The Only Disability in Life is a Bad Attitude w/ Tony Trzeciak

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There are few things that make people successful.

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Taking a step forward to change their lives is one successful trait, but it takes some

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time to get there.

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How do you move forward to greet the success that awaits you?

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Welcome to Next Steps Forward with host Chris Meek.

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Each week, Chris brings on another guest who has successfully taken the next steps forward.

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Now here is Chris Meek.

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Hello, I'm Chris Meek, and you're tuned to this week's episode of Next Steps Forward.

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As always, it's a pleasure to have you with us.

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Our special guest today is Tony Treciak.

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Tony's a Philadelphia native, husband and father of four.

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He served in the United States Marine Corps from 2008 to 2012.

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Joining the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division Keel Company, Tony completed a combat tour

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in Afghanistan and a humanitarian mission in Haiti with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

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Sadly, due to injuries and medical malpractice, Tony was paralyzed, which led to many life-saving

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surgeries, depression, suicide ideation, and drug abuse.

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Tony has triumphed over those daunting challenges and is using his life experiences to help

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other veterans and military members in need of help and support.

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Today, he channels his passion for finance into his roles as an angel investor, entrepreneur,

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and work on AI projects in finance and sports with Chatter.ai.

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And he personifies resilience, personal empowerment, and personal well-being.

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Tony Treciak, welcome to Next Steps Forward.

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Thank you for having me, Chris.

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So we're going to talk about your eagles later.

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It's going to pain me to talk about it, but let's talk about some serious stuff first.

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You have not had an easy life beginning with your childhood, my friend, yet you have not

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only persevered, you've thrived.

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Would you share with us the parts of your childhood you're comfortable sharing?

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Yeah, of course.

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I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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I have a brother and sister.

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I had another brother who was tragically murdered, and my mom wanted to get us out of a tough

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spot out in Kensington and ended up remarrying and got us out of Philadelphia.

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And I attended high school at Happer Horsham High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

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And for a while, things were pretty good, and then I ended up getting in a little trouble

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and my mom ended up abandoning me because she didn't want to go back to where we were

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from.

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So she chose her husband over her two sons and ultimately left us homeless.

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And from when I was a young teenager, I was kind of living out of a trash bag, living

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in laundromats, abandoned apartment buildings, abandoned homes.

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My brother had left because he was also homeless, he left for the army.

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So when he left, I kind of had nothing and I still made it to school every single day.

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I attribute a lot of my success to a lot of my teachers who would call me every night

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to find out where I would be so they could come pick me up early in the morning just

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so they knew I would get to school.

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And I'll call them out, Milnazik, Bamford, Cryer, and DeRozier, if they ever hear this,

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thank you.

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But because of those four women, I graduated and ended up joining the Marine Corps, but

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they made sure I had food in my stomach.

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Back in the day, when you had cell phones, it was prepaid minutes and free texts and

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calls after 7 p.m.

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So they would give me prepaid minute cards every week.

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If I attended school Monday through Friday, at the end of the week, I would get some prepaid

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minutes from my phone, but I would always tell people, don't contact me till after 7.

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So but yet, due to those four amazing women and teachers of mine, I was able to join the

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military and get myself out of that predicament.

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I just want to talk about your teachers there for a minute, amazing, amazing people.

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Not only just these teachers, but teachers in general are unsung heroes.

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I'm a little biased.

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My mother was a deaf education teacher and she did something very similar when I was

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growing up.

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And so I appreciate that and thank you for sharing that.

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And I just want to give a shout out to all the teachers out there just because they don't

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get enough credit or love from us.

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So thank you for sharing that story.

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The hardships of tribulations that you endured as a child led you to join the Marines, as

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you mentioned.

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Your grandfather was a decorated World War II Army veteran, your dad was a Vietnam War

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Army veteran, and your brother served in the Army in Iraq.

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Why did you choose the Marine Corps instead of the Army?

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Well, I mean, I don't think I could have ever won up to my grandfather who received a couple

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high honors.

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He was part of the 101st, but he did receive a Bronze Star.

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My dad was a double Purple Heart.

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He was an Army medic and my brother was in the infantry in the Army.

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So, you know, kind of looking back, I kind of said, well, I was better looking than all

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of them.

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But who looks better in uniform, Marines or Army?

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So I ultimately decided I had to one-up them somehow, so I joined the Marines.

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So you chose the Marine Corps because of the uniform?

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No, not really.

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That's all.

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But because when I was homeless, there was a recruiter station in Hapro, PA, and I used

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to walk the streets of Hapro Horsham and some of the recruiters would, you know, call me

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over from here, you know, whenever I'd be around and they would just talk to me.

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And I really connected with a couple of the recruiters there.

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One specifically, his name was Sergeant Resch, and he looked out for me.

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When they found out that I was actually homeless, they actually started letting me sleep on

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the recruiter's couch in the office.

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They would bring me over to the base and let me crash over and things like that.

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So, you know, they were looking out for me and I hadn't seen my mom in a couple of years.

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And I was enlisting when I was still a minor.

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So when I was 17, the recruiters had called my mom and said, Hey, we have your son here.

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He'd like to enlist in the military, but he's a minor.

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And she came over, signed the papers, and then walked right out, didn't even say hi.

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So, you know, it was a tough time.

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But again, like I had people in my corner that looked out for me to make sure that I

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succeeded.

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Have you seen your mother since then?

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Actually, yeah.

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So funny, during boot camp, it was Easter, and our platoon sergeant had allowed us to

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call home.

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So when my name got called up, my platoon sergeant was like, Hey, you know, you can

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call your mom or your dad.

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I was like, I don't have any of that at home.

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So I kind of explained the situation and he like forced me to like call her.

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And then he invited her to graduation boot camp.

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So when I graduated, I had the two teachers DeRozier, sorry, Bamford and Nolnazic come

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over for my graduation.

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And my mom was there.

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And that was kind of like the beginning of where we're like, we try to mend a broken

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relationship.

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But I didn't really fix my relationship with my mom until me and my wife got married and

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we had our first born child.

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And it was really my wife who pushed that initiative to fix it because both of her parents

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had died from cancer.

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So she's like, look, it's important, maybe not you, but for our children's sake, that

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you mend this relationship.

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You don't have to forget what she did, but you can forgive.

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And you know, for our children that they need family, it's important.

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And you didn't have a strong family growing up or a very tight family.

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And we want to provide that for our kids.

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So that's ultimately, long story short, why I started talking to her again.

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And I do know how tight and close that your family is.

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And so I appreciate you sharing that with us.

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What did your time in the Marine Corps do for you and what did it mean to you?

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Well, since I was homeless, it kind of gave me a foundation to build upon.

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So I talk about stuff like this all the time where it's like, you know, you need a strong

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foundation.

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And once you have that strong foundation, you can build upon it brick by brick.

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So you get to the top of the pyramid.

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So the Marine Corps definitely gave me the foundation that I needed.

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It kind of gave me a new perspective on life.

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And when really when I started deploying and going to other countries, I saw how I had

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it bad.

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But then like when you go to third world countries, you're like, I had a pretty good, even though

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I was homeless, like I still had people looking out for me, I still was able to get food in

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my stomach.

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And there's people out there who walk all day just to get a thing of water for their

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family.

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So it changed my perspective on a lot of things and it opened my eyes to how no matter what

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in this great country that we live in in America, you know, if you put in the work

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and you put in the time and effort, you can accomplish anything.

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And there's a lot of people in the world who don't even get that opportunity.

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If you were giving advice, what sort of young person would you recommend joining any branch

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of the military service or especially join the Marine Corps?

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Well, I mean, it really depends on the person and what they're trying to accomplish in the

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military.

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Me, I knew I wanted to join the infantry.

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You know, those were my heroes growing up watching, you know, band of brothers and the

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Pacific and things like that, like that, that was what I used to love to watch.

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And then knowing that my father and my grandfather, you know, they came from that background.

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I wanted to, I wanted to be just like them, but you know, for, I've talked to a lot of

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kids that want to join the military and I tell them all the time, what are you trying

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to get out of it?

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Some kids are like, well, I love working with my hands.

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I like being an electrician.

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I like being with, you know, working with cars, I like working with jets or working

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with, you know, you know, something.

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So it's like, okay, then who would offer you the better opportunity?

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Would it be the Navy?

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Would it be the Air Force?

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Would it be the Marines?

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You know, the Marines aren't for everybody.

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It is, it's a little bit harder than everything else out there, but you know, again, it all

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depends on what you're looking for to get out of it.

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You know, I have family members who are now 16, 17, 18 years old, kind of at that crossroads

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in life.

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You know, I hear this advice all the time, it's what are you looking to get out of it?

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And then from there, go through the pros and cons on which branch of service will give

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you the best advantages in your career during your military service and after your military

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service.

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Well, with Veteran's Day next Monday, this is the show I could get closest to Veteran's

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Day to have you on here.

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I wanted to have you specifically, so thank you and your family for your service and sacrifice.

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We really appreciate it.

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To your point, home of the brave, land of the free, thanks to people like you.

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So thank you.

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Thank you.

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During your service, you were wounded when you rolled over an IED, which is an improvised

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explosive device, in combat and you were paralyzed later during treatment.

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That time in your life understandably led to depression and you also struggled with

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suicidal thoughts.

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First, I'd like to thank you for your willingness to speak about such a difficult time in your

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life.

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What weighed on you most heavily during that time and was there a particular breaking point

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that made things seem overwhelming?

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Yeah.

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So, you know, when I woke up paralyzed, you know, I'm very blunt and transparent.

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So I was, I come from a drug past, you know, like my brother and my dad were all involved

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in drugs.

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And ultimately I got involved in it when I was a young kid and that's why I wanted to

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join the military.

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So I get myself out of it.

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But I have very addictive personality.

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So I was, once I got on the pills from the VA, the Marine Corps, I was hooked and I just,

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it always seemed to be like a trigger, something, you know, I had an argument with the wife

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or I had a disagreement with somebody or, you know, I started drinking.

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It's just, you know, it's a very touchy subject, you know, because, you know, I get asked this

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question all the time.

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What are some of the triggers?

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And I attribute a lot of, I do a lot of work with StopSoldierSuicide.org now.

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So like learning about a lot of things from them as well, it's like, what were my triggers?

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And it always seemed to be my triggers were always, it just came down to doing drugs.

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I just was a zombie for days and then I wouldn't have no recollection of what I was doing,

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what I was talking about.

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You know, your whole life kind of changes when you, you know, rail a big line of oxys.

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And again, I'm just being transparent.

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I was in a load of pain.

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What's the fastest way to, you know, get the pain eliminated, taking a pill or snorting

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it or injecting it?

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I didn't like to inject things because I watched my dad do it and my friends and things like

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that because they were involved in heroin.

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So I was, I prefer to snort my pills.

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So I crushed up a couple of oxys, I snorted them and I felt a little woozy.

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So like, you know what, let me go take a little nap.

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And my wife was gone.

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She was watching a movie with her friends and I woke up a couple hours later, my phone

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was ringing.

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It was just on the floor right out of reach, maybe less than two feet away and I couldn't

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move.

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I felt like the whole weight of the world was just pushing me down and all I could do

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was move my neck.

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So I started frantically like shaking my neck back and forth, screaming on top of my lungs,

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help, help, help, and help didn't come for hours until my wife came home from the movies.

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And at that point I was rushed to the hospital and you know, that's where it really started

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like a really big problem with, you know, drugs and narcotics because I get put on a

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morphine drip and then I get spinal surgery and I'm in a hospital room for three years

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nearly on a morphine drip.

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And so it's just like, you know, my body would just react, you know, it's just a little button.

231
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I wouldn't even know I'm pressing it, but I'm pressing it every minute.

232
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I'm just so addicted to it.

233
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And when I finally get out of the hospital, you know, I lose the morphine drip, but then

234
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they give me 300 oxys a month plus fentanyl patches plus sleeping pills, plus depressant

235
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pills, plus anxiety pills, plus this and that.

236
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And this, I mean, at some point I was well over 20 different medications a day.

237
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I didn't even know what day it was most of the time and to be honest, for almost four

238
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plus years of my life, I really don't have much recollection of, I don't remember a lot

239
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because I was so high all the time.

240
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And you know, I had a lot of suicidal tendencies and because I grew up without a positive role

241
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model in my life, I didn't have a father figure and the father figure that I have didn't really

242
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like me much.

243
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So, you know, my wife would always say like, are you going to do this to your son?

244
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Because at the time he was only two years old, you know, like your son's going to grow

245
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up without a father.

246
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he's going to grow up and you're putting, you're going to cause so much trauma in his

247
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life.

248
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So, you know, I, I, I tried blowing my head off.

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I had a good friend, Rob Richards, who you can Google, um, he was a Marine sniper, good

250
00:14:48,180 --> 00:14:50,060
and bad things that you'll see about him.

251
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But one of the best Marines that I ever served with, um, he had saved my life.

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My wife had to get out of a bad situation because I was waving a gun around, I was trying

253
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to blow my head off and my wife called Rob, I'm like, I think this is the day Tony actually

254
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does it.

255
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And she drove away and Rob lived right down the street.

256
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He sped down, kicked down the door, ran in the house, jumped on top of me and I pulled

257
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the trigger and luckily it just missed my head and went through the walls of the house

258
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and we just cried.

259
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I just cried on the shoulder for, I don't know how long.

260
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And then I went to the mental facility and, uh, started seeking treatment.

261
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But quite honestly, a lot of the times that I went to go seek, you know, professional

262
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help, it just made me worse because all they did was medicate me and they didn't really

263
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want to discuss or talk about what the core problem was and what I was going through mentally.

264
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Uh, I was just going through a lot and I was just battling with myself.

265
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Um, my wife was pregnant at the time and my, when I, so I wasn't there for my son when

266
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he was born, I was actually in Afghanistan, but when my daughter was born, I was there,

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but I was high as a kite.

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Like the whole time I was going in and out of the bathroom, taking another pill, I was

269
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in pain.

270
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Um, and then when I saw my daughter born, I kind of like, it just changed me.

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Uh, at that point in time, I kind of just like stared and I'm like, wow, like through

272
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all this shit that I'm going through right now.

273
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Like I just, I didn't do much work that day, but you know, I, you know, the, the, you know,

274
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there's life there that I helped create and I was like, man, I really don't want my daughter

275
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seeing this.

276
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I don't want my son seeing it.

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I can't keep going down this path.

278
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Um, but I had to get out of a bad environment as well because it's all about your environment

279
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as well.

280
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And I wasn't in the best environment living in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Jacksonville,

281
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North Carolina.

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I just had a lot of bad things that happened to me since I became paralyzed.

283
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I'm like, if I want to get better and fix myself, I have to get myself out of this situation,

284
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out of this environment and building homes for heroes, um, was a big attribute to the

285
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next step that helped me get better.

286
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They had moved me and my family out to Florida and gave us a mortgage free home.

287
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And then I saw a doctor, his name was Dr. Schrock at the Tampa VA.

288
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And I remember these names because there was a big turning point in my life.

289
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And the first thing I did was fill out a questionnaire that he gave me and basically it was like,

290
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how are the pain medicines helping you?

291
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I was like, well, my pain is still on a six to eight level every single day.

292
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And he's just like, so how's it really helping you?

293
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And I was like, huh, how is it really helping me?

294
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So I got home and I'm like, my wife's name is Tara.

295
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I was like, I think I need to, I need to go cold turkey.

296
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And the doctor was recommending that I kind of just lean me off.

297
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And I'm like, no, my addictive personality, they'll never stop.

298
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So I went, I dumped everything down the toilet, flushed it down and I laid in bed.

299
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You know, if anybody's ever gone through some tough withdrawal, it ain't easy puking,

300
00:17:54,620 --> 00:17:57,540
you know, coming out both ends, it just wasn't good.

301
00:17:57,540 --> 00:18:03,580
And my wife was there, you know, patting my sweat down, helping me through my shivers and shakes.

302
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After a few days, I got through that initial step.

303
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And then from there, because once you get through the physical addiction, it's just mental from that point.

304
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And I just, you know, had to find stuff to do to keep myself occupied because that was another big problem

305
00:18:18,620 --> 00:18:21,980
is when I became paralyzed, I wasn't attending school anymore.

306
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I wasn't working, I wasn't doing anything.

307
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So I had a lot of time on my hands.

308
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And that's, that's, that's the real fight is when you have all this time and you're sitting there thinking to yourself, talking to yourself.

309
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So I had to fight that internal mental battle.

310
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And once I accomplished that, I was just like, OK, what's next?

311
00:18:40,620 --> 00:18:45,140
You know, fast track or to backtrack a little bit, you know, through all of the stuff that I went through.

312
00:18:45,460 --> 00:18:51,420
I went and got a lawyer and I was suing for medical negligence and medical malpractice.

313
00:18:51,420 --> 00:18:53,620
And I was never really optimistic.

314
00:18:53,620 --> 00:18:56,100
I was like, I'm probably never going to get anything back from this.

315
00:18:56,100 --> 00:19:04,780
But after six years of legal battles and disputes, I ended up winning substantial amount of money for all the wrongdoing that happened to me.

316
00:19:04,780 --> 00:19:11,660
And then through that time, I also fought with the military, the DOD and the VA, got all my benefits and things like that.

317
00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:15,420
Because, you know, I wasn't receiving full compensation for everything.

318
00:19:15,420 --> 00:19:23,700
And once it all, like, hit all at the same time, I got a medical malpractice lawsuit settlement.

319
00:19:23,700 --> 00:19:27,180
I got everything from the DOD and the VA and Marine Corps.

320
00:19:27,180 --> 00:19:30,460
And then I got the home from Building Home Securities and then I have all this money.

321
00:19:30,460 --> 00:19:36,060
And I'm like, well, from where I come from, I've never had money like this in my pocket.

322
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So I was scared.

323
00:19:37,780 --> 00:19:44,900
Most people my age would have called, you know, the nearest car store, bought some Lamborghini or something.

324
00:19:44,900 --> 00:19:54,220
Me, instead, I went and called my uncle, who was a very successful entrepreneur and he was somebody that was a positive role model in my life.

325
00:19:54,220 --> 00:20:01,140
So I asked him some advice and then he just opened up the door for me, which then opened up the door to, you know, it was like a domino effect.

326
00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:05,020
When one door opens, everything just falls in place.

327
00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:11,860
But, you know, again, like I went through a lot of mental hardships, was in and out of the mental facility multiple times.

328
00:20:11,860 --> 00:20:18,940
I've tried to kill myself about a dozen times, one of which I was nearly dead from successfully doing.

329
00:20:18,940 --> 00:20:27,220
And I had taken my K-Bar and I sliced both of my arms and I had blood just coming rushing out of my arms while I was popping a bunch of pills.

330
00:20:27,220 --> 00:20:29,420
And, you know, then I tried blowing my head off.

331
00:20:29,460 --> 00:20:39,140
But, you know, I do attribute, you know, a lot of the things that I've gone through to, you know, my wife helping me, you know, fight through that.

332
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And again, we get at each other's throats all the time.

333
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:44,780
And I love that woman as, you know, more than anything.

334
00:20:44,780 --> 00:20:50,580
And, you know, I just was lucky that I had her because if I didn't have her, then I would have probably had no reason to live.

335
00:20:52,460 --> 00:20:53,700
I appreciate you sharing that story.

336
00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:57,820
I know it's not easy and certainly painful and very reflective.

337
00:20:58,580 --> 00:21:03,420
Looking back on that period of your life, what do you wish you had known or understood at that time that might have helped you?

338
00:21:04,820 --> 00:21:06,460
Well, this is a big thing.

339
00:21:06,460 --> 00:21:12,300
I like working with some of the organizations I work with now, like Stop Soldier Suicide and Honor and Courage Foundation, the Semper Fi Fund.

340
00:21:13,340 --> 00:21:18,780
There was a point when I was at my darkest point, there was a Sergeant Major, Bill Squires.

341
00:21:19,300 --> 00:21:20,940
He works for the Semper Fi Fund.

342
00:21:20,940 --> 00:21:22,180
He had walked in my house.

343
00:21:22,220 --> 00:21:29,580
When he walked in my house, I had a box spring and a mattress on cinder blocks in my kid's crib right next to me because we lived in a townhome.

344
00:21:30,220 --> 00:21:34,460
And he looked at me, he's like, brother, I'll never give up and keep pushing forward.

345
00:21:34,900 --> 00:21:41,860
And at the time, the best way the Semper Fi Fund could help me was to help us with monetary grants to help us pay the bills.

346
00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:48,820
But at the time, there wasn't like a ton of mental health resources out there that I could find.

347
00:21:49,260 --> 00:21:53,100
Plus, I mean, this is also 12, 13 years ago, so like times have changed.

348
00:21:54,460 --> 00:22:02,260
With the work that I do with these other organizations, like they give you the resources or the tools to go seek help so you can get help.

349
00:22:02,860 --> 00:22:08,980
And with Stop Soldier Suicide, Project Black Box, I know you're affiliated with some stuff going on.

350
00:22:08,980 --> 00:22:14,580
Like there's so many resources now that weren't really available years ago for service members.

351
00:22:15,580 --> 00:22:23,060
And it really strikes a chord with me because I'm like, man, like if only these resources were available for me when I first was through it.

352
00:22:23,060 --> 00:22:33,460
But now I get to use my hardships and endeavors and tribulations to, you know, pass knowledge or just have conversations with people and say, it's OK, just communicate.

353
00:22:33,700 --> 00:22:43,820
And there's resources now that will be able to help you and you can utilize my experiences to help you through the battles that you're going through while utilizing the resources that are available for you.

354
00:22:43,820 --> 00:22:46,220
Now, that weren't currently available for me when I was going through it.

355
00:22:47,860 --> 00:22:53,900
Now, to your point, thankfully, the times have changed and, you know, it's OK to not be OK.

356
00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:56,300
And people like yourself are sharing their stories more and more.

357
00:22:56,300 --> 00:23:03,580
And it takes heroes like you, heroes like Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer who tried to commit suicide, people like that who are higher profile.

358
00:23:03,900 --> 00:23:07,700
But also folks like you who have gone through it multiple times for many years.

359
00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:10,900
And so thank you for being a champion for that cause.

360
00:23:11,780 --> 00:23:14,660
You know, we have the 17 veterans roughly a day commit suicide.

361
00:23:15,540 --> 00:23:16,860
That's 18 too many.

362
00:23:18,020 --> 00:23:19,580
And it's twice the national average.

363
00:23:19,580 --> 00:23:21,700
And so we have to talk more about it.

364
00:23:22,060 --> 00:23:26,460
This show has a big focus on mental health, certainly suicide prevention.

365
00:23:26,460 --> 00:23:29,460
And so that's a big part of why I wanted you on here today.

366
00:23:29,460 --> 00:23:31,060
We're going to get to the entrepreneurship in a second.

367
00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:36,340
But again, really, thank you for sharing in great detail what you went through.

368
00:23:36,900 --> 00:23:44,100
Yeah, and just to add a little touch note to that, you know, I was just at a middle school talking to a bunch of kids and I was in Georgia doing another speech.

369
00:23:44,740 --> 00:23:48,900
You know, one of the most important things on the combat in the combat zone is communication.

370
00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:54,020
Without communication, someone's left the right of the unit to die or someone's going to be hurt.

371
00:23:54,020 --> 00:24:02,300
And there's no difference from civilian life, you know, communication is key in every aspect of life, whether it be in business or in personal life.

372
00:24:02,860 --> 00:24:10,420
And I just feel like the people's lack of willing to want to communicate is a big cause and big problem for a lot of things that people go through.

373
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So if anybody takes anything from this conversation is communication is key.

374
00:24:15,660 --> 00:24:17,900
You have to be willing to open up and talk about it.

375
00:24:19,460 --> 00:24:20,500
How simple is that, right?

376
00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:21,300
Just talk.

377
00:24:21,740 --> 00:24:21,980
Yeah.

378
00:24:23,220 --> 00:24:26,940
How's your experience with paralysis changed or reinforced your sense of purpose?

379
00:24:27,940 --> 00:24:31,900
Well, when I became paralyzed, I felt like I lost my sense of purpose.

380
00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:34,580
I used to ask myself why, why, why?

381
00:24:35,060 --> 00:24:38,460
Now I kind of understand why is because I'm strong enough to overcome it.

382
00:24:38,460 --> 00:24:42,980
And I'm strong enough to then utilize my hardships to tell people it's okay.

383
00:24:43,940 --> 00:24:49,460
You know, sometimes in life you get a shit end, but you know, I'm here to play at the poker table, man.

384
00:24:50,180 --> 00:24:58,780
And, uh, you know, I'll never give up, uh, especially with all the kids and the people who look up to me for advice and leadership.

385
00:24:59,180 --> 00:25:06,580
Um, I want to be that, that beacon or that shining light in people's lives when it's, when you think it's so dark that, you know, there's no way out.

386
00:25:06,820 --> 00:25:07,980
I want to be that beacon.

387
00:25:07,980 --> 00:25:10,820
I want to be that light to help people got them through that rough time.

388
00:25:11,860 --> 00:25:13,260
There's always a better alternative, right?

389
00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:13,940
That's right.

390
00:25:15,220 --> 00:25:19,900
So it was during your time confined to hospital beds that you first started thinking about the stock market and investing.

391
00:25:20,740 --> 00:25:21,980
Was it something you saw on TV?

392
00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:23,540
Was it something someone mentioned to you?

393
00:25:23,860 --> 00:25:25,980
And how did the idea of investing pop in your mind?

394
00:25:26,020 --> 00:25:27,860
And then what did you do to turn to nurture it?

395
00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:36,020
So one, through one of the surgeries that I had, when I first became paralyzed, I got an IVC filter put in.

396
00:25:36,460 --> 00:25:41,580
So right below your heart, you have your IVC, which is your main like blood that goes to your heart.

397
00:25:42,060 --> 00:25:46,980
I had a filter put in, um, that I didn't know that ended up getting recalled shortly later.

398
00:25:47,740 --> 00:25:52,020
So one day I woke up, my whole body was purple blue from my chest down.

399
00:25:52,940 --> 00:25:54,180
It was covered in clots.

400
00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:58,540
So I got rushed to Tampa, to Tampa general.

401
00:25:59,060 --> 00:25:59,700
And Dr.

402
00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:03,300
Shoeb was like, man, you're going to need superhero surgery.

403
00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:06,740
He's like, I can't guarantee that you're even going to pull through this surgery.

404
00:26:07,580 --> 00:26:08,420
And I'm like, shit.

405
00:26:08,820 --> 00:26:09,900
Um, okay.

406
00:26:10,020 --> 00:26:15,060
Um, so I went home and I was like, babe, um, I might not make it next week.

407
00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:19,500
Um, so we need to prepare, uh, got through the surgery.

408
00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:21,260
Look, I'm still here.

409
00:26:21,700 --> 00:26:26,460
Um, and when I woke up in the recovery room, I'm just going to put it this way.

410
00:26:26,460 --> 00:26:33,180
I had a very large sum of money in the stock stock market and the market had dropped five plus percent.

411
00:26:33,940 --> 00:26:36,180
And I'm like, man, what the hell happened?

412
00:26:36,500 --> 00:26:38,500
Um, so I picked up my phone.

413
00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:41,420
I'm like, Hey Siri, what happened in the stock market today?

414
00:26:42,060 --> 00:26:46,860
I can't give you stock tips and I can't give you stock information or I don't have access to that information is what it told me.

415
00:26:46,860 --> 00:26:49,020
I'm like, wait a minute here.

416
00:26:49,860 --> 00:26:56,500
You're telling me this, this artificial intelligence can't give me some type of information on the stock market.

417
00:26:56,500 --> 00:26:57,580
That doesn't make sense to me.

418
00:26:58,380 --> 00:27:01,500
So when I got out of the hospital, I started doing some due diligence.

419
00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:03,660
And this was five, six years ago.

420
00:27:03,660 --> 00:27:07,940
This is before like, you know, the whole AI boom craze that is on call today.

421
00:27:08,660 --> 00:27:14,940
And a friend of mine, Chris, um, that we, we had a little trading room going on and me and Chris, we were really tight.

422
00:27:15,260 --> 00:27:20,780
He had a relative that is a CEO of a startup called chatted AI.

423
00:27:21,820 --> 00:27:23,940
And, uh, Chris is like, I can introduce you to him.

424
00:27:24,700 --> 00:27:26,540
So me and Kelly started talking.

425
00:27:26,900 --> 00:27:31,140
It kind of told, I walked him through kind of how I look and identify for trades and things like that.

426
00:27:31,140 --> 00:27:32,780
And again, I'm a retail day trader.

427
00:27:33,180 --> 00:27:34,540
You know, some people have success.

428
00:27:34,540 --> 00:27:38,740
I had some success, uh, but through that, you know, it was a lot of ups and downs.

429
00:27:39,100 --> 00:27:41,780
Um, and I'm like, there's gotta be a simpler way to do this.

430
00:27:42,220 --> 00:27:48,100
All we have is a lack of knowledge and a lack of data and a lack of way of getting information.

431
00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:57,300
How can we simplify this process to give people access to information to make, to help them make more, you know, statistically or

432
00:27:57,300 --> 00:28:01,460
better knowledgeable information, like just better make better financial decisions in general.

433
00:28:01,860 --> 00:28:02,860
There's nothing out there.

434
00:28:03,380 --> 00:28:05,580
Um, Kelly's like, it can be done.

435
00:28:05,820 --> 00:28:08,780
We just gotta, we just gotta put the money in and we got to build it.

436
00:28:08,780 --> 00:28:12,980
And I'm like, well, I have some money, uh, and I come from nothing.

437
00:28:12,980 --> 00:28:15,980
And, you know, I kind of looked at it as like a Michael Jordan shot.

438
00:28:15,980 --> 00:28:19,100
Like, you know, I just wanted to take my shot, wanted to bet on myself.

439
00:28:20,020 --> 00:28:24,980
So obviously I called my, my financial advisors and I kind of get asked them what they thought.

440
00:28:25,460 --> 00:28:28,540
And they were like, it's a good idea, man, but this is a big risk.

441
00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:37,020
And I'm like, well, my life has been nothing but a risk, you know, and I, I keep taking this risk and, you know, I want to take this shot.

442
00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:39,980
So I took the shot over three years ago.

443
00:28:40,060 --> 00:28:49,260
Um, we built a proof of concept and through that proof of concept, um, you know, it was well received through some prudent prominent people from the industry.

444
00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:55,020
I got an, um, opportunity to show, uh, Lynn Martin from the New York stock exchange.

445
00:28:55,780 --> 00:28:59,100
And she was, she was amazed to kind of ask me, why did I do it?

446
00:28:59,580 --> 00:29:00,940
How did I come up with the idea?

447
00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:04,020
And I told her the same thing I'm telling you and everybody else.

448
00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:10,180
And, you know, it's just like, I just wanted a way to make better decisions and I don't want to make a biased decision.

449
00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:12,900
I don't want to follow somebody that's on TV.

450
00:29:12,900 --> 00:29:21,940
I don't want to follow some stranger on social media, because I think the statistics, it's like 80% of all everyday people get financial advice from social media.

451
00:29:22,140 --> 00:29:23,380
That's not the way to go.

452
00:29:23,860 --> 00:29:34,460
So why cannot create a model that's actually built on live data that's coming from these exchanges and just train the model to understand what people are asking.

453
00:29:35,220 --> 00:29:42,500
And at that point, you know, I ended up meeting a couple individuals, Tim Gianopolis and the coward who are, you know, industry veterans.

454
00:29:43,340 --> 00:29:48,420
And I kind of walked them through kind of how and why I did this, introduced them to Kelly.

455
00:29:48,420 --> 00:29:49,500
They all headed off.

456
00:29:49,580 --> 00:29:55,580
Uh, ultimately the project ended up getting taken over by Nick Howard and his company at Bantex.

457
00:29:55,900 --> 00:30:04,580
Um, but one thing that hit home to me was when I was talking to Kelly and he's like, look, like you have a pie here.

458
00:30:04,820 --> 00:30:07,300
It's just, let's call it an idea pie.

459
00:30:07,820 --> 00:30:25,020
You can keep the whole pie to yourself and it's just an idea and it never comes to anything in terms of rotten, or you can keep a small slice of that pie and then pass your idea to somebody else who has the experience and knowledge in the industry to actually take it to the next level.

460
00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:35,420
Because at the end of the day, I was just a retail trader learning the ways of the market that I thought, you know, would have been, you know, I've thought I would have been successful, but at the end of the day, I'm like, I had no idea what I was doing.

461
00:30:35,420 --> 00:30:39,740
I just wanted to take a risk and that risk ended up panning out.

462
00:30:39,780 --> 00:30:51,340
And, you know, I got partners and mentors and now lifelong friends who have really guided me and shown me like, you know, you had a great idea, but you were just misled.

463
00:30:51,380 --> 00:30:52,220
You're misguided.

464
00:30:52,460 --> 00:31:00,380
Let us show you how to take this and actually make it beneficial for everyday people to help them make better decisions with their finances.

465
00:31:00,380 --> 00:31:02,340
So I do thank you, Nick.

466
00:31:02,340 --> 00:31:03,140
And thank you, Tim.

467
00:31:03,140 --> 00:31:03,780
And thank you, Kelly.

468
00:31:04,780 --> 00:31:06,620
And what are you doing next Monday on Veterans Day?

469
00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:12,140
I actually am going to the New York Stock Exchange for Veterans Day for closing bell.

470
00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:29,580
And through all my endeavors, I became close with a man named Vince who works for DriveWealth, who gave me my first tour at the New York Stock Exchange a little over a year ago, who then he himself had opened up doors for me because people believed in my message and what I'm trying to do in life.

471
00:31:29,660 --> 00:31:34,260
And like I said, when one domino falls, more and more just falls.

472
00:31:34,260 --> 00:31:36,620
It's kind of weird how the universe kind of works.

473
00:31:36,620 --> 00:31:45,180
You know, I believe in karma and I believe in energy and, you know, I want to be a positive energy and positive impact on people's lives.

474
00:31:45,180 --> 00:31:46,820
And I seem to be doing that now.

475
00:31:46,820 --> 00:31:55,660
And on the 11th, I'll be doing a speech for DriveWealth on things that we're talking about now and I'm just trying to make an impact in the world.

476
00:31:56,660 --> 00:32:05,180
So looking back, did you ever think when your teachers were giving you prepaid minutes and making sure you get to school, that you'd be ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange?

477
00:32:05,620 --> 00:32:07,060
Well, I'm not ringing the closing bell.

478
00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:07,940
I'm going to be there.

479
00:32:07,940 --> 00:32:10,580
But no, not at all.

480
00:32:10,580 --> 00:32:15,780
I honestly thought I was going to, you know, just be another bum on the street.

481
00:32:16,900 --> 00:32:24,820
One thing that does hit home is my mom's husband always did tell me I wasn't going to make anything in my life and I was going to be a dead people like my dad.

482
00:32:25,580 --> 00:32:26,980
My dad wasn't a deadbeat.

483
00:32:26,980 --> 00:32:30,540
My dad was just going through a lot of mental stuff and he was a Vietnam veteran.

484
00:32:30,540 --> 00:32:37,500
And as everybody knows, people who come back from the Vietnam War were not treated like we were treated today.

485
00:32:38,540 --> 00:32:41,340
And he was just battling his own demons.

486
00:32:41,740 --> 00:32:44,860
And, you know, every war is the same, but every battle is different.

487
00:32:44,860 --> 00:32:46,340
That's one thing my dad had taught me.

488
00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:50,900
He's like, look, my dad fought in World War II, I fought in that, my brother fought in that, we fought in Afghanistan.

489
00:32:51,460 --> 00:32:54,380
It's war at the end of the day, but we all fought our own battles.

490
00:32:54,940 --> 00:33:01,260
Just like today, you know, the war on PTSD, the war on mental health, the war on, you know, whatever.

491
00:33:01,540 --> 00:33:07,940
And then through those wars, everybody's fighting their own individual battles and communicate and talk about those battles.

492
00:33:07,940 --> 00:33:13,660
Share your stories, because that battle that you're fighting through might resonate with somebody else who's fighting that same battle.

493
00:33:13,980 --> 00:33:17,060
It might help them open their eyes and change their perspective on things.

494
00:33:17,060 --> 00:33:19,100
It might be able to help them get out of a bad place.

495
00:33:20,020 --> 00:33:26,660
And I tell people the same thing, just because the global war on terror is over, doesn't mean our veterans daily battles aren't over as well.

496
00:33:26,660 --> 00:33:28,980
And so thank you for highlighting that and sharing that.

497
00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:32,380
All right, we've been pretty heavy here so far.

498
00:33:33,340 --> 00:33:38,140
Before we get back to more serious topics, obviously, for those who are watching the show, they can see your jersey.

499
00:33:38,620 --> 00:33:41,180
I know you're a diehard Philadelphia sports fan.

500
00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:44,860
We're still going to be friends after this, but you know I'm a diehard Cowboys fan.

501
00:33:45,340 --> 00:33:46,460
You're not looking too good now.

502
00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:48,540
We're looking at draft picks is what we're looking at.

503
00:33:48,540 --> 00:33:51,300
Top five is my hope and a new head coach.

504
00:33:52,020 --> 00:33:56,500
So first, it took the most amazing Hail Mary touchdown pass I've seen since Doug Flutie.

505
00:33:56,940 --> 00:34:00,140
Did you ever think at this point of the season that the Washington Commanders would be leading the NFC East?

506
00:34:01,180 --> 00:34:07,500
You know, one of my friends that I met through the New York Stock Exchange, his name's Scott Besner.

507
00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:09,540
He works at ICE.

508
00:34:10,020 --> 00:34:11,980
He's a Commanders fan.

509
00:34:11,980 --> 00:34:14,780
He doesn't even like to call them the Commanders because he still calls them the Redskins.

510
00:34:15,300 --> 00:34:18,340
You know, we were talking before the season.

511
00:34:18,340 --> 00:34:24,060
I'm like, one of the smartest things the Commanders could have done was hire Dan Quinn, experienced coach.

512
00:34:24,620 --> 00:34:28,540
Cliff Kingsbury, really dynamic offensive play caller.

513
00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:34,820
They just, they're just, they're putting the right system in place, right?

514
00:34:35,260 --> 00:34:36,940
And I think Tom Brady was saying something.

515
00:34:36,940 --> 00:34:38,740
He's like, a lot of these kids are coming out of high school.

516
00:34:38,740 --> 00:34:40,460
They're not, they're not, they're learning a playbook.

517
00:34:40,460 --> 00:34:41,540
They're not learning a program.

518
00:34:42,220 --> 00:34:48,660
What they're doing down there in Washington, I know it hurts to say, is they're setting up that kid for success.

519
00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:56,100
And that's the best thing any Commanders fan, Redskins fan would hope for, is that they're laying out a strong foundation.

520
00:34:56,460 --> 00:35:03,780
Now, I am friends with Nick Ertz, his older brother is Zach, and Zach happens to be like my son's favorite player.

521
00:35:03,940 --> 00:35:07,460
He still doesn't know Zach's on the Redskins or on the Commanders.

522
00:35:07,820 --> 00:35:09,140
They don't have the heart to tell him.

523
00:35:09,660 --> 00:35:15,220
But me and Nick, we were very close and that's another connection that I made through all my hardships.

524
00:35:15,740 --> 00:35:18,380
But yeah, me and Scott were talking about it.

525
00:35:18,380 --> 00:35:22,900
It's just like, you're building a strong foundation and you're keeping the game simple.

526
00:35:23,140 --> 00:35:25,020
You know, don't over-complicate it.

527
00:35:25,260 --> 00:35:31,140
Simple, stupid, keep it simple, stupid, you know, run the ball, you know, play action pass.

528
00:35:31,140 --> 00:35:35,860
Don't do anything crazy unless it needs, you need to do something drastic.

529
00:35:35,980 --> 00:35:39,820
And that's, that's, that's a formula to win football games.

530
00:35:39,820 --> 00:35:45,980
And that's clearly what Washington is doing as hard as it hurts to say that, you know, on the Eagles side of things.

531
00:35:47,500 --> 00:35:52,820
You know, I think a big problem with the Eagles is the immaturity that's going on sometimes with the head coach.

532
00:35:52,820 --> 00:35:54,380
I think, I think he's a good coach.

533
00:35:54,660 --> 00:35:58,580
It takes a special coach to be able to coach in Philadelphia because all the scrutiny that you go through.

534
00:35:58,580 --> 00:36:00,060
And I think Sirianni's got that.

535
00:36:00,580 --> 00:36:08,660
But, you know, the lack, I think the lack of leadership sometimes shows, I mean, especially on the game against the Jaguars.

536
00:36:08,660 --> 00:36:11,180
We were up 22-0, five minutes left in the third quarter.

537
00:36:11,620 --> 00:36:14,100
And one, it was a bad call.

538
00:36:14,100 --> 00:36:15,180
It wasn't a fumble.

539
00:36:15,180 --> 00:36:19,060
He got his shoe, he got his shoe tripped up, a Barkley fumble, they counted the football.

540
00:36:19,300 --> 00:36:21,020
Even Gene Staritore was on TV.

541
00:36:21,020 --> 00:36:22,340
He's like, yeah, I was leading another way.

542
00:36:22,340 --> 00:36:23,540
That shouldn't have been a touchdown.

543
00:36:23,540 --> 00:36:27,540
But this is football and, you know, it is what it is.

544
00:36:27,540 --> 00:36:29,380
But, you know, I love the game.

545
00:36:29,420 --> 00:36:35,420
You know, I just wanted to shout out to a couple of my buddies, Dan, Dooney, Dave.

546
00:36:36,020 --> 00:36:38,020
We've been high school friends for years.

547
00:36:38,820 --> 00:36:46,300
During the Super Bowl in 2017, I surprised two of them with Super Bowl tickets and we got to enjoy the game and saw the Eagles win their first Super Bowl.

548
00:36:46,300 --> 00:36:47,820
So I'll be able to take that to my grave.

549
00:36:48,180 --> 00:36:49,020
That's amazing.

550
00:36:49,220 --> 00:36:50,100
That's fantastic.

551
00:36:50,380 --> 00:36:54,700
And you had to put that knife in my heart talking about Dan Quinn, who came from my beloved Dallas Cowboys.

552
00:36:55,140 --> 00:36:57,820
And I was praying that we get rid of McCarthy and hire Quinn.

553
00:36:57,820 --> 00:36:59,260
And so it's even more painful for me.

554
00:36:59,900 --> 00:37:02,540
Look how much that team has changed since then.

555
00:37:02,540 --> 00:37:03,140
100 percent.

556
00:37:03,420 --> 00:37:03,940
100 percent.

557
00:37:03,940 --> 00:37:04,700
They lost their identity.

558
00:37:04,900 --> 00:37:05,420
Yep.

559
00:37:05,420 --> 00:37:06,420
He's a great coach.

560
00:37:07,180 --> 00:37:12,580
And one last thing to talk about, Eagles coach, if you were coaching the Eagles right now, what would you be doing differently?

561
00:37:14,620 --> 00:37:25,540
I would lean on my veterans a little more, Brandon Graham and specifically Brandon Graham, Lane Johnson, not so much Darius Slay.

562
00:37:25,540 --> 00:37:30,060
And my personal opinion is you spend too much time on social media.

563
00:37:30,820 --> 00:37:34,660
When you make a mistake, then you sit there and tout about your personal accolades.

564
00:37:34,660 --> 00:37:36,420
It's not about I, it's about the team.

565
00:37:37,620 --> 00:37:45,500
And, you know, at times of, you know, when times get hard, you look at your leaders in the locker room, just like in the military.

566
00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:48,740
When times are hard, you look to your leaders to help guide you.

567
00:37:48,740 --> 00:37:52,420
And, you know, I think the Eagles are still playing on their floor.

568
00:37:52,420 --> 00:37:54,100
They're nowhere near playing their ceiling.

569
00:37:54,380 --> 00:38:05,820
And I think that's what should concern some other NFL teams is if the Eagles really dial in and get it right, we'll be playing to our potential because, in my opinion, we have one of the best rosters in the league.

570
00:38:06,300 --> 00:38:14,100
Again, I would lean on my veterans to help show the younger guys some leadership and what it takes to be a winner.

571
00:38:15,020 --> 00:38:17,540
Former Eagles offensive lineman John Runyon is a buddy of mine.

572
00:38:17,540 --> 00:38:22,620
And so I'll make sure he gets your tips and your advice over to Siriano to maybe right the ship for you guys.

573
00:38:23,060 --> 00:38:26,220
Or maybe I'll just delete this part of the segment here.

574
00:38:27,180 --> 00:38:27,500
All right.

575
00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:28,620
Back to more serious stuff.

576
00:38:28,620 --> 00:38:32,340
More back to your entrepreneurship because I just can't look at your jersey anymore.

577
00:38:32,340 --> 00:38:32,780
I'm sorry.

578
00:38:34,340 --> 00:38:37,660
It's said that one good idea is all it takes to become successful and wealthy.

579
00:38:38,220 --> 00:38:45,740
I come from the financial sector, and I'm so impressed by your effort to create an analytics model to make sense of that data and translate into better trading and investment decisions.

580
00:38:46,700 --> 00:38:50,460
You talked about just getting the Siri bad information.

581
00:38:50,460 --> 00:38:53,420
Was there another spark of inspiration that gave you that idea?

582
00:38:53,740 --> 00:38:54,100
Yeah.

583
00:38:54,100 --> 00:39:00,300
So one day I was in a trading community and they were all convincing me on a penny stock that was going to go to the moon.

584
00:39:00,900 --> 00:39:04,900
And then I lost $100,000 because they were shorting it.

585
00:39:05,420 --> 00:39:10,340
And they utilized me to load up and then pull the rug on me.

586
00:39:10,820 --> 00:39:19,540
And at that time, I'm like, if I fell into that trap with people that I've been trading with for years, I'm sure everyday people are losing that kind of money.

587
00:39:19,540 --> 00:39:22,220
Though it hurt, it was a stab in my kidney.

588
00:39:22,220 --> 00:39:24,700
I was like, I need to do something about this.

589
00:39:24,700 --> 00:39:40,020
And it's just like the sports, you know, to touch on sports a little bit, you know, what we're doing with Sports Alpha is the same thing that we were doing with Bantex and Chada, but this time with the sports stuff, you know, so we're taking all the live sports data, all the historical data to help you make a better

590
00:39:40,020 --> 00:39:41,820
analytical bet.

591
00:39:41,820 --> 00:39:43,980
You know, I'm an Eagles fan.

592
00:39:44,340 --> 00:39:46,060
Am I going to bet on green every time?

593
00:39:46,380 --> 00:39:48,940
Statistically speaking, it's probably not the best bet.

594
00:39:48,940 --> 00:39:59,060
But if I'm able to ask questions like, hey, Jalen Hurts is playing against the Giants, so let me query, what's Jalen Hurts' average rushing yards on the road against the Giants?

595
00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:06,140
You know, and I'm like, OK, do I take the over or do I take the under based off historical data, just like we do in the financial industry?

596
00:40:06,500 --> 00:40:15,180
You know, when I query things or I set alerts and things like that, I'm like, you know, based off historical numbers, like this was successful X amount of time.

597
00:40:15,180 --> 00:40:21,860
So when these instances happen, alert me when it happens so I can then take a better informed decision.

598
00:40:23,860 --> 00:40:31,260
As you went through this process and the road of your idea and building it, did you have any doubts about the idea along the way or that it would become a reality?

599
00:40:32,260 --> 00:40:41,660
One hundred percent. I had doubts all the time, because when you're forking up like ten, fifteen thousand dollars a month to build something that you truly have no idea, is it going to work?

600
00:40:42,700 --> 00:40:44,740
You believe in the people to the left and right of you.

601
00:40:44,740 --> 00:40:48,580
And, you know, I'll probably touch base off some of the companies that I've invested in.

602
00:40:48,580 --> 00:40:53,740
But I believed in the people that I was building this stuff with.

603
00:40:53,740 --> 00:40:56,060
I believed in the technology.

604
00:40:56,420 --> 00:41:01,740
I believed in the core technology behind Chata, which powers the financial instruments.

605
00:41:01,740 --> 00:41:06,860
And I believed in Chata's technology for the sports models that we're building.

606
00:41:06,860 --> 00:41:08,180
I believed in the company.

607
00:41:08,180 --> 00:41:11,220
I believe in the people and anything that I do.

608
00:41:11,220 --> 00:41:24,940
I want to talk to the people who are involved in the company, because, you know, one thing that one of my mentors and friends, Tim Giannopoulos, told me before he joined Chata and things like that was there's two things that you need in this.

609
00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:27,500
And in business world is resilience and grit.

610
00:41:27,500 --> 00:41:29,180
He's like, you got both.

611
00:41:29,180 --> 00:41:35,860
So every time I talk to somebody, if I want to get invested into the company, I want to know their story, just like people want to know my story.

612
00:41:35,860 --> 00:41:37,180
I want to know your story.

613
00:41:37,180 --> 00:41:40,820
What made you create this and why do you believe in it so much?

614
00:41:40,820 --> 00:41:49,100
And if I believe in the individuals behind the company that I'm going to put my money behind the company and, you know, if win or lose, I'm in it.

615
00:41:49,100 --> 00:41:50,860
You know, I like being in the trenches.

616
00:41:50,860 --> 00:41:52,460
I'm a grunt.

617
00:41:52,460 --> 00:41:56,220
You know, I fought in the trenches and I like to be in the trenches.

618
00:41:56,220 --> 00:42:00,140
I like to get my hands dirty, but I don't want to be the smartest person in the room.

619
00:42:00,140 --> 00:42:07,980
And luckily, me being a grunt, definitely not the smartest person in the room, but I like to surround myself with the smartest people.

620
00:42:07,980 --> 00:42:11,060
And I just like to take a sit back and just listen to them.

621
00:42:11,060 --> 00:42:12,660
I like to listen to how they carry themselves.

622
00:42:12,660 --> 00:42:15,900
I like to see how they present and just talk to people in general.

623
00:42:15,900 --> 00:42:19,060
And you learn a lot when you just listen.

624
00:42:19,100 --> 00:42:21,820
So we've talked about how your one big idea led to others.

625
00:42:21,820 --> 00:42:24,380
We talked about your love for any Philly sports team.

626
00:42:24,380 --> 00:42:27,820
You've shown that love for sports betting and fantasy sports.

627
00:42:27,820 --> 00:42:31,180
Tell us about another investment company you're involved with, Traderverse.

628
00:42:31,180 --> 00:42:40,020
So Traderverse is a really interesting one because almost 80% of all people get investment advice off of social media platforms.

629
00:42:40,020 --> 00:42:41,060
That's not a safe haven.

630
00:42:41,060 --> 00:42:47,060
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, it's all full of bots and scams.

631
00:42:47,060 --> 00:42:59,220
What caught my attention with this company was that they're building an eco-verse where you can get data from credible sources from any exchange and then create.

632
00:42:59,220 --> 00:43:03,980
They have their own AI down there, but they're creating a it's like a LinkedIn for investing.

633
00:43:03,980 --> 00:43:12,740
It gives people a safe place to go to get credible data and information from numerous exchanges, numerous data houses.

634
00:43:12,740 --> 00:43:15,940
It gives you an environment that you can bring your friends and family in.

635
00:43:15,940 --> 00:43:17,660
You can talk to advisors.

636
00:43:17,660 --> 00:43:19,780
You can connect your broker.

637
00:43:19,780 --> 00:43:31,260
So it's like an ecosystem, a social place where you can get everything that you need to make better decisions for your family or your future.

638
00:43:31,260 --> 00:43:34,540
And what would you tell other veterans thinking about becoming entrepreneurs?

639
00:43:34,540 --> 00:43:36,260
Go for it.

640
00:43:36,260 --> 00:43:41,460
Go for it because you're going to live your whole life thinking, why didn't I do this?

641
00:43:41,460 --> 00:43:44,900
Or, you know, for me, for instance, I don't like taking orders from everybody.

642
00:43:44,900 --> 00:43:48,900
I took orders in the military and some of those orders shooed me over.

643
00:43:48,900 --> 00:43:50,580
So I'll never work for somebody again.

644
00:43:50,580 --> 00:43:52,860
I'll work for myself or I'll work alongside you.

645
00:43:52,860 --> 00:43:58,340
I will never, I'll never have a job where somebody is telling me what to do.

646
00:43:58,340 --> 00:44:06,100
And if I didn't take this risk or this, take this opportunity, you know, I'd probably be in a rut somewhere.

647
00:44:06,100 --> 00:44:22,820
And through the opportunities that was given to me, I am now given the opportunity to do speeches with you and speeches with other organizations to help, you know, share my hardships with people and the responses I get.

648
00:44:22,820 --> 00:44:27,740
Now, I know why this all happened to me, because I was meant to help people.

649
00:44:27,740 --> 00:44:39,540
And, you know, if there's any veteran military guy out there that has an idea, go for it because you'll live your whole life going, I wish I just did that.

650
00:44:39,540 --> 00:44:48,420
Even if you didn't make it, if you failed, at least you tried and you can go to sleep knowing I did everything I could to make it happen.

651
00:44:48,420 --> 00:44:50,380
No, I failed.

652
00:44:50,380 --> 00:44:55,460
All the experiences and people that I've met made it all worthwhile.

653
00:44:55,540 --> 00:44:56,740
I appreciate those words.

654
00:44:56,740 --> 00:44:58,660
And I'm not very spiritual.

655
00:44:58,660 --> 00:45:06,500
I had a guest on a handful of months ago who is, and he's made the reference, it's not my will, but yours, meaning the higher power.

656
00:45:06,500 --> 00:45:10,020
And then I literally have a post-it note on my monitor, you know, when he said that it just really hit me.

657
00:45:10,020 --> 00:45:12,620
And so the words that you said are very similar to that in terms of go for it.

658
00:45:12,620 --> 00:45:17,700
It's invest in yourself, believe in yourself and, you know, things will happen for a reason.

659
00:45:17,700 --> 00:45:18,420
Yeah.

660
00:45:18,420 --> 00:45:21,260
I believe in the karma and I believe in vibrations.

661
00:45:21,260 --> 00:45:23,900
I believe in being a good person.

662
00:45:23,900 --> 00:45:27,860
You know, and as long as you do right by others, good things will come back.

663
00:45:27,860 --> 00:45:29,460
And karma is a real thing.

664
00:45:29,460 --> 00:45:30,900
100%.

665
00:45:30,900 --> 00:45:34,140
How do you evaluate risk as an entrepreneur?

666
00:45:34,140 --> 00:45:41,020
You know, honestly, I know everybody has their step-by-step approach to everything that they do.

667
00:45:41,020 --> 00:45:44,020
And like, again, I like to talk to the individuals.

668
00:45:44,020 --> 00:45:49,220
There's one company that I made a small investment in, they're called Sports Trade.

669
00:45:49,220 --> 00:45:56,620
I met David and Alex at a restaurant in Philly and what I thought they were doing was fascinating.

670
00:45:56,620 --> 00:45:58,260
I didn't even look at the documents.

671
00:45:58,260 --> 00:45:59,900
I didn't look at the papers.

672
00:45:59,900 --> 00:46:01,060
I don't look at the numbers.

673
00:46:01,060 --> 00:46:02,300
I don't look at the figures.

674
00:46:02,300 --> 00:46:04,100
I wanted to meet the people.

675
00:46:04,100 --> 00:46:06,940
And they're Philly, proud Eagles fans.

676
00:46:06,940 --> 00:46:09,620
So like, check, check, check.

677
00:46:09,620 --> 00:46:15,900
But no, we just had a conversation and I just wanted to know what they were striving to accomplish.

678
00:46:15,900 --> 00:46:23,180
And just like, you know, with Trade Reverse or, you know, I'm involved in a truck shipping company and I have another one.

679
00:46:23,180 --> 00:46:31,180
I have a retro mobile arcade because I love kids and everything I do, kids are our next, is the next generation.

680
00:46:31,180 --> 00:46:40,380
And I have a mobile arcade that I launched in the next couple of weeks that I just go around, deliver to parties and just let kids have fun.

681
00:46:40,380 --> 00:46:44,220
You know, how I evaluate risk is just evaluating the individual.

682
00:46:44,260 --> 00:46:47,660
Is that person worth my time and my money?

683
00:46:47,660 --> 00:46:52,820
And if it's yes and yes, then I'm in the fight with it.

684
00:46:52,820 --> 00:46:55,380
Because at the end of the day, most companies don't even make money.

685
00:46:55,380 --> 00:46:58,140
You know, you know, they just keep burning cash.

686
00:46:58,140 --> 00:47:05,980
I mean, open, was it open AI is burning like billions of dollars, probably never turn cash positive.

687
00:47:05,980 --> 00:47:10,700
But yet people keep throwing money at it because they believe, you know, AI is the future.

688
00:47:10,700 --> 00:47:11,700
We are the future.

689
00:47:11,700 --> 00:47:12,780
Our children are the future.

690
00:47:12,780 --> 00:47:14,300
That's the true future.

691
00:47:14,300 --> 00:47:19,660
And I would rather invest in the people than anything.

692
00:47:19,660 --> 00:47:23,860
What's the next chapter of your life going to look like and how are you going to write it?

693
00:47:23,860 --> 00:47:30,740
Well, I did promise one of my mentors that I would write a book one day and I probably will do that.

694
00:47:30,740 --> 00:47:36,660
But the next chapter for me is to really take more of a rollback, a seat back.

695
00:47:36,660 --> 00:47:39,540
I'm always sitting rollback a little bit.

696
00:47:39,540 --> 00:47:50,220
I brought some ideas to the table that was well received and through introductions, I have the right people who are now at the wheel,

697
00:47:50,220 --> 00:47:58,500
taking over and kind of guiding me while I take a backseat approach and kind of learn from these industry veterans,

698
00:47:58,500 --> 00:48:04,500
whether it be from sports or whether it be for finance or whether it be from anything.

699
00:48:04,500 --> 00:48:07,860
Because, you know, a lot of these people have a lot of knowledge to share.

700
00:48:07,860 --> 00:48:15,220
And I'm at the point where my life where I want to be a sponge and I want to soak in as much knowledge from these individuals as possible,

701
00:48:15,220 --> 00:48:21,660
because, you know, down the road, they're going to be leaving and they're going to look to people like me to take over that leadership role.

702
00:48:21,660 --> 00:48:23,220
Not saying I'm not ready to lead now.

703
00:48:23,220 --> 00:48:24,500
I think I'm always ready to lead.

704
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:32,060
But the leadership trait is willing to want to learn and soak in knowledge from other people.

705
00:48:32,100 --> 00:48:41,140
And I'm at that point in my life where I'm just trying to soak in as much as I can, open up as many doors as I can, provide help in any way that I can

706
00:48:41,140 --> 00:48:44,660
and be a good person and be a good father and try to be a good husband.

707
00:48:44,660 --> 00:48:46,620
Yeah, nobody's perfect.

708
00:48:46,620 --> 00:48:49,620
I mean, I know I mean, oh, I've got an argument this morning.

709
00:48:49,620 --> 00:48:51,220
You know, that's that's that's marriage.

710
00:48:51,220 --> 00:48:57,020
That's life. Doesn't mean I don't love her any less or any more.

711
00:48:57,060 --> 00:49:07,500
And I know every day people go through the same thing, but, you know, to me, I just I want to be there for people, my kids specifically, my wife specifically.

712
00:49:07,500 --> 00:49:13,300
And when I have time to give or energy to give others, I plan to do that.

713
00:49:13,300 --> 00:49:15,340
Tony, we have just a few minutes left.

714
00:49:15,340 --> 00:49:21,460
Take us into our conversation with advice or a story that helps our audience feel less stressed, more resilient and become more empowered.

715
00:49:21,460 --> 00:49:26,020
And would you share with us what gives you hope and why we should all have more hope in today's often chaotic world?

716
00:49:27,780 --> 00:49:31,740
I look to this, I look to kids, you know, that there's my hope.

717
00:49:31,740 --> 00:49:46,620
My kids give me hope and I want to inspire them to be the best versions of themselves as they can be, while giving them as much knowledge and information that I have to pass on to them, for them to pass on.

718
00:49:46,620 --> 00:49:48,540
I know times are tough for a lot of people.

719
00:49:48,580 --> 00:49:50,700
And quite honestly, I think times are going to get harder.

720
00:49:51,700 --> 00:50:05,900
But in times of tribulations, you know, look to somebody that you as a leader, you know, everybody has somebody to look up to and at times of hardships, you know, reach out to that person, communicate, communicate, communicate.

721
00:50:05,900 --> 00:50:07,020
Communication is key.

722
00:50:07,500 --> 00:50:14,060
Talk to those people that you looked up to for advice, you know, especially the older generation.

723
00:50:14,060 --> 00:50:18,980
They've been through so much and they're coming down to their final chapters, their final days.

724
00:50:19,380 --> 00:50:21,660
It's good to reach out to some of those individuals.

725
00:50:21,660 --> 00:50:24,140
Like, how did you endure that?

726
00:50:24,140 --> 00:50:26,700
How did you endure that financial crisis?

727
00:50:26,700 --> 00:50:27,940
How did you endure that?

728
00:50:29,060 --> 00:50:32,140
They have the information and it's good to be prepared.

729
00:50:32,980 --> 00:50:37,380
Another quote that I love is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.

730
00:50:37,820 --> 00:50:41,220
You know, it's better to have and not need than need not have.

731
00:50:41,580 --> 00:50:50,540
I believe in always being prepared and I believe in always preparing my children and giving them situations, explaining them situations like if this might happen, this could happen.

732
00:50:51,140 --> 00:50:51,980
So what do we do?

733
00:50:52,020 --> 00:50:52,780
We prepare.

734
00:50:53,220 --> 00:50:54,260
How do you prepare?

735
00:50:54,380 --> 00:51:01,820
Get food, get water, get ammunition, get a book, you know, audible book, something, you know, just be prepared for anything.

736
00:51:02,660 --> 00:51:04,780
You know, nobody really saw COVID happening.

737
00:51:05,900 --> 00:51:07,300
You know, could that happen again?

738
00:51:07,300 --> 00:51:07,900
I'm not sure.

739
00:51:07,940 --> 00:51:13,820
Could there be another, you know, January 6th type of situation down at the Capitol?

740
00:51:13,860 --> 00:51:14,740
I'm not sure.

741
00:51:15,220 --> 00:51:21,860
But what I do know is that the world is unpredictable and to be best prepared for anything that might happen in the future.

742
00:51:23,100 --> 00:51:26,500
Tony Teresiak, thank you so much for being with us today and sharing your story.

743
00:51:27,180 --> 00:51:28,100
Thank you, Chris, for having me.

744
00:51:28,380 --> 00:51:29,420
No, I appreciate your time.

745
00:51:30,020 --> 00:51:35,180
And thank you to our audience, which now includes people in over 50 countries for joining us for another episode of Next Steps Forward.

746
00:51:35,540 --> 00:51:36,380
I'm Chris Meek.

747
00:51:36,500 --> 00:51:45,340
For more details and upcoming shows and guests, please follow me on Facebook at Facebook.com forward slash Chris Meek public figure and an X at Chris Meek underscore USA.

748
00:51:45,820 --> 00:51:53,220
We'll be back next Tuesday, same time, same place with another leader from the world of business, politics, public policy, sports or entertainment.

749
00:51:53,580 --> 00:51:57,100
Until then, stay safe and keep taking your next steps forward.

750
00:52:01,900 --> 00:52:04,700
Thanks for tuning in to Next Steps Forward.

751
00:52:04,860 --> 00:52:09,180
Be sure to join Chris Meek for another great show next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

752
00:52:09,180 --> 00:52:10,980
Pacific Time and 1 p.m.

753
00:52:10,980 --> 00:52:14,500
Eastern Time on The Voice America Empowerment Channel.

754
00:52:14,820 --> 00:52:17,980
This week, make things happen in your life.