The Power of Choosing What Matters with Matt Vincent

"If nothing matters, then you get to decide what does." In this episode, Joey and Drew sit down with Matt Vincent—Highland Games World Champion, entrepreneur, and longtime supporter of Few Will Hunt. They discuss how Matt shaped his belief system through athletics, failure, writing, and self-reflection. He shares why embracing nihilism gave him freedom, how writing transformed his life, and why abundance is often the real challenge—not scarcity. They also talk about comparison traps, building authentic brands, and what it means to earn your radiance through resilience. Listen in if you’re ready to question the rules, own your path, and show up with purpose.

The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and Made in the USA apparel brand. Family-owned and operated and headquartered in Philadelphia. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What I do kind of align with is more of the

(00:03):
nihilistic side of Nietzschewhere I don't know that I think
anything's inherently important.And I like that idea because
then that gives all the power tome to decide what's important.
And so then that's where it's meto be aligned with my energy and
decide what deserves myattention, my best effort, my
things, not because it'ssupposed to.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
What's going on, Eagles? Welcome to the Fuel Hunt
Show. Today, Drew and I arejoined by Matt Vincent.
Everybody, Matt, everybody inthe community knows who you are.
You've been a a lighthouse,really, not just for us, but for
a lot in our community, a lot ofmembers of our community,
probably for, like, over adecade in this space.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
So that's like the the entrepreneurial space,
athletics, obviously, andpersonal development. So, you
know, that that trifecta really.So we're we're honored to have
you on the show. I know we metrecently in person, which was
super awesome. So, you know, wehave that leading into this
here.

(01:06):
One thing that I I wanted tomention is just, you know, if
you knew your flowers, you know,early on, you were an
inspiration. You continue to be,for Drew and I. And, early on,
we sent you some fuel hunk gearin a very, very early early
days. And, you were so abundantminded that, you know, you wore

(01:28):
it. You wore it on your lives,like, you know, and we really,
really appreciated that.
And that was a signal to us thatthat that said, like, hey. Look.
This is a guy that, we can learnfrom. And, you know, we had a a
feeling of respect for you, andthat really validated. So just
wanted to give you some flowers,man.
Start us off.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. I I really appreciate that. You know, that
abundance mindset is somethingthat I've really tried to work
on. And, you know, coming fromathletics and entrepreneurship,
it's really easy to get caughtin the competitive side of
things. But one of the things Iloved most about, you know,
track and field and eventuallymy time in the Highland Games
is, like, it's a full solosport.

(02:10):
And so how far my competitionthrows that day doesn't really
have anything to do with me.Yeah. Like, it's my job to do my
best job that day with with thecircumstances given. And if I'm
beaten, I'm beaten. Mhmm.
And the way I felt about thatgoing into business with apparel
was and, like, I if you've gotwhat it takes to get through

(02:36):
that business and build agigantic brand and do this for a
living, you're gonna do thatwhether or not I posted this
shirt or not.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Right. Yeah. Very true.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Like, I ain't gonna be the slowing down point or the
one that made it happen. Yeah.Yeah. And so I couldn't find any
benefit to shitting on it wherethe benefit of me being an ally
is if they have what it takes tomake this work, then I have
friends.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
For sure.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
And if they don't have what it takes to make this
work, perhaps I'm a nice voicethat gave them a nudge to try
chasing a dream again. Yeah.Like, I just don't ever wanna be
on the other side of that. Yeah.We we we agree.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
We agree. I mean, we're abundant thinkers, but you
you mentioned that it'ssomething that you've worked on.
Right? You've really worked on.Because it no matter if that is
a core belief of yours, I feellike the primal human wiring
always tries to creep insurvival mode and scarcity,
like, always tries to creep

Speaker 1 (03:37):
in

Speaker 3 (03:37):
at all times. So it's a continuous, like many things
in life that are worth it, acontinuous practice, in my eyes

Speaker 2 (03:45):
at least.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
It is a continuous practice. I mean, look, I mean,
we can get scarce if it'sresources. You know, I mean,
money being the one that so manychase and looking at that as
this metric for success. Butalso, I mean, time is really
scarce. Also, so is yourattention.
And the older I've gotten, like,I I want my attention to be
spent intentionally. Myattention to be spent

(04:06):
intentionally. And the moreintentionally I am with it, I
guess, the more value and honorI put on it instead of waiting
for someone else to decide whatit's worth.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
For sure. For sure. I feel like when we're younger so
how how old are

Speaker 1 (04:21):
you now, Matt? Forty two.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
Alright. 42. So we're the same age. I feel like, at
least from my perspective, whenI was younger, I wanted to do so
much. I wanted to do everything.
I could do all the things. I wasinvincible. And now as I get
older, I realize that I I justwanna do less better. You know
what I mean? Like, wanna do lessthings, and I wanna do them

(04:45):
better, specifically Mhmm.
Better so that they better otherpeople. Like, that's the big,
like, life epiphany that I'vecome to in my late thirties,
early forties.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:56):
Look back and, you know, my twenties and my early
thirties, and I was like, man,like, if I knew then, what I
know now? You know?

Speaker 1 (05:03):
But for everybody knows that. So that idea. Right?
That, like, if I know then, whatI know now? Man, I've had that a
lot of times.
And I I love, you know,everything you're saying with
that piece switching on and, Idon't know, realizing a way to
bring value to former versionsof yourself. And trying to be

(05:25):
that light for yourself andcontinuing to help others. The
only the best way I can ever seethat that's done is by
continuing to work on you sothat the light on you reflects
out wider. Yep. Yep.
You know, as you build thatinternal growth, that spirit,
that connection to who you areauthentically, like, the first

(05:45):
thing is that light kindaeventually reaches the mirror
and you see a different youreflected back. Mhmm. And then
you get a couple friends thatare like, oh, you're kinda
different. There's somethingwhatever it is. And, like, that
continues to grow the more thatyou focus on it.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah. For sure.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
And being able to show that the path isn't the
more money. It's not thequantity game of the consumerism
our country has decided to makeGod. But it becomes quality
especially through later inlife. Know that like by this

(06:22):
point at 40, I'm gonna go aheadand say, like, 80% of my big
fuck up should be out of theway. Yeah.
Now the 20% of fuck ups thatI've got left and the 80%, like,
in that longer chapter of mylife now that I'm an adult and
doing things. Right? I've onlyreally been an adult for, like,
ten fucking years. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
So I'm a I'm a toddler. Well,

Speaker 1 (06:48):
you know, that's great to know.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Yeah. Look.

Speaker 1 (06:52):
It's a brilliant thing to know instead of be
scared of of, like, holy shit. Ihave so much more time to keep
learning stuff. Yeah. Theproblem is ever thinking you've
got a thing, like, licked that,like, oh, I don't have to know
anymore about that. Mhmm.
Yeah. There's always depth toit. Yep. But trying to maximize
that time and understand that,like, I need better skills and

(07:14):
better defense mechanisms andbetter mindset and better ways
to recover and manage stress sothat I can handle the next
bigger things that are gonnaeventually come my way. Like,
there's no escaping problems.
And so Yeah. The next decisionis then how do I might make
myself as ready and resilientfor anything I can run into?
Mhmm. Training wise. Right?

(07:37):
That's why I would go train whenit was raining. I ain't trying
to have it rain at the WorldChampionships the first day I've
tried to handle things when it'swet. I'd like to have some
strategies under my belt.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
For sure, for sure. You mentioned, you talked about
the light, right? And such abeautiful way of putting it that
that light eventually brightensto the point that it hits the
mirror and you see yourself andthen it starts to reach others
and then you become, hopefully,the goal is a lighthouse for
others. Yeah, mean, you'reessentially somewhere between

(08:10):
the mirror and Tony Robbins.Right.
Right. Right. Exactly. The I Ihad an interesting thought that
I wrote about a few weeks agoabout radiance. So I call that
radiance.
I'm sure you do too, that light.And that especially on social
media, there's a

Speaker 1 (08:31):
lot

Speaker 3 (08:31):
of art I I don't wanna say artificial, but maybe
like forced radiance. I havethis belief that radiance is
something that's really earned.Like, have to go through it, you
have to grow through it, andthen you have the ability to
shine it on others. Have youfound in your life that your

(08:52):
light, your radiance, yourimpact that you've had on others
has really been a product of,you know, maybe this is tough
shit you've went through andbeen able to

Speaker 1 (09:01):
I I

Speaker 3 (09:02):
learn and grow from Yeah.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yeah. I think all of it. You know, recently, kinda
just how I look at things isthis all one journey of life,
right, but with a lot ofdifferent chapters. And so if I
ever can find myself reallypresent and I can find myself,
like, you know, in those momentsyou run into every once in a

(09:26):
while, and you're like, holyshit. Everything's great.
Like, you just every once in awhile, you catch that moment and
have it, and it's it's notpermanent.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
But if you ever run into that moment, like, give it
the gravity it deserves. Becausebased on, like, butterfly
theory, right, if we go back intime and change anything along
the path, you don't get thatmoment. You're not there. Yep.
And so that means if I have thatmoment of presence and
gratitude, then I have to thankall of it.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (09:59):
It's all important. All the failures. How do I love
those? Yeah. Instead of letthose become a limiting belief
as part of a narrative.
Mhmm. How do I use those skills?Like, sure, you know, my failure
was competing ended before Iwanted to due to knee surgery
and having to have kneereplacement and those type of
things. But if that doesn'thappen, I don't have this story.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
And I'm the one who gets to take that moment and
alco and, like, and alchemize itinto the gold going forward.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Sure.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
But it is that transmutation process that we
have to choose instead ofletting it write the narrative
from the past. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.But it it to answer your
question shortly, yeah.
Yeah. Like, it's all thosethings matter.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah. Always matter. It's always the journey. There's
no books from the view ofEverest.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yeah, this is true. This is true. The transmutation,
right? Like, it's so interestingbecause I feel like if you don't
embrace those failures and youdon't take control of the
change, they will just changeyou, right? I mean, that's
basically how it goes, right?

(11:12):
We say, things are gonna happento you or you're gonna happen to
things. It's the same type ofthing. You

Speaker 1 (11:18):
know? Here you have.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
Do you want me to say?

Speaker 2 (11:20):
No. Oh. Not a fan.

Speaker 3 (11:22):
I was Thought you were gearing up. So I thought I
saw you gearing up.

Speaker 2 (11:25):
I was, like, pottering.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
You know, I I think where the real power lies is,
you know, in my own beliefsystem and kinda falling into a
real hodgepodge of a lot ofthings. Sure. And what I do kind
of align with is more of thenihilistic side of Nietzsche
where I don't know that I thinkanything's inherently important.

(11:49):
And I like that idea becausethen that gives all the power to
me to decide what's important.Sure.
And so then that's where it's meto be aligned with my energy and
decide what deserves myattention, my best effort, my
things, not because it'ssupposed to. Yep. Some of those
line up. Mhmm. There are some soit's not like I'm doing it as a

(12:10):
fuck you to the societal norms.
Yeah. But it is knowing moreauthentically what are your
areas of desire. What do youwanna be? What does your life
wanna look like? And if youdon't have a direction for it,
it's really hard to makeprogress toward it.
But in that same instance, youhave to define failure, and you

(12:32):
have to define success. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
Question question on that, Matt. How has adapting
that mentality or belief systemaffected your personal life as
far as the people around you orfriends, family, etcetera?
Because I I believe that I'vealso adapted a similar way of

(12:55):
thinking, but not always takenwell by old friends or family
members. And I feel like a lotof people in the community might
have the same growing pains.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah. I think at some point, you've gotta decide they
don't get a vote. You know, ifI'm not interested in giving a
vote in my life to a, anyone notliving the way I want to. And I
also don't need permission.

Speaker 2 (13:25):
No.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
Like, I'm allowed to feel this way, and I'm allowed
to think this way. I also, egowise, I don't care if they
understand or think I'm right.This is what I think. You are
more than welcome to thinkwhatever you would like to
think. But I'm gonna focus onthings that make me better and
benefit me and help me make gooddecisions that align with who I

(13:49):
wanna become and continue tomake long term progress.
Sure. And this is what I havefound to be the best way for me
to stay locked in on that andnot just caught up in the
checking boxes everyday thing ofgood enough.

Speaker 3 (14:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:03):
And if that doesn't work for you, great. I don't
give a shit. Yeah. My focus ison trying to figure out the best
operating system for me to behappy. Mhmm.
And it didn't align with friendsand family and everything when I
started, you know, when it wasless going out to the bar and
not being part of stuff and anyof that. There's always those
questions and peer pressure. Butat the same time, like, you're

(14:26):
not fucking doing anything Iwanna do. Yeah. Or at least And

Speaker 3 (14:31):
And what the future you want to do either.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
Yeah. Right. And also with that said, like, I haven't
ever been part of the followerside of the groups.

Speaker 3 (14:43):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
I've always been if someone needs to make decisions,
I'll make them. K. I'm cool withthat. And that's always been in
my own life too. And so nowgoing forward after I kinda made
that switch, there's plenty ofpeople that don't get it that I
still run into that I don'talign with.

(15:06):
Right? But, like, they don'thave access to my energy. Mhmm.
They're an acquaintance. Mhmm.
But people that I keep close,they hold the same boundaries I
do.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
Mhmm. And from the outsider's perspective, Matt,
just from the stuff you post onInstagram, it does seem like
you're just kinda living, baby.Like, you are just going with
the flow, and I low key jealous.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
Well, I I mean, it's so go with the flow. Right?
Like, I'm super glad it lookslike that. But, like, go with
the flow is a very fuckingintentional thing. Right?
Like, go with the flow thatwe're talking about, which is
being in the van and the freedomto do this from remote and

(15:50):
travel the way I want to, like,I saw the trap in continuing to
grow an apparel company, whichmeans I can't fucking leave.
Mhmm. Because anytime I left,like, captain wasn't at the
helm, and there needed to be thecaptain at the helm. And some of
the adventures I'm interested indoing don't happen in forty
eight hours, man. Sometimes I'mleaving the country for six

(16:12):
weeks.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:14):
Sure. And so along those lines then, then I need to
solve the other problem. So whatis a job that I can do at my
best that I love getting to dothat provides the value I wanna
provide Mhmm. That I can do fromanywhere. Yeah.
And so then focus all theattention on that. And at the
same time, at whatever point Irealize, this other thing that

(16:39):
I've invested ten years in andlove, the apparel company, you
know, that has been part of myidentity and part of who I am.
I've gotta be the one strongenough to say this isn't it
anymore

Speaker 2 (16:50):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
And not do it just because it works. Because I know
well enough that if I don'tfucking love it, it won't ever
get where I really want it togo. Yeah. And I didn't anymore.
Mhmm.
And so that go with the flow isburning that down. That go with
the flow is leaving a thirteenyear marriage that I wasn't
into. That go with the flow ismoving to a city where I don't

(17:13):
have any resources or knowanybody. It is taking risk and
renting a space and seeing canwe teach breath work in any of
these other modalities thatwe're fascinated Mhmm. And while
I appreciate that it looks likego with the flow, it has been a
very fucking conscious decisionto get here.

(17:33):
Yeah. Yeah. Because we all knowthat there's no fucking
accidental great lives, man.

Speaker 3 (17:39):
Yeah. No

Speaker 1 (17:41):
one's handing out great lives on accident to
people. Yeah. Mm-mm. Even if itlooks like it from the outside.
Right?
And, like, you get some fuckingstupid trust fund, and that
eliminates that problem thateveryone thinks is the biggest
limiter. You don't earn it. Youdon't have purpose. You don't
have attachment to it. You haveself doubt.
You have all these other piecesthat come through it, this

(18:01):
guilt, this other shit. Yep.Because it isn't fucking yours.

Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yep. Yep. Yep. Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
This is mine. Mhmm.

Speaker 3 (18:11):
You you mentioned that your belief system I think
did you say hodgepodge? It's alittle bit of a Mhmm.
Hodgepodge. Right?

Speaker 1 (18:18):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
So to a degree, I'm a Nietzsche guy too. Are some
elements that

Speaker 1 (18:25):
I'm not with.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
You know what I mean? More of like a Frankel, Victor
Frankel. But, I do believe, andthe more people that I talk to,
that I respect, they they puttogether their own belief
system. They don't justsubscribe to one unilateral
belief system. And that pissespeople off, man.

(18:47):
It pisses people off in a majorway.

Speaker 1 (18:51):
I Well, because we need right. We need an
instruction manual, right? Likea clear cut You said this.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
Boxes and this and that. And I think that, know,
talking about big limiters, Ithink that's one of the biggest
limiters, like our desire fororder, our desire to be able to
control things like that. That'sone of the biggest limiters
boils all the or or distills allthe way down to the lives of
people, You know? Because ifthey could borrow from all of

(19:20):
the greatness that's out there,and depending what you believe,
most of that greatness couldcome from a single source, I
feel like their belief systemswould be much more pliable, and
they would have more courage todo what they really wanna do in
life.

Speaker 1 (19:36):
I think there's a real trouble that when you land
on something and you feel likeit's right. Because a lot of
times if you find something andit lands on right and as tribal
as we tend to be, especially inWestern culture, if I'm right,
then that means and the otherhas to lose because it being

(19:57):
right is a threat to my right.Worse time. You start to find
yeah. As soon as you weredefining yourself by what you're
not, there's also problems.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
And so, you know, that piece of nothing being
inherently important importantthen means I can pick and choose
whatever I want.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
Mhmm. Yeah. For sure.

Speaker 1 (20:17):
If if none of it matters, then the only part that
matters is what I choose. Imean, all this shit's something
we came up with at some point. Imean, I can say it's divinely
influenced. I can say there's anumber of things right there,
you know, with my own idea of, Idon't know, what the god spirit
is, source, whatever we wannacall it, the universe. I mean, I

(20:38):
think there's something.
Yeah. There's definitelysomething bigger than me, which
sure as shit. And that couldjust be the entirety of all of
it. But I don't know that Iagree that it loves me or wants
me to succeed. Yeah.
I think it's completelyindifferent.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
I'd agree. And I don't know if I read this in the
creative act or where I saw thisRick Rick Rubin quote, but he
said, for any advice or belief,always consider the opposite to
be true.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
Mhmm. You have to. You have to. It's a mistake to
to fall dogmatic into anythingtoo far. Mhmm.
There's no one right answer.

Speaker 2 (21:23):
And that's nowadays with everybody, like, Instagram
has a lot of good things, a lotof bad things, but there are a
lot of profound thinkers andpeople offering good advice on
Instagram. But everybody, you goright to the comments and see a
bunch of people arguing overliterally something that for it,

(21:43):
like, the main thing I see it onis things like nutrition and and
diet and such, like healthstuff.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
When those are most likely the two things most
popular that come across yourfeed.

Speaker 2 (21:54):
Exactly. This is

Speaker 1 (21:55):
every genre Yeah. Has the same thing that you're
talking about. Right? So

Speaker 2 (22:01):
And these people look to debate, and it's they they
cite studies and whatever aboutvegan being the best diet, and
they cite studies aboutcarnivore being the best diet.
And if everyone has studies

Speaker 1 (22:12):
best day.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
If everyone has studies and and facts to back
their claims, then who'sactually correct? And what is
the point of even debating it?

Speaker 1 (22:21):
Well, the answer comes down to what are you
trying to accomplish? Mhmm.Yeah. I mean, there's some
general rules. Right?
Like, we wanna go to health,what's the general rule? Like, I
don't know. How about everythingon your plate be something that
you could identify?

Speaker 3 (22:35):
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
Let's just start there. If you don't wanna eat
fucking fish or meat, who givesa shit? Mhmm. That's your own
bland thing. You're not savingthe world nor is it proven to be
healthier in any way.
Is it healthier than a standardAmerican diet of Twinkies and
fucking Happy Meals? Sure.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
But it's not any better than if you 90% of the
time just had your plate filledwith things you could identify
as cow, chicken, broccoli, rice,sweet potato. Yeah. That'll do
the same job. Mhmm. And theyalso have to look at, like,
where then the information thatwe're comparing to as normal
looks like.

(23:14):
Mhmm. Mhmm. But in all that,right, like, we wanna use social
media and kinda point the fingerat that. But look, this is just
media at this point. This thisnew thing we have entered the
new realm.
Like, we're long past enteringthe new realm, the same thing
that TV brought to us. Right?That, like, where you're talking
about radiance, and some peopleare authentic and some people

(23:36):
are full of shit and some peopleare just trying to be
inflammatory.

Speaker 4 (23:40):
This is no different than TV did.

Speaker 3 (23:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:42):
This is no different than radio did.

Speaker 4 (23:44):
This is the none of this is new.

Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah. It's the

Speaker 1 (23:47):
We just have been able to now scale it to
everyone.

Speaker 3 (23:50):
Yes. Yeah. The barrier of entry is lower, but
it's not it's the same story.You know? It's the same No.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
It's the same story and Yeah. Proof over time too.
And when you talk about thecomments and things like this
and all that. Right?Biologically, we're so hardwired
to threat detect.

Speaker 3 (24:09):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
And if the current threats are only really to
threat of ego, threat of self,threat of what I believe
knowledge to be this and thatinstead of actual threats, we
give those more attention thanwe do the thank yous, the good
work, the any of that stuffbecause none of those are trying
to fucking kill me. Yep. Theydon't move the needle. The other

(24:31):
ones make you question. And so,of course, they get more
attention.
And because they get moreattention, everyone decides that
that's the bait. Yeah. Yep. Wealso do remember that people
will pay attention to negativecomments more than they do nice
ones, so we don't leave fuckingnice ones. Mhmm.
Mhmm. This is our fault. Yeah.This is a very interesting thing
to witness our psychology beingleft up to play. Can it be

(24:54):
manipulated?
Fuck yeah. Yeah. But attentionhas always been valuable. Yep.
Getting our attention has alwaysbeen valuable.
Now if you're willing to sell itto shit that makes you furious
all day, that's a reflection onyou.

Speaker 3 (25:09):
Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. Uh-huh.

Speaker 1 (25:14):
It's not it it's user error. It's not social media's
fault. Yeah. It's a tool.

Speaker 3 (25:18):
It's a tool like anything else. You know? You're,
you mentioned we were talking,man, there's a couple of things
that a couple of onions I wannapeel there. Where do I wanna go
first? Highland Games, you weretalking about athletics.

(25:38):
Can you give can you give thecommunity just a a little bit of
a, you know, short story on howyou ended up there? Like, you
know, the athletic journeyfirst, and then maybe another
little short story about theentrepreneurial journey, and
then maybe another little shortstory about where you are now,
still an entrepreneur, but Yeah.More so coaching high performers

(26:00):
with personal development.

Speaker 2 (26:01):
And so Matt, to add on to that, I you said, I which
thought was very interesting.You had the you ended a thirteen
year marriage to go livesomewhere else. Like, I would
like to unpack that too if youif you're open

Speaker 1 (26:12):
to it. Let's follow the let's follow this up with
that one.

Speaker 2 (26:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
We'll give it kind of the quick rundown. College track
and field at LSU did shot putdiscus and hammer after that.
Tried entrepreneurship byopening a bicycle shop, kind of
first passion, and didn't gowell. The biggest issue it had
was 22 year old me trying to runit. And I skated out of there,
tail tucked between the legs andabout $50 in debt and got a real

(26:43):
job or at least what I thoughtwas at the time.
You know? And by real job, Imean, like, I'm going to work
for someone.

Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
I no longer am making decisions. This isn't my thing.
I'm going to have a job.Exchange my

Speaker 2 (26:57):
time for money. Isn't that crazy that's considered a
real job? Like, my parents, whenI came out of college, they just
wanted me to they had no idea.They'd never been to my place of
business. They don't they didn'tknow where I work, but they knew
someone guaranteed me a salaryof $30,000 and were so proud of
me for getting a job.
And when I so I was doing, like,

Speaker 1 (27:19):
quick fixation. The the generation's wins. Right?
Like Yeah. They got raised by ageneration that came from
scarcity that said fuckinggetting solidified and not
having to worry about youremployment is the goddamn
greatest feeling you could everhave, which was true for a long
time.

Speaker 3 (27:35):
Yeah. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (27:37):
And so, like, after going into that, getting into
the oil and gas industry andthen spending kinda ten years in
that industry doing outsidesales, various things. 02/2008,
I had got kind of back intolifting and being in training
again. And so found strongman asI had gained weight after

(27:57):
college. So this was a naturalprogression for me to find
strongman and powerlifting otherheavy kid friendly sports. Found
some success in those.
Yeah. Go ahead.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
When you were doing track and field LSU, was that
like shot put and

Speaker 1 (28:11):
Yeah. Shot put, discus, and hammer.

Speaker 2 (28:13):
That's the I mean, that's the division one. Right?
Like, that's Mhmm. That's like I

Speaker 1 (28:16):
was super average at all three.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
I mean,

Speaker 1 (28:19):
super one athlete. Was Super average guy.

Speaker 2 (28:22):
Average d one is

Speaker 1 (28:23):
Yeah. Super average. It's like a lot But that's also
part of the measuring bar thatis your life that you create is
normal. Right? Yeah.
Like, one of my clients, KellyWilley, you know, I'm talking to
him today. He was a a teammateof mine at LSU. He's got a gold
medal, like, from the Olympics.Yeah. And, like, I was talking

(28:45):
to him about that, and he'slike, oh, man.
I don't really think think muchof it. I'm like, fucking. Of
course not.

Speaker 3 (28:51):
I I I feel like that's a thing, though, with
with high

Speaker 1 (28:55):
Of course. Yeah. Well, because failure is not an
option, and that means successwas given. Yeah. So why would we
celebrate it?
This is what you're supposed tohave happen. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (29:04):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (29:05):
Yeah. But over the long term, it eats you alive.
Yeah. Especially if you areaccountable and you are a man
and you are the one who standsup to, like, face the brunt of
whatever's coming.

Speaker 3 (29:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:17):
And so we got into Highland Games finally around
02/2008. I was writing atraining log on a website
nasgahighlander.com or somethinglike that, inspired by guys like
Jim Windler on EliteFDS who werewriting

Speaker 3 (29:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
And five three one and things like that. So I had a
training log that people werefollowing, and I started writing
a blog in 02/2010. I rememberfinding my first post on it, it
said, like, 08/17/2010, this isgonna be a place I start sharing
more of what I'm thinking andwriting in my journey.

Speaker 2 (29:53):
Love that.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
And so, like, we we just didn't stop. It just
mutates. Right?

Speaker 3 (30:00):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
So went into that with with the intention of I
knew that I was going to write abook for the Highland Games.
Mhmm. And so instead of all of asudden showing up with a book to
sell, I put two years intobuilding an audience that I
didn't ask anything of. Mhmm.Got the book out and eventually
the book took off.

(30:21):
One of the things I wrote aboutin the book was the hate. People
were asking for t shirts and soI figured out how to make t
shirts And then turned that intorunning that from 2014 to 2024.
Won world championships in theHighland Games in 02/2012, '2
thousand '14. I've been prettysavvy with social media the

(30:44):
whole time as far as podcastingearly on in the game, I guess,
you know, which, like, again,for when I started any of my
shit, I felt like the last oneto start.

Speaker 2 (30:53):
I I feel like you've been the first

Speaker 1 (30:54):
So that feeling never fucking No idea.

Speaker 2 (30:57):
I would really comment

Speaker 1 (30:58):
like you always If you have an idea, you should
always feel that way. Yeah. Likebecause you're inspired. Right?
Yeah.
Like, I remember thinking, like,fucking write an ebook. Like,
every they're already done.Like, how can is there any room
to get in? So Yeah. And that'salways a lie.

Speaker 2 (31:13):
Not to gas you up too much, man, but I do feel like
your branding and and style asfar like, the hate brand and all
and everything you've done, it'salways been super creative.
Like, super you can tell you youdo what actually actually you're
inspired to do rather than tryand fit into a a box and do what
sells.

Speaker 4 (31:31):
Well, I think if I would have

Speaker 1 (31:33):
been a hair more compromising, I could have sold
more of it and maybe donebetter, but such is life.

Speaker 2 (31:38):
Yeah. I thought that was a compliment. Or

Speaker 1 (31:40):
Yeah. You know, it fucking it's look. I mean, when
it comes down to it, like, whywhy isn't the brand selling
10,000,000 a year right now? Icouldn't figure out the problem.

Speaker 3 (31:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (31:54):
That's it. I I am the limiting factor. I wasn't able
to solve whatever that problemwas or commit long term enough
to it or give up my own idea ofego long enough to do that
thing.

Speaker 3 (32:06):
Yeah. True.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
And so, I

Speaker 2 (32:08):
mean I will say that the only other the only other
brand I've ever purchased andmourned, I that I wore that
Trucker, the blue the navy blueTrucker. I love the the dual the
dual pistols. The dual pistolswas a look, dude. That was a
that was a sweet that was asweet logo.

Speaker 1 (32:24):
Yeah. I got lots of confusion for being military.
Yeah. But as that's continuedand kinda getting into stuff
now, like, of the things Ireally realized I love is, like,
getting a chance to createexperiences Mhmm. Share
experiences with people.
And so that led us to kindabuilding out, you know, my

(32:45):
facility here in Saint Louis,dope, and hosting breath work
and hosting free meetups. And weopen the gym on Sundays ten to
two for free all the time forpeople to come in and train or
lift and sauna or talk to peopleor just, you know, be around
other people who are trying tomanage their shit.

Speaker 3 (33:02):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (33:03):
You know, it's way less of a gym than it is a bit
more of a wellness.

Speaker 3 (33:07):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (33:08):
It just happens to look like a division one weight
room.

Speaker 3 (33:12):
A nice a nice blend. A nice blend. Yeah. One thing
that I'm hearing over and overagain in what you're saying is
ownership. You know, it's me.
You know, it's me. It's me. Didyou and I can see that
authentically coming from Like,when when a topic comes up,
you're like, hey. Look. It wasme.

(33:32):
You know? I couldn't figure outthe problem or I didn't commit
long enough. Did you always havethat sense of ownership, or is
that something too

Speaker 1 (33:41):
No way.

Speaker 3 (33:42):
That you've developed over the years? Like, looking
deep with inside yourself andinside the experiences you've
gone through and said, look.Like, the way out and the way
forward is realizing that it wasme.

Speaker 1 (33:55):
No. That wasn't the way. I mean, I blamed a lot of
things on just inadequacy andinability and other people. And
if they would have done this, itwould have worked out
differently and pretending thatlimitations were set on me
instead of I should have justhandled it. Or even areas where,

(34:18):
like, yo, you had no clue whatyou're doing, and you wanted to
blame other people for nottelling you how to do it or
whatever the thing is.
Yeah. Yeah. There's plenty ofthose in my first run of
entrepreneurship and, you know,starting to build a career in
the oil and gas industry and dooutside sales. You know, trying

(34:39):
to blame the customer is why I'mnot getting a sale. Mhmm.
Because they are and like, it'snot that that's untrue. Right?
It's not like it's totally falseand bullshit. Yeah. But the
other is true too.
The other is true that Icouldn't figure out how to
communicate effectively to to totalk to this person. Now, it is

(35:02):
true that I did not solve theproblem.

Speaker 3 (35:05):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (35:05):
But if part of that solving problem was getting him
on board or if solving thatproblem was figuring out how to
communicate an idea to someonethat works under me and I did it
ineffectively or I hired thewrong person or I, you know,
it's easier for me to just ownall those than ever think
someone else is fucking makingdecisions for me. Like, I'm

(35:30):
already the type of guy whogives myself all the heat. Mhmm.
And so to balance those scalesmeans if I get all the heat,
then the fucking winds are minetoo.

Speaker 3 (35:41):
For sure.

Speaker 1 (35:43):
But For sure. I felt it was just such a shortcoming
of me being in my own way ofwhere I can't and this would be
fine if I had this and sure it'seasier if you did this. Mhmm.
You know, I mean, was plenty oftime, you know, getting to hang
out with like Rob Bailey fromFlag Narfell, great mentor. And,
man, I got to watch a a radcompany grow and do something

(36:06):
similar that I was doing at ahigher scale and get to be
around it.

Speaker 3 (36:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (36:10):
And you don't think there's times where, like, you,
man, I bet this would be easierif my wife was Daniel Lynn
Bailey. Like, a fucking course.Like, I'm a chubby fucking
Highland Games guy trying topromote the same athletic
apparel. Like, I'm the face ofit. Like, that's part of the
problem is that this is what thefucking face looks like.
Right? It doesn't quite get thesame amount of attention as miss

(36:31):
Olympia.

Speaker 3 (36:33):
Yeah. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
But it's a lie.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (36:36):
Yeah. It's a lie to pretend that, like, well, it
would be nice if I had a famouswife. Like, fuck. Look at the
work it takes for her to becomemiss Olympia, much less
everything else. Like, fuckshortchanging that.
That's a bullshit narrative thatyou're creating in your head
that someone else has it easierthan you. Everyone else is just
on a different journey.

Speaker 3 (36:57):
Yeah. True.

Speaker 1 (36:58):
With their own shit to figure out.

Speaker 3 (37:00):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We we were talking a little bit
earlier about about progressand, you know, talking about
that, I always say progressisn't a straight line, but
there's also multiple roads,multiple paths that lead to
progress, right? So like, youknow, when we were talking about

(37:21):
being like idealistic and likedigging your heels in and this
is right and this is wrong, andthis diet and that diet, there's
multiple pathways.
And guess what? Each one ofthose pathways is jagged as
fuck. You know what I mean? Itis not a straight line. It is
super rocky.
It is super jagged. And we,based on our own lived
experiences, the tools that wereinstilled in us, choose our

(37:44):
path. Just so happens some of usare on the same one.

Speaker 1 (37:48):
But Well, at least of gratitude is is yeah. One of the
areas of big gratitude isrealizing that living in Western
culture is one of the times thatyou get to fucking choose your
path.

Speaker 2 (38:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
That is not global. This is not a universal truth.
Nope. Mm-mm. And so, like, evengetting to recognize that in
itself is abundance.

Speaker 3 (38:12):
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (38:14):
Know, getting to recognize that I believe most of
the problems that we strugglewith in Western culture right
now are an inability to manageabundance. We have an inability
to manage our energy, whichmanifests as ADHD. We have an
inability to manage stress. Wehave an inability to manage food
supply, which is the first timein human history we've ever just

(38:36):
had food fucking ready at alltimes. Yeah.
And so we're fat. Yep. We havean inability to manage spare
time.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (38:44):
Mhmm. And we have an inability to manage what our
decisions and desires are. Like,it's all coming from abundance.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
How how I don't even know if ironic is the word, but
how ironic is that? Ourinability to manage abundance is
the very thing that birthsscarcity in in our lives.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
Well Crazy. We're new at it. We're new at it. That's
true. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
This is

Speaker 1 (39:09):
true. This is a really new thing for our
species. Of course, we're we'refucking it up. Yeah. Mhmm.
Yeah. Like, the idea that, like,what what what would that
species do with infinite food infront of them? Like, we see what
happens with animals if theydon't like, they just get fat
too. They do the same thing wedo.

Speaker 3 (39:25):
I know. I know.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
You know, the only fat things on this planet are us
and the things we feed. Very,very true.

Speaker 4 (39:32):
Nothing else is fat. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:34):
That is

Speaker 2 (39:34):
so true. That is so true.

Speaker 1 (39:36):
And so, like, it's not a food supply issue. It's a
food choice problem. Yeah. Imean, even getting to have
existential crisis means thingsare fucking going well. Mhmm.
You have time to think aboutwhat you want to pursue? You
mean just, like, because you'reinterested?

Speaker 3 (39:56):
Yeah. Holy shit. Yeah. Skip we we skip over the
first couple of levels of thetriangle there. You know, the
food, water, shelter, tribe.
We like skip over all that andwe just have that whole
existential crisis going on atthe top.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
Self actualization, transcendence. These are the
only two steps. Right, exactly.

Speaker 3 (40:17):
One of the other things I found interesting, so
the bicycle shop, I didn't knowabout. That was super
interesting.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
Block

Speaker 2 (40:26):
It's funny. That's my wife and I are both business
owners, and we we always driveon our rides, like drive past
little shop businesses, likebike shop, bicycle shops, tarot
card readers, like little, like,little businesses. Like, how
does that business make enoughmoney to stay afloat every
month?

Speaker 1 (40:44):
I So, like, I I do I do the same thing. I do I do the
exact same thing walking around.The only different perspective I
have on it, right, is a bitnegative. But it's I walk around
and see, like, we sell buttons.Like Yes.
Do you know what I mean? Or,like Exactly. Only we sell, LED

(41:05):
light bulbs that go undercountertops. So, like, you see
these weird specialty shops

Speaker 3 (41:10):
We sell buttons. We have we have a shop, down the
street from our HQ, and theyjust sell light bulbs. And I'm
like, how is that even a thingright now? How is just

Speaker 1 (41:22):
selling worse, like pay. You've been in small towns
where, like Mhmm. Like, fuck,man. We were down in Hot
Springs, Arkansas. And there's,like, some boutique clothing
stores on the street, andthey're brutal.
Yeah. Like, the stuff that's inthere for sale is brutal.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (41:41):
And somebody should have had a friend that's like, I
don't I don't think this Yeah.That's right. Like, maybe work a
little harder first. Right? But,like, nonetheless, they're
fucking open.

Speaker 4 (41:52):
Yeah. Yeah? And, like, I couldn't sell bicycles.
Like, I couldn't make bicycleswork. They're a useful
functional thing that, like,millions of people love, and
this works.

Speaker 3 (42:05):
Oh, that's funny, man.

Speaker 1 (42:06):
And it's always a nice it's always nice to take
myself down a peg.

Speaker 3 (42:10):
Yeah. It's necessary sometimes, man. It's necessary.

Speaker 1 (42:13):
Of course, it's necessary.

Speaker 3 (42:15):
The the other thing that I found

Speaker 2 (42:17):
But my well, real quick. My point was bicycle
shops was on my one of thosebusinesses we've always thought,
like, it must be hard to sell alot of bicycles that you in
order to pay your rent everymonth.

Speaker 1 (42:27):
Yeah. It was. And Jesus was for me.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
Yeah. Don't feel don't feel bad, Matt.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
The Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:36):
The other thing I found super interesting too is
that your journey, at least thejourney that you're on now, it
seemed to have started with theblog. Would you agree? For sure.

Speaker 1 (42:50):
Well, I mean, but like, I don't know that that's
even fair. Right? Because like,do think the journey all counts
together.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
Yeah. This is true. This is true.

Speaker 1 (42:59):
But there are some points where you can be like,
oh, that was an interesting hardleft turn. Mhmm. And deciding to
have a blog and post sociallyand what what what it all
started out, right, was when Iwas doing the training log, I
started because I could, Ifilmed my lifts. Mhmm. I don't
know why I started talking tothe camera, why I wanted to

(43:22):
editorialize other than beinginspired by someone like Jim
Wendler.
Yeah. Which I found his traininglog funny because it wasn't
about training. Yep.

Speaker 3 (43:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (43:32):
Yep. Yep. And but, yeah, that's definitely one of
those moments that, like, forsure, of all my influences,
Windler and then becomingfriends with him and then him
asking me, like, are you gonnawrite a a book about training
for the Highland Games? And atthat moment, was like, I
remember looking at him andbeing like, I don't know. And

(43:53):
he's like, well, if you're notgonna, I will.
Yeah. And I was like, I'm gonnawrite one. I just fucking said
it then. Like, I hadn't thoughtabout it ever before that second
in my life. Yeah.
So those moments are And then Isaid that yeah. I said that and
I looked at him and I said, howdo you write a book? That was

(44:13):
the next question. And he wasreally honest with me and he's
like, you write articles andessays for other people's things
and magazines and all that. AndI had written for Power Magazine
for a number of years and Mhmm.
Stuff like that. And that wasall you know? And he's like, you
write essays. Right? And I'mlike, yeah.
And he goes, still break yourbook down into the chapters,
which are all individual essays.Yep. And just start writing. And

(44:34):
eventually, you have a book.Yep.
Yep. And I did. And that processalone taught me so much.

Speaker 3 (44:45):
So that's kind of where I was going, the power of
the written word. And nowadays,obviously, we're on video, short
form video is a big

Speaker 1 (44:52):
thing, you know. We'll get into all that.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
But Yeah. Know, right? But power I am a huge
believer in the power of thewritten word, in the energy that
books carry, in thetransformation that is possible
when you yourself just sit downand you start to write. Kind of
like your first blog post. Hey,this is a place where I'm just
gonna, you know, talk about thethings I'm thinking and doing.

(45:18):
Talk a little bit more aboutthat. But in the written word.
And, it's reallytransformational. Hunt started
that way. We didn't pop on thescene with apparel and every we
were writing, writing for ourpeople.

Speaker 1 (45:31):
You

Speaker 3 (45:31):
know? And one of the strongest things we have now is
still that because there's somuch power. There's so much
power. That's right. You know?
I feel like I had a, I went toa, I had a brother, a Jesuit
brother in college taught meEnglish, brother Fagan. And, he

(45:52):
introduced me to the phrase thatthe word is efficacious, Not
just the spoken word, but alsothe written word. The power that
it holds to change things andpeople. And, you know, when you
were talking about the blog andthe book, that came back up for
me and I was like, wow, likethere's another shining bright

(46:13):
example of that being true.

Speaker 1 (46:18):
I think even in my own practice with journaling and
writing and things like that, Imean, I probably write five or
so days a week. Mhmm. Whetherit's for consumption or just for
me. And Yeah. Through a lot ofthat, I think it can just allow
you to solidify your thoughtsand kind of place on ideas.

Speaker 3 (46:40):
Yes. Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
And for me, a lot of time, if I'm just operating in
my head, it won't get into alinear format that I can make a
ton of sense of. And so when Iwrite, I can tend to translate
whatever idea into a linear pathfor one, also trying to help me
escape any traps I land in ofgetting on a spiral of this

(47:02):
thought thing and be like, oh,yeah. It goes this way. Yeah.
We've already figured that out.
It goes this way. Put it inthat. Move on. Yep. But I think
a lot of self awareness comesfrom that and without self
awareness, it's really tough tolook around and see where things
need to be changed because we'llhide from ourselves with ego,
we'll come up with a differentnarrative.

(47:23):
Yeah. But in that writing, yeah,you have a chance to really talk
to yourself and journaling canfeel like whatever it needs to
feel. Yeah. Which I found histraining log funny because it
wasn't about training.

Speaker 3 (47:34):
Yep. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (47:39):
But yeah, that's definitely one of those moments
that like for sure of all myinfluences Windler and then
becoming friends with him andthen him asking me like, are you
gonna write a book abouttraining for the Highlanders?
And at that moment I was like, Iremember looking at him and
being I don't know. And he'slike, well, if you're not gonna,
I will. Yeah. And I was like,I'm gonna write one.

(48:01):
But I just fucking said it then.Like, I hadn't thought about it
ever before that second in mylife.

Speaker 3 (48:06):
Yeah. So those moments

Speaker 1 (48:08):
are And then I said that. Yeah, I said that and I
looked at him and I said, how doyou write a book? That was the
next question. He was reallyhonest with me and he's like,
you write articles and essaysfor other people's things and
magazines and all that. I hadwritten for Power Magazine for a
number of years stuff like that.
That was all, you know, and he'slike, you write essays, right?

(48:30):
And I'm like, yeah. And he goes,still break your book down into
the chapters, which are allindividual essays. Yep. And just
start writing and eventually youhave a book.
And I did and that process alonetaught me so much.

Speaker 3 (48:48):
So that's kind of where I was going, power of the
written word. And nowadays,obviously, we're on video. Short
form video is a big thing.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
You know, we'll we'll get in all that. But yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:00):
I know. Right? But the the power I am a huge
believer in the power of thewritten word, in the energy that
books carry, in thetransformation that is possible
when you yourself just sit downand you start to write. Kind of
like your first blog post. Hey.
This is a place where I'm justgonna, you know, talk about the
things I'm thinking and doing.Talk a little bit more about

(49:23):
that, but in the written word.And, it's really
transformational. Hunt startedthat way. We didn't pop on the
scene with apparel and every wewere writing, right, for our
people.
You know? And one of thestrongest things we have now is
still that because there's somuch power. So much.

Speaker 1 (49:40):
That's right.

Speaker 3 (49:42):
You know? I feel like I had a I went to a I had a a
brother, a Jesuit brother incollege, taught me English,
brother Fagan. And he introducedme to the phrase that the word
is efficacious, Not just thespoken word, but also the

(50:02):
written word. The power that itholds to change things and
people. And, you know, when youwere talking about the blog and
the book, it that came back upfor me and I was like, wow, like
there's another shining brightexample of that being true.

Speaker 1 (50:21):
I think even in my own practice with journaling and
writing and things like that. Imean, I probably write five or
so days a week Mhmm. Whetherit's for consumption or just for
me. And Yeah. Through a lot ofthat, I think it can just allow
you to solidify your thoughtsand kind of place on ideas.

(50:43):
Yes. And for me, a lot of time,if I'm just operating in my
head, it won't get into a linearformat that I can make a ton of
sense of. And so when I write, Ican tend to translate whatever
idea into a linear path for one,also trying to help me escape
any traps I land in of likegetting on a spiral of this

(51:05):
thought thing and be like, oh,yeah. It goes this way. Yeah.
We've already figured that out.It goes this way. Put it in like
move on. Yeah. But I think a lotof self awareness comes from
that and without self awareness,it's really tough to look around
and see where things need to bechanged because we'll hide from
ourselves with ego.
We'll come up with a differentnarrative.

Speaker 3 (51:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (51:26):
But in that writing, yeah, you have a chance to
really talk to yourself andjournaling can feel like
whatever it needs to feel as.But what I talk about with
clients since it's such a bigpart of my practice is I need
somewhere for you to have anhonest conversation with you.

Speaker 3 (51:40):
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Speech and writing, it's how we
sort, how we make sense of ourthoughts. Right?
It's how we eliminate ruminationwhen we write. And I feel like a
lot of the times, especiallywith, like, talk therapy,
there's a place for that. Butthat's that's a that that has a
a high barrier for a lot ofpeople. But writing doesn't. You

(52:03):
know?
It can be just as scary to letit all out on a piece of paper
and then have to look at thatpaper. It can be just as
frightening, but I feel likeit's necessary, it's powerful,
it's transformational. So nosurprise it's shown up in your
story multiple times to bringyou to, you know, where you are
on your path and who you aretoday.

Speaker 1 (52:22):
Well, is a really important part of progress. And
I don't care if you're anathlete like I need to review
film right?

Speaker 3 (52:31):
Yep. And

Speaker 1 (52:33):
if I'm emotionally attached to the I don't know
mistake in my squat stance, thetechnique I use, or any of that.
Like I only limit me from beingable to go forward. And so you
don't do that with athleticstuff, but we will for our own
personal development and our oldstory or narrative or what
trauma has kept us from the pastor belief in I'm not smart

(52:55):
enough, I didn't excel in schooland no one's gonna think it's
good enough. It's in the writingthat you can kind of decipher
all that and get it out in frontof you and figure out is that
narrative something you want tocontinue to believe.

Speaker 3 (53:11):
For sure. For sure. Have you ever heard of the
Pennebaker protocol? Thejournaling protocol? Yeah,
there's a journaling protocolspecifically for like releasing,
you know, traumas and limitingbeliefs.
And it's basically to sum it up.It's basically like write about
the deepest and darkest stufffor fifteen minutes a day. Just

(53:31):
scratch it down for, you know,over the series of like four
weeks. And there's studies thathave shown that it actually, no
surprise, helps you releaseprocess and actually grow from
it. And like, you know, humans,we love complexities.
Come sit on my and, you know,not talk therapy has its place,
but, you know, come sit on myleather couch and let's, like,

(53:53):
talk this out. When really, someprogress can be made with like a
pencil and a piece of paper, youknow, as long as you have the
courage and somebody in yourcorner to, you know, sometimes
get you right in those firstcouple words.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
Yeah. And I and I I don't care what the entry point
is to personal development ordeeper connection to self. Like,
I think I think there's benefitin all modalities. I just don't
think all modalities are foreveryone. Yeah.
You know, with talk therapy, ithasn't been the world's most
beneficial form of therapy forme. I find myself as a well

(54:35):
practiced orator. I tend to tryto win, which is stupid as shit.
Like like, I I get it.

Speaker 3 (54:44):
But

Speaker 1 (54:45):
I'm good at explaining myself.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
And I know enough about my bullshit. I'm not
always proud of it, but I knowwhere it is. Yeah. And so unless
the talk therapist that you'retalking to also has the same
idea of direction you wanna go,it's not necessarily valuable.

Speaker 3 (55:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (55:07):
That's where, you know, therapy for me has been I
I found far more benefit fromthings like breath work,
meditation, journaling,psychedelics, those type of
things.

Speaker 2 (55:17):
I've always been very confused by the talk therapy
thing because you go and talk tosomeone about your problems and
and essentially ask for helpwith your problems, but someone
who's got just as many problemsas you do.

Speaker 1 (55:31):
So, like, the talk therapy thing is a very odd
replacement for community.Because, like, when you have
brothers

Speaker 3 (55:40):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (55:40):
And you have family and you have friends and you
have a spouse that you canactually be authentic and open
with and not have to lie and beimpeccable with your word, you
get that from this other memberof community that you trust and
love, which gives you safenessto to feel, which then creates
vulnerability, and vulnerabilityleads to intimacy and deeper

(56:01):
connection within your communitybecause you're loved for you.
Right? So it's trying to replacethat because we still need a
chance to share our story andtalk and be authentic. But
because it's profitable, itbenefits you to keep coming back
and almost normalize that whatdo you mean you don't go talk to

(56:24):
someone? And so do I think talktherapies yes.
Plenty of people have found lotsof success through it. I'm sure
it's great for a lot of people.Do I think it would replace five
friends that I know love medeeply and I am actually open
enough to share my shit withthem? No.

Speaker 3 (56:44):
Yeah. Agreed, man. Agreed. Well said.

Speaker 2 (56:47):
That was very

Speaker 1 (56:48):
And still community, man.

Speaker 2 (56:49):
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3 (56:50):
Yeah. Yep. And, you know, we're we're firm believers
in that. Everything we do isrooted in that because we
believe if you wanna change theworld, that's where it starts.

Speaker 1 (57:00):
If you guys ever host something or anything like that,
I'd love to come.

Speaker 3 (57:06):
Yeah, we're doing a

Speaker 1 (57:07):
Be part of an event.

Speaker 3 (57:08):
We're doing monthlies. We'll be doing
monthlies, a little bit ofjujitsu as well, open gym type
stuff at HQ. So yeah. Yeah. Andwe got some trails, man.
You bring the bike. We've gotsome trails. Alright. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
Some some growth some growth and grappling, we call
it.

Speaker 3 (57:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:24):
I love it. I mean but that's what the Sunday service
we've had is the Yeah. Know it'sgetting guys in the sauna right?
Like the sauna is the bait butlike the magic of the sauna is
conversation.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:39):
It's that shared discomfort. It's that ability to
just sit in there with eachother and have those honest,
vulnerable conversations,especially like, we're not all
sitting in there with our dicksout, but I get why that also
historically Yeah. Is part ofit. Yep. You know, you're
fucking full fucking on.

(58:00):
This is me. Yep. But because ofour own weird puritanical things
around nudity and Exactly.Nudity cannot be around without
sexual sexual. I'm not sure ifyou realize those two things
cannot be sexual.

Speaker 2 (58:13):
If if you're growing on a show, then it's not a fun
time.

Speaker 1 (58:18):
Also, like like, the way I look at it, right,
especially with with justgrowing, chilling dicks. The the
fellows I've met in my historythat are walking around hanging
with a fucking shovel in theirpants. I haven't been able to
connect them to being thehighest intelligence people I've

(58:40):
ever met. So it's basically likethat thing is just ready to go.
It's just like heart rate's up?
Are we trying to fuck? It'slike, no. Hey. We're trying to
fight right now. Get the fuckout of here.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so, like,heavens like, I don't need that
thing to show up when I'm tryingto spin around with a fifty six
pound weight. Like, fucking tuckin, man.
Protect yourself. Don't you knowyour job? Don't know job? Go.

(59:01):
Yeah.
You're a waste port right now.You you you are a waste port.
Got one job. One job. So

Speaker 2 (59:08):
The clip the clip for this episode will have to be the
correlation the correlationbetween between dick size and
brain size.

Speaker 3 (59:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
You know what they say? You know what they say, big
dick.

Speaker 1 (59:22):
I'm just gonna fucking go with it. There you
go. I'm just gonna leave it outthere. I don't care if I offend
people with giant dicks. Like,what are they gonna write in?

Speaker 3 (59:33):
I doubt.

Speaker 1 (59:33):
I have a giant dick, and I'm also very smart. Like,
I'm sure you are, man. Fuckingcongrats. If anything if
anything, you

Speaker 3 (59:41):
just set them up, man. You just you boost their
ego. You gave them anopportunity to to out
themselves.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
Yeah. Other other yeah, man. Other guys are out
there like, he's right.

Speaker 3 (59:51):
Yeah. Yeah. He's right.

Speaker 1 (59:52):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (59:54):
You know, this guy speaking the truth speaking the
truth.

Speaker 1 (59:57):
No. I don't know if that's, like, also some of the
equivalent that comes with just,like, hot girl privilege.

Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
Yeah? Yeah. No. I fucking I give Bonnie shit all
the time about hot girlprivilege. It

Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
is a thing. It is 100% a thing.

Speaker 1 (01:00:12):
It's a thing. If I'm coming you know, like, if I'm
coming even, like, in ourrelationship. Right? Like, if
I'm coming to bed and, I'm kindahoping that we're gonna get it
on that night. Yeah.
Like, I'm not gonna rip a fartbefore I get in bed. Like, I
understand the repercussions ofthat. Whereas she

Speaker 3 (01:00:29):
doesn't care. Doesn't matter.

Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. That won't
affect your situationwhatsoever. I will sit here and
just smile. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
Isn't that? I I always

Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
say truth, man.

Speaker 2 (01:00:40):
I always say that factors into a girl like, a
girl's history. Like, my onefriend, very close friend from
college said, chicks pick thedick. Right? Like, don't get to
decide. Like, we're going outthat night in in college and
you're and you're

Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
It's for sure at that age, right, where it's a
quantity thing. Like, there isno quality dudes at that level.
You're all 20, you're allmorons. Right and so like they
definitely have the upper hand.Yeah but then as you kind of get
older and get into your 30s Idon't think it changes.

(01:01:16):
It definitely doesn't swing theother way by any stretch. Yeah.
But the difference in wellagain, it's once people kind of
have an idea of what they reallywant, right? Like hot people
getting fucked more in collegeis essentially people thinking
money's the answer to happiness.At some point, you learn that,

(01:01:36):
like, this ain't the only thing,but there's a certain amount of
hot that's important.
It doesn't have to go all theway to the end of the scale.

Speaker 2 (01:01:43):
Is true. I did I did stop dating in my early
twenties, but I my the girls Iwould have been after at that
age and the girls that 30 yearold Drew Drew Beach was after
were like, I wouldn't even lookat those girls. No. Yeah. They
wouldn't

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
What do you mean? Like, I remember thinking
because, like, when I met my exwife, she was kinda like the
first, like, adult shit togetherchick I had hung out with. Yeah.
And which also means she wasn'tcrazy as fuck. And so my rewired

(01:02:20):
brain had a long time troubleof, like, I think she's boring.
And I'm like, oh, no. She's notjust setting fires all over the
place. Don't mistake the two ofthose things.

Speaker 3 (01:02:35):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
Yes. Yep. But lesson learned.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Like I

Speaker 3 (01:02:41):
think we all I think we all learned lesson.

Speaker 1 (01:02:43):
Hell, I'm like, I needed to learn it.

Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
You ever watched how I met your mother, the hot and
crazy scale?

Speaker 1 (01:02:49):
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's definitely a
correlation between crazy pussy,crazy brain.

Speaker 3 (01:02:55):
What Crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
If science, look, if Elon could stop shooting rockets
for thirty five minutes andmaybe got that thing, we don't
need to go to Mars.

Speaker 3 (01:03:09):
Just put that project on hold. Come and turn your
attention.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
That's it. Let's go to work on diverging these two
things. That's funny.

Speaker 3 (01:03:20):
Drew, do you

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
have we're

Speaker 3 (01:03:22):
coming bring us in for a landing. Do have a
lightning round, Drew?

Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
I do, but I I wanna ask different questions now.

Speaker 1 (01:03:29):
I'm open to

Speaker 3 (01:03:31):
that, man. Well, when we when when Matt comes through
HQ, we'll we'll have a wholediscourse on this Okay?

Speaker 2 (01:03:39):
Well, Matt will give a talk to our community members.
I would like to start with thethe dick size, and

Speaker 3 (01:03:44):
then Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:46):
Rather than his rather than his tip his typical
content. Alright, Matt. Threequick questions, quick answers.
Your favorite quote you like tolive by.

Speaker 1 (01:04:01):
Too many, but I'll just go with, most relevant one
that pops in my head right now,and that is you're not obligated
to be who you were five minutesago. It's Alan Watts.

Speaker 2 (01:04:13):
That's a good

Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
one. I think that goes for changing identity to
changing state of mind to thefeeling, the current frustration
you're in. You're not obligatedto stay there.

Speaker 2 (01:04:22):
Love that. Agree. Agree. This goes back to our
point of everything's arguearguable nowadays, but a lot of
mixed reviews on this. But whatis your morning routine?

Speaker 1 (01:04:35):
Mine can vary. Right? Like, so I I definitely keep,
like, I know what the bareminimum that needs to be done
for me to feel good, and thatcan kinda be done all the time.
But, like, if I fully got timeto massage it in there and
really treat myself, I love it.And so I'm usually up around

(01:04:55):
five.
I go to my office. I get on theConcept two bike and I pedal for
an hour while watching adocumentary. I typically smoke a
joint And then I end up in thesauna. And during the sauna
time, I will shift to journalingor listening to audiobook or
something like that and likejust staying off my phone and

(01:05:18):
kind of doing some breath work,things like that to kinda
recenter and get hot. And then Iwrap up with cold plunge and
some gratitude and start theday.

Speaker 2 (01:05:27):
Solid morning routine.

Speaker 3 (01:05:29):
That's true that's true beach morning routine.
Yeah. I haven't heard one.

Speaker 2 (01:05:34):
I have I have not ripped ripped any tubies lately,
but I I'm not I'm not againstI'm not against working with
that.

Speaker 3 (01:05:41):
You don't have to be who you were five minutes ago.

Speaker 2 (01:05:44):
That that I saw a this is a side note, an ad for a
simple phone. Have you seenthose? It's, like, literally
just a a phone with call, text,Spotify, GPS, and, like, no no
social media. You know? It's,like, black and white, but

(01:06:05):
something that you you spoke ofstaying off your phone, and
that's always something I'mlooking to do better.
So I don't know if you're intothat.

Speaker 1 (01:06:14):
And then I'm not pro or against. Right? I think a lot
of that needs to decide on howbadly you need to strategize
against the temptation that youhave.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
True.

Speaker 1 (01:06:23):
I manage my phone just fine.

Speaker 2 (01:06:25):
True.

Speaker 1 (01:06:26):
I haven't always.

Speaker 3 (01:06:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
But I'm aware of what it is. Also Bonnie and I have
set boundaries in ourrelationship around
communication with each other.And so like if we're both of us
work online and in this spaceand some man, that can really
blur the boundaries of, like,when am I working, not working,
things like that.

Speaker 3 (01:06:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:06:46):
And especially when you're on social media, the
chance of scrolling for an extraminute, it's still there. Yeah.
But if we're doing time whereit's the both of us on the couch
and we're watching a movie orwe're together or any of those
things, the question that we arealways allowed to ask each other
is, are you working or are youstuck? Mhmm. Because if you're
working, continue on.

(01:07:06):
I got nothing to say. But ifyou're stuck, like, here's a
lifeline. Yeah. Like, just getout snap out of it and get back
into sitting on the couch withme. Sure.
Like, I'm not there's no blameassociated. We both are aware of
how fucking good the thing is.Yep. It's a device that holds
all the information of foreverimmediately ready. Like, I get

(01:07:26):
why it's more exciting than yourfucking living room.
Yeah. For sure. But it doesn'treplace intentional time spent
with people you love. It doesn'treplace touch. It doesn't
replace connection.
It doesn't replace quality timedoing things. Amen. And so that
being able to throw it out thereand catch those times and be

(01:07:48):
responsible with it andstrategizing against it. Damn
sure I try not to look at any Iwill glance my emails first
thing in the morning to makesure nothing's on fire. And then
I try to really avoid consumingany other media than documentary
or an audiobook for over twohours once a month.

Speaker 3 (01:08:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
It'll be there. I mean, I I I've I've traveled
enough now to not have been useof my phone for forty eight
hours or a week or somethinglike that. Yeah. Life didn't
burn down.

Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
It all worked.

Speaker 2 (01:08:20):
Yeah. Well, that that takes me to my third, lightning
round question. What was themost impactful, life changing,
or or best trip that you've beenon?

Speaker 1 (01:08:32):
Oh, best trip I've ever been on. I've been to some
really, really cool places. AndUganda is definitely up there
with as far as life changing anda lot of that's really obvious
right of like holy shit what adifferent way of life what I'm

(01:08:53):
exposed to and that like I don'thave any real fucking problems.
But my gut right now is intoward the end of college, me
and a best friend, Dan, like, ona whim took a road trip from
Louisiana and drove out toCalifornia, like, two or three
weeks before the semesterstarted. And we loaded up shit

(01:09:14):
and didn't have any money,didn't have any plans.
We bought a $60 tent fromWalmart, like, once we got to
California and just figured wecould sleep in that. And didn't
have any money. I ran up a bunchof on my dad's gas card. And,
yeah, we were free.

Speaker 3 (01:09:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:09:36):
You know what I mean? Like, we just made decisions all
day based on the next thing. Itdidn't have this long drawn out
itinerary. We were only gonna begone a week, and we're gone
three. And, like

Speaker 3 (01:09:46):
Mhmm.

Speaker 1 (01:09:47):
It was that freedom thing that I realized, like, oh,
I need that around. And so evenstill to this day, like, seeing
all the places is cool, but I'mnot a destination guy. I'm the
journey guy. Mhmm. And like, Iyou know, work and the demands
that it has for me to go on aroad trip and have twelve hours

(01:10:09):
to stop when I want to listenwhere I want to, not have to let
anyone else have an influence onwhat I do that day.
Like, that's my fucking dream.Yeah. Like I don't have a
problem with solitude. I likeme, and the more that I can get
me into a place of solitudewhere there isn't outside

(01:10:31):
influence, I like it as well,And so I recognize that by
making sure these trips areplanned in my fucking life.
Otherwise, I can't do the deepwork well.
Yeah. You know, all this type ofstuff I look at now and the
years that I have been betterabout travel and everything has
always led to travel, whetherthe Highland Games or whether it

(01:10:52):
was filming stuff or content orpodcast or outside sales. Like,
you know, I gravitated towardthings that like, oh, I get to
travel too sounds fucking great.

Speaker 3 (01:11:03):
Sign me up.

Speaker 1 (01:11:04):
Yeah I'll do whatever it doesn't matter what you need
me to do. I get to go, then Iwant to go. And being honest and
recognizing that part in myselfenough that in the same way if
you're training really heavy andfocused for a long time, you
schedule deloads in on purposeso you don't burn out and get

(01:11:25):
injured. And if I want to beable to do long term consistent
deep work, well I've got toschedule deloads too and those
deloads look like micro dosingit with the breath work and that
morning routine. The deloadslook like more of a macro dose
of going down to Peru and beingin a different environment for a
week or sitting with Ayahuascaor coming and sitting out in the

(01:11:49):
field today and just actuallyhaving a genuine different
perspective.

Speaker 3 (01:11:53):
Yeah. For sure.

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
So that trip by far changed my life more anything
else.

Speaker 3 (01:12:00):
Nice. Very nice. We we had a blast having you on
today, Matt. I know that yourtime is valuable and you coming
to share your wisdom with thecommunity, we're deeply grateful
for. And I gave you your flowersin the beginning.
I'm not gonna give them to youagain now, but you know the
gratitude that we have for youpersonally as well.

Speaker 1 (01:12:22):
I've always felt it and I wanna say how cool that
really is to kind of alwaysknown it. It's definitely
something that has really meanta lot to me of like knowing
those guys dig me. Yeah. You'rethe type of guys that I'm glad
are are into what I'm into.

Speaker 3 (01:12:40):
Yeah, likewise.

Speaker 2 (01:12:42):
Likewise, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:12:42):
So makes me very, very proud. Likewise, brother.

Speaker 3 (01:12:46):
Why don't you let the community know where they can
find you now on the socialmedias, on the interwebs,
because we know you're on themove. Interwebs.

Speaker 1 (01:12:57):
Not dead yet underscore life is my mindset
high performance coaching groupwhere we host retreats and do
things like that. I've got mycourses and things for sale.
I've got vision board course andhow to set up things like that
so that you can track goals inan analog way and actually get
your hands on it. I know thoseof us who grew up in analog
youth, it's nice to be able tolike physically touch stuff. So

(01:13:22):
I've got my courses andeverything there.
You can kinda find links toeverything at mattvinson.net or
not dead yet underscore life aton Instagram. Those are probably
the best bet. And, look, ifanyone needs anything, shoot me
an email. It'[e-mail].

Speaker 3 (01:13:36):
Sounds good. I'll leave the few with a reminder.
Always choose hard work overhandouts. Always choose effort
over entitlement. Remember, noone owns you.
No one owes you. You're one ofthe few, and let's hunt.