From Gangs to Rangers

Summary

Podcast Summary: From Gangs to Rangers

Podcast Title: The Antihero Podcast
Host/Authors: Brent Tucker & Tyler
Guest: Angel Cortez
Episode: From Gangs to Rangers
Release Date: April 21, 2025

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1. Introduction: Welcome and Guest Introduction (04:08 - 05:15)

In the episode titled "From Gangs to Rangers," hosts Brent Tucker and Tyler welcome Angel Cortez, a former gang member who transformed his life by joining the military and eventually becoming an Army Ranger. Angel's journey from the streets to special operations provides a profound narrative of resilience, personal growth, and community leadership.

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2. Early Life and Gang Involvement (05:15 - 17:12)

Angel Cortez shares his turbulent upbringing, marked by familial strife and poverty. Born to Mexican immigrants in Garden Grove and Santa Ana, California, Angel faced severe challenges:

• Family Struggles:
  "My dad was an alcoholic. He would beat us, like really beat us... I still have scars from some of the beatings" (05:18).

• Bullying and Identity Crisis:
  "I would wear the same clothes over and over... get made fun of for not fitting in" (14:08).

• Joining the Gang:
  At 14, driven by the need for protection and belonging, Angel joined the gang "Palma Vista."
  "I joined the gang to get backup... I was tired of getting picked on" (19:21).

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3. Transition to Military Service (25:31 - 37:05)

Seeking a way out from the gang life, Angel turned to the military, inspired by the camaraderie and purpose depicted in media:

• Motivation to Join:
  "They had everything that I wasn't and everything that I didn't have in my life. I wanted to do that" (26:09).

• Recruitment Challenges:
  Due to his gang affiliation and carrying a weapon on school grounds, Angel required two waivers to enlist.
  "I failed everything in school, minus math and PE... I'm not gonna pass EOD" (39:52).

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4. Military Training and Deployment (37:05 - 58:55)

Angel details his rigorous military training and deployment experiences:

• Basic Training and AIT:
  Struggling initially, Angel adapted by seeking hands-on learning:
  "If they showed me and had me do it, I was game" (47:23).

• Deployment to Afghanistan:
  Assigned to the 18th Engineers in the 2nd ID Battalion, Angel recounts intense combat situations:
  "We had to deal with not one, but two suicide bombers... trying to overrun us multiple times" (60:22).

• Building Camaraderie:
  Mentorship played a crucial role, with leaders like Hugh Underwaal guiding him through challenges.

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5. Experiences as an Army Ranger (58:55 - 114:29)

Angel's tenure as an Army Ranger was fraught with peril and personal growth:

• Combat Engagements:
  Multiple encounters with IEDs and Taliban fighters shaped his combat instincts and leadership abilities.
  "I had to pull IEDs out of the ground with my bare hands and set them aside to blow them up" (63:02).

• Leadership Struggles:
  Facing skepticism from peers about his capabilities, Angel persevered to prove his worth:
  "I just let about 100 fucking people in front of me... they saw that I didn't stop" (100:50).

• RASP and Ranger School:
  Navigating the demanding Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, Angel overcame physical and mental obstacles to graduate.

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6. Transition to Civilian Life and Entrepreneurship (114:29 - 122:00)

After eight years of service, Angel transitioned to civilian life, utilizing his military-earned skills and discipline:

• Academic Pursuits:
  Enrolled in a registered dietitian program, overcoming academic challenges:
  "Being a registered dietitian is a hard path... communication classes, because you have to be able to communicate to people" (119:39).

• Entrepreneurial Ventures:
  Founded "OG Pumpkin," a brand aimed at supporting veterans and the community through events and merchandise.
  "I started OG Pumpkin to keep funding community events... within an hour or two, all 200 [stickers] were gone" (121:24).

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7. Community Leadership and Philanthropy (122:00 - 147:55)

Angel dedicates himself to uplifting veterans and low-income communities through various initiatives:

• Veteran Support:
  Organizing events like "Vehicles and Tacos Range Day" to foster camaraderie among veterans.
  "We trained together, shot together, shared experiences... it's about hanging out" (130:49).

• Philanthropic Efforts:
  Donating resources and support to veterans facing challenges, including mental health struggles:
  "I paid for veterans' psychedelic therapy... helping out as much as I could" (123:00).

• Cultural Integration:
  Bridging gaps between military, law enforcement, and Hispanic communities to promote unity and understanding.
  "I am the bridge between both worlds... fighting for acceptance and unity" (147:18).

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8. Kidney Donation Story (131:24 - 142:01)

A pivotal moment in Angel's life involved donating a kidney to a close friend, showcasing his selflessness and commitment to helping others:

• Decision to Donate:
  Upon learning of his friend's wife's kidney failure, Angel promptly decided to donate:
  "I've decided to donate a kidney because this can't be the end of me... I have to give back" (130:49).

• Surgical and Recovery Process:
  The surgery was successful, significantly improving his friend's quality of life but leaving Angel with a challenging recovery:
  "Recovery sucked because I couldn't lift anything more than 10 pounds for a couple weeks" (139:04).

• Emotional Impact:
  Reflecting on his journey and the impact of his actions, Angel emphasizes the importance of community and purpose:
  "Donating the kidney fixed the struggle I had... it's something that I know is good because sometimes you question your... your military service" (141:24).

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9. Challenges and Cultural Integration (147:55 - End)

Angel discusses the cultural dynamics within military and veteran communities, highlighting barriers faced by minorities:

• Gatekeeping in the Veteran Community:
  Despite his contributions, Angel faces skepticism and lack of recognition due to his past and cultural background:
  "They see the Mexican flag on my hand and... they see me as someone from the streets, not the service" (147:18).

• Promoting Unity and Acceptance:
  Advocates for breaking down stereotypes and fostering inclusivity within diverse communities:
  "I'm trying to fight the misconceptions... it's not about the past, it's about the present and future" (147:18).

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10. Conclusion: Final Thoughts and Support (142:01 - End)

In closing, Angel Cortez reflects on his journey and emphasizes the importance of perseverance, community support, and continuous personal growth:

• Message of Resilience:
  "Just keep going because life will throw challenges, but overcoming them defines who you are" (130:49).

• Call to Support:
  Angel encourages listeners to support his ventures and initiatives aimed at helping veterans and underserved communities.
  "Follow OG Pumpkin on Instagram... come to our events, support our mission" (142:01).

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Angel Cortez:
  "I joined the gang to get backup... I was tired of getting picked on." (19:21)
  "They had everything that I wasn't and everything that I didn't have in my life. I wanted to do that." (26:09)
  "Donating the kidney fixed the struggle I had... it's something that I know is good because sometimes you question your... your military service." (141:24)
  "Just keep going because life will throw challenges, but overcoming them defines who you are." (130:49)

• Brent Tucker:
  "But what's more important is how you handle the bad times." (25:17)
  "It's insane... the way they treat someone trying to progress." (93:02)

• Tyler:
  "You gotta want it. You keep going." (130:56)

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Supporting Angel Cortez

To support Angel Cortez and his initiatives, you can connect with him through his social media and engage with his community events:

• Instagram:

  • OG Pumpkin: @og_pumpkin
  • Personal Page: @angel_g_cortez

• Training Company:
  Defense Strategies Group, based in Los Angeles, offers training and consulting services for SWAT teams, PDs, and sheriffs.

• Events:
  Attend OG Pumpkin events or Defense Strategies Group training sessions to support and engage with the veteran community.

---

Final Note: Angel Cortez's story is a testament to the power of transformation and the impact one individual can have on their community. From navigating the challenges of a troubled youth to serving his country and giving selflessly back to others, Angel embodies the spirit of resilience and leadership.

Transcript

[Brent Tucker]

So what made you join the military? Because it seems like your life's going a very different way.

[Tyler]

They gave him a bigger gun and a bigger bolt. Professor. Hold on. We're not recording.

[Brent Tucker]

Wanna buy a rifle?

[Tyler]

Do you want to buy a shirt.

[Brent Tucker]

To support military dancing?

[Tyler]

People want to see their sausage get made.

[Brent Tucker]

An appropriate level of inappropriateness. Something happens in my family tonight. The Delta Force isn't coming to rescue my. My family, my kids, like it is first responders that are. That are going to save my family.

[Tyler]

They want the culture to be down, people that not want to be cops. And the people that do want to be cops are now walking into the job, scared to do the job.

[Brent Tucker]

I'm gonna try to act like it didn't happen, although we. We all know it did.

[Tyler]

JV team for life.

[Brent Tucker]

I wouldn't would. When did this become like the. The. The argument between law enforcement, military, that military could just go over, just carte.

[Tyler]

Blanche, murder, shoot through drywall. Is it. Brent's camera's working, right? We got that up?

[Angel Cortez]

Yep. Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

All right.

[Tyler]

Sweet. Welcome back to the Anti Hero podcast. Part Delta Force, part street cop. All truth. I'm Tyler, owner of Refractive Wolf Pearl and Counterculture Inc. Go to. Here's. Here's. It's new. I told you. I'm rebranding.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Tyler]

Counterculture Inc. Threads.com. you'll be able to get all kinds of new merch. You'll still be able to get all the refracted wolf apparel that's there. They got. We got hats, stickers, flags, beanies, team room flags, even though I just said flags. But you go to Counterculture Inc. Threads.

[Brent Tucker]

So it's your first time.

[Tyler]

It's like, you know, you get a pass. You can still get all the refracted wolf apparel, merch and other merch. So use promo code. Anti hero, same thing. 15% off.

[Brent Tucker]

So is that. Is that where you're going? You rebranding the clothing line to go with counterculture?

[Tyler]

Yeah, it'll kind of.

[Brent Tucker]

I like it.

[Tyler]

Counterculture will be the distributor and, you know, but. So you'll still be able to get refracted wolf, but it's just way easier to do it like that. That way when I go to events, I can push counterculture rather than be pushing. And it's.

[Brent Tucker]

Counterculture going to have its own. Own line with. With its. With its logos on the. On the shirts as well.

[Tyler]

You would get this. It's going to be two separate LLCs, right. So the merch line, as it's going to be solely you know, one llc and then the media side is totally, it's just the way they can accent each other. And I don't have to worry about the media Counterculture Inc. Suing me because I'm part owner in that as well.

[Brent Tucker]

And I'm Brent Tucker, owner of a equally complex company, first responder Coffee Company and First Responder Cigar Company. Use promo code FRCC15, that's FRCC1 5 to get 15% off the world's best coffee and cigars.

[Tyler]

And of course, this episode brought to you by human performance. HPTRT.com go to HPTRT.com use promo code HERO and get 20% off not just your initial purchase, but every single month of your testosterone subscription. If you've done your lab work somewhere else or the VA or another lab that's, that's costing way too much money, go to hptrt.com and as long as it's within the last six months, you can upload that blood work and they'll waive your lab fees. So HPTRT.com promo code HERO for all your testosterone, your peptides, your weight loss plans, everything you need, Human Performance has it.

[Brent Tucker]

And don't forget to visit our Patreon. We have two tiers to choose from. We have a five dollar and ten dollar tier which is still one of the most affordable Patreons in the market. So if you want to support us, help keep the lights on, please consider that you'll also get inside looks into next episodes, questions on prior episodes, direct messaging to us, discount codes, a litany of benefits to our Patreon account and of course our Thursday night Live every Thursday at 8pm Eastern time.

[Tyler]

We just gave away on the live, we gave away a $350 flashlight to a Patreon winner.

[Angel Cortez]

Nice.

[Tyler]

That's. I wanted, I was trying to figure out a way for us to keep the flashlight, but cloud defense, we're giving.

[Brent Tucker]

Away two flashlights soon. Have to tell them that. Three. We both need one. Yeah, I do. I do love tac lights. I do. All right, let's get to it. With us today, we have Angel Cortez. From gang member to army Ranger, he served in the first. The first Geesh served in first Ranger bat and he's now a community leader, entrepreneur and he's also a kidney donor, which I'm super interested to hear that story. I'm interested to hear all your stories. When you start out with gang member to army Ranger, my first thought is that's going to be interesting. And then my first, then my Second thought is not a big change actually. Like you guys actually just have to wear the same clothes now. I guess when you from. From gang member you can cut. Well, you're still stuck with one color, I'm assuming.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, I don't want to act like.

[Brent Tucker]

I know too much about gangs that don't. Then that'll be apparent.

[Tyler]

I've watched Gangland on History Channel.

[Brent Tucker]

Well, I guess that goes. I guess that doubles down on it and you're already in some type of uniform is if you have to wear this color in a gang. Well, in the art in the Ranger gang, you have to wear these colors. Really. It's a lot more similar than you think. But I'll, I'll let you be the judge of that.

[Tyler]

It's government condoned violence.

[Angel Cortez]

I just want to say thank you guys for having me on. I've been, I've been following you guys for a minute. The first clip I saw was of you and a cop buddy and you said something that caught my attention that I had heard at, at houses because I have family members and friends who are, who are cops now. Right. And then so when I go to their, their, you know, hangouts at somebody's house, some of them are veterans, but most of them are just cops. So I'm now I'm in their world and I get to hear what, what, you know, some of the things that they have to deal with. And, and your cop friend at the time said, you know, you asked him something like a. How far is that that, you know, back the blue, the brotherhood go? And then he goes. It only goes as far as a guy who works with you leadership. It. That's not that true. And, and I had heard stuff like that before at these, at these, you know, cookouts. And if I would have told somebody that they would have been like, oh, you know, you're not a cop. Probably just a cop hater or something like that. Because I tell guys when they ask me about the military, I tell them all the pros, but I also tell them the cons because how can I tell them how the military is amazing. This and this. And then when the reality, hey, you might get a team leader who it's not your fault, but you know, he just got divorced and, and he's having a fucking shit time. And now you're the new fresh guy who's energetic and, and and is excited for this new chapter in your life and you get a leadership that, that just doesn't care about you and it's not your fault. So that right there, when I was like, man, that's awesome. I've never heard. It's all. Nothing wrong with the good stories, but it was something that was very true and not necessarily a happy part of the profession. And I'm like, man, these guys are talking about some serious stuff, the good and the bad. And then the way you guys did the whole Tim Kennedy thing and how professional it was, and people were like, oh, they, oh, they're just talkers. I'm like, bro, they're not, man. I'm telling you, I was a Tim Kennedy fan. Like, I, I bought the dude's book. I didn't, I didn't listen to it because I already bought, like, a bunch of books that I have listened to. And, and it was on the list, you know, and I. I competed in Muay Thai as an active duty Ranger. So, you know, I remember when my coach was like, hey, you know, you ever think about fighting? I'm like, man, I can't. I'm a Ranger. I, I, I, you know, I leave for some training or, or, or, you know, we're just training all the time. I'm not sure if I can do it. And he goes, he goes, there's a Green Beret who's, who's fighting professionally. And I think at the time, Tim Kearney was fighting in Strike Force.

[Brent Tucker]

Yep.

[Angel Cortez]

So I was like, you know what? Something about seeing somebody that can. That, that is doing it makes you feel like you can do it, too. So I was like, you know what? I think I can do it, too. So I was like, you know what? Sign me up. And that's how I started fighting. That's how I dove deeper into the martial arts world. I think I was gonna fight regardless.

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Angel Cortez]

But at that time, that just made me, you know, jump deeper into that world. I've been training and competing in some way or another since 2010. You know, my kids train. So when I heard it, and I was like, man. And because I understand the lingo, I was like, that, that. That can't happen. That's a lie.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And it came to the point where I was like, look, dude, I stopped. I unfollowed him. I deleted the book. And so when people were like, on these dudes, they're just shit talkers, I was like, they're not, man. They're talking about things that need to be talked that haven't been talked. And I think afterwards, you guys will see what I mean by this next thing I'm about to say. But I didn't know That I was waiting for a podcast like you guys, because there's a bunch of stuff that's been happening that I have not talked about, that I let it go. And you know what? I've gone another podcast and I've tried to bring it up like Andy Stumps podcast. I like Andy. He's had me on there twice. But I can tell he didn't want to talk about this certain thing. And I was like, okay. And you guys have. So I plan on bringing these things up. But before I go any further, I speak for, I think the vast majority of the veteran community when I say to the movie makers, the guys who are in charge of books and law enforcement and regular civilians, but hey, we are tired of all the seal movies. All the seal books. They. They are overrated. The stories, to be honest, are kind of boring. And the hair is not that impressive. It's not. Okay. And. And before I Forget, the softest buds classes in history probably have to be 274, 258 and 3, 1 9. But I'm not sure what was happening in this particular class. Maybe tell me about those classes.

[Tyler]

Who was in those classes?

[Angel Cortez]

Maybe they were letting women also join at the time and people with learning disabilities and stuff like that. But something about class 2, 3, 6 has to be the easiest bud class in history.

[Brent Tucker]

Go on. And yeah, about 2, 3, 6.

[Angel Cortez]

I. I hate to say it, I am that guy. But look, the hair is not that impressive. Let's move on. No more steel books or steel movies.

[Brent Tucker]

You want to get into. Why those. Why you picked out those bud classes?

[Angel Cortez]

Because they're my friends. But you know, it's kind of ruined because.

[Brent Tucker]

Dang it. No, it's not ruined. Trust me.

[Tyler]

I would have been wondering this forever.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Angel Cortez]

They're my friends. And I was like, hey, they were talking about buzz classes and I was like. I was like, hey, you.

[Tyler]

You throw a seal trident on something, though it destroys. It destroys in views like it a seal trident on a thumbnail. Because people want to watch it.

[Angel Cortez]

Want to watch it.

[Tyler]

I think the special forces crested well too. If they didn't know who the person was. It just makes them want to click on it. Big bearded dude on the thumbnail, the crest.

[Brent Tucker]

Well, I apologize. I take part responsibility. I couldn't save you from spending your money on the Tim Kennedy book, but at least I feel like we saved you on the time that you didn't have to spend listening to it.

[Tyler]

Know what I thought about? It's a wash antihero Doing a book buyback, but we probably go broke. If you want to sell us Tim Kennedy, you send us Tim Kennedy's book.

[Angel Cortez]

I'll give you my Zel right now.

[Tyler]

Yeah. Police department buybacks to get guns off the street.

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, that's hilarious. Oh, my gosh. We should probably. We're going to talk about that. We'll talk about that after the collect it. We'll make a wall of Tim Kennedy.

[Tyler]

Books that were returned.

[Angel Cortez]

You're about to be broke.

[Brent Tucker]

I'd say the book back. The buy the buyback program for the book would be very expensive. But you'd be surprised, I feel like, because almost everyone we talk to hasn't read the book. Like from our. If they're listening to this podcast, they probably didn't buy the book. A lot of civilians. I'm not saying we don't have civilian listeners, but I don't know, I just. I'd be interested.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Well, maybe we.

[Tyler]

Maybe a hard lesson.

[Angel Cortez]

The first.

[Brent Tucker]

The first that we'll buy it off to the first thousand dollars or if we just cap it.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

So we don't bite off more than.

[Tyler]

A week or we only pay like five bucks a book times 5,000 books that are going to come.

[Brent Tucker]

I'm interested. I'm interested, actually. All right, we're going to talk about that. The. But I'm also interested in angel if let's. Let's start your story back. Back with joining a gang.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, we don't have very many.

[Brent Tucker]

We have a lot of people with gang experience on this show, but it's on the other side, not on the gang side. Tell us about that, man.

[Angel Cortez]

So I joined a gang at 14 and what got me to that decision was I'm the first one in my family to be born in the United States. My parents are hard working, but they. My dad, he was an alcoholic. He would beat us, like, like really beat us to the point where. Where to this day, I still have scars from. From some of the beatings. My mom would tell us that, you know, we ruined her life and that no one loves us. And my parents had separated and, you know, that we had for brains and stuff like that. So that was. And being the first one born in the United States. Everything at the house is Spanish. The, the news, the radio. So I would go to school and. And I was poor and I would wear the same clothes over and over. And sometimes if we did have new clothes, it would be like knockoff brands. Like my Adidas would have like an extra stripe. So.

[Tyler]

Oh, yeah, kids are Ruthless.

[Angel Cortez]

I. I'd get made fun of that and. Because I didn't know how to read and write that well, because when I went to school, that was my. My introduction to English and everything. So I was far behind on everything.

[Brent Tucker]

Where's your family from?

[Angel Cortez]

Mexico.

[Brent Tucker]

Mexico.

[Angel Cortez]

Mexico. They're both from Puebla. And. And you know, and that's how it was all elementary and. And you know, I remember being in third grade and during, you know, the. The reading and writing part, I would be taken out and I would be reading kindergarten style books like Sam Rides a Bike, you know, and that was as far as the sense went and as. And as far as my reading went. Y. And then I entered junior high and you know, when you are poor, you grow up in low income communities. And with that there comes crime, drugs and gangs. And I would see the gang members and then they would ignore me and I ignore them. And I was just a little kid, but then now I'm in junior high where, you know, now you're starting to really see some of these gang members. And you know, I was a skater. I just skated. I would borrow my cousin's skateboard or my friend's skateboard or my friend, he would give me, if he got a new board, he would give me his old board. And that's how, that's how I would have a skateboard and I would skate. But then I got to an age where, you know, I wasn't just some little kid. And I remember somebody asked me one time, like, oh, oh, what do you bang? And then that means like, what gang? Right? And I was like, bang. And he just like laughing at me because he's a. I don't know what the. He meant. Yeah. Because I had heard at that point where you from? So I was like, okay, I know what that means. But when he asked me, where you been?

[Brent Tucker]

I was like, you grew up in SoCal, right?

[Angel Cortez]

Southern California, to be specific. Orange county, to even more specific, Garden Grove and then Santa Ana. We lived and grew up in Garden Gropa. We spent a lot of time, a lot in Santa Ana.

[Tyler]

Like, can you, can you scoot up a little?

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, yeah, sorry. So my dad's. Well, he's an alcoholic, so he's like, AA meetings were in Santa Ana. The church we went to was in Santa Ana.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

The teenager program that that the AA has for kids wasn't was in Santa Ana or church or like ghetto.

[Brent Tucker]

The AA for kids.

[Angel Cortez]

Like, like, if your parents are alcoholics. Okay. Yeah.

[Tyler]

You never know.

[Brent Tucker]

All right. Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

The.

[Brent Tucker]

So being from SoCal. I'd imagine there would have been a lot of other like Hispanics around you.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Did, did. Were they also giving you a hard time or is it the. I mean, I'm just asking real questions. Was it the white kids? Was it the black kids? Was it just the more, you know, more, you know, affluential kids that, you know, that, that could, that were bilingual and had money? Is there or is this.

[Angel Cortez]

It was a little bit of everything. It wasn't like. Yeah. It wasn't like, oh, it's the white kids or, or the black kids. No, it was a little bit of everything. It was, you know, it's elementary. You. Nobody wants to be.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

Real close or friends with the kid that is one of the kids that gets picked on. Right.

[Brent Tucker]

Did you have other kids like you that.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

And then equal heart as a time.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, yeah. And they were, some of them were Asian or some of them were, you know, white or, or Mexican. But me being for so account, most of them were. We're Mexican.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Tyler]

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[Angel Cortez]

And then one day I remember now I'm in eighth grade and those kids had left for, for high school and, but they would come back and you know, mess around with, with the junior high kids. And one day they wanted to take our skateboards. And at that time my, my, my group of friends are all skaters and, and most of them aren't fighters. That, that's not who they are. So they took the skateboard away. I wanted to get the skateboard back, but it wasn't my skateboard, it was my friend's skateboard.

[Tyler]

Yeah, and, and it's not like you can just go, hey dad, buy me a new skateboard. Like, that's your skateboard. You ain't getting another 100.

[Angel Cortez]

100.

[Tyler]

When you don't got much, you'll fight, right?

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And, and that one of them could tell that I had an angry look on my face. And he said, oh, look at this. He's a, look, look at this one. It looks he wants to do something. And I couldn't because I might have been able to beat up that guy, but I wasn't gonna be able to beat up all his friends. And, and then, you know, at that moment I was like, okay, well am I always gonna get picked on? Well, what am I supposed to do? And then there was a group, another gang in there that they were like, hey, we don't like those guys. And I was like, hey, I don't like them either. And I started hanging out with them. And at the time I just wanted backup to not be messed with anymore. And at the time I didn't understand what was happening. But now after, you know, like psychedelic therapy and being older, much wiser, I understand what was going on. It was that right there, that moment, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I was getting at the house for years. I was getting it made fun of and, and I drew the line. I was like, no more of this. So I, I joined the gang and quickly rose to the ranks of controlling my own crew within the gang. And then at some point, you know, I was leading, you know, the vast majority of crime that was, that was being produced and violence that was even produced from that gang. I was leading it.

[Tyler]

I have a question.

[Angel Cortez]

Yep.

[Tyler]

What was a gang? What was your set called?

[Angel Cortez]

The gang was called Palma Vista. So Palma Vista is a one way street, one way out. Right. And at the time the, how that gang started is that there was a bunch of, when people get out of. Kicked out of the hoods for whatever reason, either because law enforcement or. Or their own families are trying to get them out. They all went to this one street, and there was a lot of gangs in that street. But then all the kids that would see the gang members there were decided, hey, let's start our own little crew. And then it was called Palm Officer Crew. And then I got there right around the time when those kids are now older, and then they're like, hey, let's call it Palm of the Street. And then some of them, at the same time, when I joined, went to. Went to prison for. For a while. And then that's, you know, how you. It was like a gang. Now, did you.

[Tyler]

So as a. As a. As a street crew, right? As a smaller gang, do you have to pay homage and pay percentages to, like. Like you're a franchise of another gang, or did you guys just, like, fight the power the whole way through?

[Angel Cortez]

Well. Well, no, you had to fight me, because you have to then mark your own little territory, and you have to fight because there were other, bigger gangs there that obviously fought. So I just wanted backup. And then now, all of a sudden, I didn't obviously understand the consequences of my actions because I just wanted back up from those guys that kept coming to mess with us. Now, when I joined that gang, I had beef with the other guys from that gang and then the friends from their gang, so.

[Brent Tucker]

But just spiderwebs out. It really never ends.

[Tyler]

But was narcotic sales a big thing for your gang or.

[Angel Cortez]

No, it was. And then it got bigger once I got into it, because, you know, I was 14, I just wanted to back up. And then When I turned 15, I got stabbed. And when I got stabbed, it was, you know, I'm full of testosterone and. And certain emotions from my upbringing that I was like, you know what? This. I went to the older heads. I was like, yo, I want to buy a gun. I want to buy. And they're like, hey, we even got a bulletproof vest. And I was like, give it to me. And then I also saw guys who were. Who were, you know, making money off drug sales. And I was like, you know what? I want? I want to do that. And it's not a justification, but that's. I did it because I was like, you know what, man? I'm tired of not having anything. I'm tired of my brother and my sister not having anything. So I started selling drugs, and I would take my brother and my sister to the movies, to the mall, And I told them everything that we've ever been denied, now we're going to get it. And guys that were. That were buying jewelry and cars and stuff like that, that's all cool. But I was feeding my brother and my sister myself. Every now and then I'd put some food in the. At that point, I already been kicked out of my house. I put some food and gas in my mom's car, in her apartment, and I did that. I did that for a couple of years. And. And it was hard because the deeper I went into it by certain actions, the more. The harder it was to seem to. That I was going to get out.

[Tyler]

Did you have to pay a percentage of your sales to anybody else that was bigger than you? Because I. The only reason I asked is because the Hispanic gangs have always intrigued me as far as, like, like, and I don't know, it's true, but everybody, Everything I've ever watched said lema or they take. They're the Mexican mafia. They will take percentages from everybody. So everyone's pulling from the smaller ones and they're going to get paid. And if they're not getting paid, they're going to start looking into why there's this operation down here that's Hispanic.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tyler]

And Mexican in nature, and they're not paying.

[Angel Cortez]

And I. I think the. If the older guys were doing it, I wasn't aware of, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were because some of them at that point already been going to jail. And if you go to jail, they're gonna ask, where you from? And then, well, you better be, you know, squared up. Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Interesting. And, you know, the. It's always a different perspective. Like when you hear someone who, like, you earnestly lived through it. And, you know, and I put myself in that same situation, you know, like, just mentally. Not that I ever really could, you know, And. And I get it. I mean, I'm. There's just nothing. I mean, I get it. Well, and what I love about your story, though, is because you just said you kind of felt like there was no other way or other way out or, you know, like, essentially. I'm sure we'll just pause you at 16, 17 years old, you know, in life, and you're like, hey, like, where. Where is this going? Like, well, this is. I'm it. Like, this. This is it. This is where it's going. But that's not the truth, you know, because you ended up doing other things. And I love that. Like, if you're 24, 25, 28 still doing these things. You're an idiot.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

You know, and your situation, you know, at that time in life that I get it. So what made you join the military? Because it seems like your life's going a very different way.

[Tyler]

They gave him a bigger gun and a bigger.

[Brent Tucker]

But that's what I love about the military. It's, it's always an option. Like it really is an option. And honestly for people like you, it's a great option.

[Angel Cortez]

Definitely.

[Tyler]

It's, I've heard from, I've heard that, you know, like lower income areas like that, like there's two passports, the military and sports 100. And if you don't have one of those, you're not getting out.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. And let me tell you, there's a, the, the hallway heading to the military is a much bigger hallway than sports. So unless, unless you're 6 foot 6 and got a 38 inch vertical, you might want to start looking at the military a little more serious.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, 100%. And then. Well, I, I wanted to join the military because they, again, at the time I wasn't understanding the attraction, but they had everything that I wasn't and that I didn't have in my life. And it was, I would see those guys on the movies and, and, and National Geographic documentaries about the special Forces and stuff like that. They had love and brotherhood and they, and they were willing to care, to fight for each other and put their own life on the line and, and, and they were strong and I was malnourished and I was, you know, small and, and there were everything that I wasn't and everything that I didn't have. So I wanted to do that. And I, I, and I had always said that I wanted to join the military and some of my family members were like, yeah, but you're doing all this and that you're, you're not going to go in. And I, I never saw myself as a long, lifelong gang member.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

But at the time I'm like, what, what are my, my options? And obviously, you know, you got the saucer. I'm going because of puberty and, and peer pressure and it was more of the years and years of abuse that I was like, dude, this no, more like I'm not gonna get with anymore. And then the moment I decided to get out, you know, I, I, it was a collective of things, you know, and the moment I decided to get out, I remember first I had to admit to myself that I was wrong within myself. And then after I admitted that I was wrong, that I need to change. I was like, you know what? I verbalize it. And then I. I put the crew that I was only controlling into my friend's garage, and I was the guys. I. I led us down the wrong path. I'm not saying that we have to be. I'm not saying that we can't make money anymore, but, like, this isn't it, like, in the gang life. It's. It's not it. I was like, guys, we got to go back to school, and if you can't go back to school, go to continuation program. We got to get jobs. And it was kind of tough because I had. Then I had a legit job where airplane, like, small engines would come in, and they would come in the crates, and I would, you know, put it out of the crate, and then I'd go in the. In the back room, and they'd give me a list of parts to get, and I would get all the parts, give it to the. To the, you know, the mechanic guys, and then they would fix it, do their test, and they had, like, a whole engine testing thing, and I would hear them and see it. I'm like, man, that's cool. And then once they were done testing and it got repaired, I would, you know, put it back in a crate and ship it. And I felt great working that job, but on a Saturday, in, like, 30 minutes, I was making more in the two than the two weeks of working that job.

[Tyler]

The hard part about getting kids out of that life is you want to come have an honest living and make nothing or.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah, but you know what? Working on those Creighton and Uncraton airplane engines and getting parts of it will never send you to jail or get you killed. You know, it's always. It's always the, you know, stepping back and, you know, looking at things a little more holistically. Now, when you. When you had that conversation with. With your. Essentially, like, your extended family, right? That's kind of how I'm sure how you saw your. Your. Your gang members. How'd they take that?

[Angel Cortez]

Well, most of them had already. Certain things had already been happening where. Where. Where they were like, angel. You know, these dudes are around with drugs, selling it, and. Or maybe just doing drugs or coming in and out of jail. Some of the gang members are trying to be a rapper, so they're, like, rapping more than putting in work. They're like, angel, you do most of the work. You lead. Even though I wasn't one of the older heads, I was. I was leading the Charge. And people are telling me, they're like, bro, like, at this point, it's not even like, Palm of is a straight gang. It's you and your guys. And then. And then one thing happened that I was like, you know what, man? This. This is it. I'm. I'm out. And this is. These guys have no loyalty, no nothing. And when I told them that, most of them were like, yeah, I see it. Let's get out. There was two that were like, man, are you sure? And two of them that stayed in, but they're like, hey, I still hang out with you. I'll back you up. But, like, I'm still gonna be in that gang. But then those two eventually got out, and people always ask me, like, oh, if you got out, how come more people don't get out? Well, and I was jokingly say, yeah, you know, getting out was, like, easy. No, it was the most violent part of my. If you want to call it gang career. Because now I'm 17. So you have 14, 15, 16, 17. All these years of around, and people aren't gonna let you out. So I went to the gang and I told him, look, I'm out, and these guys are out too. And if you want to come after me, you already know how I am, so it's all or nothing, and you do what you want to do. And the end at the same time, look, it maybe was by. By luck, some of the older heads had gone to jail, so, boom, I'm out. But some of the other gangs weren't as. As. As what word I'm looking for?

[Brent Tucker]

Understand?

[Angel Cortez]

Understanding. And it was that my exit was. Was the most violent part, because that's when I was involved in the most gunfights, stabbings, jump, you know, getting. Jump. Jumping, people getting to fights. It was the most violent time of my exit.

[Tyler]

You know, were they taking advantage of you? Because now they're like, you're not. Now we're gonna go get some. Because he is not backing.

[Angel Cortez]

No, no, because it already been like that. And. And. And. And at this point, you know, I'm still alive. And. And. And they. And I had told them, it's funny, I even made a video and put it up on. On MySpace. And I was like, hey, we're out. But you guys already know how I am, so it's up to you. And a lot of them, a lot of people learned a lesson.

[Tyler]

That's a cool shirt. You already know how I am. And on the back, it's up to you.

[Brent Tucker]

Now is having to deal with that and the military both being a potential career, a paycheck, and a way and a ticket out to separate you from what's going on, were those all kind of the indicators or, or the influencers of why you joined the military?

[Angel Cortez]

No. No. I didn't even know you got paid, to be honest. But, but I got out because the, the every time we would do something big, I would always think like, this is it. I'm going to jail for life for double digits. And then I wouldn't, then I, and then nothing would happen. So then I always believed. And if you're gonna do something dumb, be smart about it. So I would go to the local community centers and I started taking CSI classes because I wanted to see what they, what, what they were looking for. So we had a protocol. Every time something big happened, like for example, from, from head to toe, everything got burnt. I didn't care if you had new shoes. Like, one time, one of my buddies had a new Air Force. Air Force once. And I was like, bro, you already know the deal. Give me the shoes. We're not gonna go to jail for you. So we burned everything.

[Brent Tucker]

You don't wear your new Air Force ones on a B E. Yeah, yeah, Timmy.

[Angel Cortez]

Well, we, we didn' you know.

[Tyler]

And then you're watching camera footage. Those are the shoes that were stolen the other day.

[Brent Tucker]

You wear your second favorite pair of shoes.

[Tyler]

It's like in Goodfellas.

[Brent Tucker]

We bought all the fur coats and.

[Tyler]

He'S like, the car like, what are you doing? We just robbed the thing.

[Angel Cortez]

And, and you know, the gun was away and all the ammo of that brand and that company was thrown away. So anyways, there's one big thing happened. Nobody went to jail. And I was like, look man, this is it. Like, how was I going to tell the cops? And it was funny. One of the gang member cops told me, he goes, I saw your video. He goes, you think people are going to care? And he was talking about the video of me saying, hey, I'm out. Yeah, and I'm taking everybody out with me. He goes, you think people are going to care? And I was like, I, I don't know. But, but you know, how is he going to tell the cops, hey, I'm trying to get out, but these people won't leave me alone. And I'm not going to coward my way and, and beg for mercy. So, you know, this big thing happened. Nobody got in trouble. And I was like, look man, I got, I gotta join. I've always said I wanted to join I'm gonna go join. So I had this little spiel I was gonna make, and I ran to the nearest recruiting center, and I was like, look, what year is this? 2007.

[Tyler]

Okay?

[Angel Cortez]

And I was like, hey, my name's Angel Cortez. I saw on National Geographic that there's these things called IDs that kill a lot of service members. I. I wanted to go after those guys or find the ids or whatever, and I can't join until I'm 18. I'm only 17. And then both recruiters were like, what the. They were like. They're like, hey. As a matter of fact, they're like, you can join. You don't have to be 18. You can be 17 and a half. And I was like, oh, cool. Oh, yeah. I was like, yeah, I'm seventy half, like, in two weeks. And then they're like, oh, but you need a signature of your parents. So then I had to go find my mom. And then I remember when I took it to the. To the what? The. I showed up with the recruiter to her at her place. She was. You know, she was. And she'd been emotional. She's like, are you sure you want to. You want to join? Because, you know, you can die. And I was like. I was like, mom, I've been talking about this since, you know, what I've.

[Brent Tucker]

Been doing the last four years. Like, it's a joke, but it's not a joke really. You know? Yeah, mothers might be the safest place for me over overseas right now.

[Angel Cortez]

And. And. But, like, I'm talking about way back. There's. There's pictures of me when. When I was. You know, we would. My mom would take us to 99 cent store or my grandma or somebody, and we'd get the. That bag of gray plastic soldiers and green plastic soldiers. Yeah. And I used to dig fucking trenches in front. In front of the apartment complex and just play for hours. And I always had this attraction.

[Tyler]

So you always kill off the stupid one with the metal detector. He was useless.

[Angel Cortez]

And that's my. That was my job.

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, God.

[Angel Cortez]

That was funny, though. It was funny because that was the one that, in my opinion, I didn't like the most because I'm like. He's, like, looking for mines. I always went for the one that was standing or the one that was kneeling, just shooting with the rifle and it was funny. Combat engineer. You look for fucking bombs, and you're doing the mind detector with the Fallon.

[Brent Tucker]

So she. She signed you up?

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, she signed up. And you Had a RIP contract. I didn't because I wanted to be in the special operations community. And I did a PT test.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

And I failed because I was, I was not athletic. I was, I was malnourished and, and the guy. And plus I wanted to do the ID thing. So they're like, you can be EOD or combat Engineer. And then when he told me about all the schooling for eod, I was like, man, I failed everything in school, minus math and pe. I'm like, I'm not gonna pass eod. So I was like, I'll do combat Engineer. So I, I signed up and they're like, how many years? They're like, you can do, at that time, you can do two to six. And then, and then it was funny, the recruiter was like, oh, by the way, I can get you your papers. And I was like, I was born here. Well, I just say, I didn't say the motherfucker bar, but I was like, I'm born here.

[Tyler]

And I think the two year contracts. Were you not eligible for VA benefits though? I want to.

[Angel Cortez]

I don't know. I think it was, I think. But he told me, because I remember he said something about the lower numbers. He goes, he goes, you're going to, you're going to go right away to a unit that's deployed or is about to be deployed.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

And man, I don't want to hijack it, but correct me if I'm wrong, at the end of the day, all contracts are eight year contracts in this aspect with the IRR. So if you do two, you're still going to be six in the IRR and in 2007, which was really a busy, busy time and both, chances are, even at the end of your two year contract, you were just going to get called back without our stop loss or stop loss. Yeah. So how's that for a trick? Yeah, you can sign up for two years, wink, wink. Yeah, but technically, but no, realistically, you, you'll be in.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And I remember the recruiter was, was going over pay grades and benefits and he's like, oh, you know, you, you'll get the, you know, GI Bill. And I was like, college. I was like, I don't, I don't care about college at the time. Right now I'm super grateful for those benefits. There was a part where he was telling me about like E1, E2, and there was like dollar signs. And I was like, I was like, I cut him off. I was like, what is this? He goes, oh, this is how you this is how much you're going to get paid. And I was like, you get paid for this and, and they feed you.

[Brent Tucker]

House you, and they pay you.

[Angel Cortez]

And he, and he looked at me like, what? And I was. Because I. This is how I thought it worked. I thought they gave you a place to live, food and clothes. And then, and then there were even.

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Angel Cortez]

I didn't know you got paid.

[Brent Tucker]

I love it. Even better.

[Tyler]

That's.

[Brent Tucker]

I love it.

[Angel Cortez]

So I joined and, and man, when I tell you I was. I was at the bottom of the barrel. Because when you guys joined, do you guys remember that? The first. That the. I'm not sure if it was during your times, but when you, when you got to basic, your PTS were the marshmallows. You guys remember that?

[Tyler]

I joined 2000.

[Angel Cortez]

The gray ones. Yeah, yeah, the gray ones. And until you pass your, your bare minimum 270pt, then you got the high speed.

[Brent Tucker]

The high speeds, right? Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

So I was one of the last guys to get the high speeds because I remember they're like, hey, you're gonna get tested one more time. And they gave us like the scare of like, if you can't make it, you're gonna get kicked out at that time. I don't think they're going to kick anybody out. I think they just said it right. And I was one of the handful guys that, that. Because I was, that's. That's how unathletic I was. And then I got to my duty station in which Fort Lewis, which is now a jblm. And then they're like, hey, we're going to Iraq.

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, real quick. Did you have any tattoos when you joined?

[Angel Cortez]

I did, but.

[Brent Tucker]

But none. None gang related.

[Angel Cortez]

None of them were gang related.

[Brent Tucker]

Did they talk to you about your, your history with gangs at all? Did that come up in. During the recruiting process?

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, but the thing is I was always smart about everything that I did, but I wasn't that smart. So there was one thing that, that did happen and I did needed actually two waivers to join. And I remember being.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah, what were the waivers? Remember?

[Angel Cortez]

Well, I got caught with. With the daily weapon on school grounds. And the second waiver, the, the, the gang affiliation? Actually, yeah, it did come up, but I told them that, that I just hung out with those kids.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Tyler]

It's family.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Tyler]

And then I went to boot camp with a. We were basically training with a guy who was in a Hispanic gang. His name was Thomas Cook. He was whiter than me, but when you talk. He taught. He grew up Talking like that. So he spoke like his dialect, everything was cholo and. And he said he told her he had a big piece or. I can't even say if I want to. He was like, I just told. It was my family crest.

[Brent Tucker]

And they're like, okay.

[Angel Cortez]

And that officer that I actually had to talk to, he was like, why should I let you join? And then I told him, you know, I was like, sir, I'm just, you know, I want an opportunity, you know, to serve my country. Because I really did. Because even though I'm doing this stuff, you have to understand, you know, I was born and raised off food stamps and my mom signed up for every, every state and federal program that she could. So the way I saw it with 9 11, and just to show you how, where, mentally where I was as a, as a sixth grader, because that's when 911 happened, is I remember knowing we were going to go to war. And I felt bad because I couldn't go to war because so when I shit, literally, I know that I was gonna be able to join. The way I saw it, one of the reasons why I joined is because, you know, this, this country's taking care of my brothers and my sisters and I. Now it's my turn to take care of the country.

[Brent Tucker]

I love that. I do. I love that, love that mentality, man. I don't. We're. I don't. You already said this, so I don't think it'd come off disrespectful, just kind of using your words. But I don't think your dad or your mom gave you a lot of values. But I mean, I could be wrong, you know, about that. But just this, you know, the snapshot of your history. Where do you think you got your values from? So where do you think you got that mindset from?

[Angel Cortez]

Well, well, one thing that I. I give credit to my dad. The dude was an alcoholic, but no matter what, it was always up at 4am every single day. And he worked till the sun went down. So the hard work aspect is growing up seeing. And then so the. The only good father figure that I had was my grandpa.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

You know, but he had passed away, so. But the values, I think, I think a lot of it was the fact that, you know, growing up, being told that. That you're worthless, that you'll never accomplish anything, that. That, you know, you get made for them at school, that you're. You're one of the last kids to get to get picked on for, for like the team.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And Stuff like that, you know, and, and I was like, man, that might be true, but, but let me figure that out on my own. Okay? Maybe, maybe I won't accomplish it, but I don't want to take your word for it. And if I am, if I am worth nothing, well, then let me find out, Right? So I, I, and then, yeah, I had nothing in my background to, to guarantee success, you know, so when I wanted to be in the special operations community. Yeah. I wasn't a former high school, you know, football star or anything like that.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

But I just wanted to find out on my own. And, and then the hard work is, I think not. I think I know is seeing, seeing my family members wake up every Single morning at 4:00, work all day, you know, for, you know, pennies on a dollar here and there.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. And not comparing the two directly, but you know, me, me and Drew talk about this a lot. My dad didn't. He wasn't a man of many words, but it's, it's. Looking back, it's all. You underestimate how powerful it is as a father figure. The man in your life, which is your dad, what he can convey to you just by his actions. My dad same. Worked 60, 70 hours a week. Relentless. Didn't have a whole lot of time to impart a whole lot of wisdom into us because he was always working. But me and my brother remember that later on in life, just watching your dad go to work and working like a man day in, day out, what that does psychologically for you as a kid, it's hard to, it's hard to fathom at the time, but later on, you 100% remember it when you become a man.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, yeah, definitely.

[Tyler]

Like being a dad too, you realize like a lot of the interactions with your son are negative because they're, you're, you're correcting as you're the guy, no one else. Right, Mom?

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Tyler]

Traditionally, grandparents shouldn't be, they should just be playing with their grandbabies. This shouldn't be their job on. It does fall a lot on grandparents, though. But like, as I sometimes I look at it, I'm like, man, I haven't had a interact, a positive interaction with my son like three days because he's been up at school or up on chores, you know.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, yeah, but, but I mean, you're right. I'm a big believer that, that kids learn more from what they see their parents do day in, day out than, than what you yell at them every single day. Which is why I always Am careful with how I, I go about myself, how I have two daughters, how I treat my wife, because they're gonna see that's what a man is. Or, or they're going to want to try to go after a man like that. And, and, and, you know, and then my son, how I treat and respect his mom. So that, you know, that's very important for me of, you know, what I do daily.

[Brent Tucker]

So we'll go, we'll get back to. To the story. You. Are you at AIT now at Lewis or. Or did. Was AIT somewhere else?

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, no, AIT and basic was at Missouri.

[Tyler]

I have a question for both you guys. Did you guys ever hear that. That around that time that gangs were joining the military to. To learn the tactics to bring to the streets? Yeah, and I've heard that. I've never, I've never seen that. I've seen people leave gangs to go like your story. I've seen people still in gangs join the military, but they wanted the benefits. But I've never even heard of somebody joining and, you know, infiltrating the U. S. Military just to bring the tactics back to the.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, no, it's, it's me speaking from experience, from what I've seen, all the people, including myself, that have joined that had. Either they were in gangs or crews or just in those neighborhoods. It's more of a way out. Has there been one that maybe got out and. And he got lost and he was like, I don't. I don't really know who to hang out with. And he just goes back to. Yeah, for sure. But I, I don't.

[Tyler]

The motive.

[Brent Tucker]

Right. Yeah. Outliers for. For sure. The. How was. How long is that AIT Combat engineer school Total?

[Angel Cortez]

I think it was maybe four months, five months.

[Brent Tucker]

Really?

[Angel Cortez]

Well, basic and AIT Yeah, we're together.

[Brent Tucker]

How. How was with the. With the combat engineering being like anytime you go to AIT It'll be, you know, you start to learn your technical job and there's still a lot of physicalness to it. Yeah, but how did you feel after, you know, like you said, you're underperforming and academics before there and showing up to the military. How do you feel like you performed mentally and for your. And for your job at AIT by the time you graduated?

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, I was, I was, I was behind. I started behind on everything. Right. So my, my reading comprehension level was lower. So when they were telling us things, I learned very quickly. If they showed me and had me do it, I was, I was game but when they were like, here's this book. Read it. Half the words on the, in the book, I didn't even understand. So I would then ask guys like, okay. And then they would say, tell me what to do and how to do it. I was like, oh, yeah, okay, I can do that. And so after. So by the end, I, I felt like I could do the job, and I was a great performer. But, like, again, man, if you gave me a manual and I try to read it, I'm like, man, I, I, this is going to be hard for me.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. When, when you show up to your first duty station, do you know what? Did you go in as a, as a PV1?

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay. When you show up your first duty station, who, what, what, what unit were you assigned to?

[Angel Cortez]

It was 2 ID. 2nd ID. It was 2nd ID. It was. The company was called 18th Engineers, and we were a company of engineers in a, in a battalion of inf.

[Brent Tucker]

What, at what point were you like, I want to go to Ranger Bat. So that starting AIT or earlier? Did it start when you got around the Rangers?

[Angel Cortez]

Yes. Yeah. It started once I got to jblm, because over there there were second Bat and first. First group.

[Brent Tucker]

Yep.

[Angel Cortez]

And I would see those guys and, and, and I was lucky enough to have this mentor. His name was is Hugh of Underwaal. And he wasn't in my platoon, but he was a team leader that lived in my barracks. And, and he was an army brat. He's like half white, half Japanese. And, and because He was an E5, he had his own room. And, and, and I'll never forget, in his room, one side was just like every young individual. Next box. Or he was a PlayStation guy, play PlayStation, big TV. But on the other side, it was a library, you know, of books. And, and he just took me under his wing and he was talking to me about tactics, history and everything. And half the stuff I didn't really understand. But, but I like that he was trying to help me out.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And I would add, years later, I asked him like, hey, why would you help me so much? And he goes, he goes, you were a knucklehead, but I can tell you eager to learn, and I can work with that. Yeah. And so then we, we deployed to dial a province in Iraq. So I was there from 09, 2010. And then some people, you know, got hurt. Some people. There were some ID blasts, mortar attacks and, and stuff like that. And the entire time, all the dudes who'd been there during the surge were like, oh, this Is nothing. This is nothing. And I remember thinking, like, oh, well, okay, I guess this is like a nothing deployment we get back. And I was like, you know what, man? I want to be. I want to be in the special operations community. And I told Hugh and I told Vanderwaal, and I was like, hey, I want to join. And again, he's not my immediate leadership. He's like, I'll train you. I'll train you up for it.

[Brent Tucker]

I love it.

[Angel Cortez]

But when I told my actual leadership, my squad, I'll never forget is I told him that I want to be in the special operations community. And my squad leader was there, my team leader was there, and all my. My squad members, and. And they also just started laughing at me, and. Because there's this guy named Johnson who had just come back from selection. He. He didn't make it. And they were like, oh, yeah, Johnson couldn't make it.

[Brent Tucker]

Johnson didn't make it. Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

What makes you think you can make it? And. And that hurt, you know, because this is. This is my team leader. This is my squad leader. And. And I was like, you know what? I'm still gonna train up for it. And I was training up for it. And then there was the best sapper competition. And that was happening. It's not. It was. It wasn't the official one, but they had one there, and they were gonna get a North Ford to be part of it, so. And then I told my platoon star, and I was like, hey, I want. I want to be in the best cyber competition. And at the time, the only one who else also wanted to do it was. That was the company, you know, his golden boy, and his name was Scoot over. And he. And he goes, no, no, because you're gonna slow down. Scoot over. And I was like, no, I won't slow him down. And he goes, no, no, you're gonna slow him down.

[Brent Tucker]

And real quick, just because you said it fast and the two words are very similar. It's best sapper competition, not best sniper competition. Just in case there's any confusion on that.

[Tyler]

Sniper.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, sorry.

[Brent Tucker]

No. And. And being an engineer, I assumed that it was going to be sapper can finish your story. Just want to make sure that. And then tell everyone what a sapper is.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

You know, tell everyone what a sapper is first. And then.

[Angel Cortez]

So sapper is somebody who's an expert in mobility. Counter mobility and survivability. And then how. And you know, like, let's say, for example, same Prior Ryan, People have seen that you Know, hey, bring in, bring up the Bangalores or setting minefields. But the way the G1 went, the main thing that, that combat engineers were doing was route clearance, whether it was in vehicles or, you know, but by individuals walking. So instead of clearing minefields, then you had to clear IEDs. And then you specialize in demolitions. Right? So that's like, the big thing is demo. You're an expert in demo, but you also have to be well rounded in infantry tactics because you get attached to these, to these people, and so you have to know how they work and do your own part. But you specialize in demolitions.

[Brent Tucker]

Right? And the demolitions is because once you find it, you have to do something with it.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, 100%. You got to blow up.

[Brent Tucker]

You want to be. They want you to be the One Stop shop. Not have you find it and then have, you know, gosh, how am I forgetting their names? Eod, Leo to come in. You're the one.

[Tyler]

Takes forever. That'll hold up a route for 12 hours.

[Brent Tucker]

Yep. So they want you to be the One Stop Shop, which is, which is asking a lot from, you know, for, from a guy. Which is why the Sapper School and the Sapper Competition are, are highly regarded sapper community. Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, definitely. So then nobody wanted to be Schoonover's partner. So I said, hey, I, I, I, I, I, I want to do it. And they were like, fine, but don't slow him down. So on the first day, I don't, like, scoon over.

[Brent Tucker]

I don't like his friends. Maybe he's okay. Was, was, was, was it his friends doing this? Were they doing it? Was, was it partially him too?

[Angel Cortez]

It was partially him.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay, all right.

[Angel Cortez]

But later on he, he changed and stuff. But anyway, but on the first day, he got hurt and, and they were like, oh, Cortez, you're done, because skin over up his shoulder. And, and I was like, no, but I want, I want to keep going. And they were like, fine, just go to the nearest team and don't slow them down. And then, and then, and now we're at the rook march part.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay, Right.

[Angel Cortez]

We started at 5am now it's like we're talking 9 or 10 in the morning, and then we're doing the ruck march to an unknown distance location. And then they were kind of, I was kind of faster than them. So I was like, hey, can I just run up to the nearest team? They're like, okay, do it. And then I would catch up to the nearest team and then I would Be like, hey, can I go to the, the next nearest team? They're like, okay, go. And then eventually I got away to the front and I was like, hey, can I just go? And they're like, well, the last part is the obstacle part. Sure, go ahead. So I go, I do the whole obstacle course and by the time I'm done, 30 minutes later, the next team is done. So, so then the next day they were like, hey, you can't just do it by yourself. We're going to, we're going to some other members. Guy got her something. You could be with him. And then by. And then, because our, and then our points got added up and then. So at the end we play seventh. But the guys who were first, second and third had seen me how I was throughout all the other days. And I remember the guy on first was like, you should have won. And I was like. And I was like, nah, man. Like, you want. Yeah, right. And then, so when I came back, I didn't notice that everybody was like saying like, oh, Cortez got it to here, to there, to here. And my squad leader, instead of being supportive, what he said was when he came up to me after the first day, he goes, I don't want to hear anything about shin splints ever again. Because I had shin splints a couple months prior. Yeah. Because I didn't know I was flat footed. So I was running around in boots, trained up for this thing. And then I was like, yo, I got, I got shin splints. And then I got on a soft shoe profile for like 30 days. And for people who don't know that it means you don't get to wear boots. You wear like PT running shoes for 30 days.

[Tyler]

You and the pregnant chicks.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. So it doesn't look good.

[Brent Tucker]

It doesn't look good. And it's always so out of place.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

You soldier walk around and I know, I get. I dealt with shin splints as a, you know, 16, 17, 18 year old playing basketball. I played basketball every day and, and I would randomly get them and gosh, they were so painful.

[Tyler]

And there's nothing, there's nothing you can do. You either run through it or take a break. Those are your two options.

[Angel Cortez]

Yep.

[Tyler]

And they go away on their own.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

I don't really know what brought them on. I really don't know really. I get what made them go away, but yeah, gosh, they were painful.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And then, well, when I went to go get X rays, I just had shin splints and they're like, actually, you have stress fractures on both legs. Because I kept telling them, hey, my right leg is hurting, my right leg is hurting. But my right leg was hurting more than my left. So I had this nasty habit and I still kind of do to then just only talk about the one that hurts the most. So they're like, oh, we're going to X ray both legs. And I was like, no, it's my right. Like, he's like, we're just going to do both good on them. And he goes, actually, you have stress fractures on both legs. And I was like, oh, well, my right one hurts the most. He was like, yeah, because that's the worst one. So then before that, best cyber competition for 30 days on the I was on the softshield profile, which is why he said, I don't want to hear anything about stress factors ever again. And then I was like, you know what, I'm going to join, I'm going to drop my packet. And one of the squad leaders from my platoon was like, look, man, there's this word that we're going to get attached to Special Forces groups to do village stability operations. Don't leave. And I was like, no, I'm going to drop it. Because the environment isn't that supportive and that great. And then I started seeing some of our squad leaders go to first groups because they wanted to build us up to be aware with their gear and vehicles and stuff like that. Because what people don't know village stability operations is if you took an oda. So Special Forces Major Jim Gantt created the village stability operation whole thing, right? And so instead of fighting out of these big bases, you go out, you patrol and you come back. You go out and you patrol, you come back. The Afghans don't respect that. But if you live in their valley with them and you fight along them sides with them, they're the Afghans. Will, will, will then think highly of you and then therefore help you push out the Taliban. So that was the whole thing. But instead of putting two ODA teams in one valley, how about you put one ODA and you supplement it with infantrymen? And then that's where I came in. Because the infantry battalion that got attached to that, they wanted to kind of be like a well rounded squad. So they asked for the best nine combat engineers they had and immediately I was one of them. So they're like, hey, you're going to be one of the nine. And then I was like, are you sure? They're like, no, yes, like you were the first name that they said should go. And I was like, okay, fine.

[Brent Tucker]

And one of the reasons why we plussed up ODAs with infantry guys is because once you start living with the locals, security becomes an issue. And even though they're not Green Berets, they're not going, you know, necessarily on assaults with you, which they could. And they could be outer. You could use them, you know, with however you see fit, you know, to help you. But the security aspect of it was, was huge. To have American infantry with you to secure you while you live with the locals, that was, that was a huge piece in it. We loved having infantry guys with us. They were great. And the amateur guys loved being with us. So it's a very, it's a good relationship. In fact, I think that was one.

[Tyler]

Go back to the line.

[Brent Tucker]

And I think that was one of the best recruiting tools for SF was to have an infantry guy come out and live with you and see how you work and see the freedom you get by going, you know, extra. By doing extra in the military. You get rewarded.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, definitely.

[Tyler]

JV team for life. And of course, we got to give a shout out to our boys in 09 holsters. Custom built ruggedized duty gear made in the USA 4 cops by cops, a Leo and veteran owned small business. They do an upgraded solutions for duty gear including cases for portable radios, body cameras, tourniquets, and pretty much everything you need to carry on duty. So go to 09holsters.com and use promo code Anti Hero 10 Zulu 9. That's Anti Hero 10 Z9 and get yourself 10% off your order.

[Angel Cortez]

Revenge is an act of passion. Vengeance is an act of justice. Injuries are revenged.

[Brent Tucker]

Crimes are avenged. Almost a century ago, big pharmaceutical companies re engineered medical school curriculum and faculty.

[Angel Cortez]

With one putting profit before progress. Anyone pushing back against the medical matrix they carefully crafted was threatened, silenced, censored, financially ruined or worse.

[Brent Tucker]

They are the problem.

[Angel Cortez]

We are the solution. You're clear to engage with weapons.

[Brent Tucker]

You're clear to engage with weapons.

[Tyler]

JV team for life.

[Angel Cortez]

So when we get to wardac, this is 2000.

[Brent Tucker]

Wardak was a nasty place.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes, it was.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

2011, we get to Wardac where you're living and operating between 8 to 10,000ft in elevation. We get to, we get to Montrad on Bath. From Montreal, we go to Shank Shank, we go to Copside. The VSP is not that far from there, but the biggest base vsp, a village stability platform. So it's basically a house that ODA took over and now that's where you live and fight out of. When we got there in the winter, and what people don't know is that you have like, an off season of fighting in the winter. For the most part, Afghans don't want to fight. You don't want to fight. And then so it's like unofficially the off season. When we got there, the ODA 3333 greeted us. They had just gone through hell. They took us immediately to one of the places where there were still Humvee parts in the ground. And they were like, hey, we lost three dudes and a dog here. This is what's waiting for you in the spring. So then they. They helped us. They were like, hey, let's go shooting. The Navy OD guys were like, hey, who's your combat engineer? This guy. Okay. So then they took me to the side and they gave me gear to use. They're like, hey, this is how we. We. The IDs were kind of in this area. This is what we did. Here's this grappling hook that you can take apart and just put it in your backpack. And I still have it to this day. And they were very helpful. And then. But then they rotated out with 3426. And then. And then 3426 was like, hey, let's all. Instead of half living at the vsp, half at the. At the cop cops hide about, let's just all live at the vsp. So we go there and we lived and fought out of Ankai. And the. The fighting that I wanted, that I always said I wanted, we got. Plus more. We made national headlines. Three different times. We had to deal with not one, but two suicide bombers. They tried to overrun us multiple times. One time grenades had to be thrown. And it wasn't your average dumb farmer. I hate it when people are like, how could you guys not beat, like, these dumb farmers? I'm like, look, is there dumb farmers with AKs? Yeah, but you're also fighting well trained individuals, and that's who we were fighting.

[Brent Tucker]

You know, farmers aren't making their own suicide vests.

[Angel Cortez]

Yep.

[Brent Tucker]

You know, there's. There's training and outside resources that. That come with that.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And, you know, it was hot. We. We got in multiple gunfights. So many times I've been woken up by RPGs, by machine gun fire. There have been times where I've had to pull IEDs out of the ground with my bare hands and. And, you know, set them to the side to Blow them up. Because you can't blow them up in the road because then the Afghans get mad at you. Yeah, and sometimes we do. So we do just blow it up on the road.

[Brent Tucker]

It was like anti tank mines that you end up pulling out of the ground.

[Angel Cortez]

Do you remember anti tank mines too? And it was, it was funny because I kind of laughed when they were, when we found the first ones because I remember one day I was, I was using the, the Valen, which is our mind detector, okay. And I was like, oh, I got something. And then I started digging, I started digging and digging more and I found this like 12 inch steel rod. And I laughed and I was like, oh, they're just testing our capabilities. And then the following week they found an anti tech mine, you know, and then they're like, hey, you know you Cortez, hey. By the way, you were right because I had said hey, I think they're testing our capabilities. But it was mostly IDS and it was nasty ids and I remember one time we had intel that hey, they're, they're, they're growing hme. We see it, they're like drying it or whatever up on the roof or whatever. And we went deep into this, this valley that we were already living in. We couldn't find it, we couldn't find it. And then eventually one day it found us and we were at cops. I had a bad ringing up on supplies. It was five in the morning and the first suicide bomber blows himself up in front of the, at the gate. And I remember I was just in my peripherals, I saw the dust cloud almost hit this Blackhawk that was just about to take off. And I remember thinking like, damn, that dust cloud almost hit the Blackhawk. And then, and then I go, hey, that's at the gate. And because the, the SF compound was at the top of the hill in copside about. And as I'm saying, that's at the gate. I didn't know this. The guy blew himself up to allow a dump truck to go in there and blow itself up next. You know, I'm in the ground, there's dust everywhere, my buddies are running up the hill to grab their gear. I was like, I don't know what the that was. I'm alive, I gotta go get my gear. So I run up, we grab our gear, and then we have GoPros. And this is how I started kind of gaining a social following on social medias because they allowed us to record all this stuff. So I turn on the GoPro as we're running down. And when we get there, it was. The cop was attached to a bazaar. So when we get there, if I. Unless I'm mistaken, it is 94Americans got hurt that day. A bunch of civilians got killed. And when we go there, there's. I didn't know this, but I'm walking over hands, walking over torsos. I can't even tell where the base begins and where it ends. And then there's seven of us trying to hold down this fucking hole and address all the wounded people. And they had previously attacked. I think it was FOB Shank or Sheridan, one of those. But. And then there's footage of this that they blew the truck up. And then, and then Taliban fighters came in. So we're waiting for the Taliban fighters to come in.

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Angel Cortez]

They never came. And then once we get up there. Well, we found out what it was, is that our combat controller told us that as he's then online with the birds, that the locals had heard how many fighters, I mean, how many civilians had gotten hurt, that all the people started blocking this one truck and it was another V bit. So then, then the guy, the driver or the passenger got his AK and he shot in the air to disperse the people because. So to allow the, the dump truck to go through.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And obviously that caught the attention of the birds. Then the comic controller was like, low, blow it up. Or you know, and then, and then, so then they attack that truck. And then. And then the Apaches or whatever did that thing.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. So that was supposed to be a second V bid. A follow on V bid. Yeah, after the first one.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And this was HME that we were following. We were trying to find it and we never could.

[Brent Tucker]

And then HME is homemade explosives. Yes.

[Angel Cortez]

And then one time, I remember. So we had the house that we lived and operated and you were right, we, we, we lived and fought out of there and we were security. We had to be the security, our own security 24 7. And what I liked is that that ODA group wasn't like, oh, you guys do security? No, we're all going to do security because we're all in this together. They wanted. They saw this collage. They had just had walls, no housing, and they're like, hey, let's go deeper into this valley because we're fighting so much and so many of us are getting hurt. There was dudes on my deployment who got, who took an RPG to the razor and hit the radio. They obviously got concussed. Came back three days later to get Blown up again. There was. So there was dudes who were getting multiple purple hearts in that one rotation. So we go pushing deeper and they saw that we were pushing in deeper and they weren't going to let that happen. So we were getting attacked. And I have pictures. And we're building sandbags and we're taking RPGs and machine gun fire would fight back, stop, go back to filling up sandbags, fight again. And then, and then we put this dirt mount so we can put one of our vehicles higher so we can use the flare to, to look around.

[Brent Tucker]

Yep.

[Angel Cortez]

And then we were doing rotations three days or four days from the VSP to ex this. This little compound that we had. I remember one day, and I always wanted the. The shift where the sun was rising because I had heard and seen enough that people attack early in the day. So I always wanted those. Those shifts because if I wanted to be the guy to be ready. And as I take over, I see a guy who's on a shovel and he's sitting down. I got a picture of him and he's just looking at our back exit. There was two entrances in that little compound. A big one that we put like this gate on for the vehicles. And then. And then we put hesco's to block the other one. But we had like a door where you could put personnel in and out. He was looking at that exit, and I didn't like how he was looking at us. So I told our, our Special forces Afghan partners, like, look, look at this guy. They went up there and he's like, oh, I'm just farming. You're not just popping a squad with your. And they know the game, right? They know the game. So he's like, hey, if I just sit here with my shovel, I know they have rules. They can't shoot at me because I'm doing this. That same day, we rotate out, I tell the incoming team leader. I was like, look, bro. I told him what happened. I was like, look, be on an alert. I don't like this. And then that following morning, we're talking 4, 45, 5 in the morning. My squad leader wakes me up and I hear the RPGs and the machine gun fire. And he goes, they're getting under attack. We gotta fucking go. They're. They're about to be. No, he go, he doesn't. He doesn't say they're, but they're. They're getting attacked. He's like, they're about to be overrun. And I say, what. I don't even Know why I said what I already. I.

[Tyler]

Where are you? Where are you right now in this.

[Angel Cortez]

Story and this house that we took the. We took control of? Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay, and how far away is that from where the guys are getting attacked?

[Angel Cortez]

Man, we're talking maybe straight line, maybe 2km. But 2km and not a straight line in the terrain of the mountains of Afghanistan is forever, right? So we grab our gear, we get there. That the team leader that I told him to watch out, took an RPG to the leg. It blew up right next to him. So a bunch of shrapnel gone. His leg. One of the NSF guys had his finger shot off. And then they got. They got four of them stacked on the other side, and those guys had to start throwing grenades to back it off. And, you know, they almost overran us. But. But they had tried to do stuff like that, but this is the time where they got the closest, so it was hot. It. It. I'm telling you. And. And one of the guys who I was later on deployed with, like, he's a. He's very famous, And. And. And, you know, he's the Special Forces guy with his missing leg. I remember him and I and his team, we were fighting together when he still had two legs, so it was hot.

[Tyler]

Nick Lavery.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And it was. And it was. It was. We would fight multiple times. It got to the point where, you know, and I say war is a drug, because it is. Because the things that. Back in the day, if. Let's say we rotated out from that extended compound to here, if we would tell the guys, like, oh, yeah, I got, like, in two firefights when we were out there. He's like, yeah, we heard you. And then, like, it was nothing. Like, these big things were then, like, kind of like nothing. And we were taking these higher risks, high risk, high reward, because we were, like, numb. Like, obviously, you feel a certain way if you have all these gunfights and you're living and nothing's happening to you, so you get a custom thing. So then I would take risk that I didn't even need to, but I just thought it'd be funny and cool to tell the boys. Like, one time I blew. I picked up a. I can't win this, like, hole. I'm not sure you want to call it a cave or a whole big old hole, whatever. But I came in, and then I walked out with a grenade. With a grenade with a fucking id. And they were like, what the fuck? And I was like, I know. I remember as I'm Pulling it back.

[Tyler]

I'm pulling qualified. Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

I was thinking, like, this might be booby trapped, but it might not. But you know what? If it's not and I come out with it, then it'd be funny for the boys.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And that was an unnecessary risk. But at that point, you're talking about, like, I'd already walked up to IEDs before I already done this and that, you know, and, and so much stuff was happening that we needed more and more of it just to get right high.

[Brent Tucker]

Right. It does. It becomes a, it becomes a game to some degree. Until, until, you know, until something happens and hits the reset button hard and you're like, that's right. This is, this is very much not a game. But, but you're absolutely right. Like, until that. And that reset button will eventually happen, you know, if you play, you know, if you, if you roll the dice enough times. But until then, I agree with everything you're saying. Absolutely. I've seen it happen. You're not the first person to say that. And, and for the listeners that haven't been to war, I mean, I don't. It's hard. It's hard for them to really, I think, wrap their mind around the mentality that, that it becomes.

[Angel Cortez]

Yep. And then. Well, then after that deployment, I knew I had something going on when the team sergeant, if we were roll out in four razors and go out there and look for trouble, I knew I, I had something going on when, when the team sergeant would be like, Cortez is with me, or if we're getting ready for a mission. And then the Delta or Bravo would be like, hey, what vehicle you in with Cortez? Are you with us? And I'm like, no. And they're like, oh, damn. And I was like, look, if these guys want me to be in their razor with them, and they, and they, and they want me to be the one watching their backs or we go on certain missions, they want me to go along with them. Like there's one, this mission where we. It was called. We called it Capture the Flag. When the fighting season was about to start, Taliban put this big ass flag in the, in the valley. And to us, that was a big middle finger, you know, and, and so we were like, okay. So one day, well, one night a few of us went. And we walked very slowly. We took off everything that might jingle or shine and we replaced that with one of our flags. And this was like, I don't know, 2k in. And then we walked back and then we. They Found the flag. When they started attacking us with RPGs and machine gun fires, I remember hiding behind the wall to have protection before we shot back and one of our guys was like, do you think they found the flag?

[Brent Tucker]

I don't think this is. You just have to, you just have to be socially aware and the best support guys. If, if you get attached to an ODA and you just want to start wearing baseball hats and growing out your beard and you know, and looking the part and now you want to like be an ODA guy, like, you'll never get respected doing that. And the guys who tried the hardest to like just become, I don't know, self proclaimed Green Berets, you'll. You'll never be the guy. It's just how it works. We don't, we don't want you, we don't respect you. You want to be a Green Beret so bad, go, go to selection. Go be a Green Beret. But the attachments and the support guys, at the end of the day, the only thing they wanted to do was just do their job. They just want to do their job. They wanted to be the best at their job. They want to be the best engineer. Those are the guys that, that whether you want to be with us or not, now we want you to be with us. That says a lot. I already know. I've seen this play out time and time and time again. If they want you with them, it wasn't because you were the cool guy. It wasn't because you shot the range all the time and maybe you did, but in the day what really mattered to them is that you were good at your job. And when everybody is good at their job, that's, that's what makes that team dangerous.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh 100 and you know what? I. I wasn't the cool guy because I had a go fasters on and.

[Brent Tucker]

I remember that tell people to go.

[Angel Cortez]

Fast and what people don't. It was as you can tell, I need glasses and go faster as we call them BCGs. Birth control.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And it's, it's these big, big lenses that are wrapped around elastic rubber band that wrap around your head and you don't look that cool.

[Tyler]

That at that time in the war walking around with those still you're like there's something wrong with that guy. Like he's a killer. Like he's got, he's got something. He's wired differently. Like he doesn't like those glasses to me meant like yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And, and it was the way to look cool.

[Brent Tucker]

The frames Were thick. You know, everything.

[Tyler]

Is that even black? Black?

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, gosh.

[Angel Cortez]

And the Bravo, he was Darren, and he's my boy, but he's this jacked Bravo and one day he goes, cortez, do you have any idea how like how non threatening you look right now? And he goes, but they're in trouble. Once they shoot at you, they're in trouble. But they're like, man, I'm like, I'm five, six on a good day. At the time I was maybe, maybe 145. I got BCG's on, you know.

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, it's. It seems small. But the. Tell us, tell us about the. Always love the pictures of the. The guys would send me from. From their vso. Tell me about the VSO gem. Oh, so it's like more than likely, I'm just gonna guess it was some sort of prison gym, like, setup.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, 100%. So the, the 3333. I'm not sure if it was them or the guys before them. The only that was in there when we got there was a punching bag that looked like it was 50 years old, a treadmill and a few weights like dumbbells, random numbers. So it was either light or really heavy.

[Tyler]

And someone stole all the good ones.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, that happened and that was it. But. But when 3, 4, 2, 6 came in, they were all of a sudden we. You got a bunch of rogue coming in.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

We're like, oh, better, Better.

[Tyler]

Funding entered the building.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

I've seen a bunch of VSO gyms that were just like concrete and five gallon buckets. What's like, what's those? The rebar.

[Tyler]

They make their own? Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, yeah, yeah. So at the very beginning, guys, it was just how, how creative can you get to get something somewhat heavy? Two things that weigh pretty similar to each other, so you can use them at the same time. They, they get. It gets rudimentary.

[Tyler]

You can get the supplements you need, but you can't get the food or the weight equipment. Yeah, those are harder to get.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah, yeah. Mrs. Will put it on you calories. What was the food situation like? You guys live off MRE's, you guys like a local chef or. How did you guys.

[Angel Cortez]

So we had a navy cook.

[Brent Tucker]

Oh, nice.

[Angel Cortez]

And. And at first it was just basically like if we. You lived off the frozen food section of a grocery store because we had a fridge and then we had like an oven. So so, you know, sausage, hash browns and then fake eggs and that's all we had. But. But we would then pay our afghan Special Forces, guys. But, yo, go get that food. That food is. Give me the chicken.

[Brent Tucker]

That's right.

[Angel Cortez]

Give me the rice. Give me the vegetables. That's way better.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And I tell guys, I'm like, yeah, we actually had Internet there. And they're like, what do you have Internet? I'm like, well, it's easier to get Internet and phone access than it is to get fresh food.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

Because to get Internet, you just need something on top of the roof.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And then to get supplies, you need it to come from all the way from the US or somewhere else.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. Go. Would have brought probably an SDN light and. And got you Internet.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. It wasn't the best, but we had.

[Tyler]

To pay, like, 100 bucks a week for our Internet. That was the biggest. Oh, yeah. The war machine was rolling on that one.

[Brent Tucker]

But you gladly pay that.

[Tyler]

Oh, yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

You're not spending money on anything else. Am I gonna live to next month? You know, just, let's. Let's live good while we're alive.

[Angel Cortez]

And then speaking on that, before I forget, I had my own family members tell me, like, hey, your brother and your sister are not your responsibility anymore. And. And like most things in life, I listen to people, and then I just nod and say yes. And maybe I take their advice, maybe I don't. My Iraq deployment, when I should have came back with 30 GS. I came back with the paycheck that they gave me right before I came back, because I went. I mailed my debit card to my mom from my brothers and sisters, and I was like, look, I get paid on the 1st and the 15th. Take it all. And I put my sister through culinary art school. Well, with that deployment money, and. And, you know, my younger brother wasn't old enough, but. So I would just buy him clothes and stuff. But I kept doing this because when I joined, I told my brother and my sister. I was like, look, I'm doing this for us. Don't feel like I'm leaving you. You know, I joined for multiple reasons, you know, And. And. And they were one of them. And I was like. And. And I did what I could.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. And angel, you. You. You may be 5, 6, 140, but let me tell you, you're one of the biggest men I know. That is. That. That's. That's amazing.

[Angel Cortez]

Thank you.

[Brent Tucker]

It says a lot about you. I love it. I love your story, man. And I know it's probably. It's nothing to you. You feel like it's. Yeah, why wouldn't I? But I See the American flag on, on, on your hand.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

And there's just so many people that come this country and they, and they would still rather fly the flag or get tattooed the flag, you know, of where they come from. And it's more important to them than the flag that. That provides them everything.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean, I have the Mexico flag on the other side, but I, I know exactly what you mean, because I, I don't like it, man. I don't like it when people come to this country and, and they. If you don't like certain aspects of it, that's fine, but if you're gonna not show your support, like, do you not have any idea how it doesn't make sense. You come from another country here for to be a better life, and you want to just talk the entire thing. If there's some parts that you don't like about it, fine. But bro, we're here. Like, I have the American flag right in my hand because I was like, look, man, these colors don't hide and they don't run. So I'm putting it on my hand and then the Mexican flag, because that's, that's where my, my family came from. That's what my, my what I practice at my house. Tradition wise, that's what it is. And I, and that's my culture. That's. That, that's. But this is the country I'm at. This is the country that's given everything to, to my family. That's. They, My family members came here for a reason.

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Angel Cortez]

Because. And, and if you don't agree, well, you. But this is the best place on earth. This is the best place on earth.

[Tyler]

You're right. Because like, it should be. Being an American should be, you know, no matter what you're eating for dinner, no matter what way you're praying to God, no matter how your living room looks, at the end of the day, you're American. You know, and so we have so many different cultures here. That's how I think it was supposed to be.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tyler]

You know, but at the end of the day, we all come together under the American flag.

[Brent Tucker]

That's right. Yeah. And because. And we're. It's almost. We're on the same boat. So this is the, this is the United States of America boat. You know, under this boat flies one flag. You know, you can, you can be proud of, of where you came from and celebrate culture, but in the day, like, we all have to come underneath, you know, this flag and hope that this boat stays afloat. And right now there's just so many people. There's so many people literally putting water into the boat. You're in the boat.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

Don't put water in the boat.

[Angel Cortez]

And now you're in it.

[Tyler]

Right.

[Angel Cortez]

That's actually one of the reasons why I put it on my hands because look, I am, I am like the, Somebody had told me this, but now I, I have this thing where I don't. It's hard for me to admit certain things about myself and then when people tell you then, okay, but I always felt like I'd been the bridge between world. I go to the hood sometimes because that's where my family members still live. Where, where some of my friends still live. Not the former gang members, but like friends that I made. That's where they live. And, and I am welcome there, but I am also welcome in special forces guys houses or law enforcement. And I'm the bridge between both worlds. And both. There's people on each side that hate to see the other flag because they think this or that. And then that's not what it is. Like, for example, like wokenism hit you guys and you see it in your perspective of, of from a white guy, but woke all that hit us too.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And, and, and, and us Mexicans. And, and that's kind of what I've been fighting because that stuff hit us in a way where it didn't hit culturally the same way as white people. And I've been trying to fight that and be like, look man, if you join law enforcement or the military, you're not a colonizer, you're not evil, you're not this and that. So when I go and do these things in those areas, I know there's some people that hate to see this, the flag on my hand and I'm like, look man, I'm like, you have a wrong idea. Because the, the, that thing hit us too. And it hit us hard. And what people don't know is that besides the deportation part, traditionally speaking, most Hispanics are more conservative than anything, which is why they lost, which is why so many of them voted for Trump that weren't voted from in the last election. Because, and this is where, where, where the left side up is once you started with kids and, and the whole household by, by traditional standards, Hispanics don't believe in that stuff. And, and, and they, and they're not supportive of the gay things. They're not really. It's a man and a woman and the man is the man of the house. And the woman is who takes care of the house. And when you try to break that or say, like, hey, it's okay for you to, to, to tell my kid, oh, no, he's a boy, or no, oh, girl, whatever, and say that, you're going to keep that away from me, that's where they fucked up. And they're also, for the most part, super religious, which goes against all that stuff, which is why so many more Hispanics vote for Trump this time around. So besides the deportation part, they are more conservative than anything and patriotic. You have any idea how many times at the dinner table I've heard? We came here because it's the best country in the world and you need to be better than us. You need to do it better than us. You need to go this and do this and you do that. And it got to the point where I was like, I know, Mom. Like, I'm. I'm seven. You said it so much. But. But they're right.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. So. Absolutely.

[Angel Cortez]

So. But now people wonder, oh, why are so many people protesting? And you see the process, which is small. It's a small number. This is what I don't like, is that they see a bunch of Hispanics with the Palestine movement and this and that. And that's a small number of them compared to the vast majority don't believe in that. Right. And the reason why. Why, why, you know, they are is because it's that WOKE part. Because traditionally Mexicans don't rely on what the whole Palestine side one, when 9, 11 happened, stuff like that. The Hispanics, I don't want to just say, keep saying Mexican Hispanics. They were, they were. The word is not racist, but they were careful to even be aligned with them. And how they treat women and kids is not how you treat how Hispanics deal with. So culturally, it never matched. And then it became. When this WOKE thing came into the culture, now all of a sudden it's. It's free Palestine. And we're like, years ago we were against all that stuff.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

Because culturally we don't align with it. And now you're telling me that that. And it's this WOKE stuff that hit it. So that's one of the things that I've been fighting, which is why, as I do these big podcasts from this side and that side. Right. I'm not that welcomed in that community. They haven't taken me in as much. And I think, which is probably the same reason why the law enforcement, military, community has not taken me in as much either, is because they See the Mexican flag me, what I'm doing and stuff like that. Because one time I was on a podcast and they were talking about this community. Then I said that because I do so much through OG Pumpkin, because I love the community. And they're like, yeah, it's funny, you love them, but in a way they don't love you back as much. And this is why I said civilians are more aware, if not as much, about our culture with law enforcement and military, because they. They see all this and they see they're one of them. And he asked me, like, why is it that. That what you do for the community and you're not taking in as much as you like, you do a lot for the veteran community. You. You help guys enter and get through selection and. And, you know, you're not as big as Jocko, David Goggins, Tim Candy, any stumps or any of that. And they're like. And they were like, why? And I was like, honestly, I think it's because the other side maybe. Maybe they. They don't. They see one thing and they're like, former gang member. No, I'm against that. That guy. Oh, oh, he has a low rider, that guy. Or he plays Spanish music or. Or gangster music. And it's like. Like, I grew up and I like that stuff, but that's. That doesn't mean that's who and what I am.

[Brent Tucker]

Do you still have a low rider?

[Angel Cortez]

I do.

[Tyler]

About to ask.

[Angel Cortez]

I. I do. My. Actually, my low rider is a presidential 1992 Lincoln Town Car.

[Tyler]

Does it go like this? It does get out.

[Angel Cortez]

And the reason why I got the lowriders, because growing up, if you had a lowrider, that was like a status thing. That was like. So it made me. It took me back. But the reason why is the limo is actually not even for, like, hip hop reasons or like gang reasons or like, you know, that culture is actually because of skateboarding. You guys remember people of Bam?

[Tyler]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

Do you remember how one of them, Ryan, had the limo and me as a skater watching this, I was like, bro, the crew, one of them has a limo, they skate, do whatever the fuck they want.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

So the first chance I got, I was like, I want a limo.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah, I completely get that.

[Tyler]

We have a bunch of stuff.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. I had a 1988 Iraq Z17 year old, and I. One day I'm gonna do it. Yeah. Wasn't able to do it right. Like, as a kid, all I did was work to put money into that car. Like, like any other kid and now I wish I could go back, like, with adult money.

[Tyler]

Oh, get it.

[Brent Tucker]

You know, But. But we see it. There's a. There's a. There's a toy store, like, four. Four doors down from us, the amount of adults that go into that. That store. But I get it now. I'm like, yeah, they're adults now, and now they got adult money, and they go get whatever toy they want, you know, like, I get it. I get it.

[Tyler]

Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point.

[Angel Cortez]

So after that deployment, I came back, and then, you know, I was like, there's no way I'm going to stay conventional army. And I dropped my package.

[Brent Tucker]

Working with the SF team has ruined you.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And I want to say that. That the unit was supportive, but they were. They. They gave me staff duty for the guys who don't know is you have to watch the barracks or the battalion area for 24 hours, and then they give you that the following day off, and then you got to go back to work. And they were so such about it that they would give me staff duty the next day. I would have my off day, and then the following morning, I'd be back on staff duty. So to make my packet, which they can't stop you once it's submitted, but they can stop you and slow you down from doing your medical. And so I would have to then lie and be like, hey, I'm going to dental when I tell you doing this or that for. For my. My packet. And once in. But I got my packet done, and I would have to train in my off time. They wouldn't let me do PT on my own. I would. I would. Vanderwaal would literally drop me off off Eastgate. So if, you know, jblm. But Hugo would drop me off. Vanderwald, you. Vanderwaal would drop me off at Eastgate, and I would rock. March back to Puyallup, where I lived. And that was my rug training and stuff like that. So I would train during lunch, but when I dropped my packet four months. Four months later, I took off.

[Brent Tucker]

Now, they'll. That'll confuse listeners a little bit, as it should, to be honest with you. Why. Why were they doing that to you?

[Angel Cortez]

Well, because I think it's. It's personal reasons why they think that I. I feel like I'm better than them in some way or I'm attacking their profession. If they were, you know, 15 years in or 12 years in, like, I'm, you know, like I'm saying you to you, and what you're doing. I don't want to be part of this toxic environment. And then, and then a good reason is that, you know, they never believed in me, nor do they want me to be where I'm going. And it hits them, it hurts them in a certain way that they're like this guy.

[Brent Tucker]

Right. That's completely toxic.

[Tyler]

We, we have people talk about this all the time and it just doesn't. If you're outside the military, it makes no sense because you'd be like, oh my God, go better yourself. Yeah. Like this is a 20 year career. You're gonna do great. And it's for. And they benefit nothing from holding you back.

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Tyler]

There's no. They don't gain anything. It's not like they're a private company losing an employee.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

You know, and if you think, like I said, they can slow you down, but they can't stop it. So. So only two things are going to happen. You're going to lose the guy anyway. So treat him like crap. Did nothing for you then except show how little you are or he's not going to make it and he's going to come back and have to work for you. And now there's that. Now you've shown your true colors of who you really are and you think that's going to be a good work environment. So it's a lose, lose situation to treat someone like that. But to support someone in what they want to do when it's, when it's a good cause. I mean, don't get me wrong, don't support people in stupid things. There's nothing bad about this, only good things. So only good things can happen to support them. So it makes no sense why people would treat other service members like this that want to go to special operations, but it happens all the time.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, 100%.

[Brent Tucker]

It's insane.

[Angel Cortez]

And I tell that to guys because I've talked to so many people online. I'm like, look man, that this might happen, but don't let it stop you. So I drop my packet and I get to.

[Brent Tucker]

And it's not 100. It doesn't happen 100% of the time. But I can tell you whether it's. It's even. It's really hard to even put a percentage on it because different units, some units are completely supportive about it. Some, Some are not. Some are. It ebbs and flows. But I can. If it happens one out of ten times, it's. It's too many.

[Tyler]

Dude, those two guys in my basic training that they would go to church on Sundays and they would run to the, they would, they would meet up with SF to, to, to do that because in what, Sand Hill or whatever, they weren't allowing them to, to put in their application, to put in their packets to be Green Berets. And so they went and met with them and they're like, man, if you can, if you can do it, we'll meet you. So they were doing these like off the grid, you know, like missions to go to church just so they can go put their, submit their packet together and they both made it.

[Brent Tucker]

But you know what, I'll say this because it's the world we live in and you can hate it, you can let it get you down and you can let it crush you. And if it does, then you're not the guy we're looking for. So the positive part about that is if people are willing to do that to you and you're willing to do that type of work and do it ever it takes, then guess what, you've, you've already made it through the first selection gate and you're more than likely going to make it through the next election.

[Tyler]

The battle starts here.

[Brent Tucker]

That's absolutely. No, you're absolutely right. The battle starts here. And if you let, if that's enough to deter you from it, selection was going to kick your ass.

[Tyler]

Yep, that's a great way to look at it.

[Angel Cortez]

So I get to, to Georgia in the hot summer of fucking August, in the middle of August. So I went from, from Pacific Northwest to Georgia and I, and I got there to, to Pre rasp. I was at pre. You can be a pre. Pre RASP, which is Pre Ranger Assessment.

[Tyler]

Selection Program because RIP turned into RASP 100.

[Angel Cortez]

And I was there for four weeks, which really helped me out because at the time nowadays there's all these training programs which is good for the guys. But back in 2013 there was, there was nothing. So I literally just ran as much as I could, lifted as much as I could, squatted as much as I could, and then rocked most moves more than anything, as much as I could.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

So when I got there, it really did help me train up for them and it also helped me a lot because the guy who was the RASP cadre was getting ready for KAG selection. So in a lot of ways, some of the PT sessions during pre wraps were harder than I believe it.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah, and there's that, there's another story that's over. There's a lot of the pre courses that are, that are Harder than the actual course?

[Angel Cortez]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

And. And they'll do that. They'll. Because they'll claim their numbers are great. Like, 97% of the people who graduated this pre course graduate the actual course. Well, yeah, because you made it harder than the actual course. So. Do you know how many people you. You kept from going to the course that could have made it? But because of your ridiculous standards in the pre course, they didn't even get a shot at it. So I'm on the fence about that, honestly. But I'm not surprised. You're pre grass. There's another kind of sable. Same old.

[Angel Cortez]

At this time look. Now, yes, I did this crazy deployment, and I worked myself up, but now it was the test. Right. I had nothing in my name. Well, besides the big deployment and the best sapper competition. And what I mean by that, nothing in my name, is that some of these guys that I was next to, they were like Division 1 athletes, and then they didn't get picked up for the Olympic team or the NFL or whatever. And then now they're here.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

So you can imagine when I'm standing, well, now I'm bigger right now.

[Tyler]

Right now I'm like, Now I solid 160.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, well, actually, I was even smaller back then. So right now I'm 167. But during the selection, I think I was still 145. And, you know, I'll never forget one day in pre rash, this gigantic guy was right next to another guy, and he. And he's talking. He points at me and some other small guy, and he goes. And he goes, oh. He goes, these guys think they have a chance. And. And I'm kind of glad he said that, because I was like, you know what, man? Yeah, you.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. Thanks for the fuel, buddy.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And it was funny because during pre rash, two weeks later, both of them quit.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. I could have guessed it.

[Tyler]

Oh, my God. Somebody. I was talking to somebody, and they're like, what? You know, the easiest way to win something is just wait for other people to quit. Yeah. Then you're. Then you're competing with the. The 1 2%, you know, the guys that you actually had to compete with but just not quitting and just watching other people quit or fail, like.

[Brent Tucker]

Yep. The loudest, biggest guys were never. Never standing tall at the end. Yeah, it's true.

[Angel Cortez]

So then we. When. When actually rasp starts, I fucking stand out because I'm an E5. I made E5 when I was deployed.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Tyler]

Is it true that they did not like bringing in NCOs, because they were already tainted by the regular military, they wanted to bring in privates or specialists.

[Angel Cortez]

No, it's not even just the rank. It's. It's overall. Like I've worked with enough SF guys that some of them were power service. And I've never heard them say, oh, I got a lot of. Because I was a prior service guy. I think that's a regimen thing. Like me being an import was a B, was a huge thing. And even now to today, some people try to talk shit like, oh, use an importance.

[Tyler]

You're not pure. Yeah, pure Ranger.

[Angel Cortez]

So I stick out. And there were they and, and they with me, but like it. They were nice. Like they with me, but after a certain point they were like, all right, this guy's gonna make it. Yeah, you know, but, but rightfully so. Yeah. They obviously don't want bags to go in. So I remember one day they're like, hey, your Nancy, aren't you a leader? And I was like, yeah. They're like, we're getting ready for this six mile wreck. And they were like, count everybody out. So it was about 150 people and then, and then those same two guys got right next to me as we're rucking and they both go, aren't you a leader? And I was like, yeah. They're like, I thought leaders lead from the front. And I was like, what? And they're like, get to the front.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And I just started booking it. And so I just let about 100 fucking people in front of me. And as once I started running.

[Brent Tucker]

Because once you count, once you count them out, obviously everyone has to. You're there to the last person to count them out. So by them saying, hey, aren't you supposed. They, they, they, they double guy. That's right.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

So they intentionally said, count them out possibly. And now you're at the very end of the line only to have them come up to you and be like, should you be up front?

[Tyler]

Yes.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. Oh, that's.

[Tyler]

I love it.

[Brent Tucker]

But that's, that's great. That's great selection stuff right there, to be honest with you. And that's how you handle it.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. So I started running and then one of them yells, no running. So then I had a speed walk and then run until they yelled at me again. Yeah, they never follow. They never stop following me. By the time that six miler was done, everybody else was walking by the way.

[Brent Tucker]

Right.

[Angel Cortez]

Or like, you know, quick time in a little bit.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

By the time I was done I never made it to the. To the front, but I think they were like, oh, this dude fucking didn't stop. And I looked like I had just jumped out of the fucking pool and then got out. And then everybody else. Yeah, they were sweaty. It's only a six miler. And they were like, dude, they're like, I saw you. I saw them fucking with you. And I was. And I put my head down, like, don't put me with him.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And then they made me. I was class leader for a bit. Every time something wrong was happening, like somebody was not in the right uniform or in time, it fell on me. And that. I hated that because some of those guys who didn't make it were making my life much more miserable. And I was like, God damn it, dude. Like, this is easy. Like, get here at this time. Have the right equipment. Like, what the. And then. So I was getting it from the cadre. I was getting it because these shitbags don't want to listen. And then eventually I was in class later, and they just put me in front of everybody, and I was like, ah, thank God. I just. That was just me.

[Tyler]

Cruise control.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. Yeah, I remember that. I went to pre rangers as. As an E6, in charge of everything. And, like, like you said, it's amazing. Just. It's that easy, guys, right? Yep. But here's the packing list. Show up at this time, and then they'll. They'll. They'll. They'll, you know, shake you down for the packing list and, like, two pairs of socks, hold them up, and a guy's holding up one pair of socks. I'm like.

[Tyler]

You're like, hey.

[Angel Cortez]

You go.

[Tyler]

You're like, was I this retarded when.

[Brent Tucker]

I was their age? Are you kidding me? Just. It's a packing list. Put it in your rucksack. Yeah, but in a weird way, it. That was really good for me to come from. From SF and then, you know, and have to do that because we don't. We don't really have to deal, you know, with that, you know, a lot. And it was. It was. It was a good experience, you know, and for you to come from. From that world and really get. Get re. Get reorient. Get reoriented and to. Hey, like these. This. This is the reality of. Of the people that, you know, that. That I'm working with and. And the checks and balances that. That need to happen. It's annoying, but it's a good thing.

[Angel Cortez]

Yep. And then I made it, and I got to 1st Battalion and my section leader was Christopher Solis, who's one of the guy, the last guy, if not one of the last guys who got the medal of Honor. That's who my, you know, chain of command was. My that, who that was, who my section leader was. And I learned a lot from him. And, and, and you know, it, it hurt when he passed away because I had just gone out a year prior and, and I was, you know, I was his number two. So I felt like, you know, that I, that I should have been there to help him out, you know, which sucked because he was, he was a great individual and, and he treated everybody the same. But I had no deployments with 1st Ranger Battalion like the crazy one that I had, because when I got there, they were already mid rotation, and I was like, hey, can I just go? And they're like, no, they're not even. I didn't know this, but there was more restraints and restrictions in Radium Regiment than there was for SF guys. So as you can imagine, if Radio Regiment, if you're stationed here, whatever, Bagram or whatever, versus you're in a vsphere and the guy right next to you is the guy who's in charge of say yes or not to drop the bombs, you know, and then how you ever. You guys want to ride it out, well, that's what we're going to do or that's what happened.

[Brent Tucker]

Right. It's much easier so to dive into that a little bit and explain that is the. It's not necessarily. It's. It's both true. I don't want to get too far into the weeds, but, you know, when you're working with an SF team out in the middle of nowhere, who, who is your oversight? I mean, it's just, it's just you and the boys, you know, like, making decisions. And ironically enough, sometimes there is oversight that, to be honest with you, that you probably didn't know about, but guys are just making decisions on the ground. Like, nah, we're. We're gonna, we're gonna do what we have to do right now. But you know, when, when you're back in the rear working with, with Ranger Battalion, I don't mean that like in a bad way. They're staging from a place that's the flagpole, you know, sometimes, you know, and.

[Angel Cortez]

That'S what I mean.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. And so there's oversight, obviously, because you're not getting out the wire until everything is approved and agreed upon to run sf. You're already out the wire. You're living out the wire. So it's not like they can pull you back and be like, you know, no, not approved. It's. By the time they do it, it's too late.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

So, yeah, I can see that.

[Angel Cortez]

And then before I forget, well, because I was prior service and an nco, they were like, hey, man, we've had problems with imports, not making it and quitting. They're like, and you're an nco, so your pipeline is going to be a little bit longer. And right now, even though you pass this, you're kind of leasing to own because you have to do all this other stuff. So from.

[Brent Tucker]

Never ends. Never ends.

[Angel Cortez]

I graduated in 2013 RASP, and then all the way to October is when I graduated Ranger School. So my pipeline was pre RASP prep, RASP Airborne School, Regimental Master Breacher Course, cert, which is Small unit, Ranger Tactics, and then Ranger School.

[Brent Tucker]

Wow.

[Angel Cortez]

And then after I completed that, then I felt like, oh, now I have. Now I'm officially a member.

[Tyler]

Right now I want to get out.

[Brent Tucker]

I've done. Yeah. So only to show up and kind of not really be a member.

[Angel Cortez]

Yes. Because I was an import. So the first year, they were like, fucking import this, import that. And I was like, damn, dude. I know some SF guys were imports, but I'd never heard the other SF guys who were SF babies call the other guy. Fucking import this, fucking import that. And so the culture was a little bit different. And then what kind of helped me, it was that I was like, you know what? I'm in charge of my own career. So I would go to all the companies and be like, hey, I'm the new combat engineer here. If you guys ever go to a demo class or demo range, I mean, I would love to go out with you guys. AKO was really good of receiving me. Another. Another platoons were. So I would go out there and help. And then what helped us, I was also training and competing in Muay Thai, so I was like one of the only few individuals actually using the stuff. So, like, that kind of helped me with my credit, my cred, but. But I didn't feel like I had a spot until like a year, year and a half, but. And then I never really got a deployment because, you know, one of the platoon leaders, he was like, angel, you're like that guy who got to the party too late. Like, yeah, there's some people hanging out. Maybe there's a few beers in the back, but the party's over. And he meant that because, like, he's like, dude, you're not Gonna. You're not gonna see a crazy deployment.

[Tyler]

This is too far gone in the war, like, too late.

[Angel Cortez]

Well, yeah, because at the time we're talking what, 2013 and then. And then 14, 15, and then 16. And at the time, Syria wasn't a thing. Like, it was a thing, but it wasn't to the point where it was out in public and you were doing full rotations. So I was like. So one day, now I'm at the regimental master breacher course again, but this time I was an assistant instructor. And to. Lisa calls me and he goes, hey, man, you know, you're like nine months out of your ets. And I was like, no. He goes, dude, you got to re up or, or start out processing, right? So I get. I get home and I tell my wife. My wife's name is Analia. I was like, hey, I'm nine months out. You know, should I get out? And she. And at that time, at that point, I already missed the birth of, of my son, my daughter, my grandpa's funeral. I didn't. I wasn't. I wasn't there to say bye to him. I'd miss a lot of stuff, so. And I had promised my wife, I was like, look, I promise I will be there for the first day of school of my son. But now it was time to pay for that.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And to be honest, I. That was not a promise I was. I wanted to keep because at the time, I was like, bloodthirsty. They had killed my friend Pinnock, they killed my friend Lily, and, and, and, and at the time, you couldn't tell me otherwise. I just wanted to go back and, and kill more of them. But I was like, look, they're. We're not. I haven't got anything that I thought regular regiment was going to be. I came too late to the party. We're not going to have these crazy deployments. And I was like, okay, I get. I guess it's time to go out. And, and, and when I made that decision to get out, I remember my wife and a Leo, she was so happy, she fell asleep in my arms. And I remember I didn't go to sleep because I was like. I had never seen a thought about my life after the military. I was just doing my thing, you know, like when they're like, oh, you want to go to raps, you have to extend. And I was like, okay, cool, I'll extend. And then now, you know, I'm eight years in. And when I signed up for four years in the beginning, and I Was like, what do I do? You know? And that. And so I was like, you know what? Nobody in my family had gone to college. I'm gonna go to college for them, because I need to show my nieces and nephews and even my older relatives, like, look, we work hard, but we're also smart, and we're capable of using our brain. So I decided to. To go to college to become a registered dietitian. So I went back home because my wife is. Is. I've known my wife since we were seven years old.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

Where? Her family's in SoCal. My family's in SoCal. So I went back home also because my family was falling apart because of the death of my grandpa. He was the glue. Yeah, I didn't like that. When I would go home, they were like, oh, this person doesn't talk to that person. We actually don't hang out anymore. We don't do the cookouts. And I was, all right, enough is enough. Even though I want to be in. I got to go back. I mean, I got to go back home. And I call it the honeymoon stage, where. Where everything was awesome. I was going to school, and I was like, you know what? If I apply myself? Like, I applied in the military, even though I failed everything in high school, I should be okay and get C's. Turns out I was getting A's and B's. If I just applied myself the same way. And I was going because I was already competing in Muay Thai. I was trained at classic fight team and raw talent boxing, and I was killing it. I didn't have the fight IQ of some of the pro fighters, but because I was athletic now, at that time, I was matching them punch from punch, push up for push up, and I was killing it on the outside. But then after the honeymoon stage, the storm came, and next thing you know, questions that I never thought I asked myself, like, what was this all for? Why did Penny die? And not dealing with their deaths, because at the time, I was still overseas, and I didn't think that it was a moment to cry or deal with it because now I was an nco leading men in war. I was like, oh, say that for later. And I didn't. And then now my wife was. Was super supportive. She never gave me shit through missing the births, missing all this and that, and failing as a father in so many ways because I was a good army dad. As in, I would leave for deployment or training event, come back, take them out to dinners, take them out to the movies, and then Rinse and repeat. And then one day I'm with my kids and, and alone. And I remember thinking like, what do you guys even eat? Like what, what do I make you? And then now my wife held in things too. So next you know, I'm on the verge of, of getting divorced. The GI Bill. Yes, to give you housing allowance as well. But what they don't do is they don't pay you in between semesters. So now I had to get odd jobs and I was working at a, at a sa yogurt shop. But what it is, is acai place because I just say yogurt because people don't know what acai is. And then I want to explain what it is. And I'm, and I'm on the verge of getting divorced. I'm sleeping in my aunt's futon, I'm asking her for $5 so I can put it in my shitty fucking car so I can go to the job in Newport beach where stuck up fucking kids are yelling at me why their food isn't ready. And I remember thinking like, bro, what the fuck are you doing?

[Tyler]

I was a fucking ranger.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah, exactly.

[Brent Tucker]

I had a purpose.

[Angel Cortez]

I was like, bro, you were, you were a fucking ranger. You had a house, you had your family.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

You had money. Maybe not a lot, but you had money.

[Brent Tucker]

Right?

[Angel Cortez]

Now you. My wife's my best friend. You're not. You don't see or talk to your best friend. You don't see your kids as the reason why you got out. And, and, and, and you're feeling this emptiness. And then, and then after I was done with this internal fit, I was like, okay, are you done? And then I was like, all right, cool, I'm done. Now what are you gonna do? Because this can't be the end of you. You did all this. And then I realized I had lost my purpose and my community in a man. Woman without a purpose in community is a lost individual 100%. So I was like, okay, what the fuck do I do? I was like, well, okay, I need a community. I need friends. And so I started inviting. First I made friends with, with the veterans on my, at my gym, at my school, started being part of the veterans club. And then I started going to therapy. And then next, you know, I, I. And it was funny when I went to school to be a registered dietitian, I thought they were just going to be like, hey, vegetables are good. Done. No, being a registered dietitian is a hard path I had to take. Organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, human anatomy, Classes and communication classes, because you have to be able to communicate to people if you're trying to tell them how to, you know, live their life when it comes to food. And at the communication. Interpersonal communication class, all the stuff that they were saying not to do that, it's the worst way to communicate. I was like, that's what I do.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. To tell you real quick, the. Because I think this is important. You're like, I need friends. And the hardest part, and I think all three of us here at this table has experienced this. It's. Sometimes it's one of those things where someone could say, you see, you seem to make some friends. But it's not that easy because all the friends that I now, I shouldn't say, for all the people that are. I have available to me to be friends outside the military. I don't have anything in common with them. Yeah. Heck, if just being, like, really honest, I don't even like them that much. Like, I don't want to be friends with them. Like, they're. They were not cut from the same clothes. We're different people. And so it's just not that easy, you know, to. To make friends. But you kind of answer that question like the veteran friends you made from. From. From the gym.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

Which was an easier, you know, place to go.

[Angel Cortez]

Definitely. And, yeah, I was scared. It was. It's weird as now at that point I'm 26, to be like, hey, to tell somebody, basically, this is what you're doing. Which I also got made fun of online for. For doing and talking about when I was like, hey, trying to extend the hand and be, hey, you want to be. Basically saying, you want to be friends. You see a grown man to another grown man. Hey, you want to be friends? And it's hard.

[Tyler]

That's the hardest part.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Tyler]

Like, you're six years old at the sandbox. You want to be my friend?

[Angel Cortez]

And. And I started doing that and I started sharing stuff online because I was also sharing my combat footage and I was getting all these followers and. And it was funny. I'll never forget. There's this soft veteran that I follow and I like. But at the time I was sharing stuff about that that were happening to me. Like, hey, mental health is important. We got to take care of our mental health. This is 2016. And then I was talking about, hey, at every semester I'm going to school, I'm learning about myself and the world, and these civilians have stuff to offer to you. It's not just your military service. You can't say fuck civilians, you know, they have something to offer too. And I was sharing all this stuff and I remember this one ranger said something like your, your page is cringe and this is 2016. People weren't as, as welcoming to talk about mental health and, and transitioning and stuff like that. I remember this one Ranger like that. And then when he got out to like a year and a half later he's posting or two years later he's posting about the importance of mental health. And I remember thinking like, isn't it funny? When I was doing it, it was cringe and you fucking saw for you or whatever. And then, and then. But now it's cool.

[Tyler]

I do the same thing. I talk about issues in law enforcement and you know, our admin and our brass and culture. That what we, what I'll have people message me saying, you're a piece of shit. You just can't do the job. Like you're the one I'm talking about.

[Brent Tucker]

But it, it, in a weird way, it goes back to just the, the culture of, or just human nature in general. For the same reason where they don't want you to go to special operations now it's just repeating anything you do to further yourself, to better yourself or to make a name for yourself. It's just easier for people to speak negatively of you than it is to help you out or support you. And you can hate it as you should, but that is human nature. And anyone else listening to this looking to follow your footsteps and do it, be prepared for that. You have to be prepared for it. It ain't changing. Be prepared for it. It's, it's coming.

[Angel Cortez]

So then I, I, you know, then I, I started talking to my wife. I got my family back, we got an apartment. And I started doing veteran events where I would buy the USC pay per view food and the beer and I would just tell vets from the gym and my school, just come and hang out, come and hang out. And I did it for a good while. And veterans were telling me, hey, you have no idea how much these events mean to me. And I was like, I do, I'm like, bro, you see me that, that I train and compete and I go to school and I do all this and that I'm like, bro, I'm just like you, you know, and, and then my wife, she was pregnant and after a while, right, of and a half a year and a half of me doing this, she goes like, hey, we got to stop doing this. We can't keep doing These veteran events, I know these events mean a lot to you and the veterans, but we keep going negative to our account or barely making rent.

[Tyler]

The wise worrying about going negative, ruining all the fun.

[Angel Cortez]

And I was like, fuck. And I was angry because. Not at her, but because she was right. We. We were barely making rent. And I was like, I got to figure something out to keep funding these events. And at that time, and I was sharing my combat footage and getting. Getting a bunch of followers, a bunch of views and people. And then people were like, it was basically the same message all the time. It was like, hey, man, I love your page. I love what you're doing, and I love all that. But I'm like, no offense, but you're small. So how did you do it? How did you enter the special operations community? So then I would talk to them.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And then. So that's how I grew my following. So if my friends gave me a shirt, one of your shirts, I'd post and be like, hey, go buy the shirt. And then people would be like, oh, is that your shirt? I'm like, it's not. It's my friends. You go buy it. And then, because that had already happened a few times, I was like, you know what? I got to create something. And nothing against guns and skulls, but I didn't want to be a company with a gun in a skull, even though I buy those shirts. I was like, I have to.

[Tyler]

We got against skulls, bro.

[Brent Tucker]

I love that you say that. We say this all the time. You know, there's another thing all three of us have in common. We're all entrepreneurs and started something. And everyone will tell you, you know, you're starting a T shirt company. Oh, that's a saturated market. Everyone will tell you that. How? Everything. They'll tell you a reason not to do something.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

And my. My answer is always the same. Basically, there is nothing new in business, unless you're the next Elon Musk that we don't know about. You're inventing things. There really is nothing new. What you have to do is you have to find something, and it'll be something that someone's already done. And you have to make it different. You're gonna be in the same space. But this is why we're different.

[Angel Cortez]

Yep. And so I can't copy and paste. Nope. So I was like, okay, it's got to be something meaningful to me. And I have this thing for Halloween. If you see in my combat footage or pictures, I have skeleton gloves and a skeleton bandana. So one Day, I'm watching the office with my wife and my 5 year old son drew a pumpkin and he goes, dad, this is for you. And when I saw it, I was like, this is going to be the logo of the company. And at the time, some of the odd jobs that I was working was at a print shop because I had broken my foot in my last Muay Thai fights. And then I lost a job that I was delivering to dispensaries cbd.

[Brent Tucker]

Did you break down someone's face?

[Angel Cortez]

Their. Their knee? Actually, I kicked the inside of the of their knee. And I didn't know this, that my foot was broken. So I fought for two more rounds and I didn't know it was a broken foot. I just thought I was, I was like, don't be a. Even though your foot hurts. Well, it turns out it's because it was broken.

[Tyler]

I'm no sick Hall Ranger.

[Brent Tucker]

And now you're back on a shoe profile. Shoe profile, Yep.

[Angel Cortez]

It.

[Brent Tucker]

And we tell this story, next time say, yeah, I broke on someone's face. No one's gonna check. So we might. Just kidding. We're not.

[Angel Cortez]

So now I'm at this print shop that's printing for a lot of military companies. And this is the part where I kept to myself because my message is important, but I think all the stuff that I'm saying is going to happen to somebody or is happening to somebody, and they need to be aware of this. So I'm there and I'm seeing companies sell shirts and fly out. You're talking 25, $30 and they're selling 500 shirts. A thousand shirts. You do the math. And I'm like, look, if I can just get a piece of that, I can cover the ufc, pay per view and the fights and all this and that. So I told my wife, hey, I'm going to take the last money that we have and I'm going to create this Shopify llc and I'm going to put an order of stickers. I make the stickers and I put it up online and I'm like, hey, who wants one? And within an hour or two, all 200 are gone.

[Brent Tucker]

Love it.

[Angel Cortez]

And they're to company or to, to duty stations, deployment, Iraq, Afghanistan, to states where all the veterans are at. And I'm like, okay, I got something. And then I was like, you know what? Should I make a shirt? And I ask a company that is still there. I asked the owner because he happened to go to the print shop and, and check up on his orders and stuff like that. And I was like, hey, man, I'm thinking about. And he. At that point, we already had, like, a friendly relationship. I'm like, hey, man, I told him what I just told you. I do these veteran events. My wife says, we gotta stop. I want to keep doing it. I just want to make a little bit of money just to cover the UFC pay per view and the beer and the food. I'm thinking about doing also some shirts. And he goes. And he looks at me, he goes, now you don't want to do it? There's not a lot of money in that market. And I'm like, you're doing it. I'm there printing and folding your fucking shirts. And I'm like, and. And I remember being. And he's like, nah. He's like, you should do something else. And I was like, man, this guy. So I. I made shirts. And. And then next, you know, I get asked to go on a podcast. I've never been on a podcast before. I'm like, what the is going on? And. And I go on the podcast, and little by little, I'm going on Annie Stumps podcast. Feel Craft Survivals podcast. I did one with JT during. During the COVID thing, and now making 10, $15,000. And every time that podcast would be released, it would spike, and I would get all this money. And I'm like, I didn't do this for the money. I did this to keep doing the events. I'm like, what do I do? So then I started buying food and dropping it off at places where I used to be a kid and be in line and wait, see what I got. I would. I would do vehicles, and I called it Vehicles and Tacos Range Day, because at around the same time, when I went on to my first podcast, the podcast before was this guy who was part of a company that. The company's now dispersed. But when I went to that company's shooting event, it was a vehicle combat course. And that's where I met Michael Dowd, who's been like a. He's a former Navy seal. He's been like a big brother to me, and. And I sounded like a little kid. I came home and I was like. I was telling my wife, her name's Annalia. I was like, there was this guy, and then that guy. And we did this, and we did that, and we did this. And I realized, man, how much I had miss. Miss shooting and being around those type of people. And I was like, you know what? What I realized during the vehicle course is you can Only run two people during a certain scenario. Everyone else is waiting. And people were talking. Some veterans didn't want to come to my house. And I was like, look man, it's not about the fights. It's just about to hang out. But I'm like, every veteran likes to shoot for the most part. So then I would buy vehicles, bring a taco guy, bring a banda, and we would just shoot. And I would invite veterans. And I did like eight of them one time in one year. Because I didn't do OG Pumpkin to make money. Yeah, and ball out. Like I've always said, in my house, anything besides rice and beans is extra. And I truly mean. And I truly mean that. And I've been like that. And then, so then I started, I did psychedelic therapy. So then that shit's not cheap. So then I paid for veterans psychedelic therapy. I would tell people like, hey, send me your, your, your contract. And I would make them do like silly things to make sure it wasn't just a. I would be like, hey, flip me off. And then hold your military contract for selection. And then I would send them money for rucksacks and boots and, and all this and that. And I was just trying to help out as much as I could. And then during. And then Covid happened, right? So then people were losing their fucking jobs and stuff like that. So I would go to target, put like 400 on a card and I would scratch it off of it. I would post it or put it in the Story of OG Pumpkin and be like, hey, if you need whatever for kids or the elderly, 50, 50. And people would use it and I would call and people were using 40, 50 bucks and, and I was just doing all this. And then, and then I extended the events to the low income community because that's, that's where, where my heart is also at. So I would go to the local skate park and I would. And one summer I gave away almost $10,000 worth of skateboards. And I went to San Diego, Santa Ana, all over la, only LA Watts was the one place where I was like, maybe I shouldn't be here giving out skateboards.

[Brent Tucker]

Did you partner with a skateboard company to do that or you just buy random skateboards?

[Angel Cortez]

No, no, no. So I had met my friend Benji, Benji Manabag, who at the time had a company called Thrashing Rate. And then unfortunately that company went away. But he still had his, his, his connect. So I just made a bunch of OG Pumpkin skateboards. And, and I was just doing that and trying to help my Community as much as I could, because it had nothing to do with the fucking money. And people would always tell me, oh, you have no idea how much these events mean to me. And I'm like, I do, man. I was where you were at, what you're telling me. I was like that. When I got out in 2016 and I was still friends with Michael Dowd, that company dispersed. And then one day, he. I didn't know. This was basically tryouts for Defense Strategies Group. He had this thing called Operator Day, and he invited all the special operation guys that he knew, and it was basically was trying to see who would mesh. And we went, and he was like, hey, you know, you want to be part of Defense Strategies Group? And I was like, yeah, like, I had so much fun. You're the reason why I've been doing the vehicles and toggles range today. And. And. And, yeah, and. And I remember I was, like, going to school to be a registered dietitian. I'm on my fourth year. You know, I told my wife, I was like, look, I want to be part of dsg. I'm gonna quit school. And it was my fourth. I literally had seven credits left to finish my bachelor's.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

I told her, I'm quitting. I want to do this. And at the time, you know, starting off to be a registered dietitian, you're making like, 80, $90,000 or whatever in California, which is not a lot or maybe a little bit less, I don't know. But the point is, I was like, you know what? I want to do this. I want to bet on us. And I believed in Mike and what we were doing. Fast forward to today. Now we have a training facility in Beverly Hills. We've trained a bunch of SWAT teams, PDs, sheriffs. I've been on National Geographic, train the Stallone family. We do consultant. We have a security side. We're made up of all former Special Operation guys. And, you know, it was hard to imagine that, but the hard work and Mike's vision, you know, helped out.

[Brent Tucker]

I say this all the time. And any adult heck, you know, from high school to adult, you can probably go further back than that, will understand this. There are going to be hard, hard times in your life. That's that. That's all life is. Good times, bad times, good times, bad times. Sometimes the good times last a little longer. Sometimes the bad times last so longer. The. The common denominator of anyone that's still moving forward in this life and happy or successful is it doesn't matter. What happens in your bad times or how long it lasts for what matters is how you handle the bad times. And every time I look back in my life and I think about the bad times, and be honest with you, most of them were. Were because of me. But by learning from it, dealing with it, I look back and I go, I don't know if I'd change. I don't know if I'd change anything. They all ended up for the better. They all end up for the better. Whether of me or a position in my life or presented me opportunities that I wouldn't have had in any, any other way. You have to embrace the bad times. They make you who you are. And if you hold out long enough and you do it the right way, they will be a positive in your life. I'm a firm believer in that.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

And that's. That's why. That's why you are where you are.

[Angel Cortez]

100. And it's in that reason right there is. Is why one of our. I had this design for OG Pumpkin. My friend Jacob put on a rucksack and a rifle on a ghost. And it's an. From an old Betty Boop cartoon. And I called it Just Keep Going because. Just Keep Going because he looks like he's sucking. But we've all been there during a rug march or a selection or whatever where it sucks. And you, you're like, am I gonna be able to make it or not? Whatever. But if you just keep going, you're gonna make it. And then I said, in life, guys, when we're out, you know, there's gonna be some dark times. But I promise you, if you just keep going, you're gonna be okay. And that's been one of the most popular T shirts. And. And to this day, I'm almost. I'm almost at 800 people with an OG pumpkin tattooed on them. 800 people almost. We're at 7. 81.

[Brent Tucker]

I love. I love how simple. Just keep going. I love that. I love that we say something similar. You gotta want it. You keep going.

[Tyler]

Then you hit the breaking point where it's like the threat. Like somebody cracks a joke. And everybody said, you. Once you start embracing the truck, it's like, now, now there's a whole nother level of fuel to go off.

[Brent Tucker]

You got a whole nother gear. You know, you have the. I want to end on. On this story because I've not forgotten about it. Been waiting this whole time to hear about it.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah.

[Brent Tucker]

You're also a kidney donor. If, if you're not impressed enough by Angel. You're also a. A kidney donor. Tell me. Tell me how that came about.

[Angel Cortez]

So I. I've been saying for a good while, I was like, look, guys, this. This community, and I'm talking about law enforcement, military, and even martial arts, because they kind of blend in. I'm like, look, this community has a lot of people willing to. To die for each other, but what it needs is more people willing to live for each other. And I met Benji Manabog, and we made him part of dsg. I invited him and. And he's been a great friend of mine, and we had similar backgrounds, and his wife reminded me of my wife. They've been together since, I think, in high school. And she's been super supportive in his, what, 18 years a MARSOC Raider. And she cares more about everyone else and her kids than her, and she's been super supportive. So one day we're at this billionaire's ranch that we go over there and train people on him and his people. And I can tell Benji had this look on his face, and. And. And I was like, hey, man, what's wrong? And he. And he goes on, nothing, but I knew he was lying. An hour passes, and I'm like, benji, like, it's in your face, like, what's wrong? And then he lets it all out. At that point, I already met Larissa. I already knew she had health issues, but I didn't know how bad it was. He was like, well, larissa, which stage? 5 kidney failure. Now she's going to 4 really fast, and 5's around the corner. I try to give her a kidney and this and this, this and that. And. And then I. Right then and there, I was like, in these. And he's like. And then I can't, because I'm not all positive. And I was like, I'm all positive. I was like, I'll give her one. And before I said that in my head, I was like, okay, you're all positive. Do you want to give her one? And it was a fraction of a second that all this came through, but I was like, do you want to? And I was like, yes. Are you sure? Yes. And. And at the time, right, a lot of stuff was also happening in my life that I was super grateful for. I. I. Yes, I have survival guilt. My friends have been not in good places. Some of them might even kill themselves. And one day I came back from the gym, and I see my son, and he's like, hey, I'm hungry. And I made him food. And I'm looking at him, and I'm like, I am blessed. Oh, my son. He's healthy. I have a family. I have everything intact. As in, I didn't lose any limbs. I'm like, I want to be grateful to something. It. If it. Is it God, is it the universe? What? I'm like, and if. And if it's God, then I don't want all this to in my life and not be grateful. So that moment, I also took it as a test of. By your words, you say you're grateful for everything you've had. You say that people should live for each other. This is your moment to prove that. And I took it as a test. I was like, I'll do it. And. And he thought I was around, and he's like, oh, thank you, but it's okay. There's gonna be. There's a lot of people there that want to give her one, so. And I was like, okay. We get back a week passes, and I text him. I was like, benji, give me the information. He goes, are you sure? And I was like, yes. I go get tested. And out of 67 people that went, I was the one that was a match.

[Tyler]

Whoa.

[Angel Cortez]

So they call me, and they're like, hey, you have enough markers that we should move on? Do you want to continue? And I was like, yeah, I'll donate right now. She's. And the lady was like, well, not that fast. I had to do a lot of. A lot of exams and re. Exams because they want to make sure my body's okay and can do it. So after eight months of testing, retesting, I get the call, and they're like, hey, the board passed you. They said, yes. Check, check, check. Do you want to do it? And. And I was like, And I was like, hey. I was like, yes. I was like, also, can you stop asking me if I want to fucking do it? I want to do it. And they're like, oh, actually, we're going to ask you until the day of, because we've had people back out on the table.

[Brent Tucker]

Could you imagine that after all the stuff you went through? Which means that's how much stuff they went through as well, to back out on the table and have to start that process all over again. Yeah, that's crazy.

[Angel Cortez]

And so I was like, yeah. I was like, yeah. She's like, when do you want to do it? I was like, tomorrow. And they're like, well, not that fast. And they're like, okay, how about October 25th? And I was like, boom, let's do it. And. And, yeah. Was I nervous? Of course I was. I was nervous, but. And it's something about a drive that. That gives me an opportunity to think about things and sometimes about things that, honestly, I don't want to think about. And as I'm driving sometimes to the range or back from the range, I'm like, man, do you really want to do it? And I'm like, yeah. I'm like, aren't you, like, scary what happens if you die? And I was like. And then they also told me there's a. There's. There's part with that she may not take it. Are you willing to take that risk? And I'm like, yeah. And I'm like, you know what? If this is how I die, so be it. I could have died in the fucking streets in the hood. I could have died in Iraq, could die in Afghanistan. I could have died for by my own fucking self when I was in Dark hole. But I'm fucking here. And maybe this is why. So. And then other moments in my drive, I'd be so pumped and happy, and I'd be like, let's go now. And then I remember, you know, because I'd already fought and competed. I don't know why, but I, like, took it like a fight camp. I trained up as much as I could. I put on my headset, I shaved my head, and I walked in ready for a fucking fight. And, you know, I. I was getting prepped right across from Larissa. Right before they inject me with some good stuff, they're like, hey, do you want to do it? And I was like, yes. And they're like, okay. They pumped me up with some good stuff. They take me into the operating room. The table is, like, super narrow, which is a surprise. But then it makes sense. Why would it be wide? Because then the doctors would have to be leaning across from it. So that's why it's, like, narrow. And all I remember is being on the table, and everyone was ignoring me. Everybody was doing their. Their part, their job, you know, And. And UCLA was. Medical was super professional and everything. And next, you know, I wake up, and I wake up to the most pain I've ever felt in my entire life.

[Brent Tucker]

No.

[Angel Cortez]

And I mustered the words, is Larissa okay? And the nurse was receiving me, so she goes, larissa, like. And then she. I didn't know who it was, but she looks at this side, she goes, is that who you donated to? And then I was in so much pain. I asked for more pain meds. They gave me pain meds, and. And I basically fell back asleep. And when I woke up, you know, my wife was there, and. And. And. And the pain was calmer, and it was funny. I was more scared of the surgery the entire time, but the surgery was the easiest part because I was out.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

You know, so now it was the recovery. Recovery that I never thought about.

[Tyler]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And it was. It was the most physically and. And mental challenge thing that I've ever done because, like, I. I was weak. They literally cut through me. And. And how it was described to me is as soon as Larissa gets the kidney, immediately, her. Her overall. Yeah, the surgery also hurts, but her quality of life increases, mine decreases. And. And I remember when. When the day before I got out to go back home, the surgeon comes and he goes. He goes, oh, so you're the ranger? And I. And he goes, you gave her a ranger kidney? And. And we were laughing. He goes, no, I'm serious. He goes, it was. It was big, healthy. And he goes, a good sign that. That the kidney is being. Is. She's taking. Is once if she produces urine. And he was saying that. As he goes. As I was connecting everything, I can tell that it was already taken, and she's already. Right now, she's already producing urine.

[Brent Tucker]

That's amazing. That's awesome.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And. And that's how I went about it. And then the recovery sucked because, you know, I couldn't lift anything more than 10 pounds for a couple weeks. And then when I. My wife had a shower, me put on my clothes because it takes everything to turn and bend, to put on your shoes, to tie everything. And. And me being who I am, obviously felt very vulnerable because I'm like, anybody can come to my house right now, do whatever they want. I can stop it.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

But. But, you know, the recovery sucked. It took longer than I expected. The surgeons did warn me and say, hey, it's going to be about a year, year and a half until you fully recover. To fully recover. And I remember thinking, bro, I'm me. I'm gonna feel like me right away. No, I didn't. And what. And I tell Larissa that I love her because I do. And because one of the things that she did for me and I didn't understand this is. Is I have a friend who. He got out and he messaged me. He's not a big social media guy. Tony Sadler is my boy. He's like, hey, I actually donated a kidney, too. And he goes, I'm actually more proud of the kidney donation than I am my service. And at the time, I didn't feel good about that because I had not donated a kidney. And I am very proud of my service. But after donating the kidney, I know what he meant. And Larissa did something for me that. That maybe she might not understand is that she gave me something that I. I know I can point to, and I know it's good because sometimes you question your. Your. Your. Your. Your. Your military service, and then when you see the terrible exit in. In Afghan, you're like, what the was everything for? Why. Why did my friends die? Why did I do this? Why'd I do that? And I know some veterans might be questioning the service. Did I do anything good? But donating the kidney, fix that in me, this struggle that I had. And then also sometimes I would ask myself, man, are you even a good person? You know, because of the stuff that I'd done before and have you done anything good in your life? And then. And then, you know, sometimes I struggle with that. But after that, I was like that right there. Nobody can take that away from me.

[Tyler]

Good story.

[Brent Tucker]

That's amazing. That was worth the wait.

[Tyler]

Glad we ended with that one.

[Brent Tucker]

Where, hey, where can people. Where can people find you? Where can people support you? Let them know.

[Angel Cortez]

So The Instagram for OG pumpkin is the underscore. OG underscore pumpkin. My personal page is Angel G. Cortez, 175 Cortez with an S. And then the training company that I'm at that I wish I would have got a chance more to talk about this Defense Strategies group. We're based out of la and we train everybody and anybody. So, hey, come. Come to an event, a Defense Strategies group event or an OG Pumpkin event. We're trying to build something. We are. We have something solid in California, and we're trying to expand it. So there's no reason for you to be like, oh, they're going to take me in my special operations or not. We take everybody and anybody.

[Brent Tucker]

I love it. Finish us up. Give us a funny story.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, okay. So when I went to deploy to. To the Afghan, they actually told me I didn't have to because my son was about to be born.

[Brent Tucker]

Okay.

[Angel Cortez]

But at that point, I was already in nco and I was like, I can't not go right? And so I'm like, I want to go. So I go and went. And we're, you know, training up for getting ready for the fighting season. The third group guys found out that my son was about to be born because, you Know, we were talking and he goes, bro, you want to go see your son? And I was like, no, I mean, can I? They're like, yeah, you can. And this is what, this is another thing that I learned, how supportive the soft community is versus the conventional union. They're like aching. And. And then I was like, hell yeah. My son was born actually, you know, four weeks ago. And they're like, yeah, go. And at cops. I had a bad. The. I don't know what SF group did it. They built a two story living quarters, right. I would assuming for all, all the SF guys had their own little rooms, but they did a two story living area. We lived on the first floor and then some of the guys lived on top. The night that I was gonna take off, there was spray paint, neon orange spray paint in one of the rooms. And, and I, I thought it was going to be funny. I thought I was funny. And I spray painted this like 10 foot dick on the wall. And then the next day I leave to go see my son and I go, and I'm. This is now day five or six of me being there. You know, I met my son. There's an awesome picture when I met him at the airport. You know, we're all crying, we're happy, and I'm holding my son and while he's sleeping and I get an email and it's the squad leader's like, hey man, I hate to bug you, I know you're with your son, but do you have any idea who spray painted a dick in the living quarters? And I was like, oh, that was me. And I would have preferred if he just chewed me out, but the email that he sent me was, you're an NCO now. You have guys, you have to be professional. How can you, you know, do this? And he goes. And I didn't know what was going on on that end. What happened was the sergeant major of.

[Tyler]

Third, oh, no, big sergeant major saw.

[Angel Cortez]

It, went to the living quarters with his personnel and the room they told him to stay in was that room, was that room.

[Brent Tucker]

That's how it goes.

[Tyler]

His height was like.

[Angel Cortez]

So the team, the, the team sergeant basically brought everybody in and I didn't know all this, all the energy, guys. And yeah, who you did it? I. Who, who did it? Give them up. And it was like a big thing.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And meanwhile it was me.

[Brent Tucker]

Meanwhile, you're back in the States. That's their problem. So is there a chance of the OG dick sticker coming out as to pay homage?

[Tyler]

You know, you said orange I was.

[Angel Cortez]

Like, you know what? I didn't think about that. I, I might, I might print a picture out because they put a 500 mile an hour tape around the room and they put banded Wanted dead or alive. And then when I got back, they were calling me a decasso for a while or, or cog Bandit. And I literally think the reason that, that the ODA wasn't like this guy, let him stay at the States was the fact that my son was probably just born.

[Tyler]

Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And. And when I came back and then they, they liked me too.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. You'd built a reputation that, that, that could, that could survive it.

[Angel Cortez]

Yeah. And everybody was like, bro, you have any idea how much we got? We were being integrated like we were Taliban and they put everybody on duty with full kid on. And I was like, sorry.

[Brent Tucker]

Well, I'm, I'm glad. Glad we don't have any spray paint in the studio, man. Angel, I can't thank you enough for coming all the way over telling your story. I enjoyed it. Gosh, I enjoy it and I think the viewers will too. And I hope they support you in everything you do.

[Angel Cortez]

Thank you. Thank you. There's a lot more that I wish I would have talked about, but I haven't got a chance. But I'm glad this went the direction and I'm glad you guys had me on because one of the things that you guys said is there was whether they act like it or not or how it's in place, it's almost felt like there was gatekeepers of who gets popular in the veteran community.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

And.

[Tyler]

Oh yeah.

[Angel Cortez]

I always felt like I, I wasn't. I didn't want to be like them and I am not them. So this avenue, and it's fucking love.

[Tyler]

This crazy is that I don't want to say everybody's a gatekeeper or these guys have any mindset, but a lot of the popular guys, this, the stories don't even compare to some of what average guys come and tell. Like your stories here, like fucking fobbing overrun or.

[Brent Tucker]

Yeah.

[Tyler]

Like a lot of those guys never, never even experienced that. But they are the most popular people in that space. So.

[Angel Cortez]

But 100%.

[Brent Tucker]

But you know, you know, I think, and I do, I think the pendulum, like a lot of other things, I think the pendulum's swinging and I do think there will be. Will usher in a new generation of. I just don't know, a different word of vet bros that will be drastically different than the last generation.

[Angel Cortez]

Oh, 100%. I felt like, I feel like, this is the second wave, the second wave of those guys getting out there and being successful. And I know some people, some companies might not want to work with me because I have gang member in my bio, but I feel like I show an example to the youth if me having that so they can see if, man, if you made it, I know I can make it. And I know that's true because I've gotten hundreds of messages at this point from people like that.

[Tyler]

What they're doing is they're going, yeah, we can get by the gang violence, that's fine. But the big dick thing is where.

[Brent Tucker]

We'Re getting hung up, draw a line somewhere.