Barbell Shrugged - Losing A Father and Learning Forgive Doesn’t Mean Forget w/ Kory Cook  — Feed Me Fuel Me #112

Episode Date: November 8, 2018

Before Kory launched Korporate Wellness, he was tested numerous times. Life attempted to derail him or test his commitment in every way imaginable. The greatest test came by way of his father leaving him and his mother when bottom fell out of the economy. To say he's lived a life of constant transition since then would be an understatement.     We caught up with Kory not long after he reconnected with his father. His outlook on their relationship will leave you with a breath of hope. He has become a success despite his many transitions and the absence of his father. This week on Feed Me Fuel Me we sit down with Kory, now thriving and coaching at CrossFit 760, to discover how he developed the strength to forgive!   Enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Show notes: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/fmfm_cook ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ► Subscribe to Shrugged Collective's Channel Here http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedSubscribe 📲 🎧 Listen to the audio version on the Apple Podcast App or Stitcher for Android Here- http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedApple http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedStitcher Shrugged Collective is a network of fitness, health and performance shows that help people achieve their physical and mental health goals.  Usually in the gym, but outside as well. In 2012 they posted their first Barbell Shrugged podcast and have been putting out weekly free videos and podcasts ever since. Along the way we've created successful online coaching programs including The Shrugged Strength Challenge, The Muscle Gain Challenge, FLIGHT, Barbell Shredded, and Barbell Bikini. We're also dedicated to helping affiliate gym owners grow their businesses and better serve their members by providing owners tools and resources like the Barbell Business Podcast. Find Shrugged Collective and their flagship show Barbell Shrugged here: SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES ► http://bit.ly/ShruggedCollectiveiTunes WEBSITE ► https://www.ShruggedCollective.com INSTAGRAM ► https://instagram.com/shruggedcollective FACEBOOK ► https://facebook.com/barbellshruggedpodcast TWITTER ► http://twitter.com/barbellshrugged

This is episode number 112 of the Feed Me, Fuel Me podcast with our special guest, coach at CrossFit 760, Corey Cook. Welcome to the Feed Me, Fuel Me podcast. My name is Jeff Thornton, alongside my co-host, Michael Anders. Each week, we bring you an inspiring person or message related to our three pillars of success, manifestation, business, fitness, and nutrition. Our intent is to enrich, educate, and empower our audience to take action, control, and accountability for their decisions. Thank you for allowing us to join you on your journey.

Now let's get started. Hey, what's good, fam? Welcome to another episode of the Feed Me, Feel Me podcast. There's Jeff coming to you from Oceanside, California today with Corey Cook. What's up, baby? What's up? Just chilling, man. Good to see you guys out here. Man, you guys look great, dude. I'm just trying to keep up, bro. the uh there's there's a a transitional thing going on in the universe right now and i feel like you've been receiving a lot of that energy lately um you know taking the trip down from from uh cabo where i met you back up to norcal uh your homeland and now you've uh settled in in the oc and uh dude watching watching your growth as a coach and everything that you're now bringing to the table, not only in the way you deliver coaching,

but also the way that you're exemplifying what you coach in your lifestyle is massive, dude. So how's everything going? I appreciate it a lot, Ders. Jeff, it's good to see you too, man. Good to see you, baby. Yeah, last time we talked, guys, like what's everything going? I appreciate a lot. There's Jeff's good to see you too, man Yeah, last time we talked guys like what February 2017 and yeah Yeah, man a lot of change been going on and I've been seeing change on on your guys's front You know you guys always work super hard and I appreciate the kind words man, and you know

But you know like seeing your guys's progression man And you know there's like. But, you know, like, seeing your guys' progression, man, and, you know, Durs, like, I know that, you know, you've always been a man of working hard ever since, like, the day I met you. And, you know, it's pretty funny to see how you guys have really progressed as well, man. And, you know, I kind of see what you guys are doing, and I kind of get fired up off of that. And I hope that, you know, same thing it sounds like for you. And it's pretty funny kind of training this morning, man. That was cool to kind of come in and throw down. Like, you know, I was kind of hanging out, kind of settled down

with my breakfast and then like, you know, Durs and Jeff hit the door and then Matt's over there filming too. And all of a sudden I'm like, oh dude, it's go time. But yeah, man, it's funny Durs to just kind of see just kind of your path, dude. You know, you walked in, it was training time and I'm like, Durs, what up? You know, you kind of gave me some dabs and then you're just like cruising around the gym. Like, all right. So I think it's good to see, bro, that, you know, we got the yin to the yang and Jeff, don't let him be working too hard. You know, you got to make him laugh once in a while. But yeah, man, change. Change has been good. You know, it's pretty easy to kind of feel comfortable in where we are and, you know, anybody can have a good job.

And, you know, maybe there's certain aspects that don't really go your way within that job. But there's other aspects that you can kind of hold on to and be proud of what you're doing at work. And, you know, at the end of the day, if you're dragging your wagon a little bit and just kind of comfortable, you know, you got your good pay. You're comfortable. You know, you're working with your people. It's familiar. Yeah. And then so just kind

of overcoming change and coming down to the Southern California here, it's always been on my radar. I've always, always truly enjoyed it. That's why I was living in Santa Cruz and commuting an hour a day to work in the South Bay. And everybody was like, how come you don't want to just live in the South Bay? And I was like, three streets up from the beach, man, that's kind of hard to turn down. And I was very lucky that I was living with some good friends. And it was nice to kind of keep work and my social life a little separate at that point. And, you know, when I was at work, it was work, right? Just kind of how you guys vibe, right? You know, when it's time to knuckle down and work. But when you can kind of take a step back and have a good

time doing it, man, like that's what it's all about. So just kind of overcoming that change and coming down here and you know i'm 29 years old gonna be turning 30 here pretty soon and you're fucking old bro man i got a couple grays in here man a couple grays in here kind of popping up out of nowhere bro and uh and just overcoming that change and and at first it's really easy to kind of look at your current situation and say why me why me and you know here we are six months down the road and yeah i'm really starting to see why sure i'm really easy to kind of look at your current situation and say, why me? Why me? And, you know, here we are six months down the road and I'm really starting to see why I'm really starting to see why. And, you know, big shout out to NC and my man, Jason, and everybody on the back end, who's busting their butt over there to, to obviously promote the type of product and the type of program that they run, dude, like nothing but love up there. And, you know, after being

there for about three years and that was, you know, kind of getting back to what I was saying, you know, it's easy to be comfortable. It's easy to overlook your own happiness because I was running a good program. I'd show up every day. All my members were so excited for us to be there and train. And, you know, I'd go home, and I'd be pretty talked out. You know, I'd be busting my hump out there for about six or seven hours a day with the book ended with a commute up and down on each side. And during the rainy season,

that commute turned into an hour and a half to two hours. So, you know, man, and just... A lot of time for podcasting. Dude. I would listen to YouTube videos and try to memorize lyrics, right? Just, you know, just anything you can do. But overcoming that change, man, I just kind of uprooted and made the moves to come down here. Yeah. I'm very lucky that I had a best friend who welcomed me with open arms, and he's like, hey, brother, move down.

You got a few months to figure it out and kind of get your stuff together. Dude, walk us through that because you touched on it after we were training today, which was absolutely horrible for me, by the way. I'm like still reeling from it. But you described a situation that us in the military are very familiar with but is, as I've come to find, almost none-existent out here in the civilian world, where you call a buddy, you kind of walk them through where you're at, why you're going through what you're going through, and then, like you said, anybody can give you a couple of dollars when you need it or whatever, but not everybody is willing to give you time, you know what I mean,

and really help you through your situation. So what is it that your boy that you describe as your best friend, what did he do for you? Man, what hasn't he done for me? Right. Like straight up, right. So just like we were saying, man, it's, you know, you got your buddies who you can kind of run into. What up, man? You know, how's life?

And kind of touch pretty surface level stuff and just kind of steer the conversation that way. And all right, man. Good to see you, brother. Glad you're healthy. And then you walk away. Being a positive person, you want nothing for success for anybody. But then you have that core group of friends that you can call up and be like, dude, this is what happened. And you can be real.

And what's cool about that is they'll be honest with you. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's easy for us to be kind of rooted and kind of look at what we do and be like, oh, here's my path. Here's what I'm doing. And have this best friend be like, yeah, you've already done that. That didn't turn out so good for you. And really kind of make you take a step back and be real. And just be real, man.

And it's easy for somebody to just ask for help and give you a couple bucks there, but it's the time. It's them opening up their doors for you. He knew exactly what I was going through, gave me the few months to move down and just basically figure it out. Yeah. And so I was moving down in June and I called him up. I was going to make the drive, loaded up my truck, rented a U- u-haul packed up everything i had within a month to make the move and i called him up and i'm like hey bro uh if i buy you a plane ticket what do you say you come down with me and he was fired up he's like oh dude like i can't think any way i'd want to spend 10 hours in a single single cab truck with my best friend you

know and so uh he flew in at like 10 o'clock on like a Thursday night. And I picked him up from the airport in the truck and literally got on the I-5 and drove down here. And he was there for me, man. And, you know, later in the show, we'll probably be able to touch on a little bit more. But he was there for me and even is to this day, you know. And I love him to death. And I truly feel like I wouldn't be where I'm at today if I didn't have him having my back. And I'm very lucky that I've had friends that I've known. I've known him since I was seven years old.

Yeah, I am. And like a year ago, a few months ago, or six months ago, something like that. A year, six months, something in that range. We were kind of sitting down talking. And one of our buddies was like, how long have you guys known each other? And he goes, since we were like seven. And I was like, yeah, the majority of my life, I've known you. I've known you longer than anything else in my life.

You know, and it's just like we have a vernacular and inside jokes that I could talk about that nobody else would have any idea what we're talking about. But to him and I, it makes all the sense in the world. And he's just been there for me. And, you know, when I was going through some tough stuff moving out of my aunt's house, he was there with a truck to help me unload. And, you know, whenever I'd call him up and ask him for anything, dude, he was there. And it's just really tough to kind of find that nowadays. It's, it's easy for people to kind of be like, yeah, bro, I got your back. And then, you know, you call them up and they're just not there. And, and he's just always been there. And, and, you know, and, and, and my reception to that is I'm going to be there even more for him when

he needs that, you know, and because I know that he's got my back and, and just, just to be real and let me know what I'm going through is, you know, he's pretty tough and whatever, man. Like if you got your buddies to help you out and it's so easy to look at our circumstance and everything we're experiencing currently and, and, and have them help you get through that. Sure. And you just kind of take a step back and reevaluate what's really important to you. Yeah. What's really important to me is my family.

It's my health. It's their health, you know. And that I'm happy. Yeah. And what's going to really make me happy and wake up every day and be excited to live my life. Yeah. Dude, and going through that transition, talking about transition talking about like happiness and you know, energy, cause you, you're a high energy positive individual moving from one location to the next. Did you feel like an energy shift in

you? Like trying to get motivation moving from like Northern California to like Southern California, cause it's a different vibe and you pick it up and just trying to get in the flow of things. How was that transition for you? Yeah, it did. Yeah, definitely tough. You know, it's kind of weird trying to make friends when you're 30. Seriously, like, you know, it's, you know, everyone's kind of, they got their career, they got their core group of friends, you know, they got their projection for what they want to do. And, you know, making that change was definitely a little tough for me. Very outgoing person. I'd like to believe that I'm very positive, but, you know, just like anybody else,

man, you get kicked in the teeth, you kind of wear it a little bit. And I would truly say, like, when I first moved down here, I was definitely excited to be here, but I wasn't, like, pumped. I didn't have a direction. I moved down here without a guaranteed job. All I knew was I had a place to stay and I had some friends that lived here. And I was like, well, you know, went through whatever I went through up north. It's time for a change and move down here. And, you know, to kind of turn it around, I went inward. Once I said really, really evaluated what was going to make me happy.

And I kind of went inward and I saw trends of kind of going through the stuff that I went through and I would unhealthily eat. I would eat processed food.. I would, I would eat processed food. I, I love cookies, bro. Like, like that is, that is my one thing. Like no matter how healthy I can eat, like if I see that, like a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, I got it, you know, like that's my one thing, but I went inward, man. And you know, I, I kind of took a step back and looked at the trends that I was making over the course of my life to where I would kind of encounter something tough and I would rely on food. And I would eat very unhealthy and I would kind of eat my feelings.

And I would say there was kind of points where, you know, I was very healthy and I ate very well and then I kind of would experience something and then there would be the unhealthy eating. And then I'd have an uh-oh moment where I woke up one day and was like, oh, yeah, a little thick around the edges here. And then and then I reevaluate. And then basically I've done macro counting. I've done zone. I've done low carb, high fat. I've done I'm not keto doesn't necessarily look like something that I would like to do for the for my longevity. If people are into keto and and they want to eat healthy and they see good positive stuff from it, like by all means, whatever's going to fit within their lifestyle, dude, like go do that. Like, you know, and if they can evaluate what they're eating and they say, this makes me feel good. I'm sleeping better. My health feels good. And I want to eat this way

then by all means. Um, but I just, I just really reevaluated. And so what I did was, um, I saw that unhealthy eating habit and I said to myself, I said, okay, you're living in San Diego. It is a very social environment. People, you know, they finish work, they want to go out and grab drinks and you'll get appetizers. But saying that those people are still very active. Like they're the type of people that they're going to get off work. They're going to, they're going to bust their ass in the gym for an hour. And then they're going to go celebrate and have fun Which which is great, you know, if you could live that that life of balance. Mm-hmm Yeah, by all means but with that transition period I was going through I wasn't in that mind frame

I wasn't in a place to where I could develop the balance Like I kind of basically looked inwards and just kind of locked myself down. I said to myself, okay, you know You're if anything right now you're not working. So you're gonna train twice a day And and with that that's to require you to sleep. That's going to require you to eat well. And that's just going to, I basically looked at the physical aspects of that to try to get my mind right and help me get over that change. And so all I did, honestly, man, everybody wants the crazy diet pill and, you know, how do I lose the 20 pounds in the two and a half months like I did? And I ate real food.

All the food I was eating didn't have a nutrition label. When I would shop, I would shop on the outer perimeter, you know, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, protein, little starch, little to no sugar. And I basically just cut the sugar out. So breakfast, because when I was doing, I was doing about three aerobic workouts a day, excuse me, three aerobic workouts a week with kind of supplemental accessory, functional bodybuilding type stuff, as well as CrossFit. And so what I would do was I would do my cardio in the morning. And depending on what kind of the workouts were around the gyms I was going to, then maybe sometimes I'd do some bodybuilding. And then Wednesday would kind of roll around.

I'd do my other aerobic work and then go to CrossFit. And so basically the mornings I was doing the cardio, I just have a little bit more carbs in the morning. I would just eat some oatmeal with some fruit. And so my first meal of the day would be oatmeal and fruit. Then I do my aerobic work. And then post, I would have scrambled eggs and, like, two pieces of bacon. Like, sorry, right? And then I switched from a high carb, high protein, low fat to a little bit more balanced, somewhat like zone, but I wasn't weighing and measuring. I've done it

long enough so I can kind of partition my plate and kind of understand, you know, this much protein, this much veggies, and then this much fat. I had actually gotten a lot of help from Casey Parlette, my new director of training over at CrossFit 760. The dude was a Muay Thai fighter, pro fighter, has quite a few wins under his belt. And so, you know, just hearing him talk about how he'd have to cut and what he did to cut and still maintain that strength for his fight. So I just kind of picked his brain about a few things. And then I just kind of made it work for what I was doing within that time frame. Yeah. So with the aerobic work in the morning, a little bit more carbs, the days I wasn't doing that, I just cut that back.

And then the majority of the middle of my day, so let's talk, you know, I would be up at 6 and then lunch ends at like 1. So within that parameter, I would eat my carbs. Then I'd go work out and do my CrossFit workout, protein immediately after, and then for dinner, turned into protein, veggies, and fat. And I actually found that when I was doing the high-carb stuff, I was just starving all the time. Like, my body would just burn, burn, burn, meal, five to six ounces of veggies per meal, and about 15 almonds, half avocado, roughly around five blocks. If you guys are familiar with zone,

I'm not, I'm not a hundred percent sure what the fat content breaks down to that, but just like I said, middle of the day, a little more carbs, a little more balance of protein, carbs, and fat to kind of start things off. And then dinner just ate super clean. And the only liquids I was drinking would be protein powder, coffee, and water. And then then you know once a once in a while i go out and have a couple beers but you know just really tried to lock it down and and i started to feel a lot better uh my sleeping habits definitely improved uh i i managed to lose 20 pounds in two and a half months nice nice yeah i appreciate I appreciate it, man. And I appreciate it, Darius. I appreciate it, man. And it just kind of, you know, I kind of took that step back on through all that change in the move. And that was just kind of my way of focusing on something because I wasn't working

yet. I was still in the interview process and I kind of looked inwards and I said, okay, you're in San Diego. It's really easy to go out and get a few drinks in you on a Wednesday night. But what is that really going to help you do? So just really try to lock down the nutrition, look inward, and then just really start doing stuff for myself. Sure. Try to build myself back up. Dive a little bit into the relationship that you have with Casey at CrossFit 760.

Yeah, man. Because I know you mentioned him when we were after the workout today. It sounds like he had a pretty profound impact on your mindset and, like, helping you make the move. Like describe sort of like how that relationship has helped you, you know, overcome everything that you've been going through and like getting positioned here in San Diego. Right. Cause that's a huge mindset piece when you have somebody that stands in your corner, you know? Oh man, for sure. Like case is, uh, like living proof of working hard, eating healthy, but but but enjoying your fitness outside of the gym

so you know forgive me if i'm wrong with my dates here but i'm pretty sure he's been on seminar staff since since 2008 and and being a pro fighter like he was telling me how he'd have to cut and and you know just the way that he has a personal authority about him it's like you kind of look at him and see him busting his butt and kind of hear his experiences. And you're like, man, it's kind of easy to be worried about what I'm doing, but what he's doing, like he's busting his butt and you know, he runs CrossFit 760. He's the head coach over there. And then on the weekends, he's either out mountain biking like crazy. He does mountain bike races now. Cause he stepped away from fighting or he does seminars and he teaches CrossFit. Um, and, and he just breath he just breathes and lives CrossFit 760.

And it's been incredibly refreshing to kind of come back to that kind of, you know, work hard, follow the program, eat well. He truly lives what he preaches. And so when you recognize that in him, you're like, well, I better do that too. And I, and it was actually very refreshing for me to kind of, he's not the type of person that's going to check in and be like, Hey, what'd you do on Saturday? But he, he kind of, he buys into enough of who we are as a coach and as individual that I want to be a better person because of him. And I want to be a better person because of what he's doing. And, and it's been great, man. He's helped me out a tremendous amount.

It's been, like I said, very refreshing to kind of get back to the old roots of CrossFit of, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, you know, constantly varied high-intensity functional movements. And on Thursday, we'll do what's called a 60% skill day to where I get an awesome opportunity to really coach. So basically, I'm just going to give you an example. You know, Thursday turns into 10 minutes of what we call joint rotations, just kind of lay on your back, swing the leg up and over, move the shoulders around, and then basically some very dynamic active positions that you're going to be in for the workout.

And then it's like a 40-minute AMRAP. Let's call it 800-meter run, five muscle-ups or five muscle-up transitions, a rope climb, and then there'll be like a little mini five-minute AMRAP of like inchworms and kettlebell swings. And I think what's really awesome about that when what we do as coaches, and he's paved the way and he's been writing this program for like the last, let's call it 10 years, he's really paved the way to allow us

and set us up for success in coaching. And all of a sudden, you know, I'm teaching a program to where, yeah, people might not have muscle-ups, but I get to spend time one-on-one within that 40-minute, 60% AMRAP of talking about the false grip and pulling the knuckles to the chest and get that transition. And, you know, and I'll have some people who are like, oh, well, I'm going to never do a muscle-up, so why do I need to practice this? And just when I got brought on, he, like, you know, introduced me to everybody, and for about two weeks we'd teach together.

And I would just listen to, you know, how he would conduct the program, how he would answer that question of, you know, I'm never going to do a muscle-up, so why should I train this? And then so what he would really talk about would be, hey, these positions as far as a false grip ring row, getting into the bottom of a ring dip. If you think about the position here, you're now setting yourself up for ring dips, push-ups, burpees, and any type of, you know, movement pattern like that. And so just kind of answering the why for why what CrossFit 760 is. Like, it just solidified, you know, where my values are as a coach and, and,

and just made me kind of fall in love with coaching again. You know, there was like that period of about three months where I wasn't coaching and I, I don't want to say, I like felt a little lost. I felt a little, you know, like what I identified with for the last five years of coaching, helping people, you know, just get people healthier. And, and, and I just kind of lost that and getting back into the swing of things. It's really refreshing to pick that back up and just kind of fall in love with that. And one of the biggest things that I love is, you know, he being his pro fighter and he's got his tattoos and he jokes because he's got this big gorilla tattooed on his stomach and he goes, ah, here's a dude who's got

his nose busted open with the gorilla tattoo on his stomach. But the way that he will work with our clients who are 50 and up and 60 and up is huge. And a prime example is this woman, Donna, in her 60s, shows up about two to three times a week, I'd say probably more or less on the side of two days a week. And there was like a mile run in the workout, and she was like, Corey, like, can I – she was like, Casey, excuse me, can I just do like an 800 or like a 400? And he goes, you know what, Donna, if you're going to do the 400, I'm going to allow you to do that, but this is what I want you to do, and gave her a specific purpose for why she was going to do the four versus the mile.

And just seeing the gears kind of turn her head like okay i'm gonna get this done in less than three minutes which for some people isn't the biggest victory but for her that only works out twice a week that's going to be the best mentally and physically adaptation she's going to make because there was a goal set in mind there was a why set in mind and it's his program he's been teaching that forever and you know that just all that stuff just really resonated with me and and just him being a person who's built this program, and with the help of his brother, Scott, you know, the two of them are kind of like the two-headed monster for what CrossFit 760 is. And it's, like I said, it just kind of gets back to the roots of that functional fitness in the garage-type gym

to where it's not the pretty gym that matters. It's the coaching. It's the community. It's the program. It's how you apply your fitness outside of the gym that's. It's the coaching, it's the community, it's the program, it's how you apply your fitness outside of the gym. That's going to help you for longevity in life. And just, just getting into that, like, you know, within the first two weeks, you know, I was like, dude, like, this is solid, like kind of fell in love with it again. And it's been really, really great to just kind of, you know, hit this peak, you know, you kind of had the move

and we kind of leveled out and now here I am back into kind of the swing of things. You know, I did some things personally that were to help me be in a better place to be a better coach. Yeah. And he sees that. And he's, you know, always had my back since day one and super pumped to be a part of what he is and what he does. Yeah. Speaking of the personal growth and development that you've gone through, you just recently reconnected with your dad after 10 years. Walk us through, going back to this whole transitional theme

that's going on in your life right now, I feel like that kind of gave you a ton of closure on just one massive elephant in the room for you. Walk us through what happened with your dad the last 10 years as far as that relationship has been concerned and the closure you got from this last encounter with him. Yeah, man. Ooh. So, you know, and I really appreciate that.

And, you know, Ders, this has given me an incredible opportunity to be real with myself and, you know, let people know, you know, maybe that you might have a cloudy day, but the next day is going to be sunny and you can live to get through it. And I really would like to stress in the beginning of this, I'm not going to blame anything on anybody because I truly believe we get kicked in the teeth sometimes and we get knocked over. But it's how you're going to get up and respond to that.

And I'm going to kind of just start it off as a kid, was always involved in sports, and that was just my life. Sports and my father and my mom, of course uh i'm an only child my parents had me and they were like that's it we are we are done no more no more um always involved in sports and that was just kind of my identity and my dad and i really shared that and it was it was an incredible opportunity it made me who i am today uh you know, started with Pop Warner in like sixth grade and Little League Baseball, working my way all the way up until, you know, I was a senior in high school. And so, you know, being so focused on sports, I wasn't one to go out and

party very much. I would go out and hang out and actually be a DD. I had a truck that I loved. I'm into cars. I had a Bronco that I absolutely loved. So I was down to DD, man. Like, yeah, you're drunk. Like hop in the back. I'll take you home. Like, yeah, it was just cool for me to kind of help people out in that regard. But I also am so outgoing. I don't feel like I need booze to have a good time and just be social. Sure. So man, so 18 years old, I was working with a buddy and you know, this, is the the number one scenario that really stands out in my mind here I I came home one day. I got a actually a pretty good tip from from like a construction company I was working on the the woman enjoyed me and my best friend working on her deck with our shirts off. So she happened to And so I was I was pumped. I was pumped to come home.

I was like, Dad, like, you know, I'm leaving for Santa Barbara. I was going to go to Santa Barbara City College at the end of the summer. So he's like, dude, like you've got to work like you've got to you've got to save up as much money as you can to to have this in your account. So when you go down like you don't have to rely on us so much. And no, man, I remember it like it was yesterday. I came home and my family was so incredibly close. My mom and dad were high school sweethearts. They'd been dating since they were 16 years old. And, you know, no problems from what I had seen. And I came home, and I saw my mom and dad sitting on separate sides of the couch, and they were both crying.

And I came in, and I was like, hey, guys, I got a tip. And then they're like, oh, that's great. And then I just kind of took a second, and I was like, did somebody die? Like, hey guys, I got a tip. And then they're like, oh, that's great. And then I just kind of took a second and I was like, did somebody die? I didn't know. And then all of a sudden my mom gets up and leaves. And my dad was just kind of sitting there with this just thousand mile stare in his face. And I was like, dad, what's going on? And he basically explained it to me as, I've been going through some things that I need some time to reevaluate. And I'm just going to need to take some time for myself. And I was so blindsided by this.

I was like, yeah, like, sure, like, go ahead. And my dad had always had, you know, numerous jobs to where he would travel. And the way that he would always travel and pack for his trips, everything was placed in a very nice folded, you know, he'd lay out his suitcase. That day, man, I saw him grab everything, throw it in, zip it up, and leave. And when he left, and I was just like, whoa, like this, I was like, something's pretty real. Something's going on here. And so a few weeks passed, and then kind of the truth of what he was going through kind of surfaced. He lost his mom and dad, my grandma and grandpa

within about six to eight years, six to eight months of each other. So it was pretty quick for him to do that. And then here I am kind of flying the coop. I'm 18 years old. Him and I were so close. And now I'm moving to go to Santa Barbara. And this was in 2008. So that's right when the economy like first went into the tank. And so he ended up losing his job. And because he was so down with kind of these other factors that were going on, and I really want to stress this. I don't want you guys to think that I'm blaming him for any of this. And this is not where I would like to go with this.

But he was in such a tough place that he was looking for any out. He was looking for any way that he could cope with the tough things he was going through, losing his job. And so basically, and his mom and dad. And so basically what ended up happening was he was in such a depression. He started taking medications that my grandmother had for when she was going through her cancer. And he was taking those medications and he was drinking on that. So being at such a low point and doing things like that, like that's not even, that's going to just make things worse. Sure. So he was having a really tough time and, you know, he would dress up like he was going to work and then would just go to my grandma and grandpa's house.

And he was, you know, having thoughts of suicide and he was just in a really tough place. And me being 18 years old, like I could only process so much. There was just so much change and just so much change in him that had happened and just being at such a low and a depression. So that all kind of happened the summer of me graduating high school and me moving to Santa Barbara. And then so I moved down to Santa Barbara for the year. And I kind of saw how bad it was. And my parents said that they were working on it. And there was just no talk of divorce yet. It was just kind of like, hey, like we're going through a tough

time. We're going to work on it. You know, we want you to go experience college and have a good time. So go do that. And I was like, okay, like, you know, we're talking like I would, you know, I knew that they were talking and working on things. They were going through therapy and trying to save their marriage and try to go through that. And, you know, and then I came home for Christmas. And I'd been gone for six months at this point. And then when I came home, everything was just different. It was just very different at home. And Christmas was such a big time for our family. Like, we love taking the time to buy each other thoughtful gifts.

Not the most expensive, but stuff that I'm like, hey, like, this would really help him out every day. So I'm going to get him this. And my birthday is on the 29th of December. Oh, yeah. So Christmas, December, New Year's has kind of always been kind of a big thing for my family. And moving home for moving home, excuse me, coming home for that first six months, like I just saw how different things were. And it just changed me of who I am. Because when I was at school, like I was doing whatever 18-year-old kids would have done in college.

I was going out and partying five nights a week, but I was going to class and I was getting good grades. So in my eyes, I was like, what can you tell me if I'm doing good? Right. And I was like, sure, I'm getting, I'm partying, but I'm enjoying myself and I'm getting my work done. Sure. So I moved back to school and I just started seeing like how bad things were, man. And just, just between him and my mom. And I remember specifically this was, like, kind of the turning point for me. I surprised my mom on Mother's Day. She called me up on, like, Friday and was like, hey, like, what are you doing this weekend? And I was actually en route driving home.

And I was like, oh, like, there's a party here. I'm going to hang out with my buddies, and we're just going to chill and be cool. And I just, like, totally, like, didn't even let her know that I was coming home. And then all of a sudden at 10 o'clock I show up on the doorstep and she's like, what are you doing here? And we had a great weekend and this was, this was pretty tough for me. And then, so the weekend passes and Sunday, it was time for me to go back home and she just loses it, just crying her eyes out. And she was just mentioning to me, she goes, it's so nice to see you. And she goes, I don't want you to feel anything bad about being down there and living your life. But she goes, I'm so lonely. Like I'm

trying to figure things out. And I honestly, man, it's a four hour drive to Santa Barbara. I think it's about five hour drive to Santa Barbara. I cried for about two of those hours. And it just was real, really fast. It was just so real, really fast. And my dad was going through some changes at that point and he was trying to find himself. And my mom was doing everything she could do to try to save the marriage and try to keep us together. And I'll tell you what, guys, mom and your wives hold it down. Like no matter what you are going through, mom will always hold it down, man. And in my eyes, I was like, how is she doing with this? And she just held it down and was always such a solid rock and no matter what she was going through. And so I lived out the last six months down in Santa Barbara, re-evaluated. I was like, man, I can't

be down here if this is what my family's going through. So I moved home. And it was at this point to where when my dad was going through all this tough stuff, he basically asked my mom to help him take a second mortgage out on the house because he lost his job. It was too light now. I went away to school, so we needed to pay for that. They were going through their divorce or they're kind of figuring out their separation and kind of how to make things work. And when my grandma and grandpa's house sold, the idea was to pay back the house and then

we can figure it out and kind of move on from there. Well, you know, and he basically got his cut of what the house was and decided that he wanted to pursue his retirement or wanted to pursue his other avenues for what he did and basically took some time to himself and kind of left. And that's just what it was, man. And so here I am, 19 years old, living with my mom and I just moved home. So think about going from party central, having a blast of your life to getting home and all of a sudden things were so real. There were times when I'd open up the fridge and there was no food in the fridge. And there was times when my mom and I my mom and I were, we loved funny movies.

And prime example, like, you know, this is something that sticks out to me, Mrs. Doubtfire. Hysterical movie. Until you realize it's about a divorce. And us going through that scenario in that time, we watched the movie. And I literally looked at her during the divorce scene when they split up. And I go, I can't watch this anymore. And she goes, I couldn't agree with you more. So we just like turned it off. And my mom and I were just there for each other. And we just didn't have anybody else at that point. So there was a period, man, when I was taking, I want to say about nine

units. I looked into doing the firefighting stuff and taking nine units, working three jobs. I was doing a floor trainer, basically someone who just kind of mans a gym floor at a smaller Rolling Hills club up in Marin. I was doing construction for a major construction company. And I had a buddy who also had a construction company that I'd kind of fill in the downtime with. So I was basically juggling three jobs and nine units looking to get into the fire stuff. And, and that was such a tough time for me, man. And I went through such a depression and, and I truly felt like I lost like who I was as a person and just trying to build myself back up and be there for my mom and be there for my dad. And, you know, he was kind of doing his thing and it was, you know,

I would try to do everything in my power to help and save and, and do what I could. But at 18 years old, you only have so much experience. And so it kind of came down to that. I just kind of let him do his thing. Like I told him I wasn't mad at him. I told him there was no anger. There was no resentment. I never looked at him for what I was experiencing. I was like, Hey, here's a man who's truly unhappy and he's just going through a tough time. So I'm going to allow him to grow and be the best person he can be within himself to do his thing. And so, you know, working the three jobs, taking the nine units. So, like, when you have your foundation and then when you have it just ripped out from under your feet, there's this feeling of just trying to get to the next day. I was so numb. Like, as a person, I kind of lost my outgoing, funny joke around,

mess with everybody because in the back of my head, I was like, dude, I'm paying a mortgage. I was like, there's no food in my fridge. I was like, my mom is losing her shit, excuse my French, because what she's going through, you know, she's been married to this guy since, or not married, been with this guy since she was 16. And so it was just kind of a lot to, to really just juggle and just manage. And, and, you know, this is where things even get a little more tougher. So this was a time when the housing market was going down. So we, we tried to apply

for a loan modification to which we, I think we had a pretty legitimate reason for going through that. And so basically they told us, they said, hey, you're current on your bills, so we can't help you until you're not current. And my mom was like, you're crazy. That's the only way we can apply for this loan modification. So she did it. And she did it. And so she didn't pay.

And we were applying for all this help. And they're like, yeah, you got a good story. You got a good story. Call this person. You got a good story. Call call this person and we'll see what we can do and so that they just kind of pushed us around yeah for like four months and then all of a sudden all of a sudden man house foreclosed and they literally auctioned it off to the highest buyer at the San Rafael courthouse and I just literally sat on the steps head between my legs with my mom and my aunt and it was just auctioned off to some slime ball real estate developer that turned it around and flipped it and made it

into I think he bought it for dirt cheap which it was a nice house man I mean I'll never forget the August when I was carrying hundred-pound slabs of sandstone in the back and in making this backyard super nice and did it with my dad. And it was auctioned off and it was sold to the highest bidder. And so there goes the house. So here I am, 18 years old, and I'm homeless. And my mom and I were trying to figure out what are we going to do? And I was incredibly lucky.

I had an aunt that took me in. And at that time, her father was 88 years old, Screaming Eagle. Man was, they called him Fast Eddie. He was in, you know, AA forever. Awesome, awesome guy. Yeah, he jumped on D-Day, like was in Normandy. Yeah. Pretty tough SOB, right? They just don't make men like that anymore.

And so she moved in with him to kind of help him out. And so they were lucky that the house was big enough to support her. But we didn't want to impose on the people. And I was fortunate enough that I, you know, thank you, my aunt and uncle, for taking me in and really supporting me at a time that was one of the most, to this day, the most difficult, I'm going to call it a few years of my life. Sure. So losing the house was definitely a pretty tough pill to swallow. And I was just pissed off at the world, man. And growing up, I had all these sports and I had my dad. And so all these things that I would cling to as my rock, as my foundation of who I am and I identified as a person. Vanished.

So I discovered fitness when I was about 18 years old. And, you know, I'd get off of work, throw the headphones in. I would work out for three hours a day, man. And I was working out at 24-Hour Fitness. And it was a pretty jam-packed kind of gym. And so I just kind of did what I knew, backbites, tries, chest. You know, I would chest. I would squat. I would deadlift.

I would do a lot of core work. And in doing that, A, I could be pissed off at the world. Go in and work out for a few hours, and I'd leave and walk out of the gym and go, okay, I can handle what's going on. And so in doing that, my grandfather passed away. So my mom and I moved into his place. The plan was for us to build it up, turn it around. So eventually within the next few months, A, that'll help give us some time to get into a new place. But B, you know, kind of fix the place up up get it a chance to get the most money so we can kind of divvy it up between her brothers and sisters yeah and then so they kind of decided

that you know we didn't we didn't really want to fix it up and sell it they basically just wanted to get rid of it at that point so my mom and i like oh man like now we got to find a place so then her and i moved in together i was doing a construction just kind of anything i could at this point to to kind of make it work. And so my mom and I move in together. And because I was going through so much fitness, fitness, fitness, fitness, I just found what truly just made me happy and what I could wake up and do. And there was times when I'd work from 6 a.m. to 5, and I would still go to the gym. Even though I was beat up, I would still go do something. And in doing that, I got in great shape. I wasn't eating crap food anymore.

I was starting to eat a little bit better for what I thought was healthy at the time. And being an 18-year-old kid, I thought hamburgers and quesadillas. And I didn't really think about what I was eating. And then all of a a sudden encountering and going through what I went through and Seeing fitness kind of be this incredible outlet for me started eating well And then I actually ended up getting recruited to that's when I got discovered and recruited to go play lacrosse in Colorado You know I had a lot my best friends were there for me. They were like hey man like there's a Ulax league up in the Bay Area. Go play with us on Saturday nights. Because I played for two years in high school,

and I was kind of the football player, the meathead. Hey, Corey, go hit that guy. Okay. You know, I didn't really understand the game very much, and so I would just go play. And because I was in shape, all of a sudden I'm kind of a different player. Okay. And then I, you know, what happened?

So I was visiting some friends in UC Santa Cruz, and the coach was there, and we were doing, like, a pickup game, having some fun, and in UC Santa Cruz, and the coach was there, and we were doing like a pickup game, having some fun, and he comes up to me after the game and goes, hey, where do you play? I was like, what do you mean, where do I play? I was like, I just hang out with my buddies and I'm just here to have a good time. And he goes, oh, you know, come to UC Santa Cruz. I was like, dude, I don't have the money to do that right now.

You know, that was kind of the height of what I was going through with my family, and I was just trying to survive, man. Like, you know, I found fitness at this point. And I just knew that training was the way to keep my mind off of things and keep me sane. Just, you know, and when I went through all that stuff, man, like, my friends were there for me like you would not believe. Like, you know, all of a sudden, I'd say I have about four or five best friends that i've known since let's call it first to third grade and then all the way up into high school that i've just still to this day very close and i you know big shout out to them for really helping me out and then so kind of back to so the coach at uc santa cruz now took a position to where he was out in colorado at adam state and kind of called me up out of nowhere and was like hey man like

i'm in a position to where i can kind of offer you some, some money and some help. Can you make this happen? And you know, I was still going through the fire stuff at that time, but kind of what I was seeing with the fire stuff was it's a long road. It's a long road, which they want to weed out the people who, who aren't going to be right for the job. And I get it. Right. But you know, at 18, 19 19 years old, going through what I'm going through, I was just trying to survive, man. Make some decisions. Yeah. So in my eyes, I was like, I'm going to go do that.

I mean, I get to go play lacrosse. And, yeah, Colorado, go. Yeah. And packed up, didn't know a single person, and moved out there. And it was really fitness. It was fitness that got me into that position. And, you know, I was the athlete on the team. I was one of three people to pass our physical fitness tests because lacrosse is a sport of knowing the game,

having fundamentals with the stick, or you basically have an athlete who just hustles. That's kind of three players that you have on the lacrosse field. I was the athlete. My team were the lacrosse players. So, excuse me. So going out there, awesome opportunity. You know, every kid's dream to say, hey, I was recruited to go play in NCAA school. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Once again, here I am paying for school, kind of doing it for myself and, you know, just had another kind of reevaluation period. I was out there for about a year and a half. It was awesome, but just,

I couldn't afford it. Like even, even with the loans and, you know, here I am thinking, you know, I'm, I'm still kind of encountering and going through all this stuff. And, you know, at this point I kind of just let my dad do his thing. You know, I just kind of, you know what, man, he's, he's still finding himself and, and, you know, I would reach out and try to help. And there was, there was times when I would really try to help him out, but he wasn't ready for help. He was still finding himself. And I just kind of had to let him do his thing. And even to this day, there's no resentment there.

There's no anger there. I've gone through what I've gone through to get me where I am today. I wouldn't have been recruited to go play lacrosse. I wouldn't have found fitness if I didn't encounter that. So, you know, moving out of Colorado and coming back home, it was fitness. It was fitness, fitness, fitness. At that point, I got back into construction. That's just kind of what I knew. I had experience. I was making good money. I was working for a solar company. And I tell you what, man, that's some real stuff, being on the roof in the sun in the summertime like day in

and day out i was working with the great crew so it would i could put up with it sure at that point uh i wanted to continue playing lacrosse and so i was playing in these like kind of i'm not going to call it's kind of like a beer league at this point with the with the marin men's teams awesome incredible talent there's guys from d1 schools that come back home and they play in this league and then afterwards have a couple beers and hang out. Yeah. Right. So I was playing lacrosse.

And then so my motivation and my fitness were three things. Excuse me. My motivation were three things, my fitness, my lacrosse play, and basically working. In a time when I didn't have much, that's what I had. And so within my abilities and my strengths to bust ass and work hard and deal with what I was going through, boom, that was my focus. So I had a aha moment. I had a lot of buddies who were doing CrossFit at the time. And I was like, all right, I'm playing lacrosse. I want to be better at lacrosse. So I was training at 24-Hour

Fitness and I was doing back squats. Had a pretty reasonable amount on the bar for me and went to get a quick drink of water and come back from the squat rack. And the dude had completely stripped the weight and was just hitting curls in the squat rack. And I literally just stood there, and I'm like, no. I was like, I can't expect to be a good athlete and train here. I was like, CrossFit it is. And I was like, I hear nothing but good things from my buddies who are in shape. And I was kind of already doing it.

I was doing burpees and med ball over the shoulders. And because at 24-Hour Fitness, it was just like a meat market. Everyone's doing back and bys, chest and tris. I couldn't really get on any equipment. So I was kind of doing body weight stuff mixed with cardio and, you know, my compound functional movements. Right. Basically already doing CrossFit. I walk into my first day and I did my first workout. It was fight gone bad.

That sucks. I love the reaction to that. Bro, you want to talk about a lot drunk. That's the real stuff. So the first workout I ever did was fight combat. And I literally finished that workout, and I was like, this is it. I was like, this is what I need to do in order to be a better lacrosse player. Like I said, in my life, man, I had three things.

Okay, call it four. My mom, work in construction, lacrosse player like i said in my life man i had three things okay call it four my mom uh work in construction lacrosse and my fitness like that's that's what i just clung on to because that was within my control right for for that period of when i felt like i had control of nothing when i felt like i had nothing like that that's that's that's what got me through yep and then so uh i just i just like anybody else else, they drink the Kool-Aid. They just get so into it. All of a sudden there's a community aspect where I come in and do a workout and people are like, who are you?

Like, who are you showing up in here doing that weight and putting up this time? I'm like, I don't know. Is that good? I'm dying on the floor. Like, I don't know what to tell you. This is good, right? This is good. And then so I remember vividly I was doing construction.

It was a hot summer day, and I was digging ditches and just, you know, slaving away. I wanted to take the 630 class. I prepped my meals and food to allow me to train at 630. And the job we were on, we was running late. It was taking longer, so I was going to miss the 6.30 class. I was heated. I was so pissed because I just wanted to train. Here's my fitness.

We're working out. That's my out. And I just wanted to work out. I just wanted to train. And so I remember I was digging ditches, and I hit a rock, and the shovel snaps back hits me in the nose breaks my safety glasses and i literally just huck this shovel as far as i could and i was just like and i just like and all my buddies like made fun of me for doing crossfit

they're like oh you meathead yeah you lift weights and i'm like no i'm not like that get hit in the face and i throw the shovel 10 feet and I lose it. You just lose it, bro. And I'm such a person who can really kind of, you know, control that. And I just kind of stood there. I took a deep breath and I just dragged my ass over, picked up the shovel, brought it back and went right back to work. That night I went home and I emailed my coach at Ross Valley CrossFit and I said, hey, man, I'm not doing construction anymore.

What do you think about me coaching at your gym? And he got back to me within 20 minutes and was like, dude, yes, yes. Like, come on in tomorrow. Let's sit down and talk about what we got going on. So, you know, like I said, man, I just really went through this just kind of whirlwind of having the carpet swept out from under me. I mean, as bad as it sounds, man, this is like the 50% version. Like, there's, you know, I lost family friends. I had a woman who was there for me growing up, Wilma.

Died of a heart attack throughout this process. Jesus. You know, it was to the point to where I literally looked at myself and said, what next? What next? And, you know, I don't know if anybody's ever been in the situation or scenario where they truly felt like they just had nothing and they truly felt like dude um numb that's that's there's no way to describe it you yeah you have your morals you have your foundation you have what's going to get you through and it's just swept from under your feet. And then so getting into CrossFit, you know, I was like, all right, cool.

Like, I love fitness. I'm going to be able to work out all day long. And if I get to coach, whatever, I get to coach. And within, like, about six months of me coaching, I really fell in love with it. I really didn't know this, but I understood what that hour out of somebody's day can do to help them in life. And no matter what I was going through, three rounds of a minute of rowing, wall balls, box jumps, push press, and sumo deadlift high pulls, no matter what you're going through, that is that. And no matter what you're going through, that is that. And no matter what you're going through, that is that.

And it just organically just kind of happened, man. And I just fell in love with coaching, and I fell in love with fitness through a really tough time. And now that I was coaching and I was able to have this impact on people's lives and help them get healthier and train, in my eyes, I was just doing what I knew. I was just, you know, like, you don't have anything to cling on to, so you cling on to what you can and what's in your control. And so I just absolutely fell in love with coaching. And I was very lucky that the coach that brought me on, Nick,

he was honestly to this day probably a pretty damn good coach, like probably one of the best. Yeah. was honestly to this day probably a pretty damn good coach like probably one of the best yeah and you know he pulled me aside and he was so anal about the way we coach things and why we do this and at first i was like whatever dude it's an air squad like whatever you just do this and and and i just really saw the connection that i was able to make with these people and yeah and and and i really like indirectly would would kind of channel like okay here i am working with somebody who they're not very fit but i'm helping them escape their day for an hour and and i was having people like come up to me after class and be like hey man

that was awesome like that cue you gave me on the front squat like that was great i'm like i just told you bring your elbows up like literally nothing special you know and and and i just really just try to connect with people and just understand why they were in there working out, right? And then so it really was apparent to me on CrossFit, right? It's an hour class. They can show up. They can leave everything they got at the door. And they come and just throw down and get sweaty and bust their hump.

And guess what? They pick up their keys and they go face their day. And, and I just really saw like how incredible that was for most people in, in having my foundation of, in knowing how that helped me get through my darkest days. I tried to bring that to everybody I worked with every single coaching opportunity. Right. And so there's people in your gyms that want to back squat a Volkswagen and there's people that are in there and they just want to look good in their yoga pants. And as a coach, I just really like found the why and who I was working with. And I was just like, okay, you're not going to back squat 300 today. I was like, can we put a bar on your back and, you know, touch your butt to a med ball and go full range of

motion and stand it up? Yeah. Then, and it was just kind of a real big aha moment to me. And, you know, and I didn't really care what I was doing. I just wanted to coach. I wanted to train. I wanted to be there for people. And I just developed an incredible bond with these people and just helping them work out. Yeah. You know, and it was such a tough time in my life.

And, you know, we get kicked down. And, you know, I don't think that we don't encounter situations that we can't grow and learn from. And I've just, you know, I've been through so much at this point that, you know, going through this change coming down here, I looked at myself and I'm like, okay, you've been through worse. Yeah. You know, and you can get through this. And, you know, I'm going to be honest. Like, I still truly feel like I'm still kind of building myself back up. I would say up until about a few months ago, I was still kind of kicking the dust and the rust off and kind of finding myself and getting into my nutrition and getting back into training and falling in love

with that stuff again and coaching. And, you know, I just, I really just try to relate to every person that walks in our gym and just ask myself, like, you know, what, what's going to help them? What's going to make them their their hour of their day with me be the best part of their day and i and i just want that to just be why they're there like and that's such a massive intangible that is often overlooked when you look at the the the technical acumen that is taught in an instructional setting you the how-tos, the mechanical stuff, how to pull a barbell, how to squat a barbell, how to press correctly. The human element tends to get lost in that,

to the point where new coaches, in my experience sitting at the top of my tree, come to me and say, with credentials out the wazoo, right? I'm like, okay, that's awesome. Let me watch you with people. And we go through that community integration thing that you were talking about where, you know, come work out with a couple of classes, come shadow a couple of classes, let people see your face,

become part of our community, and they get lost in that. Like that's really fucking hard for some people. It's like that, the, the genuine care for how our interaction, um, it's my mission for this to be the best part of your day. Right. And that is so often overlooked. And, you know, one of the things that I look for in my coaches is the ability to do that without like it can be it can be massaged it can be caressed it can be made better but some part of you that needs to be natural right and and then we can go from there so the fact that you've been able to connect those dots and take your hardship and what fitness did for that period of your life

and you look at every interaction as i don't know but maybe right right you have no idea right and you approach it from that standpoint dude you'll get you'll be a lights out coach for the rest of your life right that's awesome i appreciate it man and and like i said dude like this this has been my journey this this this is this has been my journey. This, this, this is, this has been me. I wouldn't be the man I am today if I didn't have my father in my life for those years. Yeah. I wouldn't be the man I am today if I didn't go through what I had to go through in order to help people. And, and just like you're saying, man, like you have no idea what your house mom 9 30 AM class is going through outside of the gym, right?

Maybe they're not going through anything crazy, but this is their time for themselves, for them, and you need to bring that value for them in order to fall in love with your program, understand, and trust you as a coach. And if you can just really bring that value to them, man, you'll have a community that is so strong and so bought into what you do. And it's just been great, man. And like I said, like I've kind of held on to this story and I really want to appreciate

you guys for, you know, this is pretty freeing for me to talk about this. And, you know, I would love that, you know, if I can help one person who's going through anything at this point and who listens to this and, you know, don't look at what you're going through as negative. It's really easy to, and I'm going going to be honest there's times when i definitely have yeah and even to this day i kind of look back and and kind of get those kind of feelings like mixed up of like oh man like i went through that like yeah like i feel like i was kind of cheated some some years of my life but in reality i'm making up for it now man yeah i've i've look at where

how far fitness has taken me i've had a chance to work at NorCal CrossFit, NC Fit. I launched a gym in Cabo. I've launched three other locations within NC Fit. I've worked with professional musicians. I had a chance to private train Bobby Jones Jr. from Earth, Wind & Fire. That dude gets down, bro. 60 years old, and that dude busts his rump. Like, he came in, and I had i had him do like a rowing jump

rope burpee workout and i'm like taking through his warm-up and he goes yeah so what's a burpee show me a burpee and i like drop down and do it and then he does one and i was like all right cool like let's get started start the workout and i'm seeing a move and after the workout i go up to him like you do this he goes yeah all the time i go you just wanted to see me do a burpee and he goes yeah if you'll do one, then I'll do one. So that was cool, man. And just learning, man. And just, you know, dude, like we all go through our shit.

We all do our stuff, dude. And you just, it's how you respond. It's how you go inward. And I had my foundation of my best friends. And I owe so much to those guys. Dude, that's awesome. And my mom. Her and I are so close.

So getting back to just kind of let my dad do his thing for a few years. And there's been interactions, very surface level phone conversations and wishing happy birthday and stuff like that. But I mean, I got to be honest, man, I don't think I was really ready for it yet. I don't think I was in a place myself to kind of open back up. And about three weeks ago, I sat down across the table from him and had a beer. Wow. Congratulations on that.

I appreciate it, man. I appreciate it. And sat down across the table and had just a good catch-up phase. Like, you know, there was times when he really wanted to start apologizing, and I could see him start tearing up. And I was like, look, man, like, I was like, that was 10 years ago. Like, we're okay. I've told you years ago that I'm not mad. And I was like, that was 10 years ago. Like, we're OK. I've told you years ago that I'm not mad.

And I was like, let's just catch up. Like, let's enjoy our beer. Like, it was a dream for him because I was always like 18, 19 to just sit down and have a cold beer with me. And, you know, he's one that likes to drink his beer and work hard and do his thing. And here's his chance to do it. And I'm almost 30 years old. Like, imagine how tough that can be for him. And, you know, and so, yeah, so I've had a chance to connect.

And, you know, I'm still working on some things. Like I'm going to be completely honest. Like, you know, it was very tough for me to do. Uh, and, and I, I don't blame him for anything that happened and what happened. And, and I think it's truly that we all just kind of face what we need to face and we just work hard, dude. And Durs and Jeff, like I recognize that and you guys, you know, and it's like, like you know we all go through our certain things in life that make us truly who we are and we stick to our foundation and we have our building blocks and the people who have our back uh and and we just do what we can within that time and and me having that mindset i was able to allow him to do his thing and and not be mad about it and and catching up man man, it's, you know, for me, it's okay. Imagine how tough that was for him to sit down and face me after all these years.

And, you know, I wish him nothing but the luck and, you know, best of luck. And him and I now are able to speak. And, you know, he's going through some knee issues and stuff from kind of, you know, past injuries he's had. And, you know, now I'm in a position where I can help him with that. And, you know, I'm going to help him. And I'm going to, you know, we're going to start there and we're gonna we're just see where it goes and and you know I've I've taken upon myself to kind of be the bigger man in the scenario and try to step up and and be there for him even though there was times when I could I could look around and say where is he there for me but that's not what it's all about man

like I said dude we go through our stuff and it's really going to make us who we are and going through all of that, man, that was my foundation. And, you know, kind of having the change to bring me down to San Diego. Like, like I said, I just kind of looked at myself and was like, dude, you've been through worse. You know, you're in a position to where you, you know what you want to do. You know, you, you have your core values and, and, and when, what you've been through and dude, there was days when I just laid in bed and there was days when I would call my friends and just start crying and and there was days when I I was just not myself you know and it's there dude like we go through that but I I literally reached a point to where when

I was going through everything I'm gonna call it about 18 19 20 in that range where I just woke up and I was like i'm not living like this anymore yeah i was like i'm not gonna be depressed anymore it's like i have my health my mom has her health i have my friends i don't have much physical but you got that but i got that and and if i can live to fight another day dude i'm coming out swinging sure bro i'm coming out swinging in and to anybody listening to this man man, and, you know, like I said, I don't want you guys to think that, you know, A, this is an outlet for me to vent. And actually it kind of is, right? It's been nice to actually sit down and be honest because I don't talk about this very much.

And this is something that I've truly internalized and thought that this was just my path. Yeah. And if I can help somebody who's listening to this and kind of find the sunlight in their cloudy day, then let me help, man. Let me help. So, and it's just, I'm so blessed that I have an avenue of fitness that I can still, I can do that. So how's your daily routine different now than the last time we talked?

Now that you're in such a, you're towards the end of this particular transition. Right. You know, what are you doing to feed yourself and kickstart the momentum for the day? And then what are you doing to fuel yourself and carry that momentum forward as you complete this transition? Definitely, man, getting back into coaching. And that's just so huge for me because for that period, I felt a little lost because now you guys know that's how I identified. That's how I got over everything I was going through. So getting back into coaching has been huge. I've always told you about this. I'm a huge believer of, and Jeff too, and I definitely think

we talked about this last time, huge believer of positive mind, goal setting. I started being thankful for what was going well. And a lot of people like to write that down in like a journal and they'll write, hey, today I'm thankful for my health. I just try to really internalize what I'm truly grateful for, what really makes sense for me. And because I've been on the other side when I didn't have much, and now that I have it, it's easy to appreciate. So yeah, day to day, I've been pretty busy. I work with CrossFit 760. I took over the La Costa Canyon location when I was interviewing with Casey. I sit down for my interview and he kind of explains to me what CrossFit 760 is, his beliefs, his background, what he's doing with CrossFit HQ. Yeah.

And he goes, I have this location, La Costa. It's been neglected. We had an incredible coach. He left. I believe it was a man and his wife who were running a CrossFit kids program. And I believe they are actually headed CrossFit kids right now. Okay. Forgive me if things are off here.

So basically, they didn't have the face of the gym. There was kind of coaches that would kind of fill in the morning block. They'd be there for noon, and then they'd teach the evening, and then that was it. It was just kind of dead, no vibe, no people in their training. And so basically, I was very lucky that when I sit down in my interview, he goes, So, Pat Barber, Molly Vollmer, I reached out to them when you sent in your resume and they have nothing but great things to say about you. So this is where I see you fitting in with what we have going on. And if this makes sense to you, then let's sit down and do it. And so I was like, how do you know Molly? And he goes, oh, I know her from high school. And I was like, so you're from,

he goes Petaluma. And I was like, I have cousins who lived in Petaluma. Do you know a David Short? And he goes, well, I know David Short's wife, Brittany, very well. And I was just like, what? So Casey ended up going to high school with some of my older cousins. Wow. So it's just like super small world type stuff. And so I went with Casey over to La Costa and I like opened the doors and I was like, you only have a 6 a.m., a 9 a.m., and a 6 p.m. class here? There's showers.

There's a turf, you know, brand-new turf down the center. All new equipment, custom-built racks, branded 760. I was like, really? Like, you guys only got three classes here. And then so when I took over, my biggest thing was, you know, looking around the surrounding area. We were surrounded by homes and moms and dads and kids. And so I was like, all right, well, how do we get more people in our doors? How do I turn around this membership base to, A, be the face of the gym, and, B, start getting some revenue, get some money in here? And so basically for the first three months, man, I went in there and, excuse my French, coached my fucking ass off.

Like I would leave and be like, oh, and just literally like get home and just be like, you know, kick my feet up and lay down and just coach my ass off, man. And just prove to these people that I'm here for them. And, you know, just had my foundation of what's going to be able to turn this place around. So if there's any kind of gym owners that are kind of looking on how do they kind of turn that around, it's vibe, it's coaching, it's community, 100%, you know, and how do you do that? We've implemented a boot camp class. And so basically it's a 45-minute class, no barbells, but they're doing CrossFit S-type workouts. And so what we did was we went a six-week program.

So there's no membership. You don't get them locked into a contract. Basically you kind of pitch it as six weeks. You try it out. At the end, if you don't like it, hey, all good. You gave it a shot. But if you like it, then you can buy into the next six-week program. So I programmed for it personally.

And so basically, I kind of did it in two-week blocks. First two weeks, very, very foundational. And to be completely honest, I'm doing stuff that people want to do. Cardio, core, guts and butts, basically. And that's my market. That's who I'm catering to with this program. But I'm doing it in a high-intensity, functional movement, across broad time and modal domains way of doing it.

So basically, getting back to what I was saying, first two weeks, very introductory, very low barrier to entry. I'm not trying to make them so sore that they don't want to come back the next day, but you got to find that nice balance of making sure they sweat, making sure they get the feel of what it's like to work with the coach that cares and have a community and show them modifications for these kind of baseline foundational type movements. I mean, you know, take a hollow hold or you can do a tuck hold or even just like sitting there with your knees up, feet off the floor and holding your knees and then just hang off for, you know, let the hands go for a second and then grab back on

and just telling them like, Hey, like if this is where you're at for today, you're at least doing something that's going to get you better and do healthier. So first two weeks, very foundational. And then what I did was I built off the first two weeks. So they were seeing the movements and the workouts again with, like, another twist. So think about, you know, let's say we did three rounds, 200-meter run, 10 kettlebell swing, 15 sit-up. And then the next week would turn into 200-meter run, 20 lunge, 10 kettlebell swing, 15 sit-up. Right. And, A, it's familiar. Evolving the movement.

Evolving the movement. Mm-hmm. And you give them what they want. You know, at the end of the day, they're paying your bills. You want them to come back. Yeah. You know, you want them to enjoy themselves. So I make it super fun.

Give a shout out to my man, Bruno Mars, 24 karat magic. That's the number one Pandora station I throw on. And, you know, just, you know, understanding that for these ladies, they got their kids screaming at them all day, you know, they go home and they, they, they support their family and, and, you know, they help, they're the core and the foundation for their family. So, so how can I bring that best 45 minutes to them and really enjoy what they're doing and love what they're doing. So, uh, for the last two weeks of the program, it's go time. They're doing sled pushes. They're doing, you know, jumping pull-ups with banded work. And, and, and what I've really learned from this is CrossFit always tells you to program for the fittest athlete in your gym for that program. I think

that's the way you go about it for your bootcamp. I think if you have a great coach, you, you think about your, your, your three athletes, the A, the B, the C, the A are the people who can basically jump into class, go through fundamentals and they got it. The B are the people who can basically jump into class, go through fundamentals, and they got it. The B are the people who could do it, but they might struggle a little bit. It's not necessarily something they want to do. And I say this absolutely lovingly. And then you got your C, the people who struggle in the train wrecks. You know, like the people that you work with like on a bar.

And you're like, hey, scoot your feet out. And they go like this. And you're like, okay, those are your hands. So basically in programming you got your abc uh what i found for this second cycle we're doing i actually started programming for the b and and and i find the a and i find the c and i scale up or down sure and so i'll be like hey jenny you grabbed a 26 pounder i was like i want 35 pounder for this one or you know i'm working with somebody i'm like hey you know yesterday we a burpee without, or last week we did a burpee without a

pushup. I was like, if you do half of them, lay all the way down, get up and jump and clap. Give me that for today. And then go back to the burpee without the pushup. A there's the connection, uh, with the client right there. And B they're feeling like they're really taking care of and they're getting healthier. They're getting fitter. Like, you know, um, I told a lot of them to, to stop looking at the scale because now there's strength training, you know, now they're getting healthier. They're getting fitter. Like, you know, I told a lot of them to stop looking at the scale because now there's strength training. You know, now they're doing exercises that are going to help them gain muscle to support their bones. And I said, honestly, if there's a number on the scale, let's say you wake up on a Friday and you feel great. You're pumped.

You're going to go work out. You ate well all week. You step on the scale and you didn't lose a pound. And now you are pissed now you are in such a bad frame of mind from what a number said on the floor when you could look in the mirror and be pumped and be like oh like i'm getting some arms and you know i've been kind of overhearing some of their conversations they're like oh like you know my my butt's like like not as saggy anymore and i was like cool like in me in in me, in my eyes, I'm like, they're getting

healthier. They're getting fitter. They're buying into what we're doing. And, and I, so I tell them, I say, don't, don't step on the scale, man. It's all about how you feel. And are you excited to come back and train? And, you know, my nutrition advice with them is, you know, how do you, uh, train for consistency? Because that's how our body sees a change. And how do you eat for consistency? And I tell them, and I'm pretty real, like, you know, I truly believe kind of going through what I've been through, I've been able to discover a balance and what works for me. And so I tell them, like, guys, like, Friday night, like,

if I ate clean all week and I want a bacon burger and fries, like, guess what's going down? Right. But Saturday, I'm right back on it and I'm going to make sure I work out. And I'm not going to look at my decisions on a Friday night as a negative. I'm going to look at it as, hey, this is just what you're doing. You know, you enjoy your time now. And I don't want people to feel like, oh, like I'm so terrible now.

I had a beer and feel so guilty. And you should enjoy what you're doing, man. You're like busting your ass and you're working hard. If you're in a scenario where health and fitness is something that's going to help you get off of blood pressure medication or your doctor said, hey, you're pre-diabetic. Yes. Okay. We need to kind of lock some things down. But if you're in a frame of mind where this is your out, this is the way that you work out, you're going to do this for longevity and consistency to be healthy. Then let's develop positive changes or positive lifestyles that are going to be conducive to that, that are going to allow you to have that bacon burger on Friday, but guess what?

Lock down for the rest of the week, you're working hard, you're feeling good, and you're getting your rest in. So that's kind of where I've just kind of gone with the boot camp type stuff, and so basically we had, in order to market and get our name out, we found one of our ambassadors, so basically find who you're specifically trying to program

for, specifically who you're trying to get to take the class, your avatar, and find who they're specifically trying to program for, specifically who you're trying to get to take the class. Your avatar. Your avatar. And find who they're close with. And so basically, we pulled these two, I think it's three women. We pulled these three women aside and we said, hey, we'll give you the program for free. We're going to film some videos.

We found some social media outlets to go through. And we're like, hey, just blow this up. Post to your private Facebook groups that you're a part of, and we'll see what kind of happens. And all of a sudden, we're getting emails just roll through. And so our first cycle, we had 25 people sign up. There you go. That's really good. Yeah, it's been great.

So we offer classes at 5.15 a.m. That's gnarly. That's a specific crew that shows up at 5.15. And then we have classes at 11 a.m. So we did a poll. We figured out what was going to make the best times work for them. And just like I said, man, just high-intensity functional movements. They're just not doing a ball, though.

That's what's up, man. Yeah. It's good to see you back in your ground, man. I appreciate it, dude. It's good, man. I feel good. I love myself again. I think there was a period when I truly didn't believe in myself and love myself, you know, going from 18 to call it 25.

And, you know, once again, here I am in another scenario where change kind of swept me up. And it's easy to look at what we're going through and be so negative. And you just got to find the positive. You got to find your rock. Who's going to be there for you and what truly makes you happy. And, dude, I'm going to be 30, man. I'm getting up there. I got crazy.

But I just, I'm going to just be real with myself. And what's going to make me happy, man? What's going to make me get up in the morning and be stoked to be there and help people? And I just hope that, you know, listening to this can can just be fired up and you know see the light at the end of the tunnel and try to overcome anything they're going through because i think we all do man i think we all truly go through tough scenarios and instances and i think you dude you just get kicked down you just got to get up it's so cliche to say but dude find your rock man finally got your back dude pumped to see you doing so fantastic man dude it's

been nice to connect. Where can everybody in this community go follow you and support you, you know, personally and professionally, everything you have going? Yeah, man. So CrossFit 760, we have four locations, two in San Diego, one in Carlsbad, one in La Costa. We also have one in Elk City, Oklahoma, and one in Reno. So I would truly vouch for anybody going to those classes. I truly believe that our product is consistent across the board. You want to go get a good class in, drop in, say what up. And on social media, I'm not the biggest fan of Facebook.

I truly think a lot of people use that as an outlet to vent. And I do know that within what I do in fitness, that's kind of the avenue. But if you want to follow me on Instagram, it's Y-A-B-O-Y-K-O-R, your boy core. That's me. Just keep it light, man. And, you know, and, you know, my posts are all about what truly makes me happy in fitness. And, you know, if anybody wants to reach out and want some help, man, I'm happy to help, you know, whether it's motivation, mindset, nutrition, training. I've done it all. You know, I've encountered, you know, injuries over the years. I'm actually just getting over a back injury.

I was rear-ended on the freeway last October. I was stopped. I was stopped getting onto an off-ramp. The guy that hit me barreled into us doing like 70. Damn. Yeah, bro. I think he was on his phone, uh, because I drive the route every day. It was on my commute and I saw where there was spilled coolant from the accident. And

I like kind of backed up on the drive up. There were no skid marks leading up to the wreck. So I think he was just on his phone, totally slammed in my back and messed me up. So it's really kind of made me take a step back from the high intensity CrossFit and do it just a lot of corrective exercise. And I, I truly believe that, you know, from what I've encountered in coaching and stuff like that, a lot of people have imbalances and a lot of people, they want to go, all right, I'm going to snatch. I want to clean a jerk. I want to get healthy. It's like, those are their goals to do, but they don't build the solid foundation to allow them to be successful in that. And so, you know, a lot of people want what's sexy. They want the biceps. They want the abs. They want to work hard and they want to muscle

up and they want to do all that. But if they don't have the foundation of getting the body to move well, if they don't have the foundation of a proper mindset, then that's only going to get you so far. So, yeah, man, just the functional training and, you know, the bodybuilding. And I love it, man. I love all aspects of training and just working out because I truly feel like whatever is going to get people to show up to the gym to better themselves, that's what's right. Sure. You know, CrossFit. Yeah. Bo boot camp, pure bar, yoga, spin class, whatever, dude. Just go what's going to make you happy.

Go get healthy. Get sweaty. Find some people you enjoy doing it with and just be active. Don't sit on the couch and let that bug you. For sure. For everybody out there in Feed Me, Fuel Me land, get out there and support everything that Corey's got going on. Appreciate it, Durs. Dude, glad to see you rocking and rolling back in your groove there.

Thanks, man. I appreciate everything, guys. This was, you know, for me, incredibly freeing to talk about this. This is something that I don't necessarily talk about very often, and I feel so much better about it. I feel like I can kind of, ah. You're going to help somebody, man. I appreciate it, man.

I appreciate everything. And, guys, you know this. Jeff, Durs, everybody on the appreciate it, man. I appreciate everything. And guys, you know, this Jeff Durr is everybody on the backside over there. Thank you for everything. And training today was a blast in any way I can help guys. Please let me know. Until next time, feed me, fuel me. And that'll do it for this episode with our special guest, Corey Cook. If you want to check out everything that Corey has going, go to the full show notes on shrugcollective.com. Also, be sure to connect with us on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at FeedMeFuelMe. We would love to hear from each and every one of you.

If you found this episode inspiring in any way, please leave a rating and a comment in iTunes so we can continue on this journey together. Also, be sure to share it with your friends and family on social media. We really appreciate you spending your time with us today and allowing us to join you on your journey. We would love to hear your feedback on this episode, as well as guests and topics for future episodes. To end this episode, we would love to leave you with a quote from Mother Teresa. If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.

Thank you again for joining us and we will catch you on the next episode. you