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- [00:00]
A
You are set on not living a boring life.
- [00:02]
B
I'm going to go mountain biking, I'm going to sit on a cold plunge, I'm going to work out, and if I have time, I'll work in between. And that's. It's very simple. Some people are like, you're crazy for doing that. I'm like, you're crazy for not doing that. I think it comes back to simplicity. We're the ones that put the stress on ourselves with the more stuff that we want. If you want to live a simple life, you can literally.
- [00:21]
A
The least interesting thing about this next guest is the fact that he just sold his business for a ton of money. And this wasn't even his first business he sold. He sold businesses prior to this. Also, maybe the least, least interesting thing is that he's partnered with a billionaire. Another friend of mine, Jesse Eitzler, who you guys probably know, married to Sarah Blakely and founder of a bunch of other companies. I actually think the most interesting thing about this next guest is that he's going to talk to us about how do you live a not boring life? How do you turn your life into one big series of adventures and fun? Which quite honestly, when I first think about that, my immediate reaction is like, that must be nice for somebody else because, like, I have to work. Like, I don't got time for this. I don't know. Everybody else has got time for all this fun. But by the end of the podcast, he kind of convinced me of three things to do differently this year so that I actually have more fun so my life is less boring. So that if I come to the end of my days, I will be happy that I lived them really fully. So I think this episode is really important from that perspective. He's going to talk a little bit about his crazy adventures, like Everest, climbing it back, flipping off of Everest, like climbing multiple other mountains, like going and throwing a party in Antarctica with Diplo. The list is like so long it's ridiculous. But what I hope you take away from Devin Levesque today is that it is actually possible to build nine figure businesses like a company like Promix, his company. It is possible to build multiple businesses like Running man and All Day Running, which he owns as well, while having a farm with a bunch of cool animals on it, having an incredible life, living in multiple locations, all while having started by putting up drywall just like his father had, working in construction. And so I think this is a great episode of a dude who just said, I'm going to construct My life. And I'm not going to let anybody get in my fucking way to do it. I hope you enjoy this episode with Devin Levesque. So I was reading some statistics.
- [02:20]
B
Yes.
- [02:20]
A
We'll see if it's true or not. 800 people attempt to hike Everest every year. Only 50% make it 5 to 20 people die in the pursuit. And you just hiked Everest? Summited it. But you also almost fell off the mountain. Or you did fall off the mountain. Can you tell me about that?
- [02:37]
B
Yes. So summited on May 21, which statistically is the most common data summit.
- [02:44]
A
Wow.
- [02:44]
B
In history. Yeah. Since 1953, Tenzing Norway and Sir Edmund Hillary summited the first time, as they say. And since then May 21st has been. And so I summoned on the 21st when I, I, you know, did a backflip at the top and so, you know, it looked like I almost fell off, but I didn't. I was clipped in, so that's good. And then I started descending down.
- [03:08]
A
Wait, so, so wait a second, you get to the top of Everest, which takes you how many days?
- [03:12]
B
47.
- [03:13]
A
Holy. Wait, it takes you 47 days?
- [03:15]
B
Yeah.
- [03:16]
A
Holy hell.
- [03:17]
B
I know.
- [03:17]
A
Okay.
- [03:18]
B
So I got home sick. Nina, my girlfriend, came with me to Base Camp, which was a great two week experience. And then after that, yeah, you just, you acclimate, you go up and down through the Kumbo Icefall, you know, try to just acclimate and get used to kind of what's out there. And.
- [03:35]
A
But when you're at the top after 47 days of hikes, and my understanding is you have to push really hard for the summit because there's like a.
- [03:41]
B
Window sometimes never a window.
- [03:43]
A
Right.
- [03:43]
B
Yeah, we got lucky. I mean there was, there was a open, clear bluebird day. And that's where you see everyone trying to, you know, attempting. Everyone's trying to gauge what time to leave, what day. Cuz 5, 10, 20 mile per hour winds. Really 20, you're done. But 5, 10 mile an hour changes the temperature drastically. So it can go from 0 degrees or negative 10 degrees to negative 50 quick. And if you're up there when that happens, you know, it's tough to get back down. You know, there's no helicopters after Camp 2. Camp 1, Camp 2, Camp 3, Camp 4, Summit after Camp 2, it's no man's land. It's a free for all.
- [04:23]
A
Yeah.
- [04:23]
B
And so, and you're not just worried about the weather, you're also worried about your health, you're worried about your gear, you're worried about, you Know your guide, your Sherpa. You're worried about yourself, your mental state. You're worried about the Nepalese. Look there. Some are super nice and some are a little sketchy, you know, there is, you know, known cases where they'll cut your lines and, you know, push you off. And that's not just Nepalese. That can be foreigners as well. But it's a free for all, you know, and why and who's gonna. Who's gonna catch you, you know, at 25, 000ft, pushing or cutting someone off? So, look, I don't know most of these people, and I just don't. I don't. I. I wasn't trying to trust anyone that close. You know, God forbid something happened. So I think there's a lot of things going through your brain while you're up there. But after I summited, I came. I was, you know, I was descending down, and I must have been at, I don't know, 28 and a half, 20, you know, 28,000ft, where the Hillary Step is. I went over it, and, you know, 20 minutes later, the whole thing collapsed and people fell off. You know, they fell thousands of feet down and dead. So, yeah, they're still out there, unfortunately. God bless them and their families. But, yeah, it's. It's crazy. I mean, it's a.
- [05:32]
A
So you're not battling the mountain, you're battling humans.
- [05:36]
B
Yeah, humans, the mountain. Health, yourself, gear, your oxygen, weather, God, you know, the Himalayas. You're just every. There's so many factors. It's not just, oh, I've climbed a couple 14ers in Colorado, I can go to Everest. That's not, you know, that's not what it is.
- [05:54]
A
Not the same thing.
- [05:55]
B
Yeah.
- [05:56]
A
And. And obviously, I've never. I've hiked one mountain ever, Mount Baker. And that was, like, scary enough for me. And. But I could. But I remember when we were talking in the sauna, you were explaining how, like, there's portions of the mountain where they're almost vertical while they are vertical, I'm sure. And you have to be careful that other people aren't sort of falling down on you and rubble or rubble or whatever, rocks. And there was a story you were kind of telling me about somebody who wasn't clipped in.
- [06:26]
B
Yes. Yeah. So that was from Camp 2 to Camp 3, say about 22,000ft up. There was a storm that came up. You know, I was making my push to summit at the time, so I was going. I was going up. And once the storm came in, you have to make a decision to come down and redo that hike all again the next day or at all or, or just keep going. And there was no weather patterns, you know, that extreme in the, in the forecast. And so, you know, I said to Jen, Jen and Dr. John, I was like, let's keep going. And you know, they questioned it for a sec, but, you know, they kind of agreed. They're like, yeah, we think this is going to pass as well. So I kept going up, we kept going up. And we're on this ledge and you know, it's. It's about, you know, a thousand foot drop below you. You're standing on a couple inches, you know, of snow. And now those people are coming at you and you have to make your way around them. So you have to clip in one side, clip in the other, go around them, clip, unclip one side, and you have to do that to every person. And one of the girls that was coming down, I didn't know it was a girl at the time. It just, it was two people coming towards me on this, you know, this couple inches on this ledge. She was clipped to her Sherpa. And the Sherpa goes to clip around me and he didn't clip. And she happened to fall, but they were clipped together. And so she pulled the guy right in front of me. So they both fell. And instincts, I just, I just grabbed the rope and they were just dangling there and I think, you know, obviously if I didn't grab that, they would, they wouldn't be with us anymore. But they stuck their feet in and, you know, pulled themselves up. And I remember the girl just look, I saw her hair and she just looks at me and I'm like, she's like, thank you. And I'm like, holy. I'm like, this is crazy right now. And 10 seconds later I fell. And I remember I fell, I was clipped in and I fell, you know, whatever, four feet. But that fell for that, that, those seconds. I was just, like, I said, I said, I was like. And it caught me and I was just dangling there and all I was thinking about was really Devin was going to be your last word, like that's what you were going to say. The last things you say on earth was profound. And so I just, I'll always remember that. That was scary. My heart dropped. I pulled myself up. But I mean, it's, it's just scary up there. You don't know the weather, you don't know the people. You know, everyone's from all over the world, every you know, some people are out there for certain, you know, intentions. Some people are out there for others and you just don't know. It's a total no man's land out there and you're just so tired and exhausted and homesick and it's just crazy. I would never go back. I'm not. It's not really my jam. I also, you know, a lot of. I don't want to, you know, put this category out there, but a lot of people that are on the mountains, a lot of men and women that I met are single. I'm a family guy. I want to get married. I want to have kids. You know, I want, like, I love being around my community a lot. There's a lot of lone wolves out there that are just out there and. Which is fine, but conversation is just a lot different with them versus, you know, some of my best friends who have, you know, three kids, a wife, and you know, we, we have different values and conversations. So I'm not saying I'm not about the mountaineering community, but there's definitely a lot of lone wolves when you start to go to these, you know, more profound mountains and high altitude places.
- [10:01]
A
Oh, I can only imagine. You know, I remember one of our. We kind of got right when Covid had hit and was done, actually. So quarantine was over. Whatever. Our guide was an Everest guide, but he like couldn't. He hadn't hiked for, or climbed or whatever the appropriate term is for all of COVID because they were shut down. And he lived right outside Mount Baker, which is where we're going. So he ended up being our guide. But he was this hard ass, right? He's with like seven chicks like me. We're like, no fucking idea. We're doing. Never done a mountain. You know, shoes breaking were a total nightmare. This guy must have hated his life and. But it was really interesting talking to him because he was exactly that. Like, he, he was one like, God. Mount Bakers for pussies. He's like, what are we doing here? He's like, why are we even here? And then number two, you know, I asked him, I'm like, God, how. How often are you gone? Why do you keep doing this? What drives you? And he was just a very different human. He had like a singular, almost addiction to that climb somehow, which is cool.
- [10:59]
B
I, but you know, I, I also, I put those people in the same category of humans that are in the rat race on Wall Street. It's the same thing. It's. It's just A different industry. You know, you're still trying to climb the biggest mountain and do it the fastest and be out there. And, you know, it's, you know, the guys and girls you see on Wall street that want the bigger deal, want to invest more, want to make more money. I want the car. It's the same rat race. And I just don't see that as freedom. Even if you're out on, in the middle of the mountain yourself, I, you still have this, this mindset of more, more, more, more, more business. More, more, more, more, more mountain. More, more, more, more, more. Like when you're in that, you can't get out of this. You can never be calm. You can never find true calmness if you're always wanting more, more, more, more, more. And so I think, you know, I noticed that with, you know, with some people out there as well, like, man, that's. This isn't calming. I came out here to be calm. I came out here to calm my mind.
- [11:53]
A
And why did you decide to hike Everest?
- [11:56]
B
I've always wanted to do it since I was a kid. I want to see what it feels like to stand at the top of the world. I wanted to, you know, to see what my body's capable of. I enjoy learning the different gear and, you know, meeting the different cultures and food. I wouldn't recommend Nepalese food, but see, you know, I dropped out of college. I, I use these different high altitude mountains and embedded myself in these cultures as my school. Like, this is my learning experience. So, you know, having. I have, I've had some of the craziest conversations, you know, in Antarctica on Vincent or, you know, on Aconcagua, you know, with, you know, this random, you know, business guy who started this, you know, drink, you know, in Mexico and is now selling it in 7,000 stores. And I'm just like, wow, like, I would have never learned this in college, you know, and, and how is he doing it versus the US and then I meet this one European who did the same thing, but in Europe. It opened your brain into kind of what's out there. So, one, learning curiosity is big for me. Two, just what, like, what is my body capable of? And then three is, I speak about this a lot, but Marcus Aurelius has an amazing quote. The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to real strength. And so I want to try things and do things to help calm my brain as much as possible and find calmness. Being able to, you know, focus on one thing at a time and being Able to turn this guy off when I need to. It's stressful and I think we, we grow old fast if this thing is constantly racing, racing, racing. So being able to, you know, add in some calmness and no phone and no society and no parents telling you what to do and no boss or no, no one, you're just on a mountain. You're worried about yourself and that other person. You're not worried about likes or views on Instagram. You're not worried about how much money's in your account. You're not worried about, you know, that next big, big business venture and you know if it's delayed or not. You're just worried about staying freaking alive. And it comes back to the simplicity of life. And so that's what I, I gain on these mountains is just like simplicity.
- [14:07]
A
Here's a question for you. How much of your life do you actually control? And you gotta be honest with yourself. You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength. That was Marcus Aurelius. And it's as true now as it was 2,000 years ago. So are you in control of your life or is it controlling you? Wealth doesn't come from sitting out and sticking to the safety net of your comfort zone. It's built by acquiring equity or owning something. Your time, your choices, your assets. The richest people in the world, they know this. The wealthiest demographic of the US right now, ages 55 to 59, understand this concept. And they own the most businesses. That's why this February, I'm hosting a three day virtual event that's unlike anything we've ever done before. It's your crash course in taking ownership from finding the right businesses and spotting opportunities to negotiating deals and securing financing. We're not just talking theory. We're giving you actionable, real world coaching to help you build lasting wealth. This isn't just an event, it's a movement, what we call owner nation. If this is interesting to you and you want to acquire businesses, acquire more businesses or grow your wealth, then I think you should be here. You should go to Cody Sanchez.com MSM there'll be all the information for you. Did you start doing these crazy adventures before you had some money and freedom?
- [15:20]
B
Yes. Yeah, I, yeah, I would say the first big one was the bear crawl. I just, I wanted to see, you know.
- [15:28]
A
So you didn't have any cash. What were you doing for a living at the time?
- [15:31]
B
I had a training business.
- [15:32]
A
So you were in fitness?
- [15:33]
B
Yep, fitness.
- [15:34]
A
And you were probably not making what you wanted to make.
- [15:37]
B
I was happy. I mean, yeah, I was living. I was, I was making what I needed. 20 was in 20. 20. So five years ago.
- [15:46]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [15:46]
B
32. So 27.
- [15:48]
A
God, you've lived a lot in that.
- [15:50]
B
In the last five years.
- [15:51]
A
In the last five years.
- [15:52]
B
Done a lot.
- [15:53]
A
Interesting.
- [15:54]
B
Yeah.
- [15:54]
A
And before that you were just quote, unquote, kind of normal? You hadn't done these crazy adventures?
- [15:58]
B
No, I was running nightclubs in New York City.
- [16:00]
A
Whoa. Yeah, that's a wild progression. Yeah.
- [16:03]
B
So before that I was, I was hanging drywall. I was, I was doing construction.
- [16:07]
A
Interesting.
- [16:08]
B
Yep.
- [16:08]
A
So how did you go from hanging construction to having a bunch of businesses climbing Everest, bear crawling marathons?
- [16:17]
B
Curiosity. I'm just really curious. And try to just do my absolute best in every single thing I do. Whether I'm pouring you some deep bloat, whether I'm making you a coffee, whether I'm on this podcast or, you know, going to work out in the gym this morning. Like, I want to do my best ever, every possibility I get. And so any opportunities I've had, I think I just give it 110%, no matter what. But you know, my, I grew up in a blue collar household and my do. My dad hung drywall. And then when he passed, I got sent to military academy, got a scholarship to play football and baseball in college, and then, and then dropped out and I was like, this isn't for me. I started bartending, bar backing, trying to make some money in the hospitality world and just gave it. I was the best freaking bar back in the world. Like, I, like, I was a bartender's best friend. I will, I will make your job as easy as possible. And I told myself, I'm like, look, barback is, you know, you know, dishwashing, and barback is one of the lowest positions in hospitality, but I'm going to be the best freaking one out there, you know, and then the restaurant owner saw that, he's like, do you want a bartender? I'm like, yes. And then all of a sudden they're like, do you want to manage the place? I was like, yes. And then all of a sudden I had an opportunity to open my own spot. And so it's, it's literally just giving it 110, you know, every time.
- [17:36]
A
What would you tell a young Devin today listening to this, who's like, man, I don't want to live a boring life. I want to adventure. I want to do incredible things, but I don't really have much. Maybe I'm doing drywall right now too. What would you tell them?
- [17:49]
B
I would say break up with the girl or guy that you're with and go travel around the world and get into hospitality and work at different restaurants around the world. Learn different languages and just be a good, kind human. Be kind, work hard and just learn and let be a sponge. Don't be a. Know it all. Just take it, take it, take it. And in that time, figure out where do you want to be in five or 10 years and, and then work backwards. You know, is it a ranch in the middle of Colorado with cows and a wife and kids and you know, you know, your, you know, your pickup truck and whatever it is, if that's what it is, and that cost X amount of dollars. Work backwards. How can you get there? Right.
- [18:31]
A
Did you make your first amount of cash?
- [18:33]
B
Why did I make my first amount of cash? I mean, I was, I was training people in New York and so I saved up some good money there and then I built a training business and sold that and that's kind of how I made my first million. And, and then I kind of doing.
- [18:47]
A
Kind of a normal business.
- [18:49]
B
Very normal. But you know, I had, I had clients.
- [18:53]
A
Yeah.
- [18:54]
B
And I had cash flow with that. And then we had this product, a meal prep. And you know, someone recognized that and they needed those clients. So if you have something that someone needs, you can sell that. Yeah, you know, anything. You know, if you want to drink some water and I have the glass, this is for sale. Right. And so I think you have a glass. I have a glass. So I don't know, I just think it's creating, it's creating things you like to do because I think the passion and what you love is going to take you through the hard days. Right. I love, I used to love training people and making, you know, people struggle and sweat and sometimes throw up and get back at it, puke and rally like I used to really enjoy and working out with them. I used to enjoy it. I still do something like sometimes I'll just train my boys for fun and have some fun. But I genuinely enjoyed it. So the days where a client said, hey, you know, meet me at 4am I'm like, Frick, yeah, like, let's go, I'll show up. Let's, let's get it done. Let's get after it. If you don't have that passion, then it's just not hard. It's not worth it. Yeah, it's not. You're not going to compete against me. If I like to wake up at 4am and work out, and you don't. But you want to start a training business. Like, we're not. Eventually I'm gonna, you know, you know, surpass you. So.
- [20:07]
A
Yeah, it's hard. It's really hard to beat obsession. I think it's.
- [20:10]
B
It's almost impossible.
- [20:12]
A
Yeah, I can beat intelligence.
- [20:13]
B
Right.
- [20:14]
A
But it's super hard to beat somebody who's obsessed, More obsessed than I am.
- [20:17]
B
I agree with that.
- [20:17]
A
You know, one of the things I liked, too, last we were chatting is you. I. I was saying to you something like, I'm going to do this work thing, related. And you were like, yeah, I'm going to Aspen. I'm going skiing tomorrow or something. Right. And I was like, well, you know, do you ever. You seem to go skiing or things like that a lot. Yeah. Why can you do that so often? How do you integrate so much adventure into your life?
- [20:41]
B
Yeah.
- [20:42]
A
You know, now people might say, well, you're successful, he has money, he can do that. But there's plenty of people who have more money than you or I that do not do that. But it seems like you're really, you are set on not living a boring life.
- [20:53]
B
Yeah, I put it first on the calendar. That's that if I'm making my calendar throughout the day, it's. I'm gonna go mountain biking, I'm gonna sauna, cold plunge, I'm gonna work out, and if I have time, I'll work in between. And that's. It's very simple. And some people are like, you're crazy for doing that. I'm like, you're fucking crazy for not doing that. That is crazy to me that you're not doing the things that you like and you're not having fun. It blows my mind, actually, when people put work first and money first and, like, the things they think matter first, and then they're all like, man, I wish I went there. Man, I wish I was mountain biking more. I wish I went in travel. So go do it. Put that first and everything else will follow. Okay. Maybe your exit is, you know, or your acquisition, you selling the company is delayed a couple years. But you had fun. At least you had fun, you know, and you put the fun first and the things you love first. People do it backwards, right?
- [21:44]
A
We do, actually. My husband always says there's 100% ROI on fun, which I think is not how my brain works. But don't you ever worry about, like, what do you say to somebody who's like, but what if I do that and then I Can't make enough money or I can live.
- [21:58]
B
If you can make, I can make. I can make money selling freaking flowers, training people, going to get a job as a barista. There's a million ways in this world to make money. I could go pick up dirt, put it in a glass jar, put said, you know, you know, you know, holy sand on it and sell the sand. Like, there's not. It's not that hard to make money. It's very simple to make money in this world, especially in the United States of America. It's the biggest brand on planet Earth, the usa. Right. It's not hard, especially in. If you're not in the US I see people make money in Tanzania, Africa, selling random cow hides on the side of the road. You know, like there's random things that people just do in this world to make money. It's not complicated. It's just do it or don't do it.
- [22:47]
A
Yeah.
- [22:47]
B
And people are afraid. Well, that's too. That's too much, you know, that's too small amount to make. That's not enough. Well, that's on you then. You know what I mean?
- [22:57]
A
You gotta start somewhere.
- [22:58]
B
When I rode my bike across America with a guest, you had Jesse Itzler. You know, it was interesting how many people lived in tents and how many people lived a simple life. And they chose to live the simple life. They chose not to have the bills. They chose not to have, you know, the cars and the watches and the, you know, the, you know, the rent in New York City. They chose to live a simple life. We're the ones that put the stress on ourselves with the more stuff that we want or the more things that we want to do. Right. It's. We put the stress on ourselves if we. If you want to live a simple life, you can get a tent. It's 100 bucks on Amazon, if that. And go find somewhere on this Earth because the earth is big. Go live in a tent. You have a fire, you have shelter, you get food. That's it. It's very simple. And we add the stress.
- [23:46]
A
Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And I'd give you shit about that as a thought, except you've actually done it in a bunch of countries and in the US So it's sort of interesting because you spent time in Africa. We were just talking about your drink that you gave me. And you've done this. You've sort of like camped all over the place.
- [24:06]
B
I've stayed in hostels. I've lived in tents. I've. I'VE you know, lived in mansions. I've lived in a lot of different types of places. And what I've come down to is simple, like, simplicity. You know, I try to clear my closet a couple times a year. I try to give away stuff. I try to have minimal amount of equipment in the kitchen. I try to have, you know, you know, just simple things. Try to wear the same shoes every day. Try to, you know, similar shirts, similar pants. You know, I mean, you know, a couple of people are watching. They know what I wear. I wear, like, the same five things pretty much, you know, And I try to. I try to live as simple as possible. And sometimes I get out of it a little bit. I have some fun. But I. I think it comes back to simplicity.
- [24:50]
A
You partnered with Jesse on a couple of big things.
- [24:53]
B
Y.
- [24:54]
A
He, I imagine, gets a lot of people asking him to partner on stuff. How do you get somebody who is big and famous and maybe a billionaire to partner with you and to decide that you're the guy?
- [25:05]
B
Well, one, we were friends first. We. We like to sauna. We like to cold plunge.
- [25:11]
A
Like, how'd you meet him?
- [25:12]
B
First I met him. I Bear. When I Bear called the New York marathon, he reached out, congratulated me. So that was like our first intro.
- [25:20]
A
You did an interesting thing, and then an interesting human found you.
- [25:23]
B
That's it. And then I went to his event, 29029. We hung out, had a crazy 36 hours, and then we kind of stayed in touch. And he's like, hey, want to come to my house to Sonic cold plunge? Yes. I have one rule. Jesse asks you to do something, you do it. And so I went down. And then he's like, yo, that was fun. You want to go to the Hawks game? Cool. Done. You know, hey, you want to do this? Yeah. And I just kept saying yes, but each time, I wasn't looking for anything. I was never like, jesse's going to be my business partner. I never even thought about business with him. I was just like, this is a fun guy to hang out with. We have similar values. Family, health, community, freedom of time, giving back. Those are my five main values I live by. And that's kind of what he lives by, too. So we align on values, and we just. I don't know. There's no egos. We just like to have a good time, host people. Sonic cold plunge. And I think we enjoy each other's company. And when he came to me about all day running, I was. I didn't even. To be honest, I didn't even look at the paperwork. I know how much equity I own in the business, but, like, besides that, I was like, I trust this guy. You know, I saw it, DocuSign came in, I signed him. Like, let's launch this thing. It wasn't a. There's some people in the world that you just trust. You know, it's like, it's a good old handshake deal. And that's kind of how him and I roll. And there's. There's no. There's no hidden agenda with us.
- [26:47]
A
You know, it's interesting because that was one of Warren Buffett's famous lines, was one, you can't do a good deal with a bad guy. And that if That, a contract won't save you. And so I think there's actually a lot of wisdom in that. Now, I am a crazy person and get very particular with contracts, but I think when you're young and you don't got much to lose, you can really shoot yourself in the foot by putting all of these what ifs in there. There's not even a what to start with.
- [27:13]
B
Yeah. And like, all day running, it. We all started at zero. We started at zero sales. We started at zero followers. We started at no one Coming to Running Man. We start. We all start at zero. And then him and I had the agreement of, okay, let's build this to something. We're him and I started at zero with all day. Now then we're building this together with the team and everyone. So I think everyone has to understand everyone starts at zero. It's not like, oh, it was just handed to you overnight. Everyone starts at 0 followers. Everyone starts at 0 views on the podcast. Then you're like, dang, I got my first 10 views. 20. I got my first million views. This is crazy, right? Like, we all start at zero. And so the what ifs are so unnecessary. Just in life. What. What if it doesn't.
- [27:55]
A
We're all.
- [27:56]
B
We're naturally thinking that, but we're all starting at zero. So just go. Just say yes.
- [28:01]
A
Yeah. But now you have all day running company, which is also. Is that what owns, like, Running man and the biggest sauna and all those things you have? What does that all encompass?
- [28:11]
B
Yeah, all day running, we started with, like, 20 different concepts. We started with a calendar. We started with, you know, daily workouts. We started with gear. We started with a monthly call. We start with run clubs. And we do that on purpose. Throw. Throw it at the wall. See what sticks, you know? Ah, that didn't kind of Work. That worked. That worked. That didn't work. This didn't work. Cool. Yes. No. Running Man. Running man was a festival. It came down to schedule. Jesse and I have limited time, so this allows us to do it once a year. It's a blank canvas for us. You know, we can do whatever we want there. It's fun, it's what we like to do. And so, yeah, you know, we launched Running man three years ago. We're going on. This is our third one this year.
- [28:55]
A
Explain what it is really quickly.
- [28:57]
B
Running man is a running festival in the health and wellness community where there's no first place, second place, or third place. You have three days. We put the timer on and you can run as much as you want. Some people sign up for 5K and end up doing 50 miles. And you can walk, run, crawl, do whatever you want in between. You can stop. You have a tracker on. You could stop, go hit a sauna, grab a beer, listen to Mike Posner play, you know, hit a goat yoga session. You do whatever you want. It's just a fun. It's Burning man without the drugs. It's. And more running. That's all it is. You know, it's.
- [29:36]
A
It's a good idea.
- [29:37]
B
It's a three day festival in Georgia and we just host it. We go down and literally just party for three days.
- [29:43]
A
Yeah, you guys invited me and I was like, I hate running. I'm so nervous. This sounds awful. I have a conflict. But I'm gonna come next year.
- [29:49]
B
I told you. I did. Last year I did four laps and. And then I had 30 beers. That was my running. That's what I did. That's what I did at Running man last year.
- [30:00]
A
You know, it's kind of nice because with the new year and everything, you're thinking about goals, you know, and it's like, I'm gonna do this. I'm not gonna do this. And sometimes I can get really prescriptive, but half the time it's just directional. Like go someplace where more people are running, where you could be running more often and you'll probably do some more. And then don't get that serious about the time or the specifics.
- [30:16]
B
Yeah, don't get serious. Life's too short to be too serious.
- [30:19]
A
Is that a motto of yours?
- [30:20]
B
Yeah, I don't. I mean, look, there's some things where I'm like, what the frick? But a lot of times I'm like, Chinese farmer, right? It's. It's, you know, just got to kind of go with the flow.
- [30:30]
A
You know, what do you mean by that?
- [30:32]
B
So Nina showed. My girlfriend, showed me this clip, Chinese farmer. If you're listening, you should go watch it. It's two minutes, maybe. It's basically about this Chinese farmer that, you know, his. He goes through all these obstacles in life, and each obstacle actually ended up being what it was supposed to be. It wasn't right, and it wasn't wrong. It's just what it was supposed to be. And that's kind of the gist of it. Life is just what it's supposed to be. You know, if we mess up on the podcast, that's just what it's supposed to be. You know, if I see something out of line, that's just. What? If I see something good, that's just what it's supposed to be. And so it's not overthinking good or bad, it's just going and just kind of go in the flow.
- [31:11]
A
What do you do when you make mistakes? Like, how do you get over a mistake?
- [31:16]
B
Is it that I just don't make them again? Yeah, I just. I know what I did wrong or I messed up on. I will never make that mistake again. And it's embedded in my brain. I make it a point to the point where I'll tell people I made that mistake because I, you know, with learning, if you read it, you speak it, you teach it. That's how you embed it. And so I like to tell people my problems or not problems, my mistakes, I should say, you know, interesting, because then it's embedded. I'll never, you know, you know, bring on these 10 influencers at X amount of dollars and launch them at this and do, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'll do it this way next time. And now I know forever. I'm not going to, you know, make that mistake again.
- [31:59]
A
Yeah, that's kind of important. I think often when I make a mistake, the way I repeat it is you try to hide it. You're like, whoops, that didn't really. Okay, we'll just kind of scan over that.
- [32:09]
B
Yeah.
- [32:09]
A
And then it's almost like the universe is kind of like, hey, man, remember this happened? What are you gonna do about it?
- [32:14]
B
Yeah.
- [32:15]
A
You know.
- [32:15]
B
Yeah, I embed. I. I speak it. And I'm. I'm okay with that. Look, we're not. We're all human. I've made a lot, obviously, a lot of mistakes. I think it's okay. It's good. That's how we learn. I look at mistakes as. That's the. That's a School, you know, that's the learning experience. I, I made an investment maybe like four years ago, and the investment, it was like, it was a small amount. I think it was like 10 grand to make 250. It was a great return. Right. And on the day where I was supposed to cash out the 250, I didn't, I didn't know how to cash it out. And so it took, it delayed and, and the, the stock essentially started dropping and dropping. So that 250 went to 50 and I was just like, holy shit. That was a, that was a $200,000 mistake I just made in one day because I just simply didn't know how to cash it out. And I was really furious for a couple minutes and then I was like, okay, I'll never make that mistake again. That was a very expensive, you know, learning experience, but it was a learning experience. None, nonetheless. So that's just what it is. And I will, Cody, I'll never make that freaking mistake again. I promise you.
- [33:28]
A
What's the mistake? Investing in the stock market with quick returns or not knowing how to cash out?
- [33:33]
B
It's not knowing how to cash out.
- [33:34]
A
Yeah.
- [33:34]
B
I didn't have the right system set up and, and people set up to cash it out, so.
- [33:39]
A
Yeah. Well, if it makes you feel any better, that's happened to me a lot. A lot of times when you invest in private companies before they go public, you have 90 day lockup periods, right?
- [33:47]
B
Yeah.
- [33:47]
A
And so, you know, you might think you're doing really well on the private side, but then when they went public, back in our cannabis days, we had a lot of companies where, man, they did great for those first 30 or 60 days. I was just sitting there like, God, I don't think they're going to make it to 90. And they didn't. So I never really like investing in the stock market for that reason. Too many other people can influence your outcome.
- [34:06]
B
Yeah, I don't, I have a little bit, but not, I don't really do stock market. I like private stuff I can really control.
- [34:12]
A
Yeah. One of the things that's wild that you have that I was looking up is you own a farm now.
- [34:17]
B
Yes.
- [34:18]
A
Tell me about the farm. What made you buy a farm? Oh, you have two now.
- [34:22]
B
Yeah. Well, I have one in Austin, Cedar Trunk Ranch.
- [34:25]
A
Okay. I don't know anything about that one. I know about the honey farm.
- [34:28]
B
Yeah, sweet honey farm. Sweet honey farm. But that is my home. It's a farm. It's, you know, it's a working farm. And I Had an open door policy to my friends, come, come by. You know, I harvest my cows, I harvest, you know, the, the food in the garden. You know, here, come, you know, come get it.
- [34:45]
A
And like, by harvest, you're there, like, you're.
- [34:47]
B
I have a team. Yeah.
- [34:48]
A
Okay.
- [34:49]
B
Yeah. I grew up in Idaho, in New Hampshire on a farm. And so I, I know that I know what needs to be done, but, yeah, I don't. I have, I have team that runs it.
- [34:56]
A
Is that really expensive?
- [34:58]
B
It gets expensive? Yeah, very expensive. If you don't have a revenue stream in.
- [35:02]
A
Yeah.
- [35:02]
B
And so I kind of noticed that I was like, this is a black hole. If I don't, you know, sell the meat or I don't sell the garden goods or I don't put some type of cash flow onto the property. And so with farms, you can do csa, community supported agriculture. And so I opened up a CSA farm. And so people pay an annual fee and they get access to my farms. And second one's going in Nashville. Third one's going in Colorado.
- [35:25]
A
Wow. So it's basically like a subscription to your farm.
- [35:30]
B
Correct.
- [35:31]
A
And I get an allocation of a certain amount of vegetables or meat or whatever you want.
- [35:35]
B
Yeah, I have the unlimited policy, but everyone's very respectful of, you know, they take what they need, you know.
- [35:41]
A
Interesting.
- [35:41]
B
You don't have people coming in and grabbing 100 tomatoes. And, you know, it's not because you screen them. Well. Yeah. And it's just like, people are respectful. Yeah, I screen everybody. I do a sauna session with them. But most of them, I have a big network. They're. They're a lot of my friends and, you know, just people that come live local around New York City.
- [36:00]
A
Interesting.
- [36:01]
B
And so it's only 45 minutes from New York City. And, you know, they can. We. We play pickleball, basketball, sauna, cold plunge workout. There's a coffee shop on the property, Pro mix. I have my Promix juice bar and my chef cooks stuff from the farm. But it's all my friends and it's all free. You know, you pay one, you pay one fee. There's no, there's no upsell.
- [36:21]
A
I think there's come whenever you want.
- [36:22]
B
Yeah, come nine to five, we're open every day.
- [36:24]
A
Interesting.
- [36:25]
B
Too many. There's too many nightclubs or too many club. You know, the, these, these clubs where they're pushing alcohol on you, they're pushing all these upsells of, oh, get a massage for 500 and, you know, use our hyperbaric chamber for another 500 and you know, grab a dinner with your friends for 2,000 and you leave, you're like, oh my God, I spent $4,000 at this freaking place. I don't want that. 7, 500 for the year. And you get everything. And it's, it's. I'm just putting, you know, I'm not serving alcohol. There's no drugs. It's just very come and feel good. And so it's attracted a lot of founders, you know, a lot of people that I would say there's shoot maybe 20 members there that have all sold their company for over 200 million. They cashed out and they just come for the day and hang out.
- [37:10]
A
I love that because they get to be gentlemen farmers, which is like a new thing without all the ride.
- [37:14]
B
Horses.
- [37:15]
A
Yeah, yeah. You have giant horses there that I've seen.
- [37:18]
B
Yeah. Big, big boys.
- [37:19]
A
You also have mini ponies.
- [37:21]
B
I have one mini pony.
- [37:22]
A
But into that. I'm coming.
- [37:24]
B
He's tiny. The kids can ride him. The big Clydesdales. Yeah, they weigh 2,500 pounds. They're huge. And then I have a couple Arabian horses, couple mustangs. You know the tiny horse cows. Scottish highland cows.
- [37:37]
A
Oh yeah, the cute ones. Fuzzies.
- [37:39]
B
300 chickens. 300 chickens part 100 chickens are meat chickens. So I'll harvest those in six weeks. And we just got them.
- [37:47]
A
And then how do you decide if it's a meat or a.
- [37:50]
B
On just two different types of.
- [37:51]
A
Okay. It's not personality based though. There's no scorecard.
- [37:55]
B
Like you get to stay pain in the ass. They turn to meat.
- [37:58]
A
Okay, okay.
- [37:59]
B
Soup. No. And then the other chickens, they produce eggs. And then everything from the garden goes to the eggs or goes to the chickens. They produce eggs and we eat them and wow.
- [38:09]
A
This is a big enterprise.
- [38:10]
B
It's a. Yeah, it's a super fun project. I love it. It's kind of, you know, some people sell their company and invest in restaurants. I. This is kind of my restaurant. This is not a restaurant, but it's like, it's kind of my hobby and it, it just attracts really good people.
- [38:24]
A
And you're going to open up around the country?
- [38:26]
B
Yes.
- [38:27]
A
Wow.
- [38:27]
B
There's 10,000 people on the wait list.
- [38:29]
A
That's crazy. From your videos, you have a big Instagram where all. I mean, in as far as I can tell, you document this stuff. It's not that much content creation. It's like B, today I'm doing a 47 hour long sauna with all my buddies. And then you document it.
- [38:43]
B
That's it.
- [38:44]
A
And then through. That is how you get the 10,000 people on your wait list.
- [38:46]
B
Yeah, I just. I'm just raw. Authentic. Not. I don't want to use the word authentic because it's. I think it's overused, but it's raw. I mean, I. I try to put out as much raw stuff as possible. I don't. I don't, like. I don't enjoy meeting. Seeing things online and then meeting that person in, you know, in real life, and they're too. I'm like, I don't know. It's just weird. It's not my vibe.
- [39:08]
A
Yeah.
- [39:08]
B
I want you to get sad.
- [39:09]
A
I'm like, I wish I didn't meet you because you seem super cool online. I wish we could just stay there, you know?
- [39:14]
B
Yeah. I just want to. My. My definition of success is being yourself 100% of the time. And so if I can be myself to you or to the president or to someone I just randomly met in the airport or whatever, I think that's success.
- [39:29]
A
Yeah.
- [39:29]
B
You know?
- [39:30]
A
Yeah. You don't have to put on show. I think a lot of time we don't have to put on show. Right. We just do, for whatever reason. Insecurity. We're young. We're idiots.
- [39:37]
B
Yeah.
- [39:38]
A
I've done that many, many times.
- [39:39]
B
Of course.
- [39:39]
A
And then you realize, like, actually, everybody can tell it's not a good look.
- [39:44]
B
Yeah.
- [39:44]
A
And you'd probably be cooler if you just acted like who you were.
- [39:47]
B
Way cooler.
- [39:48]
A
Yeah. Plus, the Internet's full of everything. I mean, you have a bunch of people that want to follow you, talking about horses and honey and working out. And there are people that are really into, like, anime and popcorn.
- [39:58]
B
It's insane. There's 8 billion people, and everyone has different interests.
- [40:01]
A
Yeah.
- [40:01]
B
You know, and you're never going to please everybody, obviously.
- [40:05]
A
That's very true.
- [40:06]
B
You know, so it's like, just do what you want and what you like and then what you put out in the world, that's what you attract back in. It's. It's a lot of energy. It's very simple.
- [40:14]
A
Do you think that a lot of this sort of free thought and being who you are and living this big, huge life goes back to sort of your dad. And you've talked about some of this publicly before, but you know, how he passed and your relationship with him.
- [40:30]
B
Yeah, I think he was pretty. He did what he wanted. He was very stubborn. Yeah, he was. He was a stubborn, like, curious. You know, he climbed Mount Rainier. He was a. He climbed some mountains. He was you know, he was in back when he was a kid. He was boy of the year for the Men and Boys Club of America. He got invited to the White House. Like, he just. He did some cool things as a human, but he was definitely very stubborn in the sense of he just wanted to do what he wanted when he wanted, you know, and so I think that probably translated over. My mom's like that as well. All my sisters are very free spirit. They all, you know, one lives in Hawaii, one lives in, you know, Oregon and New Hampshire. Like, they're all over. Everyone's very independent and doesn't necessarily let society impact the decisions or a degree or, you know, what society calls success. It's kind of like, what do we. We're. I was taught to, like, define success as my own. And so I don't know. I think all my sisters and kind of how I grew up was always like that. And so I don't know that just. That's just how I live.
- [41:41]
A
Yeah. Do you think that kids these days need to go to school, that university helps?
- [41:47]
B
I think it depends on, you know, how you learn. I think some. Some kids are amazing in school and that's. That's. They need to sit down and they need to be taught, you know, XYZ on a board. And some are like, I need to be outside and. And touch with my hands, you know, Some are visual learners. Some need to read it, some need to listen. I think once you understand how you learn, then freaking deep dive into that. I know me learning is sitting here with you or traveling to different mountains or climbing to top of the world or, you know, putting my body through mayhem, you know, and the bear crawler riding across America or going to Antarctica or hosting an event with Diplo in Antarctica. Like, I don't know, just like doing different things.
- [42:30]
A
Did you do that?
- [42:31]
B
I did do that last year. That's my school, though. You know what I mean? That's my school. Not what. So back to. I think some school is great, but what. What's your school? So school is good, but define what your school is. Maybe it's Harvard.
- [42:45]
A
How does one find that?
- [42:47]
B
I don't know.
- [42:48]
A
You just.
- [42:48]
B
I think you just. Do you just go. You just try different things. Yeah.
- [42:52]
A
So say you try a lot of stuff. I think a lot of people don't know if they like it or not. Like, what's your process for, like, I'm not gonna do this again or I did. I liked that. I fucking. That was great. Do you sit and think about it? Is it just a feeling. Do you go with your gut reaction? How does a young person actually decide what is their school?
- [43:08]
B
I don't know if you get those butterflies inside when you're doing something. You're like, that was fun. You know, like think of a time back when you were a kid or a teenager or in college or any time in your life and you got those butterflies inside. Was it helping someone? Well, then maybe you should try some philanthropy things. Was it building? Building something. Maybe you should look into architecture. Building houses, you know, building a company. You know, was it reading? Maybe you're meant to be a freaking lawyer. Maybe you love reading. Maybe you're meant. I don't. You know what I mean? Like, everyone's different, but you gotta try. I've tried so many things, and so I know exactly how I learn and I just deep dive into that every day.
- [43:52]
A
What did you do with Diplo in Antarctica? Which is a weird question to ask.
- [43:56]
B
We hosted 150 people on a ship on the coast of Antarctica for seven days. We jumped in the water, we had saunas and we did yoga and he performed. And it was just a fun seven day trip in Antarctica with 150 random people.
- [44:14]
A
Why? So you just do kind of like these. It's almost like mini businesses. Like there's just like a. This is a cool idea. Let's try it once and see if it works. Yeah, that's interesting. Have you always done that?
- [44:26]
B
Yeah. I mean, I was in survival mode since I was 16. Since my dad passed away, I was just, I gotta figure, I gotta pay my bills. I don't have anyone paying my cell phone bill, so I gotta pay the $60 a month. How do I do that? Okay, well, what if, you know, I was in military academy at the time and no one would, you know, pay for my cell phone and, you know, every other parents were paying. I didn't, you know, I didn't have that luxury. So I was like, how do I pay for this? $60 a month? I'm not making any money, but I have $10. And so I remember I snuck out of. I don't think I've ever even told this story before, but I was in study hall in our rooms in the barracks at Valley Forge Military Academy. And I had like $10 on me and I need to pay my $60 bill. And so I snuck out the window and I go to McDonald's and meanwhile, Valley Forge is $60,000 a year. I was on a scholarship. So there's a bunch of rich kids there and I bought, I went to McDonald's and I bought 10 McDoubles and I came back and I sold them all for 10 bucks a piece. And the kids bought them. And so I was like 100 bucks 60. I just made 40. So now you have 40. And I would do that at study hall, you know. And so I think I was always in survival mode since then. And now I just get, you know, get scrappy and get creative with it. But what I have noticed with people that do get scrappy is that some you can go two directions, one direction. You can always be scrappy and sell stuff. But it's snake oil.
- [45:55]
A
Yeah.
- [45:55]
B
And it's quick in and out. The other is you protect your reputation no matter what. And I kind of went that route. I don't just sell stuff, I don't just create stuff just to make money, you know, I, I want to actually help people and create products. Hence why we started Promix. Right. I was like, man, I grew up in a health and wellness, you know, household, met. I met Albert, my partner and you know, there was nothing affordable with like really, really clean ingredients, you know, like raw, where we traced it back to the farms that we got them from and we packaged them up ourselves in glass containers. So there's no micro plastics or anything like how do we do this? And so we were fixing something for us and then we're like, I think other people are going to like this as well. You know, some good grass fed whey protein, some de bloat for your gut. Some things that we want to use, you know, in our daily habits. And that's kind of how, how it came about. But it's, it's on. It's an honest business. You know, it's not like, oh, freaking tallow is hot right now, let's do tallow. Or cryo chambers are hot right now, let's do a cryo business. It's not, I don't, I don't like going down that route. I want, yeah. You know, and it, you know, a good analogy is nightclubs versus restaurants. Nightclubs are in and out. They're quick. Two, three years, they're hot in the city. People go to them and then, you know, three years later they rebrand new nightclub. I like the restaurant that's open for 25, 30, 50 years. I want that family owned restaurant. And so I try to go down that route with businesses and have some longevity to it versus sustained sustainability versus these quick wins. The quick wins are normally, I don't make money on them. They're just. They're good marketing plays. They're fun. They're just. They're just fun. You know what I mean?
- [47:34]
A
And they attract a bunch of attractions.
- [47:35]
B
Did we make money on the Diplo and Erica trip? No, zero. You know what I mean? First couple years of running, man, we made no money. Like, these are just fun things we want to do. And I don't know, we just try to bring people together.
- [47:47]
A
Tell me about the. The trip to Africa where you found this weird nut that you're turning into a seed.
- [47:53]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [47:54]
A
Okay. And I don't even know what the difference is between a nut and a seed.
- [47:57]
B
That's all right.
- [47:57]
A
Do you.
- [47:58]
B
A seed grows and a nut growth.
- [48:02]
A
Is that the end product? Whatever. YouTube will tell us.
- [48:06]
B
I actually kind of want to know that. Not verse. Seed. I'm not you. A nut you can eat, but you.
- [48:12]
A
Could eat a seed too, can you?
- [48:15]
B
I mean, what's the difference between a nut and a seed?
- [48:19]
A
What do you think, Christian?
- [48:22]
B
Google is saying a nut is technically a type of seed.
- [48:25]
A
Wow.
- [48:26]
B
Outer shell is considered part of the fruit, while a seed is the reproductive part of a plant that contains the potential for a new plant to grow.
- [48:34]
A
Doesn't it sound better when he says it, too? He's like a plant.
- [48:37]
B
Yeah. Can we put that on here? I want to put this on there.
- [48:40]
A
100. Well, we will edit in Christian's beautiful British voice telling us. So you're in Africa. Where are you?
- [48:47]
B
I'm in Africa in Tanzania. I was climbing Kilimanjaro, which I recommend. It's a easy climb hike, per se. There's 14ers in Colorado are much harder. Right. It's a suit. It's just. It's just fun. So I'm out there. It maybe takes us six days. I'm with some buddies, get invited to the village that, you know, we just went up with our guides with.
- [49:08]
A
Is this like a Maasai Mara?
- [49:10]
B
It's. Yeah, it's in. It's a Maasai community. It is. It's a couple hours outside Tanzania. And so I'm. I'm, you know, just eating some goat and some other stuff that they give us. And these kids were coming up to me with this seed, and the seed is huge. I didn't know what it was at the time, but it's called the baobob seed, and the bao bob seed has an insane amount of vitamin C and an insane amount of potassium. And so I was like, there's got to be something I can do with this. This is like, this is a really cool concept.
- [49:45]
A
So it's like the size of a football.
- [49:46]
B
It's huge. Yeah. And so we had Promex at the time. And when I hear, you know, four times the amount of potassium, four times the amount of vitamin C, I'm like, I want to take this every day. And so I bring it back to my partner, and I'm like, what can we do with this? And I've always been big in gut health because gut is, you know, your second brain. You know, it's. It's where your mood, your energy. 70% of major diseases are formed from your gut. And so if you can get your gut on point, you're good. You know, like, you're that much more de risked from death or diseases. And the two things in your gut that you really need to be focused on is pre and probiotic biotics. Pre and probiotics. So they are two bacterias that work with each other to essentially fix your gut liner to help break down food, right? So it can then go. The nutrients can go in your bloodstream. And most people don't take prebiotics. They'll take probiotics. And they think they're taking them with yogurt. But once you have artificial flavors in yogurt, right. Or flavor, it takes out the probiotics. So, like, a lot of people aren't even taking probiotics when they think they are. So these are pre and probiotics. There's natural prebiotics in the baobab as well. Put turmeric in it for inflammation, and then organic oranges for flavor from Florida. And it's called De Blo, and it helps flush your pipes in the morning, and it helps clear your gut, and it helps fix the gut liner. And it's quickly became our top product. And, I mean, you got to see. You got to see the testimonials here. I mean, people had acne for years, and they started, you know, taking it for a month, and boom, their face is clear. You know, they were constipated on the regular. Not anymore. Right. Their mood, people's mood changes when your gut is better, when your gut is healthier, when you don't have a leaky gut, when you have good nutrients. Right. I mean, I don't want to sound cliche, but it's really about what you're putting in your body. And if you can put some good fuel in your body, everything else starts to make sense. You wake up with less anxiety, you wake up happier. You wake up like, wow, like, I'm not freaking. I don't feel like a thousand pounds right now. I feel a little bit lighter. I feel happy, you know, and it all comes down to your gut.
- [51:57]
A
Do you drink alcohol?
- [51:59]
B
I drink alcohol.
- [52:00]
A
You do?
- [52:00]
B
Yeah. I've. I've recently, you know, pulled back on it just based on some studies and I'm a weed guy.
- [52:09]
A
Yeah, I like weed. Really?
- [52:11]
B
Yeah.
- [52:12]
A
Okay. I could tell the hat, you know.
- [52:14]
B
Is it the hat?
- [52:15]
A
I don't know if it's the hat or the overalls.
- [52:17]
B
Yeah.
- [52:17]
A
But I wouldn't be shocked if you told me that. I like that.
- [52:21]
B
Yeah. I like.
- [52:21]
A
I use to be. I used to do some of it, but it got too intense. Like, the amount of THC that they're putting in stuff today I think is criminal.
- [52:29]
B
Oh, is. It's crazy.
- [52:31]
A
Yeah. It's got to be real careful because. But you probably do, like, more organics and like, as opposed to synthetic. But a lot of the. A lot of the stuff that they're creating, like, just has never existed in nature before. So anyway, I'm biased because I was in cannabis for quite a while and I saw a lot of people starting to get cannabinoid hypermiosis syndrome, which is. Well, they haven't been able to do enough research on it, so there needs to be more research. But essentially two. Two of my family members got it. It's where you get violently ill by using cannabis. And this is for people who are using it quite a lot. But it's almost the opposite of what you think with cannabis. Like, they give cannabis to people who have, you know, are going through chemo. Right. And so this essentially, it turns off some of your cannabinoid receptors is what they think happens. And so it's wild. Like, I mean, I saw it firsthand. A member of my family, you know, for two weeks, couldn't leave the house. They have, like this insane amount of hot showering they do. So, like, I remember for. For two weeks, one of them was at my house and he wouldn't be able to get out of the shower. He'd get violently ill. So it would just be like really hot water kind of consistently for two weeks straight. Basically lost like £25.
- [53:45]
B
Whoa.
- [53:45]
A
Yeah, there's.
- [53:46]
B
I think that's not fun.
- [53:47]
A
No, but like, everything in life, you know, there's pros and cons. So definitely, if you drink too much, you'd have other things.
- [53:54]
B
So then again, if you drink too much, you might have the best ever time with your boys. You know what I mean? You might have the best Story problem.
- [54:00]
A
I love Huberman, but sometimes I'm like, man, where's the joy?
- [54:03]
B
Yeah, sometimes, you know, you got to have 30 beers with the boys and just have at it.
- [54:08]
A
Could you have 30 beers at once? I'd be dead.
- [54:10]
B
Yeah, I mean, throughout the day.
- [54:11]
A
Yeah, naturally. Yeah. That's funny the way. The way you shrug it off.
- [54:16]
B
Yeah. 30.
- [54:17]
A
Then you. Then you sauna, and I sponge immediately.
- [54:20]
B
Following sauna cold the next day, and you're. Boom, right back at it, and you're ready to go. It's like the wolf Wall street clip when he just gets. Have you seen that clip? You got to put the clip in.
- [54:28]
A
Okay?
- [54:29]
B
You know what I'm talking about the clip.
- [54:32]
A
Just like a man when he just.
- [54:33]
B
Gets after it, and then steam, sauna gets in the helicopter back at him.
- [54:39]
A
This is not me. It would take me out for two days. You know, kind of. On that same vein, I've been obsessed lately about. And reading a ton of research about young men in our country and basically, you know, loneliness epidemic, getting married later, not having as much sex, higher suicide rates. And then I see somebody like you that I think is. Could be an antidote to some of that. Like, what do you say or tell to young men who are struggling in today's society?
- [55:12]
B
Get a community around you. Find a community and join it. And also just do the basics, right? Are you drinking enough water? Overdose with water? Are you just getting sun in the morning? Right? Are you just going outside, taking your shoes off and just looking at the sun? The community's big because, you know, we. We as humans make 250,000 decisions per week. And with those decisions, normally, they're just up in our brain, and we're not talking to anyone about it. When I have a big decision to make, I have a group chat of 12 of my buddies. I call each one of my buddies, and I say the exact same issue to each one. Yo, I'm going on Cody's podcast. I don't know. Or, you know, yada, yada, I don't know what I'm going to talk about. Blah, blah, blah. He gives me an answer. I say the same thing. Yo, I'm going on Cody's podcast, Blah, blah. I don't know what to. He gives me an answer, and I go down the list, and out of those 12 guys, I come up with my answer. And now I'm here in the podcast, and I feel good. You know what I mean? Obviously an example. But we go through so many decisions that we don't have people to Lean on. And so, yes, the suicide rate is gonna skyrocket. You know what I mean? Yes, you're gonna be depressed because you're making up these stories in your head. It's called the vicious cycle, right. Of just. Well, they. She didn't answer my text. Well, she didn't answer my text because I was wearing those weird shoes that day. And I was wearing those. Well, I didn't mean to wear those weird shoes. Someone gave me those weird shoes. And now, meanwhile, she was at church, you know, and so if we can just calm that voice and we can have a community to lean on. And there's tons of communities out there. I mean, you see all the new run clubs, all the new member clubs opening up, all the, you know, all these new podcasts, all these new just churches, you know, there. There's so many different gyms, there's so many communities. Tech, you know, get togethers, book clubs. There's communities out there. Try them, try them all. Go try Jiu jitsu. Join a book club. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah, go to Sweet Honey Farm.
- [57:10]
A
It's a really good point.
- [57:11]
B
I went community.
- [57:13]
A
I went to a church the other day in a movie theater, a converted movie theater here. It's called Red Rocks. And if it wasn't the best looking group of young men and women I've seen, I was like, Jesus. Like, this is not what my church was like back in the day. Catholic church. We were a little sad looking. But this group, I was like, whoa. If I was young and single in Austin, bam. I would definitely be there.
- [57:32]
B
Right?
- [57:32]
A
Like, ethical, moral compass, Young people care about mission. I mean, all stereotypes, arguably. But I think you're right. I mean, we have two members of the team. Christian would know who that. Do you know what they do, Devin, Tell me if you've ever heard of this before.
- [57:46]
B
Okay.
- [57:47]
A
They go to a bar and they play Dungeons and Dragons.
- [57:51]
B
What? I know, Unbelievable.
- [57:54]
A
Super nerds. Love these guys. They're my sweet little nerds, but they go to this. There's a bar every Thursday night where people get together and they play Dungeons and Dragons in person.
- [58:02]
B
That's a community.
- [58:03]
A
It's a community. And I didn't even know. I kind of thought Dungeons and Dragons was like a board game. Yeah, but I guess you act it out.
- [58:09]
B
I've never played Dungeons and Dragons in my life. I don't even know what that is.
- [58:12]
A
I thought it was open invitation. I asked them. I'm like. Because they're two kind of good looking women who work for. For me, I'm like, huh? What does the group look like when you walk into Dungeons and Dragons? They're like, about exactly what you think they look like. And I was like, yeah, they're like, but you know, it's awesome. And one of them's funny, Lindsay. She goes, I'm a 12 at Dungeons Dragons.
- [58:34]
B
She's ripping it up.
- [58:36]
A
Yeah, I skill in the game.
- [58:37]
B
I also think with that, like, to find the community, you have to have the values. Like, you have to know what your no matter what's are in life, too many of us are going through and living off values of, you know, that business you're working for or your boss's values or your parents values or your grandparents values versus like what do you care about?
- [58:58]
A
Yeah.
- [58:58]
B
You know, you're not the same person as your grandfather or grandmother or your best friend. You're a different person. And so it's like, what are the five things that you're absolute no matter what's are? And once you know that you can align with people with the same values versus the same industry, you're not going to get along with everyone at that real estate happy hour. Right. It's just not going to happen. But you will get along with everyone if, if they have the exact same values as you. If mine are family, health, freedom of time, community and giving back and you have similar values. We're gonna, we're gonna have conversation, we're gonna get along. I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be able to call you and say, yo, man, that workout was freaking tough. You know that sauna, man, that was, I need a hotter sauna. And you're gonna be like, yeah, I need a hotter. Like, we're gonna connect on the things that we like and the values that we believe in and the health and you know, take the gut health medicine, take the D bloat. Right. Like, we're gonna connect on that. You're not going to connect with those people at the real estate happy hour.
- [59:55]
A
Yeah. So is that one thing you would tell somebody today? Like, hey, tell me what you stand for? Like what are your five? Do most people that you know have a five or a value system?
- [60:06]
B
No. Yeah. I mean, my group. Yeah. But no, not a lot of people do. If I'm to ask everyone listening to this podcast, do you have five things you absolutely, no matter what, live by, and if something comes on your schedule right now and it goes against your value, are you doing it? I would say 90% of people are saying, yeah, he's right. Like I, I Do. Do things I don't want to do my schedule. I'm not doing it. Cody, if there's something on my schedule that doesn't lie with one of those vibes, a person, a place, a thing, a business opportunity, an investment, I'm just not doing it. I don't give a. I'm not doing it. I'm just not doing it.
- [60:44]
A
It's.
- [60:44]
B
That's how stubborn I am. And, like, I'll just tell people no. Not enough people say no. The power of no. What Nina said the other day, she said, your yes means a lot more if you say no. You know, she's smart.
- [60:59]
A
I knew I liked her, you know. Wait, so how did you get really set on these? Like, that is. Those are five. You've listed them off twice. They're obviously real. You're not prepping for a podcast. Those are part of the real deal. When did you sit down and say, these are my five? And how did you immortalize those?
- [61:16]
B
When I started feeling overwhelmed and not losing direction of life. And I called my therapist guy at the time, and he gave me that advice. Johnny. Johnny Martin. He goes. He's like, you need to write this sentence on your whiteboard. And the sentence read, if a person, place, or thing does not add value to my life from a family, and I list out my values, family, community, health, freedom of time, or giving back perspective, then it's taking value from me. So if a person, place, or thing does not add value to my life from those five things, then it's taking value from me. And I wrote. I wrote on my board, and underneath my board, I had Pro Mix and all day running and Olipop and, you know, all these different companies I was, you know, I started or invest in or, you know, whatever. All these things I was doing with my life and my schedule, and I simply took a red marker, I started crossing off that. I didn't. That did not align. And all of a sudden, my board got smaller and smaller, and I felt a whole. That feels better. Let's go. Let's go.
- [62:31]
A
So then what do you do? You call up the companies and you're like, I'm out.
- [62:34]
B
Yeah, you kind of just. You cut.
- [62:36]
A
Yeah. You know, I do that once a year, too, actually.
- [62:38]
B
I think you have to do it. I think it's. You don't owe anybody anything. You know, you got. You got to be selfish sometimes and worry about your. Your own health and your. Your mental space and how you're spending your time. You know, if you don't. If you don't own your time. Then someone else is gonna puppet you around. You know, you gotta own your time. But how do you know, how do you own your time if you don't even know what you want to do with your time? That's where the values come in. It's like the same thing with money. I want a hundred million dollars. What the frick are you gonna do with $100 million? Do you even know how to spend a million dollars? Do you even, like. What do you mean you want $100 million? Well, I can just chill on a beach. You're going to be bored on a beach after day five. You want to chill on a beach. No, I'm not. Yes, you are. I promise. Like, you're going to be bored. Figure out what you really love. I love Sweet Honey Farm. I love Pro Mix. It's fun. It's like, it aligns with my values. My values are embedded in these companies all day running, Jesse. Like, it's embedded. Like, it doesn't feel like work. People in the western culture separate life and work. Yo, it's all Life. It's all 24 hours. It's all life at the end of the day. And so why are we separating things and categorizing it's life? Our time that we've spent here so far, we're never getting it back ever. Ever. No one's creating a time machine. So it's like you got to own that time and know how you're spending your time. And I think the values are something you can lean back on to de risk the decisions. The 250,000 decisions you make every week.
- [64:08]
A
That's really good. Yeah. One of the things that I learned early on, if you're going to invest or do multiple businesses, is that every year, you got to prune just like a rose bush. And I remember one of my mentors saying that to me. He's like, I wish that you were smart enough to make the right decision every single time, but you won't be. And he's like, so if you know you're not going to be, what do you know? You got to do? Get a pair of scissors. So every single year, there's gonna be some cutting. But I think I fall into the camp of often waiting too long. I'll let em hang on. I'll really try to fix it. I'll try to be the good partner. I'll try to meet them. And I think that is where misery really starts.
- [64:44]
B
Yep. I agree.
- [64:45]
A
So is this a process that you do Continuously. On a weekly basis. A daily basis. A yearly basis.
- [64:51]
B
Yeah, all the time. I'm constantly looking at. I don't do anything if it's not in my schedule and outlook. I look at my schedule. I mean, feeding the dogs, going to the farm, sauna, cold, plunging, it's all on there. And yeah, I look at it every morning, night before, call my assistant, yo, take that off, keep it on, whatever, and just audit accordingly every single day. A lot of the times I cancel calls, I push the calls. I don't want to take the calls. And they're probably great humans and they're doing great stuff for the world, but I'm just not spending my time doing that.
- [65:28]
A
Yeah.
- [65:29]
B
You know, and you, if you're not that way, you'll get taken advantage of. You'll waste your time. You'll have regret 10 years down the road. Shit. I was doing what everyone else wanted me to do, but not what I wanted to do. You got to audit your time.
- [65:42]
A
So true. Yeah. I have a guy I really admire, Tim Ferriss, who's become a friend. And he's coming out with his new book, the no book.
- [65:49]
B
Cool.
- [65:50]
A
And, you know, he was kind of laughing about, like, you would think, it's not that long of a book. But he's like, actually, all these things creep in on you every single way possible. And so life is a series of, like, they want you to say yes to things, and you've got to figure out, how do I. How do I say no more often?
- [66:07]
B
Yeah. And then, you know, everyone's going to say, well, how am I supposed to pay my bills? Well, how about the guy I just spoke about that's in his tent in Arizona that doesn't have the bills backtrack of what you really need? Not want. Need. We just sold Pro Mix. And I asked all my sisters, what do you need? And they all said, nothing, we're good. And I know they need something. But they all said, no, I'm good. I'm like, do you want anything? No, I'm good. I don't. I don't need anything. I'm like, those are, those are some good sisters. You know, they're not leeching, they're just. They're like, how can I help you devote? And I'm like, cool. Too many people go through, they think they need something, but really it's just a want. So if you can't. If you're trying to own your time and you're trying to do what you want, but you're. You feel like, oh, Man, I'm held back because of bills. Or I'm held back because, well, my parents want me to do XYZ because I got this degree and I have to go do. Nah, fuck that. Delete it. Start from zero. Move to Jamaica. Go sell some coconuts. You know, get a place that's 100 bucks a month.
- [67:11]
A
You know what I'm saying? Paul Saladino on here, he moved to Costa Rica. He brings coconuts with him to the airport everywhere. You know, one of the cool parts about a podcast like this and why I like bothering people like you, is because there are so many ways to live. And, like, when you. When you get to see these other humans, whether it's traveling or just listening to a podcast, you're like, that motherfucker doesn't seem much smarter than I am. Those two aren't that much, and they can live these lives. What's the deal?
- [67:34]
B
Yeah, I'm not that smart. I'm a D student. I'm like, look, I'm. I'm just figuring out, like, everyone every day, and everyone's like that. I've met the richest people in the world. I'm talking Elon Musk. And I've met some of the poorest people in the world. And every single person in between is everyone. Everyone's trying to figure it out. You know what I mean? Everyone. Everyone's trying to figure it out every day. All of us. Maybe you. Maybe. I was running late today to the podcast. I'm just trying to get to the traffic like everyone else. You know what I mean?
- [68:00]
A
100. Yeah. So if we were to end it with one thing, which is. Well, actually, you know what I want to end it with. I was gonna ask you. Can we do a fun segment?
- [68:12]
B
Yeah, I'm down.
- [68:13]
A
Okay. I want to do rapid fire questions on your gym and your farm. Okay, Jim. Rapid fire. Favorite animal on your farm?
- [68:22]
B
Sir Peppercorn. My horse.
- [68:24]
A
Which one? Big one.
- [68:26]
B
He's like the. A spotted thoroughbred. He's just. I love him. He's great.
- [68:31]
A
Okay, we'll find him on your Instagram. Yeah.
- [68:32]
B
Sir Peppercorn.
- [68:33]
A
Okay. I like it. Most expensive animal at your farm?
- [68:36]
B
Sir Peppercorn.
- [68:38]
A
How much did he cost to buy?
- [68:40]
B
He's a $75,000 horse.
- [68:42]
A
Wild.
- [68:43]
B
Yeah.
- [68:44]
A
Okay. Favorite piece of gym equipment?
- [68:46]
B
Oh, favorite gym equipment? The sauna.
- [68:56]
A
Most expensive?
- [68:58]
B
The sauna. No. Yeah, saunas are expensive.
- [69:01]
A
Is this a special sauna?
- [69:03]
B
Yeah. I have an infrared. Traditional.
- [69:05]
A
Yeah, isn't it? I think I've seen it on. It's like, you can Fit a small little army in there.
- [69:09]
B
Yeah. I have a 50 person sauna and then a 10 person sauna. So they're both pretty big.
- [69:13]
A
What does a 50 person sauna cost?
- [69:16]
B
100,000.
- [69:17]
A
That's wild. Favorite event you've ever been to or hosted?
- [69:21]
B
Running Man.
- [69:22]
A
Yeah, I need to go.
- [69:23]
B
Running Man's so fun.
- [69:25]
A
How much does Everest cost to hike?
- [69:27]
B
$250,000 and two months.
- [69:31]
A
That's wild.
- [69:32]
B
And no sponsors. That was all out of pocket. I didn't want any. Anything deviating me in my brain from. Drink this, try this, do this.
- [69:42]
A
Oh, good point.
- [69:42]
B
Yeah.
- [69:43]
A
You didn't want to have to like make content on the mountain.
- [69:46]
B
I did test our own. My company, Promix, we created. We created a blood flow product and it's beets and berries and it helps get circulation going so you're a little bit warmer and blood flow is essential for your body. That's why your, you know, heart's pumping. And so I tested that on there. But besides that. Yeah.
- [70:05]
A
That's crazy. You were testing new products on the mountain? Yeah. You must believe in your.
- [70:09]
B
Oh yeah, I do.
- [70:11]
A
You just sold Promix. Is that what you said we did?
- [70:13]
B
Yes.
- [70:13]
A
I didn't realize that.
- [70:14]
B
Yes.
- [70:15]
A
Is this a big exit for you?
- [70:16]
B
Yes, it was.
- [70:17]
A
Oh, that's amazing. All right. Wait a second.
- [70:20]
B
Y.
- [70:20]
A
That means we should probably. We should. Cheers.
- [70:23]
B
Cheers, man.
- [70:24]
A
That's a big. That's a big deal.
- [70:25]
B
Yes.
- [70:26]
A
I know you've sold a few companies, but.
- [70:28]
B
No, this was the biggest so far.
- [70:30]
A
That's amazing. That's really. It's hard to build something in general and then real hard to build something good enough, strong enough that another person wants to take it over.
- [70:36]
B
Yes, it is. It's hard.
- [70:38]
A
And you sell a lot of this per month. Can you say how many units you do or is that kind of it?
- [70:41]
B
Man, if private. But we do a lot. Like hundreds of thousands people drink this every single month. Deep blow. Yeah, it's good.
- [70:49]
A
That's amazing. Okay, let's end with this question. So New Year, new you people are like that everywhere. You have what appears to me to be like a wild amount of motivation and sort of grit to grin and bear really terrible things. How would you inspire somebody else to do the same thing? How would you inspire somebody to keep going when they don't want to, when it feels terrible, when it seems like they can't?
- [71:15]
B
Yeah. You know, we're all faced with life and life only gets you to a certain level of grit. It's those times where your body feels like, it's going to break down. Your brain's about to give up or it's cold, or your feet are frozen for 12 hours, or you're, you know, at mile 24 of the 26.2 marathon, it's those last couple miles that you start to learn things about yourself massively. And I can't teach that. No, I mean, no one can teach that. You just have to do it. And a lot of the times it's in some type of physical adventure where you learn the most about yourself. And when you can take that information and implement it into your business and life, it's where you start to separate from the rest. And so that's my motivation is. It's. It's my learning. It's. It's where you learn about everything. It's about really yourself. And so many of those times where my feet were frozen on Everest or my body was given up on the bear crawl, or, you know, I'm doing rim to rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, and I'm like, holy shit, I can't feel my legs anymore. It's those last couple hours, the last day that you start to learn who the frick you are, you know, and that grit level, you got to just keep increasing it. Keep increasing it to an extent. Right. I'm not saying, you know, risk your life, but I am saying, like, it's important to add in those grit challenges, you know, see what this body's capable of, because it is. It's pretty remarkable what the human body can do.
- [72:52]
A
Yeah, you're right. I actually have a bracelet I wear that says that I give out to people, says, remember who the fuck you are. And I think it's. It's a good reminder, because a lot of times we forget we're way more capable than we think. And it's really easy on the Internet to tell people that. All the excuses and the reasons why they can't. And part of the reason that I do any of this stuff we do is I think that's terrible. I think, like, the biggest crime you could commit against another human is trying to get them to not believe in themselves.
- [73:18]
B
Yeah.
- [73:18]
A
And that's. It's so much easier. You sound way more sophisticated when you talk about all the reasons why things won't work. You sound Pollyanna as when you say that you might be capable of a lot.
- [73:27]
B
Right.
- [73:28]
A
So I like your mission a lot because you kind of show it live.
- [73:30]
B
Yeah, I appreciate that.
- [73:32]
A
So, Devin Levesque.
- [73:33]
B
Yes.
- [73:34]
A
On all the socials, mostly on Instagram. That's where I watch you the Most.
- [73:36]
B
Instagram. Yeah. YouTube. Tick tock. But only for a couple more days.
- [73:41]
A
Now, the Chinese, we'll keep it American.
- [73:43]
B
Yeah.
- [73:44]
A
Even if Zuck does censor us, we're gonna go with Instagram.
- [73:46]
B
That's okay. Yeah. Hit me on Instagram. Yeah.
- [73:48]
A
Okay. Amazing. And then promix as well. And we'll check out this drink, which I'm digging. So thank you for bringing me some diblo. I'm into that.
- [73:56]
B
Yes.
- [73:56]
A
African Baobob.
- [73:58]
B
Baobob.
- [73:59]
A
Baobob. Nut seeds were unclear.
- [74:00]
B
Could be either a seed. Definitely a seed. Definitely has the seeds inside. Technically.
- [74:04]
A
Okay. Full circle. Thanks, Devon. You're the man.
- [74:07]
B
Thanks so much.