WEBVTT

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Good morning. Welcome to Good News York. It is

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Monday and I'm feeling like I got a case of the

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Mondays I had a very long weekend But I'm being

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uplifted as I speak because I'm here with a very

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special guest that I personally invited on the

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show in Person because I was so moved by his

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interview on Sean Kelsey's podcast rising Phoenix

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rising. Excuse me. Is it Phoenix rising or rising

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Phoenix Phoenix rising? I always get that mixed

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up, which is one of our great clients here growth

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mode content I'd like to welcome to the show,

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to Good News York, Mr. Mike Catalano. Hey, guys,

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thanks for having me. It's only one person clapping,

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yeah. So, Mike, I'm so glad to have you. Again,

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it is Good News York, sponsored by Ads on the

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Go, GetAdsOnTheGo .com. Mike, you're the first

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guest that I've just booked on the spot. You

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know, it was... You did this great episode of

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Sean Kelsey's podcast, like I just mentioned.

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And you really moved me with your story and,

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you know, your journey. And when you got up and

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like we hugged, you know, we immediately connected.

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And, you know, you were like, I'd love to come

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on the show sometime. I was like, you know what?

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Pulled out the calendar and we put it on the

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books. And it's for a good reason. Back Nine

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Barber Shop is is your barber shop, which if

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we can look at that hat, that is. That is sexy,

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my friend. Very nice. And I'm not just saying

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that. Like, that is a very sexy logo. And, um,

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Bac9 Barbershop is your bread and butter. It

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is your passion right now. But getting there...

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was quite a journey. So I would love for you,

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if you're comfortable, just talk about how this

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all came about. Well, you know, uh... It started

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out with... My passion for golf mixed with hair

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cutting and actually even more so before that,

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my father is a PGA professional member of the

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CNY section. Hell yes. My mother is a retired

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hairdresser slash bus driver. You're like the

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perfect... hybrid of your parents. Nobody saw

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this coming. I certainly didn't see this coming.

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I thought I'd be teeing it up with, you know,

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Scotty Schaffler, Thursdays through Sundays,

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you know, trying to, you know, make a good buck

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out there, grind it on the golf course. However,

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things shifted and we adapt and we keep moving

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on. And, you know, I started out with probably

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about the first two thirds of my life in the

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golf industry. Big pronounced name in the area.

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And then, you know, as you were saying, you know,

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the journey, I fell down, I collapsed, I hit

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rock bottom and struggled and clawed my way to

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get back up to where I am today. And that's,

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you know, providing top -notch grooming in Cicero,

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New York for people that, you know, need haircuts.

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Mike, that's, yeah. It's an amazing story because,

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you know, this show started, you know, Matt started

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this show on, you know, you open social media.

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you know, you turn on the news and it's just,

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ugh, it's deaths and fire and fighting and just

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every negative thing you can think of, you can

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find. So it was like, you know, let's start a

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show where we can highlight things in New York,

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all over New York state that are uplifting, cool,

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awesome, funny, you know, businesses, people,

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and you embody that because of your story. And

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the great thing about hitting rock bottom, as

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you said, is that there's only one way to go

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when you hit rock bottom, in my opinion. You

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can just lay down and die there, or you can push

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yourself. The good news is there's only, or you

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can go up, right? And you chose to go up. Before

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we get into that, let's talk about your golf

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career, though, because I mean, you know, we

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all golf around here. Everybody hears, like,

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I'm a golfer, you know. I wanna be great, you

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know. I golf all the time. I have such a passion

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to be great. I'm not, you know? It's a very tough

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sport, and a lot of it's between the ears, right?

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It's a very mental, cerebral sport. How did you

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start golfing? When did you start golfing? And

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talk a little bit about how that career came

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about, because you were on your way to pro status,

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would you say? Yeah, I would say tour professional.

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So there's several different listings of a Class

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A golf professional. I think you got people that

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all the way from doing news articles in the post

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standard to teaching pros to touring professionals.

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And that was what I was trying to inspire it

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to be. I started out when I was one years old.

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Soon as I could walk, my dad threw a golf club

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in my hand. I think everybody can remember those

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plastic Fisher Price sets of clubs. For sure.

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I'd be sitting there ripping golf balls around

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the yard, and I had my own little holes laid

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out in the backyard. I would just do that for

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hours. Literally, give me my golf clubs, leave

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me alone, Mikey's going to be good. At that age,

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you loved it. At that age, as soon as I could

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walk, man, that was it. And we started out, as

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far as I can remember, at Rouge Roost. My dad

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was a very pronoun golf pro in the area, sponsored

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by FaZe. Remember FaZe? Matt was here. Matt is

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obsessed with FaZe. You know, he's from Illion.

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He's got a FaZe sweatshirt. Love that. Let me

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tell you, dude, it is fire. Not as fire as your

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hat, but it is fire. Love me some FaZe. And,

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you know, we started out there. I remember one

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year... Over the summertime of school I was at

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the golf course every single day and then this

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is where I really kind of noticed I Was gaining

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traction but without really noticing what was

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going on All I did was just sat there got bored

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hit 300 golf balls go take a nap on my dad's

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golf cart Watch him teach a lesson go hit another

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300 go pick up golf balls and another 300 This

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is what that was my life every single day for

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the course of the summer I was probably seven

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years old. I'd put that was about my daily routine

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hit about 1 ,000 golf balls a day, watch him

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teach, and learn how to hit bunker shots. That's

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self -taught. So there you go. Everything else,

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though, was old school drills, kind of like Rocky

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Balboa in the hit and stuff, the vintage way.

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That's how I sit ups in a barn. Yeah, you know

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we're sitting there after we don't need any any

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big crazy equipment You're no Ivan Drago. You're

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no Ivan Drago. You are rocky my friend I love

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that I love that and you know the first time

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I started to break 45 I was seven years old from

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the Red Tees. Are you serious? Damn you so and

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from there um I want to say the first tournament

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I won right in your backyard at Cornell Golf

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Club. Yeah. And I shot 38. It was the 10 and

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under, I believe, or the 11 and under. And I

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knew I was like 9. So I knew I was playing against

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some of the older kids. And I smoked them. Or

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at least I thought I did. Sure. And from there,

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it was getting to the junior tournament level.

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Probably my best junior finish was called the

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Williamson Cup. It's where the top six players

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in each section, four players play two alternates

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from Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and all around

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the Northeast gather. So you got like 80, 90

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golfers and they all go after trying to win this

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Williamson Cup. And I was at the Country Club

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of Detroit. I shot 73 in my first round. and

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I'm like three shots back. So I'm fired up, swings

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clicking on all cylinders. I have all the confidence

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in the world. And it was 36 holes one day. I

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sit there and I start out birdie, birdie, birdie

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on my second 18. Beautiful. And I'm fired up.

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End up, you know, obviously just like, you know,

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have a couple bogeys, couple pars down the stretch.

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End up shooting one under 71, 73, 71, coming

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third place. They announced first place, second

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place. They didn't announce third. I will never

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forget that moment. Why didn't they do that?

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I don't know. I guess if you're not first or

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second, then nothing else matters. So I learned

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a valuable lesson right there. Win or don't be

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noticed. That's actually a great mindset, though.

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Right? And that really catapulted me to just

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take my already sharpened game to another level.

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Wow. And from there, we went on to high school,

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had a great high school career, won many sectionals

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with a great team of guys. moved on to Florida,

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tried to do the minor league tour. And I'll tell

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you what I learned about that is no matter how

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good you think you are, holy smokes, man, there's

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always somebody better than you. I would go out

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there and shoot two, three under and get annihilated.

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I'd shoot 68, 69. And these dudes are shooting

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63s, 64s. So then they call you a trunk slammer.

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Trunk slammer. I've never heard that one. Yeah,

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you didn't make the cut. You go home slamming

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your trunk, keep it moving. Oh, man, that's a

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good one. So I did the whole Florida thing for

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a winter. Ended up, you know, missing home. Then

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I was like, you know what, I'm gonna go to college.

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And we went, I went to Monroe Community College

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on Rochester. That's actually a fantastic community

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college. It's like nationally ranked. It's like

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a... It's a fantastic game. They no longer have

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golf. Really? Yeah, I don't know what they did

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there. They stripped their whole athletic program.

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I think baseball was their big bread and butter.

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I could be mistaken. I think they still have

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baseball, but I could be wrong. They might have

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gotten rid of baseball, too. I don't know. I

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know they did have baseball. I definitely remember

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them being on the map, because I'm originally

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from Herkimer, so HCCC, Monroe, they played each

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other in a lot of things. But man, I got to tell

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you, so... There's a million things going through

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my head. One is, you know, that is wildly impressive,

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because for people that don't golf, you don't

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understand that, yes, it does take some athletic

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ability, but it also takes so much mental discipline.

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It is such a mental game, and I'm a mental case,

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and I think that's why I can't get over the hump

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and break. I think I shot a 45 once, but I'm

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in like the 47, 48, and at like 55 on nine holes,

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and I just... But in that I also realized, you

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know, at some point I went, why am I getting

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mad that I can't golf very well? I golf a dozen

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times a season. You know, you were out there

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at Power World, you said you were seven years

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old, hitting 300 balls a day. And anybody...

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A thousand. A thousand balls a day. And, you

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know, people hear that and think it's a cliche,

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like, you gotta hit like a thousand balls a day.

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But you really do. And all the greats that you

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look up to, you hear those stories and you were

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living that. And it's wildly impressive to me

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that you were able to not only get as good as

00:11:22.970 --> 00:11:27.649
you have gotten, but to compete at such a high

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level. Do you, I've always said that like if

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you want to take golf to the next level and you

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really want to, maybe if you don't even want

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to go pro, but you want to get really good. Do

00:11:37.629 --> 00:11:39.629
you think, like for golfers that are listening

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or watching, do you think you have to move down

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south where you can golf year round? Because

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it's tough around here right you get three four

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months five months if you're a young junior golfer

00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.360
um And you really want to further your career

00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:56.299
in golf the easy answer. That is yes. Yeah Jeff

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Sloomin is Mike we're all Mike where's Canadian,

00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:03.500
but he also played like I'm pretty sure he played

00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:08.039
at a skinny at this golf club um But Jeff Sloomin

00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:11.200
went to Monroe Community College He is, yep.

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Wayne Levy, Wayne Levy, shout out Wayne Levy.

00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.700
Those are like, you know, a few of the names

00:12:16.700 --> 00:12:20.559
that from this area upstate New York have made

00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.120
it. But it, I mean, it's not easy for them. It's

00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.500
not. There's a guy from Syracuse on the tour

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who a couple weeks ago, one of the tournaments

00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:30.559
was in the top, he was in the running, he almost

00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:33.179
won it. Like on day three, he was climbing the

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ranks. I can't remember his name off the top

00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:38.980
of my head, but I wish I had wrote it down, but.

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Um, but you're right. It is, it's not like it's

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impossible, but, but like you said, if you want

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to put in the work year -round, weather -wise,

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I mean, now you can do things like indoor and

00:12:48.009 --> 00:12:50.769
stuff like that, but yeah, I think... Kyle Roy.

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Kyle Roy. Kyle Roy. That's him. Shout out Kyle

00:12:53.549 --> 00:12:56.669
Roy. That's him. Kevin Roy. Kevin Roy. Kevin

00:12:56.669 --> 00:12:59.929
Roy. The brothers. I'm so sorry, the Roy brothers,

00:12:59.990 --> 00:13:01.690
if we're getting you mixed up right now. Yeah.

00:13:01.750 --> 00:13:03.730
I played junior golf with these guys. Ah, see,

00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:05.669
I had a feeling you did. I had a feeling, you

00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:08.190
know. Yep. Jim Roy, their father. Yes. Uh, had

00:13:08.190 --> 00:13:10.929
a great... Great career as far as I'm concerned.

00:13:10.929 --> 00:13:13.409
Yeah, he made it there. I didn't you know, he

00:13:13.409 --> 00:13:18.210
had a great senior tour run Kevin Roy is he I

00:13:18.210 --> 00:13:20.909
believe he started down in the South American

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tour Started lighting it up there dude. He's

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playing great golf man. I really honestly I'm

00:13:25.309 --> 00:13:27.009
happy for he is playing great golf. I really

00:13:27.009 --> 00:13:30.210
hope I get to see him I know I know he's over

00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:34.009
at Timberbanks every once in a while. I'm possibly

00:13:34.009 --> 00:13:36.350
interested and you know, maybe getting over there

00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:39.070
and Calling that a home now. Absolutely. Moving

00:13:39.070 --> 00:13:41.909
forward. It's a great course. We were there for

00:13:41.909 --> 00:13:45.009
the NFL Alumni Tournament with David's Refuge.

00:13:45.110 --> 00:13:47.769
I shot an episode there. What a course. Lovely.

00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:52.190
Holy hell. It's my best round there, 71 from

00:13:52.190 --> 00:13:57.309
the tips. Man, the par threes there alone. Everyone's

00:13:57.309 --> 00:13:59.070
always talking about the greens, greens, greens.

00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:02.570
And then my answer is, well, hit it in the right

00:14:02.570 --> 00:14:04.720
quadrant. Right. But I mean, easier said than

00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:06.700
done, right? And then we all we all face the

00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:08.379
times where, you know, you sit there, you over

00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.279
club, you under club, you got a Morty foot pot

00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:13.159
and they're hard. Yeah, that is a great chess

00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.399
match for four or five hours on that golf course.

00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.240
I love it. When you're I got to ask you this

00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:21.539
because I have such a passion for golf. I don't

00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:23.600
know why, you know, I could get out in front

00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:27.480
of 70 ,000 people and perform comedy or song

00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:30.059
and be fine. But when I'm on the golf course,

00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:33.120
I am like when I when I get up for my approach,

00:14:33.370 --> 00:14:35.950
I am so terrified of this little fucking ball,

00:14:36.169 --> 00:14:39.269
dude. And, you know, and then sometimes I'm fine,

00:14:39.490 --> 00:14:41.090
and then sometimes I'm doing, okay, keep your

00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:44.750
arm straight, remember your tempo. What is your

00:14:44.750 --> 00:14:48.470
approach to when you're getting up to address

00:14:48.470 --> 00:14:51.529
the ball? How do you quiet your mind? Do you

00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:54.769
quiet your mind? Do you have a routine? You know,

00:14:54.850 --> 00:14:56.250
I'm glad you just said that. I was gonna say

00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:59.049
routine. Yeah. You need to practice your routine.

00:14:59.629 --> 00:15:02.970
For that seven to ten seconds pre -shot routine,

00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:08.240
during the shot and post shot. That routine,

00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:12.100
it just locks you in, quiets out all the noise

00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:16.600
around you. My dad used to jingle keys, ask me

00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:18.840
questions like, what's two plus two? Something

00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:21.679
that I know the answer, but I can't answer until

00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:24.860
after I struck the shot. That was the rule. That

00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:27.820
was the rule. He would try to get me off my game.

00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:30.679
And I loved it, honestly. People driving by honking

00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.379
their horns, yelling, hey four! You know what

00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:35.549
I mean? It never bothered me. See, that's my

00:15:35.549 --> 00:15:37.690
problem. I'm locked in. Dude, if I hear a mouse

00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:41.710
fart in the woods, I will shank it 50 feet. I'm

00:15:41.710 --> 00:15:44.710
so, like, hypersensitive to that stuff. So you're

00:15:44.710 --> 00:15:47.809
saying, get in a routine. Mm -hmm. You don't

00:15:47.809 --> 00:15:49.490
have a routine to shut your mind off, but what

00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:51.029
you're saying is if you get in a routine, it

00:15:51.029 --> 00:15:53.509
will shut your mind off? Yeah, you are now all

00:15:53.509 --> 00:15:56.490
in on your routine. I get behind the golf ball,

00:15:56.850 --> 00:15:59.149
I line it up, something in the distance, could

00:15:59.149 --> 00:16:01.480
be a top of a tree, cloud, whatever. Whatever

00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:05.059
I'm marking to aim at, get behind it, get ready,

00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.799
boom. Everything else goes blank. Now I'm just

00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:10.320
locked into that shot, dialed in 100%. You're

00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.519
never thinking about, OK, tempo, any of that

00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:14.059
stuff. You're just going to swing. You're going

00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:18.340
to swing free? It'll be like a deep breath. And

00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:20.559
yeah, you know, whatever confident mind thought

00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:23.259
you could have. Or for instance, I was just playing

00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:25.500
in a charity event for the rescue mission at

00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:29.679
Skinny Atlas with Sean. And it's a great show

00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.779
there. And I was playing so tense from the stress

00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:35.759
of opening the business and trying to maintain

00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.720
our clients, keep them happy. And I'm just like,

00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.940
ah. And I just had to just try to find my woo

00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:46.460
-sah out there. Yes. And you can't play golf

00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:49.899
tense. No. You can't play golf if your mind's

00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:53.320
racing. Once you're out there, it's you, the

00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:57.049
grass, the ball, the elements. Nothing else matters

00:16:57.049 --> 00:17:00.230
for those four or five hours And then I know

00:17:00.230 --> 00:17:04.589
as cliche as it sounds Shot by shot one shot

00:17:04.589 --> 00:17:08.089
at a time. That's it. It is it it has to be it

00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:11.589
You know, and I've heard you know in in sports

00:17:11.589 --> 00:17:14.890
psychology and in pro sports, you know in football

00:17:14.890 --> 00:17:18.150
You hear it a lot. They they preach like whatever

00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:21.309
just happened Forget it put it out of your mind.

00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:23.470
It's done. It's over with we are on no matter

00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:26.470
how bad it is an interception a fumble Whatever.

00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:29.509
Missed field goal. That's over. We're not even

00:17:29.509 --> 00:17:30.529
thinking about that now. We're thinking about

00:17:30.529 --> 00:17:32.569
this play right now. And then when the game's

00:17:32.569 --> 00:17:35.289
over, you hear a lot of athletes go, uh, yeah,

00:17:35.289 --> 00:17:37.170
we're going to enjoy this win for a few hours,

00:17:37.190 --> 00:17:38.890
and then it's on to next week. Everything is

00:17:38.890 --> 00:17:41.049
just very in the moment. And I just think that's

00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:44.589
great practice for life, you know? 100%. On the

00:17:44.589 --> 00:17:48.150
golf course, I have a six -step rule. OK. Good,

00:17:48.250 --> 00:17:53.710
bad, or ugly. For six steps after I struck my

00:17:53.710 --> 00:17:57.359
shot. You think about what happened after the

00:17:57.359 --> 00:17:59.140
sixth step you're on to your seventh You are

00:17:59.140 --> 00:18:00.660
now moving forward and you're worried about the

00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:02.579
next shot, you know, I'm gonna I am going to

00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:05.099
use that Do you do you give golf lessons anymore?

00:18:05.180 --> 00:18:06.539
Cuz I know you're busy. We'll talk about the

00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:08.640
barbershop You know, I I would love to get back

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:13.440
into it. Um, I totally am and Excited about doing

00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:17.259
it again. Sure. I once we get back to some normalcy

00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:19.859
with the life here and get the business 100 %

00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:21.799
locked in grand opening coming later this month

00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.160
Yes, back nine barbershop. We'll be talking about

00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:27.660
that in a second. And I would love to. And I

00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:31.440
think that I'm able to connect to a lot of people.

00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.740
I'm a little bit more of a realist. But I also

00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:36.839
am not that golf pro that wants you there for

00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:39.799
10 or 15 sessions. I want you there for five.

00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:42.140
We're going to lock in. We're going to give you

00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:44.079
the drills. We're going to give you whatever

00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.640
knowledge you need to move on. Whether you're

00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.220
struggling, breaking 90 will get you there. Breaking

00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:53.309
80 will get you there. Now, everything after

00:18:53.309 --> 00:18:57.869
80, every two shots, call it about 10 hours of

00:18:57.869 --> 00:19:01.009
working on your game. You want to shoot 78, better

00:19:01.009 --> 00:19:05.410
put 20 hours. 76, another 20. It just gets harder

00:19:05.410 --> 00:19:07.690
and harder and harder. You use 20 as a metric?

00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:10.390
I mean, maybe five hours. Maybe 10's a little

00:19:10.390 --> 00:19:13.009
excessive, but, you know, my father always used

00:19:13.009 --> 00:19:15.869
to make me go out there, and if I only played

00:19:15.869 --> 00:19:18.130
nine holes in one day, he was like, oh, well,

00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:22.079
good job. Waste of day. You know, it's funny

00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:25.279
because I find, you know, we, I get, you know,

00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.519
I'm doing these tournaments. We all play in these

00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.539
scramble tournaments and things like that. And

00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:31.559
we're getting off the couch, you know, we're

00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:32.720
drinking a cup of coffee and then we're getting

00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:34.900
out there and swinging and everybody's like,

00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:36.920
Oh, what's going on with my drive? And it's like,

00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.660
listen, first of all, you know, that's like a

00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:43.200
guitar player who, you know, plays guitar three

00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:45.559
times a summer. And it's like, why can't I play

00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:48.240
Eruption by Van Halen? It's like, dude, you gotta

00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.420
practice. And then I've always noticed, like,

00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:52.460
in a tournament, when we get to, like, hole 15,

00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.180
I start dialing it in, and it's because I'm warmed

00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:57.539
up. Do you think, honestly, like, if you're gonna

00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:00.759
compete, do you think you really need to get

00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:03.339
out there and practice for hours before the tournament

00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:05.200
starts? If it's a, you know, if it was a real

00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:10.240
deal tournament? My... It was always at least

00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.240
an hour. Because I never know what the threshold

00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:14.670
was. Like when are you going now? You're gonna

00:20:14.670 --> 00:20:16.910
tire yourself out like where is the line for

00:20:16.910 --> 00:20:20.170
you? So I played so let me answer that question,

00:20:20.250 --> 00:20:22.670
then I'll go into a second statement of it um

00:20:22.670 --> 00:20:27.329
For me it was an hour hour and 20 minutes you

00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:31.609
stretch for 20 minutes Hit some golf balls, and

00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:34.269
then the last thing was 50 to 100 three foot

00:20:34.269 --> 00:20:36.650
putts take some straight some straight putts

00:20:36.650 --> 00:20:38.730
three feet You know you're gonna make them get

00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:40.569
the putter feeling good get that hole looking

00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:43.430
like a basket Early, otherwise, you know, it's

00:20:43.430 --> 00:20:45.690
gonna look like a pinhole on you, right? So get

00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:47.829
the putter flowing and the putter honestly I

00:20:47.829 --> 00:20:51.130
feel like that is you know, that is the most

00:20:51.130 --> 00:20:53.990
important club in the bag. People might say well

00:20:53.990 --> 00:20:56.490
the driver is. No, drive for show, putt for dough.

00:20:56.890 --> 00:21:02.450
There you go, baby. And Your putter is almost

00:21:02.450 --> 00:21:05.009
guaranteed to be the one club that you use on

00:21:05.009 --> 00:21:06.890
every single hole. Yeah, unless you're chipping

00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:11.130
in so People sit there and they're like, well,

00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:13.250
Mike, how do I learn how to lag putt? How do

00:21:13.250 --> 00:21:14.950
I do this? How do I do that? You gotta spend

00:21:14.950 --> 00:21:20.549
some time. Sure. And it's 150 yards in. If everybody

00:21:20.549 --> 00:21:25.309
was just to focus on that aspect, you will tremendously

00:21:25.309 --> 00:21:29.509
see a decline in your scores. Everyone's always

00:21:29.509 --> 00:21:31.269
like, oh, the driver, the driver, the driver.

00:21:31.349 --> 00:21:34.309
You don't even need a driver. No. I got a buddy

00:21:34.309 --> 00:21:37.029
that puts this in the bag. He can't hit it. And

00:21:37.029 --> 00:21:40.549
he uses a whatever, four iron or five wood, three

00:21:40.549 --> 00:21:41.670
wood, whatever he's comfortable with. That's

00:21:41.670 --> 00:21:44.809
it. Get to your number. Play high percentage

00:21:44.809 --> 00:21:47.829
golf. My father used to hate that. He wants me

00:21:47.829 --> 00:21:49.750
ripping driver. I remember I went to Oswego Country

00:21:49.750 --> 00:21:52.150
Club and I hit driver three times during the

00:21:52.150 --> 00:21:54.509
round and I shot somewhere around par. But I

00:21:54.509 --> 00:21:57.349
didn't mind having 200 yards in, a par four.

00:21:57.630 --> 00:21:59.369
I'm right in the center of the fairway, got in

00:21:59.369 --> 00:22:01.930
my like five or six iron, four iron if it's uphill.

00:22:02.539 --> 00:22:04.980
And I'm just letting it launch right at it, throwing

00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:10.279
lawn darts. And your birdies are going to come.

00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:13.000
I don't need to sit there and go after, especially

00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:15.420
if the driver feels good and the driver's swing

00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:18.220
feels good, let it rip every single one. But

00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:21.119
if you have any doubts, high percentage golf.

00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:24.279
Yeah, it's such creative advice because I think

00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:26.319
there's a lot of people I golf with that feel

00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:28.240
like, well, this is where I'm supposed to use

00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.019
my driver. You don't have to use it. If your

00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:33.329
driver's not working, I'm not saying never use

00:22:33.329 --> 00:22:35.109
it again. You should try to get it fixed, because

00:22:35.109 --> 00:22:36.509
there are holes where you're going to need the

00:22:36.509 --> 00:22:39.710
most distance you can get. But you don't have

00:22:39.710 --> 00:22:42.230
to use your driver. Use your fucking six iron.

00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:44.970
Whatever is best for each hole, and to put you

00:22:44.970 --> 00:22:47.490
up in the best position to win. I mean, a little

00:22:47.490 --> 00:22:50.869
fun time here when I was at Northern Pines. I

00:22:50.869 --> 00:22:53.549
had one of the car kids working with me, and

00:22:53.549 --> 00:22:56.009
he was feeling some type of way. I think he just

00:22:56.009 --> 00:22:59.250
got off of playing a real good round. And he

00:22:59.250 --> 00:23:00.910
was like, yo, Mike, I'm ready for you. I'm ready

00:23:00.910 --> 00:23:03.509
for you. And I'm like, buddy, listen, I'm just

00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:06.349
going to use my seven iron. Seven iron. Let's

00:23:06.349 --> 00:23:09.109
go play the backside. Seven iron only. No putter?

00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:11.450
No putter. Is that your favorite club in the

00:23:11.450 --> 00:23:15.089
bag? It is my favorite club. OK. And I shot 38,

00:23:16.069 --> 00:23:22.029
and I beat him. Bro, that's wild. That's fucking

00:23:22.029 --> 00:23:24.069
wild. Well, you know, at that point in time,

00:23:24.269 --> 00:23:27.900
and you know, mind you. Two national championships

00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:31.940
at Monroe Community College. Love them boys Got

00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:35.099
to be part of that and then moved on after that

00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:38.599
like I really haven't Worked on my yeah, I call

00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:42.240
it cruise control I do enough so it's not foreign

00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:44.880
to me right now sure but I am your captain and

00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:46.619
crew golfer currently and that and everyone's

00:23:46.619 --> 00:23:48.339
like Mike like come out of you like you're not

00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:51.240
even a golfer anymore and Bullshit some people

00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:53.400
are like you're an 80s golfer. I've like well,

00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:55.660
whatever You know, I mean, they love, you know,

00:23:55.880 --> 00:23:58.460
poking the bear. Um, and, uh, you know, I would

00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:00.740
love to get out there. I haven't, Mike, I can't

00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:02.380
tell you the last time I played 20, 20 rounds

00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:03.960
of 18 holes. I'm out of the ball. Really? In

00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:07.099
a season. By choice? By choice. Uh, not including

00:24:07.099 --> 00:24:09.119
Captain and Cruz. Those were always fall ball

00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.920
stuff. Well, let's talk about that. What, what,

00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.740
why? What, is it just life in general? You're

00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:16.859
too busy? Or is there something, have you fell

00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:18.880
out of love with the game a little bit? Well...

00:24:18.730 --> 00:24:20.890
Well, you know, let's go. Are we going to get

00:24:20.890 --> 00:24:22.890
back? Yeah, we'll get into the journey. Let's

00:24:22.890 --> 00:24:25.609
get into the journey now. This is this is it's

00:24:25.609 --> 00:24:28.029
an amazing story. You know, so I mean, we've

00:24:28.029 --> 00:24:30.609
talked up to this point, obviously, about golf

00:24:30.609 --> 00:24:33.190
in general. But so here you are. You're competing

00:24:33.190 --> 00:24:36.670
at a high level at a young age. And then some

00:24:36.670 --> 00:24:40.130
things kind of kind of change for you. You know,

00:24:40.130 --> 00:24:43.670
I would probably say that the time that I really

00:24:43.670 --> 00:24:49.609
started to disconnect myself. From Just being

00:24:49.609 --> 00:24:51.650
out in the spotlight was after my parents got

00:24:51.650 --> 00:24:54.670
divorced. Well, and obviously there's percentages

00:24:54.670 --> 00:24:57.690
that lead in every direction from there I was

00:24:57.690 --> 00:25:02.730
lost Confused I was 12 13 years old My mom and

00:25:02.730 --> 00:25:06.210
my sister moved out. I don't think I fully understood

00:25:06.210 --> 00:25:09.190
what was going on I mean old enough to understand

00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:13.089
but that's where things really started to go

00:25:13.089 --> 00:25:15.690
How old were you at this point? I was 13 13.

00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:19.599
Okay And then like I said in the in the Phoenix

00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:24.099
Rising podcast Started to you know get into smoking

00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:27.380
weed And they say you know then the experiment

00:25:27.380 --> 00:25:29.539
from there. Yeah the gateway drug the gateway

00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:32.859
I mean it is it really is for those that don't

00:25:32.859 --> 00:25:36.599
agree with that it is And you know I end up getting

00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:38.900
arrested on a high school field trip going to

00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:42.019
see the Statue of Liberty in New York at 15 and

00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:46.369
That burned any sort of d1 offer that I had I

00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:49.529
didn't know that at the time. My golf coach calling

00:25:49.529 --> 00:25:52.170
me a prima donna. And I'm like, man, you know,

00:25:52.170 --> 00:25:54.029
I'm the first one at practice. I'm the last one

00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:56.029
to leave. I'm a cocky son of a bitch at that

00:25:56.029 --> 00:26:00.410
time. Really was. And it's important to be confident,

00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:03.450
but not cocky. There is a line. Got to be humble.

00:26:03.650 --> 00:26:07.490
Yeah. And I didn't understand that. Everybody

00:26:07.490 --> 00:26:09.589
was, you know, hooking me up, giving me free

00:26:09.589 --> 00:26:12.440
golf, free clubs, free this, free that. I'm 13

00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:14.599
years old signing autographs for people. To be

00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.759
fair to yourself, I mean, anybody at that age

00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:20.079
experiencing what you were experiencing would

00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.900
also probably be cocky. I mean, we're not wired

00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:27.160
at that age to be able to handle that kind of

00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:31.569
pressure and, you know, local fame. And, of course,

00:26:31.589 --> 00:26:33.910
you were cocky, you know? I mean, if you were

00:26:33.910 --> 00:26:36.130
in your 20s, you know, at that point, you should

00:26:36.130 --> 00:26:38.269
know how to kind of balance that. So go easy

00:26:38.269 --> 00:26:39.710
on yourself with that. I think... Appreciate

00:26:39.710 --> 00:26:41.269
that. I think that's a lot of pressure for a

00:26:41.269 --> 00:26:43.789
13 -year -old. And you have to also factor in

00:26:43.789 --> 00:26:45.890
your parents are just splitting up. You know,

00:26:45.890 --> 00:26:48.849
who are you going to? You know, your mind's all

00:26:48.849 --> 00:26:50.650
over the place at that point. It really was.

00:26:51.930 --> 00:26:54.930
And then we just continued on the path, you know,

00:26:56.369 --> 00:27:02.349
by senior year in high school. I think because

00:27:02.349 --> 00:27:05.690
of the arrest on the field trip, I was not eligible

00:27:05.690 --> 00:27:08.869
to play in states. So I lost a year of states.

00:27:09.369 --> 00:27:11.910
And then I just started to hate everybody. Sure.

00:27:12.089 --> 00:27:14.849
It's like the school that I was at. It's everybody

00:27:14.849 --> 00:27:17.569
else's fault. No accountability over here. Again,

00:27:17.589 --> 00:27:23.329
being young. So we fast forward to Florida. And

00:27:23.329 --> 00:27:25.710
everything's going good there as well. I'm starting

00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:28.390
to meet some great contacts, playing with some

00:27:28.390 --> 00:27:33.490
great LPGA players. and the shark pull of everybody

00:27:33.490 --> 00:27:37.890
else down there. My gosh. And then I came back

00:27:37.890 --> 00:27:41.089
up here, went to school, because I'm like, what

00:27:41.089 --> 00:27:43.410
else am I going to do? Let's further our education,

00:27:43.789 --> 00:27:46.910
which is hospitality management and business

00:27:46.910 --> 00:27:52.390
management. And that's where the Dewey's started

00:27:52.390 --> 00:27:55.029
to happen. Got the first one in college, year

00:27:55.029 --> 00:27:57.670
and a half later, got a second one. Year and

00:27:57.670 --> 00:28:01.599
a half after that, got the third one. And then

00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:06.440
that's where, you know, I was still, I was still

00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:10.019
floating. I was still making way and still being

00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:14.359
motivated to try to continue life. I just keep

00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:16.059
getting knocked down and I'm like, all right,

00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.259
whatever, whatever, you know, what else is new?

00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:21.220
Get to the golf course at Northern Pines. And

00:28:21.220 --> 00:28:24.220
that's when I got the second and third one. So

00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:29.700
I lost my license. I could no longer smoke weed

00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:35.160
anymore. And then I started my opioid addiction.

00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:39.839
Started with pills, escalated into fentanyl,

00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:44.519
heroin. Probably three years with the pills and

00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:46.380
then, you know, once that got too expensive,

00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:51.720
we graduated on. But that fentanyl and for anybody

00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:55.099
that is struggling with opioid addiction, you

00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:58.309
know, I am a... I'm standing living proof that

00:28:58.309 --> 00:29:01.390
you can beat it. How did you get introduced to

00:29:01.390 --> 00:29:03.769
the opioids? Did you have an injury or was it

00:29:03.769 --> 00:29:05.349
just kind of you're at a party? Someone's like,

00:29:05.470 --> 00:29:08.069
hey, try this shit. You know, I always wonder

00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:11.150
how someone goes right like, because everyone

00:29:11.150 --> 00:29:14.809
kind of knows what can happen. So I always think

00:29:14.809 --> 00:29:17.890
what goes through someone's mind when they know

00:29:17.890 --> 00:29:21.289
how dangerous this is, this kind of drug, how

00:29:21.289 --> 00:29:22.990
does it get introduced and how do you make that

00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:26.579
decision? If you even remember. You know, experimenting

00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:30.160
with pills in high school was something that

00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:36.299
we did, but nothing of habitual status. I had,

00:29:36.500 --> 00:29:38.980
who was it? It was a friend of mine. Don't say

00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:42.019
his name. Who was it? It was John Smith. He lives

00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:47.519
at 1435. John Doe. He introduced me to a gentleman

00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:51.690
that lived right up the road from me. And again,

00:29:51.890 --> 00:29:53.609
couldn't smoke weed anymore, stays in your system

00:29:53.609 --> 00:29:56.769
too long, I'm on probation. And I'm like, how

00:29:56.769 --> 00:30:00.869
can we still get high and hide pills? That's

00:30:00.869 --> 00:30:05.009
what it was. Got in out of my system, and I remember

00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:08.369
telling him, I'm like, bro, I don't want to get

00:30:08.369 --> 00:30:10.309
addicted to these things. It's like day three

00:30:10.309 --> 00:30:14.190
or four. I don't want to get addicted to these,

00:30:14.390 --> 00:30:18.509
so don't answer my call for a couple days. Didn't

00:30:18.509 --> 00:30:20.569
like that. He didn't answer my call after I was

00:30:20.569 --> 00:30:22.930
told them not to so I think I showed up at his

00:30:22.930 --> 00:30:27.309
house or something like that and Again like once

00:30:27.309 --> 00:30:29.369
my habit grew to like two or three hundred dollars

00:30:29.369 --> 00:30:31.529
a day I don't know how I didn't lose everything

00:30:31.529 --> 00:30:34.670
in the process Wow I got lucky dude like a lot

00:30:34.670 --> 00:30:37.230
of people lose their house their life their family

00:30:37.230 --> 00:30:43.410
and I somehow kept it afloat barely but did um

00:30:43.410 --> 00:30:46.750
That's when I was like dude I can't afford this

00:30:46.750 --> 00:30:50.450
habit anymore. But the withdrawals, they stink.

00:30:51.809 --> 00:30:57.230
Like the flu on steroids. So I found somebody

00:30:57.230 --> 00:31:00.670
that I worked with once I left Northern Pines

00:31:00.670 --> 00:31:03.650
and I was working at a box manufacturing plant.

00:31:04.009 --> 00:31:10.460
This gentleman sold fentanyl and Man, it's just

00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:12.779
like, you know, it's everywhere. It really is.

00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:15.559
You know, for those listening or watching, and

00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:17.720
I'm gonna sound stupid here, but I think it's

00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:19.960
important that I ask this question. You know,

00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:21.859
we keep hearing about this fentanyl -fentanyl,

00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:24.599
and I'm a little confused on some of it because

00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:28.819
I know the problem is happening where a lot of

00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:33.240
drug dealers are cutting, you know, these pills

00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:35.579
or whatever, these drugs with fentanyl because

00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:38.519
it's cheaper, and that... Fentanyl is so dangerous,

00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:44.640
it can kill you. But is there a sector of people

00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:47.759
that actually seek out fentanyl? Like you do

00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:50.200
fentanyl on its own? Or is it always a part of

00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:53.720
something else? So I would say when I was doing

00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:57.279
it, whatever cutting agent that they're using,

00:31:57.359 --> 00:31:59.680
because if you're just using straight fentanyl

00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:04.519
and you have no medical practice with it at all,

00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:10.559
it's dangerous. One tenth of a gram. I had to

00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.259
be transparent. I went to get a colonoscopy,

00:32:13.640 --> 00:32:15.220
and I'm laying there, and they're getting ready

00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:17.400
to put me out. And I hear her go, all right,

00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:18.859
and now we're going to start the fentanyl. And

00:32:18.859 --> 00:32:22.359
I was like, the fentanyl? You know, because I

00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:24.700
was like, all I've heard is how bad, you know,

00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:27.039
I didn't understand that it actually is used

00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:29.259
in medical, you know, with actual doctors. I

00:32:29.259 --> 00:32:31.880
was like, what are they doing to me? In very

00:32:31.880 --> 00:32:37.299
small doses. Yeah, yeah. So. What I was using

00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:40.960
was, you know, you get the bags. You know, they

00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:43.039
call them bundles or bricks or something. Honestly,

00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:47.440
I get it all confused now. But, you know, it's...

00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:51.700
To my knowledge, it was straight fat. No, it

00:32:51.700 --> 00:32:54.339
was. It was cut with something. Whatever cutting

00:32:54.339 --> 00:32:56.279
agent that these people are using at the time.

00:32:56.339 --> 00:33:00.559
You don't know. You don't know. And, you know,

00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:03.619
at this point in time, I... You know for anybody

00:33:03.619 --> 00:33:07.440
that uses heroin or man, is that just the world's

00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:14.119
dirtiest drug? I I Didn't ever like that. You

00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:17.799
did try heroin. I did try heroin And you know,

00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:21.259
it's what from the opium plant or whatever But

00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:23.759
like whatever they caught it with I saw a documentary

00:33:23.759 --> 00:33:26.740
of these dudes on Netflix making it over in Colombia

00:33:26.740 --> 00:33:28.759
And I'm like, holy shit dude. It looks like it

00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:31.640
looks like dirt. Really? Straight dirt and they're

00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:34.940
not using it's like Why you even put this in

00:33:34.940 --> 00:33:37.319
your body if you if people saw the way that it

00:33:37.319 --> 00:33:40.980
was produced, maybe then I don't know but um

00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:43.480
Nowadays, this is what people are doing. They're

00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:46.779
getting smarter. They're adapting you can buy

00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:50.980
pill filler online and a pill press and people

00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:54.380
are taking the fentanyl and cutting it with the

00:33:54.380 --> 00:33:59.910
pill filler and making their own Roxy 30s, whatever

00:33:59.910 --> 00:34:03.670
brand pill that you can get at all. And this

00:34:03.670 --> 00:34:06.410
is how people are now getting a hot pill. They're

00:34:06.410 --> 00:34:09.630
dying. It's like people getting those take -home,

00:34:09.630 --> 00:34:11.929
like, brew -your -own -beer kits. They've been

00:34:11.929 --> 00:34:13.550
bottling them and putting them in the stores,

00:34:13.570 --> 00:34:16.010
you know? And you're just drinking whatever piss

00:34:16.010 --> 00:34:18.489
these people are making. You don't know how much

00:34:18.489 --> 00:34:21.190
of anything is in it. And they can sit there

00:34:21.190 --> 00:34:23.210
and say, oh, we blend real good, this, that,

00:34:23.309 --> 00:34:26.489
and the third. They don't know. No. They don't.

00:34:26.690 --> 00:34:31.550
Nobody knows. So it's... So you fast forward

00:34:31.550 --> 00:34:34.090
a little bit. So now you're dealing with this

00:34:34.090 --> 00:34:38.590
opioid addiction. Mm -hmm. And you've got some

00:34:38.590 --> 00:34:41.789
DWIs under your belt. You know, you're still...

00:34:41.789 --> 00:34:44.769
You love golf. You're trying to find your way.

00:34:44.849 --> 00:34:47.630
You're back in school. What happens now? Where

00:34:47.630 --> 00:34:53.610
are we at? We lost the job at the boxing plant.

00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:58.980
Yep, we're at the boxing plant. I am absolutely

00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:01.780
hating that job. For those, again, that work

00:35:01.780 --> 00:35:04.599
in the factory sector, God bless you. Oh, my

00:35:04.599 --> 00:35:07.460
God. I've done it, too. It gives you a new respect

00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:09.360
for people that work in that industry. It's awful.

00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:11.860
It's awful. Some of the worst work conditions

00:35:11.860 --> 00:35:15.980
I've ever... It's a sweatshop. And I'm sorry

00:35:15.980 --> 00:35:18.440
for if anybody is a general manager of a plant

00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:20.900
and, you know, I respect your business savviness

00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:22.860
and you have goals, we all have goals. We need

00:35:22.860 --> 00:35:25.659
them. But I mean, the working conditions, the

00:35:25.659 --> 00:35:28.940
food, if you're going to mandate overtime on

00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:32.420
people, give them some good food to eat. Healthy.

00:35:32.599 --> 00:35:37.539
Give them some showers. Give them a place to

00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:41.300
take a nap. They're putting in the work for you.

00:35:41.710 --> 00:35:43.690
Those are the guys on the front lines. Take care

00:35:43.690 --> 00:35:47.929
of them boys and girls. But I hated it. I wanted

00:35:47.929 --> 00:35:55.590
out. And that's when I started to ask Sammy Catanzaro,

00:35:56.170 --> 00:35:59.349
the ex -owner of Big City Barbershop. I said,

00:35:59.449 --> 00:36:02.329
hey man, can you teach me the ways? I'd love

00:36:02.329 --> 00:36:04.829
to learn how to cut hair. These guys are always

00:36:04.829 --> 00:36:06.670
at the golf course when I was at the golf course.

00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:09.320
Driving nice cars wearing nice clothes playing

00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:10.920
the golf course more than me and I'm like, what

00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:14.199
am I doing wrong over here? And You know, I did

00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:17.639
that I worked nine to twelve and then ten to

00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:21.219
two at the factory. I did that for about Eight

00:36:21.219 --> 00:36:26.880
ten months and I had enough Said forget you I

00:36:26.880 --> 00:36:30.599
well I actually got into some trouble with the

00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:35.900
fentanyl at the factory I passed out over over

00:36:35.900 --> 00:36:38.760
stacking boxes and it's called a cookie sheet

00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:42.480
that slides out big big metal metal Apparatus

00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:44.000
that just slides in and out while you're stacking

00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:47.880
boxes it came out I passed out and somebody grabbed

00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:49.780
me by my belt Otherwise, I would have probably

00:36:49.780 --> 00:36:52.539
went head first. Oh my 10 12 feet landed on my

00:36:52.539 --> 00:36:55.199
neck probably died Wouldn't have known anything

00:36:55.199 --> 00:37:00.539
They chalked it up as me being overworked Even

00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:04.119
though they all knew what was going on and they

00:37:04.119 --> 00:37:07.940
put me on a two -day leave, light duty, outside

00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:13.340
patient or outpatient rehab. And it was kind

00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:15.000
of like, I didn't really learn anything. I'm

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:16.719
like, really? Is this how this is dealt with?

00:37:16.739 --> 00:37:20.519
I've never been in this situation before. And

00:37:20.519 --> 00:37:25.179
the plant manager and the GM also haven't dealt

00:37:25.179 --> 00:37:28.559
with this before. So my union rep didn't, nobody

00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:32.239
knew how to help me. Isn't that crazy? That is

00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:35.119
crazy. They have all these procedures in place.

00:37:36.139 --> 00:37:40.159
Nobody can help a struggling drug addict. That's

00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:42.619
why it's important for interviews like this to

00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:46.099
get the word out, because for some places and

00:37:46.099 --> 00:37:49.300
people, it's uncharted territory, but it's a

00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:51.900
part of life now. Opioid addiction, drugs, I

00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:54.659
mean, it's everywhere, and, you know, Narcan

00:37:54.659 --> 00:37:58.389
being a huge thing now. Mm -hmm. You know, the

00:37:58.389 --> 00:38:00.070
more we talk about it, the more people can put

00:38:00.070 --> 00:38:03.269
these kind of procedures in place for, God forbid,

00:38:03.409 --> 00:38:05.610
something like this happens. Absolutely. And

00:38:05.610 --> 00:38:08.150
for those struggling with addiction of any kind,

00:38:08.869 --> 00:38:10.750
that doesn't make you a bad person. It doesn't.

00:38:11.070 --> 00:38:13.289
But society has a way of making you feel like

00:38:13.289 --> 00:38:15.630
a bad person. You know, like, you were talking

00:38:15.630 --> 00:38:18.190
about how you got caught. You're still, you know,

00:38:18.289 --> 00:38:21.289
at your age. You still remember vividly when

00:38:21.289 --> 00:38:23.699
you got caught on that trip with weed. and how

00:38:23.699 --> 00:38:25.780
it just, it fucked so many things up for you,

00:38:25.840 --> 00:38:27.880
and you still feel bad about it, I bet, in some

00:38:27.880 --> 00:38:30.960
ways. 100%. And you shouldn't, because it was

00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:33.539
a mistake. And I always talk about this, you

00:38:33.539 --> 00:38:37.420
know, society had a way of, when we were growing

00:38:37.420 --> 00:38:39.699
up, you know, we're around the same age, if I

00:38:39.699 --> 00:38:42.360
had got caught drinking, you know, while I was

00:38:42.360 --> 00:38:45.079
in high school, I'd get in trouble by my parents,

00:38:45.179 --> 00:38:47.059
but it was boys will be boys, that's what they'd

00:38:47.059 --> 00:38:50.539
do. If you got caught with weed, it was like

00:38:50.539 --> 00:38:54.250
you... had like crossed the border with heroin

00:38:54.250 --> 00:38:56.590
up your ass. I mean, you were treated like you

00:38:56.590 --> 00:38:57.949
need to stop hanging out with your friends. You

00:38:57.949 --> 00:38:59.309
need to go to drug counseling. You're going to

00:38:59.309 --> 00:39:01.030
be a loser. You're never going to have a career.

00:39:01.409 --> 00:39:03.969
And it's funny how it's flipped. And we've realized

00:39:03.969 --> 00:39:06.610
now through research and just wisdom about life.

00:39:06.949 --> 00:39:09.130
It's actually the other way around sometimes.

00:39:09.550 --> 00:39:12.070
I've never seen anyone die from weed and I'm

00:39:12.070 --> 00:39:13.949
not promoting that people should go smoke weed.

00:39:14.369 --> 00:39:17.010
But we've found out that weed is so much safer.

00:39:17.170 --> 00:39:19.909
It has medicinal purposes and alcohol is just

00:39:19.909 --> 00:39:22.840
poison. And it's led to so much trouble. And

00:39:22.840 --> 00:39:25.239
I tell people all the time, look, I ruined it

00:39:25.239 --> 00:39:27.820
for myself. I quit drinking October 1st, 2020.

00:39:29.059 --> 00:39:31.300
And it was the best decision I ever made. I do

00:39:31.300 --> 00:39:33.980
not fault people. I tell people, if you can drink

00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:37.420
and control it, do it for your whole life. Because

00:39:37.420 --> 00:39:42.099
it's awesome. Let's be honest. I can't. So it

00:39:42.099 --> 00:39:44.300
just amazes me how, I mean, I'm glad you learned

00:39:44.300 --> 00:39:46.079
a lesson for it. But the fact that you're still

00:39:46.360 --> 00:39:48.940
Maybe mentally beating yourself up over a field

00:39:48.940 --> 00:39:50.719
trip where you got caught with weed, that sucks.

00:39:51.460 --> 00:39:57.000
It sucks. It really does. I lost back to the

00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:00.579
weed on the first DWI guy. I could have pled

00:40:00.579 --> 00:40:06.099
to a UPM, not a DWI. What's a UPM? Unlawful possession

00:40:06.099 --> 00:40:08.840
of marijuana. Oh, gotcha, okay. Which would have,

00:40:08.840 --> 00:40:11.800
if I pled to that... Now, mind you, I'm in college.

00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:14.900
I need financial aid. If you get a UPM, they

00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:17.739
cut you off from financial aid. But not a DWI.

00:40:17.800 --> 00:40:19.599
Not a DWI. This is exactly my point. See what

00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:21.420
I'm saying, dude? That's my point. So I'm like...

00:40:21.420 --> 00:40:23.239
It's backwards, man. I wanted to go to Colsa,

00:40:23.239 --> 00:40:26.219
Carolina to finish my hospitality degree, and

00:40:26.219 --> 00:40:29.500
I'm like, holy cow, I have to make a decision.

00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:32.579
You know, we're in a time now, and it's always

00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:35.900
been this way, but even more now with social

00:40:35.900 --> 00:40:39.380
media and cancel culture... I am a firm believer

00:40:39.380 --> 00:40:41.980
in holding people accountable. We have to do

00:40:41.980 --> 00:40:44.420
that. But there is a line that we've crossed

00:40:44.420 --> 00:40:46.500
with canceling people and getting people fired

00:40:46.500 --> 00:40:49.000
where it's like we're teaching society that you're

00:40:49.000 --> 00:40:50.719
not allowed to make mistakes and learn from it.

00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:54.039
And I think that's really dangerous. I think

00:40:54.039 --> 00:40:58.440
you can hold people accountable without ruining

00:40:58.440 --> 00:41:00.300
their lives over some mistakes that we've all

00:41:00.300 --> 00:41:03.239
made. There's a million kids that had fucking

00:41:03.239 --> 00:41:11.210
weed on a field trip. Through all this, now you're

00:41:11.210 --> 00:41:13.550
coming out of it. I know you kind of relapsed

00:41:13.550 --> 00:41:15.690
one time. There was a story you told on Sean's

00:41:15.690 --> 00:41:18.369
podcast that really hit me about when you kind

00:41:18.369 --> 00:41:20.349
of injured yourself. Do you mind talking about

00:41:20.349 --> 00:41:22.550
that? And I believe that was your last straw.

00:41:22.750 --> 00:41:25.610
That was my last straw. Your rock bottom. My

00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:32.010
rock bottom. I met a girl. I got clean. Or I

00:41:32.010 --> 00:41:35.820
started to get clean. And it was like a two -year

00:41:35.820 --> 00:41:38.579
process of me mentally blasting myself saying,

00:41:38.699 --> 00:41:40.519
dude, this is garbage. What are you doing? Stop

00:41:40.519 --> 00:41:43.199
doing this. Okay, you know, we're going to lower

00:41:43.199 --> 00:41:45.239
the dose of what we take, which never happens.

00:41:47.019 --> 00:41:49.579
You can try it, but then the beast will always

00:41:49.579 --> 00:41:53.500
win. The devil always wins. And I'm sitting there

00:41:53.500 --> 00:41:55.780
and I'm like, all right, you know, I got a girl

00:41:55.780 --> 00:41:58.659
in my life. She has some children. Things are

00:41:58.659 --> 00:42:04.679
changing. You had a purpose. Had a purpose. something

00:42:04.679 --> 00:42:08.119
happened where it was over the summer. I am clean

00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:12.380
for probably 30 or 60 days now. And she went

00:42:12.380 --> 00:42:14.199
to some party and I'm like, you know what, man,

00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:16.940
I'm lonely right now. Screw it, let's go get

00:42:16.940 --> 00:42:18.639
high. And that's all, by the way, that's all

00:42:18.639 --> 00:42:22.219
it takes sometimes for addicts is that in any

00:42:22.219 --> 00:42:25.039
moment, something can trigger you. Even something

00:42:25.039 --> 00:42:27.139
as simple as, oh, my girlfriend went to a party,

00:42:27.300 --> 00:42:31.099
you know, I'm gonna get high. Yeah. It just...

00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:34.900
Any addict that can make any sort of circumstance

00:42:34.900 --> 00:42:39.139
of that justifiable, boom, let's go. So I did

00:42:39.139 --> 00:42:41.719
that. I called up the man, said, hey bro, what's

00:42:41.719 --> 00:42:44.179
up? He's like, yo, I got some lean. And I'm like,

00:42:44.320 --> 00:42:47.519
oh, I can't get my hands on that. And I did.

00:42:49.340 --> 00:42:56.300
On the way home, I'm on my street. And it kind

00:42:56.300 --> 00:42:58.719
of like forks out like a wishing bone. And I

00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:00.639
remember that I passed out and almost took out

00:43:00.639 --> 00:43:04.239
my neighbor's mailbox. And I see this mailbox

00:43:04.239 --> 00:43:06.699
every single time to this day. And it's like,

00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:09.000
boom, flash, instant flashback. And I'm like,

00:43:09.119 --> 00:43:12.400
holy cow, dude. So I get to the house. And I'm

00:43:12.400 --> 00:43:15.760
by myself. And all of a sudden, I'm like, all

00:43:15.760 --> 00:43:18.440
right, whatever. Do two bags real quick. That

00:43:18.440 --> 00:43:21.099
was what I used to do. And I'm like, why not?

00:43:21.239 --> 00:43:24.320
Let's get right back into it. Used to do is the

00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:27.750
key. Yep. Mike, next thing you know, dude, I'm

00:43:27.750 --> 00:43:31.949
naked, in the middle of my floor. I don't know

00:43:31.949 --> 00:43:36.150
how many hours have passed. I have the worst

00:43:36.150 --> 00:43:40.489
pill hangover, opioid hangover ever, which just

00:43:40.489 --> 00:43:42.710
sounds like you have just been flash banged in

00:43:42.710 --> 00:43:45.590
your head. Is it worse than the worst alcohol

00:43:45.590 --> 00:43:48.369
hangover you ever had? The worst. Really? Worst,

00:43:48.409 --> 00:43:53.190
yes. Yes, yes, bro. And there's nothing you can

00:43:53.190 --> 00:43:56.650
do. Everything is super sensitive anyways. I'm

00:43:56.650 --> 00:44:00.210
sitting there and I'm like, why does my eye hurt?

00:44:02.369 --> 00:44:05.929
And dude, what happened was I did those two bags

00:44:05.929 --> 00:44:09.769
and the corner of my dresser, one of my drawers

00:44:09.769 --> 00:44:12.510
was sticking out, the bottom one actually. And

00:44:12.510 --> 00:44:16.610
I passed out and the full weight of my body landed

00:44:16.610 --> 00:44:20.099
on the corner of the dresser. And that's when

00:44:20.099 --> 00:44:22.500
I kind of came to I thought that something had

00:44:22.500 --> 00:44:25.719
stabbed my eye like a pen or a pencil I completely

00:44:25.719 --> 00:44:28.059
felt that when I was gonna go up something was

00:44:28.059 --> 00:44:31.019
something has stabbed me Yeah, and it wasn't

00:44:31.019 --> 00:44:33.800
and I'm like, okay Why is this so excruciating?

00:44:33.800 --> 00:44:36.179
Went to go look in the mirror dude, and I looked

00:44:36.179 --> 00:44:38.820
like a tiger and just swiped me across the face.

00:44:38.820 --> 00:44:42.719
No Right through the eye everything and you know

00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:46.099
again I've heard stories from friend other friends

00:44:46.099 --> 00:44:49.670
and people that are addicts that one of the People

00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:51.329
relapse. It happens all the time, especially

00:44:51.329 --> 00:44:53.750
when you begin any sort of program. I've heard

00:44:53.750 --> 00:44:57.789
it's very, very easy for people to relapse. But

00:44:57.789 --> 00:45:00.469
the real dangerous part about it is what you

00:45:00.469 --> 00:45:02.969
said earlier, which is you did what you used

00:45:02.969 --> 00:45:04.690
to do, but what people don't realize is even

00:45:04.690 --> 00:45:07.750
after 30 days, 60 days, your body doesn't have

00:45:07.750 --> 00:45:09.570
that tolerance. So that's why a lot of people,

00:45:09.869 --> 00:45:12.309
correct me if I'm wrong, that's why a lot of

00:45:12.309 --> 00:45:17.769
people have this happen or die because... They're

00:45:17.769 --> 00:45:19.389
doing what they normally used to do, the same

00:45:19.389 --> 00:45:22.250
amount. They can't handle it. And as crazy as

00:45:22.250 --> 00:45:26.429
that sounds, for those that are even deeper into

00:45:26.429 --> 00:45:28.769
the fentanyl, doing ten bags at a time, I could

00:45:28.769 --> 00:45:32.230
even fathom. That's insane to me. I'm doing two,

00:45:32.929 --> 00:45:34.829
and they're like, yeah, you know what I mean?

00:45:34.969 --> 00:45:37.269
I don't know, just do a whole bundle real quick

00:45:37.269 --> 00:45:40.329
and call it out. I'm like, holy shit. Yep. And

00:45:40.329 --> 00:45:43.750
that's a whole different level. And I just wish

00:45:43.750 --> 00:45:46.150
that, you know, after that, dude, I woke up.

00:45:47.019 --> 00:45:49.659
And I grabbed like probably like I probably had

00:45:49.659 --> 00:45:53.900
like 45 bags still Flushed him down. That's good

00:45:53.900 --> 00:45:57.139
for you. Finally. That is so hard first and only

00:45:57.139 --> 00:45:59.719
time I've ever done that but see that's the moment,

00:45:59.940 --> 00:46:02.860
you know It's gonna work because this is what

00:46:02.860 --> 00:46:05.199
I tell people when I quit drinking. I called

00:46:05.199 --> 00:46:08.500
my buddy He taught he had he had quit drinking

00:46:08.500 --> 00:46:11.719
I took the half a handle of vodka. I had left

00:46:11.719 --> 00:46:13.639
and I dumped it I have a video of it on my phone

00:46:13.869 --> 00:46:16.730
And before that moment, the thought of ever doing

00:46:16.730 --> 00:46:19.590
that. But that's how I knew I'm serious. And

00:46:19.590 --> 00:46:21.909
that's why you hear people say the only true

00:46:21.909 --> 00:46:24.469
way to really, not always, but mostly, the only

00:46:24.469 --> 00:46:26.730
true way that you're going to get off whatever

00:46:26.730 --> 00:46:29.550
you're addicted to is when you're ready. Not

00:46:29.550 --> 00:46:31.630
when the courts are ready. Not when your friends

00:46:31.630 --> 00:46:35.030
are ready. You know, it is when you are like,

00:46:35.329 --> 00:46:38.309
I've had enough. And you had had enough at that

00:46:38.309 --> 00:46:40.739
moment for you to flush those bags down. I had

00:46:40.739 --> 00:46:45.380
enough. I realized, you know, my mom would tell

00:46:45.380 --> 00:46:47.579
me things, and I'm like, eh, what does she know?

00:46:47.719 --> 00:46:50.960
My father... My father and Sammy were the only

00:46:50.960 --> 00:46:53.699
two people that, no matter what happened, they

00:46:53.699 --> 00:46:56.119
knew that somehow I was going to come out of

00:46:56.119 --> 00:46:59.039
this. There's no timetable for it. You know,

00:46:59.079 --> 00:47:01.380
again, probably four years of addicted effect

00:47:01.380 --> 00:47:04.079
and all, two of which was trying to get off of

00:47:04.079 --> 00:47:07.190
it. I was going to ask you because your dad seemed

00:47:07.190 --> 00:47:09.269
to play a big role in your life with golf and

00:47:09.269 --> 00:47:11.349
as a mentor and remember you were talking about

00:47:11.349 --> 00:47:13.329
the pre -shot routine that he would make you

00:47:13.329 --> 00:47:17.510
do or he asked you a question. Was he along your

00:47:17.510 --> 00:47:19.409
side through this or had you separated yourself

00:47:19.409 --> 00:47:21.789
from him because of the addiction? Did he help

00:47:21.789 --> 00:47:24.070
in any way or was he angry? What was your relationship

00:47:24.070 --> 00:47:27.010
like with him through that? So I'll tell you

00:47:27.010 --> 00:47:30.090
what he wasn't. He was not an enabler. That's

00:47:30.090 --> 00:47:33.269
huge. Many parents out there are huge enablers.

00:47:33.500 --> 00:47:35.860
because they love their kids and they're... I've

00:47:35.860 --> 00:47:40.760
lost... I lost one best friend because of his

00:47:40.760 --> 00:47:43.619
parents enabling and another best friend finally.

00:47:43.639 --> 00:47:46.179
He also beat the opioids finally now, but I think

00:47:46.179 --> 00:47:50.219
he had to do the shot. Yeah. And, um, whichever

00:47:50.219 --> 00:47:53.480
how you have to get sober, get sober. Absolutely.

00:47:53.619 --> 00:47:56.360
Just do it. There's no right or wrong way. Everybody's

00:47:56.360 --> 00:47:58.159
got a different journey. Like, whatever you need

00:47:58.159 --> 00:48:00.639
to do to do it, do it. And, you know, my dad

00:48:00.639 --> 00:48:04.530
would, uh, he would... He lived with me. He saw

00:48:04.530 --> 00:48:09.070
how high I was day in and day out. He used to

00:48:09.070 --> 00:48:11.110
call me the pinball wizard because I'd be in

00:48:11.110 --> 00:48:14.429
the bathroom. I'd be in the bathroom and then

00:48:14.429 --> 00:48:16.510
next thing you know, I'm passed out, falling

00:48:16.510 --> 00:48:19.130
into the wall, falling into the shower, the toilet,

00:48:19.230 --> 00:48:22.070
this and that. And I mean, it's funny to go back

00:48:22.070 --> 00:48:26.590
and laugh on these moments now. Sure. And you

00:48:26.590 --> 00:48:31.619
know... The after after I while I was on probation

00:48:31.619 --> 00:48:34.139
there was another time that I passed out I'm

00:48:34.139 --> 00:48:36.940
redoing the floors in my house, dude. I was putting

00:48:36.940 --> 00:48:40.920
in tile and I just got caught driving without

00:48:40.920 --> 00:48:44.539
a license and I just did not care one time was

00:48:44.539 --> 00:48:46.960
on a Honda Grom I was test driving it to buy

00:48:46.960 --> 00:48:51.199
it. Jesus So literally I'm test driving the Honda

00:48:51.199 --> 00:48:53.360
Grom I get pulled over do you can't make this

00:48:53.360 --> 00:48:55.519
stuff up? And it's just like, Mikey, you just

00:48:55.519 --> 00:48:57.400
sometimes have some horrible luck. Well, I also

00:48:57.400 --> 00:48:59.500
make some really dumb decisions, too. Well, you

00:48:59.500 --> 00:49:03.079
know what? I've always said, because again, I

00:49:03.079 --> 00:49:05.760
had an alcohol problem. And I'm a good person.

00:49:05.920 --> 00:49:07.920
You're a good person. You hear these stories

00:49:07.920 --> 00:49:09.800
about people doing that kind of stuff. Scott

00:49:09.800 --> 00:49:11.539
was test driving a vehicle. He drove it through

00:49:11.539 --> 00:49:13.940
the window of a fucking, you know, dealership.

00:49:14.599 --> 00:49:16.900
Anything crazy and you think, man, how do people

00:49:16.900 --> 00:49:19.320
do that? I realized when I was in the thick of

00:49:19.320 --> 00:49:23.099
my alcohol problem, or I guess addiction, At

00:49:23.099 --> 00:49:27.099
any moment, like literally at any moment, your

00:49:27.099 --> 00:49:30.800
life can change over one thing because you put

00:49:30.800 --> 00:49:32.699
yourself in situations that you normally wouldn't

00:49:32.699 --> 00:49:35.179
put yourself in if you were sober at the moment.

00:49:35.519 --> 00:49:38.340
Like for example, even little things like you

00:49:38.340 --> 00:49:40.780
wouldn't be walking home at two in the morning

00:49:40.780 --> 00:49:44.219
if you weren't out drinking. So obviously when

00:49:44.219 --> 00:49:45.780
you're walking home at two in the morning, there's

00:49:45.780 --> 00:49:48.170
things you can get involved in. Just I remember

00:49:48.170 --> 00:49:49.650
when I quit drinking one of the things I was

00:49:49.650 --> 00:49:52.010
most thankful for was that like I'm no longer

00:49:52.010 --> 00:49:54.949
in these situations where at any moment Like

00:49:54.949 --> 00:49:57.030
something crazy can happen. You know what I mean?

00:49:57.030 --> 00:49:59.769
Like you're always one degree away separation

00:49:59.769 --> 00:50:02.789
away from something fucking nuts and you know,

00:50:02.989 --> 00:50:06.449
that's I Think alcohol is the worst of all of

00:50:06.449 --> 00:50:10.929
them. I agree it can it cannot it can It opens

00:50:10.929 --> 00:50:14.400
you up to really poor decision -making. And you're

00:50:14.400 --> 00:50:16.739
right. Ah, fuck it. Let's just go do this and

00:50:16.739 --> 00:50:18.039
that. You know what I mean? You're like, you're

00:50:18.039 --> 00:50:20.239
at the casino. Next thing you know, you wake

00:50:20.239 --> 00:50:23.239
up, you drove fucking to Cleveland. You know

00:50:23.239 --> 00:50:25.860
what I mean? And it's like, what did I just do?

00:50:26.199 --> 00:50:29.239
With no recollection. With no recollection, and

00:50:29.239 --> 00:50:31.619
just, and it gets scary because sometimes you

00:50:31.619 --> 00:50:34.219
sit there and you go, I don't know if I trust

00:50:34.219 --> 00:50:36.820
my, it's not even like the drug or the people

00:50:36.820 --> 00:50:39.519
I'm with. I don't trust myself on my decision

00:50:39.519 --> 00:50:44.059
-making anymore. I mean, you go, the whole drinking

00:50:44.059 --> 00:50:49.579
and driving thing is, it's serious, right? Nobody

00:50:49.579 --> 00:50:55.400
should be drinking and driving. But shame on

00:50:55.400 --> 00:50:58.880
government officials, the judicial system. Shame

00:50:58.880 --> 00:51:02.260
on you for not implementing stronger penalties

00:51:02.260 --> 00:51:05.960
on somebody's first one. Really? That's an interesting

00:51:05.960 --> 00:51:10.309
take. I like that. Interlock devices automatically

00:51:10.309 --> 00:51:13.610
installed after your first one You can get slapped

00:51:13.610 --> 00:51:15.769
on the wrist slap them monetarily on the wrist.

00:51:15.789 --> 00:51:18.210
Yeah, because if you get three everything's times

00:51:18.210 --> 00:51:23.030
three Don't wait, but they realize how much revenue

00:51:23.030 --> 00:51:27.510
that they make off of these DW eyes I think that

00:51:27.510 --> 00:51:32.570
it is now viewed as a money -making system and

00:51:32.570 --> 00:51:36.010
people are getting away from Helping people get

00:51:36.010 --> 00:51:39.690
back to their normal way of life Yeah. That is...

00:51:39.690 --> 00:51:43.289
Somebody needs a stand. There needs to be more,

00:51:43.349 --> 00:51:46.730
uh... What's the word I'm looking for? Uh, da

00:51:46.730 --> 00:51:49.369
-da -da -da -da. Uh, why am I blanking out? Basically,

00:51:50.150 --> 00:51:52.889
you've got to judge every situation differently.

00:51:53.889 --> 00:51:56.349
Every situa... You can't blanket something. You

00:51:56.349 --> 00:51:58.869
know, everybody's got a different reason for

00:51:58.869 --> 00:52:01.590
what they're doing. Like, even in a DWI situation.

00:52:01.650 --> 00:52:04.260
Well, what... Are they struggling? Do they have

00:52:04.260 --> 00:52:06.900
any prior? You can't treat everybody across the

00:52:06.900 --> 00:52:11.840
board the same. So I think it's important that

00:52:11.840 --> 00:52:14.440
you look at these people as humans more than

00:52:14.440 --> 00:52:18.099
just as someone who's breaking the law. Everyone's

00:52:18.099 --> 00:52:22.019
got a story. So you come out of this addiction,

00:52:22.360 --> 00:52:24.260
because I could talk to you all day. We've been

00:52:24.260 --> 00:52:26.039
going long because I'm just fascinated by this

00:52:26.039 --> 00:52:29.239
story. What happens now? We see the light of

00:52:29.239 --> 00:52:32.199
day. Back nine barbershop. How do you get here

00:52:32.199 --> 00:52:35.300
from there? So I just kept my head down and just

00:52:35.300 --> 00:52:37.920
kept moving forward trust in the process they

00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:42.320
did easy statement to say right Get into barbershop

00:52:42.320 --> 00:52:45.000
Start flicking. That's what Samuel is used to

00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:46.940
hanging and hold on, you know, it's gonna be

00:52:46.940 --> 00:52:50.360
a bumpy ride I am now barbering for going on

00:52:50.360 --> 00:52:53.699
my sixth year Congratulations. Thank you. Thank

00:52:53.699 --> 00:52:58.760
you. Um, I've been sober for three years Hey,

00:52:59.340 --> 00:53:03.340
hey, hey my man And, you know, me and one of

00:53:03.340 --> 00:53:07.079
my business partners probably earlier this year

00:53:07.079 --> 00:53:10.920
were like, ah, you know, is there really a good

00:53:10.920 --> 00:53:12.940
exit from one of these things? It's probably

00:53:12.940 --> 00:53:15.659
not. Nobody likes to see anybody leave. But,

00:53:15.780 --> 00:53:21.380
you know what, we stayed true to ourselves and

00:53:21.380 --> 00:53:24.659
we wanted personal growth and for us to do better.

00:53:24.960 --> 00:53:27.840
So we decided that opening up Back 9 Barbershop

00:53:27.840 --> 00:53:30.599
was that direction to take. It's awesome. It

00:53:30.599 --> 00:53:34.699
really is. And in only three years, a thousand

00:53:34.699 --> 00:53:39.400
days ago, I almost lost everything. You know,

00:53:39.420 --> 00:53:41.460
one of my favorite sayings that I learned in

00:53:41.460 --> 00:53:44.960
therapy was in relation to drugs or drinking

00:53:44.960 --> 00:53:49.860
is you can give up everything for one thing or

00:53:49.860 --> 00:53:51.860
you can give up one thing for everything. And

00:53:51.860 --> 00:53:54.460
it really is that way. There's no truth. My kids

00:53:54.460 --> 00:53:57.579
get all of me. I mean, I have it all. You know,

00:53:57.579 --> 00:54:00.000
I gave it up, and so did you. And you're amazing,

00:54:00.179 --> 00:54:02.619
man. I mean, your story is so inspiring. And

00:54:02.619 --> 00:54:05.360
I'll tell you, if anyone's listening or watching

00:54:05.360 --> 00:54:08.219
that is struggling in any sort of way, go get

00:54:08.219 --> 00:54:12.260
a haircut with Mike, because you might get some

00:54:12.260 --> 00:54:14.300
help out of it. You know, people struggling coming

00:54:14.300 --> 00:54:16.260
to you. You know, because I've learned going

00:54:16.260 --> 00:54:18.260
to my barber, dude, it's like a therapy session.

00:54:18.260 --> 00:54:21.480
We talk, we laugh, we crack jokes, we talk football.

00:54:21.760 --> 00:54:27.349
We are part therapists. You really are. Women,

00:54:27.590 --> 00:54:30.050
I hate to label women men, but women typically

00:54:30.050 --> 00:54:33.070
go to the spa. Yeah, no. The nail salon. Sure.

00:54:33.510 --> 00:54:35.650
Us gents, we go to our barbershop. That's our

00:54:35.650 --> 00:54:37.730
safe haven. Hell yeah. We talk about everything

00:54:37.730 --> 00:54:42.150
under the sun. And, you know, if I can give out

00:54:42.150 --> 00:54:45.769
any motivational quotes or help anybody in the

00:54:45.769 --> 00:54:50.110
process who is struggling, you know, just let

00:54:50.110 --> 00:54:54.010
yourself be known that you can do it. You can

00:54:54.010 --> 00:54:56.019
do it. You're living proof, dude. I am living

00:54:56.019 --> 00:54:59.000
proof. And I'm so inspired by you and, you know,

00:54:59.099 --> 00:55:02.219
I love you for it. And I just love how it all,

00:55:03.019 --> 00:55:05.639
all this bullshit that happened, it all funneled

00:55:05.639 --> 00:55:09.000
down into this back nine barber shop, which combines

00:55:09.000 --> 00:55:11.039
not only the two things that you love, cutting

00:55:11.039 --> 00:55:15.289
hair, three things, helping people. Golf mm -hmm

00:55:15.289 --> 00:55:17.050
and it's also the two things your parents did

00:55:17.050 --> 00:55:19.329
for a career It's just it's very storybook man,

00:55:19.550 --> 00:55:21.710
and I'm happy for you. I could have never even

00:55:21.710 --> 00:55:24.250
have thought this of course not It's hard to

00:55:24.250 --> 00:55:27.590
see it now when you quit. Did you do cold turkey?

00:55:27.650 --> 00:55:30.590
Did you do rehab last time I did cold turkey

00:55:30.590 --> 00:55:33.929
you did cold turkey um I did too that it's like

00:55:33.929 --> 00:55:36.869
you don't recommend it to people if you can I

00:55:36.869 --> 00:55:39.210
know. So for anybody that's listening that is

00:55:39.210 --> 00:55:43.510
struggling with opioid addiction, that is recommendedly,

00:55:43.610 --> 00:55:45.909
medically not the way to go. But I wanted to

00:55:45.909 --> 00:55:48.449
remember how hard it was to get sober. Like it

00:55:48.449 --> 00:55:50.869
was easy to get high. It should be hard to get

00:55:50.869 --> 00:55:54.269
sober. Sure. And the thing about it is now is

00:55:54.269 --> 00:55:57.789
they'll slide you to suboxone or methadone. Yeah.

00:55:58.210 --> 00:56:00.650
But what you're not doing is going through the

00:56:00.650 --> 00:56:03.550
withdrawals. Right. And, you know, they will

00:56:03.550 --> 00:56:06.829
keep you now locked into suboxone. which look

00:56:06.829 --> 00:56:09.429
at the lawsuits, people losing teeth, or they'll

00:56:09.429 --> 00:56:11.170
keep you locked in a methadone, which you still

00:56:11.170 --> 00:56:15.090
can abuse. And they don't taper you off fast

00:56:15.090 --> 00:56:18.170
enough. So if anybody's gonna go that route,

00:56:18.449 --> 00:56:23.630
make sure that you have a written out system

00:56:23.630 --> 00:56:26.250
of, okay, we're gonna start at six milligrams

00:56:26.250 --> 00:56:29.829
of Suboxone, and then month one, we're taking

00:56:29.829 --> 00:56:32.420
a third off of it. slowly taper your way down

00:56:32.420 --> 00:56:34.280
because the doctors are probably not going to

00:56:34.280 --> 00:56:36.099
do it. They're just going to give you, oh, you've

00:56:36.099 --> 00:56:38.000
been good. You haven't had any dirty piss tests.

00:56:38.260 --> 00:56:40.219
Okay, cool. We'll keep you on for three, four

00:56:40.219 --> 00:56:42.440
or five years. And then when you finally want

00:56:42.440 --> 00:56:45.300
to get off the box and holy hell is those, those

00:56:45.300 --> 00:56:48.000
withdrawals are even worse. Yeah. So the withdrawals

00:56:48.000 --> 00:56:51.440
are, they're imminent. They're going to happen.

00:56:52.300 --> 00:56:56.920
Face it. Get yourself a good circle, a good support

00:56:56.920 --> 00:56:59.940
system, and you can beat it. Then you're the

00:56:59.940 --> 00:57:04.179
man Mike Catalano back nine barbershop golfer

00:57:04.179 --> 00:57:07.179
extraordinaire Give me the plugs before we go.

00:57:07.179 --> 00:57:10.199
Where can we find back nine barbershop? How do

00:57:10.199 --> 00:57:12.739
we contact you the whole thing? So, uh, you know,

00:57:12.760 --> 00:57:15.599
you can go to back nine barbershop .com Our link

00:57:15.599 --> 00:57:17.780
will take you right to our book see booking app.

00:57:17.960 --> 00:57:21.679
We are open Tuesday through Friday 8 to 6 Saturday

00:57:21.679 --> 00:57:24.960
7 to 2 for right now. We are closed Sunday Mondays

00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:27.780
We are at the 31 Center across some spears off

00:57:27.780 --> 00:57:31.849
31 We are two doors to the left of Kenzie, 6257,

00:57:31.989 --> 00:57:35.670
Route 31. We would love to have anybody come

00:57:35.670 --> 00:57:38.610
in there. We are open to walk -ins. We are open

00:57:38.610 --> 00:57:42.969
to give you our hospitality, whatever. Bac9 welcomes

00:57:42.969 --> 00:57:46.829
you all in. That's amazing. And for those of

00:57:46.829 --> 00:57:51.309
you struggling with addiction and need any sort

00:57:51.309 --> 00:57:53.690
of help, contact the show. We can put you in

00:57:53.690 --> 00:57:56.269
touch with Mike, or we have other resources to

00:57:56.269 --> 00:57:59.460
get you help. Mike Catalano is living proof that

00:57:59.460 --> 00:58:02.019
you can go through the depths of hell and come

00:58:02.019 --> 00:58:04.599
out on top. And I'm honored to sit here with

00:58:04.599 --> 00:58:06.599
you and hear your story, and I appreciate you

00:58:06.599 --> 00:58:08.340
sharing it with everybody, man. Mike, thanks

00:58:08.340 --> 00:58:10.019
for having me on, and I'm glad that I'm able

00:58:10.019 --> 00:58:12.940
to slowly start to pay it forward. The man. Mike

00:58:12.940 --> 00:58:15.760
Catalano, Back Nine Barbershop. One of my favorite

00:58:15.760 --> 00:58:17.840
interviews. I've got goosebumps, to be honest

00:58:17.840 --> 00:58:20.619
with you. We will see you tomorrow. Matt will

00:58:20.619 --> 00:58:23.119
be back from his vacation at Enchanted Forest.

00:58:23.179 --> 00:58:26.480
I'm kidding, he didn't go there. But we love

00:58:26.480 --> 00:58:28.570
it there. Yeah, Matt will be back tomorrow. Good

00:58:28.570 --> 00:58:30.530
News York sponsored by ads on the go. Get ads

00:58:30.530 --> 00:58:31.889
on the go dot com. See you tomorrow.