Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Delusional self-belief will REALLY push you past your limits. So never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. In this episode, Joey and Drew are joined by Phil 'Jiu-Jitsu Matrix' Migliarese, an American 6th-degree Relson Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and owner of Balance Studios and Tatsu Tea. Phil shares his journey from starting jiu-jitsu in 1988 to training with Steve Maxwell and the Gracies, and how a devastating car accident at 17 years old reshaped his path. He talks about his philosophy in jiu-jitsu, the importance of yoga in his recovery, and his business ventures. Find out how Phil's philosophy, training, and mindset can elevate your approach to life and martial arts.
The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and Made in the USA apparel brand. Family-owned and operated and headquartered in Philadelphia. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.
Represent Few Will Hunt and be one of The Few.
Few Will Hunt Apparel | https://fewwillhunt.com/
Get 10% Off Your Entire Order
Use Code: FWHSHOW
Trulean Supplements | https://www.trulean.com/
Get 50% Off Trulean Subscribe & Save Bundle
Use Code: FWH50
JOIN THE FEW:
Website | https://www.fewwillhunt.com/
Instagram | @fewwillhunt
The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and Made in the USA apparel brand. Family-owned and operated and headquartered in Philadelphia. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.
Represent Few Will Hunt and be one of The Few.
Few Will Hunt Apparel | https://fewwillhunt.com/
Get 10% Off Your Entire Order
Use Code: FWHSHOW
Trulean Supplements | https://www.trulean.com/
Get 50% Off Trulean Subscribe & Save Bundle
Use Code: FWH50
JOIN THE FEW:
Website | https://www.fewwillhunt.com/
Instagram | @fewwillhunt
Creators & Guests
Host
Drew Beech
Drew Beech is an entrepreneur and cofounder of Few Will Hunt. He spent several years in the sales and marketing industry, grossing over several million dollars in sales. But his love for the entrepreneurial journey and desire to escape the rate race started with his personal training business in college. Today, Drew leads the Few Will Hunt community alongside his cousin and cofounder, Joey in their mission to restore the dignity of hard work through the highest-quality American-made apparel.
What is The Few Will Hunt Show?
The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and 100% Made in the USA apparel brand. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.
Living legend, I would say, brought jiu jitsu to the city of Philadelphia. Phil Miguel Ruiz. Thank you.
Phil Migliarese:Leave your ego out the door, enter with the beginner's mind.
Joey Bowen:Being a student of of life, beginning every day as a beginner, super important, fundamentally what we believe here if you want to.
Drew Beech:And that's what I was said too. An eagle knows an eagle and an eagle one.
Phil Migliarese:I have this More or less, I'll train with everyone once a week, not twice a week. So we're not gonna get 2 rounds. You'll start figuring it out. When you compete now, you definitely have to come up with something new or something to throw someone off. Because if they're any good, they already watched you.
Phil Migliarese:Something new or something to throw someone off because if they're any good, they already watched you do it to somebody else. Yeah. They know what's coming. So practice makes progress. That's what my daughter says.
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Not perfect, but progress. Progress. Perform with purpose. There you go. So that's the whole point.
Phil Migliarese:If you do need a little push to perform and you have that final you know, you have the big reason why you're doing the thing. Yep. You remember that every day. So your purpose, purpose, purpose. If you're a black belt, you know, you should be the most humble in in the gym.
Phil Migliarese:You know, like keeping your eyes open, not taking things for granted. That's the hard part. When you know all this stuff, you know, you have to analyze what you Fuel Hunt Show.
Joey Bowen:What's going on, Eagles? Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show. I'm Joey. I'm joined as I always am by my cousin and cofounder, Drew. Today, we have a very special guest I'm gonna embarrass you, man.
Joey Bowen:Oh, great. Living living legend, I would say, brought jujitsu to the city of Philadelphia, whether you wanna agree with that or not. Drew, right, you're great. I agree. You're great.
Joey Bowen:Phil McGillaris. Thank you. So
Phil Migliarese:I'll push back on all that stuff. Yeah. I agree.
Joey Bowen:I this is the first time we're meeting in person, so we've tried some DMs, some text, and things like that. I'm pumped to hear your story live. And in person, I think that you have a remarkable life story. We'll get into the accident that you had, how you overcame that, how you got back to training jujitsu. I believe you're one of the first Americans to receive a black belt from the Gracie.
Phil Migliarese:Gracie's. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Yep. From the Gracie's. So we'll get into, like, we'll get into all getting into all of it. And then also what you're doing, you know, today with, balance and tatsu, which you so graciously brought for us.
Joey Bowen:Today, it's absolutely delicious. Alright. So let's let's go back to the beginning. You started training jujitsu very early. Right?
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. How old started in 1988, so I was k. Little kid.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. I'm venturing to say that in this in America, in the States, jujitsu wasn't all that popular at that time. No. At that time,
Phil Migliarese:I don't think it was East Coast wise. It was it wasn't anywhere else but Philadelphia, honestly. I I don't I don't know of anyone that was training earlier than that. Mhmm.
Joey Bowen:What got you what got you started? You you started training with Max's
Phil Migliarese:Steve Maxwell. Yeah. So this is how it went. So I've known Steve since pretty much I was born. Right?
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:And, he was a wrestler and, military guy. And, so me, I grew up in combative family. Boxing was all around me, and, I always you know, from my earliest memories, I remember, like, bobbing and weaving and moving and then just enjoying fighting, but always feeling like there was a better, easier way than putting gloves on and going. I'm like, man. I'm like, if someone's bigger and stronger and faster, you're gonna get locked up.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So, I always had, like, the Black Belt Magazine and things like that. So my cousin and I, who were both equally as interested in combat sports saw the Gracie in action video. It was a big giant thing in a magazine, cut the page out. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Send it in. Send it in. Yeah. You get this big VHS tape, which I always, you know, have to describe people what it is.
Phil Migliarese:It was a big giant thing that you put in a big box and that played video. Right?
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. And got the tape, and we were just, woah. Like, saw a box. This is it'll oh, yeah.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Like, this is that this is the
Phil Migliarese:braces versus the world of martial arts pretty much on a tape in 1988. You know?
Drew Beech:That's wild. Yeah. So it's been trying to get to long as I've been alive. So
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. That's crazy. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So we got tape. I had some mats, you know, and just played around on the mats, just recreating what we saw in the video. Sure. You know, like a jab comes.
Phil Migliarese:We go slow motion grip. We would look at the handwork and Mhmm. You know, trying to break it down thinking that we had some secret hit up. And, and then after that, I forget when it was a couple years later, my mom used to babysit my mom and my brother used to babysit Zach Maxwell, who is world champion Zach Maxwell. And Steve came over, his dad, and said, yo.
Phil Migliarese:We We got a bunch of guys together. We're doing this thing called jujitsu. And I was like, what? He's like, I was like, yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:He's like the I was like, the Gracie's? He's like, yeah. I was like, woah. Okay. So for years, about 11 people trained.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Just fold out mats, different color mats. You know? He just made the best in his fitness gym. And then, you know, as the years progressed, he learned more.
Phil Migliarese:I learned more. But I was a child. You know? Yeah. Like, you see, like, people got their black belts, but I wasn't even old enough to get the black belt.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. You see the first dirty dozen and all that sort of stuff. We all have pretty similar origin stories by year at least, but I was a, you know, as a little kid. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Then we just worked out and then, you know, talking about bringing it back to Philly, but that was kinda my mission because no one knew it. So go to California, Brazil, Hawaii, India. He's in India wrestling.
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:And doing yoga. And, and even Thailand too. So with Muay Thai, but, you know, my major, like, my major was jujitsu. My minor was Muay Thai striking. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. So that's kinda the beginning.
Joey Bowen:So when when did you you're training for a couple years in exercise. When did you actually meet the Gracie?
Phil Migliarese:Oh, almost immediately. Oh, yeah. He did. Yeah. So he had the club, and I think that he sort of, advertised the club Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Because of the Gracie connection. So he went to a seminar. I forget what it was or or or, but the Gracie's came out to Philly. Yeah. First time Elio Gracie was here, Hoist.
Phil Migliarese:That's amazing. Horeen. And then the next trip, I met Helson, who is my Yep. Direct instructor. And so, he and Elio Gracie, that's that that was the reason why I was pushed.
Phil Migliarese:You know? That that that two energies and even and Hoist as well too who were close with. He comes every year. Mhmm. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:So it's kinda like we were like, literally, all the Gracies are in the same spot. Yeah. All of them were in the same place. Even the Machado brothers who I'm close with.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:They were all in the same spot. And then over the years, everyone got their own clubs, affiliates, all that sort of stuff. Things evolve. And, you know, like, if you ever see, like, Lineage, you always see, Helson and Elio Gracie because Elio Gracie gave me gave the thumbs up for my black belt. You know?
Phil Migliarese:And then Helson put it on my waist.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Amazing.
Phil Migliarese:So yeah. So there
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So the gang was interesting because it wasn't the jiu jitsu we know today in general because, you know, there was a challenge put out, and then the real jiu jitsu, you know, in my eyes still Mhmm. Is the reality, like, you know, when I walk out that door or if you guys attack me or something.
Joey Bowen:I don't think you have to worry about that stuff.
Phil Migliarese:It's, like, not what I mean. Like, like, like, I'm on realistic stuff. And then we have this, beautiful thing that we can walk into a studio, and they're mats, and the walls are matted, and then, you know, everyone's instructed not to go as hard as they possibly can. That's good. That's how you train.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. You know, but, you know, keeping your eyes on the real deal with real deal movement and, you know, application. I think that's super important. That's not an everyday thing unless you live that every day, and, you know, I hope you don't. Sure.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. But the second piece is just the training. You know? Just the lifestyle. That's a privilege.
Joey Bowen:You know? Mhmm. So Sure.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. But I, you know, I grew up fighting. So when I was dumb, I never, like, backed down. Yeah. I was like, okay.
Phil Migliarese:Let's go. But then when I learned jujitsu was just like a
Joey Bowen:So did that calm you down?
Phil Migliarese:No. I was always like this. I'm always pretty much exactly the same. And I go I know that because my mom says that. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:So that's my that's my marker. I was like, is I always like this? She's like, yeah. You're a little weird. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:And I was cool. But I never met My mom
Drew Beech:says it's a lot
Joey Bowen:of dates.
Phil Migliarese:You know, like, all the all the good weird where I like learning and I like Sure. You know, advancing and Yeah. You know, actually, all the stuff you guys stand for, I stand for as well. So
Joey Bowen:And fundamental to jujitsu, to advancing in jujitsu learning.
Phil Migliarese:Fun yeah. Even using to that fundamental mindset. So when you go on my gyms, it says, it used to say, leave your ego at the door. Mhmm. And I think you might have done those signs, bro.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah.
Drew Beech:Back in the day. Yeah. But you changed it recently. You told me when, we met up in one day, but you said what was the new saying that,
Phil Migliarese:it was please leave your shoes at the door. But we now when you walk it was just the way my original gym was set up. You walk up the steps, you leave the shoes, and then nothing in the gym all barefoot. Yeah. But now all the common areas, you know, like, someone walks into a bed.
Phil Migliarese:It matters where all the other stuff is. Yeah. So it's shoes, you know, obviously off the mat and on the mat, no shoes. But now it's, leave your ego at the door, enter with the beginner's mind. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:So if you're, yeah, if you're a black belt, you know, you should be the most humble in in the gym. You know? Like, keeping your eyes open, not taking things for granted. That's the hard part. When you know all this stuff, you know, you have to analyze what you take for granted.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. So, yeah, so that's what it says. Yeah. Nice. I forget where I was going with that.
Phil Migliarese:But.
Joey Bowen:No, it's it's it's great. I mean, the being a student of life, you know, beginning every day as a beginner, super important fundamental of what we believe here at Fuel Hunt too. So And that's what I
Drew Beech:would say too. Like, an eagle knows an eagle when when you want to, like, when we met, like, that's what I knew that you live and abide by the the same rules of the people you have there. And that's why when I tell someone, like, they say, oh, what do you do for a living? I'm like, oh, I'm in this company called c Will Hunt. And if they say, like, oh, what's that?
Drew Beech:Then I know that they're not an eagle and that it's Yeah. It was Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Maybe.
Drew Beech:But a lot of people that are eagles and and members of the few, they hear, oh, few will hunt, and they just get it. They don't they don't have to hear the beginning.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. Well, unofficially, I've been, compared to, you know, the eagle on the Muppets, the dude with the you know? Yes. And they all said it.
Phil Migliarese:My my family members are like, there you go. That's it.
Joey Bowen:How do you look?
Phil Migliarese:I'm like, it looked like
Drew Beech:So you're metaphorically emperor. Yeah. I am.
Phil Migliarese:Of course, they don't even know the the character's name.
Joey Bowen:If you're That's funny. If you're gonna be a muppet, that's the muppet of the day.
Phil Migliarese:I'm sorry.
Joey Bowen:That's the guy to be. Yeah. That's the guy to be. Big ball chest. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Sam the eagle.
Drew Beech:The same Look
Joey Bowen:it up. Okay. There you go. There you go. That's the guy to
Drew Beech:be Yeah.
Joey Bowen:And you
Phil Migliarese:could put it as the, the the thumbnail.
Joey Bowen:Here we go. Yeah. Okay. I figured you'd do a thumbnail.
Drew Beech:Yeah. The thumb.
Joey Bowen:Dan's on it. Things on it. So, thanks for taking us through your story. It sounds like it was wonderful, but there was some hardship. I would
Phil Migliarese:I would say, like, you're working this way. Just explaining exactly what jujitsu is every time you talk to because I was like, hey. I do jujitsu, but I'm like,
Joey Bowen:It's not it's not like saying it now. No.
Phil Migliarese:In jujitsu now, like, it's so crazy right now.
Drew Beech:Mhmm. You know? When you started doing jujitsu, did you foresee that one day it would be like this?
Phil Migliarese:No. I knew it would be more nationally. No. Now it's so international and just every little corner, and then someone finds out that you know? I don't know.
Phil Migliarese:I don't broadcast, but he's like, dude, it's a 6 degree black belt. You know? Like, they're like like you know, that's like a cool like, I just traveled. I was in California. My friend's Jim, there are
Joey Bowen:a lot
Phil Migliarese:of cool people in there, and I didn't realize that I don't know. I'm so, like, actor and famous people backwards. I don't know who anyone is unless I know them. Yeah. You know what I mean?
Joey Bowen:Yeah. I'm the same way.
Phil Migliarese:And, I met all these people. Like, sir, to honor all this sort of stuff, and they're, like, these famous celebrities. I'm like, I had no idea. I was like, what are you talking about me? Look at you.
Phil Migliarese:Like Yeah. Yeah. It's just but I'm saying the, the jujitsu instructor thing now. You know? Like, billionaires, it's it's their game now.
Phil Migliarese:You know? So I I you know, a couple of our instructors are I don't know if you know Lex Freeman. Yeah. I used to see Lex is actually teaching Yeah. Elon Musk and his opponent Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Zucker Zuckerberg. Yeah. Yep. It's kinda funny.
Phil Migliarese:But I'm saying now, no. I didn't I didn't foresee that.
Joey Bowen:So you
Phil Migliarese:knew And that's not why I did it. You know? I do see people that's lightly why people do things these days. I'm looking for the cool factor. I'm like,
Drew Beech:Well, I imagine it goes
Phil Migliarese:through that because Goes through the work before you do all that.
Drew Beech:I imagine you see plenty of that being where you are in jitsu and and owning schools, but the amount of people that I see personally that start jiu jitsu and then Yeah. You check-in with him a month or 2 later, 3 months later. It's like Yeah. Jutsugo. I'm like, I'm not trained anymore.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. We had a guy visit, like, a month ago, and, I could tell he was, like, another cool guy. He's black belt. He's really nice guy once you get in, so nobody had, like, he had a wall. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:And then he came in. You know? I don't think he was gonna train. I was like, get on the mat, dude. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:He's like, what it like, I threw him off that I was like, no. Let's roll. Let's go. Like, you know, not in a threatening way, but just let let's have some fun. Let's move around.
Phil Migliarese:And, definitely like, I caught him off guard. You know? And he was like, he needed to meet every I was like, get on the mat. Just fill with me and then go with him. And Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:You know? I don't know. I think he was worried about rolling with all the like, there are young freaks that are just Mhmm. I don't care what belt you are. Yep.
Phil Migliarese:You got some problems on your hands. If you address things like you're supposed to beat everyone Yeah. Doesn't work. Yeah. You know?
Phil Migliarese:You have to moment to moment realities of a match. That's what For sure.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure. When, there was a point in time, right, in your journey that you had an accident.
Phil Migliarese:Mhmm. Alright. Yeah. How old were you? I had just turned 17.
Phil Migliarese:So Okay. 2 days after my birthday. So Okay. I have a funny way of thinking about it in my mind that I had to reframe stuff. I had my birthday and my rebirth day.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:I know it's weird and it sounds corny, but You're right.
Drew Beech:Yeah. You're right apart out
Joey Bowen:that way. That's the way I think, John.
Phil Migliarese:Because that could have gone the other way. Yeah. You know? And I always say it's not the worst thing that ever happened to me because I'm here walking. You know?
Phil Migliarese:I have limitations, you know, that's why I didn't go deeper into, you know, competition. Yep. I didn't go deeper. I did a lot of competition, but,
Joey Bowen:yeah, I did it. Afterwards you
Phil Migliarese:could. Yeah. But it was a little bit different than other people. And then I had a limit on MMA, which thing that became MMA. You know?
Phil Migliarese:And I was fighting early, but it was a little bit different. Sure. So it just it made me make different choices. So 17, you know, I was all happy at 17. Got all this money and all these cards.
Phil Migliarese:I just play paintball. Yeah. Driving to the paintball place 2 days later, someone went through a red light, drinking and drive. Yeah. Bashed me on the side, broke my body up.
Phil Migliarese:You know? He's fear.
Joey Bowen:When you say when you say broke your body up, you literally mean Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:It was So you've had you had
Joey Bowen:how many bones are in the human body? 200 and 7?
Phil Migliarese:Put it this way. Most of my right side got mushed. The worst was the pelvis. You know, the pubic bone, the hip, the sacrum. Like, that all got and it and it was the type of injury that, there are no pins.
Phil Migliarese:There are just you had to just heal.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. So many so many broken bones that I have to imagine you were basically, like, immobile. Yeah. No.
Phil Migliarese:No. I was immobile for, like, 6 months using it. Yeah. Yeah. So I had to lay down on a bed, look at the ceiling, doing a sit up.
Phil Migliarese:It was just excruciating. Out of the almost 6 months.
Drew Beech:You couldn't really get out of bed for 6 months?
Phil Migliarese:Not really. No. Yeah. It was bad. And I was senior.
Phil Migliarese:I was a senior in high school.
Joey Bowen:So plus you had almost what now? Almost 10 years of training under your belt at that time. At that point. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:I think in high school, I was a purple belt.
Joey Bowen:Yes. You had so you're you're living you're talking about the lifestyle, like, you're living lifestyle movement and training. Oh,
Phil Migliarese:yeah. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:And now you're completely silent.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Side line. I mean, growing up doing yoga and jujitsu, more or less, are the majority of things that you know, that's what I was doing. Yep. And to have a doctor tell you, like, Naz, You know, as a kid, I don't think it's gonna
Joey Bowen:happen for you. What was the prognosis
Phil Migliarese:like when Just I said I would be uneven. I would walk differently, pain, all that sort of stuff. Yeah. You know? And possibly, like, you know, I had herniations and discs and, you know, car hits yet.
Joey Bowen:So bones heal, but there's some things that haven't gone away. Right. Yep. You know what I mean?
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Even the brain. I don't even know if I'm slurring right now. That's
Joey Bowen:But I just got you started. Man. I just got
Phil Migliarese:you sure. Know that I had a funnel Yeah. Little bit oh, yeah. My head went. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Real bad to the point where and I just I spoke about this on a previous podcast too about not being able to read or write after. Hard hard thing to wake up to. You know? Oh, yeah.
Phil Migliarese:And it was a situation where I was literally revived. Mhmm. CPR wasn't there. The hard stop was sec. Oh, yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. And the only reason why I know this, my cousin told me who was driving the car. Same guy that we ordered the tape together. Oh, real guy.
Drew Beech:Yeah. And he was Was he fine
Phil Migliarese:after that? Oh, he got a elbow for me. Yeah. Because as we were turning, I looked over and I go, wow. Those headlights are always like this.
Phil Migliarese:And I was like, I did this. Like, a black light and shoot my jaw from a punch, and I went like this, but the elbow, like, hit him. Yeah. So if you could rip, dude, I gotta get a nice That's all you got? Heavy elbow.
Phil Migliarese:That's That's why I couldn't do MMA if I hit someone with the elbow.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. I hate
Phil Migliarese:to say it's I'll get a rib. Yeah. But that's what happened. So he, you know, he got but he witnessed the whole thing. So he replayed every you you know, he thought he'd kill me.
Phil Migliarese:Yep. Well, he didn't do it. Yeah. In the car Yeah. If you're watching.
Phil Migliarese:Sorry about that. So, so, yeah, it was one of those events. It was surreal. Yeah.
Drew Beech:You know?
Joey Bowen:Yeah. I I mean, I say accident. I'm being you know, I was being I was understating it. Yeah. Because, like, you know, I thought I I try to
Phil Migliarese:understate it too because I'm not letting it be a crutch, and then there are people that lost their lives. I'm not that you know? That's a different or are permanently disabled. I had a wonderful career, you know Yep. Rolling on the floor with people with pajamas.
Phil Migliarese:That's about to commend you
Drew Beech:on too. It's, like, your perspective. That's one thing. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Because there's certain parts that empowered me. So I can't. I can't.
Joey Bowen:And there
Drew Beech:are times right now. In life, for all of us, where we're the voice starts to creep in, like, why me or or this is hard or why, like, why do I get burdened with this? Whereas if you shift that perspective and thing like this happened for me, and this is something that I can take to get better and become a better person. And and like you said, your rebirth, like Yeah. You became a whole new person that day.
Drew Beech:Whereas a lot of people I
Phil Migliarese:got my list. Yeah. Could have maybe I have a different personality as I hit that.
Joey Bowen:New lease on new lease.
Drew Beech:So at what point in the recovery journey did you shift or were were you always thinking I'm gonna come out of this and be better than I was before? Or was there
Phil Migliarese:some Delusions like that of positivity.
Drew Beech:So from the day Sometimes. Just so from the day you got down, you're like, I'm I'm I'm gonna be able to train in no time. I think that's powerful. People that that that get sick or injured or that heal that heal fully and Mhmm. Make recoveries that doctors didn't think was possible.
Drew Beech:It's that delusional self belief and, like, I'm gonna get better, and there's no other thing that's gonna tell me I'm not.
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Drew Beech:Yeah. So that was always your Yeah. Prerogative since the the first day down?
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. And I also grew up in a way that, like, my dad and mom raised us. Basics are first, and then you so get back to basics first. Build up to a, and go to b. And and don't you know, we're not trying to leapfrog.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. So I always had to you know, just small little things. I mean, dude, I I learned how to walk again. So I lived in my grandparents' house.
Phil Migliarese:They're lower level. Like, the basement was all fixed up nicely, but the beam their beam's still out. Right? Yeah. So I learned how to walk again on a freaking beam holding because I couldn't put all my weight on my leg.
Phil Migliarese:It was just, you know Yeah. Bad. So, yeah, I learned how to walk again. I learned how to do the sequence in in Ashtanga yoga, the sun salutations. Learned a so I couldn't do the whole thing.
Phil Migliarese:It was this whole movement. I can only do a small pieces. So I just do the small pieces, put it away for the day, and then the next day and next, you know. Why do I restrain? More or less put it back together.
Phil Migliarese:Just do what you can, you know. Mhmm.
Drew Beech:So you did yoga your whole life pretty much?
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Since I was 8. So 40 years.
Drew Beech:Wow. I can't imagine what level of mobility and flexibility that transport
Phil Migliarese:They could see you. Definitely.
Joey Bowen:That was gonna be my next question. Like, how how how big of a part did yoga play in your recovery?
Phil Migliarese:It's like a big part.
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. You think with the mentality You've
Joey Bowen:written
Phil Migliarese:about that. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Mentality and then, you know, the idea of doing whatever you can
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Just day by day. So, and then the whole yoga practice is one day at a time, one layer at a time. So no no rush. You know? I'm not I train like that.
Phil Migliarese:I'm not in a rush. I'm not I just take whatever, you know, whatever comes. Yeah. But, yeah, there was nothing else to do, so you have to just do what
Joey Bowen:What you can't you've done. Yeah. Yeah. What you can't.
Phil Migliarese:And so I just take that into everything I do more or less.
Joey Bowen:How long was the journey from immobile to back to the match? Year. A year.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. That's
Drew Beech:really not bad for her from
Phil Migliarese:But I was still too early. Oh, good. One of my friends, I'm gonna, his name is Ryan Dykeert. Right? I've been training with Ryan for, you know, 30 something years.
Phil Migliarese:Ryan's, like, 66
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Over 2 a huge huge guy. You know, 4th degree black belt now has a gym in Tampa. Mhmm. And when I first came back, man, he whooped my butt, dude. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:But he has it on video too, though.
Drew Beech:That was that was, like, your first roll back? Or was
Phil Migliarese:it More or less. Yeah. It was just destroyed and had this big giant monster go after me. Now, like, damn. So I spent my whole life just staying one little bit tougher than he is right now.
Joey Bowen:He's listening. He's watching. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. I came out. He's very good. I learned most of my defense is because of him. Put him on my side.
Phil Migliarese:I mean, he was big. Yeah. Get a I learned all my triangle escapes with him. His legs are so long and just getting the elbow out, and just no one ever felt that bad
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Compared to him. And that's also my brother. No one feels at all bad compared to shims.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Okay. Animal.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. I got lucky with the,
Drew Beech:I can't imagine the level of soreness in the return back from Yeah. Yeah. You're Keeping your bones, man.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Like, if I'm, like, what am I doing? Like, I do it now, John. Why am I doing this? And then I wake up in the morning okay now, and, you know, 40 years old is
Joey Bowen:different than 28.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Boy, it's different. So I have to be wiser now with the body even though, like I was telling you guys earlier, I spent the last 2 years, like, doing a lot of wrestling wrestling, you know, like the more or less the sport of wrestling. And, if you don't know what you're doing there and you you don't go with things, like, you don't flow with things there, you can really get hurt with the day to day. But all those guys are super athletes.
Phil Migliarese:They can tumble. They're gymnasts. They're you know, they flow, and then they the way they, drill with each other is no it's done. Not taxing. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So it's it's, you know, elegant if you
Drew Beech:That's true. My son's been wrestling since he was 4 or so, and he's been to a great coach, coach Diggs out of councilorock north councilorocks, but he hasn't doing they're warming up for 30 minutes before, and it's cartwheels. It's gym like, full lot, like, contorting their bodies in ways that you would don't think are the right ways to be contorted, but it's it's just shows, like, what level of a good coach can can teach you about being a full body athlete rather than just a good wrestler. Yeah. Because I imagine back in the day, wrestling was about, like, be strong fast, hard, like, go go go.
Drew Beech:I don't know if that was always the full full scale approach to to rest of the sport,
Phil Migliarese:technology, imagery. You know? Like, everything's on a phone. I think maybe about the last 30 years, we probably made the biggest jump in sports and combat sports and everything because you can see your opponent. You can pick them up.
Phil Migliarese:You know? You can see their habits. And Yeah. It's another reason why I have this philosophy. You know?
Phil Migliarese:More or less I'll train with everyone once a week, not twice a week. So we're not gonna get 2 rounds. You'll start figuring it out. You know? Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:But then I try, like, next week to be a different fighter. Maybe I drop to my back one week, I'll guard. Right? Mhmm. Next week, you're not gonna put me down, and I'll try to get your foot.
Phil Migliarese:I don't know. I try
Joey Bowen:to change
Phil Migliarese:every week. Yeah. I like that. So Yeah. But My point is, when you compete now, you definitely have to come up with something new or something to throw someone off because if they're any good, they already watched you do it to somebody else.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. They know it's coming. So you have to
Joey Bowen:Yeah. You
Phil Migliarese:know, misdirection is, I think, even more important now in support.
Joey Bowen:For sure. Yeah. I think it's the accessibility to the information and the tape goes up, the misdirection, it's proportionate. You know what I mean? It's proportionate.
Joey Bowen:So, you said time of the accident, you're a purple belt.
Phil Migliarese:Mhmm.
Joey Bowen:And then you get back on the mats. 1st go, little painful because you're a buddy. But you you keep going, keep going. When do you receive your black belt?
Phil Migliarese:Oh, when was that? Early 2000. Early 2000. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:So was balance open at that time, or did you open balance afterwards?
Phil Migliarese:I was I opened balance. So it's 2002 I got my black belt done. Okay. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:And then you opened balance?
Phil Migliarese:Mhmm. Oh. I had it open. I was at Brown belt when I opened it, like, 4th degree.
Joey Bowen:Okay.
Phil Migliarese:And then, so with Hellson Gracie, the important stuff was you have to know the system of Gracie jujitsu. That's in all those textbooks. It's both stand up self defense, takedown striking, and everything we know on the ground. Right? Sure.
Phil Migliarese:It's a little bit different. His most important thing for me was to see she she was one of the toughest humans to ever live. Just gonna point that out. Yeah. And the toughest minded too.
Joey Bowen:I always love to hear, like,
Phil Migliarese:you know, I mean tell you that in a sense.
Joey Bowen:Love to hear something. Stories.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. But his main thing was being a good teacher and kicking ass. I mean, serious. I'll just, you know, not That's what that's what they wanted, and they weren't putting it took me a little bit longer because they weren't just putting black belts on American waves Yeah. At that point.
Phil Migliarese:You know, it's very, very few, and a lot of the earlier ones came from not not from the Gracies themselves, you know, especially not the Elio Gracie lineage. It was a little bit more selective. You know? For whatever their reasons were, what you know?
Joey Bowen:But that commitment or that their decision to put a black belt around your waist started a long, long time ago when you first met them and they saw
Phil Migliarese:point.
Joey Bowen:Got to assume. At the point. Yeah. The material that you had, like, the way you trained, who you were as a person, all of that other stuff, and then culminated when you understood the system. Right?
Joey Bowen:And got the black Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:And I think, like, Elio Gracie got a kick out of us. And I see us, including my brother Ricardo.
Joey Bowen:Do you think he saw and and you and your brother, do you think he saw some of him and his brothers?
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. He saw entertainment too, and I guarantee it because he'd be like, go. Come here. Go with him.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Go with this big dude. You know? I was like, alright. Whatever.
Phil Migliarese:Like, a stupid decision. Going with some big guy, you'll get a kick out of it sitting in you know? Sure. Sure. So when we're at the so we lived at the Gracie Academy for most of the nineties in California
Joey Bowen:Uh-huh.
Phil Migliarese:Where we're back and forth or or living there for a duration of time. And then, he was there for, like, 3 or 3 years, I think. Okay. So I saw him every day. You know?
Phil Migliarese:So I spent a lot of time and got a lot of tricks and just I was just you know, I was kind of upset that I wasn't born into the Gracie family and got it. You know? Like, my uncle was a world champ. You know what I mean? Sure.
Phil Migliarese:It's like, man. So I had to I had to Yeah. Do what I could. Yeah. It worked.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. It worked. Worked hard.
Phil Migliarese:And he had tricks because so let's go back to my car accident. Mhmm. So I knew I needed these, like, effortless techniques to continue. So I knew at some point, I would get older, and I'll get whooped by the big dude. It's gonna pass my guard and smash me, but let's hold off the tap as long as I can with technique.
Phil Migliarese:You know? And Elio Gracie would you know, there was no, like, slap and bump. Here's the cycles go. And he came down like this and just kinda, like, you would be on him trying to get stuff. He was so far ahead of you, dude.
Phil Migliarese:Just Yeah. 80 year old man at that point died in his nineties. It's crazy. Yeah. He had every all all his bottom game just, you know, figured out.
Phil Migliarese:Interesting. Right? Yeah. I know. So self defense jujitsu, he, you know, he was obviously the master at it.
Phil Migliarese:But the funny thing is that often people that talk about Elio Gracie jiu jitsu will talk about Elio Gracie laying down and doing that. He only did that when he was older. Sure. He was a killer. There's no way you were putting him down if he didn't want you down.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. I mean, I wanna be down. So he had that mindset too. So people think, you know, he would like, having a good offense and making someone defend is better than laying on your back doing a d you know what I'm saying? So offense is as important as defense, but defense will keep you alive
Joey Bowen:For sure.
Phil Migliarese:If there are no, you know, can't pick your opponent on the street. You know? But the reality is you may have a monster that knows how to punch, and then you're blocking from the guard waiting for time to patch. Sure. You know, that that's that's the realistic piece of it.
Phil Migliarese:So
Joey Bowen:How many so you lived at the Gracie Academy in California for a little while. How many other Americans are there at the time? I mean, it doesn't sound 12? Yeah. I was gonna say And
Phil Migliarese:one of my good friends, he was actually came from Brazil. That's an invite that's an invite only. Oh, no. It was. They they went around the states to all the affiliates, which it was just a few affiliates.
Phil Migliarese:Yep. I had to fill out a form, but I had already been there when I was 16. Mhmm. And, they're like, alright. This kid will be okay, I guess.
Phil Migliarese:And then, I I hit it off early with Royce. Royce is younger, obviously, and, I think he had a lot to do do with, like, bring Phil and Rick to the program. And, dude, we learn how to teach Gracie jiu jitsu, but, you know, you have all the moves in jiu jitsu. Right? Standard moves.
Phil Migliarese:Right? Let's say the with the Gracie's. On the other side, you have all these ways of teaching it. This is how you present this. This is how you present this.
Phil Migliarese:Like, quite a you know, if you look at Elio Gracie's textbook, there should be another textbook that has all the teaching method behind it. You know? For sure. So how to make it easier for someone to learn jujitsu as far as the foundation is concerned. You know, when you get deeper into sport, it goes by preference sometimes.
Phil Migliarese:Some people like invert, some people never fall in there, you know, travel goes to preference. And it's almost like that particular person has to show you that particular thing. Yeah. So but the base foundation of the whole thing, you know, that allow you to both fight or roll around on the mat a little bit. That was Elio Elio's way.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Some stories about Elio. I read so we're I'm I'm new to jujitsu. I'm not like I'm barely 3 years in. I absolutely
Phil Migliarese:love it. Good.
Joey Bowen:Absolutely love it. Every textbook that I've read has some type of Elio story in it.
Phil Migliarese:Oh, yeah.
Joey Bowen:Like, any any type of textbook, any time. I'm a reader, so I I read books. I don't do many instructionals and stuff like that. I read books about jiu jitsu. And, like, once, where I remember the hotshot wrestler comes to, school at the time, and, he says, basically, like, you know, I don't have to beat you.
Joey Bowen:Like, you have to beat me. Yeah. Because that's, like, the the mind mindset
Phil Migliarese:Yeah.
Joey Bowen:That he had, and it was the same type of thing. Like, okay. Now let's go.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. And
Joey Bowen:he's in his, like, eighties. It's like we're marching.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. That's why I said one of the toughest mindsets that I ever experienced. You know? And it kinda felt like family because my my dad was like that, my uncles, my grandfather, my great grand. They're all tough, but also, like, entrepreneurial minded
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:And also, like, very respectful at the all at the same time.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:You know? Like, no one would go out picking fights, but they wouldn't back down. Sure. You know? Sure.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. So that's you know, I got that right away from from Elio Gracie.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:I think
Drew Beech:it was cool. Yeah. Yeah. So the role at 80 years old, do you still beat your ass then? What guy?
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Of course, you're not going a 100%. And I think if I never went there, but I think if he did, he could also use to my mind. Well, let me tell you. It was just all learning and flowing.
Phil Migliarese:And I was a little bit smaller when I you know, obviously, when I was a kid, and, I always would just Rolled. You know, you don't have to smash and use muscle and stuff like that. So Sure. And it was cool. And then every single time I learned, learn, learn, learn.
Phil Migliarese:You know? Mhmm.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. So, balance is the first balance location is the Fishtown location?
Phil Migliarese:The very first location was on 24th in Sansa. So going back 20 something years, first one was there. It was a garage that one of the magazines did an article, Philadelphia Philadelphia Magazine said I had the the, reporter had to walk through the bat cave to get into this, like, yoga jujitsu world because I used to have, like like this. One side was yoga, one side was jujitsu. K.
Phil Migliarese:And, but you had to walk to this, like, evil looking, parking lot. So you would go up these steps, and then it was, like, dark. And Yeah. So we had that spot, which I felt like I was lucky to get because it was impossible to find space in Philadelphia for cheap. You know?
Phil Migliarese:It was impossible. So and then, opened up there, jiu jitsu
Joey Bowen:What was the makeup of the school like? Was it heavier on the yoga or heavier
Phil Migliarese:on the jujitsu? At first, just size wise, there was more mat space for jujitsu than there was for yoga. Yoga, you can put people, like, really tight. So Yeah. Sure.
Phil Migliarese:Max, about 20 people in this class. Jujitsu, If it was a really crazy class, we can we can lay mats over the yoga side. Sure. And then over the years, obviously, yoga, there was yoga everywhere. So I felt like that mission of mine, you know, because I was so early in yoga Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:I became one of the first instructors in Ashtanga yoga, and, and people in Philly were, like, flocking in because there was nobody else.
Joey Bowen:Did you have people cross over from the yoga to the Very few people. But
Phil Migliarese:but what it did, it, I don't know. My belief is, like, one culture per box. Meaning Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. You can't have multiple yoga culture, even, like, Muay Thai and jujitsu together. Sometimes there's, like, you know and I think, you know, we kinda have it fairly balanced talent, if you will. Sure. He didn't Sorry about that.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. With the gym where it's just martial arts, I only teach jujitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing. We have a level 1, 2, 3. It's all organized. Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:So I kept it at that, and I do you know, that's one of the reasons so I did a DVD, yoga for fighters.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:So I felt like that could be my way of helping martial artists, at least that that community, throw some yoga into their, training regimen. Sure. So Sure. I went that route instead of, you know, teaching hundreds of people a week, which is very exhausting.
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Drew Beech:I would imagine there was a lot of crossover for the jujitsu practitioners into the yoga, though. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That was its work. It's probably great for them.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. When you're doing the yoga work, man, yoga is harder than jujitsu by far.
Drew Beech:Oh, yeah.
Phil Migliarese:So jujitsu, while you're rolling, you can forget. Jujitsu with yoga, everything surfaces. In that one. So, you could be in that flow state as well, but, you know, you discover a lot about yourself after you, like, roll out a little tiny mat. You have the little tiny and learn a lot about yourself.
Phil Migliarese:So
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Yes.
Phil Migliarese:Whole another story, maybe a whole another podcast.
Joey Bowen:Indeed.
Phil Migliarese:It could be it could be very trippy.
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Drew Beech:Yeah. I feel I feel they both do the same from similar effects. Like You
Joey Bowen:can get there where you're coming from, though. It's like the mind kinda turns off with jujitsu, but the mind kind of turns on with yoga. Like, I
Phil Migliarese:get that. Well, what I'm saying is that you're absorbed by the present moment. So they're both very present minded things. 1, someone's gonna choke your face. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:You know? The other one, you may choke your own face
Joey Bowen:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:With, like, what you do with your mind. Sure. So that's why I always say, like, it's they're both self defense. Jujitsu obvious. The stuff that you do in yoga is also self defense.
Phil Migliarese:And, let's say you have your ego is a little too big,
Joey Bowen:and you're a little
Phil Migliarese:too you know, you need to maybe become aware of that. You're like, you know what? Self defense. Myself needs to, like Yeah. Regulate.
Phil Migliarese:I love So I think you can use it big time for that because shows you how to stretch muscles, ease muscles, use muscles, be in positions that you're not comfortable with or, you know, you have to think of yoga as postures, not stretches.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Because after a while, you get so flexible, they don't feel like stretches anymore. Their postures are ways of holding yourself. Sure. So that's where the concept of, like, sitting, like, in meditation
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Which if you're not comfortable or you're not trained, you start wiggling around. And then you're thinking of wiggling and being uncomfortable instead of being comfortable, you know, like I was talking about sitting back in the seat. It's just the way I sit. I'm off the seat all the time, but, you know, by sitting, meditation, you know what? You guys don't do it.
Drew Beech:Yeah. That's, like, in my my subconscious now. Like Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. But it's hard. It's like it's it's work. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Because there's, like, there's a fine little balance in sitting. You know? It's not like hyper arch or or rolling back. Yep. You know?
Phil Migliarese:You have everything stacked right.
Drew Beech:It's funny you said that now. My in my meditations, I've been, like, lying down. That's good. I haven't been, like, feeling I feel like I'm thinking more about my lower back Mhmm. Sitting in in a meditative pose then.
Drew Beech:I I've heard also that you shouldn't lie down during meditations.
Phil Migliarese:Well, it's better. Where you are in your journey so that at least you're meditating. Yeah. So there there that goes. So, I'll talk about India if it's okay.
Joey Bowen:No. Absolutely. Yeah. So to get there, so yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. That was my dream to go there for two reasons, for yoga, obviously, and the meditative, and that's the history. That's where it is. But, also, the history of grappling is right in that same spot. Like, no joke.
Phil Migliarese:There are are so in Mysore, India, it was also the center for wrestling, gymnastics, and all this other stuff. Yeah. There's a place called the Mysore Palace. And on the Mysore Palace, you see these, statues and engravings. Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:And it shows wrestling. Right? And it shows on another part, yoga and people on their head and then deities and the cross legged position. Mhmm. Super interesting.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So, I went there specifically. You know, I had so my teacher, that's where he lived, and he was the founder of Ashanti Yogas, a gentleman, Pattabhi Joyce. And so I want to spend as much time he was kind of like the Elio Gracie. Uh-huh.
Phil Migliarese:He died in his nineties.
Joey Bowen:How did you meet him?
Phil Migliarese:So I was, like, an Ashtanga groupie. So if he came to America, I would go wherever it was. Spend 5 days. If he was there, I was there. If he went there, so I just kinda followed.
Phil Migliarese:And I first learned it, the Ashtanga practice, which is a set system. Mhmm. Same way as I learned jujitsu. So someone handed me a VHS tape. Alright?
Phil Migliarese:Mhmm. Research that if you don't know what that is. Yeah. Good. And I had been doing yoga already, but I didn't have an organized system.
Phil Migliarese:Handed me the tape, and I was like, oh my gosh. You start with this. You do this, and they're, like, put together very nicely. And it and after I did it, I felt great, and I felt right. Yep.
Phil Migliarese:And then there's a series 1, series 2, and I got to series 2, which is, like, getting your blue belt or whatever. No. It's more like getting your purple because it's no joke.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:You start 2nd series. It's more backbend. And then when the backbending start, I think 2nd series is the perfect thing for a jujitsu fighter because we're all like this, hunched, necked up. Yeah. Yep.
Phil Migliarese:And the second series is all that way. I gotcha. Twisting, lifting, pressing. It's interesting. Okay.
Joey Bowen:So when So you invented him from when he used to play with me on the other states?
Phil Migliarese:He knew me, but there were so many students, dude. Like, I don't know if I stood. I don't I I I could I mean, now I know. He definitely knew me in the end because he authorized me to teach, and his grandson I know and Sure. You know?
Phil Migliarese:But at the time, I was just like some kid that was you know? But I was, like, a big kid, and he knew, like, I grappled. He he knew me as a wrestler.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:So doing the Ashtanga practice, but I, you know, I was a big giant guy, but I could fold in half. Yeah. I did the thing. You know? That Yeah.
Joey Bowen:For sure. So, Did he have any wrestling background
Drew Beech:I don't know.
Joey Bowen:His backgrounds?
Phil Migliarese:In his culture, 100%. So we'll talk about culturally, it's so you see the spiritual aspect of yoga, obviously. Right? And then, you know, in America, they kinda mildly pull that out a little bit. Same thing with wrestling.
Phil Migliarese:Wrestling has that spiritual aspect in India. They wrestle on red clay. When you go into the wrestling room, it's all adorned with Mhmm. Flowers and yeah. It looks like an altar.
Phil Migliarese:Sure. So there's that same respect, the same sort of thing. So did he wrestle? I don't know. That's a great question.
Joey Bowen:Interesting.
Phil Migliarese:Everybody knows that one. I'd love to hear. But he knew I wrestled. So Okay. And I'm not a wrestling jujitsu guy, but you know what I mean.
Joey Bowen:Yep. Yep.
Phil Migliarese:Grappling. And so So you make it over there. Make it over there. Finally, after years, I wanted to go. So I spent a couple months there.
Phil Migliarese:And then the day I got there, I met a couple, wrestlers who invited me in. They're close knit, you know, no foreigner. Yeah. I got a chance to raise a soul. Yes.
Phil Migliarese:And what I could tell you about it is that the same way, like, great jujitsu instructors teach in steps and systems, That's how they taught. It was a little bit different than I was used to, like, you know, college and freestyle wrestlers the way some some teach. A lot of the guys that I know now teach that way. Uh-huh. But my earlier, wrestling, they were like, do like this, and they're like, you're getting hugged around instead of smooth.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Their Indian, application was super smooth like a jujitsu class. Yeah. And so, yeah, I shouldn't have so I I wrestled while I was there, practiced yoga, and, you know, his saying was, like, day by day, you come. Meaning, you go to the mats.
Phil Migliarese:Day by day, you just keep doing it. You know? And his other quote was, this is Pattabhi Joyce. It's 99% theory. Right?
Phil Migliarese:Yes. And 1% is I don't know. What is it? 99% practice, 1% theory. My Yep.
Phil Migliarese:That's the break.
Joey Bowen:So right in right in right in line with the day
Phil Migliarese:by day Yeah. Competition. Practice practice. You know? Yep.
Phil Migliarese:So practice makes progress. That's what my daughter says. Yeah. Not perfect, but progress. Progress.
Phil Migliarese:So that's good.
Joey Bowen:We say that around here too.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Fam, that's it. You know, you you guys started probably selling 1 shirt. Yep. And now, you know, everyone's We're still.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. It just came from the way.
Phil Migliarese:But that's a major point. That's the same thing with this, man. The majority are, you know, just having people try it. You know, cans and hands is is is the hands.
Joey Bowen:Hands. Shirts on backs. Cans and hands.
Phil Migliarese:So that's the best way to do it, I think.
Joey Bowen:We know that. We know that. So yeah. So bring us up to speed. So now you have multiple balanced locations.
Joey Bowen:Right? So you have Fishtown location. You have a location on 21st Street in Philly.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So where are we? Main location or headquarters where a lot of administration, like, administrative stuff happens is in Fishtown. So that's, like, our headquarters. Center City, which was our original spot now is on 21st and Chestnut.
Phil Migliarese:Mhmm. And then I have a northeast school with my cousin Frank. And then we're we have a, a new location in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Joey Bowen:Nice.
Phil Migliarese:So, we partnered with the Hadouka Center. It's a giant building out there where, you know Nice. Probably do a grand open. There's classes running now, but, we're gonna do a grand opening in the fall. I see.
Phil Migliarese:And then there are about 60 other locations in our affiliate list. Gotcha.
Joey Bowen:So if, somebody wants to find out more about balance Where can they go? Teambalance.com. Teambalance.com? Cool. So outside of balance, you also have something else going on.
Joey Bowen:Right? So you wanna talk about Tatsu? Yeah. Tatsu.
Phil Migliarese:Growing up, I always had, like, little side gigs. So I recently just retired from the marketing world, which I used as a side gig alongside of me, like, competing and teaching. So something I could do on the side. I was always nervous about the jujitsu business. I'm like, man, can you make a living?
Phil Migliarese:Can you you know? Like, I was always paranoid, so I was like, I have to have a backup. So I I was in the marketing world for a while. And then, the last few years of that adventure, I was working in, the food and beverage marketing. You know?
Phil Migliarese:And I started meeting many, many people in the beverage world.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:And throughout the years, you know, I wanted to bring the market something like a consumable that was actually beneficial for the jujitsu lifestyle or the fighting lifestyle or the entrepreneurial lifestyle, something that, like, you know, that we all kinda connect with and can use functionally. But I didn't wanna, like, sell out with half of the things that I was pitched, powders, you know, things that I just knew on my heart where you know, I wouldn't really get behind.
Drew Beech:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:Always been a fan of Matcha, and then, Todd, my partner on this. There there are 5 partners in in Tatsu. Came to me with a powder which both of you guys had and liked. So you like the outcome, you know, like, boost your mood, make you feel, like, more alert and alive. Yep.
Phil Migliarese:And that, you know, that's been happening for 2, 3000 years from Japan and China with matcha.
Drew Beech:Not with all the other health benefits that come along.
Phil Migliarese:Oh, just huge. Yeah. And and these days, there are more studies done about long term use of matcha in the states, and and this stuff is just coming out. Yep. And we I didn't wanna recreate anything so dramatically or reformulate something that is just like, you know, we have a handful of ingredients.
Phil Migliarese:That's it. You can pronounce everything and, so tatsu tea.
Joey Bowen:If you're not going broke, don't fix it.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. You know? But the use goes back to, like, samurais. Yeah. That's what I think is super cool.
Phil Migliarese:Samurais did jujitsu. Samurais drank matcha for you know I think that's why Joe has done his swing, but
Drew Beech:it actually could Joe I'm a
Joey Bowen:big fan of Japanese culture. Yeah. You know? And, like, we were we were kidding around before the show, but, like, I I literally have my ceremony kid over there. You know what I mean?
Joey Bowen:So I'm, like, a green tea or matcha in the early afternoon. What do
Phil Migliarese:you think so far? I love it.
Joey Bowen:It's good. Oh, yeah. I love it. I love the the lychee that you have and, like, the addition of it. I absolutely love it.
Phil Migliarese:It's only very light.
Joey Bowen:I'm a I think I'm gonna replace my, my ritual in the afternoon with tats soon.
Phil Migliarese:No. No. Mix it up. Do both. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Do both. I think it's good. Because you can feel, like, hot or cold. Yeah. You know?
Phil Migliarese:This is true. So This is true. And what I'm gonna do, I should have I should've brought it with me, but we actually so my partner, Todd, who you both again, both you guys know, he traveled to Japan and studied the tea ceremony and did martial arts while he was there, and his instructors from there Nice. Taught him the tea ceremony. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Like, and he was recently just there to our ingredients manufacturer, the the matcha farm. Mhmm. Super interesting. There's a clip of it online.
Joey Bowen:But Yeah. Check that out. Yeah. It's cool.
Phil Migliarese:We're gonna we're gonna, put another piece together too of just seeing, like, the quality of of of the actual matcha and how important that is on taste and effect. But
Joey Bowen:When you shake the leaves Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:But he brought back some of the matcha that you could actually use. I'm gonna I'm gonna grab some, and then I want you to because you'll get a chance to experience hot what's actually in there. Yeah. So Oh, that'd be cool. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:That'd be cool. So, to get it into this form, it's a light extraction process. Mhmm. So to keep the benefits of the matcha, but not like you know, some people describe it as, like, eating grass. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Like, some people don't like that. I dig it. I like that taste. Yeah. The same.
Phil Migliarese:But, majority of people are trying to, you know there are matcha lovers and matcha haters, so we're trying to appeal to both.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. That's why I like the little bit of natural sweetening. Yeah. So is is I'm supposed to
Drew Beech:be the arm out here.
Joey Bowen:Hey. I'm like,
Phil Migliarese:Do you put it in there? Yeah. No. I'd be
Joey Bowen:like I do. You like to yeah. Drink the grass. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:That's Yeah. Just everyone's different, and I just think, like, the important part is getting the benefits of, matcha and what it is naturally.
Joey Bowen:That's also hot, though. Like Yeah. When it's cold, I enjoy that it has a little bit of a sweet Yeah. Taste itself.
Phil Migliarese:Oh, yeah. I've been not. Yeah.
Drew Beech:Yeah. It's fine. It feels, like, so dialed on on the lobster that, like, when it it when I
Joey Bowen:got it. You start a lobster.
Drew Beech:But but when yeah. Yeah. But when when you brought it up, when when you it gets brought up to Phil, like, yeah, he, like, kinda locks. And he's like, wait. So do you like it like that?
Drew Beech:Like, he's like Yeah. He's taking he's taking a poll. Like
Phil Migliarese:Yeah.
Drew Beech:You know, I like, this matchmaker like this. I see his brain like, fine.
Phil Migliarese:Yep. Because we say it's our fuel, not our flavor. Mhmm. So Yeah. The idea it's not hiding it necessarily, but, you know, bringing out the flavor of lychee, which is super light carbs.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. And it's all it's a natural Yep. A natural thing. And, my major use so we were originally in packets years ago, and my thing from working in the marketing of cans and frozen goods and stuff like that, I wanted to put it in a can. So it took us a little bit to reformulate from that packet to ready to drink, to actually tasting good that you would actually pick it up in 20 minutes, half an hour before your training, whatever that may be.
Phil Migliarese:Yep. Even for, we have a lot of developers that are on their computers all day long, and you'll see one of these next to the AI. I don't know if it's you guys too. That's my that's my
Joey Bowen:yeah. Yeah. So That's actually, like aside from my just love Japanese culture, that was another one of my inroads in the matcha. Yeah. Because I didn't wanna drink.
Joey Bowen:I didn't wanna drink. Like, everybody on my team is drinking Coke all day. Like it's typical programmer thing like we do.
Phil Migliarese:Oh, I see it.
Joey Bowen:Other people were drinking coffee all day. Like, I didn't wanna do that. So that's why I turned to matcha. But that was me, like but I had matcha next to me. I was covered in.
Phil Migliarese:So yeah. But it's good having something like this crack. You can just you know? For sure. But, yeah, we test that on all those types of people.
Phil Migliarese:So we wanna something for athletics, something you just so, the the keyword is uplifting. Mhmm. So I wanted wanted that without being, you know, something with too much caffeine, too much sugar. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:And they're, like, stumped out.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. It's stemmed. There you go.
Joey Bowen:That's the worst feeling. It tastes real.
Drew Beech:It doesn't taste like a
Joey Bowen:pig. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:And that was the process. That was the hardest part, honestly. Just taking it from super t taste to, you know, something that could be considered a sports drink.
Joey Bowen:So many iterations I've gotta imagine. Iteration. Five iteration.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Five big ones. Yeah.
Drew Beech:So At each one, probably took
Phil Migliarese:I think it's Oh, it
Joey Bowen:took time. Yeah. Yeah. So this more or less
Phil Migliarese:started about 5 years ago.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm. Yay.
Phil Migliarese:And, pandemic got in there for 2 or 3 years. We had a Yeah. Sure. Put it on the back burner. Then about a year and something ago, we started, you know Okay.
Phil Migliarese:So we brought on, partner wise. You know, I think it's super important to start, especially beverage, because it's very uncommon to win. Mhmm. You have to have a heck of a team to start, you know, before you start hiring, before you start I mean, these things require tens of 1,000,000 of dollars to really get to market. Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:So, so from there, so Todd came to me. I was I I partnered up, and then I brought our, friend, Bill Thannell, who's also a black belt, and, everybody trains jujitsu staff too. So this company, that same way, everybody knows the training. Exactly. So we have Bill in there.
Phil Migliarese:So Bill's an expert in packaging, logistics, warehousing, anything you would need packaging Yeah. For, beverages or whatever. You know? He's been doing it for over 20 years. And then, my brother who, not only is he fantastic at social media and stuff like that, his back end abilities, meaning numbers and crunching numbers, which he loves to do.
Phil Migliarese:You know? He's the genius behind
Drew Beech:You wouldn't think that
Phil Migliarese:people think I do all the balance stuff is Rick. He does everything because he keeps all the books. He keeps all the, you know, financial stuff in order, which I'd be a mess. Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:So there's balance, the real balance of balance. It's all Rick. And then, my other partner, Mike Crozzi. So Mike is a startup lawyer by trade. His claim to fame, which I talk about all the time, and he'll never will, but he was one of the founding partners of Venmo.
Phil Migliarese:Uh-huh. So so he's very familiar with, you know, raising capital and the the the legal side, which you have to be very, very focused on to, to to start a beverage brand. So and he was the 5th partner that came in and all of us together, you know? Yeah. You know, 3 truckloads later, still in a major, you know, more or less testing phase, but we're we're on shelves.
Phil Migliarese:We're we're not in major Mhmm. Retail, which I don't wanna be yet. But like I said, we're testing in different areas, CrossFit, jujitsu.
Drew Beech:Nice. It's working.
Phil Migliarese:Love it. Working for where we are now. We're it's good numbers for where we are right now. So Thank you both the last take time, Phil. It's where we're at.
Phil Migliarese:It's the truth. Yeah. And it's also why the stats of people that raise all this money and hurry to market, which I call it, tend to fail very as fast as they Mhmm. You know? Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:So we have the luxury where we start a company. We don't have to take anything from it forever. Sure. So we're in a spot where we can do that, and that's uncommon too. Mhmm.
Drew Beech:So operating from a place of abundance like that is Well, it's privileged too because we're all
Phil Migliarese:in a place where we can do that. Yeah.
Drew Beech:But it makes you it makes you guys dangerous, like, as a as a business to not have to operate on scarcity mode all the time.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. That's a good point.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. And I'd like I said, the privilege part of it. Like, you know, stuff where you make a mistake now, we're making a $1,000 mistake instead of a $10,000,000 mistake. Yep. You know?
Phil Migliarese:So we're learning. It's it's a process. Yep. And there's no going to school for it. You have to learn from we have a grand slam advisory board, which all these people are more or less born into the beverage world.
Phil Migliarese:You know? These are, you know, guys that are previously with, like, BodyArmor and Gatorade and, you know, huge bottling companies Sure. Are all on our side, on our team to help us out. So fans. One of them is a huge fan of it.
Phil Migliarese:Like, attracts more than anyone I know. Nice.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Guys, you have power of the right mentors or people in your corner.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So these are all, like, the red belts. Yeah. I'm up there. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:There you go. They're all the red belts of the company, and then, you know, we're definitely white belts. So I'm not trying to go for a blue belt anytime soon.
Drew Beech:Is there any limit to the amount you you recommend drinking in a day, or is it
Phil Migliarese:it's according to body weight. It's 52 milligrams of caffeine, so you can go by that, I think. You know? Yeah. You can get overstimulated, obviously, but you have to drink quite a few to really get overstimulated.
Phil Migliarese:So they just it picks you up enough that you can put your gear on and go to your class. Get your gear on, go to the gym. You know what I mean? Or get the work done. Sometimes I do.
Phil Migliarese:I'm like or I have the tarot suit right now.
Joey Bowen:Open the open the laptop and get the work done. Seriously.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah? Like, I just don't like, I'm missing when they're solid and when they're fully published, I'll talk more about them, but I'm talking what the people do. And for Matcha's Matcha's ability to I think I'm to see. Yeah. ADHD Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:ADD, and a lot of other sort of, you know, problems or, you know, like that, the things that could be problems. Yeah. Like, there are, friends of mine that are ADHD that are not only, like, some of the wealthiest people I know, some of the craziest and most disorganized and brilliant and all this, you know, all these extremes, you know, that they find somehow that balance for a moment to get their thing done in their it Yeah. I have a little bit of that, but I also have you know, that's where the yoga comes in. I know I can sustain focus for a long time, but I also go you know, ask my wife.
Phil Migliarese:She'd be like
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Bounce around, like What's wrong with this guy? But I also think that, like, bouncing is exploration It is. With the mind. As long as you I see your notebooks, you just if you can download it, I think it's great to to to purposely, bounce. You know?
Phil Migliarese:There are good meetings to have too with corporations. Like, there are no bad ideas in this meeting. You can bounce all you want. Mhmm. You know?
Phil Migliarese:Some ideas are good. Some are definitely just going trash. Yeah. So Yeah.
Joey Bowen:But that's how you find the good ones. You have to explore. Right? Yep. You know what I mean?
Joey Bowen:So it's, uncharted. Yeah. Right? So you gotta bounce around. You're you're essentially building the map, your map
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. That's a good point.
Joey Bowen:To where you wanna where you wanna be. So where can, the few that are listening and watching get Tatsu Tea?
Phil Migliarese:Tatsu Tea dotcom. So now you can order a full case, which is 24 cans. And then, if you're not thinking of all that, we have a smaller 12 pack that we just a beautiful box. We just, we just stocked those up, and they're, they're actually going faster than I thought. Okay.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. It's really surprising. Like, you guys probably it's my kind of first time with anything outside of jujitsu direct to consumer.
Joey Bowen:Mhmm.
Phil Migliarese:I'm seeing this. I'm like, where are all these people coming from? Like Yes. So then they're in the jujitsu CrossFit fitness, and just a general Yeah. Like you said, the, developer world Yep.
Phil Migliarese:Entrepreneurial world, big time. That's been tooth error. And people are making better choices these days. Yeah. So that's kind of the I'm sorry.
Joey Bowen:Yeah? I
Phil Migliarese:was just gonna say the mission partly is to be a gateway. So drink a tatsu first to make better other better choices in your life. So the gateway to, we don't need to eat that. We don't need to talk to that person. Like, there are people you have to withdraw from too in life.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So I'm just saying the gateway is that that's that's one of the and it's only a beverage. So it's not you know?
Drew Beech:And also if you're making the conscious decision to drink a healthy drink, like a matcha, that start little microscopic decisions. Like, that start to overflow in other areas of your life. Yeah. I agree. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:Those all those areas that you described, they're people that are, like, acutely aware of their inputs and their outputs. Right? Like, what they put into their body, what they put into their mind, and how that reflects their output, whether it's on the mats, in the gym, the office.
Phil Migliarese:And our tagline is perform with purpose. Yeah. So that's the whole point. So
Joey Bowen:And Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:If you do need a little push to perform and you have that final you know, you have the big reason why you're doing the thing Yep. You remember that every day. So your purpose purpose Sure.
Drew Beech:And to from what I'm aware of, the Japanese are some of the healthiest people, like, at least where matcha derived from.
Phil Migliarese:Like, the books I've read online since I tell Japan, no.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Yeah. Well, where there's I've
Drew Beech:had the bookings of shit like Yeah. Well, some chefs. Yeah. Health and longevity. I read a book about Health and Longevity, like the, but those people.
Drew Beech:Back when Maja was derived Yeah. They would live a very
Joey Bowen:There's, like, a there was a there was a shift, I think, in Japanese culture that went towards the bar scene and drinking it. Yeah. What's interesting is there's a shift happening in the opposite direction now. I just read an article. I think it was Sapporo that are, like, aggressively pursuing NA versions.
Phil Migliarese:I'm not involved in your
Joey Bowen:dispute there because, there's a population in Japan that's stepping away from that.
Phil Migliarese:Like It's not only Japan. At the office, go out and
Joey Bowen:drink all night, eat fried food, you know, do it again.
Phil Migliarese:The mocktail market, the NA market, in general, is a multibillion dollar market. Are so I purposely put it into that can, that dark that because I thought it fit well in nightlife as well. So there's like a you know? Yeah. We say, like, matcha's if you don't drink coffee, it's good for the morning.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. If you like coffee, make it your second coffee. So I have an application all through it. Yeah. But, like, more or less pre gaming before you go out to a club or whatever without doing out you know, being alcoholic, and you can still stay interesting.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. You know? Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:You can drink water. My friends, like, I see people It would be liquid I love liquid death. I like the seltzer. I love it.
Drew Beech:Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:But he's like, ah, that guy's, like, kind of a square. I was like, he's like, you drink tots so you're kinda a little cooler.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. There you go. There you go.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. I see you
Drew Beech:setting, like, with that train. So it's like
Phil Migliarese:It's not.
Joey Bowen:It's good. I I ain't going well.
Phil Migliarese:Well, I appreciate the marketing. I appreciate the story. Mike Ceceiro is the Yeah. Founder. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:You know, it's kind of the reason why I was just in California was to go to the origin of a lot of different beverages. I see. That's right there. Right in right in, Hermosa Beach. Right out of Hermosa Beach, you have a lot of big brands that that's where they test it first.
Phil Migliarese:That's where they're from. It's a big beverage, like, even this crazy.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. Nice. Anything else you wanna talk to Phil about? So this is great.
Phil Migliarese:Well, this
Joey Bowen:was great.
Drew Beech:We'll do a part 2 first.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. We'll do part 2. I think down the street. So parts too. Do you want.
Joey Bowen:But we're gonna take you up on it rolling before Yeah. Part 2.
Phil Migliarese:We'll get some. Joey won't roll
Drew Beech:with it.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Not a We'll we'll keep
Joey Bowen:it. I'm pumped alert. Yeah. I'm pumped alert. No.
Phil Migliarese:It's so much fun.
Joey Bowen:Maybe we'll do it on we'll do it on location at, your school.
Phil Migliarese:But if anyone wants. Yeah. We are rundown.
Joey Bowen:Signing Dain up for your work. On location.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. I do it.
Drew Beech:I want everything with the first jitsu class. What's that? That'll be Dane's first jiu jitsu class. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:I think that's a good idea, actually. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:We'll do the first one in the second. Yeah. No. No. Seriously.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Yeah. They'll take 30 seconds. I'm But you'll see it. Now I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna show you the method.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. So just you don't need a mat. You don't need to fall. You don't need to just learning. So it starts standing then goes to the ground.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Interesting. Right? Yep. Boom.
Phil Migliarese:So then
Drew Beech:keep the cameras rolling. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:Keep them rolling. Keep scrolling. So where, we talked about balance. We talked about tattoo. Where can our community find you, Phil?
Phil Migliarese:Online, you mean? Yes. You could look under jiu jitsu matrix. Mhmm. Pretty much on all, yeah, on all social or Facebook is under my name.
Phil Migliarese:But, I was told by my brother that I have to be more social online, and I, like, cut back. Now he's like, he just hit a 100,000 followers, my brother. So but he's on there all the time. I don't I'm not like that.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. So if
Phil Migliarese:I get 10,000 soon, I'm good.
Joey Bowen:Yeah. So it's some more of the balance inside balance like you were talking about before. Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Migliarese:Yeah. Let's do that sort of stuff. So just to have fun with it. I have fun with this stuff.
Joey Bowen:So Yeah. For sure. For sure. Well, we can't thank you enough for Oh, thanks for coming in. Coming in and being on share, also believing in what we're doing.
Phil Migliarese:Yes. You know
Joey Bowen:what I mean? Believing in what we're doing, believing in our ethos. You know what I mean? That lines up with yours. So, extremely grateful for that.
Joey Bowen:Alright.
Phil Migliarese:Appreciate it, guys. Yeah.
Joey Bowen:I'll leave this to you with this. Always choose hard work over handouts. Always choose effort over entitlement. No one owns you. No one owes you.
Joey Bowen:You're one of the few. Let's hunt.