Freedom Fighter Podcast
At the Freedom Fighters Podcast, we passionately believe in freedom—not just as a concept, but as a calling. We believe that God, our forefathers, and our own choices lay the foundation for the freedoms we enjoy today. This podcast is our way of exploring what it really means to live free—financially, personally, and spiritually.
Each episode dives into the real stories of people who are fighting for something bigger than themselves. We believe true financial freedom comes from faithfulness, integrity, and the courage to keep going, even when life gets hard. Through honest conversations and powerful lessons, we share the tools, strategies, and mindset shifts that help others pursue freedom on their own terms.
We’re here to grow, to give, and to open doors for others. Because when one of us breaks free, it creates a ripple effect. And we believe that kind of freedom is always worth the fight.
Freedom Fighter Podcast
We Followed the Rules. It Almost Cost Us Everything.
Most of us were told the same thing growing up: go to school, get a good job, buy a house, and you’ll be set. But what happens when you check all those boxes and still feel stuck?
In this episode, we sit down with Mark Lopez—Marine veteran turned builder and real estate entrepreneur—to talk about what it really means to pursue freedom. From crawling through attics in a pest control job after earning his degree to flipping houses and building a thriving construction company out of a minivan, Mark’s journey is raw, relatable, and packed with hard-won wisdom.
We talk about the grind of corporate life, the emotional toll of chasing someone else’s version of success, and how real estate became a vehicle—not just for wealth, but for showing up as the husband, father, and leader he knew he was called to be.
We also get personal. Real personal. Mark opens up about the cracks in his marriage, the weight of unmet expectations, and the spiritual reset that changed everything. If you’ve ever questioned the cost of success—or felt like you’re just surviving instead of leading—you’ll want to sit with this one.
📌 Key Topics:
✅ Transitioning from military life to entrepreneurship
✅ Defining wealth through presence—not possessions
✅ Why flipping sharpened Mark’s business instincts
✅ The power and potential of ADUs in today’s housing market
✅ How asking better questions saved his marriage
✅ Hearing God’s voice in business and family decisions
✅ What real freedom actually looks like
Freedom isn’t just about more money—it’s about more intention. This episode will challenge you to stop chasing and start choosing.
🎬 Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:21 Military Experience and Transition to Civilian Life
05:19 The Journey into Real Estate
08:12 Lessons from Corporate America
11:26 The Shift to Entrepreneurship
14:21 Defining Wealth and Freedom
17:18 Personal Reflections on Wealth
20:29 Real Estate Strategies and Insights
22:46 Navigating Real Estate Challenges
23:39 Diversifying Investment Strategies
25:04 The Buy and Hold vs. Flipping Debate
26:31 Lessons Learned from Flipping Properties
28:50 Identifying Focus and End Goals
31:43 The Risks of Diversification
34:37 The Importance of Focus in Business
37:30 The Rise of ADUs in Real Estate
39:24 Building ADUs: A Smart Investment
43:04 The Flexibility of ADUs
45:15 The Stability of Home Ownership
48:32 Personal Growth and Relationship Reflections
54:45 Health and Family Dynamics
56:40 Navigating Relationships and Communication
01:01:02 Seeking Help and Understanding
01:05:12 The Importance of Mentorship
01:09:39 Hearing God's Guidance
01:18:41 Defining Freedom and Control
I used to be on this traveling shooting team in the Marines. And they said there's a lot of rifle shooters.that can't shoot a pistol very good.
There's a ton. But I've never met one good guy that can shoot a pistol that can't shoot a rifle because those skills in the pistol are super transferable to the rifle. It might not make you amazing, but it'll make you pretty good.
Right. So it's like by flipping, there's so much that goes on with flip. I'm not trying to sell flipping. I'm just like flipping is like construction. It's project management. It's running the numbers.
Right. You're trying to come up with ARV. You're dealing with realtors. You're dealing maybe with tenants. If it's large multifamily, you're dealing with so many different things that all of those skills are transferable. I bet into being a commercial broker, you know, I bet into being a buy and hold where you're dealing with tenants and it just sharpens your skills with so many other things.
Mark, appreciate you jumping on all the way from California for us. Kind of start off, kind of tell us a little bit about your life, how you ended up here and I really like to know how you got the name of your company.
Yeah, thanks. So, yes, I'm Mark Lopez. My company is Five Walnut Construction. And that's because, you know, there's five members of my family, me, my wife and our three kids. And then we used to live on walnut. So that was how we got started was five of us lived on walnut. That's it.It seems like there'd be more to it than that, but yeah.
Yeah, we wanted it something different. know, everybody else has like a LG construction or like initials or something. So I was like, no, I just wanted it to be something kind of like that could be bigger than, know, could be an umbrella company.
So now we have like five one investments where we do, you know, real estate investing. have we created a couple other LLCs that are branched off of that, but they've always kept the walnut, right? So we did like walnut cabin when we had an Airbnb. We had walnut heights where we had ⁓ some property in this like certain district in the city. So everything kind of somehow stemmed from the walnut.
I guess, but different. So I took all the names of my family. So three daughters, they all start with A and then Ryan and Valerie. And I made a Zavara and just made a name with it. So that's where mine came from. So very similar. And I incorporate the family. Are you going to tell us that you're allergic to walnuts?