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Health & Fitness Redefined
Health and Fitness Redefined with Anthony Amen. Take a dive into the health world as we learn how to overcome adversity, depict fact vs fiction and see health & fitness in a whole new light.Fitness Is Medicine
Health & Fitness Redefined
Shot in the Head, Still Standing
"Life gave me so much more than it ever took from me." These powerful words come from John Carter, a man who, by all accounts, should be bitter about his circumstances. Shot in the back of the head after an encounter tied to his attempt to follow in his mafioso father's footsteps, John survived a three-month coma and six additional months of hospitalization, only to fall into the depths of addiction while wheelchair-bound.
John's vivid recollections of his coma experience—a continuous dream of swimming races where the winner gets to go home—reveal the first seeds of his transformation. When he finally woke, his troubles were far from over. At rock bottom, weighing over 300 pounds and dealing drugs from his wheelchair, John found an unlikely salvation when police raided his apartment. "I was happy," he recalls about his arrest, recognizing it as the intervention he desperately needed.
The turning point came in prison, where three inmates who knew his father took him to the gym daily, determined to get him out of his wheelchair. Through consistent training, John grew stronger physically and mentally. This unexpected introduction to fitness became his pathway to a new life. After release, despite rejections due to his speech impediment and limp, John persevered and eventually found work as a personal trainer. Today, he owns his gym, maintains long-term clients, and volunteers providing service dogs to people with mobility challenges.
What makes John's story truly remarkable isn't just his physical transformation, but his complete absence of regret. When asked if he would change anything about his difficult journey, his answer is unwavering: "No." Every challenge led him exactly where he needs to be—helping others overcome their own obstacles, supporting his family including his mother with dementia, and living with profound purpose.
Ready to rethink what's possible in your own life? Listen to this powerful conversation that will challenge your perceptions of limitations and inspire you to embrace your challenges rather than run from them.
Learn More at: www.Redefine-Fitness.com
Hello and welcome to Health and Fitness Redefined. I'm your host, anthony. Amen and welcome to another great episode for all of you today. I hope you enjoyed last week's episode. We dove deep into dementia, alzheimer's and we went way over showtime, but I think it was so worth it. But back for today. We have another awesome, inspirational story for you guys of someone who went through a lot, overcame a lot, and you know, if you watch the show often, that these are the things I I love the most out of everything about this field. So, without further ado, let me welcome to today's show, john. John, it's a pleasure to have you on today. Thank you, anthony. It's a pleasure to be here. Buddy, really excited to hear about your story and what led that to you actually own a gym, like myself, and then even take it a step further, which writing a book about your life, which is definitely something I would love to do for myself too. But before we dive into that, tell us a little bit about what the catalyst was that drove you into the fitness world anthony.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, buddy. Um, I would just like to give you a little, a little uh forward, to bring you up to date to where I I started to write my book about my incidents that happened to me Growing up. Anthony, I grew up in a very unconventional childhood. My father was in the mafia, the mob, and that's how I grew up and, Anthony, I love my dad. He never missed a ball game. He was the best father in the world, and so when he died, Anthony, I wanted to wear his shoes, but I was not his size, Anthony, and so immediately I found myself in a world of trouble. This man, instead of paying me a gambling death that he owed, decided to attempt to murder me and he shot me in the back of the head. And Anthony in this story, being shot in the back of the head was the easy part. As my life spiraled out of control with drug addiction, gambling addiction, alcohol addiction, eating addictions. My life was a mess, Anthony, it sounds that alcohol addiction eating addictions, my life was a mess.
Speaker 1:I think it sounds that. I mean, that's kind of the tip and point for anyone who's getting shot in the back of the head. So just tell me a little bit more about how that scenario happened and what you felt like immediately afterwards and kind of what recovery looked like afterwards and kind of what recovery looked like.
Speaker 2:Sure, so when I got shot, I immediately went out and I did three months in a coma and another six months on top of that in the hospital, so a total of nine months in the hospital. Anthony, the first 90 days when I was in a coma was one long dream. But it was not your typical dream where it was kind of fancy and foggy. This was very vivid, like I remember today. This happened in 1992, anthony, I remember today like it was yesterday. The smells, it was all real to me. So the moral of this dream was we were in a hospital, I was chained to a bed and I didn't know what was wrong with me, and every day we had a swimming race and the winner of this race got to go home. Now, remember, this was all a dream.
Speaker 2:Anthony hurt so bad to get in that pool. The pain was excruciating and I kept losing and losing, and losing. This is the first time in my life. I said to him, even though it was a dream, it was my first time in my life. I said I quit, that's it, I give up, I'm not getting out of this bed again. That night an old man sat on my bed I have no recollection of, I have no idea who it was and he said you're not going to quit, you are not alone and I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you, I'm going to train you. And this is where the first training came into my life, anthony. He said I'm going to train you, and every day he took me down to that pool and he trained me and he trained me. So now it's a day of the big race. He gets me down to the pool, gives me a big pep talk, he's cheering me on. He's being a coach, he's being a trainer.
Speaker 2:Anthony, I remember swimming with a bad health. I hit the wall and I woke. I woke out of the coma. So, thank God, I didn't quit, anthony, and that was my first Thank God. I didn't quit, anthony, and that was my first person in the world that trained me. And so now I'm in a hospital.
Speaker 2:I serve nine months now, and now I get out, I go home, I'm in a wheelchair, I go to my mother's basement apartment and immediately, anthony, depression set set in and I was very depressed. I just started eating and eating, and eating, and before I knew it, I was adding alcohol. I thought my life was a mess, anthony. And then cocaine came in. Now I'm sitting in my house weighing 300 pounds, sitting in a wheelchair. I just got shot in the head and my big, bright idea was to become a drug dealer. That was a great choice. So now I'm sitting in my house and I can't afford my drugs anymore. So that's why I became a drug dealer. I couldn't afford my habit.
Speaker 2:But, anthony, the cops did not take too kind to this. So I'm sitting in my apartment and boom, the door comes bashing in. Ten cops come rolling in with the guns pointed at me. I said oh, I thought I was dead. I thought I was being robbed. I didn't know. Then I heard the walkie-talkies and I said to myself oh, thank goodness, this is over.
Speaker 2:Anthony, it was hell being in that wheelchair, being in that apartment, being addicted to drugs and alcohol, thinking my life was over. It was complete hell. I remember the cop looking at me and saying because I was smiling, I was happy. I was happy. And the cop said what the hell are you smiling about here? You're in a lot of trouble. I said, sir, you don't understand. This is a good thing that's happening right now. So they take me to jail. But I get bailed out of jail.
Speaker 2:So now I'm sitting in the parking lot of jail of the police station weighing over 300 pounds in a wheelchair. No money, no drugs, nowhere to go. My friend says to me you need to get sober, you need to go to detox. So at that time I had no choices in my life. So off the ducks I went and from detox I wanted to enter a halfway house. I want to continue with my sobriety. So from detox to go to a halfway house. But I had to be interviewed for this halfway house. So I remember going in and I'm sitting in the office and I'm waiting for the executive director to come in to interview me and see if I'm accepted for this halfway house.
Speaker 2:This woman comes walking in. You can see there's something wrong with her. She was bouncing off, she sat down and she proceeded to tell me her story, how she was in a cocaine-induced coma 20 years prior to this. This is in 1994 now, so she was already sober for 20 years. She's telling me how she was in a wheelchair and how she got out. I can just remember looking at her.
Speaker 2:I could not believe she got out of that wheelchair. That wheelchair was hellishly and this woman just told me she got out of it. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think it was possible. This is the first time in my life I seen somebody get over something like this. I was in total awe. She was glowing, she was happy, she was smiling. I said I want what she has. I want that, anthony. She actually wrote the foreword in my book. She's my very good friend today. She just wrote my foreword. She's an awesome person.
Speaker 2:I listened, I was in love with her. I listened to every word she said. She was like God to me. I listened to everything. I did everything she said. I did everything she said. I wanted what she had, anthony, but I still had this court case hanging over my head. Now I've been sober now in the halfway house for eight months. So I'm saying I remember going to court. Deb took me to court, I rolled in. I remember saying this judge is going to go easy on me. Anthony. I'm in a wheelchair. I've been sober for nine months. I have a lot of support around me. My first offense he looked down at me. I was in my wheelchair. He said Mr Carter. He said we don't discriminate in this courtroom you will get the same sentence any drug dealer in my community gets. Anthony gave me 10 years. I was so limitedly hurt and upset at the moment but that turned to gratitude. Later on I'll explain it. But I was so. He's putting me in prison with with mass murderers. I'm in a wheelchair, my first offense. I was in shock, but dad looked at me. She said, john, face your fears, you're not alone. And Face your fears, you're not alone and you're gonna get through this. I'll be with you. Anthony. My whole life I felt alone. She said to me you're not alone and I listened to every word she said. No matter what she said, I listened to her. So what did I do? Off the post, I went. Anthony, I'm a big guy, I'm 6'2". I cried like a baby. Those big doors slammed behind me. I was in a cell no bigger than a bathroom and I cried and cried and cried.
Speaker 2:So this is where fitness came into my life, anthony. This is where fitness came in. Three guys answered myself the next morning, anthony, I was petrified. I said, oh my shit, I'm in trouble here and my father had a good name in the crime. So the three men said to me they said we're friends of your dad's and we're here to help you. And we're going to stop by getting you out of that wheelchair, anthony. I've been in this wheelchair for years now. They said we don't care if we're going to carry you, you're getting out of that wheelchair, anthony. For months they took me to the prison gym. They trained me and trained me. I was getting stronger and stronger, using that chair less and less, and who would have thought three convicts in prison would have taught me such a valuable lesson about fitness? See, anthony, I always felt alone, but now I'm putting the dots together. I'm feeling good physically, but, anthony, I was feeling awesome mentally. Buddy, I was not alone. I was in a little cell, in a little cell in jail, but feeling good about myself, feeling good about the future.
Speaker 2:In jail, anthony, recidivism is real. I seen people coming in and getting out like a revolving door all the time. I remember saying to myself I don't want this. I talked to my. I went back to my cell that night. I was talking to my dad, who was in heaven. I said dad, please, please guide me here. Dad, please, please guide me here. And I remember a lesson he taught me when I was a young kid fail to plan, plan to fail. So I said you know what? I'm gonna make myself a plan because I don't want this. So immediately I called them up. He says I've been waiting for this call. Of course we're going to help you. You're not alone, you're going to come right back to the half house. And Anthony, thank God I was 32 years old. I was just getting out of jail.
Speaker 2:They gave me $100 and a bus ticket. What were my chances if I went back to where I came from with $100 at 32? Nothing. I'd be still sitting in that bar. So I got on the bus, I took a walk, I came to Boston. I went back to the halfway house, thank goodness. Thank goodness, because where I am now it's unbelievable.
Speaker 2:So I knew I wanted to be in fitness. I knew this is what I wanted to do. So I kept applying to all the major gyms in Boston. Nobody was giving me the time of day I slur, I walk with a limp. No one was giving me anything. So my friend asked me if I wanted to go train. So now I'm in my training clothes. I have a pretty good physique, so my slight speech and my gait kind of takes a back seat because I'm in good shape.
Speaker 2:So I went to Boston Sports Club, I'm training, and I noticed a man here. He's a big, big, muscular guy, intimidating. So I said, oh, maybe I want to approach him. But then I was watching him here, smile from ear to ear. He was greeting everybody, giving people towels, very, very, very friendly man. I said, ah, this is my chance. I'm gonna wait till he's alone. I waited because he was alone and I went up to him. I said I'm gonna talk to him. He said I got a few minutes. He said we can sit down in my office and have a little chat.
Speaker 2:After that few minutes turned into an hour, hour, hour long conversation. And he looks at me and he says can you start tomorrow? And I still didn't tell him about jail yet. And he hands me the application. There's the question, the court. I said, oh Jesus, here we go. I said you know what. I'm going to go for it, I'm going to be truthful. So I told him my whole story without batting an eye, like he looks right at me and says can you stop tomorrow? I said I just talked to the next fellow in here. He said first of all, thank you for being honest he said. Second of all, he said I just wish my mom was alive to hear you speak. See, his mother had passed away a year ago of alcoholism and he said to me, if she heard you talk, I think she might not have that next drink and she would still be alive. Anthony, what a moment.
Speaker 2:So now I go home that night and I get the phone call. It's my new boss. He says my morning man just called in sick and I'm an hour away. I can't get it open to the gym. Could you do it for me? I said of course, but I've never been there, I don't know what to do. He gave me the combination to his gym. I couldn't believe this man just gave an ex-felon the combination to his gym.
Speaker 2:So now I go, I open up and at Boston's Sports Club you get what's called if you join the gym. It's called a PFW, a private free workout, and you get that as a complimentary for joining the gym. So the man walks in. It's at six in the morning. Now he's looking for the man that I replaced. I said I can help you. I got a few minutes. We can sit down. We'll have a little talk. So we go in my office. I'm talking to him, he starts telling me how he has diabetes. He has a ruptured L5. He has this. Ah, anthony, this is my first day I was so overwhelmed it's not that I didn't know what I was doing, I was just overwhelmed. Not that I didn't know what I was doing, I was just overwhelmed, overwhelmed. So now I go to the floor. I said we'll have a little workout. Now we go back into the office.
Speaker 2:It's my job to sell him on a package. That's my job. So I hit the menu of the prices and he says I'll take one of these 50 packs, anthony. It's $6,000. I'm trying to keep a straight face. Now I see my manager walk in. I run up to him. I said, david, this guy wants to buy a huge package, follow me. He says he goes in, he closes the deal, fences up and he looks at me and he says John, this package was just rolled out three weeks ago in Boston and you are the first trainer to sell one. How was that? For my first day, I think. Now the man that I sold in that package is still my, and this was back in 2002. That man is still my client, with his wife, his son and his daughter. I turned the whole family. What a great day that was, anthony.
Speaker 1:That was a really telling story, right. There's a lot to unpack inside of that. So I kind of want to go back to being in prison, because I think that's really relevant to your story, and I hear this from a couple people because I've done hundreds of these already. It kind of is, like you said, prison is a blessing, people because I've done I've done hundreds of these already. It kind of is, like you said, prison is a blessing, and I'll explain why.
Speaker 1:You have an opportunity in your life where all the bullshit that wraps up your life disappears right parties, mandatory, go hanging out with people pulled into work, work everything that you can imagine like that just bogs you down disappears and you have a couple of things to focus on instead of a couple of hundred things to focus on. So now you have the opportunity to really hone in on something that you didn't previously hone in before. For you, it was working out like you got to commit full-heartedly for months without having to worry about stupid shit that people worry about day to day. Take that to a different extreme where you had, you were like you said, you were 300 pounds in a wheelchair and you had all these issues because you got shot in the head, which is more than ever people, most people, could ever imagine. Yet you still decided to commit full-heartedly into something without looking back, and that kind of set your life at the trajectory where it is today.
Speaker 1:So so the question I have associated with all this is how do you talk to people that didn't go to prison, don't have 600 injuries, just have one or two little ones, but then always find excuses about why they're not physically fit or why they have type two diabetes or why they have xyz? How do you get through to those people to be listen, you have all the freedom in the world because you're not in prison. You didn't have, you didn't get shot. So how do you talk to those people? Get them on the right path?
Speaker 2:if they in my situation, it's kind of easy because they look at me, they look at me and they that they say how can I tell this guy I can't do that? How can they? How can they possibly do that to me? They can't? It's hard for them to say I can't.
Speaker 2:So with with my drive and my inspiration, motivation, a challenge is a challenge. I don't care what your challenge is. Answer, a challenge is a challenge. I don't care what your challenge is, anthony, a challenge is a challenge. They see the steps that I overtook and they can put that into their life. They might not be getting over the same things that I'm getting over or the same things that I went through, but they can put the positive things into their life and now they're working.
Speaker 2:Just by working out, anthony, as you know, the endorphins get released. You start feeling good about yourself. You know it's simply awesome the way I feel, and they can see that. They can say, like Francis, just the other day, my client said how could you be so happy? Life took so much from you. How could you be so happy? The life took so much from you? How could you be happy with life? And I remember looking. I think I put that. I said life gave me so much more than it has taken so much. And they looked at me. They said wow, he's been through all that and he still thinks that. And they, they can put that into their life and they start feeling good about themselves, start feeling real good about themselves all right, so I'm going to ask you the million dollar question, right?
Speaker 1:you got it. The question I did in my life and came to a conclusion and I've been asking everybody associated with this now conclusion, and I've been asking everybody associated with this now if you had the opportunity to go back and relive your entire life but you had to relive every moment, every good, every bad thing that happened in your life would you?
Speaker 2:no, nope, anthony, I have awesome. I got two beautiful daughters. I got an awesome son. I'm a single father. I have four grandchildren and, anthony, you were just talking about Alzheimer's dementia on your previous show last week my 82 year old brother lives with me and he has dementia Anthony to be with me. And she has dementia Anthony to be with her every day unbelievable.
Speaker 2:Now, anthony, I volunteer for a charity. We raise great things for the mobility impaired, veterans, first responders and the general public. I have two great things myself and they're awesome. Actually, the proceeds of my book, triggered Through Change, are going to help the firm, so that's a great thing. But anyways, I wasn't my oldest dog Jagger. I had to retire.
Speaker 2:Now here's where dementia comes in my oldest dog Jagger, I had to retire him for health reasons and I saved his life and I made him my pet and I got my new dog. But, anthony, I did not know he would become my mom's service dog. It's unbelievable, anthony. She'll be crying in her wheelchair for no reason, just crying. Jagger gets ready. He's 200 pounds. He gets right up, puts his big head right on her lap. She starts to pass. She smiles at me in the air. She has no idea why she was even crying, why she was sad. She's all happy. She's with him 24 hours a day. My dog is disabled so he don't walk too much. He lays in front of her on the bed and she sits there watching. It wasn't all day long. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 2:Anybody that has dementia in their family and is battling that this is such a tremendous asset to have it makes everything so easier. My mom is so happy and that's all I care about, anthony. That's why I say I would not do anything different, because I would be right here where I am now. I am supposed to be the teacher of my mother. Who knows, if things turned out different where I'd be right now. I like where I am.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't change a single thing and you'd be happy living every moment.
Speaker 2:The only thing I really wish I did and I'm looking that through my son's eyes, because my son just graduated his first year of college the only thing I really wanted was to go to college, not so much for the educational aspect but to be with the kids on campus. You know I miss that, but I get to see my center on that. I'm so proud.
Speaker 1:I just want to clarify a point here. John, you're willing to get shot again, go through, end up in a coma from now on the same story. You relive everything and your life ends up exactly where you are today. You'd be happy to do that and you wouldn't change a single thing.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't change that I wish. I wish I could be right where I am without going for that. That'd be great if I could be right here, right now, right right on my own but there's no guarantee of that so I would change it.
Speaker 1:So I would not change it I want to really talk about this because I've been in my own personal life right now, ever, ever since I told my story. I get asked this all the time and I started just asking people and I got to say something that I think everyone needs to hear. Like those people who we can subjectively say went through worse shit than we did, you get the same answers John's giving right now and that I give is I wouldn't change a single moment in my life if it meant that I wouldn't be exactly where I am today. Oh, good for you, anthony. That is so hard for people to say that haven't been through tragedy, and the caveat to that is maybe, maybe you have gone through tragedy, like I've heard from some people, but they ran away from it instead of embracing it, and I think, irregardless of your religious beliefs, that things are thrown in front of you that you can handle that. Someone up there is saying this is what life's going to give you, because I need to get you where you're going to go.
Speaker 1:I can tell you from a personal standpoint. I think Johnny will agree with me. I'm stubborn. If life didn't throw at me as hard as it threw at me, I would be going nowhere with my life.
Speaker 2:That's right, buddy.
Speaker 1:I think you can full-heartedly agree with that, with yourself just getting to know you over the last half an hour.
Speaker 2:What happened to us. I've never learned your story too much, but what happened to us made us fight to go on. Had to push us to go on, anthony.
Speaker 1:It's so amazing. I think what I struggle with and I've been doing this for almost six years now the podcasting is how do you, how do you really teach people that haven't gone through tragedy or haven't embraced the tragedies they've gone through, and show them that the lessons you learn from things like that are it can't be replaced and can't be taught in a school-like setting? How do you get through to those people, john?
Speaker 2:I get through to them through my acting hand play. I don't tell them what they need to do. I tell them what I did. I never put it on them. They listen to me what I went through, what. I tell them what I did. I never put it on them. They listen to me what I went through, what I did, how I overcame things. And they can put things together and say, oh, I can do this, I can do this. This kid just did this and I, what am I going to say I can't do this little thing over here. To them it's a big thing. Until they see other things, oh, maybe I'm not too big of a mountain here. Maybe I can climb that mountain and they can do it. Anthony, I give them the inspiration they need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean you definitely have an amazing inspirational story and you end up on the right path, because so many people did not, so many people could have gone through what you went through and not ended up in the right path and got misguided, kind of got out of prison, went right back to drug dealing Like that's what the stats show right, and you turned into the leaf and hopped into something.
Speaker 2:But, anthony, I did not do that by myself. I had a lot of help. I was never alone. And a lot of help, I mean, I told you how I was upset with the judge who gave me 10 years. Thank God he gave me 10 years. I learned my lesson. I didn't get a quick sentence in and out of jail. I learned my lesson. I didn't get a quick sentence in and out of jail. I learned my lesson because I wrote him a letter from prison. He passed away now. He was in his 80s when he sentenced me. I wrote him a letter thanking him and he actually wrote me back. I couldn't believe it. I got a letter from the judge wishing me good luck in my life.
Speaker 2:I mean, and that's when I realized I said there are so many people that are out to help, like like Deb at the halfway house. I mean what a miraculous thing to meet her. I mean unbelievable. The guys in prison taught me how to train the cops who arrested me. My friends, my clients, my family, my dog. It's called Service Dog Project, the charity that I volunteer for. We raise great things. What a wonderful thing, anthony. I just got to tell you a quick story about this. It's a volunteer farm so when people are getting the dogs they usually go up the farm and they do what they can. And I already had my dog Jagger. So I was up just this day.
Speaker 2:I remember this 12-year-old kid. His name was Ben. He had multiple sclerosis. He walked with those big metal canes and I remember him looking at me and said John, do you really think they're going to give me one of these dogs? I said Ben, it's not. If it's when, well, he has this dog and his parents. This is his dog and his parents. This is a year ago. His parents are still right in the rain. They said they didn't see their son smile in years. Now it's ear to ear. He walks on that. He's in high school. I'm sure all the kids aren't his best friends. You know how kids are. He's not walking off those big metal kings on the corner. He's walking around with a 200 pound gray thing. His family said not only his school but the whole town knows who he is. It changed his life. He has the confidence to go on with life and be successful at it.
Speaker 1:And he'll achieve things that a lot of people won't, because they take too much of life for granted. I wholeheartedly believe that you need adversity and you need to embrace adversity in order to be successful, because it teaches you exactly what your shirt says never give up, anthony never give up.
Speaker 1:I totally agree, man. It's so eye-opening and inspirational to be there and that's why we get into these fields, and I was mentioning before it's just two fields that people turn to for inspiration. One is religion. A lot of people turn to religion for all sorts of aspects that we've talked about before how they were saved and moved on and started doing good things and the other one's fitness, and people turn to this field because they truly want to help others and they want to do it in more of a tough love scenario. Right, as a trainer, you love your clients through and through, but it's tough love. It's I'm going to love you, but we're working Like, don't think, I'm going to let you get away with shit.
Speaker 2:Like. You need to work your ass off and learn. They know that, they know that, but they know it's safe and I safely rest them up the ladder. See, when I was at Boston Sports Club, anthony, my boss, my manager, who gave me the job left and opened up his own gym, a small private gym. And it wasn't for a long time before I got the phone call Will you please come and help me? So I came and checked it out. I loved it. Boston Sports Club was a big public gym, so it had all its marketing. All you do is show up. They make it into clients.
Speaker 2:Now I come to my private gym and I'm a single father and I say, oh Jesus, I don't have a guaranteed paycheck tomorrow. I've got to really, really work this. And thank God everything. Because it wasn't long after that I joined my manager and I came here and it wasn't long after that where he decided he wants to get more clients, he wants to bring more trainers in and I already have my clients. They all like working in privacy with me, they like talking, they like the privacy aspect. So I wasn't going to give that up. So I made the decision to buy him out. So I wasn't going to give that out. So I made the decision to buy him out.
Speaker 2:And, anthony, after I bought him out, I think I had like $18 left. The office of the gym was my new bedroom. Oh yeah, my son went and lived with my sister in Alabama. I couldn't. I had to do this. I knew I wanted this, anthony. I said I'm going to go for it. I made it and it was thank God, because now I was 13 years old. I bought my own property for 13 years and I love it. Anthony, anthony, when I come I shouldn't even say this I don't feel like I'm working, like I got here at five. Why shouldn't you say that? Because they're paying me. I'm not saying I'm working.
Speaker 1:You're not working. You're doing what you love and you're helping people move I love what I do, anthony, I freaking love it.
Speaker 2:I hear people say all the time oh, I've got to go to work. I look and I say I said you kidding me. I've never said that when I'm home, I want to get to work. I don't want to be home, I want to be at my gym. This is what I love. I love helping people. I love my dog is late. My dog is with me 24 hours a day. I'm never alone, never alone. He's with me 24 hours a day. My clients love my dog, love him. He's 200 pounds. They bring him in treats so they can bribe him, but they love him and they love coming to my gym.
Speaker 2:Anthony, like I said, I had my first client that I ever signed. That bought Swoop in 2002. He's still my client with all his family. So I don't have a big turnover. I keep my clients for a long time. I have clients for years. Seriously, I haven't had one client that just bought one package and stopped.
Speaker 2:They keep going and then eventually, if whatever comes up in life, but they don't come to buy one 10-pack or whatnot and that's it. They love. They love coming here and it starts the day off right. They come here early in the morning, they work out. They do something great in the morning. They work out. They do something great for their body. They're feeling real good now because they just did something right for their body, anthony. They're adding years to their lives by staying in shape.
Speaker 2:I mean, if God don't strike us down with an illness or being struck by a car, whatnot, we have to do our part. I mean, anthony, keith Richards is still breathing air. I mean, if Keith Richards can still breathe air, we've got to do our part Because we can live a long, long time and I see people now at the age of 60, 65, and they can't even cross the street. Because it's so way, anthony. That's our golden years. No way I'm not going to work my whole life and then retire and that's it. I have a whole. That's our golden years. You don't want to be able to travel, do things. You can't do things if you're out of shit, but out of weight, you know.
Speaker 1:That's another three-hour podcast for you, john. Yeah, why people wait way too long to start taking advantage of doing life? You need to take care of your health, because it doesn't matter how much money you have in the freaking world.
Speaker 2:Exactly. You don't got your health, it don't matter. So you speak about. I was just listening to Steve Jobs and he passed away of cancer and he was saying how everything in his life is money, money, work, work, work. And then the doctor says he's going to die. He got four months to live. He spent his whole life working and working and working, never really reaping the fruit, smelling the roses. You never had that chance. You never know. We never know when our time's up. We got to live today. Tomorrow's forgotten about. Tomorrow I mean yesterday is forgotten about. Tomorrow is not promised to us. We got today, we got right now.
Speaker 1:Live it.
Speaker 2:And like I always say, people say you only live once, you only die once. We live every day, buddy.
Speaker 1:We live every day.
Speaker 2:We have to make it come Because we die once.
Speaker 1:And when that comes, it's over. John, I really couldn't agree more and I really appreciate all the story, the insight, everything. I think stories like yours, stories like mine and for those that want to go back and listen, it's Beyond Breaking Points, the name of the episode.
Speaker 2:Oh, awesome, thank you, I was looking for that, you know yeah, definitely, definitely take a listen, especially for everybody oh definitely you'll find a lot to relate to it, because you and I are very.
Speaker 1:We went down different paths and we ended up in different scenarios, but we ultimately joined back and really set out to inspire others and change the world, and we're both the reason that you give hope to other people to live, and I love that about you and I appreciate you sharing your story and being vulnerable about everything.
Speaker 1:But I do want to wrap this up, john, so I'm going to ask you the final two questions. I ask everyone the first question if you were to summarize this episode in one or two sentences, what would be your take-home message?
Speaker 2:My take-home message is never give up, anthony, never quit. You can do it. No matter what your challenges in life, you can get over it. You can get through it. You don't have to drink and drug and run through the problems. Face them. You're not alone, anthony. There are people that are going to help us. We just have, when you're caught up in the addiction, you don't see everything. You don't see everything, you feel alone. But you're not alone. If you try and you want help and people see you really trying, they're going to help you. That's the way it is, anthony.
Speaker 1:I love that, john. And the second question how can people find your book and how can they get a hold of you if they want to learn more? My book is on.
Speaker 2:Amazon Trigger to Change A Life Full of Terribilities, and my website, my fitness website, is titaniumhealthandfitnesscom. I'll give you the link so you can put them up, and I'd be more than happy Anybody that shares your name, anthony, come in and get the free session, free workout. I'll treat them good, buddy.
Speaker 1:I love that. John, thank you so much for that offer and thank you guys for listening to this week's episode of Health and Fitness Redefined. Don't forget, subscribe, share. It's the only way this podcast grows, because of you guys really pushing this out. It makes me want to do more and more and more, and remember fitness is medicine. Until next time, thank you. Outro Music.
