Dangerous and Kind with Michael McHenry

What if the key to bigger impact isn’t more grind...but more presence? Michael, a restaurateur known for bright, welcoming spaces and lines-out-the-door brunch, shares how a guest-first mindset and a hard reset on his personal life transformed everything. He didn’t come up through the back of house; he walked in focused on why people gather. That outsider perspective became his advantage as he built restaurants where safety, care, and connection are the main ingredients...and where the design, the energy, and the food all invite you to feel at home.

We explore leadership that humanizes hospitality, technology that frees up time for real service, and a simple mission that guides every decision: live healthy and long to be a beacon for the people you love. Michael also offers a framework for modern masculinity...“dangerous and kind”...strong enough to protect, soft enough to connect. 

Connect with Michael & his restaurants:

@michaelmchenry

@brunchmehard
@picaricabbq
@sundayschool
@oakwoodfirekitchen

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Michael: Food, Service, Community
• 3:20 Guest-First Leadership Philosophy
• 6:15 Culture, Safety, and Humanized Service
• 9:50 Social Media, Authenticity, and Growth
• 12:30 Sponsor Break: Super Greens With Collagen
• 13:20 Hitting Bottom: Self-Awareness Awakens
• 18:00 Sobriety, Boundaries, and New Identity
• 22:20 Presence Over Pace: Parenting Wins
• 26:00 Redefining Success and Purpose
• 30:20 Dangerous And Kind: Strength With Softness
• 33:00 Favorite Dishes and Joyful Eating
• 35:50 Closing Reflections & Listener Thanks

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to Self-Love and Sweat the podcast. The place where you'll get inspired to live your life unapologetically. Embrace your perfect imperfections and do what sets your soul on fire. Fire. I'm your host, London Susa. As I was telling you before we pressed report, I'm like, I don't have like prepped questions. Uh I don't have like a prepped bio, but I I know what I think I know about you, right? So like we'll kind of start there, and then we can go and we can fill in the gaps there. Um, but I think social media has been such a cool place to connect with people. In fact, I was just in Park City a couple weeks ago meeting up with this girl, Val, who I met while I was in Italy planning to do stuff for my podcast and met her on Instagram. We connected and then we we remet in in Park City and had a good time. So Instagram has been a cool way for me to connect with people and meet others and just kind of really yeah, live life and be out there. And so I um came to your restaurant the first time a couple a couple years ago when I first moved out here. My best friend Kara was visiting, and my neighbor goes, Oh, you have to take her to Sunday's best, right? So I know that you are uh a man of service, you have a lot of restaurants, you uh love to work out and care about health and wellness and uh you know living your best physical life too. I know that you have a beautiful family, you share pictures like that on social media as well. And then this is our first time actually meeting in person, but I was talking to my neighbor, the same neighbor that recommended it come here uh this morning. And so I was like, oh yeah, it's gonna be cool because I already feel like who you are on social media and what you share and how you show up is pretty spot on to who I thought you would be in person, and it is, and it's cool. And so thank you. We met on uh connected on Instagram. I love eating brunch here where we're at at Sunday's best. I've been to I always get it wrong. Is it Woodfire, Oak Fire?

SPEAKER_01: 2:12

So Oakwood Fire Kitchen, which is kind of near your area, Draper.

SPEAKER_00: 2:16

Took my dad there, took my mom there, took my grandparents there.

SPEAKER_01: 2:20

I think I remember that. Like because it you'll tag me in it from time to time, or I'll see it on your social. Yeah. So thank you for that.

SPEAKER_00: 2:25

So whether it's true or not, I've always heard that Utah doesn't have the greatest food, and your food is really, really good. And it's like the only places I really want to go outside of eating at home. So uh yeah, Michael owns a bunch of restaurants here that are super delicious, and you show up for the community, you uh show up to do more than just serve people food, right? Yeah. Uh, where did that come from? Like, when did you start wanting to do restaurant things? Like, where did this heart come from for living your life the way that you do? And where are you at now?

SPEAKER_01: 2:58

Well, thank thank you so much. One, I I appreciate the fact that you've been thoughtful enough to like spend some time to get to know us and know our business and support it. That's why it makes it really easy for me to kind of contribute time and want to you offered me up onto your platform, but it most definitely seen you support our businesses because I've seen you at our airport location, I've seen you here, I've seen you at Oakwood Fire Kitchen. Um, and so thank you. Like, thank you for that. Uh, I got into this business. In fact, I had kind of no business mean in this business originally. I came totally from the guest perspective. I wasn't one of those guys that like grew up in the business. I wasn't like a busser or a dishwasher and became a server or like a bartender. When I got into the business, my first role in the business was a general manager. And so it was like, come in, lead people, figure out food. And um, as I look at that kind of like hindsight, you know, 20 years later, I realize now that it gave me such an advantage coming from the guest perspective because I didn't have some of the nuances or kind of the old school mentalities that that come from industry as well as when you're a chef, you're like, oh, well, like I I truly just don't obsess over like where the cheese and the wine comes from. Like I obsess over why you're here. And it so happens that I get a great you know, cup of coffee or you know, pancakes, or champagne, or a hot honey pepperoni pizza, or you know, a fresh slice of brisket, like that, I realize that that becomes like the most beautiful conduit to conversation and connecting community through just great food and craft and hospitality. And so that's where my niche started. It started because I realized that like, holy shit, I can connect people through great food and great beverage. And because of my obsession with people and the guest versus like the backside of the restaurant that most people are I think that chefs and others find themselves in just gave me an interesting advantage to experience create. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 4:55

Yeah, and what I um was thinking when you were sharing that, because yeah, you didn't have I don't know, bottom up or whatever direction, like you didn't have the insider part, but you just knew like developing the people, connecting with the people that then worry about the details and all the nitty-gritty stuff that maybe doesn't keep you up at night, but connecting, and you have a lot of restaurants, you lead a lot of people, you lead yourself, you lead like how do you what what fuels you? What's your day-to-day like? Um, we've talked about where we're at now. If you guys are watching the video, we're in the table that's kind of in the corner.

SPEAKER_01: 5:28

So we're hiding out back here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 5:30

This is the spot where Michael wants you to find and not find him.

SPEAKER_01: 5:35

We're giving this away online. I um by the way, I love these like great questions. And like even as I look around now and I look at my team that's out here, you know, shift change, yeah, finishing up after serving just over like 300 guests for the day. And probably like one of the biggest, biggest compliments I ever get are when people come in, it's not like oh, the food or the environment. They talk about how they feel, and that's something that's really big for me. I think that why I fell so in love with this business is I think I was a true example of like maybe not having a seat at the table, maybe not being the one picked to, you know, dinner, date, for the dance, whatever it might be. And so this is a true example of like building your own table and inviting people to it. This is this is a true and present example of building what I believe are the most connective and furthering dining room tables in our communities, and I get to be like at the forefront of that. And so be able to invite people into an environment, into a menu, into a culture that really creates the opportunity for you to be seen and also for you to see. And so when you are able to have an approach like that where it is really about being the next best part of someone else's day, whether that be someone you've never met before, your life partner, you know, friends, whatever it may be, my brands make space for that. And I feel like in the restaurant business, you don't see a lot of that. I think in the restaurant business, it's like very like wham and bam. It's very like, it's all convenient driven. We our lifestyles are busier today than they've ever been. And one thing that we focus on um heavily inside of our group, especially operationally, is like humanizing the experience. Like we're utilizing resources, platforms, advancements in technology and equipment and all of those things to drive efficiencies. And oftentimes that might pull certain people out of kitchen functions or supply chain functions, where it allows us to like basically offset that labor that we gain back from those efficiencies and make it even that much more get guest-facing and uh experience creating. And so, as you can see, this we take a lot of pride in our environments, whether it's at Picarica Americana Barbecue in St. George, and the stigma of barbecue must be like, oh, it's dirty, it's earth toned, it's these things. We we celebrate the fact that it's bright and beautiful and and flavorful, and we've just we take a different approach, not only aesthetically, but energetically. And so I loved hearing you say, like, hey, when I see you on social, first time I've met you in person, it feels similar. To me, I feel like that is so um critical that like what I share on social is very much what you see. I almost use my stories as like my daily journal, in a sense, that share visuals and insights. Um, sure, like I've had a big evolution in my life, like personally, emotionally, um mentally, physically over the past like three years specifically. And I found a really like deep appreciation for like self-awareness and self-worth. And that is really kind of what shapes every decision I make now. And you know, I lived so much of my life without like really a purpose, just this excitement to be successful, this excitement to create, this excitement to build. You know, my family, I had a great family, you know, growing up, but not like a motivated, driven family. No one in my family was concerned about like what college I was going to or what the future looked like for me or how they were studying. My dad just made sure I was loved. And he made sure there was a roof over my head, which I think is a total cheat code. If you can spend every day of your childhood knowing that you're loved, I think you can figure a lot of things out. And so that was um yeah, totally. I I shared a note with my dad yesterday, and I was like, gee, I'm the father of three. I run a big business, close to 300 team members. We're a multi-million dollar company. And I sent my dad a note yesterday because my dad showed up under every condition, like whether he was battling, you know, debt challenges or relationship challenges or divorce or substance abuse, like whatever it might be. You know, my dad, my dad most definitely had some opportunities with alcohol when I was younger, but it never got in the way for how he raised me. Like I can't think of a single time that my dad didn't show up for me. And I and I shared that too with him yesterday. Like, Dad, Matt, I just want you to know, like, I see you in that. And I realize as a father of three who runs a big business, who has big aspirations, who's had a lot of growth and has failed a ton, my dad is a complete standout because he just he just always shows up, and even to this day, and he just did it anyways. And I I have a lot of just admiration for that. Um, and so that's it's kind of wild because I get in these conversations, and yeah, the business is awesome, but when it really comes down to it, I mean I spend the majority of my time making sure that the life and decisions that I'm making and the opportunities that I'm providing and creating for others are very close to my reward center, and that's just important to me now.

SPEAKER_00: 10:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You said self-awareness, right, and self-growth.

SPEAKER_01: 10:40

Yeah, and self-love, self-love, right?

SPEAKER_00: 10:43

Learning from our ancestors and ways things were and what we aimed and what we can now give. And then like you said, now you're parenting and that's right. I I love how you shared that because yeah, you're doing a lot, you're running a lot of business. There's all the things all the time, right? But how do we uh, or what would you say to someone who feels like you know they can't make self-growth a priority or health and wellness? I know you like you said your stories are like your day-to-day journal, gym selfies, like showing up. What is like, yeah, to use your word showing up, what's showing up for you, and how do you do that day-to-day? So then you can Hey, really quick, I want to interrupt the podcast for just a minute to tell you about one of my favorite supplements for hair, skin, nails, digestive, and gut health. And that is Snap Supplements Super Greens with Collagen. Now, if you're following me on social media, you've probably seen me post about this a bunch because honestly, this product tastes amazing and it's jam-packed with nutrients, like I said, to support healthy hair, skin, and nails. It helps support detoxification, a healthy immune system, and there's even probiotics in there for a healthy gut. It's non-GMO, no sugar added, soy-free, grass-fed collagen. And every scoop is gonna give you seven grams of protein. And this is why I love it, because it's not like a protein shake. It's just a scoop of powder. It tastes amazing. I put it in water, or if I want more hydration, I'll put it in coconut water and mix it up. And it's like having a nice, refreshing beverage that's packed with a bunch of super greens and protein. So, what I'm super excited about is that for listening to the podcast, you'll get this discount here, nowhere else, but for listening to the podcast. You can save 25% off on all your snap supplement purchases, including the super greens with collagen. And you do that by using code LONDON25 at checkout. That's L-U-N-D-E-N 25. L-U-N D-E-N 25 to get 25% off at checkout. You can shop on snapsupplements.com or you can shop on my website, lifelike london.com forward slash supplements. And you'll see there's already an additional 10% taken off. But you, because you're a podcast listener, you're gonna get 25% off when you use the code London25 at checkout. L-U-N-D-E-N 25 at checkout to get your snap supplements, supergreens, and collagen, and all your snap supplements for 25% off. Now let's get back to the show.

SPEAKER_01: 13:15

You know, I wouldn't recommend my approach, at least early. I think the reflection and the growth in the last like three or four years for me, I think, is most definitely one to I don't believe that you have to become so unhinged in any one direction that you ultimately create a large wake or casualties. With that, I was definitely one that I had created early and sustained success in my career and life. But I got to the point when it was like when I had created what I believe is the most relevance in my personal brand and my professional uh business, I was kind of like the most lost and lonely, and I had pretty much sabotaged like every relationship around me because I had just burned the candle at both ends. I had just leaned so much into creating monetary and visual and asset success and not like actually becoming uh healthy and I think grounded and reflective. And so I'm 40, I'll be 43 this year. And I didn't see my like my true self and reflection until I was 40. Like I hadn't really seen myself for the first time. I had seen what I had told myself to see, if that makes sense. Like I had I had very much like had this very self-convincing narrative that like this is who I am. And I had convinced myself that I wanted to be at war, that I wanted to be at battle, that success or else, like hell or high water, like this is what I'm gonna do. And I exhausted myself and I sabotaged the relationships that were most meaningful to me. And it was virtually impossible to be close to me because I wasn't close enough with who I actually was and who I actually am in order to even provide that to someone else. I lacked so much self-love that I didn't even have the ability to love you back. I didn't even love me yet. And so when I saw myself for the first time, I had this really interesting experience that you can't unsee it. It was like there was this immediate like responsibility and stewardship that was like, oh, now that you see who you are, let's go to work. And what's wild is I mentioned before is that I didn't even think I had a bunch of work to do. I was like, holy shit, like my businesses are awesome, my personal brand seems awesome. And at the time I was like, I was like, I weighed like 75 more pounds than I do right now. I was like, I was out of shape mentally and physically. I was self-convincing. I I was lying to myself, I was lying to others. And um when I saw that, I just couldn't see it. So I went to work and I wasn't mad at like my current self or prior self. I was just a little confused. Like, how'd we get here? And like, why do we take so many people with us and why did we lead this wake? And and so there was that kind of early resent. There were some feelings of like resent and some shame associated with that, and that was mainly around the fact that I just didn't know what I didn't know till I saw it. And I had this really artful and beautiful ability to compartmentalize things, like not really feel all of them, just sort of recognize them and then like tuck them away and move on and bury myself in work, bury myself in the next deal flow, bury myself in the next moment, experience, travel, you know, whatever it might be. And and now I don't deal with it that way. It's it's interesting. I worked with my therapist like some time ago, and we were talking to her, and she's like, I'm like, I don't know that I wanted to turn these feelings on. Like all of a sudden now, like I feel everything. And I went from like kind of being somewhat disassociated with feelings that got in the way for me. I kind of just closed them off and didn't allow them in. And oftentimes I would suppress them with a great bottle of wine or a new relationship or you know, buying a new car or like, you know, dressing outfit, whatever it is. And I remember telling her, I'm like, I don't know that I really want to feel this way. I don't know that I really want to do this work. But the truth is I'm doing it. And and the truth is some days it's way easier than others. But when I started doing it, London, I realized, I was like, oh shit, I have such a greater purpose. I have such an influence to help move and lead the hearts of men. If I can think of something that needs to duplicate in its likeness, greater than anything else, I think it's great men. I think great men that are just honest to themselves, that are honest in their situations, that live very fluidly, that aren't just great providers in their families and and and as fathers, but they're great participators, that they're participants, that they are involved, that they can be there emotionally, physically, and monetarily and experientially. And I just didn't know that that was important for so long. And so now I I kind of sit here in this sort of airy nature with you and go, I actually don't love war. I don't love being at war. I actually love peace. I actually enjoy slow mornings, I enjoy like high-fiving and hugging my team and seeing them win and succeed. I like walking my little girls around the neighborhood and taking time to like look at someone else's garden or sit down on the grass or you know, create our own animation and our own zoo along the way. And three years ago, four years ago, ten years ago, I didn't even care about something like that. Five years ago, I wouldn't have given myself a chance to think that way. And today I'm like, I don't know that I'd ever want to think it any differently. And what's most interesting about much of what I just said is that one of the biggest reasons that I held myself back from truly feeling and being connected to my life and to myself in this way is that I felt like it would cost me, it would cost me success, it would cost me outcome. And the truth is, my businesses have never been better. Like my teams have never been healthier. My the our cultures have never been safer. You know, one of the things I love about our gals, if you walked up to Emily, Aki, Jennifer, Samantha, whomever's here right now, I think one of the things they would tell you inside of our culture is like one of the biggest things that stands out most is that they feel safe here. They feel safe in what we're doing. And that's a huge compliment for me. I don't know that teams felt that way years ago, right? Like party boys and doing all these, you know, like you're everyone's just, I don't know that fraternizing is the right word, but like everyone's just kind of it's a restaurant business. And and now I just really appreciate where we are and the work that we're doing. And I think it's just all started with really just gaining self-awareness and learning to love me.

SPEAKER_00: 19:46

Yeah, just gaining self-awareness, right? That like you said, that mirror moment where you're like, wait, I was looking not at a mirror, maybe at a mask. Here we are, let's get real. And like you said, I don't know if I really want to do this, but I can't not because I opened that door and now here we are, and things are better and juicier and more connected than ever. And then, like you said, you're you're slowing down for all the micro moments of the day-to-day. Of my friend Eleanor says, Do what you do while you're doing it, or be where you are while you're doing it, you know, along the lines of, like you said, pushing your kids on the swing, the moments of one-on-one connection with one employee at one of your restaurants and the the culture that you mentioned and what you're creating with yourself and the way that it's trickling into these places. You can tell. And I didn't know your other restaurant was yours for a while. I'd eaten there maybe twice. And then my friend Mallory was like, Oh yeah, that's the same place as the brunch place you go to. It's like, oh yeah, whatever, like you mentioned, that feeling of safety, connectedness to the mission. Clearly, you're doing that for yourself in your internal world, or else you can't guide other people to do that. But like you said, it's a it's uh a job only you can do. It's an insider's job. And even over the last three years, getting to know yourself more and helping all of that, you know, tap into what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01: 21:01

It's also it's interesting because I I used to feel like life, like the evolution of things were like peaks and valleys instead of like ebbs and flows, especially someone that spent so much of their life like wanting to control the the environment to control the outcome. And there's like this kind of old quote, I don't even know where I learned this the first time, but it's like we spend so much time, oftentimes too, as drivers, like a personality like mine that's just like big go. And I'm like a be brief, be bright kind of style. I don't need a lot of details, but I just I just go. And I want to control the ocean. Like that was just that's natural to me. Natural to me is I want to control everything inside of it. And I have definitely the last few years learned that like it is definitely not about controlling the ocean. Like, that is up to the universe, that is not up to us, but we definitely have a responsibility and a duty to learn how to surf the waves, and that's something that I found that life no longer peaks and valleys, it just ebbs and flows, and we just kind of carve into things, like in and out of things. And I'm not always in alignment, like I know when I'm not. I I not every decision I make is on mission as much as I want it to be. And you know, I spent a huge part of my life um, you know, altering my mind and partying and and and going sober was this like really beautiful awakening and also like very challenging because I didn't realize that like so much of my lifestyle, I had like built this lifestyle that sort of suppressed certain feelings, or like I was using it as this tool to calm my my neurodivergence in a sense that you know I'm not a neurotypical kind of person. Like I most definitely kind of think in 3D, and I can I just have this kind of outer, I don't know, visual in a sense. And so I had to learn too that I had built a lifestyle and basically habits and rituals that kind of served those things, and so changing that felt like I was ripping down this identity, like it was ripping away these layers. I was I was born again several times. It was really interesting, but I know there's like these parts of me that sort of just expired, friendships that expired and things that just no longer served me. It was like, you know, you take the tap, the cap off, and it just it's rotten, you're not gonna drink it anymore. And I struggled with that for a while because I still wanted to take a drink of that poison. I still wanted to, like, I still wanted to test it.

SPEAKER_00: 23:20

Like, is it still good? It's still past inspiration.

SPEAKER_01: 23:24

I'm kind of like, I'm I'm very candid about this stuff. I've written about it recently. I share it on my stories often, but like I'm still I still have this like 10% to go, I feel like. In no way do I feel feel I've arrived, but it's like this last 10% of not wavering with um with your boundaries, with your commitments, with your mission, with your reasons. And and I still want to challenge that. I still, it's like it's like this last bit of like almost breaking through and being my most humanized version. I still want to, I still want to waver with this shit from time to time. And uh, and this is like really fresh for me right now. And so I love it because I can come into my restaurants and I can see how happy people are, I can see the meaningful jobs that we're creating, I can see the impacts that we're having in the communities, I can I can see where I stand, and I realize that I just have so much more to do, and so much more that I can do, and I can be this healthy force, especially in my industry, that's not necessarily known for being healthy. Like the food industry. Have you ever worked in a restaurant before?

SPEAKER_00: 24:32

No, I've never done it. You've never you never served or bartended or anything, yeah. Yeah, never. I served. Um there was this jewelry store in Southern California where I went to school that did an annual Christmas party, and then we would serve like hors d'oeuvres and champagne, but that's all I ever did in terms of of that arena. So I have no idea how any this works.

SPEAKER_01: 24:51

I just yeah, it definitely just can use. I mean, it's rare that a restaurateur is sober. That's rare. You know, it's it's rare that you have cultures that you know in the restaurant business that are very like healthy and connective, and um, and so we we just press on it, you know, we just press on a little bit.

SPEAKER_00: 25:11

So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Is there anything um that you feel like you are like working on right in like in this moment? I mean, you're opening up another restaurant, but like you said, you're trying to push the envelope here. What specific goals are you like what's lighting you up right in this in yeah, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 25:32

Um by the way, I I really appreciate how like thoughtful your questions are. Um I have a lot of things that I'm I'm definitely working on right now, but like one thing I'm I'm really like leaned into right now is just it's very energetic for me, but I'm really trying to stay just in my flow of energy. I'm trying to adjust relationships or even uh my presence and how my mind and my body responds to things, and so I'm pretty intense. Like I'm pretty intense, right? So if there was like a scale to one to ten, I think most people would be like, oh, he runs it like a six. And I'm like, and I can go from a six to a twelve, like quick, not in like an angry way, just in like a like a big presence way, and I'm really trying to just take a breath in things and just sort of relax inside of it. Because even though I'm relaxed, I'm still moving at a really high pace. So I'm really just trying to um lean into that, um, take just take breath and and sort of enjoy that. And um, you know, I went to Disneyland with my twins a few weeks ago, and I had made this goal to myself that you know having two three-year-olds at Disneyland for three days is a lot.

SPEAKER_00: 26:45

It's Olympic sports, right?

SPEAKER_01: 26:46

And I and I I set this like intention when I get there that I was just I was gonna maintain my mental faculty, that I wasn't gonna get frustrated, or like there's gonna be like even if it's like if I turn around and like I get a I get a soda poured on me or like an ice cream falls off, or people bump into me, or like my little girl, you know, poops her pants and has an accident, which many of the things I just shared have all happen all happened. And I just I just set this intention that I was like, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna lose my composure. And I didn't. And so sometimes that meant like I had to go for a walk, or I needed to make sure, like I'd never been to Disneyland before where I actually went and ran on the treadmill in the morning before we went to Disneyland. It was like I was like, I was literally like, I didn't even know they had treadmills here, like, who's doing that when you're walking 20 miles? But that was part of this goal right now for me to be very present in these moments. And like I just had probably one of the best concert experiences of my entire life. I took my 14-year-old to Post Malone. And two or three weeks prior to this, he had just performed here in Salt Lake City. But three or four weeks prior, I had just seen him live at Coachella. But his performance at Rice Eccles fully outnumbered his performance at Coachella. And I was there with like my 14-year-old, and like we're singing like word for word, we're dancing. It just was like this really magical connective moment. And I'm like, I would have never got that under the influence. I would have probably never decided to go to a concert with my 14-year-old when I could have gone to a concert with my friends to party. And so I'm just I'm learning this new way, and I'm learning to make decisions that point towards my reward center and like really why I exist. And you know, we touched on this a little bit before, but I don't, I didn't know why I existed. I was just like, I just want to be rich. I just didn't want to, I grew up poor in a sense. Like we always had a roof over our head, but we wouldn't have a lot of choices.

SPEAKER_00: 28:41

So you're like not that.

SPEAKER_01: 28:43

Like neither of my parents ever graduated high school. Like, my dad's a stud, like he cares so much, but he's probably never made like over$50,000 a year in his life. And there's just in today's world, there's not a lot of choices in that, in that arena. And and so like I just I from a young age, I'm like, I want that family. Like, I want the boat behind the car, I want, I want the the captive connective experience. I I want to live in that neighborhood. I want to, you know, the neighborhoods you drive through, you go, hmm, I wonder what she did. What they do. Like she did something, and I still do this. Like I live in a great neighborhood. I still, in my mind, I still go like, yeah, of course that's you know, Romney or whatever, of course that's whose house that is. And I have such an appreciation, but I'm digressing here, but I'm like, I love landscape and I love flowers. I love all this stuff that kind of details the things. And so walking around my neighborhood, I love it. I live in holiday and I just I love walking around, and I still, I still go like, hmm, I wonder, I wonder what choices you made to get there, you know? And so when you grow up and you're like, geez, all I want to do is be rich because I don't want to, I don't want to have my own family experience what my family had to experience, you you you are a little disconnected from the realities of what are most important. So it's like, even though I was unhinged for so long, and I appreciate that because I tell people often. And I traded my 20s for my 40s. Like I worked in a way in my 20s that like that's where people are working in their 40s. Like they're just grinding because they're in their money-making years. They're like, this is gonna set me up forever. And so I didn't backpack, I didn't have roommates, I didn't like leave the country. I didn't do those things. I just worked. Right? There was like a we've coined this, my assistant and I putting this chapter together recently. And coined, there's basically like a seven-year period of my life where I actually didn't take a vacation. I just worked. I missed most holidays with my family. I just worked. I'm not proud of that by any means. It's just a reflection that I have the ability to go all in. Like I can move with every bit of my might, heart, and way and lean into it. And so this kind of follow-up from that is I defined this reason why I exist. And it's it's been a big part of my health journey. It's why I've lost seven inches off my belly button and added a ton of muscle and mobility. I can, I'm 6'3, I can stand straight up and put my palms on the ground. Like I couldn't even tie my shoe like three years ago without losing my breath. You know, and now it's like I could run home and I'm okay with that. And it the re it's the reason what drove my sobriety, and I still have my challenges in that. But all these, a lot of the decisions that I just pointed towards are a byproduct of my mission, which is I want to live for, I want to be as healthy as I can possibly be, to live for as long as I possibly can, to be the most incredible beacon for the people that I love. That's it. If it doesn't point at those things, I just don't do it now. Like it's why I loved your podcast because like when my team's telling me, like, hey, this is just about like life and sweat and just energy and the things that are there. That's that's very much on mission for me right now. I don't know your guests or your listeners yet, but that's kind of just where I'm at.

SPEAKER_00: 31:48

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Right on brand with what we're talking about around here. Let's say it like that. I talk about the workouts and the work ins. And you talked about that a lot today of like, yeah, physically feeling better. This vessel that already can do so much and tap into beast mode can also tap into presence mode and health mode, and and and it doesn't have to be only pigeon bold into what you think is stereotypical for someone like you to own restaurants and do all the things, and there's sacrifices.

SPEAKER_01: 32:17

You can be dangerous and kind. Like, and I I think there's this like kind of wolf mentality, this reality of like I I truly believe some of the most dynamic and beautiful and dangerous people have the ability to do both. And and I like that. I I know that when it comes to like protecting my family, protecting those that I love, you know, in business, you have to be your survivor. I've proved that I could be that for so long. Now it was like to be able to welcome my daughters in and that essence and let them feel loved and and that I could be gentle, but also show them that dad can be the monster for the family if he needs to.

SPEAKER_00: 32:56

Dangerous and kind.

SPEAKER_01: 32:58

Yeah, and that's something that's important to me. Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_00: 33:02

You know, that's dangerous and kind, whatever you're becoming or whoever that is, is is those things.

SPEAKER_01: 33:07

Yeah, I think it's necessary for especially for men.

unknown: 33:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 33:11

Father specifically.

unknown: 33:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 33:13

Does your dad live locally?

SPEAKER_00: 33:15

My dad lives in California.

SPEAKER_01: 33:16

Okay. I've just seen you in with him in the dining rooms before.

SPEAKER_00: 33:19

Yeah, yeah. He's a great guy. He's been on the podcast before.

SPEAKER_01: 33:22

Cool.

SPEAKER_00: 33:22

Definitely dangerous and kind. Uh I grew up, he was a a coach and played baseball at a very high level. So um, yeah, that that dangerous and kind, that working for self and team was always fostered. So a lot of the stuff you shared did it just yeah, parallel him. Plus, he's yeah, super active and fit and does his thing and wakes up and does the total gym and you know, can still throw and just like do things that we sometimes take for granted. Like you said, touch your toes, all this stuff, right? So um, great guy. And we've had great meals together in your restaurants. Um, last question here at Sunday's Best, my favorite is the pancakes, the gluten-free ones with the almond flour. That's my favorite. What's your favorite here?

SPEAKER_01: 34:06

I mean, I'm a little biased, right? Because this is unique. I'm giving out a little like insight. There's actually not a single item on any of my menus that I actually don't like. I'm not someone who's like, oh, I put that on there because I think I need to service gluten-free or dietary restrictions or vegan, whatever it is. Like everything that's on any one of our menus, I actually eat. And if I don't like it, regardless of being biased or not, it just doesn't live there. And I'm kind of like, well, that's what happens when they're yours, right? They're like kind of named after your crap, your your crest. But right now, like currently, I cannot get away with these two things. Like our poke bowl, like the tuna, the sheer tuna bowl right now is awesome. And our fish tacos, like I am eating the fish tacos or the tuna bowl almost every day when I'm here. So those are like my two complete standouts. Um, and then if I'm like feeling like a little frisky, then I'll have the ricotta pancakes and just like lemon current. Like, I mean, these things are like literally eating a cheesecake.

SPEAKER_00: 35:11

I always get breakfast food when I come here, and then I get the pancakes too. Even if it's just a few bites and I take home the rest, I can't come here and not have those.

SPEAKER_01: 35:21

That's just part of it. And I think there's just like I I reward myself. Like, I'm not some of this, like I'm gonna eat, and I don't eat just for function. Like a big reason why I train as hard as I do is so that I can eat the way that I want to.

SPEAKER_00: 35:33

Joy all the time.

SPEAKER_01: 35:34

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00: 35:35

Yeah, thanks for your time. Thanks for what you do in the world. I appreciate you. Yeah, like you guys for listening. Um, and yeah, I look forward to getting to know you more. Yeah, likewise.

SPEAKER_01: 35:48

Yeah, many cheers. Yeah, and thank you all for listening.

SPEAKER_00: 35:57

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Self-Love and Sweat the Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode or were inspired by it, or something resonated with you, do me a favor and share this episode with a friend, someone that you think might enjoy this episode as well. That's the ultimate compliment and the best way to make this podcast ripple out into the world of others. And also you can leave us a review up to five stars wherever you're listening to the podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll see you at the next episode. I appreciate you.