0
SPEAKER_00
Hello?
0
SPEAKER_00
Hey, what s up?
0
SPEAKER_00
Is this the guest?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, who is this?
0
SPEAKER_01
Hey, this is Aaron.
0
SPEAKER_00
Aaron, Aaron, are you, what are you doing right now?
0
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of activity going on.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yes, I am putting away equipment at the moment.
0
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
0
SPEAKER_01
But, uh, let me drop what I got going real quick.
0
SPEAKER_00
Yes.
0
SPEAKER_00
If you could just put your entire life on hold to have this conversation with a gecko, that d be awesome.
0
SPEAKER_01
Alrighty.
0
SPEAKER_01
How s it going?
0
SPEAKER_00
Going good.
0
SPEAKER_00
I forgot your name already.
0
SPEAKER_00
What is it?
0
SPEAKER_01
Aaron.
0
SPEAKER_00
Aaron.
0
SPEAKER_00
Aaron, um, what s going on, man?
0
SPEAKER_00
What do you, what do you want to talk about today?
0
SPEAKER_01
Hey, nah, I just thought I d, uh, thought I d mention, uh, kind of what I do for work.
0
SPEAKER_01
I ve been trying to call for, jeez, I want to say,
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I d say COVID since COVID.
0
SPEAKER_01
Um, I gave up honestly, probably like two months ago, a little more than that.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then I was like, you know what?
0
SPEAKER_01
I m gonna see, send a text and see how it went.
0
SPEAKER_01
I can t see why everyone, I see why everyone says they get nervous.
0
SPEAKER_00
Nah, it s just you and me, dude.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m alone in my house.
0
SPEAKER_00
You re alone wherever you are.
0
SPEAKER_00
Um, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_00
Tell me about your job.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh man.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I m a,
0
SPEAKER_01
janitor or custodian for a elementary school district.
0
SPEAKER_01
Um, shit, I ve done it for little over 10 years now.
0
SPEAKER_00
And, uh, yeah, I didn t know if you d want to hear some, uh, some crazy stories.
0
SPEAKER_00
I would love to hear some crazy stories.
0
SPEAKER_00
I bet you ve seen truly horrific things.
0
SPEAKER_01
I could honestly say I ve seen some shit.
0
SPEAKER_00
Literally.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
No, it s, it s crazy.
0
SPEAKER_01
So, uh, nah, so I used to do like subbing.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I d go to different schools.
0
SPEAKER_01
There s like junior highs and elementaries and stuff.
0
SPEAKER_01
The junior highs, you would think as the kids get older, they get, uh, they get better, but, uh, nope, they don t.
0
SPEAKER_01
Um, I have friends actually who, who work in like colleges.
0
SPEAKER_01
So it s grown adults and they, they ve seen some horrendous things that just from what they describe.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m like, Oh,
0
SPEAKER_01
It s pretty crazy.
0
SPEAKER_00
Do you, um... Look, I m gonna tell you, I m gonna preface something for you, okay?
0
SPEAKER_00
I want you to know that this, this is, this is, uh... You know, we re on the XM network, alright?
0
SPEAKER_00
This is, you can graphically describe, um, whatever fountain of piss and shit you desire to describe.
0
SPEAKER_00
What were some of the biggest messes that you encountered?
0
SPEAKER_01
Um, okay.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I was a sub, uh, this was about, I want to say like 10 years ago, nine, 10 years ago, uh, they shut down one of the restrooms.
0
SPEAKER_01
And, uh, so I got there, I got my keys.
0
SPEAKER_01
They re like, okay, here s your map.
0
SPEAKER_01
I, it was my first time at the school.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I had to get acquainted with where all the supplies, everything was.
0
SPEAKER_01
They re like, Oh, by the way, we want to, we want to let you know, we shut down the boys  restroom.
0
SPEAKER_01
And I m like, Oh, okay.
0
SPEAKER_01
Um, but like, yeah, you got a little surprise in there.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m like, all right, cool.
0
SPEAKER_01
And, uh, so, ah, one of the OG custodians, I forgot what he called it.
0
SPEAKER_01
He had a certain name for it.
0
SPEAKER_01
But, uh, it s where they, they ll get a shit and they use it as a marker and they ll just write whatever.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then mind you, these are elementary school kids.
0
SPEAKER_01
And, uh, yeah, just some of the things, some of the things they put is like, how did you, for one, know how to spell this?
0
SPEAKER_01
Uh, and then for two, they kind of got lazy with it and like they re running out of, uh,
0
SPEAKER_01
running out of ammo with it.
0
SPEAKER_01
So they just kind of started just spreading the shit.
0
SPEAKER_01
Literally, it was pretty horrible.
0
SPEAKER_01
And that was my first time at the school.
0
SPEAKER_01
That was my first time having a cleanup like that.
0
SPEAKER_01
And, uh, yeah, that that fucking sucked.
0
SPEAKER_01
I wanted to leave.
0
SPEAKER_01
I wanted to leave.
0
SPEAKER_01
But, uh, yeah, so I mean, there s that the junior high.
0
SPEAKER_00
Hold on.
0
SPEAKER_00
What what what did they write with this shit marker?
0
SPEAKER_01
Uh, I don t remember the teacher s name with the shit marker.
0
SPEAKER_01
I don t remember the teacher s name, but they wrote one of the teachers is a bitch.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then they said, I forgot the principal s name.
0
SPEAKER_01
Fuck so and so.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then, mind you, that side of the school was probably like the first or second grade side.
0
SPEAKER_01
So yeah, it was, it was, it was pretty, it was pretty crazy.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m trying to recall what else to it was, it was like more than that.
0
SPEAKER_01
But then like I said, towards the end, it started just getting
0
SPEAKER_01
getting a little uh they just got lazy with it and started wiping it and yeah it was fucked up that s pretty fucked yeah it s kind of depressing that at the it s kind of sad that at first they were you know putting some kind of artistry into it and then they just got lazy and started smearing the shit everywhere no yeah it was definitely uh it was definitely pretty crazy um but uh junior high kids it s uh
0
SPEAKER_01
They ll go and, uh... Oh, man, so... How do I put it?
0
SPEAKER_01
They ll get, like... We call them a Barbie box.
0
SPEAKER_01
And that s where they get the, uh... How do you put it?
0
SPEAKER_01
Like, like... Basically, like... You know, like, um... The pads or whatever, you know, used pads, and they ll go and fucking slam them up on the mirror, or slam them behind the, uh... Like, the stalls, the door, so you wouldn t even know it s there, but if someone sat down, they re just staring at this frightening, bloody...
0
SPEAKER_01
mesh It s pretty crazy.
0
SPEAKER_01
So there s like different protocols you have to clean different disinfectants and and whatnot at the same time They re not trying to get you know anything on yourself either.
0
SPEAKER_00
So it s pretty pretty crazy What s the absolute worst thing that you have seen in your 10 years?
0
SPEAKER_01
They like is a reverse waffle stump of a vent and
0
SPEAKER_01
So there s like a vent above the big handicap stall and it s like a gridded vent and someone just got like a patty of shit and just chucked it up there and uh, that was pretty, uh, pretty nasty.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then we had a, yeah, that was, that was pretty fucked.
0
SPEAKER_01
How did you clean that?
0
SPEAKER_01
That was probably the worst.
0
SPEAKER_01
Uh, you have to take the vent off.
0
SPEAKER_01
You have to take the vent off and there s only so much you can,
0
SPEAKER_01
Get on the vent like you know so you have to like physically take it off and then Whatever is inside the walls of the the duct cleaning that as well You know I have a lot of respect for you because the second I saw that I probably would have quit oh Yeah, no it yeah, I thought about it.
0
SPEAKER_01
There s times and then uh Yeah, I honestly there s times.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m like fuck.
0
SPEAKER_01
I should have done something different in my life, but you know I m trying to make money trying to
0
SPEAKER_01
You know, live.
0
SPEAKER_01
But there s I ve heard stories, there s worse stories and stuff I ve come across, so I know I don t got it so bad.
0
SPEAKER_00
What is it that kept you going for the entire 10 years?
0
SPEAKER_01
Aside from money, family.
0
SPEAKER_01
Family.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, I guess money for your family.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, well, yeah, basically, you know.
0
SPEAKER_01
I d say, yeah, there s Daisy coming.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s like, you know, crazy.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, just small.
0
SPEAKER_01
You ll get, like, a full, like, just fucking Mr. Hankey in the urinal.
0
SPEAKER_01
And, like, you ll just come across different ways to, you know, work smarter, not harder, you know.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m not trying to, like, physically, but there s other dudes who, you know, they don t care.
0
SPEAKER_01
They ll just, like, double-glove it, grab it, and then, you know, dump it down the toilet or whatever.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m just kind of, you know,
0
SPEAKER_01
It s still kind of like, oh, yeah, it s crazy.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s a crazy job.
0
SPEAKER_01
You know, it s not so bad.
0
SPEAKER_01
But like I said, once you get to high school, junior high is kind of bad.
0
SPEAKER_01
High school and college is worse, though.
0
SPEAKER_00
So as the kids get older, the shit and piss messes actually get worse.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh, definitely.
0
SPEAKER_01
Colleges.
0
SPEAKER_01
I mean, you go to a fucking Walmart, you know, you go to a random Walmart somewhere.
0
SPEAKER_01
It s horrible there.
0
SPEAKER_01
That s another thing is I ve come across as I, when I go on life, I m on vacation, whether it be a hotel, wherever I go, you know, you go travel.
0
SPEAKER_01
And, uh, that s another thing is I m looking at cleanliness of everywhere that I go.
0
SPEAKER_01
Uh, especially like the whole COVID and everything kind of, kind of made it crazy.
0
SPEAKER_01
Cause a lot of, how do I put it?
0
SPEAKER_01
A lot of supplies.
0
SPEAKER_01
They give us new, different stuff, new chemicals.
0
SPEAKER_01
They had like some backpacks.
0
SPEAKER_01
You ll see it like baseball games and stuff.
0
SPEAKER_01
You put like a solution and you got to like sanitize shit during the whole COVID.
0
SPEAKER_01
It was crazy, you know?
0
SPEAKER_01
But yeah, it s pretty shit.
0
SPEAKER_01
Some days it s shit, other days it s pretty cool, pretty chill.
0
SPEAKER_00
Do you ever, are you ever on vacation or just kind of out and about in the world and you see a horrible diarrhea mess all over the stall and you think to yourself, thank God I don t have to clean this one.
1
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, no, yeah, definitely I definitely feel bad for whoever has to Bless their little spirit, but uh, yeah, I know it s pretty It s pretty crazy.
1
SPEAKER_02
I feel like now I put it on the spot, but you know, like I don t expect to get a call.
1
SPEAKER_02
So I m just like trying to think of what else there s you know, there s a whole bunch of stuff and a whole bunch of shit that goes on but uh
1
SPEAKER_00
I gotta ask you this before we go.
1
SPEAKER_00
Were the kids themselves, were they dicks to you?
1
SPEAKER_02
No.
1
SPEAKER_02
No, they re pretty cool.
1
SPEAKER_02
You ll see them.
1
SPEAKER_02
How s it going, Mr. Eric?
1
SPEAKER_02
They re cool.
1
SPEAKER_02
Junior high kids, of course, they re getting snotty little shits.
1
SPEAKER_02
High school kids haven t dealt with high school kids, but from what I hear, some of them are cool.
1
SPEAKER_02
Other ones, they re little assholes.
1
SPEAKER_02
On the parents too.
1
SPEAKER_00
Have you ever unintentionally created a diarrhea mess in a public bathroom?
1
SPEAKER_02
No.
1
SPEAKER_02
No.
1
SPEAKER_02
Traveller s pills, man.
1
SPEAKER_02
Traveller s pills?
1
SPEAKER_02
No, the traveller pills.
1
SPEAKER_00
Oh, what are the traveller pills?
1
SPEAKER_02
There s like, travelling, uh, how do you put it?
1
SPEAKER_02
Cause you never know, you know, like you ever go on a trip and it s like your stomach will just fucking hit you.
1
SPEAKER_02
So if I go like long travels, I don t like having stomach issues, especially because I don t know the way restrooms are and stuff.
1
SPEAKER_02
I d rather wait till, you know, if I get to the hotel and then, uh, of course I keep like, uh, Clorox wipes or shit like that, you know, cause I don t, of course they clean the restrooms and stuff, but you don t know if they really do.
1
SPEAKER_02
Um, other people don t have the same standard of cleaning, you know?
1
SPEAKER_02
So I just kind of, I kind of don t, not that I don t trust whoever s cleaning it, but you know, you never know, you know, they could say they cleaned it and you have no idea who s, who s fucking using it before you.
1
SPEAKER_00
Do you think that you will continue to be a janitor or do you desire to ever transition careers?
1
SPEAKER_02
Um, I ve thought multiple times of pursuing, like doing school and then being on the other side rather than getting cleaning classes is being on the other side of the fence.
1
SPEAKER_02
Cause I ve heard a lot of stories like that too.
1
SPEAKER_02
Um, I just don t like schooling.
1
SPEAKER_02
You know, for me, it s like, how do I put it?
1
SPEAKER_02
I don t know, just the focus.
1
SPEAKER_02
As a kid, I was pretty, you know, I was more focused, but as I got older, I was just like, school kind of, I don t know.
1
SPEAKER_02
But, you know, I think about it.
1
SPEAKER_02
There s times I ve almost enrolled.
1
SPEAKER_02
I ve thought about switching, actually moving out of, like going to a different state and trying to find something there, you know, and, you know, something different.
1
SPEAKER_02
But there s also managers, you know, you can get managerial positions and,
1
SPEAKER_02
You know, they request at least 10 years experience.
1
SPEAKER_02
So had over, over 10, about 12.
1
SPEAKER_00
That sounds, now that sounds fun.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s, I think after 10 years of cleaning up diarrhea, you ve earned the right to tell other people to go clean up diarrhea.
1
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_02
It just takes the, uh,
1
SPEAKER_02
I d say it s that taking that step to just do it growing up the set and just saying fuck it you know to you know of course pick up move out and then you gotta put away you know and then you know stack enough to bring family over and you know so it d be about a
1
SPEAKER_02
two month solitude kind of arc.
1
SPEAKER_00
We re talking about like being a manager of like a sanitation thing, right?
1
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, like, well, yeah, because I ve found like in different states, you know, they pay.
1
SPEAKER_02
I mean, I could find around here too, but it s just, you know, around here is not so well.
1
SPEAKER_02
Just depends, you know, you go to different states and you have to travel and
1
SPEAKER_02
You know, it s like picking up and starting all over.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s kind of cool because you re going to have intel on which states in America have the worst diarrhea.
1
SPEAKER_02
Lay it out a map, you ll have a whole map of it.
1
SPEAKER_00
Don t go to Texas.
1
SPEAKER_00
No, I ve heard stories of barbecue.
1
SPEAKER_00
What s your name again?
1
SPEAKER_00
Wait, hold on, don t tell me, I m actually, alright, Eric.
1
SPEAKER_00
Well Eric, thanks for talking about all this stuff, this was fascinating.
1
SPEAKER_00
I didn t know that you could do a reverse waffle stomp.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s something that you really need some true malice to pull off.
1
SPEAKER_00
Is there anything else you wanna say to the people at the computer before we go, Eric?
1
SPEAKER_02
Shit, it s pretty crazy to have that asked.
1
SPEAKER_02
Don t do reverse waffle stumps.
1
SPEAKER_02
And, uh, keep your local restrooms clean.
1
SPEAKER_00
Thanks for calling, Eric.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, we ll give them.
1
SPEAKER_00
We got to make like an ASPCA style commercial, um, of very sad janitors asking, please do not do a reverse waffle stomp.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, hello, are we connected?
1
SPEAKER_01
Hey, what s up?
1
SPEAKER_01
Uh, this must be the therapy gecko, yeah?
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, is this Robby?
1
SPEAKER_01
This is Robby, man.
1
SPEAKER_01
I m glad to talk to you.
1
SPEAKER_00
Robby, what s up, man?
1
SPEAKER_00
How s it going?
1
SPEAKER_01
Good, man.
1
SPEAKER_01
How s your life?
1
SPEAKER_00
I m actually feeling pretty nice right now.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s always kind of a roll of the dice depending on the phase of the moon.
1
SPEAKER_00
But in this particular moment, I feel pretty good.
1
SPEAKER_00
What about you?
1
SPEAKER_00
Sure.
1
SPEAKER_01
You know, lunar cycles, whatever transpires.
1
SPEAKER_01
I m glad you took my call, man.
1
SPEAKER_01
Paulie, I ve been watching you for a little bit.
1
SPEAKER_01
I wanted to pose a question to you.
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, sure.
1
SPEAKER_01
All right.
1
SPEAKER_01
So I have the opportunity to go, you know, travel the world, use disability finances and X, Y, Z for military.
1
SPEAKER_01
So I was just to give a little backstory, you know, previous special special forces got injured, got out.
1
SPEAKER_01
Winter school really hasn t been my thing.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s been tough, going back for biology.
1
SPEAKER_01
So I kind of just want to go travel the world, but my conundrum is if I go travel the world in this crazy state that it s in, I ll leave my family behind.
1
SPEAKER_01
So I was curious as to your insight on that.
1
SPEAKER_00
Well, tell me about your family.
1
SPEAKER_00
What s your family?
1
SPEAKER_00
Is it, uh, your mom and dad?
1
SPEAKER_00
Is that a wife and kid?
1
SPEAKER_00
Who s, who s in the family?
1
SPEAKER_01
Sure.
1
SPEAKER_01
No, it s just mom and dad.
1
SPEAKER_01
Uh, five siblings, mom remarried, added two more.
1
SPEAKER_01
Um, this year we lost his oldest brother to, uh, um, an overdose.
1
SPEAKER_01
Sorry to hear that.
1
SPEAKER_01
So yeah, yeah, it s a tough, it s, it s been tough for all of us, but it s part of the game, I suppose.
1
SPEAKER_01
Part of the game of life.
1
SPEAKER_01
Mm-hmm.
1
SPEAKER_01
So, you know, it s been a hell of a year.
1
SPEAKER_01
Quite frankly, I broke my neck on a TV show last year.
1
SPEAKER_01
Actually, 12 months almost to the date.
1
SPEAKER_01
Since then, you know, fiance had left.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m sorry, before you continue, you broke your neck on a TV show?
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah.
1
SPEAKER_01
Survival TV show.
1
SPEAKER_00
What survival TV show were you on?
1
SPEAKER_01
Ooh, um, yeah.
1
SPEAKER_01
All right.
1
SPEAKER_00
Sign a thing.
1
SPEAKER_00
Did you sign a thing?
1
SPEAKER_01
Uh, no, no, it s out there now.
1
SPEAKER_01
So the thing is over.
1
SPEAKER_00
The NDA is over.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, it s called Fight to Survive.
1
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s on like Roku or whatever, if you have that.
1
SPEAKER_00
How did you get involved with Fight to Survive?
1
SPEAKER_01
Um, I actually got recruited from it, from a different survival TV show.
1
SPEAKER_00
How many survival TV shows have you been on?
1
SPEAKER_01
Uh, just those two.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then a couple other like low level productions and like Amazon Prime, things of that nature.
1
SPEAKER_01
Nothing worth saying.
1
SPEAKER_00
Do they find you because you re a special forces guy?
1
SPEAKER_01
That was the initial reason they brought me out.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then they, you know, because of my, I don t know, charisma on camera or whatever you might want to call it.
1
SPEAKER_01
Uh huh.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, it s odd hearing you talk to me while I see you on the background flying way above space.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s cool though.
1
SPEAKER_00
All right.
1
SPEAKER_00
So I m, you know, I m sure we could talk forever about these, uh, these, these reality TV, um, experiences, but so, okay.
1
SPEAKER_00
So you broke your neck.
1
SPEAKER_00
You were kind of running down with, uh, for me, all the things that happened to you recently.
1
SPEAKER_01
Right, right.
1
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, so what transpired after that?
1
SPEAKER_01
Fiance left, found out.
1
SPEAKER_01
So I moved to a different city to be closer to her, just to find out she had a different boyfriend here left for him.
1
SPEAKER_01
Makes sense.
1
SPEAKER_01
I just lost a brother.
1
SPEAKER_01
I was in a dark spot.
1
SPEAKER_01
A couple of months later, broke my wrist, been locked up.
1
SPEAKER_01
Still in school for biology, doing my best left-handed.
1
SPEAKER_01
I m a right-handed dude, so that stuff.
2
SPEAKER_01
And I recently just got the cast off.
2
SPEAKER_01
And my best friend is out in Southeast Asia just exploring like Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, hitting all those spots.
2
SPEAKER_01
And he invited me out there to go, you know, come say what s up with him.
2
SPEAKER_01
But my only like drawback is like, I m gonna leave my family in this type of situation where, you know, they already lost one son.
2
SPEAKER_01
What s it like if I have to go overseas and they re going to lose another for a bit?
2
SPEAKER_00
I, Robbie, I, um, I, I, I hope, I mean, uh, you know, dying and going on vacation are two very different things.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_00
Um, I, I, I think that, uh, how long do you plan on being away from for?
2
SPEAKER_00
Indefinitely.
2
SPEAKER_00
Hmm.
2
SPEAKER_00
So you re just going to go and see what happens.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s kind of my game plan.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
Hmm.
2
SPEAKER_00
Let me get into your head about this.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like, are you like, can I ask how old you are?
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I m 26.
2
SPEAKER_00
And, um, has family always been like, I guess, I guess I want to hear about like, family is clearly important to you, you know?
2
SPEAKER_00
Cause if it wasn t, you would be gone.
2
SPEAKER_00
You wouldn t be calling a gecko to talk about this.
2
SPEAKER_00
So, you know, what, what, how did that come to be?
2
SPEAKER_00
Like, tell me about the role of the family kind of plays in your life, you know, throughout your life.
2
SPEAKER_01
Um, I guess that s a hard question.
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, I grew up with five siblings.
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, I got my hand-me-downs from my cousins who ended up with my older brother who ended up with me.
2
SPEAKER_01
I guess I ve always had family around.
2
SPEAKER_01
Um, but I also joined, you know, military special forces to, uh,
2
SPEAKER_01
But nobody ever said the same things that they say now.
2
SPEAKER_01
Where you re like, oh, what about your family?
2
SPEAKER_01
Like, are you abandoning your family to go do this?
2
SPEAKER_01
I get that from them now.
2
SPEAKER_01
But nobody said that when I went to leave for, you know, Special Forces.
2
SPEAKER_01
They were all totally fine with it then.
2
SPEAKER_01
It s a strange conundrum that I find myself in that... Thank you for allowing me to talk to you about this.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I find this fascinating.
2
SPEAKER_00
Hmm.
2
SPEAKER_00
So well, okay.
2
SPEAKER_00
What kind of like, do you, do you live with, uh, your parents?
2
SPEAKER_01
I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m on my own.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_00
So what kinds of like stuff do you do for them where that they re, are they, are they dependent on you for anything?
2
SPEAKER_01
Um, right now they re dependent as far as like community goes.
2
SPEAKER_01
So any day that I m not in school, so I studied biology, uh, one day a week at school and the rest are online classes.
2
SPEAKER_01
But I go home pretty much every opportunity I get to spend as much time with the family, especially considering this up, you know, this future operation that I might endeavor.
2
SPEAKER_00
Mm-hmm.
2
SPEAKER_01
Mm-hmm.
2
SPEAKER_00
And how many other how many siblings do you have?
2
SPEAKER_00
Well now I have five Okay, and are they all are they all around is everyone everyone s around?
2
SPEAKER_01
No, two of them pretty much stay, you know, Colorado.
2
SPEAKER_01
Are you familiar with Colorado?
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I m familiar.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, I ve like I
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I know Colorado.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t know if I know every... I don t know, like, uh... Lansdowne, Colorado.
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, well, no, don t worry about it.
2
SPEAKER_01
The big names.
2
SPEAKER_01
So I got two in Boulder.
2
SPEAKER_01
Uh, my two brothers live together in Boulder.
2
SPEAKER_01
Uh, my sister lives in Colorado Springs, and I live in Denver.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay, so everyone s pretty close.
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, not more than an hour and a half.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, look, I mean, all of that aside, man, um...
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, uh, this is, uh, an interesting one to think about because I don t know if there s a right or wrong answer.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, it all depends on like what you value.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I don t think there s say again, help me out with that.
2
SPEAKER_01
Let s decide what s worth of value.
2
SPEAKER_00
yeah well worth of value to me how much do you value yeah yeah well to me family is very important and and and um robbie you ve spent a goddamn good amount of your life a good amount of your adult life too
2
SPEAKER_00
Servicing the value that you have for your family, you know, but clearly you also have a you also have a value You also value adventure you value experience Do you not?
2
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely.
2
SPEAKER_00
And you got to, you know, serve those values as well.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I think, I mean, you ve never, have you, have you ever been outside of the country before?
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, probably like, I don t know, 13, 14 countries or so.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ve been out and about.
2
SPEAKER_00
Cool.
2
SPEAKER_00
Cool.
2
SPEAKER_00
Cool.
2
SPEAKER_00
Um,
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, look, man, you re first of all, you saying that use the way you said indefinitely, it was as if the gates would close.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, it was.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh, you re trying to expatriate as in you d like you re trying to renounce your American citizenship.
2
SPEAKER_01
I m not in the sense of renouncing X. You know, you don t have to renounce your citizenship.
2
SPEAKER_01
But, you know, if I never come back, you know, it might be for good reason.
2
SPEAKER_01
Crazy shit s going on in America.
2
SPEAKER_01
I m sorry, am I allowed to say that crazy stuff is going on?
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you can.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you can say crazy.
2
SPEAKER_00
You can say whatever you want.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, this could get very political, but what is it about America that you re trying to escape?
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, very well could, and it could also get very scientific.
2
SPEAKER_01
But which also, unfortunately, is politicized.
2
SPEAKER_01
So I don t know how much of that I m allowed to disclose with you.
2
SPEAKER_00
Look, you can say whatever you want.
2
SPEAKER_00
But, you know, we don t even really I don t even know if we need to get into specifics because.
2
SPEAKER_00
OK, fair.
2
SPEAKER_00
Whatever.
2
SPEAKER_00
Who gives a shit?
2
SPEAKER_00
Who cares?
2
SPEAKER_00
No, I feel you too.
2
SPEAKER_00
I feel you too.
2
SPEAKER_00
I feel you too.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s a lot of... That s my same thought.
2
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of reasons to want to leave America for whoever you are.
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, why does it have to be so... I guess what I m lost on is why does it have to be so dire?
2
SPEAKER_00
Like, you can come back.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you can come back.
2
SPEAKER_01
I guess I d love to come back, you know, if I sell it in a spot where it s, where it s the spot that I want to be.
2
SPEAKER_01
And it s not, it s just so detrimental, the stuff that s going on.
2
SPEAKER_01
I don t want to participate in it.
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, I say like our tax dollars are going into it, whatever it might be.
2
SPEAKER_01
If I m a non-participant in that, you know, it s like, I hate to use this comparison.
2
SPEAKER_01
It s like the matrix, right?
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, red pill, blue pill.
2
SPEAKER_01
You can be ignorant and bliss, or you can recognize what s going on in non-participant.
2
SPEAKER_01
Be a non-participant in that fact.
2
SPEAKER_01
I don t know, man.
2
SPEAKER_01
I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_01
You know, that s why I m calling to talk to somebody about it.
2
SPEAKER_01
Sure.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I think I think I just if I could say something and this is just like how I think about shit and I might be wrong, but whatever.
2
SPEAKER_00
I think it s more important to think about you than it is to think about, like, society and culture at large right now, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
Because what I m hearing, and I know that you have some cultural, political, whatever, hang-ups with America as a place that you want to, you know, not
2
SPEAKER_00
Support or participate with you, but it what I I m reading more into this argument you have with yourself about wanting to go and and Live your life for yourself an adventure versus wanting to you know be there to support your family because both of those things are very important to you and so Say again
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, no, you re 100% correct.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s the hang-up.
2
SPEAKER_00
And so look, I guess I don t understand why, and maybe it has something to do with the political, cultural hang-ups that you have, but I don t see why this is a drastic, indefinite move.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, you can go, many people will go to Southeast Asia
2
SPEAKER_00
for a month, two months, three months, four months, five months, and then come back.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, it doesn t have to be the most, um, you know, you can, you can, you don t have to live your life decades at a time.
2
SPEAKER_00
You can do it a couple days, weeks, months at a time.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know what I m saying?
2
SPEAKER_00
No, I totally do.
2
SPEAKER_00
I get it.
2
SPEAKER_01
I m concerned.
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_01
Concerned about, you know, what is the next decade, weeks, months of, I mean, even this current nation, I don t want to get political with
3
SPEAKER_01
it.
3
SPEAKER_01
We already talked about that.
3
SPEAKER_01
That s not it.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_00
Well, let s, let s, let s do it here.
3
SPEAKER_00
Do you, you, are you, you re collecting disability money?
3
SPEAKER_00
How are you making money?
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
That s correct.
3
SPEAKER_01
And then I collect money to go to school.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_01
Are you dropping out of the typically handsomely?
3
SPEAKER_00
Are you dropping out of school?
3
SPEAKER_00
Uh, I might transition to online to complete my degree.
3
SPEAKER_00
Cool.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_00
And that you can do from anywhere.
3
SPEAKER_00
So, okay, great.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you re in Thailand, you re living the laptop lifestyle, as they call it.
3
SPEAKER_01
Well, I would do that and then also train mixed martial arts nonstop.
3
SPEAKER_01
So I have a couple, I have one professional fight, you know, numerous amateur.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
That kind of sounds sick.
3
SPEAKER_01
It kind of sounds like a sick life, right?
3
SPEAKER_01
Would I be?
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
But the only thing is, like, I got my family here and they just, like, we all just lost one of our five.
3
SPEAKER_01
to suicide.
3
SPEAKER_01
And I would hate for my mom.
3
SPEAKER_01
Really, that s what hurts me.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s like thinking my mom s going to lose another one.
3
SPEAKER_01
But at the same time, I also don t really want to come back if it s that awesome out there.
3
SPEAKER_00
I will say, I will say, I ve never, I m the most out of shape person that you ve talked to at least in the past month.
3
SPEAKER_01
Not a chance dude, I see you saying it, you re good.
3
SPEAKER_00
Even I, even I have had weird 3am fantasies about going training martial arts in Thailand.
3
SPEAKER_00
It sounds cool.
3
SPEAKER_00
But anyway, anyway.
3
SPEAKER_00
Have you ever, so have you talked to your mom about this?
3
SPEAKER_00
I m curious.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, mom knows.
3
SPEAKER_01
Grandpa knows.
3
SPEAKER_01
Siblings all know that this is where my heart s at.
3
SPEAKER_01
This is kind of where I want to go.
3
SPEAKER_01
And well, just be completely forthcoming.
3
SPEAKER_01
I tried calling you a couple times prior, but at this point in time, tickets are booked and I m sending it.
3
SPEAKER_00
Oh, so you re going.
3
SPEAKER_00
This isn t even a decision.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s more of a like, hey, can you counsel me in a spot where... Is there anything that I m doing wrong?
3
SPEAKER_00
Look, I m not in the business of telling people what to do or what not to do, but this is a tough one because
3
SPEAKER_00
I ve got a big, uh, uh, adventure bug myself.
3
SPEAKER_00
And when I do that kind of thing, I really do think to myself like, oh man, this is, um, this is really just living your life to the fullest.
3
SPEAKER_00
And if that s what you want to do, that s the way to do it.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s very scary.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s very scary to live your life to the fullest in that way.
3
SPEAKER_01
What do you think about that type of fear of the unknown?
3
SPEAKER_00
I think it s so funny that you re like a badass fucking special ops Guy and you probably could fucking kill me by touching me and The only thing that you re afraid of it s not you know guys with guns or big alligators It s the unknown
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
That s an interesting thought right there, Gecko.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s a very funny observation.
3
SPEAKER_00
The fear of the unknown.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t know, man.
3
SPEAKER_00
I have a lot of the fear of the unknown myself.
3
SPEAKER_00
I have a lot of the fear of the unknown myself.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I think lately, here s how I ve been dealing with the fear of the unknown.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, I try to be grateful when I m facing the unknown because a lot of the fear, like when I have fear of the unknown, I m like, oh man, life s been cool so far.
3
SPEAKER_00
Is it going to stay cool or is it going to suck?
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, it s the bad things that it could do is not stay cool and suck.
3
SPEAKER_00
But I try to be grateful, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
So I m like, well, even if the future isn t as cool as how things have been, or if it sucks, it s like, well, I got to have
3
SPEAKER_00
Everything I got to live everything that was cool.
3
SPEAKER_00
I got to already have all these great experiences I got to have this time with my family these other Good experiences this time with my friends.
3
SPEAKER_00
I already had lived so much great life, so I m grateful for whatever great life I got to live and so I m not anxious about whether or not there s gonna be more because if there is then that s a beautiful and
3
SPEAKER_00
Bonus, and I m thankful for it, but if there s never any again, then you know I already already had my fill of life being good You know I don t know if any of that makes sense, but that s one thing.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, can you can you like?
3
SPEAKER_01
Bullet points of that I get hit in the head a lot.
3
SPEAKER_01
Can you hit me?
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh?
3
SPEAKER_00
God Huh bullet points of that I guess what I m trying to say in short is that
3
SPEAKER_00
I m grateful for my life as it has been so far.
3
SPEAKER_00
Right.
3
SPEAKER_00
And so that makes me worry less about the future because I m grateful for the past and the present enough that it quells my fear of the future.
3
SPEAKER_00
Does that make any sense?
3
SPEAKER_01
It absolutely does.
3
SPEAKER_01
You must believe in some type of defining power then.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t really believe in... Not really.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t believe in God or karmic forces or any kind of higher power that exists to intentionally move things around to make them the way that they are.
3
SPEAKER_01
What about, I mean, you believe in yourself, right?
3
SPEAKER_01
You can move things around to make things how they are.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I do.
3
SPEAKER_01
I believe I believe in myself in terms of and that s as far as it goes as far as belief, like of what can change things.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s just strictly your third dimensional entity.
3
SPEAKER_00
No, it s, well, I have a little bit of control, and then there s a lot of other forces that, uh, are outside of my control.
3
SPEAKER_00
And those forces outside of my control are a little bit like God.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know?
3
SPEAKER_00
Like, uh... Like, the weatherman is kind of like God.
3
SPEAKER_00
He controls the weather.
3
SPEAKER_00
Well, he doesn t control the weather, he reports it, but... You know, I m not in control of what- I m not in control of what weather he reports, so I guess that kind of makes him like God.
3
SPEAKER_00
Um...
3
SPEAKER_01
Hmm, you know, it s psychology.
3
SPEAKER_01
So I mean, if you want, if you re gonna call it, let s call it.
3
SPEAKER_01
But yeah, hands up.
3
SPEAKER_01
Cool.
3
SPEAKER_00
I was gonna say, I was gonna say, what about the unknown?
3
SPEAKER_00
Are you afraid of?
3
SPEAKER_01
Um, failure to achieve potential would be my greatest fear.
3
SPEAKER_01
And you know, I can smack mad potential here in the States, if I really sat down and like worked it.
3
SPEAKER_01
I guess I m afraid of real work.
3
SPEAKER_01
I just want to do what I like doing.
3
SPEAKER_01
And what I like doing is training, and traveling, and meeting new people.
3
SPEAKER_01
Buddy, yeah, yeah, yeah.
3
SPEAKER_00
Well, finish your thought before I interrupt you.
3
SPEAKER_01
No, that was, that pretty much was it.
3
SPEAKER_01
I like training, I like traveling, I like meeting new people, and I like pretty much just experiencing the world as it is.
3
SPEAKER_00
Buddy, I m also... I m also afraid of not... I m also afraid of a real job.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s why I m wearing a gecko costume right now.
3
SPEAKER_00
And why I m asking people to subscribe to my Supercast account.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I m also afraid of not reaching my potential.
3
SPEAKER_00
And actually, what I just told you...
3
SPEAKER_00
What about the whole being grateful for the, what I just told you about being grateful for the past and the present has kind of helped me quell my fear of not reaching my potential because I can look at my past and my present and be like, well, I did these things.
3
SPEAKER_00
I tried in this way.
3
SPEAKER_00
I kind of gave it my all.
3
SPEAKER_00
So maybe, maybe, maybe in that sense, I did reach my potential, you know?
3
SPEAKER_00
Or does potential even exist, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
Or is potential just like a completely made up thing?
3
SPEAKER_01
What would mean potential is a made-up thing?
3
SPEAKER_01
Okay, isn t there?
3
SPEAKER_01
I don t I don t I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_00
These are not fully for me could all be these are not fully formed thoughts this might be just kind of a bunch of bullshit, but I kind of feel like
3
SPEAKER_00
With but like like say this right like I m I m not in great shape.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay, so Let s say I had the potential.
3
SPEAKER_00
Let s say I have the potential Theoretically to become an Olympic athlete, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
But did I ever really because at the end of the day there s
4
SPEAKER_00
Certain and I don t know this is where I reconcile with like what what is and not a mic What is and what is not in my control right because at the end of the day, there s certain fucking things in your brain That you don t really even understand that have influence over you and the decisions that you make and the way that you live your life and
4
SPEAKER_00
and you know this is what s fucking weird to me is in a way like I do believe that brain chemistry and just shit going on with you psychologically in your environment and whatever influence you to make the decisions that you make so in some way they are your decisions and you were in control of whether or not you went out and became an olympic athlete but also in some ways you kind of weren t
4
SPEAKER_00
But it s also – I get wrapped up into this because the more I feed the side of my brain that I think I m not in control of – the more I feed that idea that I m not in control, the more I get complacent and want to eat potato chips.
4
SPEAKER_00
But it leads to what?
4
SPEAKER_01
If you re not in control of it, then what is in control of it?
4
SPEAKER_00
I had no fucking idea.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s got to be subconscious.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s got to be some type of chemical reaction.
4
SPEAKER_01
And if you break down chemical reactions, what causes chemical reactions?
4
SPEAKER_01
What causes the mechanics?
4
SPEAKER_01
What causes, you know, micro electronic?
4
SPEAKER_01
If you really break it all down, I know I hate to counter you on this one.
4
SPEAKER_01
I feel like it comes down to creative force.
4
SPEAKER_01
A destiny.
4
SPEAKER_01
Destiny.
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh, like a god?
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, like a god.
4
SPEAKER_00
It could be.
4
SPEAKER_00
There could be.
4
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, we ve gotten- Maybe I don t know either.
4
SPEAKER_00
We ve gotten so off track here.
4
SPEAKER_00
We re actually, no, I don t even think, I don t even, I don t even, no, no, no, I totally take back what we said.
4
SPEAKER_00
I totally take back what I just said.
4
SPEAKER_00
I totally, I regret saying that just now.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s antithetical to how I feel about this podcast because there is no track.
4
SPEAKER_00
Whatever track we were on was the track.
4
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
4
SPEAKER_01
Dude, this is a great combo.
4
SPEAKER_00
Um, so.
4
SPEAKER_00
Look, you bought the tickets.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s awesome.
4
SPEAKER_00
Dude, I think when you re fucking dying, I think you re going to be happy that you left your comfort zone and went to experience the world.
4
SPEAKER_00
And clearly that s what you want to do.
4
SPEAKER_00
You want to be out and about.
4
SPEAKER_00
You want to be meeting people, doing things, awake, alive in the universe.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s where you want to be.
4
SPEAKER_01
You know 100% but the only I get you I m the same way the only concurrence is that Damn, my mom like our whole family had just lost a sibling to something stupid I don t want to Man, if I did that twice That s my only fear.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s my biggest fear.
4
SPEAKER_01
I don t care about if I got ate by a great white shark I don t care while I m surfing in Australia or got bit by a snake in Thailand.
4
SPEAKER_01
Like I don t care
4
SPEAKER_01
But what I m really worried about is like, how is my family going to deal with maybe two losses?
4
SPEAKER_01
Cause that s dangerous out there.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s not the same as when you say, dude, when you say two losses, do you, are you referring to yourself leaving America?
4
SPEAKER_00
Are you, are you referring to yourself leaving and not coming back?
4
SPEAKER_00
Or are you referring to some possible danger that you ll die?
4
SPEAKER_01
I get knocked out.
4
SPEAKER_01
Like I get knocked out of the game.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Eliminated.
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, well, in that, in that case, before you d fucking get in your car and drive down the street, you could think that about yourself, man.
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean, you re gonna, you re gonna die and you could die.
4
SPEAKER_00
You could die at home in America or you could die in Thailand.
4
SPEAKER_01
Damn, that s a good thought.
4
SPEAKER_00
I didn t realize that s what you were talking about.
4
SPEAKER_00
If that s what you were talking about, then that s, you know, I mean, that s crazy.
4
SPEAKER_00
You have no control over whether or not some random fucking thing happens to you that kills you.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, you know, that s kind of why I say it always happens in God s hands, I suppose.
4
SPEAKER_01
I should have died maybe three or four times already.
4
SPEAKER_01
I know that s not your game, which is cool.
4
SPEAKER_01
I won t push that.
4
SPEAKER_01
No politics, no religion.
4
SPEAKER_01
We ll do that.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s cool.
4
SPEAKER_00
Are you were you trying to say that you feel like like God is watching over you to make sure that you don t die?
4
SPEAKER_01
No, I just know that every single person has been put here for a purpose.
4
SPEAKER_01
And what do you think?
4
SPEAKER_01
And dude, who am I to say what my purpose is?
4
SPEAKER_01
You know what I m saying?
4
SPEAKER_01
Like, I have no idea.
4
SPEAKER_01
Not a chance.
4
SPEAKER_01
My purpose for a little while was to make people laugh with singing up comedy.
4
SPEAKER_01
For a little while, it was to entertain people with this TV show.
4
SPEAKER_01
And before that, it was for a little while to entertain people with an MMA fighting career.
4
SPEAKER_01
Before that, it was, I guess, learning, probably, before that.
4
SPEAKER_01
I don t know what my purpose is.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s very funny to me that you re about my age, because you talk like you re 47.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Is that good?
4
SPEAKER_01
Or does that mean I m closer to death?
4
SPEAKER_00
No No, I think I don t I don t know.
4
SPEAKER_00
I don t know what that means It s it s cool.
4
SPEAKER_00
You re a cool guy.
4
SPEAKER_00
I imagine I imagine you to be about About twice my height Yeah, you re probably about what that would make you seven foot two you re about six I m like five eleven point eight That s awesome
4
SPEAKER_00
Um, yeah, man, go to thailand.
4
SPEAKER_00
You re already there.
4
SPEAKER_00
You already bought the tickets fucking send it.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah Yeah, that s what I that s what I would do.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s what i m probably going to do That s what i m probably going to do, you know, I can do my stream from anywhere.
4
SPEAKER_01
I always think about hauling ass over Straight up straight up get your ass out there because i m going i m i m be honest.
4
SPEAKER_01
I already have my heart set on it I was trying to call you for a couple months prior to this to like
4
SPEAKER_01
you know, deliver it a little bit, you know, deliberate, excuse me, a little bit, try to figure this whole thing out, but, uh, yeah, I came to my own conclusion, I m- I m sending it.
4
SPEAKER_01
But if you ever wanna, like, connect dots, too.
4
SPEAKER_00
I was gonna say, if you ever- if you start- if you ever start a fucking dojo out there, you let me know, I ll- I ll- that would be a fu- that would be a crazy-ass video, if I- if I trained in the gecko suit.
4
SPEAKER_01
You could do that with, uh, yo, how far away are you?
4
SPEAKER_01
I m C Springs, Colorado Springs.
4
SPEAKER_01
You know, if you ever, if you ever feel like, uh, swinging through, shoot me a message.
4
SPEAKER_01
You got the, uh, you got the numerals.
4
SPEAKER_01
So, uh, yeah, absolutely.
4
SPEAKER_01
No joke.
4
SPEAKER_01
That would be a fun podcast.
4
SPEAKER_01
Plus I feel like you can, you and I could have a long form type discussion.
4
SPEAKER_00
I appreciate you putting that feeler out there.
4
SPEAKER_00
One of these days, I ll put down the fucking tootsie rolls and go try to be a real guy.
4
SPEAKER_01
Do what you re doing, bro.
4
SPEAKER_01
Do what you re doing.
4
SPEAKER_01
You are doing great things.
4
SPEAKER_01
Thanks, Robbie.
4
SPEAKER_01
You are doing great things.
4
SPEAKER_00
Thanks, Robbie.
4
SPEAKER_01
I love listening to your podcast.
4
SPEAKER_01
You re catching all stars on your podcast now.
4
SPEAKER_01
Fire, bro.
4
SPEAKER_01
You are literally
4
SPEAKER_01
catching fire.
4
SPEAKER_01
I love seeing it.
4
SPEAKER_01
Love listening to it.
4
SPEAKER_01
Thank you for taking my call.
4
SPEAKER_01
I know I m not supposed to say that.
4
SPEAKER_01
You guys, you rock.
4
SPEAKER_00
Thanks, Robbie.
4
SPEAKER_00
And look, man, you re you re a good guy, too.
4
SPEAKER_00
All right.
4
SPEAKER_00
I hope that you make just do do me a favor.
4
SPEAKER_00
You made the decision.
4
SPEAKER_00
You made the decision.
4
SPEAKER_00
You re going you re doing it.
4
SPEAKER_00
Feel good about it.
4
SPEAKER_00
Feel happy about it.
4
SPEAKER_00
Because making a decision that you making of definitive decision and then feeling bad about your decision.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s the opposite of having your cake and eating it, too.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s like taking your cake and diarrhea on it and then eating the diarrhea cake.
4
SPEAKER_00
Just eat the cake with no diarrhea.
4
SPEAKER_01
You know what?
4
SPEAKER_01
You re a smart man, Gecko.
4
SPEAKER_00
All right.
4
SPEAKER_00
You take care, Robbie.
4
SPEAKER_00
Thank you, ma am.
4
SPEAKER_01
Love it, brother.
4
SPEAKER_01
Take care.
4
SPEAKER_01
See ya.
4
SPEAKER_00
I think he was trying to say I love you at the end, but he just couldn t do it.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I feel the same way.
4
SPEAKER_00
I love you too.
4
SPEAKER_00
Robbie.
4
SPEAKER_00
Thanks for calling.
4
SPEAKER_00
Good luck.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hey guys, it s Lyle here.
4
SPEAKER_00
I m about to do some ad reads, but if you re a premium member of the podcast, you will not hear them.
4
SPEAKER_00
Premium members, or Gek Legends, as I like to call them, get access to every episode of this podcast ad-free.
4
SPEAKER_00
They also get bonus episodes, recordings for my live shows, members-only streams, and they support my ability to keep doing this show for a long time,
4
SPEAKER_00
do it in cooler, more interesting places, and also eat food, which is important.
4
SPEAKER_00
If any of that sounds cool to you, you can go to therapygecko.supercast.com to become a GECK legend, or find the link in the episode description.
4
SPEAKER_00
Alright, let s do some ads.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hello.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hey, what s up man?
4
SPEAKER_00
Is this- am I speaking to the gecko right now?
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you are.
4
SPEAKER_00
Am I speaking to Tyler?
4
SPEAKER_00
Yes, you are.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hello.
4
SPEAKER_00
Tyler, can you
5
SPEAKER_00
Get off Discord real quick.
5
SPEAKER_00
Talia, can you turn off every single appliance in your home except for your phone?
5
SPEAKER_02
Okay, I will make sure my refrigerator is not running.
5
SPEAKER_00
Good.
5
SPEAKER_02
All right.
5
SPEAKER_00
What s up, man?
5
SPEAKER_00
It says here that you wanted to talk about how you feel like you re a hoarder.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
So, basically, I just collect anything that I get my, like,
5
SPEAKER_02
hands-on.
5
SPEAKER_02
I got a collection of those stupid little Five Nights at Freddy s figures.
5
SPEAKER_02
I got little Minecraft figurines.
5
SPEAKER_02
I got posters all around my room.
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t know if you remember that one promotional item that McDonald s did with that one clothing brand where they had the four eyes, but I have all of those figures.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have a box of Cause cereal.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have a lot.
5
SPEAKER_00
I feel like there s a difference between just being a hoarder.
5
SPEAKER_00
I feel like there s a difference between being a hoarder and just decorating your room with stuff that you like.
5
SPEAKER_02
I guess so, but a lot of it is just unnecessary.
5
SPEAKER_02
Like I have a collection of Mountain Dew bottles.
5
SPEAKER_02
Mind you, they re they re filled with food coloring, so it looks like it has the soda still in them.
5
SPEAKER_02
So it kind of looks cool, but it s still just like garbage.
5
SPEAKER_00
Would you consider those Mountain Dew bottles to be trash or decorations?
5
SPEAKER_00
Or memorabilia?
5
SPEAKER_02
A little bit of both, probably.
5
SPEAKER_00
How many Mountain Dew bottles are sitting around your room right now?
5
SPEAKER_02
Are we going to count the actual bottles?
5
SPEAKER_02
Because I have 11.
5
SPEAKER_00
What do you mean by actual bottles?
5
SPEAKER_02
All right.
5
SPEAKER_02
So I m
5
SPEAKER_02
I m kind of addicted to Mountain Dew as well as hoarding things.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have four separate boxes of cans, a mini box of Baja Blast and 11 different bottles of just soda.
5
SPEAKER_00
Are these like special bottles or are they?
5
SPEAKER_02
Oh, yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
These are these are limited.
5
SPEAKER_02
These are limited.
5
SPEAKER_00
OK.
5
SPEAKER_00
How many of the Mountain Dew bottles are limited edition collector s items and then how many of them are just regular Mountain Dew bottles?
5
SPEAKER_02
Um, technically all 11.
5
SPEAKER_02
Oh, wait, are we talking about the ones that are filled with the soda or the ones that are filled with the water?
5
SPEAKER_00
How many of these are filled with soda?
5
SPEAKER_00
How many of these are filled with water?
5
SPEAKER_02
I have, let me, let me count them.
5
3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have 17 filled with water.
5
SPEAKER_00
Why do you have 17 Mountain Dew bottles filled with water?
5
SPEAKER_02
Well, it s colored.
5
SPEAKER_02
It has food coloring in it.
5
SPEAKER_02
So it s like, um, it looks like the soda is still in it.
5
SPEAKER_00
Did you put the food coloring in it?
5
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_02
Hold on.
5
SPEAKER_02
Someone, Mr. Annoyed just said, and how many piss?
5
SPEAKER_02
So I have a funny story with that.
5
SPEAKER_02
I m sorry.
5
SPEAKER_02
I m getting sidetracked.
5
SPEAKER_02
There s a,
5
SPEAKER_02
flavor where it s lemonade and there s another flavor with peach.
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t like either flavor but when they re mixed together it is very good.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s like a peach lemonade and it looks like piss.
5
SPEAKER_02
So I have an empty bottle of Mountain Dew with the word piss on it and I fill it up with my like piss yellow soda flavor and
5
SPEAKER_02
It looks like piss.
5
SPEAKER_02
I thought, I just thought it was very funny.
5
SPEAKER_00
I think that crosses the line into hoarding.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
See, I told you it was hoarding.
5
SPEAKER_00
How hard would it be for you to throw these away?
5
SPEAKER_02
Oh, it s going to be hard because I have another six, nine, 10.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have another 16 empty cans.
5
SPEAKER_00
What do you feel like you have an emotional or sentimental attachment to these bottles?
5
SPEAKER_02
Um, not really.
5
SPEAKER_02
I could probably throw them out easy, but my friend got me into it.
5
SPEAKER_02
So it s like kind of like a duo, me and him.
5
SPEAKER_02
I actually went to his house one time.
5
SPEAKER_02
to try a flavor, he got like a birthday cake flavor and it was like terrible.
5
SPEAKER_02
I hated it.
5
SPEAKER_00
Do you think that your life would improve with the absence of these bottles or is it better with the presence of these bottles?
5
SPEAKER_02
I mean, I feel like it adds character, but if I stopped drinking the soda, it would probably be better.
5
SPEAKER_00
I m not a nutritionist, but I think that s probably true too.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_00
Is there anything just while we re on the phone and you re looking around the room, is there anything that you re like a hundred percent sure you don t need that you can throw away?
5
SPEAKER_02
Um, I m looking around now.
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t actually, that s not true.
5
SPEAKER_02
I ate a whole bag of potato chips last night.
5
SPEAKER_00
Can you throw away the potato chip bag?
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, I just threw it away.
5
SPEAKER_02
I got a little case of the munchies.
5
SPEAKER_00
Did you just throw it away?
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, I just threw it away.
5
SPEAKER_02
Don t worry.
5
SPEAKER_00
Like just now?
5
SPEAKER_02
Just now.
5
SPEAKER_02
Here, listen.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s in the garbage.
5
SPEAKER_02
Don t worry.
5
SPEAKER_00
We made some progress.
5
SPEAKER_02
We re making progress.
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t see anything else.
5
SPEAKER_02
There s probably just little papers on the floor that I can pick up later.
5
SPEAKER_00
Tyler said your name was?
5
SPEAKER_01
Yep.
5
SPEAKER_00
Hmm.
5
SPEAKER_00
Is there anything else that you want to tell me about this?
5
SPEAKER_02
So I wanted to get into this a little bit.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have a flavor, the birthday cake flavor.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
I, I love riding my bike around a lot.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s like she, like my bike is my little baby.
5
SPEAKER_02
So I ride my bike to my friend s house sometimes, the one I collect Mountain Dew with, and we sit on this front porch like king of the hill and we just drink sodas.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s pretty chill.
5
SPEAKER_00
That actually sounds awesome.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it s really cool.
5
SPEAKER_00
See, now that you told me that, I understand.
5
SPEAKER_00
OK, now I understand why you keep the bottles, because it s like they remind you of of this time that you have with your friend, like like you were kind of explaining to me.
5
SPEAKER_00
It s like it s like a thing with you and your friend.
5
SPEAKER_00
You re not just collecting trash around your room.
5
SPEAKER_02
No, and they re neatly organized, too.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s not like they re just in some keep.
5
SPEAKER_02
It s on a shelf and all nice and neat.
5
SPEAKER_02
I could probably text you a picture.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I ll look at a picture.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_02
Oh, cool.
5
SPEAKER_02
I could just, uh, let me see.
5
SPEAKER_02
Um, yeah, this is my collection.
5
SPEAKER_02
I have, I have a lot.
5
SPEAKER_00
What s the most valuable bottle that you have in this collection?
5
SPEAKER_02
I don t really know.
5
SPEAKER_02
Most of them are just filled up with water.
5
SPEAKER_02
So probably none of them.
5
SPEAKER_02
The red solo cup was the cake flavor.
5
SPEAKER_00
Wait, so these have, these have, um, oh, you have some kickstarters in there too.
5
SPEAKER_00
So these are, none of these are actually full.
5
SPEAKER_00
Do you just put food coloring in them?
5
SPEAKER_02
Uh, yeah, a few in the back are full cause they re diet and I don t really care about diet.
5
SPEAKER_00
I like that the diets are like worth less to you.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, it s a worth less.
5
SPEAKER_00
Um, well, Tyler, thanks for sharing this with me, man.
5
SPEAKER_00
Is there anything else that you want to say to the people of the computer before we go?
5
SPEAKER_02
Um, there s this kid in my school.
5
SPEAKER_02
His name is Paul.
5
SPEAKER_02
He s a really, he s a really nice guy.
5
SPEAKER_02
And I just wish I was able to be friends with him.
5
SPEAKER_02
And I don t really know how I could be friends with him.
5
SPEAKER_02
Do you have any little tidbits of advice?
5
SPEAKER_02
He s really chill.
5
SPEAKER_02
He s really nice.
5
SPEAKER_02
I just want to be friends with Paul.
5
SPEAKER_00
Why don t you invite him to come over to your house and look at your Rare Mountain Dew collection?
5
SPEAKER_01
That s not a bad idea.
5
SPEAKER_01
All right.
5
SPEAKER_01
Thank you, Lyle.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, thank you, Tyler.
5
SPEAKER_00
You made mine.
5
SPEAKER_01
Have a wonderful night.
5
SPEAKER_00
Later, man.
5
SPEAKER_01
Later.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, Tyler, if you re still listening, dude, if someone came up to me and was like, hey, me and my friends are going to go drink rare mountain dews on a stoop like they do in King of the Hill.
6
SPEAKER_01
Do you want to come?
6
SPEAKER_01
I would accept that invitation immediately.
6
SPEAKER_01
That s a good invitation to put out into the universe.
6
SPEAKER_01
That s a good activity to invite someone to.
6
SPEAKER_01
If I were Paul, I would want to be a part of that activity.
6
SPEAKER_01
Hello folks, it s Lyle here.
6
SPEAKER_01
That s the end of this episode, but get this, I m releasing a bonus episode this week.
6
SPEAKER_01
That s right, an entire extra hour of the podcast that you can listen to by becoming a premium member of Therapy Gecko over at therapygecko.supercast.com.
6
SPEAKER_01
Supercast subscribers get access to bonus episodes, they get a completely ad-free podcast feed of the regular show, they get recordings from my live shows, members-only streams, and they help support my ability to continue doing this podcast.
6
SPEAKER_01
So, here s a clip from this week s members-only bonus episode.
6
SPEAKER_01
You texted me something.
6
SPEAKER_01
Can I read what you texted me?
6
SPEAKER_01
Of course.
6
SPEAKER_01
You said, hey, Lyle, my name is Drew.
6
SPEAKER_01
I ve become obsessed with the idea of becoming the guy that gives the best head to the point where I am considering breaking up with my girlfriend so I can get better at giving head.
6
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, that s that s pretty much accurate.
6
SPEAKER_01
Tell me more about that.
6
SPEAKER_01
If you wanna hear this full conversation, you can sign up to become a premium member at therapygecko.supercast.com or find the link in the episode description.
6
SPEAKER_01
That s therapygecko.supercast.com.
6
SPEAKER_01
All right, I have nothing else to say.
6
SPEAKER_00
♪ Therapy Gecko s on the line ♪ ♪ Taking your phone calls every night ♪ ♪ Therapy Gecko s doing it right ♪ ♪ He s teaching you how to live your life ♪ ♪ But he s not really an expert ♪