00:00 Protest has aura, bro. I know he smoke

00:02 cigarettes and stuff. That's actually

00:03 another problem, bro. There's like dudes

00:04 who like go to one jiu-jitsu class a

00:06 week, bro, and they smoke cigarettes and

00:08 get hammered after. They're like, "Oh,

00:10 I'm Carlos Protest." It's like, "No,

00:11 you're not, man. You're not Protest, you

00:13 know. Put down the cigarettes."

00:15 >> Welcome to today's new episode, man. I'm

00:17 excited to share this one with you guys.

00:19 Got Santa Cruz Medicinals on the

00:21 channel. Now, I've been following this

00:22 guy since freaking 2020. You guys know

00:25 what I mean. So, very excited to share

00:27 this. We talked about business, AI, MMA,

00:31 UFC, Sugar Sean versus Peter Yan. Uh we

00:35 we went back and forth, man. So, I hope

00:37 you guys enjoyed today's episode. Make

00:39 sure to like, subscribe, and stay tuned

00:41 for more episodes like this. Now, let's

00:43 get started with today's episode.

00:46 Welcome to the channel, guys. We have

00:49 Mr. Santa Cruz Medicinals himself, Mr.

00:52 Brendan. How you doing today, man?

00:53 >> Doing great, man. Uh yeah, having a

00:55 pretty good day so far. Woke up early,

00:57 went surfing, then just kind of worked

00:59 the whole day. So, yeah, chilling.

01:01 >> You got a crazy lifestyle, man. I would

01:03 I would say it's like top tier of how

01:05 you got it set up right now. How would

01:07 you How would you

01:08 >> I love it, man. I I like my dayto-day

01:10 grind. Um, I always just try to fit in

01:13 something active, you know, most days.

01:15 And then it's just work, but like my

01:17 work is fun, you know, I would say. Uh,

01:20 and so yeah, I've set it up nice.

01:23 >> I'm very interested on how, you know,

01:25 that came about. I'm sure a lot of

01:27 people know who you are, but just for

01:28 people just tuning in for the first

01:30 time, like how would you say you got

01:32 introduced to like the business space or

01:34 at least health in general? Like when

01:35 did that really start?

01:37 >> Yeah, I started to get obsessed with

01:38 health when I was in college at UC Santa

01:41 Cruz. I was studying anthropology there.

01:43 And in medical anthropology classes, you

01:45 learn a lot about our ancestors, how

01:47 they lived, what diet certain cultures

01:50 ate, you know, early hominids and stuff

01:52 like that. And it got me obsessed with

01:54 health. And so right then I started to

01:56 look into the more ancestral health side

01:58 of things and started to kind of eat

02:00 food that our ancestors would have

02:02 consumed and I started to feel amazing

02:04 just like way better to unlock new

02:06 levels of health. And then it also

02:08 turned me onto a lot of the people call

02:10 it biohacking you know some of the more

02:12 using modern technology to like improve

02:14 your health and supplements and that

02:16 kind of stuff. And then I feel like I

02:18 just like in my own personal life, I

02:19 like fused those both together. And I

02:23 mean, bro, I just started feeling really

02:24 amazing, way better than I even ever

02:26 thought I could feel. And I wanted to

02:28 get that message out there into the

02:29 world. So that's what I've been up to

02:31 the last few years, just getting the

02:33 message of health out into the world.

02:35 >> And you definitely have. I feel like I

02:37 was first introduced to you like during

02:39 co, you know, it's like we're all locked

02:41 up and then, you know, I see you, you

02:42 know, pushing your um your brand, you

02:45 know, Santa Cruz Medicinals. I I I seen

02:48 online that it started with like a CBD

02:50 type of thing and it kind of eventually

02:52 grew. Like, did you envision your

02:54 yourself having like a multi-million

02:55 dollar kind of ordeal going on or was

02:58 this kind of just like something that

02:59 you really just wanted to help somebody?

03:00 >> Yeah, never envisioned that it would get

03:02 this big. I think a lot of people talk

03:03 about that, bro. like, oh, like you have

03:05 to have like these like big dreams. And

03:07 don't get me wrong, like I I've I have

03:09 like big dreams. And I had big dreams

03:10 and stuff, but um I don't know, man. The

03:13 way my brain works is I I just put took

03:15 it like one little chunk at a time where

03:16 I was like, "Okay, like with the product

03:18 side of things, like we started to make

03:20 these potent CBD formulas. My buddy

03:21 lived with Todd Duffy actually, uh who's

03:24 a good friend of ours. I've known him

03:25 for like 15 years now at this point. And

03:28 we were giving him and some other

03:29 athletes like these CBD formulas that we

03:31 were making. And he's like, "Dude, like

03:33 these are really good. Like after

03:34 training, you know, he he was training

03:35 at AKA at the time." And he'd be like,

03:37 "Dude, like I love these. Like we're

03:38 giving them to a lot of the athletes

03:40 there." And I'm like, "Cool." In my

03:41 mind, I was like, "Okay, how can I make

03:44 this into a real brand? And maybe it'll

03:46 make me an extra,000 or $2,000 a month."

03:48 That's literally what I was thinking.

03:50 And at this point, I was like, maybe

03:52 I'll go get my masters in public health.

03:54 And I'm like, it'd be cool if I'm, you

03:56 know, getting my masters or I have a

03:57 job, you know, in health in some because

04:00 I already knew I wanted to be involved

04:01 in health in some way. Maybe I can make

04:03 an extra grand or two. That's beautiful,

04:05 right? Like selling a good product. And

04:08 from there, you know, just kind of

04:09 snowballs up like, okay, no, like people

04:11 really like this. You start to meet

04:13 people that are like, no, dude, I'm I'm

04:15 making, you know, 10, 20, 30 grand a

04:16 month, like running a good company.

04:18 You're like, okay, like this definitely

04:19 can be done. And I don't know, man. When

04:22 I was young, I I sometimes looked at

04:23 business as like evil, you know? Um,

04:27 which is a [ __ ] up way to think about

04:28 it. And I feel like it it harms a lot of

04:30 people when they view

04:33 all businessmen as like evil, right? Um,

04:36 cuz many are. And I've met a lot of

04:39 these people that they're not even like

04:40 evil, but they just they they are in it

04:42 just for money, right?

04:44 And so that tainted my view of it. But

04:46 luckily I was able to kind of break free

04:48 of that like mental chain because how

04:51 you're how are you going to make change

04:52 in the world? You have to like impose

04:54 your world view into the world. And I

04:57 use our products and my social media and

04:58 all the content that I do to like push

05:00 out my world view into the world. So

05:03 yeah, it's been it's been dope.

05:05 >> I think that's what really separates you

05:07 from most I would say health influencers

05:10 that you're really in all different

05:11 types of spaces. cuz you're with Togei,

05:13 you're with Clav, you're doing like, you

05:14 know, you're over there at um with TJ

05:18 Dillashaw

05:19 >> over there and uh you know, with UFC

05:21 fighters, I feel like you're able to

05:22 kind of like get a wide range of people.

05:25 How how have was that like a plan that

05:27 you really had to like, oh, I want to be

05:29 able to reach different audiences or are

05:32 you just kind of just like whatever?

05:34 >> Yeah, dude. I've always found like

05:35 people fascinating and and cool and I

05:39 try to like kick it with a wide variety

05:40 of people. So sometimes I'll I'll get

05:42 people to be like, "Why do you film with

05:43 Togei or Clav?" It's like, "Well, hold

05:45 on. How am I going to get my message out

05:47 to more people if I'm just existing in

05:49 an echo chamber, you know? Like if I

05:51 tell somebody who's already into health

05:53 that, oh, like grass-fed steak is

05:55 amazing and you should work out." That's

05:57 that's cool. But it's like, bro, you're

05:58 telling somebody stuff they already

06:00 know. So, I feel like for me, like my

06:04 strength or whatever, what I realize is

06:05 like pulling people out of the realm of

06:08 knowing nothing about health or not even

06:10 being interested in this stuff. So, I

06:12 try to film with a wide variety of

06:13 people. And I'm a huge fan of people

06:16 almost to a fault sometimes, you know,

06:18 in the business realm like and uh I

06:21 Yeah, man. Like I just I genuinely like

06:24 like somebody like Togei, like I love

06:26 Togei like

06:28 >> Yeah. I do not want to live like him.

06:30 And I would warn people against, he's

06:32 actually on a health kick now, but like

06:34 previous Togei, I would warn people

06:35 against living like that. But, you know,

06:38 same thing with Clav, like I would not

06:40 live like that, but to sit down and be

06:43 able to have a conversation with them

06:44 and hang out with them and share some

06:46 laughs and, you know, I'm always going

06:48 to do that till the end of time. So,

06:49 yeah, it's fun.

06:51 >> Nice. And just seeing some of your

06:52 content online, seems like you're a huge

06:54 fan of mixed martial arts and UFC. Now

06:57 since I feel like you are also very

06:58 conscious, I would like to ask you or at

07:00 least kind of have like a discussion on

07:02 uh how you see the UFC. I feel like you

07:05 know through evolutionary time there has

07:07 always been kind of like a circus

07:09 entertaining the mass people and this is

07:11 I mean UFC, MMA, it is kind of it's

07:14 entertainment at the end of the day. Do

07:16 you still see the sport from that point

07:18 of view or are you able to kind of uh

07:21 separate it when you watch it? Yeah, I

07:23 think um mixed martial arts in general

07:26 is as close as we will get to like

07:30 hand-tohand combat battle, you know what

07:32 I mean? Um

07:34 like like talking about the anthropology

07:36 side of things like yeah like human

07:37 beings have a long history of hand to

07:39 hand combat um with brutal stakes on the

07:43 line, you know. Um and yeah, that is

07:46 like an aspect I think about when I'm

07:48 watching UFC or training jiu-jitsu. And

07:50 obviously we have society and morals and

07:52 values that come into play that prevent

07:55 us from you know uh being a barbaric uh

07:58 society and I think that's great and

08:00 that's why I do think society and rules

08:02 and values are important. Uh you know we

08:05 don't want to live in a society where

08:07 those aren't real. But um yeah man I've

08:11 been a fan of the UFC for a very long

08:13 time. You know I was watching like the

08:14 Ultimate Fighter in high school and then

08:17 I trained a little jiu-jitsu. I still

08:19 train and that has allowed me to really

08:23 have like a crazy respect for the sport

08:25 as you know like dude just going to a

08:27 [ __ ] normal jiu-jitsu class you know

08:29 a few times per week you're like this is

08:31 difficult and then you learn that a lot

08:34 of these pro fighters you know they

08:35 train twice a day six six to seven days

08:37 a week it's like bro I don't even know

08:39 how to do it so it allows you to have

08:41 more respect watching the sport

08:43 >> right and I I feel like you've you've

08:45 mentioned this with like the NFL and

08:47 maybe other kind of organizations ations

08:49 where it's kind of like you you're able

08:50 to watch it as a fan and not see it as

08:53 kind of like a distraction. I think

08:55 that's kind of like what do you you see

08:56 like the uh UFC kind of getting in there

08:59 cuz there is like a group of like

09:00 degenerates who watch UFC, right?

09:02 There's like a group who just love to

09:04 just to you they don't even see the

09:05 fighters as fighters. They just see them

09:07 as like potential bets, you know? So

09:09 like where do you where do you kind of

09:11 like um

09:12 >> in that kind of scale of the UFC fans?

09:15 Like where do you feel like you lie?

09:16 >> Yeah, man. Fighting is such like a it's

09:19 a crazy thing, dude. And I have like so

09:21 much respect for these fighters that

09:22 it's almost tough for me sometimes even

09:24 make like picks, you know, because like

09:26 I just like I I I don't know. You know

09:28 what I mean? Like I

09:29 >> I don't know. You're You'll see this MMA

09:31 content where people just like talk a

09:32 lot of [ __ ] on the fighters and stuff.

09:34 It's like [ __ ] Like I just I can never

09:35 do that. What I'm trying to do lately is

09:38 tell some of the stories of these guys,

09:40 which I think the UFC does a bad job at,

09:42 you know? So, even when like we went

09:44 down and uh trained with Michael Morales

09:46 for a day and hung out with him a bit, I

09:48 feel like it was kind of cool to show a

09:51 little bit more of like who he is and,

09:55 you know, the gym that he trains at. And

09:57 I'm going to try to do more of that

09:58 style of content in the coming years.

10:00 So, I was talking to TJ after we trained

10:02 at Santo and I'm like, dude, how sick

10:04 would it be if we go down to Texas and

10:07 spend a day with Joshua Van, you know?

10:09 Like let's I really want to like I feel

10:11 like one of my superpowers with this is

10:15 I'm able to go down there. They know I'm

10:17 not one of these influencers who's just

10:18 like oh like spar me for a clip. Like

10:20 I'm not going to do that [ __ ] bro.

10:22 >> Yeah,

10:22 >> I'm good off that. I don't want to get

10:24 hit in the head.

10:25 >> But like um you know like TJ for example

10:27 or Michael Morales or whatever or you

10:29 know we went and visited Sean and Tim

10:31 Welch. They know like hey sure we can

10:33 grapple a little bit. I'm not good at

10:34 crappling. Like, you know, and they just

10:36 feel like just from when right when I'm

10:37 moving with them, they know like, dude,

10:38 this guy's not going to spaz out. He

10:40 knows that I'm going to tap him. You

10:42 know what I mean? And you're able to

10:44 like move around with them, have some

10:45 fun. And then I think just kind of

10:47 hanging out after

10:50 they're able to show a different side of

10:51 themselves, which I think some fighters

10:52 need to do more of. You have your

10:54 obvious stars who have, you know, um,

10:57 just made a bunch of money and are going

10:58 to continue to get these big deals and

11:00 make a bunch of money outside the UFC.

11:01 But I feel like there's many fighters

11:03 who are really cool who need to share

11:06 their story more and do more content

11:09 because that's really the only way out

11:11 of the whole of the UFC, which is you

11:14 aren't in the top five even, and you're

11:17 fighting for 40 and 40, 50 and 50.

11:20 >> It's a brutal life. You got to make

11:22 money on social media right now. I think

11:24 it's [ __ ] up. I think they should pay

11:25 them more, but that's the times we're in

11:27 right now,

11:27 >> right? And I just filmed I just filmed a

11:29 video with Ethan E-wing uh like three

11:31 weeks ago, and I was with Jose Delgado.

11:33 I'm wearing his merch right now. I was

11:34 out there

11:35 his his fight week. Um yeah, he invited

11:38 me uh out there to go, you know, go over

11:40 there where he was trained a few days

11:42 before the main event. And just being

11:44 around these guys, man, they're one of

11:45 the they're like the coolest people

11:46 ever, you know? It's crazy that you

11:48 could look across someone be like,

11:49 "Damn, this dude could like kill me if

11:50 he wanted but they're like super nice.

11:52 So, it's kind of like it's a crazy

11:53 dynamic and I definitely agree that the

11:56 fighters should kind of um get

11:58 themselves out there a little bit more

11:59 and it is true. You know, social media,

12:01 you know, it you know it most that um it

12:03 could create a lot of uh opportunities

12:05 and um what was like a what was

12:07 something that that really hit you like

12:09 wow like I'm actually doing this and you

12:11 know what what what was a moment where

12:12 it surprised you and be like wow like

12:14 we're actually doing something big here.

12:16 We're actually changing the world.

12:17 >> Yeah, man. And I mean during the

12:18 pandemic I started to get recognized

12:20 like a lot. Like I would just be in

12:21 Target with my girl and people would run

12:23 up and ask for photos and stuff and you

12:25 know that back then I thought oh it's

12:27 kind of like a one-off thing you know

12:28 like I'm in I was in the Bay Area at

12:30 that time like all right people know me

12:31 around here. Um but that just started to

12:33 grow and grow to where you know now it's

12:36 just like an everyday thing if it's a

12:37 certain age demographic like they're

12:38 running up taking photos. Uh we started

12:40 to do some of these meet and greets you

12:42 know at parks and stuff and like

12:44 hundreds of people would come out. Um

12:45 the moment where it really hit me like

12:47 holy [ __ ] is I did a meet and greet in

12:49 New York uh in 2025

12:52 and it was like 3,000 people came out

12:54 shut down the street. There were riots

12:56 in the street. The the NYPD came and I

13:00 was like

13:01 >> dude like I thought there was something

13:02 else going on when we pulled up. I'm

13:04 like there's no way all these people are

13:06 here gathering for me and it was. Um and

13:09 it just shows you the pull that social

13:10 media has. So that's been really cool to

13:13 see. You know, I've done it all in the

13:14 name of health. You know, I've never

13:15 taken a gambling deal, never taken an

13:17 alcohol deal, never promoted zins, never

13:19 promoted drugs, you know, definitely

13:21 film with people that do that stuff, but

13:22 whatever. You know, that's the whole

13:24 internet. So, yeah, I'm I'm stoked on

13:26 it, dude. It's been fun. But yeah,

13:28 that's been crazy.

13:29 >> Yeah. And I have I have so many

13:31 questions cuz like social media and like

13:32 screen time. Um I personally like dealt

13:35 with with phases where I'm like I can't

13:37 get off my damn phone. And now that I

13:39 post more and more content, it feels

13:40 like sometimes when I post, I check the

13:42 likes. And

13:43 >> have you been able to kind of like deal

13:46 with those types of things a little bit

13:47 better now that you've been doing it for

13:48 a while now?

13:50 >> I deal with them well emotionally, but I

13:51 don't uh get an ideal amount of screen

13:54 time. This is probably the one thing

13:56 that I do that's not good for my health.

13:58 Like honestly, to analyze like my whole

14:00 life, like screen time, too much screen

14:03 time. But, you know, I'm doing it in the

14:04 in the name of uh in the name of health.

14:06 But I don't know, man. I do certain

14:08 things like the way I schedule my day is

14:10 like today I'm like okay I'm going to be

14:12 in the ocean from like 8 to 10 a.m. And

14:15 then I'm ripping a podcast and then like

14:17 after that like I take some time and

14:19 just like kind of like kicking it

14:20 outside, do some stretching, whatever it

14:22 is. You know, tomorrow I'm going to go

14:24 to jiu-jitsu. So it's like, you know,

14:27 that's that's a good and like the

14:28 prejitsu and post jiu-jitsu I'm like

14:30 going to make sure to like not really on

14:31 my phone, not really checking it, you

14:33 know. Um, so you just got to like

14:35 schedule little things and that's really

14:38 the way to do it cuz like I don't know,

14:40 man. Yeah. Like I'm going to be on my

14:42 phone a good amount. I'm going to have a

14:43 good amount of screen time, but it sure

14:46 beats, you know, swinging a hammer on a

14:48 construction site. That's for sure.

14:49 >> For sure. And now that, you know,

14:51 there's AI and a lot a lot more techn

14:54 technological advancements going, I feel

14:56 like it's going to be a little bit

14:57 harder um to be able to stay off of

14:59 those things and just every time I go on

15:01 my phone, there's always something.

15:02 There's always something going on. And I

15:04 feel like

15:04 >> there's always something. Yeah.

15:05 >> There's I don't know. I don't know if

15:07 there's like a a right like a way to

15:09 solve this this type of issue just

15:11 because there's so much going on. Do you

15:12 have any advice for anybody else?

15:14 >> You're just you have to go into nature.

15:16 You have to spend time in nature. That's

15:19 literally like the only thing that is

15:21 pulling like us in the other direction

15:24 of being on our phone exposed to blue

15:26 light. You have to balance it with time

15:28 in nature, time in the sun, whatever it

15:30 is. Um

15:32 >> that's crucial. Like it should be looked

15:33 at as like a vitamin better than any

15:35 vitamin. But I guess scheduling time

15:37 outside. So I'll do that. You know, like

15:39 my wife and I will be like, "We're going

15:41 to go walk sunset on the beach and like

15:44 that seems like such a Oh, yeah, of

15:46 course." But like, no, no. It's like

15:48 that's as important as, you know, like

15:51 doing my [ __ ] taxes, you know? Uh, so

15:53 you have to like schedule in that stuff.

15:54 It's crucial.

15:55 >> Gotcha. So, um, I recently saw that

15:58 you're out there. Uh, you just posted a

16:00 gas station uh video. I feel like that

16:02 kind of gives like a more realistic uh

16:04 of way of like making better options.

16:06 Um,

16:07 >> yeah. From making that video, what do

16:08 you feel like you learned the most from

16:10 just kind of like the the options that

16:12 are out for the g general public and of

16:14 what they could consume? Like especially

16:16 if they're in a rush or on a road trip,

16:18 stuff like that.

16:19 >> Yeah, man. that that video popped off.

16:20 And I feel like it's because, you know,

16:23 again, like this is why I like filming

16:24 with so many different things and so

16:26 many different people cuz like in the

16:27 health world, you can quickly just like

16:29 work yourself into living in a bubble,

16:31 you know, like this little arrow Whole

16:33 Foods bougie life that like I I can live

16:37 and I do. It's really important to be

16:39 like, hey, these are the best options in

16:41 this scenario. And I become really good

16:43 at that. And this is why people ask me

16:44 all these questions like, yo, out of

16:46 these, what is the healthiest option? I

16:48 don't take it to the extreme that some

16:50 of the health people do of like, oh,

16:52 like no sugar whatsoever. They can't

16:54 even have a gram of it. Like this this

16:56 type of [ __ ] I think the best thing you

16:58 can do as a human being is choose the

17:00 healthiest option that is reasonable for

17:02 you. So, of course, I show I eat

17:05 grass-fed beef. I do this. If you can't

17:06 afford grass-fed beef, I in college,

17:08 bro, I was just buying beef from Costco,

17:10 you know? So, I try to show these

17:12 different things of like like I'm really

17:14 into health. I'm really obsessed with

17:16 it. But I don't, you know, you can't let

17:19 perfection be the enemy of good. And in

17:22 the gas stations, what I saw is, you

17:24 know, there's some decent options, man,

17:25 that you you got your beef sticks, you

17:27 got your coconut water, but man, there's

17:29 a lot of people just buying sludge in

17:31 there. That's what the thing, man.

17:32 People aren't even thinking about what

17:33 they're consuming.

17:35 >> I I would say giving it like a lot of

17:37 thought, and that's what I'm trying to

17:38 get people to really think about it.

17:40 like like sit down and think like what

17:43 do I put from my hand to my mouth into

17:46 my body on a daily or weekly basis cuz

17:49 most people aren't honest with

17:50 themselves. That's really the [ __ ]

17:52 thing. When I when I do one of those

17:54 $100 soda quit soda videos, most people

17:57 will tell me, "Oh yeah, I rarely drink

17:59 soda." And then you when you really ask

18:00 them and they break it down,

18:03 >> I have a I have a diet Pepsi right here.

18:05 Okay. Diet, you know, the diet, you

18:07 know,

18:07 >> I don't know. What is your views on

18:08 diet? Cuz that's like honestly the thing

18:10 that I cuz I drink a lot of them,

18:12 though. It's the thing where I know I'm

18:13 like I probably shouldn't drink that

18:15 many, but I'm like, it tastes better

18:17 than water, so I'll drink all a few of

18:19 them.

18:19 >> Yeah. You know, it's not um the worst

18:22 thing in the world, especially if

18:23 somebody's kind of using it to quit

18:25 soda, like full sugar soda. Me

18:27 personally, after interviewing some of

18:29 the top functional medicine doctors in

18:31 the world, and just talking to Dr. Dr.

18:33 Connealy, a cancer researcher. I won't

18:35 drink aspartame.

18:37 That's not grounded in any really good

18:40 study that exists,

18:42 but I do not want to drink aspartame.

18:44 >> What did they tell you to be like about

18:46 aspartame that I was like, ah, maybe

18:48 I'll stay away from this.

18:50 >> Yeah. Yeah. What they have told me is

18:51 that when they find diet soda drinkers

18:53 and they run a gut test on them, like a

18:55 GI map test, they see worse gut health

18:58 than people who don't drink those and

19:00 have, you know, lower sugar or lower

19:02 sweetener diets overall. Um, that's what

19:06 they've told me. And then just for fun,

19:08 I think people should look up how

19:10 aspartame was approved through the FDA

19:13 and how it it's very fascinating. Just

19:15 go look that up. Am I saying that it's

19:18 really bad and evil? No. Like I don't

19:20 even doing the $100 soda videos. If

19:22 somebody's buying diet soda, I don't

19:23 even offer them the hundred bucks. Like

19:24 maybe they're quitting, you know, maybe

19:25 they're trying to quit real full sugar

19:27 soda, corn syrup soda. So I don't think

19:30 it's the biggest deal in the world. I do

19:31 worry about what constant consumption of

19:33 those does to maybe our taste buds as

19:35 well, you know. Um

19:38 so I I personally stay away from them,

19:40 but it's not like one of the top things

19:41 that I I hate on.

19:43 >> Right. So what what's what are you kind

19:44 of fixated on right now? I feel like

19:46 since you've been doing the content for

19:47 so long, you probably been hearing the

19:48 same type of questions, same type of

19:50 answers. Like what what's something

19:51 that's fascinating you currently,

19:54 >> bro? Lately, I think the energy drink

19:56 epidemic is a problem. And it's nuanced

19:59 because I'm not anti-affeine. I like

20:01 drinking my coffee. I consume caffeine.

20:05 I'm not against caffeine. But we have

20:08 this kind of experiment being run where

20:10 so many people are drinking probably

20:13 three or more energy drinks per day and

20:18 all of them follow the same recipe which

20:20 is carbonated water sucralose and like

20:23 usually around 200 millig of caffeine.

20:26 Most have artificial flavorings and

20:28 artificial preservatives. So then again

20:30 it's just strange to me. It's like what

20:32 are we doing here? I understand having

20:34 caffeine in the morning coffee. Okay.

20:37 But most people, most young people are

20:40 having an energy drink at 03:00 or 04:00

20:42 or 05:00 p.m. Why? Well, they say, "Well,

20:45 I'm tired." Why? Why are you tired?

20:48 What's going on here? Maybe they're not

20:50 getting enough sleep. Maybe their

20:51 mitochondrial health is damaged. Like,

20:53 something's going on where you have so

20:56 many people that are saying that they're

20:58 so tired that they need to consume 600

21:01 milligrams or more of caffeine per day.

21:03 And many of those people are having that

21:05 last energy drink at five or six, maybe

21:07 7 p.m. So, like I see that a lot, bro.

21:10 Do you see people doing that? Because I

21:12 see it a lot.

21:14 >> I'm I'm guilty of it, man. You're

21:15 talking to someone who who is uh It's

21:18 just like part of my routine. Like I

21:20 don't even know like I I'll just go to

21:21 the gas station. I'll I'm paying more

21:24 than like if I were to buy a pack

21:26 online.

21:26 >> So, my mom would probably love me

21:28 talking to you about this, but I think

21:30 Yeah. I feel like uh it's not really

21:33 necessary. It just feels like one of

21:34 those things where I'm like, "Okay, I

21:36 woke up, took a shower, I'm ready to go.

21:38 Start my day. Go get an energy drink."

21:40 But I mean, I'm not I'm not taking

21:42 another one down at like 400 p.m. Like,

21:44 yeah, I'll have I'll have um maybe some

21:46 honey before jiu-jitsu, but that's

21:48 pretty much pretty much it.

21:50 >> Yeah. I mean, if you cut them off at,

21:51 you know, 11 or 12, I don't I don't

21:53 think it's the worst thing in the world.

21:55 I think, man, I'm gonna

21:58 I'm gonna just hedge a bet that if we

22:02 were to take two people, right, and one

22:05 person consumes sucralose, aspartame,

22:08 mega doses of caffeine, maybe Zind,

22:11 that's a pretty common thing, and eats

22:14 maybe a bit less real whole foods,

22:16 right? And then we have another person

22:18 who doesn't consume those things, eats

22:20 more real whole foods.

22:23 If we, you know, play that out 20, 30

22:25 years, where are you going to place your

22:27 poly market bet on who's going to be

22:28 healthier?

22:29 >> Whole Foods.

22:31 >> We see colon cancer skyrocketing in

22:33 young people. And they're like, "We

22:35 don't know why. We don't know why." I'm

22:36 like, "Motherfucker, I know why." I I

22:38 talk to these young people like, "This

22:40 is the concoction that they're doing."

22:42 When I talk to these older doctors,

22:43 they're kind of like, "Oh, there's no

22:45 way that's what people are doing." Like

22:46 I I posted a real recently where I said

22:50 most young people are having two to

22:53 three energy drinks a day, I think is

22:55 what I said. And a doctor stitching, he

22:57 goes, "No, there's a study that shows

22:59 most young people uh aren't even having

23:01 one energy drink. It's from like 2019,

23:04 the study." And I go, "Dude, go to a

23:08 [ __ ] high school right now and ask

23:09 people what's up."

23:10 >> It's bad.

23:11 >> They're drinking They're drinking two

23:13 energy drinks per day minimum. Most of

23:14 them, probably 70% of them.

23:17 >> That's where we're at.

23:18 >> I had a homie crack a energy drink at

23:20 like nine before we went out.

23:21 >> Yeah. Very common. And then most of them

23:23 are also on the Zen. So like we get this

23:25 like I think people from scrolling and

23:28 stuff like their dopamine and serotonin

23:31 everything is and it's just really

23:32 cooked. And you have these like

23:34 um neurotransmitters like

23:36 neuropinephrine, adrenaline that fire

23:38 you up. And I feel like people are just

23:40 like dull, you know? And so they have

23:42 this kind of combination of feeling flat

23:44 but also feeling anxious. I see that a

23:47 lot in young people. And I think just

23:49 the combination of a lot of scrolling

23:51 and then using substances to kind of

23:53 skyrocket the dopamine and

23:55 neuropinephrine and adrenaline which are

23:56 you know zins and energy drinks and you

23:58 know processed food. I think that's like

24:01 what a lot of young people are going

24:02 through

24:03 >> and it's not good. And I've done

24:05 interviews with a lot of jiu-jitsu

24:06 athletes and the ones that don't drink

24:09 caffeine are Joseph Chen and uh JRod.

24:12 And I'm like, man, those are like the

24:14 they're really good and they don't

24:15 consume caffeine on a daily basis,

24:16 >> dude. But the funny thing is with these

24:18 athletes, bro, is

24:20 >> professional athletes, hard cases don't

24:22 make good rules, right? So people will

24:25 point towards a pro alete and they'll be

24:27 like, "DK Metaf eats a lot of candy."

24:30 I'm like, "My brother in Christ, you are

24:32 not DK Metaf." You know, you are, you

24:34 know, I had somebody tell me that and

24:36 I'm like,

24:36 >> "Brother, like, you're a morbidly obese,

24:38 you know, 24y old. Like, like you're

24:41 just eating candy and you're fat. Like,

24:44 >> get in shape like DK Metaf have NFL

24:46 trainers, NFL nutritionists, and if you

24:48 want to eat a shitload of candy, okay,

24:49 it's a different situation. Um, well, my

24:53 one of my coaches in 10 Planet Sonteo,

24:55 Alan Sanchez, he now runs 10 Planet San

24:56 Jose."

24:57 >> Oh, shout out Alan. Yeah.

24:58 >> Yeah. Really high level jiu-jitsu guy.

24:59 like um I think he was just talking to

25:01 me about like his kind of sugar

25:02 consumption. I'm like, "Brother, you

25:04 train three times a day. You teach three

25:06 classes. You train three times a day.

25:08 It's a whole different conversation.

25:10 Have your sugar." You know, like do I

25:13 prefer whole food sources? Yes. But

25:16 like, bro, you're training more than

25:18 99.9% of human beings out there. So,

25:20 it's a different topic kind of.

25:23 >> For sure. And I I'm very curious about

25:25 your own jiu-jitsu journey. I know

25:26 you're um recovering from like a ACL

25:28 injury. Um I would like to know a little

25:30 bit more how you were introduced to to

25:32 jiu-jitsu uh yourself and when how old

25:34 you you were when you first started.

25:37 >> Yeah. So when I was uh 20 years old, I

25:39 walked into a half Gracie school in

25:41 Mountain View. It's shut down now, but

25:44 um yeah, man. I just heard about it on

25:45 Rogan's podcast. Like as simple as that.

25:48 Watched, you know, Ultimate Fighter UFC

25:50 stuff and then like heard Rogan and

25:51 Eddie Bravo talking a bunch about

25:52 jiu-jitsu. So I'm like, you know what? I

25:54 got to go try this out. walked in there.

25:56 Uh the instructor was dope, you know,

25:58 like I signed up, did the whole Gracie

26:00 [ __ ] scam thing. You buy the

26:02 overpriced ghee, you know, and

26:04 >> yeah, and bro, my first day there was

26:08 Hal Gracie popped in and he was teaching

26:11 like a thing and he was like I was like,

26:13 "Holy [ __ ] dude." Cuz he's like really

26:14 he's like aggressive, bro. Like you have

26:16 to use your head like drive your head

26:18 into his jaw, you know? Like I like damn

26:20 this shit's intense. But I stuck with

26:22 it. Um it was cool, man. and it was just

26:24 old school Gracie jiu-jitsu. Um, and the

26:27 Bay Area had a lot of like really high

26:28 level jiu-jitsu I didn't even know at

26:30 the time. So that was dope. Trained in

26:33 the ghee for probably like a year or two

26:35 and then when I went to college I fell

26:37 out of it for a little bit. Um, and then

26:41 I got back into it and started training

26:43 at 10 Planet Sano under Big Red and Alan

26:45 Sanchez and just kind of popping in

26:47 other places to Coter and like whatever,

26:51 you know. Um, and then when I came down

26:53 here, I started training at Surfight,

26:55 which is ran by, uh, Majid and Joel

26:57 Tudtor, uh, two legends, and that's

27:00 where I train to this day. I love it,

27:02 dude. It's so fun, you know? I'm not

27:04 good at it, you know, but like I have so

27:06 much fun training, and as I get older

27:08 and, you know, picked up some injuries.

27:10 It's definitely different nowadays, like

27:12 how I train and [ __ ] Um, but I mean,

27:16 dude, I love going in there having some

27:17 fun scraps and just Yeah, it is kind of

27:20 like, all right, can I go in and train

27:22 with some homies and not get injured?

27:24 That would be, you know, that's kind of

27:25 one of my goals rather than, you know, I

27:27 see these young kids training and

27:28 they're that's even on their mind.

27:30 They're like, yo, I'm trying to win

27:31 ADCC. But, uh, so I'm definitely old man

27:33 jitsu at this point. But, shit's fun.

27:36 >> And, and you recently, I mean, when you

27:38 had that injury, you recently competed.

27:39 Like, what made you want to go compete?

27:41 Because there's like a maybe some people

27:43 are like, you know, you have a

27:44 successful business like you don't have

27:45 to risk your body and stuff like that.

27:46 Well, what within you with like, oh, I

27:49 want to go compete cuz it's not an easy

27:50 thing by any means to go out there.

27:52 >> No. Yeah. Yeah. It can be stressful and

27:53 [ __ ] And now uh with like whatever you

27:55 want to call it, like I'm well known

27:56 like you know, as soon as you walk in

27:58 there, you get [ __ ] swarm,

27:59 everybody's filming, you're like, "Oh

28:01 yeah, here we go." Um, bro, I just hate

28:04 the [ __ ] um, you know, these actors

28:06 that start training or whatever and like

28:10 they don't really train. They just take

28:11 privates. Like I think that's just the

28:14 gayest thing ever is on my honest

28:16 opinion. So I don't I'm like I want to

28:18 be the opposite of that. So what is the

28:20 opposite of that? I'll pop into some

28:22 open mats like you know I'll [ __ ]

28:23 just I just train, bro. I just get my

28:25 ass whooped and like you know. So, yeah,

28:27 doing a tournament. Um, I was like, you

28:30 know what? Like, of course, like why

28:31 would I not go compete? Um, it was super

28:34 fun. I'll probably do another one

28:35 eventually, but

28:37 yeah, it does get interesting, bro.

28:39 Honestly, like I have gotten to a point

28:42 where when I started to go to open mats,

28:46 there would be like 10 to 15 people that

28:49 would start going to the open mats I

28:51 would go to

28:52 >> to me

28:52 >> to like train me. And luckily my content

28:56 is around like, hey, you know, I'm not

28:57 good at jiu-jitsu. I just do it. So like

28:59 I never had like um you know, bad time

29:02 or whatever. But it dude it did get to a

29:04 point where like it's like bro there's

29:06 like 15 people here and they all want to

29:08 get in rounds with me and it's like

29:09 godamn like that [ __ ]

29:11 >> I mean Craig's talked about it where

29:13 it's like he'll go to do seminars,

29:14 everybody wants to roll with him and

29:16 it's Craig, you know, everybody wants to

29:17 kind of like rip his head off when they

29:18 go over there. So did you experience

29:20 that type of thing? Because I mean I've

29:22 been posting on on YouTube and I do

29:24 still plan to compete and stuff like

29:25 that. So I'm like, you know, I I would

29:27 like to stay safe, you know, while I'm

29:28 training.

29:29 >> Yeah. No, 100%. I haven't really

29:31 experienced too much of the people

29:32 trying to rip my head off or like, you

29:34 know, highlight me. I don't really get

29:37 that that much like but it is something

29:39 to worry about in like the competitions

29:42 and [ __ ] So like this one I did was a

29:44 local one and I actually like knew kind

29:46 of two of the people um competing there.

29:48 So like you know it's all love. Um, but

29:52 it's definitely

29:54 something that I think about cuz I'm

29:56 like,

29:57 you know, as like I get more and more

29:59 wellknown, it's like, well, bro, like,

30:01 you know, okay, I go to open mat. I just

30:03 want to get a few rounds in. There's 15

30:05 people there, you know? Yeah, it gets it

30:08 gets to a point, but uh, you know, I,

30:11 uh, it's not a difficult thing for me to

30:13 manage. And now that I've been out with

30:14 this injury, like there's not like

30:16 people lining up at open

30:17 >> match for sure.

30:19 >> Yeah. Do you do you have any like UFC

30:22 hot takes? Um, you know, I just want to

30:24 kind of see what see what you think

30:26 about some of these things like um Ali,

30:28 you know, getting a rematch with Peter

30:30 Jan. Like what what would you what would

30:31 you think about that that match up

30:33 there?

30:33 >> I I think Ali definitely deserves that

30:36 rematch. I I I think the reason DC

30:39 actually was saying, "Oh, Song Dong

30:41 this, Song Dong that," is I don't think

30:43 a lot of people know that Song trains a

30:44 lot in the Bay Area. He goes to Kyoter

30:46 Academy. He trains over there. He's

30:48 probably been to AK a few times. DC

30:50 started his uh DC fight team up there in

30:52 Gilroy. I'm sure Song Dong has cross

30:55 trained a bit with those dudes, you

30:57 know. So, I think some of it could just

31:00 be like DC trying to give him a bit of a

31:03 push. He's probably has a a relationship

31:05 with Sonia Dong. I don't think it's some

31:08 like insidious thing of DC doesn't like

31:11 Shawn Rally.

31:12 >> Mhm. You know, but business-wise for the

31:16 UFC, it does seem like we everybody is

31:19 stoked for Pota Yan Sugar Shawn.

31:22 >> Everybody

31:23 >> I I want to push back a little bit

31:25 because I'm like, "Okay, tell me. Tell

31:26 me."

31:27 >> Okay. Cuz cuz Sean, he just beat Aean

31:29 Zahabi at the White House. Okay. Yes.

31:31 >> So, we're going straight from Aean

31:33 Zahabi back to the championship. And I

31:35 love Sean. I just I went to Arizona. I

31:36 interviewed him. He was like one of the

31:38 coolest guys I've ever met. But I do

31:40 think that having him go back right to

31:43 the title is a little premature. Like

31:45 him going against Morab Noce, he lost.

31:49 Uh then he did a a rematch right away.

31:51 He was injured. He took a rematch like

31:54 for the championship and got subbed.

31:56 And then he comes back and he beats he

31:59 beats Sona Dong. He beats um Aean

32:02 Zahabi. I just feel like maybe

32:04 >> he beat Sona Dong. But the the fight

32:07 with Sonia Dong wasn't like, "Oh, he

32:08 kicked his ass." You know, it was like

32:10 it felt a little close. Maybe maybe I

32:12 got to watch it back.

32:14 >> Yeah,

32:14 >> maybe I got to watch.

32:15 >> It was definitely It was definitely

32:16 close, but it's like he beat Song Dong

32:18 and then I think, you know, you'll agree

32:20 with this part. I mean, everybody has to

32:23 agree with this part whether you like it

32:24 or not. The UFC

32:26 >> The UFC is entertainment more than ever.

32:30 We're living in a different era of the

32:32 UFC. They're not even if if you're if

32:35 you're a grappler if you're a grappling

32:36 heavy fighter, they will cut you, bro.

32:39 They you have to you have to rack up you

32:42 have to rack up so many more wins

32:44 >> and be some dominant person that's 19

32:46 and0 20 and 0 and now you can get your

32:49 shot like bro you think Mosar is ever

32:51 going to get a title shot again? You

32:53 know how much work you can have to do to

32:54 get back there?

32:56 >> But with that point why why wouldn't

32:58 Payton and Shawn be a fun matchup?

33:00 because they're both

33:01 >> would be an amazing fight. But I think

33:04 where Shawn's leverages with the UFC at

33:07 this point, he's brought so many eyes to

33:09 the sport. He's one of the top five

33:11 stars in the UFC at this point. I think

33:14 Shawn is able to command much like a

33:17 McGregor would, much like a, you know, a

33:19 Jon Jones even at this point would, like

33:22 they're able to command and say, "No, I

33:25 want this fight." So, I agree with you

33:26 that like if everything was run off of

33:30 rankings and analytics,

33:32 there would be more of an argument, but

33:33 that's not the sport.

33:35 >> It's like not

33:36 >> it's like it's like the UFC, the

33:38 intelligent decision for them to get

33:39 more eyes on the sport. And you know

33:41 that what Dana White wants is Shawn to

33:44 KO Yan and to be the champion so he can

33:47 make a lot more money promoting the UFC.

33:50 >> That it it just makes sense. I'm just

33:52 thinking of like, okay, Shawn lost twice

33:54 to Morab and Jan beat Morab twice.

33:58 >> So, it's like true.

33:59 >> What if Shawn loses again?

34:01 >> What happens to Sean?

34:03 >> He fights Payton Tall.

34:08 >> It's just, you know, it's it's in the

34:10 discussions right now. You know,

34:11 everybody's talking about it. The whole

34:12 DC call out. I was just kind of

34:14 interested.

34:15 >> I I I totally feel you. I just feel like

34:17 I think people who really watch the

34:19 sport like a lot like like yourself

34:21 sometimes say the the right thing which

34:24 like should happen. and the UFC should

34:25 make this match up or this matchup and

34:27 then often times it's like okay now

34:30 blend that with purely entertainment and

34:34 numbers and then like

34:37 >> Josh would yeah

34:40 >> yeah so it's like you know I don't know

34:42 I'm stoked for the Podon Sugar Sean

34:44 fight whenever it happens I'll

34:46 definitely be there it'll be fun

34:49 >> so how how has your your um view of the

34:52 sport changed over the years I mean you

34:53 mentioning kind of like what you know

34:55 Dana would want, what's good for the

34:57 fighters, like how how have how have

34:59 your opinions changed, you know, as you

35:01 as you've been growing with along with

35:03 the sport.

35:04 >> Man, it's gone way more towards

35:07 entertainment like we're talking about.

35:09 And

35:11 obviously, you're able to still see like

35:13 these amazing performances like we just

35:15 saw with Puran Morab, like the fight

35:17 that it's extremely technical. I love

35:19 watching that.

35:20 I

35:23 I actually sometimes battle with UFC

35:26 fans when there's a fight that doesn't

35:28 have that much striking.

35:30 I get sort of upset because when people

35:32 hate on it because my thing is if people

35:35 just wanted to watch striking, glory

35:37 would have popped off. Um you know, like

35:40 striking martial arts would have popped

35:42 off. That's actually not what people

35:43 want to see deep down. They want to see

35:45 two people go in there as close as we

35:48 can get to a real fight. You know what I

35:50 mean? And they want to know who's the

35:52 [ __ ] baddest person and grappling is

35:54 a part of that and everybody knows that

35:56 deep down. It's a basic thing. So my

35:59 argument when people watch a fight like

36:01 a Hamzot fight or something and they're

36:02 like, "Dude, it was so boring. It was

36:04 this." I'm like, it it gets me upset a

36:07 little bit because I'm like, "No, like

36:11 name five kickboxers." I'll tell them.

36:12 They they can't wait. So, why don't you

36:15 watch that? Go watch [ __ ] Why don't

36:17 you watch Glory? Like, go name some one

36:20 championship fighters that are just

36:21 strikers. They can't. I I can't. You

36:24 know what I mean? Like,

36:24 >> yeah, I'm not going to pretend like I I

36:26 know.

36:26 >> No. Yeah. Yeah. And it's it's because

36:29 deep down they want to know. They might

36:31 argue about it. They might [ __ ] about

36:32 it, but you know, deep down when you're

36:34 watching a sport, if somebody can just

36:36 hold you down, just go like this you

36:37 over and over again or choke you out,

36:40 you're done. You're [ __ ] done. So, I

36:42 get when people want the finishes, they

36:43 want to see submissions and stuff like

36:45 that, but it's like an unfortunate

36:47 reality of the sport that those fights

36:49 and fighters that can hold people down

36:51 for five rounds and like this. I know

36:54 it's frustrating for the fans, but

36:56 brother, that's also what creates the

36:58 beauty of the sport in a way for when

37:00 somebody can stop that and knock them

37:01 out, like solve that problem. So, I

37:04 think the UFC prioritizes strikers way

37:07 more and they want to make exciting

37:09 fights. everyone gets stoked on. They

37:10 get their highlights

37:12 >> and

37:13 I get it, but it is kind of a bummer.

37:17 >> I see what you're saying. I feel like

37:18 Mighty Mouse has definitely brought up

37:19 this topic and you bringing up Chimay

37:22 and I just think of Chimayv and and and

37:24 Drius, you know, it was like,

37:25 >> yeah,

37:26 >> it it was control, it was dominance of

37:28 those five rounds, but at the end of the

37:29 day, I don't think I'm going like go

37:31 back on UFC fight pass and throw that

37:33 fight on. Usually, it's the ones that

37:34 are just like they're just throwing

37:36 hands. It's it's non-stop action. Um,

37:38 but you do have fights like that last

37:40 one with Yan and Morab where it's just

37:41 like it's super high level and it's it's

37:45 insane to watch. So, yeah, I I agree and

37:47 I just um would love to know your take

37:49 just because I feel like um the I the

37:52 thing that excites me the most about the

37:54 UFC is like

37:55 >> all different types of people watch it

37:56 just because of like the animalistic and

37:58 that kind of goes back to your

37:59 upbringing and stuff like that like

38:01 ancestors. Like do you feel like we're

38:03 separating ourselves from those those um

38:06 those values? And if so, if we're

38:08 separating, where do you think society

38:10 will kind of go if we separate from

38:13 those things?

38:14 >> No, I I mean, I think the UFC is good

38:16 for society. I think more people need to

38:18 know that. When I started doing, you

38:20 know, my low-level jiu-jitsu, I actually

38:21 became less of an [ __ ] Uh, when I

38:24 was like 19, 18, 19, I might go be a

38:27 little bit of a loudmouth here and

38:28 there. If you train a little bit of

38:30 martial arts, which I would hope

38:31 watching the UFC would, you know,

38:33 there'd be a correlation with people

38:34 that actually train and the popularity

38:36 of it and how many people actually

38:37 train. I think that's definitely a graph

38:38 that would match up. If you train, you

38:41 know this, you train. It makes me be

38:43 like, I don't know who I can beat up and

38:44 who I can't. I don't know, unless I

38:47 really know them. I know they don't

38:48 train at all and they're a complete

38:49 chud. Yeah, sure. I'll take my chances.

38:51 But they're doing jiu-jitsu. I'm like,

38:54 I'm going to go to jiu-jitsu tomorrow.

38:55 And there are people there that if I

38:57 looked at them when I was 18, I take

38:59 this guy. This dude's nerdy. 140 lbs,

39:03 glasses, maybe I'm a little out of

39:05 shape. Take that guy. No, I won't. I I

39:08 now know through training that I won't.

39:10 So, I think the UFC actually is good for

39:14 society because real martial arts

39:17 teach you

39:19 values. They really do. They teach you

39:21 to be humble. Get humble in an MMA gym.

39:25 You know,

39:25 >> sometimes I get scared from the nerdy

39:27 guys. Sometimes it's like the opposite.

39:28 I'm like, damn, he's nerdy. I might lose

39:30 my my knees here.

39:32 >> Yeah, 100%. So, I think that's a good

39:34 lesson for people. And I think some of

39:35 the, you know, loudest problems of human

39:40 beings out there don't train at all. Um,

39:44 I had an incident at the gym a couple

39:46 weeks ago. I was with two buddies that

39:48 that train like they're not some

39:50 extremely highlevel dudes but like bro

39:53 if you don't train they're like you know

39:55 185 pounders who like you know they

39:58 train okay

40:00 this guy at the gym this bodybuilder

40:03 looking guy but like not big just like

40:05 bodybuilder guy he started chirping at

40:07 us for no reason telling us to use

40:11 heavier weights and we thought he was

40:12 joking. We're like

40:14 and then he like says it again in like

40:16 an angry voice like no I come here to

40:18 work like you're and we're like I I went

40:20 right up to time put my hand on his

40:21 shoulder I shake his hand go brother you

40:23 are you joking you're joking right like

40:25 I'm giving him an out he's like no like

40:26 I see your content I I I'm in here

40:30 working he was like maybe having a manic

40:31 episode I don't know what and my buddies

40:34 didn't like that and they surrounded the

40:36 dude and went like yo we'll we'll

40:38 [ __ ] break your jaw and the guy goes

40:41 what there's a threat I'm calling the

40:43 cops. So, it's like and then it's like,

40:46 oh my gosh. We're just like laughing.

40:47 We're like, dude, these scum on the

40:48 earth people. Like, the point is I would

40:52 never talk like like he did to another

40:54 person because I'm worried because of my

40:57 brief experience in martial my little

40:59 dabble in it that I would get my ass

41:00 whooped. I know what it feels like to be

41:02 on bottom mountain, get choked out, get

41:04 head and arm choked like [ __ ] TJ

41:06 Dillashaw whooping your ass, bro. So,

41:08 I'm very I'm more respectful in life

41:11 because of that. And um yeah, man. I

41:14 feel like it's an important thing for

41:15 society. So, clearly that guy and I know

41:17 now we found out who this guy is, more

41:19 about him. He's a psycho, but he doesn't

41:21 train.

41:22 >> He just works out.

41:23 >> Yeah.

41:24 >> Just moves around weights. If that dude

41:25 stepped in a jiu-jitsu gym, I'll pay for

41:27 him to do if he wants. He would learn

41:29 and he wouldn't he probably wouldn't be

41:31 just chirping people at the gym.

41:33 >> Okay. I have a few questions about

41:35 content creation because I feel like

41:37 even that instance is like something

41:39 maybe you weren't planning were like to

41:41 happen but now you're so well known. Um

41:43 do you have any advice for uh upcoming

41:45 content creators when it comes to

41:47 getting your name out there and just

41:49 like dealing with those types of things?

41:51 Like have you have you learned from

41:53 certain cases like that and how to

41:56 handle yourself when you're out in

41:57 public and stuff like that?

41:59 >> Yeah, I mean nowadays like I'm well

42:00 known, you know, whatever. I have a

42:02 business. I have this. I need to be like

42:04 more careful, you know what I mean? I

42:05 was a bit more wild when I was younger.

42:08 >> Um,

42:08 >> but in terms of content creation, you

42:10 just got to go hard. You got to be

42:11 consistent. You got to put out stuff.

42:13 You need to talk to a camera every day

42:15 and put out your world view into the

42:17 world and study other content creators

42:19 and what works. And you got to go hard,

42:22 man. You need to treat this [ __ ] like a

42:24 job. Like I I'll you know, that's why I

42:25 try to tell like these young kids like

42:27 that make content and stuff. I'm like,

42:28 "Dude, like you have it good. You have a

42:30 you have a platform. you're able to

42:32 talk, you know, to a camera, you need to

42:33 treat it like a it needs to be worked

42:36 on. Like 9 to five, like what are we

42:38 doing? Like, you know, like people work

42:40 brutal jobs. I've worked some of those

42:42 brutal jobs when I was younger. I'm glad

42:44 that I did cuz I do meet some of these

42:46 content creators that are, you know, 19,

42:48 20, 21 years old. They've never worked a

42:49 real job and they just lack that work

42:52 ethic. They don't realize how good they

42:53 have it. I'm like, "Bro, you can

42:55 make$10,000,

42:56 20,000, $30,000 a month off your phone

43:00 and you're lazy." So, yeah. I think

43:02 that's a big thing. You just have to be

43:03 super consistent with it. It's

43:05 important.

43:06 >> Consistency. And when did you realize

43:09 that you could actually make I feel like

43:11 that's kind of the issue I'm having

43:12 right now. It's like I'm I'm putting out

43:13 content, podcast, interviews, but it's

43:15 just like mon uh

43:19 >> monetize your content. Yeah.

43:20 monetization that on the content is

43:22 something I feel like I'm lacking on

43:24 maybe like I don't really have like a

43:25 product or anything like that but what

43:28 what advice would you have for someone

43:29 who's just you know getting the content

43:31 out

43:31 >> I was doing if I was doing just like MMA

43:33 content you know like like I would try

43:35 to make myself so undeniable that one of

43:39 these organizations is going to give me

43:41 a deal you know like look at what like

43:44 Nina Drama did dude like she made it

43:46 undeniable where everybody knows her

43:49 face in MMA A and I don't know her deal

43:51 with the UFC, but I'm sure it's

43:53 lucrative.

43:55 I would figure out something where it's

43:57 like, you know, like the UFC embeddeds

43:59 are so good. Like everybody loves

44:00 watching the embeddeds, you know? It's

44:02 like watching that style of content and

44:04 then using that as inspiration to like

44:06 create your own version of that to where

44:09 it becomes a thing that like that like

44:12 UFC fighters would be down to do, you

44:14 know, and jiu-jitsu athletes and stuff

44:16 like and immersing yourself like in that

44:18 world like and then like viewing the

44:19 pain points of this billion dollar

44:22 organization and seeing how you could

44:23 put in

44:24 >> two years of work and maybe fix some of

44:26 the pain points. What are their pain

44:27 points right now? They want to build up

44:28 UFC BJJ. Well, people aren't telling the

44:30 stories of these fighters at all. People

44:32 don't give a [ __ ] That's why they need

44:34 influencers like that are popping off

44:35 like Kyle O'Hare to compete on UFC. Why?

44:39 Kyle will tell you he's not the best

44:40 jiu-jitsu athlete in the world, but like

44:42 why does the UFC BJ want him on? Cuz he

44:44 has a huge form and he is good for

44:46 spreading the message of jiu-jitsu. So,

44:49 like figuring out like that type of

44:50 stuff, like, okay, on the UFC BJJ, you

44:54 have Martin, this dude who's Michael

44:56 Morales's like right-hand man competing.

44:59 Figuring that out three weeks ago and

45:02 going and doing some content with him

45:03 and Tijana,

45:05 that's that's where like the the the

45:07 gold mine is for like an MMA creator in

45:09 my opinion cuz you work your way up

45:11 through that. um figuring there's so

45:14 many fight dude like these fight really

45:16 high level fighters all train at gyms

45:19 where they have their boys who are in

45:20 lower organizations and these dudes all

45:22 want to put on for each other you know

45:24 like when we went studio like Khalil's

45:26 training there but like Khalil's boys

45:29 like his dudes who he literally trains

45:31 with like hard fighting in these you

45:33 know oh this dude's fighting in LFA this

45:35 dude's fighting you know this go film

45:39 with those dudes go tell their stories

45:40 go train with them go figure that out

45:42 and guess Khalil will sit down with you,

45:45 give you an interview maybe might be in,

45:47 you know, weeks after whatever. Working

45:49 your way up that type of chain through

45:50 like genuine passion of the sport,

45:52 that's what I would be doing a lot of if

45:54 it was like UFC content. Um,

45:57 yeah, that's money

45:59 >> for sure. For sure. I'm definitely and

46:00 I'm I'm I'm slowly getting my myself

46:03 like comfortable in front of the camera,

46:04 especially like in a real setting like

46:06 where we're just with Ethan E-wing and

46:07 his in his training in a garage, you

46:09 know, getting see him working in person

46:12 and just kind of knowing a little bit

46:13 more about the history kind of

46:14 definitely changed my my mindset on

46:16 these guys because a lot of these guys

46:18 >> do you live in?

46:19 >> Uh I live in uh Bakersfield, California.

46:21 >> Okay, nice. Yeah, dude. So, bro, you

46:24 should go boom, spend a week at Entra,

46:26 go train in Tijana, you know, like go

46:29 train at at Sto, even if it's just at

46:31 like public classes for a bit and see if

46:33 you could work your way into one of the,

46:35 you know, pro classes. Like that type of

46:37 [ __ ] Yeah, that's that's fire.

46:40 >> That's definitely something that I'm

46:42 interested in. And I just want to thank

46:43 you for, you know, taking the time talk

46:44 about all different types of topics. I

46:46 feel like you're definitely

46:47 >> Who do you have in Morales? Protest is

46:48 one of my last questions.

46:49 >> Protest. I think I have protest here. I

46:51 feel like of course with Morales's judo

46:53 background if he grapples I think he

46:55 would put a few problems in in Protest's

46:57 way but I think

46:58 >> it's fair to say bro nobody knows like

47:00 Morales is grappling like you know like

47:01 like uh I I understand that when people

47:03 are like Protest is going to win he's

47:04 going to dice him up it's like

47:06 >> I get what people are saying bro because

47:08 people are like no but Morales is

47:09 grappling and people are like where

47:11 >> he has not used it. So I understand

47:13 where people are coming from. I think

47:14 it's fair to have Protest as the

47:17 favorite, even like a pretty decent

47:19 favorite in this fight, just given the

47:20 strength strength of schedules way

47:22 better than Michael Morales. Um, the

47:25 thing I disagree with is people are

47:28 pulling these videos from earlier fights

47:30 in Morales's career, right, where he's

47:33 swinging, bro. He has his head chin up

47:34 and he's like this and obviously he's

47:36 winning and people like, he's going to

47:38 do this versus Protest and he's going to

47:40 get chinned.

47:42 I don't think Morales's team is that

47:44 dumb because when you really look at,

47:46 okay, he's fighting someone specialized

47:47 in Shawn Brady, right? Been in there

47:50 with very good strategy in hindsight.

47:53 Everyone's like, "Oh my god, Morales has

47:54 his hips back. Like, this is so weird.

47:56 We haven't seen fight like this." And he

47:57 sparked Shawn Brady. Okay, now people

48:00 now will go, "Oh, Shawn Brady is oh, not

48:02 good. This that." It's like, brother,

48:04 >> Shawn Brady's [ __ ] good. Okay,

48:06 >> people switch up so fast on us so fast.

48:10 Oh, Shawn Brady is not good. It's fair

48:11 to say Shawn Brady is no Carlos Proz of

48:14 course but like dude I wouldn't be

48:17 astonished if Shawn Brady fought Carlos

48:19 Proz was able to take him down and it

48:21 would like could be a scrap.

48:23 >> Okay.

48:24 >> Yeah. So

48:25 >> I I think Okay. Go ahead.

48:26 >> Yeah. So my my point is I think it's

48:29 fair to put Morales as an underdog in

48:31 this fight but I do not think his team

48:34 over there at Entrim which produce a lot

48:36 of champions is going to go yeah man go

48:38 in there and just [ __ ] swing your ass

48:39 off. Let's see what that like. I don't

48:41 think they're that dumb. So, I'm so

48:44 stoked for this fight. I think I'm gonna

48:45 go out there, bro, because it's in

48:47 >> Toronto. I'm I'm with all the the whole

48:49 Nelt crew there and they like run

48:50 Toronto. Pal like runs Toronto. Like,

48:52 dude, if I show up there, I think I'll

48:54 be able to get backstage. Leverage that,

48:56 bro. Let's go.

48:57 >> Hell yeah. I think it's a great matchup.

48:58 I'm really glad they they made it. Now,

49:00 my question to you is like, who would be

49:02 a a tougher matchup for Islam?

49:05 >> Mhm.

49:07 This is the thing because

49:09 I'm hoping that we see Morales's

49:12 grappling in this fight.

49:13 >> Me too. I would like to see.

49:14 >> I know he's in the wrestling shoes and

49:16 these photos and [ __ ] training at

49:17 Endram. I hope he goes in there and

49:19 blast double shoots a blast double on

49:21 Pes. Um, if we saw that if Okay, let me

49:25 ask you. If this fight Okay, let's say

49:29 this fight goes one of two ways. Okay,

49:32 Morales one way. Morales goes in there,

49:34 he takes down Protest. He's landing some

49:36 ground. Protest gets up. He gets taken

49:39 back down and maybe Morales TKOs's him

49:42 or submits him. Holy [ __ ] It's a second

49:44 round. It's crazy, right? Oh my god.

49:47 Okay, there's that result. The other

49:49 result, they stand up, protest boxing,

49:53 [ __ ] tekk kicking and ends up

49:55 chinning Michael Morales. Out of those

49:57 two results, which is harder for Islam?

50:02 I don't know. What do you think? The

50:03 Morales grapple submission win or the

50:05 Protest TK or KO win? Which one is Islam

50:11 sweating more?

50:12 >> I think the TKO one. I mean, Protest I

50:14 feel like the striking I mean he got

50:16 touched up against Dustin for for a

50:18 little bit in that fight. I feel like I

50:20 don't know. I feel like Protesus is he's

50:22 tall too.

50:24 Hella tall, dude. He's so good. He's so

50:27 good, bro. It's like I see all the full

50:29 violence guys do with uh

50:31 >> with protest lately and I'm like

50:34 >> protest has aura, bro. I know you smoke

50:36 cigarettes and stuff. That's actually

50:37 another problem, bro. There's like dudes

50:38 who like go to one jiu-jitsu class a

50:40 week, bro. And they smoke cigarettes and

50:41 get hammered after. They're like, "Oh,

50:43 I'm Carlos Protest." It's like, "No,

50:45 you're not, man. You're not Protest."

50:47 You know,

50:48 >> does Santa Cruz have like a op of

50:49 someone who like promotes like I don't

50:51 know. I feel like Islam and Protest are

50:53 like the polar opposites. One is just

50:54 like smoking and drinking. The other

50:56 one's just discipline and and just

50:58 working out like

50:59 >> Yeah. I think people would be not even

51:01 surprised. I think if people watch like

51:03 a week in the life of Carlos Pro, like

51:05 holy [ __ ] this guy trains a lot and is

51:06 extremely disciplined. Like sure,

51:08 cigarettes partying. But it's like, bro,

51:11 do his training regimen and you know, if

51:13 you want to smoke a cigarette or two, go

51:14 for it. But

51:16 >> from Santa Cruz, okay,

51:19 >> dude, these people aren't training like

51:20 Carlos Prates, bro.

51:22 >> No, come on. Um, but yeah, I mean

51:26 overall I do try to champion the

51:28 fighters that push the message of

51:30 health. Doing Cooking with Vog, you

51:32 know, TJ Dillashaw has his own health

51:33 company now. He's crushing it. Of

51:36 course, you know, George Cierre, huge

51:38 into health. I I do try to push that

51:40 more, but I'm still a Protest fan. I'm

51:42 going for Morales obviously in this

51:44 fight, but like not a Protest hater.

51:47 >> That is definitely tough. And I I do

51:49 predictions and then, you know, do

51:50 interviews and podcasts. So, it is it's

51:52 definitely I might have to drop the

51:54 predictions, but it feels like we're

51:55 doing pretty well. Like I think we just

51:56 hit like top 10 most profitable

51:57 predictors uh so far in the year. So, um

52:00 this last card we did really well. I

52:02 think we only got two picks wrong, but

52:04 um I had Morab in the last fight. I I

52:06 thought I thought with the first two

52:07 rounds I'm like, "Okay, we're doing

52:08 good. We're doing good." But,

52:10 >> um

52:10 >> I did well on my picks last time. I I

52:12 went four to five. Um I picked Timarov.

52:16 Um but I picked every other fight right.

52:19 I had a little worry about Pion's back

52:21 surgery.

52:22 >> Me, too. Yeah. That's why I picked

52:23 Morris, you know, but I'm like, okay. In

52:26 the first like two rounds, I'm like,

52:27 he's moving well. And so, yeah, but

52:30 picks are hard, man. I mean, that's dope

52:32 that you're in that that top echelon of

52:34 of picks. I'm

52:35 >> I don't know. I maybe there's not a lot

52:36 of channels, but it seems like we're

52:38 we're doing pretty pretty good. So, um

52:40 yeah. And I I honestly I was thinking

52:43 before I did a little meditation before

52:44 I did the the podcast and I was thinking

52:46 like I want Santa Cruz to like challenge

52:48 me to do something. I just don't know

52:50 what like I don't know I don't know what

52:53 kind of like parameters to put it but I

52:55 I I feel like

52:56 >> maybe like a lock in or like maybe a

52:58 social media type of thing. I just don't

53:00 know. But I I was like man that would be

53:02 a pretty cool idea if you know Santa

53:03 Cruz kind of sends me on like a mission

53:05 to kind of lock in on something which

53:07 >> I love that dude. I mean, I can think

53:09 like how hard do you want to take it?

53:10 Cuz I can think of like a million

53:12 things, bro.

53:13 >> Honestly, something that would, you

53:15 know, would uh improve my health, but

53:17 also kind of on the content creation

53:19 side, just making better content. So,

53:21 maybe around there. Maybe it doesn't

53:22 have to be right now where you kind of

53:24 give me the idea, but

53:24 >> Okay. Okay. Let's give you Let's give

53:26 you one thing right off the bat.

53:27 >> You get me your address after this. I'll

53:29 get you electrolytes.

53:30 >> Let's replace at least some of the

53:33 energy drinks with electrolytes, and you

53:35 can make that a little content thing

53:37 like you know, instead of you, now

53:39 you're walking to the gas station

53:40 getting water, you know, or maybe

53:42 getting a glass water even, and you're

53:43 having electrolytes instead of the

53:45 energy drink and you're documenting how

53:46 you feel. Okay, there's that. The other

53:50 thing I think would be dope for you to

53:51 do is to go train at Entra in Tijana.

53:55 >> I think that would be sick, bro.

53:57 >> Yeah.

53:58 >> Like they have like Yeah, they have like

54:00 jiu-jitsu there. Like

54:01 >> it's kind of gnarly. you got to go, you

54:03 know, to the border, park there, bring

54:06 your passport. You're going into Tijana,

54:08 but it could be cool to document your

54:10 YouTube channel. Um, for sure. You know,

54:13 no, I'm not uh you know, whatever

54:15 happens in Tijana, bro. Like I went with

54:17 like Alan Sabino, like a jacked UFC dude

54:21 or um UFC BJ, I think. Jack the

54:24 jiu-jitsu dude. Yeah, go train there.

54:26 >> I'm definitely down. I might have to

54:28 like edit out the pick that I just you

54:30 asked me. But honestly, if I go over

54:32 there,

54:35 >> no, but but I definitely think that um

54:38 those are definitely the things and

54:39 experiences that I would like to kind of

54:40 share with the people. You know, I would

54:42 Yeah. You know,

54:43 >> how I feel, bro, like the the full

54:45 violence guys that came over, watch some

54:46 fights. They're super cool.

54:48 >> I feel like Yeah, organizations like

54:50 that are going to become these staples

54:52 in MMA media. People that understand

54:54 content creation, have a passion for

54:56 MMA. um you know all that, bro. Like

54:59 that's that's really important. So I

55:02 think that that's uh just kind of the

55:03 method. Um like there's a book I think

55:07 it's called 10,00 fans. Let me see if

55:09 that's what it's actually called.

55:11 >> Yeah. 10,00 true fans by Kevin Kelly.

55:14 >> Okay.

55:14 >> Um this idea that you can make a living

55:19 doing something that a thousand people

55:22 would like really [ __ ] with. Okay.

55:25 >> Okay. Now, MMA content creation is past

55:28 there. Like, it's already you just

55:31 really need to figure out how to become

55:32 like one of the top 10 people in this

55:33 space. You can do it. So, you just got

55:36 to go hard.

55:37 >> Awesome. Yeah, I definitely would like

55:39 to use this clip and be like, you know,

55:41 in the future like Santa Cruz, like

55:42 freaking lock me in here. You know what

55:44 I'm saying? So,

55:45 >> um, yeah, I'm definitely down to put in

55:47 the work. And I just want to thank you

55:48 yet again for, you know, taking the time

55:50 to, you know, cuz my goal is eventually

55:53 to kind of like, you know, create, uh,

55:56 like a network and, uh, community and

55:58 then doing the same thing cuz there's

56:00 other people, so many athletes who have

56:02 who've handed me like a opportunity to

56:04 be able to, you know, do my thing and I

56:07 feel like um, I definitely want to pay

56:08 it forward for, you know, the next

56:09 coming uh, generation as well. So, means

56:12 a lot, man. Means a lot. So, yeah. Thank

56:14 you so much, man.

56:15 >> Yes, sir. I'll send you my address and

56:17 then we could get those uh that

56:18 challenge going for sure.

56:19 >> Let's go, man. I Thank you so much for

56:21 having me.

56:22 >> I appreciate it.

56:23 >> Let's talk again soon.

56:24 >> Yes, sir. Thank you, Santa Cruz. Later.