.png)
Brandon Held - Life is Crazy
I Host 2 Podcasts. Life Is Crazy and The Buckeye Battle Cry Show. The Life Is Crazy podcast is designed to help with suicide prevention. That is the #1 goal! This is also a Podcast of perseverance, self-help, self-Improvement, becoming a better person, making it through struggles and not only surviving, but thriving! In this Podcast the first 25 episodes detail my life's downs and ups. A story that shows you can overcome poverty, abusive environments, drug and alcoholic environments, difficult bosses, being laid-off from work, losing your family, and being on the brink of suicide. Listen and find a place to share life stories and experiences. Allow everyone to learn from each other to reinforce our place in this world. To grow and be better people and help build a better more understanding society.
The early podcast episodes are a story of the journey of my life. The start from poor, drug and alcohol stricken life, to choices that lead to success. Discusses my own suicide ideations and attempt that I struggled with for most of my life. Being raised by essentially only my mother with good intentions, but didn't know how to teach me to be a man. About learning life's lessons and how to become a man on this journey and sharing those lessons and experiences with others whom hopefully can benefit from my successes and failures.
Hosting guests who have overcome suicide attempts/suicide ideations/trauma/hardships/difficult situations to fight through it, rise up, and live their best life. Real life stories to help others that are going through difficult times or stuck without a path forward, understand and learn there is a path forward.
The Buckeye Battle Cry Show is a weekly show about the greatest sport in the world, college football, and specializing in discussing the greatest team in the world, THE Ohio State Buckeyes,
Want to be a guest on Brandon Held - Life is Crazy? Send Brandon Held a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/brandonheld
Brandon Held - Life is Crazy
Episode 74: What If Your Darkest Day Becomes Your Turning Point with Justin Walker
Two men trace a raw arc from trauma and overdose to purpose, looking at identity change, masculinity, fitness, and choosing better friends. Practical tools beat platitudes: walk today, lift this week, eat real food, forgive yourself, and start again.
• childhood violence shaping anger and addiction
• finding Dharma Punks and early mindset shifts
• overdose as a catalyst for identity change
• masculinity as capability under control
• cutting toxic ties and choosing real friends
• fitness as antidepressant and stress relief
• nutrition from the perimeter and personalization
• how to restart after slips with grace
• 10-minute walks, sunlight, and simple wins
• how to reach Justin for tech, healing, and talk
Follow me on Instagram: bh_lifeiscrazy. Let me know you came from the podcast and I’ll follow you back
Go to getMNLY.com. Check it out, takes the guesswork out of what your body is missing and what your body needs
Go to my website, brandonheld.com, and subscribe to the podcast and support the show
Their supplements have been developed by a team of Practitioners, men's health scientists, neuroscientists and peak performers. MNLY harnesses the power of blood analysis, machine learning, and AI to evaluate data from four essential components: Biological, Environmental, Nutritional, and Clinical analysis. By leveraging this advanced technology, they develop precise, evidence-based solutions that are tailored uniquely to each individual.
https://www.getmnly.com/
Welcome back to Branded Held Life is Crazy. And speaking of crazy, I have Justin I.T. Walker with me today. And you know, he's on a mission to help people live their best life like I am. And that's why we make a good duo and a good combination. And hopefully you will enjoy today's podcast as much as we will recording it. So I'm gonna bring him in now. How are you doing today, Justin?
SPEAKER_00:I am doing fantastic, Brandon. Thanks for having me here.
SPEAKER_01:Fantastic. Yeah, you can't do much better than that. Um, glad to have you. Thanks for being here. Um, you know, life is crazy. We like to show how true that is on this show, and we'll get into that. Uh, but let's just start off by telling people a little bit about yourself.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, I am Justin. I am a human being, and I'm trying to help other human beings be better human beings. And along the way, I also work in cybersecurity, healthcare, and I have my own podcast too. So, you know, it's a good crazy life.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So you are a human being, so that's confirmed. All right. I wasn't, I wasn't sure, but now that you confirmed it, now I know. All right. So, um, yeah, let's just get into it. Let's uh, as we do here on Life is Crazy, we like to start from the beginning, right? We want to know how it all began to make Justin who Justin is today. So let's just tell the audience about your childhood, where you grew up, what it was like, how it shaped you into a young adult.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I'll have to go back about 200 years. So, how much time do we have today?
SPEAKER_01:Not that long, but okay.
SPEAKER_00:Let me come all the way back about 40 years. Okay, okay. There we go.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's better.
SPEAKER_00:So I'll just kind of keep it short on the childhood because I've done a lot of healing and therapy to get through what things that have gone on in my childhood. But I grew up on ska punk and metal music. I too grew up in the punk rock and skinhead scene, all that music and going to shows and festivals and drinking, and then that just kind of snowballed into more drinking and partying out throughout my years, but it's eventually led up to me actually overdosing and dying in 2023 and having one of those coming to God moments where I realized, well, actually, I had a voice talk to me that told me that my journey is not over, that my purpose is, I have more of a purpose and I have more to live for. So from there to now, I've been working on trying to help other people and help even helping myself heal and go through the emotions and put my journey online so other people can see it, they can feel it, they can resonate with it. So it helps other people just understand that there's no destination to life. It's all about building those steps to that journey, just for the most important part.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it's the journey, and it's also going through these hard, crazy, almost suicidal times, and still coming out the other side and still living your best life. And absolutely, that's the important part, and that's what I'm trying to do here as well. But let's dig into this childhood stuff. So, you you started drinking and partying and and punk rock and all that. Was there any kind of difficulty going on at home or in your life that made you choose that lifestyle, or did or was it just friendships?
SPEAKER_00:So, yeah, there's actually a lot of stuff going on. Like that was growing up, I I grew up in kind of an abusive family. First it was my mother, then my first was my dad, and then it reversed to my mother. And like I grew up in like one of those, I want to say like neo-Nazi Christian homes. But I'm not what I mean by that is just very hardcore old school Pescapillian Christian, where it's one of those things where it's like take, what is it, wash your mouth out with soap, thy rod to thy child, stuff like that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Those things that look very abusive nowadays. They're abusive them. So yeah, I had a lot of that going on. And then also I actually got PTSD by some Nazis actually showing up to my house when I was younger trying to kill me from some high school drama going on. But it's all related back to how I was raised and growing up, and just all of that kind of messing my mind and who I thought I was. So I got into drinking and I kind of started doing the same thing that I was being portrayed by my parents and being violent and angry young kid, going to shows, starting fights, beating people up, just very angry and violent because that's all I saw from my parents and other people in my life.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, okay, yeah, that makes sense. So you were basically just following in the footsteps of what you knew. Um and um I get I'm guessing didn't really see at that time another way, another path to follow.
SPEAKER_00:It was all red. Yeah, all red.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, that that's what happens to most people. You know, they do become a product of their environment. Um, I went the opposite route, right? I was telling you a little before. Uh, I grew up around drug addiction, alcoholism, you know, biker gangs, fighting, partying, yes, watching my mom get beat up, you know, the whole thing and all of it just appalled me. Like all of it was just like, what is wrong with these people? Um and so yeah, I went the complete opposite route. I've never drank, I've never smoked, I've never done any drugs, and um lucky man, yeah, yeah. I don't I don't know what compelled me to have the common sense and intelligence as a young man to say this isn't for me. Uh, but it was inside of me, yeah, yeah. So I don't know where it came from, but it happened and I'm thankful for it.
SPEAKER_00:Sorry, it cut out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it is cutting out.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I lost you. Hello?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'm still here. We'll wait. Oh, hello? Do you hear me?
SPEAKER_00:I lost your video. I can hear you. Yeah, I can't see you anymore. There we go. Yeah, uh oh.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not sure what's happening. I have a hard wire internet connection, but it's it's showing that it's I don't know, lagging for some reason. It's all good. We can edit that out.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's what it's for. I blame Zoom, just blame Zoom.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Zoom, you piece of shit. All right. So all right, so anyway, so you get you you get through your childhood, and um, you know, at some point you've gotta make your own way in life. So when you're post-high school, what do you do with yourself?
SPEAKER_00:So I was going through all that stuff, even through high school. I understood that something was wrong, that something wasn't right. All the things I was seeing, like through my parents and the people I was around, it just didn't sit right, but at the same time, I didn't know any better. I didn't understand that there's different ways, like mindsets, different identity shifts stuff. I didn't get any of the all the self-improvement stuff. It just wasn't there quite yet. But after I got in high school, there was a lot more fighting drama, suspensions, dress code violations, a lot of just house drama and stuff. But I actually found a book that I picked up by Noah Levine. I'm not sure if you're familiar with him. He does the Dharma, it's called Dharma Punks.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know anything about him.
SPEAKER_00:No, he has a place down in LA. But what he is, it's um Buddhism meets punk rock. He was in the scene too in the 80s. He grew around all the punk music and all that. So he understood all the violence, the anger, and being pissed off at young. But also he found the Buddhism was a way to combat all those feelings and aggression of anger. And when I found that book, it was kind of one of my first moments of resurrection, of understanding, like, bro, there's something different out there. There's different ways of doing things. There's a lot more clarity for me reading that in high school. And I started reading his other books, and those really helped me get through a lot of the bad times I was having in high school with the violence, the family issues, being suspended. It was just like a really bad road. Like, there's a kid, and you're like, oh, look at that road he's going down, going to jail, getting arrested, getting in fights. That was that kid. That was me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And like looking at me now, people are like, wait, you're violent? I'm like, yeah, really violent. Like you don't know what you're capable of until you've been in those situations around those people. You know, but the things that you can do, the things that you see, they're so tremendous, have such a profound impact on you. But for me, that made me want to do better, too. Like, example, I had a lot of gangs approached me when I was in high school to like get me to go join them. But for some reason, something inside me always told me, I don't need to do that. No, I can lead myself. I'm a gang of one kind of thing, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I get it. It's inside us all. No, I consider myself a pretty, you know, nice dude in general, and treating people the way I'd want to be treated, golden rule type. If I was put in a position where I had to kill someone, had to.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, 100%.
SPEAKER_01:I would do it, right? And I said, and she looked at me kind of like, I can't, you know, that's not the man I know, you know. And I said, Look, it's I almost all men are capable of killing.
SPEAKER_00:Good real men, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That's what I mean.
SPEAKER_00:You want someone, you want a man in your life that's capable of that to protect you, right?
SPEAKER_01:So I said, it's not that we can't all do it, we can't all do it. It's just most of us choose not to. Most of us choose, you know, the good path in life, and only to step up and be that kind of guy when we have to be. Um, you know, there's some more effeminate and masculine men that you know maybe would not fall into that category, but uh by and large, I think most men, at least definitely our generations, by yeah, and by nature too. Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean. We all have it in us, it's there, it's just do you keep that demon at bay? Do you live life another way? So it doesn't surprise me at all that you're violent. Um, like my brother's a good dude, he's 10 years younger than that, he's closer to your age, he's 42 now, and um and uh he's been in fights his whole life. His release was he used to be like an MMA type fighter, a UFC type fighter, because that was his release of stress and stuff, and and it's not because he's a bad dude, he just had it in him.
SPEAKER_00:I love how you say that because after I had my overdose and everything, so I've I've done martial arts throughout my life, but I found Kwan Maga again after I got my overdose, and I I get it helps me get all my aggression out and actually helped calm me down more. Yeah, I have like punching bags and stuff, I still practice because it doesn't make you more violent, it makes you understand the man you are and what you're capable of, and to do no harm unless you actually actually necessarily need to in any given situation, and that's what being a man, a human being, is about.
SPEAKER_01:I feel like all men, you know, this is Brandon Held's point of view in life, but all men should be, you know, walk tall and carry a big stick, you know, be kind, be kind and you know, be helpful and step up when you need to step up, but you know, you you gotta be capable of doing what you need to do in the moment that you're presented with it.
SPEAKER_00:So and there's so many people that aren't right right now in the world, it's really unfortunate.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, I have three sons, and you know, um, I don't even know. I have a 27-year-old and an 18-year-old. I don't even know if push came to shove, if they found themselves in a situation where it was kill or be killed, I don't know if they could step up, and that's you know, as a dad, that's scary to me. That's a scary thought.
SPEAKER_00:They might not know either, unfortunately.
SPEAKER_01:They're pretty mild dudes, so um, but it's you know, the world we live in is changing rapidly. Um, masculinity and femininity is constantly being redefined. Not to me, uh, I mean, I I have my definition. What's that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I mean they're up to there's like TikToks going out here telling men what they should be, women what they should be doing, and it's just like it's going against like nature of us as human beings so much, it's confusing people for sure.
SPEAKER_01:And if you're not someone who understands already what it means to be a man, and if you're not rooted in that and grounded in that, I could see how that would confuse people and not let them know understand what that means. For me, I see that shit and I go, That's ridiculous. Like, who who would believe this? This is ridiculous.
SPEAKER_00:But we come up in a different era in time too. Exactly. We grew up on like the fucking golden girls, then biscuit, and all that. Yeah, just totally different. You can't have that stuff out now. Like, oh my god, what is this?
SPEAKER_01:And it's funny, you know, we're totally sidebarring here and we're just jabbing. But you know, for for years, women have basically been complaining on social media. They want men to stop approaching them, they want to be left alone out in the public. Congratulations, yeah. And and now that it is that way, now they're complaining that no one approaches them and talks to them like you created your own environment. Like, come on, you got to take it now, sleep in it. Exactly, exactly. So, anyway, again, doesn't apply to me if I wasn't married, uh, which I am happily. But if I wasn't and I saw a woman I liked, I would approach her and talk to her.
SPEAKER_00:I'm single, I'm out there, and it's crazy and it's different, it's annoying and frustrating, but at the same time, it for me, it shows me kind of some growth that I need to do on my part to attract the right person. That's what you need 99 of those people. I don't want to be, I don't need to be with.
SPEAKER_01:Bro, can I give you some advice here?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, please, I'll take anything right now. Give me a minute.
SPEAKER_01:So I would 100% recommend meeting someone online and online in the capacity let me hear me out. Online in the capacity that they don't even live in your town, your city, your area. Like your relationship has to be long distance, that's what it has to be in the beginning. And there's two reasons I say that. One, there's actually statistical proof that people that meet online and start off their relationship online, not like Tinder where hey, I met you now. Let's go out.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I hate all those apps, I hate all those apps.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'm talking your relationship is literally just you guys getting to know each other verbally through voice communication and text and phone call or video call, right? Before the physical even becomes a part, that way you know if you actually can stand each other as human beings, because once we introduce the physical, our brain literally ignores red flags, it does. It's this thing inside of us, they've proven this psychologically. We just ignore for red flags, we overlook them once the physical becomes involved. And so, you know, I met my wife who lived in Brazil when I met her, and you know, the first year of our relationship was basically online, and we had like if you can't get along, and if you're not the right people for each other through text and video call and voice call, then you're gonna learn right there. So it just so happens for me. Luckily, my wife is beautiful, and you know, the physical attraction and all that is there, but it wasn't interfering with our day-to-day interaction. So that would be my advice.
SPEAKER_00:I feel that because I'm very particular about who I have in my life now as well. So, like I can see through a lot of people's bullshit. A lot of people have a lot of bullshit, unfortunately, out there, you know. They want, they're just they don't align with my goals and vision aspirations in life at all.
SPEAKER_01:No, I completely agree. It's hard to find genuine people. Most people have their best interests at heart, and that's what they care about.
SPEAKER_00:They're wearing both of those masks back then.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean same time. People aren't gonna see that mask because I don't do video. Okay, people know what masks are, but yeah, I got burned by multiple friends when I was younger before I got a little smarter about understanding you know who's who's a good person and who's not a good person, like how you really see that in people. Now I see it, now I have what I would call less than a handful of high quality good friends, you know, guys that I if for some reason, whatever, I was out of town and I needed to let them stay at my home with my wife all the time. I'd have no problem doing that, right? So, um, and that's a big statement because I did have friends in the past that tried to sleep with my girlfriend or my wife or whatever the case may be. So um, yeah, people you gotta be watch out for people.
SPEAKER_00:I feel that, you know, like for me, but it's really an intersection of understanding for this was being trying to get sober, then dying, and then realizing that all the people that I had in my life, the majority of them, I had to let them go. They were toxic. I was toxic being around them. I added to that, but I had to find new friend groups, new people going the direction that I was going in. Like you were saying, they're gonna be there, they're stand-up people, they're authentic, they're real human beings. You know, those are hard to find sometimes, but when you find them, keep them closed, nurture those relationships.
SPEAKER_01:You know, it goes both ways. Absolutely. I mean, it's simple, it sounds simple on paper, right? But a lot of people shisho, yeah, a lot of people can't carry it out. Like a lot of people don't have the strength or know-how or whatever it is to cut toxic people out of their life. Now, let me just tell you, I've never been one of those people, right? I I have I always give people a chance, but the moment I see that they're not bringing value to my life or they're making my life worse, you know, it's a take a knife, cut the cord, see ya, bye. Hi, Felicia, peace out. Yeah, so but let's talk about that. So, what happened to you that uh that you basically died?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I so before I died in overdose for about two years, I was trying to get sober, I was trying to figure out why I can stop doing coke and drinking, why am I still part of this lifestyle? What is it that I can't understand, I can't figure out? I was being so frustrated that literally I had to die to actually finally have the clarity that I needed. Like when I died, something else also died with me that day, and whatever that was gave me the clarity that I needed to get to where I am now, to have these conversations to really understand and quantify my entire existence and understanding of who my being and who I am, what I need to do on this planet now. But it was traumatic.
SPEAKER_01:I bet. And you knowing what I know about drugs, not because I've personally done them, but because I still take time to learn about these things is the dopamine rush you get from doing things like coke. How do you overcome that? How do you combat that? I totally get how that would just own you.
SPEAKER_00:It's like people having caffeine and have that same rush, you know. But the thing is with the coke and the dopamine, it just takes it does something so intensely to your mind, but you can't think straight, and you've done so much of it over time where you started getting suicidal too. That started happening. I started seeing things, having these rational thoughts. I was not me anymore, I was not human anymore. I was just this rocking disaster of a time bomb just waiting to either die again or end my life. And it was just it was horrible. And I looked at how I am now. All of that in my mind, going through my mind during those dark days was so stressful, so depressing, so overwhelming. I don't know how I got through some of them, but then I realized I just kept doing more coke, kept going out and drinking more, and it's compiling on top of it. So it kind of made sense in a nonsensual way. Yeah, sounds like life is crazy right there myself.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but uh let me tell you this, man. My my brother um has been clinically dead three times from drug three times from drug overdoses. Um and you know, he's still struggles with alcoholism and you know drug addiction from the sense of he gets clean and he does well for a while, yeah, and then something happens in life where the stress is too much, and he doesn't have the coping mechanisms because he's been doing this stuff since he was a teenager, and so he goes back to what he knows is a coping mechanism. So he hasn't had that switch flip that you and I have had that said, hey, I have to do something different, I can't keep living life this way. So, you know, you're very I want to say lucky for that, but I don't know if that's the right word.
SPEAKER_00:I think the word would be I don't know what the word would be, but I do know that switch you're talking about like it is so hard to overcome. It's so hard, but when you start doing the work and healing yourself, like right there was talking earlier about this with you and someone else as well, but how people go to AA and they go to um rehab and stuff, and like they're just dry sober. Okay, and what that means is they stop doing the drugs and drinking, but they're the same piece of shit asshole they were when they were doing the drugs, but they'll still be doing them, yeah. So that shift of mind and attitude and clarity and identity is what needs to happen, and when that happens, that's where something else happens to you in life. You don't go back to the drugs, you go back to the other things you learned to use in your tool set, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You know, it's hard, yeah, and then you start to have pride in who you are, and yeah, you start to be human, yeah. You stand taller and you walk prouder, and and when you see that for yourself, right? If you're a really good person, like you know, I believe you are, and myself, you not only do you feel that pride and strength of who you've become, you think, man, I want this for everyone else. Yes, everyone else that has struggled and gone through you know suicidal tendencies, drug addiction, whatever that stuff is. I want to help them get to where I am because this is the shit, this is the best.
SPEAKER_00:It is so much clarity and like things that you don't understand until they finally click and you do understand. It's like you have to it's like when you're involved in that lifestyle, drinking drugs, you just have one thing on mind is just oh, when's the next party? Where's the next drug? And the relationships you're building, the people you're surrounded by, there's such toxicity. Like I was a horrible boyfriend, and I was a horrible friend, and I take 100% accountability for that. It may not have been who I was at the time, I thought I was, but at that time that's who I was, and that's who I thought I was gonna always be. So that I know that that can be changed and shifted, I can move out of that. A lot of people feel they're stuck there, and it's scary to be there. It's scary to feel that you're stuck, you're powerless, you have all this fear and anxiety inside you. And it just takes time and steps to really get down to that healing work and get out, get away from that. It's not easy, it's dark, it's deep, it's scary, it's disgusting, it's nasty and really dark. I say dark, I'm gonna say dark again.
SPEAKER_01:It's so dark you have to say it twice, right? But the point is, right? You what whatever your story is, whatever you're going through, whatever deep pit of despair you're in, or you're trying to figure out how to climb out of, you can. And it starts up top, it starts with a mindset, it starts with believing in yourself and what you're capable of, and believing that you have a good life, you have uh things to be grateful for, and you not only that, your life can be better than it is right now, right?
SPEAKER_00:And you have to forgive yourself, you have to give yourself grace. That's just some things people forget, and they just so easy to say that. But when you really forgive yourself, not only for what you put yourself through, but you put others through, that healing process starts. And also for me, that started also with going to the gym, getting my fitness in order. When you're outside, you're lifting rates. If you're a guy or a girl, just doing some kind of fitness really builds some the conf self-confidence inside you that you need to breathe and remember to be human.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, man. That I you know, I'm trying to pull up something I found on Instagram today because you said that, because um oh man. So when you work out, yes, your body literally puts out signals that give you resistance to stress and anxiety and depression, and what people don't understand, you know, people want to turn to drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, for example, or you know, cocaine, whatever, to fill a void, to do something that they can't do for themselves. But when you do physical exercise, whether it's running, lifting weights, just playing sports, whatever it is, uh, that is your body doing all that stuff for you, and it's uh physical fitness is just so important. I can't even stress that enough. And I saw a great quote the other day like, you know, you can worry about your health by you know taking care of your fitness and eating right, or your health is gonna make you worry about it by your body breaking down and falling apart because you didn't take care of it. So either way, you're gonna have to take care of your health. Yeah, so you may as well pick the good way.
SPEAKER_00:One way you have control, the other way you're giving away your control. Again, just like you did to your addiction. That's right. You're repeating your own cycle again.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:I need to hear that again to myself.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's so true, man. Um, you know, I I ten feet away from me. I have a a big gym system that I, you know, I like to work out about five days a week lifting weights. And um and it's just I can't even describe just how much lifting weights does for me. It it you know, it allows me to work off stress and and anxiety and whatever kind of emotions that I'm going through that are bothering me in say work life or whatever's going on that's creating any kind of angst or anxiety, you know, then it allows me to feel better about myself, more confident, you know, more capable. Um, my brain works more clearly. It's just I can't even say all the great things that that does.
SPEAKER_00:Fitness is the answer. Yeah, it's the antidepressant, it's the anti-anxiety, anti-suicidal. You know, it it helps everything.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, the only thing it's not doing for me personally is helping me sleep because I have sleep apnea.
SPEAKER_00:But um, so I actually just got over mine weirdly. Yeah, I was overweight, but I lost a lot of weight during my fitness.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's not about my weight, but it's mine was, yeah, yeah. So, um, but anyway, you know, that's the only thing it's not really solving for me. I don't really have to worry about taking pharmaceutical drugs. I take supplements, right? Because I'm 52 and some things might be god, you're 52. Yeah, yeah, and my body just doesn't produce stuff as well as it used to, so you you have to fill that void. Um, which by the way, let me do a quick plug for my sponsor, Get Manly, spelled M N L Y. If you go to their website and sign up, they send you a blood test in the mail and you prick your finger and you send back your blood. And what they do is they find out what vitamins and minerals and supplements your body is missing, and then they they set up the track for you automatically. They send you pill packs that you take in the morning at breakfast, at lunch, and then at dinner in the evening time, and it's not just a guessing game, it's based off of what your blood is telling you that your body needs. You're missing, you're deficient. So go to getmanly.com and use their supplements because uh it's an amazing program. So, anyway, back to the show. Um, I only say that because I believe in it, right? I don't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't support something I don't believe in, right?
SPEAKER_00:So how many people do that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, if Budweiser wanted to sponsor me, I wouldn't take that sponsorship because I don't drink, I don't believe in drinking. I think alcohol's toxic. I mean, I know it's toxic to the human body, so I only support things I believe in.
SPEAKER_00:I know you're talking about supplements earlier. I actually take quite a few. I actually have one I take for sleeping, and I sleep better, which is magnesium.
SPEAKER_01:I take magnesium as well.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and it was a miracle I found it maybe like six months ago. I'm like, you sleep better, you wake up feeling better and more rested, but then also I take stuff like apple cider vinegar and like all the other little things here and there, too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's different for everyone, right? And you I can't sit here and say, Oh, I take these supplements, so you should go take them because you know your body's different. Yeah, yeah. Your body's different, it has different needs and different requirements, and that's what makes Skip Manly so great because they actually tell you what you need based off your blood work.
SPEAKER_00:So more people would understand what you just said that everyone's body is different. Oh, yeah, no, everyone thinks everything is so cookie cutter, how you heal, how you show up, the things you take, how you eat. It's not. You have to try things and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, you find things that work until you find something that works for you, but you have to keep trying things.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:People forget that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and you have to and you have to understand that genetics are a real thing, right? Like, I can't look at Arnold Schwarzenegger and think I want to be built like Arnold Schwarzenegger because no matter how hard I worked out, no matter how hard I try, I would never be a youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger, not obviously Arnold in his 70s, but you know, the seven-time Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, you know, all you can ever do is be the best person you can be and have the best health, physique, fitness, body you can have. So don't try to compare yourself to other people because people just look at other people like influencers or whatever, and they think I want to be like them, I'm gonna follow what they do, I'm gonna do what they do. Well, what they do might not work for you, you know.
SPEAKER_00:And they don't know the other side of that because some of these influencers are coming out and talking about the dark side of like trying to get abs, for example. A lot of them are saying they're fucking hungry as hell, yeah, it's miserable, but they have abs. Woo. The side of that they don't tell you about, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's gotta do some research, people, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. I mean, that that would be my biggest takeaway is just understand that you're an individual and you have to learn what works best for you. And you know, if you don't have the the money or whatever it takes to you know find out physiologically from blood work or whatever, uh, you know, listen to your body. That's the best thing I can say is listen if you're doing something and your body's telling you this doesn't feel right, then it's not right. So listen to it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you gotta find your baseline. Yeah, especially for me for all the years of drinking and alcohol. I didn't know what the hell my baseline was. My baseline was just drunk and maybe I'll wake up. That's my baseline.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So this is Justin. This has been like a podcast I've never done before. So we create we created a very unique podcast that I've never done. Um, before I get out of here, are you into any sports? Any sports you like?
SPEAKER_00:Krav Maga little martial arts, martial arts, boxing, snowboarding. But you can't see the snowboard in the back of my back of me. Mountain biking.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so you're in extreme sports.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, I love all the extreme stuff. The adrenaline. I went skydiving, I fell in love. I've only done it once. I'm gonna go do it again, though.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so there you go. You know, find your passion, find what you love. Um, you know, before mine's weight lifting now, before it, you know, I used to play all the basic stuff the basketball, the football, the volleyballs. Um, but it was, you know, just being active, moving, uh, doing what's best for my body, which is also best for your brain, right? Um, so so find that and do that. All right, Justin. What final thought or message would you like to leave with people before we get out of here?
SPEAKER_00:Yes. To overcome obstacles in your life and get out of any dark place you may have been or in right now. Get the hell out of the house. Get some fresh air, step the fuck out of your front door or your balcony, breathe in some real mother nature, and then go for like a 10-minute walk and come back and see how you feel. Now do that tomorrow. Do that the next day. Just keep compounding that onto each other and see how you feel about yourself, your life. You'll be amazed about change that those little things can make in your body and your mind, the way you think about stuff and your environment. So that's what I'll do with people.
SPEAKER_01:And to piggyback on what he said, eat right, avoid the middle aisles in the grocery store, right? Go around the outsides, find that the natural, healthy, foods, yeah, stuff grown out of the ground, you know. Um, man, I was I was at the grocery store yesterday, and I was behind this woman, and she had to be 400 pounds, if not more. And what was on the conveyor belt for her was Doritos, Dr. Pepper, you know, just all process, ultra-processed junk, terrible food. And I was like, Man, this lady just does not care.
SPEAKER_00:Like, she she's gonna be so miserable and depressed that she doesn't even know how to get out of it. Yeah, but that's her baseline, she doesn't see anything wrong.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I mean, obviously, right? You gotta start by doing a little something physically active, and then as you do that, change what you eat, change how you eat, change the way you eat. And remember, you don't have to be perfect. If you have a setback or you have a period where you don't do as well as you have done at other times, that doesn't mean give up and quit. That means just get back to it, start over again.
SPEAKER_00:I've been there myself, actually, I'm still there understanding that okay, I had one bad day. That's okay, as long as it's not consecutive, as though that you just have the next days of going and achieving what you want to achieve, you're eating better and doing better, they're fine.
SPEAKER_01:Even if it's consecutive, let's just say you had three or four days where you were feeling depressed, and you know, you had pizza and junk food. There's no need to just go, Well, I done screwed up my diet now, I'm over it. I'm just gonna eat whatever. No, I've done that. Get back to it. You're not only are you gonna pay for it physically, you're gonna pay for it mentally. So that's all part of doing the right things, taking the right steps, doing the right things. All right, Justin, is there any way anyone people reach out to you or get to you?
SPEAKER_00:Is there are you looking for let me give you guys my home address down there? Yeah, yeah, and the phone number. Yes, they can reach out to me at Justin I T-E-E Walker.net, and that takes you to my LinkedIn. You can find our podcast and stuff on there. If you want to send me a message, I'd like to talk to people to have conversations and just be a listening ear, be a human being, talk tech, talk healing, talk about your day. You know, I just like to talk and communicate with people.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I couldn't tell. You seem pretty shy and resentful. Yeah. So, yeah, all right. Thank you, Justin, for being on the show today. I really enjoyed this conversation, and I hope others have enjoyed this conversation and message, and I hope it helps you in some way. You know, take it from two people that have basically been dead at one point in life, and now we're living our best life, and you know, that can be anyone, so take that in. And if you want to follow me on Instagram, that's the only social media I really do. It's uh bh underscore life is crazy. So go follow me on Instagram and let me know that if you followed me from the podcast, and if you and I'll follow you back. That's how I roll. I follow people back when they find me from the podcast. And uh I already told you about Get Manly. I'm dead serious about it. It's a great product. Check it out, takes the guesswork out of what your body is missing and what your body needs. So go check it out. And then finally, go to my website, brandonheld.com, and subscribe to the podcast and support the show. It'd be greatly appreciated. And this has been Brandon Held Life is crazy, and I'll talk to you next time.
