Live better and longer with the fitness show hosted by fitness expert author and tv personality fitz kohler she'll tell you why diets are dumb supplements or 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. Hi team, I'm Fitz Kohler, your very bossy fitness expert from fitness.com and welcome to the fitness show. Now, a couple of weeks ago, I released an episode on the time I was in a big movie.
That's right. I acted in a big movie and a big TV pilot, which was a big surprise to me because I wasn't even trying to do all that. So if you haven't heard that episode, you should definitely go back and listen. But it turned out to be one of the most fun, interesting sidebar highlights of my career. And I don't talk about it much because it's in my past, right? But I brought it up recently and everyone said, what? You were in a movie? And I said, yeah, let me tell you about it.
So that episode is my perspective of the big movie I was in. And what was that movie called? It's called Extreme Force. That's right. So you can go watch it. It's streaming somewhere. But most importantly, my guest today is the wonderful, talented, delightful, and athletic man who got me into the movie. That's right. We sat down next to each other and had a karate tournament of all things. And I ended up in a movie, which is crazy. So he is a very talented actor.
I was introduced to him as the Chuck Norris of Latin America. He has starred in over 200 television shows, 20 movies. He's not only a talented actor, but he's a producer and a director. And he's made those movie dreams come true here in America. And he's still a very dear friend. So Hector Echavaria, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Happy to be here. Yeah. How long has it been since we've connected? Too long. Yeah. I think it was, that was 2000.
Gosh, that's a long time. That's a long time ago. That's the last 24 years. Two centuries and a half. Oh, my gosh. And you haven't changed a bit. Still handsome, still fit. You look amazing, too. You look fantastic. Congratulations. And I know you beat a lot of big odds, so congratulations again. Yeah, thank you. Life is good, right? I love it. Yeah, life is the best. Okay, so I want to tell them all about your career and all the interesting things
you've done. But before we get there, I want to talk about Extreme Force because that was a pretty exciting thing I did, thanks to you. So going back, do you remember when we met? Yeah, it was in U.S. Open, I think. That's right, the US Open Karate Tournament. Yes, I remember that. I was invited there as a guest, and I think Bill Wallace was with me. Superfoot, probably. Yeah, we just finished doing a movie. It came out in Netflix as Los Bravos.
And Bill Wallace did a Camillo, and I think we went to the tournament. I went to the tournament with him, and that's when I met you there at the tournament. Yeah. Now, it's funny you bring that up because I forgot about that connection. Bill had taken me to Germany and Switzerland with him when we first met because I was fighting and he was really opposed to me fighting. And for those who don't know, I did full contact kickboxing.
But he said, if you're going to put that pretty little nose on the line, I want to have something to do with helping you protect it. And so he took me on his little clinic tour to Germany and Switzerland for a couple of weeks. And we became really good friends. He's such a nice guy. Yeah, he's incredible. And he's also great. I mean, he was one of the, I guess, most famous kickboxer at the time, you know, when kickboxing was very popular here in the United States.
Yeah, when it wasn't dwarfs by UFC and nobody cares anymore, right? Kickboxing, what? Who cares? Well, I mean, I think there's some leagues like Glory is doing pretty good. Not as good as it should be doing in the U.S., but in Europe and in the East part of the world is doing very, very well. So I think Glory is still doing really, really good. Not like the UFC, but it's still doing really good. Yeah, I got to tell you, I would not have wanted anybody to hit me anywhere with an elbow or a knee.
I'm completely opposed to being struck with elbows and knees. No, I used to do that. So it's okay. I used to fight on the street when I was a teenager. That's right. So in Argentina, correct? Yeah, exactly. Yeah. By accident. Not because I wanted, but by accident. And how old were you when you got into fighting? Oh, I was 14. Is that when you started fighting for sport or just fist fighting in the street? Well, I started fighting in the street for money.
And the same, you know, I was fighting for like eight months or something like that. And then I got detained by a local cop. And basically the cop told me, you know, like, you keep on fighting like this, you're going to die. And he was right because in a few of the occasions when I fought on the street, Sometimes when we wanted, you know, to collect the money, they will pull guns or knife and, you know, the whole mayhem will break out. And so I'm like, wow, this guy, you know, he's, he's right.
And then I asked the cop, okay, what, what can I do? And he said, why don't you become a kickboxer? I didn't even know that the sport existed because it was in, it was a very little town on the north of Argentina that crossed Paraguay and Brazil. So, you know, so I, I, I didn't know about kickboxing. I was just, you know, doing martial arts. And so he took me to the boxing club that it was a very famous boxing club because two of the Argentinian boxer world champions came from that city.
One was Carlos Monzon. It was a huge, you know, middleweight champion boxer. And, and, and then I started fighting professionally. I have no idea that I could have, you know, I could have do the same thing. I was doing in the street, but for money on the ring. And you became a Valle Tudor world champion, correct? Yeah, yeah. So I did that for like, for a long time.
And then I was also, you know, I came here and I started doing the traditional, you know, the point fighting too, as I was doing that over there. And that's when I kind of met everybody here, like Joey Lewis and, you know, all the guys here and Wallace. And then Wallace used to go to go do seminars with me around all Latin America, basically. He's in his 80s now, isn't he, Bill Wallace? I think so. He still kicks, though, they tell me. Yeah, yeah. That's crazy.
He's an incredible man. When I met him, he had just had a hip replacement a month prior. Yeah, I remember that. Oh, my gosh. And he was still just kicking all over the place. I've never seen anything like it. So when people tell me they've had a hip replacement lately and they're like, oh, I'm recovering, I think, come on, you mamby-pamby. I know a guy. That's true. That's true. That's true. Also, your story, Hector, have you already turned it into a movie?
That's such a great script right there. The scrappy little kid fighting for money. That's funny because everybody tells me that. But no, no, no, no. I'm working. I'm just doing my, you know, maybe that would be later. There's other goals that I wanted to accomplish before I do that. Maybe become the president of Argentina. The president of Argentina? Yeah. Why not? Why not? I would like that. I would like that. Well, I think you do great at
anything you wanted to do. Okay. But that would be a great movie. I love the plot. Okay. 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 sick to strong. Visit Fitzness.com today. That's F-I-T-Z-N-E-S-S.com. Fitzness.com. We're back. We meet at the U.S. Open. Yes. And we sit down, we tell each other who we are, what we do. And I do remember you saying, well, I'm kind of like the Chuck Norris of Latin America. And I thought you were full of it, Hector. I just, I didn't believe you. Well, that's okay.
I mean, that's a big claim right there. But it's true. But I definitely thought, oh, he's just lied to me. And then you were so kind. And you said, I think you'd be good for a role in one of my movies. You should audition. Why did you say that? What made you think I would be any good in any of your movies? Well, you obviously, you know, been doing a lot of martial arts and you in front of the public.
And that's how I started, actually, because I was fighting and a film producer went to see me and they go, hey, you know, you want to do a movie? And it's basically the same because you're in the ring and, you know, thousands of people are watching you and you're on television, you know, so it's like kind of the same thing. So, and you, of course, you're pretty and you're smart and you, and you had your, you know, you had a great aura about you.
So that's, that's very important because that's what you project to people. So, you know, I, I said, why not? I mean, I have started a lot of the UFC fighter's career. I started Quentin Jackson's career. He ended up doing the A-Team. George and Pierre, I started his film career, too. And I started your career, too. Nice. So I got a good eye for talent. Well, it was very kind of you. And I don't think I believed we were actually
doing this until I was on set with you. Oh, that's a lot of doubts. Yes. Yeah. What's wrong with you? I know. What's wrong with you? I know. I know. You know, it just, I guess so many people dream about being in a movie or whatever. That's their goal. And so there you're like, meet me at Universal Studios. All right. I drove down to Orlando seriously thinking I'm not going to get into Orlando Studios or Universal Studios.
Yeah, Universal Studios. Yeah. Yeah, when my name was at the little kiosk, I started to think like, huh, maybe he's not fibbing. Maybe this is the real deal. So it was great. And I got to play your girlfriend, right? And you met the director, right? You met Michelle Kesey. That's right. Yeah, and Michelle Kesey was the guy who played Tom Paul on the kickboxer movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme. At that time, Jean-Claude Van Damme was huge.
Yeah, yeah. And so was Michelle. I mean, I had never seen a kickboxer at the time. I know. I know. What's wrong with me, right? Okay. All right. I know. I actually still haven't seen the whole movie, but I love Michelle. Yeah. I know. How did you connect with Michelle Kesey? I was fighting in, well, I was doing a, I was fighting and I, but I also was doing a television show in Argentina and he went there to do a cameo in one of the shows.
And then we just became friends And we started training together And he told me all the stories That he, you know What happened to him in Hollywood With Jean-Claude Van Damme And he actually was the one who did, The choreography with Jean-Claude on Bloodsport, that was the first movie. Actually, he played one of the main fighters. And then after that, they were having problems trying to cast a bad guy for kickboxing.
And so what he did is he went through makeup because he used a mask and he took all his hair off and put a tail. And he went through makeup because they couldn't find the guy to play the villain in kickboxes. So he put all the makeup on and he went and did the casting without letting the producer know that it was him. Smart. Yeah, and he just, you know, fake an accent, you know, like a Thailand accent. And he got the part. And then he told them, you know, it's me playing.
And that's how he got it. But the producer loved it so much, they didn't want to reveal that it was him. So they just, in the title, he just get the character name. And he also told me that he did a lot of the choreography for the movie, and he wanted to direct. So I said, okay, just like I told you, I said, I'm going to the U.S. I had a movie, two-picture deal with the company at that time. That's why I went to Orlando.
And I said, well, I'm doing a movie. how about you playing the villain in one of them and i'll give you the chance to direct the second one and like you he didn't believe me but six uh i think it was three months later i called him i flew him to orlando and we did the first movie and we start pre-producing the second movie because i had all the contracts ready and we shot it there we shot it uh universal studios part of it and And then the rest,
I think yours, we shot it at the mansion of the guy who owns that. Hawaiian Tropic. Yes, Hawaiian Tropic, his mansion. Yeah, that was pretty cool. That was a beautiful house. Yeah, that was really good. Yeah, it was great. So are you still in contact with Michelle Casey? No, because he went back to Europe and then I right now doing a lot of horror movies because they're very hot. And I still do some action, but I'm working with another team.
I'm working with the people that did John Wick, the Keanu film. So I'm working with them. And I know that he went back to, he had some family issues or something like that. So he went back to Europe. So I lost contact with him. So he's in Europe right now. Yeah, I believe he and his brother Yusuf are from Belgium. I loved them. What a sweet, sweet man to play one of the most menacing characters. That was true. Such a teddy bear. I love Michelle. Yeah, all of them, they were very nice people.
Yeah if you ever reconnect with him please connect me too because i would love to um oh definitely yeah yeah yeah for sure such a great guy so so so we have the movie and extreme force who wrote that movie it was a i can't remember the name of the writer but it was it was an american writer yeah was it the first movie i mean you weren't the director what what was your role in that besides the star of the show? I was the producer. I was the one who got the whole project together.
So when I was in Argentina, I was doing, you know, a lot of, I was, we basically were doing one show a week and it lasted for 10 years. So it got to the point that I started getting really involved with the development of the shows and because I was one of the leads. So I started getting involved with the developing of the shows and the production.
So by the time I came to the US, I'm like, okay, you know, I wanted to get into producing, not just acting because, Like if I'm acting, I can only be in this movie. But if I'm producing, I can be in this movie, but I can be producing the other movies. So I can do, you know, a couple of movies a year rather than acting, you know. So that's what I did. Okay. Yeah. One of the things that's very impressive about you is your entrepreneurial spirit. Right? Not just an actor.
You're a real American. You've got an American spirit. Oh, absolutely. 100%. And that's why I, well, I grew up here and I came here when I was 14 after fighting and all that. And then I went back when I was 18. That's when I started fighting like really big time in Latin America. And then I started doing the television shows. And actually on the television shows, I was talking to a friend recently. I was the one who started all the merchandising.
So, for example, when the television show was being successful, I was approached by a toy company to do my action figure. And I go, oh, okay, you know, like, why don't we do everything? So I come up with the idea of using, like, a vest in the show that will have shuriken stars, like ninja stars, and nunchuck, and sword, right?
So then we'll sell the sword, the jacket. so it was all my idea but I was using it on the show so now you buy the toy but you also have to buy the jacket separate with all the weapons and we did very very well I also come up with the idea of doing the theater of the. Television shows so we ended up doing a live show of the television show in kind of like the Broadway of Argentina And it was like people were pouring out of the seats. It was huge.
It was the biggest show in Argentina. And the reason was we had a television show running. I think it was like 22 million people would watch it every Friday night. It was crazy. And so I started that too. I started that, you know, the toys, right? The merchandising, the merchandising. Brilliant. Brilliant. And then what was it like making the transition? So in Latin America, everybody knows you, everybody loves you.
And then starting your acting career kind of over in America, what was that transition like? It was a surprise because when I came here, nobody knew who I was. So I remember the first time I arrived in, because I came to Miami to go to Orlando first. So I arrived to Miami. Normally at the airport, when I left, everybody's taking pictures and signing autograph and talking to you and all that.
So when I come here, I was trying to find the gate. I got out and I needed to go to another gate to go to Orlando. So I'm looking at what the gate is. And then I see two people coming towards me and I'm going, oh, okay, these people are going to ask me for our ride. You know, I got to be, I got to be nice, but, you know, but I'm late, you know, and they come and they ask me for where the gate is. You know, I'm like, what? Like, wait, these people don't know me.
It was fun. It was fun though, because over there, like, you know, when you on the street, everybody's talking to you. You know what I'm saying? And it's a little bit different than in the U.S. Because I've been with, you know, big actors, Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the streets. And nobody gives a crap, to be honest with you, here, here, here. You know, maybe somebody screams something, if, you know. But Latin America is crazy.
You can't. It's like, you know, they mug you on the streets, you know. So it's a little bit different here anyway. but it was shocking that like nobody knew who I was, you know, coming from, you know, everywhere you go, everybody knows who you are, but I liked it because it gives me the freedom to go and do, you know, whatever I want. Nobody's chasing you, you know? So it was, it was, it was shocking. It was a little bit different.
And then later on, of course, you know, I have, uh, You know, now and then, as I said, it's not like in Latin America. I can be like in Barnes and Nobles and somebody will come and say, hey, I saw your movie. Extreme Force was a great movie. Okay, thank you. And that's it. It's not like they tried to mug you, you know? Right. Well, just so you know, nobody ever grabs me in a bookstore to tell me they loves me in Extreme Force. Nobody ever did that, Hector. Really? How rude.
That's rude. That's rude. The people are rude, too. Okay. But what I'm saying, it's not like in Latin America, even if you, you know, and I'm not a huge celebrity here, but I've done a lot of movies and a lot of people saw them. But, you know, as I said, I've been around big celebrities and, you know, it's different. It's people who come on and say something nice and leave. It's not like, oh, you know, let's get a picture. But not everybody, just one or two, you know, people more.
I guess people are running in their old life, you know, and especially today, it was like, what should have their phone? Like, you know, anybody can be sitting next to them. They don't even know. Yeah. Which is very interesting too. Absolutely. So I, I've, I've seen a few celebrities out and about or with work and I always feel like I don't want to invade their space. Right. I had. Yeah.
That's the thing. It's like a different mindset. And you also, So not only you don't want to invade the space, you're also doing a lot of stuff. So you're running on your own thing. Over there, it's more like, you know, freewheeling, you know? Okay. Freewheeling. Okay, so getting back to extreme force. Yes. You got to be honest with me, Hector. Be honest with my audience. Did I do an okay job or was I a terrible actor? Listen, if you did a terrible job, they cut you out of the scene.
As simple as that. A lot of actors, you know, get cut off the scene. No, no, you did amazing. It was amazing. It was a good job. I knew you could do it, and it was really good. Thank you. Very happy with the product. Thank you so much. You didn't come to – we had a premiere in Hollywood. You didn't came in, right? No, I was at the premiere in Orlando. To be honest with you, I didn't even know there was a premiere in Hollywood. Hector, I should have been invited.
I thought you were invited. No. We're going to have to do a redo on that. Come on, Hector. Let's do it. Let's do it. I'm all for it. It'd been 25 years well i know it'll be an anniversary an anniversary so my i i loved acting in your movie and it was it was really fun and it was a quality challenge and i learned a lot.
And when i went to the premiere in orlando and i don't know if you remember this but i had been called by the sound guy a couple of months before and he said hey can you come to orlando to re-record some audio the audio from us you know we were moving with the closing yeah yeah so he said and i said yes i'll come let me know and he never let me know and then when i was sitting there at the premiere when i spoke some other woman's voice came
out of my mouth and i was horrified yes and so what i found out i called that audio guy and i said what happened to my voice. He goes, well, I was going to have you come and re-record, you know, dub your voice. However, my wife really wanted to be in the movie. Oh my God. I didn't, I didn't know that. She, she literally dubbed every word I said. So I only saw the movie once because I was, I was so like irritated seeing this voice come out of my face.
So I've only seen the movie once. I was so irritated with the audio. I wish I could do a do-over on it. Well, maybe we'll do it. I'll send you the film and we'll redo it. Okay. All right. For the relaunch. There you go. Perfect. I would love that. No problem. That would make me very, very happy. But I'm glad you think I did a good job back then because I look back and I have no idea whether I did a good job or not. No, it was really good.
And I don't remember that. The thing is, I was involved in... Because when you're producing, you're involved in everything. And I don't remember that part, though.
But I mean it is what it is yeah at this point it was a great experience and of course out I met our stunt coordinators Fi and Dave and yes I ended up doing their tv pilot for Masters of the Realm which came from Extreme Force so it was it's so much goodness landed in my lap yeah and you know they're they're doing big movies they did the Avengers did they really yeah shut up I had no idea yeah yeah they're them in Hollywood
they're doing really good I love them there's they're such nice guys I'm so happy for them and they were martial artists too. They sure were. They sure were. And I believe they wanted to have a career like yours in acting, but stunt coordination is really where they shined, right? Yeah. Yeah. They're really good. They're great stunts. They're doing big movies. I don't remember all the name of the movies, but they did some big movies.
Yeah. I've seen some of that stunt team pop up in various movies. I'll be sitting in a theater watching some action movie, and it's the Japanese fighting these people. And all of a sudden there's someone I recognize from Extreme Force or Masters, which is pretty cool. Yeah, yeah, pretty cool. So one of the things you were referencing earlier is you being a street fighter as a kid. We went, there was some sort of party we had downtown Universal Studios at CityWalk.
And we went to the Latin Quarter. And oh, we went with that boxer. Golly, what was the boxer that came out? Hector Machu Machu. That's right. That's right. That was great. I danced with him all night. He was a great dancer. R.I.P. But some guy got started to pick a fight with you and it was one of the funniest outside the bar. And you like a lunatic, you face the man and you jumped up in the air and did a jumping roundhouse kick.
And you put your right foot about half an inch away from this man's face and landed perfectly. And I've never seen anyone run so fast. Like he was mortified. mortified. You could have literally decapitated the man. Yeah, but I didn't. No, you didn't. It was perfect. It was one of the great, great moments. Holy hell, I was probably a few beers into the night and watching you. Yeah, I learned on the street that you show them what you can do without touching the ground.
Oh my gosh. That was epic. Have you done that more often as a grown-up? No, no, no, no. But I used to do it a lot when I was on the streets over there. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. And my final bit on Extreme Force was after it hit the theaters and then it went to television, my brother called me once. My brother lives in South Florida. His ex-wife is Cuban, Cuban-American. And so he called. He goes, hey, you're on Telemundo. And I said, no, I'm not on Telemundo.
He goes, no, you're on Telemundo. I said, John, I'm not on Telemundo right now. He goes, no, I'm watching you in this movie, Extreme Force, since there's Spanish coming out of your face. And I thought, oh, of course they want to see Hector's movie. So that was... Yeah, I remember that. I remember everybody was calling, yeah, the day that it came out because it premiered there because, you know, I'm not in Latin America. So it premiered there first. And then it was on HBO. Yep. Yep.
So it was good. It was very good. My acting resume is really, really strong right now. This is what I'm, this is what I hear you're telling me. I've been on HBO. I've been in Telemundo. Telemundo. Speaking Spanish. Come on. That's right. Who does that? Who does that? Who does that? Okay, Hector. So on to the rest of your career. So you, Extreme Force was one of your starts here, but you've done so much since. So tell us all about the interesting things you've been up to over the past 24 years.
Well, I have produced, I think, over 26 movies. The last one was a horror picture that I was the main producer. It was Jeremy Irons. He's a very well-known actor with the villain from the Jane, no, the Soul movie. And the director of the Soul, one and two was the director of the movie. And it did very well. We opened in like a thousand theaters. I also did the distribution. What's it called? The cello. The cello. The cello. And I produced it for the Prince of Saudi Arabia.
So, yeah, yeah. So, it was a big deal. So, the day that I got the deal, I had to fly to Saudi to meet with the prince and all the people working for him. It was out of a movie. Just that alone was out of a movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And why was the Prince of Saudi Arabia involved in your movie? Well, it was his movie. He wanted to do the movie. And they were looking for a producer. And I have a friend that worked with him. He was the one who took Messi, that is from Argentina, to Saudi.
And to do like Argentina and did an exhibition game. So the prince talked to my friend, Raiko, and asked him, you know, I'm doing this movie. I need a really good producer. And he goes, well, you know, I got another Argentinian because he was the one who brought Messi. So he said he got another Argentinian that used to be a martial arts world champion and is doing movies in Hollywood and you should, you know, meet him.
So they took me there and I had a meeting with the whole team that was ready to produce a movie. So I became basically the lead producer and then also I did the distribution. So it was a crazy experience. So that was the last one. But I did a lot of movies. I did a movie with, I did about seven movies with Lionsgate with all the UFC fighters.
I used to, you know, train them. You know, not the wrestling and all that, but just the kickboxing part of it, the kicking and the punching, the martial arts part of it. And so one day I got a call from the studio and they say, you know, we wanted to... Produce a movie with all the UFC fighters. And I said, well, I'm training all the champions. I was training Rasha, Eva, and I mean, all of them. And they said, okay, let's write a script and make it happen.
And I ended up doing seven movies with them. So that was amazing. How long does that take to do seven movies for Lionsgate? No, that took me five years. Okay. Five years I was doing that. But I was, at the time, I also was producing movies with another company called After Dark Film that they do, you know, like AMC Theaters. They have a division that they release horror pictures. Yeah. So I have a deal with them, too. So I was producing for them a few movies, Farmhouse.
I don't remember all the names, but I did like another, yeah, maybe seven, eight movies for them. So when you're producing a horror movie, and my son is obsessed with horror movies. Oh, I love that. I'm producing one right now. Well, we're going to go see it, I'm sure. I'm sure. I love it. Every single one. How do you choose the look of the scary character or how gory? Do you ever say, well, this one's too gory. Let's make it less gory.
More people will go see it. Or how do you decide all of the awful things that are going to happen in a horror movie? Yeah, well, I guess decide from the beginning, like what audience you're trying to reach, you know, like are you going to do a slash movie or are you going to do more like a thriller, like a psychological thriller? So it depends what you're trying to do, what audience you're trying to reach. And that's when the decision gets made.
And then you have to, you know, put that into the script. So like a slash movie, you need to show people you know being they cut the head off right and a thriller you can you can avoid that and be more artistic because it's the tension that you're creating kind of like alfred hitchcock you know like the tension you create in the scene is what it sells the movie so so it just said two different ways to kind of do the same thing.
So that's basically what it is. So from the beginning, you need to know what you're doing. Have you ever played the super bad guy in a horror film? No, yeah, but that would be nice. Actually, in this movie that I'm producing, I'm also playing one of the leads. Because he's a retired secret service officer that the president died under his watch. The character that I'm playing, yeah. And the lead female character is the FBI agent that is trying to get a serial killer that is, you know,
basically hunting the city. It happened here in Miami. Okay. Yeah. It did happen? No, no, no, no. The story happens here in Miami. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Well, that's fascinating, I think, with the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Oh, yeah. That's what I got the idea from. Okay. Yeah. Ripped from the headlines, Hector. There you go. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Thank goodness that was unsuccessful. That could have been a totally different
movie. Yeah. I'm actually producing a movie with Trump, for Trump. Really? What kind of movie? Yeah. It's called Triumph. And it's like, you know, basically everything that he went through. And how he surpassed everything and became the president of the United States. How fascinating. That should be a great movie, Hector. Yeah, they've got a lot of content. Very excited. Yes, yes, for sure, for sure, for sure. Have you met President Trump yet?
I met him once at a party, but we're basically working with a lot of Trump and the lawyer. Okay. David. I can't remember the last name. And then how many movies can you produce at once? A couple. Easily you can do two. Three, you're pushing it. But two, you can do. Two, you can do easy. So it's good. It's exciting. And you'll do more in Florida?
Absolutely. Yeah, that's why I moved here. Yeah. They haven't done any movie in Hollywood anymore because part of the financing normally is a tax credit. So people are going to places where the tax credit, you know, like Atlanta or, you know, Canada, places where you can get part of the budget back. And in Los Angeles, it doesn't work no more. So I think that in the last 10 years, no movie was produced or very,
very little movie was produced in Hollywood. In Hollywood, today, you just made the deal with the actor and the director. I don't even know why you make it there because you can make it anywhere today. But in essence, you do the deal there and you film normally the movie either in different states or different countries that offer a lot of incentive. Like Canada offers 50%. So if I'm doing a $10 million movie, that means that I'm getting $5 million from Canada. Wow. Yeah.
Well, that's significant. Well, please stay in Florida. We want your business. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I love the business in Florida, too. Yeah, we will keep it. We want all producers of all the good things coming to Florida. Yes, yes, yes. For sure. For sure. And then when's the last time you kicked somebody in the head? Well, that was yesterday because I train every day. Oh, do you? Yeah, we were sparring and I kicked the guy a few times.
That's nice. It's been a very long time since I have kicked anybody in the head. I've kicked somebody. Oh, shame on you. I know. I know. It's one of my. One of my regrets as of late. And I've actually really gone back and forth, struggled with perhaps taking on one more fight. But I don't want to be like Mike Tyson, you know. Although I'm so excited about Mike Tyson. That's going to be, yeah, that's going to be exciting. Does a grown-up like me belong in a ring?
But you don't have to go fight professionally. You can just train every day. Go spar. Yeah, you're right. You're right. I just, I really love kicking people in the head out of all the things. Yes. It's the best. It is the best. That is the best. Now, what are your thoughts on a Tyson-Logan fight? Or Jake Paul, sorry. Yeah, Jake Paul. It's kind of weird, I think. But, you know, it is what it is. It's a show.
Right. A very well-paid show. Do you have any predictions? No, but I hope just Tyson doesn't get, you know, nothing happen to him. Because if he knocked out Jake Paul, okay, he's a young guy. But, you know, I don't know, Tyson is, you know, he should not be doing that. But, I mean, it is what it is. This is his choice. Yeah. Yeah. He, back in the day, he was my favorite fighter. It was kind of like watching a great white shark get in. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
Yeah. And he probably knocked this guy out, but he's taking a big risk. I agree. Yeah, that's very wise. Very wise. I hope they're both okay at the end of the fight. I mean, that's really what we hope for all fighters. Is clearly going to have a bad time for a short amount of time, but hopefully there's no long-term repercussions. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. But, yeah, it would be pretty cool to see Mike Tyson just once be Mike Tyson again.
Oh, yeah. That would be amazing. I mean, he fought Roy John Jr., I think. Yeah. And I think he won, too. But he was kind of his same age, you know? Right. So that's the only concern here. Yeah. We'll see. We'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. I'm really excited. I'll be in California during the fight. So I won't have to wait until 11 o'clock at night to see it. Oh my God. 11 o'clock at night. Damn. Well, it starts, it'll, the undercard will start at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Oh, wow. That means Tyson won't come on until I think 10 or 11 o'clock Eastern. So. Oh my God. I know. Wow. I guess I'll watch it on the replays. That's right. Saturday morning, Netflix. Yeah. I need to be up early in California watching it. I love it. I love it. So, Hector, what's next? Well, I'm working on this horror movie. It's called Dead Prayer. And I'm working with some great actors. Eric Robert, the brother of Julia Robert.
He has done a lot of... Oh, Eric Roberts, yeah. Yeah, some good movies. And so he's playing the main villain. So I'm very excited. And I'm also doing a lot of real estate here in Florida. So very excited. I'm looking at a house in West Palm Beach. So, yeah. So, and of course, I don't, I don't know if I told you, but I always help, you know, kids through, I have a foundation. So I normally, I used to do a lot of, uh, make a wish foundation and, and.
The UCLA Children's Hospital, but it's kind of rough, you know, because you get involved with terminal kids and all that, and then, you know, you get attached to them and sadly, you know, they're going to die eventually.
So what I did, and it was very tough on me, so I stopped for a few years, but I'm starting again and I'm doing, now what I'm doing is I'm putting courses for underprivileged kids to teach them how to be entrepreneur and create business and how to expand the business and how to, you know. Create new ventures, basically. So I'm starting that, I'm building the course. And next year I'm going to Nicaragua, Argentina, New York, here in Florida.
Actually, we're going to do it. We're working with a group of churches. So that's very exciting. That's wonderful, Hector. I tell you what, I feel like you and I are the same, where we're entrepreneurs who had to figure everything out the hard way, constantly screwing up and reaching. And it would have been awesome to have force for how to build your business, how to market your business, how to ensure your business brand, all of those things. That would have been wonderful.
So I love it. Thank you. Yeah. So I want to start teaching kids how to do that. I think that, you know, that's, that, that would be a great project. So I'm very excited about that. That that's my biggest focus right now, besides the movies and all that. You should be. You should be. You're a good, you're a do-gooder. You're a good man, Hector. Thank you. You too. Yeah. Okay. So we're going to wrap things up, but I have two questions where I end the show.
First is a communications tip. So what I find is not everybody knows how to get their point across or speak eloquently or just make that deep connection with other people. So you communicate in at least two different languages. What would be a communication tip for our listeners? Be yourself. That's, that's the biggest communication tip.
You know, like people don't want to listen to a script or, you know, like a, like a, like an actor, if you would, people want to listen to, to who you are, you know, be honest, be, be true. I think that's the biggest thing you can do in communication. I love it. That's brilliant. Brilliant. Something I hadn't come up with yet. And then the other thing I assign people is a song of the week.
I want them to add your favorite song to their playlist while they're maybe kicking people in the head or going for a run or lifting weights. Well, I'm going to surprise you with this one, but Britney Spears, Oops, I Did It Again. I love it. That is, that made me so happy. Yeah, especially when she said, the part that she said, isn't this the one that the old lady throwing to the ocean? And then he says, yeah, baby, I went down and get it for you. And she says, oh, you shouldn't have.
I love that part. I keep on replaying that part when I'm running. I couldn't wish for anything more. So everybody, oops, I did it again. That's so funny. I love it. Hector, I adore you. Me too. I appreciate you. And thank you for the invitation you gave to me so long ago. And thank you for being on my show today. It's been too long. You're welcome. Thank you so much. I'm honored, as always.
Of course. Where can people find you if they want to look for you on the internet or follow you on social media? I, sadly to say, I don't use social media. Well, maybe that's a good thing. That's okay. Do you have a website? Well, my company, destinymediaentertainment.com. Okay, destinymediaentertainment.com. Hector Echavaria, you are the best. I only have one more assignment for you, is you have to tell my audience with gusto, tell them to get to work. Get to work. Bye, everybody. Love you.
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