#139 Chris Camozzi - BKFC Cruiserweight & UFC Vet
Chris Camozzi - Bare Knuckle FC Cruiserweight Fighter, Professional MMA Fighter, BJJ Blackbelt, UFC Middleweight Vet, MMA coach, TUF contestant, podcast host. Chris Camozzi is a globally recognized fighter who competes in the Light heavyweight division and has spent the last 16 years competing in mixed martial arts and kickboxing. Camozzi is a TUF 11 alumni and former UFC fighter. He most recently competed in the Professional Fighters League. Camozzi also co-hosts Involuntary Yoga Podcast, the insiders scoop on a lot of fights and even some behind-the-scenes stories you have never heard. Tune in as Chris Camozzi joins Bobby Marshall in studio to discuss MMA, bare knuckle fighting, UFC, kickboxing, hunting, street smarts, wildlife, Colorado, outdoor life, and much more. Please subscribe or like us on social media platforms for updates on shows, events, and episode drops. Please subscribe or like us on social media platforms for updates on shows, events, and episode drops. www.TheMountainSidePodcast.com
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Chris Camozzi - BKFC Cruiserweight & UFC Vet
Returning to the studio is my good friend Chris Camozzi. Chris is a UFC veteran and former Glory kickboxer. He's had an extensive career at the highest level in mixed martial arts that has led him into the ring for bare-knuckle boxing and a title shot right here in Denver. Above all that, I always enjoy having Chris in the studio. This was a great conversation. We dove all over the place, and I hope that you enjoy this.
Welcome back.
Thank you.
I had a blast. My wife's about probably ready to divorce me. I'm going elk hunting for a week. I came out to go to your fight and hung out with the Parkers, a couple of SEALs, and some former NHL players. We had fucking ringside seats. Thanks to those guys. I got to go to your fight. I know it didn't turn out your way, but I had a blast and got to hang out with you a little bit afterward.
I wish I got to see Scott, Francesca, and everybody after. I know Francesca didn't get to go to the fight, but I didn't get to meet all the people at the table with you guys. I saw DJ and you at the after-party.
We were trying to coax them along, but they were too dug in.
It was a late night. It didn't go my way, but I'm not disappointed about it. Part of me is, but it's a split decision. Depending on who you ask, it goes either way. To me, it's unfinished business. That's what I'm pushing for now. If I have to fight somebody in between, I will. Lorenzo has knocked out everybody else in the division. I'm like, “There was nothing decisive.”
You go five rounds with him. I felt like you won the later rounds, in my opinion. I'm biased because you're my friend, but you were ragdoll on him.
I know I need to watch it back. I've watched it once quickly.
Give it a couple of weeks. You don't need to watch it now.
I don't usually watch myself fight. I hate it because I cringe. Even if I dominate, I'm like, “What was I doing that?” I'm my biggest critic. I'm supposed to have a call with David Feldman, the President. We'll see what they want to do. They might let him go up to heavyweight now, which, to me, promotionally, isn't the best idea because he has the light heavyweight belt, which is 185 with BKFC. It's different weight classes. Cruiserweight is what we fought for. He has those two belts.
I didn't realize he had both titles.
If he wins the heavyweight one, all those divisions are locked up. Here's what I was thinking. I haven't said this yet. I was waiting for it here. This will never happen. Because we had five rounds and there was no decision, they've started doing shows in Thailand, which is way less regulated. I'm like, “Why don't we rematch in someplace like Thailand, and we'll go until somebody wins? How about that? No rounds.” I was good after five rounds. We could have kept going. He was, too. He was tired, but that's the altitude. What if we went somewhere like Thailand where there's no regulating body? There can only be a certain amount of rounds.
Maybe have some real judges that understand.
I don't even fault the judges much.
I hate split decisions.
In split decisions, nobody is ever happy.
It should go to the sixth round or a set overtime, in my opinion, at some point if it's a split decision.
The sixth round was an option. At the end of the fifth, they were telling us in the corner, “We don't know yet. Stay ready.”
I would've been screaming that shit. I was sitting right behind the announcer.
I didn't know that until the weigh-ins. They came and talked to me. They're like, “Here's how we do things.” I was like, “It's not going five anyway. I'm not worried about the sixth round.” That's a cool way to do it. Will they ever do it? Probably not. You got bare knuckles from the 1800s. What if we went to another country where we don't have to worry about the regulations, and we do it the Gracie style? Let's go until somebody wins. We can still do the two-minute rounds and go until somebody wins if that's 15 or 10 rounds.
More rounds would be fucking insane.
That would be a cool bucket list thing, and there's no argument after that because you're going until somebody wins. Somebody has to quit or be out.
What a great way to promote it in another country and have all the hype from America as well.
I want somebody to die.
Let's not hope that, but I've fallen in love with it. Next to watching the UFC, I genuinely enjoy these. There's one aspect that I am going to criticize about it, and it was the whole WWE walkout scenario with him, the fucking costumes, and the rapping. The hype man for BKFC, I'm not a fan of the t-shirt bazooka and that antics. Your walkout was fucking badass. It was a Johnny Cash cover song, but it was done by Marilyn Manson.
I was working on having a custom song made, and it fell through. Do you remember the movie The Punisher?
Yes.
The guys sang the song before he tried to kill him.
I don't remember that far back.
I'll have to play it for you after I've got it on my phone.
Unfortunately, we get pulled off of YouTube and shit if we play music because I would love to play that Marilyn Manson walkout. I was about 5 or 6 tequilas in by that point. Maybe a White Claw.
It's funny because I'm not necessarily the biggest Marilyn Manson fan. I like his music.
His tone though with that song. I've worked for him in the past.
How was that?
It is what you would expect from somebody who keeps to themselves.
He looks like a weirdo. I'm not shocked.
I'm sure he is in the mirror, hyping himself up before he comes out. Kanye was like this when I worked for him. They are in their dressing room all by themselves. They don't have an entourage. They don't want people around them.
They are not normal people.
It's like a hermit mentality.
I could see getting to that point after a while, being famous. Sometimes, peace and quiet are what they strive for the most.
You get to a point after being famous for a while where peace and quiet are what you want to drive for the most.
It is, especially when everybody is coming at you for something.
You get to a point of fame where you don't even know if people are your real friends or not. They all tag along. You see it with all the bands.
I saw it with you the other night, going to your afterparty. It was something that you didn't announce. Look at how many people were there. I barely got to talk to you. It was fine. I was honestly running a little bit of interference for you here and there because I'd see you get cornered, and I'd be like, “Chris, come over here. You got to meet somebody here.” I would send Bito over to get you. Bito would perk up. He's like, “We got to go fucking rescue him.”
That's the thing with after-parties. I love all the support. People do come out that I don't hang out with regularly, but I have known them. There were people that I went to middle school with that I hadn't talked to since middle school and showed up. I'm like, “It’s great to see you.”
It's like a high school reunion at that point.
At the same time, I want to talk to my friends and people that I see and hang out with. The people you haven't seen forever are like, “What have you been doing in the last several years?” You're like, “This is a long conversation.” There's no way I could complain about that.
It's better than the opposite, having no support. It’s seldom that I get stopped, but occasionally, I do, especially here in town. People who read the blog know more about me than I know about them. It's an awkward conversation at some points. I try to spend time with them because I want them to know that I'm genuine and I do care. Thank you for reading the blog, whoever you are, no matter where you're at. It's the reason why I'm able to keep doing this.
I try to ask about them because I feel awkward. If you get stopped by somebody, and they know all this stuff about you, they are like, “What do you do? “ I don't like one-sided conversations. I deflect all the time. Whitney makes fun of me for it because people will bring up all this stuff about me. They're like, “How have you been?” I’m like, “Tell me about you.” I don't like watching my fights and talking about myself a ton. Podcasts are different.
It's like the boys hanging out. I've been more open on this than I would be in a normal conversation, like sitting at a bar. I swear to God. I'm not a smart guy, but my IQ goes up when I have a microphone on, there are headphones, and there are no distractions. It is maybe half a percent, but I feel it. You don't have very much of it. It makes me be more thought-out because I am thinking like this is something that's timestamped.
Are we live or not?
I don't do anything live.
It's better that way. There are repercussions nowadays that come with if you are hanging out with the boys and you say something. You're like, “That wasn't for everybody to hear.” In this day and age, there are many things that you're not supposed to say, or everybody is going to come at you.
In this day and age, there are so many things that you're not supposed to say, or everybody's going to come at you.
I've had a few moments where I've had some former operators in, like some of the friends that we were talking about prior to hit and record. They've said too much. They're like, “We're going to get in trouble. You got to edit that part out.” For the most part, when I come in here and hit record, we don't edit anything out. It's whatever it is.
It's a safety net. There are things I said on Luke's podcast. His is live.
You were on there?
Yeah.
I saw that IG post.
There was a time when I don't know if I'm allowed to say that. It was some derogatory term. That's not even derogatory, but it's not acceptable anymore. He was like, “Who gives this shit? This is Gladiators Unfiltered. You can say whatever you want.” I'm like, “I can say whatever I want, but it's the repercussions that come with it.”
I've had some people come at me hard for stupid little things I've said. I was like, “That's what upset you?” They'll take it out of context. They only focused on that one part and didn't listen to anything I said before or after it.
Everybody is looking to be mad about something.
For the most part, I get nothing, but 98% of it is positive feedback. It's not a huge platform.
That was my thing. When I would get criticism for my podcast, I'm like, “Don't listen. I don't care that much. I'm not doing this because I'm making millions of dollars.” Don't listen if you don't like what I say. It's all opinion-based. I'm not a scientist who is coming in with facts. I'm coming in with the opposite of facts. Half of what I say might have to be verified.
Part of podcasting is thinking out loud, trying to be in the moment, and having that conversation. Your brain is always rolling. Sometimes, the hardest part for me, and it's taken me over 100 episodes to learn it, is to listen to somebody when they're sitting across from you. The best way is to listen to what they're saying and go where the conversation goes.
I can't remember how many episodes I did. I'm going to bring it back up here soon. I know we were talking about that. I used to come in with bullet points in order. I realized in the earlier episodes that if the conversation with me rather than me having a normal conversation, I'd be like, “What did you think about this?”
You changed the subject. It's because you have to stick to that.
I did the same exact thing. I quickly found out. I was like, “I'm shooting myself in the foot. My OCD brain would not let me skip a bullet point.” After ten minutes, I'd be like, it would be the hardest turn. I wanted to go back to this.
The studio is all my OCD kicked in. We all have OCD. If you're a roadie and you say you don't have OCD, you are a fucking liar. Every single one of them does.
Do you have trips coming up? I don't know if you're ever allowed to say who or what.
I got finished with the Foo Fighters. I had an epic September 2023. I was doing some stuff with the Foo Fighters. I never got to see them because I left early to go elk hunting. That was cool. That was with a company that I don't want to name because I'll probably get hate for working for them. They're not a well-liked company in the tech world, but it was good for me. I did that in San Francisco. It was the last big one.
I can say this out loud because there are no named artists. Sometimes, the artists get weird. You have to sign NDAs. The artists don't want it known that they're doing private parties. Sometimes, I can mention them. Sometimes, I can't. I'm maybe doing some stuff in Vegas with Formula 1. That is what I don't want to do, but if I have to, I'll go do it.
That would be badass. I've never been to a race.
If it was MotoGP, I'd be on board. Have you ever been to one of those?
I've never been to any race. I've been to drag races at Bandimere back in the day, the dragsters, but I've never been to one of those. I don't watch racing at all. I've heard they're awesome to go to.
It depends on the race for me. I used to work for Monster Energy and Red Bull. I've been to air races. Those were dope. That’s where they fly like the planes to the pylons. Motorcycle races are the best. Whether it's like motocross, it is fucking one of the best sports you can watch live.
I've been to motocross in Supercross.
Supercross is awesome. Did you have a good time?
I had a buddy. Do you know Mike Henderson?
I know the name.
He was riding for Supercross last time they were here in Denver at the Mile High.
That's the big league. That's the NFL of motocross.
I went for the day and watched. It was nice weather sitting out there and watching him. It was cool.
Those are epic. That's how I know Bates and made connections with Bito. That's how Bates met his wife, Diana. It was through Supercross. We used to do that all together. We did the entire tour. We would go all around the country setting up activations and going to the races. I had the best time with the racers.
I don't understand any of that. Mikey has enlightened me on some of it, cardio, strength, and all that it takes. When you're the outside looking in, you're thinking when I used to here and there watching racing or friends racing, and I'd be like, “I'll come chill and drink beer.” We'll watch it. They'd be talking about all the ins and outs. I was like, “You're in a car. Turn left.” I got into more of being an athlete and having friends explain the g-force, neck, and switching positions. There are so many inner workings that if you are new to it, you don't even understand, like the jockeying for position.
There's so much inner workings that if you are new to racing, you don't even understand.
I want to pretend to explain it, but motocross is intense. That's where I was going because I've been to NASCAR events and Baja a bunch of times. As a spectator, the best one to watch is Supercross because you're sitting in a football stadium, and you can see the entire track, passes, and every wreck if you're paying attention. It's fucking epic.
If you go to the Baja, and sometimes the start line is in Ensenada, and the finish line is in Cabo, you don't see anything other than the trucks taking off and coming back with no fenders. Some of the bigger teams, like BJ Baldwins, have chase helicopters. A lot of times, they'll throw a camera on those. You can see their pit stops or if they're in a ditch. That's a wild ass race.
Is that in cars?
It's in trophy trucks. If I was going to race one thing, that would be fucking it.
I know what trophy trucks are. I love to drive one of those.
I got to ride one time while working from Monster. It was a bucket list for me. I had a boner the whole time. I don't get excited about much.
Those things are amazing. I know what they are. I'm not a big car person, but I know what trophy trucks are.
They're a $5 million truck. They're 900 horsepower. We were doing 120. That was a crawling speed through the desert. We're coming up on these ravines that are 6-foot drop-offs. You don't even feel it. They're pumping oxygen because of all the dust. It's fed oxygen. You're on this oxygen high while you're in this truck. It's like going to an oxygen bar. You're doing 120 miles an hour.
You're not relaxed.
It was so rad. It was a two-minute ride.
I have a buddy who does a Baja thing for motocross. He was telling me he had gotten offered to do one of the races where it was a team race, but he said, “I'm out.” I was like, “Why? That seems like it'd be cool.”
There are dudes that die.
This needs to be verified, but this is telephone word of mouth. He was saying, “There are people who will put pits and stuff out there.” He said something with the cartel because if the race happens, who knows if it's through one of their drug-running zones. They'll put a pit where you'll be riding full speed and fall a hole or kill yourself. He was saying there are human-made obstacles that will be there.
They're trying to sabotage this truck. That's why they honestly come back with no fenders and shit. They're going through the desert. Shit is going to rip off. These trucks come back almost a frame. If they do get stuck, the locals go out and fucking rip the fender off. It's Mexico. You're in the middle of the desert, and they're out there. They purposely dig pits and shit. They can go get a piece of the truck. These crazy fucks are running with the bulls in Spain and will run out onto the track. There's a bunch of people that die that they don't talk about.
I've seen those videos. I call that natural selection.
It was wild. I was there with Monster. I'm sure Bates was with me. I don't know if he went down to this, but the main dude from Monster came to me. He was like, “There's this stunt that we're trying to pull off as a promo.” We go down. I built this ramp for this guy with a forklift. They came to me. They were like, “The heavy equipment didn't come through. Can we drive our forklift down there?” I was like, “This is a warehouse forklift.” It is at the bottom of this river flat. I was like, “It's not going to drive in dirt.”
They're not built for off-road.
It was a stunt where he was supposed to land on his wheels. We drug the forklift down there as far as we could get it. I'm telling him, “You guys got to go to Home Depot and buy some plywood so we can drive to get the forklift set up. We're going to have to drive on plywood. There's no way.” Look at all the people who showed up for this. They started ripping houses apart. We could get the forklift to where we needed to go. This is the type of shit we were doing down in Baja. There are no rules. It was so much fun. It was fucking awesome. This was a day before the race or the night before. It’s a party.
Is this guy racing or not?
No, he was there doing the stunt.
I was going to say, “What if you're set to race, and he gets fucked?”
Ken Block would show up. They had like a radar gun to see how fast he was going. They kept timing it because you have to be going the exact speed to flip it. I got to do so much cool shit in racing. As a spectator, this is probably something I would go and watch again.
I'll go to any sporting event.
NASCAR and Formula 1 are boring. MotoGP, on the other hand, is fucking incredible. It's the Formula 1 of superbikes. It's unbelievable what these guys do. Their wheels won't even be touching the ground, and they're still turning in the air and gripping. I don't understand the physics. It's mind over matter type shit.
What's crazy is if you go to Camozzi.com because we're all related one way or another. It's not a super common name, but there's an entire international company. They're in big racing like Formula 1. I always used to try to get them to sponsor me. I'm like, “We got the same name.”
I've always tried to get Marshall Amps because of the industry that I'm in, especially when I worked with Slayer because it was nothing but a wall of Marshall Amps. I was like, “You guys got to at least hook me up with some shirts or something.”
I don't know anything about racing, but some of it's cool. I would go to a NASCAR one. Do you know the Isle of Man? Have you heard that?
I have been there. It was a bucket list. I finished the tour. We timed it right. We got over there and got it hosted by these amazing people because it's impossible to go as a spectator.
I have to hook you up with another guy who would be great to have on here. He's the BKFC photographer now. I've known him since I was a kid. Oddly enough, I'm in BKFC, and he's the photographer because he used to do a lot of UFC stuff, but he used to go to the Isle of Man every year and be the photographer for them. He would get hired by them. He has some crazy stories about being there with the lenses and getting the wrecks.
I want to talk to him.
He lives here. Remind me when we get off.
I have a little bit of a photography background in the music industry. It's opened some doors. The motorcycle community has embraced me, whether it was clubs or whoever to shoot for them. I shot some for Monster at Supercross. I got invited to the Barber Museum. It's outside of Talladega Raceway, but it's a motorcycle museum. It's awesome.
They have everything from steam motorcycles to the first lawnmower made up to present-day motorcycles. They have all these old Harleys and Indians. They have this bike in there. It's a Velocette. It's the only motorcycle that's won the Isle of Man twice. It's there on display. It is fucking beautiful. I'll show you some pictures of it when we get off. It's like 1936 and 1937 back to back. It might've been 1936 and 1938.
It's been going on that long.
It's wild.
I didn't even know what the Isle of Man was. His name is Phil Lambert. He's been a photographer all over the place. He was telling me one time that he had the Isle of Man coming up. I felt bad because he was like, “I got this.” I was like, “What's that?” He sent me 2 or 3 videos. I was like, “Holy shit.” He's like, “1 to 3 or 4 people die every year racing this thing.”
That’s crazy because it is a superbike race where they're doing 220 to 260 miles an hour in certain parts of the trip. There are cobblestone walls. If you crash, you die. It's the same thing as the Baja. You have to go through certain checkpoints on the roads. There are those assholes that get drunk enough and are Irish. They're like Mexican heritage. They get a little bit crazy. They'll try to run out in front of bikes. It's crazy to be sitting on a balcony, and you hear the things coming like a bumblebee. You can't even try to fathom. They go by like a blur. It's something out of your peripheral. It's so rad.
People think fighting is crazy. I look at stuff like that, bull riding, and Supercross. My buddy who does Supercross was like, “You're crazy for doing this.” I'm like, “You're crazy for flying 80 feet in the air on a machine at full speed and doing tricks and all these crazy things.” I'll fight ten people before I get on a bull or animal that doesn't speak the same language, that's pissed off, and trying to fuck you up, or like the machines. One part's riding it. The other part is like, “What happens when you wreck or fall off?”
Bare Knuckle Fighting: I'll fight ten people before I'll get on a bull. Animals don’t speak the same language. When it’s pissed off, it will mess you up.
Do you know who's even crazier than the actual riders? Those are the bullfighters. They're rodeo clowns. There's a difference. I've been corrected, but I've been talking to some of those guys to come on. We've had a pro rodeo photographer on my buddy who lives here in town, Mike Pintar. Shout out. He’s amazing. He's out in the arena with these 2,000-pound animals that are trying to fuck or kill anything that they see.
How have we not come up with a better thing than that with technology? I've been to a holographic Michael Jackson concert before and a Tupac one. You can't put a hologram person in there and let the bull chase that. A real person being out there.
That's a great point, a projected bullfighter.
Technology has come far enough that I would rather shoot a pistol in the ground and scare that thing off.
The argument could be made. Why couldn't you do that bare-knuckle fighting? It's that tough guy. These dudes are rock stars. They're that fucking drinking, fighting, loving cowboys.
Those guys get no love. The sport is riding the bull. The rodeo clowns, or whatever you call them, get nothing. They don't even make that much money. They don't make what they should make.
They are making maybe $100,000 a year.
There are 1 million other ways I could make $100,000 a year.
I don't know. I don't want to speak for them. It's gone up for every professional sport, especially when you start getting these larger companies involved. Even the top fifteen guys in the world don't make it. I'm sure it's six figures, but it's not what you would think you would for the amount of risk.
They're not even the stars. They don't get the recognition that they should. That should be a sport in itself. It should be two sports at once. Bull rider falls off, and which clown can survive? I don't know. Give them some recognition.
They have a thing called Bullfighters Only. It's where they turn a bull loose in the pin. It's a one-on-one thing. These guys get judged on points. They have to do tricks. These guys are running across their back and doing backflips off the bull. Look up Blake Miller on Instagram. This guy has the sickest videos. He is this country boy from Texas. He got some amazing shit. This is him rescuing somebody. Shout out to Blake. He's been cool. Look at this shit. You don't have to do that. You're not getting paid extra for that.
I hope he makes millions of dollars because that's wild.
How we connected is my buddy Mike Pintar was on, and he came up in conversation. I started making fun of him. There was something about his hair. He hit me back like he was ready to kick my ass. I was like, “Take it easy. I was joking.” We've become friends through that. He is like, “You didn't have to dig on the hair.
I grew up with some guys I went to high school with who all like cowboys and rope bulls. On weekend nights, we'd go down, and I'd watch him ride bulls. We went down to the chutes. One buddy had a ranch. His dad did. They had bulls. I remember one of my friends rode one. He's like, “You're next.” I was like, “I'm not getting on that fucking thing. No chance at all.” Being in the chutes and hearing those things. The cowboys are getting on it, and the thing is pissed. Even being in the shoot outside of the metal thing, I was like, “I'm good.”
Those guys are crazy. Gabby, look up one more. Michael Pintar or Pintar Photography. This dude takes the most amazing photos. Check out some of the photos that he gets of these horses. Do you know catching athletes in motion?
That's a badass photo.
That's a cool photo, but that's not even a good one. There are some fucking wild photos like this. These aren't even that wild. He's got some crazy ones. The horses are completely upside down.
I would rather they tell me like, “You're going to fight ten people.” We'll see how it goes. I would do that before that.
I'm with you. I'd rather get in the ring, but if you ask a lot of these guys, they're comfortable with it. They can predict what these animals are going to do.
It's all that you get used to.
This guy is fucking amazing. He lives right here. He is a super cool guy. Look at how high that bull is off the ground. That's like 6 to 8 feet in the air. That's insane. The thing is moving like a cat.
They should superimpose that in the sky. If I was good at technology, I could have all that.
The photo is good. It looks like it's superimposed. The dirt is flying. It looks like the stars. He's such a badass photographer. That’s what he does. He's a rodeo photographer, and that's his gig. He's got some fucking stories to tell. Let me tell you. He’s awesome. We were talking about going into getting fanboyed. I don't know if I told you this. I told you Bert Kreischer is in town.
I went down to the local coffee shop to grab a coffee. I walked out of the coffee shop, and I almost ran right into him. My first words were like, “What the fuck?” I was thrown off like I was going to get a coffee. I didn't expect to see him. I knew he was in town. I was like, “I DMed you.” I’m like a piece of shit, but I dropped your name. I was like, “Stop by the studio.” I'm going to check the DMs right now and see.
He's hilarious. I've been a fan of that guy for a long time. Are you going to the show?
I don't know. I reached out to my connections. They said they couldn't do anything for me. Bert, this will air long before you're gone. There is no DM back. He was like, “This guy is a fucking psycho.”
You should've torn your shirt off.
I should've got more crazy. I hate fanboying people. I didn't take the time. I was like, “I’m a big fan. I have a podcast studio.” How many times has he heard that?
There is one thing. I listen to his Bertcast and 2 Bears, 1 Cave. It's funny because he'll tell stories about him fanboying over people. It's part of the game.
He was cool. He was like, “What's up?” He was exactly like what you would expect. He took the time to meet me and shake my hand. He wasn't a germaphobe. He had his wife with him. Shout out to LeeAnn. She was super cool. I talked with her for a brief second, but I didn't want to stop him. I felt like they were waking up. I was rolling out of the coffee shop.
Do you see his bus around here? I know he always talks about how he gets a bus with his face on it.
I don't know. It could be parked somewhere here in town. I know he loves Evergreen. Gabby, would you mind hooking Chris up with some ice? Do you want ice on the rocks?
Yeah.
Jeremy has been drinking me out of whiskey. This is how I paid Jeremy.
We'll do the Basil Hayden.
There's some Irish whiskey here.
I got to go with the Irish one.
We got this Conor McGregor bullshit that nobody drinks.
I don't think it's terrible.
We got plenty of whiskeys, Chris.
I'm more of an Irish whiskey person. I like the Buffalo Trace. There are some Kentucky-like bourbons.
That's good Irish whiskey.
I don't know if I've ever had this one.
It's not what you would typically think. It's a little bit oaky, but it was gifted to me, and I like it. I've been on a tequila kick. All I drink is tequila.
I don't discriminate. I don't drink it all, but it was in Ireland. That was cool.
Was that for Whitney's fight?
Yeah. I don't remember how many months ago that was, but it was cool. I'd never been to Ireland and I went to Dublin.
Did she win her last fight?
Yeah. She killed it. That was cool.
You snagged a good one. The other night was the first night where I sat down and talked to her for a minute because I didn't get a chance to meet her before. She's a cool lady.
She's down to earth.
Good job on you, Whitney, to corner this dude.
You're lucky. She lucked out.
We got to get Whitney in here. I'd love to talk to her at some point.
She would come out anytime. She is the best. We went to Dublin for her fight, and it was a blast. I've never been to Ireland. I've been to a lot of Europe and all over the world, but Ireland never happened. My grandma came from Northern Ireland. That was cool. I didn't get to go to Northern Ireland, but it was still cool to go and see it.
It's different.
It is, but I like the style of it.
I got called out by knifepoint there one night. I’m going in between bars. It was badass. Go ahead and finish your story first.
I didn't have a story. It was like all the people were nice. I was at McGregor's gym. That's where we were training. John Kavanagh was super welcoming. He's like, “Anything you guys need, come use the gym anytime.” My buddy Richie Smullen, who fights for Bellator, is out of that gym. The hospitality was insane. I wish I could say I would do the same, but Richie would be like, “Let me know your schedule. This is how we do things here.”
He would be waiting out in front of the hotel. I was like, “You're not our chauffeur. You don't have to do this.” He's like, “I know.” I even left money in his cup holder and glove box once. He ran back into the hotel, gave it to me, and was like, “I'm not taking your fucking money.” I'm like, “You got to take something.” We were trying to buy him shoes and clothes. One day, we went shopping, and he's like, “I'll take you.” We’re like, “Let us buy you something.” He's like, “No.” It was every single day.
There's something about some of those older school cultures. It's a sign of respect that they don't want to take anything from you. It's a way to honor whoever you're with that you genuinely care about them because I've had the same thing happen to me where I've tried to slip $100 to a bartender. He's like, “No, fuck you. You guys are fucking great. You're welcome back anytime. This one is for me.”
There's something about those old-school cultures where it's almost like it’s a sign of respect that they don't want to take anything from you.
I was like, “If you ever come to the US, I'm going to have to clear my schedule and make sure that I take you everywhere and do whatever.” He ended up going to Long Island to Weidman's gym for a couple of weeks. Luckily, I used to do camps out there. I talked to all of them and got him set up. I felt a little bit better. The hospitality was nuts.
After her fight, one of the jiu-jitsu coaches, this guy Gustavo at the gym, was like, “I'm the head of security at this place.” He had a table for us. I tried tipping him. He's like, “Get your money out of my fucking face.” He is a big-ass Brazilian guy. I'm like, “Let me give you something.” He's like, “No.” All the people were cool. I got to see the nice part of Dublin. One of the kids from the gym was from where the crime family lives out there. He's like, “Do you want to see the other side of Dublin?’
It's South Dublin.
I don't know if it was South. They called it The Flats. He's like, “You can come through here with me.” He grew up there. That's where he lives. Walking through, he knew everybody. Have you ever seen The Wire?
Yes.
It felt like walking in that complex. Even Richie, the guy with us, is friends with him. He was like, “Can I park my car here?” He was like, “Yeah, that's fine. I'll make sure it's good.” You could see him look up because The Flats were three stories.
It's like that scene from Training Day going into Watts.
He was like, “Your car will be fine.” Richie was like if I'm not with him, they'll take the wheels and everything off my car. It's a local tight community. He walked us through there and was showing us around. I got to see all the different parts, which was cool.
I had a buddy when I lived in LA that I worked with that lived in Watts. I had to drive him home a couple of times. It was a similar situation where you go through a certain part of the neighborhood. You end up on these streets, and everybody on their porch is fucking glaring at you.
They know who's coming in and out.
They see Chewy get out, and they're like, “Okay, he's cool.”
Normally, I don't care. I'm like, “What do we do, get jumped?” I'm with Whitney. I'm like, “How bad is this?” He's like, “Don't worry. You'd be fine.” His whole family is from there. His parents lived there. He had known everybody since he was a baby. He was walking around waving to people like, “What's up?”
It's awesome when you meet locals like that. That's what I was telling Bert. I was like, “I'm a local. I grew up here. If you guys want to go check some shit out, let's go check some shit out.” My first experience in Ireland, I've had a lot. I'm fortunate to be able to travel with rock bands. With some of the bands that I did later on in my career, I had multiple days off in a city. I would get to go experience.
I have a Jameson bottle at home that has my name printed on it. It says Marshall instead of Jameson, which is cool. I’m touring the factories and going to the Guinness factory and all these different little whiskey distilleries. The next time you're there, you got to go to Terrell O'Connell. There's a cool backstory behind it. It's a great Irish whiskey. If you can find it here in the States, it's $50 a bottle, and it's fucking superb.
I'm going to have to look for that. I like Irish whiskey.
We went to Northern Ireland for the first time. We were in Belfast. We were rehearsing there. We were there for ten days. It was either Rihanna or Kanye I was with. I was with my boys. I'd been through Northern Ireland a couple of times, but it was a show in and out. Nobody ever rehearses there. Kanye was crazy enough to be like, “Let's rehearse here. It's cheap.”
We're there and letting loose at night because it was a day gig. You get all your shit set up. The rehearsals are during the day, and you're out by 8:00 or 9:00. We were out. Let's go party. The first bar that we go to is the oldest bar in Ireland. It was called the King's Tavern. We walked in. It was three California kids and a Colorado kid. We sit down at the bar. We're like, “We'll take some Irish car bombs.”
The place was silent. The guy was like, “What the fuck did you say?” It was this younger guy behind the bar. Here comes the guy's dad out of the back and the grandfather. It was a family-owned bar. Everybody in the family was the bartender. They're like, “You're not from around here, are you? What are you asking for?” I was like, “No, we're from wherever.” We’re young and ignorant. I didn't even know the history between the Protestants, the Catholics, and that whole thing.
Apparently, where this bar is at, there's a wall. It's the most bombed bar in Ireland that we went in and asked for fucking car bombs. It didn't go over that well, but they were polite enough to explain it to us because they knew that we were a bunch of fucking idiots. It was crazy in the bar. There were four of us. The most amount they would let you congregate is in groups of three. They had dividers like these blinders at the bar. Every booth was completely boxed off. It was a private box that the waiters were going in and out of. You can't start shit with other patrons that are in there.
Richie was saying, “Belfast is Ireland-Ireland.” He was telling us all about it. It was cool because he lived there his whole life. His entire family, generation after generation, was from there. He was telling us about the IRA and all these things that I didn't know a lot about either. He was caught up on it. He was telling me how his uncle was one of the high-ups of the old IRA. He was like, “He was the first one convicted to life in prison. He was one of the first ones they let out when the IRA made a deal with the government to ceasefire.” His uncle got out of prison and is out. He was like, “There's the old IRA and younger version that doesn't have the same.” They were freedom fighters in the old days.
That other side of Northern Ireland is what I experienced because we were politely asked to leave the bar after they served us a beer.
They gave you a little hospitality.
They were like, “If you want to party, go to the nightclub. There's a difference between bars and nightclubs here. “Imagine the bar, Sonny, like a library. Shut the fuck up and drink your drink.” Nobody talks in there. You walk into these bars, and you can hear a pin drop. People are in there to have a drink, relax, reflect, and read a book. It's like a coffee shop. It's crazy, but the nightclubs are the exact opposite. It is full-on young kids getting completely hammered.
We go to this nightclub. The bartender was like, “My friend told me that you guys were coming through. Do you guys want to get fucked up?” We're like, “Yeah, let's go.” He's like, “Have you ever tried absinthe?” We had no idea. This was fucking a long time ago. We started drinking this shit, and it was a wild night, but we ended up getting chased out of the bar by some anti-freedom people that were in the bar. They were these young kids. They were hammered, and fucking had knives. We're threatening to stab it and kill us. We're like, “We're good. We'll leave now.” We went back the next night.
Ireland has great food. We were in London before that. London is not my favorite. I've been there five times. It's okay.
Ireland has great food and great everything.
There's only one cool thing that I got to experience there. I've been there a bunch. I’d you have Indian food while you were there?
I did.
It's the bomb. It's good. I got sick of going to London with all these bands. It wasn't my thing.
It doesn't feel like there's as much culture there. It's expensive. I don't know. The food I had everywhere was not that great.
Get the fuck out of here with your runny ketchup.
They would only do medium or above on steaks.
Do you know where I ate the whole time that we always stayed in London? I would go to Whole Foods.
I didn't even see Whole Foods.
There's a Whole Foods not far from where we would stay all the time. It wasn't far from the Royal Albert Hall. That was a cool spot to go into. If you've never seen a concert there, that's a dope venue.
I don't think I've ever been to an international concert. I've been to UFC events and fought on them in Brazil and Sweden, but never in a concert. Never as a fan, which would be a whole different experience. I want to go to a soccer or a rugby game in one of those countries.
I've been to a couple of soccer games over there. I've been through a city after a soccer game where I've seen hooligans destroy riot trucks and police. They're next level. Do you think Raiders fans are bad? That is completely the next level of fucking craziness.
When I was in Sweden, I was in Stockholm singing. They called it Old Town Stockholm. It's a cool area. Some of the buildings are from the Vikings. There is a cobblestone road. I was there fighting in the UFC. My coaches and team and I went through the Old Town. We were shopping and buying gifts for people. We noticed the bars were rowdy. None of us fall into soccer.
We're coming down this street and going back to the hotel. There's a line of police, and they're like, “Who are you with?” I was like, “These guys.” The cop goes, “You're American.” I was like, “Yeah.” He goes, “Go ahead. Go past him.” I was like, “Why should I not go there? You guys are lined up here. Am I walking into some horrible shit?” He's like, “Football match, mate.” They were keeping the Dutch separate because it was the semi-finals.
They'll kill each other.
It was the Dutch and Sweden. I was like, “Are you sure it's cool?” He's like, “You'll be fine.” I'm with two other UFC fighters. Everything we're like, “Why are you here? Why are you blocking this off?” We end up going. We get to the end of the alley. On the other side, there are two bars. It was all people in the Dutch soccer shirts. They're rowdy as fuck. You can tell the logos on our shirts. Everything is different. We were able to walk through. It was crazy because the cops were in riot gear and stuff. When he was like, “Go ahead.” I was like, “I don't know if I want to. What's another way to go? This doesn't make sense. What if I told you I was with somebody?”
I've never been in the middle of it, but I've been in some crazy shit. South America gets fucking wild over their soccer and Brazil. Some of those spots are fucking insane. In Argentina, the craziest thing I've ever experienced concert-wise was AC/DC. It was fucking epic. It was badass. They were old dudes. We're talking like a borderline geriatric.
They were there when the album came out. You mean the band.
That city still went off like devil horns and topless chicks. It was fucking epic. It is a huge stadium. They are climbing shit. They shouldn't have been at the top of the stadium and jumping. I'm sure people died. They had to have broken backs. People are climbing fucking light poles. This is outside the venue. This isn't even in the concert while it's happening.
They didn't get in. They're tailgating.
I went down to Miami and recorded with a good friend of mine. We've done a lot of rock and roll stuff together. I recorded with him. He's done some epic shit. He was a rigger on that show. He's done gigs. He's done Red Hot Chili Peppers at the pyramids in Egypt. He's had a badass career.
When I fought in Brazil, because I fought down there a few times, it's crazy because they're nationalistic. I was flown there for the UFC. You're fighting versus Brazilian. Luckily, one of my coaches through those was Brazilian. He lived in Rio, but he used to come here for training camps for me. He was well known there. His brother is a famous jiu-jitsu guy. One of their most famous guys, Daniel Moraes, is his name. Diego was my coach, his younger brother. When I went there, he was like, “I got you. You come with me. Keep your wallet away. Don't bring anything out. We'll settle up after.” He showed me the whole hustle of everything if you're American.
I met some cool people down there.
It was wild watching because I always went shopping with the team. You're cutting weight. What else are you going to do besides sit in the hotel room? He would go with us and start screaming at people in Portuguese. He’s like, “I'm Brazilian. Give me Brazilian price, not White price.” I found out until we met up with him that I was paying triple for everything.
It isn't that much in the US dollar. You're like, “That's a good deal.”
There were tons of times when I was like, “What'd they say?” He's like, “Don't worry about it.” Luckily, I don't speak the language, but he seemed angry about certain things.”
Were you guys in São Paulo or Rio?
In Rio. I fought in Jaraguá do Sul.
I don't think I've ever been there.
My coach, when I signed that fight, he was like, “Where the fuck is that?” I was like, “You're a Brazilian?” He goes, “I never heard of it.” He looked it up. He flew in on a dirt runway. All the guys fighting each other are on one plane.
Was this a UFC fight?
Yeah. There's one plane in and one plane out.
What security do they have for you guys when you travel like that?
They have a decent amount. It depends on what you do. You got to let them know what you're going to do. When I was in Rio, I partnered with an orphanage. I went and did a seminar, but it was in the Favela. Have you ever seen City of God?
Yeah.
We went in there, and I told the UFC about it. I was like, “I'm going to do this seminar.” They're like, “Let us coordinate this.” It ended up cooler for the orphanage because it wasn't me just going. It was Shogun, Jose Aldo, and Weidman. That was where I first met Weidman. Machida was there. The UFC got all these guys to come do it. At the hotel leaving, the Chief of Police met us. These guys are SWATed out. They're all carrying AKs. They have armored vehicles.
That's the Federal police there.
They don’t have the same laws at all. They'll shoot. The VP for the UFC was with me, Reed Harris. He asked the police chief. He's like, “How safe is it where we're going?” The police chief was like, “It's safe. A few months ago, we kicked down all the doors, and we killed all the drug dealers.” They went through and mass murdered these people. I found this out later. We come to find out. In the orphanage we went to, half the kids were orphans because their parents were drug dealers in Favela. They were killed by the police. The police ended up taking us in armored cars. They pull up.
We are fortunate in the US. That's the biggest thing I've realized in traveling, and maybe you too. Our freedoms, what we have, and the freedom to buy, even the price of things are moderate. I know shit is expensive. There are other countries that are cheap, but it comes with an inherent risk. There's a risk that comes with the price of what you're paying. When you go down into Mexico, and you're fucking buying $0.10 beers, there's a reason why you're buying $0.10 beers. The cartel could roll through and cut your head off at one point. That is an issue. It could happen.
It was a cool experience because I feel like Weidman and I were not the only ones but a few Americans or White people have gone in there because it was in the heart of it. It was this big stone structure that looked like a fortress, like a prison. That was the orphanage. It was a sports complex for kids that were orphans. They got given like gi for jiu-jitsu and all this cool stuff.
We got to spend the day hanging out with all these kids, doing this fun stuff, and leaving. We came in and out in armored vehicles. They had people out front while we were there. It was good. If I didn't tell the UFC, I was going to go do it. I’m like, “Am I getting an Uber? I'll be there soon. Can I take an Uber there?” It’s the same thing. You come through, and everybody is looking. People are out. These are tin shacks. Half of them aren't real houses.
Some of them don't even have running water.
It was the Favela from City of God. As you're going through them, we're going through SUVs. All these people, kids, and babies are out looking like, “What is going on?” You get in. They're like, “Go. Get in the building.”
I've had some experiences like that with rock bands. They don't go into the Favela and do a charity event, but dealing with some of the security, there have been certain times when I've had a sought-after shotgun on my forehead. I’m going to get a cup of coffee. I was like, “I'm still trying to wake up. What the fuck did I do?” You happened to be the closest thing to something going down.
I've been on the security team for bands and stuff like that before. There's way more that goes into it than people realize. The security guys will make the advances. They'll drive the routes. They'll have alternative routes. I've worked in stadiums and shitty places. The idea behind it is if you plan well enough, there are no problems. I've been the driver. A passenger guy was holding a gun. You get out. You have alternative routes and different exits. We used to have to memorize the doors.
Being on the security team for bands and stuff like that, there's way more that goes into it than people realize.
I always worked hand in hand with the security detail because I was the stage manager. Even in the venue that you're in, there's a certain walk. Even at the UFC, you have to go down a certain bomb. You have to turn a certain way. There needs to be security details set up. Even if they have access, the popcorn guy could be a fucking serial killer. You don't know.
The security levels of different people are crazy.
It comes down to those badges that you wear. They have holograms, fucking chips in them now, and all kinds of crazy shit to recognize legitimate. Are you a crew person or a threat?
I've worked events in big stadiums. I won't say which ones. I don't want to sell it out. The team I worked with was like, “No chance. We're not carrying a gun.” That's why we're here. The boss was like, “Every metal detector you come around, walk around it. Don't even look back. Keep walking like you know where you're going.”
What scares me is I know firsthand that I could walk into any event that I wanted to backstage. Maybe it's because I look the part and I always wear black.
It's how you act.
It's your confidence. These people that they pay to do the upfront security, the people that you meet in the yellow jackets.
They are making $7 to $8 an hour in their side job. You'd be surprised. I shouldn't even say that. You'd be surprised how many places you can walk in if you don't look at anybody. You walk fast, and your dress is nice. You walk around. You keep walking in a hurry like you know where you're going. How many of them will be like, “He must work here.”
It's about having that presence.
We used to do that all the time. We’re like, “Don't go through the metal detector. We're not supposed to carry here. The line would be here. You cut between the security guy and the metal detector.”
I'm not going to lie. It happened to us at BKFC. Maybe I shouldn't even be calling this out, but I'm rolling with some fucking savages. I was the least savage in the group of guys that I was with going to watch your fight. They hit me up because I don't think any of those guys had been to an event or a BKFC. I went to the previous one.
They're like, “Are there metal detectors?” I was like, “Yeah. The last time I went, they had metal detectors. I don't know with the table we got if we're going to have to go through them or not.” They're like, “I got to go to the truck and dump some shit.” We wait, and we walk in. They waved us through. We didn't even have to go through the metal detectors because of who I was with. They were like, “You're good. Here are your wristbands.” No questions asked. No scan a ticket.
It's funny. I did the same thing. I wasn't late, but I was later than I was supposed to be. In the back, they even ran the fighter through the metal detector. I told my brother. He was with me. I was like, “Follow me.” We walk in the door. The metal detector and guards are there. There was no line. There was nobody there. I passed through the metal. I didn't even go through the metal detector. They looked through your bag. I had nothing in there. They were going to make me empty everything. I'm like, “I'm running late.” We walked between and didn't say a word. There were three people in that area.
We probably shouldn't be telling everybody about this.
I have my backpack. It looks like I have a bunch of shit. I also was in a sweatsuit. I had already had my badge, but instead of going through where they checked all the fighters, I walked to the side.
They're probably stoned at how handsome you were.
I was like, “I walked between.” I heard you're good in the back. I was like, “I know.” I already knew where I was going anyway. I walked through the door. It was funny and scary at the same time. You act like you know where you're going.
We've had security problems with some of the bands, especially when you start working for a diva. That's where it becomes a problem because there are literal sociopaths out there that, whatever they want to do, get close to them. When I worked for Rihanna, we had all these moving parts on the stage. It was a huge production. I was one of her main operators for all these hydraulic equipment. We had 30-foot round turntables that would spin while she was on it with a piano. It would lift up and down at the same time.
It is a logistical nightmare.
There's a guy on a headset calling the show. You're on a headset. You have to be at certain spots. There are wardrobe changes. It is a totally rehearsed show. That's what it is when you get to a Taylor Swift or Madonna. It's an entirely rehearsed show. You're going to be amazed. There's magician shit type going on where we have trolley systems underneath the stage where you throw her on a skateboard, and you guys are rolling down underneath the stage to get to another part where she's going to pop up. She flies away on a fucking rigging thing, and you have to meet her down below. It's wild. I was dead at the end of the show. I’m covered in sweat.
The workers are the ones running everywhere to make it happen.
The artists do. Rihanna was badass. She worked her ass off during that show. We had all kinds of bullshit like fucking a three-quarter scale, like a hot pink tank that shot like fucking smoke rings, or some that were hard. The stage was crazy, but I had one deal where I was running a lift for her to go up. All of a sudden, I saw this leg come shooting through. I almost cut it off. It's not like a thing that you can emergency stop or shut off. I slowed it down. I pinched this leg in it.
It was one of the security guards because we had a stage jumper who jumped on stage. They came from all angles. These dudes are all from the special operations community. These were some bad motherfuckers that worked for her. If I would purposely try to sabotage them during the day after we would get done loading and I’d be hiding down a hallway and try to jump out and wrestle them, they would make me blind in a couple of minutes through pressure points.
I know a few of them because I got offered to work for her before. I know a group of guys that do work hard.
Do you know Steve Sullivan?
It sounds familiar.
He is a big Irish and a former Marine. He was the Head of Security for Warped Tour for many years.
That's not who I'm thinking of.
He reminds me of Walter from Big Lebowski.
It's a small community. You'd be surprised.
I'm sure we know some of the same people like the divas.
That was the thing that I'd run into sometimes.
Are you still doing any of that?
I do it on and off.
Is it if the money is right?
Yes, money and time. Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's not. It depends on who it is. The full-time guys, I have a ton of respect for them. Being a full-time VP bodyguard means you don't live your own life. Some of these people have more money than they know what to do with. If you're a full-time and they're like, “Let's go to France,” you're like, “When, now?”
You have to leave your bags packed. Some of the contracts I signed with artists as a stage manager were like if they decide, “We're in Abu Dhabi, but we're going to go do Good Morning America,” you're getting on a fucking private jet, and you're not going to be able to sleep because you have the worst seat. You might not even have a seat. You might be lying in the aisle.
That's if you get to fly private. Some of them will not do that. “You'll fly commercial. Be there before me. Be there to pick me up. Get the SUV in the town. Get to the private airport, pick them up, and have all their shit. You're like a babysitter. It is the full time I never do. I've been fortunate enough. In the jobs that I do, I'm like, “I don't need the money.” If anybody's too bad, I'm like, “Fuck you. I'm out. I don't need this shit. I've never done that.” The word gets around. It's a small community. If you get booted, you're not getting hired at most places.
It depends. There's a bunch of shitbags out there. It's all aspects.
There are people in those industries that are recognized as being difficult to work with.
I worked for Lil Wayne for a long time during Tha Carter albums. He was one of the better artists and one of the most likable people I worked for the entire time. For the rest of his entourage, I would've liked to whoop all their asses back when Drake was a little kid because they were always in the way. They were always a pain in the ass. It fucking sucked.
Most of what I've run into is the worst people to deal with are not the stars but the friends because they have a giant sense of entitlement. When I was hired, it’s like, “I don't work for you. I work for him or her. I understand you're a friend. You get some respect.” If they're like, “Go get me this,” you're like, “There are times I won't even acknowledge you. I don't fucking work for you. Who are you?”
The worst people to deal with are not the stars but the friends, because they have a giant sense of entitlement.
The problem with being personal protection is you almost fall into an assistant role. They are like, “I need more ice for my drink.” That's not what your job is there for. I loved it because my buddy would embrace it. He was Gaga's personal protection for a long time, and Billy Eilish and Rihanna. He did all these super divas. He's this 300-pound Irish dude with a tattooed neck. He’s a scary individual. You would see him rolling through an airport. I was working for a different band at the time, but he would be holding Gaga's purse. He’s proud to be carrying that shit and walking a fucking Pomeranian or some bullshit.
I'm lucky enough. It's not a ton, but the team of guys that I work with for the boss is understanding. He's done it his whole life. He does it full-time. He would always tell us, “This person's tough to deal with. This person is not.” He would always say, “You're nobody's bitch. You have one job. You're the one here carrying a gun. You're the one here. Security is your main job.”
“I don't give a fuck if they ask you to hold their bag. I don't care if it's the main person we're working for to ask you to carry it. If you are not able to do your job and carry that bag, tell them no. If they have a problem with it, I'll deal with it. Put it on me.” He has been around tons of celebrities. He had a direct way of being like, “He works for me. I told him to do this.” He would take the fall. He was a good boss. I wish I could name him, but I can't. Having people to have your back goes with any job.
The majority of the people that I've worked with in that industry are like the pirate’s code. They all have your back.
Some don't. There have been times I've worked for other companies and get yelled at. It's granted, you get yelled at. That's part of the job because you've been backstage. Whether it's concerts or actors, everything is in a rush. The tension runs high. They're never on time.
There are 30,000 people standing out there screaming.
I bet you've never worked with a celebrity that was on time or early. They are always late.
Lil Wayne was one of those. He never was at the venue until it was showtime. He came in like Elvis. His bus rolled in. He got off the bus. He was always on time. When he walked on, we had twelve strippers on the stage. We started the show with 7 or 8 concussion grenades, which was fucking awesome from a pyro standpoint.
Not to the people in the front.
It was a rock and roll show entrance. It was fun as a crew guy. The workload wasn't that high. He was cool. The show would end. He'd high-five everybody and thank you so much. He would call me sir. I was like, “Stop calling me, sir. I've done 100 of your shows now.” It's that Southern hospitality type thing. He knew my name.
I got him on his bus, and the bus would pull out. I'd have to deal with Drake, 2 Chainz, and all these other people who are huge rappers now. They have their own entourages, but they were sixteen-year-old kids when I was working for Wayne. They were fucking pain in the ass. “Get your loaded gun and get it off stage. You accidentally set one off in your sweats. It's not cool.”
It's wildlife. It's not from me. I fight people for a living. I don't take being yelled at. I take direction well if I respect you, but the whole customer service thing is what that is. It's high-end customer service. I've worked for people who are like, “We want you to shut down this store so I can shop.” We're talking about Louis Vuitton in Aspen. I was like, “What time?” They're like, “An hour from now.” I'm like, “I'll take care of it.” The people that I'm talking about were easy enough because they're like, “Done.” If you get the people that don't know where they are on the celebrity status, you're like, “I'm not going to be able to pull that one off.”
I get it. I've been there too.
Know your audience and level. It's the people who think they're superstars, and they're not. Maybe they will be one day, but they're not.
I've quit tours because I've been disrespected. One thing I don't take personally is if you're going to purposely disrespect me or treat me like a dog or a piece of shit, I don't want to work for you. I won't name any names, but one of them was my mom's favorite band of all time. When I called her, I was like, “You'll never believe it. I finally made it, Mom.” It was that band that I had to quit. I quit a week later. At the same time, they would call, “I said I quit.” They said they fired me.
I always quit first. I'll quit the job before I'm fired.
I always quit first. I'll quit the job before I'm fired.
They were calling me like, “Where are you? It's a load out.” I was like, “I'm on a plane. I'm at the airport. Fuck you.”
If they called to see where you were at, you didn't get fired.
They were like, “We thought we could talk to you that way.” I was like, “No.”
It is funny when I think about a lot of things. To me, they're not big. When I think back, even these stories, I'm like, “I’ve had like a cool wildlife.” I'm getting started, I feel like. It’s the same with you. You could write a book when you are done.
How old are you now, Chris?
I'm 36 this 2023.
I'm 44. I got a few years on you. I feel like 40 is a new chapter in my life, especially doing a show. I’m getting to genuinely know people like you, Scott Parker, and people with whom I might have interactions and some of the circles that I run in. I don't ever get to spend time with him. I was more excited about you coming up and doing this because it's a moment where I get to hang out with you than going to your after-party. This might sound selfish, but it's me and Chris talking.
I halfway hate the after-parties. I love Tom's Watch Bar.
I had a blast. They're the best.
I love all the people that come out. It's like a wedding. At your wedding, everybody there loved you and was there for you, but the reception was you going from person to person. Did you even get to have a good time?
We did because my wife and I had two children before we tied the knot legally. We did it, me and her, in front of a judge in Fort Collins, of all fucking places. There was a tie to my grandparents. It’s a long family history that I don't even need to go down. Long story short, we did it in a traditional way that my grandparents did a long time ago. They've been married for many years now.
That's amazing. Shout out to them. That's not common.
We got married in the same place from the same courthouse. It is the same way that they did. They were in high school. They weren't supposed to be married. They lived apart for a year before they told their parents. It was a secretive thing because it was frowned upon in the ‘50s. This all happened here in Evergreen, which is fucking wild.
Me and my wife did that. I didn't care about the ceremony, but she broke it down to me. She was like, “We should have one for our family. Where should we do it?” We did it at the lake house here in Evergreen. We only invited family members. I invited two of my buddies. That was it. It was awesome. We each had 80 people on each side. We did get to see everybody talk to.
I'm like, “You only invited family and a few buddies. It was 80 people each. It is 160 people.”
I have 80 family members that I could probably call right now who live in Colorado in this immediate area. I'm sorry. Maybe it was 80 in total. It might've been 40 and 40. We didn't even invite distant cousins. I was like, “I'm sorry. Don't take offense to this.”
I was like, “How many siblings do you have, fourteen?”
We invited my whole family from both sides. They get down. They're ranch people.
I have three first cousins on both sides of my family combined. Mine is small. You were like, “80 each.” I looked over, and you leaned outside this crew.
I'm Italian. It was funny that our parents were coming to us like, “Can I invite our friends?” We're like, “No, you can't.” We didn't even invite our third cousins.
That's how I feel about the after-parties a little bit. I want to go by and tell everybody, “Thank you for coming.”
Maybe we need to rent an Airbnb and fucking do it that way next time.
I love Tom's. They've been great to me. It's a cool spot. It's easy for me to put out and be like, “I'm going to be hereafter.” I didn't put it publicly, but I told Tom’s like, “Here's the deal. Let's have the after-party. If I get knocked out, I'm not coming. I'm going home.”
I was surprised you showed up. The only reason I went was to support you because I had already had an amazing evening.
Lorenzo showed up. The tension rose in that room like crazy. This is the fight game. The tension rose for everybody else but me.
I didn't think anything about it.
They came and told me. They're like, “Lorenzo is coming.” I was like, “That's cool. I told him about it.” There were guys there that were like, “What the fuck is he doing here?” They were coming and telling me. I was like, “I told him about this.”
Some of your old high school buddies got heated.
One of them goes, “Do you want me to get him out of here?” I was like, “Yeah, do that. Do you think you could do it better than me? Fucking relax. If I don't care, why do you care?” I got to respect that a little bit. Once I tell you once, it's cool.
The toast that you did was perfect and cool. I was three sheets to the wind at that point. I remember the toast that you said at the end of the night. He was there with his whole crew. Everybody was cool. Nobody had a fucking problem.
I remember what I said. Here's what I said. I've always said this. I did a toast, and Lorenzo was around the corner of the bar from me. I was like, “Here's a toast to the part of the fight game people don't see. They think that we're all pit bulls or caged animals and we want to fight each other all the time. You and I fought five rounds. You learn something about somebody after you fight them. It is an intimate sport. I don't mean intimate in a sexual way. You see what people are made of through grit and overcoming adversity. I have respect for you. Cheers to you. Congratulations on your win.” I used to run across long-time friends who have been to tons of my fights.
Look at some of your best friends you've had some epic battles with.
Jacoby is one of my best friends. He and I fought on UFC on Fox 2.
I'm glad that I never had to fight you to be your friend.
Not yet. People don't see the other side. Most of the MAA guys I know and like fighters are cool with each other because there's no showboating or peacocking if you've already fought. We already know. Granted, Lorenzo and I went to a split decision. In my opinion, we don't know, but like we laid it all out there. We're tired. We fought. It's not like we're trying to go at it again at the bar like, “I thought I won.” We got paid for it. I wouldn't get paid for it at the bar. I would probably get fined, arrested, and have a whole ordeal, and so would he.
Bare Knuckle Fighting: Most people don't see the other side of the MMA guys. The fighters are all very cool with each other because there's no showboating or peacocking if you've already fought.
What’s that saying? I don't remember if you said it to me. It was at your last one. There was some dude starting shit. You were like, “I don't fight for free.” Is that the saying? Maybe it wasn't you. Maybe I was with somebody else.
No, it was me. Unfortunately, in each after-party I've had, there are always been altercations. The last fight was with one of the same guys. He and another guy I know are acquaintances. They came to the party. They were in each other's faces. I went over. I was like, “You guys aren't fucking fighting here. This place sponsors me. They pay me. I won't let you fight in here.” I looked at both of them. I was like, “You guys should fight. You should go outside. I'll go out and watch.” As soon as that happened, both of them were selling tickets to the fight and not doing it.
Most people get loud. If you think about it, getting loud is a defense mechanism. Some of the people who could not fight at all, going back to high school and middle school, the loudest person usually can't. That's their defense mechanism. They're going to talk so much shit and get so loud. They're peacocking. They're hoping. If the other person doesn't back down and they don't have a plan B, that is plan A. That was it.
I walked up to them in each other's faces. I was like, “You guys should fight. Let's go outside. I'll watch. I'll ref. I'll make sure nobody jumps in.” They didn't want to fight anymore. I'm like, “What happened?” You wanted everybody to get loud and watch you. Both of them were hoping the other would back down. How many times have you seen that if you think about it?
I get fed up because I don't know if it was the way I was raised or the people I grew up around. I don't want to tell myself that I was some badass or some fighter. I was always taught while they're talking shit, fucking knock them out. They're going to be thinking about the next thing to say, and they're not going to know what is hitting them. Even as a kid, I was always taught to shut the fuck up and handle your business. Stop crying, stop being a bitch, shut the fuck up, and handle your business. That was my mom's mentality because she had to do that as a single mother.
I was expected to be a man way before kids should be expected to be men, which has made me a better person now. I have no doubt about that. I don't regret any of the way that I grew up. I'm fortunate because it has turned me into the person that I am now. I never experienced it, but for how many times I've seen people fucking blowing their mouths off, and nothing happens.
Go to LoDo on a fucking Friday night, and you'll see all the escalation and all running around. What's even scarier is people getting behind the wheel of their cars and trying to fucking speed off and ram somebody. I saw it at the last bare knuckle. Not this last one because I was smart enough this time not to go to the parking garage. The previous fight, when you had the first-round knockout, I parked in that parking garage that's right there outside of First Bank. There were cars ramming into each other and people fist-fighting in the parking garage.
It’s the liquid courage.
Go to LoDo at midnight. You're going to see the peacocks. It's a perfect example.
It's a funny thing because I almost hate to talk about street fights. Growing up, I was always told, and it's not from the best source, but one of my best friends growing up had a bad past. His dad had gotten out of prison at one point. He had been and out forever all over. This dude was jacked. He was in supermaxes and shit. He had newspaper articles, like why prisoners shouldn't be allowed to lift weights. He's from the South. He'd got boys. He's like, “The loudest motherfucker here is usually the biggest pussy.” This is when we were out of high school.
He's like, “Don't worry about the guy in the front, talking all this shit. Worry about the guy in the back not seeing shit and standing there nodding. That's the guy that'll fuck you up.” It was a quote from him. He'd always be like, “Don't sell tickets to the fight. Let them run. Throw the first punch. Welcome.” I live by that for the most part, but not anymore. I'm 36.
There is no reason to fight for you. You get it out in the ring. There's a reason why I go to jiu-jitsu.
I have no problem walking away. If you call me a pussy, I could care less. I could be like, “I'm out.” If you do other things to offend me or my girl, there are certain things where I'm not letting that slide, but you could talk shit to me all you want. We even talked about this last time.
I'm sure we did.
You can talk shit to me from over there, but if you're getting loud and you're close enough for me to hit, I'll hit you. I'll be the first one. I won't say a word back. You can come. If you get close enough to punching range, I'll hit you. I don't feel like that's the worst. Some people reading this might be like, “That's not a good whatever.” You have to have some self-respect and stand up for yourself at some point.
Everybody should have it. Here's one of my biggest things. I see people bending over backward to tell you what you want to hear. I'm sure that you see this. I saw it firsthand. I wasn't even part of the conversation between you and another person. It's like I did to Bert Kreischer.
You were expressing that you're a fan.
I'm a big fan. Coming from me, it means a lot for me to tell somebody that I'm a big fan of them because that's something that I normally don't do. Bert, I hope you're reading this.
That's your right. I have a different opinion than a lot of fighters and performers. Does it get in my head? No. Does it piss me off sometimes when you're like, “What the fuck?” If you bought a ticket, you have the right to think and say whatever you want. I lost a split decision. If you want to chirp at me and everything as I'm going down the ramp, that's part of the game. That's what you get into. I've fought another in other countries and states. I'm on a ramp, and I'm walking whatever. Half of it, I don't even fucking hear. Even if I do, I'm like, “That's your right. You're a fan.”
If you're going to take it outside of the building, that's a different story. It would be for me. I get it inside the building at the moment in the man in the arena.
If I recognize a person from there and they follow me, I'm taking this a little bit more personally. Even at a bar, if somebody was like, “I hate you. You suck,” that’s fine. If you're getting obnoxious, or if I'm with a group of close friends and you keep interjecting, I'm going to say something.
If you come with a friend, they're going to handle it before you will.
I have a lot of close friends that won't put up with shit, but that's part of the game. It’s like we were talking about bands and celebrities. They get booed all the time. If it gets to an uncomfortable position, I won't let anybody sucker punch me. I hope it's a sucker punch because you don't see it coming. My rule of thought is, “You can talk shit to me from over there. If you're close enough and I could touch you, I'm going to touch you.”
I think about this. Some of my former military friends have taught me this. When I was doing Supercross or the Baja 1000, I had seven Navy SEALs around me, professional fighters, or whoever was there doing security detail, and we had nothing to do but stand there and bullshit with each other. I would ask them like, “What's the best personal protection for your home? What knives do you carry?” I fucking geeking out about what these guys did. Cheers to that. What an awesome company.
I got to pick these guys' brains. They broke it down. They were like, “It's all about fighting position and being ready. If you're ready before whoever is, that's what it's all about.” Maybe I'm a psychopath now, but when I go into a restaurant with my family, I pick out a specific seat. If I see a table, I'm like, “Can we sit over there?” I can see everybody in my family. I can see everybody in the restaurant. I have nobody that can come from behind.
That makes sense to me. It's a simple rule like that or as close to the door with all those variables. That sounds psycho, but it's okay to call it out. You don't want to go sit in a corner and have your back on it because if an active shooter comes into the situation, you're defenseless at that point. You're backed into a corner already.
It's not psycho because that is a way of life for us now. No part of it is psycho. Some people think it's over the top. They think it's over the top until something happens, and they're like, “I should do this.” If you implement those things, most likely you're not going to be in those situations. It's better to never have the experience of being in those situations. Combine any shooting ever. I'm not faulting any of them that they should have known, but historically, especially in Colorado, we have an amazing state and city, but unfortunately, we've had a lot of mass shootings.
We've been targeted with it for some reason.
I don't go to movies often. It's a horrible thing that you have to worry about that. Being vigilant is better than the alternative. I wish I would've, I should've. There are many little things you can implement in life, even as far as when you pull up to a light or the cars in front of you. Most people will pull up right to the back.
That’s the worst mistake you can make. You're trapped.
Mine comes from some training I've done for security and buddies in the military. If you take their experiences and learn from them, hopefully, you never have to have them, but the way you should do it is to have enough in case you have to pull out. If you pull straight up to the back of a car, you can't go anywhere. If you leave enough room and, God forbid, anything happens, you have room to pull out.
You can U-turn, and you can get to whatever. Know the turning radius of your vehicle. The rule of thumb is if you can see their back tires touching the asphalt, pavement, or whatever you're on, and you leave your hood, you stop with your hood right there. You should be able to pull out.
You should be able to see their license plate or tires if you want to be even further. They say smart people learn from experiences, but I think smarter people learn from other people's experiences because that's what wisdom is. Your parents give you wisdom based on life experience. Your friends can do the same. People that have gone through hard shit, hopefully, you never have to, but knowing that in the back of your head, the more vigilant you are on day-to-day, if you make it routine, it's not even weird anymore. You don't have to experience it yourself.
I even think about it on flights. As much as I want to be in a window seat and fall asleep, I don't anymore. I always sit in an aisle because I want to have control over my own fate. If that's going down, fighting, at least I have that opportunity, and I'm not trapped. Think about how much hustle and bustle you would have to go across to people to get to somebody.
It sucks that we even have to think about those things. I don't think it's crazy at all to think about them because how many times has it happened?
I also know how to put up the armrest with a little special key that's on the aisle. You don't have to get up and get around it. You can put it up. Maybe I'm a fucking psycho, but I fly a lot. That's something that crossed my mind ever since 9/11. With Flight 98 and all that shit, I can't imagine going through that. What a fucking horrific way to go.
I don't think it's psycho. Even if I break it down into like I'm training for a fight, half the stuff I train for is a contingency plan like if what I'm doing is not working or what I know he's capable of countering those. It's planning ahead. Your day-to-day life has to have that.
Smart people learn from experiences, but smarter people learn from other people's experiences.
How many scenarios do you run through your brain? That's part of strategically being ready whether you're in your home or a car. Fight planning is some of that, or playing professional football. They watch a film about the other team. I'm sure you're watching some of these other fighter's tendencies, but how many different scenarios and game plans do you have? Is it one, or there's multiple?
They vary. The more experience you get, it's adjustable on the fly. Between rounds, my coaches would tell me, “Maybe we'd been training this thing the whole time. Let's bail on this. Let's go to this. I'm not seeing the opening.” Experience will be able to make you adjust on the fly. You take a beating from those guys. They can adjust on the fly.
Is there an exact contingency plan? No, but this is working. This isn't. Let's get rid of this even though we've done it for weeks. Stop doing this. Let's go to this. A lot of that is experience and your level of the concept of the game. When I was younger, I used to think experience didn't matter because I was making my name. I fought a lot of older fighters. They hit their peak, and I'm making a name off them. Granted, they didn't think that.
It's a vicious game.
That part of it is vicious.
The guys that have been around too long know that they've been around long. They're collecting checks. Maybe not all of them but in the back of their head, they know. Along the way, I started getting that experience to change. If you go in with one game plan and it doesn't work, in any part of life, business, or the military, you're fucked.
Shit’s going to come up.
Most people don't go in with one game plan. I bet even for this show, you didn't come in like I was talking about in the beginning, how I used to come with bullet points. That was one game plan. It would be choppy and fucked up because I came in with one game plan. When I started learning how to talk to people, listen more, and go with the conversation, I could go on the fly. Experience in itself is being able to adjust on the fly.
I love this second episode because the first one was the first time I met you. We're filling each other out. We've hung out a few times outside of that first episode. You've had some amazing achievements in your career. I've been able to follow you. You've had some disappointments in your career. I've been alongside you. I feel like the bonds that I build here are friendships. They're not even interviews. It's a hangout. I didn't have to worry about anything. We set this up. You were like, “What does tomorrow look like for you?” We were on the phone at this time.
That’s my life. People are like, “What are you doing next month on the 20th?” I'm like, “I don't even know if I'll be alive.”
That's crazy. That's what's happening to me with the show now. People are reaching out to me, and they're like, “I'm going to have no availability in January.” I'm like, “Unless it's two weeks out, I don't know what my schedule is. I don't plan that far ahead. I'm sorry. Maybe I'm a piece of shit. I'm by the moment.” Whenever I hit you up, don't ever feel like, “I'm letting him down.”
It's the same because my life lives on the fly. I'm structured. My days are structured for the most part.
There are certain things you have to get done.
Half the time, it's two days before. Even Whitney was asking me, “What are we doing in January? What about this?” I don't know if I get a fight-off for this. My life revolves around shit that comes up, and I prioritize it. Is it a high priority or a low priority? Low doesn't mean disrespectful. It means like, “Do I have to? Is it something I want to?”
You're in the prime of your fucking career now, Chris. You’re an animal. You're incredible. Keep going. It is not over for you yet. Friend to friend. No show, no bullshit. You're in your prime. I fucking love seeing it. Once you get a little bit older and you get over that hump, and that time comes like I am probably, and you get a little bit more set in your way, you'll find it. Take that time for you. Mine is September. My favorite thing to do is to be in the backcountry, go out there, suffer, come back with back pains, and lose all the muscle mass that I worked for fucking few weeks.
Your legs got to be bigger. If you're hiking, your legs are burned.
I know because I've been doing these fucking body scans. I lost inches off it everywhere, including my dick. It got a little bit shorter out there because I didn't kill a bull.
Your wife is calling in now.
She could probably tell you.
She's like, “He's right.”
If it gets kicked that many times, it's going to get shorter.
I hope not. I've been kicked a lot.
I know that I lost muscle mass by how my clothes fit.
You're not eating the same.
You're hardly eating. I'm eating fucking beef biltong. I’m staying out in the woods for three days. Because I've gotten the taste of a few bugles and have elk coming in from different directions, I'm not going back to base camp, where all the food and water are. I'm going to fucking suck water out of this cow-shit-infested puddle to fucking strain into an algae bottle that tastes like shit so I can stay hydrated.
I feel like there's nothing that compares to that switching to hunting.
It's primal.
You can be, “Fuck this. I'm over it. Another hour, I'm going to leave. I'm going to call it early.” You hear one sound. Everything is back up. You're like, “They're right here.” You can even will or convince yourself. Who knows if you even heard another hunter, but you're like, “I heard it. I'm staying put.” You could stay another three days. “In the next hour, if I don't hear or see anything, I'm going to pack up and leave.”
I went with my little brother. This was before your fight. The weather was epic. The first day we went up, it was fucking awesome. We hiked into these benches at 10,000 feet. It’s about a 5-mile hike.
Where'd you go?
I'm not going to name the area on here. I'll tell you afterward.
I'm trying to think of geographically. It doesn't have to be in between. What would be a close area?
Let's say the flat tops wilderness. On the spots where I go, it's like prehistoric land. It is fucking wild. We've all seen aspen trees, especially living in Colorado. You know what they are. People are traveling from all over the world to see the leaves change. Generally, an aspen tree is about the size of this Don Julio bottle. Maybe a little bit bigger. It’s maybe 10 or 12 inches.
There are aspen trees where I go that you can not even wrap your arms around. It's prehistoric. I will take you some time. It's a long way away. It's not easy to get to. There's a ton of elk there. It's fucking epic country. There are plants there that you're like, “Were these around when dinosaurs were around?” You feel like a small person in this. It's humbling.
There are all kinds of different interactions. I had more interactions with predators than I had with actual elk, which is fun because the elk are elusive. I saw more black bears and mountain lion signs. I didn't see a mountain lion this time. I did last season. Physically, I saw one in the wilderness. It is almost unheard of unless you have dogs or purposely hunting them.
Remind me after you're done with your story. I have a wild story about a buddy of mine who was elk hunting. I'll show you a picture.
On the first night, we get up there, and we hike up. I hadn't picked up my bugle. Normally, I don't bugle a whole lot. Normally, we're out cow-calling because of the influx of hunters. A lot of times, you'll call in more hunters than you'll call in elk because we're good at it. I grew up doing it since I was a kid. I know how to fucking use a bugle. For people who have never elk hunted, it's epic up here. I leave my windows open at night. It's still cold. The wife and kid are like, “It's cold in here.” I was like, “No, I want to hear the elk bugle.”
I do that, even if I'm not hunting. I’m sitting outside. I’m hearing it if I'm at a cabin. I’m hearing that scream.
It's primal.
It's also the only ivory in North America. The bugle’s teeth and molars are ivory.
That's what it's whistling through. It's fucking wild. For somebody who doesn't know what a bugle is or has never heard one, I'm sure you can search for it. Sometimes, red stags come up. That's more of a grunt. The North American elk bugle, look that up.
It's not even that cool online.
You have to hear it in person. Could you imagine being the first person to hear that sound for the first time ever? You're like, “What the fuck is that?” That is insane. It is such an eerie. It's something that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. You get goosebumps.
I've heard it since I was a kid hit to this day. It doesn't get old. Whether I'm hunting or not, I'm like, “That's cool.”
It's epic. I thrive on it. Even their mentality and the aggressiveness that comes with it are a war cry.
They're fucking fighting their throats.
The best way I could describe it and I've been using this term for a long time, and I don't know where I got it. My brother claims he made it up. It's like Jurassic Park. If you've ever seen the movie, Jurassic Park, the bugle mimics what the velociraptors and the T-rexes make. Sometimes, it'll be outside my bedroom window here. I saw more elk in my yard than I saw on the entire elk hunting trip I went up.
You say Jurassic Park. That was the exact analogy I used. I grew up rifle hunting forever. I've heard them, but archery hunting is a whole different thing. I've been fortunate enough that I have not gotten any elk with my bow, but every year I've gone, I've gotten in on them where if you're reading and you haven't in on them, it means like I'm close enough. I was in within 100 yards. My first time was within 40. I was on the crest of a hill. They were on the other side. I could smell them. It smelled like shit. It is gross. You could smell them.
I grew up rifle hunting, but archery hunting is a whole different thing. It's the best.
I came home two days after elk hunting. My wife was like, “You stink still.” I was like, “I don't smell it anymore.”
I was with two buddies. We were trying to get them to crest the hill because you couldn't see them. You couldn't get a shot. We heard smacking sticks and breaking everything. I could hear the bulls crack. They are smacking their head against the tree because we were cow-calling. Trees are breaking down. This is my first year of archery hunting. My heart was racing like a fight. It sounded like Jurassic Park because as we kept calling, we started hearing it break hard. They were running, and I stepped behind a tree because I thought they were going to come over the hill at me.
Because I was new at archery hunting, I should have been on top of the hill. I was below it. They were right here. I heard all these sticks and shit start breaking. I could hear them grunting. I never saw them. My buddy who was over here saw a little bit. He took an early shot. They scattered, but when they scattered, the whole force was getting wrecked.
They're fast, and they barrel through shit.
That was one of the wildest moments. I can still remember it exactly. I'm watching because I'm on the hillside. I never saw a body. I thought I was going to get run over. It was close enough to hear them grunting and hearing how huffy and puffy they were. Bull elk are like, “I'm fucking or fighting.” They're looking for cows or bulls to fight.
This bull was with a bunch of cows because my buddy had a cow tag. He ended up shooting at one. Unfortunately, according to him, which makes sense, his arrow hit a tree branch because it deflected. We found it on the side of the hill, the opposite way he was shooting. It was his first time. When he shot, he didn't realize there were branches hanging. He shot at a cow. I had a bull tag. He had a cow tag.
There are rangefinders that you can buy for archery. Me and Dustin went up and shot American Bowmen. We got to get up there. Can we go before the 14th when you get back? They're about to tear down the north side, and we can shoot the other side. Dustin had the best time. We had him shooting 100 yards up there.
Dustin has the best time everywhere. That dude doesn't have a bad time anywhere.
I love that dude. Shout out to Dustin Jacoby.
My buddy that I was with hit a branch because when we went looking for his arrow and once I came to him after he shot, we heard like Jurassic Park. The shit was getting mowed down. There was a herd of them. He didn't see all of them, but I could hear him. It was a lot of them. The shit was mowed down. He showed me where he shot. We walked down, and it was a steep hill. His arrow was in the opposite direction. He was out of breath. It was his first year. In general, I didn't give a shit if I got anything or not. It was cool.
It's the best. That's what I was getting at. I bring it back full circle. Me and my brother went in the morning. We drove all the way up there. It's five hours from here. The last hour and a half is four-wheel drive trails, even to get to base camp. We set up base camp, and we hiked our asses off to get into the spot before dark. We go up a four-wheel drive trail and an hour hike from there.
We get in there prime time. It's maybe 1 or 2 hours before dark. I set up with him. I was like, “Let's start cow-calling. Let's cow call for the first half an hour.” For the last half an hour until dark, I'm going to start ripping some bugles. We're going to figure out what hunters are in the area or what elk. I started doing two different bugles. I’m moving around and thrashing these willow brushes.
We were sitting on the water in this basin at 10,000 feet. We had them coming in from every direction. We're getting the wind right. I was like, “Let's start moving towards this one. There were other ones coming in, but it got dark that we never got a shot off. We could hear them. If you can hear them bugling, you can tell the difference between a hunter and somebody who's on a call. I can tell.
In the heat of the moment, you can't because you're high tub. If they're bad, you could tell.
The rest of the time, I called in nothing but hunters.
There have been times when I've been like, “Shit.” You want to hear it so bad.
You even start hearing it. You want to hear it badly. You start hearing it when it's not happening. I've been lying in my tent at night, and all I hear is continuous bugles. I'm like, “I'm a fucking psychopath.”
I do this every year. I don't know if you do or other people. When you first get out hunting and you see something, you are like, “Is that one?” You see an actual elk. I was out of my fucking mind thinking that little squirrel or the thing I saw move in the woods. You watch that spot forever, and you don't see anything. When you see one, you're like, “I wouldn't miss that because it's a big ass animal walking.”
They're not the most graceful thing. They're agile. I've never seen animals move up the side of a mountain face like elk have before when they blow out. They're going 5 miles in 30 minutes over a mountain ridge. That would take you all day to hike over. They are fucking gone.
When they get spooked, they're mowing shit down. Elk hunting is one of the coolest things ever, whether you get anything or not. I don't go in with the, “I'm getting something.” I like being out there hiking and feeling like a ninja. Once I started archery hunting, I was like, “This is cool to get camoed out,” and you move quietly. You don't have to be as quiet as everybody thinks because they're not quiet.
Elk hunting is one of the coolest things ever, whether you get anything or not.
The biggest thing is the wind.
The smell. It's not always the sound.
That’s the first. Hearing is third. Eyesight is second. Their eyesight is unbelievable. They'll have an eagle eye. I've been stocking in on a bull. I glassed him across the fucking ridge where I had to go 6 miles. I drive to my truck to where I think it's at. I pay attention to what the wind's doing. I'm going to try to sneak down on top of them. I've gotten within 300 yards of them and looked at them through my binoculars. I swear to God. Their eye will turn and look at me. They'll walk off the ridge like, “Fuck you. I'm not playing now.”
That's why it's hunting, not killing. It makes zero sense to me because in rifle hunting, I've been out sitting there, and I'll admit. I’ve fallen asleep chilling on a mountain. I've woken up to elk right in front of me. In my first year of hunting, I was twelve. It was in Southern Colorado. I fall asleep and wake up. I'm like, “What the fuck?” This hillside was dark. It was a herd of elk. I woke up. It looks a different color. It was 100 yards away. I’m trying to look through the scope. It was like a herd of elk of 500. They are sitting there. They are grazing. I ended up killing my first cow there after waking up from a fucking nap. You never think they would get that close to you, but when you're in the woods, you don't realize how many.
Archery is different. I like taking it to that next level where I'm staying in the shadows. I'll never sit in the sunlight because where I got spotted by that bull was in direct sunlight. Who knows if he saw the glare off of my binoculars? I shower in unscented soap. I use unscented deodorant. I put fucking cow piss wafers in my backpack.
Not me. I piss everywhere. I'm like, “I'm going to fight.”
Some guys will take it to the extreme of getting bull urine from another bull.
I'm like, “Get the fuck out of here.” They're trying to spray me. I'm like, “I'm good. You're not spraying piss all over me. I'll piss all over you if you want. You want to smell like a fucking something else.”
I’m still a guy if I get back to base camp, and I'm spike camping, that's a whole different story. You aren't doing shit. You're eating out of fucking MRE like Peak Meals or fucking Mountain House.
You take your shit off so it doesn't smell like campfire.
I take all that shit off. We don't even have a campfire. Some people call it hunting. This is what my wife thinks is going on. You're all sitting around the campfire drinking beer and playing poker.
We got all these hookers here. They hiked up everything. We paid them extra.
We're dead by the time you get back to camp. It's 9:00 at night.
Fucking 9:00 is late. There are times I've looked up, and it’s 7:00. You're like, “If the sun is down, you're down.”
Normally, the time would change to where you were getting up at 4:00 or 5:00. Now, it doesn't get light until 7:00. It gets dark at 6:00 or 7:00. I only know this because I've been hunting, but it's typically 7:00 to 7:00. The first light is at 7:00. The last light is at 7:00. If you're fucking 4 miles in where the elk are at, you still got to hike 4 miles out on headlamps. By the time you get to your truck, it's 8:30. By the time you fucking get to camp, that's fucking hoofing it.
You can't put it in jelly.
You don't even care about that. It's like a protein bar in the bag of shit. I sleep well if I've had a shower. We made this makeshift like fucking shower.
You're bougie. I don't shower for a week. I might not even change my clothes. If I'm around the fire, I'll sleep in my shit. I wake up and be like, “I'm out.” I won't be around the fire in it, but when I go to bed, I'll put it all on. All I have to do in the morning is zip out of the bag, get up, and be like, “I'm ready.”
I'm a piece of shit like that. A shower is refreshing, especially when it's a cold plunge, when you can see your breath, and you're out there at night.
I'm not a cold person.
You're not into the cold plunge?
I got one. I'd do it. I hate it. It sucks.
I'm not doing it when I'm out there and going to be cold the rest of the day. If you're six days deep and you made it back to base camp, that's what I'm talking about. There's some shit that grows underneath your balls.
I use baby wipes. I'll bring them with me. We call it a horse bath.
That's what this is. It's a bag of water that's been hanging in a tree.
You're not talking standing in there.
No, it's barely a twinkle. It's like a little bit of soap. You wash your balls and your ass. I don't want to get too graphic here, but that's what it is in your underarms and your face. You get the fucking war paint off you a little bit.
How cool is that motherfucker? Scott Parker is one of my favorite people ever. He’s savage, the smartest buck, and the sweetest dude ever. Whitney was like, “He's like the biggest teddy bear. I want to hug him. He's adorable.” I'm like, “He was also one of the most feared guys in the NHL.” We went to their house, and she was like, “Give me a hug.”
He’s such a good person. I have nothing but fucking admiration. You introduced me to the Parkers. Cheers to that, brother.
It was the coolest fucking family ever.
I can't explain it. It's like a biker gang or a mafia mentality, but they're genuinely good people. I'm not saying that they're involved in international crime wars. They're genuinely good people. They have my back already.
When we met them, they were the nicest family I've ever met. They know I love them. They look like the buffest family ever. Scott has neck tattoos and a big beard. He looks like he's in a biker gang. Francesca's got head tattoos and face tattoos. She's like, “Would you like me to make you some coffee?” I preface that. I told Whitney that before. I'm like, “When you meet Francesca, she looks like, “I'm going to cut your fucking head off.” She's hugging and kissing. She's like their family. DJ also has a face tattoo. He's like, “What do you need?”
The biker clubs I've been around are the experiences that I have with those people. They're much like the Parkers. They're a ride-or-die mentality.
That’s how the fight community is. There's a certain loyalty to the game when you come down to a sport or people that do fuck people up. Don't get me wrong. It might not always be right. I'm not promoting any shit.
In the fighting community, there's a certain loyalty to the game.
It gets cliquey. I support Colorado fighters and Colorado blood.
It's not even a brotherhood anymore. Not to get all woke culture, but you have to say the sisterhood, too. Cheska Parker is the hardest bitch. She runs the family.
She’s a retired police officer.
She's a fucking gangster. You can't say brotherhood anymore. It's not anymore because of woke culture.
They call it a tribe.
Let's be honest. In a sense, women run the world a little bit.
They run my household. I have two daughters and a wife. It's me and my son are on our fucking own.
That's not even emasculating if you think about it.
It's not. My mom raised me to be a man.
Where does everybody come from? They come from women. Hard women breed hard men. Soft women breed soft men. There are certain times when I hear a lot of this preachy culture about man, “You need your dad.” Some of the biggest fucking gangsters out there are mothers, and it's a fact. Maybe they're not even single, but there are some moms out there who breed savages. DJ Parker is my boy. Scott Parker, his dad, was an NHL legend. He is a monster. He fought everybody. His job was to fight people on the ice.
He's one of the baddest men in hockey ever.
He has no problem with Francesca, the glue to the family. In my last fight, she texted me. We talked. She's like, “I'm not going to make it to the fight. It's boys night.” She knows to let the men be men and boys do their shit. She's the coolest fucking woman I've ever met. Even being at their house, she's like, “There are poker nights here. Sometimes, I'll leave, and let all the guys come. I let the strippers come. I'll be out of here.” If you're reading this and your husband was there, that's not all the time. It is like there are times.
She is an example of a ride-or-die. That's what I was getting back to when you and I were talking off-mic about a partner in crime. Your significant other should be a partner in crime. That’s how I feel about it. Whether you're committing crimes or not together or not, it should be a team effort. They have your back. You have theirs. It's not all about lust, love, and fucking romantic movies. That shit all has its time and place.
That all comes with honesty. Whitney, my girlfriend, I love that girl to death. She and I have been honest with each other. We met each other in a fucked up time. I know everything about her. If you are reading and you think you're going come at me with some shit, I already know it. We sat out and laid out all the honesty, everything.
Here's all my chips that are on the table.
Don't fucking scare me away. Everything I had to say didn't scare her away. Fuck you. Come at it. There are specific examples I’m not even bringing up here, but if you don't think I don't know, I know.
We're going to keep this going. We're fucking coming up on time, but before we jump off, if you have some more time to spend with us, what's your schedule? Are you good?
I'm good.
You mentioned something about a runback through BKFC. I want to see it. I feel like that's unsettled business. I know we had the after-party and the toast. Lorenzo is cool. I got to chop it up with him for a brief second.
It's not even a runback. Here's the thing. I told him that night. I'm like, “You know we're not done.” If you look at social media, I started following him after the fight. He's still posting about the fight. I post clips from the fight. I'm like, “It was a cool moment. I look good.” He's still chirping like he didn't win the fight. I don't think he fully believes he won the fight. I don't honestly fully believe he won the fight.
I don't believe he won the fight.
It was indecisive. You have judges. That's why I said at the beginning of this show, “Here's my offer. Let's go to BKFC’s running in Thailand and all these other places.” He said he was willing to die in there. I want to put that to the test. I'm not saying it has to be to the death, but I said the same thing. I'm willing. Let's do this rematch in Thailand. There is no round limit. I like it. We go until there's a winner. I don't give a fuck about this scoring.
I have to fly to Thailand for this fight.
Let's get it done. I'm dead set. If that contract comes across the table, done sign. Let's do no limit. We'll go until somebody wins. It was a split decision. Nobody feels good about it. I know he doesn't feel good about it. Look at his face at the end of the fight. He wasn't pumped about it. He wasn't excited about it. I wasn't either.
I don't think anybody was pumped about that. I feel like it should have gone more rounds.
Let's get the judges out of the way.
The fight ended two fucking soon.
Let's do no judges. Let's do two-minute rounds until somebody goes down and doesn't get up. That's the shit that gets me excited. I was excited about the title fight. Don't get me wrong. It’s the biggest opportunity ever. It's a loss of my record. I keep the loss.
Is this an actual possibility with this organization? Are you spitting bullshit, or is this an actual possibility?
I don't work for the organization, but let's do it.
You know the president. You've been involved in the promotion. Is this something that he would bite on?
It doesn't even have to be him. This would be an open challenge to Lorenzo Hunt. We go to someplace like Thailand.
Is it a private pay-per-view?
If it's not in the States where it's regulated, we go to a place like Thailand where they're already doing shows. We can do two-minute rounds. We could do no rounds.
Is that why there was The Rumble in the Jungle and The Thrilla in Manila?
Going back to then, Ali wasn't allowed to fight in the US because of dodging the war. This will be an open challenge. You can make a clip of this. Here's my open challenge to Lorenzo Hunt. We can finish this. Let's go to an unregulated place. He might even live in Puerto Rico or have training in Puerto Rico. We go somewhere like that. It can air on a pay-per-view. We go either round for round or have no time limit until somebody goes down. Why not?
This is the most exciting thing I can think of for the division. He's already knocked out everybody else in the cruiserweight division. I'll give him that respect. I'll give him all that. We go either round for round or have no time limit, but let's fight until somebody goes down and doesn't get up. It doesn't have to be until the death. It could be, but let's find out who wins because I know I'll win.
Here's my open challenge to Lorenzo Hunt. We can finish this. Let's fight until somebody goes down and doesn't get up. It doesn't have to be till the end, but let's find out who wins. Let's go, because I know I'll win.
Chris Camozzi, thank you for coming in. Let's end it on that note. Let's have a good time now. Cheers, my brother. I want to see it run back. I'm ready.
I want to shout out. This title fight and everything has brought me some amazing sponsors. If you're reading, you don't give a fuck. You're like, “Whatever.” First is MIT45.
What is MIT45?
MIT45 is a kratom company. That sounds like a loaded question.
I don't even know what a kratom company is. What the fuck is that?
I've taken MIT45. They call it the gold. It's golden black. It's in every gas station you go to. I bet if we go on the corner right here, it's there. There are ones for relaxation, but there are ones for energy. With their boost one, I was taking every sparring session beforehand instead of pre-workout. The name of the game for MMA combat sports is low heart rate. I love pre-workout because you feel it right away. It speeds up your heart rate. That's not conducive to athletic performance.
Kratom is a Southeastern Asian herb, but in low doses, it's energetic. They have one called Boost. It looks like the five-hour energy. I've been crushing those things. I'll bring you some. I meant to bring some, and I left early. Shout out to them. Half Face Blades, we talked them out about a bunch. I can't say enough about them.
I love this company. There are stickers on the table. We have some stone tools here. I own a bunch of their blades. I can vouch for this company. It is a personal friend of ours. It’s an incredible blade. It’s incredible in the backcountry. Go get one. That's Bito's but Half Face Blades or HalfFaceBlades.com.
It's a cool ass company.
Good luck getting a blade. Have fun.
I'm going to the factory, and I can't wait. I'm going to be like, “What do you got that I could buy?” I've already bought some shit from them. Their gear is cool.
If you want tools for whatever you're tackling, whether it's tactically or backcountry, these are well-thought-out, engineered, handcrafted works of art. You're proud to carry it, and it works.
There's another one that I feel like would resonate with your audience. We'll do a deal because I haven't even done this yet. GallowTech.com, check them out. Every time you go into a gun store, you see the cool display.
Is this the commando wall you've been to?
I convinced Whitney to let me put it in front of my Jordan shoe thing. I'm like, “Let me put it in the bedroom.” They also make cabinets and safes. They've done everything from the King of Saudi Arabia’s house. They make custom rooms. Everything they do is custom. You can buy slat walls. I would love to get you one in here. They're display walls.
He's a techie. He grew up in the rock scene. I bet you know him. We'll talk about it off-camera. If you message me and you hear this about Gallow Tech, shoot me a message and say you read it on Mountain Side. I'll figure out a discount for you after this because I didn't even talk to them about it before. They're a cool company out of Utah. Everything is USA-made. They don't outsource. It's a cool ass company.
I'm all about that stuff. I love gear. I love keeping it organized. Chris, thank you so much for coming up.
I'm going to be your co-host now.
Seriously, if you want, it's open. I got to talk to you about some other endeavors we have going on. There is another show I'd love to have you on. I don't know if you know about this but follow the Show Ready Podcast. There's some shit coming down the pipeline. We started it, and we ended it. We're starting it again. I love you, brother. Thank you so much for everything. I love watching you fight. Let's run it back. I'm going to Thailand with you.
Lorenzo, don't be a bitch. Let's do this for real. We'll go until somebody goes down.
Thank you everybody for reading. Thank you everybody for being here.
Important Links
Chris Camozzi - Instagram
Mike Pintar - Past Episode
#121 Chris Camozzi - BKFC CRUISERWEIGHT - Past Episode
Blake Miller - Instagram
Show Ready Podcast - Apple Podcasts