April 17, 2024

HEART OF A CHAMPION – RISING ABOVE! With Randy Boom Boom Blake Jr.

HEART OF A CHAMPION – RISING ABOVE! With Randy Boom Boom Blake Jr.

Episode Summary – BOOM-BOOM FOR SUICIDE PREVENTIONS, AWARENESS AND EDUCATION! In Episode 75 of the Shining Brightly Podcast Show (links in the comments), titled “HEART OF A CHAMPION – RISING ABOVE” with five-time world champion Randy Blake Jr. He takes us back to his childhood as a laid-back kid that got bullied and even spit on. His parents enrolled him in a karate class to build his confidence and it worked. Then David “Master Kick” Vogtman his instructor saw the huge potential Randy and motivated him to put in the work. MASTER KICK DIED OF A SUICIDAL DRUG OVERDOSE. On the Chuck Norris World Combat Tour, Randy got his big break and then defeated reigning world champion Mike Shephard. A twenty-five-fight winning streak brought him to five championship belts. Modern day he is a coach, speaker, best selling author of “BOOM” and a national advocate by starting with Buddy Thornton a non-profit for suicide prevention. COME LISTEN, DOWNLOAD, SHARE AND REVIEW THIS POWERFUL SHOW!

Mentioned Resources – Randy Blake Jr. is a 5-Time ISKA World Champion / 4-Time Martial Arts Hall Of Fame Inductee / Award-Winning & Best-Selling Author / Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree

Website: randyblakejr.com - Order a autographed copy of the book here

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/randy.blake.165

Instagram: @rb3boom

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-blake-jr-353738238/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/NbCcHfiRtIE?si=9hWGXHRLrlo0zovP

About the guest –

I am Randy "Boom Boom" Blake Jr., and my journey in the world of martial arts has been nothing short of incredible. With 31 years of experience, I've earned the prestigious title of 5-Time ISKA Heavyweight World Champion and hold a 5th-degree black belt in karate. My dedication to the sport has led to multiple inductions into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. In the world of kickboxing, I boast a remarkable record of 52-7 with an impressive 35 knockouts. I've had the privilege to compete in the top kickboxing leagues, including Chuck Norris' World Combat League, K-1, and GLORY. My passion extends beyond the ring. I'm a Goal Success Life Coach, dedicated to helping individuals reach their full potential and achieve their goals. As a Motivational Speaker, I've had the privilege of sharing my story and inspiring others in diverse settings, from churches and prisons to colleges, schools, and corporate events. One of my proudest moments was being honored with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing my lifetime of achievements and contributions to society. I'm driven by a deep desire to make a positive impact on the world, whether it's through my athletic achievements or my work as a coach and speaker. My skills extend beyond martial arts to include kickboxing, karate, goal setting, motivation, public speaking, and leadership. Join me on my journey to success, motivation, and personal growth. Together, we can overcome challenges and reach new heights. Book : BOOM: A True Story Of Perseverance, Mental Toughness, And Overcoming Adversity. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." Muhammad Ali.  As I share my story of world titles and the kickboxing life, I want to lead you on a journey of five principles that made me the man I am today. They are taken from the practice of martial arts. They are Courage, Discipline, Perseverance, Respect and Integrity.

About the Host:

Howard Brown is a best-selling author, award-winning international speaker, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, interfaith peacemaker, and a two-time stage IV cancer survivor. He is also a sought-after speaker and consultant for corporate businesses, nonprofits, congregations, and community groups. Howard has co-founded two social networks that were the first to connect religious communities around the world. He is a nationally known patient advocate and “cancer whisperer” to many families. Howard, his wife Lisa, and daughter Emily currently reside in Michigan, and his happy place is on the basketball court.

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Http://www.shiningbrightly.com

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Transcript
Howard Brown:

Hello, it's Howard brown. It's the Shining Brightly



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Show. We are here to motivate, educate and inspire. Oh my



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goodness, I am so happy. The Champ is in the house. Randy



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boom, boom Blake. Welcome. How you doing, man?



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Randy Blake Jr.: Hey, that's good to be here. I'm excited.



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Oh, happy to see you, man. So this is an



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incredible story. And we're all about shining brightly here. But



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this is incredible. So let me tell you a little bit about



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Randy because I recently over the last couple of months got



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introduced to Randy. We're doing an author journey show I will



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set out to send eat van breeder. And we're part of the art of



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connection crew with Robert W. Jones and Natalie McQueen. So



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lots of shout outs there. But let me tell you, Randy is the



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coolest cat man. I mean, it's so Randy BoomBoom Blake Jr. Okay.



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He basically journeyed into martial arts. We're going to



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tell you that story, we're going to tell you some childhood



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piece, but he's been doing this for 31 years, and he's a five



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time a ska heavyweight world champion, fifth degree black



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belt in karate. And his dedication to the sport has had



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him introduced the martial arts Hall of Fame's multiple times.



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Ooh, this is incredible. In the world of kickboxing, kickboxing,



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he had a 52 and seven record with 35 knockouts. So that's



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where the boom boom comes from, I imagine and including, he was



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in the top league with Chuck Norris, in the world combat



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League of kg one and glory. This is incredible stuff. So he



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basically transformed that discipline and dedication of



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karate in his life, okay, into being a coach beyond the ring.



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He's dedicated to serving individuals, and helping them



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achieve their goals. He's a motivational speaker. He's a



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book author, and he talks in churches, and he talks at



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prisons and colleges and schools. I know you love talking



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to the kids, and give them inspiration to, you know, for a



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good life. You are honoured with the presidential Lifetime



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Achievement Award. That's a big honour. Wow, congrats on that.



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And you just have a deep, deep desire to take your athletic



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achievements and basically help lift up others, which is all



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about shining brightly is lift up yourself what you did, and



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then you lift up others. And I'm just so so privileged about



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that. We're going to talk about your book, which is, boom, a



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true story of perseverance, mental toughness, and overcoming



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adversity. So I want to welcome you ready. I'm really honoured



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to be here. And I just love being around you. And I want my



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audience to hear from you today. So I'm excited. All right, with



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that grand introduction. Tell me how you're shining brightly



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today.



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Randy Blake Jr.: Well, today, I'm just happy to be on the



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show. I'm always with a smile on my face. And I'm always looking



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to inspire others using my martial arts principles and



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trying to help make the world a better place.



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We are aligned, we are aligned. Okay. And we are



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fine. All right. Well, I want you to take me through as a



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little kid, because it wasn't always this way a little bit



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through your childhood and what happened and sign of your mom's



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aha moment there. Give me some of the childhood background. So



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Randy Blake Jr.: Well, my first aha moment was I was getting



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bullied, picked on. I didn't realise it at the time. But you



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know, I would get my head raked up against the fence every day.



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And I was kind of let it be. Pretty much one day, my aunt



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picked me up. And I get into the backseat. And she looks back to



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ask how my day was, but she saw a big wad of spit just kind of



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rolling down my face and she just flipped out. She's lost her



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cool, like, whoa, what's going on. But um, the parallel to that



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was I was always watching a guy named John Claude Van Damme, I



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was very inspired by this guy. There was a movie called



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Bloodsport for you guys who don't know what that is, is the



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guy doing splits and kicks and fighting in this cool arena and



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at all the cool chicks? And I thought it was cool. So my mom



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decided, well, let's get him into martial arts. My dad



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decided, well, yeah, let's do that. But I couldn't get him a



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box back to so he could practice his punches and kicks. And so



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that was really my aha moment. Because when I jumped into



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martial arts, I instilled confidence or I was instilled



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confidence in me and I had maybe four or five lessons. This bully



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tried to put me in a headlock and spit on me and do whatever



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he was going to try to do to me. And I don't really remember what



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I did. I swung at him, I did something. The whole point was I



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had enough confidence to stand up to this bully, and he left me



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alone. So that was my aha moment. And that was my journey



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into the martial arts world.



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I love that story. Not that fact that you were



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bullied. Okay. The fact is that you actually took action on it.



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Um, bullying still exists, okay? There's all formats of bullying



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right now online bullying and in person bullying, and it still



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happens. But the fact that you know, Auntie saw the spit coming



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off you and I'm such a sickening to me, you know, spit on a



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little kid you're 11 or 12, right? And the fact that your



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parents supported you in this and that bullying went away and



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there's a real lesson to learn from that. So Alright, so now



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you're you're you're you're taking some some lessons, you're



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learning the sport, you're learning the discipline, take



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take me through your martial arts journey. Because one of the



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things I will tell you, Randy, everyone has to find their happy



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place and you found yours on the basketball court guy, I find



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that happy. And I say this in my book, find your happy place and



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go there often schedule it, and I don't care if it's cooking,



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travel, yoga, meditation, hiking, fishing, go there, and



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you found it take me to your happy place. Now take me to the



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martial arts.



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Randy Blake Jr.: So I was always a good kid, I was always pretty



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laid back just kind of easygoing, my grades are pretty



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decent. But I noticed when I jumped into martial arts, the



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confidence really rose. But one of the biggest things that stuck



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out to me was my competence, to talk to people became better my



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grades, talking to people, just martial arts brought a lot of



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those aspects out of me that I didn't realise that I had. But I



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will say on the downfall of things, I had students in class



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who would challenge me to the point to where it made me almost



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want to quit. So I always tell people, like, you have to have



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the good, but you have to have the bad too. And so luckily, I



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had two good parents who they said, I'm paying all this money,



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you're not quitting, buddy. So you're gonna take a little



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behind the class, I don't care if you get your butt handed to



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you, you're gonna go because I pay for it, you're gonna get



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your black belt. So I'm very thankful for those moments,



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because I wouldn't be here on this podcast with you today



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talking. So yeah, martial arts has been a huge part of my life.



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And it's just exciting. All



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right, so take me through a story that you are



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sparring. But then you're actually going to get into real



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contact with Master kick. Tell me Tell us who master kick is.



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And tell us that transition.



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Randy Blake Jr.: Yeah, so now this is after high school. I go



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off to college, because I decided I was going to be like



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Michael Jordan. That was that was my whole thing. You know,



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growing up as a kid, you see these Gatorade commercials, you



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see this guy sticking his tongue? You know, slam dunk,



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and, you know, I can't I can't tell you our if you haven't done



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this before, you probably lie and as a 90s kid, you know, the



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three to one buzzer beater. You get the ball of socks, roll it



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up and you shouldn't hamper we all wanted that story. So I



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decided I was going to go on this journey and be like Michael



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Jordan. So I went to multiple colleges to try it out. I was



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told no, no, no, no, no. So I come across a small college here



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in Oklahoma. It was a junior college, I ended up getting a



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walk composition. And I just felt out of place. So I decided



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to drop out. I dropped out of college, I moved back home with



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my parents. And I found martial arts again. So now I'm 19 years



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old. rekindling my craft and love for the the art and I'm in



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class with this instructor. And in martial arts, you have semi



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contact, sparring is not full blown hitting, you're just going



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through the moves technique. You're you're a practitioner,



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just, you know, getting a good sweat. Nobody wants to get



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bloody nose or bruises. Because you have to go to work in school



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the next day, if you're going to school, this instructor at the



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time, he says, Randy, you're really good. I would like for



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you to come and do the fighters class. So I said, okay, cool.



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So, this went on for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks. And



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after every class he would like put me in a corner and say,



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Randy, please just come try it out. Please, please, please,



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please. So about a month or so later, he finally like his voice



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guide DP got real Stern, Randy, please try the class up. Because



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in this karate class, we can't hit hard in his fighters class.



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If you'll just come try to one time, you can know what it feels



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like to hit somebody fullblown not get in trouble. You're not



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going to get push ups. You're not going to lose your belt. But



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also they can hit you back and so you can know what it feels



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like to get hit. And so I just said okay, fine, you know, I'll



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try it out this free. One time. Maybe you leave me alone so I



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can go back to my martial arts class.



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Childhood got gentleman's name,



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Randy Blake Jr.: though. The gentleman's name was David



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master kick Bowman. And that name is very monumental to me,



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because I just started To do that one kickboxing fighters



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class, and I enjoyed it, I got a chance to hang out with seasoned



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veterans guys who are preparing for fights guys who have, you



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know, multiple fights in the game and I'm just amateur rookie



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karate guy. And they're hanging out with, you know, big giants



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as a 19 year old. And I never will forget this because after



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that class, that one class, he comes up to me, he looks me in



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the eyes, because he looks up to me because I'm 6364. So he's



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about 510. So he looks up to me. And he goes, Randy, if you stick



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with this class, you will become a world champion. Now, back



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then, I'm 19 years old, the world the word World Champion is



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huge. I'm thinking of guys like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield.



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I'm thinking of Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture. You know, the



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list goes on, and I'm going, I don't want anything to do with



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those guys. There's no way a little meme can become world



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champion. And so that was a big, monumental AHA piece in my life,



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because I never saw David Volkman after that moment ever



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again. So, you know, he ended up drug overdose and committing



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suicide. And I sit here today, and I tell you, you know, I'm



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very honoured and privileged to be here, because had I not taken



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that journey to go back into the fighters class. There wouldn't



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be any world titles, there wouldn't be any success after



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that with me. So this



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is incredible. Because first of all, you know,



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hit or be hit, and you got that feeling. And but here's the



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thing, Master kicks, saw something in you that you quite



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didn't see in yourself, okay? And I call that mentorship is



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leadership. All right, you allowed Him to guide you in the



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right direction. Okay. But he saw something in you I had that



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same person. Okay. I had a woman named Marilyn Schneider that



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helped me transfer it to Babson College, because I was in a



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liberal arts school and not an entrepreneurship school. We need



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to be open. Okay, that's the lesson be open to that



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mentorship and people that guide you, okay, and take you down the



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right path. And and really, you know, make a master kicks you



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know, name and, and memory be only for a blessing because he



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took his own life. And we're going to talk about that after



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as well. But so now you're on your way. Let's continue this



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because there's a story here. Okay, where you started to get



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involved now in serious competition. All right. So take



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take us through the next step of your your career here into the



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championship, and Chuck Norris and, and champ Shepard and all



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this stuff.



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Randy Blake Jr.: Yeah, so at that time, I was still trying to



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find myself because I told you guys before I just dropped out



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of college. Well, doing that also led me into the club scene.



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So I was, I was partying hanging out, I was a bouncer, I was



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making $10 an hour. But going into that fighters class really



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pulled me out of that world. So it actually it put me on a path



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to start to do good things. And next thing I know with hard



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work, dedication, perseverance, self discipline. I'm now



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fighting. So maybe nine months into training. And now I've got,



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you know, two amateur fights in one professional fight. And so



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I'm not even thinking about making it to the big leagues.



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I'm just happy to just get to hit people, and I get in trouble



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for it. And so next thing I know, I get an invitation to be



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on this league. And this is back in 2007. There was a league at



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that time called the WC L, the world combat League, and then it



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was hosted by Chuck Norris himself. so as to give you a



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quick background on what that was. You have to imagine it



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being like basketball, football, a team based sport, so you had



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multiple weight classes. And it was a team setting. So you had



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your starters and you had your alternatives. Okay, and you have



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one individualise weight class go out. They fight in the middle



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of this rainbow. So it wasn't a rope like a boxing ring. And it



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wasn't a cage like the UFC, octagon, it was just a platform



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you fought on. So you go in for one three minute round. You



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fight. You go back to the locker room at halftime and you come



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back out. You do it all over again. And obviously each



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starter has a backup just in case something happens. So the



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only way that you never actually go out. If you're a starter is



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it you get knocked out. Okay, so I'm now invited onto this team.



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I've got two amateur fights. I've got one professional fight.



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Everyone in the league has at least He's 25 to 30 professional



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fights pull us. So I am when I say I'm a baby at that time, I



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am a baby. I'm 21 years old, I was brought on this team to



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pretty much be a cheerleader to get some experience, and just to



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be around some veterans who, you know, could do things that I



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couldn't do learn what these guys are doing. Are they eating



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properly? are they what are they doing? As far as training? Are



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they running 10 miles a day? Are they doing 10,000 Push ups,



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whatever they're doing, that's what you're gonna do. We're



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gonna put you in for next season. I was okay with that.



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Because I got a chance to travel. I got a chance to see



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Chuck Norris. It was all good. I'm just living the dream now.



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Learning the discipline ready, you were



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learning.



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Randy Blake Jr.: And I'm learning to discipline. And so



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that was my mindset going into this season, you're not going to



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fight. Cool, no big deal. So one specific night, the guy who I



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was backing up at the time, that was 195 pounds that was



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supercruise away. At that time. I'm backing him up. He goes off



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for his fight. It was a one three minute round. Him and his



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opponent. They're going at it back and forth. Okay, I'm



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cheering them on from the sidelines. And it comes to a



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draw. So nothing happened. And so I said, okay, cool. No big



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deal. He gets 30 minutes to rest. 30 minutes to rest. So I'm



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gonna go backstage, I'm gonna pump them up, getting ready,



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hold two minutes for them, motivate them do what I can for



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a young 21 year old pup, and he'll go back out there. So this



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guy decides he sits in a seat to pounce, he throws a tantrum. I'm



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not going back out. He's flipping out. He's saying all



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kinds of crazy words. And when you have that team setting, we



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have multiple coaches. So it wasn't just one coach. We have



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like five coaches, you have five coaches, trying to get this guy



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to prepare himself to go back out there. Now mind you, we had



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30 minutes. His answer was no, no, no. Now my I got a headache.



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My jaw hurts. My legs hurt my My shoulder hurts my arm, my right



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arm hurts. Darn. And I've been knocking people out with I can't



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use it. So I don't want to go out because I'm too afraid to



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lose. That was his answer. And so watching this from a from



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afar going, and that's just, that's kind of scary, but I'm



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also going maybe I might have a chance to go in. So next thing I



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know, I get a pat on the back. And these words always resonate



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in the back of my head always. Randy, I hate to do this to you.



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But I have to throw you in. Now, when I say that it wasn't out of



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excitement. It wasn't like, okay, yes, it was out of panic.



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It was out of, I'm afraid. You're a baby. You know, imagine



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like throwing your kid into the lion's den. You know, that it's



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that panicky feeling of, I'm not going to see you again. And



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whatever happens to you. I just want you to know I love you. And



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I'm in spirits with you. But there's nothing I can do. I



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mean, the coaches even call my parents just to let them know.



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And why I bring that up is because it wouldn't have



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mattered because nobody knew who I was. But my parents and and



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arena, we fought in front of like 9000 people. So I get



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ready. I'm going down there and I'm about to fight a guy who has



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never been knocked out. This guy has 20 Plus flights. Last thing



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I hear before I go out there, use your reach, not to whatever



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that he could even mean that's just what that's the last thing



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I heard going down there they call my name to get this big



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Titan Tron. So I'm walking down. I'm seeing all the lights and



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then I'm seeing myself on this big site and Tron screen. I'm



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just going whoa, this is like a jury, right? It's um, slap



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myself in the face trying to wake up and that round goes. The



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bell goes ding so we're moving around. I'm throwing punches.



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He's throwing punches. I'm throwing kicks. He's throwing



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kids. I throw a spinning back thrust kitty. So I spin and I



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throw a kick and I hit him and I go, boom, okay, I dropped him to



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the ground. Okay, the referee goes over and gives him a



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standing eight count. So he's kind of got this gruelling look



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on his face. And he stands back up. So that was another aha



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moment. I said, Oh, he didn't like that. So this time I said,



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Okay, I'm gonna go over there. I'm gonna throw another spinning



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back thrust kick. But this time, I'm going to jump into it. I'm



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gonna jump in throw all my weight into all 195 pounds into



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it. So we know anything about Oh, Newton's law. That's what I



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did. And I did just that I go over there I throw a jump



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spinning back thrust kick, I put all my weight into it. Boom.



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Drop them. This time you did it get up. So, so to me, that was a



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great moment. But the most exciting part about that whole



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fight was I happen to look over and Chuck Norris is right there



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just cheering this clapping like, Oh, bravo. That was so



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awesome. That was so amazing. So like, I was fanboy like, Man,



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this is Chuck Norris applauding a little kid like me. And so



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when I got back into the locker room, the team mates who saw me



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as this little kid, like, what is he doing in this team? He's



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got two amateur fights and one professional fight out, walk



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them hills and valleys to get here and who does he think he



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is? They finally saw Wow, this kid is really going to be



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something one day. That's where I got my nickname, boom, boom.



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Boom, boom, awesome. Alright, so now you've



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kind of got you know, you really, you're in the light to



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meet Chuck Norris. Okay. And then take me through. Is it



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Mike? Sure. What's the champ that you fought to win some



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championships? Yeah,



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Randy Blake Jr.: so. So that's why I was on cloud nine. We're



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all cheering Whoo. Yeah. You know, Randy's awesome. Boom,



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boom. So now I've earned my keep. So now I'm a part of the



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actual lineup. So the very next fight, which is a month or so



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down the road, they throw me in there. This time, I fight a guy



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named Mike shepherd. I didn't know that. He was a world



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champion. At the time, I just looked at him as another



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fighter. And I was able to hang in there with Mike shepper. So



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there was a couple of times in the fight where I lost some



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points. And he really started scoring more points. And at the



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end of the day, he got his hand raised. So I was a little bummed



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out, because nobody likes to lose, right? So after the fight,



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we have what's called a post fight party. That's just where



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all the fighters all the staff, and media and camera crew, we



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all get together and just hang out. Mike Shepard, being a very



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humble martial artists, a very respectful person, he walks up



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to me, it looks me in the eyes. And he says, Hey, that was a



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great fight. And I just want you to know, he says, I beat you



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based off experience. I knew you were young. But I can tell you,



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if you'll stick with this. You'll become a world champion



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one day as what Mike told me. So my feelings were still heard.



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And I was still kind of down. I go over, I said, about five



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minutes after a conversation. I noticed I looked over to my



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right. And there was like a big crowd of people. I mean, it



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almost looked as if there was a fight going on. So I rushed over



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there. And I saw Mike shepherd in the middle. So there's all



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these spiders surrounding Mike. And Mike is just simply talking



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about his life. He's talking about his discipline. He's



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talking about the things that Mike Shepard does to prepare for



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fights. before, during, and even after fights, he talked about



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what he did to prepare for me. And that was my aha moment.



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Because prior to, I was still clubbing, I was still bouncing.



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I was training maybe once, maybe twice a week, I was doing



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nothing but using my athleticism. And if you look at



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my, clearly I was a more athletic guy, but Mike had the



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brains Mike had the technical. And that's what goes into any



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sport, you can be as athletic as you want. But if you don't have



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any discipline, if you don't have any skill sets, and you



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real hardcore mindset. It's hard to win games. It's hard to win



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championships. And so that's what I learned listening to



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Mike, there was a lot of things he sacrificed the things that he



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did weeks and weeks prior to his fight, and how that changed my



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whole career. Because after that, I completely cut off the



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clubs. I'm training to three times a day. I'm literally



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taking the mike Shepherd formula. And I go on a 25



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winning streak, with about between I will say 15 1718



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knockouts within those 25 wins. And I didn't really do this to



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do this, but it put me in a position to now become the



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number one contender to now compete for a world title. And



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come to find out four years later, Mike Shepard himself has



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the world title. And so he finds out that I'm done. number one



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contender. And so when, when you're the world champion, you



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decide, because you're on the AI side, when you're the world



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champion, you decide what type of gloves we're going to wear.



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You decide the location and the fight you decide. The ring we're



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going to fight in, you decide how many rounds you're going to



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fight, you decide all the rules to contender just shows up, and



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he has to just abide by the rules and do what the ASI wants.



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So Mike decides, oh, it's Randy Blake, great guy, but I'm the



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world champion. And oh, by the way, I want to fight Randy in



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his hometown, because I want to embarrass him in front of his



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home crowd. And I'm going to do him just how I do my kids when



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they get out of line. So we ended up fighting we fought here



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in Oklahoma. And but the difference was, it wasn't one



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three minute round. So this was a five three minute round fight.



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So meaning after that three minutes is up, you get one



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minute rest in between rounds, and you go back right out you



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fight again. And we were doing Muy Thai rules. So that play to



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my favourite because I'm alone guy have long reach. So love



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through my knees. I have my my sidekicks. And I can continue to



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clinch and ragdoll him around. And so we got to near Fight



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Night. And that was a totally different animal that was more



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mature. And they had some experience under my belt to have



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some some mentorship. And this wasn't a three, three minute



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round flight where I have to just go, you know, nonstop full



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throttle action, I can really hone into my craft and my



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confidence. And I actually ended up finishing my Shepherd in the



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fourth round with the jump knee. And so I ended up getting my



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hand raised. And that was my first world title. And I



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happened in 2012.



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Wow, oh my God, that's such an incredible story



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that you beat the master. Okay, you know, you learn from him.



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And but you did tribute him because you changed your life.



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You started to get real serious, you made it actually a focus,



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you change your diet. And you basically you actually fulfilled



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the prediction and prophecy of master kick and of Mike



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Shepherd, okay, and became a champ. And that's incredible.



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Because that's a very rare thing to be able to rise up and do



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that. And it's just incredible. And I like to tell people, okay,



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that we all get knocked down in life and you got knocked down.



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Okay, if you were a humble kid, but you got knocked down a whole



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bunch, you lost some some some fights too. But you won the big



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one. I got knocked down twice from cancer, I got knocked down



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lots of little times in my life. But I've been able to get back



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up again. And we all must get back up in life and in business,



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and in careers and in relationships. And you you just



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it's such an inspirational story. Now, take me through just



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a couple things. What do you think the big lessons because



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you got hurt, too. You had some serious injuries. You told me



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your concussions. You didn't know if you ever got concussed.



Howard Brown:

But I mean, you're putting your body on the line. Okay, and



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could you scramble your brain up and things like that. But Did



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something happen to your bicep?



Howard Brown:

Randy Blake Jr.: Yeah, yeah. So that happened in 2016. So yeah,



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so at that time, I was going from my third world title. So I



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had my first world title in 2012. And then I wanted again in



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2015, and then 2016. To me, that was probably my greatest fight



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ever. Because at that point, I was considered in my peek in my



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eyes, I was in the zone. I mean, I'm doing some incredible things



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and training. And I just felt like Superman because the



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mindset is just completely pure. I was fighting a guy, Great



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Britain. And now that I'm the world champion, I decide where



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the fights are at. So why not bring the shows to my own



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hometown, in front of my own home crowd. So when you're



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before you fight, you know, we train, we do all those things,



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but the most important part of the training is training your



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opponent. So you have to be able to play chess. So it's all about



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chess, it's all about thinking, two and three moves ahead. It's



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all about taking your strengths and applying them to your



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opponent's weaknesses. So one of the things that my coaches and I



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decided was, every time my opponent throws a right kick, he



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always drops his right hand. So what that means is he's open to



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a left hook all day long. So we drilled that for weeks, weeks,



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and I'm left handed. So I'm going great. So, fight night



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arrives. We're beautiful 12 week training camp. I'm confident I'm



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looking this guy in the eyes and I'm saying I'm gonna knock you



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out. Now, I didn't say that. It's just the confidence I have



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looking into him as far as stare downs. Flight night arrives.



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We're moving around. We get into a clinch I shouldn't need to my



Howard Brown:

opponent's ribs, he calls a foul. So in the fight world, you



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call a foul, you automatically go to a neutral corner and both



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fighters. So at that time, I'm looking over him going, and I'm



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going, I'm gonna get him, knock him out, left, but I look down



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on my arm. Now my bicep is rolled up, like in my armpit.



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That's when the pain receptors kicked in. Right? Now I'm in



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shock. I'm shell shocked, like, whoa, what just happened. And so



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what happened is I tore my bicep tendon at the distal end. So the



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bicep is attached at the long head, which is the top piece and



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then at the elbow, which is the distal end. One of the most



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horrific things you could ever do, because what happens when



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you tear your bicep tendon is you lose the ability to pronate



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and supinate. So you lose the ability to turn knobs and turn,



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you know, the volume on the switch. But in fight World, I



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lost the ability to do the one thing I had been training for 12



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weeks there on that left. So make long story short, I ended



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up winning, but it was hard. Because I had to dig deep within



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myself. I had to rely on my coaches, because I was so



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fixated on knocking this guy out with a left hook. I'm going to



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get him I'm going to get him. But that was taken away from me.



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And so my coach comes in to the cage after that third round.



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Going into the four. He says, Randy, he's poking me in the



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chest. If you don't throw any punches, that belt is going on



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that plane, all the way back to Great Britain. Is that what you



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want? Now I'm using the PG rated version of it, because he was



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saying some things it was trying to fire me up from coach to



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athlete. And he fired me up. He slapped me in the face. And I'm



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waking up. And I go back out there. And I didn't finish him.



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But I started scoring points. I got the crowd behind me. I got



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my hand raised. But yeah, that's what happened. But I tore my



Howard Brown:

bicep because it's one of those moments that I use. And today,



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sometimes you have to take an alternate route. Sometimes when



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things don't go your way. What do you do? Do you sit still? Do



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you cry about it? Did you just move forward? Do you rise above



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that you rise up? And then you find another way to get there?



Howard Brown:

Yeah, I It's I'm just saying pure resilience,



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man, pure resilience. And I love that. So I you know, you can't



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fight forever. You've got so many accomplishments. So I want



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to go back now to master kick. Okay, and suicide prevention,



Howard Brown:

awareness and education. Why? Why is this so important? And



Howard Brown:

what are you doing about that now?



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Randy Blake Jr.: Yeah. So when I thought about the master kick



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thing, that didn't really resonate to me, I was I was



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saddened by it, because I would have liked him to been there.



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For my world title wins, I would have liked to been able to just



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acknowledge, like, hey, like, this is a guy that, you know,



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helped me and put me on a path when I couldn't see things for



Howard Brown:

myself. What really resonated for me and why I wanted to help



Howard Brown:

was just here recently, you know, a couple years ago, I saw



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some guys who I had trained with who committed suicide. And there



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was been some guys in the martial arts world who I was



Howard Brown:

inspired by not John Claude Van Damme. But in the Power Ranger



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world. I was a huge fan of Power Rangers and Jason, David Frank,



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the green of the green slash White Ranger, I found out that,



Howard Brown:

you know, he just taken his life and I'm going, Man, this is this



Howard Brown:

guy kept me out of a lot of trouble, because I was spending



Howard Brown:

a lot of my childhood trying to do these Tommy moves, and you



Howard Brown:

know, singing the Power Ranger song, and that really hurt my



Howard Brown:

feelings. And really, right around that same time, I just



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meet a guy named Buddy Thornton. So in 2021, I announced I was



Howard Brown:

going to have a book, come out. I have my book. It's right



Howard Brown:

behind me. Yeah, I did this book just purely for my daughter. And



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that's next thing I know, this book is now international



Howard Brown:

bestsellers. And now I'm going on tour. Now I'm doing book



Howard Brown:

signings and meeting all kinds of people. And I catch myself in



Howard Brown:

the middle of Las Vegas at a martial arts convention and book



Howard Brown:

signing. And that's where I meet buddy Thornton. And we exchanged



Howard Brown:

numbers. And he asked if I can jump on a few podcasts with him



Howard Brown:

and I jumped on a few podcasts with him a couple weeks right



Howard Brown:

after that event, and the title has happened to be about



Howard Brown:

bullying and suicide. And so I just started explaining my



Howard Brown:

experiences with bullying which we talked in this show and what



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I would hoped to want to do for suicide if there is anything



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that I could do, because I don't have a degree. I mean, I dropped



Howard Brown:

out of college. But if I can just do something, be a part of



Howard Brown:

something that help. And I'm in the middle of my sentence, mid



Howard Brown:

podcast, and my phone's going off. And it's buddy Thornton.



Howard Brown:

And he said, Hey, we need to talk after this podcast, we're



Howard Brown:

going to fix this, we're going to, we're going to go and do



Howard Brown:

this thing. And so that's really how it all started, was about



Howard Brown:

two years ago. And so now buddy, Thorton. And I'm, we've put



Howard Brown:

together a nonprofit, and we're gonna go into the heart, we're



Howard Brown:

going to go and do this thing. We're going to go to the



Howard Brown:

schools, to colleges to prisons, we're going to go on the street,



Howard Brown:

we're going to go wherever we can, big corporate small



Howard Brown:

business, and you name it, and we're going to address this



Howard Brown:

thing, and do what we can to help bring these numbers and



Howard Brown:

suicide and mental health down.



Howard Brown:

That's, that's first of all, that's beautiful.



Howard Brown:

That's, that's noble, that's heroic, that you're now taking



Howard Brown:

your whole career. Okay. And now you're focusing on helping



Howard Brown:

others and getting the word out. I just love that. That's such an



Howard Brown:

example. You know, to your daughter and for your legacy,



Howard Brown:

okay, you have a legacy already, but now the legacy becomes so



Howard Brown:

broad, so much broader. And so I really appreciate that. So I'm



Howard Brown:

gonna ask you to put on some sunglasses. Okay. You got the



Howard Brown:

cool ones. You got the Coolio glasses on. Oh, look at that. My



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Randy Blake Jr.: my three year old daughter.



Howard Brown:

You're looking fly. So this is the shining,



Howard Brown:

brightly spotlight. So I want people to tell how they should



Howard Brown:

best get in touch you. Of course, I'll put everything in



Howard Brown:

the show notes and on social media, how to best get in touch



Howard Brown:

with you. Then also share with me a quote that means something



Howard Brown:

to you to inspire others.



Howard Brown:

Randy Blake Jr.: Okay, yeah. So if you want to get a hold of me,



Howard Brown:

I have social media with Facebook, Instagram, and



Howard Brown:

LinkedIn, just typing and Randy Blake Jr. You'll, you'll see



Howard Brown:

their profile picture, which is my book cover, that should pop



Howard Brown:

up and then I'll add you as a friend. If you would like a copy



Howard Brown:

of my books, autographed copy, then you need to go to my



Howard Brown:

personal website and as Randy Blake, Jr.com. You can go there.



Howard Brown:

autograph it, I'll put a special sticker on it and make it



Howard Brown:

personalised to you and I will ship it directly to you. One of



Howard Brown:

the quotes that I like and it's a quote that I live by, because



Howard Brown:

it just helped me out so much because we we go through life,



Howard Brown:

and we love the sunshine and rainbows. But sometimes that's



Howard Brown:

just not the way things happen. And when they don't happen, we



Howard Brown:

ended up taking these weights and these burdens and we carried



Howard Brown:

on our backs. And then we just we Debbie down and we don't know



Howard Brown:

how to get back up. And so one of my favourite quotes I live by



Howard Brown:

is in moments of quitting, find greatness, don't carry mistakes,



Howard Brown:

step on them, use them as stepping stones, and rise above.



Howard Brown:

So every little piece of adversity, everything that's



Howard Brown:

negative, everything that's not going your way that you don't



Howard Brown:

feel that's going to help you get to where you need the Great



Howard Brown:

Bay. Use that as a stepping stone. That's what's going to



Howard Brown:

help you climb higher rise up rise above to get you to where



Howard Brown:

you need to be. I



Howard Brown:

love that, man. Thank you. Thank you for that.



Howard Brown:

Well, we take off the glasses now. And I just what a great



Howard Brown:

show what a great story. There's so much more to it, please reach



Howard Brown:

out to Randy at his website and socials and the book and all



Howard Brown:

that. This has been an amazing show. So for me, I want to give



Howard Brown:

a shout out to some people that helped me get here. So front



Howard Brown:

edge publishing, read the spirit.com that comes out every



Howard Brown:

Monday. That's a very inspirational blog I do goes out



Howard Brown:

to a lot of people, and then also my amplify U team that



Howard Brown:

helps help them to get this podcast produced. So if you want



Howard Brown:

to contact me it's simple shining brightly.com And you can



Howard Brown:

learn about the book and you can learn about my speaking my



Howard Brown:

motivational paid speaking gigs. Also, the podcast is there. But



Howard Brown:

my the real important stuff to me is my advocacy just like



Howard Brown:

yours is is for suicide prevention, minus cancer. Mine



Howard Brown:

is entrepreneurship and leadership and also with



Howard Brown:

interfaith, knowing the other and expanding your worlds and



Howard Brown:

lifting people up. So this has been an incredible show. Boom,



Howard Brown:

boom. Randy, thank you. This is great and just be well and keep



Howard Brown:

by keep doing what you're doing and I appreciate you.



Howard Brown:

Randy Blake Jr.: Thank you so much.