WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.839 Welcome to episode 124 of Behind the Shield podcast. 00:00:03.020 --> 00:00:05.639 As always, my name is James Geering and I am 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:09.060 so excited to bring to you this week Kyle Maynard. 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.300 Now the name should ring a bell. I'm sure you've 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:14.759 probably seen him on interviews on television, 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:20.079 on viral videos, on social media, but Kyle is... 00:00:20.570 --> 00:00:22.949 one of the epitomes of overcoming obstacles. 00:00:23.149 --> 00:00:25.350 And we've had many, many people on this show 00:00:25.350 --> 00:00:27.350 that have also done the same thing. But Kyle 00:00:27.350 --> 00:00:30.250 was born without any arms or legs kind of below 00:00:30.250 --> 00:00:35.009 the joint, the knee and the elbow. And he found 00:00:35.009 --> 00:00:36.990 a way to become a football player, found a way 00:00:36.990 --> 00:00:39.149 to be a successful wrestler, a successful MMA 00:00:39.149 --> 00:00:41.850 athlete, and then ultimately climbed two of the 00:00:41.850 --> 00:00:46.710 highest peaks on the planet. So his ability to 00:00:46.710 --> 00:00:50.020 reverse engineer a situation that he's told he 00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:52.899 can't do and find a way to do it. And then the 00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:56.320 mental toughness it took to undertake some of 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:59.219 these ventures that he's been on is A, inspirational, 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:04.140 but B, just educational and resets that bar to 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.340 anyone that's listening. It certainly did for 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:09.340 me. So you guys are going to be inspired by this. 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:10.700 You're going to enjoy it. He's an incredibly 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:14.180 humble human being, and this was so much fun 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:16.969 to do. Before we go on, as I always say, please 00:01:16.969 --> 00:01:19.849 go on to iTunes, rate the show, give me feedback 00:01:19.849 --> 00:01:22.890 on the show, and then share. The best thing you 00:01:22.890 --> 00:01:24.870 can do is just help me share this and get these 00:01:24.870 --> 00:01:28.010 incredible life stories to everyone on the planet 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:31.670 because these people's tales and their journeys 00:01:31.670 --> 00:01:34.370 that they've been through are truly inspirational. 00:01:34.489 --> 00:01:37.069 In a world of negativity, these positive stories, 00:01:37.170 --> 00:01:39.530 I think, need to be heard. So with that being 00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:43.049 said, I introduce to you Kyle Maynard. Enjoy. 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:05.819 Well, Kyle, firstly, I want to thank you so much 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:08.460 for agreeing to come on the podcast. I know you've 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:10.860 done a few and, you know, been on all kinds of 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:14.240 media outlets. But, you know, I know that your 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.000 journey and some of the things that I've heard 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:17.960 you talk about with other people is going to 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:19.960 definitely resonate deeply with the people listening 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:23.120 to this as well. So thank you, firstly. Yeah, 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:24.939 thanks, man. Thank you for having me. All right. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:26.740 Thank you to your community, too, for everything 00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:29.139 that they do. Yeah, well, they are pretty amazing. 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.259 I mean, I'm enamored by anyone that puts on a 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:35.099 uniform. And it's interesting because I heard 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:37.719 you talk about that with Tim Ferriss about wanting 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:39.819 to serve yourself after 9 -11. And I can see 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:43.599 how frustrating that must have been. Yeah, you 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:45.300 know, I think a lot of it had roots, too, in 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:48.270 the fact that my dad. It was military, you know, 00:02:48.270 --> 00:02:50.629 and I grew up with that mindset. I was born at 00:02:50.629 --> 00:02:54.030 Walter Reed Army Medical, so the largest hospital 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:55.729 where a lot of amputees come back home and do 00:02:55.729 --> 00:02:58.370 their rehabilitation and just had it ingrained 00:02:58.370 --> 00:03:00.849 in me since I was a kid. Basically, he was singing 00:03:00.849 --> 00:03:04.409 the G -rated Airborne Ranger songs to me. And 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:08.009 that mindset, I think, was really important that 00:03:08.009 --> 00:03:09.889 the discipline that he got from the military 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:13.509 and then, you know, in turn was able to help 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:16.550 me with as a kid. Yeah, well, you touched on 00:03:16.550 --> 00:03:18.270 Walter Reed. That's a great place to start. So 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:20.530 I know you were born there. I've had some guests 00:03:20.530 --> 00:03:21.930 that have been patients there. I've had some 00:03:21.930 --> 00:03:25.930 guests that work on the scientific medical side 00:03:25.930 --> 00:03:29.810 there. So were you born in Walter Reed just because 00:03:29.810 --> 00:03:33.789 your parents were based there at the time? I 00:03:33.789 --> 00:03:35.750 was, yeah. So my dad was based at Fort Myer, 00:03:35.770 --> 00:03:40.949 met my mom in D .C., and then he got out. uh 00:03:40.949 --> 00:03:43.770 right after i was born so we moved from dc to 00:03:43.770 --> 00:03:45.750 fort wayne indiana spent the first 10 years of 00:03:45.750 --> 00:03:48.629 my life there then georgia after that and i've 00:03:48.629 --> 00:03:50.949 now been in california for the last four or five 00:03:50.949 --> 00:03:54.849 years okay whereabouts in california in san diego 00:03:54.849 --> 00:03:57.050 i'm looking at the ocean as we speak right now 00:03:57.050 --> 00:03:59.009 so through a little cloudy haze but it could 00:03:59.009 --> 00:04:01.889 be worse yeah i used to live in um huntington 00:04:01.889 --> 00:04:04.810 beach so not too far north of you awesome yeah 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:07.879 it's gorgeous there All right. So then if you 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:09.719 don't mind, I just want to delve into your family 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:12.180 unit a little bit. So you had three sisters, 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:16.920 is that right? Yeah, three sisters, all younger, 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:20.899 but they act way more mature. Yeah. And then 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:23.720 so your dad was a soldier. And what did your 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:30.660 mother do again? So she was a teacher for a bit. 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:33.199 And then after I was born and my sisters and 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.100 she was a stay at home mom. Okay. That's actually 00:04:35.100 --> 00:04:38.300 exactly what my mom did too. All right. So then 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:42.199 if you don't mind, we'll talk about the challenges 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:44.579 you had physically from birth and then we'll 00:04:44.579 --> 00:04:46.600 get away from that after that. But just to set 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:48.100 the scene, obviously it's an audio interview. 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:54.129 So your sister's older, you said? all younger 00:04:54.129 --> 00:04:56.870 oh yeah i'm sorry i guess i'm not paying attention 00:04:56.870 --> 00:04:59.410 so i apologize so so you're the first one then 00:04:59.410 --> 00:05:02.370 so so when you were born um or actually let me 00:05:02.370 --> 00:05:03.970 rephrase that when you were pregnant were there 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:09.889 any signs of any uh physical issues uh not really 00:05:09.889 --> 00:05:12.870 there was one ultrasound where they had trouble 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:17.490 measuring my i think it was like a femur whatever 00:05:17.490 --> 00:05:21.509 they used to measure um you know sort of size 00:05:21.509 --> 00:05:25.430 and at that point in time and uh yeah so it was 00:05:25.430 --> 00:05:27.230 the third trimester where there's a little bit 00:05:27.230 --> 00:05:28.670 of questioning with stuff but then the doctor 00:05:28.670 --> 00:05:30.649 came in it was like oh no there it is and then 00:05:30.649 --> 00:05:33.829 yeah everything was was kind of sound after that 00:05:33.829 --> 00:05:36.089 until i was born and give your audience a little 00:05:36.089 --> 00:05:38.589 bit more of the visual basically my arms and 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:42.550 at the elbows and legs and at the knees and so 00:05:42.550 --> 00:05:45.550 i don't use prosthetics i uh use a wheelchair 00:05:45.550 --> 00:05:48.259 to get around longer distances but do a lot of 00:05:48.259 --> 00:05:51.920 bear crawling down in all fours and don't really 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:53.560 use my chair inside the house, mostly because 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:55.959 my mom didn't want wheelchair tracks all over 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:59.040 the place growing up. But, you know, just things 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.360 are relatively normal. Like I have a stool in 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.100 my bathroom and kitchen countertop to jump up 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:06.720 on the counter. But that's about it. Right. And 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:12.120 then what was the name of the amputation? It's 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:14.240 just congenital amputation. And there's really 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:18.480 still no known. cause really like they've attributed 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:20.959 it to so there's different speculations but uh 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:23.339 not really anything for certain right because 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:26.139 i've got a firefighter couple for um friends 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:29.819 of mine that had twin girls and um one of the 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:32.100 little girls was was born but she did have i 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:33.699 think the same condition she's missing one of 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:36.519 her hands so um i'm assuming that's the same 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:40.100 thing yeah there's a there's a number of different 00:06:40.100 --> 00:06:42.300 things that can cause cause the amputation or 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:47.629 like sort of uh you know um, uh, a limb that 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:51.089 has some deformity that congenitally like at 00:06:51.089 --> 00:06:55.170 birth, it can be, um, a number of different things, 00:06:55.230 --> 00:07:00.129 but I, you know, there's, there's still a lot 00:07:00.129 --> 00:07:01.970 that we don't know about. It's fascinating. Like 00:07:01.970 --> 00:07:04.529 how, how little is, is actually known about it 00:07:04.529 --> 00:07:06.629 currently given the state of like how much we've 00:07:06.629 --> 00:07:08.990 advanced medically in the last 32 years. But 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:13.410 yeah, absolutely. So, so kind of fast forwarding 00:07:13.410 --> 00:07:16.819 a little bit, um, When you were a little bit 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:19.980 older, obviously people listening now can think 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:22.480 that it would go one of two roads, either down 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.660 the road of just pity and we're going to have 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:27.939 to coddle this young man the rest of his life. 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:30.759 But your parents chose the other road, which 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:33.899 obviously is the sensible road. So can you explain 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:36.220 to me what the philosophy was with your parents 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:40.379 on how they decided to address this, not as a 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:43.019 disability, but just a challenge physically for 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:47.519 you to work yourself around? Yeah, they approached 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:51.199 it very from an interesting perspective. I think 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.579 that the attitude that they chose to take and 00:07:54.579 --> 00:07:56.180 one that I've seen has been pretty successful 00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:57.959 with other parents of kids with disabilities 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:02.620 is really to try to treat me as normal as possible, 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:06.000 not to make special accommodations or really 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.980 try to even have that too many adaptations or 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:12.300 things. They tried to encourage me to do most 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:14.560 things on my own or figure out a way that would... 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.579 There was a lot of different random household 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:20.500 objects, like still occasionally I'll use a clothes 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:22.660 hanger to zip my pants up or something to that 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:28.240 effect. Their attitude was if they treated me 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:30.879 normal, then it would become that way, which 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:34.720 is interesting that they kind of intuitively 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:38.399 knew that when it was just a different time. 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.320 the internet to be able to go and look up and 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:42.659 relate to other people that were going through 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:45.620 something similar like your you know um your 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:48.720 friends firefighter friends that have kids now 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:50.740 you can go and see you know type in the name 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:52.460 of a condition and see other people with it and 00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:55.039 say wow okay like that life could go and work 00:08:55.039 --> 00:08:57.259 there was only one guy i think locally that they 00:08:57.259 --> 00:09:01.120 could get in touch with that uh you know to try 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:02.679 to schedule a dinner with him and i think he 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.039 was a local artist but um i don't know what happened 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:08.210 i think he just didn't show up to the dinner 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:13.110 and that was that was that so uh it just it was 00:09:13.110 --> 00:09:17.129 kind of probably for the best that they they 00:09:17.129 --> 00:09:19.250 just chose to try to focus on making things as 00:09:19.250 --> 00:09:22.470 normal as possible yeah now was there any talk 00:09:22.470 --> 00:09:24.950 early on of prosthesis i know that you decided 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:29.029 not to later in life yeah there was a lot of 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:33.149 uh attempts and fittings and all that early on 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:35.289 some of my earliest memories were driving from 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:38.120 Fort Wayne, Indiana, where we lived right after 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:40.559 we moved from D .C. And we'd go over to Chicago 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.500 and I would get my prosthetic spit there at the 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:46.100 Shriners Hospital. And, you know, seeing the 00:09:46.100 --> 00:09:49.419 Sears Tower and all that was those are some of 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:51.539 my very earliest memories, the smell of the plaster. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:56.139 So tried it out extensively, but it really never, 00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:00.100 never worked too well. I just had a lot more 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:04.059 freedom running around the house without him. 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:08.440 Decided to throw him away. I think around five 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:10.419 years old about a month or so into kindergarten 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:14.059 right after a show -and -tell class and the teacher 00:10:14.059 --> 00:10:17.879 You know passing my toy all the kids were around 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:19.860 me and I had my prosthetic arms on and prosthetic 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:21.840 legs and I needed help to stand up if I were 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.620 gonna have somebody Helped pick me up and I was 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.220 trying to pull the trigger on the gun to to make 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:29.299 the sound I brought a toy machine gun to school 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:31.039 for show -and -tell which probably wouldn't really 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.990 fly nowadays. That's not the Then I remember 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:39.350 dropping the gun and being super embarrassed, 00:10:39.409 --> 00:10:41.990 wanting to run out of the room, and I just was 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:45.549 stuck there. The teacher passed me the toy again. 00:10:45.610 --> 00:10:48.950 I still couldn't do it. There were hooks on the 00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:50.450 end of the prosthetic arm, so I was trying to 00:10:50.450 --> 00:10:53.769 get to pull the trigger on the gun. My mom was 00:10:53.769 --> 00:10:55.830 watching through a window, though, and saw this 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:59.370 whole event unfold. We talked about it the next 00:10:59.370 --> 00:11:03.299 day, and I wanted to try to convince her. to 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:04.720 let me come to school without the prosthetics 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:10.580 on the next next day and um so she agreed to 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:14.840 call the teacher and the teacher took the i came 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:16.500 to school for the second half of the day and 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:18.779 the first half the teacher explained to the class 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:21.399 okay kyle had arms and legs yesterday but he's 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:24.740 not going to today so be prepared for that and 00:11:24.740 --> 00:11:28.159 uh which is pretty interesting concept for five 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:30.059 -year -olds to to get their head around i think 00:11:30.059 --> 00:11:32.519 but It was awesome. At the end of the day, they 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:34.419 told the teacher that they liked me better like 00:11:34.419 --> 00:11:36.899 that. That was the last time I wore them. Beautiful. 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:39.100 That kind of segues well to something I wanted 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:42.679 to ask you. We want to talk about bullying, but 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:44.559 I want to focus more on the kindness because 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:49.519 we always see these days the videos of the little 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:52.440 shits picking on someone or whatever, but the 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.240 ones that go viral are the acts of compassion. 00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:58.440 If you wouldn't mind, just give us an overview 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:01.309 of some of the... the the negativity that you 00:12:01.309 --> 00:12:03.210 had in your school but then i'd rather focus 00:12:03.210 --> 00:12:06.669 on on the the kindness that your classmates showed 00:12:06.669 --> 00:12:08.769 you as you were in some of these younger years 00:12:08.769 --> 00:12:12.250 yeah you know it's interesting you say that too 00:12:12.250 --> 00:12:15.850 um i always have felt like there's a phenomenon 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:17.610 i didn't come up with this but i don't know who 00:12:17.610 --> 00:12:19.549 did actually but where the attention goes the 00:12:19.549 --> 00:12:23.250 energy flows and you know if we focus on the 00:12:23.250 --> 00:12:25.669 bullying and the negative and all that then we're 00:12:25.669 --> 00:12:30.289 going to get more of that And I was pretty fortunate. 00:12:30.450 --> 00:12:34.490 I think there was definitely some instances I 00:12:34.490 --> 00:12:36.789 remember where kids would make fun of me or whatever. 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:40.809 But my mom was really instrumental, I think, 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:44.049 in being the one to sort of help socialize and 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:46.529 running around the neighborhood and getting other 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:50.610 kids to play street hockey games or whatever 00:12:50.610 --> 00:12:56.600 else was going on. So that was... you know just 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:00.519 growing up it was uh i don't know i think that 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:02.519 a lot large part due to the way that she helped 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:05.840 build that community around me then i never really 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:08.740 felt like too out of place until we moved down 00:13:08.740 --> 00:13:12.340 to georgia so that move at 10 years old was was 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:17.139 rough definitely like you know because the kids 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:18.919 in indiana they looked at me as like just oh 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:22.899 that's kyle and down in um in georgia it was 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:28.450 totally Totally different. And that's where playing 00:13:28.450 --> 00:13:30.049 sports really was the thing that kind of helped 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:34.610 pull me out and saved me from just the transition. 00:13:35.789 --> 00:13:37.669 I guess the transitions were always the toughest 00:13:37.669 --> 00:13:41.769 part for anybody that's going through a significant 00:13:41.769 --> 00:13:43.549 life transition. But I think when you throw in 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.370 a physical disability and a kid on top of it, 00:13:46.409 --> 00:13:49.210 then it becomes a little bit that much harder. 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:52.440 Yeah, well, I mean, you had obviously significant 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:54.840 challenges. There's no skirting around that when 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.240 it came to traditionally playing some of these 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:01.399 sports. So I know football was your first one 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.019 that you truly went into. So can you tell me 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:07.679 what was that paradigm shift within you and your 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:10.840 family that made you say, basically, I'm going 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:13.940 to go play football, regardless of whatever cards 00:14:13.940 --> 00:14:17.500 have been dealt? Yeah, it was really, I think 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:19.940 a lot of it was the fact that My dad was a football 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:21.779 player, and I wanted to grow up and be like him. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:27.480 So, you know, I just would dream about that and 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:29.580 be in my room. I think there was just no lack 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:31.700 of imagination, too, from growing up, right? 00:14:31.779 --> 00:14:35.100 Like, I would sit there and shoot hoops and dream 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:40.960 about being in the NBA, you know, or, like, watch, 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.600 you know, at that point in time, the Dallas Cowboys 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:45.720 were on their crazy run. So, you know, it was 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.279 like... a Cowboys fan and watching Troy Aikman 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.759 you know throw Hail Marys to Michael Irving and 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:53.639 thinking like oh man that's going to be me someday 00:14:53.639 --> 00:15:00.340 and um you know that imagination I think is is 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:03.220 helpful but it's also too you know when you face 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:07.779 the reality of a situation can be you know different 00:15:07.779 --> 00:15:10.259 distinct from kind of what we paint that picture 00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:14.179 out to be in our heads so um you know playing 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:17.070 football my first tackle was just Literally, 00:15:17.169 --> 00:15:18.809 I would take my helmet and smash it into the 00:15:18.809 --> 00:15:20.750 guy's shins and bring him down. I played in the 00:15:20.750 --> 00:15:23.730 defensive line, nose guard. Right in the middle, 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:27.649 they'd be able to go and plug up the hole. My 00:15:27.649 --> 00:15:30.070 coach told me that I had a three -foot gap that 00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:32.009 I had to cause havoc inside. I was playing down 00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:34.330 in all fours, so the running backs were not looking 00:15:34.330 --> 00:15:36.669 at me and the floor. They were looking ahead 00:15:36.669 --> 00:15:43.139 at the linebackers and the safeties. When they 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:44.679 got their legs taken out from underneath them, 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:50.299 it became a bit of a surprise. It was kind of 00:15:50.299 --> 00:15:55.159 a natural thing at first, given the fact that 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:57.759 I was down low center of gravity, but going up 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:59.620 against bigger kids is obviously a challenge. 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:03.460 As kids got older and bigger, that became a lot 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:05.860 more challenging, which is why wrestling remained 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:07.659 my main sport through middle school and high 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:11.639 school. later on with jiu -jitsu when you know 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:13.500 when you're competing at somebody you know in 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:17.580 your weight class relatively the same size yeah 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:20.100 and then but what was what struck me from uh 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:22.100 the video of you and as you were saying there 00:16:22.100 --> 00:16:25.100 you are tackling and um you know people are tripping 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:28.559 over is That's exactly what you want in a takedown. 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:32.159 It was just an unorthodox way of doing it versus 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:36.740 the traditional route that people take. And that 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:39.340 is what's so inspiring about anyone that I've 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:41.279 had on this show that's faced challenges, whether 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.720 it's through injury, whether it's through issues 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:48.039 from health or from how they were born, is they 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:50.539 just reinvent the wheel. They reverse engineer 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:52.279 the way people do it and they find their own 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:53.899 way. And I think that's incredible. And it's 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:56.340 a lesson that... Everyone should be able to learn 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.000 in this. It's too hard. I can't do it mentality 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.899 that we see a lot Yeah, I know I think you know 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:07.480 increasingly It's the the mindset that surrounds 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:09.460 the situations when things don't go well that 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:12.099 I'm kind of most fascinated by You know what 00:17:12.099 --> 00:17:15.259 creates the beliefs? around someone who's willing 00:17:15.259 --> 00:17:18.299 just to be able to continue to stand back up 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:20.559 time and time again, you know when things don't 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:23.789 go their way and You know, that that mindset 00:17:23.789 --> 00:17:27.390 is just it fascinates me. And it's not so simple 00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:30.289 and obvious. I think what what creates all of 00:17:30.289 --> 00:17:33.250 that, you know, some people seem to do it better 00:17:33.250 --> 00:17:35.329 than others. But I mean, there's a lot of factors, 00:17:35.410 --> 00:17:37.349 I think, that go into conditioning that. And 00:17:37.349 --> 00:17:42.029 by and large, it probably is a lot of like, you 00:17:42.029 --> 00:17:45.049 know, there's nature versus nurture. You know, 00:17:45.069 --> 00:17:47.750 we kind of are who we are in large part, even 00:17:47.750 --> 00:17:49.769 by the time we're probably four or five years 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:54.420 old. There's a lot of plasticity there to be 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:58.000 able to go and change your mind and be able to 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:02.740 realize that something bad happens, but yet there's 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:06.980 a hidden advantage here. That's really what it 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:10.039 comes down to is the fact that within every great 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:13.200 disadvantage, I do think that there are inherent 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:16.029 advantages in there. It's just choosing to go 00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:17.710 and look. And it's not even just purely from 00:18:17.710 --> 00:18:22.490 an overtly optimistic perspective. It's kind 00:18:22.490 --> 00:18:25.130 of just looking at things from a highly pragmatic 00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:27.769 point of view. Just to start with the assumption 00:18:27.769 --> 00:18:33.349 that there is some major advantage here. To make 00:18:33.349 --> 00:18:35.049 a long story short, when I started wrestling, 00:18:35.130 --> 00:18:38.849 I went 0 -35. Zero wins. It took a long time 00:18:38.849 --> 00:18:40.869 to get that first win. By the time I was a senior 00:18:40.869 --> 00:18:43.150 in high school. I was beating multiple state 00:18:43.150 --> 00:18:48.730 champions and ended up being a match away from 00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:53.210 placing at the senior nationals tournament. So 00:18:53.210 --> 00:18:57.609 it was, at that point, a different discussion. 00:18:57.829 --> 00:19:00.430 It was basically when I started, it was borderline 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:02.190 child abuse that my mom and dad were making me 00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:04.230 do. And by the time I was a senior in high school, 00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:06.670 then it was that I was nearly unfair advantage 00:19:06.670 --> 00:19:11.690 over everybody else. But it's not so much. Even 00:19:11.690 --> 00:19:14.829 just in the physical, although that is absolutely 00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:17.470 there, but I think it's in a lot of different 00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:22.630 situations. If you take a business example, for 00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:26.509 instance, or something, the stock market crashes 00:19:26.509 --> 00:19:29.109 and you're a financial advisor and you've got 00:19:29.109 --> 00:19:32.289 all your clients that are running away and everybody's 00:19:32.289 --> 00:19:37.470 upset. Well, then there's the ones that are able 00:19:37.470 --> 00:19:40.589 to stay calm and be able to... realize orient 00:19:40.589 --> 00:19:42.609 themselves towards the advantage they can understand 00:19:42.609 --> 00:19:44.569 the fact that there's more money in motion now 00:19:44.569 --> 00:19:46.410 than has ever been in human history so if they 00:19:46.410 --> 00:19:49.009 are positioned appropriately and prepared to 00:19:49.009 --> 00:19:51.210 be able to go and handle it they can go out and 00:19:51.210 --> 00:19:54.609 prospect and build their business such that it'll 00:19:54.609 --> 00:19:57.230 come back three four or five times stronger when 00:19:57.230 --> 00:20:02.210 the market comes back so that you know it just 00:20:02.210 --> 00:20:05.690 yeah it just it fascinates me you know and i 00:20:05.690 --> 00:20:09.650 mean that your community i know is it's full 00:20:09.650 --> 00:20:11.950 of those kind of unsung heroes that have had 00:20:11.950 --> 00:20:14.849 to go and face that reality of really intense 00:20:14.849 --> 00:20:17.910 adverse situations i mean sometimes even you 00:20:17.910 --> 00:20:21.890 know like where your life is at risk or your 00:20:21.890 --> 00:20:27.769 friends um you know teammates and you know it's 00:20:27.769 --> 00:20:30.269 a the stakes are totally different then but i 00:20:30.269 --> 00:20:34.170 think the same principle applies yeah yeah do 00:20:34.170 --> 00:20:37.440 you the the challenge that they have a lot in 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.880 in our community is the toll that the profession 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:43.140 takes on you especially the you know the hours 00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:45.519 work the shifts being up all night the physical 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:48.720 toll the mental toll um and it's it's great to 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.599 hear you talk about that about you know just 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:53.380 just working out how to make it happen because 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:58.140 there is the the danger of becoming complacent 00:20:58.140 --> 00:21:00.420 and losing that drive and and saying oh well 00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:03.380 it can't be fixed and people like yourself you 00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:06.779 know are obviously regardless of in any physicality 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:09.880 at all but just your mindset is if i hit a wall 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:11.559 well let me work at how i can climb that wall 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:14.000 or knock the wall down or you know dig under 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.359 the wall whatever needs to be done yeah but you 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:19.359 know it up exactly but the opportunity is the 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:22.099 other side of that that wall and i need to circumnavigate 00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:27.960 it somehow yeah and that's that you know really 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:30.920 at the end of the day too it's like there's you 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:35.369 know That's a really exciting aspect of life. 00:21:35.589 --> 00:21:37.930 It sucks sometimes when we're going through it. 00:21:37.990 --> 00:21:40.009 I don't want to pretend like it doesn't, but 00:21:40.009 --> 00:21:42.829 being able to deal with those situations and 00:21:42.829 --> 00:21:47.150 excel at that, I think there has to be a certain 00:21:47.150 --> 00:21:50.250 level of being excited for when those things 00:21:50.250 --> 00:21:53.549 come about. Even if only for the opportunity 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:57.980 to be able to grow. problem solve and prove to 00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:00.559 ourselves. I think that as human beings, we are 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:06.279 kind of built to do this kind of stuff. To be 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:10.200 able to survive as long as we have, to be able 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:14.819 to build the civilizations that we have, it's 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:17.599 taken an enormous effort of being able to problem 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:20.480 solve and constantly come up with different alternative 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:25.109 solutions to be able to work something out. Things 00:22:25.109 --> 00:22:27.390 aren't always so obvious at first. And maybe 00:22:27.390 --> 00:22:32.829 there are things absolutely that are outside 00:22:32.829 --> 00:22:37.210 of our control. And sometimes with that alpha 00:22:37.210 --> 00:22:39.609 mentality, you so desperately want to be able 00:22:39.609 --> 00:22:42.950 to control stuff and control certain outcomes. 00:22:43.049 --> 00:22:46.650 But it's not going to always happen. And at that 00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:51.150 point, a big aspect of this whole principle, 00:22:51.170 --> 00:22:55.890 I think, is learning to... you know stop and 00:22:55.890 --> 00:22:58.190 accept the circumstances equanimity sort of be 00:22:58.190 --> 00:23:00.650 you know at peace with whatever is happening 00:23:00.650 --> 00:23:03.009 around us tell the truth to ourselves about whatever 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:06.009 is occurring so that way we have a sort of place 00:23:06.009 --> 00:23:10.190 in the map to be able to start from well you 00:23:10.190 --> 00:23:14.930 did speaking of the the wrestling um anyone listening 00:23:14.930 --> 00:23:18.900 that lost 30 you know seven times in a row would 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:21.079 be challenged as far as their drive to carry 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:22.980 on. My little boy does jiu -jitsu, and he's done 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:25.420 it for about five years now. And he's built like 00:23:25.420 --> 00:23:27.859 me, built like a toothpick, so he gets barreled 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:31.359 over a lot. But I see that same grit and determination 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:34.440 in him, and he sees that loss as a learning opportunity 00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:37.700 and is never knocked down, even though he's disappointed. 00:23:37.859 --> 00:23:40.460 So what was your self -talk in, let's say, the 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:44.180 37th fight, getting ready to go into your 38th? 00:23:44.569 --> 00:23:46.930 that made you, you know, not stop, not say, well, 00:23:47.009 --> 00:23:48.630 you know, I'm never going to get this, but to 00:23:48.630 --> 00:23:50.289 carry on and be determined that you're going 00:23:50.289 --> 00:23:54.690 to get that first win? Well, you know, that's 00:23:54.690 --> 00:23:59.369 a good question. Actually, the big difference 00:23:59.369 --> 00:24:01.410 there, I mean, this is, you know, mind you, I 00:24:01.410 --> 00:24:04.250 was 11 years old and like I had yet to learn 00:24:04.250 --> 00:24:06.789 about being able to, you know, kind of control 00:24:06.789 --> 00:24:09.990 my mind around a lot of these things. Dad helped 00:24:09.990 --> 00:24:11.509 me a tremendous amount with being able to come 00:24:11.509 --> 00:24:13.490 up with the techniques and the moves. My wrestling 00:24:13.490 --> 00:24:16.890 coach, Coach Ramos, would stay after practice. 00:24:17.029 --> 00:24:19.329 Basically, they would wrestle around on his knees 00:24:19.329 --> 00:24:22.730 to try to understand and tuck his arms into his 00:24:22.730 --> 00:24:26.089 sleeves to figure out different moves I could 00:24:26.089 --> 00:24:31.490 go and use. At first, for the first several matches, 00:24:33.309 --> 00:24:36.329 almost the first year the the main move that 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:39.109 i had was to wing a half nelson so i'd basically 00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:40.630 have to have somebody take me down get behind 00:24:40.630 --> 00:24:42.970 me put in a half nelson pinning combination and 00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:44.910 then i would clamp down and try to roll the guy 00:24:44.910 --> 00:24:49.730 so you know kind of already at like a pretty 00:24:49.730 --> 00:24:52.029 disadvantaged position if the main weapon that 00:24:52.029 --> 00:24:54.150 i have is to wait for somebody to put in a pinning 00:24:54.150 --> 00:24:57.549 combination on me and then i can execute but 00:24:57.549 --> 00:25:01.700 it uh You know, I think the shift was, though, 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:04.319 my dad, he kind of played a trick on me. And 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:09.599 he he said, you know, look, I had not won a single 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:11.759 match in sixth grade, did not really want to 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:15.660 come back and do it again. And he wanted to at 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:19.359 least encourage me to try. And he said, I didn't 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.059 win a single match my first year in wrestling 00:25:21.059 --> 00:25:23.380 either. He said very few people ever win a match 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:25.460 their first year. But everybody who comes back 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:27.700 their second season. You're going to beat somebody 00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:29.279 because you're going to beat somebody who it's 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:31.660 their first season. And then, you know, you'll 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:34.660 you'll be good. And he kind of embedded this 00:25:34.660 --> 00:25:39.940 idea in my head. And so consequently, you know, 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:42.039 there's a lot of evidence that suggests that 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:44.440 like when we have like a deeply embedded belief, 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:46.779 we're going to go and look and scan solely for 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:51.079 evidence to confirm that belief. Right. It's 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:55.049 confirmation bias and it can work. in our favor 00:25:55.049 --> 00:25:57.609 too in those instances when you believe that 00:25:57.609 --> 00:25:59.089 you're going to be successful in something and 00:25:59.089 --> 00:26:00.250 then you look for all the reasons why you're 00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:02.250 going to succeed and i saw this kid he's kind 00:26:02.250 --> 00:26:05.710 of scrawny and i'm like oh man he's you know 00:26:05.710 --> 00:26:07.509 his first year wrestler i heard out you know 00:26:07.509 --> 00:26:09.450 so then i'm just triggered all of these things 00:26:09.450 --> 00:26:11.920 in my head like he's inexperienced You know, 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.180 he's grinding, he's warming up the wrong way 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:16.160 and all this stuff. I don't even remember exactly 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:17.900 what he was doing, but we came out and shook 00:26:17.900 --> 00:26:19.700 hands and I remember his handshake and I'm thinking, 00:26:19.740 --> 00:26:22.819 oh man, he's got a weak handshake. I'm like, 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:26.099 this kid's mine. And so I just kind of mauled 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:28.359 this first kid that I beat and almost beat him 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:31.000 by a tech fall. And, you know, at that point, 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:34.900 it was just a very different kind of experience 00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:41.769 from, you know, the first. you know, 35 or so, 00:26:41.809 --> 00:26:47.170 it was just like wild to, um, have had that experience 00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:50.589 and then realize, okay, like I just destroyed 00:26:50.589 --> 00:26:55.970 this kid and like, you know what, I guess it 00:26:55.970 --> 00:26:58.430 just completely altered that, that belief that 00:26:58.430 --> 00:27:00.289 I was capable. Then all of a sudden that became 00:27:00.289 --> 00:27:03.950 a lot better. And, uh, I believe by the time 00:27:03.950 --> 00:27:06.029 I was in eighth grade was almost undefeated going 00:27:06.029 --> 00:27:09.609 into the state tournament. So. All right. I heard 00:27:09.609 --> 00:27:11.289 you talking about visualization. I think it was 00:27:11.289 --> 00:27:13.789 regarding your MMA fights. But was that kind 00:27:13.789 --> 00:27:16.430 of like the unofficial introduction to that? 00:27:16.490 --> 00:27:19.230 Did you did you kind of build on that, that self 00:27:19.230 --> 00:27:21.289 -talk and then start visualizing yourself beating 00:27:21.289 --> 00:27:25.450 these people? A lot of this stuff was, I think, 00:27:25.450 --> 00:27:28.009 at that point in time, it was outside of my conscious 00:27:28.009 --> 00:27:31.230 control. I didn't have anyone that had taught 00:27:31.230 --> 00:27:36.210 me that aspect of it. Right. So. I don't remember 00:27:36.210 --> 00:27:38.170 it being something that we talked about a whole 00:27:38.170 --> 00:27:43.769 lot until maybe closer to my senior year. It's 00:27:43.769 --> 00:27:48.630 wild how, as human beings, we spend all day, 00:27:48.650 --> 00:27:53.650 every day, making internal hallucinations. Visual, 00:27:53.849 --> 00:28:00.230 auditory, kinesthetic, even to some degree, gustatory 00:28:00.230 --> 00:28:03.839 or neural factory. All of these senses that we 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:07.960 have will make those inner representations for 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:15.200 them. And they kind of run our life in a lot 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:18.660 of ways. But yet they're barely outside of our 00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:23.140 conscious awareness. And so doing stuff like... 00:28:23.400 --> 00:28:26.819 I mean, it really is. It's something that I talk 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:29.339 to a lot of my friends about this stuff. And 00:28:29.339 --> 00:28:31.000 so many people are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. 00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:33.079 There's zero chance you're going to get me to 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:35.319 sit down and meditate and visualize something. 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:37.559 And I'm like, look, if you understood what this 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:39.180 could go and do for you in your life, then you 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:41.700 would have a different attitude around it. And 00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:44.440 it's just sort of the know thyself, being able 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:48.160 to have those deep visualizations and understand 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:51.000 what is the framework that makes up your psyche. 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:54.390 I just don't. understand when people don't have 00:28:54.390 --> 00:28:56.910 the curiosity to know what makes them them other 00:28:56.910 --> 00:29:01.309 than you know underlying fear complacency you 00:29:01.309 --> 00:29:03.849 know i just like i i think there's no limit to 00:29:03.849 --> 00:29:08.069 wanting to go and understand what makes us us 00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:11.529 to me at least and yeah that was there's kind 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:13.529 of the beginning but there was still a tremendous 00:29:13.529 --> 00:29:15.829 amount of fear and anxiety around all this stuff 00:29:15.829 --> 00:29:19.690 to work towards overcoming You mentioned that 00:29:19.690 --> 00:29:22.730 initially it was hard to get you in there because 00:29:22.730 --> 00:29:25.569 they saw you at disadvantage. In the end, they 00:29:25.569 --> 00:29:27.490 said it was unfair that you had an advantage. 00:29:27.690 --> 00:29:29.670 It's funny how that perspective shifts when you 00:29:29.670 --> 00:29:32.869 start winning. Yeah, nobody complained when I 00:29:32.869 --> 00:29:35.269 was losing. When I started beating their kids, 00:29:35.410 --> 00:29:43.009 they started to whine a little bit. It's just 00:29:43.009 --> 00:29:47.329 funny. It's a funny thought, but that's anything, 00:29:47.650 --> 00:29:50.250 right? There's so many different things where 00:29:50.250 --> 00:29:52.809 it's like that example throughout history where 00:29:52.809 --> 00:29:55.470 nobody really cares. It's like, oh, yeah, and 00:29:55.470 --> 00:29:57.250 then you start succeeding and doing something. 00:29:57.309 --> 00:29:58.970 People are like, oh, wait, whoa, hey, what's 00:29:58.970 --> 00:30:02.089 going on there? Yeah, exactly. Now, it's modern 00:30:02.089 --> 00:30:05.630 day, like 2018, with the adaptive world, which 00:30:05.630 --> 00:30:06.849 I really want to get into a little bit later 00:30:06.849 --> 00:30:11.039 as well. are is there an arena now where they're 00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:13.619 matching um i don't want to use the word disability 00:30:13.619 --> 00:30:17.619 but but adaptive athletes based on on their absence 00:30:17.619 --> 00:30:20.660 of limbs in mma and jiu -jitsu where you're able 00:30:20.660 --> 00:30:22.559 to kind of grapple with someone that has the 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:26.000 same physicality as yourself on a very small 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.680 scale that's kind of uh becoming that you know 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:31.660 it's really it's a it's a tricky thing though 00:30:31.660 --> 00:30:36.299 because um the world of quote -unquote disabilities 00:30:36.299 --> 00:30:42.470 you know it's It's so vast. And, you know, everybody 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:46.329 kind of has something, right? I mean, like there's 00:30:46.329 --> 00:30:47.910 different things that like might not resemble 00:30:47.910 --> 00:30:49.630 like a physical disability. But I mean, even, 00:30:49.670 --> 00:30:53.849 you know, like you go inward and everyone's disabled 00:30:53.849 --> 00:30:59.779 to some degree, right? So the, you know. It's 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:02.240 really tough, though, to get a comparison because, 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:05.900 you know, it's almost very rarely it's ever going 00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:07.440 to be like an apples -to -apples situation. I 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:10.000 have a great deal of respect for the Paralympics 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:15.380 and the Paralympian athletes and, you know, kind 00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:16.700 of everything that's occurring inside of that 00:31:16.700 --> 00:31:19.119 community. However, you know, you look at some 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:25.710 of the categories and, you know, there's... a 00:31:25.710 --> 00:31:28.450 lot of different classifications and groupings 00:31:28.450 --> 00:31:33.390 for things and you know it's it's it's challenging 00:31:33.390 --> 00:31:35.789 to go and put people in in those groupings so 00:31:35.789 --> 00:31:38.089 when you have so many different groupings and 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:39.950 you know you're gonna have that many different 00:31:39.950 --> 00:31:43.789 champions at each you know event you know it's 00:31:43.789 --> 00:31:49.079 it's it just i see I see both sides of it. I 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:51.839 think there's a lot of awesome progress and it's 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:53.440 encouraged a lot of other people to compete that 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.240 maybe wouldn't have otherwise. And that aspect 00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:57.420 of it, I absolutely love. But it is definitely 00:31:57.420 --> 00:32:01.339 difficult to get down the classifications and 00:32:01.339 --> 00:32:05.200 all that stuff. And it just can kind of get watered 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:09.660 down, I think, if we do too much of that. everybody 00:32:09.660 --> 00:32:11.660 gets a trophy kind of mentality if that makes 00:32:11.660 --> 00:32:13.579 sense yeah no it does and it's funny because 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:15.559 i've talked about this on the podcast before 00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:18.920 there's to me there's that one element where 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:21.140 absolutely right there's got to be that competition 00:32:21.140 --> 00:32:22.900 element and you've got to be able to work towards 00:32:22.900 --> 00:32:25.940 it but then there's the other side where it's 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:28.019 funny most of the people that you hear spouting 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:32.359 that rhetoric are sitting at a Lazy Boy, watching 00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:34.440 football on TV, doing nothing with their life. 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:37.519 So to me, the kids that show up in the tournament 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.700 are doing way more than most of the people that 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:40.960 are throwing that around in the first place. 00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:44.559 So I think showing up trophy, not trophy, but 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:46.839 the self -pride of showing up, regardless of 00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:48.839 whether you were on the podium or not, is a badge 00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:52.059 of honor in itself. Yeah. You know, in the podium 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:55.220 too, I remember, so I'll give you like this example 00:32:55.220 --> 00:32:59.859 as a thought. I remember In sixth and seventh 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:02.339 grade, before I'd even won a match, I'd received 00:33:02.339 --> 00:33:06.500 several silver and bronze medals. My mom had 00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:10.660 hung them on my door. I don't think I've ever 00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:12.920 really talked about this publicly. It's interesting. 00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:15.339 But I always had a little bit of disdain for 00:33:15.339 --> 00:33:18.299 those medals. They would actually motivate me 00:33:18.299 --> 00:33:21.059 to go and work harder because I felt like they 00:33:21.059 --> 00:33:23.079 were just completely unearned. The only reason 00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:24.599 I got those medals is because there weren't enough 00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:26.099 kids in my weight class. It wasn't because I 00:33:26.099 --> 00:33:28.900 had won. It was just purely because there weren't 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:32.859 enough kids to feel the weight class. So then 00:33:32.859 --> 00:33:37.059 at that point, I got a medal. And I always thought 00:33:37.059 --> 00:33:41.019 that that was just a cheap way to get a medal. 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:45.079 And the medals that I had earned later on were 00:33:45.079 --> 00:33:49.380 ones that I prized a lot more. Yeah, exactly. 00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:51.339 And I think that's the thing. The medal is a 00:33:51.339 --> 00:33:54.079 reflection of you becoming the best version of 00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:56.859 you. And that ends up being a gold. I think that's 00:33:56.859 --> 00:34:00.700 incredible. But if the best version of you achieves, 00:34:00.700 --> 00:34:02.619 the best thing you know in your heart says that's 00:34:02.619 --> 00:34:04.319 the peak of your performance, you've done everything 00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:06.599 you can. I guess you're a bronze. Then you need 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:08.719 to be fucking proud of that bronze. Yeah, totally. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:13.119 I agree. All right. Well, I want to talk about 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:15.280 training as well, because I know we'll get into 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.440 where you are as far as your CrossFit journey 00:34:18.440 --> 00:34:20.579 and your lifting journey as well, as well as 00:34:20.579 --> 00:34:23.380 obviously the climbing. But at what age did your 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:25.679 dad start? training you, you know, weights and 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:30.780 the fitness side as well as the wrestling. Started 00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:33.380 a lot of that when I was a kid. You know, I was 00:34:33.380 --> 00:34:38.400 11, 12 years old. And then just gradually, you 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:40.559 know, I just started with just a cuff wrapped 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:42.840 around my arm and a rope attached to free weights. 00:34:42.980 --> 00:34:45.619 And that's kind of how it all began. And then 00:34:45.619 --> 00:34:48.860 just gradually kept kind of progressing and broke 00:34:48.860 --> 00:34:51.019 my ropes and got chains, broke those chains, 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:55.360 got bigger ones. competed in the GNC's World's 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:58.519 Strongest Team when I was 17, almost 18, and 00:34:58.519 --> 00:35:03.800 then did sort of a modified bench press, butterfly 00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:09.800 press, about 120 pounds in each arm, so 240 pounds 00:35:09.800 --> 00:35:14.820 for 23 reps. And then, yeah, but started basically 00:35:14.820 --> 00:35:17.579 with two and a half pound, you know, little tiny 00:35:17.579 --> 00:35:20.000 for five pound at most, plates on each side, 00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:21.980 you know, to go and kind of get my form down 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:25.139 before. my dad would let me move up. So there's 00:35:25.139 --> 00:35:28.639 a lot of time spent lying on the bench, you know, 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:34.019 doing that. Um, and then ultimately one of my 00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:35.860 favorite things when I got into the CrossFit 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:38.519 was, you know, it was just realizing the deficiencies 00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:40.559 that I had in all of these different areas that, 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:46.340 um, you know, were not obvious to when the guys 00:35:46.340 --> 00:35:49.320 who want to like go, go to the gym and only work 00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:51.199 on stuff that they like working on, you know, 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:53.579 but then all of a sudden you get, you know, different 00:35:53.579 --> 00:35:56.820 type of fitness that kind of picks apart areas 00:35:56.820 --> 00:36:00.980 where you're not so strong. And, um, you know, 00:36:00.980 --> 00:36:04.980 if I could do that modified bench press for three 00:36:04.980 --> 00:36:07.119 or four times when I could front squat, then 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:09.599 that's, that's not really a balanced athlete. 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:14.340 So it just, you know, learning that and focusing 00:36:14.340 --> 00:36:17.579 on kind of bringing up the deficiencies a bit, 00:36:17.579 --> 00:36:19.760 you know, they're never going to be our strengths, 00:36:20.059 --> 00:36:25.699 but yeah. we can be less deficient, I think is, 00:36:25.699 --> 00:36:29.800 you know, it was just completely changed everything. 00:36:29.860 --> 00:36:32.820 And just the, the, the type of training to that, 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:37.260 that CrossFit had inspired. Like I, I do, I think 00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:42.840 forever I will always do something sort of like 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:46.539 that, you know, the Metcon style. I don't really 00:36:46.539 --> 00:36:50.719 follow like a strict. CrossFit methodology or 00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:52.440 anything like that anymore. I just learned from 00:36:52.440 --> 00:36:55.460 a lot of different people. In fact, Jeff Nichols, 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:57.219 who I know is on your podcast, just gave me some 00:36:57.219 --> 00:37:00.219 phenomenal training advice the last time that 00:37:00.219 --> 00:37:05.539 we worked out together a couple weeks ago. It's 00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:11.980 always a journey. I am forever grateful to Greg 00:37:11.980 --> 00:37:14.880 Glassman, the CrossFit founder, for what he brought 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:18.320 to the world. No matter what, what anybody says, 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:22.320 like I opened a CrossFit box in 2008, you know, 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:26.840 and I remember the gym world prior to that. We 00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:30.880 were the 10th gym in Atlanta and, you know, 10th 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:35.559 CrossFit box. And it was like, it was a different 00:37:35.559 --> 00:37:38.769 world. It was a completely different space. It 00:37:38.769 --> 00:37:40.809 was just people were not doing the same things 00:37:40.809 --> 00:37:44.349 that they're doing now. And no matter what, there's 00:37:44.349 --> 00:37:47.349 love and hate on both sides, but no one can deny 00:37:47.349 --> 00:37:51.230 that it has forever changed the landscape of 00:37:51.230 --> 00:37:56.170 functional fitness in the world. Yeah, I couldn't 00:37:56.170 --> 00:37:57.989 agree more. I actually got into it right around 00:37:57.989 --> 00:38:01.570 that same time when you opened the gym. And I 00:38:01.570 --> 00:38:03.210 think I've talked about this on the show before, 00:38:03.289 --> 00:38:06.400 but it was funny. I remember doing handstand 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:09.239 push -ups and muscle -ups in the YMCA and all 00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:11.519 the high school kids with their cut -off shirts 00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:14.579 were all laughing at me. And then about three 00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:17.440 or four years later, when CrossFit was cool... 00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:19.260 the same kids are coming over like, Hey bro, 00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:20.820 can you show me how to do this? And I'm in my 00:38:20.820 --> 00:38:22.340 mind and think, Oh, it's not so fucking funny 00:38:22.340 --> 00:38:28.159 now, is it? So yeah, before it was cool, but 00:38:28.159 --> 00:38:30.059 it has an extent, you know, whatever your thing, 00:38:30.099 --> 00:38:32.159 whether it's, um, you know, powerlifting or Olympic 00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:34.679 lifting or strong man or gymnastics, it's inspired 00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:37.000 all these, even the combatives that I see on 00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:39.440 there now, it's definitely spawned that. And 00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:42.329 if people kind of spin off and then go do. focus 00:38:42.329 --> 00:38:45.829 on on those those uh other areas and don't technically 00:38:45.829 --> 00:38:48.269 do crossfit anymore if that was something that 00:38:48.269 --> 00:38:51.130 that germinated that interest and then sent it 00:38:51.130 --> 00:38:53.269 elsewhere then again they've done their job if 00:38:53.269 --> 00:38:54.690 they question their nutrition they've done their 00:38:54.690 --> 00:38:58.550 job totally yeah i mean and that's where it's 00:38:58.550 --> 00:39:00.670 it's so cool to see too and then even you know 00:39:00.670 --> 00:39:04.110 um you know our mutual buddy joey darolk you 00:39:04.110 --> 00:39:08.650 know like see you see him like in a totally different 00:39:08.650 --> 00:39:12.840 like type of uh a fitness that's that's just 00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:16.559 so creative but it's it's fascinating to me how 00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:20.559 so many things have kind of like you know just 00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:23.780 just spawned not necessarily all purely as a 00:39:23.780 --> 00:39:25.760 consequence across it i don't make that like 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:27.940 claim by any means but i think just like in general 00:39:27.940 --> 00:39:31.000 like the world of fitness is just erupted in 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:32.699 all these different directions and i mean there's 00:39:32.699 --> 00:39:34.719 so many different things now too that like i 00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:38.599 just generally have no idea what they do, but 00:39:38.599 --> 00:39:40.079 they're like super successful. Like I've not 00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:41.940 been in an orange theory box, but I mean, those 00:39:41.940 --> 00:39:43.860 things are freaking blown up all over the place. 00:39:43.960 --> 00:39:47.340 You know, there's, there's a, you know, fit wall 00:39:47.340 --> 00:39:50.480 here in San Diego. Um, yeah, there's like a million 00:39:50.480 --> 00:39:53.599 different bootcamp options and Pilates and yoga. 00:39:54.139 --> 00:39:57.719 And it just definitely, there's, there's no shortage 00:39:57.719 --> 00:40:01.099 of stuff to get into in that journey. You know? 00:40:01.300 --> 00:40:03.800 And I think it's cool to try a lot of different 00:40:03.800 --> 00:40:06.500 stuff, you know, and be able to, try stuff that 00:40:06.500 --> 00:40:09.519 it makes us uncomfortable yoga is definitely 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:13.039 something that i want to incorporate more of 00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:15.320 into my training regimen i was actually like 00:40:15.320 --> 00:40:17.519 literally today thinking uh this morning having 00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:21.219 breakfast and i was like yeah i need to sort 00:40:21.219 --> 00:40:23.780 of like stretch to get out of bed this morning 00:40:23.780 --> 00:40:26.000 i'm like okay this is it's it's definitely time 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:28.940 to start incorporating a little bit more you 00:40:28.940 --> 00:40:32.840 know maintenance in uh my routine yeah and how 00:40:32.840 --> 00:40:37.500 old are you now 32. Okay. So you're still young, 00:40:37.639 --> 00:40:39.800 but you're starting to approach that where, where 00:40:39.800 --> 00:40:42.119 things are getting sore for a couple extra days 00:40:42.119 --> 00:40:46.659 and things are a little tight. Yeah. Don't take 00:40:46.659 --> 00:40:48.480 it for granted. Only 20 year olds listening, 00:40:48.519 --> 00:40:51.300 but that's the, as they say, the youth is wasted 00:40:51.300 --> 00:40:54.239 on the young. Yeah, very true. I'm trying to 00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:56.119 stay, you know, keeping up with them. But yeah, 00:40:56.239 --> 00:40:58.980 it definitely takes a little more work. I can't 00:40:58.980 --> 00:41:00.840 just roll in with a hangover and then still, 00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:05.519 you know, crush a wad these days. So we talked 00:41:05.519 --> 00:41:08.099 about Rolk and I had him on the show, an amazing, 00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:10.460 amazing human. I'm actually going to California 00:41:10.460 --> 00:41:12.500 in October and I'm going to train with him when 00:41:12.500 --> 00:41:14.800 I'm over there. How did you meet him initially? 00:41:16.739 --> 00:41:18.980 Man, that's a really good question. I actually. 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:24.519 I can't remember who the first connection came 00:41:24.519 --> 00:41:29.539 through. It might have been Hinner Gracie. Somehow. 00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:33.340 It's almost kind of like I've just always known 00:41:33.340 --> 00:41:36.440 him. I don't know. He's one of those people that 00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:38.559 you meet that's just like this infectious spirit, 00:41:38.780 --> 00:41:42.860 that aloha spirit is just alive inside of him. 00:41:45.380 --> 00:41:48.579 I actually will have to think about that more. 00:41:49.050 --> 00:41:51.710 caught me off guard with that one well why are 00:41:51.710 --> 00:41:53.849 you thinking about that so one of the things 00:41:53.849 --> 00:41:56.050 obviously he does a lot of floor work and he's 00:41:56.050 --> 00:41:58.570 known for bear crawling ridiculous distances 00:41:58.570 --> 00:42:02.829 himself um so what i'm obviously with the crawling 00:42:02.829 --> 00:42:06.469 work that he does um was he able to put you through 00:42:06.469 --> 00:42:08.809 through things that you'd never kind of done 00:42:08.809 --> 00:42:10.429 or felt before because i saw your face at the 00:42:10.429 --> 00:42:11.949 end of his workout which looked very familiar 00:42:11.949 --> 00:42:15.829 oh yeah man he worked me for sure it was wild 00:42:15.829 --> 00:42:23.880 and I think, like anything, when I bear crawl, 00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:30.260 then I kind of have my own way of doing it. His 00:42:30.260 --> 00:42:34.079 way of mixing it up was totally different than 00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:40.699 anything that I had done. He's just a freaking 00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:45.030 animal, too. Bear crawl, 10K. distances and i 00:42:45.030 --> 00:42:48.150 mean all kinds of crazy stuff so he's an absolute 00:42:48.150 --> 00:42:50.929 freak of nature but it's just in you know inspiring 00:42:50.929 --> 00:42:53.050 being around him and yeah he absolutely worked 00:42:53.050 --> 00:42:55.809 me right well well speaking of crawling then 00:42:55.809 --> 00:42:58.690 this i guess that's a good transition to your 00:42:58.690 --> 00:43:04.030 introduction to climbing mountains so as a precursor 00:43:04.030 --> 00:43:06.989 to that i actually was very very lucky to climbed 00:43:06.989 --> 00:43:08.809 the World Trade Center a few months ago with 00:43:08.809 --> 00:43:13.130 Rob Jones, who lost both legs from an IED explosion. 00:43:13.650 --> 00:43:15.650 And he used the same kind of prosthesis that 00:43:15.650 --> 00:43:18.750 I see you use sometimes, took off his legs and 00:43:18.750 --> 00:43:21.630 put on the pads on his, I think it's just above 00:43:21.630 --> 00:43:24.409 knee amputation for him. And then bear crawled 00:43:24.409 --> 00:43:29.929 103 floors up. So what was it that got you to 00:43:29.929 --> 00:43:32.449 think about, you know, a vertical, especially 00:43:32.449 --> 00:43:34.949 such a long, long vertical challenge like that? 00:43:37.619 --> 00:43:40.460 I, you know, I think it was a lot to do with 00:43:40.460 --> 00:43:45.920 just adventure ADD, you know, and MMA fight and 00:43:45.920 --> 00:43:47.380 like, you know, it was like kind of looking for 00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:48.880 something else. I'm like, ah, you know, maybe 00:43:48.880 --> 00:43:50.659 mountaineering. I ended up, I did a CrossFit 00:43:50.659 --> 00:43:52.539 competition and the first workout that we did 00:43:52.539 --> 00:43:55.440 was a thousand meter row in a rowing machine. 00:43:55.500 --> 00:43:57.960 And then you had to run up stone mountain and, 00:43:58.079 --> 00:44:01.159 you know, knew it probably wasn't going to fare 00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:04.460 too well in that. I think, um, you know, the, 00:44:04.599 --> 00:44:09.630 like, average time was maybe 25 minutes for that 00:44:09.630 --> 00:44:12.750 event I think for me it was an hour and 47 or 00:44:12.750 --> 00:44:16.050 something like that so it was a 900 foot bear 00:44:16.050 --> 00:44:18.889 crawl up this little granite rock in Atlanta 00:44:18.889 --> 00:44:24.309 Georgia and and then it just got it turned into 00:44:24.309 --> 00:44:26.230 that night I came home and told my friend that 00:44:26.230 --> 00:44:27.909 I wanted to go and climb Kilimanjaro and she 00:44:27.909 --> 00:44:31.250 said you're effing crazy like you know you're 00:44:31.250 --> 00:44:35.559 gonna die like she's just I'm perplexed by the 00:44:35.559 --> 00:44:37.199 fact that I was just completely destroyed by 00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:39.260 doing so at Mountain. I'm like already, you know, 00:44:39.280 --> 00:44:41.980 that crazy sort of imagination. I'm like, all 00:44:41.980 --> 00:44:47.280 right, let's, you know, 10x this or 20x it. And 00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:48.739 then a couple of years later, we're just standing 00:44:48.739 --> 00:44:51.360 on top of the summit. It was a massive process, 00:44:51.659 --> 00:44:56.420 you know. It's been a long time going into all 00:44:56.420 --> 00:44:57.920 of that that it took to go and get there. But 00:44:57.920 --> 00:45:00.719 it was, that whole journey was amazing. And it 00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:03.710 really, I think, was... was special, too, in 00:45:03.710 --> 00:45:09.489 the fact that, you know, as a kid, I, you know, 00:45:09.489 --> 00:45:13.269 just grew up, you know, a lot of my time was 00:45:13.269 --> 00:45:19.170 spent in a wheelchair. And so because of that, 00:45:19.250 --> 00:45:22.309 my friends would go and run off into the woods 00:45:22.309 --> 00:45:24.789 and I couldn't go and follow them. And so I wanted 00:45:24.789 --> 00:45:27.130 to be able to. And that was just proof of the 00:45:27.130 --> 00:45:30.869 fact that we could, you know, by putting our 00:45:30.869 --> 00:45:33.440 minds to it. and kind of dedicating some time 00:45:33.440 --> 00:45:37.099 and effort, energy towards it, then an amazing 00:45:37.099 --> 00:45:38.840 group of people came together and helped realize 00:45:38.840 --> 00:45:42.199 that vision. And that was everything. The team 00:45:42.199 --> 00:45:44.840 that we had to make it happen was absolutely 00:45:44.840 --> 00:45:49.119 phenomenal. And then a couple years later, after 00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:51.739 saying, I'm like, I'm probably good on the mountains 00:45:51.739 --> 00:45:53.599 for a while, and then all of a sudden I find 00:45:53.599 --> 00:45:56.980 myself on an even higher, colder, longer trip 00:45:56.980 --> 00:46:00.500 on Mount Aconcagua, which was... Breathtakingly 00:46:00.500 --> 00:46:04.139 beautiful. And also. Like breathtaking in every 00:46:04.139 --> 00:46:07.000 other regard too. Including incredibly. Probably 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:11.519 the closest I ever came to. Physical death. Not 00:46:11.519 --> 00:46:13.579 even kidding. Like there was a night where I 00:46:13.579 --> 00:46:15.659 thought. That like there was a decent chance. 00:46:15.860 --> 00:46:17.139 When I went to sleep that night. That I wouldn't 00:46:17.139 --> 00:46:18.579 wake up in the morning. Because of just like 00:46:18.579 --> 00:46:21.360 sheer exhaustion. And my resting heart rate was 00:46:21.360 --> 00:46:27.139 not dropping below. Like 130, 135. So. It just. 00:46:29.659 --> 00:46:34.539 The mountains are just symbolic of so much, but 00:46:34.539 --> 00:46:40.639 when you actually encounter them, the very literal 00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:48.300 feeling of it is pretty powerful. You said you 00:46:48.300 --> 00:46:49.559 climbed a mountain, and then you talked about 00:46:49.559 --> 00:46:51.280 another mountain. We missed out the details here. 00:46:51.780 --> 00:46:54.820 How many hours a day were you climbing, and how 00:46:54.820 --> 00:46:56.960 many days did it take from the base to the summit? 00:46:59.259 --> 00:47:02.800 So Kilimanjaro was 10 days up, I think two and 00:47:02.800 --> 00:47:09.820 a half down. It was, I'd say an average day was 00:47:09.820 --> 00:47:12.800 five or six hours, maybe seven or eight, some 00:47:12.800 --> 00:47:16.780 longer, one longer day where we'd have 11 or 00:47:16.780 --> 00:47:19.159 so hours, 11, almost 12 to go up the Western 00:47:19.159 --> 00:47:23.559 breach, which is sort of the steepest. western 00:47:23.559 --> 00:47:25.980 facing side it was the most direct path and it 00:47:25.980 --> 00:47:28.079 was not our original plan to take that route 00:47:28.079 --> 00:47:32.059 but we did and um cut off about five days of 00:47:32.059 --> 00:47:34.539 the total trip time because it was i knew i'd 00:47:34.539 --> 00:47:37.619 rather just have one hellish day to go up this 00:47:37.619 --> 00:47:41.260 western slope than five slow death days of you 00:47:41.260 --> 00:47:43.199 know marching around to the east side of the 00:47:43.199 --> 00:47:48.239 mountain um my arms and my feet were just swelling 00:47:48.239 --> 00:47:50.860 inside of the gear and just the mileage that 00:47:50.860 --> 00:47:54.519 we put on was just incredibly taxing but it was 00:47:54.519 --> 00:48:01.679 it was so beautiful too and um Aconcagua was 00:48:01.679 --> 00:48:04.260 a you know with that with that climate was different 00:48:04.260 --> 00:48:07.599 we had a team of just four Americans including 00:48:07.599 --> 00:48:13.659 myself and two Argentinian guides so six of us 00:48:13.659 --> 00:48:21.699 for 17 days and uh you know almost You know, 00:48:21.719 --> 00:48:23.659 I was about one and a half times, I think, the 00:48:23.659 --> 00:48:26.880 amount of time to go up it. And it just took 00:48:26.880 --> 00:48:33.000 everything. So Aconcagua is 19 ,340 feet. Aconcagua 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:36.519 is 22 ,800. And the highest peak in the world 00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:41.480 outside of the Himalaya. And on the summit day, 00:48:41.659 --> 00:48:46.820 there was a body of an American climber that 00:48:46.820 --> 00:48:49.860 they just brought down. He'd fallen. that had 00:48:49.860 --> 00:48:53.719 a stroke fell hit his head and um you know they 00:48:53.719 --> 00:48:55.179 just brought his body down like right as we were 00:48:55.179 --> 00:48:59.320 passing through and I like I felt like I was 00:48:59.320 --> 00:49:03.099 close knocking on death's door which is definitely 00:49:03.099 --> 00:49:05.920 not the place to have something you know go wrong 00:49:05.920 --> 00:49:07.599 medically it was just it was just physically 00:49:07.599 --> 00:49:10.679 took everything I had inside of me to get it 00:49:10.679 --> 00:49:14.239 going and that summit day too just had gear breaking 00:49:14.239 --> 00:49:19.030 and you know going through the ice wall and like 00:49:19.030 --> 00:49:24.030 all this crazy stuff that just it's kind of wild 00:49:24.030 --> 00:49:26.389 to like sit back and reflect on it from time 00:49:26.389 --> 00:49:32.369 to time but um that that summit was was pretty 00:49:32.369 --> 00:49:34.590 special and we didn't really even tell anybody 00:49:34.590 --> 00:49:36.070 that we're necessarily going out there that go 00:49:36.070 --> 00:49:39.750 and do it i kind of have mixed feelings about 00:49:39.750 --> 00:49:42.969 you know the super social world that we live 00:49:42.969 --> 00:49:45.190 in sometimes i like to just go out and just just 00:49:45.190 --> 00:49:50.050 do stuff and not try to you know, overtly publicize 00:49:50.050 --> 00:49:55.309 it. So, and, um, and I was, it was absolutely 00:49:55.309 --> 00:49:57.550 awesome. The stars that night that came out to 00:49:57.550 --> 00:50:01.489 you after coming down, it was, didn't make it 00:50:01.489 --> 00:50:03.789 back to the camp that I ended up sleeping at 00:50:03.789 --> 00:50:09.010 until about one 30 that morning. But it was, 00:50:09.030 --> 00:50:12.110 that was the toughest physical day in my life, 00:50:12.110 --> 00:50:15.269 the summit day in Aconcagua, but it was also 00:50:15.269 --> 00:50:18.360 probably the best too. yeah that must have been 00:50:18.360 --> 00:50:20.360 pretty challenging if you're you know you're 00:50:20.360 --> 00:50:23.039 questioning your climb and you're telling yourself 00:50:23.039 --> 00:50:24.719 what's the worst that's going to happen you know 00:50:24.719 --> 00:50:26.280 i'm not going to die and then they bring a dead 00:50:26.280 --> 00:50:28.880 climber by you and you're like okay maybe i might 00:50:28.880 --> 00:50:31.019 die that's that's got to change your mentality 00:50:31.019 --> 00:50:34.460 a little bit yeah for sure i mean it's and it's 00:50:34.460 --> 00:50:36.460 also it's you know it's it's a bit different 00:50:36.460 --> 00:50:44.280 than um you know did like then uh like a first 00:50:44.280 --> 00:50:46.380 responder too right like if you have somebody 00:50:46.380 --> 00:50:49.360 who's going into a burning building to go and 00:50:49.360 --> 00:50:55.719 rescue someone, then there's like a different 00:50:55.719 --> 00:50:59.519 tolerance, I think, for that risk to go and to 00:50:59.519 --> 00:51:06.360 climb a mountain. It's not as clear as to, you 00:51:06.360 --> 00:51:10.639 know, that like the purpose for it. And then 00:51:10.639 --> 00:51:13.260 I come down and get to go and share that story. 00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:20.610 And then immediately. Even though, like I said, 00:51:20.690 --> 00:51:24.449 we didn't really intend to go out and do this 00:51:24.449 --> 00:51:26.389 for the press coverage or whatever, but then 00:51:26.389 --> 00:51:28.909 that happens, and then all of a sudden people 00:51:28.909 --> 00:51:31.389 are saying around the world that the story stopped 00:51:31.389 --> 00:51:39.170 them from suicide. So in a way, it's not nearly 00:51:39.170 --> 00:51:43.309 a perfect comparable kind of thing. They do have 00:51:43.309 --> 00:51:45.130 just a tremendous amount of respect for them. 00:51:46.480 --> 00:51:49.900 you know police fire uh military you know whoever's 00:51:49.900 --> 00:51:51.480 going to put on the uniform put themselves in 00:51:51.480 --> 00:51:56.980 harm's way but i guess it was kind of a different 00:51:56.980 --> 00:52:01.000 way of doing that you know it didn't really know 00:52:01.000 --> 00:52:03.519 or could connect to the amount of hope that it 00:52:03.519 --> 00:52:06.280 would it would give people for whatever that 00:52:06.280 --> 00:52:08.239 was that they were going through and that was 00:52:08.239 --> 00:52:12.059 pretty cool no it's very very cool i heard you 00:52:12.059 --> 00:52:13.159 mention that that's what we talked about at the 00:52:13.159 --> 00:52:15.489 beginning about you know having that desire to 00:52:15.489 --> 00:52:18.710 to serve when you saw the towers fall but then 00:52:18.710 --> 00:52:21.030 just like you said i mean this this was the path 00:52:21.030 --> 00:52:23.130 that you were supposed to take and and the impact 00:52:23.130 --> 00:52:26.989 that you've had is you know is paramount to probably 00:52:26.989 --> 00:52:28.429 anything that you would have been able to done 00:52:28.429 --> 00:52:30.909 um you know with a single pair of boots on your 00:52:30.909 --> 00:52:32.750 feet as a soldier as a firefighter as a police 00:52:32.750 --> 00:52:35.489 officer and i had the same kind of experience 00:52:35.489 --> 00:52:38.210 myself i was never destined to to be a soldier 00:52:38.210 --> 00:52:41.300 i don't think um And I felt bad about that in 00:52:41.300 --> 00:52:43.159 one respect. And when I found the fire service, 00:52:43.320 --> 00:52:46.239 that was my calling. And then now with this podcast 00:52:46.239 --> 00:52:49.380 as well, it's another way to affect change. And 00:52:49.380 --> 00:52:52.199 you don't always have to have your hands on people 00:52:52.199 --> 00:52:56.079 doing that exact profession your entire life 00:52:56.079 --> 00:52:59.360 to affect change. And you see that through Tim 00:52:59.360 --> 00:53:00.920 Ferriss and Joe Rogan and some of these other 00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:04.889 people that are... putting these messages out 00:53:04.889 --> 00:53:07.090 and circumnavigating some of the barriers that 00:53:07.090 --> 00:53:09.269 we see traditionally. And that's absolutely what 00:53:09.269 --> 00:53:12.329 I've seen with you and some of your peers is 00:53:12.329 --> 00:53:16.409 regardless of what shape or form it takes, positivity, 00:53:16.909 --> 00:53:18.730 behavior breeds behavior. And that positivity 00:53:18.730 --> 00:53:21.869 just grows. And if you can get past the negative 00:53:21.869 --> 00:53:24.510 barriers, like we talked about social media earlier, 00:53:24.590 --> 00:53:28.170 and use that for positive reasons, then like 00:53:28.170 --> 00:53:30.869 you said, you can be climbing a mountain in South 00:53:30.869 --> 00:53:36.500 America you know, Shanghai. Totally. Yeah. I 00:53:36.500 --> 00:53:38.639 mean, there's, there's no question. I think that 00:53:38.639 --> 00:53:41.440 the, the technology has allowed us to be able 00:53:41.440 --> 00:53:44.500 to spread this message so much further and faster 00:53:44.500 --> 00:53:47.079 and, you know, any message that, that wants to 00:53:47.079 --> 00:53:48.320 be spread. I mean, there's, you know, I mean, 00:53:48.340 --> 00:53:51.480 even, uh, you know, ISIS or groups like that 00:53:51.480 --> 00:53:53.940 will use video to recruit people in social media. 00:53:53.980 --> 00:53:56.340 You know, it's, um, It's whatever message we 00:53:56.340 --> 00:53:59.139 want to go and spread. And ultimately, I think 00:53:59.139 --> 00:54:01.619 a lot of that messaging comes down to, you know, 00:54:01.619 --> 00:54:07.380 it's a reflection of us. And, yeah, I think it's 00:54:07.380 --> 00:54:13.519 definitely, you know, a balance that I've had 00:54:13.519 --> 00:54:16.760 to have in conversations I've had at length. 00:54:17.880 --> 00:54:21.400 You know, one of my best friends. I know you 00:54:21.400 --> 00:54:23.920 know of, we talked about him earlier, Mitch Aguiar, 00:54:23.940 --> 00:54:27.900 who's got a big social media presence. He spends 00:54:27.900 --> 00:54:30.599 a lot of time and effort and energy in his audience, 00:54:30.760 --> 00:54:34.380 even way beyond what people would necessarily 00:54:34.380 --> 00:54:37.940 realize, messaging people. To me, I'm like, man, 00:54:38.059 --> 00:54:42.139 that's awesome, but it's not my nature. I would 00:54:42.139 --> 00:54:48.690 rather just be in the world and figure out. I 00:54:48.690 --> 00:54:50.869 love receiving messages from people, don't get 00:54:50.869 --> 00:54:54.070 me wrong. But at the same time, I'm like, there's 00:54:54.070 --> 00:54:56.869 sort of like a blessing and a curse to come with 00:54:56.869 --> 00:55:03.250 any type of audience. I do feel fortunate to 00:55:03.250 --> 00:55:06.809 be where I'm at and also not really sure right 00:55:06.809 --> 00:55:09.929 now where the future is going to lead, but in 00:55:09.929 --> 00:55:13.769 a very exciting kind of way. I think I'm ready 00:55:13.769 --> 00:55:17.230 for... I've never really wanted to be associated 00:55:17.230 --> 00:55:22.610 with any one thing. It was like wrestler, speaker, 00:55:22.769 --> 00:55:25.829 author, all this stuff, jiu -jitsu, CrossFit, 00:55:26.030 --> 00:55:29.570 mountaineering. To me, that's all well and good, 00:55:29.630 --> 00:55:31.050 but there's a million other different things 00:55:31.050 --> 00:55:33.150 I want to go and do with the time that I have. 00:55:35.929 --> 00:55:38.329 That's a big part of life is just go out and 00:55:38.329 --> 00:55:43.489 learn stuff and fail at it at first. Yeah, you 00:55:43.489 --> 00:55:45.650 said before, getting comfortable, being uncomfortable 00:55:45.650 --> 00:55:49.809 is the secret of life, in my opinion. It's a 00:55:49.809 --> 00:55:52.989 big one for sure. So I wanted to talk about one 00:55:52.989 --> 00:55:55.769 more element of your climb before we move on. 00:55:55.849 --> 00:55:58.010 And then we'll talk about Mitch and Stu and Jeff 00:55:58.010 --> 00:55:59.710 and the project that you guys have got coming 00:55:59.710 --> 00:56:04.230 up very soon. But you climbed with a very unique 00:56:04.230 --> 00:56:06.909 individual. I'm probably going to butcher his 00:56:06.909 --> 00:56:10.739 name now. Eric Weinmayer. Yeah. So please tell 00:56:10.739 --> 00:56:13.719 us. Pretty good. Yeah. Tell us. OK, good. Thank 00:56:13.719 --> 00:56:16.239 you. So, yeah, if you wouldn't mind explaining 00:56:16.239 --> 00:56:18.920 to the audience, you know, who Eric is, what 00:56:18.920 --> 00:56:21.440 his physical challenges are and just briefly 00:56:21.440 --> 00:56:25.760 what he's done so far. Yeah. So, Eric, he was 00:56:25.760 --> 00:56:28.780 born with his vision normal and intact. I think 00:56:28.780 --> 00:56:31.420 it was around 15 years old that he lost it. And 00:56:31.420 --> 00:56:34.139 it's kind of also around the time I believe that 00:56:34.139 --> 00:56:36.179 he lost his mother. And so it's just a lot of. 00:56:37.210 --> 00:56:41.809 you know, challenge, you know, and just a difficulty 00:56:41.809 --> 00:56:43.889 that he had to be able to endure there, the pain 00:56:43.889 --> 00:56:49.969 that he transmuted into then, you know, really 00:56:49.969 --> 00:56:53.489 having a desire to become a climber and kind 00:56:53.489 --> 00:56:58.510 of pioneered a lot of the, you know, people with 00:56:58.510 --> 00:57:00.969 disabilities climbing around the world. So he 00:57:00.969 --> 00:57:03.849 climbed the seven summits, which is the high 00:57:03.849 --> 00:57:09.679 peak on each continent. And, you know, and I'm 00:57:09.679 --> 00:57:12.280 doing so completed summiting Mount Everest, including 00:57:12.280 --> 00:57:15.039 Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro, but in particular 00:57:15.039 --> 00:57:18.659 Everest, you know, it's a huge gap. Aconcagua 00:57:18.659 --> 00:57:20.800 is the second highest of the seven summits, but 00:57:20.800 --> 00:57:24.960 it's, you know, 22 ,800 feet versus Everest is 00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:30.510 29 ,035 feet. So it's a massive, massive. difference 00:57:30.510 --> 00:57:33.010 there you know it's definitely it's not a linear 00:57:33.010 --> 00:57:35.230 progression either too as you get higher up in 00:57:35.230 --> 00:57:37.269 altitude it just like every little bit sucks 00:57:37.269 --> 00:57:42.329 the higher you go so eric is just a phenomenal 00:57:42.329 --> 00:57:47.030 you know just force of nature and he just recently 00:57:47.030 --> 00:57:50.949 completed kayaking the i believe the length of 00:57:50.949 --> 00:57:53.110 the lower half of the colorado river through 00:57:53.110 --> 00:57:57.139 the grand canyon blind So it's just wild, the 00:57:57.139 --> 00:57:58.380 things that he's got to go and do and take on 00:57:58.380 --> 00:58:00.860 in his life. And even more notably, I think, 00:58:00.860 --> 00:58:03.420 is on founding his nonprofit, No Barriers, which 00:58:03.420 --> 00:58:06.480 helps kids and adults with disabilities around 00:58:06.480 --> 00:58:12.300 the world get to experience outdoors and a number 00:58:12.300 --> 00:58:15.139 of other things. So Eric introduced me to my 00:58:15.139 --> 00:58:20.840 mountain guide, Kevin Chirilla, who Kevin and 00:58:20.840 --> 00:58:23.599 his partner, Kristen, were instrumental to kind 00:58:23.599 --> 00:58:27.139 of help me. get started in the in the climbing 00:58:27.139 --> 00:58:30.039 world and kevin's been with me on um all the 00:58:30.039 --> 00:58:33.599 major climbs that i've done amazing yeah you 00:58:33.599 --> 00:58:36.079 see you know you talk about people you know oh 00:58:36.079 --> 00:58:37.980 that that's that's admirable but then when you 00:58:37.980 --> 00:58:40.139 put yourself in their place like for you for 00:58:40.139 --> 00:58:43.320 example perfect example is if i asked the athletes 00:58:43.320 --> 00:58:47.199 i coach in crossfit to do uh you know 50 meter 00:58:47.199 --> 00:58:50.030 bear crawl they'd be dying at the end of it And 00:58:50.030 --> 00:58:52.570 you are doing seven hours. And so you have to 00:58:52.570 --> 00:58:54.010 kind of put yourself in the mind. The same with 00:58:54.010 --> 00:58:57.690 Eric. I mean, I can barely find myself from my 00:58:57.690 --> 00:59:00.730 bedroom door with the lights off. And to imagine 00:59:00.730 --> 00:59:04.269 doing that with no vision at all, it's just incredible. 00:59:04.449 --> 00:59:06.110 And again, it goes back to what we were talking 00:59:06.110 --> 00:59:09.849 about earlier. Cross ice ladders and all kinds 00:59:09.849 --> 00:59:14.929 of crazies, ropes. yeah oxygen bottles and tanks 00:59:14.929 --> 00:59:18.449 it just is absolutely wild what he achieved there 00:59:18.449 --> 00:59:21.610 yeah and but both of you you know it's here's 00:59:21.610 --> 00:59:24.449 the here's the the deviation from the norm and 00:59:24.449 --> 00:59:26.130 both of you are like all right well then we'll 00:59:26.130 --> 00:59:27.849 take this road let's travel then and we'll still 00:59:27.849 --> 00:59:30.449 make it work and that to me i mean it's inspiring 00:59:30.449 --> 00:59:33.769 because so many excuses are made and and i'm 00:59:33.769 --> 00:59:36.070 sure you you probably have this yourself i i 00:59:36.940 --> 00:59:40.159 I genuinely, you know, compassionately am saddened 00:59:40.159 --> 00:59:43.460 by people who waste the gift that is the human 00:59:43.460 --> 00:59:46.719 body because of the fear of getting outside their 00:59:46.719 --> 00:59:48.980 comfort zone, the fear of, you know, something 00:59:48.980 --> 00:59:51.079 being hard, whether it's exercise or nutrition, 00:59:51.380 --> 00:59:55.519 whatever, and owning that gift. Yeah, I totally 00:59:55.519 --> 00:59:58.880 I feel you. It's just like it's even like. front 00:59:58.880 --> 01:00:01.460 of mind right now um you know this morning i 01:00:01.460 --> 01:00:05.179 went to the dmv and then took a uber ride back 01:00:05.179 --> 01:00:08.320 home and i had a very very sweet driver you know 01:00:08.320 --> 01:00:13.380 who though she was just you know call it what 01:00:13.380 --> 01:00:16.539 she is she was pretty overweight and was you 01:00:16.539 --> 01:00:18.380 know not able to get out of her car to help me 01:00:18.380 --> 01:00:20.059 you know put the wheelchair in which is fine 01:00:20.059 --> 01:00:23.679 you know was able to find somebody to help throw 01:00:23.679 --> 01:00:28.280 the chair in the trunk and um she um was in a 01:00:28.280 --> 01:00:31.960 car accident, as she said, got rear -ended. And 01:00:31.960 --> 01:00:38.239 in the 90s, she said that she can't walk for 01:00:38.239 --> 01:00:40.320 more than two or three minutes at a time without 01:00:40.320 --> 01:00:44.280 pain. And so then consequently, had to live seemingly 01:00:44.280 --> 01:00:48.400 a pretty sedentary lifestyle. And I can empathize 01:00:48.400 --> 01:00:52.460 with that and the pain there. I also, too, just 01:00:52.460 --> 01:00:57.059 always wonder and question. It's like... You 01:00:57.059 --> 01:00:59.760 know, did she do everything that she could have 01:00:59.760 --> 01:01:02.739 to get that functionality back? Or was it that 01:01:02.739 --> 01:01:05.380 she just accepted, you know, some fate that the 01:01:05.380 --> 01:01:07.760 doctor told her that, oh, you'll never be able 01:01:07.760 --> 01:01:09.679 to do this again or ever go to that again? Just, 01:01:09.780 --> 01:01:12.340 you know, how many stories do we hear about people 01:01:12.340 --> 01:01:14.460 that have a doctor go and tell them that? And 01:01:14.460 --> 01:01:17.860 then, you know, they are able to make some type 01:01:17.860 --> 01:01:21.659 of miraculous turnaround or recovery, right? 01:01:21.820 --> 01:01:25.159 And just because they decide to. and put in that 01:01:25.159 --> 01:01:27.559 effort. Is that effort without pain? Absolutely 01:01:27.559 --> 01:01:31.599 not. It's an inextricable part of it. The suffering 01:01:31.599 --> 01:01:35.000 that exists there. I think it invariably results 01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:38.599 in people that become stronger and more adapted. 01:01:39.099 --> 01:01:41.940 Maybe not in the way in which they used to be, 01:01:42.019 --> 01:01:44.159 but even just mentally, physically, spiritually 01:01:44.159 --> 01:01:46.880 in just different ways. Those alternative ways 01:01:46.880 --> 01:01:50.360 we talked about at the beginning. I always wonder 01:01:50.360 --> 01:01:54.800 how many people I guess went the other way. How 01:01:54.800 --> 01:01:57.539 many people heard somebody say that was impossible 01:01:57.539 --> 01:02:00.219 and they believed them? And then because of that, 01:02:00.320 --> 01:02:02.380 they had a very different experience of this 01:02:02.380 --> 01:02:07.840 life. And who knows why we're here, what we're 01:02:07.840 --> 01:02:10.519 supposed to do and all of that. I don't pretend 01:02:10.519 --> 01:02:12.659 to have any of that figured out. I think not 01:02:12.659 --> 01:02:21.530 knowing actually empowers me more. faith in the 01:02:21.530 --> 01:02:24.710 unknown of something you know extraordinary but 01:02:24.710 --> 01:02:27.969 like i also too i don't know and then that it 01:02:27.969 --> 01:02:31.710 just it has me question and wonder what that 01:02:31.710 --> 01:02:33.989 is instead of just assuming and i guess the the 01:02:33.989 --> 01:02:37.369 best i can come up with is to try your fucking 01:02:37.369 --> 01:02:41.949 hardest you know and if if you want to go and 01:02:41.949 --> 01:02:45.690 do something then find a way and do it yeah yeah 01:02:45.690 --> 01:02:48.670 love that and i think one of the best representations 01:02:48.670 --> 01:02:52.949 i've seen of fuck it i'm gonna take control of 01:02:52.949 --> 01:02:54.409 my life and i don't know if you ever saw this 01:02:54.409 --> 01:02:58.469 or not but there was uh i forget he was a paratrooper 01:02:58.469 --> 01:03:02.030 back in the day um hurt his back become you know 01:03:02.030 --> 01:03:04.909 almost unable to walk uh you know use crutches 01:03:04.909 --> 01:03:06.969 and was in a wheelchair between the two became 01:03:06.969 --> 01:03:08.989 very overweight and he actually found diamond 01:03:08.989 --> 01:03:12.190 dallas pages yoga who's you know a retired oh 01:03:12.190 --> 01:03:15.440 yeah i remember that guy yoga yeah yeah do his 01:03:15.440 --> 01:03:17.539 podcast before too he's an awesome guy oh really 01:03:17.539 --> 01:03:20.059 well he had a specific guy and it went viral 01:03:20.059 --> 01:03:23.820 but this guy filmed himself almost like time 01:03:23.820 --> 01:03:27.480 lapse but over a few weeks at a time from not 01:03:27.480 --> 01:03:29.920 being able to walk and just knocking over his 01:03:29.920 --> 01:03:31.500 bookshelf and all this stuff when he was falling 01:03:31.500 --> 01:03:34.420 out of these poses To the very end, he's lost 01:03:34.420 --> 01:03:36.199 all the weight and he's running through the park. 01:03:36.280 --> 01:03:37.880 And the doctors told him he'd never be able to 01:03:37.880 --> 01:03:42.119 walk again. And it was a giant fuck you to what 01:03:42.119 --> 01:03:44.199 he'd been told. But that's exactly what it takes. 01:03:44.519 --> 01:03:47.739 We know now that diabetes is reversible. Heart 01:03:47.739 --> 01:03:50.059 disease is reversible. I'm pretty sure we're 01:03:50.059 --> 01:03:52.320 going to discover that cancer is definitely avoidable. 01:03:52.860 --> 01:03:55.079 you know, with nutrition and exercise with a 01:03:55.079 --> 01:03:56.679 lot of them. Obviously, some of the pediatric 01:03:56.679 --> 01:03:59.420 ones, maybe not so much, but we are just told 01:03:59.420 --> 01:04:01.440 the wrong things nutritionally. I mean, I was 01:04:01.440 --> 01:04:03.619 raised being told to, you know, carb up, eat 01:04:03.619 --> 01:04:05.559 your pasta, eat your bread. And now we know that's 01:04:05.559 --> 01:04:09.820 horrible advice. So it's that ability to question. 01:04:09.960 --> 01:04:11.659 And I think that, you know, even... It'd be delicious 01:04:11.659 --> 01:04:13.940 advice, but not... Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, 01:04:14.000 --> 01:04:15.980 pasta tastes good, you know, but you can have 01:04:15.980 --> 01:04:17.780 that if you've just, you know, done all the other 01:04:17.780 --> 01:04:19.760 active stuff first and have your pasta. But, 01:04:19.760 --> 01:04:22.019 you know, to question things, even politically. 01:04:22.349 --> 01:04:24.730 You know, we, we, we're a country that we just, 01:04:24.809 --> 01:04:26.829 you know, we look to the blue tie or the red 01:04:26.829 --> 01:04:28.570 tie, like, Oh, lead us, lead us, you know, and 01:04:28.570 --> 01:04:30.610 it's not, you lead yourself and then you control 01:04:30.610 --> 01:04:33.769 your own country. Preach brother. I'm getting 01:04:33.769 --> 01:04:36.230 on my soapbox now. I need to stop. It's great. 01:04:36.329 --> 01:04:38.650 I, you know, I think I try to, at this point 01:04:38.650 --> 01:04:43.650 to like resist a lot of like different ideologies 01:04:43.650 --> 01:04:45.809 and, and try to like, just get back to like, 01:04:45.869 --> 01:04:47.909 what is my own truth? You know? And it's amazing. 01:04:48.030 --> 01:04:50.900 You know, when we've talked about sort of. visualization 01:04:50.900 --> 01:04:54.099 or meditation like you know just challenge your 01:04:54.099 --> 01:04:57.400 audience to go and sit and spend you know 10 01:04:57.400 --> 01:05:01.480 minutes today you know just quiet down take a 01:05:01.480 --> 01:05:03.679 couple deep breaths and close your eyes and have 01:05:03.679 --> 01:05:06.579 a conversation with yourself about yourself and 01:05:06.579 --> 01:05:09.360 your life and like where you could do something 01:05:09.360 --> 01:05:13.280 different you know and like what um how different 01:05:13.280 --> 01:05:15.000 your life could look if you actually did that 01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:18.030 like what what would that look like whatever 01:05:18.030 --> 01:05:20.329 that thing is that comes up and pops up that 01:05:20.329 --> 01:05:23.809 we kind of know is there, but then rarely we 01:05:23.809 --> 01:05:26.650 do take the time to actually stop and do it. 01:05:27.570 --> 01:05:30.369 It's amazing, I think, that that kind of continual 01:05:30.369 --> 01:05:32.789 process of that, peeling away at those layers 01:05:32.789 --> 01:05:37.469 of excess that we don't need, I think it can 01:05:37.469 --> 01:05:41.250 result in a kind of transformative experience 01:05:41.250 --> 01:05:44.570 of this life. Yeah, now do you have a specific 01:05:44.570 --> 01:05:46.789 meditation practice you do or is it more just 01:05:46.789 --> 01:05:51.010 being quiet with your thoughts? There's not a 01:05:51.010 --> 01:05:55.730 specific one I would say it's a lot a lot of 01:05:55.730 --> 01:05:57.909 different stuff I get inspired by different things 01:05:57.909 --> 01:06:00.050 that I come across and I just like to throw in 01:06:00.050 --> 01:06:05.730 and try you know You know interestingly Carl 01:06:05.730 --> 01:06:08.269 Jung right now is kind of a guy I've been reading 01:06:08.269 --> 01:06:12.300 a lot about and He was a psychotherapist in the 01:06:12.300 --> 01:06:18.760 kind of pre - and post -World War II in Austria 01:06:18.760 --> 01:06:23.920 and kind of revolutionized a lot of what became 01:06:23.920 --> 01:06:29.960 modern -day psychotherapy. But he just had kind 01:06:29.960 --> 01:06:34.119 of some intense... periods of time of deep introspection 01:06:34.119 --> 01:06:38.900 and visualization and this questioning and beginning 01:06:38.900 --> 01:06:41.880 to unpack and uncover his psyche and would paint 01:06:41.880 --> 01:06:44.480 a lot of the stuff and all kinds of different 01:06:44.480 --> 01:06:49.340 things like that. I don't think it has to be 01:06:49.340 --> 01:06:53.099 anything in particular. Again, it's not any one 01:06:53.099 --> 01:06:55.460 thing. If somebody finds something that works 01:06:55.460 --> 01:06:58.619 for them and it's a specific program, cool. For 01:06:58.619 --> 01:07:01.980 me, it's kind of the same thing that's always 01:07:01.980 --> 01:07:06.980 been like it's just uh if it it's like the you 01:07:06.980 --> 01:07:09.500 know bruce lee philosophy right if it works use 01:07:09.500 --> 01:07:12.659 it if not throw it away yeah i quote that all 01:07:12.659 --> 01:07:15.639 the time i love it absorb what is useful yep 01:07:15.639 --> 01:07:18.340 all right well speaking of psychology i want 01:07:18.340 --> 01:07:20.119 to hit one more thing before we we transition 01:07:20.119 --> 01:07:23.219 to talking about the uh the event you got coming 01:07:23.219 --> 01:07:25.900 up and then some closing questions um but i heard 01:07:25.900 --> 01:07:27.360 you mention i thought this is very interesting 01:07:27.360 --> 01:07:29.639 because we see that in in our community as well 01:07:31.360 --> 01:07:35.039 The feeling you had after you had finished your 01:07:35.039 --> 01:07:40.260 summit and that event was done. I'm not even 01:07:40.260 --> 01:07:42.139 going to paint the picture. What was it like 01:07:42.139 --> 01:07:46.199 after you had achieved that huge, huge challenge 01:07:46.199 --> 01:07:48.679 that you gave yourself the following weeks and 01:07:48.679 --> 01:07:56.320 months after that event? It was a weird time, 01:07:56.400 --> 01:07:59.159 especially with Akin Kagawa. I'm not going to 01:07:59.159 --> 01:08:02.400 lie. After each adventure that I'd done, there 01:08:02.400 --> 01:08:05.159 was always a period of time afterwards of like 01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:09.920 a lull of kind of like, oh, okay, now what? And 01:08:09.920 --> 01:08:12.960 then Aconcagua kind of coming that close to, 01:08:13.039 --> 01:08:20.140 as close as I felt to death. It was really just, 01:08:20.279 --> 01:08:22.380 it did something different in me and changed 01:08:22.380 --> 01:08:27.859 me. You know, there was a girl that I was dating 01:08:27.859 --> 01:08:30.899 before and a little bit after and she was like, 01:08:30.920 --> 01:08:32.539 you know, there's just something that was just 01:08:32.539 --> 01:08:35.520 different kind of about me afterwards. I kind 01:08:35.520 --> 01:08:39.899 of tend to agree. I think a lot of it was for 01:08:39.899 --> 01:08:42.859 the better. I think there was almost like a kind 01:08:42.859 --> 01:08:48.119 of, you know, before I was becoming a lot more 01:08:48.119 --> 01:08:55.890 nihilistic about the state of the world. you 01:08:55.890 --> 01:08:59.630 know just sort of like um what's the point who 01:08:59.630 --> 01:09:02.310 am i to do anything different you know like all 01:09:02.310 --> 01:09:03.949 that kind of stuff that creeps in right we just 01:09:03.949 --> 01:09:06.890 go and look at just the amount of bullshit in 01:09:06.890 --> 01:09:09.069 the world and we're like i don't even want to 01:09:09.069 --> 01:09:13.170 try and then somehow after that mountain you 01:09:13.170 --> 01:09:17.960 know it was it was just like a that prayer that 01:09:17.960 --> 01:09:20.920 I'd made and the fourth night of 17 where I was 01:09:20.920 --> 01:09:23.779 literally like shaking and shivering in my tent 01:09:23.779 --> 01:09:25.619 my heart rate was going crazy that night like 01:09:25.619 --> 01:09:28.619 I said and that was the night that I didn't know 01:09:28.619 --> 01:09:30.279 like what was gonna happen if I was gonna wake 01:09:30.279 --> 01:09:32.300 up and see the morning and when I did I was just 01:09:32.300 --> 01:09:37.699 like super grateful to continue to exist and 01:09:37.699 --> 01:09:41.199 I just prayed that night I was like look if you 01:09:41.199 --> 01:09:44.100 know if anyone anything is hearing this then 01:09:44.539 --> 01:09:51.699 can help me get through this, then I will promise 01:09:51.699 --> 01:09:56.500 to use my life to do something with it to help 01:09:56.500 --> 01:10:01.460 better other people or something, make this world 01:10:01.460 --> 01:10:06.640 a better place. It was a very profound kind of 01:10:06.640 --> 01:10:11.359 experience. So then after that, it was just not 01:10:11.359 --> 01:10:13.079 any big trip, but after that, especially coming 01:10:13.079 --> 01:10:16.760 back home. kind of going back in a normal routine 01:10:16.760 --> 01:10:20.760 was, you know, it was different. And it's, it's 01:10:20.760 --> 01:10:24.560 just, it's been a very wild journey since that 01:10:24.560 --> 01:10:29.920 point. Um, which, you know, there's a whole other 01:10:29.920 --> 01:10:34.220 podcast discussion and down the road to go into 01:10:34.220 --> 01:10:37.460 all of that stuff, but it's been a very, let's 01:10:37.460 --> 01:10:40.439 say unconventional last couple of years. Absolutely 01:10:40.439 --> 01:10:45.149 amazing. Well, it's it's interesting the way 01:10:45.149 --> 01:10:47.369 you described it, because it sounds like it basically 01:10:47.369 --> 01:10:51.189 everything was stripped down to, like you said, 01:10:51.210 --> 01:10:53.789 waking up and being grateful for the very breath 01:10:53.789 --> 01:10:55.989 and your lungs again and all the other bullshit 01:10:55.989 --> 01:11:01.090 was removed. Totally. It's like just. There's 01:11:01.090 --> 01:11:04.630 something. I think that happens. I think it happens 01:11:04.630 --> 01:11:07.229 a lot to people, you know, when you see it with 01:11:07.229 --> 01:11:09.850 the attempted suicides happens, you know, with 01:11:09.850 --> 01:11:11.590 people, maybe, you know, especially I'm sure. 01:11:12.300 --> 01:11:15.880 in in this community that you have you know it's 01:11:15.880 --> 01:11:19.199 it's like people that come up with you know a 01:11:19.199 --> 01:11:23.500 close brush with death it changes you somehow 01:11:23.500 --> 01:11:29.640 and you know i think maybe not all the time but 01:11:29.640 --> 01:11:32.159 a lot of the time you know people are left with 01:11:32.159 --> 01:11:35.060 an intense gratitude just to continue to exist 01:11:35.060 --> 01:11:40.789 and um You know, it's kind of, I guess, like 01:11:40.789 --> 01:11:43.289 not too dissimilar from the, you know, the reports 01:11:43.289 --> 01:11:46.029 that you hear with people that jump off the San 01:11:46.029 --> 01:11:48.630 Francisco, you know, the Golden Gate Bridge and 01:11:48.630 --> 01:11:51.909 survive. Right. And they continually routinely 01:11:51.909 --> 01:11:54.609 say as soon as they jump, they knew that was 01:11:54.609 --> 01:11:58.069 the wrong choice. Yeah, exactly. I'm trying to 01:11:58.069 --> 01:11:59.829 get one of them. Kevin Hines is the guy that 01:11:59.829 --> 01:12:02.930 is actually touring at the moment. And he's he's 01:12:02.930 --> 01:12:04.770 exactly that. He's the guy that was depressed 01:12:04.770 --> 01:12:07.890 and suicidal and. When he recovered, when he 01:12:07.890 --> 01:12:10.489 survived that jump, had this epiphany and has 01:12:10.489 --> 01:12:14.010 been dedicating his life, promoting awareness 01:12:14.010 --> 01:12:15.750 for mental health and depression and suicide 01:12:15.750 --> 01:12:18.750 ever since. So that purpose was given to him. 01:12:18.810 --> 01:12:20.310 I think that's what I see in a lot of people 01:12:20.310 --> 01:12:22.310 that have come out the other side, whether it's 01:12:22.310 --> 01:12:25.609 addiction or depression, is once you wake up 01:12:25.609 --> 01:12:28.470 with gratitude and with the desire to help other 01:12:28.470 --> 01:12:32.090 people, I think that's such a nurturing thing 01:12:32.090 --> 01:12:36.289 for your soul that empowers you. makes you have 01:12:36.289 --> 01:12:40.390 that lust for life again totally yeah i mean 01:12:40.390 --> 01:12:43.489 and there's just so many different ways in which 01:12:43.489 --> 01:12:48.329 that can occur but you know i think um sometimes 01:12:48.329 --> 01:12:50.550 we just need that spark you know that catalyst 01:12:50.550 --> 01:12:54.930 to to realize like okay like what is the you 01:12:54.930 --> 01:12:56.890 know what's the first step that i need to go 01:12:56.890 --> 01:12:58.989 and take and i think that that's kind of going 01:12:58.989 --> 01:13:02.529 back to you know asking your folks to go and 01:13:02.529 --> 01:13:04.390 sit down and reflect for a couple minutes on 01:13:04.390 --> 01:13:06.149 some of this stuff like you know and then these 01:13:06.149 --> 01:13:08.590 these just thoughts in their life and like have 01:13:08.590 --> 01:13:10.510 a conversation with yourself like you know and 01:13:10.510 --> 01:13:15.329 in a calm reflective state like and just see 01:13:15.329 --> 01:13:18.189 like what is the state of your life and how you 01:13:18.189 --> 01:13:21.689 know what what do you want it to be what steps 01:13:21.689 --> 01:13:24.930 need to happen to go and make that you know like 01:13:24.930 --> 01:13:29.329 make that occur it's not usually rocket science 01:13:29.329 --> 01:13:33.699 and something about, you know, just taking those 01:13:33.699 --> 01:13:38.119 action steps towards it, it changes us. So, you 01:13:38.119 --> 01:13:43.720 know, there's, there's a lot more to unpack, 01:13:43.800 --> 01:13:51.520 but I think just the, I think it's, you know, 01:13:51.520 --> 01:13:57.000 Tecumseh, he was the Iroquois chief, and he said, 01:13:57.180 --> 01:14:01.800 you know, if you, awake in the morning without 01:14:01.800 --> 01:14:04.300 gratitude then that fault is on you effectively 01:14:04.300 --> 01:14:08.340 so like you said i think just having that place 01:14:08.340 --> 01:14:11.500 to start like how you know fortunate we are to 01:14:11.500 --> 01:14:17.659 exist and um you know just what do we need to 01:14:17.659 --> 01:14:20.859 go and do with that existence to make it an extraordinary 01:14:20.859 --> 01:14:23.899 one yeah absolutely i think the hardest thing 01:14:24.199 --> 01:14:26.479 for people really is to find that quiet find 01:14:26.479 --> 01:14:29.239 that space because you know you wake up you got 01:14:29.239 --> 01:14:30.939 your tv on at home and then you get in your car 01:14:30.939 --> 01:14:33.140 and the radio is on and you know you go have 01:14:33.140 --> 01:14:35.479 lunch at the the restaurant there's freaking 01:14:35.479 --> 01:14:37.840 tvs everywhere and there's just so much white 01:14:37.840 --> 01:14:39.619 noise that we have and we're working totally 01:14:39.619 --> 01:14:42.640 in control to shut that down but it's a challenge 01:14:42.640 --> 01:14:45.899 to to turn off your phone and and just find somewhere 01:14:45.899 --> 01:14:48.220 where you're not going to be disturbed um you 01:14:48.220 --> 01:14:49.960 know walk through some woods whatever it is and 01:14:49.960 --> 01:14:52.819 and make the time to be alone with your thoughts 01:14:52.819 --> 01:14:55.079 whether it's you know sitting in the lotus position 01:14:55.079 --> 01:14:57.979 or just walking by the ocean but somewhere where 01:14:57.979 --> 01:15:00.239 you're not being bombarded with external stimuli 01:15:00.239 --> 01:15:03.699 no man i totally totally agree it's you know 01:15:03.699 --> 01:15:08.119 i think it becomes even that much more important 01:15:08.119 --> 01:15:13.260 as the world continues to you know get noisier 01:15:13.260 --> 01:15:17.239 it it's even that much more important to go go 01:15:17.239 --> 01:15:19.859 inward and and to spend that time it's kind of 01:15:20.590 --> 01:15:23.550 You know, it's if you haven't worked out in a 01:15:23.550 --> 01:15:28.930 really long time, then it's not not the easiest 01:15:28.930 --> 01:15:30.949 thing in the world to get started and go to the 01:15:30.949 --> 01:15:34.970 gym. You know, if you're addicted to whatever 01:15:34.970 --> 01:15:37.250 you are. I mean, for me lately, I've been like 01:15:37.250 --> 01:15:41.609 on a no caffeine kick, you know, so I'm like, 01:15:41.689 --> 01:15:46.750 cut it out. But, you know, for the last couple 01:15:46.750 --> 01:15:50.109 of weeks that. craving for the the coffee comfort 01:15:50.109 --> 01:15:52.770 is is there but i know that like i have to do 01:15:52.770 --> 01:15:55.770 it so it's i think it's just it's it's the exact 01:15:55.770 --> 01:15:58.909 same thing but for some reason especially i notice 01:15:58.909 --> 01:16:08.010 you know among males kind of you know like 18 01:16:08.010 --> 01:16:13.850 to you know 45 like in that window for some reason 01:16:13.850 --> 01:16:18.220 like sitting down and and having that reflective 01:16:18.220 --> 01:16:22.720 time is like a million times harder than anything 01:16:22.720 --> 01:16:28.319 else. So I, I just, it fascinates me when I hear 01:16:28.319 --> 01:16:30.079 people say like, Oh, there's, there's no way 01:16:30.079 --> 01:16:33.399 I can do that. I'm like, really? You cannot sit 01:16:33.399 --> 01:16:36.479 still for at least 10 minutes to start. It just 01:16:36.479 --> 01:16:40.520 blows my mind. Yeah. I call, I call complete 01:16:40.520 --> 01:16:42.819 bullshit. Absolutely. What do you think, you 01:16:42.819 --> 01:16:46.060 know, back not so long ago, Every time you walk 01:16:46.060 --> 01:16:47.760 somewhere, every time you rode a horse somewhere, 01:16:47.800 --> 01:16:51.060 rode a car, whatever it was, you were alone with 01:16:51.060 --> 01:16:53.079 your thoughts the whole time. I mean, in my childhood, 01:16:53.100 --> 01:16:58.159 I'm 44, so pre -Walkman, there was nothing there. 01:16:58.199 --> 01:16:59.560 And even then, I didn't use it very often because 01:16:59.560 --> 01:17:02.460 the batteries would last about 27 minutes. So 01:17:02.460 --> 01:17:04.960 you had that, and that's the thing that we have 01:17:04.960 --> 01:17:07.600 to re -find. And I'm quite inspired to see what's 01:17:07.600 --> 01:17:10.739 going to happen in towns over the next couple 01:17:10.739 --> 01:17:14.229 of decades because now... were able to shop online 01:17:14.229 --> 01:17:18.909 which i think really was detrimental to to humans 01:17:18.909 --> 01:17:21.550 the other moles and all that consumerism you 01:17:21.550 --> 01:17:24.170 get your crap online now now those public spaces 01:17:24.170 --> 01:17:26.489 are starting to be used for bars and coffee shops 01:17:26.489 --> 01:17:29.369 and these communal spaces where we're interacting 01:17:29.369 --> 01:17:31.109 with each other even if it's not quiet time we're 01:17:31.109 --> 01:17:33.449 at least having intelligent conversation again 01:17:33.449 --> 01:17:37.189 yeah i hope so man i think that that like we 01:17:37.189 --> 01:17:39.369 are social creatures you know and i think that 01:17:39.369 --> 01:17:41.409 that's a big aspect that you know i mentioned 01:17:41.409 --> 01:17:46.439 that um, you know, Tecumseh and like, I've been 01:17:46.439 --> 01:17:48.699 learning a lot about the American Indian culture 01:17:48.699 --> 01:17:54.020 and, you know, the, the social aspects of, of 01:17:54.020 --> 01:17:57.840 tribal life and, you know, like are fascinating. 01:17:58.039 --> 01:18:01.279 And I think that like we live in a very disconnected, 01:18:01.600 --> 01:18:03.920 separate world. And it's almost like the more 01:18:03.920 --> 01:18:06.699 people that you pack inside of a city, then the 01:18:06.699 --> 01:18:09.000 more disconnected and separate people feel, you 01:18:09.000 --> 01:18:12.569 know, it's, it's not. the same thing as you know 01:18:12.569 --> 01:18:14.689 like I love what you're saying though too of 01:18:14.689 --> 01:18:19.289 like the sort of resurgence of you know kind 01:18:19.289 --> 01:18:24.829 of communal meeting places and I it I just wish 01:18:24.829 --> 01:18:27.789 there is there's more of like people that would 01:18:27.789 --> 01:18:30.229 be interested in like just getting together and 01:18:30.229 --> 01:18:34.510 like talking and thinking about like stuff together 01:18:34.510 --> 01:18:38.149 like for not like a direct purpose but who knows 01:18:38.149 --> 01:18:40.899 maybe it'll have to be Something I haven't come 01:18:40.899 --> 01:18:45.640 across, so I would be there, I feel like, with 01:18:45.640 --> 01:18:52.000 regularity if it existed in any form. But just 01:18:52.000 --> 01:18:55.920 in general, I was thinking about that again today 01:18:55.920 --> 01:18:58.880 with Uber back from the DMV and how lucky am 01:18:58.880 --> 01:19:02.159 I that I can just call an Uber, go to the DMV, 01:19:02.199 --> 01:19:05.220 get my license renewed. I don't have to bug my 01:19:05.220 --> 01:19:07.939 sister to go and drop me off before she's... 01:19:08.520 --> 01:19:11.079 on our way to work or whatever it's just we live 01:19:11.079 --> 01:19:13.939 in just a different world and what what it's 01:19:13.939 --> 01:19:15.539 going to look like in the future i'm just super 01:19:15.539 --> 01:19:18.220 fascinated by a little bit terrified but mostly 01:19:18.220 --> 01:19:20.960 fascinated yeah yeah again like what we said 01:19:20.960 --> 01:19:23.819 before it can it can be used by so many good 01:19:23.819 --> 01:19:26.319 things i think it's up to us to to vote with 01:19:26.319 --> 01:19:29.140 our dollar you know if if all the the shitty 01:19:29.140 --> 01:19:32.060 elements of technology is rebuked by us all the 01:19:32.060 --> 01:19:35.140 crappy you know factory farming food and and 01:19:35.140 --> 01:19:38.449 you know all those elements and we vote by growing 01:19:38.449 --> 01:19:41.569 our own food again and filling communal spaces 01:19:41.569 --> 01:19:43.909 with intelligent conversation instead of mindlessly 01:19:43.909 --> 01:19:47.550 protesting, then I think we can change it. Be 01:19:47.550 --> 01:19:50.750 the change you wish to see in the world. I love 01:19:50.750 --> 01:19:54.539 it, man. So true. Well, speaking of change, we're 01:19:54.539 --> 01:19:56.760 going to transition to something you've got coming 01:19:56.760 --> 01:19:58.380 up. We're going to put this out immediately because 01:19:58.380 --> 01:20:00.340 I really want to help you guys with this. But 01:20:00.340 --> 01:20:02.619 Stu Smith has been on the show. Jeff Nichols 01:20:02.619 --> 01:20:04.260 has been on the show. And you're working with 01:20:04.260 --> 01:20:07.659 them and your friend Mitch on a project coming 01:20:07.659 --> 01:20:09.739 up. So if you wouldn't mind telling us when it 01:20:09.739 --> 01:20:14.840 is and what it is. Yeah, so it is, I'll get the 01:20:14.840 --> 01:20:21.420 exact dates. It's going to be, I believe. the 01:20:21.420 --> 01:20:24.699 27th and 28th of august so right around the corner 01:20:24.699 --> 01:20:28.420 and i think there might be a couple spots left 01:20:28.420 --> 01:20:32.739 but um basically um the crew that you mentioned 01:20:32.739 --> 01:20:36.939 among others were coming together to create really 01:20:36.939 --> 01:20:42.340 the the first time um that i know of i mean that 01:20:42.340 --> 01:20:44.300 i've ever been a part of anything like this that 01:20:44.300 --> 01:20:48.960 um will just help people prepare for um, you 01:20:48.960 --> 01:20:53.060 know, different, um, selection courses in, uh, 01:20:53.180 --> 01:20:57.220 whether it's, you know, fire Academy, um, you 01:20:57.220 --> 01:21:01.000 know, fire law enforcement, um, you know, uh, 01:21:01.220 --> 01:21:04.399 military, you know, people, there's a, you know, 01:21:04.399 --> 01:21:05.960 several people I think coming in that are, um, 01:21:06.039 --> 01:21:08.319 trying to go to buds and, you know, a number 01:21:08.319 --> 01:21:10.659 of other things right now too. So I think, um, 01:21:10.800 --> 01:21:14.699 it's going to be a pretty intimate event, but 01:21:14.699 --> 01:21:16.399 just a massive amount of knowledge of people. 01:21:17.220 --> 01:21:19.699 aren't aware of who those folks are that you 01:21:19.699 --> 01:21:21.039 mentioned, then they should definitely Google 01:21:21.039 --> 01:21:25.119 them. I know most of them through Mitch, who 01:21:25.119 --> 01:21:27.039 I mentioned has become one of my closest friends 01:21:27.039 --> 01:21:32.699 and like a brother to me and just is just a fascinating 01:21:32.699 --> 01:21:34.739 character to be around. And a big element of 01:21:34.739 --> 01:21:38.520 what we're going to do is like a Bud style beat 01:21:38.520 --> 01:21:41.439 down for an aspect of it. So people get a little 01:21:41.439 --> 01:21:43.680 taste of it. But something that he and I have 01:21:43.680 --> 01:21:45.380 been talking about a lot lately is this concept 01:21:45.380 --> 01:21:50.000 of. conscious suffering you know and and like 01:21:50.000 --> 01:21:56.460 sometimes we have to choose to suffer to you 01:21:56.460 --> 01:22:01.119 know in suffering later on and whether it's in 01:22:01.119 --> 01:22:05.779 ourselves or the world right like uh but there's 01:22:05.779 --> 01:22:07.319 just going to be so many aspects of it of just 01:22:07.319 --> 01:22:10.550 the knowledge and preparation And I think my 01:22:10.550 --> 01:22:13.090 piece of it's going to be sharing some of my 01:22:13.090 --> 01:22:15.710 story and also just something like the mindset 01:22:15.710 --> 01:22:19.430 elements, you know, for people that are preparing 01:22:19.430 --> 01:22:24.109 for these various selection courses. So if you 01:22:24.109 --> 01:22:27.930 miss this one, hopefully we're going to, you 01:22:27.930 --> 01:22:30.350 know, try to fine tune it and make it even better 01:22:30.350 --> 01:22:32.729 for the next go around. But no guarantees. So 01:22:32.729 --> 01:22:35.449 if you hear this and want to make a last minute 01:22:35.449 --> 01:22:38.189 trip to Virginia Beach, then you can check out. 01:22:38.189 --> 01:22:44.930 Go to. smashing frog .com um with no g so smashing 01:22:44.930 --> 01:22:50.289 frog .com and uh i believe there's a link on 01:22:50.289 --> 01:22:56.350 there for it'll say seminar and um you can see 01:22:56.350 --> 01:23:00.930 the um i think it's the resilience optimization 01:23:00.930 --> 01:23:06.659 seminar Maybe something else. I think Jeff Nichols 01:23:06.659 --> 01:23:09.079 is the one that kind of came up with the title. 01:23:09.300 --> 01:23:12.760 It was pretty clever. He's just an absolute wealth 01:23:12.760 --> 01:23:17.359 of knowledge. Just blew my mind with a lot of 01:23:17.359 --> 01:23:22.000 just what he's learned. One of the challenges 01:23:22.000 --> 01:23:26.439 I have with fitness is just being able to vary 01:23:26.439 --> 01:23:28.439 the movements that I go and do. A lot of them 01:23:28.439 --> 01:23:32.010 end up being kind of the same thing. totally 01:23:32.010 --> 01:23:34.069 just put things in a different perspective with 01:23:34.069 --> 01:23:37.630 regards to attaching from different vests and 01:23:37.630 --> 01:23:40.630 lever points and all that. I'm excited to see 01:23:40.630 --> 01:23:44.229 what everybody brings to the table with this. 01:23:44.270 --> 01:23:46.470 I've not met Stu yet, but excited to meet him 01:23:46.470 --> 01:23:49.649 too. I think it could be the beginning of something 01:23:49.649 --> 01:23:56.500 pretty cool. Hopefully there's this... this goes 01:23:56.500 --> 01:23:58.260 well and that's something that we can continue 01:23:58.260 --> 01:24:02.079 to make better on as we go on in the future absolutely 01:24:02.079 --> 01:24:03.960 well it sounds great not only for people trying 01:24:03.960 --> 01:24:06.600 to get into those professions but like you said 01:24:06.600 --> 01:24:08.359 resiliency so people that are in those maybe 01:24:08.359 --> 01:24:09.760 they've been in there for a few years and they 01:24:09.760 --> 01:24:12.239 feel themselves you know deep within their comfort 01:24:12.239 --> 01:24:14.159 zone again and want to push the envelope a bit 01:24:14.159 --> 01:24:18.079 and i tell you i've met stew um at the conference 01:24:18.079 --> 01:24:20.560 a couple of times i've interviewed him uh twice 01:24:20.560 --> 01:24:23.140 technically and jeff was one of the people that 01:24:23.140 --> 01:24:26.989 really educated me on when to do the training 01:24:26.989 --> 01:24:29.409 as a first responder if we've come off a shift 01:24:29.409 --> 01:24:32.909 is not the time to hit a red line workout and 01:24:32.909 --> 01:24:36.270 he really opened my mind as to the programming 01:24:36.270 --> 01:24:38.449 when you choose to do what kind of intensity 01:24:38.449 --> 01:24:41.229 so a huge amount of knowledge there and obviously 01:24:41.229 --> 01:24:45.369 Mitch as well so anyone listening if you want 01:24:45.369 --> 01:24:47.369 the links for that you can also go to this website 01:24:47.369 --> 01:24:50.130 which will be for this podcast jamesgearing .com 01:24:50.130 --> 01:24:53.789 and I'll put the hyperlinks on there too Yeah, 01:24:53.829 --> 01:24:55.489 man, it'll be awesome. I think it's a great point, 01:24:55.510 --> 01:24:58.449 too. I'm just excited to attend and, you know, 01:24:58.449 --> 01:25:01.909 continue to learn from these minds myself. So 01:25:01.909 --> 01:25:04.810 I think there's whether people come to the seminar 01:25:04.810 --> 01:25:06.869 or not, you know, there's there's no shortage 01:25:06.869 --> 01:25:09.609 of opportunities to sharpen the saw, so to speak. 01:25:09.630 --> 01:25:13.430 Right. So it's like. go and do that life will 01:25:13.430 --> 01:25:17.170 be better yeah exactly all right well um i always 01:25:17.170 --> 01:25:19.189 close with some some questions but i just realized 01:25:19.189 --> 01:25:20.829 i haven't asked you about your book before i 01:25:20.829 --> 01:25:23.550 ask about other people's books so um if you just 01:25:23.550 --> 01:25:25.289 tell us what your book is called and where people 01:25:25.289 --> 01:25:28.050 can find that and also the the the point in your 01:25:28.050 --> 01:25:31.750 life that you wrote it yeah sure the the book 01:25:31.750 --> 01:25:35.789 is ancient uh relative to to the book world it's 01:25:35.789 --> 01:25:39.859 um I wrote it when I was 19, so I'm 32 now. So 01:25:39.859 --> 01:25:41.699 I actually, I'm sorry, I wrote it when I was 01:25:41.699 --> 01:25:44.560 18 and released it when I was 19. And I wrote 01:25:44.560 --> 01:25:47.359 it in my freshman dorm room at the University 01:25:47.359 --> 01:25:51.340 of Georgia. But it was just kind of life up to 01:25:51.340 --> 01:25:55.840 that point. And, you know, it's, I think, a really 01:25:55.840 --> 01:25:58.640 good representation of a lot of just kind of 01:25:58.640 --> 01:26:02.460 where I was and kind of everything that was built 01:26:02.460 --> 01:26:08.970 into it up to that point. And so the book is 01:26:08.970 --> 01:26:12.689 No Excuses. And that helped kind of launch a 01:26:12.689 --> 01:26:18.550 lot of other things, including the speaking in 01:26:18.550 --> 01:26:21.789 the gym and, you know, getting to travel around 01:26:21.789 --> 01:26:23.949 the world for all these reckless adventures. 01:26:24.550 --> 01:26:34.189 But, yeah, I would say there's, you know. there's 01:26:34.189 --> 01:26:36.789 definitely need for another one in light of kind 01:26:36.789 --> 01:26:39.989 of like just recent happenings and you know part 01:26:39.989 --> 01:26:45.890 of it is that just the the life perspective that 01:26:45.890 --> 01:26:49.409 you gain i think you know in your 20s and 30s 01:26:49.409 --> 01:26:51.090 is a lot different than you know what you have 01:26:51.090 --> 01:26:53.069 growing up as a as a teenager when i wrote it 01:26:53.069 --> 01:26:56.590 was just a wrestler so now things will be a little 01:26:56.590 --> 01:26:59.050 different yeah and have you started writing that 01:26:59.050 --> 01:27:03.399 yet or is it still in the the fetal stage fairly 01:27:03.399 --> 01:27:08.640 fetal but uh i would say it's uh like first first 01:27:08.640 --> 01:27:12.840 on its way to second trimester i'm looking for 01:27:12.840 --> 01:27:16.739 the forward for the bloody show so awesome all 01:27:16.739 --> 01:27:19.939 right so then um other people's books is there 01:27:19.939 --> 01:27:22.180 a book that you love to recommend to people that 01:27:22.180 --> 01:27:24.300 you've read can be about this or something completely 01:27:24.300 --> 01:27:30.310 different oh man How much time you got? Plenty. 01:27:31.609 --> 01:27:39.329 I'm obsessive about this stuff. I've read so 01:27:39.329 --> 01:27:48.989 much lately. Trying to think of a great place 01:27:48.989 --> 01:27:54.529 to start for people that haven't read this would 01:27:54.529 --> 01:28:01.640 be Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. I highly 01:28:01.640 --> 01:28:20.520 recommend. I would say probably... You know, 01:28:20.520 --> 01:28:27.640 there's a lot of... There's... Let's shout this 01:28:27.640 --> 01:28:30.060 out. I think there's a YouTube channel, too, 01:28:30.220 --> 01:28:34.199 for those that are not big readers but are more 01:28:34.199 --> 01:28:36.979 inclined to YouTube. There's a YouTube channel 01:28:36.979 --> 01:28:38.659 that I just came across. It's called Academy 01:28:38.659 --> 01:28:42.479 of Ideas and breaks down a tremendous amount 01:28:42.479 --> 01:28:45.699 of philosophers and different thinkers throughout 01:28:45.699 --> 01:28:48.079 history that just provide a totally different 01:28:48.079 --> 01:28:51.659 perspective on things. Highly recommend that. 01:28:51.819 --> 01:28:55.810 Been a big fan of... you know, seeing what the 01:28:55.810 --> 01:28:57.949 intellectual dark web guys have been putting 01:28:57.949 --> 01:29:01.430 out lately, the, uh, Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson, 01:29:01.550 --> 01:29:05.130 um, Sam Harris, those guys, you know, been reading 01:29:05.130 --> 01:29:10.130 a lot of their stuff and listen to it. You know, 01:29:10.130 --> 01:29:18.229 it's, and, uh, yeah, for, I would say for, um, 01:29:20.939 --> 01:29:23.800 for fiction one of the greatest fiction books 01:29:23.800 --> 01:29:25.579 that i've learned a lot about through like leadership 01:29:25.579 --> 01:29:30.880 and awareness was um was dune actually the whole 01:29:30.880 --> 01:29:34.380 dune series of a big sci -fi fan so that was 01:29:34.380 --> 01:29:38.880 pretty pretty awesome one brilliant well what 01:29:38.880 --> 01:29:51.220 about a movie and or a documentary Favorite of 01:29:51.220 --> 01:29:54.840 all time, I would say, would have to be Braveheart. 01:29:54.939 --> 01:30:00.199 That actually saved my life effectively. My ancestors, 01:30:00.300 --> 01:30:07.739 my dad's side, were Scottish. And so seeing that, 01:30:07.880 --> 01:30:13.100 my dad would go and tell me, those are our, kind 01:30:13.100 --> 01:30:15.479 of where we came from, whatever. And it just 01:30:15.479 --> 01:30:20.170 blew my mind and inspired me. ancestors of mine 01:30:20.170 --> 01:30:22.890 are those type of warriors then I could have 01:30:22.890 --> 01:30:26.729 that same spirit inside of me too and find a 01:30:26.729 --> 01:30:29.770 way to cultivate that so it's like it's always 01:30:29.770 --> 01:30:34.550 worth a watch I'd say for documentary one that's 01:30:34.550 --> 01:30:38.529 and this also too is another great book recommendation 01:30:38.529 --> 01:30:45.229 too but Sebastian Younger he he wrote a book 01:30:45.229 --> 01:30:50.449 called Tribe that blew my mind Another awesome 01:30:50.449 --> 01:30:52.710 book that I didn't think of too is Empire of 01:30:52.710 --> 01:30:55.369 the Summer Moon. It tells the history of the 01:30:55.369 --> 01:30:59.130 Comanche Indian tribes. They were the dominant 01:30:59.130 --> 01:31:02.649 military force in North America for over 100 01:31:02.649 --> 01:31:13.750 years. Learned a ton from those. Tribe breaks 01:31:13.750 --> 01:31:20.340 down. A lot of the issues that we've sort of 01:31:20.340 --> 01:31:26.460 been talking about lately today in terms of what 01:31:26.460 --> 01:31:30.039 we see in society and all that and kind of approaches 01:31:30.039 --> 01:31:33.680 it from a perspective of this is the ancient 01:31:33.680 --> 01:31:39.260 wisdom of our ancestors and kind of what could 01:31:39.260 --> 01:31:47.350 be missing in our lives today. And he also did 01:31:47.350 --> 01:31:49.510 a documentary to Sebastian Junger. It's called 01:31:49.510 --> 01:31:54.949 The Rise of ISIS. And that is like bone chilling. 01:31:55.029 --> 01:31:58.069 But also, I mean, it approaches it from, I would 01:31:58.069 --> 01:32:02.529 say, a fairly pragmatic, just journalist, you 01:32:02.529 --> 01:32:08.050 know, journalistic perspective. And it's just 01:32:08.050 --> 01:32:14.539 wild to see, you know, anybody that... that argues 01:32:14.539 --> 01:32:17.119 that, you know, good versus evil, a lot of it 01:32:17.119 --> 01:32:20.199 is a very relative thing, right? But you go and 01:32:20.199 --> 01:32:27.220 watch that and you see what Assad and a lot of 01:32:27.220 --> 01:32:32.800 the horrors and atrocities that the Syrian people 01:32:32.800 --> 01:32:37.060 were struck with. It's just absolutely gut -wrenching. 01:32:37.199 --> 01:32:44.369 So it gives a different perspective, too. um 01:32:44.369 --> 01:32:48.050 you know and just isis and it's like reason for 01:32:48.050 --> 01:32:53.489 occurring so definitely recommend checking those 01:32:53.489 --> 01:32:55.890 out yeah well i actually had sebastian on twice 01:32:55.890 --> 01:32:59.630 now i read tribe um oh wow okay yeah yeah we 01:32:59.630 --> 01:33:02.630 tried long time ago but it pertains so closely 01:33:02.630 --> 01:33:04.390 i'm sure some of your military friends have said 01:33:04.390 --> 01:33:08.239 this when you were in that group that tribe whether 01:33:08.239 --> 01:33:11.199 it's you know a fire station a crew in a fire 01:33:11.199 --> 01:33:14.100 station or a military unit and then you leave 01:33:14.100 --> 01:33:17.220 that unit that is definitely to me one of the 01:33:17.220 --> 01:33:20.760 underlying causes of some of the you know the 01:33:20.760 --> 01:33:22.880 mental health issues that we see because while 01:33:22.880 --> 01:33:25.060 they're you know literally fighting for their 01:33:25.060 --> 01:33:27.800 lives they're they're happy they're cohesive 01:33:27.800 --> 01:33:29.539 because they're with their brothers and sisters 01:33:29.539 --> 01:33:31.770 yeah But then when they're taken from that, whether 01:33:31.770 --> 01:33:35.390 it's injury or promotion or whatever it is, and 01:33:35.390 --> 01:33:37.850 you're removed from that unit, you see it over 01:33:37.850 --> 01:33:41.909 and over and over again where that loss of that 01:33:41.909 --> 01:33:44.569 tribe has really detrimental effects to the people. 01:33:45.289 --> 01:33:48.250 It's so true. I think it's, again, coming back 01:33:48.250 --> 01:33:51.989 to society at large, it's like that is a huge 01:33:51.989 --> 01:33:54.590 missing, even if people don't realize that it 01:33:54.590 --> 01:34:00.319 is. to an extent that i think we can barely even 01:34:00.319 --> 01:34:03.359 fathom and how much better life is when we sort 01:34:03.359 --> 01:34:07.199 of are a part of something and belong to something 01:34:07.199 --> 01:34:10.520 you know deeply it's it just it changes us so 01:34:10.520 --> 01:34:13.340 yeah that's really cool sebastian's been a big 01:34:13.340 --> 01:34:16.539 hero of mine for for a while Yeah, he was an 01:34:16.539 --> 01:34:18.340 amazing guy. And the first time we talked more 01:34:18.340 --> 01:34:20.560 about the book, second time it was about some 01:34:20.560 --> 01:34:23.000 of his documentaries. And The Rise of ISIS was 01:34:23.000 --> 01:34:26.039 the most recent one that he did. And it underlines 01:34:26.039 --> 01:34:28.479 as well how the people of Syria, like you said, 01:34:28.579 --> 01:34:30.739 are not the terrorists. People of Iraq are not 01:34:30.739 --> 01:34:33.060 the terrorists, people of Afghanistan. And that 01:34:33.060 --> 01:34:36.319 these shitbags are embedded amongst people like 01:34:36.319 --> 01:34:37.800 you and me that are just trying to live their 01:34:37.800 --> 01:34:40.220 life. And, you know, they're being terrorized. 01:34:40.239 --> 01:34:42.979 And then sadly, they're the victims of the opposing 01:34:42.979 --> 01:34:46.829 force as well sometimes. so true man and it's 01:34:46.829 --> 01:34:50.649 like the you know they're they're just people 01:34:50.649 --> 01:34:53.510 you know that are trying to trying to do their 01:34:53.510 --> 01:34:55.189 best to get by and take care of their families 01:34:55.189 --> 01:34:57.310 and then like you said you know you get some 01:34:57.310 --> 01:35:00.010 tyrannical dictator that comes through that's 01:35:00.010 --> 01:35:03.949 just a complete just scourge to humanity that 01:35:03.949 --> 01:35:06.369 you know causes that much like suffering just 01:35:06.369 --> 01:35:09.289 to you know for the greed and power and uh it's 01:35:09.289 --> 01:35:14.560 just it's it's so so wild and i think you know, 01:35:14.579 --> 01:35:17.520 there's a great danger to turning a blind eye 01:35:17.520 --> 01:35:20.600 to that, the existence of that type of evil in 01:35:20.600 --> 01:35:24.359 the world. And it doesn't mean by any stretch 01:35:24.359 --> 01:35:27.359 of the imagination that, um, like, like you said, 01:35:27.399 --> 01:35:30.859 that everyone there is, is like guilty of, of 01:35:30.859 --> 01:35:34.199 some crime. Like, no, it's like kind of frankly, 01:35:34.220 --> 01:35:38.699 just shitty lockup where like they existed when, 01:35:38.859 --> 01:35:41.619 like in, when this person came to power. And 01:35:41.619 --> 01:35:51.189 yet like, You know, it's just, you know, even 01:35:51.189 --> 01:35:54.770 with ISIS too, like that area of the world just 01:35:54.770 --> 01:36:00.890 beat down for so long. And, you know, and just 01:36:00.890 --> 01:36:04.829 finally it's like, okay, we're fed up with that. 01:36:04.989 --> 01:36:06.670 We're going to go and do something. And then 01:36:06.670 --> 01:36:09.689 things just go and swing in the other direction 01:36:09.689 --> 01:36:18.840 just so rapidly. Yeah, it's crazy. I think that 01:36:18.840 --> 01:36:28.539 a bigger answer to all of this stuff is increased 01:36:28.539 --> 01:36:32.680 connection to people, to the world, to the planet. 01:36:32.760 --> 01:36:37.800 To have people give a shit more than they do 01:36:37.800 --> 01:36:40.340 is the only way. I think that like any of this 01:36:40.340 --> 01:36:43.079 stuff changes because the tendency that we have 01:36:43.079 --> 01:36:46.560 towards like, uh, you know, more like meaningless 01:36:46.560 --> 01:36:49.000 nihilistic existence. I mean, it's like, and 01:36:49.000 --> 01:36:51.359 there's so many factors that perpetuate that, 01:36:51.460 --> 01:36:55.880 but like it is, I think the greatest danger that, 01:36:55.920 --> 01:37:02.880 that we're facing in the world is just, you know, 01:37:02.880 --> 01:37:09.140 these tyrants that come up and can emerge. Especially 01:37:09.140 --> 01:37:16.159 inside of a world that faces more and more nihilism 01:37:16.159 --> 01:37:18.939 and self -interest. And just people that are 01:37:18.939 --> 01:37:27.140 indifferent to that suffering. I can't be aware 01:37:27.140 --> 01:37:32.840 of it and not care. And I don't, by any stretch 01:37:32.840 --> 01:37:36.659 of the imagination, pretend to have the answers 01:37:36.659 --> 01:37:41.390 associated with that. I do know that like if 01:37:41.390 --> 01:37:45.890 we don't do something to get people to feel kind 01:37:45.890 --> 01:37:49.170 of more connected to each other, to the world, 01:37:49.229 --> 01:37:52.489 to, you know, I mean, like literally you go to 01:37:52.489 --> 01:37:55.789 a place like Manhattan and you get, you know, 01:37:55.789 --> 01:37:58.189 eight to 10 million people on a tiny freaking, 01:37:58.250 --> 01:38:03.229 you know, two mile long Island. And like, just 01:38:03.229 --> 01:38:09.590 it just. But yet there's like this massive separation 01:38:09.590 --> 01:38:15.069 between people that exist. And I just, I don't, 01:38:15.069 --> 01:38:21.550 I don't feel good about the, the future of that. 01:38:21.670 --> 01:38:25.590 And it's, it's not, you know, like with, with 01:38:25.590 --> 01:38:28.050 kind of there's, there's so many of these like 01:38:28.050 --> 01:38:29.970 bigger, the bigger problems I think that are 01:38:29.970 --> 01:38:32.770 on the horizon too. And the swinging and polarities 01:38:32.770 --> 01:38:35.390 with things. We have to have something that. 01:38:36.460 --> 01:38:40.659 brings us back together something that binds 01:38:40.659 --> 01:38:42.319 us to the point where we can see other people 01:38:42.319 --> 01:38:46.060 as human beings again you know outside of just 01:38:46.060 --> 01:38:49.920 like our closed our closed group and circle i 01:38:49.920 --> 01:38:51.779 don't know there's there's a lot there that like 01:38:51.779 --> 01:38:54.119 i've been thinking through a lot but like clearly 01:38:54.119 --> 01:38:57.159 i need to work on the articulation of it but 01:38:57.159 --> 01:39:00.319 i mean i can tell you you're in the same vein 01:39:00.319 --> 01:39:02.000 like it's you know you're doing what you're doing 01:39:02.000 --> 01:39:04.140 with your community to try to go and inspire 01:39:04.140 --> 01:39:07.640 and awaken people to you know live a better life 01:39:07.640 --> 01:39:09.159 and do something i think that's pretty freaking 01:39:09.159 --> 01:39:11.779 admirable well this i mean the same with what 01:39:11.779 --> 01:39:14.239 you're doing is i mean mine's not close to the 01:39:14.239 --> 01:39:16.979 the things that you've done but um it is it's 01:39:17.550 --> 01:39:19.789 it's getting shutting off that white noise you 01:39:19.789 --> 01:39:22.369 know we're fed like you said the polar opposites 01:39:22.369 --> 01:39:26.109 in so much of our mainstream media and and it's 01:39:26.109 --> 01:39:28.310 so easy you just press the fucking power button 01:39:28.310 --> 01:39:30.850 and that tv turns off you know now you're left 01:39:30.850 --> 01:39:32.789 with your own thoughts again and you walk outside 01:39:32.789 --> 01:39:35.609 your front door and if everyone does that and 01:39:35.609 --> 01:39:37.970 helps the people around them you are going to 01:39:37.970 --> 01:39:40.100 change the country and i've made this analogy 01:39:40.100 --> 01:39:42.899 before we got our pyramid upside down here we 01:39:42.899 --> 01:39:45.260 all look to that one you know one figurehead 01:39:45.260 --> 01:39:47.920 in in the white house to change our country and 01:39:47.920 --> 01:39:51.079 we just need to figure out that we do and we 01:39:51.079 --> 01:39:53.140 look around we help each other and help our community 01:39:53.140 --> 01:39:56.319 and choose that kindness and stop arguing about 01:39:56.319 --> 01:39:59.840 football teams or political affiliations you 01:39:59.840 --> 01:40:02.380 know and and we'll fix it it's as simple as that 01:40:02.380 --> 01:40:04.300 and i think there is a paradigm shift about to 01:40:04.300 --> 01:40:07.920 happen um but it takes people that are that see 01:40:07.920 --> 01:40:10.079 that to keep pushing and not give up and not 01:40:10.079 --> 01:40:12.300 be discouraged because they're chipping away 01:40:12.300 --> 01:40:14.260 at that that middle group and the middle group 01:40:14.260 --> 01:40:17.260 are the ones that you know, you, you sway, you're 01:40:17.260 --> 01:40:19.979 going to get that 10 % that just a lunatic scene. 01:40:19.979 --> 01:40:21.760 It's not even worth your effort, but right. Yeah. 01:40:21.880 --> 01:40:23.899 You know, the middle, the middle ones are the 01:40:23.899 --> 01:40:25.399 ones that are just looking for some direction. 01:40:25.460 --> 01:40:27.560 And I don't mean that in a patronizing way, but 01:40:27.560 --> 01:40:29.560 they're the ones that believe the doctor that 01:40:29.560 --> 01:40:31.739 you can't reverse your diabetes or whatever it 01:40:31.739 --> 01:40:34.460 is. And so it takes people just to gently lead 01:40:34.460 --> 01:40:36.659 and say, Hey, you know, this is, we can do this. 01:40:36.680 --> 01:40:39.170 You can. You can become whatever you want in 01:40:39.170 --> 01:40:41.989 life. You can, you know, play football and become 01:40:41.989 --> 01:40:44.130 a wrestler, even though you have, you know, half 01:40:44.130 --> 01:40:46.630 your arms and legs as you know, as you as you're 01:40:46.630 --> 01:40:49.090 walking the walk. So it's why I love getting 01:40:49.090 --> 01:40:52.510 people like you on the show to show everyone 01:40:52.510 --> 01:40:55.210 to stop making excuses, roll up your sleeves 01:40:55.210 --> 01:40:58.109 and just start, you know, making this country 01:40:58.109 --> 01:41:00.850 great as the hats like to say, but you've actually 01:41:00.850 --> 01:41:02.470 got to put the fucking work in to make it happen. 01:41:03.130 --> 01:41:07.329 Right. So true. One of my. favorite quotes and 01:41:07.329 --> 01:41:10.409 this may be a good place to close on like i i'm 01:41:10.409 --> 01:41:15.210 a huge fan of um ralph waddle emerson if anybody's 01:41:15.210 --> 01:41:20.149 um read any of emerson you would also to another 01:41:20.149 --> 01:41:23.350 book recommendation would be uh mind on fire 01:41:23.350 --> 01:41:27.350 i like absolutely blew my mind it was a biography 01:41:27.350 --> 01:41:30.630 of emerson but just goes into a lot of um you 01:41:30.630 --> 01:41:33.670 know his like personal diaries and writings and 01:41:34.409 --> 01:41:35.869 I can kind of just see a little bit more of what 01:41:35.869 --> 01:41:40.850 was going on in his psyche. But on that note, 01:41:40.909 --> 01:41:45.109 Emerson said, your actions speak so loudly, I 01:41:45.109 --> 01:41:50.750 can hardly hear what you say. Amen to that. Amen 01:41:50.750 --> 01:41:54.829 to that. It's lip service otherwise. Yep. All 01:41:54.829 --> 01:41:56.289 right. Well, I got one more quick question for 01:41:56.289 --> 01:41:58.130 you before we let you go, if that's okay. Is 01:41:58.130 --> 01:42:01.069 there a person that you recommend to come on 01:42:01.069 --> 01:42:03.500 this show? to talk to the first responders of 01:42:03.500 --> 01:42:07.840 the world. Man, you already had so many of my 01:42:07.840 --> 01:42:12.859 friends on here. I've got a few, some of my best 01:42:12.859 --> 01:42:16.140 friends in the SEAL teams, but Mitch, you brought 01:42:16.140 --> 01:42:18.640 up a couple times on here. I think he would be 01:42:18.640 --> 01:42:22.260 an awesome guest for you. He's got his own very 01:42:22.260 --> 01:42:27.840 unique style. is just like brutal honesty and 01:42:27.840 --> 01:42:29.680 authenticity is something i've grown to love 01:42:29.680 --> 01:42:32.600 a lot so i think he would be fantastic and um 01:42:32.600 --> 01:42:39.439 uh jeff gum and uh mario romero two other really 01:42:39.439 --> 01:42:42.560 close friends um some of my best friends that 01:42:42.560 --> 01:42:47.520 um jeff have known now um probably for five or 01:42:47.520 --> 01:42:53.869 so four or five years um not uh partner with 01:42:53.869 --> 01:42:56.529 him in a swimwear company, too, that we've launched, 01:42:56.670 --> 01:43:02.670 Loudmouth Patriot. Mario is getting ready, too. 01:43:05.649 --> 01:43:10.729 He's basically a former SEAL and now training 01:43:10.729 --> 01:43:15.609 to be the fourth Navy SEAL astronaut. We were 01:43:15.609 --> 01:43:18.270 just hanging with Chris Connolly, the second 01:43:18.270 --> 01:43:21.590 SEAL astronaut, as he's prepping for, and that 01:43:21.590 --> 01:43:23.699 would be another. Amazing person, I'm sure, too, 01:43:23.819 --> 01:43:25.899 for you to get a hold of. I don't know if he's 01:43:25.899 --> 01:43:27.779 doing interviews too much right now, but Chris 01:43:27.779 --> 01:43:31.500 Connolly was absolutely phenomenal. Second SEAL 01:43:31.500 --> 01:43:37.579 astronaut and kind of the head of a lot of the, 01:43:37.659 --> 01:43:41.420 I think, his upcoming mission in a year and a 01:43:41.420 --> 01:43:43.899 half. He's a mission specialist. He'll be up 01:43:43.899 --> 01:43:46.920 in the space station for six months. So one of 01:43:46.920 --> 01:43:50.100 the top astronauts at NASA now. all -around amazing 01:43:50.100 --> 01:43:51.880 human being get to the status house for a couple 01:43:51.880 --> 01:43:53.840 nights and went and did this amazing tour through 01:43:53.840 --> 01:43:58.359 nasa last a couple weeks ago so awesome mario's 01:43:58.359 --> 01:44:00.619 in that training program um i don't know i'm 01:44:00.619 --> 01:44:04.840 really where he was aspiring to be endeavoring 01:44:04.840 --> 01:44:08.340 to be he actually was like a had a 1 .7 gpa in 01:44:08.340 --> 01:44:11.220 high school i think and then ended up um you 01:44:11.220 --> 01:44:14.520 know going taking about 20 remedial math classes 01:44:14.520 --> 01:44:20.199 and ended up with a degree and um uh in theoretical 01:44:20.199 --> 01:44:24.439 mathematics from columbia so just absolute proof 01:44:24.439 --> 01:44:27.439 that like he did it just solely based on the 01:44:27.439 --> 01:44:30.039 fact that like he wanted to break the pattern 01:44:30.039 --> 01:44:34.640 of this uh you know that no one in his family 01:44:34.640 --> 01:44:40.140 was good at math um and he did they smashed it 01:44:40.140 --> 01:44:44.260 you know it's um i just i feel very very lucky 01:44:44.260 --> 01:44:46.239 very fortunate to be surrounded by so many just 01:44:47.560 --> 01:44:49.800 amazing human beings you know that have kind 01:44:49.800 --> 01:44:51.779 of done their service but continue to go and 01:44:51.779 --> 01:44:56.079 serve in their own way now so yeah brilliant 01:44:56.079 --> 01:44:58.779 happy to provide any introductions man and um 01:44:58.779 --> 01:45:01.939 you know look forward to definitely go back and 01:45:01.939 --> 01:45:04.500 listen to some of your episodes too some of my 01:45:04.500 --> 01:45:06.579 buddies here that you already interviewed and 01:45:06.579 --> 01:45:08.399 those episodes with sebastian too i think it 01:45:08.399 --> 01:45:11.220 would be dream to meet him someday yeah absolutely 01:45:11.220 --> 01:45:13.220 well i can definitely help help connect you guys 01:45:13.220 --> 01:45:15.859 too um all right so the very last thing then 01:45:15.859 --> 01:45:18.000 where can people find you if they if they want 01:45:18.000 --> 01:45:20.100 to reach out to you if they want to uh you know 01:45:20.100 --> 01:45:22.840 invite you to speak with them um what's the best 01:45:22.840 --> 01:45:31.779 place yeah it's uh for My invitations to speak, 01:45:31.840 --> 01:45:33.899 I would say the best way to do it would be my 01:45:33.899 --> 01:45:36.300 childhood best friend, Joey, goes and manages 01:45:36.300 --> 01:45:43.020 my speaking business and can email joey at kyle 01:45:43.020 --> 01:45:46.560 -maynard .com or you can just go to my website, 01:45:46.840 --> 01:45:54.899 just kylemaynard .com and send an email to us. 01:45:58.270 --> 01:45:59.989 do the social media thing even though i talked 01:45:59.989 --> 01:46:02.109 talked trash about it i'm on there periodically 01:46:02.109 --> 01:46:05.470 instagram and facebook and all that like you 01:46:05.470 --> 01:46:07.590 know maybe some more stuff in youtube or who 01:46:07.590 --> 01:46:11.069 knows what else in the future so i'm around and 01:46:11.069 --> 01:46:14.109 if you're in uh san diego and pb come say what's 01:46:14.109 --> 01:46:17.210 up excellent all right well i want to thank you 01:46:17.210 --> 01:46:19.489 so much for taking the time we've been talking 01:46:19.489 --> 01:46:21.930 for over an hour and a half now so it's been 01:46:21.930 --> 01:46:25.430 a fantastic conversation and um you know, yes, 01:46:25.609 --> 01:46:27.310 physically, obviously you've got the challenges, 01:46:27.310 --> 01:46:30.409 the inspiration, but that aside, just, just what 01:46:30.409 --> 01:46:33.909 I focus more on is, is your, you know, your, 01:46:33.909 --> 01:46:38.149 uh, vision of, of, of life. Like you said about 01:46:38.149 --> 01:46:40.489 gratitude, about getting back to where we're, 01:46:40.489 --> 01:46:42.470 we're talking to each other and communicating 01:46:42.470 --> 01:46:44.329 and fixing the world that way. Cause I couldn't 01:46:44.329 --> 01:46:47.250 agree more. With that and that insight through 01:46:47.250 --> 01:46:48.890 the journey you've come, I hope that this will 01:46:48.890 --> 01:46:52.130 inspire other people to reach the same conclusion, 01:46:52.229 --> 01:46:55.890 whatever their personal journey is. Awesome, 01:46:55.930 --> 01:46:57.649 man. Thank you, brother. So it's fun to talk 01:46:57.649 --> 01:46:59.449 about some different stuff, too, you know, and 01:46:59.449 --> 01:47:04.470 I think it's a aspect of whatever happens next. 01:47:04.529 --> 01:47:06.590 I have no idea what entirely that's going to 01:47:06.590 --> 01:47:08.310 be, but, you know, it's going to be interesting 01:47:08.310 --> 01:47:10.890 to see, to say the least. So thank you.