B (3:50)

Thanks, Dylan.

A (3:51)

I appreciate you being on here, man. I. I've been looking forward to this ever since the second that I met you and I was introduced to you. God has his way of working and he brings people together, and I firmly believe in all of that, as you know. So let's, let's utilize this time and drain you for as as much information as we can possibly get.

B (4:11)

Yeah. Looking forward to it. You have a lot to talk about.

A (4:14)

I know it. All right, so, okay, I gave you the breakdown, I gave you the rundown, but let's talk about how you got into this. You know, you're. You've been in fitness, you've been in health. That's my background. So, you know, I can resonate with everything that you're doing. But we all have a story. We all have our reasons. What drove you to this industry and, and what really continues to drive you and motivate you today?

B (4:38)

Yeah, there were two critical points in my life that kind of pushed me in the direction of health and wellness. You know, at 16 years old, was misdiagnosed with childhood leukemia. And fortunately, it was only a short period of time that the misdiagnosis was there. But doctors had read some blood work inappropriate inaccurately and had, you know, thrown the terms out there. And so at that point, I was really concerned at a very early age and facing mortality at an early age, which is not very common for. For a lot of people, thankfully, they had a third opinion on the blood work, came back and realized they had made a mistake. And so I felt like I had a second chance at life. And so that was really something that stuck with me from an early age that made me really think deeply about the Importance and the value of my health and how long I want to live and, and I have to take control of my own health to make sure that, you know, I have that lifespan that I'm looking for. I played Division 1 college hockey. So hockey was my sport since I was five years old. And, and going into college, transitioning from, from prep school, you know, I was, I was a right wing forward. I was about 170lbs soaking wet. So making that transition from high school to college was a little difficult because you're going against kids when you're high school versus playing against bigger grown men in college. And so the second event was really my coach coming up to me after my freshman year saying if I didn't put on some size for the following season, that I might not be playing. And so that was a threat to something that I thought at that time I wasn't sure where I was going to go with my hockey career. You know, I had no idea like what, what direction I was going to go, but I knew that that's what I was there for, right. And I didn't want that to end. And so I took that very seriously, went home that summer and put on 30 pounds in three months. I took weight training seriously, my nutrition seriously, supplementation. And I really learned the power and the value of being able to manipulate your body if you apply to science. And so the combination of, you know, facing mortality at a young age and also learning how easily you can manipulate your body, it just created this perfect storm of passion for, for health and fitness. You know, transitioned into a small little fitness modeling career coming out of college and then transitioned into some TV and film and acting out in la and again taking my body through all these different transformations for different roles that I was playing and, and different jobs that I was getting at the time. So I had this little side business of health and fitness. You know, over the course of 30 plus years of just doing some things on the side, as my acting career was starting to kind of fade away, I realized that there was an opportunity that I've been missing out on to really have an impact on, on people as well as also bring a lot of value for me being able to use my skills and resources to create some purpose. And so I decided to go full steam into my health and wellness coaching business and built my business literally out of my backyard. You know, I, I'd taken out a short loan from a friend of mine to build, build a little space in the backyard of this small 250 square foot apartment that I was living in and started bringing clients in one by one and just building this transfer transformation that I was proving. We didn't need fancy gym equipment to get people into great health and great shape because we were working from the inside out. We were focusing on nutrition, we were focusing on stress management, we were focusing on sleep, we were focusing on organization and preparation and just really learning how to put all of those pillars in place to create a ecosystem that would give somebody an opportunity to get into really great health, in great shape, physically, mentally and emotionally across all aspects. Was very fortunate to build the business quickly through referral base and then had an opportunity with that poker player as you, as we, you mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, which was a really cool opportunity. You know, fortunately we won that bet, was able to get him to 8.8% body fat, not 10%. So we crushed that goal. Somebody who was in that circle of, of poker players happen to know somebody from the New York Post and they heard the story being talked about, they posted it in, in the, in the newspaper and Good Morning America caught wind of it and just started to slowly gain some traction organically, just having an opportunity to work with people, you know, around the US as well as internationally. Started coaching and training people and building programs virtually before there was even apps that were out there to create opportunities for people to do online training. And so I was bootstrapping the business and building video libraries on Dropbox and just like finding ways to just bring value to people no matter where they were in the world. And you know, when Covid hit, it forced my business completely online, which was a direction I was taking. The coaching business in general. I was finding that I had a lot more value and opportunity to create bigger breakthroughs with people working in this format as opposed to being in the gym, working one on one. Oftentimes people would come into the gym and we'd spend an, you know, 30 minutes of our one hour session just chopping it up and talking about what's going on in their day and, you know, kind of lose a little bit of speed and momentum of the training session and the intensity, and it felt at some degree it was losing some of its edge. And so I found that trying to build more independence within the, within the individual by teaching them the tools that they need, but allowing them some space to kind of grow on their own was really becoming a impactful approach to the process. And I use various different apps to be able to communicate and build accountability and have this really great structure to make it feel highly interactive and on demand for my clientele and you know, just been able to successfully continue to keep building on that, on that format and to still to this day, you know, I have had a lot of success working with, with people in that aspect. So it's, you know, blessed as an opportunity, but also just really exciting to, to be able to do something I love, something that I'm extremely passionate about and be able to, you know, try to leave my footprint on this world by making an impact on individuals and watching it just translate in all areas of their life, not just in their health and fitness. But, you know, a rising tide raises all ships. So you see people's self care and health and wellness start to level up. We just start to see these level ups in the career and other relationships and other personal goals and things that they're trying to improve in their lives. So it's just been really, really rewarding.

A (11:03)

And what I love about this is you really know what it's to build from the ground up and what it's like to struggle and I don't like to struggle. You don't like to struggle. Nobody likes to struggle. But foundationally I feel we need to at certain points. And you know, you know how spiritual I am and, and I sometimes people, when they misunderstand readings and it's like you get struggles put in front of you for a reason because it teaches you how to overcome. And nothing gets put out in front of you that you can't overcome. But you have to learn how to do it. And ultimately when you do that, you have a greater sense of appreciation, you have a foundation and you're able to do a heck of a lot more and appreciate what you have. Right?

B (11:50)

It helps you build the confidence within yourself that you can, you can literally create anything and overcome anything, you know, without. Without having those struggles placed in front of you, without having those obstacles and being able to use critical thinking and tap into like resources that you have available and accessible or relationships that you've built over the years, finding ways to tap into that. Certainly as an entrepreneur, getting gritty builds those chops and that confidence to be able to know that, you know, no matter what type of adversity you face, you'll always figure out a way to get through that and create something great out of it. You know, Mike, the situation. Can't believe I'm quoting Jersey Shore, but I heard him talk recently on one of his podcasts about how he's learned how to take his Ls and turn his Ls into lessons, you know what? I guess I think that's just a great way to frame it. You know, I mean, we all, we all take losses in our lives. No doubt. I've had many L's in my life, but know, certainly I think going through my acting career is also a place where I built a lot of endurance and I built a lot of grit. Because when you're out there in the acting world, I think you spent some time in the entertainment industry as well. You know, you hear a lot more nos than you hear yeses. And you know, if you don't got thick skin and the ability to take a no and just keep plowing through because you believe so deeply in yourself and what you're trying to do, you know, it's going to be a hard journey. And so learning how to take those L's and turn them into lessons and just build something out of that is really, I think the value of going through those struggles. And oftentimes when I found myself, when I've gotten to the, to the end result of something that I've been seeking or desiring, oftentimes it's kind of, it falls a little short in terms of like what I expected it to actually feel like. Because what was so rich was more the journey and the struggle and all the, all the value that I gained going through the experience to get there. That's what was actually all of the goal as opposed to the actual end result. And so, you know, less struggle. I think it just like you said, maybe kind of wanes some of that appreciation for what it actually took to earn that if you, if you've given something versus earning something, it always just feels a little different.

A (14:14)

That's, that's so true. And you know, you know, my past and my background with being in that industry and then selling drugs and the money was flying in and flying out just as fast. It meant nothing to me. Every cent that I earned now means everything to me. It's accounted for, it's, it's documented and it's through hard work and it feels good. And that's why I want to ask you, and this is what I find to be true. So I'm curious your thoughts on it. You, me, people like us, in our industry, we. Part of our job is not just coaching and teaching. It's motivating, it's setting an example, it's helping people to be held accountable. And I think, actually, I don't think I'm not going to do that. I know that people that have had to be Accountable people that have had to struggle. It's a lot easier for us to teach, to motivate, and for it to be easier for someone to maybe listen when they've seen someone else that's gone through it. You know, I don't recommend anyone go to prison like I did or go through some of the things that you probably made mistakes on. However, you know, so it used to kind of be stigmatized, you know, people that may have done what I did, for example, or frowned upon. But I think that when you see how somebody overcomes it and what they deal with it, it can offer hopefully a profound respect for the, the person and the individual, for the willingness to change, to try and never give up. So I wonder for you, with all the struggles that you've had in the way that you've had to constantly figure things out, which is a testament to, you know, who you are, do you feel like that makes you, I guess, more adequately equipped to be an inspirer and a coach? Because coaching is not just factual based. There's so much more that goes to it.

B (15:58)

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think it, the experiences that I've been through have just gives me a deeper sense of empathy to be able to connect with my clients.

A (16:07)

Right?

B (16:07)

I mean, everybody, everybody has a different level of struggle. And I think it's all relative, right? Like what you've been through, what I've been through, what somebody else has been through. You know, arguably we could say, like, those are the most challenging times in our lives, you know, so it's all relative. But if you don't have some of that experience, it can be a little bit more challenging to be able to relate to your client in a way that's commensurate with helping coach them through a critical thought process to get to the end result. Because it's not always as simple as saying, come on, man, like, just get to the gym, right? Like, what's the actual roadblock that's holding them back from feeling that level of, like, excitement or motivation to get to the gym? And so sometimes you just got to take it through some, some deeper layers and it might be a little bit longer of a process to get to that, that, you know, that drive, you can't just force it there right away. And if you've been through some of those experiences yourself, you know how to slowly kind of walk through those layers, and it might take a little bit longer, but you also have a lot more assurance that you're going to get there with that person, with that client, you know, because it's just a matter of time. And, you know, they need. They need to be sort of handheld a little bit more through a particular situation. There's so many nuances to working with each individual, you know, But I think for me, the biggest thing when I'm working with clients, the thing that I'm really trying to do the most is help them get to this place of real truth and honesty within themselves and this high level of self awareness. So that whatever goal that we've set or that we're trying to achieve, that they're being very real with themselves and how they're, you know, in the place that they're at currently and where they want to go. You know, I liken it to, you know, if we use a scale of reference of like, scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best you'll ever be in your life in terms of like mind, body, spirit, and one being like the darkest, deepest, lowest place you've ever been. You know, most people generally sort of live between like a three and a five, you know.

A (18:13)

Right, right.

B (18:14)

And every now and then they get this level of motivation. They want to push hard, and, you know, they get to maybe like a seven. And in their minds they think, this is harder than I've worked in a long time. So that seven sort feels like a false ten. Right, right. And then they get comfortable, and then they kind of slowly let those old habits and patterns creep back in. So they start to slide back towards that three again. They get to that three and they hate it. And they remembered what they did to get to that quote, unquote, false 10, and they push and get back in. But they never really realize that full potential of what it actually takes and how hard they have to work and some of the sacrifices they need to make or, you know, some of the ways they need to kind of reframe certain things in their mind to get to a true level 10. And so, you know, there's two things that can happen when you've got this big gap in terms of expectations and effort. The way that you reduce some of that, you know, some of that feeling or angst that people feel is that you either increase your effort to close that gap or you lower your expectations to close that gap. Some clients, we need to increase that effort because they really want a specific outcome that's very, very high level, like 1% ish. And that, you know, in order to get to that level, you've got to really increase your, your effort and your intensity and your activity. Other people, we Might look at and say, hey, listen, you know, it's nice that you want to be at that level, but realistically, based on how your life is structured, based on other things you enjoy in your life, you enjoy vacationing and traveling, you like to have drinks a few times a week, you like to indulge in some food, like, there's other things that they may enjoy. So in that case, we might, we want to be a little bit more realistic and say, look, let's just reduce some of our expectations a little bit so we can close that g. Feeling, you know, less than or feeling pressure or whatever it might be, so that we can get you to a place where you find something that's really honest and real for you in terms of a sweet spot. Because not everybody has to be a level 10 to be happy, you know?

A (20:18)

Right.

B (20:19)

Makes sense.

A (20:19)

No. Yeah, 100%. Nope. I, I've been there and, and I, I live it, you know, so I get it. And I love your approach. I love the way your outlook on everything. And that's one of the many things I relate to you on. I want to discuss with you some of your foundational beliefs. You know, I talk about this a lot, that everything is very person to person specific. But I, I will be honest with everybody. And I think you can attest to this. When you're coaching people, you tend to have the certain things you lean to. Like, I'm a cardio guy, so I, I believe in cardio. Right. So I, I believe in the implementation. Now it's different for everybody, but I think that it's very important. Some people argue against it.

B (21:01)

Yeah.

A (21:02)

Want to talk about things like that. But I want to start with diet because I think that for me, when I tell people. And I want your thought on this too. I, I take this circle and I did this with the bodybuilders I trained. And, and I take it with nutrition, diet training and then supplements, whether it's PEDs or just basic supplements. And I take a percentage of importance on where you're going to get. And I argue that diet consumes at the minimum, 75% of that. I think it's more. Closer to 80. The training is very important, but I, I would put that more in the 15 to 20 range. And then the supplements, PEDs, whatever's that last little portion, 2 to 5%. So to me, diet's everything. I want your thought on that first. And then I, structurally, like, diet wise, you're. And once again, this is conducive to the person's goals. But in general, what's your kind of feeling on fats, proteins and carbohydrates? Your percentage breakdowns, like what your favorite diet is for most people, you know, to, to get them in the right metabolic phase and function and flexibility and that kind of thing?

B (22:10)

Yeah, yeah, no, so I, I would agree with you that diet is definitely in that upper percentile. 75, 80, somewhere around there. Because all health and also physical performance, it all stems from your gut, right? How good, how well adapted your gut microbiome is, how healthy your gut microbiome is, inflammation, et cetera, et cetera. Right? Inflammation is one of the leading causes of all disease and disorder, number one. Number two, you know, if you have high levels of inflammation in your gut, you're somebody who's out spending lots of money on high quality foods. Well, a lot of that high quality food isn't even getting absorbed. So, you know, so you're just throwing it all that money out the window and all that great, you know, nutrients out the window. So I really place nutrition at the top of that. Nutrition training and sleep and recovery are probably the top three. And I will throw, I'll throw supplementation and you know, peds or like tr, you know, hormone replacement therapy as like my number four. Because at the end of the day, you could put hormone replacement therapy on top of a poor diet, poor training, poor sleep and it won't matter. It has no impact. You can't just inject testosterone and think that like everything just solves itself and you're gonna, you know, you're gonna drop to 10 body fat, you're gonna build a bunch of muscle and you're gonna feel better and your sex drive is going to be through the roof. It doesn't work that way.

A (23:34)

You just upset a lot of people.

B (23:37)

A lot of people, right? But that's, I think that's important to note because I think that's sort of the image that's being pushed around hormone replacement therapy, testosterone, because testosterone is so, it's so more easily talked about and discussed. It's so more prevalent nowadays. Everybody's very comfortable. It's sort of like a flex to say, yeah, I'm on hormone replacement therapy. Whereas, you know, 10 years ago everybody was hush, hush about it, nobody wanted to talk about it. It was like my little secret, right? It's got frowned upon or look at as cheating. Now it's like, no, you're not taking testosterone. Like it's crazy, right? But I know people who are using testosterone replacement therapy and not feeling great and not Getting great results because the foundation is not there.

A (24:17)

Right. Right.

B (24:18)

They're not.

A (24:19)

Right.

B (24:19)

Not by. Or they're not getting seven to eight hours of sleep. You know, they're still drinking a bunch. You know, their training is not where it needs to be. They're over training or, or under training. Yes, yes. They're undershooting on, on macro, on protein and total calories. You know, so there's just, there's so many aspects to it that if you want to be somebody of that like top percent of individuals who's in great health and great shape and as you're aging, people can't tell how old you actually are, that these are things that you got to pay attention to. And nutrition is absolutely at the top of that list. You know, going back, I think the second part of your question was about nutrition in particular and how I sort of adjust macros. Yeah. I. Protein is obviously king in that entire process. My, my whole diet, the way I write meal plans for, for individuals is really the premises around anti inflammatory. Yep. And that I spend a lot of time with my clients going into education around the foods that you should be focusing on and consuming. They're going to reduce the amount of inflammation coming into the body. Not just foods, but like condiments, you know, beverages. I teach them a lot about how to read ingredients labels.

A (25:35)

Yeah.

B (25:35)

Just so that they become. You got to start to become aware and know what you're, what you're doing and what you're, what you're selecting and what you're putting in your body. Because otherwise in your mind you could be thinking that you're doing so many great things to try to reduce inflammation. But like there's little sneaky things that get into the diet that people don't even think about. That keeps driving those inflammatory markers up. And before you know it, you know, your, your gut is a mess. You're not getting the results you want. You're feeling sluggish cognitively. You know, you're just being inhibited in performance all across the board. An example I love to use is something like Sriracha. You know, it seems so innocent for a lot of people. They think it's just an innocent little hot sauce. Big deal. There's nothing really in it. But if you look at the ingredients, it's got xanthan gum. Yeah. So massive inflammatory gum filler. Oh yeah. And you know, if you knew what to look for then and you knew and you were educated about other products out there. A company called Yellowbird, by the way, not endorsed by Them or this is just a knowledge for the, for the, you know, for the, for the listeners out there. But there's a company called Yellowbird that you can find at Whole Foods. I think you can find them at Sprouts as well. And they make a Sriracha type product. It's actually called Sriracha. It's all anti inflammatory ingredients. It tastes just as good, if not better. But if you're, if you're somebody who eats Sriracha every single day and you now swap it out with Yellowbird, you now start to reduce that inflammation pool by the day because you're reducing the exposure that you're giving your body on a daily basis, potentially multiple times a day. If you, if you're using Sriracha on your meals, often like more than once or twice a day. I mean it's, it can, it can really build up. So yeah, so protein's kingdom education around inflammation is very, very important for me. I'm a big proponent of carbohydrates, but it's all about timing the types of carbs. Timing your carbs around specific times. You know, in one is timing your carbs around your workout but then also sort of timing your carbs around balancing out the sympathetic and parasympathetic state of the, the tones of the body. And, and that's going to vary from individual. But I generally keep carbs moderate. You know, I probably don't go too heavy on, on a carbohydrate. I'm, I'm pushing people somewhere in the, you know, 150 to 200 grams of carbs and then fast are usually moderate too. But I'm, but I'm, I'm teaching people how to space out the, that fat to carb intake and not, not blending fast to carbs together too often. And that's just like the general overview. I mean it gets, I get much more specific when I'm working with, with an individual because you have to, yeah, it's got to be nuances in terms of what's their body composition coming in, what are their goals, what are their athletic abilities, how much are they, how much output are they able to produce in a workout? You know, some people have higher intensity workouts than others because they just physically are more capable. That dictates how I make adjustments to their macros. But within my program, the program is very dynamic at all times. I do photo updates with my clients every two weeks. You know, they're constantly, I have an app that I use where they're self recording, doing exercises in the gym and they load those videos into the app and then I screen record my notes on top of their videos and like teach them about the biomechanics. But I'm also looking for exercise intensity so I can see how they're training. And I use all of that anecdotal feedback to determine how I'm making adjustments to their program every two weeks or so. Whether I'm bringing carbs up, bringing carbs down. I'm listening to their impact, their feedback in terms of how they're feeling, how their body's shifting. There's so many elements that requires a lot of, you know, constant feedback and adjustment. But it's an opportunity for them to learn, which is what's fun for me. I just love reteaching this stuff and also just trying to figure it out with each individual. It's like you know, it's sort of my version of video games, you know, but I get to figure out and how to tweet, you know, how, how to tweak things in like a, a live chemistry set to see how it manifests and just be able to watch these, watch somebody transform is really, really fun and exciting. But it's a heavy, heavy protein generally. Lots of grass fed meat, wild caught fish. I'll bring in some pasture raised chicken, you know from time to time we'll bring in some organic pasture raised eggs, you know, things of that nature. Just trying to, I try to balance out some of like the chicken and the eggs along with the pack grass fed meat just because we know chickens consume corn brain and soy even if they're as being raised and cornbrain and soy really high in omega 6. Omega 6 highly inflammatory to the body. So I don't ever like individuals going too heavy on, on, on one particular protein, especially animals eating corn and grain. So I try to balance that out where you know, the dose determines the poison. So we try to try to smooth that, that inflammation curve out as much as we can.

A (30:36)

To be honest with you, I probably do chicken three to four times a month maybe at the most. It's funny because you know like probably what, 10, 15 years ago everything was a chicken and vegetable. Like boring. And that's like chicken and broccoli. Yeah, chicken and broccoli. I found a place at, or a company at Sprouts called Pasture Bird. That's one of the ones I found that is they, they use very little but like you said I don't per. And and honestly I don't really love chicken anymore except for thighs really I adopted that healthy fat intake, you know, kind of prioritizing it with protein obviously, but kind of more so like that while still having a decent amount of carbs in there and not just totally blowing them off. I don't, I, I, I find benefit in the keto diet. I certainly do. So I don't want to act like that because I used to be just totally anti and then I certainly changed my stance on it. But I do think that, that you do need some and especially to stay metabolically flexible. So like, you know, I have had some pretty in depth conversations with Ben Azadi and he's, you know, he's talked to me about you still need to have a couple days or a day a week where you have a higher carb day if you're doing lower carb. But see, once again, like you were talking nuance for each person and seeing what works well.

B (31:56)

And the reason why that gets so nuanced too is because everybody's lifestyle is different. That's right. Some clients, I have some clients that work two, three hours a day. You know, they have very little like energy output. It's a very like easygoing lifestyle. They're, they're going to be less glycogen dependent and have less glycogen needs as opposed to somebody who is waking up at five in the morning hitting a workout and then they're on Zoom calls from 8am all the way till 5pm all day long. And they're br. Because your brain activity is also burning tons of glycogen and tons of fuel as well. So it's like, you know, there's, that's why the feedback from the client is always going to be so important because putting somebody into a keto diet could work well. But if they start to give you feedback that hey, mid afternoon, I'm crashing, I have no energy from 2 to 5 every single day, they might need a little, you know, glycogen bump, you know, of something in the middle of the day paired with some fat to slow down that blood sugar bike and crash. Yeah. Give them a little bit more sustained energy, you know, so that, that's where it becomes sort of, you know, fun to play with that science a little bit, you know, and get that feedback but also teach that individual so that, you know, if they're going through their day at any given time and 2 o' clock in the afternoon, they know they're hitting a little bit of a slump. They've got a little thing of organic, raw, unfiltered honey and yeah. Some blueberries right next to them at their desk and they take that little hit and all of a sudden they're like, man, I'm feeling great right now. Like, just carry me for the next few hours. I'm perfect. Like, what a great, what a great skill set. And, and you know, and sense of knowledge that have that much awareness and connectivity to your body to know what to reach for at any given moment, to give your body the fuel that it needs. I mean, it's just, you know, it's, it's really, really neat to be able to teach people that. Right. But yeah, it's just so nuanced for each individual. It's just impossible, I think, to really, you know, put your sword in the ground on one particular diet or one particular training protocol. That's the best.

A (34:02)

No such thing, man.

B (34:03)

Yeah, there's.

A (34:04)

There's only. The best is what's best for the individual. Sure. You know, and, and I like that you are so based on information and knowledge because I think actually the, the main reason to me why most people fail is it's. I mean, sometimes it's just the lack of wanting to do it, but I think it's a lack of knowledge, man. Like in a lack of understanding. Just like the carbohydrate talk, it. People can get really scared of them. But just some of the things you just listed, like certain types of fruits, I'll get people, oh, you can't eat fruit. I'm like, dude, what. Like, what are you talking about? That's just not true. Who told you that? And the honey. There's of course there's bad carbs, there's bad fats, there's bad proteins. You know, I mean, less probably in the pro, but there are, there, there are. You can find things that are full of protein that are like completely filled with crap ingredients. Otherwise. Protein bars, for example, like many. Right, so there's bad things in.

B (35:00)

Or if I cannibar, right?

A (35:02)

Yeah, a lot of them, man. I mean, geez, make your own, you know, And I think that's key. And, and I love the whole breakdown and everything that we do has to be person to person specific in all the things you touched on. But also, as we age, things change as our, our activity levels. For instance, I can't fast 24 hours when I'm training as hard as I can. So what do I do? I condense it to where I can still get in 12 to 14 hour fast. Hit the workout, eat like 2000 calories in a matter of a couple hours. And still get through it, you know, and I try to get about 3,000 with the intensity of workouts, but still have these two really big meals and then keep it so you're not eating all day, throughout the day and that, I found that to work for me. But you, you develop that and figure out what's going to work for each person. Now I want to talk about your client base and who you work with and how you, how you kind of go about it. So you kind of work with entrepreneurs now are more, more well established business people. Right. Isn't that kind of where you're at with what you do?

B (36:07)

Yeah, yeah. I've actually just surprisingly have kind of fell into this niche, you know. Yeah. Anything in particular that I was trying to chase, but I, you know, I was working with a handful of high end real estate agents and you know, fortunately had really great results. And, and they, you know, real estate agents are really, are well known for loving coaching. Yeah. So I really, I really have enjoyed working with real estate agents because they, they really lean into and appreciate and value having a coach. They're, they're adapted to that mindset. But yeah, I've been fortunate to kind of slide into this little niche of high end real estate agents and high level entrepreneurs. And you know, my program at this stage is sort of more of a referral basis. You know, humbly speaking, you got to kind of know somebody to get into my program, somebody who's been in the program prior to, to make an introduction. Just because the, the, the level of my program, it really requires a, you've got to have a high, high desire for, wanting to make this transformation, make this change right out of the gate, number one. Number two, you know, I have so many layers of accountability built into my program. There's a lot of oversight. You know, it's not, it's not to babysit or to handhold, but it's because this is the level of involvement and engagement people really need if they want to experience the kind of breakthroughs that they're talking about when they come to me. Everybody wants to look like a million, but not a lot of people want to put in the work that it takes to get there. And so what I really pride myself on is taking a look at some, at an individual who has spent their, their life building their wealth and success at the expense of their health and wellness. And now they've got this infrastructure of all these things that they have worked so hard for in their lives and showing them where we can make some small additions Some subtractions and some substitutions to basically feel like it's a seamless integration of my program into their life. But the results that they're getting are dramatically different in a good way. Right. And so learning that, you know, certain foods they should be focusing on, people are eating all day long usually anyways it's just about learning what foods you should be eating. People are going to the gym and working out anyways, but they may not be performing this, the right exercises that are appropriate for them, or lifting with the right amount of weight or the, the right rep ranges or the right amount of rest period in between sets. You know, you're using good form and technique. You know, some people might be sacrificing sleep because they think in their minds like that grind culture is where it's at, when in reality the flex right now is more sleep equals better recovery, equals better hormone balance equals better results. You know, so it's being able to take an individual who is really operating at a high level and thinks more in ROI than they think in reps and so that I can teach them where they can get the greatest ROI in the decisions that they're making on a moment to moment basis throughout the day to start producing this whole new way of thinking, acting, being, and doing that is as easy as waking up and taking their first breath when they, once they get in the rhythm of these new, these new habits and these new routines.

A (39:29)

Awesome, man. So I'm curious some of the challenges that you may have with, you know, people in, I don't want to say people in power, but upper level type of people, you know, they can be more challenging, more demanding, or do you find that they're very receptive and just really open to everything? Or is it just kind of a wide variety of people you run into and have you had to turn people down that don't really fit with your, you know, style of coaching? Because I think it's important that there's a real resonation between coach and client and sometimes it just doesn't work for whatever reason. So I, I want to get behind the scenes a little bit with you, you know, and how it rolls. Because I always told my wife when we had our gym and we had other businesses together, not all money's good money. That's one of the lessons I wanted to teach her right away. Like don't just take just because it's like, well, we could sell these memberships. Well, do you think they're going to end up costing us more in stress, you know, Than, than what it's worth. So, you know, I think sometimes people that are gung ho, new to business or don't understand and they just take it, take, take, take. And it's like, man, just understand me that that's going to cost you way more than you have that you're going to actually get from it.

B (40:46)

Yeah, you're preaching to the choir with that one. Because I don't, I don't. Again, humbly speaking, I don't work with every single person that comes my way. I mean, when I, when someone gets introduced to me that is interested in the program, you know, my consults are, are, you know, designed in a way to figure out whether or not, not if it's just a good fit for them, but if it's also a good fit for me. Because there's a certain, there's a certain it factor that I'm looking for from an individual that I know that I can partner with to create an amazing outcome. You know, I always present to the people that I'm working at, the potential clients that, hey, listen, if we do this, we're, we're actually going into business together. We're going into business together and we're going to form an llc. And the LLC is you. You're hiring me as a CEO and you are the CEO and your job is to go out and execute why? Create the vision for the company. And so that's to be taken very seriously. And for some people, that's not what they're looking for. And I'm okay with that. You know, again, no, no judgment on something like not everybody's looking for that level of coaching and training and are looking for that level of transformation. But for me, what I get the most out of is working with individuals who are that hungry for a massive lifestyle transformation. Not just abs. Right. Just getting abs, just getting to 10% body fat. To me, that's a low level stake. That creates a lot of pressure. Yeah. Interested in people who are looking to transition and transform their life. That creates purpose and you know, creates a lot of positive feedback loops and drive that's got, I know that's going to create opportunity for commitment and follow through and accountability. So those are high level stakes that create more purpose in my opinion. So, so that's, it generally starts there for me in terms of that consult and just figuring out where people are at to make sure that we're meeting each other in the right place and the right opportunity. Right. And you know, yeah, look, I think the, the biggest challenge that anybody has coming into a program like mine is, you know, oftentimes they haven't ever really experienced what it's like to feel like amazing. And so what I'm, what I try to do as quickly as possible is get them to stay as focused and as a hundred percent on point the program as they can right out of the gate. Because I know if they can give me two to three weeks of just being locked in on the diet, locked in on the supplements, locked in on the training, locked in on all of their mobility work, pre workout and evening mobility, making sure they're getting really great sleep, they're managing their stress, they're doing all their recovery protocols. If they're doing all that for two to three weeks, inevitably almost every single time I've got people coming back and truy's going holy. My face looks different, the inflammation is down, my gut is better, I'm digesting food better, my energy is through the roof. Now they've had an opportunity to gain evidence of what it looks and feels like to take your self care to that level.

A (44:06)

Yeah.

B (44:07)

And I no longer have to try to work so hard to drag somebody along through the process. Now they're bought in and now we get to like dance together. Now it's like hey, tell me what to do, I'll do it. Follow my lead. Trust the process. Like we built that trust very early on because they got the evidence themselves. Not they're not just listening to me speak and they're assuming that it's just theory or he's just preaching science. It's no, they've actually felt it themselves. They've gotten that feedback and evidence. It then allows us to just launch from there. So if I can get a two to three week window right out of the gate of people just locking in, which generally I do. Of course there's some people that struggle a little bit more. Not often people who are you know, intentionally being like dismissive. It's usually people trying to like, you know, get the rhythm and they might struggle a little bit with finding the flow. Some people are a little bit slower than others to get there but generally people are pretty quick to get there just by the way that I design things within my program and work with nuances individually to know what I can get for a result from somebody really quickly so they can taste and feel and smell what it feels like to get that self care really, really high. Once you experience that they never, you never want to go back to the old way they were operating. And so it it that that it gets fun really, really fast. And you start that. They start to feel that addiction because nothing tastes better than feeling amazing. And so it's. It's just a lot less convincing and, like, struggling to, like, pull them along versus, like, now we're in this together. We're just playing ball, you know?

A (45:49)

Yeah. A couple things you brought up. I. I remember when I first started doing videos, and I'd always get these. I just want to look good naked. Like, questions, how do I do that? And I, at the time, you know, I was like early 30s, new to this, and I just kind of laugh or whatever. And now I look at it completely different, like, more analytically and more like almost in a. I almost feel bad for the person that's. That. That's where their mind is. And not fully understanding what you said, which is the pressure that comes along with that. And when you're only focused on, well, I just want a six pack. And yeah, we can all get it. We can get it without drugs. We certainly can it. That's proven. Because some people think you can't without taking things. But then when you get it, it's not getting there that's hard. It's keeping it. It's. It's. It's just like when you become a champion, it's actually getting. There's the easy part, keeping it when the target's on you, when the pressure's hard, when it's more difficult to do it day in and day out, that's the hard part. And that's where the work comes in. And I think that people don't understand what you're getting and what you should really be trying to get throughout this process. You know, it's. It becomes a mental grind, not just a physical grind. And when you start having the mental problems, then you have the internal problems, you have the inflammation, you got the lack of sleep because you. Your. Your mind's all over the place, and it can compound into a lot of problems. So you have a very, very big job that people don't understand that I want to stress, because a lot of people, it's like the people that try to tell you how to run a business that have never ran one, you know, and. And that do that. They don't understand the different costs and expenses. And how will they look at the raw component of stuff? Well, you. You have this big of a markup. Yeah, well, what about paying this, this, this, this, and this? And then you see the margin goes down to nothing. Well, with you, you have far more that you have to do. Aside from just designing a diet and fixing it and making sure somebody's training. Right. You're almost like a psychologist throughout all of this or a psychiatrist listening.

B (47:58)

I mean, yeah, I take, I take notes seriously on mobile clients. I know what they're doing, when they're doing it, why they're doing it at all times. Like that's the level that I get involved. And the reason why that's important is because as I'm making those notes constantly, something's coming up in a few days for them that I just sent them a text about to remind them, hey, make sure you start packing and prepping your, your protein powder, your supplements. You got a trip coming up on Saturday. You got to make sure that, you know, I don't want you doing this last minute because you're going to be flustered. You got a lot of things on your plate. If you're organized now, it's going to be a much smoother process. Less stress. It's gonna, it's gonna, it's gonna reduce the chaos for you to start. Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder. Appreciate that. I'm actually trying to train their brain how to think like an individual who wants to maintain this high level of self care and health and wellness. These are the, this is the way you need to be thinking and preparing and, and, and think and organizing your life. If that's something that you want to maintain. It's not just about, you know, the actual act of eating the food all the time or you know, it's actually how do you set your life up so that things just flow smoothly. And that takes a lot of practice and most people aren't conditioned to think that way. So it's trying to teach them how to think in the same manner. That's commensurate with somebody who cares a lot about their self care and their body and the way they feel. You know, you could easily go on a trip somewhere like, ah, I forgot to pack my protein powders, I forgot to pack my snacks, I forgot to pack my supplements. All these things that I usually take with me that help me maintain a high level of self care. Yeah, but then you're gone for a week on a trip and you feel like shit for that. You didn't plan and prepare. But somebody who takes that very seriously, they don't forget that stuff because he's that important to them. So they make the time to be organized and prepared and plan ahead to make sure there's always operating at that high level. Right. So it's Again, I don't fault people for not thinking that way. They're just not conditioned and used to thinking that way. So a lot of times I'm sending, I'm shoulder tapping people with text messages and just dripping them with the, the, the foresight and the way they need to be thinking ahead because I got notes on, I know exactly what's going on in their life and what's coming up. And I know they forgot about this detail, but I'm going to remind them because if me reminding them and then them taking the action, they're getting into the habit of starting to think that way. It's kind of like, it's like the training wheels for a period of time and eventually, you know, we kick the training wheels off because now they're, now they're thinking this way, now they're organizing and planning this way. So, you know, it eventually starts to be something that passes off on to them. They pick up and start running with it on their own. But again, you know, for each individual, some people are taking that hand off a lot faster than others. Some people, it takes them a little bit longer to learn how to ride with those training wheels, you know, so it's, it's a little different for everybody. But, you know, it's, yeah, it's, it's really about training people's. What I love is teaching people that thought process and how much you need to care. If you really are adamant about wanting to look, feel and function a certain way in your life, it doesn't just, it's not just automatic. You don't just wake up and feel amazing and wait up and look amazing. Now you don't just wake up and have amazing blood work. You work hard at maintaining a lifestyle that when you get your blood work done every six months and the doctor's going, man, like you're 50. But you know, physiologically your body is, you know, is arguably, you know, 35. What are you dealing? Well, I pay attention to my nutrition. You know, I get eight hours of sleep. You know, like, I'm taking a lot of great, high quality supplements to fill in the gaps where I'm lacking in certain areas. Like, I care a lot about my body. You got to put in that effort, otherwise you're just gonna, you're gonna be in the position that a lot of people are, which is they react to something, they react to an event and then they take that action after they're in a position where they're being forced to have to do something rather than doing it initially. Ahead of time to prevent or mitigate any type of, you know, catastrophic health.

A (52:23)

And this is a, this is something that you live. This is not a go sign up with Chris or whoever you're going to sign up with, do it for six weeks, get into this, and then move on.

B (52:34)

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

A (52:36)

You need to understand that this is a change in your entire life and outlook and not only trajectory, but daytoday, how you live. I, you know, I know like people like you and I can be extreme probably to some people, but when it comes to people, oh, you got to live and you got to, you got to do this. Well, you can't really live or enjoy your life if you're just completely screwed up internally and your health markers off.

B (53:06)

I'm not saying you're, if you're sick, you have, like, if you don't have good cognitive function and resilience, like, if you, if you don't feel good about yourself, you don't have self esteem and that self confidence, you know, arguably that, that is not living a good quality life. Right?

A (53:23)

Oh, just have a drink or it's okay, it's just one or two or three. But, you know, the more that I've studied and I learned, even one drink is so poison inside your body and then you accumulate that and, oh, it's just one here, it's just one there. And then you do it over the course of a year, man, it's not good. And, and there are ways that you can live your life and still do it in a good way, like that you're teaching and that we're developing, you know, And I mean, when I go on, you know, because I go speak at a lot of conventions and go do, you know, appearances and things, I don't ever get a place without a kitchen and cook all my own stuff. And I mean, I may be like, I say, I take a scale and I still measure and I do everything and that's fine, but I do it with precision because I want to make sure that everything that's going on is always in check. And it, you know, once or twice here or there. Okay. But when it, it can be, it can accumulate. And when once or twice becomes this once or twice a week, and then you, if you, if you sit down and add up the accumulation, because I'm a data guy just like you, I want to see it on paper and I, I don't want to just go, oh, and, and think in my head, oh, it was just here or there. I want to look down and break down the numbers and see, and you look at that and you go, well, holy. Yeah, look at that accumulation. It's like the guys that tell you, you know, what is 12 grams of sugar in something, and they show you in a spoon or a container and that's how much sugar you just ate once. Think about doing that 20 times.

B (54:50)

I know, you know what I mean? Because it, it makes me think about, you know, some of these, some of the clients that I work with, you know, they run, you know, multi million dollar organizations and you know, if you ask them about their P and L for their business, they'll tell you that thing inside and out. They know after hand. But if I ask them what's their cholesterol, what's their, you know, what's their, what are their triglycerides, what's their ast alt. If I ask them what's their testosterone levels, they have no clue. No clue. And so that, that analogy usually smacks, smacks people in the face pretty fast to realize there is no greater, more important number or data, data sheet that you need to be paying attention to than your blood work. Because without that, nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. And so, you know, and that's in particular why I actually really enjoy working with, you know, an older demographic. I generally am working with, you know, clients that are, you know, late 30s plus, you know, all the way into like early 70s. Because at that age it's more important than ever for us to be really paying attention to that blood work and, you know, paying attention to how your body moves and mobility and flexibility, you know, because those are the, the prime ages where things can turn really bad or you can really, you know, hold things off from the aging process. There's a saying that I love that age does not dictate how you move. How you move dictates how you age. And so mobility is a prime foundation of my, my programming and, and also making sure that people are doing blood work. Because if you don't move well and if you don't know what's going on under the hood, then without those two things, you know, it's going to make it very, very difficult to build long term, long term sustainability with an individual in terms of keeping their health in a really great place so that they live a high quality life for a long period of time, which is what most people really want. And you know, in your 20s and 30s, you're not really experiencing a lot of those aches and pains and you're not, you know, you're you're going out after a heavy night drink and you're bouncing back the next day and going right back at it. Like, you don't really feel that you're not thinking about getting your blood work done and making about, you know, high levels of responsibility and accountability, you know, so. But as we get older, that certainly becomes much more important. Sub one person might sort of, you know, position it to guys like you and I as extreme, whereas I would say it's not. It's not necessarily extreme because I do believe in trying to find balance, but it's more about just awareness and paying attention to the things that are really important.

A (57:37)

You got Agreed, agreed.

B (57:39)

It's just, you know, you can't. You can't argue that paying attention to your health and looking at blood work and making sure that all those markers, you know, are in a good place, that is an extreme. That's smart, right? As an owner of a company, if you took your eye off your P and L, what would we call that? Extreme? Because you're always looking at the numbers, you know, I mean. No, because you take your eye off the P and L, your business could fail and you're out of business. Lots of people lose their jobs, you lose your lifestyle, you lose your income or a roof over your head, like what happens to your family, Right? But it's just viewed a little differently. And not until somebody faces a health crisis till they realize, oh, wait, it's not extreme for me to be paying attention to these things. I need to. It's been a massive blind spot. I need to start looking at these things and making sure it's a priority.

A (58:26)

So, yeah, that's a great analogy, dude. Like, seriously, I mean, that is so spot on. And it's a fact. If you're not analyzing the financials daily, and that's a daily thing. Of the many tasks, especially with a larger business, you take one day off and you could have a problem. Same with inventory, same with anything else. And I don't think people take that as serious with their health at all. And they let days turn into weeks, turn into months, turn into years. No blood work, no this, no that. And then people wonder why they find one day, oh, I have cancer. Oh, I have this. And I'm not saying that that can't still happen even to people that take care of themselves, because it can. But chances of it happening are a hell of a lot less.

B (59:10)

But also too. Also too that. You know, the body gives us a lot of science. The body, I call it. The body, I call it, body language, right? Our bodies, they're always speaking to us. Sometimes it could be like heartburn or indigestion, sometimes it could be brain fog, sometimes it could be like chronic IBS or like that. Like that is your body speaking to you. And some people are just getting the signs, but then they're just blowing right through the stop signs as if it's like not paying attention, not being aware. And then, you know, shortly down the road, something pops up and they're thinking themselves, man, this came out of nowhere. When in reality this is. Your body's been screaming at you, you know, trying to get you to wake up and you're just not paying attention, you know. So again, these are things that like I'm really passionate about, about teaching this level of awareness and, and you know, sense of self to pay it when what to pay attention to so that people are just realizing their potential of how they could look, feel and function on a day to day basis. Because once you get that evidence, it's, you'll never go back. Like, it's very easy to give up things from the past when you've experienced something amazing in the present that just shows you something. Otherwise, it's not about just listening to a podcast and hearing us talk or listening to the likes of anybody like Peter Attia or Andrew Huberman or any, you know, anybody who is in this space. We're all sort of talking about the same things, the same benefits. But until somebody actually experiences it for themselves, you know, it sometimes can be really challenging for them to take action. And so if I get an opportunity to work with an individual, you know, I'm always asking lots of questions about just trying to understand something like how they're feeling, what's going on, because sometimes they don't even know what to think about or look for or pay attention to. And so I'm trying to extract as much of that as I can because there's a couple things that I can help improve quality of life and quality of health. That's enough for us to get some evidence to really just dig in and just keep pushing and realize and unlock a tremendous amount of potential for that individual.

A (61:19)

I love it, man. I have like 20 other things I wanted to talk to you about and we're out of time, I think. Me too. Yeah, I think. No, I think for sure, because I want to get into some other aspects like overcoming a lot of bad information. I wanted to talk about cholesterol myths and stuff and get into some more deeper, intricate details. So I think this Was nice to kind of COVID over the aspects of what it's like to be as a trainer, you know, things for you that you deal with as a coach. So this is a really good part one, and then we'll set up a part two where we can get into more in depth, in detail, controversial that we want to get into and talk about. But real quick, though, so right now to hire you, there's a protocol to go through and how can people get in with you that want to work with you and, and what kind of, I don't know, what kind of level do they need to be at? Because you know that, that you have your certain demographic that you work with. So what, what can people do to work with you and follow you if you put out content or anything like that?

B (62:23)

Yeah, it's interesting. I actually, I'm kind of counterculture in the sense of, you know, what you see people in the fitness industry nowadays. I don't really post a lot of content. And the reason being is that I really dedicate and allocate all of my time and my resources to the clients I'm working with. And if I'm out making lots of content, it takes away from my ability to be present with my clients and be able to bring that value to them. So worse. And I just find a lot more value there than I do. There's plenty of guys in the fitness industry who are popping lots of content and are probably far better than me at doing it. But for me personally, I just really enjoy making sure I have that space and that time to work with my clients and be available for my clients. Sure, but, but you can certainly. I'm still, I still have a presence on Instagram. It's just my name, Chris De Vecchio. So you can find me on Instagram. If, if somebody's interested in the program, I think the easiest way is to just email me chrismb.life.com yeah, maybe we can add to the show notes somewhere here at the end of the, at the end of the podcast. But just send me a, a brief email, just kind of giving me a little background and that you'd be interested in setting up a consultation and, and then from there, you know, we would, we would deep dive in a, in a, in a 45 to 60 minute consult to kind of figure out whether or not this is really a good fit for the both of us. But yeah, that, that's the easiest way to get a hold of me. And, and I'm looking for individuals who are really at a place in their life where they're ready for a, you know, a dramatic change, you know, a very, very impactful change. This is something that, you know, it's a lot of work, but it's also really fun because you're learning about yourself. And, you know, one thing I've learned about myself is that just when I think I've got it all figured out is like, I've got, I got so much more to learn about myself. So, I mean, for me, I'm just, I'm sponge. I'm soaking up, you know, new information and new studies and research and just, and on top of that, just learning new little nuances about myself as I get older and age, you know, so through the process. So it's, you know, but people who are really just passionate about wanting to create a, a pretty radical change in their life, that's who I'm excited to, to work with. So if that's you out there, you know, shoot me an email. I'm happy to connect and set a time to chat and learn about you and, and see if this is a good fit, but I really appreciate the time today, man. This is, you know, we've had lots of chats just on the side, you and I. I don't think we've ever gone this deep into our, our own personal methodologies and beliefs. So I'm grateful for this platform because it, it gets us deeper as well, you and I. Yeah, I mean, to.

A (65:04)

Me, this wasn't even like a recording or a podcast or work or anything. It's just another badass conversation that I got to spend some time with you and, and chill and not work at all to me. I mean, and, and not that it really ever is, but this is different, you know, this is more like, okay, sweet, man. Now I'm really just more stuff that you and I have in common and, and then I can learn. I, I like to learn different approaches and different mindsets that people have. I, I. One of the things that I used to do that I am so thankful that I don't anymore is just I always, my way is the only way or the best way and not necessarily ever. Is that true? In fact, more times than not, I find that, no, it's really not. You know, I, I take bits and pieces from people and I, I implement and I correlate and I, I put it with my own and try to derive the best. And, and I think when you realize that what you speak isn't gospel, you know, and, and learn from everybody, and sometimes it's learning what they do wrong, you know, but it. There's always a lesson. And so I value the time with you, especially since we relate so well. But you. You open my eyes to maybe things that I either didn't notice or maybe I'm. Maybe I'm wrong about, or maybe it at least gives me a. Well, maybe I'll check this out and see what. What I think. And it's just like foods I've eaten or things that I've done where I've had this in my head that I don't like it without even trying it. I don't know, maybe that's the older I get, maybe it's the more enriched with God I get. Maybe it's. Who knows what? But I'm just thankful for people like you that can make it easy to really learn and take a look within and say, well, this guy, you know, he's got something different. And so I appreciate it, man. And, you know, thank you. To be candid, like I said at the beginning, just. You will never, ever, ever, ever be underappreciated or forgotten just the way that you were with me initially, with barely even knowing me. So I. I value it to the highest extent, man. Really.

B (67:13)

Thanks for sharing that, man. It's. It's been a pleasure. You know, how we came together was through mutual friend, obviously, and he. He was right with his instincts about wanting to connect us.

A (67:24)

So, yeah, God's grace, brother. That's it. I have. No, I haven't. When I have no answer, it's very simple. There's always an answer, you know? So I appreciate it. I appreciate the time and I look forward to recording again, so. And maybe it'll be in person next time, I hope.

B (67:39)

Likewise.

A (67:41)

Awesome, brother. Well, thank you again. All right, everybody. I really, really, really hope that this hits home for you and it gives you a better, broader understanding of so many different aspects of health and fitness and what goes along with it. This has been a pleasure and an honor to have my friend Chris here. So stay tuned for plenty more to come. Dylan Jelli and Chris Deo st signing off. Sa.