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This is Wake up to Wealth, a podcast dedicated to helping you change the way you think about wealth. And now, here's your host, Brandon Briningham.
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Hey. This next segment is brought to you by my good friends at Rocket League AI. That is Rocket League AI. If you're in the real estate business, especially investment side investors, and you need a platform that can run your real estate business and talk to leads through AI when you're not able to talk to them and can qualify and get to all the leads you can't get to. Plus it has a amazing piece of technology with it called Lead Detector that helps get all the people that come to your site and not opt in to opt in to turn into a lead. These are my good friends at RocketLead AI. I'm part of this company as well. I use it to run my real estate business, my real estate investment business. Go check them out again, Rocket League AI. And thank you guys for sponsoring the segment. Hey, what's up, everybody? We are back with another episode of Wake up to Wealth. And I cannot thank everyone enough for your support of the show. We are trending towards 120,000 downloads per episode now. Can't say enough of everyone's support. We are well into the 3 million plus downloads, which is pretty freaking amazing. Just the. This was just an idea I wanted to bring on people that I respect, have them talk about wealth, have them talk about life. And this has grown into one of the biggest shows in the world on investing. So start off every show saying the same thing, man. I cannot say thank you enough to the listeners for your support for the growth you've had for the show. And today I've got one of my really good friends, a guy that I respect a lot of on here with us, Tim Stout. Thank you for being with us today.
A
I appreciate the opportunity, brother.
B
So first and foremost, before we get into it, big congratulations are in the work. You just got your second stripe on your black belt. Congratulations, dude. On bjj, which is like if we. I don't know that anyone actually tracks this, but it's probably, what, a thousand people in the world, maybe less than that, that have get to that level.
A
I think there's about 5,000 now with two stripes. No, I don't know about that. With black belts. Yeah, no, you're right.
B
Yeah, yeah, no, not two stripes.
A
Yeah, I guess you're right. Yeah.
B
So how, I mean, so how long did that take you? How long have you been in the discipline to get, to get there?
A
It's. I've been in about 25 years. It took me 18 years to get my black belt, which is extraordinary. Long time. Most people take 10 to 12. I was, I was mainly, I was fighting, so I didn't do a lot of time in the gi. I was hard headed because I was fast, athletic. I preferred no gi. But once I retired I really got into the GI because I needed to slow down and to, to understand the true discipline of it.
B
Yeah. So with that being said, you have a huge, huge social media following and you put a lot of, you know, different videos and stuff out there. I know I watch and pay attention on like being in the street fight situation, you know. Where did that come from? Why did you decide to do that during.
A
It was right before COVID when I started it. So it was perfect timing and I just wanted to do like short form content that wasn't real estate because I was doing, I've been doing real estate content for, you know, 15 years. But you know, real estate is boring unless you're in the act, the act of buying or selling or investing. So I want to do something more exciting. So I did a couple and like my third video ended up getting like 6 million views on YouTube. Yeah. So I'm like, okay, I'm, I'm on to something because I'm a very no nonsense, straightforward, you know, top mentality. So that attracts a certain type of person.
B
So. Yeah. And then, so now you're, you're consistent with that, right? Like you're still doing that, you're, you're still doing that content. Pretty non stop. Right?
A
Yeah. I'll do the self defense at least two times a week and I'll do the, the real estate five to five to ten times a week.
B
Yeah. And so what do you see just having that type of consistency on social media? Like what do you see what shows up in your life because of that real estate?
A
I mean as far as the residential sales, everything has, because of, you know, when you're, when you're selling 100 houses a year and people can look on your Facebook and you have over 400,000 followers, that adds credibility. That's a big one. And another one is like when I, when I message people like you because you're going to see like, you know, Tim Stout has 400,000 followers, you're like, well who's this guy? And you know that. So that gets you in different conversations as well.
B
Yeah. So you have been, you were, you were fighting, you were in the MMA space. Right. And when did you decide like, hey, I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to get into real estate.
A
The. I was actually. I'm writing a speech. I'm speaking at a boys conference this weekend that the one the local sheriff's department puts on. So they want to know about me, and I was actually just riding it. And the second I knew that I was going to do something besides fighting, I was. I was laying in the bed and it was like 5am and my wife was up and she was like, going through her jewelry. And I didn't think anything of it. And I said, you know, what are you doing? You know, because she woke me up, she goes, going through my jewelry. Go back to bed. And three or four minutes later, she's still going through a jewelry. And I'm like, what are you doing? So turned out she has to go sell jewelry to pay for rent and groceries because I had an opponent back out of a fight. So I spent five months preparing for a fight that we don't get paid for.
B
I know. I know what that's about.
A
Yeah. So that was. So. That was rough. And at that point I decided. I still had two fights after that, but I decided that I was. I wanted to do something that I got paid for what I did. Not something that. Because I'm always going to show up early, I was always going to stay. Doesn't matter if we were at McDonald's, working at a factory. I was always going to work harder because that's who I was. So I decided I was going to be in sales. I didn't know what I was going to sell yet. That was a. That was about two weeks later. And I come across that epiphany. Pretty. Pretty simple, pretty easy.
B
When was that? Like, do you remember the year? When was it?
A
Probably 2012. So I sold real estate in 2013, and I was teaching a cardio kickboxing class when I still remember this day. Like I said, I had the gym. You know, we had a gym and cardio kickboxing class. We'd have 20, 25 people in there and had three ladies that come in to try the class. And they. They was. What I thought was success was they, they dressed nice, they smell nice, they look nice. They drove like, Lexuses and BMWs. And they got in there and I was asking, say, what do you ladies do? And they're like, well, we sell real estate. I'm like, oh, okay. Never even on me. Even to that point. It didn't dawn on me. We were eight, nine minutes into this cardio kickboxing class, and they quit because it was hard. Not because they couldn't do it, because it was hard. And I remember them going and setting down and I was texting my wife on a BlackBerry and I'm like, I'm going to sell real estate like this. If this is my competition, I'm going to crush it.
B
That's very interesting. You know this about me. We actually recruit fight. We recruit fighters to be salespeople from an MMA gym here locally that I support and heavily involved with and shout out to SBY Fitness, Brandon Hudson. And man, there's so many parallels. Like, what have you seen that has served like you learned this in the fight game and served you really well. And, I mean, I know I can name a ton of them, but I want to hear from your perspective.
A
I'd say one of the biggest ones was realize I don't have to be the smartest or the most talented. I have to work hard. And when I tell people I said, there's two ways to do more in any business. You, either you do more business, you do it better, or you do more actions. And with the work ethic that I learned through fighting, I was obsessed with not being the guy who didn't know and not leaving any actions undone. And that just snowballed. Within three years, I was selling nearly 100 houses as an individual agent. I mean, just like you, you were. You're killing it as an individual agent. And it's because of the work ethic that was developed. Like, I don't have to be the most talented. I have to work harder. That's the one thing I can control, is how hard I work. And I took the same mindset of I can also control how much I learn. So I've really dove into the learning, the education, the coaches, the mentors, the books, the all. All that stuff as well.
B
Yeah. So another thing, and I know you will agree with this, but I want to hear your take on it is to. To get to. You know, because I know, right? To get to a black belt. And bjj, if you're listening to this, you know, it's so funny. You know, we'll see. I'll see people come into the gym and they'll be like, I want to get a black belt. And you're like, 10 years minimum, at least. They're like, man, that. Right. And so what I want you to kind of talk about is, obviously, you learn this in the fight game, but the people overcomplicate the discipline and the consistency. You obviously have had to have a massive amount of Discipline and consistency. You don't get to two straight black belt without it. But also what you've been able to build in your business, relatively new in that industry, like when you started selling 100 houses, you were new in the game. Talk a little bit about that discipline, consistent. Because I think that just gets lost in our industry.
A
I think it does. I think our, our industry, especially the real estate sales industry is packed full of people who can make full time money with part time effort and people fall into love with love with that. And, and with me like it was like not succeeding was not an option for me. I was tired of being broke, I was tired of being poor. I was tired of, you know, counting your money when you go to the grocery store. Like I was sick and tired of that. So I hired a coach real fast, like out of the gate, probably my first closing. Like I hired a coach. I've been coach my entire life. I was like smart, tell me what to do.
B
Well, think about this really quick. You had a fucking coach in the fight game. So you were already conditioned for that. You already understood that.
A
And I remember talking to the, talking to the company that I was working with and they're like, well, what are you looking for in a coach? I'm like, it needs to be a male. It needs to be a, like a, an athlete or a masculine presence. And he's going to be someone who's going to tell me what to do. I don't want to be asked a bunch of questions. I want to be told what to do because that's what I do. And I got paired with one that was just that X ball player, you know, just like I need you to do this, this and this. And through that coaching and other mentorships like I developed a crazy like work ethic. Like this happens at this time. I have to, my workout has to start at 5am My Jiu Jitsu or kickboxing has to start at 6am you know, I'm at the office at this time from just, just diabolical. And this is what has to happen. And if it didn't happen, like my day was ruined.
B
So you became very regimented.
A
Absolutely. I had to be because I wasn't the smartest. I had to be the one that's most disciplined.
B
So right now, are you still running like that? Like, are you still running? Extremely regimented, Extremely disciplined. Like that now?
A
Probably more. Yeah, my, my alarm gets up off of 350. I lift weights from 6 to 7. I do Jiu Jitsu or kickboxing. From 7 to 8 or from 6 to 7, I'm in the office by 8 for my meeting. And from 9 to 12, I still prospect. I'm still prospecting more for the investing side and some real estate. Like, I'll sell. I think I sold 76 deals this year residentially. But I don't prospect for it. It just comes to me through my social media and through my past client list. And then I focus on building the acquisition business. But it's still, it's all day. I still go on appointments. I love it. I love the hustle. I love the chase. It's like I've been out of sales and making high ends and six figures, nearly seven figures as a team leader. But I am still that guy who goes, gets that stuff. So I, I hunt that deal. Like, I chase it. And so I really enjoy that.
B
Yeah, you still, you still enjoy being in the hunt of the deal?
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
B
So what else would you say that's kind of served you well? You know, like transitioning from that you learned in the gym or in the fight game or whatever, that's just really helped you in your career and in your business.
A
Definitely the work ethic, the connections to a lot of people when you, when they train with you and train together, as you know, it's a different bond. Like, it's not like you're gym bros. You're not just lifting weights. Like when you're, when you're practicing murdering each other and you decide not to because you're friends, you build a camaraderie and this, that, that dictates into business and other businesses and referrals. So that was a huge help. The discipline, the work ethic, even the way that I coach my team, it's like there's no emotions involved. Like, I, I am going to tell you exactly what you need to do to grow. I'm not going to be emotional about it. I'm not going to take your emotions into consideration either. I'm going to take the facts in place. So it's the same thing the way I did my fighters and even my ladies, my ladies understand it more than the guys do. Like, I tell them, this is what you need to do. This was dumb. Let's not do this again. We focus on this and like, yes, sir. And they go straight to it. So it's helped build a really good culture of, you know, gsd, stu, we get it done.
B
What about resilience? The like, the resiliency of like.
A
Right.
B
If you like, I know what goes into Going into camp, you know what I mean? Like getting your ass kicked, you know, being on the diet, being super strict, you know, all the things you got to do. Then you could go in the fight and get and lose. Right.
A
Resilience is, that's probably my superpower because when I was fighting, I always told everybody I was too dumb to quit. And I think it's now that I understand that if I get 1 inch better every day, eventually I'm going to hit any goal. So it's like it's not no more than I'm too dumb to quit. It's just that I'm not going to now.
B
Well, I think the other thing too is that, you know, when you, when you're in the fight game, you, you have to prepare like a warrior. And then you could still lose and then you could have prepared, you could have got hit with a freak shot. You could have just been one inch off. Like so many things can go wrong, but then you have to get up and do it again and be willing to get back in the ring, be willing to train. And for me, one of the things that I've seen, and I'd love your take on this, is why a lot of fighters that we've hired have been great salespeople is because they're not scared to hear. They're not scared to hear no. And they're not scared to. Something goes wrong, they have this resiliency to bounce back and keep going. You know, same with like athletes, you know, we've hired collegiate athletes that, you know, won championships and, and similar. So I'd love your take on that.
A
100 agree. And I remember telling people, because the, as a fighter, you sign up to get punched in the face like that, it is what you're doing. I mean, in a bad day, you get punched in the face a lot.
B
Yeah.
A
In real estate, somebody's going to say no and shut the door. Like that's worst case scenario.
B
Sure.
A
And you're talking about like, preparation. Like, I, I remember the day that I was done fighting and you're talking about a warrior. Like, you have to train like a warrior. I was fighting Jason Miller and he had hit me and I went down to all fours and I was with the push up. Like I was getting up because I was, I was pissed. And I went to push up and I noticed there was a stream of blood about the size of a quarter pulling out of my, pouring out of my head. And I, I remember covering my head and at that point I was like, you're Done. You're not willing to die here. Because I was worried about it.
B
Yeah.
A
And at that point I was like, and I was mentally, I was like, you're done. You're not willing to die here. Like you're done with this. I think I had one more fight after that. But, but, but that's exactly the, what it teaches me is because when I would knock on the door, because I'd knock on a 50, 60, 70 doors a day, what's somebody's gonna slam the door and not answer it? That's worst case scenario in my South. You may get a pistol pulled on you, but that never happened politely. Yeah. Especially when you look like I do. Like, I don't look like somebody you want knocking on the door anyway. Right?
B
Yeah. That's funny. So, so you said, let's go. You know, you, you just mentioned this. Well, I think it's, it's, I think it's an interesting thing to talk about. The, on the so and the fight, like, what was that? The defining moment of like, you knew you were done. Like, what, what made you say, I'm done with fighting?
A
That was, that was the second to last fight. I got paid really good money to go up and fight, you know, Jason Mayhem Miller. Short notice, like, literally like eight days notice in Nashville. It was the first nationally televised spot in the country that wasn't a pay per view. You remember the big, the Strike Force brawl that happened?
B
Oh, yeah, yeah.
A
I thought I fought Mayhem Miller that night. Like, I got it.
B
Okay.
A
It was that night. Yeah, yeah. And, and, and he was bigger than me, better than me, meaner than me, all the things. But I don't back down from fights. That's one thing I was known for is like, people call me like, hey, Tim, I got a fight for you. I'm like, yes. And they're like, well, you want to know who it is? I'm like, yes. But I didn't say no. I didn't back down. I was like, I, I, I, I was end up being 16, 16 and 10. As a professional MMA guy, I would much rather be 16 and 10 than 30, you know, and picked all my fights. Like, I wanted to be the guy who didn't say no to nothing. So I took the fight, clipped him a few times, he hit me. Then that's when, you know, the blood started coming and I had that moment. And then one more fight. They flew me out to Clovis, New Mexico to fight a guy that's probably my age now at that time. You know, you're an old man. If you're an mma in your 40s.
B
Yeah.
A
And, and I was piecing him up pretty good. He threw a high kick and I blocked and he hit this hand and I could feel my hands break. Like, my knuckles still, right here, they're still swollen, broke from it. And I was like, okay, so I'm going just go ahead and take him down, finish the fight. Because there's no way he shouldn't have been in a ring with me. Like, really should not have been in the ring with me. So I shot in, a double leg cleared legs landed, and he scooted into like a little guillotine and this little. I mean, probably, probably blue belt level.
B
Yeah.
A
And I went to grab the neck and that's as far as my elbows will bend down. Right. I literally couldn't grab the neck. And he ended up submitting me. And I'm like, I'm done. Like, I'm. There's nothing more I can do. Like, I am. Right, right. And like, I made that decision right there in the center of that ring. And my coach was a hard ass special forces guy. And he goes, good. He goes, you're still on top. He goes, don't be that guy. I'm like, okay, I won't be that guy. So, yeah, yeah, that was, that was the day that I knew.
B
Yeah, that's cool. And then, and then was it, were you doing real estate still in conjunction with that or you had not even started in your real estate career yet?
A
No, I'm a firm believer if you chase two rabbits, you catch none. So, yeah, I was. The second I was done fighting, I went into real estate. I still trained, you know, you know, three or four hours a day, but it wasn't six or seven hours a day because that's who I was a part of who I was. And, But I got into real estate and I mean, the time I was spending training, it went straight into learning, reading, podcasts, coaches, books, whatever I could do. Like, I probably read 500 self development books or listened to them. And this is someone. I quit high school in 10th grade, but I knew that that information was out there, so I ran out and I got as much as I could and didn't realize it didn't take a lot to be smarter than most agents and it didn't take a lot to outwork them. So if I could be smarter and outwork them, it was, it was going to be a big win.
B
Yeah, that's really cool. So now where, where you're at in your career now, like, what do you. What do you kind of. You know, you've. You've had all these great lessons in the fight game. It's transitioned. Like, what are you most excited about now? What are you looking forward to?
A
Investing? The investing side of it that you've. You've taught me, The. The acquisition side, that's. That's. That is my focus. Everything else comes from that. Like, everything else is just what's left.
B
So you've been an investor, you know, for some time. You know, I'd love for you to share, you know, because obviously I'm a huge believer in that. But share with our audience, like, how your world changes when you get on the investment side.
A
I remember my. My first investment. I was. I was still personal training. You know, I was still working in the gym, and there is a bank manager, and he was. He was training. I was training with him. And he goes, tim, when you gonna start investing in real estate, man? I said, I don't even know if this real estate shit's gonna work out for me. I was like, I don't know. He goes, man, I got a property that we need off the books. He's, you know, the FDIC's coming in. We need it off the books. And I'm like, I don't really don't have any money. I said, I've got, like, $3,000 saved. And my buddy that was training with us, he goes, I've got $3,000 saved. I said, I'll give you $6,000 for it. And he goes, let's go look at it. I'm like, okay. So we drove down. Look at it. And I'm talking to the lady that lives there. It's in a very, very rough area. And I said, when's the last time somebody collected rent? She has been three years. You know, people scared to come down here. Okay? So I'm like, okay, what was the last time you paid rent? And she goes, you know, I think I paid 500 bucks. I'm like, okay. I said, I'm the new owner. I'll be by the first collect 500 bucks. She goes, okay. And so we closed on it, and then I showed up the first collector, and it was. That was a shit show. I mean, people everywhere, like, people start stuff with me, and it's like, yeah, of course. So I got my money and I walked out, and I end up calling an investor that I was working with. I'm like, hey, man. I said, I've got a cash flowing. Property I'll sell you for $20,000. He said, okay, sign it up. So I sold it. And then we use that $20,000 to put a down payment on like three or four more. And. And then I was buying, like, I have 44 doors and two office buildings, and I'm buying, but I'm buying off the mls, you know, either cash or financing. And I didn't understand how to invest. I knew like most realtors, you buy properties and you. You rent them. And I was lucky enough, I was making those decisions when it didn't matter, when. Right. You know, when you could cash flow doing anything. Yeah.
B
You were buying it. You were buying it where the market was going to cover up your sins.
A
Absolutely. And once I hired, like, you know, hired you and coaches to specifically coach me for the investing side is like, you realize, like, your best deals are not on the market. You got to get them below market. You get all your money, all these different things, and you learn. And then you're like, this cost me nothing because I have the information.
B
Yeah.
A
So then I ran crazy on that. And it's now I'm in love with the. Finding the deals, finding the properties and, you know, get them to my investors.
B
Yeah, that's awesome. Always in this the same way. And number one, I appreciate you. Again, I can't. I can't say you can't overlook this enough, man, to. Because I understand this game and I understand the fight. You know, I understand the fight game. I understand the. The discipline of martial arts. I understand everything. I understand the dedication and to get to a two straight black belt in bjj, you. That is. That is a serious discipline and commitment that you have taken. And so that's extremely cool because you're one of not very many people in this world that get to that level. So I wanted to. I wanted to acknowledge you for that again. And then always in the show, the same thing of the show's about waking up to wealth. You know, here's a guy who didn't graduate the 10th grade, was a fighter and then got in this game, crushed it, Agent investor, the whole thing. That's what that's showing you guys what's possible. But always end it with, I want this show to be about having people waking up to wealth and understanding money. What is waking up to wealth mean to you?
A
I think waking up to wealth to me is waking up with a life that I want and being able to impact people. I mean, I wake up exactly where I want to live, drive the car that I want, go the places I want to go. I live the life that I want because of everything that I've done. And I think that's right now, that's wake up to wealth. I'm sure when I'm 65 and 70, waking up to wealth will be being healthy. But right now it's, it's making that money, making that money and being, being impactful to people that matter to me.
B
If people want to check out your videos, follow you, whatever, how they find you.
A
Facebook, just, you know, Tim Stout. Instagram, it's the Moab style M O A B S T O U T the Moab Stout and the Tim Stout for my investing and residential sales.
B
Awesome brother. Hey, I appreciate you spending time with us today, pouring into my audience. It's always a pleasure to hang with you.
A
Awesome. I appreciate opportunity.
B
Hey everybody. This next segment is brought to you by my good friends at Acity. Now, if you run a business, most business owners neglect their back office and they don't even know where to go or who to trust when it comes to their financials or a CPA or taxes. That's where accruity comes in. You can trust them, they can give you advice and they understand the back office. Listen, you're not running a business correctly if you don't have a hold of this. And it's really hard to trust people that are out there. And most CPAs frankly work for the IRS and don't work for you. That's not the case with Accruity. Check my good friends out at Accruity for any needs that you have when it comes to helping with your back office, getting your book straight, getting your taxes correct, and they guide you and give you advice, which most firms don't. So check out my guys at Accruity. Tell them I sent you foreign.
A
Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of Wake up to Wealth. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you consume podcast. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. And if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review on Apple Podcast and tell your friends about the show. It is how new people find us. Until next time, Sam.
Podcast: Wake Up to Wealth
Host: Brandon Brittingham
Guest: Tim Stout
Episode: Black Belts & Big Investment Deals - Tim Stout's Inspiring Story of Defying the Odds
Date: February 27, 2026
This episode features the motivational journey of Tim Stout, a black belt martial artist turned real estate powerhouse and investor. Host Brandon Brittingham explores Tim's transition from the discipline of mixed martial arts (MMA) to entrepreneurial success, focusing on how the principles of consistency, resilience, and hard-earned work ethic learned on the mat translated into building a thriving real estate and investment business. The conversation weaves together stories of hardship, perseverance, and no-nonsense advice for those aiming to change their financial future through grit and smart investing.
Achievement of Two-Stripe Black Belt in BJJ
Consistency in Content and Social Following
Turning Point to Leave Fighting
Entry Into Real Estate
Work Ethic over Talent
Discipline & Consistency
Camaraderie and Team Culture
First Investment Story
Learning from Mentors & Scaling Wisely
On Hard Work Outshining Talent
On The Importance of Structure
On Resilience
On Making the Leap in Business
Defining 'Waking Up to Wealth'
This episode underscores the power of relentless consistency, humility to seek mentorship, and the willingness to grind both in the gym and in business. Tim Stout’s transition is proof that the disciplines forged under adversity become money-making weapons in entrepreneurship and investing—and that wealth is ultimately about building the life you want, not just the balance sheet.