Security Halt!
Welcome to Security Halt! Podcast, the show dedicated to Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, and First Responders. Hosted by retired Green Beret Deny Caballero, this podcast dives deep into the stories of resilience, triumph, and the unique challenges faced by those who serve.
Through powerful interviews and candid discussions, Security Halt! Podcast highlights vital resources, celebrates success stories, and offers actionable tools to navigate mental health, career transitions, and personal growth.
Join us as we stand shoulder-to-shoulder, proving that even after the mission changes, the call to serve and thrive never ends.
Security Halt!
From Tragedy to Triumph: Honoring Green Beret Tommy Lazzaro Through Youth Mentorship
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In this powerful and heartfelt episode of Security Halt!, host Deny Caballero sits down with Lexie Lazzaro to share the inspiring legacy of her brother, Green Beret Tommy Lazzaro — a warrior, mentor, and leader who left an indelible impact on everyone he touched. Lexie opens up about their childhood, the role of family in building resilience, and how Tommy’s passion for mentorship and sports leadership became the foundation for a life-changing nonprofit in his honor.
Together, they explore the deep connections between military service, youth development, and the enduring value of giving back. From stories of sacrifice and growth to the launch of a foundation that empowers underprivileged youth through sports, this conversation is a celebration of legacy, leadership, and the power of community.
🎯 Whether you're a veteran, athlete, mentor, or someone seeking purpose — this episode is a must-listen.
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Legacy of Tommy
03:01 Growing Up in Colorado Springs
05:48 The Importance of Mentorship in Sports
08:41 Leadership and Team Dynamics
11:30 College Journey and Athletic Aspirations
14:27 Lexie's Path and Career Choices
17:08 The Value of Following Your Own Path
20:01 Sibling Support and Relationship Dynamics
22:34 Navigating Life After Sports
26:20 The Call to Serve: Joining the Army
29:19 The Journey Through Basic Training
31:19 Graduation Day: A Proud Moment
36:12 Coping with Loss and Legacy
41:22 The Tommy Lozaro Foundation: Making a Difference
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Website: tommylazzarofoundation.org
Join us for the 1st Annual Lazzaro Legacy Classic Golf Tournament — a day of community, competition, and impact. Every dollar raised helps fund skills training, mentorship, and athletic opportunities for underprivileged high school athletes striving to reach the next level.
Saturday, June 28th, 1:30 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
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Produced by Security Halt Media
Security Odd Podcast. Let's go the only podcast that's purpose-built from the ground up to support you Not just you, but the wider audience, everybody. Authentic, impactful and insightful conversations that serve a purpose to help you. And the quality has gone up. It's decent and it's hosted by me, danny Caballero, lexi Lazaro welcome to Security Out Podcast. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great. Thank you for having me today. I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you for coming back on. We had a minor audio issue the first time, but it'll buff out. Now we have the perfect headset for this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's got the gaming headset from my brother. It was just meant to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just got the gaming headset from my brother. It was just meant to be. Yeah man, tommy was a remarkable human being, remarkable Green Beret athlete, and he touched so many lives. And I think it's amazing that your newfound focus and project is starting a nonprofit that will help give underserved, underprivileged youth the chance to become great like Tommy in the football field. Because, as we all know, yes, it's dangerous, contact and impact sports are dangerous, but there isn't. We've lost the other institutions that were so paramount into developing young men into leaders. I mean, we grew up with scouts, we did. That's not around as much.
Speaker 1:We still have sports and they are still a viable way for young men to make it out. Some of the dangerous, most unfortunate situations. And looking at Tommy's legacy, looking at where it all started, it was very much shaped by football. But before we get started in Tommy's journey, I want to know more about you and your family, how you guys grew up. Talk about that dynamic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we grew up in a small town in Colorado Springs we're about two years apart, so growing up was very fun. It was being two years apart where you have a lot of similarities. We've got a lot of similar interests. You know, um, we grew up like out in the forest, so growing up was a lot of like my dad was, you know, doing his work calls and he's like go outside, get outside, go play. You know. So we'd get on our bicycles and like go play with like the neighborhood kids and you know my dad was all about like you're not doing tv, like play with the dog, be outside, like you are not going to be lazy kids. You know, um, coming my dad coming from like military background, he's just like.
Speaker 2:Not about being lazy, you know, if we're watching too much tv, he's like get your ass outside, go do something he was a ranger right yeah he was. They'd lock us out of the house. They'd be like, oh, you can't, you can come back when the sun goes down, you know, yeah, you can't get away with that these days yeah it sounds like that was like an early, like catalyst for for getting involved in sports, and were you as well an athlete growing up?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, we both were, you know, always, always in sports. I mean, he was hockey, lacrosse, football um his whole life and then I did volleyball, gymnastics, cheerleading um a little bit of soccer. That lasted all of two minutes, but you know, I like, I like cheering on the side more than I liked being being down in front.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah yeah, so we both, we were both heavy in sports, um, you know, it's kind of in high we went to two different high schools, cause he went to a high school that would feed him into a better, um, football system and I was just, I was just there to go to school, you know. So an academic focus.
Speaker 2:Yeah not quite, but I was just trying to get through Was he more of like the, the schoolastic and athlete, and you were just kind of like I'm gonna party um a little bit but the funny thing is he like he did not study, he's just the smartest kid in the room and it was like I would get so mad because like I would study my ass off, I had tutors, like I was like struggling especially through like math and science, and then like kid would barely, like he would go take naps in the principal's office, like during no way yes, he was that guy, like he was the class clown and then somehow made it to be like the principal's favorite.
Speaker 2:It would drive me nuts because I was like how are you, how are you getting by doing this? Like, how are you like acing every class? You don't even show up, you're sleeping in the principal's office and like you don't even study. And then I'm over here like working my ass off and I was like you know what? I'm a c student, it's fine, we're okay with it. And yeah, he crushed it in school and didn't even try. I was always so jealous of that. Uh, he's just a smart kid, like so smart, yeah, um, but yeah, so he was. He was good at school and good at the sports.
Speaker 1:I was just good at sports yeah, one of the things that's very interesting is, when we were talking earlier, the ability to give him the proper mentorship. As we all know, the dream of being an elite athlete is not easy. You can have a dream, but you got to put purpose, you got to put actionable steps. And one thing that Tommy did have is he did have mentors. He did have people that were brought into his life and watching, you know, reflecting back on that, like how big was that for him? And watching him like be able to have access and obviously like was that? Like looking back, is that the catalyst that gave you the idea of like, wow, okay, like he had access to the right mentorship, the right coaches, like kind of everybody gets that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I remember like God we started him so young and like football training and whatnot, like they were in. What is that little league? Like the God?
Speaker 1:I can't remember the Pop Warner.
Speaker 2:Pop Warner, yes, yeah. So he was in Pop Warner and, like my dad would like run training camps in our front yard with like all of his teammates and I was always like, oh, I can try, like I'm gonna go run with the boys and, like you know, I was trying to like keep up with them but, like we, I remember him being in like little little league and we were putting him through trainings and, like my dad was, you know, my dad was running them at the time and then when he got into high school and was like dad, I'm serious about this, like I want to go nfl, I want to like I want to make it big, my dad was like all right. So you know, we started getting him into like strength and conditioning coaching. Then we got him mentors. Cedric Bonner was like a huge influence in my brother's life, probably one of his favorite people to this day, you know. He just he just drilled it into my brother how important it is to like be a leader on the football team, like he was.
Speaker 2:Like it's more important to be a leader than be the best guy like physically the best guy out there and I think that just flipped something in his brain and it just like kind of geared him in this direction of like yeah, I can be number one, but I could also like lead the team, and I think he just he saw leadership as like a more important skill and then he turned that skill into also being like the best one on the field.
Speaker 1:No, you know what age did you see that? That that flip switch Cause everybody a young man, and I think that's like the, the ultimate, like you know, failure. Every young man experiences at some point, maybe a lot of them, you know. Maybe don't grow up and figure that out, but we tend to to think that we have to be the absolute best at everything, we have to out out, you know, perform and do better than everybody in the world, and then we don't realize that leadership and that factor is, like, really important, like a lot of us don't realize it. Some of us stumble upon it in the q course, trying to become a green beret, and they understand the importance of like, okay, I, I don't have to be the guy that is amazing at everything, but I need to be the leader that can bring out the best in everybody. When did you see that flip in his mentality growing up?
Speaker 2:I think for my dad might have like a different perspective, like being from, you know, father figure, but I think, like for me as a sister, I kind of saw it like in his later years in high school.
Speaker 2:Um, the older he was getting, the more mature he was getting, obviously, and um, I think it would be like his junior senior year when, like it got like it got really important, you know they were, they were on their way to state championship and he was like, if we're going to make it all the way, like it's on my back. You know, he was the quarterback from, like little league, like he was always the quarterback and like not being quarterback was not an option. So like he had to leave the team. He had to put the team I was back, you know, and he had to like inspire his entire team to push all the way. You know, um, you know, funny little bet with my dad and if he made it to, if he won the state championship, you know, and so that helped him along the way, you know, but at the same time, like it was, it was the satisfaction of getting his team where they wanted to go, you know, and that was winning state championship gosh, that's a lot of people don't don't believe it.
Speaker 1:There there are a lot of parallels to the serving, to being a leader in the military and a lot of the experiences we have as kids uh, playing sports. There really is like, whether you want to admit or not, like learning how to coalesce around a leader, like it's important, the one guy that everybody understands, like, ah, this is the guy, this is our team sergeant. I think that happens, like not in every team. Sometimes you have leaders that nobody wants to rally around. You follow orders, but when you have a true leader, you follow them. Yeah, you understand.
Speaker 1:Like, no matter what comes down the line, no matter what happens, I'm sticking and I'm following through and that's an important trait to have. And, sadly, as much as we think that it could be coached and developed in everybody, a big percentage of that comes down. I don't know, you're born with it. I've been with so many people, I've met so many guys and worked and, and and been a part of some amazing teams, and then you get a leader that doesn't know what it means to be a true leader, doesn't know how to coalesce the team around, doesn't know how to give or how to, you know be inspiring and it's just like man, like we'll follow your orders, but you fucking suck yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:No, thomas was like he was so good at like getting everyone to be so inspired by like his drive and like he's like. I don't even I don't know, you know, I don't know what they said down there, but like I just remember like they just got so hyped when thomas was like getting them ready for a game.
Speaker 2:You know it was um, it was so cool to see and they just they adored him, they loved him and he but he was so good at, like me, being intentional with each person that was on his team. You know and I think that also comes with leadership you know, like you're not just another guy on the team, like you're a brother, and like he was invested in every aspect of their life. You know he knew, you know every single one of their like, what their siblings are up to, what their family members were doing, where they're from. You know, like he went out of his way to really really get to know you as a person, and I think that has so much to do with like, why people just fell so in love with him and just like followed everything that he did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and going into that high school. You, you know, senior year in high school, understanding like, okay, like I, I have to play, not only for myself. I think a lot of young athletes have that, that fear that if, especially a quarterback, like if I don't play at my absolute best, somebody's not going to get the ability to shine, somebody's not going to be get the ability to get looks like, how did that pressure materialize into, like, getting those offers to go to college and how did he handle that? That's something that a lot of us don't, don't have an insight to like. For a vast majority of us, like, there's only very few, uh, you know, great athletes to make make it into, like becoming a green beret, uh, it's just one of those things it's like. It's it's important to explore and understand, especially for his story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think he just really put his head down and he was so serious about it so he took all of his training seriously. He took all of his camp seriously. It was football before anything, it was strength training before anything. It was practicing in the front yard, doing his footwork, um, everything that he needed to do to become like the best leader and the best football player on the team. That became like the most important thing for him. You know, going into that year, um, it was kind of crunch time like, and I would say, like he, he had big dreams. You know he wanted D one, like he wanted to be picked up by a huge school, um, and as he's going through you know the year and there he wasn't getting like as many like interests as he was hoping to get. You know it was just making him work harder and harder. You know he was not he's not the kid to take no for an answer he was the kid to say all right, fuck it, let's go harder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, ultimately he ended up going to uh, michigan right um, he went to dodge city for a semester, um, so he got picked up by I think it's a d3 school dodge city. Um, so he got picked up there. He played one semester with them and then michigan central michigan picked him up yeah and uh.
Speaker 1:What was it like watching him go through that process and at any point like it seems like you were polar opposites of student athlete and then just I hate school.
Speaker 2:I just want to get through this at any point watching him and reflecting on his journey, where you're like fuck, like, I need to be more like my brother, I need a hundred percent a thousand percent, like I like the jealousy factor of like god, he's just crushing life, like he's doing so good at life, and I was like I'm just living at Scottsdale, like doing a thing.
Speaker 2:You know, um, he, he was God, he was just so smart and so, like school again. He got into college and school again was just so easy for him. He was like I'm going to, I'm going to go work out, and I was like like don't you have class right now? He's like yeah, yeah, but I gotta go work out, like I gotta, I gotta do this. And then he's like I used my test, like I'm fine, like I'm getting good grades. You know, um, he was so good at that and you know he, like, when he went into at cmu, he was so serious about his school. He was really serious about, you know, getting his bachelor and um, at one point looked at getting into his master's and then he was like ah, you know, like bachelor's is good enough, you know he was, he was solid with it.
Speaker 2:He was like I don't, I don't really need to do any more school, um, but yeah, I know watching him develop as like a man going through college was like so cool. And then you know, I'm living in scottsdale and I got to, I got to watch his games like from like the local bar that we would go to, they'd put his games up on TV.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's like I'm like watching my brother play football on TV, like it was the coolest thing. And then, you know, I get to talk to him after and he was like that was just the fucking coolest thing ever. Like that there too. Yeah, and your path, where did you go for school? I didn't. You know. I moved out to Texas for about a year and a half, took some community college classes, just kind of trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I always wanted to go into fashion, but I didn't want to go to like New York or LA.
Speaker 2:So I was kind of like I don't know what I want to do. And then I just always I've always been more of a worker. You know I wanted to get into business one way or another. So I just kind of was like I don't want to blow money on school. That's not really going to do anything for me. I'd rather like go work for someone who knows what they're doing and just learn straight from them. So about a year and a half after, like taking some courses in community college, I was like I just like this is, it's a waste for me.
Speaker 2:Complete opposite in community college. I was like I just like this is it's a waste for me complete opposite. Yeah, so you can imagine my family's over here like do you want math, lee? You know he's doing green school. I'm over here, quitting school, moving to scottsdale guys.
Speaker 1:This is great. I'm happy for him.
Speaker 2:He's crushing life he, really he was scottsdale's pretty fun.
Speaker 1:He's crushing life. He really he was pretty fun. Yes, I gotta pause and focus on on your journey for a little bit. Why scottsdale? I've been there. It's, it's a. It's a hell of a party town, but man, I would imagine it's pretty. Uh, it can be daunting for somebody young like that's, that's like a, that's a man, that's a, that's a fiery pit, you know when I found Scottsdale nine years ago, it wasn't what it is today.
Speaker 2:It has turned into a big party place. But you know, when I found Scottsdale it was just this beautiful city full of like, life and adventure and it was something new. I'm like I've got a little bit of gypsy soul. I'm like I just can't stay in one place for too long and I had gone down there with a friend and she was like oh, you know, we've got a house we need to check on with the family. You should drive down. I spent 48 hours there. I was like I love this place. Went back to Denver. I was like quit in july, like I'm moving to scottsdale, and my boss is like, are you insane? I was like, probably, but I don't know. So I, you know I moved down there with, like, my best friend from high school. We got a three bedroom, asked, uh, put some ads on craigslist to like fill the third bedroom, found my other best friend through craigslist and then, uh, yeah, just kind of found a job out there and just like was having the greatest time and what'd you get into?
Speaker 2:uh, oh gosh. I got into so many random things before I really like got back into fashion. Um, I was working at nordstrom for a little bit and then I started working for a ppo company. Hated that, not that kind of girl and then I started working for etna selling medical insurance, for a while also did that um and you know fitness has been a huge Um, and then you know fitness has been a huge part of my life. Growing up, you know, especially like coming from military family.
Speaker 2:My dad's like you know, sports, military, like it's just, fitness has just always been in there. So I ended up working for my personal trainer, um, worked for him for about three and a half years, and then I have found myself in Dallas now.
Speaker 1:Nice. And what are you doing in Dallas, right?
Speaker 2:now. Right now I am working like the wholesale side of retail for a women's apparel company. So just kind of starting to get into that. So staying in the fashion world, staying on like on the wholesale side of it, now learning that that side of the business, which is really exciting for me.
Speaker 1:So oh yeah, that's awesome we don't talk enough about like. I obviously waited till I was done in the military to go to school and I'm so proud of that. Very happy that I found my education later on in life because, you know, for all of my undergrad I had already read a vast majority of coursework. You know, while I was on my way out of the military I was excited about learning this stuff. I was trying to diagnose and figure shit out what I was going through.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Which is like you don't have that passion, you don't have that drive. For a lot of us, when you're young dude, and when you figure out what you're, when you're able to explore what you're actually excited about like just what you talked about, just I literally just listening to you describe your life is nothing but like somebody following their heart, following their, their, their, their intuition, and figuring things out and in such a passionate way of like, okay, fuck it. Like I. I know this is this normal way of life is not for me. I'm willing to just fucking go to scottsdale and look for, look for a roommate on craigslist and hope they don't fucking kill me my mom was like are you insane?
Speaker 2:I was like probably I don't know.
Speaker 1:Meanwhile, tommy's living it up crushing school, playing football and you're having you're truly having a green beret approach to you.
Speaker 2:Like man, I may not speak the language, but I'm just gonna get out here and just enjoy it yeah, you know, for me, like I think there's too much emphasis on like putting 18 year olds into in charge of their life, like so early, you know. Like they're like you know you turn 18 and it's like go figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life and spend a hundred thousand dollars trying to figure it out. And I just was like I just I don't know what I want to do. Like you know, my brother always knew like he was always gonna try and go nfl, he was always gonna play football, you know. And then like when he's going through that, like he just knew what he was doing yeah you know, and I had no idea.
Speaker 2:I was like I I don't know, I like weddings and I like events and I like fashion and I like this girly shit and I just like don't, I don't know what I want to do with my life, you know. And so spending a hundred thousand dollars trying to figure it out just made no sense to me. So I was like, let me just get in the industry, figure out if I like it, if I don't jump to the next one, you know, and that's kind of like how I've done it and I've been successful. You know, I've had, I've made some really great connections, I have learned so much from so many people and I just I think that's like a path that more people should be taking.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Be willing to bet on yourself, be willing to push away from the shore and the safety of you know the common path Like, if you, if you just dream for one second, if you're listening and you're younger and you're, you're stuck in that dead end job like push away, be willing to bet on yourself. Not a lot of people are willing to go into discomfort to give themselves ability to figure out what they want to do. Yes, you'll, you'll have to, you know, not go out and eat every single night. Maybe you'll have to move into a more, you know, fiscally responsible apartment for a while.
Speaker 2:But working for jobs with four roommates at one point, like there was four of us living in my three bedroom apartment at one point, with four dogs and four girls, and I'm working four jobs and I'm, like you know, losing my mind. But I was like this is how I make it, like this is how I, this is how I get what I want. You know losing my mind, but I was like this is how I make it like this is how I.
Speaker 1:This is how I get what I want. You know, I fucking get that. I I completely. Oh my god. Yeah, that's that's life. More people need to talk about that. And um, what was the? You know, a lot of people the, the. The dynamic between brothers and sisters is difficult. Right? You either like, either. Like. I'm fortunate I'm still pretty close to my older sister, but, uh, we never had that dynamic of like. Well, you should be doing this. This is the right path to do. Did you ever feel? Was that ever like? Did Tommy ever did? Did he give you grace for following your own path, or was it always it was, or is it different where it's like man, you should be doing this.
Speaker 2:No, oh my God, he supported everything that I did Hell yeah.
Speaker 2:He was literally my biggest supporter when we were younger. We're two years apart. We're going to different schools. When he's on the football field Friday nights, so am I cheering on the sidelines at different schools. We spent a lot of time apart, um, when we were, you know, in that like teenage range, um, and then when I left, he was kind of like where'd you go? Like you're gone now, you know, and we got so much closer after I was gone, um, and like when I moved to arizona he living in Michigan, absolutely Like beautiful state, love it in the summertime, but like in the wintertime, like it is freaking cold there and you know. So he was jumping down to Scottsdale every chance he got.
Speaker 2:And so Scottsdale will always have like so much of my heart, because that is where he and I just became like this. Like he, we were best friends, you know, like we were inseparable. We, our relationship grew to like this brother, sister relationship that I you don't see a lot of people, a lot of siblings have. You know we're, we speak the same language, like we're literally the exact same person in different bodies. Just, we're just like, like I said, like he is a party boy, I'm a party girl, like we, just we love to have fun, but like when it's time to like get to work, like we both put our head down and like we get our shit done and like we both want to be number one, you know.
Speaker 2:So, like anything I did, I was like, hey, I'm quitting school. He was like what are you gonna do? And I was like I don't know. He's like we'll fucking figure it out and then go quit school and I'm like all right deal. So I did that, you know. And then, you know, when I was like I'm gonna quit my corporate job and like go work for this, you know, personal trainer dude, and like see how that goes, he was like fucking do it, like that's awesome. He was like just make sure you're doing okay. You, as long as he was like are you mentally okay? Always, I was like always everything. Like you're mentally good, then go do it, you know.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah. That's the type of support we need. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:He was like mom and dad, don't support what we're doing. He was like go do it do it anyways.
Speaker 1:Do it in spite of them. They don't like it. You should really do it now. Yeah, dude, we all need that sort of like backing and cheering on from the people we love and care uh care about when his time was coming to an end in sports, like how did he handle it and how do like? What was that conversation like?
Speaker 2:it was tough. Um, he, I think he really struggled with it. I think he was. He was getting to a point with football where he was realizing that like the NFL wasn't going to be picking him up, um, and he would have to go. You know, just go and try out. And you know, I think, after so many years of trying and trying and trying, and you know he had, he had a lot of failures in football, like, I'll be real, like he wasn't, like he wasn't number one all the time, you, but he was always the leader, like I said, um, and I think he just kind of got to a point where he was like you know, I think I think I did my run with football and I think it's time to like go out into the real world, see what the real world's about.
Speaker 2:And he got there.
Speaker 1:He was like this is not for me and what did you get into out of once he got out of? Uh, you know college and playing he.
Speaker 2:He was doing recruiting, sales or something, sitting at a desk on a computer all day long reporting numbers to someone. There was zero excitement, there was zero drive, there was no team. He's a sales guy doing his own thing. He had moved back to Denver living with his best friend, who we grew up with. He's not the guy to sit behind a computer and just work at a desk all day.
Speaker 2:For a while before he called me and he was like don't kill me, but I think I'm gonna go to the army. I was like I'm gonna kill you. Like what are you talking about? I was like what's wrong with your job? And he's like I'm so fucking bored. He's like you can't do this, like I just I missed the team. He was like I need to do more with my life. He was like I'm just like wasting away, not doing anything important, like this is a stupid job. I'm doing stupid sales. Like I need to do something important. Yeah, um. And I was like devastated.
Speaker 2:Obviously you know it's scary being on like the family side of, like someone going into the military, especially knowing my brother, who's the guy that wants to kick all the doors in and be the first one through, you know, and like the second, he said that like I knew, like we're not, we're not just doing any old, any old army job. Like I knew he was gonna be. You know, he wanted to go to combat, he wanted to get deployed, he wanted to be out in front. But that's why it was so devastating and scary, because it was like as, as his sister, as his best friend, I'm like the possibility of losing you is like so real. And he it was a, it was a chance he was willing to take, which was like the scariest part, but also like so proud of him for wanting to do something so good, like fight for our country and like really like do something meaningful with his life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I would imagine the conversation with the parents probably was filled with a lot of questions as to why.
Speaker 2:now, locked at his computer. Um, our biggest thing was like do you really know what you're getting into? And he was like I have done so much research. He was like I know I don't want to go officer, I know I want to enlist. Like I know I want to go special forces, I know what path I want to take when I get there and I know how I need to go about it. Um, so when he said that to my dad, my dad was like oh shit, like you're, you're very serious about this. And you know my dad was a ranger, you know he was military. He served 13 years, um, before he got out. And you know, I think my brother wanted to follow in his footsteps. He was, I mean, his bedroom when he was little was like army gi joe, whatever. You know, like it was always in him. He was, I mean, his bedroom when he was little was like army gi joe, whatever.
Speaker 2:You know like it was always in him he was always playing with guns airsoft guns, paintball guns, you know all that stuff. So it made sense when he said it, but we were all like shit, like you're serious about this yeah um, so yeah, 2020 he enlisted, and that's where his journey started with the green beret yeah, did he.
Speaker 1:Did he have any interactions with like a, an actual green beret, or was it all just sitting down and just going through and doing his deep dive research on the internet?
Speaker 2:You know he spoke with and I don't remember who these people were, but he spoke with multiple guys that were officers enlisted. I don't know specifically like what, what their role was, but he spoke with. I know he went and like sat down and had like an interview or like a chat with like someone who, like you, go to talk to for the military. I don't know how that works. There's a guy I probably sound so blonde right now saying that, but Tommy, there's a guy around the corner.
Speaker 1:He wants to talk to you about serving he's got he's got all the insights.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know, he, he. I just remember him saying, like, lex, I've done my research, like, I've talked to a lot of guys. He was, like, I've talked to dad's friends, like, and he was, you know, he went around my dad at first um just to like get the opinions of people who were not family yeah you know my dad's got his one opinion, he's got his side. You know he served 13 years, like he has so much insight. But my brother just wanted like outside, outside, inside you know.
Speaker 2:So, um, I think he talked with maybe five or six people, including the military or the army, before he was like, yeah, this is what I'm going to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think. Uh, you know, going through basic training is nothing going all the prep because he signed up for 18 X, correct? He went through the 18 X pipeline, so he went straight. He went straight in. He didn't serve in a conventional army first right, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So there's not a lot that you know families that don't really understand, like the the first few months, um, before you make it to brag, it's just there's not much excitement. Like there's just like, okay, you go into basic training, you go to airborne school, but like when you finally sign in and you're finally going in the SWCC, like that's when you like, that's when you, especially now, like now that I'm, I'm old as shit and I'm starting to see, you know, young, young men that I've, I've helped along the way, when they finally get to SWCC, that's like when they like their eyes open up and they're like, oh fuck, like this is it, I'm finally here. Did you see that shift and his excitement when he finally was like, oh fuck, I'm about to start this. It's gonna be a journey. We're about to start this thing oh my god.
Speaker 2:Yes, he was so excited, you know, uh, when he enlisted, like he enlisted over covid and it was nine months. It was nine long ass months of him sitting around doing absolutely nothing, waiting on the army to just send them through basic. Like he waited so long. So like he really like had to like the drive to get there because he was like I did not wait nine months to not get what I wanted out of this.
Speaker 2:You know. So, when he finally, like you said, like you finally get to that point, we're like oh my god, this is it, like we made it, like we're doing this. Um, he was so, so excited. Um, I remember, like when they go through basic, I think it's basic when you can't you don't have your phone, you can't talk to anyone, you just write letters.
Speaker 2:you know we were writing letters back and forth to each other. You know I'd like taking pictures of like us and the family and like my friends. He was like really good friends with and like sending him photos of like stuff that we were up to. And every single one of his letters was just like okay, we're doing this, and like this is so cool, and like this happened and like I just can't believe that I'm doing this right now. He was like this fucking sucks so bad, but it's actually like so cool at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's on par yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So like reading his letters like was so inspiring. Like every time he would like I get another one. I just remember just like sitting there and I was like I'm so proud of you, like you could have. You could have bailed so many times, you had so many ways to get out. You could have just been like this is too hard. But he sat there and he was like I'm so glad I waited, I'm so glad I did this. I'm loving life. Like this is so cool. He was like I'm so glad I waited, I'm so glad I did this. I'm loving life. Like this is so cool. He was like I have never been through so much shit ever. I love it at the same time and hate it, you know. So he was really excited, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what was it like finally like seeing that graduation having him don the Green Beret for the first time. People don't understand what that graduation having them don the Green Beret for the first time. People don't understand what that graduation, what that ceremony is like. It is one of the single greatest graduations you will ever experience. Just being in the audience, let alone being on that stage. That moment is so brief. It's like you've worked over a year of your life to get that handshake, to get that beret handed to you. Uh, it just it goes by so fast. But every time you, you know, you reflect back and see those photos. It's like holy shit, like it takes you right back. What was it like seeing him finally walk across that stage?
Speaker 2:oh, my god, proudest moment, proudest moment of me. My parents like watching him.
Speaker 2:You know they're very stoic when they're walking but my brother has like, if you've, if anyone, anyone who knows my brother he's got these big, huge I called him little dinosaur eyes, but he's got these huge eyes and I could just see it in his eyes. He was beaming. He was just wanted to come out of his skin. He was so excited that he finally made it. He's so proud of what he had done. Um, and seeing the light in his eyes with, like, how proud he was of like what he accomplished was just. I was like all right, it's fine that you're doing this. You know, it gave me that, that peace of mind, that, like you're, this is where you need to be. You know, um, watching him walk across that stage after the God, what was years of listening to the torture that he had to go through to learn everything that he had to learn to get to that point. And you know, not everyone makes it through the course and not everyone makes it through um, what is that? The prisoner of war camp that?
Speaker 1:you guys do.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, you know there are. There's a lot of guys you know who don't make it like it's really really daunting on like your mental state. It's really daunting on you physically. You know I've watched him gain and lose so much weight you know he went from 140 to or 240 pounds to 210 pounds way too fast. So the what they have to endure and then you get to that point and you did cross that line and you, you made it to the finish line and you got. You got that it's the coolest thing to watch all of those guys. You know there was hundreds of them.
Speaker 1:And at the end when they graduated.
Speaker 2:You know you come over, you talk to the family. So many of his fellow you know army guys were coming over to me and my family. Your son got me through. Your son got me through. Your son is the reason I held on as long as I did and that was like probably even a more proud moment that I'm like damn you. You were really the strength for like all these other guys and you carried them through. That was just the guy that my brother was.
Speaker 1:That's a true leader. People understand the dynamic, that the course is long, and it's whether you're a Bravo, 18, echo, 18, charlie, everybody and Delta certainly are Deltas. Everybody faces their trials and tribulations and more often than not it can just be a small, simple interaction with another friend or even a student that you're not even close with. But they provide some sort of moral support, whether it's a look, whether it's an encouraging remark like hey, keep going. Sometimes you get your dick knocked into dirt, you fail something, you stumble, you don't meet a gate and you have to redo something, and for a lot of people they just give up. But there's great guys out there. I had them in my class where all you, all you needed was, you know, for example, teddy's British accent telling you to stop being a cunt, uh. Or or one of your friends like Jason Jolly that just told you to man up and keep going. Those individuals are always in the course, they're always there, they're always around, even for that little sense of like hey, you got this, keep going, you're not out of this fight of leadership.
Speaker 1:Growing up as a kid and in college and then was actually just masterfully like able to implement that in his time as a green beret. Um, because, like I, like I said before, like when we were talking and engaging, when somebody reaches through online and is able to communicate just how amazing somebody was and how important this new mission that their family's involved in, I don't take that lightly. And when his friend reached out, you could tell this person meant something to him. It was not like, hey, I need you to help support this nonprofit. No, my brother, it's not even talked through in the sense of a past sense where we've lost him. It's talking through like he's still with me and we need a champion as cause.
Speaker 1:Losing Tommy at such an early you know, early age and I mean he just started living life, he just became a Green Beret, he was just starting like, really like flourish in his new profession that's heartbreaking. That's a tough, tough thing to deal with for everybody, to include teammates and family. But how are you moving forward? How are you dealing with it today, Having you know this amazing giant new focal point being the foundation you started for him? How are you grappling this loss?
Speaker 2:Um, you know, I literally have to take it day by day. It's really hard. Um, um, oh sorry when I say he was my best friend, he, like, he was literally my person. You know, he's the, you know people coming in, out of your lives. You have your parents and everyone, but, like your, your sibling is that person that, like you have until the end. You know, and to not have him here is so painful. Um, so, creating this foundation is literally the thing that I'm like kind of clinging to. You know, it's, it's keeping his legacy alive. Um, and he has a son.
Speaker 2:On the way they found out, um, the day before he passed what, yeah, oh my gosh and so, you know, creating a foundation where we are showing the world who my brother was and doing that is so important to me because I want this little boy that he is about to have, um, to know who his dad was, and I want this kid to grow up knowing that like he would have had the best father in the world, and I cling to everything that I can to make sure that this little boy knows who, his who, what kind of guy his dad was, um, and you know this foundation is something that, like he would have done for one of his brothers.
Speaker 2:You know he would have wanted to start something to keep the legacy alive for one of his brothers and he loved helping people, he loved being like the light in someone else's life and if that's something that I can do with this foundation for, you know, someone underprivileged and give them the opportunities that my brother was able to, you know, receive from my family, that's, those are the things that I'm like clinging to right now. That helped me, like get through each day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, lexi, I, you know, exploring your journey and and also Tommy's, like I, can't help but realize just how in in just perfect. You know life unfolds. You didn't take a standard approach to life and you went about, uh, your life after you know, growing up as a kid and instead of going to college, you started going into industry. You started figuring out, you started making relationships, making friendships, like understanding pivotal aspects of what it means to build a business, what it means to be successful as an entrepreneur, whether you realize it or not, like everything about your journey has shaped you to be able to do this. Reflect on that. I think that you're missing that aspect of it.
Speaker 1:I think that God gave you a specific path in life and everything is coming into fruition right now the way it's meant to be. It's hard to see it as a gift right now. It's hard to see the beauty in this, but I am telling you after hearing the way you approached life after high school. Everything happened for a reason. You already know what it takes to put together a foundation. It's networking, especially a nonprofit where 90% of the time, it's just meeting people, getting support, getting back and getting financial support and throwing events like raising money and the other aspect. It's intimately tied to what made Tommy arguably the best version of himself, which was mentorship, coaching, giving opportunities and being able to provide this world with more men like Tommy. Being able to give that to communities, that's a gift that never dies, but yeah, it's. I think, looking looking at your journey, looking at Tommy's journey, it's nothing's guaranteed in life and that's that's one thing that it's hard for us to understand when we deal with loss Like we can't. We can't bring Tommy back.
Speaker 1:We can't ask God to just press rewind, but what we can do is understand that everything happens for a reason and be grateful for the gift that we have for his legacy, because now he has a boy on the way.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that little guy is going to grow up with so many stories of how amazing his father was and the impact that he had, because, let me tell you, there's nothing greater than a Red Empire family had, because, let me tell you, there's nothing greater than a Red Empire family and his teammates, his friends, everybody that was touched by him, is going to be able to meet this young man when he gets of age and tell him amazing stories of how remarkable his father was, especially with this foundation.
Speaker 1:Yeah absolutely so, as we wrap it up, tell us about this foundation. What's coming up? We got a golf tournament coming up here pretty soon that I'm stoked about. We just started running the ads on all of our podcasts, so please tell us about the upcoming golf tournament.
Speaker 2:So the golf tournament will be June 28th, so two weekends from now up in Wyoming, michigan. You know we chose to do the first fundraising event up in Michigan, michigan. You know we chose to do the first fundraising um event up in Michigan just because you know that's where, that's where his football career like really took off. Um, his, he's got a huge community up in Michigan and it just kind of felt like the perfect place to have our first um foundation like event, fundraising event. Um. So, like I said, it'll be up in Wyoming Michigan, at the Pines golf course. Um, kickoff is going to be two, 30. So we'll be doing, you know, like cocktails, drinks and stuff before. It's going to be a party Like it's going to be so much fun.
Speaker 2:You know my brother is, like I said, he was a party boy. He loved, he did, did not, he did not let a beer get left behind, you know. So this, uh, this will be a very fun, fun um, I think it's a foursome like a scramble, uh, but yeah, it's gonna be a very fun event. We're super excited. There's gonna be raffle prizes, um, a couple different ways you can get involved. You can do, you know, sponsorship dinner, sponsorships, if you want to, you know, join us. We've got about seven spots left in the tournament, you know, so still trying to get those seats filled for the golf tournament. But yeah, we're super excited.
Speaker 2:We're trying to raise about $30,000. If we can do that, we can help about five kids, which is like the goal. I don't know if we really touched on, like, the basis of the foundation, but the mission for the foundation is to target underprivileged high school football athletes who are just kind of in a situation where they're not able to get the mentorship, the college scholarship, you know eyes on them. They're not able to, you know, pay for the skills training, the camps, you know all that stuff. So my goal is to target those kids and put them through a camp. Put them through, you know, get them a mentor, find out you know what it is they need to get to get the skill level that they need to, you know, be picked up by high, by college scholarships.
Speaker 2:Um so if we can raise about $30,000, we can help five kids and that is my goal for our first year as a foundation is to help at least five kids just kind of get to a closer place of reaching their dreams, get them out of a bad situation. Life is tough, we're not always dealt a great hand, and if I can do something to help somebody like these kids kind of just get into a better position for life, like that's, that's our main goal. You know, building, building more of my brother, more Tommy's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And it's important to remember, too, that mentorship and access to these programs like it's not just about making great NFL players. Making great college football players, that's great, that's the end result. We want a lot of them to be able to reach their dreams, but we're helping make great men, we're helping put more Tommies out to the world, and that's a gift that keeps on giving, because we can make great men which will ultimately go out to their local communities, making their communities better, making their areas better, being able to become a force multiplier, helping mentor and coach other kids and that's what we need. We're starting to lose that and we need to bring that back. It needs to be more popular, and one of the greatest ways that we can mentor and coach kids is through sports, and if we can give access to those underprivileged areas and get them into the the proper schools where they can, they can thrive, they can reach their goals. Like, what better mission than that? So, please, I'm asking all of you to pause right now. Go to episode description or just scan this qr code right there and you will be taken to the website for the first annual golf tournament for the Tommy Lazaro Foundation. Please support them. There's still opportunities to become a sponsor, so jump on them. It's important that we dive into this and help support it.
Speaker 1:Look, I know you have $100, $200 to spare. You're in the military. I know what you make. I know what you spend your money on. Stop subscribing to OnlyFans and start promoting and supporting these nonprofits. Damn it, you can afford it. I've seen what you make. Lexi, thank you so much for being here. It's absolute pleasure to connect with you. I'm excited to see this thing grow and get bigger. I can't wait for you to have an event in Florida, I mean Destin. It's what better fitting place to have a golf tournament? We've got a couple of golf courses out there, some good ones.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Um, there's, there's. No, it's not a Pinehurst, but uh, I think Destin areas is uh growing and booming and maybe we can beach hangout a crab Island. That'd be perfect.
Speaker 2:That would be. That's an idea. That's an idea right there. Yes, We'll definitely be doing more um throughout the year, more fundraising events. We'll definitely be doing something in Florida. Um, so TBD on that, Heck, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, awesome. Thank you so much for being here and everybody tuning in. Thank you guys for being here and supporting Uh. I appreciate you all so very much. We are uh kicking ass and appreciate you all so very much. We are kicking ass and if you're following us on Instagram, you know go ahead and give us a like, share, a follow on there too. Really appreciate it. Thank you for tuning in. We'll see you all next time. Until then, take care. Thanks for tuning in and don't forget to like, follow, share, subscribe and review us on your favorite podcast platform. If you want to support us, head on over to buymeacoffeecom forward slash SecHawk podcast and buy us a coffee. Connect with us on Instagram X or TikTok and share your thoughts or questions about today's episode. You can also visit securityhawkcom for exclusive content, resources and updates. And remember, we get through this together. If you're still listening, the episode's over. Yeah, there's no more Tune in tomorrow or next week. Thank you.
