Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth - 1120: Dan "Nitro" Clark

Starting point is 00:00:00 If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go. Mite, op, mite, op with your hosts. Salda Stefano, Adam Schaefer, and Justin Andrews. How big of fans were you guys of the gladiators? Huge gladiators. One of my favorite shows. The best. It had a bunch of really buffed maniacs.

Starting point is 00:00:24 They were doing events with people. It was such a fun show to watch. Well, think of how many shows today have spawned off, probably from that concept, because I don't, I don't, there wasn't a lot of shows like that. Yeah. Back when it was, when it was massive. Now, I think there's, there's a, there's a million type of obstacle game course type of shows that are out there, but American Gladiators were one of the one of the first ones ever to get released, right? What year was that? Do you remember what year was it? It has to have been the 90s. It's got to have been the early 90s for sure back then. I loved it. But anyway, one of my favorite gladiars on there was Nitro. He's a love watching that guy. He was so intense. And it's funny, he contacts us and talks about wanting

Starting point is 00:01:08 to come on the show. This guy has a lot to offer, not just his past, but as a gladiator, but he's a very motivational individual. Has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations in his life, including a heart attack at a very, very young age and how it completely changed his approach to life. So we think you're going to enjoy this episode.

Starting point is 00:01:30 Now you can find him on Instagram at Dan Nitro Clark. So his first name is Dan. Last name is Clark, of course, Nitro being the name that he had on the Gladhears. He has a business of what is it called? Obstacle course racing. I think he's selling it now, called Gladier Rock and Run. So that's Gladier Rock and Run.com. His book is called F Dying or Fuck Dying.

Starting point is 00:01:55 And he has a great talk, a great TED talk. It's the title of it is The Art of Living a Happy Life. But anyway, we had a fun conversation with this guy. Don't worry, we asked about the tennis ball shooting gun. Yeah, that's really cool. That's really important. So we think you're gonna enjoy this episode. Also, before the episode starts,

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Starting point is 00:02:52 i feel like we have to start though with the the old theme song but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da San Jose State Spartan was there last night for the game? Wow, what was Spartans? Where'd you grow up? Orange County. Okay, so you're from Southern California? From Southern California, pretty much. Look, my dad was in the Marines. I was born in Japan when I was eight years old. He had been living in Vietnam for a while, so he took me over there as a kid for two years and right before the country fell. And then I've been pretty much back in California.

Starting point is 00:03:40 Wait a second, I'm confused. You lived in OC and you decided to go to school and fucking San Jose. Did you never had you not visited here for the first time? Let me leave one of the best places in California to go to the shithole college over here. Why would you come to San Jose State? Wow. I went to San Jose State too. But you guys do know that San Jose State puts more people in Silicon Valley jobs now than any other college? Yeah, they do.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Oh, is that true? Yeah. They also have the most reputable Kinesiology department. It's a great thing. So yeah. So if you see what they're doing over there now, you guys have to go. Next time I come up, I'm gonna come up for another game.

Starting point is 00:04:20 Next time I come up, you have to see what they're changing the facilities over there. They've put in this, they've put in a great football stadium a great weight room They've put in new soccer fields a new 50 million dollar pool complex. It is becoming legit. They are doing a great job over there at San Jose But no seriously though what would make a kid that's growing up in Orange County come to San Jose I forget San Jose in general. Yeah then. Was on a football scholarship. It was all over the world.

Starting point is 00:04:46 Okay. So back then Jack L.A. was the coach. And they were the top number 19 in the country. 19 in the country. I must be a long time. So when they, it was a long time ago. So when they recruited me, they had three guys, Gerald Will Heights, D. Clarkson, and one other guy

Starting point is 00:05:02 who was, who were going pro. They're all like first and second round. Oh wow. So I came here. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies.

Starting point is 00:05:10 Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies.

Starting point is 00:05:17 Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies.

Starting point is 00:05:24 Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. Black and white babies. No one had ever gone out and got a football scholarship to a D1 school. So I was the first kid, but that wasn't even my dream. That wasn't my ambition. I had quick going to school at high school. I was done. I mean, I was done. You were dropping out of high school. No, I finished high school.

Starting point is 00:05:35 I was done. I wasn't even thinking about higher education. This is how life works. So I was working at Sears, but I was selling, like in one of those kiosks, metal etchings, and I was making $300-400 cash a week, and my girlfriend was the head cheerleader, and she was working at Ralph Lauren, and she had like a 70% discount on Ralph Lauren clothes.

Starting point is 00:05:54 So I had a money, I had a girlfriend, I was fantastic, and I got great clothes for free, or cheap, and I was done. I was done. You figured out life. Yeah. And I graduated young, so I was 16 my whole senior year. I turned 17 May 21st. Yeah, you can all send me birthday gifts. I made 21st of my senior year. So I was a young guy too.

Starting point is 00:06:13 And I thought I had all figured out. And I was there selling my metal etchings and my little suit at Sears and a kiosk and my high school track coach, yeah, I threw the discousen shop put. He came up and he says, hey, I'm coaching at this junior college. Maybe you got, maybe you want to come travel for football? I'm like, no, no, no, no, dude. I make a four to bucks a week, you know?

Starting point is 00:06:32 You see my girlfriend? Hey, I'm done. And but somehow it just stuck inside of me. And he said, we're doing good things. You're a good football player. And again, the first time I ever felt good about myself is when I was a freshman high school, someone pated me on the back and said, good job, Clark, on the football player. And again, and the first time I ever felt good about myself is when I was a freshman high school, someone pated me on the back and said, good job, clock on the football field. So that was wired inside of me. And he said, hey, you're a good

Starting point is 00:06:52 football player. So it triggered that in me. And I was like, oh, and then I just went out and tried out for the football team. And it's so interesting that you were talented enough to get a scholarship. But then you were just willing to like, yeah, mover it and be done with it after high school. That's not normal. Is it? Well, I wasn't talented enough to get a scholarship, but then you were just willing to like, yeah, I'm over it and be done with it after high school. That's not normal, is it? Well, I wasn't talented enough in high school. I didn't get one letter. Okay.

Starting point is 00:07:11 But junior college was the on tray back then. So he said you were good. And anybody who said anything, like if you guys tell me I'm great, I'll probably never leave. I'm like, I'm moving to San Jose. I'm going to be part of, come part of the crew. You know, you used to have four people on your podcast,

Starting point is 00:07:25 and only that three, it was meant for me. Tell me I'm great. I'll be careful about that. So then you must have, I mean, if you're just good and you weren't that great, I mean, you got good enough to get a scholarship. So, I mean, I'm assuming that you must have put some serious work in to get good

Starting point is 00:07:40 in your junior college years. Yes, I mean, that was absolute. So two things happened to me. I was good, and I trained hard. I believed in too. So two things happened to me. I was good. And I trained hard. I believed in training. I believed in working out as something I was doing since I was 12 years old. Then my freshman year, I got injured.

Starting point is 00:07:54 I blew out my knee, so to speak. And I went, and I was probably like 210 pounds. And within three months, I was back down to 185 and I saw my dream evaporate, my dream of getting a scholarship now. Because a lot of kids, we had 17 kids my freshman year ago and get scholarship to D1 school. So it was within touch finally. So that was the time back in 1982.

Starting point is 00:08:18 I was sitting there, dream was gone, where I was at the gym and I saw this guy who was huge and he was working out and I said, dude, you look amazing. I said, what are you doing? He said, come here. He goes, I'm taking these things are called steroids. And I was like, what?

Starting point is 00:08:34 What's that? And it isn't like today, we're so pervasive in the culture, we're so, it wasn't illegal. It wasn't like, you know, it was just, I was like, what? Yeah, there was no, it wasn't even illegal at that time. No, you're, no, it was like protein. It was like another guy who's like, hey, try these true, there was no, it wasn't even illegal at that time. No, no, no, it was like protein. It was like another guy who's like, hey, try these true or pro-team pills.

Starting point is 00:08:47 I make you huge, I took them. Right, so this guy was like, okay, where'd you get them? What do you do? What kind of steroid was it? What'd you start with? It was a deball, was it dianna ball? So what I did is he goes, I went to a doctor. So they're safe.

Starting point is 00:09:00 This is where he goes, I think, you know, this guy, what's his name? Schwartznego might be taking him. And Ferignon, there's a couple of football players you get bigger, stronger faster. You guys have all seen the movie. And I was like, I'm in. I was 17. So he takes me up to the steroid doctor in San Gabriel Valley down in California and the guy won't see me because I'm not 18. And I'm like, oh my God. So on my 18th birthday, my dad gave me $172. That's what it cost. He told me. I went back and saw this guy and he was just like,

Starting point is 00:09:28 okay, where we're gonna start you on is where I start you on to debol a day with a little bit of injectable testosterone. And I'm like, okay, great. How long do I take this for? And he looked at me, what do you mean? When do I come off? He's like, you don't. Oh, you don't?

Starting point is 00:09:42 Yeah. I'm like, oh, he goes, it's safe. You know, I'm a doctor, you know, and all this stuff. Wow. So in that 14, 16, 24, whatever, the 20 weeks, I not only put the size back on that I had lost from the surgery, but I gained another 15 pounds. So I think that weird combination, back then,

Starting point is 00:10:04 when it wasn't cheating, when nobody knew what it was, when I went to a doctor and I was being supervised, I think that gave me a little bit of a boost that I don't know I could have done on my own with the injury. Without the injury, there was a good shot I would have made it. So that's how I got up here. Now when you were first lifting, where was your knowledge of lifting coming? Were you similar to us where you're just trying shit? You didn't really know or you read in magazines.

Starting point is 00:10:31 Like where were you getting your advice on how to lift properly? I don't know if I can remember that part, because I'm 55. Right. So I've been at this game for, you know, 42 years. Now, 41 years, 43 years. But it was a, I know you guys run my podcast and we talked about it, but it was a gym set in the garage

Starting point is 00:10:48 and I don't know if I was looking at like, you know, those old Weeter magazines, you know, where, hey, don't be a whimp, don't have someone pick up sand and you know, kick it in your face. Oh yeah. And, but I'd always, even at 11 years old, it's okay. When I was 10 years old, my older brother, who was my hero, he was my rock, he was everything

Starting point is 00:11:09 to me in my life. My parents had been divorced, a lot of like your childhood, my parents had been divorced and my dad would drink and he was a marine and I was going from home to home. The one person I had was my older brother, Randy. When I was 10, he got into electrical accident and we were in a foreign country and he died in my arms. And that moment, I mean, I get emotional now. It broke me. It broke me and it broke me inside

Starting point is 00:11:37 and I did not know how to deal with it emotionally. So I found ways to become bigger and stronger on the outside. And I think that's why I was so drawn to that outer strength. I remember seeing a guy at a gym who had a muscle and I was just so fascinated. Because I thought if I had that muscle, man, I'd be safe. You know, I'd be safe and I'd be strong. So I had that big, big fascination.

Starting point is 00:12:02 And I think a lot of times, if you read my first book, Gladiator, True Story of Roads Rage Redemption, it's not about the American Gladiators. It's about that little kid who was broken. And he went on that Odyssey to find himself to become whole inside. And I realized for me, a lot of that putting that muscle and size on, I was up to 260, over 260, squatting 500 for reps, benching for 50, I was a beast, but a lot of that was all to protect that little kid inside. You know, it was my thing and it kept me bulletproof, but it kept me from experiencing a lot of the good things in life.

Starting point is 00:12:36 Do you remember when that all came apart for you? Like when did you realize that you were this young kid that you were trying to protect? I mean, we share this on our podcast a lot. It was, for sure, all three of us have this in common. That what drove us to the gym initially were our insecurities, being skinny and teased and wanting to be big and buff.

Starting point is 00:12:55 But it took me 15 years of training before I started to piece it together. Like, oh shit, I'm sitting here beating myself up because I don't love myself. Do you remember when that clicked for you? I'm still remembering it. So it's a lesson that I have to remind myself every day that I'm enough that I'm loved, that I put good things out into the world.

Starting point is 00:13:21 So I don't think it's for me, it's not a lesson I'll ever fully learn. It's something I have to remind myself all the time. So do you catch yourself still doing like little things where you feel insecure about your size because you know how massive you've been before? Do you catch? I feel insecure every day. Oh wow.

Starting point is 00:13:34 I feel insecure every day. Now I'm not saying I walk around unhappy. You know, I've made peace with, you know, the places I'm broken. I've learned to find the beauty in my scars, so to speak. You know, this is interesting Japanese philosophy. It's called Kinsugi, K-I-N-T-S-U-G-I, and it's this art where they take pottery that's been broken, and they put it back together with gold and silver.

Starting point is 00:13:56 Oh, I'm crying with this, yeah. Right, so I think Kinsugi, and a lot of times when I rebuilding something that's been broken, it becomes more valuable than it was originally. So I use that metaphor a lot for myself. I think because I've been broken, because you guys have been broken, maybe there was more value in us than if we were not broken.

Starting point is 00:14:16 But I think the key for a lot of people is to learn to find beauty in their scars. Hemingway has a great quote, and Hemingway said, and I'm gonna, he's gonna probably roll over in the grave because I'm not gonna say it correctly, but he said the world breaks everyone. And some become strong at the places they are broken. I have that by my bedside, because it tells me to honor those things. Because as men, we're all alpha males here.

Starting point is 00:14:37 So many times we grow up where we don't want to expose those things. You know, I'm a man, I got this, yeah. But it keeps people from getting sick. As men, we're all alpha males here. So many times, we grow up where we don't wanna expose those things. You know, I'm a man, I got this, yeah. But it keeps people away from us. You know, and I think as much as you don't have that vulnerability, you also keep those good experiences away. It must be extremely difficult,

Starting point is 00:15:00 or been super hard for someone like you who built a career around being that big strong guy. You were the epitome of that at one point. Yeah, you played college football, you played pro football for a little bit. It might have been the spandex, it makes everything bigger.

Starting point is 00:15:15 And it holds in the fat parts. But you played pro football for a second, right? You played for the LA Rams? LA Rams, I played over in your career. Right, and then you become Nitro on American Gladiers. How long were you that? I wanna know how you got that. Like how did this that come out of me?

Starting point is 00:15:31 What was the casting and all that stuff? How did you get into that? I grew up watching that man. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Yeah, it was a beautiful dream. I look back at that time. It just seems like there was a beautiful dream. So I had finished playing football for the Rams.

Starting point is 00:15:45 I played in Europe the year earlier. I got cut like, I don't know, 9, 10 games through the season. And I didn't know what I was going to do with my life. That's where I'm at a lot of times in my life where I don't know what I'm going to do. I've become so good in living in uncertainty. And I just believe, and it's not Hoki-Poki, like, oh, great things are going to come. I know I have a work ethic and you succeed. One thing you can succeed in anything. So I'm sitting there and I'm at the mall, South things are gonna come. I know I have a work ethic and you succeed. And one thing you can succeed in anything.

Starting point is 00:16:05 So I'm sitting there and I'm at the mall, South Coast Plaza Orange County. And I just got cut, I'm with the buddy mine who just got cut. And we see this guy walk in and we see him. We knew him because you played with the dolphins. And then we saw him, but I remember him because he was on this TV show, first in 10 with the very, very famous O.J. Simpson.

Starting point is 00:16:23 Do you guys remember that show? Oh, yeah. Oh my God. So this is way back. Then I see this guy and he was an extra, but back then we didn't know what extras were. It wasn't like today. I said, oh my God, dude, so good to see you. You're famous.

Starting point is 00:16:36 I saw you on TV. He's like, I can get you on TV. I'm like, what? You can get us on TV. He goes, yeah, yeah, come up to LA. You can get on the show first in 10. They're looking for guys. You just play professional football player.

Starting point is 00:16:47 They'll give you $100 and they'll give you a brown bag lunch. And I did you hit you get 250. I'm like, so my buddy and I, we moved up to Orange County the next weekend. Oh, yeah. So great. I get lunch and I get to be on TV. And I'm going to be hanging out with Stallone and Schwarzenegger

Starting point is 00:17:01 because that was, you know, if you were on TV, you hung with everybody. But I found out what being an extra was, which was fine. You're not that 24 years old. So I moved up here. And like anything else, any endeavor you take in, I'm all in. I have this tremendous curiosity. I want to know something. I'm a famous at dinner. You mentioned something, Sal. I'll be Googling it. Is he bullshitting me? Is this true? Is this right? I want more facts. So I have a tremendous curiosity. And about people too. I meet someone at the airport, I sit and talk to them,

Starting point is 00:17:27 I wonder what you do, I wonder about your life. I'm so curious. So I jumped into the acting thing. And I went and I got agents, I got pictures. And I took a cold reading class. And like you guys jumping into podcasting, cold reading, you know, dude, I was like, you know, 260, you know, like to actually get in and have to read a scene in front of people.

Starting point is 00:17:50 Well, I can do this, I can do this, I got it. I went to my first cold reading class and cold reading class is, is you have a scene, it was two or three pages long, they give it to you and you walk in and then you get up and you perform it. And I was no thespion, I used to want to beat up the guys in theater. I'm sorry, you're an actor. Ugh, you know, I did not become one. And so I was, I remember the first time I got up and read, I was looking at the paper, and here I am,

Starting point is 00:18:14 probably 245 pounds, and all of a sudden, I started like, couldn't breathe, I went back, and I literally almost fainted. Oh wow. I started my illustrious career by almost fainted, but I was like, okay, I can do this. So anyway, a very long, long story I will make it shorter. I was banging on doors, reading everything I could,

Starting point is 00:18:32 how to get in the business, taking voice classes, taking acting lessons, writing lessons, and there came this audition back then when they had newspapers. And it was about to find athletic people who were good in front of the camera. And I said, that's me. You know, I'm athletic and I got a little chutzpah, june sakwa, right?

Starting point is 00:18:51 So I went out for this audition and it was at this park. And this wasn't what you saw on TV. It was a little park and they had those tires and cones like you had for like football practice. And you go through these tires, your cones and it was everybody. Everyone was in spandex and the girls from glow were there. It was just like this smorgasbord of misfits from Venice Beach and everywhere else. But I had a football background, so I did well.

Starting point is 00:19:15 Then they said, here's one of three characters get on camera and we'll interview you. So I go on camera and they start asking me questions. Like, what do you eat? Raw meat. Do you remember your first character? Who's your first eat? Raw meat. Do you remember your first character? Who's your first character? Nitro.

Starting point is 00:19:27 Okay, so that was your first character. Yeah, I hear a different name was in Devar, it was a van der, but I remember the question today, I just did some for sports illustrated, pardon me, where are they now? That's how you know when you get old. So they were like last year, like, hey, we want to do where are they now at?

Starting point is 00:19:42 But so I'm like, oh, shit. Oh, shit. But I remember that specifically, and, hey, we want to do where are they now at the so-and-I'm like, oh, shit. Oh, shit. But I remember that specifically and they said, that was one of the first things that, what do you eat? I'm like, raw meat. So then we go for the interview. I go through like three or four interviews of, you know, running through tires, jumping down.

Starting point is 00:19:57 And then we're at Universal Studios. Now we're in the big time. We're in a stage. And I, the stage door is open. You think it's going to be like, oh my god, but it's literally a concrete floor. And they got these kids from the local college northridge to come over and try out the games. Like, hey, you're going to be on a game show. And I assure these kids they got 40 bucks a brown bag and they're thinking, jeopardy will afforture. No, they're going to get. Yeah. Yeah. And it's all because of my tens balls in the eye. They're going

Starting point is 00:20:20 to get what? Just think if you guys were in college, right? Hey, you're going to try that game show totally ago. You got to get totally just think if you guys were in college, right? Hey, you're gonna try that game show. Totally would go. You're gonna get totally in place. But imagine you guys, you guys train, you open the door, and on the ground, concrete ground, they drew a 15-yard long, 10-yard wide football little field, and they put, they put these guys across for me and they're like, you gotta get past him.

Starting point is 00:20:42 And that was like 240, I was unroyed, just smoke come out of my ears. My Hollywood dream was evaporating because I was running out of money and I was gonna have to move back home because I had a young son in Orange County. I was gonna have to move back home and get a job. And I was like, oh no.

Starting point is 00:20:59 So when I saw that guy come standing across from me from 10 to 15 yards and he had to run the ball past me, it wasn't just a guy. I get excited. It was my Hollywood dreams, my whole life, my independence. This kid came at me. He must have been a buck 65 soaking wet. Now I was like, I picked the guy up. I slam him on the concrete. His head goes back, the ball goes and goes dribbling out. And'm like oh shit man, you know There I'm in trouble producer calls me over and I'm like, I'm sorry. I love carried away. He's like you got the job And that's how American glad eaters started wow How many seasons so we on therefore got us like 130 episodes eight years. I did seven of them now

Starting point is 00:21:43 like 130 episodes, eight years, I did seven of them. Now, were there ever times, I remember watching the show in every once in a while, there'd be a contestant that would actually give you guys a run for your money. Were there ever, was there ever a moment where you're like, oh shit, this guy's a tough one. So you didn't want to mess with the glad eater mafia. I mean, that's what it was because what would happen

Starting point is 00:22:00 if a guy was tough or if a guy was talking shit, I'd be like, yo, just an an, Justin, this guy's talking shit on us. He's gonna be a problem, he's 240. He's gonna hurt us. Let's take him out. Oh shit. Let's take him out. Okay, and we'll just put a little extra mustard on that,

Starting point is 00:22:14 right? Oh wow. Because it's a health, it's the season, it's the job, and you gotta be like, yo, Justin, when you break through and conquer, you know, just get him. Let's make sure he doesn't make the next show. Stop him.

Starting point is 00:22:24 So yeah, we have guys that were tough, but we also, you know, we're smart human Let's make sure he doesn't make the next show. Stop him. So yeah, we had guys that were tough, but we also, you know, we're smart human beings you wanted to preserve your health, right? And the guys that were the toughest would hurt you the most. And the show changed the first season. We had guys, you know, 240, you know, 230, 250 coming in.

Starting point is 00:22:40 And later they got more athletic guys, which I think was right. Because again, the contest was, Sal versus Adam, we were the obstacles. So it didn't make sense to make you as big as us, because a real battle was against him. We were the obstacles inside of certain games, and I think that people really liked the Davian Goliath aspect.

Starting point is 00:22:58 Oh totally. What was your favorite event though? There were so many cool ones, like the rings where you're pulling somebody off of the rings that they're swinging or that, almost like a bull in the ring where you had pads and you had to run through and like slam on jousting. I don't want to burst you guys as bubble, but my favorite events was doing publicity. I mean, seriously, that was work.

Starting point is 00:23:18 I love going out there. I love competing, but that compared to going on the tonight show. It's much more fun. What are you 26, 27? How old are you at this point? Yeah, right about there. I think it was 22 to 29, 22 to 30. So on TV, I mean, what was like, you had to feel amazing.

Starting point is 00:23:42 You're probably getting girls throwing themselves at you all the time. What was that like? Wow, that's deep. Well, it's it like, tell girls throw me at the, you know what, I was an athlete in college in high school. So women were never an issue. It was finding the right women, one, and then two, it was learning to be a good man

Starting point is 00:24:04 in a relationship, a good human being, because my dad was a guy who was faithful, my dad was a guy who respected women, and that's the blueprint, the framework I grew up with. So my work wasn't that, my personal work was learning to appreciate respect women, to learn, to be a man of my word. I think that was the more important lesson I learned from that. Does that make sense? Yeah, but did you obviously you probably were on the other side of that in order to learn that lesson I'm assuming? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you have to read my first book. There's a chapter

Starting point is 00:24:34 17. My girlfriend always brings it up to me. A first book glad eater. She brings that to me. I think it's because she ever asked me, I always wax poetic and kind of, I don't know, girl, I can't remember anybody. I'm so long ago. I think there's been like five women in my life. You're one of them. You're very important to me. But because chapter 17, buddy, Playboy, Playboy Bunnies, porn stars and strippers. Wow.

Starting point is 00:24:57 So go to chapter 17. You can see it tells you everything. It became a smorgasbord. Talk about what that does to the ego. I mean, and did it ever get you in major trouble and what happened, being in that. I can't imagine being, you know, 20 something mid-20s on television making great money.

Starting point is 00:25:16 On Annabellex, you're testosterone's to the roof, you're jacked, good looking dude, famous. I thank you. You're not gonna leave, I'm not gonna leave. I'm not gonna leave. There's gonna be a fourth host. Hey guys, I wanna have a mess of tree everybody here. There's a fourth host. So, you know, it was an interesting time. I just say I learned a lot about myself in that time. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:35 That's what I think. I know you want to paint yourself in a great light, but the bills thing about mind pump is in one of the things that I like to do, I'm gonna do it. about myself in that time. Yeah. That's what I think. I know you want to paint yourself in a great light, but the biggest thing about Mind Pump is, and we're extremely vulnerable and open and honest about a lot of our faults and how we've came around. But to be honest, I forgot the question.

Starting point is 00:25:57 I'm all, I had just had a moment where senility came hobbling in on a crutch. What was the question? I know it's something about chicks. Well, you just, you, you, you, well, you're ego. How, how was that for your ego? All that.

Starting point is 00:26:09 Well, you've already painted the picture that you had a dad as a bad example. So you, and, and you know, and without you even telling me, I already know that that was probably, you probably fell into some of even his behaviors early in your early years. And, and I can't imagine he didn't have nowhere near the, the pressures you probably had being famous, money, fit, testosterone, running through you. So I'm wondering like, you know, how was it for the ego? Yeah. So, you know, when it comes to women, it was, it fed me and

Starting point is 00:26:41 fulfilled me and made me feel good about myself until it didn't. So when you're a guy with a girl, oh my god, your buddies, look at that girl, oh man, how'd you get her? Next week, you'll be like, oh, you got her too, well, you're out with her, wow. And that fed me. It fed some of the empty spaces inside of me

Starting point is 00:26:57 until I learned to fill those spaces. And then I didn't need that. Validates, probably my last round of 30. Where I was right or wrong when I was 30 was when the time that I had to raise my hand and say't need that. Validates, probably in my last around 30. Right around when I was 30, was when the time that I had to raise my hand and say I needed help, that I couldn't deal with everything that I was feeling inside of me emotionally. I just, I wasn't happy.

Starting point is 00:27:15 I was self-medicating all the time. I couldn't keep a long relationship. I didn't know how to be faithful. I didn't know how to show up. And I was, had everything I wanted materially. and I had everything I wanted as far as fame, but I still wasn't happy. There were so many mornings I would wake up and I would just would be hammered, you know, from doing blow, GHB, and all these other things. And I would get to a place where I'd get so high that I'd just be laying on the ground and I'd be weeping.

Starting point is 00:27:42 And I said, wait, wait, something's wrong. I'm famous. I'm on billboards, I'm on the cover of TV, God, I said, there's something wrong. And I said, oh no, it's just because I was high, because I was getting drunk, I was hanging off the bros. Okay, that's what happened. You know, there's, and then it started to bleed over into my real life when I wasn't partying. And I'd be driving down Sunset Boulevard

Starting point is 00:27:59 and I just would get an outburst of tears. I go, whoa, this is weird, I'm having spontaneous bouts of tears. So that's when I raised my hand, I started seeing a therapist. I started to whoa, this is weird. I'm having spontaneous bouts of tears. That's when I raised my hand. I started seeing a therapist. I started to lift the hood up and say, hey, I've got everything, but I'm not happy. You know, and I say, it sounds like a high class problem. But when you look at the guy from Sound Guard and you look at Robin Williams, you look at him. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's, it's this weird, weird, weird feeling. And this is before all that.

Starting point is 00:28:21 And this is when therapy wasn't like the cool thing to do. Well, that's an impressive you have that self-awareness to go in that direction, because I see a lot of people hitting rock bottom is, you know, where now, okay, now I have to make those changes, but you saw that coming and decided to go get help. Yeah, when you're laying on the floor, a lot of times in your drunken, you're crying, that's kind of rock bottom.

Starting point is 00:28:43 It doesn't matter what the external things are in your life are. To me, that's rock bottom. It doesn't matter what's the external things in your life are. To me That's rock bottom. Doesn't matter if you're a rock star. It doesn't matter if your guy living in his apartment You know making you know 500 bucks a week when you're laying on the floor to high drunk and crying. That's rock bottom So I realized it and plus I Took a lot of acting lessons and if you've ever seen my work it probably doesn't show But I had a great of acting lessons and if you've ever seen my work it probably doesn't show, but I had a great coach Larry Mosh and he just said, you know, you go to therapy, go to therapy.

Starting point is 00:29:11 That's what, 30 years old? 28, 29, the third. Oh, wow, that early, that early, that early to be on it. Smart enough to go do that. That's not normal. Well, especially back then. Well, yeah, I didn't have a normal life. Yeah, I'm plus back then, you know, like someone who had a therapist, they were crazy, crazy.

Starting point is 00:29:27 But I've always been to like curiosity, self-exploration. And the first time I went into a therapist, there was a squabble and poor, I'm sorry. You wanna see now I'm sorry. I walked in here and there and I just told everything I was ashamed of, all the stuff that I'd done. And I just wept and wept and wept. And I did that for three episodes, never saw again.

Starting point is 00:29:44 I said, I'm episodes never saw again. I said, I'm healed. Sweet Jesus. I am healed, you know. And then the issues, you know, started to come up again and then, you know, I have a son who's 32. We had some challenges with him and, you know, so I've been, I've been a, I'm a huge proponent for therapy.

Starting point is 00:29:59 I know mind pump. When something's wrong with your body, when you have something, most people go to the doctor, right? When you're car, you're driving your car me, that was the best thing I did. And based upon that, I started to, you know, fix the things under the hood and it's been a, you know, 25-year experience. And now that's what I do.

Starting point is 00:30:32 I life coach a lot of people. And the tools that I use are the things that I have in my toolbox that help me change my life. You know, so there's addiction, there's depression, there's how to overcome childhood trauma, and then there's how to achieve success, and then there's addiction, there's depression, there's how to overcome childhood trauma, and then there's how to achieve success, and then there's how to enjoy your success when you actually have it.

Starting point is 00:30:53 After the gladiators went off air, were you in a position where you were like, okay, what do I do now? Did you pivot to something else at that point? So when gladiators went off air, I was very, very lucky. I was lucky in the sense that Warner Brothers is a big studio that we all know. They came to me the last year of Gladiators,

Starting point is 00:31:13 and they said, hey, look, Steven, so Gaul's gone. People don't like him anymore. And we want to groom a new action star. And I did martial arts for Taekwondo for years. I couldn't kick anybody. Don't worry. But, and so I signed a three picture deal with them. So I had such a beautiful transition.

Starting point is 00:31:32 They were giving me $50,000 every three months. Wow. And back then, that was a lot of money. Yeah, I still, not bad money. Sure. So they were developing movies and pictures for me. So I said, oh, this is so great. I wouldn't got even better acting coaches, even better voice coaches. They bought and pictures for me. So I said, oh, this is so great. You know, and I one got even better acting coaches,

Starting point is 00:31:46 even better voice coaches. They bought a script for me. They brought this big director in. We shot a screen test. We're going to make a movie for you. And after about a year and a half, that's when the check stop coming. And I was like, oh, no, we still love you.

Starting point is 00:32:00 We're still finding a movie for you. And at that time, I couldn't find a job because I was in this weird place where I'm gonna be a movie star, I'm gonna be the rock. That was my career, I'm gonna be the rock. So I can't go and get a regular job. I can't go and take this smaller role because everyone's telling me I'm gonna be famous

Starting point is 00:32:23 and I'm already famous, I can't go to Disneyland with my kids so yeah I'm just going to sit here so I talked about a work ethic so what I did is I went wrote direct and produced a movie sold that movie you know made money on the movie and I said this is what I'm going to do it's kind of an action movie and it's got it's kind of it's kind of cool looking for for Bruce. And then that market fell out. So I said, what am I gonna do? I'm gonna write. I'm gonna write. So I spent seven years, even when I was on gladiators writing,

Starting point is 00:32:51 I taught myself the type. I taught myself how to screen write. And I went through two years where I didn't make a cent. And I was flat broke. And I remember the low point of that. I remember the low point I was married. When I say I was flat broke, I had a house, and I had some equity in the house, but I was flat broke and I remember the low point of that. I remember the low point I was married. When I say I was flat broke, I had a house, and I had some equity in the house, but I was married.

Starting point is 00:33:07 And I was too embarrassed to ask my wife for money for gas. So I remember being at the gas station opening the change drawer in the gas station with astrate was and I had a bunch of quarters. And I remember giving that guy at the gas station that money for $4.75 a gas. And I said, wow, this is terrible. Which wouldn't even get you a gallon today. That's a good thing.

Starting point is 00:33:30 I filled my tank. That's it then. Today, oh, that gets you down the block. So life has been through low points. I got lucky and I'm not lucky. I worked hard for seven years before that. And finally, like the next year, I went and sold a screenplay for, you know,

Starting point is 00:33:43 mid-six figures. So I've constantly had to reinvent myself, but it's never been anything that's happened overnight. It's always been years of work that have taken and gotten a foothold. Does that make sense? It does. Now you had a health scare, a real big health event that happened, when did you have your heart attack? Yeah. The six years ago, December. So you were 49.

Starting point is 00:34:13 49. 49 years old. Not only are you at the Saurus, but you're good at math. No, terrible at math. Terrible at math. Terrible at math. I just remembered reading that. So you had a heart attack.

Starting point is 00:34:21 Tell us about that. Because that's got to be extremely, I can't even imagine how unexpected That must have felt for someone who was in to fitness Working out. Yeah, you're young. Describe who you are right before that moment and then who you work when you came out of it So I'm 49 years old. I own my own business I started an obstacle adventure race company which I had for 10 years Which I'm just pivoting now to speak and do podcasts full-time and pivoting out of that.

Starting point is 00:34:47 But I'm doing fantastic. I'm healthy, I've got a big house in the hill, I'm with a fantastic girl. I feel bulletproof again. And I'm at the gym one day, the CrossFit gym, and I'm warming up, doing a little workout, and I start to feel chest pain. And I'm like, oh, that's weird. What do you mean chest pain? So I said, okay, I sit down for a second, I just got on one knee and I said, okay, take a couple

Starting point is 00:35:08 of deep breaths because this athletes that what we do, oh, I got a little chest pain. I got a cramp. Okay, okay, a couple of deep breaths. Let's go. I got this. I got this. So, it wasn't really bad at this point. No, no, it's just a pinch in the chest. I was like, okay, just push through this. It felt like a, you know, you get run, you get what you call a stitch. Sure. It felt like a minor one of those little stitch. I'm like, okay, to cup deep breaths, you know, stretch it out a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, see my, you know, see my gladiator, gladiator ready, contender ready.

Starting point is 00:35:32 Three, two, one, go. Got back. The thing is, I actually use that as a long seat. I've been sitting here all the time. It's like your ritual and time you go to work out. Well, it's a good activation. It's a sex. Totally.

Starting point is 00:35:44 It's a good activation. Oh, it's a good activation and sex totally good Yeah, ready I just wonder which one Who's got the pugil stick So I'm there and I get back up. I do this a couple of times and finally, it feels like, oh man, this is weird. It really hurts and I can't catch my breath. So it's a small cross-vigil,

Starting point is 00:36:14 a horse power in Studio City, California. So I go to the back on the couch and I sit there and now I'm in a cold sweat. And I'm like, why am I sweating? And what is this pain in my chest? I'm kind of holding my chest, but it's not like you see on TV, like, you fall out of the ground. It wasn't like that for me.

Starting point is 00:36:30 It's not like that. I've talked a lot. I've done a lot of work with American Heart Association. Association, I've talked a lot of people at Heart Attack. It's not like that. For most people, yes, Heart Attack do happen that way. But I was out, out, out. And I'm sitting back, I go, what is this?

Starting point is 00:36:44 What could this be? And a buddy comes down and we both are trying to talk our way through it like, oh, maybe you pulled a muscle in your back. Maybe you pulled a pec muscle, maybe it's something. You try to talk your way through logically, which is the worst thing you can do. You have chest pain, go to the Frick and hospital,

Starting point is 00:37:03 every second counts. Don't be an idiot like I was. So finally, I'm sitting there talking to him and a cold sweat. I'm kind of bent over my chest, chest is hurting, and I look down and notice I've been shaking my left arm subconsciously, unconsciously, I've been shaking my subconsciously, been shaking my left arm, I go, oh, numbness in the left arm, that's a sign of a heart attack. And I'm like, that's not me. So I tell my buddy, okay, hey, can you give me a ride? Let's go to urgent care.

Starting point is 00:37:29 We don't go to the hospital, we go to urgent care because I'm a glad eater I could not be having a heart attack. It just doesn't happen to people like me, 49 years old, healthy fit, on no steroids, 100% clean, does not happen to me. We go into urgent care. And now the pain is really bad. And I remember walking up the front desk and there was a girl, It does not happen to me. We go into urgent care, and now the pain is really bad.

Starting point is 00:37:45 And I remember walking up the front desk and there was a girl, I'm in chalk, you know, chalked up, I'm sweating, and I go to the girl, I said, hey, I said, I'm having just pain. She's like, could you fill out these forms, please? And I'm like, you don't understand, I'm paying my ass, I'm having just pain. They run me in the back, they put the electrodes on and the guys like, you're having a heart attack.

Starting point is 00:38:09 And you go like, I gotta call the ambulance. And, boom, next thing I know, I'm in the back of the ambulance. And I think there's humor in any and everything, because I'm in the back of the ambulance. And, you know, I've got that thing on my mouth and I'm on a gurney and I hear them talking. And you get, they gave me something I think, but I hear myself talking, I hear them talking.

Starting point is 00:38:31 It's like a haze. And I can hear them saying this, hey, you're going to give them the nitro? You're going to give them the nitro? Okay, what time are you giving them the nitro? Who's giving them the nitro? And I'm just like, what? Did I have to high? Is this heaven? Is this heaven?

Starting point is 00:38:46 Is this hell? And then about, you know, four minutes into the ride, and someone opens my mouth, and they gave me nitro glycerin. Right. So then when we get out, they open the doors, and they pull out, and they're wheeling me into the emergency room.

Starting point is 00:38:57 I said, you know, I gotta tell you guys, you know, something funny, you know. I used to do this TV show, and they go, we know. You're a nitro. And we gave nitro the nitro. And we gave nitro the nitro. So I thought that was, I thought there's always humor. But I had the heart attack and, you know, shout out to the entire existence of my belief of who I was. You know what I mean? The fitness, the health, that tough guy, that strong guy who could

Starting point is 00:39:22 power through anything. But going through that experience of facing my death, facing mortality, because when I went into the hospital, they put me in there. The doctor comes in and he says, how long have you been having a heart attack? Then they take a blood test because your body secretes a trippinone. When you have a heart at trippinone, when you have a heart attack, it's an enzyme that you're cardiac enzyme that you're body. So that's how they really know from the EKG. Besides the EKG, the trippin' on that's in your blood.

Starting point is 00:39:50 So you say, you're having heart attack, we have to rush you into surgery. And at this time, I want some reassurance, you know? I'm like, hey, hey, you know, I just gotta ask you, am I gonna die? And I want him to say, we got you, buddy, not on my watch. And he says even had a hard check for three hours he said we're gonna put you into the Cardi lab

Starting point is 00:40:09 and we're gonna do the best we can and I was like oh yeah this is real but in that 20 minutes and they don't put you out when they give you a stamp because what they're doing is they do the angioplasty where they go in through your groin they do the exploratory thing They just don't crack your chest open right away. So I remember saying I had 20 minutes before they brought me in and in that 20 minutes, I learned everything I needed to know about life. I learned what was important to me. So I think sports taught me about life, but almost dying taught me how to live. And in that 20 minutes, the only thing I wanted, firstly, the only thing I wanted, I didn't care about my house on the hill, I didn't care about the German cars, I didn't care about

Starting point is 00:40:53 any of that crap, I didn't care about the plaques on my wall, I didn't care about my little nitro action figure that I had at my desk. All I wanted was the people that I love close to me? And I wanted them to know how much I love them. And based upon that 20 minutes, I completely rebuilt my life again, knowing that was what was most important to me. One of the people to know that I love them and I wanted them close to me. And that has made such a fundamental

Starting point is 00:41:26 change because a lot of times you talk about purpose, meaning what fulfills us, what makes happy, how do we get connection? That's my connection. And how that looks in life, I spend more time with my son. I spend more time with my 11 nieces and nephews who are an hour away from me in Orange County where I live in Los Angeles. I spend more time with my family and friends, and it's changed my life. And there are a couple other things too. I learned, and this is a hard one to practice, I learned,

Starting point is 00:41:52 not to waste time on things that don't matter with people that do. So other words, I found myself a lot of times wanting to be right, you know what I mean? Wanting to argue, wanting to get that point. And now I just said, God, that doesn't matter. I'm not gonna waste time on things that don't matter what people that do.

Starting point is 00:42:10 Third thing was, I've taken the word someday out of my vocabulary. I had done a lot in my life. I've traveled, I've done a lot of things. But still once in a while, I found myself saying someday, you know, like, oh yeah, someday I'm gonna go to Africa. Someday I'm gonna go to a board board.

Starting point is 00:42:25 And I learned in that moment that time is not guaranteed. So I never say someday. And it helps me filter my life and helps me plan my life. If someone says, hey, do you want to do this? Oh, no. Yeah, okay, yeah, I'm gonna plan it two years from now. I'm gonna plan it one year from now. So it really helps me schedule my life and it helps me shine a light on the things

Starting point is 00:42:45 that I want to do. I've wanted to go to Boer Boer for 25 years. But I was always kind of waiting, you know, like, hey, with a perfect time, the perfect money, the perfect this, the perfect girl, the perfect, and I've never done it. This year and may I went. Oh, great. I finally stopped saying some day, you know what I mean? And that was, that was, that was, that was so key for me. You know what I mean? And then a lot of people say to me, oh man, you know, I'm sorry you had a heart attack. And I said, no, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the best, the synthesized happiness learned optimist. It was the best thing that ever happened to me because I got the answers to life for me, for me, before I died. Now sometimes when this revelation happens for somebody

Starting point is 00:43:26 so late in their life like it did for you and now you're going back and you're spinning time with the family and doing things and reprioritizing your life, sometimes they're not all on the same page as you are. So what has been your greatest challenge with that? Because I imagine, because we kind of briefly kind of glaced over

Starting point is 00:43:43 you said you have a son. How many kids do you have? I have one son, one son. Yeah, he's 32 years old. Okay, so, and- I love the death. And you had him fairly early, that'd be 20. Yeah, 23.

Starting point is 00:43:54 23 years old. And probably during a very selfish years of your life. So I imagine you've probably had to go back and rekindle all that. Are you still rekindling the relationship with him? Do you guys have an amazing relationship? What's that like? I find what exactly what you said there. I wasn't really that selfish when I was young. I've always, you know, I might have been a dick sometimes, kind of in a jerk, you know,

Starting point is 00:44:16 like, oh, arrogant, but I've always had a big heart. I've always had a kind heart. Now, I'll see people that knew me, you know, back in the day and they said, you're always nice. And that's good to hear. Most people. And I know there are some people that's probably an asshole too, but most people had a big heart. And you said something about rekindle.

Starting point is 00:44:34 And I think that's a great philosophy to take in life. I don't, I think you want to look at every relationship everyone has in their life and you always want to think that way, rekindling. Do you know what I mean? Because that word right there, and that's what I do. I always want to think that way, rekindling. Do you know what I mean? Because that word right there, and that's what I do. I always try to breathe life into them. So I'm always constantly rekindling. It's never done.

Starting point is 00:44:51 Because needs change, people change, desires change, we change. And I think that's a great attitude to have. So I had to rekindle, but I'm always rekindling. I'm always trying to figure out how I can be the best human possible and show up in the best way and to make the biggest impact in the best way that I can. I wake up in the morning and I say, how can I impact people today? How many people and how can I impact people today? So I'm a new father. Congratulations. Thank you. I had a baby six weeks ago. So far I thought you were gay. No, the only reason I say that, not by the way, any other mean, not because Thank you. I had a baby six weeks ago. So far I thought you were gay

Starting point is 00:45:31 No, the only reason I say that not by the way any other mean not because you hold your foot like that or anything Because when you guys were on my podcast you said my partner when we were talking about relation because I'm not married My son is gay so I like just, Justin's one masturbating your poster, not me. Hey, that's all me and all of us. Well, no, my son is gay. So you're like, it's my sister's gay, but I just thought, you said, oh, that's cute. That's nice.

Starting point is 00:45:53 Okay, cool. I was gonna say welcome. Hey, it's not the first time. So we've all had questions. Yeah, it's okay. You got a young kid, I'm sorry. So, I almost lost my train of thought. When you're the partner adopted.

Starting point is 00:46:07 Yeah. I'm curious what is the greatest challenge that you've had as a father? So that's a good question because now my girlfriend has an eight year old. I've been with her for about three years. So I've gotten to see fatherhood with a 25 year window. And for who I am as a human being,

Starting point is 00:46:27 my biggest challenge was I was a lot like my dad, where I led by intimidation and the threat of violence without ever hitting my son. So authority, strong authority. Attimitation. Intimitation. Authority is, I think, I think intimidation, I don't know, you know, that look,

Starting point is 00:46:42 or that little push in the shoulder, that little flick, you know. And if you don't know, that look, that little push in the shoulder, that little like flick, you know? And if you don't, but he was always a little bit afraid of me that if I, that if he didn't do something, there would be the threat of violence. And I regret that now. And my son is great. He's just graduated law school.

Starting point is 00:46:58 He's doing great. We're closer than ever. But looking back now, I take how I life coach people and how, and I use that on my girlfriend's son, my stepson, so to speak. looking back now, I take how I life coach people and I use that on my girlfriend's son, my stepson, so to speak. So it's motivating, it's principles, it's clarification, it's setting up reward systems and setting up habit systems.

Starting point is 00:47:17 Does that make sense? So that's the biggest thing that I can see with that 25 year window is I don't lead with anger. I mean, I look I still get mad sometimes these little things they drive you crazy, right? I don't get angry, but I look at coaching him and guiding him instead of bossing him. And it's made a tremendous difference. All the stuff that you know, learned like you said earlier in our podcast, when you're on my show, you said, learning to look at challenges and love challenges

Starting point is 00:47:48 because that's where the growth is, learning to love those. So like this summer, he's eight and we had a 500 push up challenge for him. I said over the summer, you're gonna do 500 push ups. You're up for the challenge, he's like, oh my God, 500 push ups. I said, hey, reward, 50 smackers, he's like,

Starting point is 00:48:04 50 dollars, but then we, I pushups. I said, hey, reward, 50 smackers. She's like, 50 dollars. But then we, I've taught him how to break that down, right? Small habits done over time. So this is the way I parent now. It's the same way I coach. Small habits over time. Done. So he did the 500, but it was breaking that down, right? Guys, I was breaking it down doing 10 a day for 50 days.

Starting point is 00:48:23 And I got that from a, I read his book, David Goggins, you guys. Yeah, I know. Yeah, I read it. I don't know the guy, but I read his book because I read everything that comes out and he broke the pull up record or something. And he said, most people look at 2400,

Starting point is 00:48:35 pull ups in 24 hours is impossible, because I broke it down. So I'm a constant learner and I parent different by teaching in the things I'm learning. Awesome. Hey, I can talk, can I guys? Yeah, you're good the things I'm learning. Awesome. Hey, I can talk, can I guys? Yeah, you're good. I ride a sal.

Starting point is 00:48:48 Yeah, yeah. Did you find out or figure out what it was that caused a heart attack at such a young age? Did you end up having to change anything about your lifestyle? So heart attack. The number one predictor for someone who's going gonna have a heart attack is hereditary. That's the number one predictor. I didn't think I had it in my family line. I remember the doctor asking me, oh, didn't he have a heart attack in family?

Starting point is 00:49:15 I'm like, no, no, nobody. Then the next day my sister came and I said, no, no, dad had a heart attack when he was 30. And I was like, oh, okay, but he didn't have heart troubles later. And I looked at the lifestyle differences. My dad was a drinker, alcoholic, a chain smoker, stress, aggression, didn't exercise. And he was just, you know, working 22, 24 hours a day and he boomed me at heart attack. And so I didn't think that had any genetic component that would mean anything to me. And the doctor said, no, no, that's a family history. So that was level one. Level two was I was someone who didn't eat fats.

Starting point is 00:49:50 I was from that generation where I ate everything non-fat, and I was lean, I ate everything non-fat, non-fat yogurt, non-fat, this, non-fat, that I believe the lie that they told us, right? So I would have zero fat in my diet. So that gave me a naturally low HDL, naturally low good fat. So when we're looking at your fat, when you're looking at your fat ratios and your cholesterol and your HDL, a lot of it's a bunch of crap. But the one thing

Starting point is 00:50:15 you want to look at is your HDL to your total cholesterol level. And you want to have that like a 2.5. So other words, if you're at HDL's 50 and your cholesterol's, let me say, if your HDL's 80 and your cholesterol's 300 just to look at it because you're under the right ratio. So don't only look at the LDL number. My HDL, my good cholesterol was low. It was like 40 and that's something that I've always had.

Starting point is 00:50:40 And also my, not to get too deep, but my particles. So when you look at your LDL. Okay. You have the small dense one and the big fluffy ones right? So I had a lot of little particles. So those are the inflammatory ones that are. Well when they're little. So here's what happened. So you've got LDL which is the regular cholesterol. Then you've got the, what they say the bad cholesterol, but then you have HDL which is the good cholesterol. The HDL is like a bus for the bad cholesterol to get out on.

Starting point is 00:51:06 So all those HDL, okay, get out here. And we both can have, we all can have the same cholesterol number. Let's say it's 100, but my 100 LDL can be in 2,000 pieces. And yours can be in 500. The more pieces you have and the smaller they are, and this is theory, is that the endothelium,

Starting point is 00:51:24 the lining of your artery, if they're smaller, they can breach through the lining of your endothelium and lodge and start to calcify and create plaque. So I had a lot of little ones, but I didn't have the typical heart attack where, like everyone looks at a heart attack and they think a heart attack is when the blood stops going through because you have plaque and build up in the closes, you hear people say, oh, I've got 90% blockage. That's only 50% of the heart attacks. The other 50% are from plaque ruptures.

Starting point is 00:51:53 So you can have like as little as 10% plaque, but for some reason that plaque in your heart, I know every guy listen, this is starting to feel chest pain. Yeah. Because they're all like, I'm healthy. What are you talking about? How many particles do I have?

Starting point is 00:52:06 So, that plaque that's just normally hard and calcifies and closes. In some people, they don't know why. It becomes soft. And you get a little pimple of plaque. Like you get a pimple on your face. And that pimple pops. And when that pimple pops, your body goes through thrombosis, the clotting process. And it sends all these clotting factors to where the skin broke where the pimple pops, your body goes through thrombosis, the clotting process, and it sends all these clotting factors

Starting point is 00:52:25 to where the skin broke, where the pimple popped, and those clotting factors actually clog your artery and your blood can't get through. So you have a heart attack. Isn't that what's supposed to save you actually kills you? So they went in and they put a stent in to secure where the artery, the lining of the endothelium had broken.

Starting point is 00:52:44 Okay, so there's some. No need for a bypass, they just went in. They went in and put the stand in and they're like, okay, and they said, oh, you know, you had a minor heart attack. I'm like, what do you mean? Because I went back in like, every week, a few weeks. I got chest pain, I got chest pain.

Starting point is 00:52:56 After you have a heart attack, because it's not like other illnesses, good, boom, you're done. Right, I mean, you're done. It's not like cancer illnesses, good, boom, you're done. Right, I mean, you're done. It's not like cancer, which is horrible. My mom died of cancer, I love you mom two years ago. And that's just horrible, it's slow, but at least you get to say goodbye. Harder tech, you're done.

Starting point is 00:53:15 So when you come home, they're like, don't lift out the trash. Don't stress yourself at all. Yeah, don't take out the trash, don't walk downstairs, don't do this, you're like, oh my God, oh my God, my heart, my heart. And I went back, you know, like every week, I think I'm having heart attack, I think I'm having heart attack. But yeah, it's a crazy thing.

Starting point is 00:53:31 And so now you've increased your healthy fat intake and have you noticed any changes in your HDL? Are they better? Oh my God, it is so crazy. I've eaten more fat. I even when keto genic for a minute, and it just didn't work for me, but I eat so many healthy fats. I do my macros, protein fat and carbs, and I like to keep on a daily basis a 50% fat, but when I was doing 70% fat, avocados, almonds, whole eggs, whole milk, half and half, whole cheeses.

Starting point is 00:54:05 My HDL went up to the 60, so the highest it's ever been, and my LDL went down to the lowest ever, it went down to 50, it went down to 50. So that whole lie, for me, the whole lie that they told us about not eating good fats, I ate more good fats and I had the best cholesterol numbers that I've ever had.

Starting point is 00:54:25 Wow. Did you notice any other changes from that besides your cholesterol numbers, like any changes to skin, energy, sex drive? Yeah, all that stuff. You know what? No, because it was, again, I think you have to look at the subject where you start. I was always, I was already healthy. Yeah. I was already healthy I was just low and good fats and it was causing my not enough HDL and my particle numbers to be too big Got it, but I was super healthy. So I didn't notice that big of a difference So you said you had you were off testosterone and steroids at the time Did have you are you on any replacement now or you still off? So the funny thing was after the heart attack I

Starting point is 00:55:03 Went and saw the neurologist because they want you to do the proctology thing to see what your PSAs are. And he actually told me I had loads of testosterone. And I was like, what? So he actually put me on testosterone. So yeah, so I have to take a little bit. But then when I was competing on CrossFit, it was a slippery slope. So I'd have to go off because they random. No, you compete and cross with AFG at a heart attack. Yeah, man, come on. Oh, Jesus. Before and after. Oh, God.

Starting point is 00:55:28 So look, I look at it this way. Done. I looked at it this way. For me, I got to do what I love to do as long as it still stays smart. And the doctor told me what I could do. And for anybody out there looking to make a comeback, I believe for every setback, there's a chance

Starting point is 00:55:50 to come back and rise. I've seen it in my own life. I've seen it too many times. And the steps are always the same. For me, the first day home from the hospital, Justin, the first day home from the hospital, my goal for the entire day was to walk from my bedroom down 22 stairs to my kitchen, touch the refrigerator and not die.

Starting point is 00:56:12 That was my whole goal. And I walked down there, I remember like, you know when they go out Everest without oxygen, they walk, step by step. And that's how I walked down those steps. I stood on top of those 22 stairs, something we all take for granted every day, and I was there, and I was literally sweating. And I was like, is this gonna kill me?

Starting point is 00:56:30 And I took that breath, and when I got downstairs, and I sat down, and I was like, oh my God, I made it. I had such a profound sense of gratitude. And the other thing, when we were talking about the things I learned, is I really, for the first time in my life, understood gratitude. I always chase gratification Things that appeal to the senses eating more having more nicer things luxury. I didn't really even know what gratitude was

Starting point is 00:56:53 I just thought it was some bullshit you saw on the internet But I also learned like when I sat on that chair and I felt the sunshine on my face in that moment I was just so grateful to be alive and I've taken that and turned that into a daily practice for me. So the second day, my whole goal for the day was to walk down the stairs and touch my mailbox and not die. The third day was to touch my neighbor's mailbox and not die.

Starting point is 00:57:16 The fourth day was to touch the stop sign. Three weeks in, four weeks in, five weeks in, six weeks in. I got the clearance to ride the bike. And I was in my garage riding the bike with no tension. But to me, I felt like I was winning the, whatever that race in Paris, and I was like, I'm winning the Twitter fans. I can ride.

Starting point is 00:57:34 So if you have a setback no matter what it is, find what you can do, like what you guys preach, something you can do, do it in the next day, just push yourself a little bit more. Then a year after the heart attack I was standing on a CrossFit podium after winning a master's event. A year later. A year and two months later. Wow. So what made you want to get into the podcast space because you said you did that pivot. You had an obstacle course racing business which I think is interesting. Yeah, I started an obstacle course race business, which I think is interesting. Yeah, yeah, I started an obstacle course race business,

Starting point is 00:58:06 Gladiator, Rock and Run, 2010. We came here for seven years up at Hamilton, Paracup, at Hamilton up there in the country. Okay, Hamilton. And then last two years, we did it over at, gosh, off the 152 over there, Hollister, Gyoro. Oh, okay, okay. There's like that fruit stand and that stuff behind it.

Starting point is 00:58:24 Oh, right. Cossody fruit. Yes, Cossody stand and that stuff behind it. All right. Cocadea fruit. Yes. Cocadea fruit up here in Santa Zeiss. We did it there. What made me want to get into podcasting space? I felt like there were so many things that I've learned in my life. Tools that I took for granted for a long time. Health, fitness. But even more than that, I felt there were tools how to live a happy, fulfilled, meaningful life. And I thought it was important for someone who was humbly athletic, who's had some success,

Starting point is 00:58:53 to come and share how hard it is sometimes, to share the struggles, to share what it takes to overcome things, to be able to say, yeah, I started to suffer from addiction. Yeah, I had someone I started to suffer from addiction. Yeah, I had someone I was little that tore me apart that I still cry about. Yeah, I have anxiety. And this is how I deal with it to pull back the hood.

Starting point is 00:59:13 And I think right now we need authentic conversations. Totally. Feel the same way. Crazy as drug story. What kind of drug? Oh, you got to qualify. Look, I started drinking when I was 10 years old. No, yeah, it was kind of the most.

Starting point is 00:59:27 10 years old, alcohol. GHB cocaine. I mean, you've named some pretty crazy fun ones. So give me the craziest. I can't tell you the funny story. All right, I tell you the story. About 12 years ago, my buddy and I, we wanted to become LAPD reserve officers.

Starting point is 00:59:39 I don't know why. We just said this was be cool. We can go serve the country. We can work vice, we can do whatever. And I remember on the application, they ask you. Have you ever taken steroids? I'm like, yeah. Have you ever tried cocaine?

Starting point is 00:59:53 I'm like, yeah. Have you ever tried M-D-M-A? Oh, ecstasy, yeah. And you ever tried acid? I'm like, oh God, I was in high school. Yeah. I've never tried GHB. I'm like, shit. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:00:10 You know, so it was, Needless to say, they didn't call me. You know, I didn't inhale. I was almost in school. It was so. Yeah. I think, you know, there's a lot of different stories around a lot of different drugs.

Starting point is 01:00:22 And I don't want to glamorize them because I think, you know, self-medicating was something I dealt with with a long time because I don't want to certain feel things in size. I don't want to glorify them. I do remember, and this I talk about in my first book, Gladiator, I remember one of the side effects of steroids is you produce too much estrogen. You guys know this, and you get what they call a gynecumastia or bitch tit. Right. And I remember when we were young, there was this Italian kid we were training with and he had it so bad that he actually could squeeze his nipple and milk would come.

Starting point is 01:00:52 Yeah. Yeah, that'll happen if you get that. Yeah, he was like, he was milking. He was squirting us. Don't you tube that. Yeah, but yeah, I was 24. We got the biggest kick out of it. Ah, look at you all.

Starting point is 01:01:03 God, what tools we were, man. Youth is wasted on the young. Get your own built in post workout protein. Yeah, it's not. Ah, ah. I know. We're not you're talking about crazy stuff. Like placenta, you know, like people

Starting point is 01:01:13 eating their placenta of the kid. Did you do that? No. Did you save it? No, I didn't actually. I have friends who saved it. Yeah, the science is still kind of gray on it right now. Have you done stem cells?

Starting point is 01:01:22 No, I haven't done stem cells. Best stem cells. Best stem cells. Yeah, I hear that. Yeah, really expensive now. Have you done stem cells? No, I haven't done stem cells. Best stem cells. Yeah, I hear that. Yeah, really expensive though. Yeah, I've done stem cells. I've done stem cells from a lower back. I had a lower back surgery a year ago.

Starting point is 01:01:35 This is my anniversary. So I had a three level lumbar. Originally I was gonna do a three level fusion, but my dad had a fusion. And he was in the bed in our living room in a hospital bed for six months and he scared the shit out of me. So I decided to do a L5S1 at the typical fusion then on top I did disc replacement therapy.

Starting point is 01:01:51 And this is the wave of the future. This disc replacement therapy that there, there are a lot of these guys are doing here that they've been doing in Europe. If you are listening to this and you have a back problem, do not do a fusion unless you are not a candidate for advanced disc replacement. Fusion, they both start the same way.

Starting point is 01:02:12 They open you up. They open you up. They cut you open for me. They cut the stomach. They put a spacer in. They open your vertebrae space up. They pull out your disc. They clean.

Starting point is 01:02:20 They buff. With a fusion, they take a bone graph. They sprinkle bone dust on there. I call it pixie dust. Bone dust on there. They put a plate between your upper and lower vertebrae, they put screws in, and they hope that pixie dust, bone dust turns into bone, right? Turns into bone, so you have one joint now.

Starting point is 01:02:36 So adjacent distin syndrome. You have one joint. Well, everything on the other side gets way more stressed. Exactly. Discreplacement starts the same way, but they actually put an artificial articulating disc in there. Bone fusion takes six months to a year if it takes, if it takes, and then you have the Jason Dissendrum. The disc replacement, they put an articulating disc in there.

Starting point is 01:02:58 It's got a little shark fin on the top and the bottom, and it goes right into a groove that they cut in the vertebrae a blow and a blow, and your blow and above above and you're back in eight to twelve weeks. Oh wow. Eight to twelve weeks. So I'm back now. It's been one year and the other day I got back into the 300 pound deadlift club for reps.

Starting point is 01:03:15 Oh, good deal. And a lot of guys who get a three level fusion, they never deadlift again. No, you're not a good idea. Yeah, not a good idea. Wow. I got it cleared by the surgeon and I asked him, I said, can I deadlift again? He said, you can do everything you did before and you're even going to be better.

Starting point is 01:03:29 So did you get stem cell injections as well? So first, sorry, I can talk so damn much. It's all right. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm mind-pump people, this guy can talk. Don't worry, I'm used to it, dude, trust me. I'll see you're getting bombarded all day long. So before I wanted to find every alternative I could

Starting point is 01:03:45 before I actually had back surgery, right? So that included, you know, burning the nerves that included, you know, 40, 50, 60 epidurals, cryotherapy, ice, anything, anything almost you name it, I've tried it. So I did stem cells, expensive, you know, 8, 10 grand. And I did a total of just where they took out my own fat, they spun it, they put it back into something and then two technicians pulled out of the stem cells and then injected.

Starting point is 01:04:11 They injected in the four vertebral space as well as the facets on the side and I did it and it did absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. So, that's why I opted to have surgery. Then, I tried it again for my left shoulder recently. I tried a second product called Exosomes. Exosomes are one of the growth factors inside of stem cells. You hear Rogan talks about them a lot.

Starting point is 01:04:34 Exosomes, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I tried them six, seven months ago, my left shoulder. I have a bicep, a 10-and-itis. I just can't seem to shake. So far, six months, that was $4,000. Nothing. Oh, wow. That being said, I've talked to a lot of older athletes like me who've done it for wrist and shoulder knee, and they've got great results. I've never spoken to a single person who's done it for the lower back and the field is small. I've spoken to four or

Starting point is 01:05:02 five people directly who had any benefit from stem cells in the lower back. Yeah, it is experimental at the moment and quite expensive, so interesting. Well, Dan, you're an interesting man. Yes. Great time, man. Very good time. Yes. It's been a lot of fun talking to you.

Starting point is 01:05:17 I like your, I really admire your intuitive ability to, you know, you guessed, I think, correctly, that Adam was gay. That was interesting. Oh, wait,, you know, you guessed, I think correctly, the Adam was gay. That was a good one. No, wait, before you leave, could you, could you get us the gun? That's, yeah, we wanna connect us with the gun. I should point it out bro.

Starting point is 01:05:35 I should point it out bro. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no those things come out hard or what? Well, there was, so the tennis ball guns, they're like, I'm so curious about that. Why is that? We won't want one in here. That's why I went in here. I wouldn't, when you came in, I was shot to shit out here. I think it was the funniest thing ever to get you coming in and then to shoot you.

Starting point is 01:05:57 You guys should make another one, and we'll come back to another episode. All right, so you have to have a tank that fires, and then it's just, the are in a round thing here, and they go into the cartridge, you hit a thing, and it's backed by air, and it just shoots. You don't have one in your garage, laying around? I have it on my ceiling.

Starting point is 01:06:13 I feel like it's hitting your neighbors as I go. I feel like that's one thing that I would have taken off the set before I left. That's why I picked my girlfriend. So they can get through the tennis ball can, and they can pick up, they can get to Nitro. I was joking aside. It's been a great talking night.

Starting point is 01:06:26 Yeah, great guy. Good time. And let me say this though, when I just said that, I thought you were gay. No, I just want to say this. No, okay, I said my son is gay. Yeah. Yeah. And I love that kid so much.

Starting point is 01:06:37 Oh, I didn't feel like you said, oh, we don't say joking. I don't think I didn't feel like you meant it in a derogatory way at all. I thought it was a genuine no I paint my toenails, so yeah, you could totally hot. Yeah He gets attention. That's it. That's just hot. I man scape I dress well. I could totally see how you think I'm gay Especially next to these Partner but let me just say that that's a big adjustment, you know And I think we got a quick look at where we're different. I know you guys don't kind of looking that we're all the same.

Starting point is 01:07:07 We're all in this, you know, this human experience together, right? And how do we illuminate this cute, this human condition? Because when I was a young kid, you know, I never met a gay person. I grew up, you know, in this. I don't know if they, I, yeah, whatever, I just never met the first gay person I met was in college, and it was the guy who, I'm a football player, and the guy you give your towel to, and he gives you a new towel in your naked. That was the first gay person I ever met.

Starting point is 01:07:33 And then I went to college, I didn't know anybody gay, and then all of a sudden, my son's 16 and a half, and he tells me he thinks he's gay. And that took, it was hard. I'm so accepting now, but I wanna say say then when I was 16 and a half, you know, this gladiator professional football player and your son says he's gay, you know, how do you love something that you don't understand?

Starting point is 01:07:55 Sure. You know, but over the time and it was just like, man, this is my son. Of course, this is my boy, right? I just want him to be happy. That's it. I want him to be healthy. I want to make it into a contribution to society. If he, you know I just want him to be happy. That's it. I want him to be healthy I want to make it in the contribution society if he you know you want him to be a good human

Starting point is 01:08:09 That's a good human. That's it. If you want steak or if he's a vegan or if he's a vegetarian or if he's a carnival I don't care. Mm-hmm be happy. Oh, absolutely. Dan, I'm happy and I love you Thanks again for coming down guys. I love you right Thank you for listening to Mind Pump If your goal is to build and shape your body dramatically improve your health and energy and Thanks, thanks again for coming. Maths Performance and Maths Esthetic. Nine months of phased, expert exercise programming designed by Sal Adam and Justin to systematically transform the way your body looks, feels, and performs.

Starting point is 01:08:53 With detailed workout blueprints in over 200 videos, the RGB Superbundle is like having Sal Adam and Justin as your own personal trainers, but at a fraction of the price. The RGB Superbundle has a full 30-day money bag guarantee, and you can get it now plus other valuable free resources at MindPumpMedia.com. If you enjoy this show, please share the love by leaving us a five-star rating and review on iTunes

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Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth - 1120: Dan "Nitro" Clark

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