Bas Rutten - A UFC Legend's Unforgettable Journey From The Streets To The Octagon!

Full transcript: Bas Rutten on London Real

3:51 This is London Real. I am Brian Rose. My guest today is… This is London Real. I am Brian Rose.

4:03 My guest today is Bas Rutten, the former UFC heavyweight champion, actor, trainer and commentator. You are one of the most popular fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, with an incredible career spanning more than 14 years. You were the three-time King of Pancras world champion before joining the UFC in 1999, winning the heavyweight title and becoming the first Dutch champion in UFC history. You ended your career having gone unbeaten in 22 fights with a strike accuracy of over 70%, the highest ever recorded by Fightmetric.

4:36 In 2008, you were named the fourth-greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time. And in 2015, you became the first European to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Since your retirement, you’ve appeared in a number of film and television roles, including Martial Law, The King of Queens, and here comes The Boom, starring opposite Kevin James and Henry Winkler. Currently, you are a commentator for Karate Combat, the world’s first professional full-contact karate league, this broadcast to over 100 countries worldwide.

5:05 Bas, welcome to London Real. Hello. Thanks for having me, brother. Bas, it’s great having you here. We connected in Dubai when you were commentating for Karate Combat.

5:17 It was you and George St. Pierre who’s been on the show as well. You guys had the full canduras on, which is great. I got one of those as well. And it was great to connect, really exciting to see Karate Combat in person.

5:31 Luke Rockholt fought that night, and man, it was just really intense. And that organization’s blowing up and I love seeing that they got the A-Team with you and GSP commentating. Maybe I’ll start with that. How’d you get involved with Karate Combat? And it seems to be one of the most exciting leagues.

5:49 Joe Rogan showed up in Austin and a lot of people are talking about this. Does it feel really cool to be part of something that’s so hot right now? Yes, gigantic for me. So they called me about five years ago and they said they were going to start a full-contact Karate League. And I go, because my biggest wish was when I stopped fighting, I said, I want to do the 100-man kubite to wrap up my career.

6:12 But by then, I was so injured that unfortunately that was not in the stars for me. So then when they came and they said, hey, we’re starting a full-contact Karate League, I go, sign me up. I mean, I started with Karate, then I went to Thai boxing, started competing in that, then I went to big sports. And now I’m coming back to Karate. So for me, it was, yeah, it was a no-brainer.

6:30 And then especially if you see the effects, you’ve been there with the walls, the pit, the way it’s shaped, the differences in the things that we do, the CGI behind it. You know, how we take care of the fighters, you were talking about crypto, you have the crypto coin, and it means if you’re not going to call it gambling, it’s called up-gaming only. What that means is that you can’t lose. So you put your money on a fighter and if the fighter doesn’t win, you don’t lose anything.

6:55 You win though, you get more tokens. They go like, how is that even possible? Well, they take the losses for the first couple of years. So if I was people, I would start freaking investing because you simply cannot lose. But the great thing about that is that 10% of the winnings also goes to the fighter who won.

7:10 And then 1% I think is going to the losing fighter as well. So everybody’s going to be helped with that crypto coin. And I expect that more organizations start following in our footsteps. Yeah, that makes it really exciting. I was actually sitting next to you guys during the Luke Rockhold fight.

7:27 And I can hear you commentating GSP commentated and then they had like the token commentator as well. And he was talking about all the spreads and he was next to me and we’re big in the crypto space here. And I think that is one of the big drivers for why it’s so people are watching it so much because you can do this lossless betting kind of thing like you said, but it just is another angle to get people interested because you know, it’s hard to start a new fighting organization and so many fail, but karate combat is really taking off.

7:57 It really is, you know, when you get to karate app and you sign up you also become an owner of the league. What does an owner mean? Well, you have actually a say in the rules. Like, for instance, in the beginning, we had no uppercuts. They got added.

8:11 We had no knees to the head. They got added. There were no low kicks, not the low kicks below the knee, but not to the thigh that where everybody throws a low kick. Well, the fans, the app people, they started voting and they said, hey, we want it in. So now there’s even they’re talking about elbows, allowing elbows into karate combat.

8:28 If the majority is going to say yes, then we are going to change the rules and elbows are going to be allowed. In the beginning, I was a little bit because for the people at home, it’s a full contact karate organization with takedowns and ground and pound. There’s no submissions. So the action keeps on going. Now, as soon as somebody on the ground hits the other guy, but he lets one knee on the ground, he’s grounded, he’s officially not, he cannot hit anymore.

8:48 So he needs to be squatting the whole time. So in the beginning with the elbow, I go like, oh, with the ground and pound, but then I go, no, of course not. They can’t because they’re on the balls of the feet. They’re on their feet. They cannot be on an issue.

8:59 They don’t have the space to throw their elbows in the ground and pound, but in the standing fight, they can actually do it. So you see, so that you give the power back to the fans and they come up with these crazy rules and everybody wins. I love it. That’s very kind of web 3, as we say, in the crypto space where unlike, you know, an Amazon or a YouTube or a Google, you’re not just a customer. You’re an owner and that way you can decide and vote where the whole company goes.

9:25 It’s it’s what I love about crypto. It’s super exciting. It’s like it’s like the new wave and you guys are really embracing it. Also, boss, I found it. I found it really intense to be there and I’ve been to UFC fights.

9:38 I’ve been to MMA fights, but you know when Luke was there having that fight, it felt really raw. It felt kind of like Fight Club. I don’t know why I felt that. Maybe the gloves are small, but it just seems really intense when you’re there. Did I get that wrong or does it feel a little different than other leagues?

9:56 Yeah, everybody will say the same thing because you guys are right at the pitch, right? And there is no fancy. There are no ropes. You literally right there that people are leaning on the pit. Some people said to put a glass of drink on there and they’re watching the fight and then the cameras are also behind the people sometimes.

10:11 So you see a shot with people in front of it and then you see the fighters there. So it gives that Fight Club feeling you know that it is it’s completely different than look at the background and if people go to karate.com it’s free by the way. So you don’t have to pay anything. There’s no nothing watch it and see what happens because every time we’re somewhere else where we’re in space or that we’re back in time and then we went to Okinawa and then we actually talked to the guy who started Okinawa Karate, you know, and we did a little bit of a history class for the people at home.

10:41 Put these little tiny fun things in there. People are entertained and they see the fights. Hey, can’t wait and then you can bet but not lose. So that’s a freaking that’s the only three right there for you. Yeah, it’s a win the CGI is fun.

10:55 Like you said anyone can watch it anywhere. You can watch it on YouTube after it’s just they’re doing all the right moves. They’re showing up to the crypto conferences. You’re not really missing a beat. You do some influencer stuff and you’re starting to sign a lot of X UFC really exciting fights but some of the knockouts are getting scary and it’s it’s it’s like you said.

11:14 I got a real visceral feel to it. I think you’re right. It’s like being so close. I’ve even been to boxing matches, but you know when people are elevated and they’re in a ring. Somehow there’s a little bit of distance there.

11:24 But in that pit man, I was like wow. Okay, this is happening. So yeah, it’s super exciting and you missed the last one because you were on set shooting with the rock this brand new movie, but I want to talk about that. But otherwise you’re basically at every single one commentating going forward. Yes, yes.

11:42 I just missed one only that was that there was a possibility of missing two because of the work schedule but the director was really nice and he helped me out there. So we filled all my stuff within several weeks and that’s why I was allowed to go to the next radical benefits. Wow. All right. I want to talk about the movie.

12:00 But before we do that, I want to get your thoughts. I mean when you started in pancreas, you know, no one heard of MMA people forget. The UFC was was maybe not even even legal at the time. It sure wasn’t a big brand. Japan was where all the action was happening.

12:16 I I’ve been to two pride events myself and they were always considered better than the UFC back then. What’s it like for you to watch the evolution of MMA and how do you describe it to people? How far it’s come it’s where now you can see the UFC and even a karate combat and the quality is so high. It’s it’s really crazy. I predicted everything but I was way off with the years.

12:40 I think in 93 I said in five years there’s going to be the biggest sport in the world. But I was like a whole bunch of years off. But yeah, you’re right. But I was competing. It was legal in three states only.

12:51 So we had to watch out the weigh-ins. They were in a hotel room with your corner. You know, now you got seven and seven thousand people going to the weigh-ins and no social media. All that probably thankfully we didn’t have to do that. And then you know to see the rules change to see weight classes coming in.

13:07 I actually when I went to the UFC that was the first time when they established the weight class because in Japan I was fighting open weight. So you just fight everybody. It was actually fun to find out on the day of the first fight when my opponent walked in who was like 33 pounds heavier and I go is he not too heavy and then the promoter goes no. We fight everybody. Oh great.

13:24 So I tried to force a smile and I said how many rounds that we’re fighting and he goes one and I go great. How many minutes? He goes 30. I go great and I look at my manager. I go shit.

13:34 What is going on here? You know, but that small organization started everything and if you look at Pancras, I believe he produced six or seven UFC champions from the tiny organization that there was. So the skill level was really high with Pancras, especially the ground fighting because the Japanese they’re really good on the ground. Very smart. The rules were all adapted to them.

13:53 You know, so put shoes on. Well, that’s bad for leg lock. Hey, that happens to be their specialty. You see things like that. No gloves open hand strikes to the face fish to the body, but no gloves much easier to slide in jokes are doing all the crazy submissions.

14:07 You see, so what what annoying was though when I left Pancras within three months, they change the rules to the same rules as everywhere on the planet. I go, you’re serious. You’re waiting for me to leave this organization and now I can finally close my face, but thankfully I went to the UFC. So I was able to close my face. What was interesting about you boss is that you found a way to adapt and if anyone ever has an extra two or three hours, they need to watch your entire Pancras fight selection and boss does the voiceover for the whole thing and you know, you talk about how that first fight first of all, I think, you know, you didn’t even have any shorts.

14:42 You had borrowed like some shorts from somebody but then you had you knew no ground game or very little and then by the second or third fight you had been training and you adapted to this new sport and you started learning all the submissions and learning how to counter them and you forced yourself to evolve. Whereas a lot of people wouldn’t do that and that always feels like the story your career. I remember some crazy story boss where you said you put two pieces of tape down the hallway of your home to make sure that when you walk down your hallway, you would do this in this new fighting stance that you created.

15:14 I just had a flashback so that that was all you always you just adapting to the situation. That’s what makes you unique, right? That’s it, you know, it’s just training it like I found out mixed martial arts. Why do we get tired? Well, the interrupting of the breathing pattern.

15:28 What do you mean? Well, if you sprawl now, so if you’re breathing constantly your chest and expanding but just sprawl you interrupting your breathing pattern. So if you once you combine striking with wrestling and the grappling is that’s that’s what makes you tired. So I thankfully I realized wait a minute if I do my conditioning workouts a strength and conditioning workouts, why don’t I do like fifth? I did everything 50 seconds and then take for instance at a biceps a triceps exercise and then a stamina exercise and I will do everything for 56 5 0 to give me 10 seconds to go to the next station but I have a 12 exercises.

16:03 I would do that whole thing. I would do it three times with 36 minute workout with only a minute and a half break in between those 12 minutes every time but that was the gold. That was the thing because they said oh my God cross training remember the cross training. I just started doing that early on. So for me, I was always fighting bigger guys, but my endurance was much better than them.

16:23 So I just had to weather the storm and then slowly, but surely I would start taking over and with the submissions unfortunately, it took me three losses by the submissions to and you have to understand I’m in Holland in Holland. There is no wrestling and we didn’t have the submissions. We have judo and I will walk with some guys over there, but that’s not going to really do anything. But then after my last loss, I got so angry and I started becoming vocal.

16:48 I started asking everybody who wants to train with me and I found this one guy 19 years old Leon Leon van Dyck and he was just a freak show. He was very talented very great striker, but he picked up things fast and we just said, okay, let’s just watch videos fights and instructionals and we’re gonna learn from it and then I realized wait a minute. I think I can find a different setup to go to that submission. Oh wait a minute. Now I get two setups.

17:13 Why don’t I create a third one or a fourth one because then once I start mixing those up, it’s because very hard for him to detect what I’m actually are going to do. So and then I became obsessed with it and suddenly it was like my poor wife. I always tell this in interviews. I woke up at least five six times in the middle of night because I would dream the submission. I will wake her up.

17:32 I’ll put her in that submission. I would say hey, it hurts your shoulder right or hurts this or yes, I will write it down. Next day I will go to the gym and I would try it out on my one guy that I have. So like I did 90% of my fights with one person that I had but it works because I put in so much work. I lost my last fight by submission and then I won my next eight fights by way of submission and suddenly everybody was like what’s going on here?

17:56 What was with the submission control but seven finishes and that’s what I and that’s what I went on the crazy winning streak, you know that I simply never lost anymore. That’s what I tell people all the time today. If I can do it, you can do it. Everybody can do this. It’s just doing it and we’re all so comfortable to stay where we are.

18:12 Like if I’m in a gym and I know I can beat everybody up striking, you know, that’s that’s a comfortable feeling for me. I kind of don’t want to give that away, but I always put myself in the worst position possible. You tell me where I have to lay on my belly or my back, whatever it is, you take the best position you have start and I would start doing that. They kept doing that. They kept doing that and suddenly well people can’t hold me anymore because my reverses became so good.

18:34 I was just waiting for the right timing for him to make a mistake and I would reverse the guy like if you look at my you were talking about some records that I did. I had 14 submission victories, but I never took anybody down. They go like they he never had a single takeout but he still pulled off the 40 submission. That means that they took me down. I would reverse them or I will submit it from the bottom, but I would go for summations.

18:59 I actually fell in love with submissions. The thing I miss the most now because of the three next urges that have four next urges that I have I simply can’t grapple anymore and that is a thing. I would advise everybody at home. Also, if you have kids especially ladies, if you have girls put them in freaking jiu-jitsu because I mean the worst position to be for let’s talk throw it out raping right that’s in between the legs laying in between the legs. That position is actually a very strong position in the submission game.

19:28 So once somebody is there, they can choke them with the legs. They can arm burn there. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff they can do from that position. So for a girl to know these skills and it’s really good for your cognitive function as well. Problem-solving thinking because like for instance, I’m shooting a bow, right?

19:42 So a friend of mine gave him gave me a bow really good compound bow, but it’s a 50 pound pool. Well, I have four next urges and this arm is very weak. So I could I’m standing in the store and I see the boat. I can’t he says no, it’s only 40 pounds. I say yeah, this is it for you to say but I and I showed him my arm.

19:59 This is a whole dent here. So I said atrophied and the guys over got you. You can’t shoot. I said I can give me one second. He goes what do you mean?

20:05 I said just give me one second. Let me think. I saw I got it. So I put I hooked on the you have a little wristband with a little trigger on it that you hook onto the line and that you have to pull right. So what I did, I just grabbed the back of my head.

20:19 I pushed the bow for I say see I can shoot and the guy goes ballistic. He goes I just come up with that. I go. Well, I get these for the submissions, right? This problem-solving thinking but I did it on the spot.

20:29 So he said man can I make a video because I know a lot of people have a problem with this and now they can actually shoot because of what you did. But you see that all comes from the submission game and trying to figure out how we get bypass because if I push my arm out if this is the end result that I need my arm to be stretched. I can also do this. I can push myself away. You see or I stretch it now it’s stretched.

20:49 But if I can stretch it here, I can move myself away and it’s also stressed. If once you start thinking like that, then you can figure out a lot of problems. Wow, that’s fantastic. And so when you then went to the UFC after pancreas, what was that experience like for you? I mean, that was a really big fight.

21:07 You obviously got the title and then what has been your opinion to watch the UFC evolve after that? I just loved everything. I always wanted to fight in the UFC. Not in the beginning though, because they were talking about it was no referee. He couldn’t step in and I go listen, I’m crazy, but I’m not an idiot.

21:24 You know, I mean if I get knocked out, I would like the guy to stop and if you have got a complete psychopath, which decides to jump on top of you and gives you six or seven more elbows, which we saw in the first few UFC’s until thankfully Big Joe McCarthy put his foot down. He says, listen, if I can’t step in, I’m out. And they knew they needed John because he made a lot of rules. He actually came up with mixed martial arts. The term he did a lot for the sport and thankfully they listened to him and that was the moment.

21:49 They said, okay, now sign me up. Now I would love to fight in the UFC. Like all these guys are talking about. Oh, I would like to die in the ring. Nami, I have a beautiful family, you know, if there’s a possibility, I’m going to die.

22:02 I’m going to tap. That’s what I’m going to do. So I’m not that big of a tough guy, but that’s actually that stupid to me that stupid, but you know, it was just finally in the UFC and my biggest thing and this is a true story. The reason I want to fight in UFC, but this sounds crazy was the theme song. I wanted to come up with the theme song.

22:22 I thought it was so bad-ass from a video game and it was so cool. The original version. I go, man, how cool would that be? So I called the UFC and I said, I have a 30 second clip that I want to play before you guys do the thing. He says that we can do it.

22:40 I said, what is the clip? I say it’s the three to Norse and the three to Norse there are things. Pavarotti, Luciano and Bocelli. They would go, I’d like to be on America. Let me do that 30 second clip and then do it.

22:53 I think it’s going to come over really well for the people. He says it will come over really well, but we cannot do that right now. So unfortunately, I couldn’t do that one. You commentated for pride for a number of years and I was watching pride probably before I got into the UFC again before the UFC got big and bought pride. You could argue the better fights were in pride, the better looking fights.

23:16 It was more of a premier organization. Talk to me about your time when you were there witnessing the legends of pride from Fedor to the Noguera Brothers, to Vanderlei Silva, to Rampage Jackson. I mean, it really was the premium, maybe still the premium of all-time organization for the size of the shows and the characters. I mean, it was like a superhero movie. What was that like, boss?

23:39 It’s the most fun time we ever had. Every time we see fighters from Pride, we go, I mean breakfast at the Tokyo Hilton in Shinjuku, best breakfast on the planet. Never seen anything better. Everything you want is there fresh, whatever you want. So we would be, you have to understand if you come from America, you go to Japan, the jet light makes you wake up very early.

23:59 Go to bed early, wake up early. From Holland, that’s completely the opposite. You know, you all wake at night. But anyway, so everybody’s hungry in the morning. So there will be a freaking line at 5 a.m.

24:10 Waiting for the people to open and all these fighters would sit at one table and there will be cracking jokes and you know, the camaraderie among the fighters, it’s a two-hour left fast. And that’s how you start your day. You know, it was just insane. And then I started training Mark Kerr and then Mark Kerr became big at Pride Fighting Championships. And then one day I’m sitting backstage and there’s this fight going on and I go, oh look, he’s going to knee bar him.

24:37 And then the people from Pride were sitting with us. He says, what do you mean? He’s not putting a knee bar. I said, I’ll give it 10 seconds. And then the 10 seconds, the guy rolls into a knee bar and they go, how did you know that?

24:46 I go, why? He was setting it up, you know. And then I pulled another one with a, I think it was a reverse figure four. I said, oh, it’s going to reverse figure four. Same thing.

24:54 They said, but it’s not doing it. I say again, I say, give 10 seconds. Boom, happened again. Now they get to me and they said, hey, in 2000, you know, our show, the tournament, we’re going to broadcast in life to America. Do you want to be our commentator?

25:10 That’s literally how we got the commentating job. And then this is also a true story. I was, this you can see how a knucklehead I am. I had no clue we had to wear a suit. I never paid attention to commentators.

25:24 I thought, oh, they open the show. It’s a voiceover in the background, whatever. I never really dove into it. So when I arrived at the bus to go to the event, they go like, are you already put your suit inside? They go, shoot.

25:36 And they go, it’s not a laugh. They thought I made a joke. I go, no, I’m serious. I say, and I was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with shorts and flip-flops. And they go, are you serious?

25:45 They go, nobody told me to bring a shirt. But what happened was, now we had to come up with something else to open the show. So what happened was, Steven Cuadros was in the beginning. He was with me and he will be do the opening in the show, in the arena, and he would throw back to the back where I was sitting with like 12 guy shots who were fatting me down, feeding me grapes. And I was talking to these walls.

26:06 Yeah, I got these 11 guys surrounded me, but you know me. Oh, hey, Steven. And then I would talk about the event that night. I would send it back to Steven and then the people at home and I was like, oh my God, that was the best opening. So now I had to do it for every show.

26:19 We had to create these really funny openings, but it started out as a necessity because this dumbass here forgot to bring a suit. That’s crazy. I had no idea. But I remember you and Cuadros and El Guapo and it was a lot of personality and then the size of those shows. I mean, you know, one of them you had 90,000 plus and it’s just a whole different crowd and all the different nationalities involved.

26:43 It was just something special that was happening. Well, 45,000 people was considered a small show. That was the Saitama Super Arena when it didn’t expand. When it would expand, it’s like 48 and a half, I believe they could fit in. But for like bankers, I thought the Budokan 15,000 people that was considered a big show.

27:03 But for them, 45,000 was not really that good. And then the packages they had that you saw that which they never showed in America. And I always told them, I says, they, for the people at home, they will make a package of a fighter of two fighters that go to face each other. And there was this one time, this package between Fedor, Milianenko and Mirko Krogov. And you see Krogov training in this high-tech gym, like freaking Ivan Drago, and he’s kicking the back, kicking the back, kicking the back, and then it goes to Russia. And there’s Fedor with this rusted kettlebell swinging in the snow and running through the snow.

27:36 And I go back to him and all these high-tech gym equipment and back to Fedor and he’s got a log in his neck. And then it goes to a river and corpses floating in the river and it’s frozen. And then you see Mirko sitting at the grave of his father who passed away as a war hero. I got goosebumps now. And I remember the camera goes to Mirko and he’s got tears in his eyes.

27:57 This is before he fights freaking Fedor. You know, and I always told him, I said, why don’t you show these packages on American TV? People are going to freaking love these things. But they said they were locked up the Tokyo TV deal. I think they didn’t want to do it.

28:11 But that was a great way to and that’s I truly believe that’s why pride was so big. Of course, also because of Sakuraba because he was the only person in the world to beat four graces. Nobody ever did that before and he put really pride fighting championships on the map. But also the packages, the karate, the fighters, the fights, I mean these crazy fights they had. 170 pound guy against the 500 pound guy, you know, stuff like that.

28:34 That’s what people really like. Do you think that’ll ever come back in Japan or was that just the right place at the right time? And maybe that’s that’s that’s a one-off thing. Yeah, it’s a one-off thing because they can’t find a guy like Sakuraba anymore. It’s very hard to find a Japanese fighter that can beat all the good guys that come from Brazil, from home, from from every country around the world.

28:58 And I think he really put us on the map. He was the catalyst. I would say for pride fighting championships. Yeah, he’s a unique dude. That’s for sure.

29:08 You mentioned Mark Kerr. Let’s talk about this now because when I started training jiu-jitsu in 2002 and I started training martial arts and getting into it, of course, I’d later come train with you in LA. I went down to Brazil. I traded at Gracie Baja. I trained with the Brazilian top team guys and I went and saw Marilla Bustamante fight at Bushido, which was that pride kind of sister organization.

29:32 And I went down my journey to of the essential movies back in the day to watch was Hicks and Gracie choke and Mark Kerr the smashing machine. And I must have watched each one of them 50 times because those were the cult documentaries that you watched if you were into MMA and jiu-jitsu because the world hadn’t heard of it yet. So I remember the movie and you were in it and I remember the whole story of Mark and it was really intense and then I heard recently when I saw you missing from the karate combat in Austin and coming on with the rock.

30:06 I couldn’t believe they were making a Hollywood movie out of something that I thought was just a cult documentary between old-school MMA people. How did this happen boss and were you surprised that there was such serious interest in this movie by serious acting talent? Yeah, because what happened was the smashing machine till this day holds the highest viewers on HBO ever, you know, it was an HBO show and till this date had the highest numbers and DJ Dwayne Johnson really felt a connection with Mark Kerr like with his life and it was his baby.

30:43 I remember like six years ago. He announced it at the UFC event and there were like five people clapping because this is the old days, you know, a lot of people didn’t know who Mark Kerr was anymore. Well Mark Kerr had this crazy story. He was a crazy fighter good fighter, but he also had a drug problem. He’s shooting up new bane, which is a very happy painkiller and then his relationship at home was very toxic and Emily Blount actually plays his wife plays Don and then together with and I got to tell you man, I mean there were scenes that we were shooting with the Japanese people coming in to interview him and the way Mark was standing and I already say Mark, but it’s DJ right with the same the same posture Mark had and the speech.

31:24 I mean I this could be a lot of people good going to open eyes to the talent that DJ has because the way he started speaking as Mark Kerr. It was like a freaking time warp for me. It was really weird to see these Japanese people as actors. You know, you can know he they get all these people from pride fighting championship and this championships. They were they were there as well.

31:47 I go my god. This is an identical copy and also what you’re going to see is the fights. We didn’t change the fights. So whatever you’re going to see in that movie, which is going to be a drama. Of course, the fights are like they were in real life movies always make it different.

32:01 Right. They always had a spinning kick or this and make it more flashy. They always want to add things not this guy Benny Savvy is the director. He’s an incredible freakin mind his mind that works completely different than anybody else’s mind with visual effects. It’s amazing what this guy can do.

32:17 We use the same cameras that pride fighting championships are still he wanted to be that authentic. We have things from doggy. If you walk backstage, it was walking in Japan. Everything was Japanese the groceries groceries. You don’t need groceries, but it’s Japanese the little cards to Tokyo Dome lighting.

32:37 You see Tokyo Dome standing on it. It’s printed on it. He got it over from Japan to make it as natural as possible for the movie. So I think people going to be really surprised with the acting chops. First of all, across Emily Blunt, right?

32:51 I mean, she just got an Oscar to Oppenheimer. So she’s an incredible actress and then another one Brian Bader. Ryan Bader. He played Coleman and Ryan Bader is a fighter, you know. So, you know, and but he’s doing a phenomenal job.

33:04 He’s I go, dude, you’re good. I think this is going to be really nice. You’re going to love what you did. And then when they asked me if I could play myself, I go, who wants to do a movie with the Rock, right? Who wants to do a movie with Emily Blunt?

33:19 But that was the first call I had for my Betty 70. He said, I want you to play yourself. I go, do sign me up. I would love. I said, do we have to do some CGI thing here?

33:27 Because I’m not as 24 years ago, not I didn’t have a lick of makeup in the whole movie. So I hope it’s going to be okay. What’s that like playing yourself? Well, you have to go back in time because I was a crazy guy at the time. You know, I was a happy drinker, happy partner.

33:45 And you know, I was like people now, they think I’m still on if you meet me for the first time. But if you meet people who know me 15 years ago, they go like, oh my God, he’s so relaxed now. And then the people at the table go, that’s relaxed. He goes, oh, it was way worse. So that was the only thing I had to turn up a little bit.

34:02 The craziness, almost the craziness that I had in here comes the boom, like being that over the top because that was just my personality all the time. But for the rest, it was easy because yeah, I’ve been teaching my freaking entire life and then Betty 70 sent me the script. He says, hey, listen, all the teaching stuff, it’s written in there, but don’t even look at it, do what you would like to do in real life. So that made it all so much more easier than being in front of a camera the whole time, you know, for life or live show inside of a made that TV show we had those nine years live shows, you know, that helps you a lot to be more comfortable in front of the camera.

34:40 And then if you can just use the language that you use in teaching, yeah, that makes it much easier. Wow. Is, are you advising on the film as well? Because you were probably one of the few people that were there, right? Yep.

34:54 Yeah, no, I did. I just got a really nice message from a DJ again. He said, man, I was thank you, you know, for in the way you did it. He said, because do this and then you would say these talking about me, nah, do it like this. It’s much better.

35:09 And then he immediately would do it. So they would listen, even if the stunt guys made the whole fight scene, if I said, nah, I’m not good with that, you know, then immediately would get scrapped and they would do what I want, what to do. So they’re very easy guys, no egos to work with. And once you have that combination and then Betty Safdie, he knows all these actors. It was the most fun set, most relaxed set.

35:30 Alexander Yusek, he played the ego of Chanchin. He came in, people go, oh, because he became a world champion. No, that was already six months ago decided and it was going to be right after the fight. They knew it, winning or losing, it was going to play the ego of Chanchin. To meet that guy, that was nice as well, because he’s a funny dude and boy, can he fight?

35:47 So, yeah, everything was, it was really nice. I had a really good time. It’s all in the can now. It’s all been shot. Yeah, it’s all been shot.

35:55 They just wrapped up. I got another message a couple, three days ago. They wrapped it up in Japan. They did some scenery shoots there, shots, and now it’s going to go in the production. I don’t know when it’s going to come out.

36:06 I think it’s going to be after the Cannes Film Festival. I think they might bring it there because everything went really well. Who knows, right? Nowadays, who knows something like that? But if you look at the wrestler, if you look at those kind of movies with this kind of little bit is, hey, with a little luck, we can get it up for something for a big price maybe even.

36:28 So that’s how impressed I was with him, with his acting, because he completely changed his whole mannerisms and his speech. But, yes, no, yes, no, it’s like a snake that gets shed. And I go, like, where does that come from? Because that’s not how he talks, but that’s how Kurt talks, you see. So, yeah, it was impressive to see.

36:47 Do you think this movie couldn’t have been made 20 years ago, as in I’m saying, it will be received now by people that have been watching the UFC for five, ten, fifteen years that now understand MMA, that maybe, boss, are curious about the origins of it because that’s kind of the story you’re telling. Is that what you think was going to light this thing off by this now educated fan base that maybe 20 years ago wasn’t even there? Oh, 100% for MMA, it’s going to do a lot because now people realize, oh crap, people were fighting like that.

37:19 There was insanity. You know, the camaraderie between Kurt and Coleman backstage the whole time knowing that if they both win their fights, they’re going to have to fight each other. And they’ve been friends for a long time, but there was also 250,000 prize. Also, they got all that friendship because I fought friends before, trust me, that’s going to go out of the window. When I came to the UFC, I remember an hour and a half before my fight, I walked into the dressing room from Chiyoshi Kosaka because I know TK.

37:47 And I said, hey TK, I’m going to try to knock you out, brother. I hope you’re going to do the same thing with me. And then afterwards we drink a beer. Sounds good. And he goes, good.

37:54 So we shook hands and that’s that’s what that’s what happened. You know, so it was a it was a different time. The animosity that you see nowadays also, you know, a lot is fabricated, of course, but there are some real fights. You almost never saw that in the old days, you know, everybody was hanging out with each other after the fight. Everybody’s a Wapongi to go without district in Japan.

38:16 And we’re all eating breakfast together, you know, just on the fight day. That’s where we separate our emotions. We fight and then it’s back to being friends again. Right. What was Mark Kerr involved at all in the film or where or yeah, yeah, he came around and he showed some take down.

38:33 He did. He helped the stunt guys out. Yeah, he was there also. He was last week. He was in Japan as well.

38:39 Wow, that must be strange a movie being made about you from a long time. Yeah, and it’s a big thing, you know, if you look at his wife, his poor wife, you know, because she was she was a little freaking crazy because I remember Emily Blunt. She came to me and she said there was one of the first day. I saw she says later. I want to sit down with you.

38:59 I want to talk about Dawn. So I have more information on how to play her. I go. Well, that’s going to be easy. It goes.

39:04 What do you mean? I said, I talked once to her. What did you say? Get the hell out of the dressing room? That was my work.

39:11 I said, so I didn’t have a relationship with her. She didn’t like me, you know, and she actually told Emily later, she said we were young. I was just jealous because he got more attention than me and I was just constantly, you know, bugging him about it. He says, but there are 25 or 27, you know, we’re all been young and stupid, but for her to this movie coming out, you know, because it’s not going to show her her best moments. I would say, especially with Emily Blunt.

39:38 I mean, you know, she’s going to put her down like like like it was and that’s that’s what I’m looking forward to because I was reading the script and the dialogue between them. I never really got into that. But now I saw it. I go. Oh, yeah, it’s it’s going to be hard.

39:54 You’re going to feel it. Yeah, we all remember her from the dock and the tension was real in that locker room between her and you and Mark and now I’m really excited about it coming out for sure. Boss, when you watch the UFC today, you know, it’s evolved so much and the technique has changed and the athleticism has changed and guys are coming up with new stuff and new types of styles that we didn’t see in Pride. Are you constantly impressed by the evolution of fighting or do you see it differently?

40:27 Yeah, no, I’m very impressed. You know, to see things getting pulled shot on rally, the accuracy that he has, you know, and the way he puts people down and the talent is it’s incredible. Now it’s really a sport. Now actually everybody treats it like I was treating it all the way in the back, you know, they were just doing weights. Then they would do striking.

40:45 Then they would do wrestling. Then they would do submissions. Nobody found out that the combination makes you tired and that’s why I was ahead of everybody at that moment because I just based my strength and conditioning on that. What I was going to do and it freaked work, you know, but now everybody is doing it. Now everybody is having nutritious day.

41:04 They have the best food, the best everything, you know, everything is science and then you see these athletes they can perform. It’s really amazing. I mean, I couldn’t find Amanda Nunes right now. She will beat the crap out of me because that’s how we lead these fighters on nowadays. Do you credit it all to specific fighters?

41:26 Is it Dana White? Is it the fans? Is it just the continual grind to push this? I know you always thought it would be the biggest thing. I think we all did in the early days of MMA, but it was never assured it was going to happen.

41:39 It obviously didn’t happen in Japan and who knows it might not have happened in America if it wasn’t for a few key players, maybe Ronda Rousey or Connor or Dana. How do you think about that? Yeah, I think Dana. I think we have to give him credit if they had to rush more with what they always talk about. He needs to be on it because he brought it to another level.

41:59 You know, and they put a lot of money in there, 40-50 million dollars. They weren’t making anything and then thankfully they had the idea. Hey, let’s do the ultimate fighter. You know, let’s show these fighters. Not only that, let’s do an open bar in the house but it also can drink.

42:12 So there’s got to be some freaking animosity and boom. I remember the very first show after the ultimate fighter, which I didn’t watch the first season. And I went to a Joe Rogan stand-up piece that he did and while I’m walking over I see this guy, two guys standing there and there’s like 50 people waiting in line to get his autograph. So is he like an artist or something? No, he’s a fighter.

42:39 I go, I don’t know him. You know, he’s from the ultimate fighter. And that’s when I realized, oh wow, they became gigantic now because this guy from the show that I didn’t know had a line of people waiting. So and then when what is this? Stefan Bonner and Forrest Griffin put that main event on which was almost written by a movie script.

43:01 It looked like I mean, it was such a dog fight back and for both. They got the winner was going to get a contract but they gave him to both of course because an amazing fight but that wrap-up that really put the UFC on the map. And then the next show that was it there was like 300,000 pay-per-view buys and from that moment on it started getting up and up and up because in the beginning the UFC in 93 it was that over 200,000 pay-per-view buys the first show, you know, it was gigantic and the second one even surpassed it but then all these politicians and the whole craziness that happened in New York that guy that wouldn’t allow it and thankfully that guy got booted because he was getting money from people or something he was in the government they threw him out and immediately MMA was legal.

43:47 I mean a week later it was legal. So we all knew that was the guy who had who was holding a grudge against the Fertitas. I think it was something to do with what is all the people work for him. There is one of the unions, right? It was one of the food and beverage union.

44:01 That was it. Yeah, and that’s then that you never let him off of that, you know, and because it was a personal thing he didn’t want to give it to them. So once he left, that was it. Everything was okay with it because if you really break it down it’s safer than boxing, right? And once you start telling people that people, but wait a minute, it’s in a cage.

44:19 You put animals in a cage. You put prisoners in a cage. Well, the case is actually there to protect you not to fall out. You know what’s a, they showed the video of me fighting Frank Shamrock where we fly out in a ring. They showed it at the athletic commission.

44:32 This is why we want to prevent this. That’s why we have defense. Okay, so that’s good. So why wouldn’t it be legal? If you can do all the sports separated if you put them together, now suddenly it’s illegal.

44:45 It makes absolutely no sense. And that was it. They said yes. And then when I came back and I’ve talked about that’s when to the UFC, that’s why the weight class has got established. Only 200 pounds and under, 200 pounds and over.

44:56 I was actually going to be the first guy I was trying to get two titles because I was two or three. So for me to drop three pounds, that was very, actually by way in I was 198 and I couldn’t fight for a title. They said so I said give me a moment. So my buddies were drinking water. So I took the water.

45:15 So that was the way and I drank all the water. So I drank way too much because I was two or three. I drank a lot of water, but that’s all otherwise it would have been a title fight. So then I said, okay, once I have this title, I will drop three pounds go to I believe they call the middleweight. It was middleweight and heavyweight.

45:30 Not light heavy, but middleweight and heavyweight and I’m going to face Frank Shamrock and then Frank found out that I came there. Oh, no, Frank retired. Then Tito was going to be the next in line. So I was going to face Tito then Frank came back and he says no, no, no, no. I was the champion.

45:48 I will face Tito and then after I face Tito and I beat him, I’m going to fight a boss. So we’ll go. Okay, let’s do it. And then he beat Tito, but then he retires. So unfortunately that fight never happened.

46:00 And since I was so injured already, you know, I could have done that for another eight weeks. You know, the pain go through all the hell only for to get that title and then retire. But that’s what I said. You know what? I’m going to stop.

46:14 You know, this I’ve won too many fights in a row. It’s very hard to get that fire back. The UFC made already a big difference for me because there’s new venue new thing, you know, that sparked it again, but the injuries were too much. Was it hard to give up fighting? Very hard.

46:30 Yeah, and and and I thought it was a curse and now I realize it was all it’s all a blessing, right? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had my 22 fight unbeaten streak. Yeah, I would have kept on fighting and you see many of these guys keep on fighting, but you’re going to lose good because you’re fighting guys half your age who started training when they were five years old, you know, they can work out five times a day, five times a week full power. You can’t anymore.

46:53 You know, you really got to make sure that you gradually get in there three times a week. You can really push it hard, but not more because otherwise the body simply doesn’t sustain it anymore. So yeah, it was hard at that moment. But now I realized I’m very happy because it left me with a really great record. Right be very few fighters walk away with a win or winning streak.

47:14 I mean very few because they yeah, they can’t get that rush anywhere else in their lives. And so they want to come back for that, right? Yeah, and that’s a good thing that you said because that the rush, you know, so then you start chasing the rush when you don’t fight anymore. And guess what it becomes? It’s drugs and alcohol, right?

47:32 And that’s what happened to me. You see, so then you have to start kicking dead again. Now you got to fight with that crap. You know, so it’s you find these replacement things that you try to mimic because listen, knock somebody out in front and for the 15,000 people, people going crazy. It’s kind of addicting, you know, it’s a really good feeling to do or submit somebody, especially with something that you worked on and worked out in the fight, you know, and suddenly that’s gone.

47:57 You know, well, you still want your high. That’s why that military, I always say this. He didn’t go drinking and drugs. He starts chasing tornadoes. That’s his new high to get his adrenaline up now.

48:10 Because it’s not just knocking someone out in front of 50,000 people that creates the high. Well, tell me if I’m wrong. Is it also when you’re backstage before you go on where you’re thinking, I don’t want to do this. This is crazy. I can’t believe I’m here again.

48:24 So you’re going through that tension, that stress that I can’t even believe I’m here to that high. Is it a combination of those two? No, it’s like thankfully I never had that. I did have that in the beginning of my career, but not in Japan, like in tight boxing, my first six, seven fights were like, you don’t have that control yet. You know, you can’t be calm because everybody’s screaming and somehow Japan, it made it click for me right away.

48:52 I think it was the people being quiet, you know, the respect that there was the 30 minute round, the guy 33 pounds heavier, you know, all these things I go, I better slow down because if I unload in the first minute and a half and I can’t put them away, I got 28 and a half minutes more to go. And the Japanese people are known to be tough. So I think that all that combination clicked suddenly with me. And then I became the fighter that I was in the gym. And that is the trick to fighting.

49:17 It’s like with acting, right? But the biggest compliment, my acting coach said to me, as soon as people tell you that you are exactly the same as the real life, that is the biggest compliment you can get as an actor. That’s a weird thing. He says, no, it’s not, he says it’s very hard to be yourself and to be completely comfortable in your skin. It’s like walking on the street, a tough guy and it suddenly has to pass six really beautiful ladies.

49:43 Well, we all start walking different. You know, you’re not natural anymore because you try to be tougher, you know, you put a different persona on. That’s what you’re trying to do because you think, oh my God, if they’re all looking at you, you know, some guys develop a limb suddenly, right? It’s a layer is to us. But there you can see that it’s hard to be completely relaxed and being completely relaxed in fighting in any business and podcasting and being a lawyer is everything, you know, because once emotions are pushed to the side, your mind can think the fastest.

50:18 That’s why we see all these problems in the world right now because it’s all emotion based. Everybody thinks they know the truth, but nobody knows the truth. But we scream it or project it as it is the truth. But which is not that the anger doesn’t let us see what’s really going on anymore because emotions are taking over. Well, once you take that away, you step away from it from the outside.

50:38 That’s what I always told my girls. I said, if they had a problem, I said, just act like that person is somebody else, move away from the situation, look at it from the outside and then see how you want to handle it. That most of the time is the best way to handle it because you guys are relaxed. But if you’re in that fire, you make wrong decisions and that’s the same in fighting and everything. If you have to do an opening statement and you’re a lawyer and somebody is going to die, well, you better make sure.

51:04 And it’s cool to practice that thing in the mirror, but there’s nothing like 12 jurors and the whole people sitting there and now do the same exact speech. That’s a very hard thing to do. With basketball, you know, to nail that one, if he goes in, you guys win the game. If you miss this, you’re going to lose the game. That’s a lot of pressure on a guy like that.

51:22 And some people can do it, but the real good guys, they just drink and land the ball. You see, so being relaxed is always everything. Yeah, I think people don’t understand that about fighting and it took me many, many years to understand that you need to be relaxed and people think fighting, especially when you’re starting out fighting, you know, first of all, you’re tense because you’re there and then you think, oh, fighters are angry, but they’re not, the effective ones aren’t.

51:46 And in one of the most weird, stressful, combative situations, you need to be calm, right? And relaxed. That’s it. You will be perfect on that. I have all drills around that.

51:58 And in my class, a spoker face, that’s a word I use a lot. Like when you hit a back, you’re not allowed to make faces. So I want you to hit like this. I don’t want you to go, No, it’s not unnecessary. All that movement is just attention-seeking.

52:15 It’s like picking up a big, heavy lift. Why do we scream? You don’t need to scream. You don’t have to show the people. It’s all bull.

52:24 You can do it without any movement, without saying anything. And once you start doing that, your mind becomes so relaxed, now the body can really react to everything. Like I have this flinching drill. I put you about your back against the wall so you can’t get out. And I’m going to start punching you in front of you, very slow, and I’ll hit this far away from your face.

52:44 But, you know, once you get used to it, I’m going to start very slowly come closer. As soon as there’s a flinching, I hold back, I’m going to slow again. But if I put you against the wall and I start hitting like this, and then I punch a double with one arm and I start doing it, within two minutes, I’m doing this to you. And you’re blocking every single punch, because you know you’re safe, because I’m already hitting here. And you know that I will not really hit you.

53:10 But that means, I always tell them, if you can do it like that, that means in real life, you can do it as well. It’s just staying calm. And that’s the mistake a lot of fighters make. They think anger should be involved. Anger is controlled anger.

53:23 That’s what Bruce Lee would say. You’re relaxed, and as soon as you punch all the anger you have, put it in a one punch, and then you’ll be relaxed again. You see many times in the fight, you see me move and doing this. And what I’m doing then, I’m stepping away and I drop on my heels. I feel all my muscles jiggling.

53:39 And I know that if I feel them jiggling, I’m good. And then I go back into the fight. It’s just a mental thing for me to show. Okay, then you’re good. You’re relaxed.

53:46 Everything is okay. It’s fascinating to see how you think about fighting, boss. It’s, I think it’s called like first principles thinking. That’s what like Elon Musk calls it, where you don’t do whatever one historically has done. You look at it with fresh eyes and you think to yourself, okay, if this is my objective, what’s the best way to get it?

54:06 Whereas a lot of people think, oh, well, the boxing trainers have been doing this for 20 years. So we’re gonna, you know, we’re gonna do runs in the morning or we’re gonna do this. But you, you think about it from a different perspective and think, okay, what can I do or should I do to optimize it? And you come up with these really creative things. And 15 years ago, I went out to LA and trained with you.

54:25 And I remember you had all these different ways of training. You had this, the machine that you had set up to practice with. You had different ways of thinking. I do your, your mixed martial arts workout, the seven rounds, three minutes each now, every single Monday here, I put burpees in the middle and it’s, it’s interesting, boss, because the way you think changes or has changed a lot of the ways that people fight. It is, and it’s just, it’s just focusing.

54:53 It’s just doing it. I remember I started doing the submissions. I never had a coach. I taught myself. And then in 2000, I made an instructional DVD and I got a phone call and this is a guy claiming his B.J. pen.

55:04 So I start laughing, I think, because I never met the B.J. before. And I go, yeah, right. Who set you up? And he goes, no boss, it’s really B.J.

55:11 Then I recognize his voice. I go, oh, hey, man, how are you doing? I’m a big fan. He goes, me too. He says, I’m watching your instructionals.

55:18 I go, uh-oh, what do you think? He goes, I think it’s the best instruction I haven’t seen in my life. I go, you’re serious. He says, who taught you the hand control? I said, me.

55:26 He said, what do you mean? I said, because if somebody arm bars me, they can’t, because I’m always out, because I know the defense for it. But then I thought, what if I face a guy like me, who’s always coming out? Oh, wait a minute. If I grab the inside hand, he cannot roll out.

55:40 You know, that’s why I did it. He goes, dude, that’s freaking super smart. I say, hey, before you hang up, can I use that quote on the DVD? Because coming for you to prodigy, that’s a big freaking quote. But you see, you’re just finding ways to still make it happen.

55:56 And that’s it. And that’s what I did with everything in life. Since I was a baby already, I did that. Well, baby, kids. Boss, talk about your journey with martial arts.

56:05 Because when you look at Boss Rutan in Pancras, I mean, it doesn’t get more alpha male than you. You know, you’re calm, taking care of business. It looks like you’ve been a tough guy your whole life. But when people dip into your story, it’s quite the opposite. And it’s really hard to believe that you came from this kid that was bullied that saw a Bruce Lee movie.

56:25 That’s kind of hard to believe. Yeah, but that was it. That was the leopard school. I had this horrible skin disease. It’s a severe case of eczema.

56:32 And that combined with asthma. Asthma attacks. If I will play with a dog for 50 minutes, the next day, I will be in bed for a week, not able to eat. You know, so because you couldn’t breathe. So really severe asthma.

56:45 And then it’s horrible skin disease. Then we’re hand in hand together. When I had the eczema, really bad, I would have asthma. And if I would have asthma, my skin will be cleared up. So it goes back and forth.

56:56 But needless to say, you get bullied a lot. You know, I didn’t have a lot of friends. Spent a lot of time in the forest. I was swinging treetops to treetops. That was my three, four hours a day.

57:04 I was in the forest swinging treetops. That’s what I love to do. And then, you know, yes, I saw Bruce Lee movie when I was 12 years old. Enter the dragon. And that’s when I realized if I can be like that guy, who the bullet is going to get it.

57:17 So it took me two years to confess my parents to allow me to do martial arts. And then thankfully, an older guy was dating my neighbor girl. She’s a very beautiful girl. And he was the tough guy in town. Xavier was his name.

57:29 And he took me on the swing. And he told my parents, no, I’ll take him to the adult classes and I will take care of all my children. Don’t worry about it. So they allowed it. And then within months, I was beating the adults.

57:38 And then I overheard them talking in the dressing room about me. You know, man, did you see the kid? He freakin’ drug check with a high kick in his face. And everybody got this kid got a lot of talent. And once you hear that as a kid, who normally only hears negative stuff, but then adults are speaking highly of you, you tend to become more confident.

57:55 And then I got into the fight with the biggest bully in my school, Shaki, on a bicycle. I always told this story. So sorry for the people who heard it. I was just riding my bicycle and there he was with like six of his buddies and hey, Lapper, whatever, they shouted again. And this time I shouted something back.

58:10 And I heard him laugh and I look and sure enough, they turned around. They started, they wanted to get me. So I put my bicycle on the stand and I just waited for them. And I told myself, I’m not going to do it anymore. I’m going to take care of business now.

58:23 And then they surrounded me with their bikes and Shaki came and he started bumping his chest again. I’m like, come on, Lapper, hit me. I go, okay. And that’s when I found out that was actually good. And I just dropped him one shot out and there’s no sweat on his face.

58:38 So that was a problem because now the police showed up because he had to go to the hospital to fix that, which that confirmed, of course, to my parents that martial arts is violence. So they pulled me up right away. In that defense, I always have to say this, they had no clue I was bullied. I always, I didn’t want to give them that my mother had so much work with me because she had to mummify me. That’s what we called it every night with the creams and I will wrap it off in the middle of the night because of which it’s so bad.

59:03 I had the stone next to my bed that I would hit the whole time because I would prefer pain over itching because it would drive me insane. And then so I never told my mother that I was bullied because she had enough on her head already. But I’m pretty freaking sure that if my dad would have known and my mom, they would have said, no, no, no, he’s going to stay on there because this is the way for him to fight back. But unfortunately, I didn’t want to tell him at the time.

59:30 Wow. And so that you fought the bullies and then you just kept going and pretty soon you realized you had a talent for this. I made a list. I started making a list of all the bullies and I checked every person off. I went after all of them and then I became the bully guy, you know, just so you had a problem in school.

59:48 Guess we took care of that problem for you. That was this guy right here because now I enjoyed it, you know, to finally give them what they deserve, you know, and always tell the bullies. I say, you got to watch out because there’s more kids like me who grow up and they start. They find a different profession than you would think and then they might still come after you. So, yeah, be nice to people.

1:00:10 Bas, is that knockout power? Is it something you’re born with or is it something you can train? Yeah, I think you can enhance it by certain techniques that I do with cable machines and it’s also good for technique. But I think it’s the fast twitch fibers, you know, the guys with the fast twitch fibers, they’re very explosive and they will probably get it much faster than the slow twitch fibers. Then again, the fast twitch fibers needs an incredible amount of oxygen because you’re burning much more than the freaking diesel, so to say, which are the slow twitch fibers.

1:00:42 So, these guys can keep on coming. Those are the guys with the 35 heart rate a minute, you know, like, and the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, it’s really freaking high. That’s what ours is. The rest of the world is pretty much the fast twitch fibers, the explosive guys. And I think once you have that explosive, this you can translate that pretty much to anything.

1:01:04 Do you still teach and train for up and coming fighters? No, no, I haven’t done that for a bit. So, I moved to Texas two years ago and my gym is still over there and I didn’t want to do a gym here now with karate combat with my O2 trainer with all the things that I’m doing right now. I’m just very busy. I do public speaking, which I already have to cancel now.

1:01:24 So, now I’m still training the SEALs. So, all these things that I don’t want to let go, I keep doing, but it’s just very hard right now because it’s busy. Boss, what do you tell young men or even older men about those other demons that come up? I mean, I’ve been sober now seven years, but it was probably one of the hardest fights of my life. And I’m just curious, like, what did you learn from your battles with that?

1:01:50 And what can people learn from you when it comes to fighting those demons, those invisible demons that creep up? Well, I always say the first person you should lie to in the world is you. You’re the most important person in the world. And once you start lying to yourself, that’s where everything goes wrong. Like I said hundreds of times, today I’m not going to drink, right?

1:02:13 But then at 4 o’clock, you pop out open and it starts again the whole time and every time, every morning. But every time when I do that, I break my promise to myself. And once you do that, that promise of breaking becomes normal. And once it’s normal, there’s no reason to quit anymore. You have to really see the severity of everything.

1:02:29 And what you’re thinking as a druggie or an alcoholic or whatever you’re enslaved to, so to say, yeah, boss, I’m only doing it to myself. You have a family, right? Yeah, no, you do it to your entire family. And once I saw that, you know, like being home, like I’m a happy drug. I’m not, there’s no anger, there’s no violence, no nothing.

1:02:49 The kids never see me anger. I’m always happy dancing and doing funny things. But still to be drunk and to be dancing with the kids, it’s not being a good father. You know, doing a husband, you know, you’re not a man. That’s what you are, because you’re not in control of your passions and desires.

1:03:03 And once you can control that, once you want to be a man, don’t you want to be a man? What is a man? A man is the guy who can overcome his weaknesses, his vices and imperfections. A man who’s not a slave to his emotions, passions and desires, but just completely in control of himself. And when I heard that line, I go, I want to be that guy.

1:03:21 And it’s very hard to attain, and especially in this crazy world, because everything is on the phone. Bring the food, bring this. Everybody’s complaining. I’m too much weight, too much weight. I say, go to the gym.

1:03:30 I don’t have time. Give me your phone. And I look at the screen time, eight hours today on the screen. And you say you cannot give one hour of that to make your body happy. Do you know what?

1:03:39 What is it? 0.02% of people who passed away from COVID were healthy people. It’s two in a thousand. All the rest was, oh, because everybody’s just very much out of shape and they couldn’t find it. You see?

1:03:56 Now, do I say that you cannot eat whatever you want? No. But stop complaining, right? If you, oh, my knees are already, my distance is already well, there’s only one way to stop it. Stop stuffing food in your face.

1:04:06 That’s the only way. That’s easy for me to say, because I don’t have that problem. But with meat drinking, it’s as hard for me not to drink as for you to eat, not to eat. So, we all have our vices. It’s just, I don’t want to be a slave to a vice anymore, because that’s what you are.

1:04:20 You are enslaved to whatever overcomes you. So, and then I go, wait a minute. So, that pill has control over me. Yeah, I don’t like that. And once I saw that, and once I started thinking that it’s not only me, it’s the entire family, everybody is affected by it.

1:04:35 That’s what I just, it wasn’t really hard, but even I just stopped. Yeah, I think I heard on time someone said, people turn to vices when you can’t handle reality. And instead of changing your reality, you go to a vice to then change it. And I always thought, I don’t want to be the guy. That’s not the definition of a man who can’t handle his reality.

1:04:56 Or if you don’t like the reality, change it. But change your reality, don’t change your state and perception of that reality. And if you look at that as the ultimate weakness, then you can kind of go after fighting it. Yeah, imagine you’re drunk and bad, then it’s a home invasion. What are you going to do, right?

1:05:15 If you’re ready for your family, well, you’ve been a good husband, husband of the year. And if you don’t have a weapon, like people don’t have weapons, you take the weapons away from the illegal guys, from the criminals, I have to give my guns away. But as long as they have them, I want to have the right to protect myself. Very simple. Get rid of them, I get rid of them.

1:05:32 No problem with that. But as long as I have them, there’s no way I’m going to give them up. You know, you need to be always ready. And that’s your duty as a father and as a husband as well. You are going to be the person that has to step up.

1:05:45 Yeah, but there’s three people, don’t care. If you’re drunk, you can’t do it. If you’re in drugs, you can’t do it. Make sure you help. Start working out, dude.

1:05:52 I mean, everybody can do it. If you work out like two classes a week, martial arts, you already know more than 99% of the people out there that you’re going to face. It’s very simple. It’s just doing it. That’s why it’s so laughable to me that people, this guy is racing through the street, I ask him to tow down, and he starts getting in my face, oh, old man, I go, oh, dude, old man, I’m like, that’s a dagger in my heart right there, what are you doing?

1:06:12 Oh, you want to fight old man? I go, yes, please. And he looks at me and he goes like, why is the guy laughing? So he drives away, he says, oh, you got no balls. And I go, says no one who’s driving away.

1:06:22 And then he stops, the guy gets out. So while he’s running towards me, I start walking to him, but I’m laughing because I think this idiot has no clue. And then my daughter comes out. She heard everything. She’s a hundred pound girl.

1:06:34 And she’s pointing at me, get back in your freaking car. I saw the guy. He goes, yeah, this friend, this family’s crazy. He jumped back in the sky and he went up. But him also to be this not-galactic and steroid guy sitting with his wife at first, she’s shotgun with a baby on her lap.

1:06:51 I mean, dude, if the airbag comes out, it comes out at 250 miles an hour. That’s the speed over the airbag. Your baby is dead. I mean, think, some people are just morons, you know, and unfortunately, for us, we have them, and sometimes you have to step up against guys like that. And most of the time staying calm and just laughing will make him understand that he probably knows it better than I do.

1:07:15 And then they leave, thankfully. What’s this Exodus 90 program that you talked about? It’s interesting because it looks like you ask people to kind of step away from that phone, step away from social media, put some discipline in your life, cold showers, that kind of thing. What’s that all about? It’s a Catholic program.

1:07:35 So 10 years ago, in 2014, I got back to the faith and then I started feeling better right away. There’s a lot happened with me. I got attacked by a spirit physically. I see God fly in front of my face up against the ceiling. I mean, the most insane thing happened to me which would really freak me out.

1:07:53 So I realized there is way more to this life that this is not the life. There’s something coming, you know, and then…

1:08:01 Okay, so the Exodus 90, I got back to the faith and the Exodus 90 is like steroid or lense. It’s for three months. I start the last five years. I start every year like this. So I believe in January 6, we start and it goes all the way past Lent.

1:08:15 And that is like you said, only cold showers. When I say that, 70% of the guys are gone already because they can do it. I go, really? That’s pretty freaking sad if you cannot do it. But hey, you can only have three meals a day.

1:08:27 There’s two fasting days. Wednesdays and Fridays. You can only listen to music that lifts the soul. Can be on your phone, not on TV, not on your laptop, only for your job for the rest, everything. No social media.

1:08:38 Everything is gone. No essential purchases, like you’re disconnecting from everything. And when you go back five years and you look at my Instagram account or where I was posting, you’ll see a drop, like 90% drop in posting because that’s when I realized I’m wasting a lot of time on this freaking stupid thing. I’m wide open because now I can watch TV. I’m going to read a book.

1:09:01 Oh, now I’m learning things. You see, so you can do so much, but we simply don’t want to do it anymore. We’re so weak. I always call it a bunch of pucys and it’s called pucys. I go, yeah, I took an abbreviation for the word pusillanimous.

1:09:15 Lack of courage. Lack of determination. And that’s what you have. You’re just weak. That’s what you are.

1:09:22 And I’m not saying you’re a weak person in general. I’m saying you’re a weak person to whatever vice that you have. And if you have five vices, we all try to get rid of them. By the way, don’t just pick one. The biggest one like for me, but doing drugs without alcohol very, very rarely.

1:09:38 That will be like 3% in my life. You know, okay, so if I cut alcohol out, I kind of cut drugs out as well. Start with the alcohol. Alcohol is always the worst because the alcohol puts you in the mind that you believe it’s okay to do because you’re drunk, you know, and then you do all your stupid stuff. But once you realize that now they say how can you be happy or not drinking?

1:09:58 I go, dude, I’m way more happy. Now I’m walking 5 a.m. at the airport and I’m looking around and I go, I’m actually feeling really good right now. I remember the days that I came straight from the bar and then to walking through the airport being completely messed up, you know, so everything becomes better. Once you also realize some guys, you know, they don’t want to talk to girls.

1:10:21 They’re a little bit shy. They drink two beers, and suddenly they can talk. Now they think that the beer is the reason that they can talk to the girls. No, it’s not. That just lowered your whatever you had in your mind.

1:10:32 Now you have the balls to say it, but you can find that also without the alcohol. You just have to do it a few times. It’s like, yeah, I’m going to talk about some stuff that is really weird. Like I did a lot of burglaries when I was a kid, right? I got caught for that.

1:10:48 Like 152, I got caught. I was 14 or 15 years old. I just like to break in things, take a pack of cigarettes and move, you know, never in houses, always in companies, in bars, you know, drinking chocolate milk. We just, just for the rush, we do that. The first time we broke into a school, I remember my friend was maybe 30 yards away and I go, you walk over to him and you whisper to him and you’re whispering, whispering.

1:11:15 The fifth time that you’re in there, he’s 30 yards away. Yo, Paul, can I come over here, man? Because it already is normal and that’s with everything else in life. Whatever is scary in the beginning and fighting. I just said it.

1:11:27 I said to me like six fights to get into my skin to finally to be is just doing it. And always know there’s no courage without fear. So if you fear something, that’s the only way you can get cursed by overcoming that fear and then you simply have to do it. And once you do it, you go, that was really not that bad. And then you do it again and do it again.

1:11:46 Now, and every time it becomes easier. Everybody, my first acting job. I mean, I memorized everything that I have and you know what happened? My first question, all the life book, and action. Lie please.

1:12:00 I didn’t remember the line because I just froze up. You know, it’s the same as doing an acting job in front of a class. You have to do a monologue the first time that you get there. Well, good luck with that. That’s really not as easy as you think it is.

1:12:11 It’s not like sitting in front of a mirror. No, now everybody’s judging you and sitting and looking at you. Now do the same. Go. And then you have to still remember every single thing that you have to memorize from the monologue.

1:12:23 You see, so being relaxed. Yeah, again is always the best. Talk to me about religion and why why is it a hard thing for people to get their head around? I feel like a lot more people are talking about religion and I feel like a lot of our people we listen to like the Rogans and stuff of the world are starting to think, wow, there’s something here. There’s I always look at it as like technology that was developed over thousands of years to make the human experience better and the older I get the more I look at religion as some really important practices that are in there.

1:12:56 But as a kid, I was always against it because it always felt like maybe it was being pushed on me. How do you how do you talk to people about religion, boss? Well, never start quoting Bible verses and doing all that stuff because then you’re the crazy guy here, right? You start to that but just ask them what they want to be a man and then I use that line. I want to be a man who can overcome his weaknesses, his fights, his imperfections, that line and that is being a true Catholic.

1:13:20 You don’t know my dependable, please stop pointing fingers right away. That’s 1.7 percent. Unfortunately, 1.7 percent too much. But those are just bad people. That doesn’t mean that the rest is bad.

1:13:29 If I want to live by the rules that Jesus lived by, the two greatest commandments he ever gave was one. If you’re an atheist, you don’t have to follow this. Love God with all your might, all your hearts, your soul, everything, right? Number two, treat thy neighbor as thyself. You would do that.

1:13:41 We do that. Problem solved. Probably not. Because we are more important. That’s pride.

1:13:47 Pride is the number one deadly sin, right? Everything starts with pride. Drinking, you know, if you’re an alcoholic, you want to drink again, starts with pride. Or you can do it. That’s what you’re thinking.

1:13:57 Well, you’ll be better than somebody else. Just drink the freaking drink. It’s always pride. And once I realized that pride was really controlling my life, and I was not saying, hey man, I got tried to be the speaker that this title is, I never did that. But pride comes in a lot of little tiny things.

1:14:12 Like you hold the door open for somebody, that person doesn’t thank you, you’re angry. That’s pride. Because you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. If you do it out of love, you don’t need to thank you, right? Just open the freaking door.

1:14:24 No, but you want to thank you for it. That’s pride again. You want to feed your ego. So stop doing those little things. Walking on a parking lot.

1:14:32 I would say somebody backs up of and then they start shouting at the car. See, but that’s pride. You never made a mistake. You never backed up. I didn’t see somebody.

1:14:41 We’re like dude, they still don’t have it. So once you start seeing those things and I got like man, I really want to be just a man. Like a real man that somebody can depend on. Like friends can call me any moment of the day, any moment of the night. I’ll be always ready because I don’t drink.

1:14:57 I don’t do anything. Bad. I’d be always ready to help these people and once I realized that I go, yeah, but nowadays they try to separate that because the control comes from the government. Of course, they will have got out, you know, they follow a whole different other guy. You know, a lot of these people do the opposite.

1:15:13 Do it the devil and people go home and oh, yeah, yeah, what the devil this dude, I’ve been attacked physically. If you would have experienced what I experienced because I know I’m a tough guy. I believe everybody up if I want to pretty much if I want to write not the professionals find us right now. Probably have a problem with but let’s face it. I’m much stronger than you mentally.

1:15:31 Also because we have to push and push and push and push the whole time if it freaked me out. Well, you’re going to be praying a rosary three times a day and in the figure church out of them is to you. That’s how afraid you’re going to be and it really freaked me out and once you think you’re chasing a person in the house, you come around the corner instead of the door. There’s a big thick curtain hanging and I came around the corner sort of flies up against the ceiling.

1:15:51 So I kept running right to somebody just run through it was nobody to freak it out. And once they get stamped on you, it’s like we move to a different house and my daughter decided to sleep upstairs and then she when she came back the next day we had breakfast and I say, Hey, I wish you I wish you guys first night that my daughter says oh, I had a visit from two boys. I go, Whoa, Whoa, What you mean spirits that she goes? Yes, I go how old she says 16 17 around today.

1:16:19 I go, You know freaking out. She’s you know, they were really nice but what kept playing on the back the whole time and I said hey listen, I want to go to sleep and then he stopped so I’m looking at my wife. I go, What the heck? So I go down to the computer at which and if something happened in my house. Well in 2001 for kids a girl and three boys on the road that is next to my house went out of got an Intel spin, flew through the wall with us and two boys died 16 and 17 years old and I’m like and she didn’t know that I go whole there’s a whole and I’m walking outside.

1:16:50 I see where the wall is prepared where these kids passed away. They were visiting her. So we know 100% and listen there’s a video on my YouTube channel why I got back to the Catholic faith watch that because that’s what I explain with the attacks. I’ve explained everything but also near that experiences and all the things that you hear it is so freaking wild for it. So that’s pride again.

1:17:10 We believe that this is the life. It’s not we’re just getting ready for the next one and that’s going to be forever. Why because time stops and once time stops you want to be in a good place or a bad place. You know, what if it’s not true? Well, if it’s not true.

1:17:23 I’ve been a really good person since 2014. That’s how I can say and everybody will remember me because they say man that guy was a really great guy. He always helped people. He did everything now. Let’s talk about what if it is true.

1:17:34 You’re not going to go to a good place. I am going to go to a good place. That’s what I want and why would you get angry at people who want to pray for you or people who I never understood that I was never a Jesus guy. If you would have said to me Jesus, I would walk you know, I would I knew there was something but I never really focused on Jesus. So and then the person would walk off to me says hey man, we feel that we can pray for you which can we pray for you and I really didn’t believe it.

1:17:58 I’m sure because I thought it was a very nice gesture of a person to do but nowadays if you ask a person a man, I think I need a prayer. You won’t go. Don’t believe the God won’t brother. It’s all pride and they all scream, but they don’t know the truth. They didn’t have the experiences that I had or what millions of other people have had, you know, so once you break it down, you know, it’s you if you go to the Bible like prophecies.

1:18:20 Well, how many prophecies will be an acceptable word that exactly came to what the Bible said 10 20 30 40. What about 230 of them? That’s the Bible exactly what they say and it comes through and you’re saying is that the 66,000 connections between the books that they have in that’s written by by one person. It could be it’s very hard to make it written by by sheep herders and all different people. What was the number they said 10 to the 30th or something.

1:18:53 So that’s a 30 or a 10 with 30 zeros behind that’s the chance of having those connections and then if you’re still too blind to go like your ego tells, you know, because my friend is also just he doesn’t believe in it. He’s a scientist scientist. Another thing the more science get involved the closer they come to God. Look at Einstein. Here’s a big believer.

1:19:13 This is a big design. But yeah, if you’re tackling on the surface, yeah, then you go on and it’s not so it’s not true because you want to be like everybody else like having a Prius all the way back. Oh, I want to be different or a Mac computer, which I have but at the beginning was like, oh you’re you’re different than other people. You want to be different. That’s they just want to be different.

1:19:30 I know all these guys from the devil worshipers that the whole that you know exactly what guys that were in class the one guys who didn’t get any attention didn’t get anything. We’re never really good at anything. What do I do? What do I do? Oh everyone’s afraid of devil.

1:19:43 I want to join the devil and then become a freakin Satanist or whatever it is. It’s just insecure people who didn’t have any guidance who look that up. Once you dive into it and you see that everything is coming through and those connections that there are is the most it’s so in your face and we don’t see it because they try to separate it from us because they’re very easy to control and I truly believe that still also in schools, but if you live by the Christian rules and don’t tell me this story because I had another guy shouting at me this kid is 23 years old and and he knew that I am a devout Catholic and he goes that he was always stealing for under $500 in California.

1:20:21 That’s what they would do as kids because then they they can bring you to jail. I go. Oh, that’s a nice thing. I’m by the way boss all my Christian friends. They stole the most I go.

1:20:31 Well, then I’m not practicing Christians. No, they ought to go to church. I go. Oh, that’s a fine analogy. Let’s break that further.

1:20:37 So what you’re saying is that if you walk in my gym and you look at a class your professional fighter, that’s what you say or do you think you have to go in and maybe learn about it and then maybe have to live like it don’t do these mistakes eat like it. Don’t drink don’t do this. No women know that all the list that you go down as a professional athlete that you cannot do. Right, but you say that you can just watch and then you’re no you’re not those are the people who go to church for if it is true that at least I did my main minimum thing.

1:21:07 That’s why they go to church. Those are the guys when you go out of church and somebody backs up his car. She’s flips off the other guy just fresh out of church. Let’s flip off without person. You see those are the guys.

1:21:17 Those are the Jesus talks about what is the look warm. They called your Idaho called but if you look warm, he will vomit you out of his mouth. I go. I don’t want that but you see once you break it out and these guys leave him alone. They want peace for you.

1:21:31 They pray for you for a person who doesn’t believe in it and it tried to see if they can still save your soul and you think that is so bad because you simply the refuse to believe in it. That’s okay, but don’t get angry at these people. They try to help you boss. Did you find that you had started attracting a lot more positive things in your life since 14 to did really the way that the world react to you change when you decided to start behaving different?

1:21:57 Oh big difference like I was growing 20,000 followers a month on Facebook for years, which I’m going wrong. As soon as I became Catholic, it stopped it went down a hundred thousand. It got lost them which is good because these people I don’t want to spend anyway, but you see but then once I stayed with it that people start listening to the things that you say, you know, like why would you be angry at a person who tries to be there? Yeah, but you spoke to manifest known that I’m supporting Jesus.

1:22:24 I want to do what he said three people like that like yourself. Once we all do that, that will be a very fun world, you know, so yes at the beginning I lost five jobs. It was the evil one and people I listen. I’ve been exactly like people some people at home right now. I never got that full out.

1:22:40 It’s just bullshit. I said the same things. I said the same the pedophile priest. I said everything the same but once you learn the truth about it and you really dive into it, it’s life-changing. What it did for me was just life-changing like but my family everybody saw it.

1:22:56 Then I want to marry my wife again for the third time that I married my wife with 32 years together and I say hey, I want to marry for the Catholic faith this time, but she showed the changes already and then the next day I tried to get a hold of her. She’s not I can’t get a hold of her and she finally goes like say, what were you? She was I was a mess. I go you work mass for what she says. Well, I did my confirmation, but I never I did my baptism, but I was never confirmed.

1:23:20 So I signed up for RCIA class and I figured to do the math. She would have never done that if I would have just asked but she saw me change in a different person and becoming a good guy. You know, I started giving everything away. My watches, you know, the Porsche became a freaking Explorer like all the stuff that you don’t need that is all attention-seeking like look, I got a Porsche you know, like I figured now I’m going to get rid of it. It’s all stupid.

1:23:45 I do it for the wrong reasons. Don’t get me wrong. If I have freaking millions of dollars, you know, and it was a rich, I will still have that car because it’s a great freaking car. I’m not saying that you cannot drive the car that you want to drive. I’m just saying if you really try to drive a car, but it’s not really, you know, you have to flip coins and money.

1:24:01 I have to choose with you. Why would you do that? And I never saw that back, but now I started seeing that and it made my life so much easier people commenting and screaming at you. It’s just an opinion that they do. Let it go.

1:24:16 I don’t really care anymore. They don’t want anything good for me. So why would I want to listen to them? Anyway, makes absolutely no sense. Oh, you’re an asshole.

1:24:23 Good common asshole. Oh, you’re a Catholic. And you what did this guy say? Oh, yuck. He said so I clicked on him on the guy who said you’re because this is to say is the pedophile priest that they talk about again.

1:24:34 I know by the way, the Protestants always pointed out Google it. What happens in the Protestant Church? You got to find out it’s worse. And I was ever the last thing that I want to say this guy you were checking out the guy that was commenting on you or saying yuck. Oh, yeah.

1:24:51 So I go to his website. He’s got two beautiful baby girls and like a two-year-old girl and then he has a tattoo on his back from Balfour Met. Balfour Met is the the demon of child sacrifice. So the religion that he follows there you have to rape Gilbert children. Literally kept people at home go like that’s not right.

1:25:12 This is literally what’s happening. Trust me. This is real stuff and it’s very freakin’ scary stuff. So I go like oh you say yuck about the priest but you bring that into your house. The the demon of child sacrifice.

1:25:24 I go who’s the crazy one here? You see so just relax. These people have the only one good. They like to live good and they like to help people let about people. Why would you get angry at people like that?

1:25:36 Oh because you don’t believe in Santa Claus. It is so proven at 500 witnesses saw Jesus back in the back in the time. Also, you have to think about this, right? What if you have a okay bright we you’re going to lie about something. We go to talk up this lie and now you’re going to get skin the life and the only thing you need to say is the truth and it will stop.

1:25:59 You can tell the truth skin the life. I’m pretty freaking sure. I’m going to tell the truth. Not one of the Apostles told the truth and their family members seen friends and family members getting thrown in front of the figure lions and the only thing they have to say is the truth and they still tell the truth because they did see him is it so if you have 12 guys like that crucified upside down boiled in old hot oil dragged through the streets beheaded skin the life.

1:26:23 I mean does the torture that these guys went to and nobody changed their story you think how just think of yourself and all these guys out there now that I was talking about your week. You could never if somebody starts skinning you a life not tell them to it. I’ll guarantee you that because I would do it. I would tell the truth to let them stop skinning for me from my life. But it’s what I didn’t go really into it.

1:26:47 You know, what’s the state of America right now and are you optimistic or do you think we’re going to potentially decline further because you’re talking about a lot of examples of people there and you know, there’s road rage and there’s anger. There’s obviously a big election coming up and you’re you’re and also you’re originally from the Holland. So I think even though you are American you’ve been there a long time. Maybe you can see it a little different. What’s your what’s your take on it boss?

1:27:11 It’s very scary. I mean the 401k is everything is dropping its inflation. It’s really bad that and I think news should not be able to tell lies. I think they should be held accountable like it was all the way back and once this doesn’t happen the world is going down the drain. It really is.

1:27:29 It’s really sad to see people on the street protesting and breaking things, you know, you were Antifa and the Black Lives Matter and then the freaking buildings burning down buildings as you have but we’re here for the people know you’re burning people’s buildings down who also work their entire lives really hard to get that place and now you’re burning it down. You’re not there for the people. It’s just a rush for you. Almost. I don’t understand it.

1:27:52 I don’t understand the anger. I do understand it because anger gives you more endorphins than happiness is and they prove that they approved if you watch you read the book stolen focus by you and Harry either you’re going to go. Okay, that will freaking open your eyes. What what you get brainwashed with this thing. What’s the social dilemma?

1:28:14 What’s that on Netflix? Yeah, and after you did that that then open up everything that you’re looking for is tailor-made for you and nobody by the way, God knows where the information is going. Nobody knows, you know, so if you hate Trump, for instance, you’re going to set only hate things about Trump. If you love Biden or things love by Biden. So I got my news on my phone.

1:28:35 Yeah, but it’s tailor-made for you. You don’t know the truth. Nobody knows it. It’s such a they tell me or you want to run for it like governor or something. I go I’m going to have to lie.

1:28:44 My face says I cannot lie. So no, I’m not going to do that because it’s ridiculous. I don’t understand it. Don’t they have to say like cops, you know, we’re the best for America. We were here to protect the people.

1:28:55 Well, it’s not looking like that. We’re getting kids killed. We’re getting it’s it’s that it’s really sad to see. I hope they wake up that something happens, but I don’t know any more man. I mean the elections, but I don’t know if they steal it.

1:29:09 That’s why I stay far away from politics. Also on TV. I don’t even want to watch it because it aggravates me. If people cannot see certain things that a blind person should be able to see. It just drives me insane.

1:29:22 And then I’m going about that insanity and then then it’s going to affect me and I don’t want me to be affected. So I stay far away. Yeah, just don’t even input it. Boss, what’s next for you? What are the next five years look like or you want to keep commentating for karate combat?

1:29:35 I know you got your O2 trainer. Sounds like you’re doing public speaking. Like what are the next five 10 years look like for you in an ideal world? Well, the O2 trainer getting big and it’s getting doing really well. We’re getting very high numbers now.

1:29:50 We have the ice ratings on Amazon. The people that were helping with it like it cured me for my asthma. My my cousins and my family members from COPD. So I knew we had something. I knew also that I didn’t invent it.

1:30:00 It’s inspiratory muscle training. So it’s only over 2000 published medical journals about it. Every Olympian endurance athlete will use inspiratory muscle training. First thing I asked Alexander you say what are you doing for your breathing? And he uses the competition for me.

1:30:13 I go. No, that’s a good product. Keep keep using that product. But he’s the first fighter who actually does it and he’s a freaking world champion. Be Tyson Fury.

1:30:22 That should tell you something. If every Olympian endurance athlete is doing it that should tell you something. Yeah, but I don’t have the time to do it now. It’s five minutes. It’s five minutes a day.

1:30:32 It will retrain your breathing. It will work out your breathing muscles. So for the people at home who don’t understand how breathing works, it’s a really weird thing. If you saw this before, you know what I’m going to say. So your lungs don’t have any muscles, right?

1:30:43 They’re just two bags. The way for your lungs to open is by chest expansion. Because that chest expansion will create a vacuum between your body and your lungs. And that vacuum sucks open your lungs. So your lungs don’t fill, your chest doesn’t expand because you put air in them.

1:30:57 No, your chest expands and that’s how you pull the air in. And once you get that in your mind, you go like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I never knew that because I didn’t know either. Now that you know that we have 11 pounds of them. That’s a lot.

1:31:07 That’s your diaphragm, which is like the thing here, a thin dome shaped muscle tendon, you know, and this hangs at the center of your body. And this is what your diaphragm does. When you inhale, this, it drops down from that view. Doesn’t do a lot from this view. Oh, it expands.

1:31:25 So it drops down. It’s a very, it’s like four millimeters. So it’s a very thin muscle, but it’s super strong. That expansion opens up your lungs together, which intercostal muscles, which are the muscles in between your ribs. And like I said before, all these muscles, you have 11 pounds.

1:31:40 Now, what is that going to do for you? A lot is going to do for you. But first of all, we all breathe incorrect. Well, 95% of us breathe incorrect. Don’t believe me?

1:31:48 Google right now, how many people breathe incorrect and you will see all the tests. There’s a whole bunch of them. We all breathe wrong. We’re actually the only mammal on the planet that breathes incorrect. We all breathe, raising our shoulders.

1:31:58 Four to six of these breaths is the same on one diaphragmatic breath. Let’s take the number four, the lowest number. So instead of doing four times this, I can do it the same amount of air by breathing diaphragmatically. Well, why do we breathe bad? Because as babies, we breathe perfect.

1:32:11 Yes, we breathe perfect till about five and a half years of age. And at five and a half years of age, that’s when we start becoming self-conscious. That’s where also we start sitting down. We go to school. That’s where we see superheroes with abs.

1:32:24 And we go, wait a minute, if I keep breathing like this, they might think I’m fat and we start changing our breathing, taking away the perfect breath and then we start raising our shoulders. This thing will force you because that’s the thing. It’s a very simple device, but it’s weight training for your breathing muscles. So it works out those 11 parts of breathing muscles so you get maximum chest expansion. What is that going to do?

1:32:48 Okay, how does endurance work? I always go to the same thing. This is the easiest way for me to explain. And endurance, why do you get more endurance? I train really hard.

1:32:58 Yeah, but what happened? Because there’s got to be a reason for it. Well, I know the reason. The reason is that if you work a muscle over and over again, it becomes more efficient at its job. And once it’s more efficient, it doesn’t need as much oxygen and therefore your stamina increases.

1:33:11 Okay, good. So what happens if you run a 45-degree angle wall? Suddenly, it feels like you hit the wall, right? That’s because that’s where you start gassing. Metamorphlex, that’s a beautiful word for it.

1:33:23 What happens when you start gassing is that your body starts redirecting oxygenated blood. It actually takes you away from your legs that they’re using right now to run up and it sends it to your number one priority in the body which are your breathing muscles. You don’t do that for three minutes, you’re dead, right? The survival rule of three says three weeks without food, three days without water, three minutes without oxygen. So it’s the number one priority for us.

1:33:45 Okay, wait a minute. So what if I give my breathing muscles more endurance so they don’t have to steal the blood anymore for my legs and it can just keep on going. And now you delay your fatigue that you normally have here to there. And that’s what the auto-trailer does, but it also forces you to use your correct breathing muscles. You do this for six weeks.

1:34:05 Don’t expect a freaking result in a week. Please don’t, because people, yeah, I do it for a week, it didn’t do anything. I go, oh, that’s great. So if you’re overweight, you go to a gym in a week, you have the body that you want. No, no, that takes like six weeks.

1:34:17 Oh, six weeks. That’s there. Do this for six weeks. If you do this for six weeks, five minutes a day, every day, I don’t think you’re ever going to stop. I’m in year six right now, doing it every single day.

1:34:27 And I post those videos on the special website that I have so people can see that I actually do it this morning. I already posted the video of me doing it. You don’t have to do anything extra, only five minutes, and it will completely change your life. And what does it do? As for COPD, cystic fibrosis balance, digestion, because once your diaphragm starts pushing down, that’s when you start massaging your intestines as well.

1:34:51 So it aligns your spine. It does these things that I had no clue it would do. Anxiety, whatever PTSD, everything is about breathing. Completely changed my life. Hicks and Gray, she was far ahead of us because he did it already 30 years ago.

1:35:06 But I don’t know if he’s using it in spirit or a muscle trainer though. I think he does long breathing exercises, which is good, but it’s like trying to get a pump with no weight. You’re going to have to do that a lot, right? Once you add weights, now you can achieve it much faster because you do it with the weights. And that’s what the other trainer is.

1:35:23 It’s just weight training for your breathing muscles. And it’s very simple device. You just simply sit, you exhale with power, and then you inhale with a lot of force and you keep your shoulders low. So as soon as you see your shoulders raised, wrong. Only focus on your core.

1:35:37 When I did this with Joe Rogan, he was freaking out. He goes, dude, I’m feeling muscles I’ve never felt before. Yeah, I have bodybuilders buying it for their abs right now. That’s how much you work out your core. It’s a five-minute fix for pretty much anything.

1:35:52 It’s really amazing. And so we’re working on that. That’s going really well. Of course, karate combat. I want to stay doing that because it brought me back.

1:36:00 And I love the show. My wife already said, once your other trainer gets really far, you don’t have to travel anymore. I say, yeah, that’s going to be a problem because I like the karate combat events and I’m going to keep on doing that. That’s my little thing that I want to keep doing because I just really enjoy it, hang out with that group. And that’s pretty much it.

1:36:18 I do some public speaking. I have oh, there’s a website out there. It’s called the Krav Maga Worldwide Academy. Krav Maga Worldwide Academy.com slash boss. Click that and then you go to seven skills to save your life.

1:36:35 I recorded in a self-defense video, but all broken down from the basis from everything together with Amir Perret. So Amir Perret is a freak show. Google him or YouTube him. That’s even better because they do things with him. He’s disarming people in two hundreds of a second.

1:36:55 They were like, where the hell did you get this guy? He’s disarming and hitting me in the face and while he’s disarming, you see the bullet come out. He already hit him in the face and now he’s got the gun. And he’s really like that. He came to my class a long time ago.

1:37:07 Love your class. Can I show you what I do? Sure. This was all the way we were still at Beverly Hills. And he pulls out a plastic knife and I go, you know what?

1:37:16 I’m okay. He said, what do you mean? I said all the bull crap, you know, I’m good. And then he says, okay, so he walks back to his thing, he casts a pelican and he loads the pelican and he says, why don’t you shoot me when you see me move? And now the whole class stops and everybody’s watching and I go, are you serious?

1:37:31 Good. He goes, yeah. Oh, when I move and you see me move, he can shoot me. I think he did it like six times. I was not able.

1:37:38 He had my gun. I got punched in the face. Well, thankfully, you stopped him before my face, but he has my gun. No chance. I’m gone.

1:37:46 I go, okay, so with that guy, I shot a whole new show, Seven Skills to Save Your Life and it starts with situational awareness, the things you have to watch out for, you know, bringing people to attention, certain things. If they’re out of order, something is probably something out of order. Where to park the car? You know, if you park your car, you expect to come late at night, but there’s no light. Is that a good place?

1:38:07 You know, think ahead, because if you’re a lady and you have to walk to a car that is parked somewhere with no lighting, it’s always more dangerous, like little tips like that. And then of course, we go into every little thing, knives, guns, weapons, without weapons, sticks, whatever can come, Seven Skills to Save Your Life. So that’s a big one. Breathing for Warriors. That’s another show that I did, breathingforwarriors.com.

1:38:30 This is when I turned up with Dr. Belisa Vrennis. This is when the O2 Trader got launched, because I couldn’t sell it. People didn’t believe in it. And then I walked into her office and she says, okay, we’re going to measure chest expansion.

1:38:44 So I know what she was doing, because the more you can expand your chest, the more you can pull in your lungs. So she says exhale, inhale, and she starts laughing. She goes, yeah, that’s not possible. Do it again. And I do it again.

1:38:54 She goes, wait, and she walks out and she comes back with another doctor. And I go, okay, so it’s really bad or really good, right? She goes, if I don’t believe him, if I don’t bring him, he’s not going to believe it. So he needs to see this. And so what do you mean?

1:39:05 He says, well, normally when they break our record, my chest expansion, it’s about a quarter of an inch. You almost went two inches further than everybody else. How is that possible? So I pulled the thing out. I said, well, this is what I’m doing.

1:39:16 She started using it and then it happened to her as well. She put it in her book and then people started. And then I got a call from Chet Macias, who’s also a trainer from the High Olympians, even trade Usain Bolt. And he told me, he says, don’t work out with it. He says, just do breathing exercises.

1:39:34 And he sent me some breathing exercises to do with it. And that’s when everything completely changed. It became even way better. And it’s only five minutes a day. So yeah, that’s a little bit of story.

1:39:44 But if you want to look into breathing and how it works, BreathingForWarriors.com, that’s a really great website to get all the information you need. And where can we get the O2 trainer? It’s on Amazon. Or you have a site for that? It’s on Amazon.

1:39:56 Like I said, we have the highest ratings. Okay. You can go to O2Trainer.com, click on science. And once you click on science, there’s a drop-down menu with all published medical journals. And for the people at home, you can doctor a published medical journal.

1:40:09 Whatever you read, it’s going to be real. Right? Because they’re bound by that. And then you can read what it really does. Because people go, it’s a gimmick.

1:40:17 I go, oh, 2000 published medical journals say it’s not. So don’t worry. It dramatically will change your life for the better. I promise. I’m going to get one.

1:40:27 I’ve been thinking a lot about my breathing. I had Wim Hof the Ice Man on the show 10 years ago. And I started playing with breath work. Obviously, Hickson is big into breath work. I’ve talked to a bunch of experts.

1:40:38 But I’m going to get one for sure. Because it’s always been my issue. Always kept me tense when I fought. Whether it’s jujitsu or boxing. When I can control my breath, then I’m better.

1:40:50 And also, that’s the thing. Yeah, that gases you out the quickest, right? Yeah. The gases you out there, you know, you’re breathing in quadrants. That’s just something we go over all that breathing course.

1:40:58 Breathing pancreas.com. You know, like if somebody’s got a knee on belly, well, you can’t activate your diaphragm. Now you’re going to be forced to breathe to your chest. And to your back muscles also. You have back breathing muscles.

1:41:08 You got muscles 360 degrees circumferential around you. So there’s always a pocket that you can use from the four pockets. So to say here, here and here that you can breathe. And once you understand that and how to breathe during a fight, we talk about that as well. Because your breathing is going to be different once we’re in shooting range.

1:41:24 Right? Because you can’t relax breathe. Because if you get hit on the gut while you’re breathing in, that’s when you lose by a body shot. Right? So it always needs to be flexed.

1:41:33 So there’s a different breathing pattern at every distance and when to start breathing, you know, 10 seconds. And again, if you do 40 rest of this or you can do it with 10 breaths the correct way, you know, going back to the corner right away, start focusing on your diaphragm to breathe. You can just recoup much faster than anybody else because you’ve been doing it for a long time. So yeah, breathing is super important. I just had some flashbacks of you and pancreas where you hit the guy with the liver shot when he was breathing a certain way, right?

1:42:01 Breathing out. Yeah, we used to time it. With your shots, right? Yeah, that was my second fight because I was so sick. I was throwing up.

1:42:08 My manager was carrying my luggage and and they let me travel eight hours on the day of the fight. It was they tried everything in the power to make me lose and he got me in an armbar. And then I go I’m just going to tap but then they started shouting for him chanting and then my ego took over so I got out of the armbar and 30 seconds later, I knocked about with the need to live and and that’s that was the moment for me that I said, okay, I will never think that again like giving up because 30 seconds later knocked about and what I was doing was standing in a clinch and I saw him breathe like and on the third one that he was inhaling.

1:42:43 I drilled the knee in there and if you look at the fight, it’s like a shot him. I mean he went down hard and the knee is just like boom. It’s not a really super hard knee, but oh, yeah, he went down and and that’s yeah, I use that a lot in fighting, especially on kicks. You kick me because everybody brings out to the kick and they all breathe in when they put recoil. So if you keep me at the right as soon as you’re pulling back, you’ll breathe again.

1:43:05 That’s where my punch comes to the body, you know, because you’re breathing in so I work a lot of breathing trips into into my fighting and actually what real fun is I I came up with a move. It’s called the boss with the neck ring, which is not really a neck ring. It’s like a body crunch and I want to fight with that and I told my whole dressing room. I say watch that. I’m going to finish him with the boss with the neck ring.

1:43:27 You can literally see me doing it and when the bell goes that he gave up you see me pointing to the corner. I say told you I was going to get that thing what that was. I stopped him from breathing. So I wrap him in such a way around my body that his chest can’t expand anymore. Now.

1:43:42 I know that when she do that, you can breathe. So I just interrupted his way. If he would have taken just a deep breath before I put the submission on he can hold that submission for as long as you can hold his breath as soon as he exhales. He can’t inhale anymore and now people take a shield so like other fighters start using the boss with the neck. I get to give me all his props to win fights with it because they had a boss with to make that leg, right?

1:44:04 You see that’s fun stuff. But then I have to do something with breathing. There was another thing that I always did to make myself calm in the dressing room. I found out that if I will breathe in fast and hum hum and I let my stomach vibrate, I would get much calmer. So I started doing that and if I have a headache I make a higher sound because now I feel my skull vibrate.

1:44:30 Well now I found out what I was doing. I was actually taking two things at the same time when you stimulate your vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the nerve that runs through your whole body and it’s it’s it lowers your blood pressure. Your cortisol levels. It makes you calm.

1:44:47 The way to make it calm is do inhale like a four-second inhale and eight-second exhale. Another way to do it is humming or singing. So unknowingly I put breathing and humming already together because it would calm me down. Now I realize I was simply stimulating the vagus nerve and that was dropping my heart rate. You see all these things that I didn’t know why I was doing but it worked and now when I dove into breathing, I realized oh my god, that’s the reason, you know, but I just did naturally.

1:45:17 Thankfully, I figured it out. Wow and what’s the website that people can download your audible workouts, you know, because the one I’m doing is from a long time ago, but you’ve updated those since. How do people find those? So we have a box with the dot-com. You can simply find the old workouts that you have.

1:45:37 The new ones are on body action system dot-com. There’s a punching and kicking device that I have and there’s 18 new ones like I use myself. I use level 3 boxing. Trust me, the one you have has about 14 combinations. The new one is over a hundred.

1:45:53 Wow. It’s freaking crazy. It’s a body speed. What about that left of the liver? I’d go, what?

1:45:59 But it’ll teach you every time I add a punch. Four. Four in the liver. One, two, three, four in the liver. Four in the liver, left two.

1:46:05 One, two, three, four in the liver. Left two. Four in the liver, left two. Quite straight. See?

1:46:08 So these combinations, they’re going to be longer and longer. It’s a really good way for your mind-body connection to work and it’s just a voice shouting out the combination. I do little in my hotel room. That’s where I’m doing it. I bring these little egg weights that I punch with, you know, watch out with those weights that you don’t hyperextend your arms.

1:46:25 So keep them bent a little bit. Otherwise, your tennis will start early. But it’s a great figure workout. I’m telling you, people have to download this. I’ve trained the boss.

1:46:33 We can work out in like 25, 30 countries around the world and there’s no excuses because you can do it anywhere. I’ve done it in the weirdest places during lockdown boss. I was doing it in our stairwells in our, you know, in our business place because you couldn’t go to gyms or anything. I was just doing it anywhere. I could and it’s an amazing technique and I’ve never ever stopped that workout, no matter what hurt, what happened, what weather, because how could you stop when boss Rutan is telling you what to do, right?

1:47:02 Yeah, don’t sit down, right? I’m shouting. Don’t sit down. Keep walking. People hate it, especially when you do the one with the sprawls, with the defenses.

1:47:09 Yeah, I do those. That one is the killer. I have professional fighters come in and we do five rounds. It’s a warm-up and the minute break is kettlebell swings. So we don’t take a break.

1:47:17 And we had professional fighters come in who had to fight two weeks later, who couldn’t do the warm-up. And they go like, what is this? I go, what is your fight? The two weeks. I said, don’t fight.

1:47:26 He said, what do you mean? I said, this is the warm-up. We didn’t even start. It’s going to be much harder this. Yeah, it’s just doing it.

1:47:33 I put 15 burpees in between each round and that one minute. And so come four round, five round, sixth round. I mean, I, yeah, I’m barely making it through and it just pushes me every time boss, every time. And I get crazy. I start talking shit.

1:47:49 I start talking shit to you just to get through. I’m like, is that all you got boss? I said, six rounds, seven rounds. People see me in the park, just this crazy guy sprawling and doing burpees and shadow boxing, but that’s what I’m doing. So if anybody sees me in London saying thanks to boss, I don’t mean it.

1:48:06 I don’t mean it boss. I’m just, you know, you know, what the really cool thing was. So I went for my work visa to Canada to shoot a movie, smashing machine. And when I arrived, they, they, they decided to go to a special place. And right away, the guards came up because they were fans.

1:48:21 And then the guard looks at me and he says, do you know that in order for us to pass our tests, we have to know your audio workout. I go, you serious? He goes, yeah, I go, dude, that’s so cool. So when I left the country, another guy was sitting there and he gets my passport. He says, my god, boss, yeah, he says, did you know I said that you have to do the workout?

1:48:42 I finished the set. He said, how do you know? I got the other guy just told me when I came in there. I said, that’s actually pretty cool. Colin McGregor wrote a really good thing about it.

1:48:50 Even Joe’s, John Joe’s like, they, they, Colin McGregor said they had the tapes all the way back the tapes with the video cassette. Right. He says that we would always warm up like that. We always used the bus with the workout. So that was cool.

1:49:03 Wow. That’s amazing. Boss, you know, I don’t say this very often and I’m sure it sounds weird when you hear it, but like you’re a legend and just thank you so much for everything you contribute to the sport and life and thank you for being open and honest with your struggles and thank you for being open and honest with your religion and everything you find. And it’s just you’re one of the few guys that’s just really a pioneer in the sport and one of the few guys that I speak highly of.

1:49:30 And when I saw you in Dubai, I noticed later I was actually kind of like stuttering around you and I don’t get starstruck with anybody boss because I’ve spoken to all the greats. But with you, I did a little bit and that’s a compliment to you. So like, thank you so much. I’m going to pick up an OG trainer right when the show is over and I’m going to work on that. I’m going to download those new exercises.

1:49:50 I’m going to keep going to karate combat because that’s amazing. What’s the best way for people to follow you? Is it bossrooting.com or what’s the best way? Yeah, I just go, you know, if I post something it’s up to it off on Instagram. The rest I I’m not a big poster anymore.

1:50:04 I realized good. I don’t need the likes. I don’t need you know, it’s it’s that all the time is the hunt for getting more views getting more things as a I had it. Whatever I do. I do now for fun.

1:50:15 So yeah, if you want to follow things, I would say Instagram will be the only place where I post something. That’s pretty much it. But I’m going to start with the podcast now. Also in the it’s just a dinner podcast like a small little things that I’m going to do and that will come out. That will be on YouTube.

1:50:31 That’s official boss written YouTube. That’s the name official boss written on YouTube, but I probably going to start with a couple of weeks. Okay, good stuff. All right again. Thanks for everything you do.

1:50:41 I’ll see you at the next karate combat because I’ll be out at all those crypto conferences. So I’ll come by and say hi and again, I’ll keep training. Thanks so much boss. We really appreciate you. You’re very well.

1:50:51 You’re going to be a Singapore next month. Yes, I’ll be a token in Singapore. Yeah, I love it. I’ll come see you. I love it and I’ll see you in Singapore.

1:50:59 All right, great stuff. Thank you boss and thank you so much. Thanks for everybody at London Real follow this man and we’ll see you next time. Bye investment club gives us a chance to think about what wealth really is and having the resources to have the freedom to live your life that you want.