Beast Games Winner Breaks Silence on $5,000,000 Prize, MrBeast Controversy, & Spending Everything

Turn on the lights. >> So, what was the final amount that you won in Beast Games 2? >> $5,106,000. It was one of the hardest things I've [music] ever done. I'm a competitor. I came there to go to the end. I came to win. Now that I have all this money, I'm trying to figure out what [music] I have to do with it. >> How much money do you have left? >> Last time I checked, I had >> What [music] did you spend it on? >> A Lamborghini. And then I bought two new houses. I knew that there would be other opportunities to make money. >> [music] >> What would you criticize about Beast Games? >> It's tough, man. Eight months of keeping it secret. But, the truth is >> Tyler from Beast Games 2, thank you so much for coming on the Ice Coffee Hour. You just won $5,000, and everyone wants to know how much are you paying in tax? >> Exactly, man. It's a It's a good question. Um fortunate enough to have Texas as my state, so I don't have to worry too much about that, but uh got to mitigate the federal taxes, so right now, I've got a legal and financial team that I'm working with, and we're coming up with with good strategies to uh move forward and try to mitigate as much as we can, man. >> And how did Mr. Beast send you $5,000? >> Just direct deposit, man. >> No issues with the bank? >> No issues, yeah. >> It just showed up? >> Yeah, it showed up. Like, I was expecting it to be in the bank the 25th, cuz usually you get paid out the episode uh after it airs. Uh so, I was double-checking all time. You know, it wasn't in there, so I was like, man, did I fat-finger a number or something like that? So, um but, we we filmed the reunion the 26th, and they didn't send it to there. I I got there, cuz they wanted to get my reaction when I sent it uh they sent the money to me, so yeah. They sent it that day and they told me to check and just flabbergasted, man. It was It was surreal. >> What did it feel like to get 5 million like that? >> It was It was humbling, man. It was It was crazy. You know, I signed up to to do this for my family, to change their lives, to set my boys up for life. And just to know that I accomplished what I set out to do and then see that money hit the account after the fact, 8 months later after keeping a secret, it was just surreal, man. It was like a big relief to know that to know like yeah, I really did it. Like I can set my boys up for life. >> So, how much money do you have left? >> Yeah, I think last time I checked, I had $1.2 million left. >> What did you spend it on? >> I spent it on a Lamborghini and then I bought a new house. Two new houses. I'm just kidding. Guys, I still got it all. I still got it all. >> [laughter] >> But that exact feeling, let's say it's in the moment. Take your mind back >> Yeah. >> to when the money hits your account. What's the first thought? Is it a sports car? >> No. No, not at all, man. My My first thought was just like wow, like I need to start planning. Like I need to make sure this money lasts and keep it for it to continue to grow. Cuz I'm I'm I'm not like an extravagant guy. I'm someone that likes to invest. You know, I want to make sure that this lasts a while to take care of my family cuz that's ultimately why I did it, to buy back time with my family cuz there's there's been multiple times where I've been away from family due to the natures of my work and I've missed out a lot of monumental moments with my kids and stuff like that, so just whatever I can do to buy back that that time. >> But on the actual number that you think you'll have when all is said and done. You didn't get a specific number. How much will you have after taxes? >> Um I'm not too sure, man. I'm thinking worst case scenario, like 3.5. If >> if I don't do anything with it, just because you know, all I have to worry about is federal. Um, but ideally, I'm hoping to to try to keep as much as I can over four, close to 4.5 or something like that. Just depending on what strategies we roll with and go from there. >> Did you quit your job? >> No. Uh, no. Unfortunately, I can't I can't quit the military just like that. There's a whole process and stuff, but uh, some conversations that we'll have down the road, um, and then decide what's what's the best decision moving forward. >> So, being in the military, how are you able to take so much time off to go to compete in Beast Games? >> that's that's a great question, man. Um, it was a it was a time where where manning was was low. So, it was more difficult to take that time off, but I had so many great supervisors and leadership that were so supportive of this unique opportunity. So, they decided to do what they can in their powers to make it so I could pursue this opportunity. >> How does that work? You go to your boss, you say, "Hey, I got selected to compete in a Mr. Beast >> Yeah. >> competition. I need an an indefinite time off." >> Yeah. Right? >> Yeah, and at that time, like >> pitch that? >> Yeah, at that time, we didn't know how long it was going to last. It was just a rough estimate. So, I I told them, I was like, "Hey, their applications are live. I'm going to apply for this. I'm not too sure how long it's going to be." And then when I got selected, they're like, "Oh man, this is actually happening. We got to get this ball, you know, rolling so we can make sure you're able to do this." But, uh, they were so super supportive, man. As long as you if you come up to your you know, your leadership uh, with a potential opportunity, as long as you come with a solution to, you know, kind of fix the issue with you being gone, um, you know, they're more than likely going to help grant the opportunity and do what they can to be supportive. >> Did they give you PR training? Because every answer that you're giving here is also like, you know, how did you get the time off? They're like, "Man, the staff is incredible. The supervisors are amazing. They were super flexible to my every need." And sure it was a little bit of work up front. But hey, that's what I signed up for. >> [laughter] >> No, I mean, yeah, we we definitely have like public affairs in the military that give you PR training for specific things. Um but no, like it was just awesome. I I work with a great group of people, very supportive. I'm just thankful to be in a great environment that, you know, they're willing to let me pursue this unique opportunity to be gone for 6 weeks. >> So, where did you see the advertisement to sign up? How did you know about it? >> Yeah, I saw it on Instagram. So, I've been following Mr. Beast for a good good time now. So, it came across my feed. And this was after seeing season 1. And I was like, man, like season 1 was awesome. Big adrenaline rush. Would be so cool to participate in this. And I was like, yeah, I might as well, you know, try, apply, and see what happens, and go from there. And then hopefully work gets on board with it, too. And then uh went through the whole process, and >> What was the process like? What's the vetting? >> Yeah. So, it starts with an application. So, you got to answer some questions, fill out your personal details, your job, you know, background checks, stuff like that. And then you submit like a a 1-minute video, talk about who you are, where you're from, your job, and what was your inspiration for applying, did you watch season 1, who was your favorite on season 1, and then what you would do with the money if you won. So, I sent in a video like that. Um you know, I wasn't thinking like anything would come from it cuz I guess there was allegedly 400,000 plus applica- applicants. So, they picked me for the smart or the strong team. >> How do they determine that? >> They felt from like my background playing college football, uh being on a previous show and making it to the finale of another physical competition, and then just military experience that I'd be better suited for this strong team, so. >> Did you want to be the strong team or did you want to be secretly the smart team? >> I wanted to be the strong team because a lot of the smart people in there, you know, they have huge accomplishments. Engineers, CEOs, you know, eight degrees, photographic memory. It's It's It's crazy the accomplishments that they had. And, you know, cuz I'm sure some of them looked at us like, "Oh, they're you know, they're just jocks." Um but we got a little bit of brains, too, you know? Not a lot of people knew like my background, um you know, my training and stuff like that and you know, just being in the military, being a strategic thinker and stuff, so it was nice to kind of hide that. >> background, your strategic thinking? What is it exactly that you do for the military? >> Yeah, so I'm a I'm a pilot in the military, so uh it's a 2-year pipeline. It's rigorous training, you know, you really have no time to breathe. It's either sink or swim. And for me, I didn't have any aviation experience beforehand, so it was all brand new to me. So, I just stayed in the books, studied hard, and then just did my best I could. >> you flying? >> Uh so, I fly uh MQ-9s. It's a unmanned aerial vehicle or drone or UAS, whatever you want to call it, but it's a pretty cool asset uh with multiple capabilities. >> How much is that drone worth? >> Upwards of 10 30 30 million or so, so. >> Have you ever crashed a drone before? >> Not that one, no. Thankfully not. Um a DJI drone, maybe, but not that one. >> That's incredible. >> It's very challenging cuz you're not in the aircraft, so you need to know how to read systems and things like that, so um you just have to know your platform inside out and that's what the whole 2-year pipeline is. >> What was your mentality going into Beast Games? Did you think that there was a real chance of you winning? What percent would you say that you thought you would win? And what strategies did you were you expecting to employ? Like numbers maybe you'd walk with. What was the whole idea for you? >> So, it's funny cuz after seeing season 1, seeing out the first couple episodes where where chance and luck I told my wife I was like, "Hey, I'll probably see you in a week. Like I don't know if I'll last cuz it's all chance and stuff." But luckily they got rid of that. So, I went in and then once we started getting through the grind and stuff, I I thought I could make it far. Um but I didn't really believe in the my abilities to make it to the end. Cuz there's so many people, so many accomplished athletes and smart individuals. So, I knew it was going to be tough. And my wife and I kind of talked about it like, "Hey, if you can leave with at least 100 to 150, uh that would be awesome. That would that would definitely change our lives and help pay off some bills." So, that was a a number I had in mind moving forward. And then to get to the strategy aspect, um I just went in with my genuine self, try to make good connections with people, and just just be a good guy, and just be positive. And try to lay low, too. Be conservative with what you say, know when to be a leader, and know when to be a follower. And then make moves when necessary. Uh cuz if you saw like a lot of people that did a lot of talking and stuff like that, they kind of talked themselves under the bus. And they became targets. So, just knowing your place, knowing when to speak up and when not, and then when to take those roles on. That's And that's ultimately what I did. >> How long were you gone for in total? >> I think it was like 42 to 45 days. We left May 30th and we got back July 12th. So, it was uh yeah, round 6 weeks, 42 45 days, something like that. >> Were you allowed to have any access to your phone? >> No, not at all. >> No internet? >> As soon as I landed in Vegas, got picked up, we got shuttled to uh South Point the hotel, and they confiscated our our phones, any electronic device. They went through our suitcases, luggage, and all that stuff. And then that was it from there. We didn't see it until July 12th. >> What was it like going without your phone or the internet for that long? >> Uh for me it wasn't too bad. Like I I've went through that before with the military. Um I did 8 weeks without my phone, so I I kind of knew what to expect. I was prepared. Um the only thing that sucked about that was not being able to talk to my family and see my boys, but outside of that like I didn't have any issues. I thought it was a nice way to like cleanse from technology, social media, and stuff like that. And just live in a moment, get to meet some of these awesome people, and just get to know them more on a personal level. >> Did you see anybody having social media withdrawals? >> I'm sure there was at the beginning. Yeah, there's a lot of people that would mention like, "Oh man, I wish I had my phone right now to go on Instagram, Tik Tok, and stuff like that." But uh eventually like people got over that and they kind of adjusted. >> And what was your initial impression from the first competition? >> Yeah, the first competition I was like, man, they're they're setting off season 2 with a bang. The smart challenge was pretty pretty cool and then the strong challenge was awesome. They uh we were on that platform. They lifted us I think 40 ft in the air. And then they dropped those trap doors and we had to climb through it. Uh pick up a third of our body weight, get the blocks, and then climb back up and stack them. Um and then once I saw edited and seeing like the drone footage from that like I was like, man, they really set the tone with this challenge and it's going to be uh a crazy wild ride uh for this season, so. >> How difficult was that challenge? I looked at the physical challenge and look, I'm no Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, but I was like, you know what? Like I feel like I could probably do that. Jack sitting [clears throat] on his couch. >> Yeah, eating my popcorn. Like I was like, you know what? I get it. >> Like how difficult was that actually? >> Yeah. >> Uh for you at least. >> I I didn't really have any issues, man. I It was It was fun. Like I've I trained for it. Um and it's just climbing down, picking up a third of body weight. The when you got down to the pole, it was a little tricky there cuz like they have like these little rings that you can kind of put your feet on, but they're very tiny and like they kind of broke. So essentially like I had to hold myself with one arm trying to pull up a third of my bodyweight and then wrap my right arm around, get the blocks, and then climb back up, but ultimately it wasn't I didn't think it was too bad, man. It was It was a lot of fun. I think you could do it. >> You think I could? >> I think you could. Yeah, man. >> a little bit of my traps here. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see it. >> What would you say was the most difficult challenge out of everything that you did within Beast Games? >> Probably uh the hanging from the poles 200 ft in the air. Either that or the cubes. Uh cuz we were hanging from the poles 100 ft 100 ft in the air. We had different like segments for rounds, time frames, and stuff like that. I think in total like maybe 20 minutes, 25 minutes I was up there, and then the people that went to the end were like 45 minutes or so. Um so that was tough cuz you're just you're getting fatigued. And then you're just trying to hold on with all that you have to not fall, but that was physically probably one of the challenging ones, and then like mentally probably the cubes being in there 8 hours. And then you have to like convince someone to eliminate themselves. And then, you know, you're just asking for whatever you want, making time go by, but ultimately in the back of everyone's heads it's like we got to play a game. Someone's got to handcuff themselves. Who's it going to be? And what what game are we going to play? So those two challenge were challenges were definitely probably the toughest in the respective physical and social aspect or mental aspect. >> And really quick, here's what I've noticed. Every single business is asking themselves the same question. 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What would you say Beast Games is a test of? >> So, it's like a social experiment. You know, he puts us in these crazy situations where money is involved, challenges, and stuff. And it kind of like is a way to see like how people react to these different situations. Like, for example, Captain Shibe, you're up there, a million dollars is on the board. All you have to do is press a button, and that's yours. And seeing that four out of the five people didn't do that, you know, you got people online saying like, "I I'll have to press that button in a heartbeat." But seeing those people turn it down for their teammates is it's pretty awesome. You know, it's a chance for them to stay in the game, too. Their teammates, cuz they could have took that million dollars and eliminate their team and stay in the game. But just as an example, like it was it was crazy to see that. People turned down life-changing money. It's so it's it's very much so like a social experiment. >> Would you have taken a million dollars? >> No. No. That early in the game? >> Even though your wife said, "Hey, if we get 150, we're happy." And you could say, "Hey, honey, I brought home a million dollars." You went on a game show [laughter] and turned down a million dollars. >> Yeah, she she would have been mad seeing that, for sure. Um but for me, it was too early in the game and I was willing to bet on myself and risk it to make it further. Um cuz I knew that there would be other opportunities to make money. So, I just took it day by day and then just took it challenge by challenge. >> stayed optimistic and then yeah, I'm a competitor. I I came there to go to the end. I came to win. Like I wasn't going to take a bribe. >> What if it was two million dollars? >> Two million dollars, I would I would definitely consider it more, for sure. But um I likely wouldn't have taken it just because >> Two and a half. You could win half the prize pool. Because they're going to be out anyway. >> Two and a half, I would consider it a lot more. Yeah. >> So >> It's it's it's it's crazy, man. Like you have that much money. It's guaranteed. But I just I'm such a competitor. >> when you look at the odds and you say, "Okay, there's 25 people here and I could get a half of the total prize by eliminating like seven of them." >> Yeah. Yeah. >> You wouldn't do that? >> No, I wouldn't. It's and it I know it sounds crazy, but if if I were to do it, you know, yeah, I would have 2.5, but you know, there's a chance to win five, potentially 10. >> that's That's like a gambling mistake. I was about >> There's like, "Well, I could just keep parlaying this thing to make even more. >> It is. >> And then you end up getting voted out and then losing. >> Yeah. It was just a risk I was willing to take, man. I was I was ready to bet on myself and >> That's the thing. You called them your teammates, but in actuality, I feel like the people that you were saving by not pressing the button are just your competitors. Like those are the people that you're up against. >> For sure. >> try to say, oh yeah, these are like people that you're like all working together, but in actuality, it's only one person that's going to walk away with the money. >> Yeah. >> And so that's the thing where it's like, I was surprised that more people just didn't push the button >> Yeah. >> earlier, especially after seeing season 1. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> get turned on and they have They get turned on. Either that or they walk with no money. >> Yeah. >> And you're there to to try to make the money. >> Yeah, exactly. It's It's crazy, but I think people realize that if you want to move forward in this game, you have to build trust and have those solid relationships with people to move further in the game, so you can have people that you can rely on. Cuz then it comes to a point where hey, it's every man for itself. It's time to play the game, you know, alliances are out the door. You know, there's only one person that can win. And we all knew from season 1 there would be more opportunities to make money, so a lot of people were willing to to gamble or take that risk. >> But you would say that it was a test of social intelligence. >> Yeah. >> Of all things. >> For sure. >> That's really interesting. One thing I mentioned to Jeff when we filmed with him is that if you round up the people that made it to the top 10, top 15, top five >> season 1 of Beast Games, they're probably overall like high-skill, like high-intelligence >> Yeah. >> overall really well-rounded individuals with like a high stat sheet, you know, if you're like playing a game. >> Yeah. >> They probably like pretty maxed stats and things, just generally speaking. >> Yeah. >> And so if there any recruiters out there, it's not a bad place to look for some talent. Would you agree with that? Like it's a test of I mean, virtually every skill that you can possibly employ. >> Yeah, 100%. I would agree with that. Yeah, it it it like Jeff said man, it's definitely a test and it's it's very accurate with what you said. Cuz it it shows the different type of skills that you have, what you're capable of doing. And it's yeah, it's it's it's super accurate man. I I agree 100%. >> So at what point did you think that you're going to win? >> Uh I think when I got to the top 10 when we got to the top 10 after seeing our families I knew I had like a 100% chance. I was extra motivated after seeing my family and that's when I was like starting to feel like hey I'm here. I can do this thing. We're so close. I just got to you know, keep my head down, keep keep playing to my strategy and then just make moves when I need to. So that's when I started to really feel that I had a good chance to win. >> How much strategy did you have going into it? >> So I watched this first season a couple times and I saw like different characters and how they played the game. And then seeing the ones that went the furthest cuz Jeff was my favorite for season 1. Seeing how he played the game I could relate to that cuz that's kind of how I embody myself. You know, kind of laid-back you know, love to meet people, very outgoing and you know, not quick to like be quick you know, so loud or make moves but be rational about it. So when I saw how he played, I was like okay, I could see myself playing this way cuz that's the type of person I am. And I just went in there and did that and uh yeah, it it ended up working out for me. >> What was your first impression of Mr. Beast? >> My first impression of him was so we had a steak dinner. He took us out to a steak dinner um when we came to Vegas and he came in, greeted everyone and he spent time talking to everyone. So I thought he was awesome. You know, I've seen him on his videos, YouTube videos and and whatnot doing all these awesome amazing things but then getting to see him in person and see him interact with people was pretty pretty cool. >> What did he say to you? >> I didn't get a chance to talk to him. He talked to a lot of people cuz at that point there was 200 people and we had like maybe 2 hours or so. Um but just seeing him interact and take the time out to talk to other people was really cool to see um cuz he really cares about what he does. He's very passionate and you could tell. Um and then as the season moved on and the numbers dwindled, we got more and more time to talk and engage with them. >> So what was your first conversation with Mr. Beast? >> Um I think like our first conversation was probably about like a challenge or something like that. Um he's he's very like I said very passionate so he was always open to criticism, feedback. You know, he would ask us like, "Hey, did you guys like that? If you not if not, like what could have been better? You know, what could we do to be better?" So he was he was very down-to-earth, cared about what we thought and just very attentive. So >> What what criticism did you give him? >> I honestly didn't give too many criticism, man. Like I thought the challenges were well put together. They're awesome. Like I'm I'm pretty laid-back. Like it it doesn't take a lot to like, you know, upset or you know, for me to criticize things but I thought everything was well put together. Yeah, and then like the social aspect, the city, everything was awesome. Like I was I was willing to sleep in a tent worst-case scenario to compete for this money. But they had all these extravagant like different opportunities and like the the city and challenges and stuff. So yeah, I I had no criticism at all, really. >> What do you miss most from the Beast Games? >> I miss the interactions with the players and the contestants and and and just the producers and crew cuz everyone was so nice, so friendly. They're they cared for us. They made sure that we were doing well not only like physically and mentally and all but, you know, just make sure that we're maintained and taken care of. So >> Do you wish that you'd be able to compete in a future one? Cuz when I watch it, I'm like, that looks just fun. Above everything else, it just seems fun to like >> Yeah. >> It's like summer camp. >> Yeah. >> The good kind. And you get to compete and hang out and make a community. And I, you know, and you're getting it filmed, so you can go back and watch it. >> Yeah. And then just getting to see how the Beast team works. Like the hours that they put into it, the dedication, the drive, and how passionate they are. It's It's a surreal environment to be in. >> What would you criticize about Beast Games? >> Um That's tough. There's There's not too much I would criticize, honestly. Um >> I mean, we can't just put out a fluff piece here. >> No, no, for sure, for sure. No, I'm trying to think. Like the only thing like is that I can think of is just like we I mean, we had like a lot of downtime. Um it wasn't on them, you know. It was There was weather days and stuff like that. So, there was things that, you know, we had a lot of free time and just, you know, not doing much. So, that was kind of frustrating not to do anything, but outside of that, you know, just Jimmy took on a lot of responsibilities. He He was filming YouTube videos, TikToks. He had a lot of like famous influencers, streamers come through. Um so, the only thing I had to criticize on this aspect is maybe take on less and get some more sleep cuz he was just constantly busy. But game-wise, uh you know, I I don't really have any issues with that. Maybe some different games for season 3. Um since we've seen a couple of the games, and I know that was like a criticism online. But outside of that, like we were It was awesome. >> Yeah, I got to say my criticism was that some of the character development I thought was really boring. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And I just found myself skipping through it just to get to the challenges because the challenges were great. And I think it has to be a little bit more engaging and a little bit more like the fear factor. >> Yeah. >> little edgier. >> Yeah. >> And less of like the drama between the players. I wasn't a huge cuz the drama wasn't even that good. And the relationship between that one guy like that was the only one that I actually followed because of like oh man they always get voted out but they made it at some time. >> they did. >> Uh but that was it. I just found it I just couldn't get through it. I was skip skip skip skip skip and then I get to the challenge and I'll watch that. >> Yeah. No, that was that was definitely a criticism online. I remember doing a ask me anything on Reddit and that was one of the things that they criticized. So, I think that's one of the things that they're they're planning to make a better development for characters moving forward in season 3 and giving more backstories and getting to know people um more more personal level. >> Yeah, so the one thing I was curious about because there were cameras everywhere. >> Everywhere. >> Does that mean they have footage of you sleeping? >> Oh yeah, absolutely. We had like three or four cameras in our dorms. >> Was that unnerving? >> It was it was uh at first it was a little a little took a little bit to get used to but after a while it was just like second hand nature. You just forgot it was there. But at first it was like man like cuz my bed was in the corner and one of the cameras was right next to my bed. And then like every once in a while you'll just see it like pan and look right at you and stuff. I'm just like oh man. >> What does that feel like to be watched 24/7 cuz you know there's someone just like just staring at that screen watching you and listening to you everything you say. >> It was it was tough man. Like it was it was tough to get adjusted to um and then a lot of people you know were very conscious of how they conducted themselves cuz you know they don't want to put bad things out there in the world and stuff like that. So, uh once after a while people got used to it and they knew like what they could and couldn't do and stuff like that but it was adjustment man. Just constantly being watched and then >> Is there anything that someone said on camera that like oh crap I should not have said that? Like please James cut that out. >> Plenty >> times man. In the In our pods is what we call them the dorms. Uh we had some some funny funny conversations at night um that I'm glad that they didn't air. But >> go and say, "Hey, listen, Jimmy, we're having some locker room talk. Just some guy talk. Listen, just make sure that's cut." Did anyone ever say that? >> I'm sure I I think I can't remember who, but I'm I'm pretty sure like a lot of us joked about that with him like, "Hey, man, like we're having some interesting conversations, you know, maybe maybe not pay attention or so." >> Yeah. >> But um yeah, we we definitely had like a bunch of locker room talk and you know, it was just fun getting getting to have a good time with the guys in our our dorms at night and then just, you know, have fun and pass time. >> where do you get privacy? >> In the bathrooms. That's where you That's where you get privacy. There's no cameras in the showers. >> though? >> No, you you So usually when you wake up, if you tell them like, "Hey, I'm going to go shower and stuff." Like they'll let you do that and then you got to go see the the audio people to get miked up after that and you're miked up the whole day. >> So if you go to the bathroom, let's just say midday, >> You're Yeah, you're still miked up there. Yeah. >> you? >> Yeah. So that's it's definitely interesting. >> That's hilarious cuz it's also very difficult to pee when the mic is on you. >> so some of us would take it off cuz there there was a lot of times in the beginning where the mic would be on your back like your back hip. And people would, you know, go to the bathroom and the mic will ultimately fall in the toilet and stuff like that. So they're like, "All right, we got to change something. We got to put it in our pockets or if you guys go to bathroom, just please take it off, put it on the counter, and then put it back on." So they they definitely lost some mics from that. >> Let's be honest, staying consistent with nutrition can feel like a losing battle. 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Like I saw in season 1, you know, there was a lot of lot of backlash for the living conditions and stuff like that, but I haven't seen any crazy stories from our season at all. Not that I can think of. Anything that you noticed out on the field like competing in the game that they didn't publicize that you thought maybe should have been shown? I feel like they they definitely got everything that they needed to hype up certain things or like drama aspects in the episodes. Maybe a few more conversations that they could have included. Um, but outside of that I think they represented and portrayed each moment very well. >> I'm curious how the controversy affected the first one because from my perspective, that controversy made me very curious to see, "Okay, now I got to watch this show to see how this was playing out." >> Yeah. >> I think it helped, but I don't know if the numbers of the second one were better than the first. >> Yeah. >> But, I think a little controversy you want just like a little edginess so that people say, "Oh man, that happened. You hear about that?" And then all the the people make YouTube videos about it and then people tune in. >> Yeah, absolutely. It's every advertising is good advertising in a sense. So, it drew people more a lot more people back to season 2 to see, you know, if there's going to be any controversy or if there's going to be like certain drama or, you know, different situations. Like how's it going to pan out? How's it going to play out different from season 1? So, um I def- definitely think that helped with getting more eyes and attention to season 2 for sure. >> Were you allowed to split money with somebody else and say, "Hey, if if I win, I'll give you a 100 grand." >> No, unfortunately not. It was in our contracts where we can't do that cuz it would be considered a game advantage. Um so, we weren't able to split money with other contestants. >> Did anyone try and say, "Hey man, I know we're not allowed to split." Like did they take the mic off during the bathroom? Like I'll slip you a 50. >> No, no. Not at all. Everyone was super strict about that because they mentioned how if that were to happen, it could if you made money, it could affect you getting paid out if they found out about that. Or, you know, you were talking about that, too. So, everyone once they said that to us, everyone was very strict um with that rule and they did not want to affect their chances of moving forward or getting eliminated from that or potentially getting paid out their money. >> Was there a time you really doubted yourself that you thought you're going to lose? >> Towards like the beginning, you know, I was I was still like when we first got in the city, you know, you're still trying to create those bonds and relationships and stuff like that. And at the time, like I I talked to a lot of people, but I didn't have like super close friends that I could like consider allies. That didn't happen till like later. Um so at that time I was like I don't I don't know who what team I'm going to go with, who I'm going to align with, and stuff. Like I'm close to like I've talked and in good standings with a lot of people, but I'm not like super close on a personal level just yet. So I thought like for social aspect of the game, um that might not work out well for me moving forward. So I was a little concerned there, but ultimately I ended up finding a a team at the beginning, separated from that team, and then joined another team, and then went all the way with them and it worked out. >> Were you ever tempted to leave early? >> From the games? >> Yeah. >> No, not one bit, man. >> family or anything? Or like, "Hey, maybe maybe I should take this 300 grand and dip out of here." >> No, not at all. I mean I missed them, but I was I was there on a mission, man. I was there to to set my boys up, to change their lives, provide for my family, and I wasn't I wasn't going to leave without giving my all. Cuz I didn't want to like live with what ifs. Like I know the before the second challenge, it was maybe like 2 weeks in, they had when they revealed season 2 uh competitors coming back in, those 10 individuals had 100 grand cases, and you could have took that bribe and self-eliminated. If I were to took one of those bribes, I would have been living with what ifs the whole time. Like if I didn't take this bribe, what if I had stayed in the game, how far could I have gone, could I have made more money, could have had more opportunities to do so. How would have my game be played? So it's like that >> though regret not taking the case who lost and they got nothing? And then they look back and say, "I should have taken the case." >> So I can only speak on like the top 10 portion cuz I got to know them more on a personal level, and we had conversations like that. But, a lot of them don't necessarily regret not taking that that uh bribe. A lot of them were were there to go as far as they can and just soak in the this once-in-a-lifetime experience. So, a lot of them were happy that they were able to make it to the end. And granted, some of them walked away with nothing, and you know, they were happy with the experience. Of course, they wanted to leave with something, but they're happy, you know, that they had to they got to live this whole experience into this entirety. >> What traits did you see in the people who failed? >> Some people would, you know, just be playing very hard, and people saw that. Um which kind of made them a target, you know, strategic in your the way you're thinking and like over-communicating with people cuz a lot of people at the beginning were able to tell like who who's trying to trying to play the game really hard right now. Who's like >> Cuz there was flags. >> overstepping. Yeah, who's overstepping and like making all these promises and talking to a lot of people. And then, like some of those people were getting caught in lies, too, which Yeah, which really stood out. But, uh yeah, those those were like the traits. >> Were there any fights? >> There was Yeah, there was not [clears throat] like anything like physical like anything like that, but like more so verbally. There was right before the obstacle course um two teams uh with the pugil sticks, if you guys remember that. >> Mhm. >> They had like a little verbal um encounter right before the challenge. So, they wanted to go against each other and settle it on the obstacle course. Um And then, outside of that, there was other drama, too. Um all verbal. Nothing like no physical altercations or anything like that, but that there was some people you that had beef. Cuz not not everyone not 100 people in the city is going to get along with everyone. There's going to be people that are different different ways of life and different ways of thinking and how they conduct themselves and uh so there was there was definitely some clashing at times, but yeah, there was there was a there was a few. >> What do you think about the players who played dirty? Taking a little too much money. >> For for example, I I'll talk about Nick when he took 250 out of the 1 million. Me personally, I had no issues with that. Um there was a moment where he came right around our graves right before he went to do his split and he was at the hotel and everyone like, "Hey, you know, I'm going to be gone, you know, whatever he was saying." And then when he got to me, I told him I was like, "Hey, man, cuz he was he was my number one ally in the game." >> Yeah. >> Uh especially after he turned down the million dollars and allowed me a chance to stay in the game, continue to keep competing for my family. I was like, "That that meant so much to me, dude. I'll do whatever I can to help you move further in the game, too. Like I got your back." And when we got to that point, I was like, "Hey, man, take what you want. Like you turned a million dollars down. I'm not going to be upset. This is guaranteed money from you. And knowing his story, his background before the games, like he deserved it all. He's he's such a great guy and I had no issues with him taking it. I'm just thankful to have left with something from from that um instance in the game. >> Did you create any enemies in the show? >> No, I I don't think I had any enemies, man. I I was I think I was on good terms with majority of people 99% of people, maybe like one or two, but 99% of people I I was on good terms with. >> Do you still talk to Jimmy much? >> I I talked to him a couple times. Um he hit me up and asked me what I thought about the finale and like what I liked, didn't like and stuff like that. So we were chatting about that. And then we got to talk uh a couple days later for the reunion. And then after that, you know, he's been busy with work. >> What was What's like watching it back? Was there anything that happened with you watching it that you were unaware of in person? >> Yeah, watching it back was definitely uh pretty well. Um for for me personally, there's there's nothing that I wasn't surprised or didn't remember that I did that threw me off, but seeing some of the conversations other people had was was interesting. Cuz you know, you're you're seeing them and like you just remember like engaging with them throughout the the season in the show and stuff. And then, you know, you thought like, "Oh yeah, they're they're awesome. They're they're good people." Um but then, you see some of the conversations that they had that was shown in the show and you're just like, "Oh wow, I had no clue that they were playing hard like that." >> So, what's an example of that? >> Uh I got to go with uh my friend Katie. Um you know, she's awesome. She was in our alliance and stuff, but then there's there's a couple of uh episodes where she was having these conversations when she was doing different challenges or something um outside of us. And then, seeing some of the conversations that she was having and stuff, I'm just like, "Dang, she came to play." >> Was there anything she said specifically? >> There was one moment when she was doing the balance challenge. It was the second episode. And I remember her saying something like, "I'm sniffing out the weak." And I was like, "Dang, Katie came to play. She's a gamer." Cuz I Yeah, we didn't see that side of her um when when she was around us and cuz she was in our alliance, you know, she was with us all the time. But then, when I when I saw that, I was like, "Dang, okay, she came to play. She's a competitor." So, uh that was that was pretty pretty cool to see. >> How did you keep it a secret that you won? >> Uh it's tough, man. It was 8 months of keeping it secret. The only person that knew was my wife uh cuz I told her the day I got back. >> I meant to tell you and I beat Cam season two champs. >> Please stop it. >> And I won [clears throat] $5.1 million dollars. >> [snorts] >> No! Oh my god! >> Yeah. >> And that's where you saw that reaction video from? >> Yeah. >> And then I think uh January or so, I got an NDA for Jeff. So, he could find out um so, we we could talk about like >> Who gave you the like how did you get the NDA to the previous winner? >> Yeah, so I I just reached out to their production crew. I would reach out to Mike Cruise. He's uh one of the executive guys on the show and uh I asked if that would be possible and he said, "Yeah, we can make it happen." So, you can start game planning and you know, getting good advice from Jeff. >> reaching out to Jeff saying, "Hey, can you sign this NDA for me?" It's pretty clear what's happening. >> Oh yeah, that was that was that was after the fact. I personally didn't reach out to Jeff. I reached out to the to Beast Teams and then >> then they reached out to Jeff. >> they reached out to Jeff and then after he signed it uh then they connected us together via text. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> And how many people in the Beast Team knew about it? >> I'm not too sure. I think there was maybe cuz the finale was in Saudi Arabia. I don't think they had like the whole production crew out there. So, whoever was on set that day were the people that knew. And I'm sure more people knew, too, because they had to edit the videos. Amazon had to play their role in it, so um I'm sure there was a lot of people that knew. >> What's crazy though is that uh the winner was spoiled you were spoiled very early on on Polymarket. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And it became very obvious who the winner was very clearly. >> Yeah. That was that was stressful. Cuz I didn't want them to think like I'm out here telling people and stuff like that, but >> How much money did you make betting on Polymarket that you won? >> Five bucks. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, but I doubled it. I put five million >> life savings into it. No, but uh yeah, I uh I was I was very stressed because I I think like maybe week six or seven um I had people like sending me screenshots of the prediction markets. >> And what were they saying? >> They're like, "Hey, have you seen this? Like, did you win?" Like >> And what would you say? >> I was like, "I dude, I I I think they're just voting for me cuz it's like a 6-7 trend going on like that meme or like I I don't know how accurate this is. Like, don't ask me for any advice. I'm not I'm not going to tell you what to do with your money" type of thing and stuff. Or I would just like ignore it. Like if it was like my close friends or something like that, just not give them anything. Cuz all the people that hit me up were like my close friends and they had zero idea that I won until the finale. >> Those who lost, were they not able to tell other people that they lost? >> They were not They weren't supposed to. I'm sure some people did and I think some people did um, from conversations I were had. But you're not supposed to. You're supposed to abide by the NDA that you signed. >> It's It's so impossible because you can't cuz people are going to be coming back sooner >> Yeah. >> than others. >> Well, yes. >> Dude, I'll say this. >> Yeah. >> The people that got out early, they were very in tune with what was going on the show cuz I remember getting out, getting my phones and then seeing like there's a group chat on Instagram. And they were like like detective level like looking to see who was active on Instagram when. And like when was the last post and like activity wise. So like >> Yeah, that's true because if you're posting on Instagram, then that would suggest that you got out. >> Yeah. >> And so did they tell you you can't do that? >> No. They gave you your phone back and then you had free reins. >> And they just said, "Hey, just don't tell anyone." >> Yeah. I mean, we all signed NDAs, so um, but yeah, it's like I remember seeing a chat and like conversations with people. They were like, there's people in there just eyeing and stalking people's pages. Well, not necessarily stalking but looking at for activity. >> to enforce. >> Yeah. >> Unless if you keep everyone there for the entire duration. >> You have to keep everyone for the entire duration, but then you get the footage and you have to make like you have to keep that final episode or no, probably the last the whole season to like a small group of people. >> Yeah. >> And then how do you prevent any one of the people at Amazon from like reviewing the thing? >> Yeah. >> You probably have 50 to 100 people who have who have had their eyes on that final episode to approve it. >> I think there's like over a thousand production workers and stuff like that on set. >> But >> Yeah, cuz [snorts] you could narrow it down best case top 10. >> I can't believe they did it for the first season. How they kept it a secret. >> I don't think Polymarket was as uh >> it was Polymarket uh had Jeff winning by like week two or three. >> Really? >> Yeah, it happened in both seasons. >> I didn't realize that. >> I had no idea. >> Yeah. I guess I I'm only recently into Polymarket, and I I watch a lot of the odds. >> Yeah. >> And you could see as soon as something spikes up, I'm like, okay, that's an insider. They know it's about to happen. We're about to invade this because no one's going to dump 10 million dollars into this obscure bet. >> Exactly. >> Sure enough it happens. >> Yeah. >> So, I'm now paying attention to it. >> Yeah. And yeah, it's it's wild, man. Like I didn't really know too much about Polymarket until our season, and people were sending me screenshots. And then just looking back and seeing like the odds shift heavily like week two or three. Like me going from like, I don't know, 5% 10% to like 50 60%. So, I was like, dang, this definitely some insider trading going >> All you have to do is look at probably the top five largest accounts and say it's probably one of them, but even then it's it's somewhat anonymous. >> Yeah, exactly. >> what if it's someone who heard it from someone who heard it from someone? How far down the line do you have to go? >> Exactly. >> if they're risking their money from like a tip to a tip to a tip, I think they kind of deserve it at that point because they could just as easily be wrong. >> Yeah, absolutely, man. I they went through the whole thought process of how to like you know, go through multiple like different levels of like security in a sense of how to like do this. >> So, were you unable to spend any of the money because that would be a display of newfound wealth? >> No, I mean I as soon as like like for I think it was episode or I guess no, they gave you the money afterwards. Yeah, but like episode I think it was seven or eight, you know, I made the 100 grand and stuff like that. So, I was able to spend it as soon as I got it. But, the 5 million didn't come to the finale, so. >> So, what did you spend the 100,000 on? >> Uh so, yeah, I've only really spent money on that and that's literally just been for like legal services, financial services, just to you know, get the best advice of >> You haven't treated yourself or your family to anything? >> No, not yet. >> like a steak dinner? >> No, we just we haven't had the time. My wife's work schedule's busy, my work schedule's busy. We we really haven't had that much time and then trying to figure out vacation time because my wife travels for work, too. So, she got she's got a a trip coming up this upcoming week and then, you know, she's got like trip every every month or so. >> How does it feel clocking into your job now as opposed to before? [laughter] >> You know, there's there's definitely days where I'm just like, "Oh man, I got to go to work and you know, do this." But, once I get there, man, like what what helps me get through the days is just being around like awesome people. The the people that I work with really help the day go by faster and you know, make the job enjoyable. You know, I I do like doing the job. There's days when it's tough and there's days when it's awesome. Um but, ultimately, the the people are what make the job worth it for me. >> How much longer do you think you're going to stay employed? >> Um there's definitely some conversations I have to have. It's a process in the military to separate uh for for this reason. Um so, I'll have to have those conversations and then I don't know, could be potentially the end of the year. >> Oh, wow. >> Uh yeah, ultimately it just, you know, we'll have to make the best decision of what works for my family and stuff, how soon we could do it or the timeline. So, there's a lot of questions in the air. >> And would you say that your overall happiness in life, your average happiness, there was an increase after getting $5 million hitting your account? >> Oh, for sure. Um I was definitely yeah, definitely a lot more happy and less less stressed knowing that I got that and knowing that we can live more comfortably now and we have more things more money to do more things, invest more and set up ourselves for our future, so definitely in that aspect, but there definitely comes like a stress level cuz I've never had this much money in my life before, you know, new found wealth and this absurd amount of money, you know, there's that stress level of like trying to be a perfectionist, trying to to make the best strategies moving forward and how to use that money to ultimately, you know, get you passive income and then to have it continue to grow. Uh so, the stress of like making the right smart investment decisions is there for sure. It's real. >> What are you going to be spending the money on? >> Uh so, I'm thinking about getting into real estate and then investing some into ETS, dividends, and things like that. Um we'll see how much I do, but real estate seems like it's it's a good way to make passive income and help with mitigating taxes, too. >> So, you're going to be you're going to be a real You're going to be a real estate professional or what's the plan there? >> So, uh if I get out of the military, um I'll definitely look to become a real estate professional cuz I think you have to have I've heard conflicting information. You need to have need to have like 700 or 750 hours. >> Yes, correct. >> Um but then I've heard someone say like if you own own properties, you're technically considered a real estate agent. >> No. >> So. >> No, you have to spend, I think it's 700 hours, but also more time on that than you do anything else. >> For sure. >> So if you spend 701 hours in the military, then you're disqualified. >> Yeah. Okay. So yeah, um, depending on like if I get out, when I get out, that will definitely determine if I can meet that requirement and stuff. So. >> Here's the Here's what I'm worried about is you're running down the clock right now to become a real estate professional. Ideally, it's something you really start in January, February, March the latest. And we're at the end of March now. >> Yeah. >> And I don't like the idea of buying rental property for tax purposes. >> Yeah. >> Unless you're just going to buy a rental property because it's like, oh my god, this is a great rental property and I just so happen to be a real estate professional. >> Yeah. >> Uh, and this property's great otherwise. And it's icing on the cake, then I would do it. But it's I don't think in this case it's worth it to buy a rental property at this level uh, for any sort of passive income because real estate right now is a really volatile market. >> Yeah. >> We just had our weakest home sales in years. >> Yeah. >> So. >> And that's that's why like I'm trying to like work with uh, our our financial team that I've cuz I think maybe you guys have worked with Amanda before, right? >> Mhm. >> Yeah. >> Did Jeff put you in contact with her? Oh, cool. We >> Here we go again. >> We like Amanda. >> just shouting out Amanda Hahn. >> Yeah. >> A tax strategist. >> Amanda, we'll link your information. Your email's >> Absolutely. >> inundated. So I'm so sorry, but she said I could technically share it. So I'm I'm sharing it. So [laughter] just listen, if you get uh, hundreds of emails, it's not our fault. Uh, yeah, we gave her information to Togi as well. So you guys >> Oh yeah, she's working with Togi. >> Nice. She's working with him now? >> Yeah, yeah, she Well, she's had like she's had several calls with him and his team. Yeah, she's phenomenal. And so that was a great recommendation for you, Jeff. >> Yeah, man. Yeah, cuz Jeff said that you guys put them on with her and then she paid he paid it forward to me. >> Mhm. Cool. >> And looks like I'll pay it forward to season 3 winner. >> She is good. Just be very careful getting into a rental property and then doing the depreciation. It's just going to be hard for you to become a real estate professional. Right now is a difficult market. It can be done, but my god, you got to be so careful about that. >> Yeah. And that's that's one thing that we've we've talked about, too, as my wife and I, like, would she be willing to potentially leave her job to do this full-time to build those real estate hours as well. So, definitely some conversations. Um >> What does your wife do for work? >> She's a HR. Uh She did a little bit of recruiting, but she she does HR. >> And does she want to quit? >> No. She pri- surprisingly not, man. She she worked really hard to get her job. She loves it and she doesn't plan on quitting. She she can't see herself not working. >> Does she want to spend some of the money? >> Oh, yeah. She definitely She definitely She's not like super like gone home about spending a lot of it. Um but one thing that we're going to do first is get her a new car. Um she she definitely needs a new car. So, >> of car? >> I think she's looking at like Tellurides, Palisades, stuff like that. Nothing crazy. >> Lamborghini Urus? >> Yeah, she hasn't mentioned like Lamborghinis or like G Wagons or stuff like that. >> A G Wagon would be a great car. A G Wagon would be nice. >> Yeah, but uh >> For tax purposes. And what about all of these other people that you know? The whole real estate business, right? >> Exactly. Yeah, exactly. >> All of these other people that you know, they're reaching out to you, they're asking for money. I feel like that's pretty just run-of-the-mill, that's pretty standard when you come into a windfall. Have you experienced much of that? >> So, I'm surprised that I haven't seen a lot of people come out of the woodwork, family-wise, friend-wise, asking for money. Um it's more so like a lot of strangers. >> Mhm. >> Like, I could go on to my Instagram and look at like thousands of messages of people just asking for money. Uh it's wild. And some of them are just straight-up, like direct with it. Like, "Hey, give me $50,000." I'm just like, "Damn, man. Like, not even >> do it?" >> No. >> Okay. >> Not even like a >> That was my other account. I asked. >> [laughter] >> Not even like a hello or anything like that. Like, it was funny. I remember one message I got, uh, this one guy was asking me to pay for his frat dues. So, that I thought that was pretty funny. >> Uh, I think like a I don't know, a thousand bucks or something like that. So, I thought that was pretty funny. But, uh, yeah, it's wild. And then like I have people that will engage, like, you know, say that they're super supportive and like they're rooting for me and stuff like that. And like I I try to answer those messages cuz I want people to know that I appreciate their support. And we'll have a conversation and stuff like that. And then they'll just hit me with like, "You know, I'm really struggling right now. Like, anything would help." and stuff. And I'm just like, man, like that's a tough situation to be in cuz, you know, I I want to use this platform to help others out. But, like I got to take care of my family first. And then those closest to me before I start doing that. Once I have that all settled, then I'll look to like do what I can to help others out. Um, so it's definitely been interesting. Um, never would have guessed this would have happened. Um, kind of got a heads-up from Jeff, too, cuz Jeff experienced it a lot, too. But, uh, yeah, I really haven't had like family members come out asking. It's just more so been like people online. And >> I've been getting a lot. I've been getting that a lot lately. Have you? >> I don't know if it's real or not, though. >> Cuz I'm getting it as well, but some of the accounts look like like burner accounts. >> Yeah, they look like fake accounts. But, also what's weird is that they ask for money. A lot of them say like, "Hey, been following you for a while." Or "Hey, I heard you're very generous." Uh, not true. >> [laughter] >> But, then they they ask for the for money. But, then I check their account cuz I always I'm just like curious. And they have like one photo up and they're not even following me. >> Yeah. I've seen that. >> least it's free just to follow. >> I wonder how much that works then? Like do they have these just like AI chatbot agents or something that they just deploy these accounts out and just hit up all of the check mark accounts and somehow like they spend $5 and they get back $7. >> Yeah, I bet because all of a sudden this has come up for me in the last 5 months. It's I probably get three to six a day. >> Yeah. >> Every single day out of nowhere and they're all very similar messages. >> Yeah, I've had a lot like that. Like I've had a lot that are from legit accounts. You can tell like they they have a lot of followers and you know, some of them follow me too, but then there's been a lot of accounts that like are following 200 people and they have like zero to one followers and stuff like that that don't follow you like you said asking for money and stuff just straight up. They'll send like some sketchy link or whatever. Never click on those. >> No. Of all of the things that you're going to spend money on because you still will spend some of the money you got. What are you most excited to spend? >> I'm excited to spend it on a much needed vacation with the family. You know, that's that's something that we've been talking about doing. Uh we just got to find like the right time when our schedules align to do that. >> You going to fly first class? >> Yeah, I think we will. >> Really? Wow. I was not expecting that. >> not expecting that either. Have you flown first class before? >> Never. >> Where are you going to go? >> If we were to fly first class, it's got to be like 10 to 14 hour flight or something like that. Like I'm not going to do it for like three hour flight. Like I I I flew here in freaking middle seat. I sat in middle seat here. So Um but if we were to fly first class, it would have to be like a trip to like Asia, you know, Korea or something like that or go to Europe or something like that cuz we lived in Europe and we really loved it out there. So Um yeah, at least once just to say we did it. >> So if you're flying first class, does that mean your kids are also flying first class? >> No, they're going to be No, I'm just kidding. They'll be in business. >> [laughter] >> No, they yeah, I would definitely treat them. >> Really? >> Wow. >> But I don't I don't think >> argue that's not worth >> Yeah, same here. >> So like I don't think I would I would do like something like a a trip like that like super far away cuz it's it's tough to travel to long distances with kids. >> Oh, it's just you and your wife then. >> Yeah, like if if it would definitely my wife and I would do a nice trip like that and we would we would fly first class together. Um but when we do like a family trip with our with our kids, then you know, we'll probably just do business or something like that. Cuz they're they're young, man. Like >> See what I what I think is that if you're if you still really do want to fly first class but not be like separate from your kids to show your kids like hey sorry, you can't come up here. You can always just say like hey look first class flights are like $5,000. >> Yeah. >> Back economy is like 500. How about this? I'll buy you that Lego set that you want and you won't be sitting up with I guarantee you they'll probably want the Lego set. >> god. They'll want the Lego set over sitting in first class. >> Any toys. You Yeah, I definitely use toys to your advantage in that situation. But then again, for me like I don't and my wife is on the same page with this. We don't want to expose our kids to like a lavish extravagant lifestyle. We don't want them to you know, grow up spoiled and feel entitled. We want them to know what hard work means so they can you know, work hard and achieve what they can. We don't want to give out free handouts and stuff. So we really want to instill those core values into them so they know like if you want to do something you have to work hard to get that. So we don't want them to grow up kind of you know, snotty and like rich and stuff like that. I mean they'll they'll get they'll definitely get taken care of you know, with investments and stuff like that for when they turn 18, pay for college and things like that, but we don't want them to you know, be spoiled too spoiled growing up and have that sense of entitlement. So >> If you run your own business, you already know this because making money is one thing, but keeping it organized is another. Revenue comes in, expenses go out, but without a clear system, everything starts to get messy. And you really feel that when tax season rolls around, suddenly you're going through all of your statements wondering what went where. And mostly from what I've seen, the business itself is often fine, but it's just keeping organized with the finances that becomes the problem. Thankfully though, that's where tools like Relay really come in to help. >> Relay is a business banking platform built to give business owners more clarity and control over their cash flow. Now, one thing I like is how easy it is to build structure. With this, you're able to open up to 20 checking accounts, which makes it simple to separate income, taxes, payroll, and savings instead of running everything through one place. Relay also lets your teams have their own custom logins with their own permissions as well. So, a bookkeeper or assistant can handle the day-to-day while you still see everything happening. Paying vendors is really simple, too. You can send ACH, wires, or checks from the same place with built-in bill pay. >> And Relay also connects directly with both Xero and QuickBooks, which just keeps everything organized and your books clean. For a lot of business owners, having a system like this is the difference between scrambling at tax time and actually running the business. So, if you want to build a clearer system for how your business handles money, scan the QR code on the screen or click the link down below in the description to learn more about Relay. >> And really quick, I just got to say that when Jack and I first started the Ace Coffee Hour, >> we were winging it. We were figuring out everything ourselves from like the best cameras to use, the best lenses, how to edit, how to even get guests to begin with. >> Every day was a new challenge. >> Thankfully though, if you're starting today, you have one of the industry's best business partners. And our sponsor is incredibly relevant, and that would be >> Shopify. >> Shopify's like having an all-in-one business partner. They power millions of businesses worldwide from major brands like Mattel and Gymshark to entrepreneurs just getting started. And here's a fun fact, you've probably already used Shopify and had no idea because if you've shopped online in the US, there's a really good chance it was powered by them because they handle about 10% of all American e-commerce. What's really great about Shopify is that they give you access to a complete design studio with hundreds of ready-to-use templates to build a beautiful online store that perfectly matches your brand. There's no coding needed and their AI tools even help you write product descriptions and enhance your photos. Shopify also makes marketing incredibly simple with easy-to-use email and social campaigns that reach customers wherever they're scrolling. Plus, they handle literally everything from inventory to shipping to returns, which is basically just all of the complicated stuff you do not want to deal with. So, make sure to start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify, and start hearing All you got to do to get started is go to shopify.com/ich with the link down below in the description. Again, it's shopify.com/ich, shopify.com/ich. The link is also down below in the description. Thanks so much to Shopify for sponsoring this episode. Who's sliding in the DMs? Any like cool people that have showed up? >> Yeah, I've had like a lot of like people with big followings reach out, you know, a lot of people were showing their support and appreciation and and whatnot, which was greatly appreciated. And then a lot of people reached out for like podcast or just a chat and things like that. Um it's it's hard to keep track of, but um yeah, it's just mainly for like just showing their support and then you know, if you're ever in the area, let's get together type of thing, maybe do a podcast or grab lunch and just learn more about the story, the background story of Beast Games, and then just about my life and family and stuff, so Uh it's been cool. I never would have imagined I'd be in this position where people want to hit me up just to talk and stuff like that. I just see myself as a normal guy that just, you know, works hard, tries to stay humble, and >> Do you get recognized in public often now? >> When I go out in public, yeah. So, usually like I'm I'm busy working, so I'll go to work and then come home, go to the gym, and then spend time with family, grocery store, stuff like that, but as I traveled here, like this is the first time flying since the finale to come out to do something. Uh I got recognized uh a bunch of times in the airport, and then a bunch of times in the the strip, and then um in the hotel, too. >> How's that for you? >> Uh it's it's surreal, man. It's it's crazy. Like I said, I never thought I'd be in this position where people want to come up and take pictures with me, but uh it's it's cool. It's it's cool opportunity. Um it's cool to, you know, let them know that I appreciate their support, cuz it's a lot of people that came up and that were rooting for me. Um so it's it's surreal. It's it's awesome to have that feeling that, you know, people were cheering and rooting for you. So. >> What's your advice to the next contestant of Beast Game? >> Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, and then just know when to step up into leadership positions, and know when to be a follower. So ultimately, you just build those connections early, cuz that that'll help you out in the long run. >> Do you feel rich now? >> No, not really, man. I I I know it it might sound crazy, but uh I don't really feel like I'm super rich. Like nothing has really changed for me in my life. Like I'm still I'm still working hard, um still serving, um still busy, still limited with time off, and, you know, the the chance to do whatever I want, you know. Uh I I barely see my kids as it is uh right now with my work schedule, so uh I don't feel like anything's changed. It's just, now there's a big number in my bank account as of now, so. >> What's crazy though, if you have 3 and 1/2 million after taxes, let's just say, >> Yeah. And you spend 3% of that. >> Yeah. >> It's really about 100 and we'll call it we'll round up $120,000 a year. $10,000 a month. >> Yeah. >> For the rest of your life. >> Which is good. >> Yeah. >> But it's not like you're balling up at the club, balling up in an SVJ, you know, iced-out watches, stuff like that. >> get like 5% though. Like that wouldn't be a stretch. >> Yes and no. You would get 5% up front, but you might miss out on some of the appreciation long-term. You don't know how the real estate's going to do. >> For sure. >> But yes, you could theoretically do 5%. >> Yeah. Yeah, no, it's crazy to think about, man. Um I definitely still plan to do what I can to make passive income on the outside whenever I choose to make that decision to get out of the military. Um my wife still works, too, so we'll have that salary. But nothing's changed. Like we still live within our means as we did before this blessing. And we continue to do that. I'm not super extravagant. I don't need like the nicest cars or the newest iPhone or the nicest watch. Like I got an Apple Watch, man. I'm fine with that. Like I'm not an extravagant person. I'm pretty cheap, and it takes a lot for me to buy things for myself. Like my wife will just see me going back and forth for 2 weeks. Like Should I buy this? Should I not? And then, you know, ultimately she will encourage me, but I'm just I'm I'm willing to, you know, do what I can just to make smart investments and then set my kids and >> Have you always had that mindset? >> Yeah. It's It's crazy cuz my mom has told me from young age that I've always been smart with money. I remember when I was like 4 or 5, she was saying I had like 20, 30 bucks in my piggy bank. And they were like looking for cash for something like that. And I told them, "Hey, I have money. I can help out." And then I went and got my money, and they were like surprised I had that much money like saved up with at 5 years old, you know, just from what they give me. And they they know I don't like to spend money. You know, I like to see it grow and do what I can invest. I've always been like that. Like I'm not the type of person that's going to go out and buy a lot of clothes and stuff like that. Like, I I want to be smart, especially with this newfound wealth. I want to make it last, and I want to continue to watch it grow. And that's that's what I plan to do. And Amanda's, you know, working wonders. >> It's interesting, you and Jeff, both winners of Beast Games, are like pretty conservative when it comes to money and not spending it. >> Yeah. >> I'm curious if we're going to see a winner. Do you think the person who's going to be like, "Yo, I bought this Lambo. I rented this penthouse. Check out these watches." Do you think that type of person could win Beast Games? >> Absolutely. Yeah, 100%, man. You could just I mean, it's it's all social game. Like, if people like you, it can it can help you go far farther, cuz I I view it as Beast Games as like a way of being like a team aspect up until the end. So, um yeah, I feel like someone in that mindset could win, and they'll have the opportunity to do whatever they want and go crazy like that. Cuz I'm sure there's going to be a person, maybe season 3 or 4 or 5 or however long the Beast Games last, will ball out and live that lavish lifestyle. So, it won't be me, though. >> [laughter] >> So, if you guys were in my shoes with $5.1 million, what would be some of the things that you would do with the money? >> I would certainly look at the tax strategy of it and see if it makes sense. I'm I'm just worried about investing in rental property right now with this market. >> You could do it >> Yeah. >> if you became a real estate professional and you satisfied all the requirements. I would say that's a possibility because then you have more money left over after tax to put in real estate that could make you some money back. >> Yeah. >> Uh otherwise, if it's just you pay the tax and you move on, you keep it simple. >> Yeah. >> I like just a broad range of index funds, >> Yeah. >> US, international. >> something index funds, man. You've been heavy on index funds for a while and stuff. >> Like if if I like I hate to say it, but like a lot of this is in hindsight, too. But like a lot of the real estate investments I made were good for YouTube content, but my gosh, when I look at the hassle factor of it, the amount of money that I made from it, >> Yeah. >> all the mental stress that they put me through, it's not worth it. >> For sure. >> Now, a lot of that is an LA problem. And if we take LA out of the equation and we put my rental properties in Las Vegas, I would probably have a different opinion on it. >> Yeah, for sure. >> But like when I bought these properties, you could never tell me back then, "Oh, yeah, it's going to take you a year to evict a tenant. Oh, yeah, uh you you can't raise rent as much as CPI." >> Yeah. >> "Oh, the tenant has to be two months late on their rent now to be able to give them a notice to pay or quit." Like you would like all of these things. >> And that's >> And now what's even crazier is they want to put a mansion tax on properties that sell for more than $700,000. >> Really? >> A mansion tax. That is not a mansion. That is a teardown one-bedroom in a in a bad part of town. >> Yeah. >> So they want to put these additional tax. And I'm like, "For what?" So like a lot of those I couldn't predict cuz they didn't even exist yet. >> For sure. For sure. >> saying there's so many regulations and anti-landlord policies now that make me very nervous about putting any money in real estate. >> Yeah. And I've I've always had concerns getting into it, dealing with like tenants and stuff like that for the reason you explained. Cuz that's definitely a huge fear of mine, too. It's like you just get that one tenant that's not >> Everyone gets one. >> Yeah. >> So I've had one tenant, it was my first tenant ever, >> Yeah. >> that was the one tenant I've had to evict. Everyone else since then I've been really fortunate, has been awesome, and has been with me for a long time. >> Nice. >> But how I feel is that I'm like rolling the dice and hoping I don't hit a seven. >> Yeah. >> Every single tenant. And I'm rolling like, "Oh, great, I got a five." Okay, fine. But then like every year you just roll again. And if you get the seven, you're like, "Ah, crap. Well >> Yeah. >> by the numbers, eventually you're going to hit a seven. >> Yeah. >> So, that's how >> a it's a scary feeling, man, to like run into those issues and have to deal with them, too. Cuz I'm Yeah, like you said, it's probably super mentally draining and exhausting trying to deal with those issues. >> It is. And so, that's the reason I'm trying to get out of that. I'm trying to sell that. I It just It's a It's It'll be a weight lifted off my shoulders. >> Are you trying to like limit your footprint in real estate, then? Or >> Yeah, yeah. I want I want to own nothing >> Yeah. >> except for our primary residence. >> Okay. >> Cuz right there there is just like this anti-landlord sentiment right now, especially with housing. And landlords are the scapegoat of like, "Oh, they're the bad guys. They're the ones causing all the problems." >> Yeah. >> And I don't see that changing anytime soon. >> For sure. >> And so, I just say Why do I want to be a part of that? I I don't I don't have any interest anymore in that. >> So, then if you were to limit your footprint in real estate, you would just look to do like index funds, ETFs, stuff like that. >> that by a long shot. And then I would keep a little bit on the side in maybe treasuries or something really safe. >> Yeah. >> Uh and that could maybe be 20%. >> Yeah. >> And just something safe and that you have that to fall back on or if the market crashes 30, 40%, you have some dry powder that you could buy in. And if not, then you have something you could always fall back on. >> For sure. Do you ever Have you guys ever considered like CDs for any purposes or anything like that? >> it'll probably be virtually the same thing. >> Yeah, but it depen- It depends on what your tax bracket is. Yeah. >> If If you're in a really high tax bracket, the tax-free muni bonds work. >> Yeah. >> Otherwise, I think for most people just a good government bond. >> Yeah, for sure. >> Right now they're paying like 3 and 1/2%. >> Yeah. >> And you could sell out of it in a day. It's really easy. It's really nice. >> Okay. >> That's what I I mean, I'm doing the tax free muni bonds, but I also have some government bonds on the side. >> Nice. Nice. >> You make 3 and 1/2 to 4%. >> Uh no, it's not bad. >> It's stress free. And then you spend time with your kids. Cuz imagine Imagine you're at the park with your kids and a tenant calls you. Says, "Hey, I busted the toilet. This is your responsibility. Go fix it." >> Yeah. >> And then an hour later, the plumber hasn't called you back and the tenant's calling you, "Why isn't my toilet fixed? I >> Yeah. >> This needs to be fixed now." And you're just like it ruins the whole day. >> Yeah. Absolutely. >> manager, they they still you know, they some of the work falls on you. >> Yeah. Absolutely. And that's that's always been like a big fear of like having those situations cuz it's it's all it's not a matter of when, not if. Cuz I'm sure everyone goes through it. Um and yeah, it was just yeah, it that would be mentally draining to deal with and stuff. So. >> Yeah, some people love it and that's their personality and they can handle it. And for them, it's just there is good opportunity if you know what you're doing. But I'm just not I'm not seeing the opportunity right now. It just doesn't exist to the same degree that I saw it 6 years ago. >> For sure. Yeah. What about you, Jack? >> I would probably echo most of what he says. Are you paying quarterly taxes or you just going to do like the lump sum? >> Think I What would you guys recommend? Cuz I think I'm doing >> lump sum. >> So then when is it due? >> 2027. >> Yeah, next year. >> Yeah. >> Then if that's going to affect your income, then yeah, tax free muni bonds really make the most sense at least for the remainder of this year. >> For sure. >> And then you'll be able to put I mean, most of it in. You could probably take I mean, I would lump sum it personally. Actually, maybe for How old are you? >> Yeah, Jack's 33. >> If Jack's is lump sum >> Yeah, man. >> I would I would aggressively dollar cost average then. That's just me personally. Yeah, cuz you're still really young. So Yeah, and I would just do the same thing that he did. Like >> Yeah. >> index funds >> Yeah. >> international maybe. Yeah, I don't really have a problem with that. >> International's outperformed US last year. >> the last year. And so you can't really go wrong with that. >> For sure. Yeah, cuz like the rule of thumb, right? Every 7 years you're it's expected to double your value. >> And I would live off >> Mostly. >> off of like a very low withdrawal rate, ideally, as well. Like even if you could start out cuz I I would even I'd be surprised if you were spending more than $5,000 a month, probably, in your current situation. You're probably trying to save and invest as much as you can. >> That's exactly, yeah. >> Yeah, so like if you could do a 2% withdrawal rate on three and whatever million that you end up with, assuming you don't get like a bunch of write-offs, then you could live like that and your, you know, lump sum that you have invested could continue growing at that low withdrawal rate and then you could slowly inflate your lifestyle like as time goes on. But for right now, just bless yourself with the freedom, not necessarily with like increased hedonic spending. >> Yeah. And this thing I don't I don't see us ever doing that. >> What Chris Camillo would say. He would say leverage yourself as much as possible and get Amazon. >> Really? >> Yeah, he go triple leveraged Amazon. >> Really? >> And if you lose it, you just aggressively double down. Yeah, apply [laughter] apply aggressively to Beast Games 3. >> Double down, nice. What? Is he So he's he's huge on Amazon, then? >> Very big on Amazon. >> How do you guys feel about Amazon? >> I invested a little bit. I bought >> Yeah, I got a little bit, too. >> I think I put I got 100 shares of Amazon and that's my exposure to Amazon. >> Yeah, I think mine's like 50 shares. Yeah, that's about it. >> I went in a little bit more aggressively, but that was because I listened to his show quite a bit and he just He said recently, he's like, "I just bought three medium-size houses in Amazon." And that is immediately after buying five medium-size houses in Amazon. I was like, "Okay, like if he's that bullish [clears throat] on it, like maybe I'll >> Yeah, just put put a little bit and see if it see if it pans out. >> Yeah, I can't buy individual stocks. It's No, because I check them way too much, but I do what I do like to do buy is I just buy a few shares of something or a small amount, like maybe a thousand bucks max, and I just see how I would have done. >> For sure. >> Just in case. And then if it's down I feel oh good, I didn't go heavy into that. If it's up then I feel bad that I didn't invest more, but at least I know. >> If it if it dips and it's a company that you believe in, would you dollar cost average in? >> Yeah, I've done that a little bit with Robinhood and I was buying in the low 70s. >> buy Robinhood when it was like back in the teens. >> Ugh, Robinhood ruined me. >> Yeah. >> Cuz it had all that bad bad reputation and stuff um at the beginning with like GME and you know >> Jack Jacked to the bottom. >> Damn. >> I had to. I got margin called. But it was I had like $10 a share. >> Wow. >> think it was I think it was like $11 or $13. >> Really? >> It was I mean it was in my fun account and so I didn't necessarily care about the money and I was just kind of like it was my Robinhood account. >> Yeah. >> Uh and then I also had like my other, you know, M1 account which at the time was like my main brokerage and I just like, you know, why not? I really like Robinhood stock and I also it was Palantir as well. So it was Robinhood and Palantir. >> Yeah. >> And I got margin called on both of those. >> Really? >> Yeah. >> Dang. Yeah, I went heavy into Palantir um back when it was like 6 to 10 bucks. >> Oh my gosh. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> You're just like Jeff. >> Yeah. >> Like Jeff was like a pretty >> Dude, >> big investor. Jeff's in your ear right now. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, he's thinking of Tesla, too. >> Yeah, we talk a lot, man. Like I got into Tesla back in like 2020. I got like 20 shares back then. >> I mean that's probably served you incredibly well. >> Yeah, and then I got into Nvidia um really really at a early stage, too, back in like 2021, 2022 before it blew up, too. So, I just right time, right place, man. Just had good intuition and it worked out. >> good history being right time right right place. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean I did I did my due diligence and like I talked to other people that were so so bullish especially on Palantir. Had a couple buddies that were very bullish and stuff like that. And they're like, you know, they're going to start signing like contracts with, you know, the the military and bunch of other different contracts with DOD and stuff. And yeah, they've they've just signed a lot of DOD contracts and been doing and performing well. So. >> You got to give us a heads-up. Before [laughter] Before you you I got some intel. I got some uh some intel. This stock, we believe is going to do really well. And I'm buying a little bit. So uh now might be a good time. >> for sure. For sure. But yeah, man. Palantir was one that I I got in heavy at the uh beginning stages. Just come from from one of my buddies talking about that and stuff. So I was like, "All right. I'm going to I'm going to trust your due diligence. I did did a little bit of mine." And yeah, it just took off, man. It's crazy. It's been been pretty well. >> If you were to leave one piece of wisdom to Mr. Beast or one thing that you'd like to say to him, he's watching right now, what would you want to say? >> Just thank you for the opportunity for blessing my family, for changing my life. And I I'm super supportive and grateful to be a part of this experience. And I love watching what he does, you know, all of the good he does for other people. He changes a lot of people's lives. So continue to do that. Continue to be your humble self. Continue to care for your people, to receive criticism openly. And embrace those changes like you have, and you'll continue doing big things. Beast Games will be around for a while. It'll be like the new Survivor. So keep being open to feedback like you are, criticism. And it'll pay dividends in the long run if you want to make this a long-term thing. >> What do you think about the rumors that Mr. Beast is a part of the Illuminati? >> [laughter] >> Nah, I think those are crazy, man. There's been a lot of like crazy accusations and like rumors and stuff like that. >> I've seen that people say he's the Antichrist. >> I've seen that, too. Yeah, I've seen so many crazy things, man. It's It's It's insane. >> Is there anything though that you've seen that's you're like maybe there's some truth to that? >> No, not really. Like the main things I've seen is like the Illuminati, like the Antichrist, and stuff like that. And then I saw something about like >> Sociopath is one. Narcissist is another. >> Narcissist, yeah. Narcissist, too. And then like he's just doing everything. Like he doesn't really care about people. He's just doing it for like himself and stuff. But like he invests a lot of his money back into YouTube videos to making good content for his fans and subscribers and to changing people's lives. Like this guy has a lot of money. He doesn't need to be doing this. He doesn't need to be giving out money to people and stuff like that. But he does. And I mean it helps his brand, too. But like you don't see a lot of people like that these days that are willing to use a lot of their money to invest back into their content to helping change people's lives. >> do you think so many people believe these crazy conspiracies? >> I don't know, man. I I I think partly maybe they just they're just trying to look for maybe a fault in him from all the the good that he's doing. There's got to be one thing that is wrong with him. There's one thing that you know, he might be kind of you know, different or have something negative about him. So maybe they're just trying to look for something just to bash him for cuz he does a lot of good. You know, he's a he's a good guy. He works hard. He's passionate with what he does. And he's changing people's lives a lot. Like a lot of people's lives. And like when you see someone doing good and you know, performing well like some people won't like that. They'll hate on that. You know, you're always going to have haters. And there's just people out there that are probably trying to you know, make some money off of, you know, his his image by bashing him or something like that, you know, get attention. >> any Have you had any haters? >> Yeah, I've had haters all my life. Yeah. You know, a lot of people that didn't believe in me or didn't support me or, you know, bashed me for whatever reason and stuff. And that's fine, you know. Some of it could be true, some of it could just be made up. But at the end of the day, you just you just got to block out the noise, stick to who you are, and then just keep one foot in front of the other, man. Just stay optimistic and always look for the good in things. >> You know what's crazy? I see a lot of people believing now, uh speaking of conspiracies, that Ellen DeGeneres and Leonardo DiCaprio eat babies. And they they gone to the island and eat babies. >> I have seen that. And I'm just I remember seeing that and I'm just reading it and I'm just thinking like, what is wrong with people, man? Like that's so extreme. >> funny is that right now the new trend is to leak these Epstein emails, but they're fake emails. >> Yeah. >> And because the Epstein list is so big, no one's going to look through like 100,000 documents. So you leak a fake email that says like Ellen DeGeneres is going there and like sucking babies blood. >> [laughter] >> And you're like, "Oh my gosh, this is We we always knew there was something going on with Hollywood, but now it makes sense. They they go through these satanic ritualistic experiences to be a part of the Illuminati to get these acting roles. [laughter] And it involves eating babies. >> Yeah. I I I remember seeing that and I'm just like, man, people are like crazy with some of the things they come And it's crazy, yeah. People will believe anything these days cuz like you can you can with AI and stuff, like you can make some believable stuff. And there's a lot of people out there that will believe anything like without factually checking things. >> It's really bad. I have start I've started to distrust anything now that I see on Twitter. >> Yeah. >> Because there's so much AI information out there that like there was one I I I hate to say that I fell for it. I reposted an AI video. >> Oh, man. >> And it was so realistic. And someone later >> thinking like I got you. >> I took it down though. As soon as I confirm And what's even crazier is that I kept asking Grok before posting it. >> Yeah. >> Is this real? Confirm this is real. Show the source of this image. And and it showed all of it. >> Yeah. >> I was like, this is real. And then someone commented, "This is a fake video. This is from this." And of course then I re-ask Grok in a new prompt, "Is this from this video game?" And then sure enough it says, "Yes, it's from that video game." >> Oh, man. And it even got Grok, dude. >> Dude, it's bad. >> Yeah. It's so bad, man. Like it's it's hard because even with like all the propaganda and like news outlets and stuff like that, too, like it kind of like makes you question on what's right and what's not. And then like a lot of people are just having a hard time believing things. And like they'll just go with like the most like politically correct or whatever and then without fact-checking things. >> You know what? This just made me realize I would say for the last 4 years we've swung away from traditional media and we've gone to to new sources like >> Yeah. >> Twitter because it's more instant. >> Yeah. >> At the time it was more accurate. And legacy media was so far behind that by the time you saw it it was like, "Oh my I knew about that on Twitter 6 hours >> Yeah. >> It's swinging back to legacy media. >> Yeah. >> Now I don't believe something unless I see it on one of the big sites because if they publish misinformation, their threshold they'll get sued. >> Yeah. >> But meanwhile, if some dude from a random account posts something on Twitter they can say whatever they want to say. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, but there's no repercussion for that. But if a legacy media does that, they get sued out the oblivion. They lose all their credentials. But some new account could get millions of views just saying whatever. You know, eating this or that or something got blown up today. >> Yeah. >> It's not true. >> Yeah, it's crazy, man. It's crazy to see that that's shifting things cuz I Yeah, at one point in time, I was going to Twitter for a lot of my my news related articles and facts and things like that. And now like it's hard to tell. Like there's this one guy on Twitter I used to follow. And like he just he just post the most outrageous things now. Um he has like over a million followers and stuff. I remember when he had like 10,000 followers. And he just posts like the most incorrect, outrageous things. And people are believing it. >> Like as a joke or >> I don't know if it's a joke. I I I don't know. But like if you saw some of the posts, like it does not read like as a joke. Like it's like in a serious like manner. >> Could be the Babylon Bee. I love the Babylon Bee. If you know what that is, they like purposely post misinformation, but >> Yeah, it's >> There's a lot of parody accounts out there, but it's buried that it's a parody. Like you have to go into the account itself and it's like this is satire. >> Yeah. Yeah, I think his name was like Matt something. >> We're going to follow you, Matt. >> He was a big doge guy back in the day. But like every time like his some of his posts would just pop on my timeline. I'm just like like what are you what are you posting, dude? Like what >> But they get money. >> Yeah. >> The more outrageous it is cuz I've been tempted. I've been tempted just to post some rage bait out there and have it be insanely inaccurate, but like harmless inaccurate. Uh but you know, >> They'll get engagement, man. >> But it gets engagement. Like the more ridiculous you say something or the harsher the stance you take that's really unpopular, the more views you get. And And you're paid directly with the amount of views that you get. >> Exactly, man. That's why you like you see a lot of like controversial things these days cuz people do it for the engagement, the views. >> We had one I felt really bad for. We had Sam and Colby on the podcast. And we were going to intro with a joke on them. And the joke was, "Dude, did you just hear what happened?" Like, "No, what happened?" And we say, "Mr. Beast just sold his channel to Disney." And they're like, "No, you're kidding." I'm like, "No, I I'm dead serious. He just like this just happened. That's why I'm bringing it up to you." They're like, "Really?" Like, "Yeah, 5 billion dollars." And they say, "No way. Holy crap." And I'm like, and Jack chimes in like, "Yeah, it's kind of crazy. Like it it just got leaked or something just happened, but yeah, it's confirmed." And then they're like, "Oh, man." And then we say, "Just kidding." >> [laughter] >> And they're like, "Ah." We had a good laugh. We started the podcast. But they clipped it before the just kidding. And that went crazy on Twitter. To the point where Jimmy even had to address it and say, "I did not sell my channel to Disney." And I felt terrible that I I sent him a message after to be like, "Hey, man, if you want to go we say just joking. It was meant to be a harmless thing." And but I genuinely felt really bad because it's like I was going to ask man, did he hit you up about that? Like "Dude, what the heck?" or something. >> No, I reached out proactively. But also, it's like he gets clipped out of context so many times that was one of like three that day. >> Yeah. >> And so it's like anything he does it will be clipped up. >> Oh, yeah, for sure. And that's that's probably what leads to people like, you know, having these like bad views or something like that judgment on on them. It's like these different clips and stuff. So. >> Speaking of clips by the way, I do have to say for all of you watching our Iced Coffee Hour clips, some of them do end up getting millions but millions of views. We end up driving a lot of traffic from them even back to the original episodes. If you guys are looking for a good clipper, I just want to say a huge shout out to Josh at Social Media Money. We'll link to him down below in the description for any other YouTube channels or people who want to get involved with his clips. He's fantastic. He posts for us every single day, multiple times a day. Uh he's pretty hands-off, so we'd >> He's been working with us for years, by the way. Like, this is the sole clipper we've worked with for the past, what, 3 or 4 years? >> Yeah, I think we were actually his first Were we his first client? >> We were one of the first clients. But basically, go back on our accounts, all of that three, four years back, all of that stuff is done by Josh. So, shout out Josh, and his link is down below. >> Yeah. I'm not a fan of the social media money name. He knows this, but beyond the name, he's he's [laughter] great. >> He knows I don't like the social media. >> He knows. Comment down below if he should change the Tell him he should change it. Say, "Josh, change the name of social media money. We don't like that name." Please. But genuinely, he's got a a great service, so check him out. >> So, Tyler, thank you so much for coming on the Ice Coffee Hour. Really appreciate it. We'll link to all your information down below in the description. And how about this? If you guys want early access to our next podcast, it's posting next week, channel members have early access to that episode right now. And if you join as a channel member, you get bonus content that can only be seen there. So, if you want a sneak peek at next week's episode, here you go. Enjoy. Thank you so much for joining, as well. And until next time. >> What's so unique about this podcast is that you both are known for real estate and the show Selling Sunset and selling some of the most luxurious real estate, why talk about [music] AI today? >> This is something that we haven't seen before. >> The real question is, is anything going [music] to stop AI? I don't think there's going to be any constraints. And if there's no constraints and it keeps going up into the right, there's no stopping it. >> How do you not get horrified thinking about this, though? Like, what's the [music] optimistic part of it? >> I think the best strategy, honestly, is maybe to be, um hopefully, optimistic. >> I think there's a 10 to 30% chance that it kills us all, but there's a 70% chance that we live in an age of abundance that you couldn't even have contemplated 10 years [music] ago.