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Solomonster Sounds Off – How Jason Solomon turned his love of wrestling into a top podcast‬

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Image Credit: Twitter @solomonster

Jason Solomon talks to Chris Van Vliet from his home in New York City. He talks about why he started his podcast “Solomonster Sounds Off”, how it grew to be one of the most popular wrestling podcasts in the world, his first memories of wrestling, being an Orange Cassidy doppelgänger, the lessons he learned from his late mother and father, doing commentary for House of Glory with JDfromNY206, his love for the 1992 Royal Rumble, his favorite match of all time and more!

On being compared to Orange Cassidy:

“I don’t think I look like him and I don’t know how it got started. But it has taken on a life of its own though. Maybe he was doing a backyard wrestling league when he was younger, but one of the news sites had a screen shot of him when he was younger. When I saw that screenshot, it stopped me in my tracks. It looked exactly like me at that age. I tried to meet him on the Jericho cruise, but he chickened out. So I call him Cowardly Cassidy now.”

On starting his podcast and advice to others:

“The first year was 2007. I predate Joe Rogan, I wish I had those numbers though. Back then they were called audio shows, not podcasts. A friend of mine runs the website SEScoops. At the time, my thought was it was nice to have an aggregate site, but I thought it would be better to have an audio update. I pitched it to him to do one of these every week and he loved it. It’s harder to start a podcast because everyone has a podcast these days. It’s hard to build an audience, but I was lucky. I had people coming to this website, so there was a foot in the door there.”

“If someone wants to start a podcast, they need to do it because they love it, not just for the money. It took me about 4 or 5 years before I started to see financial success from it.”

On his day job:

“I work in PR, and I have for 16 years. Originally I was going to be in broadcast journalism. I wanted to be Mean Gene or Vince McMahon. I was midway through that field, working at my college radio station. I wanted to be the first person to bring a wrestling show to that radio station. I never had the chance though, but they wanted to offer me a rock and roll show. I didn’t want to do that and it got to a point where I questioned whether I wanted to do this. After talking to someone in my journalism class, I switched from journalism to PR and I found it more interesting. So I have stuck with that ever since.”

On doing commentary for House of Glory Wrestling

“It was being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. I am friendly with JD, who does the play by play for HOG. He does a tremendous job. He asked me to come down to the show because they were trying something. It was pitched as something similar to WWE Kick-off show. I’m wearing a grey suit in the middle of August. There is no air conditioning and I am sweating through. So we did the panel, and I thought I was just going to take a seat and watch the show. What actually happened was someone asked if I would be interested in doing one of the matches. It happened to be an Impact Championship match with Austin Aires as the champion. From there it just snowballed.”

On the impact of COVID and utilizing video content:

“Weirdly March and April last year were some of my best months. I was preparing for everything to go down, the only question is by how much? People listen in the gym, but they are closed for example. I was preparing myself for the worst. I wasn’t doing a lot of video stuff until May last year. I felt like such a dinosaur, my shows were just my audio over an image. The video was such a game changer, there’s this hunger for that kind of content.”

On the time he almost died:

“It was me being a klutz. We were staying in a house and my room was outside. The door was a sliding door. I thought it was open, it was not, and the door shattered. There was this pool of blood I am bleeding heavily. We are in the middle of Columbia and I have no idea where the nearest hospital is. Eventually we make it and I’m in the waiting room and there is a pool of blood forming under the wheelchair. There was no major artery damage but there was enough blood loss that it could have been fatal. When they stitched me up, there was still glass in my knee. So when I got home, I had to have surgery to remove that. The worst thing was I had no excuse for that, it wasn’t like I was drunk.”

On his love of the 1992 Royal Rumble:

“For a whole variety of reasons, it can’t be topped. Everything about it just can’t be replicated. For the first time, the title was on the line. Then there’s the star power. The commentary is amazing too, Bobby Heenan had his best night ever during that match.”

On lessons learned from his late parents:

“I don’t think it was one particular lesson. Their main goal was to raise someone that was respectful of other people. I think the biggest thing from my mums side was if there’s something you want to do, then do it. She loved the podcast, fans would come up to her because of it. My favourite podcast episode ever was the Mother’s Day episode where she was on.”

On 3 things he is grateful for:

“My friends, the success of the show and my health.”

Jason Solomon can be found on Twitter here.

Full audio can be found here:

Video version can be found here:

Matt Cardona on AEW & Impact debuts, marrying Chelsea Green, his bachelor party plans.

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Image credit Instagram @themattcardona

Matt Cardona (aka Zack Ryder) talks with Chris Van Vliet from his home in Orlando, FL. He talks about his appearances on AEW, the contract he had there, his debut on IMPACT, his goal to win the World Heavyweight Championship, his new podcast network “The Major Pod Network”, his friendship with Brian Myers, his wedding to Chelsea Green being postponed because of COVID, the original plans for his bachelor party, his Mount Rushmore of wrestling action figures and much more!

On his new podcast network, The Major Pod Network:

“There’s 6 podcasts right now. There’s the major figure podcast, the FWF (figure wrestling federation). It’s 6 months of me and Brian Myers rebooking the attitude era with figures. Brian has his own podcast called Extreme Conversations, talking about ECW with legit guys. For example an interview with Tommy Dreamer talking about Heatwave. There’s also Off the Hop Rope, which is about beer and The Game Marks podcast. The one that everyone has been talking about the most is the newest one, The MC True Long Island Show, which is a spin off of my YouTube series. The first episode of that comes out on the 17th February, which is 10 years to the day that I did the YouTube show. Originally I was just going to drop a reunion show. But we never got that far. Our producer suggested a watch along with what was going on behind the scenes, in my career and my life. It took me 10 years to realize that I had some influence somehow.”

On starting his YouTube series:

“With the original YouTube show, I was with WWE for a couple of years at the time. I did the thing with Edge and I was a Tag Team Champion, but I always wanted something more. I knew I was going to start a YouTube show, but I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be. I knew I had to try something, because just sending emails to the writers in WWE wasn’t getting it done. I had to take it into my own hands and do something for myself. I wanted to create so much buzz that I would be either noticed or fired. I didn’t want to get fired, I wanted to do more in WWE. But if they do release me, I had buzz to go to TNA or whatever.”

On what is different now compared to being in WWE:

“Creative freedom. I can do what I want without needing approval. I’m just trying to have fun with my podcasts. With the time off, I needed the time out of the ring. I didn’t feel like it was weighing me down until it stopped. On paper, 2020 should have been an awful year. I get fired from my dream job, I test positive for COVID and I have to cancel my wedding. But I thought it was a great year. I have been using it to capitalize on this creative freedom and build this brand. It’s been so much fun.”

On his journey to Impact Wrestling:

“After April 15th (the date of the mass releases from WWE), I was in contact with so many different people and promotions. The AEW thing worked out first. that was only for a couple of dates, that was all that we had agreed on. We agreed on a couple of nights and a PPV. AEW was awesome, but I was just in a long term relationship (with WWE) and I didn’t want to jump straight into another one. I was enjoying the free time at home, building the podcast. Time just flew by, it was the end of December and I hadn’t even been in a ring since September, yet alone had a match. The Friday before Hard to Kill I got a text saying do I want to work tomorrow? I responded “Always Ready.” There was no concrete plan and it just worked out.”

“I am a free agent for now, it’s awesome for me. I like to be able to bounce around and do what I want to do now. The podcast is nearly as important as wrestling is right now. I want to be able to do everything. Wrestling is the ultimate goal, but podcasting has been so creatively fulfilling.”

On who he wants to work with at Impact:

“Ace Austin, we had a match on night one. In 5 years, he will be a name that everyone will be talking about. But I’ve never wrestled Moose, I’ve never wrestled Eddie Edwards. Rich Swann, Chris Bey, so many guys. Then there is Gallows and Anderson and Eric Young, who I have wrestled before, but never with the time or the spotlight. I don’t want to team with Brian Myers again but if he wants a fight he’s got one (laughs).”

On his relationship with Brian Myers:

“Brian and I, we are pretty much brothers. We have known each other since we were 18. We were in WWE together and on the road together for 4 days a week. Then we would go home and live together for the other 3 days. It was too much, we got sick of each other for a couple of months. He’s somebody who I am super fortunate to have grown up with. On a personal and professional level, one of my greatest moments was when we won the Tag Titles at Wrestlemania. I had the best seat in the house for that.”

On having to delay his marriage to Chelsea Green and the original bachelor party plan:

“I don’t know when it’s going to take place now. It was supposed to be on New Year’s Eve in Vegas. But when we realized all of this was going down, we knew it wasn’t going to be happening. So we cancelled it before any of the serious planning went down, so it wasn’t as heart breaking. Her family is travelling in from Canada, so that’s a problem.”

“The original bachelor party was going to be Disneyland California VIP tour. Private guide and both parks in a day. Forget Vegas and strip clubs, I want VIP Disneyland.”

On a typical day right now:

“Usually, it’s pretty good. I’ve just got back from Impact tapings. Monday morning, I’ll wake up, make some breakfast and go to the gym. I then don’t really have to do anything unless it’s packing foam titles from website orders. I do all the fulfilment on that stuff. That way it is handled and shipped the right way. We record our podcast a couple of nights a week. I live in Florida, it’s beautiful weather, I can go to theme parks or hang by the pool.”

On his Impact dream match:

“Now that he’s back, I would love to wrestle Christian Cage. I would love to test my skills against him. Now that he’s back, who knows? I had some gear designed like his, but now that he came back at the Royal Rumble, I can’t wear it. But with the crossover with both New Japan and AEW, you don’t know who is going to show up.”

On a Mount Rushmore of wrestling figures:

“That answer can change day to day to be honest. But right now, for me it would be the LJN Macho Man, Hasbro series 1 Hulk Hogan, maybe then a Jaxx Stone Cold Steve Austin and a Mattel John Cena.”

On when he will retire:

“I’m now 35, so its’ my 18th year in the business, nearly half my life. When I was at Impact, I feel like I haven’t missed a beat. Guys like Jericho and Christian keep going, this generation of wrestlers have learned to take care of themselves better. But obviously injuries are going to happen. Your body is your tool and you have to take care of it. Whether it’s proper rest, proper nutrition, proper training, you have to be smart about it. I don’t want to be the guy where people think I should be done, but I’m not there yet. When I’m in the ring, I don’t feel older or slower. I don’t feel like I should retire, I will go until my body tells me otherwise.”

On possibly becoming Impact World Champion:

“That’s one of my goals. Every day I add Impact world champion to my list of goals for the day. I’m not there to pass the torch, I’m there to light a brand new torch. I’m here to make an Impact, I would love to get a title opportunity, so lets see what happens.”

On 3 things he is grateful for:

“Chelsea Green, the opportunity at Impact and my dog.”

Full podcast audio can be found here:

Video version can be found below:

Matt Cardona can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here.

The Mindset Mentor: Rob Dial on how you can accomplish absolutely anything with the right mindset

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Image credit Rob Dial

The host of “The Mindset Mentor” podcast, Rob Dial, joins Chris Van Vliet from his home in Austin, TX. He brings some incredible insight into how you can live a better life, the things you can do every day to help yourself develop a better mindset, the tools, and tactics he used to grow his podcast to the top of the Apple charts, his favorite books, why everyone should have a mentor and much more!

On what he does and how he got started:

“That’s really hard. If someone has just met me and I don’t want to get into long conversation, I just say I have a social media company. If someone wants to go in more detail, I say I teach people how to overcome their mental barriers by changing their mindset. There’s a lot of different hats that I wear. I started my podcast 5 and a half years ago, and people didn’t know what a podcast was. So I stared making social media videos, because that’s where everyone was at the time. I had to figure out how to put my podcast content into a social media video, and how to make that video go viral. I spent years figuring out how to make videos go viral. I was known as the social media guy after that, because we got 1.5 billion followers on Facebook. I got a lot of followers from that, and transferred them over to the podcast. I also teach people who are coaches how to grow their businesses.

Five years ago, Facebook was the thing before Instagram was the thing. When I started seeing videos going viral, I would get thousands more followers from that. I was still working at another company, but I hadn’t fully left yet. I was undecided on whether this is going to be my thing or not, and invest a lot of money into it. If one of my videos went viral, the only costs were production costs. I just try to give as much content as possible. My podcast are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We also just started Thursdays. I’m announcing this exclusively for you, we are going to be adding a Tuesday podcast. So there will be podcasts 5 days a week. We post on Facebook 12 times a day. We post on Instagram 4 times a day. I’m trying to combat all the negative things on social media with positive stuff. I’m trying to put as much positivity out there as possible. Some people think I might be posting too much, but I’m trying to fill their newsfeeds with positive stuff. We are trying to get them out of the mindset that the world is going to sh*t.”

On where he gets his ideas from:

“There’s a part of your brain called the reticular activating system. An example is if you buy a particular car, you start to see that car everywhere. At one point on time, I realized I was not just a person, I was a production company. When that switch flipped in my head, it was like ideas started to come in. I overhear people and I hear them say something, and I take little notes. I have hundreds of notes in my phone. We are almost 900 episodes in on the podcast. I have hundreds that I haven’t even done. That’s where the ideas come from. I’ll talk to some of my clients and think that’s a great idea, that should be a podcast episode. I overhear my friends talking, and constantly my head is thinking. There’s never a shortage of content.”

On how he beat the computer algorithms:

“That was the reason why I started doing 3 podcasts a week. Everything is run by computers and algorithms. I look at the algorithm and think how can I give these computers what they want? For example, if someone is putting out 1 episode a week and I’m putting out 3 episodes a week, the computer sees I’m getting 3 times as many downloads. Even if we are getting the same number of downloads per episode. The result is I am rising up in the rankings, so more people can see the podcast.”

On his first hit:

“The first video that went crazy was called “You’re being brainwashed,” which was about how the news brainwashes you with negativity. The human brain is wired to spot what is bad. This is because it cares about you staying alive, so you seek the negativity and solve it to keep alive. The news understands this. The more negativity they put out, the more people will see it. From this, the news gets more money from advertising. I explained this in a video where I said the world is getting safer. The world isn’t perfect, but it’s not as bad as it is made out to be. Within the first 24 hours, that video did 17 million views. When 200,000 followers came within 7 days, I realized I might be onto something. Every week I try to put out a video where I get as much information as possible in about 3 and a half minutes.”

On how human psychology is linked to his videos:

“Psychology has always been a big thing for me. I thought I wanted to be a psychology major, but then I found sales. I can make more money, I don’t have to get a degree and I can drop out right now. So I got in sales, and the psychology of sales was really interesting to me. Everything I do, I understand that there is phycology as well as computers. I’m trying to give everyone a movie in 3 and a half minutes. I’m always trying to think of the person that’s listening or watching. I don’t to just put stuff out for the sake of it. I try to figure out how to shift peoples mindset and how it can impact them in a positive way. If they do, they are more likely to share it.”

On how mentors helped his success:

“It was a big difference. I hired my first mentor when I was 19. I hired them for $500. I was lucky, because mine was really good. His name is Hal Elrod, the author of The Miracle Morning. I hired him and his best friend to coach me every week. It was a lot of money for me back then. I paid $350 a month for rent and $500 for the coaches. The one thing I remember is that I was really good at partying and making excuses. I grew up in a town with a lot of drugs and alcohol. I know 8 people that have dies from overdoses. I saw my life going in that direction, but then I saw the opportunity to go in a different direction and be successful. In the beginning I was late and coming up with excuses for why I wasn’t hitting my goals. My mentor said “If a business fails who’s fault is it?” I said “the CEO.” He then asked me “if you don’t achieve what you want at the end of your life whose fault is it?” I said “it’s my fault.” I wasn’t treating my life like I was the CEO of it. From there it all clicked. I stopped making excuses. This was back in 2006. Everyone should get a mentor, the average millionaire has had 7 mentors before they make it. A mentor could be paid or unpaid, just someone who adds value being around you.”

On his podcast name evolution:

“It was originally MWF Motivation. It came out Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and it was a motivational podcast. It was that way for about 3 years. I didn’t like the MWF branding, people didn’t understand it. I hate being called a motivational speaker, I’m not a high five, well done. I’m more telling it like it is and get you sh*t together type of guy. I thought that mindset was what the key is. The Mindset Mentor flows, and I believe that everyone should have a mentor in their lives. It stuck, I trademarked it, because I wanted to be the mindset guy.”

On people’s different mindsets:

“The fixed mindset says the world is happening to me. The “woe is me, why is this happening to me?” type of mindset. the growth mindset is how can I learn and grow from what has happened? A lot of people want change but they don’t want to change themselves. If they are that change, they can inspire others to make that change. If I lose weight, people will come to me and ask how I did it. But I go up to someone and talk to them about weight loss, they won’t want that advice. My dad died when I was 16, that was the catalyst for me to make the change.”

On how he grew his podcast listeners:

“I’m hardcore into gorilla marketing. In my old job at Cutco, we would give out 10,000 business cards to try and get people to apply. I got into this, I’m going to get my message out there no matter what. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I had a massive list of all these Facebook groups. I would reach out to the organizer and say this is my podcast, how can I add value to your group? Instead of spamming, I would have a relationship with them and make their groups better. I would answer questions, but post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday that a new episode was live. I would then reach out to all the new and noteworthy podcasts. I would leave reviews, and ask them to do the same for me. About 40% of those did. I was then climbing up the charts, and getting more ratings and reviews. I didn’t want to invest any money, so I was working my ass off without spending anything. I fully believed in what I was doing, so I put it out there as much as I could possibly could. If I just made a podcast and put it out there, no one would find me.”

On how he makes money from his podcast and advice for new starters:

“There is no advertising at the start. We have mid-roll ads. For 4 and a half years, I didn’t have any podcast advertising at all. Instead, in the podcast I would tell everyone about all the things I was doing. I have all my programmes, whether it’s advanced mindset stuff or other parts of my program. When you start a podcast, do it on what you love. I looked at yours Chris before we started. You have a lot of wrestling content on there. But you are so passionate about it. I bet you could talk about wrestling all day. Because you love it, you want to do it. People see a podcast as a way to drive business revenue. For me, it’s how much stuff can I put out that I love. If someone wants to start a podcast, make it how you want to make it. My podcasts are bite-sized. My work is only 20 minutes away, and I couldn’t finish the podcast I was on. So I tailored it around my personality. Make it something you have loved, and it won’t feel like work.”

On how he defines success:

“I think success is different for everyone. It’s not just monetary, it’s also freedom. The freedom to do what we want, when we want with who we want. I think that freedom is what everyone is working for. I don’t want to be unfulfilled in what I do. A lot of people will make millions of dollars, but they won’t feel fulfilled. When you do something you love, you don’t have to make millions. If you could make $70,000 and have a podcast about your passion, that is success in my mind.

On 3 steps people can take to have a better mindset:

“Firstly, become more self aware. Secondly, find someone’s whose message you love. Thirdly, take the time to do these things every day.”

On his favourite books:

“Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The ONE thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan.”

On 3 things he is grateful for right now:

“For you Chris for having me, for the fact the internet exists and my health.”

Full podcast audio can be found below:

More information can be found on Rob Dial here.

Rob Dial can be found on Twitter here, on Instagram here and Facebook here.

His YouTube channel can be found here.

The Bushwhackers on why they licked people’s faces, their return to wrestling, WWE Hall of Fame

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Image credit: WWE

WWE Hall of Fame tag team The Bushwhackers appeared on Chris Van Vliet’s podcast Insight. Luke and Butch discussed why they are making a return to the ring in 2021. They also discuss the iconic elimination of Luke from the 1991 Royal Rumble, and one time the face licking went wrong.

On fans thinking they were from Australia:

Luke: “Don’t worry mate, we get that all the time. A lot of Americans and British people that think that New Zealand was part of Australia. They didn’t even know where it was on the map. Being in the wrestling business for over 40 years, at least we have been able to put New Zealand back on the map. After being called Aussies for so long, we just used to say we were The Bushwhackers from down under.”

On why they chose to return to wrestling:

Butch: “The finish wasn’t how we wanted it to go. I was really sick, Luke came back one day and found me on my death bed with septicaemia, blown up like a balloon. Everything inside me was completely poisoned. Luke called me an ambulance, I died a couple of times on the way to the hospital, but they kept bringing me back. The same thing happened in 2008, I had another repeat and down I went. This time it was my wife that rang for the ambulance. They got me back again, woke me up, and pulled me back just as I was going through the heavenly clouds. I’ve been getting nothing but love from the fans. So me and Luke want to give some of that love back, especially with this virus going around. A lot of people know The Bushwhackers, hardly any of them know The Sheepherders, so lets do it all. Lets give them some Bushwhackers, Sheepherders, Bushherders, Sheepwhackers, lets do it all! Whatever they want, we’ll give it to them.”

On if the comeback will be as a tag team:

Luke: “No I’m going to be in the ring, and Butch is going to be on the outside. If it gets out of hand, Butch will be whacking them with the New Zealand flagpole. In our Sheepherder days, we were violent, vicious, and one of the most hated teams in North America. That will be coming too. If our opponents get out of hand, they’ll be getting hit with the flagpole. The pole isn’t wood, it’s made of steam pipe.”

On if the iconic face licking will be coming back in 2021:

Butch: “We will have to put a limit on that!”

Luke:” There’s a joke going around online that our face licking started the spread of the virus (laughs). If you did it today, we would be arrested.”

On their appearance on TV show Family Matters:

Butch: “We had a great time there. They were huge Bushwhackers fans, so they got in touch with the WWF, and arranged for us to go and do a show. We spent around 3 and a half days doing the show. They take you in, and you do rehearsals without an audience. Then they bring in an audience, and then we do it live. The first rehearsal is a stunt woman, she pops up in front of us, and I gave her this licking right on her face. Little did I know she had makeup on. I must have had an allergic reaction, because my throat just closed up. I went outside and was sick. The next day, they bring in the live audience. The music plays and the audience makes a hell of a noise. I get caught up in the moment, and I grab this lady and give her a licking again. I was sick on the spot and fell to my knees. We did that whole match with me like that. But we had a lot of fun, and people absolutely loved that show. Luckily I only had 3 words to say on the show.”

On a potential heel turn in the 90’s:

Luke: “No there wasn’t talk of it, but we did pitch it. When the booking slowed down in 1996, it was suggested we go heel. Vince said that we were so strong as babyfaces, that the fans would not accept it. It was the same with the tag team belts. We were so loved that we didn’t need them to get over.”

On the origins of The Bushwhacker name and walk:

Luke: “Vince gave us the name. When they sent us the contracts, it had the name The Bushwhackers on and we thought they were sent to the wrong people. Vince said he wanted us between The Sheepherders and The Moondogs.”

Butch: “The walk came from me. I’ve always walked a bit strange, I’ve got screwed up feet. If I was a horse they would have shot me! I’ve always swung my arms when I walk.”

On Luke’s elimination at the 1991 Royal Rumble:

Luke: “They said they only wanted me in for a short time. Butch was already out there for 20 minutes. I step in, Earthquake grabs me, and throws me out. I just keep on marching, I was only in the ring for 4 seconds. Butch lasts for another 5 or 6 minutes.”

Butch: “By the time he comes marching out and through the ring, I’m gasping for breath. I’ve been in there for 20 minutes. You can’t stand around during a battle royal, because there are so many cameras on you. You don’t know which camera is on you, so you can’t stand there with your finger up your nose. So Luke comes in, does his thing and gets out. He gets a hell of a pop! No one cares what’s happening to me in the ring. I’m ready to march back, but I can’t because I’ve got another 5 minutes. I was so p*ssed off. When it was my turn to go out, I got to back, grabbed Luke and said “you dirty bugger! You know how long I’ve been out there? You’ve just come in and got your feet wet.” And everyone always remembers what Luke did, they don’t remember what I did. What p*ssed me off the most? We got our pay check a week later we both got the same money for the match! But we’ve had many laughs and drunk many beers about that. The fans have never forgotten it though, and we love them for it.”

On the current tag team wrestling:

Luke: “They haven’t got the teams like when we were there. We had Demolition, The Rockers, The Road warriors, The Brainbusters. Today, there are only a few teams. Vince has never done the emphasis on tag teams like his dad did. Vince would put Hogan with Randy or Warrior for main events. These days, the psychology has gone.”

Butch: “They are amazing athletes, but they don’t have the chance to get the experience like we did. There are no territories anymore, they all work with themselves. They all come from training camps, so they don’t have the opportunity to gain that experience that we had. Some of the moves they do are amazing, they are such good athletes. We couldn’t do those moves. But unfortunately, some of them do these big moves when it is not time for it. But that comes down to the experience.”

For any booking enquiries, contact bushwhackerbrand@gmail.com

Full podcast audio can be found below:

Video version can be found below:

The World’s #1 Celebrity Voice Coach Roger Love – How to speak so people listen

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Image credit: Roger Love / Instagram

Voice coach to the stars Roger Love appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. They discussed the beginnings of his career, working with stars, and if anyone can sing. Roger is the #1 celebrity voice coach in the world as has worked with performers like Eminem, John Mayer, Bret Michaels, Selena Gomez, Tony Robbins, Brendan Burchard and many others. He also taught Bradley Cooper how to sing for the film “A Star is Born”, he did the same for Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk The Line” and helped Jeff Bridges win an Oscar for his performance in “Crazy Heart”.

On people utilizing their voice more:

“The number one makeover people should be thinking about taking is a voice makeover. It’s usually at the bottom of their list. They think a new hairstyle or reading another book will get them what they want. But they are not thinking about the fact that they are opening their mouths, and people will be making judgements about them based on the sounds that they are making. We are all born with a voice, and we learn how to use it when we start to learn how to use words. We memorize the sounds of the people that are speaking to us. If your mother speaks airy, as soon as you can speak, you want to connect to her. So you will speak like her. If your dad speaks more masculine, you will speak like that. This is not the voice we are born with, it’s the voice that we ended up with. We are imitating those that we formed connections with. It’s time to start figuring out what do you really sound like? Maybe there is a reason why you hate your own voice.”

On transitioning from singers coaching singers to coaching actors and the differences between singing and speaking:

“People think that there is a difference between singing and speaking. I started as a voice coach and just taught singers for 17 years. At 16 and a half I was a coach for The Beach Boys, Earth Wind and Fire, and all these other amazing artists. Then, after 17 years, speakers started coming to me. Initially I told them thank you but I am a singing coach. I’m good at helping singers open up their mouths, and figure out what sounds should come out to influence millions of people. Eventually, the actors (Tony Robbins, Jeff Bridges, Reese Witherspoon) just kept coming. They all thought I was a speaking voice coach, so I decided that I was going to start working with speakers.

At first, I believed there had to be a difference between singing and speaking. After I learned and studied everything I could, I came full circle and I was wrong. There was no difference between singing and speaking. Singing is about melody, volume and pace. The same thing exists in the speaking world, it’s just that no one was focusing on teaching people how to add those musical influences in peoples speaking voices. All of a sudden I loved working with speaking voices. When you teach someone to sing, they can sell more songs and more tickets to concerts. But if you change the way someone speaks, you can change their life!”

On the steps to take to make your voice improve your life:

“There are 3 things. First, If you speak well, you can control other peoples perception of you. The number one fear in America is public speaking. I understand it, the reason we are afraid to speak in public is because we are afraid of being judged harshly. Secondly, if you know how to speak correctly, you can move people emotionally when you speak. The third thing, when you can speak really well, you can control the outcome of every communication that you have. You have to attach emotion and sounds to your words. We live in a world where saying the right things will give you a great life. The words aren’t doing it, it’s the sounds attached to the words. The brain doesn’t want logic first, it wants emotion first”

On how it began:

“It began with this little kid who if he was happy or sad, he would sing and it would change the way he felt. So I would just sing all the time. I figured I had to be a singer. When I was 13, I finally convinced my parents to take me to singing lessons. They took me to the most famous singing teacher in the world. 3 years later, he left to go to Canada. Before he left, he asked if I wanted to teach after school. The problem was I had no idea how to teach. He said “Don’t worry about that, I will pay you $100 an hour.” I then replied “I will be there Monday after school, and I will have business cards printed.” I show up on Monday, my first student was Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. I have no idea how to teach voice. I’m sitting in front of a piano, Brian is there and it’s go time. He’s paying for this lesson and I want to get paid too. Everything in me wanted to say sorry to Brian and pay for his gas. I didn’t do that, I just gave it a whirl. I faked it until I made it and 6 months later, all of the top stars decided they wanted to stay with me. When the teacher came back from Canada, he made me junior partner. My career path was set at 16 and a half. I was going to finish high school and go to college, but I’m going to teach voice.”

On working with Tony Robbins:

“Tony is a very unique case. Imagine Tony is in high school, and all of a sudden he grows 2 feet in almost no time. When that happens, it affects your body in different ways. Imagine your vocal cords grow fast too, so they can barely fit inside of your voice box. There were some physiological things that happened where it was difficult to create sound based on the growth he had. The main reason he and most speakers came to me is because they are losing their voice, and they know I can make it so they don’t lose their voice again. I helped Tony work with his voice, so he couldn’t lose it. He could do 3 and 4 day events, and be really present and influential. We started working 30 years ago. He was already really famous, but he was losing his voice. At the end of the day he had no voice. At the start of the next day, he was really hoarse. Almost every morning we had to rebuild his voice. I just made it so he just had to do vocal exercises every day, and he had 30 years with no problems. His voice is not perfect, but it’s based on a certain physicality that is unique to him and his vocal cords.”

On preparing Bradley Cooper for A Star is born:

“Bradley Cooper wanted to sing opposite Lady Gaga, and he wanted to sing the songs live on set, not pre-record them. That is what is going to go out on the film. We worked for an hour, every day, for 6 months. I said “what do you want to use your voice for?” He said, “I want to sing.”

On the pandemic and adapting to video calls:

“I’ve been doing video sessions for 10 years, because I can coach all around the world. When COVID happened to world, I had this media down. There’s a way to communicate on camera, and have it be very connective. It didn’t hinder me as far as presenting content and teaching. Zoom is very intimate and very focused. If you allow it, it can be very connective. It wasn’t COVID that stole our voices, it was the internet. We started talking less, emailing more. We started thinking we could live our whole lives via email. When you think about it, how to we showcase emotion? We have to put in emojis, because the words don’t mean anything. I love the internet, but it stripped us away from one on one communication. Now, at least we are forcing people to do more audio text, using zoom etc. I think of it as an audio correction. When COVID is over, the ones who can speak will be the ones that will create the most change.”

On if anyone can sing:

“The answer is yes! Anybody can learn how to sing. Just because you sing along to Bruno Mars, and when you go high you go ouch, doesn’t mean you can’t sing. It just means you haven’t learned how to use your instrument. I say anyone can learn how to sing infinitely better than they do now. I’ve been the go to guy to help actors/actresses sing, that’s why they hire me. If you asked Joaquin Phoenix, who never sung before, to sing happy birthday, he wouldn’t be able to hit all the notes. He went on to sound exactly like Johnny Cash in Walk the line. I only had 3 and a half weeks to work with both Joaquin and Reese Witherspoon.

When you have the best technique, you can teach anyone to speak or sing. With a piano, you can play with 10 fingers. You ask someone to play, and they play with one finger. I then show them how to play with all their fingers. It’s the same thing with voices. I show them how to make all these notes. There’s chest voice that is thick and low. Then there’s head voice, which is higher and sweeter. Head voice shows sincerity and empathy. The area in between is middle voice, which most people don’t use. It adds magic, fun and excitement. No one went to see the 3 baritones in concert, they went to see the 3 tenors. The average human attention span is 8 seconds. As a speaker, you have 8 second intervals for the other person to decide if they want another 8 seconds, or if they want to leave you at that moment happily. If you make them feel things, they will remember what you have said.”

On how he got to work with Eminem:

“His manager/lawyer called me up. He said Eminem needed to work on his voice, can you fly out tomorrow. I flew out to New York next day. It turned out Eminem didn’t ask for a voice coach, but his manager/lawyer wanted him to have one. So I had to convince Eminem, on the spot, after flying to New York that he needed one. I taught him that night. Over the next couple of weeks I was on tour with him, showing him exercises. I don’t know if he still practices them. Sometimes I only have to meet someone once, and the way they sound changes forever. The truth is, everyone needs voice lessons, because people are listening.”

On how to get lessons with Roger:

“The best way to work with me is to go online. I have created courses, where in private, people can learn how to speak or sing. Go to rogerlove.com and play around. Do you want to speak better or sing better?” Make a decision and go from there…”

(rogerlove.com/insight will give listeners a $50 gift certificate. It can be redeemed for singing training, speaking training, or both.)

On 3 things that he is grateful for:

“My wife, my daughter and my son.”

Roger Love can be found on Instagram here.

Full podcast audio can be found below:

DDP has transcended wrestling and will inspire the hell out of you!

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Image credit: The Daily Beast

WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) recently appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. They discuss his wrestling career, how his yoga program is helping current stars and his new documentary Relentless.

On his early attempts at wrestling:

“As you know, I am a people person. That’s why I am successful at every turn and everybody thinks “That’s impossible, what are you thinking?!” My wrestling career, I tried when I was 23. I had 3 matches, it didn’t work out for me in 1979. I got sucked in. I was already in love with the bar business, so I got sucked in to running my first rock n’ roll joint and I forgot about the dream. I came back to it in 1988 as a manager for AWA, which was ridiculous that I would have pulled that off! To understand how impossible it is for an outsider to get involved in the business, especially back then. My wrestling career was an eight year overnight success.”

On working with WWE Superstars:

“I’m building wellness centres for the boys. I’ve got Ivar from The Viking Raiders, he broke his neck. He literally sent me a picture of him diving through the ropes. That cat is over 300 pounds. He has been doing my workouts since before it was DDPY, it was YRG (yoga for regular guys). He goes back that far and it’s what kept him in the ring. He was on his way to the hospital and he said “can I come and see you when I am done?” Tomasso Ciampa is another one, he did the same thing. When Drew McIntyre tore his tricep, he came up here. He drove 7 and a half hours to work with me for four hours, and then drove back to Tampa. These guys look at me and go “How can he do this sh*t?” I’m going to be 65 in a month and a half, how am I still running like I am in my 40’s? I can’t go out there and bounce around anymore, but I can go out for one night and tear it down.” 

On his wrestling retirement and his relationship with Cody Rhodes:

“That stuff with Cody Rhodes, that was just fun. That was my last match though, and Cody is like my nephew. I just got off the phone with him and we talk every week. We had to get on a schedule because there were months where we wouldn’t talk. I would see him at my performance centre and I would go “Bro, I know you’re crazy busy, but I need to be able to connect with you.” Bottom line he goes “How about we just schedule it?” We agreed that Friday at 12 works so we did that. That time can change but it keeps us connected as he is going through this incredible ride.” Whatever he wants me to do, he just needs to fly me in, put me up and I won’t charge him. I wanted him to know I don’t want a contract, I don’t want money, I wanted to be his voice.”

On being a father figure to fellow wrestlers:

“I’ve always done it. I parented myself, I love my dad but he was a drunk. Now he is not because he is in a home. But give him a chance and he is going to hit the bar and have a couple of cocktails. By the time I was 3 years old my mum was married, divorced and had 3 kids, she was 19. I was raised by my Grandmother. She was a great lady but she was going through menopause. Because of that, I was always giving to people, it’s just part of what I do. Before DDP yoga even existed, when I was wrestling, I helped Kidman, Disco, Glacier, Kanyon, Raven. I mean I can name 30 guys that I either originally got jobs for that wouldn’t get it on their own.”

On his new documentary Relentless and the origins of DDP Yoga:

“It’s funny, you know Bryan Alvarez, well 12 years ago he asked me “Where is DDP 5 and 10 years from now?” This was 4 years before the yoga started. I said 5 years from now I will start to be known as the new Jack LaLanne meets Tony Robbins meets Drake Richard Simmons, and he laughed. Honestly, what I’m doing now in 10 years will dwarf my wrestling career. He didn’t believe me. I already knew what it did for Arthur, the disabled veteran. I didn’t have the form of a video. We remade it in 2012, myself and Steve Yu (Director of the critically acclaimed documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake), when you watch Relentless on Amazon Prime, The Resurrection will be one of the recommended movies to watch. If you’ve got Amazon prime, you can watch this. The reviews have been amazing. We started this about 6 years ago. Steve Yu wanted to create a mini doc that’s about 15 – 20 minutes that shows what our company is about. If you talk about Steve Jobs, you think of Apple and that’s it. If you think of DDP, you will think of both wrestling and yoga. ”

On the DDP Yoga app and what the schedule is:

“The app has a seven day free trial. Every Monday I put out a video for motivational Monday, there’s over 300 of them up there. Every Tuesday I post a new workout. It could be sitting at a chair, it could be psycho-extreme, it could be laying in bed. Every Wednesday is a new healthy recipe. Because of the pandemic, it’s what we are eating that night. Every Thursday I have added DDP’s tip of the week. That could be showing you how to do black crow, or it could be something I read on Facebook. Then there is fabulous Facebook Friday, over 56,000 people are on there. It goes up another 1,000 every week. I’m just reading stories that people are writing and putting my opinion on it. This week was about this couple. Because of the pandemic they wanted to take control of their lives. In 5 months she lost 83 pounds and he lost 107! They shared their stories, people are helping each other. The number one thing my program does is build confidence. I can prove it with one example after another.”

On his daily routine and living to over 100:

“The first thing I do. Once or twice a week I roll over and hug my old lady and hang with her for 20 minutes. If she is in a deep sleep, I leave her alone. I roll out of bed, there’s this thing, it’s this algae that is in chocolate. It has the highest antioxidant level that you can eat. I have that and then walk into my hyperbaric chamber, and get on my phone. I look at my emails, my schedule, set alarms for calls with Cody. So then I know what I’ve done and what I am going to do. I’m not training to be 65, because that could be here tomorrow. I’m preparing for 75, 85, 95 and even 105! My core is so strong, I could do a 20 minute match and tear it down. I won’t do that, because I know what damage it could do. After the chamber, my girl gives me a protein shake, and a lay on a beamer pad. It frees up my circulation. Being on this pad 22 minutes, twice a day. Within 5 days there is zero numbness. I’m constantly training to turn back the sands of time.”

On the future of DDP Yoga:

“Three years from now I will be training the top athletes in the world that are coming back from injury. I will be training a small group of guys that understand competitive maintenance. If you do the work at the 65 year old level, the chance of the 28 year old self getting injured is reduced by 50%. Look at Chris Jericho and AJ Styles. Chris can drink like a viking, there’s a guy who when he says he will do something, he does it and at the highest level. He makes a lot of money doing what he does but he would do it for free!”

On his appearance on Shark Tank promoting DDP Yoga:

“The disabled veteran video with Arthur went viral. He was a key component of it. People thought “that’s impossible! But if he can do it…” Arthur came with us to Shark Tank too. I never went for a deal, I just went to get awareness. I only offered 5%, it was so much fun, you can see it in Relentless. We filmed for an hour, but you don’t know what they are going to use. But if I edited it myself, I couldn’t have edited it better. We made $1 million in 5 days. I could do nothing for the rest of my life. If I die tomorrow, it would triple.”

Three things that he is grateful for right now:

“My partner Paige McMahon, my health and that in these hard times God has blessed me to do what I do.”

Full podcast audio can be found below:

Video version can be found below:

DDP can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here.

For more information on DDP Yoga, click here.

Relentless can be watched now on Amazon Prime 

Ryan Nemeth on his AEW debut, his brother Dolph Ziggler, being released from NXT

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Image credit: Instagram @ryrynemnem

AEW wrestler Ryan Nemeth recently guest starred on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast. They discuss his AEW debut, being the brother to Dolph Ziggler and his new movie Heel:

On COVID testing

“I have a streak of negative tests. With AEW there are a lot of tests before, during and after. I have had more than fifty tests. When I book stunts/acting I always want to test before and after.”

On AEW and his debut

“Being there is kind of like a huge reunion. I have so many friends from NXT or other parts of wrestling. Walking in the locker room felt like home. I went to AEW to see Amanda Huber (the late Jon Huber/Brodie Lee’s wife) because I knew there was going to be a birthday for Brodie Jr. I thought I would surprise her and say happy birthday. I used to babysit him in Tampa. I wanted to say hi to her, I also secretly had my gear with me. They asked me “since you’re here do you want to wrestle?” And I said sure. I think it went well, I blacked out but I think I won (laughs). I was honoured to debut on Dynamite. It felt great to be back in the ring. During shutdown I have been doing a lot of wrestling but not in front of a live crowd. It’s been a lot of stunt work or coordinating for TV shows. AEW are super into promoting creativity, a very motivational and positive environment.”

On being the brother to WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler

“There are similarities. We are brothers, we are related, we were both trained by the exact same people in wrestling. We grew up wrestling for the same school together. But I will say I’ve spent my entire wrestling career looking and dressing the exact opposite of him. He had blond hair, I dyed mine black. He wore pants, I wore shorts. No matter what I do, for a decade, any time I’m in a match, the internet says I’m a carbon copy of him. But we’ve had pretty different lives. He was a college wrestler, I focused more on acting and writing. In the past few years, to do so many of these things together is awesome. I never felt like we were competing for anything though.”

On NXT and being released

“It was working great for me there while Dr Tom Prichard was head coach and John Laurinaitis was in charge of talent relations. They had a top 10 list of talent and I was 3 I think. Almost overnight, someone took over head coach, someone took over talent and I didn’t seem to exist anymore. This new coach did not like me or my brother. He is not there anymore though. I didn’t believe in him as a coach, I just said it. An executive confirmed the coach didn’t like me, and didn’t know if there was anything I could do. When the executive called to release me, I asked if that was what’s happening here, he said yes. It’s just how wrestling works. The phone call, the executive thought I was going to go to Hollywood. One month later I moved to LA.”

On his new movie Heel

“The plot of the film deals with sexual assault in the world of indie wrestling. It comes from a very real place. I was ambushed with stories about assault. That’s why I took a break from wrestling. It was really close to home for me. I can’t speak on behalf of these people. Legally, imagine the trouble I would be in if I did speak on behalf of victims. But I can use art to encourage conversations about these things. I love wrestling and the people in it. But there are some bad eggs that do bad things and get away with it. There is not one solution to it, but it’s one that I can try to help with. I would love it to expand to a feature or a series.”

Ryan Nemeth can be found on Twitter here and Instagram here.

Full podcast audio can be found below:

Video version can be found below:

Paige VanZant from UFC to Bare Knuckle FC, meeting with WWE at the Performance Center, how she stays so positive.

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Image credit: MMA Fighting

Ahead of her first Bare Knuckle fight, former UFC fighter Paige Vanzant sat with Chris for an episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet. They discussed training for the fight, how bare knuckle boxing differs from MMA, and a possible transition into WWE in the future.

CVV: “PVZ in the house!”

Paige: “Yeah how’s it going?”

CVV: “I’m doing great thank you so much for taking the time to do this. You’ve got a lot going on right now so I appreciate you carving out a little bit of time for this.”

Paige: “Yeah for sure, thank you.”

CVV: “You’re getting ready for a big fight. As we speak right now it’s about a week away. How are you feeling?”

Paige: “I feel great. It’s a week out, it’s crazy. Right now it feels like the biggest fight of my career. I feel the pressure on me, the most adrenaline, it feels really good.”

CVV: “A lot of eyeballs on you for this. I don’t know if people at this stage of your career expected you to go into bare knuckle.”

Paige: “No they didnt. I feel like that was part of my appeal to go to bare knuckle because I knew I could make some big waves. I knew I was going to shock a lot of people by signing with them over other organisations, and I definitely feel like I did that.”

CVV: “So what do your days look like right now. I’m imagining that you’ve probably just trained a few hours ago and here we are squeezing this in?”

Paige: “Yes, so days right now. So typically eight weeks out from the fight I’m training 2-3 times a day. When it gets a little closer, and I’m getting my weight down, it’s very specific training. Then, of course, lots of cardio, lots of getting the weight in check and making sure I am staying as safe as possible in training too. I don’t want to get injured before a fight, so super specific training right now.”

CVV: “So you’ve relocated to Florida. Is training in Florida any different?”

Paige: “You know what? That was one of my questions going in. It is very humid here, but it’s also comforting to know that I am training as hard here as I ever have. But now I have the high level coaching, extremely high level coaches in this industry, that have trained champions. Now they are going to be in my corner, they are getting me ready for whatever happens. So it’s a really big confidence booster I would say being at such a high level gym.”

CVV: “How different does training look getting ready for a bare knuckle fight vs getting ready for an MMA fight?”

Paige: “It’s a big difference. I almost like this training better though. Something I have talked to Thiago Alvez with. He also fights for bare knuckle, and he’s one of my teammates and coaches. He has said his body almost feels better just doing boxing, because it’s the grappling and the wrestling part, you can’t feel like you can walk after. You’ll get yourself in certain entanglements, you’ll get stretched out in these crazy positions. Whereas in boxing you’re not doing that. So I feel like I can push my body much harder when it’s just boxing.”

CVV: “Do you remember what the first bare knuckle fight you watched was, and what your reaction was to it?”

Paige: “Yes. So actually the first bare knuckle match that I watched was BKFC. I was curious about Bec Rawlings, one of my old opponents in the UFC going into it, and I watched her fight. I was like, holy cow, this is legit, this is awesome!”

CVV: “And this is going to be you now. Do you have any fears as you go into this fight?”

Paige: “Of course there’s fear you know. There’s general nerves, but it’s the exact same as going into any fight. There isn’t more fear knowing that it’s a bare knuckle match. There’s a sense of relief that taking away the wrestling, which was my downfall in UFC, because my wrestling wasn’t up to par. Whereas now, I don’t necessarily have to worry about that. But I also put the exact amount of pressure on myself that I do with every fight. So the same nerves and same nervous energy.”

CVV: “I imagine most of the training you’re doing and the sparring you’re doing, you’re wearing some sort of gloves right?”

Paige: “Yes, most of the time. So whilst sparring we always wear gloves, but we go bare knuckle for some of the pad sessions. You want to be able to know what it feels like when you hit somebody so it’s not a shock to your hands and a shock to you. So it’s very specific training and I’m super fortunate that I’m at a gym with coaches who have thought these things through for me. I just do what they say and they have kind of prepared the way for me. I’m not the first person from my gym to compete for BKFC, so we have a cool little program going on.”

CVV: ”So if we take this back, who is Paige VanZant before you found fighting?”

Paige: “I was a dancer, my dancing was always competitive. I was still the same athlete with the same drive, it was just in a different sport. So competitive dancing, super driven, that kind of stuff. But before fighting, I don’t know I guess I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but now I finally feel like I do.”

CVV: “What did you think you were going to be?”

Paige: “I didn’t know, I went to college early, I was super gifted academically, but I didn’t know what to apply that in. I went to college when I was 16. But it didn’t mean anything because I changed my major 4 times. So within that time I went from nursing major, culinary arts, physical education and business. So I was passionate about a lot of things, but I didn’t know what I really wanted to do.”

CVV: “You really ran the gamut of the possible career options.”

Paige: “I did, but looking back at it now, I was in physical education, which is what I do. I did culinary arts, I’ve been on cooking shows. So I’ve been able to touch upon all the different majors that I thought I would go into.”

CVV: “I skipped one grade, so I think we have that in common. I went to college 1 year early. I can’t imagine going 3 years early.”

Paige: “No it was just 2 years for me.”

CVV: “So you are at the same level as people academically, but socially maybe not?”

Paige: “No I was really lucky actually. I went to a community college program. So it wasn’t that kind of environment. I feel like it was a more focused environment, everyone just does their own thing. I don’t know how many people actually knew that I was in high school technically by age.”

CVV: “Hunting was a big part of your time growing up too. What specifically were you hunting for?”

Paige: “You know what, people think it’s hunting, but actually my grandparents were managers of a gun range. So I did most of my shooting at a gun range, not hunting for animals. I was on the shooting team at middle school, it was mostly target hunting.”

CVV: “So what kind of guns were you shooting?”

Paige: “So when I was in middle school they were air rifles, then I pretty much shot everything. When your grandparents manage a gun club, you shoot everything.”

CVV: “But you have been hunting right?”

Paige: “No I haven’t. I don’t know if I could kill anything, I couldn’t take the life of an animal. I’m extremely tough. If it came down to it, if I needed to. I guess I go fishing if that counts. My husband’s family is from Alaska, so they hunt for moose every season, because that’s the meat they eat all year long. That’s what it’s for. Maybe if it came down to that. I like to drive the four wheeler and look cute. I’m such an animal lover, so killing is the hardest part. I’m happy to shoot a target for you though.”

CVV: “I feel like maybe there are some similarities growing up between shooting at a range, with the accuracy and all the things that go into that and what you’re doing now for a living?” 

Paige: “Oh absolutely. Going into shooting it’s a lot more patience, but at the same time you can be a lot more analytical, a lot more thoughtful. In fighting you have to be patient with your shots. It’s a lot more highly paced most of the time, but it’s that patience and technique.”

CVV: “So you mentioned Alaska. I’ve been watching your YouTube channel, called A Kickass love story: with Paige and Austin. But you guys were just in Alaska?”

Paige: “We were. So before COVID, we would go back to Alaska 3 to 4 times a year. That’s like our second home. We think we will have a home in Florida and a home in Alaska, the best of both worlds. We absolutely love it there, and we went there for Thanksgiving.”

CVV: “So which city specifically is he from?”

Paige: “Ok I’m going to see if you can say it, he’s from Ninilchik, it’s technically just a fishing village. He grew up in the middle of nowhere. He doesn’t brag about himself enough, but he was the only person on his high school wrestling team, and then went onto college to become a national champion.”

CVV: “Who do you wrestle when there is no one else to wrestle?”

Paige: “I think his coach. Then they would fly around other villages and wrestle with other teams and stuff like that.”

CVV: “You truly have the best of both worlds. It’s crazy hot in Florida, and the winters in Alaska are crazy.”

Paige: “Yes. So when we left Alaska for Thanksgiving, I think it was like 10 degrees. We show up and it was like 80 degrees in Florida.”

CVV: “So he was on a high school wrestling team. Were you on any teams?”

Paige: “Yes, so in my freshman year I was a cheerleader. Sophomore I ran cross country, and junior and senior year I went to college. So I was only able to play high school sports for 2 years.”

CVV: “So when did the introduction to MMA come in?”

Paige: “So I grew up in Oregon, and we moved to Nevada for my dad’s job. Dad was a huge fan of Ken Shamrock, legend of MMA. So my dad was like there’s this legend, he has this gym here let’s go try it. So my dad did my first class with me, he was my drilling partner, I got to heel hook him and choke him. I was 15 years old and fell in love with fighting. Ken at the time, said if I stick with this I would be good at it.”

CVV: “So Ken was there from day one?”

Paige: “He was there from day one and I had no idea who he was. Now looking back, I’m like, holy cow my coach was a legend of a sport. So Reno, Nevada, this small town had this incredible coach!”

CVV: “So you were just like, who is this incredibly jacked guy?”

Paige: “Yes. He comes in, he’s jacked. I think Ken has this persona for the cameras, but he knew he was a badass. When he walked in, it was his gym and you better listen.”

CVV: “Is there anything early on that Ken taught you that you still apply to your training or fights now?”

Paige: “Absolutely, my heel hooks. I don’t do them as much in fights. I went for a heel hook at the last 10 seconds when I fought Felice Herrig. But there’s positions where you don’t want to put yourself in a bad spot in MMA. But in jujitsu my heel hooks are still really good. It’s the first thing I learned and I’m still passionate about.”

CVV: “Are you still in touch with Ken?”

Paige: “You know what, I did talk to him on the phone not that long ago. He has a son the same age, so we communicate every now and then. But it’s definitely been a while. But we still have a great relationship.”

CVV: “So do you remember the first UFC fight that you ever watched or were ever exposed to?”

Paige: “Yes. I think the first UFC fight I ever paid attention to was Forrest Griffin was the main event. He was my fight idol then and forever. He was the one I looked up to.”

CVV: “So you trained with Shamrock at age 15. How does it go from training to “I want to try my first amateur fight?””

Paige: “It didn’t take long. I couldn’t take an amatuer fight until I was 18. So 18 comes and the gym says they have their own show coming up, do you want to fight? I said sure I will take a fight. I ended up submitting the girl in 40 seconds. Then a month after my 18th birthday, this girl wanted this fight as her pro debut. I took it and got paid $800. My coach said you shouldn’t take it, once you’re a pro, you can’t go back. I needed the money so I flew out there and won my pro debut. That was the moment where I was done with school and I wanted to be a fighter.”

CVV: “How long after that did Dana White and the UFC start calling?”

Paige: “Maybe 3 fights later. Just turned 18, 3 fights later I turned pro, then I was signed to the UFC by the time I was 19. It was really amazing, really fast. I had my first fight with them when I was 20. Now at 26 I guess I’ve had my last fight with them. Now I am a professional bare knuckle boxer.”

CVV: “When you sign with UFC at 19, and you’re a huge fan of MMA, did you think you were going to be in UFC forever?”

Paige: “No, not at all. When I first signed the contract, which was for 4 fights, it was a moment where I was like I might be terrible, I don’t know. It was all happening so fast. I was treating it like I was only going to get one shot. They might hate me, they might cut me, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I treated it as I only had one opportunity to prove to the UFC that I belong.”

CVV: “I’ll never forget the fight where you broke your arm, go back to your corner, and then keep on fighting!”

Paige: “Yeah I talk about that with my husband a lot, because he was in my corner. I have now broken my arm 3 times, and I have separated my shoulder not long ago. In each instance I say I broke my arm, my husband hoes no you would be crying. I’m like no I know my body, my arm is broken. Every time my arm has been broken, he disagrees. My corner did not believe me when I broke my arm during a fight. In the middle of the fight, I could feel the bone clicking as I moved my arm. After the adrenaline wore off, it hurt even more. It’s crazy.”

CVV: “Do you have any fear going into your first bare knuckle fight? There’s a possibility you won’t just break your arm, maybe you will break bones in your hand as well?”

Paige: “You know what, hands don’t hurt as bad as arms. I’ve fought through an entire 5 minutes, 2 and a half bare knuckle rounds, with a broken arm. If I can do that, I know I will be fine if I break a knuckle. I know I can keep fighting. What worries me more are the things that you can’t control. If you get cut open, a doctor stops the fight. That would be very disappointing.”

CVV: “I think a lot of your fans are concerned about you taking punches to your face. After you signed, loads of people were tweeting these pictures of other bare knuckle fighters, what was your reaction to seeing that?”

Paige: “I’ve thought about this. There’s risks in every career you have. My risk is getting my face caved in. I would rather put my life in danger for 10 minutes than live a life that’s not fulfilled, not fun, not enjoyable where I don’t get to live life to the fullest. I would much rather risk 10 minutes than live a boring life.”

CVV: “I think everyone assumed that because of your husband Austin you would be taking a Bellator contract. Was that something that you were looking into?”

Paige: “Yes. Honestly I thought that when I left the UFC I would be signing with Bellator. I thought they would have the best offer, they treat my husband so well. The idea of competing on the same card and organization was really exciting. But then bare knuckle came along. It was like I had the angel and the devil on my shoulder. I had to go where the passion lied. The one that excited me the most was bare knuckle. I wanted to shock the world and show how tough I am.”

CVV: “There’s also an element of this contract where you are doing some commentary too?”

Paige: “Yeah so they opened up the contract where I could commentate. It’s an open ended contract, they are giving me the freedom to do other things if I want to. I’m locked into one aspect, but I can also do other things that will build me and them as brands.”

CVV: “How did you break going into bare knuckle to your husband?”

Paige: “It was not good. It was a hard 2 days where he would be really mad at me. He knew where I wanted to go, he was upset. There were so many layers to it. He was on the Dana White contender series, and had this spectacular finish. We thought he was going to get signed to the UFC and he didn’t. That was when I got so bitter about it. Then Bellator came around. Now he’s extremely supportive of it.”

CVV: “Which one of your previous fights should people put on to showcase what you can do in bare knuckle?”

Paige: “That’s a good one. Of course, performance wise I would say me vs Felice Herrig, me vs Bec Rawlings or me vs Alex Chambers. But I think the fight that proves how tough I am is a fight that I actually lost. It was me vs Rose Namajunas. We went 5 full rounds and it was a war. But I proved how tough I was. I got cut open in the first round, but I fought through every second of that fight.”

CVV: “What did you learn mentally from a loss like that?”

Paige: “I think I learned how tough mentally I was. I knew how tough I was but then the world knew how tough I was. Finally I could prove that you could put me through hell but I’m not going to quit. I think it proved that you are going to have ups and downs in your career, but it’s about going out there and fighting for yourself.”

CVV: “You always hear fighters talking about learning more from losses than you do from victories, is that true?”

Paige: “It’s hard to say. You do in a sense. Not a lot of people reevaluate their performance after a win. When you lose, you really take a step back and reevaluate. You try to figure out why, then you make the changes to make yourself better. When you win, you don’t necessarily make those changes to help growth. Technically, you can learn more from a loss but winning feels so much better.”

CVV: “You’ve got so much going on outside of bare knuckle. Do you remember when you went from a fighter to Instagram influencer and next level?”

Paige: “I don’t really see myself as an Instagram influencer. I just share my life and my love for the world and people enjoy watching it. For me I just feel like a regular person, especially walking into a gym. There are so many people that are way more successful than me. It’s hard to have an ego when you’re surrounded by people like double champion Amanda Nunes, she’s a double champion. When she walked in, me and my husband whispered “There’s the G.O.A.T.””

CVV: “You probably get messages every day from girls who want to do what you are doing?”

Paige: “I do, that’s special. Having people reach out to me that are going through hard times. Trying to inspire the younger, female generation is a lot of the reason why I do it. I fight through all the negativity and all the hardship. I try to not respond to hate in a negative way, It’s about rising through all the negativity and still being strong and true to yourself.”

CVV: “You’re in an occupation where there is a lot of negativity thrown your way. Everyone who watches MMA thinks that they are a fighter, but only a small percentage have actually taken a fight. So you put everything on display. I’m sure if you lose, you get all this backlash from people saying “You should have done this…””

Paige: “Yes. But that’s the hard thing about being in MMA or individual sports. All the eyeballs are on you and you can’t blame a teammate. When a team loses, the whole team loses. When I lose, it’s only me that loses. A lot of people see fighting as good vs evil. They pick their hero and they pick their villain. Somebody comes out on top, but people should see this as two superheroes fighting each other. When I was fighting Rachael Ostovich, someone from the media said you’re the villain in this fight. I was shocked. I have never said a negative thing about anyone that I have fought. So it’s interesting how there’s the good vs evil narrative in fights.

CVV: “How do you stay so positive? Because your smile is so damn infectious.”

Paige: “Thank you. It’s easy to be myself, it makes me feel good. Life is too short to be angry all the time. I could be very angry, especially reading the comments and the articles that are written about me. But if you focus on the good, soak it in. At the end of the day it’s just a job.”

CVV: “Was there one specific comment that made you go “I don’t need to deal with this anymore?””

Paige: “Yeah there are some. There’s always the occasional troll, and I can deal with that. But the people are hating on you, they do it because they have hate in their heart. I had one kid commenting and messaging me saying “you need to go kill yourself.” Finally I added him on Instagram and asked why do you hate me. Now we are friends. He ended up apologizing. A lot of people are just looking for a response. If you respond, it gives them validation. I believe everybody has good in their heart somewhere. If you attack someone you don’t know it has to stem from somewhere. Nobody better than you will put you down”

CVV: “Have any girls had one drink too many at a bar and tried to fight you?”

Paige: “No and I’m very lucky because girls are not like that. But I have been with quite a few of my fight friends and people try to challenge them constantly. No one has tried to challenge Austin yet, but he is good at playing the peacekeeper. He can literally be friends with everybody. He is more down to Earth than me, I get bigger road rage.”

CVV: “What is your biggest pet peeve while on the road?”

Paige: “When you are in the fast lane, and there is a car ahead of you driving below the speed limit.” 

CVV: “Who was Austin when you first met him?”

Paige: “He hasn’t really changed since I met him. I can hear him playing Call of Duty in the background, if I need to tell him to be quiet I can. When we first met he didn’t play video games at all. So his inner nerd has definitely come out. He tried to impress me by hiding the fact that he plays Fantasy Football and Call of Duty constantly. He was in 4 or 5 fantasy leagues this year. First time we met we were at a conditioning gym in Oregon. I was already working out, he showed up right after. He had a down to Earth look to him. He was actually wearing socks with flip flops, which is so uncomfortable. It didn’t take long before we were in love.”

CVV: “So you were the one that pursued him?”

Paige: “I like to say that I was. He doesn’t like to admit it, but it is true. We had a few people at our gym tell him that I was hitting on him. It took a little while.”

CVV: “I do a lot of interviews with wrestlers and your name comes up a lot with WWE. Do you have any interest in doing that?”

Paige: “I do, but I get asked about WWE a lot. I feel like that it’s something I would be good at. I was a dancer, so I would be very good at the entertainer and showmanship side of it. Then the combat sports world goes into the WWE. I couldn’t do both at the same time, so after I’m done fighting, maybe I will go over there. But the door is definitely open. There is definitely a path, and communication is definitely there. Once there is more free time in my schedule, I think there is something I would like to pursue.”

CVV: “So they have reached out to you?”

Paige: “They have. I have visited the Performance Center, because it’s up in Orlando. I was able to look around, and get a sense to what it’s all about.”

CVV: “I’m curious. Someone who is competing at the level you are competing at. Aside from training, your days are pretty set out with routine. What does the first 30 minutes of your day look like?”

Paige: “They are extremely boring. I get on my phone, check my emails, get ready and go to practice. After first practice it’s back to my emails. Eating is included in that. I am very passionate about food and eating.”

CVV: “The fight is a week away. How much weight do you have to cut?”

Paige: “I think I’m 10lbs over, which is perfect. It’s right where I want to be, it’s not a lot of weight to cut anymore. I want to get my weight to a point where I didn’t want to cut as much. The shots are mainly to the head. A lower water cut would minimise the risk of concussions?”

CVV: “Have you had concussions?”

Paige: “Actually I don’t know. I’ve never been diagnosed with concussion. At some point, maybe I have. One doctor thought I broke my nose before. The only fight injuries I’ve had are getting cut under my eye and broken arms. I’ve been very, very lucky.”

CVV: “Do you ever think about life after fighting?”

Paige: “I’m currently thinking more in the moment. I want to have kids and travel the world. I am fortunate that my career has taken me all over the world. Kids in 7 to 10 years. That’s all I have planned for the future. The rest is fighting right now.”

CVV: “Will you be vlogging the behind the scenes of your first bare knuckle fight?”

Paige: “I will. I’m going to try and film everything.I can’t guarantee that I will get a video out just before the fight, but it’s too much to edit before the fight. If he films enough, we will have enough for after the fight. It’s a lot to edit. The coolest thing is that I am taking a picture of myself everyday since I’ve started dieting and you can see how my body transforms on the day of weigh-ins. People take videos of themselves losing weight. But you can see the full transformation of my body up until fight night.”

CVV: “So when can we see this video?”

Paige: “I think after weigh-ins. Because that’s the end point of the weight cut. Where you start, how much you lose. People don’t show how much your body changes in fight camp as a professional fighter. We go through a lot in our training. Our body changes a lot in 6 to 8 weeks.”

CVV: “Have you had any interest from Hollywood?”

Paige: “I have. I have had interest here and there. I got interest for movies, but first things first is fighting. It has to coincide with my fight career. So once I put the pressure on my team to do more acting they will get on it, but I really wanted the last 6 months to work on my striking for bare knuckle. They got rid of all the background noise.”

CVV: “Is there anyone in the movie industry that you look up to and think I want to be like that person?”

Paige: “My go to is The Rock. We both have the same pathway of combat sports and working our way up into Hollywood. Be so successful in one career that it launches a new career. I was meant to be on Titan Games, but I broke my arm right before the show.”

CVV: “Will this fight will be in an empty arena.”

Paige: “Actually there will be fans. In Florida, people are crazy, it’s a no mask free for all. As soon as my husband and I got here, we both got COVID very quickly, even though we wear our masks and don’t go anywhere. There will be fans but it won’t be a packed crowd. I hear the fans when I am fighting though. I hear the “oohh” when I get hit hard.”

CVV: “What are 3 things that you are grateful for in your life right now?”

Paige: “My team and my teammates. For life, this new opportunity. So many things to be happy about.”

Full podcast audio can be found below:

Video version can be found below:

Paige can be found on Twitter here and on Instagram here. Paige’s YouTube channel, called A Kickass Love Story: With Paige and Austin can be found here.