Travis Motl: and to your point, that's not me saying only have people that agree with you and will support you no matter how dumb the idea is. You should have people that you can trust their opinion, right? Because you don't want to have a bunch of yes man around you when you say, Hey man, I want to quit my well-established job that I'm making good money my family secured to go try to be an astronaut when you have no, no way of ever achieving that goal.
Riley: I've got my friend Travis model from the Elbows type podcast on the show. Uh, Travis, I just wanna welcome you, man. I, I, I [00:01:00] asked you on here because, you know, we've developed a, a distant friendship here now, just from, you know, I was on your podcast and, and, and, uh, you know, I've listened to you for years and so I feel like I know you probably better than you know me, just 'cause I'm, I've been that eavesdropper from a distance.
But, but man, it's, uh, it's been a pleasure getting to know you and you've said some things over time that have, have perked my interest. And so I wanted to interview you, today. That's what we're gonna talk about. So welcome to the show, my friend.
Travis Motl: , it's uh, it's very a humbling experience when people, people want to, you know, have an ear to what you have to say and. As a, a guy sitting in his master bedroom with his kids downstairs. I, I, I'm very humbled to, to, to have, have, uh, the opportunity to chat with you and to, and to your listeners, man.
So I can't, I I'm forever grateful, especially with, you know, working with you just outside of, you know, our, like you said, our distance friendship with like sponsoring the podcast and being a listener. It's like very, it's very, I'm very grateful for it, man. So thank you so much for your time.
Riley: it's wonderful to have [00:02:00] you here. So listen, um, the audience who you are. What, where'd you grow up? What, what did life look like as a kid
Travis Motl: Yeah. So, uh, I can, I, I, I try not to be long-winded,
Riley: did?
Travis Motl: but so, uh,
Riley: I think we're gonna get
I love it.
Travis Motl: right. It, it's, it's always, it's always weird being on the other side of the questions, man. So, uh, but I, I was, um, my name's Travis model, like, like, uh, Riley said, I, I was born in Minnesota. Uh. Grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. So I claim Vegas as like where I'm from. Uh, my old co-host, my old co-host, John Tier would tell me that I'm from Minnesota, but I'm not from Vegas.
But I'm like, I was just born there, dude. So I'm from Vegas, but uh, I grew up in Vegas is a very, uh, very interesting childhood, you know, uh, I have an older brother, younger sister, and, uh, me and my brother used to just get into mayhem as kids and you know, like most kids growing up that are millennials, like we didn't have a [00:03:00] whole lot of strings attached to us in, in some parts of our lives.
So we got, you got to go do some, some fun stuff before the internet ruined it for kids nowadays. Uh, but so, uh, I grew up in Vegas, moved outta my parents' house when I was about 17 years old. And, uh, me and my brother ended up getting an apartment together when I was 18. We ended up getting in some financial issues during that.
And while I was in high school, uh, I was gonna school my junior, senior year for welding. And in my junior year of high school, my welding teacher said, Hey, if you guys wanna make welding a career, there's two ways to do it. Either you join the pipe fitters, pipe fitters union, or you joined the Navy. And, uh, I graduated high school in 2008 and what happened in 2008?
Like so many of us, unfortunately, remember the housing market crash, the recession and all that stuff. So the pipefitters Union ended up closing their door. And so that wasn't an option for me. Like I said, meant I brought, bring it back to where I, my brother and I [00:04:00] were having financial issues with our apartment.
We ended up getting evicted and uh, I walked over to my dad's house who lived in like the same apartment complex as us and I was like, Hey dad, uh, I think I wanna join the navy. My dad was like, all right. Turned around. He grabbed the keys to his like 2000 Ford Ranger. He said, get in the truck before you change your mind.
And we got in the truck and, and uh, he took me straight to the recruiter's office. And from that day forward, it was like, uh, I was destined to join the Navy and so I joined the Navy as a, as a, what we call a whole maintenance technician. And, uh, so I was a welder, plumber, firefighter, all kinds of cool stuff for the navy, jack of all trades.
And, uh, I did about seven years in the Navy. Ended up picking up E six and under six years if anyone's a veteran from the Navy knows that's relatively quick. It's a very hard thing to do. And I was fortunate enough to advance quickly through the Navy. I loved it. Um, but I always told myself when it started to feel more like a job and I wasn't having as much fun doing it, it was probably time for me to leave.
So that [00:05:00] happened in, um, December 31st, 2015. Ended up leaving the Navy. Uh, it just didn't like picking up E six is it became more political. It wasn't necessarily me, um, being able to do my job anymore. It was, I was more of a leader now. I wasn't able to do the things that I really enjoyed doing. You know, more, a lot of like administrative issues.
Um, a lot of like, Hey, what are you doing to make the next rank? What's up with your community service? And I was doing all these things already. Like, I enjoyed community service, I enjoyed learning and stuff like that. But having someone, you know, kind of like poking at you like, Hey, what, what's up with this?
What's up with this? Really put a sour taste in my mouth. And so I had a, I put in for early separation. I was a volunteer firefighter at the time. And, uh. One of my good buddies was in charge of the, like, recruitment for the fire department that I was volunteering at, and he was able to get me into the Washington State Fire Training Academy.
And so I separated from the Navy in 2015. [00:06:00] This January 15th, 2016, I was basically in bootcamp again for the fire department. And so, uh, I did that for three months. And, um, after, after doing that, I realized it wasn't necessarily for me anymore. Um, I did it for about two years after graduating, I met a lot of cool people in the fire academy, got a job offer with fed fire, uh, in Woodby Island, just a little north from here.
And I was like, ah, it's not necessarily for me. And so the firefighting ended there and, uh, did a couple, did a, worked for a private engineering firm in Seattle for a little bit. And now I work for the US Navy again. They got me again and, uh. And I'm back in engineering for them. I don't have a degree in engineering, but I work for, you know, the shipyard over here in Washington.
So, kind of a long-winded answer. Picked up Jiujitsu in 2017. I feel like I'm just rambling. Where do you want to go with that?
Riley: I do want to go, uh, go with that?
So you're still working for the Navy [00:07:00] as a,
Travis Motl: Yeah,
Riley: shipping yard.
Travis Motl: Yeah,
Riley: do you work on there? Are you,
describe that a little bit.
Travis Motl: So, uh, what I do for the Navy now is I'm considered an engineering technician, but I, I work in like a purely administrative, uh, role now. So we, when these guys go on the ships or submarines that are here, the nuclear powered submarines and carriers that are here in Bremerton, what they do is they have to.
Work through, uh, a piece of paper with a piece of paper, like a whole package that gives 'em, like things that they have to look at, uh, quality assurance forms, uh, certain administrative forms, references and stuff like that. So they have all these things and uh, that they have to work to, and I'm one of the people within the process that ensures that it's correct for them.
And then, uh, we release it to them and then they bring it back to us and then we certify their work. Saying that administratively it was correct, not technically it was correct, although there are some technical aspects we have to know in order to understand if they did the work administratively correct.
Then we do that, and then we're like, uh, for [00:08:00] the projects for, you know, when the shipyard or when the carriers or submarines do what we call an availability, uh, maintenance period. We're like, um, one of the big administrative positions for the whole project. So people come to us all the time, up and down the chain of command in the, on the projects to, you know, they need something from us.
Purely customer service role. Like everything I do is customer service. Uh, if I don't have, you know, people working, then I don't really have anything to do. So whenever, whenever the guys that are going to work on the boats are working, we're, we're probably working. They need us for something. So, um, it's a fun job.
I really enjoy it. It's not like a taxing job physically or anything like that. And not necessarily even mentally, uh, although it does have its times when we are like swamped with work. You know, we have, we have a lot of things to do. Uh, typically there's like six of us on a project every day, and so, and all six of us can be doing a different task the entire day and be completely swapped with that one task.
So that does get a little, um, [00:09:00] difficult sometimes, but it's, it's not, it's not me being on the, the deck plates of welding breaking my back anymore, you know what I mean? I, uh, to tie it back to like welding, why I stopped doing that is, you know, I, I worked in, uh, at, in the Navy at it, when I went to Seattle to, for that private engineering firm, I would go a lot on construction sites and I was an inspector, a quality assurance guy for an engineering firm, engineering architectural firm.
And, uh, I would go on these job sites and growing up there was always young kids on construction sites that are trying to, you know, make a name for themselves, get into the trades, you know, and things like that. And, uh, you know, about 10 years later there just, there wasn't that. And there was always, you know, older guys, um, older than I am, uh, you know, like mid forties, early fifties or older that were the ones doing all the work.
And I rarely ever saw anyone young. And so I was like, well, I don't want to be one of those guys that's caught in this because I don't have anything else to do. And just like the Navy, I was like, if I'm good at [00:10:00] this, then I think I can be pretty successful at anything I do. And so I just kind of keep that mindset of like, when I go into, uh, any career path or anything that I, I try to be good at.
You know, I, I think, man, I've, I've, I set goals and I just try my hardest to accomplish those and, and take a honest look at myself. Like, am I actually trying to be as good as possible when I'm doing this? And if I feel like I'm not, that's okay. Just don't set goals for myself that I feel like I will never achieve because I'm not, I'm not pursuing it in the fullest capacity that I should, if that makes sense.
Riley: something in there That's interesting to me because I, I've heard this a lot. I worked construction for a lot of years and I, and I used to hear that all the time. And then I hear it in other trades and other careers also. that is the people getting locked into a certain career. You know, they climb the ladder enough or they start making decent money and that's becomes the only area where they're educated enough to make that kind of [00:11:00] money.
And so now they're locked in 'cause they can't, feel like they can go, start over somewhere else. But it, to you describe your career path. It sounds like you have done that, you've been able to recreate and restart. Uh, what, what do you, what advice would you have for, for folks with that, uh, mindset where they feel locked into a certain career?
Travis Motl: That's a hard one because I know people are
very scared of change and, and when you're successful at something. Not being successful at something else is a very scary thing, and I completely understand that. Um, I'm very fortunate that my wife has always been there for me to always support me and in every aspect of my careers that I've tried to pursue.
And, uh, she's, you know, been a ear for me to, to, uh, put my troubles on and, you know, she's been there for me and stuff like that. And I think, I think the best advice I can give is like, you gotta have a support system around you, first of all, because life is just so much easier with [00:12:00] people around you. Uh, to bring my faith into it, right?
I believe, uh, Jesus helps me with everything I do. I try to pray about it and whatnot. And so if that's something that you believe in, then obviously, you know, lean more into that as well. But if you ever try to go at something alone, then you're, it's, it's a whole lot harder and you're mo probably more likely to not succeed.
Nothing in life is accomplished by ourselves, whether it's through family, whether it's through friends or something like that. And the more you can lean into that and allow others to help you, especially in hard times when you feel like, like, oh man, I'm stuck here. You know? Um, the reason I got my job in the shipyard is because I was actually John, my old co-host on my podcast.
I was confining in him that I was getting frustrated with my commute to Seattle some days during the summer. It was like four or five hours of commuting just because traffic and fair times and stuff. It was so terrible. And I was like a CrossFit coach at the time, and I was just, um, he was one of my, uh, athletes.
And I was like, Hey man, I'm like just so frustrated. I don't think I wanna work in Seattle anymore. This summertime just ruins me. I feel like I, I'm just always commuting. I would [00:13:00] come home frustrated, you know what I mean? It was really taking a lot out of me. And he's like, you know, through me confining in him.
He's like, Hey, I have an opportunity for you. You know what I mean? So being, being surrounded by people that, you know can help you would help a lot with this, you know? And, uh, I would just, I would just say like, make sure you have a support system, whether it's friends, families, husband, wife, or whatever.
Because if you try to go at it alone, if you try to start a new chapter in your life alone, it's gonna be a whole lot harder when things get tough.
Riley: Yeah Yeah. Having those voices that'll, that will root for you. Right. That will cheer you on. We have plenty of naysayers in life, and I, I think I
Travis Motl: 100%.
Riley: Stay
Travis Motl: Yeah. Yeah. But that, and, and to your point, that's not me saying only have people that agree with you and will support you no matter how dumb the idea is. You should have people that you can trust their opinion, right? Because you don't want to have a bunch of yes man around you when you say, Hey man, I want to quit my well-established job that [00:14:00] I'm making good money my family secured to go try to be an astronaut when you have no, no way of ever achieving that goal.
So even to, even to like. I go back to it a little bit more. Like you gotta make sure that what you want to achieve is at obtain to you also, you have to be real realistic about the things that you want to do and the career path you want to have. Not to say that you can't accomplish anything you put your mind to.
Uh, I just think that you are, if you're setting unrealistic goals without having the, the things in place before you can achieve those and you just jump head straight into it once again, like it's gonna be harder for you and you're less likely to achieve, in my opinion, what you want. So if you want to do these things, not having, you know, not just having yes men around you or people that are gonna blindly support anything that you say or do.
And also, you know, having people that you can trust their opinion and then, you know, making sure you have these, uh, attainable what it smart goals, right? Strategic, measurable, uh,
Riley: Achievable
Travis Motl: I forgot what the other ones are. Yeah. [00:15:00] Achievable. You know, it. Realistic and time-based. I think it is, is T for time-based. So making sure that you have, you know, it, it works that way.
Like that's a smart way to do it because that's, that's probably gonna be the best way you do it. So if you're thinking, I'm locked in, this sucks. Sit down and take, truly, truly take a look at something you want to achieve and what it's gonna take in order to do it. Don't just quit that job because, uh,
Riley: Is you
Travis Motl: you know, you, you hate it.
But, you know, once again, it kind of, uh, uh, it, it's like in Jiujitsu, like you can, you could give a good answer, but then there's always gonna be, but it kind of depends. Also,
Riley: Yeah You know, you, you touched on something there, uh, you kept using the word trust when it came to people who would give you the hard advice, right? I, I tell folks all the time in, in, you know, meetings where I'm asked to consult on something. One of the biggest, I think, phrases that comes outta my mouth is have people around you who love you [00:16:00] enough to hurt your feelings.
Travis Motl: AB Oh, 100%. Yes.
Riley: with that, key word is trust, man, you used that several times and there's, there's folks who. Who you can trust to give you that kind of advice. And then there's just the naysayers, you know, there's always those, those people who poo poo on anything you wanna do. But
Travis Motl: Absolutely.
Riley: have those people.
And,
I can think, I've got about four guys in my world where if, if I've got a major decision, I'm going to those guys 'cause they will hurt my feelings if it's a bad idea. And man, I
Travis Motl: Yeah, I, I have a couple people too. Uh, one of them is like, uh, my good buddy Cody Smith. He's, he's been a friend of mine since I moved up here 11 years now. He's also the black belt at my academy. Uh, he's a big mentor of mine. He's the one that got me into coaching, CrossFit, coaching, juujitsu. Uh, he helped me bring me to the faith and stuff like that.
And so I have a, a large amount of respect for that man. Uh, anything he tells me, you know, I, I, I take it [00:17:00] wholeheartedly, like, you know, good and bad. And so he's one of the first ones that comes to mind when I, when I talk about these people. And so, and he's not a naysayer, because I feel like a lot of times we can, we can see people that don't agree with things that we say, and we can instantly go to, oh, this person's a hater.
It's like, well, listen to what they have to say and be honest with yourself. Like, if you're constantly making bad mistakes and this person is constantly telling you, Hey, that's a bad mistake. Maybe they're not a hater. Maybe they're, maybe, maybe you're just naive.
Riley: fact, man. I well said, well said.
Travis Motl: Yeah,
Riley: hater
much for anybody who disagrees with us, and it's not, that's just not the case.
Travis Motl: yeah. Absolutely. Look at yourself if you're a dumb person. Like, I try, I made this joke with my wife the other day. We were at, uh, we were, we were leaving, um, practice at church and I was telling her, uh. Hey, let's get the, we, we got so much stuff to do. We'll just stop and get the kids two happy meals. Blame [00:18:00] me in the comments if you want.
I don't care. Uh, but yes, I feed my kids McDonald's and I was getting them a happy meal because, you know, it makes my life easier when I have so much to do. And, uh, so we're like in the drive-through and, uh, like this ladies, the, at the on taking our order, it just kept like repeating me and I was like, am I just like talking like, am am I the issue right here?
It's like my wife's like laughing at me. I was like, what is going on? Like, am I, am I speaking English? Like it? I'm not, I wasn't blaming the lady taking my order at all. Like, what am I, am I am my tongue just slipping up? She's like, she, she, she's just laughing. And then I tell her something and she's like, what did you say?
I was like, I must be the issue. And she started laughing like, no, I'm just messing with you. I'm just messing with you. Right. But like to my point, like if, if you're the common denominator in all these situations, maybe people aren't the hater. Maybe you are like, look at the common denominator of these things that keep happening to you.
Riley: they say, you know, if it, if it like a duck and it quacks like a duck and it, you.
know, it looks like a duck, it's probably a duck.
Travis Motl: 100%. Yeah, absolutely.[00:19:00]
Riley: man. So. Okay. So you've mentioned to me the starting over thing, and you said in just a little while ago that you, it's hard to wanna start something else you're gonna suck at.
Travis Motl: Absolutely.
Riley: Now, you,
you mentioned CrossFit. You're a CrossFit coach. when you start CrossFit, you suck at it, right? So talk about that, that you know, the entry into that world.
Travis Motl: Yeah. So I started, uh, taking my fitness journey more seriously in 2013. When did, when did I live in Guam? 2013 is when I started CrossFit. And it was because of one of my friends, uh, one of my good friends. He was like, Hey, man, I'm going to go try this CrossFit stuff. It's, you know, I was like, all right, cool.
I'll go try it with you. And I always, I'm a very sociable, uh, social person. And so anything to do with like, people that are trying to do the same thing as me or try to be better, [00:20:00] whether it's the military, CrossFit, jujitsu or whatever it is, it, it kind of draws me into it more because I love the sense of community and, and, and things, right?
And so I was like sitting there and um, I was like, well, let me go try it. And I tried it and I was terrible. I was like, oh my gosh, like just lifting a barbell for this workout was, was soul crushing. And so it, similar things that happened in Jiujitsu, I was like, man, I can't let that, I gotta get stronger.
You know what I mean? Like I see these women in there that are absolutely crushing it, lifting more weights than me and everything like that. And I was like, dude, there's something here. And uh, and I was trying to, you know, be a healthier person. I was running a lot at the time. Uh, running marathons, five Ks, 10 Ks, like every weekend.
And so I thought I was physically fit and able to do this, but the second you put some weight in my hand, I was like, dude, this is terrible. I can't do any of this stuff. And so I got addicted to it. And when I moved up to Washington State, I was, um, looking [00:21:00] for CrossFit gyms. And the first one I tried was Cody Smith's CrossFit Gym up here in Washington.
And it was, I met him, fell in love with it. It didn't even, didn't even go to another place. It was just, you know, perfect for me. And about six months of going to his gym, I was like, Hey man, I would love to coach and help people in their journeys. 'cause I know, I know how much Cody helped me in mine. He got me super strong, super fit and whatnot.
So he's like, okay, yeah, sure. Go ahead and go get your CrossFit level one. And so I went and did that, and I came back and started coaching at the gym was terrible. I mean, I, I feel like I have a pretty good personality, but a personality won't help me, uh, teach someone how to safely lift a heavy barbell or something like that.
So it, once again, I had to do some internal lurking looking and really focus on how can I be better for these people that are entrusting me to help them, you know what I mean? So there's a lot of weight to it. So I took it very seriously and I, I feel like I became a really good coach and, uh, through that relationship with [00:22:00] Cody, besides our friendship, that professional one too.
When it came time to start coaching Jiujitsu Cody was already like, he's like, I know you're, you crush it as a coach in the CrossFit side. Have you ever thought about doing, doing that for Jiujitsu? After I got my purple belt, I was like, I would absolutely love to help people. Their jujitsu journey now too.
So that's what I kind of do now too, is I, I don't coach CrossFit anymore, now I'm just a student. I just show up three days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thur, or Tuesday, Wednesday, Fridays most, most Fridays, and I just work out and then Coach Juujitsu Tuesdays and Thursday mornings. And, uh, it's cool being on the other side of it.
What's funny is like a lot of the kid people I used to coach, I show up in their class and they're like, Travis, they're like, you used to coach me. Like, they'll say it in front of the class, like, that's my old coach. He used to coach me. So, and I'm like, well, don't tell him that. 'cause if you're not very good, I don't want him to blame me for it.
Just kidding.
Riley: oh, he was your
all that garbage.
Travis Motl: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't teach them that. I didn't teach
Riley: Yeah.
Travis Motl: So [00:23:00]
Riley: talking
uh, again, one more thing where you go into and, and feels that when you go into Juujitsu, how you're just inadequate, man. You just get throttle and it's like, it's six months to a year before you start feeling like you know anything, and you just get crushed for that length of time.
And so you're the strong CrossFitter guy and you go into Juujitsu. What's that look like?
Travis Motl: Oh, I'm, you could imagine 100% just got my butt kicked, you know, it's like the first time. So when we opened our academy, Cody was just, had got his purple belt and everyone else was white belts. I think one guy had one stripe white belt, and he was like a 19-year-old kid at the time. And here I am, 170 pound Travis.
Uh, competitive CrossFitter, competitive weightlifter, uh, trying to, you know, get as strong as jacked and as fit as possible. Then I go to the juujitsu mats, I put a GI on and I'm like, feel like I'm doing pretty good. And then the first time we [00:24:00] roll, I roll with that one striped white belt, 19-year-old kid and get the floor mopped with me.
This dude, I don't even think I gave this guy a, a fight man. I just remember getting up after that round and thinking I would die in the streets. These muscles means absolutely. I would literally die in the street if someone just has a little bit of training. You know what I mean? I was like, I can't let that happen, you know?
So I was like, I got nipped by the bug. Actually, what's funny, I was talking to a guy this morning about this, he was talking to me about how he wanted to try jiujitsu and I was like, I was like it. It's a whole lot of fun. It's amazing. So much fun. The first six months are terrible. It's bad. You get your butt kicked a lot.
It's very humbling. I was like, but there's, there's two people that have, that have this happened in Juujitsu after the first time they roll, you get your butt kicked and you think, man, I can't ever let that happen again. And you stop training or you think, man, I can't ever let that happen again. And you keep training.
You know what I mean? So it is like you, there's one, usually there's one of those two people. And so I was just [00:25:00] happened to be the one who was like, I didn't, I just can't let this happen to me. I wanna make sure that I'm as fit, healthy and safe as possible for my family as possible. And so I just kept training, you know?
'cause we see so many people that put on that white belt for the first time and the white belt is the hardest belt to get in Juujitsu. Right? Taking that first leap into training is so intimidating and so hard and everything like that. And a lot of people after that first class, they realize like, this just isn't for them.
And they just stopped training. You know what I mean? And. It's, it's like if you have that mindset of like, this is gonna be hard, this is gonna be difficult, and like you truly want to push through it, anyone can, you know, it's like it's, but the un being uncomfortable or comfortable in the uncomfortable situations is it takes time.
You know? It's like it takes a lot of time for you to get
there.
Riley: a is something that it's, it's hard for people to understand when you, you, you talk about being a strong fit, 170 pound guy and you go in and this one stripe white belt kicks your butt. What?
Travis Motl: Smaller than me. Too. Way smaller than me.[00:26:00]
Riley: means is, means you've been doing it three or four months.
That's what it means, you know,
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: a long time,
the beginnings. They're still not past the sucking stage. Right. The,
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: well by far not past
stage that that starts
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: years in. But,
you know, one striped white belt, if, if you get thrown by one of those guys, you know that you're gonna die in the streets.
So you're very accurate on that. Uh.
Travis Motl: was, it was such an eyeopener. 'cause I felt like, I was like, dude, I'm like super strong, super fit this guy. If anything, I'll be able to give this guy a good, a good fight. You know what I mean? But it wasn't,
[00:27:00]
Travis Motl: he just, he, I think he had been training for like six months or something like that, on and off and, and uh, he was just, he just got the best of me, man.
And I was like, dang, dude, this is crazy. This is, it's addicting though, you know, and I tell people too, like, those first six months really super hard. You know, you're gonna suck. Be okay with sucking for those first six months because I. When that new trial class, that new white belt comes in, you're like, I know exactly how you're gonna feel and I know exactly how I felt, so let's see if I [00:28:00] can replicate my situation.
And usually they try, we, we all see the memes of like, you know, the two striped white belt beating up the trial class guy or the blue belt beating up the trial class guy. And it, there is some truth to it because we want to see if we can replicate what happened to us when we first started. A lot of people, right.
And I was, I was one of those guys, I was young and I was like, I wanna see if I can smash my friends that want to come to, to juujitsu. And unfortunately some of them stopped training because I did smash 'em and I was like strong and like somewhat I was, I was lethal enough or I knew enough to be dangerous in both good and bad aspects, you know what I mean?
Like, so it was like good in a sense of like, I could, I knew what I was doing. But bad in a sense. I didn't know enough of what I was doing, so I was still going way too hard with people still using way too much strength and being way too aggressive for people that were just starting out. So that was a, that was a big realization when my friends were coming to you, like, I don't really wanna train Travis, because you just, you kind of like, you go too hard on me.
And I'm like, but I'm not even going that [00:29:00] hard. And it's like, well,
because I'm used to it,
Riley: Yeah
Travis Motl: you know what I mean? And like for a first, first time it was like me going against someone and then just absolutely demolishing them with every bit of strength and little technique I had. Obviously people would not, aren't gonna want to train with me and, and experience that again,
you know what I mean?
Riley: for I, I see it. We see it a lot. I, I've done it too, you know, where, where I'm just, I'm amped up and for whatever reason I, I, hurt people, you know, I remember, I remember one guy in particular when I was playing, I first learned the baseball bat choke, you know, and I'm like a not quite a blue belt and I'm still in that white belt stage.
And some poor dude come to class and I, I'm not sure I didn't crack his trachea, man. 'cause he, he showed up one other time two weeks later, but his throat was still, still pretty messed up. uh, that was an eyeopener for me because yeah, I know enough to sub submit the guy, but I didn't know enough to not injure him, you know?
And so, uh, that's kinda what you're talking about. [00:30:00] The really skilled people can beat you gently.
Travis Motl: Yeah. I think it was Brandon McCaffrey that was talking about how, um, when he rolls with. S spazzy, uh, people or inexperienced people that are really trying to go hard. He actually, you know, we hear a lot in Juujitsu. I just match your intensity. Brandon was saying, I, I don't match their intensity. I actually try to slow down as much as possible and dominate them with as little energy as possible to show them.
It's completely unnecessary to be going that hard and being that aggressive, like, you don't need to do that at all. And so now I kind of try to take that mindset when it comes to it. I'm like, Hey, uh, I'm gonna just sit here and. Soul crushing pressure on you. I'm just gonna inch into this, uh, submission.
I'm just going to neon soul. You know what I mean? And you're just gonna sit there and use every bit of energy you can while I'm gonna get up and walk away and say, Hey, good job, man. You did great. You know what I mean? Without, with barely breaking the sweat, this sounds kind of, I I, that, I don't want to sound like a jerk or something like that, but it's kind of like, just to [00:31:00] show them like, you don't need to do that.
You know what I mean? Like, it's, it's perfect. And I'm not even that good at Juujitsu. I wouldn't even say I'm really good at Juujitsu. I make the joke at, even when I'm coaching, I'll be like, Hey, I do it this way because I suck at Juujitsu, so make sure that you don't do it this way, but this is how I do.
Riley: It's funny, man. 'cause you know, I've been doing this almost a decade now, and I, I haven't talked to you since, but I got to grapple with Brandon, uh, back in April
Travis Motl: Oh, really?
Riley: yeah, it's the
gotten to roll with him, and both times turned out the same. He kicked my butt. Um, but he does it so gentle, man.
He's, he's, he's ridiculously good. It's, it's not like, I don't know, we, we always say there's levels to this game, but it was just systematic. He just systematically picks me apart you know, gosh, dude, it was like six years ago. I grappled with him the first time, so I expected it then. And you know, this time I still expected it, but not with the level of precision, which he did it.
I was just like,
Travis Motl: Oh
Riley: I still feel like I [00:32:00] don't
So
Travis Motl: I rolled with, uh, yeah, and to your point too, I, I, I had, uh, we had Nathan Orchard come to our academy to do like a leg locking se uh, seminar. 'cause he, he has 10th Planet Seattle over in, um, but, he came to our academy and he did a leg lock in the seminar. And then he, we got to roll with him afterwards.
And to say that I even. Probably gave that guy a, a single sweat drop on his brow would be an understatement. Like, I don't even think he had to look at me. I don't even think he had to have his eyes open. He could have been off the mat and he could still submit me. That man was so good. It was insane. And that was my first taste of, oh, there's levels to this.
'cause I've rolled with other black belts and like they, they obviously kick my butt and stuff like that. But like you said, like how systematically and like calm and just like, it was insane. And he wasn't even trying
5%, but was a compliment is after we got up, [00:33:00] he's like, what are you a blue belt? I was like, I am.
I am.
Riley: Now,
Travis Motl: you for that. Yes.
Riley: recently what 5, 6, 8 months ago maybe? You got your purple, didn't you?
Travis Motl: Yeah. August of last year. Yeah. Almost a year now. And, uh, yeah, I got my purple belt. I was a blue belt for about five years. And, uh, during the pandemic I had two babies, got a bachelor's degree, worked a full-time job. And so it was really hard for me during those, you know, 3, 2, 3 years to get to training a lot.
And so I think that was a contributor to me being a blue belt for so long. Typically, uh, I mean, most people that I know that are blue belts to get to their purple belts probably about two, three years. Right. But I was almost five, so I was definitely like, what am I doing wrong? You know, I was getting the blue belt blues and stuff like that.
And then in August I got my purple belt and I was like, I'm good. I, I'm, I am perfectly okay. Now I feel like it's a, uh, it's a, I'm [00:34:00] at an intermediate belt slash you know, some people say it's an advanced belt, and so now I'm good and like now I can do everything I wanna do in Juujitsu, you know what I mean?
So it's like. It was an incredibly, incredibly humbling experience. Cody promoted me, uh, I remember we were doing a 6:00 AM class at the time, and I would like, woke up at like 5:00 AM and I was like, Hey, babe, I, I think I'm gonna go just do the 6:30 AM class instead of going to do the nine 30 class. And she's like, no, no, no, don't do that.
Just go back to bed. Like I, the kids, I don't remember what exactly she said, but I ended up not going. And so she's like, just go to the, just go to the nine 30.
I said, all right, that's fine. And I show up to class and she knew Yeah. And I didn't know this right. And, uh, so I show up to class and like, we're about to bow in and everything like that.
And I told my wife, she's like, Hey, I'm gonna go do the 9:30 AM class on the other side with the CrossFit. I'll just bring the kids. I have the day off. I'll bring the kids and I'll do the CrossFit class. And then, uh, we could just leave together. And I was like, oh, okay. Sounds good. [00:35:00] She shows up and she's like in like, just normal gym equip or gym, gym clothes.
And I was like, are you gonna go to the other side? You're already late to the class. She's like, oh, no, no, no. Uh, yeah, I'm gonna go, just hold on a second. And then Cody, I turned around and Cody has a purple belt in his hand. And I was like, what, what is going on here? So it was a, it was super cool experience.
They, they went behind my back and, and my wife knew that it was gonna happen, and so my kids and my whole family was there to, to watch 'em get promoted to purple belt. So it was a very, it was a super cool experience and I'm glad he did that. So,
Riley: super rad. Um, for, for those of you who. the Jiujitsu world, the percentage of people who make it from white to blue and then onto purple is very low. It's one in a thousand or something that actually make it to purple belt. The uh, blue belt blues we call it in the, in the game is, is a real thing.
And a lot of people will go that year and a half, two years, get the blue belt, and then they, they kind of disappear and we don't see 'em again. And so congratulations on Purple Man. That's a, that is a real legit milestone. [00:36:00]
Travis Motl: I appreciate that, man. And that's, and like I said, like that now, I'm like, uh, I've always, I've talked to a lot of people, uh, through my podcast, and a lot of them say like, you know, the difference between like a purple and brown belt is, you know, you're just honing your skill more and more. And then brown to black, a lot of times it's just, uh, time on the mat ensuring you get those reps in and whatnot.
That way if someone comes to you with a question, you, you, you feel way more confident in your jiujitsu. But at purple, you know, jiujitsu, like typically a lot of people say it like at purple, you know, jiujitsu, like you, you're, you know, the al a lot of the same stuff like Browns and blacks know, uh, just not to the level and not to the detail, but you're, you're not necessarily gonna be learning a whole lot of new stuff.
Like, you got, you got a pretty good understanding of what Juujitsu is. And so I was like, uh, I was like telling people like, I know Juujitsu now, like
it's,
like a joke, you know? but
yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's fun.
Riley: a rash guard made up. 'cause [00:37:00] one, the day I got my brown belt, I started saying purple belts as jerks. That's what I'd say to all the purple belts that says, yeah, purple belts are jerks. And part of the reason I say that is, is a compliment because they're
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: right?
They,
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: get caught sleeping
a guy wearing a purple belt, you're going to sleep or you're gonna be tapping into a joint lock, you know? And. That's that's part of what you're saying. It's like they know Jiujitsu man and they know it to a level that it's like, don't, don't fall asleep on that one. But at the same time, I'm now a brown belt and so now I have to talk down to them 'cause it's just what we have to do. And so purple belt's a jerks. I actually, like I said, I had a rash guard made up and then a couple of my buddies got their brown belts here last year and I, that's what I gave them for their gift was they
Travis Motl: That's so funny.
Riley: belts as a picture on here of that rash guard when we
Travis Motl: That's so funny.
Riley: That would be great.
Travis Motl: How, how do you feel about like the, the stereotypes of belts within Juujitsu? Like, I know some of them are pretty funny, but then like, [00:38:00] you know, like purple belts, skipping warmups, blue belts quitting after getting it. Black belts just are jerks, you know what I mean? Like, how do you feel about these and like, do you think like there's some truth to them or do you feel like it's kinda like just tongue in cheek?
Riley: I think it's based on, on reality. Yeah. If, uh, we're, we're not a gym that does warmups, so we don't get it. Tease the purple belts about that anymore. But, but every once in a while, man, we'll all be lined up. We're ready to bow in and we've got a purple belt, comes wandering in there, you know, he's, and we're all just standing there like, get your dang belt tied and get in line. So it
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: And I make sure, and
sure they know that we noticed. And then as,
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: you know, brown bas
kind of becoming the, the, the slow, lazy ground belt, dude, I am that I,
Travis Motl: Eating ibuprofen.
Riley: uh, my coach used to tell me, he says, man, there's gonna come a time when you're gonna have to get your workouts somewhere else because you're gonna get good enough where most of the
Travis Motl: So true.
Riley: are not gonna give you a [00:39:00]
So you either roll with black belts all the time, or you. You go get your workout somewhere else, you know? And, and I
Travis Motl: Right?
Riley: him, you know, as I have a white
so hard, and, but no, that was real, man. I ended up in, in my brown belt time, I put on some weight and I'm like, what the heck is going on, man? So, yeah. Yeah, those stereotypes are real.
Travis Motl: That's so funny.
Riley: So now you, uh, you, you got your purple belt. Now you also, we mentioned at the very beginning, you are the host of the Elbows type podcast,
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: which again, I've listened
So way before I ever thought you and I would be talking, I was a fan of the podcast. And, and so talk about that, how that got started.
Because once again, Travis we're kind of coming around this horn. You started something that you were gonna suck out at the beginning.
Travis Motl: I, so John and I, uh, my old co-host, he, he stepped away from Juujitsu, so he stepped away from the podcast probably about two, [00:40:00] three years ago. Uh, still one of my best friends, he literally lives across the street from me. Like we share an easement, like our driveways are connected. Uh, my, my kids call him Uncle John.
Uh, he's also my boss at work, which is funny, but, uh, he's like, him and I, uh, he got me the job in the shipyard. We both had started training jiujitsu together at our, my current academy. Uh, we went to Japan together for work for three months. And so while we were in Japan, I, I had just really started listening to podcasts and whatnot and started like watching people like Chewy and like all these black belts on YouTube and listening to like Black Belts podcast and whatnot.
And I always felt like, I was like, yeah, it's cool hearing you guys like your wisdom and knowledge of your experience and everything like that, but I want to hear like, people going through the stuff I'm going through. You know what I mean? Like, I want to hear people like in the gutters right now, just like, or in the trenches right now, just like trying to figure out how to stop a neon belly and not feel [00:41:00] like they're gonna die.
You know? It's like, and so John and I were training in Japan, um, underneath.
Riley: audience knows Neon Belly, that's not like Neon Sign. That's like freaking kneecap in your sternum
Travis Motl: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Riley: across that way on the
neon Belly's terrible.
Travis Motl: Yeah, it's terrible. Especially when you first start, you have no idea how to brace your, your abdomen or how to relieve the pressure of like a good neon belly. And there's always gonna be people out there that just absolutely, I call it like neon soul, like it's so bad. Like you feel your soul leaving your body.
Uh, but so, so Cody and I, or, uh, John and I were in Japan and were, we were training in Japan, um, under some Malachy Freeman people over at Black Label Juujitsu. He's big on Instagram now. Um, but so we were training underneath some of his guys out there for free, and one day at work we're just talking about how, you know, we got our butt kicked last night or something.
I was like, Hey man, would you wanna start a podcast when we get back? He's like, A [00:42:00] podcast? What's that? I was like, well, it's like people just recording their conversations with others or whatever. I was like, here, I'll send you some. And he's like, all right, cool. Yeah. And so we got back and started Elbows Type podcast.
While I was there, I was like, thinking of like, I. Juujitsu, and this is before AI was big, so I came up with the name by myself, guys. All right. So gimme some credit. But, so I was like, I was like trying to come up with like kinda like, uh, juujitsu related names for it. And I was like, thinking of things. One of 'em was like, uh, T-Rex Arms, I think it was T-Rex Arms podcast or something like that.
Yeah, yeah. And uh, and I was like, I was like, no. I was like, well what about like, we always say like, keep your elbows tight. And I was like, it's the same thing. And it's like, it rolled better. And I was like, elbows tight podcast. I was like, that's pretty good. I was like, I like that man. And so I told John and he's like, yeah, let's do it, man.
And, and we got back in, um, and in June of, I think it was June of 2019, we recorded our first episode and we [00:43:00] recorded two or three of them and released them. Fell in love with it, man. And yeah, it was bad. It was so bad at the beginning. We used to, we used to do this thing called a beverage of the day when we, uh, and we would drink alcohol during the, the podcast and I don't drink anymore.
Uh, but we used to drink and so we would get, a lot of times we would get way too drunk talking about jiujitsu on air. Yeah. And I, with no editing, I would just release it unedited on, in, into the, the, the interwebs. And so listening back at it now, like our audio is not nearly good as it got, as we progressed, uh, a whole lot of drinking, swearing, a lot of fun, you know, it was just, it in my eyes, it was like me just talking to my, it was me just talking to my friends about the things that we were going through in Juujitsu.
And John and I would just, we literally just started the first like 15 episodes was in person talking to our friends about things that were happening at the academy and how, how we were dealing with them. And, uh, we didn't see a whole lot of [00:44:00] traction at the beginning. Um. For the first couple years, it was like a, you know, a decent listening or something like that.
But then, um, during the pandemic is when it really, when we started doing video, and we really started getting more popular and started getting Eyes on Us more. And I never did, we never did numbers like the other podcasts did. But what was funny is like, we didn't have the most downloads. We didn't have the most subscribers on YouTube.
We didn't have the biggest following on Instagram or anything like that. Uh, but the community that we had for such a small show, dude, it was incredible. The people that I, I, so coming from CrossFit, we, we like to exchange shirts, right? We like, when someone comes in, they'll bring us a shirt, we give them a shirt, we exchange shirts, or they buy shirts or something like that.
So one thing I did was I, I, I had custom patches made and I still have 'em. I just stopped giving 'em out. Um, but I had custom patches made and, and. I told ev all the listeners, if you want one of our custom patches, I will 100% send it to [00:45:00] you for free. I'll pay for shipping. All I ask is, you just send us a patch in return.
Once I get your patch, I'll send out one to you. So I have like a huge collection of patches from around the world, like Canadian Special Forces Police, uh, German police, like all kinds of like crazy patches from around the world. 'cause our listeners sent us in their patches from work, from their Juujitsu Academy, and I was just sending out internationally, domestically everywhere.
I was just sending patches out. And so that, I think that helped out a lot. I think it really connected us and allowed us to have, uh, not to, not the, the biggest, um, following, but I felt like our, like our community was always there for us. It was a super tight-knit community. People always messaged me saying, Hey man, your podcast helped me out quite a bit.
And yeah, we were bad at first. It was not, it was not good. It was like drunk friends talking. And I think, I think that kind of like made it a little bit more, um, made it a little bit more, what's the word I'm looking for? [00:46:00] Uh, oh my gosh, I can't believe. Relatable. It made it a little bit more relatable for people, you know what I mean?
And to hear people like yourself that, you know, had been training for years already and like you'd listen to it and whatnot. It's, it's super cool too, because then I started getting black belts that would message me like, Hey, I've been training for 10 years. And it's cool hearing stories again about things that I completely forgot about and experiences I completely forgot about, but it's completely relatable, you know what I mean?
And so, um, we just got the reps in and got the reps in and got the reps in and slowly just started improving on one thing at a time. And, and once I felt like we were good at this one thing, I was like, all right, now time to change this and see if we can get better at this. And you know, at first it was just.
Getting better guests just then we would get better guests. And it wasn't a good interview. Right. And I would still release it. And like I listen back at it now, I was like, what kind of questions are these? Like, what am I even talking about here? You know what I mean? And so we just slowly started doing that and, and, um, we just got like a little bit better every single episode.
And I always [00:47:00] had like a thing that I wanted to focus on in every episode to make sure that I did that just a little bit better than I did the previous time. And, uh, we didn't have the, I still don't have the best podcast in the world, but I really enjoy it and I'm very proud of everything that I put out, including anything you see that's related to branding or anything, the podcast or, uh, content or anything like that.
I'm very proud of everything we have and I think we have still have a very tight knit community of, of people that listen, even though I haven't put anything out in a while because of like, sure, we'll talk about this, like family and stuff like that. So it's, uh, but it's a lot of fun, man. It's, I, I think everyone should have a podcast until, uh, you start talking about some crazy stuff then you probably shouldn't put that on the internet, but.
Riley: Well talk about that because that, that transition again, so you're, uh, you said you haven't put out anything for a while just because there's a season of life going on
Travis Motl: Mm-hmm.
Riley: has taken priority over that. So what, what's that look like for you?
Travis Motl: Yeah. So I, I, my wife and [00:48:00] I, we had a babysitter, or we had, well childcare if anyone knows, uh, is very expensive in the United States right now. And so we have two kids that are 18 months apart. And so they're both technically newborns or babies, baby slash newborn. Uh, at the time that we were looking for daycare, and so it was gonna be more expensive than our mortgage to put our two kids in daycare.
And so we did like an in-home nanny. And I still created content a still putting out content consistently throughout the pandemic with the babies, with my bachelor's, with full-time job, everything like that. Uh, but the thing that really derailed me was I ended up having to work opposite shifts of my wife.
So my wife works like a normal, like, you know, six 30 to like three 30 in the afternoon or whatever. But then I go into work and I work three 30 till about midnight. And then I come home, I go to sleep, and I watch my kids during the day and I work a lot of overtime too. And so that once I switched schedules, I [00:49:00] realized like, I don't, I'm watching my kids during the day.
There's no way I can record an episode while watching my kids. Like there's just no way. My kids are, they're two littles, uh, and my oldest son, he's 16, so he watches, like he's watching his brother right now. They're downstairs hanging out. So that makes it to where I can do this now. Um, but during the day, like, you know, it's like it's in, it would be impossible for me to focus on.
Providing value to my listeners and giving someone their, the, the attention they deserve when they, they're giving me their time. And so I was like, I slowly just started like not doing it. You know what I mean? And so now I I I, I haven't put out content in a while and it's not because I don't want to it, the show's not over.
It's just like the se like you mentioned, the season of life I'm in right now. I just have my kids, I have to put a lot of energy into. And it's not me complaining. I'm, I'm very fortunate to be able to not have my kids in daycare. And me and my wife are still able to, uh, make sure that [00:50:00] we're raising them.
And I'm able to, I spend a lot of time with them and it's, I'm, I'm very forever grateful for that. And so I always tell my son, I was like, you make, you make time for things that are important to you. And my kids obviously are very important to me. Uh, and the hobbies that I have outside of podcasting are very important to me.
My family's very important to me, so I just, it's just the podcasting. I was like. This takes a lot of time for something that, uh, I just, I don't have the, the capacity to have right now, so I just kinda like put it on the wayside. It's not, it's not over, it's just kinda like a, a break right now. Um, once my kids get probably back in school, then I'll probably be able to start making content again, but they're, uh, my, both my kids will start pre-K this year.
So there'll be, one of them's gonna be going two days a week. The other one's gonna be going four days a week. So I'll have time to hopefully get back in there and start documenting my journey and, and start podcasting again. But, uh, I think, I think a lot of people, including myself, like [00:51:00] it's hard to. Let things go.
We mentioned earlier it's hard to start things that you're good at, but it's hard to let things go that you're, you're good at. Also, in order to make time for things that should be a, a bigger priority. Like, I want to podcast, I want to train more. I want to be able to do all these things. Uh, but I have to be okay with, it's just not the season for me to be able to do it right now.
And that's not to say that it won't ever be the season again, but just right now, I have to be, I have to set my priorities to where other things are more important. You know what I mean?
Riley: that's great man. 'cause it, people gotta know that's okay to do. know,
Travis Motl: Yeah,
Riley: I see a lot of
where people just be like, man, I can't let this thing go and heck no. No, just take it easy for a while. You know, you gotta, you got other stuff on your plate that is way more important.
You know, podcast is
Travis Motl: yeah,
Riley: but
is that a
Travis Motl: yeah.
Riley: Awesomer
Travis Motl: Yeah. I think, I mean, I think it is for this context, it sounds pretty good to me.[00:52:00]
Riley: So, so look man, you, you mentioned to me a while back and you, you just kind of mentioned again your coach Cody, if I remember. That's, um,
Travis Motl: sir.
Riley: you, you mentioned
to faith in that, and then you, you talked to me a while back and it's just on an electrolytes question you had For me, it was like, Hey, can I use this
Travis Motl: Plugging it, plug it,
Riley: what with that, you've, you've mentioned that to me a couple times. What, what has that journey been like?
Travis Motl: uh, the journey of my faith journey. Yeah. So, um, my wife and I, we, uh, we've been together for 10 years now. This year is 10 years. Married for coming up on six. And growing up I was never big into faith. Uh, I had friends I would go to church with and and whatnot and, you know, I had friends that were like in Catholic school and I would go to church with them and or Sunday school with them or, or whatever it [00:53:00] is.
Um. But I was never big into faith. My family never went to church or anything like that. And then, so my wife and I, we got together and she's, she was a believer at the time, and I wasn't. And I just never, I was never against it. I just didn't think it was for me. I was like, I never felt like a calling to it or anything like that.
And so, um, at my job I have now my old boss, one day I walked in. Oh, and to preface this, uh, well, I think I'll get to it, I would say into his office. And I was like, Hey Kevin. Uh, you should come try CrossFit. I was a CrossFit coach at the time. I was like, Hey, you should come try CrossFit. He's like, Hey. He's like, how about this, Travis?
You come to church, I'll come to CrossFit. And I was like, easy day. I, I don't mind going to church. It's not even like a, not even a big deal to me. You know what I mean? I was like, my wife's a believer, I'll just go to help support her and whatnot. So we ended up going to church and like I said, like I wasn't a believer at the time.
And so I went to support my wife and support my friend and, and I made a deal. So he, he would come to CrossFit and so, you know, we're [00:54:00] the message like, if you guys don't go to church or whatever, or you're not a follower of Christ, that's perfectly fine. Like, there's messages in church that are just good for people.
You know what I mean? Like, and then the, the, the lord slowly works on you to where, you know, you might, you might start following or not, but I went to church for, with my wife off and on for like six years and then about, I think it was like a year and a half ago. I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna, I'm just going to, I go to church.
I'm like, I believe in like karma. You know? What goes around comes around. I was like, so what's stopping me from believing in like a higher power that sets everything in place? You know what I mean? And so I started was like, I'm just gonna read the Bible and just educate myself on something, on, on why I don't believe that way.
If someone asks me, I'm, I'm big on having, uh, uh, I'm big on not following people, other people's opinion. Formulating your own opinion on your information, right? Good and bad, right? And so I was like, I was like, I've never actually read the Bible. I don't actually know too much of what's in it or what these people actually believe.
And [00:55:00] so how about I just start doing the research on why I don't believe, you know what I mean? And so I started reading the Bible on my own and I was like, oh, this stuff is pretty interesting. It's like, you know, it's like. I started like seeing things happen in my life to where I was like, whoa, maybe God is working in my life, you know?
And I was like, you know what? I'm already reading the Bible. I already go to church. I was like, let me just, and my, and Cody was like, he's like, listen, he's at the time, he is like, about a year ago, I, I made the choice to go go hard on God. I decided like everything I do is gonna be based on him following him, putting everything on him.
And if my life doesn't get better in a year, then I, it's just, then it, there's just nothing. I just will stop. And he said, it wasn't even a year in, he's like, my life completely changed. He's like, everything in my life was like so much better. Uh, he started seeing things happen in his life that fell in line and, and he's like, this, the only thing I've changed is I just started following Christ more.
I st I started like [00:56:00] reading my bible more. I started following his teachings and whatnot. And so he's like, there's just no way that it's not. That. And so I was like, you know what, Cody did it for a year. I was like, let me just, let me just try this out. And, and so, um, you know, I was like, I'm gonna start dedicating my life to this.
And I did it about a year ago, man. And it's like, it's hard to explain to people because it's not always visual things. It's not always obtainable things. It's not always, um, things that you can see that, that when you start following Christ, that makes the biggest difference. You know what I mean? And, uh, I don't wanna get too preachy on here, but, but you know, like it's the internal struggles that we all deal with that were like the first things to go.
Like I used to be very angry. I used to be very temperamental. I'm much easier now, just like I have like a much bigger calmness to me. When I first started reading my Bible, I would read it, I read it at night before I go to bed. And I would tell people when I would start reading my, my, the scripture. [00:57:00] Uh, I would start falling asleep.
And it's not because it wasn't boring. It's very, like if you read the gospels, it's, it's very interesting hearing the stories and seeing all these people that were around Christ and things that he's done and, uh, the, the person Jesus was. Uh, but it was like so calming to me. Like I just felt so at ease.
Like the, everything that went on in my day was just gone, you know? And like, I was just really, just was like, this, this isn't a coincidence. You know what I mean? Like, my wife's and I relationship got better. My relationship with my kids got better. Uh, I started taking my health serious more seriously Again.
My training got better, you know what I mean? I would like pray before going to, to to class like, Lord, just please help me get through this. Let me fight these battles and, you know, be by my side. And like, my training got better. And, um, I just felt like I was becoming a better and better person and a better husband, a better follow, uh, father, um, a better friend and stuff like that.
And I was like the only, once again, the only thing I changed. I just started putting my faith in Jesus, and I [00:58:00] started following his teachings, and I started really devoting, uh, my life to him. And I, I stopped drinking. I stopped, uh, you know, doing all the, the sinful things in my life that I wasn't, I wasn't like cheating on my wife or anything like that.
If she listens to this, it wasn't like me cheating on my wife, but we all have our sin that we deal with, whether it's anger, pornography, whatever it is. Um, and so I had, you know, I really just started like laying that down and my life has just been amazing, you know what I mean? It's just been so much better.
And obviously I'm like any, any other person, I still struggle. I'm not perfect. I'm far from perfect. The only, only person perfect is Jesus, right? And so, but I really try my hardest to, to, um, live by the values of him and, and really try to make sure that I'm doing the, the best I possibly can every, every chance I get.
You know what I mean? So it's, it's been, it's been a big thing. And yeah. To your point, to why. Bring it all back to like why you brought up the electrolytes. Uh, one thing that my friends and I decided [00:59:00] to do is we decided to do a five day fast. 'cause you know, Jesus talks about fasting in, in scripture. And so I was like, well, I felt like there was a calling in my heart that I needed to fast.
Like, I felt like the Lord was working. Like, like every time I heard something about a fast, I was like, there was just like this, like, oh, I should be doing that. Like, oh, I should be doing that. And so me and my friends decided to do a five day fast where we did a water only fast. And uh, I, I messaged ri and I was like, Hey man, uh, will salt break my, my fast?
And you're like, nah, dude, you're good there. It's minuscule wise, like you're, you're basically burning it by the time you're done drinking it. And so I was like, all right, cool. And that helped me a lot, man, because um. The point to a fast is to bring you closer, God, to strengthen your relationship with God.
And because when you start, you start putting your faith in like, oh, I can do this by myself. And when things get hard, you know, it's, you have to lean on God in order to help you get through these things. And so, you know, every time I got hungry, I would like [01:00:00] drink my water and I would drink a lot of water, or I would drink , like the carbonated water and stuff like that.
And uh, and I would just pray and I'd be like, and it was crazy that the, the hunger would literally go away. Like, it, it sounds crazy to people that aren't believers, but I'm, I promise you, I would just, I would sit there and pray for like five minutes and I would, you know, face the dirt, just surrender and be like, Lord, just help me get me through this day.
[01:01:00]
Travis Motl: And it was, uh, it was easy. It was hard. It was very hard to do it, but it was easier than I was expecting. And I think maybe it had to do with, because I was just like, I would just pray and pray and pray and just like it helped out so much. And, uh, ended up doing, uh, my, my wife was having issues with it. Um.
A couple of my friends were having issues, so we ended up only doing a four day, but still four day fast out of five was, was a huge success to me. And other people within my like man's group were like, dude, next time you do it, let me know. I've been wanting to fast. I was like, let's do it man. Let's get a bunch of us together and, and really fight through it together.
And once again, it goes back to, like I said earlier in our conversation, doing something difficult, something new with the community makes it so much better and so much easier. 'cause there's other people you can lean on when things get really, really hard. And so, uh, it was, it was a [01:02:00] great experience to, and SALT really helped me out a lot, man.
Like, I would wake up in the morning and I would drink it or I would go work out or I would coach and I would drink it right before that. And it's, it was a, a game changer for me.
Riley: it's funny cause I really I didn't intend not to be a shameless plug. I sort of end up being that, but the, uh, it was a genuine conversation you and I had had
Travis Motl: Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Riley: it's been a religious thing for millennia, but it's, uh, it's also kind of coming into fashion in the fitness world, right where
Travis Motl: Yeah,
Riley: fasting
extended fasting because there's some pretty great health benefits to it. Um. so I get that
the time. So that was, that was genuine me going, Hey, you, you did mention it to me.
do on a regular basis. I'll get that message. Somebody will send me one across the Insta Webs and Hey, you know, what's, uh, this break my fast? You know, and it seems to help, it really seems to help take the edge
Travis Motl: yeah,
Riley: those headaches and things you
just having an electrolyte there.
So, but, uh, no, [01:03:00] I, uh,
doing hard things and the, the five day fast. I've never done a full five days. I've, I've done three. It's the longest
Travis Motl: Mm-hmm.
Riley: done
Travis Motl: Next time I'll quick, real quick. I will ever only do a three day, maybe, maybe a four day, like three days, more than enough for me.
Riley: a friend of mine did a 21 day,
Travis Motl: Ugh.
Riley: and
Travis Motl: Good for them.
Riley: lost 30 in that time, but it, were some times there where he talked about the experience and how it, he had. Really good days, and every once in a while I'd have a bad day, but most days were good. He felt good most of the time. It was really interesting conversation.
Maybe one day I had to interview him on that. That'd be, it'd be fascinating. I was gonna say, uh, I was really surprised, like I said, like how difficult but easy it was at the same time, like the first day is, first and second day are honestly the hardest, but then you just kind of get in the groove of things and you just feel lighter.
Travis Motl: You feel snappier and stuff like that. You do get tired and everything like that, but it was, [01:04:00] it was, it was crazy. I don't know about 21 days though. I don't know about that. Man.
I love food way
Riley: a
Travis Motl: too much.
Riley: So you talked about doing hard things. When you hear the term, you know, this is called the Go Earn Your Salt podcast. When you hear the term go earn your salt, what does that mean to you?
Travis Motl: It, it means like, go, go do hard. Like you just mentioned, go do hard things to me when I, like you explained it to me, um, during my podcast, like wh where it came from and whatnot, and whenever I wear that shirt, people kinda like, go earn your salt. What does that mean? It's like go get after it. It's kinda like what I, I, you know what I mean?
Like go put, go put in the work of whatever it is you have to do. Um, whether it's jiujitsu fitness, running baseball, something, something challenging, right? It kind of, it kind of goes to that like you should always have something in your life that is that.
challenging for you, you know what I mean?
And something that you have to work at in order to even have, you know, [01:05:00] small, marginal gains of success in And juujitsu for that is, is that to me right now also, like I, like I mentioned, I, I, I picked up bass again. I, I'm the bass player for my worship group at church. And so even like, if I just get like a, a song I'm learning and I get like a, like a, a lick in there that I'm trying to learn, I'm like, Ooh, I earned my salt today.
You know? But it's like, it's like going out and just getting after whatever it is that you is challenging you, whatever. Whether it's physical, mental, spiritually, whatever it is. Like to me, when you say goat and your salt, it's like, it's like doing something that is difficult, doing something that is challenging to you, doing something that is improving you in some aspect of life.
And if. Like you mentioned in my podcast, like you, in order to get your salt in the sailor days, you had to put in work. Like you weren't just gonna get it just because you were there. You know what I mean? Like, and so to me that, that's really what I, I think of when I hear, go earn your salt.
Riley: Um, can we move on to [01:06:00] some lighter questions?
Travis Motl: Yeah, absolutely.
Riley: Awesome man pastime outside of jujitsu now? Favorite pastime?
Travis Motl: Ooh, favorite pastime. I really enjoy mowing my lawn. Uh, that's, that's a lot of fun. I, I enjoy fishing. Fishing, but favorite, favorite of all time?
video game nerd. I would have to say, I've, I've, I've been playing World of Warcraft since I was like, uh, I don't know, 16 years old. So I'm, I'm a big wow nerd.
I play Wow. In my, a lot of my free time. I'll probably go play Wow. After this until my kids get home, my wife gets home, and then I'm gonna go paddleboarding and fishing with my son. So.
Riley: just, just, this has been this question I've heard people say, wow, before, and I never knew what the heck they were talking about. That's World of Warcraft. Okay.
Travis Motl: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, World of Warcraft. Yeah. M-M-O-R-P-G, dude. Yeah. Straight nerd stuff.
Riley: Oh man Yeah, I feel like, I feel like I just had a one of those [01:07:00] 10 year long questions answered. Okay. It was a question
Travis Motl: I'm glad I could help Bradley.
You're like, all of a sudden it was just like a little ping, like, oh, that's what that is. It's kinda like I was explaining, uh, we're it, what's funny is I. I was coaching the other day and we're teaching wrestling up or coyote or whatever you guys want to call it. Uh, if you do juujitsu and it's like you're laying on your side in half guard, you wrestle up, get an underhook.
But I was going over how to do like the rolling, um, rolling sweep where they go for a Whizzer right. And I was like, Hey guys, it's called a Whizzer not a wizard. I was like, I said it wrong for years. I was like, so if you say it wrong, I'm not judging you. I was there too, but it's actually WHIZZER not wizard.
And people are like, oh. I was like, I was there, man, I get it.
Riley: Oh this good friend of mine in fact, he's one of the guys that introduced me to Jiu Jitsu He still calls it a wizard and
Travis Motl: Oh my gosh. That's so funny.
Riley: there's two terms
Travis Motl: That's so funny.
Riley: really get under my skin and [01:08:00] one of them is calling the Whizzer a Wizard. And then the second one is when guys call the tool the Sawz-All they call it a
Saws-Awe
Travis Motl: Oh my god.
If they
Riley: saiy Saws-Awe I'm like you've never read the box, have you? It's a,
Travis Motl: You gotta say it fast. That was all
Riley: with Ls and you know, two Ls. All that's funny, man. Um, something quirky about you that most people don't know,
Travis Motl: something quirky about me that most people don't know. Ooh, that's a good one. These are some good questions. Ri
gonna have to steal these. Uh, it's deep man. Something quirky that people don't know. I can't whistle. I've tried my life to whistle. Also, I, uh, um, man, this is, this is kind of embarrassing, uh, but I didn't know New England wasn't a state until my mid twenties.
So
Riley: Fascinating.
Travis Motl: Yeah. I didn't realize it [01:09:00] was all of like the 13 original colonies was New England. Someone was like, yeah, I'm from New England. And I thought, oh, that's cool. I was like, that's like in the Boston area, right? And they're like, no. Yeah, Washington DC I guess. But I was like, I was like, oh, yeah. I was like, so like, like they're like from Boston.
I was like, but you just said New England. They're like, yes, Boston is part of New England. I was like, I thought it was part of Massachusetts. I was. They're like, yes, Massachusetts is part. I was like, I don't understand. They're like, it's the collection of, I was like, oh my gosh. I'm like 25 years old. At the time I was like, Vegas, Vegas.
Public system for you. Public education for you, man.
Riley: like most of us grew up. I found out this was way more than just me, but I thought was one letter
Travis Motl: Oh,
Riley: for the longest
there you go.
Travis Motl: that's a good one. That's a good one.
Riley: So, [01:10:00] okay. Um. is a question I like to ask everybody. It's a little goofy, but if you go to a restaurant and you order a hamburger and the veggies get put on Underneath the patty, is that acceptable or not?
Travis Motl: Underneath it. I'm, I'm gonna say no, dude. How is it supposed to soak up the juices? Then you're just gonna like take the a bite and then you're gonna have like the juices fall on you from the lettuce or tomatoes or whatever. Now it's gotta go on top. It's gotta go on top. It's gotta go on top. I've never even thought about that.
What kind of blasphemy is that? Now? You just messed up my worldview. People would do that.
Riley: dude, and you just brought up, you're the first person to bring up a practical answer to that.
veggies don't soak up juices, and now it's just dripping. Wow. You gave me something to think about here, because for me it's just annoying. It's like, no, that's the veggies go on top.
And, and I, I talk about this recent restaurant I went to where they had onions on top of the patty, but lettuce and
Travis Motl: Uh huh.
Riley: the patty
Travis Motl: [01:11:00] What?
That just looks weird.
Riley: it's just gonna be perpetual motion and I'm gonna create a, you know, A nuclear reaction here probably.
But,
Travis Motl: A black hole from the burger.
Riley: alright. Have
Travis Motl: Yeah, definitely on top. Definitely on top. If you do it on the bottom, uh, don't, don't talk to me. It's like, I'm just kidding.
Riley: Oh, man. Have you ever been in a fight outside of, uh, jujitsu mat?
Travis Motl: Yeah. Once or once or twice. Yeah. Yeah. Not my proudest moments, but unfortunately, yes. Looking back, what's what's funny is, um, the more you get trained in violence, the more you realize it's not the answer. You know what I mean? So like, the more I train in Jiujitsu, the more I realize I am 100% walking away from every situation I possibly can.
I will be the smaller person. I will say, I'm sorry, I'll say you're rights. I'll, I'll give them whatever they need. I am, I am using violence as little as possible when it comes to it. If I can, if I can safely walk away [01:12:00] with my family, I'm just gonna, I'm not, I'm not gonna engage in violence outside of the, outside of the match.
Do, there's just too many, there's too many scenarios. There's too many variables that I'm just, I just don't want to risk it. You know what I mean? Like, you don't know who they're with. You don't know any of that. Right. And so, yeah, I've been in a couple fights, not my proudest moments, and, and I definitely am not trying to ever do those again.
Riley: what what set that off? What was the, maybe not both of 'em, but one of them. What, what was the catalyst? What was the situation?
Travis Motl: Oh, it was just like, uh, disrespect. You know what I mean? You're young. You, you think, you think that someone shouldn't be disrespected in a certain way, and, and so you're like, you're like, Hey, now we're gonna fight because you said X, Y, and Z. You know what I mean? It's like stupid, young, naive things. It's like looking back at it, like I said, it's like embarrassing because you don't, like when you get in fights as a young guy, like you think it's super masculine.
But to me, like, like my oldest son, he's at that stage now where he is like, he wants to like fight his friends for like [01:13:00] fun and, uh, which is, I'm perfectly okay with, you know, boys need to let their, let it out, you know what I mean? Like, if it's, as long as it's in a controlled environment, as long as they're not going out and like jumping people in the streets or whatnot.
But if it's like mutual combat between two friends and they just wanna duke it out, I'm okay with that, honestly. Uh, but I'm just like, yeah, it, it is, they need to let it out. Um, but if, if it's like. Stupid fighting things. I'm just like, it's just not for me anymore. I enjoy, I enjoy watching UFC and stuff like that, but I'm not gonna go voluntarily get punched in the mouth anymore.
I'm okay. I have, I have enough chi chipped teeth.
Riley: you know, that's, that is
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: worst reason to
Travis Motl: I words.
imagine that.
Riley: Yeah to me. My, Yeah,
Talk about being unmasculine is that those words hurt my feelers and now I'm gonna
Travis Motl: yeah, yeah. Was, it's so stupid. You know? It's like now if someone's like, you're an idiot, I'm like, you're right.
a lot of stupid things.
Riley: Yeah
Travis Motl: nothing anyone can say to me [01:14:00] unless they're like, threatening violence on my family. You know what I mean? Like, but like people, I don't even get road rage. My wife gets road rage sometimes.
I'm like, what's the point? What's the point? People, people like nowadays, people get shot all the time in road rage instances. Like it's let them pass if they want, like it, get in the right lane, whatever. It doesn't matter if they're riding our tail, as long as they don't hit us, we're good. Just move over.
Like there's no, if someone cuts us off, did we hit them? No. Okay. So, you know what I mean? Like, and it's, I, I've really looked at it that way of like, like, I don't wanna fight these people in the streets. I don't want someone to pull a gun on me or anything like that. Like, and so that's really helped me out a lot too, is like just not caring.
Like if, if it doesn't overtly affect me, then
it is what it is. And it's actually pretty peaceful.
Riley: yeah You can get places without that constant level of kind of heightened stress.
Travis Motl: Vitriol, like of just like everyone, screw everyone. I'm like, oh, relax. Life is better when it's [01:15:00] not, when you're not so mad.
Riley: tell me what's the scariest moment of your life?
Travis Motl: Ooh, scariest moment in my life. There's the one that always picks up, right? The first thing that, uh, comes to my mind is 19-year-old Travis, fresh to the Navy. Uh, like I mentioned, I was like in a firefighter slash what we call damage control, uh, [01:16:00] people in, in the Navy. So when there's like a fire on board flooding or something like that, um, uh, we're the ones that respond underway.
Um, when the boats have to sea. So we're, we're underway. I think it's like my, one of my first underways with the Navy, and we have a casualty alarm is what it's called, like a flooding in one of the compartments. And I was like, oh crap. Okay. I guess, uh, we run, we get all dressed and everything like that, and they start, start telling us like, Hey, model, we need you to go to this compartment.
Make sure that the flooding isn't coming into that next compartment. If it does, you need to let us know so we can, we can address it. And so I was like, all right, cool. I'm gonna go to that. I'm gonna go to that area. And so I run down there and, uh, I open up the hatch and I, I open it up and it's the space that's flooding.
Um, and I see one of my buddies and he, he has what we call a fire main pipe. So like the seawater, we use seawater in a lot of systems. And so we have a lot of these pipings are like 12 inch pipes, right? And [01:17:00] so he was doing maintenance on it and he thought it was tagged out. He thought all the water was secured in this section.
So we went to go open it up. Well, it blew open
the pre he, there was a valve that wasn't closed. And so 12 inches of water at like 150 gallons of, uh, per minute were flowing. And he's just trying to like, hold this thing up. And I'm like, I pause, I open up the door and I just see him just engulfed with water.
And I was like.
Holy crap, this is real. You know what I mean? Like, this is bad. And I was like, I should probably go do my job. 'cause there was other people in there that were helping him. I was like, I should probably go do my job. And I closed it and I like ran. But I remember like, it stopped me in my tracks.
Like that was like the first time I was like, dude, like this is, this is real life. When these things get called away, like it's no joke. Like these are, these are real situations that could cost people their lives. And so that was the first time where I was like, legitimately like, holy crap, man. Like this is no joke.
So 19-year-old Travis changed me forever. I was like [01:18:00] that, never doing that again. Like, I need to pay attention better.
Yeah.
Riley: I,
Yeah.
I don't think people understand, unless you've ever experienced a lot of water all at once, how much force and pressure and
Travis Motl: It is crazy. I don't even think it, I don't like, and I don't even think like it was fully what he was removing was fully off yet. Like I think it was still somewhat secured in there with some screws. So he was able to like, help, kinda like reinforce it so it didn't like blow off and cause worse damage.
You know what I mean? It was just crazy. Like I was just like, this is, and he was a big guy too at this guy was like, like not professional, but he was like big into bodybuilding and power lifting. So he is a big strong guy and I was like, he looked tiny compared to the mountain of water that was coming over him.
I was like astonished about how, how crazy it was.
Riley: Travis, what's a Bucket list challenge. Something you wish to do in the future?
Travis Motl: Bucket [01:19:00] list challenge.
Hmm.
Riley: Shouldn't
Travis Motl: Uh.
Riley: list
Travis Motl: I, I, I, my, my big thing right now is, uh, one, I wanna be debt free. Um, me and my wife are close to being debt. It's financial stuff right now. Uh, I wanna be debt free so we don't have to worry about, you know, paying car notes or whatever it is. This doesn't include our house. I mean, one day I would like to have my house paid off, right?
But, uh, I wanna be debt-free, own everything I have, and then also, uh, I want to become the first millionaire in my family. And I the best way to do that. Dave Ramsey, whether you agree with, like what he says or not, he did, he wrote a book and he interviewed a thousand millionaires in the United States. The, the top answer for how they create became a millionaire is through a 401k.
Uh, like a employer, 401k. And I have went through the, the government. And so, uh, I was like, well, if I wanna be a millionaire, the, the best way that I'm gonna do it, the most practical way for me in my [01:20:00] situation is through a 401k. And so that was a big goal of mine is I've, I've, uh, wanna become a millionaire and even if I die after I retire and I have like, you know, a couple million dollars in my 401k, at least my kids get it, you know what I mean?
Or my grandkids or whatever. So kind of helps create generational wealth. So that's, those are like my, my big goals right now.
Riley: That's pretty rad man. I've been a Dave Ramsey fan for a lot of years, and I'm,
Travis Motl: Oh really?
Riley: uh we've for, gosh, 15 years, and it's, I'm
life is better without debt.
Travis Motl: Yeah.
Riley: we drive
Travis Motl: Yeah.
We, we did financial peace.
We did financial piece a couple years ago and it's, it's helped out quite a bit, but we've been, the last couple years with the kids and everything like that, uh, we've been, we've been slacking on our budgeting and, and paying stuff off, and so we gotta, we gotta get back into it.
Riley: Moving on. What is the, what's a, book that you have read maybe multiple times that you, you [01:21:00] would recommend everyone read?
Travis Motl: The, the book that I, I recommend to everyone, and I haven't read it in years, and I, I kind of forgot, uh, all the great details about it, but
The Alchemist, if you haven't read The Alchemist, it's an incredible book. Super good. It's a short read. You could probably read it in one day if you're a good reader, but the story is just phenomenal.
It literally was like, uh, one of the only books I've ever read where like, I couldn't put it down. That was a great one. Born To Run is, uh, another good one about the Tots Mohara tribe in Mexico that run barefoot for marathons. And, uh, that was a good one. Um, what's another, another good book that I read, I'm not a big reader, but I, I do try to read, uh, a lot by, or, or do audio books count?
Riley: For sure.
Travis Motl: Yeah, I'm reading, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm listening to one right now called Ascendant. [01:22:00] It's a, once again, I'm a nerd, so it's a dragon fantasy book, but it's really good if you guys are big into like, game of Thrones, world of Warcraft kind of stuff. Uh, that's a good one. Ascendant. It's, uh, it's on Audible. I'm listening to it right now.
I'm, I'm almost done with the first book, the first, there's, I think there's three or four books in this series, and the first, first book is like, um. 18 hours or something like that. That was a good one. Oh, a book that everyone should read because it's a big eye-opener to the, what the US government has done, uh, is, uh, what's the name of it?
Chaos. About the, uh, oh my gosh. About the CIA, how they were drugging people in, in, in the seventies. That, and how they were getting people, uh, to do like crazy things through like the crack e epidemic and stuff like that. And like [01:23:00] through, uh, psychedelics and things. It's, yeah, chaos. It's, I don't wanna play it.
Hold on a second. But yeah, the, like, the name of the book is Chaos, Charles Manson, the CIA in the Secret Histories of the sixties. It is so good. It's crazy. The, the author was on, uh, Joe Rogan a couple years ago, and they, he had 500 pages of references in, in the book alone. They, he wanted a thousand page, or No, he had, he had a hundred pages of references, I think it was, and just the, the documents that he got from the Freedom of Information Act about the CCIA and stuff like that.
He wanted more, but his publisher said, we can't put that many references in in the book. That's another one. It's a crazy eye-opener, uh, about real things that the US government has done to, to its people. So
Riley: you're the second person, uh, that's been on our podcast, has mentioned The Alchemist. So
Travis Motl: it's a good book. So good.
Riley: realized I, I haven't [01:24:00] received it yet, so I need to figure out where that thing's at. It's been a, been a couple weeks ago. So, well, what's next for you, man?
Where are you going from here?
Travis Motl: Oh, I, you know, that's a, that's a great question. I feel like there's things going on in my life where I'm kind of just trying to focus on those. Um, being a dad is, is probably the biggest thing. Uh, I, I, I want to get back to podcast and content creation. I have a, I have a great, a video that's going pretty viral for me right now.
I think it's like, got 130,000 views on YouTube right now. And it's, uh, like the five biggest myths. White Belts shouldn't listen to something like that. And it's obviously there's a lot of people that are hating on it in the comments and whatnot. And I, I love it 'cause it's engagement no matter what. But I, I wasn't able to ride the coattails of that success because it was right when things started changing in my life to where I was like, well, I can't really make content anymore.
Uh. But what's next for me, man? I think, I think I'm just, I'm kind of [01:25:00] on the, that season right now where I'm just kinda like steady in what I'm doing and just listening to the Lord and seeing what he puts in front of me next. You know what I mean? I, I I, I used to suffer from always worrying about what's gonna happen next or the next thing I'm gonna do, or having the next career or a backup plan and stuff like that.
And lately I've more along the lines, like, that kind of draws my attention away from things that are important to me right now. And so I've really just trying to, been focused, focusing on the things that are happening in my life right now with work and my family and the Lord and stuff like that. So it's, it's, uh, it's hard to say where I'm gonna go next.
'cause I mean, things could change tomorrow, you know? It's, it's hard. It's hard. But I would like to, I would like to think that whatever happens or wherever I go, like I mentioned earlier, uh, I've been pretty successful at everything I've done. In my careers and my personal life and stuff like that with my marriage.
And so I would like to think, no matter what happens, I would, I'm gonna be successful at it, and it's gonna, and it's gonna work out in my favor in the long run. So,[01:26:00]
Riley: Beautiful Well, listen, where, where can you be found?
Travis Motl: uh, you could find me on Instagram, YouTube, anywhere, elbows tight at elbows tight, elbows tight.com, uh, stuff like that. I, I'm mostly, uh, elbows tight on podcasts or on pod, on Instagram. If you guys want to follow me on there. I haven't posted in a while too. Um. I actually took all social media off my, I told you this, I, I took all social media off my phone.
I felt like once again, I was doom scrolling. I was spending way too much time on social media and so I removed it from my phone. And now if I want to check my Instagram, uh, I don't get all the notifications. So it stops me from constantly being on there. Um, I have to go through the browser on my phone like Google Chrome.
And if you guys have ever tried browsing Instagram on like Google Chrome on your phone, it is a terrible experience. You do not want to hang out on it. So that's what kinda like keeps me from not staying on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and all that stuff for very long. 'cause [01:27:00] the experience is, they made the experience terrible for the web browser on your phone.
They want you to use the app, right? So, uh, but I, I'm on there a couple times a day, so if you guys follow me, message me or want to chat about something I said, or you have critiques or whatever you could find me, probably there's the best way to get ahold of me.
Riley: Alright, my friends, man, I, I'm honored you came on today. I'm, uh, it was really fun talking with you. wish you well in the next season of your life, kind of the stuff you've got going on, and can't wait to hear that podcast come back.
Travis Motl: Hey, man, I once again, dude, I am eternally grateful for ever humble, uh, about you letting me come talk on your podcast and give my testimony and, you know, having an open ear and, and heart to, to me, man. And I'm, I'm grateful for everything you've done for me too with, with sponsorship and just being there and helping me out, man.
So thank you so much for your time, guys. Make sure you guys give him a five star review down below. Make sure that you're spread it to your Fred's. Give a, give a share, [01:28:00] uh, let 'em know what your favorite part of the episode was. All that fancy stuff. Go, go check out salt electrolytes.
All the things down there.
Riley: your I love it. I love it. That's the
Travis Motl: Remember no oil checks here. Like
Riley: uh, we're not gonna explain to the non jiujitsu people what that means. Um,
Travis Motl: out. Riley, thank you so much, man.
been a pleasure.
Riley: Travis
Travis Motl: Thanks, man. Appreciate it.
[01:29:00]
← Older post Newer post →