Keep it Positive, Sweetie - Activate Your Greatness with Alex Toussaint

Episode Date: January 9, 2024

Season 3 Episode 4 | Welcome back Sweeties! This year our first guest is none other than the super talented, highly motivated Peloton Instructor, author and speaker, Alex Toussaint. Alex and I met when I was in the process of purchasing a Peloton bike and we've been friends ever since. His story as a first generation immigrant is inspiring to say the least. Join on us on the couch as we talk about everything from his early beginnings, his faith and his new book, Activate Your Greatness.

Hi and welcome to this episode of Keep It Pause this week. I'm Krister and Hayesled and today we are talking about activating your greatness with my dear friend Alex Tusson. I can't believe I'm here. I'm so happy to be here with you. I can't believe you're here. I told y'all to make the promise. Like I wasn't going to flake when you, I had to come through. For a real one, I had to come through. You did, you got to early this morning, caught a 6 a.m. flight to be here with this day. Wow, I'm.

You know why? Because you would do the same. Absolutely. Without question. Anybody that knows you know you would do the same without heart beat. Absolutely. You know I guess.

So you got to return to bless him. I love you. I appreciate it. I appreciate your love. You know that. Period. So we start every episode with a song or a quote. Okay. And I can't start this episode without your quote. Feel good, look good, do best.

Absolutely. That's what you live by. Yeah. And for those who do not know, Alex is a Peloton instructor, which most of the world knows him as. You are a Puma athlete. You're a businessman, you work in the fitness tech music sports,

and entertainment industry. And off the bike, you have a foundation to do better foundation. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. I met you virtually in 2020. Yeah, yeah. During the pandemic, I didn't have any work out equipment

in my house, and I was like, I need something, so I'll purchase a phela time bike. Thank God you did it. Thank God you did it. pandemic, I didn't have any workout equipment in my house and I was like I need something. So I purchased a peltier time bike. Thank God you did. Thank God you did. Listen, I got the peltier time bike and from there I fell in love with the way you instruct. I was like this guy lights a fire under my ass.

Like you don't take no messing with anybody. I mean wait some time. I mean wait some time. Yeah. And to learn your background, having a military background it made me understand your way of training and how you talk to us through that bike. But you touch so many lives through that.

And then we met personally. We connected on Instagram and we met personally at a hot game. We share a common love for sports. I feel like we always run to each other. Hots. Heat game. Yeah. That's true. We share a common love for sports. I feel like we always run to each other. He, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, there a percent, like, 100 percent blessed? Yes! I so I say, I'm thankful that you purchased the Bell Tom bite, because there's people who come into the community and become members, but there's some people who come in and become family members outside the platform.

And obviously, you're one of those people that became a family member instantly from you. So I'm honored to join the Bell Tom community. Thank you so much. Thank you. So much. Thank you. Going back to your childhood, you talk about in your book, act the H your greatness.

I'm so proud of you for this as well. You talk about your upbringing and the journey to getting to the Alex Tucson that we all know today. And that we admire so much. Tell us a little bit about your childhood and what really molded you to be who you are today. First off, my parents. I got to start off with the two people who,

like the pioneers of this, my mom and dad. to start off with the two people who, like the pioneers of this, of my mom and dad. My dad being an oil engineer and, uh, I'm going to say stuff for a second. We're actually not that sort of Navy. I have so many military family members and so hard to keep up sometimes. My dad served in the Navy and my mother was a doctor teacher for 30 something years. So all I've ever known in my entire life has just been family sacrificing or with sacrificing for the better of others around you. As a kid, I was an extreme knucklehead though.

I've been kicked out of every school I've ever been to, including military school, almost got kicked out of high school as well. And that's just because I wasn't a bad kid, I just had like a issue with authority. And to be honest with you, the most authoritative figure in my household being my father, just that clashing nonstop. But I tell people all the time, like, I'm a product

of somebody whose father went above and beyond, same with my mother, to make sure I was put in a position to win life and drive in life. I just never understood it and always took it as resistance versus assistance. That's just due to my perspective of life. I think to myself all the time,

like how fortunate I am to have two parents that were extremely present, I just never was able to live to the excellence that they demanded being. Two Haitian immigrants coming to the United States without knowing the language of how we speak, let alone being able to economically wise. So many different things back in the 70s and 80s. And I'm like, how do you even accomplish that? Let alone thrive in that space.

And I look back now and I fast forward as a young adult and I'm like, I understand it. I understand that you guys did the best you could with the resources you had. I never lived up to that growing up as a kid. So what I'm trying to do right now is rewrite that and try to validate my parents' sacrifices every single day. So this book is like one of the steps of me

validating everything that implemented for my brothers and myself. You did a really good job with this, and telling the story. Once you got kicked out of school and your parents were like, we're fed up. It is really your dad. It's really my dad, yeah.

It's really my dad. Mom was like, let's keep him close. I'm the baby of the family. I got told of brothers, so. My mom was like, let's keep him close. My dad was like, nah, I'm shipping you out of here. Sixth grade. It was either Haiti or military school.

And I mean, I think I got the good end of the stick. Yeah, I think I got the good end of the stick. But, it was one of those things in life that like, I felt as if, I don't believe we want to use a word of band-in because there's people who go through that actual stage in life, but it did feel like a sense of, I'm not even worthy enough. So instead of my dad leaving, he's like, you're not worthy, you gotta go.

And at the time that broke my heart. Yeah, you talk about it in book about how it, like to this day, you really think about it, you feel pain. It's just something about it that I was so young at the time. I was in sixth grade. I was 12 years old going on 13, getting shipped into the middle of nowhere.

I slated completely disinfrom friends, family, anything that I knew that was the normal system. Right. So when I think about it, I'm just like, I went to a rough stage, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade that, unless you were there with me at military school, you have no idea. But it's what you're mean, the only people that know

are the people that were with me. Yeah. And those things you just keep closer to heart just because like they're dark moments in life. Absolutely. But we'll be able to obviously push through and break through to get where we are today. So I've been able to use the same things that were somewhat dark moments in life as positive moments inspired the world with.

I'm sure you've done an amazing job with that. How does Alex work through those dark moments? Because I know like me and therapy, I've learned that those things that happen to little crystal, I'm still dealing with those as an adult, how do you deal with it? Two things, therapy, like actually speaking to somebody, and thankfully my job is a form of therapy for me as well.

As somebody who's been in the industry now 11 years, I would, I joined from Mopping Floors to cycling. I'm excited again. From Mopping Floors to cycling. We're going to talk about the story too. We got to talk about the story. Because people see all the... They don't realize where it started.

They don't. Yeah, we got to talk about that too. Through movement though. Movement of the mind and the body has allowed me to have a new perspective of life. And I didn't understand that until I started moving my body on a bike that went absolutely nowhere. But mentally and emotionally, I went so far. So every day that I was pushing pedal strokes from the day one, eleven years ago until now,

I tell myself, like, push these pedal strokes with an intent and with a purpose, because it allows you to carve out who you want to be every single time. And if you miss a pedal stroke due to you negotiating with yourself or you doubting yourself, you could be missing an opportunity to carve out where you want to be long-term. So I try every single day, like even within the classes that I teach now, I tell people like, sometimes I don't teach for y'all, I teach for me, you just happen to be there. You know what I mean? I'm a vianna such a, like, because it's been such a form of therapy for me for so long.

So I would say the movement of the body and the mind has allowed me to have a new perspective of life for sure. That's amazing. I know that. We've talked about some mornings where you like, I just a new perspective of life for sure. That's amazing. I know that's the best. We've talked about some warnings where you don't always feel like it. Absolutely. But what you never can tell on that bike is that the minute that red light clicks on, there's just something like gratitude.

I'm not trying to quote myself out of the book, but gratitude can't tell that my negativity and fear. And I'm just like, damn, I got to do this for a living. I get to get on a platform with thousands of people show up to listen to my crazy self-talk. And like, or just unscripted, unfiltered, just like, if I'm in a bad mood, I could tell people I'm in a bad mood and move like that, but also break through with people in real time, that is a blessing. That's why I'm so thankful for the Peloton community and the people that support every

single day, because as an instructor, you get a lot of the, you thank you, you change my life, thank you, you change my life. And for a lot of the members that read this book now, they're like, oh, it makes sense. I'm like, no, thank you. Yes. Because this you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Yeah, I um I want to school for audio and video production my dream job if you look at my high school yearbook was to be a ESPN cameraman Wow, that was my dream job. So I always love audio and video. I love film And I went to school and I was I applied myself for the time that I was there. I truly did and that was to try to

Being that my mother was an educator my brothers an educator and my was like, if you don't work or go to school, you ain't living in this house. It was no option. Yeah. I went through a dark period in college. I don't remember exactly what just happened, but it just wasn't clicking. It felt like I was just buying time and existing

to make my parents happy, but I really didn't find what was making me happy. Cargaretstone in college, and I hit like a ultimate rock bottom. But I still don't tell my parents that I'm not going to school. So like every day I'm faking like I'm going to class, I'm so scared to like disappoint mom and dad. Yeah. One day mom calls and she says, how's class going today?

And it was the way she said it, which I, oh my gosh. It's not already known. All the mothers out there have a mother to say, the way she said it, it was like she was waiting for me to lie to her. And I was like, class is going great and she just stopped, she goes, Lex don't lie to me. And I didn't know that once you stopped going to school,

your student won't kick in. Oh, yeah. Oh, fuck. She financially knew that I wasn't in school. Yeah. So she called and she was, listen, I'm not going to be mad at you. I'm not going to curse at you. I'm not going to flip out on you, but you're going to have

to tell your dad. And that was like, I was like, I reality just said it, like now life starts today. I know the minute that he finds out, my dad's so, he's the, there's a method to the madness, but sometimes the madness is just madness, you know what I'm saying? And I come back home, we get into a big fight.

He said some hard words to me that I want people to read in the book, but those words were what I personally needed. And he said those words as he said, get out the house and kick me out the house. So I lived in my best friend's floor for about a year and a half, and I got a job at a company called Flywheel Sports. Now this company is indoor cycling, so I'm coming to work every single day, mopping the floors, just trying to get a check because I'm like, I can't be broke, and just going on my best friend. So I gotta bring something, like, you know what I mean? So I'm walking to work, jogging to work,

just to mop floors every single day. And I'm sitting outside of the studio and there's like a fish hole in between the door. And I'm peeping my head in, I'm just listening to instructors teach every single day. So the same information, the same inspiration, a lot of the members were getting on the opposite side. I'm getting why I have them up in my hand.

So as the days start to go, as the weeks start to go, I start to be like, all right, let me start mopping with more of a purpose versus like, this is just like a temporary moment, not knowing what could occur in a long term. Thank God for this lady named Ruth Zuckerman, who's an angel in my life, till this day, one of my life mentors.

CEO of the company at the time, and every day she would walk in, she would acknowledge every single person in that building. She would never let somebody feel like they were less than. No matter if you mop floors, no matter if you were an instructor, she acknowledged you. So that always made me feel special.

Somebody of power and status, noticing me in a time where I really didn't even notice myself, I was dark, dark mentally. Yeah. One day I'm just in the room, and I'm playing my music, mopping, and my boy goes, you know,

you could be an instructor, right? And that's why it's always critical to have these friends that believe in you when you don't believe in yourself. And I was like, oh, wait a minute, like, you're right. I can't do this. I love music. I play music. I was in a marching band military school

so I could count well, have a military background. And I think I know how to motivate people. I don't know how to motivate myself, but others, for some reason, felt a little bit easier. Yeah, well. So I gained confidence one day, I'm mopping the floors, the roof comes in, I say,

Ruth, I have a random question to ask you. I don't think anybody's ever asked you, but I have a random question. Can I be an instructor? And I was somewhat joking, but I'm like, close-mops don't get fed, you never know what could happen.

Close-mops don't get fed. I have nothing to lose in this one right now. And she looks somewhat joking, but I'm like, close mouth don't get fed. You never know what could happen. Period. Close mouth don't get fed. Yeah. I had nothing to lose in this one right now. And she looks at me like takes a pause and goes, give me two weeks of your time, and let's see what we can do. Wow. And I look back and I tell people now,

the reason she even gave me that opportunity is because I mopped the floors with the purpose. I didn't mop as if I was a janitor. I mopped with a certain purpose where she was like, if I provide him an opportunity, I know he's gonna run with energy. He's gonna honor it, oh my gosh, yes. So she locked in with me for two weeks. I did somewhat of an audition with her

and she was like, yo, you're gonna change the game. So I started teaching, it was like day and night. Like I went from mop and floors to teaching. But it didn't happen, it happened so weird because I'm teaching the class. I get off the bike, I run to the computer, I weird because I'm teaching the class I'd get off the bike I'd run to the computer I'd clock in I mop the class up Wow, so my identity was in the mop for so long that I was like I didn't know how to let it go in all

I was there was something about it that like I couldn't let it go it kept me humble kept me grounded but it kept me Inspired for more. I didn't feel less than with a mop. I truly truly did and because of the opportunity She gave me was one of those reasons why I was like, why should I leave the mop? I could get paid to mop floors and teach classes, double up. I'm going from broke to a little bit of money. Like, let's, let's, let's, let's double up. Wow. She called me one day. She said, you got to stop mopping. I'm just end of story for you to like execute this career the way you need to. You got to

sign mopping. I told her in order for me to put this Mop down, I go, what's the industry standard of classes? She says 15, I go, I need 25. You better know your work. I said, I need 25. She goes, why? I was like, you don't understand. I gotta prove my dad wrong.

Cause of what he said to me on the walk out, I still got, the Mopin floors were just the stepping stone. He, I got a job, great, Mopin floor is great. But what you gonna do with your life? What career can you build out of your life? So when she said 15, I go, I need 25 because that's the only way I'm a job, great, my four is great. What you gonna do with your life? What career can you build out of your life? So when she said 15, I go, I need 25, because that's the only way I'm gonna be able to, I got catching up to do it.

Yeah. So many people have been in the career for five, six, seven years. I got to catch up somehow. I got to out work. So that's been the mindset, out work, every single capacity possible. The first two years of my career there, where 839, 30 East Hampton class,

hop on a jetty two hour bus ride to the city, take a train uptown, 430 upper east side, take a train back downtown, 738, 30 flat iron. And I would do that every Monday and Wednesday. Mind you, people are teaching one, two classes a day in one location. I'm teaching five in three locations. You know what I'm saying?

So I'm bouncing around crazy. But I'm starting to find my purpose. I'm moving pedal strokes. I'm starting to find my identity. I'm moving mentally, emotionally. I'm starting to find my purpose. I'm moving pedal strokes. I'm starting to find my identity. I'm moving mentally, emotionally. I'm starting to find my light, my inner light that feel good. That's one of the feel good stories. So like now I'm like, wait a minute,

I'm able to identify myself as a different individual because of the movement of the body and the mind. Now I'm able to look good from an internal perspective, which allows me to shine externally. People think that look good is like, yo, let's put a diamond chain on, like it flies like, nah, nah, nah, it's your energy, it's your traction. It's that top-check compliment when somebody's like, you glowing today. Yeah.

That's that look good. So once I started being able to identify the feel good and look good, I was like, the do better. It's like, oh, let's just run with it now. Let's just go. Right. So I taught there for two and a half, three, two and a half years, three years. I tell people all the time that every day is an audition to be great. Those 25 classes a week,

providing me an opportunity for Peloton to recognize who I was. This is Peloton as a start of 2015. Because I bounced around the city and they were doing recruitment, it allowed them to go to different studios and see how I teach. I put a website, a different demographics, and upper east side, of an east side, different demographic, and the flat iron. And I'm myself in all these spaces, but I didn't realize they were coming to class

and taking it behind the scenes to see should we hire this guy. Wow. So 2016 comes around, Peloton calls, they call Ruth. They don't call me directly, they go through Ruth. She pulls me aside and says, yo, there's a company that's gonna change the game of fitness and I think you should go.

I'm looking at her like, yo, you just changed my life. What did you talk about, I'm like, I'm in motion right now, I'm thriving, everything is working perfectly. Why don't I, well, I'll show I go. She's like, listen, you reach someone of a ceiling here. This is the next chapter in your life. And I didn't realize what Peloton was gonna be.

I had no idea at all. She understood I was gonna be the first black man in a lot of these people's homes across the country. I had no idea at all. I didn't was gonna be the first black man and a lot of these people's homes across the country. I had no idea at all. I didn't know what I was gonna myself into. I didn't know what was gonna occur out of it. But she always said, if you need something to come back home to,

you can always come back. So that gave me the opportunity to be like, you know what, let me take that leap of faith. If you tell me I could come back home and just don't work out, I'm going. And sure enough, your hair is eight years later and it's been a craziest ride, but like the biggest blessing, my father. Crazy. But that's why I say it's not lucky.

Yes, blessing all blessings. All blessings for sure. Wow. First of all, shout out roof everybody. Shout out to roof. So, it's their life. That's my grandmother's name, roof. But there are so many nuggets that I took from that that I don't want you guys to miss. One is how you honored the Mopping season. You know, a lot of people look down when they doing something on the field.

They feel like, I'm better than this. I shouldn't be doing this. You honored that. And then when you got there, you spoke about it. You did like me. I told Tyler, hey, I really want to do this. You had the guts to tell Ruth, this is what I want to do. Absolutely.

Sometimes you had to speak up. I have to speak up. Because I was going to get fed. Somebody may not know to provide your opportunity Unless you actually want it. Yeah, yeah, and then even when you got that position You were still eager to my afterwards, but it's it comes up to put point in your life that Once you had to know when to let the past you have to know when to let it go. I took a lot from there Good and it's gracious. It's one of those I got like so many quotes pop up in my mind

When me and you have conversations and like like, within that just now, like, you can't shrink yourself in environments you've outgrown. I was put in a position to continue to evolve and grow and it's part of me wanted to keep that left foot in while the right foot was going. And I was like, you have to let that go. In order to step into that new shell, that new alignment, the new you,

you gotta remove yourself in environments you've outgrown. And it's not to say, outgrown the mop is a bad thing. It was just more like, you gotta remove yourself from the environments you've outgrown. And it's not to say grown the mop is a bad thing, it was just more like, you did that. You did it and you didn't, that season's over. It's over, so no one changed seasons. It's a big game, no one changed seasons in a big game life. We got it.

Thank you for that. I'm gonna hold it up for today. We always knew something, and that's how we talk is like, you know, that was good, I'm gonna use that. I'm using that one, wow. I'm using that one. Wow. I'm using that one.

I love that. And from being a Peloton being in everyone's home, we talked about you being the first black, you know what I'm saying. So what was that like and what weight does that here? Because I know, for me, it was important. When I got on that bike to see a black man in the black woman, you and Ali love in two days were my favorites. I always wanted to see something that reflected myself.

And what was it like, I do want to know, because I'm sure being at that was a startup company and you were the first black man to be on that bite. What was that? Did that carry any weight for you? It carried weight, the weight shifted throughout the years. When I joined, it was more of excitement of like, you know, I'm the token black guy.

And like, you think it's a cool thing to be like the only black person and you soon to realize that like, wait a minute, I don't have all the information in the knowledge to provide this community, the understanding of the black community solely by myself. I'm a black man. I can't speak from the black woman's perspective.

You know what I'm saying? That's not something I could relate to. So I realized early, early on that, you know what I'm in for uphill battle. A lot of resistance to, because I'm on apologetic. You know what I'm saying? I'm straight with it. I don't, I'm very, like, I'm gonna take my do-ah-go off

to go on the other side. I'm gonna say it like that. But I wanted people to understand that, like, listen, I come from a certain level of respect and integrity that foundation of my family, the morals and principles are so pure that it's hard for me to allow somebody else to be like, yo, what you're doing is creating somebody who's going to take that offensively.

I'm like, well, that's them because I know where my heart is. I know how pure it is. And when you're playing these, like, I'm trying to give them that real ATL hip-hop, New York hip-hop, like to let people know, yo, we hear. In order for my community to be here, I got to showcase that we are here, representation matters.

I didn't realize how important me being the first black instructor was until Ali loved Jordan. And I say that because when she joined, it felt like one of the biggest weights off of my shoulder, because I'm like cool, I don't have to do this by myself. I know. And in the same space, we're gonna be running together and you being a black woman, excuse me,

has a completely different perspective of life that I could actually learn from in real time. Now, Ali also is a different individual. She is one of the bad-ass people I know on this planet. She's one of the most inspirational, most loving, like heartfelt people that I know, but she don't play about her business. So she helped me understand that, like, yo she don't play about her business.

So she helped me understand that like, yo, this is a job, this is your career, like turn this into a career out of this. Then two a day comes along, then just, sometimes comes along. And I truly didn't realize the responsibility, or sorry, I don't say I didn't realize, I got a little bit lost in the hustle of what we were doing

until George Floyd got killed. And like the world stopped and I still got to go to work as a black man and people are like, what are you going to say? What are you going to do? Like, I'm like, wait a minute, I didn't realize that it all fell in me in that moment. It did. Yeah. I'm trying to, I'm trying to call my dad like, yo, dad, this was crazy was going on right now. Like, as a black man, I'm trying to call my dad for, like, safety and peace and, like, yo, provide me understanding. Right.

And I felt like people were knocking at my door, like, yo, what are you gonna say? I'm like, bro, I don't know what the hell to say. Yeah. So that was like the point where I realized how important this is and how much responsibility I do have to show up because in that moment, I'm like, how I interact on that camera,

how I articulate on that camera, the stories that I tell will allow people in their households and their communities to be like, that's Alex Tucson's perception as a black man, that maybe everybody's reality and that's not the case. That's why I was so thankful for Allie Love, Two-in-Dade Jess, Sims of Walk Through the Door, because it's like, we need to tell our stories in all different perspectives.

That's how we organically build a community here at Palo Time. Yeah. So that probably was a turning point. I mean, realizing how important this job was. And I had to take it that much more serious at that point. Yeah, I mean, I mean, I watch you, you like whenever you're preparing, you're like I'm getting my playlist to hear, you need any time you listen to it. And you really take it very seriously.

Absolutely. It shows, it definitely shows. I remember in 2020 when George Floyd died and we had to sit in that. And because you were one of the people that we watched every day just to like be active and do something, we were looking, like what are you gonna say?

That falls on us sometimes. So everything's like, we wanna hear why aren't you speaking up about this? That moment helped me understand how much responsibility I have. Those who can must. In that moment, I realized I was like, all right, this is a call of duty.

Like, yes, this is my career, this is my job. But I have to like, I have to organically remain myself and inspire others that don't look like me so they can communicate with me. That has to be the key. That has to be the key. That has to be the key. I don't need you to love my classes.

I actually don't, like, some of the biggest top-check compliments that I receive is, hey, AT, I take Monday night hip hop, I'm like, you do? And they're like, yeah, I don't take it for the music though. I take it for the message. And when I walk away from that, I'm like, they don't understand how much of a validating top-check compliment that is.

Yes. That means that we can have a difference of music, but the understanding of love and the purpose and the intent of the message is received. For that, hey, I'm doing my job. Absolutely. I'm doing my job. Yeah.

Speaking of how you turn this into a business, Ali told you, hey, this is your career, this is a business, I remember I took my family to last year from I was worked at the Linton, New York, to the Brooklyn Game, last year there. And I'm a cast you course on. If the one thing I'm about to cast you course on, I'm not a muster to you.

I'm a cast you course on. Every time. And I remember waking up, because we stayed at the addition in Times Square, because my family had been in New York. So you got to stay in Times Square the first time. We know we're gonna stay as you do. We gonna say y'all day. I think I'm gonna go.

Yeah, you like to be, okay, it's too loud. But I remember waking up, opening up my window and there was this huge Mavado and I see your face pop up. Then I looked to the left, it's a huge smart water and your face pops up. And I'm like, video, I'm like, Alex, you're everywhere!

And I didn't see it yet. So you were sitting in the team with the first time I saw it. And I was like, yo. It was crazy. And then you drop past Peloton, you see your face. What is that like? Till this day doesn't get old.

I'm just like, we made it till Billboard and Times Square before we made it to the police bladder and our local town. You know, I was like, you know, honestly, like, stuff like that, like, it seems crazy still to be honest with you, often pushing pedals on a bike. But then when it occurs, I'm like, it's not crazy. You feel like you're supposed to happen like this the entire time.

But yeah, seeing your face on a Billboard at Times Square, I'm not going to lie, I don't get old. Yeah, I was blown away. And it's more importantly, it gives me hope to be like, yo, keep going, think bigger. Like, keep up, open up your aperture for other things that you need to think were possibly in your scope of vision. I never thought I was gonna be getting paid to drink water.

Like, a lot of you might be speaking. Literally. It's something that you should be doing anyway. I asked my friend one day at my manager, I was like, yo paid to drink water. Like a lot of people are speaking. Literally. It's something that you should be doing anyway. I asked my friend one day at my manager, I was like, yo, can you just do me a favor? Can you grab cases of water for the house? Like, you drink it as much as I do.

Like, and he was like, yeah, I got you. A couple days goes by. He was like, yo, I got the cases of water. But like, I thought about it. We should have had a water deal. I wish I had the smart water. And I was just like, oh my gosh, bro. So to see you go from that to then like a global partnership

to then helping me announce me getting on the tread at Peloton. To now, to like, it all work, bro, so let's see you go from that to then like a global partnership, to then help with me announce me getting on the Treadup Peloton, to now, to like, it all work in a way it's supposed to work. And it never feels like actually work. That's the best part. Wow, speaking of Tread, I remember you calling me,

you were like, don't say nothing yet, but I'm about to be on Treadup's like, oh my goodness. Like you literally have taken over everything. On real. It's unreal, like, to, and people don't understand it. To be a trainer the way you are, you have to keep your body top tier as well.

You wake up every morning, you're in your gym working out. Before you go work, I'm not to die on the bus. You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, God. It's a thing that you're doing something before that's even prepared for that is insane. The mindset has always been outwork. That's always ever known. But the trend, you know what it is?

The trend has helped me 11 years in the cycling, 11 years in the fitness industry. This feels like a rookie all over again. This feels like a new, bad, a new jump start on the cables of being like, I have to learn. I'm not the top tier trend instructor. I'm learning every single day, every single class. So it feels great.

It feels great. It feels great. I love it. What does a morning for Alex, you sound like? There's no two days out of the same. Because I wake up every single day at like 6, 7 a.m. That's probably the one thing I do. But depending on the day, depending on my energy, I may knock out a workout right when I wake up.

I may be like, you know what, I'm a chill reset, walk outside, take time to be with the dogs, knock out my meetings, and then do a workout. Yes. But every morning that I wake up, starts with gratitude. Gratitude cancels out my negativity in my attitude. I'm a firm believer of that.

So wake up, eyes open up, feet touch the ground. I do this, inhale your confidence, exhale your doubt. Yes. And I do it three times just to mentally reset and emotionally reset for the day. Whether it's a class in the morning or meetings there's got to be a workout before 12 o'clock. Somehow I like just I got to get into the gym before 12 o'clock because I normally get back into the gym at four five o'clock because there's two workouts

a day right now in my regiment. But there's no two days out of the same. My Peloton schedule bouncing crazy me working with Puma has been flying out crazy right now. So the only thing that's the same every single day is the gratitude check. That's so amazing. I saw where LeBron and Steph take your classes. What is it? Because you're a huge basketball fan. And you've, let's go ahead and give it your flours.

You play in the All Star game two years. Two years back. In the MVP, 2022. 2022, yeah, yeah, like baller. Crazy. Listen. Can I tell you something about that? Yeah.

As somebody who grew up playing basketball, like I'm a diehard basketball fan. That was the first one with therapy right entire life. When they offered me the opportunity to play in the game, Peloton will tell you this flat out. All the members that were in class, I looked into the camera, I was flying out on Thursday, I taught on Wednesday night, and I said,

yo, I'll see y'all back next week with the trophy. Wow. And it wasn't to be cocky, it was more so of a stay ready so you don't have to get ready. Right. I play basketball behind the scenes that stay in physical shape. And I told myself I've ever had the opportunity to play on the NBA floor.

It's not a negotiation what I'm going all for. Not to be like, hey, I could play basketball, but to always let kids know, you could have a gym of being a pro athlete, you could have a gym of being a NBA, whatever the case may be, but where you are today could be the platform to where you're trying to take it. And because I taught every single class with a mindset of moving like a pro athlete, it attracted the pro athletes, which put the NBA in my scope, in my vision, which allowed me then to have that opportunity. So that wasn't by accident.

That was more so like because I taught every single class as an athlete with that mindset, it attracted the athletes with it allowed me to play on that floor. Right. That's good, that's good. You talk about how you found your identity on the bike. What did you discover in that time? I discovered it ordered to succeed in order to grow you got to fail. My dad, like I said,

by that had a different method of madness, all growing up, he would, he never accepted failure. It was always looked down upon. So because the failure was looked down upon, I was scared to even attempt. So I did a lot of just existing. I never really was able to live my true childhood and attempt things, because I was scared to fail

knowing the repercussions of my dad. Now why I am an adult, I realized I've only learned, I've only became successful, I've only evolved through failure, the first attempt in learning. Fail. I got this one, we'll spend a fail fast, fail now, fail here, fail forward. I realized everything that I do is a failure

that's turned into a lesson, which is turned into a blessing. I'm rapping right now, I shouldn't be doing that. You're just kidding bars. That's one thing that I realized from my career on moving on a bike is attempt new things because you're gonna learn about yourself in ways that you never thought you could. I never thought I would write a book.

I'd be very transparent with you. I failed English in 11th grade, not because I can't read it right because I just didn't apply myself. So the scope of me writing a book was never, I never even thought about that. So in the opportunity presented itself, at first I was like, yo, nah.

But then I was like, you know what? I'm okay feeling. I'm okay being vulnerable. Because I realized that's my ultimate strength. Right. I'm okay being in that space of like, I guess for a lot of people, they're like, especially the black men

that take Peloton classes, they're like, yo, thank you for your vulnerability. And I'm like, I didn't realize I was being vulnerable. Right. But I'm just like, you know what? If that's what's received, that let's teach with that space. Because I see a lot more people now of color, especially the older black men that really didn't focus

on their mental, focusing on it a lot more now, and they have any sort of like rolling that space. It doesn't mean everything to me. So I learned that you may need being a position and inspire a lot of other people and not even know it. So as long as you wake up every single day and keep your faithful, and move with the purpose and execute with the intention,

you could be saving lives and not even realizing it. But you gotta save your life first. Yeah, I love it. You talked, we talked about you still being on the bike, but still having to mine as well, or feeling like you had to mine. Did you deal with a scarcity mindset in that moment? Because I know you're still sleeping on your friends floor

and you're like, I got to prove this to my dad. I just didn't, I thought that the cycling thing was too good to be true. I was like, there's no way that an opportunity could present itself so fast and get executed and like my life changed. I think the way I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like I was feeling like you straight, like was the level of comfort that I needed to be like, I could let this thing go. But there was definitely a sense of like, yo, don't let it go. Because the whiteies ever went from mopping floors to teaching before. Right. Right.

So when it's never been done and you're the one doing it, it's so scary. Because you're like, I'm creating the path in front of me. There's no path to follow. Right. I have to create it. So sometimes it's definitely scary in that space, but having people like Ruth that provide a level of comfort, provide you assistance instead of resistance, such a key in life. Such a key in life. Good, that's it, man, Ruth is the goat.

The goat, the goat for sure. Oh my goodness. So you became the first black instructor at Peloton, and then we have the George Floyd death happened, which affected everybody in the world. In that moment, what parallels and what did you feel similarities from your childhood being the mainly the only black, which is a predominantly white town where you were mainly the black and only black in school, were there any similarities there where you felt like

I'm living this all over again? There was one thing in particular. I want to give a lot of credit to the East Hampton community to be honest with you because they accepted my family. And a lot of the black families out there with open arms and love. I want to be very clear about that. I came to East Hampton in 1998.

My dad bought a plot of land and then built the house up. And my mom was working out there for seven years at the time. I was going to school out there for a little bit. So they definitely welcomed us with open arms. The teachers, the community, my friends, parents. But there was one person in particular who did not. And that was our next door neighbor, the person who lived right next to us.

All growing up, she would call the cops on us for the most outrageous thing. It was one of those, you know when you have a neighbor, one of those people, like me walking in a neighborhood do a go on cops call, me coming down the block car music cops call me playing basketball outside of the cops call to the point that the East Hampton police would come by the house and be like, yo, what up ATU good like

they became good. It became that relationship. Why? With the cops are like, yo, we just have to do our due diligence and drive by, but we understand what you're dealing with. So they actually would give me grace. So that's why, honestly, I shot all the cops out there because they understood what I was dealing with.

I was the only black kid on my block. My mom would be like, do not go to the mailbox with your do or I go on. I'm like, well, what you talk about? We're getting the mail. The mage workers are going to see us. And I'm like, mom, you're getting the mail. You name it the nasi-berg is a, the neighbors are gonna see us. And I'm like, mom, you've worked your entire life, you sacrifice to build this entire beautiful home, raise us here to not feel comfortable in your own environment

because somebody else doesn't want you to live here. And I remember when the George Floyd happened, the only way I could explain it to the Peloton members is hypothetically speaking, I get into an interaction with a police officer. He's having a bad day, I may be having a bad day. That tension can cause a little bit of escalated, escalated situation. And now my ego gets in the way of me making a home safe.

And now the only way you're going to understand is when you click on the bike on Friday morning and it's like, yeah, where's AT? Osh. I don't even think I I can I'm not exempt from this just because I ride a bike just because I want to platform because people know me does not mean I'm exempt from it every day struggles of black men in America to black people in general in America. I use the example of at the time I lived in Brooklyn when I started Peloton I drive across the bridge in Brooklyn I'm viewed as a drug dealer due to my nice car and because I wear a sweats and I have a dude I go on but the minute I cross the bridge it's him in a hat and oh you're an athlete you're good

So I tell people all the time like those like I've been pulled out of my car driving across Brooklyn at gunpoint Not because I did anything wrong because the cop Thought I had something in the car Thankfully due to my training in military school and understanding how to talk to authority, the minute a cop pulls up on me, I know how to make him aware that I respect the rank. I respect the situation,

and I wanna make sure that I'm safe and you're safe. So certain things like that, that like my dad, that's why I give credit to him sent him in to military school. Because I was super hot headed as a young kid, where like I could say the wrong thing and it could go up. Right. And because of military school, when you super hot headed as a young kid where like I could say the wrong thing and it could go up. Right. And because of military

school when you said when you spend so much time with somebody yelling in your face telling you what to do and you can't do a damn thing about it it allows you to be disciplined in a space where it can make you like you to get home safe. So to just bring it all back that was the only way I could articulate it to the Peloton community to help them understand what I go through on an everyday basis, which means that's what other black individuals go through on an everyday basis. And honestly, the community was extremely receptive to it.

Because for me, I don't need you to, people say, I stand with you, I stand with you. Nah, I'm moving, move with me. Ooh. They, when you got to stand, I know I'm trying to move somewhere, but I need you to move. I need you to move within your household, move your kids' mind, help them change their perspective. So when they deal with somebody in their school system that looks like me, they're comfortable because their parents provide them information,

help them understand that, like, yo, that's AT. Here's people, they good. If we can do that, if I could reach one, I could teach one. So that's why I show up to work every single day with that level of, I have to, because I understand that for somebody out there I may be the first interaction with the black person Which may be the difference in them raising their kids and interacting with their community

So that was that moment for me for sure. I love that and speaking of community. You started a foundation Yes, I want to talk about that because you started in 2020 Did this have anything to do with what was going on? Or do you have more downtime? Is that why you? It was a combination of downtime. It was also a combination of I, like, after my grandmother passed away in 2018, I went to Haiti for the first time as an adult. I was able to identify where I came from.

I was able to identify in real time the sacrifices that were implemented. I was able to identify with one sacrifice away from growing up in Haiti to be honest with you. But then I also understood that once again those who can't must. I've been provided so many of blessing, so many opportunities, so many connections, so many resources. What's the point of holding those in? The goal is to extend your hand to do better, to feel good, to look good, to do better. This is the part where you've reached a certain space

in life where you're moving out of frequency into space where your cup is overflowing. And within those overflowing gifts and blessings, you've got to provide it to other people otherwise they go wasted. So the Dubetta Foundation was founded 2020 with two of my best friends who are my managers. One Nigerian American, one Korean American,

and I'm Haitian American. We all have the immigrant mindset and that level of understanding of how we grew up. And we just came to this conclusion of being like, yo, we're so fortunate to be raised, how we were raised, to have the parents that we have for the sacrifices that they did. We gotta look out for the kids that look like us,

from the environments that we come from and from the environments that we don't come from. Where that's kids of the inner city community, kids from Haiti, kids from Korea the kids that look like us, from the environments that we come from, and from the environments that we don't come from. Where that's kids of the inner-city community, kids from Haiti, kids from Korea, kids from Nigeria, people that are in the military, that's close to my heart. The Dubetta Foundation was created to provide people opportunities to wellness resources

that they just truly may not have. Everything that I was afforded, therapy, after school programs, nutrition, mentors, God, it's like everything that I've realized that like those small details, after school programs, nutrition, mentors, like everything that I've realized that like those small details, which all compiled into make me who I am today, I'm just trying to give that to other kids. Simply put, simply put.

And it feels great to do it with your friends, or your managers, but friends and family first. You know what I'm saying? So it's definitely a validating thing to wake up and be like, yo, on Thanksgiving, we gotta go give out turkey city kids in Brooklyn, but we're going to make sure we do it with the public school system that way. There's like things like that feel so purposeful because then when we go, you know, you know,

it's the courts side at the Nets game, it feels validating to be like, yo, we're courts side, we chill and now, but look at all the purposeful things that we did together. Right. So it makes the friendship purposeful as well. So I love the fact I got to do with my boys. I know it's different. You love them. I love them. I love them. I love them. You've accomplished all these things. What is next for Alex who's on? Oh man. I don't know what's next. Because one of the hardest things for me to do is to think that forward being,

that I never thought I would be where I am today. Yeah. I don't know what's next, but I can tell you that my aperture has opened up for me to test new things. Yes, good. So I'm not going to block a blessing due to pride at ego.

I'm not going to tell myself what I can't do. I'm more going to tell myself what I should try to do. So I don't know what's next I actually can't even tell you like even all can I can't tell you what's next because I'm in a space right now of being like we dropped a shoe we dropped the book we did the foundation. I just want to take time to just like accept those blessings and then have an understanding of where we want to go next without rushing it. So I truly don't know. And that's okay not knowing. But I know that I'm not gonna block the blessing

when it's a presence itself. That's good. So my last question, this is for my ladies, because everybody is, they wanna know. I've had people like literally, you know him. Is he single? Now you're very private about your personal life. So we don't have to get into that.

But I do wanna know what does Alex look for in a woman? I mean, to be very transparent with you. I don't want to say my mother, but I was raised from a woman that did everything. Pop Scott, SIG, Dino, Sucone Cancer, my went back to school, got a PhD, became the breadwinner of the family, became a like a boss-ass woman, but always had family time.

So you got a, oh man, I never had this question. I got to look at you and be able to know that you can raise a family on the same morals and principles. And even if they're different, they're still aligned. I have to know that even on my worst days, you're gonna cheat me like it's my best days. And I gotta know that you take care of yourself. Because in order to be present with me,

you gotta be present with yourself. You gotta do all the invisible work to make sure you arrive every single day feeling like the best version of you. And that way that would allow me to take care of you, the best way that I know possible. All right, well, there you have it. That's what he's looking for in a woman. All right, because they absolutely have that one.

That's me. Yeah, that's me. You know him. I'm like, yeah, that's what I'm talking about. And they're like, what's that? You know what, there's, we give so much of ourselves publicly that like there's parts of my life that I'm like, I just keep private because it protects my peace.

So I try to tell people, yo, I'm all for sharing your relationships and whatever you got going on on social media, but just because I know how much my peace means to me, I wanna be able to go home at night and know that my peace is protected. Whether that's family relationships, girlfriend relationships, whatever,

they're just certain things that I keep close to the heart. Not for sure. Cause what you give people, they can take away. I learned it the hard way. Yeah, that's really good. That's good. Alex, thank you. I appreciate you coming.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. It is available everywhere. We want to make this a New York Times bestseller. I already know you're well on the way to that, but definitely want to make this. I appreciate you so much. Thank you.

Thank you for having me, please. Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. So at the Clothes and Art Show, we do what's called positive outcomes, where our listeners write into us. And we give them advice. Love it.

All right, so this one says, dear crystal, I battle with so many demons in my life, but as I heal through all the traumatic life experiences, I have triggers and I'm still working on myself. I am dealing with something that I've never experienced in my 46 years of life, self-esteem issues. I have gained weight in my stomach area, lost a front tooth, and just feels so

unpretty and unattractive. I hate looking in the mirror and getting dressed. It's too much for me. I feel like a whale in everything. I've been there girl. Like, nothing is fitting right now. So I know where you are. I don't have the motivation and discipline to do anything about it because I'm a stress eater. I am overwhelmed with being the breadwinner of my family, taking care of my sick parents as best I can, and I'm working a job with a team who relies on me for everything. Self-care is very important, but what do you do

when everyone thinks you are the shiro and the fixer like Olivia Pope? What do you do when you are smiling on the outside and drowning in darkness on the inside? But masking it all because you can't change the purpose God placed on you to be the fixer. How do you find balance because you can't question God's plan for you?

Definitely can't question God's plan. Wow, wow. You want me to provide feedback on that? Yeah. I'm a firm believer of breakdown to breakthrough. If you're going through that dark space instead of trying to avoid it, honestly accepted. But like, here what I'm saying though, breakdown to breakthrough. A lot of the times, it's hard for a lot of people.

When you look into the mirror and identify yourself from that external, it's close back to feel good, look at the letter. When you identify yourself from that external look, you forget what's inside of you. I think for that young, that young queen, I don't want to say soul searching is the right word, but going back to that internal perspective and understanding how beautiful you are on the inside. What she just said, God put her in a position. There's a reason as to why.

She's a chosen one. You gotta go back and look at yourself internally and find that internal light of being like, I am the chosen one before you look into the mirror. Because if I look into the mirror first thing in the morning, I'm not gonna be proud of what I see. Regardless what's going on in the light, you gotta identify the feel good aspect.

Then you could go from to the look good aspect. Within that space though, while you're identifying that internal light, I would say, find accountability partners that are gonna help uplift you and not outshine you. I realize in my darkest of all days, for the days that I can't get up for the days that I don't feel motivated for the days that I'm like,

yo, exactly what she's saying, that like you look into the mirror and you question yourself. The people around me keep me floating when I feel like I'm drowning. Like to quote Jay-Z, if everybody in your clickers, Richie, clickers, rugged, nobody would fall, because everybody would be each other's crutches. Rich with integrity, rich with perspective, rich with love, rich with purpose. If the people around you understand what you lack, they can help provide it for you when you can't provide it for yourself. That accountability.

That is so good. That one hit me. That one hit accountability. That is so good. Dang, that one hit me. That one hit me. That is so good. Alex, all right now. I got a good friend. I can call when I need some help. The next thing we do is what I'm going through and what I'm growing through. And I'll start this one. I am going through really seeing what else is for me, because I'm asking you

what's next for Alex. I'm trying to figure out what's next for Crystal, you know, and making sure that I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket. I'm growing through walking through seasons of uncertainty, you know, and it's kind of hard when I'm a through walking through seasons of uncertainty. You know, and it's kind of hard when I like to control things. I like to know, okay, this is where I'm going. This is what's next, this what I'm doing. But walking and having faith is where I'm what I'm growing through right now.

So it's growing through. Going through and growing. And sometimes it's the same for people. Sometimes whatever you're going through, you're growing at the same time. So to piggyback, I'm going through an evolution stage. I don't even know what's happening. I just, all honestly, every workout that I did last week,

I cried in my workouts. Really? I don't break down and break through. I don't know what evolution is happening, but God is like, yo, you're going to take this next step, but in order to take it, you don't have to shed some weight throughout the process. I'm going to have you break down, and I'm gonna have you break through.

So I have no idea what this evolution stage is. I just know it's happening in real time. Yeah, ooh. So that's what I'm going through. I guess that's what I'm going to run through too. Yeah, like the same. Yeah, absolutely, that's amazing. I have moments where I literally break down

in my workouts too. And like tears are joy. Like not sad too. I'm talking like tears of joy, where I'm just like, who are hatefulness. Like really thankful for the opportunity. I don't even see, but I feel it's coming.

You know what I'm saying? That's good. I don't even see it, but I feel it. And guys, like, yo, you have to keep moving towards it. Get up and get out. Keep executing. I'm gonna give it to you, but you just can't, I'm gonna put it on your lap.

You guys go get it. I love it. I love that. The next thing we do is keep it blank, sweetie. And I'm going to say for this episode, keep it pushing, sweetie. Okay. Keep it pushing. Keep it pure.

I love that. Keep it pure. I love it. That's good. Alex, this has been amazing. I'm honored for you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you guys so much for tuning in to this episode of Keep It Positive, sweetie. If you want to write into our positive outcomes, listen to a letter. You can write into Keep It Positive, sweetie at gmail.com and at sweetie with an i.e. You can follow Kips on all platforms at Keep It Positive, sweetie. And you can follow me on all platforms at Love, Chris or a day and it's l-u-v. Alex, tell the people where they can find you. Alex, who's on 25 on Instagram and also on social media platforms as well. That's right.

You guys do not forget to get his book. You get your coffee. That's right, you will not be disappointed. Alex, it's always, I'm so proud of you. I love you, my friend. I love you, thank you for coming. Come on, come on. We're gonna do this again next season as well.

When we go through the next chapter of Life and Evolution, I can sit down and be like, remember, here's what I went through. This is what I love it. And here's what I'm gonna do. I would love want. I would love to know the audience with you. Thank you. Thank you, Quince. I appreciate you. Love you.

So good. I love you. Thank you so much for this fellowship. Thank you for letting Alex get here safely. Thank you for him keeping his promise to come on this episode. I know that's going to touch many lives. He's already done that. And I ask that you continue to watch over him.

Watch over everyone that has their hand on this podcast. I ask that everything that we talk about today just helps somebody in some type of way. In your name, we pray, amen. Amen. Let's do it. man. Let's do it.