00:00 Protoss has aura, bro. I know he he

00:02 smokes cigarettes and stuff. That's

00:03 actually another problem, bro. There's

00:04 like dudes who like go to one jiu-jitsu

00:05 class a week, bro, and they smoke

00:07 cigarettes and get hammered after.

00:08 They're like, "Oh, I'm Carlos Protoss."

00:11 It's like, "No, you're not, man. You're

00:12 not Protoss, you know, put down the

00:14 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 Petr Yan.

00:35 We we went back and forth, man, so I

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

00:38 Make sure to like, subscribe, and stay

00:40 tuned for more episodes like this. Now,

00:42 let's get started with today's episode.

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

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

00:51 Brandon. 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 all day, so

01:00 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

01:07 >> Man, I love it, man. I I like my

01:09 day-to-day grind. Um I always just try

01:12 to fit in something active, you know,

01:14 most days, and

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

01:18 fun, you know, I would say. Uh and so

01:21 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

01:31 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

01:40 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

01:53 health. And so

01:55 right then, I started to look into the

01:57 more ancestral health side of things and

01:59 started to kind of eat food that our

02:01 ancestors would have consumed and I

02:03 started to feel amazing just like way

02:05 better to unlock new levels of health

02:07 and then it also turned me on to a lot

02:09 of the people call it biohacking, you

02:11 know, some of the more using modern

02:12 technology to like improve your health

02:14 and supplements and that kind of stuff

02:16 and then I feel like I just like in my

02:18 own personal life I like fuse those both

02:20 together and

02:23 I mean bro, I just started feeling

02:24 really amazing way better than I even

02:25 ever thought I could feel and I wanted

02:27 to get that message out there into the

02:29 world. So

02:30 that's what I've been up to the last few

02:32 years just getting the message of health

02:34 out into the world.

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

02:37 was first introduced to you like during

02:38 COVID, you know, it's like we're all

02:40 locked up and then you know, I see you,

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

02:44 you know, China Cruise Medicinals.

02:47 I I seen online that it started with

02:49 like a CBD type of thing and it kind of

02:51 eventually grew like did you envision

02:53 your yourself having like a

02:55 multi-million dollar kind of ordeal

02:57 going on or was this kind of just like

02:58 something that you really just want to

02:59 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 to

03:05 have like these like big dreams and

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

03:09 big dreams and I had big dreams and

03:10 stuff but um

03:12 I don't know man, the way my brain works

03:13 is I just put to took it like one little

03:15 chunk at a time where I was like okay

03:17 like with the product side of things

03:19 like we started to make these potent CBD

03:20 formulas. My buddy lived with Todd

03:22 Duffee actually. I was a good friend of

03:24 ours. I've known him for like 15 years

03:26 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 was 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 dude

03:37 like I love these like we're giving them

03:39 to a lot of the athletes there and I'm

03:40 like cool. In my mind I was like okay,

03:42 how can I

03:44 make this into a real brand and maybe

03:45 it'll make me an extra thousand or two

03:47 thousand dollars a month. That's

03:49 literally what I was thinking.

03:50 And at this point I was like maybe I'll

03:52 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 have a job,

03:58 you know, in health and some cuz I

03:59 already knew I wanted to be involved in

04:01 health in some way.

04:02 Maybe I can make an extra grand or two.

04:04 That's beautiful, right? Like selling a

04:05 good product. And

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

04:09 snowballs up. Like, okay, now like

04:11 people really like this. You start to

04:13 meet people that are like, "No, dude,

04:14 I'm I'm making, you know, 10, 20, 30

04:16 grand a month like running a good

04:17 company." You're like, "Okay, like this

04:19 definitely can be done."

04:20 And I don't know, man, when I was young

04:22 I I sometimes looked at business as like

04:24 evil, you know? Um which is a [ __ ] up

04:27 way to think about it and I feel like it

04:29 it harms a lot of people when they

04:31 view

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

04:36 cuz many are.

04:38 And I met a lot of these people that

04:39 they're not even like evil, but they

04:40 just they they are in it just for money,

04:43 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

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

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

04:53 impose your worldview into the world.

04:56 And I use our products and my social

04:58 media and all the content that I do to

04:59 like push out my worldview into the

05:02 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

05:09 influencers that you're really in all

05:10 different types of spaces. You're with

05:12 Togi, with Klav, you're doing like, you

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

05:17 with uh TJ Dillashaw

05:19 over there. And uh you know, with the

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

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

05:24 people. How How

05:26 was that like a plan that you really had

05:28 to like, "Oh, I want to be able to reach

05:30 different audiences?" Or what Are you

05:32 just kind of just like, "Whatever."

05:33 >> Yeah, dude, I've always found like

05:35 people

05:36 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 Togi or Klav?" It's like, "Hold on. How

05:45 am I going to get my message out to more

05:47 people if I'm just existing in an echo

05:49 chamber?

05:50 You know, like if I tell somebody who's

05:52 already into health that, "Oh, like

05:54 grass-fed steak is amazing and you

05:55 should work out." That's that's cool,

05:57 but it's like, bro, you're telling

05:59 somebody stuff they already know.

06:01 So, I feel like for me like my strength

06:04 or whatever what I realized is like

06:05 pulling people out of the realm of

06:08 knowing nothing about health or not even

06:09 being interested in this stuff. So, I

06:11 try to film with a wide variety of

06:13 people and

06:15 I'm a huge fan of people almost to a

06:16 fault sometimes, you know, in in the

06:18 business realm. Like I'm and uh

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

06:23 like like somebody like Toki. Like I

06:25 love Toki.

06:26 >> Like I love

06:27 >> I do not Yeah, I do not want to live

06:29 like him and I would warn people

06:31 against cuz he's on a health kick now,

06:33 but like previous Toki, I would warn

06:35 people against living like that.

06:37 But, you know, same thing with Clav.

06:39 Like I would not live like that. But, to

06:42 sit down and be able to have a

06:43 conversation with them and hang out with

06:44 them and share some laughs and, you

06:46 know, I'm always going to do that till

06:48 the end of time. So, 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 how you see the UFC. I feel like, you

07:05 know, through evolutionary time, there

07:07 has 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

07:15 you still see the sport from that point

07:18 of view? Are you are you able to kind of

07:20 uh separate it when you watch it?

07:23 >> Yeah, I think um mixed martial arts in

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

07:29 like hand-to-hand combat battle, you

07:32 know what I mean? Um

07:34 like if like talking about the

07:35 anthropology side of things, like yeah,

07:37 like human beings have a long history of

07:39 hand-to-hand combat. Um with brutal

07:42 stakes on the line, you know? Um

07:44 And yeah, that is like an aspect I I

07:47 think about when I'm watching UFC or

07:49 training jiu-jitsu. And obviously we

07:51 have society and morals and values that

07:53 come into play that prevent us from, you

07:56 know, being a barbaric uh society and I

07:59 think that's great [snorts] and that's

08:00 why I do think society and rules and

08:02 values are important.

08:04 Uh you know, we don't want to live in a

08:06 society where those aren't real.

08:08 But

08:09 um

08:10 yeah man, I've been a fan of the UFC for

08:12 a very long time. You know, I was

08:14 watching like The Ultimate Fighter in

08:15 high school and then

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

08:19 train and

08:21 that has allowed me to really have like

08:23 a crazy respect for the sport. As you

08:25 know, like

08:26 dude, just going to a [ __ ] normal

08:27 jiu-jitsu class, you know, a few times

08:30 per week, you're like, "How this is

08:31 difficult." And then you learn that a

08:33 lot of these pro fighters, you know,

08:34 they train twice a day, six six to seven

08:37 days a week. It's like, "Bro, I don't

08:39 even know how to do it." So,

08:41 it allows you to have more respect

08:42 watching the sport.

08:43 >> Right. And I feel like you've you've

08:45 mentioned this with like NFL and maybe

08:47 other kind of organizations where it's

08:49 kind of like you're you're able to watch

08:51 it as a fan and not see it as kind of

08:53 like a distraction. That I think that's

08:55 kind of like what you you see like the

08:58 uh UFC kind of getting there cuz there

08:59 is like a a group of like degenerates

09:01 who watch UFC, right? There's like a

09:02 group of who just love to just to you

09:05 they don't even see the fighters as

09:06 fighters, they just see them as like

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

09:09 do you where do you kind of 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 a

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

09:20 much respect for these fighters that

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

09:23 even make like picks, you know, because

09:25 like I just like I

09:27 I don't know. You know what I mean? Like

09:28 I

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

09:30 MMA content where people just like talk

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

09:34 It's like, "Fuck, like I just I can

09:35 never do that." What I'm trying to do

09:37 lately is tell some of the stories of

09:39 these guys, which I think the UFC does a

09:41 bad job at. You know, so even when like

09:44 we went down and uh trained with Michael

09:45 Morales for a day and hung out with him

09:47 a bit, I feel like it was kind of cool

09:49 to show a little bit

09:52 more of like who he is

09:54 and you know, the gym that he trains at.

09:57 And 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,

10:04 "Dude, how sick would it be if if we go

10:05 down to Texas and spend a day with

10:07 Joshua Van?"

10:09 You know, like let's I really want to

10:10 like

10:11 I feel like one of my superpowers with

10:13 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 [ __ ] though.

10:21 >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

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

10:23 hit in the head.

10:24 But like um

10:26 you know, like TJ for example or Michael

10:28 Morales or whatever or

10:29 you know, we went and visited Shawn and

10:30 Tim Welch.

10:32 They know like, hey, sure we can grapple

10:33 a little bit. I'm not going to grappling

10:35 like, you know, and they just feel like

10:36 just from where right when I move in

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

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

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

10:42 I mean? And you're able to like move

10:44 around with them, have some fun, and

10:45 then

10:47 I think just kind of 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,

10:56 um just made a bunch of money and are

10:58 going to continue to get these big deals

11:00 and make a bunch of money outside the

11:01 UFC, but I feel like there's many

11:02 fighters who are really cool

11:05 who need to share their story more

11:08 and do more content cuz that's really

11:09 the only way out of the hole of the UFC,

11:13 which is

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

11:16 and you're fighting for 40 and 40, 50

11:19 and 50.

11:20 >> It's crazy.

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

11:26 right now.

11:27 >> Right. And I just filmed I just filmed a

11:29 video with Ethan Ewing uh like 3 weeks

11:31 ago and then I was with Jose Delgado

11:33 wearing his merch right now. I was out

11:34 there

11:34 >> So sick. Yeah.

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, you know, training a

11:41 few days before the main event. And just

11:44 being around these guys, man, they're

11:45 one of the they're like the coolest

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

11:48 you can look across someone and be like,

11:49 damn, this dude could like kill me if he

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

11:51 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 opportunities. And

12:06 um what was like a what was something

12:07 that that really hit you like, wow, like

12:09 I'm actually doing this and you know,

12:11 what what what was a moment where it

12:13 surprised you and be like, wow, like

12:14 we're actually doing something big.

12:15 You're actually changing the world.

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

12:19 I started to get recognized like a lot.

12:20 Like I would just be in Target with my

12:21 girl and people would run up and ask for

12:23 photos and stuff and you know, that back

12:26 then I thought, oh, it's kind of like a

12:27 one-off thing, you know, like I'm in I

12:29 was in the Bay Area at that time. Like

12:30 all right, people know me around here.

12:32 Um but that just started to grow and

12:34 grow to where, you know, now it's just

12:35 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

12:43 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

12:50 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

12:59 was like

13:01 dude, like I thought there was something

13:02 else going on when when we pulled up.

13:04 I'm like

13:05 there's no way all these people are here

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

13:09 just shows you the pull that social

13:10 media has. So

13:12 that's been really cool to see and you

13:13 know, I've done it all in the name of

13:14 health, you know, I've never taken a

13:15 gambling deal, never taken an alcohol

13:17 deal deal, never promoted Zyns, never

13:19 promoted drugs, you know, definitely

13:21 filmed with people that do that stuff,

13:22 but whatever, you know, that's the whole

13:23 internet. So

13:25 yeah, I'm I'm stoked on it, dude.

13:27 It's been fun. But yeah, it's been

13:28 crazy.

13:29 >> Yeah, and I have a I have so many

13:30 questions cuz like social media and like

13:32 screen time, um I personally have like

13:35 dealt with with phases where I'm like, I

13:37 can't get off my damn phone. And now

13:38 that I post more and more content, it

13:40 feels like sometimes when I post, I

13:41 check the likes and yeah, have you been

13:44 able to kind of like deal with those

13:46 types of things a little bit better now

13:47 that you've been doing it for a while

13:49 now?

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

13:51 don't uh get

13:53 an ideal amount of screen time. This is

13:55 probably the one thing that I do that's

13:56 not good for my health.

13:58 Like honestly, if you were to analyze

14:00 like my whole life, like

14:01 screen time, too much screen time, but

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

14:04 name of uh in the name of health, but

14:07 I don't know, man. I do certain things

14:08 like the way I schedule my days like

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

14:12 in the ocean from like 08:00 to 10:00

14:14 a.m.

14:14 And then I'm ripping a podcast.

14:16 And then, like after that, like I take

14:18 some time and just like kind of like

14:19 kicking it outside, do some stretching,

14:21 whatever it is.

14:23 You know, tomorrow I'm going to go to

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

14:26 you know, that's that's a good and like

14:28 the pre-jiu-jitsu and post-jiu-jitsu,

14:30 I'm like going to make sure to like not

14:31 really on my phone, not really checking

14:32 it, you know?

14:33 Um

14:35 so, you just got to like schedule little

14:36 things.

14:38 And that's really the way to do it cuz

14:39 like I don't know, man. Yeah, like I'm

14:41 going to be on my phone a good amount.

14:43 I'm going to have a good amount of

14:44 screen time, but

14:45 it sure beats uh, you know, swinging a

14:47 hammer on a construction site, that's

14:48 for sure.

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

14:51 there's AI and uh, a lot a lot more

14:53 technical technological advancements

14:55 going, I feel like it's going to be a

14:56 little bit harder um, to be able to stay

14:59 off of those things and just every time

15:01 I go on my phone, there's always

15:02 something. There's always something

15:03 going on. And I feel like there's always

15:04 something. Yeah. There's that I don't

15:06 know. I don't know if there's like a a

15:07 right like a way to solve this this type

15:10 of issue just because there's so much

15:12 going on. Do you have any advice for

15:14 anybody out

15:14 >> Yeah, you just you have to go into

15:15 nature. You have to spend time in

15:17 nature.

15:18 That's literally like the only thing

15:20 that is pulling like us in the other

15:23 direction of being on our phone, exposed

15:25 to blue light. You have to balance it

15:27 with time in nature, time in the sun.

15:29 Whatever it is. Um

15:31 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,

15:38 I'll do that, you know, like my wife and

15:40 I will be like we're going to go walk

15:41 sunset on the beach.

15:43 And like that seems like such a oh yeah,

15:45 of course, but like no, no, no, it's

15:47 like

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

15:50 like doing my [ __ ] taxes, you know?

15:52 Uh, so, you have to like schedule in

15:53 that stuff. It's crucial.

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

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

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

16:02 kind of gives like a more realistic uh,

16:04 a way of like making better options. 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 general general public

16:14 and of what they could consume. Like

16:16 especially if they're in a rush or on a

16:17 road trip 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 Erewhon,

16:33 Whole Foods, bougie life that like I I

16:36 can live and I do.

16:38 It's really important to be like, "Hey,

16:39 these are the best options in this

16:41 scenario." And I've become really good

16:43 at that and that's why people ask me all

16:44 these questions, like "Yo, out of these,

16:46 what is the healthiest option?" I don't

16:48 take it to the extreme that some of the

16:50 health people do of like, "Oh, like no

16:53 sugar whatsoever. You can't even have a

16:54 gram of it." Like this this type of

16:56 [ __ ]

16:57 I think the best thing you can do as a

16:59 human being is choose the healthiest

17:00 option that is reasonable for you.

17:03 So, of course I shoot, I eat grass-fed

17:05 beef, I do this. If you can't afford

17:07 grass-fed beef, I In college, bro, I was

17:08 just buying beef from Costco. You know,

17:11 so I try to show these different things

17:12 of like

17:14 like I'm really into health, I'm really

17:15 obsessed with it, but I don't

17:18 you know, you can't let perfection be

17:20 the enemy of good. And in the gas

17:23 stations, what I saw was, you know,

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

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

17:26 got your coconut water.

17:28 But man, there's a lot of people just

17:30 buying sludge in there. That's what the

17:31 thing, man. People aren't even thinking

17:33 about what they're consuming.

17:35 >> I would I would say like in my

17:36 >> giving it like a lot of thought and

17:38 that's what I'm trying to get people to

17:39 really think about it. Like like sit

17:41 down and think, like, "What do I put

17:44 from my hand to my mouth into my body on

17:47 a daily or weekly basis?" Cuz most

17:49 people aren't honest with themselves.

17:51 That's really the [ __ ] thing.

17:53 When I When I do one of those $100 soda

17:55 quit soda videos, most people will tell

17:57 me, "Oh, yeah, I rarely drink soda." And

17:59 then you when you really ask them and

18:01 they break it down,

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

18:05 >> Okay, diet, you know, the diet,

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

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

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

18:11 though. It's the thing where I I know

18:13 I'm like I probably shouldn't drink that

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

18:17 water, so I'm I'll drink off few of

18:19 them.

18:19 >> Yeah, you know, it's not um

18:21 the worst thing in the world, especially

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

18:25 soda, like full sugar soda.

18:27 Me personally, after interviewing some

18:29 of the top functional medicine doctors

18:30 in the world and just talking to

18:32 Dr. Cannell, a cancer researcher, I

18:35 won't 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 was like, ah, maybe stay

18:48 away from this?

18:50 >> Yeah, what they have told me is that

18:51 when they find diet soda drinkers and

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

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

18:58 people who don't drink those and have,

19:00 you know, lower sugar, lower sweetener

19:03 diets overall. Um

19:06 that's what they've told me and then

19:08 just for fun, I think people should look

19:09 up how aspartame was approved through

19:11 the FDA

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

19:15 Just go look that up. Am I saying that

19:17 it's really bad and evil? No. Like I

19:19 don't even doing the $100 soda videos,

19:21 if somebody's buying diet soda, I don't

19:22 even offer them the 100 bucks. Like

19:24 maybe they're [laughter and snorts]

19:25 you know, maybe they're trying to quit

19:26 real full sugar soda, corn syrup soda,

19:28 so

19:29 I don't think it's the biggest deal in

19:30 the world. I do worry about what

19:32 constant consumption of those does to

19:33 maybe our taste buds as well.

19:36 You know, um

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

19:39 but it's not like one of the top things

19:41 that I

19:42 I hate on.

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

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

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

19:47 long, you probably been hearing the same

19:48 type of questions, same type of answers.

19:50 Like what what's something that's

19:51 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-caffeine. I like

20:01 drinking my coffee.

20:02 I consume caffeine.

20:05 I'm not against caffeine.

20:06 But we have this kind of experiment

20:08 being run where

20:10 so many people are drinking probably

20:13 three or more energy drinks per day

20:16 and

20:17 all of them follow the same recipe,

20:20 which is carbonated water, sucralose,

20:22 and like usually around 200 mg of

20:25 caffeine.

20:26 Most have artificial flavorings and

20:27 artificial preservatives.

20:29 So, then you get into it's just strange

20:31 to me. It's like

20:32 what are we doing here? I understand

20:34 having caffeine in the morning. Coffee,

20:36 okay.

20:37 But most people, most young people are

20:39 having an energy drink at 03:00 or 04:00

20:42 or 05:00 p.m.

20:43 Why?

20:44 Well, they say, "Well, I'm tired." Why?

20:47 Why are you tired? What's going on here?

20:50 Maybe they're not getting enough sleep.

20:51 Maybe their mitochondrial health is

20:52 damaged. Like something's going on

20:55 where you have so many people that are

20:57 saying that they're so tired

20:59 that they need to consume 600 mg or more

21:01 of caffeine per day.

21:03 And many of those people are having that

21:04 last energy drink at 05:00 or 06:00, maybe

21:07 07:00 p.m.

21:08 So, like I see that a lot, bro. Do you

21:10 see people doing that? Cuz I see it a

21:13 lot.

21:13 >> I'm I'm guilty of it, man. You're

21:15 talking to someone who who is who is

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

21:19 don't even know Like I'll I'll just go

21:21 to the gas station. I'll put I'm I'm

21:23 paying more than like if I were to buy a

21:25 a pack online. So, my mom probably love

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

21:30 think Yeah, I feel like uh

21:32 it's not really necessary. It just feels

21:34 like one of those things where I'm like,

21:35 "Okay, I woke up, took a shower, I'm

21:37 ready to go, start my day, go get energy

21:39 drink." But I mean, I'm not I'm not

21:41 taking another one down at like 04:00

21:43 p.m. Like yeah, I'll have I'll have um

21:45 maybe some honey before jujitsu, but

21:47 that's pretty much pretty much it.

21:49 >> Yeah, I mean, if you cut them off at,

21:51 you know, 11:00 or 12:00, I don't I

21:53 don't think it's the worst thing in the

21:54 world.

21:55 I think man, I'm going to

21:58 I'm going to just hedge a bet that

22:01 if we were to take two people, right?

22:04 And one person consumes sucralose,

22:07 aspartame, mega doses of caffeine,

22:10 maybe Zyn, that's a pretty common thing,

22:13 and eats maybe a bit less real whole

22:16 foods, right? And then we have another

22:17 person who doesn't consume those things,

22:20 eats more real whole foods.

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

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

22:27 polymarket 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 don't

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

22:37 [ __ ] I know why. I I talked to

22:38 these young people. Like, this is the

22:40 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 way

22:45 that's what people are doing. I'm like,

22:46 I I I I posted a a reel recently where I

22:48 said,

22:49 most young people

22:51 are having two to three energy drinks a

22:54 day. I think that's what I said. And a

22:55 doctor stitched it. He goes, no, there's

22:58 a study that shows most young people uh

23:01 aren't even having one energy drink.

23:02 It's from like 2019, the study. And I

23:05 go,

23:06 dude,

23:07 go to a [ __ ] high school right now

23:08 and ask 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.

23:17 >> Yeah. I had a homie crack a energy drink

23:19 at like 09:00 before we went out.

23:21 >> Yeah, very common.

23:23 And then most Some are also on the Zyns.

23:24 So, like, we hit this like

23:26 I think people from scrolling and stuff,

23:29 like, their dopamine and serotonin and

23:30 everything is and it's just really

23:32 cooked. And you have these like

23:34 um neurotransmitters, like,

23:35 norepinephrine, 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

23:44 flat, but also feeling anxious.

23:46 I see that a lot in young people. And I

23:48 think just the combination of a lot of

23:51 scrolling and then using substances to

23:53 kind of skyrocket the dopamine and

23:54 norepinephrine and adrenaline, which

23:56 are, you know, Zyns and energy drinks

23:57 and

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

24:00 like what a lot of young people are

24:02 going through.

24:03 And it's not good.

24:04 >> And I've done interviews with a lot of

24:06 jiu-jitsu athletes.

24:08 And [clears throat] the ones that don't

24:09 drink caffeine are Joseph Chen and Jay

24:11 Rod. I'm like, damn, 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 the funny thing is with

24:18 these athletes, bro, is

24:19 professional athletes, hard cases don't

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

24:25 point towards a pro athlete and they'll

24:26 be like, DK Metcalf eats a lot of

24:28 candy." I'm like

24:30 "My brother [snorts] in Christ, you are

24:31 not DK Metcalf." You know? You are I

24:34 know I had somebody tell me that and I'm

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

24:38 obese, you know, 24-year-old. Like Like

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

24:43 Like

24:44 get in shape like DK Metcalf, 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

24:52 Well, my one of my coaches in the 10th

24:54 Planet San Mateo, Alan Sanchez, he now

24:55 runs

24:56 >> 10th Planet San Jose. Shout out Alan.

24:57 >> Yeah, really high-level jiu-jitsu guy.

24:59 Like um

25:00 I think he was just talking to me about

25:01 like his kind of sugar consumption. I'm

25:03 like, "Brother, you train three times a

25:05 day.

25:06 You teach three classes, you train three

25:07 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 it's

25:20 a different topic kind of.

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

25:24 your own jiu-jitsu journey. I know

25:26 you're

25:27 recovering from like an ACL injury.

25:29 I would like to know a little bit more

25:30 how you were introduced to to jiu-jitsu

25:32 your yourself and when how old you you

25:35 were when you first started.

25:37 >> Yeah, so when I was 20 years old, I

25:39 walked into a Helf Gracie school in

25:40 Mountain View. It's shut down now, but

25:43 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

25:49 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?

25:53 I got to go try this out." Walked in

25:55 there. Uh the instructor was dope, you

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

26:00 Gracie [ __ ] scam thing. You buy the

26:01 overpriced gi, you know. And Yeah. And

26:05 bro, my first day there

26:07 was Helf Gracie popped in. And he was

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

26:12 was like, "Holy [ __ ] dude." Cuz he's

26:14 like really he's like aggressive, bro.

26:15 Like, "You have to use your head. Like

26:17 drive your head into his jaw." You know,

26:19 like I'm like, "Damn, this shit's

26:20 intense." But I stuck with it. Um

26:23 It was cool, man. It was just old school

26:25 Gracie jiu-jitsu. Um in the Bay Area had

26:27 a lot of like really high-level

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

26:29 time.

26:30 So,

26:32 that was dope. Trained in the gear for

26:33 probably like a year or two and then

26:36 when I went to college, I fell out of it

26:38 for a little bit. Um

26:40 and then I got back into it and started

26:42 training at 10th Planet San Mateo under

26:44 Big Red and Alan Sanchez. And just kind

26:46 of popping in other places, popping in

26:48 Caio Terra and like

26:50 whatever, you know. Um and then when I

26:53 came down here, I started training at

26:54 Surf Fight which is ran by uh Majid and

26:57 Joel Tudor. 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

27:03 good at it, you know, but like

27:06 I have so much fun training. And as I

27:08 get older and you know, picked up some

27:09 injuries, it's definitely different

27:11 nowadays like how I train and [ __ ]

27:13 Um

27:15 but I mean, dude, I love going in there,

27:17 having some fun scraps.

27:19 And just yeah, it is kind of like, all

27:20 right, can I go in and train with my

27:22 homies and not get injured? That would

27:24 be, you know, that's kind of one of my

27:25 goals rather than, you know, I see these

27:27 young kids training and they're they're

27:29 that's not even on their mind. They're

27:30 just like, yo, I'm trying to win ADCC.

27:32 But uh so I'm definitely old man

27:33 Jiu-Jitsu at this point, but

27:35 shit's fun.

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

27:38 that injury, you recently competed. Like

27:39 what made you want to go compete? Cuz

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

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

27:44 business, like you don't have to risk

27:45 your body and stuff like that. What what

27:47 within you was like, oh, I want to go

27:49 compete? Cuz it's not an easy thing by

27:50 any means to go out there and

27:51 >> No, yeah, yeah, it can be stressful and

27:53 [ __ ] And now uh

27:54 with like whatever you want to call it,

27:55 like I'm well known. Like, you know, as

27:57 soon as you walk in there, [ __ ]

27:59 swarmed, everybody's filming. You're

28:00 like, oh, yeah, here we go. Um

28:03 bro, I just hate the [ __ ] um you

28:05 know, these actors that start training

28:07 or whatever and like

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

28:11 privates.

28:13 Like I think that's just the gayest

28:14 thing ever. It's on it's 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

28:21 open mats like, you know, I'll [ __ ]

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

28:25 ass whooped and like

28:26 you know, so yeah, doing a tournament.

28:28 Um

28:29 I was like, you know what? Like of

28:30 course. Like why would I not go compete?

28:32 Um it was super fun. I'll probably do

28:34 another one eventually, but

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

28:39 Honestly, like

28:41 I have gone to a point where when I

28:43 started to go to open mats,

28:46 there would be like

28:47 10 to 15 people that would start going

28:50 to the open mats I would go to.

28:52 >> To roll with you.

28:52 >> To like train with me. And luckily, my

28:55 content is around like, "Hey, I don't

28:57 know. I'm not going to jiu-jitsu. I just

28:58 do it." So, like I never had like, um,

29:01 you know, a bad time or whatever, but it

29:02 Dude, it did get to a point where like

29:05 it's like, "Bro, there's like 15 people

29:07 here and they all want to get in rounds

29:08 with me." And it's like, "God damn, like

29:10 that shit."

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 them. And

29:15 and it's Craig, you know, everybody

29:16 wants to kind of like rip his head off

29:18 when they go over there. So, did you

29:20 experience that type of thing? Because,

29:21 I mean, I've been posting on on YouTube

29:23 and I do still plan to compete and stuff

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

29:26 would like to stay safe, you know, I'm

29:28 I'm 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

29:36 that that much like

29:39 but it is something to worry about in

29:40 like the competitions and [ __ ] So, like

29:42 this one I did was a local one and

29:44 actually like knew kind of two of the

29:46 people, um, competing there. So, like

29:49 you know, it's all love. Um,

29:52 but it's definitely

29:53 it's uh something that I think about cuz

29:55 I'm like,

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

29:59 well known and stuff like, "Well, bro,

30:00 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

30:04 people there."

30:07 Yeah, it gets it gets to a point, but uh

30:09 you know, I uh it's not a difficult

30:12 thing for me to manage. And now that

30:14 I've been out with this injury, like

30:15 there's not like people lining up at

30:17 open mat.

30:17 >> Right. For sure.

30:19 >> Yeah.

30:20 >> Do you Do you have any like UFC hot

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

30:24 of see what see what you think about

30:26 some of these things like, um, O'Malley,

30:28 you know, getting a rematch with Petr

30:29 Yan. Like, what what would you What

30:31 would you think about that that match up

30:33 there?

30:33 >> I I think O'Malley definitely deserves

30:36 that rematch. I I

30:37 I think the reason DC actually was

30:39 saying oh Song Yadong this Song Yadong

30:41 that is I don't think a lot of people

30:43 know that Song Yadong trains a lot in

30:44 the Bay Area. He goes to Cael Terrel

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

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

30:50 started his DC fight team up there in

30:52 Gilroy. I'm sure Song Yadong has

30:55 cross-trained a bit with those dudes,

30:57 you know, so I think some of it could

30:59 just be like

31:01 DC trying to give him a bit of a push.

31:03 He probably has a a relationship with

31:05 Song Yadong. I don't think it's some

31:07 like insidious thing of DC

31:10 doesn't like Sean O'Malley.

31:12 >> Mhm.

31:13 >> You know, but business-wise for the UFC,

31:16 it does seem like wait

31:18 everybody is stoked for Petr Yan Sugar

31:21 Sean.

31:22 Everybody.

31:23 >> I

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

31:25 I'm going to

31:26 >> me. Tell me.

31:27 >> Okay, cuz cuz Sean he just beat Aiemann

31:29 Zahabi at the White House, okay? So,

31:31 we're going straight from Aiemann Zahabi

31:33 back to the championship. And I love

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

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

31:37 coolest guys I've ever met.

31:39 But I do think that having him go back

31:43 right to the title is a little

31:44 premature. Like him going against Merab,

31:47 >> [clears throat]

31:47 >> No Che, he lost. Uh then he did a a

31:50 rematch right away. He was injured. He

31:52 took a rematch like right for the

31:54 championship and got subbed.

31:55 >> [clears throat]

31:56 >> And then he comes back

31:58 and he beats he beats Song Yadong. He

32:00 beats

32:01 um Aiemann Zahabi. I just feel like

32:03 maybe

32:04 >> That's the big He beat Song He beat Song

32:05 Yadong.

32:06 >> But this the fight with Song Yadong

32:07 wasn't like oh he kicked his ass, you

32:09 know, it was like it felt a little

32:11 close. Maybe maybe I got to watch it

32:13 back.

32:13 >> Yeah.

32:14 >> [clears throat]

32:14 >> Maybe I got to watch it back.

32:15 >> it was definitely it was definitely

32:16 close, but it's like

32:17 he beat Song Yadong and then I think,

32:19 you know, you'll agree with this part. I

32:21 mean

32:22 everybody has to agree with this part

32:23 whether you like it or not. The UFC

32:26 the UFC is entertainment more than ever.

32:29 We're living in a different era of the

32:32 UFC. They're not even

32:34 If if you're if you're a grappler if

32:35 you're a grappling heavy fighter, they

32:38 will cut you, bro. They You have to You

32:40 have to rack up You have to rack up so

32:42 many more wins and be some dominant

32:45 person that's 19 and 0, 20 and 0, and

32:48 now you can get your shot. Like, bro,

32:49 you think Movsar is ever going to get a

32:51 title shot again? You know how much work

32:53 he's going to have to do to get back

32:55 there?

32:55 >> But at that point, why why wouldn't

32:58 Petyr Yan and Sean be a fun match-up?

33:00 Because they're both strikers.

33:01 >> would be an amazing fight, but I think

33:04 where Sean's leverage is with the UFC at

33:06 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 Sean 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.

33:21 Like,

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

33:24 want this fight." So, I agree with you

33:26 that like if everything was run off of

33:29 rankings and analytics,

33:32 there'd be more of an argument, but

33:33 that's not the sport.

33:35 It's like not. It's like It's like the

33:37 UFC the intelligent decision for them to

33:39 get more eyes on the sport, and you know

33:41 that what Dana White wants is Sean to KO

33:45 Yan and to be the champion so he can

33:47 make a lot more money

33:49 promoting the UFC.

33:50 >> That It it it it it just makes sense.

33:51 I'm just thinking of like, okay, Sean

33:53 lost twice to Merab, and Yan beat Merab

33:57 twice.

33:58 So, it's like what if Sean loses again?

34:01 What happens to Sean?

34:03 >> He fights Petyr Talbott.

34:05 >> [laughter]

34:07 >> I'm just It just You know, it's it's in

34:09 the 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.

34:14 >> No, I I I

34:15 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

34:22 say the the right thing, which like

34:24 should happen. The UFC should make this

34:26 match-up or this match-up. And then it

34:28 often times it's like, "Okay, now blend

34:31 that with purely entertainment and

34:33 numbers." And then like that's like the

34:36 UFC.

34:37 >> Like Josh Homoki would.

34:38 >> Yeah, yeah, 100%.

34:40 Yeah. So, it's like, you know, I don't

34:42 know. I'm stoked for the Petr Yan Sugar

34:44 Sean fight whenever it happens. I'll

34:46 definitely be there.

34:47 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,

34:53 you mentioning kind of like what, you

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

34:57 the fighters. Like, how have how have

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

35:01 as you've been going with along with the

35:03 sport?

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

35:06 towards entertainment, like we're

35:07 talking about. And

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

35:12 these amazing performances, like we just

35:15 saw with Petr Yan Merab, 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

35:35 people just wanted to watch striking,

35:37 Glory would have popped off,

35:39 um you know, like striking martial arts

35:41 would have popped off. That's actually

35:42 not what people want to see deep down.

35:45 They want to see two people go in there

35:47 as close as we can get to a real fight,

35:50 you know what I mean? And they want to

35:51 know who's the [ __ ] baddest person.

35:53 And grappling is a part of that, and

35:54 everybody knows that deep down.

35:56 It's a basic thing.

35:58 So, my argument when people watch a

36:00 fight like a Khamzat fight or something,

36:02 and they're like, "Dude, it was so

36:03 boring. It was this." I'm like,

36:05 it gets me upset a little bit because

36:07 I'm like,

36:09 "No, like

36:10 name five kickboxers." I'll tell them.

36:12 They they they can't.

36:14 Wait, so why don't you watch that? Go

36:15 watch [ __ ] Why don't you watch Glory?

36:18 Like, go name some One Championship

36:20 fighters that are just strikers. They

36:22 can't. I I can't. You know what I mean?

36:24 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

36:28 deep down they want to know.

36:31 They might argue about it. They might

36:32 [ __ ] about it, but you know deep down

36:34 when you're watching a sport if somebody

36:35 can just hold you down and just go like

36:37 this to you over and over again or choke

36:39 you out, you're done. You're [ __ ]

36:41 done. So, I get when people want the

36:43 finishes. they want to see submissions

36:44 and stuff like that, but

36:46 it's like an unfortunate reality of the

36:48 sport that those fights and fighters

36:50 that can hold people down for five

36:51 rounds and just

36:53 like this. I know it's frustrating for

36:54 the fans,

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

36:58 the beauty of the sport in a way. For

36:59 when somebody can stop that and knock

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

37:04 I think the UFC

37:05 prioritizes strikers way more and they

37:08 want to make exciting fights everyone

37:09 gets stoked on, they get their

37:10 highlights.

37:11 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 bring it up Chimaev

37:22 and I just think of Chimaev and and

37:24 Andrikus, you know, I was like

37:25 >> Yeah.

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

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

37:29 I don't think I'm going to like go back

37:31 on UFC Fight Pass and throw that fight

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

37:34 like they're just throwing hands. It's

37:36 it's non-stop action.

37:38 But you do have fights like that last

37:40 one with Yiannis Marab, where it's just

37:41 >> like

37:42 >> it's so super high-level and it's it's

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

37:47 I just

37:48 would love to know your take just

37:49 because I feel like

37:51 the

37:52 the thing that excites me the most about

37:53 the UFC is like all different types of

37:56 people watch it just because of like the

37:57 animalistic and that kind of goes back

37:59 to your upbringing and stuff like that,

38:00 like ancestors. Like do you feel like

38:02 we're separating ourselves from those

38:05 those

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

38:12 those things?

38:13 >> No, I I mean, I think the UFC is good

38:15 for society. I think more people need to

38:17 know that. When I started doing, you

38:19 know, my low-level jiu-jitsu, I actually

38:21 became less of an [ __ ]

38:24 When I was like 19, 18, 19, I might go

38:27 be a 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,

38:32 there'd be a correlation with people

38:34 that actually train in the popularity of

38:36 it and how many people actually train. I

38:37 think that's definitely a graph that

38:38 would match up.

38:40 If you train, you know this, you train.

38:42 It makes me be like, I don't know who I

38:44 can beat up and who I can't.

38:46 I don't know. Unless I really know that

38:48 I know they don't train at all and

38:49 they're a complete chud, yeah, sure.

38:50 I'll I'll take my chances. But, the two

38:52 in 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 would

38:59 I'd take this guy.

39:00 This dude's nerdy, 140 lbs, glasses,

39:04 maybe even a little out of shape. Take

39:06 that guy. No, I won't. I I now know

39:08 through training that I won't. So, I

39:11 think the UFC

39:12 actually is good for society because

39:14 real martial arts

39:17 teach you

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

39:21 to be humble. You get humbled in an MMA

39:24 gym.

39:25 You know, like sometimes

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

39:26 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.

39:31 >> Yeah, 100%. So, I think that's a good

39:34 lesson for people and I think some of

39:35 the

39:37 you know, loudest problems of

39:40 human beings out there don't train at

39:42 all.

39:43 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

39:49 extremely high-level

39:51 dudes, but like, bro, if you don't

39:53 train, they're like, you know,

39:54 185-pounders who like, you know,

39:57 they train, okay?

39:59 This guy at the gym,

40:02 this bodybuilder-looking guy, but like

40:04 not big, just like bodybuilder guy,

40:06 he started chirping at us

40:08 for no reason.

40:10 Telling us to use heavier weights and we

40:11 thought he was joking. We're like, huh?

40:14 And then he like [snorts] says it again

40:15 in like an angry voice.

40:17 Like, no, I come here to work like

40:19 you're and we're like, I I went right up

40:20 to him, put my hand on his shoulder, I

40:21 shook his hand, I go, "Brother, you Are

40:23 you joking? You're joking, right?" Like,

40:24 I'm giving him an out. He's like, "No,

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

40:29 working." He was like, maybe having a

40:31 manic episode. I don't know what.

40:33 And my buddies didn't like that and they

40:36 surrounded the dude and went like, "Yo,

40:37 we'll we'll [ __ ] break your jaw." And

40:40 the guy goes, "What? Oh, that's a

40:41 threat. I'm calling the cops."

40:44 So, he's like,

40:45 And And then it's like, oh my gosh.

40:46 We're just like laughing. We're like,

40:47 dude, these scum of the earth people."

40:49 Like,

40:49 the point is

40:51 I would never talk like like he did to

40:53 another person because I'm worried

40:56 because of my brief experience in

40:58 martial arts, my little dabble in it,

41:00 that I'd get my ass whipped. I know what

41:01 it feels like to be on bottom mount, get

41:03 choked out, get head and arm choked like

41:05 by [ __ ] TJ Dillashaw whooping your

41:07 ass, bro.

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

41:11 because of that.

41:13 And um yeah, man, I feel like it's an

41:14 important thing for society. So, clearly

41:16 that guy and I know now we we found out

41:18 who this guy is, more about him. He's a

41:20 psycho, but he doesn't train.

41:22 He just works out. Yeah. He just moves

41:24 around weights. If that dude stepped in

41:25 a jiu-jitsu gym,

41:26 I'll pay for him to do it if he wants.

41:29 He would learn and he wouldn't he

41:30 probably wouldn't be just chirping

41:31 people at the gym.

41:33 >> Okay.

41:34 I have a few questions about content

41:35 creation because it feels like even that

41:37 instance is like something maybe you

41:39 weren't planning where like to happen,

41:41 but now you're so well-known.

41:43 Um do you have any advice for uh

41:45 upcoming content creators when it comes

41:46 to getting your name out there and just

41:48 like

41:50 uh dealing with those types of things.

41:51 Like, have you have you learned from

41:53 certain cases like that and how to

41:55 handle yourself when you're out in

41:57 public and stuff like that?

41:58 >> Yeah, I mean, nowadays like that's

42:00 well-known, you know, whatever. I have a

42:02 business, have this. I need to be like

42:03 more careful, you know what I mean? I

42:05 was a bit more wild when I was younger.

42:07 Um

42:09 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

42:21 you got to go hard, man. I I you need to

42:23 treat this [ __ ] like a job. Like, all

42:24 all you know, and that's why I try to

42:25 tell like these young kids like that

42:27 make content and stuff. Like, dude, like

42:29 you have it good. You have a you have a

42:30 platform. You're able to talk, you know,

42:32 to a camera. You need to treat it like a

42:35 It needs to be worked on. Like, 09:00 to

42:36 05:00 like what are we doing? Like, you

42:39 know? Like, people work brutal jobs. I

42:41 mean, I've worked some of those brutal

42:43 jobs when I was younger. I'm glad that I

42:44 did cuz I do meet some of these content

42:46 creators that are, you know, 19, 20, 21

42:48 years old. They've never worked a real

42:49 job.

42:50 And they just lack that work ethic. They

42:52 don't realize how good they have it. I'm

42:54 like, "Bro, you can make

42:56 $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 a

42:58 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.

43:05 It's 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 is like I'm I'm putting out

43:13 content, podcast interviews, but it's

43:15 just like monet- monet-

43:17 uh

43:18 Yeah, monetize the Yeah, monetization

43:20 the on on the content is something that

43:23 I feel like I'm lacking on. Maybe like I

43:24 don't really have like a product or

43:26 anything like that, but what what advice

43:28 would you have for someone who's just,

43:30 you know, getting the content out

43:31 >> 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

43:38 that one of these organizations is going

43:40 to give me a deal. You know, like Look

43:43 at what like Nina Drama did. Dude, like

43:45 she made it undeniable where everybody

43:48 knows her face in MMA.

43:50 And I don't know her deal with the UFC,

43:52 but I'm sure it's lucrative.

43:55 I would figure out something where it's

43:57 like, you know, like the UFC embedded's

43:58 are so good. Like everybody loves

44:00 watching the embedded's, you know? It's

44:02 like watching that style of content and

44:04 then using that as a way to like create

44:06 your own version of that to where it

44:09 becomes a thing that like

44:11 that like UFC fighters would be down to

44:14 do, you know, and jiu-jitsu athletes

44:16 stuff. Like an immersing yourself like

44:17 in that world. Like And then like

44:19 viewing the pain points of this a

44:21 billion-dollar organization seeing how

44:23 you could 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'Hearn to compete on UFC BJJ.

44:39 Why? Kyle will tell you he's not the

44:40 best jiu-jitsu athlete in the world, but

44:42 like why does the UFC BJJ want him on?

44:44 Cuz he has a huge

44:45 platform and he is good for spreading

44:46 the message of jiu-jitsu.

44:48 So, like figuring out like that type of

44:50 stuff. Like, "Okay,

44:52 on the UFC BJJ, you have Martin, this

44:55 dude who's Michael Morales' like

44:57 right-hand man, competing.

44:59 Figuring that out 3 weeks ago and going

45:02 and doing some content with him in

45:04 Tijuana,

45:05 that's that's where like the the the

45:07 goldmine is for like an MMA creator, in

45:09 my opinion. Cuz you work your way up

45:11 through that. Um

45:13 figuring there's so many fi- dude, like

45:15 these fight really high-level fighters

45:17 all train at gyms where they have their

45:19 boys who are in lower organizations and

45:22 these dudes all want to put on for each

45:23 other. You know, like when we went

45:25 studio, like Khalil's training there,

45:26 but like

45:27 Khalil's boys, like his dudes who he

45:30 literally trains with, like hard,

45:32 they're fighting in these you know, oh,

45:33 this dude's fighting in LFA, this dude's

45:35 fighting, you know, this.

45:37 Go

45:38 film with those dudes. Go tell their

45:40 stories. Go train with them. Go go

45:42 figure that out. And

45:43 guess

45:44 Khalil will sit down with you, give you

45:45 an interview. May it might be in, you

45:46 know, weeks after whatever.

45:48 Working way up that type of chain

45:50 through like genuine passion of the

45:52 sport, that's what I would be doing a

45:53 lot of if it was like UFC content. Um

45:57 yeah, that's money.

45:58 >> 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 Ewing and

46:07 his and his training in a garage. You

46:09 know, getting to see him working in

46:11 person and just kind of knowing a little

46:13 bit more about the history kind of

46:14 definitely changed my my mindset on

46:16 these guys cuz a lot of these guys are

46:17 in

46:18 >> live in?

46:19 >> Uh I live in Bakersfield, California.

46:21 >> Okay, nice.

46:22 >> Yeah, dude. So,

46:23 bro, you should go go and spend a week

46:25 at Entram, go train in Tijuana, you

46:28 know, like go train at at Santo, even if

46:30 it's just at [clears throat] like public

46:32 classes for a bit and see if you could

46:33 work your way into one of the, you know,

46:35 pro classes, like that type of [ __ ]

46:39 Yeah, that's that's fire.

46:40 >> That's definitely something that I'm

46:41 interested in and I just want to thank

46:43 you for, you know, taking the time to

46:44 talk about all different types of

46:45 topics. I feel like you're definitely

46:47 >> have in Morales-Prochazka is one of my

46:49 last questions.

46:49 >> Prochazka. I think I have Prochazka

46:51 here. I feel like of course with

46:52 Morales' judo background, if he

46:54 grapples, I think he would put a few

46:55 problems in in Protasis way, but

46:58 >> It's fair to say, bro, nobody knows like

47:00 Morales' grappling. Like you know like

47:01 like I I understand that when people

47:03 like Protasis going to win, he's going

47:04 to dice him up. It's like

47:06 I get what people are saying, bro,

47:07 because

47:08 people are like, "No, but Morales'

47:09 grappling." And people are like,

47:10 "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 Protasis as the

47:17 favorite, even like a pretty decent

47:18 favorite in this fight, just given the

47:20 strength the strength of schedule is way

47:22 better than Michael Morales. Um

47:25 the thing I disagree with is people are

47:28 pulling these videos from earlier fights

47:30 in Morales' career, right? Where

47:33 he's swinging, bro. He has his head chin

47:34 up and he's swinging like this, and

47:36 obviously he's winning.

47:37 And people are like, "He's going to do

47:38 this versus Protasis, and he's going to

47:40 get chinned."

47:42 I don't think Morales' team is that

47:44 dumb, because when you really look at,

47:46 okay, he's fighting someone specialized

47:47 in Sean Brady, right?

47:49 Been in there with a very good strategy

47:52 in hindsight. Everyone's like, "Oh my

47:53 god, Morales is back. Like this is so

47:55 weird. We haven't seen a fight like

47:56 this, and he sparked Sean Brady, okay?"

47:59 Now people now will go, "Oh, Sean Brady

48:01 is all not good, this, that." It's like,

48:03 "Brother,

48:04 Sean Brady's [ __ ] good.

48:06 Okay?"

48:06 >> People switch up so fast on you.

48:08 >> They switch up so fast in this sport.

48:09 "Oh, Sean Brady's not good." It's fair

48:11 to say Sean Brady is no Carlos Protasis,

48:13 of course.

48:15 But like, dude,

48:16 I wouldn't be astonished if Sean Brady

48:18 fought Carlos Protasis, was able to take

48:20 him down, and it would like could be a

48:22 scrap.

48:23 Okay?

48:24 Yeah. So, I I think Okay, go ahead.

48:26 >> Yeah, so my my point is

48:28 I think it's fair to put Morales as a

48:30 underdog in this fight,

48:32 but I do not think his team over there

48:34 at Entram, which produce a lot of

48:36 champions, is going to go, "Yeah, man,

48:37 go in there and just [ __ ] swing your

48:39 ass off."

48:40 Let's see what that like I don't think

48:41 they're that dumb, so I'm so stoked for

48:44 this fight. I think I'm going to go out

48:45 there, bro, cuz it's in Oh, yeah.

48:46 Toronto.

48:48 I'm I'm always with all the the whole No

48:49 Crew there, and they like run Toronto.

48:51 Like runs Toronto.

48:52 Dude, if I show up there, I think I'll

48:54 be able to get back stage. You can

48:55 leverage that, bro. Let's go.

48:57 >> Hell yeah. I think it's a great match

48:58 up. I'm really glad they they made it.

49:00 Now, my question to you is like who

49:02 would be a tougher match-up for Islam?

49:04 >> Mhm.

49:06 This is the thing because

49:09 I'm hoping that we see Morales'

49:12 grappling in this fight.

49:13 >> Me, too. I would like to see it.

49:15 >> The wrestling shoes in these photos and

49:17 [ __ ] training at Entram. I hope he goes

49:18 in there and blast double shoots a blast

49:21 double on Prochazka.

49:22 If we saw that if Okay, let me ask you.

49:27 If this fight Okay.

49:29 Let's say this fight goes one of two

49:30 ways, [snorts]

49:31 okay?

49:32 Morales one way. Morales goes in there,

49:34 he takes down Prochazka, he's landing

49:36 some ground and pound. Maybe Prochazka

49:37 gets up, he gets taken back down.

49:40 And maybe Morales TKOs him or submits

49:42 him. Holy [ __ ] it's a second round

49:45 It's crazy, right? Oh my god, okay.

49:47 There's that result. The other result

49:50 they stand up, Prochazka's boxing,

49:52 [ __ ] cheap kicking, and ends up

49:55 chinning Michael Morales. Out of those

49:57 two results,

49:59 which is harder for Islam?

50:02 I don't know.

50:03 What do you think? The Morales grapple

50:04 submission win or the Prochazka

50:07 TKO or KO win?

50:10 Which one is Islam sweating more?

50:12 >> I think the TKO win. I mean, Prochazka 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 Prochazka's he's

50:22 tall, too. He's range.

50:24 >> Prochazka held at all. Dude, he's so

50:26 good. He's so good, bro. It's like I

50:29 feel full violence guys do with uh with

50:31 Prochazka lately and I'm like

50:33 Prochazka has aura, bro. I know he he

50:35 smokes cigarettes and stuff. That's

50:37 actually another problem, bro. There's

50:38 like dudes who like go to one jiu-jitsu

50:39 class a week, bro, and they smoke

50:41 cigarettes and get hammered after.

50:42 They're like, "Oh, I'm Carlos

50:44 Prochazka." It's like, "No, you're not,

50:45 man. You're not Prochazka, you know. Put

50:47 down the

50:47 >> Does 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 Prochazka

50:52 are like the polar opposites. One is

50:54 just like smoking and drinking, the

50:55 other one's just disciplined and and

50:57 just working out like

50:59 >> Yeah, I think people would be

51:01 not even surprised. I think if people

51:03 watch like a week in the life of Carlos

51:04 Condit, they'd be like, "Holy [ __ ] this

51:05 guy trains a lot and is extremely

51:07 disciplined." Like, sure, cigarettes,

51:09 partying.

51:10 But, it's like, bro, do his training

51:11 regimen, and you know, if you want to

51:13 smoke a cigarette or two, go for it.

51:15 But,

51:15 >> And he's from Santa Cruz, okay?

51:17 >> [laughter]

51:19 >> Dude, these people aren't training like

51:20 Carlos Condit, bro.

51:22 >> No.

51:22 >> No, come on. Um

51:25 But, yeah, I mean, overall, I do try to

51:27 champion the fighters that push the

51:29 message of health, doing cooking with

51:31 Volk. You know, T.J. Dillashaw has his

51:33 own health company now. He's crushing

51:35 it. Of course, uh, you know, Georges

51:37 St-Pierre, huge into health. I I do try

51:40 to push that more, but

51:41 I'm still a Condit fan. Going for Merab,

51:43 obviously, in this fight, but like, I'm

51:45 not a Condit hater.

51:47 >> That is definitely tough. And I I do

51:48 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

51:53 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,

52:00 um, this last card we did really well. I

52:02 think we only got two picks wrong, but,

52:04 um, I had Merab 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, um

52:10 >> I did well on my picks last time. I went

52:12 four to five.

52:13 I picked Timur Valiev.

52:16 Um, but I picked every other fight

52:17 right.

52:19 I had a little worry about Petr Yan's

52:21 back surgery.

52:22 >> Me, too. Yeah, that's why I picked

52:23 Merab.

52:24 >> you know, but I'm like,

52:26 okay, in the first like two rounds, I'm

52:27 like, "He's moving well." And so,

52:30 Yeah, but picks are hard, man. I mean,

52:31 that's dope that you're in that that top

52:33 echelon of of picks. I'm like,

52:35 >> know. I don't know. Maybe there's not a

52:36 lot 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

52:42 before I did a little meditation before

52:44 I did the the podcast, and I was

52:45 thinking like, I want Santa Cruz to like

52:47 challenge me to do something. I just

52:49 don't know what. I don't know I don't

52:51 know what kind of like parameters to put

52:55 it, but I I I feel like maybe like a

52:57 lock-in, or like maybe a social media

52:59 type of thing. I just don't know. But, I

53:00 I was like, man, that'd be a pretty cool

53:02 idea if, you know, Santa Cruz kind of uh

53:04 sends me on like a mission to kind of

53:06 lock in on something which

53:07 >> I love that, dude. I mean, I can think

53:09 like how hard you want to take it cuz I

53:10 can think [laughter] of like a billion

53:11 things, bro.

53:13 >> Honestly, something that would, you

53:15 know, would improve my health but also

53:17 kind of on the content creation side

53:19 just making better content. So, maybe

53:21 around there. Maybe it doesn't have to

53:22 be right now where you can kind of give

53:24 me the idea but

53:24 >> Okay. Okay. Let's give you Let's give

53:26 you one thing right off the bat. You get

53:28 me your address after this. I'll get you

53:29 electrolytes. Let's replace at least

53:32 some of the energy drinks with

53:34 electrolytes and you can make that a

53:36 little content thing like, you know,

53:38 instead of you know, now you're walking

53:39 in the gas station getting water, you

53:41 know, or maybe getting a glass water

53:43 even and you're having electrolytes

53:44 instead of the energy drink and you're

53:46 documenting how you feel, okay? There's

53:48 that.

53:49 The

53:49 thing I think would be dope for you to

53:51 do is to go train at Entram in Tijuana.

53:55 I think that would be sick, bro.

53:57 >> Yeah.

53:57 >> Like they have like Yeah, they have like

53:59 jiu-jitsu there. Like

54:01 it's kind of you got to go, you know, to

54:04 the border, park there, bring your

54:06 passport. You're going into Tijuana. But

54:08 it could be cool to document for your

54:10 channel.

54:11 >> Um

54:12 >> For sure.

54:12 >> You know, No, I'm not you know, whatever

54:15 happens in Tijuana happens, bro. Like I

54:17 went with like

54:18 Alan Sabino, like a jacked UFC dude or

54:22 a funny UFC dude today, I think. Jack

54:24 the jiu-jitsu dude. Yeah, go train

54:26 there.

54:26 >> I'm definitely down. I might have to

54:27 like edit out the pic that I just you

54:29 asked me but honestly, if I could go

54:31 over there

54:33 >> [laughter]

54:33 >> But

54:34 >> Yeah.

54:35 >> But I definitely think that

54:37 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 you know,

54:43 how I feel

54:44 >> hella, bro. Like the the Full Violence

54:45 guys, they came over watch some fights.

54:47 They're super cool. Like I feel like

54:48 Yeah, organizations like that are going

54:50 to become these staples in MMA media.

54:53 People that understand content creation,

54:55 have a passion for MMA. Um

54:58 you know, all that, bro. Like that's

55:00 that's really important. So, I think

55:02 that that's uh just kind of the method.

55:04 Um

55:05 like

55:06 there's a book, I think it's called

55:07 1,000 Fans. Let me see if that's what it

55:10 is actually Yeah, 1,000 True Fans by

55:13 Kevin Kelly.

55:14 >> Okay.

55:14 >> Um

55:16 This idea that you can make a living

55:19 doing something that a thousand people

55:22 would like really [ __ ] with.

55:24 Okay?

55:25 >> Okay.

55:26 >> Now, MMA content creation is past there.

55:29 Like it's already

55:30 So, you just really need to figure out

55:31 how to become like one of the top 10

55:33 people in this space. You can do it.

55:35 So, you just got 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, um yeah, definitely down

55:46 to put in the work. I just want to thank

55:48 you yet again for, you know, taking the

55:50 time to, you know, cuz my goal is

55:52 eventually to kind of like, you know,

55:54 create uh like a network and uh

55:57 community and then doing the same thing

56:00 cuz there's other people so many

56:01 athletes who have who've handed me like

56:03 a opportunity to be able to, you know,

56:05 do my thing and I feel like I definitely

56:08 want to pay it forward for, you know,

56:09 the next coming uh generation as well.

56:11 So, um means a lot, man. Means a lot.

56:13 So, yeah.

56:14 >> thank 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. I appreciate it.

56:23 >> Let's talk again soon.

56:24 >> Yes, sir. Thank you, Santa Cruz.