Programming Lions

Ep.83 God, Grit and Common Sense w/ Brandon Tatum

• Matt Morstad • Episode 83

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Former police officer, author, and fearless truth-teller Brandon Tatum brings his signature no-nonsense approach to Programming Lions. Hear this unfiltered conversation about masculinity, faith and common sense in today’s world.


Links:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/theofficertatum/

YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/btcruiser34

X: https://x.com/TheOfficerTatum

Website: https://theofficertatum.com


TIMELINE

00:00 Intro

00:47 Football & Fitness

05:42 Police officer

09:31 Personal responsibility

12:16 TDS and DOGE

17:55 Is common sense lost

19:50 Religion

26:20 Trolls

29:50 Masculinity

35:05 20yr old self

38:05 Advice for young influencers 

39:45 Rapid Fire

42:25 Final advice

Welcome to the Programming Lions podcast. Today we have Officer Tatum on the show. Mr. Brandon Tatum joins us and the boys have been looking forward to this interview for a long time. He needs no introduction. He is a juggernaut in the space of conservative media and influencing cel. Lets get into it.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Brennan Tatum, it's so good to have you on the show. We have been fans of your work for a long time and seeing your exposure just grow and blossom. And so it's really a pleasure to have you on the show.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Awesome. Awesome. Thanks for having me. I'm excited man to see two young men, bold, courageous, it's really, really good to see. I'm pretty proud of you guys.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Thank you. So the first question today is related around football. So I was just wondering, what position did you play when you were in college? Were you really rely, like, did you want to go to the NFL where you're like relying to get drafted?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. Great question. I play safety. Believe it or not. I was a free and strong safety. I actually played corner as well. And college. I thought I was going to the NFL. No doubt. When I came out of high school, I was all American. I was one of the top players in the nation. As safety, I played in the U. S. Army all American game. And so I was pretty confident I was gonna make it to the NFL. But I think God had a couple other plans. But football is one of my favorite sports. I love watching football, mostly college football. And I actually coached my son's football team right now. He's doing sevens. So football is always gonna be a part of my life and And I think it's probably one of the best sports that can teach leadership, camaraderie, teamwork, all of the above. So I'm a big fan of football.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

right, awesome. And Max is a football fanatic. He seems like we're throwing the ball all the time. And his team's doing okay. You're doing all right this year. But he's in flag football, of course. Playing quarterback and a little bit of receiver, right Max? Yeah, receiver and running back. And maybe a follow up on this. I know you're also into fitness. In fact, I saw you post, I showed the boys recently. you got some strength in there. So you were like putting up some pretty big numbers on the squat rack. And then I think on like a shoulder press, like, so what's what's helped you to maintain the strength.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I think some of his genetics, I I've been working out my whole life, you know, when I was in the eighth grade, seventh grade, well, I guess in the seventh grade, they taught us how to lift meaning the proper form and different things like that. In the eighth grade, we actually got into heavy lifting because the, the. Corresponding high school had a powerlifting team, so they were big in lifting. So I've been lifting ever since I was in like the eighth grade. I was a lot stronger than I am now. I kind of like have to get back into it because when I was in college, I mean, it was heavy working out every single day for five years straight. My max bench press was 3 95. I squatted over 600 when I was in in college. And so I was always big and working out. And so some of the stuff that you see now, which I hit for 55, I think I squad for two.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I could have hit it a few more times. But you know, when you get a little older, you got to stretch a little more before you start really hitting those weights.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Too. That's crazy. Those are some crazy numbers. Those are like Jalen Hurts numbers in the gym.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

yeah. Yeah, I was I was really really strong I think i'm still pretty strong. I could I think I did 225 on the bench. I mean easy I did it about I think I did 18 times

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Okay.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

it pretty easy. So next time I do some big lifts, I'm going to record it and

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, put them out there, show them what the conservative bodies can do.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

What a real man could do. Nah,

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

that's right. That's right.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

But yeah, I work out, I try to work out every day and try to stay healthy, man. It's very important to do that. I want to be around a long time for my family and I also want to be able to defend my family, right? If somebody gets crazy, daddy need to be able to step up and you know, take. I don't want to walk around being a weak dude and somebody can push around. So I think it's important to work out and be functional and all those things are very important.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. You boys want to tell them what else you do? Well, we didn't cross it.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Oh, y'all do CrossFit.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. I mean, I, this is kind of cool. So I hit like, so my run rep max was like 95 maybe a month ago. And then like, maybe like a week ago, I just hit like a two rep max of a hundred pounds of a deadlift. I like the lifting stuff. When we wake up, it kind of gets us more prepared for the day because then they're like, you know, more awake and ready. Yeah, we go pretty early in the morning before school. So we'll switch, the boys will switch off. We'll go to CrossFit every day. And you know, you mentioned just getting proper instruction in terms of lifting when you're young. And so we've had the luxury of doing that with the boys so that they can kind of learn how. You know, move the weights and use the right technique and everything while they're young, so

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. It's good to do it that way because as you get older, it becomes a part of your life and where it's not something that you're doing out of necessity because you overweight or you know, you've been challenged before, but You know, doing it at a young age, I think it's really incredible because then therefore your whole life, you only know, working out and being in shape. And so it makes it a lot easier when you get a little older.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Alright boys, well you got some big goals here. You want to catch up to Tatum, huh? Okay. Yeah. Mm hmm. Okay. Alright. So we're gonna have to go more into like the real question stuff, and this is a good switch from heavyweight, cause you know, to be a police officer, you probably have to be like, very strong and very fast and stuff. As you are a police officer, how did that change how you thought and kind of, like, shaped your values and what you think of today? There's

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

was an incredible, I would say, turning point in my life. I had a chance to see what reality was and see how in some cases, you know, there's a dark side. Of the world that a lot of people may not see. And it gave me another unique opportunity to be the light in the dark side of the world. So it was incredibly impactful in that way, for me to get a clear understanding of what the world really was about, but it also gave me an opportunity to be a hero. I thought that was the, one of the greatest things that I did as a cop was I was able to save people's lives. I was able to speak life into people in their worst moments and got some of the bad guys off the streets. And the fun part was when they ran from me, I don't think they knew that I was a college football player. So I would easily run them down and they were shocked that I could run that fast with all like my gun belt and vest on. So it had some fun in it too. And it also woke me up politically, you know, when I started paying bills for the first time and start seeing my taxes come out. And then I saw kind of how in politics, how certain politicians and political parties felt about police. And it really structured how I saw, the political climate moving forward with voting and things like that. But it was great, man. It was, it was one of the greatest times of my life, being able to put that uniform on honorably and serve the community. And it wasn't all bad, man. It was fun. We had a lot of fun chasing cars and. High speed chases and all kinds of stuff that don't let people trick you. That part is fun. That's why our cops do it still with all the crap that goes on. It's still a lot of fun, you know, hanging with your buddies, the camaraderie. It's a pretty fun profession for the most part.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

obviously, there's like, there's obviously, like, that meme about how police officers like to have, like, doughnuts. Is that true? Did you guys have, like, doughnuts every morning?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

You know, it's kind of a stereotype, but it's actually, there's some truth to it because I will go get donuts. And the funny thing is somebody, I remember seeing somebody take a picture of me and I'm sure they posted it online because every morning. I would go and get cinnamon rolls, but I would go to Dunkin Donuts to get the cinnamon rolls. So people would see me in a donut line in my police car and it was the, they just laughed every time I was in line, but police do love donuts. And, and, and where it came from was that back in the day when police officers would work the midnight shift or they would work early in the morning. The parlors are, you know, like the, the coffee shops were, were really friendly to police officers. So they would also have a chance to go in when it was slow to drink coffee and they would offer donuts. So police got associated with that because it was more prolific, you know, back in the day. And now, you know, you got starbucks and a lot of other coffee places that are just everywhere. So it's not as frequent that cops will go and sit down at a coffee place like that. But I don't know a cop that don't like donuts to be honest.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. Right. Well, I, I had the opportunity to not work in law enforcement, but we certainly appreciate your, your service there. But I worked in public safety equipment manufacturing and supply, and it, it was a cool opportunity to go and meet with officers. I did a lot of ride alongs and to your point, it's obviously like a stressful job and there's a lot of, you know, things that go around that, and it's a taxing job, but there were times where it was pretty exciting. Like, you're, you're getting into some interesting stuff, and every day is different, and that was a lot of what I heard from many, many officers that I was able to engage with, is just, like, every day is unique, it's dynamic, it's interesting, the camaraderie, all the things you said, and so, you know, hopefully, we can see more and more, young people getting into the field, because we really need great people in the police force, so.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, no, I agree. I agree.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

So the next question is, are liberals trying to destroy personal responsibility? Oh, Max, you're really getting it right into it now. Yes, you're really getting

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

got you guys are asking the best questions I think that the answer is yes I'm not sure if some of them are doing it intentionally or unintentionally, because a lot of times people get tricked into doing things that they think you're right, that are incorrect. And they have a vested interest in many cases to destroy masculinity, destroying America, destroying a family. And I have noticed that to be the truth in many aspects of dealing with people who, who. Associate themselves on the left and there's, it's multifaceted. So I'll let you continue to ask me questions, but I do think that. I don't know if it's always intentional, but I know that the results of what they're doing causes these things to go down a negative path.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Right, right. Yeah, and also it just feels to me like there's always these pushes for entitlement programs that ultimately kind of result in the opposite outcome of what they're intended to do, and you'd think after enough times I could figure that out, but they still push for them. So, it's,

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. They, they, the thing is, is that when you have what we called the internal locus of control, which means that. You're the outcome of your life has everything to do with what you do, your personal responsibility. It's easier to have an external locus of control, which means that you point the finger at everybody, having everything to do with what happens in your life. And I think that when you go down the path of. The easy way, or you don't have God in your life, it's easier to blame other people. And I think that's what the left falls into is that instead of taking responsibility and saying, you know, I was wrong for doing X, Y, Z, or it's my fault that I'm not where I want to be at in life. Right. Instead of listening to my, my father, Instead of being bold and courageous on a podcast, like you guys are doing some other people, other kids, other parents decide to make other decisions that don't yield the benefits that you guys will see at some point in life. So understanding that you are responsible for your own success by and large outside of, you know, your faith in God, but you are responsible for your success. You are responsible, whether or not you wake up and go to the gym, like you supposed to, whether or not you work hard in the gym or you slack and the right seems to have that. A little more in the, in the bullseye and the left tends to fall for the victim mentality, which is the reason why I don't associate anymore with the left and with certain parties that, you know, espouse these things.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. So, we did this. Video where we said that people hate Trump more than they love America So we were wondering what you would think about that and if that's like true

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, no, I think that's a 100 percent true. Some people fall into I would say also a category of hating things more than they love They find things that they hate in life more than things that they can be appreciative of and if you live a life like that Everything is negative, right? I mean, I would never want to focus my energy on disliking a person more than Loving the people who are doing what's right. So for instance, I think it's, I think it's actually a derangement syndrome. I think people can actually be diagnosed with this. Some people dislike Trump so much that they rather alienate family members. They rather, you know, break marriages. Because they hate him more than them loving their own spouse or wanting to make things better in their own family. So I think I agree with you guys a thousand percent. You guys see it probably at your school. You see it unless you guys are homeschool, you, you, you will probably see it, you know, that some people would rather. Focus all of their energy, right? You guys focus energy on getting better, working out, doing your podcast, being good kids, whatever the case may be, loving playing football. That's the energy where you focus. Some people rather, instead of playing football, instead of doing a podcast, complain about Donald Trump and conservatives and things of that nature, and I will say there's two outcomes to that. If you spend your life hating or being upset more than you are being grateful, you won't be as successful as somebody who wake up every day and appreciate what God has given them and focus on the good things in life. Those two outcomes, we see people experience those every single day and you're going to need to be one or the other.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

well I know which side We feel like we are on and to your point. It's been a weird time like the kids for example We talk about what's happening with Doge and In our view, it's like hard to imagine why this is a bad thing. We're saving taxpayers money We're cutting out waste that's been tacked on and layered on over years and decades and we're gonna uncover corruption we're gonna probably uncover some wild stuff as we get into this and people are just attacking all of it and I don't think it's because people inherently enjoy waste. Everybody dislikes it. It's not a partisan issue, but because he's associated with Trump, He's been declared a Nazi and all this stuff. It's crazy. It's crazy. So

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. It's, it's, it's insane. What I'm watching unfold. But I'm also appreciative that it is unfolding because it only makes our arguments better. You cannot be a rational person and at one moment say that Elon Musk is great. When he was on the left, he was great. He has Tesla. I mean, it's right up their alley. He's doing all this environmentally friendly things. At first he didn't like Trump. He didn't like conservatives. He was more Silicon Valley type person. They loved him. And if he'd have done this as a Democrat, they will be celebrating from the mountaintop. However, like we spoke about before the TDS, the Trump derangement syndrome is that some people feel like If trump is doing it, they have to oppose it. Trump could find a cure for cancel the day that cost 0. 25 and they will find a reason to say that the 0. 25 is being used inappropriately with your social security number and they'll find a way to hate it. What Elon Musk is doing. It's honorable, in my opinion, acting in good faith to mitigate waste as small as it is. I don't care if it's a penny, I want them to do everything they can to maximize the efficiency of the money that we pay them to serve this country. And, you know, another interesting thing is that, and you'll find this to be true, that their livelihood. Depends on being in opposition of the ruling party. So when Republicans are in office, they have to hate everything they do, because if they, at one point give Donald Trump credence. And admit the fact that he's doing a good job or acting in good faith on behalf of the American people, they will never win another election ever again. And so that's what we're, that's what they're up against. It's not because they care. It's not because they really care about the tax dollars. It's more so that they need. Power and influence, and he's standing in the way of that

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, 100%. That's a good take. And we've seen this on some of our posts recently, right boys? We have, obviously we have a social media channel and we put out some takes on this around Elon Musk and some of the things that are good that are happening in this administration all within a month. And We mentioned those and people will almost go to the ends of the earth to find a reason why it's a bad thing that we've secured the border and 90 percent of border crossings are down and they'll go to the end of the earth to tell us why that isn't true. It's a pretty, it's pretty weird. TDS can run deep. The truth. All right. So the thing is the truth and common sense. Seems so obvious to like, grasp, but it's basically where people are not like, basically, they can't really do it. So I'm just like saying like, yeah, but like, why is that and how can we help it?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

How? I think the question is why is common sense not so common? Yeah. I, I think it's because people are emotionally attached to an identity that's created by. Other people's opinions of them, right? And so if common sense says that, we should lower taxes A person's identity that's in the democrat party or the party of whatever if their identity is in this Challenging that premise will challenge their identity. And so that's why you can't make your identity about politics If you get what I'm saying, your identity should be who you are in Christ. So therefore that's your premise and what you're judged by, and you'll win every time in that. But if you make your identity a political party or skin color, or I don't know, a community that you come from challenging those things. will be difficult. So that means that if you're a part of this group, you're a part of this race, and you prioritize that, if someone has truth that challenges this group that you've picked, that challenges this race that you've decided to be a part of, it becomes incredibly difficult to let that group go to follow truth. And I think a lot of people get caught in that. And so, and also I think it's a spiritual thing. When you have a relationship with God, it's almost as if God, Pull the scales off of your eyes and you're able to see things clearer So therefore the truth doesn't hurt you it heals you if you're on the right side of it And I think that people who don't have God in their lives struggle a little bit more because they're struggling with identity and they're also struggling because they're They can't see things clear because they don't have revelation that God has given them. So I think that, you know, that's kind of how I see that.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Good segue into the next question you guys had. So I'm just thinking that we are kind of basically losing the battle of Christianity and traditional values. So I just want to see, like, what's your take on that? And are we losing it?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Great question, man. You guys have the best questions, man. I think that the country is losing it, but we're not losing it. Right. I think that you guys are an example of holding on to values that will make this country great and make the next generation of young people that you guys create at some point to make them great. I think the country is at a decline inevitably. If you read the Bible in the last days, all these negative things are going to happen. It's nothing that we can do to completely control that. But what we can do is mitigate. And when I say mitigate, you use your platform, use your talents to wake up as many people as you can to the truth, biblical faith. And also the importance of the family and not only just talking. I won't, I want people to understand this is not just talking. It's about your lifestyle. So you speak more by your actions than you do your words. And I think those things can help more people be aware. Although inevitably you can't save everybody. It's almost like the Titanic. The country is like the Titanic. You can, you know, slow down the sinking. You can save as many people as you can, but inevitably it's going to come a point in time where the Lord is going to come back and it's all going to be over. I hope that's not too dreary for you guys. But if you, if you, if you read the Bible, it's kind of a reality that we all have to face that it gets worse before it gets better. But we can't control. The atmosphere that we are a part of your family, your friend groups and different things like that.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, I love that. That's some inspiring comments and we talk about that a lot as a family. Like, we can control what we do and what we try to influence and the values that we espouse and demonstrate and the people that we keep close in our lives and those that we maybe don't And so yeah, those are I think wise words max has been actually bringing us even closer to god this year You want to tell brandon tatum about your plan? Well, the thing is so my mom so she already had this thing called proclaim 365 Where you read the bible in 365 days And the thing is, I, even in 2024, I was kind of like, my grandma's into it and it was like, I kind of want to get into this. So then I started asking questions about it. And then my mom gave me a Bible and I started reading it and now we're trying to read it 365 days. So, yeah.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

That's awesome, man. At your age and having that, wisdom to want to know more about Christ or want to know more about the Bible. It's absolutely incredible. That's pretty good to see. And shout out to you dad for, for, you know, fostering the environment where your kids will see that as a positive. But I think that's so great, man. That's so great. It's funny. Cause when your kids do it, it kind of challenged you to do it. Cause you, you know, as a dad, you gotta, you gotta show them as an example, you can't let the boys out, do you? So.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. Tell me

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

sure you own it.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Tell me about it. It's, it's a difficult job, obviously, but I'm very encouraged by Max's curiosity into reading the Bible. It's, I think, an incredible book. You're going to learn a lot and I think he's going to help us all get closer as a family and closer to God and candidly. These crazy times over the last, let's say three to five years, I say it really struck me personally. It's one of the reasons that I split out from having a corporate career and doing this with my kids, being very present with them, making sure they don't fall down the vortex of degeneracy that is happening out in society. And so all this craziness going on, it's, It's really brought me closer to God as well, because the more and more I look at everything that's happening around me, I keep coming back to the principles in the Bible that if people could stick to these traditions, Wow, like we'd be in a very different place. And so I encourage more people to go and seek that out because what they're doing is they're replacing it. And you know this like they're replacing it with other things whether it be gender ideology, race ideology, climate, activism or whatever like it's a religion. And what they really need is God and they can still, they can still advocate for these things. But what they really need is God in my opinion.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. I haven't gotten to where I'm at today without God. I think that I'd be going down a different path if I hadn't gotten saved in 2008, when I was in college. I mean, some of you guys, you guys may not have known the Brandon Tatum before I got saved and before, you know, God really turned my life around. I was one of those people that had a negative. idea of America. I had a negative idea when it come to race relations. I used to have gold teeth in my mouth and I got like tattoo young savage tattoo across my stomach. I got my hood hood on my forearms that I grew up in. And, and so I was, I was really going down a, a, a negative path. And at the time I didn't know, but then when I went to church and got saved when I was in college and God opened my eyes to see the world the way Christ wanted us to see the world, meaning that there's no color and gender and all that stuff that can stop you from having a good relationship with God and following your purpose. I think they like to break us up off in the groups, but Christ never said that, of course, male and female are different when it comes to gender, when it comes to connection with God and accomplishments in life. You have the ability to tap into what God has for you, no matter who you are, where you come from, or, you know, so on and so forth. So that was a big part of my life. All of my success, everything that I do, I put God first, and that's why I've been where I've been. You know, I even got a shirt on. God is everywhere. You know, it's funny. I wouldn't even intend to wear this shirt,

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, we'll have to, Max, you'll have to go check out the merch store.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

yeah, yeah. I mean, I can send you, if you guys want one, just let me know. I'll send, I'll send you one.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Cool. Cool. Well, we already talked a little bit about hate. Or like, you know, we're like, they'd go to the edge of the world to find all these terrible things about everything, right? We're getting a little bit more into that because we get a lot of hate comments like, you know, Nazi I want to kill you all that stuff when I touch you all that's junk So I'm wondering how you deal with that like with threats and bad comments with that. Yeah, just like that in general Yeah,

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I don't I don't look at them. I don't entertain them, you know, unless it's something serious where I think it's a legitimate threat to be honest over the course of my entire career. I think i've been doing this by six years I got over a billion views on youtube And I have never had a situation where I had to report a credible threat. Most of the time, I just don't look at it. I don't give them any attention, you know, unless I want to troll a little bit to make them feel bad, I may respond. But for the most part, you have to understand that in life, there's going to be people that hate. They have for no reason. They just hate you. They're jealous. They're envious that, and I bet a lot of times they're envious because you guys are who they wish they were. Some of these parents wish they had young men who were bold and courageous and confident enough to do a podcast and they know they haven't developed kids like that. And they weren't kids like that. So they want to hate and be jealous. So I get it too. The person that got it the most, they give me the most encouragement. And how he handled it was Jesus Christ. I mean, they literally killed him when he was doing nothing but the right thing. And I feel like if he can endure being perfect and I'm imperfect, then I know that gives me more courage to say, you know what I can deal with a little comment here and there. I mean, I'm not going to, I'm nailing me to a cross. I can deal with a little comment here and there. And if you don't have people that are negative against you, that mean you're not doing anything. You will never find a hater doing better than you. And so all the people that in a comment section, I will guarantee you, the ones that are saying something negative about you, they are in no way, form or fashion doing better in life than you are. That's why they're hating on you. So just remember that and use it as fuel. Use it as a barometer to say, we must be on to something because we got people jealous of us and just know that if you're doing the right thing, you'll have so much, so many more people that love you and appreciate you and support you and use Those people is what you respond to versus the haters.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

I think that's good advice. Yeah, that's really good advice, boys. We have some nice people. It's like, you know, out of the 1 percent of people that come into our comments to say something very nice, a lot of them are really nice people. And like the other 99 percent of them either have like strange profiles or are just like anime or cat private profiles. And like, you don't really know what's on them. Yeah.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. You never know. It could be a little bots. They got saying negative stuff or somebody just have nothing to do in their life, but the hate on, you know, a podcast with. People are, you know, you guys are just espousing common sense and good morals and talking about subjects that people should actually care about. So yeah, I wouldn't worry whatsoever. I don't lose no sleep over haters. I laugh at them and I just keep winning.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. Yeah. It's always funny because you're just like, oh. In some ways it helps fuel the engagement on our, on

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, yeah,

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

oddly enough. Yeah. Like, if they, if they come in and start going bananas. And I think there are truly things out there like these click farms and agitator bots that get programmed to go and attack certain types of content and format and channels. And we've certainly seen some of that boys, what else? So, how do we make men again? Like, first off, they were like, you just need to make men again. They were not like all all these guys who are like saying. Oh, this country is like terrible and stuff, or also other things, like let's say converting into a woman or something, or doing all these like soft things. So how do we convert them into going to like the gym and all that?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

so I think the best way to do it, another great question is to be an example, a lot of people become attracted to people who are winning. If you go into the gym, so they'll hate, you know, sometimes you'll see them hating on you, but in the back of their mind, they really want to do what you're doing. So leading by example is the best way to do it. You can call people out for their bullcrap every now and again, but at the end of the day, when they see you winning, they want to win too. When they see you really being a strong, confident young man, other people want to be just like you. And it encouraged others that may not have seen an example of. You know how, like working out, going doing CrossFit. I mean, that's a challenging thing to do. That's very masculine to do. That's you're equipping your body to be physically fit where you can, defend yourself. I mean, all of those things are a part of working out and getting up in the morning, being disciplined. And when sometimes people just need an example and it inspires them. You know, I know you guys, especially if you like football, you see a football player and you're like, dang, that inspired me. Look how hard he works. I want to work hard like him. Most people feel that way. So just going out and being the example that you want to set is the first and foremost thing you can do because actions speak much louder than words. However. It is also important to continue the conversation because some people don't know that they're being tricked into femininity or emasculation, so speaking on these topics, how to treat women, how to, take care of yourself, how to be educated, how to be alpha. Those conversations being had is, is very fruitful as well.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

I like that. That was, well, yeah. Click that. No. Anyway, so we're now getting a little bit more toward the end, what's one thing that people would be very surprised to know about you that they don't already know?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Oh man, I think people would

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

do know, but like, you

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I think people would be surprised by a lot of stuff. I don't know. There's a few things I have to, I have to break down the genres, right? So if it's in the sports arena, people will probably be shocked that my favorite sport is actually professional cycling. When I, and I took on that endeavor now, I'm too big to ride on my bike. I didn't gain too much weight, but I took on an endeavor when I was a police officer. I used to ride about 150 miles a week. And that was my thing, man. I fell in love with it. I actually can say that I love that sport. Especially at the time, almost more than I love football. And so people would be shocked. One of my biggest dreams with the, was to be able to go to the tour to France. And so people probably didn't, don't know that about me, but I love running a bike. I got a 13, 000 S Works bike downstairs that I ride with. Electronic shifting that was a passion of mine every morning I would ride at least 20 to 50 miles a day and it was a very it was relieving to me Stress relief being able to see the beauty of nature all of that together was why I really loved Cycling

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

That's not something I knew about you, and we've been following you for a while, biking, running, like sometimes swimming, these things can be therapeutic, right? You're, you're kind of out in, in nature, and so I

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

you stressing your body a little bit You know, I could never just cruise man. I always had to try to beat records. I had this app called Strava Which if you put your stuff on Strava, you'll be able to, track your accomplishments, king of the mountain and stuff like that. So I used to try to get KOMs all the time. Over the years, I just been lifting a lot more than in doing cardio. So I kind of got out of the weight category cause my bike has a weight limit of 250. So if you're over 250, that carbon bike would just collapse. So I haven't been able to ride it, but I plan on getting back into it, man. That was a big passion of mine. One of these days as I continue to take my T force,'cause I created a testosterone boosting supplement and it's been really impactful. So I'm gonna keep taking that thing and I'm gonna keep posting my gains

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Love it.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

can see that like I'm really gaining, I like, it's really making a difference like I was doing. I was doing the dumbbells the other day. They don't have enough weights for me and I was doing one twenties and I'm just doing them like this, man. They need to have 200 pounds on there. That press that you saw was 225 each arm. So it was, it was 225 each arm. That's wild. If you keep working out and doing it at your age, by the time you get my age, you'll be able to really hit it. Especially if you got good form. be good.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

fun to watch them in the gym because the gym that we go to also has an app and so you can put in your lifts and then it'll track them over time and the boys have already increased all their lifts by like I've hit like five new PRs. It's awesome. Every time we go in. Eventually that'll probably slow down, Max, as it gets a little

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

heavier. But it's still exciting to just see how fast the gains come when they're getting new and fresh into it. I guess we've been doing this for about a year at CrossFit, so. Yeah.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

yeah. Yeah. The muscles are growing.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

what advice would you tell your 20 year old self? Right now. Like, let's say you could time travel all the way back to when you were 20 years old or something.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I was already a Christian. So I was putting God first already. But I'd say believe in yourself. You got to believe in yourself more. You're capable of doing so much more than the limitations of the mind. So focusing on the limitless mind, It would be incredibly important. Cause there were some things when I was 20, I just kind of thought, Oh man, I maybe can't do that. Maybe that's not for me. And then as I got an older and I've trusted God a lot more and I've had a lot of faith and I've taken a lot of chances, I realized I think I can do anything I put my mind to. So I wish that I'd have done more of that when I was young. I also say, and you guys are very young. At some point you're going to be dating and stuff. Understanding singleness, right? Focusing on myself, not trying to date and get in relationships and all that. And my 20 year old self, I wish I'd have been focused more, or at least I would tell myself to focus more on developing yourself, read books find out who you are as a person, you know, travel, you know, make sure you're consistent at the gym. Find your passions first before you ever really think about dating. So I think that would have been some of the things I would have said to the 20 year old me,

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. That's cool. I like that advice. I, I think the same about myself. I didn't know who I was or definitely who I should be dating when I was 20. I got it figured out a little bit later fortunately it all worked out gloriously for me. And now I got these two young gentlemen

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yeah, I like to think 30 is a good age. Jesus started his ministry in his thirties, I'm not saying that that's for everybody. You guys have been raised well, so you're going to have a lot more wisdom and be put in better positions and some people who are not raised by good parents and you fall in love, you fall in love, you know, you know, but I think that it's good for a young man to have wisdom, to have experiences, to understand himself, to grow and find your path that God wants you on. So therefore, when you're, To the point where you want to marry somebody, you know, who is better beneficial to your life. Cause a lot of times people, some people do it a little too young and then they change and then now they're not compatible with the person that they're with. So trust God on that. Don't just listen to Brandon Tatum, you know, but I do think that 30 was a good number for me because it gave me an opportunity to kind of grow up a little bit and get some experiences and get in the pathway that God wanted me to be in. And I, and I think that worked out for me. And at that point, God sent me the right woman and I have never been more happy and blessed.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

We see you posting a lot of, yeah, content with your wife and your family, and that's awesome. And we heard you speak actually last year at AmFest about being a good father and husband. And that was pretty inspirational for me. Obviously these boys, they're still, you know, they're still kind of growing up, but that was a great talk that you gave. So how about this? With that, why don't we go into, should we go into our fun section, boys? I have one question I'm actually very interested in. Okay. Do you have any advice for us, or other young influencers, to help grow their channel?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Oh, great. I love this. My favorite question. Authentic being authentic to yourself, you don't try to be somebody you're not, you don't try to mimic somebody else's podcast because you think that they're successful. God has got you right where you want you, your personality, who you are, and understand that there's an audience that will only listen to you. There's an audience out there that. That love the way you talk, the way you think your imperfections, the things you do well. So understand that at the, at the onset, but then also consistency. There are people who are far less talented than you guys are, but if they're consistent, they can outpace you. So always be consistent with your content. Always be authentic to yourself, even if you get backlash. And that is the key components I think that have made me successful because people see the authenticity. And even when you make mistakes, even if you read something wrong, or you take a, you know, have a take that you think, Oh man, I kind of missed the mark on that. As long as you're authentic and honest with your audience, people will begin to gravitate and consistency. I post. I think I would post like three to five videos a day when I first started, but they were small videos, like eight minute clips. But I did it consistently. And then one day I had a clip that went viral and I just kept growing on that success. But a lot of people give up and they don't stay consistent because they don't see the results right away. So if you just hang in there and be consistent, you will see good results.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Yeah. I like that. I like that too. Well, now it's time for the fun section. Okay. Called Rapid Fire.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Oh. Oh.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Let's go. Alright, so, the rules are that you have to answer them as fast as possible with no explanation. Three, two, one, go. Okay, would you rather be stuck in traffic with Kamala Harris or Kareem Jean Pierre? That

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Man, that's hard. That's a hard one.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

was tough. Would you rather die to a great white shark or a flaming hot volcano?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Great white shark.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

What is the coolest invention in your lifetime?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Cell phone.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Would you rather fight one 1, 000 lb duck or 1, 001 lb

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Oh, a thousand one pounders. I can knock them out one at a time.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Excluding us, right, who is your idol?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I gotta say, excluding you guys and excluding Jesus Christ because that's, that's two

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Mmm, fair

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

But somebody I look up to, I mean, it's a very hard one. I say growing up, it was Sean Taylor. He's my favorite football player.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Okay. Alright, if you had one superpower, what would it be?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

To be able to heal people.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Ooh. That's a first. This one's a long one. Would you rather drink a margarita out of a plastic straw in the Gulf of Mexico, or drink a margarita with a paper straw in the Gulf of America? Gulf of America all the way, let's go! If you had one executive order, as president, what would it be?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I will ban inappropriate things from the.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

That's a good one. Alright, last one. Have you ever been stuck in a bathroom stall without toilet paper?

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

Yes, I have.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Mhm.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

And

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

It happened to

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

I had to do the walk of shame to go get some. So

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Oh gosh, okay. The walk of shame, that's funny. Right, we've all done it, I think. We've all done it. Alright, well that concludes Rapid Fire. Thank you, Tatum, for entertaining us on that fun section that we always have. With that, we'll wrap things up. We really appreciate you coming on. It means a lot. We're a smaller and growing channel, and so when we've got large influencers like you that we can collaborate and meet with, it really does mean a lot. And so we appreciate you doing that. And I guess with that, we can close things out. Do you have any final words of wisdom for these two young men, however, as they embark on their lives and

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

yeah, keep up the good work. I always put God first in everything you do. I'm very proud of you guys. I was honored that you guys asked me to come on. I mean, I saw you guys at the event and I just thought it was so incredible seeing you with your sons. Cause I got two, two boys. And so that just made me happy, man. And being courageous enough to ask me is the first start. To anything you do. I think a lot of people get afraid and say, Oh, I'm not going to ask that person cause they got all these followers, but at the same time, being bold enough to just give it a chance, because what do you know, they may say yes. And so just continue being bold and courageous, man. And I'm proud of you guys. Keep up the good work. Stay positive and I love to watch you guys continue to grow. And if anything I can do. Just let me know, man. I love to share your content and especially this interview. That'd be pretty fun. I think my audience would love to hear it. So, I'm proud of you guys, man. I just hope you keep it up to get work.

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much.

BRANDON_TATUM-Brandon_Tatum-webcam-00h_00m_00s_574ms-StreamYard:

All right. God bless

BRANDON_TATUM-Matt-webcam-00h_00m_00s_523ms-StreamYard:

Alright,