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Nick Gilkey is a health coach who had healed his own autoimmune disease and optimized his health and is now helping others do the same.
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Nick, thank you for being here. Brother, Appreciate it. Man, Thanks for having me on. We're wearing the same shorts. We're in person in Miami. It's good to be here. Yeah, man, excited for this, absolutely so I was thinking we'd start with a little backstory about you. What do we need to know about you to make sense of the content you're putting out?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I would say it all kind of started when I was diagnosed with all sort of colitis. So up until that point I was never like. I was always interested in health and fitness and always wanted to be healthy and try to exercise and do all that. But I got diagnosed with all sort of colitis and that was like totally just a complete mental shift. I thought up until that point I always thought I was healthy, but sports exercise, tried to eat what most people would consider a healthy diet, and then that was like that diagnosis, what is going on here? So at that point, what? The traditional route at first, working with doctors just taking medication trying to manage it, and it just progressively got worse to the point where every aspect of my life, my career, my relationships, everything was just being destroyed by this. So it was like two and a half, I think, almost three years of just basically suffering through that and it was on a daily basis at that point just crazy, crazy symptoms. So I got tired of that and I just started digging in and trying to learn, listening to podcasts and listening to people online who posted about this disease that they had as well a sort of colitis, reading medical studies, just trying to learn, because I was so tired of doctors telling me there's not much you can do. Just eat a healthy diet, avoid these foods, and you can just kind of manage it. So I spent years just digging into that stuff, talking to other people, learning about what worked for them, and that kind of took me a while to get to the point where I got things under control. But I just started trying different diets and changes to my lifestyle, like exercising more, managing my stress, like thinking about all these things that I didn't really prioritize before and that over a two-year period I was finally able to kind of make some progress on this and get it under control. So that journey kind of shifted everything. So before I was so focused on my career and that's all I was really focused on and this just made my health my number one priority. So after that it was like this is what I want to do, this is what I want to focus on. And along that journey, the only reason I got to this point was talking to other people online and just listening to their stories about this specific disease and other diseases like it. That helped me so much. So when I got to this point where I got my disease and remission, I wanted to start posting about my story and just sharing that message and helping people that were in a similar situation, that didn't know there was alternatives. So that's what I did. I started posting, sharing my message, and it was crazy how many people started reaching out to me Just like I have the same exact symptoms. My story is the exact same as yours. Like, how did you do it? So I started at first I was just kind of trying to give advice to friends and family about how to be healthier, and these are the things I did that helped me. And at that point, when I was posting online and getting all these messages, I was like, okay, I might start working with people and try to help them a little bit closer than just posting online. So I started doing that kind of on the side of my job and it got to the point where there were so many people that needed help and so many people reaching out to me I couldn't really manage a career that was different than this and then also helping these people. So I kind of made that leap of faith and just went full time and started coaching people and posting content and just trying to help as many people as possible.
Speaker 1:Let's go to such a powerful story, and it's an idea that I see throughout most of the podcasts. I do have this the obstacle being the way, and I say it all the time, but so often it's like that awful experience in the moment it feels so miserable and you can't see a positive to it. With time, it becomes this thing that ultimately gives you so much purpose.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's true. I mean it sucks that you have to go through those. Obviously you wouldn't want to go through that. It was like I had never dealt with anxiety and depression and all that stuff before going through this. It was like the first time I'd ever dealt with that before, so that was kind of crazy. But yeah, you're right, it just opened my eyes. I always say this, which sounds weird, but I think that diagnosis was like the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't have had that or just continued to eat this diet and I wouldn't even know what a seed oil or any of that stuff was. And this just totally opened up my eyes to so many things in life and got out of a career that I didn't really like. And now I'm doing something that's meaningful and using my true talents and making a difference in the world. So in a way, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's such a so weird in that regard. In some ways you can almost write like a love letter to that condition, even though at the time that ideal would be even insane. But so what? When people reach out to you, is there any very common questions or something that you see over and over again? That's like a very frequent piece of advice that people ask you for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think for most people they're just so like I was, they're just so lost, like they don't really know what their problem is, because most people don't have like a serious diagnosis, like I had. They just have like general symptoms, like I get bloated every time I eat or I just don't feel good, and they'll say like what supplements or like what changes can I make? And it's tough to give that advice, like there is no like I always say this on Twitter there's no like cookie cutter advice I can give to people. And I think that's because doctors and all these like healthcare professionals just kind of make it seem like, oh, you just have IBS. Like it's just they just throw this like term at any symptom that people deal with. So people don't know like what they're doing with, so they don't know how to address it and they're just looking for like generalized advice. And that's what I'm really big on is trying to like help people understand the nuance to all these things. It's not just IBS. There's usually like another underlying issue there that's causing these symptoms, and just trying to educate people on that. But I think that the first thing I always say to people is just start with like an audit. Just cut out all the garbage food. Cut out all like the bad habits, not getting sleep, you know, just having crazy levels of stress. Those are the things you need to focus on first, instead of like what supplements should I take or what crazy diet should I implement. You got to start with the basics there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so interesting. Do you think that, like to me, the most interesting part of this conversation is that there's so many people who one went on to like cure their own autoimmune disease, but then there's the large majority who do nothing about it and it's just like at the will of big pharma for their health. What do you think the difference between those two groups of people are like? What is the dis differentiating factor that allows some people to make this huge leap and discipline themselves to do this hard diet, versus the people that never even take the leap to begin with? That's a good one.
Speaker 2:I was kind of in that position. So like when I was diagnosed, I didn't take it very serious at first. I was at this age or like my career was number one priority, wanted to go out with my friends and go to brunches and stuff. So I didn't really take it that serious at first and that's why it got worse over time. But for me and for a lot of people I've seen, I think it's just like they haven't experienced enough pain. I mean it sucks to deal with these things and nobody wants to wake up and feel miserable and be tired and like having anxiety every day. But until they get to that point where it's like debilitating, like my career suffering, I just lost a relationship because of this. It seems like people don't start to take it serious until that point and I think that's really it. I mean, there are some people obviously that just immediately like they don't want to deal with any health issues and they take it serious, which is great. But yeah, and that's another thing I try to talk about, a lot is not necessarily being like a fear monger, but like making people aware of what happens if you don't take these serious. Like that's what I did for like six months or a year after being diagnosed not taking the serious, and then it led to all these other issues. Some of these aren't always reversible and they have like lasting effects on your health. So just trying to make people aware of that Like you can start. When you just have minor symptoms, you can start to address it and get it under control before it turns into a chronic disease or something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's hard though, because, like, most people are in that place of like being comfortably numb where it's like, it's not hard enough for them to make this like giant leap, but it is affecting their life in a big way. So I don't know it's just one of those things that I've always been curious about, like what is that differentiating factor? And I guess it is just pain.
Speaker 2:I think so. Yeah, I think it's pain and then just not being aware of what those like. If people knew if I ignore this and I let my symptoms go on, it's going to lead to like an autoimmune disease. I'm sure they that might motivate them a bit to take it more serious. But yeah, I think those are the biggest factors there.
Speaker 1:And so many people get such interesting information with, like the stuff that they think are is going to help Right, like you see, a lot of people go like vegan and there's just a bunch of other modalities that probably aren't moving the needle, maybe even making things worse, and, in some, some ways, what were the biggest needle movers for you in terms of diet, lifestyle?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, like I was saying before, I think the biggest thing for most people and for me was just to cut out All of the garbage first. So really like dialing in my diet and getting it to the point where I had it like perfect, that last piece of that of just like fine tuning didn't make as much of a difference as when I like cut out the seed oils, cut out all the processed foods. That was definitely the biggest thing for me Because when I first started on this journey I had dietitians or doctors saying just avoid certain foods. They never said eat quality meats or get certain types of eggs, like don't get the caged eggs, get pastries and stuff like that. So I started cutting out all of those low quality foods. That made a huge difference and the very first thing I did so I was always told avoid red meat, avoid fats, stick to like a lot of vegetables and fruits and you can have a little bit of meat. I ended up getting deficient in a bunch of like fats, all your vitamins and B vitamins and all of that. And I was still having all these symptoms and when I came across people talking about like carnivore or keto and stuff like that making huge differences for them, started to think like, okay, maybe if I just try that and I cut out some of these like plant foods, maybe that'll make a difference. And I did and it made a huge. I did carnivore for a while and it honestly eliminated like 75% of my symptoms. So that was a huge one for me, just kind of like unlearning the dogma of diet and that you have to have a balanced diet, which I think, long term, like that's what you want to get to. But when you're dealing with these acute issues, there are times where cutting out certain foods helps. So that was huge for me, just just going to that and cutting out those trigger foods. From like a lifestyle perspective, there was a lot of different things, I mean. I'm really big on like obviously holistic, but my Twitter name, but folks. Everything is important, like stress, sleep, exercise all that stuff is important, but the biggest one, like that moved the needle the most for me, was stress that it affects every aspect of your health, but especially gut health, like causing microbiome imbalances, weakening the lining of your gut, causing inflammation. There's just so many issues that it causes and for me it was a huge one. I had stress from work, stress from relationships, stress from dealing with this disease, when I finally started to like open my mind to different ways of managing that instead of just saying like, oh, you got to toughen up and exercise more or something like that, so I'm doing like meditation or deep breathing Because there was just so much stress and that that made a huge, huge difference for me and it really helped me get things under control and stop having flare ups like every single day from stress.
Speaker 1:Yeah, stress is one that people don't really appreciate and like just eating in a parasympathetic state and so that sympathetic state can make just such a difference. So it was really like the deep breathing, the meditation, that was the needle movers in terms of stress mitigation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the first one, so I doubt. I think it was like the calm app was the first that the first time I ever did meditation and it was crazy because, as simple as it seems, like most people think they have control over their mind, but I had no control of my life. If I tried to sit in a room in like silence for five minutes I would be thinking about. I just couldn't keep my mind under control. So that helped me from that perspective. So, like when I was confronted with these stressors whether it was work or like personal life, whatever I was able, I had that control over my mind. I could kind of like calm things down. And then the deep breathing was kind of the same thing, but another one that I also thought. I used to think there's a stupid when people talk about like journaling, and I started doing that because I would get like when I would go to sleep at night I would be stressed about all these things I have to do tomorrow. Right, wake up like I have so many things to do and I started writing out like anything that was stressing me out what am I going to focus on today? What's like my goals for today and this week? Getting that stuff out of my head on paper is weird, as it sounds like helped a ton with managing my stress and just I don't know. Just that like activity of writing things out helped as well. But those are like the big three ones for stress.
Speaker 1:Yeah, journaling doesn't sound weird at all to help stress, I mean from personal experience, like it totally relates to that. It's so crazy to have one. Just putting thoughts on paper organizes your thinking so much, like you're able to just see things from more of like a third person, bystander point of view and you're like, oh, this isn't that big of a deal. And then from like, for me I don't know if you've done this at all, but like go back and reread old journal entries. It has been such a my main, the times of my life where I felt like the most proud of, like the growth I've had has been from reading old journals. It just provides such a lens into what you were thinking about, what you were struggling with, in a way that very few people have, and you forget so easily like how you were feeling in those dark moments. So to have that is incredibly powerful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it helped me I guess in two ways, like one when I was going through this and just trying all these different diet changes and lifestyle changes helped me go back and see, like there's days I felt really bad and I would go back and see like what did I eat two or three days ago that might be causing that. So it was really helpful from that perspective. But then also, like you're saying, looking back, like a month later or several weeks later, like six months later, what? The things that I was stressed about just meant nothing. They didn't matter at all. I know I think it's where Mozi talks about this a lot but if it's not going to make a difference, like six months or a year from now, there's zero reason to get upset about it or let it cause stress for you and that was a huge one for me. Just looking back and being like what are these things that were causing all the stress in my life and now they're just completely irrelevant. It's like that was doing damage to my health for no reason. True.
Speaker 1:True. Do you have a current meditation practice that you stuck to, or has it kind of just evolved to flow?
Speaker 2:It's yeah, it's kind of it's more flow. Now I used to do like the guided meditations or like once focus on specific things. But now I just like I'll just try to spend like five minutes in total silence and just get like clear my mind and just sit there and then after that I'll just kind of like think about if it's like in the morning, usually do in the morning and I'll just think about like what I'm doing that day and just picturing. That's something that I always did. I didn't really consider it meditation at the time, but when I played sports I heard it from like a I'd been like Dwayne Wade or somebody. It was a huge NBA fan and he always talked about before games. He would like visualize him in that game, performing and like doing well. So that's something I do in the mornings just like visualize. These are all the things I have to do today. If I have like calls with clients or whatever it is I have to do, I'll visualize myself doing that and like being successful and doing well at it. It's that something because, like when I get in the moment and then I start go to do that like it was in sports, I would just feel comfortable like oh, I've been here before, I've done this I've seen myself succeed at it. So that's a. It's a powerful one that I like. That is a powerful one.
Speaker 1:It is a powerful one. I feel like outside of sports very few people do that and even just on like flow in general, like outside of sports, very few people like have those outlets to experience flow state. That's why I love the podcast so much is it's like flow, yeah, and there's very few things outside of sports that get you that flow. Is there a few things for you, now that we talked about jujitsu a little bit before this, before we hit record, but what has been like your flow state activities you've been leaning on.
Speaker 2:For me it's a lot I do like when I write like Twitter, there's just something like that, I do kind of get into a flow state and I like that. That's something. I've never been like a big writer or anything like that, so I've been trying to kind of like get better at that. That's a really good one. And then most of it for me is just like physical stuff, so something like jujitsu or like Muay Thai or something where it's like you don't give this your full attention, like you're somebody who's going to break you.
Speaker 1:So the high stakes of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like those a lot. But even just like swimming, like going out into the ocean and swimming stuff like that, where I have to like focus on that and not be in my mind, I like those a lot. But yeah, it's mostly like the physical ones are, I think, make the most difference for me.
Speaker 1:How long have you been in Miami for?
Speaker 2:I think two years no, in Miami for one year. Not been in like South Florida for three years now Nice.
Speaker 1:How big of impact do you think being in Florida is to your health with like sunlight, like you just mentioned, swimming with the beach, and for me like my family lives in New Jersey right now and I just feel so much healthier being down in Miami, going for like two hour walks on the sun, shirtless and like just living a lifestyle that's just so much more in line with nature. I know we were talking about this before. It's a little hard with the apartment complex, but how big of a role do you think like being in Florida has played with your health?
Speaker 2:It's played a huge role, one it's just easier to maintain, but it also helped me, like, get to that next level of being healthy, and so I've been Ohio before this and it's like six months out of the year it's just gray, there's no sunlight, it's cold, it's awful. You don't want to be outside. So it's just so much. It's still possible to be. Tristan talks about this on Twitter. It's still possible to be healthier in, or be healthy in, areas like that. But you just have to like do more things. Like, instead of just walking outside and being shirtless like you have to kind of go out of your way to do things to be healthy there. So being here is just kind of like effortless, like I can just wake up and go for a walk outside. I got tons of sunlight, it's, you know, breathing fresh air. It's so much easier here. But then, yeah, it also just helped me go to that next level. Like in Ohio there was no outdoor gyms. Here there's outdoor gyms so I can exercise and get grounding in sunlight. At the same time, I can go jump in the ocean and get minerals and grounding. It's just so much easier being here. So I think I was kind of already on that path before I moved here, but it's definitely made it so much easier to maintain it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. It's such a forgotten aspect of just health in general. It's like the light environment grounding I mean dude lifting weights in the sunlight outdoors while being grounded that is just like the perfect day right there. That's incredible.
Speaker 2:When I first moved down here, I went to that the outdoor gym for the first time and it was just like it was crazy. I had never experienced anything like that I'd seen. So I was following a few guys that lived like low bits, a few guys that lived down here. I would see them post videos like just hitting PRs when I'm in the sunlight, like just talking about like that type of stuff and I did it. I was like it's actually true, like being in the sun, being grounded. I don't know if it's like a placebo effect or what it is, but I truly feel like I can lift more weights. I just feel healthier. I feel so much better, absolutely.
Speaker 1:One of the things that you wrote about I think it was just a few days ago that I really loved was this thread on like the animal-based diet and how some people, even with a diet like that, could still be struggling, and it was to talk about the nuance when it comes to health and how there's so much stuff going on that you have to get really precise with your approach. What was that thread about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I kind of dealt with this a little bit myself, like when I started carnivore. Like I said, it helped eliminate like 75% of my symptoms but I wasn't like 100% healed. It was kind of frustrating for me seeing guys like Paul Saladino or Sean Baker which I think their message overall is great, I think they have like a net positive in the world but I would see them say like all you got to do is cut out plant foods and cut out these inflammatory foods and just eat quality meat and you'll be fine, everything goes away. And I did that and everything wasn't fine. It didn't go away. So it took me a while to realize this. But that was because there was underlying issues, not just the colitis I was dealing with like dysbiosis. I had pathogen over with all these other issues that eating, like cleaning up my diet and cutting out some of those other foods, was going to help with. But it wasn't enough to fully resolve that. And there's a lot of people that message me or people that I work with and they they're in that similar situation where they've changed their diet, they've changed their lifestyle, they feel like they're doing everything right, but they still have these health issues. I think there's that's the missing piece of information in a lot of these like influencers messages is everything isn't cookie cutter, like you can't just do something that worked for this person and it's going to work the exact same way for you, and there is there's so much nuance, like you have to get testing. That's another thing I'm big on understand what are those issues you're dealing with. So then you know, like, do I just need to clean up my diet? Is that it Is that good, or is there other issues that I need to address? So I've been trying to post more about that, because there's so many people that I talk to that are just frustrated. It's like I'm doing everything people are saying is going to heal me and I'm not healed and it's because they're missing that extra information.
Speaker 1:Yeah, After this is done, I want to talk to you a little bit more about about the testing stuff. But what was that? So it was like, could testing has been something for me as well? That's been incredibly beneficial. What were you testing? Was it like a GI effects, like what was the test for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got. I got a bunch done. So the first like few doctors I worked with never that's. That's something really frustrates me. If you have, like, if you suspect you have SIBO, they'll just do a SIBO breath test. It's like, okay, well, what if that comes back negative? It's like we don't have any other information now we got to get another system. And with with colitis. That's all they did. It's like, let's test your information. I was like, okay, I have information, but that doesn't really tell us anything else. Like I knew I had information. So I went to a functional doctor. She's who kind of like opened my mind to all this stuff. She got jamming to a comprehensive stool test. It was the GI effects Actually, I think it was a GMMAP test, but yeah. So I did that and it just showed like my microbiome was, there's dysbiosis, there was pathogen overgrowth. I didn't have enough like probiotics, my immune system was all jacked up. Obviously from the colitis there's just tons of other like digestion markers. All of these things that I had no idea were issues, because all I was getting tested for was my inflammation, and then there's others as well, like micronutrients are another one. So whenever you have like gut issues, you're probably, if you have inflammation and you're dealing with these issues, you're probably not digesting and absorbing food well, so you're probably going to be deficient in several different types of nutrients. It's always helpful to know that, because one that can cause issues like that alone can cause issues with your gut. But, as you like, make these dietary changes and go through that process. You want to make sure you address those and get enough of those nutrients or supplement them if you need to. So that was another helpful one. And then the last one is just like blood tests. These are like the three that I always hope you were to start with, because even if you get a stool test and you see I have dysbiosis, I have leaky gut, whatever it is, you need to understand that's not really the true root cause of your problems. What allowed those issues to develop in the first place? So there's a thyroid issue, if there's a liver issue, if there's like enzyme deficiency, you need to see those as well so you can address the cause of it. If you just address, like the overgrowth, you don't want to address the cause of that overgrowth. It's just going to keep coming back. So there's a first three I always recommend to people and that's what I started with and helped me realize all these other issues I was dealing with and then from there it was like okay, now I know, I have a full picture, I know everything I need to address, instead of just like addressing one thing Okay, I'm still not good, now go get more testing, all right, address that and then just piecemealing it.
Speaker 1:It's ridiculous, like it's when most doctors that aren't like functional medicine doctors they just take this little screenshot, little snapshot. Meanwhile there's a whole world of testing that could give you like this full picture, and the way it was described to me in a podcast that really sunk in was when you do these really extensive lab work, when you have issues and you do the blood, the stool, the maybe even like a urine test, the micronutrient test, it almost sings a song. It's like, oh, this is what's happening and that perspective is just so powerful. It's like when we have issues, we take like the shotgun approach. We're trying anything and everything and we're trying probiotics and all of these different things to try to solve the issue. Because when you have that precision you're able to be much more like a sniper and just be that's get right at the issue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, powerful. Yeah, I agree with that. A lot I got once I got that testing done and like open my eyes to what you're saying. It's like I kind of became obsessed with it. Now I get like at least once a year, just get a bunch of different testing done to know exactly where things are at, so I can I come out of the stage now where I just want to optimize that, continually improve different areas of my health, and getting all of that testing that helps me do that. But yeah, it's, I would say, essential if you're dealing with like acute issues, in order to get a grasp of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, where I've really battled with it, because so I'm I'm probably like a month away from launching a lab work company. I'm gonna be selling like all all these type of tests and stuff and some different bundles for people's needs. But where I've what I've been trying to figure out in my head is like what's the point for people where it's like too much, where it's causing like a little too much harm than good? I even found for myself like looking at some markers would cause like this certain type of low grade anxiety or just like you'd be a little freaked out by some of your results at times. It's such a fine line and a hard balance and it kind of extends like all things like going out to eat and knowing that there might be seed oils in your meal, like all this type of stuff, like it's. It's such a hard line to balance between being very neurotic about your health and just kind of enjoying things like relaxing, being the present moment. Has that been something that you've thought about, struggled with, came to terms with?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel like I have it under control now. I definitely have like times where I get to that point. But I was that way at first, like I would get. I got all these tests on and I saw like just a crazy amount of issues that I had to deal with and it was like extremely overwhelming and it caused a ton of stress and I was like these are the issues I was dealing with are serious, we don't address them, it can cause me to be like potentially fatal. So, yeah, that was a little scary at first, but I think, just like once you come to terms with that and now like shifting that mindset from oh wow, have all of these issues to have all of these issues, but I know exactly what they are now and now I know how to address them, and that kind of made me feel comfortable instead of like scared and overwhelmed, and I just put all my energy and attention into addressing them instead of just being scared about them. But that can be easier said than done. There are definitely people I've worked with, people I've talked to, that are in that situation and they're just it's hard to not be stressed out about that. I think that's where some of the like the meditation and having some of those channels whether it's like sports or martial arts or something like that to like channel that anxiety into. I think that's important.
Speaker 1:Has anyone ever told you you look like Sam Harris? You never got that one before, do you see it? I don't think so. Oh, that's funny. But oh man, it makes for such an interesting conversation. The whole world of testing and like this evolution of health and this almost like medicine 3.0, of getting like super precise with what's going on. It will be exciting to see how that stuff evolves. Have you, when you have looked at labs for your clients, has that been something that has been the real needle mover, like outside, of just changing the diet to like a unprocessed whole foods type of thing?
Speaker 2:It's yeah, that's the good part about it is everybody that I've worked with is just in so many different situations. There are people I worked with some people that are kind of on top of things, like they know exactly what the problems are. They don't a bunch of research. They know what they like, kind of what they need to do. They just need to like fine tune that approach and for them, a lot of them haven't done like these specific tests. So getting that data is like exactly what they needed. That's like the last puzzle piece and then knowing how to address that. But then there's other people like that are just all over the place. They live a really unhealthy life. So for them, just cleaning up the diet, making these like small changes to their lifestyle, their daily routine those are the ones that really move the needle. Testing obviously still helps for them, but yeah, without just like making those changes, people in that situation it's like they wouldn't even ever get to that point where they could start addressing these issues. So it's definitely mixed. I'd say more people are on in the latter situation, where it's just like they're all over the place and they just need to make those changes and clean things up first.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they need to do the basics before they try to get the more fun stuff. Yeah, like the supplements, that's a fun world sometimes. I was just taking a little methylene blue before this episode. Have you messed around with anything fun? Has there been anything lately that you've been experimenting with that has made an impact?
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually, methylene blue is probably the most recent one that I started like experimenting with there's. I don't know enough yet to like talk about it and being intelligent on this, but I've seen people talking about and I've seen a few things that like show that it actually can have gut health improvements or help with gut health improvements. So that's something I'm trying to dig into more, but I've just been using it more for, like I know it's like a new traffic and it makes me feel like my brain is just firing on all cylinders when I use that. So that's an interesting one. But I don't honestly don't really play around too too much with with supplements. There's like shielded. It is one that I take just for I usually stick to like more like methylene blues in a good example, more like natural things like shielded it or like a plant extract or something like that. But yeah, I don't play play around too too much with supplements. Honestly, they do help. There are some like if I'm going to do a podcast or something like taking Ginkgo or something like that can be helpful. But honestly, even at this point now it's like I've made all these improvements and I feel like I'm at that point where I have optimal health. Still just refining those like small things like my diet or like exercise or like refining my sleep quality, stuff like that makes more of a difference for me even at this point than like taking supplements, I think that's. I'm always trying to like fine tune those areas, more so than playing around with supplements.
Speaker 1:It's such a powerful point, like the sleep especially. It's such a one that's so elusive in the fact that, like, you can easily lose it, but the effect that it has on everything from, like digestion to inflammation, to body composition, to cognitive effects, like truly is like the one of the most important things to get dialed in with it's. It's been something that I didn't realize like going in when I was first getting started in this world and I was like so hyper focused about diet and then it was through that that I realized that even if I was perfect with my diet but my sleep was a mess, then the issues will persist. So it's just such an interesting world where you start with the diet stuff and then you end up becoming holistic. Nick.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's true there's. I always see people like not necessarily arguing, but like saying, like this is the most important area of health and I've definitely made some tweets about that like God help being arguably the most important. But it's so true, though, every aspect of your health is important, that's. That's another thing that kind of frustrated me. Going through, like the traditional healthcare system is it's just God health, heart, health, brain, health, like everything is separate and everybody's arguing like this is the most important. You got folks on this, but the functional doctor I worked with and you know other people I learned from online, just seeing the way that they approach things more holistically, like all of these things are important. You have to optimize all of these different areas and if you want, like, truly optimal health, you have to be on top of all of these, not just your diet, not just your exercise, not just your sleep, light, environment. That's another one that I've been digging into more and more. But yeah, it's all just equally important.
Speaker 1:Truth. Is there anything that you've changed your mind on recently?
Speaker 2:That's a good one, I think so. When I first started like down this journey, the carnivore diet helped me so much and I kind of became I don't want to say like dogmatic about like carnivore diet, but I just it helped me so much I was scared to get off of that diet. So I started like preaching to everybody that was in that situation like this helped me so much. This has helped me more than anything else and I stayed. I ended up staying on that diet for longer than I should have, which can cause like thyroid issues and hormone issues and all kinds of stuff. But yeah, I kind of became like dogmatic about that and I kept like plant foods and all these things outside of my diet for a while and I thought like being on more of a not necessarily carnivore, but like, I guess, animal based, and like limiting your food and not really having a good balance there. I used to think that that was like what you needed. That's, that's how you get optimal health. That's how you be healthy forever. Definitely change my mind on that. Like, I was scared of sugar for a while and carbohydrates. I always kept carbohydrates lower, but now I eat tons of sugar, I have tons of carbohydrates. So I definitely changed my mind on that and it's, I guess, more broadly. It's just that there is no like one solution for everybody. There's no one size fits all like diet that's perfect for everybody. Your location, like your body composition, your goals, what you're trying to achieve all that stuff needs to be taken into account. Everybody's diet is going to be different, so that's that's something I've definitely changed my mind on. You've been getting pretty PD lately. I had a PD salad for the first time, like a few months ago, and it changed my world.
Speaker 1:That PD salad I like I saw yours and then I was like, oh shit, that sounds good. And then I started doing it and it is like, just from pure, like taste perspective, I haven't really noticed anything like digestively or in terms of my improvement of my gut health, but that thing tastes so good?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it doesn't seem like it would either. I saw, I saw pictures and I was like yeah, it doesn't, doesn't seem great, and then I just gave it. I saw like so many people posting it, so I gave it a try and it's it's amazing. Do you put the garlic in there? Oh yeah, that's it, that's it. That's a missing ingredient right there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good stuff. Have you noticed anything in terms of gut health improvement from it?
Speaker 2:Not necessarily. I had, like I know people that are dealing with issues or like digestion issues or like bowel movements, like once every three days, and they'll start having like carrots and stuff like that and it helps them. But for me not necessarily, maybe kind of like subtly different, just feeling like I'm digesting a little bit better. But yeah, I do it more for just the enjoyment out of it. It is fucking tasty it is tasty.
Speaker 1:So now, like how long have you been creating content for?
Speaker 2:I started, I think. Actually, I think I started August of last year is when I was like starting all my pages, yeah, so it's been one year, yeah nice.
Speaker 1:Do you think you've learned in that year in terms of just writing and growing on social media? What has the main takeaways been in that world?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been. It's that that's been a journey in and of itself. I like when I first started I wanted my goal is just to get my message out there to as many people as possible. So I was trying to learn from like other people who had really popular threads and like hooks and like how to write things and stuff like that, and I kind of for a while I was like really focused on that aspect of things. Like it's got to be kind of like like from a marketing perspective, like I got to grab people's attention and but I felt like sometimes when I would do that it would kind of be like misleading. Like the first week I posted like really grab your attention and then the rest of it's like doesn't really fall with that, so kind of got away from that and now I'm just more focused on like being authentic and like sharing my message. I still try to do that, so it's like appealing and I can get my message out to as many people as possible. But yeah, just trying to like find my true writing style, which I feel like I haven't. I haven't really truly found that yet. I'm still refining that just trying to be authentic and share, like my true experiences, what's worked best for me and what's worked best for my clients, and just trying to help as many people that are struggling as possible.
Speaker 1:Now, since you're in this world and you're starting to gain that following, you're getting coaching clients. What do you see is like the next step? What is what is that next? Let's say five. If you predict five years into the future, what is the ultimate vision? Is it so coaching?
Speaker 2:I don't know I do. I really enjoy it because it's it's cool to one just be able to help people and like see them make that transformation to just cause, like you bill, it's like a friendship you kind of build them, you're talking with them so much and it's kind of cool to have that interaction with people and be able to help them. So I really do like that and I think I'll definitely do this in some kind of way for forever. But yeah, I don't know, I've been trying to think of different ways, because not everybody needs coaching, not everybody wants coaching. But there are a lot of people like there's some people out there that just have like small issues and they want to just fine tune that. So I've been trying to think of other ways to like help those people and I haven't really come up with an idea yet but some kind of like info products or like just things that are just free, that can kind of get that out there too, as many people as possible. But that's I think that's my main focus is like something that's more scalable and has more reach. I can't I can't help like thousands of people at a time, that's coaching.
Speaker 1:Coaching isn't as scalable, for sure, it's a hard thing to figure out, but it is speaks to the power of the audience. Like it's crazy, once you have that audience, you're able to start leveraging them, not in a bad way, but leveraging them to create a more free future for yourself. Like you're able to not have that real estate job that's causing you all the stress because you have this audience that you're able to provide coaching with, and all these different info, products and services. Like it really does change things for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, excuse me I, when I, when I first started posting and I was like offering coaching, I would get people that would respond I mean, there's, there's always just people that want to like, say stuff to you on social media. But they would be like you truly want to help people, why are you, why don't you just do it for free, like, why are you charging them? But that was a cool thing for me is like I didn't enjoy what I was doing before. I did really enjoy helping people and I did truly want to help as many people as possible. So it's like, if I can do that, and I can put my full attention and do this full time into that, then I can help more people. So that's why I did that. It's not like you know, I did this to try to make as much money as possible. I took a massive pay cut to switch over to do this and just try to help as many people as possible. But yeah, it's a it's an interesting world out there on on social media.
Speaker 1:It's such an interesting world. What do you think the unintended benefits of giving up maybe that bigger salary and really switching towards that time freedom? Because there's so many people right that are stuck into that job, stuck in that job and are addicted to that salary and they want that freedom but they're not really ready to to give up that bigger salary. What has been some unforeseen benefits to sticking with or to going to a coaching type of career?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean the time freedom was definitely like the biggest motivator for me. But I guess what I didn't like realize is just what comes with that. So being able to do things like jiu-jitsu or Muay Thai Like before you know, I've worked to like 730 or 8 o'clock at night and I don't have time. I work early in the morning. I don't have time to do stuff like that being able to kind of like explore other interests is huge, and that's something I didn't really think about. But the other one is just like traveling and getting to explore different areas. That's something I've always liked to do. I did that before I started my career and went to a bunch of different countries and then I had to stop just because I worked full time. So being able to work from anywhere like planning to go live in Brazil for a while and spend several months there and honeymoon in Italy, I can go for like two or three weeks instead of having to go there for like a few days or something like that so that's a huge one for me. My family doesn't live near me, so I can go visit them and I can work from there. I don't have to like take vacation days or do anything like that. I think those are the big ones for me. I mean, obviously I kind of knew I was going to be able to do this thing, but it's just so much nicer, once you actually do it, to really just have that freedom and be able to. Whatever it is like, whatever your interests are, whatever you want to spend your time doing, you can do that and still build whatever it is you're trying to build.
Speaker 1:I'm excited to hear about how Brazil is going to be for you that should be a cool experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm excited for it. My fiance is from there, so obviously I have a pretty good tour guide there. Let's go. But yeah, that's like one thing I've always really liked is traveling and experiencing different cultures. I've been to a lot of different, like Europe and Latin America and different countries, and I always like experimenting with, like their different cultures, their cuisines and stuff like that. So, yeah, I'm really excited for that. That's gonna be cool.
Speaker 1:Are you sticking in one spot or are you going to be moving all over?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll probably move all over. She has family in like all different parts of the countries so we'll go see them, and then I'm really big on like coastal areas, so I think we're gonna hit a few different different spots there, but that's the other cool thing. There is like it's so much cheaper so you can go and live in like a really nice coastal area there and not pay what you pay in like Miami or somewhere here. So that'd be nice.
Speaker 1:It's so absurd. I have a friend who just got to Bali right now and he's doing some stuff on social media and it hasn't been like this huge paycheck for him on social media, so living in the States has been somewhat difficult. So like going out to Bali and being able to have everything you need covered and it's like, and then there's money to spare and it's just such an interesting lifestyle. It goes to show like if you are able to leverage the Internet and earning USD and spending pesos or whatever currency, it's very cool to think about and it opens up the entire world for you. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I've personally met people and like heard stories of people that are from areas that like third world countries or places like that, and they start as like a virtual assistant for somebody, but that person is paying them in US dollars and it literally, even if they're just to the person in the US, they're not paying them a lot of money, but that person it's like life changing money. They work with them for a while and then they just kind of work their way up and then, next thing you know, you got somebody that's like living in a third world country. It's running an online business making US dollars. It's. It's crazy how powerful the Internet is.
Speaker 1:It's crazy, yeah, and like even to make relationships with people, like I'd be curious to know for you has, because my experience in Miami it has been that and, granted, I was in college during my time in Miami, so it's a little different, but it's somewhat hard to find those people who get it, if that makes sense. And, by definition, you're, you're, you are uncommon, so, by definition, uncommon people are uncommon to find. So getting those people and creating relationships with those people has been something that's not easy to do in real life, but the Internet allows you to like, have this whole world open up to you. How has it been creating the relationships online that?
Speaker 2:yeah, I totally agree with that. I, when I moved to Miami, I was hoping to meet a bunch of like really cool people, and it's definitely not the easiest place to find people that are like, like minded, like us. So that, yeah, just like meeting people from different countries that I would never ever even cross paths with if I wasn't on social media has been crazy. Some of these people that I like made friendships with online I would consider closer friends and people that I grew up with. It's crazy to me, yeah, it's insane, but it's amazing because, like you're saying, they're all like minded, like everybody's kind of focused on, they want to like whatever it is. They might be like different businesses or different focuses, but everybody's trying to like build something and better themselves and better the people around them, and it's so cool that you can have that. I think the other cool thing is like what we're doing now like you meet somebody online and then you meet them in person and it kind of like goes full circle. You get the best both worlds there, but yeah, it's such a crazy concept 100%.
Speaker 1:Have you been able to like connect to a bunch of guys in Miami from online?
Speaker 2:A few, not too many.
Speaker 1:I think there's not the main guys in Miami, which surprises me.
Speaker 2:There's a decent amount of things. Most of them are more like Money, twitter, yeah, online business focused. But yeah, there's still some cool people. There's like a Kava bar that I go to here and there's all which one Kava garden, oh that place is the shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that place, dude. That place is awesome.
Speaker 2:It's cool, though, because you go in there and there's like, honestly like, everybody in there is like working, either working remote. They're kind of like like minded, or they're doing exactly what we're trying to do and like build a business, and everybody in there is like this, like minded person. So that's kind of cool. It's like a It'd be like Twitter if you could take Twitter offline and put it into a. Well, what's funny is that.
Speaker 1:I ran into three people from Twitter in real life and every single one has been at that Kava bar. I was like I just sat next to somebody at the bar there and we were just talking. We went back and forth for like an hour just hanging out shooting the shit and then he was like yeah, whatever, he was telling me that he was writing on Twitter. I was like oh, bro, like oh, drop your follow, whatever. And it was brother Lobo.
Speaker 2:I saw him there wearing this exact shirt. I sent a picture to Griggs and I was like, I was like dude. I think this is.
Speaker 1:Lobo, that was crazy. Yeah, it's funny. It's funny. It's a funny world there, funny world in Miami. Do you think you'd be here like long term? What do you think?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I go back and forth because it's it's such a beautiful, it's so big too. You don't have to be in like downtown or South Beach. You can be in a ton of different areas, but I like being near the beach. So it seems like I don't know. It's kind of crazy living here and I always think about what I want to raise kids in a place where there's all this craziness going on. That's a good point. But yeah, there's some places like up North or you can even go South. I think there's some nicer places, but I don't know. I always go back and forth about that because I want to be close to family, be able to kind of go see them whenever. I don't know, I don't think I'll ever be in one place. I think my goal is to have places in different countries or at least be able to travel to different places in different states and different cities in the US. I think that's my ultimate goal. But I'd say if I had to pick one place, it'd probably be Miami's, my favorite place in the US. Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 1:For us who, guys who love coastal areas, one of the requirements for a place that we want to live is be by the beach. It really takes out the entire United States. There isn't that many places. You're going to go to California, which is kind of a disaster and super expensive. You go to Miami, or there's not that much else. If you want to go to a beach type of town, there's my family.
Speaker 2:throughout South Carolina there's some beaches and places like that but, they still get snow and they still have winter. I don't miss. I know some people get they'll move to somewhere like this, like a tropical environment. They kind of miss the seasons. I don't think I do. I like traveling there and you can spend a week there and get to your fill of the snow. But, yeah, places like this, where you can just wear the same clothes like every month of the year, is amazing. It truly is amazing, would you?
Speaker 1:live outside of the States.
Speaker 2:I would yeah, I don't know forever if I would have that be my main, but I definitely want to like. My goal is to have a place in a different country and be able to kind of bounce around to different places so cool, I mean you look at like what no Ryan, no, no, no.
Speaker 1:I mean, like you look at, like, what no Ryan's been doing traveling around. It's an interesting life. I've been trying to figure out, like, what to do next with that stuff because, like just graduated college, have this freedom at this moment. At this moment, like, do I stay in Miami? Do I go home and save money? Do I go travel around wherever? If, like, it's an interesting dichotomy to try to figure out and to, but the internet is so cool. It's like allowed me to have access to these people in all these different places that, like, if I want to go to Austin, like I almost like have like a friend group there, like it really is just opens up a whole different world for you. But it'll be interesting to see how that unfolds for both of us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's, I do, I like. I like the way Noah thinks about that and he honestly, like following him, kind of changed the way I thought about this stuff, because I always thought like I was going to just pick one city and that's I'm going to have kids and like that's going to be where I live. But there's just no reason to do that. Like you can, you can have kids and have them be in school and still travel to different places. Like there's ways to work around that. I really like Tim Ferriss's for our work week. There's people in there talking about that Like they would put off traveling for their entire lifetime because they had kids and the kids had to be in school. And then there's people like writing stories about my kids are still able to get a really good education, but we also travel the world like nine months out of the year and it just like opened my mind to that. But yeah, it's, it's crazy. You can live anywhere, make money anywhere and make friends online anywhere.
Speaker 1:Who are some of those thinkers for you? Like you just mentioned Tim Ferriss, are there any other guys who've been really instrumental in your growth as a person? Evolution of thought.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think he's a big one. I think Hormozia is too, just from like the like business perspective.
Speaker 1:Not necessarily. He's a killer, dude, yeah.
Speaker 2:He's a big one, yeah, outside I mean, they're probably the two biggest ones, tim. Like reading for our work week, just like changed changed my life, like that was. I read that for the first time around the time I was getting ready to quit my job and that reading that book is just like. Okay, I know exactly what I have to do now, but yeah, I think. I think they're probably the two biggest inspirations. Are you, do you listen to him's podcast? A lot I have here and there. I don't listen. He puts out so many episodes. Yeah, I don't listen to all of them, but yeah, he's got a good podcast.
Speaker 1:I went away from it for a while as well, but there's just too many. Yeah, is there? Is there any books for our work week? Pretty instrumental. Anything else that's been needle mover, game changer for you.
Speaker 2:I, transparently, have been terrible about reading recently. I've spent like Dude me too, bro. When I first, like when I was trying to learn like different ways to overcome my health issues, I started that's when I found like PubMed and stuff like that. So, instead of spending like most of my time on sites like that or like forums and stuff people talking about health, that's honestly where I spend most of my time and I've been trying like recently, the last few months, I've been trying to get more into a habit of reading more often and I have like I have a bookshelf with like literally probably 100 books and I've read most of them, but I need to. It's one of the things we just continually read. Them like how to win friends and influence people is another one. I just started rereading that. Most of what I read is like either kind of like business related, because I'm trying to like build a business and learn and get better at having an online business, but then also just like personal development stuff, like for our work week and stuff like that. So those are those are the main types of books I read, but yeah, I need to get better at getting back into that.
Speaker 1:Me both, dude. I found that once I like committed to the podcast, committed to writing online and there's really like changed from learning to taking action, I kind of just met that reading habit fell off and you know, I think initially I thought that was like a bad thing, but I think it just, ultimately is like you've grown to this next phase of you doing things and if you are reading, it's for like a very specific reason. Yeah, like before I was reading to learn about whatever and anything. But it kind of gets more precise based on where you're at in your life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I agree, I that's actually a thing from like Tim's book is being more, I guess, structured. There's like a fine balance between right, like if you're writing online, you need that creativity, you need like ability to just kind of flow with things, but being more structured, like these are the hours of the day where I'm going to work, or like these are the hours of the day I'm going to write emails, and like having a specific time every day Like that's what I've been doing recently and I've been picking back up reading is at least spend like 30 minutes, whether it's in the morning or like before I go to bed, just reading, and so every single day you just have that time. There's no like back and forth of whether I'm going to do it or not, and that doing that kind of helps me like pick back up this habits and just be consistent there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a great point, carving out that time to do it. I mean it's it's one. It's a one thing about Miami that I've really struggled with is that I like I love being outside and I love walking and being doing physical activities. That sitting down for like extended periods of time to do work has been the one thing that has been a struggle, because when I'm sitting down indoors and I'm like I'm a block out three hours here to do like a nice deep work session, phone off, I do it, but the whole time I'm just like I'm indoors under these bright lights and it's like it's just you. You have this like thing in the back of your mind that just kind of calling you to go outside. It's it's one of the only things about Miami and makes it a little harder to do work.
Speaker 2:That's what I like going to places like like Cov garden or the places you can sit outside do work but also be like in sunlight in nature. There's also I don't know if you've seen him on on Twitter Ryan Booth. He's like an operations, like online business operations guy. He always talks about working in blocks, so like have. I think it's like at most, an hour and a half of time where you do like I'm going to do this thing for an hour and a half and then you're going to take like a 15 minute break, whether it's to go walk or like whatever it is walk your dog, whatever you want to do in that time. Take a break, come back to work for like an hour and a half and split it up like that. To me it's like I always thought, if I just sit down for three hours and just like crank out work and be very specific about that, I'll get more done. But I've noticed it's like kind of counterintuitive. When I break things up like that, I am more so like forces me. Okay, I only have an hour and a half. I have to be very focused. I have to get stuff done here. That's been something. I'm not great at it, but I've been doing that more and more and it definitely helps with the productivity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got to do that more because, especially like that 15 minute block of 15 minutes, such a perfect time to go for a walk like doing that hour and a half being super dialed in for that time, no phone, then going on that 15 minute walk. It's a good way approach things. I'm selfishly very curious of the building on social media, specifically Twitter side of things. It's something that probably within the last six months I've I was like all right, I'm gonna do this, and it's not a pursuit that, like, I was super knowledgeable about and I think it's been somewhat of a mystery and I'm starting to kind of get my sea legs. But do you have any advice for a person like myself or just somebody who has been starting to write in this world of Twitter? Is there any key pieces of advice that you would give somebody like myself? Yeah, I think that I struggled with that too.
Speaker 2:At first I was just instead of focusing on because, like, at the end of the day, people follow you because you provide valuable information. I was so focused on first. So, like, it's got to be like kind of like click baity, like a guy, get people's attention. It's got to be something like that's going to grab everybody's attention, what you kind of have to do to an extent. But when I shifted my focus to more of just like provide, like really valuable things, like actionable stuff, when I was first writing, I was just really focused on I want to get a thread that's going to get like thousand likes or something like that. But at the end of the day, some of the tweets or threads like that saw Dino thread the other day. It wasn't anywhere near one of the biggest threads I've ever posted. I was one of my favorite posts for me, though I heard I had literally like 15 people DM me and say something similar to that or say, like this is the exact same situation I'm in and like, please help. Like, what do I do here? Those are the types of things like that's what's truly going to make people realize like, wow, this, like this guy's providing value. This is somebody I want to follow. So focusing on that instead of just like trying to be viral and stuff like that, helped a lot. And as cliche as it is I always heard people say this but just being consistent like every single day, just providing valuable tweets every day, interacting with people, making relationships with people, those were like the keys and that's kind of what moved the needle the most for me and helped me grow it. It took a while. I think I got really lucky. I think the Twitter algorithm has just been kind of pushing my profile recently, but a lot of the growth I've had has just been in the last few months Nice, I mean.
Speaker 1:I really like I dislike the word lucky for that, because, to your point about consistency, one thing I've noticed with the algorithm is if I, if I, so I have one post that went pretty viral and then I was super consistent for that week, posting like three times a day really, really on top of everything, and every single one of those posts did super well and then, once I got away from it for a little bit, the algorithm then fell off a little more. So I really think there's something there, just like they favor consistency.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's showing up every day. I think that's true. I saw somebody post like a programmer or somebody like dissected their algorithm because I think it's all like open source. But Interesting that was I think that was a huge one. He said is like consistency I forget what the other ones were, but yeah, that like for me personally. I've noticed that too. If there's weeks where I'm like traveling or I just don't get tweets out, I start getting less and less people interacting with them and less people are seeing them. So even if it's just like a quick tweet here and there, just posting every day two or three times a day is definitely really important.
Speaker 1:Isn't it cool to watch your writing evolve? For me, I was such a bad writer when I first got started and then, trying to just figure it out and sticking with it, you just you become so much better at it very quickly. It's so cool to see, and it's like that feedback loop of of people. Since you're putting yourself out there, you're able to kind of see what people resonate with and then your writing starts to slowly shift in that direction and you end up just becoming a better, more clear, clear writer, more precise in the stuff you write about because Twitter, you need that 280 characters, like. It's cool to see that writing get better and better. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I have like a I think I called it like a master thread, but I just like linked all of the threads that I posted since I started and sometimes I'll go back there and look at the first threads and like there's tons of like grammatical errors or like it. Just I'll read it and like this doesn't even make sense. How did people even follow what I was?
Speaker 1:saying here that's so funny.
Speaker 2:The progression is crazy yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, I looked back at my first thread the other day actually, and it was it was all in one, it was all in paragraphs, like it wasn't like poking out. It's just cool to see that stuff, see that stuff change with time, like you start to get better and you also like start to. It almost forces you to develop a philosophy, if that makes sense, like in in terms of like the health stuff that you talked about, or just in terms of life in general, mindset stuff. Like the more you write, the more clear you get on what you believe in and what you don't believe in. Yeah, like in my head before I wrote on Twitter, I had this like clear philosophy of kind of what I, what I thought. Then you start to sit down and you have this like central crisis of like what do I even know? Like I don't know anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree it. It helps me. That's why I like it too, cause, like some of the stuff I'll write about is about like this is my experiences. So I did this will help me. But then also I like writing about things that I'm currently learning about. So, like something like methylene blue, like this is what I'm learning, these are the things that I think, the impacts I can have and stuff like that, and it helps me like form my thoughts on it and it helps me like evolve my understanding of it.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of it's honestly, it's kind of just like a public journal in a way 100%, and I think that framing is really important too, like changing that perspective to a public journal is a very cool way to think about it. How often have you been messing around with methylene blue, like? How many times have you tried it Not?
Speaker 2:super often I forget what the the tro descriptions, I think is the one that I got, like the troj's. Which one?
Speaker 1:did you do the like pure methylene blue or the one they have, the other one that I don't know if you saw it, it's like methylene blue, cbd, nicotine, no.
Speaker 2:I didn't see that that's a cool one. I've only tried the pure one and I still haven't even gotten through that first pack. I'm like, honestly, I've used it like four times at this point, but yeah, it's something, because, like I don't I know Noah talks about this too I don't feel comfortable like jumping full bore into like a something that I don't really know understand, especially if it's a dye.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like it seems pretty scary when you hear exactly what it is. It was like used as a dye and then they found out that it had, like anti malaria properties or then they started using it clinically and it seems, from my understanding, that it's very well researched and doesn't have too many side effects and low doses, like five milligrams whatever. But it's been interesting to see the euphoric. In some sense Like it's very hard to tell what's placebo and what's not with it. But I definitely have felt more clear headed and just like very excited.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a good way to put it yeah, there's, there's. So I feel like every week I'm hearing like a different benefit of it.
Speaker 1:It's like I saw bands has, like the. I think it's like a.
Speaker 2:Talo bomb with it in. There I read I think it was him posted something about like healing, how it helps, like heal injuries or like rashes and stuff like that. There's so many crazy.
Speaker 1:The Talo has been really cool for me. I've been using it as like a face moisturizer, yeah, and I have like some acne scars from a while back and it was just clearing these things up like yeah, like that it was. It was really noticeable. It's very, very surprising to me.
Speaker 2:I've seen it wasn't his, but I think it might have been Van Man's best. All somebody had like eczema or like a really bad, like Srysis or something like that, and they started putting that on there and it just like totally I think it was on their hands. It just like totally cleared it off, which is crazy.
Speaker 1:I mean I'm sure that Talo probably is better for not even in terms, I mean, I'm saying in terms of just pure effect, not even in terms of like ingredients or whatever, but pure effect. I'm sure it outperforms most moisturizers, like all the natural vitamins and stuff that's found in in something like Talo. It's. It's an interesting world, yeah.
Speaker 2:My, my fiance, is really big in like skincare and like all kinds of different like products like that, and when we first met she was using all kinds of these like synthetic, like personal care products, and slowly over time I've gotten her to use Talos she was like repulsed by that, and the other day she just used it for the first time.
Speaker 1:I love it, I love you. That's a huge win. How has it been managing that in a relationship Like it's something that I haven't been in a long term relationship while being into this health stuff. But it takes a particular person to be able to do that with because in some ways you are picky and some ways you live a lifestyle that's very different than most people, kind of like what we were talking about before, with uncommon people and finding those friends. It's also hard to find somebody in a relationship sense that you feel like is willing and excited to to dive into more of the self stuff, then just go out and party on the weekends.
Speaker 2:Yeah it, that's something I've had to work at. I I guess that's another thing I might have kind of changed my opinion on every time. When I first, like when I first started worrying about these things, I just wanted I was so aggressive like telling you, like, why are you drinking at a class? like trying to like scream at people like stop doing that. And I was kind of the same with her, like just trying to force her to do what I want to like be the way that I was, and people just go the opposite when you do that. So that's something I've had to work at. But I think if you can like show people not necessarily like even if you just explain like these are the benefits of Tyler, they're still probably not going to. They have to like make that decision themselves to want to Do that or want to try that. So the fact that I took was just I'll do these things myself. And then you see all these benefits I'm getting, you see me getting healthier, you see all these great changes that are happening and they're like oh, hey, maybe. I kind of want that for myself. So they'll make that decision themselves and start trying it. But it's a slow progression like it. For me it was easy for me to give up all those synthetic things like terrible foods, because I was dealing with such bad health issues. But for other people that don't have that, it's like like solid enough, says that as well. Like if you're doing fine, then eat vegetables. Like do all these things you're doing doesn't really matter. So that's yeah. I've just slowly tried to switch her over by just showing her all the benefits that I'm getting from it.
Speaker 1:It's true, though, like it really is a great perspective to understand that, like when you walk the walk, other people see that and get in line, versus talking about it and shouting at the rooftop and yelling at people like it. It reminds me of like Jordan Peterson's quote like, before you try to criticize the world, like, clean your room. It's been, it's been. An interesting thing I've noticed as well with the people around me is the more that I've been aligned with this person of being on top of myself, the more people just kind of gravitated and interested in it without me, like, like me preaching about it. It's cool once you understand that by saving yourself, you start to help and save the people around you.
Speaker 2:There's a I forget the name of the author, I think it's, maybe it's like Kapil Gupta, but the book is called direct truth. I don't necessarily agree with like the way he perceives everything in that book, but one of the things he says in there is like this person the whole book is about like people coming to him and asking him questions and he just like answers these questions and one of them is I have a child and like the child's like doing bad things and like not being a good kid. I've tried like basically yelling at them, like doing all these things and nothing's working. And he says I think the way he described it was like how the moon orbits around earth. Earth doesn't have like this thing holding on to it. It's just like a gravitational pull that has. And that's what you're saying, that's how you have to be with kids. Like if you or anything, if you try to like force somebody like you have to stop doing this, do that. They're going to do the exact opposite. They'll run in the opposite direction. But you kind of like, like I was saying before, you show them like I'm doing these things and I'm having these benefits, or if you kind of like Not want we like. Get them moving in that direction, have them make that decision themselves. That's how, that's the most effective way to do that. That's something. I'm always trying to incorporate in like every aspect of my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, especially with kids who like, want to be like their parents. So much and so many ways, like if you are the dad that's doing jiu jitsu every night and you are lifting weights and being outside and son going on these walks like your kids are just naturally going to want to do those things because dad does those things. If you're the fat dad on the couch who's screaming at your kids to go lift weights, it's like who the hell are you to criticize me, like it really goes back to that concept. I think that was something I in college I realized that like I had this Moment where I was learning so much on my own and I was feeling like schools getting in the way of my own learning and I was really trying to understand, like why is it that I can be so dedicated to learning on my own? When it comes to the school setting, I was just so defiant or just wasn't like, it wasn't something that was like Excited to work hard for and I wasn't like applying myself in the same way. And I think the conclusion I came to was like A practitioner versus a theorist, and like I was learning from practitioners in my personal life, like guys that were actually walking it, and then meanwhile at school, I was talking to like my professor, like my business professor, who had never even like started a business, and stuff like that. So I think I just had this like Sense of like who are you to give me advice about this? Like, not consciously, but subconsciously. So I think it's just, ultimately, at the end of the day, like being not practitioner, being that guy who's doing what he says is changes everything. Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2:I had that. I took Business classes in school and I would have there was a finance class. I had taken two finance classes at the same time. One of the professors worked in investment banking, had like this crazy successful career. I actually enjoyed going to his class and I learned so much from his class and I think it's because of, like what you're saying. One, he just had more knowledge because he had actually lived that. And two, it was just so much more interesting to me to learn from somebody who Went out there and did all these things we're learning about, versus the guy who's like hey, I read this, I got my PhD in this and you know there's a bunch of theories about this that support this, but I've never actually done it myself. It kind of carries over to like the health world as well. Like there's, I mean, everybody talks about like you see a fat doctor telling you to like avoid fat and red meat, and it's like, why would I listen to you when you look like that? It's, every aspect of life is like that and I think that's why a lot of the people that are in like this health space is good, because they, like you know, preach it, but then they also like live that life and they're showing that I've done this and I've gotten these results and it's going to motivate other people Like gravitationally, pull them to like in that direction, to do those things.
Speaker 1:Show for the no, I mean there's, there's a lot of truth in that, and just like there's so many people who aren't that person, though, like in terms of when you go to the doctor and they give you this like Thing that so many people interpret as gospel, yet the end of the day, do they even believe it for themselves, or have they taken the steps necessary to know that that is the truth?
Speaker 2:quote unquote yeah, that's hard world to figure out. I've, I've also kind of it's, I kind of like see from. So, like doctor, I think it's a boot. So you say it. I was calling a bud for like the longest time. Like there, I like hearing his message, like hearing his perspective because, like, from my perspective it's just, I've always had like a negative view of doctors, because I had a terrible experience with doctors but, seeing his perspective of like he is. He's a doctor, he's very into living naturally and like doing all these things that all of us preach. But it is still hard when you like, when you're a doctor, you're working like a 24 hour shift, how are you supposed to avoid blue light? How are you supposed to get grounding and get sunlight and do all these things? And I've kind of like caught myself falling into that too. So trying to like grow my coaching business, help as many people as possible, and sometimes I prioritize like the business and like helping other people over my own health and I catch myself kind of slipping up on that, so Like a bud's perspective and then living that myself, kind of realizing that sometimes you do forget about that and you kind of slip into those traps and it's important to have that balance, like obviously there's only so much doctors can do to avoid that stuff. But yeah, it's just an interesting, interesting to see things from different perspectives 100%.
Speaker 1:Like he was opening eyes up in our podcast episode. The fact that he he was like I was so dialed into training diet before entered into med school, like this is things that I preached and loved. And even with that baseline knowledge of all this stuff that you and me are aware of, he was like I entered into my third and fourth year medical school when I was in the hospital setting and I was doing these night shifts and I was under artificial blue light from 12am to 6am and I was knocked turn all these stuff. He was like I gained 25 pounds. He was like even with all of this knowledge, it's just it's hard to it's hard when you go against nature and their job is just fundamentally going against nature. So much so respect to them in many ways.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, I go back and forth. Like things like that make me it's like it's depressing to hear that, like people that are, because I mean, like think about it, you go to a doctor and you see, I mean most of them are like he gained 20, 25 pounds just doing all that stuff. So it's hard for doctors, even if they are really fit and do all those things, to be healthy. So when somebody goes to a doctor and that's who they're supposed to be taking their advice from, and they see that person isn't healthy themselves, it's just I don't know how, but somehow, just like completely changing our medical system I think is necessary and I think it's good that people are. There's other outlets now, like there's people, like you know, in the house based on Twitter. They can post something, people have alternative information and they can learn from other people. I think all that stuff's good. I mean, I don't know enough about the health care system to speak on that, but yeah, I think major changes to that would be would be huge for humanity 100%.
Speaker 1:I love the whole like functional medicine world Stuff that helped you out like. I think that that getting a good functional medicine doctor if you have issues is just such a game changer.
Speaker 2:Man, it's yeah, that I mean, that's the other thing. Like the functional medicine doctor that I worked with didn't take any insurance, so you have to pay out of pocket for that. That's, that's insurance. Insurance a whole, nother whole nother world. Yeah it's, it's crazy. They like Andrew, like all these natural, pass it online. It's so cool to see them and like look at the things that they post about, because I guess that my experience with doctors was just it honestly just didn't even seem like they had an understanding. It was just Take this medication, this is the disease you have, and like they didn't really truly understand it. But seeing people like Andrew and other people talk about it from those perspectives of like natural healing is awesome to see.
Speaker 1:So awesome to see, like Like being in that place where you go to your doctor and you get diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and they're like there's nothing you can do, just gonna get worse with time. Take this drug. Such a depressing approach. So even if the natural path, like even just offering something that like gives people Some hope and allows them to do things that are in their control to get better just such an important message, because people like Think everything's so out of their control at times.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that I forget what you guys call it, you and ants, is Twitter space, the other day alchemist lounge.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, that was a funny conversation.
Speaker 2:When doctor I think his name is Dr Cam when he jumped in there. Dude that got interesting that blew my mind with, like I mean, that's something I've never. I didn't even know what, like hypnotism, what I'd heard about it from like cartoons when I was a kid, but I had no idea that was even something that Was in like the medical world. And hearing him talk about the ways that they use that and like false pregnancies and stuff surrounding that, that was that's crazy me. It's just there's so many like Alternatives and like so many tools. We have so many mysteries. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so for the person listening. So he did this Twitter space the other day and this guy, dr Cam, who is a Harvard graduate, was in the space and he was telling us a story about somebody who Started getting false pregnancy symptoms or pregnancy symptoms, but he was a man and it was a real mystery and confusion. And when they were talking with him they found out that he was hypnotized many years back and somehow he fell into this Perspective of that he was pregnant and he was hypnotized into thinking he was pregnant and his body was reacting in the way somebody's body would react. That was pregnant and they were able to unhypnotize him or re hypnotize him into getting rid of that. But then just a whole world of hypnotism wasn't even something that I realized was like real. I want to hypnotize myself into like being David Goggins or some shit.
Speaker 2:That's what I immediately started thinking about. That like, what do people have like chronic diseases? Hypnotize them and not have them anymore. Like I want to build my muscle and be like a more athletic person hypnotize me to think I'm like Brown James or something.
Speaker 1:Crazy, crazy. I mean I think that like, especially with like the confidence stuff, like stuff that is Seemingly just in your mind, like it's, I think it seems pretty malleable, and that whole world is just such a mystery to me, and then that doesn't even get into the half of it, with, like All these crazy psychedelic stories and that whole world as well. It's, there's, there's just so much there that's yet to be explored. Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:There's a lot to be like. You can get caught up in all these like bad things that are going on like food and health care, and get depressed, but there's so many cool things like that. Just Every day I'm learning about something new. That's like promising, and it's cool to see that.
Speaker 1:Have you ever indulged into psychedelics at all? Is that been something that's been of interest at all?
Speaker 2:No, I haven't. I haven't done that. I've like looked into it. I've seen a lot of stories about it and it seems with a bunch of different things I forget who was somebody or somebody on like health Twitter I think he's a fitness guy, but like dealt with addiction in the past and used I think it was mushrooms to like help him through that period of his life, and I've heard all kinds of like people with PTSD and all kinds of stuff like that using these In like micro dosing settings not like going out to a party and using them, but having crazy benefits. Yeah, that's another. That's another cool one like we have. We don't have to just rely on like SSRI, as we can use these natural things that don't. They do have downsides. Obviously everything does to an extent, but not the same way that like an SSRI would.
Speaker 1:I've been so tempted to. I wanted, I want to do an experiment where, like you, do all the Tony Robbins type of like chance and all this, just the stuff that he like preaches, wow on, like mushrooms or psychedelic, and I feel like it would have a more pronounced effect and it might have this like very, almost like hypnotic effect, I think. I think there's just some cool stuff that's going to come out of that world. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think a lot of that stuff is cool. I'm like there was a thread I saw a couple months ago but it was this guy who he was like. He wasn't like a doctor anything, but he Delved pretty deep into like the world of psychedelics from a recreational perspective and he was talking about he had all these like terrible experiences with like Demons and like experiencing like other like issues like that. I've heard stories like that. I wouldn't say that they're like as common or anything like that, but they're definitely out there and that stuff kind of. That's why I've always been like hesitant and want to get a better understanding of that stuff before I try it. Something like that would be a little Well scary.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's some weird stuff there. I mean as a part of that tour space. Were you there when, like, orpheus came into the conversation? No, he was talking about like Demons and and all that stuff, and he was talking about psychedelics and how some demons can like, when you're in like that different consciousness, that psychedelics puts you in, like you're more vulnerable to it's actual demons or your own demons that like maybe could take a hold of you. There's definitely something there and I think he was saying like early trauma in your life makes you like more vulnerable to that type of stuff. Yeah, yeah, I've heard that.
Speaker 2:I've heard that with uh. I think it was like ayahuasca. People that have gone and I've heard that, like the early trial, childhood trauma can affect your experience on that as well.
Speaker 1:Very interesting, very interesting, nick, anything else that we haven't talked, talked about today that you think is pretty fundamental or you want to cover.
Speaker 2:Um, I think I said this, something similar on on cases, but I think it's true. It's just always like we're talking about, just like always be Experimenting, always trying new things, always trying to learn new things, to better yourself, whether it's like you're dealing with An acute health issue or whether you're kind of like in our situation, where you don't have like a serious health issue you're dealing with, you're just trying to optimize, just always be in that state of Learning and trying to better yourself. Um, I think it's just so, it's so important to do that. Um, yeah, I think that that's my biggest message. That's, that's been the thing when I first started doing that. That changed everything for me, and it's, um, you know, being able to help like a bunch of clients through that and see them transform and just change their lives from a health perspective, from a mental perspective, physical perspective.
Speaker 1:It's so cool to see that aim up. Yeah, it's. It's one thing that I think. I think that, like, once you Get to the point where you no longer have that like health issue or that thing, that you're really striving and really have this like Deep pain that you're trying to solve, once you get rid of that, I feel like you feel like you can get somewhat complacent with the place you're at. How do you think you've managed to keep aiming up and to keep striving to get better?
Speaker 2:I think you, like we were saying before, what motivates people to get to that point? So, when you have a health issue, obviously the motivation I don't want to suffer anymore. But once you get to the point where you don't have that, there has to be something there like why do you want to optimize your health? Like for me, trying to build a business, I have to have, like, my mental performance needs to be tip-top, so that's a huge one for me. Um, I'm getting married soon. I want to start having kids soon. So it's like I need, I want to be healthy. I need, I want to be healthy. I don't want to be dealing with, like, any issues. I want to be optimally healthy when I have kids. That's another, but I think it's it's different for everybody. Like, whatever situation you're in, whatever your goals are in life, um and maybe that's that's another message is, just figure out what those goals are. You have to always have something that you're working towards or something you want to accomplish, because without that, you just kind of coast through life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how do you think that having a fiance now, knowing that Kids and marriage is on the horizon, and coming up quickly like how do you think that's, uh, affected you?
Speaker 2:I, I think for a while. So there's like a bunch of people, um, like the money, twitter space, especially like talking about you know, like don't worry about relationships, like worry about that later, build your business. Now. I used to always be that way and that's how, like, I started In a career where it was like very fast paced, very cutthroat, and that's how I was for a very long time. But when I wasn't like trying to get married or anything like that, it just kind of happened across paths with somebody who Was the one I wanted to get married with and, honestly, since making that decision, since getting Engaged, um, it's changed everything for the better. I thought it would like take the motivation out of me or I wouldn't have that drive anymore to be like still going to the gym and trying to look better and be better, but it just kind of like added fuel to the fire for all that stuff. Um, so I think there's I mean, everybody's different. Like some people maybe it does like take down their motivation and and prevent them from accomplishing certain goals, but for me it just it helped everything. Every aspect of my life has gotten better since then, so that's been a cool thing to experience.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I think that, like once you, uh, once your like wife gets pregnant and you have kids, like really really close on the horizon, I feel like that's just even gonna put you at another level. Like that flip or that switch is just gonna flip to so a whole different degree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, there's a few people I know, like on online and in real life, that are having kids now and seeing them. It's like so, it's so cool because you you go through your whole life like trying to mold yourself into what you want to be, but then when you get to that point you're ready to have kids, you feel like you're in that position where you've molded Yourself to what you want to be. Now you get to do that with your kids and it's that's cool, to how excited for that, to be able to be a part of that, that would be cool, able to give them a holistic, holistic, holistic upbringing Mentally, physically, motionally, spiritually.
Speaker 1:It's really cool to see, like all your beliefs that you've developed in your life, be able to positively influence the next generation. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I always think about like what I don't like, blame my parents for this. It's just, everybody evolves and like people learn new things as they go. But I always think like what if I grew up my whole life not eating candy bars, not eating seed oils and stuff like that? And to think that when I have kids, I can raise them that way, have them eat food from like a local farm, instead of Getting processed garbage out of groceries or thinking about how much better they are. Thinking about how much better off they'll be when they get to like their teens in their 20s is it's cool to think about.
Speaker 1:It's like that carnivore iralius meme when it's like uh, I bet he's thinking about other girls right now and it's him. He's like what if I was giving beef for every?
Speaker 2:other child.
Speaker 1:But it's the truth, man, it's the truth. It'll be cool to see how being all this stuff that you've learned and really dedicated yourself to will start to Pay dividends for not just yourself, but for your kids and and their kids, and all this knowledge is just going to compound it's. It's very cool to see and Appreciate you coming on here today, brother. This is awesome. Yeah, man, I enjoyed it. I appreciate the invite. Yeah, absolutely.
