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The Unqualified Podcast with Leon Wilson
Leon wrestles topics affecting every day Christian people from his humble perspective. His testimony started in inner city hardship, and God brought him from the bar room brawls to a Bible Preacher. Joined by his wife Ashley they bring a unique look at life through the lens of the Bible. Leon will provide a platform for christians who are willing to share their testimonies to encourage others.
The Unqualified Podcast with Leon Wilson
S2 Episode 33 | Tanner Owens
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S2 Episode 33 | Tanner Owens. In this episode Christian MMA FighterTanner "The Hammer" Owens joins Pastor Leon to discuss life inside and outside the ring. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS IT!
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Hello and welcome to the Unqualified Podcast with Leon Wilson. That's me. Thank you for all the support that you've given us. This uh podcast wouldn't be possible without the folks who join and and like and subscribe and comment and all those kinds of things. And and it's especially awesome when we have guests. And uh today we have a returning guest who is uh world renowned and uh and I'm excited about that. Excited about this interview. We've been uh we've uh been communicating about it, trying to trying to hammer down a date and everything else. But ladies and gentlemen, you've met him before, and now you get to see him again. He's grown a complete year, and uh, we're excited to enter to what reintroduce uh Mr. Tan Rollins. How are you?
SPEAKER_03I'm great, glad to be back on the podcast, of course.
SPEAKER_01Man, yeah. Um, so what has the Lord done in your life now?
SPEAKER_03It's been uh going good with fighting. Uh fought a lot more, won a lot more, of course. Uh I think last time I was going to Brazil, I went to Brazil and won worlds. My goodness. Of course. I fought I fought against Ukraine and Brazil. That's the only two countries I fought against, but I beat them both. So I got to win that world title, thankfully. Because last time I slipped and fell and lost at uh Indonesia. Yeah. But this time I finally got it back.
SPEAKER_01Outstanding. Outstanding. Um, so I I noticed that you brought a couple of trinkets with you. Show those off, man. What you what you got? All right.
SPEAKER_03So we'll start with uh my first belt ever and we'll talk about that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Okay, that'd be fine. We'll work our way through them. I'm excited about it. Goodness.
SPEAKER_03This is my first one ever. Uh I've always, whenever I first started MMA, I always wanted a belt. And like I remember my dad would um like you know, like the uh lifting belts, and I would get it and like pretend it was it was a real belt. But um, I won this one in 2024 in Milwaukee. Wow. It was um probably one of the hardest fights I've ever had to fight for this belt. Goodness. It was hard. I fought three kids that day, and I fought this. The first guy I fought, the one of the best wrestling I've ever seen. He was really good. Subbed him, third round, second guy. He was he was good. What is as good as the first guy? TK'd him, second round, and then the third guy I went to uh decision to finally win this. My goodness. Yeah, it's sick. This belt's probably like this belt, this belt has something to my heart. Yeah. Just because like it was my first one, and it was probably one of the hardest ones I've I've ever fought for. Alright, so now I'm gonna go to the next year.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, let's do it. You can those things are so heavy you can hear when they hit the ground, bro. You have to tote those things around. Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_03Alright, so this is the uh 2025 national. I won this in Ohio. I think I had both of these. I did. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, yeah, I had two belts. So I this is this is the these two I already had. But this was uh my 2025. This is probably one of the easiest. Really? I subbed two kids in the first round.
SPEAKER_01My goodness.
SPEAKER_03But they're both like good. They're both um one kid I don't remember where he's from, but the next kid was from Mexico, and he was like really known in Mexico, and I and I uh subbed him with a rolling anaconda. It was pretty sick.
SPEAKER_01Nice, nice. He ain't done, y'all. He ain't done.
SPEAKER_03This one is uh the one I won this year in South Carolina for nationals. Bought some really good kids, but beat them all, thankfully. So that gives me the ticket for this year to go to Spain.
SPEAKER_01Nice, thankfully.
SPEAKER_03But I also won another belt this year, of course.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, show it off, man. Show it off.
SPEAKER_03So all the other ones are national titles, so it's like that's youth MMA, and it's a little bit different than this one because those are just like no headshots and it's body, but it like grants bigger opportunities and stuff. This one is Showcases 135 kickboxing champion. Nice championship. This is like um like an adult belt. Yeah, I fought this Venezuelan guy, he was he was really good. He was 24 years old. We fought all five rounds. I won all every round. It was uh probably one of my funnest fights I've ever had. It was sick. But so I won this, and so now here soon, whenever I can, I'm gonna try to defend it or win more, whatever they want. So yeah, and then like so I put this belt up a lot to fight, you know, because um this one's actually like a real those other ones are not like they're real, but they're like more like medals, yeah, in a sense. But this one's more, it's like rankings. I got you. So that I had the belt, and so that means other people have to come and like try to like get it from me. Yeah. And I've put it up three times, two or three times, and no one will take the fight. Really? No one will take the fight, thankfully.
SPEAKER_01Man, yeah.
SPEAKER_03So it's uh it's fun to of that one too. That was probably I like that one a lot because that was probably one of my hardest training camps I've ever had. Yeah, we trained hard for that belt, thankfully. And I needed it too.
SPEAKER_01Where do you do your training at?
SPEAKER_03Revolution martial arts, one of the best gyms ever, of course.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if it if it if it wasn't, you wouldn't stay, would you?
SPEAKER_03Uh-uh. No, it's uh I think if if you're gonna get your kids in anything or like you just want to try it out, definitely I think Revolution, there's no other gym like it, of course.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. That's awesome. So um when it comes to working out, training, and all that kind of stuff, um, other than your you know, fight, you know, technical um fighting, things like that, stand up and uh and and wrestling jujitsu and all that. Um what what part of the training is like bittersweet? Like I hate doing it, but I see the results.
SPEAKER_03To be honest with you, I mean it's the biggest part in MMA, but it sucks sometimes to train is cardio. Yeah. Sucks because it's not like just regular cardio, you gotta do like different stuff for MMA. It's there's not another sport like it to train because it's it's it's really hard. I mean, yeah, the cardio for it, we push ourselves like further than I can explain. Like it's it's crazy how hard the cardio is, in my opinion. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I remember going to several gyms and and stuff back in the day. Um and one of the things that I I liked doing, but I wouldn't want to be made to do it. Yeah, it is uh the the sledgehammer on the like tractor tire kind of thing. I man, you know, seeing seeing that old school, you know, just really it's like your corn fed kind of training and everything. And and it's it's bittersweet, but you know you're using muscles you wouldn't normally use. And then, you know, like you you feel the results in your traps and your tries, everything else, and and it's just like and in your back. I mean, it you know, muscles in your back you wouldn't normally use it other than you know when you're when you're wrestling and and practicing your ground game and and everything like that's that's a little bit different, but yeah, but when you when you're training that you know those types of of training, you know, flipping the tire and all these other things, uh the uh what is it, battle ropes and battle ropes suck. Yeah, I hate those. It's like yeah, everybody likes doing them when they're not doing them. You know, like let's do battle ropes. No, let's not. Uh so what's your favorite? What's the one you you just like go to? Like, I I can't wait to get to this workout.
SPEAKER_03Um, I'll be honest with you, like workout-wise, I love to hit back because it's the biggest to me, it's one of the biggest parts in MMA, and it's one of the funnest slips you got. Yeah. But my like my other thing for battle ropes is something called a uh I think it's called like a Tabata. It's you'll have a time and then you'll do 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off. And it doesn't sound that hard in theory, but when you do it, yeah, it's hard. It gets really, really hard. Yeah. I hate that more than anything. But that's like that type of cardio is probably one of the biggest things closest to MMA. Because when you actually fight, it's you you've never been more tired. Yeah. And it doesn't even matter. Like most people can come in the in the uh gym and train for hours, you know, and you think you're good and stuff like that. Then when you go fight, that cardio is a different thing. Yeah. Because like obviously, like my forearms, they're shot after. Like there's so there's so much more tired than I I can ever do in the gym.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, it's it it wears you slap out. Of course. And and I think when you're in the ring, when you're either in the ring or in the octa don octagon, or if you're on the mat, when you hear that that 10-second slap, uh that might as well just be music in your ear because you're like, okay, I'm giving it everything I got, leaving nothing on the table, and then I'm going to my corner and and I'm gonna do whatever people do and and take a breath or whatever. Um, so is your team the same? Everybody who's in your corner is uh are they the same this year?
SPEAKER_03Or oh yeah. So I I still got I got Jonathan Hensley, known as homie. Then we got Jimmy Fowler, he's uh the main coach at the gym, and then um Max, he's always in my corner, my best friend too, of course. Nice, and then um that's really like the main people that's in my corner. Then in the gym, like there's a whole bunch of people that's like training and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So we're um we're we're gonna get to the testimony side of things, but um I I think it's important that we that we talk about, you know, all of this. All of this is is you so um we talked about we talked about your training and and all this other stuff. Now on the um on the school side and everything else, how's that going this year?
SPEAKER_03It's going good. So I set up my classes this year so I can get out at like it's like 12 30. So I can train more, work a little bit more and get get more money and stuff like that. And that's also helped me out a lot. And then my teachers, you know, they're really chill about the fighting and they like they help work around my schedule, if that makes sense. And then my mom owns her own business, so I can she helps me pick and choose what days I can train and also work at the same time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, good. That's awesome. So uh any anything else as far as like your future that has changed since the uh last time you were on?
SPEAKER_03No, I mean still want to fight. That's my biggest goal, but I haven't we haven't talked about Brazil.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Let's let's go ahead and go ahead and just let the cat out of the bag.
SPEAKER_03The medal, this is I love gamma. Yeah, they kind of did craft the metal this year. I will give them that. Last year they craft the medals. But this is a world title. I know it doesn't look like much, but this is something I won in Brazil when I fought for U I fought against Ukraine and uh Brazil, and it was like insane. I got my eye, I think it's it's one of my eyes, but I had me and this guy headbutted and split my eye open in the first fight. So then I still had I had to go fight the other fights with my eyes split. Yeah. It was just crazy because they like you're not supposed to be able to fight still, but I still did, and they like had to like put super glue in it and Vaseline it up. Yeah. But it was probably one of the funnest events I've ever had. It was so fun to go with because you know, sang out with my friends, my coaches, my mom and dad, yeah, and um still got the fight. It was um it was so much fun. I'm I'm glad I I got that experience to um say I got the fight in Brazil.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, so when you uh when you go into Spain?
SPEAKER_03That's a good question. Let me look at the thing. I should have had this before. It's all right, but um it's kind of like I had to get this for my teachers because I kind of forgot. Yeah, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_01But did you like Brazil at all? And like did you get to look around, stuff like that?
SPEAKER_03Of course. I wanted to go to the um like the Jesus, the standing Jesus with his hands out. Yeah, we were we were really near it, but I just I didn't get to go. The Spain's not like close, it's about like three months away. It's about three or four, yeah, but still we gotta start fundraising, getting money for it. So it is it's December 9th through the 13th, is when we're gonna be in Spain. So it's gonna be insane the fight.
SPEAKER_01December 10th is a very um special date for me because I graduated basic training in AIT um in Fort Benning, Georgia, and be and became a United States Army infantryman on December 10th. So you getting to go down December 9th. Now we're we're we're that close to being like a different kind of brother, dude. So uh I'm excited and and I'm looking forward to it. I'm praying about it. You know, we're I'm gonna pray that some that the Lord does something just crazy amazing. So um tell me tell me about your walk with the Lord. Like, how's that going this year this year? Do you feel closer? Do you feel like you know, um mature? Do you is there is there an aspect of ministry that you're like guided toward and and and how that life is going?
SPEAKER_03Just you know, yeah, it's going good. Still, my biggest thing is the Jesus shirt. I feel like um, cuz this is my sponsor shirt, this is what I sell for like to make money so I can go and stuff like that. But I told my mom whenever we started doing it, I was like, I want my number one sponsor on my shirt. Yeah, and that's Jesus, of course. And um, I don't know, it's like all these belts and stuff are cool and I love them, but I could never do anything. I couldn't get up in the morning if I didn't have Jesus, and I think people need to need to realize that more because I mean I think we I think we take for granted what we have and we want more, but we don't realize like what we do have. Yeah. Because I mean, even even if I didn't train or nothing, he still gets me up for a reason. I might not know that reason right then, but he still gets me up, and that's like that's my biggest thing is I just need to give more thanks to him because it gets me up every morning, and sometimes I don't want to go to school, but he still makes me, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. Like, um your gym and everybody like um are all them like on board with with your walk with Christ, and you know, do they do they ask you for prayer, all that kind of stuff?
SPEAKER_03Like, yeah, but and also every time I go to fight, it's really cool to see everybody come together and wear their shirts. That's another part of it. Yeah, it's like whenever I go to walk out and I see everybody have their shirts on, or I see people that will like send me pictures if I'm over if I'm overseas or something like that. That's the coolest feeling ever, just to know that like something that little has helped people. Maybe it has or if it hasn't, but in my mind, if it does anything, I hope it I hope it does help someone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I think it's epic. I think um in a world where it's so cool to be everything else, and that you know, it it in in I'm just gonna say it in in mainstream America, in mainstream world, it's about having your face on a church on a shirt, your face on a flyer. Um, but there is something different about saying, oh no, no, no, y'all, y'all, it's not about me, it's about him. And to be able to, you know, just project it back and say, no, no, no, I don't deserve all this attention. I'm here, but I'm an advocate for the Lord. And and I think that's epic. And I and I commend you for doing that because I I know what the pressure is like and and all that kind of stuff. And you know, it's easy to become a sellout in today's world. And you know, back in the day, you we used to anybody change who they were at all to any degree, you're a sellout, you know. Yeah, and and today that's like you either sell out or get canceled. Have you had uh much pushback on the Jesus shirt?
SPEAKER_03Um, I mean, sometimes, especially like with fighting, it's like in some like organizations, they don't want you uh having like your religion on something. And I hate that more than anything. Yeah, because it's like it's my it's my right. I can have a I can have my my uh religion on me. I don't understand why I can't do that. So I've had some people like not let me wear shirts to fight in or something like that. I remember Homie, we fought in uh Brazil, he was fighting and he had a uh cross shirt on. They make it they made him take it off.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_03But the same day I fought with the Jesus shirt on. So it made no sense that they wouldn't let him wear a cross shirt, but me wear my Jesus shirt. But that's probably my biggest thing is like organizations won't let you wear it. So I've been thinking about getting I've been thinking about getting this design tattooed because they can't say no then.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. It's either you either I'm gonna be in the fight or you're gonna have to have somebody else and it's not gonna be the same, you know. Like of course, so do whatever you do. Um, tell me about uh how's it feel to be older? Like what are you doing now? You drove here by yourself and all this other, and I didn't see any parents around. It's like you know, here my guy Tanner's like just growing up on us and everything. So what's life like as how old are you? Tell me 17. So how's life as a 17-year-old?
SPEAKER_03It's good, but I mean, I've gotten older, but nothing's really changed. Still just training, trying to just work towards my goals. Because I really want to try to do this for a living. I want to fight pro, I want to fight in the UFC wherever I can. Whatever I can do to do that, I want to do. So I mean, I might be older, but nothing's really changed, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's good.
SPEAKER_03That's good.
SPEAKER_01What el what else is on your mind to talk about?
SPEAKER_03Um, I don't know. I just want people to understand that how much Jesus is there for you. And I think people forget.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So I think we need to give him more glory. Even me sometimes, like I definitely have like not given him the glory when I should. So I feel like people need to get they need to get closer to God more because I I understand how people get far away from him. I think people need to stop giving them their self the spotlight and realize that he's doing everything in your life. Yeah, he's waking you up in the morning, he's he's helping you get through the day, and no one understands that. Yeah. Because no one understands like your life can be taken like that and snap up a snap of a finger.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I don't know. And I just also want to help, you know, get sponsors and stuff like that. I need to get sponsors for Spain. Yeah. So I thought, and also it's just fun to come on here and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01I remember when you when you first came on, you were like, Man, I'm nervous. You know, I here's a guy that gets he gets in the ring, you know, going toe to toe and and all is subbing dudes and and you know, busting them up and all this other stuff. And he's like, Man, I don't know. I'm kind of nervous about this, you know, like and um I I think the one of the most dangerous dudes I ever served with in my life is deathly afraid of needles. And uh that's what it reminds me of. And um here's you know, we they came, it came time of year, it was mandatory, everybody gets their flu shots. So we're all lining up, we're on the range, they like ambushed us basically. We're on this range and we're doing whatever grunts get to do, and you know, shooting downrange. And then they're like, everybody line up. I'm like, oh, what's going on? So next thing you know, we're going to the back of this little SUV, and there's a girl there giving everybody flu shots, mandatory. You got no, you got no choice. You're getting it. Yeah. And so he's in front of me. This dude squared away. He's like John Wayne, uh, you know, like just Rambo, just one of them guys, like just good old boy, country boy. And uh, and he leans on the on the tailgate of this vehicle, and they're like, You all right, sergeant? He's like, Nah. He's he's then he sits up there, and she's like, You good? You ready? So then he's like, nope. He sits down, he gets down onto the ground, sits Indian style, and holds on to him. He says, Go ahead, I'm gonna wind up down here anyways, because he was just deathly afraid. And uh, but the thing is, after the shot, I'm like, dude, you good? He's like, Yeah, I'm like, that wasn't that bad. You know, like at least they know what they're doing. Um, but you know, in your case, you know, you you you rocked out the the first interview. You're rocking it out now. I'm proud of you, I'm proud of who you are. I'm proud that you you stand up for what you believe in, and you're not afraid to to to say, hey, I'm gonna serve my Lord and I'm gonna represent my Lord and all those kinds of things. And honestly, Tanner, I I believe wholeheartedly that people ought to be lining up to you know try to have your have your back and and the lock arms with you to uh to help you in in this ministry. Because who's to say fighting can't be a ministry? I I look at like UFC and and all this others, and it who's your biggest influence in the UFC that that reps Christ?
SPEAKER_03Um Houston Jones, Stephen Thompson, not Houston Jones, God. They did a like a collaboration and I always get their names mixed up, but Steven Thompson, he's a um he's one of my favorite fighters. I actually won my nationals at his gym.
SPEAKER_02Nice.
SPEAKER_03But uh he he's uh a big Christian, he's also one of the nicest guys you you'll ever meet. He's one of the he's really good, very good. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01So what what like what inspires you about his walk with Christ?
SPEAKER_03Just how polite he is in the UFC because it's a very violent sport. Of course. Everybody, um I mean we're fighting. It's literally violent. So I think everybody everybody thinks it's just we're like mean or something like that, but he's the perfect perfect i example of how nice we can be because if it in the UFC they have a uh BMF belt, mm-hmm. It's baddest mother effort. They made him a uh a nicest MF forever. It's it was really cool, but he's one of the nicest guys you ever meet. I met him and um yeah, he's just he's he's there's no one else like him.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. That's awesome. I I think that's important. I think it's important, you know, that we pray. I think it's important that we use any kind of realm of influence that we have on um anyone else. Like how has your has your friends uh list changed? Or are your is your um do you have folks that are like who who are you drawing on right now? Is it is it like um has your have you grown in friends? Or uh, you know, like what's that like your your social life?
SPEAKER_03Not really. I don't really talk to anybody at school, just because like I don't know, I'm just trying to get in there and get out. But my best friend's Max, me and him just something about him, and uh he's he's he's just my best friend and me and me and him do everything together.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Their special girl, don't lie.
SPEAKER_03Of course. Her name's Peyton. Me and her have been dating for tomorrow will be eight months.
SPEAKER_01My goodness.
SPEAKER_03And uh she's she's always been there for me. She helps me, you know, especially when I'm cutting weight, she's always there helping me or whatever, whatever it is. She's always there just to help me. Yeah. If that makes sense.
SPEAKER_01No, it means something, dude. It means something. At your age, and you know, I'm saying this because I I've been there. Um at your age, right now in your life, there's there are a this is where most kids like, and and don't get me wrong, you're a kid until you're about 25, 26, 30, you know, to an old guy like me. But you know, most of the time, you know, high school grades, you know, like you you really think the that most of them think, man, this is my whole life. This whole existence right here is everything, and it's it's launching me to whatever. And then two years later, you got like zero friends that are the same. You know, a whole new group of people, you're working and and or going to college or doing whatever people do when they're not at high school, and you realize just how little your social life in high school really meant.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, but you're kind of doing it the backwards thing where it's like, look, I don't keep a big circle, I just have like two people, and and then whoever's at the gym and and stuff like that. You don't realize how big of a blessing that is and is going to be. Um, because honestly, it's so hard to find like-minded people that when you are we'll call it embedded with like-minded people, it becomes a whole different dynamic. So you keep pushing that forward. Um, let me ask you this the part of your testimony is what do what do I need to say to someone to get through to them in a moment, you know, and it might be at the end of a fight or whatever, you know, where you got a million things going through your mind at you know, when that bells rang, crowds cheering, your arm goes up, and all that, and it's like Tanner Owens is our is our is our champion, you know what goes through your mind in that moment that's like, you know, no God's the champion? Like, is there something that you're like, oh no, this is what this is what I'm gonna say because it is not about me. Like, what what is that? What is the Tanner's go to?
SPEAKER_03I had an interview right after my showcase fight. They like come up with a microphone and they're trying to ask you questions. The first thing I said was I said, um, I said the only thing I I I gotta say is I'll go our all glory to God. That was the first thing I said. And um, so I just try to like take a step back and make sure he's glorified whenever I can, especially like on the mic or something like that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, good. How's your mama and and your daddy? Are they they're doing great?
SPEAKER_03They all in. They're having fun, watch me fight. Yeah, mom. If you watch any videos, you'll hear in the background, of course. She's crazy, yeah.
SPEAKER_01She's crazy about you, that's for sure. So uh is she excited about Spain?
SPEAKER_03Of course, I think she's really nervous. I'm nervous too, of course, but I don't know. Uh she's she's she's gonna have fun with it no matter what.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So um let me ask you this um before we go. Uh number one, is there anything, any kind of encouragement to the person who is on the fence? They feel like, man, you know, I kind of want to get into cage fighting or I kind of want to get into MMA, kind of want to get into kickboxing or jujitsu or anything like that, and they're nervous because they're thinking about getting hit in the face. Um, you know, what what would you say to that person to just say no, just get in there?
SPEAKER_03To be honest with you, it's probably one of the biggest things, like helps mentally, physically, like you'll never be a better athlete. And then mentally it helps you, and also just don't don't you don't gotta be worried about getting hit in the face, it's not as bad as you think, but also you don't have to get hit in the face. Yeah, you can make that decision to not do that. I mean, if you're just there to have fun, just come in and have fun, and also a big thing is it helps a lot as a kid when you come in there and like because school's hard. I have a hard time in school, and like I found something in MMA, and it like helped me learn discipline and how to focus and stuff like that. And I started doing better in school, I was a better person. And a lot of people think when you're a fighter, you just fight and then you're mean and you think you're better than everybody. But the biggest thing is it teaches you discipline, it also teaches you how to like be humble. And I think it's a big thing people need to understand. And I think any little kid should come in there and train. It helps out more than anything. I I really think that that needs to be pushed more.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Do you like working with kids?
SPEAKER_03I do. I like uh going over there to teach sometimes. It's just I I need to get better at teaching, of course. Like sometimes it's not I'm not the best teacher, but um yeah, I I love to. I try my hardest to like whatever I learn, I try to give back to everybody, even as a kid, adult, an old person, whatever it is, I try my hardest just to give back. That makes sense.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So what what's the what's your biggest challenge at the gym? Is it is it people or is it yourself?
SPEAKER_03It's no, it's it's myself. No, in air in any situation. I can handle people, you know, I'm I'm good at talking to some certain people, but like mentally is the hardest thing for me, to be honest.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's the biggest battlefield in our life, honestly. So um let me ask you this David in the Bible was a fighter, straight up hardcore body stacker, you know, just just that guy. And um, you know, his some of his biggest challenges was him, and we're getting real deep in this. You ready? So David's biggest challenge was overcoming his own issues and and things like that, and and the darkness that's in here and everything. Um, and and I mean I I'm convinced that's why he wrote a huge amount of psalms, you know, and and like I I've gotta sing, I've got to be, you know, my outlet's this. Obviously, your outlet is in the cage. What other passion do you have that's like this is kind of my outlet? This is how I, you know, just release and and and blow off steam or whatever, and um and and how's that in your prayer life?
SPEAKER_03Of course. Um how it can get away most of the time is like either fighting or like to go like I just love hanging out with my girl, of course, and then my buddy Max. That's just a big it's a big thing when you have good people in your life. Yeah, I think some people get caught up in the quality, I mean the quantity over quality. I like I just like having my people around. It helps me focus on something else than my mental. That makes sense.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, it makes it makes all kinds of sense. No, I I appreciate that um that answer. I think it's uh the vulnerability side of things in life, um, we realize uh oftentimes that in hindsight, you know, where where we made our mistakes, where we let things get too big and and you know, overwhelmed us and things like that, and then we find ourselves, you know, feeling like now we're you know, we're trying to fight from behind and all and all this other, but um, you know, getting ahead of it and and saying, oh no, um, when things get tough, because it's gonna get tough, when things get tough, I'm turning straight to the Lord. And then also who you lean on, you know, and my last pot, my last episode was about the people, you know, around you influencing you, and how are you influencing people? Um, I think that's important. And I can see the quality of uh, you know, that you want to be a quality friend and a quality family member and things like that, and a quality um influencer, and and that's huge. I and I can, you know, I commend you for it. So um, so what's what's next? Uh do you have any fights, any big fights before Spain?
SPEAKER_03Um, probably not. I mean, there is a there's talk about this one fight, but I'm not gonna say anything about it because maybe happened, maybe not, but just really Spain right now.
SPEAKER_02Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01Well then uh anything to say before we go?
SPEAKER_03Um I don't know, this is kind of off topic, but I think we need to be reaching out more as humans. You know, I I think people need to stop bottling things up as much. Reach out to somebody. You always have somebody, even even if you try your hardest to say you don't, but you do. Yeah, reach out to somebody, talk about your feelings more. And um just because you're a dude does not mean you can't talk about your feelings. I think people need to do that more. That's right. My last thing I got.
SPEAKER_01Man, yeah, I appreciate it. Of course. So, what did Leon learn? Um, I'm glad you asked. The um the first interview we did, um Tanner came in here and and he's like, Man, you know, I got you know, got my nerves all over me and all this other stuff. Y'all see a different tenor. I see a different tanner, and I'm I'm happy for it, growing for it. Um, I love seeing personal growth. I love seeing positive growth, obviously, but I like seeing personal growth, but I also like seeing spiritual growth. And uh, when I see spiritual growth, when I see someone who is maturing and uh in any kind of aspect, I think that that's something to applaud, and I applaud you um right now. The other thing is um the fact that when you admit, hey, you know, I don't have it all together all the time, I need the Lord. That's huge. Where people go wrong, Tanner hit the nail on the head, we start bottling things up. When we start bottling things up, that becomes regret. Regret becomes in some form or fashion some type of toxicity. And then it's hard to not take that out on other people because it becomes a way of life. Most of the toxic people that you'll find in this in this world are people who have bottled up things and held things in, and then next thing you know, they lash out because pressure has to go somewhere. And I'm glad you said that. Mental health's important. Um, you can be the strongest person in the world, have all these biceps and and all this other stuff, and and you can have you know that killer jab and and that one, two, that haymaker, whatever you got, or or that rear naked choke, whatever you got. But if you can't control yourself and if you cannot say, hey, I've had enough, then you've got a big problem on your hand and you need to do that. Um, I would say that uh are you on social media? You have any uh course.
SPEAKER_03I can say my Instagram, yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_01Um tell people how to get a hold of you. If you need to get a hold of Tanner, get a hold of him here.
SPEAKER_03Of course. So I'm trying to grow grow my Instagram as best I can. I've got I don't got a lot of followers. It's tan dot er 824. It's pretty easy. Okay, it's just my name with a dot in the middle and then 824.
SPEAKER_01It's pretty simple. Dot er. What's the right thing? 824. Okay. All right. So there you go. Reach out to him, connect with him, and uh support him. He he you still sell the shirts? Of course. All right, so buy uh get the shirts and uh uh put a link in your in your socials and and let your mama take tear um take it off, take off with it because she's she's squared away and she was um she'll hook you up. Listen, I love you. God loves you. This has been the unqualified podcast with Leon Wilson.