Real(ty) Talk
Real(ty) Talk
Ken Shamrock's Powerful Journey Beyond the Ring
World-renowned fighter and motivational speaker Ken Shamrock shares his gripping journey from the WWE/UFC octagon to becoming a beacon of hope for at-risk youth. Broadcasting live from the Miramar Air Show, Suzanne Seini of Innovate Realty and Paul Hanson of Bye Bye House, are thrilled to sit down with Ken as he recounts his transformative friendship with Daniel Colvin from the Veteran Real Estate Group. Ken opens up about his challenging experiences during Marine Corps boot camp, revealing how overcoming personal adversities like a neck injury and the passing of his grandfather helped shape the warrior spirit he carries today.
Ken's story is one of resilience and reinvention. From his military aspirations to becoming a world champion in mixed martial arts, he has always demonstrated an unwavering respect for service members. Our conversation highlights his contributions to military training programs and his belief in better job opportunities for veterans. As we navigate through political landscapes and personal influences, Ken humorously entertains the idea of a presidential run, making for a lighthearted yet thought-provoking discussion on leadership and the power of strong role models.
In our exploration of personal growth, Ken dives into the importance of mentorship and community support, recounting his memorable Wrestlemania moments and the impactful lessons learned from wrestling stunts. We touch on the necessity of adapting to life's challenges and the potential benefits of innovative treatments like stem cell therapy. Wrapping up our episode, we celebrate Ken's steadfast perseverance and draw inspiration from his life story, encouraging listeners to embrace their opportunities and keep moving forward, no matter the obstacles.
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Stephen Couig:
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All right. Live from the Miramar Air Show. This is the Realty Talk podcast. We're super excited for today's episode. I always do an introduction for everybody, so to start, on your left we have the queen of the closing table.
Speaker 2:That would be me.
Speaker 3:CEO of Innovate Realty. That's sexy, right yeah.
Speaker 1:The CEO of Innovate Realty, suzanne Sini, I am Paul Hanson, I am the president of Bye Bye House and we've got Ken Shamrock Woo Me, ken Shamrock with us today. Well, thank you guys for saying that to me man.
Speaker 2:And do you guys know Ken? Because Paul is always giving nicknames, but you already have some nicknames, right? Yes, interesting, we've got the world's most dangerous man.
Speaker 1:That's what we've heard.
Speaker 2:Sitting next to us.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So you don't even have to come up with something new, Paul.
Speaker 3:It's already done. That was given to me by an actual station that was doing a series on the world's most dangerous food animals, person, and this was back in, I believe, 94 95 and they end up coming up with me being the world's most dangerous person or man yeah and that's how I came up with the nickname. And then got into pro wrestling and I go, hey, why don't you name the world's most dangerous man? And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's me, it just stuck.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's perfect they did it for you can't name yourself right, yeah, yeah, that's awesome, I love it.
Speaker 1:I, for you, can't name yourself, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's awesome, I love it. I was going to ask where you got the nickname. So that's awesome, that's great, yeah legitimate.
Speaker 1:So let's dive right in. You know I think it would be interesting to talk about how we all met. So you know, as I mentioned, suzanne is the CEO of Innovate Realty. It's a local. You know, as I mentioned, suzanne is the CEO of Innovate Realty. It's a local. You know we call it a. It's bigger than boutique now, it's an independent brokerage. In Southern California, we've got about 175 real estate agents that represent buyers and sellers, and one of those agents is an unbelievable human being. All of them are good, but this one in specific. You also know so Daniel Colvin has built this awesome brand, veteran Real Estate Group. He's very focused on providing opportunities to veterans.
Speaker 1:And that's how we were all connected. So do you mind sharing a brief story about how you and Daniel met and what your relationship is like?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it goes way back when, I believe in 93, I was over in Japan prior to that, but in 93 I got into the UFC and I started building a name for myself. And then Dan, my father actually met Dan first and then my father had actually brought him around to the gym and we ended up talking and just like with you guys, you kind of seeing that you know that kind of person that just kind of glows out of him. And so we connected right away and became great friends and I was going through my training and fighting and he was helping with promoting and doing different things of that nature with the gym.
Speaker 1:Cool.
Speaker 3:And then he ended up getting involved with this, like we all do. You know we get involved with somebody, we get married, you know life's great, you got a kid, things are going great, and then all of a sudden something comes apart.
Speaker 3:I don't want to get too deep into it but it's divorce, the separation, not like a vicious one where they're fighting with you, just kind of a separation. And I remember he was kind of struggling for a while and he came and lived with me and my wife Tanya and our family because we'd already built a relationship together and so we just tried to help navigate and get him through some difficult times and then once he kind of started seeing the light a little bit and getting himself his feet under him again, he just took off and became Dan all over again.
Speaker 2:I love that. That's awesome. Have you mentored others like that in that capacity as well?
Speaker 3:That's one of the other things that I do is I do motivational speaking. I also do testimonials. I grew up in a group home. I was locked up at the age of 10 years old, at 13, I ended up at a place called the Shamrock Boys Home. I spent from 13 to 18 at this home and ended up getting adopted by my dad, who was the one that introduced me and Dan. So my background is helping at-risk kids, being able to help people who are going through struggle times. It just so happened that Dan was just a real close friend at the time, that he was going through a lot of his struggles, that I was able to offer some help. Uh, but you know, truthfully, he was the one that did all the work and put himself back where he needed to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so so your background, because we have, you know, thousands of people that are going to listen to this. I'm sure most of them know who you are but for the ones that may not. Uh uh, you are a professional fighter in the ufc, a professional. I have some really interesting questions about the wwf and wwe, but you were a professional wrestler we're gonna argue about ufc or I?
Speaker 2:I know him as ww. Yes, definitely, definitely for those that don't know, I'm a big fan. I have. I go way back. We can talk about that.
Speaker 1:I have a great question centered around that, because I'm in the same boat. But before all of that you kind of reference it had a tough childhood. So you're born in Georgia. Yes, what was the rest of your childhood leading you to that point and what had you interested in? Mixed martial arts or fighting or wrestling? How did you get to that place?
Speaker 3:Well, at a young age you know five, six and I know this is crazy because a lot of people in their heads that live in middle class or upper class they don't wrap their head around five and six seven-year-old kids on the street by themselves when they have parents, or one parent at home that's at work and left home quite a bit, or babysitters that are supposed to watch them, just leave. Um, because you're in a lower class and that's kind of where I was, along with my two older brothers. We were left home a lot, yeah, uh, and you know a lot of times with no food. We didn't have toys. We'd take you know broken toys out of trash cans just to entertain ourselves. We'd fight all the time because nobody was watching over us. My biological mother then met somebody who moved to Napa, california, and there I got in more trouble. I got stabbed at 10 years old, stabbed. Stabbed At 10? At 10, same thing. I went to somewhere else with the same routine, same kind of people I hung around with not the good ones.
Speaker 3:I literally got stabbed behind. A 7-Eleven in Napa, california, ended up getting locked up in juvenile hall at 10. Wow.
Speaker 1:Because of that event.
Speaker 3:Because of that? Because prior to that, I was robbing stores and I did strong-arm robbery, where I was taking a lock blade and I'd walk up to kids that were going to school and I'd stick a knife up into their neck Not stick them, but put it to their neck and I would take their lunch money. Wow, no matter what the cost of that is, that's strong-arm robbery.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I ended up getting locked up, ended up going through several group homes, ended up going to the shamrock boys home, like I said a few years there.
Speaker 3:I became relevant because of sports, yeah and uh, you know, all of a sudden the world just changed for me because of the environment that I once was in and now I'm here, you know, in this environment. So I was really able to change a lot of things around. But it also gave me an opportunity. When you know, I broke my neck and I I get to where your question is but I broke my neck at 17 years old, in high school wrestling.
Speaker 3:And I had a halo on with chest plate. I lost my scholarships, I lost everything and everything I worked for to get to that point. And I remember I was depressed and I remember my father told me listen, you didn't come this far just to give up now. And literally I was told I couldn't play contact sports.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And he said listen, you can do whatever you want to do. You just got to put your mind to it, get yourself right and get you where you can start doing what you want to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I did that. Opportunities came my way. I ended up playing ball, did well, went to— Football Football. Yes, okay, yeah, I did well there. But then I had an opportunity to go to Japan, and this is where it began for me in my fighting was because when I went to Japan, I had an opportunity to sing what they called hybrid pro wrestling, which was like what you see now, but the ending was predetermined.
Speaker 3:But you see the punching, the kicking, all that, yeah, but the ending was predetermined and that was early on in Japan, and so I did that. I did really well at it, and then the guys that I was with decided that they wanted to figure out what it was like if it was real. And that's when they called Pancrase, which is the organization I went to Japan that I fought in.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:We did our first event there prior to UFC. I became the first champion in Japan UFC. I said so. I did it in 93, so 93, I was the first one UFC starts. I became the beginning of 93, I became the champion in Japan. The end of 93, ufc came out and I jumped from Japan to the US and fought in the UFC. One year later I became the UFC champion. Now the reason why I'm kind of explaining the whole story is that when you walk into this kind of fighting where it's literally no holds barred, there's no time limit.
Speaker 2:It's real.
Speaker 3:There's no time limit. It's real. There's no rules. I lived my life doing this without getting paid. Yeah, Now they're telling me hey, you want to do this and we're going to pay you.
Speaker 1:And I'm like, I'm not going to get arrested.
Speaker 2:Sign me up.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of that's where I got that mentality from was like I literally was groomed pretty much my whole life, dealing with life-threatening situations from the time that I could barely walk to where I became a young adult and then all of a sudden this thing came up to where now, all of a sudden, I can make a career out of it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so in preparation I watched a few fights UFC 1 and some of the other fights that you were in. To me I'm not so backdrop. I have an athletic background. I wrestled from, I think, 6 until high school with the Sanderson's in Utah, so Kale Sanderson, ed Sanderson, Roman Greco, you know and I was too tall and skinny so I wasn't any good but I did it. And to me, when I watched your wrestling and your success in your fighting and you kind of touched on it, but you always seem so relaxed in comparison to the person you're fighting and do you think that that was kind of your secret to success? Because you had lived that life?
Speaker 2:You're fearless at that point.
Speaker 1:And your ability to be calm in a moment of heavy distress. It's fight or flight. It's live or die. In that moment, your opponent is probably not at that same level. Is that what separated your success from other people, you think? Or was there something else?
Speaker 3:No, I think it was. I think that the idea of someone and again this was new someone says listen, anything goes, you're gonna walk in there. You kick them in the head on the ground, like basically a street fight.
Speaker 3:Right, there's no rules yeah, for 99.9 of the guys walking in there. They've never experienced that on a consistent basis, right, sure they've gotten into street fights and they've done these and they've also been really nervous when they've done it, right, yeah, where I lived my life from the time I could barely walk going through knives and being jumped and all these things. So now I'm standing in there going it's you and me.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like I don't got to worry about somebody behind me or getting shot or stabbed. I can do this.
Speaker 3:It's like this is easy yeah this is awesome. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So there's so many questions that we have now. I mean I'd love to learn a little bit more about your connection to the military as well and correct me if I'm wrong. You served, correct, no? Or you grew up on a base? No, born, yes, born on a base.
Speaker 3:No, yes, but there was a story there, because and I don't talk about it too much because I'm not proud of it but early on, obviously I was born in Macon, georgia, on Warner Robins Air Force Base.
Speaker 3:So, there was connections there, but that wasn't good. My father was never around, so that didn't go well. But my next experience was I did get into the Marine Corps and I believe it was in 86. I'm not sure, 85, 86, somewhere around there after I got done playing college ball and I'd already broken my neck by this right. I mean, I broke it in high school. So I'd already gotten past all that, never really thought about it and I figured I was going to go ahead and join the marine corps.
Speaker 3:it just sounded like something I could really get into. Yeah and uh, so it was in san, obviously. Here, uh, mcrd, the marine corps, san diego down here, and I was in it probably. I think it was a three-month boot camp and I think I had, uh, about two to three weeks left. We did mountain.
Speaker 1:I can't say motherfucker, right yeah, no, you can say anything you want, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So you did all that stuff and I was about two or three weeks away from graduating with my blues. I was a series honor guide the whole time through. Yeah, which doesn't happen, they're always switching them out. And I was just, I mean, when I went to the, the, the drill instructor, but the uh, the recruiter, I had broken my neck and I I revealed that, hey, you know, but I'd already played college ball, I already done all this, and I said I'm, I'm good to go, I can do PT, whatever. And he said yeah, don't worry about it. I said, okay, yeah, so I don't worry about it, I get in, I do the boot camp. I'm kicking ass 300 of my PTs.
Speaker 3:I'm just crushing it, I'm just killing it. Yeah, and you know how you're constantly going to sick, like getting checked out, always going through physicals, constantly. You're going to get things done, and so I was doing that. Now my head was shaved and I got holes in my head Like I've been shot, like there are holes here and here, and then in the front where when I broke my neck, I had the halo on.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, the bolts go into your head, chest plate on. So no one really ever said anything and I wasn't aware there was anything really wrong. I wasn't aware there was anything really wrong. We weren't hiding anything because I told them Yep, well, I go to the one I don't know, probably the final one going into the graduation or getting close to graduation. And they asked the question which and I've gone through I don't know how many physical tests already yeah, right, and nobody's ever said anything. But this one decided to ask me and I was like no big deal. Yeah. Decided to ask me and I was like no big deal. Yeah, I broke my neck when I was in high school.
Speaker 1:He's like it doesn't say it on here and I was like I don't know what.
Speaker 2:I disclosed it I have to imagine everyone else was like we are not going to say this because we want him. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3:And that's where it got real sticky, because when I was going through the problem, because when the when that started to circulate, it wasn't the Marine Corps that was giving me the hard time, it was the Navy because they were in charge of the sick bay.
Speaker 2:They were the ones that called the shots.
Speaker 3:So when I went in front of the medical board. It wasn't the Marine Corps calling the shots, it was the Navy Got it. So then, when I had to go to this room room which was a bunch of scumbags that were trying to escape, and I'm sitting in this thing and I'm like embarrassed that my senior would come- they don't want to leave and you want to be there but the senior would come and he would literally be coming every day talking to me and I said you got to get me out of here.
Speaker 3:He's like this isn't where I want to be. I remember he was trying hard to get me out, but one thing led to another. I go back to my barracks.
Speaker 3:They send me back and there's always these drill instructors that you've got, some that just are constantly nagging at you. They want to try to break you down, not in any old way, but that's just their job. Yeah Well, this one besides the senior pulled me in the office and told me that my grandfather had died. And this is after me being stuck in that building, they bring me back. We're getting things not clear yet but I'm sitting there with the windows all glared, all the people are in there getting their boxes together and I'm sitting in the office there and he tells me my grandfather died. And I started to tear up and he looked at me and he says what are you doing? You know how they do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I lost it, oh yeah, and jumped over the desk and one thing led to I ended up beating the tar out of the guy.
Speaker 1:That was UFC half. Yeah, that was, it just wasn't sanctioned.
Speaker 3:That was the real Ken Shamrock in fight mode.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but again like, but again like.
Speaker 3:I said I got an honorable discharge, they weren't going to. This is. The thing that they said was that the Navy couldn't take a risk on if something was to happen they would be completely responsible for liability. Yeah, well, you're here supporting now. So after that I became world champion over in Japan and the United States, here in America in the UFC, so you should have kept me yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3:I love it and now I'm actually four or five different bases. While I was training in the UFC, I actually trained the Marine Corps in Quantico. We went down there and trained the brass down there, the Army. I trained with them and worked with them in training them. The MCMAT program for the Marine Corps I changed that program to actually bring it up to date.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, so you are still a part of it, whether you were a part of it or not.
Speaker 3:Oh man, I have so much respect. I have so much respect for the men and women that are in our armed forces, man and the things that go on that they truly do not get to see because it's just not what people want to see. And they go about their lives every single day, these people walking up and down enjoying their time looking at all this stuff. They truly don't know what goes on behind the scenes of people that sacrifice their lives every single day. And we're out there giving immigrants opportunities to get jobs and we won't fill jobs with the Marine Corps or Army or Navy or Air Force. They should have these. They should have first right to jobs in this country yeah, totally agree.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a. It's a tough, you know subject to talk about in a podcast setting.
Speaker 3:But I mean, I open up a can of worms. No, no, no, it's great.
Speaker 1:I'm personally completely aligned.
Speaker 1:What we've said leading up to this election is that we are really, personally, I'm very disenfranchised by both sides, because I think the only thing that can really change the United States is an inspiring leader, where younger generations decide that they aren't given something.
Speaker 1:They got to go to work and we've got to change our spending behavior as a nation to get back to a place where we are dominant. And I'm freaked out about the current election cycle because there's so much divide. And I'm freaked out about the current election cycle because there's so much divide and I'm not really seeing that either one of those two people can connect the country in a way where we're all inspired. And I think back to the last person that I thought did a great job of that, and it's Reagan, and to me, when you look at that kind of a prolific figure, it's just you know we don't have that person today and and there is a better out of the two people, I think- well, I think where we're at right now, there's there's definitely a right, sure, there's a right choice, and it's not because one person is is a bad person.
Speaker 3:It's just one person, you know is going to stand the ground, it's gonna gonna actually fight and get things done in this country, sure, and not outside this country. And I think the thing the worst thing that's happened to our country is that we've allowed people in leadership roles to pit one side against the other. Yep, so is that there's so much hate that nobody wants to see what's right and wrong.
Speaker 3:All they want to know is they hate that person and they don't want him in and they think this person's a joke and they don't want that person in Both sides. But if you're just looking at policies and you're looking at like it used to be, where you're voting for things that would make the country better, then you can make a choice on whatever you believe are the things that you want to help your life.
Speaker 2:There's just a lot of distractions. Yeah, it's hate, it's all hate being created by leaders.
Speaker 1:I have a very good idea. Ken Shamrock, suzanne Sini, president, vice president. 2024 is not too late. There's a lot of logic, it makes a ton of sense. We can make it happen. You want to know what?
Speaker 3:I ain't touching that job.
Speaker 1:We have 700,000 people here today. Let's get it done.
Speaker 3:We're launching today. One guarantee you can guarantee this is that when you do that, you got at least half the people are going to hate you and the other half is going to love you.
Speaker 2:There's no way you can have all of you. Yeah, so, before we close out, because you talked about your dad with me personally and I can really tell that he made I mean it sounds like the most impact on your life, and you shared with me some stories about him, kind of putting you in check a little bit and being that person. Stories about him kind of putting you in check a little bit and being that person. So what did that mean to you and your career, and even you know where you are today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think one story that and there's a lot of different things between my young life in the group, home and then as an adult. There's a lot of transitions that happened where he was a big component of being able to help me make good decisions. But I remember that he came to me one time prior to well, actually I want to go back to the actual part. Where it gave me confidence in him was like when I was in the hospital when I broke my neck. I was clamped down in this bed and I was flat like if I was watching tv, had to be through a mirror because I had broken my neck so I couldn't move. So they flipped me over.
Speaker 3:I remember he was in there and I got depressed because I felt like my life was over, because the only thing I had to do was sports. I remember he said to me he goes listen, you could pout all day. I mean it was hard, right, it wasn't like sugar-coating. He says you can pout and cry and do all this stuff. He said, but you were the only one that could change the direction of your life. Doctors can't do it, I can't do it, you're the only one that can do it. And I'm thinking to myself like and I'm a 17-year-old kid laying there with my life being was all sports and scholarships and all these other things, being told that it's over, right. And he's like dude, yeah, do something about it, you decide if it's over, it's on me, and so I remember like he's right.
Speaker 3:So I went out and did a bunch of things, got myself in healthy, went and you know, played ball, did all these things and got to a certain place, to where I was successful. And I remember he came to me as I was starting to climb that ladder and he said listen and it's wise words, I think you tell anybody that's getting into a position where they can become a super celebrity and he said you need to make sure that you find one or two people that you know that you can go to when you feel like the world just doesn't make sense, like you don't know what's right, you don't know what you're doing, you're numb, you don't know what's right and wrong. You think that you're doing things the right way.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And he said you need to find that person. That's what you're doing, without any I'm trying to protect your feelings or anything, I just tell you straight. And I was like, okay, and I remember I kept that stored in my brain and I remember I got to a point to where it was probably three, four years into my career as champion I'd won all these belts and everything was free. I go into nightclubs. They would give me, hey, that, right, there is some power man. Yeah, live at the air show. Yes. So he said, just make sure that that person's going to tell you straight when everything becomes confused. And I said, oh, all right.
Speaker 3:So I remember I got into my career, quite a bit into there, and I was partying and I was having good times and women and drugs and alcohol and everything was just given, it was free. And my world just becomes so spawned that I couldn't see the right and the wrong and I was so lost that I didn't know what the right direction was. And I remember, and I I remember what he told me. So I went to him and I said am I screwing up? I remember he said to me he goes, Ken says, if you don't change your life right now. He says everything that you've worked for, everything that you have accomplished, is going to be over. Wow, that clear. He said what you're doing is you're ruining the reputation that you have built. All the good things that you have done for people are all going to mean nothing if you don't change your life now.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I did. I remember I looked at him and I was like I'm that bad. And he shook his head.
Speaker 1:All right, welcome back. We had a brief intermission for airplanes.
Speaker 3:We're obviously live at the air show and you should have seen them, man. They were unbelievable powerful planes, man.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think we had an F-16 at maybe 100, 200 feet.
Speaker 2:It felt very close. Let's just put it that way, Okay so 1998.
Speaker 1:Wrestlemania there's a few different matches that we would love to get your opinion on, but obviously we have to ask the question about the chair shot. So you know most people ask was this real, is it fake? Walk us through the chair shot with the Rock.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, there's one thing that when people ask it, they're all like they absolutely have absolutely no thought of it being fake at all. Right With the way that chair went. But what they do ask is how bad did it hurt or was I hurt? Yeah, I kind of laugh too, because I'm a fighter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I take punches.
Speaker 3:For three, four, five years I fought at the highest level, sparring and fighting, and then that chair shot. The one thing I learned how to do was roll with punches and be able to roll when you're getting hit.
Speaker 3:The second thing is I always knew where the strongest part of my head was, which is my forehead. Now, when you see other people take chair shots, it's always the side of the head, top of the head, back of the head, and I was like you're not hitting me there. And a rock says we'll want to do the chair shot. He says I said okay, I'll tell you what hit me in the face. Wow, I'll give you not. I told him that we were in the locker room and I said dude, swing for face, I'll take care of the rest. And he looked at me and said I ain't doing that. And I was like, bro, if you don't do it, I ain't selling it.
Speaker 3:And he looked at me and he was like are you sure? And I said yeah, you swing from my face, I'll take care of the rest. He goes all right. And I remember looking at him right before goes, oh, I'll swing it. That's amazing. Well, people who saw the actual match, he swung it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's hard.
Speaker 3:But what they have to realize is that we're professionals in there also, right, right, and I knew how to roll with punches. Nobody's ever taken a shot like this before. It's always in the top of the head or the back of the head and that just wasn't going to happen because I wanted to see it coming. Yeah, and so I remember, after he gives me the shot, boom, I go down on my knees and I remember looking at him and he got the chair in his hand and I'm looking at him in the eyes and I said you better bring it. And he looked at me. He gave me the old IROC. Oh, I tell you, the worst thing about the chair shot was the sound. I swear I felt like my eardrums broke, like boom.
Speaker 2:Was it basically what we just heard at the air show?
Speaker 3:I mean that's what it felt like to me Like.
Speaker 2:I couldn't hear a thing.
Speaker 3:But as far as pain-wise, I didn't hardly feel it, because when he swung it at me just as the chair got there, I put my chin down like I would in a fight and it literally caught my forehead and the chair bent around my head. But it made such a loud noise in the arena that everybody thought he killed me. To this day I can't convince fans that I didn't feel hardly anything. They're like you're lying, you're not telling the truth, and I was like I'm telling you the truth, man yeah it was the greatest chair shot ever in a wrestling match.
Speaker 2:Okay, I have a question Tag team match two people or tag team who are you picking to be on your team?
Speaker 3:Oh, there's no question in my mind right now. It's going to be Stone Cold, Steve Austin and Dwayne the Rock Johnson.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay okay, that's it man.
Speaker 3:And there's other great ones. There's Bret Hart, who was a tactician.
Speaker 2:I loved Bret Hart. I was a big Bret Hart fan and you're going to laugh at my other one, but Chris Jericho was my other he was clever. My other, he's clever. I was a huge Chris Jericho fan.
Speaker 3:He's clever man. He was a clever one, yes, yes, but he was a snake.
Speaker 1:Yes yeah, austin 316. He was like the spear right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, austin red hard, stone cold. Even the entertainment. It's just Shawn Michael. I worked with him and he was just unbelievable. There's just a lot of really good guys during that attitude era, so cool yeah.
Speaker 1:So, so how have you been able to take care of your body? I mean, we got to spend a little bit of time today together. I mean, you know I'm not trying to age you, but you've been through a lot right and you look awesome. I mean, I've been around other wrestlers and professional football players who are really banged up. So walk me through your routine and what you eat and what's been able to keep you operating at such a high level.
Speaker 3:I think that what's going to shock most people is it's not about the weight and the time you spend in the gym, because when you train like I did, from the time I was 13 years old, all the way until I was 52 years old, I was fighting and I was training at a very high level. I was fighting and I was training at a very high level. So when I got into a point where I think I was 56 at the time where I started to back off and I did three times a week and then it got probably about two years ago I got maybe once or twice a week and now it's probably once, maybe every two weeks. And the one thing that you'll learn about your body is your body always stores the work that you put in years before it will.
Speaker 3:What happens with people who continue to keep working hard is you see them shrink up and they look like they're getting old and they keep training hard and it's like you can't do that. You got to back up. Let your body rest, let it be able to absorb all the years of training that you put in to be able to catch up to you now, and that's kind of what I've done. I slowed it way down. I train maybe once or twice a week. Sometimes, if I'm traveling, I won't train at all. It's not mandatory, yeah, but the one thing that you got to make sure that you do is rest and that you're getting your rest, because with that work that you put in over the years and the multiple times and the hard change you put in, it is time for your body to catch up, and the way your body catches up is through rest and making sure you're resting properly. I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but major injuries as well, so stem cells.
Speaker 3:What have you?
Speaker 1:played around with.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I tell you what man. There was a time probably around 54, I would say it felt like when I went into the gym and I was doing dumbbell presses Before I was doing 150 pounds, anywhere from 12 to 15 reps. Yeah, I got to a point as I got older that I was doing 25 and 35 pounds and I was struggling because I had no power and it all due with damage into my shoulders and neck because of the broken neck and shoulder injuries.
Speaker 1:Probably the chair shot oh yeah, that right there. Yeah, Probably how old you are.
Speaker 3:But so you know, it just felt like my body was just shutting down, even though I was backing up and I was letting it rest. It just felt like I just had no energy and that I wasn't recovering. I remember somebody actually kind of pitched me this stem cell thing, and this was back when I was 54, and I'm 60 now, so it was a while back. But they were doing it in Medellin, colombia, and they kept telling me if you do it here, they have regulations and you're not going to get the amount you need for what you've done to your body. You need a whole bunch of them to go in there and be able to fix what you've done.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I was like yeah, I never wanted things. I don't do flu shots, I don't do COVID shots, I don't do anything that, unless it's something that I feel my body had needed.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 3:Well, I was at a point where I felt like I needed something and he kept saying man, I'm telling you, this thing will help rejuvenate you, recover, you know, heal those, those, those um, tears and and uh damages that have been done in there. It'll take time, but eventually it'll heal. So I said, okay, I'll do it. And so I went to Medellin and I remember getting it done. I remember the next two days I couldn't hardly even put my clothes on and I was so, so sore Because they did my whole body Like I did all my knees, my wrists, my shoulders all the joints.
Speaker 2:Were you thinking like what?
Speaker 3:did I do, I did, I'm like man, I'm beat up. But I remember it was probably about three or four months in. I remember noticing like wait a minute. I started working out again. I started feeling like I had energy, I was vibrant and I remember just thinking to myself was there something that just snapped in here? I feel like Superman. It was like a gradual process. I just noticed one day like I'm not struggling getting up. Yeah, and I'm in there and I've started to work 60 pounds, do 20 reps with dumbbells because I'm not going to go heavy. And I was like man, I'm doing this pretty good. And I remember thinking to me that's got to be the stem cells. And six months in it got better. And up to this day I have not gone back and done the stem cells again. I could if I wanted to. But I felt like man, this thing had got everything. You know talking about the founding youth, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know I was bad, you know that stuff is not possible. I'm telling people, if there ever was a founding youth, that's it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:That is it and I swear by it. Now, I'm not saying this is going to work for everyone. Sure, you got to have a certain kind of damages and things that are going on your body that can be healed right, and I believe I had those over the years and years of training, stressing my body out. Yeah, this was the perfect combination for me.
Speaker 1:yeah, awesome, got it. We'd love to wrap on on a real estate focused question. You know we, uh daniel, is such a prolific agent in our business, such a figure in the community. Uh, you know the, the veteran real estate company right, is focused on helping current enlisted members, you know, achieve the dream of home ownership which everybody should be doing yeah, yeah, the whole world should be focusing on our military.
Speaker 1:Yeah we agree, but we'd love to hear a story. You know, good, bad, right, wrong any sort of story that Ken Shamrock has experienced in real estate.
Speaker 3:Well, I'll tell you this, and I'll be completely honest, man, I'm normally not the one involved in any transactions. I have an agent that usually brings me things and I'll read through them and I'll say yay or nay. My wife is the one that really kind of does the final say. Smart man she just puts a paper in front of me and says sign here.
Speaker 2:There is nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 3:I truly was never really truly involved in actual sale. I mean, I've got walk-through. Do you like it, hon? Do you think yeah, do you love it honey? Yeah, I'm like okay, cool, that's it.
Speaker 2:That's about it right there, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I say to any man out there, honeydew just say, yes, baby, it's good. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:That's awesome you like it. Well, amazing. Thank you so much for being here today. We really appreciate all your insight. I feel like we learned so much. You know what I can say. Obviously, we don't know each other that well, but you're just such a great human being. And I mean you know the interaction we've had. We can just tell how genuine you are. You're giving back to people and, you know, helping Daniel at a time of need, and that's how we're all connected. So yeah, just a hundred thank yous.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Uh, such an impressive, impressive life and you know. Thanks again for coming on the show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely an inspiring story for everyone out there. You know it's um, especially on a real estate um podcast. It's usually happy and you know, um, it's a little different. So we appreciate your perspective and you really are such an inspiring figure to so many people. So well, thank you, and I just leave this with what people out there are watching.
Speaker 3:you know there was a point in time in my life where, when I broke my neck, where I did everything right I know I've done everything wrong prior to that and I got to a point where I did everything right. I know I'd done everything wrong prior to that and I got to a point where I did everything right. And then, you know, this thing happens. It was out of my control, I ended up breaking my neck. I mean, it just happened at 17 years old and I had my whole life in front of me and it was just taken away. And I think everybody I mean everybody, whether you do it when you're a teen or when you're an adult go do different things in their life where you feel like there's no way out. And I say this you got to get up, put one foot in front of the other and you will find the door you're supposed to go through. Just got to keep working at it.
Speaker 1:I love that all right, thank you so much. That is a wrap on our realty talk podcast live from the air show ken shamrock.
Speaker 2:Thank you next time.