The Dylan Gemelli Podcast - Episode #1 with Miesha Tate! The ultimate rivalry with Rhonda Rousey, Becoming the UFC Women’s Champion, Breaking the barrier for women in the UFC, T...

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

Tune in to The Dylan Gemelli Podcast featuring former UFC Champion Miesha Tate for an epic interview YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS!! Dylan and Miesha delve deep into Miesha's background, touching on her challenges as a female wrestler in high school and her parents coming to grips with her wanting that path. Miesha discusses how she became a fighter and takes us through her career journey becoming a Strikeforce champion and breaking the barrier for women's fighting in the UFC! Learn the details of her intense rivalry with Rhonda Rousey and the ultimately becoming the UFC Women's Champion. Dylan and Miesha take time to discuss their faith and the huge role that God has played in their life. Miesha also discuss her podcast Built for Growth as well as what the future holds for her!! Follow Miesha's Built for Growth Podcast https://www.youtube.com/@UCUpPwaxMs1i6UfjXIiR-iMw Check out her homepage here https://mieshatate.com/ Instagram @mieshatate Facebook @mieshatatefanpage X @mieshatate ______________________________________________________________________   Today's episode is sponsored by Apollo Neuro!   Get the Apollo Neuro for $90 OFF!! USE CODE GEMELLI to save https://apolloneuro.com/gemelli _______________________________________________________________________________ To PURCHASE MITOPURE visit Dylan's landing page and use code DYLAN to save 20% OFF!! https://shop.timeline.com/DYLAN     TONUM supplements for the MIND AND BODY!   USE CODE "DYLAN" to save!!  https://www.tonum.com/DYLAN     THE BREAKTHROUGH MIMIO HEALTH FASTING MIMETIC SUPPLEMENT!  20% OFF with code Gemelli  https://mimiohealth.sjv.io/c/6588260/3323599/30611     TRULY Increase Your NAD LEVELS with WONDERFEEL NMN: https://getwonderfeel.com/?utm_source=DylanGemelli&utm_medium=podcast     MESCREEN: The world's first and only at home mitochondrial efficiency test   Save $100 with CODE   DYLAN   https://mescreen.com/cart/47561239626013:1?discount=&ref=DYLAN       HIRE DYLAN ON THE MINNECT APP HERE: expert.minnect.com/@DylanGemelli     Follow Dylan on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tiktok @dylangemelli and PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and leave reviews!!   MAKE SURE TO GO TO DYLAN'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL for MORE video content!!    https://www.youtube.com/@DylanGemelliBiohacking Email Dylan for booking, collaborations and/or to apply for the Dylan Gemelli Podcast [e-mail] Visit Dylan's Homepage https://dylangemelli.com

Today's episode is sponsored by Apollo Neuro. Apollo is the leading doctor recommended wearable technology. Apollo's award-winning smart vibes AI works effortlessly behind the scenes, automatically integrating into your life to deliver gentle, personalized vibrations that activate your vagus nerve, helping you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up balanced, focused, and ready each day. Not only that, but the Apollo Neuro is the first and only wearable that improves your HRV. Apollo is effortless. Simply wear it throughout the day and night and let it do the work

for you. It's safe for anyone and everyone with no side effects and is the only wearable that can be worn anywhere on your body. Optimal health requires both the mind and body to be in line and Apollo is the key to establishing that connection. Check the description below to save $90 with my special discount. Take control over your health today with Apollo Neuro. All right, everybody, to the Dylan Jameli podcast, and I have literally my most exciting podcast to this date. She is a former UFC champion, a former Strike Force champion, recently inducted into the International Hall of Fame, and just launched an absolutely amazing podcast, the Build Better podcast. This everybody.

Bill for growth. Bill for growth. That's right. Bill for Growth podcast. That is actually, though. That was a good name. why didn't think of that one. Better.

I was like, now I'm rethinking the name of the podcast, but built for growth. Yeah, built for growth, built better. It's the same thing. I think it's because I listened to so much of it this morning on cardio that I just kept thinking about building better. Well, yeah, now you're better for listening to the Built for Growth podcast. This is Lisa Tate. Thank you so much for your time today.

I can't tell you how appreciative that I am. Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, you know, for people who are just listening now, I mean, I'm sure you'll get into it, you know, but we met at the Olympia on the Monica Brandt podcast. And it was great. We had a great conversation. And then we just kind of like, you know, and energy is just a line or whatever, I guess. And then you're like, oh, I'd love to have you in mind. I was like, that'd be great. Then we had a pre-call. And it was awesome. Like, energies just connected. And it was like, hey, we kind of think alike. And so I've been really looking forward to continuing conversation. for your listeners. Absolutely. And I was telling you, I'll tell everybody else, and this is how fate would have it, because I was co-hosting with Monica at the Olympia, and I was speaking on panels at the Olympia, and we were going down the list and timing stuff out, and she said, well, I've got Misha Tate at X time. I was like looking at it going, oh, and I told my wife how bummed I was, because I was not going to be able to be at that time. And I just said, you know,

what, screw it, I'm skipping this and making sure that I'm there for that. It's that much more important to me. And so here we are. Let's go. Yeah. So it was, I'm great, you know, and I think the universe has a way of conspiring. I don't know if you've ever read The Alchemist, but, have you ever read that book, The Alchemist? Yeah. You know, when, when things are meant to happen, they just start and here we are doing the podcast, which, yeah, I mean, this is meant to be it's like absolutely so i have a lot of stuff to get into with you i really want to dig into your podcast and things but i know like with my audience especially they're going to want to hear about some of your career and you told me some amazing things at the olympia that i want people to hear

about you but your message in general i think because it's so good on your podcast but it all correlates to what you've gone through in your life so i really want to get into all that because I think it's important for everybody to kind of see and hear such a story. So starting off, I just, I really want to hear about what you went through as you were growing, you know, through middle school, high school, and what drove you into becoming a fighter. Yeah, that's a, it's a good question. It's definitely a loaded question. So hold on. I'm going to tell you. I mean, I'll start with this. First of all, as a little girl growing up, it's not like, I was getting into fist fights and this was a predictable career path for me.

Like, oh, it made sense. You know, Misha went down fighting. She was always, you know, a troublemaker or troubled child. I really wouldn't describe my upbringing in that way. I was a tomboy and I was, you know, into playing a lot of sports. I think that boys like to do. I was always very athletic. I like to climb trees.

I still embrace my femininity along the way, though, you know. I like to do my hair and wear skirts and, and, you know, know, be feminine. So for me, this was just a normal blend of characteristics. But I came to find out later as I joined the wrestling team in high school, which was not four females, by the way, I was joining the all-male wrestling team along with my friend Sharon. But this was not a common thing for girls to be girly, but also be strong and athletic. So it was kind of an anomaly for most people. And, you know, they really tried to get me to quit that first season that I went out. The boys just, I don't think that they were bad guys looking back on it. I just think they had

the preconceived notion that most people had at that time that this was not a sport for women. Women didn't belong. They couldn't hang. They couldn't do it. It was too tough. And so they just threw me in with the best wrestlers on the team, me having never wrestled a day in my life. and it was very clear to me they just wanted to get me out of there the strength and conditioning was brutal and it was so difficult and I remember after my first practice being like I loved I was not good at it but I loved it and I think I had this thought of law of diminishing return you know that I didn't know that that's what it was called at the time

I was just 15 but I remember thinking like I'm gonna get better at this if I keep showing up. Like I'm so bad now. Like I have to be able to get better fast. So I just got to show up and work really hard. And I did all four years. And then I end up winning the Coaches Award my senior year, which is kind of given out to one athlete that embodies what it means to be a team player and a wrestler. And wow, because, you know, going from a team that really just didn't want you there to being somebody who was recognized as, you know, a role model type example of what a wrestler and bodies and being a female in capturing that was to this date, probably one of my biggest accomplishments.

And it led me right into MMA. I went to college. I went to Central Washington University. And my friend, Rosalia, was like, hey, do you want to come out and check out this mixed martial arts club sport? And I was like, no way. I'm like, not a teacher. I don't do karate first of all.

That's what I thought it was. I was so ignorant. And I was like, and I have zero desire to hit anybody in the face, much less get hit in the face. It just sounds terrible. Like, count me, I am not in. And she came back the next day. I was like, Misha, you've got to come and check it out. I know you'll love it.

It's all these former high school wrestlers and college wrestlers and you're going to love it. And I was like, all right, fine. So I went and on my very first day, I learned how to choke people. and I guess the rest is history. That's amazing. I want to go back and ask a few things that we kind of got into a little bit at the Olympia. When you were in high school, do you feel like that the guys were giving you a hard time because they maybe felt threatened by you being on there and, oh, man, if I lose to her or whatever, I'm going to make an example out of her now and try to get you to quit so that that didn't happen to them? Do you feel like maybe that was going on?

I honestly don't think that it was, that that was the thought because I was so terrible. I mean, I had never wrestled a day in my life. Now, I could see that happening for females that may be wrestled since they were little, very young at that time. There were some lucky girls that had families that had older brothers. I didn't or that came from a family lineage of wrestlers. And so they're like, all right, you know, she can do it too. And they started wrestling since they were really young.

And they were good by the time they got to high school. I could see that being an issue. But in my case, it was more like she's a waste of damn time and space. Like get her off of the mat. So I don't think I was a threat to anybody. Not at first. But I definitely, by my senior year, I remember there was this one. one kid, his name was Jacob, and he was a really good wrestler.

And I remember getting in some battles with him my senior year and him, like, losing his temper because I was not winning, but I was just, I was forcing him to work. And I don't think he even liked that. Like, I was really forcing him to, you know, beat mind his peace and cues, or I was going to get that reversal or I was going to get, you know. And I just remember him cross-facing me so hard and just like just being like a mean, like aggressive mean, like really lost his temper and just, you know, almost to the point where I realized that I was getting into like a battle of physicality with somebody who was

physically stronger than me who was on the verge of like really trying to injure me. And I remember in that moment I had to be like, okay, you know what? I'm just going to like back down, like relax. Like, this isn't a match that I need to win. Like, gym wars. You know what I mean? It was a gym war. And I was like, I don't have anything to prove here.

Like, I hate to break it to you. I don't have a penis. So, like, you know, like, like, honestly, I don't know what's going on here, but whatever. And I just kind of like let that one go. But, you know, I mean, this happened like a few times, definitely. I think most of the team, though, really respected it. because I remember doing the conditioning rounds at the end of every practice. We'd have so much conditioning to do.

And I would always be trying to outwork the guys in that realm. So we'd be running sprints or we'd be running lines back and forth. And if they were not, I always had my sight set on the next closest guy. If they were not pushing their hardest, like I was going to beat them. And, you know, I did. And those conditioning rounds, I'd beat a lot of them. So I made them work. I made the teamwork.

I held them a little bit more accountable than they probably would have liked at certain times. But, you know, they ended up embracing me and the brotherhood and everything, really, as time went on. And yeah, I'm just grateful for all of those experiences, to be honest. Was there a moment? And maybe there was. Maybe this was just something that progressively came for you. But do you remember a specific moment where it was like they accepted you or you did something? you maybe beat somebody or did a move or whatever that you felt, okay, I feel like they're

accepting me and that I belong here, or did it just kind of happen over time? I remember that there was a moment when there was a girl that came out on the team, and she was very cute. She was very cutesy. She had really, you know, tiny, tight little shorts on and, you know, just not wrestler-type wear and she was you know yeah she was very flirtatious and cute and giggling she really wasn't taking practice seriously and whatnot and finally a couple of the guys were like misha get rid of her like get her out of here and you know it was um that was the moment that i felt like they looked at me

different than they looked at any other female on the team and i always thought it was funny and although I always wanted other females to come out on the team desperately. I wanted more girls on the team and I would try to recruit women all the time. I did want them to be there for the right reasons, you know. And so I kind of just, you know, wrestled hard with her, wrestled tough with her, you know, just like the guys did with me. And, you know, and yeah, I mean, she didn't last. You know, there was obvious from the very beginning that she really wasn't there to wrestle.

Yes. Okay, cool. So what years was this? Because obviously, I believe at that time it was probably very rare for a female to be doing any sort of wrestling. Oh, yeah, no, I'm going to date myself. So I think I graduated high school in 2005, so 01. I think wrestling season starts before the beginning, yeah, before the first of the year. So like 01 into 05. Okay. All right. Yeah, definitely not very. Actually, my junior year coming from Washington State was the first year that women had a type of tournament. It was called a round robin. So it was just four wrestlers in a bracket.

There was no eliminations or anything. But it was held at the state tournament. So all the men who had gone through regionals, divisionals, and placed and were wrestling at state. As females, it was very rare to see a female make it through the male division. And if so, it was usually the really small weight girls because they have a more likelihood that they're wrestling for one, less experienced guys because 103 pound guys usually are not seniors. And they also usually haven't gone through puberty. So there's a little bit of like, you know, opportunity in those somewhat smaller weight class, I think, for the females to be competitive for longer, generally speaking. But we actually got to wrestle during the break of the men's state tournament at the Tacoma Dome in a round-robin tournament round-robin.

I remember it was my junior year and I was so excited. And I was, you know, still wrestling, but wrestling with the better guys because after like regionals and divisionals and those things, the team starts to get smaller. Basically, the guys that aren't still continuing on to state leave the team. Their season is over, so it's not really in the practice room. Anyways, I ended up breaking my ankle or having my ankle broken, should I say. I didn't break it. So I didn't get to wrestle my junior year. Thankfully, I got a chance at redemption my senior year, which I did win the tournament,

which, you know, it feels like you can say that you won state or whatever. but it's not quite as brand as what the guys are doing, but for the women at that time, that was the Mount Everest, you know, for us. So the two-part question, would you say that that was your biggest accomplishment then throughout the whole process? And did you play any other sports or was it just kind of wrestling that you stuck with? I did cross-country and track as well. So a lot of running sports.

and my biggest accomplishment I still would say was the coaches award it was because at that time I had not really set my sights on winning that much because I mostly didn't win when I when I competed against guys so the winning or not winning wasn't my primary focus it was being the best that I could be and I realized that I could change other people's perception of me if I just worked hard. I didn't segregate myself and I showed up every day and treated myself as an equal. And that was such a valuable lesson to learn. I really think it's the reason why I got into the UFC because I remember at one point Dana White was on any microphone that was asking him if women would ever be in the UFC and he was like, no, very adamant.

And I remember at that time thinking, but you haven't seen me fight yet. And I only have that kind of confidence because of wrestling. I knew that if he ever got a chance to see me fight, that I had a really high chance of changing his mind. Because I knew that I worked hard, and I knew that because I worked hard, I was talented and I could win fights and I could make them exciting, which I believe were all the things that he was looking for to check the box. And, you know, lo and behold, some years later, it's kind of exactly how it worked out.

I love that when somebody is willing and sure, you know, very sure of themselves to bet on themselves and confident. And especially if somebody tells you no or you can't do this or whatever. And then you know in your heart, I can do this. I'm going to show you I can do this. That's what separates somebody that's pretty good to be in a star, in my view. So I love hearing that. Was there a moment or multiple moments. where you thought, I don't want to do this anymore,

like throughout the high school process part of it, not past that, or where you just would feel like giving up and not want to keep going on? No, absolutely not. I loved every second of wrestling. It was the most difficult thing I had ever done in my young 15 years, and even by the time that I graduated,

I lived my entire year waiting for wrestling season to come back around. I think had I known more, I probably would have tried to do some wrestling camps or things like that on the offseason. But I didn't. I just didn't have that kind of family know-how or support in that way because we didn't come from that background. Choosing to wrestle as a girl was very odd. And my dad didn't like it at all. So I really wasn't going to get any extra support.

So it wasn't something that I really was able to focus on the other three quarters of the year. So I looked so forward to wrestling season every year. I would have done it year round without question had that been an opportunity for me. But it wasn't. And no, there was literally no point that I ever wanted to quit wrestling. I would never miss practices. I mean, I lived for it. It was the thing that made me feel alive.

That's a testament to what you became because I'm certain, especially being that women didn't do that. And if you're given a hard time by others, that a lot of people would have crumbled, gave up, quit or wanted to quit. And for you to say that, it says a lot. Now, this, you touched on it was my next question. What was the, because I would assume any father would be very worried or hesitant about

their daughter. What was that like when you told them, your parents, hey, this is what I want to do. And how was your mom about it? What was the reaction? And did it change over time? Or did it just kind of stay kind of hardened the whole time? Well, my mom was the first person that I talked to about it. And I said, mom, what do you think if I go out for wrestling? And she kind of paused and was like, you really want to do that? And I was like, yeah, I mean, I think so. I want to try. Can I? And she was like, well, I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't think you're going to like it. And I'm not going to tell you that you can't try it,

though. So she said, you know, go ahead. And my grandmother, my mom kind of came from this headstrong, you know, pro women in a healthy way. I'm not going to tell you that there's nothing you can't do if guys can do it. You know, if they're doing it, then you should have the opportunity to do it too. So thankfully, it was something that my mom did not withhold me from or I would be on a totally different path right now. I would never probably have found the UFC. I don't think I would even know my own strength because nothing that I've ever done

besides maybe birth-burning children would test me in the ways that the world of sport has and especially the way that hand-to-hand combat does with one other athlete, no team to rely on. I'm in that single moment of high pressure, injury prone, hand-to-hand combat provides. It's unlike anything else in the world. And for those reasons, you know, I look at that and I'm so grateful that she didn't hold me back from that. And my dad, I don't remember when we told my dad, but it wasn't right away.

That's for sure. So, yeah, we were able to kind of keep that from him for a little bit. And, you know, once he did find out, he was like, you're letting her what? She's doing what with who? You know, and he wasn't very happy about it. He wasn't very stoked about it. But he also kind of threw his hands up in the air and was like, there's nothing I can do about it. Like my mom said, I could do it.

He was kind of like, well, then whatever, you know, like I. but it wasn't something honestly I didn't ever feel supported by my dad doing wrestling like he even came to some of my post wrestling meets and maybe he showed up to a couple

matches but there was not really any excitement or support for what I was doing and I do understand it because now that I'm a mother, I can understand the inherent need for a parent to protect.

And especially for my father, the father and a daughter, that's kind of be one of the most God-given instincts that there is, is for a father to protect daughter, for father to protect mother, for father to protect children in general, but I mean, especially his girls, you know. And I didn't realize how I was challenging that very notion at that time. by going out and willingly putting myself at risk where he didn't really have any say. And, you know, it's every parent's protective, whether boy, girl, but you know how it is, like mom to son, dad to daughter, there's something different there, you know, as opposed and you're more protective. My stepdaughter basically is my daughter, and she started doing

Muay Thai, and now they're doing the sparring and these little tournament things. And I've been on the phone with her like listen you know you need to be careful and it's very controlled you pads everything like it's not anything near to the level of a fighter but i don't like it either you know and so i totally get it did that have any effect on you mentally like were you did it bug you or bother you in any way or affect your performance i think it made me want to prove myself even more if I'm being totally honest, I think I felt my dad's absence in all of that so heavily that I look back and realize I was sort of trying to become what I was missing. So I think although I do not consider my dad to be a weak man, not by any sense of the mean. My dad's former military, he was a Green Beret, pretty militant man, really a man's man, you know.

He hunts, he fishes, like man's man. But at the time, he was working for a moving company. So he was on the road a lot. And I didn't really see him a lot. And as I became a teenager, our relationship really became strained because we were from such different worlds. and I feel like I had grown up so much without him that I sort of took on the wanting to be the strong person for my mother, I guess. I almost like that older, the older son, oldest son, like when dad's gone, who's the man of

the house? I think that I kind of adopted that responsibility unknowing. And I wanted to be strong and fearless and confident and. in and provide in some way, although I didn't have a way to provide monetarily, but to protect my mom in ways, you know, my parents, you know, they're still together, which is, you know, it's incredible to be, for anybody to be together that long, but, you know, they went through really rough patches. Like, I think any relationship that makes it to the end, you know, can always look back and say, like, man, there was times I didn't think we were going to make it. There were times I didn't

think my parents were going to be able to pull through. And they did. But in those hard times I saw my mom hurt a lot. I saw her suffer a lot. And I know that my dad did too, but men just deal with it so differently that my dad dealt with it by leaving the house, you know, by doing or not talking about it, just suppression. And my mother, I was kind of her confidant, you know, so I was kind of that friend and I was kind of that person she would come and talk to and pour her heart and soul out. And so we were really close. And I think that's what happens, you know, when you don't feel connected to a strong male source in home, then there's a chance, you know, that if, I guess if you're someone like me, you might take on some of that responsibility in your own way.

And so I think that's why I kind of lean towards those maleish characteristics or attributes, if you will. Yes, yes. And everybody handles, you know, different kinds of negative things in their life differently. And some people crumble and some people like use it. And I think that it says a lot about somebody when they're willing to take that head on and then use it to do something positive with it or to help elevate what they do. So and, you know, that's what it takes to be a pro and to be super, successful. And no matter what you do, you're going to go through things. And that's what kind of shapes you to become what you are. And so it sounds to me like you tackled everything head on up to

that point. And I'm sure you do now just to where we've talked. And to do that at a young age, I mean, you just don't see that very often at all. So. Well, I think I give a lot of credit to my mom. You know, she raised me to be an independent thinker to use my brain, to use my body to not segregate myself to know how capable I am. I remember being a little girl and telling people I want to be an astronaut. And most of the time their reaction was maybe you'd get all that's nice. But a lot of times like, do you know, I'm just like, you know, I was an 80s baby. So it was like, I did not. There was no like coddling. There was no, you know, let me be sensitive to your feelings. It was just like, I'm going to tell you that that's not realistic. And it's

especially for a girl, like, I don't know if there had even been a female astronaut in space yet at that point. So my mother's reaction, though, regardless of what I would tell her, but we'd be like, mom, I want to be an astronaut someday and she, without hesitation, you will. You will. Like, if that's what you want, you will. And although I didn't become an astronaut, I still feel like I became a success. And it was because my mother instilled the confidence in me. She believed in me. So therefore, I knew that I could.

Whatever it was, I could. I know that everybody has differing opinions on this and that's fine. I was an 80s baby too. I'm just a scosh older than you. And I feel like things have changed so much more where it's just like kind of tell everybody what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Oh, it's going to be okay. Oh, you did this, this. And telling people things like that, they don't help at all. And I will get into that later. I just, because you brought it up now, it's something I want to talk to you about

later, but I feel like, and once again, everybody reacts differently to certain parenting styles and types. And there's no handbook on parenting, but that was so effective. And I used to think, man, because my mom was an English teacher and she was just brutal. Just even now, if I say something, if I don't put a comma in my text, I get shit, you know, and it's like, but it's good because then I remember and it keeps you even keeled and headed. And so I think it says a lot when there's parenting like that going on. It's not over the top, but very controlled.

And it's just, you can see it. And when I talk to you, and that's, I think that's one of the reasons. you're very well spoken, polite, you know, but have a strong belief system. And I can see that right away and I love that. And I feel like, you tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel like that that is probably the backbone of your success the entire way through. Yeah, absolutely. My mom was really hard on me a lot of times too.

Like she was the truth holder, you know. But then I knew what she said. meant, you know, I knew that there wasn't the sugar coating. Now, she was wrong about me liking wrestling, but she let me know, like, I don't think you're going to like it. And yeah, I'm not buying you wrestling shoes until I know you're not, you're going to do it for sure. It was the first few weeks of, you know, just wrestling barefoot, basically. But yeah, you know, it was, you know, And I didn't grow up wealthy. My not,

not even, I would say close to that. It probably wasn't until closer to high school when my parents were becoming more financially secure. So, you know, it was really rough in the beginning. It was,

it was tough. You know, actually my, who I referred to as my dad, his name's Rob, he raised me since I was like two and a half. But actually, biologically,

um, he's not, my father by blood. So the first two and a half, three years of my life, I was raised by my mother only. And we were so poor. We were so, so poor. And we lived, we had a house that,

but it was given to us by my mom's mom, my grandmother. That's the easier way to say it, isn't it? My grandmother. And, but it was not in great condition, like the roof needed repair like it needed to the roof needed to be redone um and i remember that at points like our power being turned off in the middle of the winter and us only really being able to heat one room in the back i ate cereal every single day breakfast lunch and dinner

and um it was so cold in our house that even the toilets at times were frozen over So, you know, those formative years, but my mother's always been the kind of person that would go without to make sure that I had, you know, what I needed. There were times when school would be starting and my mother's shoes would be like falling off of her feet. And yet she would make sure that I had new shoes to go to school with. even though my shoes were so fine her shoes she really needed to you but she would make sure that i went to school with new shoes so she always sacrificed so much to make sure and you know i'll never forget that and i think because of those moments i always felt like in debt to my mom so whenever i saw my mom go through something hard or difficult or challenging i wanted to save her from it

And when you have a lack of male presence in your life and in whatever way that you interpret that, whether it's because, you know, some dads are in prison. Some dads are, you know, removed from the home. And that way, some dads are removed in the home because they're emotionally unavailable. Some dads are removed from the home because they're working so much. And by the time they get home, there's barely any time to spend together, much less, you know, my dad didn't have great coping skills. He didn't have the best upbringing either. So when he would come home, it would be like kind of turn the TV on. I need to decompress.

I'm exhausted. He didn't really have a lot of time and energy to invest in understanding this young woman that was growing up in his house. You know, he'd never raised a girl before, much less other children. So, you know, I think I felt a big disconnect there for a while. And that became sort of my backbone, if you will. I kind of took that and said, whatever you don't provide me, I will find in myself. I love that.

And it wasn't a conscious thought, but it is how I look back on it and recognize the reason I became a fighter is because it is one of the strongest, most difficult and masculine things that you can do. Awesome. I love that so much. So as you got out of high school and started moving towards fighting, when did you realize, when did it hit you like, not that you could do it, but like, I can do this. I can really make this into something, I'm going to be a fighter. When did that hit you, that this is what I'm going to do? I think the moment that I was born as a fighter would be in round two of my very first fight. So remember when I was telling you that I had no interest in fighting anybody and then I got talked into trying this MMA club sport, and I use air quotes.

It was just a little class that was taught by students going to Central Washington University. I learned how to choke people and I still was not interested in doing any striking. I got invited to a local fight card in Yakima, Washington, and I watched the fights and I was just absolutely floored. I was taken back. I had never seen anything like it in my life. It was amateur fights, so mind you, amateur fights are highly entertaining and they pour their whole heart and soul out there.

So I remember having this feeling of being drawn to it like a moth to a flame and thinking, and thinking, God, if they can do it, I can do it. You know, I've been through this in wrestling. Like, there were no female fighters on the card, by the way. But I was so inspired by the males. And so this little flame had kind of been lit. And then they made an announcement that if there were any females in the audience, there would be a fight card in three weeks that was for only females.

And I was like, no way. They're females through this. Okay, I'm going to make my way down. And I signed up right there. And then three weeks later, I had my first fight. and I ended up fighting this gal named Liz Posner, who owned a Muay kickboxing gym with her husband, I think in BC, I think in Vancouver, British Columbia.

So we were fighting round one. I take her down. She stands super tall and legs were available. And I was like, oh, my God, that was so easy. And I was just taken back because I was used to wrestling these monster men. And I think I was, I forgot to even throw a punch on the ground because I was so new. I literally never punched anybody.

And round two came out. She caught me in a moitai clinch, which if you don't know what it is, and you kind of just take your hands, put him on, as you're facing somebody on the back of their head, you clasp your hands together. And then you bring your forearms in front of the collarbone. So you kind of have this tie around here on some of the same. head and I did not know what this was. I couldn't have named it if you would have asked me and I surely didn't know how to get out of it. So she begins firing knees right through the center and one of

them hits my nose, smashes it. Clean on. Another one's coming down the pipe. And at this point, I am just trying so hard to get through this so that I can take her down. So I'm driving in as hard as I can to worry up against the ropes because this is not in even a cage. It's in a boxing ring, which makes it, you know, harder to wrestle. But anyways, I take, I finally, you know, I slide down kind of towards her ankles. I think I'm kind of ankle diving at this point, which I'm actually grateful for because at least I'm out of the line of knees. And she kind of spins around and she gets on my back and I'm on my elbows and my knees. And she's trying to get this choke in.

And this is a very vivid moment for me still. It was a very defining moment for me because my nose was broken so badly that I was pouring blood, not dripping. I'm talking streamlining blood to the mat. And this pool of blood is getting bigger right in front of my eyes. I'm watching this puddle of blood grow. And, you know, she's actively trying to finish the fight. So she's hitting me in the ears. She's trying to choke me out.

And I remember the only time in my career I've ever lost my temper was in that moment. And usually it doesn't serve you well. But fortunately for me in this moment, that was when the fighter was born. Right. I was like, I am here to get revenge. And I started rodeo kind of bucking her and I kind of hulu hooped her down in front of me. So now she's in the guard position. I stood up on my tiptoes and I was just raining down punches with everything that I had.

and there was tons of blood everywhere. And round two ended. And I went back to my corner and my coaches were silent. They didn't know what to say. There was no reaction. They were just like, what in the hell are we supposed to do with this? Like don't know what to do. And I think they kind of panicked and they just threw in the towel.

They didn't, they didn't like talk to me about it. It was just like, yeah, you're done. Like they didn't have, I think they didn't have the heart to send me back out for round three. And I think that was because I was a female. And again, not bad guys, but I think that the innate protective instinct kicked in. They kind of maybe looked at me like little sis and it was their job to save me. And that was the only thing that they could do that couldn't go in and fight the fight for me. So they took me out of it.

And it was such a bummer because I remember seeing her face. and her relief dropped to her knees. Like the sigh of relief was permeable in the whole freaking stadium. And I was just like, ugh, I was so frustrated because I really wanted to, I figured out what I was there to do. And it sounds funny to enter a fight and not know what you're there to do. But honestly, I don't think I had figured that out yet in round one. It wasn't until I had sustained serious damage and then gotten through it that I finally realized what a fight was like and how to channel the inner fighter.

So that was really the birthing place of my fight career. Well, I don't care who you are. Everybody has a moment where everything just clicks. You might be good at something or do something, but there's a moment for everybody where things just click. And so that's why I was super curious as to what yours worth. And now I see that's awesome. That's an amazing story.

that you drew i'm sure that anybody watching that's going to be like you know drawn in so from there what happens next for you like do you think okay i want to do this do you keep going to like these because i and i and i want to ask you this too and i never told you this when we were talking because we got into so many things so i my roommate um and we i think it was like two thousand three or four was a fighter. And so I went to so many local fights, you know, and they're the best to go watch and see. It's totally different. And it's so, like, hardcore in there and everything. So I've been around fighters. I started watching UFC. My dad brought it home because I was watching WWF my whole childhood in high school. And then UFC came out. So it was like hoist, Gracie, Ken Shamrock,

you know, that, I mean, I watched UFC one with my dad. And so I got into it. And I started watching pride fights. And so I watched it evolve. But, you know, when you're talking, like, when you got out of high school and everything, fighting was really getting like, okay, now it's getting popular and everything. So what was next for you after that? Because that was a time where it was just going crazy. Yeah.

So the next progression, ironically enough, was me first dealing with the aftermath of not only losing a fight but sustaining really bad damage. You can remember I was a broke college kid. This was insanity to everyone that was around me. Why would you be going to college and do something like this for absolutely no money? Damage your face, grisk your brain cells. It made no sense to anybody but me. Didn't even make sense to my mom. My mom highly discouraged it. She didn't like the fact that I was doing it. And I think everybody had this idea that, well, thank God she learned her lesson. Thank God it wasn't worse. Now she realizes this is a bad idea and we can be done with it. And that was the last thing that I was thinking. I was thinking, I just didn't prepare right.

I didn't know anything about fighting. I watched some fights. I dove right in three weeks of training. and I didn't I there were things I didn't know it's not that I couldn't have won that fight I just didn't prepare for it and anything you want to do well you have to prepare for so I remember I had my face looked like something like a raccoon lion hybrid so I had two giant black eyes and my nose was wide and flat and I was extremely swollen and yeah I really didn't have a leg to stand on or argue with people looking like in that condition but I know what I was thinking I was thinking I'm going to go back and I'm going to start training and I'm going to do this better and at that time that didn't mean that I was thinking I was going to have a career in this at all I thought

one step at a time I just want to do better than that I just want to like win a fight and I want to I want to prepare for it correctly, be challenged and and see what I actually can do with proper preparation. So that's what I did. But then another fight turned into another fight turned into another fight and pretty soon I had won six amateur fights and I was getting a call to to turn pro. And I think that the second moment that I knew that this was going to be something more serious was when I got a call. from strike force to come down to San Jose where they were based out of and fight Elena Maxwell. Her nickname was Beef. Elena Beef Maxwell. But it was, so I fight at 135 pounds, Bantamweight. She fought at 145 pounds. So the call was to fight her upper weight class.

And she's a two-time K-1 kickboxing world champion. I'm just, you know, some wrestler out of Washington who's a bit smaller, that probably should be easy pickings for the hometown girl, right? So I go down there and I win this fight. Wow. And they then offered me a multi-fight contract. And that was the turning point of my career

when I said, oh, my gosh, I'm actually guaranteed three fights a year. And if I keep winning, I make more money. And mind you, when I say more, this was like pennies on the dollar. I think that my fight with Elena Maxwell was like $1,500 to show and $1,500 to win. So, but when you're not making any money, that was a good chunk of money, you know, and I was already in a passion pursuit. At that point, I had given up the luxuries of life.

I was, I didn't have an apartment. I went in on a 22-foot RV with two other fighters. And we bought this, put it on Dennis Hallman's property and lived there for a year and a half, two years. So really had sacrificed everything just to be able to train. So at Dennis Hallman's, he had basically a glorified gym with padded walls. And it was called Victory Athletics. So every day there was pro practice and we would train and we would spar and we would fight and we would learn. and when I got that contract that said,

hey, you'll be able to fight guaranteed three times a year. I said, man, like, this is the dream. Like, I didn't know what I was working for exactly because there wasn't a clear path for women. Remember women were not fighting in the UFC. Strike Force was a huge deal because it was actually televised. It was the Challenger series. I'm trying to remember what it was on.

It was HDNet at first, and then I think it moved up to a little bit more of a visible channel. Then Gina Carrano shortly after that ended up fighting Cyborg, which was the biggest selling event in Stryforce history at that book. So it out did all of the fighters previously, which were all male, and they'd open the door. I said, wow, like this is the direction I want to go. And, you know, Gina really inspired me. She really was somebody who carried herself with a lot of cuth and a little. a lot of likeability.

She always seemed a very real, honest, genuine person. Hell of a fighter. She had so much spirit. And so she opened the door for the rest of us. And I was right there. Like as soon as I got my contract, I was like, that's what I want to do.

That's who I want to be like. That's what I'm aspiring to. And then it wasn't long after that. Of course, Dana White started getting the question. When are women going to be in the UFC? Never. You know, he's like, I'll never let women. in the UFC. But it was my fight with Rhonda that actually changed his mind. So, you know,

back to that thought that I had some years before that, it ended up coming true. And I really feel like I manifested that. I didn't know Dana was going to be watching that fight, but I just poured my heart and soul into it. And granted, I didn't come away with the win. It was a win for women in the sport of MMA. Even though it was a loss on my shoulders, I still, was able to deliver in a powerful way and had this rivalry with Rhonda and give her a good run for her money where, you know, to show that there was competitiveness, there was skill, there was heart, there was determination, there was everything that she would want out of a fight. Even me refusing to tap and letting my arm just completely be annihilated, dislocated. I just refused. She got me in an arm bar

and she snapped it and I wouldn't tap. So, you know, people were like, oh my God. Like, how is she so tough? Like, how are women so tough? Like, that no idea that we had this in us, I think. And so it was pretty big news at the time. And when Dana saw it, I don't know, like, I think it was within a week, he called me, gave me a big bonus and said,

women are coming to the UFC and I said, holy shit, because he wasn't my boss at that time. Right. It wasn't, and there was some rumors about strike force being absorbed by the UFC. We didn't know what that meant for fighters and especially for females because all we had ever heard at that

point was women will never fight in the UFC. So we were like, dang, we're a pretty SOL. And I did know that before going into the fight with Rhonda that the future of us may be dependent on that. But I didn't know if Dana would care. Like, I don't know. I didn't know if he would be watching. But I thought, well,

here's the chance. You know, here's, here's the opportunity to prove everything I've been saying. And I know that it can be done because I've done it before. I'm learning that lesson as a 15-year-old girl moving through high school that anybody's perception can be changed. Just need an opportunity. So there it was. And I took it. Then a loss, I walked away with so much more victory in the victory mindset, then I think I could have even I had won the fight. Like honestly, looking back on it now, I was so much more from those losses. They elevated me in every single way, and especially when it comes to being humble and understanding how hard it is to lose shit that matters to you.

I worked so hard for that. I put every, all my eggs in one basket and it felt like my life was ruined. So I empathize with people. who maybe have gone through bankruptcy or who have, you know, gone to jail or lost their job or this or that's like, and I just know what feeling like hitting rock bottom is, no matter how hard you've been working for something. I know what, and, you know, just to lose it life in those moments that really matter and they feel like it's, it's the end all be all. And then to be able to still move through that and find some light at the end of the tunnel, you know, And that wasn't the only big pick up a roadblock, but it was one of the ones that shaped me in such a big way that I will always be grateful and carry that sense of gratitude for the opportunity to be shaped in that moment.

You know, that was top to bottom, very inspiring. what I want to point out to people from everything that you just said, because you said it twice, and I really want to make this something that people listen to. So I'm going to bring it up again when you said that you lost, but you won. Because in everything that we do, when you take an L on the surface, if you have the right attitude and you learn from that and use that to figure out a way that you actually won and then let that. fuel you to move forward, that's when you start actually making progress. If you just keep win, win, win, win, win, you never really win in totality because you never learn how to really grow from that. And when you have the attitude after something bad happens and you let you let you grow

and you never actually lose, that's how you not only help yourself but inspire others. And what you just said, I've had the whole world in my hands in my 20s. And when I tell you I lost everything, I lost everything, freedom, everything. And I had to start from scratch, like pure scratch. So I know what you're talking about. And when I can put a message out and somebody like you where it will resonate with everybody, I want to spotlight that in a major way. So thank you not just for me, but for everybody and allowing me to, you,

to help put out your message to try to inspire people that no matter what happens, there's always a way to use that and to learn from it. And there's a reason why those things happen. So I thank you for giving that story and putting that verbiage in there because it's a huge, huge deal, what you said. Thank you. No, I appreciate you highlighting that. And I think I kind of just, I glossed over it and really didn't realize that that is such a driving point. That is such an impactful part. And that's not to say that when you lose things that matter to you, that you just wake up the next day, happy as ever. No, I was crushed. I was devastated.

It felt like my whole life had been ruined. And I know that that's like, oh, how can that be? It was just a fight. It was just, but it was everything to me because it was such an uphill battle to get there. And then I had this huge rivalry and I felt like I was meant to win that fight. but now I realize I wasn't and I had to be okay with that because I gained so much more about life experience and life knowledge and empathy empathy is such a powerful tool to have and to be able to lean on to be able to be empathetic towards other people and understand what it feels

like to just take hard losses um and I grieved I mourned I was sad I cried and cried and I was so frustrated because I had lost my world title and I thought that maybe I had lost every opportunity to really become something and go to the UFC and I just didn't know and I remember that week was really really tough I felt you know you feel like you let down a lot of people around you too because people start to invest in you they start to to care you know your trainers your training partners your gym your mom your dad they're flying there they're coming to support you. And when you lose,

sometimes that's the hardest thing to face, not just the loss, but the feeling of losing for everybody else. It's just manifests and it becomes so heavy and suffocating. And so in that moment, I was so broken. I was sad. I cried.

But I got through it. And I guess I do want to drive that point home to that it doesn't mean that the process is easy. It doesn't mean it feels good to lose things. It doesn't mean that it's going to feel like it's good or right or going to be good in the end. It doesn't. It feels like shit. And you're going to feel like shit. And you're going to feel terrible and you're going to feel like nothing will ever be right again.

And you're going to feel like it's hopeless and you can maybe even question whether you can get through it or you still belong here or your worth or your value. You do. and it will. So you just have to have faith. Faith is believing in something without having proof. Yep. Thank you. You have to have faith that you will come out better for it on the other side. And sometimes that's all that you have because you don't have proof.

You don't know for sure. But it starts with making that decision. Whether you're going to have faith, whether you're going to choose yourself, whether you're going to believe in yourself. And I think back to my mom's voice every time you can. Like you will. You can and you will. And that's really something she instilled in me young.

And I think I've always carried that thought, even in my darkest moments, even in the most challenging moments when I questioned my worth. I questioned my validity. I questioned my value. I questioned my reason for. for life, I questioned all of it. And at points, I really thought that maybe my life wasn't worth living anymore. I had really tied my identity to my value as a fighter. And when I lost, it really felt like I was nothing but a loser. I had nothing to contribute. And I realized now it was short-sighted, but I had to get through those losses and move through that. But each one was just

like this devastating blow that I didn't know exactly how to move through. And just remembering that, you can and you will. I love it. And you know, everybody likes a comeback story. And anybody can win well, but not everybody can handle a loss well. And I've seen a lot of people, you know, in team sports or in singles, you know, types of sports, boxing, fighting, they'll be undefeated, undefeated, one loss will break them in half. And others will use that and they will remember it and learn about it, you know, what they can take from it and move forward. I always say that the best teachers oftentimes have made the most mistakes because they learn from it. And that's the key is using that. And then also remembering that like if you're in your position or

somebody that's, you know, revered, watched, you're also inspiring. others. And so taking that secondarily on, it should also fuel you because you should think, even if you inspire one person, it's a big win, you know, because people need that. And so people that are in more of a spotlight or in front of people should remember that. And I don't think sometimes any of us know the types of effects that we have on people. So I love everything that you're saying. Now, when you, what was it like for? for you when you won the title. I know what you went through losing it and how it affected you. What was it like when you won the title? And then after you lost it and went to UFC, was it in

your head like, I'm getting that title back? Like, I'm going to do whatever I got to do to get that title back. Was that your mindset? Yes. It really was. And again, I was still so consumed by my worth was, you know, tied to a single outcome. And I think this is a common, mentality for athletes, but I think this also extends to fathers, mothers, you know, whatever. Like, you know, I think, I think men, because I was talked to enough men. And I, I want to praise men for a second here because I think that it's so difficult this day and age, maybe more difficult than many years prior to be a man, like to be masculine, because masculinity gets a bad rap. It, it's, you know, masculinity.

It can be used for good. It can be used for bad. If you have a masculine, confident, strong, capable man and he steals your purse because of it, well, then yeah, it's bad. But if he stops someone stealing your purse, then it's great. So masculinity is not inherently a bad characteristic. It depends how it's used. And I just think that men have had to go through a lack of support as of recent. And even if there is support, it's a lot of times the wrong way.

you know, I don't think men want to be pitied. I don't think that men want, you know, their wives or women to come to them. I'm like, do you want to talk about your feelings? Like, that's not exactly how it works. Like, they want you to pump them up to where like they run, they'll run through a wall for you because that's like, that is what like men are the backbone of our society. And I just, I fucking love masculinity. I love a strong man. And I love it when they're also in touch with their feelings, but I realize that men and women are just different in that aspect. And so, um, you know, I try to learn that and I try to respect it and move through it. But, you know, for me, it's, um, it's, it's been a learning curve for all of it. Even when I've tapped

into my masculine, masculine side and my feminine side and I kind of lost side of parts of me or my feminine or I try to drive it out so that I could be strong for my fights and compartmentalize. And then, um, it just led me to like not understanding a lot of, you know, of it. And I guess in, you know, again, moving through that, your question was like, you know, getting the title. So I got the title of Strike Force against Marlos Kuhna and I lost it to Ronda. But I got that call from Dana about a week, two weeks later, you know, got some money in my pocket and was like, hey, we're going to have a job in the UFC. Phew, okay. So I'll be all right. I'll get through this. You know, get in the UFC.

You know, I work my way back. I coach on the ultimate fighter against Ronda Rouse. I'm tough 18 and I fight her for a second time. She's the champ in the UFC right now and God, I want so badly to get this one back. And not just because of the redemption part of like, oh, you know, this person I lost to. Like there are people that I have lost to before that I didn't care to win as much as I did against Rhonda.

You know, part of it was the rivalry. But part of it too is because she was so like me. to people that couldn't fight back. It was one of my biggest points of contention with her. On the ultimate fighter, she just treated people bad, people that she knew that she could treat that way, producers, editors, interview, you know, the people working behind the scenes, and I always hated it. So I wanted to win for those people, and I lost again. I never beat Rhonda, right? I fought her two times, and I lost both times. And that was compounding difficulty to move through that.

but then um you know i fought i think it was five or six more fights after her i won all of them i became the number one contender again and it was supposed to be this rematch again with ronda but they ended up giving it to holly home even after they had promised to me they gave it to holly home but i remember being so upset about it and then holly home kicked ronda's head into like outer space knocked her out was like the head kick heard around the world right and I was like, okay, well, now I want to fight Holly, you know? So then I got the opportunity to fight Holly and it all came around. I ended up winning my world title there in force and excuse me, in the UFC moving past

straight force. I won my world title in the UFC and it all made sense because I mean, the first time I lost Toronto, the second time I lost Toronto, it was, it didn't seem to make sense. And it all came back around and it made sense. And it was just, I had to have that mindset of I can and I will. I will get through this and I will find success in this. I remember, because I mean, we watched everything, every pay-per-view always had them. And I remember when she lost, it was like when I was a kid because at that time,

it just didn't seem like she was ever going to lose. And I remember wanting you to beat her so bad back then. And somebody to beat her. And it was like the Mike Tyson Buster Douglas fight. when I was a kid where it was like he just, it was at the point where it's like, shit, nobody's going to beat her. And then when she just got the shit beat out of her in that fight, because she did, I was like, wow.

So then when you got that opportunity to fight Holly, I didn't know what was going to happen, you know, and so it was, it was, because I watched it. I still remember watching it. It was awesome. What did that feel like when you won that title? And so I'm a big guy on when you reach, a goal. It should only make you hungry for more. Of course, celebrate it, cheer it, but where do you go from there as a champion? What drives you after that to work harder, to hold that? Anybody can

win anything, but consistency, it's kind of like what I struggle with clients with diet. You can lose weight and meet your goal, but then it's the consistency is the hard part. So where did you go from there? What made you go, okay, now I've got to defend this and hold on to this as long as I can. Yeah. Well, of course, it felt amazing. I was every, in that moment, it was, I was so emotional because I had been working what felt like, you know, forever. It just, it felt like my whole life's worth of work that night finally came together and then it all made sense. And, and everything, you know, in that moment was great. But if I'm being completely honest with you, I was still a very broken person. the inside. And I had pushed a lot of things away. I had not dealt with a lot of things that were in my life that were holding me down, bringing me down, whether it was past traumas or things I was currently going through that had become skeletons in the closet that was like adding another brick every day to the load that I was carrying. And eventually one of the bricks

just flattened me. So I think the craziest part about winning the world title was that for a few weeks, I was on top of the world. Like nothing could bring me down. And then after that, I realized it fixed absolutely nothing. Nothing.

It fixed nothing. It was a Band-Aid that looked great and was probably decorated and cute and looked wonderful, but underneath, the wound was nowhere near healed. And it wasn't until I fought two more times. I lost both of those fights after that. And I walked away from the sport of MMA. I retired.

I left a extremely toxic relationship that I had been in for nine years. And I had allowed myself to become isolated from family, from friends. And I had told myself that the more difficult it is, the better I'll be. the better all do. You know, it was in spite of. I convinced myself that I needed this adversity to be a great fighter because I had always had it. So I thought that it was necessary.

And it wasn't until I really went on a sort of spiritual healing journey to fix the relationships that I didn't have anymore, rekindle the things that are important to me and reconnect with God. You know, that was a big part for me. I was always a believer, but I didn't really have a deep connection. And I think in that moment when I lost that second fight and, you know, my world was spinning out of control, I didn't know which way was up, which way was down. I'd always describe it like being in this really dark room.

It's pitch black. And there is just a pinhole of light. And this is like the moments when you're considering whether your life is still worth living, contemplating, taking my own life. And there's a pinhole of light. And I can either stay until the room's completely dark and I'm gone or I can run to that light. And so I ran to the light even though I didn't know where it was going to take me. And that's symbolic of, you know, of starting the healing journey, the healing trajectory, dealing with the things that I had not dealt with, getting rid of the things in my life that weren't serving me or moving me in the right

direction, realizing that I'm not just me should take the fighter, finding who I am beyond that. And really is, you know, soul searching. And, you know, I'm not somebody who, you know, pushes religion on people. I think that your relationship with, with God or Jesus doesn't need to happen in a church. Like, the people are the church. You don't have to go to church. You know, but I do say, if anybody's, like, still listening to the message here, not trying to push anything on you. I don't have anything to gain from this. But if you feel like you're missing something in life, I believe that there's power in a relationship with God.

And I will just leave it there. You know, I feel like there is freedom in that. And it set me free in a way because just like the song, Jesus take the wheel, I can kind of like, hey, it's all good. Like when one door closes in my face, I know, like, I'm so good. Like, I know who I am at the end of the day. I'm a God-fearing woman. Like, that's who I am.

And you could take everything else away from me in life, but you can never take that away. And so to have something that is so constant. And I mean, you could take my house away. You could take my title away. Someday I won't be a fighter anymore. Right? Someday I'll be retired and, like, I won't be able to say, oh, I am a fighter. I'll say I was a fighter, right?

God forbid, I could lose my, I could lose my husband, I could lose my children. I could lose, the title mother could be taken for me. I hate to even think about that. But I'm talking about like those, we really have to look at the things we take for granted. People lose their children and they're no longer fathers and mothers, right? People lose their significant others. They're no longer husbands and wives. People lose their homes.

You know, look at the natural disasters that happen in North Carolina. I mean, and Ashford, that these homes are, they're not even. they're gone they're not even i mean these people are losing loved ones lives homes livestock lifestyle everything those things can be taken away right now 10 seconds from now is not guaranteed we think it's going to come 10 seconds from now is going to come but it's not guaranteed all those things can be taken but the thing that can never be taken from me is my faith in god and so that gives me the security to know that whatever there is to face he's got my back.

I will, I can and I will. And I will do it from a place that's so much more secure now. Like, I'm not reactive to people anymore. Like, people, you can't hurt my feelings.

Go ahead. Try, Dylan. Call my kids ugly. You ain't going to hurt my feelings. You know what I mean? I'm like, well,

I think my kids are great. That's fine. You know, maybe you think my kids aren't the cutest thing in the world. But I do. Like, I have my peace because of my foundation with God. And,

yeah, peace is everything. It's the thing that can't be taken from you. So with all that being said, I try never to take any of those things for granted, but it's much easier said when I know that I'm secure and I know exactly who I am. And I know that no matter which direction life takes me, I'll be fine. I'll figure it out. If the house metaphorical home burns down, I have the tools to build it again.

Like I have to stay calm, go find some wood, go find some nails and build my house again. You know, like that metaphorical home in life will be torn down many, many, many times. But every time you have the balls and gumption to build it again, you'll build it back better than it was before. Right. Each time you reinvent that you build that house, it will be better and nicer. You'll be like, actually, I didn't really like the kitchen, the way the kitchen was anyways. I'm going to build it better. I know what I want in this new home, you know?

So that's just how I look at life. Every time the wrecking ball comes in and wipes everything out from underneath me, it's like, okay, there's an opportunity to build it back better than it was before. Like, I'm good. I'm going to share something with you then since we got all into that direction because this is also something you and I didn't get to talk about. So, and that's why you saw me smiling the entire time you start talking about this. I've been in raised Catholic my whole life and I've always prayed and, you know, but not to the point of where you could say it's a proper relationship with God.

You think it is. Right. Until you realize it's not. And I'll tell you just briefly, because this is not about me. This is me sharing this with you. You know, for so long, things kept getting better for me, and I accumulate more things. I've got a beautiful wife. I've got us finally into a beautiful home after all the struggles.

I've got sweet car. And all of this stuff, people. complimenting that I never had before. Most of the time I was having people just hit piece me online. And finally, you know, I've got all this going on and I just would go to bed at night and just, I'm just not happy. Why? What, what is missing?

You know, I'd lay down. I'd have anxiety. I wouldn't ever go to bed happy. And it doesn't make sense when I figured out and I started to put God first every night, every morning, first thing I do, thank you. first thing I do when I wake up, I spend an hour either in the Bible or reading books. You'll see if you ever see, like I'll put something in my morning every day to try to help people, give them a word, something small because, hey, like you said, I'm not going to push this on you either,

but I'm certainly going to show you. And I think that the more people that show, it might just catch on with somebody, who knows. And like once again, if you get one person that you're helping, because that's in the Bible, that's what you're supposed to attempt to do. And, you know, he says if you go into a town and they don't like it, shake the dust off and move on. But at least try. And I think that if we try and get people back on that or at least understanding because there's these preconceived things that people misinterpret, they read, they don't understand metaphor. They read things literally and don't like I have Bibles here that break down.

I will read a section and I will go down and then get the actual translation of what it means. highlight it, go back to it. I have them all tabbed out everything. And I think that if we get more people to just not push it, you don't push things on people, but at least give some sort of indication on what they're missing, when that clicks and you find that, everything, everything opens up and changes. You stop being a slave to things or opinions or all of this bullshit that you can't take with you when you go. The only thing you can really take with you is your relationship. relationship with God. And once you figure that out, of course I want nice shit. Who doesn't? Who doesn't want comfort? But it doesn't mean anything if you don't have that first. It just

doesn't mean anything. It's worthless. And you understand that when you don't feel it, you know? Yeah. And you said it so well, and I'm glad that you shared that because I think people live in a world where it's so propagandized. I say that's a long word. where, you know, things matter. Like, oh, what do you work you for? So you can have a nicer home. So you can have a nicer car. So you can have this.

You can have that. Why? It's like, well, so they can have more of your money. It's like, wait. So you basic, I mean, and I'm not trying to put anybody down. Of course, you know, I want to, you know, be able to have a home and you have a car and these things or whatever. But all I'm saying, though, is like, you have to put that on a balancing scale and

realize that that shit doesn't. really mean very much. I don't wear name brand clothes anymore, like unless it's like a gift or anything like that. Like I don't buy the shit because I'm like, it's just clothes. Like I don't care. Like I know that, you know, people who are celebrity status are supposed to do that. Well, they do that so that they can make people think that they're better than you. But they're not better than you. They're just people. Like they put their pants on in the morning one leg at a time just like we do like gravity applies the same to them like it is all the same nobody's cooler than anybody and that's also one of the things that's cool by having a relationship

with god is just a great equalizer i don't care black white Asian gay married divorced like sinner this like we all like we're all children of god we all make sense we all fuck up so who am i to judge like you've been through some shit i've been through some shit cool like what can we learn from each other. I'm here to help you. You're here to help me. Awesome. We're like there's no, there's nothing that makes you better than me. There's nothing that makes me better than you. And it has nothing to do with the amount of shit we can buy or the nicest things that we can drive. That just is what tells me that, you know, it's like, well, you, you know, you bought into like what other people think is important. And again, I'm not poo-and-pooing anybody for

having a nice home or having a nice car or anything. Those things are nice. But it doesn't mean anything in comparison, in my humble opinion, of having your peace and your freedom, that is priceless. There's no amount of money in the world that can give you that, can give you a good night of sleep. It doesn't happen. And I see a lot of, you know, athlete, celebrities, these people, and my heart breaks when I see them commit suicide, when I see them take their lives. Because I have at least a small understanding of what it's like to taste that life of, that life of having everything and still feeling like why am I still sad? Like I just made a million dollars on on this fight with,

you know, with, always with Amanda technically, you know. And I made that and I've got this beautiful belt and, you know, this and that, like I've got a house like, shouldn't I be happy? Like, wait, that's what every, my, like my whole life, that's what, you know, TV's telling me. That's what the messaging is like, you want all these things because these things are great. No, they're temporary dopamine hits and they don't mean shit at the end of the day. Because if you don't know who you are, if you don't have your peace, if you don't have your freedom,

you will not be happy. Plenty of billionaires out there who are not happy. They have all the money in the world, not a care in the world. Otherwise, can pay for whatever they want. They don't have their peace. They haven't figured it out yet. So I think it's great if you can have both. Yeah.

nice things and have your peace and your freedom. But I think it's hard to do if you don't have, you know, that kind of faith foundation that I think it's difficult to do. I don't know if it's possible. I find that most people I think who are the happiest have a genuine authentic relationship with God. But either way, you know, like if you're missing something, like, what do you have to lose? I'm not saying go to church.

I'm not saying start tithing. I'm not talking about that. I'm just talking about like say prayer. See how it feels. See how it sits with you. See if you can give some faith to, you know, divine intervention and take some pressure off yourself. That's all. That's, it's, it couldn't be more true.

You know, I started to even, and I'll tell you, you know, getting, because I was thoroughly upset when I had to tell you, oh, I can't record this week. I got COVID right when I got home from the biggest weekend in my life. You know, I've been working the past 15 years and finally got recognized on a certain scale for the work I've been doing. And then I meet people like you. And I cut this going on and I have to cancel, cancel, cancel. And I'm going, why?

You know, but instead, this time, because I've been praying for more trust because I keep when something's great, it's great. But when something's bad, I don't get mad at God, but I start to do this. like, woe is me type of deal. Oh, you mean you start to become human, right? Right. Like, we all do this. We all do this.

Totally normal. Yes, but this time, I said, you know what, for once. It's not about me. Every single gift I've got was given to me for a reason. It can be taken away just as quickly as it was given, right? But why? Why? And you know what?

I figured it out this morning. Because this whole week, instead of me pouting, bitching, whining, complaining to my wife, oh, I'm never going to get better, that type of shit that I say. Oh, I can't work out. I'm miserable. You know what I did? I sat here and figured out that one, that I have been like biohacking my entire life the past 15 years, didn't understand that terminology because of the thing, you know, the area I'm involved in technically

reading, met. I can't tell you how many people just this past week because like you said, everybody's human. I don't look at people's followers, who they are, whatever. I don't give a shit. I will at least attempt to speak like they're just like me or just like anybody else. And I've studied and read and learned so many things about me, what I'm doing wrong and how I can help people this past week. And it made me realize, man, you've been on the wrong path, like what things you're doing. But there was a reason why and it all culminated to this.

And so I figured that out this morning. Like, this is why I got sick. and this is why, because I needed to take a step back after the Olympia weekend. And because, you know, you get on such a high when something happens and you just kind of, you know, and it grounded me and it gave me the time to sit and there was the reason why. And people need to figure out there's always a reason why everything that you get was given. You didn't, you know, maybe you earned it, but it was given to you and it can just as quickly be taken away. Yeah.

We have to figure that out, the why. And we have to remember to have the gratitude even when it doesn't seem to make sense. Because I remember you really wanted to do this last week. And I was ready and I was excited. But you were like, man, I'm so congested. I think you said you gave yourself a bloody nose even trying to like clear your nose and sentences. But like what a gift was it to have another week to even prepare for this conversation? You know what I mean?

Like you were able to like go through and you listened to some of my podcast. And I really appreciate that you, I've seen your comments on. my Instagram and just like being so supportive. And that is something we wouldn't have had had we rushed the process and had that, you know, that done the call that week. And so this conversation, I think, took a whole level of depth that we wouldn't have had if we didn't have an extra week to kind of formulate the kinship and, you know, getting to know each other and the depth and, you know, what you're trying to do,

what I'm trying to do and combining our messaging. So I think the product turns out better for it. You feel better. you look good, you're not all congested, like, we're good. Like, you're good. Take your hands off the wheel. Jesus has got it, man. That's right. That's right. And just anybody listening, if you get sick, don't blow your nose too hard because I, like, when you said you broke your nose, that's what it looked like. Like the blood coming out. So just don't do that. Like, my wife panicked in there, and, you know, and it's like every time I blew my nose after that,

she was on me. Um, so we're going to, we're going to record again because I want to get all into your podcast and I want to talk about issues I saw you talking about that I am so passionate about and when I saw that you were passionate about it I was like oh my gosh like we got a we have to do a part two and it'll be better then because there will be more stuff that we're going to talk about because I have some really good episodes that are coming out soon that I know that you'll be really interested in actually just recorded an episode with Brian Sanders his Instagram as food lies So that one's not out yet. I'm not sure when it will be, but that's a little sneak peek, I guess, for your listeners.

But he's awesome, man. It's so cool talking about the evolution of humans and how we came to eat meat and how we changed throughout our evolution when we started eating meat. Man, that was fascinating. When we became using tools and the way that we were able to prioritize hunting at that point and then how our brains grew, like went from these small, kind of like, ate like brains to bam human brains was directly correlated with the time that our meat consumption went up which I think is really fascinating and again I'm not trying to put down any vegans or

vegetarians or anything like that I do believe that we were meant to eat meat I think it's more bioavailable and better um but regardless it was so interesting looking at the science behind that so I mean there's a lot of really cool conversations that I've had on the podcast if you're interested in it you know it's bill for growth think you can listen to it pretty much anywhere you're on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever the heck you listen to your podcast. And, um, you know, I'm, you know, what I'm really trying to do there, Dylan, which we talked about on Monica Brands show was, um, I'm trying to truth seek. I'm trying to decipher the world and bring it in delight to people in it the most transparent way to help them in their journey.

I want informed and transformed. That's what I'm looking for. I want people to be able to make informed decisions. Not a doctor. And I'm not the doctor. And I'm not the same. smartest person in the world, but I have good intentions. And I think intention is 90% of it, if not more. I always base my judgment of character is like, what was their intention? What did they mean to do? What were they trying to do? What was their intention? Was it meant to be good or it was meant to be bad? Just because something goes wrong doesn't mean that somebody meant for it to. It's like, you've got to take that all into account. So anyways, my intention with this is just genuinely to help people. I think that I have been given and provided.

so many gifts in my life. And I think about how 2024 in America looks way different than 2024 for women, especially in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Palestine, Palestine, Israel, you know, a lot of these places. So I got to do something with it. I can't squander it. No. I've got to talk to people. I've got to try to figure out the truth. And I can't sit here and say on never make a mistake or, you know, do it perfect. I'm not going to do it perfect. But each week, every Thursday, I will do my damnedest to help me learn and you learn and give you the best tools to help you grow in life, in the decisions that you're going to make, whether it's, you know, anything from nutrition to avoiding toxins to mentality, you know, I have personalities and experts.

it's just such a passion project of mine because I've been thinking for quite some time. What am I going to do when I retire? Like what is my calling? I'm not just going to, you know, I'm not just going to do nothing. So what do I want to do? I can tell you right now, it's like I just want to make a difference. I want to know someday that when I'm laying on my deathbed that I helped people because so many people helped me along the way, it just feels like the right thing to do.

and I want to do the right thing for no other reason, then it's the right thing to do. That's that. It's no other reason. You're not going to buy me out. Like, you're not, I'm not going to sell out. You can't steal my piece. Take everything, take my money, take my car, take my house. I don't.

You know what I mean? Like, I worked hard for all this stuff. I'm proud of it. Sure. But it's not, that's not what I'm chasing. They don't care if I have a bigger house. I don't have the nicest house. Like, I don't live in a million-dollar mansion.

I live pretty simple. My car is dirty most of the time. What can I say? You get in my car, you probably sit on a cheese stick that my kids left in there and said popcorn. Like, I'm just a normal person because I don't care. Like, and, you know, like, I don't know. I pick people up from the airport and like, hey, guys, it is what it is. It's where you get the Roeot Misha State.

Sorry. Like, I don't know. I love my life. I'm not obsessed with being perfect or trying to present to you that I'm perfect. Like, you're going to know exactly who I am. And I'm not going to, I'm not going to apologize for it. Like, I'm a mom. I don't pay people to clean my house.

Again, there's nothing wrong with that. But first of all, it wouldn't make sense for me because my kids will destroy it again within like 30 minutes of being home. So it doesn't even make sense to have somebody else clean my house. But regardless, I have to live in an imperfect environment because, yeah, that's just how I want it to be. I don't want to overstress these things. It doesn't matter at the end of the day.

I got my kids, got my family. I got God in my life. I got my freedom. I got my peace. Boom. We're good. Happy. I think that the best characteristic that one can have is being themselves at all times and not conforming to what they think that others want, saying what people want to hear as opposed to what they need to hear, and giving the true who you are, no matter what.

And it's take it or leave it. If you don't like what you get cool, because not everybody's for everybody, I get it. and that's fine. But when you don't put out who you are, you can't only hide that shit for so long. It's always going to come out at some point. You're going to be in a position. I won't name names, but we see it constantly right now going up to the election. It happens every day with a certain someone.

And you can't hide it because you can't hide forever. And having that trade about you, it may have some people not like it. you, but more people are going to respect you than not. And far too many people don't live that way. And trust me when I tell you, there's a lot of people that don't say anything that keep that shit to themselves, but they watch and respect to the people. If you go, because I'm a big analytics guy, right? I see what people watch attention spans.

I'm a numbers guy. So I see who people really watch. And the people that get all the views and all the watch are generally the people doing what you're doing. Where they're speaking truth, they're looking for truth. They're not conspiracy theorists. They're not nuts. You know, they're looking at the real shit.

And they're delivering that and that. Here's an example. Yesterday, this is how crazy things are too when I was looking through your podcast sheet. Yesterday, my wife showed me a video because I'm a nutritionist and I'm so dedicated to nutrition, but I don't know everything. And I'm very hard on myself. And she was showing me a thing on salt. and how it's demonized and this, this, this, and this. And I go to you know what, you're right.

I know that. You have a thing talking to a doctor right on your list. And that's one of the topics there. But that's it is there's so many things like cholesterol that they demonize certain things about the sun. It's everything because it's putting money in their pockets to put you on shit that you don't meet. Right.

And so these are the topics. What you're doing and what I'm aiming to do now is to talk to people that are experts in these areas. Learn from them and give it to the audience, right? And that's what we're doing here. That's what people need, you know? And I don't give a shit if somebody doesn't like it or makes a comment or whatever. If we're waking up in the morning worrying about somebody typing us a comment from mom's basement, we got our own issues, right? So you know, you can't still my peace. You can't still my peace. I just lead those things with empathy. People ask me not like, how do you, when I talk to, you know, teenage groups or high schools or, you know, kids that are growing up in a social media world, my heart goes out some because I know how challenging it is to have that constant influx from people that you don't know, telling you things you don't, shouldn't have to hear from these people.

And I, my piece of advice is to lead with empathy. It ain't about you. If that person is leaving a comment that's negative. if they if they are hating on you and you haven't done something out and out wrong. I'm just like a terrible thing. Like it's just maybe a picture of you and they're just like you look fat or something, right? There's nothing to do with you. It has to do with how that person is perceiving living and and living their life.

Like they're not happy. Like they're, if somebody's a troll, like I'm like, oh my God. I felt so sorry for you. must that must suck man like you haven't found your piece yet like you haven't found you're searching for you don't you don't know how to be happy like if what i'm doing is is hurting your feelings like i i mean i i don't know what to say like i'm i'm sorry like i'll say prayer for you that's the best thing i can do i guess you know but you're not going to steal my peace go ahead if you want it doesn't serve any purpose because it's not going to affect me but what are you living with

Like, how's your day going? You know, the person that's, like, leave that comment, I think about that. And I sometimes like, man, how's your day going? Like, you all right? Like, and I actually mean it, like, sincerely because I think sometimes these people are, like, reaching out negatively because it's almost like they're blowing off a little steam. It's like, it's almost like a little cry for help in this little way, you know? Like, these people are, yeah, I mean, healthy normal, quote unquote, people don't really, you know, they're not doing that. So anyways, I just lead with empathy.

And it saves me a lot of pain. I don't care what you say online about me. I don't care. I really can say that. It's only because I've truly found my peace in all of this. So yeah, say whatever you want. It's all good. I mean, if it like in my free time, because it's rare, you know.

And when I have that free time, that's time. I'm either working on myself and spending time with my wife. I'm reading. I'm either praying, reading something religious and. or reading something, you know, like right now I'm studying stem cells quite in depth, you know, and things like that that are going to be beneficial to help others, you know, to grow. And if you're, if you are spending your free time doing that, then clearly something's missing. Like actually not something.

There's a lot missing. God's hurt. So, so, you know, just remember that. Like, don't have anything to do with you. Like, they live, they're, they're not happy. That's it. Like, you give us sorry for them. and that's probably the best thing to do.

It's like, realize it's not about you. And they're sad. They have a worse life than you do, probably, if they're trying to bring you down with a comment, you know? So, yeah, that's what I'm with empathy. My hope is that with you and I talking about this and showing, like, that's not anything at all. Because, look, like, I'm modeled for many years.

I saw a lot of girls cry. I walked into auditions. I was in Europe. I saw, like, some messed up shit being, said, you know, and it's like, hey, that's the eyes of whatever, it means nothing. And now I see it more on social media where, you know, somebody younger does a video or like a teenager or a kid. And people will attack them. And it's hard to deal with. And my hope is you and I talking about this and letting people realize like, you know, that that'll help them because we've found our piece, but I would like to

help other people find theirs in it too, because I know a lot of people struggle with it. And that stuff can linger on people. So to understand that that means jack shit in the, you know, totality of life, I just want people to hear that message because, you know, like we said, it doesn't mean anything. So. Yeah. So I hope, you know, we probably drove at home. People are like, okay, we got it, you know.

But it's an important part, you know. And I do hope to people hear what we're saying, you know. And I think there's definitely so much more that we could talk about because I know there's like half of it we didn't even get into, but I really am happy to have this conversation with you. And I feel like it was hopefully powerful. Hopefully it resonates with some people. I think that it will, you know. So we just got to keep trying to spread the word, find the truth, be transparent.

That's it. So I, and I will say, and we'll talk about this for sure, but just for people watching in our part two, I want to get more into your podcast. And I want to talk about some different topics like health-related. diet related and then like when you were talking about i've done several things on toxic masculinity but that was a year ago and things have changed again and that's some stuff i'd like to talk about so we have a lot of topics for people that are watching that i would definitely like to get into that i'm sure we'll get into and and so for you what are the best ways for people to follow to watch

what you're doing to you know get involved to spread the word to share your stuff what where can they you at and what's your best way of contact? Oh, thank you for that, Dylan. I would say the first place that you know, listen to the podcast if you give a chance, just one more time, it's built for growth. You can find it anywhere on any podcast platform. But the other way is on my website.

It's misha takee.com. That's M-I-E. And on there, if you go on there, have a little pop-up and you can subscribe. You get 10% off. I think that's up for doing that. But if you subscribe, I will not bombard you.

Okay, so every two weeks, you'll get a newsletter. And I write them myself and something that I'm so proud of because it takes me the better part of two weeks to complete that. Now, I do have a team that puts it into an email format and does the hyperlinks because all that shit's above my pay grade. But I write it. Like I take the picture of myself. I write the important message that was my takeaway.

And like what we've talked about when you're like, oh, I figured it out this week. I have those aha moments that I feel like so blessed with. I'm like, I got to share this with people. And I love to be able to do that and put it in a newsletter. You know, and I'm also certified in change psychology. So I'm a behavior change coach.

I don't coach people one on one. But in that newsletter, you will get some of that coaching at no cost. So I'm going to help you with your goal setting techniques, you know, with motivation, with mindset, with changing the things.

things that you want, like growing in the direction that you want. You know, it's not just passive change. You can just let life happen to you. My coach Robert Follis, who passed away, I lost him to suicide, and he was such a big part of this motivation for me to start this podcast. Because as a mentor, and as a friend, you know, it's like a brother to me, I miss him so much. But he left such a purpose in my life and he one of his favorite quotes my favorite quotes of his was that change is inevitable growth is not so it starts with a choice you will change from today to tomorrow to next month regardless because life is going to happen and you can let it passively take you wherever you want you could let your fitness goals be passive you can let your diet be passive you can let your

income be passive, you can let your future be passive, life's going to happen. Or you can make a choice to steer the ship a little bit. Not too tight, right? We still got to like maintain like a little balance in all of that. But we can have a lot more say if we just decide what we want out of each moment and, you know, start with the important moments. You know, mindfulness. How do we practice these things? How do we actually get actionable about this stuff? Because people say all the time, oh, don't take this for granted or don't you know how do we do that where do we start but that's what i love diving into with people how can i help you start this change i'm just going to tell you i'm not just going to be like your parent don't do that or do do this like no i'm going to i'm going to walk you

through how i got to the place where i'm at like small little tiny steps how to get mindful how to get present how to be actionable how to set goals um how to keep that you know moments of going so those are the things that I'm really working on in this newsletter. Those are things I'm talking about in the podcast. And, you know, the guests that I'm bringing on, I'm just trying to bring on the best people that I think can help you. You know, these people, like you talked about the salt myth, right? So I have one of my first podcast is the anti-salt rhetoric and debunking that.

You know, salt and electrolytes is so important for people. And it's super important for athletes. And I still can't believe there are athletes out there who cut weight. and don't understand the importance of electrolytes and the balance of that in their system. But I had Dr. James and Nick Lantanio on there, and he is such a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of nutrition, but we focus mostly on salt and electrolytes for this one. And he spent his whole life researching this stuff, and it gets to go right in your ears for free.

How cool, right? You normally have to go to a doctor who received maybe 0.1% of their education about nutrition, because it's just not how entities are, I don't know if you can do that, but they're not taught about nutrition, functional, foundational, building blocks of life, muscle, brain, zone. Do you don't know anything about that unless they independently study? So, you know, I'm finding these doctors and experts who are going beyond who do care about getting the right information. out to people and trying to get it to you for free so that you can make your own decision. Don't like don't just take my word for it.

I'm not a saint. I'm not perfect. I'm sure I'll met up a long way. But like here's some food for thought. Like please take this information and go think for yourself. Decide if this will work for you. I love it. That is I could literally keep going on all night long, but I know you have to go.

I want to thank you so much. I knew this was going to be good. I didn't know. And I had a high expectation, but it really exceeded everything for me personally. And I'm sure for everybody watching. So I really want to thank you because time is always precious. And like you said, we never know how much we have. So any that can be spared, I want you to know from me.

It is just thoroughly appreciated. Absolutely. No, Dylan, we had a great pre-call before this. And I knew that this was going to be a great podcast. So I appreciate the platform, the opportunity, all of it. Like, I'm not taking it for granted. And I'm also excited for part two and just to see what else comes from this. You know, it's the alchemist.

It's the book at work. I feel like, you know, that kind of like you put the energy out and that's what you get back. Yes. This will be multi-part if you'll do it because I have so much to say an offer with you together that the message is so clear and abundant. And this is going to help me personally on top of everybody else. Thank you. I am looking forward to it and we will definitely talk soon. So everybody, Dylan Jameli, Misha Tate, thanks for watching the Dylan Jameli podcast and we will see you soon.

Signing off.