Loading summary
Transcript309 lines
- [00:00]
Interviewer
Most people run to escape something, and Matthew Johnson used to, but now he's running to surrender.
- [00:05]
Matthew Johnson
I spent so many years running from everything, and then now that I finally got to where I am, like, now I'm running to everything. I'm running towards everything.
- [00:14]
Interviewer
18 days, 841 miles, a fractured fibula, and a mission bigger than pain.
- [00:20]
Matthew Johnson
Had this mentality where I was like, I'm not leaving this mother unless my leg is snapped in half or I am dead. There are so many people in this world who will never be able to experience this. So many veterans that don't have legs. So many, you know, so many people that will never. That can't feel their legs, and they'll never understand the type of pain that my feet were giving my body. And I was like, every single step is for them.
- [00:43]
Interviewer
This is Matthew Johnson. It sounds like you spent a lot of your life looking in the rearview mirror, looking over your shoulder, what's going to come after me? Who's going to hit me? Who's going to rear end me? And now what I hear you saying is you're looking through the windshield, you're looking forward, and just charging the path forward. What experiences in your life had you looking in the rear of your mirror, though? Because something must have led to that for sure.
- [01:08]
Matthew Johnson
Like, you know, there was just. And I don't know, you know, there was just things that, like, I thought that I. I thought that I grew up normal and, you know, as I become an adult and as I've learned about, like, what life looks like now, like, it just didn't happen like that. Like, you know, my mom had me when she was 17 and thank God, like, you know, my grandmother had a good job, and my mom was working at a gas station and at a financial place in Des Moines. So she would literally go work a nine to five, come back and then work overnight at the gas station. So I spent a shit ton of time with my grandparents and, or at my aunt and uncle's, and it was like I just kept bouncing around from place to place because my mom was just like, she had to get things done. And then she got into a really bad relationship with her ex husband now and, like, got so bad that my relationship got so bad with my, with my mom that I didn't want to be around this man, that I literally. I moved in with my grandparents. Like, I told my mom, I was 12 years old.
- [02:10]
Friend/Supporter
I don't know.
- [02:11]
Matthew Johnson
It's kind of cool you're here. Hey, how are you? 12? Yeah, I mean, I was 12. And I was like, I was like, I'm not. Like, I'm not going with you.
- [02:16]
Friend/Supporter
Right?
- [02:17]
Matthew Johnson
And I was like, I'm not. Because they wanted. He was traveling, government contractor, he's going to Tennessee. I was like, I'm not going. And because he was abusive and I was trying to get away from that. So then I moved in with my, my grandparents. And then that, like, you know, that was stressful on me as well at the same time because, like, I'm looking at my grandparents and it was like, oh, like, you're not my mom.
- [02:35]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [02:36]
Matthew Johnson
You know, and it's like, you know, that my grandfather is trying to help me do my homework. I'm like, well, you're not my dad. I don't have a dad. Like, I don't need a dad. And you know, like, I remember that, like, mentality. And then I would. I finally made the decision, 15 years old, that I was going to move out there with. With them when they were now in Virginia. Moved out there mentally and physically abusive. And then we moved back to Iowa. And that, like, that abuse kind of followed. You know, the grandparents were falling. Like, my best times were with my grandparents, but it was so sporadic, like, you know, and we were just lucky that like, you know, grandfather was a doctor, grandmother was working as a nurse. Like, I don't even think that, like, we, we wouldn't even. There were so many times I think that like, you know, they were forking over money to me, to my mom to help us. And it just felt like, you know, you're always living in this, like you're nervous, you know, like. And I feel like all of that combination of that environment just kind of led me as an adult. Then you get into the military and you don't know who's going to scream at you, yell at you, beat your ass at any time. And, you know, so then it's like, you know, now I'm 19, 20, 21 years old, like that. And then, you know, I got into this marriage very young. And, you know, when I met my ex wife, I think she was 18 or 19, and I was 21, 22. 22. And it was like we were so young. We just fought all the time and that was normal. Like we loved each other, life was good, but like, it was just fighting at all times. And you know, so then that kind of turned me into an adrenaline junkie started. I was racing. I started. I raced go karts growing up. And then I started racing, like, big, like professionally racing cars, still with a full Time job. It wasn't my full time job, but it was, you know, I was racing with the big guys and, you know, then I was chasing adrenaline. And then I think that that's kind of what led me into the running. But it was the running that flipped the switch from. From all of that to like. Cause I just had a podcast the other day where I said this where I'm like, I spent so many years running 20, 20, 21, 22, where I was running 23, where I was running from everything. And then now that I finally got to where I am, like now I'm running to everything. I'm running towards everything. So it was running that flipped it, but it was all of that that kind of allowed me to, you know, that allowed me, I guess that made me kind of, you know, live in that chaos and toxicity. You know, the. My environment outside of being at my grandparents, my environment was never good.
- [04:58]
Interviewer
No. I heard a story about when you snuck out.
- [05:01]
Matthew Johnson
Yes.
- [05:01]
Interviewer
And then you got back through the window.
- [05:03]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, gosh, I told that on Judd's podcast. Yeah, that was the only podcast I ever talked about that on. So we lived in a double wide trailer in small town, Iowa. And the biggest thing about my mom's ex husband was like, he was very, like, it was always a contest, like, who was the biggest man. And at that point, like I was becoming a man and. And you know, there was a lackluster of love between him and my mom. And my mom cared about me, you know, that's. That's what led to this. And I snuck out one night and I golfed at the time. It's funny because I golfed in high school and I propped the window up with a nine iron and I snuck out the window. One of my friends drove over from the town over we went and hung out with these girls and I come back at 2 o' clock in the morning and climb in my window. It's funny now. It was just not funny in the moment, but it is so funny now because it just like I can't, like my mind has tried to block that out, but like. And I think that's why I kind of laugh it off, to try to make it funny. But I climb in my window and as soon as I'm coming in and I still remember like how my room was set up. He was. My bed was like right here and you know, high school or bed, like it wasn't like on a big frame and he was like standing on my bed. I didn't see him because of the curtains. But as I walk in, he presses a gun right to the temple of my head. And I knew right away, like, what. I knew what it was, and I just stopped, and I just sat there, because I don't. When that happens, you just don't really know what to do. And he was like, you know, you're such a fucking piece of shit. Like, I could. Like, I. And the. The quote was like, what? I. The. Where I remember is, he goes, I could kill you right now. And I could tell. I could tell them that someone was breaking in, or I could tell them that I thought someone was breaking in. And I. And, like, that this was very close to, like, the end of that relationship with them. Like, it was all going south. And I truly thought in that moment, I was like. Like, yeah, this guy. This is the hinge. Like, this is him going. You know, this is. He's off the hinges. Like, this is it. I'm dead. And that was. I think that was the only thing I can remember that was said. And then he just pulled it away and walked out of my room.
- [07:19]
Interviewer
What'd you do after that? Did you tell your mom? Did you go live with Grandma and Grandpa?
- [07:23]
Matthew Johnson
I never told my mom that story. Did you even know that story?
- [07:28]
Friend/Supporter
Yep.
- [07:28]
Matthew Johnson
I didn't tell anybody.
- [07:29]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [07:30]
Matthew Johnson
I didn't tell because I was nervous. I was nervous. I was nervous of the repercussions because, like, within that same time frame, I remember he bashed my mom. Like, I watched him bash my mom's face off of the front of a car, knocked her tooth out. I watched him. And this is all, like, when it was just blowing up. I watched him drag her to her bedroom by her hair and, like, lock the door. And I didn't know what was going on. And, you know, and then in that same time frame, like, my mom OD'd on pills because she was just trying to do anything she could to not live in that environment. And then she was taken away for two to three days and was in a. Was in a hospital. And, you know, I was never mad at her for that, because I knew, you know, at that age, for myself, I was like, she didn't want to be here.
- [08:20]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [08:20]
Matthew Johnson
You know, and, like, you can't rationalize. Oh, my. You know, my kids are here. And, you know, like, the. What are you gonna do? And, you know, I found her literally in the kitchen and face down. And, you know, this was all, like, once that we came back, like, I left Arkansas, went to Virginia once we came back from Virginia, and her her ex husband got back to. To Iowa. Like, just started getting very bad because he was back in, like, the environment. And I don't really know the backstory, but I think that from what I've gathered, like, he was kind of involved in some drug use before we left. And then when we got back, I think he got back into it because now he is completely strung out. Like, he is. The last we know, he was all methed out and he was a massive guy, like 6, 6 4, 300 pounds, like, kind of chubby. He. And. And now, like, I saw him at some point after, like, years later, I saw him like, in this town, and he was skinny.
- [09:16]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [09:17]
Matthew Johnson
And, you know, like, just didn't look like himself at all and was like, talking to me through the. Like. Like life was good. And talking to me through my car window. And I remember, like, calling my mom. I was crying and I'm like, like, what is going on? I'm like 19 at that point. And so I think that, you know, there was just. He was cheating on my mom. And it was just. It was, you know, that's what led me to the military. Because then we get into this, then my mom, you know, he leaves. And within the next couple years, I was probably. I think I was 16 when that. When that actually happened, in 17 to 18. Then my mom kind of starts dating again, and she was, you know, very troubled now that I'm looking back at 30, you know, and just dating the wrong people. And like, was just like. She dated this dude who was stealing pills out of. Out of her pill container, and he was getting all twacked out on pills and. And, you know, this. This other guy who had. This was crazy, had just got out of prison and she was dating him and then he, like, she. I was always like her safety net. And then, like, I had a really bad relationship with her because, like, she would date these guys and then, like, she would get in these bad situations and she would call me and be like, oh, like, help me.
- [10:30]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [10:31]
Matthew Johnson
And I remember a time where she was dating this guy and, like, he was off the trails and, like, locked her, like, locked her in the car and, like, was like, driving her out on, like, back roads and she's texting me and she's like, I don't know if he's gonna kill me or, like. Because she had trauma.
- [10:43]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [10:44]
Matthew Johnson
You know, and then of course I had tr. So then I had all this trauma and, you know, so that's like, still today that I have to work through with, you know. Everything in my life.
- [10:57]
Interviewer
Well, what's interesting is you almost had to become the parent at moments, right? Like, save me from.
- [11:01]
Matthew Johnson
Because I. Because I have a little brother.
- [11:02]
Interviewer
Yeah, yeah, save me. Watch out for the. Your brother and stuff. But yet you still have these incredible core values or things that drive you, right? Like, one of the things that I, I recognize is you seem like a very loyal human being. And so I guess my question would be, do you think the environment you grew up in gave you those core values or did you think your mom and your family instilled those core values into you?
- [11:22]
Matthew Johnson
It was, it was my family, like, because, you know, growing up, you know, being with my grandparents, like, like it was like, family, who is, who is there is so important. And you know, like, like I remember there, like, just conversations where my mom's like, you know, begin these weird conversations when you're 18 years old. My mom's like, yeah, like, you know, you kill somebody, I'm gonna help you hide the body. Like, and it was like, you know, I mean, yeah, it's, it was like, you know, we're all, we are like as a family, we're down. Bad for each other. And it's like, if you do, if you do wrong and it's not that wrong, you know, like, I'll cover for you, you know, like, like that's, that's how I was raised. And you know, I feel like that was, you know, that trickled down from, you know, generations in my family. Because when I look at, you know, my grandparents are the same way. My great grandparents were the same way. Like, it's just small, tight knit community that we lived in, like on the street that, that my grandparents lived on. It was my great great grandmother. And then right next door lived her sister. And then right next door lived one of her daughters who is, who is the sister of my grandmother, you know, like, and then right down the road lived my uncle. And then about two blocks down the road is where my mom and I moved to. You know, like, like we are just, we were all so close. And then I feel like, you know, obviously getting into the military, like, you know, that just reinstills like, you always have the back of the person to the left and right of you and you know, having that base foundation and then getting in the military and really realizing like, like what brotherhood and sisterhood is. That that really, you know, built that, you know, I had the foundation and then we built the house on, on, you know, the core values. Because even now I'll tell this story because I know that my manager told it to somebody. She reached out to me. No, I had a friend that was like, hey, you need to hire a manager. When I hit, you know, I started hitting. I hit, like, 100K on social media. And he's like, this is my manager. I'm like, cool. So I get on a call, and, like, I didn't even read the contract. Like, she's nice lady, like, has, like, two girls, I think, lives in San Diego. And she's like, yeah, you know, like, I built organifi. You familiar with Organifi? She built their influencer platform to millions and millions of dollars in revenue. And she's like. Then I just decided I want to do it on my own. I'm like, cool, you're hired. Like, I didn't look at the contract. I just signed it, and I just moved on three months in. Like, we didn't have a single deal. And she's on the phone with me, and she's. And I still remember exactly where I was at. And she's like, she's on the phone. She's like, you need to find somebody else. She's like, I can't. I can't. I'm trying. And she goes, I just. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. She's like, I can't. I can't get you a deal. And I'm like, that. I'm like, we are like. Like, this is. We're gonna figure it out. And I didn't realize that that. That hit her so hard until we talked about it the other day. And she's like, you know, she's like, I tell people that story, you know, because there we went from zero to. We went from zero to $50,000 a.
- [14:19]
Interviewer
Month in a year when she already told you, find someone else. I can't do this. But you still wanted to bet on her.
- [14:25]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. Yeah. Because I was like. Because at that point, I was like, no. Like, I was like. And that's kind of where I realized that apparently not everyone's like that. Because I was like, no. I was like, we. Like, we made a deal. Like, we're going to make this work together. And, you know, same thing with my assistant. Like, I hired this assistant. And, you know, it was like, oh, like, you know, you hired this accountant. The accountant can do this. And the accountant sends invoices. And, like, do you need the assistant? You know, back in. And I was like, you know, we were talking on the way here, and, like, Hannah hit me up on Instagram. I Put out. I was like, hey, like, might need a virtual assistant. And Hannah hit me up. I was like, hey, I'll work for you. And I was like, you know, she's like, 10 bucks an hour. And I'm like, cool. This is like a year ago. And, you know, I hired her and I was paying her, like, 50 bucks a month. And then, you know, that turned into 500, and then it turned into a thousand, and she learned how to be an assistant. But, like, at times it was like, I don't need this assistant.
- [15:21]
Friend/Supporter
Right?
- [15:21]
Matthew Johnson
But I was like, why are you already committed to this person? Like, and she's. You know. So I was like, when you become my. When you're my people, like, you are. You're always my people, right? Like, I know. I know when I decide that I make it, like, I know who's going to be there with me. And. And then you attract people like that, and, you know, that's, like, probably going way forward here. But just to say, you know, to make a reference. Like, I talked to. I was talking to Jelly, and Jelly told me. He's like, when I got a prison, he's like, I bought a van. And he was like, I was going to go on tour. And he's like, I was going to figure it out. He's like, I knew I could rap. He's like, I was going to figure it out. And he goes. I went around to all my friends, and I was like. I was like, get in this van. I was like, we're going to. We're going to do it. And, like, literally his words, he's like. He's like, I think it was 13 of them got in that van, and he goes, in. All 13 of them are now rich.
- [16:12]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [16:13]
Matthew Johnson
You know, and like, that. Like, it's that vibe right there. Like, it's like, who is down with me? Like, you know, if you're down with me, you're gonna work for me. And you want $10 an hour?
- [16:24]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [16:25]
Matthew Johnson
Okay.
- [16:26]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [16:26]
Matthew Johnson
You know, like. Like, my manager worked for free day and night, trying to get me deals for four or five months, and then now. Now she's making ten grand a month.
- [16:34]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [16:35]
Matthew Johnson
You know, like. Like, that. That is so important to me. Like, my friends. Like, my friends are important to me. Yeah.
- [16:43]
Interviewer
Like, one of your best friends is your. Your content guy, your video guy.
- [16:46]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, literally. I have. I have one other friend, like. Like, I have my adult friend Jamie from back home who I, like, became friends with through racing. And, like, that's like, my adult best friend. But When I look at Drew, like, Drew's the, like, the best friend that I've ever had in my life.
- [17:02]
Interviewer
The ride or die.
- [17:03]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. Yeah. Like. Like, I include him on things, and it's like, you know, are you in or are you out? And it's like, well, I'm out. And it's like, no, you're already in. Like, like, everything. Like, even. Even including him on the. You know, I had already, like, if. I'm like, hey, if I'm going to start this company, I'm like, you're going to get 25% equity because you're going to be the content guy and blah, blah, blah. And he's like. He's like, I don't know. Like, he's like, maybe I'd rather just like, get paid for the. You know. And I'm like, no, dude, you're already in. I'm like, you're like. Like, you don't have a choice. You're already in.
- [17:37]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [17:37]
Matthew Johnson
And, yeah, I mean, that was. That was a cool. Because he used to work for bpn, and, you know, I was very selfish with that relationship at first because I was like, I need this guy.
- [17:48]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [17:48]
Matthew Johnson
And. But he did the same thing to me that I would do to others because he. During that time, you've definitely done your research. So, you know, when I was sleeping on the floor and I had no.
- [18:02]
Interviewer
Money but a California King sheet, but I did.
- [18:06]
Matthew Johnson
And then I got my. I had my California King, um, going into August of 23. Like, I. I had no money, and I hit him up, and I was like, hey, I'm like, I'm gonna go do the Leadville 100. I'm like, I need somebody to. To shoot this. We had shot before. We had met four or five times. We had shot once. Like, we'd never hung out, right? We had shot once. And I'm like, hey, like, I need someone to come out. And he's like, okay. And I was like, he, I, I. I want him to podcast about shit like this because it is so funny to hear him talk about it. I had this, like, $500 brand deal from this CBD rub, and I was like, I got a $500 deal. I'm like, you come out and like, you know, I'll get. Then they'll pay me the 500, and I'll pay you the 500. And for some reason, he said, yeah. And I don't even know why, because at the time, like, he's making thousands of dollars off of. Off of, you know, you know, Day rates, right? And he came out and he stayed in Airbnb. I put seven people in like a two bedroom Airbnb because I had no money and I couldn't pay for anybody to come out. Like, I just paid for the Airb. And he didn't charge me a single dollar. Like we did that race. He didn't charge me, you know, to, to drive out. He didn't charge me to shoot. We made. We made. We had content the day before, we had content the day of. We had content the day after. He didn't charge me anything because he knew in that moment, like, I didn't have. I didn't have it right. But I'm hoping. And I don't know because, like, he is very. Like, he's not emotional at all. Like, I'm. I'm emotional at all. So, like, if I had this conversation with him, he'd be like, shut the fuck up. Like, don't talk to me about it. But, like, I think that, I think he knew where, where I was going. And the same thing as, you know, I think now of, of Nick Daniel who hit me up. And he was like. I remember having. I remember right where I was when I was running, when we had the conversation is he goes, I know you're gonna. I know you're. Because he wanted to, like, me to hire him full time to Drew is all of my big, big, big stuff, right? I needed the guy for like the little things, like the reels. And Nick's like, I want to do that. He goes, I don't care what the price is. He goes, I know where you're going. And, you know, and then we settled on what the price was in the, you know, to make YouTube videos, to do some ad revenue split so we didn't have to pay so much up front because, you know, he, like, he's like, I know, I know you're going to get there.
- [20:25]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [20:26]
Matthew Johnson
And like, it's like, it's. Those are the only people I want.
- [20:29]
Interviewer
People that bet on you because you're betting on yourself.
- [20:31]
Matthew Johnson
Yes. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And people that are like, you know, that come to me and they're like, hey, let's do it this way. Because I know where you're going. Because I know for sure. I know I can point at every single person. And I know, like, I don't even know what I'm gonna do to get there, but I'm gonna get to that point where I have so much money that I don't know what to do with. And All I'm gonna use it for is to take care of people 100.
- [20:54]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [20:54]
Matthew Johnson
Like, like, like that's what I want to do. And I don't, I don't know how I'm gonna get there, but I just know in my heart, like, I'm that type of person that, like, whether even they need it or not, like, Drew does. Drew's dad, Drew has so much knowledge on investing and, you know, he does all of this type, like, he don't need, he don't need nothing. But, like, I know for sure that it's like, hey, in that moment, like, what do you need? What can I give you? Like, you were there, you know, like, and yeah, I mean, yeah, like, that's like we had this random conversation yesterday where I was like, yeah, you know, talking to my grandfather, who's here right now, and I'm like, yeah, like, you know, if you move down, I'm like, if you, if it's in five years, I could definitely float you. You know, we could do like, the down payment to make sure you guys can get down here. And then, you know, like, whether do they need it? No, but, like, how, how can I help in that moment? Cause I'm like, five years from now, I'm like, I'm like, like, if I, if I 10x my yearly income in, in a year, can I 500x that in, in five? Yeah, because I've already seen it's possible, so I'm not scared.
- [21:52]
Interviewer
Yeah, well, what's cool about that is I believe that our life is in direct proportion to the quality of questions we ask ourself. And so you're asking yourself questions of like, who do I have to become? Who do I have to meet? Like, I know it's possible. The question is just who do I have to become on this journey so that I can bring grandma and grandpa down so I can bring my friends along on the journey.
- [22:10]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [22:11]
Interviewer
How in the hell did you meet Jelly Roll?
- [22:14]
Matthew Johnson
Dude? The grace of God is crazy. So I, I, I get this random in 2023 when I'm like grinding on social media and I'm like, I'll coach, you know, ultras, marathons. Like, I have these accolades. I get this guy, he books a call, I hop on the call and I'm talking to him. He's like, yeah. Like, he goes, I want to run. I want to run around the island of Bali. And at the time, like, I didn't even have a multi day event like, in my head. And I'm like, oh, yeah, dude, Like, I coach you to that, you know? And this is 23. And he wanted to do it in 23. And. And he's like, you know, my training's kind of rough. He's like, I'm on. You know, I'm on tour. And I was like, oh, like, you're in a band. I'm like, that's cool, bro. You know, like, just singing this little, like, rock band.
- [22:54]
Friend/Supporter
And.
- [22:54]
Matthew Johnson
And he's like, no. He goes, I just recently won Chef of the Year for the ufc. And he's like. And I also. I'm personal chef to Jelly Roll. That was. That was literally the exact sound I made where I was like. I was like, why are you calling me? You know, like. And even to the point, he was my very first ever client that paid six months up front.
- [23:16]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [23:17]
Matthew Johnson
And I was like, okay. And that was the last time he ever paid me, you know, because, like, we. Then we became buds, and that was 23 into 24. So he ended up not being able to run around Bali in 23. Got busy with tour. 24 got busy with tour. He hits me up. We chat maybe once every two, three months. He hits me up in January, and he's like, yo. He's like, jelly's on this weight loss journey. He wants to lose weight. He's kind of playing with the idea of actually training for this 5k down in Tampa that he did last year. He goes, he also wants to launch, like, a run club. And he's like, I think that you'd be, like, this great person that we can ping ideas off of. He's like, would you be willing to hop on a call? And I'm like, oh, yeah, for sure. Like, thinking it's like, with Ian, right? And so then I get this. This email of, you know, five different people, and sure enough, there is a Jason Deford on this email. And I'm like, oh, my God. Like, that's Jelly roll. So it's 8pm Amanda's sitting up in our office, and she's like this with her phone. She's, like, recording me sitting at the computer. And. And sure enough, pop, pop, pop. Everyone pops in. Jelly pops in. And we had a one on one. Like, everyone was on the call from his team, but we had a one on one conversation, just him and I. It's like, how do we build this? He's like, I want to run club, but, like, how do I do it? So came up this idea. I'm like, let's do Strava. And then now he's Like a fiend for Strava. Like. Cause he doesn't have a phone and he doesn't have social. Like, he does. He doesn't run on social media, but he's. If someone is saying something on Strava, it's Jelly. And so then we launched this run club with Strava and immediately overtakes Diplo's run club, overtakes every run club on Strava outside of the Strava Run club that has a million people in it. I think it's up to 80, 90,000 right now. And so then Ian comes up with this idea, and he's like, hey. He's like. Ian is like. Jelly's, like, built in best friend as well. Like, always. Like, you know, the team stays at hotels. Ian stays at Jelly's house. Like, they're just. They're close, and. And they train together. And, you know, because Ian. Ian trains, like. He trains top UFC fighters. Like, just got Belial Muhammad, who the UFC guy just recently lost, unfortunately, Ian. But Ian was out there with him, you know, so he had to leave. So he's like, hey, I have this idea. He's like, how about you come down to Nashville? He goes, we'll put you up in a hotel. And he goes, we'll get you to meet Jelly. And he's like, if you guys hit it off, he's like, then when I leave for Belial's fight camp, he's like, you can come in and then you can train one on one with Jelly, and then we'll bring another chef in, and he can just chef it up. My cool. So we get down there, and Jelly got sick, and I'm in the hotel, and I'm like. I'm like, I'm not gonna be able to meet him. Like, I brought Amanda down, and he was supposed to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, and we were gonna, you know, meet him and then go. And he didn't. He, like, backed out of the Opry, so now we don't have Opry tickets. And Amanda was so excited. And sure enough, like, we ended up that Thursday night was the Opry. He got us, like, row five tickets to the Opry, and we got to go sit at the Grand Ole Opry the Hundred Year. And he didn't even. Like, he wasn't even able to perform. He was so sick. But he. But he got us tickets. And the next day we went in, I met him, we vibed out. We just sat down. We were watching. There's March Madness, basketball. Like, we're Just chilling me and his whole team. And, you know, we chatted and sure enough, he wanted me to come out on tour. And so that was March, April 1st, I left for Hawaii for a wellness retreat that Amanda has, a wellness retreat company. And I landed in LA on the way back and immediately drove to Beverly Hills, stayed in this $37 million mansion and was with Jelly for like four weeks.
- [26:57]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [26:58]
Matthew Johnson
And. And toured. We went everywhere. Like, I went to. Gosh, I went to Nashville. Like, private jetting from Nashville to Vegas and Salt Lake City, Utah, on the Post Malone tour and Stagecoach and American Idol. I was literally backstage at American Idol. It was like I had this. It was really cool for me. I'd love to share this. I was sitting in the bedroom. It was a top bedroom overlooking the entire city of la. Like, we are in the house, like right next to LeBron. And I don't know, you know, I think that everyone in their life has the moment of like, I made it. And by like, and I mean, like has the moment multiple times through their life. And I'm sitting up there, it's nighttime, and I'm getting ready to put all the shades down because it's like glass to floor windows. And I'm looking out the whole city, the craziest view I've ever seen. And I was like, I made it. Like, that was my first like, I made it moment. Like, I'm sitting in this multi million dollar Beverly Hills, I mean, being employed by Jelly Roll. I don't have a job. Like an actual. I don't have a real job anymore. And I'm making money from my, like, like every. Like, this is it, I made it. And I just remember in that moment, there were. There was no confetti, there was no claps, there was no good job, you did it. And that was where I was like, you know, that was where I went back to my faith. And I'm like. Because it wasn't a sad moment. I was still happy. But then I kind of sat there and I'm like, that's kind of weird. Like, you know, that's where I went back to my faith. And I'm like, you know, it's not about pursuing things within the world. Like, to me, like, it's about keeping that same relationship with God and keeping that relationship of, you know, I'm not chasing things of the world. I'm chasing the end game.
- [28:36]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [28:37]
Matthew Johnson
And, you know, but it was just. That was such a cool moment that I had for me while I was out there.
- [28:42]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [28:42]
Interviewer
Well, it's this concept called the rival fallacy. We think that when we get the thing, when we get the house, we get the view. Like, the clouds will part, the streamers will go off, the band will be playing, life will be good.
- [28:54]
Matthew Johnson
I was like, where's the confetti at? Like, what the heck?
- [28:56]
Interviewer
But what we recognize on that journey most often is it's the people we're on the journey with that is far more important than the destination where we're going to. And we find way more pride and way more joy in the actual journey. And so, like, what it sounds like to me is you're enjoying this entire journey of whether it's flying on a private jet with jelly roll or it's meeting Amanda and then going and watching the Eagles game. Like, you just are enjoying life.
- [29:19]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [29:20]
Interviewer
So then you decide to run 842 miles, 841, from one side of Texas to the other side of Texas. What. What got into you that you thought that was a good idea?
- [29:30]
Matthew Johnson
I have no idea. Like. Like, I. Like, I can't even. I've been asked that question. Like. Like, how'd you come up with this idea? I don't remember. 2023. September.
- [29:38]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [29:38]
Matthew Johnson
I broke my leg in, like, four different areas. Not, like, compound fracture, but I had. I had four. I had three grade four stress fractures, which is almost surgical to the point to where it was like, oh, like, this isn't just leg pain anymore. Like, I cannot run at all.
- [29:54]
Interviewer
But. But let's be clear. You had that pain while you were running in a race in first place.
- [30:00]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [30:00]
Interviewer
And then quit the race only after the guy behind you passed you.
- [30:05]
Matthew Johnson
Yes. So, yeah, it sounds bad when you say it like that, but that is how it happened.
- [30:10]
Interviewer
But, I mean, you weren't. It wasn't just like, oh, I have leg pain. I can't run. Like, you were running in a race and winning.
- [30:15]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. So if. If I can fast track, backtrack and then fast track. I broke it at Iron man when I. What happened was, is I did. I did a marathon. I won the BPN marathon on Saturday. Nope. I won the BPN marathon on Sunday. The next Saturday, I went to Houston and raced Ironman, Texas. My goal was to go sub 3 in the Marathon and sub 12 in the Ironman in the same week because no one had ever done that. And I won the Marathon254. And then I went. I PR'd my Ironman in, like, 10 hours and some change. No training for Iron man, by the way. Like, not to, like, toot my own horn. But I didn't. Like, my swim was an hour and a half. Like, that is horrible. I've done an iron man in 72 minutes. This one was an hour and a half. Like, it was just not going good. But I made up for it on the run. Mile 25 of a 26.2 mile marathon. I. My leg hit the ground and I. And I knew something broke because I felt this. Like, it felt like lightning. Like if whatever lightning would strike, you would feel like I felt it come up from the bottom of my. From the bottom of my foot into my hip and I limped it all the way in, finished. The Iron man was standing there, stepped off of a curb and then literally like sat down. And I'm pretty sure I went to the medical tent. Yeah, yeah, I went. They were there. It was so cool. Went to the medical tent and they put me on crutches. That's April, May, June, July. I kind of like let that heal. But really, you know. Yeah. And like, but, but to the point to like where. So what happened was, is I, and I know this now because of the X ray. I didn't have insurance because I didn't realize when you get out of the military, because remember, I just got a military in February. I didn't realize when you get out of the. I thought you carry tricare forever. You should have seen me, like when I called them. And I'm like, hey, like, why is my insurance inactive? And they're like, you're not in service, you don't have insurance. And I'm like, you don't get this forever. And they're like, no. And I'm like, well, that's a fucking bullshit deal. Like, okay, yeah, so I have insurance, so I couldn't go to the doctor because I have no money, right? Because right when I got back from Iron man is when I sold the Iron man bike and I moved into the house and stuff on the floor. Like, this is all at the same time. So like, to the point to where I completely straight through, fractured my fibula and then just kind of kept training on it, like to the point where like I would squat and it would feel like my leg was going to bust out. And then I was like, oh, like, gross. So would still kind of run on it. But what happened was I changed my gait. And because I changed my gait, I was now training for the Leadville 100. While training for Leadville, I was fracturing the tibia because I was changing my gait and I was Putting so much stress on the tibia. So I raced that 100 miler from what the doctor said, because I finally did go to the doctor with two stress fractures in the tibia and a now healed up not correctly fracture in the fibula. Raced 100 miles, get done with 100 miles. Then I got this opportunity. Leg still hurts. To go race the Bronx 10 miler with the pros. New balance was gonna take me out there. Okay. Like, you can't say no to that. So I go out and I'm like, I just ran 100. And I ran a 54 minute 10 miler.
- [33:22]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [33:23]
Matthew Johnson
Like, I placed, like, top 100 in New York City. And. But in that race, unfortunately, the same exact thing that happened in April, I stepped in a pothole at, like, mile eight, and I felt that shock again. But then I already had this hundred on the schedule, so I don't run at all. And we get to this hundred, and, like, I knew I had a chance at winning this race. And I could not fathom. For me, that's when we came up with the saying. And I don't know if I came up with it, but I came up with it to say it out loud. It was risk over regret. And that was kind of what Drew and I had talked about, because Drew was going out there, and I was like, I'd rather risk it than regret not winning.
- [34:03]
Friend/Supporter
Right.
- [34:04]
Matthew Johnson
And we get out there. Yeah. I led the entire thing to mile 75. And by and by. Let me back up. The day before, we were trying to film a shakeout run video, like, a hype video. And I couldn't even run. And I was literally praying to God, I'm like, please, like, please, please, please just heal me. And I went out and adrenaline, God, I don't know. And I ran 75 miles. But by the time I hit 75, like, I remember I called my mom crying at 50. Like, I was bawling, sobbing on the phone because I'm like. And I was trying. I was calling friends to try to be like, what the hell do I do? Yeah, Like, I'm winning. Like, do I stop? Like, I know it's broke. Like, I know it's just messed up. And I couldn't. I couldn't stop until I, like, until I literally. I was dragging the right leg because my hips were getting so messed up because I was trying to compensate. And I broke the leg like it was. And then I got back and went to the hospital. We got the X rays, and they're like, you're like, she's like. She's like, when was your race? And I was like, Saturday, and this was Monday. And she's like, this has been broken for a very long time. And she's like, do you see the calcium deposit over here, which you can literally feel? And I'm like, yeah. She's like, yeah, that's because you broke this at some point, and then you never let it. And I'm like, thinking in my head, I'm like, yeah, I broke it in, you know, April. And so. But the problem is, with me, what we have found out is through genetic testing and through body spec, doing DEXA scans, I have a very low bone density, and that's natural to me. And I as well, I have military. I have scoliosis from the military. I lean left. And so what that does is my low bone density and my leaning left puts more pressure on the left leg. So I'm very susceptible to injuries in the left leg.
- [35:43]
Interviewer
How do you combat that now?
- [35:44]
Matthew Johnson
I don't. I mean. I mean. I mean, I take. I take a lot of supplements. I do a lot of peptides, you know, to help with bone healing. Um, I'm taking calcium and K2 every single day. I'm just, you know, trying to slowly, you know, not. If I ramp up the mileage too quickly, I'm gonna. I'm gonna break my. And I just need to. Which we'll get into. Like, my training now on how I'm trying to. To defeat that. But. So I sit down, and this is the pivotal moment that everything changed. Like, this is September to where I'm getting ready to meet Amanda. You know, all right, I already met Amanda, but getting ready to go on this date with her. So I sit down, and I'm like, I'm done. Like, that's it. Because at that point, my only identity was running. That was it. All my content, everything was running. All I knew how to do was run. Because I'd spent that whole year running from everything. And I feel like that was. I always say this. I'm like, I don't believe that. That. That God will hurt you. But the more that I've learned about Jesus, I kind of believe that he's a jokester, and he'd kick you in the shin to sit you down. And I had to sit for September, October, November, December, January, and for five months. And in that five months, I met with Matt Choi, a very good friend of mine, who is a great storyteller. And I remember we're still sitting. We're sitting at SunLife Organics. And I'm like, I'm emotional as fuck. I'm like, bro, like, what do I do? You know? Like, this is my job. And he's like, you need to learn how to tell stories. He goes, all you do is post about running and post about doing these hard things, but you need to learn how to tell stories. And he told me this, and I think this is one of the greatest things I. I have ever been told. He's like, on social media, he's like, you need to be able to tell story A, B, C, D. And he's like, a can be doing hard things, B can be motivation, C can be education, and D could be comedy. And he goes. And you go, abcd. Abcd. And you're hitting four different audiences.
- [37:34]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [37:34]
Matthew Johnson
And I took that, and I ran with it. And that's from. And then from September to October, February. February is when I had my first banger. It took me four months of just grinding down on that. And I had one bang in February. I had another one bang in February, and I went to 100k from 60, and, you know, I just doubled down. I was like, hell, yeah. I was like, we're gonna tell stories. I just started being the funny guy. I was like. I was like, I'm not gonna be this. Like, I wanted. I didn't want to be. I never wanted to be an influencer, but I was like. I was just copying what everyone else is doing, you know, like. And then I'm like, no. I was like, I am so unique. I'm like, I. I have lived so many lives. I'm gonna be the funny guy. I'm gonna show the military humor. I'm gonna bring comed space or to the. To the ultra running space, because it's so freaking serious all the time.
- [38:15]
Friend/Supporter
Right?
- [38:15]
Matthew Johnson
And that's what I did. And I just leaned into that. It was like, motivation, comedy motivation. And I just. I kind of did, too. Education. A little bit. Motivation, comedy education. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. And it would just slowly trickle. And I got those two reels that just blew up. One for 10 mil and one for, like, four in the same week. And once that that happens, everything else snowballs.
- [38:36]
Interviewer
And then you're like, I'll just run across Texas.
- [38:38]
Matthew Johnson
Yes. So, sorry, I skipped over that. So September 11th.
- [38:42]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [38:43]
Matthew Johnson
I had this idea. 2023. I texted this idea to Drew. No, to Bobby Dautrick, owner of Ax and Sledge, a supplement company. And I was like, I want to run across the state of Texas and He. And. He. And I sent this to Bobby and to Drew, and Bobby's like, you're a logistical nightmare. That was the exact message, Drew. I go. I go, I want to be the first person to run across Texas. Drew goes, that dude, that sounds so cool, but it's already been done. And I'm like, shit. I'm like, okay. I'm like, how long? Like, you know, and then I came up with the idea that I never, ever released to the public. The. The. The goal that I had is I was like, I want to be the fastest person to do it. But then I had a meeting with another friend who very business. His name C.J. finley. And he's like. He's like, you can't just approach this with this idea of, like, I want to set the record. He goes, it just. It doesn't even look right. He goes, it looks arrogant. He goes, you need to have, like, an emotional why? He goes, what's your emotional why? Like. Like, what could you do with this? I was like, well, I could raise money for charity because I've been doing that the last three years, doing an American flag run on the Fourth of July. And I was like. He's like, okay. He's like, who'd you do the run for last year? I was like, valor fit. And he goes, do you? Like, is that an organization you truly resonate with? I was like, they put veterans into fitness, and fitness changed my life, so. Yeah.
- [39:59]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [40:00]
Matthew Johnson
And he's like, cool. He goes, then your why needs to be valor fit. And then your why of I want to set the fastest known time needs to be very personal. And he goes. And then. So I walked away with that. I was like, personal, private. I was like, if we're gonna make this about valorfit, we're not gonna speak about it. But I'll tell you what, it was all we talked about while we were out there. Like, it was like, how close to the record are we? Am I below it or behind it or, you know, like. But it was always about raising money for the vets. So, yeah, I put it out there. I don't remember when I first put it out there, but I think it was. I think it was April, because we were in Hawaii April 24th, and I just, like. I was like, I'm gonna run across the state of Texas to raise money for valorfit. And, yeah, I spent all summer, you know, I. I did a. I did the BPN overnight. I did the 50 miler in June of 24. Went, like, seven hours, which is just crazy. Elite accidentally almost ran a sub 4 for the first marathon or a sub 3. Like, I almost went sub 3 in the marathon in this trail because I was following Mitch Ammons like the greatest athlete in Austin, and he was trying to kill me. And then, yeah, I went straight into training and, you know, ran, gosh, 80, 90, 110, 130, 150, 150, 150 per. And that's in six days. So those were my weeks. I would rest on Sundays because I was trying to heal the body. And then I fucked my leg up again. And that was a story that we also did not talk about until after because I didn't want any excuses to be seen beforehand. Against all medical advice, every single person, PTs, doctors, physical, everyone told me not to run this race. Like, not to run this run. Everyone was like, do not. Do not do it. I went and got an image in Dallas. Drove all the way to Dallas because they had a hour turnaround where they would read your image to you. Still don't have insurance? I still don't have insurance right now. We're working on it. Yeah. And paid 700 bucks for an MRI. Got MRI. And I had three spots of severe bone edema, which is what precedes a stress fracture. So what that means is that's like a stress fracture is coming. They diagnosed me with Achilles tendonitis, and I had severe fluid on the ankle that was all in the left leg. So what we did is during my peak week, which is what science says is should be your biggest week before your race, I took a zero. I didn't run whatsoever. I didn't even. I didn't bike. I didn't do. No. I just went and lifted weights at the gym. And by lifted weights, I mean I just went there to feel good and rolled a zero. The next week I ran. So the week before that, I got hurt. I only ran 30 because I went 150, 150 injured. So I ran 30, then I ran 0, then I ran 70, 30, and then. And then I towed the line. But it was. It was really hard because I was like, man, do we delay it? But if. But if we delay it, then I'm gonna. You know, I'm. It's gonna give me anxiety, and, you know, I'll know if. If it would have been okay. And I'm like. At some point, I was like, bro. I was like, it. But there's another story behind this that I told on the Meat Mafia podcast. That was like, my first. What I feel like was like, my encounter with God. And what happened was, is I made a promise with God that I said, I'm never, ever gonna make fitness my idol. Like, I was like, I'm just not. Like, I'm. I did that in 23, and I started to do it again in 24. So as I started to do it again, I had this. I had this vision, and I was running down the road, and it was almost like a TV just came over my eyes. And it's like 115 degrees outside, like, and I'm running on the side of a highway. Like, this is crazy shit. And I see myself getting out, and I'm not like, I can't. I'm never. I always say this. I'm never going to tell someone that they need to believe in God, but I'll tell you about all of my experiences. What you want to do with that is up to you.
- [43:52]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [43:52]
Matthew Johnson
You know, so, like, I had this. It was like a tease. Like a. Like the virtual reality where I was literally there and it's me stepping out of the van, and I was like. And I'm. There's a group of people, and I was like, what you are about to see is not of me, but of God. Came back and I'm crying. Like, I came. Like, I came, like, back, and I'm. I'm. Tears in my eyes. Like, I'm crying down my face. I'm like, what the hell? And when I really reanalyzed that, that exact saying is. You've heard me speak for the last hour. I don't talk like that. That's when I was like, holy crap. That next morning is when I stepped out of bed and I couldn't. I couldn't walk. That's when I went and got there, you know, and that's when I found that things were wrong. So I really felt like this run was more. More about. I can't tell you how many times I told that story to people that came out. I had hundreds of people that came out on the route, and I told them all because I felt like that's what I needed to do. And, you know, whether it was spreading the message of God. Like, I don't know. I just. I just do what I think is right. And, you know, we were talking about this other day, and I'm like, if. If I'm doing it wrong, I'll face it when I get there.
- [44:58]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [44:59]
Matthew Johnson
You know, but right now, I think that this is right.
- [45:01]
Interviewer
So was there ever a moment during the run where you didn't Think you were gonna make it?
- [45:08]
Matthew Johnson
No, but there was a moment during the run that I. You'll see this weekend. I'm sure you'll watch the. The documentary. It starts with this. I get into the van, and life was good. People ran with me. You know, we get to the. It was like, day we were in Midland, day 6, 7, 8, or 9 somewhere. They all ran together. I get into the van. I, you know, high fived everybody. Thanks for running with me. And I get in the van, and I sit down, and I instantly just. I broke. Fucking boohooing, sobbing. And even, like, Drew tells a story that, like, Drew was like. He's like, I had to point the camera at you, and, like, I couldn't even look. He's like, I couldn't. Because he was like. It was just. He's like, you were. You were making us all just. And Amanda's like, what's wrong? And I'm like, this isn't even hard, but it is the most pain I've ever been in. In my life. And it was in that moment, my. My as a human, I was rationalizing that there. I was never going to exit that pain until I hit that finish line. And I think I was just releasing those emotions of, like. Because the quitting was never an option, right? And that was. That was the. That was the. The breaking point of, like, I'm never. It's. This isn't gonna end. It's just gonna be painful until I'm done.
- [46:30]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [46:31]
Interviewer
It might take 18 days. It might take 88 days.
- [46:33]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, I'm finished. Yeah. And that. And that was, like, something I still remember. Drew posted that on my story. He took over my Instagram, posted on my story the night before, and he said, October 1st, until we're done. Because, like, that was the mentality. It was like, until we're done. And I. And I told everybody, I said. I said, when we're done, like, if shit goes south, I'm like, drew. Or I was like, rob the crew chief. I go, you're the first one to leave. I'm like, drew, Then you leave. And then Marcus and Amanda, my little brother and my girlfriend at the time, like, you guys can fight over who's the next person to leave, because we're. We're.
- [47:06]
Interviewer
We're not.
- [47:07]
Matthew Johnson
We're going. Like, I'm not. I'm not. I was like, I'll fucking. I'll die out here. And I. And I met. People say that shit all the time, and it makes me cringe, you know, when they're like, you know, I'm going to die or quit and for like 100 miles. But like, no, like, I, like I had this mentality where I was like, I'm not leaving this motherfucker until unless my leg is snapped in half or I am dead. And I feel like because I had that true mentality, because I had the why. Like, I just kept telling myself, like, it, like, there are so many people in this world who will never be able to experience this. So many veterans that don't have fucking legs. So many, you know, so many people that will never, that can't feel their legs and they'll never understand the type of pain that my feet were giving my body. And I was like, every single step is for them. Whether that sounds cringey or not. I was just telling myself that every single day. I'd make myself cry every single morning as the sun rose. Because when the sun would rise, you'd get a little, you know, emotional. But I would like. And then I would think, like, don't forget why. Like, I would think about all of that and I would, every morning I'd make myself cry. Just me out there, you know, like, like 7 o' clock in the morning, Texas sunrise, just running. And I, yeah. And I would just, I would just keep hammering it to myself of why I'm doing it.
- [48:21]
Interviewer
You've done it all. You've built the business, you've made the money. You conquered the grind. You're the lone wolf. And yeah, that got you here. But let's be real, it won't take you to the next level. The truth Most successful people don't hunt alone. They join a tribe, a network of elite entrepreneurs, investors or leaders who challenge them, push them and hold them accountable to their biggest goals. Gobundance is that tribe. Extreme accountability, real wealth building, life changing adventure. And a brotherhood who refuses to let each other play small. So here's the challenge. Stay the lone wolf or run with the pack. The right tribe changes everything. Find a link in the description apply today. This episode is brought to you by Loletta Birnbaum llc. Doing business justice if you're a business owner, entrepreneur, real estate investor, or a combination of each, you know how critical it is to have trusted legal advisors on your team. Liletta Birnbaum has built a stellar reputation providing exceptional legal services that make a difference. As a national business law firm, Loletta Birnbaum provides a wide variety of legal services including general corporate contract negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, intellectual property, commercial litigation, shareholder disputes, real estate and employment. Whether you're navigating a complex business deal, resolving disputes or protecting your brand, their team delivers practical, results driven legal solutions tailored to your goals. For inquiries, GoBundance members should email Loletta Birnbaum at gobundancealeletta.com that's L A U L E. You can also visit their website at www.lau lettta.com to learn more about how they can do your business justice. This episode is brought to you by Apex Functional Health, the team behind Age Defying Health Ecobundance if you're a high achieving entrepreneur, investor or leader, you know that your health is your greatest asset. But the truth is, traditional medicine isn't built for people like you. It treats symptoms, ignores root causes, and keeps you stuck in cycles of fatigue, stress and subpar performance. That's where Apex comes in. They do not do band aids. They engineer elite health transformations for men, women and children looking to optimize their health and be proactive instead of reactive. Apex uses root cause functional medicine, advanced lab testing and cutting edge biohacking tools to help you optimize energy, eliminate the root cause holding you back, and reverse early signs of aging so you can live, feel and perform at your best. APEX helps you take control of your health so you can lead with power, not burnout. Visit apexfunctionalhealth.com to schedule your free strategy call and see what's possible when your body finally works for you, not against you. What's slowing your business down is it endless emails, scheduling headaches, repetitive tasks that steal your time? My outdesk has your solution. Their experienced global virtual assistants handle the busy work so you can focus on strategy, growth and whatever matters to you most. From administrative support to marketing and customer service. They've got you covered at a fraction of the cost of hiring in house. Scale smarter, save bigger, get the support you need. Today at my outdesk, you're gonna start in Oklahoma. You're gonna run all the way to the south of Texas.
- [51:39]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [51:40]
Interviewer
How long you think it's gonna take?
- [51:45]
Matthew Johnson
How long do I actually think it's gonna take? I'd love to finish on the 19th day.
- [51:50]
Friend/Supporter
19Th day.
- [51:52]
Matthew Johnson
The way that these runs work is a little. It's a little. You can kind of get confused. So when, when they time it, you can finish the next day, but it's actually the day before plus some change. Does that make sense? So when I started Texas, I started on the 1st, I finished on the 18th, but we only had ran 8 hours that day. So it was 17 days, 8:54:03. So my idea is if I can go. If I can go 20 days flat, that is. That is finishing at the end of the 19th day.
- [52:24]
Interviewer
That's like 19 days, 23 hours.
- [52:26]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Then. Then that is. Then that. That's. That's 50 miles a day. So I'm sure that the question is coming of why, why, you know, everyone wants to know, like, why to do it again. I feel like when I did it. When I did it last time, I had no idea what we were doing. Like, I didn't know how to do it. We. I didn't know how to. Like, I know how to go and do an American flag run and raise $4,000 through HYPE, you know, But I didn't know how to do a charity fundraiser. I didn't know how to do anything. So for me, I felt like I never want to do the minimum. And it was like, to me, I felt like, you know, we only raised 30,000 for valor fit. And I was very transparent with the public because I don't hide shit. I do not lie. That's huge thing for me. We raised through brands. The idea was to raise money for logistics. We raised $52,000. We used $52,000. We fucking raised 30.
- [53:23]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [53:23]
Matthew Johnson
I'm like, bro, you know, because the idea was, which, like, people got pissed off about on social media, I don't give a flying fuck. Like, but I would go to Waterloo and I would be like, hey, if you give me 10, 5, or 2.5, I will give you XYZ.
- [53:39]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [53:40]
Matthew Johnson
And then they would hop on because I'm advertising for you to get me across Texas, right? We only raised 30, and I'm like, damn. Like, I really wanted to raise $100,000. And, you know, but there's. There's been some charity events that are really struggling. And I don't know, you know, if it's the, you know, economy, if it was the election, like, you can blame it on whatever. It don't matter. But to me, I was like, I didn't feel like I did what I needed to do with Valor Fit. And then I had this aspect of, like, I remember every day. And Drew confirmed this to me as he's been combing the footage. The last two weeks is like, I would kind of just get tired at the end of the day, and I'd be done. Did I struggle out there? Yeah, I struggled so bad. The most I've ever struggled. But, like, I would kind of just, you know, I'd be Like, okay, like I said, a daily minimum of 40 miles that would get us done on the 23rd day. I don't do minimums, so I knew I would always do more than 40. Than 40 miles. So I. The minimum I hit, I hit 43 twice, 46 a couple times, 47 a lot. 48 a lot. 50 a couple times, 52 once. Like, you know.
- [54:39]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [54:40]
Matthew Johnson
But I always, like. There was just. When I look back at it now, I'm like, man, like, they're. And maybe. And I'm probably wrong. It's probably my sick mind telling me this, but there was never really a day where I was like, I'm destroyed.
- [54:53]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [54:53]
Matthew Johnson
I mean, I was destroyed every day. But, you know, it's a weird concept in my brain where I was like, I had more. And, you know, I see William Gooch, who I've watched for a really long time. He's ran across America. He ran across. He just ran across Australia. He did 110 kilometers a day, which is like 65 miles. And I had this problem where I'm like, if. Like, I'm just a normal guy, but when I see someone do something, I know I can do that, right? And, you know, so I'm not saying I'm gonna go out there and run 65 a day, but if I can figure out how to do it, I will, you know, And. And I need to just go. I need to give a little bit more from myself. I need to give a little bit more to charity. Like, I didn't feel. I didn't feel like I gave it all. I felt for the first time in my life, I felt. I felt complete when I got. When I got done, because I remember getting back home, and I. We got done on Friday. On Saturday, we had a party, like a, you know, welcome home. My friend comes out and he's high energy, sits right next to me, goes, dude, what's next? And I was like, nothing. I was like, I already did it, you know? Like. Like, it gave me the sense of peace where, number one, I proved to myself what I'm capable of. And then number two, I felt like I finally proved to everybody else, like. Like, I belong here. And, you know, because I play a lot, I play around, I fuck around a lot. Like, in. And I own that. But, like, when you can. We had this conversation the other day, like, these. These reels of me smoking cigarettes. It's. It's. It's really just a joke. Like, I don't. I don't smoke cigarettes. I don't at All I'll rip. I'll rip. I'll rip a cig. Like, I'll take a puff in a real. But, like, how many cigarettes have I actually just smoked? I did smoke one cigarette drunk on a balcony in Tahoe after I fell and broke my face the next day. I don't remember the last cigarette I smoked, but the cigarette is more of a. It's a thing. I'm just being. I'm showing. I'm showing people it's okay to be different.
- [56:52]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [56:52]
Matthew Johnson
And at the same time, where I'm. Where I'm bringing this back to is like, I want people to see that. Oh. Like, this guy is ripping a cigarette, having fun, and then he's saying. And then we're saying, prove it. And he's proving it. Like, I'm proving. You can go have a beer. You can. You can take a drag off of a cigarette, and you can go be an elite. And you don't need to be. You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to be this elite athlete. You don't need to be somebody. Like, I'm not. I'm. I'm. I am labeled from the world as an influencer. I'm not anybody. Like, you know, I. When I. When I left the military, like. Like I took that uniform off and I didn't. I didn't become anything. I became nothing in my mind. And, you know, so for me, I'm just showing these people that, like, you don't need to be somebody to do.
- [57:39]
Interviewer
Something, but you're also having fun. You're being yourself.
- [57:43]
Matthew Johnson
Right.
- [57:44]
Interviewer
Like, you don't have to be anybody, but you don't sacrifice yourself. Anything.
- [57:47]
Matthew Johnson
That. Right there. Yeah. Yes. Make sure that that is added for sure, because it is. I don't want to stray away. You know, that's what I learned when I was, you know, growing in my content. Like, I don't.
- [57:57]
Friend/Supporter
When.
- [57:57]
Matthew Johnson
When you stray away from who you are, it becomes fake. It's not real.
- [58:02]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [58:02]
Matthew Johnson
And I also believe, like, if you stay true to yourself, that's when you attract real good people. Because if you are someone else and you're playing this someone else, you're gonna attract someone else, and it's not gonna be someone that is true to a friendship that you need.
- [58:16]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [58:16]
Matthew Johnson
You know, like. Like I attract, like, just good fucking people because I'm out there and I'm being a real good fucking person. Like, I spent so much time in my life being a shit person. I spent so much time in my life telling white Lies, like, and just one day I just woke up and I was like, I don't want to be this person anymore. And ever since I made that switch. And you can. Ever since I made that switch, it's only been dope good people that have come into my life.
- [58:43]
Interviewer
What's ironic about that is the white lies. Trying to be something you weren't was probably trying to seek acceptance from others.
- [58:49]
Matthew Johnson
Yes.
- [58:49]
Interviewer
But when you became your true, authentic self, the world accepted you in ways you probably never imagined.
- [58:54]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And.
- [58:56]
Interviewer
And then people like Amanda come into your life. People like Drew come into your life, and they bet on you in a big way because they're like, I see a real, true dude.
- [59:03]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [59:04]
Interviewer
And I'm gonna be by his side.
- [59:05]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. And that's. That's, as a human experiencing emotions, like, that's one of the greatest things that you could ever feel. Because then, now that I am me and I am true to who I am, I wake up every single morning with, you know, I, I. I talked about this. Like, I don't, you know, Goggins, there's all those videos out there, and, you know, now people want to copy them and be like, you know, you gotta beat that inner inside of you every morning and don't be a pussy. And like, I wake up every morning and I open my eyes and I'm like, hell, yeah. I'm like, I get to go run today.
- [59:40]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [59:41]
Matthew Johnson
I get to like. And I say that every morning when I. When I read my Bible and I pray, I'm like, thank you so much for allowing me the ability to go do what I want to do today.
- [59:48]
Friend/Supporter
Right?
- [59:48]
Matthew Johnson
And I wake up grateful every single morning, which leads. Which is showing me that I am pure. Like, it's pure happiness. Like, I am happy. I'm so happy. Just like we talked about before we sat down. I. I want to be in my home, right? I want to be with my fiance. I want to be in my element, and, And. And I want to go run the miles. I want to run.
- [60:07]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [60:08]
Matthew Johnson
And that's what, like, the, the pure happiness that, That I feel inside of me. And I started experiencing that when I moved to Austin because I remember telling my mom in 2023, when I moved here I go, I've never, ever experienced this thing I feel inside my chest, like, this feeling of like, I'm not kidding you, I moved to Austin, I could feel it in my chest of, like, I would wake up every morning and I would be like, I've never known what it was like to love where you live. And I would feel it in my body.
- [60:34]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [60:35]
Matthew Johnson
And what's so cool is here we are two and a half years later and I feel that same thing every morning. And all it is is just gratefulness to be alive and gratefulness to be. To be in a situation that I can use my capabilities and my abilities and my platform to help others understand that they can get there as well.
- [60:52]
Interviewer
Do you think the perspective that Goggins takes beat that inner don't be a pussy. You know, all the, all the things he's pushing on people. Do you think that's a mindset of running from something rather than what you said you're embracing now, which is running to something? Which sounds more like an attitude of gratitude, if you will.
- [61:08]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. You know, I think number one, like, obviously I can't speak on like what, what his inter. Dialogue is, you know, but I think that everyone has their own problems.
- [61:19]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [61:20]
Matthew Johnson
And everyone has to deal with them their own ways. And there was. Deal. There was, you know, times where I would deal with my problems by waking up. I'm like, don't be a. Like this is, you know, you can go do it, but at some point when you do conquer that. And maybe for me it was, you know, once I started proving it to myself, you know, then it became more of like I was running towards it, you know, like once that you. I think that those people are. They still haven't proved to themselves who they are or they refuse to prove it to themselves and try to prove it to others.
- [61:50]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [61:51]
Matthew Johnson
And when you try to. You. When you try to prove yourself to others, you'll destroy your. You'll destroy yourself in the process. So for me it's like. But there's only. There's only one way to, to fix that. And I can't say what that way is. Only you can, only you can figure that out.
- [62:07]
Friend/Supporter
Right.
- [62:08]
Matthew Johnson
Like for me it was doing these events and doing these hard things, improving to myself over and over and over. Just like you say, like selling a product. Right. Takes you seven times to see it. Maybe it took me seven times to win a race or seven times to run a race until it finally, like I could finally click in my brain where I'm like, you are who you say you are.
- [62:27]
Friend/Supporter
Right.
- [62:29]
Interviewer
So you talk about dealing with problems. You faced a lot of them. You know, you could argue you've conquered a lot of them, but you could also make the assumption that more are coming your way. It's just a part of life where in your life right. Now, would you say you're most flirting with disaster?
- [62:43]
Matthew Johnson
Business. Business for sure. Because, you know, I had this idea of starting this new product. You know, I don't know. I don't know how it works. And, you know, I am. I'm open to taking advice, but also at the same time, selfishly, inside of me, I don't really want to take advice either because I want to fuck it up on my own.
- [63:14]
Friend/Supporter
Mm.
- [63:15]
Matthew Johnson
Because I fucked a lot of things up in my life, and then I have to learn how to fix them. Right. Like, it's like you have this tower of Lego blocks.
- [63:22]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [63:23]
Matthew Johnson
Or, or, or this is what it is, is, you know, you. You have this LEGO box and you see the house that's built on the front of the box. Now dump all the Legos out and throw the instructions away. And then just look at the house and be like, okay, you'll get it. You'll build the house. No instructions. You'll build it. But it's going to take you a long time. You're going to mess it up. You're going to put pieces in the wrong area.
- [63:45]
Friend/Supporter
Right.
- [63:45]
Matthew Johnson
You know, but like, for me, I feel like that's how I've always learned. That's how I've always figured it out. You know, I haven't ever. I didn't go to college. I have. I don't have a degree. I didn't have really, you know, anyone to teach me anything. I just kind of did it and watched it be done and, you know, so that'll be interesting to see how I, you know, once that this. I have the product, it's made, it's ready. Where do I go from here? I don't know. We'll see.
- [64:12]
Interviewer
Do you think you have to change that perspective now that you have a fiance and you're talking about a family?
- [64:19]
Matthew Johnson
I feel like there's a yes and no to that. I feel like with myself, and this is maybe just me being toxic, because this is who I am. I feel like I have. I have a backup plan, you know, like, as long as I still have income coming in, I can kind of it up. Right. But then again, like, I know that if I was back against the wall and I was bootstrapping it and I didn't have any income coming in and I had to make this product work right now, I would have to do it a whole different way, which is dangerous. Like, that's a dangerous way of thinking. And I know that, but these are just inter dialogues that I'm having in my own Head, you know, of, like, how do I do it? Right. Because I know. Here's the problem. Anytime in my entire life, I've ever had anyone do something for me, I never learned how to do it. That's the issue is, like. And you could give me all the advice you want because my. My. I still don't understand taxes. Because my. I hired an accountant, and he sat me down. He sat me down for three hours on. On two different sessions, and he's said exactly how. S Corp and LLC and then taxes in Wyoming because Texas. And. And I don't get it. Because I didn't have to do it. I didn't have to do it. He did it.
- [65:31]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [65:32]
Matthew Johnson
So that's kind of what I'm nervous with about business, is, like, if I have someone do it for me, I'm never gonna understand how to do it. It's like, I have to do every job once to kind of be able to, you know, be able to visualize that later.
- [65:48]
Friend/Supporter
Right.
- [65:49]
Matthew Johnson
But it's a dangerous game to play.
- [65:51]
Interviewer
It is. Especially as you start to think about a family.
- [65:54]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [65:54]
Interviewer
I mean, I know you've hit on that a lot.
- [65:56]
Matthew Johnson
Even when I first got here, and it was always, like, we were talking, it was like, yeah, kids. Yeah, kids.
- [66:00]
Interviewer
Because I'm wired in a similar way as I'm wired for the adrenaline, and I'm wired to do what everybody tells me not to. Like, I dropped out of college as well. I mean, a couple years ago, I decided to ride a bull, got thrown into a fence, ruptured my Achilles tendon. I was like, I'm gonna come back faster than anybody. Re. Ruptured it again at physical therapy. Like, I just like doing things that people tell you not to do.
- [66:21]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. I always say, if it's. If it's hot, I'm gonna touch it twice.
- [66:23]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [66:24]
Interviewer
It's more fun.
- [66:25]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
- [66:26]
Interviewer
And I want to learn for myself.
- [66:27]
Matthew Johnson
Like, how does that hurt?
- [66:28]
Interviewer
I want to learn for myself. And I'm starting to notice myself. I have three kids. Six, four, nine months. I'm starting to notice in myself just thinking a little bit differently.
- [66:38]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [66:38]
Interviewer
And so I'm really trying to play with that when talking to other people.
- [66:40]
Matthew Johnson
See, I think that you can say that to me all you want until Amanda walks up to me and is like, I'm pregnant. Ain't gonna change. Like, but. But I just know, like, I've thought about that moment, and I know, like, when that moment does come at some point, because it's gonna come whenever. Like, it There. There will be that man, that, like, mentality of, like. And then I'm gonna be calling you be like, hey, remember when you told me this? Like, can you tell me it one more time?
- [67:05]
Interviewer
I've done the same thing. People would be like, when this happens, you're gonna change them. Like, yeah, it's not gonna happen. It's not gonna happen. And it didn't happen after the first, and it didn't happen after the second. But now in the third one, I'm like, I probably should think a little bit more.
- [67:15]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. Yeah.
- [67:16]
Interviewer
Well.
- [67:16]
Matthew Johnson
And I mean, that's. And I think I'm starting to do that with, you know. I mean. Yeah. I mean, I can just say it here. Like, the. The Texas run, as of right now is. Is probably going to be the last big one. You know, I'm 30. I'm. I'm damaged, you know? Like, I will love running forever. I will run forever. But, like, I have a fracture I didn't let heal. I have severe scoliosis in my body. Like, if, you know, my neck is messed up. I always move my neck like this because I have military neck from wearing the Kevlar for so long. Like, my body is damaged, and I have done nothing but prolonged getting the help I need because I can't. I can't stop training. Right. Like, I've been just going, going, going for the last three years.
- [67:56]
Interviewer
Do you think you're really going to be able to stop?
- [67:59]
Matthew Johnson
I need Amanda to get pregnant. I need. That's in the plan. Yeah, like. Like, like, you know, the plan right now is, is we're. We get married next year.
- [68:09]
Friend/Supporter
Okay.
- [68:10]
Matthew Johnson
And we're getting married, I think. I don't know, whatever, whenever she wants. But I think it's June, you know, but. But the goal, like, what I think in my head, and I'm hoping that that's, like, God's plan. And I think that if it's on my heart as much as that, I trust that that will happen. I really think that it will be within the next 10 months. I think that, you know, I. That will. That's gonna have to be the stopping force. And I think I'm already just calling that to fruition and feeling that that's gonna happen. So, you know, because then it will not be about me anymore. And it makes it easy to be about me when I'm sitting right here and doing all my training. And Amanda's in Tampa, you know, and. And she's at the house, and she's doing yoga and she's Going downtown and, you know, it makes it easy, right? Yeah, but like, then, like, because we still meet up at the end of the day.
- [68:59]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [68:59]
Matthew Johnson
You know, but then, like, when you involve a child in that and like, then, like, she becomes the one who's bearing my child, like, then it is a completely different ball game.
- [69:06]
Interviewer
But let's be clear. You're running across Texas for the second time this year.
- [69:13]
Matthew Johnson
I want to add in something because this is. I've never spoke about this on a podcast. My ex wife and I had a miscarriage in 2018, and she was pregnant for like, we knew she was pregnant for like four weeks. And I remember that feeling, like, inside of me where I was like, I need to. I need to change. I need to do this, like, now I'm gonna, like, I remember this, like, just. It was like, I was so excited. I. And I. I didn't grow up with a dad at all. And I was so excited because I was like, I was like, this is it. Like, this is my chance to, like, do it right. And like, I'm gonna change everything and I'm gonna, you know, it, like, it gave me this feeling of, like, motivated me instantly for like a month to just, you know, go, go, go, go, go, and like, do the best that I can do and be the best. And what am I gonna change in my life to? Like, so I've already felt that, you.
- [70:06]
Interviewer
Know, and you know, when it comes again.
- [70:07]
Matthew Johnson
And I know. Yeah. And I think, you know, and even that was. How long ago is that? Eight years ago, you know, like, and, you know, I know that it's all God's plan too, because I think about myself right now at 30 and I'm like, I have an 8 year old at 30.
- [70:20]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [70:20]
Matthew Johnson
You know, and. And unfortunately we did. We had a miscarriage. And it was horrible. It was traumatic. But, like, why I say that the way I say is because I've felt that.
- [70:30]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [70:30]
Matthew Johnson
And I know, I know for sure, like, that, that feeling even now, like, because I was not ready in that moment. I mean, 22, like, barely. I think I made like three grand in the military as, like an E4 who was just promoted. Like, I didn't have no money. I have nothing. We lived in a one bedroom apartment, you know, and now, like, being where I'm at, like, I'm. I am so set.
- [70:50]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [70:51]
Matthew Johnson
And so that's why I know, you know, I felt that feeling. And I know now, like, how. How okay it's gonna be. And it's gonna be more than okay. You Know, So that's why I think that, like, I know that Amanda's ready for that to happen. I'm ready for that to happen. And I know that it's all gonna just kind of shift, because when you think about it, if I'm right, you know, you look at some of these guys, like Goggins, who doesn't. They don't have children, you know, and they go. They go the way they go. And that's cool. But, like, you know, my goal is to be here and to. And to have children and to, you know, be the dad I was never able to be. But. Yeah, that's why.
- [71:30]
Interviewer
But let's be clear. You're running across Texas for the second time this year. You're getting married next June. She's going to be pregnant for 10 months. What are you going to do from October, November till 2027?
- [71:42]
Matthew Johnson
So that's the. That. Yeah, that is. You know, I had the, the call with the potential business partner, and that was the. That was the idea, was that, you know, I feel like launching this, you know, this business, then I'm able to, you know, because that was the point when we were talking about equity and talking about ownership and how, you know, it was like, you know, I remember, you know, the guy in the call, he's like, how, like, are you gonna even be involved in this? And I was like, hell, yeah.
- [72:07]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [72:07]
Matthew Johnson
I was like, Because I'm already pre. Planning.
- [72:09]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [72:10]
Matthew Johnson
Having that product and having that line ready to, like, I wake up and I was even talking to my friend this morning, and I'm like, dude, I go inside of me kind of craves like, what is it like to. This is probably stupid. To the, to the first. The normal person. I'm like, what's it like waking up and running three miles and going and grabbing a coffee with your friends and then you go home, you chill out and you, you know, and then you do your business work for the day and you're not tired. You're not taking a nap in the afternoon. You're not shoveling fucking food down your throat. You're not running at 5 o' clock again in the afternoon and feeling dead all the time.
- [72:47]
Friend/Supporter
Time.
- [72:47]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, you're not. You're not. Your friends aren't hitting you up and saying, hey, come and do this, and. And you're like, no, I can't. I have to run. You know, you're not, you know, trying to plan coming to a podcast that's an hour and a half away while running 10 miles in the morning. And then I know that, okay, if I run 10, then I need to run 10 in the afternoon, so what am I gonna do with my afternoon? I don't want that anymore.
- [73:09]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [73:09]
Interviewer
All while Grandpa's here.
- [73:11]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then tomorrow, I'm like. I'm telling him, and I'm like, hey. I was like, I have to. Have to run 20 miles tomorrow because I have to do a 20 and a 30 back to back. I'm like, okay, so I can wake up like, you're leaving at, you know. You know, and you feel almost guilty.
- [73:24]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah. Yeah.
- [73:25]
Matthew Johnson
And, you know, that's why, like, we packed yesterday. And then, you know, but, like, it's. You know, I. I just. I want. I want to feel. I. I don't know what it's like to. To live the life I live right now and have time.
- [73:38]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [73:39]
Matthew Johnson
And I. And I love my life, but I. I want to know what it's like to, like, have. Have time to do things. And, I mean, I nap. If I'm running 15 to 20 miles, I'm napping. Every afternoon.
- [73:51]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [73:51]
Matthew Johnson
Every afternoon. First day he was here, I was like, yeah, I gotta go take a nap. You know, like, because you're eating so much, your carbs, your insulin levels are dropping and spiking. Like, you. Like, I just. I have to take that.
- [74:01]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [74:02]
Matthew Johnson
And, you know, I'm ready to. Like. I remember the month of November last year. Like, I didn't run at all. We went to Costa Rica. It poured. It never stopped raining. It was glorious. I didn't lift a single weight. I didn't run. And, like, I came back from that so rejuvenated, and I'm like, imagine. And then I came back and just got right back into it. Imagine. Just not.
- [74:22]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [74:23]
Matthew Johnson
Like, how much brain power can I have when I. To put towards my business when I'm not running? But 30. I love running. I have to start my day with a run every day. If I run five miles every morning, that's 30 miles a week.
- [74:39]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah, plenty.
- [74:40]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. I mean, that's. That's great. You know, imagine what I can give.
- [74:43]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [74:44]
Matthew Johnson
To Amanda, what I can give to my child, what I can give to the world that I don't even know yet.
- [74:49]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [74:50]
Matthew Johnson
As well as taking care of my health at 30.
- [74:52]
Interviewer
Well, what's powerful about that is you spent the early part of your life running from something. You spent the last few years running towards something, and now all you're saying is, I just want to be present here in this moment with the people I love and care about. And honestly, I think that'll probably be the hardest challenge yet.
- [75:08]
Matthew Johnson
Yes.
- [75:09]
Interviewer
Because you're used to chasing or running from, Right?
- [75:11]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [75:12]
Interviewer
And so there's so much beauty and peace in looking at the hard thing and say, I know it's going to be hard. It would be easier to just set the next run to run across California and then the next run to go do this and then go to Everest. Like, it'd be so easy for you to fall into that pattern.
- [75:25]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [75:25]
Interviewer
But instead you're like, I know that the magic I'm seeking is lying in that work I'm not willing to do, which is to just be still.
- [75:31]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. And that's, you know, if it can be 20, 26. And I. And I force myself. Like I told a friend yesterday, I was like, I'm not doing. He wanted me to do XYZ Race. And I was like, I'm not. I was like, I can't commit right now, because as of right now, I'm not doing any events in 2026. And, you know, I want that to be true because I want just like I challenge myself, like you just said with anything else in life, I want to challenge myself to. To sit for a second. I want to challenge myself to go get a three mile run in, come back home, do my. Do my two, three hours of work. And then at noon, I want to sit there and be like, what the fuck am I supposed to do today? You know, Because I do that on Sundays on my rest days. And then I feel like I need to be doing something to make money. I need to be doing something to, like, I feel like if I'm stagnant, that, like, I'm failing.
- [76:17]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [76:17]
Matthew Johnson
And that's wrong. That is not good. That is a toxic trait. Like, that is. That is toxicity at its finest. Because it's not true. And your brain tells yourself that you're doing something wrong. Wrong.
- [76:27]
Friend/Supporter
Right.
- [76:27]
Matthew Johnson
You. Like, I've had to learn how to relax on Sundays because. And. But telling myself my body needs it makes it very easy. But, like, it becomes hard at times when you, you know, we wake up at seven, we go to church, and then we get back home at 11. And then it's. And then it's. What do I do?
- [76:43]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [76:44]
Matthew Johnson
You know, so if I can challenge myself in that, like, I think just like you said, like, that's gonna be the greatest challenge yet.
- [76:50]
Interviewer
When do you start the second run across Texas?
- [76:53]
Matthew Johnson
October 5th.
- [76:54]
Interviewer
October 5th. Okay. So, you know, one of the things that I think is really unique about the community I get to run, you know, this GoFundance. It's an entrepreneurial based community. We got over 850 members. All of our guys have a net worth of a minimum of $2 million. So the cumulative net worth of our group is over $5 billion. Like, that's bigger than small countries.
- [77:12]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [77:13]
Interviewer
But we believe in more than just business. A lot of these groups are like, business, business, business. And one of the unique advantages we have is we believe there's six pillars of life. There's health, there's wealth, there's adventure. But then there's also this thing, like, genuine contribution. And so when you and I started chatting, I started following along on your stories, and I saw you were trying to raise money. Starting to raise money. Somebody was gonna get a rat tattoo or something.
- [77:37]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, Drew. Drew said he. Because rat. We called it rat last year in the van run across Texas. Rat. So, yeah, Drew was like, yeah. He's like, if we hit five, you know, because last year, no one really knows this. We only raised $500 on the first on my flag run.
- [77:52]
Friend/Supporter
Wow.
- [77:52]
Matthew Johnson
Like, it was just. I just didn't do good at it. And this year, we raised 3,000, which to me is not a lot, but 3,000 is. Is six times. That's. Well, that's 10%. Yeah, that's 10%. What? I. I raised 10% in a single day.
- [78:07]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [78:07]
Matthew Johnson
And, you know, so, yeah, he was.
- [78:10]
Interviewer
Going to get a rat tattoo, right?
- [78:12]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [78:12]
Matthew Johnson
Drew.
- [78:12]
Interviewer
I was very close to just putting a $2,000 donation just to see the tattoo, because I was like, why would you get a rat tattoo? It's just not a good idea. It's gonna.
- [78:23]
Matthew Johnson
Because he doesn't have a tattoo at all. He has no tattoos, so I couldn't imagine, like. And his parents are a little.
- [78:29]
Interviewer
See, if I would have known he doesn't have a tattoo and he was gonna do it, like, there's no doubt I would have done it.
- [78:35]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [78:35]
Interviewer
But when you and I started chatting, I was like, hey, man, I got an idea. Like, in this gobundance community, we also have an arm of our organization that's a 501C3. I'm like, let's take this podcast and go bundance. Our 501c3 will match dollar for dollar ten thousand worth of donations that comes from this conversation.
- [78:52]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [78:52]
Interviewer
And so we're going to make sure that we highlight in the show notes underneath the video and YouTube the ways that people can donate to this. But I really want to make sure you don't just Hit the hundred thousand. You don't just hit the 150,000, but, like, we as a community in Gobundance, but we as a community in this world, supporting veterans that protect our family freedom. And look what we just did to Iran. Like, we are so blessed to live in this country. We need to look at after all those people that take care of us, we should blow 100, 150 out of the water, man.
- [79:21]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [79:22]
Interviewer
You should have no problem with that.
- [79:23]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. And I. Yeah, I can't say thank you enough for that. And it's just, you know, kind of chokes me up. But it's, you know, the biggest thing for me was I knew what fitness would do to change people's lives. But seeing and hearing from Mike, who was on a patrol in Afghanistan in 2012 and was just trying to lead his guys, they were in a. People were dying, and he was trying to get them out. And he always led from the back and this time was leading from the front and stepped right on an IED, blew him 20ft in the air, landed upside down on his head, completely concussed. But then what. Where it went really bad is his interpreter. You get injured, like, someone needs to grab your weapon immediately. And his interpreter ran to grab his weapon and tossed it, and it hit another IED and blew them all up again. And he was two weeks from going home. And we had this conversation where, like, this is as we're running. Like, Mike and I, we met each other at Hyrox, doing a Hyrox fitness event because he had got into fitness and very good at it now. And we had met there, and I was like, hey, like, I would love for you. I found out he was training for a world record in this wheelchair. I was like, I'd love for you to come and run. He paid on his own dollar to come down to Tampa because he believes in the mission so much. And while we were talking, he was like, I remember. He's like. I remember laying in that bed, and he's like, I'd been there for a month in that bed, hadn't left the bed. And he's like, I had a guy come in and a double amputee, and he's like. He came in and he just talked to me for five or 10 minutes, and he's like. And he walked out. And he goes. Mike goes, I had this. He's like, I felt sorry for myself for so long. And he goes. And I was like, fuck that. I was like, if that. Just, like, my mentality, if that guy can do that. I can do that.
- [81:12]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [81:13]
Matthew Johnson
And he's like. And I immediately, he's. He has legs, but here he has prosthetic legs, but they're. It makes it really hard because his amputee is so high. And so he got in the wheelchair and he just started, like, he. He turned to fitness and he became a coach to help others. And, you know, that was a big thing that we talked about the entire time is I'm like, why does it. Like, you know, and this. This video will be on YouTube. I'd love for anyone to. To see it in a couple weeks. But, you know, that was the biggest questions. I'm like, why does it matter? And, like, hearing it come from someone like him of like, why does it matter to get people into fitness? You know, the biggest thing that. That you realize is these guys that go over there, just like we have talked about already in this podcast. It's about everyone to your left and your right. And then unfortunately, you get injured or you come home and you get out of Service. And unfortunately, 99% of the time, the government doesn't care about you anymore. They'll cut you a check because you have a disability, and they move on. No one's there to help you. No one's there to. To take you out of the wheelchair, to. To help you get on the toilet. No one's there to grab something from the top shelf. No one's. And so these people become very, very lonely. And not even. Not. This isn't even, you know, people that are disabled, like, this is anybody, you know, they become very lonely because they're used to sleeping in rooms with other people. They're used to, you know, let's not even talk about, you know, people that are disabled. Let's talk about people that they're used to. People being there all the time, right? And then next thing you know, they get discharged and they go move into an apartment because they don't have anything. All they know is the military and they're alone. And then what do they do? They kill themselves because they don't. They feel like they don't have anything. That's why. 22 veterans a day. That's not why. That is a huge reason of why 22 veterans a day kill themselves in the United States because they. They can't. They can't cope with being alone.
- [83:08]
Friend/Supporter
Right?
- [83:10]
Matthew Johnson
So this fitness aspect is within fitness. What do we have? We have a community, and we have classes, and we have people, you know, and that's why Valorfit started with CrossFit because it was classes. Yeah, you have classes, you put these people into classes, you put them with others and it gives you that sense of when the person to the left and the right is pushing as hard as you are, you want to push hard too, right. And then it gives you that sense of like, oh, like, you know, Matt went to class today. Well, I'm going to go to class today too, because I want to see him again today. And I want to see him again today. I want to see him again today. And you know, that's why it's important is because we get this instilled in our brain as vets that like we are, we have to have people, we have to have a community, we have to have brotherhood, we have to have sisterhood, we have to have a camaraderie. And unfortunately we lose that. And that's what you can find in fitness. And then within fitness you can find health. And within health you can find a better lifestyle. And with a better lifestyle you find happiness. It's just, you know, that's why the fitness part matters.
- [84:11]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [84:11]
Matthew Johnson
Is, you know, it's not just about lifting weights. It's not, it's not, it's about finding, it's about, it's about changing your lifestyle, finding your community, and then becoming a happier person as well.
- [84:24]
Interviewer
I don't think there's enough money that can be raised for this. Like, it's, it's, it's an incredibly powerful cause.
- [84:30]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah.
- [84:31]
Interviewer
Putting people into community, which we all need, but vets especially need. And it's doing it while making them healthy, working out, moving their body.
- [84:38]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah. And I chose valorfit because Troy, like Troy Peterson, small town Iowa boy and he's, he started, he's, he's just doing it. It's like him and his wife and you know, they started, they started the nonprofit and you know, they branched out, they asked for help in the CrossFit community and you know, mayhem got involved and proven got involved. And now CrossFit Georgetown, that's right down the road from me, is now an affiliate for valorf it. And you know, so I, I, I can put, you know, just like I said, I was like, I don't like to lie and I will tell everyone the truth. I can put my name behind this and say, I know that every single dollar is going to where it's supposed to go. You know, you're not giving to a big corporation, you're not giving to a charity. That has been questioned before on where the money is going. You are Giving this to a small town Iowa boy who received a purple Heart, who knows how to help veterans and knows how to, how to build a community. And who has recently just launched Balorfit Gym back home in Des Moines.
- [85:41]
Interviewer
That's awesome.
- [85:42]
Matthew Johnson
And has now launched a gym. And we got him an ice barrel back, back last year, you know, to get an ice barrel in there and like, you know, there's just. Fitness is just the, you know, fitness is the smallest part of what people are donating to. They think it's, you know, putting veterans into fitness. Cool. I'm paying for a gym membership. Yeah. But like you're not seeing that person sitting in the dark all by themselves waiting until 8am when they can go to that CrossFit class because they have nobody.
- [86:09]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [86:11]
Interviewer
Community is the most valuable component of our lives. And you're paying for them to get into community.
- [86:16]
Matthew Johnson
Yes.
- [86:16]
Interviewer
Through fitness.
- [86:17]
Friend/Supporter
Yeah.
- [86:18]
Interviewer
So people are listening to this. They want to check out the first time you ran across Texas, the documentary which drops this weekend.
- [86:24]
Matthew Johnson
The documentary will be out for sure. When this is going live, where do.
- [86:27]
Interviewer
You want people to find you?
- [86:29]
Matthew Johnson
That's a great question. Betterworld.org on the donation link. Finding me. You find me on Instagram. But this is my. No answer. I've already told somebody this, like, this isn't about me. It's not at all like I have almost 500,000 followers. I don't need. I don't need more. I. This run, this run, this time is about valorfit. And yeah, I like, I just had this conversation like it is and I truly mean that with every fiber in my body that like what I have right now is more than enough. We just had this conversation where I'm like every. I live my life and like I have everything I need. I don't need anything more to make it better. This is about Valorfit. You know, you can find me on Instagram, you can find me on YouTube. I would love for you guys to watch the documentary and just see what we went through. It's just Matt Johnson, you type in Run across Texas on YouTube. Type in run Across Texas Matt Johnson. You'll find it. It's an. It's going to be an hour long. It's going to be. It's a big one. It's going to be incredible. It's going to be absolutely diabolical and unhinged. So please do not judge me. Listen, I hope you're listening to this first and not. Not coming here from there because don't see that like gremlin Goblin that was out there trying to stay alive. Yeah, you can find me on Instagram. You find me, you know, find the. Find the video on. On YouTube. Follow along on YouTube. For sure. That is where I want people to follow along, because we're gonna. Potentially, tomorrow we will know this for sure, but we're gonna try to drop a YouTube video every single day. That's the plan. So you'll be able to see everything we're going through out there. And then. Yeah. Valorfit.org to learn about Valorfit.
- [88:08]
Interviewer
I can't appreciate you enough for showing up here with your grandfather, him hearing some of these stories for the first time.
- [88:15]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, sorry.
- [88:16]
Interviewer
It's pretty cool, but just how you lead your life, like, you're definitely in service to others and in service to the world around you. And you know that it's not about you, and you're here for a reason. You're here for a purpose, and it's greater than you could ever be. And so you're just giving, giving, giving and going, going, going and learning along the way. So I really enjoyed the conversation, man. I appreciate all you're doing. Like I said, we're going to try to raise over $20,000 from this episode alone. Let's get as many people behind you as we can, and let's make sure that these veterans have communities to go into inside of the fitness space. So they're not alone. They don't deserve to be alone.
- [88:51]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, absolutely.
- [88:53]
Friend/Supporter
Thanks, man.
- [88:53]
Matthew Johnson
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it.