TCMMY One On One - Treg Monty - "Nothing Is Too Late"

We have another one-on-one today with a good friend brother ,

real estate mogul . This guy got it going on . Trey Monty is in the house this morning . Good morning , brother . How are you man ?

If you guys are listening via YouTube youtubecom they call me Mr U you can come in live and you can kind of see all of our conversation , drop live comments and questions there and if you're simulcasting on Facebook , tiktok and Twitter , you can also drop questions there as well . Love to hear your thoughts . I'm sure Trayvon will appreciate it . All right .

So , first thing , the creative in me , the creative person in me , is super excited about this , because for several reasons . One , I want to start with the musical background . I'm excited about that because I want people to hear kind of what you do and how you got into where you're going to .

So , in brief , can you give me a few sentences , a few quick paragraph on your musical background , how you got started .

She's I'm nine years old and she has the thought , and she has the thinking to take me to a high school concert at this big high school . And we're sitting up in the second balcony and halfway through the concert I looked down at the stage and I told her quietly because it was loud in there . I said well , I whispered to her .

I said I like those instruments . These were shiny instruments in the front . I didn't know what they were called . She says that's the flute . I said yeah , I like that . I didn't even know what it sounded like . A week later , as I started my fourth year in school , she got me lessons on the flute . It was unbelievable . So that began the whole cycle .

And then , about four years later , I'm practicing taking lessons . I'm not really serious about the lessons . I like to improvise , even at 12 years old . I came across this . I want to show you this . This is a . Can you see that there ?

I didn't even know guys played the flute Yusuf , I thought this was like little girls that played the flute and it got me real excited because it was an Afro-Latin rhythm , latin rhythms , and I started to play along with the record with him . Now here's where the story gets really exciting . I didn't know much about Harry Mann . He was kind of like my idol .

He was my mentor in playing flute and how to improvise and I developed my style based on a lot of his playing . So now I'm playing all through high school and I'm not majoring in it , it's just something I personally love . And now I'm you know my age now and something told me to check the history of Herbie Mann now . So I'm like 66 , just turned 66 .

And last year I say I got to look into Herbie Mann . So I start to search for Herbie Mann videos just to find out . I didn't know what I was looking for . And so one morning I'm looking at a YouTube video and it's from 1988 .

Herbie Mann's at the Newport Jazz Festival and the guy asked him the same question you just asked me Herbie , how did you get started playing the flute ? And Herbie said and this is what blew me away , I almost had tears in my eyes . Herbie said when I was nine years old , my mother took me to go see Benny Goodman at the New York Radio City , new York .

In a crowded auditorium with music blasting . He probably leaned over to her and said , kind of what I did , I like that instrument . She not only listened but she took action and that , to me , is just , it blows me away that if she didn't do that , I would not have found that album . If his mother didn't do that , he would not have found that album .

If his mother didn't do that , he wouldn't have started really getting into it . Just , probably like I did , and it set a life course of music and love and appreciation that my kids have even followed down the path as well with music .

Because of that , because of her taking action , I love that and it's just a beautiful thing , man , I'll tell you yeah it action .

It's my favorite , yeah , Because this kind of stuff starts happening Around the same age that you're talking about . I was introduced to the clarinet around the same age . No kidding , absolutely almost the same scenario . The only thing was that a clarinet didn't stick with me . I didn't think it was .

I didn't think it was fancy enough , so I didn't stick with it . Long term I moved on to other things . But around the same age , my mom put a you know , kind of a allowed me to venture into the world of the clarinet . She thought I'd be my sister . She , around the same age as we're talking about . She was introduced to the cello or the viola or both .

I think it was Around the same age . I don't know if we're age eight and nine , but wow , that's pretty awesome . That's kind of what took us there . Some of my most favorite , my favorite contemporary jazz artists are saxophone players .

Then I'd be a catcher for baseball and you see , this guy plays flute . And they said a few other derogatory terms , but it didn't matter , I loved it and , and here's the thing catches the tough man catches it . I mean I , they could make fun of flute playing . All it brought me into a world that I could never have imagined possible .

And I just knew that at that point I was ready to add another voice to my collection and I never played saxophone , and so I picked it up and I learned it and I added it to the instruments that I play and it's just really . It's a beautiful instrument . I love it , same as you . I love the sound of the saxophone .

I play the tenor , but flute just has it still has a personal effect with me as much as I love the saxophone . It's , but it gave me that second voice .

You'd recognize all the solos this guy has played on on pop albums . A lot of people , unless they're into it , don't know him . Kirk Whalum . Kirk Whalum , come on , man , yeah , his sound is so beautiful to me and he me and he's right up there in the top three , absolutely .

And you know , I got to say you know , and I know people kind of laugh at this , but Kenny G on Soprano , he's , I think . You know . I read the other day and people make fun of him . Fine , people are traditionalists , they're purists , but he took a sound and he blew it away . I mean , I understand he's the largest solo instrumentalist .

I mean the sales of his nobody even comes close to what he has sold . So hey , he can laugh all the way to the bank . But he had a beautiful thing that he developed there and I think it brought people into understanding instrumental music that probably wouldn't look at it before that oh yeah , that's great .

What were you hoping to accomplish big picture wise , or were you just doing it for fun and it kind of just evolved into something else ? How did that formulate ?

I ran a wedding band here for eight and a half years and we did a lot of pop and dance but it always gave me that personal satisfaction and if people enjoyed what I do in certain realms , worship music to me is probably as close to that fulfillment as I can get because there's a certain connection that happens when you're playing that style of music .

And I think if it touches people through me in order to play the gifts I've been given , then I think that's a very special thing . That , to me , gives me the most satisfaction with music .

I mean because I'm always looking to do something that has a different twist to it and something I can lend my talent to if it fits . And so , yeah , I'm always on the lookout . I do sit in with groups here in Charleston when they need somebody Gives me that pleasure to do that .

But right now it's kind of slightly on the back burner because of because of other things .

It's the normal path that people take when they want to seek ,

or when they're seeking , alternative income streams . What made real estate the go to option for you , and how did you navigate all the challenges that always go with it ?

I had worked on with my wife for many years . It was highly , very successful , but it was starting to phase out . Some things got in place of that and I started to look for new things . In the course of that , I took two jobs before just jumping into something . One job was I started just and I started working at the supermarket .

I started working at my local supermarket Long story there . We don't have time for that one today but it took all the pride that I ever had and I don't say that , I say that respectfully , because we would go into Publix , one of the main supermarkets in my neighborhood , and I never thought of really conversing a lot with the people . I was busy .

I was helping my wife shop . She knew everybody and when this transition came and I knew I had to make some money until I decided what to do next , she says , well , and I met with a guy who gave me some guidance and he said to me a Christian fellow that I really respected , and he put my life on a piece of paper .

He says , trey , you've got five areas of your life , four of them involve passion . You need a job . That I don't even want to hear about , passion and the thing you got to do . And he told me what I should do . A week later he said you should work for a supermarket man . I didn't want to do that .

I didn't want to do it , but I knew it was a message because I'd been hearing this message that I was being downloaded . I believe God was telling me without a doubt . He says this is what you're going to do . And when he told me that , I did it .

And man , I'll tell you , I was in there for 11 months putting cans of beans on a shelf and my neighbors would come by and they'd say what the heck happened . Look at Greg . He's working in public . But you know what ? I became friends , still to this day , friends with these people that I just really didn't notice before . These were beautiful people .

It taught me some great lessons . One was pride . One was stripping , that attitude of well , I've got to a big salesman , or I got to you know , do this . No , it took all that pride away and when I left there I started selling cars . That I'd never sell cars , but I heard I had to . So I walk and I start doing that .

And then the third thing was one of my daughters said to me Daddy , why don't you try real estate ? I never really wanted to do that , but I said look , I've already done two things I don't want to do . I'm on the path now . I might as well keep doing what I'm hearing .

I look at it like almost like and I don't want to sound cliche , but it's almost like a ministry of some sort , because I'm able to help people avoid big mistakes that I made you know in real estate in my life , and I'm able to guide them in a way , that's true , caring , regardless of how much the house doesn't matter .

I'm able to guide them in the process so they can avoid the things and the mistakes I made .

Same same as you . I can't believe you . This is like we didn't talk about this . This is unplanned , that's right . I moved out of the state of South Carolina . I moved to Tampa , florida , for about four years . I moved out there somewhere on a ministry mission .

I didn't know if it would be long-term or what , but I was in a professional holding place , so to speak , and , long story short , I was uh , had a long resume , wasn't doing what I wanted to do or what I what I thought I should be doing , okay .

So my resume that's my long list of of accomplishments , degrees and that kind of stuff , went to publish as a deli clerk beat it . I learned so much about me in that process .

It was unbelievable and , like you , I met people who , uh , they maintain lifelong friendships but almost the same premise got to learn about the other side of of my world and kind of gotten a chance to , you know , see myself in a you know , in a different way and recognize that you know this is .

This is good for my character , this is good for my personal development . So publix is a place that's like that's a shop there , but this place is in Tampa , so I haven't seen it in years . But , pivotal man , I love this . This is really good man . All right , so let's keep moving .

Now , before you mentioned about working with , uh , several bands here locally , musically , I think you said you kind of sit sitting once in a while . How did those ? How you entered those collaborations Because that's something that I think about now , with doing music more seriously than I have in years now how did you enter into those collaborations ?

I'm kind of curious about that , and then we'll move on to something different . But how did you get there ?

That way I think the big thing was over the years , as I met people in this circle , it just naturally occurred that if they needed an instrument like what I play , then they knew how I played .

We tried out , we'd have a practice session , we saw if it fit and I was adaptable to it in most cases and then I drew upon these people that I would meet that way . So it's become a nice . It's just a beautiful thing to be able to do . And with the wedding band that I started , my wife and I ran it and five other superlative musicians .

So we called Palmetto Soul . We had that going for eight and a half years , played the best venues from here to Florida and what a thrill that was . But you know , eight and a half years of playing a brick house , oh wow , that's about it , you know .

I would play with the praise teams of different churches that we were attending over the last 10 years or so , and we were going to one church and I was there for quite a while and I played on Sundays , most Sundays , with this acoustic , more acoustic-sounding group , and one day the whole church was going to this retreat and I couldn't go away .

I had to be in town that particular Sunday and so I wasn't going on that . But the whole church , including all the musicians , were going and most of the church , but they were still going to have a service for those that remained that Sunday .

And about a week before they asked me and I don't even know how this came up , but they asked me would I leave the surface ? Or the guy that was given the sermon asked me . He was one of the alternate preachers . He said to me Greg , would you do some things with me ?

I think that's how it happened would you do some things with me on Sunday , just with the flute and saxophone ? I said yeah , I'll try . There's no piano , there's no guitar , there's no chordal instrument . So I said yeah . So we got together and he says in between my talk , could you play little inserts of pieces and maybe lead the congregation ?

I said I've never done that like as a solo instrument , so I took it real serious . Well , it is because I said I want this thing to be right and I just at night I would stay up and listen what songs could I do that would make sense ?

And I was just given the download of what songs would work during his talk and then I would have to close out the day's service . And I'll never forget I took a Bob Dylan song called something about . It's a popular song we'd all know something about .

You know it was a popular tune but it had a very specific , beautiful wording that meant something to the love and people and understanding . And I had a music . I didn't have a music track , I just had it ready to go . And I remember I had to submit my list to one of the head directors at the church really wonderful guy .

But he said what are you going to do at the end ? Because we always went out on a very fast song at the end most of the time and he saw my list . He says I don't know if you should do that song . You know that song doesn't seem to fit what we do . I remember I was cutting the grass .

I said , and I was dead serious , well , what could he say ? Not much , not much . And I'll tell you , I think that was the most fulfilling moment I've ever had on a stage , because it worked . I know it worked because my wife was there and she told me it worked . She's not easy . She's not easy .

She's not easy for compliments If I don't do something right , man , I get . But here's the thing On the ride home this is the truth , mr Yu On the ride home in the car , she's getting texts and messages from people at the retreat who were told how good it was . And I say that humbly , but I also say that that was directed , you know .

And what a moment that was . I'll never forget it . I love that .

I did a lot of stage stuff , school plays , some auditions for certain products , which I won't name , but it never got a lot further than that . I went to audition for a soap opera and got to the door and before I could I tell a story all the time , especially on the podcast earlier three seasons . And when I got to the door I could see my mother's face .

She didn't know I was going to audition . I could see her face like saying don't you go in that door and go through that , don't you step into that room ? I'm like it's funny , it's sad but it's funny . So I didn't do the audition . That was the end of my acting career , at least in that room .

I did church plays and church performances , that kind of stuff , but nothing on a level as you . But you've done something that many might find taboo or might be too much of an uphill climb , but you're doing it flawlessly right now . To be honest , most aspiring actors and actresses start their careers as early as possible .

My mom had me auditioning for commercials when I was like nine years old , 10 years old . You started your acting career at age 55 . Is that right ? That's correct . Wow , talk us through . What sparked that for you and made you go forward , despite the inherent challenges of starting a late acting career ? What made you go ? Yeah ?

They need a guy to play the dad . If you want to try to get the role , go down . And this is a time we were going through a business transition that's about the public's time and we needed . I needed to know what direction my life should go in and I was open to anything . So I went down , I auditioned , got the role . Three years later ,

as the path opened up , I found myself in Beijing for a month playing the lead role in a movie called Pegasus on the Brink . I was there in Beijing because I was there in China a couple of years before for the same movie . They never released it . I played only four little scenes in that movie as the president of the so-called United States .

They changed the name and I left , and when I got back that first time in 2015 , I said that acting's all over . I was kind of getting a little bit demoralized with acting , not because I wasn't getting offers or doing some work . It was that a lot of the roles I was getting was just morally something I didn't want to do .

That's the decision we're talking about here . What do you accept and what don't you ? I'm not prude about this , but at the same time I'm not going to do something that's blatant or gratuitous or just for the sake of stupidity . It's going to have some deep meaning .

I mean , there's a lot of stuff in the Bible that's controversial , but at the same time it's life . But if it goes beyond that and becomes just nothing but salacious stuff , forget it . So I was finding . A lot of roles I was getting was like that , and the film I thought was going to be an opening door in China never took off . They didn't release it .

So I got out of acting and agents were firing me because I wouldn't do auditions . I said I don't care and real estate was starting up . Narrow it down . Right here I'm on Sunset Boulevard with my wife . We're visiting our oldest daughter out there in Hollywood . She's living out there . Oh wow , I'd have been out of acting now for nine months .

I didn't even care . I could care less and I get a call from the production studio . While we're on Sunset Boulevard in the fall , the production studio from the first film that never got released contacted me and said we'd like you to come back to China . We're redoing the whole film and you're the lead role in this film .

I said what they said yeah , you're the president , you're going to play a Trump-like president . You're the lead . We need you there . So , after some negotiation and making sure my schedule was free that's another story I go and that's the result of Pegasus , and that it got me back into acting . Actually , I learned there I was playing the lead role .

Never played a lead role . I was playing the lead role and I realized that I love this . I love this , but again under the guidelines of good quality content , and the doors started to reopen and it's been a beautiful thing , but again only for roles that are up to par .

I mean , he wouldn't let me quit , and you meant more to him than life itself .

I played it along with Ern Gass , who's a dear friend of mine . He's a great actor . It was wonderful to have him in that scene . I'm being convicted in the Democrat Party . They're trying to throw me out because I'm too conservative for their philosophies and their beliefs , so they're throwing me out . It's based on 2024 . It's only 45 minutes .

It's kind of between a short film and a full length feature . The problem of media and how media can sway thoughts . Right now , what happened with that scene was they're convicting me of being a racist . They're convicting me , or they're trying to pin on me , that I'm an abuser of women , that I'm dealing with Iran in terrible ways , all of which were false .

And this scene comes after some of these labels they're putting on me and I'm meeting with my campaign director , who Earned Gas plays his buddy , and we're having a very personal conversation about him and his father and how close we were .

So it dispels everything they're trying to throw against me and the film clearly shows those two different things and I've got to make a decision , and that decision , as the senator , is do I run for a third party candidacy or not ? And that's a pivotal scene in the display of who this guy really is .

They make them uncomfortable or they represent a compromise of their faith , morals or belief systems . What kind of advice would you give to maybe perhaps Christian actors or actresses that are listening right now , that are either in the industry or pondering getting into it ? How do they kind of maintain the line and not blur it or step over it ?

How do you , how would you encourage them if they were listening right now ?

It is a difficulty because most what would call faith-based they call it or Christian films , whatever label most are not really as good as you hope they would be , because they sometimes don't represent a show , real life and how it is .

So I think what it comes down to , you have to really be tuned in to what's acceptable based on your faith and your belief system ,

and I can't you know everybody's going to be different on that . I mean , there's some great A-list actors who are giving Christian talks , who you see the films they're in and it's kind of rough . But that's their personal , that's their personal choice .

They have to answer those questions to themselves and God have to answer those questions to themselves and how and God ? But so I think , um , I think that it's a personal thing , step case by case and and then you've got to make that choice . If I do it , is it something I'm hearing that's okay to do , even if it's not .

Even if it crosses , let's say let's . Even if it crosses , let's say some words that are not something we'd use in day-to-day speaking , but sometimes those words are necessary if the character is portraying a real person . Otherwise it's not going to be believable to people . So we can't be caught up in this righteous mentality all the time .

If we want a message to get out , it still has to be real . But you kind of know when things cross the line , and then at least I know when they cross the line . But they're not easy . But I say you've got to stick to your personal beliefs . You've got to be really true to that and true to what's right to your personal beliefs .

You've got to be really true to that and true to what's right , and otherwise we're just giving in .

And I think if we stick to that , if it listen , if this never happens for me as an actor because I didn't take particular roles and I don't want it , I got out of it once I'll get out of it again , but I'm following the path that I know I need to follow .

It was a very you know , it was a group of great guys and all the same age level and he was the youth group pastor I'm sorry , the youth group pastor who was leading it . I remember at that point believing in Christ and accepting and going in that lifestyle with younger people in high school was a great thing .

But sometimes we don't always understand why churches and people make decisions they make . And our youth group pastor got fired from that position and this was something he loved . He was 20 , maybe 30 , and he'd gotten a divorce and the pastor of the church did not accept that divorce .

And the pastor of the church did not accept that and he had his own beliefs . I mean he was the man of God of the church . I mean he decided who was going to be representative of the people that he put in charge and he didn't accept that . But that caused the youth group , because we liked this guy so much and we knew he dedicated his life .

His marriage didn't work out , that who knows . We didn't know his personal details , but but he was let go and that was the end of the youth group . And so I kind of went . I kind of went my own way , as most of the younger people did until , uh , about eight , nine years ago .

You always have that base of what's right and you always have that knowledge , but sometimes you know what happens overrules that , because you just fall to it and you start doing things that you know aren't right and it's not getting you in the right places , you're not getting to where you want to be , the way you want to be .

And until about eight years ago maybe it was nine years ago or maybe ten now things changed and it all came back around . And when you get back on track , all those things come back to you and that whole , it all came back around and it started to .

When you get back on track , you know all those things come back to you and you realize that that we're just you know we're just floating around , wondering which way to go If we don't have that guidance and that and that strong belief inside that says no , listen to what I'm telling you , this is the way you got to go .

Even if you don't like it , you do it . But without that , you're just floating around , you're lost and people don't know what to do . And so , yeah , it's all come back , man , and I'd say but people say , well , how do you ? This is important , and I don't know how much time we have left . What do we have left ? How do you want brother ?

Okay , here's the thing I want to make a point of Mr Yu . I started acting because of that open door when my wife was at the church service on a Wednesday night and I never acted . I was in one play in high school but I knew I probably could do it . That started it . But here's how I knew that I was on the path .

People say well , how do you hear from God ? How do you ? What does he talk to you ? Well , I don't know Some people , some people claim they hear from God . I'll give you two . I'll give you two examples on how other ways you can hear from them . So when I knew I had to find a job to work , I mentioned Publix .

The reason I wasn't shocked and knew I had to do it was because for two weeks before my friend Bruce told me I should work for Publix , I would walk by the supermarket and see sign wanted in the window sign wanted . And I laughed at that . I said there's no way I'm going to work in a super and I mocked it and I laughed at it .

Okay , you should never do that because Absolutely , that's the last laugh .

that's one way I heard on that . In acting it happened in a different way . The door opened and I didn't . The door opened and I didn't have any acting things . I didn't have any reel I could put together . I'd only been you know , I just did that one little scene that happened with the Christian film . I get an agent and that's not .

I still don't know what's going on . And the first role I get is for the School of the Arts down in Savannah , scad , the school down there and it was for a silent movie . Oh , wow , yeah , it was kind of half silent but mostly silent . And I said , well , it looked good , it was called Matinee and my job . So here's the thing .

The director was a senior , it was for a senior thesis film . Okay thing . The director was a senior , it was for a senior thesis film . Okay , and he says Trey , I want you to meet me at a cafe in Walterborough with the lady that's going to play your wife in this role in the scene in the film .

This guy was really , really good , this guy here I know he's doing some great stuff today and so I go down there and I'm waiting for him to get there because we're going to discuss the role of this . And I'm sitting there with this lady who comes up on the porch . They had some rocking chairs and I said are you going to play the ?

I assume she was going to play my wife in the thing . So we're talking for like five or 10 minutes and she says to me where are you ? Where are you from originally ? I said I'm from New Bedford in Massachusetts . She says where are you ? She says what high school did you go to ? I said I went to New Bedford High . She says , well , I'm from Dartmouth .

I'm from the town just right over a few minutes away . And she said I went there . Well , come to find out . We knew everybody , we just didn't know each other . So here she is , she's playing the first role I get she's going to play and I had an immediate connection with her . It was just wonderful . So the director gets there .

He says you guys seem like you know each other . I said yeah , we do . He said it was phenomenal . I said you're a great casting director , we know each other . It was phenomenal . I said you're a great casting director , we know each other . But here's the thing that was instrumental .

We're sitting down at the table and he says to me I want to explain this character . You Trey , this guy , the guy you're playing , bill , is . He's had a job he's held on for too long . He's about to lose everything . His wife has gone through trouble in her life . She married you because you love the theater , you buy the theater .

Now it's going out of business because videos come in . You held on . Now your whole business is going to be lost and at the end of the film you die and have a heart attack and leave your wife to go on on her own with nothing , ah jeez . So I'm looking and as he's saying this to me , I'm thinking about my life at that time .

Saying this to me , I'm thinking about my life at that time . A house was potentially under foreclosure because I held on to my business . I had done with my wife for way too long . My house this is in real life now . It's paralleling my life . So he's looking at me . He says do you think that you can play this guy ? And I said , yeah , I'm that guy .

Wow . So what I heard with that was and the last final story on that is , that's a way again that you can hear that when something so phenomenal like that happens , a connection with this lady , a connection with my life , connection with this lady , a connection with my life that God opened the door to acting . It's showing me that .

So what I heard from that was if I don't change and do different things , publics selling cars real all things I didn't want to do . If I don't change my life and start redirecting my business and ending it , then I'm going to end up like the guy at the end of the movie I'm going to have a heart attack and my wife's going to go on without me .

It was that hardcore man , and so the last thing I'll say on that and we can change topics , whatever , but here's the last thing I think that's so vital for people to hear .

When you get a message like that , or when you get a message that you know it's clear and it comes out that you think it's out of the blue but it isn't , if you don't do it , yeah , I think you're asking for trouble , regardless of how hard . You gotta heed the word . So here's the thing .

We filmed the whole movie matinee in savannah before christmas break . Christmas break comes , we have one scene left to go . We had the death scene . Now , look , I hadn't . This is my first main role . I never did a death scene . They said , well , we're going to come back after the holiday in February and we're going to shoot the death scene .

So I said , man , the movie's gone great . Now , if I screw up this death scene .

That was killing me and we were not to step foot back in that business again . And I'm driving to Savannah . I'm worried about all kinds of stuff . I'm worried about the letters going out , but I understand that's what we got to do . I'm worried about doing a realistic death scene . And I'm halfway to Savannah and Nina calls me in the car and she says listen

, when you do that death scene today down there , no matter how it happens , no matter what room it's in and you've on the floor , think of it this way , think of it as you were , putting to death the old ways of doing things and starting new . Let it all . Leave it all . Leave everything you're worried about on the floor of that house .

And that's how we know , we know when we get these messages and we get these messages given to us that are so outrageous , so the chances of things that happen just there's no chance for that , there's no probability Then I think it's a clear indication that's very possible , a message you should be listening to .

And also , it gives you that assurance that I'm going to stay on this path , gives you that assurance that I'm going to stay on this path . And when I left acting after that first visit to China , I was hearing that it's time to back out .

You know , and I knew that and my prayer at that point was I said , lord , if you want me to go back into acting , then you're going to have to open the door because I'm not doing another audition . You're going to have to open the door because I'm not doing another audition .

And as ironic and with the sense of humor that he has , he has me on Sunset Boulevard , where every billboard is about a . It's about a movie or somebody . It's about it's promoting movies , it's a promoting actors . Well , of course , in the secular way , it's all these movies that we see that we don't really some we like , some we don't .

But that irony , uh , that's when he opened the door to doing a feature film . And one last thing the feature film was never released because it made Trump look strong , it made the US look great and China stopped it from international release . So be it . But it taught me a lot of lessons . That's where it's at , man . No big shock there is it ?

So when I go to that scene where I find the guy I've been looking for the whole movie and I find him and I realize he's not the guy I thought he was going to be I start giving my lines and then he starts talking to me , as you heard , in Chinese , chinese .

And I'm thinking to myself I'm in trouble , because they never told me the guy was going to be speaking Chinese to me . They gave me the lines in English . His name's Mike on the script . So I've studied a month worth of a lot of lines , not knowing what it's , not knowing what it sounded like in Chinese . So the beautiful thing here is they had .

So we go there . I'm waiting all day . It's the first day on set , the guy that I'm acting with . That guy's name is John Guo Li . He is one . He's like the George Clooney of China . So they have me with one of the biggest actors in China . Wow , he brings an entourage

in . They all get these coats on his fans . They're all in there protecting him . I'm in this cold warehouse from eight o'clock . We shot that scene at about 1030 at night . I'm waiting to film . Nobody speaks English and then all of a sudden , then all of a sudden , he speaks Chinese and I say what the heck did he say ?

So now I've got to think of the lines and blocks . So I went out to the portal party . I couldn't even find the restroom in this place . I lines and blocks . So I went out to the portal party . They didn't . I couldn't even find the restroom in this place .

I go to the portal party and I we had a break because we had to cut that scene a few times because I had to figure out what he was . You know what was the last line so I could respond . I just put a prayer up . I said Lord , lord , you have got to help me say what I need to say when I need to say it . The scenes came out great .

It was phenomenal . I was in 18 scenes with him throughout the film and just great actor . But all he really knew how to say was Mr President , mr President , and he's something else , but we got it done , man . Love it , love it God's direction . There it is again .

But my question about this is do you have to pay for a meal at Perkins or do you get it for free forever ? That's my only question I want to know about Perkins . Perkins do you pay for a meal or do you get it free forever , for perpetuity ?

I did this audition and you do them on video . Okay , by the way , if there's some actors out there and they want to know how to , or people thinking about it , I'm happy to show them how to get started . But here's the thing that's awesome I did this thing on video and I get the role .

So they fly me down to Florida at this Perkins and I meet the director from California and he tells me the story the next night , when we had some free time . He says to me Trey , you know this is a very weird thing , man . He says I wanted you for the role the way you did the audition .

He said so when we did the callbacks , because you sometimes have to do a follow-up callback and videotape it again . He says when I did the callbacks we lost for some reason it didn't tape . So when we showed it to the customer , we did not have your callback video . All we had was the original one that I like so much , so we couldn't show it to him .

We said all we got is this he says there were over 300 guys lobbying for that spot Because he lost the callback video , they used the original and that stuck with these folks and he got his way and that's how it became so , so and again . That's another way that things can be orchestrated . That are just phenomenal things . Man .

Listen , if I sound like a broken record on that , it's only because I keep seeing the way that he works .

Okay , let's , let's go ahead and move on . But you share with me , uh , some genuine excitement about a recent work . You started in narrating audiobooks . I think you did one called the moral walker , jack krause's private war . How did you enter into that new field and what's it been like to narrate audio books ? I think you got the voice for it .

I think everybody that's listening can hear that . But what was what would you like to step into that new field outside of your , your norm , I guess , with acting and real estate and such ?

I just love his voice . I always had this fascination as a young kid with voice , because that's all you get is just a voice and that has to move you to a degree . That's interesting and it's a very special thing that people can do that . But I never thought of doing it until COVID shut everything down work and the movie stuff .

All that stuff got shut down in 2020 or 20 , whenever that was , I forgot . Now I don't want to think about it 2020 sounds about right . But it all got shut down . And that's when I had a friend of mine who had done a book the Mall Walker actually a cousin of mine , the Mall Walker and I liked the story a lot and he said ,

will you narrate it ? And so I immediately jumped into recording , figuring out how to do clean recordings , how to make a long narration sound level . I learned that very quickly as I was doing that first book . That has led to I think I have about 40 or 30 some odd books up there now . That's incredible and a lot of fiction .

Some of you know they're all different types but it led to and I'm still perfecting that . You perfect all the time . You practice and you do it , and it's been a very interesting and exciting thing to meet authors who are really good and you get to personally know them as you're doing this reading , because you're consulting on chapter by chapter .

That's the way I do it and what a thrill that is . You know to work with other artists that are good in that particular field . That's awesome . And the last book I did was the Trump Prophecies . It's interesting because in the Pegasus I played a Trump-like president .

In the third party , the acting world , I played Ted Stewart , who was more of a Trump-like candidate than even though he was a Democrat moving over getting the first big , major , best-selling book that came out in 2016 by Mark Taylor , who's a fireman from Florida who wrote the Trump Prophecies first book when they expanded it .

I did the audition and got that assignment . So here I am talking about my kids are going to hate me . Here I am talking about Trump again . I'm sorry , girls , I've got four daughters , two little grandkids . They probably even know too , but I talk about him because it's just the world we're in and I like the guy .

But the bottom line is all these connections with that and this book is really selling . Well , the audio book has been out for about a month on Audible Trump Prophecies the expanded edition and I just have a thrill . This is just a thrill . I never thought I would be doing this .

So what a beautiful , natural thing because you can do it at home , you can do it according to your schedule and it's a dramatic thing . That , I think , is even a little more difficult Well , not difficult , but a little more challenging and it's got to be a lot more nuanced than strictly acting .

You know , and it's such a personal thing , you know , you put a pair of people listening with their earphones when you listen to a voice in your head . That's that close . You hear everything . You hear the voice , you hear the breath , you hear the little subtleties .

Yeah , absolutely , and it's a very personal thing , especially if you're doing an emotional novel or an emotional section of a book . It's just beautiful , man .

They're not getting it right now , but at my age it's normally not common to do some of the things that I'm doing or contemplating doing , but you've been experiencing so many new things in your life yourself .

What would you say to those that are contemplating , tackling new challenges and chasing their dreams , like you have , but doing it from a different age range , if you will ? How would you encourage them ?

So I think that that's the problem you know people have is well , I can't do it . Well , this guy was 70 and started a business out of his home as a pediatrician where the patients would come to him , and it was a whole new life for him until he finally retired , I think in his late 80s , maybe early 90s . So nothing's too late .

With proper direction and knowing that you're following the path you should be on to the young people . You've got to figure out what you will do , what you won't do , and you've got to make those personal decisions for yourself and decide which way you're going to do it and just stick to that , because you know nothing's fast , nothing's fast .

I've been doing audiobooks since I guess it's been five years , four years now , roughly four years . While I have a number of them up there , it's still to get one that breaks open the door a little bit better .

It's a process and you have to devote yourself to it , and , as I mentioned a little bit before Mr Yu , I'll give my acting website , tregmontiactor at gmailcom . We'll have it posted somewhere .

But Tregmonteactor at gmailcom , if anybody's thinking of that and they really like the idea , there's certain things that I can at least share with them to help them , you know , begin to open that door a little bit . Okay , thank you for doing that .

If somebody wants to buy a million-dollar house or a $2 million house on Isle of Palms , I'm here to help them with that too . But no , and also , we're just here to do our thing .

If you read these stories and dig into it and get beyond the surface part of the scripture and the main characters , the main subjects of the stories or the accounts , check out these people's ages . Check out how old people are . They're doing things in the 70s , 80s , even 90 years old . Abraham is a great example of that . Look what he did at age 99 .

Come on now . Age is definitely not , shouldn't be a thing . Like you said , I love that part so much . Nothing's too late . Your story is inspirational to me because I'm doing things right now and contemplating things that , honestly , if I said it out loud in front of people , they'd be like what ? You're way too old to be thinking about that ?

Yeah , perhaps , but I'm going to attack it anyway because that's just how I'm living . You've been a great inspiration man . Thank you so much . I hope that everybody's been listening and will watch on the replay . They get value out of this because I know I have myself .

If you guys are listening to us audio only , you can find us on Apple Podcasts , but you can subscribe to our podcast or listen on Spotify , iheartradio , amazon Music . We're available in all those places .

If you're watching a full-length video of this conversation on YouTube at youtubecom , at they call me Mr U In the comments section is where Trey's going to leave all that information he was talking about . If you want to have a million-dollar house and you want to have one in Isle of Palms , this man knows how to do that .

He can help you out and give you some good tips and kind of walk you through that process . Or if you are a potential actor or actress who want to start out in the business or do narrations of audiobooks , he can help you out with that . He'll provide some information in the comments section under the episode on YouTube . On our YouTube channel .

Please subscribe when you're there , please like some videos while you're there , but Trey will leave some information there for you to jump into and get some information . So , trey , thank you again for doing that for all of our listeners and our viewers and those that are tuning in for the first time . Thank you for doing this episode , man .

This is fantastic man .