Lenovo/Commercial Announcer (2:06)

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Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (2:08)

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Rochelle (2:11)

Hello?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (2:12)

Hi. Can you hear me?

Rochelle (2:13)

Yes. Who is this?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (2:15)

Oh, this is Gecko Guy.

Rochelle (2:17)

Oh my God. Oh my God. Sorry. That was so loud. Oh my God.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (2:24)

How you doing?

Rochelle (2:25)

So cool. I thought it was spam. I'm good. Wow, this is crazy. It's. Man, I've been listening to you for years. Everyone's right too. It's so weird to like actually talk to you. Oh My God. Wow. How are you?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (2:45)

I'm good. I am. Yeah, I'm good. I feel ready to talk about life and about stuff and about things. I. I just got back from Iraq yesterday. That was pretty crazy. And now I'm. Now I'm back here in. In. In America, hanging out, living life.

Rochelle (3:11)

Yeah, it's. It's really sick that you're. I watched your breakdancing video, but I didn't see your one. Talking to the Juggalos. My voice is a little shaky, everybody. So cool. But no, that's sick that you were in Iraq. It's really cool that you're able to travel and make your. Make your job part of that, too. It's been cool to hear you with your podcast, seeing how it's growing and seeing you kind of follow your passion. It's really cool.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (3:42)

Thank you, man. Thank you. Thank you. I want to talk about all the Iraq shit on the podcast, but I'm going to do that at another point because I want to talk to you because you texted me something that I thought was super interesting, and I have questions. I am curious. You told me that you did a strongman show today.

Rochelle (4:06)

Yeah.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (4:06)

And that you want to talk about. Like, you want to talk about. These are your words. Being a muscle mommy and competing in a strongman. As a woman, I am very curious about that. Please, please tell me how it went.

Rochelle (4:22)

Yeah. So I don't know how much other people or how much you know about strength sports necessarily. I know you've kind of talked about fitness on the podcast, and I've always thought it would be kind of interesting if I called in to provide my perspective on being in strength sports, too, and having that kind of be my passion. But, yeah, so I. I am 28 now. I know you never, like, remember people's names, but it doesn't really matter too much. But I'm 28. I started lifting, like, doing a powerlifting, which is like squat, bench press, and deadlift. I started training that in my freshman year of college in 2015, and then I did a lot of powerlifting meets between 2015 and about 2021 when I started freshman year of college, like I said. And then I graduated college and I went to a gym where they had strongman stuff. And so strongman, it kind of like the. The thing that people think of with strongman is like, if you've ever seen the. The guy in a circus uniform with just the mustache and no hair and the big dumbbell and, like the stripy shorts, you know, if you could picture that, that they call that, like the giant dumbbell is called a circus dumbbell. And that's sometimes an event. It's. Strongman is kind of just bringing about, bringing a weight that's as heavy as you can from point A to point B. So sometimes it's that. Sometimes I've pulled a truck before at a competition, which is cool. Yeah, my. My profile picture on Instagram is me pulling a truck with like a flag on the back and. Cool. Sometimes it's well known for, like, Atlas stones is what they're called, and they're just big round stones. You pick it up and you either put it over a bar or put it up to a platform. You carry a lot of stuff. You do deadlift reps sometimes. Kind of just nowadays, I've noticed and I'm like, I go on Reddit a lot and there's a subreddit for Strongman Celebrate for everything. And I saw somebody's hot take a Strongman has gotten kind of. It used to be more exciting, and now it's kind of like. It's not as exciting. Like they used to do sumo wrestling and they used to, like, flip cars, and now it's kind of more. It's. It's. It's a way. I think nowadays it's more like deadlifts and more standardized stuff as I think, to get more people into it. But it's. It's not, it's not like, crazy stuff now.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (7:07)

I mean, you pull the fucking truck, you know, Is there like a. What was the. I guess is. Is the idea that, like, it should have been more crazy thing, like picking up a. Like, like they put a child under a car and you gotta save them type of stuff.

Rochelle (7:24)

I do actually know one of the people at the gym that I go to. There's a show where one of the events is running through drywall. And he was like, man, I wish I could have done that one. But I mean, the show I did today, I wish I could. I'm hoping when I explain stuff, if, like, it's not clear what I'm saying, I could try to elaborate. But, like, I think the coolest one that I did today, or, like, there's one event, it's a yoke, and so it's like, think of a barbell and it's welded to two posts on the side. It's like, if you've ever seen the stuff that, like, cows will pull, that's literally a yoke and strongman, you'll. You'll kind of get under it and you'll walk with it sometimes 50ft, sometimes 70ft. And in this particular case, it was carry the yolk 50ft and then grab farmer handles, which is kind of like if you can carry two bags of groceries, then you can do farmer carry, but then picking that up and carrying that 50ft back. And the yolk that I carried was 420 pounds. And I'm. I'm five two and I weigh about 145 pounds, so.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (8:32)

Whoa.

Rochelle (8:32)

It's. Yeah, it's. It's cool to be able to, because I've been doing strength sports, like I said, for almost 10 years at this point point. So to be a female athlete and, like, where my focus isn't, like, trying to be small and lose weight, it's trying to build muscle and take care of myself to, like, lift as much weight as I can, I'm actually too. I'm more excited because in January, too, I'm doing. So for. For context, too, with Strongman, it's very common for people to take steroids. Like the big guys at the tippy top, if, you know, like Half Door Bjornsson, for instance, he was the mountain in Game of Thrones, or like, Eddie hall is a popular name to those guys. It's, like, pretty understood in the community that they take steroids like the top guys typically do. And so there's a federation in Strongman where it's for people who don't take steroids. And since I've been doing that long enough, like, not a lot of women do strength sports. So because I've been doing it long enough, like, I'm pretty good at it now. And the show in January that I'm doing would be a qualifier to go to World for the federation in, like, August next year, probably. So I can. I've never. I've only traveled to South America once. I went to the Amazon rainforest, funny enough, that's the only time I've left the country. But for the show, it would be cool. I would like people to qualify and compete and go to Europe. So hopefully I think it was in the UK this year, but it'd be cool if it were there. Ireland, I think I'd love to go there next year and, like, do a strength competition stuff, you know, It'd be so cool.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (10:16)

That's awesome. That's so cool. So. So the. So when you say, so the steroids thing, it seems to me that it's like everyone kind of. Is it kind of like a thing where it's like you're not supposed to do it, but Everyone just fucking does it anyway.

Rochelle (10:32)

Yeah. And so in strongman, and honestly, kind of an Olympic sports, to my understanding, there's ways to. If you get blood work done regularly and you eat healthy and try to, like, get good sleep, there's. There's always risks, but there's ways to do it and kind of mitigate those risks. Like, they say cycling on and off. Like, cycling on is like taking some steroids and then cycling off. That's kind of what you're supposed to do to help, like, reset your body. And so I've met different people who talk openly about it. There's a lot of channels on YouTube where people talk openly about it. And I follow athletes on Instagram that talk openly about it. So I actually, funny enough too, I would have considered taking it if there was a point because, like, I'm. I'm a good athlete, but I don't know if I could ever, like, be the best. And I thought about it, but the reason I don't too, is my boyfriend, who. He is a power lifter. He's like, if I took it, you know, it, it would make me have a deeper voice and it would give me more masculine features and probably like, lose my hair and stuff. And if the roles were reversed, I probably wouldn't be happy if he took steroids either. So it's, It's. I'm not gonna, like, it's. I don't know how common it is necessarily because, like, people aren't all talking openly about it, but I know that it is a thing where they're like, people might, you know, take like a.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (12:01)

Little bit of Humphrey, you know, so, so I'm curious. So your boyfriend is also a power lifter?

Rochelle (12:07)

He's a power lifter. I'm a strongman athlete who would win in a fight. He would, he would. So I, I 5 11.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (12:19)

I'm curious, I'm curious about this. Like, was it important to you? Because I'm sure that, like, because here's like the average. Even though you're 5:2, but the fact that, like, you could probably, like the average guy, right? Like, you could beat the shit out of me. You know what I mean? Like, you could beat the shit out of probably most average guys, right? Like, was that when you were like, dating, was that important to you to fight? Like, like, I, I. Was that a thing where you're like, you know, I accept that I could beat the shit out of most average guys, or was it important to you, like, find someone who is also, like, you know, who is like, Like, I guess above your level. Not, like above your level, you know, but, like, you know, can, like, like, physically, like. Like, you know. You know what I'm saying? Like, is that important to you that you're, you know. Do you know what I'm saying? Am I saying this wrong?

Rochelle (13:09)

I do. No. I never thought about it necessarily as, like, someone I could be in a fight versus couldn't, but I. I did. Like, it's hard to be a woman doing strength sports and accept that, like, have, like. I don't have a small waist. I'm kind of blocky, and I. I feel like I have, like, kind of more masculine features because I'm more muscular. So I was. I've dated at this point now. I think this is, like, the fourth guy that I've dated. And after the last one, I guess the last one, this one. Now, I did want somebody who. Like a beefcake, you know, like, huge thighs. Yeah, yeah. That's what I was in the market for.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (13:57)

And look, look, you got to where you. And you deserve that. You know what I'm saying?

Rochelle (14:01)

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (14:03)

Because, like, in the. In the dating universe. In the dating universe, it's. You really. You really can't ask for anything that you don't have. You know? I mean, like, you. If you wanted, like. If you wanted, like, a. Like a hot, muscular guy, you're like, you know, you've. You've earned it. You know what I'm saying?

Rochelle (14:23)

Yeah, that's. I. It's nice. You do kind of get your pick of the litter if you are a girl who does strength sports, because it's like, you know, there's not a lot of us. So it is kind of nice in that regard.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (14:37)

The past three guys, do you think you could have beaten them up?

Rochelle (14:41)

No. So my. My last boyfriend. Oh, that's kind of funny. My. My last boyfriend, he was six foot three and at one point, almost £400. And he was a strong man, too. He actually, when we were going through our breakup, he didn't. He wanted to talk things through, so he sat in front of the door for, like, three hours because he didn't want me to leave, and I couldn't have moved him. I like. I like, try to nudge up a little bit. That whole thing was kind of funny too. But I think my second one probably, and, well, because it's funny enough, like, my original type was, like, skinny white dude. Like, I was. I. I'm also an engineer, so, like, I was surrounded by, like, skinny white guy, right? And that used to always be my type, but then, you know, you do strength sports, so it's like you're at the gym four to five days a week, two to three hours at a time. So you're kind of surrounded by. Yeah, yeah, I'm. I'm just. You're surrounded by these giant, muscly guys. So, you know, you see that for, like, five, six years, and that's kind of like how your type transitions. That's what I noticed for myself, I guess.

Elias (15:52)

Mm, mm, mm.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (15:54)

Interesting. Okay, so you go to the gym, do you? So for how. How many years have you been going to the gym? Five times a week, Four to five times a week, two to three hours.

Rochelle (16:05)

I don't remember what I was doing in college, but I do know, honestly that I was a bit more anal when I was in college. Up, honestly, up until I dated my last boyfriend, I was like, way more anal about it. And I think I started lifting and competing in 2017. So it was probably from, like, 2017 up until now. You know, I'm going to the gym. Well, right now I go to the gym to do strength training four days a week, and then I rock climb once a week. I actually do, as a side note, because I've been listening to your podcast so long, you talk a lot about just, like, you know, going out and doing shit. And I talk about your podcast with people a lot. I don't think I've gotten anyone to listen to your podcast.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (16:49)

It's okay. It's a tough pitch.

Rochelle (16:52)

No, but it's so good. And on Monday nights at the rock climbing gym I go to, they have a ladies night at 6 o'. Clock. Different women can go. And there's a form of rock climbing. It's called belaying. I don't know if you know what that means, but that's like, when you have the harness and you're hooked up to someone. And so I kind of did that and was, like, trying to go regularly because, like, I listen to the podcast and people talk about, like, I remember the girl who went to pinball club, like an older episode. And it was just inspiring me where it's like, I'll go and I'll go regularly. Like, I. I listen. I think one of the episodes, maybe a week or two ago, there was a kid who was like, his first year of college, and he was two weeks in. He's like, I'm not making any friends. I don't understand. And I stand by it that you have to be regularly at a space for a year to really get comfortable and have community. But I moved. I've been in the same state for my whole life, but I left my last job and moved to the area that I'm at now in October of last year. So it's been almost a year living here. And I'm rock climbing regularly and I have like some friends from it now. I'm actually going to warp tour with two of my rock climbing friends.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (18:05)

Cool.

Rochelle (18:06)

In November.

Elias (18:07)

So are all of your rock climbing.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (18:09)

Friends also, like, super ripped?

Rochelle (18:12)

No, I'm actually. Because I have the strength background, I'm naturally stronger than a lot of them, which does feel pretty cool. I will say it has. It's very helpful to be a lifter in a lot of aspects of life, to be honest.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (18:30)

What other. What other aspects?

Rochelle (18:34)

I mean, one interesting thing is that at the gym I go to, there are a lot. It's a big gym. And there's this one woman that I met. She's a mother. She's probably in her 50s. She's like in perimenopause and menopause. And she. She posts things openly about that on Instagram. She talks about it. And I know the biggest thing is that because I have this, like, fitness habit that I've built, I eat really healthy too. I actually got a nutrition coach recently. So I eat really healthy. I prioritize my sleep and it helps being with someone who prioritizes their sleep. But I feel good pretty much most of the days. Aside from when I'm super sore from training, I sleep pretty good. I don't drink either. I haven't actually had any alcohol since New Year's two years ago now. And I just. I'm. It's cool to be able to have a habit where I feel pretty good a lot of the time. And I feel like. Well, maybe not all the time because I'm kind of an anxious person too, but I feel like having this fitness habit allows me to, like, think pretty clearly, to be able to have good control of, like, how I'm feeling. And I know my anxious thoughts get worse when I'm more tired or I'm not being mindful of my.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (20:06)

Totally. Yeah, totally, totally.

Rochelle (20:08)

Yeah. To the point of the menopause thing too. The thing that women who actually study that say, and you're older is I'm talking to the gecko.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (20:19)

Who is that?

Rochelle (20:21)

That's my boyfriend.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (20:22)

Oh, yo, what's up? Is it. Wait, did he just walk in?

Rochelle (20:25)

He just walked in. He just went on a walk. We. We went to a restaurant after My show. And we each ate nachos and buff wings and our own respective meals and we each got a dessert.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (20:38)

Are those all the, Are those all the foods that you, like, can't have while you're like, leading up to this?

Rochelle (20:44)

It's funny actually, is you can kind of eat stuff like that. Like there's, if you're ever in a diet, in my opinion, if you're ever in a diet where you have to cut out food, food, then it's not sustainable. Unless you're like gluten free and you can't have.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (20:57)

Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. That doesn't make any. Don't all diets involve cutting out food?

Rochelle (21:07)

It's, it's, it's moderation. So I, for instance, the girl that's my nutrition coach, one of the snacks that I'll get on my rock climbing day before I go to bed, my last meal is. And okay, it sounds kind of lame, but it's really good. Rice cakes with peanut butter and mini chocolate chips.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (21:26)

That sounds really good.

Rochelle (21:28)

Oh my God, dude, it's so good. But just to tie up the last point too, like, when women get older, they like, their estrogen levels just like shoot down and their hormones get all out of whack. And the best thing you can do when you're older and like in that stage of your life is lift weights, eat protein, sleep, drink water. Like all that stuff that I'm kind of doing now. So I feel like, because I have this happen now, I know it's going to help in the long run. But also I feel like it helps me manage my emotions. And I haven't talked to people a lot about it, so I don't always know how to like, phrase it, but I feel like I have a pretty good head on my shoulders and it helps a lot because I strength train regularly. And also too, I have a community. I think that's a big thing that a lot of people miss in. In like the modern day is like when you go to a place regularly, like we were just saying, go to the gym regularly, you see the same people and you kind of build a community there. And gym people are kind of like people who do strength sports. They're kind of very similar people. So it's easy to say hi to people and chat about it. And I can be like an awkward person. But to be able to ask someone like, oh, are you like training for a show? Like, what events are you doing? And like, we're all kind of in similar boats. Do we all kind of get it.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (22:57)

So you did the show today. Let me ask you this. You say that a lot of people in the strongman community feel as though it's gone downhill because they're not. As my understanding of what you said is that the kind of, like, there's less showmanship. Right. Can I ask you. So sorry. Go ahead, Go ahead, Go ahead.

Rochelle (23:20)

I was gonna say, I think I misrepresented it. I don't think that's a common sentiment among all people. That's just my perspective.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (23:26)

Okay, wait. So I guess. No, no. Perfect, perfect, perfect. So if that's your perspective, what do you think? Like, what? Give me some good, like, challenges that you think they should add. Like, fucking, like, picking up big barrels of water and throwing them down. Like, what do you think they should. They should add to the strongman competition? If you could add any kind of challenge.

Rochelle (23:49)

So the first thing that comes to mind is that I follow. I follow a lot of athletes on Instagram, and there was somebody who post a show where most of the events were in water. So it's like one event was picking up a log and pressing it overhead for reps in water, and then another was carrying a. Like a tub, like, kind of like a big. A drum filled with water and carrying that around. I think it's just like. It's stupid. You know, Actually, too, the last show I did, it was a kilted show. Everybody wore a kilt, and it was at a ren faire. And so we were in kind of like the horse trough, kind of where they do the jousts. Same kind of area. And so there was one event, and this one you might have to look up to kind of see. It's hard to explain, but it's called a single finger sometimes. Such weird names. But the single finger is you kind of pick up this. Think of a stick that is stuck to a pivot point, really big stick. And so you pick up from one end and you kind of get it up to your chest and then push it above your head and you kind of walk your hands under it to push the stick to fall on the other side. That's the best way I could explain it. You might just have to look it up. But that's a cool event to watch people do. There was one where it was the. The wagon of pain, they called it, where you take. Pick up a sandbag and load in a wagon, pick up another, load in wagon, then pick up another load in, and then you carry the wagon down a distance. And that one does look cool. Too. Those are ones I remember, but I thought that was cool and that's why I signed up for it was because it was at a rent there and like it's kind of a spectacle, you know.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (25:35)

Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask your. What are the. What are the. So what are the numbers for you? Like, what's your. What's your. I would love to hear a rundown of the stats. Like, what's your bench?

Rochelle (25:46)

So I actually don't really bench anymore, but I did a powerlifting meet last year. Year. And I benched 165 pounds. The most that I've deadlifted. That one's cooler. The most I've deadlifted is £380.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (26:00)

Whoa. That's great.

Rochelle (26:02)

Yeah, yeah. And then squat two. I don't really do that one as much, but when I did it last year, I squatted 260.

Elias (26:12)

Whoa.

Rochelle (26:13)

So the. Yeah, the numbers for. It's hard to say numbers for strongman stuff because it's. You're never really going for like a heavy single. But like I did an event today that was cool too. It was. I picked up a sandbag that weighs as much as me, like 150 pounds. And then, you know, like keg, like you put beer in it. I picked up that one and that weighed 155 pounds and I carried it. And then I, I picked up an Atlas stone, which also. It was 145 pounds, and tried to carry that one. But it was cool though because they like split up the group. Everybody was competing today into two groups to make it go a bit faster. And I picked up. I was like the second to last person to go for that event. So like all these guys, you know, some of them were like in their 50s and stuff and like they were carrying less than me. It felt like hot. But. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. But as far as specific weights to give, I guess the last show I did there was an event where it was, you know, like a beer keg. Literally, that's one of them is like carrying a keg. It was a 200 pound keg and I put it over a. A bar that was at like 45 inches tall. Like I'm 5 foot 2, so it was maybe like 42 inches high, I think. And I did that I think four times. So I don't know. It's hard to like explain these numbers and like know if other people, like, know what that feels like. But it's, It's. I think the coolest part of it for me is that the Stuff that I'm doing next year is stuff that I never thought I would be doing. You know, like, I know my voice is shaky. I'm so, like, it's so surreal, but it's just. I think I've been really excited because. Yeah, the stuff that I'm doing next year is the stuff that I've been spending since 2017, like, working toward, you know.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (28:19)

Interesting. Zuwe, you never thought that you would make it into. What is it called? Federation.

Rochelle (28:27)

Well, there's different federations. It's more. I never thought that I would be doing a qualifier to go to World for a Strong man. And like, I'm going to. Have you ever heard of the Arnold?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (28:38)

No. Is that based off of. Sorry. Is that based off Schwarzenegger?

Rochelle (28:44)

Yeah, it's. It's a fitness expo in, In Columbus, Ohio. I don't know what else there is in Ohio, but there's a. It's a fitness expo. So it's like all the shrink sports that kind of come together and it's like, it's one of the top sport strongman shows for people that. Besides the super heavyweight men. And I'm going to that too, in March. That's a plan anyway. Unless the events kind of stink or if it's too expensive, then I probably won't. But I think I'm saving up my money. I think I can go. And the fact that I'm going to it is like, I never thought I'd be able to go. You know what I mean?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (29:21)

What's the. What is the. The demographic, like, who's in the audience for these shows? I'm curious, like, who are the. What's the demographic of people that attend?

Rochelle (29:33)

So the one that I did, it's mostly friends and family. It's the people who compete, it's the people who help out, and then it's friends and family. So my mom and my stepdad actually came to watch.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (29:43)

Very nice.

Rochelle (29:44)

And my mom, she's. Oh, my God, she's weighs as much as me, but she's like six inches taller than me. She's skin and bone. She's 16. She's 60 years old, literally osteoporotic. And she's like. She said she felt so out of place because, you know, we're doing this stuff and we're like all shouting and rah, rah. But, you know, she was there too. And there are other, like, parents and stuff there. And that's typically who it is. Even at a bigger show, it's comprised of the athletes, the couple people who help out and then maybe some other athletes who go to that gym and are interested in it. But then otherwise it's friends and family. So if you ever watch a high level strongman show, like the audience, I mean, for like World's Strongest man, that's like one of the biggest ones and that has other people, but for ones that aren't as well known but are still big, it's usually friends and family.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (30:38)

Who, who's the like World's strongest woman right now? Do we have, do we have eyes on that?

Rochelle (30:46)

The name that comes to mind for me, there's this woman named Inez. I N E Z. I think she might be the strongest in her weight class. There is this woman whose name I can't think of her name, but she's, she's, I think from.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (31:04)

Oh, is it Inez Cara Squillo?

Rochelle (31:10)

Yeah, she is definitely one of the top strongest athletes. The strongest people. It's, it's mass moves. Mass. So the strongest people are going to be the heavyweights and the super heavyweight. Like I can name the strongest people like in my weight class. But I guess to give you some perspective too, I am a typically 145 pound woman. When I do a weight cut into like a competitive weight class, I'm about 141 pounds. And at 141 pounds, there are women who are deadlifting 400 and 500 pounds. It's. It's absolutely insane. So people are just nutty strong nowadays.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (31:50)

I got a fitness question for you. It's not really a fitness question. We're just like, okay, when people do like squats, this, there's this thing that gives me tons of anxiety when I like see it at the gym where people do squats and they're carrying all of the fucking weight of the thing. Not like with their, they're not like grabbing it with their shoulders. Like they're on their feet, fingertips, you know, like they carry it all on their fingertips, you know.

Rochelle (32:16)

What I'm talking about is like, is the bar on their collarbone?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (32:22)

I may possibly, possibly. I think it's like on their. Yeah, like on their back, on their neck maybe. And they're just carrying it all with their fingertips.

Rochelle (32:31)

I don't know.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (32:31)

And their hand, their hands are like curled all the way back.

Rochelle (32:36)

Is that just like a regular squeeze squat? But people have their hands bent really far back. I might know what you're talking about.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (32:42)

I think so. I mean, I might just be stupid, but.

Rochelle (32:46)

No, no, no. If I'm picturing that, right? Some people just have really good wrist flexibility. Some people. How do I say? Yeah. I mean, that's just the way some people squat. Some people squat with their legs super wide out and have their hands bent really, really far back. Oh, yeah. Because it allows them to have the bar sit lower on their. On their upper back. So I'm not. This is kind of out of my wheelhouse, but I, for instance, for my body shape, I have, like, longer thighs, and so when I squat, I kind of will bend over, versus some people, like, can squat really upright if they have, like, shorter thighs. And so there are people, if you squat, if you lean over more forward as you're squatting and the barbell is further down on your back, like on your upper back, and your hands are bent further than. That's little engineering. It's a. It's a smaller lever arm, so it's a little bit easier to move versus if it were higher up on your upper back. I don't know if what I'm saying makes sense, but it's like, it's. The distance between the bar and your hips is a little bit closer, so it's a little bit easier to lift. I don't know if that's exactly the way to explain it.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (34:03)

That makes sense. I just. As long as I thought you were going to. As long as you didn't say because they're crazy and wild, then no listing regularly.

Rochelle (34:13)

We're not crazy and wild. They go to bed at 9:30pm they don't drink beer or like once a month, you know, they're not crazy, so.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (34:24)

Well, let me think here. What's next for you? Did you tell me your name?

Rochelle (34:31)

It's Rochelle.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (34:32)

Rochelle. What's next for you, Rochelle? I guess so you're gonna. You're. You're going out for Worlds. That'll be cool. When is that again?

Rochelle (34:39)

So the, the qualifying show I'm doing, it's in Jersey in mid January. And if I do well in that, then Worlds would be in August of next year. Presumably it was in August of this year. So I think it would be in August next year. And then I'm doing the Arnold 2, which is in March. And after that, I don't really know. I'll kind of figure it out after, but those are my plans right now.

Elias (35:05)

Hmm.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (35:06)

That's awesome. That's really cool. I'm excited for you. I'm trying to think if. Well, I guess before we go, is there anything else you want the people to know about women's strong men, strong man competitions? Misconceptions you want to clear up.

Rochelle (35:28)

I guess maybe it's a misconception, but I. I don't even think it is. The people who go to the gym regularly are the guys especially who look big and scary. They're typically the nicest people. And if you see someone, like, in there all the time and lifting heavy and you ever have a question about, like, oh, I don't. I don't know how to squat, or, like, I need help with bench, you give me a spot. Like, they would be more than happy to. They'd be more than happy to talk about it and give tips because it's all we do, you know, it's our only hobby. So people who are like that, they're. They're super nice and they would love to help you. You never have to, like, worry people are watching you at the gym because they really. Unless you're, like, in there cocky and, like, telling people, like, oh, this is whatever. If you're, like, trying, like, I always have respect for the people who are, like, clearly trying. And a guy who's lifting, like, the barbell because he's new to it or, like, someone who's overweight and, like, clearly, like, is uncomfortable being there, like, I think that's great. And most people who do fitness to the level that I do, they feel the same way.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (36:35)

Oh, my other question. What's the. What's the, like, like, the other women who participate in the competitions, do you become friends with them? Are they the kinds of people you. You would want to hang out with?

Rochelle (36:49)

I. Honestly, it's interesting. I don't really hang out with a lot of, like, the gym people outside of the gym, but I would. I don't know. I guess I just kind of. I don't hang out. I don't. I guess I would. Simple question. Simple answer. Your question is I would. I. It's hard to break that barrier with, like, gym going people, but actually, the people that I hung out with after my competition today were people that I met through the gym. So I think it's just, I don't know, something we need to think about, I guess. Try to, like, ask them more, like, if they want to hang out outside of the gym.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (37:28)

Rochelle, is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?

Rochelle (37:33)

No, I just. It's so cool to have finally got on. I've been listening to you so long. Your podcast is great. It's. It's really. I guess for you, it's just. I know people tell you, like, what you're doing is. It's. It's good. I'm trying to find my words, but it really is. It's really helpful to hear perspectives of a variety of people. I love that guy story. I know I'm talking a lot.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (38:01)

No, no, thank you, Rochelle. I appreciate.

Rochelle (38:05)

Yeah, just the. The Train Hopper guy was so fascinating. He was so nice. I. I don't know if he's listening to this too, but I hope he knows. Like, I agree with the Spotify comments, too. Like, yeah, he. He clearly loves his daughter, and he's just. I. I just love hearing different people's stories. It makes the world feel a lot smaller, and it really does help me know that like. Like you say, too, I don't know anything. I don't know anything about people, but I love learning about their experiences. I love. It's just. It's cool that I got to get on. Especially, too, when I see, like, your personal hobbies of, like, traveling and making that part of your work and interviewing people, it seems like that's starting to take off. So I'm excited to see how that goes for you. I will be. Whatever the word is, like, we'll be watching your career or whatever. Like, thank you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (38:58)

Thank you, Rochelle. No, thank you. No. I'm touched that so many people have been felt connected to that particular episode because. Yeah, it really touched me, too. It's cool to see. I'm very happy that that got the kind of response that I think that that guy's a story warranted. And thank you for talking about this. This was. This was a very fun one in a sea of. This was cool. I feel like in a sea of a lot of, you know, heavy stuff. It's nice to just like, chat about a fun, cool, interesting thing that someone does as part of their life. So I appreciate you coming on and talking about this.

Rochelle (39:34)

Thank you. Appreciate it. Oh, I guess, too, if people. I can throw out my Instagram.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (39:40)

Yeah. Oh, yeah, sure, please.

Rochelle (39:43)

I'm not trying to become a big name and strongman. I'm not trying to be an influencer. But I love that people have questions about fitness and want to. Like, for me, my Instagram handle. Well, yeah, my Instagram handle is rochambeau915. Like, R O S H A M B O. Rochambeau. I'm Rochelle. Well, yeah, Rochelle.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (40:06)

915.

Rochelle (40:08)

Yes.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (40:10)

Trust me, I'm an engineer. Oh, this is you. This is you with your ripped boyfriend?

Rochelle (40:15)

Yes, he. He. When I make my next post, I got him a shirt that says a super hot cougar stole my heart anywhere that. Because I think it's cute.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (40:27)

So I hope this isn't weird, considering the context, but you guys have crazy calves.

Rochelle (40:33)

Thank you. No, I love that. I love when people, like. Like, I've had girls at the gym say, like, oh, my God, like, your. Your quads are huge. Like, thank you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (40:42)

Oh, this is the. I see this with the pu. I'm looking at it through a little carousel. I see a little. The post. The. Oh, holy shit. Is that you? Oh, holy fuck. Do you're. You look like you're about to. Oh, my God. This is you. Deadlifting. Damn. That's cray with the guy in the beard in the background.

Rochelle (40:59)

Yeah, that's 345, bro.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (41:01)

Holy shit. That looks. That looks terrifying. Honestly, that looks like. Like, I look at this and I'm like, you look. It looks like. I mean, you're professional, so obviously, you know, you're doing. But I'm like, damn, if I tried to do this shit, my back would just go be destroyed.

Rochelle (41:18)

Yeah. Your. Your reaction is the same as my mom's. She gets very scared to see me lift. But, you know, you do it for long enough and you. You stay open to feedback from people, and anybody can do stuff like that, you know? Yeah. If anyone has questions ever about fitness or anything, you can just, like, message me, and I can do my best to answer. I feel like sometimes that's what people need, you know?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (41:42)

I'm looking at you. Where? On your profile picture with pulling this truck with an American flag in the background. That's pretty epic.

Rochelle (41:51)

My dad recorded that video too. And it's just funny because he didn't get the truck until, like, the very end, I think.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (41:59)

Oh, he just was like. He just recorded you holding the rope.

Rochelle (42:03)

Yeah, but it was great. My dad moved, but he came to every single show I had before and every powerlifting, Every single one before he moved. So I appreciated that a lot.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (42:18)

Well, thank you for calling, Rochelle. I wish you good luck in qualifying for Worlds.

Rochelle (42:23)

Thank you. And good luck in all your trips, too.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (42:28)

See you around the universe, dude.

Rochelle (42:30)

Take care of.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (42:31)

Bye, Rochelle. That was a fun one. That felt like a very classic therapy gecko phone call. Yeah, I'm looking through this. This woman's Instagram. This is this, like, Strongman. She has all these photos of her strongman shit. Rochambeau195. Yeah. This looks crazy. This looks like. I feel myself in pain just watching her do this stuff. Yeah. With. Look at this with the drum, the big fucking. Oh, holy fuck, dude. She's picking up this giant like beanbag and like bending herself all the. That's crazy. She's like, bet that's cray. Holy shit. She's like bending herself all the way backwards to hold up this barrel and then just like powers back forward. That's insane. Damn. Shout out. Shout out to Rochelle.

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Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (47:02)

Hey, what's up, man? What's your name?

Elias (47:05)

Oh, sorry, is this the gig?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (47:08)

Yeah, who is this?

Elias (47:10)

Oh, this is Elias.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (47:13)

Elias.

Elias (47:14)

My name is Elias.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (47:15)

Elias. Elias. You texted me and you said I want to talk about my root beer collection.

Elias (47:21)

Yeah, I just text here right now. I just got a. A place with no connection. But I. I tried calling you freaking after I got off of work, but then I went to this place with no connection and then I think I might have lost you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (47:39)

But none of that matters now, Elias. None of that matters now. I want to hear about this root beer collection.

Elias (47:48)

Okay, so I've been building a root beer collection. I'm only 21, but I've been building a root beer collection for like three years, four years now. I mean I tried. Everywhere I go, I try to find a. A bottle of root beer I went to. Well, so far I've only went to places in California, but I went to Hawaii. I tried to find one there and I don't think they sell the right type of ingredients to make a good root beer there. Or so I heard. But yeah, I mean, I have a picture of my collection, but I would just have to show you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (48:31)

Yeah, can you text that to me?

Elias (48:39)

I need to find it.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (48:42)

What's the most prized aspect of your collection.

Elias (48:47)

My most prized aspect? It's just that, I mean, I only have, like. Or.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (48:57)

I'm sorry, I said that wrong. The most prized item.

Elias (49:00)

Oh, I have. Well, I think my fate. My favorite is the dad's. The dad's root beer. You ever tried that one? It's like, bro.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (49:12)

So I've never had. I've never had dad's root beer, but when I was in high school on Amazon, I once ordered, like, a hundred dad's root beer barrel candies. And so I've had, like, tons. Like, I would just find loose root beer barrel candies in my backpack all the time because of how many of them I just, like, took me to school and shit. I've never had actual dad's root beer, though. Is it any good?

Elias (49:41)

Oh, dude. Every time there's. I mean, we haven't have a. A dad. Right? But every time I go there.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (49:54)

Sorry, you cut out for a second. What'd you say?

Elias (49:58)

Every time I go to the little famous, I always get it and. Oh, we're losing you refrigerator with dad's root beer. I'm grabbing it. That's how good it is. Okay.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (50:11)

Every time you go to a sandwich shop, you get it. That's how good it is. Okay, that's pretty good. That's pretty good. Okay, what's the root. What's the worst. What's the worst root beer that you've had?

Elias (50:25)

Okay, so I went to this candy shop, my local mall, and there was one called Rat's root Beer. It was like rats. And I tried it. It tastes. It tasted like. Like super watery. You ever had, like when you drink from a water fountain and it's just. It's just straight up syrup? Yeah, that's what. That's what that one tastes like.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (50:55)

Okay, that sounds good.

Elias (50:56)

Yeah. I'm trying to find this. Yeah.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (50:58)

What about. Okay, rank these 1 to 3A and W barks mug.

Elias (51:11)

Okay, now we're talking about the real. The real. So if you have bark in between those three. If you have barks and two or one, then you're. Then that's the worst decision of your life because.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (51:26)

Okay, so barks is. Barks is the worst.

Elias (51:29)

Barks is definitely the worst. For sure. And then I go A and W. But me and my brother, dude, we every. Every time we go to, like, a soda fountain and they don't mug, dude. I mean, I still drink the root beer, but if they don't have mug. I mean, I. I give it like a.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (51:50)

Okay, you're A mug guy.

Elias (51:52)

Automatically you're a mug guy. I'm definitely. I'm definitely a mug guy.

Rochelle (51:56)

For sure.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (51:56)

I'm with you. I'm also a mug guy. I just like the dog. I don't know why, but something about looking at the dog while I'm drinking the root beer makes the root beer taste different. I don't know that much about mug. Like, I don't know if it. If it. I know that a W. I think A and W is like a. What's. What is A and W under? I think they're under. Oh, okay. All right. So there's the three. There's the three big challengers in the soda beverage industry. There's Pepsi, of course. The Pepsi owns mug. Barks is owned by Coke.

Elias (52:38)

Yeah.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (52:39)

And then A and W is. Hold on. I think A and W is by, like, Snapple. Let me. Let me look at this. A and W. Yeah. A and w is under Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper. I think Dr. Yeah, Keurig. Keurig. Keurig. Dr. Pepper is a publicly trade. Oh, I didn't know that. They merged. Okay. Keurig Dr. Pepper. Okay. Yeah, there we go. Okay. It used to be the Dr. Pepper Snapple group, and now it is the Keurig Dr. Pepper group. So the Dr. Pepper people, the Pepsi people, and the Cola and the Coca Cola people are the main competitors in the space, and they all have their own root beer. And I agree. I think mug is the best of those. Oh, I got. I have. I have a question for you. What are. What's your opinion on root beer floats? How do you like a little bit of a vanilla ice cream in your root beer?

Elias (53:50)

Honestly, it. That's like saying, like, putting a cherry on top. You know, you always put, like, cherries on top of, like a. Like a cupcake or something.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (53:59)

Oh, I just got the photo. I just got the photo. Oh, there's so many people in here that I'm not. Okay, hold on. Wait, let me. Sorry, Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. Sorry. It's got kind of.

Elias (54:11)

No, this is. This is not my full root beer collection. I took this. I haven't taken a picture of my. Of my fullest one. Like the rats One is not on there. But this is like, maybe a year ago, but I added maybe another stack on top of that.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (54:29)

This is awesome. Okay, I've had. I'm gonna go through the ones I've had. Okay, you've got ibc. That one's pretty good. I don't know if I've had the ibc. Root beer. But I've definitely had the IBC cream soda. That shit's really good. Henry Winehards. I've never had that. Stewart's. That's a. That's a sleeper pick.

Elias (54:52)

Stewart's.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (54:53)

Yeah, Stewart's. Stewart's has an amazing orange creamsicle flavor. Have you ever had Stewards?

Elias (55:00)

Oh, yeah, yeah, I had that. I had that one. I've had that.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (55:04)

Okay. Balls Root beer.

Elias (55:07)

Okay. That was my favorite one, actually. Yeah, that was my favorite one because I brought it home one day, and then my brother was like, you're really drinking balls right now? And I was like, nah, it's root beer.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (55:19)

Wait, balls is a. Where have I seen this? Yeah, okay. I've seen balls before as, like. Yeah, I've seen it in, like, a classy blue soda before, but I didn't know they had a root beer, so that's interesting. I don't know. I don't know. River City. I don't know. River City. Oh, look at this dang butterscotch root beer. What was that like? Tell me about.

Elias (55:48)

Did it have.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (55:49)

How was the.

Elias (55:52)

So that one is a little. That was a little more on the sweeter side, right?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (55:59)

It's got butterscotch.

Elias (56:01)

Yeah.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (56:01)

Good.

Elias (56:02)

That one's, like, probably the most sweetest one.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (56:05)

Jackson Hole bucking root beer. Virgil's. I've had this one. Okay. The Sprecher firebrood root beer.

Elias (56:15)

They have. They have a couple of different types of those. I have, like, maybe two more of those in my new collection.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (56:23)

Okay. This was the root beer. Main root. Where is that one from? That looks familiar.

Elias (56:28)

I got that. Do you know what? Lake Tahoe in. In the Nevada.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (56:34)

Sure.

Elias (56:36)

That's where I got that one. And it's, like, gave me, like, a foresty feel, because. Feel. Because Lake Tahoe is kind of, like, foresty and, like. I don't know. It was just, like, the. All the aesthetic around it, and I was like. It just, like, called my name in this little. Little tiny bakery I went to. I was like, hey, grab me.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (56:57)

I want to backtrack real quick. The dang butterscotch root beer. How heavy was the butterscotch? Could you taste the notes?

Elias (57:06)

It was. It was kind of like. It was kind of like a root beer float, Honestly. Not really, like, vanilla, but it had, like, that. It had that vanilla y. Like. Oh, you know, if you. There's, like, this root beer. Oh, it's. It's with mud, too, where you make it, like, kind of like cream. It's like root beer, and it's like the cream style cream soda and what's it called? Okay, Actually, it's just cream soda, so that's kind of what it tastes like if you had.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (57:41)

Oh, okay. It just tastes like a regular cream soda. All right, we have. Here's the dads, which is you say is your favorite. I've never seen dad's root beer as just like sold in, like, a play. I've just never seen it out and about.

Elias (57:57)

Yeah, I have. I have a spot by my house downtown, and honestly, it's pretty good. It's a good sandwich spot, so I like it.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (58:06)

Oh, shit. Dad. I'm on the dad's root beer website. A website I never thought I would ever be on, but it seems like they have a Dad's has all these. Whoa, dude. Holy tits. Have you ever seen this before? Dad's Old fashioned blue cream soda. Have you ever seen that?

Elias (58:25)

I have not, actually.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (58:26)

Dad's blue cream soda. It says. It says, dad's blue cream soda is almost liquid cotton candy with very heavy vanilla notes. That sounds insane. I'm. Dude, you can sign up for a. They have an email list. I'm signing up for that.

Elias (58:48)

They have an email list?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (58:49)

Yeah, dude, you can write to them. 950 South St. Charles Street, Jasper, Indiana, 47546.

Elias (59:01)

I'm missing out.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (59:03)

They have merch. What do they have on. What's their merch situation? You could buy a. Ooh, ooh. You see this? They have a dad's root beer mug. Imagine drinking.

Elias (59:13)

What?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (59:14)

Imagine drinking a dad's root beer out of a dad's root beer mug. That sounds awesome. They have lip balm. It tastes like root beer. That's a little. I don't. I don't know if that. This mug you can sell. You can become a realtor. Look at this. You can sell dads. Use the contact form to reach out to be able to sell dads at your location. Okay. Name. No, I'm not going to fill that out. I don't have anything funny to say while I fill that out, but okay. I could read the history of dad's root beer, but I won't. I'm gonna finish your collection. Okay. You have dog and. What does this one say? Dog.

Elias (59:50)

Suds. Dog and suds.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (59:52)

Dog and what?

Elias (59:54)

Dog and suds.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (59:55)

Dog and suds root beer. Okay. How was that?

Elias (59:59)

That one. It was all right. Just. This is just regular root beer. Maybe like a W type. So like, all these. All these root beers bottles, I. Based off my. Those top three that you mentioned earlier. The mug A and W and then barks. I. I rarely, I rarely rate them as a bark style. It's usually A and W, but like when we want the only do the mugs, those are like, like the dads. Yeah.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (60:32)

Okay. I like this. Yeah. You've developed your own. You've developed your own ranking style system where a barks is a C, an A and W is a B, and a mug is an A. Yeah.

Elias (60:50)

And then the last one is Sioux City.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (60:53)

Sioux City. I saw that. I saw Sioux City. Okay, where do you rank Sioux City?

Elias (60:58)

That one's an aw. Actually, I had this one when I was super drunk one night. And so maybe, maybe it was a mug back then, but it's probably an aw.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (61:11)

Yeah, you sober up and you real. Yeah, you sober up and you realize that what you thought was a mug is really a. Sometimes it can be a barks.

Elias (61:21)

Yeah, you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (61:23)

I see that you have Lego flowers coming out of a few of these bottles. I like that.

Elias (61:30)

Yeah. My girlfriend bought them for me and then I had no place to put them, so I chose the three bottles that were probably. I think I chose these because they were mug. They were the mug rating, like the Virgil's and then the Henry Whiteheart.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (61:46)

Oh, oh, okay. You, you, you gave, you gave literal flowers to the mugs ranking. Okay, so Henry. All right, so for the people who can't see this image, the Henry Weinhardt's has a flower in it, so that's a mug rating. The Virgil has a flower in it, that's a mug rating. And then the dad's has a flower in it. So those are, are, those are, those are three mugs out of the whole collection.

Elias (62:17)

Yeah, I think I have a cup. I don't put flowers in the. I think I have one more mug, but I, I'm blanking on the name of it, but dude, I need to send you that updated picture because I have like another stack on top of this one picture.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (62:36)

Can, can you send me that? Can you send me that other picture? How far. How. So this is from a year ago.

Elias (62:41)

Yeah. And I, I'm actually coming home from work right now, so I don't. I'm not in access of my root beer collection right now, but next time you're live, I'll just send you a picture or something.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (62:58)

So. Okay, let me count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Okay. Right now there's 13 bottles in this picture. How many bottles do you think you have now?

Elias (63:09)

Probably 26.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (63:11)

Twice. Holy. Okay.

Elias (63:14)

Yeah.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (63:15)

How far Away. Are you from your house right now?

Elias (63:18)

I. About 40 minutes.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (63:22)

Okay.

Elias (63:22)

All right, well, yeah, I'll have to send you it later.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (63:26)

All right, you'll have to send me it later. What's the give. What. What's a root beer that you've heard of in passing, that you have not yet tasted, but would like to taste one day?

Elias (63:47)

That's a good question. Because it's usually like. Because I'm more of a. Of a fake type of guy. Like all my, my pet animals, I've gotten like, from like them coming to me. You know, it's like. Like I said earlier about that main root beer, like, it just called my name. Like, as soon as I walk to a store, I look in like the soda section just to see if they have one. But, you know, I. I'm not. There's not a lot of my friends are root beer type of guy. Actually, my brother is. Is more of a Dr. Pepper guy. And so we don't really see eye to eye, but I mean, it's just whenever I see it, I just grab it and I don't have. I haven't had any hurt or I haven't heard any. I traveled yet, so.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (64:39)

I like that you. I like that you. I like that you let fate bring the right root beers to you.

Elias (64:48)

And that's just a good, good lifestyle for me at least. I can't speak for everyone, but I like that lifestyle. As just a person.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (64:59)

Is there anything that you feel somebody. If someone out there wants to start collecting root beer bottles, what advice would you give to them?

Elias (65:10)

Just, I mean, just amongst your travels, just go to the local corner store and just look in the soda section. If they don't have any, just. You just gotta move on. Not much, not so much to it. Also, restaurants have them too. Sometimes. If you ask for root beer, then you can sometimes ask them for the bottle.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (65:37)

Do you feel like collecting root beer has given you a good perspective on the idea of just moving on in general, you know? Has it let you been better at that?

Elias (65:51)

What do you mean?

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (65:52)

Like, you know, you said if they don't have root beer, then you just move on. You know, like, I'm, I'm. I guess I'm trying to take your root beer collecting and apply it to your broader life in some sense.

Elias (66:05)

No, actually, not really.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (66:09)

Well, then, never mind. What's your name again?

Elias (66:12)

Yeah, it's Elias with a V. Elias.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (66:16)

Elias. Thank you for sharing this. This has been an Incredibly enjoyable 20 minutes for me.

Elias (66:23)

Me too. Therapy Gecko.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (66:25)

Is there anything else you want to say to the people of the computer before we go.

Elias (66:30)

Keep drinking root beer.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (66:33)

Beautiful. Thank you, Elias.

Elias (66:36)

Thank you.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (66:40)

That was, that was incredibly enjoyable for me, folks. I think I'm going to end the podcast today by reading a few emails. I like, I've gotten a little drip in of, of geck mails and I figure I would read a few of them. Um, I'll also talk a little bit about my trip to Iraq. I don't know if I'm gonna do a whole thing about it, but it was really, it was amazing. I mean, it was so un. Like what my expectations were of what it would be like. That's the main thing I want to say. I'll say everything that I really want to say when the video is out because that's. It's going to take me a full month to edit it. At least a month. At least. So I'm aiming for like, no, I'm aiming for like the very beginning of November to get the full video out there. But yeah, it was, it was great. People were so fucking nice to us. Like the very first day we were there, these like two police officers holding like big ass AK47s just like came up to us and they were like, where are you guys from? How you guys doing? Welcome to Iraq. And then they gave us some cigs. And then one of them like invited us to get lunch with him and his mom. We had, we just had interactions like that all the time where like, I don't know, people would just be really chill and really respectful and really, really, really nice. I wish I could. I'm glad that I went and I, and I took a bunch of video because I'm kind of shit about explaining it with my words. But yeah, it was a great time. Please, please go subscribe to YouTube.com lyle forever so that when I post the video in a month you can see it because it's, it's, it's one of my favorite things I've, I've, I've done in my gecko career. Anyway, let's read a few emails and then we'll get the fuck out of here.

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Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (72:14)

All right. This is from Ollie. Subject line AF and afantasia. Am I saying this correctly? Aphantasia. Okay. Hi Lyle, I wanted to email because I recently learned I have something called aphantasia. An inability to form mental images. And it's been a crazy revelation for me. I never realized I was missing something until now. When I imagine things, I don't see them. I feel their presence or I know certain facts about them. If I picture a forest, I can tell you how quiet or loud it might be, how tall the trees are, how the evening sun paints an orange. But none of that is an image. It's more like a list of facts that my mind creates. Interestingly, I do see things in my dreams. Sometimes very clearly. And sometimes when I'm between being awake and asleep, I'll catch moments of imagery in what I assume is the way other people see their thoughts all the time. Interesting. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I feel spiteful that others have this skill and I don't. I'm really tired at the time of writing this, so I'm sorry if I sound insane. Aphantasia isn't something I like to talk about to people in real life. But I'd love to hear your perspective. How do you see in your head? Thanks for reading this. That's interesting. That part about like how I. The part about like, oh, I can almost catch a glimpse of what a thought might feel like when I dream, but it's like elusive. That's so interesting. How do I see in my head? I'm imagining boobs right now, but they. They're like cartoon. I'm imagining that. It's like when I try to imagine boobs. It's like a painting of it. Okay, I just did it. I just imagined like a normal like human boobs. But it felt like a wicked. It felt like I was looking at like the Wikipedia page for boobs. It was a very non sexual image. Anything I could tell you about how I see in my head Would be. It would be fake because I'd be trying, like. Right. Like if I try to like nat. Like when I like naturally imagine things. Because I'm like trying to imagine something right now. I'm trying to imagine like a gecko. I'm imagining the gecko lizard emoji, but I can see it. This is a weird exercise to do right now. This feels kind of psychedelic. I feel like I'm like entering and exiting my head because, yeah, I can see it. Know what it feels like to imagine something. I guess I can't explain it. Is this a real condition? No. I'm not saying you're lying, but I'm just. You know what I mean? Yeah. Okay. I'm googling it. Aphantasia is the inability to form or access mental images in one's mind. Often referred to as lacking a mind's eye. The phenomenon was first described by Francis Galton in 1880. Who the hell was this guy? Francis Galton? He's dead now. I don't know why that's the only thing I have to say about him. I mean, it's not the only thing. He invented aphanceja and he's dead. He died. He died in 1911. That's a hundred years ago. At least he's known for regression towards the mean. Okay, we can stop reading about this guy. Thank you for sharing this, Ollie. Okay, this is from. Let's see. This is from Cherry. Subject. The void made me send this. Hi, Lyle. My name is Cherry and I don't really know how to start this without sounding either incredibly self important or totally unhinged. Maybe both. I've listened to your show for a few years now. Mostly at work, but also sometimes on long drives when I want to hear someone else speak fluently to the void. I know this is strange. I know I am strange. But I also know myself well enough to trust when I feel something important. And this feels important in the way weird things often do. I think we might be the same kind of person. Whatever that means. I'm not trying to be dramatic. It's just the way you talk, the way your thoughts loop and land and reach sideways into the absurd and intimate at the same time. That is how I think. That's how I feel and navigate. Like we both tuned into the same haunted radio station and decided to keep listening. That's very poetic. That's. That's. This is. Let's keep going. Anyway, I'm rambling, I'm nervous, I definitely smoked a bowl or two, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm not asking for anything, not trying to get on the show. I just don't often find my flavor of weird reflected in other people.

Rochelle (77:38)

And.

Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (77:39)

And I guess I wanted to let you know that I exist somewhere out here. Not expecting a reply, but also kind of hoping for one. Not a fan of talking on the phone, but maybe in the next life we can talk on the phone for approximately seven to 30 minutes. It's nice that she clocked exactly how much time most people here spend on the show talking. It's approximately seven to 30 minutes. Thanks for being one of the few people who makes you feel like less of an anomaly. P.S. so sorry. I just reread that email, but fuck it. We ball. Cherry, how do I respond to this? I don't know. I don't think it's that weird of an email. I don't think, I don't think it's that particularly strong. I don't think you would listen to the show. I think it's a legitimate reason to want to like to you to listen to. Like when I think about like podcasts I listen to or comedians I like and things like that. I guess I do. I appreciate them because they have a similar. I feel like I'm like, oh, I can see myself in this person's brain. So I don't think that's. This is weird. You know, this makes sense. I don't know if I have a good response to it, although I guess I just did respond. Cherry, I hope you're doing all right. Cherry, I like. That's very pilot. This is. I like. I know that you feel weird about this email, but it's poetic. I like it. We both tuned into the same haunted radio station and decided to keep listening. It's. It makes me think about how I'm being perceived when I talk on this fucking thing. And I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm. I'm. This email, it makes me feel like it's a good perception. This email makes me feel like I exist. So. Okay, I'm good. I'm glad. This makes me feel like I also exist in a way. So thank you. Thank you for making me also feel as though I exist by reflecting that my existence somehow makes sense to you. You know what I mean? That was a mutually beneficial email. Okay, let's do one more. All right. This is from someone. Subject line. I cut open dead people for a day and now I can't get over it. Hey, Geck, I'm a pre med student. Working through my undergrad degree and recently shadowed a forensic pathologist, the type of doctor who does autopsies. It was an insanely eye opening experience. And though I've never had a fear of death, autopsying approximately 10 people has really changed my perspective on a lot of things. Mainly that we are all just bags of flesh and are way more fragile than we think we are. During the autopsies you have to go through all the organs, plus cut the skull open and gross the brain, which is a very inhumane experience. Obviously I know it's necessary to determine the cause of death and I literally work with organs and tissues every day. Just something about the physical dismemberment of a human is mentally jarring and every instinct you have is screaming at you to stop and run. Kinda like the whole uncanny valley thing which comes from our recognition of decaying humans and subsequent flight response. Halfway through the workday I went to grab lunch and it all hit me at the same time. I was trying to eat a Spam Musubi, which apparently has the same fleshy sponginess as livers do. I couldn't eat meat for weeks. And I couldn't stop thinking about how everyone in that morgue were people I could have had classes with or passed on the street. I think about those patients and their families every day. And the experience has made me so much more passionate about medicine because half of those deaths were completely medically avoidable if those people received the correct care. I don't regret the experience at all, but I don't think I'll ever really be the same. Do you have any thoughts? Well, I mean, I have a billion thoughts. It's all shit I've been talking about on here before. But yeah, I think a lot about our own fragility. I try not to. I try not to because like, bro, coming to terms with your own fragility as a human being and the fragility of the universe and the transient nature of time and all this existential stuff, it's a crazy ride. I think if you're alive, I think it's a good ride to take. But it becomes at a, at some point just like incompatible with like normal ass life. And I got to that, I got to that point and I thought I would never be able to leave it. And I. And I did. And that not, you know, I don't know if I ever left it, whatever, but I thought I would never be able to just like live normal fucking human being life after having really felt like I went there mentally. But Now I have. And it's. It's good. It's good. It's good to know. I think you should take the ride if you've never taken the ride, but. Yeah. I try not to think about this stuff as much as I. I try to. No, I don't try not to think about this stuff. I try to think about this stuff optimally. Trying to think about the stuff just enough to keep my ass in shape and ignore it. Just enough to keep my ass sane, you know, I'm glad it's made you more passionate. And the fact that you say you won't ever be the same, I don't think. I don't think I'm the same after having my crazy fucking existence existential crisis. But that's good. But you. But I feel. But I also. I think in order to go there, I had to lose touch with certain parts of myself. And that felt scary, the idea that I would. That in order to gain this kind of clarity, I had to give. Give away certain things. But I got. I got all that stuff back. I feel so. I feel like I'm not. I feel like I'm not. I feel like I've become more whole as a result of kind of facing my own fragility. I haven't fucking faced. I don't think I would want to face it in the way that you have faced it. I'm sorry. That's a lot. That's a lot. But, you know, you're in medicine. It's what you do. And it's a noble thing to do, what you do. I mean, I don't want it. That's. That's why it's noble. I don't want to fucking do it, so. But someone has to. Someone has to cut open dead guys. Someone has to do it, bro. Someone has to cut open dead guys. And I'm glad. And I am glad that it's you and it's not me. And it's noble of it to be you. So you should be proud of yourself for cutting open dead folks. It's not an easy thing to do, and I'm glad that it's made you more passionate. Let that be. Because that's the thing, right, is like, you, you, you. You face it and you're fucking terrifying, but you're using it to actually, like, do work. And that's when you're the least terrified, I think, is when you're in the flow state and when you're working and when you're like, have some kind of mission, right? Because you could easily open, look at all these dead people and have it drag you into nihilism. But it didn't. It dragged you, quite the opposite, into. Into being passionate about keeping people alive, you know? That's awesome. I think that's great. So those are. That's my thoughts on your. On this email is that, you know, what you experienced sounds like it was really jarring and crazy and life altering in terms of your perception of life. But it didn't fucking take you into nihilism. It didn't make you go, we're all bags of flesh and we don't fucking matter. It took you deeper into your own fucking humanity. That's what I love about this email, is it took you deeper into your own humanity. Humanity being a thing that, you know, is kind of beyond us, that we don't understand. That's like getting us away from our own nihilism and into, let's fucking do something. You know, let's. Let's keep being more passionate about medicine and fucking making it so less people die. It's cool. I like it. I think. I think. I think you took a good direction with it. I saw it. I saw a dead chicken. Like, it's a raw dead chicken. And I was like, yo, it's crazy how, like, you go to chick fil A and like, everything's like, white and nice and polished and like that. Like, there's marketing and they have, like, Instagram, you know, and it's like a way, like the capital, the capitalistic ization, whatever, of, like, killing a bunch of chickens to make it, like a nice, fun, happy, cool thing, even though it's like killing a bunch of living things. It's kind of crazy. I don't say that I'm totally. I love chick fil A. I'm gonna keep eating there and enjoying it and loving loving it. I might go there right after this. I'm not. This isn't like a PETA rant, but it is just. You got to think about it. It is kind of crazy. All right, that's the podcast. That's it. Thank you all for listening. Thanks for being here. My name is Lyle. I'm a gecko. I don't know if I don't have anything else to say. Follow me on YouTube. YouTube.com Lyle Forever. That's what I'm gonna post, all of my Iraq stuff. I'll. I'll talk about it more if someone calls in and asks me about it. I can't really just. I'm not gonna rant about it. But I'll also talk about it on that video when I put it out in a month. Anyway, whatever. I'm Lyle. I'm crazy. I'm a gecko. Thanks for listening. See you again Wednesday. Geck Bless.

Elias (87:54)

Foreign.

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Rochelle (88:31)

Ugh. Come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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And fluffy omelets come with a side.

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Lyle (Therapy Gecko) (89:32)

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