The Checkup with Doctor Mike - From Spy Kids To Having Kids with Meghan Trainor | Daryl Sabara

Episode Date: July 6, 2023

Watch the full video interview here: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/youtube/DarylSabara Daryl Sabara is an actor you may remember as Agent Juni Cortez in the Spy Kids franchise. Of course, Daryl has accomplished a ton after that burst of fame as a child actor, including most recently becoming a father to 2 children with his wife, Meghan Trainor. I invited Daryl on the show to discuss the variety of wellness efforts Daryl has made in his personal life, from ice baths to waking up very early in the morning and so much more. Follow Daryl here: https://www.instagram.com/darylsabara/ Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers Art by Caroline Weigum CONTACT: [e-mail]

Being in hard times in the moment, and I kind of just went through this. In the moment, it feels like it'll never go away. Of course. But I've been fortunate enough to always come out on the other side. Now I can more quickly remind myself like, oh, that was a lesson. What was the lesson that came from this? This is Darrell Sabara. He's been acting in big-name movies and TV shows since he was a literal baby.

Since then, you may have seen him in the Spy Kids franchise or alongside Robin Williams in World's Greatest Dad. or on will and grace, friends, weeds, this guy's been all over. We covered so much ground in this conversation from his various attempts at biohacking to his life as a young actor in Hollywood and even the trials and tribulations of his dating life, all of which culminated in him meeting and marrying his lovely rock star wife, the one and only, Megan Trainor. Hope you enjoy it. Let's jump right in. What was the moment that you realized you may have had an obsession with biohacking that it was

becoming unhealthy um i i came to a point where i i think i was called out for being a flip flopper my brother-in-laws are like you're such a flip-flopper on plans politics uh not on politics but uh on on like there's so many there's so much like such an output of information and um growing up i had like being a child actor, um, there was a point in time where I was basically like told at a really young age, hey, if you don't like lose weight, uh, then we might have to recast you. And so that was like, that's hard to hear. That was hard to hear. And that was said directly to you. Um, you know, it's hard because it was like, I was so young. But like, from what I remember, it was like written in an email. Um, and so, and like now just being older and, and throughout my,

experience it's like hard to be like was that real was that not real but what was real is I was put on a diet at a really young age and like told to work out vigorously and um that like put something in my brain I don't know if it was like body dysmorphia or or what but it was just like that I wasn't good enough and um so I was all so then and also I think this goes with puberty like the comparison started where it was like well like that guy looks like that. I should look like that. And like, how do I look like that? Oh, this is what Brad Pitt did. It looked like he did in Fight Club. Like, let's do that. And so that went on for at least a decade. And then, like, so basically it's like I wanted to lose weight.

So I started the paleo diet in like 2012 before it was a fad. And I found it. And that was probably the best I ever felt because I was just eating whole food. sure um and it was before like the whole foods market like had a section that i was like paleo snacks and like everything was put in packages so um yeah my relationship with food was just never really good um up until like recently like being becoming a dad and having a son like when you start feeding a baby you kind of think about things differently and you're giving them whole foods you i want him to have the best sure whole ingredients and then it just makes me think like, oh, what am I putting in my body? And also, like, emotionally eating, you know?

It's like after, you know, a tough day at the dad office, you know, like I'm going to a chocolate bar and like going like, oh, wow, it feels really good. Yeah. I don't know how we started talking about this. Well, we started talking about it because the flip-flopping of the different fad diets, it sounds like maybe yo-yo dieting. Yeah, totally. I did that a lot.

being like being an actor like it feels like it's all about your image and what you look like and i think a lot of that was just like what i went through as a kid um but yeah just like i just want to be healthy and especially like being a dad like i just want to um you know be as strong as i can and and have as much energy as i can uh for as long as i can um but like as soon as i turn 30 I started, you know, just doing mundane tasks, like just holding my son or like, you know, like going to reach something and like, boom, my back is out. I'm like, what the fuck? How did that happen?

I didn't do anything. And next thing I know I'm on the floor just like gasping for air. So like, what do I do to not have that happen? Okay. So you want to maintain the level of fitness, flexibility, strength. Yeah. Maybe injury prevention thrown in there as well. Yeah.

Okay, well, I mean, that's a pretty much a universal thing that people want. So it's not unusual. Okay. It's funny, the story that you described to me about constantly seeking the next best thing or hyper-optimization is something that I think is heavily infused in culture nowadays. Yeah. And it's something that on my YouTube channel, I actually strive to debunk even though it goes against my commercial success.

Right. Because if I make YouTube videos saying, here's the next best thing or here's the supplement that's going to cure everything for you. I can monetize that. I can sell it. That'll get monster views because people want that information. They crave it because it's preying almost on

your insecurities and what you want. And they want the quick fix. And see, that's what I had to, you know, I think becoming a dad helped me realize like oh, like I don't need a quick fix. Like I can take my time. And it doesn't exist. It doesn't really exist. Yeah, it's like the fountain

of youth. Hans Delio. After a while, I was like, you know what? Butter coffee is gross. Thank you. I'm fucking done. I'm fucking done getting my fingers old g-e-e. And, you know. So, yeah.

Yeah, that's true. And interestingly enough, when I started the YouTube channel, I started the channel with Dan here. Yeah. And one of the things we talked about was how he even with his family, remember that, Dan? That you would constantly be switching different diets and telling your family one thing about this thing is unhealthy. And then the next week you're doing something. different. So this is a universal thing. And what I try and tell people is we know a lot in science, but in reality, if you put it into this grand scheme of things, it's nothing. So like the few things

that we know we should celebrate, but then not pretend that we have all the answers. Because that false confidence and bravado, I think is really dangerous for anxiety. Totally. Because then we think we're doing something bad if we're not doing it. And that's the other side of the coin, which I think you touched on, right, that you weren't living your best cell. or that you might lose a role or that you might not be there for Riley. Right? That's like the natural human instinct. Totally.

Because we're a little survivalist as animals. Yeah. But now you're kind of into the wellness space as well. You have a few things you're doing. Tell me about that. Yeah. Well, meditation is huge for me. What does meditation mean to you?

Because I've seen many different forms of meditation. Totally. It's evolved over the years. I basically, I started in 2014. teen um i was always interested as like a teenager um about getting into meditation but i didn't know really what it was how do you peak your interest in meditation as a teenager that's so interesting i don't it's um i don't know i don't know it was just like it i think the calmness around around it or even just like around the visualizations of like the control in it

amidst the storm yeah yeah yeah um and so i was always open to it i didn't know what it was but i always just knew that it was going to be a part of my life in some way and i uh lived out here in new york in 2014 i did a play out here off broadway and the play was um like a really heavy subject matter and it was it was really dark and i wasn't sleeping at night and was showing up to rehearsal like exhausted and I overheard one of the actors and the playwright talking about meditation and I kind of just like walked over there and was like hey guys like I'm kind of struggling can one of you like help me get into a practice because I think maybe that might help and the playwright his name was Scott Burns he was like

Transcendental meditation you should learn it do it and the actor, his name is Michael O'Keefe, he was like a monk in his past lifetime. And he was like, you know what? Transcendental meditation is great. Let's just talk. And I know a lot about meditation and let's just talk and we'll figure out the right practice for you because you're just beginning, which like I love that because I always feel like I'm just beginning. So he got me into basic mindfulness. And I did my first meditation in 2014, this guy, Shinzen-Yung, I called in. It was like a phone number. I dialed in. It was like a worldwide number. People from all over the world called in to do this group

meditation. And I just got so relaxed. I think I fell asleep. I was like in and out of consciousness, just like asleep, awake, not really knowing, you know, could feel my body, couldn't feel my body. It was kind of like just what I needed at the right time. And, and, And just started to practice basic mindfulness. I came back to Los Angeles. And I think right around that time, the Headspace app, like, came out. And so I got really involved in the app and did the 30-day challenge. And within those 30 days, I think, like, one time I felt like I was, like, looking out

of my third eye. Wow. Yeah, just, like, had some cool experiences. But, like, nevertheless, just felt more calm and more in control of my emotions and my feelings and just had like it was like this ease it was like someone's just like holding my shoulders down because I feel like I'm always kind of like tight tight yeah and like I have to remind myself like oh just relax um and then just like years of of kind of just like doing apps doing the calm app and doing the 10% happier app and doing the headspace app and really enjoying that and then

one day um my wife and I were getting ready to get married and we had um a trainer we were trying to like get fit together um and the trainer came in one day and he just seemed different there was something about him was always a really happy guy but this day it was like he floated into our little gym session and and there was just like this lightness about him and i always used to walk him back to his car after our sessions and i was like dude what's going on with you something's different from last week like what happened and he was like I just learned Transcendental Meditation. If you'd like to learn, like, I can pass along my teacher's number, and she was great,

and it was amazing. And so then I learned, like, a couple months later. And I kind of feel like there is a shift of my life pre-TM and post-TM. So eventually, Transcendental Meditation found its way to me. And that meditation is just 20 minutes, twice a day, sitting in as much silence as you can find and and um and yeah so that's my that's meditation to me is uh silence during the volvo fall experience event discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures and see for yourself how volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind

to every crisp morning commute this september lease a 2026 xc 90 plug-in hybrid from $599 bi-weekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. TD Bank knows that running a small business is a journey, from startup to growing and managing your business. That's why they have a dedicated small business advice hub on their website to provide tips and insights on business banking to entrepreneurs. No matter the stage of business you're in. Visit td.com slash small business advice to find out more or to match with a TD small business banking account manager. In a world where silence is becoming more and more rare. Yeah. Especially

as a father of one. Yeah. upcoming father of two. I'm a yes, I'm a 5 a.m. club guy. Like I'm up 5 a.m. Because that's when it's quiet at home. And I have that like hour to myself most of the time. your morning routine. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, so I get up at five. It's, it's quiet. And I really just like dedicate that time for myself before the day starts. So then I can be my best self for everyone else throughout the day. That's really cool because I'm always passionate to hear how people come across meditation. Yeah. And really try to understand it from a science standpoint, what's happening in the brain that this is working really well. And I mean, mind is going off throughout my meditation.

Yeah, and that's the thing. People think you have to fully shut down. Yeah. And for it to be successful. That's not true. And that's the, yeah, I think that might be one of the misconceptions I see about meditation is that it's pushing away thought. It's like, oh, you got to quiet the mind. Well, that's what you're striving for. That's what you're, of course. Yeah. But as an athlete,

you're striving to win. But if you don't win every game, it doesn't make you a failure. Yeah. My other dad hobby is I'm trying to get into golf. Really? Golf was something that I was always like, nah I'm not gonna do golf and like I think after COVID and being inside so much like then I'm like I'm a dad I had other dad friends who are going golf and I'm like I might as well try it and then once I got out there I'm like oh I'm outside it's so hobby or like serious hobby hobby hobby hobby for now okay obviously it would be so cool what's your handicap is that I don't even know that's how much of a hobby it is okay got it's there is no handicap okay

there's uh did the ball go in great cool so you Mulligans galore. Yes. Okay. Yes. So you make it a social activity. Yeah. You've really set up your life to be quite healthy.

I feel really fortunate. I feel very lucky. I, you know, I just kind of like, I guess I try to just like go with the flow. I feel like I did it on purpose, if that makes sense. You found your way here. Yeah. Well, you've, I don't know if this is fortune or because. of your selection of who you came to for help.

Yeah. First of all, applauding you for doing that. Because a lot of people in Dark Times will not seek help. They'll actually isolate further. Yeah. So it's great. But I've been there.

And I think we all have. Yeah. And I think that realizing, like going through that and learning the lesson of that, of that, of isolating and realizing that asking for help is like the greatest superpower ever. For sure. Especially in times like today. Like, we have so many resources. So it's like so available, the help is available.

And because the help is so readily available, I think it actually leads people to not take the help or seek the help. Really? Because they're like, it's there. It's always the option. Yeah. It's almost like dating now with social media and all these apps that people are like, oh, if not this one, there's another one. But when you're needing help. I got lucky with that too.

Really? Not doing dating apps. You missed the whole dating app window? why? Well, back, like, back when Tinder first came out. When did Tinder come out? I want to say like 2013, maybe. You know. Sam, no. Sam crushes Tinder. I did, like, it came out. I think I just turned like 21 and I was like, you know, I'll try, I'll try this out. I went on one Tinder date. The girl in the picture was the girl in real life. I was like, I was like success. You know, she wasn't the one, but we had a nice little date, and I was like, cool, did it? Not for me.

The whole app experience, or the date was not for you? She was great. Date was fine, but just the, I think the experience of just like, I didn't want to, I didn't want to go through the computer to like find a match. But again, very lucky that I didn't have to do that. I feel like a lot of people feel like, oh, well, I need to meet people. This is the only way. Sure.

And then my wife and I met We got set up through like a friend You guys didn't Tinder swipe each other? No, we didn't We didn't But we knew And your friend knew that you guys Would be right for each other?

I don't know if she knew But but she You know She set us up And for Megan and I Our first date We just consider our anniversary Because like I knew

As soon as she walked in That she was the one And I had never felt that before, and it was just like a whirlwind experience. I also, like, looked pretty disheveled and, like, was in a, you know, really interesting place in my life where I was just, like, vibing out. Pretty free, like, had a beard. And she walked in, looked like a dime piece. And I was like, I fucked up. I was like, I fucked up this date.

She is not, she's not going to be into this. Before, I was, like, gassing myself up. Like, if she can like me like this, she can like me in any. Anyway, and she walked in looking like a tan, and I was like, oh, no. So the whole date, I was just like, I can clean up, I promise. I'm so sorry. Just apologize the whole date. And she was like, yeah, just shave the beard.

It hurts. Wow. And I was like, okay. But she finally let me grow it out again. Wow. I'm trying. Okay. I like the beer.

Thanks, man. You have a great beard. I'm jealous. I have like a spotty one, so I have to. I got lucky that it grows in pretty full. See, now, beard is my new hobby. okay because there's like a whole like oil thing yeah it's like a club i feel like i'm a part of a club now and so other guys that beers are like you know you got a comb right you got a brush like no i have to

i have to shampoo this like okay wow beard life okay well so i have a question about finding the one because yeah you explain that in such a powerful way that it's not jealousy okay but it's close okay you'll get there no but Here's my concern, and you tell me if this is a correct concern that I should be having as a gentleman who is in the dating pool looking and has yet to find the one. Okay. I feel if I find the one of what is right for me, you had a similar panic attack where you're like, I wish I was wearing something different. Yeah, yeah. But I feel like I would change because I'd be like, this doesn't, this shouldn't exist.

How did I meet this person? And I feel like I won't be able to be myself. I'm trying to figure out. How do you fix that? Fix what? Like, to just be like, this person's amazing, and I would do anything to be with this person. Yeah. But you shouldn't be that way.

You shouldn't do anything. Like, if the person's being mean to you. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Like, I would be susceptible to be taking advantage of. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I see what you're saying. Well, I mean, it all came from me. She wasn't like, hey, man, you don't look so good.

You better change this up. Well, she said your beard was pricking. So clearly there was some kissing happening on the first date. And then, um, it was like a little, it was, she made a little joke like, ow, you know, and I was like, sorry, I'll, I'll shave next time, you know, I wasn't like, you know, I wasn't trying. I just didn't shave. It's like I didn't have time to shave and I was just like making up excuses. Like, usually like for a date, I would, I would present myself in a cleaner way. But you would still present yourself as yourself. Yeah. But see, I feel like I would struggle with that because I would say, like, I want to present. that my best self. Well, here's the difference is that and this is kind of a tangent of a story, but right

before I met Megan for our date because we accidentally met three years before our first date, which is a whole other thing. That's another reason why it was like, I think this was meant to be like we call ourselves soulmates because like... The second time around still happened. We

randomly met at a house party three years before our first date and it's like she came up to me, she was a spy kids fan, and she came up to me and was like, hey, are you spy kids? And usually, like, around that time, if anyone had asked me if I was spy kids, I would say no and run away. And there's something about this girl with, like, these magnetic eyes that were like blue, green, like, just something about this girl that I was like, that is definitely me. It is me. And we, like, hung out a little bit and just talked a little bit. And then she went back

her friends at this house party and the whole rest of the night she would just go yo spy kids and i'd go Megan and all of her friends would be like oh my god and um and and that was it and that was the experience why did it why was there no continuation well it was just like uh it was just like a like serendipitous kind of like moment you were like it's a beautiful moment let it be yeah yeah yeah your patience level is monk like i got to listen man when you're an actor and you're waiting for that phone ring you you have to just okay go it might not ever ring and that's okay wow okay just i don't know no that you have the buddhist mentality like that's is it is that the buddhist mentality is that nothing uh is ever going to stay the same that there's constant

change that there'll be bad times yeah this bad time may seem like the worst time but you shall pass yeah one of these spiritual religious things but that's the idea yeah that's the high is never going to be that high and the low is never going to be that low yeah unless you let it be right well i mean and that is like, you know, when you're in hard times, being in hard times in the moment. And I kind of just went through this. In the moment, it feels like it'll never go away. Of course. Um, but I've been fortunate enough to always come out on the other side and going through it a couple times. Now I can more quickly remind myself like, oh, that was a, that was a lesson. What was the lesson that came from this so like um wait hold on i don't want to go off on on helping you with what you need um

what i was going to say was that basically Megan brings out the best version of me and that's what i was i wasn't really open to that until like right before we went on this date have you ever done a float tank like a self deprivation a sensory for yourself because that's It was self-deprivation. It was self-deprivation. I delve deep into myself. Actually, I have a funny story about sensory deprivation thing. But go ahead. So I did it for the first time. It was two hours. You did it together? No, no, no. Before I met Megan, right before I met Megan, I did it for the first time, two hours, pitch black. You saw colors and all that in your mind?

Yeah, but I was also freaking the fuck out. I was also so scared. Why? Just because it was a scary experience. Like, having all the senses go. and like never really having a psychedelic experience it was just like I have no control like it was kind of like scary I think I started to have a bit of a panic attack wow so to calm myself down I just started talking out loud to myself which I'm sure all the I'm sure there were cameras in there and people were listening but whatever I was it was calming me down and so I just started talking about like what I what I wanted and I didn't know if I was like what manifestation was or like if I was doing that.

But I just realized in that moment of panic that like I was ready to be in a relationship. And I think that's another like big thing of like sometimes you're really okay with being alone and like finding yourself because, you know, it's important. Of course. And then there comes a time where you're ready to find someone. And I hadn't been in that place in a really long time. And in this moment of panic, I was like, no, I'm, I think I'm ready. And so I was like, I just want to find someone who's just like better than me in every way who's going to help me be a better person and a better man and like someone who's smarter than me and funnier than me and more talented and someone who'll just make me better.

And the next week I want my first date with Megan and she is that. So is your advice that I should go in a float tank and repeat these modules? Try it. Try it. Because I might. Try it. But you have to be, you kind of just have to be open. There was no humility in your thing.

You're like, I'm going to find someone better than me. Stronger than me. I didn't know it was going to happen. But then. That's great. That's what I want to do. But then I found someone and she really, she really just, when you meet the one, at least for me, it just feels different. It was like, first of all, like, I made a new best friend.

And she's my best friend. And we've almost been together. for seven years and we've just like we've never lost that spark of of being each other's best friend um and it like the right one is someone who will grow with you and um never make you feel like you like you need to change you're changing together it's like a you just kind of become you kind of become one person in a weird way like obviously she has her interest and i have my interest and um we spend some time apart but we really don't especially now that we're parents like um it's so crazy to say out loud now that we're parents yeah um you know now we have our

our little one and our our other one on the way and um it's fun to watch our little ones you know it's like some things that riley does are totally me and some things that he does are totally Megan and um yeah so i guess my advice for you is just to it's to float tank huh is to float tank no it's to be ready i want brunette i don't even know the answer to those things and i don't think those things don't really matter they don't they really don't because yes like i would love someone with eyes that are striking and height i don't know i don't even care no no no i want the i want that feeling you want the feeling yeah it's a partner yeah i mean that you know it's really just like a partner in in life yeah that you're gonna find it's a superpower having that

partner feels like it right because it's like things become less scary because you have i mean i basically never really felt unconditional love until i met megan wow and so if you if you've ever felt that it's it's that you know my dog there you go that can work i don't want to compare my future partner to a dog but he doesn't judge me yeah yeah no and I don't I don't ever feel judged and also I I yeah I don't know it's just it's just different okay well I know my journey now I need to be more open to it and feel like I'm ready yeah but I think I'm ready but also like red flags are also a thing Megan and I had this joke when we started dating it and we did it for for kind of years now that we're parents and we're married we don't have to joke like this

anymore but we would go like still no red flags we go nope still no red flags what are your red flags a lot of different a lot of different things they i mean the red flags are something that you see in hindsight you don't realize they're now red flags what do you have now in hindsight uh what are what are red flags i don't know they don't matter to me anymore what if they were to come up That matters to me. They're not going to come up. How do you know? I just know.

She's the one. There's no red flags. But you just have to be honest with yourself. So I should find my red flags. I don't like people who are mean. But I mean, those are pretty obvious red flags. Yeah. That's okay.

Like, I don't have any special red flags. We took a pivot. You were talking about your new wellness routine. Yeah. What are you doing now that you think is healthy besides meditation? Okay, so we'll... Oh, sorry, before you do it, I wanted to point out the science aspect

because this is a health podcast of why meditation works so well, even if you're not doing it, quote-unquote, right. Okay. Whenever we force ourselves to do something as part of a routine or something that's a little bit of a challenge and we get past it,

our brain naturally rewards us for doing that. So a lot of times when people seek motivation to start a gym routine or to start running or doing it, anything really we anticipate motivation comes before the action we say we need to get motivated to go and well that can work in some instances the realities you need the action first and then the action starts feeding the neurotransmitters in your brain in order to get you to continue doing said action yeah and usually that comes from seeing progress yeah that's why like you'll hear navy seals say

make your bed first thing in the morning right right right because the first thing you want to do in the morning the last thing you want to do in the morning is make your bread because you're tired you're sleepy but if you do it and you see a clean bed it's a little reward it's a challenge it's check a little kick yeah start that process up yeah Barbara Corcoran actually sat in your chair and said she hates working out but if she puts her feet

into the shoes in the morning right where she has near the bed she will go work out and she gets her little dopamine kick from the feet so in your case or anyone's case when they're talking about meditation sitting down just to do it even if you don't do it right right and you do it for the five minute or two minute timer like don't set yourself up for failure and say i want to meditate for

one hour my first time yeah yeah no it's a lot it's a lot do something small get it checked off that's where the benefit comes from absolutely so i think that's a universal win for everyone mine for like what you're saying is is waking up at five okay um and i turn so i i wake up with my apple watch okay i i have that's a that's a unique case it's a yeah thanks my wife got it for me We have matching cases. Do you have one of those things that, like, if you tap, it tells the other person that, like, you're thinking of them? They're, honestly, we use the walkie-talkie app. Oh, you do.

Okay. Which is awesome. So we don't even have to call it. We just are like, hey. Well, that's true. Spy Kids form. Exactly. It's weird.

It's now, like, a reality. It was just a prop before. But, no, so I wake up. So this is, the alarm on my watch vibrates. So I don't wake up, Megan, when I get up in the morning. And I turn off snooze because I, because, like, getting into the 5 a.m. wake up was tough, but, like, if you don't have the snooze button, you have to, like, get up. And you have to separate from the bed as fast as possible.

Yeah. So it's like, when I get up, I've, you know, if I shoot up and get my clothes on first thing and don't, like, dwell in, like, should I go back? to bed or not so like that's my that's my reward is like getting up um not hitting snooze and uh and then i go i go downstairs and um i try to to journal first to kind of like wake myself up drink some water uh journal and then after like 10 15 minutes of journaling then i go into my meditation um do my meditation and then after meditation i try to do some breath work so um big Wimhoff guy, love Wimhoff. And that's kind of where it's like some mornings,

like at the beginning, I'm like, I'm going to do four rounds of Wimhoff breathing every day. And some days I'm like, man, I can't do four. And so I just don't. I just do, some days I just do one. Some days I do two. And then after that amount of time,

then I just try to chill and do nothing for like five minutes. um because our lives are so there's so much stimulation going on and if i have the time i also have the baby monitor like right next to me the entire time so i'm checking on on riley to see if he's like getting up and if he's still asleep i just kind of allow myself to just kind of like get back in my body and um and do nothing because like if i can get bored and and do nothing then everything else feels more fun um and then i go straight to the coffee machine Gene. Make some coffee.

There you go. Yeah. The new barista skills you've developed. Yeah. And then you said you were watching some TikTok videos that were giving you some optimization tips about your routine or wellness. Have you seen anything on social media that you then tried to do? As a form of inspo.

I mean, I recently just got into like cold immersion therapy. Okay. And like doing cold plunges. And that's tough. Have you done that? I've cold plunged before. I've never done it as a routine, though. So I'm like, I think I was doing it wrong in the beginning because like I do it for like set.

I would like, you know, go, how long can I be in here? And again, like there's that kind of mind-body disconnect where it's like I tell myself, I'm going to do it for 10 minutes. And at five minutes, I'm like hurting. I was like, why would I hurt myself? Yeah. and my brother-in-law also does some cold immersion therapy too so we as soon as we find information and if we find conflicting information we're always like constantly we also live together so we're

sharing it with each other constantly so dr andrew huberman like had this thing come out saying like cold immersion therapy you do it for 11 minutes a week is this the army study they came out from europe that you're talking i don't know it might it might be i only know it from his ticot so i was doing like seven minutes at a time I put my earbuds in and I could like I could get through it for seven minutes with a couple songs. But then I was getting out and I was running right to the hot shower and I was thawing off in the shower. And my brother-in-law was like, no, bro, you got to like get your body to get warm on its own. Like that's the purpose of it. I was like, okay. So I'm now like I'm doing up to 11 minutes a week. It's kind of split up into like two, two. sessions a week. I'm doing it for like five minutes at a time and letting my body warm up naturally. And I'm really seeing like benefits from doing that and not just like I thought in the beginning it was like, oh, no one wants to be in cold water.

So I'm just doing something I don't want to do. And then that's going to make everything that I don't want to do throughout the week easier because that's partially true. Yeah. But now I'm actually like physically feeling the benefits of like having more energy. just being more grounded and connected. I appreciate that you're having a lot of fun doing it and that it's helping you. The thing that I want people to not have more anxiety over,

because it's so easy to fuel anxiety when you see someone's regimen come out and like, this is how I do it, but this is how I do it. There was this one study done. And if you really look at the research that they're quoting, a lot of times it's really poorly designed stuff. Yeah. No, that's why I need help. Well, no, that's the thing.

You actually don't need help. Okay. So I'm one of those doctors in the school of thought that aims to have my patients become less relying less upon on me. So I'm trying to educate them with what we know and how we make our decisions so they can make the decisions from themselves. So I even do some manipulation stuff because I'm an osteopathic physician. And even then, some patients want to come back every two weeks.

I'm like, you don't need it. here's what I am doing and why I'm doing it. Now you can do it yourself. Because I also don't financially benefit from this. Because I'm in a community health center. So I'm like, you don't need to come see me. Whereas some practitioners will be like, oh, no, you should come see me every week. You need this.

This is beneficial for you. Oh, that's awesome. So that's really, I'm lucky to be in that position. But what I was going to say is all the numbers that you're hearing in this world, they're not true. Right. So we get obsessed with numbers in science and statistics where you've heard the 10,000 steps a day thing. Right. So arbitrary.

Really? Yeah, because if you walk 9,000 steps, do you think you're going to become unhealthy? Yeah, no. It's just for the study. That's what we did. And that's what happens to have happened. And it doesn't matter if you do 9,000, 14,000, 12,000. What works for you is what the answer is going to be.

And it works for you is going to be different on any given day. Yeah. Because some days, Riley's not sleeping well. You're getting into that obsessed category again. And it's not your fault per se because that's how those gurus talk about it. Yeah. Like I, you know, Andrew Huberman's such a smart person, like sharing the intricacies of how the mind-body works.

I even learn a lot listening to it. Yeah. But I can easily tell that he is a researcher, not a clinician. Right. Because if I talk to my patients in the way that he talks about it publicly, I will create the most anxious, troubled patients, and it's not beneficial in the long term. Got it. Simply because of the anxiety that's being fueled on it.

Yeah. So I try and preach more of a, we don't know what we're talking about. Yeah. And the things that we do know, like, yeah, cold immersion's great. And if it's giving you benefit and you enjoy doing it, and it's a routine that you have that you're sharing with a loved one, amazing. I will never tell you to stop. Right, right.

But if it starts fueling anxiety in you that if you don't do it, you can't. That's Kales. Yeah. Yeah. That's proven. That's proven. Wow. Kind of boring, though, right?

Of a message? No. No, no, not at all. Because it's like, you can't make sexy content around, hey, don't stress. There's a, you'll find a way. You know, I've written prescriptions for busy single moms to go take a walk for 15 minutes. Yeah. And they were like, oh, I thought you were going to give me something else.

And I'm like, no, this is what you need. This is not what I need, okay? and I know it sounds like almost borderline do she as a doctor oh you wrote me a prescription for a walk no no but that's what you need Megan and I do that all the time whenever things get kind of like too hectic we take our son for a walk

and we go like walk around our neighborhood and we kind of call it our therapy session like because it's just the three of us and we just check in with each other and and Megan works a lot more than I do and she and she is a busy busy woman and somehow she finds time to do it all.

And, like, I feel like my job is to help her make sure that she's okay. And so I'm always the one to be like, hey, let's take a break. Like, you can have a break. Like, let's take a break. Let's all just kind of, like, be together and just be and just connect. Speaking of connecting with family, Daryl and Megan connected with TikTok star Chris Olson a few years ago, And now consider him family. How does Chris fit into your guy's lives?

Because Chris Wilson, he's our long-lost brother. Yeah, that's what it seems like. Yeah, he comes with a perfect level of mayhem. That's how I would describe it. I don't know. He's a big mystery to me, that guy. Really? I feel like he's hiding a lot of shit.

No. I want to know. No. He is a person I admire so much because he, it's weird because he's such a presence on social media. but like who he is on the apps is kind of who he is in person there's no like disconnect it's not like you meet when you meet him in person and it's been fun to just hang out with him more and more because he gets recognized a lot and he's so kind to everyone and I think he's just like it's really cool how vulnerable he is and how much of his

life he shares with the world and how transparent he is and um i just i admire that like um especially in these times of social media it's like you don't know like what to believe and and he is he's kind of just like the real deal and basically we met him because he Megan was like a fan of his online and I think like he reached out to her and she saw it or she reached out to him it was somebody I think maybe he reached out once yeah and then she didn't see it and then she reached out to him and then they instantly started talking and and then he came over to our house and he did um he did my wife's podcast um called working on it it's awesome check it out um and it was like um it's almost like when megan and i went on our first date it was like we've they knew each other forever

but they had just met for the first time wow and uh he really just kind of like fit into our family and all the ticot stuff like doesn't feel like oh gotta do TikTok stuff like we're really just like having fun having fun around at home like it's like a creative outlet you're like what what fun thing can we do today we laugh so i don't think i've ever laugh more i've seen your reels uh like acting like chris yeah yeah yeah those are hilarious i did one i did one acting like my wife and people seem to really like that and in the bed with the pillows huh in the bed with the pillows there was one before that one that was acting like my pregnant wife oh okay this one was just acting like my wife in general just

every everyday stuff um and then yeah and then i did the pregnant wife one when we were in australia a couple months ago um which like you know if anyone's gonna do it just do it with your partner don't just like go rogue and be like i'm gonna act like oh check this out babe like no you need them there because when i did the first one i was doing it and megam and be like i'm not like that i'm like no sweetie you are not let's do it again um and yeah and then we did acting like chris and i did acting like my son and just like act i like acting just fun that makes sense yeah did you uh and chris ever bond over i know you have a very strong support for your sobriety yeah he also talked about that yeah on our conversation do you guys ever we had a moment actually where he helped me out a lot

it was a couple months into my sobriety, which I had been sober from alcohol for like a year and a half at a certain point. And then decided, but I was still smoking marijuana when I was free from alcohol. And then at a point decided like, oh, you know, I'm just going to try to be a wine guy. And that didn't work out so well. Like nothing bad happened or anything, but I was really aware of like the kind of like little voice in my head that was like craving it yeah or just like the addictive I know their addiction runs in my family and it was just like this unsettling feeling of just like constantly like thinking about it and I was like I don't want I don't want to think about this and so um when I went sober again I decided I've talked about this before that like

nothing bad ever happened with with weed either but I decided like hey I think I still have that little voice even with weed like when I wasn't drinking I still thought about weed way more than I wanted to um and so I decided to just go sober off of of weed as well and it was like a couple months into my sobriety from alcohol and weed that um I was out at an event um Megan was performing at an event and Chris came with us and I just felt like really uncomfortable because like usually um you know like for me I would think like oh after this event's over like maybe you know I'll get a little stoned and you know and go to bed or um and so I was like just feeling really uncomfortable and like awkward and Chris picked up on it immediately wow and because we were sitting

next to each other and I think I was just like looking around and just like uncomfortable and he was like, hey, it's okay. Just be uncomfortable. It's fine. I'm here. I know, I know how you feel. I've been through that. I think that's, like, it really, like, calm me down and, and so nice to hear that someone

had been through that before, and that it would be okay. And, again, like, just to allow myself to be uncomfortable. It was like, I didn't know I was uncomfortable. Like, I knew, but I couldn't really control it. And then once he kind of called me out, I kind of just, like, took a breath and was like, oh, okay. And now I have, like, more of a curiosity. Now that there's been some time, I'm just more curious, I guess. About what?

Just about being present, about the present moment. And, like, feeling the feelings, allowing the feelings to come and then, like, watching them go. So how do you explore that? Practice. Like practice feeling emotions, putting yourself outside your comfort zone, doing new things? Like, what's... That's a good question. How do I practice that?

I kind of just surrender to the moment, you know? And, you know, with Chris's help, just that one little experience, if I'm uncomfortable, now I being called out for being uncomfortable, I can notice, like, oh, there's that uncomfortable feeling again. And I've gotten through it so I can get through it again. and you can just kind of ride it out. Yeah. You know. That's interesting.

You mentioned that the reason why you felt weed was, quote, unquote, maybe addictive to you was because of that voice kind of coming back and thinking about it and spending a lot of time thinking about it. I feel like the newer generations, and I say that as if I'm like 16 years old. These young kids these days. Yeah. Think that because marijuana on face value is less inherently dangerous, short-term compared to alcohol, they think it's safe. And as a doctor, I have to explain that that's not true. Was there something that you saw when you were using marijuana excessively

that you felt that there was health consequences for doing that? It never got to that point, which is why, like in my head, it was a lot harder to give up. Yeah. Because it was always a good time. And I never felt like I was using it excessively, which was another reason why it was hard to give up. Because like with alcohol, you know, you have some experiences. I had my first hangover as a dad. And that's when I was like, I will never feel this way again. I will never allow myself to feel this way again. And I just felt so low. And so, and that's when I was just like, you know what, like, screw it. I'm just going to stop smoking as well

because I just, I want to be the best version of myself. And even though I feel like I haven't gotten, and maybe I did, but even though I felt like I hadn't gotten to it using it excessively, I didn't want to find out what that would be like. Got it. I just, like, wanted to, I was really curious to see how I would feel taking a break.

How did you feel? I mean, now, I like I can't believe you know that I I did it as much as I did like now now I can see it I probably was using it excessively but what difference you see specifically what's better clarity clarity there's a lot more clarity and also like kind of might sound silly but like being an actor and like wanting to be present all the time now it seems so simple to be like oh yeah why would I smoke weed that was kind of dulling my emotions and dulling my feelings and you know um I say I have a lot more clarity now because I just um I'm not like using a substance

to feel a certain way I think that's powerful because blunt thing of emotion is why I feel a lot of people end up using marijuana and it's almost like a self-medication of sorts yeah um and you mentioned it very accurately. The insidious nature of the harm that comes from marijuana is what makes it dangerous. So alcohol, you overdrink, you get sick. Everyone notices it. You smell like alcohol. You throw up all these things. But with marijuana, it's different. You smoke too much people laugh. It's like a silly thing. Yeah, I was just always like a goofy goober. And everyone had a great time and it was all good. I'm going to make a really nerdy scientific comparison. okay why COVID-19 was so much more deadly than if you look at the original SARS virus

was because it was less deadly isn't that a weird sentence yeah I'm like trying to process what you just said and I'll explain what that means yeah SARS cove 2 which is the virus that causes COVID-19 right because it was less deadly meaning more people got it yeah some people had no symptoms at all. Therefore, we're asymptomatically spreading it to the world and not knowing means it impacted so many more people. And those people got impacted by the hundreds of millions. So then the death rate was low, but because it impacted so many people, it was actually way more problematic than the original SARS virus because when that got people sick, they got really sick. A lot of them lost their lives because they had a high fatality rate. But we were isolating them

and that's it. We controlled the virus. So because this is not. not as bad, it became more bad. Yeah. And I feel like marijuana is kind of an example of that where it's, oh, look, it's the goofy guy. It's not such a big thing. Right. But on a societal level, it can become way worse.

Yeah. I don't know. Do you agree with me on my take on that? Yeah. I mean, I think. Vaping falls into this category for me as well. Vaping is terrible. Vaping is so bad.

But it's so bad because it's not as bad as cigarettes. Right. right so it's weird because you're thinking risk reduction right and yes if i'm getting someone who's you know a two pack per day smoker and i'm getting into vaping right good place to be yeah but the majority of things that are happening is you're like oh i'll just vape because it's not as bad as cigarettes and then you end up on cigarettes well i mean and i'm again like i think timing is everything and and becoming a dad um really put a lot into perspective for me so it's like you know years before when I when I didn't have the responsibilities that I had you know it was like oh

what are the lesser of the two evils yep and I think like that first time when I went sober off of alcohol I was like well alcohol is worse for me than than weed is so I can I can do weed and I'll just do more CBD than THC and stop drinking and then I'll be good and this time was like you know because I want to be the best dad I want to be the best husband And I want to, you know, like, be a good role model for my son. I want to show them that you can, you know, you can feel your feelings without, you know, you don't need to, don't need to do anything to, I don't know. To hide the feelings.

Yeah, sure. Yeah. Because we all have that inherent fear of our feelings. You're not just a role model for Riley either for, for, I'm sure people listening. Myself, I mean, I'm inspired to take. better care of my health and and to find the one hopefully for myself. You're going to find the one. Just when you're ready.

Okay. I, it was like weird. It was like I was finally in this place where I was like really ready. And then I just like hit the jackpot. Oh, do you have any medical questions that you're curious about? Oh, well, we were going to talk about my earwax. Oh, yeah. Tell me about your earwax.

I got a lot of earwax. Okay, two things. A lot of earwax. And I get a lot of complaints from only my wife. I ask other people. Does my breath smell bad? But it's mostly just my wife who's like, man, your breath. And I'm always, I have my listerine spray in my pocket.

Okay. So how do I fix my breath? Okay. Someone once mentioned like tonsl stones. Mm-hmm. Maybe I have those. And then I have a lot of earwax. Q-tips are bad, right?

Should stop using Q-tips? Yeah. Okay. What do I do? Let's start with the ears because that's the easier one of the two. Okay. I'll give you the breakdown. earwax naturally should come out of your ears because the way our ear canals are shaped

is it naturally as we shower as we go through our day the earwax sort of starts melting from body heat and starts coming out on its own okay that's why cue tips essentially are not a bad product as long as you use them on the outside where the earwax is coming out okay so you're cleaning out the exterior portion oh okay it's only when you start sticking them in your ear that becomes a problem and that's where it feels good right but the problem is it feels good because you're itching a damaged ear canal. So it's like, you know, when a scab is healing and you're picking at it because it's itchy, that's what you're doing with the Q-Tip.

So you're like fostering a very unhealthy ear environment, if you will. I'm like telling my ears like, hey, you should make more wax. Yes. Okay. Exactly. Okay. And then because the Q-tip is not a scooper. Right.

It's pushing the earwax deeper in. And that makes it harder for me as a doctor to take it out. Okay. Now, for patients that, let's say, are having recurrents. earwax problems because their shape of their ear canals is off actually in my elderly patients that are a little bit dehydrated aren't drinking as much they'll get really bad ones okay if it's already there i use a product called debrox ear drops it's basically a hydrogen peroxide based product that facilitates the softening of the earwax so it melts and then comes out on it

if you're a person who regularly just happens to get them and you want to do something preventive we recommend mineral mineral oil okay and that mineral oil just helps the decrease of that production and helps them feel less itchy so that you are less likely to dig around. And I do not recommend any of the people at home getting those ear cameras that they sell on Amazon or scoopers. Yeah, TikTok made me buy something strange and luckily the box came damaged and I'm like, this is a sign I shouldn't use this. Thank God. Yeah. Actually, I have a video called TikTok scam medical products and that was on the list. Okay, great. So I'm glad you didn't use it. No. But now let's talk about your, my breath.

Breath, yeah. Breath has multiple potential sources. Okay. Teeth and gums are one of them, and sometimes it has nothing to even do about the quality of your hygiene. Like, you could be flossing, you could do brushing your teeth. Dude, I do it all. It doesn't matter.

Mouthwash, tongue scrape. Also, it doesn't sound like you have a lot of stress because you manage it quite well. But stress can be. I have plenty of stress. But I mean, when I say stress, not all stress is bad stress. Right. Stress is good. We need stress.

Yeah. It's how you manage it. And it sounds like you manage it quite well. Trying. But poorly managed stress can actually manifest itself as gingivitis. And that can cause some problems. Okay. Within our tonsils, we have something known as tonsill or crypts, which are basically like

little tunnels that end up going through our tonsils. And therefore, any bacteria that we're exposed to, even if it doesn't infect us and cause a tonsillitis, our body can have a reaction to it. And it creates like a pussy, smelly pocket. Okay. Which ends up being a tonsilith, which is a tonsal stone. Okay. That can be extracted.

Okay. Sometimes patients even get salivary gland stones. Those are usually more painful and more obvious that are happening. And for those patients, we recommend putting a sucker in and like a lemon sucker. And it actually stimulates the salivary glands to produce more saliva and clear the blockage. Cool. That's pretty cool. Okay.

Something lesser known that causes bad breath is acid reflux. more specifically something known as laryngo pharyngeal reflux LPR mouthful but actually a very simple thing laryngeo meaning larynx which is your voice box pharyngeal meaning pharynx which is your throat reflux meaning the acid comes up what's interesting about LPR and why it's different than traditional heartburn is it's silent heartburn because in order to create heartburn symptoms here you need a great deal of acid to bother your esophagus like a bunch of coffee in the morning A bunch of coffee in the morning, laying down right after eating a big meal, or just having an incompetent sphincter that closes the stomach, or having a hyal hernia where the sphincter

kind of loses itself and floats up into your body. But you need a decent amount of acid. Versus here, for LPR, a small amount of acid can get up here, not cause heartburn symptoms, and then cause like mucus in the back of your throat, a hoarse voice, chronic cough that's not really coming from your lungs, bad breath. Okay. I don't have that. No.

Okay. No. That's good. But, and no symptoms of heartburn. No. Interesting. Where is it coming from? I don't know.

Maybe, maybe you're right. Maybe I have a tonsils. Or cavities. Have you? No, no cavities. No. Then that's unusual. Because there is the official medical diagnosis of halitosis.

But those are usually my top few things on the differential. Your go-toes. Yeah. That I start investigating. And then if it's not, I'm not getting a clear answer, and the dentist can't give me a clear answer. Maybe my wife just doesn't like the way my breath smells. Maybe it's just the specific, maybe scent. I don't know, you guys are, you're one.

We're one. So I doubt that that's, yeah. I wouldn't put that high up on my differential. Okay, good. But I'm sorry I can't solve that for you. That's okay. All right, here we go. So instead of the lightning round, we have a check your reflexes round.

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An official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Hulu original film Swiped, is now streaming only on Disney Plus. my eyes perfect vision wow did you read a lot of carrots when you were young I think I just got lucky but yeah carrots are good too I mean beta carrots yeah that's overstated it's a rabbit thing

what's something that raised your blood pressure this week I got you angry turbulence it didn't get me angry just like got you nervous was scary yeah it was like we were told there was going to be turbulence we're kind of in a little bit of a rainstorm and as soon as I lifted up my window shade lightning, yeah.

And I was like, oh, man. And like we were, I was, yeah. Do you have a fear of flying in general? I don't. What was weird this time around is, like, as a kid, I had a fear of flying over water because I think Castaway had just come out, and I was really terrified of Castaway happening in real life. But for some reason, when I looked on the little map, we were over water.

And for some reason, it brought me peace of, like, well, then we can just do a water landing. And, like, you know. Clearly didn't see the Malaysian Airlines documentary on Netflix. I haven't yet. No. Don't watch it. No.

I won't. Because they were over water, too. Yeah. But anyway, that was scary. Okay. There's not on the list. What's your favorite movie of all time? That's, that is a loaded question.

That's the point. This is a very heavy, heavy. I think one that's just a go-to is Boogie Nights. Hmm. I haven't seen it. What? Sell it to me. well so i grew up in torrents california mark walberg's character you've nobody nice

mark walberg's character is from torrent so there's like a little bit also paul thomas anderson all of his movies this was his first feature film all of his movies take place in l.A., most of them not all of them um so he just had he captures like uh basically like where i'm from the essence he captures the essence so well um but that movie it's really long what's it about uh what is it about it's about the rise and fall of um and potential rise again of a movie star yeah putting it on the list i want to go in blind don't look anything up just okay i'm And also, I'd date the movie.

Also, if you like film, I love film. This movie shot on film is like 1997, I think, but there is one shot in the middle of the movie that is like, it's like a 10 minute shot, one shot. The camera follows this one character.

And what's awesome about the movie that I love so much is that it kind of feels like a play. Like, so many things had to go right to get that single scene. To get this one shot. So many people had to like be in, place and like everything just had to fit perfectly to get this one shot and the spy kids movies started on film so knowing what that's like to like make sure that the kind of like excitement that

you get to make sure that it all gets right in one take it's a lot of pressure then versus now you can just chop it up and make it look like one shot so hey boogie nights yeah all right this is serious okay got it this is this is the deep question loaded question Agent Cortez. Yes. We are sending you on a top secret mission. It will require you to perform

incredible physical feats, execute cunning psychological strategy, and push you beyond your limits. As such, we are prepared to replace one part of your body with a super-powered cyber version. Which part are you replacing and why?

My biceps. Why? Because I need bigger biceps, man. I got to do more pull-ups. You know, I want those guns. Okay. So, yeah. So I could, so I, you want guns that will walk through a metal detector.

Get it? Sure. Got it. I got it. Yeah, I just want to be, yeah, stronger, you know? Okay. Which I know I just have to lift heavier things, but, um, but yeah, for Agent Cortez, bigger biceps. Bigger biceps.

Have you ever almost died? Um. Have I? There was one. I think it was just like, you know, when you have a panic attack or you're in panic, you just feel like you're going to die? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know if I almost die. No near fatal accidents or.

Actually, there was, I talked about this as a kid, but there was one scene, I guess you can go back now. There was one scene in Spy Kids 2. We were filming, like, in some location. Texas, um, and I was on the edge of a rock. It's like near the middle three quarters of the way into the movie where I'm fighting off skeletons with a sword. I'm on the edge of this rock and it's like 700 feet above like the Rio Grande or something. I was high up and they harness me into this rock because they didn't want me to fall, which was make me feel safe. Um, so fighting pretend skeletons and there was like a two ton crane on the set that was going to be used later in the day

they were going to take one of the actors and like swing them around to get a shot of them like swinging around this beautiful landscape and um in the middle of the shot the crane just started to tip and and like fell on its side and luckily no one got hurt the guy who's in the crane like some superhuman strength happened and he just leaped out and landed on both feet. I don't even think he had like a sprained ankle or anything. But the crane fell on its side

and when it fell on its side everything was just like shaken. And it was like the only time this has ever really happened to me but I was nine and it felt like when the crane started to tip everything just went into slow motion and I could just like

see people being like get out of the way, get out of the way, move, move. And then it fell, and everything started shaking. And in that moment, I looked down, and I was like, I'm attached to this rock. If this rock goes down, like, I'm going down with this rock. And luckily, that didn't happen. And everything stopped, and someone ran immediately out and, like, got me out of the harness and got me out of there. But, yeah, I think now I know why you're afraid of turbulence.

There you go. Oh, wow. You just solved it for me. No, now I'm afraid of turbulence because I'm like, I got a sun at home. I got another one on the way. Like, we got to make it through this flight. But, yeah, that was my closest experience. We're happy you made it.

And I thank you for coming and sharing all your insight. Thanks for having you. A lot of insight, man. Thank you, seriously. Oh, thank you.