What Does Freedom Feel Like?

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374: A 15-minute walk into a Venezuelan church changed everything. Manny grew up in Iran with loving, educated parents, a strict culture, and a head full of questions no one would answer. Kickboxing and Muay Thai gave him structure; wrestling shaped his base; but joy in worship—clapping, singing, smiling—gave him a first taste of freedom. That brief encounter set him on a path through Damascus, deep into Costa Rica, and eventually into a life built around language, resilience, and the mats. His perspective on freedom isn’t theoretical; it’s earned, layered, and fiercely protective.

If you crave a story that blends courage, immigration, entrepreneurship, and the quiet miracles that show up when you’re almost out of options, this one will stay with you. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review telling us: what does freedom feel like to you?

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_02 (00:05):
And welcome back to Pastor Plex podcast.
I'm your host, Pastor Plex, andI've got a special guest for us
today.
Manny, why don't you introduceyourself?
Tell us where uh the operationthat you own and uh talk to us
about it.
Give us a brief background.

SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
Uh my name, my full name is Manny Alonso Gassemi.
I am the founder, owner, andhead instructor of at Matkar
Martial Arts down the streethere in Wells Branch.
We uh provide jiu-jitsu classes,Brazilian jiu-jitsu,
grappling-based, and kickboxing.
And uh, we just moved here abouta year ago.

SPEAKER_02 (00:39):
Where'd you move from?

SPEAKER_00 (00:40):
Uh from Florida, but I was traveling all over the
place.
The nature of the gym wasprimarily in Costa Rica.
Yes, in Costa Rica about threeyears ago, and then we moved
back to state.
We wanted to be by the water,but because I used to live in
California and I loveCalifornia, it's weather and all
that, but I know it wasn'treally business friendly.

(01:00):
So we decided to not move backto California with my
girlfriend.
So we moved to Florida, okay,but then we found that there's
too many competition.
I thought California isoversaturated for this industry,
like grappling in and uhjiu-jitsu, but Florida, South
Florida, Miami was moresaturated.
So, and also we found out thatwe're just two miles away from
one of the best gyms in SouthFlorida, so we're like, we might

(01:22):
as well just train there anddon't touch our remaining of
savings.
So just figure it out if we wantto do this.
So I in Florida, I just rentedpart of uh U of C gym and uh
teach there.
After two years, we decided todrive towards California, see
see what God wants for us.
And then someone told us, hey,why don't you give it a shot in
in Austin?

(01:42):
Uh and I was like, I never leavein Austin.
I used to live in Houston aswell.
But okay, let's let's let's seewhat's gonna happen.
So we stopped at uh in Texas,and uh after two months
searching, we were very close tosaying, you know what, let's
let's move it.
Like we can't find any location,everything is expensive here as
far as locations.
And uh, but it was very businessfriendly.

(02:03):
So we got our LLC, we got allthe document, and then we find a
good landlord right down thestreet, and we're right, you
know what, let's sign acontract, let's just stay here,
let's start our business with nobase clientele, which is very
risky.
That's wild.
But thank him.

SPEAKER_02 (02:19):
Yeah, so what's what's really wild is that your
landlord is actually ourlandlord.
Uh our landlord owns thisproperty.

SPEAKER_01 (02:25):
Really?

SPEAKER_02 (02:25):
You know, the one that over at what's in Bratton
Square, he owns threeproperties, and it's a it's a
brother-sister combo.
Anyway, yeah, not a big deal,but it's like it's kind of wild.
Yeah, so we have the sameproperty owner.
Uh okay, so tell me about theorigin story.
Like, where'd you grow up andlike how did you get into
jujitsu of all things?
Well, I was born in Iran.
Okay.

(02:45):
When you say Iran, that likeblows my mind.
Because I think Manny Alonzo, Idon't think Iran.

SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
So, all right, what very good question.
So, I was born in Iran.
I uh I don't want to go deepinto it, but I I'm I'm almost
four years old.
I was born in Iran, right afterright in the middle of the war
between Iran and Iraq.
Wow.
And then after the revolution in1979, a few years after the

(03:14):
revolution, so the Iran turnedto become Islamic Republic of
Iran.
Okay.
And then uh I was just a normalkid in a very educated family.
My parents both are universityprofessors.
My dad is a very successfulphysician, uh, infection disease
specialist.
Wow.
And my mom is a universityuniversity professor as a

(03:34):
Persian grammar uh professor,teaching like Farsi.
Farsi, yes.
And then uh I grew up uhtricking lock normal kids.
I always loved I was veryactive, almost hyperactive, and
uh almost at the age of 15, Istarted realizing I want to go
start doing weightlifting.

(03:56):
And then Rocky IV was the moviethat inspired me, everybody
else.
Rocky IV, and I was a big uh fanof soccer or football, so I was
starting doing boxing, and I waslike, I want to start using my
legs too, because I play soccerin a very, very serious manner.
So uh by the time I This is allin Iran, you know, this is all
in Iran, yes.

(04:16):
And uh after watching Rocky IVand then uh the movie Kickboxer,
Jean-Claude Van Dom, Frankie.
Yeah, oh yeah, I was like, okay,that's the sport that I want to
do.
So I started with kickboxingbasically.
By the time I was 18, I had myfirst uh amateur fight, which
was a province championship, andI got a second place.
But my first fight ever, Iknocked the guys out in 20

(04:38):
seconds because I was sostressed.
I just bombarded with thepunches.
So my background was iskickboxing in Muay Thai all the
way when I left Iran and Istarted traveling the world.
But because of a grappling andbasically wrestling is a
national sport, so I had thatidea, and also in higher school,
we practice uh wrestling.
So jiu-jitsu for me starts about18, nine, 18 years ago, 17, 17

(05:02):
years ago, I would say.
Uh not even in Iran, in in CostaRica.

SPEAKER_02 (05:08):
Pura Vida.

SPEAKER_00 (05:09):
Pura Vida.
I have it here in my respect.
I love it.
So jujitsu is about 17 years,but before that, kickboxing,
boxing, and I had over 100fights, amateur fights, until I
hit the pro level.
Uh but jiu-jitsu, Brazilianjiu-jitsu grappling, because of
my wrestling background, uh, itwasn't that hard for me.
However, the f especially duringthe white belt era, I got

(05:30):
smashed by most of my trainingpartner as a white, as a white
belt.
They were all black belt.
Nice.
But now it's not now, it'sbecome my career, even though I
have a bachelor's degree inagricultural engineering.
Of course you do.
And uh yeah, but I I hold on,hold on.

SPEAKER_02 (05:45):
So when did what what age did you leave Iran?
22.
22.
Did you speak English at thatpoint?

SPEAKER_00 (05:51):
Very little bit, just a little.

SPEAKER_02 (05:53):
I mean, your English is amazing.
Thank you.
Uh that's that's why okay.
Uh and I know that I'm now I'mtalking about Iran, and you may
not want to go into it, but likewhat was life like in really,
you know, from 1979 wheneverything because Iran used to
be like a really prosperous,really great, and the revolution
happened, it went dark, right?
Is that what happened?
Like, what was it like growingup?
Did you see the crumbling of theculture or society, or was that

(06:15):
a gradual thing, or was itimmediate, or is that something
you didn't even notice?

SPEAKER_00 (06:19):
Very good question.
I uh growing up in a uh, I wouldsay above average middle class
family, yeah.
Uh going to a school, comingback, having the freedom of uh
doing whatever I want as long asit's uh approved by my parents,
especially my dad, very strictforward dad, very uh and and uh

(06:39):
not really paying attention topolitics and the stuff out
there, but just because my dadlike was God to me, like
whatever he said, I will do it.
Yeah, and then I was doing it,but I I think I was 13, 14 years
old dad.
I uh my dad asked me, hey, Iwant you to start praying this
way, like uh five times a day,praying in Arabic, uh Islamic,

(07:01):
like so.
I was raised until 14, 15, 16Muslim without any question.
Whatever I see, I ask.
But around 16, that that was thetime that I started asking, Hey,
what is why we do this?
Why women have hijabs?
Why they cover their head?

SPEAKER_02 (07:17):
Was that so before 79?
I don't think the women had towear hijabs everywhere, right?

SPEAKER_00 (07:21):
They didn't have to.
They didn't have to.

SPEAKER_02 (07:23):
Okay, so then after 79, everyone's wearing hijab.
Was that still sort of a newthing?
Was that a weird thing for someladies to go like, oh, I gotta
get I've gotta remember to putthis on or else the what do they
have police to police that?

SPEAKER_00 (07:35):
These are the questions that I was asking
people around me, includingparents.
They don't answer me.
This is it.
Before that was bad, the kingwas bad, everything was bad.
Okay, explain me.
And then all the propaganda, allthe TV media.
We had only two channels.
So there's not internet, there'sno, there's no internet, there's
nobody wants to talk about it.
And uh, so I start doingwhatever I was told that there's

(07:57):
a good good thing going out,like one month of the year, I
have to start fasting for like Ithink I fast for like uh six or
seven years straight every year,every Ramadan.
Yeah, Ramadan, 30 days, and thenI just feel good.
This is good, this is gonna takeme to the heaven, and then uh
start praying, and then uh onceI start questioning things, just

(08:18):
like what she said, yeah, noanswer.

SPEAKER_02 (08:20):
No one, no one had any clue.
No answer.
And were they afraid to answeranything?
Or was it just they didn't know?

SPEAKER_00 (08:25):
No, they they truly believe that that's the right
path.
Oh, god, and a young kid want toask this kind of questions.
Uh, how do you how do you gonnaexplain that wearing hijab will
take that woman to heaven, theother woman doesn't have hijab,
will go to hell?
How do you explain it to me?
So it is what it is, that's agood thing.
So I don't want to call thename, but some of the closest

(08:47):
people in my life beforerevolution, they didn't have
hijab.
After the revolution, they puthijab.
The amount of brainwashed to theroof that I don't want to make
it too political, but who thatperson that did the revolution
and everybody listened to him,which is right now is dead and
all that.

SPEAKER_02 (09:04):
I mean, this is I I'm sorry, now we're going
taking this to about I don'twant to make it political too
much, but man, what a shock to aculture to go that okay.
Now I don't want to can am Iallowed to talk about New York
City and Mondani.
Is that okay?
Yes, okay, all right.
So when you see Zoran Mondani, Imean tomorrow, but we're we're

(09:24):
recording this on the day beforethe Tuesday.
So tomorrow he is probably gonnabe elected mayor of New York
City.
Like, does that freak you out?
Yes.
Like, tell me why.

SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
Because I come from that background, because I know
what that religion, quoteunquote, I'm not gonna call the
name, yeah.
That religion can do to asociety.
I come from a country with25,000, probably more, but
registered like uh authentic25,000 of kingdom and being free
in religion.
I come from a Cyrus Kingbackground.

(09:56):
Oh wow brag about it.
I know I'm like a lot of typicalPersians that oh, I'm from now
I'm an American, I love it, I prI I I I I'm proud of it, but
King Cyrus, that's a big deal.
We're big fans of King Cyrus.
47 years of that religion.
You can look at look at theresult of the country crumbling.

SPEAKER_02 (10:13):
Crumbling.

SPEAKER_00 (10:13):
Yes, and now Mamnani wants to be a we want to be that
plus Marxist and communist andsocialist.
Free boss, give me a break.
Yeah, free boss will bringeverybody to the bus, and then
all those people that they theytake advantage of free stuff.
This was exactly the chan forthe supreme leader who the first
one that when they did therevolution, we're gonna give you

(10:35):
free water, free electricity,free everything.
What is where is where's thefree things?
And now this is the country withlooking at Mamdani in New York.
I literally I'm thinking, I wasthinking my girlfriend, let's go
to New York one of these daysbefore it before it crumbles.

SPEAKER_02 (10:48):
Yeah.
Wow.
Man, many.
I'm I'm so grateful that I'mgetting this perspective.
This is wild.
Um, okay.
So you leave, so like, doesthere are there elections though
in Iran?
Like, are there fake elections?
How's that work?

SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
Uh I I don't know really about it.
So I here is here is the here isthe one of the main reasons that
I start thinking things notthings are not authentic.
I don't see any clarity.
I don't see any, I can'tunderstand what is this going
on.
I need to travel, I need to goout.

SPEAKER_01 (11:25):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
So, and I'm like the closest people to me who are
very educated, who are very goodpeople, but I can't even get the
answer.
Like, why do you do this?
Why do you do that?
So I start thinking abouttraveling outside of Iran.

SPEAKER_02 (11:36):
Hold on, was it like a normal thing to travel outside
of Iran?
So, how did you get out?

SPEAKER_00 (11:41):
It's interesting.
So I I uh I graduated, I got mybachelor's degree, uh, four
years college, I got my uhbachelor's degree, and I was
like, okay, you have to go tothe military service or you have
to uh get a get awhatchamacallit, uh go continue
your education.
So I uh did not go to militaryservice.

(12:03):
I uh I mean it was like it waslike uh you could buy it, you
could, you could, you know, ifyou uh I'm not gonna say
privilege, but if you it was alaw, and so you you can have
passport, but with the Iranianpassport, not so many places you
can go.

SPEAKER_03 (12:19):
Yeah, period.

SPEAKER_00 (12:21):
So, but it's very typical that people uh travel to
the uh surrounding countries,like to go to Dubai, to Turkey.
I was like, uh the first countryI want to go, I want to go far,
very far.
Where can I go?
I put the lease, and I was like,oh, Venezuela is one of those
countries.
And back in the days, Hukwichalways had a good relationship
with the Iranian government.
It's still their government withour government, which is

(12:42):
interesting.
The communist, Islamists, like,you know, how does it go?

SPEAKER_02 (12:45):
Islam is well, and and also Russia really was big
in backing Iran, huge, still,yeah, big time.

SPEAKER_00 (12:52):
And um, so I just planned.
I just planned to go toVenezuela, got my passport, and
had some saved up because Istarted working since I was 18.
Uh, and I just saved up.
And this is the uh this is astory that I was gonna actually
tell to the audience today.
So I got my everything ready,and I was like, you know what?

(13:15):
I'm gonna pack a backpack,travel to Venezuela, see, see
how things work.
We didn't need a visa, it wasjust a visa and the entry upon
the entry, but I got a visa forone year.
So I was like, I'm gonna staymaybe one year maximum, see
what's going on.
It then it turned up I stayedthere two months and I came
back, but that changed my life.
So I moved to I traveled toVenezuela and I went to uh uh

(13:39):
Margarita Island in the citycalled Porlamar.
Beautiful city.
This is I think this is 06, 05.
Yeah, and uh the very momentthat I realized, oh my god, for
the past 20 years, which I wasthe kid going to a school, going
to the gym, weightlifting,fighting, training martial arts,

(14:00):
come back home.
And then with my parents that wetravel a lot to the different
countries, different cities inIran.
So I had a good childhood.
Right.
And uh but I was always becauseI raised very educated by two
parents that they also they alsopractice Islam, right?

(14:21):
Normal Muslim.
Right, right.
They're normal Muslims, theydon't force me to do anything.
Even if I was a girl, I don'tbelieve my parents will force me
to put hijab.
Hey, we think this is a goodway, do it.
But I was not a girl.
Maybe that was a good thing.
So in Venezuela, maybe thesecond day I got out of the
hotel in that very city, PortLamar, Islam Margarita.
I went to walk into downtown,and it was a church.

(14:44):
I'd never seen a church in Iranjust one time in a city called
Isfahan.
There was a traditionalbuilding, traditional like
location, and it was a kind ofnot really active church.
So that was my first time.
I'm going to a place, churchwith a cross on it, and see
people worshiping, clapping,dancing, looking up and down,
happy, happy.

(15:06):
And I was literally walking andI would just hear the song.
I thought maybe there's aconcert going on in there.
Yeah, yeah.
So I went inside.
Nobody told me to, you know, youdon't, you're not allowed to
come here because over there,the other religions, a lot of
them because they're also Shias,they're Sony, a lot of different
branches.
You don't easily can get to themon score.
Yeah, if I mean if you're awoman, you have to have scarf or

(15:29):
hijab.
Anyway, I went in, somebody wasunderdog in his Spanish, por
favor, por favor, Pasa Delante.
Come on in, come on in.
And then I was like, I didn'tknow Spanish, which right now I
speak fluent Spanish, but I wentin and I was like, I just sit
right there, and there was aguy, I'd never forget that.
He's like, he he looked at meand says, gringo, gringo.

(15:49):
I didn't know what gringo means,but because maybe I didn't
really look like Hispanic, but II'm not looking like you either.
Like I'm not, but uh maybe Iwould look like a tourist.
This is 20 years ago.
I didn't even have shorts.
It was like a it was a warmcountry pants and some tiny
shoes.
Try to be like look as much as Ican to look like a tourist.
You know, I'm first time gettingout of Iran.

(16:09):
What?
And then I was like, look atlook look at these people.
They're they're they'reclapping.
They're enjoying, they'reenjoying it.
And I was like, okay, uh what Iwas told you have to be serious
towards him, you have to smileis not allowed, and there's no
celebration when you'reworshiping.
You have to be very serious, youhave to say all the things in

(16:32):
Arabic, uh, put your fore to theground.
He's up there, he's watchingyou.
He's watching you.
If you do anything wrong, he'smad at you.
I basically was neverexperienced being happy talking
to him or whatever, he's upthere.
I was like, okay, and I juststayed there probably for like
15 minutes.

(16:54):
That was probably the puresttime that I felt in a religious
place communicating by juststanding and watching with some
overpower, some, some, some, uh,some superpower up there.
And I'm not really religious,but I'm enjoying seeing this.
That basically changed my life.
And I was like, oh my god.
That moment, that 15 minuteschanged your life.

(17:15):
Changed my life in this, as asterm of as terms of uh as terms
of uh, okay, you can also talkto God like this, right?
Happy.
Some people are crying, buthappily.
Yes.
Uh, and there is someone upthere talking to them.
It's all Spanish.
I have no clue what they aresaying, but they're happy and
they're dancing.
And it and it was beautiful, itwas beautiful when I was like,

(17:37):
okay, all right, I'm done withthat thing.
I'm gonna go back to Iran.
Uh, probably I'm gonna pack itup, and this time I'm gonna move
permanently.
That that 15 minutes alsobrought me like that, and this
is I I was 20 years old.
I didn't even have any clearidea what is dictatorship, what
is democracy?

SPEAKER_02 (17:55):
I mean you're 20, you don't know anything, right?

SPEAKER_00 (17:57):
What is democracy?
You know, I just and I was in apeak of my training.
I was getting ready to uh fightfor qualification for the
national team of Muay Thai,kickboxing, but I could actually
that was another path.
If I want to pick that path, Iwould fight for Iranian national
team as a kickboxing uh fighter.
Uh when you go for a nationalteam, you have to go through a

(18:19):
lot of uh oh, training, I'msure.
Training, not only that.

SPEAKER_02 (18:22):
Political training, right?

SPEAKER_00 (18:23):
Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (18:24):
Indoctrination.

SPEAKER_00 (18:25):
Yes.
So I was like, no, no, no, no.
Freedom is more important forme.
And and also, and also the themovie uh the the The Brave
Heart, Mel Gibson.
That was another couple movieschanged my life a lot.

SPEAKER_02 (18:37):
I mean, I so these you're you're you're sparking up
some movies that are reallypowerful for me as well.
So it's exciting to kind of hearlike globally, movies like have
impact in people's lives on apersonal level.
That's so wild.
And and what so can you talk tome?
I know that again, I'm goingback to this, but we here in the
United States, we take freedomfor granted.

(18:59):
Like we don't even know what itmeans not to be free.
We're so free.
And so we say all sorts ofridiculous things about
government uh because we have noidea what it's like to live
without that freedom.
So talk to me about like whenyou came, maybe it was in
Venezuela at that church, ormaybe it was when you hit the
United States or Costa Rica orsomething.

(19:19):
Tell me about like when yourealized there was no like the
difference, or that was it anoppressive feeling?
Give me the give me the freedomfeeling of what it's like to go
from no freedom to freedom.

SPEAKER_00 (19:31):
I never talk about these things anywhere.
Just very close people in mylife, they know this.
But it's interesting to tell youbefore you in Venezuela, the
first place I felt freedom wasshockingly, shockingly another
Muslim country, very close withIran.
My flight has three days fromTehran to Damascus, three days

(19:54):
layover in Damascus.
Yeah.
This is uh again about a twodecade ago to Syria.
Another Muslim country, veryclose with Iran, very close, but
that's a Muslim country.
That's a Shi uh Muslim country.
Right.
Women are free.
You see girls with bikini, notbikini, like very uh, I don't
know the term, the very, veryfree.

(20:15):
Yeah, but Muslim swimsuits likestuff like that.
But nightlife, you know.
I was like, wait a minute.
So I spent this three days, Idon't count it as I leave there,
but in Venezuela, I spent quitea quite a few months there after
it's like especially a secondtime.
Before even this, it was dead.
However, because they're you'restill you're still in a Muslim

(20:36):
country and you're still herepraying in a speaker six times a
day, five times a day, out loud,they encouraging you, hey, go to
the mosque, pray, pray, pray.
And those three three days, Iwas not really paying clothes.
I was not feeling free.
I was just in a layover andthree days, and I was like,
because it was a cheaper flight,so I stayed three nights in

(20:56):
Damascus, but they had a goodnight life, and I went out.
There are bars, there are clubs,there are women without a scarf
and hijabs.
And I was like, is this also aMuslim country?
And we are a Muslim country, andthey have more history to be
Muslims fully.
Right.
Before 1979, we were not fullyMuslim, right?
We had Islam since four or fivehundred years ago.
I don't know, I'm not a uhhistorian, but since 1979, it

(21:19):
became an official religion.
So in in Syria, I was like, wow,the you can have Muslim people
with this woman with this scarfand hijabs, and then you can
have uh normal girls, normalguys, you can wear shorts, you
can wear a t-shirt that has USflag on it.
This is this is not cool inIran.
Especially now, right?

(21:40):
But it wouldn't be illegalthough, right?
Illegal, no, but you get introuble.
The relationship cops or thecourtesy political police, they
will pull you over.
What is this?
What is this?
Are you supporting this andthat?
Anyway, so that was in Syria,but in in in Venezuela, I felt
it.
I felt it as long as as soon asthe the the the second time, the

(22:00):
first time, because I back toVenezuela again.
The the flight landed.
I'm I'm outside in a transit uhhall in an airport, and I was
like, this is cool, this isfree.
I can wear short in a tropical,I can wear a short, I can wear
tank top.
You can't wear tank top back inthe days in Iran as a guy.
Of course.
Now, now you can.
I can see some videos here andthere sometimes.

(22:22):
But you still have to have youcan have expectation to see some
cops come, okay, change it to at-shirt with no nothing on it.
So, first time feeling thefreedom was in Venezuela, which
I still did not know.
This is actually a communistcountry.
Yeah, it's just degrees offreedom, I guess.
But after that, when I came backto Iran and I planned as a
longer story, I wrapped it upsix more months after that.

(22:44):
I wrapped it up.
I go back, I went back toVenezuela, and then I started
traveling like a backpackeraround Venezuela.
And long story short, eventuallyI made it to Costa Rica.

SPEAKER_02 (22:55):
Costa Rica is great.

SPEAKER_00 (22:56):
That's a freedom.
I felt that, oh my god.
Even though it's a Catholiccountry, you see beautiful
church all every corner, butthey just it is no, they they
don't officially uh there's notan official religion.
It's it's it's they call itSwitzerland of South America or
Latin America.
No army, all the money goes toeducation and healthcare.
And that's the first time.

(23:17):
But and I was like, you knowwhat, this is it.
I would like to make it upnorth, maybe to Canada, maybe to
Coast, maybe to the U State, butuh I wanted to do it in a legal
way, so I'm gonna wait, maybefind a way, maybe get a visa,
maybe because now I'm in thirdcountry, so I can find a
solution to come to a statewhich is exactly.

SPEAKER_02 (23:34):
How long did it take you to learn Spanish?

SPEAKER_00 (23:36):
I would say about six months, but six, but but
you're a Mer 400% immersed.
Yes.
In in Venezuela, I was talkingmostly in English, just oh, you
do English when you were so youlearned English in Iran.
So in in school, you learn here.
Oh, okay.
Got it, got it.
All the way to 12th grade, youhave one two one hours, two
hours a week English.
But it was mostly like Britishfundamentals and all that.

(23:57):
In Costa Rica, in Venezuela, itwas all English until I make it
to I went to Nicaragua, Panama,yeah, and then ended up to Costa
Rica.
In Costa Rica, I was like, okay,this is it.
I love it.
I love this.
This is beautiful, this isgorgeous.
This is people are very nice.
There's no you there, there's noyou're in an embassy here, not
so many Persians live there.
Most of maybe 99% of thePersians were from America, like

(24:17):
Persian American move here, movethere.
So I was like, I'm gonna stayhere and I'm gonna leave here.
If I find a way to go up north,especially Canada, because I
have my cousins, bunch of mycousins live in Canada.
Yeah, but no rush.
This is this is freedom.
Then I started practicingSpanish.
I told myself no English,there's no farce, you know,
nobody is here.
And you know, I'm just gonnapractice the Spanish.

(24:39):
I can't go to the class oruniversity.
I need to work and I startworking and I start fighting
underground, and then uh justthe Spanish.

SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
What city were you in in Costa Rica?

SPEAKER_00 (24:48):
I was all over, I was in La Juela, I was in
Heredia, mostly in San Jose.
I live in North Pacific side,Guanacaste, and uh, but
primarily I was in Heredia.

SPEAKER_02 (24:58):
Oh wow.
Yeah, my wife learned Spanish.
She she went just for fourmonths, uh, summer of 2000 gosh,
must have been like 2000, gosh,no.
2008, 2007, 2006.
Like, she was there learningSpanish, which is wild.
That's a beautiful, yeah,beautiful country.
So uh, okay, so you you learnSpanish.

(25:19):
How do you get to the US?
And how like tell me thatprocess?
Because one of the things, youknow, we we have the immigration
thing is such a big deal here,especially in Texas, like uh,
you know, with people coming inthat were undocumented and all
that.
Like, what did you do and howdid you do it?

SPEAKER_00 (25:35):
And I tell you the last part, this is one of those
parts that uh I'm actuallyworking on a book, yeah, and
maybe in the future I add thispart, but I'm just gonna compact

(25:58):
and make it like a small versionof what happened to me in Costa
Rica.
Yeah, because in Costa Rica uh Igot my I basically I I very
simply I request uh job applicjob permission because I get to
Costa Rica with a little bit ofdifficulty, but uh I I got a

(26:20):
hire a lawyer, I paid the lawyerall of my all of my savings to
hey get me papers here, and Idon't want to get any any I
don't want to take the detour, Idon't want to do anything
illegal, I don't want to getmarried with a 90 years old
grandma to get my no I want tobecome I want to become a
resident of this country and Igive them all of my background

(26:41):
that I um I'm an engineer, I'm afighter, uh I fight in a higher
level in amateur, kickboxing andmuay thai in this country, but
the country, the name of thatcountry was a problem for me.
So yeah, basically, Costa Ricangovernment had to investigate me
up and down to my DNA if I'm ifI'm a good guy or I'm a bad guy.

(27:03):
Eventually, it took a few monthsfor them, I would say about a
year to find that out.
And it was it was hard.
I didn't have job permission.
I was doing uh black marketjobs.
Yeah, yeah.
Basically, not black market, no,let me let me rephrase it, like
a dishwasher.
Yeah, and uh I still keep upwith my with my training, and
then I started doing jujitsu inCosta Rica.

(27:25):
Um they have a pretty goodprogram in Costa Rica because a
lot of Americans move there orhave a it has a very good
influence in Costa Rica.

SPEAKER_02 (27:32):
Totally, like um, yeah, it's a huge vacation spot
for Americans.
Uh it's a they're very friendlytowards America.

SPEAKER_00 (27:38):
Yeah, it's number one, I believe in is number one
uh uh industry for them, liketourism.
So they they they they have towelcome and they're very nice
people.
I mean I'm I'm Costa Rican inheart.
Yeah, yeah.
American in heart too.

SPEAKER_01 (27:51):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (27:52):
Uh so anyway, once I got my papers in Costa Rica, I
was so happy I got my papers andI started having opening bank
account and this and that.
Uh honestly, I could I couldhave stayed in Costa Rica a year
and a half, a little less, alittle more than a year to get
citizenship in Costa Ricabecause I stayed there about six
years.

SPEAKER_03 (28:09):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (28:09):
I received a recommendation from a friend who
was also uh kind of a student ofmine, like as I was teaching
privately, kickboxing and muaythai.
I had friends from UN, UnitedNations, U US Embassy, Costa
Rican immigration, a lot of lawenforcement, a lot of cops and

(28:31):
law enforcement because of thenature of what I was teaching
them.
So I got a recommendation oneday that, hey, after like living
there for quite a few years,would you like to go to a state?
Just like that, in a day, we'rehaving uh dinner or lunch with
with some of them.
And I was like, I thought he wasjoking.

(28:51):
And I was like, What?
Do you want to go to a state?
United States.
I said, uh what what uh come on,man.
You're joking with me.
I don't know, no.
What?
No, why?
I mean, yeah, I mean, uh what?
So and they they didn'tcontinue, didn't follow up.
They let me maybepsychologically let me to sink

(29:13):
it in.
Let's think about it.
A few weeks later, we hang outwith friends with friends after
the class, and then I was toldagain, hey, would you like to go
to the United States of America?
I said, What are you talkingabout?
I mean, no.
Uh, you want to send mesomewhere else?
Send me to Canada.
I have I have I have family inCanada, I have my cousins over
there.
Uh, and it's a peaceful country.

(29:34):
I don't want to go to a countrythat they don't like me.
No, who said that, many?
They they love you.
That's a country based onimmigration.
I said, I don't know.
Are you serious?
Yes.
This time they were explainingmore.
Don't worry about it.
We would you just tell us yes,and then we give you all the
details.
Let me think about it.

SPEAKER_02 (29:53):
And I was so shocked.
Tell me what would tell me whenyou say, when you hear as a non
American, you hear.
Do you want to go to the UnitedStates of America?
What does that mean to a personthat came from Iran that was
kind of naturalized in CostaRica?
And then the opportunity to goto the United States comes, and
you think, like, what's thethought?
Too good to be true, or like, Idon't know.

SPEAKER_00 (30:14):
Absolute impossible.
Why?
Too good to be true.
Because I'm coming from acountry on a paper is the number
one enemy of America.
I was grew, I grew up in acountry that every hour there is
a chanting in the street, in thepropaganda and in the TV, death
to America, death to Israel.
I come from a country, I have toprove it to the to the graveyard

(30:35):
that I'm good guy if I want togo to America.
Because the whole thing aboutIran is you guys say death to
America.

SPEAKER_02 (30:42):
Right.

SPEAKER_00 (30:43):
And as a kid, I was not agree with that.
That was one of my very firstquestions.
I'm probably 10 years old.
I'm asking that, I said it, Dad.
Why do we say death to America?
Don't say it, but I kind of it'sit's it's good.
I said, Mom, auntie, teacher,coach, why do we say that why
death?
Why we go every once once a yearin a muhar and we go out when is

(31:06):
Imam Hussein's death, and thenuh back in the days, one of the
most brutal things I remember asa religious uh ceremony with the
Mashadi, they hit to their headto just sympathize with what
happened, whatever thousandyears ago to that leader of that
religion got killed.
So I grew up with blood, withwith with negativity towards

(31:30):
y'all, towards Western cultureand everything.
So when I when I couldn'tconfronted that, hey, you want
to go to America?
I was like, that's too good tobe true.
And we're having lunch, we'rehaving dinner.
These are my friends.
I trained them here and they'reboxing multi.
Now we become friends.
Maybe I'm a cool dude that theywant to hang out with me, but I
have nobody in Costa Rica.
I just love the and they knewthat I loved their country.

(31:51):
I truly love Costa Rica.

SPEAKER_01 (31:52):
Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (31:53):
So I went and I asked one of the very old uh
Iranian friends, I would not sayfriend that I know over there,
and he also moved to Costa Ricaright after the revolution.
Probably he's dead right now.
I think he's dead.
And I said, hey, Mr.
Blah blah blah.
I got some some offer like this.
What should I do?
And he immediately told me,Manny, you're smart.

(32:15):
Now you speak three, fourlanguages, far six Spanish, and
English.
And you you you're you're anathlete, you're you're a strong
man, this and that.
You they want to use you as aspy.
Be careful.
Say no.
They will, they, yes, of coursethey want to.
Nowadays, uh, they use peoplethat they speak their enemy's
language.
So maybe they send you back tothe region.

(32:36):
Maybe they you become a spy.
I said, oh yeah, you're right,you're right.
Thank you, sir, thank you, sir.
Okay, okay.
So I was confident to say no toprobably the greatest offer I've
ever received in my life.

SPEAKER_01 (32:47):
Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 (32:48):
So I I just leave it right there.
Yeah.
I don't follow up with them, butthey call me.
They call me.
And this time from their phonenumber was like a bunch of zero.
And I and I I picked my phone,because Suri can cell phone, and
then it was a lady and one ofthem, I think her name was
Lupita.

(33:08):
Like I was not, it was not myshe was not my friend, my
friend, but she was one of thatgroup.
She said, Hey, did you thinkabout what I told what we told
you?
I said, Yes, come on, man.
Why are you so insisting?
This is too good to be true.
You know what?
No.
And she was like, Why?
Why no?
What is your reason?
I said, What is your reason towhy me?
There's so many people who wantto go to America.
I know there's so many peoplewho want to go to America.

(33:28):
I know that for a fact.
Everybody wants to come here.
Why me?
I mean, I I never show interest.
Maybe you guys hear me to talkabout my cousins in Canada.
But it's it's so weird.
And I think you're gonna use meas a spy.
I think you want to use me, Idon't know, for CIA, for FBI,
send me back to the region.
She she laughed and she waslike, okay, here we go.

(33:48):
I know, Manny.
This day, this time, let's sitdown and let's talk about it.
I'm gonna give you a schedule,an appointment, come to the US
Embassy in Pavos, Costa Rica.
Beautiful, beautiful building,very, very high-profile
building.
So I was like, okay, cool.
What?
I'm going to US Embassy or itwas a is it was it was not a

(34:11):
whole US Embassy, it was abranch of them in this location.
So I was like, okay, cool, noproblem.
Then I wake back to talk to thatguy, and he was like, be
careful, you might kidnap you.
I said, couldn't mean kidnap me.
Well for what?
Who am I?
I mean, who am I?
I barely got my document inCosta Rica, and Costa Rican
government are basically undercoast under US government.
Anything happened in Costa Rica,the US government knows about

(34:33):
it.
So they probably that's actuallyprobably they that they know
about me.
So I was like, okay, you'remaybe you're too old.
I'm thinking listening to youtoo much.
But I'm always looking for wordsof wisdom from people that they
know more than me.
So I was like, you know what?
I'm gonna go.
This is just an appointment, andthey're gonna explain me why
they want to do that.
So I went to that appointment,and it was a lady, a white lady

(34:56):
who speaks farsi as good asmyself.
Wow.
I was like, oh my god, this islike movie.
This is like this is like movie.
Yeah.
And he she starts, salam, uh,hi, how are you?
My name is blah, blah, blah.
And I was like, are you Persian?
No, you cannot.
I mean, we have some whitepeople with the green eyes north
of Iran, but you you lookAmerican.

(35:18):
No, I'm uh I'm an American, butI was like, okay, this is in my
head, I was like, this is it.
This is it.
Here's here, I'm a spy.
Here we go.
Officially, and then itimmediately reminded me of black
hole.
Yeah, it reminded me of movie uhspy game, yeah, Robert Redford
and uh Brad Pitt.
Yeah, yeah.
I was like, oh my god, it'sgonna be cool.
It's one time life.

SPEAKER_01 (35:37):
Wait, listen, you could be a spy.
I mean, anyway, go on.
Oh man, this is good.

SPEAKER_00 (35:43):
And then she explained to me, hey, my my
colleague told me that this isyour concern.
Let me explain to you.
There is a program called SIV,special immigrant visa.
Yes, we are looking for specialimmigrants, we're looking for
special people that they aresmart.
The two words that I neverforget, she said, and I felt

(36:03):
proud of that.
She said, We're looking forbrain.
You're a brain, you can help thecountry, you can help, you can
we want you to in America.
You speak three languages, youknow, and you're a good guy.
And long story short, she said,trust me, we checked your entire
life basically.
We know what elementary schoolyour grandpa was attending in

(36:27):
Iran 300 years ago, for example.
And my grandpa was only sixthgrade.
That's it.
She he didn't continue more thanthat.
So she explained me more stuffthat they know about me, and
they said, So we know that, weeven know that this is amazing
about you as government, andthen we know that you love this
part to be like this.

(36:48):
We know that you you left forfreedom.
You left for freedom, you leftfor having a good life, uh,
pursue freedom.
Your desire to even be in CostaRica is what we have in in our

constitution (37:00):
freedom of speech, freedom of uh everything.
You you you all for that.
And also you speak threelanguages, and we have a job for
you.
We have job for you.
I said, I don't have anybody inAmerica, I don't have a job.
What am I gonna do?
I don't have any.
We have a job for you, we willprotect you for quite a few
months.
Once you get your socialsecurity number, you on your
own.
But for before that, we helpyou.

(37:21):
This this program called SIV.
I was like, okay, a specialimmigrant.
So I'm gonna be a special uhimmigrant.
Yes, you become an you go toAmerica, uh-huh.
And the good part is you'removing to America with your
green card in your pocket.
I was like, you give me my greencard?
So no, you get to that and wegive it to you there.
But you you don't have to applyfor a green card once you're
there.

(37:41):
You you you you're you're gonnaget it because with this program
you're gonna make it there, andthen we take care of that.
But you're going to have a joband as kind of interpretation,
but it's going to be uh officework, you know.
And then, but you still need togo through a process of applying
for that job.
But you're not gonna behelpless.
We will help you.
And uh what do you do here?

(38:03):
I said, I'm I'm I'm training atthat moment.
I was working full-time as akickboxing instructor in a gym
and also uh call center.
I said, You can you can't justwork, you can work for$400,$500
a month in Costa Rica forever,but over there there's more
opportunity.
This is the reason.
And and uh you still have 100%right to say no.

(38:24):
And I was like, so you don'texpect me to say yes right now.
I said no, go home and thinkabout it.
But she basically clarifiedeverything and she explained me
everything, and I was like,okay, so no CIA, no FBI said,
no, no, no, no, no.
For that, you you for that youhave to be citizen, first of
all.
You can't be just a green cardholder, you have to be citizen.
But the thing is, you're goingwith our own invitation, like

(38:47):
this.
And I was like, huh.
So you picking me up, said yes,we picked you.
You resolved this is a veryselective program, which I'm not
sure if it's still going on ornot, but uh uh basically after
maybe one or two days thinking,I said yes.
Pastor, after I said yes, sixmore months I was in America.

(39:07):
All the medical tests,everything was quickly passed,
and then I got escorted to theairplane.
I never forget that day that inCosta Rican, in Juan Santa Maria
airport of San Jose, it was aline for that very flight that
went to us to stay to Miami.
I got escorted and I passedthrough the whole line, and then
people looking at me, and I wastwo uh Costa Rican off one Costa

(39:30):
Rican, one American, both ladyvery officially dressed up.
They said, Hey, let us go.
And then I was like, good, good.
Wow.
Yes, and then I escorted andsaid that's it.
And then I moved to they I flyto Florida, and then I they flow
me to I was yeah, I was inFlorida and then Houston and
then California.

(39:50):
And then it was all true.
It was all true.
I got my citizenship after thiswas I think it was 2012.
This was all over after I got myI mean, not over, it's all very
quick.
And I yes, I got I had to waitfor my social security number
because before that you can'tget received money from

(40:12):
government or anything.
And then green card, and thencitizenship, and then uh to the
point that I think uh I was Iwas not committed, I didn't have
any promise to the government towork for them, but it was better
than nothing.
I was working as an uhinterpreter and also a case
manager for some nonprofit, halfgovernment, half uh nonprofit

(40:35):
agencies.
But eventually I decided, youknow what, uh I want to be
full-time fighter, I want to bea full-time coach.
And I think 2016 I made thatmade happen.
I did pro level, but I wasolder, so I had a couple MMA
fights, and then I was like,let's just switch to just
jujitsu.
I focus on jujitsu, and tillnow.
I got my citizenship in 20, Ithink, 18.

SPEAKER_02 (41:01):
What was that like?
What was the emotion of that?

SPEAKER_00 (41:05):
Very good question.
I'm I'm getting glissed on rightnow.
I don't know anybody more proudto be American than myself.
I slept with my US passport thefirst two nights in my bed.
I slept with my passport, and Iwas like, and every time I have
this conversation with anybodyasking me this question, I
getting emotional.

(41:25):
I come from a country on a paperthat it's absolutely impossible
with the way that I came toAmerica, not investing, not
getting married with an Americangirl outside of America, this
90-day fiance stuff.
Right, right, right.
I got picked up by USgovernment, but the greatest
nation, greatest country on thehistory of the world.

(41:46):
You know, every nation has thegreatest part, from the Cyrus,
the King, the Great, Iran,China, Rome, Aztecs.
We have nations here and there.
We have empires all the time.
But this, even though I believemaybe US government, maybe US
did something bad before.
But as long as I remember, we'vebeen doing better.
Like, yes, Vietnam War was notmaybe far fair, whatever.

(42:09):
Now I know because I work for USgovernment, I work for uh
nonprofit, ton of schools thatwe're building in Vietnam.
A lot of other things.
Every, regardless ofconservative or democrat or
liberal, every government comes,we're helping the world.
We're helping the world.
Iran, the place that I was born,Persians, Persia attacks India.

(42:30):
If if Indian wants to be mad atus, they have a right.
Right.
Mongolians attack Iran, theykill everybody, Persians, Arabs
attacks Persians, like everypart of the history, somebody
attacks somebody and tried totake over the Rome's, Alexander,
this and that.
At this very moment, regardlessof the history, US doing good.

SPEAKER_01 (42:49):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (42:50):
Generally doing good.
And now this country picked mefrom Costa Rica that I was
living happily with freedom.
And yes, I was not making toomuch money, but I was happy.
But they said, Hey, you can dothis, but you can do the same
things here with much moreopportunity.
Do you want to go there?
And I turned them down twice.

SPEAKER_02 (43:09):
I turned them down twice.
And you were chosen.
I I think that's the coolestpart of the whole story.
You're a chosen, man.

SPEAKER_00 (43:16):
I and I turned them down to who's who would do that?
Like, no.
Hey, America, we're American,come over here.
No, I'm being a stock up.
No.
And then I was like, you knowwhat?
Yes.
Now you want to take me there?
Let's do it.
What?
Six more months, I'm over here.
I got my citizenship.
And I pay for expedition for mypassport.

(43:40):
Like, I was like, I'm gonna, Iwant my passport.
I want my passport.
And then I change.
Uh I I I picked uh not change, Ipicked uh Alonso.
Let's be back to your firstquestion.
I pick Alonso as my middle name.

SPEAKER_02 (43:55):
Oh fun.
Because you got to choosewhatever name you wanted.
Yes.

SPEAKER_00 (43:58):
I pick Alonso because in heart I felt Costa
Rica is my home country in myback, but that was then now.
This is my home country.
I just equally love these twocountries.
And um even my Instagram, evenmy social media, I don't even
mention my last name, which Ididn't really change it for the

(44:19):
respect for my father.
Right, right, right.
And but I picked Alonso as mymiddle name.
So I am Manny Alonso.
I am Manny Alonso, and uh I hadto go to Rica.
I go to Surica many times ayear.
I actually opened a businessthere, then I just wrapped it
up, bring it back over here.
Uh I slept with my passport twodays.
It's funny, maybe people laughat me, but yeah, I was like,
It's the coolest story.

(44:40):
Like, that's my passport, and Iwake up in the morning.
Is that let me see?
Still there.
Nationality American.
Am I an American?
I was just watching movies likeRocky 4, other movies.
It's like there's me.
That's that they're American.
And I was a kid.
I was like, oh, look at thoseblue eyes, green eyes people.
Like, cool, cool.
You know, I don't even speakEnglish.
I that's cool to be one of themone day, and I'm one of them.

(45:01):
I'm an I'm an American.
And uh when when because it wasa big ceremony when that person
was making all the audience ofpeople that getting their
citizenship in that very uh bigarena, making us to read the
oath.

SPEAKER_02 (45:14):
Oh, where did you do that?

SPEAKER_00 (45:16):
Uh it was, I think it was in Houston, yeah,
Houston, Houston, Houston.
And I uh I was just pouring, uhpouring like and I was like,
yeah, whatever it says in the inthat oath, yeah, I'm I'm gonna
do it.
I'm gonna I'm gonna protect thisfreedom.
And until this day, uh anybody,anybody into my face wants to

(45:38):
disrespect America, wants totell me that we're bad.
I said, you unhappy?
I will pay for your travel.
Go, not even, not even Yemen orNigeria or Somalia, Iran is a
safe country.
Go there, I pay for you, leavethere for one day.
Yeah, just please leave there,I'll pay for you.
And then you realize you guysnot only take it for granted,
you have no idea what you'retalking about.

(46:00):
Right.
You have no idea.
You cannot convince me that thisis not, this is a bad country,
this is a not great country, andthen you want socialism,
Marxism, and all that.
And I am for no at no what bitby no means I'm not a politician
or religious.
I I can't even talk about itproperly.
But I have an idea.
If you provoke me, especially inFarsi, I can I can lecture you

(46:22):
in Farsi, tell you what happenedto me, what happened to my my my
people, what happened to our ourmoney like being sent to other
countries for their for to helpthem.
And this government over there,they don't even care about their
own Persians, and then they theysupport other groups and
countries.

(46:42):
I don't want to talk about itright now.
It's gonna be make it toopolitical.
What I did, I was like, okay, Idon't want to go that path, you
know, I don't want to talk aboutthis to hold word until maybe
this is the moment that I'mactually uh releasing some
information about my life.
But I want to be inspirational.
I actually I am to my brother,to my uh cousins, and some of
them, a lot of them after me,they moved out, they've pursued

(47:04):
freedom.
Uh, whether they were so liberalor democrat or conservative,
republic, whatever, whatever.
Hey, just be out.
What I'm doing right now throughsports or martial arts, just
three things that Persianculture from the Cyrus the Great
was basically teaching us, andit's not even religion.

(47:26):
Do good, act good.
I mean, uh good uh goodthoughts, good actions, good
deeds.
These three things.
These three things is a Persian,uh the Zoroasterian uh the
symbol comes from this thing.
I'm not even expert on that.
I can talk about it a lot.
But what I'm what I'm trying tosay is just I'm trying to teach

(47:47):
my students, kids, and adults,just do good, act good, have
good thoughts, and then martialarts will help you with that.
Wow.
Jiu Jitsu will help you withthat because especially jujitsu
is a martial arts that it comeswith resilience.
You cannot face away, turn awayfrom the problem, which is
another person.
If I turn away from the otherperson, I gotta get choked.
So I have to face the problem,frame, yeah, scooch out, and

(48:09):
then find a way to counter ormaybe choke him or something.
So jujitsu, it's absolute greatmartial arts.
And what I'm doing right now,after years being here,
implementing on that absolutelynot in a religious or politic,
politic ways, to make peopleunderstand life is too short, be
good, do good, do no harm, justtake care of your freedom, take

(48:34):
care of your happiness, and tryto do good.
And uh if if we get to the closeof the conversation, I can
explain to them that where Icome from, none of this easily
happens.
So be thankful for what you havehere.
Be thankful what we what Americais and where you're living.

(48:54):
Because a lot of a lot of times,because you're taking things for
granted, you're just bored, youget in the street and you start
uprising for this and that.
You have no idea.
You can't even do that overthere.

SPEAKER_02 (49:04):
Right, right.
That's you that's shut down.
Okay, wow.
I I feel like I've just been soblown away by your story.
Uh okay, talk to me about yourgym.
Talk to me about like kind oflike who you train, you know,
age levels, all that kind ofthing, and how you instill grit
into their lives.

SPEAKER_00 (49:21):
Uh, we start from five years old and up.
We just recently started openinga four years old class, but
that's for evaluation.
So we'll be four years will comefor a class because jujitsu is a
very detailed sport, even thoughfour, five, six years old, we
teach them a lot ofgames-related jujitsu,
jujitsu-related game.
Yeah.
Uh so we can take four years oldafter one or two sessions of

(49:42):
free session, free child ofevaluation.
Yeah.
But uh, we start from five yearsold and up.
Uh every day we have two kids'classes, and then at after the
kids' classes are adult classesare six fifteen.
The kids' classes are 4.30 andthen 5.15, and then adult
classes are 6.15 and then 7 uh15.
Uh, these are jujitsu first andthen kickboxing.

(50:05):
And Tuesday, Thursdays is purelyjiu-jitsu, entirely jujitsu for
adults, 6 to 8.
Uh, and then we have Saturdaysfamily MMA, which is for people
that they have two familymembers in our gym.
Uh, whether it's two kids or onekid or an adult, they can be on
the mat at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 (50:20):
Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_00 (50:21):
Because of my striking background, which I am
very proud of, a lot of jujitsucoaches, jiu-jitsu
practitioners, yes, they mighthave a little bit of a striking
background, but not a lot.
Uh, as a former uh kickboxer andamateur fighter, because my MMA
career was just MMA, right?
But uh I highly uh uh encouragemy students to take my striking

(50:42):
class as well.
And my girlfriend, who actuallylet me open a parent
parenthesis, I believe she wouldbe a great just herself.
I'm gonna I'm gonna be out.
I'm gonna see over there.
She will be great next guest foryou because where she's coming
from, she's defin definitely Idon't know if I can say this.
Sure.

(51:04):
Uh maybe so I got hurt byreligion to the point that
forced me to leave out of thatcountry.
Right.
And then I realized, okay, thereare good religion, there are bad
religion, there are good ways touh talk about religion, there
are bad ways, there are properway, but I am strongly believe

(51:26):
in God.
Strongly.
I think God is a non-religiontopic.
You can call it God, karma,energy, superpower, something.
There is somebody up there, likeany any color, any anything in
the world, any group, any thingsthat needs an organizer.

(51:47):
This place has an organizer, afamily has an organizer, a gym.
Without that organizer, thatthat that society cannot
flourish.
Flourish and then keep the shapeand form and everything.
So there's somebody up there.
She got definitely uh hurt byreligion.
And who she is right now, whichis an extremely successful young

(52:08):
lady, extremely successfulwoman.
And and uh I thought I'm gonnaend up single because I didn't
really want to have any seriousrelationship with my life.
And when because we wereco-workers, and then we we uh we
worked together, and basically Ileft.
I left where I was working, andthen I traveled, I started

(52:31):
traveling, and then basicallyshe joined me just as a
co-worker.
So, hey, you want to open yourgym?
Can I be your partner to steal?
I said, You sure?
Yeah, but anyway, uh the waythat she got involved or forced
to practice a certain littlereligion, and then the way that
she got out of that situation,basically she escaped that

(52:53):
situation from very, very it'slike the her story of her life.
I'm not gonna say anything.
Yeah, if you decided to inviteher, she will be here.
Yeah, uh we have a very similarbackground.
But the problem for me wasoutside of my family, which is
gently encouraged me to practiceIslam, right?

(53:14):
In her family, it wasn't agentleness.
It was like oh yeah.
Um like David Kirsch situation.

SPEAKER_02 (53:24):
Oh wow, wow.
Oh, I we definitely didn't talkto her about that.

SPEAKER_00 (53:29):
Like she she's the smartest, the most brilliant
person in so like a commandsomewhere just doing wild stuff,
yeah.
How she basically left thatsituation and then coming to me,
and we were just co-workers,right?
And then after that, after a fewmonths, it's still because in
Costa Rica, we were justco-workers.

(53:49):
Hey, I'm gonna open a gym.
You want to be in Costa Rica?
Yeah, password, yes, let's go,let's go.
I mean, I love you as aco-worker.
And then after being six, sevenmonths together, we decided,
okay, she loves me, I love you.
Okay, you know what?
I love you too.
You know what?
I you know what?
Yeah, and then she told me someof the stories.
I was like, oh, whoa, whoa, Isaw some stuff, but whoa, whoa,
whoa, oh my god, you need towrite your book, and she's

(54:10):
working on it too.
Or yes, she's tired.
She needs to, yes, absolutely.
But I was like, okay, I, atleast my family was at my dad
helped me to leave Iran.
I said, hey, and the secondtime, for the second time, I
have very limited money.
I said, Dad, I want to go backto Venezuela.
I don't have money.
It's okay.
Follow your dream, follow yourdream.
I said, Dad, you're still a veryconservative person, you know.

(54:32):
Somehow you're your generationwere frontliners for revolution.
So this crap is what you yourgeneration brought you.
I'm sorry.
You brought it on yourself,right?
Uh but no, you know, she neverhe never he never admitted that
he's regrettable.
I said, I help you.
Yeah.
And also he helped all my otherbrothers.
Three brothers, one here, one inIreland, one in Canada.

(54:55):
The Canadian, the Ali, myyounger brother, he's pursuing
his PhD in philosophy and inanthropology.
Wow, wow.
The other one is in Ireland,almost about to be citizen of
Ireland after like almost adecade.
He is a electric engineer.
I'm a dumbest one, I'm just anagricultural engineer.
But I also pursue fight.
My dad was always encouraged meto do basketball because he's an
academic sport and he's a highIQ people.

(55:17):
I said, Well, that I like tofight.
But yeah, I love my dad, and heraised me very straightforward,
but he never forced me to doanything.
He encouraged me, and I waslike, okay.
And once I start askingquestions and he couldn't answer
me, he knew the answer.
But whatever.

SPEAKER_02 (55:35):
Do you think there's freedom in you that he's
experiencing through you?
Very good.
Like it's we call it vicarious.
Like when I live my freedomthrough you.
I can't experience it myself,but I I get to experience it
through you.

SPEAKER_00 (55:49):
That's a very good that's a very good thing.
I never thought about it.

SPEAKER_02 (55:53):
And it can go positively.
Like I think your dad, like heculturally, that's where he is,
and he gets to enjoy the freedomyou do, you get through you.
Sometimes it can be negative,where like all your hopes and
dreams rest on your son and hissuccess, and you better be
successful.
And so that doesn't sound likehow your dad is, but a lot of
dads do that.
They'll put all this pressure ontheir son to be something

(56:16):
because their um who they are isseen in who their kid is.

SPEAKER_00 (56:20):
I think that's that's a very good analogy.
Because he's not, I maybe sawhim two times crying in his
life.
Once was when I left.
He was just pouring in, hey,sorry if I was a bad, bad
father.
I said, No, you never was a badfather.
And the second time was the lasttime I met him in Turkey, 2019.

(56:41):
My first travel with my USpassport.
And I met them after 10 years.
Uh and he he again cried andsays, Hey, I'm sorry.
I said, Daddy, stop being sayingthat.
I love you.
Who I am is what you raised me.
And you never forced me to donone of those things.
And in fact, you helped mefinancially, emotionally.
And uh, I don't have a kid, butif I ever have a kid, I don't

(57:03):
think it's gonna happen.
I don't want kids, but I I I I II think I'm gonna do them, do
what you did.
I'm gonna be straightforward,I'm gonna raise men, not just
kids.
Right.
Uh but I what she said is makingme thinking, right?
He enjoys seeing, enjoyingfreedom and what I'm doing
through me, because thatgeneration has still had freedom

(57:24):
before revolution and theymessed it up.
Yep, they messed it up forwhatever reason.
They wanted Islam, this is Islamnow.
You wanted this, this is it.
And nothing against there arethere are good and bad people
everywhere, they're religiouspeople.
I don't say Muslims are bad, I'mjust saying what governments of
Iran did is not it wasn't rightbecause we have look at look at

(57:45):
Saudi Arabia.
It's a source of Islam country,it's free, it's good.
I mean, Jennifer Lewis can put aconcert there, right?
You can't do it in Iran, right?
And do they have rules and yes,Sharia Allah?
Yes, yes, but at least they'rethey're letting people to leave.
When I say the largestdictatorship is you can't even
have your girlfriend's hands inyour hands when you walk in the
street because the relationshipcomes, pull you over, ask you,

(58:09):
is she your daughter, your wife?
And if it is, what is thedocument?
If not, you're in trouble.
At least in Saudi Arabia, youcan do that.
Maybe not in a couple citieslike Mecca and Medina, but so
that's that like it's it'scrazy.
It's it's it's country likeIran.
So my dad didn't force me.
But what hurts me the most wasthe society, the whole country.

(58:33):
Versus over here, the wholecountry is basically free,
basically.
Okay, but the family can forceyou, like that person that I
mentioned name.
So my girlfriend who speaksbetter than English than me
because she's American.
Uh, she can she can bring it.

SPEAKER_02 (58:49):
Oh, I can't wait to hear, I can't wait to hear her
story.
But I want to give you aperspective also on the fact
that you were chosen.
I just like I'm I'm stuck onthat idea that the United States
chose you, which is just thecoolest idea, and then how much
you treasure your passport.
That really moves me.
Uh, as a Christian, so there nowI'm gonna get into like
Christian theology for a second.
What we believe is that that Godis in heaven and then he looks

(59:12):
throughout the world and hechooses people whom he will
reveal himself to.
So, like he came to me when Iwas in my uh 20s, and it was
like life went from black andwhite to color in a second, and
I felt chosen, and then all of asudden, I you know, I didn't

(59:32):
really grow up.
I I went to church growing upsomewhat, probably about as much
as you probably went to themosque.
Uh, and you know, I go.
But then when I got hit, I wasat a church that they were
singing, and people really wereinto the music.
People were really into God,there was joy on their face, and
I was like, what is going onhere?

(59:53):
And then when it felt like thepastor spoke, it was like he was
talking right to me, and myheart was exploding that Jesus
died.
On the cross for my sin, and herose from the dead and he wanted
me.
And that that reality hit me inall of life.
There was like no going back.

(01:00:17):
And so since I went, you know, Iwent and jumped out of
airplanes, I was arrangered, Iwas in the army, I got to go to
war and combat and all that.
And all throughout that time,there was just this deep sense
that, although I'm American, I'msuper proud of that.
Like I'm a part of the kingdomof God, and ultimately that is
my home, whom I'm representingeverywhere I go, which now I get
to be a pastor and preach and doall that.
Um, it has been the mostremarkable and beautiful

(01:00:39):
experience.
And I can't help but think, youknow, like our interaction isn't
coincidental.
And my prayer, if you don't mindme praying this, is for you and
your girlfriend, is that Godwould reveal himself so fully to
you that you would see how goodhe is and how much this thing of
being chosen isn't just to be anAmerican, it's to be a son of
God, which I'm I'm excited foryou.
So anyway, I wanted to sharethat with you.

(01:01:00):
And man, I hope we have get tohave way more conversations of
this because you arefascinating.
Man, I'm like, I need more Mannyin my life.
You guys probably need moreManny in your life.
Manny, how can people find you?
How could they how could theyget a hold of you if they want
to like come train?

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:12):
So the name of our gym is the first two letters of
my name and her name.
Her name is Kaylin.

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:18):
Okay, good.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:19):
With a very unique spelling Irish name.
Yeah.
So it's C-A for her name andManny, which I uh picked my
first the first first letter ofmy second name, which is Alonso.

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:31):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:32):
So it's M-A-C-A.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:33):
Oh, good.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:34):
Macha Martial Arts.
Love it.
Maka Martial Arts.
And uh just just type macamartial arts at uh uh
marcomartial arts.com.
You can see my website.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:44):
Or just head down Wells Branch Parkway to in the
make a right and you're off ofMaryltown, right?

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:48):
Yes, Maryltown Plaza.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:50):
Man, Manny.
I hope we get to moreinteractions like this.
I I honestly think that this wasreally powerful.
Do you mind if I pray for youand for Caitlin?

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:58):
Absolutely.
Uh I want to say one more thingbecause the uh, like I said, as
a person that I'm trulybelieving in God and his
support.
Yeah.
So we pray every night.

SPEAKER_01 (01:02:08):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:09):
Caitlin and I almost every night.
When we sign up new people, wepray double.
We when we lose, sorry, when wesign people, we pray a lot.
When we lose people, like peoplecancel their membership, we pray
triple.
Nice God, you close one door,you open another door.
Sometimes you close one door,you open five doors.
Absolutely.
We we opened this gym in uh lastyear's September with absolute

(01:02:33):
no-base clientele, and we did uha few online marketing, and then
we'll start doing in-personmarketing.
We had no rent for the firstmonth.
This is the story, nobody knows,only that family, and I just
told them recently.
We had no rent for the firstmonth, and we already I wrote a
big check out of my savings forfirst month deposit and last

(01:02:55):
month.
That's like 10 grand.
Oh so, and then we moved toAustin, we have to go to a new
place and buy all the we were wewere moved back to from Costa
Rica to Florida and from Floridato here.
I was like a backpacker.
We put everything in in my car,which is SUV, and then in my
truck, and then just so we haveto buy everything.
So for the October, we had nomoney to pay the rent unless we

(01:03:16):
spent another four grand for therent to pay my rent.
So the whole September, I wasshaking.
I was like, babe, what are wegonna do?
So I mean, God is great, thisand that.
One night we we one day we prayso hard, and we had very low
price for pre-sale, very cheapmembership, nobody showed up.

(01:03:39):
And it's close to the end of theend of the September, beginning
of October.
I have to pay the rent.
We pray and we have a membershipof six months, 12 months, or pay
in full.
The pay in full is a family,it's you pay for the full
four-year, and you get maybe uha month free.
And then uh this day, thismoment we pray this night.

(01:04:03):
The next day, we have a familythat came from a uh marketing
event we had in uh HarrimanFestival in Cat Hollow Park.
Yeah, yeah.
This whole family, a gentleman,uh former uh Marine, Purple
Heart, military guy, God blessmilitary, God bless America, God
bless all those parents that Imean he has familiarity.
I said, Hey, I want my boys to GG so this and that.

(01:04:25):
And then we had a free trial,two sessions in class, and then
uh they came back the thirdtime.
I was like, okay, they'reprobably gonna sign up.
That would be good.
Like, that's that's like that.
And that was in pre-sale, thatwas a real real price.
And he was like, it is like$200a month.
And uh they left, and I had touh they they second they

(01:04:46):
finished the kids' class, andthen they left.
My girlfriend does all themsigning up, and I had to start
the adult class, which was onlyone guy or two guys.
I was just teaching them, andthen she finished uh she was
talking and I was like, Oh,probably they're signing up.
Good, good.
I said, Two guys, let's go do,let's do warm-ups and all that.
So, anyway, the adult class gotover.
We closed the gym, and and Iwalked towards her and and

(01:05:08):
nobody was in the gym, and I waslike, Hey, did they sign up?
This this guy, and she was like,She just started crying.
Uh-huh.
And I was like, What what tellme?
He said, Take a guess.
I said, Tell me, tell me.
Did they sign up?
Because we have no money.
And she started crying and said,You got a guess.
I said, Okay, six months.
Six months, no.
12 months?
They sign up for 12 months, andthen they pay at least for the

(01:05:31):
first month.
So we have a couple hundreddollars for the for this month.
I said, They pay in full.
I said, What?
He said, They pay in full.
I said, You're telling me thatthat gentleman with his wife and
two kids, they pay$4,500,$40,$4,200.
He said, Yes, they swap the car.
So not only we have rent for theOctober, we have a thousand

(01:05:52):
dollars for ourselves.
No business can pay you profitthe first month.
And I was like, No, you youyou're kidding with me.
He said, she's to come over hereand she's crying.
And I was like, So that$4,500 ison our bank account in our first
month.
Wow, someone trusts me as acoach, you as a coach to teach
their kids and then pay in fullfor the whole we're nobody here.

(01:06:15):
There's this is this is Austin.
This is uh jiu-jitsu hub of theworld, the big names.
We have like war championssurrounding us in Stater Park,
in in Flugerville that havegyms.
I'm not famous.
I in Houston, California, I havesome base clients there, but I
didn't open a gym over there inFlorida, even in Florida.
But here, I'm nobody, nobodyknows me.
But these people come, thatperson knows jiu-jitsu a little

(01:06:37):
bit, but he trusted me to pay me$4,500 right now to teach his
kids, and they're still ourstudents.
So and then we have money.
And then I felt that I literallyfelt, hey, I got you.
I got you, keep going.
And from that moment, not onlyfor our gyms, we double our

(01:06:58):
prayers, we pray, we talk, andme myself personally, when I'm
when I just talk.
I talk in farci, I talksometimes in Spanish, I joke
with him, he's up there.
I feel his hand sometimes.
Every time anything badhappened, every time, every time
anything bad happened, he'slike, I feel it.
Like and this some people, somenon-religious people like

(01:07:19):
myself, uh you blah blah blahblah.
Bro, I'm not religious.
He's up there.
You can believe in Jesus, Moses,Muhammad, whatever, whoever.
Honestly, in this case, I'm notsaying this for you to like me
more, yeah, but I think Jesus isthe best one as well.

SPEAKER_02 (01:07:34):
Okay, well, I'm gonna pray for you in Jesus'
name if you don't mind.
Yes, sir.
Father, thank you for Manny andfor Caitlin.
I am so excited for them.
Lord, you have shown up in theirlives over and over.
From that church in Venezuela,where for 15 minutes he got to

(01:07:55):
see just the joy of the Lord uhto that moment where he was
chosen to come to the UnitedStates.
Just even now, our interaction,I can see your hand on Manny's
life, and to that point whereyou got that first month's rent
paid for um supernaturally.
And so, God, you've been hearingevery one of their prayers, and

(01:08:17):
so I pray you would continue todo so.
And I pray, Jesus, you'd revealyourself so completely that they
would know that how loved theyare, how cherished they are,
that the love that he receivedfrom his dad, it's like that
times a bazillion of how muchyou love Manny and how much you
love Caitlin.
And I'm praying for your favorto fall on their life and on
their business.
And you would bless them andkeep them.

(01:08:37):
You'd make your you cause yourface to shine upon them, be
gracious to them.
Lord, would you reveal yourselffully so it wouldn't be a
mystery of who is answering allthese prayers?
We love you, God.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Thanks, Manny.
Yes, sir.
Hey, thanks so much forwatching.
If you got any questions, youcan text us at 737 231 0605.
We'd love to hear from you fromyou.

(01:08:58):
From our house to yours.
Have an awesome week of worship.