December 22, 2025 • 43 mins
Army 1st Lt. Austin von Letkemann, better known to his Instagram followers as MandatoryFunDay, has become a frequent flyer on our show in 2025. But his first appearance was what made him one of our most impactful guests of 2025, when he talked about his unusual rise to fame.
His Instagram channel, with 20 million monthly views, features comedy videos that poke fun at various parts of military life.
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(00:00):
We're back alphas. We're coming in hot with
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This is the Tal Podcast. Hi there, Alphas.
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(00:21):
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(00:43):
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your podcast, don't miss our countdown.
We've got we've got you covered.Comedian, actor and social media
influencer Austin von Lichtman, better known by a social handle
mandatory Fun Day, has become a sort of a repeat of on the Tango
Offalima podcast. We all caught up with him during
(01:05):
the National Convention in Tampaand Joe and myself saw him just
a couple weeks ago at the Army Navy game actually.
But Austin was first a guest on our show back in February when
he was just starting to share the content about the American
Legion with his. He's got a few followers.
I think it's like only 20 million I.
(01:25):
Think a few million just. A paltry?
Yeah, A few million. A.
Paltry few million a. Paltry few 20 million Do you
guys, do you guys have a favorite mandatory fun day
moment with Austin? I follow him on, I follow him on
social media and I I will tend to like Death Scroll where I'll
(01:46):
just flip flip flip flip throughthrough reels and stuff.
But if it's something from mandatory fun I stop and watch
it because I I always end up having a really good chuckle out
of it and I will share 99.9% of what he produces.
He's fine. I just loved how down to earth
meeting him was, you know, he's,he's just, he has that same
energy in person that he has online.
(02:08):
And so I think for me, I like seeing that because then it
makes me feel like when I'm watching their videos, I am
getting a piece of, of who they really are.
That's, that's me though. I'm easy.
I just love his down to earth, you know, kind of look, I can't
believe they're letting me tell jokes for a living and be a
soldier and officer. And he's just such a great guy.
(02:28):
And yes, I fall. I'm one of his 20 million
followers now. And he's doing those bits where
something crazy is happening. And then he splices and cuts in.
He always catches me off guard with those.
And I just I I do, I have a little bit of a laugh and then
whether or not I dive into the real or not, but just the the
fact that he's like, gotcha, It's great.
(02:49):
All right, Alpha as well. We'd love to hear what your
favorite mandatory fund a moments are.
But you know what, just stick around after the break and we'll
be back with episode 250. Maybe you can add another
favorite mandatory fund a momentin there.
We'll be back with Austin Von Lechman.
A veteran is a veteran. A veteran is a veteran is a
(03:10):
veteran. The American Legion embraces all
current and former members of the military and endeavours to
help them transition into their communities.
We are veterans strengthening America.
We are the American Legion. All right, Alphas, today we are
(03:34):
joined by Austin von Letkamen, better known across social media
as Mandatory Fun Day. Austin, thank you so much and
welcome to Tang Off Lima podcast.
Hey guys. How's it going?
I really, really appreciate you having me on.
Hello, Austin. Welcome to the show and most
importantly, thanks for your service.
Thank you. That's never awkward.
(03:57):
It's never. No.
You know what? I don't.
Thank you for your service. Walking it back.
I'm just kidding. I always like to start off with
our guests. If if I'm if I'm in the the the
first up seat, I like to get theorigin story of the guest.
I like to know what your back story is where you from?
(04:20):
Why did you join the service? Why?
Why the particular branch of choice?
Your army correct? Sure, yeah.
Your villain arc. Yeah, like villain.
He's our superhero. OK, so tell tell us all about
yourself. Sure that I think that was only
three questions and I but I did join the Army, so I'll try and
remember all three of them. But yeah, so I'm from Portland,
(04:41):
OR originally and it's funny, there's just not a not a
significant presence of militaryor veterans really out in that
area. The Pacific Northwest is not
military heavy, but I I wanted to, I mean, I joined the Army
really because the things that Iwas trying to do at the time had
(05:02):
kind of fallen apart. And I had always been curious
about the military. And, you know, I kind of
anticipated just getting in, doing some time and getting out.
And now here we are, 13 years later.
Every single time my RE enlistment window came up I was
getting out and then somehow I stayed in.
You're like, hey, yeah, I got this paperwork and a good deal
(05:24):
for you, my man, I. Just didn't want to deal with
CIS to be honest with you. Fair enough.
So what? What's your job in the Army?
What's your MOS? I'm currently a military
intelligence officer, but I willprobably be transitioning to
public affairs fairly soon. Wow, intelligence, that's an
oxymoron. So public affairs, you're going
(05:46):
to go to defense information school.
That's. Well, it's kind of up in the
air. I'm kind of in a unique program.
The organization that I'm working for, they, they have
some satellite options or some hybrid satellite in person
options for things that I can doto meet the Army's requirements
for public affairs. But they want me to kind of in a
(06:07):
way, informally make content forthe Army.
And so we're trying to figure itout.
We're kind of flying the plane as we build it.
Well, since the army doesn't flyplanes, you're going to phone it
in basically is what you're saying.
Pretty much. No.
We got the, we got the Sherpas. There's a few, there's a few
Army planes. There's AC12.
(06:27):
We. Don't.
We don't have the sexy aircraft for certain.
We got the Well, yeah, No, no sexy planes.
We got the don't build the helicopter here while you're in
flight. Wait, did you?
Hear that, Adam? He kind of snuck it in there, he
said. We don't have sexy planes.
We've got the Apache. Thank you.
Dot dot .0 my. God, you've won him over.
(06:47):
He's never going to stop now. Here we go.
So did all this come about from mandatory Fund A and from
obviously the 20 million in viewers across, you know,
platforms that you're able to generate?
And so did the Army come and reach out to you or like, how
did how did that happen? Well, actually I was planning my
(07:09):
transition out. I was which?
Time. Yeah, yeah.
Well, this one was legitimate. I, you know, I started doing
paperwork, I started lining up jobs and stuff like that.
And then I talked to an O6A fullbird Colonel, and she was
different than any other officerI've spoken to.
She is not rigid in her thinking.
(07:29):
She enjoys ambiguity. And that's where I thrive.
I want to be in a place that nobody else has been.
And I feel like I do pretty wellin that spot.
But she, you know, I was talkingto her and I was like, hey, she
was like, what? What?
Like what do you want to do? And I was like, well, I want to
do content and like, I'm good atit.
And she was like, OK, well, let's figure out how to get you
(07:49):
to do that in the Army. And I was like, OK.
And then I was like, this is, isit possible?
And a couple months later she called me and she said, hey, I
built a position for you. Like it's ready.
Like let's do this. And I was like, OK, ma'am, like
what are my deliverables? What do you want me to do?
And she literally, I'll never forget this moment on the phone.
She said, you're the expert. You tell me what we should do.
I had this full bird Colonel telling me like, hey, I don't
(08:10):
know this from but you do. I just want to resource you and
let you run. And so at that point, I mean,
she had won my full loyalty at that point very much.
And you know, we were just recently on a phone call.
We are talking to an aviation unit currently that we're going
to do content with. And the aviation unit said, hey,
we've got some forms you guys got to fill out, yadda yadda.
(08:32):
And Colonel Stanley was like hold on, hold on, hold on.
Because there were four content creators on the call, including
myself. And she said, hey, we are going
to deal with the administrative stuff.
We want the creators dealing with creative stuff.
And so I, I was just shocked, you know what I mean?
This person is because, you know, a lot of times in the
military, it's a very one sided relationship.
One person's pulling and the other person is being drugged,
(08:55):
you know what I mean? But they really want to work to
make this work for everybody. And at the end of the day, the
Army's biggest issue right now is recruiting, right?
It's manpower. And I've seen that because I've
been in, you know, at the battalion level for the vast
majority of my career. And so they want to facilitate
this. And it's nice being part of a
team where everybody's giving 100% effort and where nobody's
(09:18):
trying to self preserve, you know what I mean?
Yeah. Well, I think it's a great
example about how like the rightleader thinking the right way
can recognize talent and opportunity.
And then, you know, it's it's got to transcend beyond that.
I can't just be, you have to take it to the next step to be
able to provide right, like the top cover, like you were saying.
(09:38):
So say no, no, no, we're not going to get bogged down in
this. Like this person is here for a
very specific thing and that's to do something that you know
nobody else can do in in the waythat you can.
So can you talk a little talk a little bit about how your
passion for content development has kind of grown into like
where you are now and what, how are you thinking about this
(10:01):
opportunity ahead? And how do you bring over, you
know, all the things that you'vebeen cultivating and, and
refining, putting out that your audience loves to consume and
then moving that over to to what's in in store for you?
What's? Sure.
Well, I mean, I mean, it's been crazy how it's developed, right?
I was in Office Joe, which is a literal TV show on Amazon Prime,
(10:22):
which is crazy. I, I made my acting debut with 0
acting experience. I, I do a ton of keynote
speaking now like people want. I yell at my phone and I post it
on the Internet. So people want me to come speak
in front of crowds, which, you know, obviously, right?
(10:42):
It's a transition that makes sense to me.
But yeah, and honestly, the keynote speaking is my favorite
thing to do and it is so much fun to do and is.
It very free, like you can kind of get up there and just do your
own thing with it. Yeah, You know, it's, I'm not
good at that many things. Honest to God, I'm not that
great at that many things. But I found that that is
(11:03):
something that I've, you know, I'm, I'm good at and and I love
doing it. But, you know, when I started
doing this, I have no idea it was going to blow up like this.
I mean, because even as far as content creators go, I'm fairly
large. You know, I've made it farther
than most content creators do and I just didn't expect that
because I personally don't find myself that interesting.
(11:26):
But but you know, I made somewhere between 20 and 27
videos on TikTok and one of those videos in that range did
like 60,000 views and it was super easy to do.
It took me like 10 minutes to make.
And I was like, I can do this every single day.
And that's what I did. And people will ask me like,
what is your biggest tip? And it's literally that I've
(11:48):
made 6000 videos in three years.Like that's it.
Like just keep making content, like just because because if you
have the kind that kind of volume, you're going to figure
out what works. I figured out what works for my
audience. And then when I found what
worked, I did it thousands and thousands and thousands of
(12:10):
types. And that is, I mean, that's
been. And anytime I take a dip, I just
make a video about DTS, which all service members universally
hate. Yeah.
All right, let's bring it back to the baseline.
We all know that we can hate on this.
That's great. I'm kind of all over our hatred
(12:32):
of army systems, or military systems rather.
There's such, there's such greatadvice that you have in there,
which is right, like just get out there and do it.
Like don't stop and then refine your craft over time.
And then once you start to get confidence in what's working,
really scale that and acceleratethat.
And then once it kind of doesn'twork and then come back to what
you know does. I always tell people too, like a
(12:54):
lot of people tell me I don't. I want to make content but I'm
nervous that people will notice my freaking weird nose or
something Like they have these weird insecurities.
And I had the same thing. I actually didn't make content
for about two years. Like I put off starting because
I was like, I am not deployed. I don't have any cool badges.
My career in the Army has been kind of unremarkable.
(13:18):
Why would anybody care about what I have to say?
Nobody has cared about that at all.
Like nobody. I've never even seen a comment
of anybody saying like, this guyhasn't deployed.
He's not actually funny, like, you know what I mean?
But that's the thing that in my mind that I had an insecurity
about. Now people do content about
other things. Like I saw a comment the other
(13:38):
day and it said your lips move weird when you talk.
And I was like, I've gone my whole life for that hearing
that, like, why would you say that?
Because now. So we can see that.
And I'm like. Do my lips move weird like.
So I guess what I'm saying is don't worry about the things you
think you're insecure about because your audience will give
you new ones and just go to counseling.
Oh my gosh. So now you're like looking in
(14:00):
the mirror, talking, trying to, and you're doing it weird
because you're trying not to do it weird.
I know people are always like, you sound like Morty from Rick
and Morty and I'm like stop commenting this.
Like stop. Oh, man.
So first of all, it was fantastic meeting you with the
Army Navy game. You know, that was cool.
(14:22):
And and I've been following yourworkout plan actually for about
the past four weeks. And my results have been
incredible. I I showed the parent at a
soccer game last Saturday. She didn't get up.
I eated a kid almost 12 foot andand that's that's three foot
more than what I'm used to. And so I do have a quick
(14:43):
question. Yeah, and my real question is,
have you made so many videos at this point that you don't even
catch your own references? Like people will make jokes at
you in your. Life.
It's funny that you say that because not a single time has
anyone ever referenced a video and I didn't remember.
(15:04):
Like it's like I can go back andremember almost the exact video
word for word. It's weird.
I have this and it's funny because I have the worst memory.
I have the memory of a goldfish and like, but I have this
incredible recall for my own content, which I don't know if
I'm a narcissist or whatever, but like that, that I definitely
have solid recall for my own videos.
(15:26):
So yeah, that hasn't really beena problem.
And I'm fairly strategic with the phrases that I use and stuff
now. Like I know what people are
going to think is funny. Like I exist out of spite is the
one that's popping off right now.
People love that. And then I have a hat that just
says I exist out of spite and big and big letters on it and,
and people love that stuff. But yeah, no, I don't know.
(15:49):
I've got pretty good. I've never missed one of my own
references and people often yellthem at me in public.
So that's good to know because I'm going to actually list off
all your videos and I want you to reenact scenes.
From. Each one.
So I actually, my real question was, can you tell me about your
role in office Joe? Because like you said, you go
(16:09):
into just, you know, you don't take yourself seriously, which
is what makes you kind of like great.
You don't laugh at your own jokes.
It's kind of like a dry humor. I think that it resonates with
people that are in office spacesthat have to deal with just in
general. And I think that's one reason
why you've branched out even from people.
People watch you and know of youwho aren't even military.
So you know, what inspired you to take part in a comedy series
(16:31):
about transitioning to civilian life, which is obviously
something you never intend on doing?
And how does that sort of, how did that sort of happen?
Yeah. So Nick Paul Machano, who is,
you know, my best friend. Yeah.
Well, First off, if he asked me to do something, I don't even
question. I just go do it.
That's one of the one of the best people I've ever met in my
life. But he asked me to do this.
(16:53):
And Nick does not ask you to do something that he doesn't think
you're going to murder, You knowwhat I mean?
And so I knew going into it, like, if Nick thinks I can do
this, I can definitely do it. And I showed up and I was still
rehearsing my lines on the freaking flight to North
Carolina. I was so nervous because I
really do have a bad memory. But then I got there, you know,
(17:14):
my Co actor was Jared Taylor andwe had really good chemistry and
it just flowed. It's like we started.
I remembered all my lines we were able to do.
I mean, there were some scenes we were able to do 8 or 9 takes.
And so it was really good. And I, you know, I was honored
that Nick asked me to be part ofthat project because that's,
(17:35):
that was a huge undertaking for him.
That was massive, you know what I mean?
And to have him basically say, hey, I think you're going to be
a good steward of this thing that I'm going to put so much
effort into was, was very flattering, you know what I
mean? And that he thought I had the
chops for it despite the fact that I have 0 acting experience.
What you do now you've got some picking.
(17:56):
Experience Now. Now I'm on prime, you know what
I mean? They call it prime time, but I
have. Random IMDb.
Like, hey, let's watch this show.
Is that me in there? Oh my God.
When did I do that? But yeah, I know it was a lot of
fun. You know it.
That's one of one of the highlights of my life for sure.
(18:18):
That's so cool. That's pretty cool.
You have like a brand and merchandise line.
You actually mentioned it Exit out of spite and you've got like
that's kind of on some Brandon merch.
Talk to me a little bit about what was the brainchild behind
that? What made you want to like,
stick that on a bunch of shirts and stuff?
Yeah. So it started with my
(18:40):
geopolitics content and when I would say don't touch my boats
because like America in general,culturally and since the
inception of our country has hadalmost a religious fervor
surrounding our maritime vessels.
And it's a sailor could tell youbetter than I could.
But I believe that it is becauseof the time and resources that
(19:03):
it takes to build a ship, right?It's it's a massive undertaking.
And they're like. Homes.
Right, yeah, they're like, and yeah, they just they, they
really do have a cult behind them.
You know, the Navy is effectively A cult and.
And anybody in the Navy that's offended by that, you can't tell
me I'm wrong. So it is what it is.
(19:24):
I. Mean you're right.
But yeah, and so I started saying don't touch my boats in
certain videos and people reallylatched onto it.
And so somebody told me like youneed to put this on a shirt.
And I hadn't done merch at that point.
And I was like all right, I'll give it a try.
And so I teamed up with a company, slapped it on some
T-shirts, and I think I sold like 10,000 of those T-shirts in
like 2 weeks. And so it was just like, it was
(19:48):
so mind boggling how responsive people were to it.
And so now, and now it's really cool because I have a source of
income that's separate from the platforms.
And because the platforms are very finicky, they go up and
down. You can't really count on that
money. And then half the time they're
trying to demonetize you or something, so.
(20:13):
That's pretty cool. You also have obviously a
presence on YouTube and stuff like that.
And I was cracking up. What's I seen the other day.
You have, hey, you were saying something about high speed and
warrior companion and shipmate in battle.
Probably talk to me a little bitabout where do these spur out
(20:39):
of? Do these stem from spur of the
moment or are these well thoughtout, well planned things?
Yeah, there's no, there's no planning behind them.
So it's funny, my friends make fun of me because all sometimes
I'll go silent on the phone likemid sentence and like now they
(20:59):
know I just had an idea and I'm writing it down.
There have been times when I've literally stopped like walking
and I'll just like stare off at Mars or the ether, whatever I'm
looking at because I'm having anidea.
It almost feels like a curse at times at this point because it
just happens. I thought that my ability to
generate ideas was going to be my the biggest thing that held
(21:22):
me back as a creator. But I have a list of ideas in
the notes on my phone and I've probably got a couple 100 in
there. Like I have more ideas than I'm
ever going to have time to even film.
Yeah. And so that's kind of cool.
But the biggest limiting factor on me for sure is time,
especially being active duty. And that that's part of the
(21:42):
reason why I think it's cool that I'm about to start doing
this project because it should. It'll hopefully give me some
time back. You know, I won't be, you know,
I won't be doing necessarily allthe normal military stuff.
I'll just be able to focus on content.
And obviously during duty hours it's going to be Army focused.
But, you know, there are. Yeah.
Well, yeah, it always is for themoment.
(22:05):
And normally I have a one word or one sentence prompt and then
I read it from there. I I'm generally not good off of
scripts. Like I emceed an event one time
and I'll never do it again because that was fully scripted
and God I stunk at that. We don't know what to do with
your hands. I know And then people were
(22:26):
messing the things up in the script.
It wasn't me, I swear to God, but then they're looking up at
me and I I'm just the dumb ass. Oh, I probably can't cuss on
this one. Sorry you're.
Fine. I'm I'm, I'm just the
Lieutenant. But everybody's staring at
they're like, did you mess this up?
And I'm like, I didn't. They are out of order.
It wasn't me, but I can't say that at the event, you know?
What? I mean, Lieutenant.
(22:48):
All my talking is is off the cuff as well and which means
sometimes you forget things but it when it goes well it goes
really well. But I hate when I go somewhere
and they want me to run through things like 3 times.
I'm like you guys are destroying.
My I know. Really hard on your like
creativity. Yeah, I think having an out, a
general idea or an outline of where you're going is fine, but
(23:10):
when you like regurgitate it over and over, it's just the
it's so disingenuous. Yeah, yeah.
Actually, like I very rarely have to do second takes in my
own context. And it's not because I'm doing
everything Florida State, it's because I just don't care if I
mess up a word or whatever. But if I have to do more than
(23:32):
1/3 take like I just can the idea for that day, I write it
down and I do it the next day orwhatever because it's just by at
that point I'm so angry. I'm like, why can't I get this?
And so I just, I just got to like to move on.
I think it's really cool becauseyou have, you've established
that authentic delivery without having to put like a filter or a
(23:53):
barrier or rehearsing. And yeah, I mean, I, I, I speak
a lot as well, like Joe and and Stacy.
And if I have to go from a script, I mean, I can read the
words on the page. But if you want the passion
coming through and if you want the inspiration, then I need the
couple word prompts. I need the loose outline and I
need to be able to know like what, what am I trying to
(24:15):
communicate here, you know, to my audience and.
I cry. You got to let me know.
You you want to Joe cry? Just wait 5 seconds.
No, so I wasn't that familiar with your, with your content
beforehand, but I got on and I was, you know, consuming some of
it and laughing at the things we're talking about.
But there's also one that reallystuck out to me.
(24:35):
And it was just you kind of addressing the audience, I think
in between sets, you know, in the gym.
And it seemed like you were really, you know, kind of
talking from the heart. And so, you know, talk a little
bit about that content that you produce as well, because it
seems like maybe going back to your ability to just be
authentic, that you can show up and not necessarily have to
(24:56):
provide the sarcastic humor, butbe able to comment about real
things, you know, through the, the audience that you've
curated. And I saw that maybe that one
just from like a comments and engagement, you know, generated
more traffic. Maybe it was the the topic that
you were talking about, but there was something about, you
know, not even the, the humor side of things, but just like
the deeper meaning behind you asthe, the person having thoughts
(25:19):
in the world and sharing that with your audience.
Yeah. Well, yeah, that kind of, Well,
that specific video, I know which one you're talking about.
It always generates a lot. So in the video, basically the
premise behind it is even thoughwe disagree on certain things,
we don't have to hate each other, like.
And I feel like as a country, weare very divided and everything
(25:43):
is so divisive. And, you know, I, I know people
that are like, hey, if, if somebody's a Democrat or
somebody's a Republican, I'm notgoing to associate with them.
And that's just insane to me. That's crazy.
I'm fairly apolitical. And I mean, I use the excuse
that I'm active duty to stay outof politics online.
(26:03):
But truth be told, I'm never going to get into politics
because it's just not my bag. And quite frankly, I believe
that unsolicited advice 99% of the time is worth exactly what
you paid for it. Like I just, I don't, I don't
generally try and give advice because like, I hate it when
people just give me unsolicited advice that I didn't ask for
(26:26):
because I'm just like, what do we got going on here?
But yeah, that one specifically I had just seen in the last
couple days leading up to it just so much back and forth on
the Internet. And so I used my father, who was
a business owner for effectivelymy entire childhood as an
example. And there were policies put in
(26:49):
place. My dad sold used cars.
And, you know, there were policies put in place while he
was a business owner, such as Cash for Clunkers.
I don't know if you guys remember that one.
Yeah. So Cash for Clunkers benefited
the big dealerships and it totally screwed my dad, who was
a small used car guy, you know, and so, but a lot of people
(27:10):
agreed with the cash for clinical program.
And So what I said was just because somebody agrees with
that doesn't mean they hate my dad.
You know, even though it's financially affecting him and it
and it's negatively affecting him, I don't think those people
hate my dad. I don't think those people are
dumb. They just don't have
perspective, you know, and somebody like talking about even
the more divisive topics, like, I don't know, border security,
(27:33):
right? That is a fairly contested
topic. Somebody in Arizona who might be
dealing with that in a real way,whose neighborhood has been like
flooded with fentanyl, is going to feel different than somebody
in freaking, you know, Washington, for example.
It just different people have different perspectives.
And just because they disagree, it doesn't make them dumb,
(27:54):
doesn't make them unintelligent,and it doesn't mean they hate
each other. They don't have to hate each
other, but people just draw downparty lines and it's really hard
to watch sometimes because both sides generally have a good
perspective on something. And, and I mean, God, we'd get a
lot more done if we could all just kind of get along.
I just wish I could put everybody in a big get along
(28:14):
shirt, you know what I mean? Big for everybody, everybody in
there. On the.
Wall. Yeah, everybody start doing
cherry pickers and we'll all start.
But yeah. And so now I'm rambling at this
point, but I think you guys get the point.
Like I just wish everybody couldtake a chill pill and we could
figure something out together. It reminds me of that old, I
(28:36):
don't know if you remember thoseold commercial that had like a
prominent Republican and prominent Democrat, and they
were sitting there eating or drinking Pepsi and a Coke.
And it was like a collab. And they they sort of like tap
their drinks. And it was just sort of yeah, I
remember that. And then, you know, as I got
older, I thought that that, you know, that that kind of thing
(28:57):
was impossible. And then I spent time in DC and
I realized that a lot of the anger that you're seeing is not
in DC. Like weirdly, a lot of those
people are friends. A lot of those people are
friends. They're good friends.
They eat lunch together. And I don't mean that to say
anything other than the fact that be careful where you're
(29:18):
getting all this anger from because it it may be for the
purpose of making someone money or clicks and not because
there's really that much divisiveness.
Meanwhile, meanwhile, there's anindependent over in the corner
drinking an Orange Crush. Yeah.
And it's so funny, Like one of the number one comments in that
video was, yeah, but if we're talking about human rights,
(29:39):
there's no like, I can't like whatever.
And it's like, yeah, that's why I used my father, who's a
business owner, like as the example.
Our the veteran community is very opinionated and
unfortunately the loudest ones are also generally the least
likely to be open to the idea that maybe they don't have the
perspective that they think theydo or that they might be wrong.
(30:01):
I am wrong all the time and my bosses and Co workers tell me
quite frequently my. Wife fills me.
It's this interesting thing of like the gesture, being able to
speak the most truth. And that's like that goes back
for, you know, the archetypes asas long as as they've been
around. And so it's it's something about
being able to cut and and look at, you know, the comedians, you
(30:24):
know, of today being able to go and talk about things that
nobody else can talk about because, you know, comedy is the
vehicle that that cuts through everything.
So yeah, I would just say. That comedy is disarming.
It's disarming. If you can make somebody laugh,
you've made an ally. And, and I think we're at a
point now where where, you know,we're on the backside of this
(30:45):
really harsh, hopefully on the backside of this really harsh
cancel culture and comedians were able to do the thing, which
is, is make a caricature of of society.
Not everything they say is an actual opinion and stuff.
And and and and I say all that, but you know, I do kind of want
to circle back around with something, you know, your video
about your daughters, it went viral, landed you on the Today
(31:08):
show, which is crazy that you got to go do that.
I've got 4 kids, but after two daughters, I stopped letting God
decide and adopted 2 boys. But I agree with you
wholeheartedly. I've never understood the better
clean your shotgun comments. I mean, I'm that's.
Weird. It's weird.
It's a good energy. The, the idea that somebody
(31:29):
would suggest that I should eventhreaten somebody's child with
physical violence is like, even as a kid, I was like, what are
you talking about? And now there's two sides to
that. Now you're getting me on my
soapbox, right? I'm all fired up now.
But like there is two sides to that, right?
Because we have to like our culture of masculinity in the
United States of America is like, I mean, there's a lot of
(31:51):
guys out there that are just trying to sleep with as many
women as possible. And that that is fact.
And so we need to, we shouldn't be threatening children by
cleaning weapons in front of them.
But also we need to, like, teachkids like, hey, you need to be
respectful of other people, you know, and that includes in your
dating life. Hopefully that's a topic we can
broach on here, too. Yeah.
(32:12):
I don't know what's off limits yet.
No, I mean, honestly, we're pretty open about everything.
I think that's one thing that makes us as genuine as well, is
that we can speak. We do criticize the VA, but
we're always looking for props. We're always looking for ways to
say, hey, this was well done, you nailed this.
So you know, and, and, and I think that from what I gathered
(32:34):
of yours, the way my girls are raised, whenever I meet someone
interested in them, I pray for them man, because I have spoiled
my girls. They have high expectations.
Good luck. Let me know if you need some
help or advice. Like that's how I handle it.
I've never had a guy walk in my house after either one of my
daughters and me go to intimidate them.
I mean, I'm A1 legged, 6 foot three guy.
(32:55):
So like, I think it automatically kind of happens,
but I try to disarm it whenever I can, you know, and yeah,
that's sort of really my point is, is like, how is your family
like adapted to all this? I mean, you know, and and if you
don't want to talk about your family, IA 100% get that because
I'm curious, you know, as you stay in what happens when you
(33:16):
pick up general, like what happens when you're.
That's starting to happen. No, there's not a person insane
enough on Earth to make me a general officer.
Of public relations you're picking up.
Like with the way that I, when Icommissioned, I was almost at 10
years, I was at like 9 1/2 yearsand I was a staff Sergeant.
And for those of you that are listening that were not in the
(33:37):
Army, that's an E6. But I can retire.
I mean, I'll be able to retire as a captain, but honestly, like
the opportunities outside the military are just so good.
And I'm passing so many things up.
The only reason I'm staying and now is because I have a love for
(33:58):
the institution. I believe in what the
institution does and I want to solve this very real problem,
which is people. And the only reason we're still
having this problem is because we are not effectively utilizing
social media. And thank God, that's the thing
that I, that's like the only thing in the world that I'm good
at. You know, the Army recently did
like an ad run and I don't know what all went into it, but they
(34:18):
did it with The Rock. And The Rock is a big name, but
I don't think he resonates with the 18 year old crowd, the
recruitable population, like he would with our generation.
You know what I mean? Like it like if I saw The Rock
in an ad when I was 18, like, that was like at the height of
his acting career right after WWE.
Like, that would have been cool.And it's funny.
(34:39):
I make jokes like the Army will say, hey, we need a celebrity to
attract the kids. Who should we get?
And then somebody will be like, let's get shaggy.
You know what? I mean.
And it's like, yeah, Shaggy's awesome.
Dolly Parton maybe? Like if you have knee pain,
Shaggy is sick, You know what I mean?
Like but I'm going. Hulk Hogan, maybe?
(35:02):
But like the art and and the army does a lot of things really
amazing, but some sometimes, youknow, sometimes something
doesn't go exactly as planned and the ad run with the rock
didn't go quite as they had planned.
I am really excited for this though, because what I would
like to do this with this program is start something that
is equivalent to the world classathlete program where people in
(35:26):
the uniform can kind of step outof their normal role and they
can just do content for the Armyand they can do it in an I mean,
there's going to be left and right limits.
It will be professional. It will not besmirch or
disparage the image of the United States Army, but it'll be
done in a, in a way that gives them some creative liberty and
allows them to stay authentic tothemselves because that's what
(35:49):
works. And oh, by the way, the Army's
not spending any marketing dollars on it because they're
just paying the salary of the green suitor.
So it's like super cost effective.
Like worst case scenario is it doesn't exactly work and you
just took this person out of a duty position for a year.
Best case scenario is we have a ton of content, goes super viral
(36:09):
and the Army basically just got a bunch of free advertising.
You know what I mean? That's fair.
Love it. Well, oh, sorry Joe, did I just.
Cut you hold I I had one more thing that I wanted to ask and I
feel like you being on here, youknow, I love the American
Legion. Get up.
I I did want to ask one last question on my end before I, I
(36:32):
pass it on. You know what got you involved
with the American Legion? Because a lot of times people
don't get involved until prior service, and they have that
aching hole inside of their heart that says, OK, I wish I
had stayed in or I want to go back in.
And then they find the American Legion.
So I'd love to know, you know, alittle bit about that journey.
Well, the the American Legion, it just isn't as big for my
(36:57):
generation, or it wasn't. It wasn't pushed as hard for my
generation when I joined. I only learned about the
American Legion a couple years ago and I immediately fell in
love with the mission. What the American Legion does
and I, I, when I was given the opportunity and Nick is the one
that kind of made the connectionwhen I was given the opportunity
(37:19):
to work with y'all, I was like, I mean, I didn't have to think
about it, you know what I mean? Like, it's an incredible
organization. It's massive, it's got a lot of
history, and the mission is the best.
And then I started interacting with the people that work for
the American Legion and every single 1 is incredible.
(37:39):
Every single person believes in the mission.
Every single person is dedicatedto veterans, their families and
service members. And it was just, I wanted to be
a person that helps steward the next generation of young
veterans into an amazing organization to keep that
organization going. But also I want to help link
them up with the resources that the American Legion has.
(38:00):
Like it's a mutually beneficial relationship.
And so that, that's how I got, you know, that's how I got
involved in the American Legion.But it was Nick again that made
the connection. And I, it's my favorite
professional relationship that Ihave is with the American
Legion. And every single time, like a
lot of companies, and I keep having to adjust this because my
(38:22):
tripod's really cheap, because I'm really cheap and it keeps
falling. But I, I don't know, I just, I
really wanted to help be a voicebecause I have a really good
finger on the pulse of the, you know, 18 to 25 year old military
and veteran community. And I wanted to be able to
communicate to them with my own style of humor and comedy and
(38:44):
with my platforms like, hey, this organization's amazing,
give it a shot. And really the American Legion
is largely a community driven organization.
It's us like everyone is the American Legion.
And so we need that next generation to come in and kind
of carry the torch, you know? And so that's kind of what I
(39:05):
wanted to help facilitate. Dude, you're a rock star, man.
I mean, honestly, I appreciate it.
You know, you say, you keep saying you're not good at stuff,
but you're having a huge impact,you know, and, and it, it means
a lot. I love to see people who find
ways to serve when they get out and you're finding ways to serve
veterans while you're still active duty And, and I'm not
(39:29):
going to cry. So don't look at.
That. It is, but it.
Doesn't mean I'm far away from it.
I just for me consideration and like love that stuff is like my
my heart to kink as it is As forthe weirdest way I could
possibly put that. But honestly, man, I, I love
what you're doing and it means the world that that you're here
(39:51):
and hanging out with us today. And I do appreciate.
You I appreciate you guys havingme on and it is funny at the
Army Navy game, somebody introduced, I'm a vet, I'm a vet
sound terrible. I meet so many people I can
never remember names anymore. But somebody in the American
Legion invited or introduced me to somebody very important in
the American Legion and they introduced me by saying, hey,
(40:11):
this is Austin. He's one of our content creators
that we work with and he had. I don't want to get the wording
wrong, but she said he had like one of the most or the most
effective Internet ad we've had as far as recruiting or
something to that effect. And it was one of the ads that I
did for y'all that I sent over to Nick's guys and they kind of
cut it up and made it look really good.
(40:31):
And to hear that I had had, I had created such an effective
piece of content. I don't often like feel proud of
myself. And it's something that I'm
working on, right? I got my counselor.
But, but in that moment I had I,there's very few things that had
(40:53):
made me feel more pride. And not because I did something
really well, but because I did something well and it had such
an amazing impact on an organization that I love and
believe in. Oh.
Yeah, well, Austin, you're amazingly talented, amazingly
funny human being and they we appreciate you.
Help us. Do appreciate you too.
That I'm very handsome. Let's 'cause she listen to
(41:17):
mirror, she has to see your face.
So it's, you know, alphas. You can get on YouTube and
subscribe to Mandatory Fun Day. You can do that right now.
Actually go out there and do it right now so you can get some
chuckles in whether you like it or not, whether you like it or
not, that's got to happen right now.
We're going to have those socialmedia handles in our show notes
(41:38):
as well as Mandatory Fun Days everything.
So keep keep in touch Austin. We love your antics.
We're going to see a lot more from you and and is it before we
sign off? Is there anything that we may
have missed? I don't think so.
My websites the mandatoryfunday.com You can
subscribe to my newsletter there, and if you want to pick
(41:59):
up some toaster bath merch, feelfree.
The mandatory funday.com Austin,thank you so much for visiting
us today, for laughing with us and keep speaking the truth
through your comedy. Oh, also, somebody already has
mandatoryfunday.com that's why Ihad to do the
(42:20):
mandatoryfunday.com so if that'sone of y'all let hit me up.
We can work something out all right.
Let's make a deal mandatory. Funding on Twitter too.
Like give me that I have to be the monotone Mustang on X or
whatever we're calling. All right, and with that, Alpha,
(42:41):
stick around for some scuttlebutt after the break.
Welcome back, Alpha, as we're keeping things short and sweet
on the countdown. So there's no scuttlebutt today,
but thanks for taking the trip down memory lane with us.
We really hope you guys enjoyed the episode.
On behalf of the entire Tal Podcast team, we hope you're
enjoying time with your loved ones during the holiday season.
If you miss us during the holidays, which I know you are,
(43:03):
you can always subscribe to our podcast, our newsletter, or send
us guest and mail recommendations at legion.org,
Back slash Tango Awful Lima Salon.
Salon.
We're back alphas. We're coming in hot with
inspiring guests, witty banter and colorful commentary for
today's veterans and military community.
This is the Tal Podcast. Hi there, Alphas.
During the holiday season, the Tal podcast team is taking a
break. Need a break?
(00:21):
But while we're gone, we do havea little bonus content for you.
So we've looked back at all the things we've done during Season
6 and we've come up with a list of our our top six most
impactful guests from 2025. And that was not easy.
It really was difficult there. Are so many great guests, but
we'll be re releasing those interviews this week.
So if you haven't already subscribed to Tango Halima on
(00:43):
Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube,or, you know, wherever you get
your podcast, don't miss our countdown.
We've got we've got you covered.Comedian, actor and social media
influencer Austin von Lichtman, better known by a social handle
mandatory Fun Day, has become a sort of a repeat of on the Tango
Offalima podcast. We all caught up with him during
(01:05):
the National Convention in Tampaand Joe and myself saw him just
a couple weeks ago at the Army Navy game actually.
But Austin was first a guest on our show back in February when
he was just starting to share the content about the American
Legion with his. He's got a few followers.
I think it's like only 20 million I.
(01:25):
Think a few million just. A paltry?
Yeah, A few million. A.
Paltry few million a. Paltry few 20 million Do you
guys, do you guys have a favorite mandatory fun day
moment with Austin? I follow him on, I follow him on
social media and I I will tend to like Death Scroll where I'll
(01:46):
just flip flip flip flip throughthrough reels and stuff.
But if it's something from mandatory fun I stop and watch
it because I I always end up having a really good chuckle out
of it and I will share 99.9% of what he produces.
He's fine. I just loved how down to earth
meeting him was, you know, he's,he's just, he has that same
energy in person that he has online.
(02:08):
And so I think for me, I like seeing that because then it
makes me feel like when I'm watching their videos, I am
getting a piece of, of who they really are.
That's, that's me though. I'm easy.
I just love his down to earth, you know, kind of look, I can't
believe they're letting me tell jokes for a living and be a
soldier and officer. And he's just such a great guy.
(02:28):
And yes, I fall. I'm one of his 20 million
followers now. And he's doing those bits where
something crazy is happening. And then he splices and cuts in.
He always catches me off guard with those.
And I just I I do, I have a little bit of a laugh and then
whether or not I dive into the real or not, but just the the
fact that he's like, gotcha, It's great.
(02:49):
All right, Alpha as well. We'd love to hear what your
favorite mandatory fund a moments are.
But you know what, just stick around after the break and we'll
be back with episode 250. Maybe you can add another
favorite mandatory fund a momentin there.
We'll be back with Austin Von Lechman.
A veteran is a veteran. A veteran is a veteran is a
(03:10):
veteran. The American Legion embraces all
current and former members of the military and endeavours to
help them transition into their communities.
We are veterans strengthening America.
We are the American Legion. All right, Alphas, today we are
(03:34):
joined by Austin von Letkamen, better known across social media
as Mandatory Fun Day. Austin, thank you so much and
welcome to Tang Off Lima podcast.
Hey guys. How's it going?
I really, really appreciate you having me on.
Hello, Austin. Welcome to the show and most
importantly, thanks for your service.
Thank you. That's never awkward.
(03:57):
It's never. No.
You know what? I don't.
Thank you for your service. Walking it back.
I'm just kidding. I always like to start off with
our guests. If if I'm if I'm in the the the
first up seat, I like to get theorigin story of the guest.
I like to know what your back story is where you from?
(04:20):
Why did you join the service? Why?
Why the particular branch of choice?
Your army correct? Sure, yeah.
Your villain arc. Yeah, like villain.
He's our superhero. OK, so tell tell us all about
yourself. Sure that I think that was only
three questions and I but I did join the Army, so I'll try and
remember all three of them. But yeah, so I'm from Portland,
(04:41):
OR originally and it's funny, there's just not a not a
significant presence of militaryor veterans really out in that
area. The Pacific Northwest is not
military heavy, but I I wanted to, I mean, I joined the Army
really because the things that Iwas trying to do at the time had
(05:02):
kind of fallen apart. And I had always been curious
about the military. And, you know, I kind of
anticipated just getting in, doing some time and getting out.
And now here we are, 13 years later.
Every single time my RE enlistment window came up I was
getting out and then somehow I stayed in.
You're like, hey, yeah, I got this paperwork and a good deal
(05:24):
for you, my man, I. Just didn't want to deal with
CIS to be honest with you. Fair enough.
So what? What's your job in the Army?
What's your MOS? I'm currently a military
intelligence officer, but I willprobably be transitioning to
public affairs fairly soon. Wow, intelligence, that's an
oxymoron. So public affairs, you're going
(05:46):
to go to defense information school.
That's. Well, it's kind of up in the
air. I'm kind of in a unique program.
The organization that I'm working for, they, they have
some satellite options or some hybrid satellite in person
options for things that I can doto meet the Army's requirements
for public affairs. But they want me to kind of in a
(06:07):
way, informally make content forthe Army.
And so we're trying to figure itout.
We're kind of flying the plane as we build it.
Well, since the army doesn't flyplanes, you're going to phone it
in basically is what you're saying.
Pretty much. No.
We got the, we got the Sherpas. There's a few, there's a few
Army planes. There's AC12.
(06:27):
We. Don't.
We don't have the sexy aircraft for certain.
We got the Well, yeah, No, no sexy planes.
We got the don't build the helicopter here while you're in
flight. Wait, did you?
Hear that, Adam? He kind of snuck it in there, he
said. We don't have sexy planes.
We've got the Apache. Thank you.
Dot dot .0 my. God, you've won him over.
(06:47):
He's never going to stop now. Here we go.
So did all this come about from mandatory Fund A and from
obviously the 20 million in viewers across, you know,
platforms that you're able to generate?
And so did the Army come and reach out to you or like, how
did how did that happen? Well, actually I was planning my
(07:09):
transition out. I was which?
Time. Yeah, yeah.
Well, this one was legitimate. I, you know, I started doing
paperwork, I started lining up jobs and stuff like that.
And then I talked to an O6A fullbird Colonel, and she was
different than any other officerI've spoken to.
She is not rigid in her thinking.
(07:29):
She enjoys ambiguity. And that's where I thrive.
I want to be in a place that nobody else has been.
And I feel like I do pretty wellin that spot.
But she, you know, I was talkingto her and I was like, hey, she
was like, what? What?
Like what do you want to do? And I was like, well, I want to
do content and like, I'm good atit.
And she was like, OK, well, let's figure out how to get you
(07:49):
to do that in the Army. And I was like, OK.
And then I was like, this is, isit possible?
And a couple months later she called me and she said, hey, I
built a position for you. Like it's ready.
Like let's do this. And I was like, OK, ma'am, like
what are my deliverables? What do you want me to do?
And she literally, I'll never forget this moment on the phone.
She said, you're the expert. You tell me what we should do.
I had this full bird Colonel telling me like, hey, I don't
(08:10):
know this from but you do. I just want to resource you and
let you run. And so at that point, I mean,
she had won my full loyalty at that point very much.
And you know, we were just recently on a phone call.
We are talking to an aviation unit currently that we're going
to do content with. And the aviation unit said, hey,
we've got some forms you guys got to fill out, yadda yadda.
(08:32):
And Colonel Stanley was like hold on, hold on, hold on.
Because there were four content creators on the call, including
myself. And she said, hey, we are going
to deal with the administrative stuff.
We want the creators dealing with creative stuff.
And so I, I was just shocked, you know what I mean?
This person is because, you know, a lot of times in the
military, it's a very one sided relationship.
One person's pulling and the other person is being drugged,
(08:55):
you know what I mean? But they really want to work to
make this work for everybody. And at the end of the day, the
Army's biggest issue right now is recruiting, right?
It's manpower. And I've seen that because I've
been in, you know, at the battalion level for the vast
majority of my career. And so they want to facilitate
this. And it's nice being part of a
team where everybody's giving 100% effort and where nobody's
(09:18):
trying to self preserve, you know what I mean?
Yeah. Well, I think it's a great
example about how like the rightleader thinking the right way
can recognize talent and opportunity.
And then, you know, it's it's got to transcend beyond that.
I can't just be, you have to take it to the next step to be
able to provide right, like the top cover, like you were saying.
(09:38):
So say no, no, no, we're not going to get bogged down in
this. Like this person is here for a
very specific thing and that's to do something that you know
nobody else can do in in the waythat you can.
So can you talk a little talk a little bit about how your
passion for content development has kind of grown into like
where you are now and what, how are you thinking about this
(10:01):
opportunity ahead? And how do you bring over, you
know, all the things that you'vebeen cultivating and, and
refining, putting out that your audience loves to consume and
then moving that over to to what's in in store for you?
What's? Sure.
Well, I mean, I mean, it's been crazy how it's developed, right?
I was in Office Joe, which is a literal TV show on Amazon Prime,
(10:22):
which is crazy. I, I made my acting debut with 0
acting experience. I, I do a ton of keynote
speaking now like people want. I yell at my phone and I post it
on the Internet. So people want me to come speak
in front of crowds, which, you know, obviously, right?
(10:42):
It's a transition that makes sense to me.
But yeah, and honestly, the keynote speaking is my favorite
thing to do and it is so much fun to do and is.
It very free, like you can kind of get up there and just do your
own thing with it. Yeah, You know, it's, I'm not
good at that many things. Honest to God, I'm not that
great at that many things. But I found that that is
(11:03):
something that I've, you know, I'm, I'm good at and and I love
doing it. But, you know, when I started
doing this, I have no idea it was going to blow up like this.
I mean, because even as far as content creators go, I'm fairly
large. You know, I've made it farther
than most content creators do and I just didn't expect that
because I personally don't find myself that interesting.
(11:26):
But but you know, I made somewhere between 20 and 27
videos on TikTok and one of those videos in that range did
like 60,000 views and it was super easy to do.
It took me like 10 minutes to make.
And I was like, I can do this every single day.
And that's what I did. And people will ask me like,
what is your biggest tip? And it's literally that I've
(11:48):
made 6000 videos in three years.Like that's it.
Like just keep making content, like just because because if you
have the kind that kind of volume, you're going to figure
out what works. I figured out what works for my
audience. And then when I found what
worked, I did it thousands and thousands and thousands of
(12:10):
types. And that is, I mean, that's
been. And anytime I take a dip, I just
make a video about DTS, which all service members universally
hate. Yeah.
All right, let's bring it back to the baseline.
We all know that we can hate on this.
That's great. I'm kind of all over our hatred
(12:32):
of army systems, or military systems rather.
There's such, there's such greatadvice that you have in there,
which is right, like just get out there and do it.
Like don't stop and then refine your craft over time.
And then once you start to get confidence in what's working,
really scale that and acceleratethat.
And then once it kind of doesn'twork and then come back to what
you know does. I always tell people too, like a
(12:54):
lot of people tell me I don't. I want to make content but I'm
nervous that people will notice my freaking weird nose or
something Like they have these weird insecurities.
And I had the same thing. I actually didn't make content
for about two years. Like I put off starting because
I was like, I am not deployed. I don't have any cool badges.
My career in the Army has been kind of unremarkable.
(13:18):
Why would anybody care about what I have to say?
Nobody has cared about that at all.
Like nobody. I've never even seen a comment
of anybody saying like, this guyhasn't deployed.
He's not actually funny, like, you know what I mean?
But that's the thing that in my mind that I had an insecurity
about. Now people do content about
other things. Like I saw a comment the other
(13:38):
day and it said your lips move weird when you talk.
And I was like, I've gone my whole life for that hearing
that, like, why would you say that?
Because now. So we can see that.
And I'm like. Do my lips move weird like.
So I guess what I'm saying is don't worry about the things you
think you're insecure about because your audience will give
you new ones and just go to counseling.
Oh my gosh. So now you're like looking in
(14:00):
the mirror, talking, trying to, and you're doing it weird
because you're trying not to do it weird.
I know people are always like, you sound like Morty from Rick
and Morty and I'm like stop commenting this.
Like stop. Oh, man.
So first of all, it was fantastic meeting you with the
Army Navy game. You know, that was cool.
(14:22):
And and I've been following yourworkout plan actually for about
the past four weeks. And my results have been
incredible. I I showed the parent at a
soccer game last Saturday. She didn't get up.
I eated a kid almost 12 foot andand that's that's three foot
more than what I'm used to. And so I do have a quick
(14:43):
question. Yeah, and my real question is,
have you made so many videos at this point that you don't even
catch your own references? Like people will make jokes at
you in your. Life.
It's funny that you say that because not a single time has
anyone ever referenced a video and I didn't remember.
(15:04):
Like it's like I can go back andremember almost the exact video
word for word. It's weird.
I have this and it's funny because I have the worst memory.
I have the memory of a goldfish and like, but I have this
incredible recall for my own content, which I don't know if
I'm a narcissist or whatever, but like that, that I definitely
have solid recall for my own videos.
(15:26):
So yeah, that hasn't really beena problem.
And I'm fairly strategic with the phrases that I use and stuff
now. Like I know what people are
going to think is funny. Like I exist out of spite is the
one that's popping off right now.
People love that. And then I have a hat that just
says I exist out of spite and big and big letters on it and,
and people love that stuff. But yeah, no, I don't know.
(15:49):
I've got pretty good. I've never missed one of my own
references and people often yellthem at me in public.
So that's good to know because I'm going to actually list off
all your videos and I want you to reenact scenes.
From. Each one.
So I actually, my real question was, can you tell me about your
role in office Joe? Because like you said, you go
(16:09):
into just, you know, you don't take yourself seriously, which
is what makes you kind of like great.
You don't laugh at your own jokes.
It's kind of like a dry humor. I think that it resonates with
people that are in office spacesthat have to deal with just in
general. And I think that's one reason
why you've branched out even from people.
People watch you and know of youwho aren't even military.
So you know, what inspired you to take part in a comedy series
(16:31):
about transitioning to civilian life, which is obviously
something you never intend on doing?
And how does that sort of, how did that sort of happen?
Yeah. So Nick Paul Machano, who is,
you know, my best friend. Yeah.
Well, First off, if he asked me to do something, I don't even
question. I just go do it.
That's one of the one of the best people I've ever met in my
life. But he asked me to do this.
(16:53):
And Nick does not ask you to do something that he doesn't think
you're going to murder, You knowwhat I mean?
And so I knew going into it, like, if Nick thinks I can do
this, I can definitely do it. And I showed up and I was still
rehearsing my lines on the freaking flight to North
Carolina. I was so nervous because I
really do have a bad memory. But then I got there, you know,
(17:14):
my Co actor was Jared Taylor andwe had really good chemistry and
it just flowed. It's like we started.
I remembered all my lines we were able to do.
I mean, there were some scenes we were able to do 8 or 9 takes.
And so it was really good. And I, you know, I was honored
that Nick asked me to be part ofthat project because that's,
(17:35):
that was a huge undertaking for him.
That was massive, you know what I mean?
And to have him basically say, hey, I think you're going to be
a good steward of this thing that I'm going to put so much
effort into was, was very flattering, you know what I
mean? And that he thought I had the
chops for it despite the fact that I have 0 acting experience.
What you do now you've got some picking.
(17:56):
Experience Now. Now I'm on prime, you know what
I mean? They call it prime time, but I
have. Random IMDb.
Like, hey, let's watch this show.
Is that me in there? Oh my God.
When did I do that? But yeah, I know it was a lot of
fun. You know it.
That's one of one of the highlights of my life for sure.
(18:18):
That's so cool. That's pretty cool.
You have like a brand and merchandise line.
You actually mentioned it Exit out of spite and you've got like
that's kind of on some Brandon merch.
Talk to me a little bit about what was the brainchild behind
that? What made you want to like,
stick that on a bunch of shirts and stuff?
Yeah. So it started with my
(18:40):
geopolitics content and when I would say don't touch my boats
because like America in general,culturally and since the
inception of our country has hadalmost a religious fervor
surrounding our maritime vessels.
And it's a sailor could tell youbetter than I could.
But I believe that it is becauseof the time and resources that
(19:03):
it takes to build a ship, right?It's it's a massive undertaking.
And they're like. Homes.
Right, yeah, they're like, and yeah, they just they, they
really do have a cult behind them.
You know, the Navy is effectively A cult and.
And anybody in the Navy that's offended by that, you can't tell
me I'm wrong. So it is what it is.
(19:24):
I. Mean you're right.
But yeah, and so I started saying don't touch my boats in
certain videos and people reallylatched onto it.
And so somebody told me like youneed to put this on a shirt.
And I hadn't done merch at that point.
And I was like all right, I'll give it a try.
And so I teamed up with a company, slapped it on some
T-shirts, and I think I sold like 10,000 of those T-shirts in
like 2 weeks. And so it was just like, it was
(19:48):
so mind boggling how responsive people were to it.
And so now, and now it's really cool because I have a source of
income that's separate from the platforms.
And because the platforms are very finicky, they go up and
down. You can't really count on that
money. And then half the time they're
trying to demonetize you or something, so.
(20:13):
That's pretty cool. You also have obviously a
presence on YouTube and stuff like that.
And I was cracking up. What's I seen the other day.
You have, hey, you were saying something about high speed and
warrior companion and shipmate in battle.
Probably talk to me a little bitabout where do these spur out
(20:39):
of? Do these stem from spur of the
moment or are these well thoughtout, well planned things?
Yeah, there's no, there's no planning behind them.
So it's funny, my friends make fun of me because all sometimes
I'll go silent on the phone likemid sentence and like now they
(20:59):
know I just had an idea and I'm writing it down.
There have been times when I've literally stopped like walking
and I'll just like stare off at Mars or the ether, whatever I'm
looking at because I'm having anidea.
It almost feels like a curse at times at this point because it
just happens. I thought that my ability to
generate ideas was going to be my the biggest thing that held
(21:22):
me back as a creator. But I have a list of ideas in
the notes on my phone and I've probably got a couple 100 in
there. Like I have more ideas than I'm
ever going to have time to even film.
Yeah. And so that's kind of cool.
But the biggest limiting factor on me for sure is time,
especially being active duty. And that that's part of the
(21:42):
reason why I think it's cool that I'm about to start doing
this project because it should. It'll hopefully give me some
time back. You know, I won't be, you know,
I won't be doing necessarily allthe normal military stuff.
I'll just be able to focus on content.
And obviously during duty hours it's going to be Army focused.
But, you know, there are. Yeah.
Well, yeah, it always is for themoment.
(22:05):
And normally I have a one word or one sentence prompt and then
I read it from there. I I'm generally not good off of
scripts. Like I emceed an event one time
and I'll never do it again because that was fully scripted
and God I stunk at that. We don't know what to do with
your hands. I know And then people were
(22:26):
messing the things up in the script.
It wasn't me, I swear to God, but then they're looking up at
me and I I'm just the dumb ass. Oh, I probably can't cuss on
this one. Sorry you're.
Fine. I'm I'm, I'm just the
Lieutenant. But everybody's staring at
they're like, did you mess this up?
And I'm like, I didn't. They are out of order.
It wasn't me, but I can't say that at the event, you know?
What? I mean, Lieutenant.
(22:48):
All my talking is is off the cuff as well and which means
sometimes you forget things but it when it goes well it goes
really well. But I hate when I go somewhere
and they want me to run through things like 3 times.
I'm like you guys are destroying.
My I know. Really hard on your like
creativity. Yeah, I think having an out, a
general idea or an outline of where you're going is fine, but
(23:10):
when you like regurgitate it over and over, it's just the
it's so disingenuous. Yeah, yeah.
Actually, like I very rarely have to do second takes in my
own context. And it's not because I'm doing
everything Florida State, it's because I just don't care if I
mess up a word or whatever. But if I have to do more than
(23:32):
1/3 take like I just can the idea for that day, I write it
down and I do it the next day orwhatever because it's just by at
that point I'm so angry. I'm like, why can't I get this?
And so I just, I just got to like to move on.
I think it's really cool becauseyou have, you've established
that authentic delivery without having to put like a filter or a
(23:53):
barrier or rehearsing. And yeah, I mean, I, I, I speak
a lot as well, like Joe and and Stacy.
And if I have to go from a script, I mean, I can read the
words on the page. But if you want the passion
coming through and if you want the inspiration, then I need the
couple word prompts. I need the loose outline and I
need to be able to know like what, what am I trying to
(24:15):
communicate here, you know, to my audience and.
I cry. You got to let me know.
You you want to Joe cry? Just wait 5 seconds.
No, so I wasn't that familiar with your, with your content
beforehand, but I got on and I was, you know, consuming some of
it and laughing at the things we're talking about.
But there's also one that reallystuck out to me.
(24:35):
And it was just you kind of addressing the audience, I think
in between sets, you know, in the gym.
And it seemed like you were really, you know, kind of
talking from the heart. And so, you know, talk a little
bit about that content that you produce as well, because it
seems like maybe going back to your ability to just be
authentic, that you can show up and not necessarily have to
(24:56):
provide the sarcastic humor, butbe able to comment about real
things, you know, through the, the audience that you've
curated. And I saw that maybe that one
just from like a comments and engagement, you know, generated
more traffic. Maybe it was the the topic that
you were talking about, but there was something about, you
know, not even the, the humor side of things, but just like
the deeper meaning behind you asthe, the person having thoughts
(25:19):
in the world and sharing that with your audience.
Yeah. Well, yeah, that kind of, Well,
that specific video, I know which one you're talking about.
It always generates a lot. So in the video, basically the
premise behind it is even thoughwe disagree on certain things,
we don't have to hate each other, like.
And I feel like as a country, weare very divided and everything
(25:43):
is so divisive. And, you know, I, I know people
that are like, hey, if, if somebody's a Democrat or
somebody's a Republican, I'm notgoing to associate with them.
And that's just insane to me. That's crazy.
I'm fairly apolitical. And I mean, I use the excuse
that I'm active duty to stay outof politics online.
(26:03):
But truth be told, I'm never going to get into politics
because it's just not my bag. And quite frankly, I believe
that unsolicited advice 99% of the time is worth exactly what
you paid for it. Like I just, I don't, I don't
generally try and give advice because like, I hate it when
people just give me unsolicited advice that I didn't ask for
(26:26):
because I'm just like, what do we got going on here?
But yeah, that one specifically I had just seen in the last
couple days leading up to it just so much back and forth on
the Internet. And so I used my father, who was
a business owner for effectivelymy entire childhood as an
example. And there were policies put in
(26:49):
place. My dad sold used cars.
And, you know, there were policies put in place while he
was a business owner, such as Cash for Clunkers.
I don't know if you guys remember that one.
Yeah. So Cash for Clunkers benefited
the big dealerships and it totally screwed my dad, who was
a small used car guy, you know, and so, but a lot of people
(27:10):
agreed with the cash for clinical program.
And So what I said was just because somebody agrees with
that doesn't mean they hate my dad.
You know, even though it's financially affecting him and it
and it's negatively affecting him, I don't think those people
hate my dad. I don't think those people are
dumb. They just don't have
perspective, you know, and somebody like talking about even
the more divisive topics, like, I don't know, border security,
(27:33):
right? That is a fairly contested
topic. Somebody in Arizona who might be
dealing with that in a real way,whose neighborhood has been like
flooded with fentanyl, is going to feel different than somebody
in freaking, you know, Washington, for example.
It just different people have different perspectives.
And just because they disagree, it doesn't make them dumb,
(27:54):
doesn't make them unintelligent,and it doesn't mean they hate
each other. They don't have to hate each
other, but people just draw downparty lines and it's really hard
to watch sometimes because both sides generally have a good
perspective on something. And, and I mean, God, we'd get a
lot more done if we could all just kind of get along.
I just wish I could put everybody in a big get along
(28:14):
shirt, you know what I mean? Big for everybody, everybody in
there. On the.
Wall. Yeah, everybody start doing
cherry pickers and we'll all start.
But yeah. And so now I'm rambling at this
point, but I think you guys get the point.
Like I just wish everybody couldtake a chill pill and we could
figure something out together. It reminds me of that old, I
(28:36):
don't know if you remember thoseold commercial that had like a
prominent Republican and prominent Democrat, and they
were sitting there eating or drinking Pepsi and a Coke.
And it was like a collab. And they they sort of like tap
their drinks. And it was just sort of yeah, I
remember that. And then, you know, as I got
older, I thought that that, you know, that that kind of thing
(28:57):
was impossible. And then I spent time in DC and
I realized that a lot of the anger that you're seeing is not
in DC. Like weirdly, a lot of those
people are friends. A lot of those people are
friends. They're good friends.
They eat lunch together. And I don't mean that to say
anything other than the fact that be careful where you're
(29:18):
getting all this anger from because it it may be for the
purpose of making someone money or clicks and not because
there's really that much divisiveness.
Meanwhile, meanwhile, there's anindependent over in the corner
drinking an Orange Crush. Yeah.
And it's so funny, Like one of the number one comments in that
video was, yeah, but if we're talking about human rights,
(29:39):
there's no like, I can't like whatever.
And it's like, yeah, that's why I used my father, who's a
business owner, like as the example.
Our the veteran community is very opinionated and
unfortunately the loudest ones are also generally the least
likely to be open to the idea that maybe they don't have the
perspective that they think theydo or that they might be wrong.
(30:01):
I am wrong all the time and my bosses and Co workers tell me
quite frequently my. Wife fills me.
It's this interesting thing of like the gesture, being able to
speak the most truth. And that's like that goes back
for, you know, the archetypes asas long as as they've been
around. And so it's it's something about
being able to cut and and look at, you know, the comedians, you
(30:24):
know, of today being able to go and talk about things that
nobody else can talk about because, you know, comedy is the
vehicle that that cuts through everything.
So yeah, I would just say. That comedy is disarming.
It's disarming. If you can make somebody laugh,
you've made an ally. And, and I think we're at a
point now where where, you know,we're on the backside of this
(30:45):
really harsh, hopefully on the backside of this really harsh
cancel culture and comedians were able to do the thing, which
is, is make a caricature of of society.
Not everything they say is an actual opinion and stuff.
And and and and I say all that, but you know, I do kind of want
to circle back around with something, you know, your video
about your daughters, it went viral, landed you on the Today
(31:08):
show, which is crazy that you got to go do that.
I've got 4 kids, but after two daughters, I stopped letting God
decide and adopted 2 boys. But I agree with you
wholeheartedly. I've never understood the better
clean your shotgun comments. I mean, I'm that's.
Weird. It's weird.
It's a good energy. The, the idea that somebody
(31:29):
would suggest that I should eventhreaten somebody's child with
physical violence is like, even as a kid, I was like, what are
you talking about? And now there's two sides to
that. Now you're getting me on my
soapbox, right? I'm all fired up now.
But like there is two sides to that, right?
Because we have to like our culture of masculinity in the
United States of America is like, I mean, there's a lot of
(31:51):
guys out there that are just trying to sleep with as many
women as possible. And that that is fact.
And so we need to, we shouldn't be threatening children by
cleaning weapons in front of them.
But also we need to, like, teachkids like, hey, you need to be
respectful of other people, you know, and that includes in your
dating life. Hopefully that's a topic we can
broach on here, too. Yeah.
(32:12):
I don't know what's off limits yet.
No, I mean, honestly, we're pretty open about everything.
I think that's one thing that makes us as genuine as well, is
that we can speak. We do criticize the VA, but
we're always looking for props. We're always looking for ways to
say, hey, this was well done, you nailed this.
So you know, and, and, and I think that from what I gathered
(32:34):
of yours, the way my girls are raised, whenever I meet someone
interested in them, I pray for them man, because I have spoiled
my girls. They have high expectations.
Good luck. Let me know if you need some
help or advice. Like that's how I handle it.
I've never had a guy walk in my house after either one of my
daughters and me go to intimidate them.
I mean, I'm A1 legged, 6 foot three guy.
(32:55):
So like, I think it automatically kind of happens,
but I try to disarm it whenever I can, you know, and yeah,
that's sort of really my point is, is like, how is your family
like adapted to all this? I mean, you know, and and if you
don't want to talk about your family, IA 100% get that because
I'm curious, you know, as you stay in what happens when you
(33:16):
pick up general, like what happens when you're.
That's starting to happen. No, there's not a person insane
enough on Earth to make me a general officer.
Of public relations you're picking up.
Like with the way that I, when Icommissioned, I was almost at 10
years, I was at like 9 1/2 yearsand I was a staff Sergeant.
And for those of you that are listening that were not in the
(33:37):
Army, that's an E6. But I can retire.
I mean, I'll be able to retire as a captain, but honestly, like
the opportunities outside the military are just so good.
And I'm passing so many things up.
The only reason I'm staying and now is because I have a love for
(33:58):
the institution. I believe in what the
institution does and I want to solve this very real problem,
which is people. And the only reason we're still
having this problem is because we are not effectively utilizing
social media. And thank God, that's the thing
that I, that's like the only thing in the world that I'm good
at. You know, the Army recently did
like an ad run and I don't know what all went into it, but they
(34:18):
did it with The Rock. And The Rock is a big name, but
I don't think he resonates with the 18 year old crowd, the
recruitable population, like he would with our generation.
You know what I mean? Like it like if I saw The Rock
in an ad when I was 18, like, that was like at the height of
his acting career right after WWE.
Like, that would have been cool.And it's funny.
(34:39):
I make jokes like the Army will say, hey, we need a celebrity to
attract the kids. Who should we get?
And then somebody will be like, let's get shaggy.
You know what? I mean.
And it's like, yeah, Shaggy's awesome.
Dolly Parton maybe? Like if you have knee pain,
Shaggy is sick, You know what I mean?
Like but I'm going. Hulk Hogan, maybe?
(35:02):
But like the art and and the army does a lot of things really
amazing, but some sometimes, youknow, sometimes something
doesn't go exactly as planned and the ad run with the rock
didn't go quite as they had planned.
I am really excited for this though, because what I would
like to do this with this program is start something that
is equivalent to the world classathlete program where people in
(35:26):
the uniform can kind of step outof their normal role and they
can just do content for the Armyand they can do it in an I mean,
there's going to be left and right limits.
It will be professional. It will not besmirch or
disparage the image of the United States Army, but it'll be
done in a, in a way that gives them some creative liberty and
allows them to stay authentic tothemselves because that's what
(35:49):
works. And oh, by the way, the Army's
not spending any marketing dollars on it because they're
just paying the salary of the green suitor.
So it's like super cost effective.
Like worst case scenario is it doesn't exactly work and you
just took this person out of a duty position for a year.
Best case scenario is we have a ton of content, goes super viral
(36:09):
and the Army basically just got a bunch of free advertising.
You know what I mean? That's fair.
Love it. Well, oh, sorry Joe, did I just.
Cut you hold I I had one more thing that I wanted to ask and I
feel like you being on here, youknow, I love the American
Legion. Get up.
I I did want to ask one last question on my end before I, I
(36:32):
pass it on. You know what got you involved
with the American Legion? Because a lot of times people
don't get involved until prior service, and they have that
aching hole inside of their heart that says, OK, I wish I
had stayed in or I want to go back in.
And then they find the American Legion.
So I'd love to know, you know, alittle bit about that journey.
Well, the the American Legion, it just isn't as big for my
(36:57):
generation, or it wasn't. It wasn't pushed as hard for my
generation when I joined. I only learned about the
American Legion a couple years ago and I immediately fell in
love with the mission. What the American Legion does
and I, I, when I was given the opportunity and Nick is the one
that kind of made the connectionwhen I was given the opportunity
(37:19):
to work with y'all, I was like, I mean, I didn't have to think
about it, you know what I mean? Like, it's an incredible
organization. It's massive, it's got a lot of
history, and the mission is the best.
And then I started interacting with the people that work for
the American Legion and every single 1 is incredible.
(37:39):
Every single person believes in the mission.
Every single person is dedicatedto veterans, their families and
service members. And it was just, I wanted to be
a person that helps steward the next generation of young
veterans into an amazing organization to keep that
organization going. But also I want to help link
them up with the resources that the American Legion has.
(38:00):
Like it's a mutually beneficial relationship.
And so that, that's how I got, you know, that's how I got
involved in the American Legion.But it was Nick again that made
the connection. And I, it's my favorite
professional relationship that Ihave is with the American
Legion. And every single time, like a
lot of companies, and I keep having to adjust this because my
(38:22):
tripod's really cheap, because I'm really cheap and it keeps
falling. But I, I don't know, I just, I
really wanted to help be a voicebecause I have a really good
finger on the pulse of the, you know, 18 to 25 year old military
and veteran community. And I wanted to be able to
communicate to them with my own style of humor and comedy and
(38:44):
with my platforms like, hey, this organization's amazing,
give it a shot. And really the American Legion
is largely a community driven organization.
It's us like everyone is the American Legion.
And so we need that next generation to come in and kind
of carry the torch, you know? And so that's kind of what I
(39:05):
wanted to help facilitate. Dude, you're a rock star, man.
I mean, honestly, I appreciate it.
You know, you say, you keep saying you're not good at stuff,
but you're having a huge impact,you know, and, and it, it means
a lot. I love to see people who find
ways to serve when they get out and you're finding ways to serve
veterans while you're still active duty And, and I'm not
(39:29):
going to cry. So don't look at.
That. It is, but it.
Doesn't mean I'm far away from it.
I just for me consideration and like love that stuff is like my
my heart to kink as it is As forthe weirdest way I could
possibly put that. But honestly, man, I, I love
what you're doing and it means the world that that you're here
(39:51):
and hanging out with us today. And I do appreciate.
You I appreciate you guys havingme on and it is funny at the
Army Navy game, somebody introduced, I'm a vet, I'm a vet
sound terrible. I meet so many people I can
never remember names anymore. But somebody in the American
Legion invited or introduced me to somebody very important in
the American Legion and they introduced me by saying, hey,
(40:11):
this is Austin. He's one of our content creators
that we work with and he had. I don't want to get the wording
wrong, but she said he had like one of the most or the most
effective Internet ad we've had as far as recruiting or
something to that effect. And it was one of the ads that I
did for y'all that I sent over to Nick's guys and they kind of
cut it up and made it look really good.
(40:31):
And to hear that I had had, I had created such an effective
piece of content. I don't often like feel proud of
myself. And it's something that I'm
working on, right? I got my counselor.
But, but in that moment I had I,there's very few things that had
(40:53):
made me feel more pride. And not because I did something
really well, but because I did something well and it had such
an amazing impact on an organization that I love and
believe in. Oh.
Yeah, well, Austin, you're amazingly talented, amazingly
funny human being and they we appreciate you.
Help us. Do appreciate you too.
That I'm very handsome. Let's 'cause she listen to
(41:17):
mirror, she has to see your face.
So it's, you know, alphas. You can get on YouTube and
subscribe to Mandatory Fun Day. You can do that right now.
Actually go out there and do it right now so you can get some
chuckles in whether you like it or not, whether you like it or
not, that's got to happen right now.
We're going to have those socialmedia handles in our show notes
(41:38):
as well as Mandatory Fun Days everything.
So keep keep in touch Austin. We love your antics.
We're going to see a lot more from you and and is it before we
sign off? Is there anything that we may
have missed? I don't think so.
My websites the mandatoryfunday.com You can
subscribe to my newsletter there, and if you want to pick
(41:59):
up some toaster bath merch, feelfree.
The mandatory funday.com Austin,thank you so much for visiting
us today, for laughing with us and keep speaking the truth
through your comedy. Oh, also, somebody already has
mandatoryfunday.com that's why Ihad to do the
(42:20):
mandatoryfunday.com so if that'sone of y'all let hit me up.
We can work something out all right.
Let's make a deal mandatory. Funding on Twitter too.
Like give me that I have to be the monotone Mustang on X or
whatever we're calling. All right, and with that, Alpha,
(42:41):
stick around for some scuttlebutt after the break.
Welcome back, Alpha, as we're keeping things short and sweet
on the countdown. So there's no scuttlebutt today,
but thanks for taking the trip down memory lane with us.
We really hope you guys enjoyed the episode.
On behalf of the entire Tal Podcast team, we hope you're
enjoying time with your loved ones during the holiday season.
If you miss us during the holidays, which I know you are,
(43:03):
you can always subscribe to our podcast, our newsletter, or send
us guest and mail recommendations at legion.org,
Back slash Tango Awful Lima Salon.
Salon.
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