The Sevan Podcast - Derrick Mwanje | CrossFit Africa

Episode Date: May 7, 2024

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Starting point is 00:00:19 Let's go seize the night. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamx. Benefits vary by car and other conditions apply. Bam, we're live. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Oh, I see Derek getting on now.
Starting point is 00:00:40 Look at him. There he is. There he is. What's up, Stu? Derek, what's up, dude? I'm fine. How are you, buddy? I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy. I'm so excited.
Starting point is 00:00:52 Hey, thanks for doing this. You're in Boston right now? Sorry? Are you in Boston? Yeah. I know I'm in Boston. Hey, I was trying to remember this morning how i first saw you it must have been just on instagram and then i saw one of your posts and then i probably started digging through your um you know your instagram and i was like shit i'd like to know this guy oh thank you thanks
Starting point is 00:01:19 i just love this uh kind of this whole miracle of. It's like the best part about social media. Like you can see someone you like and then you can be like, yo, I want to see if I can meet this guy. Oh yeah. Like I met people from social media. Like I like it. So to me that's great now. I want to go back to like way back,
Starting point is 00:01:42 like to where you were born. I'm going to pull up this map here of Africa it from just what I saw on your Instagram. You were born in Uganda Is that true? Yes Okay, and that's the country it's in between basically you border southern Sudan Kenya Tanzania Congo oh That's what this DRC is. Yeah, that's Congo Southern Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda. Rwanda and the Congo. Oh, that's what this DRC is? Yeah, that's Congo. And I spent a lot of time in Africa and a little bit of time in Kampala.
Starting point is 00:02:17 Oh, you did? Yeah. Crazy, right? I'm from Kampala. Oh, you are from Kampala. So you're from the big city there. Yeah, I'm from Kampala. Oh, you are from Kampala. So you're from the big city there. Yeah, I'm from Kampala, yeah. Okay, okay.
Starting point is 00:02:30 And then there's Lake Victoria, famous Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria, is that the largest freshwater lake on the entire continent? Is that the deal with that? Yeah, it is. It's the largest. And Lake Victoria has the giant waterfalls too, right? Like the waterfalls that are bigger than Niagara Falls, like some of the biggest waterfalls in the world. Oh, yeah, it is.
Starting point is 00:02:49 Yeah, that's true. Okay. Tell me, what year were you born? I was born in 1994. Yeah, September 10th. So you're about to turn 30. Yeah, I can feel my body right now. All my knees are cracking.
Starting point is 00:03:15 And tell me about being born in Kampala. You know one of the interesting things, my kids were born at home. And our midwife, the lady who helped birth the twins, she was from Uganda. She was a birthing lady from Uganda. Yeah, she delivered babies in villages in Uganda. And my wife had twins. And so we were nervous. And the lady from Uganda said, no problem.
Starting point is 00:03:44 I've given birth to many twins in the village no problem yeah like uh for me I was like I was I was born like in Uganda like uh like there's a street called uh Lubaga like my dad is a like my dad is a doctor yeah so one of one of his friends I, was the one who my mom put the river. Yeah. And what did your mom do? My mom, she doesn't work. Like, my mom, she never works.
Starting point is 00:04:14 She's a lady who she got married when she was 17. Okay. Yeah, so she married this rich guy, my dad, and then she broke up. I think they divorced after, like, after when I was, like, two years. Yeah. So she never worked all that time. She never worked all that time. So when I turned 14, that's when I moved from my dad to go to my mom.
Starting point is 00:04:49 And by then, I was working to feed my mom and pay for her rent and feed my little sister. When I was 14 years old. So she never worked. Like always, since I was 14, I've been helping her, like, everything. Do you have brothers and sisters? Is this your family here? Oh, yeah, yeah. So that's my mom, and that's my little sister.
Starting point is 00:05:18 That's me. That's my sister, who just moved to Canada. I think she moved to Canada. sister who just moved to Canada. I think she moved to Canada. And my big sister, she's still in Uganda. She now
Starting point is 00:05:32 lives close to my mom. And those are all your siblings. So you're one boy and three girls. Yes, exactly. And you're the second oldest. Yeah. I'm the second last. Oh, which one's older?
Starting point is 00:05:49 The two on the right are older than you? Yeah, so it is how it is. The first one, she's the oldest. Then the second one, then me, then the last one. And then our mom. And so you were saying that when you were in Uganda, you got a job to help take care of our mom. And so you were saying that you were, you were saying that you got, when you were in Uganda,
Starting point is 00:06:07 you got a job to help take care of your mom. Is that, is that, is that normal? You felt that, how did you feel that responsibility? Shouldn't you have been a kid playing? So,
Starting point is 00:06:15 so like, like, like, like in Africa, it's normal. Like in Africa, we grew up, like our parents,
Starting point is 00:06:21 they, like, they, they really do a good job, like taking care of us when we're growing up. And once they retire, they don't have this special money. So it's us to look after them. Now, my mom never had a profession because, as I told you, she got married when she was 16, I think 17.
Starting point is 00:06:44 And she was raising four kids also. Yeah. So I didn't know it was a big responsibility. For me, I was a child who liked to work and take care of my little sister. That's not a legal requirement. That's a cultural requirement. It's what you're taught up in your culture. Like, hey, when you fly the nest, now you need to always look back
Starting point is 00:07:17 and make sure that where you came from is taken care of. Yeah, it's character. Back home, it's character. People will take care of our parents once we like once we like once we come do that. You said your parents separated when you were two. Did you still see your dad? Yeah, like I live like I think I lived with my mom when i was a baby and i remember i remember moving to my dad when i was uh five years starting school because yeah so my dad was i lived my dad from then up to like from five from five years up to 13. Then 13, when I went to visit my mom,
Starting point is 00:08:06 like I saw how she was living. I'm like, no, I'm going to stay here. I thought I can be part of her life. Because like we had two lives. We had a life of our dad who was doing good, a doctor like since before we were born. And this life of our mom who she just, she was just figuring out how to live
Starting point is 00:08:26 and so you even at 13 you felt a responsibility you went back at 13 to to help your mom yeah like i remember like i went for the holidays just to visit and i just told my sister i'm not coming back i'm just gonna stay here with my. And was your dad cool with that? Yeah, my dad didn't care. My dad is a busy guy. My dad goes from home at 7 and comes back at 11 or 12 midnight. He does that every single day. So he doesn't care.
Starting point is 00:09:05 He doesn't have time for that. Gotcha. Okay, so your dad was a workaholic yeah he is and he still is okay and and and tell me what school was like what was school like what was the scene at school in uh Kampala I think we have a we have like good good education back home. Yeah, school was good. Like my dad did a good job of putting us in school, all of us. So for him, it's good of that. So I did all my schools in Kampala and outside Kampala by seeing Uganda. And the schools there that you went to in Kampala, electricity, classrooms,
Starting point is 00:09:47 bathrooms, all that stuff. Yeah, so Kampala is a neighboring district. It's like they are really good. They are really good cities and good town.
Starting point is 00:10:03 But once you move further, that's when things start getting chaotic. Yeah. I visited a lot of schools when I was in Kenya. And then also CrossFit. Greg Glassman built a lot of schools in Kenya. But a lot of the schools were just buildings. There was no electricity. All the work had to be done during the day.
Starting point is 00:10:24 When the sun set, it was over know the town had to shut down maybe there would be one light bulb somewhere and then the kids would gather underneath it and study at night if they had to you know somewhere in the town but most of the schools that i saw there they didn't they didn't have um they didn't have electricity and it wasn't and it wasn't too far from uh kampala you know maybe a couple hundred miles yeah like like like even Uganda has a lot of schools like that. Like even in Kampala, they have so much of not risky, but not as many as when you go outside Kampala. So like there's an organization that is working for itself. It helps like teen moms and babies.
Starting point is 00:11:07 We used to go to, like, in the west, there's a school we used to work on. People didn't have water, didn't have bathrooms. Like, the classes, it never had loof. So in case the train's going to rain in that class, it never had doors and windows or the school. So it's, like, there is, like, there's a part of,
Starting point is 00:11:27 let me say Uganda, which are like, people are doing so good and there is people who are doing really, really bad at schools, yeah. But they're still
Starting point is 00:11:36 going to school and they're still making it work. Yeah, they are still going to school and make it. You're gonna, like,
Starting point is 00:11:44 you're gonna do what you're gonna do man back home yeah yeah and they're smart kids they get a good education polite kids right what i noticed there is they were all well behaved they seemed i mean they seemed uh smart they seemed like they were on a course that was even more advanced than a lot of the stuff i see in the united states even though you're right they didn't have a roof they didn't have electricity yeah yeah so like like I think I think that the the community raised us and like like being humble disciplined and smart like like you have to go through a lot when you're a kid like other like like right now I see like some of my friends who are men, and they are still figuring out things.
Starting point is 00:12:28 I'm like, back home, a kid could have done that. Oh, meaning you grew up faster there. Yeah, I grew up faster because you have to get your own rings once you get six, seven years. You have to get your own wings so you can do what you have to do. I was talking to a man yesterday, Derek.
Starting point is 00:12:52 Derek, is your last name Mwanji? Mwanji. Oh, Mwanji. You do the M and the W together. Mwanji. Mwanji. Mwanji. Not Mwanji, but Mwanji. Mwanji. Nice. Exactly. Mwanji. Not Mwanji, but Mwanji. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:07 Mwanji. I was talking to this guy yesterday and I don't know how old he is. Maybe he's 60. And he was saying and he works with a lot of younger men and he was saying that men who he meets who are 35 today are all less mature than men when he was 25. Basically, men are just maturing really, really slow. And it's probably like that in the difference between what you need to do
Starting point is 00:13:37 to survive in Uganda versus the United States, right? I was living at home at 34 with my mommy. For me, when I was 26, I was living at home at 34 with my mommy. Oh, man. Like, for me, when I was 26, I bought my mom a house, you know? Wow. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:50 So, like, we have, like, a lot of my friends, you know, like, a lot of my friends, people I grew up with, we have a lot of responsibility as kids. As I told you, when I was 14, I was doing a lot of things. So moving here, I see people, I'm like, oh, my God. I wish I was, like, sometimes I'm like, I wish I was born here, but I'm like, oh, I'm glad I was raised and born in Uganda because now, like, life will never put me down, you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:14:21 Yeah, you've had more experiences and more challenges that you've had to overcome that have made it so that you're more stable as a person as derek yeah like like it helps you know some sometimes i look back and i think about all those stuff i'm like i'm i i'm glad i like i was into this life you know like sometimes like these these days i'm starting telling my micro's friends here like every time they come to me like with um maybe like like like when they are broken i'm like i think you should take a trip in uganda i like i recommend you some places and tell people to take you around and you see how blessed you are. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:11 I don't know. I'd say in my, there was a, I probably spent like a year in Africa, total, all my trips there. I probably spent a year of my life there. And even after my first trip there,
Starting point is 00:15:22 I remember thinking that. I remember thinking, oh, everyone should have to come here and live here for three months in the village. And with with no electricity, no stores. I don't think people you're in. I'm sure you've seen it. But the villages where there's there's actually no objects like even the bowls are made by hand. The spoons are made by hand.
Starting point is 00:15:42 Everyone lives in teepees. There's no cars. You see dogs, like skinny dogs everywhere that look like they're going to die. Yeah, it's fascinating, right? Wouldn't it be great if America did that? Sent all of their kids there for just three months. And not to see the hardship, but to see the life. Just to see the life.
Starting point is 00:16:07 To appreciate. Right now, I have four friends who are going to visit Africa or Uganda. I'm like, you guys, you're going to have to see. You're going to see how life is. And you appreciate what to have to see. You're going to see how life is. And you appreciate what you have. And start breaking into some small...
Starting point is 00:16:31 I don't want to sound like what, but people break into small things. People say, my friends say here, I'm always happy. I'm living a dream why not like i wake up in the morning i know what to like i know like i know like i know what i'm gonna eat tomorrow like back home people don't know like people don't know what they're gonna eat like
Starting point is 00:16:58 yesterday no on friday on friday friday my friend me, like he didn't have school fees and was finishing his paper and also didn't know where he was going to sleep. I told him I would have money, but I went and I drove over the whole night. I think
Starting point is 00:17:19 I drove from 2 p.m. until 4 a.m. so that I can make man send him so he can finish his papers, you know. So people, they are struggling with all that. Like, they don't know where they're going to sleep, they don't know where they're going to eat, they don't know why they're going to pay for school fees.
Starting point is 00:17:38 And they are so happy, you know, like, they are so happy. Another fascinating thing was going there for it didn't for some reason it i don't think it impacted me as much i was ready for it but the people that i went over with when we were in kenya well first of all a couple things you'll start to realize that africans are as different as um white and black people meaning like if you're in Somalia, you can, those are not Kenyans. There's no, there's no, do you know what I mean? Like there's no, there's no all black people look, they look nothing alike. You can be in Kenya and see those are Kenyans. You can be in Somalia and see
Starting point is 00:18:16 those are Somalians. You can go to Ethiopia and see, you know what I mean? And see that those Ethiopians they're, they're so distinct in their looks. And then the other thing is is to be somewhere and be the only person who looks like yourself and you will see you will see people from the United States go there and just fucking panic have you ever seen that the last time I was there I was with some people and they absolutely freaked out like they just freaked out they couldn't believe it it was like they were having a psychological breakdown Yeah like I've seen a lot of people
Starting point is 00:18:47 Because like There's a time in my life Where I was doing Where I was working In travel companies So I was meeting a lot of Foreigners like Americans Where were you working again?
Starting point is 00:19:04 Where were you working again? I missed that. So like I was working in two travel companies. Oh, okay. At some point. So I met people who have just never been to Africa. Like they come, they expect different things. Like they come, they panic where they are, but you know, they just, yeah, I know what you mean.
Starting point is 00:19:23 Yeah. I mean, you, you, all of a sudden all of a sudden you're walking through Mombasa and you're like, oh shit, I'm the only white person here. Like the only one. Yeah, like in Kampala you can see a lot of whites because there's a lot of organization. There's a lot of UN. But once you get out of kampala
Starting point is 00:19:46 yeah you can like you can spend a lot of time in a in a white in a white like first you call them muzungu you can spend yeah without seeing any muzungu muzungu yeah yeah and then another thing is culturally americans um have no idea what the vast majority of i I don't know what you would call it, but black culture is because all they have is what we have in the United States. So they've never actually seen African culture. And so they can't even fathom. That's another thing that really frustrates me when they're, when people try to characterize black skin people one way, it's like, dude,
Starting point is 00:20:21 you never even been to Africa. You don't even know what the fuck you're talking about. Like they're like, the culture there is like just so fucking different yeah like like like there's someone who asked me if i like if i speak africa like you are like you speak africa i'm like i'm like i'm like uganda uganda as a country have 42 languages as one country what was your first language what was your first language um my first language is called uh luganda it's called luganda luganda yeah like people people with an l with an l yeah yeah l you like people from the central because
Starting point is 00:21:00 campana speak luganda butuganda but every district you go they have different languages So you're raised there and you're raised in Kampala, big city all the amenities that any big city has and then what
Starting point is 00:21:21 was school like? Did you wear uniform? Did you play sports? What was school like? Did you wear a uniform? Did you play sports? What was school like there? So me, like, me, school, like, I went to no good schools. But, like, I think all my primary, like, from primary three to primary seven, like, I wasn't wearing shoes at school. No shoes? Yeah, no shoes.
Starting point is 00:21:50 Because I don't know why. My dad could afford that, but I was living with a stepmom who never bought me shoes. My dad, as I told you, was so busy. He gave all money to this stepmom. And she never gave me shoes. So for me, it was a tough time. Because I go to school without shoes. And they send me back home. And also home, they send me back to school. So I just end up myself in the middle.
Starting point is 00:22:22 And I just go do other things, not being school, not being home. Yeah, so I grew up doing a lot of sports. Like I used to play, I grew up doing soccer. I grew up doing basketball. I grew up using volleyball. Also Boxing And also like Running Like 400 meters Like all my life
Starting point is 00:22:53 I grew up doing sports And would you do the sports barefoot? Yeah I played soccer barefoot I ran barefoot I played volleyball barefoot Were any of the other kids barefoot? We were like, I think we had like five, four people who were barefoot.
Starting point is 00:23:18 And did the kids make fun of you or it didn't matter? Yeah, like kids used to make fun of me, but I was like, I used to make fun of me but uh i was like like i used to talk shit a lot so and no one wanted to cross my line i used to talk i used to fight like i used to fight a lot a lot as a kid so like no one wanted to cross that line you know yeah derrick do you remember the first job you had did you ever get a job as a kid oh my god steve that's a long like i think i've done more than 20 jobs in my life so my i think my first job when i was like i was nine yeah i was nine like you know
Starting point is 00:24:05 you know like people who like do cut like like I do farming for the for the
Starting point is 00:24:12 for the hens so I used to clean in those in those like in those warehouse when I was nine
Starting point is 00:24:20 yeah I used to clean like once like once a week. Like there would be a thousand hens in there and you would go in there and clean? Yeah, so there were a handful of chickens. So every time they take those hens, I used to go and clean. I clean and they can bring new ones. And, like, those people, they are so busy. Like, they could sell, like, 200 a day, you know?
Starting point is 00:24:52 Oh, they would actually sell the hens? Yeah, they would sell and bring everything. So, they had, like, multiple warehouses. So, like, every time they take, I have to come and clean on weekends and they bring more. So it was like in layers from the first day
Starting point is 00:25:14 until they sold them. And how much money would you make? Oh man, Steve, don't talk about Ghana shilling. You don't make't talk about ugandan shilling i think i think it was like uh i would say like uh right now it should be like one quarter like a 25 cents yeah you'd make 25 cents for a day's work i know i think I think it was like, oh, my God. Steve, it wasn't even $1. I think it was like 10 cents, something like that. A day?
Starting point is 00:25:56 Yeah, a day. Wow. And wow. Who got you that job? You got it yourself? Yeah. So, they way our neighbors so so one day i went to pray with the kids and i saw people like them them hiring people i'm like
Starting point is 00:26:15 can i also do that they are like it's fine and do you have and what's it like there when you do that do you have to ask your dad before you get the job there? No nun who was always at home yeah she was sleeping at home all the time so she for her like she was my best just didn't care everything like that as long as i come back home so uh this guy jeffrey birchfield i used to work all summer to buy one pair of boots at the ranch yeah i mean that's what it was like as a kid yeah yeah um and then so so you're there you going to school in kampala uh living with your dad and then at 13 you moved to your mom and do you stay in school when you move yeah like i said like so when i moved to my mom i i stayed like uh i stayed school um but that time my dad didn't want to pay for me school fees i don't even want to pay for my sister's school fees you know like
Starting point is 00:27:33 uh like i i don't like i don't want to talk about what happened or that but then uh i had to work like i had to wake up early in the morning like at 3 3 a.m., and I go to work. Then from 10, I go to school. Then from 4, I go back to work up to 10, 11. Hey, Derek, was your dad taking care of his mom? No. How come he didn't take care of your dad? Did your dad take care of his mom? No. How come he didn't take... Your dad.
Starting point is 00:28:07 Did your dad take care of your... No, not your mom. Did he take care of your grandmother? Did your dad take... He did? So, my... He did take... My grandma, she was a lady who... She had... She was also having a...
Starting point is 00:28:23 She was doing good She has a lot of rentals So my dad didn't have to do anything for her Because for her she was doing good As an American I think that when a dad doesn't want to pay for his kids at school at 13, that something seems wrong to me there, especially if he has money. But maybe at 13 in Uganda, it's like,
Starting point is 00:28:55 okay, you're old enough now to take care of yourself, and I need to stop babying you. No? No. I think my dad was a stubborn guy. He was just a stubborn guy who I don't want to talk about his life. Like, he was so annoying when we were growing up. So, yeah.
Starting point is 00:29:14 So, okay. So, you're back at home at 13. And through all of this stuff, through going to school, through working, through feeling the responsibility to help your mom, you're still playing sports. You're still moving your body. Yeah. So,
Starting point is 00:29:26 so my time, because like, I used to like, I used to walk, I used to walk and I used to go to school. So I had no time. So by then I just like played soccer. And also like every,
Starting point is 00:29:44 like every morning I used to go for uh 5k run before i go before i go to school and why did you do that who instilled that in you where did you learn that i don't like like were all the kids running were all the kids running would you be running no no like, I just grew up loving sports. And I grew up with a lot of energy. So I just wanted to put that energy out. Did people think you were weird? When you're 14 years old and you wake up and you go for a five-kilometer run,
Starting point is 00:30:17 was your mom like, what are you doing, Derek? Yeah. My mom at first, like, she makes a lot of jokes. She's like, I've never seen, I think she said, I've never seen a rich runner just go out walking. So I was talking about making fun, but I just liked it. And so you did that. And when did you, did you know at that point how important that was to you or did you just do it was there a point where you were just like okay i'm going to be doing this my whole
Starting point is 00:30:49 life or did you did you see it as exercise like what was your relationship with it so for me it was just it was like just like like i i love thinking i love think. I'm a deep thinker. So for me, it took all that pain in my heart because I grew up with a mom who was so abusive. You can see all these scars. You see all these scars. She cut me with a razor blade, you know? And she was putting me in a razor blade, you know, and she, she was, like, she, like, she
Starting point is 00:31:26 was, uh, put me in, uh, like, uh, house arrest as a kid, like, I grew up, like, I grew up with a lot, so, and, uh, I couldn't talk to my dad, I couldn't talk to my mom, because she wasn't there, and by that time, we didn't have phones, just go right away, so, like, I took, like, like i used to put all to take all that pain of my chest because like every time i feel like i just push i just push push and pull uh hey um what did you say she made you live in outside the house she used to to rock the rock me in the me in one of the rooms in the house. Oh, she would lock you in there? Yeah, for the whole day. And she just put me down the door.
Starting point is 00:32:15 Like a prisoner? Yeah, like a prisoner. Did she have kids with your dad? Yeah, she has two kids with my dad. And is that what... Why did she, why did she not like you? She was jealous? She was threatened by you? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:32:29 She was like, why now when I grew up, my sister told me she was jealous. Like, I grew up as a smart kid. And also, like, I was my daddy's favorite when I was growing up. And back home, like, also she had a she had a son my brother so like back home by that by that time people used to like everyone was caring who's gonna take who's gonna take over like when that died like who's gonna be daddy's shoes and because my dad was rich so she was so and my dad like liked me as a as a kid because i was doing a lot a lot of things like like i i did a lot as a kid or i think i was just
Starting point is 00:33:13 like i was a sweet smart kid when i was growing up so she didn't she never liked me it's a trip it's it's it's like textbook are you familiar with this phrase? It's so often the mom who brings in a bad boyfriend or the dad who brings in a bad girlfriend who ends up hurting the kids. It's wild. It's like so cliche. Are you familiar with that term? It's like your story is like that's a pretty common story. A couple divorces, they bring in a stepmom and the stepmom abuses the kids. Or the mom brings in another man and the man abuses the kids.
Starting point is 00:33:53 It's so wild to me that parents would let that happen to their kids. Can you tell me the story about the razor blade? How that happened? So I think, oh man, Steve. Like, no one knows this isn't my friend why asking i mean it's it's an amazing story in you that you survived i think when i was um when i was four no when i was yeah when i was four years so i was going to school and i saw quarters on the table like coins back when we called them coins i think we're like like let me say like two quarters now
Starting point is 00:34:34 here all less less than that and i just took that coin quarter i took it at school and i bought breakfast like i bought breakfast during my breakfast so she came at school and I bought breakfast I bought breakfast, drink my breakfast so she came at school she came at school, she's like they call me in office so she's like they took the money I'm like yes I did
Starting point is 00:34:57 I did took the money so she just got me from school and she took me home she punished me like caning and then she just got yeah got me from school and she took me home. She punished me like caning. And then she got Elizabeth. You know, Elizabeth? And she cut me like here on my thighs, on my calf. And yeah, a lot of scars.
Starting point is 00:35:23 Like I have a lot of big scars for that. Could she, did you almost die? No, I didn't die, but I breathed like five, I breathed like for a day, you know. Could she, and what did your dad say? Like my dad never knew anything. I think me and my dad, we talked, a conversation like me and my son,
Starting point is 00:35:54 when I was, I think when I was 22, but he never knew anything was going on. I remember every time my dad was in the hospital, he asked me, how old are you? He never knew anything was going on. I remember every time my wife was in the hospital, she asked me, how old are you? He never knew. Always come back home late and leave early. I want to say if that happened in this country, she would have gone to jail,
Starting point is 00:36:18 but I can't even say that anymore. The shit that happens to kids in the United States now is just crazy. But she wasn't afraid. Was that a typical punishment? No. So even for Uganda, that's some crazy shit. Yeah, that's crazy because
Starting point is 00:36:34 my mom said, I wish you told me. And my sisters, you know, like, that's how I'm so secretive because my sisters, they didn't do anything. They're just home. They didn't send me, they didn't call mom, they didn't do anything They're just home They didn't send me They didn't call mom They didn't do anything So
Starting point is 00:36:46 So It was Dad like I think dad knew when I was 20 something And he's like Oh He's like
Starting point is 00:36:57 I never knew that So From 4 years old to 13 You never wanted to be home When you Once that happens to you You're like Fuck I'll take every I'll work I'll do anything to stay You wanted to be home. Once that happens to you, you're like, fuck, I'll work.
Starting point is 00:37:06 I'll do anything to stay. You wanted to stay out of the house. Yeah, I wanted to stay out of the house. Yeah. Yeah. Wild. Did you ever stay out all night as a kid? Night?
Starting point is 00:37:16 All day? Yeah. Would you ever stay out all night as a 10-year-old boy, not come home at all? Or no? You always came home. Yeah. I always came home. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:37:30 Wow. Wild. come home at all or no you always came home yeah yeah wow wild uh and and then um is she still alive is she still with your dad no i think they they they break up like they divorced when i was still even at home because i think when i was uh 10 i think when I was 10, 11, that's when she broke up because she was so evil. Yeah, my daddy couldn't take it anymore. Oh, you must have been so happy. Yeah, I was the happiest rat in the house. And then tell me about how, as you got older, are you married? No.
Starting point is 00:38:09 Do you have kids? Yeah. I have a son I've never seen in my life. He's in Uganda. He was born when I moved here. Oh, so how old is he now? He's one year and eight months. And how long have you been in the States?
Starting point is 00:38:37 I came last. This time I'm going to make two years in the summer. Okay, yeah. I think I saw that on your Instagram. Oh, yeah. That's my friend. And so that was July of last year was your one year anniversary. So July of this year will be your two-year anniversary. Hey, was it hard coming here?
Starting point is 00:39:13 Like, for me, for me, for me, it wasn't. Like, before, I used to. Like, I think, like, like, like, like, 2019, I was going to work, I was going to work as a, a judge at CrossFit Games, and I couldn't get a visa. And also, 2020,
Starting point is 00:39:36 I was supposed to go and work in an athletic center in a CrossFit game question game Madison and also they couldn't get visa but somehow somewhere this time when I came I came as a diplomatic like I came to do some work for my government in Washington DC so so so it was easy this time because like yes they just call me home and they give me visa and they're gonna go to
Starting point is 00:40:06 USA for some for some three weeks. And are you still working for do you still work for the Ugandan government? No I don't. Oh yeah that sounds like a good that sounds like a good job. Yeah it's like I was like I was training some officers and some military guys going for war kind of things. Yeah, so right now, once I got here, I just said,
Starting point is 00:40:35 I'm going to go back home. I came and I went to visit my friend in North Carolina. All my friends are there. I have fans, people who are military friend North Carolina. Like, all my friends are there. Like, I have, like, fans, people who are military in North Carolina. Like, Americans. In D.C.? No, in North Carolina.
Starting point is 00:40:54 Oh, North Carolina. God, I thought you were – I'm so sorry. I thought you were saying a girl's – I thought that was a girl's name, Carolina. Sorry. I'm like, who's this Carolina he keeps talking about okay sorry sorry my number for North Carolina right you say that I think so yeah okay I got it so so when I came to this my my my best friend for me I stayed for a month and also like training here I'm like if I stay training here I'm gonna make I'm gonna make myself so far in this part because things here are so so automatic like it's so easy for
Starting point is 00:41:30 everyone what do you mean explain that to me what it's so easy for everyone you mean to find a place to train like like like you know like people say Africans are doing bad in Crossfit but when you look when I look at the gyms we have, like the equipments we have here and the coaches we have and the time to train
Starting point is 00:41:55 it's more automatic, it's so automatic and easier than back home you know like back home it was it was so hard for me to train yeah, that's my gym so for me like back home it was hard to train and like you know course with the more you touch more equipments the more you get better so here like like here i just go the gym they have everything
Starting point is 00:42:29 they have everything and also like they have everything and like like like you don't like you don't worry about getting you don't worry about what to eat after training you don't worry about this like all you have is training and you have a lot of people to ask like coaches like it's so easier for me here like so so more easy that for everyone um when i in the time i spent in africa and every time i saw someone play soccer they always they never played with the soccer ball they always had plastic bags with rubber bands around them and that was the ball they used and and you know now here i'm in the united states and i have kids and we have 20 soccer balls just in the bushes and just at my house. You know what I mean? In the yard, just everywhere you go, there's a ball.
Starting point is 00:43:08 So I totally get it. Just there's a limited amount of equipment. Yeah. Like none. Yeah. No. Like once I moved here, all my performance have just boosted. I think it has boosted high, because it's so traumatic for everyone. So born in Kampala, raised by both your mom and dad, a shitty stepmom. You enjoy fitness because it gives you time alone because you like you you want to hear your own breath you want to hear your own thoughts and you and you want to work through things and so i don't want to say it's a would you say it's escapism or no it's more like processing i think small i think it's i'll say i don't know if i would say both you know both okay yeah like when i do it i think it would be both, but it's more processing, you know.
Starting point is 00:44:07 And what about medicating? What about it as a form of, like, medication? Like, that's how I feel like I use it. Like, sometimes I don't want to work out, but I might not be in a good mood, but I know if I sweat, I'll be in a good mood. So it's sort of like medication. For me, I don't know, because, like, it's hard, you know, to work out, you know Because like It's hard You know To work out You know
Starting point is 00:44:25 It's so hard Like Yeah And you probably work out A thousand times harder than I do So I Okay I see what you're saying Like
Starting point is 00:44:32 I think after the After the semi-final Like I got a new I mean after the quarterfinal I got a new problem And my feet told me Like not to squat Like not to work out
Starting point is 00:44:42 So I said like For two days I'm like There's's no, I'm going to, there's no, I'm going to leave this life of working out. I just want to hit a gym, you know, it's so hard. When did, when did your paths cross with CrossFit? When was the first time it like came on your radar? How old were you and what, like the exact moment?
Starting point is 00:45:02 Tell me when you first heard about it. So I was like i was 23 year old so seven years so seven bye well nice talking to you great show thank you uh derrick mwanji mwanji mwanji yeah um so the yeah the exact moment that you that you saw it and you're like what's this shit yeah like uh like uh like um i was working with american militarily back home i was contacted by by by the by the american embassy so like i was uh i was helping american military to like drive them up to drive them in in camp in camp and in Entebbe, where is the airport. So one day I went up to
Starting point is 00:45:50 pick some water from the garage and I saw one of the army guys walking out. He was doing some cleans and jack for reps and that and and jacks, like, for reps and dove-unders. I'm like, what the heck is this he's doing?
Starting point is 00:46:10 Like, for me, it was so interesting. Like, I was so happy seeing someone playing with weights, which I had never seen before. So I just kept quiet because he was, like, it was, I think it was a command. I was taking charge, you know. So I couldn't just go and talk to him like that. So after, like, two days, I saw him again, like, doing buggies and doing buggies and unsung push-ups.
Starting point is 00:46:40 Then one day I was driving with him at the airport and i mean at the at the embassy and i asked him i asked him man can i train with you he just laughed because i was so skinny like he just laughed so like after two weeks there's a guy who was deployed in our camp he was like he was uh he was uh around my age he was 26 he was 26 so yes like yes like yes to like yes told me they told so oh let me go back so there's a there's a there's a i was doing bodybuilding i was doing bodybuilding it was um some like like a e like like e6 for the army
Starting point is 00:47:35 so the guy was leaving and the guy who came like it was like he was a he was a crossfitter i can't say his name on here because it's a he's a he's a he's a he's a a woman so we just like like he just he just switched and a guy told me they said you want to train crossfit i'm like yeah so the first workout was casters and bodies what was the movement what in burpees casters thrusters okayusters, okay, yeah. Thrusters and burpees. And burpees. So, it was me and my friend who's in Uganda and him. So, you know, like, when you want to prove someone, like, you feed. I went so hard on the thrusters and burpees.
Starting point is 00:48:20 And my friend, like, after, like, two minutes, my friend just walked out of the gym for me. I just stayed with him for the whole time. I just stayed with him and we finished the workout together. And then after that, he said, no. After, he went to the office and told the guys, I think Derek is a good guy, you know? And my friend who came and told me, Derek, I think you're qualified to train with this guy.
Starting point is 00:49:00 Wow. Hey, can you hear me? Yeah, I hear you. Hey, so your buddy, after two minutes just just tapped? He's like, I'm out. Yeah, yeah. I'm out. Two minutes just left. Yeah. Okay, after two minutes, just walked out and left the jump.
Starting point is 00:49:16 We are like, what the hell? You know, like, right now, I can tell. Those are the hardest movements to put them together right right yeah right I I remember seeing I saw um uh Jason Kalipa and I think it was Jeremy Thiel do 10 thrusters with 135 10 burpees three rounds and they raced and in the final round they're basically I saw their bodies just kind of turn off like their legs didn't even work anymore it was crazy that's nasty it was crazy and of course
Starting point is 00:49:52 they were doing it all unbroken it was so nasty let me ask you this real quick what was your job with the military did you work in the Ugandan military no so I was contracted by American Embassy to drive American military home. Okay, okay.
Starting point is 00:50:12 Was that a hard job to get? Did they have to do a lot of security clearance and vet you and all that? Yeah, I think I was working for a travel company, so it was easy for the campaign For a travel campaign So it was easy for the campaign To get us in And also They did all the vetting All the questions
Starting point is 00:50:34 I made it to do it I qualified for that And were you excited about that job? Was that like, oh this is going to be fun I'm going to see some cool shit I'm going to meet some new people That job changed all my life. Most of the
Starting point is 00:50:48 people I know here, I met them in there. The crossfit, I made crossfit with American army and also Marines. Yeah. I was excited for that job. It was really, really nice.
Starting point is 00:51:05 It's not stated enough, but just for whatever it's worth, I've said it a thousand times before. And I'm I was going to say I probably am, but I'm the most knowledgeable guy on planet Earth about the growth of CrossFit alive today. So I'll just say it. It's so obvious that CrossFit needs to speak to the base like you learned it from military. The military and first responders are like what water is to human beings. If if you neglect it, if they don't start communicating with the base. It's wonderful for me to hear you say, look, this is a guy just working out next to an airplane hangar, right, at an airport, and you saw him. And that's truly – anyway, there's a great story there that is like the foundation and the sustenance of um um of what crossfit is uh trish wants to know if
Starting point is 00:52:07 you like older women with big natural tits okay uh sorry i probably but just this this crowd is crazy this crowd you don't have to answer that okay who doesn't who doesn't trish everyone likes older women with big huge natural tits that's crazy that's an interesting question yeah that's crazy that that's like duh that's like what's one plus one two yes of course okay so so you you see it and do you know when you do it the first time derek that it's um that it's crossfit or do you just think it's working out like do you hear the word crossfit when when you're working out with him do you know you're doing crossfit or do you just think you're doing military training when you first hear the word crossfit like like these guys we are so stubborn and you know and we are so secretive because of their jobs they
Starting point is 00:52:56 never told me about their never told me about crossfit so so this guy was training with me like like uh he left after one like left after two weeks and went to Syria. For a shopping trip? He went to Syria to go to the mall on a shopping trip? That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about. So he went to Syria and I stayed with this commander who became so close to me. It was like a
Starting point is 00:53:28 dad to me when he was there. So I trained with him for like one more week. That's the time when Donald Trump came into power. So 2016.
Starting point is 00:53:44 Yeah, so when Trump came into power. So 2016. Yeah. So, so Trump came into power. He called all the military to leave Africa to come back home. Like, like, because like we are, we are,
Starting point is 00:53:56 we are a lot of military over the Africa and he called them. And I think, I think they already lived in Djibouti, where is their main base. So, So that guy, like, the guy when he was leaving, he gave me jazzees for his gym. He has a gym which I've been there for 11 years, something, in North Carolina. So he gave me all those j North Carolina so so he gave me like
Starting point is 00:54:25 so so he gave me all those jerseys and he gave me all the supplements and so when when I got those that jersey when he was left I put it down the name in Google to to see what's that what that was and I found out that it was a crossfit gym jersey and I I'm like, what's CrossFit? So I saw all the movements I've been doing on YouTube. So I'm like, oh, these have been, like, so I've been doing CrossFit. I didn't know that. Hey, did you see adaptation, Derek? Did you see adaptation in your body right away? Like within a week, were you like, oh, shit, something's happening?
Starting point is 00:55:02 Did you see change quickly, especially since you were 23? a week where you're like, oh shit, something's happening? Did you see change quickly, especially since you were 23? For me, I was lucky. I did all the movements in one day, like bar muscle-up. You just show me and I just go bar muscle-up. Just everything one day, push-ups,
Starting point is 00:55:16 apart from double-unders. That's what took me two weeks. I saw something I was liking. And also because I was doing bodybuilding like before for one month. So I saw like lifting heavy, like moving well.
Starting point is 00:55:39 I just liked it. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So you learned this easy. This was easy for you. That was easy for me. Yeah. Let's walk out.
Starting point is 00:55:55 Bye. Well, nice seeing you. Great interview. We learned so much. Oh, no, you're back here. Let's go some more. Here we go. Yeah, crazy. Okay. here let's go some more here we go uh yeah crazy okay so so so it was a three-week crash course
Starting point is 00:56:11 and crossed it at the airport and did you do it every day no it was it was a it was a a base like it was a it was a military base and did you do it every day? Were you there for three weeks? My guy who left, we did it like every day from 7 p.m. until 10, or 10, sometimes 11, 11 p.m. at night. And when he left,
Starting point is 00:56:45 I was with this guy from morning 8 to 9 to lunchtime. Like every day. Apart from Sunday and Thursdays. So you were working out twice a day? No.
Starting point is 00:57:00 Like, I did every day. Sunday and Sunday was a resting day. So I was doing five days a week of training. So they leave and you Google it and you have to start learning about CrossFit on your own. Yeah, so they left. So the day that guy was leaving, he called me. He said, bring your phone.
Starting point is 00:57:27 I don't know. Like, I don't know what he did with my phone. And I just received emails from Ben Bagwell. Oh, Ben Bergeron? Yeah. Ben Bergeron. Yeah. So he just told me, bring your phone. And I just had my phone for one minute.
Starting point is 00:57:43 And he just said, you're going to be receiving your workouts in your phone. And I just, just had my phone like for one minute and just, just say, you just said, you're going to be receiving your workouts in your email. So I was listening to my workout every day from, from Ben, like, like I was receiving like every day at 5am, I was getting an email from Ben.
Starting point is 00:57:58 And where would you do the workouts after the military left? So, so, so after the military left, I say like, i say the interview there is a gym was boarded doing something so i was doing some workouts there and then when i went back to kampara from interior airport when i went back to kampara so uh i was working for Twan Travel and also like just dropping in different gyms, like bodybuilding gyms. And I do like some movement without bar muscle up. You know, like gyms have like all the weights, all the lifting, but you can't find anything to do bar bar mass rub no wobbles like no machines no lowers
Starting point is 00:58:46 so i just did what i i could like ben said me that ben sent me the workouts every day and i just modify what i can do yeah like i did that like for i don't know like yeah then i said then i said then there's a friend of mine we are family like we are like my brother again that's put like he told me you can start working from here derek so had a like kettlebell swing so i was doing kettlebell swing also i used to put a trash in that like uh in this background lift the trash lift up like lift whatever i can and run around climbing climbing the walls yeah i think i saw uh let me see if i i think i saw you carrying like a something that looked like a bag let me see if i can find that yeah so so so so yeah so so they are they are so so they are as climbing the, go down, come back, climbing this side.
Starting point is 00:59:48 Yeah, so because by that time I had no equipment. And by that time I couldn't afford any gym. So, yeah, so that bag I used to put trash. I used to put, I think that bag was, I think it was like 200 pounds. Wow. Yeah. So you were just improvising, just like the old days of CrossFit. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:15 So the Air Force guy told me that you can do CrossFit everywhere, with everything, with anything. Just keep moving. And when did you enter the Open for the first time? So my first time doing the Open, I think it was 2018. Yeah. So I worked out at Bamathra. That's 2018. Yeah. So, the first workout
Starting point is 01:00:46 at Bamathra. And, like, I moved the whole Uganda. Like, Kampala, there's no energy which could have Bamathra
Starting point is 01:00:57 by then. And there was no question gym by then. So, I did the first workout under, like, there's a company called Wood Nation
Starting point is 01:01:06 I don't know if you know that company Wood Nation What's it called? Wood Nation Oh, Wood Nation So they said I can do the workout And I sent them The videos that they can
Starting point is 01:01:21 Log me in, but I couldn't Because I didn't have the first workout in my video so but that so then i quite so so all that year going into the next open like uh by that time by that time i was starting working with the government i was starting doing a lot so i managed to build my own gym, like an outdoor gym. My gym was designed to do open workouts. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, exactly.
Starting point is 01:01:59 So I think my first year was doing 20 points, like 0.9. I think my first year was 19 to register for the official Open. Who are these guys? Are you in this picture? No, I took it. Come on, Steve. Who are these guys? You're like, hey, is that your property or that's just like city property?
Starting point is 01:02:28 And you're like, hey, I'm building a gym here. You see that guy in a green shirt? In the green shirt, yep. Yeah, that's my brother. He's the owner of that place. So I paid those guys, like two of them, and some of them were training with me just to come and pull it up. And you had those manufactured, those poles all welded there in Kampala?
Starting point is 01:02:55 That's all like custom made? Yeah. So the guy came and I gave him the measurement in Taiwan for the ring mass wrap, for bar mass wrap, for like for every, so to come and do it with me at that place. And just out of curiosity, on a side note, see that giant house up there in the right-hand corner? Is that someone's house? Yeah, yeah. That thing is huge.
Starting point is 01:03:22 Like in that town where that gym was, people have huge, huge houses. Yeah, that's amazing. So you built a place to do the Open, your CrossFit gym, and you designed your first gym basically so that you could do the Open. Is that what I'm hearing you say? Yeah, exactly. Wow. And did you have other people
Starting point is 01:03:46 who would work out with you there before or were you like i'll just work out here and i know people will come so so you see so you see so you see where there is oh i can't hear you you got me say that again say that again you cut out So someone, I forgot to put my phone. Someone was calling me. So there is a, so these, so, so these last posts I was putting on,
Starting point is 01:04:12 that's, that's when, that's when people start coming to me, start working with me. But as far as, as far as I had one poll from, from myself and had one for the ring mask up. So these,
Starting point is 01:04:23 I was putting up. So that was the community where people started to come to work with me. I'm like, you guys I had no space for you, but let me put more posts so that you guys all can join me. So at first I was working by myself,
Starting point is 01:04:39 but time to come, people started to come and join me every day, every month. I had to get started to come and join me every day like every month like i had to grab people to come and join me is the is this this picture i i already showed this but is this picture the exact same location is this the same spot yeah yeah it is a sport yeah so you see you see that that picture where the well like a 24 that gym. We had a lot of people in that gym working hard by that day. Yeah, that's crazy.
Starting point is 01:05:08 Who are all those people? So the gym really exploded. People saw you working out there. Look at all those people. That's 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. That's 15 people. Yeah, that's like 20 people in that gym. People came.
Starting point is 01:05:24 People started coming. You see this long pole? That was my ring, Masrao pole, and there's another one. One or two poles. But people came, and I'm like, now let me expand the place and get more things for you. And Derek, it looks like there's a lot of women there too, so it was a good mixture.
Starting point is 01:05:45 Yeah, it was a good mixture. Yeah, it was a good mixture. Crazy. Okay, so you do your first open and are you the only person, did you ever meet anyone else in Uganda
Starting point is 01:05:55 besides you and the military guys who did CrossFit? Like, did you ever, did you, are there any affiliates there in Uganda?
Starting point is 01:06:01 So, so now, like, now we have a gym called crossfit class yeah it's in kampala it's in kampala i think i think it opened in 2020 or 21 because i remember one day i i called them when we're gonna open and asked them if I can open their gym. And they said they're going to open maybe in a month. Yeah, but there is a post-fit gym, Kampala.
Starting point is 01:06:32 And also, that gym, now there is a second-fittest guy in Uganda. It was that guy who used to work at my house, at my apartment. He used to work as a gate guy, opening the gate, whatever. And I told him he can come and work with me anytime he wants. I'll buy him lunch, dinner, and breakfast. And the guy now is an incredible athlete. He's so good. Like Ben Bagwell talks with him, I think, every after day.
Starting point is 01:07:16 He's been traveling for competitions in all of Africa. And he's a good kid. So a guy was painting the fence where you lived, and you're like, hey, you should work out with me, and you got him into CrossFit, and now he's addicted like you are. Oh, man, that guy is addicted more than what I am. So the guy was back home, we call them mascaris, like keeping our house, like sleeping outside.
Starting point is 01:07:44 Like a guy was sleeping outside the house, making sure we sleep okay. I just told him I'm the only one who stayed at home during that day. I don't have to come and stay here and work and guard me. Just come and don't have to stay here and work
Starting point is 01:08:05 and guard me so just come and train with me that guy started training and when I was leaving Uganda like I gave I gave him I gave him
Starting point is 01:08:22 I gave him all my equipment Because this guy Is gonna be a dangerous athlete Wait wait When you left Uganda you gave him all your equipment Yeah for free I'm like you can use that gym And you can train whatever people you want
Starting point is 01:08:38 And make a living with it That's crazy So now he runs that gym outside there Yeah he runs that gym outside there? Yeah, he runs that gym outside there. God, you're a good dude. Hey, what year, and so one of the years, what year was the first year
Starting point is 01:08:54 you became the fittest guy in Uganda that you got that certificate? I think I, because the first year I came second, there is a guy who lives in Canada. He's a fit guy. I came back with two points. And then the next year after, I think the next year after COVID.
Starting point is 01:09:16 No, in COVID, that was 2020. And how many times have you won it now? Since then, I've been the fittest man So 2020, so for three years? Four years, even this year I won Oh, I thought you didn't do the Open this year Oh my God, I went to the semifinals, Steve I went to South Africa semifinals
Starting point is 01:09:42 Holy shit. For some reason, I thought I read on here you were injured. Oh, yeah. Oh, my. For me, I don't know how to work. I don't know how to work without injury. I work without injury. I made it to semifinals.
Starting point is 01:10:00 Are you going to go to Africa for the semifinals? I'm going to find out maybe on Friday because of, like, I've been talking to the migration. Those guys are so helpful. Yeah. Like, they made me submit papers, like, on Saturday. So they said once they get the reviving system, they're going to give me travel documents and I go.
Starting point is 01:10:28 Hey, if you can't get back in, don't worry. You can just come up through Mexico. We're leaving the door open. Anyone can just come in. When the door's open, just come through Texas. That's so hopeful. I think I'm out of that state. Would this be your first
Starting point is 01:10:47 trip to the semifinals? Yeah, it will be my first trip. Holy cow. How exciting. Where in Africa is it? Is it in South Africa? Yeah, it's in South Africa. Crazy. I'm so excited.
Starting point is 01:11:04 Do you see do you see the United States as your home now you think you'll stay here your whole life yeah like like
Starting point is 01:11:10 I want to see like I want to see myself moving in a way or going back home so I want to
Starting point is 01:11:19 I want to stay here because like things are here so automatic you know like things are so easy like. Things are so easy. Once everything is so easy. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:11:29 Hey, have you been out of Boston? Yeah. Every time I leave Boston, I go to North Carolina to visit my friends. Oh, cool. Okay. And where in North Carolina do you go? I go to Rory. I have friends in Rory. Also, I have friends in Finham.
Starting point is 01:11:49 Finham, something like that, where there is a bridge for the army. Okay. Have you been to any small towns? Yeah. There is a town called Lakeville. Lakeville, it's a country. Okay. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:12:10 This is going to piss some people off. Boston's got to be like one of the worst places in the United States. First of all, the entire East Coast is fucked up. They're fucked up people. But they don't really know it yet. But that place is... They're going to hate you, man. They're going to hate you fine it's fine they kind of know it they kind of know it too it's where they know it too um but but you probably it's probably good for you there because you stand out because you work
Starting point is 01:12:35 hard and it's just not a it's a um god it's just such a man anyway you go i can't wait to hear what your trip like would be to somewhere like idaho Montana or like Louisiana or, you know, some places like that. Maybe maybe go somewhere into the south. See what you what you think on there. I think you would really like it because then because I think you would have more of the speed of of maybe what you've seen in Africa and some of the more camaraderie. Do you know what I mean? You're a familial man, right? You bond with people quickly. I don't know. The city folk,
Starting point is 01:13:12 I'm just disgusted with them. I'm biased, though. I'm biased. Stay away from Los Angeles, San Francisco. You got to try something fun. Hey, I would love to stay in touch. It's really cool. I'd love to hear how things evolve. It's just crazy. You're
Starting point is 01:13:31 30 years old and you've done so much already. Um, and you have such a, uh, a full life. What a great story. It's you're a hard worker. And, um, it's, it's like the story over and over everyone who works hard and pushes hard and embraces things and jumps in with both feet, man, their life, they get adventure and success in their life. So I'm stoked for you, man. Congratulations.
Starting point is 01:13:54 Thanks, Steve, man. I appreciate that. And you have my number. Stay in touch. And I'll be watching. I think now you're the only guy I know. Oh, no. I know Keelan Henry.
Starting point is 01:14:06 Is Keelan Henry? No, no. Is he Asia or Africa? He's Africa. He's Africa. Okay, so now I know two guys from Africa, you and Keelan Henry, in the semifinal. Usually I just ignore Africa.
Starting point is 01:14:17 I apologize. Don't ignore again. Now I can't ignore it. I know Derek Mwanje. Mwanje. All right, brother. Have a great day. I know Derek Mwanje. Mwanje. All right, brother. Have a great day. I appreciate your time.
Starting point is 01:14:28 And we'll chat again soon. Okay, thank you, man. Have a good one. All right, cheers. I don't even have to leave my house. Oh, Michelle Bassanet. I don't count her for some reason. Does she still compete?
Starting point is 01:14:46 What the fuck is this? All right. That was cool. 30 years old. Holy shit. Seven, I'm going to be hiding in your studio. You can't come to the studio. What are you talking about? I'm going to see you over at greg's house uh the oh the content oh uh yeah uh he was great the concentration lines on my forehead not so
Starting point is 01:15:39 great yeah uh strong accent right so you gotta like i know i was concentrating too i got so so confused a few times I thought Carolina was like some girl all right so kill Taylor this week is not going to be at 10 a.m. on Saturday I think it's gonna be at 9 a.m. on Saturday we've moved it up
Starting point is 01:16:00 an hour 9 a.m. on Saturday Pacific Standard Time I better tell Will that I better tell Will that. I better tell Will that. We are moving Kill Taylor to 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. God, I'm one of those weirdos now that takes off my glasses to look at my phone. Fucking nuts. We're moving Kil Taylor to 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Starting point is 01:16:36 I guess that's it. I'm trying to get Rich Froning on. I wonder if he can do... I want him to come on tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow we have Paige Powers on. Holy shit. Oh, that's going to be good. I can't wait to hear that story. Maybe he can do Wednesday.
Starting point is 01:17:03 I think Wednesday Greg's in LA maybe bifocals no how about no I want to see angry page. That'd be interesting. Uh,
Starting point is 01:17:30 Judy Reed, thanks for the heads up. It's such a blast. That poor guy. We are all calling pregnant. Uh, Oh, so here's,
Starting point is 01:17:38 here's the feedback I got. I got from my, um, I think I told you guys this already, but Oh, maybe not. After the show was over, we did a little powwow.
Starting point is 01:17:45 And like the boys were telling me that I need to just kick people off. Like basically once you go over the, I should actually call Taylor and see if he's fine with that. After it goes over the time limit. So last week, Taylor, what did Taylor have? Like a 312 on that workout? Yeah. As soon as you go over 312, we just kick people off. So those will be the two new things
Starting point is 01:18:07 we're adding this week. There'll be more money. We'll have $1,500. Oh, I wonder if we have a sponsor this week. Jesus Christ. I wonder is... I should call Claire over at Born Primitive. Does...
Starting point is 01:18:24 Shit. Sousa maybe I can just call Sousa you guys want you guys care if I call Sousa for a minute I need to find out who's putting up the money what's Sousa's number I don't know who the sponsor is this week that'd be cool i think born primitive wants to do like three weeks oh shit i'm fuck nine two five seven eight four 7, 8, 4. Can you guys hear that? Was my mic too loud today? Someone was like talking about my audio.
Starting point is 01:19:16 I turned it down. Oh shit, it says my phone's about to die. How can that be? JudyM, Savon, love your stuff. Always such a great perspective of content. Thank you. It's fun. I don't know where Suze is. Man, something's not right with that.
Starting point is 01:19:44 It says the phone is charging but That's how OCD I am. Do you see that? Like the phone's not charging and like it could totally wait till after the show's over. But like, I just can't, I can't, I just can't,
Starting point is 01:20:20 just can't, I just can't wait. Just can't I just can't wait Just can't Oh Here we go Hey Hey Hey
Starting point is 01:20:34 Hey Hey Hey Do we have Yeah Is Born Primitive The sponsor this week For Kill Taylor
Starting point is 01:20:40 What's the, I don't even know what week it is this week. No, I think it might be Corey this week. Oh, uh, the proven business plan. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:20:54 And then his nonprofit. Um, I'm trying to see if I could access the email or, um, and then born primitive had three weeks. You know what? Maybe it is Born Primitive because... I'm going to check the email.
Starting point is 01:21:09 I'm going to check the text with Claire. Are we all on that? I'll check that one. Yeah. Let's see if I can bring it up on my end. It's going to be $1 1500 bucks this week Yeah I know it's getting up there Um 525 6 8
Starting point is 01:21:35 So no it'll be Corey Oh okay alright Can we find Can we find out What he wants down at the bottom so that... Yeah, I already got it. Oh, not Corey Polito. Sorry.
Starting point is 01:21:54 Sorry. Polito, yeah. Polito, sorry. I mean, not really sorry. You're all just a bunch of Mexicans to me. Go ahead. Sorry. I'm sorry to you for interrupting.
Starting point is 01:22:05 But yeah, we got all the stuff. We got his logos. He sent everything over. We got like a little QR code form at the bottom there, the whole nine. Will you say, does Will have that? He will in one second. Okay, awesome. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:22:18 Corey Pulido. Pulido. He's a professor at a college too, right? Yeah. I know he did something that kind of impressed me, even college too, right? Yeah. I know he did something that kind of impressed me, even though it shouldn't. Brandon S., I feel like 2500 is going to be the sweet spot
Starting point is 01:22:33 when the games athletes start calling in. Let me tell you. Let me tell you something. No, they're pussy, dude. It'll go up to five grand, and then all of them will be like, I have semifinals. I can't do a workout in less than five minutes.
Starting point is 01:22:44 They are all watching, and they all want to do it so bad but um but they won't yeah they all want to do it so bad we'll all have an excuse and we'll all know what the excuse really is them protecting their egos. Yeah, everyone wants to do it. The thing is, even if they did do it, by the way, there's no... It's going to be hard to start getting in. I mean, the fact that Brandon Smith got in twice doesn't make any sense to me. But it's going to be coming.
Starting point is 01:23:25 That's not going to matter. It's not even going going to matter it's not even going to be an option for them soon they're just not going to get in basically when people text me it just pops up at the top there will be no home cooking all these people are like can you get my buddy in can get this in when people say it to me just makes me hate me hate you. The whole thing is rigged. The one thing that we isn't rigged is that it's random come people coming in. So the workouts are rigged. We got the best dude in the world doing the workouts. They're his workouts.
Starting point is 01:23:54 They're on our schedule. We're not even showing them to you. But the one thing that's not going to be rigged is, is like, Hey, you got to fucking text in. And if not like, fuck you,
Starting point is 01:24:03 you ain't getting the money. How, how much do you think You ain't getting the money. How, how much do you think Taylor starts getting strategic over the years about his workouts and not step in any traps of like somebody else's just complete wheelhouse of a workout? Well, it's just the fact of whether you mean, I think that I'm not sure if I understood the question,
Starting point is 01:24:21 but event though, I'm what I'm concerned is, is that maybe he gets cocky. Like he starts, what did you tell me? Liking the smell of his own farts. Was that the, like, what if he's like, you know what I mean? Like, fuck, no one could be me. I'll do this. Oh, I think,
Starting point is 01:24:36 I think as soon as that money gets to like that 3000 range, I think, I don't, I think he's, I don't think he gets cocky. I think he tightens up. Oh, good. Good. Yeah. Yeah. But, but I think he gets cocky. I think he tightens up. Oh, good. Good. Yeah. I think he's strategic. And I want to be super clear. I don't care if anyone calls in.
Starting point is 01:24:57 I don't need it to be close. People have all these ideas. Well, maybe it should be. It needs to be close. No, it doesn't. This week, we start hanging up on people. I don't care if anyone calls in. I don't care if it's close. I doesn't we're gonna start this week we start hanging up on people I don't care if anyone calls in I don't care if it's close I don't care if you beat them like stop more like all you fucking idiots
Starting point is 01:25:12 out there worried about how the show operates the show doesn't need any help it's fine it's fine we make fun of when things get slow we make fun of fat people I mean it's fine I don't know I don't think it's fat people. I mean, it's fine. I don't know. I don't think it's going to get slow. I think eventually it's just going to get
Starting point is 01:25:28 so crazy you won't be able to keep up with sending people stuff back. Yeah, I don't want to hear any of anyone's fucking ideas. Like, fuck you. Stay away. Hey, can I do it? Yeah, call it. Could you text in and do it? Yeah. Yeah, anyone could do it. Anyone could do it.
Starting point is 01:25:45 Oh, interesting. Anyone could do it. Anyone could do it. Oh, interesting. Anyone could do it. I thought about that. Yeah, win that fucking money. Get it. Anyone can do it. Caleb could do it. I want JR to do it.
Starting point is 01:25:59 Oh, maybe Taylor should get the money if he... Fuck you. I don't care about your ideas for the show. If you want to give money like Corey Pulido and support the cause, I'll give you my phone number. If not, leave me the fuck alone. Only, like, I don't need any of your stupid ideas.
Starting point is 01:26:21 What were you going to say? I was just going to say, you know how it goes. Everybody's got ideas about it everybody's got opinions about how it should be done but you guys did have a good idea that all that being said of course i'm a walking contradiction all you guys at the same time including my wife are like dude you got to just kick people off and i think that's right i think you guys are right i i 100 agree with that we actually talked about that a little bit last time, too, and I think it's time to do that now.
Starting point is 01:26:47 The second they're off the pace, they're not going to happen. It's like, yeah. I don't remember if it was Tyler Watkins or Taylor or who or John, but someone said, or maybe it was you, all the pleasantries do it before, like where are you from, how old are you, How big is your dong? And then when they shit the bed, just hang up on them. Yeah, and you could even have them put that in the text.
Starting point is 01:27:13 Listen, listen. Oh, have them put what in the text? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No more shit in the text. Good idea. But, like, I don't want to see anything in the text. Well, I mean mean you know what i mean like um what did they send you they just send you like i'm in yeah someone's like well
Starting point is 01:27:31 someone said like one person wrote i'm black like like that i would have definitely like you could probably do some things to sway me but usually i just i see it right at the top i just picked been picking the top one. Oh, okay. Okay. You know what I mean? I just meant like their affiliate. So I would like just text you like I'm in Matt Sousa CrossFit Livermore.
Starting point is 01:27:54 And then you shoot the thing. And then that way, when you bring it up, you're like, all right, guys, we got Matt Sousa here from CrossFit Livermore. Hey, Matt, how's it going? And then you could move it even quicker. Yeah. I like the mystery of it all. Just fucking text me and say, I have a huge dong and let's go. Or like a nude, if you're a chick, a nude.
Starting point is 01:28:09 Yeah. Who am I kidding? If you're a dude, a nude. At least we could see him down at the bottom of the screen as a little box so we could vet it. Yeah. So nothing too crazy. I just love the chaos of it all. Yeah, me too.
Starting point is 01:28:24 Just the chaos is just wonderful. Yeah, me too. Just the chaos is just wonderful. Stop picking non-affiliates. Who is Sebon kidding? He's easily swayable. Yeah, true. Alright. Alright, cool. Alright, thank you. Bye.
Starting point is 01:28:43 Okay, bye. Matt Souzaa Executive producer of the show keeps the lights on Um, I want to see the tom brady roast I can't believe how long that tom brady roast went that would be so uncomfortable We should do a roast series on this show More great ideas uh the burpee dude people have been getting offended for using the term chick yeah i've been hearing that one for like you mean on this show i've been hearing that for like 20 years like how vagina should be referred to as women or girls or what's crazy too is i'll i have these friends who like think
Starting point is 01:29:25 that like they're all fucking hardcore like like free like me and then all of a sudden they'll be like um can you use the term women and i'm like god i knew i always sniffed libtard on you i always yep i smelt it. There's always something. That's the thing for women, too. Like, oh, I'm going to play you this thing. I saw this thing the other day.
Starting point is 01:29:56 There's this group of women out there that everything is a man-woman issue. And they are the fucking worst. Everything is a man-woman issue. I don't know if everything is a man-woman issue I don't know if you've met those Boston's full of them the Bay Area is full of them like you can't say anything without it becoming a man-woman issue it's fucking crazy it's worse
Starting point is 01:30:15 than the racism thing it's absolutely nuts I worked with a lady like that one time I was like holy fuck this is crazy this is absolutely crazy let me see if i can find the um the clip oh did you see the guy uh the pizzagate guy who said pizzagate was a conspiracy theory just got arrested for fucking um sex trafficking the guy who worked for obama and uh hillary clinton We'll do that story soon.
Starting point is 01:30:46 That story is fucking nuts. Let me see if I can find. I don't see the woman. Where is the male woman thing? Oh, is this the P pizzagate thing the pizzagate thing is just crazy oh and your quiz how about chris cuomo getting uh do you guys see that the cnn guy who was pushing vaccines on us and shaming us for not taking the vaccine has now come out with a vaccine injury? Oh my god.
Starting point is 01:31:29 The guy, the Don Lemon partners dude. The brother of the governor of New York got a fucking vaccine injury he came out with. The guy who was like basically, you remember that guy? Oh, there's so much to fucking share. I wish I could do it all right now.
Starting point is 01:31:49 God damn. So crazy. So crazy. I don't see it. What's this one? Best titties. Maybe that one's what the show should end on. Oh, yeah, this is an oldie but goodie.
Starting point is 01:32:12 I'll save that for later. Alright, I don't see it. I don't even remember what I was talking about. Oh, wait, maybe this. Damn damn i don't see it all right uh oh okay here this actually this one might be appropriate this one might be, let's just, let's just go here for a second. This one's always fun. Coming in hot guys, coming in hot. Here we go. Ready? Never in a million years teach my girls that they have to grow up to be reliant on a man, as you can well imagine. I would never teach my son that he should be attracted. But Tracy, you're the same one. You're the same one who bragged that she's so strong and
Starting point is 01:33:06 so tough and doesn't need a man's money yet you're taking alimony. I have three children. Okay, Mark. But you don't need a man's money. But that's it. I would never in a million years teach my girls that they have to grow up to be reliant.
Starting point is 01:33:21 She would never teach her girls that she should be reliant on a man. Why not? It's on a man, as you can well imagine. Do you know all of us men are reliant on women? All of us men are reliant on women. All of us are reliant. All men are reliant on women. Why can't women be reliant on men? I would never teach my son. But Tracy, you're the same one. You're the same one who bragged that she's so strong and so tough and doesn't need a man's money, yet you're taking alimony. I have three children. Okay, Mark. You know what?
Starting point is 01:33:55 He whines. Did you hear that voice? I have three children. That's whining. That's pivoting to whining To emotional appeal It demands money I would never in a million years
Starting point is 01:34:13 Teach my girls Listen We don't get kids without women We don't get so much without women We're so reliant on women Alright I don't know what's going on today Monday it so much without women. We're so reliant on women. Alright. I don't know what's going on today. Monday? It's cool to have Derek on.
Starting point is 01:34:34 There was a great moment in there for me to fucking go off. I don't know why. I'm so down on CrossFit today. I just think they're just fucking... Sometimes I just... It's just weird
Starting point is 01:34:49 the journey we're on with it. The whole thing should be just focused on the base. The base and the methodology. By the methodology, I on the base the base and the methodology by the methodology methodology i mean the the the keeping the mantle for being the the greatest uh lifestyle methodology plan for your health and strength and happiness and cure loneliness and community and whatever they want to pile in there but then also just just cater to the base where the base people
Starting point is 01:35:25 whose fucking jobs rely on them being fit to survive i just see none of that all right uh but it's kind of fun for me because i guess it's offered the doors wide open for a takeover so uh remember today uh we are 12 months away i think uh april may june we are 12 months away uh may may 6th 2025 someone write that down we're a year away i think that the takeover will be complete it feels like the tipping point is uh near i want to thank um patrick clark again by the way i told you guys this yesterday but i wanted to tell you again he sent me three tyson bay agent cards how cool is that three of them that was totally unexpected i'm surprised you guys don't send me more shit i'm surprised like my my uh mailboxes every time i get something which is like once every three months
Starting point is 01:36:25 i'm just like how are people not sending me shit all the time make your week make make your monthly trip to the mailbox and send me something preferably not a used condom i sent you a t-shirt you never wore it dude that thing is awesome for cleaning the floors at my house thank you how the fuck would I know if you sent me a t-shirt t-shirt is the last thing I need I'm so ungrateful
Starting point is 01:36:57 I sent you a skateboard oh yeah I sent you a skateboard. Oh yeah. Uh. You sent me a skateboard. But what I really want is just a shitload of different Floyd 19 shirts. That's what I really want.
Starting point is 01:37:18 I just want a lot of different Floyd 19 shirts. Like different styles. You know what I'd really like. Is a of george floyd a silhouette of george floyd um uh with a gun on a pregnant woman's stomach and it's a i'm not a hero how's that that would be dope oh yeah yeah wad zombie sent me a bidet hey that that didn't even make it out of the box. I'm so closed-minded. I'm so closed-minded.
Starting point is 01:37:53 Oh, yeah, I like that. Marissa. Is that H silent? Hinojosa. Marissa Hinojosa. That would be a good bit. What's in the mailbox today? Oh yeah, I just opened shit for the first time. Oh, that
Starting point is 01:38:09 would be awesome. You did send me a Floyd 19 shirt. That's correct. You did. I want more. Mas. Mas grande. Yeah, isn't that crazy? The stuff on the book about the Floyd lie is awesome. I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to get that movie and that book out to more people. I've been trying.
Starting point is 01:38:32 I'm trying to figure out. I'm trying to figure out how I can get it so like every cop in the country sees it. So. Look at my begging is going a long way. Judy's already like I'm sending something to your boys. Fuck my boys. Send me something. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The burpee dude, I sent you a masterpiece last year. Yeah. Where is that? You want to see that? I see it over there I'm sitting on the camera bench all right I should go play with my friends my friends are in town Greg's here alright I'll see you guys later
Starting point is 01:39:28 bye bye

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