Why I NEVER Cheat on Keto: How Discipline, Fat & Focus Unlocks a "Savage" Life | Robert Sikes

What happens when you strip fitness, nutrition, and life down to the essentials and build from there? In this episode of Everyday Ancestral, I sit down with Robert Sykes, also known as Keto Savage, a natural bodybuilder and entrepreneur who's carved out a powerful path using nothing but real food, relentless discipline, and ancestral wisdom. We talk about the mental toughness behind true transformation, why simplicity wins in health, and business, and how the ketogenic lifestyle done right can reconnect us with how we're meant to fuel, move, and live. If you're tired of gimmicks, ready for grounded, lasting change, this one's for you. Robert, such a pleasure having you on the podcast. I said this to you last time I saw you, but you know, you, you're kind of the reason we have a podcast. I mean, I gotta be honest with you, right? When we first met, you were one of the first adopters Of having me as a guest on a podcast. We met very early on in Pluck's inception. After we, we talked, you, you shared with me like, here's the movers that have really helped my business. Here's how I've really helped to build my community. And, and I heard you and I, while I wasn't ready to start, you know, back when we talked almost 5 years ago, I always kept your advice in the back of my head and was just like, I gotta do that. I know Robert knows what he's doing, so it's really, truly a pleasure to have you on here. So thanks for joining me.

Hey, no, man, I'm glad you got it started. Like, I, I don't know how the whole podcasting things work. I don't know how the algorithms factor things into play, but I've been doing the podcasting for forever now. It seems we're about to hit episode 800, and it seems like it's made a pretty measurable impact on my branding. So I'm super stoked that you've got one of your own now.

You're also on the precipice of having your second child.

Yeah. If I have to pause this recording in the middle of, you know, delivering a baby, forgive me. But, uh, yeah, any, any moment now, really.

That is incredible. Are you guys doing a home birth or what are you guys doing?

No, we can't. We legally can't. It's weird. Like every state's different and we had planned on doing a home birth with our first, but in Arkansas, once you go past 42 weeks, you can't have a home birth. So we had to go in and then things went downhill pretty quick. We had to have an emergency C-section for the first one. So we're doing a VBAC with the second one and you can't do a VBAC home birth with a registered midwife in Arkansas. So all kinds of rules. It's weird, man.

Our second was VBAC as well, and it went successfully. So fingers crossed, many prayers for you on that. It would all go as well. So tell me though, like when we met, I think you had just had your first child or just about to. So how has fatherhood affected your outlook on life?

I'm very ambitious. I'm entrepreneurial. Like I like to be grinding on things. And before I had the kiddo, it's like, you know, I can suffer, I can sacrifice, I can burn the midnight oil, and I'm the only one that's, you know, suffering from that. Whereas now having a kid, it's like, okay, I gotta take their needs into consideration. But also, and more importantly, is it gives me a reason to hustle and grind and fight in the first place. Like I'm trying to build a legacy that goes beyond me for them. And he gives me a reason to do everything I do in a day, which is— It's good. It's, it's empowering.

How are you guys dividing your household? Like, are you the main person who works outside the home and does your wife kind of COVID the business, the home business in a sense?

Yeah. So we're, we're kind of traditional in that sense. Like when Crystal and I started the business, like she and I built it from, you know, nothing. I mean, she and I slept on a warehouse floor for 3 years. I mean, we did, we put in, we put in the work and now like her aspirations when we first met way back when, was always just to have kids, make babies, and have like a little homestead on some land.

Mm-hmm.

And some pigs. I was like wanting to take over the world and she sacrificed a lot in helping me build the business. And now it's cool because I'm kind of letting her do her thing now. So she helped with everything business related and now she's pretty much not entirely removed. I mean, she still does like some of the, like she does payroll and she does things like that, but she's never having to be onsite. Like she's at home raising our kiddos. She's gonna do homeschooling when they get a little bit older. And we've got the animals now that she's taking care of. So she's full-time mom and we love it.

I gotta say, that's probably like the one thing that I do have regret over. I'm in it. My kids are still young. They're 13 and 9. It's not huge regret, but I just recognize that my wife and I are both entrepreneurs. And the families that I've seen that were able to do it slightly more traditional, and when I say traditional, I'm mostly just talking one parent in the house running the household, One parent, you know, making money outside the household. To me, it doesn't matter which gender, but more that tradition of one and one, right? My wife and I both are entrepreneurs, so we really struggled to run the household because we didn't have help necessarily. We, we sometimes had coverage, babysitters and stuff like that, but very often we had no one managing our household. You know, we had, we had to do it all. And it's really challenging, or it has been, when our kids see us in the house, you know. They see us all the time because we work from home and they're like, why aren't you playing with me? Or why aren't you spending your time with me? And we're like, well, we're working. This is our workday. And so that divide has been so challenging over the years. And I feel like it's sometimes created some behaviors that I'm, I'm not proud about in the kids. We've been constantly working through that, but I'm always encouraged when I hear more families finding a more traditional role of someone. supporting that household and someone working outside the home? Because I genuinely believe that the kids end up being a lot more grounded and regulated.

It's tough, man. And there's no like playbook or rule book, so I don't know what's right and wrong. Like, you kind of have to just go at it and figure things out. But it seems to be working pretty well for us thus far. And like, Rigel, my oldest son, like, he makes it known when he's not getting the attention, you know, we should be giving him. Like, he, like, he He's just more rebellious. Whereas like if I'm there, I'm present with him, you know, he's like super chill and just loving. You gotta kind of read into that. And he's only 3 years old, so he's still trying to figure out how to be, you know, a rational human being. But it's worked really well for us cuz like when I'm home, I can pretty much set my work aside and truly be home and focus on him, you know, wholeheartedly. One thing we've recently started doing is I'll leave the, the building at like 4 o'clock and then she'll come to the building and she'll work out. So she'll have some alone time to do her own thing and I'll just be able to focus on Rigel and playing with him. And that's been really good. And I, I'm excited for when he gets a little bit older and he can come to the building and like help, even if it's little stuff like freaking sweeping, sweeping the floors. Like I can use the business as a vehicle to teach him some of these life skills that I want him to learn. And I don't think I'd be able to have that opportunity if I was working a corporate gig or she and I both were doing a 9 to 5. It's kind of funny. I've got a friend that I went to the railroad training school. That's what I did before I started the business. And he stayed with corporate America and he had a kid about the same time I do, or I did. And they literally get 2 hours a day with their kid. Like they leave early, they come back late. The kid's with, you know, daycare the whole time. It's like 2 hours a day, man. That's crazy. My son gets 100% of his time with, with us, you know?

So what were you doing in railroad? Were you engineering or what? What aspect?

I was a train master. So I was the direct supervisor over the engineers and conductors. And I did that fresh outta college and I did that for like 2 and a half, 3 years. That's where I met Crystal. I got stationed in Washington State and I was working there in Spokane, Washington, and I bought a house like 2 blocks down from the coffee shop she was a barista at. And I just started drinking a lot more coffee and then the rest is history.

I didn't realize you used to be in Spokane. Yeah.

Yeah. I was there for, I guess I was there for like 3 years or so. That's where I met her. And then she came back, back to Arkansas with me.

Why did you guys go to Arkansas? Was that where you grew up?

Yeah, it's pretty much where I grew up. I was born in Minnesota, but I grew up in Arkansas. I had family in Arkansas. That's where I graduated. And Northwest Arkansas specifically is just where I've always found home to be. It's like in the Ozark Mountains. It's beautiful. The university's up here. There's a lot of, you know, like there's a lot of money up here in Northwest Arkansas, a lot of opportunity, but it's just like right in the Ozark Mountains. So it's just beautiful, beautiful country. And then Arkansas in general is just much more laid back. So it's, it's a good place.

I was recently in LA and reminded of kind of the hustle and bustle of LA and just felt so grateful that I no longer live there. What do you notice in the difference in lifestyle between where you were, you know, in Spokane? And given that Spokane's not a humongous city, it's not like Seattle, but it's still, it's still different. But what's the difference for you than, than where you are now in Arkansas?

Yeah, I mean, I've been to a lot of big cities. Like I go to, you know, I've been to New York. I've spoken at all these conferences in these big cities and For me, I don't know, man. Like Arkansas, having like just a country vibe. Like I live on some acreage and, you know, our business is in a very small town. Like our population here is like 2,000. It's just a slower pace, a slower vibe. People are friendlier. It seems like people want to know their neighbor. They go to the local rodeo, like just little things like that that you wouldn't get in a big metropolitan area. And I feel like That's what life's all about, you know, more of this intimate human interaction, connection, local community. Like, I want to double down on that.

Yeah, that's one thing I've realized. Like, whenever I see you at conferences, I feel like the people that you have working with you, whether it's Greg or any of them that I've met, they're just— it seems to me like you guys have a really, really solid grounding and relationship. How have you been formulating that? What's been your kind of catalyst for making sure that the business is not only run successfully, but just in that Kind of familiar or, or community-based way?

Man, it didn't always start out that way. Like I've had, you know, we've been in business for 7, 8 years now and I've run through several employees over that time. You know, I've got some employees that I'm not on great terms with, former employees, they just weren't a good fit. And I'm very honest with my team. I'm very, you know, upfront. I let them know what my expectations are and I don't try and micromanage 'em. Like I just let them know kind of what, what the expectations are. And the team that we've got now is the best team I've ever had. Like, Many of them quit their jobs and traveled across states to work here. And the vibe that we have, they're not part owners or anything like that. They just understand the mission. They understand what the trajectory is, and they want to be a part of something that's growing and something that's positive. And I mean, my crew is my family. Like, I spend so much time with them. Like, we had a meeting this morning actually, and I brought the whiteboards out. I showed them what the goals were over the next several years, like what trajectory I'm planning on striving for, how I want to make them involved and become a part of it, how I need them to step up to accomplish it. And like, they were all for it. And I mean, we're a big family, man. Like every time we do a big launch, like I have them out to the house, I'll do a cookout with them. Like it's all one big happy family. We all work out together. Like it's a good vibe.

That's awesome. Where did you get your business acronym? Like you seem, that's one thing that you also seem to model really well is just this very clear-headed, clear-minded businessman mentality. Where did that come from?

I went to school for business finance. I thought I was gonna be on Wall Street originally. Thank goodness that didn't pan out. But honestly, man, just kind of like trial and error, like figuring things out. And like, I, I dove deep into it. My uncle is an entrepreneur, so I used to work for him during the summertime, you know, like in the warehouse. And just seeing how he interacted with his employees was always a very positive influence on me. My cousins are entrepreneurial, but I read a bunch of business books, listened to a bunch of business podcasts, kind of figured out how I wanted to run things. And then, you know, like watching my parents, like they're very good people and just seeing their significance and importance on like good character traits, like how to be honest, how to maintain your integrity, how to be upfront. and be good people to one another. And I wanted to build a workplace that I didn't have to escape from. Like, I'm excited to keep doing what I'm doing and not feel the need to retire because I'm gonna be working on something that I'm passionate about until the day they pat me in the face with a shovel.

Integrity is something that is absolutely my experience of you from day one. The amount of presence and integrity you have, where do you think that comes from? And I, and I know we could potentially look at our parents, but If someone listening has been kind of feeling like, ah, I just feel like I'm not kind of coexisting with people in my life in integrity, what advice would you give someone to find integrity and make choices accordingly to tap into that integrity?

I mean, I think parenting is huge. And now that I am a parent myself, like, I really want to make that a primary focus. I mean, my dad and I butted heads a bit growing up, but You know, he is a very— he's a very solid person. Like, he's always had really quality integrity. Like, he instilled work ethic and honesty and like a lot of those, you know, character-building traits into me. He's not entrepreneurial at all, so I didn't get any of that from him necessarily, but I got a lot of my basic core tenets as how to be as a person. And then in doubling down on that and just building my you know, foundation from that, it's always, you know, done well for me. Like, I've seen people who backstab one another, that always comes back to bite them. You know, when you tell a lie, you just have to tell another lie to cover it up. And I just never wanted to live my life wearing a mask or having to look over my shoulder. Like, everything I do, everything I say is 100% authentic and transparent. People that hear me online, listen to my podcast or a YouTube video, but then they meet me in person, like, I'm the exact same way they would've expected me to be. And I, I take pride in that. Like, I want to just be truly authentic and I just really try to live my life with gratitude. Like, I've got so much to be thankful for, you know, and I've got a lot of aspirations, I've got a lot of ambition, and I want to take over the freaking world, but never at the cost of my integrity, never at the cost of being legitimately a good person. And I've got clients that are multimillionaires Totally unhappy in their life. They've sold their soul to the devil, so to speak, to make a buck. They're unfulfilled. And I just don't want that. Like, to me, it's like if I had billions of dollars in the bank, I would want to build a life similar to what I have right now. I mean, I wake up, I have coffee with my wife, watch the sunrise, go work out with my employees, have a morning meeting with them, talk about the things that we're going to do. You know, we work on making the Keto Bricks or whatever else we're getting on the day that's like actually adding value to other people's lives and making them healthier. It's like, Man, what could be more fulfilling than that? You know, like, I'm happy.

Do you think that a mission is important? Like, having a mission is important? I would say even like faith, like, if you were to kind of like, say, okay, well, to kind of live that honest, integral life, to feel happiness, you know, it takes certain qualities. What do you think those qualities would be?

It's interesting because like, when it comes to faith, I've only recently become a man of faith. Like, I wasn't raised in that setting. My dad's an evolutionary biologist. He is not a faith-based person at all, but he's one of the best people I know. I mean, he's one of the most honest people I know. I mean, that's certainly not a requisite for having those values by any means. But in growing in my faith here lately, I have found that that provides a certain underlying degree of just like peace in my life that I didn't have before. And that is massive because like prior to, I was just working and building and growing, but there was never peace with it. Now there's like this underlying level of just genuine deep peace, which I think is making me a better entrepreneur, making me a better leader to my team, making me a better father to my kids. And I think that's important. So I think that's only been a benefit and a positive in my life. But I think honestly, just simply You know, we all know inherently if something is right or wrong. Like we have this, our conscience speaking to us and we know if we've got something that is cutting corners in life. And I've just made it a habit to never cut those corners. I've made it a habit to never take the shortcut. I've always just pushed further, harder, faster for longer, consistently. And I feel like when you know you're not selling yourself short, when you know you're doing the right thing, when you know you're doing something that you can go to sleep at night feeling proud of and confident in, that compounded over a lifetime is certain to make you successful in some form or fashion.

When did the bodybuilding come in?

Uh, the bodybuilding came in in high school, man. I was 115 pounds soaking wet. I was scrawny. I didn't wear a t-shirt my last 2 years of high school because I was so self-conscious, couldn't talk to the ladies. And then my uncle, who's the entrepreneur, he kind of took me under his wing, showed me how to do a few bicep curls, and I was hooked, man. Like, I just was addicted to it because that was something where, you know, the fruits of my labor resulted in the outcome that I was striving for. It wasn't like a team sport. Whether I, you know, won or lost was 100% dependent upon the amount of effort I put in. So I just really loved that aspect of it and started competing in 2012 and then have just been competing ever since. And I'll take a couple years off in between shows to build on more size, but I've done it all naturally and I've kind of blended the worlds of, you know, nutrition with what I've learned in the ketogenic diet. From a bodybuilding standpoint. And it's been, it's been awesome, man.

What's the difference for you between bodybuilding and weightlifting?

Well, bodybuilding is more of like an art, I guess. I don't wanna ruffle any weightlifters' feathers here 'cause they may take offense. But like with weightlifting, the goal is to lift the most amount of weight, like powerlifting. You wanna lift as much weight as possible. So in doing so, you'll shorten the range of motion and you just focus on lifting that weight. You don't really put any thought towards what your physique looks like in the process. And there's totally a place for that. Like, I like lifting heavy as well, but with bodybuilding, It's more like an art form. Like you're a sculptor. You see your physique, what's lagging, what's overdeveloped, and then you try and, you know, sculpt that to the image in your mind. And that requires, you know, different training styles, different nutritional manipulations. But from a character standpoint, my superpower as a human being, and this has bode well for both bodybuilding and business, is that I'm just incredibly consistent. Like once I set my mind to something, I will chip away at it. every single day until I reach that goal, period. Like, I will find a way to move the needle forward in some form or fashion every single day. And that, that goes really great with, you know, adhering to specific macro goals or being consistent with your training, being consistent with your cardio, and just working towards that end outcome. And it obviously works well in business too, because business is a long, arduous journey as well.

How do you know which path to follow, for example, particularly when it's something that you're new at?

Well, a lot of trial and error. I mean, like with bodybuilding, like I tried multiple different diets before I landed on keto. So, I mean, I had done a lot of the other diets, had success with them to some extent, but it wasn't sustainable or enjoyable for me. And my performance was only improved with keto. So I was pretty sold on that as the most optimal diet for bodybuilding for me. And then like with business, like I've tried multiple things too. I've had several failed business attempts. I've, I've done things that didn't work long-term. But you just have to be very self-aware and honest with yourself and be objective with things and, you know, not, not take it personally, but also like there's, there's a balance between knowing when to quit or pivot or change direction and just like pushing through. And you have to be really self-aware to know where that line is because a lot of people, they'll work at it for 6 months and then not be where they want to be and then just throw in the towel. And with both bodybuilding and business, like, I've been doing this for years now, and the first several years are oftentimes where you're hitting your head up against the wall the most. But, you know, the time is going to pass anyways, so you might as well be working towards something that you're aspiring to as opposed to just throwing in the towel and kicking your feet up and watching Netflix every day.

Well, how— what do you find helps you to not give up? Because like when I've historically followed specific diets or specific exercise plans. I'll do them for 6, 12, 16 months, but I notice I'll hit a point where I'll wane, and usually it's because I don't feel the change. So how does someone, in your judgment, or how do you maintain that consistency even when it doesn't look the way you wanted it to look?

Well, the body is very adaptable, so it's going to try and reach and stay in a homeostatic state. And if you don't give your body reason to change, then why would it? Because it's comfortable kind of staying in its place. So I'll go— I'll cycle through, like for instance, a cutting phase. Like when I'm getting ready for a competition, you know, I might be dieting down for 33 weeks long, and I'm constantly manipulating my macros every single week to get leaner and leaner and leaner. And that's how I got down to 3.9% body fat and got my pro card in '23. But you can't sustain that conditioning, you know, for too long. So I'll reverse. diet out of that, bring my calories back up, focus more so on building muscle. And I'm basically just cycling through these build— building and cutting phases in a healthy manner. And that provides a constant stimulus to the body that's asking it to change. And for that reason, it continues to change. Whereas if I, you know, were to keep the same calories, keep the same training regimen— not even necessarily— you can keep the same training regimen for a long time, but manipulating the weight you're using, the rotation of the exercises, the The different intensity factors, like all those little things elicit a stimulus that forces a response. So if you're keeping everything consistent for too long, your body has no reason to adapt further.

We're hearing more and more that heavy lifting is really key for longevity. So anyone listening or watching who's not heavy lifting, maybe not even going and doing any weightlifting, what advice would you give them of how to get started? Maybe 3 things. Yeah.

I mean, it's, it's a quintessential example of if you don't use it, you lose it. And people that don't move as much, aren't as active as they age, that muscle atrophies and decays and they, you know, become higher risk of falling and degrading very quickly. But that doesn't have to be your story. Like if you keep that muscle in demand, you can hold onto it pretty well. You can even build more muscle. I've got one client that's 72 years old, just started working out and he's stronger than he's ever been. And Anything is better than nothing, and you just have to implement progressive overload with where you're at now. So like, if you've never picked up a weight in your life, you're not going to go and start squatting 315. You have to just start with where you're at. So maybe that's bodyweight movements, and then as those become easier, transitioning to machines, and then start using free weights, and then implementing any— implementing more weight or more time under tension, or, you know, more intensity factors like supersets, drop sets, negatives, forced reps, things like that. You can find ways to move the needle. But yeah, you got to constantly be giving your body reason to adapt further.

What is your opinion, um, about free weights versus machines? Is one better than the other, or they both have their place?

Yeah, they both definitely have their place, especially for like a new lifter. Like, if you're using a machine, like, it's putting you on a specific path of travel, so you're less likely to have an injury. I love free weights because I can really connect with the muscle and feel what it's going through, what I'm putting it through. But I'll use both. Like, I'll use certain machines to target a specific spot. I'll use free weights. You don't have to overthink it. A lot of people overthink their training protocol. Like, I mean, for the first several years of my bodybuilding career, you know, I didn't have access to a gym, so I was using pieces of, you know, tractor equipment that my dad had in the shop. You know, like, you just make do with what you got.

Like Rocky IV.

No, totally, man. Totally. But yeah, I mean, you can, you can use whatever you have and make it work for you for sure.

So you mentioned ketogenic diet. Why is it you think that that worked and what did you try before that?

So I was doing the bro diet, you know, chicken, rice, broccoli, Tupperware meals, 7 meals a day, eating every 2 or 3 hours. I tried flexible dieting, If It Fits Your Macros. I started doing carbohydrate backloading. So after my first show in 2012, I lost 80 pounds in 12 weeks, got shredded, but I lost a lot of muscle in the process. And then when I went out for my celebratory meal, I went out to Red Lobster and just ate everything, man. I gained literally 24 pounds in a day. Like, it was not healthy. And then that kind of became the downward spiral of my disordered eating. So I would like binge on food, then I'd purge, and then I'd go 3 days without eating. And it just became like a vicious feedback loop that lasted for 2 or 3 years. So then I started dabbling in other diets that I could use to be more sustainable. So I started doing carbohydrate backloading, which is basically keto during the day and then a bunch of high glycemic index carbs at night, which was good because it worked with my desire to binge. But I noticed that I felt better without the carbs being introduced at night. So I started doing carb backloading without the carbs, which is again, pretty much keto. This was before keto was popular. So there wasn't any Anything online about keto. So, I started trying that, just no carbs, fats, and proteins, figuring out what worked well. And lo and behold, my performance wasn't hindered. I was still feeling great. And it improved my relationship with food because I was eating all real food. Like, when I took away the carbs, I was just eating animal fats and proteins. So, there wasn't any guilt associated with the foods that I was eating. And I think not having guilt with the foods was like the main catalyst for me recovering from that disordered eating tendency. Once I kind of got that protocol dialed in, was able to compete with a ketogenic approach, looked great, won my pro card, and then was able to replicate that across the board with my clients, it's like, okay, this obviously works. People that I'd worked with that had followed other protocols in the past and were left feeling miserable, their hormones were in disarray, wasn't sustainable for them, I didn't want that for them because I had suffered from it as well. And then when they started doing it with a ketogenic approach, like, okay, this is way better. I'm able to eat the foods that I like. I feel better. I don't have that zombie mode mentality towards the end of my cutting cycle. So this is just a much healthier approach to nutrition and body composition changes. So I just, you know, doubled down on that and then started coaching from a ketogenic standpoint once I had figured all that out. That was back in 2016, I believe.

For the people that don't know, what is the ketogenic diet? Like, how does one follow it or what are the principles?

I mean, at a very high level, ketogenic diet is basically a diet that forces fat metabolism rather than glucose metabolism as your primary fuel substrate. So rather than using carbohydrates and sugars for energy, I'm using fats, lipids, and ketone bodies. So basically I've shifted my macro distribution from a mixed diet that includes carbohydrates to one that is very minimal in carbohydrates and primarily comprised of animal fats and proteins. And there's a lot of different ways to do keto. There's like a, I mean, since keto has now become very popular, there's a lot of versions of keto. You've got, you know, modified keto, therapeutic keto, carnivore keto, lazy keto. You got all these versions of it now.

Dirty keto.

Dirty keto. Yes. I mean, it's, it's kind of become bastardized in that sense, but at a very high level, it's basically just eating a diet that forces fat metabolism as opposed to glucose metabolism.

Now, why have you focused on animal fats? Because I think that's where the dirty keto comes in is a lot of people think, well, it's just fat, right? It's just high fat, lower protein. And so then they go crazy on like nuts and seeds and nut butters and all that. You know, they go crazy with certain fats. You don't, it sounds like. You actually focus a lot on animal fats specifically. So why?

I don't eat exclusively animal fats. Like all, like the cacao butter in the bricks, for instance, is the world's greatest source of stearic acid. So I'll use things like that that are quality plant-based fats. I try to avoid, you know, all the heavily processed seed oils and whatnot. I'd more so focus on the animal-based stuff from a protein standpoint because animal-based proteins are more bioavailable. And it's just from an ethical standpoint, from an environmental standpoint, like I like the idea of knowing where my food comes from, eating animals that I know were, you know, well cared for, lived a good life. I'm also a hunter, so I'm able to make use of all the animal that I harvest in hunting season. And I'm just much more in tune with the circle of life. You know, like I, when you take a life of an animal, you don't want to waste any of it. You respect that animal all the more. I mean, like I went elk hunting this past year, brought down an elk. I've got a freezer full of elk meat now, which is just delicious and incredibly nutritious. But I busted my ass to get that elk off the mountain. So I'm not going to let any of it go to waste. And food waste is something I don't have any tolerance for. So for me, It just really fits well with my lifestyle. Like, I'm eating primarily fats and proteins. I'm eating the highest quality fats and proteins I can get, and I'm doing so in a way that is honoring the animal that I'm taking it from.

Yeah, that's beautiful. And that's obviously what I'm all about as well. Uh, that's what we talk a lot about on this podcast is where does fish fit in for you, or does it? I love fish.

My wife does not. So by default, I don't eat much fish. You gotta watch out for like certain heavy metals. You want, you wanna get like wild-caught versus farm-raised. We live in Arkansas, so we're not really coastal, so I can't really get those kind of fish.

You're not going to sushi restaurants, you know, every week.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I, I mean, shoot, man, when I was eating carbs, one of my favorite meals was going to a catfish fry with a bunch of, you know, fried potatoes and stuff as well. There's a way to make anything keto now. So like panko pork rinds, you can bread 'em with that and that is super delicious. I'm hopeful that my kids like fish and then I'll eat more fish as a family by default.

Yeah, absolutely. So, where did Keto Brick come into this? So, because you actually were following the ketogenic diet before you created the Keto Brick, you were already starting your path of bodybuilding. So, was this out of necessity?

Yeah, totally out of necessity. Like, I started, I started bodybuilding As a junior in high school, I started doing keto in 2014, 2015, competed with keto for the first time in 2017. And while I was doing that first competition prep with keto, I was documenting what I was eating on my YouTube channel. I was trying to find a way to streamline macro manipulation, meal prep, things like that. And this was before there was any keto products because keto wasn't really popular. So I just set out to make my own meal replacement bar that hit the target macros I was shooting for. And just streamlined my meal prep. So I made Keto Brick for my own personal consumption, never planned on it being something that I sold. But there was several comments on the YouTube videos of like, hey, what is that? Because I'd like made a couple of, you know, earlier renditions of it and people were asking where they could get it, how they could make it, if they could buy it. And I just kind of wrote it off. No, it's just something I'm eating. Don't worry about it. Enough of those comments kept coming in that my girlfriend at the time, wife now, we just rolled up our sleeves and decided to make a business with it. And that's exactly what we did, man. So we learned all about, you know, having a certified kitchen space. We were leasing a kitchen space 3 hours away from us. We would work all day long, you know, odd-end jobs, drive 3 hours, stay up all night making these bricks. Our first production run, we were making each brick by hand with a measuring cup and a spoon.

Wow.

Weighing everything out took us all night long. We made 142 bricks. We put 'em on the website and they literally sold out like in 2 minutes. And she and I just kind of looked at each other and we're like, okay, maybe we should focus on this a little bit more. So we just went all in on it, man. Like we literally just bootstrapped it from the, from the beginning. Instead of leasing that commercial kitchen space by the hour, we found another commercial kitchen space. We're leasing that for 3 years. I was living in one of the office floors, sleeping on the floor while we lived there for 3 years. Then we just bought this new facility in 2020, got it fully renovated, and we have this massive, you know, facility now that we produce the bricks in-house with. We've gym in here, we get the podcast studio in here. And this is, this is just part of our life now.

What's the secret, you think, to kind of balancing that business life and your health?

So one of the other businesses that we have is we're going to relaunch our apparel company. And one of the shirt— first shirt designs that I'm going to launch is going to be one that says balance is bullshit because I don't feel like there is much balance in my life. However, I think when people think of balance, work-life balance specifically, You know, they imagine like a teeter-totter and like one's going up, but if one's going up, then the other by default is going down. And I don't want anything in my life to degrade anything else. So I've tried to reverse engineer my life and make it very symbiotic in nature. Like everything complements the whole. And a concept that I discovered a while back is called tensegrity. It's an architectural concept, basically tensional integrity. You've got these different things that are creating tension on one another, but in doing so, it creates a more rigid architectural structure. And I look at my life and I could pretty much break it into, you know, 5 primary pillars. So you've got health, you've got wealth, you've got relationships, you've got spirituality, and you've got, you know, self-improvement. And everything that I focus on in life, everything that I spend time on, everything that I do fits into one of those pillars. And everything benefits the whole and improves one another in some form or fashion. Like nothing is Costing the other anything.

Yeah, that's a really different and cool way of describing that. To me, that is a balance. That tension maintains and they all lift up together.

Yeah. And there's like, there are times when certain pillars get much more time and attention than others, but in doing so, everything rises. And I feel like that's a concept that I can get behind a lot more.

In a world full of quick fixes, how do you teach people to fall in love with the long game?

Man, I love the long game. That's gonna be another shirt design too, because like, you know, bodybuilding's a long game, especially natural bodybuilding. Like, I'm competing now in my 30s. I started competing in my, you know, 20s, but I'm excited to see what I look like when I'm freaking 76 years old stepping on stage. You know, like, I'm playing the long game. And I think if you you know, figure out your actions, you've got habits in place that are all benefiting the whole. And those habits and actions compound over a lifetime. There's no telling what you can come up with. So like what I would encourage when it comes to just long-game mentality is to do things that excite you for more than just, more than just the short term. Like bodybuilding is a long-game thing. Business is a long-game thing. Relationships is a long-game thing. Like you get, you just look at the general public, look at the masses, and you look at recommendations out there. Most of my success has come from doing the exact opposite of what the status quo is or suggests. You know, more than 50% of marriages end in divorce. More than 50% of the population is obese. Do the opposite of what the masses are doing. And when you do that and you have that long-game mentality, you get excited about the day-to-day because those little days ticking by one after the other, that compounds into your reality. And I'm super excited to see how my life transforms over the long haul. I love the moment that I'm in now. I'm grateful for it. I'm fulfilled by it, but I'm not satisfied with it. I'm content with it, but I'm not done. I'm not satisfied. Like, it's just going to keep getting better and better.

I'm just loving hearing, hearing you talk about these things. To me though, it has this level of confidence that I know we've kind of touched on already, but what things are you not confident about? Like, where does a lack of confidence come out in your life, or does it? Or maybe lack of confidence is the wrong word. Where does vulnerability come out in your life?

I'm very hard on myself. I would like to be better at everything that I'm doing, and I take the blame for everything that goes wrong. I've got like this extreme ownership Jocko mentality towards things, which I think is a positive. Like you have this, like it's scary when you carry the weight, but it's also very empowering. But I beat myself up Oftentimes for things that I have no control over. So for instance, kind of going back to some of the employees of the past, ones that did not work out, you know, they, they may have some underlying character flaws or like upbringing issues or something that just would not make them a good employee in any work setting. But like, I take that personally because I feel like I have failed them. I feel like there's something that I could have done. I could have been a better role model. I could have said something differently that could have breathed life into them and got them motivated. And, you know, maybe that's fair, maybe it's not fair to me, but that's kind of where my fault oftentimes is. And I don't think it's a fault on a macro level, but there are certainly instances where it definitely comes back and bites me. Recognizing that I can't save everyone if they don't want to be saved is hard. You know, like with family, with nutrition, you know, like you're in the nutrition space. Some of the people that you would want to be the healthiest they could be, Like your closest inner circle of family are oftentimes the most hesitant or resistant to hear what you have to say. And that bothers me. And I don't oftentimes know how to have those conversations with those people because they're not receptive to it. So that is where I probably lack confidence there. Like if they're willing to talk, I can very confidently speak on what I'd like to say, but knowing how to make them receptive in the first place is a challenge.

Yeah, it's, I mean, I think that's a challenge for everyone. I learned very early on when I first went down this path as a chef and I learned some truths about our food systems. I would go to these parties with excitement and be like, oh, you guys, I can't wait to share what I learned. And I would give the realities of our agricultural system or the meat industry and people just, their jaws would drop and they'd be like, you know, F you, man. Like, why did you just do that? Now I don't know what to eat. I quickly learned, I'm like, oh, just because I'm passionate about something doesn't mean someone's ready to hear it. And then I need to wait till they ask me, you know, and just kind of just model my beliefs or model my lifestyle and then let them come to me when they're ready and curious.

It's hard to know, man. It's hard to know because we're all our own unique individuals. We're all coming to the table with, you know, different backgrounds, different belief systems. But you know your intentions, you know where your heart is, you know what message you're trying to convey. And if you simply do the best that you can with what you have, that's all any of us can do, you know.

Why do you think people overcomplicate their health today?

It's funny, I had a podcast the other day and I was talking to this energy expert, like on light energy and just like the energy system in general. That's a topic that is oftentimes like woo-woo, but the way he broke it down was honestly very rooted in, you know, fundamental truths. And I mean, we can go down the rabbit hole. I mean, I can go down the rabbit hole with you on macronutrient manipulation and changing body composition and hormonal health and things like that. But like, when you distill it all down to its simplest core, it's like, eat real food, eat nutrient-dense food, get out and move your body, improve your circadian rhythm by seeing the sunrise and sunset— things that we were all doing by default 500 years ago, but has just become so far removed from our reality now because of all the distractions that we're inundated with. And when it comes to nutrition and training, like, people, people spend 10 hours a day going through the Google rabbit hole as to what the best workout split should be. If they had allocated one of those 10 hours to simply getting out there and moving their body in the gym and making mistakes, they would figure out really quickly where the results come from. So just too much distraction, too much noise, too much, too many variables. Like just simply do the basics. Don't overthink anything, but do the basics for long enough to elicit a response. And that doesn't happen overnight.

I wonder if we can even go a little deeper. You know, someone's listening, wants to live stronger, truer to their nature, all the things you're talking about, and with more integrity, as we talked about earlier on in the podcast. What's one action they should take today?

I actually have not yet done this action, but I think this is one that would be very relevant. I think it'd be very powerful. I'm reading a book right now. It's from a military veteran. And when soldiers are about to go into battle, they're required to write a death letter to their loved ones so that if they were not to come back, Their friend or comrade could give that letter to their spouses or kids or whatever. But he's had to write 4 of these letters over his lifetime in his journeys overseas. And thankfully they were never delivered because he made it back. But he recommended in his book to actually write a letter to your kids, to your spouse, to the people that are close to you. Describing how much they mean to you, how grateful you are, all of that stuff with the full intention that you're not coming back. And that's the last thing that they'd read about you from your own words. And I think when people recognize in that degree of clarity that they will die someday, it's gonna happen to all of us. It really changes the way you live. And I think that Simple task would be incredibly impactful.

It's impacting me just hearing it. That sounds incredibly powerful.

Kind of scary. You know, it's kind of scary. Like, what would I write my wife right now? What would I write my son right now? What would I want them to think of me if they weren't old enough to know me on a deeper level? You know, but if you think about that and live that out, If you live the life now that would be reflected on the words that you would want them to read and believe in, I feel like a lot of people would change what they're doing on a day-to-day. Yeah.

Well, Robert, that's, that's incredibly powerful. I want, I want to like actually just let everyone sit in that and really let that be the ending of the podcast. I just, I really think that there's nothing more powerful that we can do and think about, then how are we impacting those that are in our lives now? And how do we want to impact this world that we're on for such a short amount of time?

Amen to that, brother.

So I really appreciate you taking the time, particularly so close to the second birth of your child, your second child. I just, I really appreciate you. I want people to find you. You, you mentioned you train people. You have the Keto Bricks. We're gonna put all those in the show notes. But you wanna talk just as we come to a close a little bit about how you work with people so that should they feel inclined, they know what to expect?

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, for the bricks, ketobrick.com. For working directly with me, I've got multiple different offerings depending on how involved people wanna get. You know, I've got a book, I've got a free training app people can use, and it's totally free if they just wanna start with that, don't invest any money. I've got a masterclass that's also free. But I've also got a membership site where I do a weekly live call, kind of like a group coaching setting. I've got an online course that's got tons of videos that walk people through this. And then I've got my one-on-one coaching option if they want to work directly with me. And that's all at ketobodybuilding.com.

If you were to say like, like, what is Robert Sykes' mission? Why are you here on this planet? How would you say that to the person asking that question?

You're asking some deep questions, man. I wouldn't, I wasn't expecting a philosophical talk today. I'd wanna live a life in such a way that at my funeral, I would be overwhelmingly amazed at how many people came in a positive way. Not like in this, like you go to funerals, we've all been to funerals and funerals are weird, man. Funerals are weird because it's like nobody knows the right emotions they're supposed to be having. Like they're all there together. They're like seeing other family members mostly.

Yeah.

Like, they don't know how to act, how to speak, what to do. Like, I would want my life to leave a positive impact in a way such that after I'm gone, people are just, you know, better for knowing me. And then that's created an environment where they can help others all the more. Like, I want it to be a celebration and I want it to be Done in a way that has a lasting legacy. Like, I'm trying to build a brand and a business that maybe someday my kids would want to take over and continue to impact people in a positive way. That's not the expectation, but if it's there, if it, if they want it, it's there for 'em. Basically just living my life in a way that truly means I'm leaving the world a better place for my existence. Like, we all have a finite amount of time here, and that's all she wrote, you know? And we all have the opportunity to leave life better than we found it. And that's what I want to do.

I actually approach every instance, or I strive to approach every, every time I enter a new situation, really any situation, I'm literally thinking about that. How can I leave this situation where it was better than when I first arrived? And I have to say, that has been my absolute experience of you. Every time I come into contact with you, I leave feeling better than when I arrived. So thank you so much for sharing your wise words.

I appreciate you, man. I think the world of you. I'm grateful for knowing you. I'm better for knowing you. Um, you're making an impact out there, so keep doing what you're doing, brother.

Thank you, and much congratulations to you and Crystal on your soon-to-be second child, and much love to you guys. And you can find his podcast— actually, do you want to just share quickly your podcast? Yeah.

So the podcast, we actually just changed the name from Keto Savage Podcast to the Savage Perspective Podcast. That's what we're on there.

Excellent. He's been doing it a long time and it's a great podcast. Thank you again, Robert, and wishing you all the best. And please, everyone that participated in today's episode, please stay curious. It's been a big theme for me today is maintaining curiosity and not judgment, but curiosity really is what we need more in this world. I'm grateful to Robert for continuing to provide curiosity, entertainment, and education to everyone out there. So, thank you again for joining us on the Everyday Ancestral podcast. Be well. Thank you so much for joining me on Everyday Ancestral. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe so you don't miss the next one. You can find the show notes, links, and resources mentioned at eatpluck.com. That's eatpluck.com. And hey, if you know someone who'd get something out of this, share it with them too. Stay curious, live well, and keep it ancestral.