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Being STRONG is more than just how much weight you can lift.
The Strong New York Podcast is dedicated to inspiring you to become your strongest self- in the gym, in business, in relationships and in life.
Join Kenny as he sits down with his strong as fuck buddies and shoots the shit on what it takes to be strong willed, strong minded and physically strong. Season one features everyone from entrepreneurs and local business owners to doctors and industry leaders in the fitness and wellness space.
With over a decade of experience, Kenny Santucci has made himself known as one of New York Cityβs top trainers and a thought leader in the health and wellness industry. After transforming his life at 15 years old through fitness, Kenny made it his mission to transform the lives of those around him.
Kenny has trained some of Hollywoodβs biggest stars, including Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, and Frank Ocean, and has been tapped as a fitness expert sharing his training approach with Menβs Health, Menβs Journal, Runner's World, SHAPE, Well+Good, among other publications.
Kenny is the creator of STRONG New York, NYC's only Health and Fitness Expo. Strong New York is an immersive day of workouts, wellness experiences, panel discussions, and inspiring conversations with the best in-class wellness professionals, industry leaders, and change makers who are sharing their expertise on today's hottest wellness trends and first-hand experiences on how to optimize your overall health and life.
You can find Kenny at The Strength Club, his private training and group strength training facility in the heart of Manhattan located on 28th and 5th Ave in New York City.
βYou've trained Dustin Poirier, Amanda Nunes, and so many great fighters. You were a fighter at one point. How hard was it for you to step away? Was just doing technical sparring with one of my teammates, and he came down and hit me in the back of the head, and I was concussed for a while. So I went to a neurologist.
He ran some tests, and he was like, "Man, listen, if you don't stop, you're gonna have Alzheimer's by the time you're 50. Like, it's, it's serious." So I transitioned, I pivoted out. When I made that pivot, it was . You're a real coach. In my opinion, you shine above the rest. How's that happened? When I really started to hone in on my craft was when I started to work at American Top Team.
Fighters don't like to weight train. So in order for me to keep them consistently progressing, I would have to put together some type of vertical integration. What are your top three things that you would want your trainers to know and understand? I'd have my guys, the first homework assignment they would have to do is find five people and spark up a conversation with them on the street, but they cannot talk about fitness.
So I wanted them to get uncomfortable with asking these unorthodox questions or just questions that they're not comfortable with or don't know about, and just be curious All right. Ladies and gentlemen, back with another episode of the Strong New York podcast. I'm your host, Kenny Santucci, and as always, we're cracking cans of Celsius open and living fit, so grab yourself a can and get strong.
Uh, also, Merrick Health. Go to merrickhealth.com, use the code Kenny, and you can also use another code, because I'm sure this gentleman has one as well. He's also with Merrick Health. He has been one of the people that I've admired for a very long time on social media. He is famous for training fighters, but he's also probably, in my opinion, one of the best coaches in the game, and is an absolute honor because I've been trying to get him on the show for quite some time now.
Ladies and gentlemen, Phil Daru. Brother, you're always making me blush. No. Come on, dude. I'm telling you ... you're one of the best in the game. Thank you, man. That's- Why do you- ... ooh, tough to say ... it, it, it's very hard because there's a lot of people out there, right? You got a lot of... I mean, we're, we're now competing.
We're a little older. We've been doing this for a while. Mm-hmm. But you got a lot of younger kids who look great- Mm ... aesthetically, obviously, and they're, uh, putting stuff on social media. But- Mm ... in my opinion, you shine above the rest because obviously you're a real coach. Mm. You've been doing this for a very long time.
Yeah. How's that happened? In a, in a field where there are so many people trying to be competitive, trying to do the same thing, what do you think really helps you stand out? I think there's several factors. I think, obviously I've been in the game for 20 years, so compounded over time. Mm-hmm. You know, putting out content for the past 10 years.
Okay. You know? And then being able to get in front of these people and, and create those results, which is important, but always finding your limiters, right? Yeah. And improving on what you can improve on, which is something that I think a lot of young kids lack, right? They wanna go to their strengths and not really focus on what they need to improve on.
Mm-hmm. And just constantly trying to improve every year. And, um, the more, you know, the more you, you know is the less you find out that you don't know anything. Right. Success. So, so, okay, so every time I'm, I'm trying to just recalibrate and figure out what's the best option for me to go forward. Sometimes, you know, it, it is maybe right in the middle of maybe some strength and conditioning, maybe it's physiology, maybe it's biomechanics, but also maybe it's psychology.
Yeah. Maybe it's communication. Mm-hmm. Right? And so finding out the details and... When I really started to hone in on my craft was when I started to work at American Top Team, where I was working with high level- Yeah ... elite fighters all throughout the week, and it's all about that, you know, 1% better. And so we have to figure out the details to figure out, okay, what is the thing that's gonna make them the best that they can be?
Mm-hmm. And so, you know, just trying to organize that and figure out my thought process through there. And then from there, I just develop a framework that allows me to progress that individual accordingly. Yeah. Yeah. You touched on something super important that I think a lot of people who don't get to work with people in person understand.
You know, everybody's like, "Oh, I'm an online coach, I'm an online coach," but- Mm ... the personal side of training somebody Understanding how to communicate with them- Mm-hmm ... making sure that they feel comfortable, making sure they feel like you understand where, what they need and where, where they're going.
Yeah. Uh, obviously you're dealing with a, a lot of different archetypes when it comes to Uh, you know, athletes. Mm-hmm. Right? You know, a fighter is probably someone who's a little all over the place. Can be. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So what's it like managing so many different personalities? Because if somebody asked me, "Okay, what's, what's the avatar of most of your clients?"
I'd say it's a middle-aged man or woman here in New York City who's got family- Mm-hmm ... kids, and a big-time job. Sure. So it's like you're dealing with very type A people. Mm-hmm. You need to cater to them. You're dealing with a very different type of personality. Mm-hmm. Tell us- Yeah, you gotta be a little, little crazy to do what we do.
Yeah, yeah. You know? And, and you know it 'cause you train now too as well. I think the biggest thing is, is understanding and identifying who that person is. And you talked about archetypes, we talk about personality traits. Mm-hmm. So I'll sit with them for at least two hours and have a conversation, and that's missing in a lot of...
Even with the online coaching nowadays, where they'll send them a program, but they don't really go in depth on what their true why is. Mm-hmm. And just peeling back the layers on their purpose. So then that gives me an understanding of truly what they want to accomplish, right? And all of us, at some point in time, we wanna have peace and happiness.
And so if this is gonna be the vehicle that you can use to create that, then that's what we're gonna do. But then, you know, like everything, there's no straight linear path to success. There's always gonna be some undulations. So daily check-ins and readiness is gonna be a part of that process. Mm-hmm. And so you have to be able to adjust and auto-regulate every moment, right?
And especially in fighting, you got guys that come in, you think that you have a program set, then they kick an elbow, and now it's all out the window. You can't do your sprints, you can't do whatever. So you have to be adjusting and dynamic with your program. Mm-hmm. With that being said, you also wanna be able to communicate appropriately so that you can reframe certain exercises so that they know that they're not wasting their time.
With fighting or any, any sport or even with, like, the executives that I'm working with now, everything that we do needs to have some type of purpose. It needs to have some type of transferability to whatever they are doing, right? Mm-hmm. And a lot of it comes down to scheduling and fatigue management. So if you're training nonstop, these guys are probably training two, three times a day.
Or you having a busy executive that's has to maintain a level of understanding and calmness and stress inoculation that needs to build over time, but they also need to be able to be calm enough to create better decisions or make better decisions. Mm-hmm. The problem is, is if you are a busy executive leading a team, you get decision fatigue, right?
So getting them in the right head space to make a proper decision is important. So it starts with the habits and the routines that takes them through the process of the day. And then you go ahead and you tie in some of the physical activity that can increase neurocognition and decrease brain fog and gets you in a state of better decision-making.
Mm-hmm. And also it allows you to feel accomplished. When we wake up in a day, in the, you know, the first, first, like, let's just say first five hours of the day, you're pretty much in reactive mode, and that's a problem. So I like to set us up to where within the next, let's say, two to three hours when you wake up, it's all about what you need to do, right?
What do you need to do to get yourself in a position to execute? And a lot of times we wake up, we're probably checking emails, we're try- probably checking text messages. Push that aside, right? So I tell them, shut their phone off, go and maybe do some type of physical activity, do some breathwork, do some type of meditation, mindfulness practice, and move the body, right?
That sets up the day for the day ahead. And then also list your priorities. Now, the, the problem is we have so many ideas and we have so many things that we have to do, and it's all in the brain. Get it out on paper. Mm-hmm. Write it all down and then figure out what are the main priorities that you want to hit that day, and then you can put yourself in a position, a strategy.
Give yourself a strategy to make sure that you get those goals accomplished. And typically, we like to do that the day before. Mm-hmm. Right? So there's a book that was, uh, that I read, I don't know, probably about six years ago now. It's called Organizing Tomorrow Today, and what it basically says is that you wanna, you wanna take the highest priorities the day before.
You wanna write those down. You wanna see exactly how you're going to implement and execute, and you wanna get that done before, let's say, 12:00. Mm-hmm. And you go ahead, once 12:00 hits, then you start to plan your next day. But after that, it gives you freedom to do what you wanna do, right? So first you need to do what is required, and then you can do what you wanna do.
Yeah, I love that. You've, you've trained Dustin Poirier, Amanda Nunes, and so many great fighters. How much are you adapting their programs for their lives? Obviously, like, they're dedicating, like, they're, they have a fight coming up. Mm-hmm. That's important. But life happens. Mm-hmm. To fighters, life happens to executives, life happens to all of us.
Mm-hmm. How do you adapt their program to the way they're feeling? Are you like, "Hey, we gotta stick to this plan and there's no wavering," or are you treating... Because I've talked to Brett- Ben Bruno and- Mm-hmm ... you know, uh, you know, September 26th at The Glass House. Do not forget, Strong New York, it's our 10th anniversary.
Think of the Food and Wine Festival, Comic-Con, the boat show, the car show, but this is the fitness version of it. Do not miss out. Strong New York, our 10th anniversary, September 26th at The Glass House. Go to strongnewyork.com and get your tickets today. Harley Pasternak and so many great trainers. Yep. And they're like, especially with celebrities- Mm-hmm
right, there's a lot of ego involved. Sure. There's a lot of, uh, high-level, uh, performers in that category. Mm-hmm. How do you adjust to them, you know, maybe being in a mood, dealing with some family shit? Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's gonna come... In general, that's just people, right? Yeah. We all have these stresses that come up.
And within this past, like, 20 years of doing this, I've found that performance isn't just physical, right? Mm-hmm. It's psychological, it's emotional, it's behavioral, it's environmental, and sometimes it's spiritual too as well. It's, most of the time it's spiritual. So we have to figure out, okay, what's gonna put you in the best place mentally so that you can execute accordingly?
Mm-hmm. First, we like to assess the schedule, right? So I'm looking at, let's just say we run it off of RPE. Now, I don't wanna get too deep into the weeds with this, but rate of perceived exertion. Mm-hmm. So every session you'll have some type of overarching RPE, right? Maybe it's a nine or a 10. Now 10 being the most, right?
If that's what it is, then we have to make sure that the next day is somewhere around a six or a seven, so that way we can undulate the intensities and we can consolidate the stresses. Another thing that we like to use is objective and subjective indicators. So an objective indicator would be, like, a WHOOP monitor or an HRV monitor.
Mm-hmm. Right? Morning heart rate. Um, also it's gonna be grip testing. You can use a, a, you know, a grip test monitor or something like that, or you can use VBT. And then the subjective indicators are gonna be how you're feeling when you wake up, right? Maybe you're brain fogged or you're sore or you just, you just don't feel like you can give maximal effort.
And then you tie those two together, right? So once I can see da- daily readiness, then I can adjust accordingly. Mm. So if somebody is in, let's just say for instance, if you're using a WHOOP and, or you're using some type of HRM- HRV monitor, and I like to run it off of these colors, right? So you got green, yellow, red, right?
If you're in the green, then it's all go. We send it. If you're in the yellow, we'll back it down. We'll back down the volume by about 15, maybe 20%. In the red, maybe it's just go for a walk. Maybe go do mobility work. Maybe it's just go drill, right? Mm-hmm. And still be cognitively aware and work your skill acquisition, but you're not digging yourself deeper into a hole.
Yeah. You were a fighter at one point. Mm-hmm. How hard was it for you to step away? Because a couple, couple weeks ago I went to the Enhance Games. Yeah. And I think the misconception with the Enhance Games is like every j- buddy's blasting juice trying to get as jacked as possible. Mm-hmm. And I go, "You guys are missing this thing-" Yeah
wholeheartedly. Like you ... So what they're trying to do is they're like, all right, they're trying to build a peptide company or a, a, you know, a telehealth medicine business. Mm-hmm. Um, but at the same time you had a lot of these athletes hit personal bests or records they haven't hit in 10 years. Mm. Which, one, is pretty impressive, especially an athlete who's past their prime- Yeah
to be able to compete, and they're getting paid to do it. I think a lot of times with Olympic sports, fighting- Mm-hmm ... these are very grueling things to be the best of the best at. It takes a lot of time, effort for little to no money What I like about the Enhanced Games is now they're paying these people- Mm-hmm
like a nice chunk of change, more than they've ever been paid before. Sure. I'm like, this gives competition way more room to grow. Mm-hmm. 'Cause now people can live like this. Was it the money? Was it, you know, you were kinda burnt out by it? What? Well, there's several factors. Uh, so to back up a little bit, when I was 22...
Well, 21 I ended up going pro. I had a good amateur career, but I needed to make money. Yeah. I was broke. I was, like, training people here and there, but my main focus was fighting. Yeah. And at that point I was with a, a strength coach of mine in Port St. Lucie. His name's Tony Montgomery. And all of our, all of our teammates and my teammates and all the guys would train with them, but he would also train high school athletes, so on and so forth.
So I had my exercise science degree. Right. And he knew that. And he's like, "Do you want a job? Like, do you wanna train here?" And I was like, "Absolutely." You know, I wanna train with the high school athletes. I wanna train some of the college kids. Mm-hmm. So I started working as an independent contractor for him, paying rent for the gym, and then all of a sudden I started getting more clients.
So then my clientele base started to increase, and then I was paying the gym more money. So I'm like, well, I'm paying all this money, I might as well just open up my own. So at 22 years old I opened up my first location. No shit. And I was still fighting professionally. So I have this focus shift, right? So now I'm like, you know, I'm doing...
I was doing 5:00 AM classes and midnight classes for the, for the night shift workers. And so I would go midnight. I'd probably sleep about three hours, wake up, do a 5:00 AM class, do a 9:00 AM class, train myself, and that would just be continuous throughout the, you know, five to six days a week I burnt myself out pretty much I was gonna say, yeah Luckily I was in my 20s Even at that age Yeah, luckily I was in my 20s, so I could, I could power through it.
But, um, I was losing fights, you know? I wasn't, I wasn't really training. Like, I would, I would probably, at this point, when I was in my amateur career when I was fully focused, again broke, but fo- focused- Yeah ... you know, I would be in the gym two, three times a day training myself. When I started working and actually building a business, I would get in there three times a week, which was hard- Yeah
obviously, if you're trying to be a professional, and in camp. If you asked me 20 years ago what an entrepreneur was, I couldn't tell you. I didn't even know what the word meant. But I found myself building a business over the past 15 years of my life, and as a entrepreneur, I was always looking to be coached in business, right?
I sell personal training and group fitness, and I wanna help people build their bodies. And as somebody who never really had any business experience prior to me building my business, I wanted to join a group or a class of people that were much more educated than I was, who've been through it, who had the experience, who could help me build my business, and that's what I found in the Founders' Club.
I've been in the club now for about six months, and I've seen nothing but value. Every dollar that I've spent I would double that hands down because I've found a network of people and a group of people that I normally wouldn't have access to or ever get to meet. I think they've done an incredible job of curating the people who are there.
Everyone I've worked with has been either willing to help or has helped me with my business, and I wanna be able to do the same for them. So it's a great network of people. I'm super excited to be a part of it, and if you guys are thinking about it, hands down it's 1,500 people strong in North America and only growing.
So best decision I've made in 2026. So I lo- I was losing these fights, and I'm like, "Man, what is going on?" Were you making money though at this point? I was making money, yeah. The business was growing fast. That's great. Yeah. Yeah, it started 800 square foot, small facility, right? It was a little boot camp gym.
Did, had, like, 12 members. One of them was now going to be my wife. And, um, and then so I grew that from, you know, 12 members to 60 members I went from 800 square feet to 1,900 square feet, then 11,000 square feet within around a year and a half 11,000 square feet is a nice size gym. It's ... It was big. It was too big.
Yeah, yeah. It, like, th- it was, but we had an opportunity. What do you ... What's the size of your gyms now? I have a 5,000 square feet and then we have ... We're building out a s- f- Well, we're building out a 20,000 square foot one in Deerfield, and then Merrick Health and I, we're coming together to put a performance gym together in either Boynton or Delray.
We're looking to do somewhere around 20 to 30,000 square feet there too as well. Wow. But in Miami, it's, it's around 10,000 square feet, so it's, it's manageable. So I wanna get into, because I do really ... Like, I, I kind of fell in love with your style of performance training- Mm ... and then just your delivery on camera, and I think it, it's, it's so important that people don't understand that.
Like, some people are so fucking cringey with their- Oh, mm ... social media, where they're- Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Well, no. They're, they're telling you a bunch of shit and you're like, "You don't fucking believe this shit." Yeah, yeah. You have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Yeah. Your delivery's so good.
I think the way you cut it up, everything's perfect. Yeah. Um, and w- we ... I think we subscribe to a lot of the same kind of- Sure ... ideologies when it comes to training. Mm-hmm. If you had to create a Mo- Mount Rushmore of trainers- Ooh ... or people that, like, you admire- Oh, man ... who would that be? That's tough. That's tough, bro.
It, it ... I, I would have, like, a list. I know one who's on there. Who's on there? It's gotta be, um, who I ... fuck. Um- I can help you out. No. I ... Hold on. You good? Give me, give me a second. It's fucking- He's local here. Well- He's a local guy. Well, he's Jersey. Oh, DeFranco. Yeah. Yeah, of course, yeah. Joe's my guy, bro. So Joe, Joe's definitely on there.
Joe. I mean, he's on mine as well. Mm-hmm. Um, fucking, uh- Louie ... Westside Barbell, yeah. Yeah, Louie Simmons. Yeah. Louie Simmons. Louie Simmons I feel like would have to be on a, a mountain of his own. Yeah, he's on his own. Because I feel like- 'Cause he set the base for everybody. Yeah. Yeah. And I think you, me, Joe- Mm
like, there are so many people. Uh, you know Luka Hocevar too, right? Mm. When thinking about training- Mm-hmm ... to not mention him- It's tough ... in every conversation would be a disservice to- It's tough because you get these young kids coming in and they have no idea. No. And I'm like, "Man, you gotta do your research."
One of the things that I have all my coaches do- Mm-hmm ... is, and I'm glad it exists now because we, we'd have to read the manuals and shit. Yeah. I tell everybody, "Go home- Mm-hmm ... go to Netflix- Mm-hmm ... and watch West Side vs. World." Oh, yeah, man. And if you're not fired the fuck up after watching that- Yep ... don't come back here because you're not gonna...
It's not gonna work. Yeah, yeah. If you, if you don't love it, it's gonna be hard for you to sustain it. You know, this is a, a daily grind. Yeah. You know, they see me now, and I, and I been able and blessed to be able to mentor coaches from around the world, and now they're just starting to see, you know, me make a brand and name for myself or whatever.
But it was seven years, eight years that nobody knew who I was. Mm-hmm. Now, in my area, I was, I was doing well, right? Mm-hmm. And that's what kinda grew that gym and grew the community that I built in Port St. Lucie, which is a smaller community. Yeah. Right? And I had- And it's not... Now that area's blown up. It's blown up.
Yeah, yeah. But five years ago, six years ago, nobody- Oh, bro. It was- I didn't even know Port St. Lucie was a fucking town then. Me neither. Yeah. Like, so, so I'm originally from Broward County, which is the Fort Lauderdale area. Mm-hmm. When I went to college, I played ball at Alabama State, came back. My family moved from Fort Lauderdale to Port St.
Lucie, and I was like, "Oh, I'm back in Alabama. Like, there's nothing here." Yeah. So, um, au- automatically, I'm like, "I gotta put myself in something because I'm just gonna go crazy." Yeah, yeah. And I was boxing in the off-season in, in, in college, and I was... I have a martial arts background, so I was like, "You know what?
Let's, let's, uh, let's see if anything's closer." And, uh, I found that they had an American Top Team affiliate gym owned by Dean Thomas. Mm-hmm. And, uh, it just so happened that I rode up to the gym, and he was actually opening up the door when I rolled up there. And I just came up behind him, like, kinda startled him a little bit.
Like, he's like, "What the hell?" And he... And I was like, "Yo, I wanna fight." And he kinda looked me up and down. He's like, "All right." Rolled his eyes. "All right, kid, come to the class." I started training there, and, uh, I fell in love with it. And so the first thing that he told me was like, "You have to get down to 155."
And I'm like, "Bro, I haven't been 155 pounds since middle school." Like, I'm, now I'm, like, 205, you know? No shit, you're 205? Yeah, I'm like 198, 205. Okay. I kinda teeter around there. But even in, even, you know, at that time I was right around that, that, that size. I was probably 198, you know? He wanted you to get down to 155?
Yeah, well, if you think about it, bone structure-wise. You're six... Yeah ... I'm 5'8". So, and then I was like, "There's no way." And then I started to train a lot more, and that n- naturally brought my weight down, right? To what? 170? No, I, I was walking around probably about 192, and then I fought- But that's still a lot of weight to cut.
Yeah. Well, it was, it was just, you know, a little bit of dieting, but also just a lot more volume. Yeah. And a lot more, lot more training. And, uh, when I got down to 192, I started to fight and compete at 170. Okay. And I did 170 for a little bit, and then I made my pro debut at 155. Yeah. And, um, you know, I went down to the main headquarters at Coconut Creek, and I saw, like, Thiago Alves and, and Hector Lombard, and I was like, "Yeah, I think I should go to 155."
You know? I'm like, "These guys are monsters," you know? Yeah, yeah. So it made sense. Well, they're cutting from, like, 210, 220. It... Yeah, but even- Yeah ... Thiago back then was probably cutting around from, like, 215, 225- Yeah ... to 170, right? Jesus! So I'm like... Yeah, and they're just naturally just bigger, right? Yeah, yeah. A lot of density and everything.
If you look at Dustin, you know, Dustin's wrist and his hands and his f- like his- Thick ... his fists are- Yeah ... they're thick. Yeah. So he's, he's... I don't even know how he got to 145. We were talking about it, and, you know, as you grow older, you, you just get bigger, you know? Mm-hmm. Naturally. And so there's no way, I think now, I think now he's walking around probably, like, 185.
Now he's done, you know? So. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, n- so naturally I'm like, "Okay, let me get down there." But, you know, in time, I, I started to really immerse myself in this thing. Yeah. But I had to figure out ways to train myself, because I couldn't train myself just like a football player anymore. I couldn't do just conditioning circuits.
Mm-hmm. There had to be a better way. So I started to figure out, just like I did in high school, what was the best route to take from a programming perspective that was going to allow me to stay ready at all times, and I went right back to Westside. So I called Louie up and I said, "Listen, I, I got... I'm starting to fight."
'Cause I, I used to have conversations with him in high school. You call up Westside Barbell, he'll, he'll answer the phone. Yeah, yeah. And he's like, "Well..." You know, he's telling me about the conjugate method, and I'm like, "I know, I know." Like, and, but I was like, "I can't train maximal effort two times a week and dynamic effort two times a week.
It's just too much, because I'm not gonna recover. I have skills training all the way through." So then I'm like, "All right. How can I condense this?" And it wasn't until I got to American Top Team where I started to see that, you know, these guys- Every training session is a hard session. Mm-hmm. You're going into wrestling practice or you're going to spar with other killers in there, and it's demanding.
So in order for me to keep them consistently progressing, I would have to put together some type of vertical integration. And utilizing the conjugate method, but condensing it into a two or a three-day model- Mm ... allowed us to still hit all these methods of training and get that adaptation appropriately fixed in so that when they go to fight or if they get called up on short notice, they're ready to go.
Mm. So I couldn't block it out or anything like that because we didn't know. And let's face it, like, you're not just in camp. All the way through the years, you're still working with your teammates. So that was helpful. Um, but as far as the Mount w- Rushmore thing, I, I think, you know, you, you put Louie there, you put Joe there, um, Zach Even-Esh, another Jersey guy.
I love... They're all up here, man. I know. You know? Isn't it funny that these two guys are both- They're right there ... Dude, and honestly, they're such⦠Like, I never got the chance to meet Louie. Mm. Joe and Zach- Mm ... have been nothing but the fucking... I mean, obviously they're, in my opinion, some of the most accomplished guys.
They... I, I grew up in New Jersey, so I- Yeah ... I remember hearing about them when- Yeah ... I was a kid. And for them to be as humble and good-hearted as they are, they're such good guys. They're, like, good family guys. Yeah. They're good coaches. Yeah. You know, they give a fuck. For sure. And I think that's the best thing about them.
Well, when he first started out, when Zach started out, you know, it was all about flipping tires and, and- Yeah, yeah ... taking whatever you can, and that's what I started in my gym. Yeah. It's like- Today's episode is brought to you by Marek Health. If you're someone who actually cares about performance, whether it's in the gym, business, or just your day-to-day life, you should be thinking about health optimization, not just fixing a problem when shit shows up.
That's what I like about Marek Health. It's not just go see the doctor when something's wrong. This is preventative care. This is dialing in everything before it becomes an issue. They run full labs, break everything down, and you've got a coach that you get access at any time, not just every six months, like actual access to this person.
It's basically a one-stop shop for health, blood work, hormones, performance, all handled in one place. If you're serious about feeling better and performing at your best, then go check out Marek Health. Use the code Kenny for 10% off. I had no equipment. Like, I th- no, let me say- Have you... Did you go to his gym?
What, Zach's? Zach's. I have not yet. Oh. Yeah, I went- Yeah, I gotta go there. I've been, I've been meaning to go, but yeah. A couple years back- Mm ... him, um, Joe, and, um... Fuck, I just had his name in my head. Was it Matt? Matt Wenning. Yeah. Did a seminar there. Mm-hmm. And I texted Zach, and I go, "Yo, I'm coming to this." He goes, "Really?"
I go, "Dude, I wouldn't fucking miss this for the-" Yeah, yeah. That's cool. Fuck yes. Yeah. You know, and it was like a two-day seminar. It was great. Mm-hmm. And each one of them did, like, um... Zach did, like, the, uh, s- deadlifts. Mm-hmm. And then, uh, Joe did, like, all, like, the unconventional stuff, the sling pushes- Right
and shit like that. Special exercises, yeah. Yeah. And then, uh, Matt did, like, bench and squat. Perfect. Yeah. Yeah, makes sense. And it was fucking... The, the nuances- Mm-hmm. Yeah ... that these guys get into on this shit. The details. The de- yeah. Well, here's another thing. So, like, you know, competing and putting myself in the shit really allowed me to coach better, right?
Of course. So, like- You can't teach it unless you do it. Exactly. Yeah. And, and, you know, we talked about, like, how did I elevate? Well, it was, it was actually competing in the thing. Yeah. So when I stopped fighting... And, and to, to, to close this one out, so I ended up getting another concussion two weeks before my fight.
So I had to... I, I won my last fight. I was two weeks, um- How old are you at this time? 22? 25. 25. 25, 26. Okay. I don't remember. But, um, concussions, that's why I don't remember. But you gotta think about it. I've been playing football since I was seven. And my first concussion, I was probably about seven, eight years old.
Oh, shit. I remember getting my bell rung, 'cause we were doing Oklahoma drills- Yeah ... back then. And, and, you know, like back then they were like, "Yeah, just hit it, hit him with your helmet." Yeah, yeah. And like cuts on your helmet was like a sign, like it was like a trophy sign. Yeah, yeah. You know? Um, but yeah, I'd accumulated these concussions, and there was times where I was on the field and I'd think
I was on the field when I was, I thought I was on the, I was on the sidelines, and when I was on the sidelines, I thought I was on the field. Like that's how bad some of these were. And in, in Florida, football's a way of life. Football's, yeah. And like I've always played at a high level, even from the Little League standpoint all the way up.
So my, my high school football team, you know, we had Jason Pierre-Paul on the team. We had, uh, Denard Robinson. We had a bunch of guys that went to the league. Jesus. Mm. You know, and this was just my senior team. And I ran, at that point I was running like a 4.58, and I was one of the slowest guys on the team.
What? Yeah, Denard ran like, you know, Shoelace ran like a 4.2. Like these kids are crazy fast. Yeah. But so what I mean is now, now like, all right, so how do I put myself in a position to excel? Well, I need to be able to hit hard. Mm-hmm. So I just come in, bust wedges, and, and hit the hole hard. And so over time it acc- it accumulated, and then I had this last concussion.
I was just doing technical sparring with one of my teammates, and he came down and hit me in the back of the head, and I was concussed for a while. And I knew it. I finished the training session dizzy. I had all the signs, right? The light was irritating. I was nauseous. I was throwing up, everything. So I went to the neurologist because I was like, "I got two weeks left for my fight."
And he, he ran some tests and he was like, "Man, listen, if you don't stop, you're gonna have Alzheimer's by the time you're 50. Like it's, it's serious." Yeah. And I'm like, "Oh, man. Here we go." So now I'm like business has grown. You know, I'm, I'm trying to make my way back into a winning column, you know, and, uh, then this happens.
And then my son was about to be born, so there's a lot of factors. And I called Dean, and he was just like, "Listen, if it was your knee or your back or something, we can work around it, but it's your brain. You don't wanna work around that." You know? Yeah, no shit. Like, like and, and at that point I started to really understand, like, okay, there's, there's a different purpose here.
So I transitioned. I pivoted out. And when I m- when I made that pivot, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Really? Yeah, because then I was able to truly focus on a path that I knew I could take to the next level, and I could do it for years to come- Mm-hmm ... decades to come. And, uh, yeah, I got better, but then right after that I had the itch to compete.
So I'm always, I'm gonna be a competitor no matter what. Mm. So I'm like, all right. I did bodybuilding for a little bit. So I was at, like out, at this point I was sitting around 175. I lost a little bit of muscle mass obviously, right? So I got with, uh, a friend of mine who's, who's competed in bodybuilding.
We did a whole bodybuilding show prep. I, uh, I did all, I did well. I think I, I took first in the de- in the division or whatever, and then I took second overall. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I was like, I ballooned back up. I went back up to 205, and then I cut back down to 181. But I wasn't in ... Like, I didn't in lo- I didn't love the competition of being on stage as a bodybuilder.
I didn't like that, right? It's, it's so fucking bizarre to me. It's, it's, yeah, it's weird. I, honestly, I do love bodybuilding. Yeah. I just sent a picture, and I'm actually... The only sport I haven't competed in, I've done long distance. Mm-hmm. I've done combat sports. Mm-hmm. I've played basketball and baseball and football and all this stuff.
I obviously love jujitsu and wrestling. Yeah. Um, but bodybuilding's the only thing I haven't done, and it's like if I'm ever gonna talk about it, I gotta do it. Sure. So I wanna go do it. It's the weird shit. It's like the- ... bikinis on the stage. I know. And everyone's like, "I'm a competitor." I'm like, I give bodybuilders the kudos that like, hey, y- it takes a ton of discipline.
Sure. You're doing all... You're, you know, you're training hard. You're, you know, suffering through- Yeah ... that whole thing. But to say you're a competitor. Mm. Like, to me, like, competition is, like, head-to-head combat. I feel you on that. Right? And that's why, like- It's kind of a weird fucking sport. Like- It's, yeah
and the people who are super into it, you gotta almost be a little fucking weird. You're constantly looking in the mirror- Yes ... flexing and shit. Yeah. Like, I even catch her doing some weird fucking poses and shit. Oh my God, dude. And I'm like, "W- why you standing like that?" It's not natural to do it. Yeah.
I'll tell you what, though. The only, and I talk about this sometimes, I've talked about it on the podcast, but the only homosexual time I've had- ... in my whole life, I remember, I, two years ago, three years ago, I'm at the Olympia. Mm-hmm. Bumstead comes out and I go, "Okay, that's cool." Yeah, yeah. This guy looks fucking great.
Yeah. He's doing all the poses. He looked like a fucking moving statue. Yeah, yeah. And it was so impressive. Other than that, it's kinda gay. Yeah. So, and that's where, like, they asked me, like the guys that were competing or whatever were, like, you know, in the competition and was like, "Are you nervous?" And I was like, "Bro, I used to get into a cage and- Yeah
fight people." Yeah. I'm like, "This isn't- What do you- ... I'm going in there and standing and posing. I'm good." Yeah. And then after the fact, so when I got done, and this is no bash to bodybuilders, like I, I, Flex Lewis is a good friend of mine. Like, I, I have bodybuilder friends. Dude, I love the, I love the sport.
Yeah. It's just like when you get to the, the arena you're like- Yeah ... "This is weird." It's not for me, bro. Yeah. It's not for me. And afterwards I'm like, you know, there's been times in fights where I felt like I was gonna die in there. Oh, I'm sure. But afterwards I'm like, "Oh, let's go party." Yeah. Like, you'll get such an endorphin rush and, like, you're, you're on a high, right?
After the bodybuilding competition, I was kinda like, "I just wanna go lay down, bro." Yeah. After the show, I was like, "This is draining." Like I, so I was like, "That's not for me." I got out of that quick. Yeah. And I was like, "Let me go back into doing some strength sports." So I was doing Strongman as a, as- Love. I love Strongman.
Like- Strongman's a fun sport ... and, and the community is amazing. Yeah. Right? Everybody's trying to help each other, right? It's just, if you can lift it, you can lift it. And so I was doing that, and I was like, "You know what? Let's get into powerlifting," because I need to really understand how to lift with maximal force.
Mm-hmm. And since I had, you know, with Louie and all that, I was like, "It's time to, to really level up and do it." So I, I found a, I found a powerlifting coach in the area. Mm-hmm. Uh, Matt Levine, who, who does, still does it to this day. And, um, you know, just went all in. And for, I did that for like six years. I did 10 meets- Oh, shit
or 11 meets, something like that. I loved it. But, you know, I found that there was, there was some gaps, right, when it came down to how I was training, and obviously it's all sagittal plane motion. Maybe you're just doing straight bilateral stuff. But it allowed me to understand how to put myself in the best position to use mechanical advantages- Mm
to lift with high force production. So then I can Understanding it and then articulate it to the, to the athletes that we're working with. Mm-hmm. So if I, you know, it's okay, now we're calling for a back squat, I know exactly how to put you in the right position to back squat. Sure. Yeah. Um, so you got one more position to fill, right?
We got Zach Evanesh- Mm-hmm ... DeFranco, Louie. Who's your fourth guy? It's good you brought it back. Thank you. Fourth guy Or a girl No, I'm gonna- 'Cause I would, I might put a girl on mine ... I'm gonna put a girl there too, but Charles Poliquin. Charles Poliquin. Okay. Just to change it up a bit, you know, because of not just the training aspect of it, but more about the supplementation- Mm-hmm
the nutrition behind it, right? The mindset behind it. He's where I got the Braverman's test from for the personality trait exams. Okay. Right? To understand, you know, how I could communicate. Yeah. Right? You know, uh, Brett Bartholomew, right? Yes. Mm-hmm. He's another one who's, like, dives deep into, like, the personalities.
For sure. Brett's book, uh- Great ... what is it? The Art of- Art of Coaching ... Art of Coaching. Yeah. Yeah. I read, I read his book a while back, and that did help me. We're gonna have both you guys there this year. Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah, it'll be good. I haven't talked to him in a while. And, and so yeah, those, those types of people.
And then I would say the last one Female-wise, I gotta think. I mean, I, I wanna put my girl... Well- Who? I'm biased, but I'm gonna put Jacqueline in there. Jacqueline? Oh, yeah? Yeah, I wanna put Jacqueline in there. Dude, I, you know, she would be fucking... Jacqueline Cason, she- She's ... I know ... she would go nuts. I was with her this weekend, and I was- She's awesome
singing her praises. Like, I was talking to somebody. I didn't know she was standing there, and I was like, "She's, in my opinion, one of the best female trainers, hands down." Just overall. Yeah. It's not just about, like, getting people strong or anything. Just the way she talks and communicates. Sure. And then, and then on top of that, like, showcasing it and being able to showcase it.
'Cause there's a lot of- Mm ... and, and not just females, but men in general that can't do the thing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Which she can do it all. I think, I think the way she delivers her message. Yeah. I think she's probably one of the best- Yeah ... if not the best- For sure ... trainer that I've worked with. One of the people I'd put up there, obviously, like, I've known her for quite some time.
I've always admired her. I love Ta- if she's saying something, I almost listen to it the same way I'd listen to, like, Joe or Louie- Mm-hmm ... or someone, is Stephie. Oh, yeah. So- Yeah, that's true. That's true ... she's one of those people where I'm like, she really... I respect the shit out of her. Mm-hmm. She knows her stuff.
She eats, sleeps, shits, and breathes it. Yeah. Yeah. You know? She's a tough chick. You know, there's n- there's no, there's no bullshit with her. And, and she's a amazing athlete on top of that. Incredible. Right. Incredible. Like, w- I was with her at the Enhance Games- Mm-hmm ... and everybody's like, "Oh, yeah." I saw that.
I saw that. Yeah. Yeah, but everybody's like, "Oh, she's taking shit." I go, "Let me tell you something." Okay. If I shoot fucking testosterone- Yeah ... in your eyeballs, you will not come- Yeah, you can't. You can't ... close to being as strong as she is. No. I go, "She is an absolute freak." And, you know, she's transitioned into many different sports.
Yeah. We started working together when she wanted to start boxing. Mm-hmm. You know? And I was like, you know, in the beginning, she didn't know how to throw a punch at all, but because she's such a- She looks dangerous now ... but now... Yeah. And, like, because she's an athlete- Yeah, yeah ... she took to it fast. Mm-hmm.
And she already had the strength there, so it was just easy to, to implement all that stuff in. Yeah. And so, and the conditioning came up fast, you know, and now she's back into power lifting. I saw she did that. Yeah. W- what did she, what did she do? She just won the fucking thing in, uh- Wow ... it was in, like- 40 squat.
Yeah, it was, like, in- Yeah, 12 ... Virginia Beach or some shit, right? Yeah, 12. Yeah. 12. 17. She's, she's... I love... Like, she's another one. Yep. I'm like, I just love- Being able to call her and ask her questions about- Mm-hmm ... you know, training methodologies and stuff. Um, w- if you're training a younger coach to work underneath you- Mm-hmm
obviously like anything Westside Barbell, you want them to understand the conjugate method. Mm-hmm. What are some other, uh, kinda methodologies that you recommend to people? Because you're like, you're like me. You're into the Landmine University style. Sure. Yeah. I love Alex's shit. Yeah, Alex is great. I think he's incredible.
Yeah. I had him over at my gym twice. Yeah, m- I had him at- Mm-hmm ... my gym twice too, and, you know, there was a lot of people are, "That's bullshit," blah, blah. What I love about you is you're like me, where y- you're willing to hear people out- Oh, yeah ... and be like, "Hey, wait. This is not just some bullshit that he made up."
Yeah. There's a methodology. There's an understanding there. I mean, listen, D- I love David Weck, too. Mm-hmm. He's a bit of a wacky fucking dude. Yeah. But there's, there's something to what he's saying. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. If you think about it, when it comes down to, like, rotation and rotational power, like, the ... In our sports it's, it's prevalent.
And even with sprinting and just in general- Mm-hmm ... I think people lack that ability, or they just stop doing that. Yeah. And they just focus on either machines, or they focus on the sagittal plane. They don't work on all these other planes of motion that are required for you to live healthy and- Yeah ... and have longevity.
So. There's a lot of trainers now who are like, "Well, I did a bodybuilding show. I'm a trainer." Mm-hmm. "I've been doing this." I think to really be proficient at- Mm ... the job, it's like, you know, you have to understand power lifting, weight lifting, um, s- unconventional stuff, right? Yeah. Uh, uh, multiple planes of motion.
Mm-hmm. I think when you can really teach running mechanics, because if you wanna play any sport or be athletic in any way, there needs to be some understanding of running mechanics. Mm-hmm. Um, but, like, what are your top three things that you would want your trainers to know and understand? Well, first and foremost, so even with the mentorship program, you know, I'd have my guys, the first homework assignment they would have to do is find five people and spark up a conversation with them, on the street, just nobody that they know.
Really? Right? New people. I love that. But they cannot talk about, or they have to segue out or transition out of fitness, right? So they ... So obviously if they walk up to somebody and they look physically fit, somebody's gonna ask them, "Do you work out? Are you training?" Yeah, yeah. "Are you a trainer?" It's gonna come up.
And they have to revert that, and they have to go back into asking them questions. So again, if you ask the questions, you control the conversation. So I wanted them to get uncomfortable with asking these unorthodox questions or just questions that they're not comfortable with or don't know about and just be curious.
Mm-hmm. Because that's gonna allow you to tap in and be able to communicate with the clients that you're working with. So that's first. They gotta develop those communication skills. Well, you can't teach people personality. No. No, no, no. Yeah. But you can, you can show them A process that allows how to connect Mm-hmm.
I agree. Right? Yeah. And so that would be first and foremost. The second thing is obviously they, they have to have a basic understanding of physiology, biomechanics, anatomy, and everything that goes with increasing somebody's performance as a whole, right? So another thing that we need to tune in on, and I think that the one thing that is missing with a lot of young ath- or young trainers is that they don't know how to auto-regulate, right?
They don't know how to adjust, right? So having a system, having a strategy, or having, like, a, a skeleton first. Mm-hmm. But then be able to adjust on the fly, which is, again, when you have people that are, have busy schedules, you have to do that. So being able to auto-regulate by seeing what is the most appropriate thing to do at that particular time.
Mm-hmm. Right? And then, you know, understanding proper program, proper programming to get them to where they wanna be, right? So I'd say tie in, get into all of the methodologies, whether it be from block style to linear progressions, daily undulation to conjugate to, you know, even triphasic training, things of that nature, so that you have a wide base of understanding on how to actually put a plan together.
Mm-hmm. 'Cause that's the end all, right? And then you have to constantly execute accordingly. So when you look at my framework, it's, you start with an athlete or, or a client. First we have to assess the situation, right? We have to figure out what is the limiters. We indicate the problem, right? So then from there we can identify what we need to work on from a plugging of the gaps perspective, and then after that we can put together the framework, we can put together the programming that matches the framework, and then you execute.
But with that being said, it creates a level of habit that needs to be in place in order for them to maintain that consistency. Mm-hmm. Discipline will be Will be optimized, or at least it will be prevalent when they create those habits. So they need to be immersed in the process. And how do you do that?
Well, you have to make it interesting, especially for people that don't actually like being in the weight room. Yeah. Fighters, for the most part, don't like to weight train. So we have to give them the right environment, we have to give them the right type of exercises, the right variation, make it interesting, but also effective.
Mm. So you've trained a lot of fighters. You know, I love that UFC has now come out with this whole UF- uh, BJJ kind of program- Yeah, yeah ... that they have. Did you watch the fights the other night? I didn't, no. What was it, last night? Yeah. So Nicky Rod. Yeah. Fucking love watching him fight. Yeah, he's, he's solid, man.
He's another Jersey guy- Yeah ... who's just an incredible fucking- Naturally gifted. Yeah, yeah. Like, just talented, crazy. And what's funny to me is, uh, there's, I mean, him, Gordon Ryan, these guys are... You know, they were good wrestlers, not great wrestlers. Mm-hmm. And you're seeing these guys coming to, kinda dominate the sport.
Mm-hmm. What do you think is a good base? I'm always like, the best fighters, every fucking champion you could think of, has a wrestling base. Yeah. You know, in your... Like, when you're training a fighter, you, you were a fighter yourself. Mm-hmm. Like, what do you think makes a great fighter when it comes to fighting styles?
Styles? Yeah. I, it's, it's- Like, is wrestling the most important fucking base that somebody could have? I think it, I mean, yes, it is, but for reasons that a lot of people don't realize, where wrestling, and if you've ever gone through a wrestling practice, you know how demanding it is. Yeah, yeah. Right? You look at the Dagestanians, uh, the guys in, in Chechnya when I used to go out there, they have this mentality of just relentlessness.
You gotta be a dog. Exactly. Yeah. And so they can go through the rigors of training or a camp, and it's nothing to them. Mm-hmm. But now with MMA being so, you know... It's, now it's more mainstream and wide, and you can start doing MMA as a kid. Before, when we were coming up, you didn't have that. You had to piece it together.
Mm-hmm. But what I would say is that you, you first need to develop an understanding of body mechanics and have some type of, you know- Body awareness ... awareness. Yeah. Coordination. Yeah. Control, um, movement control, and that's going to set yourself up for success with all the other skill acquisition. So stepping outside of combat sports, things like gymnastics, right?
And anything, you can even say dance too as well. It's kinda gay. You can say that too. But, um, yeah, anything that's going to allow the individual to know their body- Mm-hmm ... and have that kinesthetic intelligence. Mm-hmm. Because that sets up... And I know a lot of my fighters that are very athletic, and they, they take to different skill sets faster because they know how to move their body in all different directions.
Yeah. Like, when I started fighting, I had a Kenpo karate background, I had a boxing background, but when I started grappling, because I knew how to move my body, it was, it was like second nature. Mm-hmm. It was like, oh, this is familiar. And to understand that, and then also being able to solve the puzzle, which is more of a mental thing, that's what really makes a great fighter.
The, the next thing that makes you elite is being able to block out the noise and being able to focus. And a lot of guys you see that are world beaters in the gym, but they go out there in front of the lights and they crumble because they can't block out the noise. Yeah. And that's like a Dustin Poirier, somebody like that.
What's funny is I, when I was at the Enhanced Games and, you know, they're weightlifting and the power lifting's going on, and the crowd gets silent, and I go- Yeah ... why? Obviously, I've been to thousands of fucking powerlifting and weightlifting meets, and I never understood them. I keep it exciting. Yeah.
What should be quiet is, like, when you're watching a fight, but people are yelling the worst shit- Yeah. ... at, you know, fighters. Because you get, right- Yeah ... you're in there- Mm-hmm ... and I ask anybody I've ever talked to who's ever been in a cage before. Yeah. I go, "It's..." Because I know what it's like to step on a mat.
Mm-hmm. And you're standing across from somebody who wants to beat the shit out of you. Yeah. I don't think there's anything more stressful. Mm-hmm. Right? Like, because even on a football field, you're like, "I don't know which guy I'm going after. We're running down the field." W- whatever. Yeah. I think when it's, like, one-on-one- In front of everybody
and you're in there, you really figure out who the fuck you are. For sure. Right? Yeah. That was the one, that was the hard thing for me, was like, w- I, I didn't, I couldn't find that, that, um, that itch to scratch anymore- Yeah ... basically, right? When I, when I stepped out of fighting, I was like, there's nothing that puts me in so much anxiety and, and excitement- Yes
like that. Yeah. And I think I'm still trying to find it- Yeah ... to be honest with you. Dude, I'll tell you what. Like, I wrestled all through high school and college. Mm-hmm. And then got out of college, started doing jujitsu a little bit. Mm-hmm. And then found CrossFit, and I'm like, "Oh my God, this gives me that itch to scratch."
Mm-hmm. It's like, I get to get, go out there and compete. And then I'd say maybe four, five years ago, I was just like, "I really need to get back on the mat." Yeah. Like, I need to do something. Yep. Um, obviously, like... And I was doing, I started with Muay Thai. Mm-hmm. And I was like, "All right, maybe I'll do a Muay Thai fight or something."
You get kicked in the fucking leg or in the head, and I'm like, "I can't go to work for two days." Yeah, yeah. Because, like, somebody rung my bell, and I'm like- Yeah ... "I can't get a fucking concussion at 42." You know? So- Yep. Yeah ... uh, so it makes it a lot different. Uh, what are, what are some things that you're working on right now- Mm
that you're really excited about? 'Cause I think, you know, at your level, at where you're at in your career- Mm ... obviously you've had a ton of success. You know, what lights your fire nowadays? Like, what keeps you excited, like, when it comes to work? Yeah, I... There's a lot. I mean, now working with Merrick Health has helped me, you know, try to transition more to working with executives, busy entrepreneurs.
Mm-hmm. You know, it's a, it's a different type of challenge, but it's all integrated in, right? So, like, these guys are very high level. They think like, like fighters. They think like athletes. Mm-hmm. You know, they're constantly trying to solve those problems. So that's, that's something that I'm very excited about from a performance standpoint, but also being able to reach to these coaches, right, and put together frameworks for the coaches to get them started from, you know, A to Z.
Because we didn't have that. We had to piece it together, right? We were, we were... Obviously, we had networking that we could do, but we didn't have something that, you know, had, like, a structured plan from, from start to finish. Yeah, yeah. And so that's what I'm really focusing on. At the end of the year, we're gonna put together finally our certification course, which I'm happy about.
The Merrick Health, you know, situation where we came together, me, Mike Stratton, uh, the co-founder. Mm-hmm. I was training Mike for probably a year and a half, and he came to me first because he went to CJI. Oh, really? And he was like, "Man, I wanna start training." And he's like, "I don't know what I'm doing." Yeah.
And I was like, "All right, cool. So let's, let's get something going." And then he came to me with this, uh, this idea to do a performance division for Merrick Health. Now, at the time, I was an affiliate for Merrick. Yeah. And I said, "I think that's a great idea because that's the execution layer to what you're doing with the telemedicine or what you're doing with the health optimization."
And so we came together, we're like, "All right. How do we start this thing up?" And I was like, "Well, let me bring all my systems in, and then we can start to integrate it into the internal team." So I started working with all the leadership team inside of Merrick And now we've transitioned to making it available to the inbound clients that we have.
And eventually we're gonna open up this mega facility where it's gonna be an HQ because Merrick's never had a headquarters, right? We've been all online. Mm-hmm. So now we have a physical location that we're trying to build out here, that we're gonna build out within the next year. So I'm excited about that too as well, coming together and- Yeah
merging everything from health optimization to the performance side, right, to stress inoculation, to recovery, fatigue management, everything that helps an individual process and perform at their highest. Yeah. Right? Because I said it's, well, performance isn't just physical, right? We, like we talked about.
And creating some level of order and obedience towards the end goal. Yeah. But yeah. And then I'm gonna start up my podcast again, so that's gonna be fun. Cool. Nice. Have, have you on, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. And then, uh, yeah, that's... I'm always looking to try to do new and exciting things, but also try to test myself.
Sure. So I have my book coming out too as well. It's the first, my first ever real combat sports performance book. That's sick. Which it's been, it's been about five years in the making pretty much. And, uh, starting my own publishing company. So it allows for other coaches, athletes, entrepreneurs that wanna write books- Mm-hmm
they can do it through the publishing company, and I'll give them an opportunity to do that. But it allows me to put out my own books too as well, so I'm excited. Yeah. That's sick. Awesome. Well, listen, I've, I've learned so much from you. I, I love watching yourself. Same, brother. Thank you. I wish you nothing but- Appreciate it
continued success. Keep it going. Uh, where could everybody find you and how could we support? Yeah, uh, Instagram is probably the best. Okay. So darustrong is the Instagram. I have a YouTube channel, Phil Daru Strong. You can check out all the YouTube videos. I have over 1,000 videos on there. And then my website is phildaru.com.
Cool. And if you guys are planning on coming out to Strong New York this year, uh, on September 26th, it is gonna be our 10th year. Phil will be there. Yes. I'm gonna make sure of it. Yes. Even if I have to give him a private jet out. No, I'll be there. Make sure he's there. I promise. Uh, thank you, guys, all. As always, uh, like, share, subscribe, and thank you and stay strong