The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex - Why a Pro Bodybuilder Chose Business Over Sponsorships ft. Carter Montgomery

Episode Date: July 12, 2025

In this powerful episode of The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex, we sit down with entrepreneur and former pro bodybuilder Carter Montgomery (@thecartermontgomery) to uncover the real blueprint for mastering discipline, purpose, and personal transformation.From overcoming childhood pain to building a thriving fitness empire alongside his wife, Carter shares how he turned inner turmoil into fuel for success. 💥We dive into:How pain can drive your purposeEscaping the "Miami vortex" and staying focused in a world of distractions 🌴The importance of traditional values, faith, and loyalty in modern relationshipsFitness tips for men over 30 (and why consistency beats intensity)Why most men struggle with discipline—and how to master itBuilding generational wealth and designing a purpose-driven life 🔑Whether you're trying to elevate your body, your business, or your mindset, this episode delivers the raw truth and practical advice every man needs to hear. Don't miss it.🎧 Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube now!📲 Follow Carter: @thecartermontgomery“Your Network is your NETWORTH!”Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:Instagram: https://jo.my/paulalex2024Facebook: https://jo.my/fbpaulalex2024Youtube: https://jo.my/ytpaulalex2024Linkedin: https://jo.my/inpaulalex2024Looking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur?Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you:www.CashSwipe.comFREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream”www.officialPaulAlex.com

Welcome to the level up podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight-figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together. Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. All right, guys.

Today's guest is a powerhouse of discipline and purpose, a successful entrepreneur. more. And he's built businesses, mentored men, and guys, not only that, but he is huge in bodybuilding. I'm excited for this one, guys. As you guys know, I've been part of my fitness journey for the past few months. So I've got a lot of questions to ask you. Welcome Carter Montgomery to the show. Thanks, my man. Appreciate you having me. No, absolutely, brother. So let's start from the very beginning, dude. Tell us a little bit about your background. I know you're from San Diego. I mean, you're connected with Planet Mike, one of our good friends, man, mutual friends. Shout out to Mike. But tell us a little about by yourself to the audience, brother.

Yeah, man. So I grew up actually in New Jersey when I was 12. My mom moved us out to California. My dad passed away when I was five. So it's just me and my mom and my brother decided we needed to change. So she moved us to California. It was a very angry kid trying to figure out life and, you know, growing up and things like that. And my mom was like, hey, dude, you need to figure out a constructive way to deal with your fucking anger. So she dropped me off at the gym, said, figured the fuck out, walked into a gym, humbled the shit out of me, but I fell in love.

I fell in love with the process, and that basically transitioned me into the fitness industry, did my first show at 15, went pro at 21, accomplished a bunch of goals for myself, and just realized that wasn't that fulfilling for me. Like, I did everything I wanted to do, but I knew there was more to this. And I started realizing that people treated me differently.

I had a lot of opportunities come my way, simply because I had a level of discipline that people could visually see. see. And once I really realized that power I harness, I was like, dude, other men need the shit. They need to understand the power you can harness when you actually have an elite level physique and you channel that discipline. You have that work ethic that everyone can visually see. So I transitioned into the online space. My wife was actually doing it since 2017. So she was kind of the catalyst for me stepping into that world. We joined forces, launched our

company, and the rest was history, man. So power couple that starts a online fitness company. and you guys started that when in 2019 so in 2019 your wife was doing it before 2017 how did you guys meet actually at same place i met mike which is funny at world's gym in san diego that's where i met my wife uh we were friends for a little bit didn't talk for about two years then in 2019 went to the gym saw her there randomly we both like looked each other and we're like what the fuck i kind of didn't forget about you but like forgot this feeling we had I started hanging out, spending some time together, and then it blossomed into our relationship,

and we've been unseparable ever since. Dude, I love that. And then you're coming up at how many years of marriage right now? Four. Okay. What would you say to entrepreneurs right now? I mean, dude, you guys are going from Fort Lauderdale to Miami now. And ever since I moved to Miami here, like, two years ago, and now I'm in Puerto Rico, man.

I always see a lot of young guys coming down here to Miami. And the number one thing, number one advice I would tell them is just like, dude, focus on what you have to do to level up first because I was like there's the women there's the money there's the nightlife and all that so what would you tell an entrepreneur right now that's in their 20s dude they have everything in the world I mean we got like six guys right now in the back office doing their thing dude but they're all single guys yeah they're all single guys and I got to venture them dude I'll got to be like hey find that one girl and just stick to her what type of advice would you give somebody yes I call it the Miami vortex and the vortex

and the vortex that Miami can fucking suck you in and completely destroy your life And unfortunately, you see a lot of guys come in. Maybe they'll have a little bit of money and things like that. And then they get sucked into that vortex. And unfortunately, you're never going to build the life you actually want and create everything you actually want if you get sucked into that vortex. Because the women, the drugs, the partying, all of that is just going to completely derail you from your vision.

It clouds all of it. So the best thing you can do is double down on you and your personal development. That's why I'm so passionate about the body because I think that's the foundation of all of it. And focus on building the man that's going to attract the woman you actually want. there's plenty of dimes around here but it doesn't mean they're going to make a great wife doesn't mean they're going to be loyal doesn't mean they're going to be that ride or die for you

and I know I always want a woman who's going to love me inside of the mansion but will also sit with me in a fucking under a bridge in a box like I want that woman will be loyal to me no matter what and in order to attract that caliber of a woman you have to have your shit together you have to have the personal development

you have to have the work at you have to build a vision you have to be able to protect and provide and if you can't do that piece you're going to be very unfulfilled and again this whole lifestyle the Miami Vortex will get old very quickly. Dude, I love that.

I love that. Traditional values, dude, you know, one of the main reason, I think, right before the podcast, we were talking about California. The reason why we moved, you know, it's just everything and has to go do with the views of, you know, politicians out there and what they got going on, right? So with that being said, man, let's go ahead and take a deep dive into your fitness journey. So what would you say it takes for a beginner right now that is listening? And, you know, we got a lot of young folks here.

But we also got a lot of people that are old school millennials. I like to call myself old school millennial that are looking to go ahead and start their journey. But then, you know, for me, for many years, for many decades, dude, I have been the type of guy that, you know, I'll say, all right, this is the year. I'm going to go ahead and get a six-pack. This is the year. I'm going to go ahead and get shredded. And then I drop off after like quarter two. Yeah.

Right? Like, what are some tips that you can go ahead and tell our audience that can help them in that journey to stay disciplined like you, dude? Yeah. Consistency is key to literally everything in life, whether it's making money, whether it's building the body, whether it's having a successful marriage. It all comes down to consistency. Doing the boring shit day in and day out. And the reason I see a lot of people, they'll have a little bit of a run for, say, eight weeks and they'll fall off. It's because they just try taking on too much too quickly. You don't need to do all the fancy shit. You don't need to go to the extreme diet, the extreme training. You just need to pick something, implement it, and then be consistent with it for a few weeks. And then stack another piece on top of that and then next you know after six months you're going to have the entire picture built out you'll have the consistency dialed in and then the bi-product of that is the great physique yeah that's really all it comes down to but everyone struggles with fucking consistency dude the minute shit gets boring people are like I don't want to do this anymore but think about building the business that shit's like boring dude it is it's doing the same shit day in and day out

and not seeing an immediate result but knowing that if I do this every single day it will get me to the goal yeah same thing happens with our body same thing happens with the marriage everything comes down to that. And so if we can master that in our physique and just master the consistency, again, it could be something as simple as just like going to the gym every morning at say, hey, 6 a.m. I'm going to the gym no matter what. It could be a 30-minute workout. It does not matter. Master the fucking consistency. And then once you master consistency, then you can scale it. Crank that up to 60 minutes. Add the nutrition in. Add the supplements in. Like we got to just build it brick by brick, but you can't try to like build the house with no fucking foundation. Yeah.

You know? No, absolutely. Do you think, you know, based on on, you know, when we started the podcast, you initially said, like, hey, you know, I was an angry kid. My mom dropped me off. She said, figure it out. Something that my mom will tell me. But do you think that, you know, when people make it to your level, dude, where, you know, you're a champion, that it takes something inside of them based on past trauma

or possibly like pain or, you know, like my story, like I told you, man, you know, being able to have a critical incident in your life where you're like, dude, this is it. I'm either going to do it or I'm going to do it, right? Do you think that that really helps somebody protect? Or that's what a lot of winners and champions have in common? They all do. They all do. If you look at anyone who is at the top of their fucking game, whether it's business, bodybuilding, really anything, they've had some kind of adversity in their life that is their driving factor behind everything. Like that pain ultimately drives their purpose. And so if you can learn how to channel that pain constructively and apply it to the right things,

Everything will continue to accelerate from there. I mean, you shared your story with me. You used all of that pain. You put it into your business and look what you've built. You built a fucking empire, bro. So it was the same thing for me. I was an angry fucking kid, dude. And I was a fucking shitty kid for a while, dude.

I was making a lot of mistakes. But luckily, my mom like fucking kind of put me in the right direction and said, here's a constructive way, figure it out, fell in love with the process. But I had pain through the out the entire journey. But I knew that like doing the boring shit, training every day, dieting, like going through that pain was nothing compared to what I already experienced. so it's never actually hard for me you know what i mean so you have to have that level of pain to ultimately drive you in the right direction but a lot of people either fucking sedate and try to mask their pain right or they actually have never actually gone through any of the pain yet dude

yeah and if you don't go through those things you don't know how to harness it like yeah unfortunately you're not going to be able to take things to the level you need to dude that and that makes so much sense and the reason why i say that is because it's like nowadays you know i talk to other entrepreneurs and you know the the hardest thing that i always thought to myself but i both also experienced in the past five years now that I've been a full-time entrepreneur since leaving law enforcement is that, you know, hiring good people. Yeah. Hiring good people, dude, you know, and that could be for many things, right?

Customer service, logistics, sales, marketing, whatever it is. But, you know, I see so many of the generation nowadays, especially in their younger, 20s, they're teenagers. They stay at a job for three months. And then they transition out. And I'm thinking, like, why is that? Why is that? You know, like, if you were to ask me my resume, dude, I've probably done three things.

Yeah. Right? corporate sales law enforcement and full-time entrepreneurship that's it like I didn't job hopper or anything but I think it's just because of Instagram gratification Instagram dude what do you think about social media dude do you think social media is good or bad for our generation right now for for the world I think it's a double-edged sword right social media is extremely powerful we're able to reach people at a level we've never been able to do again yeah you can also learn at a level we've never been able to learn before like coaching is the new college you can learn anything within a couple of months

if you just simply pay for it and find someone right like doesn't matter what it's merchant services fitness does not matter you can find someone you can learn at a very very fast rate so it's very powerful obviously we both built a lot of great things through social media but unfortunately it has trained people for that instant gratification you see women you see money you see cars you see things like everybody thinks the grass is always greener and that's why I still love that saying because the grass isn't fucking greener. You need to pick one thing, stay committed to do it, and drive forward. So when it comes to social media, people just are consuming a bunch of bullshit.

Like if you're looking at a bunch of chicks half naked on the internet all day, like, dude, that's all that's going to be on your mind for the entire day. But if you use social media and find people who are inspiring you, they're teaching you things, motivating you, like, whatever it is, it can be extremely powerful for you. And you can really help a lot of personal development, a lot of things. You can find podcasts like this, which, again, all of this stuff allows you to continue to take your development to the next level. But it's like, what the fuck you're using it for?

Yeah. You know? No, absolutely, man. How do you think it is? And before you got into the online space, right, in 2019, did you have multiple mentors before you met your wife? Did you have like those key people that you can say back then that got you and got you their journey with your coaches and everything?

But you were like, man, if it wasn't for this person, I wouldn't be here. Yeah, I've actually had a lot of mentors throughout my entire life. So I mentioned a review for the show. My dad passed away when I was younger. So I spent my entire childhood. That's half the reason I was angry because I was like looking for some kind of fucking guidance, dude. Like I just wanted someone to kind of give me the roadmap, right? And when I got into bodybuilding, my mom was actually working with someone who she was competing as well.

And she had a coach that worked at World's Gym. And he took me under his wing. And he taught me everything I needed to know about bodybuilding. All the pros, the cons laid it all out for me and just took me under his wing. And that's how I was able to develop through bodybuilding. When I went into personal training, that's what I did before the online space, is I had a boss, a good friend of mine now. He's actually one of my groomsmen, Tommy Reynolds, shout out to you. He took me under his wing.

Same thing, dude, he taught me business. He taught me how to build my clientele, how to train them effectively. Like, everything I needed to know to actually create some level of wealth and build something for myself. Now we step into the world I am now. Garrett J. White has been one of my fucking greatest mentors of all time. And if it wasn't for these people, dude, there'd be no way I'm in the position I am right now. I wouldn't be the man I am right now to have attracted my life. Like, I'd be a fucking train wreck, bro.

And so this is why I always tell people, like, dude, pay for fucking coaches, pay for mentorship. Like, this is the world we live in now. Everybody thinks you've got a fucking college degree. You don't need that shit. You need people that you're willing to invest in, so they invest in you. And it can take you to a level that, at a speed that completely defies logic. Like, things can move so fucking quick if you just double down and have the right people in your corner. Yeah.

You know. I mean, it's amazing what you have been able to do by the age of 29, bro. Thank you. You know, like, to be honest, I thought initially we were the same age. I was just like, what, you're 29? I was like, damn. I was like, man, I got to put everything at 10x, bro. I got to go ahead and hurry up, right?

No, but no, that's good, man. I'm inspired, dude. I'm inspired. But, okay, so let's talk about this because what, what actually I'm interested in to hear your perspective in is, dude, you were on the top of the game. as a bodybuilder, okay, you were a champion, okay? At that stage of the game, why didn't you continue to do more shows? Why didn't you continue to go ahead and get sponsorships

and probably do, you know, the traditional route of what bodybuilders do instead of transitioning out to the online space? Yeah, a few reasons. Yeah. Reason number one, there's no money in it. I had paid sponsorships better than what almost anyone gets offered. I have all these things, but you're not going to create the level of wealth you need to create.

How much, if you don't mind me asking, like, on average, how much are bodybuilders making off a sponsorship suit? I thought they would make bank. No. So if you're someone like a Chris Bump said, you have a massive audience, like those guys, they'll make like multiple six figures off their sponsorship, right? But again, there's a shelf life to all of that. But like even mine, dude, I mean, it was making like $1,500 a month for a sponsorship. Wow. And, you know, there's a lot of red tape around that.

You can't work with certain companies. It's still a job you're working for them. So there's still a lot of stuff that goes on within that. So I knew I wouldn't have been able to make the level of wealth I needed to just by winning shows. The other side of it as well is I knew I had a shelf life, just like MMA, just like pro football, just like any pro sports, you have a shelf life. There's always going to be someone younger and better who's going to come in and take that spot. So I wanted to leave on top. Got it.

Right. And then the third part of it as well is just, dude, I accomplished everything I wanted to do. Like I just kept winning shows and I was just like, this is not fucking doing anything. for me anymore. You're a TEP, man. You're a top producer. Yeah, dude, it was just like, like, there's nothing to this shit anymore, bro.

And that's when, like, the passion really shifted. And I was like, fuck, I want to help other people experience what I experienced. Because when you realize, like, it wasn't winning the shows that gave me everything I had. It's the discipline I developed through the fucking process that has given me everything I got. And I noticed that men fucking suck with discipline. You're right. Like, they fucking suck, dude. It's the craziest shit.

And so, I mean, right now, like, I focus most of my clients are. 40 plus entrepreneurs, business owners who, dude, they've done all this shit, they have the family, they have the cars, they have the money, they have all of this, but they feel completely unfulfilled. And it's because they've never mastered that level of discipline within themselves. And once a man actually does that, that's when you're truly fulfilled. And that's when everything in your life will start getting taken to new levels because it directly affects every domain of your life, you know?

Oh man, you're speaking to me, man. I mean, like, you know, before the pod, we were talking about like, you know, I know how to make buddy but I got a I got a dominating fitness and now you're saying this I'm like damn I'm like this guy's avatar yeah that's what I always tell these dudes it's like dude you built some big shit yeah but imagine how much bigger you could fucking build if you just mastered yourself first yeah you know what I mean like it's sick these dudes build shit like yeah I mean it's cool yeah like it's awesome but like dude there's a whole new level you can unlock when you master yourself yeah you know every aspect of life right mindset health you know you got to look good to

perform good dude finances being a good person that's the fucking key one because we live in a world where again we talk about the grass is green and all that shit like it's no loyalty isn't there anymore um and that's why like i say especially over the past year i feel like the rubber band snapped yeah it was in the complete opposite direction again no shame but like with only fans that that whole fucking world again everyone going out and partying and all these things like dude i knew that shit was going to snap and now it snapped you see a lot more people talking about God and faith that they've never even spoken about that shit before seeing loyalty coming to play the family values that we talked about like all this stuff is coming back and that's

what I truly align with bro like that that's what I fucking want dude and it's so crazy amelio and guys obviously if you've been listening to lovoa podcast you guys know amelio is the man behind the scenes he goes ahead and makes the show happen this is why we're top three in business in the United States but amelio didn't I tell you that core values traditional values was going to back? Dude, we were talking about doing like a podcast where like, we're like, dude, we should bring back like traditional values. Because you know how that red pill, blue pill stuff? Yeah. Yeah. Dude, I was just like, what if you get like a husband and wife or or get something and call it purple pill. I love that. Right. That's goal. Right. Dude, it will go viral.

100%. You know, somebody's going to probably listen and be like, ah, you're going to be like, Gary, Gary, got an idea of pretty ball with this. Dude, Paul said this. Listen, listen, you know. But no, yeah, yeah, man. It will go viral. And people need to listen to that because more than ever, okay my wife dude she um she wasn't on social media that heavy but ever since you know obviously we got married uh i show her off on like my stories and my post because you know i talk about what i care about dude i have a big heart so like i always show people like hey i don't do this just for the money i actually do it to uh help my family out i do it to go go ahead and like give them a life that they dreamed of right and that's what fulfills me man is to be able to help other people

Because, dude, I've already done everything that I've wanted to do in life. You know, I've done the whole undercover thing, the cop thing. It was awesome. You know, like in the movies, I've made my money. I've gone through the journey. I've been poor, been rich, all that stuff. But at the end of the day, when it comes down to, it's just true fulfillment. Yep.

Just like you said, dude, true fulfillment. And especially here in Miami, dude, it's so hard. It's so hard because I feel like it's new Los Angeles. Oh, 100%. Dude, it's insane. All you see is the material things. Yep. How much money people have.

the women all that jazz and i and i feel it's just oh fake it's there's this it's soulless dude and when you live that life bro you realize like you're still fucking going to bed alone or you're waking up alone you can buy like we just talked about before dude you can buy the nice cars you can have the things that shit becomes like numb dude yeah like every level has a new right like like there's always a peak of a new pit like you can or there's always a pit of a new peak like you can get to these levels and you realize like oh fuck like i'm completely unhappy right now yeah and so it's like that's why again like men in general like bro we all want the same thing we want a loyal fucking chick and we want to be able to protect and provide that's what gives us

purpose we're very simple fucking creatures dude so once you really like harness that piece and do it you're good like i always say do i like everything we have yeah but like if it wasn't for my wife bro i'd probably be fine like a condom on the beach like chilling like i don't need anything too crazy. But my driving factor behind all of this is making sure that she has the fucking life she deserves and what. I never want to tell my wife no. Anything she wants, I will make

fucking happen. And that's my drive behind everything. So same thing when I have kids. I'm going to make sure they had everything that I never had. If they want to play every sport, you're going to play every fucking sport. Whatever you want to do, I don't want to tell I want to know because I didn't do what's required to create the level of wealth that they need to enjoy life. I love that.

I love that. And it's about building generation of wealth, man. You know, like a lot a lot of people, you know, especially when I was growing up, and I grew up in a poverty community dude, I thought a lot of money in the bank account was $100, you know, at that time. And, you know, I would always hear, you know, there'd be some people that their family had built generational wealth. And you had everybody else about 90% of the community going, oh, look at that rich kid. And they would look down upon them.

But now as an adult, now that, you know, I'm about to be a father soon, it's one of those things like that's you actually want that you want you want to build generational wealth you want to come from a rich family because that means that your dad or your mom did something right yep and their parents did something right yep and now you got thinkers and that's what's supposed to happen you're supposed to elevate exactly your generational wealth and your family and your and your name and exact same mindset dude yeah so let me ask you this right so garrett tells me all the time He says, when you have kids, it's going to light this fire inside of you to produce at a level that you've never tapped into before. And I felt that once I got married.

Once I got married, like literally, bro, the next day, I was like, whoa. And, like, just fucking went full speed. Now that you're having a kid, do you feel like something changed inside of you? Dude, it's like my wife, I got to put a bubble around her. And now it's just like more like we're been about traditional values. and she all has the traditional values of, okay, this is what we got married. We got married because we're best friends.

But we also got married with the traditional values of, I'm the man, I'm the provider. She is the woman. She is my peace. She would take care of the home. That's it. We're happy. That's our dynamic, right?

Yeah. So now that I know that she is pregnant, it is a game changer because now we're already, thinking ahead. We're like, okay, we moved to Puerto Rico. All right, what if it's a boy? What if it's a girl? Okay, do we need to buy another home here? What are we going to do about medical? What are we going to do this? And then it's funny. We have these different conversations now. You know, we were having dinner yesterday. And she goes and she asked me. She's like, so what if, like, you know, I have to go out of town. Would you be able to like babysit and run your business?

I was like, babe, I'm going to have a boy or a little girl strapped to my chest. doing calls, you know, or having meetings or doing the pocket. Like, yeah, that's just the way I am, man. I had a, I had a, a Yorkie, dude, for 16 years. Dude, I treated that Yorkie like it was my kid, bro. Like, he was pouring rich with me. And the thing is, it's like, when I lost him, dude, I swear to you, it was one of the hardest things that's ever happened to me.

Dude, and I'm not an emotional guy. Yeah. You remember, I worked in Oakland. dude so I've seen it all but it's one of those things that it just hit me so hard because that dog was just surviving to be with me dude it was literally surviving it had cancer and they're so fucking happy to see you yeah like I she's a little wiener dog so you got a york had a wiener dog bro and is what it is isn't it hilarious it is it's fucking hilarious like you should have a pit bull like no dude I'm go with my little fucking weiner dog I love her I'm pretty sure

Mike told you that yeah yeah yeah it's so funny you over there you're a big guy you have a little dog named cookie oh yeah yeah but if you guys don't know who Mike is Mike is one of our good mutual friends from uh from san diego right now in arizona um but but yeah man no no no it's it's it's very powerful so yeah now that i know she is having my child um yeah it's a different dynamic it's a different dynamic and she's like it's gonna change you it's gonna change you and i'm like we'll see yeah we'll see but i know it is i know it is i just don't want to tell her that you know i'm just like all right babe i'm gonna keep it cool you know totally so man let's talk about your transition from now the fitness from you growing up dude

inspiring story. I love it to now the online world. So when you met your wife, you said she was already in the online game in 2017. She did. Yeah. Okay. So what exactly was she offering in the online space? Yeah. So she graduated college early because she had a passion for fitness. And she was sharing her fitness journey. The next you know, people are messaging her asking for fitness tips, things like that. And then at that time, it's kind of like the rise of the online world. And so she started seeing other people like offering coaching and things like that. And she's like, fuck, like, I can do this. Like, what's the difference between us, right?

And so she was offering fitness coaching at that time. So basically exactly what we're doing now, different level. Things have evolved a lot. Yeah. That's exactly what her journey was, basically helping women take control their fitness, build a level of discipline and create an image that they're actually proud of and, like, really channel that harness that confidence because that's what women need, bro. If a woman's not confident, it fucking plays into almost every year of their life, you know?

No, absolutely, man. I mean, it ties into the relationship, finding that. the man that they want you know i always tell people you sometimes you got to build yourself up you're not being honest with yourself you got to know who you are yeah right and i think that was the biggest difference between you know my previous exes and my wife dude my wife was real yeah i was real we were at a stage of the game where we were like you know we're in our mid 30s we're like this is what i want like off the bat like our first like date we were just like okay what is your intention with this and we're like we don't got time to waste

And, okay, well, you know, I'm at this stage of the game. This is what I want. I want to get married, but I want to be with the right person. Yeah. And it was just like, when you know you know, bro. That's how it was with my wife. When we, like, reconnected and stuff like that, she, we were both, like, under the impression.

I was with a woman 10 years. Yeah. And we broke up. And then so shortly after I met my wife. And it was one of those things where I met her. I was like, hey, I don't want to just have fun. Like, you are way too special of a person. Yeah.

And you deserve more than just like a fuckball. You deserve more than that, and I want to be that fucking person. And she's like, whoa, no one's ever said that to me. That's different, bro. Exactly. But I was like, that's my thing, bro. I was like, I've never been one of those guys who, like, just wants to go fuck around and stuff like that. Like, it's just, it gets fucking boring, bro.

Like, to me, I want to have my best friend. Yeah. That's why I just want my fucking best friend, dude. Yeah. So, like, whether we're on a shack in the fucking islands or we're living in a beautiful home, like, doesn't matter. I just want my fucking best friend, dude. You're a war buddy. Exactly.

I love that. I love that. So she's starting with online fitness for women. And then in 2019, you guys meet, get married. And now you guys launch your own program. Talk to me how it was being a beginner and going into the online space, trying to figure it all out. Because as you guys know, I came into the online space in April 2020. I didn't launch my first offer until about September 2020.

and it was a slow it was a slow climb up dude like you know I was helping people at the time start small side hustles while they're working their 9 to 5s and then um I was trying to figure everything else out dude I didn't have social media for eight years yeah you know I have zero following yeah so so for me it was uh it was tricky I'm not a selfie guy you know yeah me either bro yeah get it on camera talking I was like uh so how was it was it like in a situation where like your wife was mentoring you she was showing you like the basically the blueprint of how to build it up. Bro, if it wasn't for her,

none of this shit would be here right now. So I was a personal trainer. As a personal trainer, and any of you personal trainers out here, you probably understand what I'm talking about. You look at online fitness coaches like they're a bunch of bullshit. You can't comprehend the world, right?

And especially because you work so hard to build this in-person clientele. And I just had a completely warped a vision of the online space. And what ended up happening is I was doing like 10 sessions a day, six times a week. So I never saw her, and we just got married. Right.

And I was like, fuck, like, I'm not trying to live a life where, like, I only see you for like an hour at night a couple times a week. Like, dude, that's how marriage just fucking fail. Like, that's how dudes get cheated on. That's how shit falls apart because, like, he's not present at all. So really the driving factor behind all of it was me wanting to spend more time with her. And so it took her a while to, like, really show me what was possible and realizing that, dude, you can help so many more people than just your 40 in-person clients. Like, you can reach people all around the world. like you can fucking impact this on a completely new level and it was that like reframe around all of it

that made me actually realize like oh fuck like this is actually what I want to do yeah and when I actually started doing that that's when everything really fell in the place so she laid the blueprint out for me like she showed me what she did she really put all the effort in the beginning to really get the ball rolling and getting it to the point where it needed to be yeah I was just so fucking good at coaching I'm super smart around fitness I know my shit I know what needs to get done I just didn't have the vision she had vision she put like you were talking about you're the fire starter she's the fucking fire starter I came in and I just fulfilled on it and we just kept driving with that and that's what blossomed into where we are now smart yeah smart so so essentially she she's

like your operations she's she's she's a well you do the fulfill the operations she's the visionary yeah the visionary I love that I love that you need that dynamic in business 100% well and it's also one of those things where it's like working with your wife is a whole another fucking ball game and so if you don't really have these like clear defined roles it can be very tough, right? Like, especially when it's business, like, shit's not always easy, right? So you can be very difficult. So when we, like, really just kind of, like, defined our lanes,

it made it a lot easier. It made the dynamic very, like, harmonious and things were able to move a lot faster because we weren't really button heads, you know? Yeah, yeah. And then how do you guys separate business with personal life, man? I mean, because that could get tricky itself. I mean, as you know, being an entrepreneur,

you're an entrepreneur 24-7. Yeah. That's the way it goes. That was honestly, like, still to this day, that's the hardest piece, is trying to separate the two. We worked from home for years. It wasn't until a couple months ago.

We actually went and got an office space because I was like, dude, we need separation between work and home. Because when we're at home, we just end up working. It's 9 o'clock at night. We're talking about work, and the next thing you know, it's like we're having conversations at 930 at night. It's like, dude, this is not the time to do it. So one, having clear defined roles was key, but then, too, also making sure that, like,

we separated it completely from our house. Like, when your house is where you work, everything is intertangled. Like, it's all there. So when we started separating things that made a lot easier because now we can leave the office and, like, work's done. We don't bring work home, which was honestly probably the biggest and, like, most beneficial change for us

was actually just doing that. And then the last piece is, like, traveling, bro. Like, you have to have experiences. You need to actually step away from everything. Like, as an entrepreneur, it's very hard to not work, especially when, like, it's just you in the beginning. Of course.

It's very difficult to step away from that. So one thing we did early on because we both always wanted to travel, was like, okay, we go travel and like, dude, the business can take a fucking back seat. Yeah. Like, nothing's going to fall apart in a fucking week. Right. Everyone's okay.

We make sure they're taking care of. And we just take a couple of days, just like shut it all down and just focus on each other. And so doing that every quarter has been an absolute game changer because it allows us to stay connected even in the midst of all the chaos. Dude, I love that. I love that. So what are you guys working on right now? Yeah, so right now a few things. So we rebranded under Warrior Fit.

So it's the fitness arm of Garrett's company Wake Up Warrior, which has been incredible. Super grateful for that. Obviously, the guy's done awesome things over the past 14 years. So being able to be in that ecosystem has been incredible. We have our own podcast, too, that we launched. And so that's one of our, like, passion projects still. That's just really just me and her. We're moving down to Miami.

So we're just doing, like, a lot of big life moves and we're ultimately kind of creating the foundation we want. Like, we knew kids are going to be here on the horizon, too, so we want to have a place that we can call home. We got the office because we wanted to separate work. So it's less business stuff. It's more about ultimately creating the lifestyle that's going to allow us to take things to the next level. Absolutely.

And are you thinking, I mean, you know Miami already, man. So would you guys consider Miami your forever home? No. No, no, no, not at all. I had to ask. I had to ask. Yeah, it's funny. We made it very clear.

Miami won't be home forever. We'll be here probably for like the next 10 years, honestly. But this won't be our forever home, dude. It's cool right now because when you're building, when you're scaling and you're, in the networking world. Of course. This is the place to be. This is the Dubai of America.

This is the place to be. So it's incredible. I love this. I mean, I was able to just drive down here and come to you. It doesn't get much better than that. But eventually when it gets to a point,

do you like, I want quiet. I want to be able to get away from people. And that's one of the things I actually do miss about California. It's like, you can drive up to the mountains or go out to the desert and just kind of get away from everyone. Dude. You don't have that here. Yeah.

Tell me about it. And that's the thing. California's such a beautiful state. Yeah. It's just the way it's being ran. That's it. That's it. Run it right.

I'll come back. Yeah. You know? 100%. I'll be happy to pay the taxes. I'll come back. That's what I always tell people. Like, oh, do you leave because of taxes?

I'm like, that was like one of the reasons. But that wasn't the only reason because if everything was amazing there, I'd be like you pay for what you get. Of course. But like you come here. There's no state income tax. They're always building. They're always fixing roads.

It's fucking clean. They don't let the homeless run a fucking muck everywhere. It's pretty much safe for the most part. Yeah. How is that even happen when they don't have state income tax? That's what I'm saying, dude. police you know exactly and that's like one of the big things too is like like I said my brother's Tennessee state trooper and dude I have a lot of pride for the blue bro like emergency services all

that's always been a big passion mine my father was a cop as well before he passed away and being in California and just watching the hate that everyone had it's insane one it's also one of those things where it's like motherfucker when you're in trouble what do you do you call 911 and what do you want you want a cop to show up so like why is there so much disrespect why is there so much hate. So coming here, it's been so refreshing, bro, because, like, the cops are loved. Dude, they're loved. They're respected. Have them on the billboards. They have the American flag. They actually want to work, bro. Yeah. You know, so it's a cool environment to be in.

And like I said, family values, morals, like that was really lacking in California. Obviously, Miami is a different role, but you still have a lot of that here. I mean, again, we're both here and we both have the same views. I mean, a lot of people with that. Like, there's great people here, bro, and the state ultimately cultivates a lot of that. No, absolutely, absolutely. So let's go back to the very beginning of your transition with Warrior Fit. Yeah. How did you meet Garrett?

Yeah, funny story. Yeah, dude, I got to ask. So I got married. And we went on our honeymoon. We came back home. Yeah. And something hit me. I always say it was God talking to me where I was like, I had no idea what it looks like to be a good husband.

I have no example, bro. Yeah. Like, no example. How the fuck do I be a good husband? So I started reading books. I'm like listening to the podcast, all this shit. And I come across Garrett and his wife's podcast called Date Your Wife Podcasts. I start listening to it.

I was like, oh, wow, these people are like real and raw. Like this is what I'm looking for, right? Like, they just put everything out there. Listen to the podcast for a little bit. Ended up following him. Well, right when I followed him, he just started getting into lifting weights and he wanted to do a show. Yep. Well, he was posting pictures on a story of him posing.

And I just send him a message. I was like, bro, you look great, but you pose like, like shit, please don't step on stage like that. He gets hundreds of DMs a day, does not respond to one of them, saw my message, said, God told me to fucking respond to you, sent me a message saying, can you help me out? Got on a FaceTime, helped him out with his posing for a little bit, ended up taking over his prep, won his first show, and then the relationship basically just blossomed from there. So always tell people you are one conversation away from your life changing forever. Absolutely, dude. So understand the power of actually networking.

Dude, networking is huge. I always preach that. Your network is your net worth. 100%. You know how many times I have met someone through another friend or possibly a podcast or an interview or a convention or a mastermind? And then that one person, a couple months later, we are both helping a ton of people. Exactly. We're doing good business.

And now it's a ripple effect. It's a ripple effect. It's a ripple effect. impacting lives. dude, it's wonderful. And that's what I say, like, when we were talking about social media, is like, that's where social media can be so powerful

because you can connect with people on a completely new level, right? But the other side of it as well is like, the COVID times are fucking done. Go meet people in person. Go put yourself in the environment. Like, we're back to where things should be. And that's what I love about Miami too.

It's like, dude, there's masterminds, there's networking events. There's anything you want, you can find it here. And if you can't find it, you're just not looking hard enough. Yeah. Yesterday, we had a guest,

Humberto Dominguez. And he actually during COVID, okay, he was big in the nightclub industry in Vegas. He ended up transitioning from Vegas to Miami because they were still allowing people to actually charter yachts during COVID. Yeah. So he came and started a business out of doing that, dude. It just made me think of him as soon as you started saying that, yeah, because Miami, you're right.

People are out. They're out and about. They want to be like social, dude. And that's just what it is. They have the run clubs. They have the gyms. They have everything. You've got the beach.

you know it's just what it is dude whenever i go back to see my family in californ i'm just like dude it's dead it is dead everyone just kind of like hides away at their little spot yeah you know out here's like everyone like if come to miami at 6 a.m. everyone's out oh absolutely everyone's out absolutely it's crazy i mean you got people who are leaving the club at 6 a.m so there's that but i'm talking about you got other people waking up they're running they're doing things like it's an amazing city to just meet and network and like that's what life is about bro it's about meeting people and just sharing experiences having conversations like this no absolutely dude. So for my viewers right now, I always ask my guest this, man, if you were to recommend

three books that you have read before that help you change your life, do, your mindset, your core values on the way you live, what would you recommend? Conversations with God. Very powerful book. I grew up Catholic, but after fifth grade, I said, fuck, all of that, and completely disassociated from any religion, God, any conversation around all of that. Wow. And it wasn't really until like a year ago, especially like with Garrett and things like that,

I just started realizing I was like, wow, all these things that are in my life right now, there's got to be someone steering this shit, bro. 100%, dude. I'm sure even for you, you've been in very, like, sticky situations. You probably should not have made it out of, but for some reason you did.

Too many. That, to me, is the power of God. So Conversations with God is a very powerful one. Garrett's book called The Warrior Method, incredible book really breaks down the tactics of putting attention to the four domains of your life. So in your body, in your being, which is your relationship with, or I'm sorry, your balance which your relationship with your wife and your kids, your being, which is your relationship with God operating from a higher power, and then your business, your ability to provide

and produce, right? That one is key too, because it also will give you tactical takeaways on how to actually make things happen, right? And then the last one I would say is the way of a superior man. I think it's very cool for men to actually have an understanding of how we operate and how females operate the differences and how ultimately if you operate the way the man actually should, your wife will always step into her feminine and allow you to actually lead. And that's what we all want. We want your wife to be able to relax and that's why we talk about protecting and providing. If you can actually create a man that's able to do that, you will have a woman that will follow you wherever the fuck you go and she will be your ride or die.

So it's my top three. Dude, I love that. It reminds me of my wife every time she says, babe, wherever you go, I'm there. And that's just the way it is. That's the way it is. And she says that to her mom. She says that to her best friend.

She's like, well, you know what? When we moved to Puerto Rico, I didn't make that decision until two days before Christmas, dude, last year. Hey, success, let's meet. I move fast. Right, Emilio? Exactly. So when, hey, babe, we're going to Puerto Rico.

I'm talking the tax attorney right now. Boom. Pay them the retainer fee. Make it happen. Boom, boom, boom. I talk to my real estate agent. Okay, cool. Let's go ahead and start setting up to sell the house.

Do this. Do this. My mom, she's like, again. You're moving again? And I was like, well, yeah, man. Yeah, you're moving again. And I was like, well, yeah, man. I'm like, you know, I got to go do this.

Got to save money because, you know, for kids and the family and you and, you know, I can buy more property and do this, right? Generational wealth. She's like, oh, okay, I get it. So when it comes down to it, I remember this conversation she had the day before we left to Puerto Rico with her mom. And she goes, and her mom, I'm listening to them talk. And her mom goes, I can't believe you're moving to Puerto Rico.

You just moved to Miami. And she goes, and I love this about my wife. She goes, mom, I don't care if Paul moves to Mars. I'm moving with my husband. And I was just like, yes, yeah. it made me feel so good dude that's what every man wants bro yeah that's what every man wants and when you focus on yourself and you work on your personal development and you take your mindset your body you take everything to that level that is the fucking byproduct right there yeah is that it's great

dude and i want to double down for your viewers when you said success love speed yep that is fucking key because everything that we've accomplished in the short period of time that we've accomplish it is all because I did not hesitate to fucking move. I did not hesitate to take a risk. Men are the fucking worst when it comes to this shit. They want to think about it. They want to wait for the fucking right time. They want to do all this shit. Pull the fucking trigger and go. And when you do that, that's how things move fast, bro. Like that's what ultimately creates a success. Like take the risk, move. Like, what's realistically the worst that happens? You just go back to where you were. You're right. That's it. Yeah. Or you get a good lesson. Or you get a good lesson.

And both of those are very powerful. It is, it is, because you're not going to do a mistake again after that, you know? Exactly, exactly. And that's how you learn in entrepreneurship from experience, guys. So with that being said, man, I want to take just before we end this, man, Warrior Fit. Let's talk a little bit more about that, man. I'm super interested. As you know, I'm in my health journey, dude.

You know, planning Mike's one of my boys. That might be a thing where I might get it for me and him. And you might see us at your guys' program and in your guys' conferences. So what exactly is water fit? Who's the ideal client for that? Yeah, so I focus on men over 40. And my goal is to help them weaponize their body and harness that power so they can directly have that impact on the other domains of their life.

Big portion of my clientele are all men who have achieved very big things. They're entrepreneurs or business owners, just high producers. And they've accomplished everything in life, bro. Again, they have the house, they have the kids, they have the money. They have all, they've checked all the boxes. But they still wake up completely unfulfilled. They won't look at themselves in the fucking mirror. They won't even have sex with their wife.

Everything in their life takes a fucking hit because they've had and I haven't taken control of themselves. When you take control of yourself and you actually weaponize your body and you have optimal internal health, which will yield an optimal external image, everything in your fucking life will change. So that is my goal behind all of that is simplifying the process, giving them the blueprint and letting them go full speed. Because one of the issues inside the fitness industry,

everyone makes everything so fucking complicated. and they talk shit that people can't even understand it. You talk to me, I get it, but we need to keep it simple. Simple is key here. So I simplify it for them. I give them the blueprint, make sure it works harmoniously with their lifestyle, and then we master that consistently with that. And then again, the by-product is the great physique.

Dude, holy shit. I mean, your appreciations are required, dude. I always tell this to everyone I know. Simplicity equals success. It's everything, bro. It's everything, dude. Even in business, you need to simplify the business in order to scale it. That shit's too complex.

You can't fucking scale it. Because people won't understand it. Exactly. And then a confused buyer won't buy. Exactly. And so when it comes to fitness, everybody wants to talk about all this fancy shit and this internal optimization and blood work and this and that.

It's like, yes, all that stuff is very crucial. But nobody fucking cares, bro. They just want to be given the answers, given the blueprint, tell me what to do and like, I'm going to go do it. And if you can do that for them,

simplify the process and just help them master the consistency, which is all mindset. Dude, everything in their life just compounds from there. So your program, essentially, saying your mentorship actually helps men with the mindset portion, does it also help them with like one-on-one training? Are you guys doing like in-person? Are you guys also optimizing like, let's say somebody has low testosterone? Are you helping them with like the labs and all that? Yeah. So what we do is basically start of their initial conversation is blood work. We have

to look at your internal health first and make sure you're optimal internally so we can drive the physical progress. One, we need longevity. We got to make sure you're on this plan as long as possible especially for all my clients or high producers like they are the producer for the family so if they fucking die their family's screwed bro yeah so like longevity is key here so let's make sure you're healthy then also let's make sure you're optimal do your hormones need support right is there any vitamin deficiencies like what's going on let's make sure the foundation is actually built and again the crazy thing is there's guys who are 45 50 have never got their blood worked up before it's like bro carter let me ask you a question real quick before you continue what is the most common deficiency

that you see with people that obviously don't do the blood work dude because i know so many people like now that i'm on this health kick right now for this year and i'm just like dude my body's changing and i'm like this cool like i'm preaching like dude blood work blood work gut test you know outergetic test like do it do it guys yeah most deficient vitamin d um literally everyone no matter where they're located it's the most chronically deficient vitamin i've seen every single person's blood work is vitamin d and what what does that cause so So vitamin D is a precursor to a lot of things, especially hormone function. Okay?

And we all hear about like vitamin D, like, get your son, like things like that. Yep, yep, yep. A lot of people are deficient in it, right? And if we're deficient in that, unfortunately, is going to affect a lot of other processes within the body. So that's one of the most deficient things I see. Now, on the other side of that is going to be testosterone. It's, I don't know if it's environmental factors or what, but I'm talking, I see 25-year-old

guys up to 45, 55, which at that point, it makes sense, but low testosterone. And when you have that low testosterone, bro, it impacts literally everything in your life man dude i really think it has to do with their food bro yeah i it's just in the states they're not like regulating it you know like i went to europe and like my wife she's a uh history nut dude so like she's just like babe did you know that the bread here is actually better than the states because of x y and z it has to have these chemicals and all this same thing with the perfume and the makeup and all that stuff and i was like oh i didn't know that babe but yeah and then i started talking to a friend and um you know i have a couple of employees that are quite a few employees

that are, you know, in their 20s. And they started working with Mike. And a couple of employees, they're like, hey, dude, I didn't know. I was low on tea. Yeah. I was low on tea. And I was like, bro, you're super young. You're under 30.

I was just like, how are you on lower tea? And then, you know, as I go ahead and I research and do my due diligence a little bit more into the space, I find out that is because of the processed food. It's because of all the microplastic that we're consuming. dude and it could come from like anything right like people like drinking the coffee pots now yep right but you're you're what is it you're heating up the plastic you're drinking it you're consuming it every day yep and and you know big pharma dude that's a big topic since last year right oh yeah it's getting exposed dude 100% you know that's what I'm saying it's like the food it's

environmental factors like I mean it could be even like the technology just like again even like the perfumes things like that like there's so many things aren't impacting this because I'm not even lying you like even females bro. like under 25 and their testosterone levels are fucking dog shit like that's just not fucking normal at all and it's only gotten worse yeah um which thankfully like we have access to things now like t rt and just peptides like there's a lot of things we can do to obviously fix that but still got to look at the whole picture and say what is the root cause that's causing all these people to be so fucking deficient right you know so yeah that's mind-boggling it's it's crazy to me

i mean this is the rabbit hole dude oh it's the fucking rabbit hole there's so many theories that can go behind this, man. Okay, so you help them optimize. You help them with mindset. And then what else? Yeah. So start is going to be an initial consultation in terms of internal health. Make sure we're optimizing that first, making sure they're healthy. And then again, making sure they're actually optimal hormones, thyroid, everything there, right? That's got to be the key. Then we move into nutrition. Okay. When it comes to nutrition, a lot of people are just like, hey, here's your macros, go do your thing. It doesn't really work for everyone, especially like entrepreneurs, bro. They're fucking busy people. They need the blueprint. So we got to make sure we're

creating a nutrition plan that works harmoniously with their lifestyle. Do they eat dinner with the family every night? Do they go on date night two to three times a week? Do they have a lot of networking events that they go to? We have to map all this out and give them a solution to every obstacle that they're going to face. And in this way, it's fucking bulletproof. If they don't have that, they will fall off the map and they don't have the time and energy to actually think about how to map their day out, right? So I teach them that piece, but also give them the fucking roadmap, dude. Because when we have a roadmap, it's so much easier to actually work off of. right right then obviously we dial in training cardio as needed supplementation as needed which

we base off of your blood work and then from their accountability is a key piece right I always say men grab your dick and balls you're a fucking man hold yourself accountable but you still need someone there to actually like help make sure everything's moving in the right direction yeah if it's not here's what we need to adjust just making sure we have that hands-on approach to make sure we're making the most of every single week and getting you towards the goal as efficiently as possible that makes and that makes I love your breakdown I could understanding i always say this guys yeah i build quite a few companies employed quite a few people but at the end of day i'm a simple guy i'm not i'm not a nutritionist i'm not a fitness guru that's why

i hire the best of the best right so with that being said man um where can people find you dude where can they find you uh you and your wife for for the women that are watching obviously um and yeah dude because i mean i'm even interested i'm gonna start looking into you know what you're offering how we can work together and all that jobs yeah absolutely so instagram best place to find us Mine is at the Carter Montgomery, and my wife is Alyssa Rose Montgomery. Both on Instagram, you'll find us there, everything we basically push through Instagram. So that's the place to find us. I love that.

And to go ahead and end the podcast, I always ask my guest, this is the level of podcast. We're here about self-help, dude. We're here about mindset. I always think that if you don't have everything squared away in your personal life, how are you supposed to build a successful business, right? So with that being said, some words, motivation for the audience dude just based on you what you know your life experience dude and what you do best dude help people yeah number one thing which i already touched on a little bit

is going to be consistency when you master that consistency you can apply it to your marriage you can apply it to your business you can apply to anywhere in your life and everything will move in the right direction that consistency comes with a work ethic right because it's doing the boring shit day in and day out so don't think you need to do anything super complex don't think you need to like have some fancy program, do all these things. Pick one thing, implement it for 30 days, stay consistent with that, and then stack another piece on top of that.

Build brick by brick, and I promise you, within six months, you're going to have a completely new mindset, a completely new body, and it'll be walking around a completely new man. I love that. I love that. Guys, and that is Carter Montgomery.

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