The Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby - Jeffrey Allen on winning Beast Games, starting marriage counseling & overcoming a mid-life crisis

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

We sat down with overnight millionaire Jeffrey Allen—and his wife Jennifer. In February, Jeffrey was crowned the winner of Beast Games, a show created by MrBeast where over 1,000 contestants competed for the biggest cash prize in reality competition history: $10 million. But Jeffrey wasn’t in it for the money. We talk about going to couples counseling after the win, navigating a mid-life crisis, keeping the victory a secret, and what it was really like to meet MrBeast. This episode is sponsored by Nutrafol, Rocket Money and BetterHelp. Nutrafol: Visit https://nutrafol.com and enter promo code UNPLANNEDGIFT for $10 off any order and free shipping when you subscribe. Rocket Money: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to https://RocketMoney.com/unplanned. BetterHelp: Visit https://BetterHelp.com/unplannedpodcast today to get 10% off your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Okay, Martin, let's try one. Remember, big. You got it. The Ford It's a Big Deal event is on. How's that? Uh, a little bigger. The Ford It's a Big Deal event. Nice. Now the offer? Lease a 2025 Escape Active all-wheel drive from 198 bi-weekly at 1.99% APR for 36 months with $27.55 down. Wow, that's like $99 a week.

Yeah, it's a big deal. The Ford, it's a big deal event. Visit your Toronto area Ford store or Ford.ca today. You were actually standing on 10 million real dollars. Real dollars, I mean, there was literally, I think like 20 armed security guards. You're joking. Well, there's $10 million.

Is it true that you got depressed after winning the money? That's a big question. Sorry, I kinda just sent that one. I didn't tell her that I applied until I got in. I'm like, hey, this is going to be an awesome platform to talk about Lukey and his condition. And she looks me in the eyes and says, if you're going to go, you're going to win.

How do you coach an eight-year-old and not spill the beans on that? I showed him the NDA and I showed him the penalty. OK. I went, do you see this number? This number will be gone. Have you had any money fights? Like, I feel like that's a really big thing to talk about.

Uh, we've had disagreed. I'm excited about this answer. I'm ready. I'm ready for it. We sat down with Jeff, the Beast Games champion that beat out over 2000 contestants to win the largest cash prize in game show history. But the hardest part wasn't even the competition. It was being away from his wife and two kids for over a month. While Jeff fought to stay in the game, his wife had to hold down the fort at home, all while having absolutely no idea what was going on. In today's episode, we talk about the emotional toll, meeting Mr. Beast, what the cameras didn't show,

and how their marriage changed after the money. Jeff and Jen, welcome to Unplanned. We are so happy you're here. Yay! This is so exciting. Dude, I've got to say, out of all the Beast Games winners, I think you're the most attractive winner ever. I'm just saying, are you doing like men's magazines or what are you doing?

Not yet. I feel like you probably have had so many people slide into your DMs after being on that show. I do ask that often. I was like, what's your DMs looking like? Oh my gosh. What's happening today? I've said this to people, but when I apply for Beast Games,

I didn't tell her that I applied until I got in because she's like the master planner. And so once I got in, I'm like, okay, now it's time to tell her. And I'm like, hey, this is gonna be an awesome platform to talk about Lukey and his condition. And she looks me in the eyes and says, hey, if you're gonna be away from the family for this long,

you better win this stamp thing. Did you actually say that? Well okay let's clarify. He told me while he was visiting family across the country because I don't think you wanted to tell me in person and I get the call and he goes so I got on and I go okay and I go what's the schedule and he goes mmm They're telling me to tentatively hold end of July through September. Oh my And I'm like, oh, okay and granted I just got laid off in my job in April perfect time. Yeah, so it's kind of like I get to go on this adult summer camp Yeah, well she stays at home with the kids and so I mean I remember when Jen kind of looked, I get to go on this adult summer camp while she stays at home with the kids.

I mean, I remember when Jen kind of looked at me, like this is after I got home, she goes, I've realized that we're handling our midlife crisis a little bit differently. Yeah, very differently. Is that what you guys are going through right now? Was that the motivation? Was it the crisis or what was the motive?

I was at a conference a couple of years ago for rare diseases and the keynote got up on stage and said hey We have a cure. There's a cure. There's a silver bullet for rare diseases Do you guys want to know what it is and everybody's like at the edge of their seat and she says you have to find a Celebrity who has a child with one And I'm like, oh because you think about like Colin Farrell or these other celebrities who have Children with rare diseases. They have the platform, they have the money to make an impact. So that always kind of stuck in my head like how can I get a platform? How can I get out there? So when I saw Beast Games,

Mr. Beast, I said this is my chance. This is my chance to kind of be a Colin Farrell-esque, to get a platform to be able to raise money and raise awareness for rare diseases. On the car ride here, we were actually watching the YouTube video you made about your son's condition. It was posted two years ago. Like over two years ago. It kind of just brought more legitimacy to what you're saying. Cause you know, sometimes people get on these shows and they say, Oh, I'm

going to give all the money to the poor. Oh, I'm going to do this. But you know, going back and bro, you have the receipts, like you've been, you've been at work raising awareness and money for your son for a very long time and it's very cool. Oh, sweet. No, and it's been kind of a labor of love.

It's a way for me to kind of express my kind of creative side, but yeah, it's, when I ultimately got in and once I really got there, I'm like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? Like, what am I doing? What is Jen thinking at home? She's probably thinking, you are just out here having fun. Which you were.

Oh, it was a blast. I know, I've actually never said this to you. I think it was multi-purpose, right? I think he had an opportunity to go meet our older son's biggest fan, right? He's a huge fan of Mr. B. That's really sweet. So it was really awesome, that's how we even heard about him. I think we're very aware of,

are we doing everything we can as parents to tap into a network and do what we can in these pivotal years while Lucas is still young and while a treatment is gonna make the biggest impact, right? And I think there's another small part that you've always been in sales, is still young and while a treatment is gonna make the biggest impact, right? And I think there's another small part that you know you've always been in sales but a part of you has always also gone could I do entertainment? Could I do content?

Like and I think that also served a piece of that for him and I sometimes he'll say I begrudgingly supported him, but I knew that the midlife car- like if we didn't, if he didn't get a chance to go for it here, would we be living in more questions of did we miss a chance to do something big? And luckily it was also to help Lucas, but also, you know, like what's your career? He's been in sales for his whole life, but I think ultimately he'd much rather be in the sales of himself and of like his brand. And so that's what we laugh about is like his midlife crisis because I, I race towards

stability. So I'm like, give me a W-2, give me predictability, give me health insurance. And he's like, but what if there's something bigger and what if we're not tapping into our potential so that's where I think we differentiate on on midlife crisis and this is why we're together this is why we're such a great pair I mean and you know thinking back we got we got married in 2014 like on paper we're very far apart but we started getting closer and closer to each other's values, which is neat.

Like I've become more responsible, you know, and just thoughtful of the everyday schedules and Jen's become more spontaneous. And so it's just one of the cool things about marriage is like if you're really committed to it, like you start seeing your partner for who they are and you want to love them kind of according to their values. What is really funny though, Jen, you were bringing this up earlier that People magazine did an article on Jeff winning these games and you see Jeff and he you know he's smiling he's

like yeah I won and right next to him you've got your two you know beautiful boys. One thing missing. Just one thing missing is you, Jeff's you. Do you think, are people wanting this angle of Jeff being a single dad who's obviously like what you're doing is really, really cool. But do you think like people just thought, eh, we'll just leave Jen out of this one because it might make a better story? I think there is less appeal probably if I'm included in the headliners per se. I've also been quite quiet, right? Coming on with you two is the first thing that I've actually leaned into and said yes to. So partly is my choice, I think, around it.

But I do think it makes for, unfortunately, a little bit of a better story. And I think the moms out there will be like, there was somebody at home holding down the fort and making sure the kids have what they need and were supported. But it has been interesting to watch what media focuses on. So early articles that he did interviews for, it was like Mr. Beast and then his little couple of one-liners about being the winner. So it started on Beast Games, a Mr. Beast production, and then here's a couple of lines from the winner.

And now it's shifted a little bit more to him and to be about Lucas. But it hasn't... Probably the next phase is going to talk a lot more about you. Yeah. Well, now people know you exist. Exactly. Because you're on this podcast right now. And these are, these are, these are editors' issues. I mean, don't get wrong. In these interviews, if you actually have the raw transcript. He's like, I'm giving credit where it's due. You're talking about your life the entire time. The entire time. Yeah. From first sentence to last. Supposedly. No, I mean, no, no, but no. Supposedly. Okay, I will say I did, I want to say I saw you like for two seconds on on the show Yeah, where do you want? Were you on the show for like two seconds? I was on the show twice It's the very end twice. Yes episode 8 and episode 10

But you know Jack was the highlight which I'm all for I was a non-speaking supporting cast That was that was my role, but the best part is has, well, has been in the finale, he does the, where people, the, the, um, the finalist talking to the camera, to their loved ones. And he does this, he starts like Jennifer, like I love you or whatever. So on TikTok, it's all over TikTok to like, be right back, changing my name to Jennifer. Right? So there's like this whole interest on him professing his like love for me. Um, but the media has not, has been, which I'm okay with.

It's, it's really been about Lucas's story. Are you sure you're okay? I just, seriously, I mean, I, it's, it's the running joke now. So now my, my friends, whenever an article comes out, they go, we did a word search for Jen or Jennifer. It didn't come up anywhere. It didn't come up anywhere. Jen, Jennifer, wife.

Wife. Thank you to Nutri-Full for sponsoring this portion of today's episode. You guys, if you are watching on a video format, please take a moment to appreciate my hair. Your hair looks really good. I don't think it has been this long, strong or full in years and years and years. And I attribute so much of that to Nutriful. Nutriful is OBGYN formulated so they know what they're doing. It is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over

one and a half million people. That's why this Mother's Day Nutriful makes the perfect gift. There's something for every mom on your list. They have a postpartum formula that is great for women in the first year after perfect gift. There's something for every mom on your list. They have a postpartum formula That is great for women in the first year after giving birth. There's the women's balance formula That's perfect for women 45 and up experiencing perimenopause or menopause And of course the women's formula, which is the one that I'm taking is great for women in between any of those stages You guys it's a supplement. They send it right to your door

You can get it on a subscription basis so you don't have to think about refills and it is it's making a difference It's making a big difference you guys this Mother's Day consider Nutri-Full the best-selling hair growth supplement Whether you're gifting to yourself or a loved one Nutri-Full is offering our listeners $10 off any order Enjoy free shipping when you subscribe go to Nutri-Full.com and enter promo code unplanned gift Nutri-Full.com spelled nutra fol dot-com promo code unplanned gift, neutrophil.com spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L.com, promo code unplanned gift.

That's neutrophil.com, promo code unplanned gift. Seriously though, I actually am curious, were you thinking while your husband's competing in Mr. Beast's game show, 2,000 people, I mean, let's be honest, the odds are so low. The odds are so low. So were you thinking when he was gone, what is he doing right now? Like what is he actually spending his time doing? Because when it's a, it's not like a coin flip where it's a 50-50 chance.

We're talking about one in a 2000 chance of winning. So what he had said was the morning he left for the second round, when they went down to a thousand, these two rounds, the first round was in Vegas from the 2000 to 1000, which he also bamboozled me because he goes, it's a thousand people. So he went off to Vegas. I didn't know until the morning of. He went off to Vegas and then there was this whole backstory about what happened there,

but they collect the phones, whatever, he calls me five days later and he goes well good news is I made it to the next round and I'm thinking okay a thousand to five hundred to three hundred he goes bad news is we started at two thousand and so I made it to the thousand so he comes home I mean two thousand is crazy I mean two thousand is crazy. I mean, 2000. You wouldn't have expected that. No. And it was, I didn't know a single soul. And it was mostly people your age. And I'm going, what am I doing here? I'm an old man. Like, what am I doing? But I quickly made friends. I got super lucky. But, uh, yeah, it was, it was wild. So when

he left for the second round in that was being filmed in Toronto, he goes, but yeah, it was wild. So when he left for the second round that was being filmed in Toronto, he goes, you know, this is what he was referencing. He was, it was early in the morning. It must have been like five in the morning or something. And I was saying bye to him. And he goes, I'm gonna do my best. And I go, screw that.

If you're gonna go, you're gonna win. So just, so go. And he was like, okay. It was awesome. I was like, okay. It was awesome. I was like, yes. Like inside I'm like. That reminds me of what Spartan wives would tell their husbands back in the day.

They would say, they would say either come back with, well there's a whole quote, but they basically said either come back a winner or come back with your head on a shield. Like either win or die. Win or die. That's like the modern version of that. It totally was.

And it was like 5 a.m. It was like just still groggy. And she said that I'm like, okay. Thank you. This isn't just fun. So the odd thing was we had prepared to not see him for six weeks. So I think we had subconsciously gone, he's going to go really far. But I don't think we had realized subconsciously by saying we're not going to see him for six

weeks would mean he would get to the end. It was like week over week, Jack, it was hard on Jack, right? Not hearing from him. But we heard occasionally from the producers. They were, they were hard on Jack, right? Not hearing from him, but we heard occasionally from the producers, they were, they were kind of like, can I talk about this? Yeah. Okay. The producers would ping the emergency number

and just go, you know, your loved one is still in the game. This is the count, we're doing really well. So every time that kind of gave us a burst of energy. So I would tell Jack, every day we don't hear from Dad is better. Because the second we hear from him, it means he's coming home. So we kind of settled into this odd certainty. If you go through my text messages with our friends and family, we acted as if he was at minimum going to make it into top 10.

And we had very good friends that when he left, they laughed, they were like, Jennifer, welcome to our simulation of life. In our simulation, we win these things, so get ready for the ride. You know, Chris and Mary said that to us. So it was an odd, like, certainty that he was gonna do really well.

Had I wrapped my brain around winning? Probably not. But I think we were pretty confident that this was gonna be his moment, whatever that looked like. That's so cool. I love that confidence. You had the support back at home. I know.

And I felt it. And it's one thing that like Jenna's like the ultimate kind of when she believes in you like you feel it when she's happy for you you feel it And if you know you step out of line you feel it, too But it was one of these thing Yeah, just she gave me the ultimate confidence and knowing that the beast team would send text messages the automatically your loved one got through a challenge There's 250 left through a challenge, there's 250 left. Through a challenge, there's 110 left. That gave me a ton of peace of mind

knowing that they knew that. So it was just like- That he was progressing. Yeah, he was. So they have something to kind of go, oh gosh, Dad made it. So yeah, so I felt really good knowing that obviously she's taking care of the home front

and I just gotta keep going. Yeah, you and the games, like honestly, I was telling Matt, even, we watched it each week it came out and we'd never do that with shows. We're not really show people. But I was like, Matt, every episode I'm crying, I'm getting stressed out, my watch is telling me

my heart rate's going up. I cannot imagine living that experience. And honestly I rewatched the first episode with my parents last night, because I was like, this is like I'm like I'm not gonna tell you anything Like I'm not gonna tell you who I'm talking with tomorrow because they knew that we were gonna get to talk with the winner But I was like trying not to say anything

But I was reminded of how close you guys got with each other like the other contestants Which surprised me because you know, we're just seeing little snippets over weeks and weeks. But I'm like, they feel so much loyalty to each other, even though to us, they, you guys seem like strangers. So kind of talk about that. Like, who are the people you got the closest with? Were there times where you were like, I would never stab my, or stab my friend in the back here? Like how that pressure played into it. It's so bizarre. And I get like everybody watching is like, you know, how can you get that close? Well, so bizarre. And I get like everybody watching is like, how can you get that close?

Well, we do. And I think part of it is you remove people's phones, remove the internet. And especially like in Las Vegas, we're sleeping on the floor of Allegiant Stadium and you quickly make friends. So I quickly made friends with 930 Patrick. So he was in the top 10.

And- How wild is that? Like the odds of that are crazy. It's crazy. So he was my day one. My And how wild is that? Like the odds of that are crazy. It's crazy. So he was he was my day one, you know, my day one, like my right hand. There's another group of people that you just become close with and like, oh, these are good people I could hang out with. And you get to know them.

And then obviously between Vegas and Toronto, between 2000, 1000, there was maybe a couple weeks. So we kept in touch between then. And then you fly into Toronto, you're kind of housed in a hotel for a few days before they start episode one, you get to hang out more. And just, I, one of my biggest takeaways from Beast Games is I have so much more faith in humanity. Like there were so many good people, like really good people who wanted to help each other out. And I learned quickly in Vegas that like the more you help people, the further you're going to go. Like it's a social game, but it's also like the more you help people the further you're gonna go like it's a social game

But it's also a game where you help people It's interesting to hear you say that because I view the show as this microcosm for how evil Confess her in the world as well as good and so it's interesting to hear your take on how you saw the good in people I mean, I think back to that episode where we saw those brothers Yeah, convince the girl that she lost or I guess they tricked her into them both getting through. And I remember I was so mad at them.

And I know how it works. I know how the editing works, I'm sure. It's a game and they, for the show, wanted it to be more intense than it probably actually was. But I was really mad. I was really mad seeing that happen. It made me infuriated. A lot of us felt that way during the games

because we heard about it. But when I watched it, I kind of go, oh, I don't want to say I respected it, but I understood their gameplay. It is a game. I don't know, what would you guys do if you were in a cube together with a stranger? No idea. Like of course you two want to get through. Will you do whatever it takes? I don't know like what would I what would what would you guys do if you're in a cube together with a stranger? Yeah, like of course you two want to get through like will you do whatever it takes? I don't know

I don't think I would have played the way they did but But I just I think I understand a little differently watching it than being in it I didn't see you like hurt anybody on your way to the top. I wouldn't do it I mean, that's not that's not my style Yeah, cuz I mean even even towards the, you were trying to help other players win. I forget the player's name, but she was trying to pick out the right square to walk on, to pick the right pattern and get across. And you actually told her the correct square to step on, and then she didn't step on that

one and she got kicked off. So it was cool to see you trying to help other people, even though that meant that was another person you still had to compete against to win. Yeah, and it's like, it's Sophie's choice. It's like, do I do it or do I not? And again, it started early for me. It was my friend Chris, 204. He got a big Mr. Beast tattoo in the cubes with me.

And then my friend Jeremy, 991, it was in Vegas when I like, those, us three were really helping people on the flags game. And that's when I realized, oh gosh, if you help people, like this is what the games are. The more you help people, the more you can earn trust, the more you can, it just feels good too, obviously.

But the people who helped traditionally are the ones who went far. And that's where I have hope in humanity. It's like, Yesi947, she was a big helper, she was a sweetheart. Gage974, Tawana830 turned down a million dollars three times for other people, which is crazy. That's insane.

And he's forever the optimist, right? In the good and the world. I'm a bit more of the pessimist. Even when we go to doctor's appointments. We're like, okay, you're going to hear how great Luke is doing. And I'm going to have some different version of, of progress or whatnot. But to his, so I'm not surprised he played the game that well, but that way. But he also, it's interesting when you look at the numbers of who made it far,

they're further along in the numerical order. And so in Vegas, capturing the flag was what number you were assigned to. So for him, he goes, look, the people that held back and helped people get across and get flags before them were a lot of the mentality and the character of who made it further in the game. Like if you look there weren't any single digit numbers like the people that were like I'm here for me I'm gonna

get across that field and I'm gonna grab a flag first so that was really interesting and what makes it fun I think watching it back was really playing out how would I have shown up in that and really going would I have done that? That's what I kept saying. I'm like I have no idea what I would have done. Yeah. Like I know that I would have lost so early though because every time I would have felt so bad. I don't know. You could have been like an Emma. Emma was a sweetheart and she made it in top six. I'm also not competitive so I feel like I would have just crumbled. Go ahead.

It probably really messed with your mind though being in that simulation for that long and it feels like that's your life. That's real. I remember after I won and that was just like surreal It's like surreal to open up the briefcase on that was a crazy moment To run up the pyramid and then look down and see Jack and Jen. I thought they already went home So I had no clue they were still there. We didn't see that final challenge people think we were there We were not brought out until he was on top of the money Wow, so we didn't know the final challenge

till we watched it back. Cause we asked him not to tell us. We were like, we'll just watch it with the rest of the world. That was real money too, right? Real money. You were actually standing on 10 million real dollars. Real dollars.

I mean, there was literally like, I think like 20 armed security guards. Like, I mean, cause like- You're joking. Well, there's 10 million dollars. But like 20 armed security guards. Like, I mean, cause like- You're joking. Well, there's $10 million. But he said that, he said that on the show. Did they have some sort of screening process to make sure none of the guards like slipped a hundred

into their pockets or something? I mean, that's just so much money. They have so many cameras all over. Gosh. Yeah, and again, I don't know how they sort it. And like, I mean, the logistics around, like I would love to know the relationship with the bank kind of go, yep, we need another five million dollars in cash. We're coming to pick it up

It's like now in us in USD to in Canada It's crazy when you hear about how mr. Beast operates because this is kind of a crazy story My buddy Dallin won the chocolate factory and he was telling me that when he received the deed to the chocolate factory It was the actual deed in the video when Mr. Beast handed it to him. It was real and it was signed Jimmy Donaldson 100% real. And when he told me that, I was blown away. Well, yeah, because he said, he was like, Jimmy, this is actually the deed. He's like, well, yeah, don't I wasn't going to lie.

Like, he takes a lot of pride of it being his words being the exact thing that's happening. So when he says, I'm standing on the largest cash prize, he wanted it to be real. He wanted to make sure, remember there was, I think there was some crumbled up money if you watched the BTS, it's like fake money, like motion picture studio money on the $5 million. So he had $5 million cash and then like some straggler fake money. He had people come in and go, no, no, no, we need to replace the fake money with real money.

He goes, I want it all to be real. So yeah, he's, he takes pride in making sure the deeds of the island was real that Mia got. Yeah. So everything is like so accurate. It's crazy. How hard was it to haul all that money off with your wife and kids? Did you hear Jack say that?

So in the behind the scenes, Johnny Shay's behind the scenes, they're walking out and one of the things he goes, dad, how are we gonna get all this home? Aw. You're just, thank you. I don't know, get your backpack. Yeah, we'll make a few trips.

Jimmy goes, we'll send it a different way, bud. Oh my gosh, you were always gonna be his hero, but now you're his friend's heroes too, not their own dad's. Oh yeah, no, I mean it's uh, I think Jack, like the fact that he got to meet Mac and Jimmy and Carl like at his age, it's like man, like that's awesome. That is so cute. Do you have any paid for subscriptions that are going unused every month? Because that used to be us. And that's why I'm so excited to tell you guys

about today's sponsor, Rocket Money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you cancel unwanted subscriptions, monitor your spending, and helps you lower your bills so that you can increase your savings. I feel like there's a couple of subscriptions that we have that no longer makes sense for our life

that I'm not even overwhelmed about canceling, which is a big step for me because the thought process before of trying to do something like that, I was like, I might have to get on the phone with someone. Yes. I might forget my password and not know how to do it, but Rocket Money makes that so much more seamless and user friendly. Not only does Rocket Money help you cancel your unwanted subscriptions, they can also help you negotiate your phone bill down. They're actually, I got on the app the other day and they were

saying that they could help negotiate our internet bill, which is really nice. I feel like we're paying too much for internet. So I think I'm going to take Rocket Money up on that. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of 550 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. All of our friends have Rocket Money and the one friend we have that doesn't,

we kind of make fun of. We do, we do make fun of them. It's one of those things that's just like, there's no reason you shouldn't have this. Take control of your finances. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. All you have to do is go to rocketmoney.com slash unplanned. That's rocketmoney.com slash unplanned.

Rocketmoney.com slash unplanned. And Jimmy seemed genuinely interested in your son's condition, right? I mean, you, you talked on the iced coffee hour about every, every time Jimmy really got a chance, he was asking you questions about CTD, right? Yeah, so it was, you know, the deeper you get in the game, the more interviews you get by Jimmy. And my whole goal was to talk about Lucas's condition. So if there's a camera in my face, I'm telling the world about CTD.

And so he, like, you know, when we cut, he's like, hey, you know, how long has he had it? What's the story? And so like, obviously Jimmy's amazing on camera, just amazing content creator, super competitive, but I didn't expect him to be as truly interested and compassionate. And it's just, it was really, really refreshing.

For everyone listening right now, what is it, how do you get it? It's super rare, right? So if you could kind of enlighten people, that'd be awesome. Yeah, so my son Lucas has what's called creatine transporter deficiency. It's a rare genetic brain disorder where you look pretty strong. Do you take creatine? Sometimes. Sometimes?

I'm trying to get back to the gym. She's the strong one. She goes to the gym like five times a week. I was looking at her arms when she walked in. I was like, oh, she's like, Carrie, your sister has great arms. And I go, oh. So. So sweet, thank you. So creatine, like people think of it for like athletes, but it's really good just for normal brain health. So Lucas's body makes creatine just fine,

but there's a transporter that takes it from the blood to the brain and his transporter is defective. So he was born with it. It's what's called an X-link disease. So mothers are usually carriers. Jen's not a carrier. It was spontaneous, kind of an utero. And so his brain doesn't have the ability

to get the creatine, which is an energy source for your brain to develop, function, and thrive. So his brain is kind of almost always operating on low power mode, is the way to think about it. So imagine if you have an electric car, it's on low power mode. Yep, you can about it. So imagine if you have an electric car, it's on low power mode. Yep, you can turn on the radio, maybe the windshield wipers, but good luck getting it to go 20 miles an hour.

There's currently no treatment, there's no cure. We're on a quest to change it. And I'd say the great thing is he's a happy boy. He doesn't worry about the past. He's not thinking about tomorrow. He doesn't, cognitively, he's unable to do that, so he's always in the present moment, which is just a great gift for us to go connect.

So if Jen ever sees me spinning out, it's like, hey, go spend some time with Lukie. And it's just, it takes it all back into perspective. That's a really sweet way of looking at it. Did you find out when he was like newborn at the screening? Oh no so rare diseases don't get screened. Oh a lot of we did the in utero genetic testing we did compatibility testing even before we tried to have children to make sure that nothing was going to you know like there wasn't a recessive recessive or something, so we did all the tests.

So we, no, totally healthy pregnancy, healthy birth, was hitting milestones, was developing. Then he started exhibiting low muscle tone at seven or eight months when they start sitting up. So what he would do is he would sit up, but he would fall straight back and like hit his head on the ground. It's, you know, the pediatrician is like, don't worry. He's just a little low muscle tone and hitting your head that close to the

ground isn't as concerning. So that was, um, you know, seven, eight months, I was like, okay, something, something's going on. And then the, his 15 month appointment, which talk about like mom's guilt and the things you feel guilty about. I was working and I didn't make that appointment. So he goes to the PEDE. The PEDE runs a, they have certain questionnaires to ask about development at certain wellness checks. So she's asking questions like imitating and babbling and the forever optimist was like, yeah, he's, he's doing good. And, and I flagged some things to him before and he goes,

Jack, his older brother was really, was ahead of the schedule. So he felt like we were comparing him a bit to Jack and he goes, look, he's just taking his time. So he went to that appointment and you know, was like, no, no, he's good. He's like checked all the boxes. Then I went to the 18 month appointment and same questionnaire and then I go oh actually he's not doing all these and she goes what do you mean and I go she's like has he been and I go no no he hasn't and she goes oh you guys flagged that he was at 15 months and I go no so then we we started testing we were like let's let's rule out hearing

we're like can you just not hear? And that's why he's not responsive or his center of gravity is off. So we did six rounds of hearing tests. Cause it's really hard to test hearing at that age. Everything was okay. Then at, then at that age, they don't do an autism diagnosis. They do a more general, like global development delay. So we got that official diagnosis, which then kicks off OT, PT, speech.

It just kicks off therapies. So that was January. Um, so he was, you know, a year and a half ish. And then that summer I went, something's still wrong. Uh, and luckily we had really great health insurance and our pediatrician was great and we, we pushed for an MRI. Um, we were like, something's still off so then we pushed for more extensive testing and that's how we were able to surface it. When there is no cure what do you do? What is there that you can do to help your son?

I mean is there anything at all? Yeah, we do supplements, right? We do pump his body with creatine and then some other things, arginine, glycine, betaine, some other things. There's mixed reviews on whether that's helping or not. We noticed a change in his behavior when we've been waiting for a shipment of that supplement, so we've kept him on it. It's a terrible tasting powders that we feed him three times a day in his water.

He tolerates it. So we've held that course and we think that that's helped. But different parents in the CTD community have very mixed reviews on whether they think, and even the medical community has mixed reviews, but we're in the camp of we think it helps more than harms, so even if it's helping his brain get 1% more creatine. And then we do a lot of therapies, we're still in speech, he's in a special education classroom.

So there's not the silver bullet that will solve everything, but there's steps that I think parents can take. It just, it takes a lot of, it's a lot of work. You know, it's a lot of work on his little body and it's a lot of work on a commitment from us to keep very, you know, he's on five medications a day, keeping him to a routine and keeping his schedule. And these kiddos, three out of five kids with his condition are epileptic. So you know there's some children who have CTD who've had seizures who've had brain

surgery to try to kind of limit their seizures. You know fortunately Lucas is not epileptic currently. But it's yeah yeah, seizures are devastating and also kind of the other symptoms, but I am, I think we're blessed to have some great practitioners, some great therapists. I'm confident that we'll get a treatment in his lifetime. And if we can get creatine to his brain,

it doesn't matter what age you are, the doctors say you will see a market improvement in his ability to function. So it's not like he's gonna catch up and have kind of a standard life like Jen or I. But if we can add any more ability to have kind of normal activities to daily living, it'd be super helpful for him.

Who are the people or the charities, organizations that are working to find a cure? Yeah, the leading organization is the Association for Creatine Deficiencies, creatineinfo.org. I'm a volunteer board member and we were one of the primary funders for research kind of worldwide. But yeah, it's, we've done some great work, but we need a lot more help for sure And that's where you came up with this this crazy idea of hey, we're gonna rock 365 miles across California and and vlog it and you know raise money for for the cause. Yeah, the

When I think of Lucas, I mean even though Lucas is happy and sweet He still carries this disease every day of the year. So he, since he carries the weight of CTD 365 days a year, my buddy Jeremy 991 and I kind of had the idea, like what if we carried Lucas's weight 365 miles across California to represent those 365 days to raise awareness and to raise money. And it's, it was awesome. It was a, you know, a ton of fun. It was hard, but it was the outpouring of support was, was phenomenal. Were you able to raise a lot of money by doing that? Were, were people donating like you thought they would? Yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, we didn't have many expectations. You know, it's one thing I literally just won $10 million. So I'm asking you to donate. So it's like one of these things where it's like, definitely wrong, a lot of people have commented that

and I get it. But we had over, since winning Beast Games, over 1,000 new donors have contributed to the Association for Creatine Deficiencies. That's amazing. And which just kind of reminds me, there's people who want to help. And I think if people want to help or want to share,

it's up to us to allow people to do that. There's never been a better time, and I say this kind of tongue in cheek, to have a child with CTD. Obviously because of the platform that Beast Games has helped with, but also Creatine is just all throughout kind of not only gym-bro culture,

but also just every standard- Anti throughout kind of not only gym bro culture, but also just every like standard. Anti-aging. Anti-aging, it's just, even Alzheimer's, they're saying, gosh, what can creatine do to the brain to help it from deteriorating or to give you more energy for kind of cognitive improvement? So there's never been a better time to kind of have creatine be in the news. So we're hoping to try to ride the wave. Yeah, have you thought of any crazy?

Publicity stunts you could do other than I know you already just you just did one with rocking across, California But have you thought of anything crazy that you want to try to keep getting the word out? I haven't thought of my next one, but I am open to all suggestions but I am open to all suggestions. Yeah, I go, what do you got? Can I tell you what my idea is? I'm like, I'm sure you've got some ideas. I just saw this dude, this video got recommended to me on YouTube.

This guy worked out every day for a hundred days and he was not like super overweight, but he was overweight to start. And then by the end he looked good. Like he looked jacked. And I was like, creating like, you know, male model, like what should we do here with Jeffrey? And I'm like, maybe you need to make a video about like working out for a hundred days straight

but like you're taking creatine because that's what your son's deficiency is. His transmitters can't transport the creatine to places he needs it. Maybe you're raising awareness of, you know, hey, my son has this condition and then meanwhile people get to watch you like, A thirst trap? Thirst trap your way to find your cure. Hey and he gets to work out and tell me Jen I gotta go. And then maybe Men's Health will pick it up and then they'll make a story about you and then you'll be like on the cover of Men's Health shirtless with your 100th day photo. Talking about CTD. Yeah. And my wife. Side by side.

And talking about my wife. And your wife. Side by side. And talking about my wife. And your wife. That's not a bad idea because like, it shows what creating can do to the body. The fact that he doesn't have the opportunity to have creating do that for him. Yeah. Because even his muscles don't have the transporter.

Be careful what you put out there. You're on for a 100 day challenge before you know it. I've actually thought about it. I saw this dude's transformation. I was like, I need to do this. Yeah, we might need to, you might be my teammate. I might have to do it dude. Okay that's something you would do every day. I think I would. He's like I gotta start working out again but I feel like you're only gonna do it if you have to do it like every day. That's so you. All in or all out. I'm

weird dude. I'm either like 110% into something like Abby just said or I don't even care. Like I have to go all in. If you're gonna do it with me, I'll do it. So let's take, let's give it 24 hours. Okay, we'll think on this. Yeah. Yeah. Midlife crisis. If you have more ideas, let me know. These are great. I have about 50 ideas per day. So if you ever need ideas, I got you. His recent one, he told me literally, he's told me seriously like three days. I forget what it is, what did I say? Me and you and the kids. We're getting a van.

Yes, RV. And we're gonna go across this whole country. Wait, you guys can't be friends. You're not the only person that thought of that idea. But it was the third place winner's idea and it was, it inspired me. You know what I say every time? Yeah, let's do it.

So that's what Gage. He'll do 5% of what he said. Gage974 is a good friend of mine And that's what he's that's what he was doing. So he's um him and Patrick 930 or treasure hunting right now Yes, wait what oh, yeah Patrick is the guy that didn't take any money Giga brain he was my best friend He's the date. he's your day one. My day one.

That calls every day, every day. That's so sweet. I was hatchery. You still keep in touch with people, I'm like, yes. Every day I was hatchery. It's like, dude, it was honestly like hazing. You know how people get hazed in fraternity culture? That was like your hazing is going through

beast games for these people. Now you're brothers. A hunter for it's like your pledge class. Yeah, which I've heard you talk about how, how, I think from what I heard about what you said, the conditions were really good from what I heard you say on podcasts, but I just can't imagine the mental F that is to be like, am I going to win? Am I going to win? Is this all for nothing?

That must've been crazy. Did you ask yourself that? No, I, I, I didn't, I didn't think about winning until like probably the train episode. Really? My whole thing is- That one stressed me out the most. I was making every decision to kind of go, I need to get far enough to be able to talk about Lucas.

To get cameras in. And so like again, so there's 50, okay, the cameras aren't talking to me yet. So then we get back from the island, okay, the cameras are starting to talk to me, okay. So then I get through the physical challenge, okay, now I'm in the top 21. They're talking to me.

So it's like, so I'm like, okay, now I'm here. Then I look around the top 21, I'm like, I have a lot of people from my alliance here. Like, I know a lot of people, I feel good. And I get in the top 10, I go, okay, I think I have a shot to win this thing. So that's like, it wasn't until like top 10 where I really started thinking about winning

because my primary driver was to talk about Lucas. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Have you ever wanted to go to therapy but you just didn't know how to get started? That was me at one point and that's why I actually tried out BetterHelp which is so convenient because you can have a session from the comfortableness, Is that even a word?

The comfort, comfort, the comfort of your own home. There's no driving. There's no waiting for your therapist to show up. You just hop on your phone or on your computer and have your therapy session. You could be in bed doing a therapy session. That's how easy it is with BetterHelp. Also, traditional therapy can be really expensive. It's anywhere from like 100100 to $250 plus per session, but with BetterHelp, you can

save an average of 50% on therapy. It's great affordable therapy that is super, super convenient. Basically, you just take an online questionnaire, they match with a therapist, but the great thing is, is if that therapist isn't a great match for match for you can switch at any time with no additional fee. They have over 30,000 therapists so you can really find the perfect person for you. BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform having served over 5 million people globally which is incredible and it's convenient like I said you join the session with a click of a button they help you fit therapy into your busy life

your well-being is worth it. Visit betterhelp.com slash unplanned podcast to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P slash unplanned podcast. Tell me what was going through your brain when, not Patrick, Gage. Gage. Flipped the coin.

For $10 million. I was sweating. I couldn't believe it. So usually in Beast Games, you're waiting a lot. So like they take you into set and it's like, you're waiting for things to get started. So we were all outside, there's six of us. They put blindfolds on us, they walk us into the set.

And I thought like we were gonna wait for another half an hour, an hour. But then they pretty much take us right onto the set. And the set was like so sparkly and shiny and it's only six of us and there's like 40 cameras staring right at you. And Jimmy gets up and talks about hey, five million, five million, five million,

until now and he wheels in the other set of five million dollars and I'm like, this is ridiculous, like are you kidding me? And then they bring out the coin and the briefcase and I see Gage and Gage and I have gotten close since the island and he's just a sweetheart, super talented and like I look at him and he's like, he just kind of has this little smirk and smile.

I'm like, and the night before he did this. You do it. Well, the night before he did that crazy move where how we got the votes on the tower. He's like, will the night before he did this. You do it. Not me. Well the night before he did that crazy move where how he got the votes on the tower. He's like, will you vote for me? That was epic. It was epic. That was smart gameplay.

I didn't like it. It made me. It was over my head to be honest with you. Yeah, on what are the moving parts here and who are you playing? Yeah. He played everyone so hard. He played everyone so hard.

And, but then afterward he literally apologized to them all. He apologized to Courtney, he apologized to Queen, he goes to apologize to Patrick, and Patrick's like, no way man, that was awesome, congrats. And so when Gage kind of had the sparkle in his eye that he wanted to flip it, it was a little bit about, hey, I still need to redeem myself from last night.

I owe you guys, I feel. But also he was just kind of making some big moves and for Gage was kind of stepping to himself. So I'm like, dude, you're gonna do this. And I just, when he touched it, I couldn't believe it. Like I was so happy for him that like for someone to have the guts to do that is awesome. If you would have had the opportunity

to be say in Tawana's place where she could have taken a million bucks earlier on in the show and eliminated her whole team, but gotten a million dollars, what do you think you would have done? I don't think I would have taken the money. Well, we also had an agreement, because we had known Mr. Beast as bribes,

so we had sat down with Jack, the three of us, we're like, what's the number that dad is able to come home? Because I go, don't call me if it's going to cost you $20,000 to make contact. Oh yeah, because they do that. They do that. You can call your family for 20 grand. When people do that, it actually makes me mad. I'll talk to you when you get home.

You just spent what some people make in a year just to call for a minute. Yeah. Just wait a couple days and just keep your 20 grand. So we had sat down, remember at that that dinner and we were like, what's the number dad should take? And we kind of went back and forth and we were like, okay, 1.5. 1.5 is the number. And part of that is like knowing that's never gonna happen. It got pretty close though with the million. But I think with the million dollar bribe,

it's like you just got elected by your team. So it's like, I think it's one thing if you randomly had these captains get assigned, but the fact that like 60 people choose you and you're representing them. So I think that's why Jeremy, Dino, Tawana, and Harrison said, no, I'm not gonna do it. It's like, I don't think I would've taken it,

but you never know. Yeah, until you're in it. Well, it seems like your goal was camera time anyway, so then if you were out already, then you wouldn't have had as much camera time. The camera time too was like, I was not good on camera. Like for the first couple episodes, I was like in front of my GoPro on the pillars,

I'm like, I need to get better at camera so I can actually talk about Lucas. So I just, I kept talking to the GoPro as much as I could. Did they just hand every contestant a GoPro and say vlog? Is that it on the pillars? On the first episode, everybody had a GoPro. Oh, that's true. Yeah. So there was there was a thousand and seventy one cameras

editing that content. That's so much. I think was thirty thousand hours of footage to get down to six or seven hours for the whole show. Holy crap. Yeah. Is your brain going, okay, season two, how am I gonna play? Well, see, I feel bad.

Now are you gonna apply, Matt? Is open, like? Dude, I'm a YouTuber, like I tend to over record because I like to make very authentic, real content. So oftentimes when we post a 10 minute YouTube video, I cut down two hours of content to make that. And I think that's crazy. All of our friends that are also creators are like,

Matt, you're crazy. Stop spending 20 hours on a YouTube video. Just like edit it in a couple hours of content to make that and I think that's crazy. All of our friends that are also creators are like, Matt, you're crazy, stop spending 20 hours on a YouTube video, just like edit it in a couple hours of post. But I'm like, no, I care about the quality. To know that he did 30, you said 30,000 hours? The wrong message. 30,000. Crazy. We're gonna start making 30,000 hour long YouTube videos.

Is that okay? No. Well, and that's what's crazy is Matt. Actually, yes, just she wants four children. Yes. Hey, that's a good trick. Yes. Deal.

Oh! I can't check on that. Hey, we had an agreement that we would wait two years after having our second kid to talk about baby number two. I broke that agreement a couple times. So when's that date? August 10th.

She's not counting. That's so good. She's not counting. What's your love story by the way? I feel like you guys have some really sweet romantic story. I want all the juicy details. You want me to tell it, Jen? You decide. I'll tell it. So I moved to California in 2010. My car got shipped to San Diego, driving up the coast, I stop in LA at this church. And big 2000 seat, non-denominational church. And I'm just a Midwest guy, and I see this girl in line, and I go, oh my gosh, is she a movie star?

Like, who is this girl? She happens to sit right in front of me in church. We don't say a word to each other. And I'm like, oh my God, because long story short, I scampered out of there right when church was done because I did not wanna see my ex-girlfriend who I used to go to that church with. So.

That's his, yeah, that's his side of it. This is the true story. Her story is like filtered through other stuff. So then three weeks later, we're eight hours north of LA in this like rural town called Clear Lake at a personal development seminar. She walks by me, she goes, I saw you at church a couple weeks ago.

And that's how we met. Wait, eight hours north? Eight hours north. What are the odds? 500 miles away. Did you ask her on a date? Oh yeah, so after that is like, and then she was working there too.

So she was in work mode. So then we went to dinner and she was, then we kind of like, you were working for a couple weeks. I left for 23 weeks. Yeah, so we kind of had this cool long distance, get to know each other. On Blackberry Messenger, before iPhones. Blackberry Messenger. Yeah, you wouldn't even know. Yeah, I think you guys were maybe in third grade.

My dad had one of those when I was a kid. Yeah, the typing, the speed. Yeah, I think you guys were maybe in third grade. My dad had one of those when I was a kid. The typing, the speed typing. Back in the day. Back in the day when you were still minors when we met. But yeah, so it was uh, it was kind of kismet to think that we saw each other. She saw me, I saw her, we didn't say a word and then three weeks later 500 miles away, we reconnect and kind of the rest is history. That's really sweet.

But now we can have the other version. There's always two versions to the love story. You're good. And you guys always knew that you wanted two kids or what happened with that? Because before this podcast started, you guys were connecting over, you babies you're like babies babies babies Jeff was like yeah I always wanted more kids what I I grew up in a big family I

have four older sisters so big family and then all my a lot of my sisters have three kids like just cousins and family is big. So I've always wanted more kids. But I think it was like literally, a couple days after our second, a couple days after Lucas, Jen's like, hey, wanna let you know? I got an appointment scheduled for you for Dr. Cartman. You know?

There's your jock strap and your frozen feet. Oh my gosh. And so it was for an assessment, so I'm like, okay, so you don't have any more kids? This is before you even knew about his condition then. Oh yeah. You were like already done. Oh yeah.

Yeah, postpartum was hard. Yeah, it was rough for me. And I'll get like Jen is like the ultimate, she was an awesome pregnant mother, and like ate so well, got so much sleep, never missed a pump, never missed a feed. So like, I can understand why she doesn't wanna be a host for another 19 or 20 months.

She's like, did my hair. I lost so much hair during postpartum. I'm always like, oh, you want a third? Do you wanna see the photo again of that where I look like Dory from Finding Nemo? Because my hairline was that far back. And he goes, don't show me it, don't show me it. Don't show me it, I'm so uncomfortable.

I was blind to it when it happened. Because I'm like, there's no way it was like this. No, honestly, husbands do go blind, which is actually so good. It's good. Matt, remember all the times you were like, you are so hot. I was like, I am not hot right now.

You're crazy. And you even show me sometimes pictures from postpartum, like, don't let me see that ever again. It's incredible though Like I I was blown away at this the size change up top. I was just like This is crazy it is Okay, so my one my one tip for expectant mother for for moms that I wish I did You know cuz I was like gosh do I?

moms that I wish I did, you know, because I was like, gosh, do I, do I want to get a boob job at some point? But I go, if you have a baby and you're nursing or anything, at some point you will decide, you'll look at yourself and you're go, they're perfect. They're the perfect size. They're the perfect person. I go, you need to take a photo. So if you want to show a doctor at some point, instead of guessing like, oh, how would this, this is on my body. This is, this is what I need at all to, to look at life. That's a good tip.

That I'm like, you know, cause there, there will be a moment during, you know, after, if you're, if you're nursing and whatnot, that you're like, they're perfect. Everything looks exactly how I want them to. That's a good note that everyone listening. Yeah. Note that. Because, you know, it's really hard to go to a doctor and that everyone listening. Yeah, note that. You know it's really hard to go to a doctor and they're like well here's a photo of somebody kind of your size does this look like how you and I'm like I don't

know. Not the same. Is that how you guys spent the ten million dollars? It sounds like we need to have a third so then we can get that picture. Except for you already had that eight minute procedure. Hey was hey our friend No, our friendly guys dissect me reverse pregnant. It's possible. Anything's possible to trust me Like when I went in for the assessment to dr. Cartman great doctor, by the way I asked him like how good are you at reversals and he goes, oh, I'm one of the best Obviously, he's gonna tell me that like but yeah, I still do It's hey, they can reverse him.

We have a guy who does reversals. Hey. A guy, we all have a guy. We all have a guy. Is it true that you got depressed after winning the money? That's a big question. Sorry, I gotta just freaking reset that one. It's just a weird feeling.

It's like you won, but then you don't get to, like usually if something great happens, like you share it with people you love. I can only talk to like Jen and Jack about it. And so like, and then I kind of go, okay, how do I tell people, like do I have to lie to people? Like, hey, how'd you do?

Well, the alibi we use is like, oh, $5 million wasn't in the cards for us. We didn't win the five million. We didn't win the five million. No way, that was your line. So you weren't lying. So I wasn't lying. So people just thought you lost.

Yeah, so I didn't wanna lie. But like I didn't wanna like, so that was my play until the end. And then like kind of going to like talk to my sisters, like, oh, in the final episode, when the coin flip came out on episode nine, I started questioning, wait, did he win 10 million? Yeah, people were screenshotting my text messages.

They're like, so when you said you weren't a five millionaire, is it because you're a 10 millionaire? And I'm sure you had some strict NDAs you had assigned too. So your lips were probably zipped. You didn't want any part of this $10 million going away because you accidentally told your grandma and then your grandma made a post on Facebook. Oh, that would happen.

The grandma's on Facebook. Yeah, grandmas will do that. 100%. Like, I, and then I, like, my niece made an awesome compilation of the family reactions. So like, I didn't tell anybody. And after I watched that, I realized, this is why you don't tell anybody.

Like, their reactions were so real and so excited. I mean, we were just proud of Jack as an eight-year-old kid. Didn't tell anyone for five months. Oh my. That's impressive. That was more impressive than us. And I'm sure his little buddies, too, were relentless. Yeah, they were like, so, so.

How do you coach an eight-year-old to not spill the beans on that? I showed him the NDA and I showed him the penalty. Okay. I went, do you see this number? This number will be gone from the total amount. What's the penalty? Oh my gosh, eight year olds are prime, Mr. Beast. Is it 50% of the money or are they like, we're cutting out half?

I don't even know, I mean, but I think it was like, you're subject to lose. All the money. All of it. Oh. And one of the things that one of the show producers said is like hey like Think about how much fun you've had think about how exciting it's been Like believe it or not people who watch it are gonna feel the same thing like I know it sounds crazy, but they will Don't rob them from the experience. You just had so that combined with the NDA was like enough for me to kind of go Yeah, I don't tell anybody and it And it was kinda cool to know that we had this beautiful secret that just we knew about

nobody else. That's crazy. That's so fun. I'm impressed. I spilled the beans on Santa Claus when I was eight. So the fact that your eight year old was able to keep that a secret is very impressive. He did good. Yeah, he did super well.

Yeah, and just I think about his friends in class watching it, and he was in the city. He didn't say on episode two or three or four, hey, I've been there, he just kept it quiet. It's just a little stud. Which I actually was really thankful that they had Family Come Out for top 10 because it honestly helped me

understand what reentry would be like for him coming home because I think if I hadn't gone to the city I would have just been like okay we got football we got appointments we got school you're back on breakfast duty but seeing the magnitude of the set and the camaraderie and how close they had all gotten, and even we had gotten, the family had gotten close to each other during the 24 hours we were there together on set, right,

from the hotel and whatnot. So I think that was also really great for us because when he came home, we got home on Tuesday and I think Thursday morning I was leaving for work and I go hey are you good what are you doing today and he kind of looked at me he goes I don't I don't know what I'm gonna do and I go okay are you good and he goes I just spent you know five weeks being told when to sleep when to wake up up, what to wear, when to eat, where to be with cameras and microphones. He's like, I don't, I don't know. I don't know what to do with myself. No concept of

dates or time. Yeah. And you were like up all night. You don't even have, you can't have a watch. No. Even just a basic like little tiny $5 watch. You might've been able to, but I didn't have one. They were, there weren were clocks visible. No clocks Yeah, it's like Vegas. It's like Vegas where you just don't even know oxygen Yeah, sometimes you can ask like like didn't they what did they ask about what major event had happened in and you were like Oh has football say oh you like football season. So you guys know sketch the youtuber Okay So you guys know Sketch, the YouTuber? No. Okay, so anyway, he was there and we were up on the towers in top 10, I'm like, hey, what are you doing this weekend?

And he's like, oh, I'm a huge Houston Texans fan. Their NFL season starts tomorrow. I'm like, it's already September? I literally had no clue where we were and what day. So it's just, you just kind of get into this rhythm. And they were only filming at night? Mostly only filmed at night. Why at night?

Well, if it's outside lighting, so you're controlling the lighting. Yeah. So because of lighting, they just decided, all right, everybody wake up at, no sleeping from 10 p.m. till 5 a.m., we're filming. Yeah, you sleep in the morning, but we always had eight hours of sleep.

I mean, but like, for me, just my clock was like, I was always awake by 10. So like, I probably got five hours of sleep a night. I mean, the top six was filmed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Yeah, 9.30. 9.30. Yeah, so like, the final episode episode was 930 p.m. When we walked out of the hangar where they were filming it, the sun was up.

Yeah, 7 a.m. It's crazy. Just back to our hotel room to look at each other. That is such a wild experience. And then just be back making pancakes in the morning, like, okay, well. Was Jeff weird when he came back? Oh yeah. I was weird before I went.

Also that. But was he weirder? Well his sisters were like, are you gonna have to follow him around with a camera? And I go, maybe, I don't know. He's a YouTuber now. Yeah, he's famous. The reason I ask is we had a friend

that was in a submarine for six months in the military. And their spouse said that they came back weird. They all come back weird when you're down there with just those people for six months in the military and their spouse said that they came back weird. They all come back weird when you're down there with just those people for six months. Like you were in this big submarine. Yeah, I mean, so I used to work for a personal development company which is where we met and we would do week long seminars where we, you know,

it would be collecting phones so you could really focus on yourself, like a meditation type of retreat, that type of thing. So I was a little bit used to reentry because we would coach people. We would go, okay, you're gonna go back home. The people at home will have lived their normal lives and you will have come back having this different experience. So you wanna be mindful of you don't come in too hot

because they have just kind of managed without you being around. And then also it's like don't make any major life decisions during the next 30 days of reentry. So I had an idea that it was gonna be hard. He always laughs, he goes, you were only nice to me if I won. If I didn't win, you would have not treated me

with kid gloves, you would have been like, I'm out. You are the best. You're like, max the schedules. You're like, this marriage is off, we're done. Yeah, I mean, I don't know how many times we've had any type of fights, he's like, thank God I won. Seriously, I mean, so fortunate. But I've done musical theater too,

where you just get really close to people really quickly that you don't expect to. And I think- I mean, could you imagine one of you doing this and not the other and trying to, how do you like share that and make them feel included but also have a whole different world outside? Which he does. He does through musical theater.

He's had through this. So I was just glad to have gone to the finale piece of it to get a snapshot so I could actually have some understanding. I'm even sure with your family, right? With your family being so close and kind of involved with you all. They have a bit of shared experience of what this life is for you all. They have a bit of shared experience of what this life is for for you all. Mm-hmm. Well I think you shared on another podcast too that you guys got counseling afterwards too. Yeah. Is that just to kind of like help understand each other's experience apart? I don't know what's gonna be sliding into your DM.

Let's just solidify our foundation and go how are what are the rules of engagement here? Like, if I ask, what's the sharing back gonna look like? Where's there making sure we're not defensive with one another because what I'm actually reaching out for is to make sure I'm still being seen by you. This is what I said, because I said, the world is gonna be watching you, so I need you to pay attention to me, Jack, and Lucas, because you'll get fed this attention and the dopamine

hits and that rush through the media and through the public. You're gonna get it in a very different ways. So part of it was just solidifying a bit of that. And unfortunately with Lucas, a lot of our life is divide and conquer. So I'll go on a girls trip, he'll go on a solo trip, we'll take one kid at a time. So we have very little moments of just us together. We look at each other and we're like,

oh, it's just the two of us today. It's kind of like a date. It's like a date. Even on the airplane this is like, if we go to Costco together it's like, hey, good date. So how, you know, even the counseling of going, how do we reconnect quickly after spending time apart? He was gone for three weeks, like he had access

to his phone, but he was with his guys and in my mind I was like yes you were walking 365 miles but you had three meals you know you had a you had a film crew you had your besties with you it was so a lot of a lot of our was preempting that. And also like obviously ten million dollars changes your life too. Yeah, and then kind of now you're public like you Google If you googled me, you know eight weeks ago, there's nothing. Yeah, so so it's more of like How do we how do we make sure we stay great parents stay connected stay humble? So yeah, it was more I think when I think of therapy I think of it's either an antibiotic or it's a vitamin.

And so we were trying to kind of take it as a vitamin so we don't have to take it as an antibiotic. Well, someone recognized you at the airport today, right? And asked your wife to take a picture of you with them, having no clue who Jen was. I mean, mind you, I was a bit grumpy, so we kind of pretended not to know each other. You did, you pretended not to know each other. You did!

You pretended not to know each other? Well, we were like walking side by side. They weren't holding hands. When she's got the grumps, you kind of give her her space. And I was allowing her to have her space, but it was hysterical. Except for that's the lie, okay? Type A controlling women are like like we usually want a hug It's like they think you you you think you want to get out of the way of the wake

Of the force field of grumpiness, but I just want you to see my grumpiness. Oh, I see it. I know now I know I just need a hug. Yeah She has our therapist right now. Thank you so much are our therapists right now. Thank you so much. We're also a therapy so I don't think you can consult us. Well I was just going to ask, how have you two navigated all of this? Not that we're even close to or will become you know what you all, you two have created, but how do you two? You guys are a big deal. Yeah.

Oh you're too. No, I mean no, but seriously on YouTube you guys are a big deal. You're so kind. But also young and young kids. And marriage is hard and kids change everything. So he's trying to actually set me up. I think the number one thing is family's always first for us. So it's actually been really cool.

We've noticed now, especially with our kids when we're out and about, it's been really cool to notice when people do recognize us. Oftentimes, we'll actually keep their distance especially with the kids, which is really cool. And we don't tell, we want people to come up to us and say, hi, we're happy to take pictures. But no one engages with our kids.

But I love that. That's cool. I love that people have the respect to just think, oh, they're with their family. Maybe I should think about that. Yeah, family. Maybe I should you know think about that Yeah, but no I mean I think for me it's like we Wreck it like we realize how fortunate we are and we're so thankful to have you know this this life and That have the platform we have so we just try to always make sure no matter who it is, it doesn't matter how inconvenient the time is,

we wanna take pictures or give someone the time of day because they matter. And yeah, you never wanna forget your roots. You never wanna forget that. I feel like boundaries are like the thing that we had to learn and like really helped with like boundaries with our time, with our like life in general. And also we like met so long ago, like eighth grade.

So it's like this was only the top of what people saw. So we had so many years of literally just being friends and then we have a deep foundation here. So, and our family keeps us super humble. They make fun of us all the time. Our family makes fun of us so much and we love them for it. I wanna know, can you go to Costco now without getting recognized?

Do you take pictures every time you go to a Walmart, a Costco, the mall? Well, it's similar to you guys. Like, so when we were preparing for the rock, we went to the Costco in Vegas and probably like five people said hi, and just said, hey congrats, but it was not like, hey can I get your picture,

but it was actually yesterday, was that yesterday? Yesterday was like the first day I went for a walk with Lucas in our neighborhood, and I got stopped five times. Oh, on a walk. Which is great, on a walk, but it was like people congratulating, is this Lucas? Like so they were truly interested

But it's yeah, it's I'm kind of like you like again Like I am grateful for this opportunity like the fact that I won Mr. Beast Beast games I won 10 million dollars can help fund research can make sure our family set up and continue to spread awareness about Lucas's condition like I Wanted I want to say hi to everybody. Do you guys have a game plan for the money? Is there some sort of... And also, have you had any money fights? I feel like that's a really big thing to talk about.

I'm excited about this answer. I'm ready for it. We haven't always seen eye to eye on finances just in the last decade, right? Where he's been laid off. Like I said earlier, I come from immigrant parents and it's just this race towards stability. Like, can't you just go back to medical sales? And he's like, but I want to chase a dream. And I was like, okay.

And my mom's like, he's really good looking and he probably wants to chase something. But- He is very good-looking. I don't know much about his medical sales background, but I can verify. I'm sorry. Before it'd be like, Matt is like, this whole episode is just Matt hitting on Chad. I can't wait for a 100-day workout challenge. Bro to bro, you're a good-looking dude. Thank you, man. Likewise. So how I feel is normally he gets so much of that externally,

I'm like, I don't need to tell you anymore. He goes, but you're my target audience. And I go, yeah. He needs to hear it from you, Jen. But it's easy. He can't just hear it from me, he needs to hear it from you too. He does, he does.

So two things, like Jen has taught me more about finances than anybody has ever taught me. I was super fortunate to have good jobs from college, but I never saved money. Like I would just spend it like, oh, I'll figure it out. She, as a kind of, with immigrant parents, just always knew how to stretch a dollar, to save a dollar. So when we first got together, like I kind of opened

my finance and she goes, oh my gosh, what are you doing with your money? No wonder you don't want to get married. You're not ready. So are you in debt? You're like, it's not time. Not really in debt, but I definitely should have had more savings. Oh, okay.

This was only like 10 years ago that you guys got married. We got married in 2014. So this is like 2011, 2012. We were first started dating. Yes. And she helped me kind of. But still older than you are currently. Yeah, just helped me get on a budget.

Like it was just one of these things where like I definitely should have had more, I should have been more responsible with my money. So she taught me a ton about money, which is awesome. So when it comes to, and I'm a little bit more risky and she's a little bit more stability. So when it comes to kind of what do we do with $10 million, like we have to get first, you know

On the same page with regard to what's our vision? Yeah, our vision is to make sure our family's taken care of and that we can fund research and then we kind of go How do we stretch those dollars out to make sure they work for us? And so I feel like we're pretty aligned Yeah, I think so. I think we're pretty aligned. It's all pretty fresh too. Yeah I mean, I I don't have think we're pretty lined. It's all pretty fresh too. Yeah, I mean I- You don't have to have a whole game plan probably right now. Yeah.

I think we're consulting a lot of people. I think what people sometimes don't understand, it's like even if we were to be prepared to go here's a five million dollar check, there's no one doing something with CTD specifically. Yeah. doing something with CTD specifically. So our intentions are, I mean, we've donated over a quarter million dollars since we got the money, which I was laughing as I go, we're spending at a speed that I'm deeply uncomfortable with, but let's just keep going because it's new.

But our thing is, how do we have the funds when the research door knocks? And so for us, people may be like, well, are you cutting a check? You shouldn't have to think about taxes if you're cutting a check. And we're like, we wanna grow the money. So that looks like investing it.

That looks like taking some risk on making sure that over the next five to ten years that if somebody needs half a million dollars, a million dollars for CTD, we hope that they come to us first and we can answer the call. And then there's just really tactical life stuff that, you know, long-term care, making sure. And it's tricky, I'm sorry to interrupt interrupt it's tricky too because you're thinking about your individual son and his needs and what are his needs going to be throughout the entirety of his life

right yeah because if you just if you were feeling extremely like I don't know generous and we're just like okay 10 million here you go donated well then how do we know that the money's actually used in the right way? How do you know that the organization that receives it is going to complete XYZ to actually help cure CTD? So that's tricky. I don't know what I would do.

And Jack, God bless him, he's had to grow up a lot sooner than we probably want him to, having Lucas as a brother. You know, Jack has asked questions of, where will Lucas live when you two die? Because he's very aware Lucas will not live on his own. And so part of the blessing in this experience was being able to look at him and I go,

hey buddy, you just have to be a great brother. We have this will afford us to take care of Luke, even when we're not around. So you don't have to worry about it. Right. So that, that, that is the other piece that we want, you know, people to understand that that is a piece of our puzzle of our legacy puzzle and what we are also intending to do with it is to make sure that Jack's job is to be Lucas's brother and not his caretaker. That's really sweet. Yeah because

that's been a stress on us. And when this has been kind of our sumo bone, this has been our highest good for years is how do we make sure that Jack chooses to be with Lucas versus has to? And so that's like, and it's just, we're blessed to have $10 million to help. I was wanting to ask about their relationship. Like, are they just like pals? No.

Oh. No, it's a love-hate relationship. Well, they're brothers, you know. Yeah, there's a bit of brothers. You, you know, Lucas can be a bit aggressive, uh, physically. So he knows that if he pulls Jack's hair, it's the fastest way to get our attention. Mm. Uh, if he feels like he's not getting our attention or whatnot. So there's a bit of terrorizing.

Jack also historically doesn't like babies. You know, some kids like to play with younger kids and like to play really repetitive games. My nephews do. That's not Jack Speed. Jack's like YouTube and Legos and video games. He's just at that point in his life. So when he's willing to engage with Lukey and play with him, it means the world to Lucas and Lucas loves it. And then sometimes it's just, they're just at different stages. Because I have to pretend they're almost seven, like eight years apart in age.

So what you would do with your older child is different than what you would do with your younger child as far as engaging them. Yeah. But it's sweet when they kind of click, it's so fun. And especially when Jack chooses into it. But Jack's kind of got the best of both worlds. He has Lukie as a brother and he lives nearby his two cousins that are a year older and a year younger.

Oh, fine. So he pretty much has three brothers. And so yeah, we got a good little situation. That's so sweet. All boys. All good little situation. That's so sweet. All boys community. Yes, we were hoping for a rose amongst the thorns but it wasn't meant for us. What's the coolest thing you've bought

since receiving the money? Anything cool? Have you bought anything that you haven't told me about? You were looking at me like. Yeah, she just bought me a Ferrari. And then your shared account? Or do you guys have separate accounts? Oh no, shared.

Oh. Yeah, we have visibility into all the accounts. Yeah, I mean like. Some of them are under his name, some of them are under mine. But it's all, yeah, it's not like my money or money. Like we've- You're like, this is my 10. Well, no, I mean, I learned like a dozen years ago,

like, no, no, no, like I need her involved with the money because like I had subscriptions and I'm like, wait, I'm still paying for this? Oh. Like so she's on it like a hawk. That's great. And I'm guessing, wait, I'm still paying for this? Like so she's on it like a hawk. That's great. And I'm guessing Mr. Beast's team probably gives you a firm warning about,

hey by the way, you do have to pay taxes on this. 100%, yeah. I mean, it's like they said it to me and then they said it in the reunion show too. Pay your taxes. It's crazy, like literally it was $10 million wired in. And then so we were talking to the accountant, like yeah, we just need to pay this by next April. He said, no, no, no, no, no. You need to pay accountant like yeah we just need to pay this by next April he said no no you need to pay by next January you need to

pay your estimate you know like so like it we're just so lucky to have people who know they're talking about when it comes to money to tell us what to do but it's weird to know that I have to we'll have to pay millions of dollars in taxes oh yeah it's also like a future thing it's not like it's like wait. To write that check. Wait, do you know what the percentage is on that? So it all depends. I mean, obviously there's different investments you can make that are tax exempt, tax deferred, and then obviously charitable deductions too. So who knows what the final percentage will be?

If we didn't donate anything to ACD or didn't do anything that are tax deferred, it'd be like 50 some percent, 50, a little over 50%. But it'll obviously be less than that because we're putting money into either a donor advice fund or a foundation to be able to fund research in the future. We'll donate obviously money this year, but it'll still be millions of dollars. I'm honestly just like stoked for you guys. I just cannot believe that your lives have changed. Like you're in a position that so many people are like,

if you were given this amount, like one day, this just happens, and you're just like, let's process that. Actually, yeah, can you fill people in? I'm glad you got it, because if some 20-year-old. Some, yeah, 17-year-old kid gets it, and he buys a Ferrari for all of his family members and forgets to pay taxes.

I want to get gold chains and wait, there was that. Wave runners or jet skis or something. Yeah, I love that. OK, well maybe you can take the bribe. Like, yeah. But has it changed your life in the way that you thought it would? Yes and no.

Like, I mean, it hits me all the time where like my life really hasn't changed. I still drive a minivan. Like, that's my car. And I love it. And like, I still like will have the same conversations I have with my friends. I'd say 99% of my relationship with my friends, nothing's changed. I still give them a hard time for buying coffee instead of making coffee at home. Yeah. Yeah. But I think the peace of mind and knowing that we actually can make a splash with Lucas

and with rare diseases and also like to make sure like Jack can go to the college he wants to. Like these little things that That parents think about. That parents think about all the time. It's just kind of going, okay, like wow. Like this happened in six weeks. It's like, you know, and yeah,

it's forever blessed, eternally grateful. I'm stoked for you guys. That's awesome. Truly so happy. How can people donate and support the mission you have to find a cure. Awesome. Yeah. People can go to creatineinfo.org. That's the website for the association for creatine deficiencies.

You can donate there. It's a nonprofit 501 C3. And find me online, legacy.a3o1 on Instagram or legacya3o1official on YouTube, follow our journey. We'll document a lot of what we're doing. And there's plenty of ways to ask questions, to learn more, to donate. Amazing. We're so, so happy for you guys. And yeah, I'm just, I'm truly stoked

that it went to people that are just so kind and clearly are doing good things with the money too. We kept saying throughout watching the show, and obviously especially more towards the end, and even preparing for this, I was like, it's so clear that your mission from the beginning was always Lucas. And like Matt said, we're like, he has the receipts.

Like, and you can just tell genuine, you can just feel how genuine it is.