Against All Odds: Journey of Pro Golfer Alex Romo

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The fear of having this passion that you cared so much about, that was such




00:00:03

a big part of your life. The fear of that going away and the fact




00:00:06

that you were able to come back and then win, dude, that's like, if you




00:00:09

stopped right there. That is amazing. That's just a great. I just love




00:00:12

that story.




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Did I tell you about my albatross? A yo, here we




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go. Come on. Welcome to another episode of did I tell




00:00:26

you about my albatross? I'm your host, Albie. This is the golf




00:00:29

podcast for honest degenerates. It's like teeing up with your favorite forsome every




00:00:33

week and diving into the best stories in and around golf.




00:00:36

You guys ready to tee off? Let's go. We added chillin on the right side




00:00:40

of the green. Sip a little something.




00:00:55

Everyone, to another episode of did I tell you about my albatross?




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And, boy, do we have a good one for you tonight. We've got a special




00:01:02

guest here, someone I've been really looking forward to talking to. His name is Alex




00:01:06

Romo. He is. I mean, dude, you really need no introduction,




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man. You are quite the sensation on all social and




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really for a lot of different things, initially around golf, but it's evolved, and




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I'm really interested to hear about your journey




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and your story. So, anyway, welcome to the show, man. Thanks for joining us, Alex,




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thank you so much. I appreciate it. That's nice of you to say all that.




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You're the man. Yeah, man. Well, let's just dive in here, man. So first of




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all, let's just start. You just got back from Morocco. I was noticing. Is that




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right? I did, yeah. I just returned a couple of days




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ago from that, actually. One of my best friends got married in




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Florida on the back end of that trip, so I flew back.




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Tampa, dude, that's where I live. That's where you're talking to me from




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Tampa right now. Are you kidding me? I just. No, dude, two days




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ago. Are you kidding me? That's crazy. That's hilarious. I'm literally doing this,




00:01:56

Alex. I'm doing this in a shed. Like, I can touch this. I'm doing this




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in a shed in my backyard, in. So. Wow.




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I wish I could remember the place you got married at. I played some golf




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out there, too. So that was a quick little pit stop after Morocco.




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And actually, two more days I'm going to be leaving for Puerto Rico.




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So a lot of international travel in this month, which has been




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exciting. But, yeah, Morocco was a blast.




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You were there for pro am, right? I was yeah, I was there working




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with their tourism board and also participating in the pro am




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for the PGA Tour Champions event out there. Played with




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gentleman named Paul Broadhurst, who's a multiple time senior major




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champion and very cool, awesome guy, great player. And




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I had one moment there. Crazy that your show is called. Did I tell you




00:02:42

about my albatross? So I've never had a hole in one. Ever been playing since




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I was 532 now. Lots of hole outs and




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exciting things, but never a proper hole in one. And on the




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17th hole, which was a par, 4310 yards, slightly




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downhill, landed like 10ft short of the pin, rolled




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straight into the pin at like, pretty mellow pace because there were




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fans up by the green watching and they're like, yes, it went in the cup




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and rattled out to the right, like 5ft. And it was on camera




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and everything. And so I was thinking, wow,




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that would have been an epic first hole in one, technically,




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but really even better than a hole in one. But no dying.




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We're going to Puerto Rico. I'm hoping that maybe something




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happens down there to shake things up a bit.




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It's crazy that we've had this conversation. Obviously a lot on here because




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the show is called right, just for context. And by the way,




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all my followers and listeners, you guys can tune out for a quick second. Alex,




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have you pumped this out to your people, man, this is a story, really for




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you and for just for context. So the reason it's called, did I tell you




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about Malvich? I love telling the story, by the way, is because, remember,




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member golf tournament, the year is 2020. My budy and I, we were day




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two. We go up to the final hole, we finish on pine one. It was




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a shotgun tournament. So we finished on the first hole, which is actually a par




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five, and I hit a good drive. Fairway, 247 out,




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hit my three wood, and it goes in. Now, we had two buddies that were




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waiting for it. So we go up to the hole, and I hit a really




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good shot. We couldn't see it go in, and my budy's like, hey, we have




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spirit animals. I'll get into all that here in a little bit. But anyway, my




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budy sea turtle, he was like, hey, man, did you think you hit a good




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shot? And I was like, yeah, man, I hit that pretty well. He was like,




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yeah, went over the green. So I started looking for this thing. Alex can't find




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it anywhere for like a good couple of minutes, and I'm like, dude, where is




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this ball? And he said it went in the hole. And we lost our




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mind, obviously. So then we go inside and turn our scorecard in. This is when




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it gets weird. Turn our scorecard in and they're like, oh, yeah, you guys were




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actually three shots back going into that final hole. So with that albatross. Walk off.




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Albatross, you tied for the win. And we were actually doing a Calcutta. We like




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won thousands of dollars, dude, I thought Alex, I thought I was going to be




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famous. I thought I was going to have your social following by now. I guess




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that was immediate. None of that happened. No one cares about my shot. My




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wife'sick of me telling everyone'sick. Of me talking about it. So I'm like, great, I'm




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going to start a pod cast. And until this thing blows up and until I'm




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on sports center talking to Scott Van Pelt, then I'm going to keep talking about




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this damn thing anyway. But to me, man,




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when I hear stories like you that you just described, it drives me crazy because




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there's so many good golfers out there that don't even have a hole




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in one. And then you have gibronis out there




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that are just 25 handicaps that have multiple, like five or six. It just makes




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no sense to me. But anyway, I know I've had that conversation




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so many times with friends, it makes no sense, right? It's such a




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weird combo of skill and luck. There are some people that don't really play that




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much golf that rack up a ton and then other people that are great golfers,




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pro golfers. No dice. That's crazy. What an epic




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story, by the way. Good for you. Thanks, man. Well, it kind of ties in




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the reason I wanted to share it with you. There's a couple of reasons, but




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one, because, first of all, I love talking about it easily, but the other reason




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is because it does tie into a lot of what you and I were talking




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about before the show here. And I went really deep with this thing. I hired




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a data scientist and I just imagined like Einstein curled up in a fetal position




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trying to figure out the math on this because it took him a couple of




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weeks and he came back and he said one in 600 million were the ODs.




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Now, the reason I hired him to do it is because as soon as that




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happened, it just sort of changed a lot of things for me. I just started




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living my life like anything's possible. Like almost like a limitless




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feeling. And I mean, it's got to be the same feeling people have when they




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hit the lottery or just a really rare thing happens and if you start




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paying attention to little things like this and you start having this




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growth mindset, what happens? You'll notice it actually happens quite often.




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It actually happens all the time. We don't really pay attention to it. Maybe it's




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not an albatross, but it does happen in little everyday moments. And that's really what




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this podcast is about. It's about talking about those albatross




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like moments that are just rare and beautiful, whatever they may




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be. So anyway, that's really why I wanted to share with you.




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I love it. I'll follow up with one more similar story in




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30 seconds. Here I was playing a Tiger woods




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design course called Pains Valley in big. I saw




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some of your footage, man. It looks beautiful. Okay, thank you. Yeah, it was




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incredible. Incredible golf complex. Went there twice last year




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actually. And the first hole,




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eight in the morning playing the Tiger woods course. I'm so jacked up and we're




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out there to film everything and promote it. So I'm micked up. I've got a




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buddy in the cart with me. It's like a 480 yard par four,




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but it's straight downhill. So I hit an okay drive and it rolls




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out like 360 or something crazy. So I have a pitching wedge




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in 137 yards and I'm just




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having so much fun. I'm like, how about a walk off? Two to start, something




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about like I think I'm going to make it. And then I




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did. But the way it went in was crazy. It was like a two tiered




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green left side higher than the right side and the pin was on the right




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side, so it landed like on the slope part,




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so it had back spin, but it kind of looked more like side spin, which




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on camera looked really cool. It like yanked hard to the right ten or




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15ft jarred in freaking throw my club




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in the air, just running all the way down, pull it out of the cup.




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We had people with us and it was honestly




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top three most exhilarating, just pure joy moments




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in my life, all things combined. And yeah, just




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kind of like you. I got my five minutes talking about




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that one that I've drawn out for almost a year here,




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that story. Keep talking about it, dude. Because I mean, first of all, I saw




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know the video is great because I had Matt sharf on




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from. Yeah, so he came on, I don't know, maybe




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three or four weeks ago and he was talking about his. Obviously he's got




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these two amazing ones on camera, which a lot of your stuff's on camera too,




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which is great. It's going to happen, by the way, budy, I feel




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it. But he was talking and you said the word like




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you said joy, and that's really what you see him running down. And yours




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was very similar because that feeling is just unbeeble,




00:08:58

man. It's incredible. So I love that. Tell me a little




00:09:02

bit about your background. Let's just start when you were young. Obviously you grew up,




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you said playing golf at five, is that right? That's right. Yeah, I started at




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age five. I played a few other sports as well. Basketball,




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baseball, soccer, and water polo was my favorite,




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actually. Water polo, awesome. Yeah, I was pretty into water polo. I




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was doing some training with the olympic team when I was in like 8th grade




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and really into it. Played it in high school, but was




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not much of a future with that sport other than being on the olympic




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team. Right. And at around age




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15 or 16, just decided to hone in on golf because it seemed like that




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one I could take the farthest and stay healthy and injury free the




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longest with it. And so I started focusing on trying to play




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in college, and I came from a pretty small private high school




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in Ohio called Villanova. So although I was doing




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well at golf in our little bracket, it didn't really translate to




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the Division one visibility scale nationwide and so had no




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offers. But I went to a division one program anyway, and that was




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Cal Poly San Luis Bispo in the central coast of California




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and tried my best to walk on. Failed




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as a freshman, last guy cut as a sophomore, last guy




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cut again as a junior. Added to the practice roster




00:10:20

halfway through junior year, called up to the main squad, and then I wound up




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playing the second half of my junior year and then a senior year




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and a fifth year. So I got two and a half years of d one




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experience after. Didn't look good for a while there, but




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eventually persevered. And that was really special to me. That was




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like kind of the beginning of what I would.




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I would say I'm a self described underdog,




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always kind of trying to rise from the ashes. I don't think I've ever




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been the best at anything or the most sure




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to succeed at anything, but I definitely have had some delusional self belief




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and a lot of support from friends and family. And




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somehow things just always wind up working out. Maybe not as quick as I




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think that they should, or I would like them to, but now that I can




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look back, it's been a pretty beautiful life and everything has worked out in my




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favor, even if I couldn't see it. At that time. So that was the first




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iteration of that in college. And then




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I was planning on turning pro right after, and I had some nice sponsors lined




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up and a nice schedule, and this was summer of 2014.




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And then a weird injury




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kind of just manifested out of nowhere. I had a degenerative




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joint on the inside of my collarbone. It's called




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external clavicular joint. And it was just




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like part of it was broken off and floating




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in the abyss of my clavicle.




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And it kind of created this popping, clicking, grinding,




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excruciating pain that as a right handed golfer, anytime I would




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rotate fully through on a follow through and wrap around my




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head, it just ripped that joint open and I couldn't do it. So




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did some traditional medicine at first, cortisol shot and a bunch of




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PT, and we couldn't really figure out, one, why




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it happened, and two, how we were going to stabilize that joint unless we did




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reconstructive surgery. And I met with a number of doctors and




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they all said, we won't do it because your aorta and major




00:12:19

arteries are like, within centimeters of that joint, and the




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risk of nicking it and you bleeding out is pretty high.




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So for someone that just wants to play sports, we're not going to risk




00:12:30

24 year old kid's life for that. So I felt really stuck. And that was




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probably my first experience with pretty heavy depression and just




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hopelessness of like, damn, I had no backup plan, dude.




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I didn't go to the career fairs in college. I took no internships. I




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never for 1 second thought of, oh, probably I




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could do this job if golf doesn't work out. It was like, golf, golf, golf,




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golf, golf. Ever since I was a little guy and




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again leaned on family. We found this experimental




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medicine which now is pretty mainstream, but at the time it was kind of out




00:13:02

there, and it was called stem cell therapy. Did that for almost




00:13:06

two years where I was going into LA and getting bone marrow drilled




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out from my spine and then having that reinjected




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into this neck area. I was getting like 300 injections every two




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weeks. Oh, my God, dude, that's crazy. What was




00:13:21

that? If you don't mind, just tell me a little bit about that




00:13:24

process because it was so new. A couple of things.




00:13:28

One, what made you guys pull the trigger? Because obviously it was probably




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experimental, to your point. I mean, you were just probably that desperate. You just wanted




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to get it feeling better and you wanted to take the chance, I guess,




00:13:38

right? Yeah. I mean, the doctors that we had met with, the more




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traditional ones, were like, you will just never be able to golf. And I




00:13:46

also was really into lifting weights at that time. I had real




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passion for working out, and they said that that was not going to be an




00:13:53

option either. And so I just kind of felt like rolling




00:13:56

the dice. What else was I do? Just sit on the sofa and accept




00:14:00

defeat? I felt like there was someone telling me there's something we could do. And




00:14:04

even though it was going to be very painful, very slow, and very expensive, there




00:14:07

was at least a chance, and it wasn't a life threatening thing like the




00:14:11

surgery. And, and to be quite honest, the doctor




00:14:15

was really spiritual and just connected with him. His




00:14:19

name was Dr. Mark Darrow. Still have a relationship with him.




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He's still doing it. I'm one of many success stories for him. I'm in




00:14:26

his book, even. And just a great guy. Wow.




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Ultimately kind of said that it was a




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physical manifestation of just the stress and




00:14:37

fear of leveling up in life. This thing that I had built up




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as kind of the thing for me, turning pro and




00:14:45

starting my adult life and career and just




00:14:48

not really feeling like I could allow myself to have that success




00:14:52

for whatever reason. And I think it just kind of came up with something that




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would be a believable thing to shut it down. And




00:14:59

it was very real. But the fact that it didn't start from, like, an injury




00:15:03

or a fall, that was the best answer we could come up with.




00:15:07

And I just put a lot of trust in him, and I think that




00:15:11

probably had a lot to do with why the medicine worked.




00:15:14

Just your mind kind of creates your reality. Your perception




00:15:18

is your reality in life. And again, this was one of the early




00:15:21

examples of that on a big scale in my life. Just




00:15:25

crazy, crazy belief and support and love from




00:15:29

family and this doctor and friends and. Yeah, fast forward two years later,




00:15:33

was swinging the club again. And here's where the story. Amazing.




00:15:37

Well, hang on. All right. I want to go back to that, if you don't




00:15:40

mind. So this doctor, first of all, what was his name again? I want to




00:15:44

give him some shout out for sure. Dr. Mark Darrow.




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A couple of things that come to mind. Mean, I think I'm a big believer.




00:15:51

Everything happens for a reason. The fact that you met this guy and the fact




00:15:54

that he, mean, obviously someone that you connected with and that you could trust and




00:15:58

that you were willing in the state that you were in,




00:16:02

that's a little miracle. That's what I'm talking about. Little things like this that happen.




00:16:05

But you did these, like, 300 shots every week. Yeah, it




00:16:09

just helps the cells and tissue and cartilage to kind of regenerate




00:16:13

and repair itself. Yeah, pretty gnarly stuff




00:16:17

if you get a chance to look it up. And it's more common now, but,




00:16:21

yeah, that was wild. Definitely kind of




00:16:24

incapacitated for a while, just sitting on a sofa watching




00:16:28

old golf videos. But there wasn't like an event. There wasn't like where you're




00:16:32

like, oh, something cracked or popped. It was just like a real gradual thing




00:16:36

where eventually you're just like, man, every time I swing, I'm hearing this clicking noise.




00:16:39

And then probably the pain came after that. It was actually pretty




00:16:43

sudden. And it was one week before that first tournament that I was going to




00:16:46

play. Oh, dude. Yeah, it was like a week




00:16:50

before. I was like, wow, this really hurts. And then I took a ton of




00:16:54

Tylenol and tried for like, one more day and I was like, no, I cannot




00:16:57

swing. And that was it. That shut me down. No more golf for two years.




00:17:00

So, yeah, it was a sudden onslaught of just




00:17:04

some weird pain that we tried to figure out what the




00:17:08

heck caused it. But I've been hearing this a lot lately, too, as far as




00:17:11

this manifestation of bottom line fear,




00:17:15

whatever that fear may. And it's different probably for everyone, but whatever it is




00:17:19

to the individual, it manifests physically in a lot of different




00:17:22

ways. Did he help you




00:17:26

with him telling you that aspect of it?




00:17:30

Did that give you enough of what you needed to sort of. I mean, obviously




00:17:33

he was doing the treatments and stuff, but mentally, was that enough to




00:17:37

kind of make it, or did you have to actually go into a deeper dive




00:17:42

to address the mental stuff? Yeah, no, I put




00:17:46

a lot of trust into him, definitely.




00:17:49

And I was lucky




00:17:53

that I grew up in a household where




00:17:57

mindset stuff and the power of the mind was not considered




00:18:01

taboo. It was encouraged. My parents were showing me, there's a




00:18:05

movie called the Secret. Yes, my mom did the same




00:18:08

thing, man, it was a game changer. Yeah, we were into that when I was




00:18:11

like twelve years old and my dad was teaching me breathing techniques to deal




00:18:15

with fear about anxiety at




00:18:18

school. Or I remember there was like a camping trip




00:18:22

and I was afraid of bears or something, and my dad was teaching me to




00:18:25

do deep breathing and stretching with them. So I grew up in a household where




00:18:29

that type of stuff was really celebrated and encouraged rather than made fun of




00:18:32

or considered taboo. So the foundation was already kind of laid for me




00:18:36

by my parents that I could really affect change in my own life, even




00:18:40

on the physical plane, just with my mental activity if I




00:18:44

really honed in and focused. And so I just don't think I ever bought into




00:18:48

the diagnosis from doctors that I was incurable and all




00:18:51

these things were wrong with me. And so I think that played a huge




00:18:55

role in the healing process, and we can get more into this in the




00:18:59

future. Part of the chronological progression, my life story. But the one




00:19:03

thing that I have been learning more recently, working with




00:19:06

meditation coaches and breath work coaches on some




00:19:10

retreats and workshops together, is




00:19:15

everything is energy. Us as humans and the entire




00:19:18

universe, it's all energy, and it can't be created or destroyed, and




00:19:22

it's supposed to flow freely through our heart and our body. But




00:19:25

stress and trauma and the fight or flight response and




00:19:29

hormones like adrenaline and cortisol can block or




00:19:33

just a closed heart from fear or past scarring and trauma can block




00:19:36

energy that should be freely moving through your body. Sometimes




00:19:41

out of a defense mechanism or fear, we just clamp




00:19:44

down and lock some scarring memory deep down inside of




00:19:48

us because it doesn't feel safe to process it, whether that's




00:19:52

societal conditioning or our parents or whatever




00:19:56

the case may be. And I don't know if I knew at the time what




00:19:59

was going on or had the words to describe it the same way I do




00:20:02

now, but I really feel like that was an extreme




00:20:06

case of me just I had already




00:20:10

kind of first world problems. I've been lucky, and I've had a nice




00:20:13

life, and we're talking about playing golf here, but




00:20:17

my own mental plane, which, like we're saying perception is reality.




00:20:21

And so, to me, being obsessed with golf, all in on golf, believing I had




00:20:24

this big purpose to go chase these dreams, to me, it was like life




00:20:28

or death. And I think that just fear




00:20:32

of failure or fear of judgment or not




00:20:35

understanding stress management techniques at a young age, I think I




00:20:39

just was kind of blocked




00:20:43

off, and I wasn't allowing energy to flow freely through my body. And when




00:20:46

your body's trying to release stress, it can manifest




00:20:50

on the physical plane. You can have literal physical ailments, and




00:20:54

it's a good sign. Sometimes it's a sign of you letting go of things or




00:20:57

processing things that you locked away ten years ago in childhood.




00:21:01

But I met countless people with interesting stories like




00:21:04

that in my later years now, where it makes me feel a lot less crazy




00:21:08

for what I was experiencing at the time, and I really couldn't explain. There were




00:21:11

definitely were times where I was like, dude, I think you're just full of man.




00:21:15

There's nothing wrong with you. But then I would pick up a club and I'd




00:21:17

be like, no, there's definitely something wrong with me. I just can't explain why. I




00:21:21

don't think you should discount that feeling, because it was everything to you. I mean,




00:21:24

that was like your whole future. That was everything you put it. And so to




00:21:27

have that almost feel like it's getting taken away, that's




00:21:31

a scary feeling. It just happened to be golf. But I mean,




00:21:34

replace it with whatever is most important in your life,




00:21:38

that can be a really disheartening thing. So you mentioned depression. Well, all right, I




00:21:42

took you away from the. This is where it gets fun. So let's go back




00:21:45

to that, because I didn't mean to throw you off track there. No worries.




00:21:50

And one silver lining from all of that, as I mentioned,




00:21:54

looking back, I feel like everything has worked out in my favor. But in that




00:21:57

moment, it felt like this is the worst thing ever. What I




00:22:01

learned at the time was a love for social




00:22:04

media and trying to build a community and sharing. I had so much time without




00:22:08

being able to really do much physically for two years there, and I was working




00:22:12

a job at the time, I was a caterer. So it's not like I truly




00:22:14

just watch TV all day every day. But the physical activity I was used to




00:22:18

with golf in the gym was taken away from me. So I filled that time




00:22:21

with sifting back through pictures and videos from my college career,




00:22:25

starting to post a little bit on Instagram, and having my first




00:22:29

experience with attracting little brands here and there for




00:22:32

some free t shirts or posting about this for $50




00:22:36

and very small scale, small time stuff. But it




00:22:39

was the beginning of me gaining belief that, wow,




00:22:44

I can attract like minded individuals through the Internet if I share my




00:22:48

passions and the things I'm interested in. And I put a lot of work in




00:22:52

dming back and forth with people and supporting other accounts. This could become a really




00:22:55

fulfilling, interesting thing where I build a golf community and then,




00:22:59

wow, it looks like there's companies that are interested in people that have an




00:23:03

audience, and I don't even think the word influencer was a thing yet.




00:23:07

In 20 14. 20, 15, 20 14. Wow, that's




00:23:10

crazy, man. I had just got Instagram like a year earlier as a




00:23:14

senior in college, which is crazy because now every twelve year old has it and




00:23:18

dreams of being an influencer. But obviously pretty




00:23:21

late to the game. And this was the




00:23:25

silver lining in the injury, was that I probably wasn't ready for a




00:23:29

pro golf career at that point in time anyway. So life probably was like,




00:23:32

let's put you on the injured reserve for a little bit. You can figure out




00:23:36

what you're going to do in the future, which is going to be more than




00:23:38

just golf. You're going to build a community and try to be a leader




00:23:42

of positive impact in the world online. So that was kind of me getting my




00:23:46

feet wet with that. So I look back with a lot of gratitude that I




00:23:49

was sort of forced against my will at the time, but for good reason,




00:23:53

into the lane, which has now turned into a really awesome career




00:23:57

and something I think I'll do for the rest of my life, which is leverage




00:24:00

the Internet to reach people and spread a message. But




00:24:04

the fun part that you asked about was that within my very first




00:24:07

month of picking up a club, I was like, let's just send it and play




00:24:11

a tournament. And I won, like, my fourth or




00:24:14

fifth thing, which was like, five weeks after I wasn't practicing




00:24:18

ready at all. I just literally was like, let's get back out




00:24:22

there. And I've told this story a few times. In California,




00:24:26

we have a mini tour called the Bo Tour, and just this




00:24:29

awesome guy named Bo that used to run something called the Pepsi Tour, which




00:24:33

no longer exists. But great minigames attract.




00:24:37

They attract PGA Tour know every now and then that are looking for a




00:24:41

game in their off week. And at the time, this guy, JJ Spawn, who's now,




00:24:44

like, a multiple time PGA Tour winner, he was kind of one of




00:24:48

the local savages playing on that tour and taking lunch




00:24:52

money. Wasn't on the tour at the time, but I was in a




00:24:55

tournament that he was in as well. And he was the guy that finished runner




00:24:59

up to me for my first ever pro win. Wow, that's amazing




00:25:03

strokes. And had my girlfriend with me, and it was just this




00:25:06

insane high of like, wow,




00:25:10

I have no business being good at golf right now. I know my swing is




00:25:13

trash. I know my short game is garbage. But this is




00:25:17

yet another moment of proving the fact




00:25:21

that your mind really is in control of everything. What was going through your




00:25:25

mind? Do you remember? Yeah, definitely was




00:25:28

nervous, but it was just gratitude. It was just, like, appreciation and




00:25:32

gratitude that I could play golf, and that was like screaming




00:25:36

so much louder than over time. The further back




00:25:40

in the golf culture you get, the more you kind of get this spoiled




00:25:43

attitude of complaining about the bad bounces, and you have all these




00:25:46

expectations, and you think you should be doing better than you are. And




00:25:50

before that can creep in, when you're just truly playing out of pure




00:25:54

joy for the ability to be like a healthy, physically




00:25:57

capable human being, swinging a golf club and just enjoying that moment




00:26:01

of competing as a pro. When I thought for two straight years it might




00:26:05

never happen. That weighed heavier than




00:26:09

all of the other garbage and allowed me to actually let what skill




00:26:12

was in my body come out. And it resulted in some pretty good play for




00:26:16

a while there and eventually caught up with me and I stopped playing as well.




00:26:20

And if I had continued that trajectory, then maybe I would be on the tour




00:26:23

at this point. But it was a very early, and it's something that I've




00:26:27

continued. I've tried to find that same just




00:26:31

pure enjoyment and gratitude




00:26:34

for living life and detachment from outcome. I think ultimately that's what




00:26:38

it was. I clearly had no expectation of winning. I just




00:26:42

was happy to be there. And that harder and harder to have that




00:26:45

attitude. The more and more you work hard at something and you start to




00:26:49

believe you deserve good results and you start to attach to them and




00:26:53

identify with them. But if you can really make it simple




00:26:57

and take it back to the headspace I was in at that point in time,




00:27:00

I think all of us would get more out of ourselves and whatever we're trying




00:27:04

to do in life. And I'm happy that




00:27:07

I experienced it even once in my life. Just an overwhelming sense of




00:27:11

gratitude that allowed me to excel at something without getting in




00:27:15

my own way. That's not to say that I experience that every tournament, or




00:27:19

I don't know if I've ever had that free flowing state




00:27:23

of golf again in my life since then, but I do remember what it felt




00:27:26

like. And I'm constantly trying to remind myself, like, dude, gratitude is the




00:27:30

answer. Like, you are, in your own way, you think you're so much




00:27:33

more important and take yourself so much more serious than you should. Go




00:27:37

back to that five year old attitude you had of, it's like, wow, this is




00:27:41

just so sick to be playing golf. Heard you say this now twice. Didn't deserve




00:27:44

it. And I've had these feelings before, too, man. It's such a




00:27:48

debilitating feeling because it can be overwhelming. And if you




00:27:52

really feel that way, then kind of like what we're talking about here, if thoughts




00:27:55

become things, it's going to become the reality. So I




00:27:58

think gratitude is an excellent way to combat that. I




00:28:02

think gratitude is a place of abundance, right? The fear of having




00:28:06

what you cared and this passion that you cared so much about, that was such




00:28:09

a big part of your life. The fear of that going away and the fact




00:28:12

that you were able to come back and then that's like, if you stopped right




00:28:16

there. That is amazing. That's just a great. I just love that story.




00:28:20

If you don't mind, I would love to dive in a little bit to the




00:28:23

social stuff I just started. Mean, I had a Facebook




00:28:26

account, but here's the thing, it's funny, Alex. I didn't post anything. Like, I've got




00:28:30

two little ones. I didn't post anything from when I got married, which I married




00:28:33

the most amazing person ever. I should have posted some stuff. If I'm going to




00:28:36

post stuff, should definitely mention that. Should definitely mention when my kids got bored,




00:28:39

like the happiest days of my life. And then all of a sudden I'm like,




00:28:42

I'm going to post about this albatross and this podcast I'm doing, which I had




00:28:45

to get over the fact that this is what brings me to social media. And




00:28:49

then my wife was like, really? What about everything else that we've been doing?




00:28:54

I just wonder what the environment was. How fast did you




00:28:58

catch on? Yeah,




00:29:01

boy, it was a little tough for me, too. I definitely didn't




00:29:05

grow up obsessed with social media or anything. I think I barely had




00:29:09

a Facebook as a senior in high school and then




00:29:13

barely got Instagram as a senior in college and




00:29:17

pretty much just lived in the real world until I was about 23 or four,




00:29:20

sitting on the sofa doing the whole posting when I was injured for a bit




00:29:24

there. But it's definitely something that




00:29:27

I was inspired by. Gary Vee one, and then I love that




00:29:31

guy. I think it was called the hustle sold




00:29:34

separately, and it might have been with Case Kenny,




00:29:38

who, if I'm correct in that assumption, he's still doing content and




00:29:41

I see him on my feet all the time. I could be misquoting that, but




00:29:45

that's not the important part. It basically was some guys talking about




00:29:48

document the journey before you've done whatever it is that you




00:29:52

say you're trying to do, whether that's becoming the world's top chef or a pro




00:29:56

golfer or a great husband and father, doesn't matter. Whatever your




00:29:59

goals are, they're relatable to probably 50 million other people




00:30:03

on the planet that have a similar goal somewhere else in the world.




00:30:07

And the Internet is a crazy place. There's a lot of negative




00:30:11

things as well. But for those that are seeking inspiration,




00:30:15

education, the more helpful side of the Internet,




00:30:18

you can play a huge role in that, even if you don't want to be




00:30:21

an influencer or have an online business.




00:30:26

It's helpful for yourself because it creates some accountability. And




00:30:31

if you make a goal of documenting your journey,




00:30:35

to lose ten pounds in 100 days, and you make a




00:30:38

commitment to post one video per day, or one progress picture per




00:30:42

week or one blog post, it's going to give you a little bit




00:30:45

of pride in what you're trying to do, even if you only have five




00:30:49

people watching, because it just makes it feel like, okay, it's a little bit




00:30:53

bigger than me now. We're out of my own head with this set of goals,




00:30:56

and we're in the world, and some people are watching and rooting for me or




00:30:59

rooting against me. And either way it's motivating because




00:31:03

this goal matters to me and I want to show people I can do it.




00:31:06

These podcasts were kind of talking about




00:31:10

on ESPN. We watch 30 for 30 talking about




00:31:14

people that are already really accomplished and going to their




00:31:18

origin story, and that is inspirational and motivating to




00:31:22

listen to the progression of someone from floor zero to the top




00:31:25

floor. What's even more motivating is if you




00:31:30

share the story and the ending of it hasn't been written




00:31:33

yet, and you're able to draw people in through shared interests




00:31:37

to what you're working on, and maybe you can learn from them at the same




00:31:40

time. And you guys grow collectively as a community




00:31:44

through collaboration and talking about your own unique




00:31:48

experiences. What's working, what isn't working on this journey, to




00:31:51

lose ten pounds in 100 days or whatever. The thing is that you're building community




00:31:55

around, and that resonated with me at the time in 2015, and I was




00:31:59

like, you're right, I'm going to start this pro golf journey. I have




00:32:03

no clue how I'm going to make it, but one, for my own




00:32:06

purposes, to show my family and to watch when I'm an old guy,




00:32:10

I want to document it. IPhones are a big thing now. It's




00:32:13

easier than ever to film. I think it's going to be a cool journey,




00:32:17

progressing from one tour to the next and playing Q schools all over the




00:32:21

place. I want to film it. And then two, I felt




00:32:24

like if I do make it, wow, we've got a pretty




00:32:28

awesome story here of the fact that I actually was filming it




00:32:32

when I was injured with this weird collarbone thing and everyone was saying I would




00:32:36

forgot again, let's start filming now. Rather than waiting




00:32:39

till you're more bulletproof to criticism because you're




00:32:43

already on this tour and nobody can.




00:32:46

It's a fear of failure defense mechanism, I think, that prevents most




00:32:50

people from posting because almost everyone's living a story and




00:32:54

everyone's story is relatable to a lot of other people. And it's very




00:32:57

fulfilling when you start to connect with people that do resonate with your




00:33:01

story and there's connections between you and these other people




00:33:05

based on these common interests. That's an awesome way to use the Internet and awesome




00:33:09

way to add and enrich everyone's lives, in my




00:33:12

opinion. And what stops all of us from being players in this content




00:33:16

ecosystem is just that fear of looking dumb and being made fun




00:33:20

of for having some big goal and not having the




00:33:23

tangible proof yet that we're




00:33:27

anywhere near our goal. And then that opens us up to




00:33:30

criticism. Know mostly people that don't even know us and aren't our real friends




00:33:34

if they're going to make fun of something like that. So I get it




00:33:37

and know struggled with it my whole life as well. But I think




00:33:41

I'm glad I listened to Gary Vee and I'm glad I listened to that podcast




00:33:44

and just kind of got over myself and little by little started trying to




00:33:48

bust the camera out in public and film things and talk to




00:33:52

it. And it still is hard to this day every single




00:33:55

time that I whip out. What do you mean? What's hard? Dude, I watch




00:33:59

your stuff and you got it dialed in. What do you mean? Yeah, I mean




00:34:03

I feel resistance and discomfort every single time




00:34:07

I start filming myself doing something, because in my mind




00:34:10

other people are watching and they're like, you must think you're so cool. You must




00:34:14

think you're more important than everyone else. Hurry up and hit the shot. Get out




00:34:17

of the way. Or like you're in the way of my gym set, or




00:34:21

why are you talking to a camera in public? And it's just people




00:34:25

are thinking that anyway. Everyone's worried about their own




00:34:28

stuff. But I wouldn't say I'm a natural




00:34:32

born actor Hollywood guy.




00:34:35

Honestly, I can do,




00:34:39

and especially when I realize that it has a purpose and it's bigger than me




00:34:42

and it's all for a reason. That's a




00:34:46

positive reason that motivates me. But yeah,




00:34:49

I wouldn't say I was born to be an influencer or anything like that. I




00:34:52

just learned about the power of the Internet and trying to take advantage of it.




00:34:56

Well, I think you're using it for the right things, too. I think that's a




00:34:59

big part of it. So that's automatically I feel like going to propel you a




00:35:02

lot quicker than other people trying to do it for the money or for whatever.




00:35:05

Fill in the blank. But I love the idea




00:35:09

of documenting the journey and the way that you described. That's really interesting.




00:35:13

And then the other part that is, it's also refreshing to hear someone




00:35:16

like yourself because, I mean, being a guy that's trying to throw up some




00:35:20

content, and I take it serious. I put a lot of heart, a lot of




00:35:22

energy, and a lot of work into it, and it's a grind. It's like trying




00:35:26

to figure out what will resonate with people.




00:35:30

I think your point there is, at least for me, well taken, because




00:35:34

you just have to kind of do what maybe is important for you, and there's




00:35:37

going to be enough. If you put enough of it out there, then there's going




00:35:40

to be enough people out there that will probably find it interesting eventually. And I




00:35:43

think just being genuine and true, not necessarily looking for the latest trend




00:35:47

and trying to piggyback off of what's going viral, but more importantly, just




00:35:52

what gets you excited, I guess, getting back to your journey as a professional golfer.




00:35:56

So we left off where we were doing some of these tours. We just




00:35:59

won this event. So what happened after that then? Yeah,




00:36:03

we're in 2016 and I was still splitting




00:36:07

time as a caterer. And then about a year from that point, I




00:36:11

would become a caddy as well at a club here in California called




00:36:14

Sherwood. And from then




00:36:17

until 2020 was kind of when




00:36:21

I had a bigger break on social media and that became more of my career.




00:36:25

I worked those jobs and kind of was 1ft in the




00:36:29

golf door and 1ft in the small time job door. Just




00:36:33

because I never made cuts at the golf, I never was




00:36:36

like, profiting. I had three wins at this point as a




00:36:40

professional, but all on smaller tours. So it's not like I got some




00:36:44

$100 payday or anything like that. And I just




00:36:48

kept working these side jobs. And




00:36:51

eventually I played on the Dakotas Tour in




00:36:54

2017 and 2019, and that was this




00:36:58

pretty well orchestrated mini tour in the Midwest that would take place




00:37:02

over about three months in the summer. You play like 18 tournaments in




00:37:06

this really rapid fire order, and I got to be




00:37:10

around some really world class golfers on that tour and see




00:37:13

exactly what it takes to win. And a lot of those guys are having




00:37:17

success at the next level now. Corn Ferry, PGA




00:37:20

Canada, Latin America, and a lot of them are




00:37:24

close buddies just from that Dakota tour. So




00:37:28

the fire was growing. Even though I wasn't having




00:37:32

tangible success like shooting sixty five? S and making cuts and




00:37:35

winning, I still knew that it was worth




00:37:39

my time to pursue. And I could eventually figure it out if I




00:37:43

could just free myself up to pursue it for an extended period




00:37:47

of time. I kind of was 2016 17 1819 were




00:37:51

all years of like three month sprint at golf because I had




00:37:54

either got some sponsorship money or worked for long enough to save it up.




00:37:58

And I didn't practice much when I was working.




00:38:02

So I would go out on the tour and be really rusty and sloppy, and




00:38:05

then at the end of the three months, things would kind of be clicking and




00:38:08

I'd be like, God, I am so bummed that I'm out of money, and now




00:38:11

I got to go back home and make the next 20 grand to do the




00:38:14

next run. And that cycle was maddening, but




00:38:18

also inspiring because it's like, man, I see myself rapidly




00:38:22

progress when I'm able to apply myself, not even




00:38:25

fully, but just mostly apply myself to this game and be on the




00:38:29

road competing for a couple of months. I think I have it in me maybe




00:38:33

not to be the best player in the world, but to definitely take it to




00:38:36

a higher level than the many tours that I've been playing at. And I'd like




00:38:39

to see myself have that opportunity. And so that persisted.




00:38:43

2016 17 1819. All the while making Instagram




00:38:47

videos, doing the best that I could to keep editing




00:38:50

things and keep putting it out there and keep making my recaps of these tournaments.




00:38:54

So it's all growing on a small scale. And




00:38:58

2020, obviously, COVID hits and I had sort of




00:39:01

already had this realization at the end of 2019, start of




00:39:05

2020, and I believe March of 2020 was when COVID shut




00:39:09

down everything in California. But interestingly enough, just a couple of months




00:39:12

prior to that, I had already kind of written a lot of notes about




00:39:16

the fact that I was realizing my highest value in




00:39:20

life was no longer to be a professional golfer




00:39:24

and swing this piece of metal better than everybody else in the world.




00:39:28

It just finally was clicking. Like, God, what a dumb life




00:39:31

purpose. At least it's a positive




00:39:35

thing. You're not, like, doing something bad with your life. But come on,




00:39:39

man, it's a game. I know it's a game.




00:39:43

There's more to life than that. And you have more to offer the world than




00:39:47

that. Let's think about what really




00:39:50

fires you up. What are the highest highs you've ever experienced in life?




00:39:54

And it was an easy answer. It was like, oh, connection with other humans. Like,




00:39:57

deep conversations, helping someone that's coming to me with




00:40:01

a problem, just experiences with friends




00:40:05

and family. Like, I love spending 10 hours talking to




00:40:09

someone and getting deep and philosophical. You're a




00:40:12

communicator and you're an empath. I didn't even know what that word was at the




00:40:15

time, but definitely a sensitive person that has a desire




00:40:19

to help humanity in some way and enjoys




00:40:23

feeling valuable to other humans. If I feel like I can




00:40:27

do something that helps someone else and it's based on my own




00:40:30

experience, those are the times where I'm like, wow, today was a great day. Like,




00:40:34

I had a great talk with person x y, and I would love




00:40:38

to hang out with them again in the future and have more feelings like that.




00:40:41

So that was all clicking for me, and I was like, well, what should we




00:40:44

do with this? We are fairly well connected now in the golf world.




00:40:48

I've met a lot of inspiring people. I'm not sure,




00:40:51

candidly if I'm going to make it to the levels that I'm trying to make




00:40:54

it to or not. And I'm getting close to 30 and feeling a little less




00:40:58

okay with being broke, as I felt in my mid twenty




00:41:01

s, a little more like, I always want to




00:41:05

golf, but what are we doing here? And so I had kind of




00:41:09

conceded that I might not play that much in 2020, and I was going to




00:41:12

try to figure out social media and see if I could develop




00:41:16

a more powerful audience and start doing some of the things that




00:41:19

I felt like I was already doing just in real life, in terms




00:41:23

of helpful conversations with people, sharing my




00:41:26

experiences with mental health or fitness or




00:41:30

relationships, and feeling good about myself for




00:41:33

contributing to someone else's life in that way. I had already said I was going




00:41:37

to do that on social media, and then life just kind of teed it up




00:41:40

for me and again said, sit down. You're not golfing anymore.




00:41:44

You're going to have to figure something else out in March, because even pro golf




00:41:48

shut down for a while there and again, shout out Gary




00:41:51

Vee. He was screaming about TikTok at this point in time




00:41:55

and saying, this is the most insane opportunity we're ever going to




00:41:59

see in our entire lifetime to gain an audience and attention




00:42:03

for free. Even if you're nobody, even if you have




00:42:07

no Instagram following and you're not famous for any reason, you could have




00:42:10

a million followers on TikTok and change your life in six months. If




00:42:14

you just understand the language of this platform and take the time to figure it




00:42:18

out and check your ego at the door, don't say, oh, it's for 13 year




00:42:22

olds. Like, I'm almost 30. I'm too whatever for this.




00:42:25

I always look to Gary Vee as prime example of somebody




00:42:29

who is ageless, really is not




00:42:33

too cool to try anything at any age, and is living proof that it




00:42:36

can work. So I had a tremendous amount of respect for him




00:42:40

and I did go all in on TikTok and it did work. By




00:42:44

the end of 2020, I had amassed a million followers there, and that put




00:42:47

enough credibility to my name as being able to




00:42:51

garner attention that it gave me the confidence to take




00:42:55

it further these next couple of years and really refine




00:42:59

what my purpose is online. You mentioned earlier




00:43:03

in your own journey the desire to be authentic and not follow




00:43:07

trends and things that may get you more views in the short term. But if




00:43:10

your goal is to be a long term part




00:43:14

of the conversation of creating content and doing something either




00:43:18

educational or inspirational or helpful in some way with it, rather than purely




00:43:21

entertaining, if that's your goal, then the




00:43:24

attitude of a little bit slower growth in the name of authenticity rather




00:43:28

than immediate growth




00:43:32

by chasing trends and virality, that was something I learned the




00:43:35

hard way because I did get in a crew of other influencers like




00:43:39

a little group chat, and worked with this mentor who




00:43:43

actually was an ex employee of Gary Vee and knew a lot about.




00:43:49

Know I took the advice, but it didn't come from my own,




00:43:53

was I was heavily pushed in the direction of dumbing




00:43:56

myself down. And I've always been this way, the way I am right now. Kind




00:44:00

of a long form guy that enjoys hours long




00:44:04

conversations and wants to talk about.




00:44:07

I love to laugh and I love comedy and I have fun with life. But




00:44:11

if I were to self assess, I'd say I am a pretty serious person




00:44:15

and we get one shot at life as far as we know.




00:44:19

So to me it's not a joke and I like to try to max




00:44:22

it out the best I can. And so that's always how I've been. But some




00:44:25

of these people in LA that I viewed as successful in the industry I




00:44:29

wanted to be successful in, kind of advised me to




00:44:33

turn that off for the time being and just figure out how to make five




00:44:37

to ten second videos, figure out how to follow trends.




00:44:41

If you ever want to have an audience and do any of the




00:44:44

positive things you want to do, you have to grow first. You can't just because




00:44:48

it's true. I was struggling. I was trying to make very long form stuff. I




00:44:51

was seeing it work for other people, but failed to make the connection that




00:44:55

people actually cared about what those other people said because they had a massive following




00:44:59

and had done a number of things that they were known for. And at that




00:45:02

point in time, nobody knew me for anything. And so it just wasn't hitting when




00:45:05

I tried to really speak my mind about different topics. And




00:45:09

so I eventually submitted to that advice and




00:45:12

figured it out. Definitely learned how to follow trends on TikTok and learned how




00:45:16

to just do whatever you needed to do to get views. And




00:45:20

it did not feel good. At the end of the year, it felt like




00:45:23

I had made up my mind that I would get to a million, and then




00:45:26

at a million, I would pivot, and then I would be like, hey, what's up,




00:45:28

guys? I actually have a lot more to me than you've




00:45:32

seen. I'm not just an entertaining, smiling kid. Like, I want to talk




00:45:36

about some real stuff. I was wrong in assuming that it would be




00:45:39

easy to pivot because I think I attracted an audience that wasn't interested in




00:45:43

that. And then it's, did you get the million? Did you actually hit the mark




00:45:46

of the million at the end of the year? I did, yeah, I did it.




00:45:49

Did you really? October of 2020. Yeah, it was about six




00:45:52

months after starting TikTok. Wow. And then you tried to pivot. I tried




00:45:56

to pivot, and up till this day,




00:46:00

it's been tough. I think if I could give advice to somebody




00:46:04

just starting, it would be, don't fall into that trap of thinking




00:46:07

that it's just a life thing. Right. Like, there are no




00:46:11

shortcuts. Anything worth doing is going to take time. So if somebody




00:46:15

sells you a package of being able to skip to a million




00:46:18

followers, which is a lot of people, it's like, that




00:46:22

shouldn't happen fast. If you're doing something that's appealing to




00:46:26

that many people, you're doing something wrong because you don't




00:46:30

want to be that in tune with the masses. You want to kind of be




00:46:34

true to yourself, I believe, at least, and




00:46:37

I kind of have shifted my perspective in recent years




00:46:41

and almost been grateful for the slowed growth that




00:46:45

I've experienced based on or compared to what I was seeing in




00:46:48

2020. Because to me, it's indicative of the fact that I am being more true




00:46:52

to myself. And I don't need 30 million followers to




00:46:56

have a very happy, fulfilling, successful 30




00:46:59

year run at this. I just need the right people. And the more




00:47:03

life I live, the more I realize that I have a fairly unique set




00:47:07

of interests, and I'm not everyone's cup of tea. A little too




00:47:11

deep for some. And that's okay. It's




00:47:15

more important to just stay true to myself and attract the right people




00:47:18

and turn off the people that aren't going to be into that anyway.




00:47:22

And that means you don't get to grow a million followers every six




00:47:26

months end on end on end. That would




00:47:29

only work if you're more of a traditional entertaining blogger and




00:47:33

making stuff that really appeals to 15 year olds. So it was an interesting




00:47:37

journey. Grateful for all of it, all learning lessons. But yeah, kind of




00:47:40

approaching it different these days. Alex. You know what's weird, man? I




00:47:44

literally came across this today. The universe is crazy, man.




00:47:48

Literally today. I mean, a guy trying to grow his YouTube channel. I mean, I've




00:47:51

got like a handful of subscribers, by the way. We're just getting going. But




00:47:55

it. But it's just funny because I came across something today and it was




00:47:58

talking about this exact thing it was talking about because I do know we take




00:48:02

a lot of these podcasts and then we'll chop them up into shorts and stuff




00:48:04

and I post them on my regular YouTube channel. Some of those have done really




00:48:07

well, especially with Matt Sharp is a great example with his audience. A lot of




00:48:11

them were able to see some of the stuff on our channel, which was great.




00:48:14

But what's interesting is this guy was saying that all the success he was having




00:48:18

with the short form, it was taking away from the long form because what was




00:48:21

happening is the short form. People would come over to the long form and they




00:48:24

would only stay for a second or two and then they would leave, which was




00:48:26

just killing the algorithm. So all those videos started going down and it was




00:48:30

a different audience. So basically what he was saying is the exact same thing you




00:48:33

are. It's a different audience that wants different things. So his




00:48:36

suggestion was actually to have to separate. Like, yeah, if you want to do short




00:48:40

form, sure, but separate it, because that audience is probably going to want something




00:48:44

more quick and then there's a certain way that you can maybe build




00:48:47

it to where you can attract them to the long form. But I




00:48:51

completely agree with what you're saying. I think that if you can just have a




00:48:54

much smaller subset of people that really just value




00:48:58

what you're saying, what you're doing, and really appreciate your journey,




00:49:02

then I think you're going to have a lot more success. And what you're like.




00:49:05

I can tell, man, your ultimate goal is to really help people and to really




00:49:08

find those people that you can help. I think you're going to have a lot




00:49:10

more impact doing it that way. I totally agree. I just think of




00:49:14

how I use the Internet and on Instagram and




00:49:17

TikTok, for example, my algorithm is




00:49:21

really well filtered to where it just shows me things I'm interested in that




00:49:25

are helpful tips about self improvement and life. And I love what it




00:49:29

shows me, but it comes at




00:49:33

you quicker than you can digest it. And so at the end of every day,




00:49:36

I've noticed that I've saved like 45 videos from these different




00:49:39

platforms, Instagram and TikTok, and with the pure intention of




00:49:43

revisiting them and implementing what I've learned, and




00:49:47

it just doesn't happen. It's almost like a form




00:49:51

of dopamine. You feel like you're improving your life because you're always




00:49:54

sifting through these different things that are helpful. But the things that




00:49:58

I actually learn from and improve my life with




00:50:02

are like hour long YouTube videos, two hour long




00:50:06

courses, and things where it's not as




00:50:09

stimulating and hyper edited and engaging as the short form




00:50:12

content is that's doing well and going viral.




00:50:16

But at least where I'm at right now




00:50:19

and where I hope to position myself for those




00:50:23

watching my content as well would be more of like a YouTuber




00:50:27

and then moving into even courses and private coaching and stuff




00:50:30

where I don't think there's that much help you




00:50:34

can do in 10 seconds, no matter how




00:50:38

awesome your editing and stuff is, it's better than nothing. And I certainly




00:50:42

still support creating positive content in any




00:50:46

length. But at some point




00:50:50

I think I'm going to pull back from the short form platforms and just try




00:50:53

to go all in on less. I'm going to




00:50:57

intentionally make it not punchy because I don't want to




00:51:01

mess with people's attention span and give them a new angle




00:51:04

and a new clip to look at every 1.5 seconds so




00:51:08

that they don't scroll down in the comments or pick up their phone and text




00:51:11

someone. I genuinely believe that one of the




00:51:15

biggest epidemics going on in the world right now is just




00:51:19

a messed up attention span, and that leading to all kinds




00:51:22

of challenges in life and depression and anxiety




00:51:26

and an inability to form a real connection and




00:51:29

relationship with friends, with family, with your partner. And I




00:51:33

feel like I already don't




00:51:37

really enjoy feeding into




00:51:41

that, even though I'm doing my best to be positive. And I do try to




00:51:44

make longer videos on Instagram and TikTok than the average person, knowing that




00:51:48

they're not going to perform as well, and knowing that that's still more true to




00:51:52

me than trying to spit it out in 5 seconds. But even that,




00:51:55

I feel like I'm still a part of this




00:51:59

perpetuation of an infatuation with short form




00:52:03

creators and viral videos. And there's a deep part of me, and I've been saying




00:52:06

this for like five years in my notes, that at some point I think I




00:52:10

will try to encourage people to just not use these




00:52:13

short, bite sized platforms as much and just seek education




00:52:17

online and accept that if you really want to learn something or really want




00:52:21

to change your life in any capacity, it's not a quick fix and it's




00:52:24

not something flashy or crazy. It's just got to do the work. Just like in




00:52:28

golf, just like in the gym, just like in a marriage, in a friendship, in




00:52:31

school. Anything of value takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work.




00:52:35

And above golf and above any of the other things I talk about,




00:52:39

that's kind of foundational Alex Romo philosophy.




00:52:43

And I think at some point I hope to really make that a




00:52:47

more widely accepted thing. What I




00:52:51

love about this whole thing, man, is I think personally,




00:52:55

this is actually the best thing that could have possibly happened to you, and I'll




00:52:58

explain why. So you were talking about, wow, I'm going to document my journey as




00:53:01

a golfer, and if I make it on tour, I know




00:53:05

that's not completely dead and I know you're still trying to compete and stuff,




00:53:08

but I think it's actually going to be a more beautiful journey to




00:53:12

actually the fact that you didn't. And now you've sort of pivoted and evolved




00:53:16

into much, much more man. It's a much cooler story in my




00:53:19

opinion. Much more depth. And to your point, the other one is just




00:53:23

you swinging a stick, but




00:53:28

you could help a lot of people and I think that's a much cooler




00:53:31

story. I agree. I agree, definitely the




00:53:35

golf is just a bonus if that ever clicks. It's mostly




00:53:38

just an arena to push myself. I love being able to




00:53:42

compete against other people that are the best in the world at what they're doing.




00:53:46

That makes me feel like I can




00:53:49

respect myself if I step into the battlefield with the real




00:53:53

dogs. So I'm going to always enjoy doing that. But it no




00:53:57

longer holds the same weight that it did of like, I suck as a human.




00:54:01

If I don't succeed at this now, I really feel like we're




00:54:04

gaining momentum, like you said, in a totally different realm.




00:54:08

That all was opened up by the pursuit of golf and then the challenges of




00:54:12

that and diving into content and storytelling. But




00:54:16

yeah, it's different ethos on my life at this point. So




00:54:20

it's cool. Been fun to live. Can you tell me a little bit




00:54:23

about, because you're golfing at a very high level. And I've




00:54:27

got some of our really good friends here in Tampa, actually.




00:54:31

Shout out to Brad Bruner. He was on the corn ferry tour.




00:54:35

He's a good friend of ours, anyway, friend of the show. He's been on a




00:54:37

couple of times. It's interesting talking to him because this guy, we've got some really




00:54:41

good players at our club. I'm talking. Plus, there's one guy at our club right




00:54:44

now, plus eight. I mean, he's unbelievable. He's on the canadian




00:54:47

tour. He's right there.




00:54:51

He's right there. And we're kind of following his journey. He




00:54:55

strikes the ball better than anyone I've ever seen besides Brad. Brad's




00:55:01

the difference between. And I'm like a four or five handicap, and we've got some




00:55:04

other good players at the club, but the difference between Brad and this guy




00:55:07

Brandon, it's a different level.




00:55:11

And then the fact that the idea that Brad just




00:55:15

didn't kind of like what you were saying, he was like,




00:55:18

okay, I got a kid now. I'm traveling




00:55:22

constantly. He was on the corn ferry tour. And I mean, yeah, that's a money




00:55:25

tour. But I mean, you're still not making. Unless you're the top five.




00:55:28

You're not really making a crazy living. He's like,




00:55:32

dude, it's not worth know. And so




00:55:35

it's, you know, I was talking to, like, what is the difference, in




00:55:39

your opinion, between someone like, like, that is that good?




00:55:43

And then that next level of PGA guys? And then in my opinion, there's




00:55:47

like multiple layers. Even in the PGA where you have the top




00:55:50

ten, those guys are completely different than the guys that just




00:55:54

are there for a short stint. What is the difference, man?




00:55:57

Do you know? What's your take on it? Yeah. The guys that I've seen that




00:56:01

have been the most effective just have the most




00:56:04

unbelievable confidence in themselves.




00:56:08

Really. If they vocalized publicly how they actually felt about




00:56:12

themselves, they'd be viewed as just the biggest cocky douchebags




00:56:15

ever. Really. And most golfers are very nice guys, so




00:56:19

they wouldn't say that publicly. But, yeah, some of




00:56:23

my best friends that have been the most




00:56:26

successful on the Dakota's tour and then have taken it from




00:56:30

there to the corn ferry and have even played a few tour events.




00:56:33

Those guys have absolute God complex and




00:56:37

think that they are God's gift to earth at




00:56:41

this sport of golf. And I don't think that they're born that




00:56:45

way. I think that you develop confidence by




00:56:48

proving to yourself through actions repeatedly that you are who you




00:56:52

say you are. And I think the quickest way to




00:56:56

get there is to look at someone that's Uber successful in a field you want




00:56:59

to be good at, whether it's business, golf, the gym, and be honest




00:57:03

with yourself about what they're doing every day. And so for these golfers that I'm




00:57:07

speaking of, that's what they do. They're not making social media videos,




00:57:11

they're not thinking about what impact can I have




00:57:15

in the world? And all these different things. They literally just want to




00:57:18

be the best at golf and smash everybody in the tournament every




00:57:22

week. That's where their focus is. And that repetitive




00:57:26

actions daily to putt and chip and play the practice rounds and work




00:57:30

with coaches, that breeds the confidence. It's not fake confidence.




00:57:34

It's not fake it till you make it. It's like they really do think that




00:57:37

they're the best because they're showing themselves every day that they're doing what the best




00:57:41

would do, and it doesn't happen quickly, but if you repeat it over time with




00:57:45

enough consistency, I think that's where that crazy self belief




00:57:49

comes from. And that's, in my opinion, the only difference between the




00:57:52

guys that still strike it exceptionally well and do all the




00:57:56

things just like a tour player would do, but don't have the same




00:57:59

success. I would put myself in that category, not




00:58:03

necessarily right now, but at the times when I've been the most practiced and the




00:58:06

most in competitive flow, I've felt like there is a very




00:58:10

minimal difference between myself and the guys that are winning in terms of




00:58:14

ball striking or in terms of anything physical. But




00:58:17

because of. I think I've worked the hardest that I could for my




00:58:21

set of circumstances in terms of needing to




00:58:25

try to figure out how to do social media and all the different side things




00:58:28

that I've done to keep going and not have a real job over the last




00:58:32

ten years. But my attention has been totally split.




00:58:36

And so although I've given golf all that I've had to give it,




00:58:39

I've always known that other guys are giving it way more. And I




00:58:43

think when it comes down to a real pressure situation and




00:58:47

me versus one of them, they're always going to get me because I'll take myself




00:58:50

out of it. I have that lack of belief in my mind




00:58:54

that we judge ourselves the same way we judge other people, which is




00:58:58

on actions. And so you watch somebody go to




00:59:02

the gym 50 days in a row, and you're like, wow, that's like a really




00:59:05

healthy, dude, or that's a bodybuilder or something.




00:59:09

If you see yourself kind of sporadically hit the




00:59:13

gym or sporadically eat healthy, you just don't have that. It's not your identity. It




00:59:17

only becomes your identity after x amount of days




00:59:20

without fail, doing the thing again and again and again




00:59:28

in the future. Something that I'm really hoping to split test




00:59:32

and see if it is true in my life the same way I'm talking about




00:59:35

it. I think if I could buy myself three years of uninterrupted




00:59:39

time at golf, I may see that same effect that I've




00:59:42

watched some of my friends who I don't think they have different DNA.




00:59:46

I don't think there's anything other than




00:59:50

their actions that are making them think that they have this




00:59:54

God complex of being the best ball striker on the planet. And it's cool to




00:59:57

see humans




01:00:00

truly can do whatever they think they can do.




01:00:04

Anything's possible. Anything's possible, dude. Literally.




01:00:08

I mean, an albatross to win a tournament or you fill in the blank.




01:00:11

But I completely agree. One of my co hosts for the




01:00:15

podcast, that's what he does, he has actually




01:00:18

a golf academy. They're starting here in Tampa. He's really, his background is tennis, so




01:00:22

his passion is golf, but he was a world class tennis




01:00:25

player. He's coached his tennis academy. He's had some of the top




01:00:29

five players in the world, men and women and including




01:00:33

gold medal winners for grand slam winners and so




01:00:37

on. And he is a performance coach. So he really




01:00:41

builds teams around these professional athletes and it takes




01:00:45

that at that level of tennis. And the same thing is true in golf for




01:00:48

sure. We're talking physios, we're talking




01:00:52

mental. I mean, you name it. And the mental side is just really




01:00:56

fascinating to me because he said the same thing. You take




01:00:59

someone like, I don't know if you followed full swing. I'm sure you did.




01:01:03

Right? It was just interesting to see Damon because he such




01:01:07

a good dude. I saw a couple of pictures with you, too, so he seemed




01:01:10

like, how is he, by the way? Is he a nice guy? Super cool, same




01:01:13

as he is on. TV, dude, I would love to be. He seems so down




01:01:17

to earth and just such a good guy. But anyway, he was saying a guy




01:01:20

like him who, it's just interesting because he is such a good golfer




01:01:24

at that level and you hear him talk to himself




01:01:29

and we've had this conversation before. I'm like, this guy doesn't have that confidence. And




01:01:32

he's like, yeah, he does. He's like. He does. There's no way he could be




01:01:35

where he's at and didn't have that confidence. There's no way. I know he's saying




01:01:38

all of that probably to like, and that's his own way of dealing with something,




01:01:42

but he's definitely got that extra layer of something that he knows




01:01:46

that others might not. So, I don't know, it's just interesting. Yeah,




01:01:50

I'd have to agree with you. Definitely. Let's talk a little bit




01:01:54

about your new journey. So obviously, the physical side and health




01:01:57

is just been. I mean, it sounds like even from




01:02:01

your injury and everything else, is that where it all started? Is that where the




01:02:05

passion came from and your focus on it?




01:02:08

It's been present my whole life. My dad helped me build a




01:02:12

gym when I was like 13 here at the house. And I always,




01:02:16

throughout high school and college, hated the stigma that golfers




01:02:20

were just like, not really athletes and not in good shape. And




01:02:24

so I wanted to look not like a golfer always.




01:02:27

I wanted to be strong and muscular and hang with the




01:02:31

basketball and the football guys and lift with them.




01:02:36

It's been present before the injury, that desire to kind of just be a well




01:02:39

rounded athlete and, yeah, it's something that will always be




01:02:43

important to me. Absolutely. It's just the most fair thing I've




01:02:47

ever done in life. Working out at the gym, if you




01:02:51

pick up this weight and then you pick up a heavier weight next week, and




01:02:54

if you go home and eat this food and sleep, you will




01:02:58

watch your arms or chest or legs get bigger. And to me,




01:03:01

that was so refreshing being a golfer, because I felt like,




01:03:05

man, I'm not sure if golf really always works like that.




01:03:09

Sometimes I feel like, so true. You know what I mean? I'm more




01:03:13

totally. And I'm dialed in and I got the shanks. All of




01:03:16

a sudden it's like, what is that? It's so unfair. It's probably the most unfair




01:03:20

thing that you could do. I always love




01:03:24

the gym. That was my safe haven, where it would never lie to




01:03:28

me. The weights are on it. That's always going to be a




01:03:32

part of it. And in the more recent years, the




01:03:35

whole mental component and spirituality has become




01:03:40

as much, if not more fascinating to me and important




01:03:43

to prioritize. Definitely.




01:03:49

Maybe that was bred from just a lot of struggle and a lot of




01:03:52

challenge. Again, first world problems. I have never




01:03:55

been unsafe or in a country torn by war or




01:03:59

anything like that, but own headspace. I definitely have




01:04:03

felt pretty jacked up at times. And I think




01:04:06

when you have dark points or real




01:04:10

challenges, that's really the biggest blessings in life because that's when you




01:04:14

start trying to figure things out. If you're not in that much pain, you're not




01:04:17

going to do anything to fix it. But if you're in debilitating pain, mentally or




01:04:21

physically, that's what spurs action. And then




01:04:25

that's life, by the way. It's just constant ebbing and




01:04:29

flowing of ups and downs, or perceived ups and downs, really. It




01:04:33

just is what it is. And you're the one attaching a label that this is




01:04:36

a good emotion, this is a bad emotion. And we have this




01:04:40

false expectation that life is beautiful




01:04:44

and everything is awesome when we're experiencing good




01:04:47

things. But then when we're not, we're like, life sucks. And I'm not




01:04:51

saying everyone's like that, but a lot of us have that attitude and it's like,




01:04:54

dude, yeah, and me too. And




01:04:58

the goal is to continually improve that




01:05:02

and be more okay with when life gives you a tough




01:05:05

hand and be like, okay, this is tough right now, but I will learn




01:05:09

something from it. And guess what? It's going to pick back up.




01:05:13

And then when I'm up, don't get too high and don't get this high and




01:05:16

mighty complex thinking that it's never going to fall, because it will. And




01:05:20

then accept that. Fall graciously. And same with




01:05:24

golf, birdies and bogeys. Same with




01:05:28

everything in life works this way. Energy is always balancing




01:05:31

out and I think it's taken me a while to try to come




01:05:35

to terms with that and start to accept it. Definitely fought with myself for




01:05:39

a while about why my headspace




01:05:42

was rattled. In my late twenty s, I definitely




01:05:46

felt like the golf wasn't




01:05:50

working out, but I didn't know if I could make this social




01:05:54

media content thing work or if I even would be good at it.




01:05:58

And it just midlife crisis, whatever you want to call it. But




01:06:01

I think that kind of pushed me more in the direction of




01:06:05

finding some peace internally rather than I think in my




01:06:08

twenty s. I did it more through friends and going out and partying




01:06:12

and more of the traditional, socially




01:06:16

accepted, western culture ways of dealing with




01:06:19

issues. And that was ineffective for me and




01:06:22

unsustainable. And I've definitely. I mean,




01:06:26

it's not like I just learned about meditating this year, but this 2023 and




01:06:30

2024 is when I started to take it more




01:06:33

seriously. And I've sought out a great coach. His name




01:06:37

is Light Watkins. I've been on two workshops, and then I




01:06:41

actually did, like, a week long retreat for New Year's this past year in Mexico




01:06:44

with him and a small group of people and studied Vedic




01:06:47

meditation. And we did a lot of unpacking




01:06:51

of stress and trauma and just trying to deeply rest the nervous




01:06:55

system and just be with yourself, sit with yourself,




01:06:58

deal with the. It's kind of painful when you're used to




01:07:02

being hyper stimulated. And I find




01:07:05

myself really struggling because, dude, my screen time is, like,




01:07:09

12 hours a day, every day. Is it really? Yeah, I was going to ask




01:07:12

about that. It's justified at this point as a one man




01:07:16

show. I don't know how else I could be communicating with the world as frequently




01:07:20

as I am and as purposefully as I try to if I didn't put that




01:07:24

type of time and effort into it. But, boy, it's




01:07:28

tough on a human brain to deal with that much




01:07:31

information coming in all the time. And so the meditation is




01:07:35

something I'm excited to learn more about. And really, what it is is just the




01:07:39

removal of doing things. No Netflix, no social media,




01:07:43

no talking to a friend, no listening to music. Just stop. Just




01:07:47

sit there. And I think at least my experience so far has been




01:07:50

that that's really scary. It's very hard to just let




01:07:54

your brain yap at you for eight straight hours.




01:07:58

If you haven't done much of that in a while, chances are all the things




01:08:02

that you're pushing down that you don't want to address or deal with, they're




01:08:06

still there. They never go anywhere. The human brain is a computer that




01:08:09

can remember what happened to us when we were three. It's out of survival. It's




01:08:13

trying to remember painful and traumatic things, store them as stress triggers, and




01:08:17

then in the future, when something that looks or sounds like that painful




01:08:20

experience from the past, we're going to close off to it because we don't want




01:08:24

to die, whether that's figure fight or flight or literally. And




01:08:27

so it's a beautiful thing, the way our mind protects us,




01:08:31

but ineffective in our 2024 society, where most of the




01:08:35

things that stress us and cause us anxiety are not threats at all and




01:08:39

are just figments of the imagination, and we need to let the thought




01:08:42

pass straight through us. So this whole world of meditating and




01:08:46

being still and sitting with yourself and then breath work, which




01:08:50

is something else I've been really interested in, and ICE




01:08:54

baths and cold exposure, these are kind of like accelerated




01:08:58

stress releases and accelerated chill pills for the




01:09:01

nervous system. And definitely there's a lot




01:09:05

of levels to it. That I could take way further than I have, but I




01:09:09

think I'm on the right path and starting to tap into some things that,




01:09:12

similar to the weightlifting, will benefit me just for life.




01:09:16

And then things that I want to obviously share as well. I keep




01:09:20

investing heavily, not only my time and energy, but also money into




01:09:24

learning these things and putting them into practice myself. And




01:09:27

that's twofold. One, it's to try to improve my own life, but pretty much everything




01:09:31

I do nowadays is through the framework of, like, this




01:09:35

is something that I can share with other people. Love




01:09:38

it. It's first my family and friends, and then once I've got a




01:09:42

little bit of practice talking about whatever the thing is and I feel like I




01:09:45

can explain it coherently, then I'll open my phone




01:09:49

up and try to put it on a video or whatever. And that's enjoyable for




01:09:52

me because I do think the reason I got into these things




01:09:56

was other people that I viewed as cool, whether they were golfers or




01:10:00

influencers or friends, started talking about something that was a little




01:10:03

taboo, the breath work, to me, that was taboo, like one or two years ago.




01:10:07

And then some cool people started talking about it and I'm like, what's this all




01:10:11

about? And that's all it takes. Then you experience the benefit for yourself and then




01:10:15

boom, now you're next in line. That other people, whether you know it or not,




01:10:18

are watching you, whether you're an influencer or not. Everyone




01:10:22

is looked up to by someone and what you're




01:10:26

doing and saying and interested in does matter. And




01:10:30

it's a very motivating way to go through life. Just knowing,




01:10:33

just treating yourself like you're in a movie, like you're the main character in a




01:10:36

movie and you're responsible to do your best every day




01:10:40

to live a life that others would be proud of




01:10:44

and you would want your kid to watch and look up to whether you have




01:10:47

a kid or not. I find myself framing a lot of my




01:10:51

actions through fatherhood at this point, even though I'm




01:10:54

not currently on a path trying to have a kid or be married or anything




01:10:57

like that. I think that everything I'm doing




01:11:01

online and in my own life, just constantly striving




01:11:05

to improve and then share with others, that's all practice for




01:11:09

being a good leader, which you could probably speak to more than me. I feel




01:11:12

like that's what it is to be a father and a husband, right? Just standing




01:11:15

for something and leading by example. Yeah, for sure, man.




01:11:19

I think that's when it actually clicked for me. You're way ahead of the




01:11:23

curve than I was. Alex, the way I've had to learn




01:11:26

everything is because I've had to learn the hard way, man. I've had to make




01:11:30

a lot of mistakes and learn from it that way, which, it's okay.




01:11:33

I think that's another way that you can learn.




01:11:39

You're saying some really insightful things here, at least for me, because you said




01:11:42

everyone has someone that looks up to them. And the first thing that came to




01:11:46

my mind are my kids. And until I had kids, I didn't really look at




01:11:50

it that way. And you see your kids and they're sponges, right? So they're running




01:11:53

around. Everything you say and do, they pick up on. And you start to




01:11:57

realize, like, oh, man, I need to really be the best me. Not just




01:12:01

for me anymore, but just so they can be the best them. I mean, you've




01:12:04

referenced your dad. I can't even count how many




01:12:07

times on this pod. And I love it because that's how big of an




01:12:11

influence he was and look how impactful he was in your life and look at




01:12:14

the things that you're doing. It's all probably because of the things that he did




01:12:18

out of love for you growing up. And, I mean, it's a shame that not




01:12:22

everyone has that, but, dude, that is a special gift that hopefully you will be




01:12:25

able to pass on and you can help people




01:12:30

at least with some sort of flavor of that. But the other thing,




01:12:33

too, you had mentioned you're really good at being able to explain some of this




01:12:37

stuff. So I caught your video on the cold plunge. And I've got a bunch




01:12:40

of buddies around here that they've been trying to get me to do this cold




01:12:43

punch stuff for a long time. And we actually have one at one of the




01:12:47

clubs here in Tampa. Not at our club, but a different one. And we were




01:12:50

playing the other day and he was like, all right, man, get there at like




01:12:52

07:00 a.m. We'll do the cold punch before we go out and play.




01:12:56

And I'm sitting there in bed and it was like a cold morning here in




01:12:58

Tampa, which means it's like 65. I'm like, I don't know, man. I could




01:13:02

stay here under the covers. So I didn't do it. But, man,




01:13:05

I've heard so many things. And the way that you described it, it made a




01:13:08

lot of sense. Finally, it spikes




01:13:12

your adrenaline and all your fight or flight and then when you get




01:13:16

out is really where the benefit happens because then your stress levels go down




01:13:20

naturally because they've already been initiated. Is that a




01:13:23

fair way to summarize it? Okay, yeah, exactly. It's




01:13:27

the same with any other hormone flooding in our




01:13:31

body. There's a max that could be in our




01:13:34

bloodstream at any point in time. And if the




01:13:38

baseline is a five out of ten, and then you intentionally




01:13:41

ramp it to a ten out of ten, now you've used a lot of it




01:13:45

up and it can't possibly say that high anymore. So it has no chance,




01:13:49

no choice but to lower the low baseline down to a four




01:13:52

or three out of ten until it can replenish. Because these are all




01:13:56

finite resources in our body that replenish daily when we sleep




01:14:00

and hydrate and nourish our bodies. So, yeah, it




01:14:03

can, in my experience, be




01:14:07

like probably the biggest bang for your buck.




01:14:10

Cheapest, quickest way to reduce anxiety and




01:14:14

depression. And also it just kind of is like




01:14:18

self confidence producing because you feel, same with the gym. It's like




01:14:22

anytime you do something, my budy, that you don't want to do, your brain




01:14:25

is starting to chirp to you, like, I don't want to do it. This is




01:14:28

going to be hard and you should do it anyway, as long as it's like




01:14:30

a positive thing for yourself that does




01:14:34

infuse some confidence in you and it spills over whatever




01:14:38

the next hard, challenging thing is. You're like, I know that I can do this




01:14:41

because I already did the gym or the cold plunge, and cold




01:14:45

plunge takes like three minutes. Gym for me takes like 2 hours.




01:14:49

Talking about this, I'm going to do it, man. My budy said




01:14:52

the same thing. He was like, dude, yeah, of course you don't like it. I




01:14:54

don't like doing it either. But the fact that afterwards you're like, I did that,




01:14:58

it feels good. That's the good feeling. So I don't know, man. I'm sold. Plunged




01:15:01

quick shout out to one of my biggest influences. His name is Hamza. He's




01:15:05

a self improvement youtuber, and he always ended his videos with




01:15:09

this quote called do the hard work, especially when you don't feel




01:15:12

like it. And he speaks to that being




01:15:16

the real key to developing discipline, or basically just




01:15:20

discipline, is the ability to do something you don't want to do. And I think




01:15:23

that when we talked about what separates the top




01:15:27

golfers and how they have confidence, it's the same thing. They




01:15:30

feel that same voice in their head saying they want to sleep in or it's




01:15:34

too cold to practice, or they already played around and they don't feel like practicing




01:15:38

whatever the internal narrative is, trying to make them not do




01:15:42

what they said that they were going to do and what they know they need




01:15:44

to do to be excellent at their craft. We all feel




01:15:48

that to the same degree every day. And the most




01:15:51

disciplined people, it's like a video game, and you're trying to




01:15:55

increase your stat of discipline. It comes from




01:15:59

reps, the same way you build your bicep stat. It's like, how many times have




01:16:02

you curled the ability to override that internal voice




01:16:06

saying, I don't want to do this hard thing. That's a learned skill. That




01:16:10

every time you feel the resistance of saying, I don't want to get out of




01:16:14

bed, it's too early, I don't want to get in the cold punch, it's too




01:16:16

cold, I don't want to hit 100 extra balls, I'm tired, et




01:16:19

cetera. That is practice at the mental override,




01:16:23

aka discipline, that every successful person does




01:16:27

have. Because to be successful, you just repeat the




01:16:31

actions day after day after day that lead to proficiency




01:16:34

in that skill of business, golf, gym. And in order to




01:16:38

do things every single day, you got to understand that everyone's




01:16:42

life is kind of the same. We have obstacles and family and




01:16:45

hardships that get in the way. But the most successful people




01:16:49

let virtually nothing stop them from doing what they said they were going to do




01:16:53

the night before. And I think that that cold plunge is like one




01:16:57

of the. It's very hard every day, or cold shower as




01:17:01

well. It's like, always going to suck, and your brain is always going to scream




01:17:04

at you, like, I don't want to do it. And that almost in, like, a




01:17:08

cynical, diabolical way, you can start to laugh at that voice.




01:17:12

Like, perfect. That's what we're looking for right there. That's what we're looking for. Not




01:17:15

wanting to do it. That's my time to go do it, because I know I'm




01:17:19

going to gain, like, five discipline points. And I know that everybody else




01:17:23

out there that I'm competing with, whether I like it or not,




01:17:26

especially as a man. I'm in competition with everyone else in the world for




01:17:30

resources, for jobs, for potential partners. It




01:17:33

is a competition. And if I want to beat my




01:17:37

competition, then acknowledge that they're feeling the same thing, and if I




01:17:41

can do it right now, I'll get five extra points of




01:17:45

discipline, and that will benefit me in the long run. I




01:17:49

love that, man. No, I love the narrative because, really,




01:17:53

I told you before, I work with an executive coach. Shout out to Russ Kyle.




01:17:56

So you gave your guy a shout. This guy is amazing because he talks about




01:18:00

discipline, being self love. Like, as soon as you're able to be more




01:18:03

disciplined, really what you're doing is you're allowing yourself to love yourself, because




01:18:07

really, as long as it's positive stuff. So he also talks




01:18:11

about, you had mentioned problems. He told




01:18:14

me everything that kind of goes on. The way that you're feeling




01:18:18

is really the story that you're telling yourself. So you can have




01:18:21

negative thoughts. And that's okay. Let them go. Let them come,




01:18:25

recognize them and let them go, because if it starts becoming your story,




01:18:29

then it's going to become, like, reality. It's going to end




01:18:33

up manifesting. So he won't let me. It's funny because I'll sometimes




01:18:36

say, yeah, man, I've got this problem. He's like, it's not a problem. He's like,




01:18:39

you have an opportunity. And after a




01:18:43

while now, I'm programmed whenever I want to say problem. So,




01:18:47

dude, it's so funny because now my kids, like I said, they're sponges. So I've




01:18:50

got them now. They're not allowed to say the word can't. We don't say can't




01:18:54

in the reading household. My last name. So we don't say can't. So it's funny.




01:18:57

I'll hear my daughter, who's turning six this weekend, and then she's




01:19:01

talking to my four year old son, and Grayson's name, and




01:19:05

Gregory will go, he'll be like, I can't do that. And she'll look out and




01:19:08

go, Gregory, we don't say can't. We don't say can't in the writing house. It's




01:19:12

so, you know. Yeah, it's great, dude. It's great.




01:19:16

All right, man. Well, I got two questions that are kind of silly at the




01:19:19

end. I'm serious, too, sometimes, but I'm also real silly,




01:19:23

and I love the silly. So I do want to ask. I ask everyone on




01:19:25

our show these two silly questions. They're not golf related. One of them is, but




01:19:28

they're not good. So I want to get to those. But anything that I can,




01:19:30

like. So do you actually have. Because, dude, I want to sign up whatever you're




01:19:34

offering. Like, if there's coaching or if there's anything that you've got, like,




01:19:38

framework wise, like, dude, sign me up. What do I need to do to get




01:19:41

on board? Do you have anything yet? Are you working on it? What's next? Thank




01:19:44

you, man. I appreciate it. Yeah, it's




01:19:48

like top of mind. Number one thing I'm trying to work on, if I can




01:19:52

get out of the daily cycle of making videos and content




01:19:55

engulfing this online community. It's a website




01:19:59

called School skool.com,




01:20:03

and it's basically like an educational social media




01:20:06

and it's these little private communities. Hamza has




01:20:10

one. It's just a self improvement community. I don't know if there's really any golfers




01:20:14

on there yet, but my goal is to have a couple courses




01:20:18

inside about this sort of holistic approach to golf that I've




01:20:21

been kind of refining over the years, which is just my belief




01:20:25

of how to improve a golf. Incorporate the gym,




01:20:29

incorporate mental health and mindfulness and breath work and cold




01:20:32

showers and nutrition. All these different modules of




01:20:36

things that I have some experience with and have worked with coaches or




01:20:40

experimented with in my own life. So courses basically video




01:20:43

series and PDFs and prompts for you to sort of




01:20:47

journal and create your own plan about how to basically build a




01:20:51

daily routine and an action plan to start improving and




01:20:54

solving problems in your own life. That, as well as




01:20:59

Zoom calls and me bringing on some of these meditation




01:21:02

teachers and breath work coaches and experts in these fields that I'm learning




01:21:06

from having sort of lectures, know,




01:21:10

community calls for everyone that's inside as well as




01:21:14

just like social media looks like Facebook people post




01:21:18

and comment and it's kind of gamified. You can unlock more




01:21:21

courses when you level up. Yeah, the more things that




01:21:25

you comment and the more guys that are upvoting your




01:21:28

contributions, it's so addicting in the best way.




01:21:33

Basically, you get in a group of extremely like minded




01:21:36

people that are paying to be a part of it, so they're highly motivated




01:21:40

to engage and make friends and learn and go through the courses




01:21:44

I have been in some other people's, and that's what's got me so jacked




01:21:47

on, saying like, wow, yeah, this is the future. This is where the people that




01:21:51

are using the Internet for the right reasons, we're going to gravitate towards more of




01:21:54

this private community structure. And so I think, honestly, within a




01:21:58

couple of weeks, I have one right now, it just doesn't have content




01:22:02

inside, but I'm actually paying




01:22:06

monthly to have it, just forcing myself to get it together and do it more




01:22:09

quickly. Love it. And so if you're at all interested in the regular




01:22:13

content that I put out, it doesn't




01:22:17

seem like I can put that much depth on Instagram without it just kind




01:22:20

of getting suppressed. It's just not the right place for extreme long form stuff.




01:22:24

And at this point in time, I don't have a very sizable YouTube following




01:22:28

or consistent viewership. So I think that this is the place




01:22:32

that I'll be going all in on for the foreseeable future for the




01:22:35

people that really want to work one on one, make like




01:22:39

minded friends and kind




01:22:43

of get on this whole regimen and program of different things




01:22:47

or any piece of the puzzle of things that I've been talking about. So




01:22:51

my school community will be launching soon and that'll be definitely




01:22:54

plastered all over my Instagram and TikTok. And right now I




01:22:58

have like a broadcast channel on my Instagram, which is where I




01:23:02

keep putting updates and stuff like that in as well. So




01:23:06

that's right now the best that I got for you. I wish I had, like




01:23:10

coaching offer and if there's enough demand for that, I could definitely




01:23:14

do it. But at this point in my life I think I've been doing




01:23:17

that and just not really monetizing it, taking calls here and there




01:23:21

and a lot of DMs and just didn't really get




01:23:25

business smart or understand that not only is




01:23:29

it beneficial to me, but it's better for others as well.




01:23:32

When you sign up for a course or a private




01:23:36

community, at least in my experience, that's when I really dive into stuff.




01:23:40

You have a gift, man. Again, I've met you




01:23:43

tonight in person. I mean, I've been following you for quite a while, but you




01:23:46

have a really unique gift in being able to deliver




01:23:51

your message where it's consumable, especially




01:23:55

in today's world where there's so much noise. But the cold plunge




01:23:59

is a great example of that. I had probably ten people tell me about the




01:24:02

cold plunge. It never really resonated with me in, I don't know, like a




01:24:05

32nd video. I'm like, oh, I totally get it now.




01:24:09

I'd see why I'd want to do it. So, I mean, you being able to




01:24:11

bring that and then systemize it, I think




01:24:15

it's just going to be a great tool for people to hop on board, so.




01:24:18

Yeah, absolutely, man. I'll be looking out for that. Thank you. I




01:24:22

appreciate that. That's awesome, man. Cool, man. You ready for these two questions?




01:24:26

Yeah, let's do it. All right, question one. We




01:24:30

ask everyone on the podcast. All right, man. If can a human




01:24:33

being, and there's no right or wrong answer to this, by the way, can a




01:24:36

human being eat a golf ball and




01:24:39

survive swallow a golf ball? That's




01:24:43

insane. I got to believe that we're pretty




01:24:47

damn resilient. So, yeah, I think a human probably could.




01:24:50

Yeah, I go back and forth with it because, you know, and you take someone




01:24:54

like a big human, like Shaquille O'Neill, I imagine he could get into down a




01:24:57

lot. I don't mean. I don't know. I'm not a doctor. But then




01:25:02

the way this came up is my buddy panda.




01:25:05

Okay, I'll get to the spirit animals now. So we have this deal




01:25:09

where on our podcast, by the way, I'm going to try to come up with




01:25:13

the spirit. Do you have, like a mascot or like a spirit animal? Like, you've




01:25:16

ever. Dang.




01:25:20

I mean, my college mascot was Mustangs, maybe. Mustang. Mustang.




01:25:24

Okay. I'm thinking something like an animal that's like




01:25:28

super friendly, super mellow, chill. I don't know. I'm going to come




01:25:31

back retriever or something like that. I like that. Loyal.




01:25:34

Yes. Okay. Serving like someone. That's




01:25:38

okay. I like retriever. So anyway, we've got all these for our personalities




01:25:42

on the podcast. And my buddy panda, who is one of the co




01:25:46

hosts here, he's kind of a younger dude, but dude, the




01:25:50

guy's a throwback. He is like a golf savant. He knows everything about golf




01:25:53

history. It's just crazy. He knows certain golfers mom's names. I have




01:25:57

no idea how, but it's just crazy. So anyway,




01:26:01

he was telling me one time, he's like, we were saying, okay, if I




01:26:04

get a certain number of subscribers or followers where I




01:26:08

can actually do this full time, then I won't mention the albatross story




01:26:12

ever again. And he was like, there's no way you're going to be able do




01:26:15

that. Come on. I'm like, no, serious. And he was like, what are you going




01:26:18

to do if you don't? Or if you do tell, if you do start saying.




01:26:21

I'm like, I'm a man of my word, man. And he's like, nah, you got




01:26:24

to have a Tony, you got to eat this. So this is the golf ball




01:26:27

right here, buddy. Alex. I had to make myself my own




01:26:30

trophy because no one cared enough to. Like, they sent an email out at the




01:26:34

club, but I had to make myself my own trophy. So, look, I'm terrible at




01:26:38

making trophies. Like, this is the golf ball side. That's awesome, bro.




01:26:42

But he's like, all right, you got to eat that golf ball. If you tell




01:26:45

the story after you get the certain number of subscribers, you got to eat the




01:26:47

golf ball. And I'm like, I don't know if I'll live. I don't know if




01:26:50

it's going to kill me or what. So anyway, that's where that question originated from.




01:26:54

That's funny. All right, second question.




01:26:58

All right. This is a little sillier, little non golf topic. But, dude, this one,




01:27:01

I love this question. Are there more? And I'm talking about anything alive, like




01:27:05

anything that has life to it. Okay. Are there




01:27:09

more eyes or legs in the world? More eyes or legs




01:27:12

in the world? I would definitely think more




01:27:16

eyes because doesn't everything has eyes, but




01:27:20

their snakes don't have legs. And maybe some birds.




01:27:25

Yeah, I don't know. Do you know the answer?




01:27:30

I've tried everything, dude. I cannot get to the answer of this. I go back




01:27:33

and forth because you got a centipede with however many legs those dudes have. You've




01:27:37

got crabs with multiple legs. But then you got




01:27:41

fish. You got all these fish out there. And I'm not counting fins as legs.




01:27:45

Those aren't legs. Tentacles aren't legs. So, I mean, dude, I think it's




01:27:48

eyes because of all the fish, but I don't know.




01:27:52

And I love hearing people's take on it because it's 50 50, dude,




01:27:56

you ask 100 people, you're going to get 50 on one way and 50 on




01:27:59

the other. Yeah, those are wild questions. I wonder if there's, like,




01:28:03

a story of anyone ever eating a golf ball that's out there that we could




01:28:06

research and they lived or not. I've done some




01:28:10

digging around. There's one dude. Yes. So there is one




01:28:14

dude on Reddit that. And by the way, we're not condoning eating golf




01:28:17

balls. Like, do not eat a golf ball based on Alex. And




01:28:21

there's one. There's some guy on Reddit that actually ate




01:28:25

the golf ball. And I think it was weird because the video was like, you




01:28:28

could see him swallowing it. I'm assuming he's okay, but




01:28:32

I don't know. Other than that, I don't know. So silly.




01:28:37

Anyway, dude, everyone gets so wrapped around the axle about




01:28:41

important stuff, and I'm sitting here losing sleep over if there's more




01:28:45

eyes in the world. Anyway, hey, listen,




01:28:49

Alex, man, thank you so much for coming on, man. I know there's a




01:28:53

lot of other things you could be doing and sharing your story. Dude, you've got




01:28:56

a great one, man. And I'm really excited to kind of see what's next in




01:28:59

store for you and following along, because I think you're




01:29:03

on just an amazing path, dude. I really do. You have a lot to offer.




01:29:07

Thank you so much. That's really sweet of you. I appreciate that. And I had




01:29:10

a great time. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, man, of course.




01:29:14

All right. Until next time, everyone. Did I tell




01:29:17

you about my albatross? Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Don't miss out on our upcoming




01:29:21

golf giveaways and experiences. They're exclusive to our subscribers, and all




01:29:25

you got to do is subscribe. And until next time, golf's easy.




01:29:29

Think fairways and greens. Here we go. Come on. Did I tell




01:29:33

you about my albatross? Oh, how you know?