WEBVTT

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Everyone gets disappointed in life. That's the

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misconception that a lot of people fail to remember

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is that they think that when they're going through

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something, it's only happening to them. It's

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only them that's going through it. Discouragement

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is where it's different because discouragement

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is when you refuse to be hopeful. Discouragement

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is when you refuse to work through it. Discouragement

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is when you just want to be negative Nancy to

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every single person that you talk to. So it's

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like when you're somebody that can take those

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kinds of things and realize that this happens

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and you try to find a way out of it, that's when

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things change. What a fun show we have today.

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Olympic athlete Anthony Watson. What a journey

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he's had. His sport is the skeleton. It's sort

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of like a bobsled. It's like this rectangular

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thing a few inches off the ice, and it goes as

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fast as... 84 miles an hour is your top speed?

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84 miles per hour. Not my top speed, but the

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top speed that's been clocked. I think the fastest

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I've ever gone has been like 80, 80. That's crazy.

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I saw some videos of crash compilations. I literally

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had to stop watching this thing. Have you ever

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been in that situation? Oh, I've lost teeth.

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because of crashing like that lost teeth my helmet

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flew off hit my face like on a rare patch of

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like raw concrete that the ice had gotten like

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broken off of and um when i got back i had a

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mouthpiece in there but it felt like i was chewing

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like a mouthful of crackers and i was like what

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the heck and i was like and then i was like oh

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That's like this whole entire side of my mouth

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smashed and whatnot. So you were a serious athlete.

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Oh, I was. We make fun of the bobsled and the

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luge and all, you know. But you were a serious

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athlete, and you had an injury, and that compelled

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you to go into this sport? Is that what happened?

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Yeah, so I grew up in New Jersey, so I'm an East

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Coaster, you know. Love the beach and love everything

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humidity, so I'm really happy to be in Miami

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right now. But I grew up in... what other people

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would consider like unfortunate situations, like

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really humble beginnings and stuff. But I had

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two really good God -fearing parents that like

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refused to let me be what society was trying

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to shape me into being. And so, you know, I think

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that, you know, parents, you know, have a really

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like hard job, but the results that you guys

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get when you dedicate the time to actually being

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a parent, because far too many that, you know,

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like you have moms and dads everywhere. You got

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baby mamas and baby dads galore with zero responsibility.

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Very few people that actually want to be parents.

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So that's doing the due diligence of everything

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you need to do to make sure that your kids have

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the values and morals instilled in them and then

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grow up. And so I remember at the young age of

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six, I was watching the Olympics, Michael Johnson,

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Mr. Gold Cleats in the 96 games here in Atlanta

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in the 90s. And I told my dad, I was like, I

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want to do that someday. And he told me three

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things. He said, you honor God, you make good

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decisions, surround yourself with people that

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make good decisions, and you'll be able to go

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anywhere. Growing up, I mean, I had my rebellious

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stage and whatnot, but I had a dad that wasn't

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afraid to discipline me with that thing that

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he called his belt every now and then. And, you

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know, I stand here as somebody through hard work,

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dedication is is an Olympian. OK, so you represented

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Jamaica. Your dad is Jamaican. And so that allowed

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you the. Yeah, my dad immigrated here from Jamaica

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legally. Making sure I just specify that. But

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he he came here and then I met my mother when

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he was in college. They got married and then

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I'm, you know, just a byproduct of that story.

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But that's I'm first generation American. So,

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you know, I have a deeper appreciation because

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I have parents that both come from families that

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were born outside of the United States. So how

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long were you how long was it one time that you

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were in the Olympics or how many times? I was

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an alternate for Team USA in 2014, but didn't

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get to compete. And then I made history as the

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first ever Jamaican to compete in the 2018 Winter

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Olympics for Jamaica. So I started with Team

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USA, but then didn't really see my pathway getting

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there. And then through politics and like there

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was, I think, 33 dudes competing for three spots.

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And then through everything that they had, I

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was just like, yeah, realistically, I wouldn't

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have had a chance had I. stuck with it until

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about like three years ago to actually like try

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had i stuck it out and um so i switched and a

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lot of athletes normally do that so you see a

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lot of athletes that start with predominantly

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big countries that train them really well then

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they go to smaller countries and then they just

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take the training and then they do really good

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and then they get a better chance at getting

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in and so that's the pathway that i took and

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it came with a lot of flack everyone's like you're

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cheating you're taking the easy way out i'm like

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listen if you had dual citizenship yeah i was

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like i'm sorry that you're german and canadian

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they're two powerhouses and you can't you know

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go that route choose to be a girl oh oh my oh

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don't even get me started on that okay we're

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opening the can of worms right away i love it

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come on we gotta hear the story So and then what

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did you did you have an accident or how long?

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When did you end that? I competed in bobsledding

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and skeleton, I think, for a 12 to 13 year career.

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Wow. So I had been in it for a minute and then

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everything kind of came toppling over in 2019

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going into 2020 when we were at the height of

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like Black Lives Matter and everything else.

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And I was doing an interview and then criticized

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them and then said that. I think BLM is dumb.

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I was getting interviewed by a Latvian reporter

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overseas. And it was me, this other guy from

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Ghana. We were the only two black people competing

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in Skeleton, period. He was all about it. And

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I wasn't. And then there was like one, two guys

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in Team USA, three guys for the. brits and then

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like one guy one black guy for the austrian guys

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like and then and then i think two for the germans

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so naturally when you see like another brother

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in like a sea of like whatever but i've always

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felt at home yeah and those kind of areas you

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know like i went to a private school growing

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up and you know where i was like one out of five

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but you know to me it was just like being around

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people who were caucasian like felt normal yeah

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yeah so when i'd see people i wasn't doing anything

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else the only time i would ever think about it

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was when all these other people would be like

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yeah man it's just all these white people i'm

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like oh i i you didn't even know i never even

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like thought about it i guess we are kind of

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like outnumbered here but i was like at this

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point race doesn't matter the only race that

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matters is how quick you can get from this race

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to the bottom of that one yeah and so i'm like

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it's got nothing to do with it and i said and

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besides you guys got the superior genetics so

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what i said what do you what are you pouting

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about And so, you know, so she did an interview

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with me and her question was, so with everything

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happening in the world right now, you know, like

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everything happening with, you know, George Floyd

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and like, so it's like as a black man, it's 2019.

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Okay. And then after I did this, after I did

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this interview, like they scrubbed it. You can't

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find it anywhere because I guess the IBSF and

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like everybody else were like, oh, we don't want

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any record of that. So, so I simply said that

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they were just like, so what do you think? Do

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you feel like, do you feel like that's impacted

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you as an athlete here to give you a better chance

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to succeed? And I said, I think BLM is the dumbest

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scam out there. And I said it before Candace

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did. So I want my props. You should trademark

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that. With her. You should trademark BLM. And

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she was like dumbfounded. Didn't know what to

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do. Didn't know what to say. And then out of

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everything came out and was just like, do you

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care to explain? And I was like, you have to

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be an idiot to hire strangers that don't live

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in your neighborhood to bust them and fly them

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in to come and destroy everything that you own

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to then. They get to go home and then you get

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to, you have to go back and now live in this

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mess that you created. And I was like, if BLM

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really cleared about black people, I said. What

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community have they cleaned up after they destroyed

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it? I said, what black business have they invested

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in that got destroyed in the mayhem and in the

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crossfire? Because I said, the news captured

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a lot of people who were black business owners

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being like, I put all of my life savings into

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this. I don't have any insurance. Like, I'm not

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going to recover from this. This thing really

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like took me out heartbroken and crying. I said,

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they haven't put any kid through school. They

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haven't fixed any community. They haven't donated

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to break broken families whole again. And I said,

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the same people that they were criticizing, you

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know, are now their next door neighbors. Because

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now they'd want an easier life for themselves

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because all they did was criticize everybody

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else. And I said, you got to be dumb to think

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that that's actually something that you could

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support. And then a week later, all of my sponsors,

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they dropped me. Okay, so here we go. But you

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missed one thing, though. They did use the money

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to buy some mansions. Well, yeah, that's what

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BLM stands for. I buy a lot of real estate. So

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Olympic athletes don't make any money. Let's

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clarify that in the first place. So I don't know,

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you get a stipend or something. Somehow you're

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able to keep your head above water all these

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years. You're pursuing your sport. Finally, you

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start to get some sponsorships. If you can, who

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are these sponsors? How much money were you making?

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When times are at your best in this area, what

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did that look like? Well, when it was at the

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worst, it was literally my parents and my siblings

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were like all working part -time jobs. I remember

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my dad got himself this expensive watch as a

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gift, and he almost went out to pawn it. to give

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me money to go and help me stay supported. While

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you're pursuing your sport. While I'm pursuing

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my sport. It's not the aftermath. No, no. It's

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on the way up. This is on the come up. This is

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like how much of a struggle it is. As an Olympian,

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you have to cover all of your training costs,

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all of your travel, all of your race fees, your

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training fees. Anytime you want to go work out,

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you have to pay for it. Your meals. I was like

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your flights, your hotels, your rental cars.

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You have to cover and pay for all of that. And

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then if you have a coach full time, like if you

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were my coach and you were traveling with me,

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I had to accommodate everything. I had to pay

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for your flight. I had to pay your yearly salary.

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I had to pay for your hotel, your food, and everything

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else, plus the fees that you would have to charge

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on top of coaching. And you have to retain your

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amateurship, too. You can't take money from anybody,

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right? Are you allowed to? You were allowed to,

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but it was when Olympians, like athletes, would

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qualify and get to the Olympics, we... legally

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weren't allowed to promote our sponsors on the

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olympic level it wasn't until 2022 that the olympic

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committee finally abolished that and they're

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just like fine if you have sponsors that help

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you get here you can promote them and do all

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this other stuff so that's what started changing

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but that was after i was already gone okay and

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so like i was sponsored by a couple of really

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really big predominant sports clubs and everything

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else and then um you know a couple of very private

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um very wealthy uh groups that were like oh my

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gosh we love what you're doing and everything

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else and so i went from sports clubs what do

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you like what like uh it's like sports brands

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you know like okay Oh, can I? Yeah. I was like,

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you can just bleep it out. So I was sponsored

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by Nike. I was sponsored by Gatorade. I was sponsored

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by, you know, like Mercedes. Big names. You know,

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and so like. Biggest. These things would like,

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you know, but Mercedes, like I wouldn't like

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get a car. But like when I was in another country,

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I would give them like a card that would let

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me have a free rental if they had a Mercedes

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on site. Wow. So like things like that, you know,

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then I would get like partnerships with like

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hotels to like have free stays and like Airbnbs

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to have like free stays here and there to kind

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of help me because, you know, when you're expensive

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and like these are some of the most expensive

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places in the world that you could go to because

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they're historic, they're Olympic sites and,

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you know, people have to upkeep everything. I

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think the most expensive place that I had ever

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stayed in was a town called St. Moritz, Switzerland.

00:10:49.409 --> 00:10:51.289
And so and everyone's like, where's that? And

00:10:51.289 --> 00:10:52.529
I was like, well, let me just give you an example

00:10:52.529 --> 00:10:54.629
of how wealthy it is. I was like Ashton Martins.

00:10:54.750 --> 00:10:58.080
I was like. like McLarens, let's see, Rolls Royces,

00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:02.379
luxury line, top luxury line, Mercedes, Benzes,

00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:05.779
Audis. I'm talking like super G Audis and stuff

00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:08.960
where the taxis of the town. And if you wanted

00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.639
to go just down. Taxis. Yeah, the taxis. So if

00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:14.460
you wanted to go down the street, it was a minimum,

00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:17.159
like to go anywhere was a minimum of 250 Swiss

00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:19.759
francs. So, I mean, like you get out of the track,

00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:22.440
like you turn right. There's a Rolex store right

00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:23.860
here at the entrance of the track. There's a

00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:26.320
Rolls Royce dealership like right here. And then

00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.080
just like fur coats and everything else. And

00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.179
then all these other high end things in the middle

00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:32.700
of the Swiss Alps was where this race took place.

00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:34.600
So you can imagine how expensive everything is.

00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:36.360
I remember we went to go get lunch. I got like

00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:37.980
a chicken cordon bleu and it was like really

00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:39.440
big. I couldn't finish it. So I was like, can

00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:41.039
I have a box to take it? And the waiter was like.

00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.960
No, we don't give boxes. You don't take it. You

00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:45.320
either eat it or we throw it away. And I was

00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:49.100
like, and that cost me $120. Oh, wow. So I sat

00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:51.460
there for 45 minutes and I stuffed myself until

00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:53.740
it was all gone. Because I'm like, I'm not throwing

00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:55.039
this away. I might as well just go throw money

00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.940
in the streets right now. So then when all of

00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:00.240
that was happening, before I got there, I was

00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.820
somebody when it was training and it was a regular

00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:04.899
season, like it was coming down to decisions

00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:07.139
of whether or not I was going to eat. that day

00:12:07.139 --> 00:12:09.019
or whether or not I was going to train. And the

00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:10.919
very little money that came in, I was like, I

00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:12.759
just got to go train. Like I can always like

00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:16.320
get something later. And so my body like was

00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:19.460
really, really bad. And so. It entered like a

00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:21.480
really severe stage of starvation mode where

00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:23.419
like the smell of food would like make me full.

00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:25.720
But I was losing weight at like record weights

00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:29.519
and stuff. And, you know, it was there was a

00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.919
lot that I went through to like just keep it

00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:33.679
together. But I had a good family that helped

00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:35.600
me through it. And then even afterwards, you

00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:37.000
know, I think the most heart wrenching thing

00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.679
was hearing what my federation when they heard

00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:41.860
the stance that I took, you know, and then everybody

00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:45.840
else. So you say this to the reporter. It gets

00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:49.649
completely scrubbed. Yet somehow it goes to all

00:12:49.649 --> 00:12:51.590
your sponsors. Well, it's scrubbed now because

00:12:51.590 --> 00:12:54.389
like a couple of months later when they like,

00:12:54.429 --> 00:12:56.049
because I was like looking for it and they're

00:12:56.049 --> 00:12:58.309
just like, oh yeah, like they got it. And then

00:12:58.309 --> 00:13:00.529
all of my friends who had started this Olympic

00:13:00.529 --> 00:13:03.230
journey with, they knew who I was, had many conversations

00:13:03.230 --> 00:13:06.029
with me like this, had the same feelings about

00:13:06.029 --> 00:13:07.610
things that I did, but wouldn't say anything.

00:13:07.889 --> 00:13:10.220
We're now the ones that are like. Yeah, we don't

00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:11.759
know that guy. We don't want anything a part

00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:13.659
of him. So, I mean, like, a whole community that

00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:15.740
embraced me at one point just turned their back

00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:17.820
on me. This is after the Olympics are over. So

00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:20.320
this is glory time. This is time to bask in your

00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:22.039
glory, get your sponsorships, live a little bit

00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:26.120
better, and so on. So how much thereafter did

00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:28.240
this interview take place? from the end of the

00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.779
Olympics? This was the year after World Championships.

00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.960
A year after the World Championships? Yeah, yeah,

00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:35.620
yeah. So 2018 was my last Olympics. Okay. And

00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:37.379
2019 was the year that I was trying to, like,

00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:39.799
go back again. Okay. And just qualify for World

00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:41.340
Champs. And then after that, I haven't touched

00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:43.860
ice or been around anything Olympic since then.

00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:47.700
Oh, wow. It's been a minute. So it's just in

00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:51.039
a moment, your life took a different trajectory.

00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.389
Yeah, yeah. Out of the blue. And it was one of

00:13:54.389 --> 00:13:55.889
those things that no matter how much you tried

00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:57.649
to fight against it, there was nothing you could

00:13:57.649 --> 00:13:59.669
do to like stop it where it was going. So you

00:13:59.669 --> 00:14:02.330
had a whirlwind of the media that attacked you

00:14:02.330 --> 00:14:05.669
as well. I had a lot of people like from Jamaican

00:14:05.669 --> 00:14:07.629
reporters that were just like, oh, Anthony was

00:14:07.629 --> 00:14:09.529
never a real Jamaican anyway. He's American.

00:14:09.590 --> 00:14:13.230
And we reserve the right to now hold these opportunities

00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:15.970
for real Jamaicans. I'm like, so not only like.

00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.399
saying that I wasn't a good athlete but now even

00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.639
saying that I've got no I've got no ties to the

00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.720
heritage that I was born with and so that's cancellation

00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:28.019
you know and really having everybody and then

00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:30.820
like all people that I've talked to now you know

00:14:30.820 --> 00:14:33.519
come back and be like we just like you know we

00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:35.179
don't appreciate this and you know we just got

00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:36.480
to keep our hands off and then the people that

00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:38.759
still agree they're like hey man Props to you.

00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:40.740
It's just like, I just, I just can't really say

00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:42.179
anything. I just want to let you know that you're

00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:43.840
doing good, but I just don't tell anyone that

00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:45.320
we talk. I'm like, yeah, like that's, there's

00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:48.039
nothing like being beat up is bad, but then having

00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:49.639
someone when you've been kicked down and like,

00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:51.080
you're bleeding out that kind of thing. Be like,

00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:53.350
Hey. I'm sorry that that happened to you, but

00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:54.809
don't tell anyone that I was feeling sympathetic

00:14:54.809 --> 00:14:57.929
for you. Wow. And then it's kind of. Yeah. In

00:14:57.929 --> 00:15:00.409
particular? Mm -hmm. A good old buddy? Mm -hmm.

00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:02.809
A couple of them. Yeah. So tell us about that.

00:15:02.850 --> 00:15:06.769
Who did you lose along the way? I lost everybody.

00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:08.450
You know, the only people that I didn't lose

00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:11.470
were my parents and my siblings. You know, but

00:15:11.470 --> 00:15:13.730
everyone back then, like I said, people that

00:15:13.730 --> 00:15:15.919
I had grown up with since. kindergarten grade

00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.700
school that knew who I was, saw me having Olympic

00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:21.580
aspirations at the young age of like 11, you

00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:23.259
know, doing sports all throughout high school

00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:26.639
and college. And now being able to say that I've

00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:28.899
been to an Olympic games and got to compete at

00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:30.639
the highest level of athletics. Cause I tell

00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.460
everyone, I was like, Olympians train hard, just

00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:36.039
as hard, if not harder than these athletes that

00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:39.480
get paid $120 million a year in their contracts.

00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.340
You see people like Steph Curry and LeBron James,

00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:44.960
they spend more time. God bless you. Thank you.

00:15:45.019 --> 00:15:49.440
Those guys spend more time. Okay. Okay, good.

00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:54.440
Say it again. The staff. No, I was saying you

00:15:54.440 --> 00:15:57.360
have athletes like we as Olympians train just

00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.039
as hard, if not harder. Is another one coming?

00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:04.860
Is it my cologne? I always sneeze in this room

00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:07.419
for some reason. In this room, I sneeze and cough.

00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:08.820
Okay, good. So I don't have to take that personally.

00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:11.460
It's me. I was like, I'm so sorry. Okay, sorry.

00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:13.399
Go ahead. No, I was saying that Olympians have

00:16:13.399 --> 00:16:16.899
to train hard, if not harder. Then athletes that

00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:19.139
get paid these millions of these multimillion

00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:21.139
dollar contracts because you see people like

00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:22.879
LeBron James and Steph Curry half of the season.

00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:24.500
They're just dressed nice with their chains,

00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.700
watches and sunglasses sitting on the bench because

00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:29.340
they're hurt. We've I've been hurt. I've had

00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:32.080
two broken wrists. I've had like a dislocated

00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:35.039
hip multiple times. Both of them dislocated shoulders,

00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.220
you know, broken bones in my foot and that kind

00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:38.840
of thing. And I've still had to go out there

00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:41.299
and I've had to go do it. Whatever, because at

00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:42.720
the end of the day, it's just like I'm paying

00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:44.700
all this money. And if I leave, there's like.

00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.139
Nothing I get out of it except like a big headache.

00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:50.480
So all of these people don't realize the kind

00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:52.340
of work and dedication, which is why when you

00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:54.120
watch the Olympic trials from here on out and

00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:56.000
you see somebody that was this close to making

00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.139
it and don't make it, that's why they're so devastated.

00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:02.100
It's the years and the time because 13 years,

00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:04.880
13 years of traveling as a winter athlete. So

00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.539
I was gone from September until April. So May,

00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:09.359
June, July, and August were the only months that

00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:11.839
I was home. And so that's 13 years where I miss

00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:13.900
Christmas, 13 years where I miss Thanksgiving.

00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:16.119
13 years where I missed, like, you know, the

00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:17.940
birth of my nieces and my nephews and whatnot.

00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:19.920
I wasn't able to be home for that. And I'm on

00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.440
the road, you know, most times feeling like I'm

00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:23.680
chasing something that ain't going to happen.

00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:26.680
And they're invoicing you. You're paying your

00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:31.440
ways. I didn't know that you had to pay so much

00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:33.460
money to be in the Olympics. I mean, they make

00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:35.839
a ton of money. The Olympics make billions. It's

00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:36.920
a multi -billion dollar. What do they do with

00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:40.539
the money they make? Most of it goes to the countries.

00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:45.019
There are some. We can get into that. Most of

00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:48.400
it goes to help countries fund in some ways,

00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:50.039
because not all of it goes there. It goes to

00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:52.279
help fund where this next city and next country

00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:54.200
is going to host the Olympics. But when you look

00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:56.259
at it now, most countries that host an Olympic

00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:58.779
Games, it bankrupts their country. They have

00:17:58.779 --> 00:18:02.390
to spend almost trillions of dollars. Clearing

00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:04.630
sites, building venues, and then for one thing

00:18:04.630 --> 00:18:07.049
in history, and then it's just monuments that

00:18:07.049 --> 00:18:09.289
just sit there. It happens a lot. So it's just

00:18:09.289 --> 00:18:10.890
like Beijing is the only country that's ever

00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:14.210
hosted an Olympic Games, I think, twice and two

00:18:14.210 --> 00:18:16.809
different types of events multiple times. But

00:18:16.809 --> 00:18:18.930
I mean, when you're the biggest scam artists

00:18:18.930 --> 00:18:21.569
in the world, I guess it kind of works in your

00:18:21.569 --> 00:18:25.210
favor. But I guess what it does for Olympic athletes,

00:18:25.309 --> 00:18:27.869
and when you do win medals, then you become...

00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:31.359
you people sponsor you for other stuff so it

00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:34.619
sounds like that's the payoff i was never a medalist

00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:37.279
and um i was never somebody that most people

00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:39.779
banked on winning but i mean like i could i gave

00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:42.240
people hell from the start and then throughout

00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.339
the race was where people started to slide and

00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:47.019
push away but i mean like like physically fit

00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:49.019
and fast that's what i was and i was a threat

00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:50.519
to a lot of people there because i remember when

00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:53.059
i first joined and like started coming in everyone

00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.400
was like oh man we got another black guy here

00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:57.059
it's just like go back to track and field go

00:18:57.059 --> 00:18:58.900
to basketball stick to your people sports and

00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:01.799
let us at least have this one i'm like what like

00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:07.559
you get to tell me that so jamaican yeah so all

00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:09.480
of that stuff happened but i mean you know in

00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.579
the end it was something that i feel like needed

00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:15.250
to happen And the reason I say that is because

00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:18.029
where you see us as where the world is now, you

00:19:18.029 --> 00:19:20.609
have a lot of people that, for the things that

00:19:20.609 --> 00:19:22.390
they believe, are feeling like they're losing

00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:25.849
out on something. But it kind of comes with the

00:19:25.849 --> 00:19:28.369
territory. And everyone asks me now, it's like,

00:19:28.410 --> 00:19:31.269
would you go back and re -say anything or change

00:19:31.269 --> 00:19:33.569
anything? And I was like, no. Here's a question

00:19:33.569 --> 00:19:36.470
for you. Who's writing your story? You or some

00:19:36.470 --> 00:19:38.990
random dude on the internet? If you're sick of

00:19:38.990 --> 00:19:42.720
Google, gossip blogs, or that one angry ex controlling

00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:45.180
how the world sees you, it's time to do something

00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:47.920
about it. Erase .com helps you take back your

00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:50.579
narrative by removing harmful content, outdated

00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:53.259
info, and straight -up lies from search engines.

00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:55.700
Your past shouldn't be a permanent headline.

00:19:56.019 --> 00:19:58.660
Erase .com gives you the reset button that the

00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:01.220
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00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:04.019
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00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:06.599
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00:20:07.349 --> 00:20:09.609
Link's in the description. Click it. Your future

00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:12.730
self will thank you. So things happened pretty

00:20:12.730 --> 00:20:16.029
on a dime. Your life changed. Sponsors pulled

00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:18.670
out right away. All of them? Everybody? Every

00:20:18.670 --> 00:20:21.069
single one of them. Gone. And so then you're

00:20:21.069 --> 00:20:24.289
like, what were you feeling like at that time?

00:20:24.490 --> 00:20:27.710
I was depressed. Like, I'm not someone that really,

00:20:27.849 --> 00:20:30.650
I'm not an anxious person. I'm a rare person

00:20:30.650 --> 00:20:32.470
that believes that anxiety and depression are

00:20:32.470 --> 00:20:35.410
choices. You know, because everyone battles with

00:20:35.410 --> 00:20:37.769
the temptation of giving into it. But, you know,

00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:40.869
I've never been someone to ever tell anybody

00:20:40.869 --> 00:20:43.130
that, oh, I have this kind of anxiety. I was

00:20:43.130 --> 00:20:45.430
like, I hate that. To me, like as an athlete,

00:20:45.470 --> 00:20:47.589
you have to find a way to push through regardless

00:20:47.589 --> 00:20:49.769
of what you're dealing with. And, you know, you

00:20:49.769 --> 00:20:51.829
learn a lot of life lessons in sports. You learn

00:20:51.829 --> 00:20:53.470
how to be dedicated. You learn how to be committed.

00:20:53.609 --> 00:20:55.670
You learn how to be disciplined. You learn how,

00:20:55.750 --> 00:20:57.890
you know, like to be oriented despite what's

00:20:57.890 --> 00:20:59.650
against you because you have no other choice.

00:20:59.710 --> 00:21:04.240
It's either succeed or fail. And, you know, there

00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:06.299
is no in between. It's either one or the other.

00:21:06.339 --> 00:21:08.900
Here, so many people like living in the middle

00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:10.900
where it's like they try enough to say that they

00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:14.180
tried. And if they fail, then it's because of

00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:16.559
this reason. Were you always clear on this or

00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:19.140
did you arrive at this? No, I was always clear.

00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:21.289
That's how I was raised. You know, my dad always

00:21:21.289 --> 00:21:22.849
told me he was just like, you have a lot of people

00:21:22.849 --> 00:21:24.250
that depend on a lot of things, but he's like

00:21:24.250 --> 00:21:25.769
anxiety, depression. He's like, that's a choice

00:21:25.769 --> 00:21:27.549
because he's like, even in your anxiety and depression,

00:21:27.710 --> 00:21:29.589
I said, you still have choices to make. The choices

00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:31.589
in those seasons are, do I take my medication?

00:21:31.829 --> 00:21:33.589
Do I seek help? Do I do all these other things?

00:21:33.690 --> 00:21:35.789
Do I talk about it? Do I keep it concealed? He's

00:21:35.789 --> 00:21:37.769
like, you always have a choice to do in any of

00:21:37.769 --> 00:21:39.789
these circumstances. He's like, why not just

00:21:39.789 --> 00:21:41.369
make the choice to just not deal with it? And

00:21:41.369 --> 00:21:43.130
now that's not me saying that I don't deal with

00:21:43.130 --> 00:21:45.490
it at all. Like I get hit with a lot of things

00:21:45.490 --> 00:21:47.470
that make me want to panic and go into a whirlwind,

00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:49.269
but you know, I just got to be like, okay, like.

00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:51.809
just take a take a couple of seconds to be like

00:21:51.809 --> 00:21:54.309
okay now what can i prioritize and what can i

00:21:54.309 --> 00:21:55.730
take out first that's going to make this not

00:21:55.730 --> 00:21:59.369
so stressful um i get stressed out a lot because

00:21:59.369 --> 00:22:01.490
of the things that like hit me in the moment

00:22:01.490 --> 00:22:03.369
last minute but i mean like i've learned how

00:22:03.369 --> 00:22:04.809
to push through it i mean like when you've been

00:22:04.809 --> 00:22:06.250
in the situations that i've had where you've

00:22:06.250 --> 00:22:08.369
literally had nothing and you've had to like

00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:12.339
find a way to make life continue um Tell us about

00:22:12.339 --> 00:22:14.480
that. When did that happen? Well, I mean, like

00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:16.119
for me, what happened in that was when everybody

00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:18.000
left and when I had nothing, when I was left

00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.740
with nothing, I for about two and a half months.

00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.839
Oh, man, it's hard. For about two and a half

00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:30.779
months, I was very, very suicidal. And so I think

00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:38.519
for me. I think I don't think I know in that

00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:43.690
time. I didn't want to be that way. I just didn't

00:22:43.690 --> 00:22:48.769
know what else to do. And I had put so much time

00:22:48.769 --> 00:22:52.509
and I'm talking in that entire season. I'm going

00:22:52.509 --> 00:22:54.690
through every single childhood memory. I'm going

00:22:54.690 --> 00:22:57.190
through every single time when I turned down

00:22:57.190 --> 00:22:58.930
doing something because I wanted to go train

00:22:58.930 --> 00:23:01.930
to now sit here and be like, it wasn't worth

00:23:01.930 --> 00:23:06.410
it at all. And thinking that the world would

00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:10.369
have been better without me because. Felt like

00:23:10.369 --> 00:23:13.130
I failed everybody and I think the biggest thing

00:23:13.130 --> 00:23:15.630
that contributed to that was what I saw what

00:23:15.630 --> 00:23:18.890
my family went through To help me get there watching

00:23:18.890 --> 00:23:22.309
my sisters my parents like work extra jobs Take

00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:24.470
all the money out of their grocery fund their

00:23:24.470 --> 00:23:26.809
car insurance and everything else to help me

00:23:26.809 --> 00:23:30.529
just get to one more race Now because things

00:23:30.529 --> 00:23:33.069
were harder for them. I felt responsible for

00:23:33.069 --> 00:23:36.769
it I felt like I put them in this position that

00:23:36.769 --> 00:23:40.349
I was the one who made things harder for them.

00:23:40.369 --> 00:23:43.130
And everyone's now in a more uncomfortable position

00:23:43.130 --> 00:23:46.069
because I spoke up and said something. Now I've

00:23:46.069 --> 00:23:48.470
lost everything. And now life is harder for everyone

00:23:48.470 --> 00:23:52.089
that I care about. And so to me, it felt like

00:23:52.089 --> 00:23:55.230
the best solution at the time was to just like

00:23:55.230 --> 00:24:00.809
not exist anymore. And I remember having a phone

00:24:00.809 --> 00:24:04.190
conversation with my dad. And at the time, I

00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:05.769
think I had called him because that's when I

00:24:05.769 --> 00:24:08.230
was really contemplating. And I was just like,

00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:10.910
I'm just going to say goodbye. And I come from

00:24:10.910 --> 00:24:13.890
a Christian household. And I remember my dad

00:24:13.890 --> 00:24:15.630
answering the phone and his first question wasn't

00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:17.769
hello. It was, what's the matter? And I was like,

00:24:17.789 --> 00:24:20.490
what? He was just like, I don't know why, but

00:24:20.490 --> 00:24:21.789
he's like, I put you on my heart and he told

00:24:21.789 --> 00:24:23.150
me that you're in trouble. So he's like, what's

00:24:23.150 --> 00:24:27.529
going on? And I just, yeah, I broke down and

00:24:27.529 --> 00:24:29.849
I told him everything. And so I do think that

00:24:29.849 --> 00:24:32.150
there is a mental health thing that people need

00:24:32.150 --> 00:24:34.230
to address. But outside of the mental aspect,

00:24:34.369 --> 00:24:37.240
there's a spiritual. crisis that other people

00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:39.180
are doing because a lot of people are putting

00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:43.039
all of their physical strength and the things

00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:48.220
that don't last you know and um it it took it

00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:52.059
took a lot so your dad called you you break down

00:24:52.059 --> 00:24:54.559
like when he oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah i'm about

00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:56.920
to break down now man i'm trying i'm trying my

00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:58.859
hardest to keep it together so you can let it

00:24:58.859 --> 00:25:03.440
out so i'm not the only one crying um monica

00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.369
can i have a tissue Are you messing with my makeup?

00:25:08.190 --> 00:25:11.390
I'm sorry. Let me take an awkward sip of water.

00:25:12.769 --> 00:25:18.250
Tell us. Was your dad able to talk you out of

00:25:18.250 --> 00:25:20.809
it? Did you tell him what you were contemplating?

00:25:21.009 --> 00:25:23.349
I didn't tell him in that moment. You didn't?

00:25:23.569 --> 00:25:29.029
I told him, I think, a year later. Wow. A year

00:25:29.029 --> 00:25:33.380
later when... As a son, you know, because I'm

00:25:33.380 --> 00:25:35.180
the only boy in my family, I got three sisters.

00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:38.640
And, you know, the only approval that I've ever

00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:41.359
lived for was my father's. And in that moment,

00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:43.339
I felt like by telling him that it would have

00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:47.160
been like the real. And when I ended up telling

00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:48.980
him later on, I was like, you do know that in

00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:51.440
that moment I said I was contemplating like ending

00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:53.700
my life. And he's like, I know. And I was like,

00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:55.960
I was like, why didn't you say anything? He was

00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:57.539
like, why didn't you say anything? I was like,

00:25:57.579 --> 00:25:59.420
I was nervous that you were going to hate me.

00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:01.019
He's like, I don't hate you. I love you. And

00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:04.119
then I broke down again. I was like, why are

00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:10.440
you so amazing? So I think that, you know, I

00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:14.440
learned a lot. But was that conversation what

00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:17.220
talked you out of it? That conversation, yeah.

00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:21.279
It was where I turned. And, like, the journey

00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:23.400
to, like, get out of that was hard. Was it just

00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:26.099
his loving presence? Yeah, what were some of

00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:28.759
the things he said to help turn you around? Because

00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:31.480
it sounds like that moment. for the world or

00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:33.480
the other people that need to speak to others

00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:34.960
who might be going through a similar situation

00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:37.880
what can we say or do like my my dad told me

00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:40.839
because i i told him i said you know i'm dealing

00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:43.319
with all of this garbage all of these bad things

00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:46.619
are happening is this like god's sign that i'm

00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:50.880
doing the wrong thing and then you know oh man

00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:56.640
oh wow he you know you know he he told me he's

00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:58.259
like you can be at the center of where you're

00:26:58.259 --> 00:27:00.740
supposed to be when all hell breaks loose And

00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:03.380
he's like, and it's like that intentionally because

00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:05.460
you have a lot of people who are watching you

00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:08.299
to see what you do next. And he's like, what

00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:10.500
you do next is either going to hurt you and other

00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:12.200
people or it's going to help you and everybody

00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:14.400
else that's watching. And that to me was when,

00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:17.259
oh man, you sure it's okay to like just get emotional

00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:21.259
here? Yeah, you would not be the first. He cried

00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:24.680
when I interviewed him. I like to cry every now

00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:28.220
and then. You know, so I, you know, that's what,

00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:32.319
that's what shifted. And then that's when everything

00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.700
that became a negative that I was thinking of,

00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:38.019
I started to try and see like what I was supposed

00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:40.660
to be learning in those moments. And in that

00:27:40.660 --> 00:27:43.279
moment, what I learned here was how to fight

00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:46.839
for myself in that moment. So that because now

00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:49.220
when I share that story with all the high schools

00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:50.819
and schools that I've gone to, I've had students

00:27:50.819 --> 00:27:52.220
that have reached out to me. I think one of the

00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:54.259
most touching stories I've had was when I shared

00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:58.180
that story, there was a girl. who DM me afterwards.

00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:59.819
And she said, you're the best speaker that's

00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:01.099
come to the school that I ever wanted to pay

00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:02.599
attention to. She's like, I just want to say

00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:04.200
thank you because I was going to go home and

00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:08.140
kill myself today. And she was like, and you

00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:11.799
made me change my mind. And like, what do you

00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:14.970
say to somebody like that? Thank you. Like, you

00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:17.750
know, and then weeks later she was starting to

00:28:17.750 --> 00:28:21.109
spiral again. And so she had like and like it's

00:28:21.109 --> 00:28:22.509
a story of like a lot of students everywhere.

00:28:22.569 --> 00:28:24.329
I've had students like send me pictures of them

00:28:24.329 --> 00:28:26.470
literally slitting their wrists. I've had students

00:28:26.470 --> 00:28:28.970
like reach out to me and like show me messages

00:28:28.970 --> 00:28:30.930
of like, you know, abusive things that people

00:28:30.930 --> 00:28:32.170
send to them. And they're just like, I don't

00:28:32.170 --> 00:28:33.730
know what to do. I think I just need to end things.

00:28:33.809 --> 00:28:35.890
And it's just like, you know, going through what

00:28:35.890 --> 00:28:39.750
I went through. I know what it's like. And. Being

00:28:39.750 --> 00:28:41.710
able to help other people out of that, I feel

00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:44.410
like is what that season was for. I mean, I know

00:28:44.410 --> 00:28:46.769
you're a man of God, you know, and there's no

00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:49.829
mistakes. And it's quite possible that all the

00:28:49.829 --> 00:28:51.769
hardships that you've been through has been for

00:28:51.769 --> 00:28:54.930
this purpose right here. I'm sure this has crossed

00:28:54.930 --> 00:28:57.990
your mind. No, for sure. And I think the reason

00:28:57.990 --> 00:29:01.430
why conservatives are always behind is because

00:29:01.430 --> 00:29:03.910
we entertain the hypotheticals too much. What

00:29:03.910 --> 00:29:07.559
do you mean? come out and they say something

00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:10.559
that we know is false they say as a definite

00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:15.299
they say we know facts shows science proves all

00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:17.519
these definite responses that we're just like

00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:19.940
we're left most of the time being like well what

00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:22.539
i think because we come from an opinion place

00:29:22.539 --> 00:29:25.759
but I'm tired of coming from that place. I know

00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.460
that there are only two genders. I know that

00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:29.440
boys can't compete with girls. I know these things

00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:32.480
because of this is how the outcome is. This is

00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.359
the result of everything. So now when I do things,

00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:38.900
I always come from a place that's definite. And

00:29:38.900 --> 00:29:41.599
I tell everyone, I know that isolation is where

00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:45.210
you start to. Self mutilate where you start to

00:29:45.210 --> 00:29:47.109
emotionally break yourself down where you start

00:29:47.109 --> 00:29:48.930
to separate yourself from everybody else because

00:29:48.930 --> 00:29:50.650
you think it's better for everyone else that

00:29:50.650 --> 00:29:52.170
you're not weighing them down with these other

00:29:52.170 --> 00:29:55.029
kinds of things and But I said the biggest thing

00:29:55.029 --> 00:29:56.789
that a lot of people fail to realize is that

00:29:56.789 --> 00:29:59.930
we need community here So for myself going through

00:29:59.930 --> 00:30:02.529
all of these seasons and dealing with what I

00:30:02.529 --> 00:30:04.150
went through I didn't know what it was going

00:30:04.150 --> 00:30:07.049
to lead to I didn't even know what the end looked

00:30:07.049 --> 00:30:09.990
like I still don't even know if what's happening

00:30:09.990 --> 00:30:13.329
now is a byproduct of this or if it's just chance.

00:30:13.589 --> 00:30:15.769
But the opportunities that I've been presented

00:30:15.769 --> 00:30:18.150
with that come up, I'm not afraid to tell people

00:30:18.150 --> 00:30:19.650
where I've been because I'm not there anymore.

00:30:19.829 --> 00:30:22.430
And I tell everybody the same thing that my dad

00:30:22.430 --> 00:30:25.569
always told me because I love my dad and everything

00:30:25.569 --> 00:30:28.710
that he's meant to me. You can't motivate, inspire,

00:30:28.990 --> 00:30:32.230
encourage, or help anyone from a place that you

00:30:32.230 --> 00:30:34.369
haven't been. And the only place that you can

00:30:34.369 --> 00:30:37.170
tell anybody anything about is your past. Because

00:30:37.170 --> 00:30:39.430
your future is uncertain. Because it all depends

00:30:39.430 --> 00:30:41.450
on what you do now, where you're going to end

00:30:41.450 --> 00:30:44.369
up later on. So that's why when we say things

00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:46.210
that socialism sucks because it doesn't work

00:30:46.210 --> 00:30:48.869
or communism doesn't cure anything, the only

00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:50.930
thing we have to reference is our history, where

00:30:50.930 --> 00:30:53.470
it's never worked. So you can try to rebrand

00:30:53.470 --> 00:30:55.089
it, try and do all these things, but the heart

00:30:55.089 --> 00:30:58.730
of greed and vigilance to make people feel terrible,

00:30:58.809 --> 00:31:01.109
to get more for yourself, is still very prominent

00:31:01.109 --> 00:31:04.569
because that's what it was built on. The one

00:31:04.569 --> 00:31:07.930
thing that I try to add in everything, every

00:31:07.930 --> 00:31:09.990
conversation, every school, every person that

00:31:09.990 --> 00:31:12.490
I interact with is an element of my faith because

00:31:12.490 --> 00:31:15.210
it works, you know, and I've seen that through

00:31:15.210 --> 00:31:18.109
my past. That's been the only thing that's gotten

00:31:18.109 --> 00:31:21.009
me here. You know, our country was founded on

00:31:21.009 --> 00:31:22.710
those principles, which is why it's lasted so

00:31:22.710 --> 00:31:26.339
long. You know, and when we are people that try

00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:28.400
to drift and go away from where our beginning

00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:30.660
was, that's when things get a little chaotic

00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:32.799
because we started doing that. We got a glimpse

00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:35.339
of that this past administration where we almost

00:31:35.339 --> 00:31:37.759
lost our country and everyone who sits there

00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:39.960
and thinks that, oh, well, it's just it's no

00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.259
big deal. I mean, like America is going to be

00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:43.160
America. But I tell everyone, I'm like, listen,

00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:44.759
if you don't learn how to fight for your country

00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:46.319
now, if you don't learn how to fight for yourself

00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:47.960
now, I said, well, you guys and I tell kids,

00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:50.099
I said, you're in high school now. You don't

00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:51.519
learn how to stand up against your peers. Now,

00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:52.700
what are you going to do when you're a freshman

00:31:52.700 --> 00:31:54.279
in college and you got to take on your professor

00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:56.440
in the school board? I said, when you graduate

00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:59.039
college, then it's you as a rookie in your career

00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:01.299
against all these seasoned, tenured people that

00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:02.900
no matter what they say and do, they can't get

00:32:02.900 --> 00:32:05.059
fired, but they can give you hell for it. You

00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:08.029
know, I said your actions. are what define the

00:32:08.029 --> 00:32:10.390
type of people you want to be. And I said those

00:32:10.390 --> 00:32:12.089
are the only things that you can control because

00:32:12.089 --> 00:32:14.289
the two things in life that you are 100 % in

00:32:14.289 --> 00:32:17.170
control over are two absolutes. And I said out

00:32:17.170 --> 00:32:19.450
of everything that you know from your past until

00:32:19.450 --> 00:32:21.769
your present moment today, you're only in charge

00:32:21.769 --> 00:32:23.809
of what you say and do to people and how you

00:32:23.809 --> 00:32:25.720
respond to what's said and done to you. Outside

00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:27.339
of what you say and do and how you respond to

00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:28.859
what's said and done, you can't control the weather.

00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:30.880
You can't control opinions. You can't control

00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:33.359
circumstances, outcomes, results, beginnings,

00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:35.740
opinions, everything else. The only thing you

00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:37.819
can do is respond to all of those situations

00:32:37.819 --> 00:32:39.759
because I said people's response is actually

00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:41.579
what catches people's attention. When people

00:32:41.579 --> 00:32:43.859
expect you to react a certain way and then you

00:32:43.859 --> 00:32:46.720
respond in kind, that's what actually starts

00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:50.019
shifting people's opinions to actually start

00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:53.230
supporting what you're doing. And so now. Through

00:32:53.230 --> 00:32:55.410
everything, through all the BLM protests, through

00:32:55.410 --> 00:32:57.549
all of the cancellation, the issues of the black

00:32:57.549 --> 00:32:59.990
community that I stood up and said were stupid

00:32:59.990 --> 00:33:02.789
are still happening. And BLM is nowhere to be

00:33:02.789 --> 00:33:05.630
found. The issues that are fighting that feminists

00:33:05.630 --> 00:33:08.230
fought for this entire time. Exactly. I said

00:33:08.230 --> 00:33:10.809
are still happening, but very few people are

00:33:10.809 --> 00:33:12.990
actually doing anything about it because of what

00:33:12.990 --> 00:33:16.190
it costs them. And I'm just like sacrifice and

00:33:16.190 --> 00:33:19.210
leadership always comes with sacrifice and compromise.

00:33:19.329 --> 00:33:21.250
Because I said you have to compromise on the

00:33:21.250 --> 00:33:23.710
things that you believe. to actually know what

00:33:23.710 --> 00:33:25.369
it is to go through something so that you know

00:33:25.369 --> 00:33:27.950
what it is to fight for something. So I kind

00:33:27.950 --> 00:33:31.990
of have a theory around this because we had a

00:33:31.990 --> 00:33:34.470
similar thing where we spoke out. Well, mainly

00:33:34.470 --> 00:33:36.710
I spoke out. My husband was extremely supportive.

00:33:37.109 --> 00:33:40.430
And they tried to completely cancel me and flatline

00:33:40.430 --> 00:33:44.069
me. And in the moment, it's hard. But I really

00:33:44.069 --> 00:33:48.049
felt in my body and my soul that God was... basically

00:33:48.049 --> 00:33:51.150
strengthening my soul. He was preparing me for

00:33:51.150 --> 00:33:54.910
something bigger. He was teaching me how to be

00:33:54.910 --> 00:33:58.730
a warrior by basically real life. I'm going to

00:33:58.730 --> 00:34:01.589
throw you into the fire, girl. Let's see how

00:34:01.589 --> 00:34:04.750
you roll. And there was a lot of prayers. There

00:34:04.750 --> 00:34:07.190
was a lot of meditation. There was a lot of calming

00:34:07.190 --> 00:34:09.769
my mind because there was so much noise around

00:34:09.769 --> 00:34:12.590
me. And you know, it just bombarded after bombarded

00:34:12.590 --> 00:34:16.039
after bombarded. And the hate. You know, when

00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:18.380
I'm like, I'm just trying to help. You know,

00:34:18.460 --> 00:34:21.800
I just don't want people to get an experimental

00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:26.619
you know what. And so I believe the same thing

00:34:26.619 --> 00:34:30.179
with you. You said the words, they came out of

00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:33.079
your mouth because you're connected to God. And

00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:35.800
you were supposed to say that. You were supposed

00:34:35.800 --> 00:34:38.719
to go through what you went through. Because

00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:42.889
going as low as you went. You needed to experience

00:34:42.889 --> 00:34:46.690
that because in the job that you're in now, meeting

00:34:46.690 --> 00:34:49.489
all these young people who are at the low, low,

00:34:49.610 --> 00:34:52.050
you wouldn't really be able to relate to them

00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:55.789
if you hadn't experienced that. And so that strengthened

00:34:55.789 --> 00:34:59.289
your soul really strong to where now you're out

00:34:59.289 --> 00:35:03.289
there inspiring and motivating. other young people.

00:35:03.409 --> 00:35:05.909
So maybe could we talk a little bit about that?

00:35:05.969 --> 00:35:08.750
Sure. How did Charlie Kirk find you? When did

00:35:08.750 --> 00:35:10.530
you start working for Turning Point? And where

00:35:10.530 --> 00:35:12.869
did that turnaround happen? Where did it, where

00:35:12.869 --> 00:35:15.929
did you go from, you know, on the phone, crying

00:35:15.929 --> 00:35:18.989
with your dad and then realizing, no, you know,

00:35:18.989 --> 00:35:22.730
God chose me to be here. He has a purpose for

00:35:22.730 --> 00:35:24.949
me and I'm going to, and something great is going

00:35:24.949 --> 00:35:26.610
to come around the corner. I just need to be

00:35:26.610 --> 00:35:30.010
strong and learn. Anything that I need to learn

00:35:30.010 --> 00:35:33.010
so my soul is stronger. What happened after that

00:35:33.010 --> 00:35:35.489
point? Well, I'll be honest. In that transition

00:35:35.489 --> 00:35:39.590
period, it was still difficult for me to see

00:35:39.590 --> 00:35:43.849
this as a good thing. It takes time. I was bitter,

00:35:44.090 --> 00:35:49.610
resentful, and very angry for a long time. And

00:35:49.610 --> 00:35:53.230
when I first joined the conservative space, I

00:35:53.230 --> 00:35:56.710
was everything. I was the poster child of what

00:35:56.710 --> 00:35:59.969
a conservative was not. I was someone that came

00:35:59.969 --> 00:36:01.909
in and was like, well, I made it to the Olympics.

00:36:01.949 --> 00:36:04.230
I got canceled. And now I just deserve all this

00:36:04.230 --> 00:36:05.670
fame and attention and everything else because

00:36:05.670 --> 00:36:07.710
I need to get my I need to get my lick back,

00:36:07.809 --> 00:36:09.989
you know, in a sense, or I just need to get back

00:36:09.989 --> 00:36:14.489
to where I was. And I, you know, God has a very

00:36:14.489 --> 00:36:18.070
good way of just humbling you in a way that just

00:36:18.070 --> 00:36:19.989
like makes you never want to go down that road

00:36:19.989 --> 00:36:23.710
again. So Charlie didn't find me. I found him.

00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:25.960
This was when he had started speaking up and

00:36:25.960 --> 00:36:27.519
saying all these things. And that was when Turning

00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:30.019
Point had like a smaller following. What year

00:36:30.019 --> 00:36:33.519
was this? This was 2019. The same year. Found

00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:36.380
him in the same year. Okay. And then 2020. was

00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:39.139
when I joined as an ambassador. So that was just,

00:36:39.219 --> 00:36:41.619
I was a special guest. I would post some of their

00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:43.820
content and reshare, and then I would show up

00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:45.579
to their events, and they were able to provide

00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:48.079
me a way to get there at no charge as to just

00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:51.260
enjoy being around like -minded people. I have

00:36:51.260 --> 00:36:53.380
never spoken at a Turning Point event yet. Okay,

00:36:53.420 --> 00:36:56.619
all right. Not yet. I was like, maybe one day.

00:36:56.699 --> 00:37:00.179
But like I said, my mindset's changed. And so...

00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:03.639
It was like a breath of fresh air because I'm

00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:05.179
sure when you guys were going through all of

00:37:05.179 --> 00:37:07.000
this, when you found other people that were in

00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:08.960
public settings saying the exact same thing,

00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:12.420
you're like, yes, I found my people. So we have

00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:18.639
a school and her stance on what's made many of

00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:20.260
the parent community run for the hills, but the

00:37:20.260 --> 00:37:23.320
global, literally global media attention that

00:37:23.320 --> 00:37:25.920
came to our school with the media camped out

00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:28.280
every single day brought... People from all over

00:37:28.280 --> 00:37:30.820
the world, literally Australia, England. No way.

00:37:31.019 --> 00:37:33.579
Yeah. They didn't know where they were going

00:37:33.579 --> 00:37:34.679
to live. They didn't know what they were going

00:37:34.679 --> 00:37:36.219
to do. But they knew this was the school that

00:37:36.219 --> 00:37:39.619
they must put their kids into. And so these are

00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:42.860
our brothers and sisters. Yes, we found each

00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:45.380
other. Man, brothers in arms, you know? So I

00:37:45.380 --> 00:37:49.010
started going to events regularly. I had met

00:37:49.010 --> 00:37:50.889
like some really good people. Like one of my

00:37:50.889 --> 00:37:52.469
best friends that I consider a brother now, his

00:37:52.469 --> 00:37:54.449
name is Taylor Winston. He was a mass shooting

00:37:54.449 --> 00:37:56.969
survivor from the Route 91 concert that happened

00:37:56.969 --> 00:38:03.070
in Vegas. And his story was he drove, he stole

00:38:03.070 --> 00:38:05.489
a car because the rules of like when an active

00:38:05.489 --> 00:38:08.170
shooter is going, like emergency responders can't

00:38:08.170 --> 00:38:09.610
go in there. They have to wait for the shooting

00:38:09.610 --> 00:38:12.880
to stop. And at that point. it could go on for

00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:15.699
however long and more people could die. So he

00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:18.079
said his story is, you know, he was there. Then

00:38:18.079 --> 00:38:19.900
people heard shots ringing out, but they thought

00:38:19.900 --> 00:38:21.559
it was fireworks or something to go with the

00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:23.199
event. Then when people started screaming and

00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:24.780
you started seeing people drop, he's like some

00:38:24.780 --> 00:38:26.579
guy dropped right next to me because he had gotten

00:38:26.579 --> 00:38:28.900
hit. I was screaming, telling everybody to get

00:38:28.900 --> 00:38:30.539
down. People were running for the fence, trying

00:38:30.539 --> 00:38:31.920
to get over the fence. And as they're trying

00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:33.039
to get over the fence, they're getting caught

00:38:33.039 --> 00:38:34.599
in the barbed wire. People are getting shot on

00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:37.360
the fence. People are there. And he's like, he

00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:40.519
just, but he's a Marine. And, you know, he got

00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:43.000
he stole a car that was there because he says

00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:46.940
he knows at festivals a lot of people are prone

00:38:46.940 --> 00:38:48.800
to like leaving keys in there. So he went and

00:38:48.800 --> 00:38:51.139
did, I think, three or four trips where he saved

00:38:51.139 --> 00:38:53.000
over a dozen people, just grabbed critically

00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:54.500
injured people, threw them in the bed of the

00:38:54.500 --> 00:38:56.539
truck, drove them to the hospital, went back

00:38:56.539 --> 00:38:58.519
into the active shooting zone, grabbed more people

00:38:58.519 --> 00:39:00.840
and did all of that. I met him at my very first

00:39:00.840 --> 00:39:03.599
event in 2020. And that was down here when everything

00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:06.019
was shut down. Attendance was cut in half and

00:39:06.019 --> 00:39:08.199
no. Person would let you go anywhere unless you

00:39:08.199 --> 00:39:12.699
were, you know, or wearing a mask. And so he

00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:15.239
was somebody that when I first met him, we didn't

00:39:15.239 --> 00:39:17.880
say anything about who we were and where we like

00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:20.860
what our past was. So, you know, it wasn't until

00:39:20.860 --> 00:39:23.039
we were at the airport in West Palm. He was like,

00:39:23.079 --> 00:39:24.440
I want to go speak at some schools. He's like,

00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:25.599
would you be down to do that? And I was like,

00:39:25.659 --> 00:39:26.880
sure, I don't know how to do it. But I said,

00:39:26.920 --> 00:39:30.090
let's just figure it out. And I was like. You

00:39:30.090 --> 00:39:31.190
never told me. I was like, what's your story?

00:39:31.250 --> 00:39:32.510
He's like, oh, I'm a mass shooting survivor.

00:39:32.670 --> 00:39:34.590
And I like rescued like over a dozen people and

00:39:34.590 --> 00:39:36.309
like help save them and whatnot. And I was like,

00:39:36.329 --> 00:39:38.030
why didn't you tell me that when I first met

00:39:38.030 --> 00:39:40.070
you? He was just like, he's like, well, because

00:39:40.070 --> 00:39:41.369
he's like, that's what I did. It's not who I

00:39:41.369 --> 00:39:43.070
am. And he was like, what's your story? And I

00:39:43.070 --> 00:39:44.489
was like, well, I'm an Olympian that got canceled

00:39:44.489 --> 00:39:46.130
because I said that BLM was dumb. He's like,

00:39:46.190 --> 00:39:47.769
why didn't you tell me that when I first met

00:39:47.769 --> 00:39:49.829
you? I was like, it's because it's what I did.

00:39:49.869 --> 00:39:52.769
It's not who I am. So, you know, that was back

00:39:52.769 --> 00:39:55.789
in the time when everything was. demonize all

00:39:55.789 --> 00:39:57.849
white people white privilege and white guilt

00:39:57.849 --> 00:39:59.469
and all this oppression that all these people

00:39:59.469 --> 00:40:01.690
who are just in all honesty too lazy to do anything

00:40:01.690 --> 00:40:04.050
just want to cling on to something that a lot

00:40:04.050 --> 00:40:06.469
of people had to endure so that they didn't have

00:40:06.469 --> 00:40:09.269
to and it's just like now they want to desperately

00:40:09.269 --> 00:40:11.369
put these chains on just so that they have an

00:40:11.369 --> 00:40:14.969
excuse to like not try so when i was there at

00:40:14.969 --> 00:40:17.289
these events i met people like him i started

00:40:17.289 --> 00:40:20.539
meeting other people and me and him myself, Taylor,

00:40:20.780 --> 00:40:23.159
and our other friend, Aria, who is a pageant

00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:25.980
contestant who got canceled for, you know, speaking

00:40:25.980 --> 00:40:28.360
out on certain topics and whatnot in her pageantry

00:40:28.360 --> 00:40:31.840
world. And so all three of us combined, you know,

00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:33.820
we tackled a lot of issues. You know, I talked

00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:35.699
about black stuff. Taylor talked about, you know,

00:40:35.739 --> 00:40:38.260
gun rights. And, you know, Aria was talking about

00:40:38.260 --> 00:40:41.000
feminism and nobody could touch us because they

00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:42.599
couldn't call them racist because they had me

00:40:42.599 --> 00:40:44.940
there. And nobody could say that, you know, like

00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:47.519
I was being oppressed because I'm like, no, they've

00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:49.929
had. beginnings that were just as humble, if

00:40:49.929 --> 00:40:52.550
not worse than mine. So all of that was going

00:40:52.550 --> 00:40:54.650
on and happening. And that's how I kind of got

00:40:54.650 --> 00:40:56.329
started there. Now, throughout time, Taylor's

00:40:56.329 --> 00:40:57.949
an entrepreneur. He has a really successful gun

00:40:57.949 --> 00:41:00.510
business now. Ari is a really successful reporter

00:41:00.510 --> 00:41:02.090
and journalist. Did he try and cancel Taylor,

00:41:02.190 --> 00:41:05.079
even though he rescued all those people? uh later

00:41:05.079 --> 00:41:07.139
on they did because of his stance on gun rights

00:41:07.139 --> 00:41:09.519
because after surviving something like that everyone's

00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:10.980
just like yeah we need to get rid of guns he's

00:41:10.980 --> 00:41:13.280
like actually no we need more of them yeah he's

00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:15.619
like we need more of them because he's like when

00:41:15.619 --> 00:41:17.960
bad people have that like so you need do we need

00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:19.719
to like monitor and do all this he's like no

00:41:19.719 --> 00:41:22.440
he's like he's like it's our constitutional right

00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:24.980
he's like he's like if someone has this it's

00:41:24.980 --> 00:41:26.519
up to the people who care about them to make

00:41:26.519 --> 00:41:28.760
sure that they get help but he's like we need

00:41:28.760 --> 00:41:30.940
to have this right protected because you know,

00:41:30.960 --> 00:41:32.800
you take all guns away. He's like, people are

00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:34.579
going to resort to knives. He's like, then if

00:41:34.579 --> 00:41:36.139
you take knives away, he's like, people are going

00:41:36.139 --> 00:41:38.059
to resort to anything else to hurt somebody because

00:41:38.059 --> 00:41:39.460
he's like, it's a heart condition. He's like,

00:41:39.500 --> 00:41:41.320
it's not a legislative one. And I was like, that's

00:41:41.320 --> 00:41:44.369
a really good point. So we did all of that. And

00:41:44.369 --> 00:41:46.510
then through time, you know, like we stopped

00:41:46.510 --> 00:41:48.750
touring together and I continued. And this was

00:41:48.750 --> 00:41:50.570
before I started working for Turning Point. So

00:41:50.570 --> 00:41:52.829
I was going to schools paying out of my own pocket.

00:41:52.929 --> 00:41:55.190
I'd buy my flight. I'd pay for my hotel. And

00:41:55.190 --> 00:41:56.309
I would just go and I would just hang out with

00:41:56.309 --> 00:41:58.349
students, you know, because everyone's just like,

00:41:58.389 --> 00:42:00.130
you know, the next generation needs to know they

00:42:00.130 --> 00:42:01.429
need to be this. They need to be that. And I

00:42:01.429 --> 00:42:03.489
mean, like with information overload, people

00:42:03.489 --> 00:42:06.150
have phones, they have laptops, iPads, you know,

00:42:06.170 --> 00:42:09.800
like you've got TVs galore. places of houses

00:42:09.800 --> 00:42:11.920
that I didn't even know existed. Like in my hotel,

00:42:12.019 --> 00:42:13.920
there's a, there's a TV in the mirror in the

00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:18.280
bathroom. I'm like, well, this is new. So there's

00:42:18.280 --> 00:42:20.800
always places for you to find entertainment and

00:42:20.800 --> 00:42:22.900
information. I use heavy air quotes with information.

00:42:23.400 --> 00:42:26.340
Um, but very few people that actually want to

00:42:26.340 --> 00:42:28.599
put the work in to be in front of people. And

00:42:28.599 --> 00:42:30.380
I feel like that's, what's missing more than

00:42:30.380 --> 00:42:32.960
anything because virality things that are on

00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:34.639
the internet, people forget that it's one thing

00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:37.079
it's temporary. Because people will scroll past

00:42:37.079 --> 00:42:39.820
it after a while. It'll lose its steam. And then

00:42:39.820 --> 00:42:41.500
the only way that people stay relevant is by

00:42:41.500 --> 00:42:43.860
getting more extreme or by pushing the envelope

00:42:43.860 --> 00:42:45.340
to where they start putting themselves and the

00:42:45.340 --> 00:42:47.639
people they care about in danger. But nobody

00:42:47.639 --> 00:42:49.659
will ever forget a moment where they experienced

00:42:49.659 --> 00:42:52.019
you in person and the kind of experience that

00:42:52.019 --> 00:42:53.719
you gave them when they encountered you. And

00:42:53.719 --> 00:42:55.440
that's what I live for every single day. Because

00:42:55.440 --> 00:42:57.860
when I look at students and I tell them, listen,

00:42:57.940 --> 00:43:00.420
I was at a place where I literally felt like

00:43:00.420 --> 00:43:03.139
the best solution for my own self. was to just

00:43:03.139 --> 00:43:05.199
not be here anymore. I thought it was going to

00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:07.800
make my family happier and wealthier. I thought

00:43:07.800 --> 00:43:09.460
it was going to make my friends that hated me

00:43:09.460 --> 00:43:11.659
feel some sort of vindication. I said, and to

00:43:11.659 --> 00:43:16.000
me, I thought it was the best escape from dealing

00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.840
with all of this stuff. But then I said, I looked

00:43:18.840 --> 00:43:21.699
and I said, every single person who we have looked

00:43:21.699 --> 00:43:23.340
up through throughout history has all had to

00:43:23.340 --> 00:43:24.659
go through something where they've all been in

00:43:24.659 --> 00:43:27.039
the same position that I was. And I said, our

00:43:27.039 --> 00:43:29.929
forefathers, I said, died in warfare. for the

00:43:29.929 --> 00:43:31.809
freedom of a country that most of them didn't

00:43:31.809 --> 00:43:34.210
even get to live in after the war was over. And

00:43:34.210 --> 00:43:35.750
I said, no, we stand here on that sacrifice.

00:43:35.849 --> 00:43:37.789
And for everybody that goes through all of these

00:43:37.789 --> 00:43:39.429
things and doesn't want to be a part of it, I'm

00:43:39.429 --> 00:43:42.349
like, they don't know because they don't know

00:43:42.349 --> 00:43:44.230
what it is. They have a generation that went

00:43:44.230 --> 00:43:45.750
before them to make sure that they didn't have

00:43:45.750 --> 00:43:48.429
to. And I said, but when you don't talk about

00:43:48.429 --> 00:43:50.170
it and you try to do everything you can to keep

00:43:50.170 --> 00:43:51.949
it silent, that's when people pick up the trend

00:43:51.949 --> 00:43:53.550
of like, it's just so hard. And it's because

00:43:53.550 --> 00:43:55.469
I'm a black person. I don't look at myself as

00:43:55.469 --> 00:43:57.030
a black person. I just consider myself someone

00:43:57.030 --> 00:43:58.769
that's got a slightly better tan than the rest

00:43:58.769 --> 00:44:00.650
of the world. And you don't need to work for

00:44:00.650 --> 00:44:03.150
it. No, no. And I mean, like, but I mean, like,

00:44:03.190 --> 00:44:05.769
it took a work to get me there. You know, as

00:44:05.769 --> 00:44:07.769
a person of faith, I look at every single person

00:44:07.769 --> 00:44:09.309
that I've looked up to. You know, David was a

00:44:09.309 --> 00:44:10.849
great king, but he had to go through the life.

00:44:11.309 --> 00:44:13.849
You know, Daniel was a great philosopher who

00:44:13.849 --> 00:44:15.909
was there to be an advisor to the kings that

00:44:15.909 --> 00:44:18.159
helped shape. the old ancient world where he

00:44:18.159 --> 00:44:20.139
was, but that didn't take the lines then away.

00:44:20.500 --> 00:44:23.420
Jonah had to go through the well. Esther almost

00:44:23.420 --> 00:44:25.360
had to go through extinction and extermination

00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:28.019
of her people and herself in the process. Christ

00:44:28.019 --> 00:44:29.980
himself had to come down and endure the cross.

00:44:30.440 --> 00:44:32.780
You know, every single person that has wanted

00:44:32.780 --> 00:44:35.300
to do anything, you with your school, the benefits

00:44:35.300 --> 00:44:37.639
that you have now came because you were somebody

00:44:37.639 --> 00:44:39.579
that was saying something that a lot of other

00:44:39.579 --> 00:44:41.679
people were hoping somebody had the bravery to

00:44:41.679 --> 00:44:43.280
say. So let's talk about those benefits. So you

00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:46.769
lost. Everybody is what you said. Who have you

00:44:46.769 --> 00:44:50.710
gained? I gained Charlie. I mean, we're not like

00:44:50.710 --> 00:44:52.949
friends, friends like that, but he's my boss

00:44:52.949 --> 00:44:55.429
and I have a great deal of respect for him because

00:44:55.429 --> 00:44:57.989
seeing what started as a vision for him to build

00:44:57.989 --> 00:45:00.170
something for the next generation of young people

00:45:00.170 --> 00:45:02.170
and I get to be a part of that is something that's

00:45:02.170 --> 00:45:04.550
monumental to me. I met some of my forever friends

00:45:04.550 --> 00:45:07.150
now through Turning Point at all of our conferences

00:45:07.150 --> 00:45:09.570
that we've had. I've had the chance to travel

00:45:09.570 --> 00:45:11.610
all over the United States to some of the nooks

00:45:11.610 --> 00:45:13.409
and crannies of this great country that make

00:45:13.409 --> 00:45:18.409
it, to me, still an unexplored like map where

00:45:18.409 --> 00:45:20.230
it's like oh this is the only place that this

00:45:20.230 --> 00:45:22.349
exists like we're known for this and like you

00:45:22.349 --> 00:45:24.349
won't find this any other place in the United

00:45:24.349 --> 00:45:26.929
States let alone the world you know there's a

00:45:26.929 --> 00:45:30.909
rich history that's here that I have had the

00:45:30.909 --> 00:45:33.210
privilege you know and it's a privilege because

00:45:33.210 --> 00:45:34.909
in the beginning I used to think it was a right

00:45:35.690 --> 00:45:37.550
But I tell everybody else doing what's right

00:45:37.550 --> 00:45:39.550
doesn't come with a reward. Doing what's right

00:45:39.550 --> 00:45:41.769
is supposed to be done simply for that because

00:45:41.769 --> 00:45:44.369
it's the right thing to do. And the sad thing

00:45:44.369 --> 00:45:46.570
for me is when I see a lot of people in our conservative

00:45:46.570 --> 00:45:48.670
space that won't speak, they won't show up, they

00:45:48.670 --> 00:45:50.309
won't talk unless they're getting paid, unless

00:45:50.309 --> 00:45:51.789
they're getting featured, and unless they're

00:45:51.789 --> 00:45:54.030
having their name put in some place for people

00:45:54.030 --> 00:45:56.130
to like recognize them. But at the end of the

00:45:56.130 --> 00:45:58.289
day, it's just like you take that away. The mission

00:45:58.289 --> 00:45:59.630
is still here. It's like we were talking about

00:45:59.630 --> 00:46:01.090
earlier. You know, Christ said to himself, he

00:46:01.090 --> 00:46:03.369
said, the work's plenty. The workers are few.

00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:05.659
As in, there's still going to be a lot for us

00:46:05.659 --> 00:46:07.260
to do. There's still going to be a lot of areas

00:46:07.260 --> 00:46:08.619
for us to get involved. There's still going to

00:46:08.619 --> 00:46:10.480
be a lot of areas where we need people to step

00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:12.400
up, but very few people are actually going to

00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:15.039
because they lack the integrity and they lack

00:46:15.039 --> 00:46:17.800
the courage. And integrity and courage are byproducts

00:46:17.800 --> 00:46:19.900
of people who are grounded in truth. And it's

00:46:19.900 --> 00:46:21.679
not the subjective thing that changes. It's the

00:46:21.679 --> 00:46:23.739
objective person of Jesus Christ himself because

00:46:23.739 --> 00:46:26.000
he calls himself that. He's the way, the truth,

00:46:26.059 --> 00:46:27.860
and the life. You follow him, he'll guide you.

00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:29.639
I was like, you get life through him because

00:46:29.639 --> 00:46:31.920
his way leads to longevity. And I was like, and

00:46:31.920 --> 00:46:33.409
he gives you the truth because he's. got the

00:46:33.409 --> 00:46:35.150
answer for every circumstance and situation that

00:46:35.150 --> 00:46:37.710
we find ourselves in today and so that's why

00:46:37.710 --> 00:46:39.710
he was ingrained in every part of our government

00:46:39.710 --> 00:46:42.110
because he was always supposed to be the beacon

00:46:42.110 --> 00:46:44.110
that we look to at the end of the day to rule

00:46:44.110 --> 00:46:47.409
justly I was like to provide and to also give

00:46:47.409 --> 00:46:50.119
guidance and peace Because in Psalms, it says,

00:46:50.119 --> 00:46:51.659
blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

00:46:51.760 --> 00:46:54.000
And we have a rich history of seeing when Israel

00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:56.019
turned away what happened. But we also see when

00:46:56.019 --> 00:46:58.300
people turn to God what he did for them. And

00:46:58.300 --> 00:47:00.559
we're in a critical place right now where we

00:47:00.559 --> 00:47:03.239
are in a position to either go back to where

00:47:03.239 --> 00:47:05.579
we were, a country on the verge of collapse,

00:47:05.780 --> 00:47:07.579
where we weren't able to recognize ourselves

00:47:07.579 --> 00:47:10.239
and it was going to be bad, or to finally do

00:47:10.239 --> 00:47:12.380
what we've known all along, which is to do what's

00:47:12.380 --> 00:47:15.300
right by our creator first. Because we have these

00:47:15.300 --> 00:47:18.019
rights because of our creator. You know, this

00:47:18.019 --> 00:47:20.980
is. just the byproduct of all of that and how

00:47:20.980 --> 00:47:24.219
did your dad feel about you now uh he passed

00:47:24.219 --> 00:47:28.260
so yeah i'm sorry so i'm um but he did he get

00:47:28.260 --> 00:47:31.380
to at least see you step into this role yeah

00:47:31.380 --> 00:47:32.940
everything that you're doing how did he feel

00:47:32.940 --> 00:47:35.739
when he saw that i told him that i'm you know

00:47:35.739 --> 00:47:38.059
tell me that he was proud of me and you know

00:47:38.059 --> 00:47:41.280
that's the only thing that anyone can that anyone

00:47:41.280 --> 00:47:44.920
can hope for you know and um i'm sorry you passed

00:47:44.920 --> 00:47:50.800
no i mean like he's He's been a big part in my

00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:54.019
life and stuff. And, you know, I tell everybody,

00:47:54.059 --> 00:47:55.760
it's just like, you know, you as parents, it's

00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:58.000
just like, even though you don't see it right

00:47:58.000 --> 00:48:00.739
away, the things that you keep repeating over

00:48:00.739 --> 00:48:03.300
your kids, they'll get it eventually. I was like,

00:48:03.400 --> 00:48:05.980
that's instilling things in them. You know, making

00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:07.900
sure that over time, because, you know. It sounds

00:48:07.900 --> 00:48:09.760
like, though, he taught you great things. Well,

00:48:09.780 --> 00:48:11.699
I mean, like, trust me, I gave him and every

00:48:11.699 --> 00:48:16.670
other person that knows me a headache. You know,

00:48:16.710 --> 00:48:19.289
but I'm a work in progress. And the only time

00:48:19.289 --> 00:48:20.849
I'm ever going to be complete is when I go to

00:48:20.849 --> 00:48:23.329
meet my maker someday. And on my tombstone, the

00:48:23.329 --> 00:48:24.889
only thing it's going to say, project complete.

00:48:24.989 --> 00:48:27.909
Thank you for your patience. Your sisters and

00:48:27.909 --> 00:48:30.110
your mom. I love my sisters and everything else.

00:48:30.150 --> 00:48:32.730
And so all of them have been a pivotal part in

00:48:32.730 --> 00:48:34.570
what I'm doing now. They're all proud of me.

00:48:34.829 --> 00:48:37.489
They all support everything that I've been doing.

00:48:37.590 --> 00:48:39.429
And they're the people that I look to whenever

00:48:39.429 --> 00:48:41.670
I still find myself questioning a lot of things.

00:48:41.829 --> 00:48:43.670
And so there's community and family, which is

00:48:43.670 --> 00:48:46.190
why it's important. That nucleus, that nuclear

00:48:46.190 --> 00:48:48.929
family, it's really life -saving. Where do they

00:48:48.929 --> 00:48:50.949
live? Do they live in Arizona? No, everyone is

00:48:50.949 --> 00:48:53.730
in New Jersey. I'm the only one that is in Arizona.

00:48:55.230 --> 00:48:58.469
Okay. And, you know, for anybody watching this

00:48:58.469 --> 00:49:02.030
right now, what advice would you give them if

00:49:02.030 --> 00:49:03.590
they're going through a cancellation journey?

00:49:03.949 --> 00:49:06.650
If they're experiencing, you know, just that

00:49:06.650 --> 00:49:09.349
beat down that the media gives you where you

00:49:09.349 --> 00:49:11.610
just feel like everything you've done feels like

00:49:11.610 --> 00:49:15.050
it's for nothing. What advice would you give

00:49:15.050 --> 00:49:17.289
them? If it's not you, it's going to be somebody

00:49:17.289 --> 00:49:20.510
else. So stick it through so that you're the

00:49:20.510 --> 00:49:23.570
one that actually. gets the benefit of it you

00:49:23.570 --> 00:49:26.849
know because any anybody that's been at the precipice

00:49:26.849 --> 00:49:29.369
of giving up and whatnot when we've seen people

00:49:29.369 --> 00:49:32.190
that we look up to and aspire to be like quit

00:49:32.190 --> 00:49:34.389
and give up we lose so much respect for them

00:49:34.389 --> 00:49:39.179
you know and a lot of people put it on um subjective

00:49:39.179 --> 00:49:40.659
things that really don't matter much, superficial

00:49:40.659 --> 00:49:42.440
things like, oh, I don't have the following.

00:49:42.559 --> 00:49:44.900
I don't have like the influence. I'm like, neither

00:49:44.900 --> 00:49:46.579
did half of the people that did this. They were

00:49:46.579 --> 00:49:48.760
people that when the mic was hot and it was open

00:49:48.760 --> 00:49:51.019
for anyone to come and say something, they stood

00:49:51.019 --> 00:49:52.519
up and they took it and then they just ran with

00:49:52.519 --> 00:49:57.519
it. You know, so it's be like living the truth

00:49:57.519 --> 00:49:59.780
every single day so that when truth is challenged,

00:49:59.900 --> 00:50:01.699
you're someone that's ready to step up and actually

00:50:01.699 --> 00:50:03.980
defend it. You know, because you have so many

00:50:03.980 --> 00:50:06.860
people that. talk a good game but then when it

00:50:06.860 --> 00:50:08.659
comes time to actually stand for something it's

00:50:08.659 --> 00:50:10.139
like they got nothing to say because if they

00:50:10.139 --> 00:50:11.780
do then they know all the skeletons that they've

00:50:11.780 --> 00:50:13.920
tried to bury are going to come out and what

00:50:13.920 --> 00:50:16.800
would you say to anybody that's feeling depressed

00:50:16.800 --> 00:50:20.280
feeling down what words of encouragement could

00:50:20.280 --> 00:50:22.320
you give them to get out of that feeling down

00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:27.300
and depression is like it's seasonal it really

00:50:27.300 --> 00:50:31.730
is it it comes and goes you know And the journey

00:50:31.730 --> 00:50:33.769
to get out of it is hard, but it's a journey

00:50:33.769 --> 00:50:36.369
that once you're out is worth it. You know, I

00:50:36.369 --> 00:50:40.630
know it's difficult, but anything that's worth

00:50:40.630 --> 00:50:42.909
having always is. Because if it were easy, everyone

00:50:42.909 --> 00:50:46.550
would be doing it. You know, everyone gets disappointed

00:50:46.550 --> 00:50:48.869
in life. That's the misconception that a lot

00:50:48.869 --> 00:50:50.869
of people fail to remember is that they think

00:50:50.869 --> 00:50:52.030
that when they're going through something, it's

00:50:52.030 --> 00:50:54.469
only happening to them. It's only them that's

00:50:54.469 --> 00:50:57.170
going through it. It's, you know, like all of

00:50:57.170 --> 00:51:01.969
these things that are happening. they feel like

00:51:01.969 --> 00:51:03.630
the only way to like get through it is to isolate

00:51:03.630 --> 00:51:05.909
and kind of separate themselves. You know, that's

00:51:05.909 --> 00:51:07.980
the temptation. But everyone goes through it.

00:51:08.079 --> 00:51:10.340
Everyone has a story of when they wanted something,

00:51:10.519 --> 00:51:12.300
worked for something, and like they didn't get

00:51:12.300 --> 00:51:14.360
the result or like people got rude or like all

00:51:14.360 --> 00:51:16.239
this other stuff. That's disappointment. That's

00:51:16.239 --> 00:51:18.079
what connects us all. Discouragement is where

00:51:18.079 --> 00:51:19.639
it's different because discouragement is when

00:51:19.639 --> 00:51:21.460
you refuse to be hopeful. Discouragement is when

00:51:21.460 --> 00:51:23.119
you refuse to work through it. Discouragement

00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:25.019
is when you just want to be negative Nancy to

00:51:25.019 --> 00:51:27.179
every single person that you talk to and every

00:51:27.179 --> 00:51:28.780
group and every social setting that you walk

00:51:28.780 --> 00:51:30.380
into. You just want to be bringing everybody

00:51:30.380 --> 00:51:31.860
down so that they're on the same level as you

00:51:31.860 --> 00:51:33.340
because the saying is true. Misery loves company.

00:51:33.980 --> 00:51:36.849
You know, so it's like. When you're somebody

00:51:36.849 --> 00:51:38.969
that can take those kinds of things and realize

00:51:38.969 --> 00:51:41.969
that this happens and you try to find a way out

00:51:41.969 --> 00:51:43.670
of it, that's when things change. Now, I mean,

00:51:43.690 --> 00:51:46.030
like I say that and it sounds stereotypical,

00:51:46.070 --> 00:51:49.570
but it's true. If you've heard it a lot of times,

00:51:49.690 --> 00:51:51.889
it's because there's truth to it. The only way

00:51:51.889 --> 00:51:53.829
that you work through these kinds of situations

00:51:53.829 --> 00:51:56.610
is simply that by working through them, sitting

00:51:56.610 --> 00:51:58.670
there and letting it just beat you down and wear

00:51:58.670 --> 00:52:00.789
on you is only going to lead to the inevitable

00:52:00.789 --> 00:52:03.510
outcome that we all know is coming next. I was

00:52:03.510 --> 00:52:05.809
like people that look for any type of direction,

00:52:05.949 --> 00:52:07.630
because if you really want it that bad, you're

00:52:07.630 --> 00:52:08.929
not going to let anybody, you're not going to

00:52:08.929 --> 00:52:10.269
let any circumstance, you're not going to let

00:52:10.269 --> 00:52:12.510
anything that one doesn't know who you are, doesn't

00:52:12.510 --> 00:52:13.909
even know your name, could care less about your

00:52:13.909 --> 00:52:15.409
schedule, your family, your background or your

00:52:15.409 --> 00:52:17.369
past. Now try to come in here and tell you that

00:52:17.369 --> 00:52:18.789
this is the best that you got to have for yourself.

00:52:19.329 --> 00:52:21.110
You know, if you don't believe that you're worth

00:52:21.110 --> 00:52:22.449
fighting for, you're never going to convince

00:52:22.449 --> 00:52:24.570
anybody to hop on board with anything that you're

00:52:24.570 --> 00:52:26.829
doing. You know, at the end of the day, people

00:52:26.829 --> 00:52:29.230
who see your story and look and see it just like,

00:52:29.289 --> 00:52:31.449
what was it like? We are we like how many schools

00:52:31.449 --> 00:52:33.190
I go to where the students are just like, look

00:52:33.190 --> 00:52:35.449
here, the school board and the parents are just

00:52:35.449 --> 00:52:37.030
like, what do you think I should do with my kid?

00:52:37.150 --> 00:52:39.769
I'm like, listen, I am not a parent yet. I want

00:52:39.769 --> 00:52:41.650
to be a father and I want to be a husband someday.

00:52:41.809 --> 00:52:43.730
But that's the next goal that I have for myself.

00:52:44.150 --> 00:52:46.730
You know, but I'm in these schools to learn now

00:52:46.730 --> 00:52:49.349
how to fight for my kids when I do have them.

00:52:49.679 --> 00:52:51.860
And I tell parents, I'm just like, if this is

00:52:51.860 --> 00:52:54.059
the truth, you got to look for a way to say it.

00:52:54.059 --> 00:52:55.460
Because I said, the only reason it's happening

00:52:55.460 --> 00:52:57.079
is because people who know otherwise are being

00:52:57.079 --> 00:52:59.519
quiet. And remember the saying in the early in

00:52:59.519 --> 00:53:01.739
like 2020, that's like silence is violence. I'm

00:53:01.739 --> 00:53:03.659
like, no, it's not. It's consent. Because when

00:53:03.659 --> 00:53:06.550
you don't step up and voice your opinion. to

00:53:06.550 --> 00:53:08.590
actually call out evil when you see it, then

00:53:08.590 --> 00:53:10.530
you give everybody else permission to now push

00:53:10.530 --> 00:53:12.690
the envelope even further, which is why when

00:53:12.690 --> 00:53:14.369
it went from, oh, love is love and just love

00:53:14.369 --> 00:53:16.809
whoever you want, now it's just like you have

00:53:16.809 --> 00:53:19.230
teachers that are more concerned with showing

00:53:19.230 --> 00:53:21.309
their students how gay they are rather than teaching

00:53:21.309 --> 00:53:23.030
them work that's actually going to make them

00:53:23.030 --> 00:53:24.730
better citizens for the world where people swear

00:53:24.730 --> 00:53:27.199
there are no good people anymore. You know, that's

00:53:27.199 --> 00:53:29.760
why you have so many people now that are so disoriented

00:53:29.760 --> 00:53:31.559
in this illusion, because a lot of people have

00:53:31.559 --> 00:53:33.559
been quiet. And if more people were to, if more

00:53:33.559 --> 00:53:35.800
men were to tell these boys, you're not, you're

00:53:35.800 --> 00:53:38.019
not a girl. God made you a boy. There'd be more

00:53:38.019 --> 00:53:40.420
men out there wearing socks and shorts instead

00:53:40.420 --> 00:53:43.869
of skirts and stockings, you know? All of these

00:53:43.869 --> 00:53:47.130
kinds of things. There'd be less guys that are

00:53:47.130 --> 00:53:49.269
out there trying to take advantage of women in

00:53:49.269 --> 00:53:51.010
vulnerable positions if there were more strong

00:53:51.010 --> 00:53:53.690
men to actually be the barrier around them to

00:53:53.690 --> 00:53:55.650
be like, this is not how men act. And if we as

00:53:55.650 --> 00:54:00.030
men see that. Of course. You know, and it all

00:54:00.030 --> 00:54:03.190
starts there. It starts with adults knowing that

00:54:03.190 --> 00:54:05.070
this is what you want and doing it in your own

00:54:05.070 --> 00:54:07.349
space because you can't talk to people on a national

00:54:07.349 --> 00:54:09.110
and a global level in a place that you're not

00:54:09.110 --> 00:54:11.369
doing privately because you can't practice it

00:54:11.369 --> 00:54:13.289
in that moment because you're not seasoned and

00:54:13.289 --> 00:54:15.250
ready for it. So you're just going to make a

00:54:15.250 --> 00:54:17.429
bigger disaster and mess out of it. So to anyone

00:54:17.429 --> 00:54:19.409
who's here and anyone who's listening, my message

00:54:19.409 --> 00:54:21.989
to you is Jesus loves you very much. He created

00:54:21.989 --> 00:54:24.530
you. because he has a purpose and plan for it.

00:54:24.530 --> 00:54:25.690
And the only way for you to figure that out is

00:54:25.690 --> 00:54:27.570
to know him. And everyone thinks that, ah, I

00:54:27.570 --> 00:54:28.949
just don't want to, it's this and that. It's

00:54:28.949 --> 00:54:30.690
just like, regardless of where you fall and where

00:54:30.690 --> 00:54:33.869
you fail. All of these things are designed because

00:54:33.869 --> 00:54:36.170
a lot of people are showing their true colors

00:54:36.170 --> 00:54:38.110
in the world we live in now. You have so many

00:54:38.110 --> 00:54:39.670
people that started good, but when the money

00:54:39.670 --> 00:54:41.570
wasn't there, they stopped showing up. You had

00:54:41.570 --> 00:54:43.250
a lot of people that said all the good things,

00:54:43.309 --> 00:54:44.889
but it's just like when they had opportunities

00:54:44.889 --> 00:54:47.570
to actually go and do more and know what it was

00:54:47.570 --> 00:54:49.010
going to require and what they got in exchange,

00:54:49.269 --> 00:54:51.829
they took a step back. There's never going to

00:54:51.829 --> 00:54:53.889
be a shortage of people that we need for the

00:54:53.889 --> 00:54:55.849
things that are coming up because we're on the

00:54:55.849 --> 00:54:57.969
precipice of winning just a battle. The last

00:54:57.969 --> 00:55:00.329
four years was a battle. It wasn't the war. That's

00:55:00.329 --> 00:55:02.519
not the end goal. We have everything that we

00:55:02.519 --> 00:55:04.199
still need to fight for now. We got the territory

00:55:04.199 --> 00:55:06.699
back. Now we need to continue to push all the

00:55:06.699 --> 00:55:09.239
nonsense out and then establish a barrier so

00:55:09.239 --> 00:55:11.260
that whatever is out there knows that if you

00:55:11.260 --> 00:55:12.539
come here, this is what's going to happen to

00:55:12.539 --> 00:55:16.679
you. Mr. Anthony Watson, I'm so happy that you

00:55:16.679 --> 00:55:19.880
came on our show. I'm so happy that you are who

00:55:19.880 --> 00:55:22.940
you are, who you became. You're a powerful man,

00:55:23.099 --> 00:55:25.739
and you have a lot to say, and I love your opinions.

00:55:25.900 --> 00:55:29.800
And those of you out there. God loves you. There's

00:55:29.800 --> 00:55:31.679
no question. We love you. The purpose of our

00:55:31.679 --> 00:55:34.460
show is to give a mouthpiece for those who don't

00:55:34.460 --> 00:55:36.260
feel they've been able to share their stories.

00:55:36.360 --> 00:55:38.599
I hope you feel a little bit lighter even today

00:55:38.599 --> 00:55:40.739
being on our show. No, I really do. Thank you,

00:55:40.760 --> 00:55:43.920
guys. How do you feel being on our show? I feel

00:55:43.920 --> 00:55:47.159
good. I was really tired these past couple weeks

00:55:47.159 --> 00:55:50.869
because I'm on the road a lot. You know, it's

00:55:50.869 --> 00:55:54.010
like giving, giving, it drains you. And this

00:55:54.010 --> 00:55:55.989
was actually nice to actually just like sit back

00:55:55.989 --> 00:55:58.409
and just like have a conversation. I can't tell

00:55:58.409 --> 00:56:00.170
you the last time I've actually done that. It's

00:56:00.170 --> 00:56:01.929
a little therapeutic, right? Yeah, just sitting

00:56:01.929 --> 00:56:03.510
and having a conversation with people. I know

00:56:03.510 --> 00:56:05.230
there are cameras on us and whatnot, but just

00:56:05.230 --> 00:56:06.730
like to be sit here and it's like, you know,

00:56:06.750 --> 00:56:08.610
it's just like, so tell us about yourself. I'm

00:56:08.610 --> 00:56:10.809
like, oh, wow. I was like, I don't know the last

00:56:10.809 --> 00:56:13.309
time someone asked me that. You're an awesome

00:56:13.309 --> 00:56:15.230
guest, awesome human being. Thank you for your

00:56:15.230 --> 00:56:16.889
time. Thank you so much for letting me be here.

00:56:16.969 --> 00:56:18.329
Very generous, generous soul. Appreciate you

00:56:18.329 --> 00:56:19.929
very much. Appreciate you guys. Thank you. Thank

00:56:19.929 --> 00:56:21.050
you for being strong. Always.