Martyn Ford - Never Give Up

Full transcript: Martyn Ford on London Real

5:03 This is London Real, I am Brian Rose. My guest today is Martyn Ford the actor fitness influencer and business owner at six foot eight inches tall and over 370 pounds You’re often known by your nickname of the nightmare This unique look has landed you roles in big movies such as Kingsman the Golden Circle Robin Hood and final score with piers bras and in Dave Batista you recently signed to the MMA organization Ksw and are preparing for your debut fight Martyn. Welcome to London. Thank you very much Awesome having you here I must say that we get a lot of people coming in here and sitting in that chair But most of the people here have been a little giddy like schoolgirls today And I’m wondering like do you get that reaction a lot from people that are just kind of excited to see you not that I noticed I Think Do you know what I was having this conversation the other day with a close friend of mine Who’s been through the whole process with me?

5:57 Like since I started doing the acting and so on and I used to get a lot of people look at me anyway because the way I look and They had no idea what I did or who I was and so on and now it’s kind of difficult to know if people look at me because of How I look or what I’ve been in or what I’m doing or where I’m at and it’s It’s still very strange and fresh for me Coming up from just being a normal person into this sort of media limelight So here it’s difficult to try and read people’s reactions sometimes I tend to just look at the floor, okay But it doesn’t get old when people kind of look up to you or excited that you’re there. Oh, it’s awesome Okay, I always remember taking a great piece of advice off a good friend of mine who? He was a fitness influencer and he recently passed away actually I reached piano and he said to me He said you got to remember every single person that you see Who comes up to a show or comes up to a gym or on the street?

6:58 He says you’ve got to greet them as if it’s the first person you’ve seen that day because they’re paying your wage. That person there potentially could be worth three, four, five thousand dollars over the lifespan. They’re your fan, they’re following you, they’re gonna purchase your products, you’ve got to greet them like it’s the first person you’ve ever seen and that stuck with me. Ever since he told me I was like that’s such a good way to think about it because we all have off days, you all have bad days and people come to you and say hello and It could change that person’s opinion of you then and you have you know, so it’s it’s been said so many times You make a good impression someone might tell three or four people you make a bad impression I’ll tell every single person they know and that’s how I’ve tried to Approach that situation where people come to me. I genuinely do Enjoy meeting people anyway, so it helps it definitely helps Yeah, and for everyone that comes up to you probably ten are thinking about it Yeah, and it’s scared.

7:59 Yeah, exactly. It’s scared. And they’re feeling your vibe and feeling your energy. And if you’re having a bad day, they’re going to feel it. And also, I remember Ice-T, one of the old hip-hop old-school guys, said…

8:09 I know, I was with him. Oh, you were with him, yeah. Yeah, he did a concert in London about four months ago in Ernie, one of the drummers. He plays drum and bass. I know him quite well.

8:20 And I went to the concert to watch him. He’s a very cool guy. I’m a huge fan. And he, I remember, posted a picture with a fan years ago, and he said, I make fans the old-fashioned way, one at a time. And it was just a nice old-school lesson, just saying, you know what, one at a time.

8:35 He remembers when he was just coming up and he had nothing, and you gotta spend time. He still does that now, because we were on his tour bus, and he finished the show, went onto the tour bus, we were there for about half an hour, and then he went back out, and he had a picture of every single fan who was outside. Wow. He’s what, 60, he’s gotta be 60, 65 now. Yeah, yeah.

8:55 So yeah. Yeah, I think Joe Rogan does the same thing. He’ll stay out till three in the morning and take a picture with anybody who wants after his show. Crazy, isn’t it? Yeah, but you know, that’s the attitude.

9:05 Yeah, 100%. Walk me back four years ago to Martyn’s life then, and tell me what was going through your head, because this is kind of before the movies, before the Instagram following, before all these things happening. There was still stuff going on, but what were you like then? And were you kind of ready for what was gonna come next? I wouldn’t say I’ve changed really as a person.

9:30 I was really, I was extremely hungry. And I always felt like there was something I should be doing that I wasn’t doing. So when I was young, young, I was, I always felt I was gonna be a professional cricket player and I had that energy and that urge and that sense of failure that I never got there. So I was always trying to make up for that. if that made sense.

9:51 So when I was training, I never had a goal, but I knew I had to train cause there was something I should be doing. It was such an ex, it’s like a weird ex, like, it’s a hard thing to try and explain. I just knew there was something around the corner. Okay, but it was always physical. Yeah, it was always physical, like, it was never, I tried to go back to uni and do marketing and stuff like that.

10:17 I just couldn’t, I couldn’t get the love for being in that classroom and office-based. It was always something physical I had to do. So I used to do bodyguard work, I used to do personal protection. I ended GMID personal training. I loved the fitness side, I was a sports coach.

10:34 But it was never enough, there was always something else. And I just remember thinking, I should get into the film business. And that was it. And that was it. That was it, yeah.

10:45 And that dream and goal started, like four or five years ago? Four years ago. Okay. Four years ago, so the way that started was a good friend of mine’s an actor, probably one of the best martial arts actors going at the moment, Scott Adkins. He’s been in Expendables, what we were talking about.

11:01 Yeah. Just earlier on. He was in that, he’s done a lot of his own films. And he phoned me up, I remember it clear as day. I was at the opticians, and I was sat there, just in a chair like this, So my phone went and it was Scott and I was like, it’s weird, Scott never, never phones me.

11:20 So I’ve picked it up and says, I’ve got an audition for you, it’s for James Bond. You know what I’m about? He says, you know you wanted to get into films, I’ve got you an audition. So I don’t wanna do that. So anyway, I went down to London the next day.

11:36 I got all these lines off the, his agent sent me all the lines through, I couldn’t remember a thing. It was so hard because I’d never done it before And I went there, sat in this room, massive, massive place it was in London. Probably one of the most intimidating auditions I’ve ever been to, and it was my first one. I remember walking in, and there was about four or five people, very similar set up this, four or five people, right, I’m gonna read my line, so I want you to respond.

12:03 I said, all right, no problem. I couldn’t remember it, I couldn’t even remember the first word. And the woman just looked at me, and she was like, look, I think you’ve got potential, that’s the way you look and so on, but you need to learn how to act. Go back, go somewhere, go to college, go to this, go this, learn how to act. And I think there might be potential for you to do some stuff.

12:24 So I was like, all right, fine, so we’ll do that. So that was my first taste. And then I was so fortunate because the agent who’s Scott’s working under Joe actually signed me up there and then. And he got me an audition three weeks later. So I had three weeks practice, which isn’t enough.

12:41 And I landed the role and I was out to South Africa within a day, went for the audition, got it, I was on the plane the next day with Ray Winston. I was so bizarre and from that day, it’s just literally not stopped, just not stopped working, whether it’s the fitness industry, whether it’s films, events or so on, it just keeps coming bigger and better each time. Arnold Schwarzenegger I think said when he started getting into acting that he was shocked that he had to get in touch with kind of a feminine side or an emotional side that he wasn’t used to.

13:14 I think he was used to shutting that down. Yeah, yeah. Has that been what you found acting like or how do you get to somewhere, even if it’s a neutral space? Yeah, I think I learned so much on the job and I think for me, although it wouldn’t be an ideal way to get into acting, it was so useful because I was learning off of these amazing actors, absolute phenomenal actors. I worked with Taron Egerton in Kingsman, I worked with Ray Winston.

13:42 And just speaking to these guys and listening to how they get into that zone, it was so easy to understand. I think when you get professionals of that level explaining it to you in layman’s terms, because they understand it properly, they can really explain it to you. I think sometimes when you half understand something, you try and make it more complicated for someone else because you don’t really know what you’re talking about. But because they really understood it, they explained it, and I was like, yeah, that’s so, so easy, and so simple.

14:13 And I’ve just, like the last four years, I really have evolved, and I was so bad. So bad, I wish anyone would be, you know, when you’re first going to try and do something, especially like acting, when you’re coming from a background like mine, where it was very much like that, just shut down. I was a bodyguard, you know what I mean? I wasn’t supposed to be talking to people, just look horrible and try not to talk to people really, so to try and learn how to relax and control the situation in an acting sense and to feel comfortable, to feel confident and also you’ve got to remember when you’re trying to learn lines and so on, just having the confidence to allow yourself to make mistakes and allow yourself to be vulnerable.

15:00 That was the hardest part for me to allow myself to be vulnerable and to really accept that it doesn’t matter how big or how strong I am, that’s not going to help me in this situation. And that was my safety point. So I definitely jumped out of my safety zone there. Interesting point because that always saves you in the past. 100%.

15:21 But on the screen it can’t. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter at all. Especially on the close up. Yeah, you’re not going to see it anyway.

15:27 And that’s what I really enjoy about acting. I can see myself evolving, especially doing stuff like self-tapes and auditions because like you said, it’s a close-up. The director doesn’t want to see you act from 25 foot away, he wants to see this. And then when I get roles because of this, I’m like, I’m learning, I’m coming forward and like I said, I’ve got three films literally in the pipeline now and I’m just waiting for the start dates. So for me to have that opportunity to actually play bigger roles, bigger characters, a lot more dialogue, it shows that I’m evolving through the stages which is exactly what I want to do.

16:10 What did you learn from Ray Winston? I mean he’s such an OG but… He was just so cool. He was my first down set, I was so nervous. We were in South Africa and we were in Stellenbosch, massive, massive set that was probably two, three thousand people on set.

16:28 So you can imagine as a newbie, first day rolling up to set, and I just looked, I saw all these extras, and I saw the car, and it was so intimidating. It was a Disney production as well, so the money was ridiculous. And I had my trailer, and I saw, he had my character’s name on the trailer. And I played Goliath, it was the story of David and Goliath, and Ray played King Saul, And I saw King Saul was next to me and I was like, that’s Ray Winston, I hadn’t met him yet.

16:59 I was like, I really wanted to meet him. And he literally hung out the trailer and oh, big man. Yeah, he had ACDC blasting away or something. And he was just so normal and so relaxed and he was just telling me how he came up from nowhere. He wasn’t a trained actor and so on.

17:16 It was telling me like how he did it and it was just so like reassuring for me. And it was very, almost like comforting in a strange sense.

17:30 And I think that’s why actors like that are so good. Because they can give the younger guys, the new guys coming through, they can sort of just put their arm around them and you can feel like you should be there, rather than feel like an outsider. Yeah, yeah. And about when he’s on screen as well, it’s probably a different level of the way he acts. Because on movies, you can’t overact, right?

17:54 That’s a big mistake people make. Yeah, 100%, especially on movies that are not actionable. Comedies are action. Sometimes overacting can help-ish, depending on, like, Will Farrah, for instance, he can, I wouldn’t say he overacts, but he’s so extrovert and extra. But it works.

18:16 Whereas if you’re doing dramas, which we were, It’s such a fine line between acting and overacting and so on and less is more, which is the hardest thing to understand when you have no idea what the director’s talking about. Less is more, okay, what does that mean? But you sort of just get used to it and you just absorb the energy in the atmosphere and and try and get into that sort of level. And it helps when you’re with really good actors because Sam’s like the conversation we’re having now will keep the same tone.

18:54 If you go louder, I’ll go louder and so on and so on. And when you’re on set, you tend to feel the energy from the other person. So the better the actor opposite you, the better your performance or complete opposite and the more he makes you look like an idiot because he’s so good. But I just, I think it’s just a process. Yeah, I think with acting you really do rely on that partner.

19:19 And I’ve heard a whole lot of horror stories where a seasoned actor will kind of just like mess with a newbie on the scene. Yeah, yeah. And then the director will be like, what did you do? You just ruined him. And it’s like, wow, it can get kind of, it’s a very vulnerable space.

19:32 Yeah, I know a very famous actor who made another very famous actor walk off and he refused to come back to set exactly for that reason, changed the whole script. When I heard the stories, I was like, I don’t want to work with him. But he, because he was directing at the same time, and he basically came on and changed all the lines. So the other, the actress was like, what’s going on? And kept filming.

20:01 And he basically wanted a reaction from her, an angry reaction. So he changed it all and made it look stupid in front of everyone. And he got it, but then the problem was, it was so real, she didn’t come back. Yeah. Gosh.

20:13 And what’s the movie business really like? Like, what would we, what could you tell us of what it’s really like? Or even aspiring actors, like what should they know before they go down this route? Because all we see is the finished product and the premiere in Leicester Square. Yeah, yeah, them parts are really good.

20:29 The reality of being an actor is that you’re unemployed 99% of the time. It can be very lonely in a sense that you’ll work in the most amazing places. I’ve been to so many phenomenal places to film and I’ve been on my own three, four, five, six weeks. You know, you go over and you think you’re going to be with everyone. You’re not because you’re not needed.

20:55 You can be in a hotel room where you can be in your trailer and you just left until it’s time to come and do something. So it can be very lonely, it can be very long. With that being said, it’s also phenomenal. If you have to sit in the trailer for 10 hours to get one hour on set, that one hour makes it for you forget about the 10 hours. I’d imagine it’s like childbirth, to be honest.

21:17 You go from all that pain, the end of it, you forget about the pain. It’s very, it is long days. It is hard, it is challenging, but it’s also extremely rewarding. And I think every single actor would tell you that. I think every single actor will say It’s nowhere near as glamorous as what you think.

21:38 It’s a job. You turn up to work, you go home, but it’s just a really cool job. And I think that’s the thing that really stuck out for me was that as an outsider, you think this acting career is sort of glamorous and really just different, like crazy different. And it’s not really, it’s just like normal work. It really is like going to a normal job.

22:06 You’re just doing something slightly different and you get to experience really extreme places, whether it’s sets that have been built or whether it’s on location, like phenomenal places. You get to, it’s more a visual thing than anything, but it is just work. What’s your dream role? What would you like to be? Just action, just bad ass action.

22:33 I like I like the whole like your expendables type that type of film I just like the energy of a film I love the energy of film I’ve done I’ve done quite a few of them you know I’ve been very fortunate the films I’ve done already but I just love that sort of the energy and the fight scenes the cars the just that vibe it really works for me also comedy I love comedy I’d love I did a comedy which is about to be released called Kill Ben Lick and we shot that in France and we were in France for five six weeks shooting that and that was a phenomenal film absolutely phenomenal low-budget and it cost just over 2 mil to make I think it was but the outcome they’ve got from that’s phenomenal and it’s about it’s won so many awards and it’s about to be released now so I can’t wait for that to come on set it was probably my one of my favorite films to shoot. How do you do comedy? Bad. With my look, you can go one of two ways.

23:45 You can go over the top trying to be bad or you can just be completely the opposite from what you’re going to expect. I haven’t had the complete opposite yet to play. I’d love to play that role, just something they wouldn’t expect. I think for me as a person, it will judge you very quickly on the way you look. I’m used to that, it’s no problem at all.

24:05 I’ve done it to myself, I’ve covered myself in tattoos, I’ve shared my head and I’ve got to £360 what you expect. I don’t get judged, but I’m a big enough individual to understand it, accept it and filter it and move forward. I’d like that opportunity to put myself across in a comedic role because that’s, I’m quite a funny person. Quite a what person? Funny person.

24:32 Funny person. Yeah, you’re pretty funny. I think I am. Anyone else thinks I’m stupid. I do enjoy comedy.

24:37 I love watching comedy and that would be a role that I’d enjoy playing. Tell me about the tattoos. How long have you had them? Was this something you always wanted? Do you know what?

24:47 This is why I don’t do drugs because these tattoos, I was only supposed to get one. I got this sort of compulsive issue and this was the honest to God, right, the truth. I had a band on my wrist and the band was just like, no sorry it was here, it was a band of all my family’s initials and I had it and I was like that looks ridiculous because my arm was so big, I was like that, I was like we’ll have to make that a bit bigger. So from the time, I think it took about four months to have every single tattoo I’ve got So I went from non to these informants.

25:23 Wow. Yeah. What’s addictive about it? I don’t know. Pain?

25:28 No, I hated that part. I think, you know what I think it was? I think it was the ability to change yourself as an individual. And I just wanted to change. I was just bored of being normal.

25:41 And I was like, all right, what can I do to really polish yourself? You know, like, for instance, your suit, you got pink tie and you got your socks. Something slightly different. That’s the way I felt with my body. I was like, well, I just want to change it a bit.

25:58 So I put some tattoos on and then I’ll shave my head and then I’ll put some muscle on and I was happy then. Everyone else was completely bonkers, but I remember having this done. I used to train this couple, very wealthy couple, lovely, lovely woman. And I did it, and she’s proper old schooling. She went, you’ve ruined your life.

26:20 You’re never gonna work again. You’re never gonna miss. You’re never gonna… I went, I’ll be all right. I’ve got my own job.

26:25 I’ve got a gym, I’m doing this. I’ll be fine. I’ll get free. Four years later, I’m only more money than I ever have. Looking at that, exactly how she said, you’re gonna ruin your life.

26:35 And ironically, this is what made me. Going against the grain, changing everything that society says you should be, flipped around and made me successful. Because no shadow of a doubt, the reason I’m successful today is because I’m so different looking. If I still look the same as I did when I was 21, I’d still be working in the gym, being a personal trainer, no doubt about that. So by having the balls to step out the comfort zone and become different, it paid off.

27:11 I’m not saying that’s the best way to go about it, But for me, that gamble of trying to reinvent myself, trying to make myself unique, trying to create something very different paid off, massively. Is that what you encourage other people to do? No. That would be different then, wouldn’t I? But you think people should be unique.

27:33 I think people should be unique. I think people should have the balls to be who they want to be, 100%. I think that, you know, my, I think the biggest blessing I had was that I was stupid at school. Well, that sounds really odd, yeah? I’m a massive believer that I have so many friends who are so educated and get stuck in the system.

27:55 They’re comfortable earning $35,000, $40,000, $50,000 a year and then they get stuck and they can’t break out because they’ve got a mortgage, they’ve got a kid, they’ve got this, they’ve got that. I never had that. When I gambled, it wouldn’t have mattered if I lost. I was earning cash as a personal trainer and so on. I was doing bits and pieces of bodyguard work. It wouldn’t have changed. I gambled and it worked because I never had that comfort, that regular 35, 35 40 50,000 income that safety net and I think people get stuck being safe and It scares them to to gamble Whereas I never I was just I Will gamble And you knew you were always gonna win I was confident Yeah, I I’m always confident that I’m gonna win normally lose But I always, I don’t ever feel like I lose because I won’t give up.

29:06 Even if I lose, I’ll do it again. And I’ve always been like that. Where does that come from? My granddad, he was a terrible cheat as well. He was.

29:17 But it was, I think it was just like, look, you don’t ever lose, you do it again. And if you can’t win, you cheat till you win. Oh, yeah, that sounds good. It’s a good way to go. Schwarzenegger once said if you’re not cheating you’re not trying I think yeah just the like that stubbornness I never ever ever wanted to lose ever hate losing my daughter’s the same she went to parents evening and they said she’s brilliant the only thing is she doesn’t like to lose what you mean that’s the best thing so yeah but she doesn’t accept losing I was like good I don’t want her to accept losing I want her to want to win and if she doesn’t win be upset and go back and win because I think it’s we live in a world where it’s like oh it’s really nice to just compete and do something and no what’s the point if you’re not if you’re not trying to be the best at it don’t do it do some girls that you are and that’s always been my philosophy it’s like if I’m not gonna be the best at doing something I don’t want to do it because I don’t want to be second best. I’d rather pass that by. That’s why I’ll start and stop a lot of things. I’ll start, I’m not good at that, I’m going to do some girls. And I’ll find something I am good at and give it 100% because I think that’s why I always trained because I knew there was something I could do, I just wasn’t sure what it was. And I think having that, I was very lucky as well because the fitness industry spiked at the right time for me. I really

30:56 Caught the wave. 20 years earlier, you wouldn’t have worked. You wouldn’t have worked. 10 years in the future, I don’t think it would work. It just was perfect at the right time and I was very fortunate. But I think a lot of successful people are fortunate. You’ve just got to be in the right place at the right time and have the right mentality not to give in and just keep going and keep going and keep going.

31:20 And you feed off negative energy. Yeah, I love it. Talk about that. Oh, I love it. I don’t know why, I’m just weird.

31:28 If people put me down or people try and… It just gives me so much more motivation to… I just want to… I love it when people tell me I can’t or I won’t or I’m this or I’m that. Which happens a lot?

31:45 Not so much now, which is frustrating. You want it back. Yeah, I love it when people doubt me or put me down or are negative towards me. Because it just, it reminds me that you know what, you’re a very vulnerable person, you’re on your own, you’ve got to fight, you’ve got to fight otherwise you fall and it’s as simple as that. I just want to keep going up and up and up and it’s nothing about money at all, it’s just energy.

32:15 Feel I can’t even explain the sort of energy that goes through me when I’m successful at something and I feel like I’m winning it’s it’s the most amazing feeling in the world and he’s like being it’s like a drug I suppose and I think that’s that’s what the negative energy allows me to when I’m successful when someone’s been negative it allows me to win so if you put me down I prove you wrong of one and it’s just that feeling of satisfaction I love it and I think that’s why I’ll always respond to people like say why don’t you just ignore them I’m like I like winding them up so we need some more hate for you yeah yeah yeah just send it send it my way I’m happy yeah it’s like it’s all good fun needs and I think everyone has different energy systems and I do bounce I bounce really well off good off good people so my close circle every single person in my close circle is very successful at what they do. One of my best friends is Eddie Hall strongman we get on so well and we have so much in common and when I’m around him I feel like I’m really drive harder and want more and so I have a a lot of friends like that. I have actors like that. I have a real good friend, Marda, who’s best mates with Jason, who’s just an Aquaman. I spend quite a lot of time together.

33:48 When I’m speaking to Marda and so on, you get the right energy off people and it allows you to use their energy and push forwards. So I tend to use negative energy and positive energy. Have you always selected an inner circle group of people with positive energy? Yeah. you had to learn. I think it just happened naturally. I’m very cold as an individual. I cut people off like that. I just, if I don’t feel it, I’ve just gone.

34:22 So I think because of the way I, the sport I do as well, bodybuilding, it’s a very individual selfish sport. You don’t need anyone. So it allows you to pick and choose very carefully who you want and I think that sort of evolved in life as well. So I used to do bodyguard work, I used to do personal training and that was all individuals so you can pick and choose, pick and choose and I think just over the years I sort of realized that you are who you associate yourself with. If you’re with good people you become a good person, if you’re a bad people you become a bad person and there’s definitely a line I’d say around about five, six years ago where I could have gone one of two ways. I was in a bodybuilding gym training with, what’s a nice word for criminals, it’s bodybuilding gym, that’s what it is, MMA gyms, bodybuilding gyms, you get the mixture but you definitely get the grass roots individuals and I was good friends with lots and our common link was the training and there was definitely a stage where you could easily get talking to the wrong direction with the environment that I was in so I do think selection of friends is very important especially when you’re going through periods of your life when you are vulnerable and you can be influenced very easily especially in today’s society you know money’s hard to find and life’s difficult and everyone wants the next new car, the next big house, the next this, the next that.

36:07 And it’s not always easy to get. So it’s trying to find that moral compass and direction. Did you cut those guys off or choose to move to other circles? I kept to arm’s length. Okay.

36:24 So I would still, I’ll still be friends with them, but I wouldn’t, there’d be certain places I’d go. There’s a certain place I wouldn’t, But at the end of the day, it’s like, I’m so busy in my own circle now and my two girls are my immediate. And that’s where I spent my, literally my life now is gym, work, children. Right. And that’s it.

36:46 And they keep me busy. Probably saved me. Six years ago, I had my first daughter. So that was probably my reason to really focus on trying to make myself something that, One I could provide for him, two should be proud of. Yeah, it’s funny how kids save you like that.

37:03 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, she saved you the other way. My one’s nuts. Ha ha ha ha ha. You mentioned your grandfather earlier.

37:11 He was a big influence on your life. He was actually, yeah. It was hard when you lost him, right? What if you talk a little bit about that? Yeah, he was.

37:19 He was probably more so than he realized, to be honest, because we were very old fashioned. was it was very very quiet but he used to do any he used to take me here my grandpa grandfather my and my grandma used to take me to cricket training three four times a week that picked me up from school that did this fantastic grandparents probably not like they wouldn’t show how much they loved you but by how much they did you got it and then I think it was only when I lost him that I sort of realised how much he did for us. And then the space of about six, 12 months, I lost my granddad.

38:03 I basically, my crooked career ended and then there was like a relationship that ended as well. And it just hit me. I was young, I was like only 19, 20, everything sort of like just piled at once. And then from that, what then happened was I basically got an eating disorder, which for a 19, 20 year old kid to get an eating disorder who’s always been into fitness and sports was just weird. I just didn’t know what it was.

38:30 Very strange and still to this day I don’t really know what I had. I just, I couldn’t eat. I wanted to train and putting them two together was a really bad mix obviously being as big as I was. Training probably four, five hours a day trying to escape the issues that I had whether it was up here or I just couldn’t deal with what was going on at the time. So I went from a very healthy weight down to a really unhealthy weight. It was probably like one 2% body fat which was not good. I remember going to the shops from my mom and collapsing outside the shop and pretty much going straight to the doctors and sending me to a the shrink. I was probably a week away from being admitted into hospital. And that definitely stemmed from just not being able to deal with a few situations when I was younger.

39:29 Did you learn something from that? Yeah, I did. I learned that was a lot tougher than I realized. I was always quite soft as a kid in the sense that I was looked after. I had a great upbringing and parents were grandparents are great and so on and I was never, I was never left on my own to fend for myself so I didn’t really understand how to do it and I think as you hit late teens and you start like you’re turning into a mat and you haven’t really got them tools to deal with situations I think going through that sort of like if I can get through this I can get through anything because that was it was such a dark six months of my life I just used to sit on the sofa and couldn’t move, couldn’t eat, she had no energy at all, she wanted to die.

40:18 It was as crazy as it sounds, like 18, 19, bearing in mind six months before I had everything and then was just lost, boom, it was gone and I think because I put so much energy into the fitness, into cricket and the way my life was to lose it all, it felt like I’d put all my eggs into one basket and then all of a sudden that basket had disappeared and I was lost. I was a normal person again. I was a very good cricket player. I had great respect when I was 14, 15, 16 for that and I loved it. I felt great. I was a 15-year-old to be told you’re fantastic, you’re going to be playing for England, you’re going to do this, you’re going to do that, you’re the best at school, you’re the best here and you’re proud. You walk around, you feel great and all of a sudden you’re not going to play again, you know, you go to the seconds, do this, go do that. I loved the feeling of being successful, but I’m not successful at anything now. I didn’t do anything at school really when I was younger because I was always focused on cricket and so on. So it made me really understand the importance of having various goals and the importance of staying on track and just being, I don’t know, I suppose, how to handle pressures in life. You can’t always win. That was the hardest thing. Trying to find light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

41:52 It was difficult, and I’m stubborn, so I won’t listen to people. So I had to find that myself. And that made you who you are today? Yeah, yeah, 100%. Yeah, I won’t give up now.

42:05 No, I just, I know there’s always an answer. No matter how dark that place may be, there’s always a way out. You’ve just got to keep going. And I think that definitely taught me a lot from a young age. and just that don’t allow yourself a switch off button.

42:28 I think athletes, anyone that does sports at a good level has that. They have that ability to not quit. And that’s the key to success in life. Never giving up, in my opinion. Never giving up, no matter what it is you do, if you give up, you’re never gonna be successful.

42:50 I don’t think you’re ever successful at your first try. I’m sure the stuff you’ve done where you’ve failed, failed, failed, failed, and you just keep coming back, coming back, coming back, and all of a sudden, all of a sudden, all this worked. Anything in life, I think you’ve got to accept that you’re gonna have tough times, and it’s never gonna be simple, and having that inner ability to zone into that spot, into that place, is, I think it’s crucial. How’d you get into bodybuilding?

43:26 I needed an escapism. I really needed an escapism. I needed to find myself again. I needed to create something. I needed to feel good at something as well.

43:37 I knew I could drill, as in, all right, you’re gonna go and do 20 reps. You can do this, you can do that, you can do that. I can do that, do that all day long. I’d have been a great, I’d have been awesome in the army. You give me direction, I’ll follow it.

43:50 I would have been fantastic at that. And when I really sort of looked into bodybuilding and understood it, it was like, right, I can do this, I can change myself and I can create something that I can feel proud of again. And that’s why I got into bodybuilding. I just wanted to feel good. Not so much look, I felt corrupt because I was skinny, so obviously putting a bit of muscle on was good but I wanted to be successful at something again and it was a sport for me that I could do on my own, I didn’t have to rely on other people, I don’t like relying on other people, from experience you get let down.

44:30 So to have the ability to do it on your own was what really attracted me to the sport. And you were introduced to Dorian Yeats? Yeah. Young. Yeah.

44:40 My mom used to run the systems for one of his old supplement companies and she managed to introduce me to him. I went round to his house and spoke to him for probably an hour when I was 19, 20. And then he was great, he was really good, he spent time chatting to me, explained this is the basics, this, this is the basics, that, go away, do that, crack on. And just having that time alone with someone like that really inspired me early on. And I don’t even know if he remembers me going round to his house, because we’re friends now, and I was in India with him, and I’ve never really mentioned it.

45:20 I mean, this is going back 12, 13, maybe 14 years when I first met him. So he probably hasn’t got a clue. But he was definitely a big inspiration to me. Just his energy more than anything. From what I remember he wasn’t massively big then.

45:38 He was towards the end of his career and so on. So he was just more his energy and who he was and knowing his name and so on. And him spending time talking to me, that definitely gave me an extra kick at the backside. Yeah, just being around that energy sometimes can be a big thing, especially when you’re young man yeah and you know just being around people that are great you know greatness being around Ray Winston or I do in the eight’s it’s like I can you can carry you far I think what it does it allows you to believe that you can do the same because it’s so normal I think you you create an image of individuals from what you see or what you hear or what you read and then when you meet them and you realize you know what you’re just exactly the same as me I can do that and it gives you more self-belief that you can actually get there and I think that’s why the individuals like that are so important because they inspire people who don’t even realize it just by being normal yeah adoring has an incredible story I mean this kid in Birmingham going head-to-head against the guys in Muscle Beach in America and just beating them six years in a row and just his determination I mean the more I learn about Dorian they’re just the more I’m impressed yeah I think it’s that sort of inner city grit that you just don’t it doesn’t matter who you’re against you just refuse to give up and I think that’s what what where the true power lies the ability to switch off zoning

47:14 Having that ability is also occurs because sometimes you can switch off and forget other aspects. You can be very selfish and directional. It’s trying to find that balance that’s the hard part. Is that something you have to balance? Not so much at the moment.

47:34 It helps with the family, right? Yeah. My kids really allow me to sort of… I miss my kids like crazy when I’m away. So I think that allows me to have that balance that I’ll, like I could, I could be away every single week if I wanted to.

47:51 I’ve turned down trips so far to like Bali, Thailand, India, the last three weeks I should be away because I don’t, it’s not necessary for me at the moment, whereas the only reason I stay is because of them. So it’s trying to find that balance between being selfish and giving them enough time which keeps me centered a bit more. Why not become a professional bodybuilder? Why not become Mr. Olympia?

48:17 Oh man, I haven’t got the genetics. I was having this conversation in India. I mean, I could be big. I could be a lot bigger than this if I wanted to.

48:32 I love the idea of the lifestyle. I love that craziness about it. I love the consistent focus. and the consistent need to tick boxes. I like that.

48:49 I like having to satisfy points and feeling like I’ve been successful. But to be that level of a bodybuilder is, you’ve got to, one, you’ve got to have the right genetics. I don’t care what anyone says, you’ve got to have the right genetic makeup. And any bodybuilder would tell you, you can look good. Like anyone could look good.

49:11 But to look phenomenal, You’ve got to have that in you. And it’s not just being big. Oh, it’s balance. It’s muscle balance. Yeah, it’s about, there’s so many different aspects to it.

49:24 It’s great. I love the sport. I’d never try and be good at it though. You tried like a five week period where you- Yeah, I did. I did like a five, six week diet.

49:34 Oh, fucking that was plenty. It was so hard. I think for me, do you know what it is? I love the gym and I love feeling good in the gym. I’ll work hard.

49:45 The problem is, when you start reducing the calories, you’re actually going backwards. And for me, it was like, I’m not enjoying this. I feel like I’m getting smaller and weaker. And the whole point in the gym for me, it’s become bigger and stronger. And it was a real mental battle.

50:02 But I looked all right when I dieted, but I still was nowhere near that level. Now, nowhere near. have to train for 40 years properly and I’m not prepared to put my body under the risk, as simple as that. There’s protocols that they have to go through to get to that level. Everyone understands it and I’m just not prepared to go that far, to go and be second, so I wouldn’t win. So if I could win I probably would. If I was 21-22 again and I had the opportunity to do it and had the right genetics. I’d probably go for it but I’m a lot wiser and older now and I understand I’m not going to benefit from it. It would probably be a backwards step to be honest with me now to try and do that. I definitely wouldn’t win.

50:58 We had Flex Wheeler on here and if you look at his old stuff it’s just like the genetics on him which is phenomenal and he’s like you worked so hard and he’s like I actually Didn’t Brian he’s like everybody knew I could have worked harder and probably could have won it and you look at I mean Just look at some of those old videos. It’s just blows your mind. It’s phenomenal. It’s doing genetics. Genetics are a wonderful thing and it’s like guys who are surgeons lawyers They’re born clever Okay, they go through the process, but they have the ability to absorb and to implement Not everyone does, Sam is bodybuilding, Sam is any sport.

51:39 The reason these people are so good and so successful is because their body is designed for it. It’s the way the body is made and do you know what I mean? They’ve got that massive advantage. They’ve still got to have the heart and the determination and the focus. But like you said, Flex didn’t train that hard and still look phenomenal.

52:00 You could train your arse off 20 hours a day and not look anywhere near as good as him because you haven’t got the right genetics. So it’s one of them. You’ve got to have that special ability to start with. And what about Strongman? I mean, you train with Eddie.

52:16 Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you see when you see Eddie and you see that he has another set of characteristics that make him the best at what he does? Yeah, he does. He has almost like an animal instinct but you’re sort of, you go through this meditation breathing which I just find really boring. I don’t even know if he knows he does it.

52:36 He’ll sit there before a set. Oh, come on, come on, I’m trying to gee him up and he’s like, what are you doing? And he’ll complete his own out. Interesting. Yeah, he gets himself into a real deep mind space.

52:51 I remember when he did the Deadlifts and he broke the world record and he was talking about how he went into such a horrible place in his head to get there. And I’m like, yeah, I can imagine you did, because he’s also, he’s another guy who, he’s got so much up here that probably doesn’t come out. He’s very, he’s a very intelligent guide. He’s just nuts at the same time. I love him to bits, I think he’s brilliant.

53:24 But I think when you’re the best of the best, have to have something slightly different about you. He’s definitely got that. He can get into a place which not many people can get into. And to have that, I remember him telling me once that he was down in his calories, so he had to bollard, to pop his calories. I’m like, how can you even do that? He’s just crazy stuff like that where he would food, he’d be on like 8,000, 10,000 calories a day and having the ability to stick to that 8,000, 10,000, 12,000 calories, that’s a lot of food and to be doing that consistently and putting your body under that consistent strain and so on, that’s why he’s who he is because he’s pushed himself to that level and he’s took them risks to put his body in so much pressure. But he’s rewarded his world’s best and now he’s stepped back because he understands what we were talking about earlier. You can only push your body for so long, so hard, and to be the best of the best is a crazy achievement.

54:41 Do you think it takes some darkness to be the best of the best? Yeah, I do. Eddie speaks openly about his mental health and how he suffered with things and so on. And I think a lot of people who can find that dark place, can find the energy that no one else can. I was saying to you earlier that when I’m successful, I struggle to push myself. Then when I start failing, I find the energy like that. And I can snap like that whereas when I’m happy I can’t snap. I need to snap. I need to be that horrible bastard to go hard. I think a lot of people that can, a lot of people can relate to that.

55:33 The need to, it’s almost not borderline. I know I had mental health issues when I was younger with the eating disorders and so on and I could, I haven’t never slipped back into it, but I do know I could quite easily slip into something like that if I wasn’t careful. And I don’t know if that’s because you always put so much pressure on yourself or whatever it is, but I think there’s always something slightly unbalanced about successful sports people, probably. Look at a lot of them, you know, Gascoigne. You know, there’s so many of the top guys have had issues, and it’s only when you really go deep into and you understand the psychology behind it all, it makes sense and it’s sad really but it’s also what makes them great.

56:20 Yeah, it’s about finding some way to transition. That’s like the hardest part, isn’t it? Yeah, the transition part from having that energy when you’re phenomenal to being normal again, you’ve got to try and have a swing to put that energy into. You know, it’s interesting, Tyson Fury has been talking about his mental health issues and it’s just again incredible to see like this transformation and when his when his mind’s not right he goes just to a dark place where he wants to drive his Lamborghini into a wall yeah and then when he’s on point it can be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in the world and it’s just tapping into that in the right way yeah they can make or break it yeah it’s insane I mean you just look at the physical difference between him he’s two completely different people and I follow him on social I think it’s fascinating I have a lot of respect for him I think he’s great I think he’s done so well the last 180 months because he was hated it’s absolutely hated because people didn’t understand yeah people didn’t understand him they just thought he was arrogant and he was it was now you look back it was clearly a mask he was wearing when it was cocky and arrogant and so on, and I think the last 12 to 18 months, I think he has come out so well from what he’s done, not only in the ring, but as an individual and as an ambassador for mental health, like he’s turned it on his head, and he’s made it something that people

57:47 Can speak about openly, and not to be ashamed of. He’s done phenomenal. So powerful, we need these conversations for men, especially for alpha men, like he’s, It’s nice to hear from you guys when you’re talking about this. Yeah, I think we’re probably the worst ones for it because we put ourselves under so much pressure and it’s like a car, you can only rev that car seven, 8,000 revs before it pops and we pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure and especially in today’s society, everyone’s expected to be this, that look a certain way, be a certain way, have a certain car, have a certain lifestyle And as an alpha man, if you can’t provide that, you start questioning yourself, well What’s the point? What am I doing? What am I doing wrong? Well, how can I change and I think that’s the the hardest part is really trying to Apply that energy positively and to keep yourself Going upwards rather than falling There’s a writer named Jeff Thompson. He’s from Coventry. He’s been, you know, wrote some BAFTA winning Movies, I think he actually Ray Winston was in one of them and he used to be a doorman and he just said You know a lot of those tough guys are it’s all fear underneath, you know Yeah, and people don’t realize it because they have to project that strength, but they’re dealing with all sorts of things underneath 100% I know a good friend of mine who was a phenomenal whilst it is a phenomenal fighter and he’s he had a breakdown the last two years and

59:20 And I had him around my house and he was, I mean, we talk in UK’s best heavyweight fire, animal, absolute animal. He was crying on the couch talking to him, I was like, what’s wrong with you? Oh, I can’t, I can’t, family this, family that, and he was just like a little kid, he was like a five-year-old. The dangerous part of that is when he snaps. He snaps, but it’s that vulnerability of that.

59:50 Of these people, do you know what I mean? I think they deal, the hardest part is to try and allow them to deal with their problems here rather than here. And I think a lot of people, Mike Tyson, best fighter in the world, completely nuts. Now he seems like he’s a lot more stabilised, but it’s that upbringing that made him who he was, it’s that natural rawness that made him phenomenal. And it’s that output, it’s how you use, I suppose, like we were talking about, the energy sources.

1:00:29 It’s how you can implement your energy source and allow it to benefit you. Yeah, the problem is when we see these tough guys and these big strong guys, they’re never even given the chance to be emotional and vulnerable. So it’s like they can never really let their guard down because everyone just assumes that they’re the tough guy. So they probably hold it, bottle it up more than everyone else. Yeah.

1:00:53 Definitely. 100% bottle it all up and that’s when they’ll either escape with drugs, drink or just lose the plot completely and just go off the barrel. I think the difference between seeing a tough guy and seeing someone who’s in control of their emotions is two completely different people. He also actually just presumes because he’s big and strong, or he can fight, that he’s in control of his emotions. It’s too completely opposite.

1:01:24 You know what I mean? It’s irrelevant how strong or how big he is to how well he holds his emotions. And the reality is the smaller guy probably controls his emotions a lot better because he’s in control of his levels. Do you know what I mean? Like he’s guys who are massively into fights in a way weight training or so on, the testosterone levels are through the roof, they’re aggressive.

1:01:51 To go from being like this animal to normal again to control your emotions is like a seesaw whereas if you’re just normally quite, you know, it’s what then determines alpha. Is it the physical or is it the mental? Because if it’s the mental then 90% of your physical Alphas probably aren’t really alpha. Yeah. Yeah. I think it is the mental. Yeah, if you look at the leaders They’re the ones that can lead hundred percent and form coalitions. Yeah, everything under control. They’re clever ones. Yeah Yeah, so it spins on its head early. Yeah You mentioned rich piano earlier. I was wondering if you tell me about your relationship with him I know you you know, I saw a video from you four years ago You guys were hanging out lifting together. You did some business together and obviously we lost him I was wondering if you could just tell me how you feel about all that, what was he like?

1:02:45 Rich was probably one of the most misunderstood individuals I’ve ever come across. He was so like warm and welcoming and generous and I think a lot of people thought that a lot of what he did was for social media so they didn’t really believe in what he did for the people. I’ve never come across a man more genuine than Rich and that was, he’s helped me a lot, he’s helped me a hell of a lot and still does to this day to be honest. I mean he was a very influential individual, whether it was influential for all the right reasons people would argue, he was very outspoken, he was the first really to come out and almost open the door and the floodgates on the industry and just how much drugs used in it and so on and he really sort of made a lot of enemies by doing that.

1:03:45 He was really open about testosterone and growth hormone and all of that. Every single drug on the market he came out and explained it and he was the first really to come out and say, I don’t care what you think about me, this is the truth, this is what’s going on and that’s what it is. This is what it is. This is the industry. He could have damaged it massively. I think he helped it. He opened up the light and made it a lot more true to people that didn’t really understand it. To this day, I’m older now.

1:04:24 I’m past that stage where I’m gullible to it all, but I think there still needs to more I think we are there is a massive issue worldwide of young kids taking drugs performance enhancing drugs that don’t know what they’re doing and they’re destroying themselves now what really annoys me is that as influences and so on we put across how we look put across this put across that it it should be down to someone of a higher level that can really advise these kids properly because they’re gonna do it regardless. You know what kids are like. You know, where it’s drinking, smoking, drugs, whatever it is, they’re gonna do it.

1:05:15 But the problem is it’s so hushed up. We portray, in the media line, like we portray this perfect image which isn’t achievable natural, it’s not achievable. And the same people that are pushing that image out are the same people that are saying, oh, they don’t use drugs, they don’t use this, and she’s protein and creatine and so on. And it’s so dangerous on the youngsters that follow the sport because they’re getting advice from people who don’t really know what they’re doing, they’re, it’s just tarnishing the sport in my eyes.

1:05:50 And I’m not one to speak and give advice. I don’t have a clue. I’m talking about proper doctors and so on. If you’re gonna push to look a certain way as a sport, then you’ve got to accept that there’s, whether it’s illegal or not legal, that there’s guidelines that should be in place for these kids. Because you just, I know so many kids who are destroying themselves using way too much gear or crazy mixes, not sure how to do PCT, because you’re gonna want, as an individual, you’re always gonna wanna be the best.

1:06:35 And if you know to be the best, you’ve got to go down that route, you’re gonna take risks. And as a society, even with models, that’s changed the last 10 years. The cover model, she’s gone from being on her exit to a normal looking girl. Zachary Sam of the fitness industry, I think you need to really push the normal healthy looking person or open the floodgates and really push the proper advice out there for the kids to keep them safe because it’s just too, there’s too much pressure on young kids at the moment to look a certain way.

1:07:09 It’s a mixed message. They show these bodies but they don’t say that they’re not explaining properly and most of those bodies are built on some type of steroid. I really struggled to believe now that there’s not many sports people out there that aren’t using performance enhancing drugs. I genuinely do. When you look at the physiques, you look at the records, and there’s only so much evolution food can give.

1:07:36 All right, and I’m not here to argue the point of whether drugs are right or wrong. It’s not down to me at all. I’m here to argue the point that you should be keeping people safe, and that’s my one gripe with the fitness industry, is that I think there’s so much pressure on individuals to be a certain way, to look a certain way, and it’s so hushed up. It really is hushed up. Even in sports, I don’t believe 60% of the athletes are clean, whether it’s blood doping or a form of steroids.

1:08:15 Steroids you don’t have to look at the fighters look at the way the bodies have changed you know in the UFC I won’t say any names because they’ll get all funny with me but you have to put the pictures of them five years ago to now now the UFC have bought the drug test in the completely different physics but they were natural before of course you were. Do you think that testing is effective in the UFC or do you still think you have the right doctor you can get around it? I don’t know. I don’t know. I think it probably is effective because a lot of them are getting caught.

1:08:51 But then, is it effective to the right people? Possibly. What about other sports? Football? Everything? Cricket?

1:09:04 This is my biggest issue, right? As a sports person, you will do whatever it takes to be the best. you you will sacrifice your life you’ve come second okay tear that tablet you’ll be first oh no no no I’m not gonna do that they will do anything to be the best and they get caught eventually as the you know as science evolves more people are getting caught from five ten years ago and getting stuff taken off them. You look at the great Stinfakrista, he was shredded. Shredded. Genetics to a part, but when you look back, you think, oh, yeah, even some of the boxes, they’re coming in 18, 19 stone. I did MMA training. I know how hard that is, and I dropped weight like that.

1:09:59 I’m like, how can you hold that size? Some come with genetics. Could be amazing nutritionists, but I hold my doubt. Do you think we should allow it in sports? Somebody told me that 50 years from now there’s going to be an MMA ring and the whole crowd are going to be juiced up and the only two guys are going to be the ones in the ring.

1:10:28 I think if they can make it safe and I personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing it legal because I think it would make it safer. I think with it being illegal, it creates a black market. And I think with the black market, I think you create a lot of issues for individuals. I don’t think they’ll make it legal. I don’t think they’ll make performance in hunting drugs legal.

1:10:59 But I think they’ll probably end up in 15, 20 years making supplements which are as good as performance in hunting drugs. I think, I really struggle to understand the difference between some supplements and some steroids and the difference in different countries, like you can use it there, you can’t use it here and so on and so on. I understand the reasons and why, but the actual science backing it, I think if they can make them safe, safer, I don’t see any difference between a steroid and a supplement But if it’s safe, that’s the biggest issue in my eyes.

1:11:43 I still don’t believe a lot of the sports people are natural. Genuinely don’t. And you can slate me for that. People will watch it. Of course they are.

1:11:53 All right. But my opinion is they’re not, because… And you would know, you’ve been in the industry. Yeah, I wouldn’t know, I wouldn’t… And I know MMA guys and boxers who currently do and have and so on, but I wouldn’t know.

1:12:14 This is my opinion. My opinion as a sports person, you would do whatever it takes to be the best. And that’s, if you can, if you have a doc come up to you and go, look, I made this test. I also know how to beat this test. There you are, right sound.

1:12:35 And that’s what’s happening, that’s the reality. Look at athletics. They’ve kicked out nearly every single, the amount of people that’ve been caught in athletics for drug use, and it’s like, well, if they’re doing it, that’s just one sport. How many other sports are doing it? How much money is involved in football?

1:12:56 How much money is involved in basketball, baseball? You’re telling me that the morals of an individual is gonna allow him not to do that when there’s a hundred million pound at risk. That’s my opinion. When’s the football scandal gonna break? I’m still waiting, you know?

1:13:15 It’s never been talked about. It’s never been spoke about. Never. I mean, there’s different types of performance in ads and drugs, obviously. But I don’t think there’s, if you can use a drug that gives you 15 years more longevity.

1:13:34 Would you use it? Of course I would. Everyone wants to be grateful longer and I think that’s the reality of it. I just think in the world we live in, everything’s hushed up too much and it makes it dangerous for individuals and I’m not saying that there’s not natural athletes out there, of course there is, of course there is, but I think there’s a lot of people that aren’t who create this whole even now image, but that’s just life. What’s your personal relationship with steroids?

1:14:07 Well, I’m in a position where I can’t talk about it, which is annoying. Like I’ve seen in the past I have, but it’s one of them where, I think there should be proper individuals out there, that like doctors and so on that help the kids because that’s the influences, there’s so much pressure on us. It’s like me saying to you, if you ever had a drink, you ever smoked, you ever had weed, you ever had cocaine. I’ve never, ever touched a recreational drug in my life, never.

1:14:42 How many lawyers, bankers, do you know that they’ve done cocaine? All of them, yep. When you ask them that question, it’s like, I’ve touched it. Everyone has this, I wouldn’t do that. It’s such a hard, it’s a hard place for individuals to be.

1:15:07 I’d never promote it, I’d never advise, I’d never tell someone what to do, how to do, when to do. I don’t know. You know what I mean? This is the problem, kids don’t know they’re pressured. You’re in a situation where you feel you have to look a certain way or be a certain way and you’re under a lot of pressure.

1:15:26 As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned not to feel that pressure, not to feel influenced by how I should or shouldn’t look. But it’s hard when you’re 22, 23 in an environment, especially a bodybuilding environment. Do you know what it’s like? I see so many bodybuilders that, you ever used to have a no? No, never took the fuck off.

1:15:51 You know, you can see it. It’s not hard, but they can’t say yes. Because as an individual, they can’t for their brand, so we need just overall education. Even the industry needs to come out and see it. Yeah, like for me, it’s so hard for me as an individual, like, I wanna be a good role model.

1:16:08 I want to be a great dad. I want to be a great actor. For me to come out and say, yeah, I did that, I don’t know if you’re there. Oof. So you’ve probably shoved a load of child in me nose.

1:16:19 I’ve never touched it. What’s the difference? But I never admit it. It’s harder for a bodybuilder because you can see it. You know what I mean?

1:16:28 It’s one of them and I know I’d rather I’d rather be honest and just be as successful as it can be because I’ve been honest and just another one of these idiots that lies and then puts individuals at risk that are younger than me that look up to me I don’t think it’s fair I don’t think it’s fair as a as a as a influencer as an ambassador I’d never I’d never promote it but of course it goes on. Do you think Rich Piana died because of steroids? I don’t know. I don’t think it helped. I don’t. It’s the autopsy was never confirmed properly. I don’t think it’s rocket science when you saw him and know him as well as as I did, that he wouldn’t have helped him, whether that was what killed him. It’s not been confirmed, but it’s not been denied. I just don’t think it helped at all. But Rich never used steroids, in my opinion, not safe, but he went to extremes. And he’ll say that. He went to extremes. And I think when you go to extremes, if you go to extremes, pardon me, with steroid use, with drug use, with drinks, whatever, food, you’re putting yourself in a risk.

1:17:57 So I definitely think it probably was something that may have been associated to his passing, whether it was why, I don’t know. Yeah, we’ll never know. Yeah. Why get in the cage? You got this.

1:18:14 You know what? I nearly died last year. I remember sitting there on the bed and I lost maybe six, seven stone in about three or four weeks. I had a blockage in my stomach. So I had operation when I was a baby.

1:18:34 I had scar tissue that had broken away. I caused the blockage. I didn’t know what it was. I had this horrendous pain. I didn’t eat for about two weeks.

1:18:41 They told me it was food poisoning in America. I came back to England and I’m like, No, no, no, that’s not food boys and you’ve got a blockage. You need to operate So they operated on me to sign a form you’re in like 12% chance of dying That’s a big fucking percentage. Yeah You know you sit there and you got your little kid there and you’re like 12 cents. That’s like that’s one in every 10 people That’s not a great shout I’m sitting there and when if the operation came out successful I was lying on the bed and I went for a real bad stage again.

1:19:20 I was looking great up until that point, I felt great. And then within four or five weeks I lost all this weight and I literally went back to being that 21 year old ill kid. I looked terrible, I felt terrible. I sort of fell out of love with the fitness industry because I could feel that good. And then like that it’s taken away from me and I’ve not learnt anything.

1:19:44 It was really weird, it was like I haven’t got a skill from this, I’m just big. I want to do something and learn a skill and implement something and feel like I’ve learnt. And then the opportunity came about to do the MMA. And I remember just thinking, yeah, that could be something I could really enjoy. And it’s another challenge.

1:20:07 I’ve done bits and pieces over the years, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for different types of martial arts. And when I got off with the opportunity, it was like, well, I never want to shy from it. I don’t think it’s in me to say no. I’m always just like, yeah, all right, let’s try. Whether it’s a good idea or not, yes.

1:20:32 That’s to remain seen, but I don’t think it’s going to be… I’m always going to be that freak fight. They just wanna say, oh, can he go? What’s he like? And I think if I can win it in 90 seconds, I’ll be great.

1:20:46 If it goes more than a tear around, I’ll be on my ass. Harder, right, with that much muscle. Yeah, well, the thing is, I was dieting. I was training so hard for this. So I was doing like two, three hours a day, fitness.

1:20:58 Now I get this phone call off my agent. It was like, I’ve got this great film role. How are you looking at the moment? I was like, yeah, I’m looking lean. He’s like, ah, they want you really big.

1:21:06 Oh, great. So my first love always has been filmed so I had to prioritise that and now it’s really weird because I feel like I’m not as fast at the striking but my grappling and my wrestling has come on so much being bigger and I feel more like I want to fight whereas before I just felt like I was doing CrossFit and I just felt fit but I didn’t feel hard, really strange. Whereas now I go in and I feel confident because I’m powerful again. I know power doesn’t mean you’re a good fighter.

1:21:47 I’m not naive to that, but I think mental state is something huge and I feel like I want to fight. Whereas before I just felt like I was trying to fight. If that makes sense. I feel a lot more domineering now and a lot more alpha, I suppose you’d say. And I think you need that mindset to be in the right place to be able to do something like that.

1:22:09 Whereas if I’d have kept small, I’d have gone into the cage and I’d have been fit enough to fight, but I wouldn’t have had that nastiness to fight. Whereas now I’m gonna probably struggle with the fitness, but my mindset will be there. So it’s gonna have to be a quick fight, I’m afraid. Do we have an opponent with some rumors out there? Yeah, I’ve rumored a couple of people like, This Iranian dude, I wouldn’t mind fighting him to be honest, I’d beat him on fitness.

1:22:40 He looks like a big lump but I don’t know, I mean they have a good wrestling background don’t they? I don’t know if he does, I can’t figure him out, I’m sure he’s a lovely guy but from pictures and videos he looks oddly shaped to me. I don’t know whether he’s strong or he’s just enhanced with oils. He’s got this weird shape. But I don’t want to sit here and be a bitch and criticize and so on.

1:23:11 He could just have an odd shape. I’ve got an odd shape. It’s just one of them things. But yeah, he definitely sort of still… I think I just want to… I’ve got a free fight contract.

1:23:25 I’d be happy to just step in at once and taste it, and it’s an experience. I lose, I lose, I win, I win, I just want to experience it. How do you win? Pardon? How do you win?

1:23:37 KO, head kick, wrestle, ground and pound? I think it depends on your fight, like, I mean, the reality is it’s going to be ground. It’s going to go to the floor, I’d love to stand there and just knock him out, but The striking side for me is not my strength at all. The wrestling and the groundwork, I’m good at. How’s your jiu-jitsu?

1:24:03 Good. I enjoy that. You’ve been training for a while? Yeah, I’ve been on and off since, oh my God, I did judo when I was six. So I’ve done them bits, people don’t realise I’ve done bits, I’ve never done striking properly.

1:24:18 So everyone’s judging me on my strikes and I’m like, that’s alright, carry on, can’t do that anyway. the joy of MMA. There’s so many different aspects to it. I’m not going to put out my wrestling and my groundwork. That’s what I enjoy doing. I’ll put out stuff I’m bad at.

1:24:36 Keep telling me I’m shit. I like that. After you like that, right? I love that. And that’s an organization that they started with Marius, the strong man, right?

1:24:43 Yeah. He created it in Poland. Yes. He had a few fights, right? Still with them.

1:24:48 Still with them. Yeah, that has been spoke about that fight. Okay, with him. Yeah. That could be interesting.

1:24:53 He’s a decent fighter now. You know, there’s a real demand for these quote-unquote freak fights, you know, look at Bellator I mean Bellator brings back the old school. We just saw Tito and Chuck fight again Yeah, and I mean the UFC doesn’t want to go that way. It’s not their model. I get it Yeah, but there’s a demand for it. The demands crazy as well Like when it was suggested that I’d fight this Iranian Hulk. He was everywhere. It just went boom Overnight my manager was like I’m not used to this. You know, I’ve been a real fighter. I know That’s what I enjoy about it, is the fact that you can step into a sport and really taste it and feel that energy and the opportunity to do it was too great.

1:25:38 I’ve got a lot of people putting me down for doing it and to tell you who’s an idiot, this is that, he’s just a prat, that’s all right, but I’ve got the opportunity to do it, wouldn’t you do it. If you got offered a crazy amount of money to step into a cage, you’re telling me you’d say no, of course you wouldn’t. I don’t think I’m going to be the next UFC champion. I never said I was, I never said that’s what I set out to be. But at the same time, I’m not someone that will back down from a challenge and I still believe that the opportunity to do that and to experience it is awesome. It’s just a challenge. That’s all it is. There’s no ego involved in that. I’m not a trained fighter. I’m not to that level. I don’t think I want to go out and be the next Conor McGregor. I think that’s the problem with people. Everyone wants to judge and put you down. No one wants to actually, God, you know what? Fair play.

1:26:45 That’s great. You’ve done that. You’ve done this. You’ve done that. You just bought another the house for my family. No, I’d rather criticize. It’s just sad, really, that society would rather put down than appreciate. All I’m doing is doing my best for my kids. That’s it. Stepping into a cage allows me to earn as much money as the average bloke would in four years for ten minutes working. Who wouldn’t do that?

1:27:17 Well, a lot of people wouldn’t but you know, I could see why you would and I want to do it, too He’s gonna be the next fight, right? I’m seriously gonna have one, you know the next couple of years. I want to be awesome I mean, it’s the ultimate test. They locked the cage door. Yes. I mean, yeah, don’t know what’s gonna happen in there exactly We might go back to the same dentist. I Think that’s what it is. You know, I think you need that Grasp. You know what I mean? You need to have something where you’re obviously a very successful individual and you’re trying to find that new output. It’s like, what? I’ve done this, I’ve done that, I’ve done that, but what scares you? What’s the one thing that you haven’t done yet that’s going to be putting yourself on the line and stepping into that cage? It’s the one thing that 99% of people wouldn’t want to do and to do it, regardless of win or loss, to do it and to experience it and to come out the other side, I think can only make you a better person. If you live, you die. That’s a bad way out.

1:28:36 You mentioned Conor McGregor. What are your thoughts on him? I loved him at first. I don’t know, I think he seems to have calmed down again now. It’s very hard to, Peter, I’m very close with Peter, he’s one of the main training partners and a very respectfiring zone, right? He looks kind of to Peter. I did a film with a guy called Michael. Michael and Peter are cousins, they grew up kind of from small. So I’ve always had that sort of mutual friends where you always want, I always want my friends and mutual friends to do well, kind of smashed it, then it’s hard to know whether it’s the influence of other people, so I want you to do this, to create this sort of storm or whether you just lost the plot but for me it just, I I don’t I don’t like the arrogance of Especially when it comes to money and stuff and it was more that the Nate fight and then the Floyd fight I was so I get it. You’ve made a lot of money, but you’ve also in my eyes It’s not sold out, but you’ve lost that respect that I had For you as a fighter. You’re a fantastic business person. You made a shitload of money But I’m very old fashioned, there’s sort of lines that I’d go down, and I’m not into bitchiness, I’m not into, you know, I’ve got more money than you, you’ve got more money.

1:30:14 The flaunting. I don’t like that. Is that a poor man’s reaction though to getting rich sometimes? I don’t know, I don’t know because there’s rich people that do that as well, I’ve been around it and I hate it, hate it, and that’s the one thing I try and do my best, I try not to be an idiot with what I’ve got. I think it’s a horrible trait. I think you can tell.

1:30:41 If someone’s doing well, you can tell. I can tell you’ve done well. You don’t need to put out your bag of glasses to show me. You can tell. An old friend said a rich man doesn’t have to tell you he’s rich.

1:30:55 And that’s more appealing to me. It’s like, you just feel that you’re successful. Why show people paper? And I just didn’t, I just don’t like that. And that’s the one thing that the first thing that jumped, first thing that jumps out for me when you sit Connor’s name would be money and arrogance.

1:31:17 When it should be fighter and success. And I’m not judging him, he’s done fucking amazing. Do you know what I mean? He’s created MMA, he really has. And I think it’s hard for any individual to be that successful from being nowhere to keep the head.

1:31:39 So I get it 100%. And I think he’s sort of, I think he’s getting it himself now. He seems a lot more relaxed with where he’s at. And it’s hard, like I said, it’s hard. I know a lot of fighters, and baby boy Miller, I’m very good friends with him, he’s just landed the AJ fight.

1:31:58 He comes across on social as a complete plonker. In my opinion, he’s the most loveliest, honest, sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. Every time I see him on social, he’s gobbing off and pushing. I’m like, that’s not you. But it’s his fight, Ego, just to create that noise.

1:32:23 So I don’t know, because I don’t know like that, whether that’s all an act, or it has just influenced him. But when he’s throwing trash cans through bus windows and getting heated. Again, I think that was set up. Yeah. Probably not all of it, but I think it went over the top.

1:32:42 For me, UFC has turned very WWE. I get it. It’s an entertainment business, but it’s hard to create entertainment when there’s natural hate in it. Do you know what I mean? There’s entertainment, then there’s the fight game.

1:33:03 You can’t play the fight game. You generally wanna kill each other. So it’s one of them dangerous sort of fine lines.

1:33:16 When do you stop being a fighter? when Connor had his last fight and your man jumped over the cage and started fighting she’d been arrested in my opinion he should have been arrested jump over the cage you hit someone that’s assault yeah he wasn’t what sort of influence is that on kids watching it oh it’s cool my role model does it it’s absolutely fine I should go and smack someone that for me it’s not a role model. Was it Khabib’s fault or Conor’s fault or both? Both, both idiots. That was a mess it’s not what we want MMA to be. No way, no way because the whole the whole point of martial arts is supposed to be respect and there’s nothing better than seeing two guys beat the shit out of each other and then stand there after shake hands and give each other a hug and have that respect for each other. No one wants to see that. It’s just stupid. Unfortunately, it sails to kids. But for me, as a dad and someone that wants to be a positive role model to my kids, I don’t agree with that. I don’t think it’s right. It’s just my opinion.

1:34:31 Let me switch to social media. How do you get a million Instagram followers? And once you get them, what do you do with them? These success secrets are only available on the London Real Academy. Become a member and get access to live shows, exclusive courses, my webinars, bonus content, meetups, live events, an amazing community, and much, much more.

1:34:59 Now back to the rest of the show. Become a business for me now, and we were talking about this earlier. I learned so much from Rich about business, which is ironic because to look at him, you wouldn’t think he understood business at all. I think he was actually so forward thinking. He was unbelievable and I took a lot from Rich and I took a lot from other influencers.

1:35:34 And I now use my social media page as a marketing tool. 100% marketing tool. Try and give back, try and advise, try and help, try and motivate. And then on the side of that, I grow businesses for it. So when you become an influencer, people like what you do, like what you wear, like where you go, like what your lifestyle is.

1:36:03 So if you can have the ability to outsource that to them and they can purchase, all of a sudden you’ve got a business tool and I learnt that very early on and I now really try and help other people. Here I see I’ve got that potential, I look, Instagram’s no longer a friend’s tool. It’s a business and it’s only going to get bigger. become an influencer you’re basically a marketer. Find out who follows you, why they follow you, how you influence them and by influencing them how can you grow yourself as a business person because everyone needs to pay bills everyone needs an income. If you can get an income from having an Instagram account and I’m talking a good income you know like my I know a good fitness influencer an individual can make anywhere between 250 and 500 thousand a year off Instagram dollars pounds pounds that’s no need a million followers not even depends okay it depends how in touch you all of your followers you can five million followers but you have zero connection I was speaking to a female about this and she wanted to grow her Instagram I said look there’s two types of accounts you can have you could go and put half naked shots up underwear shots you get two million followers like that they’d be 95% men now the reality is men aren’t gonna buy from you all right they’re not gonna purchase makeup they’re not going to purchase hair products, they’re not going to purchase fitness. Or you could

1:38:02 Really understand the audience that you can sell to and create an account that influences them and build a business around it. So you need to make sure that your following is relevant if you’re doing it for business. If you’re doing it for ego and you just want a big number, well crack on, as many as you want, but if you’re doing it for business, create a page create an account that sells to your demographic and builds your demographic and it’s not I don’t see it as a bad thing it’s just business you’re just you’re helping them as much as they’re helping you you’re giving them good advice you’re advising them how to eat how to supplement when to train how to train because you’re educating that individual you’re building a trust between the two if I take you to the gym with me and I explain to you all week this is how you train this is how you do time and attention this is how you do negatives this is how much rest you should have and you experience a week of training with me and you enjoy it and you feel the difference the end of the week or I’m gonna go now I need you to buy them supplements and that food carry on training like that you can get the results you’re gonna buy into me because you’ve already got results exactly the same as Instagram you can give people good advice and you can help them progress. They’re going to purchase a product regardless they want to spend. Individuals want to spend money but they don’t know what they want

1:39:32 To spend the money on. So you basically allow them to spend the money with you. Not in a rip-off way, you’re educating them properly, you’re giving them guidance and you’re building trust and when once you’ve built that trust you can sell once you start selling they get more results they’ll buy more same with the photos I was talking about earlier I just car park on my here could walk straight to me oh my god it’s my Ford so you’re a buddy I was late was late for you I still had a picture of him because that for me he’s really really important because he He could be a customer for 10, 15 years.

1:40:16 And having that one picture, saying hello to him, giving him that smile, made his day. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Yeah. And you also take ownership of businesses that you help on social media. And that’s what makes you a little different.

1:40:30 You’re not looking for the paper post. You’re looking for long-term. And you now have your fingers in lots of pies. Lots of pies. Lots of pies.

1:40:39 I think I learned very early on that If you’re going to be successful in this industry, you need to own the brand, rather than be a face of a brand, because that face will change every 12 months. I now own Ignite, which is a supplement company, which is the sister company to 5%, which Rich had. Now, the reason we created a new company was because 5% was Rich’s with a partner. When Rich passed, I moved into 5%. It was never mine.

1:41:14 It was always Rich. It would always be Rich piano 5%. So we invested the money into a new company. Same team, same structure, but a new company. I now own 50% of that company and to go from three years ago being nobody to all of a sudden owning a company in the fitness industry and that company growing, that’s not bad.

1:41:39 Yeah, yeah It’s not bad and it costs nothing Because I’m using my social media influence as my investment financially and I’ve done that with four or five different companies And it’s worked and it keeps working and you just keep growing growing and growing Tell me a bit more about you. What’s a daily practice? That’s non-negotiable Something you have to do every day could be physical or mental or nutrition, but what’s something that keeps you you? you, Jim, every single day. I think the only time I have more than one day off a week is when I’m ill. Since I was 21, I’ve probably had four weeks off from illness or operation, and then I have Sunday off normally. Sometimes I even try another Sunday. That’s my addiction.

1:42:35 It’s probably my weakness as well, to be honest, because I do need to rest more, but that’s That’s my escape time and my life is always based around Jim, but she sounds so weird when you look at it as an adult, you’re like, why is that important? But it tunes me, it allows me to relax and get on with my day. I think I’d be on medication if I wasn’t in the gym, I genuinely believe that. I think I’d have ADHD. I think I got that.

1:43:07 And I controlled it with fitness. Do you think all men need to embrace steel? Yeah. Yeah, all fitness of some sort. I think you just need that.

1:43:24 We’ve lost what being a man really is with modern world. Guys need that release, that energy in the test. And women, I think everyone sort of, we’re so lazy as people now because we don’t have to do stuff. We don’t have to walk to the shops. We can get it dropped off of the door.

1:43:46 You know, we don’t have to clean. We can get it cleaned and we don’t, there’s just so much stuff now that we don’t have to do. I think we need to do. I genuinely do. I think the need for competition and the need for physically pushing yourself It allows you to take that into other aspects of your life.

1:44:06 I’m not saying you need to do it six times a week, but I do think that fitness is a fantastic starting point for individuals that want to be successful. Because it builds up self belief, it builds repetition, dedication, and the ability to see progression and I think if you look at fitness and you look at any whether it’s studying whether it’s business or home life you can take out learning curves from the fitness world and implement that into I have massively, you know I will, if I start a new training program I’ll plan, I’ll implement and I’ll be persistent with that and that really taught me how to do business. I was like if I want to open up another gym, I need to research, I need to plan, I need to implement, I need to keep implementing and guess what, it works I learned that through fitness, it’s really, I think you know, it’s just a natural thing for me.

1:45:38 I love it, I absolutely love it, I’ve always been very good at that, I’ve not been very good at other things so you sway to what you’re good at but that’s allowed me to become good at other stuff. If I was to ask five of your best friends, what is Martyn’s superpower, how are you able to do all the things you do, which is a lot of stuff, what would they say it is? Stubbornness, focus, dedication,

1:46:16 Never giving up and the fear of losing, I’ll be it. What scares you? Nothing really scared me until I had kids, and everything, I think just what scares me is not being able to provide for them and not being able to be there 24-7 as they grow up. That’s the thing really. Nothing scares me for me. Nothing really scares me in that sense. I think because I’ve been through so much. I nearly died last year and then I was so ill when I was 20s and I’ve had so many highs and so many lows. It really scares you when you’ve experienced it because you think well I’ve been there, I’ve got through it. It’s just a process. Do you know what I mean?

1:47:23 If I lost all my money tomorrow, it wouldn’t scare me. I know what I’ve got to do. I’ve work hard again. I just probably enjoy it because I like working hard. I enjoy that. It feels like I’m being productive so nothing scares me in that sense whether it’s death or spiders or losing what I had or so on but just kids. I don’t think you’ve got kids as well. I think you understand that. That’s the only thing that really does put a fear in me. Because it makes you so vulnerable doesn’t it? Yeah you can’t control everything yeah and that’s that’s the only thing really. What would we be surprised to learn about you and something that you do so maybe some guilty pleasure or something that we not expect from you? Probably some of the shit I watch on TV. I like romantic comedies they’re quite good. Like what? What’s your favorite? What was the one with the Irish This guy, can’t avoid his bloody pierce, I love you.

1:48:28 Great film. Okay, how do you like that stuff? Why? I just find him quite funny. Are you a romantic guy?

1:48:36 Nah, no I’m terrible, I’m terrible for that. But I find the romantic comedy is quite funny. And what keeps you awake at night? Food, I’m starving.

1:48:54 I don’t settle well. I definitely don’t settle, I always, I always want the day, I don’t like sleep, I don’t like the night, I don’t like ending, which I think is great. I think if you want to go to bed and you want to sleep, I don’t think you enjoy your life. I definitely don’t, I’ve never slept well. Five hours, six hours at the most, I’m ready to go.

1:49:18 It’s got a little bit more as I got older, I admit that, I definitely need my sleep more now, but what keeps me, I think I always want more. I always want more and that’s when I’ll think what I can do or what I should be doing. I always feel like I’m not doing enough which is weird because I’ve done so much. I always feel like I could do more. Then I do more and burn myself out and then I realise I should do less.

1:49:48 When you do too much. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a catch 22. I’m terrible for that.

1:49:53 I need to do more. I need to do more. I burn myself out and then I’m like, I need to do less. I do less and then I feel like I’m being lazy. So it’s trying to find that happy medium, which is always hard.

1:50:04 Do you think that can be an addiction, trying to do more or trying to do too much stuff to come? Yeah, 100%. I think everyone that’s successful in the field that they’re in has that addiction. Always, always. And trying to do three or four things at once is a bloody nightmare.

1:50:21 I’m trying to run five businesses now with no education, it’s hard work. you love it. Yeah I employ good people put it that way and always tell me that my ideas are stupid they’re always right but I think because I’ve been very lucky with making money very easily I’m investing clever and and one big thing I did realize is that you pay good people good money to make good decisions for And that’s the best way to go forward So they just don’t listen to a word I say But it works It’s good business advice. Yeah, it is pay people who are better at doing the job than you are. Yeah to do that work Yeah, Martyn always ask people a few questions at the end I’m gonna ask you if you could pick up a magic phone and ring up the 20 year old Martyn and give that young man A bit of advice. I guess you’re probably maybe at that time where struggling with your grandfather being gone. Yeah It’s time, but if you could tell him what you know now, what would you say? Oh Max and not stress so much Because it all works out. What’s he stressed out that kid?

1:51:41 Yeah, yeah, really really stressed because he hadn’t achieved And that was the biggest thing. I know exactly what my issue was looking back. I even knew what my issue was at the time I just couldn’t do anything about it. My biggest issue was that I was successful. I lost it And I couldn’t feel that void.

1:51:59 I had a void for 10 years that I couldn’t feel and it was horrible. And it was only five years ago that that void started to become full. And that was my biggest problem, to be honest, was that I always felt like I was lesser than I was. And that was a horrible feeling. You knew you were destined for something great, or you thought you could do that.

1:52:27 Yeah, I knew I could do something better than what I was doing, and I already had, I’d already tasted success as a 15, 16-year-old, and I was worse at 20 than I was at 15, and in that, I couldn’t accept. And I went through all of my 20s, feeling that I was worse than I was when I was 15, and that isn’t good, and that’s what kept me going back every day to become bigger, better, stronger, faster. But I didn’t know what I was doing it for. But I knew there was a reason.

1:52:59 And then that reason just clicked. So I think the older Wiser Martyn would say, keep going, relax, and trust the process. Which is very easy to say when you’ve achieved. It’s like a religious person saying that believe in God and all this. It’s like, well, you don’t know.

1:53:22 You just feel or you hope. And I think that’s the same as me. I didn’t know, I just hoped. I think Steve Jobs once said at a graduation speed when you look in reverse, you can connect the dots. You know, it all makes sense.

1:53:39 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%. But you know, the other way, it’s very hard. Looks like a random walk sometimes. But all of that stuff built you. I mean, you’re who you are today.

1:53:48 I wouldn’t change anything at all. I genuinely wouldn’t change anything that I did or have done. Why would I? You know what I mean? I’ve come from where I did to where I am.

1:54:05 I don’t think I could have done any better. I genuinely don’t think I could have done anything any different to have got me into a better place now. So it’s now just trying to kick on and hopefully in five years time look back and say, well, I’ve done that, I’ve done that, I’ve done that and I own this, I own this and now I’m gonna do this. Rather than just go, yeah, five years ago I was really successful and now I’ve just lived off that for five years. That’s what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to be in that position and I won’t be in that position because I won’t allow myself to do that.

1:54:40 Yeah, second part of that question best advice you ever received could have been from a trainer from your grandfather From anybody along the way, maybe a movie advice, but something that stuck with you You a tattoo on your chest that’s that’s some pretty good advice success is not final. Yeah, it’s not fatal It’s the courage to continue that counts. Yeah, why’d you have that on your chest? I think I was going through a bad time at that time and I I just needed something to constantly remind me that it’s good to fail and it doesn’t mean it’s gonna make you who you are. I like being reminded by certain quotes and I do think back to things sometimes like that and experiences. I don’t think there’s been one person who said anything that’s really stuck with me. I think it’s a combination of different people and just learning from them and the way they live their life that’s really influenced me. I’ve had some great people influence me from a young age. I don’t know if you’ve followed cricket but I had Brian Lara, Alan Donald, that’s one of the best cricket players in the world around me when I was 14-15. So to be around individuals like that and have the opportunity to learn from world beaters at that age, it stuck with me from my life and I think just the energy from individuals like that, that was my best learning curve, 100%.

1:56:18 Last part of that question, to that 20 year old that’s watching us right now or listening to us somewhere in the world, maybe they’re here because they want to get big, maybe they’re here because they just want to learn about life from you. give to them because they’re living in a different age. Yeah commitment, dedication and having some balls and going through with decisions and that’s that’s the hardest. I said earlier on people get trapped having the ability not to be trapped and to step out of that comfort zone and even if you fail stepping back back into that fire and to be successful. Then I think you’ll find satisfaction. I think a lot of people are unsatisfied. I think a lot of people live safe and I think a lot of people are happier like that but will never really experience true happiness because Is the play safe?

1:57:21 And I think that’s true of a lot of individuals who play safe. For me, my advice to me as a 20-year-old is never play safe. I’ll take a risk. You’re better off failing and coming back than just being normal.

1:57:48 You know, Martyn, when I first heard about you, I was like, who the hell is this guy? But I watched some of your interviews, and I knew we had to have you on, because you’ve got a lot going on in the brain of yours. It’s burnt out now. Yeah, probably. But there’s a lot of wisdom, you know?

1:58:04 And I think a lot of people first see you maybe because of your accomplishments in your movies, your exterior, but you know, there’s a lot of wisdom inside of you, and a lot of honesty. And I really appreciate you coming out and talking about that. No, it’s been an absolute pleasure. I think I just put that down to the amazing people, I’m fortunate enough to work with and I think that’s true in life. You mould yourself on people that you meet and you take their energy on and I’ve just been super fortunate, that’s all it is.

1:58:38 No different from anyone else, just very lucky. Well, I look forward to the rest of your movie career, I look forward to seeing you fight in Poland. Yeah, I look forward to seeing you fight. Yeah, exactly. Get me that deal, hook me up.

1:58:50 We can do that, I’ll do the, you know, cards together, co-main event. But I love how you keep pushing yourself. Again, that’s something I’m always telling my students and everyone, and I try to tell myself now, engineer risks into my life, you know, because we so naturally play it safe. Even people at top levels, they get into this comfort zone. So we gotta get out there, take those risks, and I love what you’re saying.

1:59:12 So appreciate that. Even dropping knowledge on Instagram game was some great stuff as well. So you got some of those guys running and wondering what’s happening. So, thanks so much. Thank you very much.

1:59:23 Wishing you all the best. I really enjoyed this. Appreciate it. All right, thanks everybody. Appreciate it.