Locked In with Ian Bick - Prison Food: Is It Healthy? Why Prison Workouts Get You Ripped & Hollywood’s Dark Side Exposed | Brandon Carrillo

Episode Date: September 26, 2024

Former Boxer, Fitness Trainer and Hollywood actor Brandon Carrillo joins us to reveal the truth about prison food and why prison workouts are so effective at getting inmates ripped. Brandon also opens up about his experiences in Hollywood, shedding light on the dark side of the industry. #PrisonFood #PrisonWorkouts #FitnessTrainer #HollywoodSecrets #FitnessInPrison #PrisonLife #RippedInPrison #HollywoodDarkSide Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Connect with Brandon Carrillo: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7725632/ https://www.instagram.com/brandonrcarrillo/ Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Buy Merch: https://lockedinbrand.com Use code lockedin at checkout to get 20% off your order Timestamps: 00:00:00 - A Pleasantly Random Dinner 00:04:14 - The Toll of Boxing on the Mind 00:08:32 - Discussing Fighting Scenarios (feat. Giani) 00:12:51 - The Calisthenics Cheat Code for Fitness 00:17:19 - The Impact of Unhealthy Eating Choices on Fitness 00:21:34 - Athletic Peaks in Prison 00:25:42 - From Wildwood to Los Angeles 00:30:00 - Boxing in Los Angeles: A Different Level of Hard 00:34:23 - The Subjectivity in the Arts 00:38:43 - The Challenges of Casting and Life Experience in Acting 00:42:56 - Breaking News to Dad and Coach 00:47:08 - Stalker Experiences in LA 00:51:20 - Crazy Encounters 00:55:24 - Realities of Prison Life 00:59:45 - Living Alone vs Roommates 01:04:03 - Life with Roommates Powered by: Just Media House : https://www.justmediahouse.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but Anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants to switch you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available.

Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. Brandon, welcome to lock in, bro. Pleasure having you. here. Met you for the first time back in February with Gianni when Gianni came on the show. And we hit it off. We were at a dinner, the most random dinner ever.

Dope's dinner. Dope's dinner. I've never been a part of that. But most random dinner ever. So random. And usually when he hit me up, the comedy's like, dude, we got this dinner. You want to come? It's usually bullshit.

It's usually like the giant table and like you're at a restaurant where like in this dark corner and no one's having a good time and no one's talking. No one's enjoying each other because that's like, I mean, me and Gianna obviously having a good time, but like usually in your situations, everyone's kind of like too cool for school type of thing. I want to just hanging by themselves. This was an intimate dinner with dope people. We all got to know each other.

It was like six of us, seven of us maybe. Yeah, because the Chase's daughter showed up too. And she was one, and I was just like, dude, like, and that's so refreshing because you don't get that a lot of time, man. Yeah, and it was all riding on if Gianni was going to like me or not when he got here. Interesting. Because we didn't invite him until after the pot, it was like, hey, do you want to grab dinner after. And that's when he hit you and then everything formed together.

Okay. But we didn't know because we had been talking over text for a few months. But I never met him in person. And then it just clicked. That was such a fun. That was one of my favorite pods. Just talking to him. Because we're alike in a lot of ways and we're kind of close in age. For sure. And both East Coast, Boyswell, you're not really in East Coast. You're from Wisconsin? No, no. I went to prison to Wisconsin. That's my bad, man. No, it's okay. I've been Connecticut, so I'm right next to Gianni. We were born and raised in Connecticut. New York, I was born, but raised in Connecticut.

And then to present time in Wisconsin. Yeah, I was kind of all over. I was in Rhode Island a little bit too. Okay. So we share that in connection. But, you know, he liked the hockey and the trashers and everything. That's how the jerseys came about. Oh, yeah.

a lot of matches and Chevy was so interested. Yeah, and that was one of the dope things that me and Chevy got to talk about, man. Yeah. Because he's like my size. I'm, you know, for, I'm sitting down, but I'm 6'4, what, maybe like 240? So what is Chevy? You got to be like. He's tall too.

He's got to be like 6, 4, 6.5. And obviously, you know, he's probably not walking around a 240. But I'm like, what if, man? You know, what if things get a little tussie here and you and I want to throw it down? I think that would be a fun conversation. We were kind of joking about that. And, um, and, uh, he was a big fan of boxing. and I'm like, I'm like a boxing nerd.

I could talk about boxing all day long. And I saw, dude, because I was creeping on your Instagram, I saw you had a match. It was a while ago. I saw that you had a match when it happened, like in the present form, like when you were doing that. Back in November? Or maybe when we became homies and I went to your gram, I'm like, oh, sick, like he had. And you know what that feeling's like. Yeah.

You know what that feeling's like being backstage or wherever you are. And oftentimes, especially because I fought an amateur circuit exclusively, I never won professional that I fought in the amateurs, you're always in some shitty gym. You're always in some shitty gym with some like nonsense going on. And you know what that feelings like of like, this could go either horribly wrong or fantastically right. And I am scared of both outcomes, to be honest, when I'm going to go out there and fight. And then for me, because that what you had, that was one. Yeah, it was like an exhibition. Because what I, my goal was, you know, get into it and then do like a celebrity fight, which I'm still, I would do if the payday was right.

Who you want to fight? I wanted to do Billy McFarland. Because I thought that I'd do from Firefest, because our stories are similar. I thought that would be perfect. It'd be a good fucking fight. Yeah. It'd be a good fight. But then, like, you never respond this and that.

But ironically, after I met you guys in April, his manager calls me and is like, do you want to do this karate kick? You know, that new thing that all the influencers are doing? It's like karate kick something. I don't know. But I was like, I'm not fucking doing it for pennies. Like, you guys got to pay me. to go out there and do it if I'm going to get my ass kicked or whatever, you know?

Yeah, for sure. So he's doing that. I'm like, I'm over the whole Billy thing. But if there was a celebrity fight, I would box him or someone of like equal value, but I would only do it if the payday was good so I could just pay restitution with it. Like that's what I would do it for.

Understood. But I stopped regular boxing because the most important thing I have right now is my mind and my brain. And getting hit like that. Like it took me like a week to recover after that. But I love the process. Like to me, I love a process. the buildup. Dude, when I was fighting, and I was very cavemanish in my fighting, I lived and

breathed and slept. It was the only thing I cared about. If I wasn't training, I was watching some tape. If I wasn't watching some tape, I was talking to someone about it. If I wasn't talking, I was probably sleeping, getting ready to go back into training the next day. But the hits eventually start to take a damage, a toll on you. And I think the one thing I was really missing as a boxer as when I was in my competition days is I wasn't that tough. I didn't have the hard exterior show that someone like a Roberto Duran has

to his fighting style. Like, Roberto Duran will take two to give one. And it's like, that math doesn't add up Roberto Duran, but you hit hard enough and eventually does add up. That at the peak of my boxing, writing and talking became a problem for me, man. You know, it became a real issue for me

where sentences wouldn't flow out of my mouth the way they used to. Sentences wouldn't flow from my hand the way they used to. And I was well protected. I had a great coach. My father protected me when I was young, because my father was involved in combat sports. Like, I was well protected.

As far as like the scale goes of damage taken, I'm on the very low end of it compared to a lot of boxers. And I still felt the effects. So you can imagine what it can be like for someone who was fed to the wolves at a young age and continually fed to wolves. Because that's what happens in a lot of boxing, You roll in there.

You want to train, you want to fight. They're usually going to use you as some kind of shark bait to get their fighters going. And then once you prove yourself, maybe you'll get to the opportunity to kind of swing, you know, to be in that position to kind of beat up someone a little bit less experience. Yeah. My first time sparring, I sprained my neck. Yeah. Like that first hit and then I did a bunch of neck activities and my neck was good. But that was like, I don't like being hit.

Yeah. Like that's just me. I was always that kid that was like afraid of his own shadow when it came to that. For sure. Wasn't the sports guy. I got into sports and like, pretty. prison. Yeah.

Like prison basketball. Yeah. It was like longest yard out there getting elbowed in the face. But that was it. It just wasn't me. You know, I did musical theater and stuff. But I wanted to do it like the boxing thing. Were you shitting yourself before the fight?

Oh yeah. But I got up there and did. I'm the type of person that's a freight, definitely afraid of heights, but I'll do it. I'm definitely afraid of heights myself. But I'll go on the roller cat. I won't go. That's maybe why. That's a difference between.

That's where our trajectories change a little bit. Because I'm not afraid to take risks. So like I'll do that. But like I don't like open. water. I hate snakes. I hate sharks and I hate, yeah, and the heights. But I'll do, like, I went storkling in like Puerto Rico a couple weeks ago. And that was like open water and then like five minutes later when we got out there was a barracuda. I'm like, I'm like, fuck. Yeah. I'm, and I always, it's always been the math that I've done is like how do I stand

in the fist fight? Like, how do I stand in the fist fight with said barracuda? Or when I'm watching a scary movie, like me and my boys are always talking, you know, gee, we actually were just doing Halloween. What are we watching? some movie what, Alec Wolf in Herod, hered, I don't know, whatever,

and there was this ghost, this, like, demonic ghost that was chasing him. And I'm like, look, at the end of the day, if you stand your ground,

you start popping a jab out there, I'm just saying, you might stand a decent chance. You know, this ghost squares up for you, but obviously, that's tongue-in-cheek because it's never a fair fight.

But scream, you obviously know a scream? Yeah, of course, yeah. That's just Billy Loomis in a scream mask, right? And Billy Loomis is the character.

He's played by an actor, Skeet, whatever the guy's name is. And I'm fucking that dude up. 10 out of 10 times. Give him a knife, man. I'm long. I snap my jab while I'm dancing around.

He ain't touch me. I don't care how much little daddy issues he got, man. I'm fucking that dude up if I'm in that movie. So that's why I don't like heights. Can't fight heights, man. Can't do that. I think against most animals, some animals, I just say, not most animals. I think I do a pretty good job.

If you got a kangaroo, dude, if you got a kangaroo. You're to box a kangaroo. And he can't kick me, though. You gotta, like, talk to the kangaroo like, listen, kangaroo, keep your feet on the ground. And I'd fuck that kangaroo. What about a bear, grizzly? Nah, man.

Yeah. I think I'd definitely lose to a bear, gorilla. I'd fuck a fox up. Dude, the fox is like two pounds, bro. That's cheating. Wait, who do you think it would win in a boxing fight? You were Gianni. I'd fuck Gianni up for sure.

Dude, he's got a rip, bro. Dude, he shred it. And I, because him and his little brother, his little brother, Christian, they get in fights all the time and we've lived together for like five years now that I've seen maybe five or six of their fights

and it's brotherly love, brotherly fights a whole thing but like they go after it and what I've noticed about Gianni because being a fighter myself I'm trying to, you know, just in case a day ever does come or me and Gianni have to come to blows.

He's aggressive and he's sneakily quick. He's sneakily quick and aggressive and short spots and that's dangerous because you don't see shit coming and that's when you really get hurt. But I'd fuck him.

up for sure and we joke about it all the time and I always sound like dude I'm just letting you know like it'd be a bad day for you like we'll be at the dinner table no conversations even happening and just how to know I'm just letting you know that much right now like I'd fuck you up man if I had to if I had to and then he'll say it back to me because he's a jiu jitju guy and he's trained for a lot of years you know he's trained maybe like a decade at this point jihitsu and different martial arts I still think I'd fuck him up though have you tried that prison workout thing he has or I called a prison workout because that's what it is but yeah I told him like That's how you should be marketing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, that's literally the prison set up. It's actually, we love it. We have one in the back of our house. What was it called, Homefit? I think so. I don't know. Home fit, which is a company he's a part of.

And we use it in the back, we use it in the back of the house. And I love it because people make working out so complicated, man. They want to do different splits and legs on the Thursday and back. And I'm like, dude, shut the fuck up. Eat a little bit less and just move as much as you can. and pull-ups, dips, push-ups, that's all you really need. And that's why dudes in prison. I mean, obviously, they got a lot of time.

You probably speak a little bit more to it than I can. They got nothing but fucking time. But that's all they have access to. You know, maybe they have a couple of free weights hanging out in the yard or something like to do some bench presses. Well, and to put it in perspective, you do fitness by day as, like, one of your day jobs right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, teach boxing, stuff like that. What do you think about the guys that do push-ups, pull-ups, dips, every day?

Is that sustainable? Definitely sustainable, man. it comes down to the athlete. It comes down to the athlete. There was a really famous running back. I think Bo Jackson, I don't know. I think there's a really famous running back that is claimed to build his entire body

through purely calisthenics. So that would be the bucket of fitness that you're talking about right now is like just push-ups, pull-ups, body weight things, calisthetics. Some of the most shredded rip dudes I know are strictly doing calisthetics on a day-to-day basis.

And the beautiful part about that is you usually don't hurt yourself too much when you're doing that type of workouts. Like if you're in the gym and there was a point in time during COVID, I went from 195 to 270 over a two-year span. So like 35 pounds in two years. And I was living with Gianni at the time.

We had nothing to do but to work out and to eat. So we did that, man. And we got huge. Gianni went from like 170 to like a buck 95. And I'm a fairly bigger guy than he is. Went from like almost 200 to 270. And we were going crazy. And we both feel to this day.

we both feel the repercussions of lifting heavy 10 times 10 German volume training two hour workouts lifting heavy versus the guy who you're talking about who does purely calisetics he probably doesn't feel that workout from two years ago my neck and my back will never be the same ever again

some of it's from the years of boxing right of course and just being alive but a portion of it is also just from lifting a stupid amount of weight so I subscribe to the calcetic aspect I think if you are a gifted enough athlete, meaning your metabolism, your testosterone, your natural level of testosterone, your hormones all lines up

for you to get shredded doing calisthenics, do it. The less you can do, the less miles you can put in your body and still walk around at 13, 12% body fat, which isn't abnormal. Like, you know, that's very casual level body fat for the most part. You can walk around that body fat, do that, be happy, enjoy your life,

and don't worry about the stupid amount of size. But then you mix in like cardio and stuff with that too. if you're doing the calisthenics? Yeah, I mean, the biggest cheat code that I found in life and my brother, he is one of the most smart fitness individuals I know, and that's, I get a lot of my philosophy of aesthetics and fitness room, 10,000 steps a day. He's 235 pounds, super lean, six-pack, and 235, lean is super hard to maintain.

And, like, dude, if you're like 155, 145, it's kind of hard not to be super lean. Like you don't got much on. But the bigger you get, the harder is to stay lean. And he describes to this too, 10,000 steps a day. So you're talking about calisthenics. If you're just doing some calisthenics and walking 10,000 steps a day and your diet's relatively on point, you have a calorie rubber band where you stay within a certain time calorie number frame or whatever, you're going to be super lean.

So you don't think you have to run or any of that. If you're just doing push-ups, pull-ups, dips. I personally, I don't think people should run. I don't think people should run. I think you have to, for every action there's a consequence, right? And the action of running is bad on your knees. It's bad on your joints. It's bad on your back.

I mean, literally you're stomping on the ground. And when you're running and you're tired, form kind of goes out the window a little bit. And you just kind of keep moving. And especially like, you know, if you have that mindset, you're willing to die on a treadmill. You can die on a treadmill and you have all the workout that you want, but you're doing damage to your body. And there's no offense and butts about it. now I'm kind of I said earlier that's the one thing I didn't have as a box I'm not necessarily a tough guy I'm not durable at all my boy that's that's another thing when me and Gianna talk about fighting he's like dude I'll just like sneeze on your back one time and you'll crumble because my spine of the spine of like a six-year-old man at this point so I'm not durable so obviously my philosophy well I haven't been durable in the past I've put out of a lot of fights due to the injuries I've put out a lot of life things due to the injuries laid up in bed um so obviously the things I subscribe to in my fitness life and fitness as a whole is very safe. You know, I think jump rope is a fantastic calorie

burn. It's a fantastic workout. But for me, just bounce my spine. But you're so tall. That's why. That doesn't really help the cause. But you know, so like, so like, I don't think you need to be jumping rope. I don't think you need to be running. I don't think you can be doing any of that nonsense. I think you can just do a casual 10K steps a day, really dial in, really dial in your, your calories and your food. And you're going to have a better body than the guy who's not so dialed and not walking but doing two-hour workout today. You know, and I think the more complicated you make it, the less results you see. Yeah, what do you think about these ripped dudes?

Like this applies to prison, which is why I bring it up to, is that there's guys that are just like eating whatever. Like throwing the desserts, the brownies, the chips, just consuming for mass, but exercising like crazy too. Is that sustainable? Definitely. I think so, man. I think so. So you could eat whatever you want? I mean, there's this dude.

I wish I knew his name off top of my because he's all over TikTok and he's pop and he's a giant dude. but most of the smarter people I've listened to in my life about fitness and calories purely believe calorie and calorie out is what it comes down to as far as your body fat levels and your weight goes body composition becomes a little more complicated so if you have person a week 2,000 calories of chicken breast and person b two thousand calories of donuts person a probably is most definitely have a better body composition they're going to look better, but they probably weigh almost exactly the same as person being now, given you have the same person just cloned, right? There's a lot of different factors of play there. But calorie

versus calorie out, like, you can kind of rely on that through anything. I don't suggest you eat donuts all day, but there's actually a study. This guy on YouTube or TikTok did like 30 days of nothing but junk food eating like tasty cakes, but he could limit it to like 1900 calories a day. And he ended up losing weight. He ended up losing weight. That's like one honey bun. It's probably actually I know like I know calories like the back of my hand because I've counted them for so long

that's probably like five honey buns You think? I don't know the prison ones are 1,200 calories What do you? Man! Dude guys would literally start their day with one honey bun It's 1200 calories

Holy crap And smother it with peanut butter That's got to be another 600 calories right there And have a coffee with it That's what and they do two of those a day Yeah Prison and son so bad man I mean, the ramen noodles, the sodium levels, 1,200 milligrams in the full pack.

Okay, we're looking at a couple of different honey buns here, though. We're looking like, because that's a healthy honeybund. They called it like the mega honey bunner or something. They're huge. It was a glazed. This thing was like this big. It was big. And it was only like, I think a dollar or two.

But, you know, I think, I mean, that's like something that's well, like, discussed and argued about in fitness. I think you're better off eating clean foods for sure, like you're in turn. mental health, you'll feel better. But I think if you're purely just looking at a number on the scale, you can eat under your calorie output no matter what it is, and you'll probably be fine. Yeah, like when I eat any type of dessert or anything, I feel like shit. And when I don't go to the gym, I feel like shit. Yeah. Like I need to, I'm realizing in my life now that that's what I need to do. Like, I need to eat clean and then also go to the gym in the morning. I think everyone needs to, dude. Everyone needs to. I think everyone needs to. It's so funny when people are just like,

especially as we get older, I've noticed it with myself. I think I'm aging. rapidly. To be honest, I'm 30, and I feel 60 most day because my back and my neck is so messed up. That just general movement, whether it be some yoga, some sauna, some cold plunge, Pilates. And it's so funny because you see me going to Pilates at like this giant dude and all these girls. And I'm the worst individual in the class. If there's a skill level to be measured by, I'm the worst, yoga, I'm the worst. I can't bring my leg anywhere near my hand. And it's a whole thing. but this general movement is going to make your life flow a little bit easier. You're going to feel a little bit better.

Your brain's going to work a little better. You have all those happy hormones that are pumping. I mean, this is stuff that's super well documented. And if you don't believe it, you just don't believe science at that point. So what do you think about the guys that, like, say they're in prison eating all of this terrible food for you? And then they come out. How do you think they transition like that? I think some of the time, I think it's actually interesting.

I think some of the time you just got unique athletes that they could eat whatever and do whatever and it still find a way to walk around at 9% 8% body fat which is pretty elite like anything under 10 is like really really elite it's like what people go on body building shows like on the stages I think they go on there at like 8%

9% I think you have freak athletes who could probably just eat honey buns these colossal honey buns that you're talking about and just do kind of moderate workouts and still probably walk around at that level and then I think you guys individuals who maybe they are eating those two honey buns covered in the peanut butter and coffee maybe one of their snack if what you're telling me I mean that can only be

3200 calories in a day which isn't a ton and if they're working out and they're really put in the work I don't know if there's much else to do in prison but do that yeah you're all you're just working out you're just kind of working out then your calorie expenditure is higher than what you're actually putting in so it goes back to the original conversation like you're still kind of in a good position now that transition you speak to this better than I can that transition from prison food to real food, I can't speak to that. I can't speak to that at all. I can't speak to that at all because I don't know what that food looks like, man. Yeah.

It sounds delicious from what you just described. It sounds like a good time, man. Yeah. No, I mean, it's when you have like, it's always weird. Like I talk to people where they're taking so much sodium in, like in prison with the ramen noodles and the chips and everything. and then you change your diet, it could maybe have some health ramifications or anything like that when you're getting out because it's totally different food. Yeah, I'm never pay attention to it. I mean, here's the thing. I'm also not eating Kobe's Monson ramen noodles for years at a time like some people in prison are. I've never been a cholesterol thing. I mean, I probably should be.

You know what I'm saying? I probably should be. I made me when I'm 50 years old, I would love to be more conscious about it. But I look at sodium, water, and carbs as kind of this partnering. of three friends in the body that dictate how lean I look the next morning. To be honest, because if you have a Monday where you're super heavy on sodium and super heavy on carbs that Tuesday, as long as your diet for the previous three to four, five, six weeks was like super on point.

And you have one pig out day on Monday. You always look your best that next day. When your body's just full, like you can eat donuts and salty and just tons and tons of disgusting carby high sodium foods because your muscles are all pumped up, even your abs and it is it is funny so if you're doing that for a long period of time i can't imagine it'd be good for you but you got some freak athletes man and people become freak athletes in prison because you have nothing else to do people reach some athletic peaks in prison man you know yeah you know what's interesting and this kind of goes the theme of the show is that you're just a normal person that

has like such experience and interesting like thoughts on this like i'm sitting next to you at dinner and i had no idea that you were the boxer and that you knew all of this about food and health and fitness. And then Gianni looks at me and he's like, you know, he was in power too. And you were the fitness trader. I was a fitness trainer. That got killed.

Kind of bullshit, man, because I'm an artist and I want to respect it as an artist. And they killed me, those motherfuckers, man. They killed me. And that was one of the doperest experiences I've had to do as an actor. Because when I retired from boxing, quote unquote, retired, I had a shoulder injury. So I call it retire. Some people will just say I flat out quit.

you know, whatever, but... We'll give you retired. They appreciate it, man. I get to hang my glove somewhere, a final once for all, but... How long ago did you retire? I was like 22. And you're how old now? 30.

So you're older than Gianni? Yeah, I'm a couple years older than G. I'm a couple years older than G. So when I went into that, I've had some great bookings over the years and some great wins, but the power was the best because to be on set with, like, essentially my close friends at that point, Gianni was like my best friend at this point, and then Michael Rainey Jr., who plays the other character on the show and a couple other individuals I've met over years just from them being in Gianni Circle and myself as well,

that you're getting to be part of this big grand stage with kind of all your buddies and everyone else is taking it very serious. And I, of course, as an actor, I've spent many years studying Miserer technique and acting classes, I too take it very, very serious. And you're just kind of joking around the entire time. You're kind of everything's nothing serious,

everyone's just laughing and you're with the boys. And that was fun because it really gets to show you with that next level of the career and entertainment looks like. Like you look at someone like Adam Sandler, who has made, you know, dozens of movies with just as buddies, you know, and that's kind of where I'd like to get to and kind of where I think we're heading as well.

But the power thing was amazing. I just don't like that they killed me. And I keep going to, like, the producers and like, yo, you can bring me back. You can put me in a full body cast, you know, and like have come and I'll, like, speak some words outside my mouth. Like, there's room.

We can, let's use our imagination. They could have extended your role in that. I thought that's what when they introduced your character. I thought there was going to be a little bit more than what they gave you. But it fits you. I was hoping for the case. It's so funny because when all my boys back home, my boys back home are giant power fans, you know, and they saw me. And they're like, yo, he made it.

He made it. And he's actually a coach. He's actually a box. He's actually a personal. I'm like, don't connect those, man. I'm trying to set myself aside as an actor and be taken seriously. So that was funny. Yeah, I mean, the way that the audition came about actually is it came in from my,

came in from my agent, my manager, and Gianni had for years tried to, like, shoehorn me in as much as you can, right? You only have so much control, you know, but, and this role came about, not from, you know, from, you know, the organic way that actors get auditions, and immediately came in and I grabbed Gianni, I'm like, I need your voice on this tape, man. You know what I'm saying? I need your voice. And, you know, let's make it known that this is a friendship and that star,

are going to be, you know, people on this show are going to be unhappy if I'm not part of this episode. You know what I mean? So I did everything I could to make that happen. And obviously, Stars was great. The whole process filming in New York, because I lived in New York for a couple months, living with G as well. And that was a whole different setting because I'm from New Jersey. Okay. From the East Coast.

And you still live Connecticut? Connecticut, yeah. Hate it, dude. Where in New Jersey? I'm from Wildwood. Wild. Oh, okay. That's popular.

I think they have a whole food's kind of near there because we opened up a lot of stores. and when I was working with Whole Foods. Okay, cool. Wildwood's a big, uh... Wildwood's a dope place, man. Yeah. Have you ever been a while? I mean, I knew that you had your partnership or whatever, but did you ever go and spend

in time of Wildwood? Not really on vacation, but growing up, so many people that I was in, you know, school with, that was the family vacation. For sure, man. It's a vacation town. 90% of the city's economy happens in like a two and a half month span, and then there's the 10% that just happens to the regular hustle and bustle. But, yeah, born and raised there.

And then I moved to L.A. when I was 18 with my best friend this dude named Kali who lives in Peru now, and we moved here when we were 18 and it was by far the worst and best decision I've ever made in my entire life. Those first couple months, first year really,

I couldn't get a job at Wendy's and I'm like man, like man, come on. I know I'm unqualified and I'm not the brightest bold at times. You know, I'm aware of my skill set, man. I was coming with black eyes because I was still fighting, I was still training. And I'm like, man, I can just throw me in

back. There's no mean the back with the air, the friar or something like that. And I couldn't get a job to save my life in the only place, after like seven, eight months, nine months, actually, of just not having a job. And, you know, shout at my mom and my brother, Steve. And everyone, they chip in and be like, here's $32. This is what we got for you today. I'm like, all right, man, thank God. I'm going to be on the streets another day. But they really helped, they really helped me down in that time. The first, the first company that gave me jobs, Avicrom being fetched. I can see you working there. Yeah, dude. I was. Were you a model or just a worker?

At the time, they made everybody do both. You were like this hybrid employee, which is very weird because they're in a giant lawsuit. I wasn't part of the lawsuit, man. I saw the documentary. You saw that. It was a whole thing. I didn't see you in it. I had nothing but great things to say about Avicrom Bean Fish, man.

Y'all gave me a paycheck when no one else would, man. So I didn't watch a documentary. But I would get things in the mail about this lawsuit. I was like, whatever, man. I'm still collecting these paychecks. I'm not worried about what's going on. I have to. I have to survive.

But that's why, you know, best and worse. and then from there, boxing gave me, like, an identity in Los Angeles, which I think is very, very important when you come to LA, because if you come to Los Angeles as a student, like, if you go to UCLA, USC, and you come from a different

town, like, you have a built-in ecosystem to be a part of, right? You get to be part of the fraternities and the parties and the football and the scholars and all that stuff. And if you come out here and you have family here, you obviously have family. I came out here with, like, just just showed up no nothing lined up for me to do i i knew i wanted the box i knew i was boxing previous and people didn't care you know i'd go up to box and jimbs and be like hey like i'm here and it'd be like what dude like kindly fuck off you know what i'm saying like we're good

we have our team we're kind of moving on um and that's that's actually the reason because i asked you in the beginning about what that feeling was like before your fight that's the thing that that was the thing that scared me before a fight is because my whole life was being propped up by this identity as a boxer and that people were starting to finally be kind to me in L.A. and not treat me like a bum, you know, a 19-year-old, 18-year-old kid with no money and nothing.

People were starting to be kind to me, treat me with love. And the boxing community is very small, so like you start to meet people very quickly and you start to kind of level up in life, so to speak. And I was just worried sitting in these like little dungy gyms you know, at the Golden Gloves, like the Los Angeles Golden Gloves happens in like this random YMCA. It's not like a glorified event, even though it's like a, I guess, a flashy title. Sitting there in this locker room auditorium and just thinking, if I lose this fight, all the good things that are happening for me are going to stop.

You know, all these people that are being kind to me and treating me with love and giving me opportunity, they'll probably take them away if I lose this fight. And that's why it was so hard to go fight. I wasn't worried about getting banged up. I mean, I know I said I wasn't much of a tough guy, but I could take a shot or two and be completely fine. My entire boxing career, never been knocked down, never been knocked out, never touched the canvas once.

So I got sturdy legs and sturdy neck. Like, you can hit you a couple shots I'm still standing. But you start to take away the love and the admiration and the opportunity and the life that I had built for myself being a boxer. That's when I turned probably, that's what I turned into a bitch. That's when I turned into a guy that I'm not proud to be because, you know, it's just scary, you know, like all that's taken away from me if you lose. I mean, and you know what's interesting is you hear all the time the stories of people that go to L.A., California for acting, you don't really hear the stories like this.

Like you went here specifically for boxing. Yeah, Los Angeles has the greatest amateur boxing scene in the world. 100%. I mean, obviously you have countries that have great amateur boxing. You know, Cuba always has fantastic amateur boxers. Great Britain always has fantastic amateur boxers. But L.A. man, you know, like L.A. for just a. be a county or whatever or a city to supply as many Olympians and professional fighters and

Hall of Fame fighters as they have over the last, you know, 50, 60 years. It's uncanny, man. You know, and they know it's like everyone always ought to argue what's the best basketball state or what's the best football state. Like, it's not even a question. There's not even a second and a third or a fourth or a fifth. It's like you're either an amateur boxing succeeding in, succeeding in L.A. or you're not. Las Vegas, actually, I should give Las Vegas it's flowers. Las Vegas sucks. She has a great amateur boxing team too. But yeah.

And fortunately, I had a coach who was introduced to. His name is Ramona Spada. And the dopest coach in the world, man. Honestly, I'm so lucky and so blessed because any other coach would have fed me to the wolves. I was very green. I had a lot of holes in my game, man. I was very wonky with my body. I didn't know what I was doing with my arms.

I just knew how to stay out of the way of harm. You know, I could slip and roll well. I didn't know anything other than that. And he coddled me until I was ready not to be coddled. And that's like the only thing you can ask for as a boxer, as a young boxer to be protected and to be coddled until you're not ready to be protected and coddled. And I actually, because at the time, again, going back to just being an 18, 19, 20-year-old kid,

trying to find his purpose in a giant city, I was entertaining the opportunity to work with other coaches and to work with different management companies, different promoters, just to kind of be a part of the ecosystem that is boxing in L.A., and they fed me to the wolves. They did not coddle me, did not have love for me like my coach's spot of dead,

and that's one thing I'm always super, super thankful for it, and we're still super close to this day. Yeah. And that was a hard conversation telling him I was not going to be boxing anymore. You know what I mean? Do you think it's just as hard to make it as boxing in L.A. as it is to make it as an actor.

It's a different level of hard. Boxing is hard in your body, man. Boxing hard in your body. I mean, an amateur fight are three rounds. How many rounds was your fight? It was three, two-minute rounds. So a novice-level amateur fight is the same exact thing. It felt like forever, though.

It feels like, dude, it feels like... I thought I was like, get me the fuck on this ring. I would, when I would step into that third round, actually, it's a weird thing, man. 30 seconds into the first round, it feels like I just started the marathon and I have to kind of pick and choose my spots but when that third

when I go when I step out of the corner for that third round I feel like I could box for a year straight you know I used to bounce around the ring for 12 rounds 15 rounds 20 rounds just popping my jab and I used to you know dance around the ring and I wasn't like a phone booth fighter I would kind of pop my jab and move a little bit

but that first two rounds I didn't feel like I could do that that first two rounds I'm nervous my legs are shaky you don't know what's going on, but you come out of that third round. So it does feel like forever until you kind of get to the end of forever, and then I kind of feel like I could do whatever I want. But boxing is tough in a very physical way, three, two-minute rounds or whatever it is for three-minute, three-minute rounds. I would feel like I got in a car accident the next morning.

And I wouldn't be marked up or nothing like that because you wear a headgear. So you're not getting hit with head butts or anything crazy like that. You're using bigger gloves in the amateurs, I believe, at the competition level, it's eight ounce gloves for my weight class or 10 ounce clothes I forget but she's using slightly bigger gloves you have the head gear you're not boxing

12 rounds like you are in the pros or even six or eight rounds you're boxing three rounds man like it's it's over and done with before you know it I would feel like I got in a car accident so it's harder on you physically acting and entertainment is infinitely harder on you spiritually and mentally infinitely infinitely because

at least in boxing there's definitive answer to thing you either knock someone out or you got knocked out. You either got your hand raised at the end of the, at the fight, or you did it. And for as shady as boxing to be, which was a long, long history of shady judges and scorecards and even to this day happening in boxing, you kind of, it's a spectator sport. You know, if the fans think you won, you won. And that's kind of all you, that's kind of all you care about. But I loved the logic and the black and white and the definite answers that came with boxing. I either was sharp in the gym today. I felt good in the gym.

gym stay. I got the better of my sparring partner in the gym stay. It's not always about that. Of course, sometimes you just work on things, but you always can know how it went. As an actor, man, I've done tapes. And at this point in my acting career, I'm auditioning for, you know, dope projects, legitimate projects. You know, when you first start out, you're kind of just auditioning for anything that someone will watch you for. But now I'm like auditioning for legitimate level projects. And I don't even know if I did, like, did I do a good job? Like nobody knows and you never hear any feedback. You either get the job.

And if you don't get the job, that's your, that's your feedback that you just think is. Because they're so peculiarly, peculiar, whatever the word. Peculiar? Yeah, I can't pronounce it. They're so focused on those little things. Whereas like compared to boxing, like it's either you have the technique or not. But in acting, you could do it perfectly, but it's not for that person that you audition. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance.

With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usaa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. In other words, it's super subjective. Acting, music, being an artist or painter or a sculptor, it's so subjective, man. And this is something that Gianni and I talk about all the time. We have, for as similar as our minds work when it comes to acting, we went through very similar schools of acting.

There's this individual named Lacrana. who's one of our very close friends. He was both of our, he was the acting coach that took me and Johnny from like just saying lines so like actually doing legitimate work at a professional level. We think very differently about it because Johnny's like everything can be perfect.

Every blink, every click of the tongue, every syllable can be perfect. And I try telling him, I'm like, nah, it can't, man, because it's perfect to you in this moment. And that works for you and you've had success with it so you should continue. Don't let anyone shake you with the ideology because it works for you.

but you don't know who's watching the tape thinking that wink wasn't supposed to be where that wink was or some nonsense and it can even be even more minuscule than that you can do the most perfect audition and so on just like I don't think so and I'm the one in the position of power so kick rocks you know and that's the thing that's hard that you never know where you're standing is at least for me but I'll speak for myself personally I never know where my standing is you know you do you do a couple of great tapes you get a couple of great bookings and then it goes completely bone dry for six, seven, eight months, nine months, and you're like, wow, it's over. But you know what it is? It's like the power is put in the wrong people's hands sometimes because some of these casting agents, like it's not even making it to the higher up person that might have thought it was perfect. Yeah. Like I auditioned for this thing for HBO Discovery Channel last November, didn't hear anything. And then my friend connected me to them again because he got casted in it. And now I'm doing it next month. But thank you.

But it's a different casting. agent, you know? For sure. So it's like, I gave the same thing, but it has to do with the right person seeing it. The subjectivity in the arts, I don't even, I don't even like,

that sounds like a stupid word. You know what I'm saying. The subjectivity in the arts, this, the story that you said my experience, is fucking bullshit, man. It's fucking, am I allowed to curse?

Yeah, of course. Okay. It's fucking bullshit, man. It's really bullshit, man. So you doubled out of the curse. Start flying on. That's fun of the night. That's what I love.

about boxing, man. That's what I loved about growing up as an athlete and just, you know, being a ball player or a boxer. And no one could tell me I didn't knock that dude out. No one can tell me that that wasn't a spectacular knocker. That doesn't deserve to be on every highlight real from here to freaking Egypt because that was a badass knockout. And it's

widely accepted because it happened in reality and acting, it's like, or any type of art, man, it's like, you know, it's up to the viewer. That's why someone can look at Daniel Day Lewis who's widely accepted as like the greatest male actor. that like I watch

James de Lewis and I'm sure it's fantastic but like I'd probably rather watch like a Kevin Smith movie where like Jay and Tom Bob where these guys are probably like getting thumb downs on rotten tomatoes and it's so subjective it's such a personal preference and that part of it is super freaking hard man

dude it's tough man you know and you also sometimes like you could be casted in the perfect thing like when I met Gianni I was like this is Braden yeah yeah yeah yeah like that's him but you know it's also to the point where just going back to the point where sometimes the wrong people are casting the wrong things and not that they're not talented.

Maybe they just don't have the life experience that lends to like, you'd probably cast a prison show really fucking well. Yeah, they got some guy or some individual who's never even stolen a candy bar in their life, never even felt the thrill of being like a little bit in trouble casting a prison show. Like that person's not going to get the essence of the show correct versus someone like yourself

who's never cast a show in her life but has the real life experience and know what that feels like and should look like. I don't know what the audition process was like for Gianni. We were friends at the time. We weren't living together. She weren't doing tapes and stuff like that. But Gianni made Braden Weston who Braden Weston is. And the same thing with, you know, any great character, man, any great character, you know, any character,

Billy Bob Thornton has done. Like, Billy Bob Thornton has made those characters who those characters are, like the sling blade character or something like that. So it's like a weird, like, has to meet in the middle of like, yes, the role has to be right for you. But you're also bringing that role to life. And that's why when you meet Gianni, you kind of meet Braden Weston at the same time. Because Gianni let Gianni bleed into that role. And that's why it's real.

That's why it connects with people. And that's why people fuck with it. You know what I mean? Yeah. When I interviewed Chevy, I asked him like what his role he got offered that he didn't take. And he said, Forrest Gump. And I can't picture. Yeah.

They wanted him as Forrest Gump. He wouldn't have been a badass Forrest Gump. But I can't see it. Really? Really? After seeing, after watching it with who got casted in it, you know? Yeah. So that's exactly to what you're saying, though, of, like, that actor becomes that person.

Yeah. So if Gianni didn't get it, we could be sitting here saying, oh, well, whoever ended up getting it is Braden. For sure. It could be the same thing. I think even a better way to phrase it is the character becomes the person. You know what I'm saying? Like, that character, like, Forrest Gump became Tom Hanks. Like, if Chevy was Forrest, Forrest Gump would have became Chevin.

And we'd be having the same conversation in reverse about Tom Hanks probably could never. That's why I hate when these actors screw up and then they recast them. I know. It's a very weird thing which is like my worst nightmare ever because I never feel like I got a job until I'm there on set. Even with the power stuff, I'm like, I was in New York sleeping in a hotel like three hours away from pickup. I couldn't, I didn't sleep a wink that night. I was so nervous, man. I was so nervous, dude. And whatever. So I'm sitting there and I'm like, man, they could they could recast this. It's not that important of a roll. We can cut it. What just happened before, man. I was part of a movie that went to Sundance, that went to the Sundance. That went to the Sun dance. that went to the Sundance Film Festival, which is like an amazing thing for an actor to be a part of, even if you're not the lead, which I wasn't.

I was a side character in like, you know, very minimal scenes. I was cut from it, but I'm like, I'm like, even I was there. I got paid for it and everything, and I'm still not part of this project. Like, I've never be able to tell my kids or I never be able to really hang that on my resume, so to speak, because I was cut out of it. And sometimes it has nothing to do with the performance. Sometimes it does, you know, sometimes it's kind of a time thing as well.

but yeah it's such an it's such an interesting thing and also the seedy part the seedier parts in the muddier waters of acting which we're all well documented with the wine scene and just like just the nonsense that's happened versus the seedy and muddy parts of boxing I'll take the CD and muddy parts of boxing every day of the week 10 every 10 times because there is some there's some level of humanity left and I may be maybe someone like you know Mike Tyson's experience with Don King and the whole stuff and being charged for towels and all that stuff. Like maybe you have a different opinion about it. But the stuff I've seen and acting stuff I've experienced with an acting, sketchy stuff, man. Very sketchy stuff. I'll share the story. I might even told you guys at dinner, but I'll share it again.

When I was transitioning from boxing to acting, I didn't want to just leave boxing with not having a new identity, right? This whole ego, you know, having something to be part of L.A. with. So I knew I had wanted to be part of acting for some time. I met some actors. I've done some acting and I'm like, I think I feel pretty good about transitioning and my odds to be successful in this field.

But I started to tell my dad, who was like a huge fight guy. My dad's a huge fight guy. If you go to my dad's house, there's this posters of like Claude Van Dan and like just fighting stuff and swords and boxing bags and like everything. He's a huge fight fan.

And he was super supportive wherever I want to do. But also my coach, I had a boxing manager at the time who had invested a lot of money into me, equipment, paying for me to get to tournaments, et cetera, et cetera. I had to break the news like, hey, like your investment went to zero. You know what I mean?

I had to break that news. And I thought if I had booked a dope role in like a big project, I could be like, hey, guys, look. I made it. Like, it's not that your investment with zero is that your investment involved in something better. And that wasn't the case. Well, actually was the case is I went to this casting. And it wasn't a legitimate casting.

I found it on like the numbers. Like, you know, you rip a number off like a street pole. Yeah. Which is lesson number one for young actors out there. That's not a real casting. Don't go to that. Something weird's going to happen and something weird did happen. So I take the number and I'm like, yeah, this is going to be my opportunity.

And that's the dreamer in me, the optimistic. Good to be optimistic. Right? I was a little too optimistic, man. I was a little too fucking optimistic for this one. So I pull it down and I'm like, I'm going to go. I'm going to book this. And it was a boxing movie.

I was like, man, God is really like hooking it up right now. The universe is for sure on my side. I'm booking this thing is going to be great. And I'll have an excuse not to get punched in the face anymore. So I take it and I go to the casting And there's this weird Seedy guy like in the back And I'm like, oh, this must be what all the horror stories are about

This is what I said But you know what? I'm a gamer, man I've gone through a lot worse I went through 12 rounds of hell With you know heavyweight champions Like I'll be fine I'll be fine

So I went I do the scene horribly probably And he's recording the whole thing And there's a nude scene in it And it wasn't like advertised as that It was advertised as a real theatrical movie You know like for real actors You do real actors

I'm like, this is for me. So anyway, dude, anyway. So basically, long story short, he doesn't convince me. He's like, there's a nude scene. We want to see you do a nude scene where you're in a shower talking to your coach behind you. And I'm like, yeah, dude, like, that's what actors do, man. Like, fucking, come on, man. Like, I'll do that right now.

So I took my clothes off and I started doing the scene. One thing led to another. Nothing weird happened, but there's a scene of me as a 19, 20-year-old kid, probably just my back turned, my naked butt to the camera. or like doing a fake washing thing. And okay, that ended. I put my clothes back on. Nothing weird happened. Didn't try to touch me.

Nothing weird like that. Just got some video of me being naked doing a scene, which is freaking weird. Weird thing. Very perverted. Very weird thing. But hey, you're just okay with this? You know, it's, I mean, dude, my butt's out there, man. My butt's out there.

I'm naked all the time in the house. Like the boys, you know, I'm like, whatever, man. It's just my butt or whatever the case is. It gets weirder. Okay, and that's a lesson for young actors, man. Like, I was young and had no guidance. I had no mentors. I knew nothing.

I knew nobody. It's very easy to take advantage of someone who knows nothing and there's nobody. And thankfully for me, that the experience wasn't that horrible, that there's a lot worse ways that could go. For me, someone's got my butt on camera. All right, you know, like, whatever. I wish I would have known them, but I know now, and it's a lesson for other people not to do stupid shit like that.

That's not a real audition that you got from a freaking street corner. Lesson learned. But the weird fucking part is, it's like, I know this guy's face, he had some glasses, like a comb over, like kind of a smaller dude. Like a year later,

two years later, I'm walking in Brentwood, going to my gym, and some dude pulls me over and he's like, hey, have you been to, like, my longer acting? Like, I'm like,

walk and he pulls up in his car, like, you've been in my long acting? And at the time, me being still dumb and optimistic and delusional, you're like, yeah, like,

totally into my head. I'm like, dude, this is my big break. About to get discovered by this weirdo or whatever. And I gave him my number we exchange numbers or whatever, exchange

emails. And I walk away, I'm like, I know that face. I know that fucking face. Where do I know that face? I don't know. It's a big city. You probably seen them or something like that before. And then we email and he emails me, says, I have a confession.

I'm not actually a casting director or scout model. I'm a dirty boy. He needs to be taught a lesson. And I'm like, Jesus fucking Christ. In that moment, Ian, it all clicked to me. He was the dude. He was a dude running a casting session where my buttocks was exposed and I was showering.

It was the same fucking guy who was doing that. He was probably just a schemy, perverted, disgusting individual. It gets even worse. I tell him to fuck off, like, over email. I didn't bring up the whole casting process, but it's the same guy who got me twice. Man, that's how dumb and optimistic I was, man. Got me twice. It gets even worse.

He starts hanging around my apartment complex. Like, I had a second or third story window. and I would wait a 7-Eleven across the street and I would see his car and him just hanging about for like an hour, two hours at a time and I'm like, bro, I'm gonna get killed, man, this guy's gonna JFK me or something man, like it's over for me and then eventually

it eventually just fizzled out and I know what you're probably thinking, I'm a boxer, but I don't go fuck this guy up. I was petrified. I was petrified and then. I was like, bro, the horror stories are real about what? Dude, you had a full-blown stalker.

Dude, not only a full, he had, and not only that, like, this guy had got me twice. That's how dumb and delusional, optimistic I was. Were there other men at the thing? For sure. So I'm not the only one who got duped. So did you call the cops?

Nah, nah. You did a lot of snitch? Didn't do that. You were a victim, bro. Holy cow. And, you know, Gianni thinks he's like, bro, I can't believe that happened to because he himself went through dumb optimistic. Not that exact. But, you know, young actors go through, people take advantage of young optimistic.

music actors every day in this town and he's like he's like do you feel comfortable sharing that with people dude like are you sure you feel and i'm like 100% man because uh it's part of reality that it is being an actor in l.a and it's not like something extreme you know my heart goes out to that everybody who's dealt with something like that in this industry it's something that is kind of almost like i got like nicked by a bullet you know what i'm saying i got grazed by a little bit of a weird perverted guy in l.a like it wasn't that anything too serious but um so he was like Following you around for a year and a half. Follow me around for a grit, man.

Find me around for a free, and that's my first stalker experience, which is definitely the worst. I had a second stalker experience. Not as creepy. This one was by a girl. But this first one, I would be up all night,

and at the time I was smoking a lot of weed. You know what I'm saying? And I would be all paranoid, just looking at my window smoking. Just looking and shit, and be like, oh, he's out there, man. Oh, crap. Like, what do I do?

You know, type of thing. I didn't tell anyone because you're a little embarrassed. Why do people do this? Dude, he's a weirdo, man. He's a weirdo. and I hope you still follow on me. I hope you still follow on me because now I'm just handing on ass weapons.

At the time, I don't want no smoke. I'm going to get arrested, nothing like that. You know what I'm saying? You beat some guy up. Cops come back. This guy's trying to jerk me off. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's a whole thing.

Dude, that is crazy. And now you see like what happens to women, too. It's even worse. Dude, that's exactly what I meant by my statement earlier. Like the seedier and muddy parts of entertainment are infinitely seedier and muddier than the world of boxing. And that's why I miss that world. I miss the beat,

to getting beaten up, getting beaten up. I miss, like, the fact that if you have a bad day in boxing, you end up with a broken jaw, but if you have a bad day and acting, he's have a bad tape. Like, you measure it like that. Like, I prefer this other side over here, uh, 10 out of 10 days because this is so vague and it can be manipulated in such a way, man, and like, people got to be careful, dude.

People got to be careful. Young actors need friends and mentors and people that guide in the right direction. We need people to take care of young actors, even old act, you know, anybody in that case, because, it's very easily manipulate it, you know, and you can do it, you can get away with it. That's crazy. You can get away with it, man.

You can get away with it. There was another weird situation. There was another weird situation, but it wasn't as weird. And I was a little bit more of an adult, and I caught it in the midst. I was like, ah, this guy's trying to get to me, man. And it's weird, man, because they think they can, man. They really think they can because it's such a high, acting such a high barrier to entry. Maybe the highest barrier of entry in the world.

I don't know. maybe like there's doctors and stuff out there who disagree, but like such a high barrier to entry that like they can take advantage of you, man. They definitely can. I got Nick by it. I was slipping and rolling out of this pervert's hands, man. Yeah, they should have casted you in like the dark side of childhood acting or anything. Or teenage young, young adult acting, man.

Yeah, they should do a whole series of it. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there with a horror story like this, man. I'm positive. I'm not, man. And it's a scary thing, man. And lately people are starting to come around and be like, yo, like we're not putting up with the shit. And there was a whole Me Too movement and everything that. And Terry Cruz spoke out, which is a hard thing for a man to do.

So, like, you know, kudos to those people that were brave enough to do it because what they dealt with was infinitely worse than, you know, my experience. And that should affect me in the moment big time. Like, I was all nervous and stuff. I was all weird for a couple days. Yeah. You know what I mean? And then you look at the people like in New York City that are getting like punched, like the guys that are just randomly walking up and punching women. I saw that man

Because it's fucking crazy I went through a kick In my like mid-20s Where I would like Sought after dog abusers And like challenge him to fights Because I'm a big dog guy Always grew up with dogs

I had my own boxer at the time His name was Muhammad Ali It was very cliche Yeah it was a boxing in Muhammad Ali He was so dope man He's the coolest fucking dog My mom has him now But I would go out of my way

And be like you want to fucking You're a tough guy right You're a tough guy beating up this little dog I'll fuck your ass up man right now Watch out Michael Vick. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't want to know smoke with Michael Vick,

man. I feel like that guy's got hitters left and right, but one time I was walking to my home in Venice, and I saw this dude beating up a dog, beating up a fucking dog in broad daylight. There's actually a video of me. There's a video of the whole interaction, and this is not a cool interaction on my end

because I ended up, I'll tell you. So I saw the dude beating up the dog, and I screamed, and I'm like, hey, yo, like, pick on your own size or something like that. This dude had a bullproof vest on and a weapon, in his hand and I don't know what the weapon was but he started coming after me

and he let go of his dog and the dog's chasing me too I'm trying to say the dog this is this mean gray looking pit bull man I'm like Jesus Christ what the fuck I get myself into me I'm not trying to save this dog this dog's trying to kill me now and the dog's chasing me he's coming after me I think there's a video of this whole interaction

me saying that the dog him and me looping around like this tree and taking off and jumping down like this three foot story of like whatever it was there's like a little bridge in Venice. I jumped on to some cement and I take off and I take off. And I actually had my work uniform on at the time.

And the person found that my boss who owned the company I was working at and sent him that. And I had the video. I don't have it anymore. But after that, I stopped challenging people to fistfights over that type of stuff. And maybe call the cops or something more responsible. But I went through that phase too, man, because it's bullshit. And people think they can just pick on people for no reason.

Or pick on dogs or take advantage of people. Like, I'll fuck you up, man. Oh, fuck you up. You're the dog savior. I know, that would have been cool, dude. That would have been a cool moniker from me, man. That would be cool. But I bitched out, actually.

Once I saw the dog chasing me, I'm like, I'll fuck this. You're just trying to save the dog. I'm getting the fuck out of here, man. It is, I mean, you probably experience that too. I mean, from what you hear, the horsers, there's almost exclusively people taking advantage, manipulating, extorting in some type of way. And I remember this story you told us at dinner.

You probably shared it on this podcast before, but your first day there, you didn't have your papers. Yep. And you had to go sit at that goofy table? I had to sit at the Chomo table. That was like one of my first viral clips, too, on social media. So what did you call the table? The Chomo table. What's a chomo? Chomo is child molester. So it's like CH and then M-O for child molester. I don't know where the first O comes from.

Okay. But yeah, that's what they, the chomos. And because I look like with the, I had darker rim glasses and my face was chubier. And then, like, I had thick, longer hair. And I had some highlights still left in my hair because I would bleach my hair. but dude it was bad you know i look like a little chipmunk um and i they made me sit there dude you're shitting yourself in that moment dude you're shitting yourself all the time and like watching like i just started watching prison break and i'm glad fucking show so good and i'm like i'm glad i didn't

watch just like while i was going through it because i would have been scared shitless but the stuff that happens in that show minus the escape stuff that like that's kind of fake but that what was going on with like the the prison rapes and this and that that happens you know that's a real thing commissary taken you know what's commentary is the financial your finances no like your food like the extra food that you could buy okay from like the canteen um the guys holding someone's pocket sitting at certain tables sitting at certain benches the violence the shanks like it's all very real you know yeah bro and i always know there's always like these tough guys out there in the world with like first thing you do when you get the prisons from the biggest baddest dude you

that's like a cliche literally like every time i interview someone what was your first day at prison like went up to the biggest blackest guy hit him in the face. And I'm like, dude, that's the last thing I'm doing, dude. I'm finding the small shaded corner of shadows and trying to hide away and do my time. The correct advice should be if someone tries you,

then you have to. Then you have to. But you don't go out and find it. Yeah, yeah. It's just like, I mean, there's always these cool movies and stories about like underground boxing things and Barry Knuckles in prison.

Like, and the prison guards that fight. Yeah. Not where I was at, but I've interviewed guys where, yeah, guards will pop the cells and bring out a couple inmates to fight or guards will go in there and fight. See, that would be my only chance. That would be my only chance.

The boxing, yeah. Because people would start to probably have a little respect for me at least once they saw me bang a little bit. It's just never really a fair one because you don't know who's working at what angle and if people know stuff or this and that. The whole system's kind of like corrupt in that sense. Did you see Meek Mill posted about the show?

No, no. I put on my story. He, I had a fired probation officer from Philly. Okay. Expose about how they treated Meek Mill when he was in prison. No way. And the system was like purposely trying to jam him up. And I guess Meek Mill saw the TikTok and he put it on his Instagram today.

Holy shit. Which was really cool. And I had like locked in with Ian Bick and like the Ian Bick thing. But like that's what happens. Like more people need to talk about like what goes on like that. Yeah, there's a lot of bullshit in the world, man. Yeah. No matter who you are.

Meek Mill is a bona fide, you know, rap superstar at this point of his life. You know what I'm saying? At this point in my life, I'm more so just want to be left alone. You know what I'm saying? As a young man, I want to be in the mix. I want to go to clubs and do all the shit and be in the parties and hang out with the people. Aren't you doing that now? Kind of, yeah.

Have you seen your roommates? Kind of, yeah. But we do it in a professional manner. Professional? What time do you guys go to bed? It depends. But, okay, excluding some weekends, most weekends, me and me and Gene, the boys, and there's five or six of us

to a very time we usually go out together we always I, it's always this conversation of like, almost like I'm

kicking and screaming my way there to a certain degree, don't get me wrong, like it's a great fucking time and we always have a great time but like, I'm usually the one being like

oh, it's time to get out of here like, was it 930, 10 30, man, let's get the fuck on out of here, man, and then they end up, we end up, you know,

and Jesus a lot like that too, man. For as much as outside as it seems as he is, my boy is inside, man, he is inside, he's chilling, We're usually playing UFC.

That's a way to be. You know, the more fame you get and everything like that. It's better. I like being inside. Like, I like doing my own thing. For sure. And I'm sure you probably have an odd target on your back being the prison conversation guy. You know, people probably grab your ear and you get stuck in conversations that probably don't want to be a part of nonstop.

It's so bad. I mean, I don't go to clubs anymore unless like it's an event related to building the brand. But like casually, no. Like I'd rather just stay in and hang out and keep looking. Are you a video game guy? Yeah, I'd play Cod. Do you guys do Warzone? Okay.

Gene, his little brother, Christian, they play a lot of Cod. Dude, put me in the rotation. Get me in there. Yeah, yeah. I'll definitely let them know because they play, that's like a third cycle game for them when we've exhausted our other games. We're big UFC fans. Okay, I've never played UFC.

No, never. I've never played any sports games except for like 2K. I think it was 2K12. I would play on the PlayStation. Back in the day. Do they have PlayStation in prison? in state, not in the feds. Maybe they're starting.

I know they're rolling out like the iPad and stuff, but that was before. So you can get like regular county jail, you can get yourself with your hand in place. I know like New York City. I was reading about like all the inmates have PlayStations or something.

Because if you think about it, brings down violence. For sure. You give them something to do. In some respects, it's only ever elevated violence in my home with my older brother Steve and now my friend Gianni where there is times

where like me and G will play like UFC like we do like a best of three for the title. One of us, it dampens the friendship for sure. Obviously, it's like off-funning games. But like, dude, we go to bed sometimes. And I'm like, dude, you're not the guy I thought you were. Like, you're a coward because you can do little cheat things. Just like, God.

We do screen cheating too when you play on the same screen. Yeah. And you're like, man, you're not the guy I thought you were. You're a spineless coward. I want the war with you. I've parted with you. And you're a coward man. I miss the days of living with like a roommate.

Like, I hated it. Do you live alone now? I live alone now. studio but I hated it when like there's financial shit when someone doesn't pay this and that where they have people over like during COVID we had like it was me and two of my best friends and it was perfect we had a townhouse but I had at that point I was working at Whole Foods so I had to be up at 5 a.m. They had no jobs. They were throwing bangers. If I if I lived with them now it would have been a blast because of my lifestyle now just like what the freedom that I could do what I do now

but back then like I was in a different mindset. And that's when you outgrow people too and stuff like my life completely changed going from a nine to five to this lifestyle. Now it's so different. Like to me and my old lifestyle, you would never be in L.A. on like a Wednesday or a Tuesday or whatever, you know. That's like a vacation, a weekend type thing. Now it's just like it's casual, fly in, fly out and do this. Well, I think that's also why I think that's also why because I've had roommates my entire time in L.A. And I always end up not on the friendliest terms of them when we decide to move out as you're kind of.

of it because after we have a five, you're partying or vice versa. That's why I think from the living together with, it's me, G, and his little brother, our buddy Alex Padilla and our other buddy, Andrew Keseo, and we all kind of have, not frivolous lifestyles, but we all kind of have control over our day to day,

and we all don't need roommates. If any individual one of us went to go and have her own place, like it's well within our financial means, but we're all kind of choosing to, and I think that's the difference, is that when you can choose to live with your boys versus you're kind of in a situation where financially this makes sense

and I have this job, blah, blah, blah. That's when things get weird because then you feel like people are stepping on your path to keep going and whatever the case is. Yeah, I've always lived with a roommate because I had to. Yeah, me too when I first got to L.A. Like, it was either roommate or I'm homeless. Yeah, now I'm, you know, like I have my own studio.

Like I'll get probably a one bedroom when this leases up because I like the idea of having like a separate kitchen and living space and stuff. I like, you're right, that is nice. I fuck with the studio so hard because I'm paranoid, bro. I'm paranoid. I'm like, there's ghosts in here, man.

Yes, I can't sleep with the door. Dude, I'm like, get the fuck out of it. There's someone out in there right now. The studio's good for that, you're right. I was in Peru for six months. I spent a fair amount of time in Peru, and I had this big, beautiful, like, Pan House, and I felt the coolest dude ever.

I'm like, man, that's right. And, like, Peru, it's like American Dollar goes such a long way. I was scared shit less. give me the fuck out of here, man. Like, it was a fantastic, beautiful place. I was in a safe city. But I would hear, like, a creek. I'm like, oh, there's a ghost.

For sure, coming to kill me. For sure, I'm dying very soon in this beautiful apartment here. But I fuck with the studio. And then the house that we have now, it's a shame you're only here. It's a shame you're only here, what's all tomorrow. Yeah. I got to see that house. I'm coming back in a few weeks.

Are you coming back for? For that filming thing. So I'll be, Gianni said, well, I'll go grab dinner or something one night. And we're a little bit of ways now. We're in Calabasas. Oh, I'm going to Calabas. I'm going to Malibu tomorrow morning to see my cousins. So Malibu and Calabwe and that kind of like intertwined in some weird West.

Yeah, and I've been to Calabat. Oh, so you got, Gianni's trying to fuck Kim Kardashian. I didn't say. I'm sure he'd like to, man. You guys are spying other Jedders out there. I know what you guys are doing. And we lived in a beautiful apartment complex previous to this because it's easy. Apartments are easy, man.

There's no upkeep. Something goes wrong. You just put in a little request. And we all value that. But the space and privacy you get with like, you know, renting or owning a home is just second. You have a pool? Second done. We don't have a pool, man.

We sacrifice us in the pool, which I, again, when we moved, I was very much against it. I'm like, you idiots, you know how this house? It's a big old house in Calabasasas. I'm like, you idiots, you know how much upkeep this house is going to be? We had someone, we were cleaning today. And it was disgusting. and nothing even happened. I'm like, do you not see all the dust and clutter?

And I'm like, this is your bed, y'all. You live in it, you sleep in it. But I will say this. I've been very happy since I've been there. But I was very keen to them saying, like, this is not going to be a walk in the park. And I think that's also another thing living with roommates. And we're five dudes.

Like, things get real, things get real, unneed, real quick. Yeah, you guys got where you're, it's like prison, man. Yeah, and then it is like prison because it's testosterone in the world, like, elbowing each other to get positioned. You guys have like a cleaning schedule too of like who cleans? Do you kidding me? What are you?

That's what they had. Dude in prison like you have 12 man bunks and it's each person's day to clean the floor and you can outsource it to someone else that does the cleaning. Yeah, yeah. You pay. But like each day you're responsible for it getting cleaned. I wouldn't mind that job in prison actually. To be the cleaner?

Yeah. It's kind of like. Yeah, you got like a couple packs of fish. Yeah. Yeah. I take you now I'm so curious. Is a cigarette trading like such a, is that like a big currency thing or is that just blown up in cinema. Not really for currency. It's blown up in cinema, but now it's different because

they ban cigarettes in the feds. In the state, it might be different, but in the feds. So you can't smoke a cigarette in yourself? No. Never? Not legally. People do it, and they'll light it with the batteries and stuff. In the state, I think you can, but in the feds, you can't anymore. Okay. You used to. Okay. But packs of cigarettes, I sold cigarettes before. So what you would do is, like, you'd get the carton, so you would get, when we were at the camp, you'd get a carton of cigarettes for like 180 bucks but each pack is you could sell for 20 bucks at the time so you're doubling your money on a thing and is money go a long way in prison like this three dollars go a long way or like it depends i mean now inflation affects prison too because like a bag of doritos back then was like

350 on the street and then they were selling for seven you know like the little mp3 players would sell for like 120s but then you have cell phone it depends on what it is cell phones like would retail at the camps for 400 bucks and you could buy those for like 50 bucks on the street and in the in the lows and the mediums or thousands. So inflation hits jail. Oh, absolutely. When inflation happens, guards, lockdowns, everything. It just, it's all prison economics.

It just makes for a happy world, man. Yeah. No one likes more expensive shit, dude. Dude, it is crazy, man. It really is. But, uh, Brandon, thank you so much, man. This is a great conversation. I'm coming back.

You're back in three. I'm coming back, motherfuckers. I'll come back on the pod. Dude, I got to have you a Gedi together. Yeah, you got to have little crew on here. Because he wanted to ask me a bunch of prison questions. And I was like, I was driving. I'm like, man, I'm curious, man.

man I want to know Yeah, we can do it You guys can interview me That would be pretty funny We're down Speaking on behalf of both of us Well no he already said he would So yeah

So we should do that And we gotta keep hanging out And stuff Definitely do I mean We're gonna go get dinner Yeah But next time you motherfuckers are back in L.A. Yeah

No, I'm coming to the crib. Yeah no, I'm coming mid-week How far is Burbank from you guys? 20 minutes Oh, okay cool With no traffic With traffic That's where I'm gonna be for filming

So I'll come out I have it in my schedule Thank you guys It's just a little I'm in one episode Oh, don't be modest here, motherfucker. You're a star. They're doing like a prison series, so I'm in it.

But we are like, we're working on like a book and hopefully my, like we have some pictures going. And then I can tell Gianni he's got to play me in the movie. He's got to get some tats. That'd be sick, actually. I think Gianni would be good for it. I honestly don't think it's that part of a stretch either. No, he could pull it off. Yeah, you dye his hair a little bit darker.

I think he could do something. I always said Miles Teller, but Miles Teller's going to give you an imaginary brother, older, older, bigger brother. I'm going to play that role when you can't cut me out of it. Okay. No, if I land a big series, that's a package. I'm going to say, listen, I'm here my boys. It's on camera. No, 100%. I like you guys, man. They got to do it. We like you too, man. And I fullheartedly meant that when we met with you guys for dinner, it was so breathed. It was so refreshing. Because there's a lot of dickheads in L.A. And to meet genuine people is oftentimes rare men.

And it was dope, man.