Cameron Hanes - Keep Hammering Collective - KHC 088 - Spartan Walk: A Painful Lesson in Humility with Mitch Aguiar

Episode Date: July 11, 2024

Join us for a second podcast with Mitch Aguiar! Cam and Mitch talk about Mitch’s experience walking 240 miles in Greece, what Mitch thought of the Lift.Run.Shoot. experience and more! Follow along: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronrhanes Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronhanes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camhanes/ Website: https://www.cameronhanes.com   Follow Mitch: https://www.instagram.com/mitch_aguiar/  Thank you to our sponsors: MTN OPS Supplements: https://mtnops.com/ Use code KEEPHAMMERING for 20% off and Free Shipping Hoyt: http://bit.ly/3Zdamyv use code CAM for 10% off Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Use code KEEPHAMMERING for 20% your first order Sig Sauer: https://www.sigsauer.com/ use code CAM10 for 10% off optics GoHunt: https://gohunt.com/ use code CAM when you sign up for $50 towards the gear shop + 10% off the GoHunt store Grizzly Coolers: https://www.grizzlycoolers.com/ use code KEEPHAMMERING for 20% off Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro: Lift. Run. Shoot. Recap 0:07:36 Carrying the Rock 0:15:09 Grand Canyon: Rim to Rim to Rim 0:17:30 Water & Electrolytes  0:21:22 Preparing for the Spartan Race 0:28:05 Ad Break 0:30:03 Walking the Spartan Race 0:35:45 Being Humbled by the Pain 0:41:40 The Last Day 0:46:34 “Be Humble” 0:49:08 Carry the Rock Again or Spar Sean Strickland Again? 0:51:19 Strickland & Goggins 0:55:34 Outro: Mitch’s First Compound Bow

Every step I take, I move my truth. Every time they tell me stop, I use. Every comment hate that makes my feel, gather up my energy, and boom. I hear them talking, saying the way that I move it's so reckless. That is a part of my mind I've been blessed with. Giving my blood so I am relentless. All right, this is Keep Hammering Collective, Round 2 with Mitch Aguar. Yeah.

Did I say it right? You did. See? I got it now. I got it now. But this is a little bit different because we did a podcast before we did any of the experience. like shooting the bow on the mountain i just wanted to get right into the podcast to hear about you know the sparring rshawn and now post all the experience here we are here we are for a little

recap update um yeah how was it i mean it's been like a vacation yeah yeah yeah we've had a ton of fun yeah and a lot of laughs and yeah it's been it's been great you know i'd rather do this than go to Disney World or something. Me too, definitely. I love doing this. It's like, and I said like on the mountain, normally I'm doing that by myself. So people think that I'm doing this, you know, for them. This is for me. This is like, oh, I get somebody to train with, to join in on my suffering. Misery loves company. Yeah, and it's as much for me as it isn't, probably more for me than anybody. So yeah, if you got something out of it too, perfect. Yeah, I had a, I had a, I had a, I had a, I had a great time um like i said got you know got to push myself um and uh shared a lot of laughs

and had a great time i don't know got some sun yeah yeah we uh i got the blood flowing through my legs uh breaking up that that bruise from sean strickland yeah definitely and uh so i mean you really helped in my recovery and everything so i'm here for yeah what a friend's for yeah so it You got lucky in that we finally got a heat wave here. Yeah. And I was, yeah, couldn't have been, couldn't have picked a better time. It was like the hottest days on record here. Yeah.

And, yeah, so, I mean, we just really lucked out. And then how my brain works is like, most people, when it's going to be hot, they're like, oh, I better get my workout in early, right, before it gets too hot. I, on the other hand, look at the weather and like, where is the hottest part of the day? okay, boom, that's what I'm going to be on the mountain. So that's what we did yesterday. And how it went is I thought, well, let's run this first. Just get a little, you know, grind up, get a little warm up.

And that's a test, just that. But then I thought, well, we'll go back down, get the rock, and I'll get the go rock, and we'll pack some weight up for the second time. So how to, what was your, what's your thoughts on that experience? So, you know, I've followed you for years and I've always seen you at the top of that hill. And I assume it's a decent distance, you know, just knowing you. And that it's not easy. So I didn't go into it thinking that it was going to be easy.

But you, you know, you told me that that route that we were going to do is only about a mile and a half. So I was like, that sounds pretty good. A mile and a half, that doesn't sound too bad. And it was very, it was a very difficult mile and a half because it was uphill, it gained what about a thousand feet. So it doesn't seem like that, that big of a deal going into it. But the heat definitely made it a little bit more challenging. and we didn't really have any water.

And so that the heat was just, you know, huffing and puffing. It was drying my mouth out more than anything. I mean, the water really wasn't that big of an issue until we did the rock. Yeah. And we had already been out on the mountain for a while. And the mountain is just getting hotter, baking in the sun. And, yeah. But anyway, the first run up,

I tried keeping up with you for the first quarter mile, and then you started to get pulling away. And then I tried to run for as long as I could. But once you start turning up those hills, even with the short choppy steps, it just starts to fatigue you pretty quick. So then I ended up hiking up like some of the steeper parts. And that's still good.

I would try to run on the less steep parts. But my goal was to just not stop. Right. And you never stopped. No, never stopped. You killed it. I mean, that's hard to do. Yeah, it was definitely a push for sure.

And brought me right back to the Grand Canyon run. Oh, yeah. The rim to rim to rim. Yeah, that was just, it's just a long uphill. You can't, you can't look at the, or try to even find the finish line, you know, because it's just going to discourage you. And so I just look down and just look at the next, you know, 10 feet and just kind of keep taking it 10 feet at a time, you know. Yeah, that was good. I mean, that's a good workout.

That's what most people do. Like for their workout for the day, it's like they're going to run up or hike up to the summit of Piscka and back down. and that's good. Yeah. And that would be a good, that would be a good push, especially in that heat. Yeah, it's great. And it's, you know, anytime you can get on a hill, you're just going to get that much more out of it because it's on trail like that where your body's kind of having to correct.

So you're kind of engaged your cords. It's just, yeah, it's just way more engaging overall. But so then we ran down. When I was pumped, I got to jump up on top of the mountain. I know. On top of the monument. Yeah, that was sick. I've seen you do that over and over on your Instagram.

So I was like, all right, I got to just send it and go for it. Yeah, that was great. I was able to get it. So that was cool. Yeah, that was great. And we bombed down there. Beautiful view up there too. Yeah, it is.

You can see all the way east to the big mountains, to the cascades. Yeah, coming down, like I didn't get to appreciate the view going up. Because like I said, I was just looking at the ground the next 10 feet. And then, yeah, as we were coming down, I was like, oh, man, what? What a pretty view up here. Yeah, pretty lucky to live here. This is a pretty special place being born and raised here. I try not to take it for granted, but it's, you know, wherever you grow up, you're just kind of used to.

But yeah, when you take a minute and look around, you're like, man, this is an incredible country. The valley here is always lush and green. You know, it's where I-5 goes through the Willamette Valley. And we've got the rivers down here, the McKinseyian-Lamette. And it's just perfect. You know, you know why people settled here because it's just, it's fertile land and it's a great place to live. So it's good to appreciate it from the top of the mountain there. But then we went down and then grabbed the rock.

How'd that feel? It was, man, it was awkward, you know, more than anything. was 72 pounds so I knew it was going to be a good amount of weight but and I knew that it was going to be the awkwardness of the shape of it you know what I mean there's not really a good there's not really a good way to carry it not really no and I knew that that was going to be you know the the most annoying part and then I figured just from fatigue and stuff at going up that the mountain then we went up the one when we did the rock route we went up more your ladder route so it was it was a shorter distance but steeper and um that was that was definitely challenging for sure and uh i knew that i was

going to have to put the rock down at points and you know and then i was like oh damn now every time i put the rock down i have to put i have to pick the rock back up so i'm doing like uh you know a clean a little clean, you know, deadlift to clean of this rock and then going up a little more at a time. Yeah. So, and I think when we first started, you know, I got, I would probably go, I don't know, I want to say four or five minutes without maybe four or five minutes without putting it down. And then I'd have to put it down and take a couple big breaths. and then pick it up and carry on.

And then it just started getting, the stints started getting shorter. Yeah. But never too bad, though. No, not crazy. No, it wasn't crazy. I mean, we were moving up the hill. It was hot.

And, yeah, the fact that, like, we, you know, James was gracious enough to carry a water bottle in his backpack. The viewers know him as Gideon. Gideon. Yeah. So Gideon had, he had carried a, you know, just a regular 16 ounce water bottle. Not enough. It was a nerve-wracking, drinking it because I was like,

watching it go down. Yeah, because you're just watching this little bottle and I see this giant hill in front of me. And every time, you know, I put this rock on my shoulder and start hiking up, ah, ha, ha, pushing out, putting out, putting out, putting out, and put it down. and put it down and my mouth couldn't be more dry from the heat. And I look up at the top and then look at this water bottle. And I'm just like, oh, my God, this is going to be about five gallons. Yeah.

So I was just taking little sips at a time just to get my tongue, you know, moist so that I could swallow. And I asked him one time, we were getting sort of toward the top. And I said, I go, does he have any water left? and he's like half a gulp and I'm like and we weren't at the you know, we had a ways to go. I'm like, oh yeah.

And I knew that. And it's the more and more water because you're thirsty as, as hell. So you have to like, you have to drink water because your body's like demanding it. But then seeing it like once it's gone, it's gone. And there's a whole hell of a lot of mountain left and you're not going to have any water to

wet your whistle at all. So that's more what I was doing is just. trying to control the urge to not drink it all. Yeah. But just enough to get like that satisfaction of getting my mouth wet. You know, it's a, I think that it's important that we do. And you've done a lot of hard things. But I think it's important to do things like that because how often do we take drinking water for granted?

You know, what it's like you got unlimited water. You're like, throwing it around, splashing it, dumping it out. But when you're in that situation, it's like every drop is so bad. You bowl, you're like, all I want is water. Which I've been in situations like that when it comes to weight cutting, you know. Or like where you, you've never appreciated water until you are, you know, cutting 15 pounds of it in one day. And you're sitting in the sauna. Just all your body wants is water.

That's all it's thinking about is just drink. And it's right there. You could drink it. Yeah. You know, but you can't. You know, that's the choice. Is that harder than running out and wanting it? Or what's harder in those situations?

I would say they're pretty similar. I don't know. They're kind of similar because my mind is, it doesn't matter. Yeah. If it's there or not. Right. You can't drink it. Like if you, you know, if you had water, if he had more water, but you said,

hey, we're not drinking any water, the rest of this hill climb. Yeah. Then that's just, that's the rules, you know, and that's how it is. So, and like in the weight cut, you know, yeah, I could drink, but I, it'll, it'll throw off my weight. Right. You know, and that's so, that's like against the rules, essentially. Yeah, very similar. You know, but that, it was just more, we physically don't have any more water, you know, so I, I would give you water if I had some, but we don't have any.

Right. So that was kind of more an interesting, like, man, am I going to get heat stroke up here? I know. Could happen easily. Yeah. And it's like, you know, if I fell over and just passed out, you know, what are you going to do? Yeah. We're up in the top of this damn mountain on this random trail, you know, even if the ambulance had to come get me at some point.

It would take a while. Stretchers. It'd be stretchers out there. That'd be tough. Yeah, I mean, they would probably, they would have to probably helo in. Yeah, I mean, Medevac, maybe. They, uh, over as over on Spencer was not too long ago and some lady Fallon got hurt. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I helped him carry her up to the top though. Yeah. So it might have to carry you up to the monument and land right there. Yeah. Not that we were anywhere close to that. No, no.

We were not for any viewers out there. I mean, I was in very good spirits. Yeah. Yeah. We were, we were more laughing. at the uh, misery. Yeah,

at the misery. Not complaining. It was more like we were making a lot of jokes about the misery. Yeah. Yeah. It was, uh, I thought it was,

yeah, it was hard. It's hot. It's mostly downhill. Yeah. That's, yeah, that's my go to.

I'm like, yeah, we're at the top now and we're actually like, maybe halfway. I'm like, this is downhill up there. There's like, there's just like these mental,

or mind games you play. But, uh, yeah, It's a, I, I love doing that, but also I know there is, there's risk. I don't want to, you know, you're a beast and so tough. So I wasn't worried, but I probably need to be smarter about like putting other people in that situation. Because it could take a bad turn, definitely.

Yeah, I was, you know, when I did the Grand Canyon, the rim to rim to rim, that was, like, I said, I had never been there. I didn't, I didn't plan for doing the event. I just, my buddy asked me, you know, hey, you want to join me? And I was like, sure. He basically challenged me and I accepted. Didn't prepare for it or anything like that. Didn't know any kind of, yeah, what I was getting into. Literally, except on the drive there, I was Googling, you know, a rim to rim to rim challenge and reading some of the shit that other people had said. And they were talking about, you know, how dangerous it was and, and however many people die every year in the Grand Canyon, you know, whether it's exhaustion, dehydration, they get lost and there's no cell service.

And then like when you're down there, you don't realize how big it is. Yeah. Until you're in it. Yeah. And then it gives you a whole different perspective on. Because you started at dark. Yeah. I started at four in the morning. right so i just had a headlamp on so i could see just right in front of me and you know it just looks pitch black i don't i don't see anything yeah and then when the sun came up then i was like whoa this is yeah incredible like it's so so big and yeah it's it's almost like reverse mountains i don't know yeah we call it the big ditch it shows you it kind of gives you a perspective how of how big

things are you yeah it's amazing country though it looks so beautiful but it is immense yeah you feel like nothing in there yeah and i was like wow okay now i see how people can you know just like you fall off like a trail or something like that and you're toast yeah definitely and um yeah and that made me like also like damn we were just been running down these trails with this little headlamp on that was dangerous but uh yeah no so i don't even remember where i was going with that oh i think you said it sort of reminding you you of that oh yeah like just the grind it was just it definitely did um because i remember in that just going up the switchbacks and uh it there you know it's all uphill and but but there i was um

cramping a little bit too and luckily i had brought like some salt packets with me and and electrolyte packets but i didn't i didn't have any cramping yesterday yesterday that was good i had some because we were up there for five hours yeah i had some service salt, uh, electrolytes with me and that was, that was nice and kept me from yesterday. Yeah,

I took some before. Uh, so it didn't, uh, like I had them in my system. So that was a good move. Yeah. Uh, because cramping is, I've experienced cramping and like when you,

when you have something like bad cramping there, like I remember getting bad cramping at the, uh, Grand Canyon. Mm-hmm. And I was just thinking like, man, if this doesn't go away,

it's going to be a problem. Yeah. Because if you physically can't like my legs locked up, you know, or my calf or something like that. What do you do? What do you do? Yeah. It's not like anyone's coming to get you, you know, and you're in the, you're miles in.

So like there's no one to save you. You have to save yourself and you have to just push through it. And, but yeah, luckily I got that under control at the Grand Canyon and got through it. But yeah, luckily I didn't experience any of that yesterday, which. is surprising for how hot it was and the lack of water. Sorry about that. I need to do a better job of providing water. Well, it was, you know, it's not like you were drinking water and just, you know,

I didn't bring any. We both just, oh, you didn't drink any water. Yeah. But I think that was by choice. You were just trying to push yourself. I just don't do it. Yeah. I mean, I just, I always figure.

And like, if I'm on a hunt or in a race, of course. I'm going to do everything I can to help, but I train with nothing, just so it seems, you know, you make the hardest thing harder. And then when it's still hard, but it feels easier because you have these, you know, you were wearing socks. And I didn't wear socks yesterday. I didn't drink. I'm always just in the heat.

So it's just like you prepare for the worst, hope for the best. You know, I know you're familiar with that saying. So that's kind of my training philosophy. Train hard, fight easy. Yeah, that's it. I mean, you just, you make the training harder than the actual event. event and that's that's been my mindset forever so i never i never take water and yesterday getting towards the end of the five hours i was like i could use a drink or something right now for sure

i saw and like um when we got up to the top and we started coming back down um you know i saw i saw this uh woman walking up and she she had a big like thermos of water and i was just like oh my god it looks So you should have stole it. I was like, oh, that looks so good. But you can't, you can't like ask people for their water or something like that. You could. That's like the desert though, you know. Could I take a hit of your water?

Yeah. Yeah, I don't know about that. Yeah. But it's amazing how, yeah, I've been in situations like that too where you see, like, I don't know, like looking at somebody else's water. You know what I mean? That's not normal. Yeah.

But you have to be so desperate, right? Where you're just like noticing all these little things. Well, that's, yeah, when we were up at the top and those two people were like, they said something about a creek. Yeah. And I was like, Cam, where's that creek? Yeah, I want to go drink out of it. And you were like, no, it's way over there. It's a password war part.

Yeah. And I was like, oh, damn it. You're hoping like right around the corner there was some ice cold creek with a little pool you can eat. Oh, yeah, I would have just jumped right in there face first and drank that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that was fun. I mean, it was a good task, but then we went ahead and had a nice state.

First, we stopped and got Gatorade. Oh, yeah. Gatorade and electrolytes. Oh, man, that was good. Or like pediolite, you know. Nice steak. And yeah, so it was such, just an awesome day. I just loved.

And one thing that stood out to me was as we're going up the ladder, you're telling the story. And you kind of mentioned it yesterday about your, you went from Sparta to Thermopylae. Yeah. And 240 miles. You kind of mentioned it. But then you told me. You kind of peeled back the onion a little bit on that story. And so I wanted you to say that again.

Okay. Yeah, tell me about that experience because I think there's some important lessons in there. Yeah. So, yeah, the, for those that don't know, I had heard about this event where these, this group, of people were going to retrace the steps of the Spartans. So they were going to go from Sparta, Greece and, you know, follow the path that the Spartans took all the way to the battlefield of Thermopyla. And it was 240 miles. And the, you know, the plan was to do it in eight days.

So just eight days in a row and get it done. 30 miles a day. Yeah, it was roughly, you know, some days were 32 miles. Some days were 34. Some days were 28. like, you know, it averaged out to about 30 miles a day. And I had heard about this event, and it was going down in two weeks, like two weeks from when I heard about it.

And I was like, oh, my God, that sounds so cool. And I was like a huge fan of the Spartans, you know. Did you have those tattoos before then? Yeah. Oh, you did? Yeah. Oh, so you've been a hardcore fan. Yeah.

So that time period. Yeah, so I'll show for the camera. Yeah. Like I've got on my leg here, I have Leonidas and, you know, Spartan, Spartan helmet. And then I've got the elite immortal guy on the other side. And just, you know, Moulin LeVay, all the Spartan theme, everything. You know, to me, the Spartans were just like the ultimate badass mentality, warrior mindset, you know, looking back at like ancient warriors. And I just always respected them as warriors and their mindset.

So, you know, when I heard about this opportunity to do that, I was like, that sounds so cool. Like, I'm doing that. I'm in. And so I had, like, talked with the people and they said, yeah, you can join us. And I was like, great. and um but in my eyes i was like it's just like walking you know 30 miles a day like that doesn't sound that that difficult sounds doable i was like i walk every day yeah you know yeah sure it's it's a long way but i walk every day it's not a big deal and um because i'm stupid and and uh so i was

like you know what um and and the and the people that were also doing this event had they had been training for for about a year you know some of them were running a marathon every week in order to prepare for build that body up for yeah for this event and you know i was not doing any kind of endurance anything um you know i was fighting m m m and doing jiu jitsu and you know just lifting weights and stuff but um nothing endurance wise and but you know i was in really good shape i had muscles you know i i was in really good shape i had muscles you know I was an MMA champion. I was a Navy SEAL.

I was like, this will be nothing. Right. So, and I was like, you know, I like pushing myself and seeking adversity

and consciously suffering, that kind of thing. So, like, I fasted regularly, you know, and like fasting for 10 days is a mental push.

Oh, man. You know? You fasts for 10 days before? I, oh, all the time. Really? Yeah. And just water or what?

No, with my smashing greens. Oh, okay. Yeah. And, and, I,

I, I did that all the time to cut weight for my fights. I would fast and just have my smashing greens and protein shakes and work out. And so, but for, and like that was a way to, you know, it's a mental toughness challenge to, like, because you're not tempted by anything more than food. Like food is everywhere. Your whole life revolves around food. And there's more restaurants than you think when you, but when you remove food from your life,

you're just like oh god it's so much of our day yeah you know but um so anyway so i was used to fasting as like a mental push and um so i was like you know what this like walking it's just not hard it just doesn't sound hard enough and i was like i should fast um i should do it fasting and again because i'm dumb and didn't know any better and uh so i was like all right i'm gonna fast the whole time. So I fast and I fasted for three days before we even started because I was like I'm going to go you know 10 days essentially and normally like before a big event you'd carb load. You'd fill up all your cells. Everyone else was with stuffing their face with pasta. Yeah. All this glycogen and just be totally full going into it because you're going to get depleted.

But you went in depleted. I literally sat there at dinner with them, you know, everybody who was also participating and they were you know eating pasta and loading up and i sat there with my smashing greens and i just drank my smashing greens and water and they were like dude you're crazy there's no way you're gonna do and i was just like i'll be fine i'll be fine and um you know and when i got there like the group that that i was there with and doing this event you know in my head i was like these guys don't even deserve to be here. You know, they're, like, we're retracing the steps of, like,

the Earth's greatest warriors. And, like, these people didn't even serve in the military. Like, they're just, like, ultramarathoners and, like, endurance athletes. They haven't earned this right. Yeah, I'm like, and, you know, like, this is, like, paying homage, the way I looked at. I'm, like, this is, like, paying homage to, like,

the, you know, like, I'm a Navy SEAL. I'm, like, a descendant of Spartans, you know, I'm the modern day Spartan. And that was kind of my mindset. I didn't voice this to any of the people there, but that was like how I felt inside. And, you know, and I was just like ultra cocky. Like, you know, this is nothing.

And it's actually not even hard enough. I'm going to make it harder. Anyway, we start. And this was in the summertime. It was very hot in Greece. It was almost 100 degrees, you know. And we also, the path was, the majority of the path was on pavement. And me, again, not knowing, you know, anything about hiking real distance or anything.

Like, I'm like, oh, sweet, it's on pavement even easier. And everyone else is like, no. Like, pavement sucks to walk on because it just doesn't give. Right. You know, the earth, like, trails are softer and they're less impact. on your body. And it's you're you're hammering the same muscle walking on the same surface where if it's changing or like up and down it gives your body a little different feel. Yeah. And but a flat road it's the same over and over and over every step. Yeah. Not to mention it's also hot. Yeah. Hotter.

Yeah. And so I'm like whatever, let's do it. And 18 miles in, you know, again, so going from no kind of distance anything 18 miles in i was like this is awful like i had three blisters on each foot already and um and by the time we got to that 18 mile there was like a checkpoint and i was like i need some fucking food right now like there uh there's no way that i'm going to go another 220 miles without food i was like i severely underestimated this and like i fucked up i'm sorry please give me some food so i already like felt like a failure yeah and a dumb ass for like way underestimating that part and then you know by the end of the day i think the first day was 34 miles i want to say or 32 by the end of the day i was by far the weakest link out of everyone there there was one

one other seal with me, Jeff Gumm, and he was just right a couple feet in front of me. Like, we were both just struggling. By far the weakest links. But like neither one of us again, like, you know, when I heard about the event, I told him, I was like, hey, do you want to go? Yeah. And he was like, yeah, I'll go. And I remember just that first day, we were both so far behind and we were hurting so badly.

What was he saying? He was like, Mitch, you're never picking our vacation again. He's like, you know, he was like, I was in Croatia on yachts hanging out with models. Like, you know, that's my idea of a vacation. He's like, this is horrible. And, but, you know, that was funny. But, yeah, we finished the first day and I felt like I got hit by a freaking truck. I was in so much pain.

And I couldn't believe that we had to do that again tomorrow. And for seven more days. Yeah. And we were on the road for 12 hours because, you know, walking. Takes a while. It takes a lot longer to walk than run. And like people think when they hear like walking, they think, oh, that's not as bad as running. But it's, it's way more steps and impact.

And it's just a different thing. Yeah. And so, yeah, the next day, I just like, I can't believe I'm. I'm going to have to do this again, and I just, I'm already in it, I've got to go. So start going again. And, you know, by the time we get to like our checks and everything, my ankles are just swelled up, my feet are swelled up, blisters just are crazy, my knees are starting to hurt, my hips are starting to hurt really bad.

And, you know, and then by the end of the day, again, still felt like I got hit by a bigger truck and everyone there was so helpful and nice you know and they had they had experience so they knew what they were doing so they brought like compression socks they brought blister kits they brought extra shoes that were bigger because they knew their feet were going to swell they they had like one guy had like the nordic um you know compression pants things sleeves and yeah you know so it was just everyone there was prepared you know and i i i should showed up like this like hey let's go walk like it's not that big deal and um and like i said it humbled me so much because i was like wow if these people knew the way that i felt about them

and like judge them in my head when i got here you know they if they knew how i really felt like they they would all be like just pointing and laughing and being like ha you get what you deserve fucking dick and they would have been totally in the right you know but but it was actually the opposite like they were they were just nothing but nice and helpful and you know gave me compression socks and like gave me advice and you know blister kits and all the and all this stuff and were you know positive nice people and they had been training you know and were prepared for so like they were not the weakest links at all. I was. Right. And I was just like, dude, I'm the one that doesn't deserve to be here. What a lesson, though. Yeah. I mean, it's a lesson in humility, really. Truly. Like, it changed my

life. You know, it just taught me the biggest lesson of humility. And yeah, and like by day four, you know, we were, we were going. And again, I was still just so in so much pain and so far behind and like by far the weakest link still and um you know i'd already been i'd already been like humbled you know you know that that part was clear but still i was really really hurting and struggling and i wanted to finish this event you know i i've never quit anything and um you know being a seal we're retracing the steps of the spartans we're actually doing this to raise money for a fallen Navy SEAL. I'm one of two Navy SEALs here. And like at the time I had 70,000 followers on my Instagram or 50,000 followers on my Instagram. And I was like building my brand of massive.

And like one of our motto is don't be a pussy. And the other, quitting is not really an option. Right. And the other motto is mindset is everything. So a lot of pressure. So yeah. And and and I've got everyone knows that I'm here. doing this because I posted about it and said I was going to do it. And, you know, so I'm just, and at this point, I can barely walk. Like, every step I take is just grueling. And I'm like, I don't think that I can physically finish this race. I mean, we're not, we're not even 120 miles in yet. And I've still got to go over 120 miles. And I've still got to go over 120 miles. And I am so physically broken right now.

And it's just so painful every single step. It's hot as hell out. And these days are 12 hours of walking on the road, on the pavement. And yeah, and I was just like, I literally don't think I can finish. And then I'm starting to think about, like, how am I going to tell people that I quit? and like there's no way that I can spin this you know it's just yeah this I had to give up because it was just too hard it was too much and I was like thinking about that and I'm like everything I like stand for my brand everything will just be it will be just clear as day that I'm a fraud

and like this is bullshit and like you know I can't talk about this like I'm not even living up to what I say and preach about. So, you know, the thought of that just like becoming a reality was just too much to like bear. Like I was like, I'd rather just die. And I meant it. And, you know, so I was just like at that point, I was just like, well, I'm in the middle of nowhere in Greece. It's hot as hell. Like I'm by myself because the group is so far ahead of me.

and I was just like, I'm just going to run until I die. And that's just where I'm at with it. And I meant it. And I just started running, just fully prepared to just fall on my face and die. And that would have been better. That would have been a better story. And like one that I would want of told, you know, rather than me saying I just quit because it was too hard. And I just started running, anticipating death.

and it never came and I ended up like passing everybody and they were just like looking around like what the fuck like because they knew how badly I was hurting yeah and they were just like you know I got to the finish line and that day was a brutal one it was like we went around this this giant lake and then like went up this this mountain like up this mountain and it was like a lot of switchbacks and then down it and and and I was waiting at the finish line. because I had just finished and everybody got there, you know, a couple hours later. And they were like, dude, what the hell happened? Like, what got in you? And I was like, I have no idea. Whoa. I literally have no idea how that just happened. And then they're like, dude, that's crazy,

you know? And then the next day, I just did it again. And then it like, I started to kind of like get a rhythm almost like my body just adapted. It was just like, all right, I guess this is what we're doing and um yeah so then i and then and then at that point you know we were probably a hundred and 50 miles in and the and the people that i was with like that's when like they're they started to really start to fatigue and like their blisters and their swelling and all that stuff that basically i experienced day one you know their training and preparation kind of took them into day five day six before they started really hurting. And, you know, so then they were kind of experiencing that,

and everybody in the group was suffering. Like, there was no way around it. Everyone, it sucked all the way around. Like, we had James Lawrence, who's Iron Cowboy, you know, world record holder for Iron Man's, you know, monster mentality and mental toughness and physical toughness. And he was saying, like, he was like, dude, this is brutal. This sucks.

And, you know, when not, we're not, was I'm sure yeah and like knowing what he's been through and if he's saying that you're like damn yeah this okay i guess i'm not that big of a bitch for feeling this like this sucks so bad because it does and um yeah and and at that point like again my body just kind of felt like more adapted and um and then the last day i remember like it was like a 20-mile day was the last day and the mountain range in the background. I had been to Thermopyla in the past, you know, because I visited Greece,

and I went and saw Thermopyla when I was on, you know, when I went there the first time. So I knew what the mountain range looked like, you know, the hot gates and all that. Yeah. So I had seen that mountain range and I was just like, man, like I just went through like my own hero's journey, you know, and just experienced the most humbling thing I've ever experienced. And, you know, and this was literally the hardest thing I've ever done, the most I've ever

had to push myself way more than Hell Week. You know, with Hell Week, I was prepared for Hell Week. Because, like, I had been training and, you know, training for Buds. I had gone through all this, you know, hard shit. Yeah. previous to get to hellweek. You know, I'd already done so much. With this, it was just kind of, let me just jump in and, you know,

and it was just, boom, you hit by a truck. Underestimated it. Yeah. And so this was literally the hardest thing I'd ever done and experienced. And the most that I had to push myself and dig deep, you know, even in Hell Week, I never felt like I have to dig deep or I'm going to die. You know what I mean?

like I never had to push myself to that that level. In this event, I did. So it was totally just like, you know, just such such an experience for growth. And I was thinking about the Spartans and how they just did this thing that we just did and was so hard and grueling and, you know, everybody's hurting right now. and they had to on top of that when they got there fight to the death and you know i was thinking

about that and like they you know they all kiss their wives and kids goodbye and greece is such a beautiful country and you know they just like and you know that was one of the greatest things about it was i got to see greece you know a a ton of greece right and i got to see it from a very slow perspective you know unique looking around and like wow so beautiful and i and i appreciate yeah for 12 hours a day i'm on the on a hike yeah you know and so i was like thinking about those guys did that they got to see how beautiful they knew how beautiful their country was and everything and like they were willing to to do that and and and fight and and die for what they loved and believed and everything and um you know all of that just mixed

emotions and experience that just fueled me and I was just like I just got to run and I just like ran as hard as I could um you know to the to the mountain range and um yeah and they sent someone on a bike to come like hey hey they want you to slow down yeah you know so that we can all finish together and I was like I can't like I literally I'm just like I'm way too in the zone to stop And I was like, I will, I'll pull over like, you know, 200 yards before the finish line and wait. And, you know, and then we can all finish together. Like, I'm totally fine with that. But like, I just can't stop right now.

Right. I need to do this. And so I just kept doing it, ran, and then got to 200 yards before the finish line, pulled over and waited. Two hours later, the group, you know, came, and we all finished together. And the mayor of Thermopylae was there. the news cameras and everything and they gave us certificates because we were the first ones to ever retrace the steps in spartans and there's a big you know statue of leonitis both at in sparta and there's a one in and the battlefield at thermopoly so we went from statue to statue wow

and um what an experience yeah and then we went and got in the uh the hot gates it's like a natural spring you know hot spring and yeah it was just like wow Wow, what a freaking journey that was. And those guys had to do it wearing all their uniform. Yeah. Didn't they have- Carrying their shields and swords. What beasts were they?

And going to battle. Right. Just to get there. Yeah. When I got there, it was like, yeah, I couldn't do. Like a celebration. If I had to fight someone. It would look a lot like when I fought Sean Strickland.

Just getting my ass beat. Yeah. How'd your buddy do? It was pretty similar. Like he just, he was, like I said, he wasn't very far ahead of me.

We were both definitely the weakest links. And that, but we both kind of had the same trajectory. Like he finished strong. Yeah, good, good. But,

uh, yeah, it was just like, it was just like the most drastic swing for me. Yeah. Going from him, I'm the badass to like, yeah.

I can't do this. Yeah. Yeah. But it's like, you know we kind of learn those lessons in life usually over an extended period of time you just packed it all right condensed very condensed but still and even more powerful because it's so much was writing on it it's like for you to be so honest about it is i think i think we all can learn from that you know i mean you you're you're sharing that and how you the honesty about how you felt

and it's uh i don't know i mean that walk in humility we all can grow for from that, I think. I mean, nobody wants to get knocked down in the dirt, right? And get humbled, but life has a way of doing that. Yeah. And the first thing I did when I got home was I made a shirt for my brand and it said, be humble. That was it. It's great advice. And, you know, like, because that's how most of my shirts were. They were just sayings, you know, I had mindset is everything. I had don't be a pussy shirt, you know. I had a seek adversity shirt. had, you know, know thyself and just these little sayings, you know, that I, you know, embodied or believed in. And yeah, and as soon as I got home, I was like, make a shirt says be humble.

That's it. I think, yeah, I think we all could have that dose every once in a while or that reminder, I guess. But, yeah, that story is fascinating just because it's like, I think we've all been to a place where we judge people, you know, and like you judge those people to start. and you're like, they don't even deserve to be here. And then they were helping you. And it's just like... Well, they definitely deserve to be there way more than I did. Yeah, but it's like that part of that story

is what stood out to me, which is why I was hopeful you would share that here. And I'm glad you did because it's, man, that's tough. It's freaking tough, dude. But I'm so glad you stuck with... I'm glad you didn't die, first of all. Me too. Man, but it would have been a kind of a cool way to go out. Right.

You know, if you got to go out, everybody has to. Hey, and that's what I felt yesterday, coming down the mountain from the second one, after the rock. Yeah. Coming down the mountain, damn, that sucked just as bad almost, you know. Yeah. It was bad. It was really hurting my knees, just walking down it like that. And we had just been up there for almost five hours in the heat with no water, basically.

And I remember, I was just thinking, like, damn. I look like a wounded animal right now. And I hope no freaking mountain lion or bear comes out after me because, yeah, I'm going to be easy, easy for the, you did. Dude, you did good. That was hard. That was freaking hard. All the respect in the world, too, for doing that.

It's, uh, yeah, I was, yeah, I understand that it sucked, but you did it. And I thought people enjoyed that video up atop where, where I asked you. I said, would you rather do this again right now or spar, Sean Strickland and he said Spar him five times. Yeah, I would rather spar Sean Strickland five times. And let's let me be clear on why that is. It's not because

sparring Sean Strickland was easy. It was because simply the duration. You know, like, and people are like, oh, Sean took it easy on you. And I'm like, I know he took it easy on me. And that's why it made it worse. You didn't knock you out. Yeah, if he would have just

knocked me out in 30 seconds, I would have only had to suffer for 30 seconds. But he made intentionally, he did not want to knock me out so that I would suffer for the full 25 minutes. And again, even if I just sparred Sean for five more times, that still is the duration of suffering is less than what I just experienced, you know, carrying this rock and doing all this in the heat. And, And, you know, so it's not, it's not because it's, oh, Sean was easy because that, that sucked as well. Yeah. Yeah. It just sucked for 25 minutes.

Yeah. You know, this sucked for a lot longer. Oh, yeah. It was rough. It was definitely rough. But yeah. And then we were hopeful yesterday, this is like the kind of the cool part about doing back to back. We're like, oh, Gaggins and Sean are going to be best friends.

You know, they're going to, they're more like than they are different. And then we see Sean makes it a post today or it's like, okay, maybe this isn't going to go the way we were hoping. But yeah, so he's saying something about David again. But who knows? He said that David Gagons, the only thing you're better than me at is running. And I don't need to run. You run from me or something like that. Sean just doubles down on everything, which I don't, you know, you said you wouldn't spartum because he has a way of going.

viral, right? So he's like, you could draw attention to this, you know, help make amends or be the sacrificial lamb. So maybe his post about Goggins today is just another way of doing that. Maybe it's just keeping this skit going. He's, he does say he's, I mean, he is funny. Oh, Sean's funny. Yeah, for sure. He's funny. So it's like maybe he's just, you know, because I, I'm like, to me, I always get protective because I love Goggins. I mean, I'm like, I don't want anybody saying shit about him, you know, because I'm like, God dang it, that's my guy, you know, so I get protective, but maybe it's like, maybe it's part of an act. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know if it's like an act, but I think Sean's just having fun and just says whatever he wants and, you know,

because he's not afraid, you know, what are you going to do to me? I wouldn't know what that's like. It might be kind of cool, just to have no fear about anything. No matter what you say, it's like, he, you know, like, you're not going to come shoot me in the face. Like, So what are you going to do? Like, are you going to come fight me about it? Yeah. I'm like, no, you're not. So I'm going to just say whatever I want to say.

And he does. I mean, I mean, what are you going to do? I don't know. You know, like make a video about him. That doesn't bother him. No. He's a come do the man dance. Oh, man.

Yeah, he's a handful, isn't he? Yeah. But we need people like that other two to, I guess, to keep it interesting. Yeah, I don't know. He keeps it interesting. Yeah. But come on, not about Goggins. I still am hopeful that once they meet each other and, you know, are in the same room and share some of their mentality.

Because, like, again, I've talked to both, David, I've talked to Sean. And, like, after talking to Sean and, like, the way his mentality is with his team and, you know, with MMA and everything, it's very similar. you know David just he's an extreme person you know and like he wanted to like take his fitness and everything to an extreme level and you know and if you can't keep up it's because you're a bitch and that's kind of how Sean is like hey we're gonna fucking spar and if you don't don't like you're a bitch you know or whatever and they're both they both double down on what they do yeah and like so they are they are similar yeah they are they are similar and you know both had interesting rough, hard childhoods, you know, feel probably misunderstood maybe.

You know, so I'm again, I'm hopeful. I think that in the end, hey, maybe Sean, I hope Sean does the, he said he wants to do the bud style workout, beat down, and he wants me to try to make him quit. And he even said, he was like, I probably will quit. He's like, I'm a pussy when it comes to the cold water and being. all sandy and running. That doesn't sound fun at all. Right. Yeah. So I don't know. I think it would be good for him to experience it, though.

Maybe it would be like a humbling experience for him. Kind of like how the Spartan walk was for me. I don't know. We could have him carry the rock up the mountain about five times. See what he thinks of that. I think just carrying it once would be enough to prove, you know, just show that this sucks. I don't know. Yeah. Well, I don't know. We'll see where this goes, this is just yesterday and then today. So who knows what tomorrow's going to bring?

Yeah, who knows? I'm just, I'm here for it. Yeah, so, I mean, I want to, this is like a little recap, but I just want to end up, you know, this is your bow here sitting here. And you shot it. I mean, you've never shot a compound before. And, dude, the way, the accuracy you had at the end was, I mean, it is a top of the line bow, so that does help.

But it's still the, it's not the, it's not the equipment. It's the archer, right? And you were freaking laying them in there. And I don't know. I was really impressed with how quick you picked it up. Because your first couple pulls is like, obviously you'd never done it. And those look pretty rough. And by the end, you were just like, I mean.

I was trying to Robin Hood. Oh, you were close, dude. Those last couple groups were freaking tight. I was, I mean, you can shoot. But I'm not, I shouldn't be surprised because, you know, a weapon is a weapon. and you understand what it takes, but, man, you were good. Well, thank you, man. I really appreciate that.

But, yeah, I was shocked. Like, when you were saying, like, they're getting your bow ready or whatever, I thought we were just shooting, like, a bow. Like, I was, yeah, like, I thought we were just going to go to the range and, you know, we were going to shoot or whatever. You're like, no, this is a bow that you're, this will be your bow. You're keeping it. And I was like, what the fuck?

Like, that's crazy. This is yours. Yeah. I mean, that blew me away. I was like, holy moly. Holy, that's insane. Thank you so much. And yeah, and I was like, oh, wow, okay.

I've never shot a bow like this. And there was a lot to think about. Like there was a lot of different points, you know, points of performance. And it was a little bit overwhelming at first, just kind of thinking about all of the things while you're holding that. At tension. Yeah, at tension. And I'm trying to listen to, wait.

Wayne. I was trying to listen to Wayne and all the points of performance that he was saying and remember him. And the whole time I'm sitting here, my shoulders are already sore from that damn rock. And, you know, I'm under tension, looking through the sights. And it's just getting shakier and shakier and shakier and shakier and the longer I'm holding it. And I was just like, I just want to shoot this damn thing, you know? And so like, and I was trying really hard to listen to all the points of performance that he was saying. but I was telling him like I really feel like the longer I'm at tension trying to get everything that you're saying perfect I'm just getting shakier and shaker and I was like I really feel

I would be more accurate if I just like pulled it back got that acceptable sight picture and let it fly and because there are a lot of similarities to rifle shooting and I was always really good with a rifle and you know doing stress courses and stuff like that. that which is similar. So it goes stress courses, you're running and like doing workouts or something like that and you're running station to station and you're doing it for time. And each missed shot is like a penalty. It's like or you know it adds 30 seconds to your time. So I was always really good at those and you know running to somewhere getting on target, getting that acceptable site or acceptable, you know, site picture and then boom, pull in trigger. And same thing. You want to let it

surprise you. You don't want to anticipate it. And so there was definitely like some similarities with it. And I was just like, yeah, I just kind of want to to do that. And he was like, all right, we'll see. And then I started doing that. And he was like, I think he was kind of like, damn. Yeah. He was like, how is this? You know, he's like, you're not doing any of the correct, you know, anchor points or whatever. But he's like, but you're shooting better and better. Yeah. And he was like, I guess. if it works for you, just keep doing that. And you kind of, you refine your style, you know, eventually. This is your first day.

But as I said, going down there, nobody is born a great archer. You know, it's a skill. You develop. And you developed very quickly today. And, you know, so some people, it takes a lot longer. You were just like so quick. But it's probably because of your background for sure. And you're just, I think, naturally good at it.

You're not born great, but some people are more inclined to develop that greatness quicker, and that's you. And man, you're shooting great by the end, and it was, I just, I love sharing archery, you know, with people. That's why, you know, I mean, that's the whole point to this. It's training with people, sharing my life with them, and then sharing archery, which has changed my life. And so that's, it's, it, again, it means as much to me as you or anybody else. I mean, yeah, it was, it was really fun. I've never done that, like I said. at any kind of serious level.

And, you know, and this is like a freaking top of the line tool and sites and all that stuff. It's just, you know, that's the next level. And yeah, it was really fun. I had a lot of fun with it. Good work, good workout too. Oh, shooting the bow? Yeah.

Yeah, I know. It can because it is a new movement you haven't done before. So that's all different muscles engaged. Yeah, but it's very, it's physical. It's physical to shoot a bow, especially when you're first developing that. It's just like a weird, weird, there's a technique to it. Yeah, and it's almost like shooting free throws, you know, how like you just, you got to get the same, or, you know, the repetition, but getting like a little system down. And you do it the same way every time and trying to just replicate it.

Yeah, just replicate it and nail that free throw or whatever, nail that bullseye and keep your grouping tight. and and it's um it's satisfying for sure watching the arrow hit the x yeah yeah like you know last group you had three xes yeah that was nice yeah yeah no i was definitely once i once i kind of got got it dialed in it was i could see how it could be you know like just real satisfying like shooting trying to get you know 20 arrows and you want them all in the x or something you know what i'm looking forward to and we talked about it a little bit but but you have a lot of deer on your property. I cannot wait for you to experience the emotions of a successful hunt

and what that means to be a provider, you know, through hunting and through putting an arrow through an animal and having a merciful death offered. To me, that's hopefully the first day of that journey. Yeah, no, for sure. Yeah, I've never bow hunted before, but I'm certainly open to it and I definitely want to get more reps in and you know feel more confident and not that I wouldn't feel confident going out even now and trying it just from

what I've learned and you know I get the idea yeah well you'll get home get a target and get to start shooting arrows every day I will it's going to be awesome but uh yeah Mitch thank you so much Oh. For the bow and for everything. It's been incredible. This has been a great couple days. I haven't told you this yet, but you're flying out tomorrow, so I'm hoping I can pick you up at nine and we can go bust out Spencer's in the morning,

and then I'll take you to the airport. What's Spencer's? Just a little hill. Just a little hill. Yeah. Just a little, just to make sure you get enough rest on the plane. Yeah. Yeah.

You're a thoughtful, friend. I am, man. I'm so, isn't that generous? Yes. Yeah, nice. But no, seriously, it's been great spending time with you. I've, you know, learned a lot. I've loved your stories. I love sharing this experience with you. And you are, you know, exactly as I expected. And it's, you know, it's been great having you here and means a lot that you came all the way out here from Virginia. And I'm very thankful.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. And again, you are as expected, even better, you know, in person. I've followed you for years, looked up to you for years, and, you know, I, I think you're, you're almost too humble, you know, to just the level of, of accomplishments that you've had, you do, and the level of human being that you are is, is, it's, it's nothing short of inspirational and motivational and definitely being around you, everything just makes me want to step my game up and just push myself. And also, you know, you're the level of humility you have, the kindness you have and everything you deserve, you know, everything you have and more. And I'm super happy to see your success. Even over the last, you know, five years, six years, we've

been following each other, like, and seeing your, you know, the rise of your success and, and not everything that's come your way. Again, you know completely deserved and more and uh i'm excited to see where you go from here oh thank you thank you that kind words i feel undeserved but thank you it's uh been a great time thanks mitch all right guys thank you a little bonus podcast for you and keep hammering