The Real Reason You Lack Confidence — Tomo Marjanovic Breaks It Down

Summary

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The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex

Episode: The Real Reason You Lack Confidence — Tomo Marjanovic Breaks It Down

Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
Guest: Tomo Marjanovic
Date: November 28, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives deep into the intersection of personal health, mindset, and entrepreneurial success. Paul Alex brings on wellness entrepreneur Tomo Marjanovic to unpack the psychological and physical roots of confidence, drawing from their shared backgrounds in law enforcement and personal evolution into high-performing entrepreneurs. The conversation covers discipline, risk, the pitfalls of ignoring your health in pursuit of financial success, and actionable advice for anyone seeking to “level up” in life—mentally, physically, and financially.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building a New Identity: Law Enforcement to Entrepreneurship

• Shared Backgrounds: Both Paul and Tomo are former law enforcement officers. They talk candidly about how that experience shapes their approach to business and life.
  • “We’re both ex-law enforcement. We have a very similar story almost in the same timeline.” (03:00, Tomo)
• Transitioning Out: Tomo shares his journey leaving law enforcement, battling internal politics, and the push factors that made him start over in the wellness industry.
  • “I had to make a decision: go back to police work or take everything that I had, all my credit, go into tremendous debt... and I put everything that I had into building Aspire Rejuvenation Clinic.” (27:00, Tomo)

2. Health as a Precondition for Success

• Physical Before Mental: Tomo flips the traditional script, arguing that physical health is the foundation for mental clarity and financial achievement.
  • “If your physical’s shit, you can’t get your mentality right. It’s not possible... Fix your physical form first. Your mental follows. Your money follows that.” (11:22, Tomo)
• Paul’s Personal Story: Despite financial success, Paul opens up about his struggles with depression, weight gain, and the necessity of optimizing his health.
  • “Little did anyone know... Dude, I fell into deep depression again. I gained about 50 pounds of weight.” (06:42, Paul)
  • “You need friends to tell you the truth. We need to get hit in the mouth.” (07:45, Paul)

3. Purpose Over Profit

• Beyond Money: Tomo explains that after reaching financial security, his focus shifted to impact and purpose—especially influencing wellness culture in under-served markets like Dubai.
  • “I don’t need to care about money anymore. Now I care about impact, purpose.” (08:30, Tomo)

4. Culture and Leadership: Lessons from Law Enforcement

• Transferrable Skills: Conflict resolution, communication, and documentation from law enforcement directly fueled their business agility and leadership.
  • “Dealing with how what we deal with in law enforcement prepares you to do so much more outside of law enforcement.” (21:30, Tomo)
• Creating Winning Cultures: Vision and values aren’t optional—they must be communicated for effective company culture and weeding out misfits.
  • “Here’s how most companies screw up culture: They don’t even have vision and values listed.” (22:02, Tomo)

5. The Real Source of Confidence

• Decisiveness and Self-Belief: Confidence doesn’t come from external validation or achievement but from in-depth self-questioning and clarity about desires and identity.
  • “When I started having these conversations... looking into my soul... ‘Who am I? What is the better version of myself?’... I got the confidence and I started doing it.” (38:29, Tomo)
• Paul’s Approach to Hiring and Relationships: A “maybe” kills opportunities—the decisive and confident rise.
  • “At this stage of the game, I need people that are hitters, just like in law enforcement.” (36:30, Paul)

6. Bodybuilding, Pain, and Male Identity

• Men Need to Endure Hard Things: Tomo describes bodybuilding as a formative tool for discipline—enduring and overcoming pain.
  • “Men need to go through pain. Men have to do things that are hard. You have to go through hard to be a real man.” (48:08, Tomo)
• Body Dysmorphia in High Achievers: Even at their peak, both acknowledge internal struggles with self-image.

7. Risk, Networking, and Action: Game-Changing Advice

• Three Needle Movers for Young Entrepreneurs (54:00):

  1. Don’t fear risk.
  2. Network intentionally—invest in deep, purposeful relationships.
  3. Ruthlessly prioritize physical and mental health.

• On Action vs. Perfection:

  • “Raw action solves all. Most of you analyze too much. Most of you plan too much… Just fucking move.” (61:56, Tomo)
  • “It’s progress, not perfection.” (61:29, Tomo)

8. Living Life by Design

• Redefining Success: Exposing the audience to the idea that “leveling up” is a holistic process—health, mindset, environment, and controlled risk.
• Surround Yourself With Elevators:
  • “If you spend most of your time with five people that are not doing shit in life, guess what? You won’t become shit.” (30:10, Paul)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On confidence:
  • “People will never build authority or great things because they’re not sure of themselves.” (36:09, Paul)
• On starting again:
  • “Somebody asked me, ‘What would you do if you went to zero right now?’ I said, ‘Everybody’s fucked. I’d be so excited.’” (33:42, Tomo)
• On success and health:
  • “You can earn money… but you can’t buy your way to health and wellness and longevity.” (42:26, Tomo)
• On discipline:
  • “Bodybuilding builds discipline… If you’re going into the professional route, pharmaceuticals alone, man, you screw up one of these pharmaceuticals, your whole career is going down the tube.” (50:30, Tomo)
• Paul on caring for family and legacy:
  • “It’s just the principle, guys. This is not for me. It’s more for my family.” (40:48)
• On perfectionism:
  • “You probably know you’re not doing it to the level that you could. Just start moving that needle up a little bit, dude.” (61:29, Tomo)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:00] Introductions & Shared Law Enforcement Background
• [04:53] Tomo’s Origin in Wellness: Dubai, A4M, Building Clinics
• [06:42] Paul’s Mental Health Crash During Success
• [11:22] Health as Foundation for Mental and Financial Health
• [14:15] Reality of Modern Policing & Why Good Cops Leave
• [21:30] Transferable Skills from Law Enforcement to Business
• [22:02] Building Company Culture on Vision/Values
• [27:00] Tomo’s Leap into Entrepreneurship (and Debt)
• [30:10] Importance of Environment & Peer Group
• [36:09] Confidence & Decisiveness in Life and Hiring
• [38:29] The ‘Mirror Conversation’ — Building Self-Belief
• [42:26] Health and Wealth — 1% in Both is Rare
• [48:08] Why Men (and Bodybuilders) Need Hardship
• [54:00] Tomo’s Three Needle Movers for Success
• [61:29] Progress Over Perfection
• [61:56] Take Action: Raw Action Solves All

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Final Takeaways

• Building confidence is a physical and psychological process—taking care of your health will spill over into your mindset and your finances.
• Risk is necessary; network intentionally, and take daily action, no matter how imperfect.
• Law enforcement shapes leaders and entrepreneurs—use every chapter of your life as leverage for the next.
• The people and environment you choose shape your identity; surround yourself with those who challenge and elevate you.
• Redefine success in your own terms, not someone else’s social media highlight reel.

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Connect with Tomo Marjanovic:

• Personal website: TomoMarjanovic.com
• [Newsletter on Substack](Coming Soon)
• Operation Optimal (Book Launch Dec 2025)

Connect with Paul Alex:

• Instagram: @PaulAlex
• OfficialPaulAlex.com

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Do you know that it's actually more rare for a man to have a six pack? That there are more people that are DECA millionaires? Wow, we're almost same age. I'm a couple years older. Neither of us look 40 or almost 40. Yeah, and you look at 40 year olds out there, bro. They're fat, they're balding, they have bad skin, they have all kinds of health problems. Cholesterol, blood pressure, hormones are shit. They have no sex drive. Well, that's What a normal 40 year old supposed to look like.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We both still have so much to improve, but we're already way above. We're already in the 1% of that.

[A]

Right?

[B]

1% of wealth is easy.

[A]

Hey guys, and welcome back to the Level up podcast. This is Paul Alex and today we have another phenomenal guest. He's actually a really good friend of mine. We've known each other since, I'm gonna say like 20, 21, dude.

[B]

Something like that.

[A]

Yeah, something like that. But we've never seen each other in person, so this is actually the very first time. I want to welcome Tomo to the show. And Tomo, let the audience know who exactly you are, what you do, and what did you do before the success, man.

[B]

So, you know, my favorite thing about all this is that like, we're both ex law enforcement.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We have a very similar story almost in the same timeline. You've been out for a few years. I've been out for a few years. A couple of years longer. I think my road was a little bit more twists and turns, which makes it Fun. It's the best stories.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So who am I? My name is Tomorrow Janovic. First generation American, Croatian descent. I just got back from Croatia, by the way, if you haven't been. Got to go, bro. Amazing.

[A]

I mean, do you see what Tomo is wearing right now? I mean, come on. That guy came from vacation.

[B]

I look like I came off a yacht, because I actually did. We were there for Croatia yacht week with 50 guys. It was amazing. The. The network was. Was sick. That was, that was with us. I love that. So I'm a wellness entrepreneur. I own, I founded Aspire Rejuvenation Clinic. Clinic specializes in hormone health, anti aging, wellness, basically regenerative preventive medicine focusing on the hormone, the internal health. We're even getting into stem cells and exosome therapy now. It's a beautiful thing. We're really healing people from the inside out.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

We're expanding in the US we'll have five locations by the end of the year. We'll have our first international location in Dubai by about mid November.

[A]

I love that, man. And you're doing some big things in Dubai right now, man. What, what made you go ahead and actually make that move to the Middle East?

[B]

Dubai is special for me because that's where I got my first part of education when it came to like actual formal education, obviously. Like, I'll give you a little bit of backstory.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I started bodybuilding when I was 13 years old. I started competing when I was 17. Okay. Now, not to age myself, but I was born in 1985. I'm 40 years old. Okay. So not a young, young man.

[A]

Brother, you look great for 40 years.

[B]

I appreciate it. Thank you. If I, if I looked like crap as an anti aging specialist, I'd be.

[A]

Like, hey, man, I'm going to the next guy.

[B]

You know, I mean, that's what it's for, right? So in 2019, when I first started my clinics, I went to this education course. Now I became an autodidact in wellness and anti aging and hormones, endocrinology throughout my 20s, reading every book, manuscript, journal on hormones, on anti aging, on wellness. Because I was bodybuilding, I wanted to do it for myself. So I became kind of like a, I don't know, quote, unquote, expert in autodidact. Right. I became this expert in this field. That's what led me to transition out of law enforcement to go into the clinics. So I go to the first education course. It was an A4M coach. A4M coaching thing with Dr. Terry Hertog. One of the OGs in hormone health and anti aging, and it was with Anti Aging association of America. A4M. Well, the course happened to be in Dubai. Wow. I took every last penny that I had and I even borrowed money from my mother and I said, I'm going to Dubai. And I mean, I was so broke that I was not able to properly pay for taxis, which were like $3.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

To go, you know, back and forth from the gym and whatever while I'm in this education course. And I gave this. I gave this, you know, training kind of like a. A real. A real go. And I was kind of highlighted in this group because I was the only non doctor. They're like, who. Why are you here? You're not a doctor. Why are you here? Like, I'm a business owner in, you know, the wellness space. They're like, we've never had a business owner do this course before. We don't even know how you got in.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

I've done this twice. I've been certified and educated by A4M and WorldLink Medical. And I'm the only non doctor to do these types of courses because I wasn't supposed to. Well, then ask for permission. I asked for forgiveness afterwards.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Still got certification, though. Still got the education. That's what started me going into Dubai. Later on, I got a couple awards. I was a keynote speaker talking about the future of health and wellness and hormones and the business of hormones. And ever since then, I've just been. It's always been kind of in the back of my head that the Middle east is really a new land of opportunity, especially the uae, especially Dubai, that GCC region. There's a reason that all these expats are going there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And these people need proper wellness, proper hormone treatment, proper anti aging. Because what do rich people want? They want to live forever, but they want to feel good.

[A]

They want to feel good, man. I mean, I'll give. From my perspective, man, 2024, it was the best financial year of my life ever. Congratulations. The reason why, you know, three different companies had 200 employees. But here's the thing, man. Little did anyone know, especially on social media, because everybody wants to highlight the best of the best in social media is that. Dude, I fell into deep depression again. I gained about like 50 pounds of weight.

[B]

Did you really?

[A]

Oh, dude, yeah. I was fat as hell. I was.

[B]

50 pounds is heavy.

[A]

Yeah, dude, it's heavy, bro. Now if we do a comparison and we'll do it after the show, I mean, I'll show you my book. I'm going to give you a copy of my book, but you're going to see it like Fat Kid and then me night and day, bro. But here's the thing. One thing I will tell you. Okay. Is that I was able to go ahead and actually find purpose again. To go ahead and feel good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Why? Because I had a really good friend. We have a good mutual friend.

[B]

We do.

[A]

Yeah. Big Mike. We call him Planet Mike.

[B]

He's right outside. He's right outside.

[A]

He literally. Right outside. Like you come into. Come into the office.

[B]

Big bella, Russian gentleman.

[A]

Yeah. The guy looks like Arnold Schneider.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So. So anyways, he kept in my year for years. Cause I've known him for about three and a half years from San Diego, dude.

[B]

For sure.

[A]

But he goes. He said, dude, you really need to focus on your health. How are you driving a Ferrari? And you look like that? He's like, no disrespect, but sometimes you guys need friends.

[B]

Like, that gave me chills a little bit. I'm not gonna lie.

[A]

You need friends like that. You need friends. To tell you the truth. We need to get hit in the mouth.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So it wasn't until him and then a couple of my other friends who are jacked.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're successful as well. And they were like, dude, come on, you got to take your health serious. And then once I got into that mental health portion of it, do. Where I was just like, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with me? So that's why I started taking it serious.

[B]

So.

[A]

You're absolutely right, dude. And the fact that you're seeing that right now in the Middle east, in Dubai, you're like, dude, there's nobody capitalizing what I'm doing over there.

[B]

Yeah. And it's not even. It's not. You know what's funny? People ask me all the time, oh, you're going to Dubai because of money. You're going to Dubai. I'm like, I'm in a place right now. I say this with the most humble intentions. I promise. I'm not doing this as a flex.

[A]

No.

[B]

I don't need to care about money anymore. Yeah. So now I care about impact, purpose.

[A]

Purpose fulfillment.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm looking at the Middle east because I know I can impact an area that this has not been properly done. And if someone else does it before me, they won't, because I'll be there in November of this year.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

But if someone else gets there and they're doing a great job. I'm going to applaud you. Yeah. I'm just going to say, yeah, good. That's what I want. That's what I want to see, you know? But I'm going to ask you a question. All the money in the world, right? All the money in the world. And you said you were, you know, overweight, whatever. Were you getting sick a lot?

[A]

I was getting sick a lot.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I was sleeping two, three times a day. Yeah, like naps. I was getting headaches.

[B]

Lethargic, Just breaking.

[A]

What else? The depression, dude. I was double my medication. I was on Prozac. So. See, this is one thing you guys suffered, dude. Gut health was insane. It was just like, bro, I can never get rid of that chunk. But here, here's the thing, man. I just wasn't educated enough. Yeah, right. And also you, you, you know this from a business perspective. And I. Anybody who is a. In currently a 9 to 5, because trust me, guys, we come from law enforcement. So we know how it is. We know how it is to.

[B]

It's probably 9pm to 5am though.

[A]

Exactly. Right.

[B]

Even worse.

[A]

But the thing is, man, I just didn't want to overcomplicate my life any more than it really was. And that's where I was at, dude. I was just like, dude, I'm not trying to educate myself on taking 20 different supplements. I'm not trying to go ahead and take the exams. I'm not trying to go ahead and be an expert in fitness, dude. I just wanted something more optimized so somebody could go ahead and help me. And guess what?

[B]

Duh.

[A]

I built all this money and building all these finances for my family, dude, because that's what fulfills me is my family. Right? I got my wife, I got my kid coming on the way.

[B]

Beautiful.

[A]

But at the end of the day, dude, you got to take care of yourself. Because what's the point of doing all this and doing impact for the community if you're not willing to help yourself? And that's what I was coming down to, man. It's just like ultimately I just lost myself that year. Yeah, I lost myself that year. So then guess what? Things happen. I get smacked in the face again. I had a couple of executives, like, take money from 1, 1, 1, 1 portfolio company. I had another executive almost crash my other company and I had to go back and take the driver's seat, man. And sometimes that's what, that's what happens in life, right, Tomo?

[B]

But why do you, you know, why did that happen? I wonder if you can kind of circle it all back to health and feeling properly good and feeling aware.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Not sick exactly. You know, I talk about this. It's funny. I'm writing a book right now too, so my first book, it's called Operation Optimal, and it's a book on how to basically build your most optimal life. Talk about hormones, talked about wellness, about mindset. But talk about how everything kind of stems from this physical body being good first.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I used to think the exact opposite. I used to think mental first.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And then physical. But if your physical is just. Can we swear on here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. If your physical shit. I want to be respectful to your audience. Of course.

[A]

But.

[B]

But if you're physical as shit, if it's not working. Okay. If you're just complete mess, you're fat, your hormones are a mess, you know, your body's breaking down, you can't get your mentality right. It's not possible. So what do you need to fix first? Get regimented. Get that programming in your mind where you fix your physical form first. Your mental follows. Your money follows that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It all just cascades. And what's the one thing that you would sacrifice. But what's the one thing that you would sacrifice everything else for? Your health.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because without your health, it's nothing. Yep.

[A]

You work all this time, all this effort, all this energy, blood money, what a lot of people call it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To sacrifice not only your health and your mental health. It's not worth it at the end of the day. But I understand it. I understand most people, they're like, nah, dude, I gotta grind, I gotta hustle. I gotta go ahead and make it happen. Right. And once you get there and you do have the money, I urge every single one of you guys, spend the money to actually make yourself happy and healthy.

[B]

I'll almost. I'll almost take it one step further and say you can do both.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You can. You can be healthy physically, well focused on making sure that you're maintaining your health and wellness while making a bunch of money. And further from that, you will make more money.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because if you're healthy in this body, your brain works better. If your brain works better, you're going to think better, you're going to make better decisions, you're going to make more money. It's. It's all a big. It's all a big cycle. It goes. It goes like that.

[A]

It's what we like to call life by design, man.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

Life by design. You not just successful financially, but successful in all aspects of life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, health, mental health, core values, finances, faith. Right. What would you say when you go back and you rewind the time? Dude, let's talk about your police career.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, half of my audience is first responders, dude. Or former or current. I mean, there's a lot of guys out there. I even got Sheriff Blanco coming from Riverside onto the show in a few weeks.

[B]

Fantastic.

[A]

I know we're going to start getting political here.

[B]

Listen, we're in a good climate right now for politics. Oh, yeah, we're okay right now.

[A]

Trust me, man. But yeah. So let's go back into your law enforcement career, man. How long were you in law enforcement?

[B]

12 years, just under.

[A]

What did you do inside of law enforcement? Did you do different units? Were you a sergeant? Like, so did a little.

[B]

So did some. I was mostly. I was mostly patrol. I was never going to get promoted. Why? Politics? Yeah. Also, I had a problem with authority.

[A]

Game of Thrones, man. Game of Thrones.

[B]

Problem with authority. Didn't like to. Didn't like to schmooze up to, you know, the upper staff.

[A]

You were a cop?

[B]

I was cops. Cop, yeah. I liked the street. I had a lot of fun. Love working in the ghettos. And before I even get into the.

[A]

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[B]

First of all, thank everybody that's watching this first responder.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Thank you for the service. If you are still doing it, God bless you. Oh yeah, it's not easy. It's not. I got out in 2018. You got out in 21.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You even dealt with more shit than I did.

[A]

Yeah, I mean we were already pre programmed in academy. I mean when you have the police chief coming into an academy class and they tell you like, hey guys, check this out. I know you guys are brand new, you guys are not even sworn, but everybody's looking at you, nobody likes you, so prepare yourself. And you're like, okay, I just signed up for this career and you're telling.

[B]

Me this like, write the note down. I'm hated.

[A]

It's just like all eyes on you, bro.

[B]

Yeah, so, yeah, so you know, most of my careers in patrol now I did some stints joint terrorism task force. I did some street crime stuff, did some DUI unit stuff, did some stuff that we can't talk about politely on camera. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So some other stuff with some three letter agencies that were always fun, you know. So I got a lot of tactical training, I got a lot of interview interrogation. I never waterboard anybody personally, but you know, sure, I'm sure somebody around me has.

[A]

What was it about the career at that time that made you a proactive cop? Because even talking to you right now in person, finally after like three years, guys. Yeah, I could tell you were proactive.

[B]

I could just tell because at a time I was. Yeah, no, so it's truly at a time I was. Yeah, I love being proactive. I love going after drugs and guns and gangs. What happened towards the tail end of my career. Yeah, especially. And this was. And I was, I was in Cleveland, Ohio at first five years and I did about seven in Clearwater, Florida. Okay. So Clearwater, Florida, Little bit more politically leaning left.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And they basically took the wind out of a lot of cop sales because everything was racist. Yeah. Everything was sexist, Everything was a problem. Don't do this, don't do that. We're getting complaints. I'm like, like, I thought we were here to bust criminals.

[A]

Right.

[B]

What happened? And this is. This is why I ended up transitioning out of there. And I mean, I wasn't. I didn't like to take direction. That didn't make sense to me.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I would have been horrible in the military, bro.

[A]

You wanted to believe in it.

[B]

Well, I wanted to. I want there to. I want it to make sense.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Don't harass people in this community. Who am I harassing? The black community's complaining. I'm like, the whole community's black.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't understand. I'm like, who's complaining? Well, we're getting complaints that you're just coming up and harassing people. The crack dealers.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The gang members. I'm like, are they the ones complaining?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is madness. And I mean, it went so far to where they like pulled me out of the, the hood, put me on the beach. They put me in the, in the white neighborhoods. And I'm sorry to make it a race thing, but it is what it is.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The high crime area was a high crime area. They were selling crack and there was gang members.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's where I like to work. Because I felt like I actually make a difference.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Pulling. Pulling granny over and giving her a traffic stop and giving her a ticket for 12 over, bro. I could probably count on both hands how many tickets I wrote in the last five years of my career. Yeah.

[A]

It doesn't make sense.

[B]

I don't do that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm not going to have somewhere for $300 ticket because they were speeding to work.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Well, I pull you over if you're driving like an asshole. Yeah, of course. But I wasn't that kind of cop.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, so from a proactive standpoint, I was much more proactive in Cleveland, Clearwater. I tried to be. And they took the wind out of my sails. That's what ultimately pushed me out, you know. And I got all kinds of IA stuff at the end of my career. I don't know if I told you this.

[A]

Well, that's usually what ends up happening, man. You know, the more proactive cops. Right. Cops actually want to get and take off the drug dealers and the murderers and all that.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Stuff. Right.

[B]

God forbid you end up.

[A]

You end up getting internal investigations.

[B]

So you.

[A]

They end up drilling you. And this is why it's very hard for law enforcement officers now even in 2025, because they're under a microscope. Right. Just imagine guys, you guys are a police officer. You're in that blue uniform, right. Like it or not. Right. And you pull over somebody, now guess what? That person can make an allegation saying, oh, they harassed me. Oh, they touched me. And you didn't even do nothing. You can even be the friendliest cop out there.

[B]

He was sexist, he was racist, he was.

[A]

Guess what? Now you're going through an internal investigation. Now they put you on probation, now they suspend you.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And that affects your family, that affects your livelihood, that affects your mental state. So why is crime risen throughout the years? Because of that exact action happening behind the police departments. And the narrative that a lot of the media goes and paints the picture saying that the guys in blue are bad.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

Complete bullshit. Anyways.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This is the level up. So let's be positive here.

[B]

Well, I leveled up since, hey, we have bro. You know what I mean? So, you know, and I hope that people on here, you know, not saying that people need to leave their law enforcement because we need cops.

[A]

Yes, we do.

[B]

We need cops. We need good cops. You know, are you meant to be a cop? I hope a lot of you are.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, but like, this is the level of podcast and why are we on here? We're talking about leveling up. It could mean leveling up in law enforcement.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Doesn't need to be. Doesn't need to be leveling up and become entrepreneurs and become writing books and all these different things that happened to us. But I will say one thing for anybody out there, and I know you agree with this because we've talked about this.

[A]

Yeah, of course.

[B]

The amount that you learn being a cop, conflict resolution, communication, documentation, writing, you know, multitasking. Although I'm not a big person to multitasking anymore. I'm very dedicated on like, you know, I've dedicated focus. But dealing with how what we deal with in law enforcement prepares you to do so much more outside of law enforcement.

[A]

100. I agree in every aspect that you just talked about, man. I mean, if it wasn't for law enforcement, I wouldn't be able to lead. I wouldn't have the skills to actually do public speaking the way I do the command presence. I think it's huge. You know, a lot of people, especially in Sales, leadership. You know, correct me if I'm wrong, Tomo, but, you know, you have probably hundreds or dozens of employees, right? So what do you say about culture? What is your idea behind culture? What is your opinion behind culture? Culture, especially in the workspace, in a company.

[B]

Standpoint. Yeah. Here's how most companies screw up culture. They don't even have vision and values listed. They don't even know what their vision and values are. They're just going in to make money. So when you come into a company, what's your vision? What's your values? Project that to everybody else in the company. You will do two things. One, you will find out that there are people that truly believe in your. In your vision and in the way that you have your values set up and the way that everything kind of flows in your life. And you will also weed out people that don't.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Which is almost more important.

[A]

So the reason why I bring culture is because you're a cops. Cop, dude. So you had that specific culture going into being proactive, going into law enforcement, going to certain departments that, guess what? Now you're affiliated with a certain type of policing. Now you're affiliated with certain cops that respected you because of the work that you did, the leadership that you brought into. So it was the same mindset as me. Mm. With me, man, I was already playing the political game in law enforcement. I was going in there, you know what? I'm just gonna go ahead, do my job, but I'll be nice to everybody. And, you know, I'm like, you know, political guy. So I'm like, hey, dude, it's all good. What? That's a smart roof, dude. In law enforcement, what other choice do you have?

[B]

Right? Smart. Well, you had my choice be patrol forever.

[A]

You're absolutely right.

[B]

That was my choice.

[A]

You're absolutely right, man. But at the end of the day, there's so many ways to skin a cat. But yes, to. To. To agree with you, brother. Law enforcement is what built me up to actually be a great entrepreneur and to do pretty decent in my life. So with that being said, when was it when you went ahead, like, what year was it when you finally transitioned out of law enforcement?

[B]

2018.

[A]

So in 2018, you go to your mom and you're like, mom, I'm gonna go ahead and transition.

[B]

Wasn't even that. I'll give you the story. Yeah, 2018. I'm like, I gotta get the hell outta here. I had a bunch of IA complaints for bullshit. I'll spare you guys details. You're more than welcome to look it up. I'll give you the quick.

[A]

Give you.

[B]

I'll give all of you the quick. How many domestic violence calls you go on? Hundreds. Hundreds. Hundreds on patrol, Hundreds prostitute somebody else. It's not domestic violence. They got in a verbal argument. This is not anything. So I don't write a full report. I write notes, document, make sure everything's okay. It's basically bullshit call. They find out I applied for the FBI.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

They found out. The moment they found out, I got like nine IAs put against me. And they referenced that case and said I didn't follow policy, which they're right. Technically they're right because it came out as domestic violence call. I'm supposed to write domestic violence report. So they were right. But cops do that 150,000 times a week. We all know how to squash a call.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's bullshit. Yeah. If you wrote a report for every call you went on, we would be non stop writing novels all day. We wouldn't be able to do our jobs.

[A]

I mean, I mean, it's true.

[B]

It's true. That's what happened. Yeah, so that's what happened. So I'm at this point, they end up not sustaining anything. They end up basically throwing everything out. And at that point, I was talking to friends and I'm like, I'm like, I can't do this job no more. They screwed my FBI chances up. I was super pissed about that. Was blessing in disguise. Buddy of mine, his name's Kurt Henschel, lives in Columbia now, by the way, doing some cool stuff down there. And he says, he says, bro, he's like, you're into the health and the wellness, the bodybuilding. So why don't you go work for your buddy Jeff and work for his medical clinics and see if you can do something there.

[A]

So that friend gave you the idea.

[B]

He said, get out of this job. Yeah, 100%.

[A]

And do you think if he wasn't there to essentially lead you to that path, would you have taken that path yourself?

[B]

I don't think. I don't think I would have thought of it. I don't think I would have thought of it. He and I talk, we're on midnight shifts, like three in the morning. I remember the conversation. We're in the hood, you know, wait for somebody to shoot at somebody. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So he tells me this. So I go and approach my buddy Jeff, and he has since died, so God rest his soul, even though he and I didn't end friends, I still Am grateful for him forever, for allowing me and helping me to get out of law enforcement. I went to him and I said, you have anybody doing sales and marketing? He's like, no, bro. He's like, but I would love to have somebody. I said, I'm your guy. You're a cop. I'm like, here's my social media. Here's all the stuff. And he's like, okay. So that's what brought me out of law enforcement and transitioned me to this medical space. Because I was a patient at the clinic. I was a patient clinic already getting peptides, getting HRT. I'm in my early 30s, 10 years of midnight shift. My testosterone levels tanked. It will do that, by the way. Get your hormones tested, please. For love of God, please. Yeah. All law enforcement. We want you guys optimal. We want you guys healthy. So I go and do sales and marketing. I build this company from roughly a little bit under 800 patients to almost 4,009 months.

[A]

I love that, dude.

[B]

And I ended up having to transition out of there because of some, we'll just say, legal issues that happened inside that business.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

From a law enforcement side that I got tipped on. And I'm like, I need to get away from this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was very strongly told to get away from it. So I had to make a decision. Go back to police work or take everything that I had, all my credit, go into tremendous debt, stop paying my car payments, stop paying my mortgage. I literally stopped paying everything.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I. My credit score all the way down to low 500s.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And I put everything that I had into building a spiral rejuvenation clinic.

[A]

So you took that risk. And what year was that?

[B]

2019.

[A]

So 2019. A year later.

[B]

One year later.

[A]

So you got. Okay, so. So let's talk about the transition. So the transition is you have a buddy, you're about to go to the FBI. You get screwed by the department. Department's like, yo, you ain't leaving because it's Game of Thrones guys in law enforcement the way it is, it's very political. So they'll screw you over if they want to. And then you do a pivot. I could see you working for the FBI, dude. I really can.

[B]

It would have been probably. I probably would have had a lot of fun.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I still think that I would have maybe been a little bit unsatisfied, probably because there's always something in the back of my head that I said something more, something different, something else. God's. God's the best of planners.

[A]

Bro, And I think. I mean, dude, we have very similar mindsets. And if you're anything like me, or maybe you're my brother from another mother brother, maybe. But with me, every few years, I feel like I have to go ahead and start a new fire. And when I say a new fire, I'm talking about a new idea, a new concept. I have to get my hands dirty again. And what I found out about myself in entrepreneurship, right, because that's the thing, guys. I will stay a student of the game. And I always tell you this. Stay a student of the game no matter at what level you guys get. Because with every new level, there's a new double. So what I found out about myself is I'm a startup guy. I am a visionary guy.

[B]

I'm a startup guy like that.

[A]

I am the guy who would be like, all right, you tell me an idea. I'm like, okay, bro, this is exactly how we can execute it.

[B]

You roadmap it.

[A]

Yeah, I roadmap it. And then I'll get you started. We'll start generating revenue. Cool. Let's find people smarter than us to operate this shit.

[B]

Delegation who know who, not how.

[A]

That's it. That's it. And that's what I've been doing for the past couple years now. But with your situation, man, that's almost like very similar path that I took, man. Because I had started a side hustle with ATMs at that time, dude, I was making residual income. And that's cool. But what was the game changer was that one friend. So you had one friend that tell you like, hey, dude, don't be stupid.

[B]

Get out of this.

[A]

Get out of this. I had that one friend, dude, I had made. I had just started digital marketing in April of 2020. During that time. So by January. No, I'm sorry. By March of 2021, I hit my first six figures just on the online space.

[B]

Well, you're still law enforcement.

[A]

I was still in law enforcement. Here's. Here's the crazy part. A lot of people don't know this. So when I got in the online space in 2021, I didn't tell anyone I was in law enforcement.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

At all.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because I was just like, dude, the department would eat me alive.

[B]

Oh, yeah, right. You're out of California, right?

[A]

Yeah. Oh, dude, you know. Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm not in California for. For many reasons, guys. But you know what it is? So I didn't tell people until I actually exited, which was right before 4th of July. In 2021. And I had that one friend tell me the month prior to like, dude, get the fuck out of here.

[B]

Literally your independence came right before Independence Day.

[A]

Literally. Yeah. Yeah, I literally shipped out everything, sold my house and I told myself, dude, I want to be out of the comfort zone. So I went to San Diego. I went to San Diego. Got a nice little penthouse in front of the ocean, dude. What is it? Coronado Island? So I used to see the Navy Seals getting like dumped into the water at 5, 6am every morning, dude. Yeah, I was just like, God damn. This is like some crazy. But it transitioned and it actually changed my life, dude. You know why? Because the people around me. So sometimes it takes you guys being around the right environment and listening to positivity guys actually leveling up your guys mindset. What you guys listen to, what you guys watch who you are around, right? Because it's that saying. I know it sounds cliche, but the most cliche things are always right. Where if you spend, let's say, most of your time with five people that are not doing shit in life, guess what? You won't become shit. Now you hang around with multimillionaires, billionaires, political figures, people that are leveling up and they're at a different level in life and you're like, dude, I'm trying to get there, right? Just so, just so I can say I can. Because now it's purpose.

[B]

And you know what? It's. It's like, it's through like almost like attrition. It's through like osmosis. Like you, you're. You gain momentum almost through osmosis. If you guys, if you guys know what osmosis is, basically like you're absorbing, yeah, you're absorbing all these things around you.

[A]

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[B]

I. I started leveling up more and more. Probably I would. I mean, Gary behind the camera over here, Gary's my videographer guy. And he saw it. He, like, he and I, he and I almost, like, shared some tears because we're both looking at each other and we're like, do you believe this has happened the last time we were in Dubai or second to last time we were in Dubai and we're just like, do you believe that? Like, you just became friends with the third richest man in Dubai? Like, he's like, he's wanting to be around you all the time. He's inviting you to dinners. He hosted my 40th birthday in his palace.

[A]

That's badass, bro.

[B]

And fed us with lamb from his farm. It's a very big honor to get food from his farm. Huge. So, you know, we're in. We're in his palace. And, you know, looking at that. That circle came from another circle. That circle came from another circle. And I. And all of its risk. My life is full of risk. I'm not very risk averse.

[A]

But you got used to it.

[B]

I enjoy it. Like, I literally. I said this on a podcast not too long ago, and somebody asked me, like, what. What would you feel and what would you do if you went to zero right now? Like, everything was gone? I was like, I literally. And excuse my French, everybody. I was like, everybody's fucked.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I said, everybody's fucked. I'd be so excited. I said, if God gave me that opportunity to put me back to zero and made me hungry like that again.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I said, you're. You can't stop me.

[A]

You know, you thought I did.

[B]

Well, now I love.

[A]

I know. I love that because I think about this all the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, people always ask me, like, hey, so, you know, you're doing all this stuff, right? And it costs money and you're traveling, you're taking all these risk, but what if you lose it all? And I'm like, I'll just build it again. It's just. It's not one of those things.

[B]

Like, probably build it better.

[A]

Well, here's my thing, Tomo. It's not one of those things. Like, I actually eliminated a couple words from my vocabulary when people go ahead and ask me, can you do this? Will you do this? Or do you think you can do this? I Go ahead and say, I don't think I do it. I don't say maybes, I don't say ands, I don't say buts. I don't give excuses. It's the same thing. When I married my wife last year, dude, when I came, I was like, right before our wedding day, dude, we went to go have dinner, and I sat her down. I was like, hey, babe, so, you know, before we get married, I just want to have a very serious conversation with you. And this conversation. Don't. Don't get offended.

[B]

I already like where this is going.

[A]

You know what? Law enforcement, as long as you say, with all due respect, they all go ahead, you motherfucker.

[B]

Respect. Go fuck yourself.

[A]

Exactly. But you're saying it respectfully.

[B]

May have said that to a couple sergeants.

[A]

You know, hey, man. And I've taught Emilio.

[B]

Well.

[A]

I've taught Emilio, you know, on. He manages a couple people, right? He's the head guy here. He's our engineer. So. So I tell Emilio, dude, as long as you just tell him, with all due respect, then let him have it. He's like, really? I was like, yes.

[B]

Not really, but yeah.

[A]

But anyway, I had this conversation with my wife, and that's all. I was like, hey, babe, so, you know, you're my one. You're my best friend, and this is why I'm making the decision, the conscious decision to go ahead and marry you. And I was just like, look, there's one thing I want you to promise me. I want you, with everything that we do in life together, to have the most confident and be so decisive that no one will ever doubt you. And I think with most people, the reason why they will never go ahead and build authority, the reason why they will never go ahead and build great things, dude, is because they're not sure of themselves.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

They're not sure of themselves.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know how many people I meet on a daily basis, dude, where I'm like, hey, so you want to come work with us, right? Get DMs all the time. We get emails all the time, dude. Hey, can I come work for you, dude? I'm the best. Okay, cool. Let's get on phone call. Would you be able to generate this much revenue a month? They're like, maybe. This is like, Let me stop you right there, dude.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You really lost your chances.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because at this stage of the game, dude, I need people that are hitters, just like in law enforcement.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Do you want to go with somebody who's freaking a badass who Already has that level of confidence, that energy.

[B]

We want to know that they can take our business.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You know, confidence is huge, man. Confidence is huge. And I know that because I've been in a place where I've lacked it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And even, like, I'm not talking about, like, even when I was super jacked bodybuilder. I mean, you could find pictures on my social media or on. Even on Google. I think my Google panel has a bunch of old bodybuilding pictures. I don't know why it has that. I'm like, I've been bodybuilding since 2018, so, you know, even at that time when I looked like a Greek statue. Yeah. I still was lacking confidence for one reason or another. It's when I started having the real conversations in the mirror and started looking at myself and I'm like, okay, and here. Here's my mirror.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I started looking. I'm like, okay, what do I see? Who am I? What do I want? What do I want is something nobody asks. Have you noticed that? How many people that are even watching this? What do I want? Oh, I want to be rich. Shut up. How rich? How much money? What's your wife look like? What kind of cars do you drive? What? Not just what kind of car. I want to drive a Mercedes. I want to drive a Lamborghini. No. What color is it? What model is it? What year? Did you like the classics? You like the new ones? Which one do you want? I want one of each. There you go. We're getting somewhere. Yeah. When I started having these conversations, started writing down and saying, this is how I want to curate my life. Here is my superhero version of myself. When I started doing that, I started believing it, I got the confidence and I started doing it. I mean, I think you were then. I wasn't I with you the same day when I got the Lamborghini. I didn't even care about actually getting a Lamborghini. I cared about the fact that I could afford it.

[A]

It's the principle.

[B]

I was like, oh, I could afford it. What's Lamborghini? They're like, yeah, you're good. Here's your Lamborghini. I'm like, huh?

[A]

You didn't get the fulfillment out of it. You got you. What it was is just the fact that you can do it.

[B]

That's it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Right. But the point is that when I started having these conversations, look in the mirror, like, really looking into my soul. Who am I? What. What is the better version of myself look like? Well, the better version of myself is Healthy. They are wealthy. They are well. They are well liked. They are appreciated. They are grateful. Gratitude's huge, right? They walk with honor and conviction.

[A]

They're well respected, man.

[B]

Oh, you. If you look at yourself like that and you can visualize what that version of you is, the rest is easy. Yeah, the rest is just work. Yeah, work's the easiest part. Yeah.

[A]

And it just takes a level of discipline. And for most people, they just won't go ahead and have that level of discipline to get to that better version of themselves. People always say, like, hey, why don't you stop? You already got enough money. You're greedy. I'm like, dude, it's not about the greed. It's about chasing the better version of yourself. This is why you have high performers like Tomo, you know, dude, you. You really. I got enough money, dude.

[B]

You. You. You.

[A]

You really take care of everybody. I'm pretty sure you take care of your mom. You get whatever she wants, right?

[B]

She's just bought her a new Mercedes last year. She won't let me buy her a house yet. I'm just going to end up having to do it. Yeah.

[A]

I mean, that's just what it is.

[B]

Have a house. I'm like, whatever.

[A]

So, so, so with that being said, now it's more about just principle, purpose, and just becoming the greater version of yourself. And that's what I tell people, man. Like, you know me now on my health journey, right? It's just like, what I told myself is like, wow, I found out my wife was pregnant, and I was just like, oh, my God. This is, like, unexpected, dude. Because we weren't gonna start trying until August, but now that the baby's gonna be born in December, trying, bro. Bro. Well, obviously it worked, bro.

[B]

Yeah, you did something right. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. But now that we're expecting the baby in December, I'm like, you know, I'm telling Mike because Mike is our mutual friend, guys, and he's optimizing me right now. I'm telling Mike. I was just like. He's like, hey, dude, so you're pretty good size, you know, you're getting your shrinkage there. He's just like, where are you trying to take this? He's like, are you trying to take this to the next level? And I'm like, to be honest, dude, yes. Here's the reason why. Just because when my son is born, I want him to look to me and be like, dude, my dad is freaking jacked. And it's just a principle. It's just a principle, guys. This Is not for me. It's more for my family.

[B]

You're his superhero anyway. Already. Yeah, but you want to really be looking like a superhero.

[A]

Yeah, dude, why not?

[B]

That's, of course.

[A]

Hey, man, when you think about it, if you were 5 years old, 10 years old, and your father pulled up and let's say a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, you know, all the freaking toy cars, but in real life, and your dad was jacked, dude. What level of confidence are you gonna instill in your son?

[B]

Yeah, of course.

[A]

What type of standards are you gonna steal into your children?

[B]

Better. Better, Better question. What type of standards? Yeah, right? Yeah, because like the material stuff is cool and it's like, it's like a little bit of flexing. Yeah. For your kid too. Yeah. You know, my dad has a fry car.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. Getting picked up at school.

[B]

It's cool. Yeah, but if your dad's in shape and your dad's healthy, he looks younger than the rest of the dads. Probably. How old are you?

[A]

I'm 37.

[B]

37. So we're almost same age. I'm a couple years older. Neither of us look 40 or almost 40. Yeah. And you look at 40 year olds out there, bro, they're fat, they're, they're, they're balding, they have bad skin, they have all kinds of health problems. Cholesterol, blood pressure, blah, blah, blah. Their hormones are shit. They have no sex drive. Okay, well, that's What a normal 40 year old supposed to look like.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We both still have so much to improve. But we're already way above. We're already in the 1% of that.

[A]

Right.

[B]

1% of wealth is easy. Do you know that it's actually more rare right now for a man to be able to bench. I think it's either 225 or 135.

[A]

I saw that.

[B]

Pathetic.

[A]

I saw that. Yeah.

[B]

And also, then, then it is to be 10 million or more in net worth.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Also to have a six pack. To have abs. To have a six pack of abs. It is so monumentally rare that there are more people that are deca millionaires in the world.

[A]

Wow, that's insane.

[B]

What does that tell you? And, and here's a cool thing, like you can earn money. Anybody can earn money. Anybody on the planet can earn enough money to be a millionaire. Yeah, but you can't buy your way to health and, and wellness and longevity. Yeah. You can get surgeries. We gotta work. You gotta eat. Right. You gotta go to the gym, you gotta do all these things.

[A]

Absolutely. So if you're able to do that, plus hit your status of becoming a millionaire or multi millionaire, guys, you are the 1% of the 1%. And that's just the way it goes. Right?

[B]

That's it.

[A]

So, Tomo, now, we talked about now, your journey from law enforcement. Break into this space in your health journey. Let's talk about bodybuilding.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right. Because, come on, we have a lot of people that watch this show. By the way, guys, thank you. Today. What is today? August 29th, guys. So August 29th, we officially hit number four in all categories. I don't know if you saw that. All right. But yes, we did. So it's pretty cool.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

It's pretty. It's pretty cool because we are, I guess you could say, our dream. For the past year, we were just like, dude, if we could just surpass Rogan one time, that'd be the flex, you know, just the principle just to say it. But now we're like, boop. All right, cool. Well, one up on them right now.

[B]

Love it.

[A]

So it's good.

[B]

Clap back. Clap back. Joe Rogan.

[A]

Get us on the show, bro. Get us.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

But with that being said, man. So let's talk about bodybuilding. When did you start bodybuilding? I know you were doing this while you were still in law enforcement, but tell us a little bit of background that.

[B]

Yeah. So 13 years old, I come back from Croatia and Bosnia. This is right after the war. And I came back and had a massive growth spurt when I was over there. Food, water, who knows? I don't know. But I grew like 7 inches plus in three months. Wow. So if anybody's ever had a growth spurt when they were younger, seven inches in three months is drastic.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, I mean, I have stretch marks going sideways on my lower back and on my knees.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That's how fast I grew. So I was like, the shortest person in my friend group. I came back the tallest person, my friend group, after a summer. Tremendous pain, bro. My knees, my back, everything hurts. So I go to. My mom takes me to the doctor, because I literally couldn't. I couldn't sleep, bro. I couldn't do anything. And the doctor says there's nothing I can do about these growth pains. He said, but I'm going to prescribe that you go to the gym and strengthen the muscles around your joints. Revolutionary at this time, you know what I'm saying? Prescribing me to go to the gym. God, if doctors did this now, we wouldn't have so many problems. Yeah. With how fat the population is and diabetes and heart disease and all these issues.

[A]

Seems like that doctor actually cared.

[B]

Actually cared. Yeah, exactly. So he tells me to go to the gym. 13 years old to get my first gym membership. I get taken under the wing by a man named Don DeVito, God rest his soul. And he starts teaching me the ways of bodybuilding and the ways of fitness and, and how to, how to do certain things. I mean, this guy was revolutionary. Like, you remember like, I mean, you know, like Hanny Rambod and stuff like that. FST 7.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I was doing that when I was 13.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

This is this.

[A]

So you were ahead of the game?

[B]

I, I started working out and started bodybuilding a long time before a lot of the bodybuilding stuff started to come out. Like a lot of the, the training tech. We're already doing that. Yeah, I was, I was force feeding myself so much chicken and beef and thankfully my mom and my family had a restaurant, so I was able to afford all that.

[A]

Were your parents, you know, encouraging you? They were like, yes, Tomo, keep going.

[B]

My mom was. My father was already living back in Europe because they were, they got divorced when I was young. He wasn't a big fan of the bodybuilding stuff.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah, he wasn't a big fan, wasn't big supporter of it. Obviously, you know, he was wrong. I think bodybuilding is a lot of the reason why I'm so disciplined, able to take so much pain, is getting through bodybuilding and working out and getting, getting into this wellness routine, this fitness routine. It builds some character, man.

[A]

It does. Discipline for sure.

[B]

To force, feed yourself, to grow, to starve yourself, to lean out, to go into the gym over and over again for months and months at a time while stuff soar, while things hurt and you're still doing it all to get on stage for 65 seconds max. If you do well, that's what you did.

[A]

Let me ask you, Tomo.

[B]

Yeah, please.

[A]

Why do you think bodybuilders do it? Do you think it's because they come from a point of pain that they're trying to go ahead and like, present themselves as, like, look, I could go ahead and do this, something that most people are not able to do. What do you think? So good, so good, so good. Give big, save big with RAC Friday deals at Nordstrom Rack. For a limited time, take an extra 40% off red tac clearance for a total savings. Savings up to 75% off. Save on gifts for everyone on your list from brands like Vince Cole, Hans.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

So you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text, but which u do you listen to?

[A]

Is it. We could buy a house in Tulum, get optioning those options. We could lose everything. Or let's do a little research, get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you. Learn [e-mail] TradeSmart I think you're.

[B]

So I'm assuming the demo of the podcast is mostly men. Yeah.

[A]

Men and women.

[B]

Yeah. Is it Men and women is about half and half. Okay, so great. Okay. So I can only speak from a man's perspective. I can't speak from a woman's perspective. So I can only give you from the man's perspective. Men need to go through pain. Men have to do things that are hard. You have to go through hard to be a real man. I'm gonna say that right away.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

All of bodybuilding, all of fitness, all of wellness. Now, men can get too far removed from what it actually means. And you can start getting into a. Start getting into a place where it's more vanity and it's more negative. And you can kind of get like this body dysmorphia thing where, you know, and I've had that. Anybody's bodybuilding has had body dysmorphia. Yeah, Anybody body. But at least, like. Yup. Yeah. I hated how I looked when I was in the best shape of my life. Now I look back at these pictures in 2018, I'm like, what was I thinking? What was I complaining about?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Looked like a statue, bro. It was crazy. You know, but why do people gravitate towards bodybuilding? I think because it's hard. Yeah. Now, women, it could be for a different reason. I. I can't speak for you. And, you know, maybe they can drop some comments in here and say, hey, this is why I did it. It could be for beauty. It could be for just, you know, being physically fit, because I think all people should be physically fit. Now, the problem with bodybuilding is what it takes to get to the next levels. Right, Right. So the amount of drugs that need to be used in professional bodybuilding and competitive bodybuilding, certain types of drugs that women use that are detrimental to women. Sorry. Not sorry is what it is.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I can speak of this because I've been in it. I was in it for almost 20 years. Yeah, I was, I, I'm friends with most of the top level ifbb. I have trained with these guys. I mean the, the, the Adonis of bodybuilding. Sebum, I can pull you a picture from like 2016 of me and him training in Columbus together before C Bum was C. Bum. Yeah, that's how old I am in the industry. Okay.

[A]

Did you think Sebum was going to be great?

[B]

Yes. Yeah. When I first trained with him, truly you were like this kid's special physical specimen, bro. C Bum is a physical specimen. There is no amount of drugs that I could take, no amount of drugs that most people could take to be Sebum. Wow, I'm going to say that completely confidently now. The guy works ass off too. He had to work hard, he had to eat perfectly. Same thing can be said about Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can't be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nobody bro. His chest, unbelievable. His biceps, unbelievable. Yeah, doesn't matter how much drugs you take. Ronnie Coleman, same thing. Yeah buddy, Ronnie Coleman sacrificed also ex cop. Yeah, yeah, right. So Ronnie Coleman, you know, you can't be Ronnie Coleman. The guy was a massive, just spectacle of human performance and engineering. That's God made. And he looked like that before he ever took steroids. He looked like a monster with four steroids. Yeah, you can pull pictures of him. Yeah, right, but why bodybuilding? Bodybuilding builds discipline. You have to force feed yourself to grow, you have to starve yourself to diet down, you have to go to the gym, you have to have such a level of consistency, planning. And if you're going into the professional route, pharmaceuticals alone, man, you screw up one of these pharmaceuticals, your whole career is going down the tube for that year. It's real, it's real. So I mean half these bodybuilders know more about the endocrine system and phys and physical chemistry than doctors do.

[A]

You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right.

[B]

Yeah. So you know my bodybuilding taught me a lot about how to be more disciplined, how to go through the pain, how to really end like I was, I look at it now and law enforcement's painful mentally too. It is, right? The depression, the anxiety that we get, you know, all that shit prepared me for where I am now. Now I look at, I'm like, oh, this business deals not going through and it's fucking joking me. No, that's not more stressful the time I almost got shot in the face. It's not more stressful than the time I was starving and death to get on stage for 30 seconds. That was stress. This is easy.

[A]

I feel like the way that entrepreneurs and people in general frame their ideas of what stress is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because a lot of people, you know, I'll give you guys a great example last in 2024, when, you know, I had somebody take 200k for one of my bank accounts. One employee that was well off, white collar guy, drove a McLaren G wagon. And then he decided, oh yeah, for the funds of it, I'm gonna take 200k from a former detective.

[B]

He wanted another McLaren maybe, I don't know exactly right.

[A]

But people are like, dude, what do you do? I would have been so stressed out on my mind, I would have lost it. I would have killed the guy. Guys, I'm cool. Con collected. There's something that I would say. Fuck him on paper. Yeah, fuck them on paper.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's all I did. I was just like, you know what? Make a phone call, get my lawyer. Boom. And hey, dude, it's a freaking felony crime where you're based out of. You're. Give me back the money, give me back the money.

[B]

Wired it gave an opportunity. Oh, yeah, nice.

[A]

Come on, dude. Pathways resistance. I mean, you know, this path of least resistance.

[B]

But most people in business don't do that.

[A]

I know, I know.

[B]

They go scorched earth on.

[A]

I know, dude, I know it might, it might have been the, you know, the meds I was on during that time, it chilled me out, but. But nowadays, you know, I'm a little bit more aggressive because I'm back to.

[B]

Me, but good with that. I'm happy to hear that. Happy. Hear the aggression back.

[A]

Thanks, brother. But with the framing of things. Yeah, I like how you frame it because you're like, dude, I've been through the harsh. I've been through law enforcement, I've been through bodybuilding, I've been through the worst of the worst. And now business, dude, it's just a business deal. Most people over complicate life. And I think for, for, for you specifically, Tomo, you've been through it all, dude. But here's the thing. You also have. You live multiple different lives. And that's why I always tell people, you know, I've lived three different lives, you know, corporate America, law enforcement, and full time entrepreneur. Same thing with you, dude. You've been in so many different aspects. So what would you tell a beginner entrepreneur? Okay, if you were to go ahead and speak to younger tomo. Tomo, that's 21, 22, he's looking at this interview right now he's just like, dude, I want to be like that guy. I want to be in Dubai. I want to. I want to be friends with the third richest guy in Dubai. Eat lamb as well, at his palace. Beautiful, right?

[B]

Good lamb. Straight lamb.

[A]

What would be three needle movers that you would tell these young entrepreneurs right now to focus on, especially in their 20s?

[B]

I mean, if you're in there, if you're at that age, number one, don't be risk averse. Okay. Don't be afraid to risk. Don't be afraid to fall on your face, especially at that age. I did it in my early to mid-30s, and I did it to a point where I'm like, I didn't have a nest egg. I didn't. I could have felt back on family if I really needed to. But when you're doing your 30s, a little more risky. Yeah. You're kind of already established. You have, like bills and shit. Yeah. Credit score. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't care about any of that, so I was very risky. If you're in your early 20s, man, you can fall in your face so hard and you can literally. I mean, you could fuck up so bad and you still have so much time. Risk aversion is a negative. It's a net negative. Go towards things that are risky, obviously. Don't be stupid.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I want to fly. Jump off a cliff. You're an idiot. Sorry. Don't be risk averse. When like, like I took risk, like I bought a car.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I bought a Porsche when I shouldn't have bought a Porsche. Yeah. But I bought a Porsche strategically to get into a circle of people that all were driving Ferraris, Lamborghinis, which led me to a private members club where I'm rubbing shoulders with millionaires, billionaires and senators and House representatives members. That was a risk paid off. I then became a member of that private club that I couldn't afford. Risk paid off. Why? Because I'm seeing that my risk is purposeful. So, number one, don't be risk averse.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Number two, build your network like it's the only thing that matters.

[A]

Network is key, dude.

[B]

It's the. It's almost the only thing that matters.

[A]

It does.

[B]

Who you know means so much more than what you know, and it means so much more than what you can access in any way, shape, or form, because your friends, your friends and the people that like you are the number one or the number one needle mover.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Why do I get connected with multi billionaires in Dubai? Because I have trusted Friends that are also in that network. And networks start to spread, right? They, by the way, they don't spread wider, they get smaller. You know the guy, the multi billionaire in Dubai, his network is this big. My network is maybe this big. Yeah, a lot of your guys network is this big. Why? Because you're hanging around dipshits. You're hanging around people that don't actually do anything positive for your life or for themselves. And you are the five people you hang out with. You said this early in the podcast. You are the five people that you spend the most time with.

[A]

Facts.

[B]

So constantly audit your circle and make sure you're networking with intention and not to get something out of it. Super important. I love that. Don't network to get something out of it. Network to become friends and learn and offer value to people. Yes, that's my number two piece of advice. Number three, it's going to sound like cliche and simple. Take care of your physical and mental health. Yeah, it's. It's. You're screwed without it. You're screwed. And I'm not just on mental health. Like, you know, oh, the depression, the anxiety stuff. I'm talking about, like, read books. Read books. Learn this body, okay? This body and what you and what you have. This is. You're at war as a man. As a man, I can only speak as men. Again, ladies, no offense to you, I know you're at war too, in different ways. But as a man, I leave my home every day and I'm at war from the moment that I leave that home to the moment that I go back to bed. Which is also a reason why my peace is so preserved at my house. If my. If my home is not peaceful, yes, my home is not peaceful, then I don't have a peaceful life anywhere else. So you use this body. This is your. This is your army. This is your man. This is your temple. Okay? But this is what's going to fight your battles. Yeah, your mind. Sharpen this mind. This is the sword. Yeah, this is your sword. You got to sharpen the sword all the time. Read these books, listen to these podcasts, talk to people, learn things. It doesn't necessarily need to be about your industry. Do you want to know what TV I watch? It's all documentaries. I love watching documentaries.

[A]

Why?

[B]

And I love watching historical documentaries, specifically why I learned from history. And we have forgotten so much about history that we. We kind of don't realize we're making the same mistakes over and over again. Yeah, go read about history. Go learn stuff Constantly be sharpening that sword and making sure that your army, this body, is ready for it. Those are my three bits of advice that will literally elevate you and you can become unstoppable. I truly believe that if you actually put the maximal effort into those three things and you actually try. And let's be clear, none of you put in 100%. I maybe got close a couple times. You maybe got close a couple times. You guys think, oh, I'm probably putting in 50% effort. It's probably five facts. Find me a day. You don't watch TV. Find me today. You don't surf social media. Find me a day. You never pick up your phone without needing it. Find me a day that you are a perfect level, optimal operating person. That's 100%. It's impossible. It's impossible. One of my friends, Andrew Tate, one of my brothers in the war room, Okay? I am a member of the war room. I have no problem saying that out loud. Andrew Tate is an absolute machine. This is how this guy operates. I'd say that's the person that I've ever seen or heard of operating at close to 100% level. This guy does not stop. But I wouldn't want to live like that. But if you can operate at a 20 to 50% level, you're outpacing the entire market. You're doing so well that you don't even realize.

[A]

One thing I have to give you, your. Your flowers on Tomo is the fact that you did bring up the war room. You brought up Andrew Tate. You're like, dude, that. Dude. It's on 100% of the time. I think one big thing that's going on, one trend that's going on right now. I don't know if you saw Alex Hermosi's launch. I did his $100 million book launch. And you got half digital marketers in the online world promoting this right now. But you guys got to understand, that thing. Thanks. Right? Is that there's certain people that want to live that lifestyle, that choose to live that lifestyle. Hero, I would say he's. He's a dude that lives.

[B]

That dude.

[A]

100%.

[B]

Him and his wife goes heavy, bro.

[A]

Dude, They're. They're going at it. They're like. They say to themselves, they're like, we're sacrificing everything to be billionaires.

[B]

Right? Great, great example. Great example.

[A]

That's a great example. So you're saying the same thing about Tate, dude. Tate has been able to build wonderful things, dude. He has exploded on the online space. But at the end of the day, guys, does it mean that you have to make match their version of what success is? No, no. I get asked this all the time, dude. They're like, dude, what is your version of what you want in the next two years? And you know what I told him, dude, I was like, we want to try. Not even try. We're going to have our second kid. We're going to start traveling the world as a jet setting family for the next five years until the kids are five or six. And then in the meantime, me and my wife will both get optimized even more in our health. Yeah, that's it. Because now, you know, when women get pregnant and then they see the father or their husband getting optimized, my wife's like, babe, how are you getting fit? And I'm getting bigger. I was like, babe, you are the queen. You're the one taking the sacrifice here.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And it's huge.

[B]

And you appreciate that.

[A]

And I do. I appreciate her so much. But to go back to what you're saying, man, I got to give you your flowers because you brought up a great point. You're like, dude, I'm not trying to be at 100, but if you can just optimize your guys self to push a little bit more, 20%, 50%, I think that's great advice, dude, because it's very reasonable, bro. It's very reasonable.

[B]

It's progress, not perfection. Yes, it's progress, not perfection. You probably know you're not doing it to the level that you could just, just start, just start moving that needle up a little bit, dude.

[A]

And I think for a lot of people, they try to be perfectionist. Yeah, of course they try to be perfectionist. And he actually gets you stuck on analysis paralysis. It actually harms you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you don't want that. Guys, you guys want motion. You guys want to go ahead and get it done.

[B]

Raw action solves all.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Something that I've been told over and over again. Raw action solves all. Most of you analyze too much. Most of you plan too much. Most of you look too far ahead and you don't actually take an action step. Take the steps. Move. Just. Just fucking move.

[A]

Yeah, it's.

[B]

I hate to be so blunt about it. Most of you just won't move.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you're just thinking about it all day. Stop thinking. Take an actionable step and you're. You're going to realize, oh, well, it's kind of, it's kind of coming Clear to the picture, you know? Oh my God. I should have done this earlier. Yeah, you should have.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Stop thinking too much. Do these little steps have a big goal? The goal's up here. The goal. The goal's up here. Make that goal. But man, at least you start making the steps towards that goal. You're not even walking yet.

[A]

Yeah, I love that. I love that. And Tomo, where can everybody find you, brother?

[B]

Yes, you guys can find me on my personal website, Tomo marjanovic.com youm guys can find me on all social media platforms. It's Tomo Marjanovic or Tomo Underscore Marjanovic. My last name is long. I hope that they can spell it properly on here. It's like that big. It's like the whole Alphabet mix.

[A]

We got your brother. We're going to make sure Emilio gets you squared away.

[B]

Yeah, guys, I just, I just launched a. A newsletter, weekly newsletter that I'm doing on Substack. I literally just launched it today. So the first one comes out. Yeah, it's awesome. It's. It's really, really high level stuff and it's, it's going to be updated weekly and it's, it's like, it's like fresh. Yes. So my writers are doing it fresh and then we're. And then we're publishing it out from there. My book launch is coming. Operation Optimal. You'll be able to see that operation optimal.com and you'll see it on my website. And I mean, guys, it's not to sell anything. I don't care. Yeah, don't. Don't patronize any of my businesses.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Aspire Rejuvenation Clinic. Don't patronize. I don't care. But take the information that I give you. Take the information that he gives you and just level up.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely. Level up, guys. Level up with Tomo. So, Tomo, when does your book come out?

[B]

It'll be December of this year.

[A]

Okay, so we got to get you back out on the pod. We're at number two, bro.

[B]

We're going to do it in Puerto Rico at your new studio. Yeah. And then I'm gonna have you come out to Dubai and we'll do it in my new clinic office in Dubai when I open it.

[A]

I'm so down. Yeah, I'm so down, dude. So, guys, there you have it, guys. Man, a lot of gents were getting thrown down on this interview. Guys, you guys need to follow the three massive needle movers that Tomo was talking about. Guys, especially for you younger guys. Or even if you're in your 30s, 40s, or 50s, just move. That's such great advice, guys. And just optimize yourself to kit that 20%, 50%. You don't have to be at 100% all the time, guys. At the end of the day, it's your life. You only have one life to live, and you got to continue to level up, guys. Make sure to surround yourself with people that actually care about you. Make sure to go ahead and listen to the right people that are making the moves. And with that being said, guys, thank you for all the listeners out there. We're about a little bit over 4 million now on a monthly basis. Make sure to leave us a five star review on Spotify, Apple, podcasts, and you YouTube. With that being said, guys, we'll catch you on the next one.