Full transcript: Tim Shieff on London Real
0:04 Welcome to the world premiere of London Real’s fourth feature-length documentary film, Iron Mind. I also want to thank Nick Anicus, who is one of my students. Nick has spent the last five months working on a piece of art. Voila! This painting represents his core, his mission.
0:40 Tonight’s movie is about us getting to terms with our demons. I never ever thought it could be the source of light for so many people. I give you the world premiere of Iron Mind. Under pressure reveals true character. What are you going to do?
0:58 At the end, I think you showed incredible self-awareness when you challenged John Joseph. He’s a fucked up guy. I’ve been through all this stuff, but he’s trying to figure out life. He really does care. If you look at addiction, you can trace it back to trauma.
1:24 Maybe if you can understand it better, you can empower yourself and then just be the hero. It is childhood trauma, but it’s not what happens to us in life, kids. It’s how we interpret what happens to us. I thought the movie was very good. It was a great job, and I’m proud of you. You make me proud of you.
1:44 What key realizations showed up for you? The ultimate thing is to give back to this collective, and we are all one. And it sounds like a bumper sticker, but it’s the goddamn truth. They say that the human race is doomed. That we have lost touch with our true nature.
2:17 That the media has corrupted us, and that the planet has no future. I disagree. I believe that humanity is full of hope. And that our salvation lies within each one of us. My name is Brian Rose, and my job is to listen.
2:40 The oldest method of learning known to man. Each week I seek out individuals that are changing the world. People who are living and thinking in a different way. Their stories will challenge your beliefs, make you question your choices, and perhaps inspire you to change. I never planned on doing any of this.
3:06 But now, I can’t stop. Join me on this mission, and make humanity something we can all be proud of. Boom! This has got to be one of the most incredible nights of my life. The world premiere of London Real’s fourth documentary feature film, Iron Minds.
3:31 My challenge to run an Iron Man triathlon on a 100% plant-based diet and go back to New York City and face my demons with none other than John Joseph, the lead singer of the Cro-Mags. What an amazing night. Incredible people there. Dan Pena was in the building. We had a great Q&A with Timothy Shieff, the vegan prince.
3:50 We talked all about confronting your demons, childhood trauma and addiction. This is amazing. And you can now also watch Iron Mind the movie on the link below. Watch it. Share it with your friends.
4:01 It’s an emotional journey, and it’s by far the best film we’ve ever made. And I know you’re going to enjoy the Q&A from this evening. And back at the World Headquarters, we are closing out our business accelerator. So if you want to get involved with that, learn how to turn your passion into a business in eight weeks. The same way I did with London Real.
4:20 Here’s a little bit more about what we do. London Real doesn’t stop when the conversation ends. You see, that’s when we get started. Because everything begins with a thought. And then comes the action.
4:38 The London Real Academy is our global transformation platform. Here we bring together thousands of students from over 75 countries. Whether you want to build a profitable business from your passion, or learn to speak to inspire, or broadcast yourself with your very own podcast, or accelerate your life to become a high performance person, we have the online accountability course and personal mentoring program that will make your dream a reality. Join us, and we’ll take your life to the next level.
5:10 Together. Our next accelerator course is starting soon. Good evening, London Real. The world premiere of London Real’s fourth feature-length documentary film, Iron Mike. Make some noise.
5:48 This has been an emotional journey for the past eight months. I’ve been obviously running and swimming and cycling. But for me tonight, this will be the last time I ever watch this movie. Because I’m sick and tired of watching myself crying on the screen. But I do know that this film is going to go on, and I really want it to help millions of people around the world, because there’s a lot happening in this film, and it’s not just about endurance, and it’s not just about diet.
6:22 And I want to get into that before I show you the film. I want to thank the people that have traveled to be here. We’ve got people from the States, Europe, we’ve got people from Australia and Asia, and some business accelerator graduates here, right? We’ve got a whole graduation weekend for our Biz Act, so it’s great to have you here, and looking forward to spending time with you this weekend. I also want to thank someone who came all the way from Costa Rica to be here.
6:49 And that’s Mr. Daniel Qualins here, who’s the founder of Sotara Human Center’s Santa Forum. And Sotara is sponsoring this evening, and I was there about six weeks ago and spent a week down there with Daniel and had three ayahuasca ceremonies. I was hanging out with Dennis McKenna, and this is the subject of our next documentary film. It’s called Dissolution, and it’s an exploration of the human ego, of this rise of tribalism around the world and our connection with the environment.
7:23 We’re super pumped to that, and if any of you have questions about plant medicines, Daniel’s the answer to it. And it seems as if Dorian Yates, our most popular guest ever, is going to be hosting his own retreat down there in November, and so if you want more information, you can ask him. So thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. Also, I want to thank Adaction UK, and they are a mental health and addiction treatment organization here in the UK who we have been sponsoring throughout this entire adventure of Iron Mind.
7:54 They do incredible work here, dealing with people with substance addiction, and we want to continue to support them. So if you want to know more about them, you can go to LondonReal.tv forward slash charity and learn more about what’s going on, and I want to continue to fund those people. They’re doing incredible work, and if I had a place like that back in 2001, things would have been very different. So if you’re here from Adaction tonight, or if not, there you are right there.
8:18 There you are. Stand up, please. The Adaction people. Yes? Thank you very much.
8:27 I also want to thank a man by the name of Nick Anicus, who is one of my students of my business accelerator program, but he graduated a year ago, and he came to London during the graduation ceremony that the rest of you will experience. It’s a crazy time. You come down to the headquarters. We have a big dinner. We make a lot of connections, and towards the end of the meal, Nick kind of cornered me in the back, and he came up to me and he said, Brian, I want to paint you.
8:53 I said, what? He’s like, I want to paint you, and the first thing I thought of was kind of like, you know, Playboy Mansion painting, and I thought, well, you know, it’s London Real. Maybe. And he said, no, I want to do an oil painting of you, and I didn’t know what to say. I was a bit taken aback, and I was like, no, I just don’t think so.
9:14 You know, the only people I know that have oil paintings made of them are, you know, egotistical billionaires with their own castles in Scotland. And so I said, no, no, no, I can’t do that, and he went away. But, you know, Nick is very persistent, and if anyone in London Real knows this, I love a good pitch. And so Nick came back about a month later and spent about four or five seconds twisting my arm, and I said, okay, let’s do this. And so Nick has spent the last five months working on a piece of art, and Nick’s an incredibly talented artist, award-winning.
9:48 He’s also a pretty damn good businessman after we spent some time with him, and I was wondering if you would like to see it. Yes? I have not been allowed to look at this thing, but Nick had one request. He said, Brian, all I ask is that you put it up at London Real World Headquarters. That’s all I want from you, but that’s what we’re going to do.
10:07 And so I get to really hang out with this guy in my office for, I guess, eternity, right? And so I thought I would bring Nick up, and maybe he can tell you, you know, the method behind his madness. So let’s give it up for Nick. Come on up and join him. So here we are.
10:30 Here we are. I’ve never done anything like this before. So I don’t even know how it works, but maybe you can tell everybody here, like, why even do this in the first place? Okay, so first, well, why am I standing here on this stage? I am Nick Anikis, as he said.
10:47 I’m a realist painter. Let me put you in the light a little bit. I’m going to teach you about media, too. Okay, hello. So, and I’m from Slovenia, right?
10:57 And four years ago, what happened is that I started listening to Brian’s interviews while I was painting, and he inspired me to give more of myself and to follow my dreams. And that resulted in me becoming his student on Business Accelerator one year ago, and that was a hell of a ride. Yeah, but we’re here. So we have this beautiful opportunity to share this amazing piece that I’m also really proud of it, and I’ll tell you a bit about it, okay? Yeah.
11:45 You ready? All right, because it’s a movie premiere, so it’s weird that we’re also showing the painting, right? But the thing is that this painting represents his core, his mission, his vision and the victory, because he had to go through all these crazy obstacles we’re gonna see it here, and he did. He grew, he developed, and he became better. Look at him.
12:14 Like one year ago, I can see the difference, right? Because we haven’t met for one year, I guess. So the thing is that I wanted to depict this person that inspired me to become better, and he’s standing for enlightenment, empowerment and transformation, and I was like, man, I wanted to take this man that stands for a change of individuals, which then evolves into a change of humanity, right? So, and I know this painting is not about him, but it’s about the mission.
12:57 It’s about the change in the world. So allow me to add a tiny bit of magic to this event, and I would like to represent to you the museum quality portrait painting of Brian Rose. No, you’ll see it. Yeah? Okay, how do we do this?
13:31 Slowly. Okay. Pull downwards. Okay, pull downwards. You ready?
13:36 Yeah. All right. Here we go. Okay. Slowly.
13:41 Slowly. Voila! Beautiful man. Grab that microphone. Wow.
14:03 I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say. And so you had to look at me for five months while you did this. Well, not only that. He was like in my living room for five, 14 months.
14:15 But we got used to it. We got used to it. We became good friends. So let me tell you a tiny bit about the symbolism inside of the painting, okay? So first of all, you see Brian.
14:28 Hey, Brian. And he’s standing in his strong stance, standing in his purpose. And he’s changing the world. That’s what he stands for. And this is what is reflected here.
14:42 And he is facing towards the right, which represents development and growth. And in the back, you have a bridge, which is connection with people. And it also represents the oldest way of learning, which is asking questions and then listening, right? And then behind the bridge, you have the shard, which represents the new world, now and the future. You have more symbols, but I don’t want to be too long.
15:19 What else? What else? What else? What else? So in the back, you have this beautiful curtain.
15:27 And this is just, you know, I don’t know if the word is right, luxurious, but, you know, the mission of this man and all this influence and changing people’s lives, it’s reflected also in this. It’s beautiful. It’s elegant. And he got himself beauty all around with beautiful people, amazing people like all of you guys. And also the bricks, he’s standing strong, right?
16:06 And this represents the strong foundations because he’s building the business and changing the world very smart, like the steps are just perfect. And he inspires us all. And thank you, Brian, so much for doing all of these amazing things that you do. You’ve been inspiring me for years, man. And thank you for this opportunity and possibility that I was able to be with you for five months.
16:35 Thank you, brother. Thank you. It’s absolutely beautiful, man. That’s a hell of a guy to live up to every day when I walk in. No, thank you. It’s absolutely beautiful, man.
16:53 To Nick, yeah? Okay. Thank you all. Appreciate that. And, Nick, thanks for all the incredible work.
17:07 And, yeah, now I got to live up to that guy every day, which is just fantastic. You know, next month, we’re actually celebrating the seventh anniversary of London Real. Pretty incredible, right? And the first thing I think when I hear that is, if I was a banker, how much money could I make in seven years? But it’s actually been an incredible journey.
17:29 And every single person that walks in my studio, they change my life. Some of them are here in this room. And they change it because what I do, well, it’s fucking real. And the special ones, we do more with. And that’s when we started making these documentary films.
17:45 The first one was with Dorian Yates, the six-time Mr. Olympia, and I went down to his place in Spain, and he put me through a leg workout that I’m still sore from. Had me on a yoga session, taught me about spirituality, had me smoke something, but I didn’t inhale. And that was the start of this new form of medium, because we thought there’s only so much you can do with two people sitting and talking in leather chairs. And so from there, I traveled to Israel, and I spent time with Ido Portal, and he taught me about movement in my body.
18:15 And he’s the coach of Conor McGregor, one of the greatest fighters of our generation. And that was an amazing experience. And last year, we, of course, premiered our documentary with Dan Pena, the $50 billion man. Give it up for Dan Pena, who’s in the house here. And, you know, it’s been an incredible adventure with these people.
18:40 And about 10 months ago, a guy named John Joseph walked into my studio. And my first impression was that it just kind of looked like he smoked a lot of crack. And as I learned more about him, I found out that he, in fact, had smoked a lot of crack. But there was more going on there, you know? John had been the front man for the punk hardcore band The Chromags, which had global significance in the 80s.
19:08 He had once been a Hare Krishna monk. He had been vegan for 37 years. And he had competed in 10 Iron Mans. And he was 56 years old. And I knew something more was going on here.
19:19 And so that’s how this whole crazy adventure started. And what you’re going to see is the last eight months of my life. You will see me training and competing in my first Iron Man. You’ll see me going to a 100% plant-based diet. Can I hear it from the vegans in the house?
19:32 Come on! Right?
19:38 And so it ended up being this crazy adventure. But the truth is, is that tonight’s movie, it’s not about athletics and it’s not about a diet, you know? Tonight’s movie is about us getting to terms with our demons. That’s what this is about. And these other things are only vehicles.
19:57 Because I believe that we all have some secret that we’re holding back. Something that we believe will cause us a massive amount of shame if we let it out. And that secret, even if you don’t know it, it makes you play small. It makes you anxious and it makes you fearful of what’s out there. And I know this because I was that guy.
20:20 You know, I was at London Real. I’ve got a successful show, a successful business. I know people all around the world. I had this secret handled. I kept it a secret from my friends and even from my wife for 16 years.
20:31 And I thought everything would be OK. But it wasn’t. I’ve never felt like I’ve felt today. And I never thought this big, dark, deep hole in my past that I was just going to bury down where no one would know anything about it. I never, ever thought it could be the source of light for so many people.
20:49 And I still remember being at home with Mariana when I confessed to her of everything that happened to me in 2001. And I’m like, baby, I got to go. And I got to write an email. It was Saturday night to all of the London Realers, 100,000 plus people. And I’m like, baby, I don’t know what to do.
21:02 And she said, you know, she said, it’s your story. Tell them. And I wrote this email. It was one of the most hardest things I’ve ever since. But it was me coming to terms and being honest about what happened.
21:13 And I had all of this fear that was going to happen. I thought all of this shame would happen. And what I got back was about 700 replies that said, thank you. I’ve been there, too. Thank you.
21:24 My wife was there. My daughter was there. My grandfather was there. Thank you for talking about it. I never thought I could talk about it.
21:30 And it taught me a lot about what we do by pushing these things deep down inside. Some of us push them so deep that we don’t even remember these traumas that we had as children. And some of those I saw when I was at Daniel’s place a couple months ago. These things come out in these plant medicine ceremonies. And so we respond to them in different ways.
21:50 Sometimes it comes into addiction. And so that’s what we’re talking about tonight. So while you watch this, you’re going to see me and John. And it’s going to be crazy. And it’s going to be emotional.
21:58 But I’d really like for you to think about your story. And think about if it’s really as precious or as shameful as you think it is. And maybe it’s time for you to stop being the victim of your story and to start being the hero of that story. Because it’s just a change in perspective. And you can get power from it.
22:18 And I would like to see all of you, and honestly the rest of the world, getting power from their traumas or their fears. And going out and doing big things. You know, we’re running out of time. And we need people to go big and be creative and connect. And that’s what this film is ultimately about.
22:34 And so afterwards I’m going to come up here with my good friend Timothy Sheef. No stranger to endurance or veganism. And I want to have a discussion with you. And I’m here to listen if there’s anything you want to talk to us about. And again, I want to see you taking this stuff and using it as an energy for your future.
22:51 And so, on behalf of me and the entire team at London Real, I give you the world premiere of Iron Minds. A strong body builds a strong mind. That’s why I’m pushing you to do this race. Because it teaches you that you can do anything you set your mind to and smash the limitations that we place upon ourselves. This is not pussy man.
23:27 This is Iron Man. Are you going to make me race by myself or are we crossing the finish line together? The real team up here, please. Dave, come on. Come on up, you guys.
24:02 Meet the team at London Real. Yeah? Boom. Yeah? Good.
24:13 Here they are, folks. Give it up to the team at London Real. They make this happen. Thank you so much for watching that. We’re going to do a Q&A with me and Timothy Sheef right now.
24:31 And I’ve actually got a video John recorded for us as well to play. So thank you so much for watching. We’ll start that right now.
24:40 This is Timothy Sheef, by the way. Hey, guys. Good friend of mine. A lot of you know him. What’d you think?
24:56 Man, incredible. There’s so many layers to the whole thing. It’s very interesting that that’s the direction that your journey went. Because last time I was here we saw the Edo Portel documentary, which was the most inspiring thing I could have watched at that time. And then today, this morning, after yoga, I went for a run, a bike ride on a swim.
25:17 Really? And then now I’m here watching this. I’m not saying, you know, it’s crazy, man, it’s crazy. Can you tell that to John Joseph, what it gets you to do in the air, man? Yeah, what a wild guy.
25:26 What a wild character. I actually went for dinner with him about four years ago in LA. Have a gratitude. Okay. Yeah, and he was just as crazy.
25:33 And it was like a bunch of, like, gang-tattered-up guys that were all vegan and just, like, massive, must have just come out of jail kind of thing. We were just, like, talking about it. It was so funny, man. He really lives it. And I think we’re going to play a quick message from John.
25:47 So I guess we’ll start off with that. Can we play the message from John that he recorded for us? And then we’ll have a quick chat here. Greetings from New York City to all you guys at London’s premiere of Iron Mind. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it.
26:07 There was some confusion cross-booking stuff with the chromags. Our booking agent booked us for Minneapolis to do a festival, and we couldn’t get out of it. That being said, I want to give major, major fucking props to Brian Rose for everything that he accomplished in this fucking magnanimous task that he underwent, coming back to New York City, facing his demons, you know, and taking on this task to do a half Iron Man and to do it plant-based and kick ass in the race.
26:53 And we have to give major respect to Samantha Murphy, our coach, who coached Brian to his victory. You know, she was there, like I said, every step of the way and providing positive reinforcement and showing us how to get it done the right way. What this film should show, every single one of you, is that no matter how fucking difficult things in life seem to be, if we apply ourselves 100% and have an iron mind, we can overcome anything and achieve monumental things in our life, and that’s what it’s all about.
27:36 Nobody comes here to be fucking ordinary. We all have to kick ass. We all have that infinite potential within us to do amazing things, and it’s all about mindset. I’m very fucking proud of Brian and what he was able to accomplish. I teared up several times, got emotional over the whole thing because this has been part of my recovery, Iron Man, and, you know, physically having to beat my mind with a stick every fucking day.
28:06 I wish I could be there with you guys. I was fucking devastated when I found out that they had booked this show, but, you know, this is my job. That’s what I do. And I wish I could be there, like I said, and see all the homies who worked on this thing. Brian assembled an amazing crew with his London Real camera people and editors and everything.
28:33 It was a fucking joy to work with these people, man, and these guys brought a level of professionalism that, you know, made it a joy to show up and work with them, and that’s a very rare fucking thing these days. Props to all the London Real crew, and I hope you enjoy this. I can’t wait to check it out. Brian Rose, love you, man. You’re a fucking…
28:59 You’re just a fucking stalwart, man. Much respect for you, and peace out. I’ll see you guys soon. Enjoy the film. Peace.
29:09 John Joseph. That was very real. I did wonder why… Is that working? I did wonder why it wasn’t here.
29:18 Yeah, you really wanted to be here, but, you know, John, he’s like always going to the next thing. He doesn’t stop. He’s published another book already. He’s always touring hard. He’s like 56, and he’ll go, and he’s just on to the next, on to the next.
29:31 And so, you know, John’s being John, which is what he does great. I can start doing great John impressions. It’s in the Vedas, man. The better detail, yeah. Yeah, I mean, just for me watching that sofa conversation, you know, it was so intense, you know, and we didn’t know it was going to end up that way.
29:48 And I remember the crew had to like drag me out of the bedroom because I was like really getting emotional. And then, you know, with John talking about that stuff, he played this clip in a bunch of schools that he went and talked to with him on the sofa because I don’t think he’s ever actually told it that way too, you know, so. But yeah, there’s lots of weird layers to this movie, you know, and it’s just a weird motley crew, me and John, you know. That’s really, yeah, it’s fascinating to watch.
30:13 Do you mind if we start with some of the more sports types? Yeah, let’s do it. And then, yeah, I’d love to answer your questions and I’d love to hear your questions too. Sorry, I took notes. No, that’s good.
30:22 I appreciate it. So, in terms of background, because I didn’t really go into your, when she asked you what kind of athlete you said, you’ve done your movement and things like that. You look like a really natural swimmer. Do you have some background in swimming at all? I mean, 30 minutes for 1.2 miles is pretty…
30:35 Yeah, well, I mean, look, we were in the river and there was like a little current and with the wetsuit on, it helps. And I had an incredible swim coach, Bartek, right here. Stand up. You’re barely in the film, but stand up. Stand up, take a bow.
30:49 Come on, this is Bartek. He’s very shy. He made me delete all the vlogs that I took at the different pools because he didn’t want to get in trouble. But he’s in the movie briefly. There’s two shots.
31:02 But I spent three days a week with him and he was hard… With the swimming lane in progress, you like booked the whole lane and you’re doing the swimming class in progress. Yeah, well, he’s hardcore too. He would get in there and make me follow him for like these 20-minute, 30-minute sessions that were timed. And like, you were pushing me hard.
31:17 We swam three times a week. And so that, and he’s an Iron Man as well. So he knows what he’s doing. And that really helped a lot. But I had started swimming with him, funny enough, like nine months before.
31:29 One day, I couldn’t work out where I wanted to in the gym and I just jumped in the pool and I realized I sucked. And then I saw him teaching someone and we just started working on basics. And then John Joseph came on. So it was a weird thing. But I had never done anything distance.
31:43 We started swimming. I couldn’t even do like 12 lengths without getting done. Yeah, I know that feeling. Something like that. Yeah, so that was the background there.
31:53 And then the running, because I think I’ve actually bumped into you twice on Primrose Hill, even though I hardly ever go there. Yeah, so I… You were out running this, and before all of this you would just occasionally be out. I used to do hill sprints on Primrose Hill. That was my thing.
32:06 I used to take my daughter until she was old enough to tell me to do one. But I used to make her go until she was what, maybe 10? And then when she turned 11, she was like, you don’t have to. I can’t go. I won’t go.
32:17 And I was like, I guess you can’t. So I started going alone. So I used to do like 10 hill sprints. But I was always about that like hard cardio, martial arts type training. But never found endurance interesting at all.
32:28 It was never really drawn to me. Yeah, it’s nothing that’s appealing from the outside because it’s nothing flashy or like big tricks or jujitsu submission. It’s none of that. But it’s very internally, it feels like it blossoms more than the other stuff in a way. Well, because you went from break dancing to parkour and then you started running.
32:46 I remember seeing your videos. I was like, what the hell is this? Because again, it’s cool. But it feels way more rewarding. Yeah.
32:53 And when I started doing these runs, I would start like tears would come down in 17 kilometers. I didn’t know what was going on. You see those vlogs and I’m like really grateful. It all started unraveling and it only happened in that first 30, 40 days. Towards the end of it, I had kind of processed all of that stuff and I was just ready.
33:10 The honeymoon period, when you get into it, I think it’s realizing that you can do more than you expect in the beginning and having that admiration for people that do Iron Man and people like John, and then you realize, oh, I’ve got a human body, I can do it as well. Yeah. Once you get in that realization, it’s really starting to enjoy the vehicle that we’re giving. Did you notice, one of the things I noticed, because you start to strengthen the heart with the endurance stuff, you go in for an hour, two hours, three hours on the bike.
33:33 As you strengthen the heart, I feel like it opens you up in the non-physical. The physical heart gets stronger, but that grows, like you said, the spiritual is linked to the mental and everything. It feels like everything sort of grows. As you’re releasing, you’re crying, it’s all sort of letting go and strengthening at the same time. Do you notice anything?
33:52 Yeah, it’s a weird place to be because you’re alone out there. I saw an interview with a guy named Pat Milletich, who was an old school UFC fighter, like UFC 10, and he just started running distance, like long distance. And he said, it’s harder than MMA. And I was just like, what are you talking about? No one’s trying to punch you in the face.
34:09 But he’s like, you’re all alone with yourself, and you have to just deal with all of your stuff. And so, yeah, on those runs, yeah, maybe it was this whole physical into the mental, you know, and then that took me to the spiritual. So, yeah, maybe it was a hard thing. I don’t know. I’m still kind of new to this.
34:26 Did you have a favor of the three? Yeah, I really didn’t like the bike. The static bike, when I was swearing on all those vlogs, that was me having to go do the static bike three times a week and just sit there. And I had the Iron Man named Tim Don, who’s like world famous, and he actually broke his neck and came back. And he was like, Brian, you can play this video game where you’re running based against other guys.
34:47 What’s it called? Zwift. Yeah, Zwift. I still found it horrible. Just sitting on that bike.
34:53 I mean, I can run and get into it, but the bike, I just had a really hard time going in and having to face that, and then a treadmill afterwards. Being out on the bike was better, but going around Regent’s Park 26 times is… Is that why you did it? I thought it was Regent’s Park. That’s what I was, and my feet were literally just blocks of ice frozen.
35:11 It’s just not nice. Going on a distance bike is better, but London’s not the best city for that. I was thinking John Joe’s going through New York. It must be the one. He goes to Brooklyn, Rockaway Beach, but he’s crazy.
35:23 He’s hardcore. So how was the transition to veganism? How was the vegan diet? How did that work out for you? I’m still plant-based.
35:34 A lot of people thought I might have a steak and a beer to celebrate. I couldn’t actually… One of my students, that was John McMahon, who interviewed me at the finish. He’s another guy from the Business Accelerator, and he flew there and set up that whole vegan dinner you see, and he got that great interview. He’s better than me at interviewing.
35:53 I was going to eat with them that night anyways, but I just didn’t want to go back. I also was like, I need a better reason than I feel like a hamburger. That’s a BS reason. One of my guests, the US Navy SEAL, Chaco Willink, always says discipline equals freedom. I just felt if you have discipline to do something, it gives you freedom.
36:13 I did all of this training, 46 turned 47 before the race, hard pounding on the road, cycling, everything, no injuries. John sat in that kitchen, and I thought he was just full of it. He said, this is going to make you recover faster. All I know is it felt great, and it worked. Once I ate enough, I had a real hard time with calorie consumption, and my B12…
36:37 I think I had that before, because I don’t think you can develop a B12 deficiency in eight weeks. So you didn’t actually say you had one? Yeah, I was low, and when I got that injection, I did feel better. They say as many meat eaters and vegans have the same percentage of people have B12 deficiencies. I think it’s possible.
36:56 So now I just keep that in mind, and I watch it. And then I had a beautiful Mariana. Give it up for Mariana. Baby, stand up. Stand up, baby.
37:06 Stand up. Right? So she went in all in and started cooking for me. I mean, baby, you wake up at 6 a.m. and make pancakes and all that stuff and pack it and doll.
37:22 And we just… Baby, you were a little concerned at first, right? Because, you know, you usually cook meat, and you’re like, can I do this? But once we started looking into it, I mean, so many options. We fell in love with plants again and vegetables, and we tasted them.
37:36 And then there was all sorts of other alternatives. If you have to go… That was actually vegan sausage you saw there when I’m like, this is so good. And it was just, yeah, amazing. So I found that really incredible, and something happened with my body.
37:48 So an experience that you can’t explain. When you live and you try it, then you feel the difference. I mean, I’m an engineer by training. I’m a scientist. But when I see patterns, I have to acknowledge them, even if I can’t explain them.
37:59 So like when I do London Real, I’m happier. When I don’t make it about me, I’m happier. When I try to make it about other people, it works. So I keep doing it in the same in a plant-based diet. I feel better.
38:09 Everything sits good, so I’m going to stick to it for now. But I mean, I’m constantly questioning like you are, but I’m going to stick to it for now. At the end, I think you showed incredible self-awareness when you challenged John Joseph saying, oh, you’re not just seeking the next challenge. It’s not just time for just peace. Yes, you felt great and elated, but the next time you might not feel as good as the first time, and it sort of cottons on from that.
38:34 I see the main difference with sort of the addiction of something negative and something positive is with this addiction like what you had with heroin or alcohol or whatever, it can be destructive after. You do it and you feel good during it, and then the destruction comes after. Whereas I think the difference with something like that is you train and you suffer beforehand and then the feeling good comes after. It’s sort of flipped, and so you have to earn the feeling good.
39:01 And I think I wonder if that’s a distinction you noticed. That’s a really interesting point, because yeah, it was a natural question. I mean, you meet this Iron Man community, and they’re amazing people, and there’s so much support there. How was the atmosphere? It was amazing.
39:15 It was emotional, because when you know what it’s like, people cheering for miles and miles. They can see your first name on the bibs, they’re calling you out, and in the run, actually, the run was really painful. My stomach hurt so much, and my hamstrings were cramping up, and I had these adults trying to high-five me, and I was just like, get the fuck out of my way. But then there was this 9-year-old kid in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy holding the hand up, and I was like, are you kidding me?
39:39 Give me some of that. And so just so much support, and they have themes and music, but you also see that the community is full of a lot of recovering addicts, and then you have to ask that question. Maybe it’s because of my job. I ask that question, like, is this another addiction? But I mean, you make an interesting point.
39:53 I think the bad addictions, and maybe the addiction people could tell me on that stuff, is where bad, whatever that means, is where yeah, you pay for it afterwards. But it also goes back to that Gabor Maté discussion. Do people like Gabor Maté? He rocks the orange jumper like nobody’s business, right? He’s a deep dude, and like, you know, he says, like, you know, using was the only thing you could do at that point, because you had no way out.
40:19 And this is a great message from this movie. I was a smart guy. I had resources. I had intelligence, and I couldn’t get myself out of this little box, because I didn’t understand how to fix me. So the only way to do it was to use, was to use, because I didn’t understand this trauma, and I couldn’t look at it from a different angle.
40:35 So it’s a question to ask, and about this addictive thing that is Iron Man. Very good question. And it makes you almost feel a bit guilty, then, for doing it. But actually, you’ve got to try different experiences as you’re going through, and just enjoy each one, and notice when you become too attached to one thing as you’re out. I’ve said it to you before.
40:54 Everything we do is medicine. So if you’re abusing one medicine, then maybe try a new one. Yeah, you have to, like, watch yourself, you know? And yeah, I had to ask John that question and a few other harder questions. So yeah, just kind of examine that whole behavior.
41:11 So yeah, and he’s on to the next one. But that got me here, too. Like, that addiction for goal-seeking that I’m questioning got me here to all of this healing. It’s much better than me just sitting around at home thinking or looking at the wall. So I don’t know the answer.
41:28 I do think he’s writing the next book. He’s on tour. He’s doing the next Iron Man. And I’m the same. Like, I’m worse.
41:35 I mean, baby, you know, I’m already making the next movie, and like, I can be really bad, too, and I need to just make sure I try to watch that when I’m back in the same situation. Do you want to talk about the next movie now? Yeah. I do want to say one thing about that last part with John is that, you know, I was speaking with my director, Luis, who isn’t here. He’s gutted.
41:56 He’s in Tokyo. And he’s a big part of this movie. He makes all my movies with me, and he’s incredible. And we check each other all the time. And I said, I owe John this one thing.
42:07 And I read John’s book. It’s called The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon. It’s an amazing book. And he does it in audio. And he does all the accents.
42:13 And like, it’s really, it’s a riot. Did you read it while you were cycling? I listened to it actually before I got to New York, you know? And so I knew a lot about him. And one thing that always bothered me was, he had so much anger around this foster child situation.
42:27 And in the book, he goes back to the home, and he finds the woman that ran the home and was just really cruel to him, and allowed a lot of these bad behaviors happening from the other boys. And he confronts her. And he’s really tough. And he gets in her face. And he yells at her.
42:39 And he puts her down. And he scares the shit out of her and leaves. And I was like, this is so inconsistent with everything else about John. How come no one’s ever asked him this? And I was like, Luis, I got to ask him.
42:49 And he’s like, Brian, don’t ask him. And he’s like, that’s going to be a rough conversation. He’s going to be mad. And I was just like, that was like the one thing I owed John for all the work he did. And I owed asking him that hard question on the camera, just to see.
43:01 And Bada Ryan, the guy from the Hare Krishna thing, saw that. And he said, Brian, I’m glad you asked that. And in time, we’ll see if John processes that. And maybe he won’t. Maybe his answer was the right answer.
43:15 Maybe there’s a time not to forgive. Yeah, it did seem like he was holding on to that. And there’s no real right answer, as you know. So that was a really interesting part. And we included it in the movie, because a lot of people resonated with this whole kind of dichotomy of the human being, you know?
43:32 You can’t just switch it off, I guess. Yeah. And it’s honest of him. Yeah, very honest. He could easily say, I forgive them and not.
43:40 True. Yeah, he lives his truth very much. Yeah. Yeah. We could go to the audience we’re going to start talking about.
43:48 Yeah, I’ll just mention to the solution that I’d love to answer some questions from the audience. And I’d just love to hear what you thought of it, or if that brought anything up. And yeah, again, like Gabor Mate, he believes that all addiction comes from childhood trauma. I don’t know if I agree with him, but it’s interesting to see that. He said it doesn’t necessarily cause it.
44:06 But if you look at addiction, you can trace it back to trauma. It doesn’t mean trauma causes addiction. And he’s very firm on that. He’s a very wise man. And so it was interesting to just try to link that and try to go back.
44:17 And it doesn’t mean you walk around as a victim to your childhood story and you tell everybody about it. But maybe if you can understand it better, you can empower yourself and then just be the hero. Like, I’m not a hero of this horrible story. And I even wrote Gabor Mate, and I said this shameful thing. And he said, why is it shameful?
44:33 And so I’m owning this story now and just using it as power, and it’s amazing. So I think it’s an interesting thing for everyone to think about. What is that thing? And can you make it the hero version? And then understand it.
44:46 Like, why was I shutting out of the people from my life? You know, Mariana met me. I was 41. I was a bachelor, single banker, drinking myself to death. And she had a six-year-old girl.
44:56 And I was like, no, no, no. Those are humans that’ll hurt me. And then I brought them in my life, and everything changed. So I think it’s because I understood my natural tendencies from my trauma. So that was the point of that whole thing.
45:11 So yeah. So no, I’d love to actually answer some questions. So if you have anything you want to ask, if you can raise your hand. There’s microphones coming around. Do you want to ask something, Susan?
45:26 You have the microphone. You know Gabo already. I would love to ask, actually. I love Gabo Marta, and he’s one of my heroes. The minute I heard him say something about the childhood trauma becoming the blueprint of your life, that changed everything for someone like me who lived in a victimhood for at least three decades of my life because of that.
45:52 And he took one guy to tell me that. And that was one of the biggest revelations. And I wholeheartedly believe that from zero to seven becomes your blueprint for the rest of your life, unless you become aware. And I love the fact that you brought Gabo Marta into the movie. It’s very emotional for me because I spent a whole workshop with the guy.
46:17 I’ve never seen someone like him with that presence, with that humility, with that down-to-earthness, and having the heart and the passion to help everyone, and skipping lunches to sit on stairs to talk to people. I’ve never seen anyone like him. And that shows how much he empowered his own trauma, his own limitations to do what he does now. And you, of course, the same for me. And it was just beautiful to watch everyone get in the same movie.
46:51 Thank you so much. So that wasn’t a question, but thank you. This is Susan Gunnar. She’s on the team as well. She’s amazing.
46:58 Yeah, I mean, Susan, you come a long way in dealing with all that stuff. And yeah, Gabo was really special, and it was great having him. I mean, we have these really cool resources that we’re making shows every week, so I get to ask people stuff. Tap into it. Tap into all that stuff, and so I would definitely see him again.
47:17 Well, thank you, Susan. Appreciate it. Any questions from anybody? Just raise your hand. We’ll get you a mic. Yeah, here.
47:25 And here, whoever gets the mic. Can you stand up? Yeah. And tell us your name. Brett Cobbley. Nice to meet you.
47:32 Thank you very much for inviting me tonight. I really, really enjoyed that. It was really inspirational. When you said that you identified some of your issues, and then when you met new people, you kind of said, these are humans that could hurt me, and you were kind of shot off to that at first. When you realized that and where it was coming from, did you change yourself or did you just communicate that that’s the way you felt and that you felt worried that some new people in your life could hurt you?
47:57 I just engineered in that fear, so I just forced myself to be allowed to be hurt because I know that’s where all the growth is and that’s where all the greatness is. And if I sit around as a hermit, I’m just going to be lonely and just depressed and die. So now, when I’m a little hesitant, I just try to go into it and try to form these friendships or allow these people into my life. Whereas before, it was just going to be… I looked at it as a source of pain, and I’m still working on it, but I’m always…
48:28 And the show forces me to allow people in my space. I mean, everybody changes me on this damn show. Look how I’m dressed. That’s thanks to Mr. Pena.
48:36 And each person takes me on this journey, and it’s really weird. Honestly, it shows me how malleable we all are by the company we keep. I mean, John Joseph got me to do this crazy thing. I feel like I’m in control of my life, so I always try to do that. I’m sure there’ll be points where I’m hurt, and it still happens, but I just try to do that.
48:57 Thank you very much. Yeah, sure. Thank you. Over here, there’s a mic just there on your right. Cool. Is that on?
49:10 I tried again. I think I might have… There you go. Thanks very much for it. It was extremely inspiring.
49:16 I wanted to ask two things. Firstly, what point did you decide to actually do it? Was it right on the bridge? Did you decide then and there? Was there any doubt in your mind still?
49:25 And also, was there any points during it where you almost gave up, or what was the closest you came to giving up with it? And what really impressed me is how you did it with such a busy schedule with London Real. You kept that going, got all your guests on. And for me, I couldn’t even… It’s hard for me to go even for a morning run sometimes.
49:43 And for you to do that with such a busy schedule is just incredible, so yeah, those two questions. So those are good questions. Again, I have to quote Mr. Peña again, who said once that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. And so for me, I was always trying to train every day some way because again, I’ve realized that it’s what keeps me sane.
50:03 So now it was just more. It was just a couple, three hours. So everyone on the team understood. And then it was hard for Marianne and the kids. Maybe you liked me out of the house, baby.
50:13 I don’t know. But ultimately, Iron Man is a really selfish thing. And I used to make jokes also about Iron Man. If you’re hanging around them, they’re almost like addicts. They’re like, what’s wrong, John?
50:23 He’s like, I got to get my swim. I got to get my swim. And the man said, I got to get a bike in. They’re like this, like this. But I mean, it’s also a really selfish sport because you’re like, I’m more important than all of you.
50:33 My race, my this. So I would disappear on weekends for like six hours and on these bike rides. And then it’s not just the bike ride. And then you got to go run 10K after that. So it’s like, it adds up.
50:45 But I just found a way to make it work. And I had no choice. And honestly, being on camera helps. It’s like, what am I going to do? And we were producing a weekly version of this.
50:52 Some of you have seen it. So every week we had this. That’s why John saw Paula Quinn talk rubbish about that because he was watching the weekly episode. So it was all happening in real time. And I couldn’t really hide.
51:05 I was doing daily vlogs. So actually, it really helped. I felt like I had the easiest Iron Man race there because I had so much pressure on me. As opposed to everyone else, maybe they could duck out. And a lot of people actually didn’t even show because the heat is a weird thing.
51:17 I think certain people in Iron Man don’t want to get a bad time. So people just kind of dropped out because it was hot. But you know, with John and like I went to New York and I, you know, look, I knew he was an Iron Man guy and I knew he might start pushing me there. And then I was also just like, you know, it just didn’t also sound like a lot of fun that I wanted to do. But John’s got a way of, you know, he’s got a way to him.
51:38 And, you know, he really does care, you know. He’s a fucked up guy who didn’t do all this stuff. But, you know, he’s trying to figure out life. But as Samantha said, he really is a teacher. He really is a mentor.
51:49 And he stops everybody in New York. He’s like the mayor of New York. He also pisses on the streets in New York. Banneys got footage of that. One of our camera guys just turned the footage.
51:58 And he’s like pissing on the street in New York City. I’m like, what are you doing? And so, yeah, John. That’s wicked. I pissed in a cup in camera with you.
52:06 We did, man. When’s that coming out? Soon. Soon. Any other questions?
52:12 Come walk us off your hands out. Yes, sir. Mr. Cleland here. What do you think of all that, Daniel?
52:19 My God. Man, I spent probably half of that video with tears in my eyes. That was super profound for me. It was definitely the best movie I’ve seen this year, if not in much longer time than that. It connected on so many different levels.
52:41 And it opened up a lot of questions for myself because I think we’re very similar. And I think we’ve probably wrestled with a lot of the same demons and have a lot of the same drives that like just constantly having to find that next challenge, that next thing, that next like something that makes us unique and special and valuable to the world, you know? And I just, I mean, props for that. Like, that’s not a question. That’s just a statement.
53:17 No, it’s really good. That movie was fucking incredible, man. Did you come to any personal conclusions in the back? Well, I don’t know. Like, I think I came away with more questions than answers from that movie, to be honest.
53:29 But yeah, I wanted to ask you like, you know, if that seemingly curse that we have to just continuously push and do and create and go to the next level, like, is that a curse, you know? And if it is, is it a curse or a blessing? And, you know, if that was caused by, you know, some type of childhood trauma or whatever, you know, is that for the better or for the worse? Is that the cause of greatness in the world? Like, what’s your take on that?
54:15 Yeah, it’s a great question. I think about it all the time. And Joe Rogan says this on his podcast. He says, all of my friends were fucked up as kids. Like, that’s what makes them great comedians and like great people.
54:26 And like, I have to thank whatever trauma, I mean, as a seven year old kid, I just took a divorce one way and that’s the way I might have went with it. Or I was born this way. So yeah, I think you have to be appreciative of all of those things. And that’s how I think we get greatness, most definitely. And I think this whole thing, Mate was talking about that, you know, whether it’s about being or doing.
54:45 Do you feel like you have to do that stuff to be accepted or can you just be? And again, I think it’s this fight we’re always in. I’d like to think I can be both. You know, I’d like to think after this, I can just be for a little while. But I know it’s not going to last long.
55:00 It’s not going to last long for you either. I know you. And I just met you and I know you. But that’s okay too. I think that’s all right.
55:07 And you can embrace this next piece and this next challenge. And again, like Timothy is really good about saying, like, what’s good and what’s bad, you know. I think it’s great to examine that about yourself, to ask yourself why you’re doing those things, understand yourself better, and then keep pushing forward, you know. But I think it’s good that you kind of are asking yourself the question, you know. Passion, right?
55:30 Passion and desire, part of being human, I think. But yeah, then it’s knowing, like you mentioned, learning to just allow. I think that was a really good point you said. There’s moments when you need to just allow life and just let that flow that way, not that way for a minute. Yeah.
55:45 And you can just be appreciated and loved for being you. And the man next to you has a question. Are you going to stand up, Mr. Pena? Should I put my bulletproof vest on?
55:58 Kids, and I call you all kids because I’m either old enough to be your grandfather or father, but… Did you like the movie, Jay? I’ll get around to that. But not everybody in the world suffers from the same things that most of us suffer from, this audience particularly. I don’t suffer from the same things that Brian suffers from.
56:31 And childhood trauma is where, why you’re here. Self-esteem is built the first seven or eight years of your life. Who were you with those seven or eight years? Who fucked you up? Mama, maybe daddy, maybe an older brother.
56:50 It is childhood trauma. And after 25 years of doing this and turning around kids as fucked up as Brian Rose was, I speak with some authority. Not just because I’m the $50 billion man. I thought the movie was very good. It has a specific audience.
57:13 Of course, you know that. Your following is a specific audience. Of course, you know that, and I’ve told you that before. And that’s why he has specific challenges for the rest of his life as long as he wants to continue to do this. Because people listen to him.
57:29 And as they should. I think they listen to you in a different way wearing a red tie, pink socks, and a vest than they did when you had your whatever that thing on your chin was called. But you have an audience and it’s bigger now. And so there are challenges with people listening to you just as people listen to me. But there are people that don’t suffer from childhood trauma.
57:54 I’m one of them. People ask me why I have so much self-esteem. You got me by the balls. I have no fucking idea. But I do.
58:06 And I realize growing up, somebody asked me, where’s the guy with the beard that asked me, when did you know you weren’t a snowflake? Where is he? Oh. Oh, up there. And I said the first time I got punched in the face and had a tooth knocked out.
58:21 I was about five or six years old. And so he asked me, well, what he was really asking me was it, the punch in the mouth, the tooth that came out that caused me to realize that I wasn’t a snowflake. I said no. When I got home, my dad beat me. And then he said he beat you because, what was the reason?
58:39 No. He beat me because I cried because my tooth got knocked out. But Dan, your dad held a gun to your head. Correct. And you’re telling me you don’t have any childhood trauma?
58:51 No, no. But you beat me to my punchline. It’s not what happens to us in life, kids. It’s how we interpret what happens to us. It’s not what happens to us in life.
59:04 It’s how we interpret it. And when my dad put a gun to my head, a loaded gun, when I was about 13 or 14 years old, I just started puberty. He says, there’s only one cure to drugs. It’s the kind of heroin that you did. It’s a motherfucking bullet in your motherfucking head.
59:20 And I’m the motherfucker that’ll put it there. I can still see the bullet in the chamber. But I interpreted it different. I didn’t interpret it that it was a bad thing. I interpreted it that it kept me off drugs.
59:36 My dad, if he was your father, he would have killed you. He would have put a motherfucking bullet in your motherfucking head. And that would have been a shame. I wouldn’t have been a star student. Yes.
59:45 But anyway, it’s a great movie you’re doing. Thank you. But Dan, I would say then that, because John said the same thing. It’s not what happens to you. It’s correct.
59:52 He’s right. So I would argue this has a big audience. No, no. It has a big audience, but it’s not the whole world. Yeah, maybe not.
59:59 No. I know we all like to think that we’re the whole world sitting in this room, but we’re not. But the people thrive on your message because they can relate to you. But this is about looking at your life and trying to find power. And trying to not be a victim to it.
1:00:19 No, no. But aren’t you really trying to find answers? Am I looking for answers? Well, I think so. I’m trying to get people to ask questions about themselves.
1:00:28 Okay. And then stop being victims. That’s the same thing you’re doing. Absolutely. I do it in a lot of different ways, and I deal with a slightly different layer of humanity.
1:00:39 And I love what you do. I do. But it was a great job, and I’m proud of you. You make me proud. Thank you, Dan.
1:00:47 I really appreciate you being here. Okay. And thank you, Sally. Yeah, right there. The man with the hat.
1:01:01 That’s a lovely hat. That’s a nice hat. Can you stand up? Tell me your name. My name is Milo Alexander.
1:01:08 I’d like to thank you for inviting us here and the things that you’ve done over the past few years. And I really want to thank you for getting the Biddy Man Dan Penny involved, because he’s 101% right. I grew up, you know, in a sort of like hard buyer, a high-performance woman, you know, that was born in 1928. And we were sort of like raised up to be tough, really, really tough. And the individuals that I’m doing business with now, I see that a lot of them are heartbroken, and a lot of them are coming from a place of, how can I put it, suffering from a high level of abandonment.
1:01:46 So you and your position now, with the influence that you have, and the following that you have, you have to bring, or are you thinking of being in a solution? Because sometimes, from what I see, it’s constantly trying to find another high, trying to find another high. But as Mr. Dan Penny says, at some point, individuals have to pull the trigger and realize that, listen, you’ve done this. You’ve done the Iron Man.
1:02:08 You’ve done all of these things. But at some point, it has to come to enough is enough, instead of trying to chase the next high, or try to, you know, defeat a mountain. You are the mountain. So at some point, are you and your individuals with you, are you trying to use things like Camo with you guy, Dave, and the rest of them, to sort of like bring some of these individuals that are following you, trying to get to the next level? Are you thinking in the future of applying these sort of things and helping these guys really find the answer, and lay away to the past regressive depression or heartbreak that they felt in those first formative years?
1:02:45 Yeah, I feel like that’s what we’re doing here. I feel like, I mean, you know, Daniel works with the Plant Medicine, you know, in a big way down at Sultara, and he does amazing work. And I mean, I’ve drank strong medicine with this gentleman down there. And, you know, to see a reaction like his to something like this, I just, I feel like we are putting the mirror back on people and making them ask those questions. I’m a huge fan of Mr. Dan Penny.
1:03:08 He’s my mentor, but he is one of a kind, to say the least. And when it comes to pushing people to be high performers, you know, he’s got the corner on that market, and I’m going to leave it to him. But I believe in everything he says. I think he just gives his message in a really different way. But I see a ton of Pena in here.
1:03:23 Maybe he doesn’t. But when I see lines, they’re straight out of his mouth, maybe said in John Joseph’s words. So I see that. You know, our next film is called Dissolution. And, you know, I did go down into the Plant Medicines.
1:03:36 And they’re very controversial, and Dan’s got his opinions about those. And it’s not just going to be about the Plant Medicine. I want to investigate a few other things that are happening in the world. But I just see that as a way of, again, looking at yourself. But, again, I mean, I’m a big fan of pulling the trigger concept.
1:03:52 Fear is false expectations appearing real. I was in fear of telling this secret of mine, which was bullshit. You know, I needed to pull the trigger on that. And as Dan has taught me, you realize that 95% of that is a phantom that makes you play small. And when you get there, it’s not that bad, you know?
1:04:08 I mean, now everyone knows. Does it change anything about me? No, actually. I have more people that I can talk to. It doesn’t change my business and change anything.
1:04:17 So, yeah, I mean, I feel like we’re on that wavelength. I want to keep pushing it. I want to keep doing that. And luckily, I got people like you and Dan that are going to be rarely impressed with what I do and push me to the next level. And I appreciate that.
1:04:31 I do. I really do. And it’s a good question. And I know we have a big responsibility out there. And yeah, luckily, I have a few people that tell me that on a regular basis.
1:04:41 So, thank you for that comment. All right, thank you. Can I ask you if there’s any way to compare sort of healing from the plant medicine to doing an Iron Man? Is there some sort of comparison? Do they give you…
1:04:57 Definitely. I mean, I was told after my first ayahuasca show on London Real six years ago, someone said, oh, you can get the same with breath work. And I was like, you haven’t actually been drinking the stuff. I’ve been drinking. And I never thought there was any parallel.
1:05:09 I thought there was this one thing that would really push you to this painful level. Again, ayahuasca is a bit like you said. You actually pay for it during the experience in a big way. And it’s terrifying and highly emotional for someone who has managed to, you know, filter out a lot of emotions in my life when I’m in the plant medicine. It is really hard.
1:05:27 And so, you pay for it at the same time, which, again, I think means it doesn’t become an addictive piece. And Dan, you know, is what I’m talking about. And I think there’s a benefit there. I actually don’t want to go see you and drink with you for a while, maybe in a year. But I want to talk about that.
1:05:40 But, no, I found Ironman, same kind of things were happening when I pushed myself through that pain and endurance. And, again, I would come up with stories in my head why I should stop that run. I had a 23-km run done, say, five kilometers. I’m like, oh, my left knee hurts. I didn’t eat very well.
1:05:55 Oh, if I mess up my leg, I won’t be able to do the movie. But it’s all, it’s this BS we tell ourselves in our head. So by pushing through it, I did find a lot of, like, really big realizations. So, yeah, I did feel that. And I think you felt that through things you do, like fasting and things like that.
1:06:10 I mean, yeah. Again, I think when you can get through the physical, that’s where the spiritual is somehow. I believe there’s something there. I’m going to keep doing it. Wicked.
1:06:22 Always. Love to take a few more questions, and then we can get out of this room and maybe take some pictures and have some more drinks. We got here. Yes, sir, you. Hey, man.
1:06:31 Hey, man. A couple of things. Firstly, love being a part of your courses. If you haven’t done BUI or any of the courses, you really recommend it. I’m not getting paid for this, by the way.
1:06:40 Thank you, man. But I think it really changed my life. So firstly, thanks for letting us all be a part of this. Secondly, the movie really did a lot for me on multiple levels, not just because I’m a vegan, but I think for me, because I really resonate with a lot of what John was saying, and I think what you went through. For myself, I come from that tradition from India, the Vedic tradition of India, and so I studied the Bhagavad Gita, and I guess this is my question for you.
1:07:05 In the Bhagavad Gita, one of the key themes that Krishna talks about is us transcending the ego and the senses and even our intellect. You obviously just spent a lot of quality time with this man over here, with Dan. What key realizations showed up for you during that experience recently that speak to that, and what perhaps one key word of advice you could give to all of us in our own sort of spiritual journeys? And so you’re referring to this movie, or my time with Dan, or both?
1:07:38 Both, both. So look, our next movie, it is about examining the human ego, and I’m always going back and forth with my own ego and trying to figure out why I’m doing something, and whenever I do something for me, it all goes wrong. And whenever I think about doing something for other people, and it doesn’t make any sense to my capitalistic engineering mind, everything goes right. And I started noticing this about two years into London Real when I was like, wait a second, I’ve got friends, and I feel good, and all this stuff is happening.
1:08:06 And so I think they can both exist. And if you look at the great companies in Silicon Valley, it’s because they’re making other people’s lives better. And Dan and I argue about this all the time, but my daughter came to his 70th birthday, and she got pulled up to do a speech, and she was what, 10 years old, baby? 11 years old, right? She’d just got there, never met Dan, never been to the damn castle, and she says, why is Dan doing this?
1:08:29 He’s got billions, and yet he spends his time helping all these other people. And it was like from the mouths of babes, you know? And so he might argue with me on this, I don’t know, but I mean, I think when you are trying to beat down that ego and it’s hard, and you still have to have an ego to exist, you got to get up, you got to finish the Iron Man, I still do things for egoic reasons, but I find when I’m not, that’s where some big stuff happens. And this is a theme that consistently comes up on London Real, with all of the OG guests that you know and love, there’s 25 of them, they ultimately come back to that thing, that the ultimate thing is to give back to this collective, and we are all one, and it sounds like a bumper sticker, but it’s the goddamn truth.
1:09:10 And I see it in the ceremonies as well, I saw you, Dan Pena, in my ceremonies with Daniel, and I see all these powerful figures pushing us forward as one humanity, and I feel a responsibility to do that, and it feels great, and it feels urgent, and it’s going to be part of this movie, and it doesn’t make sense to me, and the plants and the Gaia were like laughing at me, saying, you humans, you think you’re the big deal, and you’re fucking nothing, you’re nothing, you know, you’re just little specks of dust, and you’re going to go back to the dust. And Dan says that too, what, nothing more than a fart in the wind, right? Right, and that’s exactly what Mother Ayahuasca told me, right, I’m not saying anything, Dan, but that’s what she told me too, you’re nothing, and your emotions are your little human party here, although it might mess us up a little bit, so we’ll talk about that later, but at the same time, at the very end, I said, yeah, but we are humans, and I am here, and I do feel these emotions, and guess what, I’m going to try to make a go for it, and I feel that in this day and age, it’s really hard to think about other people, you know, it’s us and our Instagram feed, and our money, and the nah, nah, nah, and it’s making us more disconnected and more angry, and I think ultimately, deep down inside, look at the people that you admire, then they actually are doing something that gives back to the collective, which isn’t ego-based,
1:10:22 So I’m not saying I’m there, I try every day, I fail every day, but I think that’s where the meaning comes from, that John was talking about in the Hare Krishna temple, what is the meaning of life? For me, it is service to others, and I don’t know why, and I got another few ceremonies over the next few years, maybe I’ll figure it out, but it makes sense to me, and that’s what we’re trying to do here at London Real, and just because it feels good, and it seems right, so that’s my answer. I do want to just comment on that last thing that John said, in that I don’t know if John will ever change, and I also don’t know if I could ever understand that kind of trauma that he went through, and in one sense, it was a little insensitive for me to ask him that question, because I wasn’t really empathizing with what he was going through, and in the other sense, I have to honestly respect what he says about that, and maybe in 10 years’ time, he’ll have a different answer, and maybe he just won’t, and it’s funny, we do test screenings for these movies, right?
1:11:28 We have like 30 people at London Real, and we play this, and that comment at the end got the most debate, and half the audience said, he’s goddamn right, and then half the audience said, what’s wrong with him? I thought he was a Hare Krishna devotee, so I think this is something that divides us all, and it makes us human, and I think it’s a good thing, so I’m going to finish on that, and finish this outside. It was a good question, actually. It was a good question.
1:11:50 It’s a long one. Yeah, it’s a long one. If you have anything else, otherwise… Man, no, that’s amazing. Okay.
1:11:55 Timothy, thank you for being here. Thank you, Brian, for doing what you do, and for inspiring so many people that are here. Thank you, man. I love you. I just want to thank you all for coming.
1:12:07 For us, I also, again, want to thank the team at London Real that wants to make all this stuff happen. They’re the ones that get the guests in to make everything happen, so to all of you, and I want to thank Nick for this painting. I still don’t know what to say about it, and again, I’ll be outside if anyone wants to take any pictures, but thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate it. All right?
1:12:25 So, I’ve just seen eye in mind. I think Brian Rose is a phenomenal story just to watch his growth from being the guy showing other people, and he’s just absorbed so much sort of ideologies and inspiration for people around him, but also got completely his own philosophies, and then he’s applying it to see him apply it to life now. The Iron Man movie was so much more than the series, and seeing it big screen was just amazing. I mean, I almost cried like three or four times in the middle.
1:13:13 It was awesome. I know Brian produces amazing work. I’ve seen his work. I’ve seen lots of his interviews on London Real, but, you know, so I came here expecting that this film was going to be good, but I was quite literally just amazed by this film. It hit me in ways I didn’t expect on a very, very emotional level.
1:13:45 The movie itself, it connected really nicely with the painting because, like, what was happening inside and all this journey who was, like, he was becoming, you know, a hero. That was just amazing to see the whole process and the journey. I had tears in my eyes for at least half of the film, like, at multiple points. He’s watching this human journey of Brian describing his past, describing his past struggles, overcoming his past struggles, and then going through this journey of overcoming all of that to achieve this objective that he had, that John had set out for him.
1:14:32 Things like an Iron Man, which is a physical endurance challenge, are deeply rooted in a DNA to do something to us. When we push ourselves for hours using the physical body, the one vehicle we’re given to traverse the world, it does something. It’s hypnotic, it’s meditation, and it’s also working at a high rate and strengthening our heart, and there’s something in that that transcends just working out or just going for a run. There’s something that passes over into our everyday life, so it was beautiful to me to see someone like Brian who’s come from a history of more intense, short interval training to fall in love with something that I fell in love with as well in a similar fashion where I thought it was always boring and then actually the things like that on the other side of it are where we’re rewarded and to see him tell the story of his history of addiction and then to even have the self-awareness to challenge himself, is this just a new addiction?
1:15:24 Is this Iron Man just a new addiction? And who knows what the truth is? Is it good? Is it bad? These are great questions.
1:15:31 I love that he’s posing to a big audience right now. There is also an element of humor. There is a lot of humor in the film with John. He’s quite the personality. It was quite funny. I found myself laughing at times and really feeling that when you watch a movie and you just see people faking it in the movie acting with this real human emotion, you had to trigger something.
1:15:59 But in Iron Man, I felt like it was real people and real emotion that was triggering a real emotion in me. And I just found that it opened up a lot of questions about myself and my own life. He’s so severely honest and he touches these deep feelings and problems that people have and also these stigmas. And people are like, no, you shouldn’t talk about your problems. It’s like, shut up. Just go back and do your work.
1:16:38 But when he went and explained and expressed these secrets, I think he gave the opportunity to people that they can be more free in expressing their secrets and their problems. We’re all going through these same challenges, you know? We all have these traumas that have hit us in the past. We all struggle with the pressures of society. We all have to overcome our own demons.
1:17:10 And there’s always two ways to go, you know? Do you succumb to your demons or do you beat the shit out of them and triumph over them? Our demons from our past is what builders have made us who we are today. And I think there’s such a great message of that in this movie. It’s so inspiring and big up to Brian for doing this.
1:17:29 So yeah, it’s a perfect movie to watch. So go watch it now if you didn’t watch it. Thanks for watching.
