March 18, 2026 • 64 mins
I’m sitting down with a longtime friend, Tim McCormick, someone who has been part of our life for years, sharing his journey of healing and transformation.
From 320 lbs to 160.
From addiction and relapse… to sobriety he now protects at all costs.
From surviving… to living.
This is about waking up, asking for help, and doing the hard work to change your life, one decision at a time.
Inside our conversation...
• The moment everything had to change
• What it really looks like to walk through addiction and come out the other side
• The small shifts that created massive change
• What it means to live differently, for real
If you need hope, this conversation is for you.
Make sure to cast your vote for Tim! Here's the link.
https://mrhealthandfit.com/2026/tim-mccormick
If this conversation helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more people searching healing and recovery can find it.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_06 (01:18):
I'm excited to have you tourney with the different
ways of service today.
So just go back, man.
Like take us back to the momentyou knew something in your life
needed to change.
SPEAKER_02 (01:38):
Wow.
That's uh that's a long timeago.
And honestly, it startedprobably around 2001.
I had indicated to Quentin thatI was sick and tired of being
sick and tired.
(02:00):
I was sick of running the ratrace.
And I just nothing seemed toever go good, but yet I was in a
place where I was drinking a lotand doing the wrong things all
the time.
And you know, it's the truedefinition of insanity where
(02:25):
keep doing the same thing overand over and expecting a
different result.
But the good thing was you andyour husband decided to send me
to landmark forum.
unknown (02:39):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_06 (02:40):
And so remember, I forgot about Jim.
Holy moly!
SPEAKER_02 (02:48):
So it dates way back, right?
And by doing the course, I gotreally fired up and tried to
continue what I had learned, andI made many breakthroughs, but
none of them, I guess, werestrong enough to put the alcohol
(03:13):
aside and uh just get focused.
And so the stuff that I learned,as with everything kind of in
life, got put to the side again,and then I just continued the
drinking and the doubtfulnessthat goes along with it, and it
(03:38):
uh you know, like I moved backto Memphis around 2004, and
change of environment, but notchange of behavior, continued to
escalate.
Um good thing is I found Julie,my wife, and she was able to
(04:03):
share in my struggles and giveme hope.
And but truly, it wasn't untiluh I started to have my my hip
problems, and I ended up havingavascular necrosis, which is a
(04:25):
bone disease, and it basicallythere's no cartilage between
your hip joints, so it's bone onbone, and when there's bone on
bone, there's no blood flowbetween there to nourish your
bones and keep them healthy.
So necrosis is death, and itbasically killed the bone in my
(04:49):
socket and joint, and anyway, Ihad to have both my hips
replaced probably about a yearapart.
But I was real heavy.
SPEAKER_06 (05:00):
I was and what age were you at that time?
SPEAKER_02 (05:03):
Yeah, I was I was 40 when I had my hips replaced, and
now I'm just about to be 55.
SPEAKER_06 (05:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:10):
So the doctor, the doctor told me, you know, wait
as long as you can to have haveyour you know have this done.
You're so young, and you know,the the guarantee of the hips
lasting longer than 15 to 20years, you know, it just wasn't
there.
So, of course, I'm gonna have tohave them done again in my
lifetime, but regardless ofthat, um, we had the first hip
(05:34):
done, but I waited and waitedand waited, and man, I was in so
much pain.
Um I was on Percocets for pain.
Um and I was on them for monthsand months before even surgery
because of the pain.
But by the time we got intosurgery, I couldn't get
(05:57):
comfortable no matter what Idid, uh, even with the pain
management stuff.
So we went ahead and hadsurgery, and when we when we
woke up, the doc looked at meand he said, you know, what on
earth?
Why did you wait so long to havethis done?
And I I told him, I said, You'rethe one that told me to wait as
(06:19):
long as I could.
I said, Maybe you need to bemore specific when you tell
people to do something.
Anyway, he said that the he saidthe whole top of my femur, the
ball on my femur was gone, andthat it I just had like a stick
and a cup for all intents andpurposes.
And uh anyway, I knew then Iwaited too long, but I did what
(06:42):
I was told.
Anyway, uh it was about a yearlater I put on more weight, you
know.
I was still immobile.
I had I had the disease in bothhips, and one was more severe
than the other at the time.
And so I I waited about anotheryear and had my my right hip
done.
And um when we went into thatsurgery, it was I was so heavy,
(07:09):
I was 319 or 20 pounds, uh, thatwhen everything was a go, but
when we got in there, the theanesthesiologist went to put me
out, and I was kind of twilightsleeping, and it was like all of
a sudden I couldn't breathe, andI'm wondering in my own mind
(07:30):
while I'm kind of twilightsleeping, what on earth is going
on?
And anyway, all of a sudden Iwas able to breathe again.
I thought, man, this is reallyweird, something's going on, and
then I remembered, you know, I'mI'm I'm in surgery, and all of a
sudden I couldn't breathe again.
(07:50):
I'm thinking, you know, I'mtrying to breathe through my
noses and my my lungs justthey're not working, like
something's gagging me.
And um I guess it was probably15, 20, 30 seconds went by, and
all of a sudden I can breatheagain.
I'm like, man, this is theweirdest thing ever.
So I just said a prayer.
And it was no sooner thethoughts came out of my head I
(08:19):
was waking up from surgery.
SPEAKER_04 (08:29):
It's good, it's okay.
SPEAKER_06 (08:42):
Man.
SPEAKER_03 (08:54):
So I was waking up and uh I just thought, thank
God.
SPEAKER_02 (09:06):
Anyway, when I was in recovery, everything had gone
good because I got the hipreplaced and I was out of pain.
SPEAKER_06 (09:22):
And what did the doctor say?
Are you gonna go there where thedoctor said about that moment
when you said the prayer?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:31):
Yeah.
Yeah, when I woke up I was forthe first time in like probably
three years.
SPEAKER_03 (09:41):
I didn't have that broken bone feeling.
SPEAKER_06 (09:50):
So I get back to the lot of pain for a while, my
friend.
SPEAKER_02 (10:02):
But so I'm I'm back in the room and the surgeon
comes in and he says, you know,everything went okay and all
that sort of stuff.
And I said, Man, I said, youguys had problems.
And he looked at me and withkind of a smirk, he said, yeah,
(10:24):
he said, the anesthesiologistsaid you might might remember
something.
He said, uh, man, I gotta tellyou, he said, we had one heck of
a time putting that tube downyour throat so you could breathe
during surgery, the intubationtube.
He said, You have so much fat onthe back of your neck that we
(10:48):
couldn't get your neck back farenough.
SPEAKER_04 (11:04):
Anyway, he said, uh, if you don't lose weight, I
can't work on you anymore.
And I just thought to myself,wow.
SPEAKER_02 (11:21):
They almost weren't able to do surgery because of
how so anyway, I was dealt withthat, but I was so thankful that
(11:47):
all of it was over finally, andso I had to digest everything he
said and uh try to put some typeof course of action together,
and uh it all basically I had togo through recuperation and all
(12:10):
that from the hip surgery inorder just to get my mind around
the whole thought of trying toget on a healthy situation, you
know.
SPEAKER_03 (12:21):
Yeah, so I've um since then I have gained lump
weight.
SPEAKER_06 (12:29):
Go back for just a second because when you told me
that story, like your the doctortold you that your head finally
went back, like right at wethink it was like right about
the time you prayed, right?
SPEAKER_04 (12:41):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (12:42):
Yeah, like just fell back and he was able to get the
tube in.
So I just wanted to tie thatback.
SPEAKER_02 (12:48):
Yeah, no, I'm glad you did.
You know, I I was getting allemotional, but basically, you
know, he said we had problemsputting the tube in your throat.
And I said, Man, I knewsomething was going on, but I
couldn't figure out why Icouldn't breathe and what all
was going on.
But I said, I did remember I wasin surgery, and I I just told
(13:10):
the Lord, you know, Lord, letwhatever happened happen.
That you know, your will is yourwill.
SPEAKER_03 (13:17):
And he said that, and it must have been that exact
moment that all of a sudden yourbody went limp, your head went
back.
Wow, and we were able to do it.
SPEAKER_06 (13:31):
So good.
So you're recovering fromsurgery.
I'm sure you're on lots ofmedications, so take us from
there.
SPEAKER_02 (13:39):
Oh yeah, yeah.
So I was I was um I was gettingback on my feet and everything,
and so you're only supposed tobe on the pain medicine for so
long after you have surgery.
But anyway, when I went back tomy regular doctor, they just
(14:00):
continued filling the painmedicines, and so without
thinking, you know, I'm thinkingthey know what they're doing and
that I need this medicine longeror whatever.
Anyway, uh I kept taking them.
And after three years of eatingpercocets, like they were candy
(14:24):
because of the pain, I'm nolonger in the pain, but I'm
still getting these medicinesand I'm still eating them.
And anyway, I was I was hookedbeyond belief on those things to
the point that I was you knowusing well beyond what they were
giving me, which was about 120every 30 days.
(14:45):
I'm spending money to get moreoff the street and everything
else.
I mean, it's just goingdownhill.
I'm still drinking, I've stillgot all this stuff going on, you
know, bad decisions.
Um, but anyway, it was 2019,2018, 2019.
(15:10):
Uh I was really escalated in mydrinking and and all the pill
taking and everything else.
And uh I I finally just I wasstarting to drink on the job and
stuff like that, and I just knewthat I was it was escalated out
(15:33):
of my control.
And it it was February 14th,2019.
I asked for help, and I wentinto a rehab locally, and I
spent 30 days in there, and andI was I felt good, I felt
(15:55):
strong, I felt clear.
Um but just getting out of thereand and getting back into my
normal groove, it was almostlike same old, same old, I
guess.
It was ever it was the time ofday, it was um five o'clock, you
(16:16):
know, whatever the hour was thatI normally would would consume,
I had to battle those feelingsevery single day.
And unfortunately, 30 days, inmy opinion, is not long enough
to get recovered.
And so it wasn't a week later Iwas drinking again and trying to
(16:37):
hide it like like nobody knew,you know, they knew, but anyway,
that's just how naive and howaddiction to manipulate your
mind to where you think you'refooling everybody and justify
(16:59):
it.
It's just yeah, it's just soobvious to everybody that it's
it's going on.
You your your your behaviors,your mannerisms, they all
change, you know.
You go right back into it, andyou know, I I I I tried to fool
myself again uh for five weeksor whatever, I think it was, uh,
(17:24):
February to March 14 to 15, andthen I went back in I went back
in in April and then gotreleased right before my
birthday 2019, and I held onlonger after that 30 days, but
(17:44):
you know, it's it's just thewickedness of that stuff, and
it's on every corner, you know.
You don't have to go find adealer, it's legal, it you know,
it is it is, I don't know, it'sthe most evil thing I think I've
ever encountered.
SPEAKER_01 (18:02):
Wow.
SPEAKER_06 (18:04):
So it sounds like the journey like is back and
forth and kind of up and down.
What was the next big sort ofpivot moment or shifting moment
or catalyst that sent you on anew trajectory?
SPEAKER_02 (18:19):
Well, I got out in May for my birthday, and then we
continued on doing the same joband the same everything, you
know.
Uh I didn't last.
I I lasted maybe four monthsthis time.
And uh by November 24th, I wasdrinking and driving.
(18:46):
I was drinking and driving atwork, that was my job.
I was making all the wrongdecisions.
I I literally I knew that if Ididn't stop, that I was gonna
kill somebody or myself.
And thank God I asked one moretime to put all the shenanigans
(19:13):
aside, all the line, all theeverything, all the manipulation
that goes along with it, and Iasked for help one more time,
and we did it a different way.
We kind of did like a outpatientalmost type thing where I was in
a a specific home with otheralcoholics, and then we'd do
schooling during the day orwhatever, and I I don't know
(19:36):
what was different about it, butI just don't think the first two
times I was ready.
And after that last time, uh Iknew I knew I was done with it.
SPEAKER_03 (19:49):
I don't know how, but I I took it so serious.
SPEAKER_04 (19:59):
We've watched you, yeah.
Now I defend my death.
I defend my sobriety.
SPEAKER_06 (20:19):
Say that again?
SPEAKER_00 (20:23):
You defend Yeah, I defend my sobriety, no.
SPEAKER_06 (20:27):
What does that mean?
SPEAKER_03 (20:33):
At all costs.
SPEAKER_06 (20:37):
Like you are protecting it is kind of what
you're saying.
Like it's become like a sacredthing, important thing that you
are like actively protecting inyour life.
Is that what you mean?
SPEAKER_03 (20:51):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_06 (20:53):
Yeah, wow.
Wow, what an incredible gift,Tim.
So we talk a lot of oh yeah, goahead.
SPEAKER_03 (21:10):
I was gonna say the other thing is you know, it was
getting off of that juice thatallowed me to wake up enough
that I knew that that stuff itcan be for some people, but it
(21:32):
didn't for me.
SPEAKER_02 (21:34):
And so now I look back on it, and the longer I
went without it, the more clearI became.
And then, you know, I was onSubox and I was on all kinds of
uh anxiety medicines, threedifferent anxiety medicines, and
depression medicine, and highblood pressure medicine, uh
(21:59):
triglycerid.
Medicine, I was on threetranquilizers to go to sleep and
stay asleep.
And then I was on a CPAPmachine, two different inhalers
that I had to take daily, andjust all kinds of stuff, right?
So as I was waking up from thealcoholism, I started thinking,
(22:20):
man, if that stuff had me thatcloudy, what about the rest of
this stuff?
SPEAKER_05 (22:27):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (22:28):
So I started thinking, well, man, I gotta get
off of this suboxin that theyhad me on for the opiate
addiction.
And literally, it was it washarder to get off the medicine
they put you on to get off theopiates than it was to get off
the dadgum opiates.
And that confused me.
And so I'm out of rehab and I'mhaving to go to a a um I believe
(22:54):
it was an addiction medicinedoctor, I guess is what you
would say.
But he he never offered reallyto get me off of the Suboxan.
And I just thought that thatthat was some kind of gimmick.
Like it was his gimmick to getme coming back every month.
And so with me wanting toimprove myself, I thought I've
(23:17):
got to get off this sivoxin.
And so I I was on two wholestrips, and then I started doing
one strip and three quarters ofa strip a day.
Then I went to a strip and ahalf and then a strip and a
quarter, and then down to onestrip.
I just kept marking it off.
And so by the time I I even hadto put off going to see him
(23:39):
because I had extra medicines,you know, I still had a
prescription of that, so Ididn't really need him, and but
he's questioning me.
So I go in and I'm like, hey,I've done really good, man.
I've gotten off of most of theSubox and stuff that you've had
me on, and he almost chewed meout.
(24:00):
And I thought, what is this?
So he he said, Well, what do youmean you're you're you're
getting off of it?
You you you need my help to dothat?
And I thought, if you're anaddiction doctor and somebody's
putting down their addiction,why is he not cheering me and
saying, hey man, that'sfantastic.
(24:22):
You know, why isn't that acelebration?
Yeah, like he should be jumpingup and down, going, dude, you
go, you know, like you go, boy.
But it was almost like he wasmad at me for not including him
on my journey.
And I thought, you know what?
You're no better than the drugdealer on the corner, is kind of
(24:43):
what I started thinking.
I'm like, why are you upset withme that I'm stopping taking the
drugs you're giving me?
And so I was like, look here,man.
I said, you know, I don'tappreciate you kind of condoning
me or you know getting on mybutt about it.
I said, you ought to be cheeringme on and and and being
(25:04):
celebratory.
I said, I got a bad vibe aboutthis.
I said, you know what, you justgo ahead and give me what you
need to give me.
I said, I'm taking a quarter ofa strip a day now instead of two
whole strips.
I said, you give me enough toget off this stuff and and we'll
we'll be done.
And so he he wrote me theprescription, and he did, you
(25:26):
know, like 16 strips, andnormally there were 60 uh per
per prescription or what haveyou.
But anyway, I I got down, I gotoff of it, and so finally I'm
like, thank God I'm done withthat stuff, and I started really
to feel better.
I mean, like, you couldn't evenimagine how much better I
(25:47):
started feeling.
I felt more awake, more alert, Ifelt more active.
Um, and then I I'm thinking, allright, well, if this is getting
better, what about these anxietymedicines they got me on?
So I quit all three of themimmediately.
Just cold turkey.
(26:08):
I was like, we're done with thisstuff, man.
I got off of the anxietymedicine.
Yeah, keep going.
I I I I look, I I I woke up evenmore, you know, and I'm
thinking, I'm thinking, hey,there's something too.
Yeah, after getting off of thethree anxiety medicines, man, I,
you know, when your familyphysician, when you when you
(26:32):
first go to your familyphysician and you tell him all,
like, I guess my wife was goingto a family physician, and I
said, I need to start going tohim.
And so after I got a rehab andstuff, I went to him with all
these prescriptions.
He's like, Man, I I you're gonnahave to see your specialist.
There's no way I can touch allthese things.
He started asking me, Do youfall asleep at red lights?
(26:55):
Do you fall asleep during work?
You just fall asleep forknowing, you know, like he was
worried because I was on so manydepressants, so many downers
that he didn't, he couldn'tbelieve I was awake, you know,
like and that really that reallydawned on me that I've really
got to get off this stuff.
So it escalated me getting offof it.
But the the big thing, I got offthat depression medicine, and
(27:20):
I'm gonna tell you what, I'venever been happier in my whole
daggone life.
I don't know what's in thatstuff, it'll make you feel
better, like you know, you'renot as depressed for a little
while, and then they put you ona stronger dose when it's not
working, and then it's one afterthe other, but I got off my
depression medicine, and and Iam the happiest I've ever been,
(27:42):
I think, since I was a kid.
SPEAKER_07 (27:45):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (27:46):
And I'm not saying I'm not saying that my journey
is for everybody, I'm justsaying that everybody has their
own.
SPEAKER_06 (27:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (27:53):
Yeah, this is what I've done, and and it has
worked.
I can't even begin to tell you,Carly, you see it.
SPEAKER_06 (28:01):
I I've seen it.
I've witnessed your spiritcoming back, uh, your aliveness,
your disaster life, likeeverything all over.
So so you got off the alcohol,you're getting off all the
prescriptions, and then is thatwhen it started rippling to your
body, like your weight?
SPEAKER_02 (28:21):
Yeah, well, as I'm getting off all that stuff, I'm
I still have that goal.
I still have him in the back ofmy head saying, You gotta lose
weight, or I ain't gonna work onyou, you know.
SPEAKER_06 (28:35):
Right.
But it was it was like um it wasdown the priority list at that
time.
SPEAKER_02 (28:43):
Yeah, well, I was I was feeling more energetic, I
had more energy.
I started, you know, I startedthat new job in September 21 at
Smith and Nephew, where youknow, I I'm making replacement
joints for human bodies, forGod's sakes.
I've had you know my hipsreplaced.
So it's like, how can God putyou in such ironic situations?
(29:07):
I've had hips replaced, and nowI work for a company that makes
them, you know.
I mean, like, yeah, I I feel Ifeel like I'm I'm doing
something good.
I know that what I'm doingbenefits people and their health
so much.
It made all the difference in inme coming out of pain and
starting to live life again tothe fullest, you know, not being
(29:32):
on crutches after three years,you know.
I mean, like it all just startedto work, right?
SPEAKER_06 (29:38):
Uh your life is literally waking up.
SPEAKER_02 (29:41):
I mean, it just yeah, and yeah, and along the
journey, I'm thinking we'vegotta we've I I'm being more
mindful about everything I dothe more I wake up and get off
these medicines.
So I'm thinking, well, how can Iget the weight off?
And I'm thinking to myself, fortwo months, I sat I was coming
(30:03):
home from work and I wasthinking, I need to go to the
gym.
I just need to go to the gym.
And then I'm thinking, well,before I go to the gym, I need
to do sit-ups and push-ups hereon the floor in the house for 30
days, and then I know that I'mgood to go get a membership.
I couldn't even get off thecouch to do sit-ups or push-ups
(30:23):
to save my life for over twomonths.
I kept telling myself, I gottado this, and then it just
nothing ever became right.
So I said, you know what, thatain't working.
So we're just gonna escalatethings.
And I went down to the gym and Igot a membership, and I thought,
by God, we're gonna put it intomotion whether I want to or not.
(30:44):
Because the whole push-ups onthe floor at home ain't working,
right?
So, anyway, I ended up getting agym membership, and it was about
two days, I think, went by afterI got it.
I finally went in, and I wasn'twanting to, you know, set
records or anything like that,but I thought if I just get on
(31:07):
the floor as big as I am, and Iput in the effort, something's
bound to happen.
And so I got down and I was ableto do a whole whopping eight
sit-ups starting out, and so Ithought, you know what, that's
all I got now.
That's all I have at the moment.
(31:28):
So I did that.
I started doing a little benchpress and stuff, very
lightweight, just to wake mymuscles up and stuff, and let
them know, hey, we're gonnawe're gonna start activating you
guys.
And so I didn't really get sore,and that was what I was looking
for.
I didn't want to get sore and belike, man, it hurts so bad, I
don't want to do it again.
So I just kind of did that fortwo weeks.
(31:51):
I did really, reallylightweight, like the lightest
on the machines.
I just I I wanted them to wakeup.
Anyway, so I started doing that,and as I'm going, I work third
shift at Smith and Nephew, andanyway, so I've I've gotten out
of my element about when to eatand when the proper times are
(32:16):
and stuff like that.
So I'm I'm kind of in no man'sland as far as my timing is
concerned.
I'm still used to days, but I'mworking nights, and I'll I'll
work four hours and then I'lleat a sandwich.
I would have like a turkeysandwich or something uh for
lunch, and then I would go backto work, and when I got home, I
(32:37):
was I was eating a meal, andthen I was going to bed
basically.
So I started thinking, well, I'mnot even hungry when I get home
in the morning, but yet I'meating, and that doesn't make
sense.
So why not eliminate thesandwich at lunchtime and then
just eat when we you know whenwe get home?
(32:59):
Well, we'll start doing one meala day, I guess, basically, is
what it ended up being.
And so I I started doing that,and I started losing weight,
like I mean, I couldn't even, itwas crazy.
I was losing seven pounds in aweek.
Then some weeks I would lose 10pounds.
(33:20):
But after about every 20 to 25pounds, my body would say, We're
starving, we're gonna hold on toanything that you eat as long as
we can.
And so I would plateau and Iwould not lose any weight for
about a week, and I'd startthinking, All right, we gotta
(33:41):
confuse the body.
Um, so I would start eatingintervals different than the
once a day, and I would do thatfor about 10 to 12 days and and
make my body think, okay,really, we're not we're not
starving, everything's cool,we're back on track again.
And after about 10 or 12 days, Iwould shut it down again and I
(34:01):
would go to one meal a day.
And at that point, when I whenwhen the plateau would go away,
I'd lose 20 pounds in a spurt ofabout 10 to 10 days to two
weeks, and then it would startto do that whole plateau again,
and I would have to confuse mybody, make sure that it thinks
that we're doing okay, and thenI would shut it off again.
(34:24):
Anyway, I lost 70 pounds in oneyear.
Then I started implementing theworkout schedule that started to
get the gym membership and allthat stuff, and I started
lifting weights, and I lostanother 40 pounds, probably in
(34:44):
about three months, just bylifting weight.
Um, my breathing started gettingbetter, the inhalers and all
that stuff went away.
I was on a CPAP machine, I nolonger use it.
I took it back.
Uh I'm off of all my bloodpressure medicines, my uh
torvostatin for hightriglycerides and all the
(35:08):
anxiety medicine, the suboxin,the depression medicine.
I don't take any of that stuffanymore.
I I take one antidepress or uhone anti-inflammatory every
other day, and I I I rarely eata Tylenol or an Advil or
anything like that.
It it doesn't sit well with meanymore.
(35:29):
But I I I still work out.
I mean, and to say that I wasn'toverdoing it is an
understatement.
I was I I got so into going tothe gym after seeing results
that it hooked me.
You know, I I I like it.
I I feel like if I have to takea day off, it's like, well, I
(35:52):
know it my body needs the rest,so I'm not as hard on myself
about missing a day as I used tobe, but um, it was all about
finding my own groove with whatI was doing and how to do it.
Um I I do things differentlythan most people in the gym.
(36:14):
I I do slow uh repetitions, I Ido a lot of negative resistance
training.
A lot of people are trying toyou know work out real fast and
do this and that.
And I I take my time, I try notto hurt myself, I try to do good
form, and I I try not to uh getahead of myself.
(36:35):
I I've I've set goals of what Iwant to achieve, and these may
be lifelong goals, but uh aslong as I can check a box here
and there that hey, I've donethat, I got that, I got that, I
got that.
It's starting out small,sticking with the plan, trying
(36:58):
to switch things up when youcome to a roadblock.
Be ready to bob and weave whenyou get in there, you know.
You might run into a roadblock,but make adjustments and get
around it.
Don't let small things hang youup.
Don't don't don't getoverwhelmed.
(37:19):
Start small, get theconsistency.
With consistency comesdiscipline.
With discipline, the world isyour oyster.
SPEAKER_06 (37:32):
You know, it's funny, I I always um I think of
like self-c, you know, in in theworld, it's like people talk
about self-care and like it'salways kind of bugged me, but
what I really believe isself-like real self-care is
self-fair.
(39:24):
What are like maybe one, two, orthree things that you hung on to
through all of this that youwould say were the biggest
pillars that kept you in thejournal?
SPEAKER_02 (39:39):
Well I did personally a huge mental
evaluation, and I after Istarted waking up I started
looking for root causes of whereI went wrong.
(39:59):
Um and it it took me way back tolike twenty one years old.
I narrowed everything down to abad breakup that triggered me
into a a at the time I didn'tconsider it a a a I wouldn't say
(40:25):
a depression, but anuncomfortableness that made me
drink to not remember thosefeelings, to never want to have
that happen again.
And I went I went the wrong way,you know.
I went into the drinking modeand then it became the party
(40:48):
mode, and then it just becameme.
But I believe that anybody who'sstruggling with depression if
they do a deep dive, I believethat they will figure out when
they started to get depressed,and then they'll remember what
(41:11):
triggered them and to spiral outof control, or you know what I
mean, to just to always havethat that negative hitch in you,
I guess, that that little thingthat always keeps your defenses
up, you know, in a bad way.
Uh but I believe that I believethat through through being
(41:33):
mindful of where it all kind ofwent wrong, if you can isolate
that and make amends with it,it'll change your life.
And and I did.
I I went as I went as far as totry to find the latest address
to that girl's name that I knew,the best possible address that I
(41:57):
could find, the latest one.
I wrote a letter.
I I told her I was sorry, thatyou know, everything everything
that I had done was wrong withher as far as not speaking to
her again and so forth and soon.
And it it lifted a burden ofhell I'd been carrying it around
(42:19):
for what 40 years, you know,twelve 35 years, you know, and
and to to put a stamp on thatand send that thing, oh man,
that was joy.
SPEAKER_06 (42:33):
I had no idea, right?
SPEAKER_02 (42:34):
I I didn't I didn't know whether she'd get it, but I
knew it was in God's hands.
I knew that I had doneeverything that I could do to
make amends with the situationthat I felt uh took my life and
spiraled it out of control.
But you know, it it took me todeep dive into it to really put
(42:55):
a a name and a face and and asituation and all that of where
things went wrong.
And by putting a stamp on it andsending it, like I said, I don't
know whether she got it, I don'tknow whatever happened with it.
I just know that I I know that Idid what I needed to do and that
God would take care of the rest,and and he has because I'm no
(43:15):
longer burdened by that.
I know that I thanked her forhelping me get baptized and my
first Bible, and I still havethat Bible today.
SPEAKER_07 (43:26):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (43:26):
And yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (43:29):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (43:30):
Well, and that's that is kind of crazy how our
mind kind of crazy how our mindswork, and that we think that
everything's okay, but we'rejust putting a band-aid on
something that needed addresseda long time ago.
So if you can figure out what'sailing you, it will benefit you
beyond your wildest dreams.
SPEAKER_06 (43:51):
Yeah, you know, I I call that like part of your
survival model, but for all ofus as humans, like somewhere
along the way, we latch on.
To some idea or belief oreffect, you know, just like you
said, you did.
And then we start living ourlife to kind of survive
something or try to overcomesomething or avoid something or
(44:12):
protect from something.
And then we cut off all thisliving, right?
And your story is like such abeautiful example of like
letting that all fall away sothat you can actually freely
live and not feel like you'reliving to survive, but you're
living to create and build alife now.
(44:34):
And I've watched you do it.
It's it's been incredible towatch you.
So to give people a snapshot ofthis transformation and what
your life looks like today.
Because you you've lost how muchweight have you lost overall?
SPEAKER_02 (44:54):
Uh since I was at my heaviest, I've lost uh basically
what I weigh now, 160 pounds.
SPEAKER_06 (45:03):
Wow.
Like a whole body.
SPEAKER_02 (45:06):
And yeah, well, I was in like a 46-inch waist, and
now I'm in a 30.
SPEAKER_06 (45:13):
Wow.
Yeah, you guys, you're gonnayou're gonna see pictures here
it um soon, but it's yourtransformation is incredible.
And your your lifestyle haschanged.
SPEAKER_02 (45:26):
Yeah, I you know, I can honestly say that I had a I
I hadn't, I'll be honest.
I I hadn't thought about goingto church in years, you know,
and I'm out in the backyard,it's Sunday morning, and I work
nights.
(45:47):
I got off of work, I come home,I'm gonna cut the yard, and uh
most of my stuff is batteryoperated, like my weed eater
blower and stuff like that, butthe lawnmower is gas.
But anyway, I'm using all myelectric stuff, and it all of a
sudden all the batteries died.
And I'm like, well, all right,it's gonna be probably two hours
(46:11):
before I can continue this.
And it wasn't the time that thatthought hit my head.
I heard, you have time to go tochurch.
And I thought, what was that?
And I was looking around like Ithought somebody had entered my
yard.
I didn't know, but I know thatwhen I looked around, wasn't
(46:33):
nobody there.
So I was kind of freaked out.
I sat down the weed eater andwent inside, and Julie was on
the couch.
She said, Everything all right?
I said, Yep, I'm going tochurch.
So I went back to the back andtook a shower, and she said, God
talking to you.
And I said, Yes, he is.
(46:54):
So anyway, I went and took ashower and got all dressed for
church and clothes that don'tfit anymore and all this stuff.
And I'm like, I'm out and I goton the phone.
I looked at Bell V BaptistChurch.
I looked at my old church whereI got baptized, where that girl
helped me get baptized.
I don't know what time itstarts, but well, it's 8 40.
(47:17):
It starts at 9 15.
There was the perfect amount oftime that I heard the signal to
go, to take a shower, getdressed, get in the car, look at
the time.
There was the perfect amount oftime for me to get to that
church.
How that works.
SPEAKER_01 (47:35):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_02 (47:37):
So I went to church that day and uh I talk about
power.
I read the Bible all the time.
I try not to let grass growunder my feet with that.
(48:00):
And with the working out, withthe Bible reading, with all my
journey, I know that what isabove is below.
So if you're good in your mind,you will be good in your soul,
and your body will be good.
(48:20):
What is above is below.
Mind body and soul.
If you don't pray, it's good forthe soul.
I highly recommend it.
SPEAKER_06 (48:33):
So true.
You know, it makes me think, Ican't remember if when you were
here that I said this, but um, Irecently saw um somebody talking
about the story in the Biblewhere Jesus heals the man at the
pool.
And he asked the man, like, doyou want to be healed?
(48:53):
And this woman like went backinto like the original um
language, like the Hebrew or I'mnot sure what it was, but she
found that like what Jesus wasreally asking was, are you
willing to live differently?
Because if you're healed, you'regonna have to live differently.
(49:13):
And that just really struck me.
SPEAKER_02 (49:17):
Yeah, and there's there's truth to that.
And and I know firsthand becauseuh with with my back, it's like
I don't know, it's it's kind ofhard to explain, but it's like
(49:38):
you're you're either you'reeither healed and you leave it
all behind.
Or you're not.
You know, when you when you getbaptized, you're supposed to
leave it all in the water andbegin new.
But the thing that people failto realize is you have to
(50:02):
crucify yourself to this worldevery day, every morning when
you wake up, so that you don'tcrave the worldly possessions
that everybody on TV andeverything, everybody's always
after.
You need to be self-content andhappy with where you are, what
(50:24):
you have, and truly be thankfulfor what you have, not not what
you want.
What you want is all fake.
It's it's truly all fake.
What is above is below.
Get your mind right, your heartwill follow, and your body will
too.
If you believe that you'rehealing, you're going to heal.
(50:48):
My back, I have spinal stenosis,and I I hurt all the time, but I
I don't I I tell myself everyday I'm healing because I am.
SPEAKER_07 (50:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (51:00):
And and it it gets less painful and less painful
with working with a aprofessional chiropractor, he's
got me to where I'm starting toknow that my body is healing,
and I was told that it wouldn't.
But if you believe with all ofyour heart and your mind and
(51:25):
your soul, your body will healitself.
I promise you that.
And mine's doing it.
I'm living proof.
I I no longer have all thosemedicines.
You you you can't say that Ineeded a CPAP machine if I no
longer need it.
And I told myself I'm healingand my body is healing.
(51:45):
I no longer need all that stuffbecause my body is healing,
because I tell myself I'mhealing.
That's so beautiful, and Ibelieve God, I believe God that
He He He made a magnificentbody, it is perfect.
Just believe that it is, and itwill be.
SPEAKER_06 (52:04):
So good.
Okay, Tim.
So this journey and story ledyou to finding this contest.
So bring us up to speed aboutthis contest that you're in so
we can share.
SPEAKER_02 (52:20):
Oh my gosh, this is just it's beyond me.
That's all I can say.
In a million years, I neverfigured that I would be entered
or would have entered a contestof VNA muscle and fitness
magazine.
After being as big as I was foras long as I was, it's still
baffling to me.
(52:42):
I I I literally um I had afriend at work.
I told him, hey man, he's anex-bodybuilder, he's 60 years
old.
I said, Hey man, you're in greatshape.
You ought to enter this contest,you know, it's worth$20,000.
And he says, Oh, they don't wantme.
And I was like, What do youmean, man?
You're in perfect shape, youknow, all that stuff.
(53:04):
He was like, he was Mr.
U T Martin back in 77 orsomething.
You know, I mean, like, this guyknows what's up.
Anyway, he's like, they're notlooking for me, man.
He goes, You're the one thatneeds to enter it.
He goes, You got a story.
And he said, and the wholething's just kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_07 (53:21):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (53:22):
And he the thing, the thing that triggered me was
he says, You ain't got nothingto lose.
And man, that stuck with me.
That stuck with me for the nextuh four four hours, four hours
at work.
I was thinking, you know what?
He's got a point, I really don'thave anything to lose, and I
could really use the twentythousand dollars, if you know
(53:44):
what I'm saying.
Yeah, I was like, well, you knowwhat?
Uh that morning, yeah, thatmorning I went home and I
started filling out their littlething, and uh I think you texted
it to me that day.
Yeah, I even told Shane aboutit.
I you know, I was like, Shane,you need to enter.
(54:05):
He goes, I already did.
I was like, what?
And you didn't tell me Shane, bythe way.
Yeah, I entered it, and withwithin 24 hours, they had
emailed me back saying you aretotally in this contest.
And so it's been really fun.
We've had so much fun, and sohonestly, I'm just trying to get
(54:28):
the I'm I'm just trying to getthe word out there that asking
for help when you have alcoholor drug addiction, it is not a
weakness.
It's it's like the strongestform of self-love and uh you
know that that you could evershow yourself or others.
And it's an inspiring thing totransform uh yourself into what
(54:56):
you want to be, uh even if youweren't sure what you wanted it
to be.
You know, like I said, just bewilling to make changes, you
know, don't be so steadfast inyour journey that it's just
gotta be that way.
You're gonna run intoroadblocks.
SPEAKER_07 (55:12):
Just expect them, right?
SPEAKER_02 (55:16):
Yeah, it's it's inevitable, but just be patient,
you know, make adjustments, getaround your little obstacle that
you think is so big and great,it's usually not.
You make it bigger than thanwhat it is.
The the highest mountain you'llever have to climb is the one
you create in your own head.
SPEAKER_06 (55:36):
Oh, isn't that the truth?
Wow.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (55:40):
And if you can find people who have transformed,
Buster Chops.
Ask them questions, ask themwhat makes them tick, and
they'll be happy to share whatworks for them.
It may not be exactly what youneed, but it worked for them.
Just listen, and like I said,make make adjustments.
unknown (56:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (56:01):
When you run into your little roadblocks, make
adjustments and it'll happen.
Just set reasonable goals.
SPEAKER_06 (56:10):
So what I'm excited about this contest because I do
feel like Tim, like thiscontest, and if you if you won
this contest, that it would giveyou a chance to share your story
more and be like just be aninspiration for people that are
wanting to create similar youknow changes in their own life.
(56:32):
And I'm excited for that reason.
But what like would knock yoursocks off about like winning
this contest?
Well and I think you've alreadywon, right?
You've even said that.
Like you've already won.
SPEAKER_02 (56:50):
Yeah, just by them accepting me and allowing me to
be in the competition, I'mthrilled.
I mean, I've already won.
SPEAKER_06 (56:58):
That in and of itself, look at where I come
from and impact on you.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (57:03):
I mean, it's it's it's uh it's good to know that
all of this hard work isn't invain, that I might be able to
use my transformation to helpothers, and that's what I want
to do.
I really want to help people whoare struggling, whether it's
drugs or alcohol or just sometype of a problem.
(57:25):
Um you know, the biggest thingis I want to get the word out
there about the drugs andalcohol.
It's it's not a weakness, it'sit's so strong, and we're all
proud of you if you try.
That's all I can say.
And there's strength in numbers.
By God, deserves strength innumbers, man.
So if you find like-mindedpeople, you will excel.
(57:49):
You just have to you have toopen your eyes and see the
opportunities in front of youand seize them as they happen.
SPEAKER_06 (58:00):
Yeah.
Okay, so for someone listeningwho wants to see your pictures
and your story and take a lookat the contest and cast a vote.
Um where do they go?
And then we'll put all theselinks in the show notes too.
And this because the contest isending.
(58:21):
If you're listening live to thispodcast, it's ending tonight at
what time, Tim?
SPEAKER_02 (58:28):
Uh 9 p.m.
Pacific.
SPEAKER_06 (58:31):
9 p.m.
Pacific.
Okay.
Um so don't wait to go make yourvote.
And Tim, where do they go?
SPEAKER_02 (58:40):
Um, we're going to go to I'm trying to pull up the
link.
Sounds good.
I will read off the link.
It is H T T P S S semicolonforward slash, forward slash,
(59:01):
M-R-H-E-A-L-T-H-A-A-N-D,F-I-T.com forward slash 2026,
forward slashT-I-M-M-C-C-O-R-M-I-C-K.
SPEAKER_06 (59:19):
And that's Mr.
Hammond.com forward slash 26 andthen Tim's name.
SPEAKER_02 (59:26):
That'll take you straight to that'll take you
straight to my profile and itshould be able to allow you to
vote.
The contest for free votes isfor Facebook members only,
unfortunately.
Uh, but you are able to voteevery 24 hours, and I need every
vote I can get, so please help.
SPEAKER_07 (59:43):
Uh donations can be made.
SPEAKER_02 (59:48):
Yeah, donations can be made and and depending on the
dollar amount as to how manyvotes I get, um, but they are
going to go to the Be PositiveFoundation, which helps fight uh
childhood cancer, and they alsodo a lot of research, but they
also help uh fund families thatare in need of uh monetary to
(01:00:12):
help with the the the the uhcancer treatments and so forth.
So it's it's all for a goodcause, one way or another.
I hope to get my word out therethat uh their strength and
numbers and recovery is no joke,man.
It'll change your life.
SPEAKER_06 (01:00:30):
So good.
Um, and do you have to be onFacebook to make a donation too?
You have to be on Facebook, isthat right?
SPEAKER_02 (01:00:38):
You do not have to be on Facebook in order to make
a donation.
The donation type thing uh isseparate.
SPEAKER_06 (01:00:46):
But will it come on votes for you too?
SPEAKER_02 (01:00:48):
Yeah, it will it'll pass votes, yeah.
It even though you're not loggedinto Facebook, if you donate, it
automatically uh gets registeredand the votes the votes come to
me.
SPEAKER_06 (01:00:59):
Okay, so we would love your votes if you've been
inspired by Tim's story.
And Tim, can they follow yourstory on Instagram or anywhere
else?
SPEAKER_02 (01:01:10):
They can.
I don't I don't have much onInstagram, most of my stuff is
Facebook, but I'm trying tolearn Instagram and be more
visible on there.
SPEAKER_06 (01:01:19):
Yeah, I think your story could be on there too.
Okay, so I will include any andall um links in the show notes
so you can go check all of thatout.
Um Tim, I have one last questionfor you.
What does differently mean toyou?
SPEAKER_02 (01:01:44):
Differently to me is probably the way I live my life
now.
Differently means to put all ofyour programming aside, the
stuff meaning that the stuffyou've learned and the stuff
(01:02:05):
that's not working for you, putthat stuff aside and do things
differently, no matter what itis.
Make changes.
If it's not working, makeadjustments, do something
different, put that first step,make that first step.
Quit saying tomorrow, let it betoday, let it be now.
(01:02:25):
Put your put your words intoaction, get on the court instead
of sitting in the standswatching life happen, get on the
court and make it happen foryourself differently.
SPEAKER_06 (01:02:40):
That's so beautiful, my friend.
Um, I just want to thank you forlike sharing your story.
I'm honored to share your story,and I'm just so grateful for
you, man.
I love you and I thank you forbeing a constant, steadfast
friend in our life for so manyyears.
SPEAKER_02 (01:03:02):
Well, it's my honor, and uh, I love you guys.
I'll be doing it for you guys.
And uh anybody needs help.
I'm excited to have you tourney with the different
ways of service today.
So just go back, man.
Like take us back to the momentyou knew something in your life
needed to change.
SPEAKER_02 (01:38):
Wow.
That's uh that's a long timeago.
And honestly, it startedprobably around 2001.
I had indicated to Quentin thatI was sick and tired of being
sick and tired.
(02:00):
I was sick of running the ratrace.
And I just nothing seemed toever go good, but yet I was in a
place where I was drinking a lotand doing the wrong things all
the time.
And you know, it's the truedefinition of insanity where
(02:25):
keep doing the same thing overand over and expecting a
different result.
But the good thing was you andyour husband decided to send me
to landmark forum.
unknown (02:39):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_06 (02:40):
And so remember, I forgot about Jim.
Holy moly!
SPEAKER_02 (02:48):
So it dates way back, right?
And by doing the course, I gotreally fired up and tried to
continue what I had learned, andI made many breakthroughs, but
none of them, I guess, werestrong enough to put the alcohol
(03:13):
aside and uh just get focused.
And so the stuff that I learned,as with everything kind of in
life, got put to the side again,and then I just continued the
drinking and the doubtfulnessthat goes along with it, and it
(03:38):
uh you know, like I moved backto Memphis around 2004, and
change of environment, but notchange of behavior, continued to
escalate.
Um good thing is I found Julie,my wife, and she was able to
(04:03):
share in my struggles and giveme hope.
And but truly, it wasn't untiluh I started to have my my hip
problems, and I ended up havingavascular necrosis, which is a
(04:25):
bone disease, and it basicallythere's no cartilage between
your hip joints, so it's bone onbone, and when there's bone on
bone, there's no blood flowbetween there to nourish your
bones and keep them healthy.
So necrosis is death, and itbasically killed the bone in my
(04:49):
socket and joint, and anyway, Ihad to have both my hips
replaced probably about a yearapart.
But I was real heavy.
SPEAKER_06 (05:00):
I was and what age were you at that time?
SPEAKER_02 (05:03):
Yeah, I was I was 40 when I had my hips replaced, and
now I'm just about to be 55.
SPEAKER_06 (05:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:10):
So the doctor, the doctor told me, you know, wait
as long as you can to have haveyour you know have this done.
You're so young, and you know,the the guarantee of the hips
lasting longer than 15 to 20years, you know, it just wasn't
there.
So, of course, I'm gonna have tohave them done again in my
lifetime, but regardless ofthat, um, we had the first hip
(05:34):
done, but I waited and waitedand waited, and man, I was in so
much pain.
Um I was on Percocets for pain.
Um and I was on them for monthsand months before even surgery
because of the pain.
But by the time we got intosurgery, I couldn't get
(05:57):
comfortable no matter what Idid, uh, even with the pain
management stuff.
So we went ahead and hadsurgery, and when we when we
woke up, the doc looked at meand he said, you know, what on
earth?
Why did you wait so long to havethis done?
And I I told him, I said, You'rethe one that told me to wait as
(06:19):
long as I could.
I said, Maybe you need to bemore specific when you tell
people to do something.
Anyway, he said that the he saidthe whole top of my femur, the
ball on my femur was gone, andthat it I just had like a stick
and a cup for all intents andpurposes.
And uh anyway, I knew then Iwaited too long, but I did what
(06:42):
I was told.
Anyway, uh it was about a yearlater I put on more weight, you
know.
I was still immobile.
I had I had the disease in bothhips, and one was more severe
than the other at the time.
And so I I waited about anotheryear and had my my right hip
done.
And um when we went into thatsurgery, it was I was so heavy,
(07:09):
I was 319 or 20 pounds, uh, thatwhen everything was a go, but
when we got in there, the theanesthesiologist went to put me
out, and I was kind of twilightsleeping, and it was like all of
a sudden I couldn't breathe, andI'm wondering in my own mind
(07:30):
while I'm kind of twilightsleeping, what on earth is going
on?
And anyway, all of a sudden Iwas able to breathe again.
I thought, man, this is reallyweird, something's going on, and
then I remembered, you know, I'mI'm I'm in surgery, and all of a
sudden I couldn't breathe again.
(07:50):
I'm thinking, you know, I'mtrying to breathe through my
noses and my my lungs justthey're not working, like
something's gagging me.
And um I guess it was probably15, 20, 30 seconds went by, and
all of a sudden I can breatheagain.
I'm like, man, this is theweirdest thing ever.
So I just said a prayer.
And it was no sooner thethoughts came out of my head I
(08:19):
was waking up from surgery.
SPEAKER_04 (08:29):
It's good, it's okay.
SPEAKER_06 (08:42):
Man.
SPEAKER_03 (08:54):
So I was waking up and uh I just thought, thank
God.
SPEAKER_02 (09:06):
Anyway, when I was in recovery, everything had gone
good because I got the hipreplaced and I was out of pain.
SPEAKER_06 (09:22):
And what did the doctor say?
Are you gonna go there where thedoctor said about that moment
when you said the prayer?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:31):
Yeah.
Yeah, when I woke up I was forthe first time in like probably
three years.
SPEAKER_03 (09:41):
I didn't have that broken bone feeling.
SPEAKER_06 (09:50):
So I get back to the lot of pain for a while, my
friend.
SPEAKER_02 (10:02):
But so I'm I'm back in the room and the surgeon
comes in and he says, you know,everything went okay and all
that sort of stuff.
And I said, Man, I said, youguys had problems.
And he looked at me and withkind of a smirk, he said, yeah,
(10:24):
he said, the anesthesiologistsaid you might might remember
something.
He said, uh, man, I gotta tellyou, he said, we had one heck of
a time putting that tube downyour throat so you could breathe
during surgery, the intubationtube.
He said, You have so much fat onthe back of your neck that we
(10:48):
couldn't get your neck back farenough.
SPEAKER_04 (11:04):
Anyway, he said, uh, if you don't lose weight, I
can't work on you anymore.
And I just thought to myself,wow.
SPEAKER_02 (11:21):
They almost weren't able to do surgery because of
how so anyway, I was dealt withthat, but I was so thankful that
(11:47):
all of it was over finally, andso I had to digest everything he
said and uh try to put some typeof course of action together,
and uh it all basically I had togo through recuperation and all
(12:10):
that from the hip surgery inorder just to get my mind around
the whole thought of trying toget on a healthy situation, you
know.
SPEAKER_03 (12:21):
Yeah, so I've um since then I have gained lump
weight.
SPEAKER_06 (12:29):
Go back for just a second because when you told me
that story, like your the doctortold you that your head finally
went back, like right at wethink it was like right about
the time you prayed, right?
SPEAKER_04 (12:41):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06 (12:42):
Yeah, like just fell back and he was able to get the
tube in.
So I just wanted to tie thatback.
SPEAKER_02 (12:48):
Yeah, no, I'm glad you did.
You know, I I was getting allemotional, but basically, you
know, he said we had problemsputting the tube in your throat.
And I said, Man, I knewsomething was going on, but I
couldn't figure out why Icouldn't breathe and what all
was going on.
But I said, I did remember I wasin surgery, and I I just told
(13:10):
the Lord, you know, Lord, letwhatever happened happen.
That you know, your will is yourwill.
SPEAKER_03 (13:17):
And he said that, and it must have been that exact
moment that all of a sudden yourbody went limp, your head went
back.
Wow, and we were able to do it.
SPEAKER_06 (13:31):
So good.
So you're recovering fromsurgery.
I'm sure you're on lots ofmedications, so take us from
there.
SPEAKER_02 (13:39):
Oh yeah, yeah.
So I was I was um I was gettingback on my feet and everything,
and so you're only supposed tobe on the pain medicine for so
long after you have surgery.
But anyway, when I went back tomy regular doctor, they just
(14:00):
continued filling the painmedicines, and so without
thinking, you know, I'm thinkingthey know what they're doing and
that I need this medicine longeror whatever.
Anyway, uh I kept taking them.
And after three years of eatingpercocets, like they were candy
(14:24):
because of the pain, I'm nolonger in the pain, but I'm
still getting these medicinesand I'm still eating them.
And anyway, I was I was hookedbeyond belief on those things to
the point that I was you knowusing well beyond what they were
giving me, which was about 120every 30 days.
(14:45):
I'm spending money to get moreoff the street and everything
else.
I mean, it's just goingdownhill.
I'm still drinking, I've stillgot all this stuff going on, you
know, bad decisions.
Um, but anyway, it was 2019,2018, 2019.
(15:10):
Uh I was really escalated in mydrinking and and all the pill
taking and everything else.
And uh I I finally just I wasstarting to drink on the job and
stuff like that, and I just knewthat I was it was escalated out
(15:33):
of my control.
And it it was February 14th,2019.
I asked for help, and I wentinto a rehab locally, and I
spent 30 days in there, and andI was I felt good, I felt
(15:55):
strong, I felt clear.
Um but just getting out of thereand and getting back into my
normal groove, it was almostlike same old, same old, I
guess.
It was ever it was the time ofday, it was um five o'clock, you
(16:16):
know, whatever the hour was thatI normally would would consume,
I had to battle those feelingsevery single day.
And unfortunately, 30 days, inmy opinion, is not long enough
to get recovered.
And so it wasn't a week later Iwas drinking again and trying to
(16:37):
hide it like like nobody knew,you know, they knew, but anyway,
that's just how naive and howaddiction to manipulate your
mind to where you think you'refooling everybody and justify
(16:59):
it.
It's just yeah, it's just soobvious to everybody that it's
it's going on.
You your your your behaviors,your mannerisms, they all
change, you know.
You go right back into it, andyou know, I I I I tried to fool
myself again uh for five weeksor whatever, I think it was, uh,
(17:24):
February to March 14 to 15, andthen I went back in I went back
in in April and then gotreleased right before my
birthday 2019, and I held onlonger after that 30 days, but
(17:44):
you know, it's it's just thewickedness of that stuff, and
it's on every corner, you know.
You don't have to go find adealer, it's legal, it you know,
it is it is, I don't know, it'sthe most evil thing I think I've
ever encountered.
SPEAKER_01 (18:02):
Wow.
SPEAKER_06 (18:04):
So it sounds like the journey like is back and
forth and kind of up and down.
What was the next big sort ofpivot moment or shifting moment
or catalyst that sent you on anew trajectory?
SPEAKER_02 (18:19):
Well, I got out in May for my birthday, and then we
continued on doing the same joband the same everything, you
know.
Uh I didn't last.
I I lasted maybe four monthsthis time.
And uh by November 24th, I wasdrinking and driving.
(18:46):
I was drinking and driving atwork, that was my job.
I was making all the wrongdecisions.
I I literally I knew that if Ididn't stop, that I was gonna
kill somebody or myself.
And thank God I asked one moretime to put all the shenanigans
(19:13):
aside, all the line, all theeverything, all the manipulation
that goes along with it, and Iasked for help one more time,
and we did it a different way.
We kind of did like a outpatientalmost type thing where I was in
a a specific home with otheralcoholics, and then we'd do
schooling during the day orwhatever, and I I don't know
(19:36):
what was different about it, butI just don't think the first two
times I was ready.
And after that last time, uh Iknew I knew I was done with it.
SPEAKER_03 (19:49):
I don't know how, but I I took it so serious.
SPEAKER_04 (19:59):
We've watched you, yeah.
Now I defend my death.
I defend my sobriety.
SPEAKER_06 (20:19):
Say that again?
SPEAKER_00 (20:23):
You defend Yeah, I defend my sobriety, no.
SPEAKER_06 (20:27):
What does that mean?
SPEAKER_03 (20:33):
At all costs.
SPEAKER_06 (20:37):
Like you are protecting it is kind of what
you're saying.
Like it's become like a sacredthing, important thing that you
are like actively protecting inyour life.
Is that what you mean?
SPEAKER_03 (20:51):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_06 (20:53):
Yeah, wow.
Wow, what an incredible gift,Tim.
So we talk a lot of oh yeah, goahead.
SPEAKER_03 (21:10):
I was gonna say the other thing is you know, it was
getting off of that juice thatallowed me to wake up enough
that I knew that that stuff itcan be for some people, but it
(21:32):
didn't for me.
SPEAKER_02 (21:34):
And so now I look back on it, and the longer I
went without it, the more clearI became.
And then, you know, I was onSubox and I was on all kinds of
uh anxiety medicines, threedifferent anxiety medicines, and
depression medicine, and highblood pressure medicine, uh
(21:59):
triglycerid.
Medicine, I was on threetranquilizers to go to sleep and
stay asleep.
And then I was on a CPAPmachine, two different inhalers
that I had to take daily, andjust all kinds of stuff, right?
So as I was waking up from thealcoholism, I started thinking,
(22:20):
man, if that stuff had me thatcloudy, what about the rest of
this stuff?
SPEAKER_05 (22:27):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (22:28):
So I started thinking, well, man, I gotta get
off of this suboxin that theyhad me on for the opiate
addiction.
And literally, it was it washarder to get off the medicine
they put you on to get off theopiates than it was to get off
the dadgum opiates.
And that confused me.
And so I'm out of rehab and I'mhaving to go to a a um I believe
(22:54):
it was an addiction medicinedoctor, I guess is what you
would say.
But he he never offered reallyto get me off of the Suboxan.
And I just thought that thatthat was some kind of gimmick.
Like it was his gimmick to getme coming back every month.
And so with me wanting toimprove myself, I thought I've
(23:17):
got to get off this sivoxin.
And so I I was on two wholestrips, and then I started doing
one strip and three quarters ofa strip a day.
Then I went to a strip and ahalf and then a strip and a
quarter, and then down to onestrip.
I just kept marking it off.
And so by the time I I even hadto put off going to see him
(23:39):
because I had extra medicines,you know, I still had a
prescription of that, so Ididn't really need him, and but
he's questioning me.
So I go in and I'm like, hey,I've done really good, man.
I've gotten off of most of theSubox and stuff that you've had
me on, and he almost chewed meout.
(24:00):
And I thought, what is this?
So he he said, Well, what do youmean you're you're you're
getting off of it?
You you you need my help to dothat?
And I thought, if you're anaddiction doctor and somebody's
putting down their addiction,why is he not cheering me and
saying, hey man, that'sfantastic.
(24:22):
You know, why isn't that acelebration?
Yeah, like he should be jumpingup and down, going, dude, you
go, you know, like you go, boy.
But it was almost like he wasmad at me for not including him
on my journey.
And I thought, you know what?
You're no better than the drugdealer on the corner, is kind of
(24:43):
what I started thinking.
I'm like, why are you upset withme that I'm stopping taking the
drugs you're giving me?
And so I was like, look here,man.
I said, you know, I don'tappreciate you kind of condoning
me or you know getting on mybutt about it.
I said, you ought to be cheeringme on and and and being
(25:04):
celebratory.
I said, I got a bad vibe aboutthis.
I said, you know what, you justgo ahead and give me what you
need to give me.
I said, I'm taking a quarter ofa strip a day now instead of two
whole strips.
I said, you give me enough toget off this stuff and and we'll
we'll be done.
And so he he wrote me theprescription, and he did, you
(25:26):
know, like 16 strips, andnormally there were 60 uh per
per prescription or what haveyou.
But anyway, I I got down, I gotoff of it, and so finally I'm
like, thank God I'm done withthat stuff, and I started really
to feel better.
I mean, like, you couldn't evenimagine how much better I
(25:47):
started feeling.
I felt more awake, more alert, Ifelt more active.
Um, and then I I'm thinking, allright, well, if this is getting
better, what about these anxietymedicines they got me on?
So I quit all three of themimmediately.
Just cold turkey.
(26:08):
I was like, we're done with thisstuff, man.
I got off of the anxietymedicine.
Yeah, keep going.
I I I I look, I I I woke up evenmore, you know, and I'm
thinking, I'm thinking, hey,there's something too.
Yeah, after getting off of thethree anxiety medicines, man, I,
you know, when your familyphysician, when you when you
(26:32):
first go to your familyphysician and you tell him all,
like, I guess my wife was goingto a family physician, and I
said, I need to start going tohim.
And so after I got a rehab andstuff, I went to him with all
these prescriptions.
He's like, Man, I I you're gonnahave to see your specialist.
There's no way I can touch allthese things.
He started asking me, Do youfall asleep at red lights?
(26:55):
Do you fall asleep during work?
You just fall asleep forknowing, you know, like he was
worried because I was on so manydepressants, so many downers
that he didn't, he couldn'tbelieve I was awake, you know,
like and that really that reallydawned on me that I've really
got to get off this stuff.
So it escalated me getting offof it.
But the the big thing, I got offthat depression medicine, and
(27:20):
I'm gonna tell you what, I'venever been happier in my whole
daggone life.
I don't know what's in thatstuff, it'll make you feel
better, like you know, you'renot as depressed for a little
while, and then they put you ona stronger dose when it's not
working, and then it's one afterthe other, but I got off my
depression medicine, and and Iam the happiest I've ever been,
(27:42):
I think, since I was a kid.
SPEAKER_07 (27:45):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (27:46):
And I'm not saying I'm not saying that my journey
is for everybody, I'm justsaying that everybody has their
own.
SPEAKER_06 (27:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (27:53):
Yeah, this is what I've done, and and it has
worked.
I can't even begin to tell you,Carly, you see it.
SPEAKER_06 (28:01):
I I've seen it.
I've witnessed your spiritcoming back, uh, your aliveness,
your disaster life, likeeverything all over.
So so you got off the alcohol,you're getting off all the
prescriptions, and then is thatwhen it started rippling to your
body, like your weight?
SPEAKER_02 (28:21):
Yeah, well, as I'm getting off all that stuff, I'm
I still have that goal.
I still have him in the back ofmy head saying, You gotta lose
weight, or I ain't gonna work onyou, you know.
SPEAKER_06 (28:35):
Right.
But it was it was like um it wasdown the priority list at that
time.
SPEAKER_02 (28:43):
Yeah, well, I was I was feeling more energetic, I
had more energy.
I started, you know, I startedthat new job in September 21 at
Smith and Nephew, where youknow, I I'm making replacement
joints for human bodies, forGod's sakes.
I've had you know my hipsreplaced.
So it's like, how can God putyou in such ironic situations?
(29:07):
I've had hips replaced, and nowI work for a company that makes
them, you know.
I mean, like, yeah, I I feel Ifeel like I'm I'm doing
something good.
I know that what I'm doingbenefits people and their health
so much.
It made all the difference in inme coming out of pain and
starting to live life again tothe fullest, you know, not being
(29:32):
on crutches after three years,you know.
I mean, like it all just startedto work, right?
SPEAKER_06 (29:38):
Uh your life is literally waking up.
SPEAKER_02 (29:41):
I mean, it just yeah, and yeah, and along the
journey, I'm thinking we'vegotta we've I I'm being more
mindful about everything I dothe more I wake up and get off
these medicines.
So I'm thinking, well, how can Iget the weight off?
And I'm thinking to myself, fortwo months, I sat I was coming
(30:03):
home from work and I wasthinking, I need to go to the
gym.
I just need to go to the gym.
And then I'm thinking, well,before I go to the gym, I need
to do sit-ups and push-ups hereon the floor in the house for 30
days, and then I know that I'mgood to go get a membership.
I couldn't even get off thecouch to do sit-ups or push-ups
(30:23):
to save my life for over twomonths.
I kept telling myself, I gottado this, and then it just
nothing ever became right.
So I said, you know what, thatain't working.
So we're just gonna escalatethings.
And I went down to the gym and Igot a membership, and I thought,
by God, we're gonna put it intomotion whether I want to or not.
(30:44):
Because the whole push-ups onthe floor at home ain't working,
right?
So, anyway, I ended up getting agym membership, and it was about
two days, I think, went by afterI got it.
I finally went in, and I wasn'twanting to, you know, set
records or anything like that,but I thought if I just get on
(31:07):
the floor as big as I am, and Iput in the effort, something's
bound to happen.
And so I got down and I was ableto do a whole whopping eight
sit-ups starting out, and so Ithought, you know what, that's
all I got now.
That's all I have at the moment.
(31:28):
So I did that.
I started doing a little benchpress and stuff, very
lightweight, just to wake mymuscles up and stuff, and let
them know, hey, we're gonnawe're gonna start activating you
guys.
And so I didn't really get sore,and that was what I was looking
for.
I didn't want to get sore and belike, man, it hurts so bad, I
don't want to do it again.
So I just kind of did that fortwo weeks.
(31:51):
I did really, reallylightweight, like the lightest
on the machines.
I just I I wanted them to wakeup.
Anyway, so I started doing that,and as I'm going, I work third
shift at Smith and Nephew, andanyway, so I've I've gotten out
of my element about when to eatand when the proper times are
(32:16):
and stuff like that.
So I'm I'm kind of in no man'sland as far as my timing is
concerned.
I'm still used to days, but I'mworking nights, and I'll I'll
work four hours and then I'lleat a sandwich.
I would have like a turkeysandwich or something uh for
lunch, and then I would go backto work, and when I got home, I
(32:37):
was I was eating a meal, andthen I was going to bed
basically.
So I started thinking, well, I'mnot even hungry when I get home
in the morning, but yet I'meating, and that doesn't make
sense.
So why not eliminate thesandwich at lunchtime and then
just eat when we you know whenwe get home?
(32:59):
Well, we'll start doing one meala day, I guess, basically, is
what it ended up being.
And so I I started doing that,and I started losing weight,
like I mean, I couldn't even, itwas crazy.
I was losing seven pounds in aweek.
Then some weeks I would lose 10pounds.
(33:20):
But after about every 20 to 25pounds, my body would say, We're
starving, we're gonna hold on toanything that you eat as long as
we can.
And so I would plateau and Iwould not lose any weight for
about a week, and I'd startthinking, All right, we gotta
(33:41):
confuse the body.
Um, so I would start eatingintervals different than the
once a day, and I would do thatfor about 10 to 12 days and and
make my body think, okay,really, we're not we're not
starving, everything's cool,we're back on track again.
And after about 10 or 12 days, Iwould shut it down again and I
(34:01):
would go to one meal a day.
And at that point, when I whenwhen the plateau would go away,
I'd lose 20 pounds in a spurt ofabout 10 to 10 days to two
weeks, and then it would startto do that whole plateau again,
and I would have to confuse mybody, make sure that it thinks
that we're doing okay, and thenI would shut it off again.
(34:24):
Anyway, I lost 70 pounds in oneyear.
Then I started implementing theworkout schedule that started to
get the gym membership and allthat stuff, and I started
lifting weights, and I lostanother 40 pounds, probably in
(34:44):
about three months, just bylifting weight.
Um, my breathing started gettingbetter, the inhalers and all
that stuff went away.
I was on a CPAP machine, I nolonger use it.
I took it back.
Uh I'm off of all my bloodpressure medicines, my uh
torvostatin for hightriglycerides and all the
(35:08):
anxiety medicine, the suboxin,the depression medicine.
I don't take any of that stuffanymore.
I I take one antidepress or uhone anti-inflammatory every
other day, and I I I rarely eata Tylenol or an Advil or
anything like that.
It it doesn't sit well with meanymore.
(35:29):
But I I I still work out.
I mean, and to say that I wasn'toverdoing it is an
understatement.
I was I I got so into going tothe gym after seeing results
that it hooked me.
You know, I I I like it.
I I feel like if I have to takea day off, it's like, well, I
(35:52):
know it my body needs the rest,so I'm not as hard on myself
about missing a day as I used tobe, but um, it was all about
finding my own groove with whatI was doing and how to do it.
Um I I do things differentlythan most people in the gym.
(36:14):
I I do slow uh repetitions, I Ido a lot of negative resistance
training.
A lot of people are trying toyou know work out real fast and
do this and that.
And I I take my time, I try notto hurt myself, I try to do good
form, and I I try not to uh getahead of myself.
(36:35):
I I've I've set goals of what Iwant to achieve, and these may
be lifelong goals, but uh aslong as I can check a box here
and there that hey, I've donethat, I got that, I got that, I
got that.
It's starting out small,sticking with the plan, trying
(36:58):
to switch things up when youcome to a roadblock.
Be ready to bob and weave whenyou get in there, you know.
You might run into a roadblock,but make adjustments and get
around it.
Don't let small things hang youup.
Don't don't don't getoverwhelmed.
(37:19):
Start small, get theconsistency.
With consistency comesdiscipline.
With discipline, the world isyour oyster.
SPEAKER_06 (37:32):
You know, it's funny, I I always um I think of
like self-c, you know, in in theworld, it's like people talk
about self-care and like it'salways kind of bugged me, but
what I really believe isself-like real self-care is
self-fair.
(39:24):
What are like maybe one, two, orthree things that you hung on to
through all of this that youwould say were the biggest
pillars that kept you in thejournal?
SPEAKER_02 (39:39):
Well I did personally a huge mental
evaluation, and I after Istarted waking up I started
looking for root causes of whereI went wrong.
(39:59):
Um and it it took me way back tolike twenty one years old.
I narrowed everything down to abad breakup that triggered me
into a a at the time I didn'tconsider it a a a I wouldn't say
(40:25):
a depression, but anuncomfortableness that made me
drink to not remember thosefeelings, to never want to have
that happen again.
And I went I went the wrong way,you know.
I went into the drinking modeand then it became the party
(40:48):
mode, and then it just becameme.
But I believe that anybody who'sstruggling with depression if
they do a deep dive, I believethat they will figure out when
they started to get depressed,and then they'll remember what
(41:11):
triggered them and to spiral outof control, or you know what I
mean, to just to always havethat that negative hitch in you,
I guess, that that little thingthat always keeps your defenses
up, you know, in a bad way.
Uh but I believe that I believethat through through being
(41:33):
mindful of where it all kind ofwent wrong, if you can isolate
that and make amends with it,it'll change your life.
And and I did.
I I went as I went as far as totry to find the latest address
to that girl's name that I knew,the best possible address that I
(41:57):
could find, the latest one.
I wrote a letter.
I I told her I was sorry, thatyou know, everything everything
that I had done was wrong withher as far as not speaking to
her again and so forth and soon.
And it it lifted a burden ofhell I'd been carrying it around
(42:19):
for what 40 years, you know,twelve 35 years, you know, and
and to to put a stamp on thatand send that thing, oh man,
that was joy.
SPEAKER_06 (42:33):
I had no idea, right?
SPEAKER_02 (42:34):
I I didn't I didn't know whether she'd get it, but I
knew it was in God's hands.
I knew that I had doneeverything that I could do to
make amends with the situationthat I felt uh took my life and
spiraled it out of control.
But you know, it it took me todeep dive into it to really put
(42:55):
a a name and a face and and asituation and all that of where
things went wrong.
And by putting a stamp on it andsending it, like I said, I don't
know whether she got it, I don'tknow whatever happened with it.
I just know that I I know that Idid what I needed to do and that
God would take care of the rest,and and he has because I'm no
(43:15):
longer burdened by that.
I know that I thanked her forhelping me get baptized and my
first Bible, and I still havethat Bible today.
SPEAKER_07 (43:26):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (43:26):
And yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (43:29):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (43:30):
Well, and that's that is kind of crazy how our
mind kind of crazy how our mindswork, and that we think that
everything's okay, but we'rejust putting a band-aid on
something that needed addresseda long time ago.
So if you can figure out what'sailing you, it will benefit you
beyond your wildest dreams.
SPEAKER_06 (43:51):
Yeah, you know, I I call that like part of your
survival model, but for all ofus as humans, like somewhere
along the way, we latch on.
To some idea or belief oreffect, you know, just like you
said, you did.
And then we start living ourlife to kind of survive
something or try to overcomesomething or avoid something or
(44:12):
protect from something.
And then we cut off all thisliving, right?
And your story is like such abeautiful example of like
letting that all fall away sothat you can actually freely
live and not feel like you'reliving to survive, but you're
living to create and build alife now.
(44:34):
And I've watched you do it.
It's it's been incredible towatch you.
So to give people a snapshot ofthis transformation and what
your life looks like today.
Because you you've lost how muchweight have you lost overall?
SPEAKER_02 (44:54):
Uh since I was at my heaviest, I've lost uh basically
what I weigh now, 160 pounds.
SPEAKER_06 (45:03):
Wow.
Like a whole body.
SPEAKER_02 (45:06):
And yeah, well, I was in like a 46-inch waist, and
now I'm in a 30.
SPEAKER_06 (45:13):
Wow.
Yeah, you guys, you're gonnayou're gonna see pictures here
it um soon, but it's yourtransformation is incredible.
And your your lifestyle haschanged.
SPEAKER_02 (45:26):
Yeah, I you know, I can honestly say that I had a I
I hadn't, I'll be honest.
I I hadn't thought about goingto church in years, you know,
and I'm out in the backyard,it's Sunday morning, and I work
nights.
(45:47):
I got off of work, I come home,I'm gonna cut the yard, and uh
most of my stuff is batteryoperated, like my weed eater
blower and stuff like that, butthe lawnmower is gas.
But anyway, I'm using all myelectric stuff, and it all of a
sudden all the batteries died.
And I'm like, well, all right,it's gonna be probably two hours
(46:11):
before I can continue this.
And it wasn't the time that thatthought hit my head.
I heard, you have time to go tochurch.
And I thought, what was that?
And I was looking around like Ithought somebody had entered my
yard.
I didn't know, but I know thatwhen I looked around, wasn't
(46:33):
nobody there.
So I was kind of freaked out.
I sat down the weed eater andwent inside, and Julie was on
the couch.
She said, Everything all right?
I said, Yep, I'm going tochurch.
So I went back to the back andtook a shower, and she said, God
talking to you.
And I said, Yes, he is.
(46:54):
So anyway, I went and took ashower and got all dressed for
church and clothes that don'tfit anymore and all this stuff.
And I'm like, I'm out and I goton the phone.
I looked at Bell V BaptistChurch.
I looked at my old church whereI got baptized, where that girl
helped me get baptized.
I don't know what time itstarts, but well, it's 8 40.
(47:17):
It starts at 9 15.
There was the perfect amount oftime that I heard the signal to
go, to take a shower, getdressed, get in the car, look at
the time.
There was the perfect amount oftime for me to get to that
church.
How that works.
SPEAKER_01 (47:35):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_02 (47:37):
So I went to church that day and uh I talk about
power.
I read the Bible all the time.
I try not to let grass growunder my feet with that.
(48:00):
And with the working out, withthe Bible reading, with all my
journey, I know that what isabove is below.
So if you're good in your mind,you will be good in your soul,
and your body will be good.
(48:20):
What is above is below.
Mind body and soul.
If you don't pray, it's good forthe soul.
I highly recommend it.
SPEAKER_06 (48:33):
So true.
You know, it makes me think, Ican't remember if when you were
here that I said this, but um, Irecently saw um somebody talking
about the story in the Biblewhere Jesus heals the man at the
pool.
And he asked the man, like, doyou want to be healed?
(48:53):
And this woman like went backinto like the original um
language, like the Hebrew or I'mnot sure what it was, but she
found that like what Jesus wasreally asking was, are you
willing to live differently?
Because if you're healed, you'regonna have to live differently.
(49:13):
And that just really struck me.
SPEAKER_02 (49:17):
Yeah, and there's there's truth to that.
And and I know firsthand becauseuh with with my back, it's like
I don't know, it's it's kind ofhard to explain, but it's like
(49:38):
you're you're either you'reeither healed and you leave it
all behind.
Or you're not.
You know, when you when you getbaptized, you're supposed to
leave it all in the water andbegin new.
But the thing that people failto realize is you have to
(50:02):
crucify yourself to this worldevery day, every morning when
you wake up, so that you don'tcrave the worldly possessions
that everybody on TV andeverything, everybody's always
after.
You need to be self-content andhappy with where you are, what
(50:24):
you have, and truly be thankfulfor what you have, not not what
you want.
What you want is all fake.
It's it's truly all fake.
What is above is below.
Get your mind right, your heartwill follow, and your body will
too.
If you believe that you'rehealing, you're going to heal.
(50:48):
My back, I have spinal stenosis,and I I hurt all the time, but I
I don't I I tell myself everyday I'm healing because I am.
SPEAKER_07 (50:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (51:00):
And and it it gets less painful and less painful
with working with a aprofessional chiropractor, he's
got me to where I'm starting toknow that my body is healing,
and I was told that it wouldn't.
But if you believe with all ofyour heart and your mind and
(51:25):
your soul, your body will healitself.
I promise you that.
And mine's doing it.
I'm living proof.
I I no longer have all thosemedicines.
You you you can't say that Ineeded a CPAP machine if I no
longer need it.
And I told myself I'm healingand my body is healing.
(51:45):
I no longer need all that stuffbecause my body is healing,
because I tell myself I'mhealing.
That's so beautiful, and Ibelieve God, I believe God that
He He He made a magnificentbody, it is perfect.
Just believe that it is, and itwill be.
SPEAKER_06 (52:04):
So good.
Okay, Tim.
So this journey and story ledyou to finding this contest.
So bring us up to speed aboutthis contest that you're in so
we can share.
SPEAKER_02 (52:20):
Oh my gosh, this is just it's beyond me.
That's all I can say.
In a million years, I neverfigured that I would be entered
or would have entered a contestof VNA muscle and fitness
magazine.
After being as big as I was foras long as I was, it's still
baffling to me.
(52:42):
I I I literally um I had afriend at work.
I told him, hey man, he's anex-bodybuilder, he's 60 years
old.
I said, Hey man, you're in greatshape.
You ought to enter this contest,you know, it's worth$20,000.
And he says, Oh, they don't wantme.
And I was like, What do youmean, man?
You're in perfect shape, youknow, all that stuff.
(53:04):
He was like, he was Mr.
U T Martin back in 77 orsomething.
You know, I mean, like, this guyknows what's up.
Anyway, he's like, they're notlooking for me, man.
He goes, You're the one thatneeds to enter it.
He goes, You got a story.
And he said, and the wholething's just kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_07 (53:21):
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (53:22):
And he the thing, the thing that triggered me was
he says, You ain't got nothingto lose.
And man, that stuck with me.
That stuck with me for the nextuh four four hours, four hours
at work.
I was thinking, you know what?
He's got a point, I really don'thave anything to lose, and I
could really use the twentythousand dollars, if you know
(53:44):
what I'm saying.
Yeah, I was like, well, you knowwhat?
Uh that morning, yeah, thatmorning I went home and I
started filling out their littlething, and uh I think you texted
it to me that day.
Yeah, I even told Shane aboutit.
I you know, I was like, Shane,you need to enter.
(54:05):
He goes, I already did.
I was like, what?
And you didn't tell me Shane, bythe way.
Yeah, I entered it, and withwithin 24 hours, they had
emailed me back saying you aretotally in this contest.
And so it's been really fun.
We've had so much fun, and sohonestly, I'm just trying to get
(54:28):
the I'm I'm just trying to getthe word out there that asking
for help when you have alcoholor drug addiction, it is not a
weakness.
It's it's like the strongestform of self-love and uh you
know that that you could evershow yourself or others.
And it's an inspiring thing totransform uh yourself into what
(54:56):
you want to be, uh even if youweren't sure what you wanted it
to be.
You know, like I said, just bewilling to make changes, you
know, don't be so steadfast inyour journey that it's just
gotta be that way.
You're gonna run intoroadblocks.
SPEAKER_07 (55:12):
Just expect them, right?
SPEAKER_02 (55:16):
Yeah, it's it's inevitable, but just be patient,
you know, make adjustments, getaround your little obstacle that
you think is so big and great,it's usually not.
You make it bigger than thanwhat it is.
The the highest mountain you'llever have to climb is the one
you create in your own head.
SPEAKER_06 (55:36):
Oh, isn't that the truth?
Wow.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (55:40):
And if you can find people who have transformed,
Buster Chops.
Ask them questions, ask themwhat makes them tick, and
they'll be happy to share whatworks for them.
It may not be exactly what youneed, but it worked for them.
Just listen, and like I said,make make adjustments.
unknown (56:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (56:01):
When you run into your little roadblocks, make
adjustments and it'll happen.
Just set reasonable goals.
SPEAKER_06 (56:10):
So what I'm excited about this contest because I do
feel like Tim, like thiscontest, and if you if you won
this contest, that it would giveyou a chance to share your story
more and be like just be aninspiration for people that are
wanting to create similar youknow changes in their own life.
(56:32):
And I'm excited for that reason.
But what like would knock yoursocks off about like winning
this contest?
Well and I think you've alreadywon, right?
You've even said that.
Like you've already won.
SPEAKER_02 (56:50):
Yeah, just by them accepting me and allowing me to
be in the competition, I'mthrilled.
I mean, I've already won.
SPEAKER_06 (56:58):
That in and of itself, look at where I come
from and impact on you.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (57:03):
I mean, it's it's it's uh it's good to know that
all of this hard work isn't invain, that I might be able to
use my transformation to helpothers, and that's what I want
to do.
I really want to help people whoare struggling, whether it's
drugs or alcohol or just sometype of a problem.
(57:25):
Um you know, the biggest thingis I want to get the word out
there about the drugs andalcohol.
It's it's not a weakness, it'sit's so strong, and we're all
proud of you if you try.
That's all I can say.
And there's strength in numbers.
By God, deserves strength innumbers, man.
So if you find like-mindedpeople, you will excel.
(57:49):
You just have to you have toopen your eyes and see the
opportunities in front of youand seize them as they happen.
SPEAKER_06 (58:00):
Yeah.
Okay, so for someone listeningwho wants to see your pictures
and your story and take a lookat the contest and cast a vote.
Um where do they go?
And then we'll put all theselinks in the show notes too.
And this because the contest isending.
(58:21):
If you're listening live to thispodcast, it's ending tonight at
what time, Tim?
SPEAKER_02 (58:28):
Uh 9 p.m.
Pacific.
SPEAKER_06 (58:31):
9 p.m.
Pacific.
Okay.
Um so don't wait to go make yourvote.
And Tim, where do they go?
SPEAKER_02 (58:40):
Um, we're going to go to I'm trying to pull up the
link.
Sounds good.
I will read off the link.
It is H T T P S S semicolonforward slash, forward slash,
(59:01):
M-R-H-E-A-L-T-H-A-A-N-D,F-I-T.com forward slash 2026,
forward slashT-I-M-M-C-C-O-R-M-I-C-K.
SPEAKER_06 (59:19):
And that's Mr.
Hammond.com forward slash 26 andthen Tim's name.
SPEAKER_02 (59:26):
That'll take you straight to that'll take you
straight to my profile and itshould be able to allow you to
vote.
The contest for free votes isfor Facebook members only,
unfortunately.
Uh, but you are able to voteevery 24 hours, and I need every
vote I can get, so please help.
SPEAKER_07 (59:43):
Uh donations can be made.
SPEAKER_02 (59:48):
Yeah, donations can be made and and depending on the
dollar amount as to how manyvotes I get, um, but they are
going to go to the Be PositiveFoundation, which helps fight uh
childhood cancer, and they alsodo a lot of research, but they
also help uh fund families thatare in need of uh monetary to
(01:00:12):
help with the the the the uhcancer treatments and so forth.
So it's it's all for a goodcause, one way or another.
I hope to get my word out therethat uh their strength and
numbers and recovery is no joke,man.
It'll change your life.
SPEAKER_06 (01:00:30):
So good.
Um, and do you have to be onFacebook to make a donation too?
You have to be on Facebook, isthat right?
SPEAKER_02 (01:00:38):
You do not have to be on Facebook in order to make
a donation.
The donation type thing uh isseparate.
SPEAKER_06 (01:00:46):
But will it come on votes for you too?
SPEAKER_02 (01:00:48):
Yeah, it will it'll pass votes, yeah.
It even though you're not loggedinto Facebook, if you donate, it
automatically uh gets registeredand the votes the votes come to
me.
SPEAKER_06 (01:00:59):
Okay, so we would love your votes if you've been
inspired by Tim's story.
And Tim, can they follow yourstory on Instagram or anywhere
else?
SPEAKER_02 (01:01:10):
They can.
I don't I don't have much onInstagram, most of my stuff is
Facebook, but I'm trying tolearn Instagram and be more
visible on there.
SPEAKER_06 (01:01:19):
Yeah, I think your story could be on there too.
Okay, so I will include any andall um links in the show notes
so you can go check all of thatout.
Um Tim, I have one last questionfor you.
What does differently mean toyou?
SPEAKER_02 (01:01:44):
Differently to me is probably the way I live my life
now.
Differently means to put all ofyour programming aside, the
stuff meaning that the stuffyou've learned and the stuff
(01:02:05):
that's not working for you, putthat stuff aside and do things
differently, no matter what itis.
Make changes.
If it's not working, makeadjustments, do something
different, put that first step,make that first step.
Quit saying tomorrow, let it betoday, let it be now.
(01:02:25):
Put your put your words intoaction, get on the court instead
of sitting in the standswatching life happen, get on the
court and make it happen foryourself differently.
SPEAKER_06 (01:02:40):
That's so beautiful, my friend.
Um, I just want to thank you forlike sharing your story.
I'm honored to share your story,and I'm just so grateful for
you, man.
I love you and I thank you forbeing a constant, steadfast
friend in our life for so manyyears.
SPEAKER_02 (01:03:02):
Well, it's my honor, and uh, I love you guys.
I'll be doing it for you guys.
And uh anybody needs help.
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