Live better and longer with the Fitzeness Show, hosted by fitness expert, author, and TV personality, Fitz Kohler. She'll tell you why diets are dumb, supplements are snake oil, and the truth about how you can earn a lean, hard, pain-free, and athletic body. Now for our favorite bossy blonde, Fitz Kohler. Well, hi, team. I'm Fitz Kohler. You're a very noisy fitness pro and author from fitness.com and welcome to the fitness show.
Today, I have a really fun interview. I'm so excited for you to hear. I went to a male review with my daughter a couple of weeks ago and we had so much freaking fun. It was the laughing and the screaming and the surprise and such quality entertainment. it. So if you're there and you're prude and you're saying, oh, I can't listen to Fitz talk to a stripper, you got to get past that because this is a really good guy who happens to dance.
It's scantily clad, but yeah, it's a total don't judge a book by its cover tale. However, I want you to know upfront that we are going to be talking about striptease. And so maybe this isn't the right episode to listen to with your kids, although I don't really think your kids will hear anything inappropriate.
Kai's a great guy, and it's just really interesting to go inside, to go behind the curtain and find out, you know, how does a guy get into this field, and what does he like about it, and what's weird about it, and yeah, it was just a really, really fascinating and fun conversation. I think everyone should tune in. If you haven't done so already, click like, leave a review, and of course, share this episode with someone you love because sharing is caring. I love you. Here's Kai.
Hello, Kai. Welcome to the Fitsness Show. Hey, what's going on? I'm so happy that you said yes. I'd like to start by telling you, Ginger and I absolutely loved your performance. Thank you for coming to Gainesville with 50 Shades of Men. Is that what it's called? Yeah, so I've actually worked under a few different names, and they market it under different stuff. But yeah, that's the group that technically I, I manage. Well, it was absolutely fantastic. One hell of a show.
I don't remember the last time I screamed and laughed and delighted so much. It was awesome. Well, I'm glad you have fun. That's the, that's the idea behind it. Sometimes it's a, it's a funny business. Cause sometimes when I see things played back to me, when people record videos, I'm like, Hmm, I like, yeah, that's me, huh? That's interesting. I'm always like kind of surprised at myself. So I'm glad people enjoy it. Oh, such a good time. And I, I really, I didn't expect what I was receiving.
So I'd been to men, male reviews many times before I say many times before, at least a half a dozen times or more as a teenager with a fake ID in my early twenties. But really what I expected was the choreographed routines. and then, you know, maybe a little traditional lap dance. What you guys did was batshit crazy. I've never seen anything so wild when this at the start. I mean, as an MC, I would like to praise you for your MC skills. You're great on a microphone. Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Yeah, that's a good start. But then when you warn people, like if you have knee or back or neck issues, you don't come on the stage. Right. It's kind of lighthearted, but it's also like, but seriously, you should really consider it. Holy cow. It was the wildest thing I've ever seen. And, and I brought my daughter, Ginger, who you got to meet, who you got to toss around. And for anyone who doesn't know how this works, this is not your regular lap dance.
You pay the door price and then you can come in and purchase a hot seat. and the hot seat. You guys actually put chairs for all the women who purchased hot seats on the stage. And then you make them the star of the show by engaging them and just wild, not only just dancing for them, but you were literally tossing humans around like ragdolls, flipping women upside down. Putting them on the floor, all sorts of surprising moves that I don't think any of us expected. So, wow.
Yeah you know the the shock value is always the funnest thing is like to catch someone off guard where they don't know exactly what to expect so yeah that's uh crazy yeah i think when we when i when i first started actually dancing that was when when the first like magic mike movie had just come out so i think a lot of the a lot of the engaging one-on-one started becoming something that people were like looking for, like they want to be that person in that chair. Right.
As opposed to it just being like, uh, you know, a big group choreographed choreographed thing. And yeah, so it's kind of transformed into this almost like, how can you do something where people will go, Whoa. Yeah. Yeah. So. Well, you figured that out and it's wildly athletic on your behalf. The, the strength and the acrobatic capabilities you all demonstrated was phenomenal. I mean, It's a fitness podcast, mostly.
So I was like, oh, these guys, I mean, gorgeous and fit, beautiful bodies and great dancers and great charisma, all of you. So I'm excited for you to share all the things, you know, and all of your fun experiences. Yeah, well, you know, all my fun experiences, I don't know if your audience is ready for that, but I have a lot of them. Okay. Okay. The ones that are palatable for normal people.
Okay. So let's go back. Tell us, tell us who you are, where you grew up, what your childhood was like, and then how you eventually got into this. Yeah. So I grew up mostly in North Carolina, in Charlotte area. So my dad is Laotian, so Southeast Asian descent. My mom is raised in South. 23 of me says that side of the family is mostly like British and Irish. So a little bit of a melting pot there. But yeah, I actually was a really shy kid.
Shy in terms of like initial meetings with people i'm very like sit back and observe.
Weird i could say this i always thought that like i could like entertain in some way like i always felt like hmm that seems like i think when i was a little kid i used to watch a lot of wrestling and in some ways i think there's some parallels i don't might sound kind of strange but, some of the theatrics involved in the charisma and like being in shape and all that stuff the The only difference is instead of tossing dudes around, I toss girls around.
Yeah, I think it's a brilliant comparison. It actually is spot on. It's like the Speedo versus the thong. That's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, you do become comfortable a little bit. Sometimes I was too comfortable, I think, with walking around with your buddies and your underwear. So, yeah, I always joke around. I'm like, that's the only place I wear underwear is at work. Usually I do commando. Yeah. Not surprised, not surprised. Okay. So you're a shy kid.
Yeah. You know, I started, I started working out mostly because of my dad. So my, my mom and dad, they, they split up when I was young. So kind of that traditional, let me find common ground with my father. I want to connect with him, that sort of thing. So the, the two things was like sports and, and working out. So as soon as I got old enough to get in the gym with them, then i started working out and i think i also kind of get a little bit of the.
I guess flair for the dramatic a little bit from him too because i always there was always like this thing of oh this is different this is unique and one of the like weird or not i guess not weird but like one of the quirky hobbies that i have is uh i'm really big into something called the Enneagram or like a personality test type thing. And yeah. You ever heard of it? I have not.
No. Yeah. So it's briefly, it's like numbers one through nine, you get designated a number based upon like, you know, certain questions that they're given to you and you know, what it's rooted in, I think predominantly is based upon like some of the things we experienced in our childhood. And then that kind of shapes the lens in which we see the world through.
I kinda, I kinda think of it a little bit like, like the Myers-Briggs meets sort of your, like your astrology chart in a way, but, uh, with, uh, in terms of like the, how deep it dives into it, nonetheless, yeah, I have a, I have a desire to be special and unique and stand out.
So that's a, that's a big motivating factor for me. So I think naturally this is kind of something that was easy for me to go into, which I started late in the game, definitely a lot older than most people when they start. Okay. So did you play sports as a kid? Yeah i played mostly football and basketball yeah okay did you go to college did you have a career in mind uh so you know it's funny not for like sports or anything like that.
It's it's funny i always tell everybody i'm like i had to work really hard to be like average at lots of things athletically i i was i was not i didn't have like great hand-eye coordination so i was fast and strong but not like being able to put all those things together into one piece wasn't really easy for me so over time like you know i had to work stuff to kind of figure it out but i'm actually like really appreciative even like when i joke around about like
some of the guys that you know that i work with now because you know i watch how they eat like how they train where they don't train no and like man you know i'm somewhat envious but at the same time i think it's created certain habits for me that that will last my lifetime and, you know, dial of attrition. So as I get older, those things won't really ever leave me. So I don't have to worry about, you know, relying on, you know, certain genetic gifts.
You know what? I identify with that so much. I, I love sports and my older siblings were elite athletes and I got cut from almost everything in high school. Just, just wasn't very good until I started teaching fitness. And then all of a sudden I was good at something and I just loved connecting with the people and, you know, thank God I stumbled into it and found it. But, but yeah, you can still be athletic and fit and not be, be great at traditional sports, right? You got to find your own path.
Yeah. Yeah. No, that's the, that's the thing is you realize that, you know, it's, you don't have to fit in that box of whatever it is. Like there's certain things that I know that I can do that like not most people can do or like, you know, you piece it all together and, you know, once you kind of embrace that, it makes it easier to like appreciate, you know, the things that you have as opposed to comparing yourself and, you know, kind of being hard on yourself.
That's right. That's right. So what were your original career goals? You know, it's funny. So, looking back, I actually kind of laughed at myself. I'm like, man, I would not have been good at that. So, I was actually in school for nursing. If you ask me why now, I can't really give you an answer that is super in-depth. It would be, I would say solely because I'm like, you know what? I don't want to be in school that long. That was the thought process.
Two is, I do like taking care of people, but really, I like working with kids. And it just seemed like a safe play, I guess, was the best way to put it. And the way that I grew up was kind of like more, hey, don't mess up. Don't get in trouble in these ways. Because I had a lot of like family history of just people being knuckleheads. Okay. And so the thoughts weren't aspired to this. It's just like, just don't end up like this.
So it took me some time of like in my adult life to kind of like figure it out, getting rid of the idea of just sufficient to, oh, there's a lot that I could do. There's a lot that is possible. So, you know, I always feel bad for people that have like kind of those limitations in their, in their mindset or like the fear of like failure just kind of based upon how they grew up. But yeah, no, that was, that was the initial thought.
And then I got into sales and I was in sales, like a large part of my life, kind of pretty good at that. Were you good at sales? Yeah. Good at sales. Kind of not great, but that's because I don't really have like a cutthroat mentality in certain ways.
You know i'm willing to to educate and like learn and i do my best to like help people but not at the expense of like others or for for the sake of like just making the sale i guess best way to put it that's very sweet that's very sweet i like that very much so how did you go from sales to dancing. Yeah so my i kind of i always joke around saying i live life in reverse and like now it's kind of like merging. So in my twenties, so I ended up getting married to my high school sweetheart.
Then when I was 29, we, we split up. And in that process, I decided I was like, man, you know, I really kind of like lived like my life to like help take care of another person. And like with that person in mind. So the first time I kind of had like, oh, okay, I guess I can kind of do things for myself. And I, I, I was never crazy about sales, even though like I was good at it and didn't, but it did, it caused me to not have a lot of free time.
So I was like, you know what, I'm going to go back to school. And at that, that time I was like, ah, I, I am really big into fitness and nutrition. So excuse me, I thought that maybe going around with like nutritionists and then start getting into training. So started going down that road, planning for that. And I'd also started a side business with a few of my friends and was like, you know what, I'll do that. And, and like, maybe like the side business was, it was a mobile bar business.
So I was like, I can do that bartend, get out of the sales game for a bit. And, and, and also kind of dabble into like my own like world of fitness and exploring that and like into some modeling things. And yeah, dancing came about when I was, when I was doing like this fashion show.
Which it was funny because they invited me to come out then once i got there they're like i remember one of the designers is like yeah you're just like we love the muscles but you're a little too big to wear any of our clothes so the only thing we can really do is put you into underwear. Okay i was like okay i'm like i'm not uncomfortable with me i'm kind of used to it i think from competing on stage and whatnot that was like not you know foreign for me oh so did you do body building?
Yeah. Yeah. All right. Okay. That makes a lot of sense. That's okay. All right. Bodybuilder to underwear model. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, and that was actually one of the funny things was when I was growing up and since my dad was into bodybuilding and I, and I watched like a lot of competitions, I used to always like admire the guys that would go out and do things differently. The, the guys who like actually would like perform on stage and they weren't like snooze fest.
So anybody that's like that was into bodybuilding like in the 90s or like the 2000s there were like certain guys that I used to that I used to look up to because they still looked athletic and they could like dance and do different things and I was like yeah I want to be like those guys and so when I would compete I would always bring some of that like.
You know element into what i was doing very fun very fun and then how did you go from, runway modeling to dancing stripping exotic dance all the words yeah yeah just heard some guy talking about it in the background during you mean in the background what does that mean i was i was kind of ear hustling you know he dropping on a conversation while we were doing like hair and makeup during one of the fashion shows and then i
heard him talking about like you know he kind of like dabbled in that and so it piqued my curiosity and i reached out to the guy who put that fashion show on was part of it and then was like hey do you know anything about this i heard this guy talking about that and he linked me up with someone who promoted events at one of the bigger nightclubs in charlotte then they shared my contact information and pictures with someone who was coming in and i actually
was like less than two weeks to have a show and so there were two groups in those groups. There was my buddy Diego who runs the tour that I'm a part of now and a few other guys. I hit it off really well with them that first night when I was just kind of like going to see what it was all about. And yeah, I guess I kind of fitted it. I fit a need that they had at the time in terms of like my look and availability.
So they, uh, they kind of coaxed me into just try it out for a little bit isn't it what because i thought it was just like a moonlighting thing i was like oh okay like i'll do this like for fun maybe every once in a while and they're like no we do this all the time like year round i'm like that seems a little i don't know if i'm ready for all that but yeah after after kind of joining in i kind of got thrown into it that first
day which was supposed to be just kind of sit back and observe but after that.
Just yeah fell into the mix and and quickly saw a need for professionalism actually oddly enough you know there was a lot of a lot of things in this business like you realize like a lot of it is guys that are there to like have a good time and like that's okay of course there's a fun element to it but then at the same time there's there's a need to to be a businessman as well so figured i could bring some of what i had already learned into the fold and be a you know benefit it in that way.
And we will be right back. Are you looking for the perfect gift for a loved one battling cancer? The Cancer Comeback Series by Fitz Kohler offers hope, inspiration, and practical guidance with Your Healthy Cancer Comeback, My Noisy Cancer Comeback, and the Healthy Cancer Comeback Journal. These books are a lifeline for all patients and survivors. Right now, you can order autographed copies at a special discount.
Show your support and help a loved one go from sickness drawn visit your first time today that's f-i-t-z-n-e-s-s.com or did you wing it how did that work we're back so that so that first night it was actually there is a really like kind of funny story to this so i was supposed to just watch and see what it was all about and then right before it started they're like hey you want to make some money i was like Sir, why not?
And the girl I was dating at the time, she came with me and we had just, like, we just started like seeing each other, like, I don't know, maybe like a few weeks before. And this was probably, I think maybe like six or seven months after me and my ex had separated. And this all ties together, I promise. So. I go backstage. That's when I got my name, my dancer name, which is Kai, was because one of my good friends now, his name's Mike. And it can't be two Mikes, you know.
So they ran with the fact that my dad came to the U.S. through Hawaii with my look. And at the time, bodybuilder Kai Green, they knew I was into bodybuilding. So they said, yo, you should name me Kai. I was like, I like it. Let's do it. It's perfect.
Then they they called me out on stage like just for introduction they're like listen don't worry you're not going to perform on stage or anything like that so like you know it's not a big deal you're just going to go through the crowd like probably like twice a night and you're just going to like do like little short dances for the girls right and then just make as many tips as you can all right sure i can do that so no no training i just kind of did what i felt like made sense
but the funny part was that that night whenever they called me out for introductions before they started in the front row as soon as i get out on stage i look out into the crowd my ex-mother-in-law is sitting a boy in the front row yeah i can't make that i was like yeah this is made for a movie because like i could not write a funnier story than that and yeah that was that was awkward, but did you dance for her did you give her a lap dance no
no actually i don't i still don't know whether or not like she had a friend with her that i had never met before and so i wasn't really sure whether or not she told the friend like oh my god like this is you know this or she did it because the strange part was the friend kept calling me over there and like there was just no communication whatsoever i was like all right i guess it's okay so yeah no it was it was an interesting night, to say the least. That's crazy. Now, were you nervous?
Oh, not really. Yeah. Do you ever get nervous? Not, yes, but not for this. Yeah, not for this. There's two things like, it's funny, you know, to the most commonly listed things for people to be, you know, scared of or fearful of are two of the things that I actually feel like really, really comfortable with. And I kind of realized that a few years ago, I was like, whoa, you know, public speaking and being in front of people, like with your clothes off being like judged that way.
Like, those are two things that I'm like really oddly comfortable with, but you know, I'm always looking for like, what kind of gifts God may have given me besides necessarily that standing naked part, but none of the being judged and being in front of people front and center, like that part. Yeah. So. Well, what a blessing too. I mean, it's so you're right with the public speaking thing. so many people say they would rather die than speak publicly.
And in my mind, I feel like, you know, my greatest fear is somebody never inviting me to speak publicly again. Like that's my deathly fear. That's, that's the thing I'm terrified of. So good for you. I don't know if I'm the strutter in the skivvies confident, but, but yeah, it's, it's, it's nice to have a skill that other people don't. That's for sure. What a way to separate yourself.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. gotta always see the silver lining sometimes i'm like you know what is it that i'm doing again like where's the value that i bring but yeah in that way i can i can appreciate that now have you ever had like a moral issue with it or have have those things ever come across your mind oh for sure yeah no that's you know even even even to this day you know that's one of those things that i battle but it has you know it's weird
because like there's i think because i have done enough like self-work to kind of figure out like what my challenges are and then at the same time kind of like, giving myself a little bit of grace, you know, there's a, there's a weird kind of like balancing act there. So on like one hand, I, you know, I'm able to say, if I was acting and I was in a film or like a TV show, then would I look at it as critically? Probably not, but I'm still playing a part. I'm still playing a role.
The difference comes in to play with, okay, am I, is this the message, this is how I want to be perceived, this is where I want people to know me for, like mostly, and the answer is no. But I think that's where it's really important for me to, you know, to, to kind of be able to even like right now, you know, have this conversation with you, because I think, you know, there's always that, the, the fear that like, oh, like, what's going on? What does he have between the ears?
You know, like, is, you know, those are all things that are stuff that like runs through my head is is like perception and you know the way people may view you and like long term and being able to to transition to other things and like whether or not that that stuff kind of like hold you back or people kind of look at you like so but yeah from a from a moral standpoint also the the uh the challenge of am i doing more good or bad, for people. I don't know the answer to that.
I think that's where it kind of falls back on whether or not I feel, how do I feel about it? So I always say if the day comes that I feel like, man, yeah, no, it's not for me, then I just walk away. So how would you, how do you want people to see you or think of you? I would, I think first and foremost, I think anybody that like actually like spends, spends time with me, I think just that like, I care about people and like getting to know them or understand them.
So that kind of falls back into like why I got into like the Enneagram thing, which is, you know, I realized that even kind of like what you're saying with the public speaking, I will always have a need to have eyes on me. And I say that try to like not come off as like conceited or shallow, but more along the lines of like having something to like show the world or like entertain or like provide in that way.
So that's why I even considered, you know, going into the realm of like starting podcasts that revolves around that, like educating people on like the Enneagram and that kind of stuff. Cause I am passionate about it and being able sit down with people and go over kind of like what these numbers mean and what it means to them.
And, and kind of walking people through the process of like what I learned about my, what I learned about myself and like how you can kind of fight some of the battles of like your natural inclinations when you go through certain experiences. So I'm always going to need another creative outlet that way. And so I'm kind of actually like exploring the possibilities of what that's going to look like when I transition out of dancing.
So my thoughts, I'm going to share them just because I am, I, there's no way the second you open your mouth that people don't instantly pick up on how intelligent and thoughtful you are. So as, as if you're opening your mouth, people get it. I don't think you have to worry about anybody thinking there's nothing between your ears. And, you know, I, I, it sounds like we have a similar reason for being on the stage.
I don't ever really want anybody to be excited about me, I need to connect with them. Like I need them. And I need specifically to help them. I'm so driven to help them live better and longer. And so I am fanatical about pursuing those stages because then I get to help them, you know? And so you provide the wonderful experiences. I mean, Ginger and I, I know we had a room full of people, but we were having the time of our lives and it was very cool to do something like that with my daughter.
She's an adult, so we can, but it was giggles and screams and the women of all ages and all financial backgrounds and all colors. We were just having the time of our life. There was nothing lurid about it. It was fun and exciting and a giggle fest and an opportunity to let loose. I think what you're doing is very kind of good for society. I think women like us need a place to cut loose and just have big fun. And yeah, so I'm sure some people think it's horrible and you're terrible for doing it.
I'm terrible for paying for a ticket and clapping my hands, but I don't know. I think you should feel really good about what you're doing. And I think you'd have a great podcast. You have a killer voice, a phenomenal presence. And I think a lot of people would be interested in that talk.
No, I appreciate that. It means a lot. Actually, that like I mentioned to you before, you guys have there's a certain kind of presence that people have when they walk to a room and whether it just be like their energy or how they speak and all those things like you and your daughter both have that. So that stood out to me. So, you know, there's some things you can't necessarily quantify, but you just kind of like know it when you see it kind of thing, you know?
We did have the best time we did have the best time and you were a huge part of that okay so, all right so you start dancing and your dancing is not just dancing it's not i've been to male reviews before where the guy's just like you know grinding on the lady's lap or their choreograph routines you four flipped so many women around when you make the comparison to wwe it's not, it's not outrageous at all. I was just dying.
And I actually, you know, when I only get on a stage when I'm the person who's supposed to be on the stage, other than that, I like to sit back and enjoy. But I just thought, oh my gosh, once I saw what was happening, I thought you guys would throw me through the roof. I got in one of those chairs. I was like, holy crap. They would spin me like a top. So how does that happen? Did people teach you to do that? Was it your idea?
And how do you get so comfortable tossing women upside down and side to side and doing all the things you do? Cause it was incredible. You know, there is, there's definitely like technique to it. So sometimes I've seen guys that are like starting out or guys that like I've run into in different situations where they clearly haven't spent time learning like that there's a method to the madness. But I know for me personally, it was like watching how other people would do certain things.
I learned like how they would execute certain like moves and then my girlfriend at the time like i'll practice them on her so fun oh my god so you know it's it's always nice to have you know somebody that you can toss around a little bit and see and make sure that like okay like you're all right like then at any point did you feel like you're like like you know any sort of you know odd pain or weird situations there so yeah no it's uh it definitely it should
come with some practice and some observation before you attempt doing any of the things because i've uh i have seen a few accidents because like you really don't have you can't necessarily control the person involved completely so like unless i was to coach you up on it prior to you really have to you really you're almost better being very surprising and fast because if you take your time a lot of times it gives people the ability to think and
to freeze up so you got to be fast and you like gotta hit it quickly because otherwise like you might have someone freeze up and that's kind of how they get would get hurt. Okay. Okay. Yeah. You flung Ginger around and it's very funny to be the mom in the back of the room with the cell phone out recording my daughter again, along around like that. But she said, after the fact, she said, I had no idea what was going on. Her mind just basically blinked out.
She, she really had no idea what you had done with her. Yeah, that's kind of how I like it. Good. And then speaking of accidents, so you did gather one cute girl up on, you put her on a, like a railing and then she fell back. Did you just die inside and, and everybody, she was fine, but she did fall backwards off the railing. What went through your mind? So, you know, like sometimes, and I, and I hate to say it this way. Sometimes you kind of know where the danger lies with certain,
you know, patrons. Okay. Depending upon, it's just like anything else, right? You go into a room and you assess the landscape and you realize like, okay, there are certain things about this person's body language personality that tells me they might be a little wilder than others. And so usually that's another thing you got to be very aware of is like choosing your battles and like what people to do certain things with.
If I see someone that's really like very kind of like nervous looking and timid, then like, okay, well then maybe take it easy here. If it's someone that's like smaller, like I remember, you know, that girl being like pretty tiny. So I kind of knew like, okay, well, I can physically control her. Yeah. It wouldn't be difficult. What I didn't expect was hers to kind of like go rogue.
That's the one thing that you can't account for is when they decide I'm going to kind of just decide to rodeo up a little bit. That's what I always call it. You know, when girls turn into woo girls, I don't know if you remember that episode from friends. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. When they turn into a woo girl and they, they start hitting the, the lasso thing, you know, you're in danger.
That's when, you know, you're in danger. They start leaning back and you know, then at that point you're kind of you know it's not a whole lot that you can do but i was just glad that she was okay yeah yeah but it does happen every now and then when so when they try to kind of take control, and yeah in your defense in your defense she was wild she wanted to be the show which i thought was very interesting there were so many women who were like
okay i am the star of the show here i go I was like, oh, it's about them, but whatever. It was all just entertaining as a whole. But yeah, you had a lot of women who were hardcore, ready to be a part of, like have their own sexy dance routine. Do you see that a lot?
You do you do and that's actually one of the sometimes i've run into a few situations in the past where i say it like this it can be a little bit of a turnoff you know in terms of just like and i don't mean like even in a sexual way i mean more along the lines of just like the human element of of just relationships it's like like that's not what you that's not what everyone else is here for it. They're here for this. So like, let us do our thing.
I mean, I've even had certain instances that kind of reveals sometimes a little bit character with people had women say some pretty, like.
Outrageous things to me and i'm like did you think before you said that when it comes to like being on stage and i know this wasn't a question that you had but i'm gonna share this with you one of the biggest things that like i know me personally like i hate to hear because it just sounds really ugly but i have heard it multiple times it is like you know if someone's seen something happen on stage it's like like oh you should really bring me up there because
like i'm like i'm hot or i'm attractive and like it would be like way better it's like what are you trying to say about everybody else you know it's like yeah yeah it's like no like i like yeah like i don't want like this is like i don't really want you up there so yeah okay so on that note what what do you love see to see walking through the door the night of a show and what makes you think uh-oh not one of these i would say what i love is really just people being like open to just
being friendly like not being closed off i don't mind people being reserved sometimes though i think and that kind of falls in line with the perception aspect is i think because of maybe which is natural i do the same thing like we all tend to stereotype to some extent i think sometimes there are certain women that maybe they come with a group and they were.
Like okay i'm coming to tag along but i'm not really here like for this and can be a little like a little rough around the edges almost like okay guy get out of my face guy kind of energy and i'm always like you know what i'm a lot nicer than you probably realize and i wish you just like you know just eased up and like you know so sometimes i like to be a little playful playful back with that it's like oh okay you know who hurt you, but it's fine. You know, whatever.
And then, and then what do you love? What I love, I really, the biggest thing is just anytime you have someone that comes in and like, they're like, they're, you know, they're there to have a good time. Like they're full of energy. Yeah. Somebody that is, I love when people are like really engaging. And I like when people also hit me with questions that haven't been asked before. Anytime someone can keep me on my toes with, with stuff like that, you know, that's always really cool.
Yeah. I would say those are probably, probably the biggest things. And I really like when, I don't know why there's something that's really appealing about the person who you can tell is really excited, but then really nervous at the same time like those are the most fun because you know like by the end of the night especially because me personally i tend to like i tend to target them to like make sure that they have a good time they're by the end of the night like they're like usually like
open up quite a bit and you know it's a fun time so yeah i i thought it was, like right away i thought oh these are sweet guys like whatever your aura is whatever you gave off I just said, oh, they're nice. They're nice guys, right? Hot, gorgeous, entertaining, really nice guys, really nice guys. Actually, one of the things I thought that was so lovely, and I think Brody danced for her, but there was a young woman who was special needs in some regard.
Her body worked, but you could tell she had some mental delays, and she had a hot seat dance and i watching the way he danced for her and in a in a way that was he just managed her because she was kind of all over the place and with enthusiasm it's just it was really kind it spoke volumes of who you guys are that's also one of the funnest things i see when you get like.
Either you know anyone with any sort of special needs or like almost like elderly because like we're gonna have a good time like okay all right yeah yeah this is yeah i don't know i don't know why it's always a little bit more more enjoyable so yeah like they might get get that experience as much yeah and that's one of the things ginger and i really liked and and i believe that young woman came with her mom and i thought well how cool that even though she whatever
her issue is she's still getting to go out and do this adult thing you know she's still going out to have grown-up woman fun, which I just, I was appreciative of. And again, you guys handled her like such a pro. It was really kind. I think, you know, it was heart-melting, like, oh, look at them. They're really good guys. So great. So great. So fitness. You're so damn fit. So damn fit. And I've seen it all. So it's, you're so damn fit. What do you do to stay in shape?
So now I would say mostly my focus is on kind of just staying injury free. And I, when people say like, how many days, you know, traditional questions, like how many days a week do you work out? Or, you know, what do you eat? My answer is to how many days a week I work out. I was like, I work out every day that I can, because I know there's going to be days that I can't. So I don't have like a traditional split anymore. It's like, okay.
If, even if it's a day where, man, I might've done, you know, tired, upper body, lower body in the past three days, but I have a free day. All right, let me go do cardio. Let me go do something different. Let me do some form of like total body hit, whatever it is, because I know, you know, naturally those days are going to arise that, that I can't get in and then I'm not going to feel as guilty about it.
So nowadays it's more about that. I rotate between going really heavy and then going in and like keeping my rep ranges like moderate. I've started incorporating the past few years, a lot more stretching, massage. As I get older, you know, got to be able to keep a little bit more care for the machine. Yeah. So I'd say like, that's, those are, those are really like my biggest focus is kind of keeping things well-rounded.
Okay. So I love that you say you're working on preventing injuries because I think for most grownups, you know, I mean, I feel like a younger crowd is usually like, I want to look hot in my swimsuit type thing. And then, and then people just start saying like, I want my body to work, right. I want it to look good, but I really want it to feel good. And I want to stop getting hurt.
So what specific kind of exercises do you do? I can imagine you're probably working on your low back since you're tossing humans around most nights of the week, but that's just a guess. Yeah. So that's actually, that's a big problem area for me.
And that's really why I have to like spend like i i am almost like forced to have to stretch before i lift because i have i have, four herniated discs on my back and three of my neck and it's weird i didn't even know that until like i had gotten into a car accident but i knew those were the things that were like pre-existing. So I don't really, I don't really notice it. I have like little flare ups, but I do know that one of the triggering things
is food. And then the other thing is if I go from being sedentary to boom, right into a workout or right into like any physical activity. So I always make sure I use a foam roller. Always I stretch like 15 minutes at least before I jump into anything. Otherwise, yeah, like you said, the back, especially for me can be a, can have like its flare up moments. And usually when they happen, a lot of times it is when I'm working. So it is like on stage, like I might pick someone up and be like,
Oh, that's all right. I'm going to be, I'm going to be hurting for a few days. So yeah. Yeah. Well, and, and kudos, you guys don't use discretion based on anyone's weight. You threw everybody around. Yeah. That's, that's a secret like thing that really, I personally enjoy. It's like, you know what I want? I want people to be like, oh, her too? You okay? Yeah. Everybody gets some love. Yeah. And it also shows off like, damn, they are strong men up there.
That's very powerful, very powerful. And I'm sure very appreciated by everybody. So proper warmups, which everybody should yield to and foam rollers. And then you said food is triggering. So is that triggering pain or what do you mean by that? Yeah. So what I've noticed is like, if I have, if I have days where I get. If I go too heavy in the realm of like, say, especially with the holidays, right? If I eat a lot of carbs and fat together, like I can usually do one or the other.
Like I rotate around my nutrition. I've gone, you know, on the far end of like low carb keto style. And then I've gone on the other end of like really low fat and, and moderate carbs and both can work and both do work.
But when i combine both together and especially if it's not healthy versions of those things then usually i'll wake up the next day and have like tons of inflammation so i can feel it in my lower back i'll feel it in my in my joints and calves and things like that now that was something that i started picking up on probably like six seven years ago so while yes it tastes great the day before the next day. I'm really sluggish. And besides being bloated, then I got to deal with the body pain.
Yeah. Wise words, wise words. Okay. So you used the big B word. And I think most humans think, oh my gosh, if I had to be almost naked in front of people tomorrow, I would not eat anything today or whatever. So do you ever get to showtime and feel like, ah, I'm bloated.
I don't want to take my clothes off or how does that work oh yeah no for sure i mean even even right now it's it's funny because anytime someone like compliments me a stranger i'm always like man like it's hard to accept it because i'm like i know what me at my at my peak looks like and so when i feel like i'm really far off then you know i'm like meh but you know that's uh that's my own personal demons to battle so yeah yeah there's definitely those days i think that's why
i i know for sure that dancing has helped keep me in line in places where maybe you know just like anyone else you have like those those times in your life where you're like ah like maybe you're a little more sad or maybe you're in like these certain states and you might kind of fall off the wagon when you know that there's.
There's people that are paying money to come see you, then it's like, okay, well, regardless of how I feel, regardless of like what I might, I might want to go grab Ben and Jerry's and just pick out or whatever. I'm not going to do that. Cause you know, it's like, that's not fair to them. And then I'm going to be probably like more insecure, which is going to affect how I come across everybody. I like, I like what a thoughtful answer. How long have you been dancing?
Let's see so off and on for almost nine years but in total probably like closer to like six or seven okay and then you were a nerd on our in gainesville which we enjoyed it was very creative and fun your nerd costume what other costumes do you like you know when i first started out I did a uh like Mr. Gray routine uh so Mr. Gray so like the whole 50 Shades kind of uh stick I started out with that and then also I've had my my time as a fireman,
you know that was that was a good one for a while I've dabbled with other things you know different like you know traditional stuff you'd hear of like cop and all that stuff but for me the. The nerd was, that's where my heart lies because I feel like that's kind of more of my personality being goofy like that. So very cute. So this is my, have you ever done Polynesian? Have you done that since you're, you take the Hawaiian Kai persona?
I haven't, but that's something that I've kicked around, especially more recently. Yeah, and especially since I've grown my hair out, I feel like it'd be a little bit more fun. Say yes. And also to add that, because I'm going to make a request, even though you're probably not going to come back to games for a while, is the haka. I think that haka is one of the hottest things I've ever seen men do. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, yeah.
Holy shit. I don't know why that's so sexy, but a whole bunch of strong men yelling and dancing and stomping. It's just fire. You will drop everybody's bank accounts. Everyone will dump their purses over your head. Yeah, no, I think that was actually one of the things where if I were to do it, I 100% would incorporate that. I remember the first time I saw the New Zealand team for the rugby team, the all blacks doing that. And I was like, yo, that's so cool.
I don't even know why, but it's like the epitome of masculinity. I don't know why. i don't know why i love it but you're the guy you you should do that and then i i will figure out where you are and i will come and and and hear for you again enjoy your show if you if you haka kai i got into yes is that fair you'll let me know for sure for sure i'll definitely let you, so what else would you like people to know.
I would say more than anything else just that it's don't judge a book by its cover it kind of goes back to that you know i think one of my favorite sayings about myself is like i'm a walking contradiction right so even kind of going back to the the nerd routine a lot of what i do in my day-to-day is probably not what most people would think I would be doing.
And I love that about myself. And I love that about people. I love meeting people and being, completely thrown off by whatever my initial thought might have been, because I think that allows us the ability to really be open to life and to new things and just developing relationships with people that you might not necessarily have thought you would develop relationships with. So yeah, probably that more than anything else. How long do you think you'll dance?
That's a question I ask myself. You know, probably not that much longer. I would say if I were to put an expiration date on it, this is 2025 now. This will probably be my last year. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's time, like I said, you know, as the, as the worlds converge, I lived, I lived my twenties and my thirties, I lived my thirties and my twenties. And like, now I'm ready to kind of shift into another place into my life.
And I think part of, part of that is, is finding a new creative outlet and, and like figuring out how to settle down what that looks like and being one place for like more than a week. Yeah. Yeah. Do you have any idea what you'd like to do next? Yeah. So it's, it's funny. Part of my like nerdy stuff is like, I'm really big into, I'm really big into investing and, and yeah, yeah. Like I, I like any and everything that revolves around revolves around finance.
I think one of the, one of the things that I've been studying for is to be an IA and, and some of it I just do just for my own personal knowledge i don't know if necessarily that's going to be the route that i go but i'll also have like i have a really creative side there's like things that i've been working on in the background because i love clothing i love design i love fashion i love especially being like a bigger guy you know there's more stuff now but there wasn't hasn't always been things
that are made to like fit us naturally especially things that are like more trendy so like those are those Those are areas that like, I'm always like looking into and like a little more curious about. So I don't know exactly what's going to be, what's going to take precedent, but I always have my, like, even now I do life insurance as well. So like there's, I always have my hands in like multiple pots, so to speak. And I always trust that like, God will show me whatever way is,
is, is the path that I'm supposed to go eventually. So. Well, you are a fascinating man. I'm so happy you said yes to being on my show. Thank you. Yeah, no, thanks for having me. Okay. So we always close out the show with two things. So number one is a communication tip. And so what would you recommend people do in order to connect or communicate with other people better?
So how about I'll give you two, because like one I've already said, which is take the Enneagram test, learn about yourself, and then the people that love have them take it because it will help you communicate with them i will say that's the most important resource that i've come across it's not hokey it's not. It has to me, like not really any like spirituality, like background to it.
And it's just really just focused on your trauma and what, what your, where your childhood trauma has caused you to react to certain things. So when you have other people that you love and they may react in a way where you're like so confused by it, it will allow you to see things through their lens a little bit more. And, and I think when we have the ability to have more patience and grace for those around us, then it's just a better world to be in.
And read the book, even though it's an oldie, it's a goodie, how to win friends and influence people. It's not just a sales book. It's a great book for life. And like, you know, getting, getting your needs met and other people's needs met. Brilliant. That's one of the bestsellers of all time, right? Yeah. People like to hear their name. Yep. For sure. For sure.
All right. My next, Oh, and Enneagram tests. Can people just take that for free online or do you, how do you do that yeah there's a few different ones online that you can take some of them like when you get to the end it'll try to like get you to pay for like extensive results but really if you take it you can see the number and when you get the number you can do your own research and look into it yeah like i said i've already started like working on some like smaller clip videos
for like tiktok because i don't really have a lot on tiktok most of my content that i've ever created just in general social media is like more instagram based but i was thinking about actually putting some of the stuff on our group page on Facebook because that's the majority of the following that's on there which speaking of, if you want if you're interested, I can connect, this whenever you're finished to our Facebook and you'd have a huge female audience
to reach out. Yes, please. I would love that. I would love that. Thank you. Thank you. And I'm sure they would just die getting to know you in this way. This has been a really great hour with Kai. Yeah. No, it was a good time for me too. Okay. And my final question is I need for you to recommend to our listeners how a song for them to exercise to, whether they're dancing or mountain climbing or surfing, whatever. What song would you like everybody to download on their playlist?
Oh i love music that's one of my my passions that's a that's a tough one you know and i will tell you this i listen to music that most people probably don't listen to when they when they do, physical activities. Like I listen to songs that are a little sappy. Okay. That's okay. You can get us with whatever you want. Like emotions drive me. So sometimes emotions, emotions drive me to like do things that physically I might not be able to do.
So I'll give you one that is, and over the past few years, I've really got into electronic dance music. So I'll give you one that's kind of a hybrid where it's got some passion behind it. It does have lyrics and it's one that if you got a little bit of, you know, those, those sad thoughts, my music specialty is like what we like to call sad boy music. So yeah, yeah. It doesn't mean I'm sad all the time. I just, I I'm appreciative of
all feelings, even sad ones. So I would say there's a song called hollow. Yeah. And it's by Kai Wachee. Oddly enough, his name's Kai, the DJ. And another DJ named Dabin, which is spelled D-A-B-I-N. Hollow. Hollow by Kai and Dabin. So it's got some rock-based energy to it, and then the electronic part, and then the feels of the lyrics. So I think those three, if you need something to get you going, if you like tapping into the emotional side of things while getting a little
aggression out. It's good stuff. Well, I'm actually going to go left after this. So I am going to play hollow. That's immediately going on my playlist. Thank you for a new suggestion. Yeah, let me know what you think. Kai, can you tell people where to find you on social media, how to follow and connect with you? Yeah, best place for my Instagram is actually my government name, my official name, which is Mike.
And then so at Mike and then my last name which is S-A-Y-A-S-I-T-H it's a mouthful but it's pronounced Sayaset, Yeah, so that's the Instagram handle. And yeah, that's really the best place to see kind of up-to-date content with me. Like I said, I'm working on getting stuff out there for TikTok, but I'll post that on my IG once I'm done. Okay, Instagram. Mike Sayatheth? See, yeah, a hard one, right? Yeah. So it's Sayasith, but yeah, it's S-A-Y-A-S-I-T-H.
Oh my gosh. If you came through one of my finish lines at a race, I would certainly butcher that. So I would just be like, yes, Mike. Everybody loves Mike. So thank you. Thank you. This is this has been great. I just I and I want to tell you how much we've really enjoyed your show. And you're so talented and charismatic and fit all the elements. And you're we I think even even more highly of you now. So you're a great guy. Thank you for coming on my show. Yeah, no, thanks for having me.
All right, final thing is you have to look at the camera and tell everybody out there to get to work. Yeah, get to work. Tomorrow doesn't count. Today's the only thing we have, so get at it. Bye, Kai. All right, bye-bye. Hi, this is Rudy Novotny, the voice of America's marathons. We all love how much running has benefited every aspect of our lives, so much so that most of us only wish we'd started sooner. Wouldn't it be wonderful to gift the opportunity to children of today? Well, you can.
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