The Few Will Hunt Show

In this episode, Joey and Drew sit down with Dylan Royce, one of The Few, a law enforcement officer, 2nd-degree Black Belt, and multi-time national medalist in Jiu-Jitsu. Dylan shares his remarkable journey from Jiu-Jitsu student to instructor, reflecting on lessons learned through training and competition, including stories of success and loss. Tune in to hear Dylan share how his experiences as a student and competitor shaped him into the instructor and law enforcement officer he is today.

The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and Made in the USA apparel brand. Family-owned and operated and headquartered in Philadelphia. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.

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Creators & Guests

Host
Drew Beech
Drew Beech is an entrepreneur and cofounder of Few Will Hunt. He spent several years in the sales and marketing industry, grossing over several million dollars in sales. But his love for the entrepreneurial journey and desire to escape the rate race started with his personal training business in college. Today, Drew leads the Few Will Hunt community alongside his cousin and cofounder, Joey in their mission to restore the dignity of hard work through the highest-quality American-made apparel.
Host
Joey Bowen
Joey Bowen is co-founder of Few Will Hunt.

What is The Few Will Hunt Show?

The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and 100% Made in the USA apparel brand. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.

Drew Beech:

So if

Dylan Royce:

I win, it's not because I'm trying to not lose to their Yeah. Their best attributes. It's to

Joey Rosen:

just to win with my best attribute.

Drew Beech:

Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show.

Joey Rosen:

What's going on, Eagles? Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show. I'm Joey. I'm here with Drew. And today, we are joined by a very special guest, one of the few, but, also a law enforcement officer, 2nd degree bat black belt, multi time medalist nationally.

Joey Rosen:

Right? Jujitsu competitor?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Pan Am National Medalist.

Joey Rosen:

Yep. Yep. A reader.

Dylan Royce:

Oh, absolutely. Avid reader.

Joey Rosen:

A stoic. Avid avid reader. A stoic philosopher.

Drew Beech:

One of our very first models.

Joey Rosen:

Very one of our very first faces of the few.

Dylan Royce:

This is Swiss army knife. You know?

Drew Beech:

I already doubled it all.

Joey Rosen:

So I say all those things, but I'm glad you said that because I regard you as one of the hardest working eagles in our community, but there's something special about you. I see you working that hard in silence. Like, I don't see you flossing and flexing on the gram. You know, you post your competition photos and things like that, which are amazing. But, like, I don't know if people really understand how much you do in a given week and how hard you work.

Joey Rosen:

But we'll get into that a little bit. Right? We'll get we'll certainly get into that. So I'm I'm pumped that you're here today. It's been a long time coming.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Long time coming. The few, definitely know you from the Gram. Right? And they know of your competitions and and things like that, they typically wanna know about your come up.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm. So let's talk about what it was like coming up, growing up, how you found your way into jujitsu, law enforcement. Like, let's start there,

Dylan Royce:

and then

Joey Rosen:

we'll go into some other stuff Yeah. First.

Dylan Royce:

Absolutely. And dude, it's an honor to be here, man.

Joey Rosen:

Like you

Dylan Royce:

said, it's a long time coming. We always, like, every time I visit, we wanna talk and it feels like a podcast. You know, our conversations, but to actually sit down, man, I I really appreciate you guys having me here.

Drew Beech:

Absolutely.

Dylan Royce:

But, yeah. I mean, my like, I don't look at my, childhood to come up as being like anything that out of the ordinary, like, I didn't have any super, you know, traumatic experience that, like, conditioned me for, you know, the chaos so to speak. But, but at the same time, like, I wasn't, like, I feel like some people look at me now with my how long I've been in jujitsu and my, like, physicality and stuff like that and think that like I'm a I'm a great athlete and I'm not, man. Like I was I was not athletic at all, like I was that skinny unathletic kid, you know. Uh-huh.

Dylan Royce:

And, and even now, like, being like, I'm, like, athletic for jujitsu, but if you toss, like, a ball to me, I fucking bubble that shit left and right, like, but I've, you know, I've I've built myself up for for jiu jitsu, what I need as far as, like, the, the physical tools and requirements for that sport. But Yeah. Yeah. When I got into it, it was like, I got into it because it was the only thing I was really, like, that I took to, you know.

Joey Rosen:

I mean,

Dylan Royce:

I played other sports, but I was not I was not an athlete. It was not like there was not a sport that I gravitated toward that I was good at. And,

Joey Rosen:

But primarily, like, physical growing up, playing sports

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Trying to. Exactly. Like yeah. Exactly. Like any other kid kid trying them out and everything like that.

Dylan Royce:

And Mhmm. I actually got into Tae kwon Do first because I had some some friends who were kind of like me were, like, they didn't they weren't, like, you know, phenomenal athletes and stuff, and it was kind of like I was like, let me try this shit out. Let me try martial arts out.

Drew Beech:

So you never excelled at any sports you would say in high school or college?

Joey Rosen:

Like okay.

Dylan Royce:

No. No. No. Not until martial arts.

Drew Beech:

You're jacked now. You're you're cute. And and It's

Dylan Royce:

all for show.

Joey Rosen:

I remember we

Drew Beech:

were talking about one time, and I feel like, maybe send me a picture from, like, college or something. I was like, because I got I was, like, always this kinda build, and he's equally as Jack in his younger years Yeah. Than he is now.

Dylan Royce:

Well, I think, like, it it's interesting you say it. I feel like I had a, a propensity for building muscle. Like, my my dad was in pretty good shape, like, without being, like, an athlete himself, like, just from, like, manual labor and stuff, like, he always had a good physique and everything like that. I was naturally, like, lean, but I was skinny. Skinny.

Dylan Royce:

Like, I didn't have, like, you know, some some kids are just, like, they look built even

Drew Beech:

if they're not doing a ton

Dylan Royce:

of stuff. Mhmm. Once I started training like Taekwondo, I started lifting them too. I was like because I I was like, let me get a base for this. Let me get How

Drew Beech:

was what age was that? I was probably 15 maybe,

Dylan Royce:

something like that. Yeah. So, like, right around that age where I was gonna be, where like lifting would be a benefit to me. Yeah. I wasn't like too young and I wasn't I didn't like start super late.

Dylan Royce:

Sure. And I started to put on some muscle and I was already lean, so, like, you know, it's not like I had to lose weight, like, I all I could focus on was like lifting and building muscles. I got really into lifting, got into taekwondo, and that's where I started to look like an athlete.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

And then around that time, like, I trained Taekwondo for a couple years, but my cousin exposed me to jujitsu because he was training at the time. He was, like, 10 years older than me. And he same thing, like, he was he was a better athlete, but he was coming out of college, like, finishing, like, track and field and stuff, and then he got into jujitsu and it was, like so for him, that was, like, an athletic outlet to to start the next chapter of, like, his athletic career. And then he was, like, yo, you like, I know you're trained in Taekwondo and stuff, and you enjoy it. He's, like, you got to do this shit.

Joey Rosen:

Yes, sir. It's great. Did you enjoy taekwondo?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Yeah. For me because for me, it was, like, again, something that I took to a little bit. I could delve into, feel like I was actually, like, you know, part like, hitting my stride there, like, part of, you know, of my identity and stuff. Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

So, yeah, I enjoyed it. It gave me like a good base and foundation, good confidence, obviously, like all the things you'd want martial arts to do for me. But then, yeah, I started training jujitsu, and it was obviously like a lot more physical and stuff, but I still felt like I was I I was gravitating toward it. And I was one of the like at the time, like, when I started probably, like, 16 years old or whatever, that was young. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

And now you get kids who are starting, like, 6, you know, they're they're born into it. Yes. At the time, like, 16, like, I was always the youngest one in the room. It was like a bunch of adults.

Drew Beech:

That's true.

Dylan Royce:

You know, so I got to train with people stronger than me and I, you know so I was always lifting, trying to hold my own, trying to be, you know, match that strength and that physicality.

Joey Rosen:

Do do you remember how you felt then? Like, being, like, the youngest kid in the room

Dylan Royce:

completely new? I feel like, you know what?

Joey Rosen:

I guess maybe the taekwondo helped taekwondo helped.

Dylan Royce:

It definitely helped where I didn't feel like I was totally out of my element. And I think to an extent it felt like because I was I was holding my own, I didn't I wasn't like totally, you know, caught off guard by it or, like, overwhelmed by it. Mhmm. It felt cool to be, like, the youngest one because you felt, like, man, I'm I'm kind of, like Yeah.

Drew Beech:

You're that Yeah. Up and comer.

Dylan Royce:

Exactly. Like, you

Drew Beech:

know Dumb dog or

Dylan Royce:

Right. Like, you know, but but you felt like you've you know, you're holding your own, you belong here, and stuff. So it was cool, like and it wasn't like I was, you know, demolishing people, but I was kinda, like, man, it's cool to be to be young, to be, like, this kind of outlier as far as compared to all these other guys who are a little bit older, more experienced, stronger, but to still be, like, accepted by them. Mhmm. This will be appreciated.

Joey Rosen:

We just we we just did a show on, you know, our jiu jitsu journey over the past, like, 2 plus years or whatever, how we feel about it, what we've learned. And we went through Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which I'm I'm sure you're familiar with. Right? We went through every layer of the pyramid and said, like, jujitsu checks this pyramid or checks this box on the pyramid, this one, this one, this one. And just as Dylan was talking, like, you said belonging, you said esteem, you said confidence.

Joey Rosen:

You know

Joey Rosen:

what I mean? Like, all of those things.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. It just checks

Joey Rosen:

the box on, especially at a time you said you were younger, but, like, at that time, 16 years old or whatever, like, you're finding yourself in the world. You're looking for that sense of belonging.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

You know what I mean? So it's good that you found that type of family and that type of productive out

Dylan Royce:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Let for it.

Dylan Royce:

And that's a good age too. I feel like because to your point, like, when you're when you're starting a little bit older in life like you guys are, like, you have a I guess, like a particular expectation for, like, fitting into stuff being accepted because you're already, like, you you already have a particular standing in, you know, the the the world and the community and stuff like that as as adults, but then you you kinda you jump into something like that, you almost backtrack where you're like, damn, I'm I don't I'm out of place here, I don't feel like even if people are welcoming and accepting, like, you don't feel accepted as far as like your your ability and your standing there. At 16, you're kind of like you're in between, like Mhmm. Obviously, it can still be daunting, but you're not, like you understand that you're still growing, you're still, like, finding your place, so you can tolerate being, like, not being not not having that perfect fit right away.

Drew Beech:

You can grow with it. Really develop that ego when you're the youngest guy in the way you're supposed to lose. Right?

Joey Rosen:

So when

Drew Beech:

you win, it's just cool once you win.

Dylan Royce:

Exactly. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

That's one of the coolest things, and we we talked about this on the show, like acceptance of fact. Right?

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

The at the the pinnacle of the pyramid, right, in in self actualization. And that's one of the things, like, for me starting at 40, like, I've had I I have achievements. You know what I mean? I thought a certain set of thoughts about myself. Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

And very quickly, I had to accept that they were not facts. Yeah. You know, jiu jitsu told me that there is so much more work that I had to do and growth, and I'm, like, so grateful for that.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

You know? Because if I never started practicing, I would still be walking around thinking reality is one thing, and it's absolutely not.

Dylan Royce:

And it's cool to in any, like, faster life to have that realization setting. Mhmm. I like whether it's jujitsu, like, somebody like me, like, you know, still being able to go to certain rooms and train certain people and feel and and, like, realize that, I still have so much growth left to do and, and so much progress left to make. Or for you guys, like, hitting a certain stride in your endeavors as entrepreneurs and businessmen feeling like you're doing well, you're hitting your stride, and then, you know, maybe go to a particular convention or or talk to a particular individual or business and being like, damn. Like, we still got a lot of work to do.

Dylan Royce:

You know?

Joey Rosen:

Yep. Yep. Very powerful stuff. You accountable. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

For sure.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

So you started around 16. When does the when does competition start for you?

Dylan Royce:

I started competing, like, right away as a weight belt, but I would say I did it, like, back then it was more, like, because I felt, like, obligated, you know, like, my husband was competing a lot and I was kinda, like, I mean, I still I still wanted to do it, I still did it like of my own volition, but I don't I don't think it was the kind of thing where like if nobody had given me that, like, push or talk me into it that I would have just, like, done on my own, like, because, again, I wasn't, like, a super competitive athlete, so that wasn't, like, ingrained in my, you know, code Yeah. That I code. So it was just, like, it was a gradual process. Like, I got talked into it, did it, and, like, you know, felt okay, like, it wasn't, like, I was totally overwhelmed, I didn't, like, didn't totally suck, like, but I wasn't, like, a natural, like, just born competitor.

Joey Rosen:

Sure.

Dylan Royce:

So I did it all through basically every belt level. You know, I took a little bit of a break when I was, you know, going through, like, the police academy and stuff like that, but I but I competed, like, through college and stuff while I was, you know, full time student and things like that. Okay. But I would say it was, like, black belt where like, late brown, early black belt where I kinda, like, rediscovered myself and and felt like now I'm, like, I'm a I'm a competitor. Like, I feel, like, I love it.

Dylan Royce:

I I there's things that I I get from it that I didn't before.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. I remember I remember having that conversation with you about you kind of, like, finding yourself again at that level. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

So you took that break. You said took a break from competing, not from jujitsu. You Yeah. So the past have 15 years, you've been well, I never had any time off?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Like, basically, at the so it's funny because now like, I train now more than I did when I was, like, in my twenties and stuff. Because at the time, there was, like and, you know, I guess I'll segue a bit like it's, we were talking about this earlier like Mhmm. Jujitsu, like, you know, when I started, like, you couldn't even watch on fucking YouTube Yeah. Like, let alone Instagram, TikTok, like, having apps dedicated to it.

Drew Beech:

Getting away from jujitsu now.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Absolutely. So I trained a lot, but, like, I wasn't doing like, people weren't really a lot of people weren't doing 2 a days and stuff like that because everybody had full time jobs. Like, everybody was doing it on the side. So it was, like, you either trained, like, at lunch because you couldn't train at night, or you trained at night because you you can't train at lunch.

Drew Beech:

Sure. It was even that kind of class times too. I feel like most schools at the time probably have, like, 8 o'clock PM. Yep. It was Tuesday or Thursday.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

So

Dylan Royce:

I always just train once a week, but I trained every day, basically, you know, because I was I had no other obligations really, like, I didn't have any other sports. That was my thing, and so other than, like, school or, or, you know, or after my, like, academic career early academic career being college, like, things like that, I had no other reason not to go. So I would go, it was like a ritual, you know, go over train. It was great. It was that was like my, my outlet and and my my space, and so, I did that all through high school, college.

Dylan Royce:

And then, and then even when I was taking a break from competing because I was doing other things with, like, the police academy being, having to be there on the weekends sometimes, things like that, I was still still training every day. Get them, you know, police academy and go right to practice. You know? So, yeah, I never really other than when I, like, had an injury that would take, you know, a week, 2 weeks, whatever off, like, I was never I never took, like, a sabbatical from it. Gotcha.

Joey Rosen:

When what was it like with your peers? Like, you're when you're in high school, when you're in college, when you're in the academy because jujitsu isn't as popular then. Right? So, like, did your peers understand, like, what you were doing? What were you were dedicated so much of your life to?

Dylan Royce:

I think it's, like, some of them that had a little bit of understanding of the of the sport, like,

Joey Rosen:

you're

Dylan Royce:

you know, they look at it like it's cool. You're like, you know, you're training this like the secret, you know, like like, people don't really know they know what it is, but they're not overly familiar with it. So they look at you and, like, they they regard you a little bit higher and stuff. And then other people that don't really know what it is or just don't care are just like, ah, it's just he's just doing his martial arts thing.

Joey Rosen:

He's doing his

Dylan Royce:

he's doing his karate. You know? Yeah. Yeah. He's karate.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. It's kinda 2 fold.

Drew Beech:

It's interesting too probably as UFC gained popularity because when you started, it probably wasn't popular at all.

Joey Rosen:

But Yeah.

Drew Beech:

Your friends are probably like, this is so awesome. And you're yeah. This I do this. Like Right. This is what I've been telling you now for

Joey Rosen:

They think yeah.

Dylan Royce:

They're like, oh, you train you know, that's where that, like, moniker comes from. Like, do you train UFC? Yeah. It's like, well, no. I train jiu jitsu.

Dylan Royce:

But, yeah, if you know, trained UFC.

Drew Beech:

People do you think you're responsible for getting into jiu jitsu?

Dylan Royce:

I hope a lot, man. Yeah. You know, like, it's I was just talking to a couple of my college friends the other day. I hadn't seen, some of them for a while and, like, in college, like, I don't think I went to a fairly small college and, like, you know, 2,000 people or something, but I don't think any other person at the time with that I was in college trained jiu jitsu. I think it was the only one.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. There was obviously, like, we had good real good wrestlers there, and a lot of people went on to train jiu jitsu. Some of them were, like, maybe dabbling with it here and there when I was there, but nobody nobody trained it the way I do. And now, like, I just saw a couple of them the other weekend and, like, one of them is a purple belt, you know. That's amazing.

Dylan Royce:

The other one just started training, and then, like, a third one we're trying to get to train. Yeah. So it's cool. It's, like, you know, now I'm seeing, like, the the the progress of it and, like, you know, yes. Some some people, some guys that I, went to college with that I know train now

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

Like, same thing. They're, like, yeah, we, you know, we started getting into it. We knew you did it and stuff, and it was, like, we didn't realize, like, how, you know, prevalent you were in the sport or in the and everything like that until we started. And it was it's kinda cool to be, like, to feel like, I I hope you got into it because because you knew I was doing it.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. That's why I asked about how it was with your peers because I gotta imagine when you're in college, like, there's not a whole gang of you doing No. Practicing jujitsu.

Joey Rosen:

You know? Nope.

Dylan Royce:

Not like that.

Drew Beech:

That's the when you asked me earlier if I had any regrets or advice, I was I was thinking back to when I first started. I was like, if I had the time I had in college, I couldn't have how awesome it would be to be obsessed with jujitsu in college because all you have is free time.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Right. And

Drew Beech:

you go to class for a couple hours a day. You would

Dylan Royce:

you would have dropped out. Right. You'd be like, fuck this bullshit. Right.

Drew Beech:

I wish I could just go back and find my love for jujitsu then because I would fucking just literally just train all the time. Yeah. Like, freaking. Yeah. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

So in college, did you go you went crazy, like, training?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I mean, like, yes and no. Like, I was, because, again, I didn't at the time, since nobody there weren't, like, full time jujitsu athletes, like, I trained it all time with the intention of, like, oh, I knew I would train it for the rest of my life, basically. Mhmm. But I never knew, like, I never planned on making money off it or anything like that because because that just wasn't really a thing, you know.

Dylan Royce:

I mean, the people that made money off it were the ones that ran academies, but they did usually didn't have the choice. Like, they were got, like, you know, Brazilian, athletes or whatever who, like, you know, they came here to train jujitsu and compete, and really their only method of making money would be to run an academy. You It was Otherwise, you have guys everybody that ran the academy also had a full time job. You know? There wasn't like that the way it is now where you get people that are, like, 16.

Dylan Royce:

They're just like, I'm gonna do jujitsu for

Joey Rosen:

this month.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. It wasn't like that.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. That's crazy. It's like a real sport now. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

So I I trained every every day in college, but it was, like, it was just because I enjoy doing it. It was, like, that was my thing. You know, I would go to class. I'd work out, take a nap, and I go train jiu jitsu. Like, that was just my routine.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

But, you know, yeah. Now you have guys that, like, they're the entirety of their existence is built around training jiu jitsu and trying to become a full time jiu jitsu athlete. It's definitely shifted dramatically in that regard.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Yeah. What what So you're you're making your journey through jiu jitsu and earning your belts. Right? You said that you kind of rediscovered yourself at Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Late Brown, I guess you said. What was was there a specific moment?

Dylan Royce:

Absolutely.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. It's, it's it's cool you bring that up, because, yeah, oddly enough,

Joey Rosen:

like gloss over. We'll we're gonna rewind and go back to the other belt, but it really piqued my interest.

Dylan Royce:

No. Yeah. And it's I I think it's cool that it did happen to me like that because, like, it was like Drew was saying and how like hindsight's 2020, obviously. I wish that if I knew now that I'd still be as active in competing in jujitsu the way that I that I am, I I'd be like, oh, it then I would have been doing 2 days all the way from high school, but life doesn't work like that. Right?

Joey Rosen:

So it

Dylan Royce:

is what it is. I'm like, it happened for a reason, you know. I always tell people maybe if I had trained that much, sure, I could have gotten better, at a younger

Joey Rosen:

age and

Dylan Royce:

stuff, but, like, what's that?

Joey Rosen:

Your longevity.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Maybe I maybe I would have gotten burned out. I wouldn't even train anymore, you know. And there's a lot of other things I would missed out on.

Joey Rosen:

So, arguably, also, like, the amount of lives that you directly impact

Joey Rosen:

right

Joey Rosen:

now, not just through your competition, but one thing that I gloss over in the beginning is your instruction as well. Yeah. So on multiple levels, not just not just across the way here at Marques, but also with EF.

Dylan Royce:

Right? Yeah. We have combatives with yeah. Exactly. A 100%.

Dylan Royce:

And, so, yeah. But with

Joey Rosen:

the that moment.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Competing, yeah. I I like I said, I always competed through most of the belts and stuff, and I had some, like, I had a lot of local success. I wasn't competing, like, a ton, nationally or internationally because, again, that just wasn't as prevalent for, like, people. Even though jujitsu has always had a a a big presence here in, like, the greater Philadelphia area in the East Coast, it wasn't to the extent that it was in, like, on the West Coast where, like, the academies that were that were there, that people were training at and competing, like, those were probably where you had a lot more of, like, the Brazilian instructors who were competing nationally, and so their students were also competing nationally from an early age.

Dylan Royce:

Like, I competed a ton, but it was in, like, the tri state area, you know. Maybe a little bit, like, on the East Coast of Florida or something like that, but I wasn't, like, traveling across the country the way that I am that I am now because it just wasn't really that way Mhmm. At the time. So I always compete a lot, and, I I racked up a lot of experience, but I never, like, felt like I was in that upper echelon of competing where I was traveling all over the country, competing against the best of the best. It was like Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah, I'm just testing myself all the time against people in this tri state area kind of thing. Mhmm. And, so then once I started to hit, like, brown belt, black belt, that, you know, gets it just gets tougher and tougher because now the people that you're competing against for the most part are people who are, like, pretty damn good or if they're still competing, it's because they they deserve to still be competing. They're not just, like, they're not just testing.

Joey Rosen:

They're not testing themselves.

Dylan Royce:

Now now you get people that obviously, like, maybe the first time they ever compete is a black belt. They test it out. There's specific divisions for him, but Mhmm. Yeah, at the time, it was, like, you know, you go from white to blue to purple. You know, once you hit brown and black, you're, like, these dudes are good.

Dylan Royce:

And I was starting to hit that point where I was, like, you know, this is this is tough. Like, it's hard. I can't just show up and compete anymore, like, these guys are legit. And so I was, like, I don't know. Maybe maybe that's kind of the I've reached that point in my career of competing where, like, I'm gonna have to slow down because I can't just show up with a full time job and as a student and all this stuff and compete against these guys that are really, really legit.

Joey Rosen:

Sure.

Dylan Royce:

So I kinda took a break. I would compete here and there, and then eventually, I was right around, like, when that fight to win promotion, started coming around Philadelphia area. I applied for that to do a super fight, and that was, like, the first super fight I think I had done. You know, everything other than that was just, like, tournaments. So Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

It's different when you're doing, like, a 1 v one thing. You're up on a stage, a lot more pressure and stuff. So Under

Joey Rosen:

the list.

Dylan Royce:

I was like, man, am I good enough am I good

Joey Rosen:

enough for this? It. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. And, but I I, you know, wound up having some success for that promotion, winning a a bunch of matches and getting better and better opponents, suggested for me were matched up against.

Joey Rosen:

Sure.

Dylan Royce:

And same thing was, like, I was gonna match up with guys that had, like, a lot of experience that were really good and competed, you know, as pro fighters for, like, big organizations at the time or had competed, you know, and won to a very high level at, like, in just straight jujitsu tournaments across the country.

Joey Rosen:

Yep. And I

Dylan Royce:

was like, tell you how enough I'm gonna get good enough to go in against these guys. And my, you know, my, instructor, I gave him my black belt Rob Rob Shire at the time. He was like he really, like, I I credit him with giving me a lot of confidence at the time, which is being like, dude, like, fuck that. You're good enough. Like Yep.

Dylan Royce:

What do you you know, like, you're you're you're damn good. I could just get out there. You know? These guys have to worry about, you know, you don't don't just be fixated on them. And I was like, you know what?

Dylan Royce:

You're right. Like, what's worse that could happen? And so I got out there, just kept kept putting myself out there and Mhmm. You know, with mixed results, obviously, you go against certain guys, like, that are really good. I've lost my fair share, of matches, but it really helped me get that understanding and that appreciation that, like, yeah, I do belong up here.

Dylan Royce:

You know? Yeah. I am good enough.

Joey Rosen:

So important to have somebody like that in your corner Yeah. When you need it. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

It sound

Joey Rosen:

like you needed it in that moment. So because you

Dylan Royce:

hit, you know, you go through those that roller coaster of competing where, like, like I said in the beginning, I was like, I'm not a boring competitor or anything. And so it was enough just to start competing in the 1st place was one thing. Yep. Then to continue competing over all those years and eventually start competing at the highest level. Like, there are times where you need the the those outside influences, those other people to be like, dude, you you know, you can do this.

Dylan Royce:

You are good enough.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Realistically, it's it's imposter syndrome at a at a different level. It's like you were just, am I good enough to be here? And that my next question was going to be, did it come with a string of losses? Like, did you have to continue battling through losses?

Drew Beech:

Like, even to just Yeah. Come to the actual actualization that, like, you are good enough, obviously, to be where you are today.

Joey Rosen:

But

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I I think there's always I've always had, those, you know, fluctuations of success and failure. And, you know, success was good enough to remind me that, like, yeah, I'm good enough. I do belong here, and it would motivate me to have more success. And the failures were, like, a good reminder that, like, there's still a lot of progress left to be made.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Learning experiences too.

Dylan Royce:

So I've had plenty of, you know, failures and I but I always feel like I've learned from everyone. I know it sounds cliche, but, like, I don't think I've ever, like, had a loss or whatever that I didn't immediately become, like, motivated from afterward or take something from, you know. You wanna learn. Yeah. So When I learn always.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Joey Rosen:

Absolutely. Is there when you look back at all of your you're still competing. You have competition next weekend. Right? Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

But when you look back at your previous competitions, is there one lesson that always went rings true? Like, I know that you've said you've always learned something from them, but is there a common lesson that you could impart on the community from whether it was a win or or a loss? Like, you know, just I think

Joey Rosen:

you could

Drew Beech:

add on that question though. I have a similar question is, like, would you have changed anything if this helps refine the question?

Joey Rosen:

Do you

Drew Beech:

have changed anything about your journey or done differently?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Well, again, like, with the hindsight thing, there's there's absolutely pride obviously, probably a ton I I would've changed. But, yeah, I think, like, just going in and we we talk about this with, like, everything that we do in life, and I know you guys, would echo this sentiment as a message is that, like, just going into every every, whether it's a training session or, like, showing up for work, like, just just always having, like, intent and purpose, like and and this is why I love, like, working with with coach Sean a lot is, like, we we we kind of not naturally both had this, you know, viewpoint and we tried to pass along to a lot of the fighters and stuff. It's just like, don't just show up and train because, you know, it's on your schedule

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

And it's, like, sweat equity and things like that. And I did that a lot, like, that that's probably to your question, Drew, like, the the thing that would change the most, like, I I felt like during my during the majority of my earlier jujitsu career and, like, my like, all the color belt levels, like, I I would I trained a lot. Right? But I basically was just I was just showing up and training hard. Right?

Dylan Royce:

Like, I didn't I didn't always have, like, I wasn't showing up and training with, like, intention or purpose or, like, a goal. It was just, like, hey, it's good enough that I'm here, that I'm that I'm

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Training my ass off and there's something to be said for that. Right? But Mhmm. Once you get to a point where you're, like, you're the your thought process going into training is, like, different, you're structuring, like, particular thoughts and goals around that, it's different than just showing up and working hard. Right?

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Sure.

Dylan Royce:

And so, if I could go back and change one thing, it would be to, like, earlier on to start doing that, to really show up with, like, goals in mind, particular things I wanna work on that I wanna try to accomplish or do instead of just being, like, I'm just gonna show up and work hard. Yeah. Like, that's easy. Right? Sure.

Dylan Royce:

Like, you know, once once you're, like, in our position where you enjoy doing that, it's easy. Right? Yep. But it's hard to, like, really formulate, like, a a goal and a game plan around that to really do the the mental side of it. So Yes.

Dylan Royce:

That's one thing that if I could've changed earlier on, I would've done. And now that would be my recommendation to people now that are that are competing a lot and stuff. It's like we all we all show up and train. Right? That's across the board.

Dylan Royce:

Like, if you do jujitsu, you do MMA, and you compete, you probably train hard. There's nothing, you know, there's nothing special about that. Right? But it's hard to, like, really get your mind in a place where before every session or before competitions, like, you've done the the hard mental work, you've come up with the you've worked on your deficiencies, you've you've game plan, you've strategize for your strengths or things like that, like, that's that's not easy to do. And sometimes your mind just not in the right place for that, like, I look back and I'm, like, man, why didn't I do that earlier on?

Dylan Royce:

Why did it take so long? My mind just not might not have been the right place. There There could have been people along the way that were, like, trying to be, like, hey, maybe you should instead just going hard every training session and, like, trying to just win every match hard, like, maybe you should work on this and that. And, like, sometimes it just doesn't it just doesn't resonate. It takes time.

Dylan Royce:

You

Drew Beech:

gotta learn your lessons at the right time for you, I guess.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. And your level of awareness changes over the years, you

Dylan Royce:

know what I mean? Absolutely.

Joey Rosen:

All that

Joey Rosen:

type of stuff. You you make such a great point and it sounds so crazy to say, but you can now this is whether it's office, home, or school, due to. Right? You can show up and you can work hard, but without a goal or intention, hard work just becomes the goal. Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

And you're actually in a comfort zone. Yeah. Yeah. As hard as you're working

Dylan Royce:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

You're actually hitting it. Right? No.

Joey Rosen:

It's true.

Drew Beech:

That's a my fault. That's the truth.

Joey Rosen:

You're you're actually in a comfort zone. Really? Especially for, like, when you're

Dylan Royce:

Acclimated to it.

Joey Rosen:

Exactly. There's no

Dylan Royce:

more growth anymore.

Joey Rosen:

When you're a high achiever, you're gonna come up. You're gonna, you're gonna, go in. You're gonna grind it out. But without having that goal in mind you're you're actually not growing which is so it's so wild to think. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

You used a word earlier, ritual. Right? I think everything you just described is kind of the difference between a ritual and a routine. Like, you can be in the routine of going there and training super hard and grinding it out, but it really doesn't become a ritual unless you have the intention behind it Yeah. And the belief in something higher, like a reason why you are there.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

And you used the word ritual earlier. You said, oh, it was kinda like a ritual. I was going and, like Mhmm. It kinda dinged. You know what I mean?

Joey Rosen:

In my mind, like, yeah. Exactly.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. There's like go ahead, Drew.

Drew Beech:

Well, I was gonna say intention is literally a life hack. Like, it changes

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm. It

Drew Beech:

changes everything. But I wanted to touch on the rituals, and you said you were talking about your game plans going into practice and or competition. So what does a ritual or game plan look like for you going into a big match? Like, a

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. And that's a good question, and I don't know that there's, like, a right answer for it. Like, I gotta ask this question, recently too with that, and, like, everybody's different. Like, I have, like, our one group chat with some, like, the competitors, like, my one friend, like, he's he'll, like, as soon as the brackets come out or, like, that and everything like that, like, he he's, like, doing, like, a deep dive at research and, like, all of his opponents and stuff. You know?

Dylan Royce:

And I think that's it's super smart. Right? You wanna be familiar with, with what they do, what what they're good at, whether what to expect, things like that. But I think it's different for everybody. Like, for me to an extent, I don't always like doing that because I feel like, personally, then I become fixated on that other person.

Dylan Royce:

I kinda lose sight of, like, what I'm doing, what I'm good at. Yep. So for me, sometimes, like, obviously, if I'm going against somebody who has who's known for a particular move or whatever, I wanna be familiar with it so I don't just waltz right into it. Yeah. But but but then after that, it's kinda like, you know what?

Dylan Royce:

I got a job to do when it comes to my own technique and my own confidence and self belief and, like, if I start deviating from that and thinking about somebody else and all these other factors Yeah. You know, then maybe it maybe I I wind up, you know, like, I'm not putting that full effort or attention in to my own part. You know? My my mind split 2 ways, so I my routine sometimes like that is just, like, I I try to have as much, you know, even though it's like a job competing sometimes,

Joey Rosen:

I

Dylan Royce:

try as much fun as I can, like, enjoy the process of working hard better myself as much as possible up until the time that it's time to compete so that I can look back and be, like, you know what? Like, I didn't really think about competing this week, I just thought about getting better, working hard, improving, And then now that it's time to go out and compete, like, I'm gonna do the best with what I have Mhmm. When I can and let the chips fall where they may, and then just, like, so kinda splitting it into, like, 2 different things, like, not really focusing on competition

Drew Beech:

up

Dylan Royce:

until it's time to compete, and then just being like, you know what? Here's what I had to work with. I did all this effort to get this final product, and now I'm gonna go out there with that final product and just fucking send it.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Absolutely. Shelley just had her Shelly is a purple belt fellow ego in the community.

Joey Rosen:

She just had her first MMA fight. Yeah. Awesome. She's at a Gracie school, in Texas, and she there's a little promo video for a fight, and she said this now. This is her first MMA fight.

Joey Rosen:

Right? But I thought it was wise of her. She said the very same thing. She's like, look, like, yes, I glanced like a previous tape from my competitor and, like, I know what she's bringing to the table. She's like, but if I get too fixated on that, it robs me Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Of what I've the hard work I've done and what I'm prepared to do to go out there. Mhmm. Like, so you can't so I think there's a fine line between, like, fixation and focus. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

You know what I mean? That's a really good point. And I think, like, you know, again, there's probably plenty of people that do just the opposite and have success with it. I think that's where we as competitors and, like, human beings, like, there there is no one Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

You

Dylan Royce:

know, blueprint for it. But, yeah, I think for me, like, we're talking about earlier because I wasn't, like, a born competitor and was just, like, always, like, gravitated toward and everything. I I always have to work to instill that confidence in myself in my game. And, so, like, if I go out there thinking about somebody else, like, I'm almost I'm almost competing then, like, not not to lose to that person what that's what they're good

Joey Rosen:

at,

Dylan Royce:

but I'm not competing to win with what I'm good at. So Exactly. I want my focus to be, like, executing the best of my ability. So if I win, it's not because I'm trying to not lose to their Yeah. Their best attributes is to

Joey Rosen:

is to win with my best attributes. It it translates right into business to same type of thing with your competitors in business space. It's the same thing. You fixate on them all day. You don't make progress.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. For sure. You're not you, and you're not bringing to the table the value.

Dylan Royce:

It's like it's like, you know, to an extent, like, somewhat toxic. Right?

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Like, you're you

Dylan Royce:

know what I mean? You're you're you're deviating from, like, your own space and your own, you know, thoughts and habits and and positivity and what makes you you, and you're, like, you're letting all that outside influence, like, just to some extent

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

Start to negate, like, like, where you're good at.

Drew Beech:

The one picture photo that this brings to my mind that I love is Michael Phelps when he's racing. I forget what Olympics it is. But his opponent who's behind him is looking over at him, and Michael Phelps is locked in on the on the the the the finish line or whatever. Mhmm. Absolutely.

Drew Beech:

Because and I think he said something about it after the fact.

Joey Rosen:

I mean,

Drew Beech:

it's like it was like, I'm always focused on where I'm going, not the people the people.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

And it's

Dylan Royce:

so hard to do that. Right? Like, we're we're human. Like, everybody we're always glancing over at, like, you know, everybody else everybody else's lawn is a grass cleaner. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

And it it really takes time to, like, it's easy to say that you're gonna do it that way, but, like, it really is like a full time job to not let those thoughts creep in and stuff and stay on on your path, you know.

Joey Rosen:

But that's that's

Dylan Royce:

the fun of it, man. It's not like it was easier for you to do it.

Joey Rosen:

You know? It's the the mental part of

Dylan Royce:

the

Joey Rosen:

mental challenge. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

You

Joey Rosen:

know what I mean? Yeah. Definitely. So you're so we touched on competition a little bit. You gave some great advice.

Joey Rosen:

I love the fact that you called it out as relative. Like, it's not, bulletproof. Right? There's no one way to do it. Right?

Joey Rosen:

It's relative. I love that. You also are an instructor. Mhmm. Right?

Joey Rosen:

So we'll get into the instruction a little bit. So where I wanna cover Marquez and I wanna cover EF Combatives. Right? So if you could talk a little bit about instructing in both of those places, and then, we'll get into some more relative advice for people just starting their jujitsu journey.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. For sure. Yeah. It's funny with the instruction too, like, just like competition. Like, I wasn't like, I consider myself to be a good instructor now, because I put a lot of time and effort into it, and I and I have a lot of, confidence in my in the product that I put out for it.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm. And

Dylan Royce:

I've, you know, have, reception from people that I teach and, their responses and testimonials, and I think that can back it up. But I was, like, I was not a a born instructor or or teacher by any means either. I never like, when I was when I was coming up as a jiu jitsu practitioner myself before teaching,

Joey Rosen:

I'm

Dylan Royce:

still a practitioner now. I still have so much improvement left to do. But, you know, looking back over the years when I was, like, really in my journey in growth, like, I'd never taught like, I I just want to show up, train hard, get my training in. Like, I barely even I feel like I barely even paid attention as, like, a student, you know. Like, now looking back as an instructor, I'm like, damn my god, man.

Dylan Royce:

I wasn't even a good student. Yeah. I just you know, I showed up. I trained hard. I got that that equity in from, like, the hard work, but, like,

Joey Rosen:

but,

Dylan Royce:

yeah, I had no, aspirations to, like, teach. I would do things well and people, oh, how do you do that kind of thing? I'm like, alright. I don't know. I just kinda I just did this and blah blah blah.

Dylan Royce:

Like, I couldn't I couldn't replicate that, pass on to somebody else. And I think it wasn't until, like, kind of that time that I I had that epiphany of, like, needing to reinvent myself as a competitor around the black belt time that I was, like, the best way that I could do that is by really becoming much more cerebral in my approach, not just showing up, working hard, putting the effort in, but, like, really doing a deep dive into the science behind it. Not just treating jiu jitsu like a like a sport, like a physicality, but treating it like like a mental mental game, a chess game. Mhmm. And, I really became so much more studious, you know, and that's where I credit a lot, you know, the guys at Movement Art because that was what I was missing.

Dylan Royce:

Like, I always trained hard. I trained as hard as anybody else. Right? But I wasn't, like, a student of the game

Joey Rosen:

the way those guys were.

Dylan Royce:

And so that's, like, the biggest, change I've made in the last few years is, like, I mean, I studied now now, as much as anybody. Like, at the time, I didn't. I worked as hard as anybody, but I didn't study as hard as anybody. Now I do.

Drew Beech:

When I went over the movement out the other day with I took Parker over there. He, the one kid's class is just finishing up, and they all had notebooks. Yeah. And I was like, what are they doing today? They're they're, like, doing their studies.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. They're, like, doing their studies.

Dylan Royce:

Dude, if I showed you the notes section on my phone

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

It would blow your mind. There's probably, like, over a 100 individual, you know, note folders with 100 of screenshots, you know. Yeah. Like, that's where I take my notes. I don't write them down because it's easier for me to, like, when I'm studying matches or or instructional, it's a screenshot thing, so I have I'm a very visual learner too to have a visual, piece there along with what I'm what I'm writing out, what I'm dictating.

Dylan Royce:

I mean, I had to get a new phone because I was out of space. I was out of storage space for it, but that was, like, that was how I learned and then that was how when I would teach, like, I go back and all the studying that I would do as a student to better myself, I would go back and I'd be like, okay, well, now if I if I had to instruct this to somebody, like, what are all the details I need to hit on? What are the things that, that I was missing that I can that I can make sure somebody else doesn't miss now as a student. Sure. So I started getting more opportunities to teach, you know, like, at my own gym and precision and stuff, like, they needed, certain class filled and stuff.

Dylan Royce:

And and because I was enjoying studying and being a student more, I was I was gravitating more to trying to, pass it on to other people to teach. And so, you know, I started to find myself as a as an instructor, as a teacher, and that wasn't easy too because not everybody learns the way you do, and I can be very long winded with my instruction sometimes because there's so many points that I wanna hit on. Yeah. And, but you you know, you gotta it's gotta be conducive to it's gotta be digestible for people. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Conducive to a an hour block. And, so there was a lot of growth with that, but I really started to enjoy it. I was, like, man, this this is fulfilling, like, being able the stuff that I'm learning, being able to feel like I understand it enough, or I can pass along to somebody else in a in a in a way that it's gonna be it's gonna resonate with them

Joey Rosen:

Yep.

Dylan Royce:

To see their growth and everything. So I made a lot of progress with that as instructor. It made me better as a student, as a competitor, and then the opportunity to start to expand from there. You know? I knew John from years of training with Sean.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

And John was always great to me, like, I wasn't I wasn't a fighter, you know, but I would I would work with a lot of fighters on jujitsu. So he saw that hard work, that work ethic, that mindset, and we developed a relationship. And then when they needed somebody to fill that gap teaching the jiu jitsu courses, we talked and it was like a perfect fit. Sure. And then I got to go over there and teach those guys, and that's a different, you know, area in and of itself, like, now you're going from teaching pure jiu jitsu practitioners to guys that are somewhat over there are pure jiu jitsu practitioners, some are fighters, some have, like, no experience with jiu jitsu, some have limited just so that it fills the gap in their MMA.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

So I get to work with people from all walks of life there, different, you know, cultures, skill levels, and everything. It's it's it's been awesome. And then, obviously, the EF Combatives is a whole another

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. We'll get there. Do you feel do you feel like, your biggest competition win, do you feel like that's just as sweet or not as sweet or sweeter which I doubt than seeing the impact that you have as an instructor and a teacher.

Dylan Royce:

They're definitely, like, they've they've gotta go hand in hand. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

I

Dylan Royce:

think that's a great point. Like, the the feeling that I get from, like, every day being, like like, when I look forward to teaching a class and, like, the preparation and just being, like, knowing that, like, I'm going in there to to take the experience that I have, the progress that I have, and, like, these people trust me enough to to learn from me, for me to pass along. Yep. Like, it's it's it pumps me up. You know what I mean?

Dylan Royce:

As much to compete, like, I I just read every class, like, I'm like, this is this is awesome, this opportunity. I don't take it for granted, you know. So, yeah, just like just like competition wins, I don't take for granted, you know, no matter how long I compete or how good I am down the line, like, I'll never I treat every, like, win, like, this is you know, I'm I'm blessed to be here and to have these these opportunities to succeed and same with teaching. Like, I teach a class, and I'm like, that was awesome. Like, I'm I'm so grateful that I get to be in this position to do this to improve these people.

Dylan Royce:

So, yeah, they they go hand in hand.

Joey Rosen:

You're literally making better humans. Yeah. And you know what I mean? And I'm glad you brought up the trust because it's a big part of it. Right?

Joey Rosen:

Because they need to trust you, but you're literally making better humans. When you win at competition, you're inspiring them. Yeah. You know what I mean? They know your story.

Joey Rosen:

You know? They know the hard work that you put in. You're inspiring them that they can do the same. And then when they're instructing, you're you're hands on with them. Like, literally giving them the tools to do the same.

Dylan Royce:

And I hear that from a lot of, cops that I'll train. Yep. I'll they'll see me competing and, like, obviously, jujitsu and law enforcement is is growing, but it's, you know, still in its infancy for the most part. Like, obviously, the f combat is what we're trying to change that culture so that it's like a it's a it's like the, the standard instead of, like

Drew Beech:

It's crazy. I trained with a Philly cop at Semper Fi, and he said up until the time he was training that cops in Philly weren't even allowed to train jiu jitsu.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Drew Beech:

It was literally they were like, if if you got caught, you would be, like, suspended.

Dylan Royce:

Crazy. It's wild. It's mind blowing. It's wild. But because you get these antiquated, you know, rules and practices, and people

Drew Beech:

don't wanna change them. It goes with anything in society nowadays. It's fucking ass backwards.

Dylan Royce:

It is. It really and, unfortunately, unfortunately, a lot of times, it takes, like, something traumatic to change that thought process. Yes. Unfortunately, in law enforcement, it has to be, like, people getting hurt

Joey Rosen:

Yep.

Dylan Royce:

And realizing that there's a better way to do it.

Drew Beech:

How many videos do we need to see online of an out of shape cop that are being manhandled by Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

At the moment. I was saying Martinez, like, most of my most of my teammates are Philly cops.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Which is awesome.

Joey Rosen:

Which is that's so amazing.

Dylan Royce:

And I give these guys a lot of credit because I know a lot of them, like, they're not like me where I grew up doing it. It was already ingrained in my in my routine.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. How many times have you used in your in here?

Dylan Royce:

Well, luckily, because I work in an affluent area, not as much as I need to. But I've I've taught a lot of guys who, like, work in less desirable areas and we'll get responses from them, like, sometimes, like, the day or week after we teach a course, well, guys message us and be, like, we used all the techniques you guys showed, and it, like, it helped. It saved our life.

Joey Rosen:

So give give the community give the Eagles watching, listening just, an idea of what EF Combatives is. Yeah. Because we glossed over that. I just wanna make sure

Joey Rosen:

that you

Dylan Royce:

I was, I was competing at that fight to win promotion at the time, and there was another jujitsu black belt and and law enforcement officer named Jay Wadsworth from the New York area who was on the same cart. And he approached me. We're talking. We had some familiarity with each other, but we'd never really, like, met, chopped it up. Sure.

Joey Rosen:

And he

Dylan Royce:

was, like, hey, man. I'm I'm starting this company with another guy, and we're gonna be teaching, you know, combatives, jujitsu based combatives across the country, ideally to law enforcement agencies. Like, would you wanna be an instructor? You know? And I was like, fuck yeah.

Dylan Royce:

And and at the time, I was like, who knows if this will come to fruition

Drew Beech:

and I

Joey Rosen:

You're already teaching at your home school?

Dylan Royce:

No. Well, I wasn't teaching, combatives to police. Like, I was teaching jujitsu.

Joey Rosen:

Jujitsu, I meant.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Yeah. But I wasn't teaching, like, I'd never taught, you know, police combatives, really, you know. And, but I was like, yeah. Like, if I get the opportunity, I'd I'd love to.

Dylan Royce:

And, and, you know, fast forward, like, they've him and the and the other, owner, Adam

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

Who's retired law enforcement officer, but, you know, jujitsu practitioner too, and he's kind of the business end of it. Whereas Jay developed the actual curriculum, they've just the company's taken off. Like, I mean, it looks like they've been around for, like, 10 years, and they've only been around for, like, 2. It's like you guys, like, their growth has been, like, astronomical because of the hard work they put in and because of the passion they have for it. And so, we teach combatives courses across the country, like, basically week long, you know, 4 or 5 day courses to

Joey Rosen:

I don't know.

Drew Beech:

It was that long.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. It's like a basically, like, a you know, I mean, we're there, like, you know, 8 to 4 or 7 to 3 kind of thing every day from Monday through Friday, teaching these guys the whole curriculum, so they can go back and instruct people. So it's usually, like, 1 or 2 representatives from a department. Exactly. It's not like a whole department comes.

Dylan Royce:

It's like they send you know, we'll get, like, 10, 15, 20 different agencies. They'll send 1 or 2 guys. And they learn the curriculum and then they go back and instruct And they get access to, like, an app, like a like a very comprehensive user app that allows them to, like, revisit the techniques anytime that they need to

Joey Rosen:

Sure.

Dylan Royce:

To study them and to continue to teach it to their agencies. Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

You know,

Dylan Royce:

so we're built. We're making them instructors. And, yeah, it's just been it's been unbelievable because it's, again, it's giving me an opportunity to to continue improving myself as an instructor, to touch upon, and to combine the 2 most important aspects of my life. Right? My my passion in jujitsu and my and my profession in in law enforcement.

Joey Rosen:

Okay.

Dylan Royce:

So it's it's a great program. They have a great, messaging company, and they're doing a really good job. I'm, you know, honored and glad to be a part of it. And, you know, it's it's such a good tool and asset for anybody in law enforcement to try to utilize. So if people aren't exposed to it, you know, it we were we work really well hand in hand with people to get their agencies involved.

Dylan Royce:

So, like, people that feel like they're interested in either agencies aren't, like, we'll do the work to get them involved and on board. So, you know, any cops that are are out there that are looking to bring this to their agency, like, I can't recommend it enough. And I know I'm, you know, biased to the instructor, but, like, I see and I hear the feedback from people who have taken other combatives courses. We get guys that have been defense attaches instructors for their agencies for years, and they're like, dude, the good stuff you guys are showing is, like, we're so glad we took it. Like, we we didn't know what we're doing.

Dylan Royce:

We just, you know, you know, like

Joey Rosen:

I hear I hear all the same type of stuff from cops, and there's a reason why I waited till later on in the show to bring it up because I wanted you to tell your whole story Yeah. And where you came through and and everything that you've been doing, the work that you've put in so that they understand and can trust the program.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. You know what I mean? Right. Like, yeah. I'm not just doing it because I, I work for that company and, like, and I'm trying to make them money, make me extra money like that.

Dylan Royce:

This was Yep. My life was jujitsu. You know, I spent 50% of my life has been trained jujitsu, you know. Yeah. And, and so and all that.

Joey Rosen:

Where can where can, if there are officers that wanna get their agency involved, where can they find EF Combatives? Let's just so we

Dylan Royce:

don't forget. Yes. We have we're we're very active on Instagram. It's I believe the handle is just efcombatives.

Joey Rosen:

Okay.

Dylan Royce:

The website is efcombatives.com. And so the the Instagram has a lot of behind the scenes looks at, the techniques we show, the courses we do, feedback, all that stuff.

Joey Rosen:

Cool.

Dylan Royce:

Real life utilization, and then the website is where people can can visit to to find more information for booking the courses, for contacting us, things like that.

Joey Rosen:

Okay. Yeah. So

Dylan Royce:

Very cool. Those are 2 best ways.

Joey Rosen:

Very cool. Alright. So we're doing a good job of covering all the hard work that you do. I I mentioned that in the beginning, right, of the show, all the hard work that you do. Let's touch on the the avid reader thing Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

For a moment if you don't if you don't mind. Right? So you you did mention that there was a point in your journey, in your jujitsu journey where you became, more studious. Right? You know, we talked about that turning point.

Joey Rosen:

Did were you reading as much before that turning point, or was that, like, a

Dylan Royce:

a Yeah. I was always I was always a book nerd.

Joey Rosen:

Okay.

Dylan Royce:

Because like I said, I was not an athlete. Yeah. You did it all up. What's that? Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I always I always enjoyed reading, you know. I was always, like, I've always been super artsy, like, before Same. Yeah. We obviously, you guys are both phenomenal, creative artists and stuff with doing all your own designs to the company, which is which is crazy, you know.

Joey Rosen:

I mean,

Dylan Royce:

not just being involved in the business aspect, but actually, like, each, you know, logo and project is, like, part of your own your mind you're generated from your minds and your hard work.

Drew Beech:

Yep. And

Dylan Royce:

I was just like that too. I could always draw really well. I played, you know, a couple instruments. That's it.

Drew Beech:

You'll you'll, like, when you not to judge from book value, you

Joey Rosen:

look like you look like

Drew Beech:

you look like you look like fucking Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

I look like I look like I go home, and if I'm not trained jiu jitsu, I'm just, like, banging, like a like a a rock

Drew Beech:

against it. Chicken and rice. Yeah. But, no, it was like instruments did you play?

Dylan Royce:

Guitar and piano.

Drew Beech:

Oh, wow.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I played guitar for years and then, like, I learned how to play guitar. I got legitimately played guitar and I kind of taught myself piano. Like, I wasn't good. I wasn't good at piano, but I just kind of like dabbled with it and everything because I was really into music.

Dylan Royce:

And that was probably like right before I got into, jiu jitsu and stuff. So I was like, you know, like just straight music and book nerd, basically.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. I know.

Joey Rosen:

I like

Dylan Royce:

And yeah. And then, and then I then I developed, like, the actual physicality and stuff.

Joey Rosen:

It's always

Drew Beech:

I a lot of people I've met through jujitsu, they like to read. They like chess. They like Yeah. Yeah. They like those mine.

Dylan Royce:

Mhmm. Right.

Drew Beech:

Mine. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

They like stimulation for

Drew Beech:

them as in

Dylan Royce:

the challenge. Yeah. But I always, like I read a lot, and I was always probably the only change in my reading was, like, I always liked like, fiction and Mhmm. Like, fantasy and stuff because I could get immersed in it. It was easy to just, like, just hammer it out and read, you know.

Dylan Royce:

So, like, for instance, like, you read, like, the, like, Game of Thrones books or something like Yeah. It's just, like, that shit's so I, exciting. You can get immersed and just power through it.

Drew Beech:

I was just talking to someone about this yesterday, but The Hunger Games, the those were, like, they that that's the book that comes to mind immediately.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

It's literally, like, completely, like, captivated me.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. And there's a lot of, like, people don't realize there's a lot of cool series like that. Mhmm. They're out there that exist that don't get enough credit because, like, they haven't become shows yet. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

But a

Dylan Royce:

lot of times, like, you look at those books, like, Game of Thrones books like that. I don't know the exact date, but, like, they were probably, like, he probably wrote the first book in, like, I would think, like, maybe the late nineties or something. Like, they've been around for a long time. Like, same with, like, the Lord of Rings book show.

Joey Rosen:

Like, that show.

Drew Beech:

I just bought I had that Yeah. Series. I got mood just bought it, and I haven't read it yet, but it's on my my show.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. So there's

Dylan Royce:

a lot of series that I've, like, read, and I'm like, dude, I hope they make a shot of this. It'd be so badass. They're bringing so much attention to it. The Lord

Drew Beech:

of the Rings movies were

Dylan Royce:

sick. Unreal. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

You know?

Dylan Royce:

It's a shame, though. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Well, you

Drew Beech:

don't like them.

Joey Rosen:

I've I've never seen them.

Drew Beech:

Oh, okay.

Dylan Royce:

Oh, well, that's you know

Joey Rosen:

Busy game threads, but I ain't see what I'm doing.

Dylan Royce:

Continuous podcast is true.

Joey Rosen:

And I

Dylan Royce:

I think you can just take a backseat.

Drew Beech:

On fantasy. Yeah. I put

Joey Rosen:

I put earnest in here. What?

Drew Beech:

And this is completely off topic, but it's on topic, but we're getting away from the show. But Harry Potter, where do you did you love Harry Potter?

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. I read

Dylan Royce:

the books and everything.

Drew Beech:

That's great. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

I thought it it was

Joey Rosen:

really cool.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I thought

Drew Beech:

they were really

Joey Rosen:

hot in it. Yeah. We talked about this. Well, I think probably one of the first times you came by HQ. It was just me and you.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. And we talked about this, like, I don't read fiction.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Ever you ever knew what they're like? I I had the reading for the Harry Potter was probably, like, my the first, like It

Joey Rosen:

shouldn't surprise you, though. You know how, like, serious I am.

Drew Beech:

But, I mean, I imagine that Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

This guy could literally tell you, like, what DaVinci ate for breakfast.

Drew Beech:

Exactly. That Joey at 12 years old, maybe.

Dylan Royce:

I guess

Drew Beech:

he had some fun

Joey Rosen:

in them. No. You know what I was doing? It's when I was

Joey Rosen:

that young, like, 10, 11, I was reading about, like, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth. Like, I was reading, like, sports. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Yeah. Like, I was reading that type

Dylan Royce:

of stuff. This might, like you might understand this. Probably, like, Drew too is, like, I I look at both your bookshelves, obviously, they're, like, it's they're filled with, like, you know, some of the most, like, intellectually stimulating, you know, books for, progress and growth and stuff like that. But I feel like and maybe Drew would understand this more as, like, you gotta be in the right mindset to read a lot of those. So for me, I I'm always between, like, 2 books because if I'm going to bed or something and my brain is not ready to retain the information from, like, an intellectually stimulating or or, like, thought provoking growth book like that.

Joey Rosen:

Sure.

Dylan Royce:

I'll hammer out some fantasy novel that I'm in the middle of a fiction book.

Joey Rosen:

Yep.

Dylan Royce:

And then, like, during the day or whatever, if I'm, like, from sitting down, having coffee, whatever, like, that's when I'll try to read some of that to try to get

Drew Beech:

some It's actually so funny

Joey Rosen:

you said it

Drew Beech:

because I just was talking to my wife about this last night because Danny from Movement gifted me, like, the 6 Malcolm Malcolm Gladwell books. And the season of life I'm in right now, I I was I was halfway through it. I was, like, you know, I'm gonna pick up a different book midweds. I I wanna read this other book I gotta do about business.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Like I

Drew Beech:

said, I had they're sitting as each other on my coffee table. Just it's like my thought provoking, like, just because book and my the business book that I'm trying to, like, gain knowledge from.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. I do. I I do feel you there. I do. Like, there are some nights I read before I go to bed.

Joey Rosen:

Kinda, like, puts me to to sleep. You know, it's slumber time for me. You know, it calms my mind, quiets everything. And there are some days where I pick up the business book that I'm reading

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Joey Rosen:

And I'm like, I just had a I had a hell of a day from a business standpoint.

Drew Beech:

And, like, I can't

Joey Rosen:

I just can't. So I've read, like, tribe of millionaires. I don't know if you've ever read that. So there kinda same as 12 Pillars.

Drew Beech:

Jim Ferriss, though?

Joey Rosen:

Where there's Tribe of mentors? No. There's, tribe of millionaires. So it's a fictional story Okay.

Joey Rosen:

Okay.

Joey Rosen:

With personal development wrapped

Dylan Royce:

into it. Yeah. Those It's similar

Joey Rosen:

to 12 pillars.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Or like

Dylan Royce:

a,

Joey Rosen:

So it's still

Drew Beech:

ran type stuff?

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Or something like that. So it's still it's still, self improvement or personal growth oriented, but there's a fictional story wrapped around it.

Dylan Royce:

I like that a lot.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Which, like, helps my brain at those times

Dylan Royce:

when I'm in overwhelm. Yeah. It's like a like, historical fiction for me. I read a lot of Sure. I read a lot of, Steven Pressfield.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. And it was great because it's, like, I learned so much about history, but it's it's engrossing because it's, like, a little bit there's a little bit of of a of a, you know, fictional twist on it because he's not just hammering you with facts about, you know, ancient Greece and Macedonia and stuff like that. He's like, hey. Here's this individual who's gonna be the focal point of the story, and it's gonna be their Mhmm. Their process and their journey.

Dylan Royce:

But, like, I'm gonna all the, details of places and people are completely factual accuracy. You're learning a ton too.

Drew Beech:

I think you just inspired me. I'm gonna if I'm gonna take up the game at the I gave it to Thrones, the Lord of the Rings books. I just haven't read it.

Dylan Royce:

Dude, I got a now that I know you're, like, a fan script too, I got a series for another series.

Drew Beech:

Should I put it in front of Lord of the Rings or is it like

Dylan Royce:

I think you could finish it quicker. Yeah. It's sorta like because Lord of the Lord of the Rings is like Lord of the Rings is like a it's like a it's an endeavor.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Yeah. Tell me. Good. Oh, yeah.

Drew Beech:

What what we could just because I feel like people that are listening are gonna be like, what is what is the bookies on?

Joey Rosen:

Where I was going with it is, with this avid reader thing, wanted to understand how you became such an avid reader, which I think we can check the box on that. So, recommend to the community maybe your favorite, I guess, fantasy saw Yeah. Okay. Which Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

This is the one

Joey Rosen:

I was

Dylan Royce:

gonna recommend

Joey Rosen:

fiction. Fiction. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

And then your

Joey Rosen:

favorite fiction and favorite nonfiction.

Dylan Royce:

Okay. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

One book each or 2 if you want.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I, so the one I was gonna recommend to you, this series is called the Red Rising trilogy. So the first book is called Red Rising, and then, like but it's basically referred to as the Red Rising trilogy, and it's really cool. It's like, it's set in, like, a, you know, future, fictional society in which, like, groups of people, classes of people are organized by, like, different colors, like gold, silver, things like that. And it's basically, like, you know, hierarchy with gold being, like, the, the most, like, successful promise

Joey Rosen:

to keep

Dylan Royce:

you like that. Yeah. Right? And and then, all the way down to red. So red is basically like this like, the the, the lowest class of slaves, and they're, like, they're on Mars.

Dylan Royce:

And they're terror like, their job, the red society is, like, terraforming the Earth to make it habitable for the rest of society. So they're kind of, like, indoctrinated into thinking that they have this, like, this requirement and this goal. That's why they have to work so hard to be, like, slaves to the rest of society because they're doing, you know, something to improve it, to better it. And it's really, like, a lie that they've been told. Like, the the plants are already habitable.

Dylan Royce:

It's being, like, it's habited by these more successful prominent colors and stuff.

Joey Rosen:

Hence the red rising.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Yeah. And so they're basically, like, slaves. So they come up there's, like, this guerrilla faction from the red society that comes up with this plan to take one of their individuals and, like, infiltrate the gold society. Like, make them, like and and and break basically, bring it down from the inside.

Dylan Royce:

But then you have all this, like the story is really cool because it's you know, since it's set in the future, you have all these different, like, forms of technology and combatives and stuff like that.

Joey Rosen:

Nice.

Dylan Royce:

But then you also have, like, the personal individual growth that of that person. Like

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

They have an obligation to their family and society to try to rid them of, like, the shackles that they've been Mhmm. Accustomed to. But now he's also developing these relationships with the other, you know, the golds, the other forms of society, seeing the people that are in his place at his age, like, why they're, led to like, think and believe the way that they are. You know? And he develops relationships with them where he doesn't have, like, the same ill will toward them because he can see why they why they're taught to thought think this way.

Dylan Royce:

Yep. And then, like, then there's that that, dichotomy between those 2 thought processes, and it's, it's really cool. I think

Joey Rosen:

you turned Yeah. It's really cool.

Joey Rosen:

You've been telling me on the fiction side. How are you? I'm surprised you've not you have not

Joey Rosen:

read any fiction? Here

Drew Beech:

and there. Here and there. Like, what one?

Joey Rosen:

To be honest, I couldn't even

Joey Rosen:

name one

Dylan Royce:

on the top.

Joey Rosen:

To be honest, dude, I couldn't even name 1.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

It's Couldn't even name 1.

Drew Beech:

I will I mean, I haven't done lately, but I love getting lost because they're the tape they're the page turner. I mean, they're all

Dylan Royce:

the development

Drew Beech:

books that'll get you that'll get you

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. You read, like, you read Dune again because now it's like that's a good one too. Yeah. That's a the they just made the second movie for that, and then it got, like, rave reviews. And that's another really cool one.

Joey Rosen:

Okay.

Joey Rosen:

How about on the nonfiction side? Any recommendation?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I, I would say I don't know if it, like, I guess, counts, but, like, I really like that one that I gave you, the Steven Pressfield one of,

Joey Rosen:

Yep. A

Dylan Royce:

man a man at arms. And, like, a lot of Pressfield in general, I know it's, like, it's not quite nonfiction. It's, like, historical fiction to an extent.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

But, I think his stuff is really, like, as a as a competitor, as an athlete, like, he does a really good job of, like, your of of blending those those lessons and that, information from ancient history into, like, a form where it makes you feel, like, motivated to be, like, to improve yourself, to better yourself. Because he uses, like, Alexander the Great, like, all these all these historical figures who are, like who their their journeys are just, like, just straight hard work and, like, there are these, you know, pillars of of of motivation for their people and stuff like that. And, so I always enjoy reading those because I see, like Okay. I learn a lot about that, you know, the mindset back then from that time and place.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

You know, the ancient Greece, the Spartans, and stuff like that. You're learning so much about their society, their culture. Yeah. You're also just seeing these people who, like, all they know is hard work.

Joey Rosen:

You know

Dylan Royce:

what I mean? Like, there's no Yeah. Like, it wasn't just like No

Joey Rosen:

other option. Yeah. There was no other option.

Joey Rosen:

0 option.

Dylan Royce:

It's like if you didn't work hard, if you weren't, like, you know, a a soldier or Spartan, if you weren't, like, the good of bettering your society and yourself, like, you were just you you were dead.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. You

Dylan Royce:

know? And so I always like reading books like that because it's I'll sometimes reading before I compete, like, the week before I compete. Like, that's where I'll I'll switch off because I'll be like, man, like, I'm bitching about this competition. Yeah. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

And here are these guys that were like, you know, they're going out on these on these, you know, battlefields with the sake of their, their entire civilization Sure. You know, on the line. And it's just like it helps put put things in perspective. Yeah. So I really enjoy reading ones like that.

Joey Rosen:

Nice. Yeah. Alright. Let's tie it up with, with some more perspective, something to put some things into perspective lately for you. So That you may be almost we're we're fortunate to have you here with us today on the show because, not so long ago, very recent history.

Joey Rosen:

We've talked about ancient history, but this is very recent history. Yeah. You had quite a scare. Yeah. Man, you had quite a scare.

Joey Rosen:

I know. And I'm interested. You don't have to dive into all the nitty gritty of it.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

But I'm interested in everything, all of the hard work that you've done over the years, earning your black belt, all of the reading that you've done, all of the hard work you've done to overcome limiting beliefs when it comes to you being an instructor and things like that. How did all of those things play into you straight up surviving what you just went through?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. So, obviously, to shed some light on the situation, in general, it was around November mid November last year. I had, I went you know, I had to go to the ER for this pain, this issue I would that I was experiencing. And, long story short, I wound up being like a rare bacterial infection in my in my chest cavity. And so, what not related to bacteria from from jiu jitsu from training at all.

Dylan Royce:

I'm a very clean individual when it comes to that, but it was yeah. The the process for how this particular bacteria ended up there was was very rare, unexpected, probably unavoidable to an extent. And, I wanna be in hospitalized for 16 days where, you know, fluid that was accumulating in my chest cavity from that bacteria had to be, removed. And, unfortunately, the the severity of the infection, things like that, it was not able to be removed from, like, traditional measure measures of just, like, the the gradual process of of different forms of draining that they would do. Eventually, they had to do an actual, you know, thoracic surgery, cut over my side, go in and clean all that stuff out.

Dylan Royce:

So it was, you know, I think they said yeah. It's supposed to be, like, one of the top 5, like, or so most, like, painful surgeries. Like, it's it's pretty brutal. You know what I mean? They're cutting open the entirety of your side.

Joey Rosen:

We've seen the scar.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. It's 80. It's 80.

Joey Rosen:

This is like a minimally invasive person.

Dylan Royce:

No. It's not outpatient.

Drew Beech:

You look like

Joey Rosen:

you look

Joey Rosen:

like you have, like, a foot long scar on your Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

I need some cooler stories for it, like, you know, shark attacks or, like, like, you know, mafia

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. And things

Dylan Royce:

like that. But, yeah, it's legit and, you know, it's part of me now. It's a that's a, you know, it's a brand. It's a reminder. But, but, yeah, it was basically, like, you know, I had to be in a hospital, like, just in constant pain every day.

Dylan Royce:

Like, it was, you know, I I don't normally, like, wax poetic when it comes to, like, painful things, but, like, this shit was brutal, you know. Like, it was just every day you're just, like, you're in agony, you can barely sleep and stuff like that. And, I didn't know, you know, what was gonna happen. I didn't think I was gonna die, but at the same time, I was like, dude, I don't know what's gonna come in this. I couldn't.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I couldn't even think that far ahead because it was just, like, all you're thinking of at the time is just, like, getting is just not being in pain. Like, that's the only that's the only thought in your mind,

Joey Rosen:

you know.

Joey Rosen:

There there's overwhelming physical pain, but I've got to imagine and you correct me if I'm wrong, but I've gotta imagine that there's also during all that overwhelming physical pain, there's mental pain as well because you're out of your ritual. Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. And I was put dude, I was supposed to compete, like

Joey Rosen:

Not just like you're out of it for a little bit because you're in the hospital. Like, you're completely depleted. Mhmm. Right? You have to build yourself back.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. And that's the thing. It's crazy really to like, to your point, it puts in a perspective, like, how quickly all the all the progress and hard work you've made over the years can can be wiped out by something Mhmm. Like that. I mean, you know, every day we get up, we're going you know, we're we're exercising, we're going to the gym, we're going to practice and stuff like that.

Dylan Royce:

And, like, you spend years doing it to get to the point that you're at. And then in 2 weeks being, you know, little over 2 weeks being sedentary in the hospital, I mean, you I lost like £15 of like muscle. You know what I mean? I would like I could, I could barely, you know, walk, breathe, like, my my VO 2 max, my cardio was all shot. It was like Yep.

Dylan Royce:

It's stuff that I spent

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

A decade, you know, plus, like, building.

Joey Rosen:

I remember why I had texted you because I had asked you to come to that strong New York event

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

With us. I text you, and I was like, hey, man. You know, you got and you were like, hey. Something's not right. Sorry.

Dylan Royce:

I'm almost dead. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Well, I think that was a little that could have been Yeah. Before you actually went in because you had a little bit of a delay in treatment because you got seen and then you weren't sure and then you went back.

Drew Beech:

Missed diagnosed. Right?

Joey Rosen:

And you were you were kinda like, hey, like, something's not right. Yeah. I gotta go back in type thing, or I've been in for a

Dylan Royce:

day or so. Right. Right. Yeah. I wasn't, like, quite sure what the of what severity of the outcome was gonna be and everything.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. But, but just help put, like, put things in perspective where at the time, like, I was yeah. My only goal was just, like, I just don't wanna be in pain. Like, that was that was goal number 1, you know. And then after that, it was, like, I didn't know what was gonna come with the situation, like, what the long term effects were gonna be, but I just in my head, I was, like, you know what?

Dylan Royce:

Like, I've I've done the work to get here. I've worked my ass off for so many years to be, like, in a position I wanna be in physically and mentally and stuff like that. And, like so at the end of the day, I know if I have to do another 10 years of that to make it back to where I'm at, like, fucking

Joey Rosen:

prepare to

Joey Rosen:

do it.

Dylan Royce:

I'm prepared to do it. Like and and so and luckily, it wasn't that way. Like, it I mean, it probably took me, you know that happened middle of November.

Joey Rosen:

Sure.

Dylan Royce:

And, I think I was back. I was coaching at Marquez

Joey Rosen:

Yeah.

Dylan Royce:

Like, with, like, a midline, an IV line in my arm Yeah. Like like, 6 weeks later, you know. I wasn't training. I was just, like, I was teaching, but I was, like, as soon as I could get back on the mat and do anything to start that that prog process

Joey Rosen:

of getting

Dylan Royce:

back to where I was, I was taking advantage of it.

Joey Rosen:

I mean, going back to, you know, what I said in the beginning of the show, the work that you do in silence, like, you know, you posted once or twice about what what happened and,

Joey Rosen:

you

Joey Rosen:

know, your journey back, but you aren't on the on the gram, like, hey. Look at my line. I'm coaching.

Joey Rosen:

Like, you

Joey Rosen:

were back at it, back building, in silence, working hard, like doing exactly what you do.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Exactly. Because like I didn't want to be like all like woe is me because, at the end of the day, like, I guess, like, when you're in a when you're going through some of that, it's like you're in a you're in a position if you're in a position to experience loss like that, it means, like, you've been you've been, like, blessed or benefited with with having been in a in in a position to experience that. Right? Like, some people some people that's only now.

Dylan Royce:

Right? They might be born, like, in constant pain and shit like that.

Drew Beech:

And, like, it gives you perspective too. Like, you're like, oh, this is bad, but it wasn't that bad.

Joey Rosen:

Well, so

Dylan Royce:

for instance, like, mine was, like, really, like, random and rare and stuff like that. There was somebody else who was in there at the same time that I was with, like, the same thing, which is really which is really weird. And theirs wasn't, like, as bad as mine. They got out, like, before before me

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

Without having to have the same, thoracic surgery. But I think there was, like, somebody who's, like I don't know if it was my mom was telling me about it because, you know, she was visiting me every day and stuff like that. And there was there was either, somebody else, like a child that was going through something similar or, like, maybe not the same thing, but just something, like, equally, like, painful and bad and everything like that. And that's like a kid. Right?

Dylan Royce:

Like, here I am like a I'm a grown man going through it where, like, I have the mental fortitude, the the capacity, the pain tolerance, things like that. And meanwhile, there's, like, a kid going through the same shit in the hospital. What the hell

Joey Rosen:

is that? Know any better.

Dylan Royce:

They don't know yeah. They don't the tools to deal with that. Like, they're just being thrown into the fire. Right? And then even for, like, that parent.

Dylan Royce:

Right? Like, your parent or seeing your kid go through that shit It's different. Like, obviously, it was, sure taxing on, you know, my mom even though I'm a grown man, but, like, imagine if, like, your your 6 year old's going through that.

Joey Rosen:

Like, how do you

Dylan Royce:

how do you deal with it?

Drew Beech:

We almost lost Parker, my son, at, like, 7 months old from a thing called croup where it just, like, it's a viral infection. And we had to we had to medevac the chop, and we almost lost them. But that I was at I'm actually grateful for that experience because it made everything put everything else in perspective. So now any little thing in life just doesn't really seem that big because I literally almost lost my son Yeah. Before he's even a year old.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. So, like, I nothing almost literally nothing can affect me for my emotions.

Dylan Royce:

Yep. Yeah. Because you've you've all you've gone to that brink of, like, you know, of of what would have been the most dramatic loss

Joey Rosen:

for you.

Drew Beech:

And now I have to be honest with you. Man. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

And you're back, man. You're back. You were here

Dylan Royce:

I feel great.

Joey Rosen:

You were by HQ when you were starting to starting to build back Yeah. The last time I saw you. But now you're back, baby.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. I feel good.

Joey Rosen:

You look like you're in your all form. All good.

Dylan Royce:

You know, everything comes full circle, comes to fruition. I get to sit down and chop it up with you guys, and then, you know, I get to go do my thing, teach, train, compete. Yep. So yeah. And that's what like, in the grand scheme of things, like, that's why as brutal as it was, like, those weeks being in the hospital, like, at the end of the day, like, it's that happened in mid November and in November.

Dylan Royce:

Right? And here it is, like, March, April, and it's like it never happened almost. You know. I mean, there's there's some lingering effects, but, like, as bad as it was, it I would have been worse off if I had, like, torn an ACL or something.

Joey Rosen:

Or at

Dylan Royce:

least, like, there's some clarity on what you on what you did, but, like, that's a lengthy process. Mhmm. Here I am, like, months later and I you know, and, obviously, every week, I feel, like, more and more like myself. But I've been back training and competing now for, you know, probably, like, a month or 2.

Joey Rosen:

Mhmm.

Dylan Royce:

So yeah. In the grand scheme of things, it's brutal as it was, like, really didn't derail me that much. So I'm I'm grateful. That's why that's why I don't like that's why I'm not, like, woe is me about it. Like, it sucked.

Dylan Royce:

Sucked, but, like Sure. You know? It could be worse. People deal with worse, man. You know?

Dylan Royce:

Every day.

Joey Rosen:

So For sure. Yeah.

Joey Rosen:

Alright.

Joey Rosen:

Why don't you tell, the community, most of them already know, but why don't you tell the community where they can find you? You already covered EF Combatives, so how about where they can find you?

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. So my IG page is, Royce Dylan, r o y c e d y l a n. My name is Dylan. Some some people still call me Royce. I think they think it's my

Joey Rosen:

first name.

Joey Rosen:

Well, for

Drew Beech:

like, I think we've met on Instagram before, but in real life, and I I thought your name was Royce Yeah. At first.

Dylan Royce:

I don't I don't correct people either because, like, you know, for competing, I feel like it's good because I'm, like, the Brazilian referees think, like, I'm Portuguese. I hope you know, I think my name is Royce and so, like, maybe I get a little, you know, some generous calls, some favoritism, you know, and so, you know, so I don't correct anybody. But, yeah, it's it's, Royce Dylan. And then on, Facebook, it's just Dylan Royce. So

Joey Rosen:

Okay. Very cool. Thank you, not just for coming in today, but I'd be remiss if I if I didn't say thank you for the belief in us over the years since damn near very

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Very warm.

Joey Rosen:

Yeah. Of fuel. Right.

Joey Rosen:

Thank you.

Drew Beech:

What, like, 2019, 2020.

Joey Rosen:

We were

Dylan Royce:

just talking about that. Like, I remember Kurt shoot me in one of those or the earlier Yeah. Earliest sets.

Joey Rosen:

I remember

Joey Rosen:

some of our, like, first rash

Joey Rosen:

bars.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Pretty much.

Drew Beech:

It was it

Dylan Royce:

was an honor then, and it's still an honor then.

Joey Rosen:

Thank you, man. Thank you.

Joey Rosen:

You've

Joey Rosen:

you've been with us on this journey since, like, the very beginning, and I appreciate the belief you have in this crazy crazy idea we have to build the world's largest community of fire workers and restore the dignity of fireworks in a while, but thank you very much, man. Thank you.

Dylan Royce:

Thank you, brother.

Joey Rosen:

Thank you. Any other closing thoughts from you?

Drew Beech:

No. No? No, sir. This is Chris.

Dylan Royce:

Ready to start reading. Yeah. Yeah. His brain's turning.

Drew Beech:

Like, I'm about to go work.

Dylan Royce:

He's on Amazon. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

Red Rising, by the away.

Dylan Royce:

Yeah. Hell, yeah, no.

Joey Rosen:

Alright. Well, I'll leave a, few with a reminder. Always choose hard work over handouts. Always choose effort over entitlement. No one owns you.

Joey Rosen:

No one owes you. You're one of the few. Now, let's hunt.