Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Hey. Hey. This is Philip Clark at Just say Something and I want to welcome you back to Just say Something podcast. My name is Phil Clark and I'm the CEO here at Just say Something.
And you might recognize the young man sitting next to me.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Young, young, young. Thank you, thank you.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, I appreciate that. I'm old enough to be your big.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: Fair enough, fair enough.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: But also, this is the premiere of our backdrop.
And so this young man sitting beside me, Tyler Burgess. So, Tyler, why don't you tell some of our listeners who Tyler Burches is and what Tyler does today.
[00:00:52] Speaker A: Well, today Tyler went to therapy and now he's doing his podcast.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:00:56] Speaker A: He might play a little golf after this. That's what he's doing today.
No, what? What about me? What about me? I'm nine years sober on my nine year anniversary was August 26th. So just a couple days ago, I hit.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Congratulations. Yeah, yeah.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Big, big. Almost to the big ten.
So, you know, I.
I don't know what else to say. I mean. Yeah, I mean, I feel like I covered this last time. I don't remember what I said. What I don't didn't say. I'm just here to debut the backdrop. Like, I'm just here for the backdrop. Really?
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: And, you know, and I just like to hear myself talk, so.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: Well, I've heard that about you.
So Tyler is president.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: CEO.
[00:01:39] Speaker B: CEO.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: CEO. It's very important we get the CEO.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: CEO of SC Retail.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Formerly Southeastern Products.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: And he graciously printed our backdrop for us. And I must say, it looks amazing.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: It does look good. It does look good. It does look good.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Gino designed it for us. Who, those of you. Those of you who know us, knows that there's nothing that's done here that Gino doesn't have his hand in.
[00:02:09] Speaker A: I think he's designed a few things that we've done for y'.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: All. Yeah, he has. He. Yeah, yeah. The backdrop y' all did for us at the Greek Festival.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: Festival.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah, that's right. We still have that. I keep telling. I keep saying, we need to bring that upstairs. We need to bring that upstairs. We need to bring that upstairs.
So I know you've been. You've been supportive of us for several years now, and.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: I honestly don't remember how or why or where or when I got started here.
[00:02:39] Speaker B: I do.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Okay, well, your memory is better than mine. I did a lot of drugs when I was younger, which is why, you know, I'm sober now, so I don't remember much. Right.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Steve, Grant.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: Steve Grant. That's right. Coach Grant.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Coach Grant.
Yeah, that's right. I remember with Steve, with Chris and Kelly's Hope foundation.
And I don't know if it was around golf.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: I think tournament, I think it was, because that was back when I sort of played. I really play now. That was back when I was kind of messing around.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: So you'll be back with us next year?
[00:03:08] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: I've got it bad. I've got a new addiction. It's golf.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: Oh, okay.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: Yeah. The problem. It's almost as expensive as drugs.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: I was going to say it's not cheap.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: It's not.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: It's not.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: It's not. It's not.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: Over the years, for you in recovery, what's changed, man?
[00:03:29] Speaker A: That's a good question. So you come with a good question. I wish. You're such a much better interviewer than I ever was when I was on my podcast. So what's changed? So when I first started out, it was like a roller coaster.
It was literally just insane, you know, ups and downs and ups and downs and trying to deal with life without the thing I used to cope with life, not in my life, not to be able to numb it anymore. And that was extremely hard for me because I am a very loud, very obnoxious, just person in general.
But when I'm sad or mad, it's. I mean, I'm like an exposed nerve.
Yeah. It's no fun to be. I'm no fun to be around.
And also, I don't like being sad. So I changed that to math. And I just. Yeah, it's no fun. But I have learned how to manage the ups and downs of my life.
I would say years one to three, white knuckle, roller coaster ride.
Just get through it.
Four to five got a little better. I'd say it was more of a like, actually trying to work on myself. And it wasn't just a don't do drugs today, don't do drugs today, don't do drugs. It was more of a like, hey, you know, I'm actually trying to get better and figure out why I did drugs.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: It wasn't. I always tell people, drugs is a symptom. It's not the problem. You've got to cure the problem and then the drugs will take care of themselves.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: But I would say in the last probably two years, things have really sort of kind of started making sense to me again.
I kind of. I'm comfortable who I am. I know who I am. I'm really.
I enjoy life I enjoy my kids. My wife.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: I was gonna say Laura and your girls.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: And the girls are just.
They got the best version of me now, which I always tell Laura. I said, she always jokes that I. I scammed her in the marriage. I said, that's true. But you've gotten a much better version now than the one you had before.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Right, right. That return on investment was big.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: Big return. Big roi. Big roi.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Big.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: But, you know, it's really, you know, sometimes it's tough to look back on and say I wasn't always there for what I needed to be.
But that's what drugs and alcohol take away from. Takes away everything you love.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Right? Right. So I know we did our middle school summit this summer.
When did you start self medicating? When did you start taking drugs? What age?
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Okay, so this is. It's complicated for me. I had my first drink when I was 11.
My dad bought it for me on a cruise. It was a Bahama Mama.
[00:06:03] Speaker B: It was. Remember that?
[00:06:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Remember I have a photo of me and him holding it on the cruise somewhere. The first alcohol drink. I would mess around with alcohol when I was younger, probably like 11, 12, I really got into smoking weed. And when I was in high school, that was when I really got into weed.
And. And then Adderall when I was in my twenties is when I found out, and that was when I fell in love. And I didn't need any other ones.
[00:06:28] Speaker B: Okay. All right.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: Strangely enough, as I am a huge bad drug addict, I have never really done anything else. I didn't mess with any. I didn't mess with any thing that would make you hallucinate because it terrified me.
Mushrooms are gross. I don't eat them regularly. I'm not gonna eat anything that goes on cow poop.
I edited myself there.
What else? Cocaine's always terrified me, so I never mess with anything else.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Okay. All right. Thank God for that.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. I'd be way dead if I did.
[00:06:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:00] Speaker A: My therapist likes to tell me that I would love cocaine. And I'm like, I don't think you should. I'm sure I get the shot. See all my pretty face.
But he likes to tell me that I would have loved cocaine. I'm like, thanks, thanks, thanks. I'm not sure that he's a great therapist. He is a wonderful therapist. I'm just kidding.
We have that type of relationship.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: I was going to say you've been going to him for quite a while.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Nine years. Nine years since I got back.
[00:07:22] Speaker B: Once a week.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: Once a week?
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: Every week. And let. And even, like, if he's out of town, we, like, FaceTime.
[00:07:28] Speaker B: Oh, okay. All right. Yeah.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: So.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Someone in your situation, you've been sober for nine years.
So go back to 11 and 12 years.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Someone that was in your shape or in your place. Then if they hear you today, what would be your words of advice or encouragement?
[00:07:58] Speaker A: So you found another way to ask this question. You asked this question last time, and I couldn't answer the. This is a better way to ask it.
Here's what I'll tell you is what I will tell you. If I was talking to, let's see, 2015 Tyler, get out of the Target parking lot.
Go home to your family.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: That's just specifically to me.
[00:08:19] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: I know it will get better. I mean, you in the midst of addiction, it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't have it. I mean, you get up in the morning, it's the only thing you think about, the only thing you want, the only thing you need. It is constantly on your mind before eating, breathing, anything. That's all. I hate it. I love. You know, me and my wife, we've always loved to travel, but when I was really in the throes of addiction, hated it because I didn't have a hookup when I traveled. And drug addicts are notoriously bad at, you know, rationing.
[00:08:51] Speaker B: Right.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: So it was like I hated traveling because. Or I would just blow it, you know, get. Use it all on the first night and then be miserable the rest of the trip.
So life. You think Life. Right. In 2015, Tyler thinks that's the best life is going to be, sitting there in his parking lot, high on Adderall. It is not my man.
So if you're sitting out there in the middle of it, I promise you, you are more miserable than you even know you are.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Right. Right.
[00:09:17] Speaker A: And you can be so much better and so much happier and live such a much more, like, fulfilled, enjoyable life.
This is me sober. Can you only imagine what I was like?
[00:09:29] Speaker B: No.
And I'm around you enough.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: I know, right? Yeah. This is. I mean, a lot of people say that. Don'. Like, you must have been a. Whoa.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: I can only imagine.
[00:09:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: So I know for you and treatment and recovery, there's so many different resources out there and different paths.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: For people to go for their recovery.
[00:09:58] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: How do you identify what works best for you?
[00:10:03] Speaker A: Well, I just got. I mean, I just. The one they sent me to, I just got lucky. And, you know, you have to try it. I have a. I have A friend who, you know, try. He went the Iop route. Didn't work for him. Then he ended up going to aa. That worked for him. That didn't work for me.
You know, I went to an inpatient facility for 29 days. I got out a day early.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: For good behavior.
[00:10:30] Speaker A: No, because they didn't want to make my wife spend another night in Helen, Georgia.
My therapist was a lovely lady. My rebuckle. Lovely. Love her to death. She was like, I'm not gonna make your wife stay in this town for another night. You can go home.
Thank you. But so that. And then I found therapy. And I. You know, when I first went, I was terrified of group therapy. Thought I was gonna hate it.
Love it, Love it. Put me in a room full of people. We can all just talk about things, right? Great. All day. Love having a therapist. Love talking to people. A. A lot of rules. I don't deal with the. I don't do the rule thing very well.
[00:11:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: I haven't even looked at the paper you gave me. I don't think I've answered a single question, the one that you asked me. I've just said what I wanted to say, but you just have to try, figure out what fits. I mean, here's the thing.
I'm a firm believer in inpatient care because here's. If you are in an inpatient facility, you can't do anything right. The 30 days, being away from not having any drugs was a great for me.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: What else did you have to do without in that 30 days? I know that drugs was my cell.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Phone, the Internet, television. I was in a cabin in the woods, but we had that stuff. We only watch TV on the weekends, and we can only watch movies.
We could get Internet passes from our therapist, which my therapist loved me. So I would always. It was during college football season. So I go check the football scores for everybody, and they would pay me in dip in cigarettes because there's a prison economy. And true story, my wife, who anybody knows her, is a very, very sweet lady.
She. I asked her one day, I said, when she was going to visit, when you just stop, buy me two packs of Newports. And she goes, did you start smoking? I said, no, it's currency. God's cutting my hair and I got to pay him.
[00:12:17] Speaker B: Okay.
Hey, you know, there's always the barter system.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: That's what we call it, the barter system.
So. But it took away. I mean, you know, I. I focused on myself. Took away all the shame. You know, I. I was like. I walked in there, because there's a lot of things that I had never told. And I. When I walked in there, I'll never forget walking in the intake, and I sat there and they were doing the intake, and I said, you know what? There's a good chance I'm never going to see these people again.
So I'm going to be open and honest for the first time in my life and get all of my trauma and crap out there and try to get better. This is my opportunity sitting right here. If I don't take it, I'm going to be dead.
And somehow, because I had detox at home, I was about four days sober.
It was just a moment of clarity. I mean, I felt awful. I was miserable. But I was like, you know what? This is my shot. If I don't take it, this might be the only one I get right?
And, you know, I was like, I'm. And I'm the kind of person, once I decide I'm gonna take a shot, I'm. I'm committed to it. I'm done. I'm in.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: Right?
[00:13:20] Speaker A: And so I'll never forget sitting in the sitting group one day, and they're like, two of the three of y' all are gonna relapse. And I looked at the guys on each side and said, sorry, guys. It's always gonna be y'.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: All.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: It's not gonna be me, but it is. It. It really gave me a chance to be open and honest and not worry about the repercussions of all the, you know, shame. And there's a lot of shame that comes with stuff and addiction and dealing with all of that stuff and.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: Right.
[00:13:49] Speaker A: That is a tough. Shame is your worst nightmare.
Guilt is fine if you're guilty. Cool. You did it. Apologize, move on. It's the shame you carry around later that really hurts and makes you do the things you do.
[00:14:01] Speaker B: And that suitcase with Shane gets bigger and bigger.
[00:14:05] Speaker A: Mine was like a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk full of shame.
I had, like, four or five of them.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: Oh, good grief.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Yeah. But I got it all out. And then I realized that was what my. That was what I wanted to do. And, you know, aa, There's. That's great for some people in a.
There's favor. There's. In soccer in Greenville, there's favor. There's. There's a bunch of different places you can go. But I can tell you this, doing it by yourself is damn near sorry. Impossible.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: You're fine.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Okay, cool. Thank you. This may never see the light of day.
[00:14:37] Speaker B: They just said no, no. It's scheduled.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Okay, cool. But, no, I said it's. It's hard to do on your own. This is a. It's a big, nasty monster that you're fighting, and you can only fight it. So. And it's yourself. That's the other thing. You need help.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Right. Right. You know, so as your two daughters are growing, because 13.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: And I'll be 13 on September 13 and 8.
Yeah.
[00:15:06] Speaker B: How.
How do you talk to them about daddy's addiction, but also, what do you maybe do differently because of where you sit right now?
[00:15:23] Speaker A: Okay, so that's.
This is gonna be hard for you to believe.
Real open with my kids about.
About everything. Real open with everybody about everything.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: Right, Right.
[00:15:32] Speaker A: But my kids know daddy is a drug addict. Daddy can't drink alcohol. Daddy can't do any of those things, because if daddy does, bad things happen.
As a matter of fact, I was. We were at Total Wine. My wife was getting wine, and she took me with her, which is a terrible idea. But we. I walked in the cigar humidor because I was looking for a lighter, and my. My. My oldest goes, stinks in here. And I got. Smells good. She goes, you like the smell because you're a drug addict. And I was like.
I was like, I don't think that's why I like the smell. But, I mean, yeah, maybe. But no, they're very aware that daddy is a drug addict, and he can't. You know, he went through some stuff. And I'm real open with them because here's the thing. The first time.
So a little secret. Everybody thinks I only went to rehab once. One time, I actually did a program. Before I went the first time, there was a little sort of rehab. It wasn't rehab. It was like an Iop light.
And I didn't tell anybody.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Oh.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: Kept it to myself. Lauren. I was very in the. In the. In the. You know, in the dark. I didn't want anybody to know. I was ashamed of it, and it did not work.
I lasted maybe three months.
So when I got sober the second time, I was like, I know one way to live my life, and that is out loud and in. Open to everybody. And that's just how I'm gonna be with everybody.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: Right. Right. I mean, that's who Tyler is.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: That is who I am at my court.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: That is who Tyler is. I'm gonna refer to myself as a third person. Yes. That is who I am. I am allowed. I live out loud.
[00:17:12] Speaker B: And if you don't want an honest.
[00:17:13] Speaker A: Answer, don't ask Me?
[00:17:15] Speaker B: Don't ask Tyler.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: No, do not ask me. A lot of people have learned that the hard way.
But it's funny because I do. I. I just. Once I started being open about it, it. All the shame went away. And I can laugh about it and I can make jokes about it.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: Right.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: You know, I always joke about my tattoo. I don't see it on this.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: A bear.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: Everybody asked me if I'm from California because it looks like the bear on the California state flag. And I go, no, that's where I went to rehab. Whoosh. Conversation ender.
Love it. It makes me laugh so hard because I just love making it awkward.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: Wow. Wow. Yeah, it's. You know, again, especially in what we deal with in prevention and then mental health.
All of those have such a stigma about them.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:17:59] Speaker B: And it's like, well, if we don't talk about it, it won't. It won't. It won't affect us. It'll never. Not our family.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: It affects everybody. That's the thing. That's the crazy thing. It affects everybody. Everyone knows somebody who's going through this, and everybody is.
Always makes me laugh when they're like, oh, well, you know, just. We don't talk about these things. Why not?
[00:18:19] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:20] Speaker A: Also, I make jokes. I like to let. Because if, yes, it's dark and it is a.
Is awful, but if you don't find some light somewhere, you'll be miserable.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:32] Speaker A: I. You know, people are like, well, you don't take it seriously. Yeah, I do. I take it deadly seriously.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: But I also laugh about things, and I can make jokes in my own expense and talk about the dumb stuff that I did and, you know, hope people learn from it and don't do the same dumb stuff that I did.
[00:18:46] Speaker B: And if people know you, they understand that about you.
[00:18:50] Speaker A: They do.
[00:18:51] Speaker B: So.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: And if they don't know me, they find that out about me very, very quickly.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:18:56] Speaker A: So.
[00:18:59] Speaker B: I don't want to.
So, you know, we're all about prevention.
[00:19:03] Speaker A: Yes.
Prevention is hard. You're. You have a very. This is a very hard prevention game. Is a hard game to be in.
[00:19:09] Speaker B: Right, Right.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: Because they're gonna do it.
I told you. You left me speak. You just said, if you don't want the truth, don't ask Tyler.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: I know. I know.
And I know we can't reach every kid.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: No.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: And I know there's probably not a chance in hell that we could have reached Tyler Burgess.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Oh, no, no. Not at all.
[00:19:34] Speaker B: But there's a lot of kids out There. That we can reach.
[00:19:37] Speaker A: There are. There are.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: Thinking of your place as a father and a business leader.
[00:19:49] Speaker A: Leader, strong.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: Go ahead, Mr. CEO. Sure.
[00:19:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I just. Yeah, I'm just.
I don't. I have. I don't know exactly what I do. My daughter's like, what do you do all day? I don't know.
[00:20:01] Speaker B: CEO stuff.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: I do podcasts with Phil. Yeah. Hey, go ahead.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: What would be an important message to other dads and other business owners about their support of prevention?
That it can make a difference.
[00:20:20] Speaker A: It is important. Here's what I'll say. Prevention, it can make. Okay, you might not stop them from doing it the first time.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:26] Speaker A: But you can stop them from doing it all the time. I'll say that.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: I mean, if you look at it is a win. Is not just, okay, this kid never did drugs, but this kid picked it up one time and then never picked.
[00:20:37] Speaker B: It back up again.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: I would call that prevention. You know what I mean? I think that is super important to think of. You can't think of it as a we have to bat a thousand. And that's because you just. You go crazy.
Impossible. But it is important. Here's the thing. As a father, as a business person, don't shame people for doing drugs. If they do do them right.
Don't glorify them. Don't make them sound cool. That's the prevention part of it. Because there is a lot of that in this world. But also don't shame the people that do do them.
If you catch a kid doing drugs, talk to your kid.
Why are you doing what's happening? What's going on? What's going on in your life that's causing this to happen?
[00:21:17] Speaker B: Right.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: A lot of parents don't want to talk to their kids about stuff.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: Right.
[00:21:21] Speaker A: Trust me, I know.
I'm aware of how that goes. And I am not like that for that is because, listen, if your kid smokes weed, that doesn't mean he's going to turn into Pablo Escobar.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: Right?
[00:21:37] Speaker A: But he might if you don't stop and talk to him.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Right. I know. I've had several parents in here before and their kids are now in their 20s and 30s and they called them smoking pot in middle school. And they're like, well, it's just a little bit of pot. And they're so regret that they ever made that comment.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: That they didn't do anything.
[00:22:00] Speaker A: That's the thing. You don't ignore it. Don't shame it. Don't freak out about it. Just talk to them like they're humans.
That is my biggest thing with anybody. Talk to them like they're human.
My kids are, yes, my children are kids, but they. I do not talk to my kids. Like anybody who's ever met my kids will tell you they have a very advanced vocabulary and way of talking.
That's because I've always talked to them just like this.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Right.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: You know, my daughter cursed at me the other day. I said, yeah, it was funny. I deserved it.
[00:22:31] Speaker B: It was.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: Well, it was well done. But she.
It's because I talk. I treat them like. I don't treat them like adults. I treat them like humans.
Treats people how you'd want to be treated, even if they're smaller than you.
[00:22:43] Speaker B: Right, right. And so many people don't have a clue what that means these days.
[00:22:47] Speaker A: They have no idea. It's like, you know, I catch my kid smoking weed, so I'm going to take his phone, I'm gonna lock him in his room, and I'm never gonna let him outside again. Okay. All he's gonna do is find ways to get out of the house and do more stuff to make you mad.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: Right, Right.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: Instead of just sitting down, having a conversation and say, man, what's going on in your life? What's happening with you?
[00:23:04] Speaker B: Right. Right. And our goal is if we can delay that first use, chances are they're going to have less of a problem down the road.
And there are better ways to address the trauma that they're suffering from and trying to mask.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. The thing is, is you gotta be open and honest with your kids about from the beginning, like, why they shouldn't do drugs.
You know what I mean? Like, and here's the thing. I know a lot of parents are like, oh, I smoked a little weed. Yeah, you didn't turn out great either.
But it's like, you can still talk to your parent, your kids about it and tell them what happens and the problem. Like, just be open and honest about, like, you know. Yeah. You might experiment. If you do, come to me, talk to me, help. Let me help you figure out what's going on in your life.
[00:23:53] Speaker B: Right.
[00:23:53] Speaker A: Why you're doing this because you shouldn't be wanting to get drunk every night when you're 14, right?
[00:23:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Or 11.
[00:23:58] Speaker A: Or 11. Nobody asked me.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: I would have told them had they asked me.
Well, probably not, because I didn't really have. I didn't have the skills then. Now anybody asked me, I'll tell them anything they want to know.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: No doubt. No doubt. There we Go back to that.
Wide open, honest.
But that's one of the things I really, really appreciate, appreciate about you is that you're honest and open and there's nothing to hide.
[00:24:26] Speaker A: Nope. I live my life hiding everything. I did for a long time.
I did a bunch of bad, shady stuff. I lived in the dark. I was not a great person.
And I was determined that the only way to be the opposite of that was to do the opposite of what I was doing. So if I do something wrong, I tell people I messed up, I'll apologize.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: I'm sorry. But here's the other thing I do. I don't let the stuff I did in the past define who I am today. A lot of people want to bring up all that old stuff, and I'm like, that wasn't me. I'm not the same human being I was in 2050. I'm not the same human being I was in 2020.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: Right. You're not the same as you were two weeks ago.
[00:25:03] Speaker A: No, not at all. It's like, you know, I have always gotten. I try to get better every day. I try to, but the only way to do that is to be honest. And look, it is not easy because I was a born liar.
You have to ask Laura. Laura would ask me something. I would just immediately lie and then just like, no way. That was a lie. I'm sorry. That took me a long time to break because, I mean, there's a lot of. When you're a drug addict, there's a lot of lying and hiding and trying.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: To keep up with a lot of deception.
[00:25:28] Speaker A: A lot of deception. And just his immediate brain function just kicks in that goes, oh, no. And they're like, wait, yes, I never. That was a lie. I'm sorry.
So I've gotten way better at that now. Now I just. I don't do that anymore. But it is.
It's not a good way to live, man.
[00:25:44] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: That's the other thing. Party and having fun. I get that. But it turns into something dark real quick.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. My parents always said, you know, nothing good happens past. I don't even remember what time it was.
[00:26:00] Speaker A: Midnight.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:01] Speaker A: I'm in bed by 8:30 now. So I. Nothing.
I'm old now. So I go to bed at like 8:30, 9:00'. Clock.
No, no, nothing good happens. No, it does not.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Well, I appreciate all your support that you give to us.
I love our new backdrop.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: I do too. I love it too. It looks great.
[00:26:21] Speaker B: It really does. And you and your team did an awesome job of this. And again, all I did was forward.
[00:26:28] Speaker A: The email, to be honest. I just forwarded the email.
[00:26:30] Speaker B: That's what CEOs.
[00:26:32] Speaker A: I forwarded the email to the appropriate people that got the banner printed.
I'm a facilitator.
[00:26:37] Speaker B: There you go. There you go. But again, I appreciate your support. Laura and the girls.
[00:26:45] Speaker A: You guys have a hard job, man. This is a hard job.
[00:26:47] Speaker B: Well, thank you. Not.
Not everybody recognizes what it is, but it is. And, you know, it just. We continue to do what we do. We're growing and expanding, being able to reach more and more people. People. And we couldn't do that without people like you.
[00:27:05] Speaker A: And that's. That's why I'm here, man. Like I told you.
[00:27:07] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:27:07] Speaker A: Hey, I appreciate it. Like I told you, as long as you just try to get to them as much as you can.
[00:27:11] Speaker B: Yep, yep. We'll do it.
[00:27:13] Speaker A: That's it.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: We'll do it. All right.
[00:27:14] Speaker A: I appreciate it.
[00:27:14] Speaker B: Thanks, Tyler.
[00:27:15] Speaker A: So, hey, I just. Yeah, because I, I. I bribed him into being on here today because I said if I give you this banner, I have to be on the first podcast. It's on. That's the only reason I'm here today.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: Hey, whatever it takes, you know? Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. All right, this is another round with Tyler.
[00:27:34] Speaker A: I was by myself, too. This is. I got to do all the talking this time.
[00:27:37] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You didn't have to share the microphone.
[00:27:39] Speaker A: I didn't have to share the microphone.
Oh.
[00:27:42] Speaker B: So again, thank you, Tyler.
[00:27:44] Speaker A: No problem.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: This is Phil Clark with. Just say something. Be sure to, like, share subscribe, and.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: Is there another one, like, share subscribe notifications. Smash that notification button. All I know is YouTube from. My kids watch YouTube a lot and what they say. Smash that subscribe button.
[00:28:04] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I don't know that we want to smash it, but that's what.
[00:28:08] Speaker A: They said the kids are saying. Man. I'm just telling what the kids are saying these days.
[00:28:11] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Well, like, subscribe and share, and we will see you next week. Thank you.
