing species.
Like, we are so more capable than we put on.
And I see it with the kids because we first did
the 8 to 11 -year -olds. we treat the 8 to 11
year olds just the same as the older kids. The
older kids program has been around for a lot
longer than the younger kids. And so I was always
part of the older kids. So when I went to the
younger ones, I was like, well, you know, it
was kind of a fill out process, but I treat them
just the same. I pushed them just as hard. Of
course, a lot more hugs, 8 to 11 year olds, they
need a lot more hugs. They're a little more,
you know, sweet that way. But the parents were
like, I think the first couple of weeks, I, you
know, I heard the murmurs of like, Oh my God,
they're just being, they're just pushing our
kids so hard. They're so hard, you know what
I mean? But then the kids were doing it. The
kids were crushing it. They were coming up to
this level of, like, yeah, the kids. And all
we're doing is paddling around, using fins, running,
swimming, push -ups, you know, squats, like,
just using our body. Your kids are made to use
their body, and they're not. So they're totally
capable. And, you know, especially in Hawaii,
I feel like, at least knowing my son, my son
won't listen to me at all when it comes to, like,
surfing and jiu -jitsu. Some of it trickles in.
But guess when we go to kids' class at jiu -jitsu,
guess who he listens to? The other black belts.
He doesn't listen to me. And I know that. And
so I'll teach the other kids. And when I see
my son making a mistake, I can tell my other
black belts that are on the mat, they'll go and
help him. So I can see these kids are not going
to talk to their parents or listen to their parents,
but they're going to listen to Uncle Kyle or
Auntie Tiff or Uncle Mikey. I see that's how
kids learn. I'm glad I'm just a positive. My
family, my wife are a positive influence on these
kids because this is our future. These are the
people who are going to be taking care of me
when I'm old and senile. I'm hoping I'm helping
them out and making them better that way. It's
pretty cool, man. Absolutely. Well, that's a
good segue for the last thing. How did you come
across Jesse and Eric and foundation training?
And what impact has that had on your own physicality
and wellness? Oh, my God. So I met Jesse through
Kehea Hart, who's a big time sports professional,
ex -pro surfer around here. And we were surfing
one day. He's like, hey, I got a friend that
wants to do Muay Thai. So I was coaching, pulled
the pads. And he's like, you might like him.
He didn't tell me he was doing foundation. I'm
like, oh, yeah, you vowed for him. Yeah, give
him my number. And then I met Jesse, and it was
like a full bromance. It was like we have that
same energy, same thirst for fitness and life.
He was a first responder. He was a fireman. I'm
a lifeguard. He loves martial arts. And if you
met Jesse, he's just happy. He's just a happy,
psyched guy. And he's helped me a lot through
actually a lot of training camps. Like before,
I was not. I wasn't doing anything to repair
my body. I was just like, oh, I touched my toes
once. Okay, I'm good. Let's go straight into
rolling or whatever. What Eric and those guys
have taught me as far as this, it worked. I had
severe hip problems. Luckily, knock on wood,
I've never had knee surgery and never had sole
surgery. I probably will eventually, but I've
saved my body from really having any bad surgeries
or injuries. But I had a hip problem. My hip
was a... tilted from a jiu -jitsu thing and so
Jesse was so good on just like hey let's let's
go through a founder let's go through an archer
and I was like oh my god like I can feel things
just moving around and just that and then he
actually helped me a lot with my strength and
condition I was lifting wrong I was doing too
much actually I was lifting you know I was doing
like I said I feel like I have little attention
deficit you know i'm always constantly doing
something so i'd like you know thursday through
sunday i'd lift every day and then monday was
training and of course surfing sprinkled in there
and then thursday sparring i was just burning
myself out so jess is like whoa whoa you don't
have to do that okay you lift twice a week and
we can do this and do foundation in the morning
and he prepared me for my last uh my last uh
submission match and he's just been such a just
a good friend in the way of just nutrition and
health and you know anything where from methylene
blue to you know supplements and just and i think
i've helped him through jujitsu you know i think
he's got his blue belt now he's getting there
and uh he's striking and found it eric guys are
just so supportive and just making me like i
said i want to be still sparring i still want
to be surfing i still want to be doing jujitsu
when i'm 90. And I think through Foundation,
I've just strengthened that core, strengthened
those little muscles. And those guys giving me
so much time, which is the most valuable thing
in the world, has been pretty awesome. So I owe
a lot to Jesse and Eric and Foundation. It's
definitely changed my life. I'm trying to get
my wife and son to do it, but it's baby steps.
I always credit them for saving my career. How
I even came across them was I tore my back lifting
a patient years ago. And was doing the PT route,
was paying out for a Cairo. And the Cairo in
his office was playing this video of this dude
doing this funny thing where his legs are apart
and his fingers are touched together. And he
goes, you know, you should try this. Do it before
you come every day. And so I started doing it
and my recovery went from, you know, like 5 %
to 45%. It was amazing. And then I ended up getting
certified, teaching my whole fire department.
And I just shout from the rooftops to this day
because you're not only getting out of pain,
but preventing injury and being able to deadlift
and squat in a more biomechanically sound way.
I mean, they just stumbled across something so
incredible. And you look at the high performers,
everyone from Kelly Slater to Lance Armstrong
to the dude that plays Thor, Chris Hemsworth.
Thank you. I mean, all these people swear by
it, too. So every opportunity I can get to get
a testimony from someone. is you know is worthy
because they like i said who knows where i'd
be if i'd listen to you know quacks and took
pills and surgery would i even be walking around
anymore maybe not no no and it's all about like
you said like trying to uh longevity wise like
trying to like okay you healed your back but
like you're just trying to maintain that so you
don't do it you know it's you don't want to fix
it after it's already broken like i want to have
my core like you know my back where i'm dead
lifting whether it's martial arts or deadlifting
a guy at a short break. You know what I mean?
It's like a lot of my coworkers go out with back
injuries, hip surgeries, all these things because
they're just lifting something up or lifting
a ski up, and there goes their back. And I don't
want to do that. So I feel like even like I was
never a deadlift kind of guy, and I love deadlifts
now through Jesse, but I can feel how much the
foundation has given me awareness in my body.
Have you noticed that a little bit? Like when
I do a deadlift, I can literally feel the muscles
and the soles of my feet up through my calves,
up through my quads. And like I can isolate to
lift heavy weight, which I would have never,
ever deadlifted that much weight. And I can do
it smartly, you know, because now I know how
to use my body. I think foundation has helped
me that way. Because, you know, when you pivot
your foot out. For the archer that way, you're
like, okay, I really got to be in tune of where
my hip's at. Where's my hand at? Where's my calf?
It's like, oh, my front knee, don't bend it up.
It's got to be straight. Don't be too far over.
So it's given me a body knowledge that has translated
into life and martial arts. You know what I mean?
Because, I mean, how many times do you get injured
in jiu -jitsu? You're always going to get injured
in jiu -jitsu. But if you're aware of your body,
you're like somebody spazzing out on top of you.
Oh. I got to move my knee a different way. Okay.
I got to move, you know, cause you become more
aware of it. And yeah, I owe a lot to Jesse and
Eric. They've definitely helped me become a better
version of myself for sure. Absolutely. That's
so great to hear. All right. Well, I want to
be mindful of your time. So for people listening,
where are the best places to learn more about
you, your training or find you on social media?
I'm pretty much only on Instagram. I never go
on Facebook. So just Kyle foil. And, uh, All
together, no crazy emojis or anything. It's California.
Yeah, no, it's kind of fun. I've actually gotten
a couple people to, like, some dads. You know,
I'm 40, and it's like, you know, I hate the dad
bod whole thing. I think that's the lamest Instagram
thing, whatever, that's sexy right now. It's
the dumbest thing in the world because, like,
you're not ready to protect your family. You're
going to be unhealthy. You're showing your kids.
which I'm a firm believer what you do in front
of your kids non -verbally dictates how they're
going to be. So I want to show my son, I'm 40
and I still got abs. You know, good genetics.
I got good genetics, so it's nothing like that.
But I want to show him this is what a dad at
40 is supposed to look at. Now, I've actually
got a couple guys I don't know DM me. Hey, you
know, I work a lot. What can I do? And I'll try
to help them as much as I can. Or at least just
a... nice word to him. Hey man, you know, it's
totally doable, you know? And it's, if I can
aspire somebody that way, then shoot, that's
another person. Like I would help lifeguarding
or I would help the junior guards. Like, you
know, cause it's just, it's a trickle. What are
you doing? This life does not sound like gladiator,
you know, after eternity. Cause like the kid
that you help at jujitsu, the kid you help at
junior guards or the guy you save it pipeline
or the guy you just DM back. That's kind of a
low point in his life. Cause you know, he's fat.
His wife's yelling at him. You know what I mean?
He's stressed at work. His kids are in pain.
Like, if you can inspire him just to kind of
go, okay, if I take care of this first, then
I can take care of this, too. You know? So, yeah.
It makes me feel good. Yeah. To help people is
definitely – I mean, you were a fireman. You
know how it is. It's the highest drug of high,
man. If you truly enjoy doing it to help people
and not the money and not the title, I think
it's the best thing in the world. 100%. Well,
I want to thank you so much. It's been such an
amazing conversation, all these different layers
of your kind of life's journey. And again, I
always like to pull out the parallels from your
profession. when applied to the fire service
and law enforcement as well, because from the,
the physical fitness side and the training standards,
I think you guys are a great, um, profession
to really hold ourselves to. And some departments
are doing it really well, but I think there's
a lot that could learn from, you know, the ocean
lifeguards. So I want to thank you so much for
being so generous with your time and coming on
the behind the shield podcast today. No, I appreciate
you. Yeah. I wish we could talk longer for sure.
No, this is fun. And, uh, yeah, thank you for
holding. You know, first of all, we're all a
family. And thank you for kind of putting that
word out that it's not okay to, you know, drop,
like you said, be subpar and hit that. I hit
that one little level. Like, you know, we're
helping lives and our own lives at the same time.
So thank you for being the voice for that.