0:00 Hey, if you just make this small adjustment, whatever issue you were running into could turn into something where Oh, you had success there. And so like there's nothing more satisfying than >> Connecting those dots in their mind. Yeah. For somebody where they go Oh, even for like a 5-year-old or 6-year-old they go Oh, and they keep coming back and you you see it in their eyes and you when you see that they're hooked you're like man, we got something really cool here. Welcome back to another episode of Bart from the heart where we take some serious questions and we give each careful boy their own time to kind of marinate on a very good answer. In which case, lucky for you, we're about to hear from Nick Dunn, the master of answering. >> We skipped you? >> We skipped you, dude. You liar. Give me that paper, dude. >> Wait, wait, wait, let me just do Nick one. I'll do mine next. He wants to roast me first. >> So, you're going to answer the one of
0:50 the ones that Bart did earlier cuz I think you'd be really good at this one. As a person who's very, very adept at recognizing when you're doing a stupid thing, what is a stupid thing you've done? But you wouldn't change a thing about it because it's made you who you are today. This is a hard one. Is it? Really? I think so. Bart's just like always self-deprecating. I have a whole list of stupid ass things. >> you're probably about to do a stupid thing right now. >> stuff that doesn't really ████ answer. It doesn't really like move the needle, I think. >> Okay. How about cuz you know here here we can we can always like I think it helps to like pick your brain because there's sometimes we kind of know more. I buried a lot of my memories. >> Yeah, it's like filed away somewhere. >> I think you've always talked about how stupid it is that um like they that you were fighting for as long as you were. Or that I chased it for so long? >> That's what I mean. Like I feel like you always expressed that
1:40 >> That's actually what I was going to say. Really? Yeah. Cuz you always expressed that like you kind of knew at a point, but you still kept going and you still made some damage to your brain. Yeah. How long did you chase it for? Well, I think I chased it I've always had regrets sometimes and I think this is just in my own head and I feel like no matter what we always kind of go back and say maybe well, maybe it's just exclusive to me, but I always go back and think like man, I probably shouldn't have done it this way. Yeah. Like figure out a different route, but then again, I always go back to being like but it's given me so much. You know, but there's a part of me that does regret trying to spend so much time in the fighting and and um going through that journey, you know? Yeah. The one thing I was thinking I was talking about it with Tiff the other day and um before one of my amateur fights, my
2:30 first one, my first MMA one, my dad saw me cutting weight and he got really pissed at me. And it was one of the few times where I felt like whoa, like I've never seen him get that mad at me over something like that before. Wait, why did he get mad at you cutting weight? >> He just didn't want me to fight. He's like you're fighting? What the ████ are you doing? Like that type of ████ you know? >> Oh, it's not from because you look like you're dying. It's more just the fact that you're fighting tomorrow. >> Just all the above, you know? And he just was like didn't wasn't expecting that. And I feel like part of me at the time, I remember when I went to go fight the following day, it was like it was a little bit of a motivator like Oh, yeah, like I'm going to ████ show you. But I think after that moment, I was talking about this with Tiff, there was a part of me that feels like that played a big role in me turning away from it. Like eventually making that final decision of like closing that chapter
3:21 and being like I'm done. Because I think it was just like that alignment of like it's hard when your parent is telling you, what are you doing? Like at that time and I think part of me questions like should I have just kept going and said ████ that ████ Or did I make the right decision on closing that door completely? And being like I think I'm done. But it was at that moment is when I started kind of having doubts. Whether and I didn't think that during that time. But in retrospect, looking back like 10 years later, I think that did have an effect on me really pursuing it. Why do you think your Always having like a little bit of a doubt in my head. >> Why do you think your dad's approval weighed so much, you think? And that's what I question, too, right?
4:12 And I think it's just like um you know he kind of at the time it's like man, this guy kind of knows best. Like he knows that there there isn't much of a future here potentially. Or if I do go through this, this future is going to be kind of cut short. And then when I had the injuries that I had, it made it a lot easier for me to say no. To stop. Yeah. Be like see, this is the proof. This is what he was talking about. This is what I should be trying to avoid. And at the time, I just was so worried about like man, I can't be this guy that has like ████ up brain. >> For context for people, how many if you had to count, how many serious blows to the head do you think you took throughout your career? >> And it was like a handful. It wasn't that many. Like it it it didn't like I was always really careful. I was trying to be really careful, but it was just
5:03 like the effects of it afterwards, you know, that really like scared me. The brain fog and >> Yeah, and then but it was also seeing my family look at me in a way where I was scared about it. And seeing how their reactions was. And being like ████ I can't ever do this to them again. Like that it was it was like a moment like that where I was like god damn, like the way they're worrying about me and the way I'm being a burden to them was like I can't be that guy. And I was so worried about that. I was so worried about like putting them in a spot where I'm like man, what if I just keep chasing this and this doesn't work out for me and I'm just some guy that like can't really make a living. I have no other skills outside of it. That's what I was really worried about was being this guy that like built his whole identity in fighting and then like when that ████ goes away cuz everyone tells you you got to have a life after it. You got to have a life after it. And what I
5:53 was really worried about was being one of those really mediocre dudes not being able to make it. >> But you paid the same price, yeah. Yeah, having nothing to show for it. Cuz we met so many met so many guys like that. And their life was kind of a mess. Like they were just always like in and out of ████ decisions, you know? And that was something that I think I hate about myself a little bit where I'm like man, like part of me like the competitor in me is like you're a ████ You should have never done that. You should have kept going. You don't know what could have been on the other side of that road. But a part of the other logical brain in me is like you did the right You for sure did the right thing. And you know, you just have to like build on top of it. So, a lot of times like I think about like that kind of crossroad in my life or especially recently, I've been
6:43 thinking about that a lot more. Um and yeah, I kind I kind of battle with it if I'm being honest. Like there's a part of me that goes like you know did I turn my back on it too quick? >> Like did you give it your all? Yeah, 100% 100%. And there's a part of that with me. Um but I just feel like when you make a hard decision, whether it's anything in life, when you're at a crossroads, you're always going to think what happened if I did that. But part of making a hard decision is closing the door, saying no to this and saying yes to this. There's definitely a lot to look at though in terms of like because you stopped trying to compete in MMA, you you were able to I guess like your interest in just being a jiu-jitsu practitioner like specialized in that did go a a lot higher, right? And you built a lot just through that and
7:34 through fitness and coaching. Yeah, or just staying close to it or staying around it cuz I knew I always wanted to be around it and it was something it was like a goal of mine of like okay, if I can't make it part of you know, what I do or competing or whatever. And it's in a lot of ways it is a small aspect of it. It doesn't feel like in that in that way you're turning your back on it. It just feels like that's just another facet of the same sphere. That's what I tell myself. Yeah, well, no, it doesn't feel like IT DOESN'T >> [laughter] >> IT DOESN'T feel like you went like full like 90 or full 180. 100%. >> Yeah, you're like still in the realm of it and then even like doing the casuals now, it's almost like kind of like full circle. >> Good pivot. That's what I mean. Like it almost seems like maybe it it's it's a weird thing to think about, but like maybe if you did spend way more time and invest even more years in trying to compete in MMA, you would have
8:24 a harder time trying to build these other things you have now. >> 100%. >> For for many different reasons. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can't I can't use my brain. >> Yeah, you just be on casuals going uh >> [laughter] >> Or you could have been a UFC champion with a Bugatti. That could have been it, too. And I'm like I could have beat those guys. >> But then I think the things that mean the most to you are Tiff >> And and that's And maybe that wouldn't have stuck around. >> That's the other thing, too, IS LIKE I REALLY >> [laughter] >> PART OF ME REALIZED THAT LIKE MY VALUE SYSTEM, like what I valued was also kind of like my North Star too, right? And it was like building a future with my wife, spending time with her cuz you know, like competing was such a it's like a it's kind of a lonely road a little bit. Like you kind of have to be very selfish and like I don't think I wanted that lifestyle in a lot of ways. So, it
9:18 You always think what if about certain things, but I feel like I made the right decision in the end. >> Cuz you're still connected to the industry and your passion and you can still work around it without getting head injuries. >> And bro, you got enough people trying to do the things that you do that have zero fight experience. You know what I mean? Like there's people without that credibility at all and they're trying to coach and they're trying to run programs and help people with weight loss, but I think you got you have enough of it to have a valuable perspective to have been in the ring and have been knocked the ████ out, you know what I mean? No, I never got knocked out, dude. Come on, man. [laughter] Only lost by decision, dude. Come on, chill. True, true, true. >> [laughter] >> I've been tapped out a bunch though. Uh-huh. Now, that is true. You got the right ears from it, you know. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> [laughter] >> No, but it but it is interesting to it's kind of have that question because no
10:09 matter what, you're always going to be kind of faced with that like decision that you have to make. And you have to live with your decisions no matter what. Life after the ring. Very short time in the ring. You might have Who knows, it could have changed you in a way that you wouldn't have liked yourself. >> I like this side better, too, you know, cuz I do like working with normal people. Normal people? Yeah, 100% like like I love working with fighters and fighters are always going to be cool to work with and I always love that, but like I think I get my joy in helping normal people that are like, "Man, I want to get a little more confidence. I want to be feel a little more empowered. I want to feel that." Cuz I feel like a lot of times like that changes people's lives, you know? Like I have a bunch I have a couple like these finance guys that I trained and like, you know, they're very corporate, they do this and then like they ████ love coming to the gym and just beating the ████ out of each other and being like, "Man, that was pretty cool." Like "I feel like a different guy." You know, it's like you get to see a whole new wrinkle or they
11:00 learn about themselves in a way that they would never get to. And to me, that fills up my cup more than just punching a random guy in Indian reservation, you know? >> [laughter] >> Like cuz that's cool, but selfishly like that's tight. >> it sound like you're just attacking Indians. >> [laughter] >> Cuz to me like that's tight like but sometimes it's only for you. And when it's only for myself, I don't really like Do you see yourself as a community builder? >> I think so. And I used to I I That's another thing I kind of like question, too, where but that's where I like to be. I like to be in the community. I like to be around other people and if I could provide value to that group of people, then that's when it really like like when I work with the kids and I work with the adults and honestly especially with the kids, too, because the same confidence flip that I see in the kids
11:51 and in adults like you see it more in the kids and it means way more to the kids. And for me growing up with having that like lack of confidence and not really knowing my place in the world or whatever trying to like figure out what you're good at, especially when you're always thinking like you suck at everything. And then you go into a sport like this and you you kind of pass it on to the kids and show them like it's okay to ████ up and you can still learn from it. And like, "Hey, if you just make the small adjustment, whatever issue you're running into could turn into something where Oh, see you had success there." And to like there's nothing more satisfying than than hitting that like Connecting those dots in their mind. for somebody where they go, "Oh, even for like a 5-year-old or 6-year-old." They go, "Oh." And they keep coming back and you you see in their eyes and when you see that they're hooked, you're like, "Man, we got something really cool here." And that applies to every part of their life. >> 100% 100% cuz when I was thinking about
12:42 it like when I was a kid, I was doing karate and there was this black dude that used to coach me. He was my He was my sensei. His name is Leo Bird. I don't know if you know That's a tight name. He was a BOUNTY HUNTER. WHOA. HE WAS A BOUNTY HUNTER. THIS fool left the dojo I was at and he went to another one. And I was probably like maybe like nine or 10 and I've never cried harder. I was so sad. I was so heartbroken. And then when I got to train with him again, I was like, "Man, this is awesome." And to think about how much that guy impacted me when I was a kid, I was like, "Man, I'll I'll never forget that dude." You know what I mean? Like he was such a big positive role model in my life when I felt like I didn't really not necessarily have one, but at the time I felt kind of like alone, you know? So, to be able to kind of pass that on and do that for other kids and other adults or whatever, like
13:33 you realize like sometimes I realize in the moment like, "Damn, ████ like I am helping these kids in a way that, you know, they may not be getting at school or at home or whatever." >> Very very true. And then that kind of becomes your north star of like, "Okay, I can You might be the only positive role model. >> Yeah, and and a lot of times at times you see this with people that are coaching they get jaded of like, "Man, I got to ████ help these people." You know, like that type of ████ And that does happen when you're burnt out and you're not like you're pouring from an empty cup, but you have to like for me I've realized you have to like remind yourself why you're there and like it's a privilege to be able to to have that responsibility. Yeah, have that responsibility. What Uncle Ben says from Peter Parker and Tobey Maguire. What does he say? With great power comes great responsibility. Hey, was your teacher like the Detroit self-defense
14:23 guy? He was cooler. He was sick. >> [laughter] >> No, he wasn't like that. He was sick. He was sick. He was cool. He wasn't a big fat guy, dude. Leo Bird. Leo Bird, yeah. Shout out shout out Leo coach sensei Leo, dude. >> [laughter] >> Heck yeah, man. But yeah, yeah, just uh don't give up your dreams or you'll be a failure. >> [laughter] >> Let us know if you have anything you'd like to share or don't leave Nick hanging by himself if he's you know, so he's not alone on that thought. But if you have any questions for Bart from the Heart series, let us know.
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