The Sevan Podcast - #127 - Adam Von Rothfelder

Episode Date: September 12, 2021

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Conditions apply. This episode is brought to you by Disney's Young Woman in the Sea. Now streaming on Disney+. I've decided to swim the English Channel. A woman? I believe she'll die in that water. From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joachim Roening comes the must-see true story. Daisy Ridley.

I go to England or die trying. Trudy, you don't have to do this. Don't let anyone take me out of the water, no matter what. Disney's Young Woman and the Sea. Now streaming on Disney+. us i'm also uh i'm also live on um instagram what do you think about this tactic of mine like a minute or two before the show go live on instagram to try to also get people to come over to the youtube station do you like that i love it i think it's i think it's awesome i you know what's interesting so like i just went live on instagram and it says like I love it. I think it's awesome.

You know what's interesting? I just went live on Instagram and it says like 82 people tuned in, 88, and the number's climbing. But what's weird is I'm shadow banned. I can't even believe that they let me go live on Instagram anymore. You don't need to. Look at that hair. Look at that hair. Look at that hair. It's all that collagen, baby. Coming in hot.

Look at my guest, you guys, this morning. His hair might be more whacked than my hair this morning. Adam Von Rothfelder. Maybe I should put a hat on. I didn't realize. No, no, no, no, no. What would I make fun of the whole show? With Brian gone. rothfeld maybe i should put a hat on i didn't realize no no no no what would i make fun of the whole show with brian gone that's great that's great guys uh i'm about to go live i know we are live on the seven podcast on the youtube station we have adam von rothfelder um i accidentally

called him andrew last night when i was speaking to matt o'Keefe, I apologize, but he's done a lot of fascinating stuff. And he is also, um, most importantly, uh, the founder and CEO of strong coffee, which ended up in my kitchen cabinet. And therefore now I have Adam on the show. Anyway, check it out. Hey brother, I love and appreciate all you do with your boys. Thank you for investing in your kids. My pleasure, brother. It's an honor to be a parent. Love you guys. Bye. Hey, what's up, Adam? Thanks for coming on, man. Dude, thank you so much for having me.

I feel very proud that my coffee has made its way into your kitchen. Yeah. Did you have a team? I have no idea how. Oh, Mike Sauer came straight from IG Live. Thank you. How did that end up in my kitchen? Do you know? Dude, I broke into your house.

No, I snuck in the kitchen. You know, I have a – there's a little backstory to it. So this kid, Mike, um, who's a huge fan of yours, uh, just a mega fan of CrossFit. He's now like 30 with kids. He has three boys. What? Yeah. Yeah. He has three boys. Um, and he's maybe like 30, 31, maybe young. Right. young right and i met him when he was 16 years old at the gym uh at the squat rack and he was telling me he couldn't squat but he wanted to get big like me and i was like bullshit you can't squat you just gotta learn how to hold your hold your abdominal a certain way your pelvis a certain way like and increase your ankle flexion taught him how to squat. Now he's like a CrossFit coach. And funny story though, he actually threw a party in my house. Uh, and, uh, without my knowledge when he was 17, 18 years old. So good dude, good dude. Um, so he was, he had the idea to send you coffee. I brought him on as a, uh, as a intern and focusing on, uh, the CrossFit

community. And which is like what we're really focused on, um, as a company, uh, because we feel like we just have a great product for the type of people. And I've, I've been around CrossFit for a while and mike really knows it and he's like can i send product uh to this guy and i started following you too and started following the three plain boys and it's i have two girls but yeah yeah you should do them but i treat them in no way like girl boy it's like no they I'm, you know, I teach them boxing. I've, I got them their own collie sticks and, you know, we, we, you know, I took them barefoot walking through the Colorado river. Like it's, I'm not, you know, opposed to, I guess, treating a girl like a boy, I guess,

if we're going to be like speaking in like the stereotypes that we generally, you know, uh, lay the foundations of our, of the conversation. Um, so that's how it ended up, ended up in your kitchen. Mike sent you the coffee and, uh, he was kind of bummed because you didn't mention it. And he's like, maybe he didn't get it. He's like, fuck. So we, we, uh, I was like, we'll send them another one i don't you know i mean you guys were so cool there was no i mean there's there's a lot of people who send me stuff that i just don't mention like i um i just meant and i probably would have never i don't even know how it got mentioned but but i was feeling guilty because because i really enjoyed it it was kind of like when i had hunter mcintyre

on or um jacob heppner on i don't want to like these guys and then i have them on the show and i feel like oh i wish i lived next door to them um and and like i felt guilty for liking a product because you know like i'm on the josh bridges fucking good dudes tip and uh but but the truth is the truth i really i i took that powder from your bag and i started mixing it in my milk every morning and i was like oh shit this is the shit cold cold whole milk raw whole milk and i put a scoop of that in there and spin it around run out and run out and that would be my breakfast and then i would just run out the door and i'm not a supplement guy really i'm not a i don't do like um protein powders or any of that

shit but yeah one i'm jealous that you have raw milk uh that was the hardest part about leaving california is not having raw milk anymore um i gotta try to find a farmer i mean i'm in i'm in texas i gotta find him there's gotta be a There's got to be a guy. There's got to be a guy. The gas station near my house sells it. Isn't that funny? That's amazing. I know. That's absolutely amazing. You know, it's funny.

I have drank the powder you're talking about is the Morning Fix product. I have drank that every morning for three years, and I've never tried it in milk. Wow. I need to do that. I need to try some. I need to. I mean, I think, obviously, whole milk would taste much better than this. Dude, I took a swig of milk for the first time in maybe like 10 years.

And I was blown away with how sweet it was. Like conventional milk, like, you know, like the grass fed good milk, organic stuff. That's like sitting at Whole Foods. You drink it. I'm like, is that vanilla milk? Is it like sweetened? I'm like, what the hell? You know, no wonder I used to drink a gallon of that shit a day when i was a kid it was i think i probably went 10 or 15 years without milk too and then i had kids maybe longer

maybe it was 20 years who knows but then i had kids and we ended up with milk in the house they went from the boob to some like milk in the fridge and then now i i just it's it's kind of a treat for me i don't drink a lot of it but, it's kind of a treat for me. I don't drink a lot of it, but I, it kind of, it's kind of like a meal replacement. Like if I'm running late, I just drink a big cup. Yeah. Very different, you know, on a metabolic nutritional density level. I mean, everything that once you homogenize, you know, and everything else that is going, you know, the process of dairy, it's, it it's really not even it's just white milk with sugar you know so um yeah and then and then so so mike sends the coffee over and then the next weird thing is is i was trying to answer all my dms before i left the house to go to the beach the other day and somehow our paths crossed on your strong coffee

instagram which is rare i'm never really on that okay so our paths crossed on there um and i think i was just waiting for my wife to get in the car and uh we started talking it was the first time we'd ever talked and ironically i had tried to you when mike had sent the coffee he had also sent a strong coffee hat and i was gonna wear it at the beach but it didn't fit my head it was like a kid's hat and so i had it on my kid you know and the timing was just crazy so then i sent you a picture of my kid wearing your hat and then i was like shit this is this is the universe saying have uh or i don't know if it's a universe saying it someone's saying it universe why not have von roth felder on the podcast and then so so you had you were on a podcast um can you see the youtube are you

looking at youtube now by any chance do you have two windows open me no I'm looking at you and me talking right here but I do not have two windows open oh okay Ryan do you think you could pull up so you were one of the hosts on the barbell shrugged yeah yeah yeah podcast

and and and Brian could you pull that up I want to so I'm trying to think i i don't listen i never listened to podcasts but i think that you guys did one many years ago um but i knew you guys because i would you know for some reason i would just see that picture of four guys standing next to microphones interviewing people so one real one quick thing to note. So there was a couple of co-hosts. Um, I, I was the co-host three years ago for almost, almost a year, about like little, like eight months, something like that. Um, which is when I launched strong coffee, Alex,

Mick, I can never remember how to pronounce his last name it was alex doug mike and um another individual uh that originally started the podcast that were the four guys and it kind of just changed over time and shifted and when mike bledsoe who was the main host yeah what's that guy look like i want to see that guy hear that guy's name a lot like a like a lean dude uh was he a professional football player is there a mike blood so he's a professional yeah there is a blood so but it's that's not him mike's like five eight he may not be a quarterback um well i guess that's not true i mean that mark burnell was like a five eight quarterback in the nfl so um the uh the uh shrug, though, what ended up happening is there was a big dynamic shift of the podcast that Mike Bledsoe, who was the main host, wanted to leave.

And their friend Anders Varner and Doug Larson were going to continue the show. And they asked me to come on after an interview. And we just got along really well. And I was good at just being part of the conversation. And it was an incredible time. Uh, I got to, I mean like three years prior, like those same people kind of blew me off at a, at an event, you know, when I was like trying to talk to them. And then, you know, three years later, they're asking me to co-host their show with them. You know, it's, it's, you know, just kind of like putting in the work to put yourself in that place. And, you know, did I have the time to do it? Hell no. But I like made the time because it was an opportunity. I

wasn't gonna let, you know, go. And I got to interview some incredible people. Um, but really like gave me the opportunity to really like get to know CrossFit because I kind of always like outwardly spoke, um, against it in some manner and not the sport, but the use of like fitness, like, and just kind of like some of the things that I saw from like the, the, the top, um, that I just didn't like agree with, uh, you know, early on. And it like really changed my mind based on the community. I was like, Oh, the community is what makes it. I get it now. Like, I totally get it.

Like these people are amazing. Um, and I've become really good friends with like Sam dancer and, you know, some of these people now, um, Sam dancer is a part owner of strong coffee it's interesting to hear you say all that because i have a totally obviously um not i guess not obviously different perspective which is totally fine it's not to say that yours is wrong uh yours is wrong at all i think my my perspective is is that the community is a giant misunderstanding that everyone was a volunteer for Greg Glassman's experiment. And they think that they're – and the community is built around their participation experiment. Totally different, but irrelevant.

But irrelevant here. I like this because I didn't like Glassman. Okay. That was my thing. I used this because I didn't like Glassman. Okay. Right? That was my thing. I used to do memes about him being an idiot. Okay. Right?

And him being a narcissist. Right? Like those were like. No one can see Ryan, but just so everyone, we can see Ryan. Adam and I can see Ryan. And Adam probably doesn't know, but Ryan knows that I speak to Greg every day and that I'm very close with Greg. Ryan's loving this, but don't

edit a goddamn thing, Mr. Vaughn Rothfelder. Let me hear about this asshole, Glassman. Go for it. It was only because of how I saw it being put on. like the type of, the, the, the, the, the type of like way he would

communicate to certain people that I knew. Right. Right. I did not appreciate. Yeah. He didn't really, I don't think Greg ever respected anybody. No, that's well. And that's, that's, that's a narcissist, right? Because you don't have empathy for other people and their feelings, which is a lack, which ultimately shows as a lack of disrespect. Generally speaking, I don't know him personally. Right. I'm not going to say I, I, I don't hate anybody. Right.

I don't, I didn't like him to be who I am, which like I am, I'm, I can be a polarizing figure, right? I was very against the most popular form of fitness, being a guy in the fitness industry. If I just would have went along with CrossFit after my MMA career, I would have been like, like upward trajectory of like, you know, fitness on a different level. But I was like, very like against the grain because of what I saw. And you know, the, the thing that I was the most proud of to jump back to barbell shrugged a little bit was like the interview that I held with Emily Abbott. When I was like, when she got popped and I was like, you need to fly down. You need to talk about this right now. You need to just put your story out there.

You just need to talk. Right. And that was the number one, listen to barbell shrug podcasts. Like, I think like in history, it had the most greatest initial downloads. And, you know, at the time, again, everything is like one sided. I'm only hearing one side of it. And I understand like, you know, a lot of things shifted in 2020 with CrossFit that definitely like showed the lack of respect or just kind of like the abrasiveness of it. And I'm not made of sugar.

Like you want to talk to me like I'm a, you know, whatever. Like I've had plenty of coaches talk to me a certain way. Like if you're still a good coach but you're an asshole, like I'll put up with you to a certain way. Like if you're still a good coach, but you're an asshole, like I'll, I'll put up with you to a certain extent, but I think like that, you know, the extent was met. So I think like, you know, everything happens for a reason. Yeah. Now the, now the, now the lecture, now that CrossFit's inclusive, um, the lectures aren't free on YouTube anymore. You have to pay $250 for them. it yeah that's crazy i love i love inclusivity yeah i can tell that's uh i can tell that sarcasm there oh yeah um going back to emily abbott i really really really like emily abbott i um person unfortunately i haven't had her on the podcast yet um i troll her i looked into her eyes and

i just looked at her i mean like when she was saying it like i am a fucking human lie detector like my kids get so mad all the time because when they try to lie to me i'm like no you didn't and they're like you know and it's just i'm like looking at her and she's like telling me this story she was calling me throughout this situation did Did you know her before? Like you were friends with her? I had met her only months ahead and I was kind of business coaching her on launching her own brand. Um, the psychedelic gypsy fitness stuff. And I, you know, got her a website built through like my team that like built does strong coffee stuff. And I was just trying to like help her along because she wanted to do something more. And I felt something in her, like she was a fire, like she was on fire.

She, she caught a really good stride. Um, and like the, the, the regional, you know, uh, or the sectional was regional or sectional, like it catered to her strengths. She did really well. And then she gets popped for some like microscopic amount of something that was – and it's like pool. When I talk to her and I know everything about like how she kind of operates, I'm like, you don't even take Advil. I just don't see you taking this thing. Like it's like – Did you ever get to the bottom of that by any chance? What happened? thing like it's like what did you ever get to the bottom of that by any chance what what happened so you know her family and i mean i i her family has the resources let's say to

hire a specialist in europe like so she her family balls so hard motherfuckers won't find her i think is the right yeah exactly okay and uh so she has this specialist and the guy who basically created this sarm basically break down the amount that was in her body and how it was so negligible that he believed the theory that he came up with because she found out that her former boy, you know, now former boyfriend, fiance at the time was taking it. Um, and he's, he was like a knucklehead, you know, he was like really like taking a lot of stuff and they were, you know, very intimate and it's a oral, um, sublingual. And when you hold something in your mouth, it stores in your

oral cavities. And so if you kiss somebody, you can pass the saliva through the oral cavity. And that's like what they said, you know, that's like what they came up with as a reason truth, you know, only God and Emily actually know. Um, but um but uh when i look at her when i would talk to her about it even still today it's still like it's still a fucking sore subject like not a like i didn't do it you know i have a i have three of the or two of the three qualities that you, um, used to describe Emily's boyfriend. I wish I had, I wish that I, I wish that I had tried SARMs at one point. I think I'm too old now. Oh no, you're not. You're good. I can do it. Okay. And I wish that I could say Emily Abbott was my ex-girlfriend.

I'm not going to happen either on them for the most super superficial reasons. I liked her. Uh, I, i i love red hair i thought she was hot as shit she had big old eyes and i liked that she was so big i think that year she was like the biggest girl in the competition at 165 and and then on top of that she talked all that shit when she won like not in a bad way but fun and i just was just i just thought she was the coolest fucking ever but you also described her i think her ex is a knucklehead that is one i don't want to be a knucklehead but the other two things are cool i mean you if you if you even look at her instagram right now like she's barely training at all she's barely training she's a genetic freak yeah a genetic freak if you look

at her right now she hasn't trained hard in maybe like three years. Like since she got popped, she like walked away from CrossFit, started doing like movement, you know, like, you know, movement and shit, just kind of like, right. Handstands, like cartwheels. And she still literally looks like she did when she was competing. Doing it, you know, I don't think she needed an edge. It was her time. And I think that's what happened. But, I mean, like I said, I don't really know shit.

Do you ever look at women as like, and I guess you could look at men like this too, pick whatever you want, but you don't even know you're looking at them like this, but when the rubber hits the road, you know. So, like, I had this, there was this girl the rubber hits the road, you know, like, so like I had this, there was this girl in college I was dating and I really liked her and every,

she was so fun. And we, we had so much fun together. Like, like, like just hanging out in the town, hanging out at the beach, fucking, just everything we did together. And then she started getting into drugs. And then she started getting into like drugs, like, like too much. Like, like it was like a pro some prolonged it was like uh a pro some prolonged meth use like over 30 days right and then so then i just like lost um she she it's it's like these girls on instagram like you you see them and like they're so hot and they have the giant fake titties and they have all the angles but like the truth is like that you they're not

mating material like i look and so it's kind of interesting like i look you look at someone like emily abbott and you're like oh i could marry her and like she could have my kids and then there's these it's just weird just you don't really consciously think about putting people into these categories but there's this and maybe this is a message to this slew of women out there and and i would be curious to see how women think about men like this there's women that um like you might be super duper attracted to but you really don't want to like you could you would never want them to be the uh parent of your kids no i mean you're like i don't i love you you're so hot you're so amazing you're a fucking barbie doll I don't, I love you. You're so hot. You're so amazing. You're a fucking Barbie doll. I don't really need you parenting my kids. And it's a weird, uh, it's weird. It's, it's, it's weird.

It's weird. It's, I guess it's like, it's like foods like that. There's foods that like there's junk food and then there's like performance food. Yeah. I mean, I think that it's interesting. Sorry. One last thing. So to tie back to Emily, she's kind of both. She's kind of like everything. She'll be very proud to hear this conversation. She's like, she's like, she's like, she does it all. She can, yeah, she does it all.

Like whoever, does she have a dude? I don't know. I haven't talked to her much in a couple of months. She, she. Someone should hunt her down and get her. That's big game hunting. That could be like – that's a good breeding stock, good everything. Big red hunting, big red.

And she's entrepreneurial and she's not afraid and she's gone through – appears to be – what's that called when you work on yourself? Personal development. She's doing it all. Diving in deep. Becoming your best self. It's pretty amazing somebody who has dived deep

and has done the work in many ways and has even used aids in that, right. Like, uh, whether it's like psilocybin or LSD or, you know, marijuana, um, it's amazing how much of that exists in the fitness world now. And I, you know, Emily is a great example. And like, you know, a lot of that crew kind of is a great example of those people that

like do the work inside, you know, and then excel outside. And it's pretty phenomenal because I think about me talking about this shit like 15 years ago when I was a fighter and they all thought i was fucking crazy you know like yeah yeah right like i'm like no man i'm like you know if you let go of like like these things and sign it like does the work for you you know and uh and you just become better less less less control right you know or less controllers less roadblocks so yeah man uh so you're you're you're good friends with glassman so what what basically happened um with like the shift do you think in like the community since he's left you know since you were talking about the inclusivity and

exclusivity i'd love to understand that more as somebody who doesn't, you know, understand CrossFit as well as I'd like to. How old are your kids? My kids are eight and six, Arrow and Azalea. Ladies and gentlemen, this is where the struggle begins. Adam has questions. Savant has questions. Then you ask me the questions, man. I'm good. i'm good i'm good

uh sorry i flipped the script on you i'm sorry i did that no you're you're awesome man i'm really i'm thoroughly enjoying this i've talked about this a bunch of producers really enjoyed it too i i've talked about this a lot on um podcasts, podcasts before. And it's, it's, you don't realize it when you're watching someone else do a podcast, but like Adam and I are two strangers. And so you have this, we don't know each other and you have this thing going on soon as two people meet for the first time, especially like in a forum with all these other people watching. So on one hand you have like your ego protecting you, but you know, the show will be complete shit if you're not 100% vulnerable.

So there's this – and you want to be honest and you want to get along. And there's all – like it's basically – I don't know for those of you who have ever done ecstasy or MDMA in a relationship. You basically have like 10 years of the relationship in 30 minutes. And basically that's what you kind of have to do on a podcast. And, uh, but, but in a way it's strange. It is to do with someone like I've never met before. Like Adam, it's, it's almost even stranger to do it with your friends, right? Like, so when you have one of your friends on the podcast and you're like asking them questions, but you know, the answers to all the questions already, just, it's just weird.

Yeah. I was just naturally, yeah. I'm like, we're just in a conversation. I guess other people are listening is the way I view this at this moment. I, I, in all the, in most, in most of my podcasts, like I'm like super duper crazy controlling. And like, I'm like, I, I start off with like, so where were you born? How tall are you? How much do you weigh? Like, just really get to know the person from like the superficial to like peeling back layers. And then recently I just, and I did that because I, I, I panic because like, I feel like I'm going to, we're going to run out of stuff that's going to be interesting. But lately in the last like four or five shows, and I have all these notes lightly in the fort last four or five shows, I haven't been doing that.

I've been just letting the conversation go where it goes. And it's kind of weird. I mean, I like it. Controlled chaos.ily abbott's man is rob maiden 19 oh she has a dude now oh that's cool yeah that's awesome good for her she's i mean you know uh does deserve somebody great so yeah she does you forgot the shoes it's all about the shoes i don't understand that comment. What will last longer, bodybuilding or CrossFit?

You want to take that one? No, no. I wouldn't even answer that one, but go for it. You answer it. Sometimes I just like to read the questions. CrossFit is made up of so many things. I mean, neither one will ever disappear. I agree. They're intertwined're, they're,

they're intertwined now. So did you, you got your start in fitness? What did you play sports or did you lift weights first? Um, so I, well, if we start like when I'm a kid, right. I was, uh, I, I was like, uh, a three sport athlete for like the, from like the age of like five to 12, I was like a three-sport athlete from like the age of like five to 12. I was doing – Wow. I was doing karate, soccer, and gymnastics. Okay. And I then at like sixth grade like stopped doing anything for like a year.

Seventh grade, I decided to wrestle. Um, and I was really good. And I, uh, my team was the, I went to Greenfield high school and our, our mascot was the Hawk and we were the hustling Hawks. And I, I won like the hustling Hawk award, like numerous times and about a month and a half into this season though, I started having really bad migraines. And I basically got kicked off the team. So I dove really deep. I was like 12 years old, 99 pounds. I dove really deep into nutrition. And a big shift at that time, my family adopted a paralyzed boy from the hospital that my mom was you know his nurse is that the boy i see in

your instagram sometimes well i don't know he's a boy in your instagram but he's in a wheelchair black kid yeah yeah a little black kid daniel yep that's your brother that's my brother yeah wow yeah so we adopted when he was one i was 12 all of a sudden the finance you know the family dynamic shifted like 12 years old my parents never showed up for another sporting event again for me. Right. It was always kind of like about Donye. And so there was a big shift. So I isolated myself after wrestling and I'm Donye had these nurses and he had two male nurses. One that was a firefighter, and he had two male nurses one that was a firefighter um former marine and he saw me like working out like in my bedroom with like these like reebok weights that i stole from my sister and like a stair stepper you know just doing stuff and uh and you're using that term

weights loosely yeah yeah exactly very i think my mom had those yeah they're like different colors and shit one pound to five pound yeah yeah totally um like six months later though um unfortunately unfortunately my great uncle bill died and he left me for no i have no idea why maybe my mom like mentioned that i was like working out or something but he left me in his will a set of weights and they were like these old school, skinny steel bar, cast iron weights, rusted in the basement, sitting in these orange crates. Um, I still have those weights today. Uh, just kind of sitting in storage. Um, so at that time I started lifting weights. So, and I started reading these magazines because my brother's nurses, uh, like brought me these magazines. If coincidentally, they both brought me like a stack of magazines.

So I started reading through this. Well, I found out that I was like having migraines, uh, because of my nutrition. Right. I dove deep into like, like getting away from like dairy refined sugars. I was somebody who struggled with ADHD. I read something about like fish oils, helping with focus and memory, you know? Uh, so I started, you know, asking my mom to buy me fish oils. I got a paper route so I could start buying my own stuff. And by like 14, I had a personal trainer. Um, I hired a guy named by the name of Dan Wiktorik, who was the Olympic weightlifting coach at the Olympic training facility, the Pennant National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is where I'm from.

So I worked with him like two days a week for about four months. And he had this, uh, and then I started working with this bodybuilder coach by the age of 17 named Doug Bates, who like the dude was a freak. He could like walk on to a show he could be in the audience see that there was no heavyweights he'd like run in the back fucking take off his underwear jacket up his take off his pants jacket up his underwear up his ass throw on some jantan jump jump on the stage and like win a show right like he was just like he was always show ready and he was, they all like, were like, they both had kind of the same message, move, move better before you move like more. Right.

And it was really cool that I had that message early on as you know, before weightlifting my, with my back, I had to like be able to do a certain amount of pull-ups, right. And like all these like things like that, they were, you know, trying to get me to move a certain way um so through high school that strength training really helped me uh excel as a soccer player and uh my senior year i actually broke uh our high school record as a pole vaulter holy shit wow you've done it. And I only pole vaulted for one year. It was a bet. I was really fast and I was a gymnast.

So I knew that I was comfortable like going upside down and I knew that I could get the speed I needed in a short period of time with that pole in your hand. Like, cause you can't run with your hands. Right. So it's very like power driven leg style. It's not like you're a gazelle kind of shit. It's like, you got to like, Whoa, like torque. And, and I knew that I had that. And I was making fun of these, you know, football players that were all trying when I was a junior and they were a senior and they couldn't do it. And I was like, Oh, I could fucking do that. Blah, blah, blah. And they're

like, you know, put your money where your mouth is. And I was like, I can't do it this year. I'll do it next year. I had something going on that I couldn't do track season. I can't remember what it was, but I just had a, I got a job. I think that's what it was. And I was trying to save up for soccer camp and all the other kids had like parents that like bought them soccer camps, you know? And I was like, fuck, I gotta, I gotta like do more, uh, in the off season for my senior year, if I'm going to get a scholarship and I ended up scholarship to where scholarship

to where, so my goal was to, my goal was to play at, uh, UNIC. So university of Illinois in Chicago, UIC university, Illinois, Chicago. Um, and I had a really good opportunity uh but my senior year i actually fractured my back um how'd you do that so they i have what's called like a parsons defect so it's like the the parsons holds the vertebrae that would be like in the center right here in between these two parsons so it'd be like vertebrae two parsons i'm missing one of them and so that vertebrae is like shifting and turning just shifted and turned slightly when we got uh my buddy's transmission failed when we were getting on the expressway and we got hit by a semi and like merging and it like kind of

just like shook the car very quickly and violently and my back hurt for the first time ever in my life and i went and had x-rays and we found out that i was missing that that parsons isn't our doctors great isn't the hospital great they can tell you they can just tell you how fucked up you are oh my god you know if i i always say if I just never would have known about it, I never would have been like, like it never would have entered my mind. And I started kind of doubting myself a little bit. Yeah. I mean that same year I did do that pole vaulting, but like I had, it took me a little bit to like break out of the, you know, that, that, that thought loop when I was like going in hard on like slide tackles, like I would, you know, or anything like as a soccer player, um, you know,

now that I'm 40, uh, you're 40. I am. Yeah. Wow. So now, now at 40, my lower back only hurts because the years of fighting and kicking, I actually externally rotated my left hip slightly. So my hip is just a little off on rotation and tuck. It's like posterior tilt. And that's all from all the torque of kicking all those years. It's like a kicker's hip. It's actually pretty common. I wonder if that's why mine hurts from playing six hours of Frisbee stoned and drunk for 10 years.

I don't know if you're putting enough torque. It depends on the torque. Oh, man, I would throw a fucking Frisbee far. I would throw that Frisbee. I would argue that there was few people who could throw it as far as me. That's awesome. Man, there was some crazy torque. I'm crooked to this day.

What city do you live in? So I now live in Austin, Texas. some crazy talk. I'm crooked to this day. What city do you live in? So I now live in Austin, Texas. Oh, okay. For some reason, I thought you lived in LA. I did for a little bit. I did for a little bit. So we moved from Milwaukee to LA, spent three and a half years in LA,

moved to Austin for a year and like six months. Pandemic kicked in, COVID. You always hear like people and their regrets with life, like at the end of their life, like, I wish I would have spent more time or like whatever, you know, with the people that I love. Well, I knew that like COVID was going to be like much longer than anybody else was like really anticipating. So I moved, uh, my family and I back to our hometown to just spend a year, uh, with my mom and my sisters and my nieces and nephews. So we could kind of always good to go back to family smart. Yeah. Yeah. And then once things seemed chilling in some sense until recently, uh, we were like, let's move. Things are good here.

So we're back in Austin and loving it. There's this Taoist saying all problems must flourish before they come to an end. Yesterday, if I read it correctly, in the state of California, they mandated vaccines in Los Angeles County School District for kids who are 12 years and older. It's fascinating because so this is how I found it out. I was at my kid's tennis practice and where I'd say masks aren't required there, but I would say half the kids come with either masks around their wrist or on their neck. You can tell they're ready to put it on at all times. I would say a handful of the kids wear masks during the classes. And I have a very strong opinion. My kids will never,

ever, ever, ever wear a mask under my watchful eye. Not even for like two seconds. I have two four-year-olds and a six-year-old. have no interest in ever training them to wear a mask and the reason why is because i see the damage i see the damage is done to all the people around me and the message it sends to everyone around them that there's actually something to be afraid of and i know people are in denial uh that it actually does that or that it's going to be an easy fix to stop wearing it but you you you are wrong and i wish you were right but you are wrong um the the mask does two things it's a crutch and it tells everyone around you that there's something wrong when there's not and and i'm willing to get into that too but anyway so so i'm right i'm right there i'm right there with you so unfortunately our kids

have to wear that damn mask to go to school. I understand. And it's killing us. But the minute they come out, they rip that thing off because they know it doesn't work. Right. And no judgment on you. I'm just telling you where I stand. No, no, no, no. I know. I don't.

Don't believe me. I judge myself in some manner. It sucks that they have to go to school and do it. And it's like, we've been trying to figure out a way to get around it. But what you what you also see on the other side is if they show up without the mask the other kids may treat them a certain way because they are afraid and they like so it's just it's like this like yes it's like a psychological fucking like it's like juggling axes you know like just like but you would be proud you'd be proud of your daughter if the

principal called and was like your daughter's in the office and she says she just told me to fuck off i'm never wearing my mask again you'd be like all right i'll come down there pick her up that's kind of how my kid is she's like the one pulling it down her nose all the time and being like right yeah and she's like what you know and disney world the whole time she's like taking it down and we were just like yeah i mean dude people had to remind us numerous times and it like, wear a mask or get kicked out kind of thing. And it was her birthday. And I was just like, fuck, man, this sucks. So I'm at tennis and I hear a handful and I don't sit with the most of the parents.

I sit by myself because I know I think differently than a lot of them. And I'm sitting by myself and I hear three of the parents like fucking like getting really like aggressive with each other, not like mean to each other, but like something's happened. They have some information that they're like dogs tearing at a steak. So I kind of turn my head over and I listen, and it's these three parents who are super-duper pro-mask, right? Like their kids always have the mask. They always wear the mask. You know what I mean? Like when they go through the lobby of the tennis center, whereas I always just wait until someone yells at me. Well, so,

and I never, and if they tell my kids to put it on, I just ignore them. But I listened to what they're saying and they're freaking out that the kids are now being mandated to get the shot. These are the people who've like, I guarantee you all those parents have the shot. They all wear the mask. They all follow the rules. But now it's gotten too close to home, right? Now they're going to require the experimental injection for kids who are 12 years and up, and they're panicking. But I want to – and part of me is like I'm so happy that they have a threshold, like they've reached their limit.

But part of me is like, dude, do you not see, do you not see where this is going? Like this is, do you not see? It's so unbelievable to me that it took their, their kids being threatened to be injected for them to, to realize this, like this whole time. It's,

it's, anyway, it's going to get, it's going to get interesting in Los Angeles. It's gone. It's going to get interesting, interesting. Um, it really is. I, I, uh, I can't believe it's gotten this far.

It's the words that are being thrown out of, you know, this is not a, this is not a conversation of your freedom or choice. It's very, it's very, it's, it's it's bewildering uh as to how many people are still you know sipping on the straw that is connected to the giant bottle that is kool-aid you know and it's like i am the president's the president said yesterday that the basically that the unvaccinated are the problem and if basically what I'm – the assumption I'm making when the president says that is, OK, the people who are unvaccinated are the ones who are spreading – are the ones who are contracting SARS-CoV-2 and spreading it. To get vaccinated. So that we can all move on. To the next phase. What's interesting about that. Is if you use that same kind of thought.

He wants the unvaccinated. The vast vast majority of people. Who are dying are the obese. The vast vast vast majority. And so we know what the strongest correlate is. And so really. Instead of blaming the unvaccinated. With that same thought process. He could go to a deeper level and just blame fat people.

And I know people are going to be like, well, that's harsh. It's not me. It's not my thinking. It's the president of the United States thinking. He wants to blame someone for this problem. I mean like aren't we – two then i mean like aren't we no right oh 2000 2013 mr adam von rothfelder made a post in 2013 long before i was hating on type 2 coca-cola and its relationship with type 2 diabetes made a post in his instagram smashing coke and i appreciated that when i saw that in your instagram feed do you remember

posting that yeah of course yeah yeah yeah yeah i i do it i i was like holy shit this guy's five years ahead of me check this out in 2011 i was walking down the street with my friend who had a nice camera i took i was talking about grass grass fed beef and how I had to do something to increase the awareness of grass fed beef in, in America. But I was like in Milwaukee specifically. So I took some grass and I rubbed some dirt on my face, took a bite of grass. I was like, take a photo. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's a great picture. It's if you posted it a few times. So that was a billboard that said better body by grass-fed beef that like i sold to a burger company that was like making grass that started making grass

fed patties and their sales doubled wow it was like a campaign that i put on but like i've always been like against that shit like i haven't had a soda since I was like 12, you know, like, I mean, on it, like I had a sip of like, I can't say that Mexican Coca-Cola. Cause it was like real sugar, Coca-Cola. And it reminded me of like, when I was like 10 years old, I was like, Oh my God, you know? Um, but yeah, it's, it's, it's, uh, there is a lot of, there's a lot of fucked up, you know, idealistic rhetoric that's being thrown around. And I mean really what people just need to focus on is like you do have a choice. You do have – you are free and don't let anybody tell you like otherwise, right?

Like it ultimately is always going to be your choice. You can stop doing something and get better and yet you want other people to do something in order to help out your situation. It's classic codependency. We also know that obese people are super spreaders because they have the disease longer. They cough more, and they carry it longer, and the viral load increases in them. It's amazing. So now you want us to give up our bedroom so that you can shoot heroin in it that's basically what it is you want us to be the

codependent of the heroin user there's this vast huge amount of the public that's addicted to refined carbohydrates and sugar and you want us to take the vaccine so that you don't die because there's no threat to us yeah it's really it's really it's really crazy codependency it's it's it's an amazing but there's why aren't there so many why aren't there smart people who get that how come they don't see is is it really i guess it's hard it's tough love right it's just hard hey man it's hard to kick your kid out when i was talking to people about you know with like presidential choices and stuff like that and just kind of like hearing both sides. Like all I ever heard on like Biden's side was like, I hate Trump.

Travel better with Air Canada. You can enjoy free beer, wine, and premium snacks in economy class. Now extended to flights within Canada and the U.S. Cheers to taking off this summer. More details at air Canada.com. Yeah. Right. And then you would like hear people on Trump's side say like,

I don't believe in these policies and these things that they're saying over here, because I don't believe in these people and like their intentions. Right. And like, so by the way, that's why I flipped. I got tired of hearing. I was a Biden guy, a Hillary Obama guy, and all the hate towards Trump made me look into Trump.

And I was like, oh, wait a second. Anybody that's hated on that much is usually doing something that fucking different, which is good. Right. Like that's usually a good thing. And I don't want to be a part of the hate. I don't want to be part of the hate. I don't want to be a part of the hate i don't want to be part of the hate i don't want to hate biden or trump i've tried to like yeah i tried to like stay away from that like i remove that word from my kids all the time like if they yeah i'm like do not say that word you can you can say fuck but you can't say hate or disgusting i'm totally with you yeah i mean i have a coffee mug that says wake the fuck up my kids say it they like ah you sent that to me too it's my wife's favorite cup ah that's so funny i didn't even know that was from you that's crazy okay okay yeah

he's going sorry they love reading the coffee mug they're always like because they get to say the word fuck you know they're like wake the fuck up you know and i'm like i'm like guys i'm like awesome it's a word um but yeah man i I don't want to get stuck on this in any way, but I'm glad that you, you know, you're, you're saying what you're saying because we need more people to say this, uh, this stuff, this isn't political. This is, this is, this is, uh, it's bigger than that, right? Like this is, this is not a political choice thing here. This is a, this is a personal choice in preserving like the same the liberties that we have well you just said a word no one knows the meaning of by

the way liberties that's also the problem oh yeah people people think this is about democracy this isn't about democracy this is about fucking liberty and a lot of people don't understand that yep there's a there's a bell that that rings that needs to ring uh and it's it's it's really it's a sad state of uh affairs i actually did i i wrote like you would love greg glassman by the way you know you would fucking love greg glassman he taught me all this he taught me all about liberty he basically yeah oh he taught me all this. He taught me all about liberty. He basically, yeah. Oh, he taught me all this. He basically said like, Hey, you get somewhere like Egypt where they have, you can't have democracy without liberty because the first thing people will do is vote out democracy. And that's what happened in Egypt and liberty makes it so you can't vote out democracy.

It's you would love him. But I also understand, I also understand like, um, like, yeah, he, he, people who deal in the metrics of respect and disrespect, they will never, um, be friends with him because he does not, I I've never found him to respect anybody. Yeah. Respect for me as a respect for me as a big thing. I had a dad who is pretty disrespectful, so I don't really handle, um, I don't really handle tough guys and, and lack of respect kind of guys. Right. He doesn't necessarily disrespect. of energy from an individual. That can be a very difficult pill for me to swallow. That's a sore spot for me real quick. Sure.

A lack of respect is disrespect in my eyes. Right. Were you ever in the military? No. I get that a lot. but no, I wasn't. I, uh, I, um, I was in martial arts young, right. And martial arts, uh, tends to like martial arts instructors. A lot of them, uh, come from like military backgrounds, like their, their dads or, you know, whatever. And that's like why they learned like Kyle cushion karate. Cause their dad was like over in Japan, right. Or different things.

So, um, I had a very, very, uh, strict, um, you know, sensei, uh, when I was a kid and it was, um, it was, it was very, uh, very heavy, like forcefully, uh, given to you. And it was, it was very respect wise. My dad, like I said, um, he wanted respect, but he didn't show it. So I always like felt like, Oh, like I understood the idea of showing it. And now it's like, I flipped the script and I want other people to show it, you know, the way I would want to receive it so it's like some people my mom and my sister are always telling me like that's one of the when we

first had kids they're like seven you have to respect your kids you have my wife and my and my mom would always pound that into me to respect my kids yeah yeah like i had a very quick people don't realize that you have to respect them and how how I do it mostly is I trust them. I give them so I trust the shit out of them. And that and that and that lets them realize I respect them. Sorry, go on. That's really cool. That's interesting that you had that. you know, they, they want to do right. I had kind of, as a parent, in many ways, I had the list of the things I didn't want to do. Right. And, um, yeah, ultimately like my respect comes in the sense that like, I don't treat my kids like kids. They're just smaller people, you know, that I'm like educating. And in many ways, I mean, like kids are fucking perfect. We, we fuck them up. Right. Um, most Feldenkrais, who is somebody I really enjoy reading about, you know, reading the awareness through movement book, you know, he talks about how like, we are like made

up of these thirds, you know, and it's like heredity, others experiences, and then your own experiences. Well, like basically like two thirds of like who you are is not even made up of like your own personal choices then. Right. And your own experiences. So you have to respect yourself and be able to form more personal experiences and have less of other people's experiences put on you that like shape who you are. So you could truly shape yourself and become a unique individual. Have you ever you ever um were you ever addicted to drugs um i mean i smoke a lot of weed but um i don't have you ever been i don't have you ever been go ahead sorry

have you ever been suicidal um when i was on adderall. Yeah. And how old were you then? Like I tried, but well, that's a lie. I, I, I, I, uh, was like thinking I could drive a car into a wall really fast. And I put on my brakes about X yards out and like happened to stop before that wall came. Adderall is a hell of a drug, man. And I got off of it through high school and stuff. But then when I got to college, things just got way more intense. And I kind of like went back to it, like my 12-year-old dose. And I was like, boom! You know, I was like, I was taking this shit when I was 12.

Like, what the fuck? And I think I took two in one day, which it was totally like what was prescribed. But i think i took two in one day which it was totally like what was prescribed but i always only took one and when i was leaving um at the time i was in school to be a electrician i was in the uh apprenticeship program for the union and i was leaving school and like the adderall just crashed and all of a sudden I felt like suicidal, like, like instantly it was, it was, it was intense, man. And that was the last time I ever took Adderall. I was like that, that shit's the fucking devil.

That's when like coffee and L-theanine and a couple other things like, you know, really jumped into my life. You know, it was kind of like making my own Adderall without, you know, the crazy side effects that a drug like that can have. Was that right? Have you ever hit rock bottom? I asked because of something you said about – you're talking about Feldenkrais and about this one-third, one-third, one-third makeup of human beings. And I'm just wondering if you've experienced like a rebirth ever in your life. That's why I was asking this question. Sorry.

I know that was a little bit of an abrupt – I don't mean to be callous and that was a little bit of abrupt, um, transition, but that's fine. Don't worry about it. Don't apologize. So I know I get tired of doing it. Um, you know, what it, what it comes down to is when I was, when I was, uh, 22, um, my brother died of a drug overdose in my bed. Older brother or younger brother? My older brother.

drug overdose in my bed older brother younger brother my older brother and he was 13 years older than me and he was he was going through you know rehab he had three kids oh geez two boys and a girl who sadly like we don't even talk to anymore because of the things that they've done and their own resentment and life you know know, altering cognitive ways, you know? And, um, when my brother died, I, uh, I definitely like blame myself in many ways. Um, he called me the night before and wanted to talk to me. And I was working as a trainer at Bally's, uh, total fitness. And I was trying to get my workout in. I was like, I don't have time to talk right now.

I'll call you back. And I forgot to call him back. And he wanted me to take him to a hardware store. But then he wanted me to talk to him too. And I just was like, I just had a lot going on. And the next morning, I get a call at 5 AM. My sister just bawling. And, you know, I could barely make out what she was saying i just knew somebody died and is she older or younger she's older she

my brother were like a couple years apart okay you know and so and heidi has always been kind of like the glue of the family. Andy was like the recluse, you know, incredibly talented carpenter, you know, could do anything. I used to call him the Magneto of wood, you know, like that was like how I always like talked about him when I was a kid. You know, he could do anything with wood. That's what I call my, that's what I call my, my cock and balls, Magneto of wood also. But it's different a totally different subject. Totally different story.

So the – that created like a life-altering path for me. What was he doing in your bed if he's 13 years older than you and he has three kids? What was he doing at your house? He was staying at my parents because he just got out of rehab and he was separated from his wife now. And I was living somewhere else and my bedroom and everything was still all set up because I was living with my girlfriend. What was his drug?

Anything, man. So he'd have a fifth of vodka down and some opiates by 9 a.m you know and i you know that's i mean i would smoke weed with them and but i didn't realize that stuff until like i started like catching on when i was like 21 i worked for him again i had worked from a bunch when i was younger he gave me my first tool belt. I worked from full time during the summer of like 94 and 96 and like 95, you know, tool belt, you know, working at job sites, eight, nine hours a day, you know? And so when he passed away, I heard an ad on a radio and I mean, dude, like my brother

just died and I couldn't even go see his body. Like I got in a pushing match with some sheriffs and they almost tasered me because like, I just wanted to go downstairs and see my brother's body. And they said I couldn't because it was effectively a crime scene because he committed suicide. They were trying to rule out, right? Like, right. Right. Because he overdosed and that's considered suicide. So I still to this, I never got to see him before he was cremated. Everybody else saw him in my family, except for me. And like, everybody knows when somebody dies, you need to see like it's closure. It's like that visual confirmation. And I, I, I was forced to leave my parents' house. So I drove to this

like shop. I ended up at like this like little shop because I just couldn't drive anymore. And I went inside and I was like looking at this plate and I literally dropped like a $450 plate on the floor. Like I, my hands were like shaking so bad. I was just, and I, I started crying in the store and the woman was like, Oh my God, are you okay? And I, I'm like, and my girlfriend at the time explained what just happened. And, you know, we, we offered to pay for it and, you know, they wouldn't accept it. And we left and I heard an ad on the radio, um, for the tough man. It was the, they were looking for the toughest people in the Midwest to fight in a no holds barred boxing match, kickboxing match. And I had always said I was going to do that. And me and my brother, he like is the first one

who ever showed me a UFC fight. I remember getting high at his house. I was like 14 years old and watching, you know, UFC on pay-per-view. And he was like, this stuff is so cool. You know, my brother wanted to be like a man's man, but he was like a skinny, lanky, like carpenter, you know, smoked Marlboro's reds and did everything he could to like represent like the ideal of a man, you know? And so I drove to this Harley Davidson dealership and I signed up for this fight tournament. And, three weeks later i fought and sorry can i interrupt you a second so you're you're you're at your house your parents house your brother is dead you go off somewhere with your girlfriend during that time that you're off with your girlfriend

it's still the same day you hear something about a fight that's going to be to find the toughest man in the midwest and you're like and you sign up because like hey like that could be like tomorrow could be my last day life is fucking short man yeah that's that's amazing this is a great story i'm sorry go. Go on. This is crazy. It was that day that I literally, I knew, you know, I have this saying called earn the day, right? Something that I've like promoted for a while in the sense of like how I see things like you, you have the day you're born the day, the day you die, everything else in between you better fucking earn. And I, I was not going to let another opportunity or a moment pass me by

at the age of 22. I regretted not playing college soccer at the level I knew I could have at that time. I did question why didn't I not try to go pole vault in college? Right. Cause I like was just pole vaulting. I was, I was teaching this. Um, at the time I was also coaching a high school girls pole vaulting team and I like demoed and I could still do like 13, six, you know, at like years later, I was like, I fucking should have went. Like there were all these things going through my head and my brother, I see him, somebody who's like trying to succeed a family, all these things. And he's just losing it. It's a spiraling out of fucking control and he dies. And what am I going to do? I'm going to, you know, like I could have been like my, the rest of my family and like buried my head into my family, but I didn't have that connection.

I didn't have a husband. I didn't have a wife. You know, my sister had husbands and like they had kids and I didn't have that. I had a girlfriend. And at the time I started feeling even disconnected from her because I knew that I had to focus on myself because like, that was the only way I was going to like live the life that I needed to focus on myself because like, that was the only way I was going to like live the life that I needed to live. And all in that instance, I drove to that Harley Davidson dealership and I signed up for that tournament. And I remember them looking at me like, are you okay? And I'm like, I'm fine. You know, and I was like holding the back. I'm like, I'm ready to fight. I'm ready to fucking kill. Right. And they're like, are you a professional? And I'm like, someone right and they're like are you a professional

and i'm like no and they're like well how'd you get that nose and i looked at the guy and i was like you got something wrong with my fucking nose and he's like no man i was just wondering you just look like a fighter and i'm like i've never fought before i just want to fight signing up so i signed up as a heavyweight he's like how much do you weigh like 205. He's like, the cutoff is 205. You don't want to like lose a pound and fight lightweight. And I was like, no. First fight I walk into the kid's six foot four. Were you really 205?

Yeah. How tall are you? 511. Wow. In your pictures, you look so you look lean and mean. You look like a, like a 175 guy. Even in all my pictures, I'm 200 pounds. Holy shit.

Okay. Sorry. Go on. So you go into your first match. How many days after you sign up? Three weeks. But going back to your brother real quick, are both your parents still alive? My dad died seven years ago of leukemia.

And your mom is still alive? She is. She actually just battled through her second bout of COVID even after getting vaccinated. Go figure. Yeah, go figure. Hey, can you imagine? I want to hear about this fight, but can you imagine? I mean, fuck your brother dying.

What if your son died? What if your son died? What if your daughter died? Holy shit. I know. Holy shit. After my brother died – By the way, as soon as I get off this podcast, I'm going to call my sister and tell her how much I appreciate her. She's one of my – you've already accidentally impacted me.

accidentally impacted me. I need to, cause she's like one of my biggest fans and I don't tell her enough, like how much I appreciate her support. Like, like the women in my, the people in my life really believe in me, my mom, my sister and my wife.

It's crazy. They so believe in me. And I, and I probably should call my sister and say, thank you. Okay. So, sorry.

So you step into the ring in, in, in two Oh five, when you could have just not eaten a Twinkie and been 204. I probably could have just taken a shit and be 200 pounds. You know what I mean? I was, I was 205 cause I force fed myself all the time. I mean, at the, at just, you know, at the, at the crown of my weight, when I was a fighter in off season, I was 225 to 230 at like 10% body fat. Like I, I, I got pretty big. Um, you know, I, dude, I, I was so mad.

I was so sad. I was so every emotion that raged through my body. Are you literally thinking of your brother as you walked in the ring? Oh my God, dude. I felt bad for the first three people that fought me. You know, like I first dude, I first dude, I literally come out. He's six foot four, 260 pounds. I came up, I pulled his hands down and just went boom, full everything, full ass. I knocked him the fuck out in one punch. He like, I mean, I'm talking like big 17 ounce gloves that we're fighting with, with headgear. And I knocked this guy unconscious.

I was like, I was just, and I just remember letting out this scream. I was just like, just like everybody went fucking nuts when I screamed. Cause nobody knew what I was going through. The only people I knew was a small crew of individuals that was, um, that was like up there, like cheering for me. My dad came in the back i had to have them like verbally removed from security because they were like trying to get me to not fight you know and i was like look dad i'm doing this for me i'm not gonna fucking die up until you're getting in the ring your dad's trying to talk you out of fighting totally yeah they never this is crazy yeah they never supported it man i i had, I had them, like I said, you know, I had them physically removed by security. I was just like,

I was like, could somebody please get this guy out of here? They're like, he said it was your dad. I'm like, he is, but I want him fucking gone. Right. I'm like, he's not a fighter. He's not my corner. Get them out. Right. And they, they, they moved them out, you know, and, and they left, they'd even stay to watch the fight. You know, I, I fought three fights. I lost my third fight and, um, I felt like, you know, I felt like ashamed because like my whole reason for doing it was I was going to, like, I was going to win for my brother. Like I was going to do this. This was like something that I had to do. Is him on top ryan in that video holy shit wow he just showed a video of you just mashing this dude holy shit

yeah yeah that's not sure oh that poor guy yeah man. He didn't want any piece of this. When he saw me at the weigh-ins, he was like, what the fuck? I mean, I looked like no other 185-er at the time. I was like, I'd come in at 185 pounds, 5% body fat. I just looked like a thin bodybuilder, like a small bodybuilder. Like an action figure. Right. And you have great footwork.

And you have crazy good footwork. I mean, you really are an action figure. Right. And then I – And you have great footwork, and you have crazy good footwork. I mean you really are an amazing athlete. Quick digression. You said you grew up doing karate, soccer, and gymnastics. For anyone who's listening, if there's three things you could put your kids in, it would be a martial arts. It would be soccer and be gymnastics. The soccer will help you build the metabolic capacity in a certain way. The combat sport will also help you but also allow you to defend yourself and defend other people.

And then gymnastics is just great body control. And then the only thing you need after that is maybe like a cooking class or a dance class so you can attract mates. And bingo, you're the perfect mate whether you're a man or a woman. That's my life, bro. That's my life. Dance, fight, run, backflip. Do that shit and you will get dick and pussy your whole life and it'll be great. Okay.

Yeah, man. And the intimacy part you won't ever get unless you go through the shit that Mr. Rothfelder has gone through that's – unfortunately, you got to go through a lot of pain in order to really appreciate intimacy with people. I know people will tell you there's another way, but I don't think there is their line. No, I, uh, I, I think anybody that I've met, you know, I, I know, do you drink? No, like, no, that's, that was kind of my, that's kind of my one thing. Like I can't, I don't even like really watching movies where people have like drinking addictions because it's still like something with my brother. Cause that was kind of like the main thing. And then the drinking always led to the drugs, but it was always like the drinking that kicked

it always off. So for me, I don't really trust people who get drunk. I don't, I'm like, you have something that you're not confronting in yourself that you're trying to like push down with like a bottle. Right. And like, I have a sensor inside myself after like three, four beers where I'm like loose. I'm like, I'm good. Like I'm way good. Like, and I don't need to drink again for a while. You know, it's like, it's very, it's celebratory, like with people, maybe me and my wife will get one beer at the gas station on our way home on a Friday or a Wednesday because it's midweek or end of the week kind of thing. We're like, Oh, let's have a beer. It's always

a letdown too, isn't it? It really is. Cause usually I fart a lot afterwards and my stomach hurts. I prefer, honestly, rolling a joint, going bowling. This is my little bowling pin. You know, um, I enjoy that. That's a pipe. That's like a pipe. Yeah. It's a, it's a stone. It's stoneware. It's super cool. Made in Colorado, but it looks like a bowling pin. So it's like, hey, honey, want to go bowling? That's our code word. You like getting – doesn't getting stoned just make your brain too active? Not really. Like think too much?

No, it actually narrowsows it channels my thoughts right so because i like i've i've worked with some of like the coolest entrepreneurs and you know in america like i trained yg the rapper i trained blake mycoskie the founder of toms like i've i've trained you know some people that are very creative people and I put their creativity, like, like I, like my brain doesn't stop right on the creative side. That is like everything I know. And weed helps me take that creativity and like channel it so I can actually put it into, so I can implement it.

Right. Can you give me an example of that? How so? Uh, just like what that, like, so, um, so, okay. Of course. So I'll, I'll concept a marketing idea, um, of like the idea of like, and this is usually when I'm high, right. I'll concept a marketing idea in my mind and I'll visually unpack it. Like one of those implode exploded images. You see of like a part that has like a thousand parts in it. And I'll literally see every single part in my head and I'll call my assistant and I'll verbally walk them through how I see every single part without even writing it down. And I can just do this on a walk and I can be highly efficient

by not having to write it all down and, and, and mind map it all and try to figure it out because it's like, I already see it. Like I'm at the end of it at the beginning of it. Like I see the end result and every piece that it has inside of it because like i'm transcending beyond like the the plane like i'm going into like the next fucking timeline like we're all just like riding these like timelines and there is a timeline that's one year from now there's a timeline six months from now that exists in this plane and i just go to that plane i pluck it from the sky and i'm like this is how it fucking looks and i just verbally vomit out. And then just kind of reverse engineer it. And I just reverse engineer it.

Right. Exactly. Like, like, like what would that be? Like, so like some sort of new product for strong coffee. Totally. Like, so every product for strong coffee that I've ever made, I've never written down. I had the formula in my mind. I worked through the, I worked through every article that I've ever read about, you know,

L-theanine and, you know, caffeine and the pairings and ergogen read about, you know, L-theanine and, you know, caffeine and the pairings and ergogenics with, you know, you know, with, you know, epinephrine and adrenaline release and like what the, you know, paired amount, ethical amount of, you know, dopamine, serotonin precursors you would need to like mitigate any negative effects of that caffeine, right? Like all these things are just like flowing in when you get yourself to a place where these other things, these ancillary things don't exist much. Like, like Instagram is like the killer of the high, right? Like I need to stay away from other people's thoughts, other people's bullshit, and just like go for a walk. And I'll have a billion ideas that supersede

like anything I could have came up with sitting in an eight hour session, try to, trying to like dry write it on a board. Well, this is what I think the pen slows you down, man. Like it does, it slows down the flow. Right. So it's like, if you can just tap in, well, that's like, honestly, it's a hippie speedball. I take, I, I, I have a strong coffee in the morning. I smoke a bowl and for three hours, I'm in hyper creative super space. And I'll like, I'll call my marketing company and I'll be like, I got this idea. This is how it's going to be. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know? And they're like, did you just come up with that? And it's like, they're like starting to know who I am now. They're like, they're like, okay, we need to like put a cork on it. Cause you have too many ideas.

So now they gave me like a note taker that I'm just calling these ideas and they're just writing them into Rolodexes. And ultimately, it's like that is what marketing is. You have to come up with just more ideas because you have to just keep throwing them at the wall and see what sticks in a space where things are shifting so fast. Like people say like the idea of like, oh, you have to be agile. It's like, no, you have to be dynamic. Like you have to be dynamic in a space right now to stay in front when it comes to – But before I ask you the difference, I want to just say one thing. There's this book. It's called On Writing, and it's the only nonfiction that Stephen King has ever written. And if you haven't read it, I think you would be fascinated by it. It talks about his creative process.

And if you haven't read it, I think you would be fascinated by it. It talks about his creative process. And holy shit, you said some shit that I think will really – he says some stuff that will really resonate with you because it seems like you already are aware of those things. But it's called On Writing, and it's by Stephen King. And it is – it should be required reading for everybody. Maybe I do self-read it because you just told me now to to read it right downloading it man i'm just downloading it so so so tell me what's the difference between um dynamic and agile well agile has the ability to move right like any if you're agile you can shift but if you're dynamic you can shift in a way that is explosive. Right. So it's like a lot

of people shift in business and then it's like, it's like a new start. But if you're dynamic and you shift, you're in the, you're, you're halfway there. Right. It's kind of like a, like a, it's kind of like a Euro with a game with a gather step. Right. You know, it's like in basketball, it's like being able to like take three steps in one right it's that's like what dynamic is where it's like players in like the 70s they were agile but i don't think that the players in the 70s with their athletic ability could have taken the euro step and like adopted it as quick as like the athletes have today i don't know what that is what's a euro step i don't know what that is a euro step oh it's not yeah r Ryan looks like he's going to pull up a video.

Is that a dance move? No. So a Euro step is what basketball players could do in Europe, but they couldn't do in the NBA. And basically it's like, you could take two steps with a gather step off the same foot, which basically becomes like three steps, which is why LeBron James always looks like he's traveling.

Right. And can you do it now in the nba yeah now it's legal because of lebron james he was he honestly like i have this whole theory that the nba was built rebuilt around lebron james being successful you know and being like the superstar that he is he's a very talented player but he's a baby he's a cunt he is a world-class cunt he's a i don't know shit about basketball but i will tell you his thought process he's a disease to humanity yeah i'm not a fan of him in any way uh but like they gave him the ability to travel they gave him like they took away like the elbow. Like you can't like bump anybody with that elbow. This motherfucker sells Sprite. Oh, dude, I know.

This motherfucker sells Sprite. He sells poison to kids. He is a piece of shit. Sorry. I could go off about how what a bad, bad, bad, bad person is. And he wants to argue other – he's made a profession out of arguing other people's limitations when he's worked so hard to get where he is him oprah a bunch of these fuckers at the top they have their fucking foot on society's neck and i'm all for billionaires and people being successful sorry i know no dude he's a vile, vile disease, man. He deserves to have his ass beat.

John Cena is a fucking disease, bro. Like the fact that he recently apologized for something that was not a big deal at all. He apologized for calling Taiwan a country to the CCP, the Communist of China Party, the CCP, because the CCP pays him so much money for being in movies and shit he was like oh i didn't mean to call taiwan a country it's like you fuck it is a country like what the fuck are you talking about like china doesn't want to call it a country that's why you see mixed reviews on the internet but it is a country right it's nuts it is absolutely i understand wanting to do stuff to get paid either but it was really disgusting but at least be honest at least be honest when say hey guys i

still think taiwan's a country but i gotta take that back because i am a sellout i would respect that oh dude lebron james lebron james pulled down a twitter that was about like something going on in china and they like he pulled that shit down immediately he said something about like something going on in China. And they like, he pulled that shit down immediately. He said something about like how it was unfair, like people being pulled out of their businesses and by the CCP. And somebody must've, the NBA must've called them and said, hey, this is China.

You need to take that tweet down immediately. And that's what happened. You know, it's just- The NBA, Major League Baseball and the NFL are of the – I can't believe the vile racism, hatred, and weakness that they project and that they get away with it as the opposite. It's mind-boggling to me how duped so many people are. It's crazy. They're giant codependent organizations. They bring the worst out of people. Go ahead. Sorry. Sorry. They nurture weakness. They nurture and proliferate

weakness. Go ahead. Go ahead, Ryan. Sorry. All I wanted to say was that Steph Curry, he had sponsored deals that he could have done with Sprite, you know, any, any soda company. Uh, and he chose to do, uh, uh, sponsorship with Brita. So the Brita water filter. And so I just want to say like with LeBron choosing to do Sprite and stuff like Steph Curry chose to do Brita water. And I just thought it was a really cool little thing there. So nice work, Steph Curry. Wow.

I'm having a deja vu. I'm having a deja vu. I'm having a deja vu. Hey man. I look, when Travis Scott started talking about McDonald's, I couldn't even listen to his music anymore. Again. I was like, no, fuck that. I'm like, you're getting kids to buy like this shit. Like I, I can't get with that. Like it, it perplexes me. You know, people think I'm crazy for loving Kanye, you know? And it's like, I don't see Kanye. I don't see Kanye doing this stupid shit. He's like talking about God and you know, other things that, Hey man, the guys, are you a God guy? Dude, of course, man, there's a, there's a, there's a higher power that is

than I, and, uh, then government and, um, you could call it God faith, you know, religion. Um, I don't feel like I need to pray and go to a church and do all this stuff. Uh, you know, religion. Um, I don't feel like I need to pray and go to a church and do all this stuff. Uh, you know, as, as, as many, you know, do, um, to like show their love. It's kind of like, in some way, I kind of see that more like virtue signaling. Like if you're like, Oh, you have to go to church. You like to show your love. It's like, well, do you really like, if God is inside us and I honor him and I try to do good to, for man. Right. And I try to do good for myself. Like, and I, and I, and I think about the higher things and that some things are beyond me, but in control of something else. And like that comforts me in some manner, beyond me, but in control of something else. And like that comforts me in some manner,

then yes, God is something I believe in, you know? And that's, that's a, it's, it's an interesting thing. Cause I've never been religious. I left catechism class. I told my catechism class, fuck off. I'm leaving. Like I, I refused to get communion by my parents. Like I was the only kid who didn't go through communion. I was like, I'm not fucking going. I'm like, every time you drop me off, I'm just going to leave and go to my friend's house. Oh, do you have a,

a go-to? Like, do you, do you read anything? Like, do you, do you have a Bible? Do you have a doubt of Ching?

Do you have a Quran? Do you have a spirit? Do you listen to Feldenkrais? Do you Krishna Murthy? Like, do you have a, I listened to, um, you know, honestly,

like someone that helps you connect or something that helps you. Um, one Alan Watts. So I, I, you know, and, and you could, you know, he's a theologist and a nihilist, you know, I mean, he's all these things, which I think in many ways I am like, I'm a contrarian, right? Like I truly, Oh my God, you would love Greg Glassman. It's so funny. It's so, I hope you run into him at a Starbucks. Oh no, not a Starbucks. Sorry. That would be sacrilege. I hope you run. They're all shutting down Starbucks.

They're like closing 500 stores to just turn them into pickup, pickup locations because everybody's prescribing to the fear metric that's happening. And they're like, Oh, we're not going to have coffee shops anymore. It's going to be pickup locations. Crazy enough. I used to go to Starbucks every single day. And as soon as the pandemic hit, I've never been back once. And I'm so glad it broke me of it.

I'll never go somewhere where they fucking do it. Crazy enough. Three years ago, I predicted when I was sitting in, when I was sitting in the ocean, my angel investor for Strong Coffee took me surfing. He got me a surfboard as a gift, took me surfing. And we were talking in the water and he was like, why do you think Strong Coffee will be successful? And I said, for the exact opposite reason that Howard Schultz said that Starbucks would be successful. reason that Howard Schultz said that Starbucks would be successful. So I believed three years ago that there wasn't going to be a time for it. So Howard Schultz, when he started backstep, when Howard Schultz started Starbucks with the help of the Gates family, he said that Starbucks

would be the third place. He wanted to create the third place. So home work, the third place, Starbucks, to be that third place. Right. And it became that place the way they modeled it. People would hang out there and time there. Right. Exactly. A clean bathroom, like all these things that matter. Electrical outlets. In a car. Yeah. Working outlets, wifi. Right. They made it the third place. Now they are taking away the third place. I said three years ago that I didn made it the third place. Now they are taking away the third place. I said three years ago that I didn't believe the third place would exist anymore. I believe that like it was going to be taken away from us and that we are going to be

forced and focused on maybe the first and second place. And if not, and if in many cases, not even the second place anymore, as you see, as I'm working from my home, which we're not fully moved into yet. So there might be a little bit of a mess. as I'm working from my home, which we're not fully moved into yet. So there might be a little bit of a mess. We only moved down to here about three weeks ago. So, uh, that was my prediction. Like I said that and Ben, uh, Gold Hirsch, my angel investor, he thought that was really profound. He was like, are you a Jew? Are you Jewish? You are the second podcaster in this week that is interviewing me asking if I'm Jewish. So no, I am not. But Hershberger is a Jew.

Gold Hirsch. Yes, he is a Jew. Gold Hirsch. Gold Hirsch. Yeah, he's a really nice guy. Everyone needs a good Jew in their life. Jesus, if you don't have a good Jew in your life, you are fucking up. Are you Jewish?

No, but my wife is and my boys are. Okay. are fucking up are you jewish no but my wife is and my boys are okay i was gonna say the only way you can say that is if you're usually like jewish or married to a jewish person oh yeah i use them as cover all the time i throw the jew word around all the time i got three jew boys and a jew wife and i'm living the dream i'm living the dream we um my my, for some reasons I don't want to get into, uh, uh, nefarious deeds. We got one of my kids, 23 and me, we used a fake name of course. And, uh, I went, he's 51% Ashkenazi and a 49% Armenian. I was like, holy shit. Eugenics at its finest.

He's the perfect, perfect human, human being. Yes. I found out that we weren't german we thought we were always german might we came from germany but i'm pretty sure that my family kind of changed some things up uh to stay a stay stay you know at a certain level of class or something of nature uh but there was definitely very to little no german in us at all what is what is what is rothfelder what is i mean that's dutch von rothfelder yeah yeah is the von always the giveaway like if they if like if it's all uppity you got an uppity name like that you know it's dutch yeah yeah well it just means of the it just means of the. It just means of the. So it's usually like land ownership from times of nobility.

Savon von Matosian. Ooh, that's a mouthful, brother. I can do it. I want to jump back a second when you were talking about… Alan Watts, God. talking about um alan watts god yeah the alan watson god and everything you know it's it's really interesting like how it really you know started coming about for me was like the more that i did um psychedelics right and connected with nature that i felt the greater connection with god which is kind of like in a way counterintuitive, right?

To what you would think of most people that do drugs, right? It's really interesting, but it's not saying it's actually counterintuitive because it's actually intuitive, like connecting with nature, using nature to connect with nature. But I think that the general populace or what like media, popular media would have you think is that it is counterintuitive. Like it doesn't like, Oh, like a good Christian wouldn't do that, you know, to themselves. I'm like, yo, like, didn't Jesus disappear between 16 and 33? Like he could have gotten to some shit. Like there could have been some really good things that were happening at that time that that dude connected,

you know? And I don't even know like about that stuff. I'm right now listening to the King James Bible just to understand more about it. I mean, but these motherfuckers are talking about like how people live to be like hundreds of years old before the great flood. And I'm like,

this doesn't make sense. Like, you know, I don't get this. Like, how is anybody living to be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years old so i'll give you this mod this model um can be mean and spiteful i was very blown away by that in the king james bible like i was i was like and they wanted me to learn about this shit i'm like fuck we're killing people in this thing you know and then killing them over and over again for one mistake they made. I'm like, I thought this guy was

supposed to be forgiving. I'm like, this doesn't seem very forgiving, you know? And like the whole Cain and Abel story, it's like judgment at its finest. It's literally like pre-judging somebody and their greatness based on who they are pre to what they've done. Right. So, and it formed an opinion. It's, it's, it kind of like lends itself to African-American culture and like how they say certain things like, oh, they can't do this because they're black. And it's like, wait, no, like we were having a conversation at our dinner table last night and the word black was mentioned. And my daughter, old goes i don't like that word like why do we have to define them in that nature and i go totally right like it doesn't make sense to me i've always called them you know african-american right when i'm gonna talk about something like in that nature because like they're

not black right and like you're not white and she's not Brown. Like, you know, there's these like, these like things that we use to, to divide it, like divisive, divisive things, right. That are said, and then we, we repeat and because it starts to become culturally normal. But I remember very, I remember very strictly with my friend, hanging out with a group of my friends. And I grew up in a very, I grew up in a very, I had a lot of black friends, a lot of African American friends, a lot of Mexican friends, brown friends, whatever anybody wants to call them at this point in time and nature. And I remember having a conversation with them and they are like, yeah, we don't like that. Like, that's not like how we would call. I'm like, totally.

Like, why would somebody do that? You know, why would that become the thing? You know, I'm just, totally. Like it, like I, that, why would somebody do that? You know, why would that become the thing that, you know, I'm just perplexed that maybe you got an answer for that, man. Maybe you got something to add to that because it blows me away. I want to, I want to go back to the God thing real quick here. There's this, there's this Taoist saying that stop thinking and all your problems will go away. And the reason why I asked you when you hit, and then there's a book that another saying that stop thinking and all your problems will go away and the reason why

i asked you when you and then there's a book that another book that might interest you it's written by a guy named pd auspensky he's a mathematician from the turn of the century and he wrote this book it's called i think it's called the possible evolution of psychology but but but basically going to the drug use, when someone hits rock bottom in my definition is basically when your brain basically comes to a standstill. Like think of your identity as this egg, right? It's just a circle. Think of your identity as this egg, right? Think of your identity as a circle. And it's a checkerboard full of all of these I statements within that circle. Does that make sense? So thousands of I statements. I'm Adam. I'm Rothfelder. I'm hungry. I'm thirsty.

I'm buff. I'm skinny. I'm fat. I'm insecure. I'm a father. And it's all of these I statements. They're just ideas. They're all bullshit. They're just lies we tell ourselves to navigate the world. And I don't mean that in any pejorative or negative way. It's cool to have all those lies. It's cool. Run with them. They're fun, right? I'm seven. I'm Armenian. I have Jewish kids. I have a computer. I have a podcast. It's all just these things. And when you finally, when you are not attacked, when those things all vanish from your inside your egg through either drugs or through a very, very strict regimented practice, that vessel becomes empty. And when your vessel is completely empty is only the only time that you mesh with God because the vessel has to be completely empty to perceive God. That's why whenever anyone, I never, whenever anyone says they believe in God, I find it as a tragedy

because, but when you believe something, that means you have something to me with the use of the words, you have something in that vessel. You have a perception of God and you can have no perception of God. There's only two steps. Like you either know God or you don't know God. And when you know God, you're experiencing God because he's completely filled your vessel because you've abandoned it with all of your I statements. You gave reprieve through a practice and to let God like enter you and use you as, as that vessel. And that's the weird part about God, because it's all, there's also this Taoist saying that naming is the origin of all particular things. And God is not a particular thing is that Cartoli would say, God is no thing,

which is different than nothing, nothing. So, and, and, and drugs are fascinating for that. The scary part is, is you, you, you, so you can be on LSD and your vessel can go empty and you can experience God, but then you actually, in my – through my personal experience, you have to then move away from those drugs and start a practice to be able to manually empty that. Like you got – you took the shortcut there. Now you need a practice to start being able to get there without the drugs. That's my experience. to start being able to get there without the drugs. That's my experience. Yeah. I mean, I think like drugs are like GPS, but after you drive there like once or twice, like you don't really need to use your phone anymore. Right. So it's like, that's kind of

like what, that's how drugs should be used. I haven't, I haven't done a large dose of a hallucinogen in three years. You know, I haven't, I've, I've micro-dosed, uh, you know, small amounts of mushrooms, almost more for like productivity reasons. Um, but not, uh, needing them, you know, to like access a place. Uh, cause I did the work earlier on and like immediately, like when my brother died, I did the work when my dad died, I did the work. You know, I went through it. You know, I, my dad died and I did mushrooms with three of my very good friends and went walk through the woods. And I had a conversation with my dad for what seemed to be like three hours when we were fly fishing. And they said I was standing there staring at the river for like three minutes, you know? And it was just, it was, you know, I knew that things were going to be all right. And I finally stopped seeing like my dad, I would like see him like walking across the street, you know, like, because like a guy that looked like him and it would like be him for a half a second. But it was like, after that experience,

I stopped having those experiences. And I started just like living my life, knowing that he was like, having those experiences. And I started just like living my life, knowing that he was like, still here. Right. Um, you know, cause, uh, we don't go anywhere. I think we don't. Yeah. We don't go anywhere. Adam, we didn't get to any of my two pages of notes. We're an hour and 35 minutes in. I like this that Matt Murphy fire Fire a couple at me. Fire a couple at me. I'll answer them quick. You fire them at me. Okay. How do you have the balls to start your own business? How does strong coffee get started?

Talcum powder. You just put talcum powder in a bag and start selling it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's – you put it on your balls and you fucking go to work. Oh, I'll tell you a crazy story. So I was at the beach the other day and someone's like like, hey, just put talcum powder on your kids, and it'll get the sand to fall off. I'm like, okay. And I thought it was talcum powder that I had in my van, but it was foot powder, and I sprayed it all over my kids' balls. Oh, no.

And it was like some aloe vera foot powder shit, and they all started screaming, my penis burns, my penis burns. Dude, it was the worst thing I've ever done as a father. I swear to fucking God. I wanted to fucking just, I felt horrible, horrible. That's good. Um, so don't do that. Um, so if you want to start a company, don't do that. Don't put foot powder on your kids.

Cock and balls. That's not a new product idea. Um, so I started, this is how I did it. Very, very quick pitch on it. I hit a glass ceiling with training. I was charging $200 an hour. I'm training the coolest people. I'm working as many hours as you could fucking work in a day and still see your family.

And I was not, that motivated me beyond fear to do something right. I had an incredible idea and I believed in myself that I could take this idea and make it something. In three months, I went from a concept to investment to the product starting manufacturing. And I haven't looked back. In two months? Three months. Three months. And now you're in Whole Foods.

And now we're launching globally in Whole Foods, October. Congratulations, by the way. Thank you, man. the course congratulations by the way thank you man i mean that's like that like it doesn't really matter truly matter but it is in the most superficial sense um you got a date with the hot chick dude for sure it's it's so it's so it doesn't say anything about your product it really doesn't i don't i don't mean to act but but like if i was selling coffee and i got into whole foods i would be fucking like beside myself i would be doing backflips it really is getting a chance to go out with the hot girl it's really cool like a lot of people it's what everyone wants to do once i love in the movie hitch when will smith says uh to kevin james he's like you

got her on a date you did this you did that now it's your job not to fuck it up yeah yeah yeah yeah but you know what but you know what even if you do fuck it up it doesn't make your product any better or worse like for all you know the hot chick might not might not be cool at all but still you got it and i and i i really appreciate it's like going to your favorite vacation spot and then realizing like your whole life you want to go to hawaii and then you go there and you're like, this is kind of dumb. I don't like humidity. I mean, that's not me, but I'm saying it's OK, but it's still cool.

You got to go. It's so awesome. I'm so fucking excited for you. Thanks, man. I mean, it's been it's been wild. We you know, we I've it's been me and one full time employee that have like brought it this far. My wife has helped, you know, intermittent times where she can, and she's been a lot of help at certain points. Like Mrs. At Mrs. Vaughn Rothfelder, Mrs. Vaughn Rothfelder. She did like all the fulfillment,

um, out of our house for like six months. We like converted our whole house into a warehouse, basically like the whole downstairs was just boxes. And, you know, we were like living in a 2000 square foot house and we only had two bedrooms to use for me and the kids and my wife just because we were like bootstrapping it, right? Like over the course of three years, I raised $1.2 million to get this business to a place that I could launch like this and build scale and bootstrapping it. Like I've communicated with investors that are like, you should write a fucking book. Like I've never seen somebody hit reach numbers like this, a state like this launching globally and whole foods on only this much money in a time like this, right? Like other people that are just like launching products have 2.5 million in the bank. Like day one, like I took 140,000

for the first six months, I spent 80,000 of it on product and the rest of it, I helped pay myself so I could actually start focusing on the business. But for like the first four months, I was still training and running the business on my cell phone. Like imagine the lessons your kids are learning too, from watching daddy start a business. Can you imagine the lessons your kids are learning too from watching daddy start a business? My kids are – Azalea, she's kind of like a little – like kind of a little too cool. But she – you can hear it in her voice that she's listening to me close half a million dollar raises, right? Like you can hear it in her – like the way she talks.

Arrow, my youngest, you can hear it in her, like the way she talks arrow, my youngest, you can definitely hear it. We've actually been getting emails from the school that she could be a little push back. She can push back a little bit on stuff. And I'm like, I know my kid, if she's pushing back on something, it's because you're probably fucking up somehow, like in some way, because my, my kid like is like, she pushes back. She's like the one who stands up for her big sister you know like this karate teacher like was like being like i was about to grab my kid and say we're done and arrows like she said azalea you know and like like stood up for her sister and like got in the karate teacher kind of like in her like not her face but like was like i mean

it's a six-year-old she can't get into an adult's face but you know what i mean she was yes yes my kids stand up for each other it's crazy this this is a big person i'm a little person you're you know like adult child that's a bullshit kind of concept right like because then you don't respect them as a person you you treat them as a child it's like these are people who just don't respect them as a person. You, you treat them as a child. It's like, these are people who just don't know as much as we do, but in some ways they know far more than us. Right. So that's how you have the balls to launch a company. Um, why don't I just have you back on sometime? Let's do it, man. Okay. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I really enjoyed you. Dude. I really did. I, uh, I,. Are you coming to the Rogue Invitational by chance?

No, I don't think so. Okay. I don't think so unless someone sends their private jet to come get me and fly me over there. But the odds of that seem very, very, very slim. Are you headed over there? um yeah the uh it's 11 11 you could make a wish on that um i am going there so we're in austin it's being held in austin it's going to be a really big event um i just went and checked out the site uh we're actually building strong coffee cafes like two temporary cafes actually in the stadium um and like gonna sell full-size cups of coffee and kind of present ourselves, you know, as the, you know, the, the, the true coffee of, uh, of this space, um, as like, really like you've experienced it. Like it's like, it's better than regular coffee because it's

better. You know, it's not, it's not just beans and water. It's, it's nutrients. It's things that you feel a certain way. It tastes a certain way. know we've reimagined everything else in our life why wouldn't we reimagine coffee oh i love it and bill and katie throw god damn they do good work man i think the rogue invitational is gonna be insane like the stadium i agree the stadium is gonna be beautiful um it's in round rock the weather is gonna be beautiful and It's in round rock. The weather is going to be beautiful. And then like what, like two months after is like Wadapalooza or three months after. So it's, it's,

it should be, should be interesting, you know, Austin and Florida or Texas and Florida holding it down on the, on the events. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ryan. Thank you, Adam. My bladder is going to pop. Dude. Mine too. I thought it was just me.