[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. So there's this like party brain where, you know, it seeks something and then you get the payoff and then it's, it's basically a sense of satisfaction. So you seek no more. So you're, you're satisfied. So people seeking inspiration and motivation, they'll go and they'll go to a speech or a seminar or something like this. And.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They'll consume the speech or the motivational video or whatever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're, yeah, they're watching it. They're spectating. Yeah, the speech, sure. Yeah. So the whole- That's a lot different. Really, the big picture should be, I'm gonna get, see this speech, motivation video, whatever. I'm gonna be inspired, motivated, and now I'm gonna go take action.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But to take action, you still have to have a need, you know? That needs to be satisfied. But people, they'll con- they'll view or, or, or, you know, whatever. Consume the speech.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they will be satisfied because they, they see the speech and they don't take action. And here's the thing, the next speech that comes into town or the next motivational video on YouTube, you know, how does the next one or the next time whoever the person is, I don't know, Tony Robbins or whoever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, and see, that was really my whole point where, you know, I'm gonna listen to you. You're not saying...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, you are saying get after, but you're not saying you can do it. You're not saying that kind of stuff, you know, like, and I know it goes, I'm actually, I'm actually not.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do it. Yeah, exactly right. But that's the thing. So really the whole message, whatever it may be, you know, I don't know, big doughnut, all this stuff is the big.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a bunch of messages, but the key there to the whole message is you gotta do it. It's not like you can do it. You know, and you're like, yeah, I can do it. I feel good about that fact. I'm good. But this is like, you gotta do, you gotta go out and do that. You know, you can't just walk. You can't just watch.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you're free to use Amazon Shopping, click through the website, jocopodcast.com.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, those are good man, the reviews. Yeah, those are solid. I like when people get creative.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I encourage that, for sure, for sure. Uhm, and then of course, of course, look, if you wear t-shirts, if you wear hoodies,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Drink coffee or tea of any kind. Or white tea. Uhm, anyway, JockoStore.com. You can buy some cool shirts, uh, if you think they're cool. Look at them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One side says discipline, other side says freedom. If you look, if you pay attention, there's a little equals sign. And it's a barcode. That's made into equals sign. Someone hit me on Twitter and said, Hey, you're talking about the layers. Is this equals sign a layer? You know? Like, is this a little hidden thing?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it is a hidden thing. It's not that big of a deal, but. It's a small deal. It's like a double, like, th- okay, here- here it is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So the font, right? Yes. Jaco chose the font. Yes. Before any of this thing started, Jaco chose the font.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so yeaah, and you can look at that, I don't know if you told me to look it up, but you said it, you were like, oh yeaah, it's cool, I was like, oh dang, so I looked it up, and yeaah, sure enough, it's the first font that they made that computers can use.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, well, you're wearing a machine readable thing. You're a machine. Yes, yes, you're wearing it. That's what it is. You can't get rid by a computer. So that's kind of the little layer. I mean, that's just more of like a fun thing for sure. Small layer. Oh, but anyway, yeah. Again, Jocko's store, that's where all the stuff is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cool rash guards that, but hey man, we made the claim 19%. Improvement.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, but you know what it is, you know how you were saying, you know when you put on, like, a uniform?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, kind of, and it's like, almost like, um, it's weird, like, when I was young, when I played football, I was 11 years old, and we got new shoes. Football season's here, new shoes. Oh, I couldn't wait to go to practice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] After a few months, man, my shoes are dirty, I hate practice, but you get new shoes, you wanna go practice, you get new workout gear, you're like, dang, I'm gonna go, you get a new rash guard, you wanna go training, you get a new gi.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So yeaah, JockoStore.com, uh, with some women's stuff, some women's t-shirts!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know, I think my clock is counting down. My Debbie clock. Debbie gave me like a countdown. A deadline. A straight up deadline. She gave me one month.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All that stuff. Uhm, I had a good life. My parents are awesome, you know. Uhm, very hard workers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, grew up tight on money. You know, my, my dad did construction and framing in the eighties and my mom taught step aerobics. Not a lot of money there. But, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They just, they constantly worked for our family. It was awesome. Now we, you know, every Sunday we were at church, um, you know, not having a lot of money to go out and do stuff. We'd go for, for drives. You know, that's what we did. Our family, we'd go for drives and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just go, you know, see the, you know, we're in Northern California, Sacramento. Within 20 minutes, he can be in the foothills and it's just beautiful. Go to my grandparents' property.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you know, my dad's parents were a very big part of our life as well growing up. Grandfather's old World War II vet was on the destroyer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On A-Destroyer, uhm, my grandmother is an amazing woman, you know, wakes up every morning still at 5am to pray for everybody in the family.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, they have five acres up in the foothills, the pasture with horses. So for kids, it was awesome. Uhm, you know, brother and sister.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it was just like boom, boom, boom. Uhm, you know, awesome, you know, my brother and my sister, like two of my closest best friends still, you know, uhm, we just always used to grow up playing Navy SEALs, you know, and uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, actually, my brother saw something on TV. There's some special about the forming of the seals and the, you know, JFK's speech and all this stuff. And he had my parents record it. And we would watch that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Every morning that we could, you know, we're young, you know, we're trying to go to school and my brother's popping that in the VCR.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, dress up in camis and paint our faces and stuff that we got from old army navy surplus store or just from garage sales and we would go play navy seals, you know, and, uh, we'd go up to my grandparents. It was like a haven, you know, and it's, it's funny now, like I didn't know what I was doing, but I used to like do makeup, little ghillie suits.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I would have my parents drop me off at the front entrance of my grandparents property. I'd wait until I got up to the house and I'd say, Hey, I want, I want to see if you can see me sneaking up there. I would try to stalk up to my grandparents house.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, yeaah, and uhm, you know, so that, you know, it was a really good life. You know, all my, all my aunts and uncles and cousins, you know, we're all really close, and uhm, just really close family. You know, my uncle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, one of my closest uncles, you know, he's a cop, uhm, back where we grew up and, you know, he's still serving the community. He's a legit badass and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so I was surrounded by a lot of good people that didn't know anything other than working hard. Like you just have to work hard. There's no excuses for that. There's no handouts. Like you've just got to get after it and uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's just kind of how I learned about the teams. And you know, as you get older in high school, you kind of forget about that stuff, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it was a pretty good solid bass. Great life. Did you enlist right out of high school there? Yeah. Yeah, I was in, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm a senior of high school. Oh, what? Didn't you break your leg or have some weird situation? I had my, I broke my hand broken. Yeah. So my hand was in a cast. How'd you do that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Anyways, we're at a party with my buddies, and uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, don't, uh, you know, like a smart young man, don't go to the hospital that night. My hands like ballooning up. Well, you know, the next day we're gonna go whitewater rafting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sounds like a good plan. I mean, I can't not do that with all my friends. So I just put my hand in the river the whole time, cause I'm like, that's like ice, right? I get home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I thought my mom was going to just beat me. She's a short little just thin athletic woman and I was just like terrified of her.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I get in a cast, of course my dad's pissed off, you know, and uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's just like, you know, just, you know, it's my senior year. I'm getting close to graduation and there was no talk of college. Um, I played water polo my senior year and one of the JCs was, or my coach said, Hey, you know, if you go to this JC UC Davis, you know, you could be going over and playing over there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just knew college wasn't what I wanted to do. At the time it just wasn't for me. I wasn't going to waste time or money doing something I just wasn't driven to do. And uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, my dad's like, what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do with your life? And I was like, I don't know, I'll probably be a whitewater rafting guide and live up in, up in the mountains. And he's like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What are you going to do with your life? You're like, nothing wrong with that. But you know, he's like, no, like you're no. And, uh, cause one of my best friends did that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It would be great for the soul, right? So anyways, my dad was like, what about the military? What about being a Navy SEAL? You should always talk about it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the time, all I could think about was just like the regular fleet Navy recruiters that would come to high school. And this was pre-911, so nobody's really very motivated. And you know, they, they would come to the high school, but they never really engaged with the students or anything. So I was like, uh, that's the Navy. I don't know. Go to work that next day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And because I'm in a CAS, they had me at the front register. And for the first time ever, I noticed across the street is a Navy recruiting office.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was like, check. I was pissed. Like I was like real mad like, well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, all the Seal wannabes have to talk to Petty Officer so-and-so. And yeah, when he said the Seal wannabe part, I was fired up. And then he goes, and we can't do anything with your cast on. Am I right? Roger that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I go, go back to work, I'm just staring at the Navy recruiting office the whole time. Just stewing. So I'm like, I'm in good shape, you know, like I'm-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm a very good athlete, like I can do this and go back home.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, I'm telling my dad, my dad's like, hey, how's work? Am I good? I was like, okay, I'm joining the Navy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I can't go do anything for bootcamp with this cast on. Like, I don't know, like, you know, in my mind, I'm like, I'm gonna leave him for bootcamp tomorrow, something like that, right? And so he's like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cool, go start the bathtub, start soaking it, I'll get some tools out of the garage.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so my dad comes in there and he has like some like sheet metal shears and something else, uh, uhm, a sawzall.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we just got out there and we cut off my cast. Dude, I thought my mom was going to beat my dad. She was like, what? And of course I was like, yeah, I'm joining the Navy. I'm going to go be a Navy SEAL. So all of a sudden I cut off my cast and now her, her baby boy is leaving to, you know, go join the military. And she was, my poor mom, you know, and so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I go back on Thursday, I walk in, they look at me, they look at my cast not being there. They're like, you need to talk to Petty Officer Stone. So I'm like, all right, Roger that. And so that just started the rest of the process.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, a lot of rehab, my parents had a cafe, uhm, they sold that, uhm, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Me and my dad could do construction together to spend as much time together as possible. And my mom was able to spend time with her mom that was passing away. And that's how I rehabbed my hand. And uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My dad would actually wrap my hand up in some of my old kickboxing wraps and boxing wraps, tape it up, and then we would tape the hammer to my hand, cause I couldn't grip it. Like I could not grip anything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, that's what he did. Cause I see my old man go to work with a cast on and he would have to tape tools to his cast to work.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So that's what he did with me. And it was awesome. And he knew.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I wanted to go to Bud's and I was gonna go to Bud's. And so he would push me to my absolute limit every day at work. Like, I mean.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Every day. I mean, I would be pissed, sometimes borderline crying, cause I was so mad. Not like tears or like, you know, pain or whatever, but I was so mad at him. And he'd see it and he'd throttle back a little bit and he'd make me go. You know, some days like I'd come in to work hungover sometimes and he would be like, Hey, I need you to go rent a 90 pound jackhammer. There was no need for a 90 pound jackhammer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly. And so for eight hours, I would be jackhammering concrete with a 90 pound jackhammer while he was doing what he's doing. And then, I mean, it was awesome though. I mean, he would push me to the absolute limit and my mom and him were.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was so pissed. Did they tell you guys about it? Yeah, we're on lockdown. And they're like, hey, the nation's being attacked. We'll give you guys more info and more like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What? Of course you have all the weak-minded people in there that start crying. Like, I'm 18, right? Like, barely 18.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there's just grown men crying, like, I didn't sign up for this. I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But yea, so I was in bootcamp when 9.11 happened and I always felt like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I didn't feel like I knew that being a Navy SEAL is what I needed to do and what I wanted to do and it's what God wanted me to do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just everything just fell into place. You know, it was pretty awesome, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, uh, it was good. It was cool. You know, I checked in team three and, uh, you know, it was like, hey, we need some volunteers to go to a driving school.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's an off road, Hummer racing and navigation school. I was like, how do I get my hand up fast enough for that? And it just worked out great. Like I literally checked into the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, you're gonna go for a month. Two weeks straight is gonna be off-road driving, racing, and two weeks is gonna be navigation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was like, I literally just, you know, I just come back from Kodiak, Alaska, who were doing our cold weather training. So I was up there. I was gone for a month, come back legitimately for a couple of days.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you know, my girlfriend at the time was like, oh, you're back. I'm so happy. And then all of a sudden I was like, I'm leaving tomorrow.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I mean, I was just like, I was just happy, you know, I was like, yes, this is awesome. This is legit. I'm in the teams. Like I'm getting to do stuff, you know, and, um, we went out there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, and I just wanted to be as well equipped as possible. And, uh, one of my good bros, uh, Derek Benson, uh, he was, uh, killed on Extortion 17. Um, he's from Northern California as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he was one bucks class ahead of me, so he had checked into team a little bit, uh, to team three prior to me. We both went to that driving school together. And, uh, that's where we just became like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Best friends, you know, so it was awesome. It was a good time out there, you know, learned a lot and, uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, there's older team guys out there too, you know, that I got to actually interact with and, you know, just guys not from my platoon. So they weren't so hard on me because I was a new guy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the same time, like I was just learning the balance of the teams. Cause I, I'm all, I'm all.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Overly nice and social and I like to talk to everybody and be everybody's friend and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you're a new guy in the SEAL teams, that's usually not the best thing when you're like, Hey, how are you doing, buddy? Why are you? And they're like, shut up. Like, or like, why are you talking to me? And I'm like, cause we're going to be friends. Like we're going to war together. Let's be friends. You know? So it was cool. You know? And then, um, I come back and, um, then all of a sudden,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're headed out on our first trip, and we're headed out to Shaw's to do shooting school. And uhm, I mean we're getting ready to fly out there, and I just see this big, huge, Native American dude. I'm like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I hope he's in my platoon. You know what I mean? I'm just like, you're drawn to like just awesome warrior looking guys, right? And he's just very stoic and just, I was like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, I really hope he's in my platoon. And he was. He's my boy Steve Chira. You know, he lives out in Vegas. And uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, he's an awesome old guy to have in the platoon, you know. And then the rest of the other guys in the platoon, uhm, you know, they're still active duty, so I'm not gonna drop their names. Uhm, you know, my boy Pepper is his nickname.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was like the perfect old guy to have, cause he was so hard on you, like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So we go out to the Chas, you know, your first trip, super overwhelming. You know, you're just a little nervous as it is. And they even told us like, Hey, this is usually a trip where you want it to be halfway or towards the end. So you can get a solid grasp of what you're doing and grow. Um, but we got after it. It was awesome. Like I said, all the, you know, the older guys, um, were solid. Uh, we had a really weak LPO.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, he actually got fired on that trip. So I was a little just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, yeaah, well for the second half. First half went to Guam, which was disheartening. You know, I'm like, dude, there's a war going on. Let's go to war. Oh cool, you're gonna go to Guam.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But, you know, it's part of it, you know, it's just part of it, you know. Part of the mission. Part of the mission.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you know, some other platoon went to the PI, we were in Guam.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we went to Thailand to work with the Thai Seals for nine days.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now that I look back at it, it did give me a much bigger picture, you know, overview of stuff, but at the time, like, I'm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not even 21. Like, I'm just wanting to get after it, you know? And, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I didn't, uh, for the first half, but then we rip and we go to our rack.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, going to Iraq. Well, I knew what we were headed over there to do, but I was hoping there'd be, you know, the ability to do a lot of different stuff and end up doing, uh, personal security, um, uh, for some higher dignitaries over there during the elections.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, it was cool. You know, what, you're looking back now, you look at what you did and you put that on your resume and people are like, what? Wow, you did that. To me, I was thinking, you know, that sucked, you know, but it didn't. It was also very good. It's a very good learning experience. And it was part of the mission. And the problem is when they had a gap in that,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Protection, you know, some team guys came to do it and team guys do what they do and they just knocked it out of the park. So guess what?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, but it was cool, you know, we worked with, uh, some different units, some Marines and army guys and they were phenomenal over there as well. And it was, it was awesome to be able to learn from them. You know, guys have been on their, you know, couple deployments already and the war hasn't really, really kicked off.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, that was good. Uhm, yeaah. And then our chief got fired. I was just like, jeez. Uhm, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The headshot was solid, like our OIC, AOIC, who became our, the Delta Platoon commander, solid dudes, you know, and so, we just had to weed out some of the weak ones.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I look back, I'm like, you know, some of the things, and I did get to do a pretty cool thing there. Uhm, and then, I mean, we...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well he was Kurdish and he was from Northern Iraq and he was gorgeous up there, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We actually sit, you know, so I had a little come to Jesus talk with, uhm, one of the older guys to, you know, he was just kind of reeling me back in. Cause I wasn't very happy. I was pissed that other guys were out doing direct actions, DA's and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I wanna be doing that and, you know, my boy Pepper, you know, he talked to me, he sat me down, he's like, man, this is a big picture thing, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And this is part of it. He's like, and you're a new guy. He's like, I know you want to get out there. I know you're aggressive, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a good deal, you know, like, yes, it's not the ideal thing that we want to do. He's like, but this is not a bad deal. You know, we're in civilian clothes and fully armored SUVs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Continued on that. It was good. It was awesome. Learned a lot from it, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Literally gone, like again, within a week. And, uh, went through the NSW short course, uh, which,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we didn't get our sniper certificates from that because we didn't do everything, but I didn't care. You're giving me sniper guns. You're, you know, I know how to use them. They're doped in. I get to kill savages. Okay. You know, um, you know what's crazy is remember when they used to try


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, I was just fired up and to go be able to go sniper school. Yeah. No, like, cause, um, you know, it's a big deal. It's a huge deal to get to go to sniper school. And one of the older guys in the platoon, he's still active, uh, and the team's almost had his name, but he's one of my really good buddies. And I really looked up to him. We did an awesome mission together on that, that first deployment. And, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's an awesome guy and he's a sniper, you know, and he would always talk to me about little things and I was just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know if he had a say in me going there or what, but I went, I was super excited. And then also Chris, you know, Chris was a big influence as well as, you know, he was a successful sniper on that, his second deployment, my first deployment. Yeah. And you're just hearing about what he's doing with Fallujah. And I was like, please, please Lord, like I just want to do this so badly.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You hear Chris, you know, telling stories and hear other people telling stories about Chris, you know, and I actually, I even had a buddy who was back from Sacramento. He was a Marine who he was a Marine officer in charge of Chris and those guys over there. So he's telling me stories that were just like, I was like, what? You're like, dude, this is awesome. And so anyways, we got to the short course.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, it was, it was legit, it was in the summer out in the mountains, in the desert, doing everything. Guys are blacking out on their stocks because it's 120 degrees and you're trying to do a four hour stock in a ghillie suit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But, uh, which was awesome because it prepared us for Ramadi. It's like, dude, the worst stuff, you know, you're just okay, you know, and, um, you know, had a great time. The instructors were pretty solid, you know, and, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then all of a sudden it was like, cause we had a condensed work up. They were like, hey, we gotta get going. So normally what you would.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Take 18 months. We had to condense into 11 months. And, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, also, and then we're headed out to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And guys are fired up, cause they're like, dude, this guy is fired up. He's just, you know, I think it was just a, you know, this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I might have been bandaged up a little bit from smashing out a car window. Yeah. But, uh, you know, yeah, some, some idiots downtown.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What were you saying I was saying to you when I saw that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So when you saw it, uh, you know, you're like, hey, I'm Jaco. I was like, I'm JP. You're like, I know who you are. And I was like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like that. Yeaah, it's kinda like, uuuh, okay. And, uh, you're like, so what's up with the wrist? And I was like, uh, I got a couple of stitches. And you're like, from what?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was like, I, you know, smashed out a car window with my elbow and I got caught. He's like, huh, you gonna stop doing that stupid shit? I'm like, yeah. He's like, you need to be training here with the guys and with us and focused on workup. And he's like, if you want to fight, we fight, you know? And I was like, Roger that, sir.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was like, I'm going to go work out. Cause I remember I was walking to the gym. You know, I just changed out the bandages. I had stitches and staples in my arm and I had all bandaged up and trying to get after I was going to go work out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't forget, you know, at the end of the day, we're going to war to kill bad guys. That's the number one focus. And it was just like, that just kinda really opened up my eyes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So excited. It was so much fun. I mean, just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just the energy there. I mean, everyone was ready to get after it and you, you drove it and all of us, you know, I remember you coming up to me when we're in between IADS.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't, I don't think they even told us until we got back. I mean, because it was all over the news what was going on over there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't, you know, I don't think they told us.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. Yeah. Cause I remember we found out we're on leave. We came home, came back to San Diego and we're getting a roll out. And that's when we found out where we're going and we were getting ready and we had all had our families.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We had our families, you know, the day we're shipping off to say goodbye, and there's a couple guys like reading like news reports and articles about the area we're going to, and I'm like trying to like pull my mom away so she doesn't hear this, you know what I mean? And my dad's just like listening, like getting fired up, just like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you know, my dad, you know, you could tell as a father, he's very excited for me. My mom's terrified nervous, but my dad was nervous as well. Rightfully so, you know, like your son's going off to war and combat, but he was just, it was just a mix of emotions for him. And so he was trying to hide like the nervousness by saying,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When are you leaving? Come on, we've been waiting. It's about time for you to go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, uhm, the CEO was awesome. Solid dude. Yeaah, yeaah. So solid. I remember, yeaah, cause I got in trouble when I went home on leave during Christmas time. Have I seen some kind of a pattern of trouble here?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or, you know, if you want to say that, you know what, but I just, yeah, one of my best friends didn't have that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I look back now, I'm 33 and I'm like, man, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you learn from your mistakes and you make sure you don't, you know, pay them again. I got, you know, I got, I was up in Reno, I got arrested for, um, you know, like older guys started a fight with me and my friends and I was with non team guy friends. They're super passive guys.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he's an older, like, much bigger guy, you know, and uhm, you know, he was coming at me, he had a bottle in his hand, it was just, yea, anyways.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do some damage to him, he ends up in the hospital for a long time. I get rolled up, I get arrested, I go there, they're looking through my wallet, they're like, security clearance, SEAL Team 3, and I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, the cop goes, why didn't you tell me this when we're out there? He's like, I would have dropped you off around the corner. I was like, well, I didn't want, you know, I'm not going to try to pull that card. I made a mistake. He's like, well, you're here now, so we have to deal with it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I go home, I remember I, I tell, uh, the LPO about it. He's like, all right, we gotta go tell Chief. And Chief's like, all right, we gotta go tell the NYC.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I gotta go tell the command master chief, command master chief, you know, and ops master chief with press on and bro, two phenomenal leaders. I mean, just couldn't get better, higher listed leaders ever, right? So of course, you know, they're hearing the story and they kind of like give me the rundown and then, you know, master chief press on goes,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, not a DUI, but you know, whatever, close enough. I was an idiot.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, yeaah, I'm Superman. You know, I'm only 22. You know, I'm not even 23 yet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, yeaah, we were crushing the work up, so it was my...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was built, I felt even better about life and everything else like that. And we know we're going to war and, you know, I just made a mistake and, um, you know, pay the consequences. You know, I come home and I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What do I do? I'm like, they're gonna kill me. I was like, I'm, I'm possibly not gonna deploy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I remember I broke down, like I just broke down like emotionally. I'm like, I just threw everything away, you know, like for what, you know? And I was really upset and I went and told the badger, you know, about it first. I was like, Hey man, I need some advice. I was like, you know, I think I can take leave and take care of this on my own and everything. He goes, yeah, I think we can. He's like, but if not, you know, that's a big risk, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's like, dude, we have solid leadership right now. Now's the time that you just get your butt kicked for this and just deal with it. You know, he's like, dude, just take what comes at you. I'm like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Alright, bro. You know, I was like sick to my stomach. I was like, well, I don't know how this is going to turn out. We go to the LPL. He's like, you boogaloo. I'm like, right. Yep. Right. That go to chief. Chief. Same thing. Go AYC. It was Andrew Paul.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Andrew Paul was like, JP, really? Like he was dissap- what hurt is how disappointed he was. Everyone was disappointed, like you're better than that. And I was, you know? And then, so we go back over there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I just got the chills, I was just, I was disgusted with myself, you know. So, you know, they got through, they're like, alright.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, we're gonna have a chiefs review board. So if you gotta keep your trident and stay in the teams. I was just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like how do you even function the rest of the day after that? Like I was like, so I'm looking at the Badger, I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe we shouldn't have said this, you know what I mean? I was like, dude. So anyways, um, long story short, they, uh, I had the chief's review board and luckily they were doing remodeling over the compound. So I was two rooms over, but the ceilings were open and vaulted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I could hear them all talking about me beforehand. And of course he had a bunch of like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was all the chiefs in the command. And you know, there were some chiefs there that, you know, were support personnel. They're like, screw this kid. Let's blah, blah, blah. Like, you know, blah, blah. And then like Yarbrough goes, hold up. Like the kid's a good kid. I was with him at SQT. You know, he made a mistake. And so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I remember him taking my back because he's like, Oh really? Let's get ready. So he starts pulling up like other guys that had made mistakes. He's like, what about when you did this? And what about when you did that? He's like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's good and press on is like, nope, we're keeping them. We're going to crush them, but we're keeping them. So I go in there and luckily I'd heard that. And so I went in there and just, you know, face the man and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, the whole rest of work up, I was on restriction.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're on the road. We're awesome trips. We're going to Vegas for a work trip. And guess who has a curfew? JP. Did you have a curfew during that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, absolutely. Like if I was to go grab food, I had to be back within a certain time frame. They're like, Oh wait, actually guess what? They serve food here. So you don't need to leave the building. You can get room service because you don't need to be sitting down at the, uh, the tables. And I'm like, yeah, you know, but whatever, you know, I dealt with


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was very lucky and blessed. We were blessed to have, you know, good leaders like you and, and bro and press on and those guys that were just like, Hey man, guys make mistakes. We're going to, we're going to fix it. You know, it's not like you guys are like, Oh, no big deal. You're like, Oh cool. Hey, you got to learn.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we'll see how he does on deployment. And when he comes back, we'll, we'll hammer him and if we need to, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A blown out old school. Yeaah. I think it was an old school or like a university. Like a university I think. Old university, just completely blown out, like walls, I mean, there's more bags of sand than concrete, I think they're holding the place up. Uhm, you know, we had the army and marines living with us in there. And uhm, I remember we show up and we're just like, dude.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember getting over there and, you know, guys were like, I was so fired up. I'm like, yes, I'm in, I'm in it. Like this is horrible. It's horrible because there's a fight going on right here. You know what I mean? Like the nice built up bases, there's not a fight there. Where it's like horrible, you know there's a fight. I was just super excited.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember there was one time I was going out to take a shower. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I know. Just make one and go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is a complete I had my angels god thing and we come back from an op and guys are smoked, right? And most guys are just like, I'm just going to get into bed, like my baby wipe shower and just lay down. I just wanted to actually just go take a shower, right? And so the army guys are awesome. They gave us the code so we could use it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I forgot my loofah sponge. You know, so I can actually like try to like wash with my soap and everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you gotta clean the body. You know what I mean? So anyways, I go back and, um, as I'm walking back up the steps to get into the thing, shower tank gets hit by three mortars. And I was, yeah, destroyed, gone. Like I was like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I legitimately was just like in there and I was like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I remember I was like, I'll just put this over my hands and I was like, nope, that was complete. I had my angels, you know, God was like, no, you need to get out of here. And so I walked back and I'm literally taking the last step like into that little dark hallway and I was like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, where's my baby wipes? I have to go get some baby- and that's what was so crazy, it was like, something like that, it was just like, okay, shit, now I'm pissed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I made sure our guys had shaved heads because I was the acting LPO. Uh, the badger was the acting chief. And, uh, we, I mean we rocked the army cams. We put you guys in army uniforms. And we all had shaved heads and we shaved every day. You know, we just looked like the army.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The giant tattooed leprechauns. And so, um, you know, we just shaved the heads and got after it. And, uh, I mean.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, you know, like why? That doesn't matter. That doesn't make you less effective, you know, either way, you know, and you could tilt that, you know, you could flip side that the other way. It's like, hey, well, if I have long hair and a beard, what does that matter? It really doesn't.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's the army's battle space. And we respected and loved those guys. They were phenomenal guys to work for. So why are we going to do something that...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just, uh, piss him off. You know why? Who cares? Like, so we just shaved and, you know, had our, kept our heads shaved, which is awesome actually, cause your, your helmet stuck to that like a little Brillo pad and it didn't move around a lot. And, uh, you know, and then,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The Marines that were with us, the Anglico guys, those phenomenal guys, you know, they started doing the same thing, they were shaving their heads, and my boy Nick Hobbs, you know, he was with us, he's out, he's an awesome stud Marine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we always joke about, he's like, man, like, I just remember, like, just, we all, like, just would hang out in our free time, and he's like, you come really close with somebody when they're standing and they're like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Boxer Breeze and you're having to pour water over them for them to shower and we're up on the rooftop, right? Like doing bottles of water shower and it's just, just funny man. Like I, I miss those days. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that was awesome. We got uhm, just right place, right time, you know? It was just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's all I can really explain. Now, now we work to get work and we, you know, we push the envelope constantly, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, we're no better than anybody over there, just, we're just hungry. You know, we, we wanted it so bad. And I remember when we showed up there, uhm, the Colonel, you know, I won't say his name, but uhm, he was awesome, you know? Awesome. I mean, I wish he was running for president.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you talk about communication from leadership. You talk about a guy that can't say his name.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just an unbelievable leader. Yeah. Ronald Clark, 2020. Yeah. But, uh, awesome, awesome guy, but he, you know, he had the ability to communicate with us to where we wanted to help him and he was just like, Hey guys, I need help.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, that's one thing I learned later on in life is like, when I was doing sales, I'm like, people don't want to be helped, but they want to help. And he knew that, you know, and so he's like, guys, I need help. We're losing guys every day. This is what we're going on. Hey, here's your ROE's. Please go get some. And we're like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, like this is it. And we had that connection with them and you know, just being able to go out and work for them was phenomenal and just, it was awesome.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Daytime presence patrols get some, you know, and when I did that, I carried the Mark 46. Oh, five, five, six belt fed action.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was awesome. You know, you have 200 rounds on the gun and I threw another 800 rounds on my front and I had another 200 in the back. So 1200 rounds with body armor, grenades, smokes, water.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Either walked, uh, it was cool because I either walked, uh, point or rear security because I was a machine gunner, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just remember that, you know, first push that you were talking about, the first real firefight I got into, just cut these dudes in half. And it was awesome. And uh, you know, everything the Colonel told us was going to happen, happened. Hey, usually within this amount of time frame, they start coming out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Here's what they do, they come around the corner, then they distract you, and they do this, and this is when the attack happens, and like, like clockwork.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that, I think that helped us gain even more respect for the army that we worked for because they could have just been like, hey, go get some, but they're like, hey, go get some and come back so you can continue getting some.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember the Delta platoon commander had told me that he was doing that or we knew that and it really


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Emphasized us to, hey, we need to know this area just as well. And it, I mean it didn't take long. I'm not trying to be cocky or anything, but within a couple weeks, like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Those guys did and we needed to know that you can't have a delay in communication when you're in a firefight, you know, or, you know, or guys are down, you know, and there's just everyone, you know, just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Heron over the radio when Cowie got shot, just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I'll never forget that, you know, and knowing exactly where they're at and there's a little confusion leaving and I was like, no, we need to go this way.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And legitimately just started running that way, you know, cause you just hear Mikey opening up and the Badgers trying to pull him out and you just, your boys are in a firefight and you just don't know what's gonna happen. And we're trying to get there as fast as we could and it was just like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We got, I mean, we legitimately got there as fast as we could and it was because we knew we had to be prepared, you know, and can you imagine if we didn't know where exactly they were or where we were and you're just sitting there like trying to listen to a map, you know, read a map when you hear your boy over the radio, like, Hey, I've been shot, been shot. And you just hear a huge machine gun just going off and you're just like, like, but


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, the boys we were with, Delta platoon commander, deep breath, JP, where are we at? Uh, you know, he knew where we're at, but he's like, Hey, where do we need to go? You know, exactly. And you know, cause he's, he could have gotten us there, but he wanted me to get us there. Cause I was thinking about other things. Trust me. He doesn't need to be worried about that. Cause he's working two radios trying to get in cat, you know, he's got a,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Figure out like, Hey, let's get some tanks in here to mow the city down, to get our boy out and get them to the hospital, you know? And so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, it hit the famer right, just travel, I mean.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we did. Full on. Full on. It was pretty awesome. Uhm, yeah, so up in northern Sofia, we're getting just hammered by mortars, you know, just constantly. We knew that's where they're coming from.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, uh, we get dropped off a little outstation north of, you know, the Malab district and we just did a patrol. That was a long patrol up there. And I remember, you know, we're, you know, hugging the river, trying to stay as close to the river as we can. It's.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You go from the dry, just dead city to this lush vegetation and you're trying to patrol through that and I'm just like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, hands like, all the guys in Vietnam, all those guys that just got after it, like, I've always respected them, but that just brought a new level of respect, like, cause we have night vision. They didn't, most of the time, you know, it was just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, it was crazy. So anyways, we go up there, and uh, man it was, we had dogs that were following us, so uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can't say his name, he's still in, but he always, he carried a suppressed MP5 with subsonic rounds. So here's our dog killer. And uh, it was pretty funny. And so he just, you know, these are bad savage dogs, don't worry.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, and so we're getting up there, you know, they're, you know, barking, giving away our location. So we, you know, handle them. We keep going and, um, we get set up at night and, you know, we get all OP set up and, you know, we're.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right on the river, like that's right on the river because we, we know if we need the boats to come and support us, they can come in, we can get a fast extract out of there. And uhm, you know, so me and the Badger, we, you know, we have


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Change out into all of our stuff, you know, like, we're carrying gear for like three to four days, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, it's almost physically impossible to carry that much water.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, and all your ammo, and everything else like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so we get it done and uh, we change out, get in our ghillie suits. And I just remember like thinking like, dude, this is legit. This is it. Like you see like the ambient light like coming in through the trees where we're all like hidden and vegged up and the guys are set their perimeter. We're in our, we're in our ghillie suits.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we just, boom. And one of the other guys is like, dude, this is awesome. You know, you guys were there and we're turning around and he goes,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you guys are gone, like you just disappeared in the dark and, you know, we went and got set up, you know, and like I said, um, you know,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Badger was, you know, he had, he was a sniper before, you know, so I learned a lot from him. And, but at this time we both had a good amount of experience of actually on the gun and whatnot. And so he was, you know, no, no ego with him. You know, he was just so like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Easy back. He's like, Hey man, this is what we're going to do. What do you think? I'm like, yeah, let's do it. And then they're saying, I'm like, Hey, maybe we should change up that. He's like, all right, yeah, let's do that. And so we end up vegging up in this area that, I mean, it was the only


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The opportunity for where we had to be wasn't ideal. You know, we legitimately were on the other side of these bushes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Out in the open, there was like thick bushes around us so we could veg up and blend in, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We were out there by ourselves and we knew that and we, after we did our recall, we told the guys, okay, this is the only place we can go. This is legitimately the only place we can go to be able to, you know, get these guys. And so our contingency was if something happened, we're going to have to wait a while before the guys could actually move to a position to provide cover fire and you know, everything else like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we're like, all right, cool, you know, not a big deal. Yeah. And so we're like, cool, we have our pistols and sniper rifles, you know what I mean? And so we go off, we get veged up and we, you know, help vege each other, get ourselves into position. Rifles are laying like kind of underneath the, uh, the drag bags, which are veged up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we had our pistols out just cause I mean there's, I know people can't see us right now, but there's the distance from me to you. We had people walking past us and it was just one of those things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, just walking by us and we're out there, you know, all throughout the night, the day, you know, it's one of those things we're like, all right, I have to pee.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you're not trying to drink too much water because you don't have to use it at the same time. You're like, it's hot, so I need to. Luckily, since it is that hot and you're in a ghillie suit, you're sweating most of it out anyways. But you know, a couple of times we had to pee, so you like slightly roll over, dig a hole, relieve yourself, cover back up and lay back on top of it, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was good though, uhm, you know, we actually, uh, got, got mortared at that position and, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We, uh, we got lucky. You know, we definitely had our angels there because, you know, it messed up our radios temporarily and, um, everything around us was just kind of tore up, like all the bushes and everything, and we didn't get hit by one thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, you know, it was just like, hey, what do we do? Do we stay here? Do we move them? Well, our radios were jacked up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, you know, luckily, you know, they didn't move to us, you know, and start laying out cover fire while we're trying to move back to them. So we just waited a little bit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Make sure like we weren't trying to get suckered out or ambushed or anything. And then we just slowly made our way back to the group. We told them what happened. I mean, dude, me and him were pretty jacked up from that. Like we were throwing up like the, just a blast and everything else.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have no idea. There's a couple of them, but like, if they rocked you that hard, then they were big. We were throwing up the whole patrol back. Yeah. I mean, we were both throwing up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, we both were, we both had blood in our urine and stool after that. And it was just, I mean, yeah, it was, but you know, whatever. I mean, we, we got the guys and you know, we called in, uh, counter stuff and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We came back and everyone was happy because they didn't get more, the bass didn't get more for a while. Cause I remember after that, the laundry guys, you know, these, these guys are there, they're doing the laundry. Like they're so stoked that we did that. And we're like, man, we're, we're stoked. We got to do that. You know what I mean? That's awesome. They would come and like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Come and pick up our laundry for us and we're like, dude, no, we're good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is awkward. Like, you know what I mean? Like, you know, go pick up your boy's laundry. Like we're good, but it was, it was really cool to be able to do that. You know, something completely outside of the box that we hadn't been doing the whole time. So we were able to go from, and it just came from good planning. We had, like I said, we had solid leadership, so we had good plans in place.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, we're all packed up. I remember cause we weren't out at, uh, at a Cricket War anymore.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I think about every day when I feel this finger, cause I, I, you know, I cut my finger down to the bone. And, uh, they actually had to Kazvac me out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, to go get surgery on my finger because I thought I was going to lose it because we tried to work on it across the street at the aid station which those guys are phenomenal combat medics over there and when they were like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, we need a bird for you, you're gonna lose your finger. Uhm, Delta platoon commander and the badger were like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Dude, we have, yeaah, absolutely. You know, so I went back, grabbed some gear, and uhm, yeaah, I feel that every day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just hard, uhm, like that was the only op I wasn't on. You know, and every time we went out, I always said a group prayer for the guys. It didn't matter if it was like, hey, we have to go right now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's what Doom Commander or the Badger or someone would be like, hey, we gotta get JP real quick. And I'd say a group prayer and we'd roll. And that was the only one that I wasn't a part of. And uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, Mikey was my adub gunner, you know, he was always next to me when I was doing my sniper over watches and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was next to me when I was rockin' point, you know? Cause he needed a dub gunner.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And JP might've gotten a little crazy towards the last half of the deployment and started to walk in point with the 300 win mag and Mikey was there. And I wasn't there, you know, and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Unlike anything else, you know, you're like, cool. Um, you know, you get to be a part of that, but also at the same time, you're like, this is really shitty to be a part of, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know. It was like, yeah, I wanted to be there and make sure everything went well. And I just remember us flying back and just, just, just staring at the flag over his coffin, you know, and some guys would lay next to the casket and we'd lean up against it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it was just getting to bring him home was important to be a part of that. But, uh, you know, everybody felt so much guilt and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We all, we all try to keep each other accountable on that. You know, it's like, Hey man, this is war. You know, Mikey saved a lot of lives, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We made an impact over there. And so it wasn't like it was for nothing. And what he did, I mean, the guys lives that he saved, they all now have families and kids, you know, a couple of them had kids. Mike had the easy out and just like he always did.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He never took the easy road. He took the harder road. The road that would actually make a difference.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, it was also kind of a blur as well. You know, like I remember, you know, just like just rubbing the flag, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The flag's always been very important to me. I remember graduating how we can just sing the flag fly and then you hear it in the national anthem.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And just seeing it over one of your boys caskets was just brought a new level of connection and love for that amazing flag that we have. And.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just sat there and I would just rub the flag. Just rub it, you know? Cause I had flags that I carried with me on every deployment, every mission. I still do that sometimes. Like, my wife, Amanda, would just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'll be doing something and I'll find a flag and I'll just, I'll just kind of rub it. And she's like, she knows, you know, she's like, that's like my little trigger, you know, I'm just my trigger point. I'm just, I just started thinking about things again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I've taught my kids. Aiden.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Korra and Nola to love and respect the flag.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like whenever they see a flag, they're like, daddy, daddy, it's your favorite thing. Daddy, it's daddy's favorite thing, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They love getting American flag t-shirts and shorts. Uh, they sell some American flag cowboy boots. Of course my daughters want those now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I've been honest with my kids, you know. My boy Aiden, I call him my bonus boy, he's my stepson. I love him just like mine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, he, he asked me about the flag and why is it so important to me? And I told him, I'm like, you know, it was, it's been draped over a lot of caskets of my buddies that didn't make it home that were killed overseas. He's such a special kid. And he was just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That makes sense. And, you know, and he just, he sees a flag, and I explain to him why a flag's at half mass, and he's even said, hey I'm sorry that flag's at half mass. Like he doesn't know why, but he knows something happened.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he knows what it does to me and guys like you, whatever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The flag's at half mass, something horrible has happened, and he knows that, you know, and so... I just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Remember, you know, we, I think he went to Bethesda and then we continued on to San Diego. And, um.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just tried to mentally reset for a couple days, you know, you're back in San Diego. It's awesome, but it just didn't.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I had nothing, you know, cause you knew you're waiting to receive your, one of your boys bodies, you know? So it didn't matter where we were. It didn't matter that we're in San Diego. Like we didn't want to be in San Diego. We want to be back overseas still, you know, when


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you were. And that's what we needed. And guys like the Delta Platoon Commander.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Super, super strong for us, but you saw them hurr- I mean, everybody's hurting, you know, it was-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, that deployment, you can't not be close with somebody, you know? And especially someone like Mikey, man. Like he, he knows I like my sleep.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so he would make sure I didn't get my sleep, just cause Mikey didn't sleep. And we were, we, you know, our rooms were right next to each other. You know, I was back in this corner, he was over in this other corner and there was a sheet of plywood between the two of us. And he was always like, what's up homes? He's like, hey homes, you sleeping? I'm like, yeah, I'm trying to homes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's like, he's like, cool. And he'd open up the tarp, you know, the little cami, you know, tarp that I had over for my door and just come in and sit on the edge of the bed. I'm like, what's up, buddy?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's like, nothing, just want, you know, he just talk about family stuff and you could tell a lot was on his mind. You know, and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, but I'm awake, so I guess we're gonna watch The Thirsty Traveler, because there's a couple times where I be like, hey bro, like I'm trying to sleep, like just go do your own thing, you know what I mean?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he had a little hole that he carved into the plywood between our rooms and he would crack chemlights and push them through and they'd fall right next to where I was sleeping. And I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm going to strangle this guy, but it was my boy Mikey, you know, like he was my boy. Um, you know, we were real close in the workup.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then obviously deployment, you know, we should ride street bikes together. And anyway, so deployment is just fun. It was just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I say all it says is he did that with everybody. Yeaah. It was hard not to be close to him. It was uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, there's a different connection when you're at, when you're legitimately at in war with your boys. You know, that's why all the army and marine guys that we served with, like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I was just like, dude. And I just, I was up there on a sales trip and I just ditched my sales team guys, you know, cause I wanted to hang out with them. You know, I just, and then there's been other trips where.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Same thing, another one. My boy Nick Hobbs. You know, I ran into him, I was with the MySales team, and I was like, come on, you know, it's just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That connection is just, it's hard to explain. I mean, you guys know how it is doing jiu jitsu in combat sports where you're rolling with guys and you, you're legitimately helping guys cut weight and just all this stuff. Like, there's that bond and that connection. Take that, times it by a thousand.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then add some more and that's the connection you get with these boys in combat. So it was, it was just real hard. I mean.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And part of it is, that's just who I am, like I wear my heart on my sleeve, I just connect and attach to people very closely and, you know, Mikey, it just, it was, it was really hard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Pound it into our minds since buds win the fight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you're in a fight, win the fight, win the firefight, right? And right then that our fight was you had to keep the guys together. You know, that's why it's always self-aid, buddy aid, right? You get shot, you get hurt, you take care of yourselves because if you're in a firefight, your boys are going to win the firefight first before they can take care of you. That's just part of it. That's how we operate.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you had to do that. Damn, damn, no doubt. I mean, you're in that highest leadership position.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it just, and the same thing, like I had to get myself together, you know, just cause other guys in the platoon, like I thought, or at least I felt like they looked up to me as well. And, you know, especially after that appointment, you know, I just, you had to keep your stuff together, you know, and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was just, it was just a weird, weird situ- you know, I don't know, it was the first time I ever experienced that, you know, at that level, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so uhm, you know, I was just the desert of smoked, you know, just, you know, coming home from that deployment, you know, initially just still kind of messed up. Well, not still kind of, I was messed up with the whole Mikey thing. I remember I went and told Yarbrough, I was like, hey, I just want to go to Paycom. Like, just let me reset. He's like, okay. And then he,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He knows. He knows me. He's like, alright, cool, yeah, Roger that. Knowing that's not what he's gonna do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, I'm driving back up to Sacramento on leave. He's like, hey, uhm, I know you said you want to go to Paycom, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we need to get after it again. So, you're gonna go to Iraq again. Or Af- or possibly Afghanistan. I was like, yeah, Roger that. Yeah, I don't even know why I said that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, like it was just, it was one of those things where you're just like, ah, you know, I'm gonna do Paycom, go to Thailand or whatever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, no, they switched it all up, so. I remember that, but they were several guys that stayed there. Yeah, yeah. So, no, I was gonna be... ...off for a brawl with him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ripped my shoulder out of joint. My right one. And it was a bad one. Not like, I'd done that multiple times before. Like, I mean, we're out at an island, the, you know, doing our desert warfare, getting it on. And my shoulder came out and I just relocate the shoulder and, you know, suck it up a little bit and keep going. And this was a bad one. So I ended up having to have surgery. Like, all right, cool. You know,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because I was at rehab and I just, I couldn't grab onto stuff or I would just drop stuff. So then they pulled me. And I went to Bud's.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, for a little bit as an Indoc instructor and uhm, had a good time over there. Learned a lot about, you know, just professionalism and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, things change and evolve and, you know, uhm, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was awesome, you know, stepped into, uh, assaults and where we're doing all the CQC and urban warfare training and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Jaco was pushing those guys out of there. Not in a bad way, but just like, hey man, like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're not going to be, you know, the war's really been going on for a while trainings, you know, combat is getting intense. Training needs to be intense and it needs to come from guys that actually have experience or are willing to listen to the guys that have the experience and apply that, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so he really shaped and changed the platform of training for all the West Coast SEAL teams. And so I was super proud to be a part of that. And, um, I learned a lot about leadership and growth. You know, I learned good bosses and bad bosses and, um, actually ended up becoming the LPO for,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For Mount, well I guess it's now called South, you know, so I ran all the urban warfare training for a year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that was awesome. I got to learn actually how to work with guys and actually manage guys, you know, effectively like, and uhm, which it's funny, you know, you get on the outside.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Charge of like 100 plus role players and 17 instructors and logistics for travel and hotel and make sure all the training is set up and managing the guys that need to be talking with the other units that we're talking to and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe 25? I don't even think I was 25. Oh no, I was 25, you know? And, maybe. And, uh, so I'm just learning a lot about that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was pretty cool. And then I spent a lot of time at CQC, which every good team guy loves. Urban warfare, land warfare, and CQC.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had some really good bosses over there as well. And my boy, Chucky.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's still in, so I'll respect his name as well. Uh, we actually live together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I worked for him and that was a huge lesson of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, which we all have in the teams is balancing personal and professional because the teams are very tight. You know, you could go out and drink it with your bosses, hang out with them and then at work the next day, but different when you're living with somebody. And, um, man, I was late for work. One day we're on the road.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I was like, okay man, I'm running a little late. He's like, you better not be late. You know, something along those lines. So I get there, I'm like a minute late, right? Dude, I ended up on like restriction.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not like really full on restriction, like military thinks about it, but it was like, he was like, yeah, you've got to do this. But basically I was a little go to guy where I got to do all the work, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it was good though, you know, he is, I expected that of him. Like I knew, like I made a mistake. I got to pay the man and he, you know, I put him in a hard position, you know, which was unfair to him. And.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you can't be doing that to your boys, you know, like you can't take advantage, like, Oh, my buddy's my boss. I can do this. No, my buddy's my boss. I'm gonna work even harder for him. And you know, and that's.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can't be doing the stuff where you need to be focused on this. And he really helped with my professional development, you know, really helped and helped me learn a lot of stuff that I was able to apply to the outside and be successful. And, um, you're still a great friend of mine. He's got a beautiful family and it's just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just, it's awesome seeing him grow over the years. Dude, he's a legit boss. Like the type of guy that's like, I really want to work for him. You know, and so I just took a lot of the stuff that I learned from him and I've applied it to the outside and uh, it's been awesome.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I got out. Uhm, you know, I'd already had a failed marriage.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you know, I have a son that's here in California that I don't ever get to see cause his mom is awesome.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just, I mean, she's the love of my life. She's amazing. She deals with me and deals with me very well. I give her big props for that. Absolutely. Nice work, Amanda. Yeah. She's, you know, you watch the movie 300, you know, the queen, that's her right. A hundred percent, you know, and, um, you know, she was going to move to San Diego with, uh, with Aiden and I was super fired up about that. And then, uh, she was pregnant. I'm like, okay, cool. Still, still happening. And then pregnant with twins.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] She's like, ert, nope. I'm not leaving mom in my support group. I remember I was so mad.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it caused a lot of issues because I held on to that anger longer than I should have, you know, and uhm, I was just so angry and upset.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But now that I look at it, you know, she's a small town Mississippi girl. I mean, she's gorgeous, you know, she's awesome, but she's a small town girl. And you know, sometimes we're back home, she'll be driving. She's like, hey, you can drive, you know, cause she doesn't want to drive in the traffic on the road, the main roads. I think about that. I'm like, that's like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A, you know, I'm taking him away from his dad, so that wasn't really fair, you know? Uhm, and I could relate to that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, you know, her parents are awesome. So then also, and her friends, you know, she's a good support group. And it's like, you know, I was just like, man.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And a couple of things didn't work out when I had screened, you know, I had another surgery when I was out and I just took it as, Hey, you know, this is maybe the time I need to move on. It's a good chapter in my life, an amazing chapter that I'll never forget. And it's very important who helped mold me as a man. Um, but I absolutely was not going, I was not, not going to be there for.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I got out, and uhm, it was a rough transition. You go from, I'm born and raised in Sacramento, California.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And lived in San Diego my whole life, or I mean, I'm sorry, lived in San Diego the whole time in the Navy. And then I'm in North Mississippi.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. Awesome. Just, I just, man, you talk about culture shock. It's cool to go visit, you know, I used to always love when we'd go out there for work, but you're leaving after two weeks and now all of a sudden I'm living there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it was just nothing bad with the South or where I live. It just, for me, it was a huge change. And.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which of course I get after it, cause that's just, you know, I have to provide for your family, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just a transition, and I made the mistake of not reaching out to people, and asking and helping, you know what I mean? Like, uhm, one of my boys is still in, Lois, you know, go by his little nickname, and I did reach out to him a couple times, and he was real solid, he would reach out to me. He'd be like, hey man, how you doing? How is JP really doing, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I'd talk to him about stuff, he's like, man, that's not good, bro. Like we need to, you know, whatever. And there's times where he's like, all right, well, you know, you just know what you need to do. And, you know, uh, Chuckie, same thing. Chuckie would reach out to me as well and he'd come out there for training and he'd come over and hang out with the family and the kids. You know, he's my boy, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so, I found a gym, and uh, a new MMA gym was opened up like right around the corner from the house. And I was like, oh, boo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, you know what I mean? And, uh, came really close with a couple guys, uh, Jake and Zach Underwood. They're actually from Union City, same city. Aaron Vaughn was born and raised in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, so they already knew about him. And, uh, I didn't tell them what I did. You know, they had no idea what I did. And, uh, I was like, yeah, they're like Union City. I was like, oh cool, I know Aaron Vaughn. And they're like, how, how do you know Aaron Vaughn? I'm like, we used to work together like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Down to earth guys that legitimately always- they have my back out there and they-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was weird because I never really explained much to them about my time in the teams, but they knew I was having a hard time transitioning and they were just there for me. You know, they're just there at the gym. They'd push me to my limits.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, they're like, Hey, you're going to start fighting. I'm like, awesome. You know, and so, you know, I have seven amateur MMA fights and just a challenge of cutting weight and just training with the boys and sparring and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I do it as a stress reliever, which is funny, you know, cause like you watch some of my YouTube videos.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just want to have a little stress reliever, you know, it's funny. You know, I wasn't fighting to turn pro because I need to make money. I was just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's my stress reliever and it was being around guys that were like-minded.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe it was when you went to the east coast. I don't know. Anyway, super solid guy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I tell people that. I'm like, yeah. So I basically could have been doing jujitsu since 2005 with Jaco. And people are like, what? I'm like, yeah, I could have, but you know, I just, I guess I never really got to like the taste. Like I like to stand. I don't know. I'm an idiot. That's why I did it. And then getting there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I mean, like, and then when I tell people like, yeah, you know, since 2005 with Jaco, I could have been rolling and training all the time. And then when you opened your gym, you know, guys like Echo and his brother and Dean Lister and you, no, I was there, but I was always doing the standup stuff.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I hadn't done anything in like 16 months. I had that injury. I went into my last fight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, my coaches were like, dude, I'm pulling you. And Joel, dude, he's such a legit badass, just tough, like people are terrified of him, but he has the other side that people don't realize team guys have where he's like, hey,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, uh, sparring Teddy Holder, you know, who knocked out Tiago Silva. Yeah, that's one of my boys and Andy Yurok, Bellator fighter. I mean, Zach, all these guys, I mean, just they get after it, you know, and, um, yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Anyway, we can talk, that could be a whole other podcast, but they got really changed it up. Uhm, and so, but I, you know, when I got the call for that fight, I had, I'd fought not to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So anyways, me and that guy, uh, Danny Schell, good guy, you know, he's awesome, uh, dude. He really is a really good guy, you know what I mean? But we just, we'd get after it on social media just to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, just cause we're bored, I guess in that, uh, but it came down, you know, we had a tough fight, you know what I mean? And, um, yeah, I mean, it was, it was awesome. Like you watch it and we're just, what weight do you fight at? I fought anywhere between 170 to 205. My first fight. What are you walking around at right now? Uh, two 15.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was my heaviest, like I couldn't break 185. Like I was trying to like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you like all the bodybuilding lifts? Do I get as big as I could and I could never break 185 and then my dad's like, dude, wait until you get your thirties.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, whatever. He's like, oh, okay, because your body has legitimately done everything mine has at every age increment. And then, yeaah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get big, but my first fight I fought at 205, but I only weighed 190, uh, because I was going to fight at 185 for my first fight. But, uh, that's why I normally don't go by Jeremiah Danel on like social media because guys started Googling Jeremiah Danel. You know, I,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Test fight against Jesse Ventura with the whole Chris Kyle thing and what not. So you google Jeremiah Donnell, there's a bunch of Navy SEAL stuff out there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so I chan- that's why I changed my Facebook page to Jeremiah Patrick, just cause, you know, fighters would look that up. I had like two- my coaches were like, they didn't want to tell me. And I knew there was something weird with Jake and Zach and my dad.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, I knew there was something going on. My fighter backed out. Oh. And then they were trying to find like another fighter, and then he backed out. I think it was like two or three guys.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'd sold on my first fight over 100 tickets also.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had people flying in from California, driving out, like driving from East Coast to West Coast, Washington, you know, my aunt and uncle were flying out. It's like first amateur fight. This is ridiculous, right? Should have just traveled somewhere where this better be a good show. Exactly. I flew out from Washington. So yeah, exactly. You know, and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember telling, uh, my buddy Jake, I'm like, dude, I don't care if it's a heavyweight. Get me a fight. Like, I can't not fight. You know what I mean? Like, alright, we're fine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I found some good, he had a good amount of fights already and like he cut down to 205 and I weighed in with flip flops, my cut off cami shorts, all my stuff in my pockets at 191. And uhm, it was awesome, it was good, good little first fight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, you know, I finished him in the second fight, uh, second round. Uhm, TKO in the second fight, finished that guy in the first round. Uh, third fight, which was hilarious, had me as the main event on this card for the third fight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think I can get you a ticket bro, but uh, you know, the, so the fights have been awesome. Uh, my fourth fight I lost. Um, I actually went into that fight. I had, I was in the hospital or not the doctors in and out of the doctors almost hospital like the week prior.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was cutting down to 170 again also, with hand foot mouth disease.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it did help with cutting weight, except for it was horrible. Amanda was legitimately taking care of me like everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And she's helpful. She preps all my meals. You know, I come home from the gym and she went out. I mean, are you, you think you're going to fight again?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I get a little emotional thinking about that sometimes, it's just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we're so lucky what we have. We got a second chance. You know, we actually fall on how to divorce. Moved out. Had my own house. You know, she was doing her own thing. I was doing my own thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, you know, it just came down to lack of communication. Which when I really look at it, and we both look at it, and we're both just being selfish.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like I, I try to think that's not me and with Amanda, like that's not her. You talk about somebody who's not selfish. That's her, like to an extent, but we just, I don't know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, yeah, like I said, you know, it was about a year, you know, we're doing our own thing and, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, we just kept getting drawn back to each other and it was the kids and, you know, everyone says, oh, my kids are so smart. Dude, our daughters and Aiden are incredibly intelligent. Like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, my daughters will be five in January, so this time frame, you know, they're, they're, they're, they're three, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they know what's going on, you know, and they're trying to be like, hey, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, my daughter Noah's like, well, you know, daddy, if you and mommy didn't argue so much, maybe we could all live together. And to hear that from your kids, you know, I was just like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was rough. It was really hard. And you do anything for your kids.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So what made me get back in the game is I still loved her. Like I was just, I'm still, you know, head over heels in love with her and head over and heel in love with my kids. And I didn't want somebody else raising my kids and Aiden, you know, like I would still pick him up and take them to school, you know, even though, you know, okay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We put each other first and we learned to communicate, you know, and I was sitting in Amanda. I don't know. We both just had like this come to Jesus with somebody. Like I can't remember who I was talking to. I don't know who she was talking to and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, she's crafty. She's smart. She knows how to deal with me. You're right. So she calls.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And she knows it's my weekend, it's, well, obviously she's calling me to talk to the kids, and she's like, hey, can I talk to girls? I'm like, absolutely. So I put on the speakerphone, she's like, hey girls, I love you. Hey, girls, do you want daddy to pick me up for a church so we can all go together? Dude, I was so pissed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the chorus, the girl's like, yeah. And she was like, I was like, cool. Hey, outside in five minutes or I'm driving. Still going to keep driving. You know, she's waiting outside in this dress. It looks stunning.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was like, alright. You know, that was at the beginning, you know, and then we just learned to communicate with each other and we, we put each other first and you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a lot of covering move and we legitimately have to put each other first instead of, you know, just doing it as a team. Like my focus and I'm, I don't do this all the time. I'm not trying to act like we have this perfect relationship and everything's phenomenal now, but we legitimately try to put each other first and almost everything that we do to try to take care of each other and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was because it was too complicated. Something was complicated and messed up, and so we just had to simplify things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's over something stupid. That's what I'm saying. But I mean, she's an alpha female, I'm an alpha male, so of course we're just like, at times we just want to challenge each other, but then we're like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly. I know. That's our plan right now. And we're doing it. And then, you know, I mean, and then just legitimately figuring out what was priorities in our life. Like, we just had to be, so we could be on the same page.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, and you know, Amanda's the one that, you know, just recognize a lot of these, these shortfalls that we're having and would just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Communicate with me and she'd be like, Hey, if you're upset with me over something, I probably didn't mean to do that on purpose. So just let me know. That's good. And so yeah, simple.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I know, and so as far as us prioritizing things, like we just, you know, and we still, we need to get like an actual full on detailed detailed game plan for what we're doing, but we realized what was important and what wasn't important.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And some of these certain things, like the things that truly weren't important, like I don't think twice about it and she doesn't either.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we just focus on our goals for her business, my business, raising our kids the right way, trying to be involved in the church as much as possible, trying to give back to others.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Those are our priorities, not the stupid like, well you said you were coming home at 10, but you stayed out drinking wine with your girlfriend until 11.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Who cares? She came home to me, she was relaxing with her girlfriends since I'd been gone for three weeks for work. Like, she should have stayed out all night and just relaxed, you know what I mean? Like, hey, have a sleepover at your friend's house so you don't have to wake up to the kids three times during the night. That's what I should have done, you know? And she's done the same with me, you know?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a couple of times where I'm just like super stressed out or whatever and she's like, Hey, you know, what do we need to do? Like, what do you, what do you need? She's like, you know what? You need to go work out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm like, yeah, but we need to go do this right now. And she's like, no, what we need to do is you need to go work out and I can handle this. That's awesome. And it's just been awesome. You know, night and day, like I think about it like, dude.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] She's such a hard worker, you know, and she runs everything and then she'll make sure I have a cup of coffee like on the nightstand, like next to me in the morning so I wake up, you know, and it's just like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You woke up early to go do that. So now like, I'll try to like do stuff for her or whatever. It's just, it's awesome.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's, it's hard though with her, cause she is, she's so thoughtful and crafty, like all of a sudden, like, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, it's awesome. Life's been good, you know, it's really turned around. I mean, there's a real dark time, I'm not gonna lie. Like, there was...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The divorce was rough, you know, and there was some other times before that that was real rough. You know, I was drinking a lot, taking painkillers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just because I had injuries, but I was like, Oh, I have an injury so I can take this painkiller. Oh, I can take two to three and drink at the same time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm just trying to numb a lot of stuff that was going on, which is not the path to go. It's not the path at all. You know, I wouldn't, we know that. And, uh, you know, one of the things I'm, I mean, there's so many things I'm pretty sure that Amanda helped me through, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember when I went to the VA because I was having a real hard time sleeping and just my body was all out of whack.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Turns out I had like, my body wasn't producing testosterone anymore. Didn't know that, right? Well, so, I didn't know that, but so I go to the VA. I come home with like a bag of like, no kidding, like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eight different meds that they wanted me to start taking. I was like, okay. So I take it first day. I'm like, oh my, like she had to like get me out of bed for me to go to work. So I was like a zombie.