Chris Bumstead (5x Mr. Olympia): “I Started to CRY”! How Your SHAME is Tied to Your CHILDHOOD!

I want to be a better Mr. Olympia. I want to enjoy it more. I want to enjoy the journey, be more present. And it always almost brings you back to your childhood. But I pulled up a picture of me as a kid. But I remember looking at it backstage, like, before getting on and just starting to cry a little bit. I mean, like, if that kid could have imagined being me right now, you know, he is your reigning defending five-time Olympia Champion. You're going to hear the crowd go wild. Pumpster! When I won my first Olympia, all I felt was relief that it was over. I didn't really feel joy and happiness and all these things because there was a lot of stress around the Olympia that I was just suppressing. All these fears are in my brain right now and I never even let them come up to think about them. I would just put them down. Never spoke about it. Never spoke about it. And just letting that out, I just like immediately felt better. But what people don't realize is that when you feel that pain, that shame and insecurity, that is that little boy. It's the same person. There's no separation there, you know?

Wow, man. This is powerful. I'm so happy that you're having this conversation right now. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest, the inspiring Chris Bumstead in the house. My man.

What's going on?

Good to see you, man. Happy to be here. Very excited about this. And the thing that I'm excited the most to talk about is the first thing you said when we embraced and hugged each other. within a few moments, you said that you just got off a therapy call with your wife. And I was just like, I love this.

7 a.m. therapy call.

I was like, what? 7 a.m. therapy call. We're here in Vegas. And I was just like, I was so happy to hear this. One, because I've been doing therapy for years. And when I talk about therapy with people, I really look at it as emotional coaching. It's really a coach. that supports me in understanding and navigating my emotions, my feelings, my thoughts, and helps me improve who I am.

Yeah.

And so when you said this, I just thought to myself, this is awesome because you to most people are kind of the epitome of what a masculine man should look like or that a lot of men are striving to.

Yeah.

Mr. Olympia, five-time champion, you know, jacked. chiseled, strong beard. You're like, you're a man, right?

Bald now.

But you talk, the first thing you said is you're going to therapy, which I'm just such a big fan of. So can you tell me when did you first start going to therapy? Did you go alone ever, or did you do it with your wife originally when you were dating or how did this start for you?

I mean, I have a bit of a cheat code when I was younger because my mom was a social worker, not exactly a therapist, but she was very encouraging of getting help like that and therapy and all that stuff if you needed it. And I never really entertained it when I was younger, but it was more so when I started getting into the competitive bodybuilding world and going through a lot of pressure and stress and managing things. And then in 2018, I got kind of sick. And then in 2019, I was just kind of scared about being sick and I was trying to balance competing. Should I, should I not? And I My brain was just pulling me in all these different directions where I didn't know where to go. And I would just like, my mom always told me that like a therapy session can just be like a sounding board sometimes to organize your own thoughts, whether or not the therapist is there to actually give you insight. It helps you find your own insight as well. It's almost like a cheat code of journaling, you know, especially the crazier life you live. I imagine yourself traveling around, doing podcasts, me bodybuilding, everything. It's sometimes it's hard to actually sit down and kind of reflect inward about how you're feeling, what's going on, and what's not making you happy, what's making you sad, vice versa, and how to manage your life in the best way. And therapy is a great way to just put all that on the table, organize your thoughts, and create a game plan for life to put yourself in the direction you actually want to be going rather than just running around aimlessly. So that's really kind of how it started. My wife now, Courtney, was seeing a therapist when we were first dating, and she reach out to me and she was like, you know, I can help you with some almost like performance coaching stuff, like you said.

Ah, she got it to the right angle.

Exactly. So like, I can help you enjoy your Olympia more and be better at handling that pressure and job. I'm like, all right, that's got me, you know, that's got me hooked. I'll try it. And it was funny because, and I mean, I can give a lot of examples of this and other people I've spoken to too, but you often go into therapy because of a problem in front of you. or a stress about this or, you know, I want to be a better Mr. Olympia. I want to enjoy it more. I want to enjoy the journey, be more present and not be so stressed out about it. And it always almost brings you back to your childhood. And I'm sure you've done therapy. I know you've experienced that. Everybody who's done real therapy with a good therapist, you know it all goes back to your childhood. And I did a really cool podcast with some Navy SEALs. Like you talk about masculine, like the biggest gangsters on the planet. Like these were like tier one Navy, navy seals, and they were talking about how they've done some work as well, and almost all the navy seals they spoke to when they're going through their stuff, they expect it to be all their trauma from the war and losing their brothers and all these things like that, which obviously hurt them greatly, but a lot of their wounds come from their childhood too. And that be able to heal those allow them to move forward through all the other stuff they lived through in their life too. So, I started to notice that as well, and it plays into every aspect of your life, your relationship, your relationship with yourself, everything. So we started performance based, trying to be better at Olympia, and it slowly went back to my childhood. And I was like, I had the perfect childhood. My parents are still together. I was happy. I was good. I was good. I was great. And they were like, all right, sure, let's try and unravel some things. And the more I unraveled, I was like, you know, I still didn't have.

Anything, like, horrible happen to me, which.

I think a lot of people think you didn't have a big T. Exactly. Just because you didn't get hit in the face with a bat doesn't mean your head doesn't You know, like it's it's hard to kind of tell people that because they think nothing ever happened to me, which is exactly how I felt.

Yeah, you had loving parents and, you know, a good home and a safe environment and encouragement and all those things, right?

Yeah.

But what was the big wound or a little wound that became big over time that you never addressed?

A big one for me was feeling, I guess, not seen and not truly, like, not fully, like, important and valued. And I kind of felt, like, a little bit on the back burner because my parents tried their best and they did amazing, but there was a lot going on in life sometimes. And, you know, my sister was going through a lot who was older than me. And then I was the kid who was, like, good at sports, doing this and that. So I was all good. Like, don't worry about Chris. He's got it all together.

He's got it figured out.

He's good, you know? But let's put our attention on, on your sister. Yeah. Or the sister on this, on that, on everything else, because he's got it together. And I saw that. So I was like, okay, well, I'm good at all this stuff, and I don't want to add stress to my family. So I'm just going to hold it in, handle it all myself, and kind of bottle it all down, compartmentalize, and do my own thing. And, you know, I wasn't thinking that clearly like that when I was younger, but it's just naturally how you cope. You know, you build defense mechanisms depending on your environment when you're young. So that was one of the ones I kind of did when I was younger. And to me, it was just normal. You know, I handle myself on my own. I don't really need a lot of connection. I don't really need a lot of intimacy. I'm just very independent, and I can do things by myself. And then older and older I got, I started to realize partly in the Olympia, I bring a lot of stuff back. The Olympia has taught me so many things. But when I won my first Olympia, all I felt was relief that it was over. I didn't really feel joy and happiness and all these things because there was a lot of stress around the Olympia that I was just suppressing. And then my big story or lesson that I tried to share with people this year was that if you numb the bad, you numb the good. So as you numb your emotions, everything kind of gets dulled down. Wow. So I've tried to process all that, move through it, and I'd realized that as I compartmentalize everything in my life, I compartmentalize all the good too. Now it's kind of just suppressing all these feelings. And then you get older and stuff just starts to feel dim and like sad and alone and all these things and you don't understand why. And it's because you've, I've created this environment where I don't let people help me or I don't ask for anything I need. I'm just like, I'll help everyone before myself, and then I'm good on the side.

Wow.

It leaves you kind of alone because everybody needs connection.

So what was life like for you in your teens, early 20s and mid 20s until you started to dive into therapy? Was it always lonely and sad and depressing or were there good moments too?

There were definitely good moments. And it's almost hard for me to like communicate this sometimes, but I really try to because I know I'm not the only one who didn't have like the this depressing childhood, but I also expect a lot of myself. I don't want to just be like, well, I'm good. I want to be great. I want to feel love and connection and closeness and everything. I don't want to drift apart from my wife in difficult times and all these things. I want to understand and grasp and be the best relational person that I can be. So, while I didn't really feel depressed or anything when I was young, I also didn't really feel like I had anyone that I could go out to and reach out to in hard times. And if I was scared or sad about something, there was someone who I could lean on or talk to. I just felt like it was normal for me to hold that in myself. And the reason it was tricky for me is because I knew that my parents did love me so much and I did have people who love me. And if I were to share with them, they would be there for me. But I just felt like it'd be better to just hold it on myself because that's just the way. That's just the way I operate.

Isn't that interesting? So you knew your parents loved you. You knew they would. show up for you if you needed something.

Yeah.

But you didn't want to be a burden. Exactly. You didn't want to stress them out. So you didn't want to show them.

That you needed support or help.

Right. Yeah, exactly. Isn't that interesting? You know, it's funny because we have about a 12 year age gap, I think. And so I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and I was never allowed to show emotion, cry, say that I was having a hard day without being made fun of or picked on or bullied or, you know, what other guys kind of just like, picking on you and making fun of you. I was never really allowed to do that. So it took me until I was 30 years old, until I started to do more emotional healing and reflecting on kind of these traumas, little traumas, big traumas, everything. And started to really release my emotions and heal them. And it's been a journey. But I love that you openly cry, you openly talk about your feelings, your emotions, and conversations like therapy because we just didn't have that, you know, you know, 10, 12 years before you, that wasn't available. Now it's becoming more available. And I'm just so happy that guys like you are using your platform to express this. Yes, you're showing that you're like the most jacked human in the world, but you're also saying, Hey, listen, I'm willing to continue to improve on all areas of my life. And I really think of the ultimate man being someone who is emotionally evolved, not just holding their feelings in constantly and saying, I've got it figured out mentally, constantly growing, spiritually growing and relationally growing. And it sounds to me like you're making an importance to value all of those things and financially as well. You're building your business, but you're telling me like, I want to make my wife and my relationship a high priority.

Yeah.

So I'm gonna go to coaching, you know, once a month or whatever, and work on this. I'm gonna take care of my health, my nutrition, my mindset, my business, all these different things to become the most well-rounded man that I can be, not just strong physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. And I just think that's beautiful, man.

Yeah, for sure. And I mean, as you grew up, you know, obviously it's so easy to have empathy for our past generations of why they had to be like that, you know, like, going through a lot harder times than we have right now. You know, we're lucky we were even on an opportunity to, like, be able to, like, search for our emotions and relationships, because there was a lot of going on when our parents were coming up where they didn't, they didn't have that opportunity. They had to kind of, like, get through some hard times. So obviously they were like that. And now for each generation to kind of, like, move through those, like, pains and kind of beat the previous Generation's trauma, it's difficult. Yeah. You know, but my parents, I think they still did a great job. Their parents were I'm sure a lot more shut off than they ever were. And my parents did a really good job at trying to do the best that they could with me. And while I still left with a little bit of irks and pains, I also came with the strength and the knowledge to work on them myself and enough belief in myself to do the work and understanding that I was worth doing that kind of work.

So it was that you were worth doing the work. Did you not think you were valuable or worthy of doing that work beforehand?

I don't think I ever really processed it that much. You know, I think there were times where I didn't think I was worth the stress of worth putting stress on others by sharing how I was feeling. Like, burdening. Burdening with your emotions. Exactly. Yeah. But obviously, as you start to unravel relationships, especially, you learn it's not only is it not a burden, but it's actually a privilege for the other person to receive that and. It's very hypocritical sometimes, especially as a man. You're like, you want your wife to come to you and hard time and lean on you because you can support them, but you don't want to do the same to them. It makes you feel special when they come, when they need something and they're sad and they come to you for protection, but you don't go to them. So they're not going to feel as important either. So it's a very much a give and take thing. And like you said, I think it's very difficult in the masculine and the way things are now. And I've always Not always. I've recently been trying to incorporate a lot better the masculine and the feminine energy with myself and just be better at that because it's really easy for a man to just focus. I have a lot of bodybuilding going on. I have a lot of travel. I have business. I have all these things going on. A lot of things that's required of me. Sometimes either just shove everything down and go into work mode and be like, I'm going to provide for my family.

Let's dominate.

Yeah, let's f*ck everything up. Everyone up on stage, win and dominate. Money, my family's never gonna need to work again, let's take care of them. But like, if they're not, if they're missing me at home emotionally and through connection, then what's the point of doing all this work on the other side?

You have to be able to balance both worlds together. Yeah, and this idea of balance, you know, I think I even heard you talk about balance at one point where I look at balance more as alignment. I think people try to balance and navigate everything where it's more aligning your values, your vision and your lifestyle. in harmony with the people in your life, your health, your businesses. And sometimes you'll be out of balance of what the rest of the world looks like is balanced, but you'll be in harmony because you're communicating and you're working on those things in seasonal times. And so, man, that's so cool. Now, did you, did Courtney, your wife, did she inspire you to open up more about your feelings and kind of tap into the feminine side when you met her, or was that before you met her?

I think I've always been a little bit of a softer male. Yeah. You know, I've always been a little bit more emotional. I've never been like the intense, like gritty, like everyone up kind of thing. You know, I'm like, I'm at the Olympia. I'm making friends with people. I'm chill. I'm like, I'm here to win, but like, I'm not going to like step on your throat. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, well, it's also cool with her. And she definitely inspired me way more. And a lot of men don't think women even want that. They think they want, like, that tough man on a horse who doesn't cry kind of thing. But what actually attracted Courtney to me, which was really cool, talk about law of attraction and people trying to find the right woman, trying to find someone who loves them for who they are. You have to actually show yourself to be loved for who you are. And I put out a video in 2018 just being like, I was expected to win the Olympia that year. I was a young guy coming up, all this stuff going on, and that's when I got sick. Didn't win, came second. Still did really good, but I went through, I was in the hospital at four weeks out. I was really scared. I didn't think I'd be able to compete again. And I just had a lot of emotions going through me and I put out a video talking about all that. And I cried in the video and I was super vulnerable and I just shared how I was feeling and what I went through in that journey. And that was the video that she saw. She kind of heard of me, didn't know what, but then she saw this video and she's like, okay, this is that guy who's like, like you said, the big strong bodybuilding guy. And now he's on YouTube crying. Like there's a mismatch or something's different about him. And then she watched it and she's like, this guy's, this guy's got to be different. And if she actually flooded my DMs. No way. Message me, hit me up. And I already had a crush on her from before because she was Miss Olympia in 2016. I was going after it in 2018, and I already had a crush on her. I'm like, damn, this girl's in my, my DM. This is crazy. And then we just kind of hit it off. But I, if I hadn't put that video out and decided to be vulnerable, you wouldn't have attracted her.

I wouldn't have attracted her. You know, we wouldn't be together. We wouldn't have our baby girl on the way now. It was, it's, everything would be different. One piece of content changed your life.

Yeah.

Isn't that interesting? Crazy. But it was you being willing and having the to say, this is who I am and being willing to share and reveal this with others.

Exactly.

Why do you think most people hold back their emotions and their true authentic self in life?

That's a good question. I definitely don't have all the answers to that, but I think part of it is it hurts a lot more to be rejected for who you really are because then it's a real rejection. It means if you put your real self out there and it gets rejected, it means you're really not good enough. Oh, but if you put a fake self out there and people are like, I don't like that. You're like, it's not really me anyway. So like, it's a layer of protection. You're kind of protecting yourself from like a real stab in the heart, you know?

How have you learned to trust yourself by revealing who you are and being fully authentic both privately and publicly? And also be okay if people don't like you, leave nasty comments, think you're a failure and reject you. How have you been able to handle those emotions and still be you?

I mean, it's been a long journey and I think I owe the beginning part to my parents. They always just told me just to be myself. And since then, it's kind of hard for me to. That's why I couldn't put a camera on after Olympia and just give some hardcore thing. It was like, I'm sad and I'm gonna cry because I can't really put on a fake show right now. I just, I'm not a good, I'm not a good liar. So I think I just did it. And I, why were you sad?

From that one time?

Yeah. Why were you sad afterwards? I was scared. You know, I was in the, I was in the hospital truly and they didn't know what was wrong with me. I didn't know if I was a gonna be able to compete, if I was gonna be sick for the rest of my life, if I was gonna have to be on meds for the rest of my life. I didn't know what was wrong with me. It was, I had put on like 20 pounds of water weight overnight and I was just, shins were in flame. I was super inflamed. I'm like in the hospital alone, just like scared not knowing what's happening. And I just again, I didn't know how to process all that. So I just bottled it all down, compartmentalized. They let me out of the hospital like three weeks out of the Olympia. I'm like, I don't know what to do right now, so I'm going to go back into prep and I'm going to do the Olympia. I probably should have dropped out, but as my way of numbing my emotion, I'm like, if I put all my folks over here, I don't have to think about that. Wow. And then afterwards, all that emotion just.

Started pouring out of me and all that fear and the unknown of what.

The future held and what was going on with me and just all that kind of anything around your health can be really scary.

So what has been your biggest fear most of your life?

My biggest fear. That's a good one.

Like what was it personally for you that was either the insecurity or the fear that you think was underneath everything you were doing? Because it sounds like you have a better handle now on those fears and you're processing a lot more. But before you started processing, you know, before you won and started to figure it out, what was that big weight and fear you were carrying?

I think there was a. A fear that if I. If I, like, tried to lean on someone and rely on someone to, like, hold me while I was falling or whatever, or when I needed someone to lean on, that they might not be there for me. So instead of ever leaning on anyone, I just didn't. And it was easier to protect myself like that and just, like. create this facade that I can handle all on my own because it's a lot scarier. Like I said, the same concept of putting your true self out there to be rejected. If I try and lean on someone who I need and they're not there for me, that's really gonna hurt. So I was just like, no, I'm not gonna do that.

Wow. What is the greatest rejection you ever had?

The greatest rejection I ever had.

The one that like really hurt you. And maybe it was like a, you know, maybe it was a small thing, but it really hurt you in a big way. for whatever reason?

I don't know if I can pinpoint one, honestly.

Was it like a girlfriend that rejected you, or was it like you went after something you cared about and you didn't get the part or you didn't win the competition? Was there something you were like, I feel like a loser and rejected?

I'm sure there was some more, there's a lot of my childhood I don't really remember. I don't have the- you- blocked it out? I didn't block it out 'cause it was bad. I think maybe as I was kind of pushing aside some emotions, I pushed aside some memories too. But I do have like some memories of after there has already been some of this pain in me when I was really young, giving like talks and speeches and stuff or like something in class where I had to get up in front of people and like make getting made fun of for my lisp, something like that and just feeling like really small and like embarrassed and just like, I don't want to ever talk in front of people again. Oh man. Like that created some stage fright in me and like public speaking anxiety and all that stuff which I think most people have, but it was pretty extreme for me. But I can't remember an exact giant rejection at any point, really.

But I mean, I have a similar, you know, my childhood is very similar in the fact that I would get made fun of when I would, they would ask, the teacher would ask us to read aloud, you know, open up chapter one and read aloud and each kid would go around and I couldn't read the words. I had dyslexia and I had a second grade reading level in eighth grade. I just couldn't comprehend and understand what I was reading. so it was very intimidating for me to stand in front of my peers and read or speak at all.

Yeah.

And I think I channeled a lot of that anger into sports to say, let me prove people wrong who are making fun of me. Let me find somewhere where I do have abilities and skills so I don't feel like a loser and rejected. Is that what you started to do with, with bodybuilding and lifting? Kind of like, make yourself be seen and bigger and stronger so that no one could hurt you that way?

I think in a way, it was never, I was never anger for me or anything like that, but I did, I did start to see when I started working out at a young age, put on muscle very easily, obviously have good genetics, started to get some attention for that. It felt good and there was a way to be like seen and important in some way. So I was like, let's keep doing this. And then, in forms of when it's hard to like feel a lot, like you see people like the crazy free climbers who like climb whatever Yosemite with no ropes or anything. Those guys are probably numb as hell just trying to feel some kind of feel something just to get that rush out of it, you know? And when I would compete, it was something that really scared me to be on stage in front of all those people. And it was a lot of like, it was a lot of suppression and pushing things aside and just working really hard and focusing on one thing. And then at the end, it's this big feeling at the end. So it's like, all right, if I work really hard for this one day.

There'S a big feeling at the end. If I work for a year, exactly. Every day at bust my butt, I'll.

Have like two minutes of feeling release.

Exactly.

Isn't that crazy?

It's insane. It's kind of like Olympians. They train for 10, 12, 15 years for one minute. Yeah. For a minute race or a minute swim or one game or whatever it might be for the chance of gold.

Every four years. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. At least I get it every year.

That's true. Have you seen the documentary Weight of Gold? No. It's an incredible documentary where it's interviewing a lot of Olympic gold medalists or Olympic medalists talking about the depression, the anxiety, the stress, the overwhelm, the loss of identity after winning the Olympic gold medal.

Yeah.

Because they go for their whole lives for something and they think it's supposed to feel like euphoric, life changing. And like they're gonna have joy and happiness now. But they still have to face the stuff within them. So the documentary covers a lot of athletes that committed suicide and their friends and family members that within a year who committed suicide or just who've never returned back to themselves because of the weight and the pressure. So you were training for years for this one moment on stage. And when you got it, It wasn't what you wanted, right? The feeling.

It was.

What was the feeling you thought you were gonna get and what was the feeling you received?

I mean, I guess the first year I won, like I kind of mentioned before, I thought I was going to just have like this overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment and joy. Just like, I did it. You know, I'm accomplished. I've got it all. Like I did it.

I'm the man.

I'm the man, yeah. And what I felt, I just remember feeling relief. I just relieved it was over. Relieved I didn't have to do it anymore. Relieved it was done. Relieved I made it there.

Like, I was just like, thank God.

Like, on stage, you're thinking that.

Yeah, literally.

It was like, you kind of relax your shoulders like, you know, which is. Which is crazy. And I remember going at. And you have this 10 layers of.

Spray tan, just, like, brown paint all over you.

You're sweating. You're just like. And I remember you always love going to take a shower to get that. you remember going in the shower and like crying because I was expecting to feel all that joy and I didn't get it. And it was almost like this disappointment afterwards where I was like, what am I missing right now? Like why am I feeling all this? And that was a huge pivotal moment in my life where I was like, this isn't right. There's no way I'm going to dedicate this much of my life sacrifice this much to feel like this. There should be there the payoff at the end. Yeah.

There should be something better than this. Yeah.

And I, and I believed, I didn't think that the journey I was on was wrong. I just think of the way I was approaching it was wrong. So I was like, there's gotta be a way where I can change other aspects of my life and manage my mind and other things better so that when I get to there next year, then I do this again, I'm able to enjoy it and have a lot more fun.

So the journey you were on wasn't wrong, but it was the process that you were implementing, which was off. So the process before it sounds like I'm gonna work as hard and do whatever it takes to win, to prove myself that I can do it, or whatever it might be, get this monkey off my back, whatever it is. and at the end, you didn't get the feeling you wanted, which was, I guess, a better sense of peace or freedom or love or self-acceptance or whatever you wanted.

Yeah.

So how did the process change mentally, spiritually and emotionally to enjoy life every single day, as opposed to wait for the result to feel better?

Yeah. Good question. So a lot of what translated and again, I relate almost everything to the Olympic because it's been such a bulk of my life. Of course. But a lot of what translated into that feeling was the fact that I got so sick in 2018 that I spent 2019 afraid I was gonna get sick again. And instead of really processing the amount of fear I had in the past, and like truly at one point thought I was gonna die in the hospital. It wasn't that bad. I was just, I was creating that kind of fear and anxiety in my mind, and I never really accepted that I felt that and allowed myself to process through that. and move on from it. I just was kind of like, don't feel like that, push it down. So it was still in there. So all of 2019, I'm like, I don't want to be back in the hospital. I don't want to be back in the, I was just living like that instead of being like in the moment. And I wasn't allowing myself to really like allow those emotions to come up. So in 2020, the next year, I remember my life always goes in like this, depending on prep. So after Olympia, it's like this kind of low. I didn't really feel great. And I'm kind of working myself back up. So doing a little bit of therapy then. I didn't have the therapist I had.

Now, which I wish I had because she's the beast. But 2020 is when you kind of.

Started therapy a little bit. 2019. Yeah. 2019, okay. And so started doing that. And then I felt a little bit better because I wasn't in prep, wasn't Olympia mode. You get a little bit busy with business starts picking up travel for sponsors, all this stuff. And I'm like, ah, push that stuff aside. I feel okay right now. Yeah. And then all of a sudden prep starts again and I'm like, there's that fear again, that feeling, that pressure, that fear of getting sick again, this expectation now, you know, I won last year. But people were like, did you really deserve to win? It was pretty close. You shouldn't have won. And I'm like, well, I have to dominate this year so they don't question me this time. And all these things going on. And I remember sitting on my stairs with Courtney and her and just like kind of sitting there. I think we were going to the gym or something. And she just noticed something was up with me. And she's like, what's going on? I'm like, nothing. I'm fine. And then she's like, what's going on? She just kind of pried me enough. And this is like, she's helped me so much with this. Cause if you were to ask me how I feel, I'm like, I'm fine. Yeah, and I would believe it. And then you ask me 10 more times and I'm crying on the stairs and I'm like, Damn, what's in this right now? And she's like, what are you feeling? I'm like, I'm scared. I'm scared I'm gonna lose again. And then they're gonna prove that I shouldn't have won last year. I'm scared I'm gonna get sick. I'm not even gonna make it on stage. I'm scared I shouldn't be competing and I'm putting my health at risk. And this is so stupid. Like, bodybuilding is not healthy. I have an autoimmune disease. Why am I doing this? This is dumb. I'm gonna hurt myself. All these fears are in my brain right now and I never even let them come up to think about them. Put him down.

You never spoke about it.

Never spoke about it. And just letting that out and like crying with her and like talking about it, I just like immediately felt better.

It's a release.

It was just release. And she was just like, she just listened. She just heard me and with like a sounding board. And I just felt this pressure off of me. And I was like, wow, like that. I feel better now. Like let's go to the gym.

Let's go work out.

I actually feel better now. It's not like it's pushed out and I can go perform. It's like, no, I'm really here right now and I feel better. And I think that's a huge thing that a lesson that I love to share, especially to men, is that, you know, 'cause we, there's always that joke with your wife. She tells you a problem, you're like, All right, how do I fix it? What's the solution? And it's like, no, she's just trying to release it. And if men were better at understanding that there doesn't need to be a solution, sometimes you just need to let that energy out to speak about it, to allow it to exist, to accept it's there. sit with it for a minute and then just see how you feel. And usually you feel a little bit better and then you move forward in it. And then by embracing those things and allowing those kind of fears to come up and mean to talk about it, it allowed me to be a lot more present because I wasn't fighting those down. Ah. So I allowed that fear to come up. I had a moment of it. And then I went to the gym and I was like, I feel really good here. You know, I'm excited.

Like, I can do this.

You got more energy. I had more energy. I just had it pouring into me, just a larger sense of belief. So more pride, just more emotion, period, more feeling that I hadn't, because I hadn't been suppressing all of it. And then that whole Olympia prep was kind of a back and forth of that. I wasn't perfect, but I was learning.

How to bring things up.

And it was also COVID. So, I mean, horrible things happened during COVID but it was a blessing in disguise for me because I had no distractions. I couldn't travel. I couldn't do anything else. I was at home all day, just bodybuilding, sleeping, connecting with my wife, chilling therapy, just cycling that in. And that was it. and then that year on stage was completely different. The whole peak week, I was like present, I was enjoying it, I was having fun. You know, I won that Olympia and the people were shocked at how much better I looked. My whole body looked younger, bigger, leaner, healthier. Like everything was just more vibrant. My confidence on stage was different. Like everything about me was like a different bodybuilder on there and I got a perfect score. I won and there was no question if I deserved to win that one or not. They were like, forget about the last guy. Chris is the champ. Wow.

It wasn't even, like, close. It was undeniable.

People like that. That transformation is one of my most, like, proudest physical transformations. Year one to two, 19 to 20, because it was such a big change.

Now, what I'm hearing you say, correct me if I'm wrong, that you did a lot of the same things physically. You ate a lot of the same food. You trained in a similar way. You slept in the same bed.

Yeah.

You know, there wasn't You were in the same relationship. You didn't change anything, really. Maybe minor tweaks, except your thoughts and your emotions. That's all that changed. And what I'm hearing you say is by changing your thoughts and emotions within a year period consistently, healing, processing, improving and growing and transforming them, you looked and became a completely different human being on stage in one year. to the point your success was undeniable. Is that what I'm hearing you say?

Yeah.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I just wanna make sure we got this right.

No, you're putting in the nice words, but yeah. Wow, okay. So thoughts and emotions started to shift and transform, and physically you became and looked different. Yeah.

Isn't that interesting?

It's crazy, yeah. I wish I... Wait, there was no like different supplements you took or like you didn't eat.

Like some steroid chicken or, you know, something different. I'd say probably less supplements that year. because I was like, I'm caring more about my health now. I'm gonna, like, see what I can get away with. And it was. It was that whether. And I think it's a combination of, like you said, I. That the energy I released and brought into my body, allowing to circulate, allowed me to also probably sleep better, therefore recover better, therefore train harder and all these things. But also, I think it just. There's something. I don't know how to explain. I'm sure people are better than me, but I think there's some, like. misunderstood thing within ourselves of how much our emotion affects our physical body. And the biggest translation, and I hear a lot of stuff about this now because I've done a lot of kind of research into autoimmune stuff, which is based off stress, inflammation, kind of like disorder within the body. And, you know, in 2019, I won and I got through it, but I still had, like, some physical inflammation. I was holding some water in my Shins, you know? I wasn't fully healthy. And in 2020, it was like I was reversing my autoimmune disease. Like I was getting healthier through PrEP, which was like inexplicable, you know? Like, I really don't think I should be able to still compete given what happened to me in the past, but my body's gotten healthier every year.

What did you do besides the, you know, the emotional and mental release and healing? What did you do physically? that allowed for that, you think? Was there a different style of eating supplements, nutrition that you Incorporated?

Not since the year before. No, because in 2018, I changed a lot. I got a lot healthier. I started eating organic foods and eat fast food. I started to treat my body more like the fuel that wouldn't matter rather than just, like, get protein in. Even if it's from McDonald's, you know, I gave that.

Is that what you're doing before?

When I was young, yeah, for sure. It's a lot of fast food. Just as much as you can. I need to get calories in. I'd go get a burger. Right. But I changed all that years before, but in 2020, 2020 with all that, I didn't really change much. I'm maybe was allowed to rest more because of COVID like I said, and stuff, but there wasn't a lot I changed. And since then I've added more physical things. Like I do a lot of stem cells and peptides and a lot of different type of therapies now, but back then I didn't have the, the knowledge or the means to afford that stuff anyways.

So what would you say is kind of the optimal diet for you right now to keep you healthy, but also building mass and, and allowing you to compete? What that ultimate diet for you?

I mean, really just Whole Foods. I keep it super simple. I think if when I'm done competing and it's not about that, I'll eat a lot less, a lot less carbs, higher fat, because I just personally feel better. And I think everyone has to experiment of what feels best for them. But the number one diet that anyone asked me, like, what's the best diet?

I just say Whole Foods. Like, what does that look like for you? What do you eat on a typical day when you're training to stay healthy? but also to build mass and stay lean.

It's usually five or six meals a day. It's been five recently because I've been traveling so much. But I try and lighten it up and make it a little bit more fun. But I'll have bison eggs and avocado in the morning with some ghee butter and coffee with MCT. So really high fat. And then I have some basic chicken and rice, chicken and turkey after that, maybe a wrap at night, some kind of homemade burrito. Courtney's super into organic healthy foods, so she gets all these organic, minimal ingredient, like almond flour wraps and all this stuff. And she makes stuff for me and.

Just super simple stuff. Are you trying to do mostly protein and some fiber and vegetables or what's kind of like the. And fats. What's the ratio, would you say? Is there?

I've never done the whole macro thing.

I don't have a concrete ratio on it. Really?

Are you weighing your foods daily or are you just. I haven't been recently, but when I'm, like, seriously into stuff, I do. And I. I'm mainly in my off season. I just. I'm very, like, knowing of my body and my body weight right now. and I eat so similar all the time, I'll just like start with something, eat it the same. I'm like, oh, I need to put away more weight. I'll add more to it. Interesting. And I, 'cause I'm just very consistent with it, but I really just try.

And hit like about 300 grams of protein.

300 a day?

300 a day, yeah. Oh my God, that's a lot of food. It is a lot of food. 300 grams of protein?

Yeah. So give me a calculation.

What is 300 grams of protein in the foods that you're eating?

What is that approximately? Yeah, what is that? It's like five chicken breasts and 20 eggs. Like what is that? I mean, I don't know based off chicken breast size, but it's probably, like, in the morning, the 180 grams of.

Bison with three whole eggs. What is 180 grams in, like, a.

Half a pound of meat or something? Or, like, 425 grams, I think, is a pound.

Okay, so a little under a half a pound.

Okay, quarter pound or something. Yeah, about that. And then I'll have, like, 220 grams of chicken probably two times, and then, like, 220 grams of turkey once.

And then I'll have, like, a protein.

Shake with, like, 50 grams. protein in it.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, they're, it's a good amount.

Now, what is the key to burning fat and building muscle at the same time? Is that even possible? I always hear people say you've got to put on like the bulk first, the bulk phase, then you can slim down. Is it possible to burn fat and build muscle and stay lean at the same time?

It's, it's very dependent on where your body is. You know, if you're someone who has never worked out and you're like 300 pounds overweight, then of course it is. you know, you can. Your body can change with some very minimal work. But if you're like me in prep already, then it's very hard, you know? I'm just trying to maintain as much muscle as possible because I'm already at a very Elite level of muscle and a low level of body fat, so it's harder to make those changes. So I really can't answer. It's very dependent on the person. The least trained you are, the easier it is to put on muscle and lose fat. And then the more, like, regimented and strict you are. the harder it is. Really, man.

But you're really intentional about your nutrition right now.

Yeah.

What you consume, right?

Yeah. How important is it to take, like.

You know, over-the-counter supplements, like protein powders, protein bars, you know, vitamins? Like, is that important, or do you put more the importance on getting it within the Whole Foods?

I'm all about Whole Foods. Whole Foods. And I always say that I own a supplement company, and I still tell people, people, what's the best supplement? I'm like, Whole Foods. you know, if you can get it from food, it's always better. And obviously there's this kind of crisis going on right now of a lack of nutrients in our foods based off farming and pesticides and mass produce everything and all that stuff. So it's kind of hard to manage and I think a lot of people therefore need to supplement a lot. And I take some supplements, but I think the healthier you eat, the less you need. And if I wasn't trying to get 300 grams of protein in a day, I probably would only have a shake when I feel like when I want one, right? Because I wouldn't need to add that extra protein.

Really? But you need to get a certain.

Amount so you're going to supplement it with, you know, water and protein. Exactly. It's a lot easier than eating another chicken breast.

After a while, it gets hard to put that down. Gosh, man.

And you can't really put sauces or anything on it. You've got to, like, really keep it. As long as I'm not in prep, I can. Okay. But when I'm, like, deep into prep, then I'm allowed, like, some hot sauces, kind of.

But then they mess up my digestion. So my coach tells me I'm not.

And then I'm just allowed like yellow mustard.

That's it.

Yeah.

Now, when you're getting into prep mode, what is that? Three months out where you're like, I'm really dialing it in and taking this.

Serious or it's about 16 weeks.

16 weeks.

Yeah.

Four months out. Can you walk me through your mindset four months out when you're about to get started where you're like, okay, this is day one. We're four months away from Olympia. What are you thinking? Day one of prep after obviously six months of maintaining and training, but not okay, we're in camp. Yeah. What is that mindset during that moment? Is there a switch or is it just elevated emotions and energy a little bit? And how does that build all the way up to the moment before on stage at Olympia? Where does the mindset evolve before that moment of on stage?

Yeah. So it's been different every year and it's been this past year was the hardest to, it's never like a switch is on for me. I probably need a 12 week prep, but I do 16 because it takes a rolling start for me.

I gotta take some time to warm up.

I gotta push the car first to get that clutch going. But in the past, when I didn't have anything else going on at the bodybuilding, it was a little bit easier. But now, for example, since December, I've been home for like seven days, I think, for the last two and a half months because it's just go, go, go travel. There's lots going on with business and work, and I'm pulled in a lot more different directions right now because I have a lot more going on. So me being able to manage that is a little bit harder. And I learned quickly this year that while I thought I could manage it all together, I can't. And my therapist had a great line to me. She's like, Chris, you love being the 1% of everything. He's like, you want to be, you want to have the biggest best business, you want to be the biggest best bodybuilder, you want to have the most beautiful, loving, connected relationship. But you can't, you can't have it all. She's like, I hate to tell you, but the more you perform, poor into perfection into one, you're pulling energy away from another. Wow. And you can't do it all. And I was like, really? I was like, are you sure? I think I can. And I tried for a while and it started to beat me down. You know, I was traveling all weekends, coming back trying to connect with Courtney, trying to get to the gym at the right time, trying to get all my meals in, trying to manage it all. And my body started to get like just tired. My mind was stressed. I wasn't taking those times to really reflect to myself and check in where I was at. And I wasn't even really enjoying it either because there was just too much. that I wasn't allowing myself to slow down and like enjoy and be in the process. So in August, I think I was about ten weeks out. All this is going on. Boom. I find out Courtney's pregnant now. I'm like, oh, here we go. I was so excited. We weren't planning it, but I was so excited. I was like, I didn't, you know, bodybuilders don't even think that's possible during prep.

So I was like, All right, this is a miracle.

Like, wow. You made it not possible to get pregnant with like, when you're taking peptides and stuff, it's harder. It's harder to get pregnant. Wow. Because you're less fertile. But super excited, but still a huge shift in my mind. You know, there's a lot more responsibilities, a lot more changing my life right now. You know, like this is a lot more coming. So even more on my mind now and stopping me from slowing down. And then I remember I went on one trip and I was doing some work in Canada. I went back to see my family, and then I was just feeling kind of strung out or something. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't really realize I wasn't in tune with myself. And one day I woke up, I weighed myself, and I was just feeling like, and I had lost like 12 pounds. And it wasn't good way. I wasn't leaner. I just like lost a bunch of water weight because my body was stressed, something like that. I wasn't feeling good. Went to the gym. I'm working out, feeling tired, but I'm like, whatever. Like normally I'll do like 485 or something on RDLs. I'll do 405 this time because I'm feeling tired on like rep nine or something. I should pop and my lat just like kind of pulls and I tore my lat and I was like, no way. I was like, like what just happened? I just tear my lat and I like couldn't move my arm. I'm like processing all this overwhelming stuff that I've been feeling and I just hit with the roadblock. I'm like, you haven't even been focusing on prep, you haven't been prioritizing and now you might have just gotten taken away from you because of all that. And I remember I was devastated. I was in the middle of the gym. I didn't want to tell anyone, I just done it because I didn't want anyone to know. So I walk out, arm like this and I start crying behind the gym. I'm like, really? I'm just crying. I'm like, what are you doing, man? I feel like I just lost the Olympia, you know, this is going in for my fifth title and now I'm not gonna be able to compete all this going on. I call Courtney and I'm like freaking out. She's like, she wasn't with me at the time either. So she's like, oh, I'm so sorry.

You need to come out there.

Like, what's going on? I'm like, no, like, just let me handle this, you know? And then let me take it back on myself. I got this. I go back in the gym and I'm like looking around, like, okay, I can't tell anyone I just hurt myself. So I didn't want to be an asshole. So I started taking the weights off the off the bar. I'm trying to take four plates off just with one arm. Oh my gosh. Move it, put it away. And then I leave and I drive home. and there was this huge, just, like, mental, like, what's going on? And I got back home, and I'm talking with Courtney, and she's like, remember what Jordan told you about being able to manage everything at once? Your therapist. She's like, this is life literally slapping you in the face and being like, I told you so. And I'm like, yeah, you're right. You're right. And she. I didn't even read the book yet, but I listened to a little cliff notes version, but she told me to listen to the book called the one thing, and she's talking about if you want to be the the best at something, good at something, you need to focus on the one thing. And I was like, all right, you know, I didn't get into the book, but I get the concept just from the title. I'm like, let's start focusing on one thing. You know, I'm like, I'm not going to go into work from nine to five anymore. I'm going to leave at 12 and I'm going to go to the gym at one because that's when I feel the best. And I couldn't even train my upper body for a while. I could just do legs and a little cardio and stuff. So I'm like, let me just focus on one thing at a time and get through this. I'm going to stay off my phone at night. I'm going to do an emails, nothing so I can actually sleep because I was stay, I was up all night thinking because my brain was on other things. I allowed myself to sleep better, allowed myself to rest more, allowed myself to connect with Courtney more, which helped me feel more grounded rather than more all over the place. I cut out all travel. I'm like, I'm not doing any more trips. I'm not getting on a plane until the Olympia. Like, don't even ask me. So I started actually prioritizing what I needed and saying no to all these things. And it was all those things essentially that this year made me turn on that switch. And then I think it was about six weeks out the Olympia where I had my first, it was about four weeks after that incident. I had my first back workout, and it was okay workout, but I did it and I got through it. I remember being like, holy.

You recovered it enough. Like, I recovered enough.

I'm like, all right, if I can just lock it in right now, I can get through this. You know, you've been stressed, worried, traveling, all these things. Everything you've learned about being present and enjoying this journey, you just forgot about it for the last couple months. This is your wake-up call to get back together and come back into it. And that was like my, like, okay, lock it in, be here, be grateful that you even have the opportunity now to heal from something so fast that you can actually at least try and compete again and have the opportunity to push through it and then just enjoy this, you know? And that's when I was like, like, this could also be my last Olympia, you know, you never know when it's your last one. And I'm not going to allow all this stress to ruin that. Me look back and be like, I didn't even enjoy the last one because I was so worried about all this stuff. So I, I pushed through kind of all that. I allowed my mind to come back to center, focused on the one thing, the Olympia, training myself, rest, all that stuff that I could do. And I got through it and I enjoyed that Olympia. And it was cool because I've documented all my Olympia preps. I have a videographer who follows me around, does all the stuff. Great videos, man. Close friend of mine. That's great. And he got a photographer who's now a close friend of mine too. And then she started taking pictures and video at the Olympia. And you compare a lot of my years. And I used to come in super like Michael Jordan and be like, Sit at the press conference, just locked in like hardcore. This year, I'm just chilling this year. I'm laughing, I'm smiling. And, you could just tell there's this lighter energy about me because I allowed myself to truly be as present as possible. In the last five years, I've been working towards allowing myself to really just have fun with it, not knowing if it's going to be my last one and just being there and being present. And, it was really cool to see the physical evidence and pictures of that stoic faith to just a goofy Chris smile and kind of having fun with it also.

Kind of going back to the beginning of the conversation of being authentically who you are. Exactly. Because that's kind of who you are.

Yeah.

You know, it's not about like being this stern, like stoic, you know, focused man. It's about being focused, knowing that you've done all the prep. Yeah. You've done all the prep. So you have the focus to be able to be kind of like Usain Bolt and just like be relaxed and loose and like have fun and then go out and dominate.

Yeah.

Which is what he did. I don't know if you ever watched his stuff in the Olympics where he was just like playing with the camera. He's high-fiving people right before the, you know, the Olympic gold race.

Yeah.

He's relaxed and loose and then just dominating his competition. And I think there's something to that. You know, we are talking about there's a different type of mentality. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but the Michael Jordan or Kobe that was just like focused and didn't show really a lot of that joy, let's say that joyful or relaxed energy. Maybe it was a different type of relaxed, but it was more of like, we're here to work. And it worked for them. I mean, they dominated.

It did.

But there's also something when it shifted and you started to be more relaxed, you felt emotionally different as well. It's like you can have fun with it and dominate.

Yeah. Yeah.

So what were you thinking about the moment you walk from backstage on stage for the most important part of the Olympia. What are you thinking of knowing that you've spent a year of training and preparation, knowing you've documented daily your lifting, your nutrition, your sleep, knowing that you ripped your lat, you healed, you came back from it, knowing that your fiance is pregnant at the time. What is going through your mind right before you go on for that main performance on Olympia.

This year was an interesting year for that. And it was, I think I've heard you speak about this, too, but some of the work I've done in therapy has been in healing my, like, younger self and, like, giving that kid what he needed. When he, because he didn't get it when he was younger, he didn't know what he needed. And now I'm smart enough I can give it to him. Wow. Because I don't need anyone else to do that. Let's go. And so I was backstage, and I actually remember my therapist told me to do this a while ago, and I didn't really do it enough, but I pulled up a picture of me as a kid. Come on. And I looked him right before, and I might even cry right now thinking about this, but I remember looking at it backstage, like, before getting on and looking at it and just looking at that picture and get starting to cry a little bit. I mean, like, if that kid could have imagined being me right now, you know? Wow. Like, how hard I've worked since being that kid to now to be where I am and, like, how proud he would be of who I am and how proud I am of him and back and forth and just kind of allowing myself to feel proud of myself and all the work I've put in and, like, what would I if that kid was the one getting on stage right now. What would I tell him? What would I want him to feel? What would I want him to experience? You know, I wouldn't want him to have any pressure or expectation to feel like he has to win or he needs anything to enjoy it. I would just want him to go out there understanding he's already done all the work he can to have fun with it, to relax, just to make the best of it, and to not be too hard on himself. And I really like embodied that. And I stepped on stage with a light open heart. And I remember like standing on there looking up at the lights. found my family in the crowd, the picture of me giving them a heart and pointing at them, and I just had fun with it. And I was up there super present and really enjoyed it. And it was a pretty beautiful ending to what was a hell of a journey that year.

Oh, my goodness, man. I'm so happy you're talking about this. And I can imagine my 16-year-old self, if I was watching this video at 16, being like, what a bunch of wusses. What are these guys talking about, man? Just toughing up and just like, But also I could have been like, wow, if this, you know, guy who is one at the highest level, if he is able to enjoy his life in this process and this is what he did, maybe I would have been able to shift it and be like, okay, how can I reflect on my life and not worry about all the material things to like impress people or chasing girls or looking flashy so that people like me, but actually figuring out a way to like myself.

Yeah.

The, the younger parts of me that felt neglected or not seen. And I'm just so happy for you that this was the moment before you went on stage. I had no clue you were gonna say that.

Yeah.

But I'm so happy for you because I used to have on my, my phone, I used to have a photo of my younger self at five. Now I got me and my fiance, but I used to have a photo of my little Lewis, you know, and I would spent for like a year reconnecting with the younger part of me that felt neglected, not seen, abused, abandoned, all these different things, and created that intimacy and relationship with my younger self. And I'm so happy for you that you started this and you did it right before you went on the biggest moment for yourself. What a beautiful moment, man. I'm just, I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy in this moment that this is something you're talking about because There are billions of men in the world who will never reconnect with the parts themselves where they feel the most ashamed, most insecure, the least amount of love within themselves. And so I'm so happy that you just said this right now and that we're having this conversation because I know the pain that men are going through. Yes, women are going through pain as well, but I know men in general don't like to talk about these things. and I'm so happy that you are using your platform. I watch your vlogs, your videos, I see you talking about this in interviews, and I just want women watching or listening to send this to the men in their life, even just this clip. You don't have to listen to the whole thing. Just send them a few minutes of this and really take this in because the man I'm sitting in front of right now is a beautiful man. with a big heart. And to watch you pursue your life, not perfect, but pursuing it in progress, pursuing it with reflection in yourself, healing the parts of yourself in a journey of healing while pursuing your external goals as well is so beautiful, man. And I really acknowledge you for this incredible gift that you're giving people right now with this conversation. I just wanted to put that out there because I'm just so happy that we are speaking about this. Because there's so many men that will never take the time to heal. And I hope they do. I hope they realize you speaking about this, sure you were successful before externally, but internally you still didn't feel like you loved yourself fully or you weren't able to enjoy the wins. So what's the point of winning If you still don't feel enough. I heard you talk about a quote with Jim Carrey one time, which I love this quote as well. We're going to paraphrase this, but Jim Carrey said at one point, I wish everyone could become rich and famous and achieve all their dreams and realize that's not the key to happiness. Like being rich and famous and successful is not the key. I'm paraphrasing the quote, but it's learning how to be at peace with yourself and the parts of you that you do not love. that is an incredible life. And you're doing it. I mean, I wish at 28-29 I was able to be where you are. It's inspiring, man. I want to ask you about, is there anything you wanted to add to that right there? Just what we've been talking about here. Is there anything that came up for you during that?

No, I mean, like you said, it's a message that I try and share, hoping a lot of people can understand that, because a lot of what I'm working on right now is I think a lot of people feel X about themselves and they're like, well, if I have my own family or my own kid, I'll treat them differently than myself. I'll do it for them. But what my therapist always told me, she's like, It's too late then. The reason that this stuff kind of repeats through generations is because a lot of the love that you give to others does reflect on the love that you give yourself all the time. And if you don't learn how to, if I don't learn how to do this now to give myself, I'm gonna struggle to give it to my daughter. And if the way you were talking about the way men talk to themselves, if they were to really walk through and see their younger self and be like, what would you tell that little boy? Versus how, what would you tell yourself? They would, it would be two different things.

You would never say these negative things to a little boy.

No, no, definitely. Even if you were saying it to.

You as a little boy, they wouldn't, they wouldn't. Never treat yourself that way as a.

Little boy sitting in front of you. Yeah, but what people don't realize is that like, when you feel that pain, that shame and insecurity, that is that little boy. it's the same person. There's no separation there, you know? So.

Wow, man, this is freaking powerful. I'm so happy that you're having this conversation right now. I heard you talk about your dad one time where you, you know, you have a great relationship with him and he loves you, but you never saw him model kind of the self-love with himself, I guess, in this way. He would just kind of take everything on, but he wanted to Express, like, hey, can you give me a hand? Can I get support?

Yeah.

Like, he would just take it on, which is not a bad thing or wrong thing.

It's inspiring.

Yeah. But it's also empowering to allow others to support you.

Right. It is.

And so maybe he wasn't able to. He didn't have the tools to model this type of relationship you have with yourself right now. Right.

No, definitely. Like, I mean, like I was talking about previous Generations had no idea of this stuff. They didn't have these podcasts or therapists or education or studies or anything that would allow them to kind of work through this, nor did they really have probably, maybe it would have been honestly a disadvantage for them to feel some of this because they did have to get through a lot of hard. So, you know, he wasn't modeled that, and he was, like, the greatest father I could have ever imagined. But he, he wasn't able to model that, like, requesting of help and showing a vulnerability. And he almost created almost, like, a false expectation of what I was looking for, really thinking that's what I wanted. I wanted to be the rock that always held the family together that wasn't stressed out, that could, you know, just take everything on by himself and, like, together. And I was like, I'm not that person. Like, I can't do that.

You know, you're like, I need help.

Yeah. It was hard for me to kind of realize that because I was like, I want to become the man who can handle that. And then I was like, I don't think there was a version of me.

At least not a happy one that exists like that. Interesting. So did you feel like a failure.

As you were growing up? Because you didn't think you could be like your father. There were times where I felt like I was more angry, more sad, more upset, unable to handle as much stress where I was like, like, my dad could do this, you know? And I was, like, a little kind of hard on myself, and it did exist. But I I I'm sure there's a version of my dad who maybe, like, wishes at times he didn't. He was going through it, and he didn't feel like he could handle it. But that's all he knew. He didn't know how to talk about it.

He's all he knew.

So it's a lot. But he. What's. What I love about him is he's so, like, open to this, and, like, I talked to him now, and we're trying to, like, work on it now, and he's like, he's. so open to, like, learning and being there for me. And he's so proud of me for, like, doing this work myself. He's always, like, encouraged me to, like, to. To be this best version of myself.

So I think that's beautiful, because some parents, if they didn't have the tools to do these things themselves, they may say, why are you doing this? Why are you going to coach or therapist? Like, just suck it up, man. Like, I'm able to do this. Your grandfather was able to do this. We went through Wars, we went through famine. You know, we didn't have time to express our emotions. We were surviving. we're trying to survive. We didn't have the time or the privilege to talk about the pressures that we have. We just had to step up.

Yeah.

So I'm glad that your dad is empowering and encouraging you to be able to process the pressures in the past in a beautiful way and not just saying, ah, what are you doing? That shows that he's got a growth mindset as well.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

What is the. When did you know that you we're in love with Courtney. Was there a moment that you were like, okay, obviously I like this girl and we're hanging out or we're dating, but was there a moment where you're like, this is the one that I want to be with, the one that I want to choose?

I don't know if there was like a concrete moment. We went through a rocky start to our relationship. Really? We were long distance and she had had some kind of health stuff that was going on with her in the past. also something that we were able to relate on. And we kind of like, long distance is hard. We were kind of struggling. And I remember there being some times where we were like, we weren't doing hot and we were on the edge. We weren't super connected. And I just like, I remember thinking like, no matter all the s*** we're going through right now, I just never want to like lose her. Really? No matter what, I felt like I just, I was like, I always want, we weren't, I didn't see the perfect version of ourselves now, but I believed in like a better version of ourselves. and I just. I don't know. I just remember all that. And then we actually took a break at one point.

Really?

It was during COVID She got stuck in America. I was stuck in Canada. Borders were closed. We were kind of going through our stuff, and we were like, stuff wasn't really working out. We took a short break, kind of took a step back, and we're focusing on ourselves. And then after a few months, I was like, I felt nothing for a while. It's done. Whatever, you know, you're like, I'm done with the relationship. Moving on. And then all of a sudden, I just, like, I got hit by this overwhelming fear that she would be gone forever. And I started to really process that. And I was like, I don't know if I can live without this girl. I don't know if I can. If we bring this back together, it's going to be hard. We're going to have to not only build what we didn't have, but repair what we've now lost and work forward and go through a lot of the stuff that we've now created more pain. But I was like, I feel like I need to do it because this girl is so special. Really? and she really is like a great, like yin and yang to me, you know? Like she's very emotional and relational and connected and whereas for me sometimes I can go into like that performance mode and it's hard for me to like come back and connect. She's always like ready for an embrace and a hug and to be there and to be present. You're like, just get off me, I.

Need to focus right now. Yeah.

She's just always there, you know? And I'm not, I wasn't always the best at that. So she was a great model at me for being able to express your emotions and kind of like be more relational. Wow.

Okay, so you guys got back together and was that the time where you said, let's do therapy together, too?

Yeah, I think, I guess we had only done solo therapy up until then, but we did start doing therapy together after that. Yeah.

What was the, what has been the greatest lesson that you've learned through couples therapy?

I can't remember the, the exact quote that my, it's my therapist quote. I Jordan through name I stealing it from her, but it's like compatibility isn't a precursor it's earned. You know, like people, we're not just gonna like meet and be compatible and her, her aches work with my like positives and all this. It's not gonna be like that. We're gonna actually have to like work at understanding each other and giving and taking and being there for each other because it's not always perfect. And I think understanding how much really like work goes into a relationship working, you know, just I don't think you find your soulmate. you build your soulmate, you know, you have to earn it. And I think really, like, understanding that, first of all, a victim is someone who has no control over anything. So if something's out there and you need to find it, you have no control. If you find the wrong one, you can't fix it. So I find that gives you a lot more control to be able to, in empowerment, to be able to make your relationship what you want it to be rather than to try and find a relationship that you want. So I think that was a huge thing for me, and also. obviously, like we've spoken about, women have a lot more, like, emotional needs that they're vocal about, at least the men aren't. I think one of the biggest things I've learned is that her needs that she requests aren't just for her, but they're actually for me, too. So when she's, like, missing connection and I'm like, I don't need that, but I'll do it for you, it's like, no, I need it just as much as her. So I'm not. I'm not doing it for her. I'm doing it for us. and understanding that the relationship is an us thing, not a you and me thing, is like a huge thing that's a huge mindset shift. Because in a relationship, if you feel like you're doing something for someone else, sure you love them, you'll do it, but it's not the same as if you're truly believing it's making both of you better. Wow.

What's missing for you right now in your life or in the relationship that you feel like you don't have yet besides a daughter on the way?

That we don't have yet.

Is there something missing within you that you feel like you still get to develop to have the best relationship possible?

Yeah. I mean, I think a less of a drastic dial in life. What do you mean? So let's say last couple months, I've been traveling a lot, right? So I'm dialed into work, and then I come home and I'm trying to dial back into relationship. And if I'm all the way 100 to negative 100 back and forth, that's a big change to go. so it's how I need to learn better at not when I'm gone, not disconnecting too much so that when I come home, it's not too hard to continue to connect again. But I feel a lot more at peace and, and just joyful and happy when I'm really connected with her. So that's more important to me. So I need to put more energy into prioritizing that dial to be over there more often.

That's interesting. So not be a hundred at one thing only. Be like, okay, I want to be on the road for three weeks. I'm at 80%, but I'm going to give 20% over here as well.

So it's not completely eliminated.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Interesting. What is the thing you love about your wife the most?

That's another tough one. Not tough to find anything, but to pick one. This isn't the one I love the most, but something we were kind of joking about is, and I kind of touched on the stairs, I've been obsessed with efficiency in my life sometimes. And efficiency means that you're also missing out on a lot of things that are just joyful to be present. You know, things that don't really matter. you know, like if I'm like trying to get up and go, go, go, go, go, then I'm like, I gotta wake up, get in the shower, eat my food, get out the house. Like everything's gotta be on like a thing where she can just kind of like get up and be like, just kind of sit there for a bit, drink her coffee, want to just sit with me and just like be there with me and just like and be super present with that. And she's I used to be like, we gotta go, we gotta move, we gotta move. And she's just like, why? You know? So I think that is something that I really admire about her that it really helps me kind of slow down too. and she's also just the most selfless person I've ever met. Like she truly almost had a fault puts everyone else's needs before hers. And so I'm needing to learn when she said, no, like I don't need this. It's like, no, I know you need it, so I'm gonna give it to you. But I still love that she's always trying to like look out for me and no matter what we're going through, she really tries to see my side of it. She's just, she's able to empathize with how I feel. And a lot of men I know are afraid to show all the emotion, to cry and all these things because they're afraid that they're gonna be like, wife's gonna be like, oh, you're weak. Why are you crying? I need a tough man. She's never made me feel like that. She's truly made me feel like the more of my, like, insecure parts of myself that I show, that she loves me more, that she accepts me more for who I am, not less, not the same. But actually, like, it's. We have more love. She has more love for me when.

I show her more things that I'm afraid to show. Wow, man. That's beautiful. I think every man wants to be able to reveal themselves in front of the woman they're with. to feel seen and safe at the same time and secure of all their insecurities, shame and past guilt. They want to feel seen, safe and secure to reveal themselves. And I remember many relationships I was in, I remember a girl was, I was crying one time because I was bringing up something that was really emotional for me.

Yeah.

And I would say I'm a sensitive human being, but it's not like I'm crying every week or something, right? It's like, When something feels something, I'll feel it.

Yeah.

But then I'll move through it and I'm back to myself. It's not like every day, right?

You're human.

But when I was going through like something was challenging and I started to tear up and cry and she started to laugh at me. She was like, I know I'm supposed to not think this is funny, but you look weak.

Wow.

And I remember just feeling like, what are you talking about? Any woman would want their man to be able to show their emotions.

Yeah.

But some women aren't able to handle those emotions. Some women just don't have the skills or the tools for whatever reason from their parents. I'm not making her wrong or bad. It's just it didn't make me feel safe or secure to want to reveal myself like that ever again. And I think all women watching or listening, if you want to have a man that is in his masculine and driven and on his purpose, allow him to be all the parts of himself, even the insecure, scared little boy parts that he has inside of him. Embrace it because that'll make him feel safe to go bigger on his purpose moving forward. So I'm so happy to hear that Courtney is that for you. And she embraces all the parts of you. And that is a beautiful thing. It sounds like she's still gonna do a little work with her and her Courtney, her little Courtney as well.

But she started it before me.

Oh, she did. That's good.

Yeah. We're both working on it.

That'S beautiful, man. I got a few more questions for you, Des, okay? I want to ask you about health and longevity. I want to ask you about a little bit about your business and your social media empire. And then I want to wrap things up shortly after that. You know, five-time world champion, Olympia, right? You've mentioned every year you're not sure if you're gonna do it again or if you're done or you're thinking about it and you're still in that season. How do you think as you're, you know, we were talking about this beforehand, how do you approach your health, let alone like pursuing more Olympias and championships, but how do you think about your health with bodybuilding, with training this hard, with the amount of intention you have on building the body. When you've seen, you know, Giants of the past go through now, heart attacks and surgeries and back replace, you know, surgeries and all these different things, knee Replacements, when you see kind of like the, the Giants before you start to not only fall, stumble, but have heart health challenges, how do you think about your approach to health and the world of bodybuilding to live a long, healthy life of Harmony, not of. I was a champion for, you know, five, ten years and then suffered the rest of life.

Yeah.

How do you think about that? And is that a fear of yours?

It's definitely a fear of mine. And I've always said, if you're a bodybuilder and you don't have that fear, then you're just ignorant because it's a reality of what I do for sure. And I do the best that I can within. the realm that I'm in to manage it, but I know what I'm doing isn't healthy for my body.

Really? You know right now it's not healthy for you.

Yeah, for sure. You know, the body building is making me healthier. Absolutely not. I know that. I know there's a lot of steps I can take to mitigate that as best as possible, but it's not healthy. And that's why I've always, I've never been like, I'm one of the younger competitors. A lot of the open body builders at least are like 35 years old when they Peak. A lot of them win around then, so I'm like, I could go all the way for another six, seven years. But I've always been like, if I'm ever bodybuilding past 30, like, you guys just cancel my gym membership. It's like, just don't let me, you know, I'm done. And I wouldn't, I would never go past 30. So I'm coming to the end of my career and I'm, I always had the goal of if I start and I'm successful young and I end young, then I'm at least better off than pushing past. Cause obviously the younger we are, the better our body that can recover and heal. Yeah. Yeah. And I also just had the goal of winning Olympias. that was my only goal. So I didn't want to do the Arnold, which is in March. I didn't want to do any other show throughout the year. I was always going to do one show. So it allowed myself after the Olympia to take some time off the gym completely. Smart. Give my body, my organs, my digestion, everything a break. And then a lot of other people compete. They want to go get other titles. And I'm like, well, you're actually all falling behind because I'm already preparing for the next Olympia, and you're preparing for a show in between and then the Olympia. so it always kind of gives me an opportunity to say, yeah, there's no.

Off season for them. There's no time to recover.

They get, like, a week off, and then they're back out. That's tough. And that's mentally exhausting. It's physically exhausting on your body. It's a lot. So I think that's a huge benefit that i've tried to give myself, is a lot of bodybuilders throughout their career, they'll do, like, 30 to 50 shows, and i've only done, like, 12.

Wow.

You know, and i've won five olympias already, so it only goes up one year. So that's a good batting percentage. Yeah, yeah, not too bad. That definitely helps me. this year I've been, like I was talking to you about, I got with a new trainer, Justin King, and he's more of an athletic trainer, but he's doing a lot of prehab, I guess you could call it, like injury prevention.

Style stuff, doing more like mobility and.

Stretching, mobility, isometric holds, all these kind of things, like concentric negatives and all these different things. So help my tissues and ligaments and everything get stronger so I don't hurt myself in the future. You know, I used to squat six, 700 pounds all the time. now I'll, like, do leg press, squat extension, all these things first, and then squat, like, 300 pounds.

Really? It gets a lot lighter. It's a lot easier.

And you're not compressing your back. Also, I mean, that 600 pound of bar, your back, man. Geez, that depression. I was like, why do I get headaches every week? I want. I used to tell, I used to go to my phys, my massage therapist. I'd be like, why do I have.

Such bad, like, headaches and neck pain? And he's like, bro, you squat and.

Deadlift 600 pounds twice a week. What do you expect your body's gonna do? I'm like, that's a good point. Yeah.

You're lifting a small car on your shoulders, man.

I mean, that's crazy.

Yeah.

So I pulled away from that. You know, I do a lot of blood work throughout the year. That's good. I have a good. My business partner in the supplements actually owns the health clinic. I'll relive.

Nice.

So I can, like, walk in there and just do blood work whenever I want. I can get IVs, glutathione, all these things that I need and keep on track of that. So I know my blood markers, especially the specific ones that bodybuilders monitor, like liver, egfr, inflammation, all these different things that you can monitor that. at least are a good show. They don't show everything, obviously, but it's a good test, at least, to see where you're at. So that's helped me a lot. My diet has been focused on just health rather than purely, like, getting calories in. It's actually caring what kind of foods I'm putting in.

Quality of calories, too.

Exactly. Yeah. You know, I don't. I don't drink. I don't party as much anymore. I really emphasize sleep because I think that's the biggest thing I've been doing. The more Progressive stuff I've been doing.

That'S not really in reach of everyone.

I've been doing a lot of stem cells. Yeah. and peptides.

How has that, how has that worked for you?

Peptides and stem cells? I think they've helped me a lot. You know, I've gotten some stem cells and some injuries, which have healed faster than an injury should heal. Right. I tore my bicep two years ago before the Olympia, got stem cells in that, and it healed in, like, six weeks or something. So it was pretty crazy. But overall, what I've noticed is, especially for autoimmune, it reduces inflammation. And one of the biggest things they've studied around it is mitigating autoimmune diseases. So I haven't had any flare-ups or inflammation or anything like that since I started doing that consistently. So that's helped a lot. And just kind of balancing all these things together to make the best lifestyle I can within what I'm doing. Because every time I try and talk about doing something healthier, people like, you're taking steroids, you're killing yourself. I'm like, I understand they're not healthy, but I'm also everything I'm doing, you can do without steroids and be even healthier than me. Or if you are going to decide to do it, you can follow along like this too. And at least if you're gonna do it, you're making the best of what you got. Sure, sure. So, you know, it's not, it's like the person who people are like, you go to McDonald's and you get a Diet Coke. What's the point of that? I was like, well, you don't need to add all the sugar on top of McDonald's if you're gonna have it.

You can do a little bit better, you know? Of course. There's ways to do the best you can within what you're doing. So, yeah, the few things I'm trying. That's great, man. We're here in Vegas at our friend Omar's studio. He's a, he's a video master, and he's been building his social media and really talented as well. in this world of social media, but you have built a social media empire. I mean, millions of followers on YouTube, millions of views every video, 20 plus million, I think, on Instagram, and it just exploded around the world. What is your thought around content media and building this social media empire? Are you intentional with it, or is it just, I'm gonna throw up a photo of myself jacked and it's gonna go viral? Because there's tons of jacked dudes that that don't get this big on social media. What is your business philosophy and creative mind around building the brand of you?

I mean, obviously winning five Olympics is a bit of a cheat code. You know, you got a good amount of media attention for that. So that's helped a lot. But I also think there's a lot of successful people out there in different fields who haven't been able to grow a social media for whatever which reason.

And There's NFL champions, there's NBA champions, there's, you know, tennis champions that don't have a fraction of the audience that you have. And they're at a bigger platform.

Well, yeah, like Tom Brady, I think has less followers than me, but you did a poll in America of how many people know him. He would beat me a million times over the amount of people know his name, but his social media isn't really authentic and vulnerable and, like, genuine. It doesn't look like he's on there thinking, How can I put myself out there on social media? get people to know me. It looks like he has a PR agent being like, you know, check this out, check that out. And all these things kind of like a more of like a highlight reel, more professionalism. So with that being said, my only philosophy that I've ever had is just no one logs in on to my Instagram. No one makes any captions for me. No one tells me what to post on my Instagram. I'm just going to put out what feels authentic to me and what feels like I'm really showing myself. And that's all I'm ever going to do. Really? I've never really chased like the. The trends, the algorithms, or all these things like that. And I've just tried to. My captions often. Sometimes are either, like, a philosophical thought I was thinking one night, and I tried to write it out in the caption, like, a journal, and I post it, or there's some stupid joke where I'm making, like, a light-hearted joke about myself, trying to be funny, and just. I never take myself too seriously. I try and just be my, like, authentic self on there. And I think, especially in a world with a lot Right now and, you know, people mistrusting politicians and all the fake news out there, people appreciate authenticity. And I got in at a good time. I got lucky. I've won some Olympias, you know, and I just tried to stay true to myself. And I think people appreciated seeing that authenticity. And they also really appreciated that, yes, I got the immediate attention from winning Olympias and all of this stuff, but through all that, anyone who's followed me since the beginning and everyone who knows me personally, All these people, number one thing they say that I'm most proud to hear that I haven't changed. I'm still the same kid, I'm still the same person. I've grown a lot, I'm a lot smarter, but to my core, I'm the same person. That's beautiful, man. So I think really people have just appreciated seeing someone make a lot of external growth and internally remain true to themselves.

When did you start to make the transition of like, okay, this is actually a business where I can make money and build a business rather than I'm assuming a lot of guys are just more sponsored athletes and they're getting paid by sponsors or winning competitions. When did you make that shift of like, oh, I'm gonna make money as a business, not just as a, an athlete or a sponsored influencer and get endorsement deals? When did that shift?

I think 2019 or so was the first year I ever was, like, trying to make some merch. You know, I'm, like, through it. I'll make a t-shirt and see how it goes. And I was in my sister's living room printing stuff on a piece of paper because I didn't have labels, taping it to a bag. And I shipped out like 250 t-shirts and I was like, that was pretty good money, you know, that was easy. And I made it all. I did some work.

It was satisfying. It was like, that was easy.

I could do that. So just post it on social media. Hey, there's a shirt. Buy it. I was literally like DM me your address and PayPal or sell me or something. I did each single interact, Whatever, one at a time. Wow.

That's how you all start.

That's how we all start. I'll send you the address on Microsoft Word, print it out, cut it into, it took me probably a week to do 250. I know, man.

That's how we all start, though. You have no clue what you're doing. You're like, ah, who wants this?

Just give me some cash and I'll deliver it to you. Yeah. So that's how that all started. And I met a good friend of mine now who's still my business partner who was my athlete manager. And he quit his job because he didn't like it. Came over to help me on that backend business. side of things and we're still doing stuff now. And then as I started to gain a lot more popularity, one of my sponsors was like, how about we make your own product? And I was like, yeah, let's do it. Let's see how it goes. We'll try it. So I got to make the label, I got to make the product. But it was still under their brand.

But it was still their brand. It was in your business.

It's like you get more commission. Exactly. But it's not yours. I got a royalty off of it, but I didn't own anything. So I did that. and it exploded. It did super well. It was probably one of their best selling products, definitely the best drop the company had ever had. I made like $80,000 over a weekend and I was like, that was 10x the money I've ever made. I was like, you're like, I'm rich. I was like, wait, this much money is out there? And I'm other company, the company's making this much money and I'm only getting the salary.

You're getting like 2% of what they're making.

Yeah, yeah. I'm like, all right, something's not adding up here. So that was when I started to be like, all right, I need to do this for myself. And then I had a bunch of people reach out to me and try and do it with me. And then some people tell me I should do it all by myself because I can do it, all these things. And then I ended up going down to Florida to meet with Matt Jansen and Dom, my two partners now, just to talk about some things. And they had a supplement company for vitamins called Revive. And they were starting a different one and they wanted me to come on as a partner and be a, we were all going to be equal partners in it. And I was like, you know, some people are telling me I should own my whole thing and do it all myself, but. I went down there and I spent some time with them and I really connected with them. They were good people. They had a great operation for their previous company. I could tell they were smart and they were genuine, like good people that I could be friends with. And I was like, this just feels right. You know, my gut, I was like, this feels right. So I ended up moving down to Florida. We started a company called Raw, made another product with my name on the side of it by this time I owned the company. And it's just been exploding ever since. And what's cool is I'm good at some marketing stuff. I'm good at ideas and pushing the brand in direction I want, but I don't really want to run operations and sales calls and manufacturing, shipping, all the buying raw materials, like all that, you.

Know, I don't want to do that.

You got to build your body, man. You don't have time for that. I got to check out Olympia. I got to do all these things. So having those partners is the best thing I ever could have done. And they're amazing. And obviously the company wouldn't be as big as it was without all of us being the system that we are. So we've created something really cool and really big now and what the risk that I took within all that is I was making Being fully transparent, I was probably making probably $10,000 a month salary and then I had gotten that like $80,000 commission and then I was offered to stay with them a small piece of that company and I think $60,000 a month so you're like okay, this is and I was like hold.

It'S a lot of money.

That's like seven 100 Grand. I was like, you serious? Like, this is, you know, my whole thing with money in my life was that if I made 100 Grand a year, I was rich. I made it. That's the only thing I ever thought about. So I'm like, that's like 60 Grand a month. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then with raw, they were like, there's no salary, there's no commission. You're not going to be making any money right now, you know? I'm like. And they're like, but we'll front the money to start the business. We'll all be equal partners, and it will be, like, a long-term play. And I was like, Yeah, it just felt right. You know, I'm like, I'm going to take the risk. I'm going to bet on myself. You know, I might be cutting the salary right now. Like, I could go buy these cool, like a nice house and a nice car and all these things right now, but how about I wait a little bit? And I mean, I only had to wait like two years and I was able to make good money from it. And now I still not making that big of a salary, but the equity.

That I own in the company is worth infinitely times more than that. What did the total first year? What did you guys do?

Total sales?

In the new business, do you know?

In the new business, I think it was just under 10 million.

10 million.

Yeah.

So you're building, you know, 10 million of equity, which something like that you could potentially sell for, you know, 30, 50, 80 million after one year of sales.

Ah, not that company, no, because it's.

The company that the company you just.

Built the first year at that first year, the way the multiplier works in supplements is more of like a 10. 10x off EBITDA. So if we were really only making, like, one to two mil profit, that we maybe would have been worth 10 million. Yeah.

Yeah.

But you still.

But if you build it, you know, over time.

Yeah.

And it's. It's getting.

Yeah, that was year one. And it was way more fun like that. I was way more passionate about it. It felt way more authentic to promote something that I owned and that I got to decide all the products that were coming out, how we marketed it, how it looked, everything. I got to be a part of it, so it made me a lot more involved in it and. people also felt that authenticity of how much I cared about it. It's not like buy this brand and a year later someone offers me more money. So I'm like, wait, no, buy this brand. Now buy this one.

It's like, no, this is it forever. This is like, I'm gonna make this the best. Oh, man, that's exciting. This is a question I ask everyone towards the end of the interviews. So I've got three final questions for you. But before I ask them, I want to send people to your Instagram. I want them to follow you. I don't think my audience probably follows you yet. Maybe there's some of them, but I don't think my audience fully, most of your audience is men, I'm assuming, right?

Yeah.

It's like 90% men. Yeah, where I'm more like 50-50 men and women.

Really?

But I think the women are really gonna love this so much to see someone like you speak in this way and have a beautiful relationship with your wife and, you know, building yourself to be a father and all the work you're doing, I think they're gonna love this. So I think they're gonna share this with all the men in their life and say, you need to watch this. But I want people to check out, like your vlogs are awesome. I just love how real you are in your content. I just want people to see it, you know, watch it to be entertained and inspired, but also to study the way you do things on social media. I just think you do a great job. So I want to congratulate you there. Where can people check out the supplement business? Where can they go for that?

It's called Raw Nutrition. So get rawnutrition.com is the website.

Get Raw Nutrition. and your favorite is what? The pre-workout the protein.

What do you like the most? I mean, cookies and cream protein is my favorite right now.

Should have brought me some, man.

Let's go. I'll send you some. Let me address. I'll send you in more energy and then. Yeah, the pre-workout too. Those are our best selling skews.

Everyone loves those. Okay, nice pre-workout protein. Get in there. Get raw nutrition or what the website website.

Get raw nutrition.com to check that out.

So your YouTube is awesome. What's the, the name on the YouTube?

You can just search Chris Bumstead on social.

There's a C-bum though on the, on the Instagram C-bum.

Yeah. Yeah.

So check that out. Watch the Journey of youf with your, you know, your daughter coming in a couple of months, man. I'm excited for you, man. What is the thing that you would tell your younger self, your 12, 13 year old self about what is about to happen in your life to become a father? What's that? thing that you would say to your younger self if you could go back and tell him something.

In regards to becoming a father? Yeah. I would probably just say take it a little easy on yourself, you know, to understand that it's not as easy nor is it maybe even possible just to give the kind of love you want to others without giving it to yourself. so if you want to show your baby girl and prefer to feel the love that you want her to feel, then understand that you deserve that same love. Oh, my goodness, man. Give me the chills the way you're talking.

This is beautiful, man. This is a question I ask everyone at the end. It's called the three truths. So imagine a hypothetical scenario. You get to live as long as you want. You've taken care of your health, so you're living long. Beautiful. But it's the last day on Earth for you. many years away. And you get to create everything you want. The family, the relationship, the business, the adventures, everything at all happens the way you envision from this moment until the last day of you for your life. But for whatever reason, you've got to take all of your content, your work, your products, your businesses with you. So no one has access to your information. This interview is gone. Anything you've ever shared is gone. Yeah, hypothetically. But you get to leave behind one final message. And this is all we would have to remember Chris by. And I call it the three truths. So what would be the top truths that you would leave behind or the biggest lessons you would leave behind? To the world, to your younger self, to your friends and family, what would those truths be?

Oh man. This is tough. You're gonna have to go home and think about this one deeper and come back with you another answer. But I would say understanding utmost importance, the value of connection, connection with people around you, connection with yourself and how important relationships are. You know, I think people really, they think they understand that, but when you look at their life, they're pouring more energy into work and then coming home too tired to focus. on it or they're harder on themselves rather than like showing themselves a little bit more grace. And I think truly being able to prioritize that, you know, and I also think even my, I'm guilty of this too. I'm like, well, I'm busy right now. So in the future, I'll focus on that. I'm, this is going on right now, you know, I want to be able to retire young so I can do all that. I'll do it later, you know, and I think it's often too late when you keep saying that and something will always come up. So, I guess lesson number two is whatever you want to do, do it now because tomorrow never comes, you know? Just get after it. Connection, most important thing. Don't wait to focus on that. Focus on it now. And something a little bit more performative. I always say this little saying called set the standard. And it started off very external, like be the best, set the standard of the classic physique that I was in, but it became more so of set your own standards to, to rely on the standards that you hold true and you hold important to yourself rather than the standards that other people think are important. So figure out what you truly feel is important and focus on those and prioritize your life to, to set those standards for yourself and maybe your family as well. Cause usually that all ties in, but not caring what other people's standards are, but focusing on what matters most to you.

Those are great truths, man. You don't need to reflect on this. You got those right there. Before I ask the final question, Chris, I want to acknowledge you for, man, the journey, man. Not only the journey physically and performance wise and athletically in terms of your goals and dreams in the external world, but the journey in your relationships with your wife, your friends, your family, and with yourself now and little Chris. I think the fact that you have gone on a journey and an adventure to heal the parts of you that were hurting is, I think, the greatest thing you've, the greatest accomplishment you've ever created for yourself more than any Olympia. And so I want to acknowledge you for that journey, man. It's a beautiful thing that you're doing and a beautiful standard that you're setting for the rest of a young men's generation coming up right now. So thank you for setting that standard for yourself, for your wife, for your daughter and your family. and for the millions of people that watch you, man. It's really beautiful.

Thank you.

Of course. My final question, what is your definition of greatness?

My definition of greatness. Oh, man. They're like tough questions you're throwing at me. I should have, you didn't let me prep on these. I would say that greatness to me is truly living in alignment with like your authentic self and being the best version of yourself in all aspects of life. So like I was saying, not just in like the physical, but emotional and relationally and being the best version of yourself. And in my concept, what comes with that greatness of the best version of yourself is also a version that elevates the people around you and makes everyone around you a better version and is caring and loving enough to yourself and to others that as you become better, you're making other people around you better so that your family, your community, your friends are all kind of being elevated alongside you. Because if you're only up there by up there by yourself, then you're by yourself and you feels lonely. So, yeah, I guess something along those lines.

See bomb, my man. Thank you, brother.

Thank you.

Great times, man. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description. for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad-free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you. and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you, if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.