Why You NEED People Like This in Your Life

Ever have those conversations that start simple but end up hitting deep? This episode is exactly that. Matt sits down with his longtime friend Omar for a real, unfiltered conversation about life, upbringing, music, and the kind of relationships that actually matter.

🎙️ In this episode:
 • Growing up in tight-knit Hispanic families
 • Life lessons from grandparents and upbringing
 • Private school vs public school experiences
 • Music influence: Metallica, Aerosmith & rock culture
 • Finding your identity in different environments
 • Why positive friendships are essential

🧠 What you'll learn:
 • How your environment shapes your mindset
 • The importance of having solid people around you
 • Why balance in life experiences matters
 • How early influences impact who you become
 • The value of staying grounded and grateful

⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS
 00:00 Intro
 00:30 Why Omar is a special guest
 02:00 Growing up in Laredo
 03:00 Raised by grandparents
 05:00 Culture & family values
 08:00 School transition (private to public)
 09:30 Personality & high school years
 10:00 Music influences begin
 12:00 First concerts & rock culture
 13:00 Aerosmith story (funny + deep)
 16:00 Full circle reflections

📢 About the Podcast
 Anything and Everything with Matt Reyna is a real, unfiltered podcast covering life, business, mindset, relationships, and everything in between. Conversations that actually matter.

📌 Connect With Matt Reyna
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattreyna2023/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.reyna.12
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattreynaspodcast

#podcast #anythingandeverything #mattreyna #realtalk #lifelessons #mindset #friendship #growth #selfimprovement #sanantonio

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Episode 10, guys, anything and everything with Matt Rain. I have a very, very, very special guest, my boy Omar. How you guys doing? Omita. What's going on? So, man, the reason why I have this guy on the podcast is do you have somebody that you connect with, man? Just like it's always, always, always positive vibes, like no doubt about it. I think you need those in your lives. And um, me and Omar, we've been tight ever since we met at Goad's Gym. One of the best personal trainers I know, as you could tell by that physique.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Yeah, I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

No, man, but we always have a great conversation, always trade um gyms in life, always there for each other. Like I said, you need those in your lives, and today you're gonna be a fly on the wall to see what we used to always kick back after work and always always talk right now. Remember what remember whenever you would get off of work after I didn't work there anymore, and we would stay till like 11 o'clock. We're just chilling.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Yeah, like dude, check out this band I heard, you know, this this song that I just heard, you know, this album that came out.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah. Um, speaking of which, um, oh man, that's how uh where we get a lot of our ties from our metal, metal influence, right? Right. Which, dude, I don't have many of those in my life. Yeah, so like my buddy TJ, did you see uh that that episode with that? I did, I saw clicks of it, yeah. Okay, cool. So he got me into the scene, right? He got me into the scene. Of course, my dad was like all metal, like growing up, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, you know, Metallica. Uh, he got me into the scene, but I remember when me and you started kicking it, you started telling me about what, like KMFD, KM, what is it?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Yeah, the industrial stuff. So I do listening to a lot of like the nine inch snails. Exactly. Those guys, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

I used to say I was just like, were you part of like the trench coat master or something, bro? Yeah. I was just like, I could picture Omar with like boots, like the combat, the combat boots and the the trench coat. Right, right, right. Yeah. Uh dude, that's like the era that you were in, right? Yeah, yeah. That was it. Okay, so give me your uh okay, so like when you were growing up, you were growing up in Laredo, correct?

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Right. Yeah. What type of uh what type of environment was that for for young Omar? Um Laredo was cool, man. I I I tell people it was it was interesting, you know. Uh it was kind of like the best of two worlds. Like it was like growing up to so close to the border, like on the border, right? You've got that strong like Hispanic Mexican culture. Uh it's a good mix, man. Um, you know, I had a super, super cool upbringing with my family, super close, tight-knit family. Uh, very similar to what you've told me, like with you, right? Um, growing up at my grandma's house, basically, right? Um, when I wasn't with my parents, my mom and my dad working, is constantly going to my grandma's house. And it was cool, man. It was, it was, it was a super tight-knit family situation.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

You're a little bit older than me, right? What are you? Uh 41. 41. Okay. Oh, man, you're right under Xavier. So I think we're still of that generation that was raised by our grandparents. Yeah. Right? We're like half and half while mom and dad were at work. Dude, for real.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yeah. It was, it was really like that. But it was it's like I wouldn't have any other way, man. Oh man, it's it's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

We were me and my brother were talking about like my grandfather the other day, and my grandmother, and I think that they've you know, instilled just certain things. My grandfather was definitely the work ethic, yeah, and my grandmother was the faith, right? And which is on us to this day, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, and she would tell us like that, right? Since since we were little, like like pretty metal, like she was like like Jesus at first, right? You know, like before everything, you know.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

When you wake up and when you go to bed.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Pretty much, yeah. And then my grandfather, he was uh always just uh typed uh working with his hands, custodian, you know what I'm saying? He would like ride his bike to work, right? He would do the dude, he would ride his bike to work, and um he was like already in his 60s, yeah, right? Dude, I totally forgot. You forgot about that? Yeah, how old was I? Dude, I was young too, right? Yeah, what the hell happened to his truck? I don't know. Well, okay, so remember he had the um it was the dodge, right? Before he got the GMC. Right. So uh I don't know. Maybe that dodge messed up. Last mom, I guess. Probably.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Maybe he just liked the breeze. You know, you you forgot about that? All right, just enjoy the breeze. Some fresh air, man. Maybe that was maybe that was his piece, right? Going to work. Bro, and with his lunch pail, just yeah, yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

It's just the way they're just the way they did it. Yeah, bro. So simple of a man, too. Just like a man of few words, and he was like very stern, you know what I'm saying? But he had like a sense of humor on him, too. You know how they have like just like that, those Mexican, old Mexican, uh yeah, like uh that type of uh style or personality. Yeah, so if I'm not mistaken, you're first generation, right? That always uh confuses me. Your parents were from Mexico or no, no, no. Also, you are does that make you second or first? How does that work?

unknown 5:00

Right?

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Yeah, so that would make so yeah, no, so so like my grandmother on my dad's side, uh, she was born in Mexico, so was my grandfather. So that would make me what third generation? Gotcha, right? Okay, cool. Uh, or rather, no, that would make me uh second generation. So my parents are uh are born in the US, okay, cool. And that would make me second generation. Okay, cool. Uh on my mom's side, great grandparents were born in Mexico. But yeah, it's it's trip, man. I always tell people like it was it was um very similar to you, you know, growing up in my grandma's house. Um, you know, I my parents hardworking, always at work, uh great providers. But you know, we didn't grow up like with a silver spoon either, right? You know, hardworking people. Uh of course, my sister and I, we went to a private school, so they set us through private school um pre-kinder all the way to like eighth grade. Oh, cool. But uh nothing fancy, a simple private school, but a lot of it was from the face, faith-based aspect of things, right? So, you know, they wanted us to to follow that. And uh, but I always tell people it was a trip, man, because um, you know, we would go, I would go to school and it was very structured. And uh, you know, my grandmother's neighborhood was was very different than where I grew up. It was a rougher side of town. Yeah, you know, it was it was um just you know, not the best side of of town. It was it was kind of rough and it was an old school neighborhood, very lots of generations uh living there. Oh, yeah. Um and uh so it was cool. I would get to see like kind of like the the nicer, more structured side of it, and then the rougher side, my grandmother's uh side of the side.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

It's funny that you mentioned that because remember, X, like remember when Welita they didn't have curbs. Yeah, remember when we didn't have curbs, so they we didn't have curbs over there, right? It was just gravel um on the west side over here, Jenna McMullan in San Albos. So that's where our grandparents are from. So we're from the south side, the Palo Alto area, so we're just like half and half, right? And we just thought it was like way better. Where we were at we were like, do we have we have sidewalks? Yeah, bro. I was just like, dude, I can't wait to go home, you know. Because also to my my grandparents, they didn't have central air, right? You know, my my bolito actually built that house and um just like on postas, you know, so it was just like yeah, a wooden, creaky house, you know, not the best insulation, cold as hell in the winter in the winter, hot as hell in the summer, dude. Uh uh water cooler, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

My grandma had one of those window units in the living room, so that was always like the coldest room in the in the house. But it was cool, man, because you got to go again. It I think it created kind of that balance, you know. You would kind of see the the nicer side of side of stuff and maybe the the more rough side of stuff, and makes you grateful, you know. Um, but yeah, you know, my like my grandfather, he wasn't around by then. Uh he he passed away when I was pretty young. But my grandmother, super again, super hardworking lady, single mom, uh, most of her adult life. But uh yeah, that was cool to see as you know, like a strong, hardwork, hardworking woman, kind of uh so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

That's that was uh kind of a left a big impression.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Left a big impression, okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Gotcha. Uh siblings.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

My sister, I have a sister. I know you have a sister, seven years older than me. I haven't met her, right? No, no. She lives in Laredo still. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Okay, cool. Kind of coming up through, um, just kind of going through the the brief history. Um in high school, what type of a kid were you? Were you were you always solid the way that you are now, or were you an SEO like me?

SPEAKER_00 8:30

No, man. I was uh I was I kind of grew up like that rocker kid. You know, we talk about listening to metal music and Metallica. You're depressed. Uh yeah, or a lot of black. Yeah, you know. Um, but no, man, it was it was I was kind of the quiet kid, you know, it was it was again, it was a weird transition, not weird, but it was interesting. You know, uh when I got to eighth grade, I told my parents, because my sister kind of did the same thing. She's like, hey, I want to go to public school, you know, and see what that's like. Um, and so uh in a sense, it was kind of like kind of a culture shock, man. It was way different, you know, and going from private school to uh or you ended up going.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Yeah, but oh in eighth grade.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

So yeah, and uh, you know, just to kind of see what it was about, you know. I had friends in the neighborhood and stuff, and uh, but yeah, it was it was so going from eighth grade, you're like, man, middle school, like it's it's pretty intense, you know, kids are growing up and you know, you know. So uh yeah, it was kind of a little bit of a rough transition, I think. So a little bit quiet, you know into kind of a quiet kid in the middle school and and high school. But uh yeah, it was nothing real crazy in high school, man. I was pretty settled down. I mean, it was it was about like I was always a good student, you know.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Uh uh. But uh hung out with what got you into the uh in music at that point. So at that point, obviously we're talking about 90s, early 2000s. So uh what was it always been? I know that me and you have like a big affinity for Metallica, obviously. Was it all uh what do you remember what sparked your mind? Like, oh man, this is what I like now, dude.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Honestly, I think going back to even like late elementary school, um, I remember my aunt having like cassettes and uh later on CDs, right? If anybody, if mean if your listeners know what that is, even showing showing our age, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

But we would go to Sam Goody.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Yeah, we would go to this place, it was called yeah, Sam Goody. What was the other one? Uh what was the other CD store we would go to? CD Exchange. Sam Goody.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Hey, CD Exchange had the posters, right? X that had the dope posters, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Spencers, Spencers would sell CDs for a little hot topic, bro.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Hot topic, hot topic was dope, yeah, yeah, yeah. I dude, I still remember listening to like some like not demos, but like uh the first time I had listened to like Azole Dying was like in Hot Topic and stuff like that. And I heard stuff like you know how they'd play it in the speaker, like loud to. Yeah, I was like, who's this? And I had heard like we like crazy bands, man, playing, but anyway.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

So and then when you got a little more obscure, a little more money, you would go to borders, go buy CDs there for like 30 bucks.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Uh dude, though, what was it? There was another one. Um, I think it's the same one that you're talking about. It's a nicer one. Which one was it in South Park, bro? It was uh a nice one. Is it Sam Goody? Sam Goody was a good one. It was Sam Goody, right? It was a nice one, I think.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, it was the nice one. Yeah, I think Sam Goody was it. But yeah, so I mean, I remember being a kid, and my aunt had uh cassettes and CDs later of like Pearl Jam. Whoa, uh Arrow Smith, you know, uh Boston, uh Metallica. And then my uncle, well, now my uncle, her boyfriend at the time, I remember riding around with him and he had the downward spiral on cassette. Whoa. And I was like, what is this? Like, I've never heard this, what is this noise, you know, sort of thing. And then that's how it just kind of grew from there. Gotcha. And then she's but she was always kind of like that. It was always kind of like the she was more of like, you know, don't tell your parents, you know. I was gonna say too one, hey, you know, is it so she took me to my first concert, Aerosmith, dude, when I was in like seventh grade. And to this day, I was fucking with I wish I still had that t-shirt. I don't know what I did to it. Um, that was my first ever like rock concert, and I remember being blown away from that point on. I was like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Ready for my Aerosmith? Uh okay, so there's this uh my Aerosmith uh uh story goes like it's it's this it's very, very entwined. Watch. So I was a big fan, right? Big fan of Aerosmith because my mom's a huge fan of Aerosmith. She took this this dude, she took him, bro. I don't how old were you, ex? I don't even know. I would have been whatever you were, you're like 13, maybe 12, maybe. Probably something something like that, right? I'm five years younger, so and they're like, Well, you're too little to go or whatever. I'm like seven, I'm like, damn. And Xavier comes home and he was just like, dude, he Steven Tyler like fucking kicked ass, dude. Like it was a crazy. So, but right, I started getting into like hardcore stuff and metal core and stuff like that, uh, the Deft Tones and stuff like that. So I was just real like this in the closet Aerosmith. Yeah. I wouldn't, I wouldn't tell anybody because yeah, Slip Knothead. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't cool at all, right? So Slip Knothead came out, Mud Vein came out, right? And I was like, whoa, I was a metal, right? Yeah, and I was like, dude, if people like find out I like Arosmith, they're gonna like take away my metal card.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

He's like, he's like, kids in Jenkos don't listen to Aerosmith. That's not cool. Seriously, bro.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

And I was like, so but I had saw this interview with Kurt, Kirk Cobain, yeah, and he was just all like, uh, talk, tell us about a um a uh a concert that you've been to that made an impression on your mind. And he was like, um, he was like, probably Aerosmith. He said that, and I was like, I've never heard that. And I was like, Yeah, man, it's it's it's it's it's in the cut, it's in the crates, yeah. And I was like, what? He's an Aerosmith fan. Yeah, and then he was just like, and um he goes, I usually like the smaller intimate shows, and this one was like in an arena. He goes, but that's just how grand they are, you know, and and I'm such a big fan, so that's why I went. Yeah, and I was like, Kurt's a fan, like the the grunge. That's it, I'm coming out of the clock. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. After that, I was like, Yeah, where y'all been? Yeah, yeah. So anyway, my mom, dude, she always told me, I'm gonna take you one day. I'm gonna take you one day, bro. Telemex 30 years later, bro, she had tickets for me last year, and Steven Tyler uh he blew out his his vocals or whatever. Last tour, they're not touring anymore. Dude, my mom had tickets for me, bro. And that's the forbidden show that has always like the one that got away. Yeah, the one that it's escaped my grasp, my white, white, my white pony. Yeah, bro. I've I've never for some reason, dude.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

It wasn't in the cards.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

I guess, dude, bro, it's gonna happen one day. I'm gonna make it happen one day. But think how old is how old is Steven Tyler nowadays? Shh, man, who knows? He's up there. Hey, remember we used to work with Francis. Um man, I think she was a personal trainer. Francis. Shout out, Francis. Uh, dude, I haven't talked to her in forever. She was real tight with Steven Tyler. What? Yeah, remember, and she would come to like uh she would come. How? What's the backstory on that? I don't know, dude. I don't know. And dude, she would be like, Can we verify this? Yeah, she'd be like, oh no, no, no, I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. I sold cars with her. My bad.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

I would have remembered that one. That would have been in the memory bank for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Dude, I just inserted you in a memory that you were not part of, right? Yeah, no, dude. What's it called? I had sold cars with her at um Red McCombs, dude. And she was our front desk girl, okay, right? And then um, I don't know how it happened, and I'm always talking about music, whatever, right? Yeah, and she was just uh like that's my that's my friend or whatever. And I'm like, Steven Tyler's your fucking bro. Pictures with him backstage, chilling out. She always goes front row, yada yada. And I'm like, what the hell? Anyway, um, to this day, man, I think she kicks it with him. But I haven't been in contact with her in a long time, and I was always like, dude, next time y'all are chilling out, I'm like, Steven, I want to party with you.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

If it doesn't matter, just a cappella, dude. Something just sing me something so I can say it's I could check that one off the list. Seriously, I'm like, hey, tell him to call me on the phone. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, hey, can you do walk this way, dude? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dude, but you can't, I mean, think about it like the vocals. I mean, his vocal style, I mean, just the way he would sing.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Oh man, he's I mean, after so many years, I guess your voice can only take when you when you make it when you're on The Simpsons, you made it, bro.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Remember when they're at Mo's? Yeah, yeah. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yeah. That's right, dude. That was it. That was a