Mark Bell's Power Project - EP. 320 - Mike Ryan

Starting point is 00:00:00 All right, so this question is for both of you guys. How important is intermittent fasting for you? It's been huge for me. You know, for me, it's really helped me control my calories more so than anything else. How about for you, Encima? It's helped me control my calories. It's helped me control, like, my hunger levels. You know, I don't feel like I'm craving food all the time.

Starting point is 00:00:18 It makes it easier. Yeah, and one thing that you might want to utilize during intermittent fasting is coffee because it just makes it that much easier. And then, you know, throwing something in your coffee will really help a lot too. Some people throw in butter. You can throw in MCT oil like MCT oil powder from Perfect Keto is fantastic because it's got some really good flavor profiles to it. They have a vanilla. They have a salted caramel.

Starting point is 00:00:41 They have a chocolate. They have a salted caramel. They have a chocolate. In addition to that, they also make a MCT-enriched coffee blend that can just be – it's instant coffee. You just stir it up, and it's ready to go. So it already has the MCT oil powder in it. Again, that just makes the fast that much easier, and you get some of the cognitive effects of the MCT oil. And for those of you that are athletes, get the electrolytes. It has a lot of potassium, sodium.

Starting point is 00:01:08 It's going to help you during your fast so you can perform better when you actually work out. Super beneficial. Yeah, those capsules work great, especially when you're on a ketogenic diet. You're on a low-carb diet. Carbohydrate helps hydrate the muscles, helps you to hold water. When you're not eating those carbohydrates, the only thing that's going to help you is something like these electrolytes from Perfect Keto.

Starting point is 00:01:26 So if you guys want to get in control of your calories like Mark Bell, head over to perfectketo.com slash powerproject at checkout. Enter promo code powerproject10 for $10 off any order of $40 or more. That's powerproject10 for $10 off $40 or more. All right. We're here today in Mr. Mike Ryan's house. Mike Ryan has been a long time athlete long time trainer what i think is cool about the way that you train is that you still train today uh it looks like you still train today probably the way that you did when you

Starting point is 00:01:57 played football yeah absolutely nothing's changed uh my mentality is the same my uh preparation's the same i think every day is going to be game day, so fuck it. Mike, no one's told you that it's over. It's not over. After this, I'm going to put on my game tape. I would love to see that, actually. Here's my strategy. Al Bundy right here.

Starting point is 00:02:19 Oh, without a doubt. I have one more year eligibility in college because I left early. And Chip Kelly, the coach of UCLA, was my teammate. I'm going back to fucking UCLA. I'm going to have one more year. I want to be a 55-year-old freshman. That would be awesome. Could you actually, like, do that?

Starting point is 00:02:35 Yeah, I think so. I think so. Why not? That would be great. You'd be able to handle it. Totally. But you're lifting heavy. You're doing sprints.

Starting point is 00:02:42 Yeah. What's going on with the heavy stuff you've been doing lately? How'd this come to be? I know. It's like one of those epiphanies. Like, oh, my God, I'm going to be 54. Will I ever be trained? Will I look back and say, shit, I wish I would have done it then?

Starting point is 00:02:58 One of the things that stuck with me when I watched that Ron Coleman video, at the end of it all, they're talking about, man, you beat up. Was it worth it? You know what I mean? And everyone's waiting for him to say, yeah, I never should have did that. His whole statement was like, man, I should have went for another rep with 800-pound squats. And I thought that was fucking awesome. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:03:17 That's his only regret. He's like, oh, man, I should have went for the one. You know what I mean? Can't even walk. Can't even do anything. He didn't give a fuck. He just wanted that one extra rep. It just resonated with me maybe uh like maybe five ten years ago you weren't

Starting point is 00:03:29 really focused that much on i mean you always move around good weight but you weren't really focused on strength right yeah not even close um i was more i premised it that i always wanted to be like the most conditioned athlete in the gym so i could run five seven sometimes ten miles a day and still you know have you know four or five squats for 10 reps or something you know i mean that was like all right i'm you know i'm gonna stay lean as fuck get closer yeah all right there we go yeah so i can sign so i try and get um trying to be the most uh efficient athlete in the gym you know i was wanting to keep my cardio so it was more of a cardio beast than a strength beast because at

Starting point is 00:04:03 that time there's always just strong guys running around so i want to be the hybrid and but the last of the last couple years it's just like you know fuck this give me my last time to ever really train as heavy as i can so i might as well go for it what's the body weight at right now uh probably right this morning i was 218 that's awesome this is the best i've ever seen you look you look like you look like you weigh 240 you look, you look thick, but you don't have a lot of body fat on you. So it's awesome. It's called short shorts. The key. Yeah. There's, there's not really any over 50 year olds that look anything like you. How the hell have you been able to, I mean, keep it all together for so long? A lot of it's probably where I'm at,

Starting point is 00:04:43 because I'm in a gym, you guys know, it's a lot of it's probably where i'm at because i'm in a gym you guys know it's a lot of just a bunch of young tigers you know so i refuse to submit to anything that they're doing i use i refuse to you know bow to their will so i'm gonna go in there i'm gonna like all right you guys okay let me show you what an old fucking guy can do so it's that constant drive constant that motivation to really push me over the edge yeah do you ever feel like you are older than the guys around you oh fuck yeah i mean i will never let them know but they'll hear it now i mean i live more i live i mean i'm in ice packs i'm in ibuprofen i'm in heat packs i'm in you know i'm in massage therapy chiropractic you know it's like fuck i beat the hell out of myself but i take care

Starting point is 00:05:18 of myself with that being said like we just came back from michael hearn's place he's about to be 51 and you're you're 54. So what have you been doing to be able to train so well this long? Because we'll see a lot of lifters in their 50s, and they're not looking like you guys. Yeah, I think a lot of it is education. Again, I'm pretty fortunate by being at Gold's Gym and seeing the mics, seeing Smelly, seeing the real smart guys train, heavy but smart.

Starting point is 00:05:44 You know what I mean? Growing up, when I was there in the early days, you see, you know, guys beat the hell out of themselves. And you could watch their progression. I'm like, that guy's probably going to be hurt in a couple years. And you could tell. I mean, ballistic movements, smashing, volatile movements. You know, there wasn't a lot of planning and strategy in what they're doing.

Starting point is 00:06:03 So, for me, I was like, all right, I'm pretty strong, never the strongest, pretty fit, never the fittest, and that was okay for me. You know what I mean? I made a career out of it, and now it's just, like I said, toward the end I'm just going to try and push it a little more and a little more and a little more. I think not beating myself up, not in the early days. I've never juiced or anything, so that was a big component

Starting point is 00:06:24 why I think I have longevity in joints and injury-free. What about now? Well, I take testosterone, so I guess if that's cheating, that's cheating. You know what I mean? I mean, is it, though? Who the hell knows? But you held off for a long time, right? Yeah, yeah.

Starting point is 00:06:37 The only reason I took it is because when I was living in India, I got hepatitis. Oh, shit. And everything just fell apart. It was just, you know. What's hepatitis? It's a liver disease, basically. Oh, shit. And everything just fell apart. It was just, you know. What's hepatitis? It's a liver disease, basically. Yeah, so you can't, I mean. Where did you get it from?

Starting point is 00:06:51 Any idea? Just dirty food. You know what I mean? Actually, the gross part is it's basically from fecal matter. You know what I mean? Because there's no signs in India, employees must wash their hands after they, you know, go to the bathroom. Yeah, it is gross.

Starting point is 00:07:03 So your liver shuts down, and you're basically like a Chinese firework you got very very sick right oh yeah you're just shitting and puking for like fucking day after day and you can't eat you can't hold on to anything so i was living on fucking carrots and rice for like three weeks and it was terrible oh my god that sounds awful like an awful day yeah i know you tell girls like oh i'd love to get it i mean because i lost almost 30 pounds and i don't have 30 pounds to lose. Shit. What were you doing over there? I was training Bollywood actors in fitness. Got it.

Starting point is 00:07:31 Yeah. It was fun. It was a great gig. You know what I mean? You got to travel the world, but with every plus is always the downside. Yeah. You mentioned earlier you didn't want to have any regrets. Are there some things that uh you know you wish that

Starting point is 00:07:45 you would be doing instead or do you you know do you love exactly what you're doing type thing i mean everybody always wants to like strive for more obviously but yeah sure you know do you have any kind of things that you kind of oh i mean something you know we always think back the old like oh what would happen if you know i mean what would happen if i took theater when i first you know i mean started going to school and i'm out here and i see all these guys just rolling the door i'm like fuck i could have been an action hero. You know, I saw Jason Statham over Arnold's house. I mean, he's five, five, six and a half, you know, he's a peanut. I'm like, Oh my God,

Starting point is 00:08:13 I could have crushed this guy. That could have been my role, you know, but I never pursued acting. So, you know, it's always one of those things like, I wish I should have tried it, but I'm very happy. You know, I love lifting weights. I love being in fitness. I'm passionate about training and I, and I like the core group of people i'm with because they're all into training and i'm at the stage of my career that people then when they engage me it's like all right we're here to get a result we're not here to talk about you know this kind of events and bullshit you know i mean we're here to work have you ever had to fire a client before oh totally just being a bag of shit

Starting point is 00:08:42 yeah absolutely yeah hit the bricks hit the bricks because it's well as you know training it's all about energy so if you get someone just coming it's going to constantly bitch and complain bitching complain it's going to bring you down so i mean after like 90 minutes with this person like i'm fucking done you're killing me you know i mean i got other people who want to work hard and you're just killing me yeah what what did the what did the road to becoming a trainer look like like you just were just in the gym all the time, and then somebody asked you, like, hey, what are you doing? Yeah, actually, it was a natural progression.

Starting point is 00:09:10 I used to run the goals in Venice. And I was always like a thick fullback type. You know, I had like one or two abs, probably like smelly. Very funny. Very funny. No, so it was the thick fullback type you know what i mean not vascular but just thick and all of a sudden um i started to learn how to eat i studied nutrition i i learned proper training and uh the the the two most pivotal people in my career were mickey

Starting point is 00:09:37 rourke and in the rock because they saw me just you know training they're like fuck dude you're getting in shape what are you doing and i saw him i just went through a whole educational process i mean it's not like the old days where you just eat five steaks and lift weights and hopefully everything comes together you know there's there's a whole science behind it and uh duane was just like fuck you know wrestling trying to do movies i don't know what to eat i gotta be in i gotta be in the desert in arizona then i gotta go to new york city for a main event and then i gotta cut promos and i trying to do movies. I don't know what to eat. I got to be in the desert in Arizona. Then I got to go to New York City for a main event. And then I got to cut promos.

Starting point is 00:10:09 And he goes, I'm a mess. I don't know what to do. I'm like, I just kind of created this whole job. I'm like, well, talk to someone at Universal. See if they'll put me on the payroll. All of a sudden, five minutes later, he called. And there I am. And traveling with him training with

Starting point is 00:10:25 him eating with him and and he was such a great catalyst he's like man you gotta talk to my buddy mike so he came back to the gym and mickey's just like fuck doing you know i mean you're just getting shredded you know i mean used to be this massive guy but you could see his physique physically changing so people like you know mickey was like muscles he called me muscle muscles you coming with me you know what i mean so i traveled with mickey then things that are taking off next thing you know i'm getting called to be on the set of fight club which was huge you know i mean everyone because everyone was just jacked and i mean brad pitt was just shredded that's one of my favorite movies that movie's awesome yeah it really was it was it was just an amazing i mean it's like what uh

Starting point is 00:11:00 20 years later now i think it is just celebrating yeah celebrating. Yeah, so that was a wild time. And being with those guys was super fun. But then again, it was just like people were like, who the fuck was working with those guys? You know, they're going to shape. And that's how my name got kicked around in Bollywood. Did you get a chance to train Brad Pitt? Brad was actually, he was more about nutrition.

Starting point is 00:11:20 Because he had a team of Irish boxers with him. Because he was learning how to fight for a fight club. And then he was going to do snatch, which is all about, you know what I mean, bare knuckles, pikey, crazy fights. So he really wanted to emphasize on having great hand skills. And he did. I mean, you guys watch those movies. You know the guys know how to throw a punch. So that was his whole repertoire.

Starting point is 00:11:39 It's just, you know, I really want to be super lean, but I keep my hands speed. But he didn't know what to eat, you know. So I'm just like, all right, well, try this, try this, you know what really want to i just want to be super lean but i keep my hands speed but but he didn't know what to eat yeah you know so i'm just like all right well try this try this you know you know i mean stay with you know lean meats chickens and everything and he's like well i gotta be skinny but i'm like you know you gotta eat though and these guys don't understand the bodybuilder principles you gotta eat to be lean so so he i mean he adopted and he dug it and he was super cool i mean the first day on the set was just like the coolest thing. Yeah, you love movies, so that must have been a dream come true for you. Yeah, I worked with Edward Norton on American History X. So he packed on all his muscles.

Starting point is 00:12:14 He's like, I've got to peel it off. The whole storyline is like my character melts away. I've got to be this, you know. He's trying to explain it to me. It didn't make any sense. He's like, it's a duality. I'm ripped in my subconscious, in my real life. I didn't make any sense. It was like, it's a duality. I'm ripped in my, in my subconscious, in my real,

Starting point is 00:12:26 in my real life. I'm a skinny, frail. I'm like, all right. He goes, but I don't want to eat. I'm like,

Starting point is 00:12:30 you got to eat. He goes, but I don't want to eat. I'm like, you got to eat. He was surprisingly jacked in that movie in American history. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:12:37 He got, yeah, he did bulked up, bulked up like a motherfucker for that. So the other one, he had to peel it off. So when they call me down, I'm walking on the set.

Starting point is 00:12:44 So I'm just, I'm just walking up and I see, you knowward and brad just sitting there and they have a football so i'm like oh fuck kind of excited kind of you know i mean brad pitt's he's just the coolest fucking guy in the world edward's super cool to me you know so i'm walking up i'm probably like 40 yards away all of a sudden fucking brad pitt just rifles a football at me so i'm like bam i just catch it and i tuck it so i just walk up and so i just hand it to him he goes you can stay i was like yeah cool you know initiation by football that's awesome yeah what did you think of uh brad pitt uh going against uh bruce lee in once upon a time

Starting point is 00:13:19 in hollywood i that was i love that so you know my god. That guy, he went from cool to ultra cool. But I just love the people who are always like, I mean, martial arts is great, and I'll never knock anyone for anything. But when people always say Bruce Lee can beat up Muhammad Ali, I was just like, finally. He goes, you're just a little man who talks too much. I thought that was amazing, too. Especially you, because you're a boxer.

Starting point is 00:13:41 You know what I mean? And it's just the old adage, a good little guy can never beat a good big guy. I mean, it's in every sporting. You know, very rarely does that happen. Yeah, that was one of the best scenes ever. You think he'll win an Academy Award? Oh, definitely. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:13:54 For sure. He deserves it. I think he's got that sucker on lockdown. He deserves it. By the way, you said that after, I don't know if it was after Fight Club you said, but all of this, that led to Bollywood. Was Bollywood multiple years? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, what happened was right after Fight Club you said, but all of this, that led to Bollywood. Like, was Bollywood like multiple years or what? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Starting point is 00:14:07 Well, what happened was right after that, you know, I mean, I was getting calls. And I'm just thinking, you know, probably like you guys, what the fuck is Bollywood? They just sing and dance. No one works out. You know what I mean? So this one cat wanted to come down. His name was John Abraham. And he was like this upcoming prominent actor.

Starting point is 00:14:22 And he really wanted to be the face of fitness for India. So he calls me, and he's like, oh, you know, I'm a Bollywood actor. I really want to get in shape. I really want to, you know, learn the lifestyle, the bodybuilding principles. I'm like, if you want to do it, you've got to come to Gold's Gym. He's like, really? I said, yeah, fuck yeah. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:14:39 If you're serious about it, then you've got to show up here. And he did. Like a week later, this son of a bitch showed up. And I was like, I was so impressed because I tried to kill him. You know what I mean? And I did kill him. And then right after, you know, those were the old days. You would train at Gold's for a couple hours and you go to the firehouse.

Starting point is 00:14:57 So we trained. And I'm killing this guy. And he's taken. And I'm like, wow, this guy is really enthusiastic about changing his physique and really, you know, leading fitness, leading into the whole fitness generation. So I was super excited. I said, let's go to the firehouse and eat. He's like, cool.

Starting point is 00:15:12 So we go there, and this is the first day. We go there, and all of a sudden Hogan walks in, Cena walks in, Undertaker walks in, Goldberg walks in, and Kevin Nash walks in. And I'm just like, Mike, come join us. So this guy you know wrestling is huge in India so he's like oh my god this is the coolest this is the coolest day ever he's like

Starting point is 00:15:32 alright so all of a sudden we come to order and he's like you know mostly vegetarian but he'll have like fish or something you know and they're very cautious of their diets so I'm like well let me order for you I said we definitely put on weight you know I mean you're just too skinny he's like 6'1 probably like 160 so I'm like well let me order for you I said we definitely put on weight you know what I mean you're just too skinny he's like 6'1 probably like 160

Starting point is 00:15:47 so I had to bulk this shit out of him I'm like you're going to get a bodybuilder breakfast I'm going to throw pancakes at you egg whites we'll get you two sides of salmon and probably you know get some greens and you have some broccoli and you know we'll see how it goes so I order all this food you know

Starting point is 00:16:02 and he just sits down and he sees Hogan he sees Cena and everyone's I mean mean, there's so much food. He's just like, he's just overwhelmed. And all of a sudden he gets his meals and he's like, is this for like the week? I go, no, John, this is what you eat right now. He's like, oh no, I fucking can't do that. Then of course Hogan and Cena's like, eat up skinny. And he's like, eat up the power. He's like, eat up, skinny.

Starting point is 00:16:29 What's your eating like nowadays? I see you have some peanut butter cups sitting out there. Most people that are on a diet or that bodybuilder that are in good shape, they usually don't have shit like that laying around. Yeah, I'm all about sensible eating. It really is. I don't prescribe to any diet. I mean, so many people do, so many fucking diets. That's not me. If I'm going to have diet. I mean, so many people do. So many fucking diets. It's just, that's not me.

Starting point is 00:16:48 If I'm going to have a shitload of Reese's peanut butter cups, I'm just going to work that much harder in the gym. I remember you telling me before, like, just don't ever trust anybody who doesn't have a drink. He's like, there's something wrong with that person. He's like, you should be able just to have a fucking drink here and there. Yeah, totally. Yeah, you can have a Reese's here and there.

Starting point is 00:17:04 Life's too short. You can enjoy the fun. All right, all right. Stop twisting my arm. I'll have a bowl of peanut butter. There you go. You're going to have one of those weed candies I have for you. I know. I saw that.

Starting point is 00:17:13 Those are enzimas. No, I don't. Anyway. I can tell you're lying. Okay. For your diet, has it transitioned over the years? Or have you just been doing this? No, no.

Starting point is 00:17:25 I don't exume as much calories. Before, I was just so calorie conscious. I'm like, I get at least 5,000 a day. I get to eat every two and a half, three hours. Constant, constant, constant. That's when I had contract work, so I'm shooting all the time. And to me, it was crucial. Because I didn't take drugs.

Starting point is 00:17:43 I was getting drug tested. So it was going to be so much fucking harder, I thought, to do it naturally. And I stand by it. I think it is harder. So I was always watching my diet. Then as it, you know, I get a photo shoot every once in a while. But I just, I tailor off it, you know what I mean? And if I get work lined up or if I set a short goal for myself,

Starting point is 00:18:00 that's when I'll really watch what I do. Because last year, I did a little experiment it was fun last winter by by january was it uh probably by february 1st i was like 235 almost like 240 and i said i'm gonna do a shoot in two months and i got down to 210 and i was pretty fucking shredded and it was just obviously just cleaning up my diet because my training is pretty intense all the time so i just really watch my diet something i really loved that was cool is uh maybe it was like maybe two years ago or so or maybe maybe it was yeah maybe it was around the time i was doing the bodybuilding show i can't remember but i came down and uh i was training and i was getting in getting in better shape and you at the time were a little bit out of shape for mike ryan standards

Starting point is 00:18:43 yeah sure and uh you were like, fuck, man. You're like, I'm so fat. You're like, I've got to fucking do something. And that meant the world to me because I've always looked up to you so much because I went to – I remember that exactly. We were in the third room in the gym. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:56 And I was like, oh, the fuck. You were doing cardio. No, I was – and I was like, that fucking smell is almost shredded. It's more shredded than me. I was pissed. I went home. I think I ran the block for like 10 hours. That was really cool to me

Starting point is 00:19:06 because I was like a 19-year-old kid coming into Gold's and that's how I got to know you. And I was always like, man, I'll never be able to be built like that guy. That's shit. He's shredded. He's got veins popping out everywhere.

Starting point is 00:19:17 You said something. I don't know if it was before the podcast started or when we were already on air, but you said that you wanted to be like the most jack guy, but also the most fit guy and running five to seven miles a day now you're a big dude were you running yeah much or are you that which which comes to a great story this is probably maybe probably like five or seven years ago time time escapes me i've always known arnold schwarzenegger forever used to run gold's gym and it was always just a hello, hello, how you doing? Very, very formal, never nothing.

Starting point is 00:19:46 So it was one of these days. It was, you know, I just, you know, training hard. I'm probably like 220, and I'm like by past, if you know any of, so I'm probably like about five miles from the gym running, or four miles. And I'm running, and it's early. By now it's probably like only five. Yeah, it's probably like only 5. Yeah, it's probably like 5.30 in the morning, and I see two guys on bicycles riding toward me. And I'm slowing down, and they're picking up,

Starting point is 00:20:12 and I see it's Arnold and his bodyguard. So I'm like, no way. So all of a sudden, he rides right at me, and he just immediately stops. He sees me running. He sees me running, and his first reaction is like, are you all right? I'm like, yeah. He's like, why are you running? I said, what do you mean?

Starting point is 00:20:28 He goes to the gym like four miles from here. What do you mean? Why are you running? I go, Arnold, this is my cardio. He's like, what? I said, this is my cardio. I'm going to run. He's like, so are you going to take an Uber home?

Starting point is 00:20:41 I go, no, I'm going to run back. He's like, it's like eight miles. I'm like, yeah. He's like, so you're going to go back and then you're going to take an Uber home? I go, no, I'm going to run back. He's like, it's like eight miles. I'm like, yeah. He's like, so you're going to go back and then you're going to train? I said, no, actually, I already worked out. He said, five dirty. I said, yeah, I trained at four. So he trained at four.

Starting point is 00:20:57 And then you're going to run eight miles and you go back and you're going to train. And he goes, fuck off. And he rode away. And I was just like, oh, my God, this is the greatest thing ever. Arnold train and he goes fuck off and he rode away and i was just like i'm like oh my god this is the greatest thing ever arnold just told me to fuck off it it's like if a tree falls in the woods does anyone hear it i'm like it's five thirty in the morning there's no one here he just told me to go fuck myself i'm like that is the greatest thing that ever happened to me i was content right there you know i'm like that was awesome i sprinted back i'm like just

Starting point is 00:21:22 cracking up i'm like that was so awesome you know the next day, I'm in the gym just training. All of a sudden, poke in the back. I turn around. It's Arnold. He's like, did you run? I said, actually. It's like keeping tabs on you. I love this.

Starting point is 00:21:35 Totally, yeah. I said, well, I'm going to run a little. He's like, how much? I said, well, I did eight miles yesterday. So I'm going to probably tailor back just maybe four. Do half. What are you doing for weights? I said, you know, it's back day, so I feel pretty good.

Starting point is 00:21:50 I'm trying to go, you know, heavy deads and stuff like that. How much? He said, well, you know, if I get, you know, 500, I'll be happy. He's like, keep it up. And he walked away, and I'm like, fuck, this is wild. You know what I mean? So the next day He rolls around

Starting point is 00:22:05 And He comes up to me again I'm like Fuck I'm like I'm like the hot girl I'm like this is awesome I got Arnold hitting on me all day long

Starting point is 00:22:12 I'm fucking so excited He's like Mike I go yeah So you like UFC I'm like I love UFC He's like

Starting point is 00:22:18 Come to the house tonight I'll have it on And I'm like Really He's like You heard me And he walks away so i'm like fuck so i see his bodyguard i'm like give me give me the address he gives me the address i'm like this is crazy but i'm i don't know if he's fucking with me and i'm afraid to tell people

Starting point is 00:22:36 you know me because i'm like it was like and i usually host people come here for the like you can ufc tonight ah no no i'm i'm good. Like, what are you doing? Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, I was just like, really? I said, yeah, yeah, I got a call. You know what I mean? I just know what to do, but I'm a nervous wreck, so I'm pacing around all day. I'm just like that anxious little schoolgirl. You know what I mean? And you're like, is it going to be just me and him?

Starting point is 00:22:56 Well, that's what I'm taking. I'm like, what is going on here? You know what I mean? He's so, you know what I mean? There's never a full explanation of anything. So I'm like, fuck it. I get the direction. So I drive up. And from his house, there's a guard to get onto a street.

Starting point is 00:23:10 His street is exclusive. It's just like only four people. There's Dr. Dre. There's Arnold. There's just like Tom Brady used to live there. It's like wicked exclusive neighborhood. It's the only like gated street in Brentwood. So I drive up.

Starting point is 00:23:23 I'm like, oh, fuck a gate. You know, the guy comes out. Can I help can I help you I said yeah Mike Ryan for Arnold he's like hold on I'm like oh fuck this is gonna be so humiliating like I'm busted yeah like I gotta turn around all of a sudden he's like so he's like oh okay you know we'll open up the gate he's like you know where you're going I'm like yeah of course uh I kind of forget though he's like it's the first house on the left i said i know that so i drive up and i still you know what i mean i drive up all of a sudden his house there but there's a gate there so i'm like oh fuck what do i do do i just i can't beep you know and be like a goofball so i said i literally pulled over i'm like i'm just gonna climb over and say oh the gate was half open. And I walked through.

Starting point is 00:24:05 You know what I mean? I'm thinking of all these lines. I'm just like. So I started to get out of my car. All of a sudden, the gate starts unlocking. I'm like, oh, fuck. So I run back into my car. So I'm sitting there, running like idling.

Starting point is 00:24:15 Like I've been here the whole time. So the gate's open. The driveway's like 100 yards. There's a guy's waving me up. So I drive all the way up. I'm like, oh, wow, fuck. You're driving. I'm seeing the whole spread and

Starting point is 00:24:25 everything he's got a statue of abraham lincoln it's just the coolest fucking spread whoa yeah it's wicked so uh i get out and uh he takes my car and all of a sudden his security guy deed is there he's like mike i'm like dito i'm like oh cool man he's like uh come on out back everyone's out back i'm like all right so we start going out back he's like, have you been in voice? No. So we start walking through the house. I'm like, I mean, it's just a gorgeous spread. But it's so eclectic. I mean, he knew every president. So he had presidential pictures and artifacts and miscellaneous stuff.

Starting point is 00:24:56 Then he had all his, you know, he's an art fanatic and his sculptures and his paintings. I mean, I'm just overwhelmed, you know. So I go, I'm like, he's like, oh, he's out back. So out back he has this giant screening room. And it's all these big chairs. And all of a sudden I just see Arnold's head and his buddy Rolf Mueller, who's a big German bodybuilder, been friends forever, and they're smoking cigars.

Starting point is 00:25:18 I'm like, oh, fuck. I'm like, that's why. I'm like, I'm sorry I'm so early. He goes, what do you mean? I go, well, where is everyone? It's a UFC party. He's like, I'm sorry I'm so early. He goes, what do you mean? I go, well, where is everyone? It's a UFC party. He's like, no, Arnold just invited you. And I'm like, I didn't know how to react.

Starting point is 00:25:33 I'm like, wow, that is so fucking cool. Like inside of me, I'm doing like cow wells. I'm going nuts inside. You know what I mean? But I'm trying to maintain a decorum of, you know, that's cool, you know? So I walk in and Dito's like, hey, I don't know, Mike's here. He's like, good, glad you can come. What are you doing?

Starting point is 00:25:48 He's like, you like your beer? Just started, come on. You want a cigar? And I'm like, I don't know if you want to offer me a cigar. You bet your fucking ass I want a cigar. You know what I mean? So I grab a cigar, and, you know, it's like him. So I don't know what to do.

Starting point is 00:26:01 So I go to sit, like, in the far left end. He's like, where you going? I go, I don't know. Just sit down So I go to sit like in the Father's tent. He's like, where are you going? I go, I don't know. I'm just going to sit down. He's like, ah, sit over here. So I'm like, all right. So he sits next to me. And he was just the gracious host.

Starting point is 00:26:16 He wanted to know about my family, my upbringing. Just so inquisitive and questioning everything I do. And just like really endearing. Like, you know what I mean? Not like some two guys engage in conversation. Hey, how you doing? You know what I mean? He like some two guys engage in conversation. Hey, how you doing? You know what I mean? He's like, tell me about yourself.

Starting point is 00:26:27 Who are your parents? How'd you get the passion for training? What makes you go to the gym? You know what I mean? It's almost like a podcast. He was just grilling me. And I was, fuck it, I'm just answering his questions. And of course, I'm like, I got a million questions for you.

Starting point is 00:26:39 You know what I mean? And so I'm like, well, what was your first inspiration? So he's like, let me take you to walk through my house. So he took me up to his house. He has this wall of all inspirations. And it was, he goes, years ago when I was a little boy in Austria, I saw a picture of Steve Reeves doing the famous, you know what I mean? Back in the day. Yeah, Steve Reeves.

Starting point is 00:26:57 And then there's like a poster for one of his movies when he was like a Roman or something. Hercules or something. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah. So I was like, no way. And he goes, and he shows me the posters he goes when i made it when i realized i made this one i've actually had someone find the original magazine that i saw when i was a kid and he has that frame he has pictures this guy framed and he just has things that inspire him framed in his house i'm like oh man this guy is just so fucking cool he's awesome he's constantly

Starting point is 00:27:24 motivated he's a real salt of the earth kind of guy so it was unbelievable have you noticed that to be a common thread amongst because you've uh been around a lot of really successful people you mentioned the rock earlier um that they ask questions because i i've i've kind of found that when we were podcasting and we we get around Cutler and we get around these great people, they're asking us a lot of questions. And we're like, this is Jay Cutler. Why does he care what we do? I know.

Starting point is 00:27:51 No, it is. It's always when the higher level that you are, it seems the more respectful that you end up being. You know, it's like when you go on sets and you meet, you know, years ago, like De Niro had to use my brother's dog for a scene. So my brother's just like, hey, De Niro's want to use the dog. You want to go in there? I'm like, this is fucking wild.

Starting point is 00:28:11 You know what I mean? You go there and you get all these big actors like, who's this guy? Who's this guy? And all of a sudden Robert De Niro's like, I appreciate you. Let's go for dinner tonight. You know, I appreciate you letting me use the dog.

Starting point is 00:28:18 Let me take you guys out for dinner tonight. I'm like, that was fucking pretty awesome. You know what I mean? The same thing. It was just cordial, sweet, charming. It's always like the guys who have a real appreciation. It's always like the guys who have something to prove in life are usually dicks. They're too anxious and shit and too mad to even think about how you're doing.

Starting point is 00:28:37 So they're just focused in on what they're doing. Yeah. And it usually affects their career somewhere down the line. How cool was it? Your passion for lifting and all this stuff, and then all of a sudden, like, yeah, you are with Arnold and stuff, but you've been able to, I mean, we won't give away too much of where we are, but, like, this place is amazing. And it's like, you know, you're like, oh, what are you up to, Mike?

Starting point is 00:29:00 Like, ah, you know, just lifting weights, just digging around. It's like, fuck, man, that's amazing. You know what I mean? So, like, even now, like, do you still get fired up to go to the gym and, you know, you still wake up in, like, damn, this is my life? All the time. I mean, I try not to – I mean, you get caught up in the moment, but I try to be a thankful person and feel like I'm blessed.

Starting point is 00:29:20 And it's all – one of the things that Arnold said to me one time, which was very touching because he was talking about you know everyone's like I'll lose this lose that he's like Lou Ferrigno works hard at everything he does he works hard to be a better man all the time and he works for his family he goes I will always love and respect Lou Ferrigno and I was like wow because everyone's always like oh he's the you know he's your antithesis your your antagonist of life you know he never made it he's angry he's jealous and all was just like no fuck you know what I mean Lou Frigno works hard and and and whenever all this talks about hard work you know it's it's really cool and I like to feel it resonates with me and I

Starting point is 00:29:58 think one of that's probably one of the reasons why we're friends you know he's like well there's a fucking guy you know I mean who's just gonna work hard every day everything he does what do they say real recognize real right yeah when people are you know working hard other people are going to recognize that and they see it too and and that's and again i mean it's not the arnold show but he's just whenever he introduces me you know we're at his house like i said for for uh christmas party and there's clint eastwood this j i mean this is the coolest of the cool, and Arnold's like, this is my friend Mike. He's the best trainer ever.

Starting point is 00:30:27 This guy will just show up. He'll run for miles, he'll lift miles. He's just crazy. He doesn't even bullshit. He just goes, you know, he just goes. And Clint Eastwood's like,

Starting point is 00:30:34 that's right, huh? I'm like, yeah, fuck yeah. Clint Eastwood, damn. Yeah, totally. I mean, gotta be the coolest of the cool. The coolest of the cool. What's a good movie you've seen recently? Because I know you're... You're my muscle cool. The coolest of the cool. What's a good movie you've seen recently? Because I know you're the muscle critic.

Starting point is 00:30:51 Well, I guess since it is awards season, The Joker with Joaquin Phoenix. This is like the Super Bowl for my wife. She freaks out. She loves watching this shit. She throws a big party. To me, the movies aren't the same like they used to be because everyone who has a streaming network makes movies and a lot of them i think are watered down and they're just oh yeah you

Starting point is 00:31:09 know what i mean they sacrifice a lot to to get it out there man how many different streaming things are there it's ridiculous spend like a thousand bucks a month to get everything i got apple i got fucking hulu i got more shit on this thing all day long yeah and then you still turn it on you're like there ain't shit on it totally and i stop bitching i put online i'm like who's got someone to watch this fucking shit's garbage it's hard to keep track of what like you know someone mentioned something you're like i need to check that out and then you never like write it down or whatever and then you sit there in front of tv with a blank stare you're like i don't know then you put on sports yeah oh you just go to espn let that thing go or i go or i go to my old Price is Right tapes.

Starting point is 00:31:47 Yeah, there's almost too much shit. I mean, there's too much TV. Well, it's funny because that's like the information and training and dieting and supplements. With all this information out there, there's too much. Perfect analogy. Yeah, too much information. There's so much misinformation. It's overwhelming.

Starting point is 00:32:03 Yeah, so what are your thoughts on like Instagram now? You know, because like that wasn't around. I know. Totally. You know, so. It's, you know, it's for me, I could be like one of these sour apple guys be like, this fucking sucks. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:32:13 I had to literally go to Joe Weider's office in front of like 13 guys stripped down to my underwear and have him critique me while I read something to see if I was articulate. You know what I mean? So I'm sitting there like, oh, why'd you even have to do that? Yeah, I know. Well, I was the men's fitness spokesman for five years. And you had to go. If you were a bodybuilder, if you were in fitness,

Starting point is 00:32:32 you had to go to the office. And it was a roundtable. And guys were just like, you know, they drink a coffee. They don't even give a fuck what you look like. You know what I mean? So you're trying to talk and be articulate and tell about your training, your philosophies, your principles the whole time while flexing in your fucking underwear.

Starting point is 00:32:47 So when I log on to Instagram, I'm like, fitness model, fitness model, fitness model. I'm like, what the fuck are they a fitness model of? You take a picture and you put it on Instagram. Does that quantify you as a fitness model? But then again, half of these cocksuckers are making more money than me. Yeah. Yeah. Isn't it crazy?

Starting point is 00:33:03 It's crazy. It's a crazy amount of money that has come into fitness but i think it's it's uh it's amazing because what it's going to do is it's going to allow for a lot of companies to come in and and be prosperous and and hopefully help america to stop being so fat you know there's a lot of like quest bars and treats and protein snacks and stuff like that and i think i don't think you, your diet should have too much of that stuff. But I think it's great that, you know, we're starting to have some solution to how addicted people are to food. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:33:34 Well, there's more awareness too. Right. And bringing more awareness. That's just how you said it. I mean, if you have a protein cookie, that's a good alternative to a regular Oreos. But I do love my Oreos. Yeah. Have you been able to capitalize on any like the

Starting point is 00:33:45 digital platforms now yeah somewhat you know i mean i'm i guess i have a good like i don't have a million people not even close but the people that follow me engage and that's and that's how they go by you know like these companies like we know this is a lot of responses a lot of gauge engagement so i get hit up by some really cool companies to rep their brands or try their gear so that's the fun stuff. You know, I hate to rewind here, but I want to ask you this because a lot of guys that listen to the show, they want to be jacked. They want to be strong, but they also want to be fairly conditioned. Now, you were running a lot.

Starting point is 00:34:17 Did it take you a while to be able to get to that point? Because Mark's starting to run, too. And I'm just like, guys think that, oh, if I run a few miles, I'm going to lose all my gains. Fuck no. It takes a while i mean your body is your body it it takes forever to understand your body you know i mean you can be training for 20 30 years and think and all of a sudden you fine tune something like holy fuck it took me 30 years to figure this out you know what i mean that's it's it's it's an ongoing process so back then when i was running all those miles i was like man i'm shredding i'm shredding i feel good all someone's like you should go back to hit for a couple months i'm like that's only 20 minutes then it's gonna work all those miles, I was like, man, I'm shredding. I'm shredding. I feel good. All of a sudden, it was like, you should go back to HIIT for a couple months.

Starting point is 00:34:46 I'm like, that's only 20 minutes. That ain't going to work. All of a sudden, I'm tighter and leaner just by cutting back on my cardio. I was like, motherfucker, I've been beating myself up for so long running. You know what? That's a really good example of, so somebody may have heard that and they're like, oh, I got to do HIIT. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:35:01 But the HIIT will only be effective if you haven't done it in a while. Absolutely. You're not used to it. Sure. It's a new stimulus and then you know someone even like myself i might say oh you know i i started doing a carnivore diet and uh that's going to be this you know huge change for me but it it's going to be the actual change and joel green talked about that a little bit on the podcast saying it's the actual change and not necessarily just the diet. It's not the change from doing steady state to HIIT. It's the fact that there was a change. Yeah, it's a stimulus.

Starting point is 00:35:30 And people ask me, what do I do for cardio? And I always say, equate it to it's the same as weights. Variety is the key. Switch it up. Your body will be stagnant. If you jog, if you walk on the beach every day, you're not going to get the results. Switch it up. We've been getting this question that keeps popping up every so often.

Starting point is 00:35:46 People want to know how often they should bulk and then shred down and then timing-wise and whatnot. Obviously, you have plenty of experience with that. It's going to vary from person to person. But for yourself, what have you found the most successful way? Well, for me, everything's all goal-based. It's like, what's my goal? When I was talking earlier, like in the winter, I was like, man man i just want to get as heavy and strong as i can so that's

Starting point is 00:36:07 that's my bulking phase you know i mean i was throwing up good lifts summer and then i dropped like last year i dropped almost you know 20 30 pounds within two months because i wanted to get as lean and as hard as i can and trying you know what i mean try and get all my social media content out there you know for pictures and all that other crap. Yeah. So it's all goal-based. You know, people are like, oh, should I bulk? Should I do this? I mean, everyone's got to have a goal. You can't just wake up and say, I'm going to train today.

Starting point is 00:36:31 You know, fuck this. Have you ever shared your, you know, your training information out with people? Like, do you have a PDF or you have a website? No, you know, and I'm the worst at that. And if anyone wants to help me, I'm all fucking for it. Yeah. Yeah, because especially now, I get hit up by more guys, you know, getting into 40s and it's like jesus christ how do i do this and my whole thing is like don't quit on yourself i don't think there's a 50 year old out there that wouldn't want

Starting point is 00:36:53 to look like the way you're looking you know what i mean so there's a 34 year old right here would instantly trade like just shit yeah yeah no i do i i do need help in the in the whole digital you know, the websites and the online presence. Yeah. We got some people that might be able to help you out. Yeah, thank you, guys. How about a fucking old man?

Starting point is 00:37:12 On that note of bulking real quick, because we got a lot of guys that, they talked to us about this. What do you think should be, like, the general upper limit of, like, okay, you need to stop gaining weight and maybe you need to just chill here for a bit. Is there a percentage that you're thinking of?

Starting point is 00:37:29 For me, like I said, it's just goal-based. It was funny, years ago, there used to be this super lean guy in the gym. He had one of the best bodies and he wanted to be a W, not you, but he wanted to be a wrestler. You know what I mean? He did and he went from this,

Starting point is 00:37:41 I was like, man, this guy has the nicest physique ever. And he went from like probably 215, 220 shredded, man, this guy has the nicest physique ever. And he went from, like, probably 215, 220 shredded to, like, 280, 290. It just blow up. You know what I mean? But that's what he wanted. That's what his goal was. And I was like, oh, man, you fucking look horrible, you know? But he did.

Starting point is 00:37:57 He ended up being, you know, a jobber in wrestling. So he was happy. He made it. Yeah, you know, he did what he did. Yeah. So looking forward in the future of page, like, 200 and something of this PDF that you're going to put together. And it's Mike Ryan's strategy for bulking. So how does Mike Ryan recommend that somebody do clean bulk?

Starting point is 00:38:14 Well, it's just constant feeding. You know what I mean? Constant feeding. And don't be, I mean, you can't be afraid of carbohydrates. You have to devour carbohydrates. They're going to fill you up and they're going to pack weight on you. Yeah. So just like traditional chicken and rice? Oatmeals, rice, pastas, you know, heavy foods. Vowel carbohydrates. They're going to fill you up and they're going to pack weight on you. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:38:26 So just like traditional chicken and rice. Oatmeals, rice, pastas, you know, heavy foods, steaks, you know, eat to win. Eat like a lineman. Yeah. We had Chris Asato on the podcast. And it was so funny because it's like, yeah, how do we get big? You eat like a bodybuilder, just more. Yep. It's like anything else?

Starting point is 00:38:44 Nope. Nothing's changed. Yep. Basically. Anything else? Nope, nothing's changed. Yeah, right. But everybody still, they want to find, like, oh, well, I want to hear Mike's answer. You know, I want to hear what his trick was to maintain it for so long. There's a great, when you watch Pump and Iron, if anyone's ever seen it, but there's the uncut version.

Starting point is 00:39:00 You ever see that one? I haven't seen it. I might have. They show one scene where they actually go to a restaurant and eat. And it is the coolest thing. You remember that scene? It's the coolest scene ever. Like they sit down and the guy's like, I'll have five cheeseburgers, two steaks, and a bowl of rice.

Starting point is 00:39:14 And the waitress is just like, her pencil's running thin because it's like 10 guys. And the whole thing was like, the bodybuilders before, they're like, we would go to eat. And people would just be like, other tables would be like, did you hear what they fucking heard? That's crazy. And it was. These guys just devoured so much food. It was insane. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:39:33 So the game hadn't changed back then. The game hasn't changed. No, it is. Eat to win. You know what I mean? You want to put on size, you got to eat. Yeah. Now, that was a pun for game changers, but I guess we won't go there.

Starting point is 00:39:43 Did you? Yeah, that was a pun for Game Changers, but I guess we won't go there. Did you? Well, here's one thing about Game Changers, which is, you know what I mean? Most of the stuff was endurance. They had mountain climbers. And of course you need carbohydrates for, you know what I mean? You could be a plant-based person if everything's all endurance.

Starting point is 00:40:02 But they really didn't highlight too many physique people. You never said, this guy is a vegan, and look how good his physique is it really wasn't highlighted at all and i was i was like you know i mean why don't you show the emphasis of like most people really want to look good then run an ultra marathon and they don't they don't they don't enter that at all it was all about you know high performance the strong man you know i mean he could lift he could hit And his whole offense was he had better conditioning. He was carbohydrate-based. He could carry things more than most people. Yeah, whenever you're trying just to use a person as an example,

Starting point is 00:40:37 it's sometimes not great because you don't really know what other things that person did. And in the case of Conor McGregor, they were like, oh, he eats meat and then he lost his fight. Yeah, that was insane. And in the case of, like, Conor McGregor, they were like, oh, he eats meat, and then he lost his fight. Yeah, that was insane. But, like, Conor McGregor is, like, one of the greatest of all time, so he's not a good example of, like, showing a loser that eats meat. But no one even talks about the fight prior.

Starting point is 00:40:56 I mean, he was fighting a bigger guy. You know what I mean? He was at a lower weight. You know what I mean? The other guy was probably, by the time they fought, I mean, he was probably 20, 30 pounds heavier. What did you think of his recent showing? He was amazing, but I think it was, you know,

Starting point is 00:41:09 it was a hand-picked opponent, you know? Cerrone's tough, but he doesn't have the skills. Yeah, the next one's going to be brutal, whoever fights next. Yeah, well, it's got to be Habib. That has to be the fight. That's what everyone wants to see. You're a big fan of, like, UFC,

Starting point is 00:41:23 and obviously, like, you and obviously you do conditioning. Have you ever, or do you do any martial arts of any kind? Oh, my God. I got a great story. Another Mike Ryan great story. So years ago. This is the story when you beat up Hoist Gracie? Yeah, totally.

Starting point is 00:41:36 Yeah, I probably told it before. Yeah, basically. UFC was started at Gold's Gym because I didn't know who Hoist Gracie was. He's like, hey, can we do a seminar here? And I'm like, he's tall. I'm like, what do you do? He's like, I'm Brazilian. Brazilian Hoyce Gracie was. He's like, hey, can we do a seminar here? And I'm like, he's tall. I'm like, what do you do? He's like, I'm producing bzine jiu-jitsu. So I'm like, what is bzine jiu-jitsu?

Starting point is 00:41:52 So I bring him mad. We roll around. So I was like, all right. So I coast back down. And I'm just all this football weight. So I'm like, what do you want me to do? He's like, just come at me. So I'm like, you're tall.

Starting point is 00:42:03 But I said, honestly, I'm just going to just tackle you and throw you down. He's like, OK, tackle me. So I'm like, you're tall, but I'm just going to, I said, honestly, I'm just going to just tackle you and throw you down. He's like, okay, tackle me and throw me down. So I did. I ran at him, tackled him, threw him down on top of him next thing you know. He's choking me out with like his sleeve. I'm like, what the fuck are you doing? And he's like, you got to tap.

Starting point is 00:42:17 I'm like, tap? But bear on tap? What the fuck? You can stop it. You know what I mean? And so he's like, I was like, well, that was pretty crazy. I said, and I was with Stallone's bodyguard at the time training, who was this big fucking Samoan dude.

Starting point is 00:42:29 I said, well, you know, I pulled the old wise ass. I said, what would you do about him? He's got the same thing. He just come out, you know, I do bazingi jiu-jitsu. You know, so I go, no, I'm going to go at him. So the same thing, this big guy's game and just fucking mauled him. You know what I mean? So I'm thinking for like four or five seconds, I'm like, oh, my God,

Starting point is 00:42:44 he's going to get killed. Same thing, slides out, he's got his gi and he's fucking taking like his, it was like his foot is choking. And this big guy's like, what the fuck, stop the motherfucker. You know what I mean? And it was crazy.

Starting point is 00:42:55 And I was like, that's insane. I said, you know, Pete Krumkowski owns gold. He's like, no. I said, he loves crazy shit like this. You're, you know what I mean? You're not more than 180 pounds and you just went through, you know, I was probably 210 and the other guy was like 280. I said, you went two seconds.

Starting point is 00:43:10 That was fascinating. So he came down and met with Pete Kramkowski and Gold's Gym sponsored UFC 1. Wow. Yeah. That's insane. Yep. And what'd I get for that? Choked out.

Starting point is 00:43:22 Real shrewd. A pat on the back. shamrock meets when you were uh when you were working at gold's gym um you know you were the manager there for several years right yes and uh you know during that time like what are some of the kind of craziest things that you've seen you know that gym is so that gym is so like it's just not i mean you could you could walk you could walk through the place naked probably no one would even notice because there's so much weird shit going on and there has i mean there's there's a lady that ran in she just wanted to get fucked by a bodybuilder she just ripped her clothes off and chased bodybuilders that happens quite a bit

Starting point is 00:43:57 that's pretty common at most gyms yeah it was it was just wild i mean there's been so many lunatics so many crazy people so many it was funny i got I mean, there's been so many lunatics, so many crazy people. It was funny. I got my statue of Bane over here. Yeah. So when they did the movie, the guy who played it was this strong man called Jeep Swenson. Jeep Swenson was like 6'8", 400 pounds. He was massive.

Starting point is 00:44:16 Greatest name ever. Yeah, totally. And he just had a ponytail on the side of his head that went all the way to the floor. And for his career, he just bred tigers. He would come in just just slash to death. Always, you know, you don't want to have his wounds. He was in tiger fights every day because when they started mating,

Starting point is 00:44:32 you'd have to break them up after a while. 450 pounds or something like that. He was massive. So the first day he shows up, he knew all the owners. I didn't know him. So they're like, go fuck with Mike. So all of a sudden, I'm down there.

Starting point is 00:44:44 And the guys at the desk are like, he just fucking starts making a scene. The guy's like, you're going to come to the front desk. I'm like, what's up? He goes, look at the camera. I'm like, oh, fuck. Is he mad? They're like, this guy's pissed. He wants to talk to you.

Starting point is 00:44:54 I'm like, oh, fuck. So I go down. Here I am, a little pipsqueak in a tie. This guy just masks. I walk up. I'm like, what's up? He's like, are you Mike Ryan? I'm like, fuck yeah. I'm like what's up he's like are you mike ryan i'm like fuck yeah i'm like are you married did i

Starting point is 00:45:09 do some of your wife or daughter the third time my mind's race i'm like fuck jesus christ you know why is this guy so mad he's like what the fuck kind of place you run in here this place is bullshit you take your fucking tough guys i'm like what stop it settle that i don't even fucking know you he goes i'm gonna fucking kill you he's just going crazy i'm like i'm just sweating beats a sweat bill and all of a sudden i see like the owners they're in the pro shop and all of a sudden i see him like giggling i'm like oh you motherfuckers and he was this guy was just like the nicest guy he was so fucking huge and so cool oh man i was just like jesus christ i like, gee, I almost shit my pants.

Starting point is 00:45:47 Literally, I was fucking scared to death of you. Yeah, the original Bane, right? Yeah, the original Bane. One guy was actually a big, tough guy. He was giving one of the guys on the counter. He didn't want to check in all the time. The guy's like, you got to check in. He's like, fuck you.

Starting point is 00:46:01 You bust my balls. And he's like, you just got to check in. And he was a big, big fucking dude, big scary dude. So he's like, you just got to check in. And he was a big, you know, big fucking dude, big scary dude, you know? So he's like, I'm going to beat the fuck out of you. He was telling the guy at the desk. All of a sudden, this guy, Jeep walked in. He's like, what'd you say? He's like, I'm going to fucking kill this guy.

Starting point is 00:46:15 Literally, Jeep Swenson grabbed this guy by the neck. It was like a Hollywood scene. He had so much power, squeezed the life out of him. This guy was probably about 6'3", 6'4". Lifted him up, grabbed him, smashed his head against the wall while he was suspended like two feet in the air. And I was like, holy fuck, I'd never seen a guy so big and so strong do that without, you know, wires. The guy dropped to the ground.

Starting point is 00:46:32 He's like, ah. I said, do you want a refund? He's like, nope, I'm never showing up again. Oh, shit. He just walked out of the door. That was one of the crazy scenes. I was like, man, that's something you see in Hollywood? It fucking happened.

Starting point is 00:46:44 This guy was just big and strong. Damn. For how crazy gold is, it's amazing that it's still there. And then, Mark, if you can clarify exactly what happened, but wasn't the city going to buy it? Or somebody was going to buy it? Yeah, and Arnold, I think, helped come to the rescue, right? Just recently? Yeah, I think they were trying to buy out the gym, right?

Starting point is 00:47:03 Well, it's under Google's, Google, excuse me, Google bought the property. So they own all the property, you know what I mean? And they're thinking, well, maybe we could use this building and we may use this building, blah, blah, blah. And all of a sudden, there was all this talk, we're like, oh, fuck, what's going to happen, you know? And all just riding in, all smiling,

Starting point is 00:47:19 and I'm like, oh, there's probably a problem with the gym. And he's like, don't worry about it. All right. And then all of a sudden hey what happened the sale is like google was presented and they signed a long-term lease with gold's gym no one knows what happened you know so i don't know what he did or what he interjected but it was a quick another arnold story he was he loves to do pullovers and the swing arm broke so he calls me still he's like mike the swing arm was broke in the second room i want the machine fixed. I'm like, I don't want to work here. Did you hear me?

Starting point is 00:47:47 I'm like, all right, all right, all right. So I call the fucking guys. I'm like, hey, you're going to bring the swing arm. We're going to fix this fucking thing. He's going to yell at me about it. So I show up, and Joe, you know, Jose, he's there. He's like, well, the thing's broke, so we ordered a piece. So I'm like, what's going on the next day?

Starting point is 00:48:02 He's like, what's going on? I said, well, you know, they ordered it. It's going to be like probably called the guy. Yeah. Yeah. It's probably going to be like four weeks

Starting point is 00:48:08 to put it in and you know, they'll put it in once you get it. He's like, you ever have FedEx? I'm like, yeah. He's like,

Starting point is 00:48:15 it should be here tomorrow. And he walks away. So I'm like, so here I am again. I don't even fucking work here. I'm like, Joe, why don't you fix this fucking part?

Starting point is 00:48:22 They say, oh, they get a video, they get manufactured, they get it welded, they get it painted, blah, blah, blah. So you see so you see on a day he's like mike where's my machine i'm like i'm like it's they gotta fix it they gotta weld it they get opinions like i told you we'll paint it fat exit so all of a sudden i'm like fuck i'm like aren't you going skiing he's like yes i'm going skiing i'm like get the fuck out of here drive me crazy you know so he goes away so i tell these guys i'm like, aren't you going skiing? He's like, yes, I'm going skiing. I'm like, get the fuck out of here.

Starting point is 00:48:45 You're driving me crazy. So he goes away. So I tell these guys, I'm like, you got to get this fucking machine. You got to fix it. And it's like, the arm's broken. We don't know what to do. So I text Arnold. It's an old one, right? It's a Nautilus with the chain, right?

Starting point is 00:48:56 Yeah. That's like the greatest piece ever. Yeah. So all of a sudden, I said, Arnold, I don't know what's going on. They said it's going to be a couple of weeks. He's like, next day, on a crate,'t know what's going on. They said it was going to be a couple weeks. He's like, ugh. Next day, on a crate, there's a brand new machine. It just fucking shows up.

Starting point is 00:49:11 I'm like, motherfucker, you get all the pull in the world. What the fuck? So does he still train there regularly? Yeah, he's there every morning. He's there every morning, and it's funny. People get so excited to see him, and he's just the coolest guy, and he's always just like, let me train, I'll see you outside. And if you're away from outside, he'd take pictures with everyone,

Starting point is 00:49:31 you know what I mean? He's always cordial, he's always fun. And he loves, one thing about Arnold, he's a regular guy. I mean, he loves fucking joking. He just, you know, one of the things I, you know, he was training with this guy one time, and this guy thought he was pretty big. And I told him this goofy line, I'm like, Arnold, this guy's on muscle softness thought he was pretty big and I told him this goofy line I'm like Arnold this guy's on muscle softness

Starting point is 00:49:46 and I was like muscle softness is fantastic this is the greatest line I've ever heard oh my god so every day for like every day for like six months how you doing how's those muscle softness

Starting point is 00:49:55 he'd be walking by those muscle softness are kicking in he kept using it on everyone I'm like finally I'm like Arnold I gotta give you a new line you're beating the hell out of that one he's like no it's too fantastic.

Starting point is 00:50:05 I'll use it all the time. Yeah, I seen him. I think it was on TV talking about the whole muscle lineup that you gave him. They're like, don't get trapped and all that shit. I was like, hey, you got that from Mike Ryan. I know that. Yeah, yeah. It was funny because it took for, it was one of those mornings.

Starting point is 00:50:20 He was there early. So I see him. He's just like sluggish. So he's walking this way he's got his head down so he walks to the right i walk to the right so he walks to the left i walk to left he walks to the right i walk to where he's like come on it's early so i did the all i said hey don't try to get by otherwise you'd be trapped and dealt with. Arnold goes, oh, my fucking God, that's fantastic. You have to teach me that.

Starting point is 00:50:49 So every day we would go over to it. Then we'd go, we've got to do more. We've got to do more. That's how we do this. Absolutely, we won't be back. You know what I mean? Then one day he's just like, come on. He'd be like, but there is no end to the game.

Starting point is 00:51:03 Every day. He kept going. Yeah, it was just one of those things. He just absolutely loved it. He lit up like a fucking scoreboard. Yeah, it was so cool seeing him do it on TV or something. I can't remember what it was. It might have been this.

Starting point is 00:51:13 It was the Kawhi Leonard one. Is that what it is? It was with Kawhi Leonard. And I forgot the brand, but I saw that. They did a whole ad for ESPN and the Terminator. Yeah. I was going to say Terminator. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:51:25 Funny stuff. That's fucking cool. Do you ever have any issues with motivation? Because you've been training for a really long ass time. Yeah, of course. You know what I mean? Like everyone getting out ruts, you know? And it's just like, for me, it only happened like, oh, this fucking kid.

Starting point is 00:51:38 I started feeding cats because all the fires, all these cats started showing up. So I figured I'd feed them. I got to feed them because they'll keep meowing and ruin the tape, right? It doesn't matter. I mean, whatever you want to do, it doesn't matter. I call him Bouncer. He sits on the door. He's fearless.

Starting point is 00:51:53 Like, doesn't let anyone in, fights all the dogs in the neighborhood. And I'm allergic to cats too. Oh, shit. No, no. But actually, you know, on that subject of motivation, on the periods that like maybe you've lacked it or you have been able to work out for a while does anything kind of happen to you because like oh yeah well yeah it's the first thing depression sets it uh-huh you know what i mean

Starting point is 00:52:14 you're like oh my god i'm and i you don't want to sound like a dick but i'm wow that's what it feels like to be a regular person this sucks you know yeah right it does it's like when you when you have injuries or you're just tired, you're sick, you're fatigued, you beat up and you take one, two, three,

Starting point is 00:52:28 four days. You're like, fuck, I haven't done anything. I feel worthless. My, my, my self worth is at an all time low.

Starting point is 00:52:35 Yeah. Same thing happens to me. That's why I can't stop. Yeah. It's an amazing how, um, like imagine if you didn't, if you didn't exercise,

Starting point is 00:52:43 you know, it's like, it's crazy. It seems like you would have, uh, like endless amounts of time. But what do people say you didn't exercise you know it's like it's crazy it seems like you would have uh like endless amounts of time but what do people say that don't exercise like i don't have time for that of course you're like what the fuck do you do with yourself i know i mean i know people work a lot but jesus yeah well whenever it says that to me i said there's 24 hours in a day we'll break down your day as as best you can you work what 12 hours it gives me

Starting point is 00:53:03 12 hours you sleep what eight hours this gives me 12 hours. You sleep, what, eight hours? This gives me four hours. What are you doing on that four-hour time period? Well, I got kids. Three hours. I still get 60 minutes of your time. What are you going to do? There's no way.

Starting point is 00:53:15 Right. There's no excuse. Well, and also, too, not everyone, you know, it would be really rare that you work 12 hours every single day. Of course, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, weekends or something, and that would be at least two training sessions you could sneak in right there. So how do you get your clients to bounce back then

Starting point is 00:53:31 if they're kind of like, hey, I haven't talked to you in like a week? Obviously, that means you're not doing good because nobody stops talking to you because they're doing great. Yeah, sure. It's the same old thing. It's just you've got to find trigger switches on everybody.

Starting point is 00:53:43 You know what I mean? What's going to trigger you? A lot of guys that I work with, you know what I mean? They're especially now during award season. I'm like, oh, you produce the directors. You got to be on the red carpet. You don't want to be photographed with seven chins. Let's fucking let's pick it up.

Starting point is 00:53:54 You know what I mean? Because those publications are everywhere. Yeah. The first time you fuck up, you know what they look for? The shittiest picture of you to put out there. So don't give them the ammunition. Yeah. What kind of advice do you have for like personal trainers people that train people like you do in person because nowadays

Starting point is 00:54:08 you know it's it is kind of tough to be a trainer but you're doing it at a very high level so to be able to move in that way well the one thing i always tell people and i said i think you are your best business card lead by example you know what i mean it's for me everyone is visual and that's how i that's how i got my career that's how people still approach me like the other day this fitness girl she's like you have a great ass i'm like oh fuck thanks and all of a sudden she's like i gotta train with you at least one day a week to get your ass i'm like fantastic so anyone who's anyone who wants to get in this profession knowledge is great it's i mean it's it's it's fantastic i have all this knowledge.

Starting point is 00:54:45 But people want to be inspired. And how you're going to inspire them is by leading by example. And I think that's the testament of the whole profession. Well, it's a super cool feeling, too, when you go out to eat with people, even if you're eating with people that aren't in the fitness industry, and you have your order going first, and everyone kind of tailors their order. You notice the whole table.

Starting point is 00:55:05 In their head, they were going to get the grilled cheese and french fries and shit. And the second you ordered a clean meal, they're like, oh, I'm going to order. But it shifts the whole table and it's an inspiration and motivational for people. But the downside is you don't get invited to dinners anymore. Oh, no, yeah.

Starting point is 00:55:20 You know what I mean? Like that fucking asshole didn't even have a drink. Absolutely. I had so many guys like, we were going to invite you over, but we would have felt like shit. So go fuck yourself. How about like family and stuff? Like whether you got relatives and stuff.

Starting point is 00:55:37 Like I know for me personally, like because I'm in this space, they do come to me. But then when I do kind of push the information out, they just like, I don't, you know, fuck you. Like I'm not going to listen to you because you're my cousin. You're my brother, whatever it is. Have you had a hard time trying to help people close to you? Well, my family's pretty good. My mom, she likes her desserts and whatever. She's almost 80, so my dad's almost 80. So they're fine.

Starting point is 00:55:57 They exercise regularly. They're great examples. My brothers are pretty fit, so they're cool. I have younger cousins, know my cousins have kids now those kids are super excited to train they write me all the time you know what i mean it's like this younger generation because of the because of the instagram because everyone is so fit in and it's in your face all day long that it's it's super competitive so they're they're looking at like uncle mikey can you do this uncle uncle mikey i get this guy i want to get this bench up i'll go

Starting point is 00:56:22 mikey and even when i, like when I go home, we're talking about the high school football hall of fame. I get high school kids all the time from my old high school and college still writing me. It was like, Hey, we know you went here and this is what we want to do. I want to increase my 40. I want to increase my vertical. What can you help me?

Starting point is 00:56:37 I'm like, sure. Absolutely. Yeah. Cause I think cause social media, it's so more prevalent that people they're really trying to make the gains they want. Yeah. We talk about social media. Cause I know Nsema was saying,

Starting point is 00:56:47 you know, when you were like, he was already developing a lot of strength, and he felt fantastic. But if he had social media around to be like, oh, I feel great, but man, I'm not even a quarter as strong as this guy, it might have pushed him the other way. But I think what you just said is like the positive side of it. Yeah. Because it is more prevalent.

Starting point is 00:57:06 People are like, oh, wait, I do want to look like that. Like my, I think he's only like eight years old, my nephew. He couldn't care less about my 300-pound deadlift. Like it just doesn't matter. But he's seen my physique and he was just like, you have abs? Yeah. And he was freaking out. He's like, how did you do that?

Starting point is 00:57:23 And so I was like, that's really interesting that like because of a picture it might push him now to kind of like really be more fit yeah yeah and what i was saying there was like it would have pushed me in the direction of wanting to take stuff oh that's what it was that's what it was because it's like i've been lifting since i was 13 i didn't get on the internet and social media until i was like 19 or something so i got time to like get big. Yeah. But all these kids, a lot of guys messaged me, they're like 16 starting. Right.

Starting point is 00:57:48 And they're like, fuck man, how am I going to do this for so long? It's going to take so long to do that. Can I just, what can I take to get bigger? I know. I can only relate to my personal experience.

Starting point is 00:57:58 I was in, you know, being a goals, drugs were rampant. I mean, it's no mystery. They're rampant. I mean,

Starting point is 00:58:02 temptation was everywhere, but I was a super fortunate enough that Bill Phillips saw me one day training, and well, his photographer did, and he said, we'd like to shoot you, but you've got to take a drug test. And I'm like, well, what are you testing for? You know what I mean? Natural question.

Starting point is 00:58:19 He's like, steroids. I'm like, well, I can check that off. I can pass that one. Yeah. So right after that, I took my drug test, built, did a test shoot, and I was the EAS cover guy for, what, eight years or something. But that was a reward. You were really smart on his part, too. It was. Oh, my God.

Starting point is 00:58:37 It's weird. No one else thought of that. I know. But he wanted someone that can really represent the company. This is the results you could possibly get with these products without taking a bunch of other shit. And he did. I mean, he would film our drug test, and he would either put it on a video and show people or document it in the magazines.

Starting point is 00:58:53 And he just found guys that would want to work hard, take his products, and believe in the systems that he implemented. And we did it. So I was rewarded, which was the coolest thing because the temptation was great the temptation was great especially gold's gym you know i mean you you train every day all of a sudden this guy's like he's 100 buck buck 50 soaking wet and gold's gym six months later he's fucking 220 shredded you're like fuck i can't compete with these fucking guys you know and the drugs were rampant in the 90s i mean when you go in that third gym in the third room in the wall and back it's just sadly it's it's like an obituary column.

Starting point is 00:59:27 You know what I mean? These guys, they did so much, so fast, so hard, you know? And like when Arnold competed, the heavy he was, like 225. It went from 225 to 300 pounds. It was like a very small progression, but all of a sudden, everyone wanted to be over 300 pounds and compete at like 2% or 3% body fat. And sadly enough, I mean, the proof is in the pudding. It was just the body couldn't take it.

Starting point is 00:59:52 Yeah. Do you find social media motivating? You know, a lot of times we get in the habit of talking about the negatives of it. And, of course, there's a giant rabbit hole you can climb down with it being negative. But do you find it to be motivating? Because if you post something now and you're in this shape, it really kind of sucks when you're not in that. It kind of sucks when you're not holding that level that you got to.

Starting point is 01:00:16 It's a double-edged sword. You know what I mean? With everything, with the good comes the bad. You know what I mean? You try and be as honest as possible when you have a fan base. Like, all right, this I am. I've been struggling. I've been staying at 230.

Starting point is 01:00:27 I'm heavier, but my weights are going up. So this is cool. I'm digging life. You know what I mean? People are like, oh, that's great. Lift as much as you can. Then you get all the people like, oh, you're a fat fuck anyways. You know?

Starting point is 01:00:35 It just comes with the territory. That's usually me. Yeah. Oh, you're Mark Bell. Yeah. So it always comes with the territory. And social media, you try and be honest and put things out there that people can relate to and aspire to and you know and kind of get encouraged by

Starting point is 01:00:51 but you know there's always going to be the people that just you know you're a fucking asshole you know just that's there's just angry people out there yeah that's because he hooked up with all their girlfriends yeah basically well there's that I do want to know this, though, because I see all the dope-ass figurines that you have around your house. Yeah. Right? First off, for me,

Starting point is 01:01:12 I watched Dragon Ball Z as a kid, and I watched all this stuff, and that kind of stuff actually got me into this. Sure. So what's all this about? Yeah, I mean, I'm born in 1966. There was no internet. There was comic books. You know what I mean, I'm born in 1966. There was no internet. There was comic books.

Starting point is 01:01:25 You know what I mean? TV was only three channels, and half of it was all news, you know? So we just had comic books, and that's what you want to do is like, oh, man, what can I relate to? Well, Superman's unstoppable. He's cool. And you get the X-Men. They all have personal problems, you know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:01:40 I can fucking relate to this, but they can battle their demons, and you get the Fantastic fantastic four and you get, you know, the Avengers, they're just regular guys that just want to be above and beyond. So yeah, the total inspiration. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:01:50 How about like the physiques of the superheroes these days? Uh, Oh God, I've had a, it's just funny. You know, I don't want to, it's,

Starting point is 01:02:00 it's, it's, it's a different time. I think I would hate to be a kid right now. Cause who are your role models? I mean, growing up, I was like, I was fortunate. I think I would hate to be a kid right now because who are your role models? I mean, growing up, I was fortunate. I mean, you watch TV. You had Schwarzenegger.

Starting point is 01:02:10 You had Stallone. You had everyone who was bigger than life that just trained hard and led by example. And it was super cool. But there's been such a dynamic of, you know what I mean, Hollywood being so politically correct that is it? You know what I mean? You watch The Last Avengers. You look at Hulk, the unstoppable machine. Hulk becomes a vegan, doesn't want to fight.

Starting point is 01:02:30 Captain America leads a support group for crying men. Iron Man dies and his wife takes over. Thor becomes a fat, angry drunk. I mean, come on. There's going to be a whole generation of boys out there like, well, who do I look forward to? Where are my idols going to come from? You know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:02:50 Toxic masculinity. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's like, enough. All right, please. You know, it's overwhelming. And it's, like I said, and they throw it in your face. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:03:00 You know, they literally throw it in your face. Well, let me ask with this with that said like moving forward because you're going to be training and training people for a long time like what's the effect that you want to have or like how do you want to influence do you want to influence the younger generation in that way or what's yeah oh absolutely you know i mean um like like when i do camps and stuff i always encourage kids to come out and and i just say grab something that you can relate to grab something that you can see yourself in. And a lot of kids, they just like – I refer like all my nephews.

Starting point is 01:03:30 I say, you guys, pick up an old comic book or something. Pick up something that was fun. Watch the 80s. Watch Bloodsport. Watch all these fun movies where the guy was just an underdog and he tried hard. The Karate Kid, he tried hard. They always overcame massive obstacles. And they were just great role models.

Starting point is 01:03:48 And I'm looking at TV. These days, I'm like, actually, what does a young male aspire to? I mean, who's your son look up to besides you probably? My dad. He's lucky he's got my dad there. But yeah, you need a role model yeah but but when we were kids i mean terminated came out we all got terminated hair right right you know what i mean we're just like oh i want to fucking smash through everything you know i mean we had

Starting point is 01:04:13 we had these we had these uh idols that we just loved and just aspire to be you know just my kids don't watch tv yeah you know i don't i don't know if i don't know if a lot of kids are even watching tv at all probably just all quick youtube segments yeah, it's all stuff on their phone and things like that, yeah. Yeah, so I guess if they can find someone they can emulate in, you know, some medium, some form of medium, that's great. But, boy, I just think this is the lost generation of young males out there. But just, you know, they're really getting tossed aside. Awesome, man.

Starting point is 01:04:42 What do you have coming up? Do you have anything on the horizon? Traveling anywhere, anything like that? Yeah, hopefully. I got hired by a very successful Chinese lady. She's legit, you know, uber wealthy. And, you know, they put me on a boat and traveled the Mediterranean. Yeah, super fun, super wild, super cool.

Starting point is 01:05:05 Yeah, it was awesome. It was just dynamic. How did that come, like? Through social media, of all things. You know, I got this crazy email, would you mind spending 32 days at sea aboard this super yacht, Titanium? I'm like, I'm thinking it's your brother. I'm like, ah, go fuck yourself.

Starting point is 01:05:21 You know what I mean? But I'm like, ah, it shouldn't be that mean. I'm like, ah, yeah, tell me more details. So all of a sudden, this person reached out to me. It a funny thing it's like we have a client we can't divulge who it is but they would like to uh train you aboard this boat i'm like looking at the boat i'm like fuck it's like you have a contract yeah i sent him a contract day late it came back signed everything i'm like wow it's like but we really don't want to divulge who it is but uh, you know, they're talking. All of a sudden I heard, I think Jackie Chan will like him.

Starting point is 01:05:47 And I heard in the background, I'm like, did they say fucking Jackie Chan? So I don't say anything, you know what I mean? Because you're not supposed to say anything. Deep down inside, I'm like, he's going to be so fucking cool, you know? So they fly me to Italy. I'm outside Naples waiting for the, you know what I mean, be on this board. This boat shows up.

Starting point is 01:06:01 And it is massive. There's a crew of 22 people all lined up in immaculate outfits and I walk in and introduce myself. All of a sudden I'm like, who's on board? They're like, they'll be driving up soon. They drive up. All of a sudden this lady comes out. She doesn't even speak English. She's all Chinese and her daughter

Starting point is 01:06:17 and her son. They talk and translate. It's like, oh, this is her son Jackie Chan. I'm like, oh, fuck. Jackie Chan. You're Jackie Chan. But it was cool. So I'm telling everyone, it's who he was. I'm turning like oh this is her son jackie chan i'm like oh fuck you know jackie chan you're jackie chan you know but it was cool so i'm telling everyone who he was i'm turning jackie chan i mean that's god that's wild that's great i didn't have to didn't have that to tell him it's not the jackie chan yeah honeydicked yeah yeah yeah i mean still the experience that's fucking sick it was amazing it was funny the the week prior walberg rented rented this boat. So he left heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, and had them installed like chin-up bar in the engine room,

Starting point is 01:06:50 which was awesome because the engine room was like 110 degrees. So you're training Jackie Chan on Mark Wahlberg's boat. Yeah, totally. And then I rented a Magic Johnson in San Tropez. Who's the toughest person that you trained? Like who took to it the best and worked the hardest? Just Dwayne, without a doubt. Yeah, he's an animal.

Starting point is 01:07:08 You know what I mean? It's funny because he wants to break you, to lead by example. But he couldn't break me. But we had his brother-in-law hire him who now works for him. But we crushed him every day. And Dwayne would just love it. You know what I mean? He goes, I'll fucking crush anyone.

Starting point is 01:07:23 I'm like, I'm right with you. You know what I mean? Yeah. And he'd be like, I'm up crash anyone. I'm like, I'm right with you. You know what I mean? Yeah. And he'd be like, I'm up at four. I knew he'd get up at 350 just to fuck with me. So I'm like, I gotta get up at 345. I gotta be there. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:07:33 So wherever the car was waiting, I would always be waiting on the car and he'd be like, motherfucker. Is there something that he does or that he did that somebody might not know that led to so much of his success? No, it's no mystery it's hard work it's hard work and you know i mean everything your professors on instagram it's no fucking joke you mean you get up you can never outbeat his post be like all right i'm gonna get up at three o'clock see if he's already up it's like fuck

Starting point is 01:07:58 he's already up and done bastard yeah yeah um and and and it's a testament to his character. He just works hard at everything he does. Yeah. I was going to say, so who did – we had compared The Rock's Instagram to someone else's Instagram. We were like, who's cool? Which one has more mystique or which one's cooler? I can't remember who we were talking about.

Starting point is 01:08:20 John Cena. Is that who? Yeah, because John posts random shit. Yeah. I don't know. Do you like all the stuff that he posts on Instagram, though? Oh, Dwayne? Yeah.

Starting point is 01:08:29 Oh, yeah. I think it's fun. Yeah, totally. I mean, a lot of people just love it, and they suck it up. And you go to the gym, and everyone's wearing Project Rock gear. You know what I mean? So he's inspiring thousands and thousands of people. You know, a lot of what you're saying about training celebrities, right?

Starting point is 01:08:44 A lot of people want to be celebrity trainers, like dealing with celebrities specifically. It seems that like you did that organically. Yeah. And that seems like something that'd be fairly difficult to try to do organically nowadays. How would you suggest someone try to do that?

Starting point is 01:08:56 It is. I mean, it's all timing, but it's people have to believe in you because they're going to be vulnerable and as a celebrity, you're high profile. So all my relationships, I've known, you know what I mean? Like Dwayne broke into wrestling wrestling in 92 i was the gm when he first showed up i took him to lunch so it wasn't till 98 six years later of actual friendship yeah that he knew he can trust me you know i mean say it's it's all about trust and it was funny i

Starting point is 01:09:18 i referred one guy to this job i can't name the celebrity but he was just like i was such a he was just drunk every day and i didn't want to train him. And I told him, and so he quit. And I said, that's why I sent you out there. You're supposed to help him. It's not about you trying to further your career to do this. Sometimes these jobs are gritty. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:09:36 I had to work with, again, I probably don't want to mention names, but this celebrity, I go to her house, literally had to pull her out of bed. You know what I mean? Yes. I mean, with all the good, her out of bed. You know what I mean? Yes. I mean, with all the good, you have the bad. You know what I mean? This lady was, you're a motherfucking asshole. Get the fuck out of my house, blah, blah, blah.

Starting point is 01:09:52 Crying two minutes later. You can't leave. You can't leave. You know what I mean? There's a lot of emotional strain that comes with this job because you're dealing with people. And if they're successful, a lot of times, their whole life, they've just been pampered to and they never hear a no.

Starting point is 01:10:03 Yeah. So when this lady's like, I want to sleep in, I'm get the fuck up you know i mean they don't hear that so they don't know how to respond like a regular person so they're volatile they're throwing shit at you and i'm just like why am i here you know i mean then i'm here for a reason you know i'm here to make this person's life better and that's basically the bottom line yeah awesome man always fun uh running india always yeah definitely let people know where they can find you yeah just mike underscore ryan underscore celebrity trainer let's uh watch some old football tapes huh i got them all i got my prices right take and my love connection tape i did every

Starting point is 01:10:36 cheesy show in the 80s andrew where can people find you at i am andrew z make sure you guys are following the podcast on instagram at mark bells power project Project, Twitter, TikTok, and I think that's it at MB Power Project. We're on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Mixer, Twitch, all over the damn place. But for sure, make sure you are subscribed on iTunes and please rate and review. And Seema, where are you at? At Seema Iyeng on Instagram and YouTube and Seema Iyeng on TikTok and Twitter. Mark? I'm at Mark Smellybell on Grindr. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:11:10 And everywhere else. And how come you haven't hit me up back yet? I mean, come on. I sent you three winks and a hug and a kiss. I'm a little fed up. You know what we got to do? We got to talk about grooming of this grizzled beard. Of this beard? Yeah, you got to groom it. It's got to do? What's that shit? We got to talk about grooming of this grizzled beard. Of this beard?

Starting point is 01:11:25 Yeah, you got to groom it. It's got to be thinner here. I know, but I got to wait. No, you can't wait. I got to wait a little bit. You're looking homeless. I can't look at you anymore. No, I can go homeless for a little bit.

Starting point is 01:11:35 Look, these are my eyes. You're burning my eyes to death. You used to be a handsome guy. I know. I'm trying something different. Let me help you. Look at me. I'm ridiculously handsome.

Starting point is 01:11:44 I know. So let me show you the way. You know how to help. I do know how to help. All right. We'll trim it. Let me help you. Look at me. I'm ridiculously handsome. I know. So let me show you the way. You know how to help. I do know how to help. All right. Shave me up. We'll start it slow. Keep it light here.

Starting point is 01:11:52 We'll get a little more fuller down here. Keep it up. It's a little lineup, actually. A little lineup. That's it. Nah, we'll see. We'll get you sorted. Strength is never a weakness.

Starting point is 01:12:03 Weakness is never a strength. Catch y'all later. What up, podcast? I just want to sneak in here right at the very end to thank you for rating and reviewing. Everybody that's been doing that, we sincerely appreciate it. Like our boy, Big Kid, a.k.a. DBO. That's an interesting handle, but I like it. He says, great info.

Starting point is 01:12:21 This podcast has helped me so many times times whether it's about lifting or eating right or just entertain me while i'm a little down a ton of great information that people pay big money all for free i enjoy all the guests and mark is super down to earth and relatable if you ain't gave it a listen you're only shorting yourself thank you so much big kid aka dbo we're really curious to know what the DBO stands for. But regardless, we really, really appreciate you, and we're grateful that we have you as a listener. If you want to hear your name at the end of this podcast, drop us a rating and review right now on iTunes. We'll catch you guys on the next one.

Starting point is 01:13:00 Peace.

Mark Bell's Power Project - EP. 320 - Mike Ryan

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