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In today's episode, we dive deep into the transformative journey of Jordan Ferrone. Struggling to find purpose in life, Jordan turned to the practice of daily ice baths as a way to challenge himself and break free from negative thought patterns. What began as a 12-day challenge quickly evolved into a life-changing journey that has now reached an incredible 474 days and counting. Along the way, Jordan has amassed a following of over a million people on Instagram, all inspired by his dedication and the profound impact cold exposure has had on his life. A completely new man from when he started the challenge, and a partner now with various cold plunge and health products, Jordan has changed the direction and scope of his life immensely. He joins us to shed light on this process.
Topics discussed include conquering the inner negative voice, the importance of mindset, developing confidence and a sense of self through friction, why Jordan began this journey and when he will stop, the importance of values learned through sports, the transformative power of taking on challenges, the role of identity in personal development, the impact of consistency and discipline on one's life, the benefits of cold exposure and endurance sports, the significance of loyalty in partnerships, the surprising powers social media to inspire and connect, and many other topics.
(00:00) Ice Barrel Challenge and Personal Transformation
(04:03) Finding Inner Strength Through Challenges
(14:25) Athletic Discipline and Personal Growth
(21:44) The Power of Consistency and Purpose
(29:39) Journey to Personal Growth Through Endurance
(33:40) Building Confidence Through Challenging Pursuits
(43:25) Personal Accountability and Mindset Transformation
(46:59) Navigating Relationships for Personal Growth
(52:12) Reflections on Personal Growth and Impact
(57:18) Transformation Through Hard Work and Loyalty
(01:04:35) Personal Growth and Cold Plunging
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What is The Meat Mafia Podcast?
The Meat Mafia Podcast is hosted by @MeatMafiaBrett and @MeatMafiaHarry.
We're two guys who walked away from the typical path to carve out something different. Based in Austin, we’re on a mission to figure out what it takes to live a fulfilled life in a world that often pushes us away from meaning.
We have conversations with people we believe can help us, diving deep into the pillars of health, wealth, and faith, as the cornerstones of our mission.
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NOTE: There were 4 speakers identified in this transcript. Podium recommends using "Find and Replace" to change the speaker label to the appropriate name. Speaker separation errors can arise when multiple speakers speak simultaneously.
0:00:00 - Speaker 1
Jordan. What's happening, brother?
0:00:02 - Speaker 2
Ah, just happy to be here, man.
0:00:03 - Speaker 1
Welcome to. Austin, appreciate you, appreciate you it was good to get a little prelude to this podcast over at Natasha's house. It was. A nice little treat being able to cook up some good food for her athletes and you were one of them, so it was great to just get connected over there.
0:00:18 - Speaker 2
It was delicious and I've been watching you guys from afar, Love everything you guys are doing with the podcast and content you guys are putting out, and been watching you guys build what you guys are building with Noble Origins and it's just awesome to see man Really, really inspired. So appreciate you guys having me.
0:00:33 - Speaker 4
Yeah, I think it's definitely a mutual admiration. For sure, we've had a few different people that have recommended you as a podcast guest, natasha being one who's your triathlon coach, kelsey Shuren, who was on our show about a month ago. She was incredible and for us to follow your journey along too. When you think about the concept of catalyzing change for anyone that doesn't know your story, we'll get into it. But I mean, you've done an ice barrel every day, an ice cold plunge. For what 448 days? Are you on 448 or 449?
0:01:01 - Speaker 2
449 today 449.
0:01:07 - Speaker 4
449?, 449 today, 449 today. You were at 300 followers when you started the challenge. Now you're at a million followers and I know followers obviously more. There's way more to it than follower count. But just to give people perspective of how much your own personal brand has grown. People are obsessed and they love everything that you're doing. But, man, I think a little context for the listener, just kind of why you started this challenge. Who were you before you started this incredible pursuit? I think that'd be a great place to uh, to kick things off.
0:01:33 - Speaker 2
Yeah, um started from a dark place, started from a really, really dark place. Um could take you all the way back to my childhood. Um, my parents divorced at a very, very early age, and so that was probably one of my earliest memories of being a human being. Is is just my dad coming up to me and saying that, you know, he didn't love my mom anymore and that they were separating. And you know, at three and a half years old it's hard to really comprehend what that even means. But as time went by, I just knew that that meant less time with my mom or my dad and doing things a little bit differently.
So, yeah, I mean, don't get it twisted I think, compared to 80 or 90% of the world population, I had a pretty good. You know, we had running water, clean water, food in our fridge, and so I think it's just a matter of the story you tell yourself. But I was able to kind of mask a lot of that trauma through athletics, playing sports, playing competitive hockey, growing up, and so that really was able to allow me to push all of that, those thoughts, to the side, and I think once I stopped playing at the age of about 18 or 19 years old is, you know, when those demons really started to come back and and they came back strong. So that's, that was kind of the. You know the, the comic book version of how Batman. You know the the comic book version of, of, of, how.
Batman was created, if you will, and so that uh was the start of, of of a dark spiral and um yeah, what, um, what sort of like life were you living when you first started getting in the ice barrel?
0:02:58 - Speaker 1
Like those early days I saw like the first post and or I saw your hundredth day post and you gave a shout out back to you know the early version of yourself, but it seemed like in just a pretty short period of time 100 days you had changed a ton. So I'm curious like what those first few days actually looked like.
0:03:16 - Speaker 2
Those first few days were rough. Those first few days I almost quit. I almost quit on. I almost quit um on the third day, and it was, you know, if you go back and watch the video, I I I think it was the first time that I actually had that conversation with myself out loud and answered back to that voice saying you know, three days was enough and that is kind of been was was really the pivoting point of where this transformation started and knowing that that voice that I had in my head didn't have to control me anymore. And that was a voice that controlled me for a very long time. You know, it controlled me for 30 plus years and I think that was was. You know, the biggest benefit of doing this consistently every day is that you can overcome those thoughts and you don't have to be that person that you think you are and that perception of yourself when you look in the mirror can change it's funny we were.
0:04:18 - Speaker 4
we were outside just chopping it up a little bit before we recorded. We were with our buddy, cj Finley, and when he had heard about your challenge was like what's the biggest change that you've noticed? And the first thing that you immediately responded to him with is that inner voice. And the inner voice is something that Harry and I are passionate about and talk a lot about, and there's almost two inner voices. There's almost like this dialogue, this like intuitive dialogue, when you're not thinking or not controlling it. That just goes where. It's like I'm dumb, I'm an idiot, I can't do this. It's like this kind of negative dialogue that somehow it's probably programmed into us by society or parents or whoever. But then, based on the challenges that you're talking about, you can almost control that inner voice where you hear that first voice but you override it with like a second empowering voice and it sounds like that's something that you've become a master of over these 449 days. And, um, he would love for you to talk about that a little bit too.
0:05:09 - Speaker 2
Yeah, I wouldn't say by any stretch I'm a master, but I think it's more so the self-awareness and just the awareness to know that that voice is there and it and it doesn't have to control you. Yeah, that voice, I think for a lot of people they get mistaken in thinking that that voice is their identity and that voice is who they are and you know to your point. Like you said, that voice is really just put there by other people, that voice is not you, and so by doing these things and it doesn't have to be an ice bath, but by doing things that that voice is telling you you can't or that you should stop, or that it's too hard or that you're not worth it, when you are able to find a contrasting voice that can talk back to it, that's when you really start to develop that inner confidence into who you actually are.
And I think a lot of people don't really get to that point and for anyone who's listening, I think if you can just keep persevering and keep you know, battling in the face of adversity, you will find that voice and you'll be able to overcome a lot of things that in your past you would probably have thought that you wouldn't be able to.
0:06:18 - Speaker 1
Yeah, what day did you kind of think to yourself like I'm going to just keep doing this for forever or forever, like however long you have it in your mind that you're gonna just keep doing? This for forever or forever like however long you're, you have it in your mind that you're going to keep doing this, yeah you know, I haven't really spoke about this publicly, uh, but I thought it was just going to be.
0:06:36 - Speaker 2
You know, this cute little, you know 12 days of 12 days of christmas you know, 12 days of ice.
If you look at the day that started, I think it was december 12th and so that would have been you know nice little. You know 12 days of plunges and I think it was, I don't know, maybe day four or five. I kind of just again talking to myself, just think, well, what if you can actually just keep going? You know, I was really feeling good about myself coming out of those ice baths. I'm telling you, going into it, you know you have all those dark thoughts and thinking that you shouldn't do it and it's hard and it's going to suck, especially doing it in Winnipeg, manitoba, canada, where you know we've got, you know, negative 30 degree temperatures.
And yeah, I just thought, you know, if I can get past 10 days, 12 days, 30 days, what's going to stop me from going to 100? And I was fortunate enough on day 100 to actually fly out to the Detroit Lions facility, which was, which is a team you know that I hold very near and dear to my heart, growing up in Windsor, ontario, being right across the Detroit River from from Detroit, and so carry a lot of that, that sentiment, that Detroit culture with me and just being able to be recognized by them and being treated and having that hospitality around the facility. I think just gave me a little bit of validation, not that I was necessarily seeking it out, but just thinking that this content has obviously had an impact on a lot of people, including my favorite football team. And so what if I can just keep this going? And so that was, you know, really, just another you know chip that I could stack, saying that you know why does this thing have to stop at 100?
0:08:18 - Speaker 4
Yeah, I feel like that moment for you of actually being able to do a cold bath at your favorite football team's facility. It's like you just get these wins along the way. I feel it, and I feel like it's God just showing you that you're actually doing the right things and you kind of you can only connect the dots looking backwards, but when I think about you know your journey, I'm sure when you started the challenge you had no idea what it was going to turn into. It sounds like maybe there was some intrinsic desire to just like build up self-confidence or resilience or maybe improve that internal voice. But for the listener, what really were those starting goals for you? Doing the initial 10 to 12 day ice bath challenge that's turned into everything that it is now.
0:09:00 - Speaker 2
Yeah, I think I was just trying to run away from the person that I was and you know, I just wanted something that was a drastic change in my life and you know, I'm sure it could have happened a variety of different ways. Right, it didn't have to be an ice bath, but I had been doing cold exposure for a few years, on and off. What got very into Wim Hof early on I'd say probably 2016, 2017, and followed everything that he was doing. And so I was doing cold showers, seeing the benefits every once in a while, but obviously not doing it very consistently. And when that voice would pop up and say don't do it, I would, you know, quickly listen and say, yeah, you're probably right.
But, yeah, I think it was just, you know, a perfect storm of it obviously being winter, being very cold outside, not liking the place that I was, even though you know I've got a great family, a beautiful wife and beautiful kids at home I just felt like there just wasn't enough happening. And so, you know, I went on this journey of trying to not only find purpose but trying to find out who I really was, after years of, again, still not really knowing and losing that identity. Obviously, playing, you know hockey, growing up, I just, I think when you stop playing and you identify so much with, oh, I'm an athlete, I'm a hockey player, and when that finishes, you're really almost left with, with, with nothing. And I don't know if you guys experienced the same thing. Coming from a baseball background and playing, you know high level baseball, but when, when all that's tied up in your identity, it, it, it's, it's confusing.
And so, um, yeah, that I mean obviously coming out, coming down from a dark path and, and you know, abusing drugs and alcohol, and into the party scene, um, I still wasn't sure you know who I really was, and so I think it was just a mental test of, for one, can I do this thing and two, you know, again just doing some soul searching and trying to find out who I was.
0:10:56 - Speaker 4
Yeah, Men in particular, right, it's like you could have everything going for you. You could have good job, beautiful wife, beautiful kids. But I think, men in particular, if you're missing that friction, like the intentional pursuit of difficult things, it just feels like there's this big chunk of you that's missing. So it sounds like that's something that you were missing. So you intentionally went out and sought friction and it's amazing, when you just it was probably a few days into the challenge, after getting over day three, you're like this is who I'm supposed to be. For me, when I was done playing collegiate baseball, similar to you I didn't really know who I was. I was just working a tech sales job and I I finally recaptured the person who I was supposed to be by just signing up for, you know, endurance races, marathons, triathlons, doing carnivore diet. It was like that friction let me achieve this higher version of myself that I didn't know if I would ever get back to. And it sounds like that's very similar for you too, through this whole challenge.
0:11:47 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean it's funny that you would go in and seek out something hard to try to find out who you are, but that's really where you're going to find it, you know. If you're, you know, seeking out this comfortable life and you're just very content with the status quo and and and accepting what society has kind of put on you and who they think you should be, it's a more difficult life than seeking out that friction, trying to find something within yourself. It's hard, right. A lot of people don't want to do it. A lot of people don't want to get in that cold water. A lot of people don't want to, you know, start that business venture that they've been thinking about. They just want to, you know, be comfortable with their nine to five and their you know, their paid salary and just cruise by through life. But I think that leads to a lot more disaster, with, just, you know, sports being a perfect example.
0:12:47 - Speaker 1
I think all three of us obviously share a similar story of having to move past sports, and I think about sports really is like a pretty large mask for people's identity and I know when I transitioned out of sports I had a hard time kind of finding that next thing and it wasn't until I realized that sports was a much more distant way of identifying with the values that sports actually taught me, like who I was.
It was a much more distant way of me like having this relationship with those core values which I think when you do something like an ice bath every day, you realize you're not just, you're not an ice bath or you're consistent, and like you start to identify yourself with these values that are actually truly what you are and I think what growing up it's really easy to not really understand, like you know why you like this sport and why you're good at it, or like what makes you drawn to it. It could be a number of different things, but it's really like those values that you're looking for and I've found that in my own journey. It's really like focusing in on those things that I want to be, kind of like a part of my badge of honor, like these things like being an honest person, being trustworthy, like those, are the aspects of sport that I think we ultimately relate with, but we don't really see that when we're playing them.
And there's something really powerful about what you're doing, where it's like you create this architecture in your life. That's pretty simple, but it allows you to reform your life around it, because you're just showing up and you're saying hey, this is the thing that I'm just going to do on a regular basis until my thoughts start to reform around something different.
0:14:22 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, you're totally right. I mean, I think a lot of things that I've taken away from playing years of sports, and hockey in particular, is that, for one, it's the discipline, the consistency of showing up to the rink when you don't want to, 6.30 am practice and you're just your coach is going to make you bag skate and that's just the way it's going to happen, and you don't want to um in the work ethic that it takes to play and compete at a high level. I think I still carry those things with me today and and I'm sure that comes out in, you know this these daily ice baths um, but you know to your point I'm, I'm not an ice bath, or although you know my, my, my content would reflect that.
um, I I try not to get that really tied up in my identity and who I am, because inevitably this thing's going to end. This isn't going to last forever and so I don't want to again get caught in that values that I grew up learning through athletics into this discipline and hopefully that's going to carry over into a lot of other things in life.
0:15:33 - Speaker 4
Yeah, more than an ice bath. I think you're a competitor and you're competing against this weaker version of Jordan that cannot do these things. And I think to your point, harry. I think what a lot of athletes miss, and they don't even realize they miss, is just the aspect of competition and competing for this higher mission, and it doesn't need to be against another team, it doesn't need to be against another business. Like competing against this weaker version of yourself is something I think a lot about and you don't know this, but you know, 2023 was a great year for the business, where we ended up launching three separate businesses based off our social media platform, and it was amazing.
But one of the things I realized is that I was throwing so much money or so much, so much effort into the business bucket that the physical pursuits of the things that I think created the brand in the first place was kind of falling by the wayside, and I was more so in maintenance mode. So my big thing in 2024 is like, dude, I want to compete against myself and I don't want to be the person that's middle of the road, like that feeling of your head hitting the pillow and just thinking to yourself I couldn't have done anything more. That day is the best feeling, and when you don't have that feeling, it's the worst feeling. To go to bed, too, yeah.
0:16:37 - Speaker 2
Yeah, there's nothing worse than than than waking up in the morning, or or you know better yet laying your head on the pillow at night, knowing that you could have done a little bit more yeah you didn't right and that's again.
That's just the competitor in me I'm sure you guys have the same kind of thoughts is like I'm gonna max out as much as I can out of this day and that doesn't have to me. I gotta I don't have to break myself off every day, but if I'm, I want to just be able to stick to the promises that I made to myself, and if I'm able to do that, that's just another win.
0:17:09 - Speaker 4
Go ahead. I was going to say how do you? I'm actually really interested about the vantage point that your wife and your kids have because they've probably seen the change the most, and how do you think they would say that you've changed as a person from day one to day 449?
0:17:25 - Speaker 2
Oh yeah, I'm sure my wife's gonna love this answer, but you know, in reality I think they would probably say that I'm probably a little bit more patient, and by that I'm nowhere near you know where I want to be. It's still a work in progress. I'm not, you know, by any means healed through this journey, but it has definitely been a step in the right direction. And so, yeah, I just don't think I was a very as much as it sucks to say I don't think I was a very good father, I don't think I was a very good husband for a long time and and that's hard to admit- it's hard to.
it's hard to say that out loud, especially, you know, to the audience that listens to this podcast, but it's something that you know, at least I'm aware of and I've come to terms with. But when you are aware of those things, it just, you know. Be a little bit more present with, with my family, and have a little bit more empathy for the next person that you know I, I, I I interact with. You know you never know what somebody is going through, and so I think I would be quick to brush somebody off or or think that you know they don't really know what they're talking about, or have an attitude like you know I'm better than this person, and so I think just having a little bit more empathy for where people are coming from and what the starting point of another person might be is really something that I've leaned into this year.
0:19:03 - Speaker 1
Do you think that that is a product, more so of like the physiological changes that you've experienced, or actually building up more trust with yourself, so you're just like more confident in who you are and able to just distill that confidence into other things that you're doing in life?
0:19:20 - Speaker 2
Yeah, as you're asking me that I'm trying to think, you know what is the catalyst that would allow me to think that way? I think when you yeah, and it just comes back to for me as I'm thinking about this answer when you confront those thoughts in your mind, you realize that maybe those thoughts that I had about that person aren't real. You know, those thoughts that I had about that person aren't real, you know, and so it's really just allowed me to reshape a lot of the thought processes that I have in my mind and have a response to it, thinking that yeah, maybe that isn't true.
Maybe you know, maybe the way that I'm judging this person or you know the way that I'm coming off right now is just a product of not really understanding. And so I think just having a little bit more patience and being able to, you know, read the room a little bit better, um has allowed me to really do more of a deep dive internally and be a little bit more self-aware about where where I'm at, and it's kind of leveled the playing field, um, so to speak.
0:20:22 - Speaker 1
What do you think? So I think like the male brain is supposed to like stop evolving at like 28 or 29 or something.
0:20:28 - Speaker 2
Mine stopped a long long time.
0:20:31 - Speaker 1
But it sounds like you've figured out the right stimulus to create some, some change and sort of how you were thinking about things. So I'm curious like, what do you say to that that you know the male brain or our brains in general just kind of stop evolving after a certain point?
0:20:46 - Speaker 2
I mean it's. It would be hard for me to say that it it doesn't. Um, you know, I would, if I, if I would use my own personal experience, I would say that it might stop evolving at some point. But I think you can always retrain and reteach the part that has evolved to. You know it's, it's it's final form, so to speak. So, yes, it there might be a point scientifically that you know, especially men, as you say, might get to and and and. But I don't think the capacity runs out. I think you know you're able to, you know, re-download some new software and kind of reformat what's already there and replace it with other thoughts and other feelings.
0:21:40 - Speaker 4
Yeah, and it's pairing that with like everything we're talking about now.
Whether it's you want to do this challenge, maybe someone out there that's like 60 pounds overweight that finally decides they want to get themselves in shape.
It's like you can give that person every playbook, the perfect nutrition plan, the perfect exercise plan, but really what it comes down to is like almost like this burning desire where you just decide to flip the switch and you're like I'm not going back to that old version of myself, I'm actually going to do it.
That's one of the things that David Goggins talks about is he was like everyone out there knows the things that they need to do to get into amazing shape and transform their life. They understand like you need to burn more calories than you take in, you need to run, do some type of like cardiovascular activity, but like we know the basics and the blueprint, it's like that internal, like that almost like that burning heart to actually change. That's what most people are missing and the tough thing is that you can't teach it. But when you have it, you know when someone else has it too, and it sounds like for you. You just hit that switch and you were like I'm done with this version of Jordan. I'm going to go all in on this future version of myself.
And like look at all the change that you've gotten as a result of that too.
0:22:44 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah you're totally right. I mean, you know, for a long time I was stuck in that trap of just consuming and thinking that I was changing my life just by reading a book or listening to a podcast or, you know, watching a YouTube video. But to your point, I mean, you really can't understand. You know things that a Goggins would say, unless you actually put it into practice, it's hard, it is hard and I think a lot of people you know delay that, that hard work, just knowing that it's going to suck. But I think once you get through that, once you start and build that momentum, you realize that it's hard to, it's hard to stop. You know I could have easily taken a couple of days off here while in Austin, texas, and and and not try to, you know, scramble and find a place to cold plunge. But you know I wouldn't have felt good about myself at night knowing that I had an opportunity and I didn't take advantage of it. Yeah, go ahead.
0:23:36 - Speaker 1
I was just going to say the compounding effects of just getting that initial momentum going I think is something that even within like a seven-day period or for you, like the 12 days, I think is something that even within like a seven day period or for you like the 12 days, it sounded like that was kind of where this whole idea marinated enough to where you were like I'm just gonna keep doing this because I see value in it.
Like seven days can be a transformative period for people if they find the thing and then just like, give themselves that that non-negotiable conversation with themselves where it's like I'm just going to do this for seven days and on the end of it maybe I, you know, lift my head up and see how I'm feeling. But I guarantee you you're going to be feeling more confident and feeling better about yourself to the point where you would almost really like not not like yourself if you stopped doing it. So I do think that that momentum piece is huge. I know like when I've experienced change in my life, it was always this feeling of like getting to a period where I knew that like I would see some level of change and if you know I stopped, I would lose those 10 days, basically, and that's kind of like one of those tricks that you can play with yourself to just keep that momentum riding.
0:24:39 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, you know, I think, for for most people they just don't give themselves a chance you know they, they, they get in their own way, and so it it.
I think what I see most is that people are so impatient and they want results now and they don't want to wait to see. You know what the outcome is actually going to be if I stick to this thing, and so I think you know for anyone listening it's it's it's really just not having a better relationship with time and not necessarily, you know, rushing the results. You know whether that's building a personal brand on on social media or, you know, to your point, trying to get in shape, you're still going to be in a better spot than you are seven days from now, 30 days from now, a hundred days from now, 30 days from now, 100 days from now than you are than when you started, regardless of if you actually achieved what you set out to achieve. You've already done more work than what you did before you hit go, and so just stick with it. You know you never know what opportunities are going to happen. You never know what doors are going to open. You never know what is around the corner, unless you just keep being consistent.
0:25:47 - Speaker 4
Yeah, the day three moment that you talk about, when you were very close to quitting, you persevered to day four. That's obviously spiraled to day 449. It's very similar to compounding interest in like a Vanguard brokerage fund. When you hear these stories of these people that throw in, like you know, 25k and they let it just sit there and compound for 60 years and then 60 years down the road that 25K investment is $4 million or whatever it is. You stopping that ice barrel, ice bath challenge at day three would be like, hey, I'm going to throw in 25K and I'm going to pull it out after three days so you never get the opportunity to reap the $4 million over those years. That would be just like you quitting that challenge.
0:26:24 - Speaker 2
Yeah, I think the biggest thing if I, if I were to go back and actually see myself stopping after day three or day four, would be the amount of people I would miss out on impacting their life, and that's been huge for me.
You know that I started, and I think we talked about this on Friday at Natasha's house. It was, you know, I and I'm, you know, still to this day, I'm doing this for myself and nobody else. But after you know, 30 days, 50 days, 60 committing suicide, and they didn't because they saw my video, whether that's true or not, that carries a lot of weight and so it really picked up a lot more purpose for me than just getting in cold water. And so that's when you know the messages started about, you know, purpose and motivation and inspiring people to just be better today than they were yesterday. That carries a lot of weight with me and I feel that responsibility in some sense to not only go one more day just because it's the next day on the calendar, but because there might be somebody out there who is thinking that they can't and so if I can be of any assistance to them, I think you know, just having that that thought process of there's somebody out there that I can actually help has been a game changer.
0:27:53 - Speaker 1
It's pretty crazy to think that you have a million followers on Instagram just from doing the consistency of getting in the ice barrel.
But when you hear you talk about it, it's actually something that's probably so relatable to a lot of people the path that you're on, where you know day zero version of yourself, totally different person than the person who's sitting here today, and everyone has that really feeling of wanting to do better and not really knowing necessarily what direction to take.
So the fact that you do have a million followers on Instagram is no surprise to us, because the message is like it's attainable for everyone, it's something that everyone can do and as long as they stay consistent to it and commit to themselves, it's right there, it's all within their control, and I think that's really a testament to what you're doing, where it's like people resonate with what you're doing, this mission that you're on, because it's, you know, you're you're like one of us, you're just like another guy.
But it's like it's such a powerful message because there are there's more people out there who are, you know, kind of just like wondering if they want to stick with their job or, you know, trying to improve their relationship with their wife or want to be a better father, stick with their job or you know, trying to improve their relationship with their wife, or want to be a better father, and they just like don't have that mechanism to kind of create that that change. And so I, you know, I just wanted to say I like totally not surprised by the million followers. I'm sure you get that a lot, but it's, it's incredible, and I don't think that it's by coincidence.
0:29:19 - Speaker 2
I appreciate you saying that it, it. It means a lot and know, as you're talking, you know, I'm just thinking about all the other people who, again, have just gotten their own way, thinking that they don't have the answer, and to that I would say you do, you just haven't found the vehicle in which is going to take you there. Um, I, I never in my wildest dreams thought that a million followers on Instagram was going to be the result of doing an ice bath every day for the last 400 and almost 50 days. Right, but that's what it's turned into. And and and.
Yeah, to me, followers really don't mean a whole lot, um, but it is, in a sense, some kind of validation to my mind, knowing that that's who I've always been. I just have, I just never found a way to get that out, and this, these, these ice baths have been a vehicle for me, um, to let that out of me and serve others through that process, and it's been. It's been awesome, as as, as cool as it is to open your Instagram account and see a million followers. It's a lot cooler to be able to connect with people on a level that you never thought you would, and I think you know, the reason you know maybe it's happened is like you said, I'm just another guy. I'm exactly like everyone else and I think the person you know who's best qualified to help with somebody going through all that stuff is the person who's been through it themselves.
0:30:55 - Speaker 4
Yeah, yeah. It was like there was this version of Jordan that existed. He always existed deep inside of you. It was like you said, you just needed that specific vehicle for change for that version to come out. And now you're helping so many people. There's people that are literally sending you DMS of like, hey, I was suicidal. I came across your content. You've given me this wolf wolf to live. I couldn't imagine a better feeling than getting that message.
But I think to your point, Jordan, it's so important to just pick some vehicle for change. We talk a lot about nutrition and the food that you put into your body being your vehicle for change. Your vehicle for change was ice baths. Some people it's running, some people it's getting eight hours of sleep at night. It's like if you want to make a change, I think just don't overthink it. Just find your one vehicle and then you'll look back a year later and you'll be doing like 15 other things that you never did before. You started that challenge. Like you, right, you started with the ice baths. I'm sure you're probably eating cleaner. You're training for a half iron man right now. Maybe you could talk about some of the other changes that you've noticed in your life that catalyze through just the ice baths yeah, it's.
0:31:57 - Speaker 2
It's crazy how just being consistent in one area will bleed over into a lot of other areas, in, in, in in your life. And so, yeah, I mean you, you, you hit on it. Um, I wanted to, you know, continue to challenge myself this year, and so I signed up for a half Ironman. Um, you know, shout out to Natasha and and and.
BDM coaching and, uh, taking me under her wing. You know as as basically a, a, a walk on and uh, you know having no prior experience in in either. You know having no prior experience in either. You know swimming, biking or running and I'm loving it, man, but it's. It really has had an impact in all area of my life, in all areas of my life. Whether that will carry you through to the next thing, knowing that you can get through it, regardless of what it is, whether you're a rookie, whether you're a veteran, it doesn't matter. You can still persevere and again challenge those thoughts that you have in your mind that tell you you can't.
0:33:05 - Speaker 1
What has been your approach starting triathlon? What sparked that? Interest to get into one of the craziest sports out there.
0:33:14 - Speaker 2
I think, probably like most people, I went down the rabbit hole of endurance sports on YouTube and watching all these people do these incredible things, you know, watching all these people, you know, do these incredible things. But I think what stuck out to me the most was the exhilaration that I saw in a lot of these people's faces crossing the finish line, knowing that they had just completed something that I'm sure to them when they started seemed impossible. And I'm going through that right now. You know, as I'm, as I'm training for it is spent, you know, the last week here in Austin.
You know, training every day and getting to know a lot, a lot of the people in this triathlon space. Uh, it sucks, it's lonely, it's it's dark and there are a lot of days that you just don't want to do it. But every single one of those days that, you know, I have that thought, I just think about myself crossing that finish line, that, uh, again, it's another, another um brick that I can stack, saying that, you know, I, I, I accomplished that yeah, I, I do feel a lot of times like your quality of life is um, like in tandem with just the difficult pursuits and the things that really scare you, which is cliche, but it's 100, true.
0:34:21 - Speaker 4
I think back to the first triathlon I did was a 70.3 in 2019 in Connecticut. I didn't even own a bike. I hadn't been on a bike in like 10 years and I remember trying to clip into my pedals in central park for the first time. I literally ate shit five times. I couldn't clip into my bike and I remember thinking like, how am I going to do this challenge? Three weeks later, and I remember thinking like, dude, you will figure this out and you're going to be so proud of yourself for one of the first times ever, just by doing something that scares you so much. And just finding a way and that's one of the things like that you've done is right Is doing these cold plunges. It builds up this body of work and this intrinsic confidence where you're like, dude, I can sign up for 70.3 and do it. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I'm going to find a coach, I'm going to buy a bike, you just chip away at it and then you have this great body of work that you've built up.
0:35:05 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's again, it's just, it's just part of that mindset that you you have, that you can over, you can't. And I think again, once you start to build up momentum within yourself and you start to really quiet that negative self-talk and you can replace it with these thoughts that, um, you know in this experience that you have done hard things before and this doesn't have to be as hard as I think it is. Uh, you're absolutely right, and and you know who knows what this is going to lead to, whether you know I continue down this road and go ahead and complete a full Ironman, but you know I'm trying to take it one day at a time and not get too ahead of myself.
But yeah, I mean for me, I think the possibilities are endless. It's just you know, what do I want to do next? I set my mind to it and we roll.
0:35:54 - Speaker 1
Have you found yourself gravitating towards one of the three disciplines? No.
0:36:03 - Speaker 2
No, they're all brutal. I mean, you know, if I had to, you know say which one I like the best, it would probably be running, just because it comes so much more natural. You know, I never owned a bike before or swam any distance, so even though I wasn't training, I was still doing some running. You know, I'd go ahead on Saturday morning and run 15 miles and break myself off and not be able to walk for a week, but at least in my mind I knew that I could do it. I can do the running. But yeah, we just went for a 60-mile bike the other day through Hutto Texas over to Granger Dam and back and that was humbling. It was very humbling to uh, to get to experience that, not only um, to be able to accomplish it, but watching everyone else just fly by me uh you know, as I'm trying to, you know, climb these hills and and and get through this.
you know this, this grueling, uh bike ride, but um, yeah, I think you know to your point, I think I, I know I can do it. It's just a matter of um, you know, sticking to the plan and um, you know, not deviating from from that.
0:37:17 - Speaker 4
I would be curious to know, like when you're on that ride, when you're on this like hilly 60 miler doing something you've never really done before, If you feel like the inner dialogue that you feel in a cold plunge is translated to that.
And the reason why I say that is Harry and I just did the Austin marathon about two Sundays ago, didn't train for it, just kind of wet and cold, just wanted like a good kick in the balls, to be honest with you. And it's a very hilly course and one of the things that I felt was that I've matured a lot as a competitor and as an athlete, because if I were, if I was doing that course with those hills five years ago, I would have actually gotten pissed off about the hills where I was noticing that when I would actually encounter a hill I would be happy about it and be like no, don't get mad, you sign up for this race, just stay like internal tunnel vision and just like power through each hill. So that I felt like my inner dialogue has changed a lot the last couple years and I would be curious, with something like a long ride for you, do you feel that translation of inner dialogue from coal plunging to like something like a bike. Yeah, definitely.
0:38:14 - Speaker 2
It's so funny you say that I mean it was. I experienced the exact same thing on the ride out. You know, it was all you know sunshine and rainbows, and everyone was talking and we were having a great time. But once we turned around and that, that wind flipped and we're on our way back. You know, there was a lot more uphill than downhill.
It started to get pretty dark and, yeah, I think the old version of me would have would have been pissed right like why is? Why is this wind blowing so hard? Why are these? Why are there so many uphills? Um, but I think I, at one point I found I actually physically talked to myself sprinting up a hill, saying come on, big dog, and I think that voice would have been a lot more negative in the past. And, yeah, whether it's attributed to ice baths or not, I think there is this transformation that has happened internally in my mind where you don't have to submit to those thoughts and be a victim of them anymore. You can just keep going and and you'd be surprised that you can actually get on your own side instead of getting in your own way.
0:39:16 - Speaker 1
I'm excited to see you do this race and and follow along for the ride, because there's something, there's something magical about triathlon, where and Natasha, if she, if she's listening she might disagree a little bit, but there's only so much preparation you can do there's going to be something that happens on race day that forces you to figure it out on the fly.
And it's amazing because you basically just get in the water knowing that something is going to happen that day that you haven't encountered before. But the training really really is. It's not necessarily learning how to swim, it's not really learning how to bike, it's not learning how to run, it's learning how to just like figure it out and work through it and knowing that, like you know, you're going to get through it, you're going to figure out a way around it and you'll get to that finish line. And that's why those people's faces are lit up at the finish line, because they worked through cramps that they never felt before. They got a flat tire and they had to change a tire for the first time. Those things happen, but it's almost expected that there's just going to be something. It's a long race.
0:40:17 - Speaker 2
Something's going to happen. I think once you can embrace that there's only so much preparation you can do and there's going to be a lot of things, like you said, that's going to happen, that's going to be out of your control, and just submit to that, I think you can kind of fall back and rely on that. You put in the work. You know you got up on those early Sunday mornings and you did that speed workout that you didn't want to do. You, you know, put in the hours that you just can't replicate anywhere else, put in the hours that you just can't replicate anywhere else. And so, yeah, when things happen, you just have to trust the process, as cliche as it sounds. You have to be able to just bank on the fact that you did what you had to do to get to the start line and put the rest in the hands of whatever happens. That day.
0:40:58 - Speaker 4
Yeah, something I think a lot about is, you know, I don't regret anything that's ever happened in my life and I don't regret anything that's ever happened in my life and I never wish for a do-over, because I know everything intentionally was designed by God to make me the exact person that I am now. But the one thing I do think about is if I had the same mental frameworks now that I did when I was 20 years old, competing in baseball, I always would be curious to see how my career would turn out, because I just felt like I never mastered the mind. And I'm curious if you think about that with your own hockey career too.
0:41:27 - Speaker 2
I think about that a lot.
I think about that a lot.
It's funny you say that because you know the way my hockey career ended was basically, you know, in the last two years of me playing competitively, I didn't play that much.
I'm a goaltender, and so you know, I was, you know, not good enough to play, and so I rode the bench a lot and I always thought that was the doing of my coach. My coach didn't like me, he favored the other guy. You know I was good enough to play and he just wasn't going to. Let me see that time. And so I think I have, you know, a lot more compassion now, knowing that he was probably right and I didn't deserve to play. But yeah, I just I do think about that a lot, knowing that if I could have actually taken that into account and just put in the work that was required and stop playing the victim and actually just own the fact that, yeah, maybe right now you're not good enough, but if you work a little bit harder, if you put in a little bit more time, if you keep grinding and chipping away, that your time will come, and I think I just didn't give myself that chance. It's powerful.
0:42:47 - Speaker 4
It's almost like the framework should be. What if I just become so good that there's no going back and forth from a coach's perspective of me versus the other guy? What if I just build? What if I just get so talented and master my craft so much that I'm just so clearly the number one choice? I've been thinking about that more for myself too.
0:43:04 - Speaker 1
Yeah Well, when things get hard too, it's very easy to displace the responsibility to somebody else, especially in an environment where there are kind of like subjective opinions being made about who plays who doesn't, and maybe you see a decision being made that you don't agree with and you let that kind of be the narrative that you're like all right, like you know, screw this guy or whatever. But you know, the reality is like if you turn yourself into a professional goalie through putting in the hard work, like you're going to be on the ice. Same thing for us too. It's like if we were hitting bombs left and right and throwing 95 like you're going to get on the field, like there's some level of personal responsibility. I think we kind of offload when things get hard and it's just like a massive cope.
0:43:46 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah. And you know, as I think about it, the other guy that I was playing with, he was good and I think I carried a lot of resentment Like why does he have to be this good? Like why couldn't he just be, you know, a shittier backup and make my job easier to be able to get the time, rather than the other way of no, you just have to work harder and actually earn it. And so, yeah, I think that you know that mind mindset shift of that taking on, that accountability when you don't, that brutal accountability when you don't want to, uh, is something that I've definitely learned and I wish you know not again, not that I regret anything, I just I wonder, you know, if things could have been different, definitely.
0:44:31 - Speaker 4
And the beautiful thing, like we're talking about, is, just because your sport ends, that doesn't mean that you just stop competing, right, you have the rest of your life to be able to compete. Now, how old are you, by the way? 38., 38. You imagine, like imagine hitting 40 and never have gone through the transformation that you went through now, where it's like you have so many great years to just continue to iterate and improve, and so much of that comes from the frameworks that you build in your mind. That's what gets me so, so excited is I think I had this realization when I was done with baseball that the quality of your mindset truly does determine the quality of your life life. And then, once I realized that your mindset actually is malleable, just like a muscle, like a bicep, I just got so excited because I'm like I can literally control this and get better and that this is what's going to determine the quality of my life. Like how can you not be excited when you understand that?
0:45:13 - Speaker 2
Yeah, it's, it's so true. I mean, I think for a long time I was, I was stuck with this mindset that this is just how life is, this is just how it's going to be, this is just, you know, the job that I'm, you know, going to work at, it's, this is just the relationships that I'm, you know, I'm destined to have, and and. So I think for a lot of people they get, they get caught in that as as being a victim, that they can't necessarily change their circumstances. But I think your circumstances will start to change externally when you can change what's happening internally, and it all starts with that dialogue that you have with yourself. I mean, if you can change that, it's so funny how things will actually start to work out in your favor and unravel the way you actually want them to. It's like magic. Yeah, it really is.
0:46:01 - Speaker 1
Did you see any relationships? You talked about your family a bit, but did you see yourself have to distance yourself from certain people who maybe reinforce some of those negative thoughts that you were struggling with for years? You said 30-plus years because I've seen the past two years. I've seen myself change, I've seen Brett change, I've seen a lot of people in my life go through transformations and the one thing that I've noticed is that it usually comes with some sort of like maybe creating boundaries around old relationships that were holding you back.
0:46:30 - Speaker 2
A hundred percent. I mean you have to. There's, there's no way around it, right? If you want to change, change into a new person, you have to almost audit and take an inventory of what not only what you're doing, but who you have around you.
And so, if those people aren't necessarily contributing to the new version of you or the version that you want to become, you know you have to, like you said, start setting boundaries or, you know, cut those people out of your life in some capacity that is going to allow you to free up space for that new version that you want to become. And, as unfortunate as it is for me to say, I mean, you know there's a lot of friends that I hold near and dear to my heart, who I grew up with, who I had to, you know. Just, you know, push the side a little bit, even some family members who just weren't really, you know, allowing some capacity, do want the best for you, but they also are operating on this very self-fulfilling prophecy. And so if you, you know, aren't necessarily, you know, cautious or aware of how that is affecting your life, it can take you into some places you don't want to be is affecting your life.
0:47:45 - Speaker 4
It can take you into some places you don't want to be. Yeah, people would think that it sounds selfish, but I think you have to have this internal filtering system when you're determining of, like the quality of, relationships. I think everyone should ask themselves is this person that I'm spending time with actually making me better or helping me elevate myself to a higher level? And, like we all have those friends that you grew up with and you'll always love them and share love for them, but they kind of are still steeped in those old habits that aren't going to help you ascend to that higher level. It doesn't mean you don't see them. It doesn't mean you don't talk to them, but it's like you're not going to spend time with them every day or every single week. Maybe you like save those occasions to maybe see them twice a year.
0:48:28 - Speaker 2
And then, outside of that, you're choosing to surround yourself with people that really are helping you level up, and that's something you do have control of, which is amazing. Yeah, it's amazing how much control you actually have circumstances in your life where I think a lot of people think the opposite. Right, like I said, it's just, I think, a lot of people. It's easy to take on that victim mentality that you know this, this is just what's been cast upon you and this is the life that you've been destined to live, and it doesn't necessarily have to be that way you are. You do have a lot more control than you think and I think once you start to realize that you know, things start to get really good.
0:48:52 - Speaker 1
Yeah, I was just gonna say what gives me peace of mind with this whole conversation about maybe having to set boundaries with old friends, I was like I do feel like there is. If it's like a true, true love, true friendship that you have with a person, they'll understand and there will probably be a day of reconciliation where you've built yourself into the person that you ultimately wanted to become. You became the person there's ultimately success. Maybe that comes with that and you're actually able to be more of a friend who can help them or be an example for them to create change in their life.
Like I, I do think that there is some like way in which the world works where you start doing something for yourself and then eyeballs either get like, people are like, wow, that is actually something that I should be doing myself, or, you know, they distance themselves and maybe there's a future date where they come back and say, wow, I really respected the fact that you just said, this is who I want to be.
I want to be this person. And then you know they get to have you back in their life. It's in some capacity as a role model or someone who, just like, is further along because you committed to yourself and you inspire them in a different way, just as opposed to being kind of like a peer who's you know giving and taking energy and not really having that relationship where you're building each other up yeah, I mean, what a more beautiful thing right and to be able to do that for somebody you know, be a leader in that capacity where they can actually, you know, look to you and say you helped me, you know you helped, you helped me, you helped me change into a version of myself that I didn't think I could be.
0:50:31 - Speaker 2
And I think that's what this is all about. Right, leading by example. And make no mistake, I wasn't always this person. It took a long time for me to realize that this is who I should be and to navigate a way to actually get here. But you know, I I fell into that victim mentality a lot growing up and I, you know, got stuck in thinking that I should just be what other people expect of me. And once you're kind of able to break free of that and find your own path, your own purpose, it it'll open things up for you and, you know, to your point, I think it can allow you to reconnect with people that you may have had to distance yourself from in order to get there.
0:51:20 - Speaker 4
I'm really interested, jordan, to learn a little bit more about what you think your mindset will be like whenever this challenge ends.
And I think back to how addictive change actually is.
I think about, you know, I remember doing 75 hard with Andy Frisella and it just felt so good to just follow those parameters and I felt so different from day one to day 75. And I remember when day 76 came and I completed the challenge and I could eat whatever I want, having almost like this guilt around, like having a slice of pizza or or I almost you know what I almost felt a little bit depressed, I would say. Now that the challenge was over, I felt the same way after I did the full distance Ironman in 2021. And for you, it's like probably that on steroids, because not only have you done this challenge for over a year, your whole following is built off of being the guy that does the difficult thing through this challenge and keeps the day stacked. So do you. I'm sure you think, when that day does come, when you decide to not do an ice bath and the challenge is technically over, like how do you think you'll handle that, or how are you going to prepare for that moment?
0:52:23 - Speaker 2
Yeah, it's something I've been thinking about, you know, a lot recently and, like I said, this isn't. This isn't going to last forever, as much as I would think that you know. We'll be sitting in here five years from now and we'll be on day.
0:52:34 - Speaker 1
You know, 7 848 um we're not gonna rule it out. I don't think that might check so yeah it's just I don't.
0:52:42 - Speaker 2
I don't really know. I don't really know what's gonna happen. But I do know this that I'm not putting too much stock into the fact that taking an ice bath every day is who I am. Right, I'm a lot more than that. I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a friend, I'm a son, and so if I think about stopping and the thoughts of anxiety and depression creep in that you know I'm stopping this thing that I've worked so hard to build up.
There's a lot of other things in my life that I can fall back on, knowing that and be able to take away from this challenge and apply them there. But I do in a sense feel, you know, some sort of responsibility to the community I've built, and so I don't think the impact that I want to have will diminish. I think I will just try to creatively find more ways to do that, whether that's, you know, through these endurance sports or you know, some other vehicle that you know comes along in time. But yeah, I try not to get too ahead of myself because you know my mind will start to wander and we'll start to think about, you know, the what ifs and and um. That's not really a place that I want to spend a lot of time in Definitely.
0:53:56 - Speaker 4
Yeah, I think it would almost be, and I don't want to sway you one way or another, but I think it would almost be incredibly powerful and relatable to be like hey, it's day 1042. I actually intentionally didn't go into the ice bath today, just to show you that, like this challenge doesn't define who I am, I'm so many more things than like this person that gets into a cold tub every single day.
0:54:16 - Speaker 2
I like that, I actually like that. You know, I might, might take that with just in the future, whenever, whatever day. That is yeah.
0:54:23 - Speaker 4
Right, but.
but it's so easy to get addicted to like everything that you've built up through this process. So like in this responsibility, to be like I have to be the guy that gets in the ice bath every day and documents it because who knows who's out there that's following me. But that's also not real. Real life is being the guy that's like look, I wasn't able to do this today, but I'm gonna get right back on the horse the next day and keep the mission going yeah, I mean the thing that comes to mind when you say.
0:54:45 - Speaker 2
That is like. You know, I'm sure everyone's watched the movie forrest gump, where he's running and then you know, all of a sudden he just turns around and says I think I'm gonna go home now yeah and so, yeah, at some point you know I'm not naive, I know this will end- but, I, I will, you know, carry on and again try to.
I think the biggest thing for me is to be able to leave an impact on people's lives, and so you know, whatever shape or form that comes in, I'll find a way and you know we'll keep doing it, yeah.
0:55:16 - Speaker 1
Is there anyone that you're kind of itching to either meet or just have like a nice cold plunge with?
0:55:23 - Speaker 2
You know what I would love to do. I would love to meet and do one with Wim Hof. I would love to meet and do one with Wim Hof.
He's the guy that you know inspired me to go down this path of cold exposure and breath work and you know he's obviously the founding father of cold exposure, so that'd be one person on my bucket list to be able to do it with. There's so many just cool people who I haven't met yet, who I'd love to meet through this, but yeah, he's definitely on the top of the list.
0:55:53 - Speaker 4
I know you talked about being able to do an ice tub at the Detroit Lions facility and that was like a huge moment for you. Are there any people that you either like, looked up to or idolized, that have kind of reached out to you throughout this journey that were like pretty surreal or just a really cool thing?
0:56:11 - Speaker 2
Oh man, yeah, it'd be hard to name them, but I think that, like a lot of professional athletes, yeah, you know, some have reached out, some who I you know were you know, very, um, very notorious and well known, at the height of their careers, and so, yeah, them just even noticing my content, not only that, but reaching out and saying they were inspired by it or they enjoyed it, has been super surreal and just, yeah, the amount of comments from people who I never thought in a million years would know my name or see my face on a video has just been super humbling.
0:56:47 - Speaker 4
That's why social media is just so amazing. It is obviously the ultimate double-edged sword, but you can be someone that's 37 years old, maybe not fully like what you see in the mirror. Use it as this amazing tool to just change your life. Inspire people, get sponsorships, make income to be able to support your family. That's something that always inspires us is just thinking about the fact with Meat Mafia, none of this existed two years ago and we literally just started writing threads online about the food system and you see what it's turned into now and for you it's like that on steroids and I I don't know. I just I wish that more people had that mindset. That it's. You know you can. You can change your life with six months of really hard applied work.
0:57:30 - Speaker 2
Yeah, you can. I mean, and you know to your point, six months would be quick, you know.
0:57:32 - Speaker 1
So you know I would caution anyone who thinks that they can change their life in six months.
0:57:35 - Speaker 2
You know, let's not, let's be a little bit more flexible with the time horizon.
Right, as long as you're, I think, as long as you're committing to the process and as long as you're putting in the work and the most important thing is, you enjoy what you're doing, there will always be a way to sustain that.
If you're you know, overreaching and you're you're stepping into lanes that you necessarily don't really have a business being in and you're trying to give input on things that you don't really know about, it's really easy to burn out that way and and and I think, once you can find something that you can commit to that you enjoy, um, you know, your, your, it'll take you places you never thought you'd you'd been. And um, there's a company that I'm working with called Culture, um, wearing their hat, who, you know, uh, believed in me from the beginning. Before you know, this was um a thing, and before you know, all these followers, followers started to come in, um, they saw the mission, they saw the vision of what I was doing, and so, um, you know, I think it's been a blessing to be able to work with them and um, you know, I'm just excited about. You know the, the, the future that, uh, we have together.
0:58:45 - Speaker 1
What's uh is there? It sounds like there's some clever play on words with culture. Is there something to it that you know they're doing specifically?
0:58:55 - Speaker 2
that's different than some of these other cold plunge burns yeah, I think it's just, you know the more so the community aspect. They're doing a really good job of trying to bring people together through cold and um, you know it, you know to your point, it seems like everybody and their uncle has a cold plunge company. And I think the biggest thing especially that relates to my mission and my vision is just bringing a community together around it of people who not necessarily like to experience the cold because I don't think there's too many people that actually enjoy the cold but bringing people together to um have an experience that um is going to carry you through and elevate you to the next level. And so I think they're doing a really good job of of of showcasing that and and and putting on events for people to meet like-minded people and, um, you know, be together while doing something that is incredibly uncomfortable.
0:59:52 - Speaker 4
Yeah, Loyalty itself is such an incredible trait in modern society and just the loyalty of culture to recognize something special in you when none of these other brands did. And then now your willingness to want to continue to partner with them because of the loyalty they showed to you too. Where it's like you could, I'm sure you could sign a brand deal with literally every cold exposure company that exists, but you're choosing to stay loyal to them because they believed in you when no one else believed in you too, and that's something that it's.
That's really cool. It makes me think about the brands that we work with now and like I think there's something to be said about picking like just a few core brands that are in line with your values and just being willing to like ride with them for forever, Totally.
1:00:29 - Speaker 2
Yeah, totally I don't. I definitely don't want to, you know, dilute my brand and dilute my content. Um, with you know partnerships, with you know a bunch of other uh, brands and companies. But you know, like you said, I think just you know picking and choosing the ones that align with the mission and the vision and, most importantly, just allowing you to be yourself and document your life, whether you're taking an ice bath or you're working out, or you're enjoying time with your family or whatever that might be. They were able to see through that and just wanting to be a part of that in some capacity, and so that's been huge for me, yeah of that in some capacity, and so that's been, that's been huge for me.
1:01:10 - Speaker 1
Yeah, it's really sage advice for people who are in the whole online sphere, where it's so easy for things to be really transactional. But if you can find those people who actually want to be partners, it can make you want to be more of yourself and continue to put out that genuine content. It'll make you actually feel like you have someone on your team who's keeping you accountable in some ways, like, you know, having some other company or having a company come in and say, hey, we love what you're doing. You know, keep doing it. It's like the biggest boat of confidence you could possibly ask for. So there's something about creating that alignment that I think gets overlooked a fair amount in the online game, where it's pretty easy to be like yeah, I'll do a few posts for you and then you know, you're onto the next brand.
1:01:50 - Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's.
It's easy to fall into that trap and I, you know I did early on you know, it's easy to you know, say you know, make a couple of posts and you send me some cash and we'll call it a day. But yeah, I think the, the, the, the partnerships in this space that are the most sustainable are the ones that are going to allow you to be yourself and, just, you know, live your life authentically, as you live it and you know they just want to be there to support it are the ones that are, you know, going to be, you know, the most fruitful for both parties in the long run.
1:02:23 - Speaker 4
I really liked what you said earlier to Jordan about how six months to change your life that's like a rushed timeline and I think back to potentially maybe the best dopamine hit or the most fun I ever had was with. What we're doing now is actually in the beginning of just like putting out some of our first threads. The first few months and like was not focused on money or followers or whatever. I would get this dopamine hit just because I'm like I finally have something that's my own and I feel like I'm adding value to the world. And if people just focused on like, what type of content gives you that feeling? Like the rest, like the money, the end result, all that stuff will take care of itself. But if you're able to just focus on adding value, like, that's the best feeling that you can have as a creator. Yeah.
1:03:06 - Speaker 2
Yeah, I mean, make no mistake, my, my, you know, first 50 videos weren't getting, weren't getting seen by you know, anybody other than you know my aunt Carol and seven people that I went to high school with yeah, Like is everything okay with you.
But you know, I enjoyed it. You know, and and it was something that was easy for me to stick with because of, like you said, I thought that I was adding some kind of value in somebody else's life, whether that was through the form of entertainment or whether that was something that was inspirational that they can grab to help them in their life. It was something that I saw that was going to allow me to continue doing it, and when you can find something like that, it's it's it's hard to stop, it's it's hard to not keep going because the next one could be the one that changes your life. But as long as you're committing to that process of just no, I'm going to do it, regardless of who sees this, that you feel good about it internally, and I think, once you have that internal validation, that this is the thing that will carry you to the finish line, regardless of how many steps it takes to get there, how deep in the challenge, did you feel like you were transforming as a person?
1:04:20 - Speaker 4
Do you remember how many days approximately it took where you were like? I really liked the person I'm seeing in the mirror.
1:04:26 - Speaker 2
Just, I feel great and I'm proud of myself, the person I'm seeing in the mirror, just, I feel great and I'm proud of myself. Yeah, that's, that's a hard one to answer. It's, it's, it's, it's. It's funny how blurred the lines are between understanding of who I used to be versus who I am now. If I had to put a timeframe on it, I would say it.
It at least took, you know, close to 50 days, and probably even more than a hundred if I'm thinking about it, but it is still. It's a, it's a constant evolution. If I look back to videos that I posted, you know, a month ago, I'm looking at that guy saying like that that's kind of weird. Um, but yeah, it's, it's just a constant evolution of being better today than you were yesterday. But yeah, I think those first 50 to 100 days where there was a noticeable shift of I am having different thoughts now than I was before and I'm responding differently to the negativity in my head than I was before in my head, than I was before, and I'm allowed and I'm allowing myself to think those things and feel those feelings and not necessarily get bogged down by them.
1:05:36 - Speaker 1
I'm all jacked up.
1:05:37 - Speaker 3
I want to hop into the cold plunge right now. Well, there's one here. Yeah, we can.
1:05:42 - Speaker 4
Do you think, does the cold plunging get easier, or does your internal dialogue just get better?
1:05:48 - Speaker 2
Yeah, it never gets easier. Yeah, it never gets easier, you know, even doing it today, you know day 449, there was not one bit of me that wanted to go in there and that doesn't change, you know. But I think, exactly like you said, that voice just gets quieter and you're able to talk back to it with a little bit more logic, thinking that it's just three minutes of your life.
It's, you know it's, it's not going to kill you. Yes, it's going to be hard, but you can get through it. And, um, I think that's the biggest takeaway for me is just that that that voice will translate into any other thing that you do in your life. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's. It's something that I'm, you know, super grateful that I found, because I think without it, it would be hard to imagine what my life would be like right now. Yeah.
1:06:36 - Speaker 1
It's crazy. I saw one of your videos. You had the water temp I think was like one degree.
1:06:41 - Speaker 2
Yeah, that's yeah, that's what I have waiting for me when I get back home. Yeah, it's not fun.
1:06:46 - Speaker 1
That's like a different beast, yeah. Yeah we only have like the 32 degree one here, so 32?
1:06:51 - Speaker 2
Yeah, wow, that's.
1:06:53 - Speaker 1
That's like pretty cozy. Yeah, it's pretty cozy, cozy for you.
1:06:56 - Speaker 4
Yeah.
1:06:56 - Speaker 2
Yeah.
1:06:57 - Speaker 4
Yeah Well, dude, this has been such an impactful conversation. Man, I, everything we're doing at me, mafia and getting to talk with someone like you that's changed your life the last year and a half and you're proud of the person that you're becoming and, as a husband, as a father, the people that you're impacting in the world. It's like it's just such an incredible message and it gives us more fuel with what you're doing. I think it's going to give our listeners a lot of fuel too. So just appreciate you for coming on the show, appreciate everything that you're doing and, um, we're going to need a part two in the cold plunge potentially.
1:07:38 - Speaker 2
I think that would be pretty sweet. Maybe steaks in the cold plunge.
1:07:41 - Speaker 1
That would be the perfect collab. That could be hot.
1:07:43 - Speaker 2
Well, I appreciate you guys having me, man. I'm I appreciate you guys having me man. I'm super, super grateful for the opportunity to you know talk on this platform and it's been a long time coming, definitely. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. Thanks, jordan, appreciate you guys, cool man.
Transcribed by https://podium.page