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Being STRONG is more than just how much weight you can lift.
The Strong New York Podcast is dedicated to inspiring you to become your strongest self- in the gym, in business, in relationships and in life.
Join Kenny as he sits down with his strong as fuck buddies and shoots the shit on what it takes to be strong willed, strong minded and physically strong. Season one features everyone from entrepreneurs and local business owners to doctors and industry leaders in the fitness and wellness space.
With over a decade of experience, Kenny Santucci has made himself known as one of New York City’s top trainers and a thought leader in the health and wellness industry. After transforming his life at 15 years old through fitness, Kenny made it his mission to transform the lives of those around him.
Kenny has trained some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, and Frank Ocean, and has been tapped as a fitness expert sharing his training approach with Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Runner's World, SHAPE, Well+Good, among other publications.
Kenny is the creator of STRONG New York, NYC's only Health and Fitness Expo. Strong New York is an immersive day of workouts, wellness experiences, panel discussions, and inspiring conversations with the best in-class wellness professionals, industry leaders, and change makers who are sharing their expertise on today's hottest wellness trends and first-hand experiences on how to optimize your overall health and life.
You can find Kenny at The Strength Club, his private training and group strength training facility in the heart of Manhattan located on 28th and 5th Ave in New York City.
 Welcome back to another episode of the strongest podcast. Now the strong New York podcast, cause we're blending everything together, making it all sync up a little, little cleaner. Uh, but obviously this is not our regular studio. Uh, my friend here was nice enough to let us, uh, not only have his team to help us film this, but also use his space.
If you guys watched any of the other YouTube videos or any of the Instagram, uh, We did a nice little workout at my boy's space. He's got a gym here. He's got his office. He ships all his products out of here. And now he just built this how long ago? It's been about a year. About a year. He's got this.
Beautiful room that I'm very, very jealous of, but he was nice enough to let us use it. And I normally on Sundays or any day of the week, not really drinking, neither does he, but we're having some drinks here. Cheers. Yeah. A little whiskey and cigars. Now these cigars aren't just any cigar. These are from.
One of Arnold's rollers that I met at his, uh, Christmas party like 10 years ago. So guys, without further ado, let me introduce you to a good friend of mine. When I first met this guy, we're a part of the Reebok team and we go to this gym and everybody's working out and this crazy asshole goes outside.
And he's like, I'm going to lunge for the next hour. And I go, this guy's not going to lunge for an hour. This was like 2014, 2015. He goes outside and I'm watching him and I'm like halfway through my workout and he's still lunging. So I'm like, this guy's the real deal. Like legit as it gets, I've. Used a ton of your programming.
Yeah, I appreciate that. Um, you had sent me, uh, online sign ups, so I was using that. Your mom, which I love, works for the company. Customer service, yeah. My mom's a killer. And, uh, but I use a lot of programming. In fact, the last month at my gym, we did like, uh, four movements, five movements, six, uh, six reps of each one.
Yeah. Arnold press, flies. Love it. And I was like, And everybody's like, Oh, where'd you get that word? I'm like, Corey Gregory. Yeah, that's a shit. So he's, you've been, you've been at it a long time. You had two supplement brands. Uh, you know, you have, you're launching a bar company. You've done it all. And I think there's a lot of guys out there who could one learn from you too.
Also. You know, you've, you've created your own thing. You haven't followed anybody else's blueprint. You've just kind of did what you love, which for me is like, awesome. Like everybody asks me like, what's your plan? What are you trying to do? I go, I'm just trying to do a bunch of shit. I like doing, and you have like mastered that.
Yeah. Well, I. Honestly, first off, thanks for having me on the show. It's really awesome to have you here. And when I met you at team Reebok, we hit it off pretty fast. You know what I mean? And so I've really enjoyed being around you. And that's why I really wanted you to come speak. I wanted to have my friends that I knew could have a big impact on not only my friends, but my family was here too.
And so, you know, being able to have everybody come for the event at my gym called beats and barbells. And then we had our first, like, basically like Ted talk for muscle heads. Right. That's basically what we created with the max effort speaker series. And so, man, like having you guys come through and that and feel on that energy and to your point, like I'm in my own world.
My wife tells me that a lot, by the way, but the reality is I've always daydreamed that this is all possible. And I just put massive action, consistent action around it. And it's taken years. And that's what part of my Beach was about was the real equation that it takes to create success like this. But the main thing is still the main thing.
I'm a fucking weightlifter, bro. And I love it. And I've always been that way ever since I was, I'm fourth generation coal miner, fourth generation weightlifter. This just happens to end up being able to be my job. I didn't have to fall in the path of the rest of my family, but they all lifted weights too.
Well, what was, what did your family say to you when you started to gravitate away from the coal mining and into the fitness scene? Well, none of them wanted me to stay and do that because one, we saw the writing on the wall that those days were numbered right in that industry with whether it was steel or coal where I grew up and you know, my stepdad who got me the job in the coal mine, he said, and he also lifted weights too.
He's like, man, I don't want you to stay here no matter how much money you make, because I was making really good money and I'm a 19, 20 year old kid. I'm making 1500 bucks a week in the middle of the country. Yeah, just saving every dime, but I'm working legitimately 80 to 90 hours a week. Like that's not me, like hyping it up.
That's just what it was. And so Kenny, you'll love this. There was no direct deposit. Then I wasn't even out of the mine when the banks were open. I was going to work at five in the morning. I was working doubles and shit coming out at dark. Like I had like seven, eight paychecks stacked on my desk at my parents house because I wasn't even outside when the sun was up.
Let alone even to even deposit the checks. That's how much, you know, how much work I was putting in. So how old were you when you started and then like, how long did you have? Yeah. So I only worked six months underground, but I saved 20, 000 in six months and moved here to go to, uh, Columbus state. I went to community college one year to get my exercise specialist.
Like it's like a personal training thing for a year. So I started personal training when I was 20 years old and I started my first actual facility when I was like 20 and a half. You know, there's. I'm hoping there's some kids out there, younger guys who kind of see what you did without social media. Oh yeah.
Yeah. I built my, my first, honestly, eight or nine years of my business was previous to social media. I think that that was a blessing because I know I always focused on this. How could I be internationally known Corey Gregory personal trainer before I could be good in my own town? Like if you're great in New York city.
You can be great fucking anywhere. Yeah. And I always thought in Columbus is a hub. So when I moved here, you know, Louis Simmons is here. Arnold has the classic here. Ohio is a big. Yeah, it's huge bro. MPC. There's a lot of stuff. So once I started realizing that I was like, man, if I can just stand out here and then use these other things to kind of like, you know, bring my network bigger.
I got a big opportunity to build something. What do you, what do you attribute that to? How'd you get that outreach at that time? Because this is. Yeah, I started my, so I started my LLC in 1999, so I'm 25 years in the game, 26 years. And so I celebrated my 21st birthday as a business owner, four grand on a credit card, a grand I borrowed from my dude.
Um, it was like a 900 square foot ladder closet for a mini mall over in the hood on the East side. And then it was like unbelievable. Actually, the hyper I have out in the gym is still from the original gym. I mean, it's like, it's wild to see pieces of my life from all these years, but I was so excited to get a chance.
To change the trajectory of my family and do something I loved and they all loved it. That's the thing my dad lifted, my grandfather lifted, my stepdad lifted. Like everyone worked really hard and that was their hobby. And I was the, once I understood like this is what coal mining looks like. This is what a 15, 16, 17 hour day looks like.
If I can apply that to what I love, yeah, just get the fuck out the way. Kind of hit me around the same time, like 21, 22 years old, I went to work and I just hated my fucking Monday. I was like, this is not living. Yeah. And living is Monday to Sunday. Yeah. And you should be able to enjoy every day as much as you possibly can.
So why the fuck am I gonna sit at a job that I'm just not happy at? Yeah. And only live for the weekends. I was not willing to do that. So I, I encourage people out there to always say like, What, what is enjoying Monday look like to you? What is enjoying Tuesday look like to you? What could you see yourself doing if you weren't getting a paycheck?
And I think you've created something so special here. Like I said yesterday in the talk, I go, everyone in this neighborhood, everyone in the surrounding area, anybody who like kind of gravitates towards this area, should be so happy that they have a guy like you. Because you light this town on fire. And like, not only just, you know, you're 40 minutes, 30, 40 minutes from Columbus.
You have this town where you have given them world class and no bullshit. I'm not even especially with Dustin too, man. Like it's like world class between the two of us. What's ironic is we were weightlifting partners at 15 in high school and he ends up going and Winning the National Championship at Ohio State, being literally the best wrestling strength coach on the planet.
And I'm on this side of things with, you know, doing powerlifting, bodybuilding, gen pop, drug free too. And it's like, we both kind of blazed our own trails, but owned the gym together this whole time. And so, we do have what I believe is an extremely elite level facility that Some people in the local market don't really understand.
No, it's kind of funny. I, it's, it's funny to me because at the same time I go, I travel to do all this stuff. I travel around the world and I want to bring my audience the best possible product. I can't, I was just explaining to the guys who own Anna bar. I go, when I first discovered you guys, I bought a bunch of boxes because I go, Hey, this is a really good bar.
I want my people to try this and be, you know, everybody wants to be that kid who hears. The song first, listen, if you know, you know, yeah, right. So you're in the know. So I want people to be in the know because I want to be that person in the fitness industry. Uh, that's why I go to so much of this shit and having somebody in.
Their town, like you, who's facilitating a lot of this, right? I mean, here you are, you created a supplement brand with Arnold. There are so many people out there. There will never be another Arnold Schwarzenegger. There will never be another muscle form. No, you guys created something very unique. It was wild, bro.
Yeah. Well, and also I'm one of, I'm the only person I think they can claim this. Like I personally learned from Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding. And personally learned powerlifting at Westside barbell. Yeah, there's not another like person that can claim that. I went and squatted six and 700 pounds at Westside and benched fucking 490 on a Sunday and like Louie helped coach me and like was really helpful and I sat with Arnold and went through.
Dude, I went through every take a pumping iron. I wrote new voiceovers for the fucking, you know, for the blueprint, which we released on body million. com that had literally, I brought it up in my presentation, 89 million views. Like the, the people that I've been around and been able to learn from and be able to take those pieces and then kind of measure my own programming because at the day, I was trying to explain this to my oldest son because he's now, you know, figuring out what he wants to do.
And I'm like, but he seems like he's into this world. Oh no, he is big time. He really enjoyed everybody's speeches. And he said, What, what are you, he was trying to get like, what are you really elite at dad? And I was like, I really think it's right in workouts. I think all of these other things have happened, but most people know me and then trust me outside of that.
And I'll give you this, the fact that you've tried and done everything with the best of the best, like you've trained with Arnold and learn from him. Bodybuilding, you trained at Westside barbell, which in my opinion, and anybody who comes to my gym knows I'm a big conjugate Westside barbell guy. Like I base a lot of our program off that.
And now you've kind of been able to merge these two things together. You've excelled at weightlifting, powerlifting, bodybuilding, like you've done it all. So when people tell me, Oh, I'm an expert in the field of programming and exercise, I'm like, all you've really done is CrossFit or all you've really done is powerlifting.
So you can't be an expert. You have to do all these things. And when somebody's 25, 26, Not to say you can't be good, but you have a lot of competition of so much other shit that you probably even haven't had time to try. I started competing when I was 17. My second meet I ever did was in this trailer park.
I couldn't fucking make this up if I tried. In this trailer park where I'm from and Westside shows up. This is 1998. The truth, the trophy is still out in the gym. Louie benches 600 on his 50th birthday. It's in West Side vs. the World. He jumps in this guy's arms. You watch, go back and watch the documentary.
You can't see me because the, the video is so hazy. I'm in the second row as like an 18 year old kid watching that. No shit. It was at my gym I trained at growing up. And it just had, dude, it just was, and I remember when I met Louie and like, Oh, seven or eight. And I told him, I was like, I was there that day.
I was competing. I went back just to make sure I wasn't making it up in my head and looked at it on open powerlifting. I benched two 50 Louie bench 600. I was in the same meat. He goes, Oh, he was at trailer park nationals. That's what they fucking called it. I mean, it was so I had that experience of like that intensity and that understanding.
I didn't really know what I was watching because I was so young, but I just knew I loved it. And I was like, even though I look more like a fitness model, I was drawn to all that fucking craziness. If, if you, if you had to put together a Mount Rushmore of people who've influenced you, but like. You would say belong on the Mount Rushmore of fitness fitness, right?
Everything, right? Yeah, different modalities There's so much shit, but who has made the biggest impact the four people have made the biggest impact on the fitness space Yeah, you know I've thought about this before that's that's funny to say that Obviously Arnold's the number one because I think that's on most everybody's right Because what I love what Arnold did was I read education of a bodybuilder when I was pretty young and that's a book That's a little lesser known and kind of Arnold's archives Yeah, I have one of the original ones sitting here and it's like it matches up a lot of his motivation just in life with bodybuilding principles.
And so I started thinking like, okay, I learned how to work hard on the ground. If I apply that same thing, the lifting, and then I start to learn business because that's the thing he was also preaching. He was learning real estate. He was doing all these things back then. Such a smart guy. His documentary is unbelievable, right?
And so, so not only did I get to like read all that stuff. And like experience it like pre internet, I got to see it in person for a couple of years and be around it. So it was awesome. So he's number one. Louie Simmons is number two, and I'll tell you why. Being around Louie and seeing like, he never went anywhere, Kenny.
Like he just went to meets and back to Westside. Yeah. And so he was literally like the Iron Samurai. Like he literally lived his life that way. I saw his wife one time on a flight to Vegas, cause I was going out for the Olympia. And I said, Doris, where's Louie at? She goes, Louis ain't coming to Vegas. He don't leave the gym.
I was like, you're fucking kidding me. She's like, he's never been on vacation, Corey. I mean, just like, so the reality was he built something so great and was so dedicated in his own way, like unapologetic that he drew the whole world to him. It's like any other genius. People are like, do you think Elon Musk is awkward?
I'm like, absolutely. Of course he is. But yeah, to be that smart and to be that innovative, you have to be a fucking weird. Of course. And so Louie, like I, cause I mean, Rogan, I think had him on a show. Rogan had to go to him. He was like, I'm not leaving. I mean, it's like amazing. So I saw that unapologetic authenticity.
And that just reminded me to continue to lean into who I am and which is what you're walking into now is. Basically my daydream and that's what I'm creating now that we had the island to it. It's even more so and it's like the whole thing. And then number three, what might surprise me was Gary player, the golfer, because Gary player was an undersized golfer that started lifting weights very early in his life.
Because he had to compete against Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. And he was much smaller and he is the most traveled athlete. You can look it up cause he's from New Zealand. And so he was just so willing to go out of his way and he would be the guy that would be lifting in the hotel gym before that was even like a thing.
He'd have like one pair of dumbbells. And, and so Gary player I've been, I've interviewed all three of these guys actually. So I've, you know, I've interviewed Gary twice and so I got a chance to ask him some really pinpointed questions. It's super cool. My grandfather. Lifted, who taught me how to lift weights, lifted weights, engulfed both.
So Gary Player was somebody he brought up to me quite a lot when I was younger. And so I read also Gary's book called Don't Choke, which is really good. And so he just talked a lot about, um, just hard work and, and not really being lucky, but being prepared, that type of stuff. So those are probably my top three.
I would say the fourth one, I was trying to think like who actually was another one. I would say. Maybe John Brose and John Brose is, um, a lesser known probably person in the media because he's, he's kind of, he don't do a lot of social media, but John is the one that taught me this, the Bulgarian principle with the squat every day.
Okay. And so John owned a gym in Vegas. It's called average bros, Jim, pretty epic guy from Cleveland, very Louis ish type character, hardcore. Um, he just like doesn't do a lot of media, but I went out and learned from him when I started understanding that principle. And then I meshed golden era understanding from Arnold.
West side, Soviet conjugate, Bulgarian method. And that's where a lot of my programs came from. And you know, when I got to learn from him in person and then we did the squad everyday trainer on bodybuilding. com, he was in that with me. That's why I signed to Reebok. I sold so many of those CrossFit lifter 2.
0s. Because people that were non crossfitters were squatting every day and that thing did 60 million page views like immediately And so those are probably my four that I can think of off the top of the head that I think made a huge impact Not only in me as a programmer But probably just me and as a person when you think back on your career and you think about all the stuff that you've done How many of the failures do you think about, or how many times do you think you've failed before you got to where you are today?
Well, I think that, um, here's what I'll tell you. First off, I evaluated the risk a lot different than most, I think, because version one. Okay. Can I have, I always thought like I could have my own gym. Yeah. I don't know why I had no fucking money and no one I knew was a business owner, but I thought to myself, okay.
I've already lived what I'm probably supposed to live, which is work underground, come home, lift weights. And I was good at it, both of them actually. And so I wasn't scared of it. So to me, I was like, when I took the risk to come up here and try to start my gym, I was like, all right, worst case scenario, it doesn't work.
I owe this guy a lease for three years and I have to go back home and work underground. I wasn't scared of that because I knew I could do it. And I was like, once again, it was in my blood, right? So to me, I never thought of that downside again. Only the upside. So I evaluate the calculated risk and then I only go to the upside.
I never go, Oh, what if, what if this? No, no, no. It's like, I already know I can live with it. And then when I can live with it, I can move on. And so to me, along the way, here's what's crazy. If you would've asked me when I was 21, 22, I was paying my bills as a personal trainer, pre internet, going to little networking meetings to get people.
If I was successful, I'd tell you, yes. I think everything from then has been icing on the cake, Kenny. It's funny because I've, I've been lucky enough to train some big people. Um, and one of the questions I asked them, I go, did you ever think you were capable of all this? And the one thing they all say is yes.
Yeah. Oh, I thought I was. So I started telling myself when I was probably 14 or 15 that I was meant to do great things. I felt like I was born in the wrong spot. I wasn't supposed to live in this trailer. I wasn't supposed to be struggling like this. Like, I just thought like, this really ain't for me. And so I honestly think when I met Arnold and we had a lot of conversations, like he said, he didn't feel like he was meant to be born in Austria.
I think that he was proud of his heritage, but he felt out of place. It felt like he was meant to be here. And I honestly, in my own way, felt the same way. I was like, I looked around, I'm like, I don't really, like I understand the work ethic and the fabric of the Ohio Valley. And it's me through and through.
I mean, it's grimy, Italian, fucking hard work. And I was like, but for whatever's going on here just isn't for me long term. And I knew that pretty immediate. And I saw the way my mom was struggling to pay the bills. And dude, our trailer rent was 150 a month. And she was struggling to pay that with waiting tables.
And I'm looking at that going. You know, whatever she's making, which I knew wasn't much, I'm gonna make that in a month or a week or whatever, you know, and I just conceptualize like this just ain't for me. And so I think like back to the original question when I was already paying my bills with something I love and it was working, I felt successful and to me like if it stayed just there.
I think, I think I would have been happy. There are two pivotal moments I talk about a lot. Uh, one of them I was about 12, 13 years old. I remember looking in the mirror and just being so unhappy with myself. And I'm like, I'm such a fat slob. How could I expect anyone else? Don't like me or appreciate me if I don't appreciate myself.
And that was a very defining moment for me when I'm like, all right, as soon as I get to high school, I'm going to start lifting weights and I'm going to become the people that I admire. And then the second time I remember I was probably like 20, 19, 20 years old. I remember sitting on the docks. I was working at Port North, very similar job, like very kind of blue collar job.
And anybody who's got that job now, you know, they stick with it. They love it. Um, But I just felt like I didn't belong there. And I'm sitting at the docks in Jersey, in uh, Elizabeth, New Jersey, and I'm looking across at the city, and I'll never forget, I'm like, I need to go there. You belong over there. I need, that's where I'm supposed to be, not here, there.
And uh, you know, those are two defining moments in my life where I'm like, okay, from here on out, I have to do what I have to do. And um, a third one I bring up sometimes is, I was sleeping in my car, I was 30 years old. 29, 30 years old, and I was sleeping outside this, uh, my gym. And I said, I was like, this will be the last night I sleep in the car from here on out.
I'm going to make so much fucking money that like, I never have to do this. What are two moments in your life where you're like, this'll be the, the turning point. This'll right. Because it could have been after your success could, but like, what are some two, two defining moments where you're like, this will be a pivot for me to.
Well, I think that I made a decision that I was going to be, so there's two things, right? You're capable of some things and there's other things are, what are you willing to do? I made the decision that whatever was necessary, I was going to be willing to do it to create generational change. And I got onto this narrative that what I accomplished in my life.
I was going to be the grandfather, the uncle, the dad, whatever, that they were like, it's been different since that dude got ahold of it. And that I was going to financially, you know, um, educate myself so I could pass it on the generations, like how we see the rich Jewish families do it and how we see the rich Italian families do it.
And like, I see these other heritages that they pass it down different bro. Yeah. And I was just, I was so fixated on that. Like I'm getting passed down work ethic, but I'm not getting passed down to a financial IQ. But somebody's. Somebody in the lineage has to change it. And so I said, that's going to be fucking me.
And I remember it felt like, I know you have a lot of gorillas and your stuff. I felt like I was basically putting that thing on my back and going, I'm a carry this motherfucker till it's different. And I've changed, you know, above in the generation and clearly below in the generation because of that.
And now I'm kind of fixated on passing it properly. You know what I mean? Educating it properly. And the reality is like. I don't know I would say I I kind of got onto that narrative like really like 15 or 16 years old I wasn't executing that yet but I just remember thinking like When I get the opportunity and honestly the big opportunity was getting the job in the coal mine because that was my way out And so that's why I said how many hours can I work?
and because my My base rate was 14 an hour. My overtime was 21 bro. By the third day I was in overtime. So I was working like 90 hours. So I was getting 50 hours of overtime in a week. And so I'm just, it's a lot and I was a fucking machine. And to me, I mean, I'm shoveling on my knees, my back's rubbing the ceiling, fucking, you got a cap light, you shoveling for 16 hours, just putting coal on the belt, hating your fucking life.
But I'm thinking. No one's going to fucking Indiana Jones shit right there. Facts. I mean, you could see like the stone, you could see ferns and shit on the like is wild, bro. Like some shit down there and shit. Don't they? Oh yeah. My, well, my great grandfather that I have tattooed on my arm actually died in a coal mine explosion in 1936 when my grandfather was nine years old.
That's why I got him. So he was the first. Weightlifter in my family and the first coal miner that came overseas from here. And so my chalk bowl in the gym is actually part of his old barbell set because they used to have like the round bells on each side. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the chalk. So when people chalk up for a deadlift here at old school gym, they're chalking up with Joseph's barbell.
No shit. Yeah. It's pretty wild. Do you think, I mean, we talk about Arnold, you talk about yourself. I mean, I like to put myself in that category too. Do you think it's built? Do you think it's, you're born with that mentality or do you think it's a learned ideology? I think that Mine was learned through just like, just suffering and being upset.
I mean, I'm like, I think I was so angry. Kenny, you have brothers and sisters. I do. I have a sister that's younger. I just think that I was so angry at my situation that it forced me to make one or two. We've all done dumb shit, right? It's easy to go left. Yeah. Yeah. And you know what I mean? And so I think I saw a lot of my friends doing that.
And I saw like how that could be easy to say. This is the card I was dealt. This is the situation and I'm going to go drink Bush light and fucking pack it in and be just pissed at everybody. Or I could go this route and say, fuck it. What do I got to lose? I got nothing to fucking lose, man. And so I don't know.
I just made that, I just made that decision and I've just never really looked the other way. One of the questions I get a lot is, um, Oh, you don't want to have a family. You don't want to have kids and stuff. And I go, no, I do. I would just half ask that part of my life because I'm so fixated on building this business.
You got a family, you got three kids, three kids and a wife. I've been married for 21 years, 21 years. So have you found it difficult to build your family and these businesses at the same time, or do you think it's been a good support system? Oh, massive support system. But I'll tell you like Rachel, she was a kindergarten teacher, so she's super nurturing.
Right. So like I have literally an early childhood education. Like that's what she'd studied. Right. And she had her master's degree and she was a teacher. Um, and she was like, I'll stay home with the kids and let you go try to live the dream that you keep telling me about. Right. And she didn't want to really give up her profession, but also her profession was.
It's young, you know, like teaching young kids. And so we made that decision actually before muscle farm. It was like when I was still personal training that she was going to stay home and I was going to go get a million clients or whatever the goal was at that time. And she's always supportive. What was so cool is I met her, her and her roommates were some of the first people I ever trained.
No shit. And she was there painting the walls with me at the first studio. I mean, I dated her five years before we got married. She's been here the entire time, man. She's seen it all. And so I think now, when we were building Muscle Farm, my kids were pretty young. And I, that was really difficult to be gone.
I would be in Jersey. I'd be in Boise, Bodybuilding. com. I'd be all over the place like building it. That was tricky. Um, once I sold my percentage and left in 2015, my kids were still young enough that then I have never missed anything since then. And so I think that I got out at the right time from that type of crazy retail business into what I'm building this situation and now it's integrated my whole life.
My kids are here training almost every day. Two of them can drive now, you know, a G is going to be a 20 Madeline 17 and Anna will be 14 actually next week. Funny thing is. Let's see 14 years ago. I was at a party with Rampage Jackson during the Arnold and Rachel like Rachel thought she was in labor. I had to leave the after party Saturday night at the Arnold, go to the hospital, and she ended up having them until the next week.
His birthday is on March 11th. And so, but yeah, trying to balance that, but it definitely kept me rooted the entire time. I was not running around the clubs, chasing females, doing whatever. Like I was just trying to keep it all together. That's part of the reason why people think like when I talk about the 4am stuff, like I'm flexing it.
It was a necessity. Kenny, if I still wanted to compete, do covers of magazines, do all these things. And run a business and be a dad, when the fuck am I going to train uninterrupted? It's not happening at 5 p. m. Yeah. You know what I mean? So it's like that four to 6 a. m. Huge part of my success. But it's a different mindset.
I've been training people for years and the people who work out early in the morning are a different breed of person. Yeah. And I just know that there's non, I have a non negotiable and it's like, I'm not, I'm not decide. It's already been decided. Yeah. Tomorrow, whether we drink one whiskey or five, I'm here.
Yeah. It's just what it is. And I think that that. Mentality has allowed me to be, I've liked the kind of six man kind of mentality because I was never really great at any of this stuff you said early. I've done it all for a really long time, but I'm a tweener and everything. I'm not like really that great of a lifter.
I'm not super huge or jacked. I'm not like that gifted really at any of this stuff, but I've been doing it for 25 years as a professional. Do you ever feel like you're sacrificing your own? Life sometimes to teach other people shit. Uh, I think that that's probably now where I get the most like gratification Yeah, and so I think that here's what I always tell like my young guys at work with me It's not whether it's gonna work for me anymore We're past that, right?
Like the idea of being in the studio, can I do what I love for a living? Like, I know what I'm willing to do. I know what it's, what it's created. And so now, I want to help like the people that have helped me build my stuff, I want to help them start to realize their stuff. And that's part of why I wanted you guys to come here and speak because I want my group of friends to be able to say like, Hey, there's, there's people that the ones that were here that were here at 4 a.
m. They're the ones that are different. Yeah. And they're, they're one thing that you could have said, or Jake says, or whatever, turn them onto this whole trajectory that we've been on. And that's, I think that that personal development space is probably, I mean, it really saved me. Listen, I, the reason why I created strong was because I was going to all this stuff.
I was meeting guys like you, I was getting to in front of these amazing people who have. All this knowledge that teach people and I go, I want to share this with my people. I want them to learn something from the best in the world. You know, you've, you've accomplished a lot. You've had multiple companies.
You've gotten to work with Arnold. What would you say you're the most proud of? Because you've competed a lot too. Like one of the things that I. I love was when I finished an Ironman, like at the time people weren't doing Ironmans as much. I think it was like 2, 000 people who did the Ironman in 2012. Now it's like everybody's running, everybody's doing these ultra marathons, but at the time people weren't doing it.
When I ran across that finish line, I was like, oh shit, this was, this is a very pivotal moment. So for you, I mean, you've done so much. What do you, I would say I always talk about one of the biggest days in my career is where my best day. Um, accomplishment as an athlete and actually a parent too, and then intersected with like one of my biggest days, um, business wise.
So when I pitched Arnold Schwarzenegger to be our business partner, you know, me and my business partner at the time and a couple other investors, I was on the cover of fitness rx with my family. The same month. It was at every newsstand. So as I'm flying to LA, I mean, I'm watching people read and look at it like in the airports is wild.
And you know, one of the guys bought it and brought it to the meeting and threw it to Arnold during it. And so we're meeting about him being our business partner and they throw the magazine cover and it's me on the cover with all three of my kids shredded to the bone. And the whole spread is like at my gym, pull out poster ad like, I mean, he went through the whole thing in the meeting.
And so it was like, we're this, the opportunity to work with the goat of our industry and he's getting the validation of me understanding like what I know, like at the highest level and one of the most popular magazines and my family's involved in that. So when we're going to Kroger's to pick it up, AG is only like 11 years old and he's like, dad, we on the front bro.
Like what, what is this? Like, it's crazy. So I think like that's one of the things I'm like always super proud of in my last, you know, I'm also proud of doing the multiple events and weekends, you know, I did the muscle trifecta right when I met you where I went Olympic lifting on a Friday bodybuilding show Saturday power off to meet Sunday, Sunday, I felt like my body was going to fall apart and I still squatted five pulled five and bench 300 at one 78 raw.
So I was super proud of that. You know, there's two other times I've done bodybuilding shows and powerlifting meets in the same weekend. The last one was at 44, so it was two years ago. Um, I did a bodybuilding, bodybuilding show in Akron on a Saturday. Um, I got like fourth. The next day I went and did a multi ply powerlifting meet on Sunday.
Squat at 694. 4 at 181 as a master, drug free. It's the number two squat in the history of powerlifting. Um, tested at that weight class. And I was like super fucking proud of that. It's so funny because I'm rolling around the Arnold and you're watching a lot of these kids who are getting so much attention and making so much money.
And here you are doing the thing. And I talk about that a lot. I know Christian Williamson talks about that a lot. It's like, you're doing the thing. There are so many young guys out there who don't even know, like they've never competed once. Here you are doing everything in a weekend. I've competed, I've competed in at least 15 bodybuilding shows.
I shot 13 covers that have come out and I would say it's probably like 30 powerlifting meets. So I'm, I'm a practitioner to the fullest. And part of why I've created what I did at max effort with the dates on the calendar and the events is I went. Since I've been 18, I've created, I've competed almost every quarter or every half a year in something.
So I'm always training for something. I'm always pushing for something. I always have a date on the calendar. And so, you know, that was like a huge part of what my clients were cheering for me when, before the internet, they, I was always. I was always building up for something, they would come and support me.
Then it kind of turned into the internet as a practitioner. And like, I think that's why I understand programming so well. I've lived it, man. People say like built different or whatever. Like it's just the 25 years of competing. It's just what it is. And so like. I have a confidence around it because I lived it.
I lived it. I know what a 700 pound squat feels like. I know what it is to bomb out at meets and have Louis calling you sideways. I know what it is to get fucking hazed at a fucking squat workout at Westside. I know what it is to have Arnold be mad at me as a business partner. I know what it is for him to help me as a business partner.
Like, I've been through some crazy stuff. I spent a whole day with Tiger Woods and chopped it up with him about work ethic. Like, I've been around, like, real fucking goats, bro. And so that energy, like, I see. Oh, that's what greatness looks like. Well, people think. Like, Oh, I need to get motivation. I need to listen to this book or that, and that shit's great.
Yeah, I do that all too. But doing the thing, the action builds in real confidence, right? You're going to apply it. Yeah. There's no point in talking about it all the time when you never actually do it. And if you want to build real confidence, it's like after I've done shit, like I said, the Ironman and CrossFit competition, that's what built in.
The confidence that I have to go and do other shit. I did the open one year. I mean, I've always pushed myself to, to do a bunch of different stuff. Like I never really did Olympic lifting, but when I started squatting every day, obviously I was front squatting too. And I ended up cleaning 300 pounds. Like, I mean, I fucked around with all this stuff because if somebody asked me a question.
I want to be able to like answer it like from a real place, not like, Oh, well I wouldn't follow that diet because of this. No, I would try that diet before I would ever answer the question. So I'm just really pride myself on being a practitioner and I think what's going to happen Kenny is because of the still the way that I keep, I mean I just shot men's health this year.
I was up and saw you, right? It wasn't that long ago. Um, and so it's like. And the way that I'll be 47 this fall, the way that I still, um, look and I'm keeping myself in the longevity in this game, I feel like people were, I'm about to get that next wave. I feel like where people are starting to really recognize kind of my protocols, the way I operate and you know, the things that I've been building.
And so just the long game, bro, I mean, I'm going to do it anyway. Yeah. So I'm, I'm sure you've taken heat just like everybody else does on social media. You got chores and shit. Of course. I'm sure some people have been like. Well, why don't Arnold go into business with this guy? Like what, what's some of the worst shit that you've heard from people?
Oh, people, you know, here's the problem is right. There's so many drugs and people think TRT is natural now, which is funny too. And so like, because I've been a drug free athlete my entire life, like I've never touched anything. It was like, I'm always 20 pounds smaller. Maybe not as hard, although I get in pretty great shape when I can't, we don't have to do not ever as strong.
So I think people start to evaluate some of the stuff by a guy that jumps on roids for two years and Probably could pass me up essentially or something, right? And so I would say when people would come at me about My protocols this and this guy's saying that and they're always I'm always up against Dudes are on stuff.
And so I'm thinking like the diet he's telling you is not working because he's not telling you the other part. Yeah. And like, that's a gain diet for a drug free guy, not a cut diet. Like, I remember like reading about some of the guys in the, you know, in the IFBB and I'm like, I can't follow this. I would fucking, I would gain body.
Like, it's just, this shit's not the same. And so I think like that would bother me sometimes because I know what I'm, the kind of work I'm really putting in and like maybe people don't understand like my results. For probably really my capabilities are at the highest level possible. I've squeezed every bit of juice out of a no pun intended out of what is available for me.
And so, but I, I really quit worrying about that a long time ago because the people that really fuck with me, they super fuck with me. Like mine is not, you know, I don't have a million fucking followers, but i've got A lot of people that really are dedicated to the protocols and I've helped change their lives.
I believe that so, but there's definitely people like the people who are in the know, the people who love this shit, like me and you, everyone, everyone knows your name. Everyone knows who you are and stuff. Guys like Mike O'Hearn guys, like Frank Seppi, guys that had been around guys like Jim Mannion, the guys that have been running this industry and have been like in it for a long time.
They all fuck with me. Cause they know, you know what I mean? You, I mean, you've accomplished so much. You know, you've done so much in the space. Do you ever feel like you're, you're kind of getting bored of it at all? Or no. So what I would say is that it's funny because I've been in it long enough. Now I've seen the cycles a couple of times, like where, you know, drugs was really hot and then they weren't hot and now they're hot again because the tick talk.
And then, so I started to see like. You know, the first time I got popular per se was a lot of, because I was carrying the drug free torch and the programming. And so what's weird is I was doing high volume, crazy workouts that people think you need to take drugs to recover from. But the reality is that's what actually changes a drug free body.
Like you need that type of like that kind of, yes, correct. And so I think. Not only can the personal development stuff I can offer to help people with their businesses and live their dreams or whatever But I think that all the stuff that I'm into is getting ready to cycle back through again Yeah And so I think I'll have a whole new group of people that would be like, oh wait This dude's like almost like closer to 50 than 40 and he still looks like this, you know, I have all these other problems You know what I mean?
And so, yeah, I think, I think that I'm just waiting for the next kind of wave and I, and I'm going to be pinpointed to, I think, help a whole new group of people. And this is just what I do. I think the one thing I am looking more forward to is like writing more books, doing more media, um, more like just overall impact, not just in our subculture, but just outside in general.
Cause I think my principles can really approach, you know, apply to a lot of people. I haven't been in the game as long as you have, I started working out at like 13, 14 years old and I started learning and reading about it. Magazines, books, things like that before the internet was a thing, but you've seen it evolve, right?
You've been a part of the industry for 2025 years. And I think that has been the biggest jump in the world of fitness or wellness, whatever you want to call it. What have you seen or who have you seen really change? The industry for in the last 25 years Well, I think like I'm fortunate and a lot of people might know this or not know This is that I had I evolved right as it was evolving.
So sign up for Twitter in 2010 I'm doing free content on the internet, free workouts. They're getting shared like crazy. My following's growing. Bodybuilding. com, I was the second video trainer ever on bodybuilding. com. You know, and I had four or five that were extremely popular. I was one of the first people to match up actual content with like programming and supplements, which is why it works so good.
We sold like 32 million on bodybuilding. com by itself. And so like, we were, MusclePharm at the time was by far the biggest content creators. And matching it up with the sales that I think in the entire industry, and I was the one that was leading that entire thing, writing it all, producing it all, whatever.
And so I evolved, and then as I evolved out of that in 2015, I was one of the first people to have his own app. Like there was apps, but there wasn't, you couldn't just jump on a platform and create an app. I like built my own app with my own developer, and you know, to have people like, I remember getting tagged in like, guys in India are doing the Get Stacked plan, guys in Ireland are doing the Get Stacked plan.
And I'm thinking. When I left my trailer, could I have imagined that I could be getting, you know, it was 8. 99 then, now it's 14. 99 from people all over the world that are doing the same workouts I'm doing here in fucking old school? That's like fucking blows my mind bro, and so I think I evolved with that too So I've been on the front side of a lot of those parts in the industry because I was like So because I was not afraid of the camera.
I'd build all this confidence in the gym They were like I used to call myself. I used to put a lot of pressure like I'm a one take homie They set like three days for me to shoot the first video trainer. I did in one They didn't have to feed me the lines. I know the fucking material. I am the fucking material.
So it's like, turn that fucking thing on and let's go. And so that's the way I approached it, Kenny, which I think you're pretty similar, right? Well, one of the things that I think about is I've been doing gym reviews, right? And I'll go to all these beautiful gyms and you like, people are always like, Oh, you should go to like an equinox or something.
I'm like, for what? They're all the same. It's like, yeah, cookie cutter. You have a gym that I don't think there's a piece of equipment in there that's not rusted Yeah. Beat up. And people think they need these beautiful over the top gyms that cost millions of dollars. Your gyms, you know, how much did you build that for?
So the original, the original old school gym, which started in 2003, I think with the build out of the building, I think we had 60, 000 in it maybe. And then that counted with like building the locker room shit. So probably the equipment. I mean, you know, I got one treadmill, one bike, and then we have the arm bike, cause Dustin likes that for the wrestlers.
Other than that, we got no conditioning equipment. It's all like racks we bought used when gyms closed down. Monolith I bought from Louie. Um, when Ohio state changed their facility, we got their racks, um, these still the, uh, some of our original pieces from the gym I bought out. Cause I bought out a gym that was like 10 grand in, in, uh, 2000.
Yeah. In 2003, then we moved to the bigger facility in 2006. So the original old school gym had two members. I bought it for 10 grand and then, uh, 60, 000 to new. So yeah, I mean, and we've added some stuff, but yeah, low cost really what I learned from Louie is it's really about the culture, bro. It's all culture and people want what I got, but they're not willing to put in the time to create it.
And it's so authentic to us that, um, I don't know, like you said something that's like, you can't fake it now. And I know, I know you can't, it just has to be what it is. And that time is required. And that's kind of what I was talking about is like, Do you love it like that? And so I know, not you, but metaphorically, like, you know, do people want to sign up for that?
I do. And I would again. And it's just me. And I could be doing this after the coal mine shift at home, or I could be doing it right here. I'd still be doing it. And I think that that's one thing that's going to separate me for time in this industry is because I'm still going to lift weights tomorrow and the next day, and I'm not going to take two weeks off and I don't fall out of love with it.
You know, things shift and change, but it's just me, man. It's just, it's been me and it's been. Like generations of my family lift weights. One of the things I said to, uh, my first partners that I had in my first gym, when we had split up, uh, and we were going through all this shit, I go, see, when this thing falls apart and, you know, in the moment it was, I said, I'm going to go back to doing the same thing.
Yeah, I'm going to build what you do. Still be a trainer. I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and train. I'm going to do that. Yes. You guys don't do the thing. You got into fitness. You want to be a part of a gym because you thought it would make you money. I do this because I can't sleep unless I do facts.
I share that with you. Yeah. And you're one of those guys. And what I'm trying to evolve to is that competition felt very similar to me that way too. Yeah. But I was, I was having a hard time kind of keeping my body together because I've been competing for so long that I've kind of backed away from that.
I am still like. Um, you know, lifting relatively heavy and I'm playing some ball and stuff, but you know, as my younger son or my older son wants to do some competition, that's when I'll probably, I want to do some like Griffey, Griffey jr. Type shit. Like ag wants to do a bodybuilding show and I'm in shape.
I'll go do a body show with him. And, and I believe would want to do my youngest will probably want to do powerlifting or if my daughter wants to do powerlifting, I would do with them. AG did a powerlifting meet when he's a junior in high school, squat at four Oh two pulled four or two at one 48 and then bench one 85.
He's a pitcher, so I didn't have him doing a lot of chess then. Um, but yeah, so I mean I got to wrap my own kids knees. For a big squat. That was pretty fucking dope. You feel like you're reliving. Oh, it was. And, and he just was cool as a cucumber, bro. He made, he went, he went nine for nine, like fucking just, they called him red light on one of his squats, but he made it.
I mean, it was fucking sick. And it was like the guy tapped my leg and I told him when to go up and then they red light him. I'm like, you're the one that fucking tapped my leg. You fucking idiot. Like what are we doing? But yeah, I was super like, that was like a really cool full circle moment. Um, to have my kid like do something that I love like that.
And his, yeah. Uh, we didn't have a, the one 48 squat wasn't that big. So he actually took the board number. So Gregory was on my chalkboard and it wasn't me. That was fucking weird. Cause I had got wiped off years ago when my total was like 1475 at, um, one 98 and a guy made 1480 and took me off the board and I just couldn't get that back.
And so then Trayvon went and squatted like 30 more pounds and he took the one 48, but it was cool to see my kid up there. And I was like, that's earned. You can't give that. Yeah. You know what I mean? So that was cool. That's it's, it's so impressive. I mean, like just hearing your stories and stuff, like there are so many people out there who could benefit from what you, what you've done and basically using yourself as the guinea pig.
But it wasn't on the science project. I've always looked at it that way. I feel like a lot of people see what you have accomplished or the people who don't even know what you've accomplished. That's why I wanted to get you on here because if social media was a thing, 10 years sooner. I can't imagine where you would have been, right?
I think about that sometimes. Yeah. Cause you're light years ahead of everybody else. You were, you're, like I said, you're doing the thing you've accomplished so much. And you, you, you look around and you see the landscape of people who are getting a lot of attention and they haven't done one eighth of what you've done.
Yeah, that, I mean, I'm not going to lie. There was times, you know, cause the comparison could pull anybody in. Right. And I had to just realize that I was running my own race in that. I think. Um, there's something that, and we all want to think this, right? There's something that hasn't happened yet. That's probably bigger, maybe not bigger, like from a standpoint of like top line sales or whatever.
There's an impact that I think will happen outside of the culture from some of this material I'm writing or when I honestly, when I've created and bought the island and build all that up in Muswell Island, like I told my wife, like I'm going to be there writing best sellers probably for the rest of my life.
I just believe that wholeheartedly, like that the material I'll create, the podcast I create, the environment I can create that's unlike anything else will pay for the whole fucking thing and probably take me into a different stratosphere of impact. And so I just think I'm on the front side of all this stuff, Kenny.
So it is sometimes like a little bit disheartening to think, well, should I, am I owed this? And then I just kind of looking in the mirror and go. Ain't really like that. You know what I mean? I, I think two of the problems that a lot of people deal with is one, that imposter syndrome. Right. And I'm sure a lot of people out there feel this way.
You suffer from imposter syndrome when you start to do well, but you also have that level of jealousy. Like I fight with it all the time. I watched a lot of these younger guys and other people in the industry doing really well and I have to fight with myself over and be like. That's not my path. This is my path.
It's not your path. And you got to remember, like, you, the problem is you feel like a little bit entitled because you're like, I know my substance is there. You think that, right? Yeah. And then I think that when you think that way, it's less, it's more lack and less abundance. And so I have to remind myself like.
It's not about what they're doing. It's about what I'm doing for some reason. It just hasn't been my time yet. But then like, that's part of what I was talking about too, is like, even when I'm losing, I look like I'm winning. So what the fuck am I talking about? You know what I mean? Like I felt like I got beat up last year and I built a fucking Island.
Yeah. I feel the same way. I look at my businesses and I'm like, fuck man, I'm, I'm busting my ass and it's not where I thought it would be or it's not where I. I wish it was, but when do you ever think that never, I don't think I've ever. And one of the things that, you know, people, when they asked me about the show and stuff, and they're like, you know, what was, uh, what was your mindset that whole time?
I go, well, I treat it like a job. Cause I never thought I'd get anything beyond that. And a lot of times when I was running finals and doing workouts and doing all this stuff to prepare for it. People are like, what's the mindset that you're in? I go, I never raced anyone else. Yeah. I always raced myself. I go, because if fucking Superman shows up and I got to compete against him, I could only do as good as I can.
That's true. So I need to push myself. Right. I didn't prepare to beat him. I prepared to beat. Myself. Well, if I pushed myself beyond what I thought I could do, then I'm winning. I think when your personal expectation is that it changes everything. Yeah. And so like I'm harder on myself than, than anybody that could come beat me.
So it's like my expectation, my non negotiable habits, my, my routines, like I know what they yield. And then I have to be, I have to ask myself if I'm willing up, willing to sign up for the amount of time it's going to take. And every time I get entitled, it's further away. And every time I just lean into the authenticity and keep working, it keeps happening.
Yeah. I mean, you now own an island, right? I mean, most things, most guys would be so happy with, you know, You drive around the Rolls Royce, right? And I sold it when I bought the island, but I'm going to get another one. But the fact that like, no one even knew that about you, right? I never posted it. Yeah. So it's like you heard that part.
Yeah, yeah. But no, I, last year or two years ago when I was here, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And you, you're doing all this stuff. You're never satisfied though. You're never happy because you're like, there's, there's another level and there's another level. And I think for guys like us, I think we suffer from this mentality, it's, it's a blessing and a curse at the same time.
It definitely is. And with having a wife that was a kindergarten teacher, she reminds me of that a lot. Like Corey, we're way further than we ever thought when we got together, this thing would even create. Right. Yeah. And so she has asked me often what's enough. And I think, you know, you climb to one mountain and you're at the bottom of the other one.
And so what I would tell you is that it's not a number for me. It's not an amount of money. It's more of like, it's more like a way of operation. Well, you probably never chased the money. I really did not. Now. Initially I just was like, I remember when I was a personal trainer, I was like, if I can make six figures, my life will never be the same.
And then I'm going to teach myself how to buy stocks. You know what I mean? Like, I was like, so like just trying to figure out this thing, right. That was so different than what I saw growing up. And so after that, I never, honestly, I didn't have a high enough financial IQ, Kenny, to know what amount of money would really change my life.
And I actually know now because I've studied it, right? And so I know that I don't need a hundred million in a private jet. No, I don't need all that. Right. But I understand that if I have X amount of million and I know exactly how to invest it, I know how to buy the assets. Like I understand the game now.
So when I got the island, it was different because I've been talking about this legacy piece. And I remember when I first moved here, like Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, he had, he had an island on that lake. I noticed there's a lot of fucking Wendy's around. Yeah. So he is from here. Yeah. So he, so I always heard about the island he owned and he had his big, his family and all that.
And then the Columbus dispatch, which is the paper here that was 130 years, they had their own island at this lake. So I knew it was like a thing. I just didn't know there was still one available that hadn't been built on yet. No shit. And so that's when I found it on Zillow. And I was like, is this. One of my legacy pieces for my family that I can pass on to generations and it's a real estate holding that's worth millions of dollars.
And I can have crazy family events and my kids' graduation parties and events for the ma, the Mafia subscription. And like once again, I, in the morning I'm like really in, kind of in tune my intuition and they call it the whispers, right? And I think like if you're uninterrupted time of training, you're doing your conditioning, you're developing yourself.
You're tuned into that antenna better than ever, in my opinion. And so I just kept hearing this thing, like results, lifestyle, experience results, lifestyle experience. And I was like, I have the results for my protocols. The lifestyle is the brand and the gear and the way that we operate and like the expectation of like growing what's the experience, my gym's private.
Um, I haven't, you know, after COVID really hadn't been the many events. And I was like. I need to start sharing back what I'm built here. And when I started building the island, that's when all this stuff started happening. I was like, what happens if that was involved? What happens if that was included?
Like people could train, they're taking the supplements every month. They're getting results. And then they could have dates on the calendar, which is how I got here. I've always had dates on the calendar. So I was like, let me test it with a gym event, just open house. Boom. It was pretty big. Then I was like, Forcing the island to be done in time to just get something there last year.
We had like 125 people come out to the first muscle island event in October, four boats, ferrying people, live music, food. And it was fucking epic. I had lights around the whole acre and a half island. It was all lit up. You would drive up and the whole thing's illuminated in the water. It was fucking crazy, bro.
And I was like, this is what I'm talking. This is like a separator. But also still the same thing, you know, I mean, and that's what I started really, uh, try to get on with this kind of new wave of what I'm building right now, which is one of the include included events is what you got to come to and that, um, that to me is like super exciting because I know it's super impactful coming full circle with, you know, what we started with.
If you were to close your eyes and think you're a perfect day. Yeah. How close is your average day to your perfect day? Yeah. Getting very close. And I'll tell you why this is something I've been doing. So two things I asked myself a lot, how do I want to operate and what's my perfect day, which is a very similar, um, kind of question.
So like, as I'm working and integrating, whether my life, my training, like. How do I, and it changes and it changes, but that's part of the Rolls Royce thing was part of that. Like, you know what? I don't give a fuck if I'm in sweatpants, shorts, sweaty, whatever. I mean, I had white interior in that motherfucker.
I wanted to drive that shit in flip flops to the fucking gym. And that was how I wanted to operate because the material items drove me to keep that expectation of myself. So like, when I would get in that, I'm like, am I giving real like Rolls Royce type of like operation today? Like to me, it wasn't just about the car, it was about, am I still like keeping that standard that allowed me to achieve something like that?
And so when I close my eyes and think like, am I really living and did it take 25 years to get here? It's very close and I can't even tell you like one thing that I would like absolutely change because it kind of, I add and subtract things over time, but I constantly evaluate that constantly. Um, and right now, one of the things is.
The play version, right? It used to be competition and now it's going to be like we're, we're shooting a pilot, um, in April for this eight foot rim, low rim league. And so we're going to have content based around. It's like my high school kids, my middle school kids, guys up to my age is four teams, three and four cameras.
Like produce it like an NBA game and it's going to be happening right there. It's about to be sick. Your work has become. Your play is that quote that I talked about, it's like, there's no distinction. I'll send them to you. I dude, I used it in a, one of my, like one of my last posts, I said the same thing.
It's like my, what I do for work, right. And I'm not making the money yet. But my work and my play are like the same thing me coming out here hanging with you Like I was so fucking fired up yesterday morning. Yeah 5 a. m. So cool to be a part of that and sharing it with him and sharing with him It's like I want other people to experience that school This is what I've been doing for how much we had done by 10 a.
m. Yeah, it's crazy by 10 a. m. We still had the whole day and we did so much shit, dude. You know, it's so funny is, uh, I set my alarm for two 50 that morning and I normally get up at three. So it's not that much different, but for some reason, cause it, but I was here and I had an event with my business coaching clients and I didn't get home till like 11.
So I went to bed same as you guys. It was late, short turnaround. I woke up. Like this, and I didn't know what time it was, like 3 15. I thought I was sleeping in. It would have been shitty if I slept in for my own event. Right? So I go home in the afternoon. I get after everyone leaves. It's like 11. There's no, there's one other person that Kyle's here getting ready to come, you know, help you.
One other guy. I sat around. I like let the adrenaline kind of dump off for a second. I went home. I took a little nap in between and I woke up. It was so awesome. I couldn't tell whether I dreamed it. And I was, and I slept in, like it took me a sec because I was so discombobulated. I think I was so tired and so like pumped up.
I woke up from that nap, which I don't normally take when I was smoked and I go, wait a second, either. I slept in for the event and I dreamed all of that because it went that great and it felt that cool. And that's what we're all trying to live, right? It's like in this, um, daydream world of when it actually, the action happens.
It's, I don't know. It's. It's I wish everybody could experience it. Kenny with all the technology and bullshit that's happening right now. It's still so simple like There there was nothing like over the top or AI about anything we did yesterday I was so motivated and I hope this interview and you guys enjoy it just as much as I do I want to thank you for sharing your cigars, sharing your space, sharing your talent that you guys have here.
Uh, I hope you guys benefited from this as much as I do. You got me fired up. Like it just gets me excited to hear other people who are, who have done it, who've lived it and continue to do it. So Corey, thank you so much for coming on the show. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Like subscribe, follow Corey Gregory max effort.
Uh, your supplements are great. What you're doing is great. Um, you know, really, it's, it's awesome to call you a friend. So I hope you guys benefit from this just as much as I did. Thank you, my friend. Thank you. Appreciate it. And we're out like subscribe, share with a friend. Yes, sir. Boy, these are good. Ain't they?
These are awesome. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it. Hell yeah, man.