In this interview, Samir Gardner meets his former student Josh Grant in person to discuss Josh’s 500‑plus day journey of abstaining from porn, masturbation, and lust after joining Samir’s mentorship program. Josh, a 26‑year‑old part‑time Home Depot employee from Mississauga who also does photography and graphic design, recounts his life before the program—marked by depression, anxiety, lack of purpose, and habitual porn use that began around age 14 and intensified at 17. He describes how Samir’s coaching helped him replace the habit with a sense of purpose, stronger Christian faith, and a desire to be pure for a future spouse. Josh highlights the main benefits of quitting: mental clarity, increased energy, better focus at work, respect for women, reduced sexual attraction, and a deeper relationship with God. He also shares his initial doubts about whether quitting was possible, how he overcame them, and the psychological shift that made porn and even dating apps feel unnecessary. The conversation concludes with Josh enthusiastically recommending Samir’s mentorship to anyone serious about quitting porn and improving their life, while Samir invites viewers to book a one‑on‑one call.
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Alright guys, so we're with Josh here. Josh has been a student, um, from, for a long time now, and he literally did an interview back in December of 2023, which was more than a year ago. It's like a year and 2 months ago. And, you know, he's been completely free from lust, from porn, masturbation, and, um, we just want to basically do an update to see like where he's at and really just see how his life has changed. So yeah, Josh, if you can just like introduce yourself.
Alright, so my name is Josh Grant. I'm from Mississauga, Ontario. I'm 26 years old and I currently work at Home Depot as a a receiving associate part-time, but I also do photography and videography and a bit of graphic design on the side.
Finally, guys, Josh actually lives like 6 hours away from me, so I decided to take the bus and meet him for the first time. And we're here in Toronto basically, and you know, it's pretty great. So we're just going to really look at his whole journey when it comes to like quitting lust and everything. I know, for example, for you it was like getting closer to God, which was like the main benefit.
Oh yes, definitely.
And yeah, man, tell us like before you joined the program, the mentorship, like How was overall your life when it comes to this problem specifically?
Well, to be honest, before joining the program, I was so struggling with like a lot of depression and anxiety, just like not feeling like I had a purpose and not knowing who I am. But like after joining the program, he showed me strategies on how to quit porn as well as encouraged me how to like just really like find my passion. And like, it's really like, it's not just about like quitting porn, but also like it's really like finding a purpose. Because to me, like the reason why I used to do it, because I just felt like depressed and lack purpose. But when I feel like I have a sense of purpose, I don't feel the need to do it at all. And it's also my faith in God that also inspires me to like just really want to quit porn and be pure for my future wife and kids. So that's a big part of it as well.
Yeah, that's something that's like very important because just what we got to realize, right, once we leave this behind, okay, like not only are we getting closer to God as a byproduct, which is obviously if you're a believer, but also God— and this is based on what I've seen— but you know, God will bless you, right, in the sense that like you'll start like, I mean, improving your life. There's going to be great things that are going to come into your life and You know, also just from like a physical level, you have more time, you have more energy. I mean, you're going to the gym, right?
For example. Yeah, totally.
Because of that, you know, you can focus more at your job, for example. You can do all those great things, which is amazing. And if you don't mind sharing, right, just so some of the audience here can relate, at what age did you start watching porn and for how long, basically?
Well, I'd say probably around like 14 years old. Yeah, because like it wasn't like hardcore stuff, but just kind of like a lot of women on social media. But like when I turned like 17, that's when it started like watching like actual like porn and stuff like that. And that continued until I found Samir's program, then he helped me quit.
Awesome. Okay. And just so everyone knows, how old are you right now?
26.
26.
Okay, perfect. Perfect.
Because that's the age of everyone I coach for some reason. Can you kind of give us what were your doubts before you joined? What were you thinking? Were you thinking like, oh, yeah, maybe I can quit, but maybe I'll fall back again. Did you have any doubts, worries, fears?
Yeah, honestly, I was like, just doubt whether I could actually do it and whether I didn't know it was actually possible, but like when Samir Gardner took me through the program and like it really just helped me quit for good.
And okay, what would you say though is your favorite part of like not just the program but also quitting porn? Like for these two, like what were your favorite parts?
Honestly, just mental clarity and not just— and just take my mind focused off women and just seeing them in a sexual way. Because I think especially for like something like quitting porn just really has a— gave me a larger respect for women in general, especially since over the years I came to a lot more female friends. So it really helps me like, just like, not look at them in a sexual way, not look at them in a sexual manner, but respect them as human beings.
Yeah, and that's a big thing, right? Because for a lot of people, they literally see it— I know it sounds cliché— but as objects, like, you know, this is just a way to somewhat satisfy my sexual desires. But it's not like that's the reality, you know, they're still human beings. Obviously, yes, like, love, lust, like, you know, for example, within a marriage, it's normal. But, you know, constantly lusting not only goes against God, but also it goes against you know, overall improving yourself, because if that's all that is on your mind, then you're not going to really think about like meaningful things and important things in your life too, right? But also when it comes to like the faith side of things, how did that impact it like in a positive way once you left it behind?
Honestly, for me, I'd say like just like really clear my conscience because, uh, lusting and all that porn stuff is a sin according to the Bible. But once I, uh, got that, uh, out of the way, got rid of all that, this really gave me like a lot of clarity and just really like, uh, yeah, just, uh, brought me closer to God as well as, uh, feel lot more hopeful about like being able to meet my future wife if God has that in his plan for me, so I can be pure for her.
Yeah, that's a big thing, right? And I have a question because a lot of people kind of like have that struggle, at least mentally, where they think, well, you know, I would love to abstain before marriage, right? But they think, well, I'm not going to get married anytime soon. Maybe that's going to be in a few months or a few years, right? And so they kind of have that belief that, you know what, I'll need to go back to PMO, you know, I need to go back to get a release from porn masturbation, whatever. How do you How do you think about that now? Like, what is your thought process around that?
Honestly, for now, I feel like even after getting rid of PMO and all that stuff, I just feel like once I'm getting closer to God, I feel like once I find my identity in him, like, I feel like I'd be content with or without a wife because my identity is just so in him. I feel more whole. And as far as like lacking that hope, like, whenever I'm closer to God, like, I don't feel like I lack that hope because like, I feel like even if I don't get married, like, God is enough. I also felt like my lust for women and just like my desire for women has just like decreased. Like, I'm not that not attracted to women anymore, but like, I just like lust after and chase after women. Like, no interest in that anymore at all.
Well, that's very powerful. So I just want to share some insights based on what you said. Like, if we understand like psychology, we understand that like we would be kind of like driven to do what we believe will be best for us, right? And Josh has done something great, right? You built— I'm pretty sure this is over the years of the most conviction, right? Like in a sense of your belief in God is very strong to the point where it's like, you know, you're not going to go against God. Obviously, like you're still sinful to a certain extent, but like, you know, you're not going to say, you know what, I'm going to, you know, for example, lust after a woman or force myself to a relationship even if it goes against, you know, the way God wants me to get into a relationship. And you're just like, you know what, I'll do whatever God really wants for me, right? And that's beautiful. That's strong. I just want to congratulate you on that, man. Thanks a lot, man. Because this is something which for a lot of people, it's like they believe in God, obviously, and everything, which is amazing. But they have a hard time because their conviction is kind of low. They have a hard time following what God wants them, right? So yeah, so that's one thing. Once you get very, very convinced into something, it's very easy to do that thing and just follow it and pursue it 100%, right? Whether that's your relationship with God, whether that's something you want to pursue, for example. So that's, that's, that's awesome. And so what was your favorite part about the program, about the coaching, the mentorship?
As far as like quitting PMO, that part, like the part that's like all mental and it's like less about like any like sort of like porn blockers or like anything like that. It's all about like just like that belief that like you really don't need this and it doesn't benefit you. Because I'll share a quick story because I used to be on dating apps because I was like kind of lonely and people were open at the time. But I think that was probably say like 2, 3 years ago, but like, once I had no luck since, so ever since then I found that it was no longer benefiting me, so I just quit cold turkey and never went back since. And it's pretty much the same thing with porn.
Yeah, obviously. So that aspect of like the dating apps, for example, there's not— a lot of people don't have like all of these limiting beliefs regarding dating apps, so it's kind of like easier to move on from them. But with PMO, you know, you stated it clearly, like, you know, it's— you really came down to, oh, you don't even see much value, like you don't see no, like no benefits in doing it anymore. And you You just think life without it's way better. And also you get closer to God. So that's like the ultimate reason why, which is awesome, man. And do you recommend like other people to try the mentorship?
Oh yeah, absolutely. Like anyone who's looking to quit porn and is serious about improving their life, not just about quitting porn. Yeah, totally recommend my man Samir Gardner.
Appreciate it, man. So hope you guys enjoyed. If you want to book a call with me one-on-one personally, you can do so with the link in the description. But anyways, I'll see you guys in the next video. Peace.
