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Carlos Granados Podcast
Welcome to the Carlos Granados Podcast. In this podcast, I will discuss my health journey, news, updates, and educational content surrounding my life, and anything and everything that I enjoy. This is my introduction to my new podcast through "Youtube Podcast". I decided to expand my horizons and let you into my life outside my health journey. You can watch clips and full videos in 4k on my YouTube channel "Carlos Granados".
Carlos Granados Podcast
Kevin's Path to Faith: Overcoming Fatherhood Challenges, Entrepreneurship, and MMA
How does one navigate life without a father figure who embodies Christian values? Join us as Kevin shares his deeply personal journey of faith, fatherhood, and entrepreneurship, revealing how the lack of a guiding paternal presence shaped his outlook on communication, love, and leadership. Through heartfelt stories, Kevin recounts the transformative power of meeting Carlos during a church small group amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this pivotal friendship helped him overcome dependencies and strengthen his relationship with Jesus.
Kevin's journey into the entrepreneurial world is nothing short of inspiring. Hear how he transitioned from various jobs to becoming an expert in the wheel repair business, driven by faith and determination. Despite financial struggles and moments of doubt, Kevin's story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of seeking guidance to ensure one's path aligns with long-term goals and values. Brent, another voice in our conversation, adds depth with his own leap into entrepreneurship, emphasizing the significance of consistency and faith in building a successful business.
Finally, we turn to the disciplined world of MMA fighting. Kevin shares his exhilarating experiences in the cage, balancing rigorous training with work and family commitments, and maintaining a strict diet and training schedule. Through personal reflections, the episode highlights the warrior mindset necessary for success and the profound impact of faith in overcoming personal struggles. Don't miss out on this episode filled with candid discussions on faith, fatherhood, and the fierce determination required in both personal and professional arenas..
What did you feel was the biggest impact in your life? Not having a father or a father figure that you can rely on in your life.
Speaker 2:The biggest impact is you don't realize how, like later on in the future, that really messes with somebody, and I feel like, as a man, not having a male figure there and I feel like, as a man not having a male figure there First. A male figure that loves the Lord is, I think the number one thing, because that just sets everything else in place For me.
Speaker 2:there's certain things that I feel like I'm dealing with now as being just communication and learning how to love and reciprocated, and learning how to be understanding and being a leader.
Speaker 2:And literally, I'm doing all this right now on my own with Christ, which is so like. It's not easy and it's hard because I feel like, even to this day, like by the reaction of my daughter and how she acts with me and how we act in our relationship, I know I'm I'm a good dad, but there's just a part of me that I'm like that there's. I feel like I could do more you could have been set up better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, set up better. Right, you know what I mean. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the Carlos Granados podcast. Welcome everybody again. First of all, thank you guys for always liking and showing love to my channel. Don't forget that we are in 4K on YouTube and, of course, you can listen to this podcast in all the audio platforms you can think of. And today we have a special guest, a really good friend of mine, kevin. Welcome to the party, bro. How you doing, buddy?
Speaker 2:I'm doing well, man, how you doing.
Speaker 1:I'm doing good, man. I'm glad that you finally made it. We finally make it happen, bro.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you finally put me on After 30 episodes.
Speaker 1:Nah, we're here, though, man, and I think today we're speaking about a lot of important things, especially your growth and your faith, Some of the things that you've been doing in life. You're also an entrepreneur, you have your own business, and I want people to hear your side of things. You know what I mean, so do you want to tell people how we met, how we got started?
Speaker 2:Yeah, back in, I think it was 2020. Yeah, 2020. Covid, yeah, covid year. We met through victory church, through a small group that we started, so covid happened and then they were kind of pushing to do small groups, um, you know, through zoom through zoom and so that's how we were. You know, through mutual friends, we got connected, we all. It was like what? 15 of us maybe?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, yeah, and we kicked it off right away too, bro, right off the bat.
Speaker 2:We, we all met, we all connected through zoom. It was funny because it was through, you know, everybody was in their homes, locked down, not going out or anything, and as soon as summer hit, everything started to open back up again and we were just like, let's see if we can take this, this, uh, small group, outside of out of just zoom, the quarantine situation we were on, yeah, and so we took that out of that out of the out of zoom and everybody just clicked so so like it just flowed so easily and and um, and since, yeah, since then, we, we just became really good friends and yeah and now we're here, we are and now here we are.
Speaker 1:But that's cool, man. Yeah, really interesting moments when it comes to, you know, the, the COVID years and the small group and stuff. I think that did wonders for a lot of us, man. But talking about church and talking about you know, that walk, how has your faith been recently? What have you felt? Some of the things that you felt like you've grown at, you know, since you've gotten closer to the Lord, Especially, you know, since you've gotten closer to the Lord especially, you know, there's always a time before COVID and after COVID and I feel like when did you start following the Lord and how have you felt like that change has transformed you up to this point?
Speaker 2:So I think that.
Speaker 2:so I started going to Victory Church 2016, I believe the year I graduated from high school Kind of was just going, wanted to just go back to church on my own and wanted to figure out just my life and where I wanted to be and where I wanted to go, but it was just, I mean, I feel like I was just still going back and forth. I wasn't really really, I guess you could say, taking my relationship with Jesus uh, seriously. Um, even even with COVID, I think COVID did. It was up so from 2016 to 2020, it was just going like just in and out, just one foot in, one foot out, and I didn't really feel like I was building a relationship with Christ.
Speaker 2:I think it was just still more in me and like just in my spirit that I was just like more longing for a relationship with God. And so 2020 hit. That's where you know. I was married for a year and then 2020 came around, beginning of 2020, got divorced, ended up having to move out out of our apartment, moved in with my aunt and some family right before COVID hit, and then COVID hit and everything was locked down.
Speaker 2:Everybody was in their homes, so as literally, it was just me with my family, I was living in their basement for a while and that was a point where God had set me free from smoking marijuana. I had been smoking for so long and I've always tried to do it on my own. I always tried to take tolerance breaks and stuff like that, and I just couldn't Always try to take tolerance breaks and stuff like that and I just couldn't. And you know, god there's looking back now I see that there's certain things that I feel like I went through, that God showed me something, like there was something better that came out of that situation and so for me, it was like the divorce I needed to learn how to just.
Speaker 2:I just felt like that was a push for me to just I need to stop smoking, I need to stop, you know, start getting my life together. And so 2020 came I got divorced, stopped smoking. He set me free from that, Praise the Lord.
Speaker 1:Amen brother.
Speaker 2:Four years clean out, going on five years in January.
Speaker 1:Wait, wait, wait, wait. We got something for that.
Speaker 2:I feel like I'm on a Nickelodeon show. Yeah, so that happened. And so not being able to hang out with friends in person and being forced to be in a house, able to hang out with friends in person and being forced to be in a house, that's where I felt like I was starting, where I started to really. First, I took my reading, reading my word, seriously.
Speaker 2:I made that a priority because I wasn't working I wasn't doing anything so I took my relationship with christ, that whole like I feel like that whole COVID lockdown very seriously, where I felt God for the first time and I was like, oh, I want more of this. And then, you know, we started hanging out and started, you know, just doing our daily lives and kind of pushed God off to the side and was enjoying friendship again. I was enjoying doing and going out and doing things and I mean it happens, right, I feel like we all slip up, true, but it's just and that's so great about God, dude that even when we push him off to the side, even when we kind of just throw him under the rug, the minute we want to go back to him, he's like I've been waiting for you welcome back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, welcome back welcome back home and so it's just been on and off since 2020 to about, I would say, last year, where it was still, I wouldn't say 100 there my relationship with christ I feel like I was still one foot in, one foot out, kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, to about last year, where I wanted to take it more seriously. I was like I feel like like now it's like all the decisions that I make, I'm like thinking, hmm, would god like this, would he not like this? Um, whether it's for business, whether it's being a dad, whether it's whatever it is the decisions that I'm making, it's always thinking about is this, is this gonna glorify god? Is this gonna glorify god? Is this gonna make me a better person? And I never had that mentality right up to like. I feel like really, really seriously up last year and it's I mean, it hasn't been perfect, but it's been.
Speaker 2:The spiritual warfare has definitely been a struggle, brother a struggle um, and it's because I have been genuinely and intentionally wanting to have a relationship with Christ, reading His Word and wanting to get closer to Him and knowing how he loves and knowing His heart, so that I can be that dad for my daughter, that I can be that future husband for whoever that person is. Because I never had any of that growing up, and so I just want to be able to just, you know, see what it is that God has for my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, and you know what? I love the fact that you've broken down in a time period, because I think that's important. You know, I think you know a lot of people have maybe misconceptions, like when you come to Christ, your world changes, and it does, but a lot of the people and most of us. It's a slow process that it takes for us to keep seeing.
Speaker 2:Oh, and it's never going to get easier, exactly.
Speaker 1:And there's another misconception that people think that, oh, you know, you walk into the life and you're like, oh, now everything is better. I'm like, if anything, it's much harder 100% Because it's a simple concept, right, it's much harder A hundred percent Because it's a simple concept, right? If you're already part of the world and you're trying to leave that, then the enemy doesn't want you to leave and he will do anything and everything to keep you there.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:While you're trying to, you know, get and build a relationship with the Lord, so the enemy attacks you more, and especially in your weaknesses. Right, we've both experienced that many, many and countless, countless, countless times. And we're just thankful that God it's a graceful God, bro, because the amount of times we just mess up it's just. You know we hurt, we hurt him all the time.
Speaker 2:Right but.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you broke it down in a time period where, you know, from 16 to 20, you didn't take it too serious. You were just, you know, you know, iffy about it. Covid came along, you got that freedom back again, quote unquote. Then, you know, you kind of step aside and you put them to the side where you're being, back to living your life, and you start noticing that you know that longing for the Lord, right, you want more of him and you're like yo, this is not I miss that, you know, and you want to get closer and I think, eventually, that I can relate to that. So so much because it's part of the process, or our process as christian people. So, um, I appreciate you sharing that man. So, because of your faith, you also, you know, and growing in your faith, you also started a business, uh, recently. Well, how long have you had?
Speaker 2:for two years now a year now, officially august.
Speaker 1:Last month was a year so can you tell us um more uh about that? What was the process like? What was the decision uh making um, and how has it been so far? You know maybe some of the struggles. A lot of people want to do entrepreneurial stuff, but sometimes they don't know what it takes and sometimes they don't understand how hard it is. So if you can get into that, for us right.
Speaker 2:So for me, I started, I started doing so. I do wheel repairing, and so a lot of people are just like wheel, what is that? And so it's just pretty much obviously fixing like curb, rash, scratches on the wheels, on the rims, on the cars.
Speaker 2:Breaking it down, just sanding it down, cleaning them, making them smooth again, painting them clear, coating them and just making them look new again. Painting them clear, coating them and just making them look new. Um, and I've been doing that for about six years, um, working for somebody else, working with like you know, at the beginning you were working with somebody, right.
Speaker 2:Yes, back in 2019 is where I kind of that's where I picked it up started doing it. Um, because right after, right after high school, I went to college very little and I was just like, yeah, I don't think college is.
Speaker 2:I was like this is not my thing, yeah, and so since then I mean growing up, even since high school I've been, I did construction, I've done retail, I've done the restaurant business. I've done so many things trying to figure out what it is that I want to do and even on going to college and not not doing that, I was like I got to figure out something right, because I'm not gonna, you know, working at you know, any restaurant or something for the rest of your life, yeah it's not gonna, it's not gonna slide by.
Speaker 2:So I uh started doing that and I quickly realized I was like it's a lot of money in this business you know, and I was working.
Speaker 2:I was making still, you know, decent money, and I was working for somebody else being getting paid a percentage, and I I was like there's good money in this. I've done really hard construction jobs and this is not hard at all. So since then I was like all right, I'm going to learn the business side of it. I'm going to learn how to talk to the clients, how to talk to customers, dealerships, learning the materials that are needed to do this work.
Speaker 1:How much money are you to to do this work?
Speaker 2:um how much money you're gonna spend everything compressor tools, sanding tools, air guns, paint paint, spray guns every little detail, um, and just literally mastering how to do the work right because I did not want to just learning it in a year and just be like all right, right, I'm going to balance Gone. So I've been doing it for about five years, with them total, where I was just learning it and kind of just, I guess you could say mastering it yeah.
Speaker 2:And then, like my mom is the one that kind of encouraged me to be like hey like do your own thing and like I'll help you.
Speaker 2:I'll support you and you know, bless my mom, she literally helped me, started everything from from helping me get the materials to the equipment and she was like I support you and it was such a blessing that she was able to do that. And so since then, I in the beginning it was really really slow. Um, I think for the most, like most of the year, was really slow, didn't start picking up till the past couple months, I would say, and there was moments where I was just like, because this was my full-time job, Right.
Speaker 2:After I was just like, all right, I parted ways, I'm going to do my own thing. And I wasn't making any money and I was like, how am I going to provide for my daughter, provide for myself, pay all these bills? And there was moments that I was like, all right, I'm just gonna go back to working at starbucks, or temporary right. I was like I'm gonna work at starbucks just so I can make some money, or go back to doing some kind of construction, I can make some money. And I just kept hearing. I just feel like it was like the lord was telling me, like, just like, stay. That's kind of what I was feeling in my heart was just like, just stay.
Speaker 1:Just like push through it, yeah and I did, bro and um.
Speaker 2:Now, a year later, a year and a month, in a month now, uh, some of the places that I do work at have been expanding, buying more vehicles, buying one of my dealerships, they just bought the whole land that they had, tore down a whole bunch of trees, laid down a whole bunch of concrete and are about to buy just a whole bunch of vehicles.
Speaker 2:So within six months to a year in that place it's about to be really, really big, and so my goal and end goal with this is just learning, teaching people, training them how to do this work and then sending them off to these places that I work at right now where I can just handle the business side of it, whether it's picking up more clients and dealerships, more work, and so either that or I don't know. I'm in a place where that's what's providing, that's where I'm able to take care of my bills and provide for my daughter and for myself and um, I'm just. But I'm also in a place where, like trying to ask the Lord if this is, if this is what he wants from me, because you know, we all say this is what I want, my desires are, and we don't know if that's what God planned is for our lives Right.
Speaker 2:And so, in the midst of still you know, still working hard and still trying to figure this out and still continue to grow it, I'm still trying to ask the Lord hey God, is this like something that you want me to do long-term? Is it that? Is it fighting? Is it, um, who knows? Like I don't know Right. And so I'm just trying to be patient with it. But for now it's, it's steady and it's picking up and I'm excited for that, to see where it goes.
Speaker 1:Man. First of all, bro, let me tell the people how good you are at what you do. Bro, you are so good at what you do and, from the beginning, when you told me what you did and I saw your work I was like brother, you are good at this. What you did and I saw your work, I was like brother, you are good at this. This is what you need to be doing, because the way you leave the rims are just so clean, bro, and you've done my rims several times and I promise you guys, I'm not just saying it because he's my homie, but I'm telling you, man, it's just the job is so, so clean and I love that, bro. But let's backtrack for a little bit, Brent, how was the process of you taking that leap of faith? Because I remember being there with you through those moments and we talked about it. That is a hard place to be in, Right, when you take that leap of faith and trying to first of all believe in what you're trying to do, trying to make it happen.
Speaker 2:But you don't know if it will happen. That's a scary because you literally were there from the very very beginning of when I started this all right, like you came to my remember, you came to the house and I was just literally out there in my house the other bmw you had, and just figuring it out, bro, was that scary?
Speaker 1:that was scary, yeah, because you were my first, you were my first client.
Speaker 2:Like client, he was my first client. I had no dealerships uh, quite yet, and I didn't have any like any clientele and he came up he was like bro, I got you so that was my first income.
Speaker 2:I got you I was like mama, we made it, but, uh, I remember um, yeah, no, from from from that point on, to like that point till now. It was definitely a leap of faith and it was just, I think, with anything in life, man, I think you got to be very consistent, very, like, devoted in your work and um, have that faith in god that he's going to provide no matter what.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um I think that's a the hard struggle, especially at the beginning. It's letting people know, first of all, like putting yourself out there, right, people don't know that you're good at this. You know people are just seeing somebody is like coming up, oh, another guy doing a certain job, right. But you know, I remember we had that conversation. I'm like yo, kevin, why Go to dealerships, bro? Go put yourself out there, like, don't be scared. I mean the worst they can say is no, you know what I mean. Yeah. And like now, let people know what kind of what kind of cars you've worked with, right, because you don't work with just regular girl, you work with everything, right you do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've done. You know a couple. Yours is uh bmws. You know m and packages, bro, everything. Mercedes g wagons to um, I don't know, dude bentley's. I've done bentley before. I've done so many cars yeah um, that came and I right now at the top of my head, but yeah I mean it's you. I've definitely like, I've definitely tried to um advertise my work, uh, through instagram and posts and just word of mouth as well, so that people can I mean, can trust what I do especially expensive cars like that Um and I think you're.
Speaker 1:You're at a point right now in your business that, um, you have so much work, so much proof of what you've done, that people are comfortable with going to you and not questioning a lot Like yo right, are you good at this?
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And word of mouth right. Your friends have referred you to different people and that's part of the growth process, right? So now that I'm hearing from you, it's that you want to basically own a bigger business. So if it keeps growing, you kind of want to. What do you want to do? You want to have other people work for you so they can do those jobs and basically you give them a percentage of that, or how are you planning?
Speaker 2:By the way, add me on Instagram what Ultimate we Repair.
Speaker 1:I'll leave all the links, yeah, no.
Speaker 2:So the main goal, like the thing, is just having teaching people how to do the wheel repairing. Also, I feel like I've been thinking about like also like contracting people that do window tinting, car detailing, so that I'm not just a business that just provides wheel repairing. Thinking about like also like contracting people that do window tinting, car detailing, oh so that I'm not just.
Speaker 2:I'm not just a business that just provides wool repairing you want a little bit of everything but have a little bit of window tinting, car detailing, I mean, I also paint brake calipers, so doing that, just you know, having a group of people, that, and then, yeah, like whatever you know, paying a percentage to whatever it is that is being made, but that ultimately I can just just funnel in so much work and business. So I'm not out there on the field. Obviously I'm not. I don't want to be on the field when I'm 30, 35, 40, 40 still doing the work.
Speaker 2:You know definitely at that, at that point, being 10, 15 years in. You know definitely at that point being 10, 15 years in I should be kind of just making the calls and sending work.
Speaker 1:You kind of want to be like a one-stop shop almost yeah so I definitely would love.
Speaker 2:The vision is having a set spot, a set location where people can go in but also provide mobile services, where people can go in but also provide mobile mobile services. So if people are out an hour away or a different location and they can't make it to the spot, no worries, I have a guy that's going to come out to you and provide that service for you, right?
Speaker 1:so just making it convenient that's really good, bro like now that I'm thinking about that if you would have a set spot and people can just go to you for all that and have appointments made right now you know that like, hey, I'm making money this week, you know, you won't have to always kind of like wait for clients to reach out to you like that, yeah that's really good, bro.
Speaker 1:I hope uh that happens because, uh, that would be interesting, definitely be taking my future cars. You know what I mean for sure, man. And, by the way, if you want other people like to start working with you, especially like young entrepreneurs, you should definitely reach out to people who are starting in the business as well because, you can create more business for them right and vice versa right yeah, man, um, um.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, man, moving, moving on to to another important part of your life that I know it's. You know she's really big in your life. You know talking about your, your daughter, ava, uh, you know being a single dad, managing you know your relationship with your ex. I feel like you know that's also part of your growth in life, right that you've taken because you started really young. You know getting married or at least considerably young and having, you know, a baby. How has that process been? You know what has your daughter meant to your life. Just talk about her and talk about your relationship. How hard it is. You know what has your daughter meant to your life, um, just talk about her, man, talk about your relationship, how hard it is. You know the struggles that you may have, um, as a single dad. Now I suppose you talked a little bit, but you can get into it, yeah, no, so I I've never really realized.
Speaker 2:So when I really started, I guess, back in the church and and taking trying to have my relationship with God, I've heard people say you know, make sure you have Christ in the in the middle of your relationship and make sure you're good with God and make sure that you're always having like that everyday, daily relationship with the Lord so that he can help you and guide you and lead you. And I didn't really I mean I didn't have that example growing up and so I mean I was 20 when my daughter was born. I think I got married, yeah, I think married at 19. No pause, 2019 is when I got married. 2020, a year later, divorced.
Speaker 1:How old were you when you got married? If you remember I was. How old are you now? Let's backtrack, let's do something.
Speaker 2:I'm 26, now about to be 27, 27 on the 27th. I was when I was 20 years old when ava was born, um, so I was like yeah, 19, okay, yeah, 1920, yeah, around that was really young man for me. Yeah, um, yeah, it wasn't. Obviously, none of that was like something that was at this age I want to have a kid at this age want to be married. It was bro, it just happened.
Speaker 2:It just happened and I have as, as it happened, I was just putting the pieces together. The only one thing I knew for certain it was like I'm gonna be the dad I never had for my daughter, and that was for me, no matter what.
Speaker 2:Like I always growing up, it was like I longed for that, like I never. Like I mean, I had. You know, I had a stepdad and I had. My dad was in Columbia at the time because he's passed away, but it wasn't where I could go to a father figure and talk to him about certain things and let me ask you a deep question.
Speaker 1:What did you feel was the biggest impact in your life?
Speaker 2:not having a father or a father figure that you can rely on in your life the biggest impact is, uh, you don't realize how, like later on in the future, that really messes with somebody. Um, and I feel like, as a man, not having a male figure there first, a male figure that loves the lord is, I think, the number one thing, because that that just sets everything else like sets yeah, everything else in place For me.
Speaker 2:There's certain things that I feel like I'm dealing with now is being just communication and learning how to love and reciprocate it, and learning how to be understanding and being a leader, literally. I'm doing all this right now, on my own, with Christ, which is so like it's not easy, and it's hard because I feel like, even even to this day, like by the reaction of my daughter and how she acts with me and how we act in our relationship. I know I'm I'm a good dad, but there's just a part of me that I'm like that there's.
Speaker 1:I feel like I could do more. You could have been set up better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, set up better. Right, you know what I mean. And so now it's like I'm doing like so much more. I feel like having to do so much more work, that, um, so that my daughter doesn't go through that yeah.
Speaker 1:So so what I'm hearing is a father figure could have built so many more, so much more character and maybe even mindsets. You know leadership, how to be a man, how to carry yourself, that now, when you're a dad, you could have easily done thatilled like he provided, you know, financially, we were able to go to so many places hawaii and and colombia and mexico, like so many.
Speaker 2:We were able to travel so much. Me and my brother grew up playing golf. Uh, we had that, you know, support financially and um, but just there's, there's so much more to just money and and just being a dad is a lot.
Speaker 1:You know, right, there's not just financial things that you have to worry about there's so much more to just money and and just being a dad is a lot, you know there's there's not just financial things that you have to worry about, there's much more when it comes to um, you know being being a father and you know teaching, you know your child, so I get that man. The reason I'm asking is because I've also had my certain thoughts as well. You know, my mom got divorced with my dad when I was like four or five, you know, and then you know, have some, maybe a handful of times since then. You know what I mean. So I never had that like my biological father, never had that father figure, although I will say my stepdad that I have now, you know he's been a blessing to my life, although we don't have the relationship. You know, for many other reasons that I felt like I could have had it with a father figure.
Speaker 1:But you know, you got to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. So, you know, I think that's an important factor, man, because we do as men feel like later on in life you start wondering what could it? What could it happen? Yeah, you know now, but thank God that we found a father in the lord, in the lord, yeah, lord, and I think that's what we can rely on. Man, um, one of the one of the things I want to share with you, um, when I got saved and stuff and you know we were talking about the lord and all that process when I hear, you know, people telling me, listen, god is proud of you, like the lord is proud of you, the lord just, you know, kind of kind of tells me that, dude, I get really emotional because I you know what I mean, because I've never got really got that from a father figure in my life throughout my life and that is so important to me and I needed.
Speaker 1:I didn't know how important it was when I heard that the first time that you know somebody told me. You know, we're having a deep conversation and they told me the lord is proud of you. Like I started bawling.
Speaker 2:We're crying yeah, yeah because it's just so meaningful, right um for for me, yeah yeah, no, I I think yeah, having having a daughter completely changed my perspective on life in general and uh, you know, I could have. I just didn't take everything that I grew up and kind of just played that, that victim mentality.
Speaker 2:I was just all right. Well, it happened. I have a daughter and I always told myself I'm going to be the dad I never had. And so since then I mean, even such a young age, six years, almost seven years later now it's been a blast. It's been such a blessing, um, and and it's cool because, you know, I'm learning every day. Still, there's still things for me to learn, um, but she's, she's so awesome and she's so she's. She has such a personality like me, just very talkative and very open, and she's outgoing like you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, very out very outgoing and I've, I've, and I love it because it's something that the days that I have her, we pray every night before we go to sleep. We're making it a habit where we read the word together before we go to sleep. Those little things like that, and even just the little things of music when I'm with her most of the time it's just worship music and it's those things that over time, you know it does a huge difference, the little things that you do.
Speaker 2:Over time it starts to become just like a blessing for her and like I never had that Right. So I know for her she's going to appreciate that and I make it very, very I verbal verbalized to her like if there's things that she's dealing with, um, you know she's a girl yeah she's.
Speaker 2:You know she's. There's moments that she's emotional at this age already and stuff like that. I always just like I'm very attentive, I'm very like, hey, like, talk to me, talk to me, let's talk. Let's talk about what it is that you want, like what you're going through, and sometimes she'll be like I don't want to talk about it. I'm like all right, I'm going to give you some space, but when you're ready let's talk about it. Like don't, don't hold it in.
Speaker 2:Don't don't, don't just throw it under the rug and just act like nothing happened, and so that's something that older in her teenage years and young adult she, you know she's she can say that she had that dad that I never had, and so that's for me, it's a blessing.
Speaker 1:I don't know, bro, I'm about to take five.
Speaker 2:That's deep, no that's deep, bro, that's uh, that, and so I mean just, bro, so many things, man, because I'm also in a place where where like having like finding a wife, because I desire to be married and I desire to to have somebody, and it's always been like I feel like it's hard to find a woman that and like I feel like it's hard to find a woman that, at least from my experiences, find a woman that is okay with somebody that already had their kid Right, you know, and so for me that's another struggle. That's another struggle because I desire to be married. I want to be married. I want to again, but I want to be married the right way.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I want to have Christ in the center of it and and make it right, redo, redo what I didn't do the first time and and now that I am in a different place, in a different place where I am with god, now that I was before, I know that it's something like. I know what I want, I know how I want to do it and I know that christ has to be in the middle of it and just finding somebody that obviously is equally yoked, which is important, but also is okay with me having a daughter, and I feel like, at least from my experience, like I said, it's hard to find a woman that is okay with that.
Speaker 1:You know, and it's not. It's to be honest. I feel like nowadays in society we see a lot of just me, me, me, Like there's a lot of, like you know, selfishness. I appreciate it. A lot of selfishness is going around with people, people, and rightly so. You know you always got to look out after yourself, especially the way things are in life and and in the world where, like, it's hard for people to put someone else in in front of them. You know what I mean and I feel like the great part about you finding a woman in the lord is that you know she will love you for no matter not just who you are, but she will love your daughter and bring her in as part of her family.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, because, with god's love you for no matter, not just who you are, but she will love your daughter and bring her in as part of her family. You know what I mean because with god's love you, you know you're able to look over that, you know you're able to pass your own selfishness, your own desires and stuff like that. So I think that's the right way to do it, man, and and going back to the ava situation, I think, um, we've seen women who have grown in in the lord and in christ and we know how beautiful that looks. And I think, have you ever thought about like, wow, my, my, my, my daughter's going to be a woman of the Lord? And like, eventually she's going to be a great woman? And I'm assuming that's what you want for her? No, a hundred percent.
Speaker 2:That's something I'm trying to trying to instill in her that, um, just to, to just love the Lord too is. You know, just the little things that I've been doing over time, that sometimes I, I like, sometimes I, you know, I'll like, won't like, I'll forget, maybe to pray for the food, and she was like let's pray for our food, or like before we go to sleep, that we got to pray or she'll put on worship music on her own.
Speaker 2:Wow, which is like for me. It just fills my heart with joy, because it's like I did that you know.
Speaker 2:That's crazy, man yeah because it's a beautiful thing, and so I know her growing up and finishing out her elementary years and going through middle school and high school and potentially college. It's like I want to see her be able to put God first in everything she does and seek the Lord and, you know, have that respect for herself and respect for others and just being able to, most importantly, love like Jesus loves. Because it just takes one person to be that reflection of Christ to somebody who's never maybe met Christ or has let down by somebody to completely change their perspective on what it is to have a relationship with Christ, what it is to have a relationship with Christ. Right, so it's. I mean that is, yeah, that's something that I want to continue to do with her. Make that a priority.
Speaker 1:You know, although we're in the faith conversation, bro, let me ask you another deep question for the people maybe that are listening, that are not, maybe they don't have a relationship with the Lord, maybe they don't understand the realm of things. And I want to, you know, I want us to be real right. What have you felt has been your biggest struggle, or what have you really felt like it was something you know hard to overcome during your faith, felt like it was something you know hard to overcome during your faith. Whatever it is, what has been, you felt like you have grown out of, or what have you felt like you're still struggling with now that you're going, still walking in your faith?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so for me for the longest, like I mentioned earlier, it was marijuana for me. I feel like that was a huge thing for me, just because you know, like the bible says, stay sober minded um and so the lord did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.
Speaker 2:Amen brother, amen brother, uh, so that, so that, and and I uh also, about five months ago, completely stopped drinking. I was like, all right, I'm done drinking because I want to. I don't want to have certain things to make me feel good temporary and just be alert, and so, um, marijuana and drinking, I feel like I like drinking and I can vouch for that has been.
Speaker 1:It was big, you know, in your life. Yeah, yeah I, I remember, um, when we had events. You always wanted to drink and stuff, bro, and not to put your business out like that, but it's something that at least you can admit that was an issue and that you're coming out oh 100%.
Speaker 2:No, it definitely was an issue. I feel like everywhere we went, every event I was like yo, turn up, it's time to drink, and I did enjoy drinking. I did enjoy how it made me feel and I think maybe sometimes a little bit too much, but I was. I got to a point, like like five months ago, that I was just like, bro, I need to, I need to start just getting my life together, dude, because I it got.
Speaker 2:It was a point where I was drinking a lot I remember those days and even though, even even like this past few like the beginning, beginning of the year it was it got to a point where it was like almost every day kind of thing and it just in my health I can, I noticed my health was a little bit off and which was kind of scary, and then, um, so I was just all right, that's that needs to stop as well. And so for me I feel like once I actually say I'm not going to do it anymore, but I give it to the Lord afterwards, that's where I've noticed that I can do it.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like I, have no desire to do it. But it's taking it to the Lord and serving it to Him like being genuine, that you want to don't want to do it anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so he did the same thing with marijuana. When I got on my knees and screamed out to him and was like Lord, take this away, I don't want the desire anymore, god was like all right, I got you. And the same thing with with the drink, and he just took that desire. And there's been times this summer that people have me to drink. There's places that I've been to with, hanging out with people and friends and stuff, that people are drinking and offering me drinks. I'm like, no, I'm good, I don't drink anymore. And so having that strength to say no, it's hard, it's hard, but for me it was just like, yeah, I'm good, I'm chilling. So, other than that, I think it's just like just being, like being patient in what the Lord has for me, because there's things that I want, like now, I want it, now I want it.
Speaker 1:It's my money and I need it now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I want it now, Like I want to. I want a woman, a woman of God, that that I can marry. I want, I want to. I'm like dude, I want a four Raptor. I want that now. And there's like I want my business to grow right now so that I don't have to be on the field.
Speaker 2:Like there's all these things that I'm just like I got to step back and just give it to the Lord and just be patient with it and having faith that he's going to provide and he's going to give me more than what I'm asking.
Speaker 1:You know so yeah, maybe he's preparing you for something greater, which we believe, all believe.
Speaker 1:This it's the case, you know yeah, for sure, I think I think the time, the times of when we want um a lot of things in life, but when we keep giving it to the lord and we keep trusting him, you know his time is perfect and his time will be right for you. You know what I mean. Maybe it's not, sometimes it's not exactly what you want, but sometimes, and a lot of the times, it's better, it's what will be right for you. You know what I mean. Maybe it's not, sometimes it's not exactly what you want, but sometimes, and a lot of the times, it's better, it's what we need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, it's what. Yeah, it's not. What you want is what you need, and God provides that for you, bro. So, um, first of all, congratulations. Um, you know, getting over, uh, those humps, um, uh, hopefully you keep staying, you know, and and check with that. I know how hard it is, especially when it comes to the drinking situation, because sometimes, man, you don't even it's not even just about getting drunk. Sometimes you're with your friends and you're vibing and you're out you're having a good time and social drinking right.
Speaker 1:I've experienced that back in the past but even then I haven't, you know, drinking so long in years, uh, any type of anything right and sometimes when I see you guys, or I will see people drink, I'm like you know, I wish I could just get it like a little wine and just relax and things of that nature. It just naturally happens, maybe because of the vibes, maybe because of the, of of the, the setting right or maybe you're celebrating something you just kind of want to just let go.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying, but you gotta let go and let god you know I'm talking about. But, yeah, man, um, uh. So. So, moving on into one of the next subjects that we can talk about, and this is, uh, more about, um, your life and one of the things that you have been doing for a while. You're one of the, you're one of the reasons why, right now, I love mma and I love this sport so much. It's not even funny, bro, but you have also done some fighting yourself, right, you've done immature fighting, you've gotten into the cage and I was there at your first fight. I want you to tell the people what that process has been like, because that's, it takes a lot of guts, bro.
Speaker 1:No matter what happens in the ring. It takes a lot of guts.
Speaker 2:So what has that been like, brother? Yeah, so I've been doing. I started it back in 2019, around the same time that. Actually, it was right after I did get divorced and I was like, no, my life is falling apart.
Speaker 1:No, my life is falling apart.
Speaker 2:So I was like I got to figure out something, dude, to get distracted. And I mean I always followed Conor McGregor and I was a huge fan. So I was like, all right, let me try this, because, bro, going from like playing golf all your life pretty much going to a whole different sport.
Speaker 2:It's a whole different realm of a sport. So I was like I don't like really lifting weights, I don't really like going to the gym, like that. I was like, let me just try this MMA stuff. So I actually started with jiu-jitsu, um, and then I was doing that for about a year and then I was like, all right, I'm gonna pick up muay thai. And I started doing muay thai and then, um, I just I would do. I think I mean that first year I was hooked on to jujitsu and I was like just hooked on to this whole martial arts thing. It was so much fun. Um, where I started I was like eating better, like it like you're training this kind of, this kind of you know, martial arts and you just it puts you in a position where, like you want to eat better, you want to, you want to be, you have to be more disciplined to train. You know, I was there was in the beginning dude. I was training like two, three times a day, like it was.
Speaker 2:it was a lot it was and it was fun because I didn't have really much anything else to do and so I was just sticking with it. I started jiu-jitsu, muay thai, then boxing, and then just started wrestling and I just started doing all of it. Um, so I didn't start fighting, fighting till I think was it last year, was it that beginning of january last year, right? I?
Speaker 1:think I think it was, uh, 2022, if I'm not mistaken, or something which was 23. It was 23 also beginning of January last year, right I think? So I think it was 2022, if I'm not mistaken, or something along those lines. Which one was it 23. It was 23. Oh, so, beginning of 2023 then.
Speaker 2:So I didn't actually start fighting fighting until the beginning of last year.
Speaker 1:So what you mean fighting? Fighting is getting into the cage and fight somebody else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, getting into the MMA, not necessarily an octagon, that's the size of, you know, the ufc, but in the cage, just mma, fighting, everything, boxing, jujitsu, all of it, just your mma gloves and I mean for amateurs is shin pads, shin guards. I guess you can say, um, I just so, up to from 2019, up to last, the beginning of last year, I just was just training and preparing because I knew I wanted to fight. I knew I wanted to, just to get that like that itch of fighting, I felt like how would it, what would it be like if I stepped in a cage and fight with somebody that is also wanting to take your head off that adrenaline?
Speaker 2:yeah, that adrenaline rush, dude, and I'm not gonna lie that after that first fight I was like yo this is like nothing that I've experienced.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like just there's hundreds of people there and then they call your coaches. They're like all right, kevin, get ready to walk out. And you're like you know they put on your walkout music your walkout song Ooh.
Speaker 2:And then you're just walking, everybody like everybody's looking at you and like, and everybody's looking at you and you don't really see anybody. You're just tunnel vision. You're in there and the coach is putting Vaseline all over you and they're checking everything and you're like are you good? And then as soon as you step on that cage and you see the other pony right across the cage from you and it's just you, the referee and him, and then they close the doors and he's like are you ready, are you ready?
Speaker 2:I'm like ooh. He's like are you ready, are you ready? I'm like oh, I'm like no, no, no, I'm not ready anymore. But no, but it's the adrenaline, bro, it's. It's so much fun and I want to continue. If I just haven't been fighting since my last fight was actually in january of this year, so this was it was my third fight, um, but I just haven't really been training as much as I would like to, just because of work.
Speaker 2:Uh, life man my yeah, business and and my daughter and just pretty much work. I just been investing a lot of time in work that I haven't been taking the time to put to put in in the gym, because this is a sport where, dude, you can't be half in and half out. You gotta, you gotta be training like these guys, bro, are training every day, almost every day, every like, every like, just every week, um, that are watching what they eat, watching what they drink, very disciplined, and this is like I said, this is not a spoiler, you can just like half it yeah, you can't, yeah, and so and so, after my last fight in january of this year, I was just like, all right, I am doing a lot more work and I'm not putting a lot of time in the gym.
Speaker 2:So I was like I can't go out there and be like I want to fight again, right, just to lose, just to just to go get handed yeah, just to get pieced up. I mean, thank god, on none of my fights I've been, I feel like I never got cut open or anything Right.
Speaker 2:Or any serious injuries, where I mean, there was one fight, I think, like my second fight, where my elbow was kind of uncomfortable, but that took me two weeks and that's it. So my goal is right now is to really balance my work, but also balance my fighting, where I make a schedule where I'm still putting in enough work. So if that means that I have to wake up earlier to go train or wake up earlier to go work and get out a little bit earlier in the afternoon so I can make it to the night classes, evening classes to train, I got to start doing that Because this is a sport that I love, bro, and it's a sport that takes discipline.
Speaker 2:You can't be drinking soda all the time. You can't be eating all these fried stuff all the time, especially when you're in fight camp. You can't do any of that and it sucks, it freaking sucks. Especially with the weight cut week when you're barely eating and you're drowning. You know you're filling your body up with so much water and then just losing all that weight. Like I fought at 35, 135, 135, twice, I believe, yeah, twice, and I just that was hard yeah what's your walking weight?
Speaker 2:my walk around weight right now is like 160 damn bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 25 pound difference dog.
Speaker 2:Well, that's about 160, 160 give or take. It fluctuates between 160 165, just depends um. Where I felt good was when on my first fight, when you know you went to that was a 140, 145 and that was an easy cut. But I over overestimated everything and was like I'm just gonna train just the martial arts and think that I was gonna be good. But you see, all these ufc fighters, bro, they're not just training jujitsu, they're not just training boxing and muay thai and wrestling, they're lifting weights yeah, you know they're putting, they're putting in muscle weight, muscle weight and just do like having their body defined.
Speaker 2:And strength and muscle strength like all of this stuff, dude, it's not just martial arts. So I want to be before my next fight, I think when I talk to my coach, uh, shout out to diego lima lima from american top team team lima. He fought in the ufc yeah and then his brother douglas actually fights tonight for the Bellator.
Speaker 1:Wait for real.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Douglas.
Speaker 1:That's dope Douglas. We got to watch that one. Yeah, that's tonight for the.
Speaker 2:Bellator. And then another teammate, cody Durden. Shout out to him too. He fights tonight for the UFC. One week notice Fight night.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man. Yeah, I think you have to right when you get the opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Kind of run it with it and he's been doing a great run. He fought in the same organization I'm fighting in right now NFC, nfc, yeah, here instead of Georgia, that's dope bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so awesome to see man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, diego out. I'm like I'm gonna and tell him, hey, I want to, I want to pick up, I want to take another fight. He's gonna be like, yo, well, I need you here in the gym, I need you to put in this work, I need you to show me that you want to. Yeah, because I don't want to go into my next fight. Um, he's like, he's like I think he told me my next fight is a pro amateur, so it's like, technically, you don't wear no shin pads anymore so it's just the gloves and you know no shout out and now you can kick and ground and pound where it's allowed now, and so the rules change a little bit.
Speaker 2:But I'm like bro, if someone's going to start hitting me on the ground, this time I got to be ready, bro.
Speaker 1:They got to be ready. And you know, one of the things that I feel like for the people who have never fought in their life before, right Like that adrenaline rush that you get in.
Speaker 2:Fighting is Like my heart rate is beating right now just thinking about it.
Speaker 1:First of all, you feel like your heart's coming out of your chest, but it's sometimes like an auto body experience, because when your body is in fight or flight, response even when they hit you.
Speaker 2:You don't feel nothing bro.
Speaker 1:You feel the impact, but you don't feel the pain.
Speaker 2:You don't feel it feel nothing, bro.
Speaker 1:You feel the impact, but you don't feel the pain like you're just because it's your fight or flight right. And and I've when, when I was younger. So I don't know if you know this, kevin, but when I was younger, um, I think when I was like seven, eight years old, we used to have like a lot of like older men put like younger kids to just have boxing gloves and just send it and just go at it kimbo's lifestyle exactly so I was, you know, fighting with kids who were either a little bit older than me, a couple years older, and you just get in there and just fight, bro, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
Speaker 1:So and throughout school, throughout my life, like when I was in el salvador, fighting was a constant thing, you know, like if you had a problem with somebody and then it became bigger than it should have been, then you fight, you know whatever reason, you just fight. And then you know we're kids, but then a running adrenaline rush you, you start getting used to and comfortable because you're just like here we go, like I, I know where this is coming from and I can relate, yeah exactly that.
Speaker 1:Experience means a lot, bro, because when you start fighting it's like let's get it you know what I? Mean people don't know how to react to that sometimes.
Speaker 2:And uh, when you, I'm sure, when you felt that you went into that ring that first time, you were like oh, no, dude, you know it's funny you're talking about that because that so when you, when you spar in in your gym and with your teammates, it's not like they're going at it, nobody's going 100 right. And so I'm going into my first fight thinking, oh, it's gonna be something like that bro. We start going at it like the bell rings and we're like kind of feeling each other out, throwing you know back and forth leg kicks and stuff like that. And then he holds me against the cage, he throws one knee straight into my stomach and I remember, just like looking onto y'all side, like where you guys were at, he kneed me right into the stomach. I was like. I was like, oh my god. I was like, oh, he not, he not playing bro, this is for real, that's that, that was that moment like that was like, oh my God.
Speaker 2:I was like oh he not playing bro.
Speaker 1:I was like this is for real.
Speaker 2:That was that moment. That was like a minute into that first round. That's where I was like, oh, it's serious. It didn't click to me into that moment. He knee me straight into the stomach and took the wind out of me and I see all of you guys on that side just yelling and I'm like, oh gosh, this hurts and I'm like oh, and I'm like oh, gosh, this hurts.
Speaker 2:I was like he, he's trying to, he's trying to and so, but yeah, that just just being in there, bro is, is an experience that I mean you can't experience literally anywhere else but, in the cage and it's fun, I love it, I love.
Speaker 2:I love the sport, I love the, the training, I love, um, just my teammates that I'm at American Top Team, just everything.
Speaker 2:But, like I said, because of my business this whole year that I've been in it, it's just been so much more of that and I haven't been putting in the time and effort into the gym. And so, before I do want to get my next fight, I want to make sure I'm putting in at least a couple months before. I'm like all I do want to get my next fight, I want to make sure I'm putting in at least a couple months before. I'm like all right, I'm thinking about working, yeah, I need to start shutting down a little bit of weight, eating a little bit better. Uh, just drinking just you know things that I need to be drinking, cutting out soda, stuff like that, being more disciplined, um, and I just feel like I've just been lacking in that, to be honest. Um, just cause I've been just so focused on work, and so that's something I need to balance. But once I do, I'll let you know when my next fight is.
Speaker 1:Bro, let me know I'd love to go. Those are either fire, bro. Seeing that whole card and just seeing other people fight, it gets real bro. And every fight gets better because it keeps going on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they start off with amateurs and then they start going to pro, pro, ames, and then the, the professionals towards the end it says yeah it starts you.
Speaker 2:You see the level, you see you get to notice the level of and I'm not gonna lie that my fights that I've had. I don't think I look back on my videos. I'm just like ill, I'm just like that's how I fight, but I could tell, I'm just like I'm so nervous, yeah, I'm just so nervous to get hit. And you just gotta be in there, bro, like nadya, the kill to be killed. You know what I'm saying and that's the kind of mentality you have to have. And so until I have that mentality, until I have that training where I'm like okay, I feel confident, bro, I'm gonna go in that cage and rip his head off.
Speaker 1:That's when I'm gonna go back in there yeah, you know, and, and I know you say kill, be killed, but in the people like, might take that as an exaggeration, but to be honest, you got to have that mindset when you go in there, because it's a you're a warrior bro, you're in there fighting Like again. You will only understand until you get into those situations of of fighting, of that adrenaline rush where you feel like you're. You know, and, to be honest, we as humans have been survivalist and fighters for ages. It's not something that's new to us. You know what I mean. It's something that's like it's in our blood.
Speaker 1:If you think about every, all the history that we've gone, it's always included in fighting or some type of war or, uh, survival situation. It's always been like that for us. So but, dude, I'm I'm proud of you for for getting into all that, bro, because I'm sure it's not easy. It's not been like that for us. So, but, dude, I'm I'm proud of you for for getting into all that, bro, because I'm sure it's not easy. It's not easy and you know, whatever happens in the ring, you gotta have respect for that person getting in because, again, that adrenaline rush your heart's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's crazy coming out of your chest, bro.
Speaker 1:Um, but yeah, man, hey brother, listen, this has been great conversation bro yeah like this has been really good bro appreciate you.
Speaker 2:It took so long to get me on this. No, no, no, you made it happen you made it to the big leagues.
Speaker 1:Is there anything else that you would like to share with us, or should we save it for the next podcast, when you come back?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean we, yeah, we can, I guess. Yeah for the next time, I don't know, yeah, we're good.
Speaker 1:No, I'm just making sure, bro, but, um, I appreciate you coming on. Thank you, bro. This was a really great conversation. I really appreciate it, bro. You uh shared, I think, a lot of um important things that people can learn and can grow from. You know what I mean um. So, ladies and gentlemen, this right here will conclude the end of our podcast. Um, again, shout out to kevin, uh, and don't forget, guys, to subscribe to the channel. You know if you're listening to this and all the audio platforms spotify, apple podcast uh, amazon music you can also watch it on 4k on youtube, you know to the channel. Like the channel. You can see our beautiful faces in 4K, by the way, you know what I mean 4K. So, thank you, guys, for all the love. Thank you for always listening, man. Again, kevin, thank you for coming on, brother. I appreciate you, man. All right.
Speaker 2:I'm about to make a name for myself.
Speaker 1:Yo hey, shout out to my movie partner Marvel movie partner bro. Yeah, let's go, man. Thank you guys. See you guys on the next one. As always, peace and love. Take care of each other. Family Adios that was solid bro.