← The Charlie Kirk Show
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- [00:00]
A
Thank you for listening to this Podcast 1 production now available on Apple Podcasts, Podcast 1, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts. Hey, everybody. Are you sick and tired of our freedoms disappearing? Are you wondering where the heroes are? Well, you can be a hero and we talked to one today. His name is Ian Smith. He co owns a gym in New Jersey. He will not close his gym despite the authoritarians and the tyrants coming after him. He's being fined $10,000 a day by the state of New Jersey and faces possible prison time for keeping his doors open. Despite zero virus cases going back to his gym, he's standing against tyranny. You should draw inspiration from this story to fight back and to stand for truth and with courage. I want to thank those of you that support our program@charliekirk.com support you allow us to tell the truth every single day@charliekirk.com support. And if you're a monthly supporter, you then get access to our private zoom call@charliekirk.com support charliekirk.com support Ian Smith is here. He's a hero. We need more of them. Support him and draw inspiration from him. Buckle up. Here we go. Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.
- [01:11]
B
Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus. I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks. I want to thank Charlie. He's an incredible guy. His spirit, his love of this country. He's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point usa.
- [01:31]
A
We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives. And we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country. That's why we are here. Hey, everybody. Welcome to this episode of the Charlie Kirk Show. I am joined today with Ian Smith. Ian, you are. You've made national news, my friend. You are demanding that your gym gets to reopen and you have, in a lot of different ways, pushed back. There are zero virus cases tracing back to your gym as of today. And you guys have done everything responsibly. And you guys were in a viral video kicking down the barricades, I guess you could say, of your. Jim, tell us about what you're going through and tell us a little about yourself.
- [02:23]
B
Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me on the show. I appreciate it. Because one of our, one of our biggest weapons as a small individual person in this or small entity in this kind of David versus Goliath, little guy versus big guy battle has been the fact that so many people care about the story. So I'm really happy to join today. So I appreciate that. But yeah, we have 15,546 visits as of last night to the facility since June 16th without a single case of COVID reported so far. And we have extensive records that we can look back at any time. So. And that's something that we sort of came up with ourselves. But yeah, it's. It's been a pretty crazy journey. We started this thing out because we thought that every small business should be open and that the world doesn't need to come to a grinding halt for a virus, especially one with a mortality rate of much less than originally forecasted, I should say. So we didn't plan for it to turn this big. We thought it, we didn't know where it was going to go, but I don't think we thought it was going to get to this level. We put together a 15 point safety protocol about six weeks after the two week shutdown because there was no, there was no government plan present. Nobody was talking about reopening. It was this trickle of, you know, here you can have a, you can, you can have your parks back. Oh, you can, you know, you can go to the beach, but you can't sit in chairs on the beach. It was this like, trickle of liberty, like coming back these breadcrumbs. And it was like, you know, enough is enough. Because I've seen this played out before in history where, you know, they're quick to grab power and they're real slow to give it back.
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A
Yeah, if at all.
- [04:11]
B
Yeah, if at all. Exactly. So we put together a plan, my partner and I, we worked every day since the shutdown started. And we put out that plan very publicly because it wasn't about being openly defiant. It wasn't about, you know, the middle finger in the face of the man. It was about saying, hey, there's no plan present. We're as responsible adults and as responsible citizens, we're going to put 1/4 to the public. Like, let's talk about it. Let's get moving. And yet to date, Governor Murphy has not reached out at all to learn the details of that plan, which is. Which is surprising.
- [04:45]
A
So what has Governor Murphy said about you and what has he threatened the governor of New Jersey?
- [04:50]
B
So originally, when we reopened, the story's been going on for a while. We were given citations. All that first week, we had a health department violation, which a health department official never even stepped inside the building. They just slapped a sticker on the door in the middle of the night. Then our locks were changed via a court order. They locked us out of our business. A couple weeks later we got back in, we were held in contempt of court again. And then that's when we were arrested for the first time. So now we're up to 24 citations and one arrest, all carrying a thousand dollar fine and up to six months in jail. And they barricaded our doors and that was kind of where this, I guess this, the powder keg started to explode. So we kicked them down and we resumed operations. And now Governor Murphy again has not reached out in any way other than punitive measures. You know, he hasn't reached out to say, hey, I'm going to send somebody down there and we're going to take a look at what you guys have in place, you know, and we're going to talk about it. So from there, you know, we were held in contempt of court again. We're still, we're still operating, still going strong. And he's requesting that Judge Robert Lugie, who has been his kind of right hand man through every will he's wanted carried out in New Jersey. You know, Robert Lugie is the guy who shut down the town of Asbury park that was set to reopen all of its indoor dining, which is a shore town that thrives on restaurant business. They were all going to open as a town. They passed a local ordinance, he blocked that. This guy just does whatever he wants. So he's requesting that we're fined $10,000 per day every day that we're open. And that, and it's what's crazy about that one especially is right in the wording of the motion. They admit what they're trying to do. That $10,000 figure is not like based off of our daily income or anything like that. You know, like a good day for our business would be 1500, $2000 worth of revenue coming in and they're just slapping that number. And they follow that up in the motion saying, justifying it by saying they have enough money in their legal defense, go fund me to pay these fines. So you're openly admitting that you're trying to cripple our legal fight against you. It's clear as day he's also asking for long term imprisonment, which is six months or more. And those hearings are not scheduled yet. We imagine those will come up in the next week. But he's also scheduled a hearing in the township of Belmar, which is where Attilus is located, to have our business License revoked. So that's next Tuesday at 5 o'.
- [07:36]
A
Clock.
- [07:36]
B
We go in front of six council members and the mayor in a very, very democratic town to potentially strip us of our business license. Just kind of based off of Murphy's weaponization of things.
- [07:51]
A
I wouldn't be surprised if they do strip that license of you. And so I have a couple questions. You guys have gone above and beyond, and you guys have zero virus cases traced back to your particular gym. Why are you doing this? I mean, obviously, I mean, we talk about the need to fight a lot on our program and you guys are heroes for doing this, but, I mean, this is coming to you at a huge cost. I mean, there are so many cowards out there. You're not one of them. Why are you doing this?
- [08:21]
B
You know, it's pretty simple. Frank and I. Frank and I are. We're just regular guys. There's nothing special about us. But the one thing that's, that's true in my heart and in Frank's heart is that if you're going to destroy my life, you're going to have to destroy me first. And if you take this from us, you will ruin. You will especially, you will ruin Frank's life. Frank is 50 years old. You know, he's. It's. There's not time for him to rebuild. You know, you would ruin my life too. But I could, obviously, I'm, you know, I'm 33. I could rebound. But if you're gonna. If you're gonna take everything from me, you're good, you're gonna have to take it. I'm not gonna give it up. Especially when you have not presented anything that. That shows that I'm doing anything wrong other than I'm not listening to what you're saying because you haven't presented any information at all. He just, he just said. They say these things. Oh, it's guided by science and data. They've not put forth one piece of science, of solid scientific evidence that proves a gym is more dangerous than walking into a Walmart. They blanket these industries as if we're all the same. You know, you can't just lump everybody into one. So it comes down to standing up for what's right, you know, because, yeah, we're the ones being targeted right now. But if we fall, it's going to be somebody else next. It's going to be somebody else next, and then there's nobody left to fight. And it's. For us, it's much bigger than a gym. It's about. It's about protecting the American dream and the American way of life. Because it is so clear at this point that this is an all out assault on the middle class. And this is an all out assault on the American way of life. And whether or not that was something that was planned or something that was an opportunity that was jumped on, it's, it's a power grab and it couldn't be more clear. And if we don't stand up to that, we're going to find ourselves in a position, all of us, in a position that we don't want to be in. So it's. For us, it's cut and dry. You know what I mean?
- [10:26]
A
Yeah. I mean, look, I couldn't think higher of what more highly of what you guys are doing. I mean, the amount of cowards that are out there right now, that especially, I mean, we talk about some of the great pastors out there, like Jack hibbs and Rob McCoy, but if you guys are fighting harder than the Christian pastors, that's just not right. I mean, it's just, you guys own a gym and you just say, this is, this is government tyranny, you know, this is. You haven't had, if you've had a virus outbreak at your gym. I mean, I kind of get it, sort of. I mean, it's still private property. You guys can still act responsibly, but you haven't. You've had 15,000 visits. So here's my other question. What's the response been from normal people in your town? Not the ruling class, not the health department, people that never visited you. I'm talking about middle class people in your town.
- [11:10]
B
The response from people in the town, in the state and in the country has been overwhelmingly positive. And I think it's actually growing too. You know, we started out with, you always have your, you know, your. We get it. We got a couple interesting phone calls every day, you know, you know, I pick up the phone and say, till it's Jim. And somebody says, like, they won't mess with, you know, like, you know, or just, like, just nonsense.
- [11:34]
A
But yeah, and then you just tell them, come visit and they'll see you and they'll be like, I'm just kidding.
- [11:38]
B
So, yeah, no, our favorite one is to ask them where they live and they say, why, why would, why would I tell you that? And I say, or Frank says, so we don't accidentally come, pull you out of the house and drag you to the gym, you know what I mean? We'll put you on the. Do not call list, as if we're forcing people to be here. But the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We've gotten more support than we ever imagined. We knew our members were going to support us. We knew that we had the support of our friends and our family. It's insane, the support we've gotten. It leaves me speechless sometimes. And it always reinforces that what we're doing is right. I have military reaching out all the time. Veterans, people who serve their community, cops, firefighters, nurses people, people that make up America, people of all walks of life saying thank you for doing the right thing. You know, when, when people walk in here, there's a guy who walks in here every day. You know, they're all family walks in, he's a veteran. This is, this is his therapy. You know, when he leaves here every day, he can go home and he can be a father to his children, he can be a husband to his wife. You know, without, without this escape. He doesn't have that. And he thanks me every day on the way out. And this is somebody that served. Served their country in the highest way. And he's, he's thanking me for, for fighting for him. And it's just, it's reinforcing and it's just been incredible. I mean, it gets us through the, the lows because it's been up and down all the way through this.
- [13:11]
A
Yeah. So you. That doesn't surprise me that middle class, normal people are so thrilled that they actually see somebody fighting. And so how far are you willing to push this? Are you willing to serve prison time? Because that's what the leaders actually might make you do. And I know that sounds outrageous to our listeners right now, but you're a gym owner who's acting responsibly, and they might put you in prison. Meanwhile, there are 20,000 people on the streets of Philadelphia every other day, burning, looting, and rioting. And they wonder why virus cases are going up there. You're 25, 30 minutes from Philadelphia, more or less. Right. And you're able and you do things correctly, yet somehow you're the enemy. How far are you guys willing to go?
- [13:58]
B
See, this is one of those fights where. And again, circling back to the idea of the big guy versus the little guy, they don't want you to make it to round 12, because in round 12, you'll knock them out and you'll lose every battle along the way. And that's, that's by design. That's how they crush you, whether it's financially, whether it's whatever, throw me in prison. You know, take my business license. Go ahead, throw. Throw everything you got at me. I'm making it to round 12. I'll see this all the way through until the end. And I know that Frank is, too. And if that means serving prison time, you'll pay for it in the long run. And I'll. You know, and I say this, and I don't sound. Say this, sound like tough by tough guy or, or like some. Some badass. But if you want to make me, make me a martyr. Do it. Do it. I dare you. Because that's what this comes down to. These people run off of fear, and I'm not afraid.
- [14:52]
A
I hope that the people listening recognize, maybe they can look in their own life and say, huh, maybe I'm not fighting hard enough. I mean, because what you're going through is a very serious thing, and this is how tyranny grows. If you do not confront tyranny, it'll spread very, very quickly. Tell us about your CNN interview with the bodybuilder over there, Cuomo.
- [15:13]
B
You know, what I will say is that I was expecting something far different than what we got. You know, we. We first got the national attention when. When Tucker picked up the story after local radio and stuff. Like, we've been interviewed, you know, by local stations, and we've been interviewed by all local stations, but then it's mostly been on the national level and especially with podcasts and, you know, stuff on the Internet. It's been mostly center. Right Stuff. You know what I mean? So when CNN called, we were like, oh, cool. And we welcomed the opportunity because we thought, hey, this is an opportunity to come to a side that probably disagrees with us in a lot of ways, especially because most of our supporters tend to be center and to the right. But we went and we went in with our guard up. But I do have to say that Chris asked some pretty. Pretty fair questions, and he definitely did allow us to talk. I think that he was taken back by Frank's. Frank's knowledge of the numbers and probably Frank's energy, too. You know, Frank's got a lot in this at this point, so he's very passionate, and when he speaks, he speaks with a lot of emotion, but he didn't have much of a rebuttal against us, and we kind of expected that he would. And maybe that's because, you know, that what we said made sense. You know, maybe I don't. We caught him off guard. But, you know, in the end, he. He said we had a good case. And I was like, I was surprised by it because I was. I was. I was expecting to go in there and be fed just, like, bull questions, you know, I mean, like loaded questions that are just, you know, for entertainment purposes, you know, White House press briefing kind of questions that you see. But it wasn't. It was. It was a conversation of substance. And I was. I was. I was thankful for the outcome because I think as this goes on and as these punitive measures get. Get more and more intense, people who may not have agreed with what we did in the first place are starting to look at this situation and go really like a gym. Like, we got to go this far over a gym. $10,000 a day jail time, you know, stripping business license. Really? Meanwhile, the strip club down the street is. Is open and stuff like that.
- [17:35]
A
Is it really?
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B
Wow. Yeah. Full capacity, full parking lot.
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A
So the strip club is open. Do they have weed stores yet in New Jersey?
- [17:43]
B
Oh, they've been open the whole time. They're essential.
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A
Wow. Church is still not open?
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B
No, no, I think. I think they might be open at like 10% or 15% capacity, but you're not allowed to sing or something like that. There's.
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A
But the strip clubs are open at 100% capacity.
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B
Yeah. Yeah. Go in and get a lap dance. You get two if you want. There's no limit on them or anything.
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A
Wow. And. And so, I mean, it's just extraordinary. How do you.
- [18:09]
B
How.
- [18:11]
A
Well, of course it is, of course, but it's. They're trying to impose their left wing worldview. And I mean, I could see why they don't like. I can see, like, why they don't like gyms. The idea of masculinity they hate anyway, so I could see why that actually bothers them from a, you know, business crushing worldview. They would love to have all gyms go out of business. They don't want that. They would rather have, like, vegan food stores open or something. I don't know. So how much of this do you really believe? I mean, I know it's hard to look at people's intentions, but you're in this. Do you really believe that the people that are putting these orders, are their intentions good or is there something else really deeply at play when they want to shut you down?
- [18:50]
B
You know, I've spent a lot of time thinking about that, honestly, and that's a good question, because you want to think the best of people and you want to think that, you know, whether you agree with somebody or disagree with somebody, that their intentions are good and that you know, even though you may disagree with them, it's not out of malice or, you know, because they want to cause you harm. But when you take a step back at this stuff and you start looking at the, I mean, Frank and I have gone over the details. We, we've read every word of the executive order. We've listened to every minute of these press conferences. We, we watch these people. It's all we have to do, you know, it's all we do. And the more, the more you look at it, the more that becomes very doubtful that they have good intentions. I think in a best case scenario they have selfish intentions. And I think in a worst case scenario they have very bad intentions. And I don't, I don't know where that falls, you know, because I don't, I don't claim to know everything and you know, the picture is still, still kind of coming into focus here. But I wouldn't say that they're good politicians, you know, alone just, just the fact alone that we put out a plan publicly. I went on national television to say, hey, we're doing this and we got a plan. Why would you not contact, why would you not reach out, say, hold off, don't open. Let's look at your plan. Come on, let's talk about it. Right? Because government is supposed to work with the people, you know what I mean? And we've got it flip flopped now where these politicians think that they are above the people and that's not the way this country was founded. They don't dictate. They're not kings, they're not rulers, they're leaders. And if you've ever read a good self help book, they tell you that leaders lead from within the pack and rulers sit above it. And it's two very different structures, you know, and, and that's what these politicians are supposed to be. They're supposed to be leaders. They're not supposed to be rulers. And they act like rulers. And there's something seriously wrong with that.
- [20:59]
A
Have you been contacted by other gym owners that are trying to reopen and they all around country, what are they, are they doing it?
- [21:08]
B
Everybody's. So what's crazy is everybody's forced to fight their own fight. You know, the measures that Newsom has taken out in California and the weaponization of public organizations that he does is different than Murphy and that's different than Cuomo, and that's different than Gretchen, what's her name, and it's different than the Miami mayor, you know what I mean? All these people who just so happen to be hard leftists. I'm sure that's no coincidence, but. So it's tough. So we communicate and we try to help each other as much as possible, but we're all in it. We're all in it together, but we're all alone, you know what I mean? Especially here in New Jersey. We're the only gym that's open. In California you have a lot of them who have banded together and said no, but it's tough. It's tough. And it sucks hearing all the different stories about all these different people and what they're going through, you know, because as much as my story sucks, you know, there's other people. I just met a guy from Ocean county yesterday. You know, he's got the same story as me. He was arrested, he's facing jail time. It's, you know, it's. But what's, what's worse is the politicians don't care. They don't care. They put on a quick song and dance in a press conference and say a few words. But at the end of the day, the $60 million man here, our governor of New Jersey, who's worth 60 million, he just gets in his helicopter and flies home to his house at the end of the day and he's not worried about whether he's going to feed his family. He's not worried about if his job is secure. His head hits the pillow at night and he's good. You can't say that for millions and millions and millions of hard working, honest, good, just genuine American people today. We're all anxiety ridden. And it's because of these policies. We were fine before this, you know, and it's, that's, I think what, what gives us the strength to fight the most is because this is, this is wrong on so many levels. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, what your background is. It's affecting all of us. And if it hasn't affected you yet, it will.
- [23:30]
A
So you mentioned something, you said that it's good for some of the people that come to your gym's mental health. So this is, can you talk about that? How many people come to you as a therapy and how they're robbing people of that. And it might increase suicides or alcoholism or depression because they've closed the gyms.
- [23:47]
B
I would say 100% of people who come to the gym come to the gym for therapy, whether they realize it or not. You know, the mind and the body is far More connected than I think any of us understand. And what you do in the real world, you know, that affects the inner world. You know what I mean? Or what you're doing outside affects your inside. And we've got, like I said, guy comes here, we got guys with severe ptsd. We have law enforcement officers who work in Camden and Philadelphia in tough areas. And they see a lot, do a lot. We have emergency room nurses. You know, we're pinned between a couple of the biggest hospitals in the country, people with just high stress, regular jobs, you know, not, not necessarily putting their life on the line. We have people who are recovering drug addicts and alcoholics who have been sober for years and couldn't go to AA or NA meetings and couldn't get to the gym. Like, that's, that's literally the playbook to, to be addiction is like go to meetings and go to the gym, you know, because I've been there. I've been a kid who abused drugs, so I know what that feels like when, when you're trying to fix yourself and you need, you need something to anchor to. And that's, that's what the gym is for a lot of people. And it's an anchor for people in a lot of different ways. And we're actually, today we're shooting a quick little like 60 second or 90 second video. We're going to interview people and ask them why it's important, and we're going to blast that out as much as we can. Because I, that was the, that was the one criticism that really pissed me off is when, when we did this, like, you get the keyboard warriors who were like, oh, you know, you just want to work out, look good, like, you know, idiots, like, and it's like, no, you've clearly never been to the gym before because you don't understand why we're here. And it is. You're robbing people of their right to be healthy. And you can't tell me it's about public health. You just can't convince me. You lay your policies out on the table and let's have a conversation about it. Do change my mind. Set up a change my mind table and have one of these governors sit down and tell me that their actions have been in the interest of public health. You won't convince me because I'll read every, every word you wrote and every policy you make, and it's all backwards.
- [26:21]
A
You. You're spot on. And the politicians don't care about their people. That's a very important lesson that people have to realize. And it's both parties, but I'd say it's mostly Democrats, but I mean, have there any Republican New Jerseys, New Jersey members that have been standing by you in solidarity or are they cowards, like typical?
- [26:41]
B
You know, we've, I've met quite a few. I met Rick Maida, who is actually running against Cory Booker. He just won the primaries here and he offered some assistance and he's there to support us in any way. I've kind of shaken hands with a couple people, but I haven't really been contacted by anybody. And we're just two guys kind of doing this on our own, so we're not reaching out. You know, we don't have time to reach out and do whatever, so.
- [27:13]
A
Yeah, well, they should be reaching out to you. That's what I mean, they should be, but they're not because the traditional Republican Party doesn't care about these sorts of things because there's no donor interest in that. So that's why we love Trump. I mean, the President stands by you, I could tell you that. But go ahead.
- [27:29]
B
Especially in places like New Jersey, you know, you got this, this Democrat kind of stronghold. You know, the Republicans that are in power are just, they're just concerned with getting reelected, so they don't want to wait, make too many waves, you know what I mean? And it's like, dude, like, do your job. You know, it's like, what did you sign up for? And it's, it's frustrating. You know, it's. If you didn't want to be a politician, if you didn't want the pressure of being a politician, if you didn't want to make the right choices, then go do something else. Go be a roofer where you don't have to make hard choices, you don't have to put your, yourself on the line. You know, that's what being a politician is about. That's what being involved in politics is about, is it's, it's an ugly game and it's a rough game. And if you're not willing to play it, like, get out, get out of the way, let somebody else, who's gonna, who's gonna make a change.
- [28:18]
A
In closing, Ian, how can people help you? How can they donate to you guys? How can they rally behind you? We have a very active audience that is sick of the authoritarianism and tyranny in our country.
- [28:28]
B
So there's really a couple ways that you can help out. And I think the most important one is a non financial way is just to follow the story. I'm very active on my social media. I interact through Instagram a lot. But anytime you see the story, whether it's somebody posted on your Facebook or your Instagram, share it. Because like I said in the beginning, one of the biggest weapons that we've had is that the whole now the whole country, and we're even getting contacts from around the world, like, the world is watching. And I want them to continue to watch because I want them to see where these politicians will go to in order to enforce their will. Right? So it's as simple as sharing it. It's incredibly powerful. But if you want to donate, we do have a GoFundMe that Governor Murphy thinks that he's going to take with $10,000 a day, but we'll never pay that. I promise you that. I'll go on a payment plan and give you $10 a month for the rest of my life before I do that. But we do have a GoFundMe. If you just type in Attila's Gym Court Relief, that'll come up. The link is right on my Instagram. And that's Ian Smith Fitness on Instagram. You can follow us on Facebook. That's Attilis Jim Belmar. And we update as much as possible. Like I said, the biggest weapon we've had is that people care. So we're gonna keep on updating and we're gonna see this all the way through to round 12.
- [29:54]
A
God bless you, Ian. We got your back. Thank you for fighting. Don't give an inch. There's more people that support you than you could ever imagine. So seriously, thank you.
- [30:02]
B
It means a lot. Thank you.
- [30:03]
A
Thank you, man. I'm just so inspired by people that are standing up for what's right. He could go to jail. He could face serious penalty, and yet he is doing the right thing. That's what we are doing every day at Turning Point USA. So I encourage you to go to tpusa.com, tpusa.com and help us continue to fight for freedom and liberty on college campuses across the country. @tpusa.com, tpusa.com Please consider supporting our program at charliekirk.com support and email us any thoughts that you have. It goes to me directly. Freedom charliekirk.com Freedom charliekirk.com Thank you guys so much for listening. God bless you. Please consider, consider supporting our program monthly@charliekirk.com support. It helps keep the fire going. Thanks so much. God bless.