WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.760 This is going to be voted down, like, for sure. 00:00:02.020 --> 00:00:03.379 And, like, before I give them the satisfaction 00:00:03.379 --> 00:00:06.879 of voting this thing down, I'm pulling this effing 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:08.480 deal from them. And that's what I did. I went 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:10.259 up to the microphone and I said, screw this. 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:12.800 This was supposed to be fun. This was supposed 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:15.240 to be an opportunity to give back. Don't listen 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:18.800 to me. Half of you guys are sponsored by this 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.940 corrupt money. Half of you guys don't even live 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:25.339 here permanently. Half of you guys are out of... 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.640 From out of the country. According to who? According 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:31.679 to you? Yeah, yeah, of course. Your kids are 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:35.539 an experiment. They have no business. Oh, wow. 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:52.369 I mean, when I. When I watched that video, it 00:00:52.369 --> 00:00:54.469 just, it brings back so much emotion. I mean, 00:00:54.490 --> 00:00:57.409 I was standing there and the heart of that was 00:00:57.409 --> 00:01:00.429 you. And I just, there's even more to the video 00:01:00.429 --> 00:01:03.070 that we're not showing here, but it was intense. 00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:06.510 That was intense. Will you explain to us, give 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:10.049 us a little background? How did this happen? 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:14.150 What led into it? What's this all about? where 00:01:14.150 --> 00:01:17.230 did you come from how did you even how did you 00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:19.609 get here how did you come into your success oh 00:01:19.609 --> 00:01:24.269 my financial success yeah oh as you know i'm 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:26.750 a serial entrepreneur i'm a tech technologist 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:31.349 anti -vaxxer serial entrepreneur reluctant anti 00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:34.829 -vaxxer activist serial tech entrepreneur um 00:01:34.829 --> 00:01:40.010 but um my my big hit i had a bunch of exists 00:01:40.010 --> 00:01:43.129 but my big one what has to do with some innovations 00:01:43.129 --> 00:01:45.469 that i made in the electronic toll collection 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:48.590 arena like easy pass sun pass fast pass called 00:01:48.590 --> 00:01:50.569 you the toll king the total king i'm the total 00:01:50.569 --> 00:01:53.290 king so if you ever rent a car to this day and 00:01:53.290 --> 00:01:55.090 you can pay for your tolls electronically with 00:01:55.090 --> 00:01:57.250 a device in the windshield or whatever that's 00:01:57.250 --> 00:01:59.870 that's my patent my innovation i developed some 00:01:59.870 --> 00:02:02.310 software i wrote the code myself from my attic 00:02:02.310 --> 00:02:05.700 and um from nothing and by the time i sold it 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:08.699 16 years later we had four million cars driving 00:02:08.699 --> 00:02:11.900 around using this service that people grew to 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:15.840 love and so um you're super smart guy thanks 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:18.379 thanks honey yeah the smartest i know what what 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:20.960 happened okay so uh this is um this is at city 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:26.159 hall at in miami the city of miami and i have 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:27.800 to back up a little bit to give a little context 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:30.759 so i'm a native miami and i was born and raised 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:35.520 here in miami and I've had a very successful 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:39.539 tech career in New York. A bunch of years back, 00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:43.379 we moved back to Miami. I've been asking you 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:45.840 to move to Miami for a long time. I finally realized 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:48.960 my dream to move back to the place where I was 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.680 born. Sold our company. You didn't have to sell 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:53.680 me on it, though. The weather, I was like... 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.699 You loved it. The moment we arrived, you're like, 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:57.659 why didn't we do this years ago? But our kids 00:02:57.659 --> 00:03:03.120 were at the perfect age. It was great. sold the 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:07.240 company and I'm a product of the Miami public 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.039 school system. I remember stories of you never 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.979 having brand new shoes. Having shoes that talk 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:15.560 to you, that used to flap when you walked. I 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.560 mean, you know, I just, I feel like these are 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.900 important points because you came from literally 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:29.379 nothing. My shoes were so beat up that they developed 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:34.419 holes in the soles. And when I would walk, I'd 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:36.620 be careful I didn't walk in a puddle because 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:39.780 my socks would get soaking wet. And sometimes 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:43.060 when I would walk too fast, the top would open 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:46.259 up over the top of my toes. Why are we both getting 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:49.800 emotional over this? You're going to mess up 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:55.580 my makeup. the top of my shoes would open up 00:03:55.580 --> 00:03:57.759 and i would say please i hope nobody just saw 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:01.479 that it was just so embarrassing and i i you 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:03.340 know my hair is curly and we couldn't afford 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:07.639 uh to get haircuts and my my hair when it grows 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:10.419 long like resembles like a chia pet you know 00:04:10.419 --> 00:04:15.520 it grows out like this instead of down i i wish 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:17.839 i had the kind of hair that had gravity to it 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:22.170 you know you had a real jufro I had a real jufro. 00:04:22.829 --> 00:04:24.930 But you were super cute, though. I don't think 00:04:24.930 --> 00:04:28.149 so. Nerdy, nerdy glasses, thick Coke bottles. 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:31.610 I couldn't see shit. If I would have seen you 00:04:31.610 --> 00:04:33.329 at that age, I would have been in love with you 00:04:33.329 --> 00:04:35.649 at that age. I know you say that. You're very 00:04:35.649 --> 00:04:38.550 kind. And nonetheless, I did pretty well for 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:42.449 myself. And we moved back to Miami, and I wanted 00:04:42.449 --> 00:04:45.889 to make a grand gesture. And as you know, we 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:50.180 started at a school, and the... Middle school, 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:52.540 high school, which then was the elementary, middle 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:53.959 school. Just to back up a little, I remember 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.459 you saying you were working at a pizza place 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:59.860 since you were 16. Frankie's Pizza on Bird Road. 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.300 Yeah, the pizza was amazing, by the way. I mean, 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:05.339 first time I tried it, I was like, wow, this 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:08.800 is real pizza. It was delicious. But, you know, 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:11.680 you were very passionate about wanting to come 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.199 back to where you were born and just giving back 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:17.180 to the city that grew you, even though it was 00:05:17.180 --> 00:05:21.860 a hard life. You were blessed to be alive and 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:24.959 you were blessed to be so successful. Is that 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.740 right? It's exactly right. I'm very grateful 00:05:27.740 --> 00:05:30.240 even for the rough times. It's actually helped 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:34.040 develop the person that I am today. So you're 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:35.620 absolutely right. And we talked about that a 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:38.500 lot. And you supported me. I did. You did. One 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:40.100 of the first grand gestures we did is we gave 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:44.240 a lot of money to the Lotus House. Huge, multi 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:48.209 -million dollar grant to... sponsor their culinary 00:05:48.209 --> 00:05:52.189 kitchen to help develop women who are in abusive 00:05:52.189 --> 00:05:54.189 relationships so they can learn some hospitality 00:05:54.189 --> 00:05:56.970 skills they can go out and get jobs and our focus 00:05:56.970 --> 00:05:59.029 on women and children we just really really nice 00:05:59.029 --> 00:06:01.930 things in fact i think one of the one uh uh pre 00:06:01.930 --> 00:06:05.069 pre -cancellation attempts we were considered 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:08.149 miami's most philanthropic power couple yeah 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:12.069 yeah we enjoy this stuff a lot a lot it gives 00:06:12.069 --> 00:06:17.509 us a lot of um uh satisfaction to bring things 00:06:17.509 --> 00:06:19.550 to other people, especially that's kind of sustainable. 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:23.110 That's right. And so... It's that old saying, 00:06:23.209 --> 00:06:26.550 you can teach, you can give somebody fish or 00:06:26.550 --> 00:06:28.990 you could teach them how to fish. So we fell 00:06:28.990 --> 00:06:30.769 in love with that program because they were teaching 00:06:30.769 --> 00:06:33.649 these women how to cook so they could get their 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:36.069 own jobs and not be dependent on the government. 00:06:36.170 --> 00:06:38.589 And it really checked the box for one of our 00:06:38.589 --> 00:06:40.910 giving criteria. Everything we do in that way 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:43.850 provides a skill set so they can elevate themselves 00:06:43.850 --> 00:06:50.139 and never look back. So we started a school. 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:54.100 One of the campuses was right across the street 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:56.660 from a public park. And I'm being very kind by 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:59.899 calling it a public park. It's really a beat 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:04.060 up grassy field. Dirt and rocks and divots. Lots 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:09.839 of syringes. Injuries. Yeah, on the grass before 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:13.000 we started cleaning it up. Forested gates. Homeless 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:18.000 people. Yes. In fact, we... We came up with the 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.500 name for a new kind of porn called homeless porn. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:23.560 Oh, my God. Don't remind me of that. Because 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:25.079 we have cameras on the school. We have cameras 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:28.439 everywhere. And the things our nighttime security 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:30.779 would see and have to call the police. Yeah. 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:37.990 Unimaginable. Yes. So we slash I had this. Great 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:39.810 idea to turn this park into something really 00:07:39.810 --> 00:07:42.829 special. And after school hours, then it'd be 00:07:42.829 --> 00:07:44.629 open to the community. They could use it. And 00:07:44.629 --> 00:07:47.589 then one thing led to another. Because I'd lived 00:07:47.589 --> 00:07:50.149 in the Northeast for so many years, I used to 00:07:50.149 --> 00:07:53.709 play tennis underneath these inflatable domes 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:56.069 in the middle of the wintertime. Makes the field 00:07:56.069 --> 00:07:59.850 a lot more accessible, right? 24 hours if we 00:07:59.850 --> 00:08:03.050 wanted, if the city wanted. So I approached the 00:08:03.050 --> 00:08:06.040 commissioner who was in charge of... district 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:09.019 where the school was located with this idea of 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:12.660 we'd like to make a donation to the city of Miami 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:16.639 where we the sentinels will pay for the construction 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.600 of this domed sports facility which would have 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:23.759 inside of it many tennis courts and basketball 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:30.019 courts a weight room running track all kinds 00:08:30.019 --> 00:08:32.279 of all kinds of design was gorgeous oh my god 00:08:32.590 --> 00:08:35.350 Literally, like three and a half acres, I think. 00:08:35.389 --> 00:08:40.389 Huge. Now, let me get this straight. What? Did 00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:44.870 the city agree to sell you the land? Were you 00:08:44.870 --> 00:08:48.490 taking over the land? Give me a little more context. 00:08:48.809 --> 00:08:53.850 Literally, it was a $10 million donation for 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:57.850 the right to build this and donate the improvements 00:08:57.850 --> 00:09:01.070 thereupon to the city of Miami. So, wait a minute. 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:04.759 You are going to write a check. Write a check. 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:08.840 To improve the city land. Yes. Just for the right 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.860 to use it and exclusively only? And the public 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:17.279 can use it. Yes. And right now, you can use it. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.600 At the moment, now? Yes. I mean, it's a park. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:22.679 Yeah, sure. But you're using it now, right? We 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:25.179 use it for phys ed. So. Non -exclusively. The 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:27.059 only difference is, does the public use it now, 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:30.230 right now? I don't ever see them there. They 00:09:30.230 --> 00:09:32.690 don't because it's just dirt and grass. But will 00:09:32.690 --> 00:09:36.029 the public be able to truly use it after this 00:09:36.029 --> 00:09:39.450 donation? I mean, I had this vision where just 00:09:39.450 --> 00:09:41.830 people were using it all the time. It was a super 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:45.389 popular hotspot where we would have underprivileged 00:09:45.389 --> 00:09:48.129 youth basketball, midnight basketball leagues. 00:09:48.309 --> 00:09:51.009 You know, that's what I really wanted. It would 00:09:51.009 --> 00:09:54.870 have been so incredible and it would have become 00:09:54.870 --> 00:09:58.000 a staple. in miami and it would have brought 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.659 together so many neighborhoods that neighborhood 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:05.379 is not you know is on the rise but you know still 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:07.799 has some work to do this was going to be like 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.820 a literally an eight story tall uh inflatable 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:14.179 dome inflatable dome that airplanes flying overhead 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:16.879 would see it and would be like what is that and 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:19.159 it would be the talk of the town everybody would 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:20.820 would have used it they would come from from 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:25.639 afar to use it and You might be wondering, well, 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:28.799 are they going to have to pay to use this? Of 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:30.679 course, but we don't even set the price. This 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:32.659 is a public property. The city of Miami would 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:33.919 be setting the price, and I'm sure the price 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:36.460 would be very nominal to use the facility. As 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:39.340 an example, are there other parks that you have 00:10:39.340 --> 00:10:43.379 to pay to rent? That's standard. So it's really 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:47.179 no different. It's no different, yeah. So anyway, 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:55.250 it took... So our lobbyist, rather, we hired 00:10:55.250 --> 00:10:57.429 somebody to work directly with this commissioner 00:10:57.429 --> 00:11:01.850 to bring it to life. And it's complicated. I'm 00:11:01.850 --> 00:11:03.429 sure the city of Miami is no different from any 00:11:03.429 --> 00:11:05.970 other major city. It's really complicated to 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:08.330 make these things happen. I mean, you spent years 00:11:08.330 --> 00:11:10.470 on this. It took me four and a half years, actually. 00:11:10.470 --> 00:11:11.929 Four and a half years. This is not an overnight 00:11:11.929 --> 00:11:15.200 thing. This was not a... hey, let's do this. 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:17.919 This was hard work to get a lot of people to 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:19.960 buy in. A lot of people had to buy in. A lot. 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:22.100 And it had to go to multiple commission hearings. 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:26.620 The leadership of our district changed to another, 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:30.039 a new commissioner. So as I understand this, 00:11:30.220 --> 00:11:33.059 Ken Russell was the commissioner who originally 00:11:33.059 --> 00:11:35.559 championed this. Yes. Happens to be a Democrat. 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:38.919 Yes. Because this political... Stuff got a little 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:41.220 hairy after a while. Politics came into play. 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:43.240 It got a little crazy because in the beginning, 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:46.659 when it was a Democrat leading this, he was super 00:11:46.659 --> 00:11:49.460 supportive. I remember him taking us on a tour 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:52.559 to other neighborhoods, showing us what's been 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.620 done before and that something like this would 00:11:55.620 --> 00:11:59.730 be the first time and maybe even set. A potential 00:11:59.730 --> 00:12:03.450 model for other philanthropists, other successful 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:05.929 people who live in Miami that want to give back 00:12:05.929 --> 00:12:08.710 could potentially recreate this model. That's 00:12:08.710 --> 00:12:10.649 what I was thinking. Not necessarily sports facilities, 00:12:10.789 --> 00:12:14.509 but where somebody did really well and is grateful 00:12:14.509 --> 00:12:18.029 to Miami would write out a check and, you know, 00:12:18.029 --> 00:12:21.350 create something for the community that's actually 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:24.149 beneficial to everybody. OK, so let's fast forward. 00:12:24.509 --> 00:12:27.509 Okay, you've got this fantastic idea. I loved 00:12:27.509 --> 00:12:31.129 it. I fell in love with it What seems to be like 00:12:31.129 --> 00:12:35.269 a giving opportunity? What seems to feel like 00:12:35.269 --> 00:12:37.509 like how could anyone turn this down? I mean, 00:12:37.529 --> 00:12:40.149 it's the the land never becomes ours And in fact, 00:12:40.269 --> 00:12:42.610 there was a little sneaky clause in there that 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:45.659 after we built this thing At any point in time, 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:47.419 they could take it away from us. At any point 00:12:47.419 --> 00:12:49.259 in time, with the right number of votes, they 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:51.539 could retract. After we write the check, after 00:12:51.539 --> 00:12:54.580 we build this, if circumstances are aligned, 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:57.159 they could revoke the whole thing from us if 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.379 they wanted to. And I remember at that point 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:03.360 how naive you and I were. I didn't like it. I 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:05.379 would say you were more naive in that one because 00:13:05.379 --> 00:13:08.139 that rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:12.320 But you were like, Layla. Why would any government 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:15.179 official take something away from us that we 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:18.700 poured our heart and soul into? And I just thought, 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:21.059 I don't know, but just something doesn't feel 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:24.519 right, right? And I feel like it was God that 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:26.600 retracted that whole thing because we could have 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:30.440 set ourselves up for them to take it away anyway. 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:32.679 And so we might have saved ourselves years of 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:34.980 heartache. Exactly, yeah. Right? Because at the 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:38.379 end of the day, fortunately, they were voting 00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:41.379 before we spent the money. Thank God. But we 00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:43.740 did spend four and a half years and we did spend 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:46.580 some money in getting it going. But they showed 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:48.720 us what they were capable of. That's right. And 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.179 so the trust between us and the government was 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:53.759 completely severed. Is that right? Did you feel 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:55.940 that? Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I mean, at least for 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:58.419 now, you know, I'm a hopeful kind of guy that, 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.580 you know, maybe in the coming years or decades, 00:14:01.659 --> 00:14:06.679 my taste towards the city of Miami. And I can't 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:08.659 extend it to the Miami -Dade County. I'm just 00:14:08.659 --> 00:14:10.600 talking about the city of Miami. I sort of have 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:12.179 a super bad taste in my mouth. Yeah, and you 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:14.919 gave a very heartfelt speech. You were pissed. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.179 And along the way, we've been defamed and trolled 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:20.120 and attacked and villainized, trying to do a 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:23.120 good thing. You know, this really is a scary 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.259 place to speak, Commissioner King, and to be. 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:28.399 Nobody here will even look me in the eye. Most 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:31.159 people will say, screw this. A little more background. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:36.340 The new commissioner who replaced the old commissioner 00:14:36.340 --> 00:14:39.440 is now the champion of the project. And he actually 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:41.539 brought it over the finish line after four and 00:14:41.539 --> 00:14:44.240 a half years. Contract signed. We were starting 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:47.419 to do work on it. Designs, engineering, architects, 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:50.639 and so on. And then all of a sudden, out of the 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.240 blue, literally out of the blue, he gets arrested 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.480 along with the lobbyist who we had retained to 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:02.659 help bring this project to happen for allegedly 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:07.440 taking campaign contributions to prioritize this 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.299 project to the detriment of other people's considerations 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:13.720 for what this property might be. And who are 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.919 these other people? These campaign contributions 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.899 were our campaign contributions. Yes, but I mean, 00:15:18.899 --> 00:15:22.019 who are these other people that supposedly were 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:24.120 interested in the property? So there's another 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:29.519 school that's a few blocks away that... Apparently, 00:15:29.539 --> 00:15:33.220 many years ago, they had their site set on using, 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.879 relocating because they were running out of space 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:39.000 and relocating and moving their school to this 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.899 field, this property and building a grand new 00:15:42.899 --> 00:15:47.240 school along with commercial residential tower 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:51.139 sponsored by who knows what developers in Miami. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.860 So basically taking a public park, converting 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:58.990 it into a development space. Where a chartered 00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:01.929 school, right, which has a limited amount of 00:16:01.929 --> 00:16:05.809 seats that it's not open to the public, wants 00:16:05.809 --> 00:16:08.370 to take over that land essentially for free. 00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:11.750 Essentially, that's what all of a sudden it became 00:16:11.750 --> 00:16:15.830 like the highest priority. And it would no longer 00:16:15.830 --> 00:16:18.169 be green space, even though we're truly lacking 00:16:18.169 --> 00:16:20.789 green space in that area. Yeah, but to be fair, 00:16:20.950 --> 00:16:24.070 I don't want to make it like our idea was better 00:16:24.070 --> 00:16:28.210 than their idea. So what happened was the commissioner 00:16:28.210 --> 00:16:31.730 got swept up in this scandal. I believe he was 00:16:31.730 --> 00:16:34.570 fired by the governor. There was a new election 00:16:34.570 --> 00:16:39.429 in November of 2023. Two district seats came 00:16:39.429 --> 00:16:43.120 up for election, so two new replacements. First 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:44.899 order of business of one of the new commissioners 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:48.500 is, hey, let's retract that deal that the city 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:51.100 has with the Senators. Okay? That was January 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:56.279 of 2024. And we're like, what the fuck? What 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:00.679 the hell is going on here? And so what we did 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:02.639 is we started meeting with the commissioners 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:04.779 face -to -face, because they didn't really know 00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:07.539 who we were, to explain to them what our project 00:17:07.539 --> 00:17:10.410 was. We did not want them to pull the plug on 00:17:10.410 --> 00:17:12.650 this and by the way to pull the plug would require 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.589 as per our agreement four out of five of the 00:17:15.589 --> 00:17:17.789 votes would have to be in favor of retracting 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:20.690 it from us and So and this was that scenario 00:17:20.690 --> 00:17:22.589 was like this is never gonna happen. We're giving 00:17:22.589 --> 00:17:24.950 money to the city This is just the likelihood 00:17:24.950 --> 00:17:27.190 of this happening. It's just so incredibly remote 00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:30.970 So I was hanging my head on that But now it looks 00:17:30.970 --> 00:17:33.369 like this actually might come to pass. Well, 00:17:33.430 --> 00:17:36.650 the first hearing went great Well, it went great 00:17:36.650 --> 00:17:38.829 because the opposition didn't show up. Exactly. 00:17:39.089 --> 00:17:43.029 So we were ready. We knew the hearing was happening. 00:17:43.210 --> 00:17:47.069 We showed up in force. God bless the parents 00:17:47.069 --> 00:17:49.549 of our school and members of the community. Showed 00:17:49.549 --> 00:17:52.609 up in force to make sure this wasn't a rubber 00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:57.750 stamp vote and retraction. And the commissioners, 00:17:57.750 --> 00:18:01.349 if they had voted on it that day. we would have 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:04.849 won. So instead of voting on it, they deferred 00:18:04.849 --> 00:18:07.609 it. So they deferred it to the next month. The 00:18:07.609 --> 00:18:11.470 next month, wow, the opposition showed up big 00:18:11.470 --> 00:18:13.529 time. And that's where that video of that lady 00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:16.789 is from. That's from that day at City Hall. They 00:18:16.789 --> 00:18:20.869 showed up in force, with funded, with pink shirts, 00:18:21.049 --> 00:18:26.750 angry on fire at us, calling us the nastiest 00:18:26.750 --> 00:18:30.619 names. And the speculation on our end was, What 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:33.119 developer was funding this because they were 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:35.960 afraid to lose that land that they themselves 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:40.019 were trying to get to use? Somebody was behind 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:44.099 this. This was a very orchestrated campaign of 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:49.359 vitriol against the senators. And we'll find 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.480 out one day. We're going to figure it out. We 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:55.920 always figure it out. So they showed up in force. 00:18:56.180 --> 00:19:00.329 And again, the commissioners... decided to defer 00:19:00.329 --> 00:19:03.569 it once again. But this time the media also showed 00:19:03.569 --> 00:19:05.609 up. The media showed up as well. So we started 00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:08.670 to get all over the news. Well, back in September 00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:11.609 when the whole scandal was exposed, they started 00:19:11.609 --> 00:19:14.190 to link that the Senators' money, the campaign 00:19:14.190 --> 00:19:16.210 contributions, were behind this whole thing. 00:19:16.410 --> 00:19:19.670 And I won't mention who, but one of the major 00:19:19.670 --> 00:19:23.990 local media outlets was very incorrect in their 00:19:23.990 --> 00:19:29.240 coverage of this and accused us of... funneling 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.440 money to the commissioners. And they refused 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:34.859 to call it a donation. They would not call it 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:38.140 a donation. Even though the agreement actually 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:40.640 says donation agreement to the city, they would 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.160 not call it a donation. I remember saying to 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:46.839 one of the ladies. Reporters? Yeah, why are you 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:49.720 calling it an investment? Investment means we 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:54.460 will own this. It's a donation. Like, you know, 00:19:54.559 --> 00:20:00.730 it's... You know, when you hear that propaganda 00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:05.529 can be, you know... Skewed. Skewed. Yes. That 00:20:05.529 --> 00:20:08.529 really upset me. Because had they said contribution 00:20:08.529 --> 00:20:12.470 or donation that the settlers would never own 00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:14.670 the land, that would have really changed public 00:20:14.670 --> 00:20:16.930 perspective. That's right. So the media was purposely 00:20:16.930 --> 00:20:21.109 and strategically trying to make us look like 00:20:21.109 --> 00:20:24.950 bad people. Terrible. Yeah. And so... They would 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:27.710 not say the word donation. I wrote to them. I 00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:31.170 like beseeched them. And they wouldn't. They 00:20:31.170 --> 00:20:34.049 would not. I'm like getting upset right now. 00:20:34.509 --> 00:20:37.670 I can feel it. Yeah. Yeah. Because they were 00:20:37.670 --> 00:20:39.890 trying to paint a picture. That's right. And 00:20:39.890 --> 00:20:44.589 what was that picture? That we are dirty. Really 00:20:44.589 --> 00:20:48.369 dirty. And what do you have there? Let me pull 00:20:48.369 --> 00:20:54.480 out. What? I got some. Instagram comments. Oh, 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.940 great. Wonderful. That, you know, I know I started 00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:01.140 to read them and they just really, like, irked 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:06.160 my soul. So at first I was replying and then 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:08.880 I had to stop. Like, I can actually read one 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:13.160 of my replies, which was, no one accused us of 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:16.019 bribe. We were never officially accused of anything. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.720 Is that right? We're actually, technically, we're 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.559 witnesses for the prosecution. Right, so. There's 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:25.279 no accusation against us. Nope, not once. Okay. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:29.539 And I say that. No one accused us of a bribe. 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:32.559 Ask yourself this question. Why would we bribe 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:36.480 anyone to donate money? This is to give away 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.140 our hard -earned money, $10 million of it. It 00:21:40.140 --> 00:21:43.420 almost sounds ludicrous to bribe someone to give 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:47.339 away our money for something that we were going 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:49.519 to build that wasn't only for our community, 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:53.309 for the public. The public would have truly enjoyed 00:21:53.309 --> 00:21:56.309 this project because there isn't anything else 00:21:56.309 --> 00:21:58.490 out there like this. This has been the hottest 00:21:58.490 --> 00:22:00.670 destination in Miami. And that's something that 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:03.210 you and I love doing. We love doing things that 00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:04.990 no one else has done. I like to bring community 00:22:04.990 --> 00:22:07.509 together, as you know. Yes, and we have fun. 00:22:07.670 --> 00:22:10.230 I mean, we throw so many parties just for our 00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:12.490 community. We built a farm for our community. 00:22:12.849 --> 00:22:18.349 This is who we are. That's the mission of health. 00:22:18.509 --> 00:22:21.660 We're all about health and wellness. Checks that 00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:23.500 box people can come in actually exercise instead 00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:26.099 of going out. Yeah partying on a Saturday night 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:31.140 24 hours a day. It was gonna be open. Yeah We 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:34.019 paid where we would pay for all the operating 00:22:34.019 --> 00:22:36.859 costs and all the security and everything to 00:22:36.859 --> 00:22:40.420 People to run the place. Yeah on our dime. Yeah 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:43.940 and rain or shine You could use the facility. 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:51.529 I love it Okay, so and then somebody posts prosecutors 00:22:51.529 --> 00:22:56.450 allege you and your husband funneled money through 00:22:56.450 --> 00:23:00.029 a lobbyist to interest controlled by former commissioner 00:23:00.029 --> 00:23:05.150 alex so yes you are being accused of bribing 00:23:05.150 --> 00:23:08.289 a public official i know don't act crazy i know 00:23:08.289 --> 00:23:11.309 so that's one of the words what word did they 00:23:11.309 --> 00:23:14.250 word smith to make it look like we were accused 00:23:14.250 --> 00:23:16.029 of something that we funneled money funneled 00:23:16.029 --> 00:23:18.930 money yeah so i scrubbed the arrest affidavits 00:23:19.639 --> 00:23:21.220 because it's the source of all the information 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:23.160 that everybody's relying upon, and nowhere does 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:27.339 it allege anything of the sort. That really rubbed 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:29.099 me the wrong way. This thing is living out there, 00:23:29.140 --> 00:23:30.819 and I'm thinking, this thing is living out there 00:23:30.819 --> 00:23:33.579 in the world that the sentinels funneled money, 00:23:33.740 --> 00:23:36.400 and people are reading that and drawing conclusions 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:39.759 about us. I have old friends, please tell me 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:43.720 it's not true, David, that instantly got a different 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:51.759 opinion of me. Pretty sensitive guy, as you know. 00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:53.420 He used to call you Sensitive Dave. That was 00:23:53.420 --> 00:23:56.180 my nickname, for better or for worse, in college, 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:57.819 Sensitive Dave. I take that as a compliment. 00:23:58.059 --> 00:23:59.700 I called you Sensitive Dave when we were first 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:02.099 married. I take it as a compliment. Not as sensitive 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:04.059 anymore. It means I feel emotions. But you're 00:24:04.059 --> 00:24:06.119 not as sensitive anymore. You're a lot tougher. 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:08.920 I don't know if Miami made you tougher. Maybe 00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:10.599 this whole experience. You're not as tougher. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.119 You're not as sensitive. I'm thinking this is 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:17.789 living out there. People think that I, this is 00:24:17.789 --> 00:24:21.069 really more on me than you. Because I was like, 00:24:21.210 --> 00:24:24.130 screw these guys. Yeah, and it was my baby. This 00:24:24.130 --> 00:24:25.950 was my product. It was your baby. Yeah, for four 00:24:25.950 --> 00:24:27.890 and a half years I worked on this thing. And 00:24:27.890 --> 00:24:30.710 all of a sudden, and I did get swept up in your 00:24:30.710 --> 00:24:34.069 controversy. Yeah, well, you know, we could rewind 00:24:34.069 --> 00:24:39.170 just a little bit because we know the media is 00:24:39.170 --> 00:24:43.660 super leftist. We took a stance against. vaccines 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:45.779 well i did but you supported me thank you honey 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:48.940 i appreciate that and they really tried to like 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:52.220 just crush us to pieces and there's a dotted 00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:55.019 line to this because this was they were opportunistic 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:57.200 we're gonna get them now for good we're gonna 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:59.700 give them a knockout shot so they tried to cancel 00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:03.200 us then yeah failed didn't really work and this 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:10.680 particular uh news network okay who couldn't 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:12.859 take us down the first time, looked at it as 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:15.259 an opportunity to take us down. They went for 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:17.000 it. They went for it. They went for it. So they 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:19.799 fabricated this word funneled. To the point of 00:25:19.799 --> 00:25:23.420 fabrication. Yeah. And it just rubbed me the 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:27.220 wrong way. And I wrote to them, please change 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:31.019 this. They refused. Another media publication, 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:34.440 I'm not going to name either of them. Easily, 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:38.230 just at the request. Because they were copying 00:25:38.230 --> 00:25:42.890 the first publication's reporting. Yeah. And 00:25:42.890 --> 00:25:45.609 I wrote to them, no, this is not the case. Look 00:25:45.609 --> 00:25:47.970 into this. And they changed it within an hour. 00:25:48.009 --> 00:25:51.470 But this other one refused to change it. Super 00:25:51.470 --> 00:25:55.970 leftist one. And it's week after week, month 00:25:55.970 --> 00:25:58.130 after month of this sitting out there that the 00:25:58.130 --> 00:26:03.500 sentinels funneled money. So here we are. They 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:05.859 deferred in January. They deferred in February. 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:07.359 Oh, yeah, you want to do... Let me read a few 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:09.380 more. I was trying to avoid that. Let's keep 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:12.160 going with this. Go ahead. I want you to tell 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.700 me how you feel, you know? Okay, sure. All right. 00:26:17.220 --> 00:26:22.019 Thank goodness. Bat shit crooked fucks. Oh, God. 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:33.490 Let me keep going. Typical Miami slime. Now, 00:26:33.490 --> 00:26:36.549 I remember you wanting to be that Miami golden 00:26:36.549 --> 00:26:42.450 boy child, the guy that had nothing, grew up 00:26:42.450 --> 00:26:45.730 with nothing, came back to Miami to just take 00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:50.710 care of your city. How did it feel when you read, 00:26:50.910 --> 00:26:54.029 or I don't know if you've seen this before, but 00:26:54.029 --> 00:26:57.470 typical Miami slime. What do you feel when I 00:26:57.470 --> 00:27:01.829 even read that now? I mean, I could feel it. 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:13.359 It's disappointing. I know. I'm even getting 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:15.960 emotional because it's like... That wasn't the 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:18.039 plan. I saw you put your heart and soul into 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:19.559 this. That wasn't the plan. That wasn't the plan. 00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:21.980 I saw you. I watched you. I just wanted to do 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:23.819 something nice. That's all. You worked your butt 00:27:23.819 --> 00:27:27.700 off. Yeah. And you were so excited at the idea 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:30.359 and the vision to create something that kids 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:35.380 would be able to enjoy year -round. And it's 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:38.730 not like we... You know, philanthropy is... It's 00:27:38.730 --> 00:27:41.829 been in our DNA even since before we sold the 00:27:41.829 --> 00:27:45.630 company. I remember we did so many amazing things 00:27:45.630 --> 00:27:48.809 in Brooklyn and New York. Yeah, Harlem. Buying 00:27:48.809 --> 00:27:50.829 brand new shoes and coats for kids who had never 00:27:50.829 --> 00:27:53.230 had brand new shoes and coats because you never 00:27:53.230 --> 00:27:57.390 had brand new shoes. I wore hand -me -downs. 00:27:57.390 --> 00:28:00.430 You did. And so this was kind of part of our 00:28:00.430 --> 00:28:03.509 DNA. I'm going to read a few more. Thank you. 00:28:04.509 --> 00:28:08.299 Garbage. I have yet to meet a wealthy person 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:10.779 that didn't account for every penny and where 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:16.839 it went. Okay. I mean, some of these I won't 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:21.299 even read because they're just too graphic. Hope 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:24.799 y 'all get prison time for bribing a public official 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:29.279 and attempting to fraudulently acquire public 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:33.240 land. Yeah, I mean... Again, were we ever going 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:37.509 to acquire this land? This poor person is drawing 00:28:37.509 --> 00:28:40.730 a conclusion based upon extraordinarily faulty 00:28:40.730 --> 00:28:44.730 reporting. And that's the bottom line. That's 00:28:44.730 --> 00:28:48.309 the bottom line. Propaganda. Yeah. That's why 00:28:48.309 --> 00:28:50.930 when the media is in control and you don't have 00:28:50.930 --> 00:28:52.769 an opportunity to say your piece, and this is 00:28:52.769 --> 00:28:55.849 why actually we're doing this show, because we 00:28:55.849 --> 00:28:59.390 want to give people that other side, their ability 00:28:59.390 --> 00:29:03.940 to share these heartfelt stories. and understand 00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:07.539 that everybody deserves a voice. And when you 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:12.019 just hear one side, it creates this, paints this 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:15.619 picture that in this case, and in many cases, 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:18.000 for many people that experience this, it's just 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:25.400 plain wrong. You know, obviously they commented 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:30.440 on my looks, which I think is just... First of 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:32.180 all... Insane. First of all, I think you're beautiful. 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:36.079 thank you yeah and they took photographs of you 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:39.779 and me in the courtroom and elsewhere you looking 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:44.000 like uh evil alien yeah right remember yeah and 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:47.039 um and then people commented about like all kinds 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:50.160 of you know modifications you made your face 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:52.319 i mean look at you i mean this is stunningly 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:54.319 naturally beautiful thank you no they would take 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:58.880 the worst photo possible yeah yeah and just say 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:01.720 horrible things i mean like children in a playground 00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:06.910 Let's start name -calling. Here you go. What 00:30:06.910 --> 00:30:09.529 a crock of shit. High -net -worth families are 00:30:09.529 --> 00:30:11.930 really starting to appear more like sewer people. 00:30:15.569 --> 00:30:22.609 These two are 100 % scum. This was not the script 00:30:22.609 --> 00:30:25.930 that I envisioned when we moved back to Miami, 00:30:26.130 --> 00:30:33.279 really. Everything went cockeyed. This is not 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:36.140 how I... I mean, as we sit here now, I'm sure 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:38.759 there's a relatively large percentage of the 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:41.559 community of Miami who continues to think these 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:52.000 things about us. Read a few of them. These people 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.160 are so corrupt that their lies don't make anything... 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:57.960 How is it that people who write this stuff, their 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:01.980 English and grammar are so poor? You're a grammar 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:04.960 snob. My grammar is not nearly as great as yours. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:07.319 If they're going to blast people, at least make 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:10.900 it grammatically correct. These people is so 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:15.779 corrupt that their lies don't make anything and 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:19.339 they don't care. Plop. I'm not exactly sure what 00:31:19.339 --> 00:31:22.720 that means. Just the scum we clearly do not need 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:26.059 to add in Miami. There's enough. Somebody's calling 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:29.259 us enough already maggots. i mean it's just it's 00:31:29.259 --> 00:31:32.299 horrible there's an old cartoon i think new york 00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:34.819 magazine it's a picture of a dog in front of 00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:37.740 a computer and it says on the internet nobody 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:40.400 knows you're a dog you know people can be like 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:43.059 the worst part of themselves on the internet 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:46.640 so let's let's fast forward yeah what was the 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:50.299 end result okay so um there was going to be a 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:52.559 hearing in march it might have been deferred 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:54.799 might not we were actually ironically at a meditation 00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:58.579 retreat Far away. In Portugal. In Portugal. Many 00:31:58.579 --> 00:32:02.339 hours ahead. And it was supposed to be no devices. 00:32:02.420 --> 00:32:05.299 Put our devices in the safe. Put them away so 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:08.569 we could really focus. March 8th, I believe it 00:32:08.569 --> 00:32:11.089 was, there was going to be a hearing. And I needed 00:32:11.089 --> 00:32:13.470 to mobilize everybody. I needed to have a show 00:32:13.470 --> 00:32:16.009 of force. I just done it in February. It was 00:32:16.009 --> 00:32:18.950 deferred. I have to do it equally or bigger show 00:32:18.950 --> 00:32:21.630 of force in March. And you did an amazing job, 00:32:21.670 --> 00:32:23.869 by the way. I did, but I was completely consumed 00:32:23.869 --> 00:32:27.349 in my phone the whole time. You wanted to give 00:32:27.349 --> 00:32:30.890 a good fight. Had to. I'm not rolling over for 00:32:30.890 --> 00:32:33.930 anybody, as you know. You did a great job. Thank 00:32:33.930 --> 00:32:36.519 you. I did the best. I'm like, I'm not going 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:37.960 out without a fight. But in the end, we were 00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:39.539 like, we're not giving these people our money. 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:41.240 We're not even going to let them vote against 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:45.700 us. We pulled out. Yeah, so we show up. Why are 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:50.940 we begging the city to give them our money? What 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:54.299 is wrong with us? So at the hearing, we still 00:32:54.299 --> 00:32:56.599 held out hope. that this is going to go forward. 00:32:56.700 --> 00:32:59.440 But we saw the school board had shown up, the 00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:02.700 superintendent of the school showed up. She was 00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:06.079 given unlimited air time to speak from the head 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:08.000 commissioner. And they're all chummy, chummy. 00:33:08.140 --> 00:33:12.579 Nobody would even look at us. And I'm like, this 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:14.940 is not going to be, this is going to be voted 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:17.059 down, like, for sure. And, like, before I give 00:33:17.059 --> 00:33:18.819 them the satisfaction of voting this thing down, 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:22.140 when it's my turn to speak, I'm pulling this. 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:24.440 F 'n deal from them. And that's what I did. I 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:27.000 went up to the microphone and I said, screw you. 00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:29.119 Well, you whispered in my ear that that's what 00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:31.700 you wanted to do and should we do it? Yeah, we 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:33.359 talked about it. We talked about it a little 00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:36.359 bit before. If it doesn't look like it's going 00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:39.480 the right way, like why should we continue? Because 00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:41.319 it doesn't feel good. That's right. And then 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:43.420 you reached over and you were like, I think it's 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:45.619 time. This is not worth it. It's not feeling. 00:33:46.329 --> 00:33:49.309 I'm not having any more enjoyment out of this. 00:33:49.309 --> 00:33:51.109 This was supposed to be fun. This was supposed 00:33:51.109 --> 00:33:53.210 to be an opportunity to give back. Oh, whipping 00:33:53.210 --> 00:33:55.569 boy, we're getting our asses kicked here. So 00:33:55.569 --> 00:33:58.509 I was like, I support you, honey. Whatever you 00:33:58.509 --> 00:34:00.950 do, I'm right behind you. That's right. So pulled 00:34:00.950 --> 00:34:05.809 the plug, emerged out of City Hall. All the camera 00:34:05.809 --> 00:34:09.070 crews awaiting us. It was really weird. We've 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:11.590 never been in that situation before. And that 00:34:11.590 --> 00:34:14.110 was the end of that deal. That was it. There 00:34:14.110 --> 00:34:16.170 were a couple good interviews online. Maybe Alex 00:34:16.170 --> 00:34:19.289 can dig those up, and we can post 30 seconds 00:34:19.289 --> 00:34:22.829 of them. Sure. There were a couple good articles, 00:34:22.909 --> 00:34:29.309 too. All right, so fast forward. You pull out. 00:34:29.610 --> 00:34:35.329 You get blasted even more. Well, that day, somehow, 00:34:36.769 --> 00:34:39.530 this major media publication also got their hands 00:34:39.530 --> 00:34:42.789 on the transcripts of the depositions we had 00:34:42.789 --> 00:34:45.769 given all the way back in September. And in it, 00:34:45.789 --> 00:34:49.309 they fabricated yet another mistruth that said 00:34:49.309 --> 00:34:52.329 that we were granted immunity in exchange for 00:34:52.329 --> 00:34:55.019 testifying. They took out a little piece, and 00:34:55.019 --> 00:34:58.260 they totally changed the context, not explaining 00:34:58.260 --> 00:35:00.059 that everybody gets that. Everybody automatically 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:03.440 gets immunity when you're called to testify in 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:05.199 front of the prosecutor. Yet again, the media 00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:07.880 manipulating a piece to paint a picture that 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:10.099 they wanted the public to see. So now, not only 00:35:10.099 --> 00:35:12.159 do we funnel money, but we're granted immunity 00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:16.000 in order to evade prosecution. We look guilty 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:18.960 as shit. We look fucking criminal, you know? 00:35:19.179 --> 00:35:24.530 Really bad. And so... That was March. And God, 00:35:24.969 --> 00:35:28.070 it just really fires me up. I just want to know, 00:35:28.210 --> 00:35:30.889 share with me your feelings. Like, go back there. 00:35:31.130 --> 00:35:34.110 How did you feel? Like, what was going on in 00:35:34.110 --> 00:35:37.750 your mind? And what did you do to deal with it? 00:35:37.789 --> 00:35:40.610 How did you bring yourself back to a calm place? 00:35:40.690 --> 00:35:42.650 How did you finally get to a point where you're 00:35:42.650 --> 00:35:46.349 like, you know what? Fuck it. Putting it behind 00:35:46.349 --> 00:35:49.889 me. It's over. I'm done. Like, map it out for 00:35:49.889 --> 00:35:53.030 me. Well, you know, I did. I did. I was like, 00:35:53.130 --> 00:35:55.389 all right, it's over. It's over. But it's emotionally. 00:35:55.409 --> 00:35:57.329 Share your feelings first so I can understand. 00:35:57.429 --> 00:36:01.050 Yeah. So it was very complicated because I felt 00:36:01.050 --> 00:36:04.230 a lot of emotion. I felt anger for sure. I felt 00:36:04.230 --> 00:36:08.130 sadness for sure because I lost a deal that I 00:36:08.130 --> 00:36:09.630 had been working on that was really meaningful 00:36:09.630 --> 00:36:12.949 to me and for people. You had this vision of 00:36:12.949 --> 00:36:18.190 like, you know, meditating, you know, athletes 00:36:18.190 --> 00:36:22.400 that knew how to like. Yeah. you know bring themselves 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:27.840 to a calm place and and not um not be an athlete 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:32.519 that has anger or frustration or noise but they 00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:36.019 can like be like zen therefore be a better athlete 00:36:36.019 --> 00:36:38.239 that was your big yeah for the for purpose of 00:36:38.239 --> 00:36:39.780 the school and for the larger community just 00:36:39.780 --> 00:36:42.300 a really great place as an alternative to whatever 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:44.800 they're doing they go and you know play and be 00:36:44.800 --> 00:36:46.699 together and have fun together in the spirit 00:36:46.699 --> 00:36:50.719 of athletic competition so that's So you're feeling 00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:52.619 deflated. I felt sad. And you know what? I felt 00:36:52.619 --> 00:36:58.639 a lot of embarrassment. And I felt a lot of shame. 00:36:59.800 --> 00:37:03.079 It's the weirdest feeling when, for me anyway, 00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:06.179 I can only speak for me, I would go somewhere 00:37:06.179 --> 00:37:10.579 and I felt like everybody in this room knows 00:37:10.579 --> 00:37:15.300 who I am and everybody in this room thinks I'm 00:37:15.300 --> 00:37:18.800 like maybe a criminal, like a bad guy. Yeah. 00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:24.320 You let other people's, you know, perspective 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:28.500 on you harm. It was more meaningful to you than 00:37:28.500 --> 00:37:31.500 me. I was like, screw them. For sure. I was like, 00:37:31.659 --> 00:37:33.920 they want to believe this garbage? They're not 00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:36.159 people that need to be in our circle. Maybe because 00:37:36.159 --> 00:37:38.480 you are already an expert of cancel culture twice 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:41.179 over. You had a lot more experience than me. 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:45.239 It was my first rodeo. Even though you were the 00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:48.199 anti -vaxxer tech entrepreneur. I was the reluctant. 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:51.960 activist thank you very much yes yeah but this 00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:54.639 one this one was like really this is all me and 00:37:54.639 --> 00:37:57.260 i really felt like everywhere i went people like 00:37:57.260 --> 00:37:59.360 knew and were thinking thoughts about me that 00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:02.380 were very very unkind to say the least yeah and 00:38:02.380 --> 00:38:05.000 um and i'm not wired that way i'm a think look 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:07.639 i'm not perfect i'm just want to make that clear 00:38:08.219 --> 00:38:10.280 I'm a pretty good guy, and I try to do really 00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:13.199 good things for my family and for those around 00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:15.400 me. You're an awesome dad. Great husband. I try 00:38:15.400 --> 00:38:18.119 my best. Really good friend. And so I went from 00:38:18.119 --> 00:38:23.539 most people before all this controversy actually 00:38:23.539 --> 00:38:26.460 shared probably this opinion about me. I went 00:38:26.460 --> 00:38:30.360 from that to he's a freaking criminal dude, you 00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:33.019 know? He's a bad guy. He's willing to bribe people 00:38:33.019 --> 00:38:37.650 and do funny business. Wow. And I felt really 00:38:37.650 --> 00:38:41.789 ashamed. And I started to not go out very much. 00:38:41.889 --> 00:38:44.730 Started to stay home more. Probably started drinking 00:38:44.730 --> 00:38:47.469 a little bit more than I should have. Yeah. I 00:38:47.469 --> 00:38:49.369 remember having a conversation with you. Like, 00:38:49.429 --> 00:38:52.730 whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here? I had 00:38:52.730 --> 00:38:55.070 to pull you back a little. It was hard. Yeah. 00:38:55.230 --> 00:38:58.269 It was really hard. It was very hard for me. 00:38:58.329 --> 00:39:02.429 And I remember I'd lie in bed. I'm thinking, 00:39:02.489 --> 00:39:05.230 what is going on here? This is just surreal. 00:39:05.750 --> 00:39:08.530 How did I get into the situation? And I felt, 00:39:08.630 --> 00:39:12.829 this is a stretch of a metaphor, but some women 00:39:12.829 --> 00:39:15.210 who were victims of rape feel like, what did 00:39:15.210 --> 00:39:17.429 they do? Maybe they dressed a little too provocatively 00:39:17.429 --> 00:39:20.070 or whatever and brought it on themselves. And 00:39:20.070 --> 00:39:22.309 I was thinking, what did I do? What's my contribution 00:39:22.309 --> 00:39:25.070 here that I got here? What did I do wrong? It 00:39:25.070 --> 00:39:27.110 took me months and months and months, literally 00:39:27.110 --> 00:39:29.949 a long time for me to realize I didn't do anything 00:39:29.949 --> 00:39:32.480 wrong. I'd do anything wrong. I keep telling 00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:34.639 you that. But it's one thing for you to tell 00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:36.300 me that. It's another thing to really own it. 00:39:36.300 --> 00:39:38.300 You've got to realize it yourself. Yeah. I didn't 00:39:38.300 --> 00:39:42.360 own that. It took me a long time. And we were 00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:44.519 getting to the end of the school year. I think 00:39:44.519 --> 00:39:47.420 what changed everything for me was it's a process. 00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:50.679 It's a process to pull yourself out of this and 00:39:50.679 --> 00:39:51.619 find your grounding. Yeah, because I remember 00:39:51.619 --> 00:39:54.199 there was that moment that you did because you 00:39:54.199 --> 00:39:57.599 were like, you were just, there was a moment 00:39:57.599 --> 00:40:00.380 of a lull where you were in it. And I couldn't 00:40:00.380 --> 00:40:02.380 get you out. I was depressed. I couldn't say 00:40:02.380 --> 00:40:06.000 anything. Yeah, yeah. You know, whatever I said 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:08.079 didn't matter. You know, the funny thing is, 00:40:08.139 --> 00:40:10.900 right before all the shit hit the fan, is we 00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:14.880 had celebrated in late July our 10 -year anniversary. 00:40:15.219 --> 00:40:19.780 Yeah. Okay? And then I was like, wow, life is 00:40:19.780 --> 00:40:25.699 perfect. Perfect. And then somebody I got pink 00:40:25.699 --> 00:40:30.409 -eyed at the... Wedding. My mom. Who gave the 00:40:30.409 --> 00:40:33.409 gift of sharing it to 10 other people. Yes. Which 00:40:33.409 --> 00:40:36.030 in a couple of emergency room visits was a really 00:40:36.030 --> 00:40:39.090 bad strain of pink eye. Worst pink eye. And eventually 00:40:39.090 --> 00:40:41.969 I got it. You all thought I was like a superhuman. 00:40:41.989 --> 00:40:44.670 I hadn't gotten it. Eventually got me too. So 00:40:44.670 --> 00:40:47.170 this was like about a 10 week period of pink 00:40:47.170 --> 00:40:49.010 eye after everything's like perfect in the world. 00:40:49.070 --> 00:40:53.449 And then boom, this happened. And so this wasn't 00:40:53.449 --> 00:40:56.349 like things started to unravel in my life in 00:40:56.349 --> 00:40:59.570 a way. Starting with... with the with the pink 00:40:59.570 --> 00:41:03.130 guy and it took me i'm probably like eight months 00:41:03.130 --> 00:41:05.489 or more before i was able to get my head back 00:41:05.489 --> 00:41:09.289 on straight and the way it started to come together 00:41:09.289 --> 00:41:12.130 was um first of all some practical things like 00:41:12.130 --> 00:41:15.130 we hired the best defamation attorneys in the 00:41:15.130 --> 00:41:19.110 world yeah and who um did a very um analytical 00:41:19.110 --> 00:41:23.989 legal communication to the offending parties 00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:26.519 prepared to sue this. We're going to sue the 00:41:26.519 --> 00:41:29.920 shit out of them. I just want to make it clear. 00:41:30.039 --> 00:41:32.420 We still reserve that right to sue them and we 00:41:32.420 --> 00:41:34.619 still have not decided. We have a lot of evidence 00:41:34.619 --> 00:41:39.800 that they strategically in a calculated way tried 00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:43.179 to take us down. That's right. There actually 00:41:43.179 --> 00:41:46.599 are damages that we're seeing with certain financial 00:41:46.599 --> 00:41:50.199 relationships that are either being pulled or 00:41:50.199 --> 00:41:54.320 are going south as a direct result of this i 00:41:54.320 --> 00:41:58.480 remember the phone call of us our insurance being 00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:01.119 cancelled yeah because of our reputation yeah 00:42:01.119 --> 00:42:04.780 so it's like nothing it was even we weren't even 00:42:04.780 --> 00:42:07.980 accused of anything how is it that you can already 00:42:07.980 --> 00:42:12.059 how can these companies already inflict damage 00:42:12.059 --> 00:42:14.980 and say you're not good enough to be our customer 00:42:14.980 --> 00:42:16.860 because of your reputation when we weren't accused 00:42:16.860 --> 00:42:18.780 of we're a risk factor now all of a sudden because 00:42:18.780 --> 00:42:22.110 of faulty reporting intentionally faulty reporting 00:42:22.110 --> 00:42:24.929 we're a risk factor that like is let's just stay 00:42:24.929 --> 00:42:26.789 away from them yeah we have some messes up our 00:42:26.789 --> 00:42:28.650 relationships so what happened how did you get 00:42:28.650 --> 00:42:31.429 out of it what did you do so so i think the best 00:42:31.429 --> 00:42:34.929 thing that happened was school ended and we uh 00:42:34.929 --> 00:42:39.170 we did a rv um we rented an rv in the midwest 00:42:39.170 --> 00:42:42.610 just uh just us and Whose idea was that? That's 00:42:42.610 --> 00:42:44.650 been a great idea for years and years and years. 00:42:44.809 --> 00:42:46.849 It was on your bucket list. Yes. We rented an 00:42:46.849 --> 00:42:49.849 RV. Where did we start off? In Austin, Texas, 00:42:49.909 --> 00:42:54.469 was it? Texas, yeah. Texas, somewhere. And it 00:42:54.469 --> 00:42:57.730 was a beautifully intimate. Anybody who's ever 00:42:57.730 --> 00:43:01.050 rented an RV, it doesn't get more intimate than 00:43:01.050 --> 00:43:03.469 that. You can't escape each other. Everybody's 00:43:03.469 --> 00:43:08.969 triggers are bubbling up. And it really set things 00:43:08.969 --> 00:43:11.690 into perspective. But all this stuff is really 00:43:11.690 --> 00:43:13.409 meaningless. What's really the most important 00:43:13.409 --> 00:43:16.269 is my family, my family unit, the love and the 00:43:16.269 --> 00:43:19.010 connection that I have with everybody around 00:43:19.010 --> 00:43:21.750 me. For better or for worse, even when people 00:43:21.750 --> 00:43:25.110 are triggered and all that, that's the goal. 00:43:25.250 --> 00:43:28.650 That's really, really meaningful to me. And just 00:43:28.650 --> 00:43:31.929 to let it go. Just to let it go. Let the attorneys 00:43:31.929 --> 00:43:35.440 handle it the way they can. Fine, the deal didn't 00:43:35.440 --> 00:43:38.039 happen. Like you said earlier, probably the best 00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:39.480 thing that we didn't actually start spending 00:43:39.480 --> 00:43:42.019 money on this. Yeah, 10 million other things 00:43:42.019 --> 00:43:44.880 we can do with $10 million, right? Which we will. 00:43:45.179 --> 00:43:47.599 Which we will. Exactly. That's right. I think 00:43:47.599 --> 00:43:50.400 we bought some property after that. That we actually 00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:53.719 own. What's that? We bought some property with 00:43:53.719 --> 00:43:55.099 that money that we would actually own. Well, 00:43:55.099 --> 00:43:57.039 I want to do more philanthropy. Yeah, but I know 00:43:57.039 --> 00:44:01.349 we did spend it on some real estate. Yeah. So 00:44:01.349 --> 00:44:04.369 I think I was able to sort of practically let 00:44:04.369 --> 00:44:06.789 it go because there are people working on our 00:44:06.789 --> 00:44:10.369 behalf to make these people shut the hell up. 00:44:10.429 --> 00:44:14.210 Stop beating us up. I felt like a whipping post. 00:44:14.610 --> 00:44:18.570 And I felt like I didn't have a voice. And like 00:44:18.570 --> 00:44:23.610 you said, this show gives people a voice. I had 00:44:23.610 --> 00:44:27.860 no social media of my own. No media publication 00:44:27.860 --> 00:44:29.800 is going to write anything friendly about us 00:44:29.800 --> 00:44:34.119 or do any kind of friendly thing. I felt completely 00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:39.079 silenced and very, very alone. I felt really 00:44:39.079 --> 00:44:42.619 alone. It was very isolating. I was also... You 00:44:42.619 --> 00:44:45.300 felt alone even though I was with you? Yeah, 00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:48.739 I felt alone. don't take this the wrong way because 00:44:48.739 --> 00:44:50.400 I know it's not about you. I was a little angry 00:44:50.400 --> 00:44:53.820 with you because I felt like the only reason 00:44:53.820 --> 00:44:55.679 why we're in this situation, this is my logical, 00:44:56.019 --> 00:44:58.159 the only reason why we're in this situation in 00:44:58.159 --> 00:45:01.380 the first place is because the media is really 00:45:01.380 --> 00:45:04.000 pissed off about the controversy that you started 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:06.780 with the vaccine. And if she hadn't done that, 00:45:06.900 --> 00:45:08.900 then we wouldn't be in this situation at all. 00:45:09.199 --> 00:45:11.960 And that's really unfair. And really, at the 00:45:11.960 --> 00:45:15.179 end of the day, Pharma controls the media. So 00:45:15.179 --> 00:45:17.820 it's really there is somebody at the top that 00:45:17.820 --> 00:45:19.980 was like, take these people down for making a 00:45:19.980 --> 00:45:21.940 stance against the vaccine. And then it just. 00:45:22.039 --> 00:45:26.400 Yeah. And I'm sorry. You know, I'm sorry. Yeah. 00:45:26.760 --> 00:45:29.539 But it did. I did. It did strain us a little 00:45:29.539 --> 00:45:32.619 bit more because I probably pulled back. And 00:45:32.619 --> 00:45:35.800 I really went I really I really went into my 00:45:35.800 --> 00:45:39.340 head. You know, I lost my heart and it took me. 00:45:40.059 --> 00:45:42.960 So that summer trip was. really great we had 00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:45.599 we had a few conversations i'm like where did 00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:49.699 you go like come back like yeah when you do that 00:45:49.699 --> 00:45:53.280 that means they won and at the end of the day 00:45:53.280 --> 00:45:56.360 if something is that hard it's not meant to happen 00:45:56.360 --> 00:46:00.440 and so for us we just needed to learn from it 00:46:00.440 --> 00:46:02.599 what did we need to learn from that and move 00:46:02.599 --> 00:46:07.579 on because the further we we make this a big 00:46:07.579 --> 00:46:13.420 deal or we hurt each other or go so inward that 00:46:13.420 --> 00:46:16.860 it impacts our kids or our relationship, then 00:46:16.860 --> 00:46:23.079 we've lost. I got really snappy with you, with 00:46:23.079 --> 00:46:27.099 the kids, and this is not like me. That's not 00:46:27.099 --> 00:46:30.320 who I am. But you were meditating during that 00:46:30.320 --> 00:46:33.119 time, so were you just having a hard time bringing 00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:34.940 it back together? Because you would wake up every 00:46:34.940 --> 00:46:37.920 morning, you would do your breath work, you would 00:46:37.920 --> 00:46:40.949 pray, you would... be in silence, you would do 00:46:40.949 --> 00:46:42.869 it at night? Was it just, was it not bringing 00:46:42.869 --> 00:46:45.969 you back? I could bring it back, but then, you 00:46:45.969 --> 00:46:50.590 know, you get obsessed about it, you know? You 00:46:50.590 --> 00:46:52.909 just think about it all the time, all the time. 00:46:53.510 --> 00:46:56.250 It's a constant reminder. A lot of obsessive 00:46:56.250 --> 00:46:58.469 thinking about it. And so, yeah, I wrote... Keeps 00:46:58.469 --> 00:47:00.210 you in a suffering state. I did. We learned that. 00:47:00.309 --> 00:47:03.909 Yeah, I do. I relied on the tools that I've learned 00:47:03.909 --> 00:47:07.670 just to bring it back. Bring it back. Find that 00:47:07.670 --> 00:47:11.449 peace. As many times a day if I needed to. I'd 00:47:11.449 --> 00:47:17.309 go to sleep and meditate. Whatever it took. Whatever 00:47:17.309 --> 00:47:20.929 it took. Knowing that it's a process, that I 00:47:20.929 --> 00:47:26.010 need to figure this out like a puzzle. I think 00:47:26.010 --> 00:47:31.170 I realized that in one way, this lady, we're 00:47:31.170 --> 00:47:37.159 all connected. We are... energetically i'm not 00:47:37.159 --> 00:47:43.780 that distant from her and um i don't i don't 00:47:43.780 --> 00:47:46.599 fault her i don't i'm not i'm not angry with 00:47:46.599 --> 00:47:51.199 her um we're we're just humans are very messy 00:47:51.199 --> 00:47:55.059 and we're imperfect but at the end of the day 00:47:55.059 --> 00:47:59.039 um we're very connected with each other and that 00:47:59.039 --> 00:48:05.960 group of people uh super angry tried to hurt 00:48:05.960 --> 00:48:13.559 us and I just I think I found my compassion for 00:48:13.559 --> 00:48:17.400 that for those people because it's they were 00:48:17.400 --> 00:48:21.579 they were taught they were manipulated they were 00:48:21.579 --> 00:48:25.820 manipulated they were maybe even used in a way 00:48:25.820 --> 00:48:28.980 I don't know the full story of how and why they 00:48:28.980 --> 00:48:32.139 got so angry with us So going back to that summer, 00:48:32.260 --> 00:48:35.480 we spent a beautiful time together in an RV where 00:48:35.480 --> 00:48:39.139 it was just us, and you started to just reevaluate 00:48:39.139 --> 00:48:42.780 your priorities. Is that what happened? You just 00:48:42.780 --> 00:48:45.780 started to reconnect with the simple things. 00:48:45.900 --> 00:48:50.000 I mean, I remember cooking dinner on that little 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.659 stovetop. Oh, my God. It was really just laughing 00:48:54.659 --> 00:48:59.769 together. That's a great way to put it. To do 00:48:59.769 --> 00:49:03.829 a $10 million donation with a very complex city 00:49:03.829 --> 00:49:06.409 organization that takes multiple years is really 00:49:06.409 --> 00:49:09.070 complex. I think you're absolutely right. It 00:49:09.070 --> 00:49:12.449 brought it back to the beauty is in the simplicity 00:49:12.449 --> 00:49:16.329 of things. Just waking up and taking the dog 00:49:16.329 --> 00:49:20.230 outside for a walk. Hey, I'm in a new RV park 00:49:20.230 --> 00:49:25.050 that I wasn't at yesterday. And going to see 00:49:25.050 --> 00:49:28.090 some national monuments and beautiful... mountains 00:49:28.090 --> 00:49:31.530 and going river rafting and just like and just 00:49:31.530 --> 00:49:35.130 being with my family i mean laughing or crying 00:49:35.130 --> 00:49:38.690 or being angry or all all of that stuff is really 00:49:38.690 --> 00:49:42.369 that's the that's the gold that's really important 00:49:42.369 --> 00:49:45.889 to me and that stayed with me to the to this 00:49:45.889 --> 00:49:50.030 day so i i emerged from that summer intact and 00:49:50.030 --> 00:49:53.739 strong and i found my my footing again. I felt 00:49:53.739 --> 00:49:57.019 really grounded, really connected to you, more 00:49:57.019 --> 00:50:05.159 in love with you than ever. And that is maybe 00:50:05.159 --> 00:50:09.659 the lesson in all of this. It's in the simple 00:50:09.659 --> 00:50:11.980 things. And sometimes when we try to force things 00:50:11.980 --> 00:50:16.679 to happen that aren't meant to be, we're assigning 00:50:16.679 --> 00:50:18.840 so much value to it, so much importance to it. 00:50:18.980 --> 00:50:23.139 And maybe there's some ego in there. possibly 00:50:23.139 --> 00:50:27.079 definitely i'm not saying in a bad way i mean 00:50:27.079 --> 00:50:31.099 you know you wanted to you know like a king wanting 00:50:31.099 --> 00:50:33.679 to give back to his people like it was an honorable 00:50:33.679 --> 00:50:39.420 gesture but i feel like you you almost your identity 00:50:39.420 --> 00:50:42.840 got tied into that i think so a little bit and 00:50:42.840 --> 00:50:47.599 that's when you know i mean it was a good opportunity 00:50:47.599 --> 00:50:50.480 to then reflect and say hey you know it's just 00:50:51.179 --> 00:50:53.219 We're sitting here in an RV right now, and we're 00:50:53.219 --> 00:50:56.340 just loving on each other. We're just walking 00:50:56.340 --> 00:51:00.340 in the forest. What was the springs that we saw? 00:51:01.400 --> 00:51:04.880 The Old Faithful? Yeah, that was cool. Sitting 00:51:04.880 --> 00:51:09.559 there, waiting for it to get this majestic view. 00:51:09.639 --> 00:51:12.739 I mean, just so basic, but so beautiful. Right? 00:51:13.260 --> 00:51:17.099 Yeah. And if these other opportunities come along, 00:51:17.320 --> 00:51:20.300 I mean, we have a lot of projects, and many of 00:51:20.300 --> 00:51:22.409 them are not. simple they're they're complex 00:51:22.409 --> 00:51:25.469 but i i don't think i assign the same value to 00:51:25.469 --> 00:51:28.010 them now they're they're really about fun and 00:51:28.010 --> 00:51:31.469 for me anyway the things that that i'm wired 00:51:31.469 --> 00:51:34.530 for is fun bringing community together in the 00:51:34.530 --> 00:51:37.230 spirit of joy and connection and love and if 00:51:37.230 --> 00:51:39.269 we can make some money at it too even better 00:51:39.269 --> 00:51:41.349 because then i could scale it and bring that 00:51:41.349 --> 00:51:43.210 experience to even more people that's that's 00:51:43.210 --> 00:51:45.789 what i really like so david you were super vulnerable 00:51:45.789 --> 00:51:48.690 today i appreciate that appreciate how candid 00:51:48.690 --> 00:51:53.079 you are And I'm sure there are other people watching 00:51:53.079 --> 00:51:57.780 this show that are in a similar situation. What 00:51:57.780 --> 00:52:01.539 advice would you give to them? Well, it was kind 00:52:01.539 --> 00:52:05.400 of a surprise. It was like being hit by a two 00:52:05.400 --> 00:52:09.860 -by -four. Didn't see it coming. And our world, 00:52:09.960 --> 00:52:14.119 my world, was turned upside down. And I think 00:52:14.119 --> 00:52:19.059 that if anything, it's just you must operate 00:52:19.059 --> 00:52:22.019 from a... foundation of peace. You have to get 00:52:22.019 --> 00:52:24.760 there. Somehow you need to find that peace. And 00:52:24.760 --> 00:52:26.980 there's lots of ways to find that, whether it's 00:52:26.980 --> 00:52:31.880 through medicine or some advisor of yours, whether 00:52:31.880 --> 00:52:33.760 it's an analyst. When you say medicine, are you 00:52:33.760 --> 00:52:35.820 talking about plant -based medicine, plant -based 00:52:35.820 --> 00:52:38.519 mushrooms, ketamine? What do you mean by that? 00:52:38.699 --> 00:52:43.579 Sure, sure. That kind of stuff. Yeah. Under doctor's 00:52:43.579 --> 00:52:46.699 care, I had some ketamine treatments, which I 00:52:46.699 --> 00:52:50.210 found extremely helpful to me. I heard it kills 00:52:50.210 --> 00:52:52.610 your ego and you just become nothing but everything 00:52:52.610 --> 00:52:54.949 all together, right? Yeah, it puts everything 00:52:54.949 --> 00:52:57.829 in perspective. And then you realize instantly 00:52:57.829 --> 00:53:01.550 a 60 ,000 -foot view, like none of these issues 00:53:01.550 --> 00:53:05.730 are meaningful at all. And we're all really just 00:53:05.730 --> 00:53:08.610 one. Yeah, we are. We're all really just one. 00:53:08.710 --> 00:53:11.389 And we're making a big deal out of a whole bunch 00:53:11.389 --> 00:53:16.369 of nothingness. And just carry on. That's a really 00:53:16.369 --> 00:53:19.900 good place to be from. And so whatever it is, 00:53:19.960 --> 00:53:23.619 however you get there, medicine, meditation, 00:53:24.360 --> 00:53:27.820 some advisors, your priest, your rabbi, your 00:53:27.820 --> 00:53:31.280 therapist, whatever it is, you need to find that 00:53:31.280 --> 00:53:32.500 peace because that's where you want to start 00:53:32.500 --> 00:53:35.380 to make your decisions from. And it's going to 00:53:35.380 --> 00:53:39.480 be a process. The gurus in India also experience 00:53:39.480 --> 00:53:42.280 disruptive things in their lives as well, but 00:53:42.280 --> 00:53:45.820 they've got their disruption down to just a few 00:53:45.820 --> 00:53:48.559 seconds and not that intense. With normal human 00:53:48.559 --> 00:53:51.880 beings like us, it's the duration is much longer 00:53:51.880 --> 00:53:54.059 and the intensity is much deeper. So the idea 00:53:54.059 --> 00:53:56.280 is to shorten that. I'm really proud of myself 00:53:56.280 --> 00:53:59.679 that this whole experience, as crazy as it was, 00:53:59.699 --> 00:54:02.880 the whole lifespan from being knocked on the 00:54:02.880 --> 00:54:04.940 side of my head to finding my peace again was 00:54:04.940 --> 00:54:07.360 probably about eight months. And I think I'm 00:54:07.360 --> 00:54:10.039 a better person as a result. Sure. Yeah. And 00:54:10.039 --> 00:54:14.119 I think I can handle a lot more. I can handle 00:54:14.119 --> 00:54:16.400 this stuff now. Much better. From an observer, 00:54:16.559 --> 00:54:19.460 I feel like it strengthened your soul and made 00:54:19.460 --> 00:54:22.059 you stronger. I needed it somehow. Sometimes 00:54:22.059 --> 00:54:26.460 we need a good kick in the butt. I love the format 00:54:26.460 --> 00:54:29.099 of this show. This is great. I feel like I got 00:54:29.099 --> 00:54:33.360 a big burden lifted off my shoulders here. Well, 00:54:33.420 --> 00:54:36.980 if there's anyone listening to this show at the 00:54:36.980 --> 00:54:39.920 moment and you have a similar story or a different 00:54:39.920 --> 00:54:42.159 story, but you've been canceled, it could have 00:54:42.159 --> 00:54:45.550 to do with... Being accused sexually, it could 00:54:45.550 --> 00:54:49.010 have to do with anything really. As you were 00:54:49.010 --> 00:54:52.530 found to be innocent and you went through the 00:54:52.530 --> 00:54:55.849 gamut, you went through all the emotions, but 00:54:55.849 --> 00:54:58.570 you were able to recover in the end. Or maybe 00:54:58.570 --> 00:55:01.190 even you have a relative who didn't recover in 00:55:01.190 --> 00:55:03.150 the end and they're no longer here with us because 00:55:03.150 --> 00:55:05.489 they took their lives and you want to share that 00:55:05.489 --> 00:55:08.710 story. We encourage you to send us an email, 00:55:08.929 --> 00:55:13.320 reach out to us because we would like to... have 00:55:13.320 --> 00:55:15.519 more people on our show that can also share their 00:55:15.519 --> 00:55:17.860 story especially if they feel like they haven't 00:55:17.860 --> 00:55:20.500 been heard and they have something big that they 00:55:20.500 --> 00:55:22.059 want to say and they have things that they want 00:55:22.059 --> 00:55:26.000 to get off their heart so please join us at erase 00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:29.519 .com and click on the link to send us an email 00:55:29.519 --> 00:55:31.340 and we'd love to hear from you and if you like 00:55:31.340 --> 00:55:33.739 the show make sure you like and subscribe if 00:55:33.739 --> 00:55:36.500 you want to see more content like this and thank 00:55:36.500 --> 00:55:37.059 you for watching