The Truth About Going Viral: Ryan Burton on Success, Anxiety & Growth

Summary

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Podcast Summary: We're Out of Time

Episode: The Truth About Going Viral: Ryan Burton on Success, Anxiety & Growth

Host: Richard Taite
Guest: Ryan Burton
Date: January 6, 2026

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on the rise of content creator Ryan Burton, whose comedic skits and viral interviews have made millions of people laugh—and think—about youth culture, success, and self-awareness. Through stories about going viral, the challenges of creative growth, and frank discussions around anxiety, burnout, and the meaning of success, Ryan and host Richard Taite (an addiction recovery expert) explore the real impact of internet fame and the deeper purpose behind both comedy and lived experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Journey to Virality (00:00–13:30)

• Ryan’s Start: Ryan recounts meeting his creative partner, Noah, in sixth grade, their eventual decision to go to Drexel University together, and starting a YouTube channel that grew from 13,000 to 5 million subscribers during college.

  • “We just were going in the libraries, filming those videos, doing skits, experimenting... And we went from about 13,000 subscribers our freshman year to about 5 million by the time we graduated.” (01:00)

• First Viral Hit: Their early viral video involved blasting inappropriate music in a college library—an idea inspired by existing internet trends, but made their own.

  • “It’s surprising how that concept...gave me a career...It was really fun and exciting and it didn’t feel like work.” (01:51)

• Balancing Education and Creation: Ryan insists their success was more about using college resources and community (computer labs as sets, classmates as performers) than about the curriculum itself.

  • “It’s more about what you do in the real world...what we were doing in between the classes that made all the difference.” (09:39)

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2. Satire, Social Commentary, and Keeping It Kind (03:25–18:56)

• Comedy with Perspective: Ryan describes his “college kids don’t know basic facts” series, in which students reveal humorous gaps in knowledge (e.g., “Who’s on the $20 bill?”) and how this holds a mirror to society.

  • “Sometimes they’ll be in competition of who’s the dumbest...There’s no way you guys should be this excited about being the dumbest. But that’s where we are as a society.” (04:33)

• Never Mean-Spirited: Both Ryan and Taite agree that the best comedy makes the comedian the butt of the joke, not innocent bystanders.

  • “The best type of pranks are the ones where you make yourself the butt of the joke as opposed to the helpless Walmart employee.” (15:53)
  • “That’s what I loved about it...the joke is, I’m the idiot who forgot to plug in his headphones.” (16:14)

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3. Behind the Scenes: Viral Culture’s Real Impact (19:11–21:46)

• Views as Social Currency: Discussion about how “views are the new currency,” equating influencer fame with pulling up at a club in a Lamborghini.

  • “Views are the new currency.” (19:04)
  • “It’s a drug.” (19:23)

• Serious Side: Taite turns the conversation to the fentanyl crisis and using platforms for social good, underscoring the importance of reaching young viewers with life-saving messages.

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4. Mental Health, Burnout, and Coping Strategies (22:08–29:00)

• Anxiety and Burnout: Ryan opens up about experiencing panic attacks, insomnia, and depressive waves during the height of his online success.

  • “Around my senior year of college...I started getting panic attacks, sleeping problems, shortness of breath. I was getting the anxiety and...depressive waves.” (22:08)

• Self-Care Tactics: He credits physical activity, eating well, and social connection with managing his mental health. Therapy, he admits, didn’t resonate at first, feeling more connected to friends than to therapists.

  • “Low hanging fruit of like physical fitness, staying active...Calling my parents, talking to a friend.” (22:53)

• Male Emotional Dynamics: Ryan posits that men might bond and heal better “side by side” (doing activities together), which can make traditional, face-to-face therapy intimidating. Taite compares male and female problem-solving and consolation.

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5. Self-Infantilization, Resilience, and Real Talk (29:12–41:00)

• Infantilization & Tough Love: Ryan shares concerns about self-infantilization and how some exploit “victimhood” instead of working on real trauma or change.

  • “There’s people who just are going through life struggling and if they, for lack of a better term, pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and snapped out of it, they’d be doing better.” (29:55)

• Truth and Compassion in Recovery: Taite balances honesty and empathy:

  • “You have to tell people the truth...You didn’t accomplish nothing during that period of time...you learned a lot...you got an education of some sort that is going to help you down the road.” (31:14)

• Changing Through Pain: On regret and lost time, Taite illuminates how pain catalyzes change, not achievement alone.

  • “When you have pain, that creates change...There’s only two things that make you change: pleasure or pain.” (34:32)

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6. Meaning, Motivation & Success Redefined (41:07–65:36)

• The Trap of Material Success: Taite describes reaching financial success, only to find it joyless and spiraling into a three-year depression.

  • "How the hell do you go through over 50 grand cash a month? How do you do it?...I bought everything I could possibly want for three straight years...And then it hit me...it doesn't matter how much money I have or what I buy. That doesn't work. That doesn't make you happy." (62:08)

• Purpose Through Service: Both agree that helping others, not accumulating things, instills deep meaning and joy.

  • “If you can help people, wouldn’t the world be a better place?...Leave this place better than I found it. Try to help whoever you can and try not to harm anybody, okay? If you can, unless they deserve it, then you really harm them.” (64:26)

• Advice for Young Creators:

  • “The biggest decision you’ll ever make in your life is the person to have children with. That is the only decision you have to get perfect.” (45:01)
  • “If you ain’t early, you’re late. And if you just show up, you’re 80% ahead of the other people...Time management is another one.” (41:07)

• Getting Out of a Rut: Taite shares his story—from poverty and addiction to building a thriving life—thanks to self-development, hard work, and mindset.

  • “Growth happens fast if you have the right teacher. If not, you got problems. You ain’t moving very fast. You don’t work on things. You change or you don’t.” (55:29)

• Finding Motivation: Taite recommends Tony Robbins’ original motivational cassettes as a starting point.

  • “Go get his tapes...This is the guy. This is the best in the world at this.” (56:35)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the power of perspective in comedy:

  • “The best type of pranks are the ones where you make yourself the butt of the joke.” —Ryan Burton (15:53)

• On anxiety and mental fitness:

  • “If you just sit in bed all day and rot...and eat Twizzlers...well, what did you do all day? Like, nothing. You haven’t even moved or been outside or touched grass or spoken...” —Ryan Burton (22:53)

• On pain and transformation:

  • “When you have pain, that creates change...There’s only two things that make you change: pleasure or pain.” —Host (34:32)

• On views and social capital:

  • “Views are the new currency.” —Ryan Burton (19:04)

• On meaning and service:

  • “Leave the world a better place than you found it. Help whoever you can and try not to harm anyone. I promise you, your life will get a thousand times better.” —Host (64:27)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ryan’s Origin Story & First Viral Video: 00:00–02:45
• Satirical Interviews & Commentary: 03:25–06:58
• Library Pranks & Good-Natured Humor: 13:30–16:35
• Social Currency/Views Discussion: 19:04–21:46
• Mental Health Challenges & Coping: 22:08–24:50, 26:38–29:00
• Burnout, Infantilization, and Resilience: 29:12–37:14
• Life Lessons: Pain, Change, Running Through Fear: 34:24–39:49
• Money, Happiness, and True Fulfillment: 41:07–65:36
• Advice for Getting Out of a Rut: 47:24–56:19
• Tony Robbins and Motivation: 56:32–58:52

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Tone & Language

Candid, raw, and conversational, with humor—sometimes irreverent but never mean-spirited. Ryan is self-aware and humble, quick to share credit, while Taite is deeply direct, weaving together tough love with empathy and a mission to help listeners find real, sustainable self-worth beyond fame or fortune.

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Closing Thoughts

This is a rich, honest, and fast-paced episode that uses comedic internet culture as a springboard for deeper dialogue on resilience, mental health, and where meaning is really found in life. Both guest and host model vulnerability, self-reflection, and an ongoing commitment to living—and giving—a little better each day.

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Transcript

[Ryan Burton]

Four years of going to Drexel University. Noah and I just were going in the libraries, filming those videos, doing skits, experimenting with all different types of concepts. And we went from about 13,000 subscribers our freshman year to about 5 million by the time we graduated.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

If someone has a problem with substance use disorder, please call one call placement. That's 888-831-5881. And if we can't help you, we'll make a referral to someone who can. One call placement is affiliated with Carrera Treatment Wellness and Spa and One Method Treatment Centers. Today I have guest Ryan Burton on the show. Man, thank you so much for coming on. We're out of time.

[Ryan Burton]

Thank you for having me.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Dude, I saw the funniest video that you did where you're in a college library with your earphones on, right? But it isn't plugged into the computer and you're blasting the gnarliest song in front of women.

[Ryan Burton]

Running down my vagina. Run it down my vagina.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Run it down my vagina. Slurp that dick till it come Slurp that dick till it come Slurp.

[Ryan Burton]

Oh, hell no. Oh, hell no. Oh, no.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And I just started rolling. I was literally laughing out loud. What was that like in.

[Ryan Burton]

You know, that it's surprising how that concept, the blasting inappropriate music in the library that is like this generational hit that I would say basically gave me a career because I was already doing YouTube before that. But man, that was fun. I was in college, my friend and I had our YouTube channel and I was just like. I saw someone do something similar and I was like, I think we can make this a little funnier. And we just did it and it was like, it just exploded. It was a really fun and exciting and it didn't feel like work. It's. And people still talk about it to this day. It's really an incredible thing.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So, yeah, it's the funniest. You're the funniest creator that I've ever seen ever. I appreciate that. Those are the best videos and you have the best YouTube channel I have ever seen ever. It's sick.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. You must not watch a lot of YouTube. There's a lot of YouTubers better than me, but I will take that compliment.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Well, that's very self effacing.

[Ryan Burton]

I think I am self deprecating.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, that's okay. You're the best and you've always been the best. This guy's so good. It's disorienting. All right, let's move on. Now the Other videos that you do, I did not see, but that's the one I wish I did, okay. Because I have it in my mind. Correct me if I'm wrong. You go to all these colleges, right? And you interview these college students to show how absolutely stupid they are.

[Ryan Burton]

Who's on the $20 bill? Oh, my God.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What the.

[Ryan Burton]

It's a president. A president whose name is Benjamin Franklin. That's correct.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

God, I love you. I love you. This is. This. If you ever want to know. The moment I fell in love with you is right now perfect, because that is my thing, man. I mean, a lot of these kids today are so stupid, it's painful. Now, I didn't say you have bad souls. I just said you're stupid. Okay. Because they get indoctrinated into this horseshit. Okay. Yeah, so tell me about one that was. That went so. That was so funny. It's like one of your favorites.

[Ryan Burton]

You know, I can. There's so many moments of those videos. So I'll do it at. We just recently did it at the fair. The. I believe it's the Orange County Fair. Those. You'll get sort of the least intelligent people. They're already. It's bad on the college campuses. It's almost even worse when you go to the fair.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

But.

[Ryan Burton]

But they're. They're sort of very comparable.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You go to the fair. Awesome.

[Ryan Burton]

But they still have fairs, believe it or not. And essentially when I go there, I. There's all these different moments of people that are. So we can use the word dumb. It's. Everyone in the comments thinks that it's fake. And they're like, these people have to be capping. They're clip farming. They're whatever. No. And I don't even have to cut out. They rarely. They get some of the answers right, but they get most of them wrong. And it's really. And sometimes they'll be in competition of who's the dumbest. So I'll talk to them and be like, hey, guys, so who here's the dumbest? And like, me, me, me. And I'm like, there's no way that you guys are. Should be this excited about. Be about being the dumbest. But that's where we are as a society. And doing it makes me feel a bit more intelligent. Everyone in the comments is always like, I feel smarter after watching this. But it's really. It's fun, you know, people. People just. I could talk about this forever. But it's fascinating. You have to witness it with your own eyes to really See, like, oh my God. And then people are like, these people can vote. This is insane.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right?

[Ryan Burton]

And I'm like, oh yeah, it is insane. Holy.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

The worst is that they can procreate.

[Ryan Burton]

Yes. And they. And that's the thing. It's always the ones who have the least intelligence that do the most procreation.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right.

[Ryan Burton]

And it's the really mix in a rubber.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right?

[Ryan Burton]

And it's like, it's always a smart, calculated, really intelligent people that don't end up having eight kids. Or at least that's what I think. That's.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

No, that's a fact. Right? Why you don't have eight kids.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, there's a reason I don't have any kids. But then people.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You're 27.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. You don't have kids yet because you're 27. You're living your life.

[Ryan Burton]

But then there's other people who I know who I would put. I think they're a little bit less intelligent than me and they have six. And I'm like, how can you afford that? I.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You ever look at your friends that are really stupid and just like from the gate just start dropping little thought lets around the seeds and just like, you're not going to have kids, are you, dude? Right. Just. Just kind of help the gene pool out for the country.

[Ryan Burton]

That's the thing. If you're, if you're not smart, a lot of times you don't know that you're not smart.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It's even worse than that. When you're not smart and you think you're a genius, that's like the worst.

[Ryan Burton]

That's. That happens a lot too. And usually the smartest people claim to be the dumbest or they, or they claim to not know everything. They have the most humility and they have the most.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's right.

[Ryan Burton]

Wisdom.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's right.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. It's there. I'm sure there's some quote. It's like the. I'm not gonna try to butcher some quote that I saw on Pinterest, but. Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

But I still want to know. Before I get into any of these questions, I want to know the. What was the one that you love the most? What was this? What was. Who is the stupidest kid? That's what I really want to know.

[Ryan Burton]

Oh, it's a good one. It's a good. There's a lot. Let me think for two seconds. Who was the dumbest? Yeah, there was probably like even recently, I can't remember which kid it was, but there were kids that couldn't do like two Divided by two. There were kids at the most recent video. I said, how many wheels are on an 18 wheeler semi truck?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Shut the up.

[Ryan Burton]

And we just posted that one. And they're like 24. I will gladly send you the link to that one. And you can. Or we can after this, we can watch it together and enjoy it. They're. They're unbelievable.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's so good. That's so good. All right, we start now. Okay. What's the story of how you and Noah first got into YouTube?

[Ryan Burton]

We were. Noah and I met in sixth grade and we remained friends all throughout middle school. We went to separate high schools and basically we decided, let's go to college together and major in film. He had an interest in making videos online. So did I. We were good friends. We're like, yeah, let's go to this school and continue. Oh, maybe we want. We want to be like a video director or something. So we went to school and I focus both of us primarily on building our YouTube channel. Instead of, like doing all the classwork.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

We learn a lot to grow. You've got 50 million views. 50 million subscribers.

[Ryan Burton]

I have technically like maybe like 10 million subscribers across the two channels. I have like 8 million on one.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And I just saw 50 million on some.

[Ryan Burton]

50 million on one of our. On our most viewed video.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That is. That is crazy. That's good. I interrupted you.

[Ryan Burton]

No, you're good. So from four years of going to Drexel University, Noah and I just were going in the libraries, filming those videos, doing skits, experimenting with all different types of concepts. And we went from about 13,000 subscribers our freshman year to about 5 million by the time we graduated.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And what did you learn there in order to, like, blow up that way, or would you have blown up that way without it?

[Ryan Burton]

I don't think we would have blown up without. Was less about the curriculum or the actual knowledge and the camera skills and whatnot. We learned the basics that we then applied to our filmmaking and videos. But it's more about what you do in the real world. Or like, you can work, you can go to school and do all the classwork and essays and then leave there with nothing. Essentially you have your piece of paper and then nothing. But it was what we were doing in between the classes that made all the difference. It was speaking with other people, including them in our videos, basically building this sort of community. And these. How do I phrase this? We essentially just took advantage of the resources we had. So we had computer labs available to us and.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And you had a community. So you Had a community of people that are all doing the same thing.

[Ryan Burton]

Yes.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So you're all supportive of each other. Exactly. To move this thing forward. That's a beautiful thing.

[Ryan Burton]

And so being able to utilize friends our age happen. This video. Be in this. Let's go to the library. Let's film in this classroom. Let's film here at midnight. And they were basically free sets for our film, for our concepts, for our comedy skits. And that's where. That's basically how we utilize the school. I didn't use the knowledge. I used the facilities to my advantage.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And the community and.

[Ryan Burton]

And the people.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, yeah. Because if you're. And. And you're putting that system. How long were you there for?

[Ryan Burton]

Oh, four years.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay, so you're in a college for four years and you're getting all these friends. You're also growing up, right?

[Ryan Burton]

Yep.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So. And plus the totality of the curriculum, you don't really know what you're picking up. Right. Until you apply it.

[Ryan Burton]

Exactly.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It's really cool that way. All right. Do you remember the exact moment you realized, I think we're onto something?

[Ryan Burton]

Probably when we had a video that got 100,000 views, and that was our freshman year, where there were these hoverboards. I don't know sure how deep you were into the culture at that time, but just a little. They were popular on vine or people.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I know exactly what they are, but that's all I know.

[Ryan Burton]

Huh. So we made a video. I was like. I was like, wait, I have an idea. What if we make a video about what to know before you buy a hoverboard? Because everyone wants to buy a hoverboard.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Up. Dropping dead.

[Ryan Burton]

So we're like. It was like a simple concept type in things that people. Or make a video about something. People are searching up and interested in crazy concept. And once that got 100,000 views, I was like, oh. Like, oh, we're on to something. And then I think we might have had a check at some point. Maybe we got like $3,000 or something. And I was.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

For what?

[Ryan Burton]

Just for Adsense. The.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Oh, you guys do that?

[Ryan Burton]

The videos?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, we don't do any of that stuff. Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Burton]

Cumulative. Cumulatively, we made $4,000 in a month. And I was like, oh, I'm about to drop out. Like, this is getting. How old?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

How old are you at that point?

[Ryan Burton]

I was probably. I went to college. I was 17 when I went to college, so. 17. 18.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Four grand.

[Ryan Burton]

I must have been 19. 18, 19.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Still. That's all the money at 19. Oh, my God.

[Ryan Burton]

I was. I was blowing it too. I was. There was a Barney's New York when that was still a store, went there, bought some designer crap, and I was like, yeah, this. It doesn't get better than this. And I learned about taxes and stuff. And that was a rude awakening.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

When they called you and they said, we want our money.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. When they burst it down my dorm room and I was like, oh, yeah, that was a fun, fun period.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Good for you, man. That's. There's. There's nothing cooler than building something from nothing, is there?

[Ryan Burton]

It's. It's. I almost wish I could go back to that era to feel things. Like, to feel something for the first time. It's a.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It's.

[Ryan Burton]

It's a special thing.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

All right, do you have any skits or pranks that were filmed but never released because they were too wild or something unexpected happened?

[Ryan Burton]

There's some videos that we might have cut out portions because maybe the person said something ridiculously controversial or something, and I was like, yeah, let me not. Sometimes I got to be saving people because they say the most outlandish things. And I'm like, dude, your future employer is not going to like that one. So you don't have to worry about.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That with me though.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, no, I'm good.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So let me check with my employer, though, some. He says it's cool.

[Ryan Burton]

Sometimes I don't, but sometimes we've had certain videos that we filmed and then the SD card got corrupted and then we just never got to put it out. But there's never been a situation where something's so crazy.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Why do you cut out there? The controversial why? That's. That's the best stuff, right? It's.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, it's honestly because I care about people.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Oh, no, no, no. Nothing's mean spirited to make them look bad. We. We don't do that either. But you don't have anything that was like something. That something went horribly wrong during it or something like that? Or somebody got really, like. Like, I'm looking for something. Like you're in the library and the librarian comes over and just starts screaming and berating you. Okay. Something like that.

[Ryan Burton]

That never happened because we are so sweet.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right. Weird.

[Ryan Burton]

We don't. I don't go looking for Trouble. There are YouTubers that are like trying to get a reaction out of people and trying to make a scene. I think that's why we've been able to go so long is I'm not one of those YouTubers, like, where there's My mug shot and I'm getting arrested. Like, cops called. I don't have the energy for that.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

No.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, I'll. If someone's acting crazy or there's a security guard being crazy or something, I'm like, all right, cool. And then I'll sneakily come back another day or do something. I'm not looking to cause a scene.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Good.

[Ryan Burton]

So we've never had any crazy things.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What kind of glasses are those?

[Ryan Burton]

I don't know the brand, but.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Aquila, those are dope.

[Ryan Burton]

Appreciate that. Yeah, I saw them. Other guy was wearing something similar and I thought it looked cool, so then I went in to buy them.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What's the one prank you did where you thought we might actually get arrested, expelled, or banned for this?

[Ryan Burton]

Honestly, none of them. It's sort of similar to my other answer where we don't do things bad enough and heinous enough to warrant getting arrested or something. The best type of pranks are the ones where you make yourself the butt of the joke as opposed to the helpless Walmart employee.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's what you do in the. That's what I loved about it. It's so. It's because there's no chance. There's no chance of being mean spirited because it all comes back on you. And really the joke is, I'm the idiot who forgot to plug in his headphones. I love that.

[Ryan Burton]

Exactly. We did another one. Embarrassing phone calls in public. And I think we're gonna. We're gonna hit another series of those in the next month or so.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Tell me about that.

[Ryan Burton]

Where I go, it'll be me and Noah. We go to either a college campus, library, somewhere public. I act like I'm on the phone call, and I'm like, you better treat me like a bad boy tonight. I've been so bad. And we just say the most outlandish things, and then people give these hilarious reactions to things. Okay, yes, I've been watching James Charles twerk compilations. Okay. Okay. It's embarrassing, but I can't stop watching them. No, it. It just came up in my suggested and I was like, james Charles trunk compilation. What. What is that even about? I watched one and then I watched another one, and then I watched another one and it was like this. Know how to move. Oh, you've been such a bad girl. You've been so bad. Oh, you're gonna be punished tonight. Do not speak back to me. I'm gonna bend you over that table and spank you till you can't even see straight. Say, sorry, Daddy. Don't make me. Do not make me. I'm at the library. Don't make me raise my voice. And again, I remember there's a really classic one. Our good friend Tuffy, back in the year. Back in. Back when we were in college.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You're friends with Puffy.

[Ryan Burton]

His name's Tuffy. T. U, F, F Y.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay.

[Ryan Burton]

He was our roommate in college.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It's probably best for you. Go on.

[Ryan Burton]

And he would. I was like, all right, you're gonna go in there in this crowded study, quiet study hall, and you're gonna be on the phone like, you better eat my ass tonight. And it's like. It was the most absurd thing. And he would go into these study. Study rooms and act like he's on a phone call talking about, you better eat my ass tonight. That's. That's art. Like, again, I'll have to send you that one. I got to show you that it is art.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's something that I would do.

[Ryan Burton]

You disrupt people for all of 30 seconds.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's it.

[Ryan Burton]

And then have a blessed one. And then I'm out.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Do they. And do you tell them you're posting it nor who you are or none of that?

[Ryan Burton]

Okay. Occasionally.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So they just figure out, you know, first of all. And. And then they're just famous. They're just insta famous immediately.

[Ryan Burton]

Usually we will tell them, hey, this is for a video, whatever. We've never really had anyone have an issue with it, surprisingly.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right. Well, we just found out from. Didn't Landon just tell us that views are the new currency?

[Ryan Burton]

That's correct. Absolutely. Okay.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I. Is. Wow.

[Ryan Burton]

That's where we are.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I know, bro. I. I just can't. I just don't understand. It's just. It's where we are. It's the new currency.

[Ryan Burton]

It's a drug.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

He told me it was like pulling up at the club in a Lambo.

[Ryan Burton]

Is basically what having a lot of views is. Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You're gonna. We're gonna blow up after this. You know why you're here, though, right?

[Ryan Burton]

Why am I here?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You're here because I want your viewers, okay? Not because I give a. Because I don't. I want your views because you got 50 million people who have viewed your stuff, and they're dying all the time. You know anybody who's died?

[Ryan Burton]

I don't personally, no.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You don't know them personally, but you know of people that have died?

[Ryan Burton]

I know of one of the friend of mine, his brother did.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay, Right. So it's real for you. It's not like, oh, that celebrity died. It's like my friend's brother died, right?

[Ryan Burton]

Y.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. I can't take it anymore because I have children, okay? And every time I hear a death of a child, I know the parents are completely destroyed.

[Ryan Burton]

Y.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And my goal is to make certain that no parent ever has to feel this again. Because you don't know what love is until you have a child. You think you do. You love your videos, you love ice cream, you love. You love sports. It doesn't matter what it is, okay? You think the second you have a child, it's completely different.

[Ryan Burton]

You're gonna.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I mean, the love you feel is so enveloping, right? And so to lose something like that is the most unnatural thing a human being can go through. So what I want to do is I want to prevent anybody from doing that, which is why we don't monetize this thing. It's why I don't have any sponsors. It's why I don't do the. I don't want any money. I don't want anybody to ever say, I did this for the money. I want to make certain that everybody knows our soul is good. We have one purpose, and that is to help increase people's joy of living. Right? You got to have a joy of living. I want to check in on everybody's mental health, okay? And I want to make certain that they don't do these drugs. And that's why you're here, bro. Okay? I'm using you, okay, to make the world a better place. And I'm hoping that you feel inside that you want to leave this place better than you found it, too.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right? And you're a sweet guy. So I got. That's. That's. That's why we do it, man. That's the only reason we do it. Okay? We just haven't gotten there yet. Okay? I want to run people out of here with the death and destruction first. Being in the spotlight for so long, how have you struggled with depression, anxiety or burnout?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, that's definitely applicable to my life. Around my senior year of college, while balancing the schoolwork and the full time YouTube, I started getting panic attacks, sleeping problems, shortness of breath. I was getting the anxiety and, like, I didn't have depression, but I would. I would go through depressive waves, much like a lot of people do. And it was something that I struggled with for years ultimately. And I still have to combat those sort of feelings all the time, the burnout feelings, the anxiety. I still. I haven't had a panic Attack in a long time because I've been doing a decent job of fixing myself. But it's very, it's very prevalent.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What do you do to make certain that you don't have those panic attacks anymore?

[Ryan Burton]

I understand that there are simple things that can be done. Low hanging fruit of like physical fitness, staying active. If you just sit in bed all day and rot all day and eat Twizzlers and then you feel like. And it's like, well, I feel like it's like, well, what did you do all day? Like, nothing. You haven't even moved or been outside or touched grass or spoken it or called your mom or etc, So I make sure that I'm at least moving, eating something like a whole food and then speaking to someone, calling my parents, talking to a friend.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Do you have a therapist?

[Ryan Burton]

I don't.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Do you know, do you, do you know why?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, actually, because I was watching some of your episodes. This is actually, I wanted to get into this. This is some. I think about. I, I tried to. I had one guy that I liked. I didn't, it didn't work for me. I, I was put onto this concept. Did you do it for one guy?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Did.

[Ryan Burton]

Maybe a month, maybe you want, maybe four, maybe five times with this one guy. And then I tried some other people out and I got this feeling of they don't really care about me the way that my friends do.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's right. That's right. You also didn't. But you also didn't find the right guy. A. And B, you didn't find. You didn't give him enough time. What? These. First of all, all therapists, almost all therapists have real good souls, okay. The women have much better souls. Okay? So you might want to start off with a woman, get the hang of it like I did. And then you move on to a man to finish the job. Right. Not because men are better, but because you're a man and you want to know how to navigate the world.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

As a man.

[Ryan Burton]

Can I, can I run this concept by you?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I wish you would.

[Ryan Burton]

I think that men bond better when they're side to side and men and women bond better when they're face to face. Which is why a lot of men don't like therapy. Because some, for a lot of men, this isn't how they feel like, oh, I feel great after this. Whereas if two dudes are golfing, bowling, playing video games, fishing, sports, soccer, I don't know, at the casino, something, there's. I feel like, I feel like men bond or Heal or go through. Or they can fix their problems or go through things without having to be like, so directly in front of someone. Does that make sense?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah. Can I tell you what you just said?

[Ryan Burton]

For sure.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. 10 women get together, okay, to solve a problem. 10 guys get together to solve a problem. The guys are done with the problem in five minutes.

[Ryan Burton]

Yep.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

They have complete consensus, even if they didn't all have it at the beginning. Like, yeah, yeah, whatever. Okay, we'll roll with that. Right. The women sit in the room for three hours, they don't accomplish a goddamn thing, and they walk out feeling great. And the reason is, is because women don't want anything fixed. They want to be heard. Guys don't give a. They just want shit fixed. Yeah, that's what you were saying, right?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. And I also. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I'm also not a therapist by any means, nor am I a mental health expert. So I'm always open to hearing other people's ways of how someone can improve their mental health.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

But. So let me tell you how to do that. Okay? Having a therapist is like a life coach, right? It keeps you on the right trajectory and if you veer off course, it gets you right back on the tracks.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. It is the ultimate luxury. It's how, it's how elegant, responsible people deal with their stressors and their anxiety. That's. That's just a fact. And you're an elegant guy. You're 27 years old, but you come in here with an old soul and a moral compass and you're right sized about everything. Like you're strategic, like you're a smart guy. Okay. Don't let people tell you that this is a stigma and this is, this is something that is going to do this with your life and your sense of joy and your sense of purpose and clarity around your job and clarity around your relationships. You got a girlfriend? I don't. Okay, working on that. Okay, well, guess what works better if you speak her love language. You know what that means?

[Ryan Burton]

I've heard of that concept.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, but you know what it means. Don't worry about it. It doesn't. That's not it. All that means is you to love her the way she wants to be loved. That's all that means. Yeah, right. It's like, you know, if. If this woman shows love to you. Let's turn it around. If this woman shows love to you because she cooks right and she wants to feed her man, but you're like, no, I just want someone who's down all the time and who makes me laugh. And I just want to laugh and have a good time and be naked. Okay, Right.

[Ryan Burton]

That's a big one. Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And you're like. And she's like, but no, baby, I. This is how I show you my love. And you go, hey, babe, if that's what I wanted, I'd be dating Julia Childs. I don't want this. Yeah, because my love language isn't that. So you got to speak her love language, whatever that is. Okay. That's something you learn in therapy, man. That's not something that you. That you know, and then you get coached by this woman. No, it's for a woman. It's all about safety and consistency. How much more attractive am I now? Okay. Do you see what I'm saying?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah. That's all that is. Yeah. Okay. Sorry. I got a girlfriend now. Too late. God damn it.

[Ryan Burton]

I like that.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, right.

[Ryan Burton]

All right.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What questions you got for me?

[Ryan Burton]

I have. This is something I was thinking on the drive up. I heard of this word called, like, infantilization, which I think I do to myself. What is it? Treating either yourself or others as though they're a child? Or again, the term infantilized infant. So, for example, if I was like, oh, so? And so they're 23. Well, he doesn't know any better. He's only 23. He doesn't know. It's like, I find myself being like, woe is me. Like, I'm a. I will call myself, like a drama queen. And I'm like, oh, God, this is so hard for me. When it's like, I'm 27. I'm a grown ass man. I know what I need to do, and I should not baby myself and make excuses. And I think it's. I think it's amazing that people are putting an emphasis on mental health these days. But then I also find that there's a huge cohort of people who sort of weaponize the mental health industry or whatever, and they sort of. They don't have trauma or they don't have actual serious ailments, and they just sort of feel bad for themselves all the time. And it's like they become permanent victims, you know, because there's people with real issues and serious things, and there's people who just are going through life struggling, and if they, for lack of a better term, pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and snapped out of it, they'd be doing better. So I was gonna ask you, like, how do you. How tough are you on people do you immediately go like, oh, you have trauma and you need help, and there's something in your childhood that. That's why you are the way you are. Or are there situations where it's like, yeah, dude, you're just being a.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right now it's concurrent. But we don't call them. Okay.

[Ryan Burton]

I was trying to find a better word, but was the only thing that came to my head.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

No, no, no. That was the appropriate word. We just don't call them bitches. We like to love them up and not shame the shit out of them when they come into treatment. In fact, that's our baseline love. Is everything okay, but it has to go hand in hand, right? So what I usually tell people it's different for everybody, right? I'm not going to both smoke up people's ass, but I'll. I'll generally tell you what comes up for me. I think it's a speed bump in life. I think if you've donkeyed off a decade, okay, you lost that decade, but this is. But you didn't accomplish nothing during that period of time. Even if you didn't accomplish anything in your mind, you learned a lot in 10 years because you had to grind and grift and. And hustle and steal and whatever. You. So you got an education of some sort that is going to help you down the road, okay? They called it street smarts when I was a kid, okay? You have to tell people the truth. So when you. When they come in and you're like, this is a speed bump, right? But we're going to have to do some work here. Well, and then they hear the word work and they're like, oh, shit, I didn't come here to work. I came here to, you know, get the heat off, or I came here to get well and whatever. So I tell them I'm not. Look, you're not digging a ditch here. I didn't ask you to paint my house, okay? The only thing you have to do is be open and honest, okay? And have the discussions that are going to feel uncomfortable to you, but until you get right sized on this thing, then you're going to continue to have to drink and use because of the pain you're in, okay? Yeah, but I've had that pain, and I don't anymore. And I was just like you. And that's kind of the message that you give people, not, you know, you're being a bitch now. Sometimes I lose my. I lose my shit when somebody hasn't done what they were Supposed to be doing, you know, whatever, and then, you know, they get the full monty. Okay. Then they get the full rich. Okay. But that's very rare because I've got a stage staff that is better than me.

[Ryan Burton]

I've. I got another question for you.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yes, sir.

[Ryan Burton]

I. From one of your other podcasts that I watched, you said that you got sober or something around 37.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, it was, you know, 32. 37. I forget. I started getting loaded from 12 on and I lost 25 years. So whatever. 12 is 37. Okay. So then from 37, I got sober in 03.

[Ryan Burton]

So I relate to. I. I don't relate to that, but I relate to the concept of feeling like I lost time and around doing things I shouldn't have been doing and wasting time. What would you say to someone who feels as though I lost all this time? I. Like, what's the point? I. You. You sort of just touched on it in the previous answer. But that feeling, like, you look like.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It'S the best feeling in the world. You. You know why? Why? Because it causes pain.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And when you have pain, that creates change.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Do you know when you create change without pain? If you're like me, what happens? Never, I change when I'm in enough pain to change. There's only two things that make you change. Something positive or pleasure or pain.

[Ryan Burton]

Yep.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

How's that? Pleasure or pain. If you really love someone, you want to change for them. If, you know, if you're acting a certain way around your kids and they start modeling it, you want to change because you don't want your children behaving that way. Yeah. Right. But usually where it comes from is massive failure.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. And then 95% of the people give up there. No matter how hard. If it gets really hard, people say, you know what? I'm done. I'm done. So did that make sense?

[Ryan Burton]

No, that made sense, right?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

The whole idea is you look. I used to just lean into it, okay? And kind of just push. Push my way through it. Right? Now I just run through it, dude. Now I just like. Like, just run right through it like it's nothing. Okay? The second I feel scared, and I do all the time. Listen to me. I do all the time. People get scared all the time. It's what you do with the fear. Do you let it keep you from moving forward, or do you run through it and beat the shit out of it? Okay. Boom, that's it. The end.

[Ryan Burton]

I like that. Yeah. It's. I always think about. When dealing with issues or Fear or anything. There's always two voices in my head, or it's essentially like the angel and the devil on my shoulder or whatever you want to call it. There's always a voice telling you to either run away or don't do that or that's scary. That's intimidating. And then there's always a voice that is really you being like, you should do this, or it knows what you should do, but you try to suppress it. Like, before I came here, I really wanted a Twix. And I knew. I was like, dude, you're not gonna feel good in like an hour after you eat that. And I, and I. I listened to the voice that I knew was right, and I said, I'll drink a zero calorie, I'll drink a zero sugar low Gatorade before I get here. It'll give me a little sweetness, but it's not going to be the chocolate and the all that. And I. And the good voice prevailed.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So the good voice is the healthiest part of you.

[Ryan Burton]

Yep.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right. Some people call it your best self. Okay. Some people call it your highest self, but it is. It's the healthiest part of you. The other part, you're in your child, right? And what that means is you. You know, when you are out in the world and you're feeling like your chest. Your chest is out and you're feeling confident and you're the man and you're walking through life and you feel confident, but then there are other times you walk through life and you feel like you're backing your child. Okay. I think that's what that. A lot of that is. You know, I notice, you know, I've got the tools, right? So I notice every time I get in that I'm like, you. You're the. You're the shit. You're the. You're the expert. You're the dad. You're all of that, right? So it happens to everybody. So as soon as you find yourself right in your child like that, all you have to do is get quiet and say, who am I really? Who am I really? Who are you really? Who are you really?

[Ryan Burton]

Are you speaking. Are you saying that hypothetically or do I have to answer that?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

No, I want. You don't have to do. Because slavery ended in 1865. But, but you get to. But you get to tell me, okay, you get to answer that question because we're going to do something right now.

[Ryan Burton]

Who am I? I love that question. Who am I? Because it's so. It's so broad.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay, Let me help you out, that's all. You're going in the wrong direction.

[Ryan Burton]

Great, great, great.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

As your highest self, okay? The way God sees you. Who are you? Because that's who you are.

[Ryan Burton]

I still don't even know.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. I'll tell you who that is, okay? A smart, elegant, empathetic, measured, strategic, good soul with a good moral compass. That's who you are. And there were a lot of other things too, okay?

[Ryan Burton]

And I, I won't disagree with you. I feel that way about myself.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That's exactly true. That's exactly right, okay? I mean, you're 27 years old and you walked in here talking about Whole foods that some bananas, a banana. Steak's a steak, okay? It's one unit. Foods. The food is only one thing. Okay?

[Ryan Burton]

I could sit here and talk for 20 years. So cut me off if I'm talking too much. I had another question for you.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Please.

[Ryan Burton]

You're a wealthy guy, you're a successful guy.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay, first of all, let's get that, let's get something straight, okay? There's 2600 or 2700 wealthy guys in the world. Okay? I'm barely rich, but go on.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay, if you're barely rich, then I am piss poor. There you go.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right. Ass broke.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, that's a good one too.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It's better that you say it because it comes off mean spirited when I say it. You're the mean spirited guy. How can you not know this?

[Ryan Burton]

What do you know about life that I, as a 27 year old, don't. I want to. I see the stuff you have and the things you've been through and I just want to collect some wisdom tokens from you. Can you give me any general sweeping life advice?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Sure. First thing is everybody donkeys off their first fortune. That wasn't my first fortune. Okay, but that's okay. You donkeyed off that first four grand that you got in five minutes, right?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, more than that. Technically, far more than that.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, right, but you have to, because you have to do that numerous times in order to learn the lesson. Do you know what the lesson is?

[Ryan Burton]

Hold on to more of your money.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. Do you know what the lesson is?

[Ryan Burton]

What's the lesson?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Things don't matter. There's nothing that you can buy that's going to make you happy. Nothing. It doesn't work that way. It'll give you a little joy for a little bit. Okay? It typically gave me joy right up until I, I crossed the threshold of the place I bought the stuff at, like, I didn't even make it outside. That's how long it kept. That's how long it made me happy. I'm not about things. I just don't do things, okay? Now what I realized was I wasn't. I was on a. I was a rat on a rat wheel before I had kids. Now, most people don't want to have children because they think it's going to cost me too much money, right? I'm not there yet, okay? You better have kids right away if you want to make money, okay? I mean, don't have kids because that. Hey, you know, you're like a goddamn lottery ticket. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is when you. When you have a child, okay, It's. It's different. The love in your heart is completely different. You've loved something. In other words, for me alone, it wasn't. I wouldn't have had to create a. What I've created. I wouldn't have needed what I needed today because I'm alone. It's just me or it's just my girlfriend or it's just, you know, whatever. It's right. But the second you're a dad and you've got a child or children to take care of, now you're on it. Now. It ain't manufactured like, oh, I just donkeyed off a decade. I better get my shit together now. It's like, I'm the dad now. Like, I'm responsible for this. And you go out and you just blow right up, okay? And that's. That is probably the thing that I would look that. And, you know, I always tell these kids, but you are early, so you don't really need this. You're like one in, like, what, three people out of the hundred that have been here so far. That's. That's early, okay? So I tell people, if you ain't early, you're late, okay? And if you just show up, you're like, what, 80% ahead of the other people. You're ahead of the 80% of the rest of the folks. And you. You show up on time that's 85% ahead of everybody else. And then show up on time with a plan. Now you're 90% ahead of everybody else. And show up on time with a plan and execute it. Now you're 95% ahead of everybody else. So there's all sorts of things. Time management is another one, okay? I did eight press pieces inside of two Hours. Okay. Because my time management was impeccable. In and out, in and out. I was in New York for 22 hours. In and out, man. To do. Right. Did that answer your question?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. I feel like you're. You have a lot of wisdom. You have a lot of things that you could. What about women? What about women in general? Like when it comes to having relationships, being on the. The hedonic treadmill of being with different women and dating around. I wanted to know your perspective on that marriage. Because you sold me on the kids thing.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah.

[Ryan Burton]

I'm not wrapping it up tonight.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Good. But do it well. You want to date somebody here? That's. That's important. Okay. The person you. The biggest decision you'll ever make in your life. Life is the person to have children with.

[Ryan Burton]

Y.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

That is the. That is the only decision you have to get. Perfect. Yep. Okay. Otherwise you have set yourself up for a life of deceit and disappointment. My man.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay.

[Ryan Burton]

Got it. It's a crazy gamble, cuz. Yeah, that's something I fear. That's why I'm hesitant to get married. But that's why I asked about women.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You got to. Hey, I'll give you. I'll give you a little lesson. Do you know who you have to marry? Someone who doesn't view views as currency.

[Ryan Burton]

I could agree with that.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Someone who doesn't have a social media account like this. Whatever the that is. How about someone who's not dancing around lip syncing in their underwear? Yeah, okay. And only fans. No. No. Unless she's showing her feet, because I hear you can show your feet. Yeah, Some guy who was here last time, I said, how much money can I make on only fans? He says, you 60, 70 grand a month. What? And I'm like, see? I said, do I have to show my crank? He goes, no. I said, can I show my feet and not my face. He goes, yeah. And I said, how much for my feet? He goes, I don't know. There's got to be a market for it. I said, is there a market for it? And he's like, yeah. And I'm like, these people are so up. I've never seen anything like it. Never.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. We're living in a different era.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay? So make certain you find. Hey, you know who I like, because I'm just now getting on social media. I mean, I. You know, Dylan does the social media. You guys are talking to Dylan when you call me. You know that he only shows me the. That where the people are in trouble. Then I deal with you okay. And I refer you out. But you know, otherwise you're dealing with Dylan. The person, the person who I like most on social media follows 3, 500 people has 1200 followers, okay. And you look at her, her Instagram, and she's not naked, but she's having a good time, Right? And just, you know, that's the kind of girl who's measured.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah, I like that. How much more time do I have to talk?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Because you have, you have as much time as you want because he picks out the Glengarry's.

[Ryan Burton]

What actually helps people snap out of the rut that they're in. There's. You get this sort of comfort when you're watching self help YouTube videos or of going to Barnes and noble and buying 10 how to un your life and subtle art of not giving a. And then I would do this where I buy books about self help and be like, God, I'm really on to something. Wouldn't even open it. There's people watching right now that are in a tough spot. People can't. Some people can't afford rehab. Some people feel lost, their mom hates them. What is, what are tangible things that people can do to get out of a rut?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So they call it failure to launch. How people are stuck, okay. And we all get there at some point. Okay? So I'll tell you what I did, okay? I was 23. No, I was 21. And I just spent three years and three and a half years in Santa Monica College. And because I was a drug addict and I couldn't get my. My together. And then I transferred to ucla, right? But when I got to ucla, before I started going to school, I didn't have anywhere to live. I didn't have any transportation and I didn't have a job. I was completely rudderless. So I called my mother at 21 and I said, listen, we had lost our house because my father had left. Left the house. Our house went into foreclosure. We had nowhere to go. So we were with my grandmother in her apartment. My two brothers and I and my grandmother and my mother. It was the worst time of my life. Damn. And I mean horrific. And we were grateful to have a place. Thank God for my grandmother. But I asked my mother a year later at 21 to live with her. She was an assistant manager in a luxury building and she had a two bedroom apartment that they gave her so that she could as part of her compensation for being an assistant manager. And so I asked to be in her spare bedroom. And she literally, reluctantly said yes. Which still scars me, okay? And I get into the room and there's nothing there. No bed, no nothing. Just the floor. And I remember sitting there going, how the hell did this happen? And I started UCLA the next day and I have no idea how I got there. None. But I was walking up Bruin Walk and there were these stands and people were giving out credit cards. The first credit card you're ever gonna get, right? And we. Every kid, there's like a line, I want the credit card. And we're all signing our names to all sorts of all these predatory practices.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

36. If you're one hour late, like, like that kind of shit, right? And at 36% interest and just. Just nuts, right? Every kid just getting laid away. And I had. They gave me a $500 limit on a Discover card. Okay, Right, we're up. And. And you know what I did with it? I had this little TV this big. It was like 13 inches and it was black and white and it had those like. It was so bad the antenna was broken and I had to put a wire hanger in it and contort.

[Ryan Burton]

Holy shit.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Just so I could see it enough without the snow to. To, you know, just to pass the time. And a commercial came on a guy by the name of Anthony Robbins.

[Ryan Burton]

I'm familiar with him.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

And he taught me how to live because I didn't know. So you gotta open the book, dude.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You gotta open the book. Now. Back then I had a 30 day cassette tape. So every day it was easy to do. And then you start out your day first thing with that before you do anything, so you're pumped up for the day. Okay? So in 30 days I've got that place. I've got a new place to live with one of my clients. I've got a new job. I'm a fitness instructor now. And I've got all these clients, 30 days and I've got a scooter to get to and from school. And then 30 days after that I get a brand new Jeep, right? And so my life is getting better because I'm working soon. I'm making over a hundred thousand bucks a year working three days a week. And this is in 1991.

[Ryan Burton]

Holy. So what's that?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

1989.

[Ryan Burton]

Oh, damn. Okay, that's got to be what, half a million dollars in today's money or something?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I don't know. But I was a kid in college.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. That's insane.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. And I was working about 20 hours a week. Max. Max.

[Ryan Burton]

And you were being a Fitness trainer or.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, I was a fitness instructor. Well, sure, because I was smoking so much crack I had an eight pack and they didn't know that. The crack abs. Yeah, the crack abs.

[Ryan Burton]

Got to see, that's why I don't have the abs right now. So you've always been in great shape, apart from the.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Ever since I started working out when I was 15, I've. I've always been in good shape.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Not great shape, but good shape enough.

[Ryan Burton]

To teach people and where people felt like even just looking at you, they could.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah, but. But the most important thing, man, is to wake up in the morning if you're getting these self help books. You know, I remember the first book I ever read was a book called Getting ts because I wanted to know how I wanted to have a negotiation. I wanted to be skilled at negotiating. And so the very first book I ever read was written by the Harvard Negotiation Project or in conjunction with them. Okay. And I just like the way it sound. Sounded. I don't anymore. Okay. But I did back then, and. And then I read their second book and I started doing Anthony Robbins and then I picked up the next thing. And now you can go on like, you know, there's all sorts of reading apps where in 15 minutes you can get the version for dummies. So it's like getting the Cliff Notes right forever. And they just give you the important parts. Now you lose context with that and it never sticks the way it should. Okay, so you have the knowledge, but it's not visceral. It doesn't take. It doesn't take hold and grow. Okay, but you have the knowledge. That doesn't work for me. I need the experience of reading the whole thing. Now. The problem with me is if I read it now and you read it now, we're gonna have two totally different experiences. Yes. Because I don't have the humility that I should to read through this and pick up every new nuance. My life's too big. Right. Those books a lot of times aren't meant for me at 59. They were meant for me at 21 through, you know, my early 20s. That's where it could help me because that's where I was at that point in time in my life. You know, I was at a point in time where I was getting six fake top ramen for a dollar instead of five real top ramen for a dollar because I got an extra top ramen. Okay. I mean, I was so poor, I couldn't pay attention. Okay. When you're in that pain. And in that desperate space, growth happens fast if you have the right teacher. Okay? If not, if you don't have the sufficient amount of motivation, whether that be love or pain, you got problems. You ain't moving very fast now. You're working on it. You know how you hear these people go, I'm working on it? Okay. You don't work on things. You change or you don't.

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You ready to change? Where are you in your arc of working on it? Oh, you don't know. Then you're not working on it. You're just being a. Yeah. Okay. There. That. That. That's what you wanted to hear? Two questions.

[Ryan Burton]

There we go.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right.

[Ryan Burton]

Would you.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I got it in me.

[Ryan Burton]

Would you suggest I get a. You said Anthony Robbins book.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

No. Go get his. Go get his tapes. It's. I forgot what it was called. Unlimited power or something. Power with purpose. I don't remember.

[Ryan Burton]

I'll type it in. I'll. I.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

But I remember his hour of power in the morning. Okay. And then I remember 30 minutes for thriving sounded better. So I did 30 minutes for thriving because who the wants to do an hour, right? Plus, after the first 10 minutes, you're so pumped up, you want to run through a wall. So sometimes I do it for like, you know, I had the cassette, so it was like an hour of power. And so I do it for 10 minutes, beat the shit out of the world, start doing a lot of things, killing it. Okay. Then I'd get into a lull where I'd feel shitty about myself. Oh. Minutes 11 through 20. Great. Okay. Go beat the shit out of the world again. And it's like your own little cheerleader that. But it's more like. It's not like a cheerleader. It's more like a cheerleader merged with a football coach.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay, great.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. So it's the carrot and the stick.

[Ryan Burton]

And that guy resonated for you. So maybe if I listen to that and I don't get the pump is. I could find another.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

No, no, no. You don't need another. This is the guy, okay? This is the guy.

[Ryan Burton]

If you're telling me, then I'm. Then I'm trusting you.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

This. This is the guy. This is the best in the world at this. Okay? Okay. It's like, I'm not. I'm. I'm. Listen, I'm. I'm a NAT on this guy's ass, but there's no way I'm ever going to help ever be able to pump people up the way he does, because a He's the best in the world at it. Okay. And it's just not what I do. Right. He's the best. Trust me when I tell you, if you. This is the first start. This is where you want to start. Because it's generic. The first. The first one that you don't pick one to do, like, oh, the money. Don't do that one. Do the first one. Then you can go to the money one. If you do, you won't get anything out of it. Or you'll get some of it, but you won't get all of it. Okay. Okay. You want to do the original one first? I'm telling you, this guy's fantastic.

[Ryan Burton]

I'm excited. I'm gonna, like. That's my first order of business when I get back to my place is getting the correct. Is it on YouTube? Is it something I have to buy?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

It's something you have to buy. Okay. But just type in Anthony Robbins. Okay? And that's what you need to do. Because, listen, man, mental health is about. If you can't create a good life for yourself and thrive and a joy of living, you're gonna have issues with your mental health. Yeah, because we're, you know, you want what's best for yourself. You've got dreams and goals. Well, you got to go get them. How do you get them? You make a list of what you want, who you want to be. Okay, great. Now what are you going to do about it? Great. Make a list on how to achieve those things. Right. Okay. And if you don't know, guess what? Now we have chat. GPT. Okay. And you could ask your guy. Okay. And just make certain he's not hallucinating. Right. And you're talking to him. Right. And you just. The way. The way I do it is. Why is that? Why is that? Why is that? Follow up questions, follow up questions. Follow up questions. And you get to the root of it sooner or later. And that's how you learn. Okay. People think that this thing is deteriorating their minds. Not if you use it the way I just said. Because now you're the one dictating the conversation, and you're learning the entire time. And then when he doesn't wrap it into a bow or he doesn't give you exactly what you want. Right. You're the one forcing it to get there. So how are you. How is your brain natural atrophying? It's not. Did I answer that question? You did. Yeah.

[Ryan Burton]

All right.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What? You got anything else?

[Ryan Burton]

I. I actually do have one more. I have Much more about maybe one, maybe another day.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Do as many as you want.

[Ryan Burton]

But yeah, I really appreciate that.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Hey, bro, I'm here for you.

[Ryan Burton]

You made money in your career and you said that. Well, you. It's not going to make you happy or you've got. You had everything you wanted. Did you get to that point of like where Will Smith was talking about. Oh, you get to the top of the thing where nothing is going to make you happy and it's like a scary feeling. Did you experience that?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Yeah. But I can go into even deeper detail.

[Ryan Burton]

I would love to hear that.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I was making about 700,000 bucks as a kid a year.

[Ryan Burton]

That's insane.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

For three straight years. And. Holy. And that's what I was keeping. Wow. Okay. And my overhead was nothing. I had a condo that I redid. I was paying 1,250 bucks a month. Month for. Because I owned most of it. I had an S500 that I was paying, I think 2,000amonth on. Because my credit was garbage. Was trash and a couple other things. I think my total overhead was 6,500 bucks a month. It was nothing. So how the hell do you go through over 50 grand cash a month? How do you do it? Okay. I mean, the way you do it is you buy a bunch of crap. Yep. Just. Just nothing. Not. You're not buying. Appreciating assets.

[Ryan Burton]

Of course not.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Okay. It's not like I walked in and bought a bunch of Rolex Daytonas. Okay. And some art, you know, under the guise of someone who would know better or put it with a wealth manager. Okay. Something responsible or God forbid, bought more real estate. Okay? None of that. I'm talking about bars and girls and just nonsense. Right. Well, I did that for three years and bought everything I could possibly want for three straight years. All of it. And then it hit me like a, like, like a. Like a ton of bricks. I was like, oh my God, it doesn't matter how much money I have or what I buy. That doesn't work. That doesn't make you happy. Do you know what happened to me next?

[Ryan Burton]

What?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I went in a three year depression.

[Ryan Burton]

Wow.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Because how the hell do you become happy?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah. You can't. The new car or the nothing.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So what can I do? And I was so limited back then. Right. Emotionally in every way. I couldn't figure that out. So. And I didn't have anybody in my life who I could go to. Okay. So I spent the next three years in a soul crushing depression.

[Ryan Burton]

Wow. Three years.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Right. Three years. Okay. So What I finally realized was, you know, we didn't sell that, that first company for that amount of money because we wanted the money, okay? We sold it because I was tired and I couldn't go another minute. That's why we sold it. But we never set out to make a ton of money. We set out to help people. And if you can help people, wouldn't the world be a better place? This is what my swami told me once. He said, wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone could help people for a living?

[Ryan Burton]

I bet it would.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

I bet it would, too, okay? And so all I was trying to do at the last part of when I was working, and then through my five year non compete and these three years that I've gone through since is just to leave this place better than I found it. Try to help whoever you can and try not to harm anybody, okay? If you can, unless they deserve it, then you really harm them, okay? Because that's. Don't get carried away, all right? But generally speaking, if you can do that, you'll be blessed. Leave the world a better place than you found it. Help whoever you can and try not to harm anyone. I promise you, your life will get a thousand times better. And not only that, ask God for what you want, okay? And ask him to help you formulate the plan to get there and to be with you every step of the way. Okay?

[Ryan Burton]

Yeah.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Not for what you need. For what you want. If you ask him for what you need, you'll get it and then you'll be pissed. Ask him for what you want. Okay?

[Ryan Burton]

I'm gonna. And I'm also gonna make sure I'm watching this back too, because I'm gonna. I'll have something. I can internalize all the words that you're telling me as well.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

All right, man, thank you. Where can people find you?

[Ryan Burton]

You can find me. Honestly, I thought about this. I thought you were gonna ask me a question like that at the end to wrap it up. I don't even want people to have to search me up if that. If I pop up on their feedback, great. That means I'm doing something right and I did something that related to them. If not, don't even look me up. See you next Tuesday.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

What he said. So here are the rules. So here are the rules. One point, two points. Three points. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. You get five balls, I get one.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

You can do it. Easy, strategic.

[Ryan Burton]

And I just watched a documentary on Tom Brady the other day, so here we go.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Oh, God, that was Tom. Okay, that's two. Outstanding.

[Ryan Burton]

I get five. Okay. I'm trying to go with easy ones.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Smart. That's a good strategy. Dude, you're killing it. Two. That was gorgeous, by the way.

[Ryan Burton]

We're going for the Hail Mary here.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Dude, if that would have went in, that would have been awesome. And you would have gotten it, too. All right, two. One, two, three, four, five, five and two is seven.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

So the only way I can win is six. Is one of those two last ones. Just one of the two last ones. I'm gonna use a bigger ball. Okay.

[Ryan Burton]

Okay.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

All right. You got it.

[Ryan Burton]

All right, I'm ready.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

How you feeling?

[Ryan Burton]

Feeling not as good, because I feel like you. You practice this, but let's see.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Practice it.

[Ryan Burton]

This is your place. You're probably in here doing throwing hundreds of these.

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

Dude, if I threw more than two a day, my arm would fall.

[Ryan Burton]

Right?

[Host (possibly a recovery coach or mental health advocate)]

59. Here we go. There we go. That's it. I win. We're out of time. Please subscribe on YouTube. Click the thumbs up and leave a comment. Please subscribe on Apple podcast and Spotify and leave a rating and a review and share the we're out of time podcast with others you know who will get value out of it. See you next Tuesday.