3 Phases: From Homeless to Million-Dollar Amazon Business with Mauro Stendel
In this candid interview, host Rafi Pinsky and guest Mauro Stendel discuss the full arc of Mauro’s life—from his early days of homelessness and military service in elite Israeli units, through a panic attack that forced a reevaluation of his values, to building a multi‑million‑dollar Amazon e‑commerce empire and investing in real‑estate. The conversation weaves through personal philosophy (the importance of being disagreeable and setting boundaries), a heated debate about patience versus aggressive action inspired by fellow entrepreneur Brad Lee, and a controversial thought‑experiment about how to react if a woman’s ass is slapped in a bar. Mauro shares vivid anecdotes about his panic attack in a 14‑bedroom Houston house, his subsequent shift from flaunting multiple supercars to living more humbly with a single Porsche, and the physical injuries that ended his elite military career, leading him to become an Arabic teacher. He also explains the intricacies of Israel’s special‑unit selection process, the linguistic challenges of different Arabic dialects, and his future plans to continue sharing his story and business insights. The interview ends with a call to action for listeners to subscribe, follow Mauro, and purchase his book “Three Phases.”
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Welcome to another episode of Soothing Semantics. I am your host, Rafi Pinsky. Make sure to subscribe. Take a moment, hit the subscribe button. Hit the bell so you're notified of all episodes. Smash the like button. Leave your comments negative or positive. We all, we welcome them all. And today we have Mauro Stendel.
Nice pronunciation.
Yes. The dove Divani is really Special Forces soldier. Brothers in arms. We're both in the, in the Israeli army, so.
Right.
We always, you know, have that connection and thank you for coming, bro. It's really a pleasure having you.
No, it's my pleasure to come. I owe you this. I, we were speaking about it for.
A long time, so I, I've been seeing you a lot on, on the Internet, mostly in Spanish. I have no idea what you're talking about.
I know, but it's like, listen, I'm putting a lot of work into it and after a lot of research, I figure out that first I have to speak to my people in order to grow faster. And then, you know, I'll transfer, I'm doing it slowly, slowly, like a transfer to English, you know, but like I have to make sure I got a big audience in my language. Here's people. Your people will respond faster, you know, to you because they feel identified with you.
That makes that okay. It's interesting. I mean, I don't know. I, I, I only do it in one language. I just do it in English. It's cuz it's universal.
Yeah, but that's your people too, you know?
Sure.
Like my people, it's like, yeah, I'm Jewish, but like Argentinians and not hood, but like, you know, like regular people, you know, from Argentina that, you know, for them, I'm like, wow, this kid from this neighborhood now it's like, you know what I'm saying?
Yeah, yeah. You made moves and they, they relate to it.
Yeah.
So aside from the army, you've built a massive E Commerce brand. E commerce company. And I want to talk to you about revenue and how much you're pulling in. If you're open to talk. I really want to know. I think everyone wants.
We'll talk about money, don't worry.
And, and how Leo Roz from Fouda is essentially copying you. You know how he's taken on. No, okay, but, but you've built a massive brand. You have, you have a book that you put out. How would you say it in Spanish? Tres fasis.
Tres Faces.
So much sexier than Three phases. Yeah, I wrote a book called Three Phases. And you're like, listen, I wrote a book called the Tres Faces. It's about an interesting. The way of. Of the warrior. You know, you just. It's good, it's. It sounds much sexier. Yeah. So anyway, so give me, give me.
Good. That is not tres fasos. You know, Tres fasos.
I don't want to say three joints. I mean, it wouldn't. I'm sure that would sell too, bro. Alfaso faso is a joint faso.
Yeah. Okay.
So you. You have your book.
I have my book.
And aside from the. The e. Commerce and the. The book, I know you. You have some real estate, right? Because you mentioned Texas. Real estate in Texas.
Yeah. I used to do wholesale real estate in Texas in Austin. Now I. I moved back completely to Miami. Was a. It was a dark time for me. I was traveling to Texas back and forth. I used to do three days here, three days, Texas. Three days here, three days, TX.
Wow.
Yeah, it was just a time where I was following money like crazy and nothing else mattered. I also invested that time in toxicology lab and pgx, which is pharmacogenetics laboratory in Houston. So I was living in Houston also in that time keeping. You know, I had an apartment in Bricko and I was going to Houston. Brickell Houston. Brickell Houston.
Where were you staying in Houston? You had an apartment there too?
No, I. I actually rented a 14 bedroom house.
When you say rented, you mean you had 14 other people or a bunch of other.
No, it's just by self. In a huge crib, five cars and. Yeah, it was a dark time. It was completely a dark time. I mean, you got. You got a, you know, experience in order to actually understand that that's not life. But I'm glad I did it. When I was 25, paying for this. Yeah, I used to spend probably like $30,000 in just like rents and payments and stuff like that.
Balls, bro.
Yeah. Holy.
You probably were having crazy ass parties too.
Yes, that. Yeah, that's too. That too. But it actually came to a point where I even had a panic attack when I discovered, look, I was chasing money like crazy. And all of a sudden I had everything. Everything. I want any car that. Name it. Like everything, you know? But then I realized, like, dudu, what am I doing? Like, I'm 25, I'm by myself. Everybody who's here is not here because they love me. Just because the party that I'm throwing, you know, or like, and, and. And it was really bad. It was. You feel like you have everything, but you have nothing at the same time.
I remember you spoke about that on Brad's podcast. I want to go into that, but I. What I want to kind of go into a little is. Is your challenge that you had. But before that even, I remember when I saw you at K Space. So K Space for whoever's listening is just a, A Jewish kind of event for, for singles. And, you know, it's in the area here where I live, so I haven't. I didn't see you in a long time, and this was maybe a year and a year ago, and you had a McLaren and I had no idea. Just because I, I, you know, you and I, we didn't hang out that often. Just, you know, I saw you here and there.
Yeah. Yeah.
And then when I saw the, the McLaren, I was like, when the hell did you get that car? How did you get that car? I didn't even understand it because I didn't know you were making money. I just didn't know. And I honestly, I was like, is he renting it? Is he like, blowing all his money on it? I was like, what the hell's going on? I was just. Couldn't understand because you don't, bro, you don't meet people in their 20s, like, Jewish people. Jewish. Jewish guys usually, you know, like, they usually don't. Even if they could afford it, they usually are more like low key.
Well, but also they're like. I find like Jewish people are more like old money, you know?
Old money.
Yeah. I don't, I don't see too many Jewish kids that are willing to sleep in a car in order to build a brand, you know?
No, they are not. Because they don't have to.
Yeah, it's just like, no, Abba, can you Please send me 5000 for a trip to Israel? You know what I'm saying?
It's my more gener. Mostly generational.
Yeah, it's mostly jobs.
Yeah. Well, because they don't have to struggle anymore because they're not. Because they're, you know, their family.
Well, even, Even if they, Even if they could struggle and build their own brand and do something, like, for themselves. Look, I'm proud of being Jewish and all that, but there is a whole toxic ambient inside, you know, and it's really hard to actually overcome those, like, J judges and like, judgments and like, no, you cannot do that because of, you know what?
I'm saying, and you're saying trying different, certain business ventures, you're going to get judged for it.
No, no, I'm saying, like, go sell drugs, but I'm saying, like, sleeping in a car, you know, like, if you go to a synagogue and let's say you go to K Space and you're saying, like, yeah, you know, I'm at this point, I'm surviving because I want to dedicate my 24 hours a day to my brand. So I don't want to work for nobody and I have no money, so I'm sleeping in my car. People will be like, you're crazy.
Right?
Which is true. You're crazy. But they will take it to the next level. You know, they, they're all going to speak about it and they're all going to talk shit. And they, you know what I'm saying?
So accurate. But I think it comes from a good place because here's what it is. If you're sleeping in your car, you have this inside feeling that, like, I know what I'm doing, what the position I'm in right now sucks. But I see a bigger picture, right? I'm putting. I know what I can do. I know what I'm capable of. And I have to suffer now so I can get there.
Right?
But you know that about yourself. But people perceiving it from the outside, they're like, this dude's crazy.
Right?
And they don't have the confidence in you that you have in yourself.
Correct. They don't see the, they don't see the vision that you have.
Right.
But they'll never see it. Only people. Like, if I have. I know somebody now sleeping in the car. I know, like, it's different if this, if it's by choice or if it's by needs, you know, I didn't need to sleep in a car.
Right?
But when I know that somebody is willing to do that in order to actually improve. Because let's say like, that when I, you know, I finish in Duba Divan, special unit, and there's a lot of crazy job opportunities. I also speak four languages. Like, you know, it's, it's, it's a good, you know, resume for actually a security company or, you know, even Mossad, you know what I'm saying? I could do, like, really big stuff when I finished army, but I wanted to do something for myself. I wanted to, you know, be a millionaire. But, like, not like, depending on, like, work standing like this, like a security guard or stuff, or saving money.
Could you make already As a security guard. Even if you were in Dove Divine, how much are they going to pay you?
Well, you could go to Africa to, for example, protect gold mines. You can make like $15,000 a month, $20,000 a month. Or you can go train armies. You know, you can make a lot of money. You can make. Yeah, it could get to, like $20,000 a month, but you have to live six months in Sierra Leona. You know what I'm saying?
That.
Yeah.
Congo, sleeping with gorillas.
Yeah. You get the malaria.
I'm okay with that. They would call you Malaria Standel. God forbid.
Oh, that's funny. Yeah. But. But, you know, and. And also, I didn't plan to actually sleep in a car. I. I found a Jewish guy from Brooklyn that had a house for sale in Sheepset Bay, and he let me stay there just so squatters don't get in. So I came, I had $500, and I went to a supermarket, and I, you know, I survived in the army. You know, when you go to, like, places and you have to eat tuna cans?
Oh, yeah, the fields are shut off.
Yeah. So I said it. I'm gonna keep it like that. I'm a warrior. So I went to the supermarket. I saw tuna cans, vegetables. I could eat for $20 a week. You can really do it, even with inflation. I'll take you to the supermarket, I'll teach you how to eat with $20 a week.
$20 a week. It's crazy.
Tuna cans, vegetables, fruits. You can eat for 20, 20 hours a week if you're surviving. You know, I'm not going to all get your protein and then go to the gym. This is survive.
Right?
But. But the reason I took it to the extreme is because I want it really fast. I want to succeed as fast as I can.
But it isn't. Also a part of it is because. Because you were in the army and you're not getting that adrenaline anymore in some fucked up way. As much as you don't want to be sleeping in a car, you want to be sleeping in a car. Meaning, like, you want to be able to tell yourself that you're tough enough to put yourself through it. Is that. Is there a part of that that's.
I mean, maybe, yes. Like, you feel like, oh, look, I'm. I'm tough. But it was just. I really wanted to, as fast as I can, to finish with my goal. And in order to do so, I understood. I had to put everything I thought, everything I saw aside, everything. My mom was really sick. I couldn't see her. Her last year, and I knew she was, you know, gonna go, you know, I don't know. I didn't know exactly when, but I knew it wasn't her last moment. I didn't go to my sister marriage because I needed to be here. There's a lot of stuff that, you know, people don't see about entrepreneurs. Like, yeah, you know, you see, like, the McLaren, but you didn't. You didn't know. I was slept. I slept for a whole almost a year in my car. I didn't go to my mom last year.
You know, bro, people don't see it because the reality is humans don't give a. Like, they don't give a. About your struggle unless you get there.
Right?
Meaning, no, now that you had. You got the McLaren, you succeeded. Now you could tell your rags to riches story, and everyone's like, wow. Because they relate to it. They don't relate to the success part, but they relate some, you know, to.
If they get to actually listen to you. Because some people just look at the McLaren, oh, a drug dealer, you know, and. Or he's doing something illegal, you know, or he's plowing all his money into that.
That's what most people.
That's the first reaction. But you never get their reaction, like, oh, this guy that he's a. Has a McLaren. He actually. It's a regular Jewish kid, you know, went to yeshiva or, you know, and then to the university, and now he's working in with his family. No. Right. You never get that. So, you know, never get it.
But one thing I always liked about you, bro, is you always like a. Like a nice, like, humble dude. Like, even if maybe you had your own, you know, pride moments and whatever. Whenever I met we.
Whenever.
Whenever I met you and spoke to you, you were always like a guy I could get along with. I could always. You know what I'm saying?
Yeah. I mean, but you're nice, too. If you were stupid, I was like, shut the up.
Because we both have. Bro, we both have a natural confidence where we don't have to, like, go out of our way to prove anything.
Right?
That's the truth. We're just, you know, I can't afford a McLaren. I'll be very real with you. But I know that when I can, even when I can't have the car, I think there's gonna be a level of humility because rich becoming wealthy, and I haven't made millions at all. But what I do know is even the things I've become good at, Riches don't change you, they magnify you. They magnify the person you are. So if you're an asshole and you have money now, you're just a bigger asshole. That's what I believe.
Yes, I. But that's also a problem if you're really nice. And let me tell you something, I was always the nice guy, right? Always. And I was really agreeable, you know, let's call it like that. Yeah, it's actually a theory from Jordan Peterson.
I know, exactly.
Agreeable and disagreeable. So I was really agreeable and really nice. And when I had a lot of money in this dark time, I was extremely agreeable and really nice with money. So people couldn't. Like, I, I remember one time in South Beach, I was with the lamborghini euros, you know, 350, 000 car. And the guys like, oh, can you please take me? Like, yeah, I'll help out, you know. And I took a random guy to some because he was on my way, you know.
Right.
Who does that?
Right?
I didn't give a. I gave him the experience, you know, I wanted to do something nice for the guy and.
Wanted to ride too. Yeah.
You know, and like, I gave a good experience and I felt good about giving other, you know, I was taking care of, making sure everybody's right. Making sure like, you're right. You want, you need help, you call me like, hey, please pick me up at the airport, 6am do the. I have a meeting. But yeah, I was like, you know what I'm saying? I was the nice guy. And the problem when you're really nice and you get to the top, everybody's gonna eat you alive. They eat you raw. So it was a really dark moment because I was really agreeable with money. I was helping friends in Argentina to pay their bills. And I myself was fat as bald. Didn't fix my teeth, you know, didn't take care of myself, you know, at all. I'm still a fatty, but not like as, you know.
But first of all, you're. You're a little bit smaller, so it doesn't distribute as easily.
Right. You know? No, but like, I was, you know, bigger. And the reason is that I didn't prioritize myself. So money, yeah, you know, boost. You boost my being nice to people. And then I discovered that is a mistake. You should not be nice to people. You should be nice to yourself.
Yeah, I think there's a, There's a balance. I, I think I've been able to. So I don't have A problem saying no to people. I'm okay with that. I'm not so agreeable, to be honest. I'm not. I'm nice to people that I feel I can trust and be nice to. If I get the feeling that they're gonna try to get one over on me and they're gonna take my niceness for weakness, I sense it very quickly. And I'll put. I'll shut it down.
Well, that's a talent. I had to work on it. I had to read books about it, bro.
I did work on it because.
Oh, you worked on it.
I wasn't always like that.
But, you know, there's people that have it from. They're born. They literally have this talent about knowing.
I think it's. I think it's parenting, bro. I think it's mostly parenting. What were your parents like? Were they more agreeable?
I don't know, man. I was like always in the streets. Like, I. I'm not speaking about my. My dad or like, I had everything I wanted, but I just always chose the. The streets. I was a guy. Yeah. I like to like, be around this. I don't know, man. My mama was sick.
Did your father have a decent amount of money or he.
Was he. When I was born?
Yes.
And then he went down a little bit. I started working when I was 15. I was delivering ice cream with my bicycle. Yeah. And. Yeah, man, I. I don't know.
I just chose real quick Morrow. I know you had Brad Lee had you on his podcast, but you and I are going to have a much better conversation. I hope. I hope you're ready for that, Brad.
I mean, we're talking.
I don't know if he gives two shits, but he's like, okay, Rafi, great. You know who he is.
You know, I had. Now I. I did with the Wolf of Wall street too, last week.
You went on his.
Yeah, I went to his house. No, I. I did my show and I interviewed him.
That's amazing.
Yeah, it's cool.
Yeah, it's amazing, bro. If. If there's some way that you could hook it up. Yo, that would be unbelievable.
I'll try.
But like, but here's the. I gotta know. Did you pay him?
No, but I did a good strategy. Yeah, I have. I'm. I. I think it about like, chess. You know, my dad was a chess enthusiast. And I also speak about the trefases, the three phases, the last fa. Like. So the first one is no way back. Right. Create a no return, burn your boats. The second is like not mimicry, but you have to blend in. If you want to be this, then be like them, bro. Like, get around these people, learn from them. You know, stuff. And the third one, it's like variables, you know, variables like could be this or could be that, right? So in chess you have that, because if he plays this, you play that.
You know, different outcomes. Different, different.
So if you are able to learn the whole ver. Variables. That's how you pronounce it.
How you pronounce variables.
Yeah, variables. If you learn all of them in one game, there's no room to mistake. The only reason why a computer can, if you like, the perfect computer can actually beat any human being. It's because it has all the variables saved. What's the best move? If he moves this, what's the right. So that's how the computer wins because he has all the variables. There's no room to mistake at all. Now I'm in my career of where I'm trying to go or where I'm trying to get. I'm thinking about chess too. And I'm also learning all the variables all the time. If this happens, then what I will do, and then if that happens, then how I'll do it, then. I wanted to be on Bradley's podcast, and I did it because I found a way to do it. And if. Look, man, at the point let's say I wanted to be in Bradley's podcast, I did the AS one strategy and it worked. But I had so many strategies. Like, what will happen if Bradley goes to his office and there is a guy outside sitting with a, you know, lock in the chair and hunger strike until I'm in your podcast. You wouldn't. You think he's gonna get me on, like, come right now, bro?
You were willing.
Don't die.
You were willing to do that if you want.
Yeah, man.
I think, bro, I love this because I literally. This is the. That separates people who. Who get what they want. They're literally their brains come up with this crazy ass idea that 98 of people would never, never try, you know, and like, literally if you. You tie your hand to his chair, yeah, he's gonna do it.
And you put hunger strike until I'm in Bradley's podcast day one. Like, that's a strategy too, man.
Yeah, 100.
And I learned it in Israel Hut Spa. You know, there's no way you don't get what you want. No way. There's no way they kick you out, come from the window. Like they do like that, you know.
It'S kind of annoying though how they, how everything is a fight there, bro.
I know everything. But it's amazing too, man. They learn, bro. I learned so much. Like in Israel. I learned like you want to be first in emails, send the email 8:59. So then when the person comes 9:00am you'll be first. All this kind of stuff I learned in Israel. Oh, that's smart. It's a guy.
Oh, that's brilliant.
Yeah, when you want to send a resume or something. 8:59.
Oh my God. I got to tell my buddy to do this because I, I, I, I'm trying to get some of that money from the army and my buddy in Israel right now sent an email to Misrada and it's going to take them like 8:59. That's crazy.
Every day, 8:59, 10 emails, facts, two, eight, five, nine, 10 facts. I used to do that all the time. Calls 8:59 all the time. Because our meets 9:00am yo, that's, that's amazing.
Thank you for that.
No problem.
Yeah, no, but yo, I have more.
Steps like that in terms of getting.
What you want, bro. Everything's a fight, man. You go to the bank, they tell you to take a ticket. The ticket, you just cut the whole line. Because if you don't cut the whole line, everybody else is going to cut you. And you sit there waiting for who knows how long. Which I, it's good that it teaches you these survival skills, but the system is stupid, bro. Like, they need to fix their bureaucracy to some degree. You walk into a bank in America, you walk into chase, you sit down, you have a candy, they treat you like a king, they ask you what you need. Like, I understand it might make you softer, but at the end of the day, bro, sometimes I just want to walk into a fucking bank and be treated like a normal person. You know what I'm saying?
Really, I prefer to be treated like shit, but the things get take care of. You know, sometimes in America they treat you good and they don't do, oh, I'm sorry, I apologize. But next business day now it's Friday. Oh. So I have to come back Monday, 9am in order, like, you know, some instead of like, yeah, ready, go, go. Get the out. You know, I prefer that, I guess.
I don't know, man. They don't always get done what you want them to get done. Not always you, you can oftentimes, if you know how to make a big enough issue about it, it'll get done. But sometimes they'll say, we can't we can do nothing about it anyway. So I don't know.
And the problem is when. When you apply these Israeli techniques on a really, really American thing like soft and candy giver king, it gets rejects really bad. For example, I got banned from bank of America from doing that. You want to hear how I can tell you? So I was investing in this medic lab. I had to transfer $187,000. Now I had to do it really fast because the people needed the money to start the business, and there were already moves and transfer that I had to do, and time was really of the essence. So I opened an llc because every time I get into a business, I don't get myself personal. I get myself with an llc. So my partnership, it's under one llc. You know, that's how I do my umbrella. So I put money on that LLC and then I wanted to wire transfer to the their account. You know, like, hey, here's the capital that I'm giving. 187, 000. Now I did the wire. It didn't let me do it online. Now I have to go to the bank. I don't know why. So I go to the bank and they tell me, well, I'm sorry, we're not able to verify yourself because verify you, because the brand. The bank account is brand new and your paperwork is not in the system yet. My account was one week old. I opened the bank account a week before. So I said, okay, but that's not my problem that you cannot verify me. You have to find a way to verify it because it's my money and you're holding it against my will. Because if right now I want to close my bank account and get a cashier check, you're not able to do so because you cannot verify me. And that's holding my money against my will. In any, any situation that you can in a free country get your money and close the account, you should be able to do so. Oh, no, I'm sorry. I cannot give you your money because I cannot verify you. What the Is that right? You know, that's your problem. Find a way. No, we cannot do that. You know, So I said, okay, this is wrong. And when something is wrong, I. I'm really a guy that goes like all the way. So I said, okay, how do I escalate this? I was already the manager of the. Well, the only person that can actually help is the banker in. In where they open your bank account, because that's where they have the paperwork. They didn't Put it in the system. So I called the bank. The manager tells me, like, oh, yeah, but I need the regions, what's the name, like the whole region of South Florida market leader, to approve this. And she always gets back in within 48 hours. And no way.
You drive over to her house, you find her.
I was in Texas.
Smash the window.
I was in Texas. But you know these apps where you can find people's numbers. Yeah. So I, I look at her name and the zip codes in Miami and I found her and I called her. Cynthia Fernandez was her name. Say, hey, this is Cynthia and Bank of America. She was like, yeah, it's like, hey, how are you? My name is Mauro. I have this problem. It's like, how. Hold on. This is my personal number. How did you get it? And I said, I'm a really good connected person. She said, okay. And then she helped me. Everything. She did everything. And then a week after they told me, I'm banned forever, I cannot open a bank account in the bank of America. Because I took it to that point of calling a region, the whole Florida region.
But they did what you wanted.
Yes, but then they banned me forever.
Because you, because instead of following the system, you went.
You correct. I didn't do anything illegal.
Right. You just.
But I called the regions, the whole region, Florida personal number in order to do the transaction I wanted. So I got what I wanted. But I got banned forever for bank of America.
Right.
They closed all my accounts, everything. I only, they only let me kept one. Cuz we had a good balance. Yeah.
What else is there? But, yeah, they didn't like how you, you, you know.
Sorry, it was a long story, but I wanted to teach.
It was good. It was good. So, bro, go, go back to, to, you know, and we. Let's not harp on this too long. And I do want to hear it, but people are going to want to hear a lot about like how you've built your businesses. Give me, give it. So you're in your car. You're in this car. You're in, you're in New York. How long were you in the car? You know, give us the whole story of how you got out of it.
So I, I first, I first lived in this abandoned house. I had $500. So I had said $20 a week. I have 25 weeks to make money. If I don't make money in 25 weeks, I'm stupid. Then I needed a place to sleep and went to this house that the guy gave me and there was no mattress. So I had to buy another mattress. It was $60. So now I have 22 weeks to make money because it was $20 a week. So then what I started doing was actually at the beginning and didn't really work. I was doing wholesale real estate. I was trying, I was going to court in Queens. Going to court in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In New here is probate. In New York it's called surrogate Surrogate court. I used to go check the last six months, whoever died and then all these people that died the last six months. Who owned, who rented, who rented to the garbage? I'm sorry, who owned, who's the hair? Who's going to get the property? What's the case look like? Like, how is it advancing? Is he about to get the house or what's the house? Where is it? Where are the comps? And try to offer, you know, lowball them so you can, you know, fast closing, 30 days, all cash and, and try to give it to Israeli investors that I, I knew in the time. The problem is that it wasn't working. It wasn't really working. I was doing cold calls like crazy visiting, you know, people going like, speak to like future like hairs and stuff like that. It was really bad. I was hungry, it was cold. It was really a, not, not a good situation for me. But I knew it will, you know, I had hope. And that's everything, you know, that's the last thing you lose the hope. So once a month I used to fly with friends of the idf, fidf, volunteer, you know, they didn't pay me salary. They pay my ticket and the food to speak. It took me to 17 states. So once a month, twice a month they used to fly me and I used to, to speak about my story how without knowing Hebrew, I went to Dove Devan and you know all this story. So when I spoke in Miami, I met who now is a wealth manager in Morgan Stanley. He's number nine in Florida by Forbes. He was in Dubu Devan when he was a kid. He was a lone soldier too. And he came to America with nothing. And now he's, you know, a shark. Let's call it like that. Well, he knew and I didn't say I'm a shark. So he knew I'm not a shark, you know, not yet. But I told him like, hey, you know, I moved here, you know, I'm trying to start my real estate business. Didn't ask for help at all because when you ask, it's like a favor, you know. And I, I, I, my theory Is that if you want somebody to help you, make sure they feel identified with you. Make sure they know you're one of them. So when they do that, they'll help you because they think you deserve it instead of just doing you a favor. And they will ask nothing in return. And they will. The return will be your succeed. That will be like, you know, because you let them feel like you're one of them. So how I cannot make somebody feel like I'm one of his. When I was a lone soldier in Duban like him, you know, and he came to America with nothing, like me. And so when I go back to New York, he starts calling me every morning. And in that time, it was really rough. I didn't have money to let my gas overnight, like, car on, you know, the car. It was like $20 a night if I keep it on the whole night just to be with the heat, you know. So I was sleeping with, like five jackets on me, you know.
Damn, bro.
Because it was really cold. It was freezing. And I remember this, by the way. Yeah. And then he calls me and he's like, are you sleeping in your car? Like, the fifth day, I'm answering like, you know, And I said, yeah.
How did he realize? From video? No.
Yeah, from FaceTime.
Right.
I guess, like, after five days of answering, like, with five jackets in my car, he understood that I'm sleeping there.
But here's the thing. If. If you didn't want him to know, then why did you do FaceTime? Why don't you just call him?
I don't know, man. I.
Was there a part of you that wanted to him to find out in some weird.
I don't know. No, I don't think so, man. I didn't. I wasn't, like, answering, like, hi, you know, like, you know what I'm saying? It wasn't like that. It was. I don't know. I think he's. He's a really smart guy, and he understood, maybe by our conversations that I was. You know, I never asked for money, never asked for anything. But I think he understood, you know, and. And, you know, he struggled before. So he knows, like, struggle, recognize struggle. You know what I'm saying?
For sure.
So I. I think he. He knew and. And he told me that. So then he told me, no, no, you can sleep in my couch, but don't die from being cold, you know, from a hypothermia or something like that. So he got me a ticket to Miami, and I was sleeping in his couch. That's probably When I met you and I was doing real estate with him, I guess.
Was that when I met you?
I don't know. That's when I met. A month after I moved to Sam. That's where I. Like, I spoke in. In case base. And then, you know, I started. I was sleeping at Sam's couch.
Oh, wow. Yeah, you never know, bro. You never know with people.
No, I never. Never. Show your weakness.
100.
Yeah, especially in a Jewish place. They'll eat you alive. Anyways. Yeah, so I started going to court here and, you know, and trying to get deals here. But at least now I had food and I had a place to sleep, you know, it was better conditions. The problem is that after two, three weeks, I couldn't find any deal, man. It was really hard. I don't know why I couldn't find the formula. And somebody was trusting on me, giving me food and play. Like, I didn't feel good with that, you know, I felt like a failure. For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm failing. Like, I'm failing. I'm a total failure. You know, I didn't see my mom for this last year. Like, she, like, before she died, didn't go to my sister wedding. And now I'm not like. Like, what the. I'm. I'm a failure, you know. So then I. I started banging my head in the shower, you know, like this.
Literally doing that. Yeah, I remember, by the way. You see, I remember this from Bradley. I listened to the whole episode with him.
Oh, really?
So I remember. I remember. You know, I just want you to tell it again and have everyone.
No, that's fine. And then I like, my. Probably from one big. Like this, you know, because I really felt like a failure, man. It was really bad. My ideas went like, you know, and then I put on Google. I need to sell my house fast. You know, And I called the first. I said, wow, there's people doing this professionally, you know, actually, so I started calling them and say, like, hey, I don't want to sell my house. Maybe you have cheap houses I can buy, you know, because I knew Sam was willing to invest with me. I will do the work. And you know, and they started. Yeah, I'll add you to my investor list. The wholesalers say, so now it's, oh, this is a thing, actually. So then I start calling everyone. And then I realized, look, it wasn't my money. It was Sam's money. But I am the money in this business, you know, like, why am I doing, you know, if every business has capital, sweat equity and know how. But why am I doing everything? If I'm have the capital, I should reduce the others, you know, so I work smarter. Nor, you know, it's not my money, but I should act like I'm the money, right? So then all these people started sending houses. And instead of me doing cold calls and doing the hard work trying to find one house, now I have all these people trying to sell me a house. You understand? So now I could grab this house, do the comps, see. Okay, how much was he sold? How much houses like these were sold with the same size or you know, okay, what. What works needs to be done. How much will be okay, perfect. This is a good deal. Whatever. So now I could come to Sam with like, hey, here are different. Instead of, you know, nothing, you know, And I can't. What you think? So then a guy also named Mariel, Israeli guy. He helped me a lot also find a house and everything. He had experience and I met him in case. And that's how we. I did my first house. After the third week, you know, we found the house and we bought for 137000 in Delray Beach. So I used to drive every morning to Delray beach. And we finished in three months. We sold for 250. That was my first money.
How much did you make from it?
Half. Well, the investment was like 35 000. Probably fixing the house 137 for another, let's say 170. 180 was the cost. We sold for 250, minus 6% of the brokers. That's probably. I made like, I don't know, 12, $15,000.
So it was a flip.
Yeah, okay. But that was my first check.
Very nice. You must have felt like you were. You were able to swim above water now surviving.
Look, I work three months for 15,000. That's not really a good deal. But bro, I worked my ass off.
Wow.
The. The day of the closing, before it was closing, I already was fixing the house myself. I have a picture with like no skin from like hammering.
And why though? Why don't they. They didn't hire people. Why are you doing that?
I hired people too, but I bro, like somebody trust me, their money from the first time, no room to mistakes, right? Myself was like crazy. I even slept there sometimes, you know.
Damn, bro. Okay.
It was really for me, you know, I didn't want to fail. It was. I couldn't fail.
But even so, the stuff, the. The fixes weren't ready in Time. Why are you there nailing stuff into the wall?
Because if I, if you put subcontractors, they take all your profit. So instead of hiring somebody to do the floors, I'll do the floor myself. I'll just pick up, you know, two immigrants in Home Depot and bring them with me and like, tell them what to do. Watching YouTube videos and stuff. I did everything. The only thing I called subcontractors was for the AC and for the marble. Nothing else. All the rest was me. I lifted the floor, I did the bathroom, everything, tiles, everything. I did.
And you didn't know how to do it before.
Well, but YouTube, man, there. If people don't know how to read and do marble, can it cannot you do that. You know what I'm saying?
The investors knew that you were doing all this?
No, only Sam. Sam was the only investor really.
And so he's just like, okay, you do all the work yourself.
Yeah.
Just so it. So would the deal would work. Because otherwise the deal wouldn't have worked well.
We wouldn't have profit up like the subcontractor. Ready to like, hey, here's your key. Hey, everything is ready. Will take longer and we'll, we'll take 50,000, you know, and where's your money?
Damn. Yeah, but I mean, there's flips that you can do where you hire people and you still make the money.
Well, yeah, but you got to buy extremely cheap.
Wow, that sounds crazy.
Or the property has to go extremely up, you know.
But this wasn't a long term solution for you. You, you kept doing this, a bunch of deals.
I did that. Then we did another one. And then I said, okay, I need fast money now. I met a person, he, you know, driving Lambos and he sold a boat to at the end. He was a completely scam, but he sold one boat to my friend in Boca, used to live in Del R. Well, that's what he do is, for example, look, he. You'll see this extremely rich guy, right? And let's say you want to buy a boat and he has an extremely nice boat worth like 180,000, for example. And he'll tell you he's extremely rich and he looks extremely rich. And so everything is like, what the. You know, and you, when you see, when you're poor and you see that you're like, what? You know, he take, you eat, whatever, and then he tell you like, you want my boat? I'll sell it to you. Just give me 10,000, I'll give it to you. I don't care I have to go to Monaco for a few months and when I'll be back, we'll figure it out. Just use it for now. So you give the 10,000, for example, 20,000, whatever it is. He gives you the boat, actually, and then he disappears for two, one, two months. And then after two months, your car, let's say it was a Ferrari or a boat, gets towed, and then you're like, what the, this guy took the car or the boat back, you know, and then if you take him to court, he will say like, yeah, I was trying to sell my car to him, but I regret. It's like, okay, he gave you a down payment of $10,000.
He'll be like, so it was a down payment?
Yeah, but like, he will be like.
You were just borrowing it for like however long he was away.
No, no, no. Like he's going to give it to you. That's the problem.
Okay, but he's going away, so take it for now and then we'll.
Yeah, we'll figure it out. Don't worry.
Okay.
And he's like, what, for 10,000 I get to drive a Lamborghini for five months? Whatever. He, he, he never did it to me. I didn't have any money in that time. But he was doing that to like middle class people. So then you get the Lambo, you get the boat, whatever it is, and then after one month, he tows it. And when, if you take him to court, he'll say, like, yeah, I was trying to sell the car to him, but I regretted that at the end. I don't want to sell it to him. So you asked for your money back. He's like, what do you mean, my money? Money back? You kept the Lamborghini for three months, whatever. Right, I can, I could rent that for 1500 a day. You should owe me money, you know, that's what he will tell you. So eventually, that boat sale was something like that.
But, well, if you kind of think about it, how, why did he do that? How does it benefit him? Why doesn't he rent it out for a lot more money?
Well, it's easier to just scam people. You have no liabilities, no nothing, no risk.
Right, but I'm saying, like, if you have a Lamborghini, you can. And someone's using it for $10,000 and driving it for three months, he, why doesn't he just rent it regularly? Why doesn't it.
No, it's not three months. It's like a month, month and a half even.
So you could rent A Lambo to somebody for 1500 a day.
Yeah but like you have the liability, you have the risk. You have the headache of actually doing the work and renting it out. You have maintenance, you know and the car rental is not just like I'm. Oh yeah, money, you know, it's okay.
Well and if so what would happen technically if you crashed a car in his situation?
I don't really understand what he did.
I don't know how did, how does that a long term solution? How did he always find people? How did he always have people always.
He put the car in offer up and do that, for example. He used to do it a lot anyways.
He's.
He actually grew really big into scam. He took it to the next level. Now he gets. He gay. I think he's getting a class action suit, like a really big one. So what he started doing that it's also he started scamming people with Amazon and that's what I actually get in the picture because I really wanted to sell on Amazon because I knew that after two, three weeks you get your money after you, you know, you sell products. So I invested with him. It was our first store actually. It was really good. It was selling and then we had to add more money to actually get more products to sell.
You obviously you didn't know he was scamming people.
No, of course I didn't know at all. And I also was my first bit. The real estate and business is completely different. Like you're not a businessman if you own real estate and you invest in real estate, you're an investor, you're not a businessman. Business like it. There's a whole completely like thing. Non compete, non circumvention, NDA. You know all these things about business that how you move. It's not a. It's completely different about real estate. And I was coming from real estate. I don't know nothing. I, I opened NLC with him. I didn't know about operating agreement contracts a little bit, but not like too much. So I didn't see exactly what was going on. I didn't have money for lawyers, you know. So eventually we opened a store. We add money, you know, to actually buy products. And he stole everything. He stole the money. Now he stole the money in a way that is not criminal, is civil court, you know.
He took all your money?
He took the money? Yeah.
How much did you get put in?
Like 40,000.
And was that most of your money?
It was everything I had.
Really.
Yeah, yeah. Anyways. But now he Took my money but knew now, now, now I learned from him how to do the business because the business was right. He just. It was a stupid, but the business was right. So then I started myself. I started myself and I started actually doing that myself, you know, bringing people.
This was the story that you were telling Brad about the guy that you didn't sign those agreements and he left you?
No, that's after.
So you got through.
Yeah, Through Rabbi Yossi, I meet two religious people from Sunny Isles. They come to me that I was supposed to sell them stores. So they invest with me. They convinced me to partner up with them and I partner up with them eventually and I teach them all my business and I show them my employees in Bangladesh and we start doing massive stuff. I start teaching their employees stuff so we can scale. And then when I realized, the person told me, like, bro, they're you. Like, you have no. Like they like anytime now you'd have all your. Know how they have everything.
Like they could just cut you out and keep doing what you know.
And that's what they did. Eventually when I asked for a contract and they gave me a contract, that was really stupid. And really, you know, Mauro is stupid and we are good, whatever. And I told them like, hey, at least give me a non compete.
When you saw that contract, did you know right away or did you have.
Yeah, I know at that time I knew right away he was looking really stupid. Like, we can do this. You cannot do that. You know, that was a contract. At least give me a non compete. That was Friday. And they told. And I told him, like, no, we cannot give you a non compete. We're doing this also. They were like losing money. I saved their business. So. And then I told them, like, that's non negotiable. Oh, now I feel like I'm a business guy. I said non negotiable. And then they told me, yeah, well, let us think, think about it. Then Shabbat and then Sunday and then Monday, my key didn't work. They. They changed the lock. Yeah. And they. I call them and say, yeah, you said it's non negotiable. Whatever.
And oh, so they got nasty with you.
Yeah, yeah.
So they, they, they took it as a threat and they're like, oh, you want to threaten us? You. Yeah, yeah.
But I know they, they, they. Karma got them really good. So I'm happy.
How so?
I don't want to talk about it.
They got arrested.
No, I'll tell you after.
But yo, this is part of agreeableness. Is like, if you're very agreeable and you have the. This kind of good feeling about other people and they see that on you, and they're the kind of people that are going to try to one up you or, or you. They'll do it. And then as time goes on, you need to learn, like, okay, and I'm not saying you, you obviously learned it, but it's like you, you start to learn that, okay, this person's like this, that person's like that, and you get better at it. But even when you're not so agreeable, if you don't know what's going on, even if you would argue the point or step, stand up for yourself. But you just don't know what's going on. You don't know the terms of the contract, you don't know what things mean. So if you don't have enough knowledge on the subject, even if you're, if you would normally, you know, like I said again, stand up for yourself, they could still you. So it's like a combination of not being a pushover and actually knowing what's going on.
Right, right, right. That's right. But I learned by, you know, by the hard way, like Brad says. I learned a lot of lessons, and now I consider myself. I'm, I'm, I'm good, like, for business myself. Like, I even tell lawyers, like, hey, do this, do that, instead of like, what should I do, you know? Yeah, but it's. That's experience, man.
Yeah, bro. It takes experience. How old are you now? 27.
I'm 27. Yeah.
Okay, so a little younger than me. It's wild.
How old are you?
28.
28, yeah. That's good.
Indeed.
Any, any, any, anything between like 25 and 20 and 30. I think it's a, it's a good age because you're, like, still young, but, like, now you're smarter, you know?
Yeah, bro, I learned so much. And since I'm, you know, 20, 21, even since I'm a teenager. But these past couple years, bro, like, you know, past three, four years, we was when I really shifted my mindset because I used to, you know, I grew up poor, so I always was afraid to spend money. I was so afraid to spend money, I was always holding on to my money, saving it. But saving money is not going to make you rich. No, you need to put it out there. You need to spend it. You need to allow it to make you money. And when you're, you know, from the lower class or even the middle Class, your mentality is you make whatever you make. You have your job, you have your boss, you make your fort, 40, 60, even 100K. And then you have to put it aside for when you're 70. It's like you're never gonna really have the money you need to really be free. You're always gonna be. Money's always gonna hold you down. And it took me, took a mindset shift to really say, you know what? I don't want to take money away from me, but the only way that I'm gonna drastically change anything is if I'm willing to risk it and spend money to buy my time back. To hire somebody to pay for a CRM, to pay for a podcast editor, to pay for, you know, a dialer, for my calls, to pay, you know, pay for email marketing, to all those other things, you know, pay for a cleaning lady, which I don't happen to not do yet. But all these things is like, you know, paying for efficiency. Instead of even going to a barber shop, you pay a barber more money, he comes to you, whatever the case is, but just all these little things to buy your time back so you could do the you're good at and the you want to do. And that's what I'm understanding. And I never had that mentality growing up.
That's good. You have it now.
Yeah, bro. Now I'm just focusing on. On constantly, you know, building and learning. Getting punched in the face, getting back up again, and getting slapped in the face, getting back up again, you know, just that. Until you. Until you learn to see that slight slap coming. So you move out of the way and you can, you know. You know what I mean?
Right.
That's how I'm seeing it.
Yeah. That's good.
Yeah, bro. Thank you. It takes time, though.
Yeah. Lessons you learn the hard way takes a lot of.
Did you read Brad's book?
I did.
What'd you think of it?
I like it. I think I'm also a hard way learner.
That's the best way, bro. Yeah, it's the best way because like, when people tell you stuff, I just.
Prefer to experience, you know, and when I don't, like, I don't like actually trusting somebody's worth. Oh, yeah, he said it's hard, so I'm not gonna try. No, it. I'm gonna try myself, you know, and. And see if it's hard or not.
Right.
And I think it's a part of ego, you know, if you have it high, you want to try things yourself because you Think you can do people things that other people cannot. So when you have that like feeling that you can do things others not, then you're going to try to do anything you want. 100.
But yo, you know what? Everyone shits on ego. And I don't, you know, I don't like the word ego necessarily. But being a prideful person, it has its benefits, man. Like of course it can be to a detriment. It can be bad if you treat people badly or if you think you're. You're the most amazing person in the world. But on the flip side of it is if you're a very, very confident person and even egotistical to some degree, that's when you have this belief of I can do whatever I fucking want, whatever I set my mind to, right? And people hate on that. A lot of people hate on that because they're like who? How do you have the audacity to think you're that capable of a person, right? And it's like cuz I fucking do. Because I've tried a few things. I've. I fucked up. But then I figured it out and if I just shift take, if I take that over to something else, it might take me a while, might not happen right away, but I'm gonna get it at some point, right? And then eventually you keep, you know, and I'm not talking, you know, like I said, I'm not rich so. But I know these things are true because I know that from the things I have been able to get good at. It's just a matter of taking those skills, bringing it over to something else. It's not gonna, they're not necessarily gonna be the same. They'll require different skills and different knowledge. But eventually you start to get good at so many things that you can become even better at other things faster, right? So like take, I don't know, take the Rock. I use this as an example. The Rock, you know, the, the actor and whatever. He wasn't always rich, obviously started out wrestling, doing all this other shit. Bro, if he opens up a fucking green cup company, he'll kill it because he's the Rock already. He's built himself up to such a degree which. Where his name will sell anything, correct? Anything.
Personal brand is really important.
His personal brand will sell him anything he wants to put his face on this cup. It'll become an extremely successful cup company. Done. Right. But I can't do that because I don't have that kind of brand yet. And I don't. And I haven't done enough things, gone through enough ventures to be in that position, but that's it. That's all he has to do. It's crazy, right?
It's amazing, isn't it? True. But that's why I'm investing in personal brand. All right, so a lot.
So what are some of your personal brands?
No, like my name that. Sharing my story, writing a book, you're saying?
Becoming a brand.
Yeah, Right. So then everything I touch, it's going to be money.
It's amazing, right?
That's my goal. Pull money.
Right?
Money.
That's crazy money. So. So, yo, what was. Okay, so. So you now after you got by these sunny Isles guys, what happens next?
Then other people that got by them reach out to me because they knew I'm the know how. And we started again. And then I started myself this time too, you know, just not giving a. About partners and just be myself. And that's when money came because then the pandemic actually started. And by the pandemic, I had 127 stores that I was managing.
Oh, wow. Okay.
In Amazon. And man, it was really big. Yeah. It started those diamonds when. I don't know.
What were you selling? What kind of products were you selling?
Everything. I sold many things for cleaning the house during beginning the pandemic. Then hair clippers during, like May, April, May. And then dumbles for June, July. Because people started working out really hard. It was a thing. Remember, like during the pandemic, after a few months, people were like, house working out.
Yeah, the word. The house workouts.
Yeah. And then, you know, what was the most popular product that I sold during the pandemic in like September?
Sex toys.
Siphon. Well, not sex toys, but spermicide. Interesting cream that you put in your poo poo and kills. I sold so much money off it, you know.
Okay, wait, you put it in the. You put it in the. In the vagina.
Yes.
Right. And it kills off.
Yeah. Poo poo is vagina. Pee pee is penis.
Dude, you got to give me the, the. The Latin.
No, like, you know, poo poo is.
Poo poo when I think.
And then penis is pe.
Okay, but I'm American. When I think of poo poo, I think of what comes out of your butt. That's. That's what I think of.
Yeah, but like if.
No, I know like the Jamaicans say pom pom.
Really?
Yeah. Hear that? I hope any.
I like how they say cucumber.
Cucumba, cucumba, cucumba, cucumba. Yeah, it's great.
Cucumba.
Okay, so now you're, you're making all this money. How much, how much revenue, how much.
Are you pulling, man? During the pandemic, I had months making like 300, 400k. It was really big.
And what was your net, Your net profit?
Oh, that's really hard for me to calculate. I never know.
You never know.
Like, it's just always rolling. I know my revenue is really good.
But even right now, you have your stuff on autopilot. It's just you're. You still have your Amazon.
Yeah, but it's really hard for me to calculate the profit. Exactly. Because I. You. Every month it's reinvesting in them, you know, I can tell you exactly my revenues. I know them by heart. But like, net profit look also, like some months there's more returns, you know, and sometimes I lose more money because there is more returns. And it's a problem for me to calculate actually the return, you know.
Okay, do you have a lot of people, like friends and people you know, that invest with you, or is it mostly you and you have employees? Employees and yada yada.
Before I was more like investors. Now I'm myself, I don't need people.
Now, you know, you don't even want it.
But I always have, you know, like for fun, for sport, you know, I.
Have my friend, honestly, I mean, we could talk, we'll talk off top off, podcast more. But I've always kind of wanted to get into Amazon, but there's always so many people talking. I watch these videos and YouTube videos and different people just talking about, do it this way, do it this way, do it that way. So I always was just so overwhelmed by how many different opinions there are.
Right.
That I never really got into it. But like, if I knew I had somebody that really knew how to do it and I could give him X amount of money and understand it, then it'd be dope. Because I just always like the idea of that.
Right.
Money coming in.
Pretty much.
Good, dude.
There's a lot of free information.
There is, Yeah.
I used to give a lot of free information because I used to think like, oh, like if they teach, it's because they don't know. If they will know, they'll do it themselves.
Right.
So I'm gonna teach for free so people know that I know for real. But then it was just, I understood that whoever is giving free information honestly is because they don't believe that they could sell their knowledge and it's lack of confidence. I mean, I'm not saying about giving a little bit, but if you do like a whole course, 14 hours for free to people like how, bro, you're a prostitute.
Yeah. You know what's interesting? I totally hear that, but it's so many.
You're a knowledge pimp. You think I'm a. Everyone's a Christ.
Which is so different parts of ourselves. There's so many differing opinions, though, because like, for instance is this real estate coach in Alabama and he gives like tons of free coaching, but the dude's killing it. I mean, I'm sure if he was paying, charging for it, he'd make a lot, a lot more money. But I don't know. It's interesting because, like, when you have these free coaches in the coin sessions, people are much more likely to check. I don't know about that.
Well, one thing, one thing. It's giving free value. Built to build in order to sell something at the end, which is probably, if he's smart, what he's doing, like Gary vd, you know, giving free for free. And then you sell.
Yeah.
Which is also a theory. Or you have like Grant Cardone theory, which, like, you start selling right away. You know, it's two extremes. But if somebody's just giving free. Free and keeps giving like extremely real value for free, like, bro, this is knowledge prostitute, you know.
Right. You feel like we. What are you doing? You got to charge something. Yeah.
Before it's too late. Because then you'll be the guy that gives free content. Oh, now we have to pay you. You.
Yeah.
You know.
Yeah, true. It makes perfect sense. You got to. If you're going to do it, you got to do it somewhat early.
Yeah. Before you got to take the step.
Right.
It is a thing because once you get like so agreeable that you're so nice and giving free knowledge to take that step, it's probably like, I don't know. People are going to be right. Oh, my God. No, I don't think so. You know, like 100.
So now such good. That's so.
Yeah.
Do you. You do coaching, right? You do like inspection.
I don't know if it's coaching, but. Well, I gave some free stuff, for example, but I, I had my technique, you know, I. I sell too, you know, so I, I put up. It's in Spanish, though. And my theory is about, for example, the today fastest. You know, it's for free. The book is not free, but the theory is on YouTube for free. And then I have the other theory. That's the art of Protect yourself. Like, once you get to the point where. To the. Once you wait. Once you get where you want to be, once you get. Once you know, once you are who you are, like who you wanted to be, then you have to make sure you're you. You know this theory of protect yourself before they'll take you down because you can be really good at getting where you want. But then after that, there's people that actually how. There is people that keeps growing to the point like the Rock. Because when the Rock was a WWE on only wwe, he could stay there or he could actually get how many WWE players and not like wrestlers you forgot. Like, we don't even talk about them anymore.
Totally.
But he continued growing. So once you get where you want, you want to. You need to understand what to do in order to protect yourself. Your figure, what you say, what you speak, but also who you surround yourself with being extremely disagreeable. It's a. It's something that you extremely need. If you're agreeable and you're like, up. They'll take you down in a minute, bro.
It's interesting because we're talking about Brad Lee, right? You should watch the one. I really want to hear your thoughts on the, on the episode I did with him because I didn't even ask him so much business. Business advice. Him and I ended up having like a debate a lot of the time and not. Here's the thing. I didn't. We didn't really disagree. I was just really trying to understand what he meant by a few of the things he said in his. In his. On his channel, on his Instagram. So he was talking about patience and he was saying how like, you can't have patience. You need to do everything right away. You need to get aggressive and angry about whatever it is you're doing. And I, and I hear him on that. But he was saying how like, you can't have this thought of things are going to take time. And as much as I hear him out, shit, as much as you want stuff to happen fucking right now and you. And you should do whatever you can to get there, it doesn't mean that that's how it's going to work out. And I, and I understood what he meant, but I think a lot of people, and that's. Listen, people are people and they're going to misconstrue. It's. That's on them. But to say that you can't. You shouldn't have any patience. He, he understands patience as meaning like you should just let Happen. Be stoic and like, okay, if it takes 10 years, fine. I don't. I don't see that. I see it that way, but at the same time, I'm not gonna get mad at myself. If I don't make a million dollars tomorrow, it could happen. I believe it could happen, but it probably. The likelihood is it's. There's probably more of a chance it won't than it will. So I'm not negative about it. It's just that those are the odds. You know what I mean? But I welcome it with open arms. I have faith. And I. And I. And I'm working towards it, and you know what I'm saying? So that's all it was. So we were, like, kind of going back and forth about that, and then I don't know if you ever saw his video on. On somebody slapping his woman's ass. Did you ever see that one?
No.
He gave, like, a theoretical example, and he said, if. If I'm at a bar or a club and I'm with my woman and someone slaps her ass, it's smarter for me to just walk away because we can get into a fight. He might have a weapon. I might kill him, yada, yada. It's smarter for me to just walk away. And that's it. And a bunch of people were commenting. I left a comment, like, a whole long comment, and I wanted to know. And I. I. On the. On my podcast, I had to ask him because I had to put it to rest. I was like, would you actually walk away if somebody, like, really gave your. Your woman a good smack on the ass, like, you would just walk away? And he's like, yeah, well, think about it. You know, you. You have a lot to lose. Anything could happen. And I was like, yeah, bro, but imagine, you know, now your woman feels this burning feeling on her ass because some other man just slapped it. And. And he. Nothing's gonna happen to him. Like, you're not gonna do anything. And he eventually admitted that he would do something. Maybe he just didn't want to feel like a. But he's like, yeah, a bunch of people thought I was a pussy. And I was like, yeah, I kind of did, too. Honestly, you know, that's what I said to him, you know, and, you know, my perspective on that is, of course there's a risk, bro. You know, especially if you're worth however much he's worth. 100 million, 200 million. Maybe more, maybe less. You're worth a lot of money. You're in the spotlight you're what known? You know, next thing you need is for the news, the local news in Vegas to be putting him on the front page. Like, you know, Bradley punches some guy in the face, puts him in the hospital, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I mean your, your reputation is on the line to some degree, but Bradley isn't exactly a soft. Not, you know what I'm saying? Like, he can handle some pressure. So it's like my feeling is I wouldn't be able to control myself. Like if somebody slaps my wife's ass or my girlfriend's ass and he's just standing there smiling, dude, he's got to get something, bro. Because my wife needs to know that, that I'm going to stand up for her. And also on a deeper level, bro, I'm just not going to tolerate that. So if I, if I, if I get screwed for it, if I get arrested for it, I'm willing to take that chance, bro. The likelihood of me killing the guy is not, Is very low. I'm not going to, bro. I'm not going to actively try to kill the dude. I'm not, I'm not out of my mind.
Yeah, but you don't know if he will try to kill you.
You listen, of course there's a chance, but I don't think it's so likely. I think it's pretty slim. Of course it could happen, but I, I doubt it. I doubt it. It depends where it is. If it's in a dark alley and there's three guys and I know one of them has a weapon, or there's a nice chance, even if I'm outnumbered like that, it's probably a bad idea, but I feel like I would at least try to say something and if not, not but it's maybe call the.
Cops and then tell he's a. Sexual, sexual abuse.
Maybe it's circumstantial, bro, but what do you think you would do in that situation at a bar? You think you would just straight up walk away?
No, I never walk away.
Right.
Never.
Right. So what do you think you would do?
I prefer to get beat up. Don't walk away.
That's my thought, but that's who I.
Am, you know, that's me.
That's what I'm saying though. Like, if the guy is 6, 4, 300 pounds, literally double my size, it I, I'm gonna fight him anyway, bro. Yes, I might get my ass kicked.
Yeah.
But at least my wife knows that I'm willing to fight to do double my size and do Whatever it takes. Cuz what if. What if. What if she's really in danger? What if somebody breaks into our house and I'm like, let's just hide in the closet.
Everything's gonna be okay, right? Let me.
I'll call the cops, you know?
No, in that situation, yes. You'll have a gun, though. Of course I'm gonna have guns here.
Yeah, I have one. One here, one in my car.
True.
Of course I'm gonna have a. Bro, of course I'm gonna go out there with my. If I have a. Well, a rifle's not needed, but a handgun for sure. Whatever it is. You kidding me? Of course. Not even a question. My wife. Someone breaks into my house, my wife doesn't have to worry for a second, bro. The gun's coming out. I'm going, I'm dealing with it. One, not even. I'm gonna make sure she stays in her room or go somewhere safe. Make sure the kids, you know, quietly tell her, hey, take the kids there, blah, blah, blah. Go in there, wait for me, blah, blah, blah, and keep. Don't make a sound. I would even tell her to like, tape. Put tape around my kids mouths just to make sure they don't scream. Seriously.
Right.
You know, and that's it. Do what I got to do, you know, but like the whole idea, the whole idea is just not doing anything.
I can't.
I get what he's saying. He's not. It's not that he's wrong, it's just that I could never do that sort of.
Right.
So we talked about that, and we talk about a few other things, but would definitely want to hear your feedback on it, even if you're just driving. And I will listen to it. I want to hear your thoughts. Yeah, I did want to talk about more business conversation. Like, ask him how he's built his companies, ask him how he's made his money. And I hope he did say he'd come on for another one. So God willing, we'll do that at some point. But back to you, bro. In terms of. So now you've. You've had all these stores, you have your real estate. What were some other challenges that you've experienced along the way, like from where you are from then until now?
No, I think it was just that, man. It was just having everything and having nothing, you know, and it first came with appreciating small stuff. Family. A friend, like a family that are their friends of mine, invited me to like a really simple dinner at their house. And it was really simple, like, really humble. Humble family. And dude, I had so much fun. I was really enjoying the moment and I knew the people were pure, you know, and I was coming from this time when I. If it's not a big titi waitress bringing my champagne bottle with sparkles.
I love how you say titty.
Yes. If it's not like that, then I'm not enjoying, you know? And it brought. It went really, like. It was really like that. But if I'm not spending money and like, I'm not enjoying, like I have, it has to be like, big, you know, always. And I used to do that every single day.
So what changed? Because I mentioned on Brad Lee's podcast, you said that too. Like, you were so focused on flexing and let letting everyone know you were. You were wealthy and successful. It was like this macho thing. And then something changed where you said, this is not. This is not important anymore. Like, I. You like nice things, but it's not the. The be all end all of your life.
Yeah, I think I. When I had that panic attack, I understood that, okay, this is rock bottom.
What was the panic attack like, bro, you literally thought you were dying. Like, you were in your house and you started your heart.
I was in. Yeah, I was in Houston. 14 bedroom house, by myself. Okay. Huge crib by myself. And then I started feeling my heart rate was going up and then my chest was like, painful. And then I said, okay, I'm just gonna go to sleep and I'll feel better in the morning. But then I said, you know, you learn in the army that when you think you're in risk or, you know, you cannot go to sleep at all, you know, because you may not wake up, you know, when. So I. Then I started feeling. And then I started like, imaginating. Oh, yeah. Like, could be like a heart attack or something. I could have like ar Aria or.
Something, you know, go to sleep. You didn't risk.
And if I go to sleep, I may not wake up. So then I stood up and then I said, okay, what do I do? Like, this is. You know, I started like, okay, this is serious, you know, and then I said, now I'll go to sleep.
Whatever.
So I was about to sleep. I have. It's weird, man. I had like a post trauma, but I had like my commander like, call the ambulance right now. Like, you're not gonna wake up like that. You know, I imagine that. Yeah. And then I like woke up and call the ambulance and said, hey, I'm dying. Can you please go?
You said, I'm dying.
Yeah. Like, what do you have? I think my heart stop. I think I'm. I'm having a heart attack.
Why'd you. Why was it that intense? It's just what came to mind. You. Would you. Yeah. Okay.
I don't know, man. And it was really bad. And then I started saying like, okay, I'm gonna die in a 14 bedroom house in the middle of Houston with no family, at 27 years old.
Oh my God.
Rich as. But by myself with 27. Yeah, I'm.
So this was recent.
Oh, 26 last year. Okay.
Okay. Okay.
Yeah. So then I start saying like, wow, look all what I've been through, everything I did in my life, and now I'm dying by myself in a huge crib.
Yeah. It's the sad way to go out. Yeah.
You know, so, you know, I went. I had 1% battery. And I said, you know, I'm calling 91 1- I had 1% battery. And like, this is about to die, so I have to charge my phone. So I'm gonna keep speaking to 911 here. But if I may die here, the ambulance doesn't have. Now they're gonna have to call the firefighters to actually breach the door and get in. And they need probably a warrant or something, right, to get in the house. I don't know. Yeah, like, and if I really get the heart attack right now, if this is what it is, then it's a bad decision to actually stay in the house. So I, I told them I have 1%. I'm walking outside, it was freezing. I remember. So I walk outside and I tell them, hey, I'm going to be outside because I don't want to be in because, you know, maybe the. Bro, if something happens and you're inside the house and they cannot open the door, like, you're dead, you know.
Well, why not just leave the door open?
Yeah, but then where do they. Like, where is the room? Like, where do they know? Yeah, yeah.
You just want to make it easy to find you.
Yeah. So I'm just went to the street and then they came.
Were you like lying on the ground?
No, no, I was like standing like this. My heart was really. And then the ambulance came and then they like, hey, what's wrong? I said, I'm dying, please. Like, I don't know. And then they check my blood, everything, you know, my heart. They connected machines and they told me like, bro, you're right. You have an amazing heart rate. I don't know what you're talking about. It's like, what you're talking. I'm dying, you stupid you. And I start, like, yelling at them, like, didn't you go to school for this? Like, don't you understand? I'm dying. I'm. You know, I'm really dying. My. And I'm saying, like, whatever they took me to. And then I said, okay. After all this episode, you know, I went back home, and I thought, wow, Like, I.
Did you even go to the hospital? They took you?
Yeah. Yeah, it took me. And I was there for a few hours. And then I said this. And, you know, I'm okay. But then I went home and I said, like, okay. It was clearly a panic attack. It never happened to me in the past. I've seen death with my eyes. I shoot people. I. My friends died in the army. And now I'm having a panic attack because I got money and my. And I think I'm lonely. No. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, what the is this is wrong with this? And then I figured out, like, okay, it was a panic attack. I didn't. I wasn't really dying, but I felt it. Really felt I was dying. I said, this is my last moment in my life. And I told myself, do I. Do I really want to die this way? Like, I have everything, but I have nothing. So then that's when I say I have to appreciate small stuff. You know, move back to Miami, small apartment, don't give a. I still have my Porsche. You know, stuff like that. That. But I'm more humble now. You know, I'm not, like, trying to.
So wait, so now you just have one car? You still have a few?
No, I have one Porsche.
That's it. You got rid of the Lambo, the everything.
I had two Rolls Royce in that time.
Holy, bro.
Yeah.
Damn.
Two. Two rolls Royce, one McLaren Lamborghini. Us.
Damn, dude.
Yeah.
That's crazy.
So now I'm just like, this, you know?
Yeah, I wouldn't. But, yeah. Personally, even if I had the money to do it, it's like, a Rolls Royce is, like, such a flex, bro. It's so. Because it's like, in your 20s, you're rolling around in that car. It's like, damn. Because then it's, like, really hard to gauge who likes you. Like, who really is there for you and who isn't broke, bro.
It's a problem because, like, you complain like, oh, everybody's here because my money. But, like, yeah, that's why you're showing my.
Like, that's what you're asking for that's.
Why, like, hey, why you people think, like, oh, I get the Lambo. I get the. No, you won't get girls with the Lambo. You will get hookers.
Yeah.
Because. Or hoes, because they'll think they'll get money from you.
Correct.
If you can get a nice girl with a Lambo, but it will just be the conversion con. What? Conversation. It will be the conversation starter. Yeah, that's it.
100%.
But if you're a stupid, like, only a hooker will be with you, like, because they trend. They think they're going to get money from you. Oh, this. He's rich and. But a nice girl would like to a man also, maybe with the Lambo, but it's only a conversation. Conversation start.
I do.
Like, oh, that's your car. Yes. But, yeah, I. I think I wrote it on, like, yeah, it's my car, but if you marry me and divorce me, you will get half whatever. You know, like, something clever instead of, like, yeah, have money. You want a champagne. Yeah.
A Porsche, I think is. Even a Porsche is a very nice car, but it's not too, too, too crazy. You know what I'm saying?
Like, yeah, it's. I have money, but I'm humble.
I wouldn't. I don't know about humble, because it's still a top of the.
It's the top levels. Royce, man. Of course not Ferrari.
Of course not. Of course. Yeah.
You know, a circle car. You know, it's a. I call it circle because it's like, Everything is, like, rounded. It's not like, it's not.
Let's not say it's not a nice car, bro. It's still.
Yeah, it's nice, but you still have.
A lot of cars low. Lower than that car. You know, it's in.
It's.
It's in the middle in terms of.
It's. All right, chill, bro.
They're gonna. Like. A Porsche is nothing. It's still a beautiful car.
But anyways, what else. What else we can talk about?
Well, your army experience. Yeah, you definitely. Yeah, get that. Get you definitely. You definitely look like you just came from Ramallah.
Oh, my beard.
You got a little bit of a beard. So you dress. So you draft. You draft and you go into. Obviously, you had to go through paratroopers. You go into the training. What made you decide to Devon, though?
I really wanted to be either Matcal or Duvdivan. That was my goal.
Well, they're quite different, so I did Gibush Matkal. Okay.
You know, the tryouts for Matkal I passed them actually I did the five days and I got actually a draft date to Sayed Matkal. Really? Yeah. And then after the Gibush I did three things. One was psychologic, another one was security background and another ones is Yarpa. It's a most more advanced security health check, you know, not the basic one, you know so they do a little bit more research on your health, a little bit more research on your background and a bit more research of, of your like psychology. Right. And after those three things they, I, I had a draft date. I was on the waiting list, they told me so apparently maybe my background check or something there, maybe I was too crazy. They told me at the end I'm not drafting there. So then they gave me interviews for other special units. You know the problem is that they gave me interviews for Mlan for a ghost, another, you know, special units and I wanted to the van and they told me like you have to do Gibush for that. What do you mean Gibush? I had a draft date for Matal. They told us like, they told me like yeah, but that's what it is, like you need to go Gibush. And I said I'm not doing a Gibush. I did 859 emails, I did everything and it didn't work. I said this is stupid, like another Gibush ridiculous.
You passed the harder one. Why do you have to go?
Yeah, and the stupid thing is like if I will like pass, let's say I pass Madal which I did draft and then fall like not complete the maslow or the, you know, the training, then I can go to do the van but it's the same thing just because I didn't draft before. So I had to do the try I had to cancel my ride to special unit interviews, cancel it and do the, the Gibou for the van. And I said it, I already risk it, I'm going to risk it twice. And I did it. The problem is that the first day I turned my, my uncle, I turn it and it was huge. I'll send you a picture. Huge and purple. And they wanted to kick me out.
How did it happen? How'd you get how that happened?
Yeah, running. Yeah and they wanted to kick me out and they tried but I just didn't let them. And I continue and, and I was doing everything last but they knew I was extremely hurt. And then the last day I start being first, first, first, first. And then the guy with the injury. Yeah and then the guy comes like, tells me that bro, like you're gonna die like your uncle. Like, you're not in a good shape. Yeah, sit down. When they told me sit down. I knew I passed because nobody comes until you, like, just sit down, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, they knew. They just wanted to keep me, you know, like your friend, bro. I just sit down and of course I didn't sit down and I continue. And you know, I finished and it was good. It was.
So your leg was up.
Yeah. But I knew I used it as an advantage. Like, look, I'm still doing it with my turn uncle, you know. So we started 25, you know, long training. 11 weeks of. 11 weeks of navigation. You have anti terror course. You have all shooting kind of shootings. Arabic. You have many stuff. And then we finished 16. Then we started doing missions. And the last year was pretty rough. I had two surgeries in my left knee. Knee. So I had to stop fighting. I couldn't continue fighting because then, now I have serious stuff in my left knee for the rest of my life.
What happened to your knee?
My meniscus.
I had two surgeries, but from the army.
Yeah.
How did it.
Charging, like walking with overweight and stuff like that. And the problem is that in order to get recognized as army disabled, you. You cannot continue fighting. You have to do like. Like paperwork. So I did all that paperwork so they can recognize my injury and pay me if I need surgery or stuff like that, which I will need in the future. And so I finished as an Arabic teacher. My last three months of army service were as an Arabic teacher.
Really?
Yeah. And that's how I finished my army service.
So. But how did you learn Arabic so quickly?
So in. During the. The masul. The training, you have a year and a half of actually Arabic classes, and.
Then one in Du. Devon learns it.
Everybody learns, but not everybody learns the deepest part and goes undercover and do you know you have many tasks in the unit? You know, okay. And yeah, I was. I'm just. I think I'm good at languages. That's it. And I also, when I had my first surgery, I wanted to come back and not come back like, oh, this is the kid that came back from a surgery. He's injured. We're gonna, you know, I wanted to show that, listen, I'm a. I'm the baddest here. So when I was. I had crutches I couldn't work out, but I paid from my own pocket. I paid an Arabic private teacher in. In Israel. So I wasn't in the unit. I was, you know, Home. But at least I was keeping working on my Arabic. So I came back. I was like one of the best.
Wow.
Yeah. So I. When I came back from my injury. It's not that. Oh, he comes back from an injury, he's like, oh, bro, did you hear him how he's speaking now? He's speaking better than us. You know what I'm saying? That's what I wanted to. To show.
Did you guys speak a lot on bass together in Arabic? Like, was that common?
Yeah, I mean, we like to speak, you know, whoever also reads and write. It's. We always do, you know, it's nice.
You still speak it at all or.
No, honestly, not really. But I. I like it. Sometimes I have days that I only listen to Arabic and I, you know, have some Palestinian friends, I speak to them. Have druzy friends, I speak to them in Arabic. Church. My teacher too, just to keep it, you know?
Right. Okay.
That's what I do.
Where were you? Where were you? Which part? Where they keep you?
West bank. Dude operates in the West Bank.
That's where I was.
Yeah. In Gaza. Duan cannot operate. It's a different accent. It's a different kind of missions that you can do. There is. There was Shimon. Shimon was undercover, like Dudan, but in Gaza. And they closed it in 2005 when they actually gave Gaza to. To Palestinians.
Shimon was undercover, I thought, because they're just. Just a regular unit.
Yeah, well, Shimshan was a special unit. And then when they closed it in 2005, because they gave Gaza to Palestinians, so you cannot do undercover missions on atlant that you actually gave it to them. Right. So they, instead of closing the unit, they created a regular platoon name under respect, Shimshon. And now it's in the Kfir Brigade. But it's not a special unit.
Right. Ok, Okay, I got you. I didn't know Shimon was ever.
Okay. Yeah. You know, actually in f. You have people like Sakia Levi is the guy that Leora's wife. Yeah, well, he was in Shimon. And then when she. When Shimon closed, they transfer him to. To Duan.
Interesting.
Yeah.
Okay.
I didn't know that many people got transferred to Duan. Yeah, but the Gaza, it's a different accent. It's Bedouin, you know, it's darker people, it's different accent. For example, coffee in. In Arabic. Some cities they'll say, you know, or sometimes they'll say, sometimes. Now Bedouins, people from the desert, they speak with Gahawe, you know, it's different.
Accent, but different dialects.
Yeah, yeah. So that's why they couldn't transfer just the unit. Like, hey, let's. Let's do Bedouin undercover in West Bank. It doesn't look right, you know, Right? It's not properly different.
I understand. Okay, so you. Fair enough. So how much more time do you feel? How do you feel you have right now?
Like, nothing.
Okay, let me let you go, bro. Dude, I. I definitely would, but it was good.
I can come back too, if you want.
Yeah, yeah. We'll do it another time. For sure. Mauro, thank you. Thank you for joining me, bro. It's really a pleasure.
What you mean? No, it's my pleasure. Yeah.
Guys, I hope you enjoyed. Make sure to subscribe if you have not, because I know a lot of you guys are watching and not subscribing. Make sure to subscribe. Smash the like button. Follow Mauro on all of his accounts. Check out his book, Three Tres Faces, Three Phases. Three Phases on Amazon. Yeah, you can buy it now. Go give it a. Give it a purchase and we will see you next time.
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