The Public Nuisance Podcast #042 “Go To Work In Sweats” with Aaron McClelland

Welcome to a new episode of The Public Nuisance Podcast with me, Sean McComb.

This week we welcome Business Consultant, Aaron McClelland to the podcast.

We cover Owning a Gym, Being a Business Owner,  Becoming a Father during COVID, Back at School, and much more.

New episodes every Tuesday.

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Sean McComb

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Killen Studios

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:17

The Public News House, sean McCullough, you name it, it'll be done. Also, that praise guy doing millions of pounds in praises every single month helping out charities, helping out communities and helping out myself. Get on their Instagram, get on their socials, check out the praise on their stake and get involved With us. Today we have Mr McClown. How are you mate?

Speaker 2 0:41

Very good man.

Speaker 1 0:48

It's mccallum. How are you mate?

Speaker 2 0:48

very good man, it's great to see you. It's been a while. Cheers for coming on. It has been a while. Yeah, it has been a while. From the way the mentoring is, do you still do the mentoring? Yeah, I was with a, actually had a guy up from galway yesterday, um. So things have changed a lot with the mentoring side of things now. I suppose back then you know, I was managing like 60 clients. I had the gym cranking and then it was just like it was just so much going on, whereas what I did now I was just completely streamlined. It so built the full course for gym owners and now it's all just very much one-to-one. So we'll do what's called a decade in a day. Sit down with a founder or and potential business partner. If there's a business partner there, go through basically ten areas of the business, score it. We'll have a score on it, depending on the score. There's like four areas, so there's like red, amber, uh, yellow, green yeah and then what we do from that.

Speaker 2 1:34

Then we get really clear on the projects over a 12 month period, like what's going to make the biggest impact now, and then we just have a full like pathway and development plan for the individual. I think that's the hard thing to do. With the consultancy side of things, yes, you can make it broad, but I think with the guys that we're dealing with now that are doing multiple, six figures, seven figures, multi-site, I don't think you can do that in the group format and get the most out of it. So we've got that and then we have our agency. So basically we run paid ads and media for gyms as well. I think that was the gap in consultancy.

Speaker 2 2:09

So, like once, you got people to a level organic yeah there's a level where paid ads were like right, this is where it's going to take it to the next level. Um, and I had a guy. I brought a guy in to do paid ads as a partnership with me, but he fleeced me for a couple of grand did I drop a shoulder, fleeced me for a couple of grand?

Speaker 1 2:26

no way see, there's no friends in business. You know what there is, but I mean there is.

Speaker 2 2:31

But you know, the thing is like everyone told me watch him and I was just like I'm going to be fine he's fine, I like him, you know, but that was, that was the end. So thankfully, now my business partner is an absolute legend as well.

Speaker 1 2:44

It wasn't for more, no, it could have been worse. Oh yeah, 100% oh, absolutely.

Speaker 2 2:50

Uh, it pissed me off.

Speaker 1 2:51

There's no question there was definitely him now I haven't seen him yet, uh, but he definitely had a phone call like that's how you're in the the boxing sessions, in the MMA sessions.

Speaker 2 3:05

Light him up no, I think it's one. He's one of them guys. I actually seen like maybe, like I don't know, a couple of years ago I think he got wrecked by a golf club or something. I was like someone did it for me.

Speaker 1 3:15

Yeah, so it's probably a cue people if he's done that on you.

Speaker 2 3:23

I'm sure he's done that. Like, I'll take you for face value, like if I think, you're a good lad and I've got no reason to doubt you, then I won't. But then you know I should have listened. Like expensive lesson. I know, I know, I know, yeah, but it's.

Speaker 1 3:35

That's the thing you fucking sometimes to people and you don't really know, but that's their trade and that's what people do like I have a mate who messaged me and he hasn't spoken to me in years and he asked me for a lot of money. He was like, can you lend me 500 quid? I'm going to Stagamore, what? And I get my way. I was like I was taxed. I was like, wait there, if you're taxing me, you've literally no one else in your fucking phone book who trusts you, so I was like la.

Speaker 1 4:15

I don't ran out of money anyway. I just said what I said. I just taxed him, saying la, if you're taxing me I must be like last resort, because no one else in your phone book will lend you money. That's including family, your partner, like they're obviously all going you should maybe think about not going.

Speaker 2 4:33

Yeah, I don't think. That's maybe the first. I don't think he was going on a stag.

Speaker 1 4:36

It was one of them. Ones like it's just what people like, that's the trade. It's like borrow off everyone and just stroke everyone. I know loads of people like that and it's just, it's down to people having bad habits, like a lot of the times. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 4:50

And then the hole gets deeper.

Building a Better Consultancy Business

Speaker 1 4:51

The same person reached out to me again and he had told me that he's he's now like 96 days sober, and I went, so you had a problem and that's congratulations. That's crazy. That's crazy.

Speaker 2 5:20

That's what as I say, your man's probably done that on so much people. Oh, no question, the people are chance there's, like you know, I've just I was glad to learn the lesson early and then like everything that's come off the back of that's been great. You know, like did a lot of you know consultancy's been flying networks been brilliant. You know, working more with guys in the uk, um, met some of my best friends from consulting. Now, to be honest, which is like that's what I love. You know like-minded people relationships we're gonna be relationships with people.

Speaker 2 5:42

Yeah, that's what it is, and it's like many people, isn't it?

Speaker 1 5:44

people on the same path as you and like helping you grow as a person 100% and they all bring different things, like I've got a friend Luke.

Speaker 2 5:51

This guy called Luke Turner, he owns a business called T2 Fit in London and he's got two sites and I'm not joking like he is the operates in leeds. It's absolutely amazing. I've got another good friend, dara butler, down and he owns what's called dbk in glass tool or something it's called, but it's a beautiful area, like if you could hand pick a gym and put it anywhere down there.

Speaker 2 6:14

That's where you thought it's stunning. Um, so just having them relationships, networks, you know, soundboarding stuff off them, them sound more stuff off me, that's what. What I love doing. I love it. I think that's the best thing about fitness, like when you have good people and you are all like-minded. You know that's where the growth is Help each other grow, isn't it Like?

Speaker 1 6:34

it's like branching ideas off each other, and people have done it. Maybe you're a wee bit slower behind, and then you can. Glass Tool is glass tool. Is that in Dun Laoghaire?

Speaker 2 6:42

yes, that's exactly where I wasn't sure. If I got it right, that's my culture from there.

Speaker 1 6:48

It's a beautiful area I used to go in a wee boxing club in glass tool. It's just a wee shed, but the area itself is powerful is it the bray?

Speaker 2 6:56

is that what they call the? You know the like the bray he wasn't the bray, like the pier. The Bray Pier. Yeah, it's like the 40 footer. Yeah, his gym's like walking distance from that. That's class, isn't it? It's unreal.

Speaker 1 7:08

But it's a beautiful part of Dublin, like it's like one of my favourite parts. It's sort of like half between Dublin and Bray, it's like in the middle, it's like it's for like all of it and his gym is.

Speaker 2 7:24

They're all around his gym, so it's like he's in the town. There's like nice Italian restaurant underneath his unbelievable gym above. He's just put like a. He's just did a deal for a business partnership on a beauty clinic upstairs in the gym as well. Powerful, he's got his head.

Speaker 1 7:40

He's got it all off the bottle, isn't it? It's like I wouldn't say location's everything, marketing's probably one of the bigger things, but if you're surrounded around that and you've got a good surrounding, yeah, I mean it definitely helps everything. Like you know, if you have great location with parking.

Speaker 2 7:55

One of the things I think most people miss is like the parking side of things. So like your location without parking. Think about. Think about that for a customer experience If they're getting a parking ticket or having to pay a meter every single time it just raises an eyebrow every trip almost.

Speaker 1 8:10

And then going around looking for parking spots Harmful harmful.

Speaker 2 8:15

So what's been going on with your gym? What's the latest there?

Speaker 1 8:18

Just fucked. As I said, I was speaking to you before, we've been running ads and we're busy Just now more new, fresh faces coming through the door. You know what I mean. Um, we didn't run ads for over a year. It's just I don't know why we just there was a few few things going on behind the scenes and we're just sort of trying to.

Speaker 1 8:36

Big gary left. He wants to go and open his own gym and we're all for it. So he was going to name, or we're trying to hire, because I was, we needed, basically we were trying to hire someone who can like a hybrid coach who can do the strength on the boxing, because I'm away a lot of time now with boxing. My coach is now based in amsterdam, so with me traveling, and then marty had the double shifts flat out, because he's the only other one who can do the boxing. Do you know what I mean? So we're on the lookout for, like, getting a good coach before we agree, before we even wanted to go yeah, we got with you on mcdonald and he's a great coach my coach and he does the mma.

Speaker 1 9:12

He's up in ffair and he's he's had a few pro mfa's and he's great fast so and he's well tuned in. So amazing, it worked out well. He had a part-time job when we first approached him and he still worked up in the FAI coaching as well and I was like fuck, but I want to leave that job. He was working in like agencies of some sort, but he ended up leaving anyway and he's with us now. So it's a great asset to the gym and it helps me, oh man.

Speaker 2 9:38

And it also helps me and Marty, it helps everybody, because me and Marty can now like. I said we're able to grow the business.

Speaker 1 9:44

And then we have a few other wee things we're talking about at the minute which is fucking on the DL at the minute because nothing's fucking confirmed yet. But anytime we give the news here early, it fucking changes and it never, ever happens.

Speaker 2 9:57

So we're keeping on the wraps for now can I take a stab at? Is it the education stuff?

Speaker 1 10:01

No, Marty's doing that. That's done now, Marty's going to do that Marty and Gary are going to do that.

Speaker 2 10:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 10:06

And it's something Marty's always wanted to do it is it is.

Speaker 2 10:08

Ever since I met him, he always said that that's what he wanted, which is good. It's good to see him stepping into that as well.

Speaker 1 10:14

Yeah almost similar to what you're saying. Like he wanted to. He's like I can't work on my business when I'm working in it. No, so I need to step out. Let marty and gary step in and take it and I'll work on the franchise as a whole.

Speaker 2 10:33

So I think that's I think that's the hardest thing for, like most business owners, is like getting caught in the weeds day to day, firefighting, firefighting. And then you know, like you say, you have a team member wants, wants to go and do their own thing, and then it's like okay, now we're pulled back into the weeds. You know that can be really difficult and you know from my experience, like a team member, leaving can set you back six months if you don't make the right hire 100%.

Speaker 2 10:56

But equally, if you make the right hire, you're different territory big time.

Speaker 1 11:01

It's like these shit. It's just freedom, it's like fuck, it's like a breath of fresh air, and obviously there's a lot of members as well that have to take to this new coach and they have to take to them. You know what I mean. So it's you have to be very particular on who you hire big time, big time.

Speaker 2 11:16

I've made a couple of bad hires paper cvs, everything great, and then coming into the oh my god, coming into the group setting, then just just can't cope can't cope I got to the point where we had like clients being like who's coaching tonight.

Speaker 1 11:33

I was like oh, no, they're trying to dodge that class.

Speaker 2 11:37

Yeah, like that's yeah that was big red flag like. So thankfully we actually did a deal on sunday there for a new. I'm bringing in a business partner, um, evolve a player, and I think that's the one thing that matters the most in the gym set and I was speaking to founders over the last couple of weeks that I'm mentoring and it's like you've got three types of people in your business. You've got C-team players who they're coming into the business. They need to learn, they need heavy training, they know your vision installed in them. They need a clear training development path, um, and if they have that sponge like mentality where they want to grow there, you know you tell them to read the books. They read the books. You tell them to report to you. They report. You tell them to dot the i's. They dot the i's. They can turn into a team players. But equally for me, like I think if someone is still shit eight weeks down the line, you gotta get rid quick do you pay people on like a probation period, like uh?

Speaker 2 12:32

so I've always had it.

Speaker 2 12:33

So like I'll make them, I'll make them come in and buy a membership and get a field for the place, space, people, culture from that. Then they'll have like a development pathway, so like a probation 30 days and then off the back of that then they have to follow the development pathway. Basically, then you'll have your B-team players. This, for me, is the most dangerous to have in the business and this is someone who is one foot in, one foot out, can do more, chooses not to do more, has the ability to go the extra mile, chooses not to go the extra mile, almost takes advantage of the friendship relationship the people and that to me has been the most dangerous hire and then you've got off the back of that. Then you have your a team players who are skilled in multiple roles. They can lead, they can coach, they can close, they go the extra mile. Nothing's too much for them. They're doing their own development, they're going to their own seminars, you know, and they're bringing innovation to the business players are probably just like obviously they can't, but they won't.

Speaker 1 13:33

That's enough so frustrating, that's enough for me to go like no, and I think that's what kills it.

Speaker 2 13:39

You know like it's like.

Speaker 1 13:40

You know, you like, you almost want to grab them by the scruff of the neck and pull them up and no matter how many conversations, no matter what you do, what you say, it just doesn't it's frustrating when you see, when you obviously you see like we've had it, you see the, you can see what they can bring to the table, you can see how good they can be and it's just. It's just alright, they might be a good coach, but everything else around it it's just like they're not doing fuck all they're not doing the wee bits, even wee small things, such as sharing shit on social media.

Speaker 1 14:09

When we put a post out and all the coaches share it and I'm like I'm not sure. Yeah it's like a hidden agenda, yeah you're not meant to be invested in this gym as much as we are.

Speaker 2 14:21

This is like and I think it's like when you're in that small business setting, it's like a family field because you have family on the line. You know your business partner probably has family on the line like it's a bigger game than just yeah, what a? You know what an employee kind of. If they have that bt mindset whereas, like, if they are fully committed to the business, they will grow it's not like you're not going to comp them more.

Speaker 1 14:43

It's not like their life's not going to change grow it's not like you're not gonna comp them more.

Speaker 2 14:45

It's not like their life's not gonna change more. It's not like there's gonna not be more eyeballs on them yeah I think there's a big thing with mb team players as well, where it's like what they think they're capable of versus what they're actually capable of. From your experience of you know, 5, 10, 12 years in the trenches is very different, and sometimes they can bite off more than they can chew people think it's all like people from the outside who've never like, stopped, like and like in the business.

Speaker 1 15:10

I think it's all fucking easy roses and fuck.

Speaker 2 15:13

That's it's you wear sweats to work. Every day must be nice, it's fucking heavy. It is what would you say. It's been like the three biggest lessons since opening the gym and thinking about what you thought it was going to be versus what it actually was fuck, that's a good question um one definitely being um how time consuming it is early gym hours yeah, yeah, yeah, you know like you don't stop coaching's easy, but coaching walking in coaching a class is easy.

Hiring and Managing Gym Team Players

Speaker 1 15:45

Yeah, you know, like you don't stop coaching's easy, but coaching, walking in coaching a class is easy. Yeah, you know, like making running ads, making making the right, like running the right ads, sales calls at home, just constantly on the phone, like trying to figure out, like not being oblivious to others, like not knowing this was a massive part of your business. Yeah, and then going, sir, what does one like surely we'll get an awful like that, so much hours, and like on the phone to people who not qualified maybe yeah, or else there's no interest in joining the gym.

Speaker 2 16:20

Yeah and then going.

Speaker 1 16:22

So learning that way, like early on, was like fuck me, he's a frustrate me. It was so frustrating and you're taking hours away from your family yeah, accounts who you have? Absolutely no, I mean, why do you put your name, why did you even?

Speaker 2 16:34

click on that after.

Speaker 1 16:36

I just I just want the information and going fuck, but you've no interest ever. And and then, like I was like the amount of time spent on stupid stuff like that, like over the years, I've just went fuck. But now, like, obviously, I just said to Marty we're just hiring someone to do Seals Hospital, which we've done, and it's just like it's a game changer. And then we'll have like AI set up and all who just fucking it's a conversation, just go back and forth until one of us step in in yeah, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 17:01

See stuff like that, like it's time consuming, like like I thought working a few hours, like having a business actually like they'll work for me I thought not at the start, not like that at all and like we spoke about before, is like being connected to the business. You think. If you think you're going to open a business and not be connected to it, it'll never work because it'll never have your, it'll never have part of your identity, your vision, poured into it.

Speaker 2 17:26

I think that's the one thing like, obviously, in the businesses that we're in, you know, we we typically do see a lot of affluent people, but the affluent people that we train and we have trained over the years, they graft harder than anyone I know they graft harder than anyone I know they could step away from the business but they never do. They're so bought into what they're doing.

Speaker 2 17:47

And again, I think that's when you're in that founder mentality, like it's your responsibility to make sure everyone eats yeah so that puts a level of pressure and it can be heavy as well, and then, especially if you're seeing someone dragging their heels, not pulling their weight half in half out like it's, it's infuriating internally, um, that that that's.

Speaker 1 18:07

That's definitely a big part of it as well, like it's not fair to see someone dragging her head when the rest of him's working their balls off and they're like, maybe they're on the same ways and maybe they're you know. Yeah, so it has to be like, what we do is we try and sort it with ours. So if, like, people are dragging our heads and we like we'll tell them, we'll let them know. Like what are you playing at here? Like you're fucking, like you're you're well capable of more here. Like, and we can see it, what's going on with you? Is there something wrong outside of the gym or is it like?

Speaker 2 18:32

yeah, yeah, yeah because like everyone's like.

Speaker 1 18:35

As you say, it's like a gym family. It's like everyone's like a family. You should be able to know what's going on in people's lives, and there was shit.

Speaker 2 18:40

Come on, just tell us yeah, yeah, it's not like we won't work with you.

Speaker 1 18:43

Help you, yeah and get your fucking. You know, if they don't want to open up and tell you, then it's like okay, well, we'll just cut your arse because we can't have you coming in and fucking dragging your knees while fucking. He's over giving it night and I'm giving it and marty's coming in the cover shifts to give it night and we're all working like fucking. You're just like walking around the place. It's bad energy, it's horrible it's horrible.

Speaker 2 19:06

The whole team then builds this like unspoken, yeah, like can you imagine paying like a membership into something?

Speaker 1 19:13

let's say, right, you're paying 220 to call an ATM and train for a month and you walk in some constant or a big fucking sour break on them like right 5. I'm like what the fuck?

Speaker 2 19:24

man, what the hell? It's a cool shake. What the fuck are you playing at?

Speaker 1 19:28

I'm not playing for shit, I'm away. Fuck, I'm listening to that balls.

Speaker 2 19:31

No, definitely not. I think that's the thing with coaching as well, like, how many times have you had to put the mask on when maybe you've been feeling low or you've been cutting weight, or there's been know family things or just turmoil? In any direction from life. You, when you're, when I said everyone when you cross the the lines of that door, you're on, not a not not 80, not 70, 100 it's on. I don't care what's going on we'll talk about it.

Speaker 1 19:57

We've had with members. Members come in, they've got this bad attitude and I'm like what the fuck are you like? Leave your shit at the door. You're coming in here for an hour, people are over picking their phones up like no phones on the fucking gym floor, absolutely, and they're like I'm like, leave it at the door leave all your fuck.

Speaker 1 20:13

This is your hour to forget about whatever the fuck is going on. It's going to be there when you get out of here and just leave your shit at the door. So there's actually been a few things you've had to tell people leave yeah like leave, like your attitude, your energy and your attitude stinking like just fucking leave it at the door and they've come back and apologised. Yeah, yeah, yeah you know, people cast themselves on no, they do like we're alright, you're a penalty team.

Speaker 1 20:35

We're not here to listen. We're not counsellors. We're not here to listen, talking shit, moping about the place and having a bad like. Let's say, I'm explaining something or demonstrating and they're over there like talking. Oh, so disrespectful and I go and they're like and I just go, that's me, that's my, that's the blood pressure and I'm like go home, just go home, you don't want to go home but they're the first people that are also like what are we doing?

Speaker 1 21:02

again oh you need to repeat yourself a million times oh it's the worst, like being in school.

Speaker 2 21:07

Yeah, 100%, teacher explain something. That was me as well. That was me as well, that was us.

Speaker 1 21:12

And he's going fuck what, what is that again? That's why I can never be a teacher no, because they're fucking kids.

Speaker 2 21:20

Kids are cheeky.

Speaker 1 21:21

I would fucking smash someone's head on it. I'd be up for assault.

Speaker 2 21:25

Big encyclopedia flying across the classroom.

Speaker 1 21:28

Big fucking dictionary.

Speaker 2 21:30

Fuck off, I'd be crazy what were you like in school Class clown kind of Just a nut job.

Speaker 1 21:36

Nightmare See in secondary school, like first year to fifth year, I'd say I was probably one of the most hated people in our school, like for bad teachers, like it was a fucking nuisance.

Speaker 1 21:46

And then when I got to like lower sixth, upper sixth, I stayed on. I can't even believe. I think most of the teachers couldn't believe I stayed on. They were like what are you staying on for? Like I was, like it was just the reason why I stay at home is my dad says to me you've two options Go out and get yourself a trade and you're paying housekeep. Simple as that. Nah, I was only 15 or 16. I was like fuck.

Speaker 1 22:09

And he's like or stay on in school, try and go to university, or do what you're doing. But if you go and do a trade, if you learn a trade and you're in TAC and you're getting £40 a week, let's say, from TAC, you have to pay a housekeep. You have to buy your own clothes, you have to go on the way box and you have to pay. And my dad was just like that's the way it's going to be. So if you want to be a man and you want to work, go out and work and pay your own way. If you want to go to pan-meal and closure.

Speaker 2 22:44

Nothing to do with pan-meal and closure. Oh that pan-hearscape, let's get away from that.

Speaker 1 22:48

That's enough of your app, alex. Straight down, straight down the school the next day with an application form. I'm staying home. I gotta do history. I gotta do science. Teachers are looking at me going. What the fuck? Teachers are looking at me going.

Speaker 2 23:06

What the fuck? You haven't got a sense of gc, I've got great ambition.

Speaker 1 23:12

I've been studying like fuck all summer. The m2 years just bluffed. That was just to keep me going boxing and I started getting more successful in boxing what was your amateur?

Speaker 2 23:26

was that an amateur?

Speaker 1 23:27

still, I was still amateur, I was only 16 but like I won my first ice table when I was 15 and then I won them every single year after that. So like I started like really winning and boxing for ireland and then the teachers were like starting to take a lick into me. I think whenever you get beyond 50 or two, they respect you a bit more because you don't have to be there so they're like don't share it either.

Speaker 1 23:47

It's like listen, do what you want yeah, this is your time of business, you don't qualify, you're not going, you're not going to university.

Speaker 2 23:54

You're paying housekeep.

Speaker 1 23:55

You're paying 40 quid a week. I was like fuck. But uh, yeah, I just a knuckle, sort of knuckle down with boxing, and two years allowed me to like knuckle down in boxing and then, um, the teachers took a better look into me and then, after that sort of just became what age did you go pro?

Speaker 2 24:14

fuck 25 or something wow and what what like obviously you were like a hater in school, the most hated Like what were you doing? That was like any like standard, just a nation just like.

Speaker 1 24:25

Slagging Like constantly slagging in classroom Like you're just constant like never. We used to have an Irish teacher and I used to. People in my class used to go and meet just to see his whole class. Like we have four Irish on a Wednesday, right, and people in my class used to come here see for his next four classes.

Speaker 1 24:43

just argue with him so I was just sat and argued with him for a full four for that's two hours like I sat and argued and we no work what I got done and it was just like it was just in Amazon report like and in third year I fucked her to school and they had to let me back in because what was actually second year going into third year? Because I fucked a water balloon at my teacher outside of school and she was pregnant and I didn't know she was pregnant.

Speaker 1 25:11

It was my phone teacher and I fucking threw a couple water balloons at her car. And then she got out of her car and I fucked a couple water balloons at her but she was and I didn't know him. He was squealing my name over turf lodge and he said Sean McComb and I was like up from my brains. And then I went back first year, first day of third year, my principal turned it up and was like Sean McComb. I went, my mates were standing in the yard before third year. I went fuck's he coming on the school year? Here we go. I walked down he home and it was like he's not out back, no form teacher's gonna take him and he's out. Like he explained the ladder where it's done and I was like what the fuck? My dad was going nuts. It says on a brick. So I threw bricks at her and I said my dad was going nuts and it was water balloons, even that there was a fella in the wee

Speaker 1 25:55

shop. There was a wee fella. There was a man in the shop like a wee clothes shop in third floor, it was one of fashions and he says go down and ask daddy doc. He went to the shop like a wee clothes shop in Third Floor, it was one of the fashions and he says go down and ask Daddy Dak. He went to the shop and Daddy Dak says no, he was selling water balloons. I said OK, I'll stop and ask him. And then my dad went nuts. So he went up. I had to go to like a meeting for the education board and they were trying to get me a new school and my dad to speak. He's not going to speak English in an English school, he's going to an Irish school, simple as that. I'm refusing to put him there in our school. And then they had to let me back in. But I was on report now from third year to fifth year, best behaviour.

Speaker 2 26:28

I was on report report right through. Teachers were like what are you doing in school? And I was in a good head, obviously you know everything?

Speaker 1 26:47

of course you do. Yeah, I was like I'm going to be a professional rugby player. I have no interest in this. Um, did you have that in your head? A bit like I'm going to be a professional boxer.

Speaker 1 26:49

I don't know, that's what everybody argued with, argued to my uh teacher, but boxing like I was gonna be a boxer anyway yeah, he's like you know, just be a boxer, like I was, like, I was like it was back and forward and back and forth just all day and I was like and obviously it worked out so you like put into other classes and stuff like that, like if you were arshing about, like go into that class or whatever like I used to when I was on report. After being on report in art school one, even if I got one hang, I was just standing straight down and had to sit with the phone teacher all day.

Speaker 1 27:17

So Say I went to my first class At like ten past nine In the morning, started Say it was Fucking maths and I went in Say I was talking, they had it right in my report. I was talking and they said Say, here, bring your report Down to your foreign teacher. And I would bring it down To my foreign teacher and he would say what are we talking for? And then I had to go, I wasn't talking, always Like I was innocent yeah, yeah, always, always innocent until proven guilty.

School Days and Becoming a Boxer

Speaker 1 27:42

And I was like, right there, sit there. And then I had to sit there all day, miserable, and I was the most born hangover. So I was sad and I was going like what the fuck? And then at the end of the day he would go around all the classes that I missed, get all the work that I missed, give it to me. So it was like fuck me, you need to be on the fucking ball here tomorrow, lad. No talking, no AI. Back then Straight back in Talking shit again Next day. It was on for weeks and I was like fuck my dad. I was like what the fuck are you planning? My dad was strict. He was like shit, what the fuck? And I was like fuck's sake, two things. I never really got grounded.

Speaker 1 28:24

Two things I got grounded was like not like getting in trouble in school or frightening the street. It was like fuck's sake, every week I had a guy, so I was.

Speaker 2 28:35

I was always like on report, fucked out of class. I had to go sit in another classroom. So I was in this other classroom. Our history teacher was a mental patient which history teachers are, but he was. He could just wind him up. You know, I remember throwing a piece of chewing gum across the classroom and he went. He went from zero to a hundred. I was like sir, it was only a bit of chewing gum, he's like I could only have been a hand grenade, nut job, right.

Speaker 2 29:00

So I was in the back, I got put out of my class, put the into his class and I was sitting at the back wall facing the wall, and then one of my couple of my mates from the year below me were like sitting here, and one of them was notorious for having a big, a big horse, basically. And uh, all I could hear was and I'm in my head, I'm best behaviour, I'm gonna get suspended. Fuck, I'm not looking, I'm not looking, I'm not looking, I turn around. He's got the history textbook like this fucking text it was so bad so bad, so bad.

Speaker 2 29:34

How do you not?

Speaker 1 29:35

laugh at that. It's just like out.

Speaker 2 29:38

Oh, it was bad. I was in isolation one time and I had the chair on top of the table and I was writing my name on the roof. Like a roof, like this Next thing the fucking vice principal walks in. So bad.

Speaker 1 29:52

Writing him an elevator Wasn't me. I paid over it and cleaned it up. Oh, there's no explaining that stuff. Oh, once you're caught red-handed, it's just like oh.

Speaker 2 30:02

I think he was like watching me on the camera. I didn't even clap it.

Speaker 1 30:05

Oh, fuck me, Idiot, Absurd idiot and then like in school, it was never your fault. See now when you look back, but see when I look at me. When I was younger I wouldn't have looked me now See me Standing here now and then me when I was younger. Me now would hit me when I was younger.

Speaker 2 30:23

You'd have probably Slapped you. Yeah, I would have Did the same thing.

Speaker 1 30:26

And I have four big brothers, or three big brothers, so I got away with murder In the estate. I was cheating everybody Just, and they can all. They can all fight Because we're all boxers and they can all Handle themselves, most handle themselves. Most people were scared of them. Aye, they didn't want it and I just, fucking, was just cheeky to everybody and then, like proper cheeky, he caught some of the stuff I think about from back in the day.

Speaker 2 30:50

I owe a few apologies.

Speaker 1 30:53

I don't even know how people even like me now, but when I was, one of my brother's mates called my door on Easter Sunday and he opened the door and he's like it's day. And I went do you not get new clothes for Easter? You tramp or dig him down, whack, hit me big slap. I was like what the fuck's that for? I didn't even like. I was just like I'm just saying he's like you fucking speak to people like that again I'd punch you. I was proper weak, oh that's heavy.

Speaker 1 31:19

Just it was, just that was me, every day, everybody.

Speaker 2 31:22

When you have that chip On your shoulder and there's no Responsibilities or no repercussions, because everyone that's looking out for you Can handle themselves Like you can Get away with murder.

Speaker 1 31:31

But then they were Like my brothers, were a part of me. You know what I mean. But like I didn't care, they bought I take, not of Emmons, but it was like there was no embarrassment in that you know what I mean see like if someone on the street was to hit you, you'd be embarrassed.

Speaker 2 31:43

Be like fuck, you can't do nothing about it it's kind of their job to clip you, keep you in line, but you get on really well with your brothers, don't you?

Speaker 1 31:50

yeah, we're all close. Like our day was. Like my dad. We had a ring from him, but our day if he had seen me drinking, he would have fucking told it straight away just to keep it right he would have beat my bags and then I'd hit him and told my dad where our name was. The opposite, he's like I'll get it for you, I'll get it for you. Give us an earl and I'll run for you and then he'd keep the fuck is he.

Speaker 1 32:21

I mean to be going any serious. He's not coming back Bro, Bro, oh fuck.

Speaker 2 32:27

So how do you Going on the alcohol thing then, like, obviously as a professional fighter and I know, I know, like you've Seen you in a beat though a few times or whatever how do you navigate, like, the lifestyle With the lifestyle? How do you navigate that like? Do you think it has an impact, do you think it doesn't? Like I don't know?

Speaker 1 32:46

I have a fucking severe I I think I think it all only carries yeah.

Speaker 2 32:54

I don't believe it has an impact no much of an impact, but it's not like you're drinking every week if you drink every day, or if you're drinking every week if you're trying to read there.

Speaker 1 33:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, obviously gonna have an impact. But I think, like I've drank two weeks before faith, like three weeks before it's like before I fought barbosa for at last in new york he's world number one. I got three weeks notice. So I was on the drinks and patty's day blacked on some parties day and I got a phone call next day. I think the fit is just right, let's, let's go. And I went over on three weeks notice.

Speaker 2 33:22

So like was it ever in the back of your head? Never. No, it didn't give a fuck. Like you knew your ability. Your fitness is there.

Speaker 1 33:28

Your fitness is always there, like muscle memory, is there a lot of the time and it's just obviously periodization of like camp getting the right spars and I had to fit would you feel like you keep a high level of fitness year round anyway, because I always see you running and stuff. I'm always training, always. That's what I mean. If I go out on the weekend, I'll train. I'll still train all week.

Speaker 1 33:55

I'll drink like Monday, but my like if I go out on a Saturday I'm definitely drinking on Sunday like one million percent every time, every single time, probably, every weekend nearly yeah, what's your drink? Just beer, I just drink beer, and then I'll drink whiskey, like once I have a few beer, I'll drink Jameson, like me and Rand did like two decanthers of whiskey at Christmas like, and we were literally both legless, leaving his house and then my house on the repeat occasion.

Speaker 1 34:21

It was absolutely beautiful, it's happy to do it. I like whiskey but like we were seated.

Speaker 2 34:25

So like we were seated, like this all night. And then you go to stand up and you're like what the fuck have we done?

Speaker 1 34:31

See if I go into like a wee small cosy bar.

Speaker 2 34:33

Yeah, yeah, around Christmas time.

Speaker 1 34:35

The best To the best, but and there's nothing else going on You're slugging back Guinness, Guinness and you're having a crack and a little more.

Speaker 1 34:42

And the next thing you go fuck me, I'm juiced, I'm done here. I don't know what I got. There's been a few times I've had to be fucking carried home like and going what the fuck? There was one time I was coming. What the fuck? Next thing I know I woke up. My mass at 10 next morning. Someone tagged me on Facebook well mate, how you feeling today. He's like fuck, who's this? I says alright, bye. He says I picked you up, landed on the floor. I said fucking, chinese top of weight rock, I'll bring you up to your mass house. I their masses was that you brought me home.

Speaker 1 35:24

I can't remember getting home, I always love the idea of going off a drink, like just going off it for a year, but I was just going off it forever, forever. I love the idea of doing it what stops? You just.

Speaker 2 35:36

I love a drink the crack, I know.

Speaker 1 35:37

But or like I think I hold on to like this wee like thing, wee like thing where, like I've had so much fucking good crack on, drank, like certain memories like and I go fuck, but then them memories never happen anymore, like it's just like different.

Speaker 2 35:52

With a kid and stuff as well, it's different.

Speaker 1 35:53

There's more like responsibilities and all that with Jim and boxing and this podcast and there's so much going on where I just I would love to, I'm gonna try it like, I'm gonna give it a go at some stage, like get a date on it. I gotta big man. I'm obviously off a drink now. I'm afraid I'll be like that's just like just on the right weeks away. So I'll be eight weeks and I might just, if I feel good, I'm just gonna go fuck it. I'm staying off till you get a big win. You're right.

Speaker 2 36:20

So how would you say? Like becoming a dad changed you, like what did, what changed in you?

Speaker 1 36:25

like, obviously you, you've tuned out, haven't you? Like that's like one one for me. He's fucking, but I want to have more. But I remember like I, I was always someone who would have done what I wanted, like I would go for lunch. Right, marty, let's go for lunch, like from A couple of hours. Yeah, where are you? I'm going to go for something To eat. Go At a hat out For breakfast, lunch and dinner Every day. Don't want to Just floater about the place. And then the tail came.

Speaker 2 36:50

It was during lockdown and then Would you have the kids During lockdown it?

Speaker 1 36:54

was a hospital. And all that kind. I wasn't even let in, so I think she was in for like a full day after as well.

Speaker 1 37:06

I'm a fan for her, so she's traumatised over it, I'm sure so, like she was in the hospital on her own for like 16 hours, had the baby, and then she was in for 24 hours after it and then so I didn't meet my baby until it was like two days, like the day two of being born, and that was like at the door yeah, we even midwife come down with everyone like handed, handed the baby over to me and I had a car seat and I was like what the fuck?

Speaker 2 37:34

it was.

Speaker 1 37:34

January. So it was fucking freezing. I was snapping shorts and we like went and proved colon like this, and I was stamping this fucking baby. She was like I didn't know how to hold a baby. I was like what the fuck? And my car was, I guess, and I was stomping his fucking baby. So the guy's like I don't even know how to hold a baby. I was like Durval, what the fuck? And my car was parked right across the street. I was like, come on, we'll go work in the car. I was stomping my child in maternity for about fucking three hours, no joke, trying to put a car seat in.

Speaker 2 37:54

Oh hair in there and I don't know how to do it. He made his hole and Durv was like no, putter.

Speaker 1 38:01

And I was like Durv, I'm fucking freezing three hours. We were I'm starving, freezing. I was like just fucking. And she was like no, sean, we're not driving until you get that done properly. And I had to go on.

Speaker 2 38:11

I was watching.

Speaker 1 38:12

YouTube. I was watching YouTube videos going. I was going fuck, I don't know how I do it's so stressful. Oh fuck me, you're shitting yourself that's a bit that's only a bit of advice that we give to people before they go and put their kid up. I was like learn how to put that car seat in before you actually pick them up.

Speaker 2 38:31

I couldn't even work the doona. I was trying to get the kid into the doona and the kid started crying. Stop fucking judging me, yeah 100%.

Managing Professional Boxing and Drinking

Speaker 1 38:40

I didn't read the manual. You've had all this fucking time I've been pissy, but ah yeah. And then, but Dervil was phoning me like two or three days later going where are you? And I was like I'm down down in Hatcher getting something to eat. Where are you sure? Yes, I'm in the house. I was like I know why. What's wrong? I was like I've been here from 8 o'clock this morning. You've been out. It's now half 1 or half 2. We were like in the house once. Like I was like we hadn't even opened the gym yet, so I was just boxing. It was just like just a normal routine.

Speaker 2 39:12

It was just a normal routine.

Speaker 1 39:13

I was just out in the barrel like Galiv. I can't even do the dishes, I can't feed myself, because it's. I was like what am I going to do? Alright, I'll fly up now. So I was flying up, she's like I can't run this shop because I can't leave a child lying on its own, and I was like so it took a while for me to get used to.

Speaker 2 39:33

Yeah it's hard.

Speaker 1 39:35

I was just doing my own routine, not thinking about her and the child because in your head it's just like she's sweet, she's built for this stuff.

Speaker 2 39:42

What am I going to do? She was breastfeeding too.

Speaker 1 39:44

So I was like, what am I going to do? But you're not even realising you still have to build a bombier chair. And this went on for weeks and I was like up in my dad's house cups of tea and I'm fucking running to toast sitting there watching TV. I was like you, fucking serious. I was like what? I was like you've been going all morning. I was like what I was like. I'm what I'm like.

Speaker 2 40:04

I can't get nothing done Worst thing you could have said I was like I'll be there in a minute, fucks you. That's hectic.

Speaker 1 40:10

I was fine, but yeah, it was like a big learning curve for me. I was like, fuck me, I actually do need to be here, because she can't get away, you can't get the dishes done, you can't clean, you can't do nothing did she go post?

Speaker 2 40:21

did she have any postnatal or anything like that?

Speaker 1 40:23

you know, I don't know I don't think so, like I don't really think so. I think she was very traumatised about the birth. I can't imagine what that would have been like. She was on the phone to like fucking the hospital for ages and trying to like like well, it was like that and no one was there to remember and all that shit.

Speaker 2 40:40

But I think she's still traumatised over that a wee bit, like the thought of going back is whenever like I want to have more, and she was like, if we have more, I would probably go like private because of that. I mean, I was like it's time consuming, like whenever they're only babies especially with the business as well, like that was just before the business opened and stuff. So then that changes it because your head's like I need to provide, I need to protect.

Speaker 1 41:08

I know that's it that rings a bell and that's why I lost. When I lost my first fight, she was pregnant and it was literally just after that. So she it was. She gave birth on the 13th of January and then I fought on the 18th of February and I my fight was called off the eight times but, like Jamie Conlam was my manager and he was like Sean, don't just call this fight because it's been put off the eight times. Plus, I was making lightweight for the first time.

Speaker 2 41:33

Why was it?

Speaker 1 41:33

because of COVID oh right, right so it was called off in Bolton and then I was training all over Christmas and all and then I got to January. I had to be at the start of the 6th of January in Bolton and it was called off and then it was meant to be like at the end of January in Dubai. So I flew to Dubai and two days before the weigh-in called off again when the red zone member had a fucking that fucking shit.

Speaker 1 42:02

Fucking influencer was saying oh, we're just living our life out here, normal, and then they shut it down.

Speaker 2 42:06

I was out in Dubai over COVID. It was unreal.

Speaker 1 42:08

It was not. That's what it was. I was out there as well, my feet are cold off.

Speaker 2 42:12

We got business flights for like 500 quid.

Speaker 1 42:14

Can't whack it fucking living it up everyone else but after I was in the lockdown so I had to fly home and I was still training again and then she like she had just given birth. And then fucking February and I was just fucked. And then Jamie was like don't just call us fade off. I was like no, because like that's what I was thinking. I need to be away from family. I've been away for fucking months here. I was faking. I called off three. Am I doing here? Why the fuck am I in this ring?

Speaker 1 42:43

really didn't care about anything else, I was just like get me home the fuck after like the third round. I was like get me home, I don't want to be here how many rounds did it? Go seven and I just went taking those off me.

Speaker 2 42:54

I wasn't losing.

Speaker 1 42:55

At that stage it was like I think the judges had me one round up and I was just like get me out of here. I wasn't going like at that stage of the affair it was starting to slip away from me but it was because of my attitude in the ring.

Speaker 1 43:08

I remember like just going, like plus, my coach wasn't around so I was just like get me out of here, get me out, take him off me. People go, why you quit people. People always write to me on tiktok and all quitter and all those stuff. Like, say, I put a post up with me and you next week because I'm all probably running into a quitter, I go sweet, but I just want to get the end gloves off me like I wasn't even getting hurt. I just remember turning around and going get the end gloves off me. The fuck, just pure frustration. I was like take the end gloves off, I don get me home to fuck my child the same people writing that you.

Speaker 2 43:40

What you should do is just get a few screen grabs of what they look like the same twitter it's a pretty toxic platform like for hate and shit big time.

Speaker 1 43:50

I'm like people are like I'm thick skinned. No, I mean it doesn't.

Speaker 2 43:54

It's like water off a duck's back yeah, but it's mad that, like it, it enables people to literally destroy people I know people like like people have fucking there's mental health issues.

Speaker 1 44:04

No rights it like he cares so much about someone he'll never ever see in the lives. It's nuts, it's nuts, it's like I don't think it's pretty solid like it's not really that negative at all yes, but it can be.

Speaker 2 44:17

My Facebook algorithm must be fuckers.

Speaker 1 44:19

All I'm saying is madness same here my I made I only made a Facebook. I got blocked from Facebook so I haven't had a Facebook in years and I made a new one because of the last year's podcast, so I made it like, I tried to make it like a public news like a business page, but they wouldn't let me so I just made it under my own name.

Speaker 1 44:35

But like this, it's for this fucking podcast. My algorithm's just full of head cases, just lunatics from like, like, from where I grew up and turf laws and fuck all these lunatics. And I'm like why is this giving me, why is this attracting me to all these mad fucking lunatics?

Speaker 2 44:50

they're the ones watching the podcast, exactly, yeah but it's just, there's just drama do you know what I mean? It all sorts of like this guy's a creep, this guy's he's a woman baiter. Look at my face he bait me up. I don't want to be, I don't go on Facebook. No, it's horrendous.

Speaker 1 45:09

I just have a connected to my Instagram, so whatever I post on Instagram post directly to Facebook and then I go on. There's like 80 fucking notifications on Facebook. I just click on it and don't even read it, and then I just go straight back to instagram. Yeah, 100 and then tiktok's pretty the same. I don't even look at tiktok. I upload. There's loads and loads of fucking notifications. I just click on them just to get the notifications away I just do blind, just clear it.

Speaker 2 45:31

Oh, it's like sitting on an email list. I can't have like load emails right or whatsapps. I have to have it ran clear all the time like fuck.

Speaker 1 45:37

I see martyrah's phone. He's just loads of unopened messages on WhatsApp and I go Harry, do you live like that? And I mean like loads and loads, and he's like I'm an nightmare for getting back to people and I'm like fucking, get them cleared, the fuck what do you use for, like clan check-ins and stuff now, we just, is it WhatsApp, whatsapp?

Speaker 1 46:01

we have a morning crew, an evening crew, and then there's everyone who our usual members, who do the morning crew, you're all in one, and then we just meet them, send them their food and all that kind of accountability. And then we, every single Friday, we have a meeting, a team meeting and then we'll chat with everyone who we think needs to check in with do you ever um, do I moved away from?

Speaker 2 46:22

I'll tell you what I moved away from and why. But do you not feel like the whatsapp stuff is like nearly impedes in your social too much like because, say, if it's like your missus texting you a couple of? Boys texting you. You know stuff outside of that, or you need to get back to a videographer or a podcast guest or whatever, do you not feel like then? It's like it becomes too much attached to your personal phone, or like, even if you're at home with a kid and then next thing it's like that's why I moved away from it.

Speaker 1 46:47

We set up discord, discord, oh yeah unbelievable.

Speaker 2 46:50

So we'll do it in discord, so like they'll upload a body scan into discord. It's not just one coach responsible for this list of 40 or this list of 30 or whatever, it's now just all the team are. Every single day we're in discord. So the service is so much better. But then what we'll also do is set up zoom calls, attach that, fathom the ai software.

Speaker 2 47:11

It records a zoom call. Get all the notes from the call, upload it in the chat gpt, make it you know in language that we like and then straight into their their channel so much cleaner because that's the way we actually run it.

Speaker 1 47:22

We, the people we are running ads with, they use language that we like and then straight into their channel. It's so much cleaner so I'll show you it after. It's so much better. The people we run all ads with they use discord as well, so they just have, like me and Marty in our own wee personal one, and then they have a full group, one of everyone.

Speaker 2 47:34

They do just like a general a general one.

Speaker 1 47:36

yeah, so like, but it's cleaner, it's cleaner, it's a lot cleaner.

Speaker 2 47:38

I think it's so much better.

Speaker 1 47:39

You don't spend time on it.

Speaker 2 47:41

No, that's the thing, but you're intentional when you are in it. Yeah, you could check in.

Speaker 1 47:45

You're going in there for a reason. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but you're always on WhatsApp, exactly, and then it's like you read my message.

Speaker 2 47:49

Didn't reply.

Speaker 1 47:50

Fuck my girl. No, do you get? You get sucked into so much. It's like like when you see notifications you just get sucked in. Or if you go on to like people who scroll on tiktok I never, ever scroll on tiktok people I don't understand how people do get sucked in.

Speaker 2 48:11

Now, sometimes, if I'm what would suck you in? If you are down the rabbit hole, what is it that'll take you down?

The Challenges of Fatherhood

Speaker 1 48:15

that's funny shit. This is like stupid shit. See people who like hurt themselves. I just laugh and like see if I'm hungover, that's when I'll like lie on the settee just lazy, just scrolling and then laughing. And then myself and Darlene's like what are you laughing at? And I'm like she's like you're sad, like let me see, and I go well, it must be, this is gay she just can't find it for me someone getting someone's fucking back's broke.

Speaker 1 48:40

It's like, seriously, you're pathetic and I'll be like no one sees me. No one sees me and she's going like she just can't get in all the time, like you're a fucking bore, yeah.

Speaker 2 48:49

I just find it funny, but my wee lad.

Speaker 1 48:52

I always show him like stuff like that and he fucking loves that, because I don't let him like go on tiktok and I'm like, like, looking funny stuff. Like, oh, karma's, here, you're not laughing.

Speaker 2 49:00

I did that with kali, or our one was in hospital like last week, a week before she was in for like five days. So I call. He stuck to my hip.

Speaker 1 49:10

And you're then pranksters from australia, you're guys and whatever like whacking each other, with moms and all I just think she was. She's in stitches what's the plans for you going forward, like, obviously you've got so much going on with the business and like your own gym? Have you any ambition to open like a second gym or have you any like? Are you gonna branch out with Evolve? Are you gonna like?

Speaker 2 49:36

yeah, it's a good question. So, like I, I felt like my main goal when I started Evolve was to buy the building. Yeah, like, even though the landlord was like it's never fucking for sale. Lauren. Yeah, I had a good relationship with him. It was like a private tenancy thing.

Speaker 1 49:48

Yeah.

Speaker 2 49:48

And he was like it's never for sale, it's never for sale. And I always, I just always told him it's a bit like you with becoming a boxer. You just always told yourself I'm going to be. I love Ray Kroc, the guy that owns McDonald's. Yeah, just the business model behind it. Whereas they own the property, then they own the business and then they put the right founders in the business. So for me, my ambition is to be like the Ray Kroc of fitness, whereby we purchase up more property. So the business deal. I've got a couple of business deals happening at the minute whereby we're going into the boxing space with Fran Burnett, which I'm absolutely buzzing for. So I kind of helped him set his gym up, built a really good relationship with him, stayed friends. Our kids are friends. Our missus is our friends. You know we'll rip the whiskies at Christmas or whatever.

Speaker 1 50:32

No better man to deal with as well.

Speaker 2 50:34

That's the thing, he's the best he's not even as a, but as a man.

Speaker 2 50:40

I think it's his values that drive me to him. Like anytime, even when I was boxing with him, I was always talking about mindset with him because I, you know, I love personal development, so I was always talking on mindset, talking on, you know, even his, the way he would have prepared for a fight, like speaking to him on it about you know, running through sequences, how the fight was going to be, how the walkout was going to be the night before in the bath, and stuff. Like I find that stuff really fascinating.

Speaker 2 51:05

So you know anyone that's coached or is in the personal training space or a small group space. You will know how lonely it is. You will know how isolating it is. You will know that you feel like you're spinning your wheels, and working more just makes you feel worse over time because you hit burnout.

Speaker 1 51:21

You end up hating it, you do, you resent it, you resent it.

Speaker 2 51:26

And it's not because you don't love the people and you don't value it, it's just when you burn out, you burn out, you burn out. And if you've never worked split shifts before you won't understand that In my career starting out I did two years straight of minimum five days a week of up at half four, home at half ten, 11 o'clock at night, slept in the car. All of that shit miserable. So moving on from that, so we're going into the boxing space. Ran's going to be coming in as co-property owner and then we're going to be doing the boxing 50 50 which you know. I'm there to systemize, scale, lead market, um, and just make sure the product's as good as it could be. I think I don't have any worries on that because ryan's such a good coach to be honest um, and then with evolve, now I'm bringing in a co-founder for that.

Speaker 2 52:15

Now we actually did the deal on sunday, um. So now the thing for me is I need a players around me. I've tried doing it with b's, I've tried doing it with c's, I've tried up skill and I've tried it every different way. I've tried paying them. I've had coaches. I know they're the highest paid coaches in the country.

Speaker 2 52:31

I know they've earned more than gym owners own yeah I earn and it's just got to the point now where I'm like I just want A players, so me having an A player in Jordan who's coming in, an A player in Ran who's coming in. We're so bought into the vision, we're so bought into what we want to do, like it's beyond monetary, because we want to put on tutoring for kids.

Speaker 2 52:49

You know doing some personal development with them, looking after amateurs, looking after semi-pros, ran doing his thing with the pros and then with evolve, just continuing to scale and grow our impact.

Speaker 2 52:59

They're just making sure that people feel like they're stronger, they're living longer, they're more believed in them before they're confident they've got their safe space and I think the two products will marinate well because, albeit like, like you said, this is what I was thinking like, even though your teachers thought you were a cock, right, yeah, when you start performing and they see, hold on, there's more to this guy than what meets the eye. It's easy to back the person. So I think a lot of our clients that'll start to understand these fighters, that they have lives, that they have ambitions, that they're chasing glory yeah, gold medals, world titles, like I think our clients will really tune in yeah, I think that'll be class.

Speaker 2 53:37

I'm excited for that. So the long play for us will be purchase more property and then partner with the right founders to basically scale the businesses. I want to become more of a consultant for the businesses and then, with the one-to-one consultancy, I'm still going to do that. I only want to work with a handful there just to keep it because it's so in depth.

Speaker 2 53:59

It's so in depth and then we've got the marketing agency. I've got a business partner in that it's it's actually doing really well at the minute. So I'm proud of that because I always had a vision for it like my earliest.

Speaker 2 54:09

This is my sorry, ma, but like my earliest school memories were like building posters, yeah. So like I've always loved, I've always loved marketing. I've always loved sales. So it's like just being able to fire my skills and as many people as possible and bring everyone up and just leave the industry a better place, like that's always been my overarching goal, but that's always, I think, when people think of evolve, I like to think that they think of quality and that's always been my, my driving thing be the best, be the best, yeah, yeah definitely we need to bring you up, though you'll love it now you haven't seen it in so long.

Speaker 1 54:42

I've seen it on the videos. I'm like it's fucking class, like it's unreal.

Speaker 2 54:45

You don't do it justice like Ryan will tell you like they don't, it doesn't do it justice. Until you're in there, see it, smell it, feel it, it's like wow, that was a big thing for Ryan. So he came in for the first time in ages and I was like come on in the gym, you see what we've done. He came in. He was like what the fuck have you done? The day after he refurbed his gym, yeah, straight away, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 55:07

But that's what I love, though. I want people to take inspiration from it, of course, of course, and then go and put your spin me, win and do better, and yeah that's why I get so frustrated with there's people around me they're trying to take yeah, because I'm a giver, like I'll give it all.

Speaker 1 55:20

I don't care.

Speaker 2 55:21

You know, I want you to win. Yep, that's when people, when you feel like people pull against that.

Speaker 1 55:25

It's like yeah, yeah, you know, because you can only give so much before you realize there's people taking or not giving back, you know exactly.

Speaker 2 55:32

But they always expose, you know. I always like to always be exposed if someone's like yourself.

Speaker 1 55:36

Like you say, high standards of coaching, high standards of gym, high standards of having clean and tidy. Like ourselves, we're always on the ball, like trying to keep everything in place. Weights need to be put back. Make sure everything's put back in order.

Speaker 2 55:48

Everything's like, everything's just done right yeah, I guarantee you could eat your dinner off the floor in my gym, like it's that it's that level. But we have a great member like she. She looks after the place as well, and then our members are very like. You know what the standard is.

Speaker 1 56:02

You have to keep it that way, or otherwise you don't get ours will be the same, like um, more recently, like more so, in the last few months, last four or five months, just people's just been on the ball and they sort of because there's only so many messages you can send in to like our group chat being like Tim, come on the fuck here, what Get your weights? Do this, do that and then that's like to get it.

Speaker 2 56:24

That's the hardest part of ownership.

Speaker 1 56:26

See where we are See our units Shit hole Like outside of it. We're just constantly on the island. We're constantly like get this clean, get this clean, get this clean and fucking. There's a meal pack company right who's moved down and took up like five minutes and there's fucking the smelly onions and all that make it. It's actually it's it's it's fucking doing my hand.

Speaker 2 56:44

Would you move unit? Or like what's the vision?

Speaker 1 56:46

I would love to move unit like move to a bigger unit and, uh, scale up with something we've spoke about. So it's something that we're looking at at the minute, but, as I say, we've got, we're, we're past the break in our clothes. So it's something that we're looking at at the minute, but, as I say, we've got, we're, we're past the break in our clause.

Speaker 2 57:01

In your lease?

Speaker 1 57:02

Yeah, our lease, so it's. It was a we're. We're in year five now, I think, and we're with the year, but we had a 10 year lease round, so we're sort of just trying to figure that out first round reviews are, or what's that like? It is hard, aye, but your man who's beside us is just tucking in off every single unit, bar ours and carpet work carpet work have fuck on everything everywhere, carpet everywhere and stuff like that.

Speaker 1 57:28

But, as I say, we need to find a unit ourselves first would you try and purchase a building?

Speaker 2 57:33

spoke about it as well, see having done it, I don't think like for scale. I won't do it without that yeah because you're wide open, like so many gym owners I know, even from like london, from consulting and stuff like that. There's maybe like three years in a lease, they're trying to get a new lease and they can't get one like they cannot say they're.

Speaker 1 57:50

You're very lucky to have known the landlord on a personal level, because very, very few people are trying to or gonna sell, you know I think the big thing for me was the only reason we actually got it.

Speaker 2 58:03

I remember getting a phone call and he was like listen, your first refusal. Here's me, you're joking. I was like why is it so? He had, uh, set up another industrial estate, got a massive contract for a transport company that wanted the they needed basically to do an additional extension and he put a lot of his liquid into it, so he needed the capital.

Speaker 1 58:23

You can have it.

Speaker 2 58:26

You can have it. But here it's fucking scary because like you've got your minimum 30% deposit and then you've got your. Vat, so I think the VAT on mine alone like I remember getting the VAT bill for it.

Speaker 1 58:38

I don't know it's probably paying the fuck on 30%, but then when the fucking VAT comes in on top of that, you don't really calculate that it's that part of it. You're like what the fuck's this for?

Speaker 2 58:47

I know I didn't.

Speaker 1 58:48

This isn't even benefiting you, at least the 30% is benefiting you because it's yours, but this VAT like what the fuck?

Speaker 2 58:55

was that I didn't find out about the VAT until it was like a Friday night. I was going to sign in Ballymena with the solicitor. I wasn't, couldn't believe it. It had all unfolded.

Speaker 1 59:06

I have my earlier second thoughts. Give me back my capital. I was like give it back.

Business Growth and Future Plans

Speaker 2 59:14

He had the contract put in front of me and he was just like uh huh, uh huh, orne, did you see this? What the fuck is this? And he was like yo, this class class thanks for that. Friday night felt like fucking jumping off a bridge, fucking brutal. It is brutal but it's. I think it's like there's so many highs and lows in business and I think if you can have that courage and faith in yourself and just not faint, just dig in just push, just persevere, no matter how bad it gets.

Speaker 2 59:47

there's always your worst days are always followed by your best, and I think that's the big thing that you have to stay in tune with and focused on. Like it's like your highest highs in boxing didn't come because without the lowest lows.

Speaker 1 59:58

So was life type thing, you know yeah so it's always a good mindset to have, like if you can scale, like if you can, just if you can wait, if you can just ride the wave of the lows, of lows, like it's just, that's part of it. Yeah, I mean, it's not the end of the world, you know. They understand that like not, like there's no end. They were it's just like I have a good, positive attitude that way, like it'll be right.

Speaker 2 1:00:18

You know what I mean do you think the big thing with the business side of thing is, like you know, for you to grow to the next level in the next stage, you have to become a new version of you, like a new identity that you have to create probably.

Speaker 1 1:00:30

Yeah, like obviously like a lot of my even my socials is all like a lot of it's like podcasting, boxing very little on the gym. Obviously jim has his own page and stuff, but like people don't know me as a coach, like yeah people wouldn't know me as like.

Speaker 1 1:00:43

That's true. I like I wouldn't call myself a pt. I'm not a pt. I don't train people, I'm coaching our gym. People go to me, message me religiously. Mate, did you one of the ones? Mate, do you one of the ones? I just nope, nope, nope. I can't get the time, but obviously my main. Whenever we first opened the gym I said to Marty like my main ambitions, boxing like first, first boxing first always like once I retire, like I'll give everything.

Speaker 1 1:01:11

I still give everything while I can you give what you can you give 100%, the 100% days, yeah and obviously it's like obviously I would love to learn all new skills like marketing and I would love to go down and do a course of some sort, maybe learn marketing and shit like that and even learn how to do Facebook ads myself and learn all this shit myself. But right now I just like I'm getting fucking wazzed about everywhere. I just like I'm getting fucking whizzed about everywhere. Boxing is so time consuming, like you're training twice a day.

Speaker 2 1:01:40

You have to fit your meals in around that.

Speaker 1 1:01:42

Fit your meals all around that, family around it, family chill gym fucking podcasts. And like last year when I we started this podcast, it was I had no fights in faith for 14 months. I didn't know when the next time I was going to faith why was there such a delay? Because I fought. I fought at Robbery in New York. I should have won in New York. I would have put me on. I would have put me on the big money, your man, teddy Atlas, even came out and spoke, I would have won that, I would have been different.

Speaker 1 1:02:12

But I lost on a controversial decision. And then all the other fighters were like I'm fighting him because now I lost my ranking. Ah yeah.

Speaker 2 1:02:21

And then it was like you were the danger of the dangerous fight.

Speaker 1 1:02:24

I'm just a brown skin for people yeah, and I was like I have. No, I have no promoter in.

Speaker 2 1:02:28

I remember watching you in Belfast and I texted you your walkout was the best walkout for me like that, tell me coming out, mike Wee Girl is obsessed with that song too, so even

Speaker 1 1:02:37

hearing you. It was a great show as well. It was amazing. Some great fights. I really enjoyed that. The four TV shows were brilliant. I really enjoyed that. But like it's fucking so it's this year came out. It was fitted perfectly at that time. But then now, even now, it's like there's loads happening, the boxing's coming thick and fast again, or or in the world like a same or new promoter. I fought like six weeks ago and fought in the end another like seven weeks where is the fight in seven?

Speaker 1 1:03:01

weeks Sheffield and then they've already got like a two European title fight with Adam back in the top ten in the world. They're already talking about me defending it if I win in December here in Belf. Now boxing's like whoa, and it's like I've probably got three years left at most. What age are you? 33. 33, today it's my birthday.

Speaker 2 1:03:23

Is it Happy birthday Happy birthday. Yeah, I'm fucking serious, I didn't know 33 a couple of weeks ago. Aye so Look on every bit of it. I'm fucking feeling 43 to be fair.

Speaker 1 1:03:38

Yeah, so it's all go now with boxing and I'm happy. It's a man thing. This is all I wanted. For the last 14 months I've been crying like a face. I've got the opportunity and I want to go in and I'll do it like all in. That's amazing. So it's as I say, the last 14 months was easy to be able to navigate stuff and I'll do this, I'll do that, and then it all comes out and it's like, like the last few weeks, I'm really feeling it like I'm over. I was in Amsterdam all last week training, having to get all the lads to go in and cover my shifts, chip in and cover the shifts which they're doing for a play, and then I'm back here this week because one of the lads are off on holiday and I did you hear your man, jeff Bezos.

Speaker 2 1:04:16

He spoke on a podcast not that long ago and he was talking about signal versus noise talking about signal being like the 80% of stuff you should be focused on and then just getting out of that noise, which is the 20%. So if you're looking at your life now and you're looking at all the things that are important and immediate now, it's like what is the signal stuff versus what is the noise stuff, and how can you get as little noise?

Speaker 2 1:04:42

noise as possible out you know what I mean. So it's like who are the people that can help you? You know, who do you need to communicate? To what do you need to delegate more?

Speaker 1 1:04:49

yeah, you know, trying to like zone in on that with, with Dervla working, see, working, see. I have this thing in my head where, like, she works, fucking a full time job. She's a TV producer, she sings as well. I can't take that away from her that's something she does, that's her identity. That's who she does and that's what she does, and she fucking probably earns more than me, but I leave her to it.

Speaker 2 1:05:09

I've just been stay at home, dad, the gold stay at home, fucking drink tins of harp all day drink tea, tea fuck that.

Speaker 1 1:05:18

Tins of harp, no, but it's just like. Like I booked to go to Amsterdam last week, but I booked on a Sunday. I'm at the Monday. She was like what the fuck? You haven't even like communicated with me and that's my problem. I'm like I have a bar, I have bar communication. That way, if I have something I'm doing, it, it's in your head, it's getting done and I was. It was wrong of me, it was wrong of me to do that without even like she's like nah you've just fucked everything on me.

Speaker 1 1:05:46

How am I going to deal with it? He's off school. I have to bring him here. I was like we'll get it sorted. But you in your head it's a bit more than just you. Now I know, and it's like so you need, I need to have better communications with, like you say, and communicate with the right people. Yeah, they maybe can't let that noise and just keep it 100%.

Speaker 2 1:06:08

I would just look at my over the last or even over the next couple of weeks, just list out everything you're doing and then just kind of look at like circling, like what is signal, what is noise, and then if it's noise circle, it put it into the noise category and then, once you get them categorized, then just be like right, who can help with this?

Speaker 1 1:06:25

and then just design it well, like today, just as you're saying that, I didn't do it in that way. I wasn't thinking that I never heard that until you said it. But I trained this morning, first part this morning, because it's and it was only sort of time we'll back. So I said I'm going to train again tonight before when the gym and coach. But after my training session, my boxing session, I went on, sat in the bag for like 15 minutes my legs on the bag just sweating out of me, cooling down. I sat my phone with through my calendar and through couple of weeks and I've just attached to everybody.

Speaker 2 1:06:57

So it's in writing it's in black on white there's it there, and then I've already.

Speaker 1 1:07:03

I've got notes on my phone. We have a team meeting tomorrow in the gym, so I'll go in the gym tomorrow. I've got all my notes down for the meeting, what we need to go over, and then I'll also cover any shifts that need covering for me being away boxing, whereas before I just dropped on people a day or two before when other people have shit going that's where I'm at. It's not inconsiderate, it's just it's, you're don't thinking.

Speaker 1 1:07:25

It's just if someone says to me here like if marty for me, can you go down to. That was just like when there was no fights was like I was that, oh, I could just drop stuff, and that's not possible. So I've just I've had to learn really quick to just go like fuck me. This isn't, it's actually getting me a headache and it's pressure of going like fuck like Pete texted me my coach going when are you coming over again? I'm going to come to you this weekend and I'm going right. Okay, it was just madness.

Speaker 2 1:07:56

Do you plan? You're like, do you plan like, so I'll plan tomorrow tonight, do you do?

Speaker 1 1:08:02

any of that. That's fucking mental to me. I just go up and wing it.

Speaker 2 1:08:05

Do you?

Speaker 1 1:08:06

And that's why that's why you're feeling overwhelmed though. That's why you should have like a weekly. I'll send you some stuff Like an itinerary, like I'm doing. They should know, so we know what we're doing with the chair like this morning.

Speaker 1 1:08:24

I got up, I was like right, going to the gym first part of this morning, running at 6, trained at 7, home for 8, got charged, had my breakfast woke the chair up. Dervil got up, she's away to the gym and I've stuck with chale hanging back in the gym at half nine coast at half nine left at half ten fucked with chale, my dad. My dad wasn't in but I hadn't even asked my dad, I'm in the chale. So I was like what am I doing here? Like what's going on? And I was like fuck, like that's my. I was like Right, too much noise, just too much noise. Too much fucking noise. 80% noise, 20% signal. I'm on the fuck seat, it's too expensive.

Speaker 2 1:09:07

I'll send you some stuff.

Speaker 1 1:09:08

I'll send you some stuff today. I need it, cause I'm fucking over. Do you use Google?

Speaker 2 1:09:12

Calendar. Yeah Well, a big empty calendar, a big empty thing, fuck on it.

Speaker 1 1:09:18

I don't know, big Andy. I don't know, big Andy. People are going to be. Well, what do you like At the end? Hatch? Oh fuck, I've also had coffee. I'm free all month. I'm free all month. Go ahead Whatever you want. That's hilarious. See, I was telling you About the workshop. Pete Taylor's on the Workshop, now Jim Right Boxing workshop. Pete Taylor's on the workshop, now Jim right boxing workshop. Pete Taylor's a genius. He obviously coached Katie multiple world titles and Olympic titles and he's fucking.

Speaker 2 1:09:47

He's a phenomenal coach what makes him just sorry to cut you off, but what makes him that level of coach, like what's the his?

Speaker 1 1:09:55

understanding of boxing, every single, every single style of boxing. He knows it. Say if I'm sparring and Pete tells me to do something, I'll do it there, and then I don't need, even if it's something I don't do, I just do it. And it's like the vision he can see, what he can see, he opens, he knows like, he knows how to just understands people, like how to attack same hand, same leg, opposite leg, how to counter attack.

Speaker 1 1:10:24

He knows again, he knows when to attack double attack attack, counter attack, attack, like what he brings. The coaching is just unbelievable. It's stuff that no one else in the world's doing no one, no one else in this world's doing. But he coaches like absolutely not, and that's why the workshop will be fucking unbelievable.

Speaker 2 1:10:41

He's just going to be? Send me some details on that.

Speaker 1 1:10:44

He's a genius, it's mind-blowing for any coach in the world. I've been to England, over to England, and I've been with different coaches and I'm just like what he does is different, what he teaches is just like it's second to none. And, as I say, as ram brunette reached out doing stuff as well, so yeah, they're all going to go on and be good like, but I was telling patty gallop. So I said the party. So patty was like, oh for me. And that, what did you say? He says I mean, pete's done, it's a seventh, seventh of july or seventh september, sorry. And then he's like, oh, he's done, you and peep me on. And then Derval turned around and goes me, are you for real? I was like what he's like, sean, we're away to Copeland the 7th of September.

Speaker 2 1:11:23

I'm out.

Speaker 1 1:11:24

You have her head wrecked she was like we're away to Copeland the 7th of September. I've been telling you this for months and we've booked. Alright, fuck, I made a tax pay here's where I tax pay. I can't go. I'm wearing a coat and he's like, oh, it's alright, if you want, we can. I was like, no, just you do it. You do it on your own in our gym, and fucking hell. I'm just that's what I mean like I don't just not, I don't swing it.

Speaker 2 1:11:48

I just I'll wing it so he sent me some stuff and I'll love you for it. Yeah, she'll continue to hate me, but she'll love me for it. Mate, honestly, I have journaled probably every day, give or take maybe one or two for the last like eight years at least. I have no choice. I'm too ADHD, like. If I don't have structure, I am like I know.

Speaker 1 1:12:14

I know in my life the last eight years. You've been structured for a year. I know In my life, the last eight years, how the fuck you've got this far. You've been structured For a year. I know how you've got this far. See, if someone, when you go shaking, they say I'll get those wet and I literally can't get.

Speaker 2 1:12:24

Have you got Trello? Trello's good, though, I'll show you that as well.

Speaker 1 1:12:28

I don't fuck. I just Honestly, I just get up and go, I get up in the.

Speaker 2 1:12:35

I have no answers for people because they don't even know what I'm doing. That's madness. I would not cope with it. That's why you're feeling overwhelmed. I know just no structure.

Speaker 1 1:12:43

It's hit me now like when the boxing's all gone back and I'm trying to really prioritise boxing but, I, can't, because there's no structure and I've got a fucking four year old sitting at home.

Speaker 2 1:12:52

Is he just absorbing everything as well? I?

Speaker 1 1:12:54

know he'll see, but I, I don't feel any pressure. I feel overwhelmed, but it's not like.

Speaker 2 1:13:01

I don't get it.

Speaker 1 1:13:01

I'm just like fucks over actually I'll be alright, it'll sort itself out have you got loads of time?

Speaker 2 1:13:06

they say that the most important time in years with the kids is like 0 to 4 to really signify that bond. Do you feel like you've really nailed down first?

Speaker 1 1:13:16

four years? Yeah, definitely, Because I bring him. I just incorporate him into my life every day. He's with me every single day. That's amazing. Without fail unless I'm away.

Speaker 2 1:13:26

Yeah, but he's like it's bound to be hard when you're away too, though.

Time Management and Overwhelming Schedules

Speaker 1 1:13:29

Oh it is hard, but he's with me every single day without fail. That's beautiful. I've got such a space, a big space, throughout the day between mornings and evening classes, so throughout that whole time I'm with him like that's mint, and a lot of times I just bring him in they do me yeah, yeah, yeah, he loves it, so that'll be part of it because it's like it's good for him to see like people exercising, people moving, the importance of it.

Speaker 2 1:13:51

Yeah, that's why I said a lot of our clients it's so. We're so lucky that, like we took an interest in sport and then it continued into snc and strength work and conditioning work, but like we pour that into our kids and the people around us, obviously. But like, if you go to like our parents, yeah, and then their parents like they grew up smoking on fucking airplanes so like there was no conversations around health and fitness. You know it was paints.

Speaker 1 1:14:15

You were brought to the public. You know exactly public, exactly KP nuts. And fucking. What are you begging rashers? Still brought carpety and pulled nails. Still bring him down for a pint. He's come with me chicken nuggets and chips two pints of harp we take anytime.

Speaker 2 1:14:31

We're temple Patrick now like so anytime we drive past the rabbit Cali's like are we going to the rabbit. I'm like hold on every week membership fucks yeah it's good, it's good.

Speaker 1 1:14:43

But listen, I'm glad to hear you're fucking, you're crushing it.

Speaker 2 1:14:46

I appreciate it, man. We'll definitely bring you up.

Speaker 1 1:14:48

Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting up.

Speaker 2 1:14:50

I'll send you some stuff as well to get you out of this chaos as well yeah, fuck, I need it, but I'm hanging on for whatever hair I have left.

Speaker 1 1:14:57

It's fucking. Will you go to Turkey? I probably will. Aye, fuck's sake, give me a shot. Get any more dicks in the head in this next fight, the fucking last bit of hair will fall off. So I could be after this one. Yeah, but listen, I appreciate you coming on lad making a journey down and it's been great chatting and catching been.

Speaker 2 1:15:16

We'll definitely get you up to the gym and stuff and shoot the shit and do some stuff in the future.

Speaker 1 1:15:20

It's awesome thank you so much for having me see you later.