Flex Lewis: The Gym Rat’s Road to Riches – Bench Presses, Business Plans, and Brand Building | E108

But if you're not all in and you're leaving things off the table, and you're playing this cautiously, then you're not going to achieve what you want to achieve. I got our shoes up there. Oh, I was like, what are we talking about? Yeah, he just said he just segwayed from posing trunks to like get into this podcast,

started to train there. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. She says, you know, you gotta calm and I'm like, I too insecure to go. I was like, oh, like the same guy. No, go there. But But you You came to the US. And when you finally moved here, you slept on a couch for one and a half year?

looked at this. And of course, I show my parents, my mom especially she was like, Oh, my God, you're going to go to America, you'll get locked up in a closet. And you'll never be seen again, you'll be brought up for some fun times. Some weirdo. You'll never be seen again. Of course, again, I don't understand that you understand. I understand there was a parent. Back then I was like, Mom, you're overthinking. Now, as a

dad, I understand. You know, having this strange email back in them days to there's no social media to check up on anybody. So a couple of months went by, I got another email, probably one of the two. I ended up getting a name to connect with and I knew who this person was connected with this person. And he said, This guy is great. He's helped a lot of people out and you should take this opportunity, or you had the word

opportunity. So I reached back out, probably within a month of going back and forth and sharing details. I was on a plane to the US for the first time. And I landed in LAX. Again, massive culture shock, massive culture shock. Everything was bigger. Everything was a champion with bigger rewards, cars, people, food. And I felt that it was weird. I just knew as much as it scared me. But I needed to be in

the United States. And again, I had all it was the infancy stage of the business to you know, the moving company, but I was like, wow, this is great. I haven't even stepped foot in Gold's Gym at this point in time. So when add his name Ed Connors, one of the original owners of Gold's Gym powder, offshore gold, and his partners. He brought me to his house, which was a beautiful house on Santa Monica. The boardwalk? Yeah. In Santa Monica. Venice, on the boardwalk, right on the beach.

And I got there at night. So of course, I get there. It's dark. The house is dark. I knew there was other house guests there. Yeah. I wake up in the morning.

I'm the earliest up and I'm getting to see the house for the first time in Light and just the experience of seeing people rollerblade past rot walking, jogging, keeping fit all shapes and sizes all ethnicities just seeing that again different world from I'm coming from not many people walking on the road to be fit back then every it was good weather early in the morning nonetheless but I was like wow, this is a great place

to be. And of course then the host guests started waking up and I got to meet some people there was a bodybuilding WW egos in fact sight story, but nonetheless one that's a big part. The guy who was in my room prior to me coming in just left to do a TV series called tough enough and that guy No was no known as John Cena. So John was in the room pray to me by a few days he left to do this TV series. And I jumped in is basically grave. When he when he left on his magic test. I'll

take that. Yeah, but it was the who's who of people who had been in that house all the way from actors, wrestlers, bodybuilders, but adds Gall, as he made a lot of money from Gold's Gym, the franchise said he was behind that and took it all around the world. He was seen as the opportunity to bring athletes myself included many other people to gold's give them the experience, host them in a house and not pay a dime. And for me, that was an incredible thing. I had no money. I got exposed to

the dream. I walked into Gold's Gym, and I seen first there was there. John Claude Van Damme, there was Hulk Hogan. And then there was all the bodybuilders from that era. And I'm like, this magazine. And everybody was obtainable. Every was respectable, respectful. Everybody was cool for a photo. Although I didn't ask if they'd seen it firsthand. But it was just a magical experience that I went back home. And I knew that I had to save my money to come

back. So that's what I done. I worked, I saved I came over, I worked, I saved I came over while simultaneously growing my business in the UK, coming over here whilst trying to make my name in the US. And then it came down to the, to the tipping point of where I had to make that choice then to come to United States but all that was in various goals. Santa Monica, the first couple of trips over the gym was packed full is from all the best athletes in the

world. But then as the years went by, the gyms started becoming very quiet. And coming from a gym that was clanking and bang and a lot of heavy weightlifting, a lot of motivation. There was hardly any motivation and Gold's Gym, there was a lot of old guys who retired and they were just popping around and talking to girls. And I'm like, why they moved the other side of the world. To see this, I want to be around the savages the best I

want to shop my side. And it was a couple of months later that I heard about a gym up in Fullerton, California. And I bought it my friend's current jumped up and no four or five had no clue about traffic coming from the UK, stuck in the four or five for an hour finally got to this gym. And then this gym became my new home for the next couple of years. And there was a gym called the Coliseum gym. On the first day there, the owner at the time will know full circle trends in my gym, mula

Sacha. He introduced me to another guy who was my age. And he said you guys need to work me if you need to meet flex wants to move up here. He's kind of speaking on my behalf. And he's like, you can put them up in your house, right? And this kid from Hawaii. Awesome guy, Edward lakra. He was the who was in manager for Chapman University in Orange County. So he was able to hide me in the house and stuff. I slept in a sofa for you and a half. Horrible, no AC and we was broke. When it was hot,

it was hot. It was cold. It was cold, sticky sofa, you know that old school lather that and then the leather had peeled off and it was just fabric. That was my life for a long time. But it was focused on that goal and that dream to be the best. And they turned up every single day, sometimes twice a day, twice a day to be at that gym to be part of the photo shoots. That's where all the photo shoots for flex magazine were taking place. I stayed in shape and basically

pleaded for the opportunity. I mean shed a lot of these guys were under contract back then we were getting paid big six figure contract sums and tunap money ship. So I'd be like, Hey, I'm here, your your camera setup. Take some photos of me, you know, in a respectful way. And in the end and calls that are coming in. It's like flex jumping. And then I'd have a small little article in Flex magazine that came out three months later and then the articles went a little bit

bigger. Then it was a full page and yeah, it was just putting myself in front of people to not be ignored and also kindness kills, right? I won the respect of these incredible photographers. By just being respectful and waiting for my chance. I wasn't annoying. I was like, hey, if there's an opportunity for me, I'll jump in. I'll stay in shape all year, which I did. And it suffice to say, you know, I had every

reason to go home. Every reason, the business, my parents, my mum, musky, I will say no, it's okay. If it's not working, I'll come back home. And there's a little voice that was that guy in the shoulder there. But what I tried to do back then, of all the things that are going wrong 1015 Things that weren't happening. Give me that one thing that was and I homed in on that. And that kept me in the game. And then one turned into two and, and then I just kept on focusing on that. Of course I'd

go home. I was on a 90 day visa at the time traveling visa. Totally abused that.

to dominate. But bear in mind, that ridiculous mindset was so skewed, because the champion at the time was Ronnie Coleman, the greatest of all time. And I was saying to myself, I will be Mr. Olympia. But you have to have a delusional mindset, in many cases to go after certain things until momentum happens. And it turns into reality. But again, coming from wheels, everything I was talking about was a

delusion. I wanted to be a millionaire, I want to be the best in this I want to be started my business delusion, delusion, delusion. So I was like, Okay, keep telling me that I can't do this. So getting off that pleading, feeding, feeding the beast feeding the beast telling me I can't do it now. Somewhat, find a way to prove you wrong. And it's like I said, a transcending, torn that's happened throughout my life. And

going back to the timeline. me stepping off that stage, I knew that I wanted to be a bodybuilder as soon as I got exposed to it, going back on home, you know what's fueling my fire. So when I committed myself and I got my athlete visa, fighting me when I didn't have to go back every 90 days, I could control my narrative than my environment, because I wasn't going back anywhere anytime soon, because there's a different mentality being in the

UK to be in in the US. And the the attributes that I was around in the US when I go back to the UK was somewhat being bled over. Now this mentality here, and maybe it's something that comes from school, everyone should be great coaches tell students you got to be the best you know, you didn't give your all demand more from yourself. You don't have

that back home in sports. Yes. But for the most part that the culture I grew up in the academic side of things, I was an academic student, so I told him how many times you know cosplay on that is stupid. The word stupid is always used differently or have teachers too. But the this was me. I knew that bodybuilding was in my control. If I wanted to be bigger, just like an artist, Arnold spoke about this put some clay on Scott sculpt the body

for me. It was time in the gym, and in my strikethrough compounded time periods of focusing on there. So going back to what I was saying, when I was in the US I was focused I wasn't leaving anytime soon I didn't have to leave in 90 days I could truly go all out and focus on everything that I was trying to achieve and that was become the best. And I won my pro card was going back and forth. When I when I was doing my first pro

show I was living here. Now with that said, they created the new class, which at the time was 202 not 212 So I thought oh my gosh, what a beautiful thing. This is meant for me and so we don't we throw ourselves in the hot in the ring for that and that was my focus that was my goal and to be the best tour to at the time, right

guys. So they created this class, kind of like Arnold and Franco back in the day to height classes. But this was wait. And what we're talking about also the clarify for the audience listening is the Mr. Olympia that is the Super Bowl of bodybuilding. There's no higher title there can be one. You could see well flex you said Mr. Universe, which a lot of people know more than Believe it or not been Mr. Olympia. But the Mr. Universe is an amateur title in

a different Federation. the Mr. Olympia is the highest title you can win of all Federation's. It's the king of the hill. So that was my goal to become Mr. Olympia. And obviously, when they created this class, my goal was to become Mr. Olympia in that in that field, and then I was all in all in on that from the moment that they they put the news out there.

your arm. And you've got a pin in your arm and a scar that's showing on your on your arm right now, which is that still got the pin down. And I was able to achieve this. You can achieve anything. And also, it was kind of like a middle finger to the guys who told me I couldn't do it too. I love it too. I love that I celebrate my successes and also kind of celebrate the not I told you so as but it's just I don't need to say it because nobody's going to come out and say I was wrong. I'm

sorry. But a lot of people hate their words. And being able to call yourself the best of the best. And also not come from, you know, the the US which is bodybuilding is obviously a big US sport. It was anyways gone more international, was reassurance for me that I I could do really anything respectively within certain parameters that I put my mind

to. But I also knew that this show now was the first foot down of what was about to change because when you win the title, it comes with a complete new set of responsibilities. You're the champion. You're in media, how we walk, talk act, how you conduct your business on social media, how you talk to your fans, that are there standing for three hours in some cases.

So thankfully, as I mentioned, in the earlier part of the podcast, I learned a lot of lessons from being the paperboy having my business that when I was able to talk to these funds, I tried to give everybody the experience that they should have with with a champion, as opposed to the one that everybody's kind of got to know where it's like I hate that. I hate the

stereotype. And also another reason why I marched against the bodybuilder stereotype was I wanted to do something different I'm a match to my own beat to my drum but yet make sure that in doing so was aligned morally to what they believe in and who I am as a person so it's kind of you know, elaborate what I was saying but bodybuilders have that stereotype of being the biggest guys on steroids. It's the biggest thing the gym, how many sets you got left on you to work that piece. I hated that. I

was always in baggies. I was always in my three or 4x t shirt so big I was back then covered up. I never wore a tank top In public, I just wanted to stay against it. And it also has allowed me to get into different spaces and be around different people because the business side of things was also prevalent during the Olympia stuff too. I started my different businesses

up. But being a bodybuilder, just by locks, you get, you know, whatever perception that person has of x, whether they've met somebody in the gym, and they're cocky or noxious, whatever it is. I've been privileged and blessed to fly all over the world and sit in business class first class next to some amazing people who have never met a bodybuilder but have that stereotype. These people, full circle, have no interest in bodybuilding, but have come to watch every one of my Mr.

limpias. And these people are in different different genres, from diamond mines to waste management companies. But again, you kill people with kindness, I would sit on a flight next to these people. Firstly, I'd say sorry, I have to eat every two to three hours as part of my

job. wouldn't talk about bodybuilding what I want, they might not even find out that I'd won the Mr. Olympia I would find water on that level and speak to people so I felt it was my duty my own and my goal to conduct myself on then obviously, the media obligations opened up so going into my second year compared to everybody else. So I stood in on stage next to I already had this a the added element of cameras on me, as demanded more time for me, which put another sport in the works.

But it also allowed me to adapt and be like, Okay, this is part of it. You wanted to be the champion trained to be the champ This is the unspoken about elements that come part of being in the shoes you're in right now. And I embraced it, you know, I used it to feel my

failure. You know, when in the first I wanted to win the SEC, and to prove to not only myself, but everybody that it wasn't a fluke, there was one or two pros that were missing in the first one, they returned to the SEC and there was a little bit of shed toggle a bit of banter they went on and they turned up and And suffice to say the guys will beat me as a tour Tool Guy didn't come close in the 212 K category because that was my

class. And even though I was on the road, doing all these extra stuff, taking the ability of me to focus on bodybuilding 100% I give these these guys all the chances to catch me up. But when I had my chance, and I was home, I was all in and that's the time I was able to grow. You know, make the changes needed and step on stage every single year with a new improved version of myself.

to embrace the journey. And collectively memories traveling doing what I done going the extra mile having all these add added elements that were against me in you know, defending the title, injuries, whatever else, all the unseen, unknown stuff. That's when I started getting to yours. Because when I was younger, it was like, Oh my God, yes, I won a couple of tears come. But then there was true emotion as the years went by. And a different set of tears when I had my kids too. But this

was earned. And through sweat, equity, Blood Sweat, equity, and a lot of lost time away from the sacrifice. But there was a different like I said sanity is But truthfully, the reason why I'm struggling to remember, I can't remember many of the shows. I was sore in autopilot. I was a freaking machine. I won the Olympia. I went backstage then my press went to my after party. And at the after party was always looking for Irish goodbye. Because I had to cardio

the next morning. I had to get my weight back down and I had to head to Korea the next weekend to win another show. So my mentality was always the next so it was just like yes, I wanted the best in the world. Okay, go backstage do my thing. That's the world that's the world that's the world time to think and process. All right. What time is it? Okay, I gotta get up and cardio on six o'clock tomorrow, five o'clock in the morning. Get my weight back

down. So it was always on to the next always on for next so, no to answer your question. It never really hit me until Christmas time on the show was instead timber when I was home in Wales and on creature comforts, and I was on my own, of course, no, it wasn't wrong people and it just hit me like a ton of bricks was like, wow. But it never hit me at the time,

until my last. The last is a promise to myself that this was going to be my last I put it out in the MLS 212 And I was going to be present, I would enjoy it, I would have sensory overload. And I remember thinking about me putting my foot from the coal concrete backstage onto the first set of stairs going up. And they were the stairs got hotter and hotter because the lights on stage and I remember how hot the stage was because the unforgiving lights, the best

in the world. All these things, I remember finding directions I remember see where my parents were sitting. Now granted, you can only see so many rows back because the lights Yeah, it's on your face. So I could but I could see where they were sitting, if not a good year, my mother anyway, my mother's got like the best accent. Of course, he called me Jim standing up from everywhere else too. So just here to name the crowd and being able to pinpoint certain

people to so I truly can see. I enjoyed that show more than any other show. Yes, it was my last day different different meaning. But I had some real tears for that, that were in the moment on Earth.

mum. So there's massive line, they're up there on the building, and they'd see my mother there. Like, she also needed the game to see like, Oh, I just want to see a law, you know, she got the front, they just want to see a law or come in come in. And the funds, some of the funds knew my mother anyway. So they would bring my mother and skip the whole line. And she built a rapport of being, you know, the mum on site, the longer my dad was trailing behind, you know, but they truly loved what I was

doing. And seeing what I was doing with it. Again, like me, you know, this, this was an untapped world, I didn't know where I was going until I discovered what I wanted to do with it. And then when they started seeing me do more and more stuff that was in the sport, and then out, and how it didn't change me as a person, you know, just because I was the

champ I wasn't talking to. So anyway, my mother actually has signs in the house that she's got up in the wall one is something about basically egos, you know, whatever, whatever you think you are in this house, you know, your family, she's got these little signs, I don't have anything to do with me. But we just stayed all humble and

driven. And but again, the see my parents assume that role also, as their son was the champion, and then be part of every show, outside of the International stuff, they never missed a show. They came to all the Olympians, all the big important shows they came to and they seen the I mean, they see in the unseen, they see me struggle, trying to make weight.

Of course, my mum still is a nurse had mentality see me like slow trying to drag myself down to get on the scale, make that scale and then just get back up on food. But I never shied away from not showing them that I we had we'd get a couple of rooms, in different hotels, different suites and they would all be

joining in and connected. So as I started progressing the sport obviously my family started growing too and my daughter was just been around it for years, my parents would come in and obviously kill several birds one stone see me see the kids, my child at the time my daughter, I'm sorry. But all the rooms are all be open. And they'll be in and out of the rooms all day the media would come in, you know, they're different people coming in for interviews, whatever it would be. They seen the reality

of what it was. And then when I would walk out into the exports like the it's just the pros, the bonus of what comes with being who you are, you know, the security that takes you through and the big lines that await you in different booths, then you get shuttled from one sponsor to the other sponsor, all while still managing to stay on PrEP, because you're still competed that next day. So I had to stay on times. And another thing too, which I hated and it just this

is my mentality. Most of the cake the guys that I competed against all on the open class would always sit down at these events. I hated that. So you got these fans who stand in line for you for a long period of time. And then they kind of like shit going down to shake your hand. And he probably was a didn't you know A favor me by doing this, but I would stand the entire

time. I mean, I love engaging people I love talking and interacting on just being in that moment was the moment that I heard, and somebody may have flown from the other side of the world, their only opportunity to meet me, they stood in line, they get to experience it, my rule of thumb was I treat the same person at the front as they do at the back. And I'd never walk away from the line, we'd always put people in the line to

stop the line. And when they seen the last guy there, I was like, I've done my job, but I'd never walk away from the line. And they'd never do all these little things to because it's an experience for the fans. I've also been on the receiving end of meeting athletes, and they weren't good experiences. In fact, some of them are friends of mine. No. But I also remember the first interaction I had to

them. And I was like, Okay, I don't want that to be my case, when I need my funds, but my parents got to see that be part of it. And also just live the moment with me too, because again, we're all from the same small town and now we're on this big stage and it'll be screaming my name. We

rent. So I always wanted to do better and like you, I wanted to have money in my pocket where I could do certain things. And so graduated top 1% of my class at University of Michigan graduated. I did well at Northwestern law school, and then I, I got a job and I was in law school. I had this girlfriend home in Aspen, Colorado, very fancy, very shishi very wealthy family that a home in the south of France. And I remember going to this party with them and I didn't

have the right clothes. I mean, it's beautiful house and Red Mountain. Who ever been asked them before?

wealth. And so we took this this block around the block and said, How much money is it going to take for you to stop dating my daughter? True story. True story. I remember we were walking by the little now it it started to snow. And I remember looking at our mouth. I was 22 years old. And I'm sitting there thinking to myself, I mean, you see the stuff on TV and happening to me, like a fiction novel. And I thought, gosh, you know, that's That's absurd. And in my mind is like, gosh, you

know, one day? Yeah. There will be a point in my life where if the situation were equal, and we were measuring on that day, I don't think she would be saying that. And when our company went public, our stock close the first day of training of $14.4 billion, and then shot up two months later to $35 billion, which at the time was more than the market caps of Chrysler, Ford and GM combined. And I'm

from Detroit. Yeah, they deal. Yeah. When that happens to you're under the microscope, like you're under the microscope, right? Everyone wants you to be arrogant. Everyone wants you to say the wrong thing. Everyone just wants to criticize you. There's people who are not happy for you. I'm smarter than that person. And people want to call it luck. None of my friends thought it was like the people who knew I

slept on couches. I work I was in library till 11 o'clock when everyone was out drinking at the bar. But I remember the one person who I hoped had read stories, there's things in the media, you know, newspapers, magazines, and I have this kid had done really well kid from humble roots in Detroit. And I remember thinking, is there one

person did she ever know? And I learned later that she did no Oh, no. And that was a source of some satisfaction for me and I never called I never sent her a newspaper clipping but enough. You want to be that asshole right? Yeah. And I kept thinking to myself, you know, I want to be the same person that I am. I obviously have a lot more money than I had before. And, you know, it felt pretty damn good.

point in time. Now, if you were, you just said you're motivated, right? So I'm guessing you were very lucky. Yeah, looking to deal with stuff as a 101. I

So now, they're probably talking about you, in family get together. So what do you know that? You know, no doubt. Exactly. And this and that is what it is. But it's not a great thing where you've been able to feel that feeling horrible as it is. Yeah. And I'm sure that has been led to a Pandora's box. Yeah, call it many times to fuel you through some of the hardest days. Yeah, whatever it is.

and everybody. And it. I had since seen those people I go, I'd gone back to visit my family and you bump into people and it was just a whole different perception. And then you go to your high school reunion. And you're the most successful person there not not by in there were successful people. But you when you hit it big in the technology business. It's it's not like having a good mortgage

company. And you've got you know, 50 people, it's just, you know, the valuations of the companies are big, so that that should have felt good. Yeah. Fucking awesome. By the way. Yeah,

presume. But when you hear about that story that you just spoke about, about being bullied and it's all made you into the savage, you became Yeah, staying in the library, fully adult was making sure that you put all this extra work in academically into literature and class, you know, homework, whatever it would be, to then tune into the monster you already know, in a good way, you know, on animal.

island, right? It's like okay, I come here. I don't know anybody has coconut coconuts up in the tree. There's, you know, I can collect water and nice leaves when it rains. When I came to the US I had no money very little money. Should I say everything that I had when all on food? Thankfully, I didn't have to pay rent because I stayed in Ed's house for the first part. But I had to ration everything out on thankfully, again, keep people in my life at that point in time, whether they

knew it, no they do. They would give me a protein just gone out of their protein that I was able to survive and turn into meals. All these small little collective things allowed me to stay in the game when I had the excuses to go back home because I didn't have it but instead I was like, okay, I'd go to local supplement stores and be like, Hey, you guys got any dented product you want to give get rid of? I got free product from from that too. So I hustled and I worked and I They pour into

relationships. Because the seen guys that were around me then are still around me to this day so much saw that one they've already mentioned. And one of the owners of the Max Muscle store is now in my gym training on the daily and he will tell you all these stories that I can you remember me coming in thick Welsh accent, they've worked really hard to make sure that I

understood every other word. But back then I had this thick accent on that's what the kind of knew me for this kid that speaks English but doesn't speak English. So they all seen the potential I had. And they also seen that I was relentless in my pursuit. So whether they knew I was going to make it, I don't think they thought I was going to make it. The statistics were so against me, if I was a Vegas bat and odds, I'd be Gordmans plus 1500, whatever. But I did.

And now I can lean into these people who helped me back then and say, Hey, you believed in me back then whether they did or not. They did believe in me to give me protein powder, whatever it was small little, or some people would take me out for food. Unseen, I was struggling but was all in on this. Just full circle now. But again, all in right, you got to come into something. And if you're not all in, on whatever it is, I was all in on bodybuilding, doing another chapter chips on, chips

all in. But if you're not all in and you're leaving things off the table, and you're, you're playing this cautiously, then you're not going to achieve what you want to achieve. Because you've given yourself a plan B. And I came to this country without a plan B. It was many times as I said, my parents like okay, come home. Now, we've been

gone for a couple of months. And you know, if things are not working come home Plan B, my business was a plan B, I didn't see it as a business, Plan B, I was all in on Plan A. And Plan B I already created a few years ago. And I had got contracts from the Council, which are hard to get. I had counselors from the NHS, which will basically pay me a lot of money. Even though I had to submit an invoice, I get it a month later to move a bed from one hospital to the next day. To give the

contract to me, I my team. And I was all in on on that new chapter. Because if I allowed myself to go home, I would find myself finding that fast cash again. And I'd be still in the groove of moving people. And I knew there was something much better for me and it was in the United States. And that's why I said I'm all in no going back. So

States you make more. And you have to be in the United States to be in the sport and be at the top level for Mr. Olympia, I think pays four to $500,000. Now for the top prize, but we're in class at that open class opened class. So what where? Where does money rank as a motivation factor in your life? And what's your advice to all of the either future bodybuilders out there, or non athletes out there where money should rank in terms of their motivation on their quest for success?

to the open class. So the open class was getting 442,005 and 1000 Whatever it is right now, the 212 was getting 40,000 So I had to be very intelligent with my ways of making extra money up through guest posing through different brand endorsements. Yet I never looked at myself as a subcategory. In the sport of bodybuilding. You know, Mr. Olympia, the open class is always going to be looked at as the top the The three, the two trial class was created for

athletes within that realm. And I was like, this is the Mr. Olympia for everybody who is at this weight category. And man, they truly believe that why would they not a year in districts. So monetary wise, not much money in competing business sponsorships, I made more money.

One month, I made more money a month than I did when in the Olympia because of strategic planning, invest in investing in people which turned into opportunities, and showing up as the champion in rooms, masterminds, whatever else to network to create further opportunities. So the mentality of a bodybuilder is truly loved in the entrepreneurial world because you stick to a goal and a game plan come hell or high water on that date, whatever it is June 4, whatever it is, you

will do with that show. If you're of that mentality, injuries, setbacks, there's no stopping. So if you transition, that same mentality into entrepreneurial ship, that's a savage. So at a very young age, as I said, from the experience I had from being in Wales, I said myself if I'm not going to make money in bodybuilding, as a businessman, I'm not doing this. This isn't just about titles and accolades. Yes, that's the perks of everything being known as the best but this has got to be a

business. I've sacrificed my business in the UK to come here. So I picked up my first contract from Joe Weider 23 exact

brand. The second thing was starting to look at opportunities to invest into them made me more money, like outside of the sport, but then still was around me. So I started putting in into businesses. I started doing things completely different at a young age. Obviously, as the years went by, I still invest in the different businesses, which I'm sure we speak about. But monetary wise, I was making the most money that I've ever seen in my life by signing with a supplement company that truly

signed me as a racehorse. I was with a company for a long time because by nutrition shout out to rich Gaspari when the legends in the sport traveled around the world, and it's so

certain things. Okay, we're gonna give you 1000 shirts, but this is this is the price point that you're going to buy, you know, if you buy this, it was just an entrepreneur's dream to be sitting there. Listening to the to the conversation that went on the apprenticeship. Bottom line. Ana was live in the shoes of what Rich Gaspari used to be in. So we train, we hung out. He's like a big brother to me. And then his company started growing. I was there for a long

period of time. And again, I'm very loyal to the t. But again, they started having this massive carrot dangled in front of me, that was a lot of money. And I said no to it for two years straight in hopes that they were going to match it and they brought somebody else in again, this has nothing to do with rich guy there never was in the industry, one of these C level execs that don't know what you've done. They just tell you what, what you need to do. And they were like, just be loyal,

suck it up and get paid. I was like, Okay, this, you're gonna ruin this relationship. And he did. And then I had an opportunity and same with another company, and they offered me a ridiculous salary. And I slid the paper back over to him and said, I said, life changing. I looked at it and I was like, oh my god, I went my whole NATO ally. I said, it might be the best the worst decision I've ever done. But I looked at this great contract, and I said, it's gonna be life changing. And 20x. So,

And not just that, hey, flex, you know, meeting you one time, hey, you know, can I get something on it?

by. Whether it was through with my fans meeting my fans, and they're at the gym every day, they come from all over the world, to meet in people that I aspire to stand next to on stage or have been on stage or that's in the body mind space to business. So I try to have an eclectic version of people around me at all point in times who worked in the sport and were in the sport, because they gave me a different perspective, and a different mentality check.

Because if you've got somebody that's so ingrained in the sport, and that's all they do every single day, they don't see past that. But if you have people who are kind of successful, like yourself that have been there, done that and got the t shirt many times, then how can I integrate what you've done? into what I'm doing right

now? And then except to do other things, but what lessons can I learn from you and you organically and authentically not tell me the cheat sheet because I'm going to abuse my friendship with your own, I hit that again, it happens to me all the time. But also No, I, I read people very well, I've got this ability to be like, Okay,

there's an animal. But the skill set that comes with being able to talk to people, again, comes from the paper wrote from the business, and being able to talk to different people, at different levels, whatever they're in sports, athletes, coaches, successful business people, parents, whatever it is, at Olympians, at airports, when I'm walking through, because maybe some of you might recognize me, and then I get to meet through a family and I meet them, and then they're all

become fans. So you every opportunity to meet somebody is an opportunity to make an impression. And unfortunately, bodybuilders have this mentality. It's a stereotype where they're so big, that they're unapproachable. When that should be a calling card, it's like, I know, I feel unapproachable. But I'm gonna make sure that I'm not that guy. But meet me first. So I love the stereotype. And I love breaking

it. But I encourage all these body builders, that are, again, have the feeling that the stereotype to break it, put yourself out there, meet people, because you're in the sport right now. This is the life we live in right now, in 2024 2025, God forbid, you might have an

injury. And if you haven't set yourself up by networking, or pouring into people or selectively putting yourself out there, then you're still in this space now of a injured disgruntled bodybuilder who wants to be up on stage that doesn't then have no opportunities. And unfortunately, when you're injured, sponsorships go. Everything goes. And you just

have forgotten fear. So it's creating the opportunities, putting the hay in the barn, when you're chasing the title, whether you are the title holder, whatever it is, and also networking, to make sure that not only you're received the way you want to be received, but also create the opportunities that are outside the peripheral vision that you're in right now.

a good human being. It's not one day, not one Father's Day he's not beating me to a Happy Father's Day text and, and also, just random check in as to you know, if granted both sides, right when I message him, I don't expect the reply back. It's kind of one of them like, hey, just checking any old balls. Well, you know, you might have messaged me back straightaway, and they messaged me back in 48 hours, you know, but then they see what he's doing on Instagram. Like, he

doesn't sit still. Yeah. So when you think you're busy, there's levels to this stuff. And I understand that he is at a completely different level than anybody I personally know. But when somebody says, Oh, I was too busy to textbook, you know, it's like, okay, well, I always throw in will you heard from DJ.

from all over the world. Not to come to Vegas, but to come to my gym and train in and out of my gym. It's amazing. So we have, it's like Disneyland. So you have people that are coming in, but I've been on a flight for like 20 Something I was walking to the gym when they Oh my god, it's so great to be here. I remember being that guy. I remember being a kid when I walked through the doors of the Mecca Gold's Gym. So what I've tried to do is duplicate that we're not trying to be the

Mecca. We'd be in the Dragon's Lair. But there's elements of what the experience that I had when I was at 19 year old kid coming off the plane for the first time than I know, see and live through the people that come through my gym. And we grew this from a concept I came to Las Vegas, as I said, during COVID and it was a ghost town. It was I Am Legend, nobody on

the Strip. I mean, my wife knew we had to be when, you know there's blood in the water, you know, people can swim away from it, or you can see the sharks and I was all about jumping in and exploring what I could do in

Las Vegas. Obviously I had the private gym we started off in Boca Raton, and we had a lot of celebrities, but just that quickly tell you the story there I started up a gym was because I was going to different gyms and they were doing these meet and greets me unbeknownst to me and went to another gyms and then happened that opened up the Dragon's Lair. A lot of VIP celebrity friends of mine started using no windows, no

doors. So we had paparazzi cydnus at the gym, we had kids sleeping in cars waiting for the top athletes to turn up. I mean, my wife knew during COVID We had something we didn't want to tweet it in Florida. She's born and raised there. So we came up to Vegas. And when we came here was like, Okay, this is the opportunity. I do a lot of stuff on the west coast with Monster being one of my sponsors for USC and stuff. And they have Yeah, yeah, I got. And we went to this town, and we're like, Okay,

we're gonna move. You know, as I said, she's born and raised there. My fear was my daughter in the schooling system, we found a schooling system that was correctly aligned for her. And we were all in, we started building this and we opened it at the tail end the COVID. And we built through COVID, I had the goal to open up this badass gym. Was there fear? No, was a concern. No, I had the same feeling that I did when I jumped on that plan. Come to the United

States for the first time. And I was this is going to work it's not going to be easy. You just got to put your heart back to front and work and know the Dragon's Lair has become the number one tourist destination in the country. Where we have people that come in, like I said, from all over the world and get day passes week passes move year for camp moved here from other sides of the world just to train in the gym to be

around other athletes. And now we have you know, a wide range of celebrities that train and call this their home from home when they're in town. So and simultaneously. We you know, I've been able to grow and scale as I was competing to Arsenal strength. 2015 is when we started the business and now my gym is predominantly Arsenal strength, which is my company you mentioned earlier that fastest

more variables. Right. There's a lot more other things especially when you're involved with scaling and stuff and I have incredible partners the founder Andrew Hall and his wife Jamie, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. So that's where we make a manufacturer of gym equipment American made American steel. Yeah, the company has grown exponentially now where, as you mentioned, we've got that title and we've got, you know, DJ, the rock has got all pieces. Dana

White's got all pieces. And they're all boys.

intimidating. Yeah. So I'm doing a ton of prep, doing a ton of prep, and it went really well on stage with Dana made him cry on stage Aegis. Yeah. Tough. Now, there's another story. Yeah, that's tough. He's enemy die. This is an Oprah moment. And when I got off stage, my son's a huge UFC fan. And you want to come to this conference? I said, No, it's a little weird. You know, you're 20 years old. Your sophomore in college? I don't think there'll be another college kid there. And I don't

know, Dana. Yeah. So it'd be a little foreign to me. But I said to Dan, at the end of the show, I said, My son's a huge fan. And we use shoot a video for him and say hi, so yeah, give me that phone. So here's, here's what he did. So I'm going to turn up the volume because it's gonna it's gonna play quickly. We'll have to rewind this.

to meeting you soon, buddy. It's such a great guy fucking does that

didn't tell me anything. And then Ali kind of had to let the cat out of the bag the day before second came you probably guessed Are you going to the UFC? I don't know what what it was UFC whatever it was. And of course Dino fun it was my birthday and put the full red carpet down and experience and

they always look after me. But here's another thing too i i was going to the UFC fights so the guys knew about Arsenal strength Hunter Campbell has several pieces he came into the gym we met first time we clicked it off. He's like I know you're into UFC because I seen some of the stuff you do. And I guess he has like a you have an Instagram account with his name not on it.

So I love UFC he's like you want to come to the apex now granted COVID on the UFC and WWE The only two things that were going on during that period of time very smart of him try to keep the ranks moving on he said you want to come to one of the fights now me thinking like he was going to be in a couple of months time I enthusiastic was yeah yeah. Just let me know whenever then the future really appreciate it. Thank you. Of course not thinking anything

would come about. It's like it's a fight coming on this weekend. If you want to come I go. I thought it was no crowd isn't there isn't? Winter Saturday you watch the UFC fight apex. All the rules, all regulations, social distancing, limited production. There was probably about 15 people in the room with production included and then you've got Dana Hunter. DC Joe Rogan, our Nick bizben All of them are their social distanced. And then we all go back in the

room like nothing happened. You know, this is like I don't get to shut up affairs. But we all were able to see the fights in real time in real life. I was watching on TV anyway, but then to Be part of that experience and ambience. And that's a shout out to Dana and Hunter. I just moved to this town. My goal was three years I wanted to have the kind of relationship which which which ended up becoming in the first three months. That

wife is incredible. I want to talk about her in a second too, but just having the bonding time. Dad, daughter, Dad son is incredible. So my son was 20 by the way, a second time in Vegas. We raised Ferraris and Lamborghinis out at that place. He likes to shoot cones, we go to Arrange and you know, just like that, we went to Cabo and he wanted to eat there. By the way, he we got the Getty and, you know, the waiter said, Oh, you want some Trump on it? Yeah,

it was $185 for that. Whatever, but you come here, and sadly the tickets go to we'll call I don't know if we're sitting on the second level, or what level or whatever. So you got this special wristbands, don't know where we are. And we're in. Right next we're, there's four rows, right

how you build thing. That's how you build loyalty and happiness. And that's how you get word of mouth. And now I said my friend Maddie, you guys gotta go check out these shows are incredible. Oh,

Or they met him at this place. And again, shakes funds hands, does the whole shebang, plays the part promoter but also still has the enthusiasm to do it every single event that's hard to turn up and be that guy on more because he's not just being the promoter. He's the face as well. He's on the press conferences, he has to know the the he wants to watch other fights to get all the feedback, he has to understand who's next is there's so much data, and

he's still on top of it. He's still on the gas, of the dynamics of how the UFC is moving, and, you know, evolving. And also, it's like, think about how many times Dana was told that this is never going to work. They're going to go bankrupt. This is cockfight in this state how the band that started the band here, just believe in the brand. And stay focused, some, you know, create a team of people that could allow him to be Dana White, and allow the business to grow into these into the flower it's

become. And of course may have started off being you know, through lack of knowledge, this sport clusters, whatever else perception, as we've mentioned so many times, but no, my wife is one of them. When we first started dating, I'd have that thing playing on first thing in the morning eating breakfast, she said bet, turn, turn this off, I'd want to see blood and want to know she knows all these people personally, she loves UFC we go to as many fights as we can together if I don't have to

go on my own. And she's a true fan of the sport but because she understands the sport, because the knowledge that has been shown through the UFC by showing these athletes on things like embedded where you get to fall in love with the athlete and see that, oh my god, this guy isn't just, you know, the old stereotype a thug or somebody wants to pick a fight and somebody know this guy is highly educated this guy was this or this guy know is skilled in all

these different skills. And he's actually trained in three to four times a day. And then you start guarded in the value and respect for these guys because the UFC have seen it know from the branding and marketing element and they promote these fighters as well as promoting the fights. And Dean has done a great job of that and kudos to him and the vision that he's seen in this company to where it is now and merging. Oh With no was TKO was oh my gosh, incredible.

important this is to be. But my goal is always and I coaches it should be everyone's goal, who wants to succeed to be the most prepared person who has ever stepped foot in that room and blow that person off pitcher who you're meeting with? Yeah, it's just amazing. How that leads to success, faster results dramatically improve result that result that otherwise wouldn't have been possible? Absolutely. Can you talk about how extreme preparation has led to your success?

I control my variable. I knew who was training with me, I didn't allow anybody else to come into wasn't open to the public. But that's one of the things too. Preparation for me is everything. If and even though with the new endeavors I'm getting into. If there's there's no plan then like I said, you plan to fail. And there's so many lessons that I have learned through the bodybuilding chapters in my life. That no way. I realized that in my day to day that I didn't even know I was learning.

But bodybuilders truly taught me so many invaluable lessons that No book, no book I could ever read, could tell me I might read something, but to live the moment, learn the lesson, and then be in another chapter of life now and be like, Oh, shit, I've been here before. But for me to get to that level of of what I'm trying to achieve next, as you said, preparation, even having a wild imagination, delusional, ask of yourself is

still there to you. And if I'm the vessel of my ship, I'm the guy who can make it or break it or not even started. So I've realized soon enough that if I want to be, you know, if I want to be a friggin ballerina dancer, then I better hire a ballerina coach and start putting myself into there through whatever else, by example, by the way, but one true example is I'm doing a lot

more public speaking. So the same thing that I thought, Well, when I left with bodybuilding was a massive void when I retired, and I was trying to chase that hole that I had, and I didn't think I'd ever replace it. Public speaking is the closest thing I've ever come to. It scares the shit out of me, growing up with a speech impediment growing up, you know, we're being told I had this done, you know, to be on stage and be asked, Hey, how did you

do it? Tell me a secrets. Again, that comes with preparation, right? If you're going up, down, and you aimlessly talking all over the place, and you just gonna bore the crowd. But having a plan of action is just like bodybuilding. If I don't make the preparation, then I'm going to look like a fool up on stage. So many correlations between public speaking and bodybuilding. And it excites me

too. It excites me to get up there and just smash it out and deliver the message, deliver the story and have something that motivates somebody in the crowd, whether it's everybody or whether it's one person, my job is up there to do some to do the job that I've been asked to do that and again, I'm now starting to do more masterminds, more speaking engagements, keynotes, and it's been a whole new world for me that hasn't filled the void about competing give me because that was a different

mentality to tap into because you're exhausted and you still have to demand the best version of yourself on the way energy with this it's trying to tap into something that didn't come naturally to me that was talking and story you know, storytelling is good, but talking wasn't and you know, putting things stories in the right order. That's something I'm really stuck in. I've hired a coach and and yeah, I got a speaking coach number and rate Rene Rodriguez, shout

out to Rene Rodriguez. And yeah, me and him have been putting together a plan of action and we're gonna hit the llamo stages this year.

whatever else. But nobody in the audience knew the 10,000 people that were watching me didn't know. So when I'm up on stage right now, and I'm speak, and maybe I didn't get it, how I wanted to in my head before I thought, you know, before I walked on stage, but I still delivered the message maybe not as direct as I hope. But again, it's you as long as you have the confidence to, to want to do what you're doing up there. Because it's in some of these motivational speakers up there

right now. That a joke. They haven't achieved anything, you know, and Brene using his name, he says, give me the confidence of a 20 year old life life coach

And I was living in Tennessee at the time, she was living in Florida. And again, we hit it off. We started flying back and forth. She started coming to Tennessee wanting to move to to be with me. And I thought you know what? I I've done everything in this area of Tennessee. And I'm flying out to this airport in Nashville all the time. And it's always a

puddle jumper. Yeah, if you come to me, you're probably going to bump into your ex girlfriend's like, I don't want you to see maybe I moved to Florida.

believed me. And so much so she started getting a little bit more involved with the business side of things where I had a lot of fan mail and they'd be all over the floor and had to sun sign all these fan mail from China turnouts, if you have a trade or a Chinese terrible, by the way, most of that stuff got

sent back to me. But she said, Babe, you know, there's something called Shopify, which is relatively new at the time you just these people's information is in there, you hit and it prints out all the addresses, you peel them off and you put them on, on the packages. I'm like, You got to be kidding me. You got to keep up. What else do you know? So we ended up teaming up together? No, my wife runs all the company. She's the CEO for the company's owner. You know, she's hit say this, but she's boss

bitch. You know, she is an incredible entrepreneur, a great speaker, by the way, too. She just found her own voice up there by coming to the masterminds with me. And she was like, wow, I can actually do this I told you, but what she had to hear from other people, not from her biggest supporter too, but the biggest gift that my wife has given me outside of herself. belief and confidence

is to incredible children. And that is the biggest budge on trophy I have on any display is having my son or my daughter get emotional but I always wanted to be a dad from a very young age and when When we found out my wife was pregnant, that was number four, I think they all have chests and titles. Maybe number three, I can't remember. But either way, it was motivation that I never found before. It was a sixth gear because I knew this baby was

coming. And it wasn't just me and my wife anymore, it was plus one. I remember I had my daughter, my arms, I was like, Wow, I'm always gonna take care of you, you never gonna have some of the struggles that I've gone through. And that motivation, then again, just follow me another gear that I stayed on, obviously, you know, two years later, two years ago, we were we found out my wife was, well wanted two years ago, but we found out my wife was

pregnant again. And I was still in the bodybuilding mindset of phase and becoming a dad again, and being able to relive relive these moments now, but not as a girl dad, as a boy, dad, you know? And see the differences, which you know, is crazy difference, right? He know is coming up the tool in a few months. And the difference between my daughter and him Oh, my gosh, she was an angel every tell us that we were like, we

wouldn't know. So first, and then this guy, oh my gosh, there's he would have cleaned them. And then he would have pulled them down, you'd see that wait, because he knows how to wait as you would have tried to pick it up 25 pounds. But my wife's relationship with me. My kids, she's an incredible wife.

And then the relationship that she has with my family back and Wales is one of the reasons why that you know, this woman has ever been on more to me, because again, she she's been she's seen the unseen, you know, it's hard to hide pain. It's hard to hide emotions. When you're with somebody all the time, you can do it to the fans, you can do it on Instagram, because that's a

highlight reel. But when you're home, and you're limping, you've torn your shoulder, you've got business stresses, you've got kids stresses, you've got all these other things. Who is it that you really want to have as your biggest support network, and that's your wife, right? Or that significant other. And that's what my wife has been to me. So we've both complemented each other tremendously. In fact, when we got together, I never lost a single show at all, all around the world. It's

incredible undefeated. So it's been quite the ride. And we joke and laugh, but Well, the life that we live in in Florida was pretty good. I mean, we created but the life though we're now living in Las Vegas is a completely different animal. And we talked about it, the opportunities and creating these opportunities. And now that we live these daily, and you know, we've got people coming into that gym that we call friends,

we've got to dinner too. It's like, wow, that risky move from Florida, to Vegas has paid off. And we have to remind ourselves about that too, because you can sometimes get caught up in the norm, when that's not the norm and he wasn't certainly the norm three years ago. The new norm is a new level. And now I'm up in the bar to create and cheers much more levels to

that's for sure. And I think it's so great to have someone behind you who you love and who loves you and who motivates you and that's as my wife complements your he complements me I'm Hi strong. She's not I think that's very important thing

But I do. Should have already done okay, I'll tell you this, then moved my parents, the United States be more aggressive. My parents are saw home body. But there's such great hands on grandparents, that me and my wife now this last year, I've been super aggressive again to move you a lot more. So that's even me taking heat in that and going out to this room today being like, okay, but we need to get my parents here. Thank you.

get faster. And genetics play a massive part in bodybuilding. But then the work ethic is what separates you from the pack.

exponentially. And also just to tell you more of a feather in the hat of my wife. My wife is the shoe plug. She's got more connections in the shoe game than me. So she's the one that gets me all my shoes. I go, can you answer Trump's comments? And you

people. But the racing pigeons that athletes, they they they're trained the same way they do the races they fed the same way. And obviously having that experience with them, you know as a young kid, and blitzing everybody in the Pigeon Club. I changed the fare that came to the two legged canes in the in the terms of chasing birds. Because it wasn't cool to bring a girl back to my parents house and see like I got pigeons in the bloody shed in

the back. You know, filming all over the place shitting all over the place. Yeah. But it was, again, it was a chapter in my life. And I'm glad to see how they not live these chapters. Every one of them small to big, has played a role in creating the DNA. You know, again, I can talk about and laugh about these situations and things that I was into as just an entrepreneur trying to hustle because there's

money in pageants too. So, in fact, the world's most expensive pigeon, if you guys want to google it, I think it's like 1.2 million. I've chased I've never been a sheep. I've never chased cheap. Everybody's into something I can not be. Because I feel it's going to 1.3 I stand corrected. For

troll right? And I was like, Okay, let me find out and then you start realizing like you train them. My birds were on creatine, and glutamine and everything. They were on tonics. And yeah, they were all jacked up at a trainer. They were me, I was treating them. And also just Yeah, so what I've done is I linked in with a local transportation company, found the routes that they will go in. So these, these boots would always play in the southwest

direction. So anybody was going towards the Midlands, England way through through this guy, five pounds, or whatever else he wants, you throw him on the back of his truck and let the guys out on the way to his destination. And what happens is these birds pick up landmarks, they do GPS in there. It's just incredible. If you look into it, it's amazing. And they have an instinct, that's what they call homing pigeons. Okay, and then you do these long distance races, which they take them all

the way to the UAE. I'm flying from the UAE to the UK. Yeah, and most of them Fortunately, the majority of these birds, you know, they never make it back home Hawks. Sea water takes them out. But yeah, going off the plank again, pull on your podcast, man. This is the problem with Flex Lewis being a guest, like, has been

the seat right now. And they'll be able to have that feather in your heart to know still be motivated and energized to go on to do these new endeavors such as the public speaking an interview with some other incredible entrepreneurs whilst being in many cases much more successful and that is a testament to you because success is is measured in many different factors. But I got a success from people who have achieved stuff by working hard It doesn't matter what you have in your

bank account. If you've gone to work and rainy days and you've more be motivated to do so. Then I like to be around that mentality and suffice to say you're no to me added to the to the list of people I look and get motivated to and thank you for all the success you've had that motivated me to buy