Welcome to Behind the Shield, my name is James
Geering and this is episode 13 of the show and
my guest this week is professional wrestler turned
motivational speaker Mark Miro. Now Mark is probably
best known aside from his wrestling career for
some of his viral videos that have gone around
on the internet where he's touring high schools
and giving presentations about depression, suicide,
anti -bullying, that kind of thing. The reason
why I really wanted to talk to Mark was twofold.
Firstly, we have an issue in our professions,
in the police, in fire, in EMS, and then the
associated professions, medical examiner, CSI,
whatever you're dealing with. If you're dealing
with trauma, he has some great insight into depression,
into suicide, what we would call PTSD, all these
different areas. We really delve into that a
little bit. The other side, though, is most of
us are also husbands and wives and parents. And
a lot of us are raising children, our own children,
stepchildren, foster children even. And the side
of it where we address bullying, whether it's,
are you raising a bully? Are you raising a child
that's a victim of bullying? How do I identify
that? I really want to expand more in some of
my interviews on the family side. Not only...
specifically pertinent to husband and wives of
first responders, but also just in general, being
a dad, being a husband, a wife, and how that
affects us as human beings as well as first responders.
So the interview was a little bit shorter than
some of my other episodes. There was a slight
miscommunication between us, but also Mark was
about to embark on a huge national tour. So again,
I am... extremely grateful that i got the time
that i did with him but i will definitely hunt
him down he's in orlando so we will do a part
two to this uh interview as well uh so we start
off talking about his early career um his life
as a boxer then a wrestler and then how he transitioned
to the amazing uh things that he does now in
high schools around the country i as a dad was
very very moved by what i saw um in the presentations
that were online and i really wanted to bring
his knowledge to everyone that listened here
We're not talking about firefighting. We're not
talking about being a police officer. This particular
episode is more about being a human and the humans
that we raise as parents. So I hope you guys
enjoy this episode. I really want to touch base
with Mark again. It was a very passionate interview,
and I also did it face -to -face, my very first
face -to -face interview. So I apologize if the
sound is a little different. I don't think it's
bad, but it's different than the other episodes
because we were both using the same mic, which
I'd never done before. But that being said, I
think it was fantastic and I hope you guys enjoy.
And without further ado, I present to you Mark
Miro. All right, welcome to Behind the Shield.
I am James Gearing and this is Mark Miro. Welcome,
Mark. James, thanks for having me on your show.
No problem. Obviously, you have become familiar
to a lot of us that weren't wrestling fans before
because of your Mother's Day video that went,
I think it's an understatement to say it went
viral on the internet. So I want to talk about
all the things leading up to that. But the feature
of that is obviously your mother. So can you
start by telling us what your childhood was like
and where you were raised? My parents were divorced
when I was eight years old. And my mother took
me, my brother, my brother, my sister and I to
we moved into the west side of Buffalo, New York,
which was one of the worst drug and gang infested
neighborhoods. And it was a. A horrible childhood
growing up there. I mean, the gangs and the violence
that we witnessed at such a young age was incomprehensible
for anyone to see that, you know. And I just
remember my mom trying so hard, working two jobs,
trying to keep us out of trouble, trying to do
the right thing. We were just so poor. We just
had no funds to live in a nicer neighborhood
or go to nicer schools or anything like that.
And we were getting beat up a lot. going through
a lot of hard times. I remember there was nights
that we didn't even have food. And when people
said, well, your mother worked two jobs. They
were very minimum jobs. She would even try to
make clothes and sell them. And she bought most
of our clothes at garage sales or yard sales
because we just had no money, which made it even
harder going to school. When you went to school
with hand -me -down clothes, it was just embarrassing.
Yeah, it's funny. I lived in a big farmhouse.
Everyone thought we were really wealthy, but
the money wasn't going to those, so I had secondhand
clothes, too. You know how that feels. Yeah,
yeah. Actually, there's a funny story. I used
to think Edward Jackson was a brand name, but
actually it was a name tag of one of the guys
to hand it down to us. So I can relate. But you
moved to Florida after that. Is that right? Well,
I mean... Moved a few times before. Obviously,
Florida came into my life because I was building
swimming pools. And there was a company in Florida
called Pacific Pools that I was able to get a
job with. So it was an opportunity to move to
Florida. And I jumped at the chance to do that.
But, you know, getting involved in drugs and
alcohol and just living a very... Just a paycheck
to paycheck lifestyle and then dealing drugs
to support my habit. And just falling in with
the wrong people and getting into a lot of trouble
and then getting involved in dealing drugs and
then overdosing. I overdosed on drugs on three
occasions where I should have been dead. But
I just believe I was kept here for a reason.
Yeah. Now, when did you get into the alcohol
and drugs? At what age? Well, it really started
when I was younger. It was right before I had
my first professional boxing match. And two weeks
before my first professional boxing match, I
was training up to that. And I had my nose shattered
in an accident, and I needed reconstructive surgery.
And it was in that time off that I just fell
with the wrong people and really started, you
know, kept saying to myself, I'm coming back
in a year, I'm going to be champ of the world.
And I kept doing this over and over again and
thinking I would come back. One year became two,
and two became four, and four became ten. Next
thing I know, I'm a full -blown drug addict.
And I lost my career in boxing. Were you doing
pretty well up to that point? Yeah, I was very
successful in sports, in football, hockey, and
of course boxing. I won the New York State Golden
Gloves a few years in a row. I was a gold medal
winner in the Empire State Games. Then I was
a member of the USA boxing team. did very well
in sports. And then I looked at my dream come
true of finally being able to buy my mom a house.
And all the little things I wrote down as a little
boy that I thought would become a reality in
my life, becoming rich and famous, were going
to happen through boxing. And then, of course,
through my bad choices led to destruction on
my life. Right. Was it the pain medication that
you kind of spiraled down with? No, it was, you
know, back then it was pain medication came later
on when I became a wrestler. But the other, the
drug of choice back then was cocaine. It was
very prominent. Yeah, yeah. That probably wasn't
too good for your nose either. No, no, not at
all. All right, so how did you transition into
wrestling? Well, I had some friends over at my
apartment one time. But he was flipping through
the TV channels and he landed on professional
wrestling. And I made the statement, man, I could
do that. And my buddies busted out laughing because
there was some big guys on television, you know.
They said, look at the size of those guys. Those
guys will pick you over their head and throw
you right out of that ring. I said, no, I'm telling
you, I can do that. And one of my other buddies
goes, Mark, you're 30 years old. What do you
do, start a pro career now? And I said, yes.
And it was at that time. I found out there was
a wrestling school in Tampa, Florida, which was
about 60 miles away from where I was living.
So I started driving there like after work and
on weekends, cleaned up my life and got into
professional wrestling. And it was only a year
later that I signed my first really big contract
with WCW Wrestling as the character Johnny B.
Bad. And my life, my... I mean, it just took
off. It was incredible. But then again, falling
in line with the wrong people, you know, the
party life. Now you're going to traveling all
over the world and every, you know, the bar owners
are leaving the bars open all night. There's
all kinds of women and drugs and everything that
led me into that dark place again. And only now
I have all the money in the world to buy anything
I want. So it was very convenient for me. And
again, spiral out of control. Yeah. Yeah. It's
amazing how, you know, people get to where, where
they dreamed of only to find that happiness isn't
at the top of that. And they're, you know, reaching
for the wrong coping mechanism. Absolutely. Yeah.
Now you have publicly admitted to using steroids
in the past. I know some of your peers weren't
happy about your insight into that, but I think
that's very important. And we have. We have first
responders that do. I understand, especially
in law enforcement, when your life may be at
stake and you want to be as strong as you can.
But what did you see in the wrestling world as
far as the negative effects from your eyes? Well,
I mean, like anything, you know, steroids is...
get you big and strong. But see, with wrestling,
it was a lethal cocktail. It wasn't just steroids.
It was, you know, the party life, the drinking,
the drugs and everything else that went along
with it where your heart just couldn't take it.
And steroids alone could kill you. You know what
I mean? Some people get addicted to it in a sense,
maybe not a physical addiction, but a... looking
at themselves, not wanting to see themselves
smaller, you know? And of course, when you're...
a bigger than life character. I mean, you look
at our action figures, we got traps coming from
our ears, you know? And you live that life of
people and all of a sudden they see you thinner
or skinnier or gone. They're like, what happened
to you? Are you sick, you know? But it's only
because you're not doing the steroids. So it's
kind of a, like I said, lethal cocktail in the
professional wrestling industry that killed many
wrestlers that died from drug overdose. Yeah,
yeah. I mean, it's certainly, The combination
is certainly having its effect on the wrestling
world. I'm not well -versed in wrestling, but
you just see over and over again these men dying
in their 50s, which really shouldn't be happening.
Another area that I've been delving into recently
is TVI as well, and you guys had a lot of that,
didn't you, from all the hits? You know, it's
just becoming... So, I guess... Open now, you
know, because we're seeing the effects of people
that have had concussions or had trauma over
the years. And I mean, I remember a I remember
a match I had. It was at the Omni in Atlanta.
I'll never forget it. And I was wrestling a guy.
His name was at the time he went by the character
called Scotty Flamingo. And I got knocked out
during the match and I was supposed to win the
match. And, you know, somehow. I came back to
in the match, which I don't even remember. And
he basically put me on top of himself to pin
him, you know? I couldn't remember anything.
And after the match, I don't even remember walking
to the ring. I don't remember anything. So, obviously,
I had a serious concussion. But I didn't miss
the show the next night, the next night after
that, after that. And it was just not part of,
like... concussions were part of the game i mean
if you got your bell it's called a bell ringer
you know and uh you but you never would miss
a show or something like that and uh so i never
really knew how many concussions i may have had
or other wrestlers had during their careers but
when you think about we're doing around 250 cities
a year and you times that over you know you know,
14 years back and forth in and out of wrestling,
how many matches I've had, thousands of matches,
and, you know, getting hit over the head with
a steel chair. You know, people will say, well,
wrestling's fake. I'm like, those steel chairs
are real. I mean, we really hit each other, you
know? You just not want to hurt the guy, so you
hit him flat with the chair and don't turn it
or something. We're going to, you know, bust
him open. But, you know, it's just... I think
it's good that it's coming out now that more
and more people are getting involved and figuring
out more about this and what we can do to curb
the head trauma that we're seeing in professional
sports, whether it's in football, whether it's
building a better helmet. You know, there's always
the technology is now catching up to what we
need to do to help save these people. And the
way they're, you know, they're protecting players
from head hits, you know, helmet to helmet hits.
And in professional wrestling, I commend WWE
that has now a very strict drug testing now.
We're not seeing the wrestlers die like they
did back when I was in the industry. So there
are steps that have been taken to protect many
lives. Yeah, that's going across all sports.
I know in kickboxing, I believe now, in boxing,
they're looking to remove the headgear because
they realized it was adding weight. you know
to the head when it was getting hit and uh and
there's been arguments even for football when
they look at rugby i think they have a lot less
head injuries in rugby because you can't spear
you can't go helmet to helmet right you don't
have a helmet you know yes yeah i mean it's interesting
and was taking some of the gear away to make
it safer as well But what we're seeing in our
profession that mirrors TBI, I mean, first you
have TBI, especially the policeman and the fireman
using the tools and those kind of things. There's
an impact there. But the sleep deprivation actually
mirrors TBI. So again, we're having this ridiculously
high increase in suicides and first responders.
And I think sleep deprivation is a key. And obviously
the PTSD that they're harboring, all these things
that they're seeing. But I think... the result
is the same as the rest of as the football players
that they're they're ending to a point where
you know these suicidal thoughts are so strong
that they can't resist them anymore we just lost
a fireman in california that leapt over a freeway
bridge i mean that's not a conscious calm decision
you know yeah so yeah um all right so Before
I move on to that, in the wrestling world, was
there a lot of abusive painkillers as well? Because
you guys must have got banged up. Yes. I mean,
the thing was that you wrestle injured. I mean,
here's the thing is that on television, there's
only, let's say, maybe 25 spots. But if you're
not ready to go that night, there's 100 ,000
guys behind you who would love your spot. so
you wrestled injured you wrestled hurt and what
helps you when you're hurt obviously pain medication
and many of my fellow wrestlers got addicted
to it including myself that made it easy to go
to the ring when you're hurting not to feel anything
you know but little do we know we're making some
of our injuries worse and of course the addiction
that comes along with pain medication and and
the you know And it's like drugs lead to other
drugs, too. You know, sometimes when you're doing
pain medication, also, like you mentioned, the
sleep deprivation that now you need somas or
something to sleep on, Ambien or whatever it
would be to sleep that night. So it becomes this
vicious cycle that you're in. And sometimes when
you're drinking on top of that, you forget if
you even took your pills. And then you take more
pills. And many guys have overdosed because of
that. Yeah. That didn't realize they already
took them, you know, or some game to them at
the bar. And they took them again later at night
thinking I need to go to sleep, but they already
took them, you know? Yeah. And that's happened
quite a bit. Yeah. I'm sure most guys out there
will relate to this, but I think of the opiate
overdoses that I've had, I would say probably
only 20 % were street drugs. The other 80 % were
prescribed medications that people took. And
because I'm at schools, I'm seeing this happening
younger and younger. And it isn't just the kid
in the alley. I mean, we're talking about our
football players, our cheerleaders. I mean, kids
that are responsible, students that happen to
try it. And the addiction is incredible for opiate
abuse that happens. And I meet more parents now
that have lost their kids to overdose. And it
just breaks your heart because it's a pain. I
mean, with Christmas coming up, many parents
have lost their kids this year alone. you know,
or last year, 10 years ago. It's every Christmas,
every birthday, every holiday without their loved
one that died over taking an overdose. And it's
not like they want to kill themselves, you know.
It's that they just want to get high. Yeah, yeah.
And the other thing with the ones that are in
pain, there's very little education on how to
get out of pain without meds. You know, using
the PT and a lot of modalities out there and
strength training in the right way to take the
pressure off your joints. But sadly, the medication
is the quick fix. And it's in two ways. A lot
of times the patient wants it too. Well, you
talked about schools. Let's get into that. So
what got you to transition from wrestling to
this incredible program, Champion Choices, that
you have now? Well, you know, I always believe
there's two types of people. There's people that
say something needs to be done. And then there's
a person that says... I'm going out there and
doing something. I think for many years, I was
guilty of saying, why don't they do this about
this? Or why don't they do this about that? And
you can talk all day long. Your opinion doesn't
change the world. Your action changes the world.
And I decided to go out there and do something
about it, to speak about, you know, and it isn't
going about blaming someone else. It's about
saying, hey, this is me. This is who I was. This
is what I did. And I don't want other people
to have to go through the same thing I went through.
There's an old saying, you get wisdom from one
of three places. You get wisdom from like a mentor,
a coach, a teacher, parents. You get wisdom from
books and DVDs, or you get wisdom from mistakes.
I'm the king, okay? And much of what their kids
get or students or people get, they're, for my
mistakes, they make their own mistakes. Hear
my story. Hear what happened to me. Hear how
I lost my mother, my father, my brother, my sister.
Hear the many wrestling friends, many of the
guys that I wrestle against. I think it's over
like close to 40 guys I've wrestled against that
are no longer on this earth. And so I share these
stories and I really see many people that, Lives
have been changed or saved because of our presentations
at schools, churches, and corporations around
the world. Right. Yeah, I saw a very moving interview
with the mother of Daniel Briggs that you guys
have on your site. Amy is just an amazing friend.
And again, she says, I will never get over this.
Her son that was only 16 years old took his life
last year. She goes around and speaks about it.
And from a mother's point of view, many kids
that kill themselves, they think no one's going
to care. No one's going to miss me. They have
no idea the trauma and the pain that's left behind
after they've taken their life of this Lady Amy
or her husband or her other son. Christmas this
year, I can't even imagine. I mean, his book
bags the day he took his life are still sitting
on the counter. They never moved them. They're
there and they may be there forever. I don't
know, but they've never even taken him apart.
His room's exactly the same as if he's coming
home, you know, and I just, my heart just breaks
when I meet parents that go through this and
students that just, you know, when they think
nobody cares and they don't realize how loved
they are, you know, and because it's in the moment.
I really believe that most kids took their life,
did it in the moment where, If they could ever
have that moment back, they would take it back
in a heartbeat, you know. But it's just to spur
the moment. Another young lady that took her
life, you know, she shot herself in the stomach.
She waited for her boyfriend to come up because
they got in an argument and he pulled up and
he shot it. Now, I don't think she tried to kill
herself. I think she just wanted to make a statement
that I'm really hurting, you know. But she ended
up dying. And, you know, meeting with her parents.
and seeing what's left behind there is just horrible.
Yeah, and I think that's the same place that
the suicides are coming from in soldiers and
first responders is, again, they feel like they
can't talk as well, and that's something that
we're trying to change. PTSD was a great acronym
and a great movement initially, but now it's
almost got this connotation of weakness, and
it shouldn't. It's sad, yes. If you're a compassionate
human being and you've seen suffering and you
look in the mirror and can't acknowledge that
that's going to have an effect, the same way
as wear and tear on your body. I mean, I was
extremely healthy, did yoga, did CrossFit and
all kinds of stuff and did it the right way.
I didn't do the terrible CrossFit. And then one
day I was lifting a patient and my back went.
And that's just wear and tear. That was just
some poor movement pattern that I've been doing.
and i didn't know i was completely unaware until
it failed and that's how these guys are you know
mentally is they can't reach out so it's building
and building and building and one day you know
they're so desperate that they walk to the woods
and you know carry a gun or whatever whatever
it is they do and i think with the with the kids
with our sons and daughters and then with with
adults as well we have to be able to talk to
each other and let them know that what they're
feeling isn't you know, weakness. It's compassion.
It's strength. It's desperation. It's, you know,
real human emotion. I could not agree with you
more. And I think that's one of the things that
we do at our presentations. We get people to
open up and talk about it. And that's why we
often get hundreds of letters after a presentation
from students with a common theme is this changed
my life. But we also get students that finally
have opened up about something they're feeling
or going through that otherwise would not talk
about this because it's like a volcano. And sooner
or later, that volcano erupts. And many times
it erupts in negative behavior. It could lead
to alcohol, drugs, could lead to horrible relationships
with your spouse or your family or your parents.
And it could lead to self -harm, burning, cutting
yourself, or at worst case, the suicidal thoughts
or taking your life. And that's why it's so important.
It is not a sign of weakness. I think it's a
sign of strength to say, hey, man, I'm going
through a really hard time. I need some help.
We've all been there before. I'm the first one
to admit, man, that... There was a time in my
life that I wanted to end it all after losing
my family and my ex -wife walking out the door.
I just felt there was no reason to continue.
All the years I lived were the best years I already
had. Nothing's going to ever be good for me in
my life, and I just wanted to end it all. thankful
every day. I just am so thankful I didn't end
my life. I never would have known all the great
things that were coming, you know, a new marriage,
new friends, a purpose. Oh my gosh, every day
I have a reason to get up in the morning and
go and present at a school, a church, a corporation,
but I never would have known that. I never would
have known all the great things that God had
for me in my life. Just like anybody that's listening
to this, man, don't ever give up hope. You know,
it's... I think hope is so important to have
every day, dreaming big, you know, and many times
as adults, we feel like, you know, those were
the days. No, these are the days, man. These
are the days that we could learn from past mistakes.
We could learn from maybe failed relationships.
We could learn from things in our life that say,
hey, let's do something a little different, you
know, and rekindle a relationship with an old
family member we haven't talked to, you know,
start a business, write a book, do something
that's all you've always dreamed about doing.
Those weren't the days. The rest of your life
will be the best of your life. And you have to
believe that. And I think that's what's so important
now in my life is that anybody listening to this
right now, please, we all go through adversity.
Man, I've been there. I've been down that dark
path. I can only say this, and I promise you,
don't give up. It will get better. After every
storm, the sun will eventually shine. It will
eventually shine. Well, thank you, Mark, for
those words. I'm sure that's going to resonate
with a lot of people. I know your time is short,
so I'm going to wrap up with just a couple more
questions. You are addressing... um on one side
the the people who are receiving end of bullying
now i am just disgusted and blown away you know
some of the videos that cross the the facebook
feeds and use the youtube on uh children and
grown -ups that are being bullied they're being
attacked and someone's just standing there recording
it other people are cheering it on what do you
think makes a bully because i mean i i can't
think in my wildest dreams of me ever being anyone
other than the person throwing myself in between
even if you know heaven forbid something bad
happened to me that's another human being being
attacked and yeah they could die at the end of
it so what what are you seeing the other side
of how maybe these kids are being raised or educated
to become these these these negative you know
bullies you know that's a it's a great question
and more important though we just had this election
and more important than who's in the white house
It's who's in our house. What are our parents
doing? What are we teaching our kids? What is
social media showing? You know, I mean, we look
today, what are our role models? The housewives
of Orange County? You see parents and adults
act like fools? You know, the way they swear
and scream and fight each other and that's cool?
What are we, how are we raising this next generation?
You know, it takes some really strong people
to say that's wrong. That's not how you treat
people. You know, bullies are really insecure
people. They get their joy out of other people
laughing or jumping on their bandwagon on how
they treat someone or a power struggle that they
need to be powerful because they're stronger
than this other person. They can take advantage
of that person. That's a really insecure person.
And it's really sad because one thing I notice
about, and a lot of times parents bring their
kids over here and I meet with parents and their
kids. And one thing I realized about bullies
is... They've often been bullied or hurt in their
life and they find someone a little weaker than
them or someone that they could pick on that
maybe isn't fighting back. And it's like, you
know, it's a way of getting even with someone
that they couldn't fight back against. But oftentimes
bullies are very insecure people and they often
end up sitting here in my office crying and saying
how sorry they are because they don't often realize
what words or actions can do to another person
because you never know what someone else is going
through in their life. Maybe their parents are
going through divorce. Maybe there's been a death
in their family. Maybe they go on a medical issue
that we know nothing about, or they lost their
pet or something that they're so traumatized
by. And all of a sudden they hear, you're ugly,
you're stupid, you're worthless. And then that
becomes a moment in their life. They're like,
I don't want to be here no more. Again, when
we talk about that moment, that if you can take
it back, and that becomes the moment that they
may end their life, all because of words. And
we're seeing this more and more. I often tell
students, man, if you're sitting around watching
a kid bully, you're just as guilty. Man, stand
up and just say, hey, come on, leave them alone.
They're my friend. You know how much that would
mean to that person? You know, they may remember
that the rest of their life. They may become,
you know, old and gray and they'll remember the
day that someone said, hey, leave them alone.
They're my friend. Because no one else was sticking
up for that person, you know? Or seeing these
kids that eat alone at lunch or because their
lifestyle is different than somebody else's.
or they're a different color, or whatever it
would be, it just breaks my heart. Because the
one thing that, love is the greatest gift that
God's ever given us. And when you love on someone
and you make them feel special, and that's what
I, when I go to these schools, man, those are
the kids I gravitate to. Kids that maybe are
a little different than the kids that maybe haven't
marched their own drumbeat or whatever it would
be, you know? I applaud those kids, man. And
I just want them to know that they're listening
to this podcast, that they are loved, and they're
special, and they're meaningful, and they're
just so needed in this world. And don't ever
give up. Don't ever, ever give up. Yeah, I agree
completely. There's one word that I use to raise
my son, and that's kindness. And that resonates
with me. Every area. I mean, I point out even
when we're driving, you know, if someone's riding
your ass in a car, are they being kind? No, because
if we have to stand on our brakes, they're going
to kill whoever's in the backseat. You know,
I mean, every area. But being kind feels so good.
Being a bully can't feel good. As soon as you
walk away and those kids stop cheering or stop
laughing. And, you know, I think I train him
to be the one that steps up. And luckily he does
jujitsu as well because he needs to have some
skills. Good for him. But yeah, I mean, you need
to be the wolf, not the sheep. I don't mean a
wolf in a negative way, but you need to separate
yourself from the flock. And if all the kids
are jeering, you might be the one that you said
to turn the flock. And now the bully's isolated
and you've sent a positive message instead of
a negative one. But I think you're right. Social
media is, I'm sure it's a small percentage of
human beings, but... Just like the news, you
get the false impression that most people are
like that. If you see a school fight, you should
all get your cell phone out and laugh and jeer
and put it on instead of stepping up and being
the one with real courage and separate it and
tell the person that's not right. I can't agree.
There's no greater joy than helping someone else.
And that's what I found in my life and what I
do. I love helping these kids, especially kids
that are going through adversity or being bullied
or abused in some way. Those are the kids that,
man, I live to help those kids. And I want to
encourage other kids to stand up and realize
that their joy in their life is going to be helping
someone else. Well, thank you. And I hope that
platform will be accepted no matter what their
age. All right, so to wrap up then, so where
can people find your work? How can they book
you? Oh man, just go to our website, which is
thinkpoz .org, thinkpoz .org. And you can always
find me on Facebook under Mark, Mark is with
a C, M -A -R -C -M -E -R -O. And I have my own
Facebook page, Mark Merrill page. All right.
Well, thank you so much for your time. I'm sure
it's going to resonate with the grownups and
certainly with every parent out there, you know,
keeping an eye on their kids and their kids'
friends and everyone else that they interact
with. And a special shout out to the first responders,
man. This world would be empty without you guys.
You know, sometimes I see some of our police
officers or first responders, whoever painted
with one brush. And I got to tell you something,
man. You have no idea what this world will be
like without you guys. I cannot thank you enough
for your efforts, your tireless efforts to save
lives, not only in my community, but all over
the United States. Thank you, guys, and I love
you. All right. Thank you so much, Mark. We appreciate
your time, and good luck with your 2017. Thank
you.