The Nick Bare Podcast - Archive - Resilient Is A Choice In The Face Of Adversity With Omar "Crispy" Avila

Episode Date: October 26, 2021

In today’s episode, Nick speaks with Omar Crispy Avila, who joined the U.S. Army in 2004 as an Infantryman and deployed to Iraq in 2006. 11 months later, his vehicle was struck with a 200 pound IED, resulting in burns to 75% of his body and an amputation of his right leg. Over the past few years, he has made huge transformations and discovered his fulfilling life purpose to help other people through his stories.  Through his social media presence, Crispy portrays himself as a true, all American patriot. He expresses his love for America as a whole and the freedoms and opportunities the nation offers to so many. In this country, he is able to live his wildest dreams. Crispy came to America when he was just 7 years old and was granted citizenship during high school. In his home country of Mexico, citizens are not allowed to voice their opinions or own firearms to protect themselves.  Crispy recounts his experience watching the attacks of 9/11 live in school just after he became a U.S. citizen. This marked a defining moment of Crispy’s life when he knew he wanted to serve his country. He turned down a football scholarship to join the Army one month after graduation and was deployed to Iraq very soon after.  Crispy recounts a few attacks he experiences there, specifically the one of May 14th. Though he remembers feeling angry with God for letting his friends be killed, he was making his peace with him at this moment. Something inside of him told him to get up, that he wasn't going to die here today. With broken legs, third degree burns and partial blindness, Crispy was taken out of the area of attack. He was in an induced coma for 3 months and woke up in Houston to the news that his friend had died.  To date, Crispy has had a total of 105 surgeries. His doctors discovered cancer in his foot and brought in a specialist to take a look at it. Though they were able to remove it all, Crispy couldn't walk on his feet anymore. He pleaded with the doctor to have his leg amputated.  Crispy has not always been in the place he is today, and spent much of this aftermath in a very dark place. It was the loving people he surrounded himself with who made him the man he is today. He shares the story of connecting with Chris Kyle. Discussing vulnerabilities, Nick points out that opening up is the best way to instantaneously connect with others on a meaningful level. Crispy believes he is a better person today because he was finally able to put his pride aside and find the courage to ask for help.  Then, Crispy recounts the opportunity which led him to meeting and connecting with kids who also suffered from severe burns like his own. The organization Sons of the Flag helped him find his own calling in helping others. Sometimes people don’t need to hear advice, but just want to know that they aren’t alone. Crispy feels he gets more out of giving advice than anything he may get out of it. Crispy shares that while many people search for resilience, few really have it. Until you’re put in a situation, you’ll never know how you would react to it.  In closing, Crispy shares his experience undergoing stem cell therapy and the miraculous ways it has changed his life by relieving chronic pain. Sharing vulnerabilities is really what the world needs right now and Crispy is living proof of it.  Timestamps:  0:00 - Nick introduces the episode and today’s guest, Omar Crispy Avila. 2:10 - What does patrio

In today's episode of the podcast, I sit down with Omar Avala, also known as Crispy. And the title of this podcast is, Resilient is a Choice in the Face of Adversity. This has been one of my favorite episodes to date. The story, the struggle, the transformation. Honestly, Crispy is just an amazing person. It was a great to sit down and have a conversation. He joined the U.S. Army in 2004 as an infantryman and deployed to our Iraq in 2006.

And 11 months after being in Iraq, his vehicle was struck with a 200-pound IED, resulting in burns to 75% of his body and an imputation below the knee of his right leg. And he was then in an induced coma for three months with dozens of surgeries. And over the past couple years, he has gone through struggle. He's experienced trauma. He's had to make transformations. and he found a fulfilling purpose in his life to help other people through his relatable stories. And this is just such a powerful episode that I can't wait to share more of it with you guys.

So without further ado, let's dive right on in. You were listening to the Bear Performance Podcast where we discuss topics on fitness, nutrition, business, and leadership to help you perform at your highest level and go on more. I'm your host, Nick Baer, founder of Bear Performance Nutrition and Prior U.S. Army Infantry Officer. We've scaled our brand through our core pillars of transparency, service, and integrity. And now I want to share with you through our experience and our guests, how you can optimize your life. Welcome to the show. All right.

So today we have Crispy on the podcast. And I really want to dive into right from the start, the identity as, you know, when I see you on social media, when other people see you on social media and this presence you have, it's this true American, this true patriot. Yeah. And my question is, has it always been like that? And going back to even before you were a U.S. citizen. Yeah.

What did that look like to you? What did being a patriot mean to you? You know, that word gets tossed around a lot. I think I'm just, I just love being an American. That's what it is. I love what we stand for, what this country does, the opportunities that people have, the freedoms that we have, and not other places are that way, right? So it makes me just, I just, I'm happy to be able to live my wildest dreams in this country

and be able to do what I want and do the things that I like. You know, for example, like, I like hunting. I like shooting guns. I like the outdoors. And there's a lot of countries where you can't even own a firearm. It's against their laws. I think we take for granted the things that we're able to do here. So I just love everything that we stand for.

And I love just making sure people don't forget that and that they understand how free we are. So a lot of people say, Patriot, I just think I'm just an American. I love being an American. I guess so it's one of those things people don't appreciate what they have. Yeah, until they don't. Until they don't. So the people that actually do it, appreciate it.

Arsenia is like American. Yeah. When in reality, we all should. Yeah. And going back to it, like, yeah, I think this is probably the first or second time I ever talked to on a podcast. I don't think people know that I wasn't born in the U.S. I was born in Mexico.

We came to the United States when I was seven, eight. And I got my citizenship when I was a sophomore in high school. That's when I became a citizen. And coming from Mexico and looking back, right. right now, especially the corruption, the cartel, the drugs, the killings, you look at that and you're like, man, that's, that's insane. And that goes back to what I just said, the people can defend themselves because they can't have weapons. They can stand up to the cartels when the police are not around. And even when the police show up, it's such a big, corrupted police department,

military, anything with the government is so corrupted that these guys show up, they literally turn their backs on the people that they sort of defend and those cartel guys do whatever they want because they have the money, they have the power and they have the weapons. People can defend themselves. So it just blows my mind how we don't take that for granted here. And people just forget about it. They're like, oh, no, that's different until you're there. Until you experience that. And I experienced that. I saw it. I look back and I'm like, that's horrible. That's not a good way of living. Like that's, they can defend themselves. They can't even voice or opinions because they're going to get killed. And we have all that here. And we take it for granted.

We're kind of like we start screaming at each other and fighting with one another and not really, not really taking into consideration. Like, this is great. Like me and you having a debate is a good thing. Other people don't get to have that type of stuff. Is that one of the reasons that your dad decided to bring your family over to the U.S. is because the things that were going on in Mexico and then seeing an opportunity for a future for your family? No, it wasn't. that bad when we were growing up. It's not as bad as it was now. I mean, the cartel was there. There was presence. It's always been there. But it wasn't as bad as it is now. My dad serving in the military as well did his four years and got out. And he worked in the U.S. So it was a constant

sending money back and traveling back to Mexico and coming back and going for back and forward. And he just got fed up. He's like, you know, I just want to have my family next to me. Like, I think I did my time and, you know, this is what we got to do. And that's ultimately why. He just wanted us to have us closer to him and have a better, a better way of life because, you know, I mean, in Mexico, I think my mom was earning probably like 150 bucks a week or something like that, like less than a thousand a month. And I mean, try doing that here and living with that here.

It's impossible. Oh, yeah. Same thing over there. So he just wanted a better life for us and wanted us to be closer to him so he can, you know, help us, help my mom races. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't, you didn't know, you weren't a U.S. citizen until you were like a sophomore in high school, right? Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, it was right before that. I didn't really know. I, you know,

I had no concept. I was a young kid when we came here. I was seven, eight. I had no idea. All I knew is that I need to learn how to speak English so I can communicate with my classmates. Finally, my sophomore year, after my parents had done all the paperwork and paid all the fines and, you know, down all that stuff, they pretty much said, hey, we're going to, this Border Patrol building and you're going to take an exam and we're going to become citizens and that's that. And I was like, that's freaking cool. And, you know, we were in a room full of people from like all over the world that were becoming citizens. And I remember being there as a ninth grader or 10th grader and given a little American flag and just feeling like the sense of pride because

it was like you're an American now. Like you're part of this team. Like, let's go. So yeah, it was pretty cool. Is that when you started feeling this like responsibility and obligation to serve or was that was that triggered when 9-11 happened? Yeah it was definitely triggered when 9-11 happened just like millions of other guys that serve as well. I became a citizen two weeks before 9-11 happened. So I was already on that high of being an American and I remember when 9-11 happened, I was in U.S. history of class and I remember the intercom coming on and they were like teachers stop teaching, police turn on the TVs. And we were just like, whoa, what the hell's going on? You know, like, that's very, very rare of what's going on. So he turns the TV on. And as he does,

the second tower hit, got hit. I was like, whole. And, you know, the teacher's selling, I was like, we're under attack. I remember him saying, we're under attack. And things started clicking. And then, you know, we're listening to the news. And you kind of sit there. And I remember sitting there and I was just crying. And I wasn't like, I wasn't conscious of it. It was it just it just started happening. And I remember feeling this anger inside of me. I remember like feeling the sense of pride of being an American. I was like, we just got attacked by some fucking cowards.

And I want to do something about it. And I was a lot of people say this that us as American soldiers sign a blank check to this country. I felt like it was the other way around. This country signed a blank check to me and my siblings and my mother to become anything that we ever wanted to become to be. doctors, lawyers, whatever, be successful in this country because you're part of this country and we're giving you that right. So I felt the other way around, I felt like I owed something of this country. I owe something because they gave my brother, my sister and my mom an opportunity to be something bigger than we would ever been in Mexico. And I just felt like, you know what,

like it's me being the oldest of three, I want to go and fight. I want to go do this. And growing up, I always saw the pictures on my dad in uniform. And I was like, man, my dad looks slick. Like I was like, I want to wear a uniform one day. So I think that was planted at a young age. And then that was definitely the determining factor of me joining and fighting for them. Because I didn't want my brother or sister to grow up in a country where we, you know, we answer to someone else that's not from here.

And we got to take their ideology and be, you know, oppressed by another country. Like, no, we're free and we are free to do as we want, and I'm going to go fight for that freedom. So that's ultimately what made it the factor of me going overseas or joining the service. As soon as you graduated high school then, was that the first thing you did is went and signed up and enlisted? Or was there some time in between? There was a little bit of time. There was a couple months. I was kind of saying, you know, 9-11 happens.

And I throw that in the back of my head. I'm like, I'm going to join. I'm going to go fight. And a lot of my good friends that I played sports was. I played varsity football and basketball since my freshman year. And so I had teammates that were seniors. And as soon as that happened, they joined. They all went off and joined the infantry.

And I'm like, man, like, I was jealous at that point because it's like, they get to go fight right away. And so they will come home and I will talk to them. And I was like, dude, what can I do? Like, what job should I take? And, you know, the internet wasn't that great back then. There was in an information like now, like, you know, now kids can Google like Navy see you and like, you know, everybody pops up or ranger this or range of this. There wasn't that

when I was growing up. It was just word of mouth, right? Or you believe your recruiter, which, you know, I don't know if you want to believe you recruit. Yeah. So that that was planted in the back of my head. And when I graduated, I had opportunities to go play collegiate football. So I was kind of tossing around. I was like, what do I want to do? What I want to do? Like, I don't know what I want to do. And then like, I remember sitting there and I was like, you know, you made a promise that day that you were going to go and fight. So your brother and sister didn't have to worry about it and didn't didn't have to go fight. So I graduated and then a month, month and a half later, I walked into the recruiting office and the recruiter used to always come play basketball with us. I mean, I still keep

in touch with them today. I was like, hey, Nash, like, I'm ready. And he's like, what? He's like, don't you going to go play football? And I was like, no. And he's like, when do you want to go? And I was like, tomorrow. I walked in there, June 6. and then I was on a plane June 15th. Wow. Yeah. Like first time I ever been on a plane too. So it was kind of weird.

In between, came up to San Antonio, did MEPs, did everything, got my contract, went home, told the parents. And they're like, okay. My dad was like, you know, what you're getting into? I said, yes, sir. And he's like, all right. And, you know, my mom obviously was like, why don't you go to college and, you know, be the first one to graduate? I was like, yeah, mama, I'll circle back. to that, but this is what I want to do. This is the promise that I made to myself and this country

that day in the classroom. And she understood. So got on a plane man and went a basic training in Forbending Georgia. And that's how I started my military career. And you knew, like when you joined 2004? Yeah. 2004, it's extremely kinetic. Yeah. Right? It's just the beginning of everything that's getting started. So when you decided to join, it was like, you know, you knew your were getting deployed. Oh, yeah. It wasn't a matter of, if it was a matter of when. When, yeah. So how soon after you arrived in Fort Benning, finished basic, finished AIT, were you heading to Iraq? I got to Germany, man, like February of 05, I think. So we spent a couple months there. So we went to the field, training, and processing, all that other stuff. And then

June of 06, we were in Iraq. Okay. Pretty fast. And then it was, I guess, what, 11 months after you were there that you got hit with the IED? Yep, yep. It was crazy too, because that was the time, I don't know if you remember when we got extended from

12 months to 15 months. Yeah. And we shouldn't have been patrolling at 11 months. We should have already been back in Kuwait, you know, freaking loading up the vehicles and everything and headed back to Germany after that. But when we got extended it to 15 months, you know, we got more time on the ground. And that's ultimately what led to me

getting injured. Prior to that day, were there, I mean, did you get hit with IEDs prior to that? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Dude, I got hit with, I got hit with six IEDs on one road that they named that, that street, Omar Street. No way. They're like, and then it was always me. Like, it wasn't any other, like, if it would have been any other vehicle on that road and now I was there, then I'd be like, yeah, cool, let's name of that. No, no, no, it was my vehicle every single time with different crews. Because some people were like, well, you guys are bad luck. Let's separate you guys.

And then boom. And I was like, damn it, it's me. But in those six attacks, did anyone ever get injured or hurt? Not really. No, a couple people, a couple that were shrapnel here and there, but not no severe injuries ever. I mean, it was just kind of, there were smaller IEDs. They were kind of testing the waters at that time. So it was mostly like blowout to the tires or they disabled the engine because they just

hit right in front blow it out stuff like that that wasn't really any injuries out of that so what made the day it was may 14th correct may 14th what made that day different than the other attacks like how did that one well it meant it was the eerie day like it was kind of it felt i felt something different in the year that day right and i'm obviously being mexican we're superstitious people and And I got into a routine every single day of waking up, getting my vehicle, make sure my gun was ready to roll, make sure I had ammunition, I had everything. You know, just kind of prep my vehicle. And every time before we rolled out, I would say a quick prayer. And that day I didn't.

That day, for some reason, I woke up a little late, and that just wasn't me. Like, I was always the first one up. I woke up a little late, was running behind. By the time I got to my vehicle, the crew was already waiting. And I was just like, damn it, like, this is not me. So we're rushing through the things. I'm like getting everything ready. We start rolling out.

Forgot to pray. We go out the gate. And I just remember like, man, something doesn't feel right today. Like, there's something going on. I just can't explain it. And so we roll out and we're in a five vehicle convoy. I'm in the third vehicle in the middle. And the last vehicle gets hit with an IED.

As soon as we roll out. And it was a small IED. All they did was blow out the spare tire. I remember my squad leader was actually like, yo, that's, that's an alarm. Wake up. And I was like, that's a hell of an arm. Yeah, I'm awake. So we assess the situation. Nothing had really happened. We, we keep on our convoy and we keep on our patrol. And around seven in the morning, as we're kind of coming to this intersection, you know, you got a straightaway and you got roads that are intersecting from the left-hand side, the first two vehicles get engaged. And you just see all around sitting the side of the vehicle. So these guys couldn't turn immediately towards.

where the threat was at because they had already passed it. So they went ahead and we're going to turn on the following road and we turn right into it. So as soon as we turn in, man, I just, I just hear bullets flying through my head and I get on my 50 cow. And I start unloading. And I hit about four or five of them, just dropped them with that 50. And then as soon as that happens, you know, everybody gets back into formation and I'm now the first leading vehicle. And as soon as that happens, we get engaged again from the left hand side. So we turned and then turn again.

And as we turned, like you mentioned earlier, we've been there 11 months. Like I knew, I knew this place like the back of my hand, bro. Like I knew every little house, spec, rock, things. If something was out of place, I knew. And as we do that, I start seeing the enemy and I started engaging. We go over a bump. And I'm trying to process like, whoa, wait a minute. Like, that's not supposed to be there.

And as I'm doing that, the loudest ID that I had ever been in went off. It ended up being 200 pounds of explosives. So what they did is there was a house to a right-hand side and the house to the left. They dug a tunnel and packed it in over months. And then they couldn't pack it anymore. So they dug on the road, which was their mistake where the bump was at. And they started packing it even more.

And it was a commanded nation, meaning there was a guy inside with a trigger because we had, Do you remember the rhinos or the, I can't remember what they would call on. It was like a big rhino looking thing in the front that kind of interfered with any cell phone signals. Yeah, I remember seeing this. Yeah, yeah. So we had those and they worked. So they knew that they worked because there was a couple times because they started blows up that they couldn't do it. So they knew they had to do a command detonation.

They had to really pull the trigger when they saw us. And I guess the guy panicked because he was supposed to hit it in the middle, in the middle of the vehicle. And that would have killed us all. We would all have been done. But he panicked. little. I think that at least that's what we think. And as soon as we were going to be over it, he hit it on the back. And I just threw the vehicle up about five or six feet in the air. You're talking about a one ton vehicle. Like it's that's power. It's a lot of power. And so vehicle goes up

in the air, comes back down. I'm on the gun. I got a driver. I got a truck commander and I got two guys in the back. And when it hits, I just fall back down. And I remember my legs just buckling. And I fell back into the right hand into the right lap of the passenger harkies and the specialist harky and i looked into his eyes man and they were just white like he was he was dead on impact like gone and then i just remember laying there and in the infantry world that's either you come home alive or you don't there was never an in between there was never this you can get injured and come home and have somewhat of a normal life That was never my plan.

It was either, am I dying combat or I'm coming home? So I'm laying there and I hit the gas tank so there's fuel everywhere. And I remember looking at my left-hand side and I saw Catterton, who was the driver, jump out and he's in flames and he's just running. And it was like slow motion, kind of like the movies, you know, everything slows down, but fast. So like I saw him in fire and then he ran off and I couldn't see him anymore. And the same thing, Sergeant Fleming on the back, I'm flamed. runs away. And at this moment, I'm just laying there in the truck, like, I'm good. I start making my peace with God, because at this point, like, I was mad at God. I had lost about 14 friends. We were the

hardest hit unit in Iraq since any Vietnam unit. I was questioning every single time, like, why are you laying my friends die around me? These guys are good. They got families. They got kids. Like, why? You know, we're here to do good work. Like, why are you letting my friends die around me? So I was mad at God. And so I remember laying there and I just, I was making peace with them. I was like, you know, I'm sorry for ever questioning you. Like, I just asked for a favor. Like, please let my mom be okay. I knew my dad was going to be okay to an extent because, you know, he knew the lifestyle. But I was praying more for my mom. I was praying for my sister. She's fairly young at the time. She's probably like 15.

16. And so I remember praying for them. And I remember like praying, you know, God to give my brother the fortitude to become the oldest now that I'm not going to be there and kind of like look after my mom and my sister. And as I'm doing that, then compos stayed in the front seat. He couldn't get out. His equipment had burned into the seat that he couldn't move. And I remember him grabbing me. And he was like, get out. Get out. And I like, look at him and I was like, nah, bro. Like, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to die. I'm not leaving you. Dude, all of a sudden, like, I just felt like this inner light in me. Like, I just felt like something right next to me whispering, not today. This is not where you die. Get up. And I just sprung up. And I remember looking around and I'm on that gun and I see enemy on the rooftops and I just start

unloading on that 50 cow. And I was like, you know, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die like with some of you bastards like, let's go. And so I get that energy inside of me. And at that point, they're grabbing compos. One of our buddies ran up and was getting them out. And he got him out. And we used to carry extra ammunition in my vehicle.

We used to carry extra grenades. Like, our vehicle was the one to come to if you, we were in a firefighter and you were running low on ammunition or grenades or anything. We had them all. So as I'm up there, I'm shooting and the flames were getting kind of hot that it cooked off around in the barrel. And the gun just exploded on me. And at that point, I'm like, I need to get out. Like, this is time to get out. And as I'm getting out, one of the grenades cooked off and just hit me all on my right side as I'm getting out.

Like, it just hits me everywhere. And I was like, well, that kind of hurt. But the adrenaline was kind of rushing. So I didn't feel anything. So I got to the top of the vehicle. And as a gunner, you know, you're always taught to either jump on the engine and then down or in the back and then down. Well, if I would have jumped on the engine, dude, I would have caved in with the engine and then just that was it. And so I looked to the back, same thing.

I mean, both sides were on flames. So I jumped to the side. It was like six feet high, maybe. My burns were so severe, and I was still on fire. When I hit the ground, I broke both of my femurs, and they just kind of popped up. And I remember being on the ground and just like, oh, shit. And I looked down and I'm still on fire.

So I do the whole stop, drop, and roll. And I'm rolling or whatever. And let me just tell you, that shit doesn't work. Stop dropping row does not work. So I'm here to tell you kids, don't do it. As I'm doing that, one of my buddies that actually came from the last vehicle, ran out of the way up with a fire extinguisher and was he was like, close your eyes. And I'm like, why? And then he just hits me with it and just puts me out. And then he gets me to get away from

the vehicle because I was right next to the vehicle as the flames and I can still feel it. So he helps me move. But as he helped me move, I remember how I grabbed my M4. And he's kind of putting me towards the door. So I look back at the door and he's, you know, trying to go get help. So I turned around. I took three shots at the door. And then there were still people on the rooftop. So I took a couple with shots and then I ran out of ammo like 30 rounds go by pretty fast so then I'm sitting there and I'm just just in smoke man like just crazy so I'm sitting there and I watch one of my buddies go by and he looks down and his staffs are an an an nunis he's like bro you good and then I was like I looked up he's like are you alive and I was like I think so and he's like shit let's get you

up and I'm like I think my legs are broken and he's like no you're fine. You're fine. I'm like, okay. So he picks me up and I'm putting all my weight on him. And I mean, that's probably like 185, 190. And then with gear on, like I'm pretty heavy, like 210 maybe like putting all my weight on him. Plus him and his gear and his wet. I mean, anyway, so he helps me and we're walking and I mean, I'm taking my time. And we finally get to a vehicle that had actually pulled around us and started taking, took the first spot in front of us to make sure that we were okay. And no one was coming from that side. And he gets me there and it was a brand new driver. Like we had lost so many people that we were getting

replacements. So he gets me in the, he takes, take him into the vehicle. He opens the door. And where he's opening doors, he's like, dude, I got to let you go because I got to open this door. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So as he does that, like, my legs buckle again. And I just break and I just fall back. And like, I remember seeing him and the sky. And he comes to room. He's like, dude, I told you my legs are broken. And he's just like, oh, shit. My adrenaline was so high. I had no concept of pain at that moment. You didn't feel anything. I didn't feel anything.

I was just like, oh, cool. All right, cool. Like, it might have been shock. I don't know. But it was shock, adrenaline. I don't know, man. I just couldn't feel anything. So he gets me in the vehicle.

Medic jumps in, you know, he starts doing what he's doing, bandages and all this stuff. And I just remember sitting there like thirsty as hell. Like, I just wanted some water. And I'm like, dude, let me get some water. And he's like, not yet. Hold on. Let me fix you.

you up, you know, you can't drink water yet. Hold on. And he's doing that. And then I remember just reaching over and grabbing a headset and putting it on and listening to what was going on. And then finally, you hear the green light, like, go, go, go, go. We got everybody. We need to go. The driver started to panic. And he started screaming and was scared. You can't blame the guy. He was his first day on the ground. So be me and me, I reached over and slapped them. And I was like, shut the fuck up and listen. And he was like, okay, okay. And then, you know, we got the green light. get out of there. And so we start driving.

And as we're driving, I look at the medic and I was like, dude, I need some water now. And he's saying, no. And I was like, dude, give me some fucking water. So he finally does. I grab the water from him. I take a sip. And then I made the biggest mistake on my life. I poured it over my face.

It was burned. That and the chemicals from the fire extinguisher. The chemicals from the IED, dirt, you name it at all. It just rolled into my eyes and I couldn't see anything. Like, I went. dark. I couldn't see anything. And at that moment, it was either two things, either scream, yell, and do all this crazy shit that wasn't going to help, or keep my composure, try to get us out of there, and then figure it out. And so I was like, all right, cool, we got to get out of here. This kid has no

idea where we're at. And like I mentioned earlier, I knew that place like the back of my hand, man. Like, I knew exactly what we were. I knew exactly how we needed to get back to the cop. Like, I knew everything. So we got the green light. So I'm like, you're going to see a green house on the left-hand side here in about a couple hundred meters? He's like, I see it. I see it. I said, take that left.

And as he's doing that, I started giving, I start calling up to company. I'm like, hey, you need to open the gates here soon. We're rolling. We're rolling. We got three wounded. We got one KIA. I'm sorry, four wounded, one KIA. We need the medics now.

And they're like, Roger. And so they're doing. And then at this point, they had no idea. I was one of the wounded ones because I was talking to them. And, you know, we turn. And then I'm like, dude, you're going to see this house on the corner. There's a big bell. Like, they have like a church bell in their front yard for some reason.

I have no idea why. And I was like, you see it. You see it. He's like, I see it. I see it. I said, take that right. And then I was like, now, punch it. You're going to see the cop right now.

And he's like, I'm seeing it. I'm seeing it. So I call up. And I'm like, guys, open the gate, open the gate, open the gate. And we rolled through. And as soon as we roll through, the medics were already waiting. I mean, the IED was loud that everybody heard it and it shook our building. And so they were ready.

And I remember that we only had three medics and there was four of us. So as soon as we roll in, you know, they're all waiting for us. Some of the first vehicle again, they opened the door and I just grabbed it and closed it. And I was like, no. And one of our buddies opens the door again. And he's just like, bro, we need to get you out. And I'm like, dude, there's not enough medics. Luckily, there was an SF group right next door to us.

They send their medic to come over and help. And he said, we have that medic from next door. And I was like, okay, who? cool. So he goes to grab me to pull me out. I was just be careful. My legs are broken. And then when he goes to grab me, he grabbed me from my arm and my skin just came off. Like, kind of like a slave just all came off. And he's just like looking at me and I'm looking at him. And he's just like, oh shit. So he comes in and grabs me, puts me on the, uh, on a bed and they take me into the 8 station. And I remember watching the other guys come in. And I looked at Catterton and I was like, hey, brother, we're good. We're good. And he was just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then. Fleming rolled in and I remember telling Fleming. I was like, bro, they say, number of chicken wing. Let's go.

And he was a yeah. Yeah. And then compas came in and compos was a dear friend of mine, man. Like this dude when I got to the unit, welcome me with open arms where we're both from Texas, both from South Texas, like lived 20 minutes from one another. Similar stories, amazing mom, like mine. Like we just had this background that was.

practically the same. So he was like one of my best friends. And I remember him coming in and I was like, hey, bro, we're going back. And then he was just like, he didn't even talk. He was just like nod on his head. Then that started. And then I remember our medics working on us. And I remember they were trying to put a cap on my head to kind of like, you know, just start working on me because of the burns or whatever. And I remember taking it off and be like, don't put this fucking condom in my head. And at this point, they had giving me like every drug you can think of. So I'm pretty high and they were like you know you even told us like if i die it's on you and i was like shit like damn it my bad and um so finally they're like medevacs here medevacs here we got to get

you guys to the lz and i'm like cool so they get us over there and then they fly us take us into the green zone and i remember getting the green zone again seeing the guys and then after that man i don't remember anything i remember waking up in fort sam houston a couple months later I was an induced coma for about three months. But I don't remember none of that. And then as, you know, I came to and I started hearing stories, I heard one of them that was freaking amazing, man, of how God was with us the whole time. When we got to Germany, the plane that was going to take us home had already been in the air six hours in because we were delayed. And there wasn't going to be another flight to like two days later.

So they called off the pilots and they were like, hey, listen, we got these guys here. and they need to get to the States ASAP. But this is y'all's call. You guys are in the air six hours. You're going to have to turn around. Come down, refuel, get off the plane, let another crew go. And get these guys in the air. The crew decided to turn around.

They landed. They refueled. They loaded us all up. They refused to get out of the plane. And they were wasting time because they're like, you guys need to get out. You need to get out. We need to get another crew. You guys can't fly for that many hours.

La, la, la. And the crew was like, we're going to finish this flight like we intended to. You're wasting time. Get off my plane. So they went back and forward. They finally, the people got off the plane. They let these guys go. And we landed in San Antonio.

And it was just like, man, it was all by the faith of God, bro. Like it was, you know, he was there the whole way. He was kind of looking out for us. Like, you're going to make it. Woke up and then found out that compos had had had a bunch of surgeries. They had amputated both arms, both legs. But the extent of his burns have gone into his abdominal area. and then all his guts were having severely severely burned, had a bunch of infections,

and he ended up passing away June 1st. He passed away. And then Catterton sustained about 40% burns to the body. His hands were all jacked up, lost a year, a bunch of scars in his face. Fleming was about 80% burns to his body, lost a bunch of fingers and whatnot, and then I was burned 75% burns to the body, third and fourth degree burns and had a metatorsal amputation on the right leg, which is just half of your feet, you know, like the diabetics get. Yep.

The grenade that went off, just kind of cut a bunch of toes off. So they were able to make that amputation. Well, first of all, thanks for sharing that story. Yeah, yeah, man, of course. I appreciate that. When you woke up in Fort Sam Houston, after being in a, induced coma for three months. Yeah.

What was the first thing you saw? Like, what was the first thing that came to your mind? Did you remember the last thing it happened or it was trying to piece things back together? So I woke up and my dad was right next to me and I woke up and I looked at him and I was like, Grandma and he goes, you're in San Antonio. I was like, San Antonio what? He goes, Texas. And I lay back down and fell asleep for another two days.

And then I woke up again and my dad was there again. And I woke up and I was like, where my boots? I got to get back out. I got to get back out. We got hit. We got hit. My dad's like, son, you're in San Antonio. You were hit and we're doing recovery.

And I was like, and I sat there and I was like, oh, okay, cool. It did happen. So then like, it kicked in and then I started asking about everybody. And my parents didn't want to tell me about compos. And they finally told me. And it just broke me. Like, it was like, it was crazy, man. Just to sit there and like, I missed this funeral.

I missed. or everything. Like I wasn't, I wasn't able to do anything because I was asleep. And that broke me. And then I was like, it's catartagn and Fleming alive.

They're like, they're alive. They're going through surgeries just like you are. And I was like, okay, cool. And then the recovery started after that. How many surgeries did you end up doing and how much time after that?

Initially, I think, by the time that I woke up, I had already had 35 surgeries. And then after that, man, honestly, two or three surgeries a month after that. And then we came at a halt a couple different times. So total, I've had 105 surgeries, I think, till the day.

And then them lip salvage for about nine years, which has been 14 years since I got wounded. We did lamb salvage nine years on my right leg. And then I did a road march with a bunch of buddies. We did like the 22-mile road march stuff. And at the time, I thought I was hard and put all this weight on my rucksack. And I had a, on the Mediterranean territorial amputation, they had found cancer in one of my bones. So they removed it all. So I had a big scar on the bottom.

So that scar opened up again. My wife now, girlfriend at the time, this thing opened up in you. And I was like, yeah, no, I was like, it'll heal. I was like nine years into the explosion. Like, I knew my body. Like, every time I get a cut or anything, it takes long for me to heal because of the burns. So I was like, don't worry about it, honey. Like, it'll heal up, like, here in a couple weeks.

Like, it just takes time. So six months into it, nothing. She's like, you need to go to the hospital and go get checked. And I was like, okay. So I stroll into the VA. And I walk into the VA and I'm like, hey, guys, like, this is what's going on. And, you know, I get the doctor. And she looks at it.

And she's like, oh, it's just an infection. And I'm like, you're going to look at any test anything? She's like, no, just infection. and take this and I'm like, okay. And something didn't feel right. I was like, there's no way. Like she's not, she's not digging into this. Like she needs to.

So I decided to go to BAMC, which is Brooke Army Medical Center where I did every single surgery I've ever had has been there. Anything that's ever happened to me, it's always been there. And so I go there and I look at the docs. I'm like, hey, dogs, what's going on? And it's like, well, we're going to have to put you under to make sure to see what's going on. Now, I say, cool, let's do it.

So they do. And then I wake up like an hour later. And I was like, what the hell happened? Like, that was a quick surgery. And they're like, hey, we want to let you know. We took some cultures out of your leg where you were under. We found traces of cancer. And I was like, oh, okay.

Like, we took as much as we could. He's like, but we're going to have to, we're going to have for you to come back like in a week. So we can take the rest out. And we got to bring a specialist for this. And I said, fine. So I go back. They put me under again. Now the specialist is cutting in and they start taking all this meat out.

And they're, you know, doing cultures while on. down to make sure that there's no longer any cancer. Well, they got it all. And at this point, I just have a big gap on my foot that you can see all the way through. And they closed it up. But there was like no meat, nothing for it to heal. Right. So they finally give me the go ahead to put weight on it.

And dude, I put a little bit of weight on it. And it just popped open again. And it was probably some of the most excruciating pain I've ever had. And I literally just sat back down. I looked at my girl, my wife and my girlfriend at the time, I was like, and she's never seen me in pain. And she's, you okay? And I was like, holy shit, that's hurts.

And I was like, we're going to the hospital tomorrow. And she's like, okay. So we rolled in there on a Friday. And then the doctor walks in. And then my ortho doctor walks in. And I looked at both and I was like, cut it off. And they're like, well, that was their next option that we were going to give you. And I was like, cut it off.

I haven't eaten since midnight last night. I haven't had anything today. let's go. And he goes, well, wait a minute, that's not how this works. Let's put you on the schedule for Monday.

Come back in and then we'll do it. And I was like, they're like, go enjoy your weekend with your family. I said, I can't, my leg hurts. Just cut it off.

And they're like, all right, we're going to give you some medicine, some painkillers. We'll see you on Monday. And I was like, okay, rolling on Monday, they caught it off on Monday.

And then that was August 30th. They cut it off August 30th. And then I was sent home on that Friday. And then after that, they told me, that I wouldn't be in a leg until December. And I refused to take that. I was like, nope, we're going to do it before that.

And they're like, well, you got to heal. And I started doing some research. I got into a paleo diet really hard, like extremely, extremely into it. I healed in three weeks. My leg was closed. November 14th, I was in a prosthetic walking when they said I was going to be in a prosthetic in December. So I was like, don't tell me what I.

can and can do. I was like, I'm going to fucking do it before you say. And got an up prosthetic and been an up prosthetic ever since. So we did amputated below the knee on the right leg. And that was other surgery that I had. So after all this trauma and surgeries and massive transitions to your life, I'd assume it was you wake up in Fort Ham Houston after being in a coma for three months. You hear all this news of what happened. You see your body. How did you mentally, grasp everything that was happening. Oh, I didn't. It was hard at first, man. There was some challenging moments and I was very, very glad that I had my family moving at the time because they were very supportive. But there was times that I felt useless. There was times that I felt

like I was a burden of people because, you know, as you get older, man, like being 21 when that happened, I always had it in my head, like, I'm going to take care of my parents when they get older, right? They're going to take care of you. So now you're a 21-year-old burned up, missing a leg, your mom's wiping your ass, taking care of you again. Like as you were a baby, like it was very hard for me to take in, not being able to drive, not being able to tie my own shoelaces, not be able to dress myself. Like, all those things were just gone from one day to another.

Like, couldn't do anything on my own. So I felt useless. I was in a very dark place. Definitely had Survivors' guilt. definitely thought about my teammates and how I let them down because I'm no longer there and they're still out there fighting. So there's a lot of mystic motions, man. It wasn't like, I didn't get there like where I am now or you people see like, oh man, look at this guy. So inspiring. I was like, it wasn't always that guy. I was in a very dark place. But like I said,

I was very fortunate that I had my family. And not only that, dude, like when you're in that hospital, there's always someone worse than you are, like someone that's worse checked up than you are. And there definitely was. There was other dudes that had it worse than I did. And I saw them laughing and I saw them joking around. And I gravitated towards that. I was like, you know what? Like, I'm going to hang out with these guys. I want to hang out with these guys. And we started hanging out. And my mom would even make fun of us because one of our buddies had a van. And I had all these contractions in my hands to like straighten out my fingers and like and he's in a wheelchair double amputees all burned up he can't use his hands but has a claw so i will step on the gas and he

turned the car on and then i navigate like this and uh my mom would be laughed just like look at you and it was like four i used to hang out she goes all four y'all make one able body so like like it was just the people that i surrounded myself with was kind of what helped me out too it was just like Dude, there's no, there's no time to sit around and not, and sorry, and feel sorry for yourself. There's really no room for that. It's just like when you see these other guys living their lives and doing what they do and having a support system and being very positive. And just, uh, I was surrounded by love, dude. And it's just literally what I freaking helped me.

And then down the road, I get invited to a hunt. And I was just like, man, when I was still kind of in a funk, I was like, I don't want to go on this hunt. Like, fuck that. And then the night before I was like, no, I do want to go. So, like, I packed out my gear. And then when I woke up that morning, I was like, I don't want to drive the four hours. Like, I'm going to stay home. And then I laid there for 20 minutes.

And then it was just kind of like, God, like, go. And then I was like, I'll go. And at this point, I was already kind of, I could drive. I didn't have all the contractions of my hands, all that stuff. And I was like, cool, let's go. So I get to the hunt and I went with a good, really good buddy. Oh, buddy of mine, Jay. And we got to the hunt.

And, you know, there's a bunch of other servicemen. members there and we're just hanging out. And then this tall blonde dude walks in. And I'm like, who the hell is this fucking dude? Like, who do he thinks he is? And he sits across from me like you are and everybody's like having a good old time. And he like gets a bottle of makers market. He's like, you drink makers?

I was like, I love that shit. He goes, cool me too. puts it down. We start drinking. And then he's, I was like, so what's your name? He goes, oh, my name's Chris. I was like, oh, nice to meet you, Chris. He goes, Chris Kyle.

I was like, oh, pleasure to meet you. And someone's like, you don't know who he is. I was like, I don't fucking know who he is. I'm like, who is he? They're like, oh, that's American sniper. He's a Navy SEAL, and I was like, ooh, Navy SEAL, ooh, you know, we're kind of joking around and he's just like, whatever. He's like, I like you.

We stayed up all night drinking like a handle on Maker's Mark, and we opened another one and finished half of it. And we started talking, and I remember him asking me something I never asked me. He sat there and he's like, how are you? And I'm like, I'm good. And he's like, no, no, no, no. How are you? And I was like, well, you already fed me with liquor.

Let me open up. So I opened up and he's like, I get it. He's like, here's what I've been through. And he tells me a couple stories. And we kind of connected in a lot of things. And man, he became a really close friend of mine. And he's like, it gets better. So, like, connecting with him was great.

I don't want to credit him 100% of the recovery and the impact that everybody else had in my life. but he was definitely a key to it. And it was great to like had had him introduce it in my life. And after that, we were really close friends for a long, long time. But that's literally where it got me there. It was love, dude, from a bunch of different people. I was wondering about that because I see the impact you have on people that are going through similar situations or who have experienced similar things

who can't relate to others. Yeah. And I was wondering because you had that impact on other people right now, if you also had that guide or that mentor, those people in your life while you're going through it to get past his hard times. Yeah, definitely. He was definitely one of them. I had quite a few mentors. And the funny thing was a lot of them weren't even service members, man. It was all walks of life from people like business owners, very, very wealthy people in Dallas, dudes that worked in a farm.

it was a bunch of different people that I gained a lot of knowledge from and was very humble by these people. And that's kind of, I took a little bit of everything. And they definitely helped me be where I am today. They, they definitely shaped me up to who I am today. One thing I found is, like, when we open up vulnerabilities, I mean, as hard as it is, a lot of times, it's hard. It's hard. It's hard. I even have a hard time now. Like, I'm hardheaded, dude. I don't, I'm not. I'm not. I'm, I'm not. I, I don't open up that much. But it helps so many people. Yeah.

It's like it seems like the answer is to, and we see it online all the time, like, be the tough guy, be the tough guy. And people will respect that. And you almost think that is the character, that's the narrative of B. But as soon as you show these vulnerabilities, like you did with, you know, Chris Kyle. Yeah. It's like you instantly connect with people because it's real. Yeah, I think definitely what you just said, man. I think everybody's like, this is not a jab or anything.

but you always see the David Goggins like, oh, you got to go hard, oh, the fucking time. Yes, to a point, yes.

But I've always told people, if you're fighting demons, it takes a stronger person to ask for help than anything else. Because it takes strength to ask for help. And I think a lot of people think of asking for help as a sign of weakness. And it's not. It's literally not. It's one of these strongest things that you can do because you're being vulnerable.

And you're sitting here, And I was like me telling you like, hey, Nick, I'm having a hard time when I need help. That takes more strength than anything else. And it took a lot of me to put my pride aside and do that to all those people. And it paid off, man. Like, I'm a better person today because I put my pride aside and I built up the courage and strength to ask for help. And it helped a lot. sometimes I think about like when we're in passing with people.

Yeah. And we ask how they're doing or people ask you how you're doing. But they actually don't want to hear how you're actually doing this. They just want to say, good, good, yeah, cool. But it's one of those things. If I was sitting next to someone and they opened up to, hey, I need help. Yeah. They'll almost take you back because you're expecting someone to say, I'm good.

Yeah, I'm good. Without a doubt. And then you put in a situation and you're like, oh, shit, okay, let me tell you. where I'm at. And then it just opens up the door to understand a person better and share your your common ground with someone else and then feed off of that. Did you try to avoid that for a long time? I did. Yeah, without a doubt. Yeah, I did. It was just one of those things where like I thought that I was the only person going through it, that it was only just myself and that no one else would understand. So I put it aside a long time. So when did you start getting more associated with

Sons of the flag. Is that because, I mean, I kind of see it like this, this shift where you found this mentorship, you found these people that helped you? Yeah. Was it then I now have this responsibility or I have this obligation to help other people? Yeah. So shortly after that, man, like social media took off, right? Like I started getting a platform.

People started following me. And I was like, man, this is nuts. Like, why? And I met Ryan Parrott, who's a former Navy SEAL that started Sons of the Flag. He got blown up in Iraq. and suffered minor burns, as he likes to call it. He came home and realized he met with a good friend of mine, Captain Sam Brown, who him and I did therapy together.

He was like, so what can we do for you? Like, what else is the government doing for you? And he goes, this is as good as it gets like. And that kind of bothered Ryan in a big way. And Ryan was like, absolutely fucking not. So when he got out of the SEAL teams, like, he started Sons of the Flag. And I heard about it.

And then he invited me over to Dallas. And I drove from Brownsville to Dallas. And I was like, tell me about this. And he goes, I want to help everybody, civilians, first responders, and military. He goes, so burn to burn. And I was like, holy shit. Yeah, you're right. And what got me more interested was all the facts that he was giving me.

Now, with the war happening, right? prosthetics has been a big thing. A lot of people lost a lot of limbs. And that prosthetic game went from men from here to here in like 10 years. Like I can walk in right now until my prosthesis, hey, I need a prosthetic because I want a deadlift to 800 pounds. And be like, oh, let me fix it. Done. I need a leg because I'm going to run a marathon.

I need a leg because I want to do this. I'm a skydive. The technology is there. I saw it. I was doing Leadville 100, which is a hundred mile. Ultramarathon, the Rocky Mountains in August. Yeah. There was a guy using a prosthetic, a Karlsack terrain.

Was there a Hispanic-looking guy? Because one of my buddies did it. It might admit, it was like the real- Yeah, the paperclip? Yep. Yeah, that was him. And he was just trucking. Oh, yeah.

And he passed me. Oh, he's a, yeah, he's a former Special Forces guy, good guy. He ascended and descended 15,600 feet. And I was like, I was mind-blown by like the technology of him. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So the technology is there, right? And when it came to burns, we're still doing procedures that we were doing on soldiers there in the Vietnam War. There hasn't been any research. There hasn't been anything that's developed out of that to help burn patients. So that really bothered him. So that's kind of what ultimately made him start, Sons of the Flag. Not only that, man, there's not a lot of doctors who specialize in burns. It's a very small community. So he actually. actually went and met with these people who are going to be doctors and was like, what if we pay your tuition? Would you want to be a burn specialist? And a lot of doctors was like, well, yeah. So that was another thing. Started raising money to get more doctors to be more specializing in burns. Got linked up with like a lot of great burn doctors throughout the world.

So now we can have the best doctors to operate on people like myself, other firefighters. Then he started doing projects with young kids that have been burned. And they do that. that was like you've ever have you ever sat there and wonder what your calling was and then it's just like here it is that was exactly what happened to me we made a young kid by the name of owen who had been burned up when he was about two years old i believe and he's third 12th now and um when i met him dude it was just like look at this bundle of joy like he was happy excited doing all these things and one of the things that he wanted to do is he wanted to write a bike because he saw his buddy riding a bike and he wanted to do it. So Ryan did all this research and Sons of the Flag bought him a hand cycle bike.

And I was going to go, I went to Indiana to present it to him at a Colts game and did the face that kid made when he saw it. They lit up the whole building, bro. So it was like really cool. And then we stayed in touch and he phasedime me before every surgery that he has. Like we're still in touch today. His mom calls like. it opened up the door for me to meet other kits that had burns. Like I've gone to conferences or camps where it's all burn kits and I go in there and have a blast with him and enjoy them and see him and do all these things.

I did a power lifting meet in Minnesota called Relentless and there was a burn kit in the front who would wear a mask or a paper bag because he didn't want other people to see him because he was pretty badly burned. And then I get on stage and I did lift like 700 pounds or something and he's like, he gets up and he tastes the mask off and he's like, he's burned like me and he's strong. And he was just like excited and like, dude, like man, like when they told me the story where I was like, oh, damn it. And like got to meet him and hugged him and kept in touch with him. And like, dude, it was just amazing to have an impact on other people like that. And like that was truly my calling. And then I was like, I told Ryan, you ever need anything from me for Sons of the Flag, I am there. Like, I'm 100% in on everything they were doing here.

And that's literally how I got involved with Sons of the Flag. Like it literally helped me find my calling in this crazy world of ours. My wife says this thing and has me thinking about this. You can apply it to a bunch of different scenarios in life. But it's at some people, sometimes people don't need advice. They just need to know that they're not alone. Yeah. And it's like we talked about before starting the podcast.

I think it's what the military does a really good job at showing an example of is you're going through something together. You're sucking together. You can relate. You can complain. You can feel from each other. And then from an outsider, they might not understand that. Yeah.

And there's all these different, you know, pockets and things that happen in life. or sometimes you just need someone. You can say, I know it you've been going through. I'm here for you. Yep. Yeah, definitely 100% man. Like I think being able to relate to somebody to an extent of what you've gone through. And like I told you, man, it burns a burn, right?

I don't care how you got it. I know the traumatic event that you went through. I know the therapy that you went through. I know the surgery that you had. I know because I had it. It doesn't matter where I got my burn. I know the traumatic event that, happen to you and I know what your feelings. Like I can connect with you on that level. That's

literally what it was. And man, to me, it was crazy because these kids are like looking up to me. And on the back of my head, I'm thinking, dude, you got burned when you were three years old. And let's not be, let's just not bullshit ourselves. You're going to get bullied in school because kids are mean. Let's just, it's, it's going to happen. You know, you got jerk kids that are being raised by jerk parents. You're going to get picked on. All these things are going to to happen in your life that you don't have any control of because as human beings, we're fucking evil. And I don't want you to grow up in this world thinking that you're by yourself.

You got me. And you might not be able to open up to your parents because they don't understand, but you can open up to me. And it's happened. I've had kids call me, like, what do I do when this happens? And I'm like, here you go. And then like, it's crazy, man. Like they see, they see the lifestyle.

They see the things that I'm doing. They're like, do your wife. hot. I'm like, I know, you can get a hot wife too. Like, you can. So like, things like that, man, and it's, it's, it's crazy that like, I was in a dark place and then God was like, here you go, bro. Like, this is what you got to do. And this is the light that you're going to bring to other people, which I really have a hard time sometimes. Like, I'm like, I'm not perfect. Like, why mean? Like, I'm not a good person. And then, like, you get stuff like that. And it's just like, it changes your whole perspective in life, man. Like, you,

I get more of giving back than I actually do of getting something out of it. Like, I feel like I just want to keep giving and giving and giving and given and given because, like, I think to an extent it helps me cleanse my soul. Like, it helps me, like, kind of clear all those sins that were made prior to all this. You know what I mean? So, like, I'm in a weird position, man, and I freaking love it. Like, I love, love hearing stories from people every single day on social media when I share my deepest thoughts or when I share an experience that I had

and people are like, dude, that happened to me. And it's just like, it's all there, man. We're all, no matter what you come from, your background, we all deal with something that kind of connects every single one of us in some shape, way or form. There's been this recurring phrase or concept that I've been having with conversations with people lately. And when you think about it,

the world in itself is a really dark place. it's it's and if you let it the whole thing will be dark all the time and the only thing that brings it out of darkness is is a light sometimes those are people groups of people or events if no one's willing to be that light which is not easy because then everyone's looking at that light all the attentions in the light yeah but if no one's willing to be the light it just stays dark yep and i think it's tough but it's this responsibility and obligation that some people get Yeah. Where it's like these things happen to you in your life.

You didn't necessarily ask to be this light, but you're helping people by being the light. For sure. Yeah, yeah, definitely. I don't know. I think resilience is a, it's a big thing. And a lot of people look for it. And a lot of people want it. And I've had a bunch of people come up to me.

Like, you know, if I would have been in your shoes that day, I would have died. I would have not done this. And I'm like, not necessarily. Like, well, what do you mean? What's like the one thing that us humans? want to do forever live right nobody wants to die you're afraid of dying that day i was afraid of dying i didn't want to die i jumped out did everything that i could have survived because that's a human instinct and i was like so don't ever sell yourself short because you don't know where you're

capable of until you're put in a situation like that and and doesn't matter what the situation is it could be a divorce it could be breaking up with somebody it could be a car accident it could be whatever you think that happened in your life, that's what that is. And you overcame it and you're better person because of it. And honestly, if I'm put in a situation where like, let's say your worst day was getting a divorce, I don't know what that's like. And if I ever go through it, I don't know how I would deal with it. It could be the thing that breaks me. But it didn't break you. And the day that I got hurt, it didn't break me. So it could be the other way around. You just never know until you're put in a situation and you really find out how resilient you really are.

I think we're in a day where people want to look for that and others on social media. And that's a great thing about it. And we're able to touch so many people throughout this great fucking world of ours and share our story and share how vulnerable we are. And the things that like the bumps on the road, I think a lot of people relate to that. And that's literally what I like doing on my social media is just like, I like having fun. I like hunting. I like my guns. I like writing a little bit of poetry.

and then opening up to people and be like, hey, listen, like, I'm not tough every day. I'm not. Like, there's days that I wake up and I'm in pain or I don't want to do certain things. But, you know, you still kind of got to dig deep and just get it done. I think it's a hard concept sometimes for people to grasp that. What's hard as relative to each and every person. Like, what's hard to you might not be hard to me. What's hard to me might not be hard for you.

And it goes for everyone else. So, like, I think we try to compare. pair what has happened to each other. We do. But in reality, to be honest, like the things that you have experienced are much more traumatic than the things I've experienced in my life. Yeah. So it's all relative.

For sure. And I know, like, I think a lot of people think you got, who with this IED years and years and years ago, but the pain has been ongoing since. I really want to dive into, because I've been following you and seeing you jump in into stem cell therapy. I want to know how that's going and what that's like. Man, that's been great. Right. So for the longest time, like, I found an outlet when I was injured. I found powerlifting to be my outlet. And I dove deep in it, man. Like, it was crazy. The first time I ever did lift that, I did lift at 4 or 5 the first day. And everybody was like, what just happened? And I'm

like, is that a lot? Like, I can go heavier. That wasn't heavy. And people were like, are you kidding me? And I was like, okay, cool. So I found myself doing it at a competitive, and, you know, I ended up benching 500, they're lifting 705, then all these things being all over the place. And it took a big toll on my body. Like, my body's already checked up as it is. And then here I am, benching all this stuff and breaking down more muscles and having injuries here and there and coming back from them and getting back at it.

So my body was hurting for a while. So I stepped away from power lifting about three years ago. Didn't touch a single weight. Nothing. I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. Like my body hurts. Constant pain, chronic pain, you name it. Like, it was just no motivation, just didn't have the drive anymore.

I'm like, I kept telling people like, well, no one in the Paralympic world is coming close to my number. So I don't need to do this. That was my excuse to telling people like why I wasn't doing it anymore. But it's just an excuse. It wasn't anything else other than that. And I've yet to see anybody else deadlift that much. But that was my excuse to myself and to the world. but in reality is I was in pain

and I just didn't want to touch any more weights because I just didn't want to experience that pain anymore. And then fast forward to last year, I met a buddy of mine who does like all the marketing stuff for Bio Accelerator, which is a stem cell company out of here in the States, but they operate in Medellin, Colombia. And he goes, have you ever thought about stem cells?

And I was like, man, like, I was like, the only time I've ever really started doing research It's like after I heard Joe Rogan's podcast a couple times where he was like stem cells, stem cells. That's where it's at stem cells. And I was just like, whatever. And I was in Panama a couple years ago. I mean, I was in Costa Rica a couple years ago. And this other person on social media, which I wouldn't mention names, but he has a beard and hangs out with a lot of girls all the time. Hit me up and was like, hey man, like, once you come to Panama, I'll pay for your stem sales. And I was like, I'm good, bro. And he's like, seriously, anytime you want to pay for it. I'm like, okay. Left that. at that and then I thought back on it and I was like, man, I should, they should have definitely taken him up on that. And then I was like, whatever. And then my buddy presents the opportunity goes, look, dude, he's like, you need to go to Columbia and get these stem cells. It's going to change your life. And it sat in the back of my head and I was like, man, like, they really want to do it. Like, I want to look more into this because for the longest time here in the country,

you've had people feed you this whole thing that it's from dead babies and it's from abortions. And like it's bad, it's bad. This is horrible the way that they do it when in reality is not. The stem cells that I got were from a pregnant lady who had her baby who was super healthy. Before that, there was four tests done on the umbilical cord where they grab the stem cells. They checked the mom. They checked the baby. They're both healthy.

When it was born, they checked them again. They were both healthy. They checked the umbilical cord. It was healthy. Then they did everything. else, they checked it again, healthy. It was perfectly healthy stem cells. And what was cool about it is they grabbed some of those stem cells and save them for the mom.

So it's like the day that you need them for your recovery, they're here for you. With that being said, stem cells are are available here in the U.S. But what they don't tell you is that they can only give you up to 1,500 or 500 or 5,000 stem cells is the max that they can give you. So they keep bringing you back and bringing you back. And they cost the shit on money to get it done. To where when you went, I went to Columbia and I sat there and I was like, all right, how many are we doing? I'm like, well, we're going to give you $100 million today.

And I said, what? Like, yeah, 100 million today and 50 million tomorrow. And I was like, wait, what? And they're like, yeah. And you won't have to come back for another year. And I was like, get the hell out of here. And they're like, cool. So I sat there and dude took $100 million.

And within hours of taking it, dude, the inflammation on my body went down drastically. Like my prosthetic was falling off my leg Because that's how swollen I was With all these toxins and everything in my body And the stem cells just got to hitting everything And like it was I started feeling good Looked at my wife was like, let's go here We went shopping, we were walking all over the place

And I look at my phone We had logged quite a few miles And usually by that time When I log about nine, 10 miles, Whether I'm hunting or anything, I feel it when I lay down I'm like, I'm hurting And I take it a little slow

lower the next day, do nothing. The next day I was like, let's go. Got the other 50 million. We went on a hike that day. We visited this town a couple hours away. We were up and down doing all these things. The doctor's like, look, you might feel some results now. You might feel them six months on the road. It's really different for a lot of people, but know that the stem cells are going to help you recover from any, I mean, any injuries that you ever had. If you have any torn muscles, it's going to help you with that. It's going to help with clarity. And they have a correlation. right now between stem cells and TBI that it's actually helping all your neurons reattach to your head from any traumatic event that you ever had. And I was like, okay, cool.

And I was still kind of, I went earnest into it, but I was still skeptical about, you know, what this really does. And man, we come home and I had had a bit cut on my nub. And especially on my nubs, I put my leg all the time. I don't let it, really let it breathe or take a lot of breaks, it takes a long time for my wounds to heal. And we got home and within two weeks, that thing was closed. Gone. Like, I had no more cuts on my body. And I was like, holy shit, that feels weird. The clarity that I got was insane. Like, I, for the longest time, I lived with this fog where they're like, I wake up and it was just kind of like cloudy and I'm like, cool, like, let's get motivated and go. That was gone. Like, I woke up and I was like, man, like,

I feel odd because for the longest time I didn't know what it felt like to be normal. So it felt weird. I'm still kind of getting used to it. But that changed. Energy changed. Like my demeanor changed. Like happier person. I legit.

And back in the gym training, even though I'm still big. But we're going to shave this down. Lifting weights again. Like running errands doing stuff. Like I'm more motivated, more aware. Like I just feel like, dude, like somebody flipped that switch back on and was like, Like, get back at it. And it was, it's been amazing.

How long did you do this? I did it in June. Do you plan on? July, sorry, July. You plan on doing it every year? I'm going back in July. Really? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. We're definitely going back. Like, man, it's just the life-changing thing. Dude, I wish I would have done it years ago. I wish I would have done it years ago. And who knows where I be today. I mean, I just, it's such a great advance. And the folks over at bio accelerator men are amazing.

Like from day one, they just made us feel like we were at home and walked us through the process. And every the question that we had, the doctors were like, cool, here's the answer to that. And I'm glad you asked this and you asked that. And man, the stories that they told us of people like that had been going there for two years now was amazing. They had a guy who was paralyzed from the neck down when he went the first time. He was there on his third year, this year. and the dude walked in, I mean, not walked in, but he got there rolling himself into the building. He had gained his upper freaking mobility back.

That's amazing. Yeah, you imagine being paralyzed from your waist from your neck down and then you walk in there, like, or you roll yourself in there in a wheelchair? Like, dude, come on. There was another guy who was paralyzed and walked in there with a walker, dude. And, I mean, it was walking. Like, it's insane. The things that this does.

but it's not available in the U.S. because we have big pharma. We have all these people that are super against it. And all these people are telling you, like, they're throwing babies in a blender and they're giving it to you. Like, how do you feel? It's not that. It's not that.

And it's so amazing and it's doing great things that I feel like the minute that we're able to do those amounts in the U.S., big pharma is going to go away. All those medications that you were taking, you're not longer going to need them because of this. And that's been the case. man like other than they're the one medication that I take for blood pressure because my my burns and my skin so tight that elevates my blood pressure other than that I haven't taken a single

atville a single freaking any pill at all man for pain nothing like it's just been it's crazy it's such a life-changing thing that like man I wake up now and like I still feel weird some days I'm like wait like man I feel good like this feels weird feeling normal So I love it. It's a great thing, man. I highly, highly recommend it. I think we need to bring it to the States and give it to more people. Well, the reason I wanted to bring it up is because I remember watching your post a few months ago,

you got emotional when you were talking about it. Yeah. So I was like, it obviously changed your life. You know, having all this pain constantly and being able to relieve that pain, I mean, chronic pain is. I don't have it, but I can only imagine. Yeah. Well, I mean, it was emotional. right because my list I'm 14 years into a injury and I've tried everything and when I'm telling you

I've tried everything I've tried everything every little thing you can think of I've tried it and nothing nothing ever worked and then here you are in another country and they're handing you this bag and they're asking you to write why are you there and for me it was like health clarity babies love like all these things, like no more pain. For somebody to hand me over a little bag that's probably as big as this water bottle and tell me that this right here is going to be the solution to the problems that I've had for 14 years. When I literally have had people always tell me, this might work.

This could work. Maybe. Like I've always been maybe. There's never been, this is going to work. And when they presented me that and said that to me, like I got emotional because I was like, are you kidding me? Like, I'm in another country and they're giving me this and they're telling me this is going to cure me. It was just a very emotional thing because like even when I walked in that day, I was there in pain.

But it's not hard to put a smile on your face and hide the pain. And that's what I did for a long time. And, dude, honestly, I'm able to say that I haven't put a fake smile on my face in a long time since it happened. It's just been, it's been amazing. That's awesome. Yeah. Was it one of those things that it felt? surreal after it happened that you were expecting to wake up one morning and just be back.

I felt like it was going to wear out. I'm like, oh, this is going to wear out here eventually. Dude, it hasn't happened. And that was a crazy thing. I was like, damn, I still feel good. I'm like, I'm going to see how much longer this lasts. And nothing has changed. I have some buddies who've done stem cell. And they just say nothing but good things about it. Yeah. Well, Crispy, man, I appreciate it. I appreciate you sharing information in your story, it's powerful, right? It's powerful for the thing I said in the beginning that being resilient is a choice that I think people have to make. You can go through some some crazy shit

in your life and you can feel real sorry for yourself the rest of your life or you can turn that around like you have and learned through mentorship that you have the opportunity to to help people get to where they want to be and share your story. And those vulnerabilities that's what the world needs. Yeah. Really is. Yeah. So I appreciate it, man.

Yeah, brother. Of course, anytime. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Bear Performance Podcast. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review on iTunes

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