Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth - 633: Amanda Bucci is Building a Fitness Empire

Episode Date: November 6, 2017

In this episode, Sal, Adam & Justin speak with Amanda Bucci, a 24 year old lifestyle entrepreneur who is building a fitness and lifestyles empire through her podcast, YouTube channel, instagram, and other social platforms. Amanda has built her social media following by focusing on consistency, transparency, education and authenticity. Her success is remarkable and there is much to learn from her approach. You can find Amanda at www.amandabucci.com and her podcast, Bucci Radio. Amanda’s early days (4:34) Parents’ divorce at early age Too intimidating to men (8:20) When did she fall in love with the training? (13:00) Flexible dieting LA, vanity land (18:20) Binge eating period (19:45) Was she transparent with her fans going through this experience? (24:45) Did she learn things about her relationship with food after each show? (26:26) Reverse dieting When did she decide to stop competing? (36:25) What new habits has she created since competing? Bad patterns?(38:19) How has her business grown? (40:45) Does she have any mentors? (42:55) Who instilled her growth mindset? (44:00) Online educator, her why (47:28) You can only pour from a full cup What drives her to do what she does? (51:21) Motivated by having more time Does she have a good concept of money? (54:00) What would she say contributed most to her success? (56:28) Where does she want to be in 5 years? (59:20) Imposter syndrome Invest in a coach (1:03:50) Move the needle forward  What are the dos/don’ts of social media? (1:06:35) Attention is easy Instagram stories – poor man’s vlog Email list converts (1:11:50) What is a typical day for her? (1:13:52) Related Links/Products Mentioned: What's In My GYM Bag?? || Amanda Bucci (Mind Pump TV – YouTube) Athletic Clothing | Soffe Apparel Cheesecake-eating rats and the question of food addiction (study) The Influence of Palatable Diets in Reward System Activation: A Mini Review (study) A Key to Healing Your Gut: How to Alleviate Chronic Inflammation Influencers with Impact What are the benefits of building an email list for YOUR business? Featured Guest & People Mentioned: Amanda Bucci (website) (@amandabucci)  Instagram Amanda Bucci – YouTube Bucci Radio Jordan Syatt (@syattfitness)  Instagram Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee)  Twitter Lewis Howes (@LewisHowes)  Twitter Would you like to be coached by Sal, Adam & Justin? You can get 30 days of virtual coaching from them for FREE at www.mindpumpmedia.com. Get our newest program, MAPS Prime Pro, which shows you how to self assess and correct muscle recruitment patterns that cause pain and impede performance and gains. Get it at www.mindpumpmedia.com! Get MAPS Prime, MAPS Anywhere, MAPS Anabolic, MAPS Performance, MAPS Aesthetic, the Butt Builder Blueprint, the Sexy Athlete Mod AND KB4A (The MAPS Super Bundle) packaged together at a substantial DISCOUNT at www.mindpumpmedia.com. Make EVERY workout better with MAPS Prime, the only pre-workout you need… it is now available at mindpumpmedia.com Have Sal, Adam & Justin personally train you via video instruction on our YouTube channel, Mind Pump TV. Be sure to Subscribe for updates. Also check out Thrive Market! Thrive Market makes purchasing organic, non-GMO affordable. With prices up to 50% off retail, Thrive Market blows away most conventional, non-organic foods. PLUS, they offer a NO RISK way to get started which includes: 1. One FREE month’s membership 2. $20 Off your first three purchases of $49 or more (That’s $60 off total!) 3. Free shipping on orders of $49 or more Get your Kimera Koffee at www.kimerakoffee.com, code "mindpump" for 10% off! Get Organifi, certified organic greens, protein, probiotics, etc at www.organifi.com Use the code “mindpump” for 20% off. Go to foursigmatic.com/mindpump and use the discount code “mindpump” for 15% off of your first order of health & energy boosting mushroom products. Add to the incredible brain enhancing effect of Kimera Koffee with www.brain.fm/mindpump 10 Free sessions! Music for the brain for incredible focus, sleep and naps! Also includes 20% if you purchase! Please subscribe, rate and review this show! Each week our favorite reviewers are announced on the show and sent Mind Pump T-shirts! Have questions for Mind Pump? Each Monday on Instagram (@mindpumpmedia) look for the QUAH post and input your question there. (Sal, Adam & Justin will answer as many questions as they can)

If you want to pump your body and expand your mind, there's only one place to go. Mind up, mind up with your hosts. Salda Stefano, Adam Schaefer, and Justin Andrews. Um, man, I tell you what, I was really excited to have this young lady into our studio. I'm incredibly impressed with what she has accomplished at her age. And you know, I think when we first had her down the studio, a lot of people were asking us, like, oh, like, you know, she doesn't exactly align with all your guys' fitness philosophies. Well, no, we wanted to bring more of these kind of fitness influencers, people who are dominating in their spaces, and Amanda

Bucci on YouTube is massive. She just started a new podcast, so she's starting to get into that space as well. And she does like these influencer academy, you know, things. She's very big into charity. She has a very interesting story, highly intelligent young lady. When we get on the podcast, she gets pretty vulnerable. It's a good interview. No, it's an excellent interview.

And here's the thing, man, there's... There is something to learn from everybody. I mean, I know we've got well over 10, 12 years on this young lady, but to be as successful as she is at the point in her life, I'm extremely impressed. I wasn't there at 20, I wish she'd 24, 25 years old. I wasn't there at 20, I wish she 24, 25 years old. I wasn't there. No, no, she's a kid, but I mean, she's got great charisma.

Obviously a lot of talent, very, very smart, smart and business. There's a lot of stuff that we talked about off-air, where it was quite impressive. It's very impressive to see someone build that kind of a business in that short period of time, especially at her age. And she's extremely growth-minded. So, you know, for people that, you know, put out there, I remember we put a YouTube out there with her,

and they were kind of harassing her and stuff like that about squat shoes and bullshit like that. Like, listen, this girl is young, she's up and coming, she's already arrived. I mean, she's killing it on Instagram and on YouTube and has built herself a little empire. And she's not stopping there. She's not settling for doing that.

She's continuing to surround herself around other brilliant minds and like-minded people. And she's learning, man. And it's very fascinating. I was excited to be a part of that. If we can play one small role in helping her continue to grow and develop, I love her message. I think she's coming from a pure place. Absolutely.

And she's inspired millions of young ladies looking into getting into fitness and exercise. People who want to build muscle or burn body fat, all that stuff. She's inspired quite a bit of people. And she follows. She falls right into that realness. Like we talk about this in the show all the time

that transparency is king. And the future of success on the digital streaming media is for people to be transparent and honest and real and that is something that she is and that was something that attracted us to her. That's the reason why we reached out and wanted to have it because we like what she's doing and how we like how she's doing and I think she's got a really good message for the most part. Her last name is spelled BU CCI so you can find her on her Instagram at Amanda Bootsie. You can also find her Amanda Bootsie.com.

You can also find her Amanda Bootsie on YouTube and then her podcast is called Bootsie Radio. So you guys can find her at all those places and we also did a YouTube. So if you guys are not subscribed to our YouTube channel you guys can go to our mind pump TV on YouTube We did a cool little what's in my bag with her and if you're not subscribed already to the YouTube channel every single day We drop a new YouTube video and we're doing more and more of the vlogging and entertainment side So not only are we trying to provide lots of education and information for you guys as far as the fitness side, we're also trying to give a little bit

of the entertainment side. So if you guys are not subscribed, go to the YouTube channel, check out my point. Also, if you're a new listener, if you're just popping in right now, the program that we recommend everybody start on that we offer is Maps and a Ballac. Now this is expert exercise programming.

It comes with workout videos and blueprints. It's very different from the other kind of workouts you may find out there. It's extremely effective at building muscle, improving performance, building strength, whether you're a man or a woman, maps and a ball is typically what we tell people to start off. If you want more information on that, go to mindpumpmedia.com. And again, without any further ado, here we are interviewing Amanda Bucci. First question.

Tell us about your parents. That's the first question. We'll go right for the heart. No, absolutely. That's good. Why did we just get started? Yeah. Oh my gosh.

How are you roll? Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Okay. So tell us about that. I want to know how get started. Yeah, oh my gosh. Yeah, we roll, yeah, yeah, pretty much. Okay, so tell us about that. I want to know how you started. Like how it all went down. Okay, so my mom's name is Linda. Hi, Linda. She's probably watching this video. Oh, hi, Linda.

She's told she did a good job. Yeah. My dad's name is Tom. He probably doesn't know what live video is. So, not saying hi to dad, but he exists. Yeah, my mom is a teacher. Well, she used to be a teacher. She's a guidance counselor now. She used to be a teacher.

She's a guidance counselor now. She's also part time at working for me as my bookkeeper and just momager type deal. But she's awesome. No way, way she works for you. Yeah. Oh, that's fit. Do you guys get along that way or? Yeah, we get along.

So it's kind of like role reversal. If she messes up, you're like, you're grounded. It's not worth messing up. It's more like, it's more like, how does she balance mom and like working with me at the same time, because she's very much protective over like the finances and like trusting people. I'm like, well, now it's a business

and it's not really trusting people. It's trusting that they'll stick to their contract and their end-to-eek kind of thing. But yeah, she's amazing. How long now? How long has she been working with you? Only the last year maybe half year? Okay, so this is relatively new.

And she just started doing it. She just started doing it. She's like, you need to keep track of your expenses better. I was like, okay, she just started doing it. I was like, all right. If you think about it, what better person to look after your finances than your own mom? Oh, totally.

You know what I'm saying? They're the ones that are gonna be like, all right, listen. You don't need to buy the goat. That's the way it's the money. You know what I'm saying? They're the ones that are gonna be like, all right, listen. Yeah. You don't need to buy the goat. That's the way it's the money. You know what I mean? Like, what are you spending this on?

No, but she started doing it and then obviously, it just turned into like too much for her me to be like, okay, you can't just keep doing this for fun on the weekends. Like, it turned into a thing where she was spending a lot of time. So, now she's working with me. That's awesome.

Let's go back up on mom and tell me like how, give me something that she gave you as a child, like a life lesson or something that stuck with you into adulthood. Oh, totally. So my parents got divorced when I was around 12. And it wasn't like a bad divorce. It wasn't like I never saw them fight or anything.

But she just, I lived with her, my sister and I lived with her mostly throughout the rest of our lives, and she was like that independent woman, like completely just going after what she needed to do to make sure she could provide for us. She went back to get her master's degree in the middle of like the divorce and I was moving and then us being in high school. Oh, she's a badass. Yeah, yeah, she's a super badass. So I've always just grown up with like the independent

woman mindset because of her. Oh wow. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, she's a super badass. So I've always just grown up with like the independent woman mindset because of her. Yeah. Yeah. OK, so that's definitely obvious. You can see your strengths that come from that. 100%. What are some of the challenges that have come from that,

from having parents that split at that age and then being kind of having a woman that's really strong, but maybe not have the male side so much? Yeah, I guess I totally can't, I guess, imagine it being different. I didn't struggle too much with it because I think I just didn't really know what was different. Again, the male figure in my life was never like super prominent. Like I saw I saw my dad. I still see him and stuff, but it wasn't very like prominent in your face.

Like we have a really close relationship. So I guess just, I mean, maybe I'm like an intimidating woman to men And luckily I have a boyfriend who's not intimidated by me But I guess that's very much something that talk about this. I'll tell you what that was when we met you Yeah, that's interesting that you would even say that right. We had we had dinner and I when you meet a woman like you Who carries herself that strong? I mean, I think it's impressive that you just came down here on your own You and you act like it was no big deal. I'm like who you're bringing with you? So nobody yeah, and you're so young right? I think that so

Talk to me about How you've dealt with that probably turning off guys because it's maybe too strong for a lot of guys Oh, I mean before I met Brian. I met him back in December I was single for like three years and again I'm like young so it wasn't a big deal. But I was like, am I too aggressive or too maybe, I don't know what the word is, like too intimidating or whatever, because a lot of guys are like,

they wanna be the alpha, they wanna be like, the person that's maybe making carol. They're just insecure. Yeah, insecure. It's just like a societal kind of thing that men if you like, they have to be. You know, that you're's just like a societal kind of thing that men if you like, they have to be. You know, that you're interesting,

that's a fascinating, you say that. I mean, I trained a lot of doctors and surgeons when I had my wellness facility. And I had a few, I had one female surgeon and a couple doctors and all of them were single. And they were incredibly intelligent, incredibly confident. Female doctor, female, female. But they would tell me that that was something that would happen guys would get intimidated

because I think, you know, insecurities like, you know, if you meet a woman that's really confident and strong and makes more money than you, then maybe that means that we could work. Well, that's just weird kind of weird being like, you don't have to be the caretaker and like be the white night or whatever like take care of somebody. That's like a natural maybe something men feel like they have to do as they grow up.

And when you meet someone who's like already good and they don't need you, you're like, oh well, okay, you're too much for me. Like you like, you know, when you want someone to want you not necessarily need you, but when a woman needs you, it probably feels, you know, it boosts your ego. That's right. And for the kind of people that need that, yeah. Yeah.

So have you always been like an overachiever? Kind of, yeah. Like I definitely grew up, like, enjoying school. I loved it. I loved reading. I loved learning. I was in like high level classes and stuff. I didn't always have an easy time, like especially with sports. I did not have an easy time. I loved intellectual learning, and I excelled with that pretty well, but I didn't necessarily excel in sports super well, so I would love it.

I loved the learning, I loved the challenge, I loved the athleticism, wasn't super good at it. Hand-eye coordination is me. It's funny, I have a trainer, I told you guys about. He trains me twice a week now, we do some like boxing with the-

Oh, I've seen your video about the bag. He said like, little speed bag, oh, speed bag. Fucking eat that. I'm so terrible at the hand-eye coordination. It's like a lot of rags. He's like, you gotta do this and this and I'm just like, I can't and then I would do one and then like, it would go back and forth a bunch.

And then I could never get it again and it would be so embarrassing. So I still, he still has me practice, but it's just same thing with like the cross. I played the cross in high school. Catching the ball was like the thing that held me back. I was so excited. That's really tough. Prattling is okay.

Couldn't even catch the ball though. Like it just hand-eye coordination. Well, my problem. Yeah. Do you think that made you better and stronger because you weren't the greatest at all those ports and maybe you probably had to work a lot harder? Totally. Totally. I like felt like I had to try harder and I like forced myself to do more camps and then I would get a personal trainer and that like got me into the gym.

My mom was very athletic growing up too and And my grandpa was actually a professional power lifter when like back in the day. So she, so you got them jeans in you. Yeah, I got the jeans. He was so excited. Is it the Irish grandfather or the Italian grandfather? The Irish one. Yeah, no.

No. No, he's so national. He was so excited when I started doing power lifting. It was like amazing. But yeah, so she got me into the gym and it forced me to practice and become, so she got me into the gym and it forced me to practice and become better so I can get better at the sports.

Little did I know it wasn't really even the sports that I wanted to continue doing. It was the training and the getting better and the challenging myself was what I really liked and the program that I got into for in high school was essentially to get better at being an athlete. So it was like a strength and conditioning program for kids in high school, all ages. So it was like some middle school kids.

Now did you fall in love with it right away when you started doing this kind of training? Kind of. I liked the little group of kids that we had because I felt like I finally was decent at something and then the people in my little group were, became my friends. I didn't super love it. I wasn't like. Were you really popular in school? I was like that, there was like a weird person

in between like the popular kids and the ones. It's all right, you could say you were cool. No, no, no, no, no, no. I was like friends with the cool people, but I also was in like the nerdy classes and stuff. This is what I'm like, I'm a floater. And I'm picking up on this, not because I think that's what you know, you fit in terms of that,

but it's almost like the way you're talking about working out, like you felt like you really fit in for the first time. Totally. So before that, you didn't really feel like you fit in into any particular group. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Very interesting, cool. So you fell in love with it, you're doing it,

your body, you know, you didn't fall in love with it at first. At first it was the group. When did you fall in love with the training? I think I fell in love with the training when I started doing, I was in high school, sorry, in college. I just finished high school, got into college, and I think I was really loving it. I realized that I loved it so much

when I didn't go to like the regular college gym. I literally brought my car in order for me to get a gym membership. So I was like very dedicated to fitness at that point. I loved training and I loved like making new workouts for myself and it was just really enjoyable to me. So I think like the ending of high school and then into college, especially because the last year

of high school I played lacrosse because I didn't get on the soccer team. So I was like the backup. It wasn't super good. Played the bench junior year, senior year. I was like, I still wanna be in the team but I don't wanna sit the bench the whole team. So I was like the backup. Wasn't super good. Played the bench a junior year, senior year. I was like, I still wanna be in the team, but I don't wanna sit the bench the whole year. So I'll be the bookkeeper.

So I did the bugs. And then I was just like, you know what? I would rather spend my time at the gym. Cause I'd rather go do that and like be with that group and train versus like play around in the cold wet field and Rhode Island practice with the team and then not even play. So it just drew me obviously to go to the gym more.

Now, a lot of time, for a lot of people when we find this kind of passion for working out, all of a sudden, it works like, oh my god, I want to do this all the time, so my favorite thing to do. A lot of times it's motivated by, you know, it's a new thing that I've never done before and I, or it could be, I like the way my body's changing or it could be, you know, like for me, what motivated me to really work out was, it was based on my insecurities, I have a body image, I was really skinny kid. So I fell in love with the working out

because I could change that and it was this thing I could manipulate and mold and did you find any of that for yourself? Yeah, I mean, I definitely was starting to feel a little bit insecure in high school. It wasn't super prevalent though. It wasn't like, I never had those stories where I was like, I feel like I'm looking at myself and I feel,

well, I mean, a small bit, but it wasn't like a very prevalent part of my life in high school, I would say. But then in college, I did my first bikini competition because I was very like body conscious and I liked training and I did want to look better. I didn't look bad by any means. I wasn't overweight or anything. Always healthy, focused on that. But I never nailed down the nutrition part of it. I always exercising, but nutrition I would be a pretend flexible dieter and I didn't even know. I would eat my omelets and salads and then I would also just love Oreos and whatever the heck omelettes and salads and then I would also just like love Oreos

and whatever the heck else I wanted at night and then call it drinking. Yeah, it was like by accident. So it wasn't necessarily because of that, but I got into the competition because I saw somebody, a friend of mine do it and I was like, oh my God, that must be like the secret missing link to like me getting to look the way I really,

really want to do it. It was like the next level for me that I was like, did you feel like you needed the competition to motivate you to get to that leanness or was it just the training and stuff for it that you were? I think it was like the nutrition for it that I was like, oh, this is like the magic piece. I don't know, I was trying some different things.

I would just try to eat cleaner. I remember in my freshman or sophomore year of college, it must have been a freshman year because I would just try to eat cleaner. I remember in my freshman or sophomore year of college, it must have been a freshman year because I would do five weeks before Halloween because I don't know, Halloween, I was in this for already. We'd all go out and we're like, slotty outfits and shit. But.

That's a just, that's a just and does. So like, get ready for the, get ready for the Jasmine costume. I'm the devil, the anywhere. He's, what do you,? I'm a mouse, duh. Oh, you're a mouse, duh. He is the French maid. He is the reference.

I did. That's all right. We'll connect here to him. I'm more like, keep trying. Keep trying. OK, well, back up, I tried to basically eat clean before Halloween. So I could look a little bit better.

And I was like, it worked a little bit, but not really. It was like a couple of weeks, you know? So I realized how quickly I could change by changing my nutrition. And I was like, oh wow, this is the magic piece. It was a meal plan though. And it did it for, it was a five week prep for like my first little OCB show I did.

So it was like, eat this, you know, specifically. This is the same food. It was the standard, you know, tilapia, asparagus type. But so you thought it was like, eat this, you know, specifically, this is the same food, everything. Was it the standard, you know, tilapia, sparegust type? But, so you thought it was a missing piece. That's the formula. Little did you know you were about to embark on some horrible dieting stuff. I mean, some horrible shit.

Yeah. Well luckily, so it was only five weeks and I realized, and at the end of it, I didn't obviously had no idea how to like get back to normal eating, but I was like, I don't fucking wanna do that ever again. Like I didn't get into the whole, let me just eat clean forever because that's the only way. I stopped after the show and I was like, I don't want that anymore.

That's terrible. I don't want to give up things that I like. That's when I found flexible dieting. I was like, oh, this is the magical piece. Then I started doing that. I prepped myself for a show using flexible dieting and it worked great. I was like, this is great. And I would do the whole like, let me fit pop stars and candy and ice cream into a bowl.

And like, oh my god, it magically fits my macros in. Did all that. And then I did my first competition, second competition using flexible dieting. And that was when I moved to Los Angeles for the first time. That like the second show that I did was in the middle of the summer when I first moved to Los Angeles for the first time. That, like the second show that I did was in the middle of the summer when I first moved to LA. So you're in Rhode Island at this point. You come to LA, you're doing the competitions,

you're starting to be more aware of this whole world and looking at yourself along massive cultures. And then you go to LA, which is like, in Venice. Yeah, really? What was that like? Because LA is like the root of all insecurity. Like you go to LA and which is like, in Venice. Yeah, right. What was that like? Because LA is like the root of all insecurity. You go to LA and all of a sudden you're like,

oh man, you know, the entity land. Was it like, I'd have been total polar opposites, huh? Was that that challenge even more where you like, this is great, it's California? Kind of, I was definitely like naive and just gung-ho to just be there. I did get there, I did my competition,

I felt really great about myself, but I wasn't Venice, so it wasn't like Hollywood or Beverly Hills where everyone had actor and model. It was like weird people everywhere, super diverse culture, tourist everywhere. I was a waitress on the Venice boardwalk on it. It's like, crazy people everywhere, walking up and down every day,

and it was just like cool and cool. Bongs and roller skates, yeah. And our attire for the restaurant that I worked at was like whatever the heck we wanted it wasn't there was no and then I also worked at a restaurant back in Rhode Island and our entire it was like a fine dining restaurant I had like a button down in the tie and they were like whatever you want okay there was one girl that would wear like those Sophie shorts and like a crappy t-shirt.

Like you like just wore your pajamas. What are Sophie shorts? Like those caught any shorts that like cheerleaders wear, I guess. Oh yeah, yeah. That was caught in cotton shorts. Appreciate it. You can just get away with that.

I appreciate it. That's all I've got. I wear those all the time. I know what. So yeah, what are you starting to put together? Yeah, you're now, you're, you're, you're, you've done this, you've done it a couple of times

enough to get in competing shapes. So you've seen yourself probably in the best shape I would imagine in your life. What things are you starting to learn about yourself and just your relationship with exercise and food? What are you starting to piece together at this point? Well, yeah, this is where it will kind of take a turn for the negative.

So I did the show, it was great and all that stuff. And then in the middle of the summer, the show ended and I had friends come to visit me in LA. I was like, oh my god, it's so fun. It was my birthday. And then all of a sudden, I catch myself eating this like bread pudding and I couldn't stop. And then I would get another one. And then here it goes until like, now did you have the awareness right then when it happened? Or is this like you later like looking back? Oh, I had it right there. Oh, wow. right then when it happened or is this like you later like looking back? Oh, I had it right there. Oh shit.

Oh, shit. This is fascinating. So that was the summer that I started binging a lot. So it must have been probably, it wasn't that long and it wasn't as severe as other people, but it was definitely like binge eating a lot. I had like a little calendar on my bulletin board that said like this many days no binging

and like I would have to do that whole thing. Let me ask you this. When you're doing this, so this entire time you know you're doing it, you're writing it on your calendar, what are you thinking while it's happening? Are you thinking like this is weird, this is a strange behavior, I need to be more aware of it or... I was very confused number one because I had heard of some people doing it but they were the clean eating people. And I was a confused number one because I had heard of some people doing it But they were the clean eating people and I was a flexible dieter

So I was like I didn't deprive myself of certain foods. Why is this happening little did I know? Chloric deficit is why it's not necessarily just because of the foods And it also probably was because of the flexible dieting a little bit more too because like Because you're introducing those you're introducing those foods all type of because like, you're introducing those foods all the time. You're all of the way. Yeah, those foods are engineered to get you hooked on them. And so when you're introducing them like that, and then you put yourself in a deficit.

And then you get freedom afterwards. It's just like a recipe for that. And that's really the root of it really is the mentality around food and the relationship with food. Because what happens when you do competitions to a lot of people, not everybody, or when you treat food that way, even if it's flexible dieting, there's two gears that you have. There's either I'm on or now I'm off. There is no lifestyle that exists, other

than those two, so when you're on, you're on, and when you're off, you go way off. Totally. This is no different than the way a scientist now view addiction with drugs. In the past, or for most of the time, we've understood addiction, or what we thought we understood of addiction, was based on models of mice or rats be put in a cage and given the option of drugs

or water and food. And of course, the rat goes back to the drugs over and over again until it dies. And we're thinking there's a chemical dependency. But now scientists realize that if you take that mouse and you put it in like mouse heaven or rat heaven, give it access to food and fun and sex and all these other things, and you give it access to drugs very few of them become addicted. So it's not so much the substance, although that plays a role.

It's also the environment or the state of mind that the person's in. And so when you're in that state of mind where I'm on diet or I'm off diet, when you go off, you go off. You see what I'm saying? It's like this moral thing that happens. You see this happen with almost everything else. So at this point, this is happening

with your relationship with food. What are you starting to do at this point? How are you piecing it together? How are you moving forward from that? Yeah, I mean, I struggled a little bit. I would go into the cabinet, get the cookie better jar, eat it all, and stuff like that. So I guess the biggest thing when I was thinking about it

was how can I stop myself from the starting point that will trigger, it's the trigger thing. What's the trigger? How can I stop doing that? And the only thing, which is not something that I did because I wanted to cure myself, I started another prep. And that's not necessarily obviously the thing

that you would do is to cure that or fix that or whatever. But I was just like, that's the only way I know how to be motivated and stop doing this. So I did another prep. I probably started that three months after the last one had ended, and I was just like, you know what, I'm gonna do this, and then that went really well.

I did another one, I did another show, it went great. And then the binging did come back a little bit, but it was less so. So I was focused more on after that prep, it was focused on like, okay, I'm going to do a reverse diet, I'm going to focus on getting my calories up. I was doing all this by myself too. And I was like, I'm not going to binge. And even that mentality still being in my head and the whole on-off thing you guys are talking about, it's very much so like on off-season

and on-season. So determining between the two, it was always very difficult because that's where the freedom comes in, that's where you start to feel like you can do whatever, especially when you're focused on flexible dieting so much. So it was, I think I slowly was starting to think about it being a lifestyle, but I didn't really know how to make it that yet. Now what role, you're doing YouTube at this time?

Mm. No, not yet. Instagram? Instagram. Are you at this point? I think I have like 10,000 followers. Because you're very transparent to your audience to your followers and fans,

were you transparent at this point with your Instagram? Were they aware of this with you and was this part of you being helping yourself with your awareness by sharing it with them? Yeah, yeah, actually, yeah. I was like very good about sharing. I remember the first time I shared it and I was like terrified to share it.

And I made like an incredible feedback. Oh yeah, all of the great feedback. People always appreciate that. Yeah, and then you have like no idea. Now the amount of times that I've shared, things that are terrifying or struggles, I am waiting for the feedback because I know so many people are just gonna jump on it

and be like, thank you so much. But when you first do it for the first time, it's like, oh, I don't know, people are gonna think about me, but it's so. It's like your laundry out there for the world, you know, it's like crazy. One of our early episodes was on our motivations for when we first started working out, and it was all, I mean, we were all insecure at some point, We're all demons. One of our early episodes was on our motivations

for when we first started working out. And it was all, I mean, we were all insecure at some point, being the skinny guy or whatever, not performing. And we talked about it for an entire episode. And it felt really good, like doing this is very therapeutic. That's why I asked you is, if it played a role and you'd be coming aware of what you were going through, it definitely plays a role for us, but yeah, you're right. After we did that, I remember after we did that episode, I was like,

oh man, I wonder how many people are going to hear that. Even just doing YouTube and podcasting is therapeutic, talking about yourself. Absolutely. It's like you have a therapy session with either yourself or with other people. Yeah. And it's, it allows you to just express that in the safe environment. Now, how many shows have you done at this point where we're at right now in your life? Because you did eight total, you said, right? Yeah. So are you four, five in?

How many are you in right now? Three. Oh, you're just three in right now. Three. Okay, so now as you continue on this journey and you start doing more shows, are you each time kind of catching, picking up things and learning like this is good, bad?

What are you going through as you continue to progress and you're learning about your relationship with food now in exercise? Yeah, totally. So there was a few things that I picked up the second time that were like a good slash bad. So the first thing that I picked up for my first like structured reverse diet was that the more food

that you eat doesn't necessarily mean the more muscle you're going to build in your off season. So I had to go through like getting a little fat. And I was like, oh, this didn't work. And then I also realized that the more food you eat in your off season doesn't necessarily mean the more food you're gonna eat in your prep because I had to get lower in my second prep

and I was like, I'm so confused. Like why do I have to eat less because I didn't my reverse diet and like it should have been magical. Like it should have just allowed me to eat more but that doesn't necessarily happen. It was worth. This is the fourth.

Yeah, I think your metabolism's now starting to react to all the shows. Totally, yep. And that was like the beginning of my metabolism reacting to the show. It was just, it was just getting there. So I did three shows that summer. I did one national show.

I didn't place one local show that I got an overall at and then another national show that I didn't place that. So show that I got an overall at, and another national show that I didn't place that. So I was like, yeah, okay, whatever. And then I started a really strict reverse diet again, and I stayed really lean. It was one of those where you would add like 50 to 100 calories or so every few weeks. Stayed super lean, even got like a little leaner after the first show, and started like looking better because I was filling out.

And I did it very strictly strictly and I was tracking everything. And I was still into tracking everything. I was living alone. I had a new to LA again, so I didn't have too too many friends. And I was just like, I have no reason to go out and eat something off my meal plan or my macros or whatever because I don't have that many friends. I was like, I don't have a, because I don't have that many friends.

I was like, I don't have a boyfriend, I don't have date nights, like none of that. So I was just like, why would I go? You came out to LA all by yourself for GF family, though? I had them. So the first summer that I lived here was just for a summer, and then I met people at my waitressing job. So when I moved out for the second time permanently,

I had that like couple friends. That must have been a huge growth period for you. Oh yeah. That transition. Totally, especially because I'm kind of like introverted and I won't necessarily just go meet people. I'll be like, I am in the same space as you. But I don't.

I don't know, I don't know. I was terrified to meet people. So at which contest did you start to really put this together? Is at this point where you're like, okay, my metabolism's reacting a certain way, I need to... Yeah, and I knew I wanted to do the reverse diet thing too. However, I also that year entered the bodybuilding.com spokesperson model search.

So here it is, I finished my competitions in July. August comes around, September comes around, and then you apply to the spokesperson model search and I got in. So you need at least double the time that you prep to go back to homeostasis at least. I never did more than like four months. So, three months or so went by, I applied, started dieting again for the spokesmodel search,

and I specifically remember that winter, it was over the holidays again. I was in LA, I didn't go home for the holidays, I went in between, because I still didn't have a lot of money. It's really cheap to go home between November and December. I'm going to do that instead of going for the holidays. I hang out with my friends for the holidays.

I made cauliflower mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. I had that in Turkey and vegetables and that's it. Tracking all that for Thanksgiving. I was like, it makes me feel good. I'm going to do that. I'm prepping for this BodyBling.com spokesmodel good. I'm gonna do that. And I'm prepping for this bodybling.com spokesmodel search. And I remember specifically for that,

it was like an eight week prep for that in the middle of the winter. And I specifically remember when my body just stalled. And I was like, so fucking pissed. I was like, are you kidding me? Like, why do I have to do this? I remember being so angry that I did like, fasted cardio in the morning,

because I was like, why is it in this working? You're pushing harder and harder to get it to respond, which is exactly the only way to go from there, right? Yeah. What's happening is, and you know, you gave us, you said you have, you said something like, you should take you twice as long to come out of your prep

as it does to go in or something like that. Well, like if you prep for four months, at least eight months off. So I've heard that and people have repeated that a lot of times, but that is, that's a number that is, I think, just given by coaches. Right, it's just like a... The interesting thing is if your body learns to adapt to become very, very efficient, especially through repeated exposures to subcalorie diet and lots of energy expenditure, you start

to develop adaptations that last much, much, much longer. I would imagine. No different than when you lift weights or try to build cardio. I'd imagine coaches say that so they can get their clients back into a prep. It depends on the person.

But if you start to do it, some coaches just don't know too. That's what I dealt with. I mean, a lot of the coaches that I talked to when I was going through the NPC and IPB, I kept thinking that as I moved up the rankings, I would meet like these just really brilliant coaches that were giving really good advice.

And a lot of it is, you know, passed down kind of bro science from one coach to the next of, because if you take anybody for 12 weeks and you restrict them by 500 to a thousand calories a day and you tell them to cardio for an hour a day, two times a week, You know, change. Yeah, they're body, you're gonna get lean. But it's what you're doing to that metabolism

and then what happens afterwards that I don't think a lot of them are really talking to these girls and guys afterwards. I met a lot of men's physique and bodybuilder guys that couldn't figure it out. And they get on the off season, they put on 40 pounds. It's like, so bad. None of that is good weight.

I mean, literally you're maybe getting 10 pounds at most if you're anabolic enhance of muscle and they're the 30s, all bad weight. And it's funny because we will refer to it as a damaged metabolism or my metabolism's broken, but in reality, your body's doing exactly what it's supposed to. It's super efficient. It's becoming very, very efficient.

It's doing a good job of doing it. But it does so by down regulating receptors for certain hormones, which then your body produces more of those hormones to try and give you the same effect and you get this kind of cascading effect. You get in women, a progesterone estrogen imbalance that can happen. Many women will lose their period or won't menstruate.

I lost my influence. Yeah, and so that's, and by the way, that is a very obvious, and I want, you know, I know we're on your channel and you have a lot of female fans and for those people who diet and want to compete, like, that is a clear sign that your body is getting very adapted to becoming efficient, not necessarily a bad thing, but kind of is, especially if you keep doing it. Well, what a man it were it, did you notice any other signs where you going through, like, did you notice sleep or energy, hair loss, or anything else you go through? No hair loss or anything, but definitely energy,

definitely the sleep, especially last year. So back kind of like to the timeline things, the spokesmodels were a chap in, that was in January, took two months off, gained 10 pounds in the two months. So I was like, I'm gonna do a little bit of a bulk before I had planned on starting this prep. So I was like, I'm taking my YouTube channel seriously. I'm going to do this prep and going to document

the whole thing. I had this whole, like, elaborate plan. And that prep got me from like, 6,000 subscribers, like, 100,000 in six months. So it was like, you know, all of these things kind of happened for like, partially for like career purposes, but there was lots, lots of dieting. So did that second prep that year, and then again, it was a really low, really low calorie, and then I like lose the timeline. But the prep this past year was the worst one. And it was very low calorie.

I would like take naps after I woke up and ate my breakfast in the morning. And it was just my energy was super low. I felt like brain fog and all of that stuff. No hair loss or anything. And I also wasn't doing that much cardio. Like my coach took more of like the lower calorie less cardio approach for the adaptation process.

And that's rare. That is very rare. He's a very smart coach. So obviously you had a adaptation for. So, and that's rare. That is very rare. He's a very smart coach. So obviously you had a good coach. Right, yeah, yeah. He's a very good coach. So, and he kind of just flowed with what I knew was my best career moves at that time. And he's really aware of my health and aware of the after.

He's not one of those people that leaves their clients after they're not with prep. So, it wasn't that bad with the cardio, but definitely like the low calorie mess with my energy a lot, but I was just like, I'm not getting it. Did you notice any digestive issues through this process? Yeah, yeah. I had some digestion problems, especially there was one point in like one of the preps that I did where I was eating like broccoli slaw firm, And I was like, I can't, I was like, I can't, like what's going on?

Like I was so bloated, so bloated. And then he was like, you know, that broccoli is one of those vegetables that is really, what's the word I'm looking for? So, hiding sulfur? Yeah, I'm like that. It's like this. Yeah, I said that is a question.

That's the word. Yes, cruciferous. That's the word. Yeah, so what's happened is, especially through hard training, is you get this hyper inflammatory response and the gut becomes inflamed. That's your gut response to everything. As it becomes inflamed, you get-

It'll also be very bloated on show day. Yeah. Because I was like stressed. It's not like- You get inflammation the gut causes dysbiosis, which is the gut bacteria is off, and we know that controls so many things from mood to add it to all of this stuff.

But besides that, when your gut isn't flamed, the food you eat the most, some of it will travel through the gut lining and your body develops antibodies, and you develop food intolerances, which is super common with competitors. So they would- Because they'll eat the same food over and over

during this like starved state, and also this hard training state and it just sets up this stage for this immune response and then all of a sudden they have food in tolerance it's like, oh, I- To all the food that they're used to eating That's usually where they'll start happening

you'll find like, oh, I used to be able to eat that now it makes me super bloated or you know, it makes me constipated or whatever Yeah, wow, wow, wow, wow So at this point, so so this this is happening When do you decide you want to stop and not do it anymore? So last year what's it now October? Mm-hmm? It must have been a year ago now, so I did my last show last year and I was just like, you know what?

I'm gonna do these shows. I said that I was gonna do them. I finished them And I literally started breaking down at the end of my last show I was like I just did the hardest thing that I've ever been through. It was just like the worst. Did you break down on your channel too? Yeah. Oh wow, so you did that. Yeah, I've done that a couple of times.

Yeah. Keeping it real. Keeping the crying in there. Yeah. I don't know. I tried that one time. It didn't work. Really?

No, we believed it. Yeah, yeah. What was it that bulldozing? Somebody just understood. Yeah. So this actually, this is still, I would imagine, you're still probably, I mean, kind of growing to this, don't eat a year ago that you did your last show.

I remember what I found that was really crazy was when I was going through the process, I was fully aware of what should happen to me afterwards, and I still partook, I still would find myself kind of binge eating on stuff. And it's like, and I knew Dan well, and it was like, whoa, if that's happening to me afterwards. And I still partook. I still would find myself kind of binge eating on stuff. Totally. And I knew Dan well. And it was like, whoa, if that's happening to me, how many other people, they're just oblivious of it,

aren't really thinking about it. Right. That's what went through my mind right away. Yeah. So last year, after that last show, I had a couple trips planned. So I went to New York. I went to, I forget where else.

Vegas for the Olympia. And I was just like, I am so burnt out. Like, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I just ate whatever. I wasn't necessarily like binge eating, like I was previously, like secretly in my home, but I would just go out with my friends and just like, get whatever the fuck I wanted.

Right. And that like went on for a few months. And it was just like, you know, you give yourself some period of time to like be free and like, let your body relax and stuff But I did it too frequently and too long So I gained 20 pounds last year So I was like one 13 on stage and I got up to like one 39 was my highest this year

So it was like 25 so last night we had dinner and you kind of saw something that I hacked into myself that I created because when I was competing Um, I found that just going for a walk afterwards like yeah that I hacked into myself that I created because when I was competing, I found that just going for a walk afterwards. Are there new rituals or things habits that you've now created that were positive that you've kind of taught yourself because from the whole competing process

that you do different now that you weren't doing before? Yeah, totally. So during prep, I had to create stress relieving strategies for myself because I, number one, realized cortisol was screwing up my fat loss, so I was like, I have to de-stress. Whenever I would feel very, very stressed because I'm prone to anxiety,

and my body would just react, like my gut would react very, very bad. So I learned how to meditate and read and relax, so I started meditating because of prep. Still not, want to do it super consistently, but I do know every single time I do it. And it's one of those things that I'm working towards doing daily. So it's not something that you can just do to fix your stress.

It's something that you can do to prevent it from happening frequently and more strongly for yourself. So that's definitely the number one thing that I've learned how to do since competing. Yeah. Anything that you still kind of struggle with, like that you maybe see yourself catching bad patterns or habits or kind of starting to go back to. Do you ever notice anything?

Yeah, let me see. There's definitely, I guess, some just food-focused stuff and then training-focused stuff. So mindset behind training. Now it's not fully there, but like my goal is to just feel good with how I'm training I'm still getting out of the mindset of like I will do this to look better Versus I will do this to feel better. I'm like so getting there I'm definitely on the other end of the spectrum more so now But doing things for the motivation to look better is definitely a competing mindset

You're moving very quickly. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, well, no, you're moving. So this is around myself with a good paper. Hyper aware. That's, and you know what, I will say this. We've said this all the time. Maybe you can chime in on this, but since we started the podcast, I grow at 10 times the speed I did before.

Oh my God, yeah. Same thing to you. Yeah, totally. Maybe because we talk about it so much, and we talk about ourselves, that the people we get to play are giving you. The thing to you. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. Maybe because we talk about it so much and we talk about ourselves. That's not that the people we get to pull the yeah, the minds that you're hanging around with. I mean, it's, it's always nice to meet other really growth-minded people and then listen to their journey and the things. I think I, we pick up something from every interview

that we do with somebody. Yeah. Usually. So out of all the things you're doing, the YouTube and the podcast, where is most of your focus going right now? Are you really trying to put a lot of energy in the podcasting arena more? Like, where are you thinking business-wise right now? Yeah, so I mean, the podcast this year, it didn't require a whole lot of my energy. Like, it was easy at live in LA, it's easy to meet people, it's easy to just do it.

And then I have like an editor and someone who does the blog posts and stuff to get it up there, having focused on growing it too much in podcast realm. I've done podcast interviews and I think you guys said earlier that's the number one way to get exposure for podcasts. I'm trying to do that more, but this year was so much growth and change and transition and stretching myself with business,

my own physical fitness goals, my mental wellness goals. I can move to a new place, I've got a new boyfriend. There's all these like new businesses, obviously the podcast, my coaching clients. I started a fundraiser with a couple of friends for a pencil's a promise. I think there's all these things that I'm doing this year for like building purposes.

So I'm like Lane Foundation for stuff this time. Do you ever feel overwhelmed at all with carrying all that? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. What do you notice in yourself when you see that coming? Do you? Like the way that I react to. Yeah, so there's like interestingly enough,

I talked to Jordan Syet, the other day on a podcast, and he works for GaryVee. You know the trainer, GaryVee's yeah. And he told me that Gary, he won't physically show his stress to other people when he's overwhelmed because it doesn't allow anybody else to feel good about the situation. Like it just makes it worse. I'm an opposite. I make sure everybody knows that I'm stressed.

Which is probably healthier. It's be honest. Yeah, I let everybody know. Sometimes I just get really overwhelmed in anxious. It's flip over desks in chairs. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not feeling it today. Yeah, it's just one of those things where I kind I just get really overwhelmed in the nature. It's flip over desks and chairs. It's not feeling it today. Yeah, it's just one of those things where I kind of just get really overwhelmed

that make sure everybody knows. I have to talk about it. I have to have a plan of action. If I don't have a system in place or a support system in place, because I've hired a lot of people this year for my team, so I'm like, there's only so much bandwidth you have to do the amount of things that you're doing and then Delegating to other people is important as well. So when I kind of realize I'm getting there

It's either like something has to give or I have to put something else into the system like another person Do you have any mentors or anything business-wise like people that are really helping you with this right now? Yeah So I hired Lewis Howes this year and he we started in January He has this mastermind program That's 20 I don't know 25 or 23 of us or something like that And it's a year-long program essentially we just get together three times a year We'll do calls once a month with each other and just talk about what each person is either struggling with or going through or we need support on

I have learned so much from that group this year. It's like absolutely crazy. Not even just business strategy and practical stuff, but just mindset around business, mindset around life. It's not just about business growth, but it's about personal growth and the impact you're making on the world. So not even just Lewis, but Lewis is really good at bringing together amazing people. So the people in the group, we've all like really been able to do that. You have to expand on, I just, what I find so fascinating about that is someone at your age to make the decision to make that type of investment. Yeah. Let's talk about that.

I'm so mature. I'm sure a lot of people watching right now, listening right now, probably don't know how much that cost. I know it's not cheap to do that at all. It's a major, probably could have bought a car instead. And you didn't go by yourself a car. You decided, I'm not in Honda Civic though.

But I mean, let's talk about that. Where did that come from? Where did, I mean, who, I would have never thought to do that at that age. Like I would have gone and bought myself something if I had those kind of fun. So who instilled that in you to reach out and continue to grow yourself like that?

That's a good question. I think my mom, again, was very much so. I'm always been very practical because of her. I've always not really been materialistic. Things to me don't really mean a whole lot. So the reason the thing that sparked my interest in that program was that throughout the last year or so, not this past year, but 2016, I was growing my business just on YouTube and I realized last year, like I wasn't really an entrepreneur, I was just doing YouTube,

having sponsorships did really well with just promoting my sponsors and vlogging. And it wasn't really promoting so much because I was just vlogging and living my life and they just showed up. So it was really easy for us to have a great relationship. And I wanted to take a step back for making so many videos every week.

I was like, I don't want to really vlog that much anymore. I also was like last year gaining the weight, so I was kind of insecure to be honest making videos videos and I was just like, I need something else that's not me having to be like, look a certain way. People were starting to like, you know, call me fat and shit on YouTube all the time in the comments section. YouTube's so great, isn't it? Oh my God. YouTube trolls are the big guys. Yeah. Shout out. I'm just kidding. The people watching are nice. Troll 69. You know you are. No, really, you two can be tough like that. Talk about that.

What was that? I, we shared on the show. I mean, it was the one time I got emotional. It was my first started. I got like a lump in my face. It was like our first, like, it was brutal. Our first non-five star review that was left on our show. Oh, no.

And it was totally directed at me. And I remember that feeling the first time that happened, it hurt my soul. It was like, what did I say? It was like, I don't even remember. Well, here's the worst part. No, the worst part about it, here's what happened. This is why I was hated it so much because it wasn't

a bad review on Mind Pump. It was a great review on me, a great review on Justin. Everybody left us apparently. And then Adam sucks. I get rid of Adam, he sucks. Just like it must be an angry old girlfriend. Yeah, to be an angel. Yeah, no, I don't think, literally I've been,

I've been friends. The things that they say that like hit you right where you're already insecure, you're like, well, you know what? That's why you grow so fast. I have you. And that's where I was heading with that was, you know, what it was a major eye opening thing for me to realize,

like, whoa, like I can't be that affected me like that. And it pointed out my own insecurities. Totally. Do you touch on this like in your influencer groups and stuff that you teach? Are you guys get into this? I don't think there, my students in particular are people who are really just getting started,

so they're totally not in the realm of being bashed yet. I feel like you have to maybe break a certain threshold for people to like, you gain a lot of success and then people start to care about being mean to you. So they're not there yet, but I will eventually, but yeah, learning how to deal with that stuff is like a whole other podcast. It's interesting.

What do you say when people ask, like they meet you and they don't know you, like they ask you, like, well, what do you do? Oh, that's, yeah. So. What's your job, man? Yeah. Now I say that I am an online educator,

because I mean, I like to use that word. I say that I have a YouTube channel, a podcast, own a couple of businesses. I don't like, it's hard to even say what it all is. So I kind of try to- You don't have an elevator pitch? No, I need to build one. Because it's evolved so much this year.

It still is. I'm in the middle of a rebranding with a marketing. What's the why behind what you do? Like why? Why do you do all that? Oh, yeah. So my overarching goal is essentially to show people that they can do something

that makes their life feel fulfilled. Like they feel fulfilled in their life based off of either what they do or their mindset behind why they're doing it and what they're doing. So whether that's fitness, whether that's health, whether that's their business, that's my overarching goal.

And that's why I like to focus on the value of the podcast episodes and with the YouTube videos. That's why I'm like vlogging. It's not really helping anybody. Maybe it's entertaining. Uh, whatever. It's, I don't feel connected to it. Ah, that's actually really cool.

I feel the same. I feel it's more the soap opera part of the business, right? The people who just want to kind of connect to the day-to-day stuff. It's like, what are you really learning? You're getting from this. But then talk about what that's like to feel almost attached to that because you know that there's a ton of people, probably-

And that's how you started, right? People want that. And I rewatched my old videos and like, these are really fun. I kind of missed them, but I just like don't feel inspired to pick up the camera in the same way anymore. And I get like being a role model based off of how you live your life on a day to day. You know, like there is value in that.

Just like seeing how someone lives versus like just talking about topics. It's like you can really see what you're doing and what the other person is doing and then how they live and how you live. And I get that to an extent. Yeah, but then when do you have your life then, right? Like what is yours?

You know, what do you have for yourself that you're not sharing with everybody else? I think a lot of people don't really think about that. I think a lot of people probably look at you and they're just everyone's, they're very envious of all the people connected to you and that look up to you probably. No one thinks about like, what does that mean for you?

Like, you know, hey, maybe I don't get a lot of my own life, you know. What's it like for you outside of your relationship with your boyfriend? What about friends and people you hang out with? Do you get a lot of time with that or do you sometimes almost feel alone for somebody who's connected to so many people?

Yeah, there's totally that like, aloneness feeling for the massive connection. And I think that's why when I first got started with YouTube, again, I don't have that many friends. I wasn't doing a whole lot of stuff. I was like alone to like YouTube was my family. Like they were, they were my friends. Yeah.

And it's just like funny. I'm like, I'm like, but that were my friends. Yeah. And it's just like funny. I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, but that's where it came from. And that's why I was so excited to do it every single day. And now that I've kind of built my life and I have businesses, family, friends, friends and family,

I live with my boyfriend, but friends and family, I probably could be way more connected to, if like taking steps back from like what I'm doing during the day with business stuff, I probably could spend more time with them and talking to them and being more connected to them. So yeah, there is that struggle of like, I want to show my life still, but like I also have a really great one now and I kind of want to keep it to myself, not in like a selfish way, but just a...

Well no, it has to be. You know, it's necessary. Yeah, and it's not... And, no, it has to be. It's necessary for men to stand. And it doesn't even matter for selfish. I mean, you have to, you know, you can only pour from a full cup. Yes, you know what I'm saying? That's what I've been learning a lot. And that's a very important thing to understand

because as much as I'm a parent, so I have two kids, and it's very easy to fall in the trap of being a martyr for your kids. But the reality is I'm not going to be a great dad or the father that they deserve if I don't take care of myself. If I'm not my best, then they're not going to get my best. Absolutely.

So, it sounds counterintuitive, but you have to focus on you, so you can focus on everybody else. Absolutely. We talked a little bit about this earlier when we were getting coffee, but I want to ask you here on the podcast. Are you drift, what drives you to do what you do? Is are you driven by inspiration and by your passion or are there other things? In other words, can you find yourself?

Is it, are you able to do things you're not necessarily inspired to do or is that like death? I used to be able to because I thought that I had to do everything on my own. I don't know anything about teams. I didn't know anything about outsourcing, I didn't know that I couldn't just hustle and do all like heavy effort, heavy grind, heavy hustle. I was just all in on the hustle and I had no idea about anything else. I would work just morning and all the way to the night. And again, not really a whole lot of life outside of that.

And I was like building and I was okay with that until I, again, realized how much more there is to life. And I was competing, competing was building my YouTube channel. Things were going so well. My Instagram was growing. I was connecting to a lot of different people and it was just going well for that. And the grind was the only thing that I really knew. So now that I am able to take some steps back,

I'm really motivated by time, like quality time with people, quality time is my love language. I don't know if you guys do love language tests, have you ever done that? I've read the book though. So I think I'm a touch guy. I'm, you know, I'm gift, I'm a receive gift.

You're a gift? I like shiny things. Interesting. Hence why I said, that's why I was so impressed that, you know, I remember getting to a point where I had that kind of money. And I know mine stems from as a child

that didn't have a lot of money at all, we were poor. And so when I finally got to a place where I could buy things for myself, it wasn't until I was in my late 20s that I really started to reinvest into my personal growth and education. So I find that really fascinating that you did that early.

But I also know too that mine's stem from my childhood of wanting shiny things. Interesting. Is one of them a communicator or something like that? Words of affirmation. There you go, that's me. Cool. Yeah, for sure. So you're a quality time. Quality time.

Yeah, so quality time is important to me in terms of being able to have the time to spend the quality time. So I'm motivated by having more time. So if things can be more efficient, if I could, you know, I won't do something that will like stretch me so much anymore because I would prefer stopping work

and going to lunch with a friend than like getting something else done, you know? Or like going to dinner or like enjoying myself with people. I really like one-on-one or like two-on-one or two-on-one or three-on-one interaction. I'm not a big group type of person, but if I can get quality time with people,

that's what I'm motivated by and the people that I really care about. So because you said you weren't a material person. Yeah, it just gives her my last one. So do you have a good concept of money, or for you is it more like, I love what I do, and this is great also and then sometimes all qualifications. Yeah, that's kind of it. I never really had like a bad view of money, but I also didn't I would didn't I wasn't poor. Like my parents did well.

They were able to pay for my first year of college and then I got student loans. I also did my waitressing on the side so I can make money, but if I ever need anything, like my dad would come down and take us out to dinner and give me a Lindsay, like 50 bucks or whatever for the week and stuff. And so I wasn't like poor. I didn't have like a bad view of money, but like whenever I started, I was really, really into making money for myself. I was like, I don't want them to give me anything.

Like at some point in the middle of like early freshman sophomore year of college, I was like, I don't want you to give me stuff. I want to like work for it. So, so I was your question. I bet well, the con so some people like the money. Yeah, so like, because that when I first, when I was 19, I was managing gym. So I had staffs, 30, 40 people working for me. And I was making six figures and this is back in 1998. So it was a lot of money,

but I didn't have any concept of it because I lived at home. I didn't buy things. I don't care about things too much. I just loved what I did. And so it was just like, oh, cool, I'm making money, and I just put in the bank.

It was like the, yeah, it's like, it was an big deal. It was an big deal, right? Yeah, do you find yourself like that? Yeah, totally. Yeah, like there's, it's there, and you're like, great, but it's more of like, now I'm like investing a lot back into my business. It's

just an exchange now. It's not like, you know, when you get to a certain point where you feel really comfortable, it's there's not much more that will make you happy aside from less money problems. So once you hit a threshold where you have minimal problems living, I feel like after that is where it's kind of I mean for me anyway Personally, it's kind of like it's an after effect and it's more for Increased growth so like the more you can make the more you can invest back in it and the more it can be better and the more you can Build better relationships and the more time that you can have and you know like investing into things that will give you more of like Whatever you're motivated by whether it's time whether it's like some people are motivated by, I forget what test it is,

but someone said there's like time, challenge, money, and like something else. So some people are very motivated by. Yeah. It's like the Facebook survey I just filled out. Awesome. Yeah, depending on which color you like, it helps. Yeah, well time is mine. What characteristic about yourself, would you think, or would you attribute to most of your success? Is what would you say has got you this far, like that you've leaned on the most,

like I'm this type of a person, and that's carried me this far. I think honesty is like a weird thing. I guess the one constant in all of my social media is over the last. I don't know, since I started, was me just being very honest about everything. Really open, really transparent. I don't hide my feelings. I very much so express all of them all the time.

And I think that helps me get to where I am today just by whether it's connecting with my audience members or just being open to people I work with or people that I love and live with about how I'm feeling. And that's success in all areas of life is because I've been so honest and I haven't been shy to ask for help.

I don't feel dis-empowered, is that or just empowered by asking for help or like being the person that's looking for growth through other people, like educators, mentors or whatever. You would be surprised, or actually I was surprised, I don't know if you found this, that when you ask people for help, they usually do it.

Yeah, no, that's great, thank you for asking, it's very nice. Yeah, it's great, you'll go up to someone who you think, like why would this person help me? They're so... Well, you have to ask it in a certain way. Oh, like how?. You'll go up to someone who you think, like, why would this person help me? They're so... Well, you have to ask it in a certain way. Oh, like how? Like, you can't expect them to just...

I mean, it depends on who you're asking, why you're asking it. If it's someone that you've maybe, they have 400 videos on their YouTube channel, and then, I don't know, however many podcasts, and then you ask them what's the best way to lose fat. That is the worst thing you can do, because you haven't done your own research. You have to do your own, maybe trials and errors for yourself. You go through this, this, and this, and you're like, I want to get to the next level. I think you're the greatest person to help do that. Versus like, hey, can you help me? I would super love if you answered my DM. It's a little

different. I love that you address that because that's something that we all deal with. That's a challenge, right? There's people that all sit and drop it on the page. Or they heard from somebody that, oh, ask the mind pump guys and you just come directly in. You ask a question that if all you did was go to our YouTube and see that we've categorized your website, get your program, spend time building. Right. Like the least could do that because it is tough for, and I think you're very similar to us where we're trying to connect with as many people as we possibly can and answer as many questions like you know

I can't go around answer everyone's specific question, especially when I've already created something for that exact answer Totally you spend time creating things so you don't have to answer that question a thousand times right right I know for us. I just love meeting people so if people ask a question and I think, you know, they're genuinely asking or whatever, you know, I'll answer it. We had, we've had people come in and sit in on our shows and they're like, well, why did you let me come in? I'm like, because you asked, you know, it's cool, you know, you know, you get to, you know, get to meet new people.

So, so, so looking forward, like, what are you excited about moving forward? Where do you want to be, you know, five years, 10 years? Like, what's the big plan? It's like funny you asked that because this is like the first year that I even envisioned what a five year look like last year, if you asked me this, I'd be like, I don't know. Everything has changed so much. And now I have actual businesses versus just making YouTube

videos and having sponsors. Like, obviously in my head last year, I knew that wasn't long term and I was like, I don't know what's next, but now I kind of do. Main focuses are a couple different things. The podcast is like so fun for me. It's a really number one great way to connect with really freaking awesome people.

Like you guys said, the amount that you learn through speaking with other people is just mind blowing. Like even today, yesterday, I'm meeting you guys and just talking with you guys, you guys are so experienced in podcasting, you have so much life experience and so many different areas. You guys are all really different, but you have a lot of value to bring as a team and as individuals.

And then it's just, again, I'm just really fun talking to people. I think it brings a completely different type of value to audience members. You get to hear from different people, different perspectives, and the whole purpose is to give you something that you can take away and you can learn and grow from yourself. It's not even like we get to grow. It's like everyone else gets to grow with us and it's great. I love that. YouTube is a little like that, depending on how you set it up, I guess.

Figuring out how I want to create video content that connects and resonates with set it up, I guess. So figuring out how I kind of want to create video content that connects and resonates is something I'm going through now. I have my businesses, so my coaching clients that I have, absolutely love that. My goal is not just to get as many people and shove as many people in there as possible, but to actually get these people, the results that they're looking for is really important to me.

So consistently working on building that and making it better, making the experience better. I just had a live event this last weekend and it was just the experience for these people. They cried, they figured out their life purpose and I had a life coach come in and stuff. That's awesome. What scares you about all this? What are you doing? Not being good enough. I was so scared when I first started. What do you about all this? What are you, mom? Not being good enough. Oh, I was so scared when I first started. What do you mean by that?

Not good enough for everybody else or what do you mean? Not good enough to get them the results that I'm telling them I can get them. Do you feel like an imposter sometimes? Oh, totally. Only, I know that I've had success for myself, but I know so many people have success for themselves a little bit and then they go to coach people. And I don't want to be that person, but I know so many people have success for themselves a little bit and then they like go coach people.

And I don't wanna be that person, but I know that my heart's in the right place and I know that I have the right resources and the right drive to make sure that I do everything I possibly can to make it the best program ever. But you know, it's still new. It's not like I've been doing it for 20 years

and I used to be this and I have this background and business and I have this background and this. Like I don't, but I have this background in business and I have this background in this. I don't, but I have the heart and the drive and the genuine care to make sure these people get what they want out of it. And last weekend was a confirmation for me that I am doing the right thing.

This is very similar to what it's like for coaching or clients, getting clients in shape. Totally. And of course, 80% of them still fail at that because it still takes them to put the work in. I'm sure that's very similar with what you're doing with the influencers. Do you already have to kind of have conversations

with yourself around like, I need to be understanding that that's going to happen and not beat myself up over. I actually totally compare it to fitness coaching because I completely am aware of when you are a fitness coach, you can be really great, but someone also still might not get results because even though you're really great in what you're giving them is really great,

and maybe you've given them everything in the whole entire world, but they still might not succeed for whatever reason within themselves. So I like comparing things to fitness and fitness coaching because they connect a ton. Right, a lot of parallels with that for sure. And again, being the coach, I remember having to kind of figure this out.

And then you also get better at, I think, setting the table for them the expectations, right? Giving them better perspective on, all right, listen, you're not gonna just turn on your Instagram or your YouTube and also you're gonna have a half a million people. It's gonna be hard, you're gonna go through this. Is this a lot your YouTube and also you're going to have a half a million people It's going to be hard. You're going to go through this like yeah Is this a lot of stuff that you guys talking inside the class and stuff?

Yeah, yeah, it's like a it's like a intensive program So they like are very aware that it's not going to be some magical quick fix It's it's a lot of like mental work. It's a lot of emotional like if you're if you're brain and your Mentality isn't in the right spot for you to grow and stretch yourself so you can help other people, it's got to be worked on throughout the process. So you've been around a lot of great minds. You're a part of the Lewis House group, which I think is awesome too. Single-bested business advice you've gotten.

Oh, it's hard. Invest in a coach. Grant Cardone was one of the speakers at when the Lewis's events and he said like the best investment he's ever made was his $3,000 that he invested in his first coach. It just helps you accelerate way faster than you would if you tried to just figure it out on your own because we all want to super ego boosting if we can figure it out all on our own but when you have people who have been in your shoes and are where you want to be and and they're just, you're paying for their insight in their wisdom, it's

like it makes so much sense. It's invaluable. It's invaluable. I think another reason why a lot of people don't do it is when you hire a coach, it's like, now you're serious. Oh, totally. Yeah. When you pay, you commit.

Mm-hmm. When you pay for something especially expensive. And that's scary for a lot of people. Yeah. It's like ticket prices. I'm like, oh, I have to actually do it. I'm not just like paying $200 for something super quick, I can get online and then just like, it sits there.

Like, no, no, you're committed. Any bad advice that you've been given that you just totally like, oh, disregarded, that was terrible. Oh, that's good. Bad advice, that's terrible for business. To just focus on social media, it's like that was where my main focus was, it wasn't necessarily because of business. It was just because I started on social media.

It was fun, I like to share. It just kind of happened. I kept doing it naturally, but not necessarily for business. But I think people think that, yes, you have to be on it, but no, that's not the only thing you should focus on. You should focus on things that move the needle forward for you building out the things that you're going to be doing, not just like building out your social media,

and like making it pretty, and then like engagement and the algorithm and all that stuff. Like yeah, it's important, but it's not me, most important. Right, what comes out like, you know, yeah. What do you find them with people like that? Do you get that a lot where they're so focused on that, but then at the end goal, it's like, well, what are you gonna do that with?

Because we talk about this on the show a lot, a lot of times people say- Like when you're focused on supplements, right, instead of like building your fitness foundation, it's the same thing. Right, right, very similar, right? It's, you're talking about splitting hairs the difference by the supplements you're taking, like that's not a big deal. Well, it's the same thing. Right, right, very similar, right? It's, you're talking about splitting hairs at difference by the supplements you're taking.

Like, that's not a big deal. Well, it's what people see. That's why. It's what they see. They see the, that's the surface. And so, it's not the, what's under the iceberg. That's right. So, you see the surface and for the average person,

that looks like it's the most important thing because that's all they see. They don't see all the other stuff that's beneath, that's the real world. Well, I also think that people don't, a lot of people don't see, I think you put a lot of thought into even the pictures that you post and the content that you put out there.

What are some things that speaking to the YouTube and audience and people that are probably wanting to be influencers? What are some of the do's and don'ts with social media and Instagram? Oh, this is good. So some of the do's are definitely to story tell. Storytelling is like something

like one of the most important things you can do is someone who's trying to grow and build a tribe and connect to people, because people connect through stories. And you are the only thing that separates you from like the next person who's doing fitness on Instagram. Obviously you can like create really creative content. If you're a super creative person,

you can do something original that's not new. But you're the only thing that I always say, you were the only thing that differentiates you from the next fitness coach or the next person on social media. So definitely differentiate yourself, not only differentiate yourself, but tell stories. Things to not do is, again, just focusing on the wrong things, focusing on only doing it for the likes and the engagement, but like making the impact is more important than the amount of followers and likes that you have. So people are just like, how can I get more and more likes?

I'm like, are you doing anything with them? What are your people liking your stuff for? What are they getting out of it? What impact are you making? Cause it's not even just about the followers anymore. Like, yeah, having followers helps you get more opportunities because people see it as a status symbol now. Like even you guys are like, oh, it's a great opportunity to get you out.

Like, you know, it's like, it's not just a status symbol, but you're just connected to a large magnet. Just hold this out right there. I was like, no. But the impact is that you're like, if you're small and right there. I was like, no. But the impact that you're like, if you're small and still growing, focus on like, how can you make the few people who are already following you lives better? Because if you're just an extra person that's just like posting pictures of themselves,

emojis for captions, you know, there's not like a whole lot of substance behind what you're doing. You're not going to make it in the long game. Like you're just going to do. Well, do you just want attention? I mean, is that why you're, you know, that's the thing. You get people that fast themselves. Like, why am I doing this for attention?

Because if you just want attention, that's easy. But if you want to turn it into business or if you want to help people or whatever. Attention's easy. Attention is very, very easy. I mean, I can't tell you, there's pages that have, I know pages with a quarter million followers on Instagram who

We'll try to sell a product or a program that they're put together and we'll get no response because their followers literally could give a shit All they care about is liking their pictures. I don't marry you Well if you're if you're also intending to you know start a social media to build the business What are some of the things that maybe were good investments for yourself like to get started? Like, did you use like a better camera for like photos? Do you use, is there certain like stuff that you use for YouTube that's worked really well for you for someone who's just starting to get started?

Yeah. I think in terms of cameras and stuff, honestly, if you're going to get started with photos, like an iPhone, it's pretty good. If you don't have an iPhone or an Android, like turn the HDR on on your iPhone or whatever and focus on really good lighting and focus on all that stuff, having a good camera totally helps.

Having someone take photos of you who you trust that can take good photos, that knows angles, that knows lighting, that's definitely the biggest game changer for attention and marketing purposes, because if you're taking shitty photos, like no one's even gonna see your stuff. Like no one's gonna click on it, no one's gonna find it,

no one's gonna care, you know, it's just the attention game on Instagram, especially, is super, super strong. You have to scroll and be something that pops out. So if you're not focusing on, if you're being lazy with your photography and your videos, it's not gonna be, it used to be able to be good for you, used to be able to kind of be the bare minimum that you can do and it would work, but now that there's so many people growing on social media, there's so many people that have a lot of followers and there's so many people that are signing up every day. So it's a, it's a

attention game. Now, do you follow a lot of like the new apps that are coming and do you, do you find it important to use Snapchat and Twitter and like what do you recommend for people? I think it's important to use Instagram stories. I think it's really fucking important. If you're using Snapchat, that's cool too, but Instagram stories, if you use it, it's like the poor man's vlog.

I heard someone say that once. I was like, oh, that's good. But vlogging, I think is super connective and emotionally connective because you get to see what people are doing right now, you get to see their faces, they get to talk directly to you. And I think a lot of people forget that they should talk to people, you should speak to your people.

You know, like you have to talk to them, not just like take a photo of your sock, that's cool sock. So I'm wearing chucks. You're an extra fancy thing. You just normally do that. So like instead of you just taking your photo of your chucks and helping people who like chucks or also connect to you, talk about something

that connects to them versus just taking the photo and being like someone's gonna scroll through. I think a number one Instagram Stories helps with the algorithm. Instagram wants you to use it. If you use all the features, even better, I think Instagram story is a super important. And then Twitter is cool still. I think it's hard to connect all the social media is together.

You can, but you have to purposely, you have to be intentful and strategize how you do that. Strategic. Strategic. I think I was trying to say that. I just made that up. But anyway. I'll make itize how you do that. Strategic. Strategic. I think I was trying to say that. I'll make it up for you. Yeah, great. Do you personally have favorite platforms that you use for one, just because you like to

use it and or two, ones you find convert to money better than others? Mm, emailless converts. The best. That's it, everybody says that. That's the half from everybody. Everybody says that. You take it. Well, I did it so interestingly enough, I did a launch that was like a very marketing style launch

where we did emailless stuff, but I also did Instagram and social media posts, and like I did YouTube video stuff. I'm almost positive, almost like 75% of sales came from the emailless sequences versus me posting and telling people about it. I also spend a lot of time with that lunch Hiping it up months and months before I had a Facebook group that we would ask to answer questions in about the program I made videos showing what I was doing with it But if you're doing digital stuff, it's really hard to like visually show your experience with it, but if you're doing digital stuff, it's really hard to like visually show your experience with it, you know? It's like, I'm on my computer again. Here's another thing

of me working, you know, it's kind of just hard to show that. So I did talk about it. Yeah, to do the dramatizations, like LEGO stuff. Oh, hello. This is what I built out today. Yeah, seriously. But definitely focusing on like hyping it up and building it up and being really excited about it on your own social media is great, but I do think email us is still the king for versions.

Everybody says that. Everybody we've talked to who says that, and probably so. It seems so dinosaur, but it seems that way, but I think. People are used to clicking on things in emails though, you know? Yeah. Where you do most of your business, if you think about it.

And that's, and it's also, it's not like you're just emailing random people. Like, these are people even talking to you and helping through emails. So, yeah. And you're not just like selling through them, to selling them through email all the time. Like, you're writing maybe valuable stories or valuable tips. Like, I'll, I'll like share things with my email list a few times a week that are like helpful to them, send out podcasts, episode, blast and all that stuff. So, like a week that are like helpful to them. Send out podcast episode, blast and all that stuff. So like things that they like to see.

So there's value there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you work a lot of hours? Yeah. I'd say so. I'd do less. What time do you start? What time do you stop during the day? The honest. My goal is to start at eight and my goal is to stop at four. But like lunch in between. That's not bad at all. That's your goal. But what do you have? That's your goal. and my goal is to stop it for, but lunch in between. That's not bad at all. That's your goal, but what do you have? That's your goal.

I just started having that goal two weeks ago. Oh, okay. Is it working? Kind of. Over the last few weeks, there was some things that were already in place like this meeting today. I guess it's still nine to four, remember today. But yeah, there was still some things in place that I was like, okay, I can't get around that, but still like nine to four remember today. But yeah, there was like still some things in place

that I was like, okay, I can't get around that. But like my goal is to just set up like meetings and interviews and any other just computer work during the day. So I'm not doing it like embed at night and stuff like that. So like my goal is to make sure that everybody who has responsibilities to do things for like the next day and my team is all doing them

during those hours, so I have to get back on. Well, we are happy that you're here because we really think there needs to be more voices like you in this wellness, optimizing your life and fitness world because there's so much noise, there's so much bad information, and it's especially to women and girls, and to have a young girl like you who competed

and did all that, but it sends this great, positive, honest message is awesome. That's why we like having, that's why we wanted you out here on our show. Yeah, thank you guys. So I really appreciate it. We're all encouraging. Hopefully we're best friends now.

We are. We're not gonna talk to you guys. Well, sure to tell us for her favorite podcast ever. That was the next question. I'm sure we'll all be able to. Definitely think that this will be a regular thing. I mean, I tell you what, we're only a plane flight away. We go down to LA all the time, so I'm sure we'll.

Quick hour flight. That's right. I'm sure we'll do plenty of collaborations in the future. I'm super excited to have you here. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thanks. You can find us at MindPump, our website is MindPump Media, and we also have a YouTube channel, MPTV MindPump TV.

Thank you for listening to MindPump. If your goal is to build and shape your body, dramatically improve your health and energy, and maximize your overall performance, check out our discounted RGB Superbumble at MindPumpMedia.com The RGB Superbumble includes maps on the ball, maps to performance, and maps aesthetic. Nine months of phased, expert exercise programming designed by Sal and Iman Justin to systematically

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