The Warrior’s Code: Embracing Fear, Adversity, and Play in Life and Business with Frank Shamrock

I think what most people don't understand is your body's a machine. You can make it do anything you want, but you can be in fight shape, you can be in couch potato shape, you can be in marathon shape, you can do anything you want with it. And it's a wonderful, perfect machine if you care for it. Literally last 100 years. Most of us just don't care for it.

Hey, I'm Joe Fear and welcome to the Hustle and Flowchart podcast. This is where we talk all about building businesses so they give you the freedom and fuel for your life. I'm not here to help you build a billion dollar business, but I am here to help you create a business with systems that work for you so you can make more money than you need just by working part time. You know, I was a chronic hustle mode kind of guy and I want to share my experiences and mentors I've met along the way to help you reframe things to be the most effective as an entrepreneur. I wish I had this guidance and insight when I was younger. So that's what I'm doing here for you. Please share and enjoy.

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Yeah, it's great to be here.

Yeah, man. So I got, I got to throw it back to a few weeks back we were, we're hanging out on a I. Some yacht thing. San Diego Bay. Local mastermind. Saw you there. I know I've met you before, but I got to shout out our buddy Brad Castanzo for hooking this up and making it happen too. And, man, it was just laughs and good vibes from the. From the start, man. Fun conversation with you.

I loved it.

Yeah.

And you can't go ride. I mean, come on. Yacht on the bay. You can't go. Kind of wrong with the bike.

Not at all.

I didn't see the aliens, but I met some good people and I had a really good time and. And then, yeah, hanging out was nice.

I was waiting for you to say the A word, man. I was reeling you in, and I got.

I love how weirded out people are by it. And it runs the gamut because I. I'm a firm believer and I.

But.

But also because I study nature.

Yeah.

I'm like a nature nerd. I don't watch sports. I watch nature because that's how I learned to fight really well. And if you look at the octopus, if you look at cephalopod, if you look at all these different creatures roaming around in places we're not hanging out. Yeah, they're aliens, so totally take what you want from it, you know, Are they building aircraft and, you know, flying around? I don't know. But those animals are straight aliens, so that's my true belief. And if there's. That they're there.

Yeah.

There's plenty more where they came from.

And they're smart, man. There's octopus. Yeah. It's crazy.

Yeah. Do you think about it? I can't eat octopus because they're too smart and make. You know, that's not right. That's not right. Yeah.

It ain't right when something's as smart or smarter than us. Maybe. This doesn't fit. It doesn't feel good.

The aliens are looking down, going, that's not a good direction.

Not Frank, not Joe. All right, so. Damn.

Well.

Well, I. I gotta dive right into the animal thing, man. Like, so you observe animals in nature. So, like, is.

Yeah.

Why is that? Is it like a sense of calm? But obviously you're learning, but like. Yeah, tell me about that.

Yeah, it came as a sense of calm in that.

It was actually my stepdad Joe's kind of calming visual. He had been a Vietnam. He had a real bad mental experience. And so he was always looking for ways to chill out, you know, music, headphones. Nature was one of his ways. And because we didn't have a tv, it was Boxing sometimes or nature shows. I go and I'd massage his feet, he'd take a nap, and I'd watch nature shows. And I felt that, that, that calm, that vibe, that thing. And I'm like, I get it. You know, this is actually really nice. And now I carry it on. Yeah. So instead of turning on, you know, football, I'm watching, you know, tigers develop and studying their, their structure. And then when I got into fighting, I realized people didn't really know how to fight, but animals did, and they've been doing it forever. And so I started studying animals. A lot of the other martial arts styles do and have and emulate, but I started looking at the biomechanics of animals and seeing where, hey, where, where is our biomechanics similar? Where are their, you know, circles and games and where, you know, where can we add their knowledge into what's, you know, growing here with our animal?

Yeah.

In that way, the knowledge was, you know, incredibly helpful. In fact, one of our whole positions is cat fighting. Cat fighting is on your back, standing above you, and you can't get him off you. It's cat fighting. There's a whole game, there's a system, there's a theory, there's a process that we've developed because we studied cats, we studied the problem, and we realized, wait a minute, these guys are excelling from this position.

They're nimble. That makes a lot of sense. I mean, a lot of the, some of the videos I've seen of you, man, I mean, yeah, on your back, but that's where you excel. Right. And then.

Yeah, and if you watch fighting, you'll see the moves, you know, so you can't. It's the same.

It's so.

In that way, it's pretty. It was helpful. Yeah.

So, like, what are some other action? Like some things I'm just thinking of maybe the, the non fighters that are listening, watching, but even the fighters too. What other animal characteristics? Like the cat thing that makes a lot of sense.

Like on monkey, monkey's huge because monkey has the ability to roll inside of himself.

Okay.

You know, to forward, to front roll and create a ton of energy. So if you tried to jump on that, you would roll off with that energy. And so the monkey, the monkey roll is powerful because it completely reverses all of the balance and control and all the structure that has been built. And that's what monkeys do. They get chased down. They're like, they just roll and capture the person behind them, wrap them up, and then everything moves forward with that energy. And so I studied that and I was like, well, Monkey Roll built a whole system. Game theology. You'll see it in my fights. I go there and I'm not scared. I know the game. I know what happens, the positions and mechanics. I know where I'm weak, strong, because I studied it myself, animals practiced it, you know, and now we go, yeah, yeah. And then people go, oh, that's crazy. I'm like, nah, it's a monkey roll. Check out this video. They're like, no, that's even crazier.

Yeah, and it works.

It totally works. Yeah, it totally works. So good.

Is there something like, for. For the folk? Because I. I looked up, I had no clue. You had this. But for Dummies. What you mean you wrote the. The mix. Mixed Martial Arts for Dummies. Yeah, right.

MMA for Dummies. That w. Called me one day and they're like, listen, you're the guy. I'm like, I'm kind of a guy. And they're like, we want you to write the book. And so, yeah, so I did. And the, you know, the challenge in that is really.

Part of my challenge in. In studying fighting was simplifying all this knowledge and, you know, creating systems, processes, games. Like we talked about Monkey Catch, bringing it down to such a simple form that we could all play with it and have fun. And it wasn't so stressful as someone trying to, you know, bash your head, like, stuff is traumatizing, but it was in that exploration, I think, of turning things fun, making games, you know, understanding the difference and the end need, which was to get the knowledge.

Yeah, yeah. And I'm just thinking when someone's wanting to learn fighting or even self defense, or whatever, myself included, it's like you get in your head, right? Oh, yeah, It's. It's probably not a head game. So, I mean, obviously, yes, there is that too. But, like, where would. I'm just thinking now I'm curious on this. Like, on the beginner's side of things, where would someone who are relating to systems processes, like, I don't know, the perfect question, but like, where do you start as someone who wants to get MMA for Dummies?

Yeah, it starts there, then it goes to Google. And then you show up at your local martial arts class, find the stuff you like to do, because it really is a personal development of your whole body. And, you know, I thought, because this is how it was laid out to me in martial culture, and an explanation. We were trying to find the perfect fighting style and create A system that would solve the problem in science. Right. We're all predictable, right?

No.

Scientists.

Yeah. We're so smart.

And then I came into a culture where you don't share information. We don't know why it works. This was from a different, you know, we don't understand biomechanics, all these different things that weren't what we needed. And so it was really hard to get the information because it was a culture where you don't ask questions. It was, you know, all these different mechanics that were in the way of. Okay, listen, I just need some data here, buddy, some help. But I think what most people don't understand is your body's a machine. You can make it to anything you want. You could be in fight shape, you can be in couch potato shape, you can be in marathon shape, you can do anything you want with it. And it's a wonderful, perfect machine. And if you care for it, literally last a hundred years. Oh, yeah, most of us just don't care for it. And then it lasts about 73 years on average.

You nailed it. Yeah, I'm like, I just saw that stat the other day.

Because that's what happens. That's where we're at. And so, yeah, it's beauty of Martial arts is it's. Each day you're looking at it, you know, understanding it, studying it, talking to somebody about studying your body. Look at, you know, if you look at nature crazy like me, you know, you participate in all these things that help heal you. Yeah. Keep strong.

It is. And, and the fact that you're studying, but you're also sharing because I know, you know, with the, with the warriors code that you're doing with, you know, different business folks, executives, whatever, you know, like you're, you know, now you're able to. And obviously writing that book too, put it in a way that's probably clarifies in your brain too, right? Like why all this stuff works. Pass it on.

Yeah, yeah. Well, you hit on the head because it was so hard to get the information, then to practice it, then to go perform it live when nobody really knew what the information was. So imagine you're like, all right, Your team is like, all right, we're going to war. It's life or death. We're not sure if it works or not.

Good luck.

Yeah, we're not exactly sure, but theoretically, you know, it should work. And, you know, that's what I tell, like law enforcement communities when I speak in their community. I'm like, guys, that's a terrible feeling. Like you can't send people out there like that. I don't want to go out like that. That was horrible to experience that psychologically and know that nobody knew. And it was like, I was going to figure it out in real time. I'm like, dude, that's way too much stress, by the way. That's what our law enforcement officers go through daily. Yep. They're dealing with it in real time, underprepared with. It's just so unfortunate. But. Yeah, can you imagine that? You go to work, you know, idea what's going on? It's life or death.

Oh, my God. Every day, like, it's just a ball of anxiety and uncertainty. We all want that, right? Hell, no. Jesus.

Yeah. But it goes to the development of psychology. Right. You know, because that's the stuff that makes you, you know, really strong mentally because you either break or you carry on. And then you develop all the tools. And that's really what's in the code, is all the tools, you know, how to survive and perform and. And move around at this incredibly high level without dying, breaking, you know, losing your health, losing your mind, losing your family, you know, all the stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's. That's where I see the value in both teaching the warriors code and then living it. I mean, I. I live it every day, wake up every day, program my life, meditate, visualize, you know, go do my thing. And. Yeah, I mean, I made it this far.

I was gonna say, man, because I know. I know a few other guys in mma, you know, I got close with Martin Campman, was a buddy of mine for a while. I gotta show this. I've never showed it off. My. My sister actually made this years ago.

No, it's a.

You see that?

Awesome.

Yeah. Even seen it. So I got to say, like, this will. This will be sent to him.

Yeah.

But I just remember, like, I got to sit front row at one of these. His match. He ended up getting beat up pretty good, unfortunately, but just pure respect for the sport. Like, first of all, I'm like, how the hell to get front row? Right by. All the bloody rags to my feet, blood splicing on you, literally right there. I'm like, holy.

But super grateful. And I'm just thinking of. I mean, there's so many questions here. Angles. But I think of mindset that goes into that warrior, you know, the octagon. But really any octagon or ring of life. Anyone listening, you know, it's anything of.

High performance, if you can. It's easy to perform Low. Like, it's easy to just chill and not do anything. You don't need to prepare for that. Just roll in. Hey, what's up, team? You know, it's just got to be a nice guy. H. You know, be, be, be fun, you know, interesting to be around. But if you really want stuff done, it's a whole different thing, you know, for sure. And it's about execution and, you know, process and systems and, and you know, that is a journey in and of itself. I don't recommend fighting and learning that stuff. Do that, do that in business, do that in school, do that. You know, group settings. You know, you don't want to learn that stuff under that type of pressure because then you really need to develop, you know, really advanced, you know, self care and mind development. And, you know, you really got to go to the next level of sort of mind, body, spirit care.

Yeah, man. And that's where I want to go to that really quick because I'm big on all the mind. Yeah. Meditation, all that breath work. I got a whole bunch of habits myself. But I look at you and we're hanging out. I'm like, dudes in shape. You know, you might. I don't know if you're as bulked as back in the day, but it doesn't matter. You're fit as hell. Yeah, you're here, you're happy. Like, you're always smiling, cutting jokes everywhere, so you're obviously doing something right. Dude, walk me through, like, I don't know your top. I'm sure you got a bunch of stuff like top three. I don't know, actual things that make you. You that, that you feel like. Can also create like this rock solid leader ultimately in life, you know, and a warrior, however you want to show.

Up as that warrior mine. Super simple, not rocket science. I wake up each day and I decide, plan and go get what I need for my mind, body and spirit every day. Every day. I need to work out, I need to eat good, I need to stretch, I need to be in the sunshine. I need to have all that stuff. Or guess what? I don't feel good. And no, neither does anybody else. No other human feels good unless they do all that stuff. And if you do, you feel amazing and you have a, you know, twofold energy and mental, you know, capacities. And most people skip right over that every day. Right on the weekend. They try to. And it's a makeup. Ah, I didn't have. I should do this. It's every day is. This is a machine to carry you on your journey. What kind of. What kind of car you want to drive? I want to drive a Lamborghini. I want to look amazing. Even if I fall over dead tomorrow, I want to just look him maybe like, look at me. Look great.

You look good.

Look at.

That's right.

All right, so the body care. And this is where, you know, everyone skips the whole society. 72.

What?

That's ridiculous. I mean, the president of Zambia lived to 99, 98.

That doesn't stress of being a president.

Yeah. In a third world country. It doesn't make any sense. We're dying like this. These are all diseases we've created from inactivity and attention to our body. Cancer, all these things. 20, 30 years it takes. And we're just putting the time in to build it, not to avoid it. And then we treat it instead of avoiding it. And we do all this stupid stuff and we know it and we just ignore it. But if you woke up every day and you invested, everything would change. That's just the body. And then you go to your mind, which controls all things. So each day then. What do I need to develop for my mind today? Yeah, and that Meditation, visualization. I have to learn stuff. I gotta understand things. I gotta put that into motion. So my machine is working and I go, that's super interesting. I wonder how we can solve this problem. And the only way to do that is to keep feeding that mechanic whatever it is. You know, I've studied religion for 10 years. It fascinated me. But now I understand them all. Different cultures and different beliefs and different, you know, social commitments. And I understand people because I'm like, bro, I read your Bible. I gotta get it. Yeah, I understand how you feel that way. And this is how I feel. And now it's like, hey, like, that's cool. Instead of like, ah, yours is weird, mine's weird. And it's like it's all the same stuff. But if I feed this and I don't let it get gummed up and stuck in a. In a rut or, you know, not growing, then my mind, I know, will guide the body the way we go. And then each day I will focus on my spirit. And spirit for me is family and love and sharing and community and faith and that whole interaction of humanity. Because why else are we here? Yeah, anyway, that's what we're here, right? And if you believe in God, why would God create me and give me the skill to kill every human being on the planet? But he just sends me around to help people like how does that make any sense?

Good point.

What kind of madness is that? But the truth is, I. I just want to love and help people. And by the way, I could literally kill most human beings snapping my finger.

Yeah.

And we're all like that. We are this wonderful passion and ability, but we're just not. Mind, body, spirit. If you, if you hit it every day and nothing else, but put in five minutes, you know, each day, you don't have to do it in a row. I mean, space it out, whatever. For me, it's a morning thing. Wake up, I come due, I go, oh, we're live. Yes.

Yes. Made it. Do a body assessment and how am I? What's going on? How we doing? And then I go right into, you know, how do I feel? What's going on in the brain? What were my dreams? Let's clear that out. Let's get a visual. What do I need for my mind today? And it's like planning. Yeah, I got to get my work done. I got to get that stuff out of the way so I can go play. I got to get, you know, I gotta get these mechanics taken care of so I can go screw around. And then, you know, the rest of it is what I need for my mind. Fill it, fill it, challenge it, play with it, you know, learn stuff. Yeah, but if you just, I mean, it's a, It's a little bit every day, you know, and most people just wait too long and they try to make it up.

That's a good point. Yeah, they're playing catch up. They ain't just figuring something out.

That's kind of when you're sore and you're tired. Ah. It doesn't mean. No, he's just a tiny bit. And the studies say, I mean, it's nominal how much you do.

Yeah.

So, you know, the 90 plus study basically said you could just kind of do a tiny bit of stuff and not worry about it and you'll live to be 90 plus and be just fine.

And I've been hearing even neurologists talking about it's more visualization than anything.

It's your brain staying active. And then the other side of that is, hey, if you're not feeding your brain or the right nutrients, you know, if you're not feeding that into your body, you know, it's not going to be, It's. It's slowly going to degrade and not be its best. Especially if you try to push it and ask it to do things and function quickly. Nope.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, dude, like, you Mentioned play and it's like it comes across. I think anyone watching is going to see that, you know, Frank Shamrock is all about play and fun. Yeah. Tell me, like, because I think now more than ever, I feel like we're in a culture. I don't know, it's all the stuff that's happened, let's say the handful years, whatever other external factors, but it's like, feel like everyone's so fucking serious now, you know, and there's, there's. And maybe it's a disconnection. It could be a whole bunch of factors, but. Yeah. What's your thought around play?

Well, I mean, humans are made to play. Like we watch animals. Animals play birds, cats, there. Everybody's playing because it's a. A social interplay that builds stuff. And, and when you're playing, you're relaxed and you're comfortable and you're having fun. And the secret to really good fighting is to make it fun and relaxed and comfortable, even though it's the most scary thing in the world.

And you're laughing the whole time. Like, even Tito, you know, you're smiling.

When you do that. Then it becomes a joyous experience. And then your training and preparation just carry you through whatever it is. But everybody, when they play, relaxes and enjoys and shares more. And so, like, if you look at my fighting system, Shamrock mma, we got games for everything because it was only when we could find the real core need. And, you know, because like the leg game, you know, attacking someone's leg and breaking someone's leg is possible when you get twice as strong as them, you get two legs on one, then you can physically, mechanically break someone's leg. Until then, it's quite the challenge because a leg is as strong as another leg.

Yeah.

So leg equals leg. You can need to be twice as strong if you ever want to be in a position to break it. It's as big as a baseball bat. So the problem is the minute you touch someone's foot, all they can think about is, oh, my God, he's going to break my leg. And so they go crazy and they forget all about the leg position and all the mechanics that make the leg break. And so we took that and made it into a game, the leg game. What's it really about? Getting into the leg position? Nothing else else. No holds, no danger. So it's a silly, fun game that trains. The most important thing, the only thing that matters is in that get in that whole thing is position. If that person doesn't have position, they just physically can't break your leg. It's impossible. It's an impossibility. If you win the game, it's impossible. Like, all right, well, that's technically impossible.

Yeah.

Everybody's at the end. They're going to break my foot. They're going to break my foot. They're not over here at the solution. If I never got there, they would never break my foot. Foot. So why don't I just never get there?

Yeah. Yeah.

When I play a game where getting there is fun and interactive and I understand everything about getting there or not, and that was just the mindset I brought. And everyone's like, what are you talking about? It's crazy. And I'm like, no, I think it's right. I think that's what we should be doing. Playing and learning this super serious thing in a way we can develop very, very quickly because it's life or death team, and I'm putting the risk out there.

So it feels like, yeah, you use your smarts, your seriousness to really figure out what is the one core thing that you should be focusing on, and then play like a crazy man around that thing and get really good.

And what do we do in business? We've got a crazy fun idea. Team, Team, come over here. Look at this. What? That's crazy. And you're like, no, no. And you get everybody fired up and use their skills, their brains, their knowledge, their network, the fun. And we all have fun with it.

Yeah.

And sometimes it's a great play session, and sometimes we all go, oh, man, didn't work out. That's why I said, let's play it something else, you know, because in my opinion, business should be the same. Yeah, it's serious and it's money, but, you know, you should be doing business with your friends. You should be doing business with people you want to hang out with, because those are your people. And you know what else you got right?

Them are the aliens you pick. Maybe both.

Not yet. Not yet. But when they come, you know, we'll be in front because they're going to be like, listen, these guys are believing.

See, we're putting it out there so that we're saving ourselves here.

And they get a DM in my inbox, you'll be like, frank, we need to talk.

For sure. Me too.

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Yeah.

You know, so, yeah, I think it's.

Just, it sounds comical, but it's actually, you know, science. I think I was emotionally stunted as a child and so I think I'm probably like 8 years old secretly. Everyone else is like 12 or 16. You know, I don't know how old you feel at your age.

It's probably. Yeah, probably older than 8. Yeah.

Yeah. My best friend was just, you know, she's like 65. She's like, yeah, I still feel like I'm 1213, you know, because they still, you still feel that way inside, regardless of how far it goes. I feel like a mate, you know.

That's a good frame, man. I've never thought of that.

But I'm like, yeah, like I'm eight.

Yeah. Probably more like 11ish. Like too old, man. I wish I were more like eight.

But you know how when you ra. You know, you get in fights with your best friends? You know, it's just things are just, you know, because you're not, you haven't really developed yet. So that process has been a lot for me to develop. You know, it's been now 15 years and I've been like, wow, I guess I am different.

So you, you, yeah, you probably realize that well beyond.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'd see. I mean, when I was a kid, I saw a million psychiatrists and psychology. I mean, I had real emotional issues. And no, we couldn't figure out why. We finally figured out why I was being locked in closets and abused and, you know, I was living in a really abusive environment. And I think I was really smart, probably really energetic and probably really, you know, positive. And I think all of that, you know, kind of made me, you know, do bad things and explode and feel really uncomfortable.

Yeah.

And so, yeah, I mean, I left home when I was 11 for the first time, but throwing rocks at a train, Felony, state of California. Don't do it. And then, yeah, the first time I went to juvenile hall, met with kids and kind of got an understanding and it was all broken. And I made up my mind, you know, I'm gonna leave my eight year old brain. I was like, we're out. Here we go, team. You got this.

I actually did run away from the crisis center with a girl and another guy. And it was literally one of those moments because they were like, I'm kind of scared and I don't know what to do. And I was like, no, no, we got this. Come on, guys.

Yeah, they need a leader. That was you?

Well, oh, man.

You weren't feeling safe? I mean, that's the, that's the human thing.

Yeah. And that's the other thing that I really, you know, I was just consulting this, you know, law enforcement community and I was like, people want to feel safe.

Yep.

And either you provide it or we provide it. You know what I mean? We see, we seek it out. And I was like, there's a, you know, there's such a value and a comfort and, you know, feeling safe. I walk around, I'm Never like, oh, this is sketchy. Like, if it's sketchy, I'm across the street and I worry about it. But I'm never like, oh, I. I don't, you know, I don't feel safe here physically.

Right.

I'm like, yeah, I'm kill that guy. Here's what I'll do. You know, biomechanic.

Is going, yep, I've.

Already worked it out. You.

But, you know, just, you know, we're talking about, you know, mindset and being a leader and putting yourself in that position, and it's really stressful. And if you don't have that safety feeling, you don't have that. You know, if I'm walking to work and I'm terrified all the way to work and then I walk in, I'm like, all right, lead team leadership. It doesn't work like that. You're coming with all those feelings and it's, it's transferable. And, and so, you know what I was trying to tell them? I was like, it's martial arts, guys. It's for you, for them, like, for all of us. It's. What you need is martial arts. What they need is martial arts. We should pull everyone together and be like, hey, team, what do you think about Mark? Seriously, that's literally trying to get this. Because they're like, no, the public's against us. And, you know, everybody's got their side. I'm like, that's not it. I'm so we all need the same thing. You know, why don't we just figure out a way to have the conversation and start doing it and then I gotta feel it work itself out by the time we're halfway.

100%.

And that's where. Love you sure. By the way, I saw some SD rock in there. Go pods.

Yeah, it was like the mastermind I met, you know, Martin Campman, just throwing it back to him really quick, was an entrepreneur, like, mastermind thing where he was showing other people martial arts, you know, MMA moves and self defense. And it was play. It was all play. And it was exactly that. Like, everybody, let's move some, you know, learn some simple things. What we got to know about our bodies first, about others. But I was like, this is like the best way to learn and build confidence. You know, your mindset, you're obviously learning from someone who knows a her, like, whoever. So I think, I think it's an incredible approach, what you're doing. And for law enforcement especially, it's the best.

And we use bare knuckle boxing as Our medium for the woods.

Wow.

Bare knuckle by. They're like this.

All right. You just go into it.

Yeah. The reason why is it takes really detailed and close communication to do bare knuckle boxing with. With someone. You know, because we're punching at each other, we're catching each other's punches, we're learning the proper range, we're understanding, you know, position, movement. And so literally, someone is punching with a bare knuckle towards their faces. These are, you know, CEOs, high level.

But real, real kind of environment, right?

Yeah, that's real life. Because you can't walk into a boardroom and just hit everybody with the right hand because everybody's going to be pissed off about what you just did. You gotta, you know, work your way in there, throw some.

I'm already seeing the promo video of the warriors code. It's just a boardroom. Everybody's stiff and it just.

Yeah. Well, I can tell you where it's going for me is, is I. I Google hired me and I wrote the program for them, actually finished it for them, and then we launched it in Hong Kong. And then the end of it is they do bare knuckle. You know, two people come together and do a bare knuckle match.

Wow.

And so I never told them that it wasn't. They weren't going to actually fight each other. The whole time, we're just leading up to it and the assumption is, you know, hey, we're getting all the mechanics and preparation, everything's ready to do the thing, and at the end is the thing. And so when we finally get there, you know, I'm like. Like these guys socking each other. This is not.

So we walked through it in a different way and became a visual, you know, visualization, all this different stuff. But I want to take that experience and put it into, like the metaverse or something where you can have the experience with a colleague and get socked and be like, oh, wait a minute. Okay.

Yeah, that.

You're right. That doesn't make sense. And then you guys can talk about that. Hey, man, I was going for your hand, but you kind of moved your hands out. Oh, oh, yeah, that's right. Because that's where the exchange happens. It's wonderful when you do it live because everyone is so terrified. Boy, they're right. Communicate.

You ready? Okay, here we go. Here we go, Here we go. Like, there's. So.

Are you ready? Sure.

Well, it's so funny, but it instantly wiped all this stuff away. Fear and, you know, anxieties and, you know, as people watching me and all this stuff, it's like, no, you need to focus or you're going to get punched in the grill.

Yeah, for sure. It's going to happen some way in life.

Right? Right. What happens when you walk into a boardroom and you get ambushed and you got to, you know, explain the whole quarter? And that's kind of what happens. That's. That's the old right hand.

I mean, that's where it, like, I feel like it comes around for anyone thinking, like, how the hell does this fighting thing relate to what I'm doing? You know, I'm. Whatever do, but it's like, it's literally facing adversity face on, head on in. In the most terrifying, animalistic way that we can do as humans, I would imagine.

Yeah, that's it. And all these skills of meditation, visualization, you know, relaxation of, you know, stretching, you know, body strength, all these skills I use for broadcasting, acting, business, it's all because it's always the same process. Huh? Big meeting, huh? Gotta ask for $10 million.

Negative board, huh? We lost money online.

Yeah.

Okay. All right. I know what to do. I know what needs to be done. What kind of state do I want to go in there? I'm spending three minutes of just complete visuals, meditation, wipe the board clean. I'm visualizing every, you know, every bullet line that I know needs to be said and swallowed and dealt with. And I'm putting myself in a place of, you know, complete calm and comfort.

Yeah.

And I walk in and do my thing, and the same thing, if I were going live on CBS. They're counting it down over here. 30 seconds to television. I'm like, oh, good. You know, let's get focused. Let's get relaxed. Let's get the best, you know, this machine can perform. Right? The body, the mind. Let's get it ready and then let it go. Who knows what's going to happen?

So, man, I love. And I'm just thinking of, all right, I got to take it to ufc, of course. And you're. You are a legend of ufc. And it's incredible, the fact that you. You were the first to. To get the. The middle shoot, which you. You say, I know. Yeah. Incredible. And you fought it off, what, four times, I think it was. Right. And retired as a champion, which, like, that doesn't happen often.

No.

So the. And this is all. I'm just thinking of the mindset, like, the. The fact that you are building yourself up and then retaining that, I feel like is so tough there. And then even the mindset that comes after that phase in your life, that era is done.

Yeah.

What are some like, specific things that stand out to you in that journey? It's almost like the build up, the. Not flat, but like you're retaining and obviously they're all coming for you. So.

Yeah.

And then the after fact, like, I feel like it's all a little different, but probably similar, but you tell me.

Yeah, I mean, similar.

I came into the sport when it was in its massive decline. Like we just got kicked off a cable. So, you know, I walked into a business that lost 90% of its, you know, customers. Like, hey guys, how are we doing? And they're like, not so good team. Oops.

Yeah, yeah.

Like it's not good right now. So I came in and inherited a ton of, you know, sort of problems.

Yeah.

I got sold a business that didn't have any customers and needed and needed an entire market change, a national education and a rule set built in before it would then reacquire its customers. So I just happened to be the knucklehead who showed up at that time. And so it wasn't just that I was fighting, I was also talking to cable networks. What do we need, guys? Come on, guys. We're like, how do we get in now? I'm an athlete. Tell them a story. So I had all these different roles because the industry couldn't support what I needed. I needed a ton of money to fight and get out. This is dangerous and scary and terrifying and, you know, I understood prize fighting, I understood the potentials and I'd seen what the sport had done before it got kicked off. So I went back, I read everything, read the history. I was like, wait a minute, people like this, they're just not allowed to like it right now until we change it a little bit. And then I bet you they like it again and nothing. Everything will be fine. And so I literally spent years trying to figure that out. What, what, what do they need? And not just from a rules and a commission and all that standpoint, but from a messaging standpoint. You know, I was a voice out there, you know, like, hey, no, it's, it's martial arts, it's, you know, community fitness, you know, it's these other things. And we also compete professionally and show our, you know, so I was trying to reframe it all the time because we were coming out of cage fighting and human fighting. I mean, just really bad visuals and words attached to what the sport was. I spent, you know, Five years, changing the message. And that fight, you know, in that time, I grew to such a value, and the UFC couldn't support it, so I really retired to get out of my contract. It's the only way out. Yes. I got out, broke contract, and then I was able to kind of reset all the pieces. So that's like round one, then round two, which was the next five years, was kind of all that growth and necessary growth, and me running around and figuring it out, starting different leagues, you know, having different partners, you know, doing different promotions.

And then. And then we got back on television, you know, in the final five years. And so my career went 16 years. It really was broken up into three, the final five. I made all the money, and I started my league, and, you know, I helped develop and grow and guide the sport to a position where then I could really capitalize on it. And my biggest skill was I knew how it worked. And I had these still because I wasn't too old.

Yeah.

So I was like, okay, I didn't make money. Round one, I made a little money in round two. Round three, I think I could do it. Get out, because this is the sport you get out of, you know, hang out.

No, you don't. And the fact they were 16 years.

Yeah, yeah, right there. Like, 35. I'm like, oh, my back. What's up? Good Lord.

Yeah. And obviously your brain's working well, but at the same time, I know there's some stuff you're involved in that I. I'm so curious about, like, what happens after, but maybe that's.

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I can tell you for sure. You know, for me.

Yeah, finally. I finally did it, and I started the league, and then I was able to exit that. And then, you know, the broadcast thing, like, all these different roles just ke, you know, I'm like, yeah, I'll do them all. You know, line them up. And then. And then we had some consolidation in the industry, and UFC bought Strikeforce. And so then I was literally just paid to sit at home because I was the brand spokesman for Strikeforce. So when UFC acquired. They acquired my contracts. So for you, for a couple years, I was paid to stay at home. Not saying they don't talk to nobody.

That feels great. Yeah. I mean, I was like, this is.

The greatest thing ever. So I literally. But that's when I started realizing, like, hey, man, there's some stuff wrong with me. And, you know, I pains, and I. I had sleep apnea, like, a bunch of different physical issues that I wasn't even aware of because I was always trying to heal and catch up and prepare and be ready and perform and. And so then I just spent time trying to heal myself because when I woke up in the morning, I did the body check. I was like, oh, wait a minute, that's not good. Why is that crooked? And why is this hurt? And so, you know, I spent years trying to fix my back and then, you know, my head issues in my upper cervical. Everything got smashed. I got thrown on my head a few times.

I just had to go through this kind of relearning and rebalancing. My body was built to fight nothing else. I didn't walk, shop, hang out. I didn't, you know, go to the movies. I thought I trained and I rested. I didn't do other stuff. That's why I have three wives. They're not into that. They want to go out to dinner, they want to hang out. You want to shop? I'm like, nope, I'll be on the couch. Ah, right here.

You know.

You man.

Yeah, it's super focused, right? But that's how I was able to do it and still, you know, perform at the highest level, you know, and heal and, and do all those things. And, you know, eventually that just ran out of, you know, ran out of youth.

Yeah, yeah, it happens. But I mean, you obviously still have that 8 year old smiling laugh and have a damn good time.

I still feel like I'm eight. But I was like, wait a minute, okay, maybe I am 40 years old.

All right, fine.

My coach, Eric Deuce was my coach at Stanford when I. He was an assistant coach at Stanford. I never wrestled with Stanford, but I wrestled at Stanford with the Stanford wrestling team and Eric. Anyways, when he turned 40, I was, I don't know, 27, like just killing everybody. And one day I get him in a, like a leg lock or something. He goes, whoa, whoa, 40, don't do that. And I go, what? He goes, 40, don't do that. I go, oh. So from that moment, I couldn't put him in any holds or anything. He's like, nope, 40, don't do that. But I understood. I was all, hey, wait a minute. That actually makes a lot of sense. He's like, my joints will not do that. That's not good.

So what like I'm thinking of. Well, you said a couple of things because it's weird. Like I'm almost 40 and I've had some pretty gnarly back injuries. Popping is doing stupid deadlifts. Yeah, fix Myself though, did all sorts of stuff to, you know, bring open the spine, slip that thing back in there. Feel great now. But yeah.

Oh, good.

There's a shit ton of people with back pains. And yeah, this is totally a side topic, but not really because I feel like when you're in pain like that, everything goes to shit. I remember my mental, mental state sucked. I was angry. I mean, I'm standing now, but like, I couldn't, I could stand by, lock up. But what are some things that you learned through healing yourself? Because we're all dealing with ailments, but like, are there some things that just stand out that you're like, you gotta.

Do this, you gotta be able to balance your body and your spine. It's just. And then, and then your musculature. And if you don't, then you'll just slowly grow into whatever creature or structure you're.

Forming in.

Right, True.

Yeah, yeah.

It's literally how it works. So you'll grow into whatever that is. If you're not every day going, align, structure, strengthen. Because as soon as you get old, everything starts. Yeah. And so that's 40 on, by the way, that the entire machine goes and starts nose diving. So if you're not lifting, balancing, strengthening, elongating, then you're just shrinking, contracting and bending. And that's why you see people old, because they're not every day doing this. And at some point they're stuck now in the new position. And that's their new structure, the hunched over.

Yeah.

You know, and you see it growing over the years because every day they don't get up and go, is my spine erect? Elongated? Am I balanced? Do I got strength? How are we going to go? You know, what are we doing today for the old machine? And because they would have noticed 30 years earlier when things starting to curl and got a little crooked, they'd have been like, wait, wait, wait, rebalance, restructure. What's going on here? So that's where we don't, you know, we don't think. Because we're not doing it every day, but every day it should be, hey, what's. I mean, this is the vehicle. There's no other, no other option. There's no other car. You can't lease money.

That'd be nice.

But nope, you can't buy them used. Like, you just get ones brand new.

Yeah. I mean, if that ain't a wake up call for anyone listening. Because I hear a lot of my, some of my friends who even the healthy ones, you know, but if There's a pain and I know it's very easy to just slip into that rut and just like, oh, I can't move like I used to or find some other excuse. It's like, oh, there's always a way. And it, at least from my side, it was a lot of work. There's a lot of consistency, simple stuff, consistent.

Yeah, yeah, it just takes. Western medicine is backwards. We treat problems.

Because of symptoms, but we don't do anything about them or do anything corrective. It's just backwards. Instead we should just be like, all right, man, I don't want those problems. And that's the five that kills everybody. Why don't I just do these things that stops them. And like we said earlier, you don't do anything. You go walk for 10 minutes. Like, it's so simple to create vascular flow, blood flow, muscle flow, and most people do zero. And so those machines slowly break down. Takes about 20 years.

Yeah, yeah, they're broken.

And you got type 2 diabetes and you got heart issues and you got, you get all these problems because 20 years earlier needed to start breaking a sweat every day, stretching out, getting your spine right.

It's, man, it's.

Yeah, nobody talks about it. And ah, what are you doing? And everyone gets isolated in one area. You know, hey, it's about yoga and nothing else. And so, yeah, it's about, it's about some yoga and it's about some, you know, muscular needs and it's about some martial arts needs and it's about some diet needs, these needs, you know, because that's what the machine needs. Nothing else. Nobody else. Your machine. My machine. Your machine's different than my machine. Your machine special. One of a kind. One in, what is it, seven billion? It's ridiculous.

At least.

It's extraordinary. And all you got to do is care for it. Live 20 years longer. 25, 30 years longer with just the tiniest bit of maintenance. Imagine if your car did that.

You'd be so happy. You'd be like, wait a minute, I'll drive this car for 60 years. Not a problem.

I'm not going to call it a beater, because it's not. I feel good in this thing.

Like this thing some. It's 115 years old. I'm still tracked.

You're damn right. I feel proud. I'm gonna pull up to that, man.

So good. But yeah, it's mindset, though. The Western mindset's not like that. You know, Eastern is, is there, but then they, you know, they lack nutrients and other things. And so, you know. But the collective knowledge. We got it. It's all there. AI's got it. Ask them, they'll tell you what we got. Need to do.

Yeah. The right inputs and then, boom, you got a.

What do I need to live to be a hundred? Hello? Follow the course. Not that hard.

Most people do nothing.

That's it, man. I don't think a better way to honestly wrap it up here, because that's a pretty big exclamation point on, like, get yourself right, you know? Because then you'll show up great, and you will be a legend in whatever you choose to be in.

Crush it. Or you'll fail miserably, like I did, and just smile and laugh and be like, sorry, team. Let's try something else.

That's a superpower, man.

Yeah.

Frank, you're a badass, bro. And it's been fun getting to know you even more. Hope to see you again, cruising around San Diego somewhere. I'm sure we will.

Heck, yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah, dude, give me the. Give me the download of where people should go. Reach out. I know we mentioned the warriors code. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I am at Frank Shamrock everywhere and@frank shamrock.com, hit me up. Social media, website, whatever. I'm always out and about, mainly at the beach.

As you should be. Get on those boards, man.

I got a lot of catching up to do. That's one of the things I'm like, ah, man, that was a dumb move. That was a.

Hey, me too. I grew up in San Diego.

Greatest. Like, one of the greatest surfers on the planet. I go, bro, can you give me some dips? Like, I could have been like, right from the source, and I'm like, nah, I won't need that. Who needs that?

I mean, what, you. You helped train BJ Penn as well, right? So he's out in Hawaii, I think.

Yeah, I mean, he could have taught me. Anybody could adopt me.

Exactly. Yeah.

No, no. Lesson learned.

You got that extra 20 years plus. So you're all good, man. Yeah, don't sweat it.

All right, brother. It was. It was a pleasure. Thank you very much, man.

Yeah, my pleasure. Have a good one, brother.

You too. All right, all right. That's what I got for you today. And remember, it's not all about living to work. It's all about working to live if you need to do the work. But, you know, work can be fun, and it should be fueling for your life. So if you enjoyed what you just heard, if you got some nuggets of wisdom that you want to share or you're just noodling on right now, Please go tell others. The way that people find this show and how how you can help others get their aha moments is through word of mouth. So if it is telling your friend, telling your family, send an email to your list, writing a review or whatever it might be. Everything helps. So thank you so much for listening to the Hustle and Flowchart podcast and I will see you next time.