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Udaya Yoga, Dead lifting, Yoga Warriors - Rudy Mettia has been chosen as Yoga instructor of the year on 4 different occasions in Los Angeles. Think about that...of the 1000's of instructors, Rudy has been selected more than once, wow.
This episode, the Pete's (Pete Koch, Pete A Turner) met with Rudy at Q's on Wilshire in LA to talk about healthy living, maintaining actives bodies and how to harden ourselves against old age. A quick celebratory note for Pete Koch who's got a national Apple ad currently running. That's a huge success for our favorite former Raiders player. Get more of Rudy in a variety of places- His book, his websites are absolute treasure troves of motivation, improvement and wellness. |
Power Yoga Yoga Warrior 365 Udaya Yoga
Haiku
Rudy Mettia
You must move weight to love
Udaya Yoga
Similar episodes:
Tim Kennedy
Jay Lamm
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Haiku
Rudy Mettia
You must move weight to love
Udaya Yoga
Similar episodes:
Tim Kennedy
Jay Lamm
Jim Mora Jr
Transcription
Jon Leon Guerrero 0:00
Hey, this is john Leon Guerrero. Our guest today is Rudy Mettia. If you know the world of yoga, especially if you live in Southern California, Rudy needs no introduction, but for the end initiated. He's one of the most engaging practitioners of movement and wellness and mindfulness out there. And he's putting it out to the world and his new book yoga warrior, the Jagat road to enlightenment.,,,
Hey, this is john Leon Guerrero. Our guest today is Rudy Mettia. If you know the world of yoga, especially if you live in Southern California, Rudy needs no introduction, but for the end initiated. He's one of the most engaging practitioners of movement and wellness and mindfulness out there. And he's putting it out to the world and his new book yoga warrior, the Jagat road to enlightenment.,,,
Jon Leon Guerrero 0:00
Hey, this is john Leon Guerrero. Our guest today is Rudy Mettia. If you know the world of yoga, especially if you live in Southern California, Rudy needs no introduction, but for the end initiated. He's one of the most engaging practitioners of movement and wellness and mindfulness out there. And he's putting it out to the world and his new book yoga warrior, the Jagat road to enlightenment. That jagged road started when Rudy's father died when he was just a baby, and his mother raised him on her own until she passed away when he was just nine years old. He struggled through 20 different foster homes by the time he was 18. And by then he probably joined the Marines just to take it easy a little, but serving made him a warrior. When he got out he rode with biker gangs made his living for a time as a bouncer. He knows all about strengthening and conditioning the body like forging metal, but he became a first time father at age 50 is a beautiful little daughter, and he's centered like few other people you will ever meet. This episode is brought to you by Pete and Pete. But make no mistake, I'm a huge follower of Rudy, and I love everything about him just as much as the Pete do. And while we're on the subject, Pete catch that fuckers in a national commercial for Apple of all things. So keep your eyes open for it. No pun intended. It's the commercial where Pete's iPhone recognizes him. When he rolls over and just barely opens one eye. It's clever. You're going to dig it. Congratulations to Pete catch everybody follow Pete catch on Insta, you'll be glad and follow Rudy Redy Mettia on Instagram, as well on Facebook, wherever you can get ahold of him. He's got YouTube videos, he will enlighten your ass and get you moving and get moving. And as always, if you dig what we're doing, please subscribe on YouTube and turn on those notifications by ringing that bell or give us those five stars in iTunes and drop a review on us. It helps the show get profiled and noticed and we share love and appreciate you for doing it. And for listening in. Here's our guest today you are going to fucking love this guy a lot. We all do. Just you wait. Here's Rudy Mettia
Joel Manzer 2:10
lions rock productions
Jay Mohr 2:15
This is Jay Mohr.
Jordan Harbinger 2:16
This is Jordan harbinger
Unknown Speaker 2:18
from the Navy Sebastian youngsters Rick Marotta,
Unknown Speaker 2:20
Stewart Copeland.
Jon Leon Guerrero 2:23
Scott Baxter, Gabby Reese. Rob LE this is Johnny and gray. And
Pete Turner 2:27
this is Pete a T urner
Rudy Mettia 2:31
Hi its Rudy Mettia with squat box gym.com and you are listening to it on the break it down show.
Niko Leon Guerrero 2:38
And now the breakdown show with john Leon Guerrero and Pete a Turner.
Pete Turner 2:45
Yes, yes. I'm going to turn it over to Pete.
Pete Koch 2:47
Yeah. Pete and Pete is Pete at it again. My old friend Rudy Mettia. Thanks for sitting down with us today. I told Pete Turner that I've got one of the most interesting people in the 30 years that I've lived in Hollywood, and I think he'd be great asset to the show Rudy Mettia aka Rudy Smith.
Rudy Mettia 3:03
So long story, yeah. Not criminal related or legit.
Pete Koch 3:08
Rudy and I met many, many years ago when Rudy was the and this isn't just opinion this is factual or the number one doorman in Hollywood and he operated at the door of the most coveted nightclubs to get into what all the stars and the multi millionaires and the this the they wanted to get into. And they had to get to get through that impossible line. And to get into the hottest clubs in Hollywood yet to get through Rudy with his purple sport jacket.
Rudy Mettia 3:37
Yeah. That purple is sports jacket was it was inspired by Magic Johnson in 1989 or something. You know, it's funny because that job was coveted. You know? And you think doorman That's terrible. But the fact of the matter is, and the vanity in the powerful of people in Hollywood issue, one time friend of mine named Mark, he kind of took over where I left off. He was named the 100 most powerful person in Hollywood because he's a doorman a star at what was it the gate and no nothing up there by the Mondrian hotel, the
Pete Koch 4:07
sky Bar, yes.
Rudy Mettia 4:08
Back in the day, so it was a pretty good four seasons job and it actually opened so many doors for me that would have never had opening ever in my life as a country boy coming from a pig farm and you know, North Carolina, but I digress.
Pete Koch 4:19
But I just like to always mention to people Rudy is as you'll hear in just a second I want to get to the the yoga warrior 365 your your your legacy there. But out of the gate from North Carolina moraine served our country proudly thank you for your service. Beyond that educated at East Carolina University pirate,
right. Yeah, didn't last long. lasted about a semester half of I came out of the Marines. East Carolina University was 30 miles away from Cherry point North Carolina was stationed and I was 22. We had a football team. We had all marine football team, I played linebacker, and I think Terry long was training to the gym down yet that you know, Terry Terry long was training down at NFL he was telling me Who says you shouldn't you can walk on East Carolina and give a shot. So with the East Carolina for a month, and that's going to try to walk on that twist my ankle on the first on the first thing and being a walk on 22 years old. I didn't get a lot of time to heal or anything. So that was it. I was there for about a month and I was all
Yes, yes, sir. It's a tough business. You know, it's not a business life in college is highly competitive. But at least you got a little taste of that. I respect that. And we're about same age. But at the same time, I was playing football at the University of Maryland, you're doing some things there. But not long after that. And you got the Hollywood the doorman thing, but I want to I want to and then we'll work our way back. But I want to talk about the fact that yoga warrior 365 is a brand those people that are yoga aficionados are familiar with and you diet company that facilitates these amazing products. And you're that you're the man, you are the yoga warrior. And this is something to be very, very proud of. It's something that you've built up over the span of half a decade, I suppose. And so here I just just to paint the picture for the folks at home, six feet one inches tall, 240 pounds 9% body fat, deadlift 500 pounds, and is a world class yoga instructor. And in this not just my opinion that you've been cited in the yoga magazines around the world, for your ability to get into these challenging positions, to instruct people at the highest level that you do you lead from the front. Very few people I dare to say the only man on the planet that can do both the carry so much yoga skill, and athleticism and mobility and flexibility. And couple that with a 500 pound deadlift, a 300 pound plus bench press etc. How does that happen?
Jon Leon Guerrero 6:34
Well, it doesn't have as much as they used to. And I'm actually better. I think, honestly, transparency, I'm probably better at teaching it than I am doing it. I can do it. But you know, the statue mentioned six foot and 200 we're about to 25. Now, it's hard to get into some of what we think consider yoga poses that are contemplative. So I think what I've done that has helped me and Los Angeles, I was named Best yoga teacher for different times and thought Los Angeles says that she is the mecca of yoga in the West and the greatest teachers in the world live here. So I'll take that I'll take those acknowledgments with a grain of salt because there's some amazing teacher I look up to here in this town. But I think what happens is I took something that could be complex and and approachable. And I didn't dumb it down. But I simplified it a little bit. I didn't see a reason to sit on my butt, put my foot between my behind my head, or do a one hand handstand, although that looks pretty cool. And I like to be able to do it. But I thought it was more about loading the joints maintain a periphery range of motion, you know, our talents are taken away from us at the very edges, right? We used to be able to sprint, now we're just walking right now we start to lose those abilities that the edge. So if we just reach out to the edge and tap those ranges of motion efficiently, and as you mentioned earlier, something functionally, I think it helps I think maybe not dumbing it down but maybe making it more accessible for that really good. I think I bring a lot of people to it who are not the things you mention about being an athlete, man causes usually 70% women, maybe women' s dudes will see that and say if that can can do it I can do it. You know, so maybe that helps with the, with the acknowledgement I've gotten in yoga.
Pete Koch 8:09
That's a great point. I think so Yoga is that 70% women, and that's instruction works out about the same statistically about it's instructed by women more times than not it is
and I think most of the hierarchy. I think it's very funny. I like to when I practice, I practice with women as women teachers, and then I had usually my class maybe 80% women, right? So it's funny, most women it seems like a teacher practice where the man and me as a man like to practice with a woman I may I may be an outlier best where I like
it. I remember a few years ago, I ran into youth kind of randomly and shoot Rudy, I hadn't seen you in so long where you been? And you you told me that you were in had been in India. That's what brought you to India. And you said I was learning.
Unknown Speaker 8:50
Yeah, I was learning the yoga thing. I mean, everyone's doing when I first got in I was wearing beads and I was chanting and I was playing harmonium and doing Vedic chanting Na Na that's so I thought that's what Yogi's did. I mean, I let that go a little bit, because that doesn't make us more about the physicality of it. That's what appealed to me. So I went there. I think I need to learn that but very funny. Yoga in America is so different from yoga and India and India, they just sit and meditate and that's their yoga here. If you're not doing a handstand, you know, not any good at it. So it's funny that discussion. As a matter of fact, yoga came to America but hundred years ago, because the sage said, If Yoga is going to survive, because at the time was dying in India as a practice, they said if it's going to survive this and survive in the West, it's going to survive on the backs of the women. And sure enough, under years later, surviving on the back of women, okay, now if you come to the newest era, listen, the last 30 years in America, all sudden Madonna started doing yoga. Remember back in the day? Yeah. So then everyone starts doing yoga and Robert Downey is doing yoga, David, the company's doing yoga and the list goes on and on and on now. So now it's peaked and it's valid, it's plateaued and it's it will go
Pete Turner 9:54
on. You know, what I think about yoga, I first came back from combat, I tried doing it come order to get more suppleness and my joints. My joints are just beat up. Yeah. But I struggle a lot because it is, in my mind a very feminine practice. And so it's taught by women a lot of times who don't identify with like, a bulky male body in a lot of ways. I don't like like for me, downward dog. impossible to do. my triceps blow out. And I don't get I do n't get any benefit from the position and everybody will argue it. Yeah, well, it's okay. And like no, but I'm just with standing like my triceps only thing getting any kind of real
Unknown Speaker 10:29
triceps a burning up and you bet to come at the post. We don't feel he got anything other than the triceps on fire.
Pete Turner 10:34
That's exactly my point.
Rudy Mettia 10:35
Yeah, I've been that to this I called tricep domination where they dominate the push position. Yeah. Well, you know, you're missing out on the whole philosophical underpinning of the yoga practice. Sure. Right. Where it's like unattached Yeah, you know action without expectation. Yeah, this and do the best I can. That's what happens with dudes right. We're competitive type of thing. Well,
Pete Turner 10:53
let me say this parts you like so again, I just come back from combat zone. So the teachers like, I want you to I paid for some private lessons. Like I see the Rose Garden over there mechanic shop folk. I see every sec not laser, not laser at a Mac. Right. Soft book. And it
Pete Koch 11:11
is almost like everything's blurry. Yeah. Because if everything sharp on the outside, on the inside, so you soften your gaze. You ever seen a Buddha statue like this? Yeah. Never. always like this, right? Because they're looking inward. I'm doing it wrong. Yeah, so that harshness that horses this way. creates a harshness inside a not heart wise bait. tension. Right? If I'm looking at someone, I'm about to kick their ass. I'm wired ready to go. Right. So that stare at somebody that deaths they're creating, you know, you look at somebody younger, you know, and they're your body reacts to that thing. It's instinctual, right fight or flight. Let's go right now. So yeah, you got a gun that will come right at combat for I see, that could be a sniper behind that.
Pete Turner 11:52
That was my whole thing was I trying to get past that part? Like, I love the mental part and the spiritual part. But I struggled to get to that spot physically where it kind of got a tuned patient, you know? Well, yeah, fair enough. Thanks, Tom.
Pete Koch 12:04
Yeah, I mean, when you do want it, when you're paying for classes that can be expensive, and how long how much you can invest in that kind of time, right? So it's almost better to go somewhere where you can get a lot of yoga for less money and let it let it take root. You know, plant the seed lead time. So I know I was a kid, I used to take the seeds. And I plan a secret. I worked on the farmers when I live in an orphanage when I was a kid. And we had a farm that we worked on. And we planted all the time and I would take my own seed and plant in the backyard. And soon as I planted I got the next day dig it up to see if there's sprouted Well, that's like the practice you can't dig up your practice every day. See if it's sprouted, you just planted your water and you assume that's growing, you know. And that's how the yoga practices sound is it to get to a 500 pound deadlift, right? I'm a to 25 a day I'm going to be at 230 next week, and then next week by project this out. In 18 months, I'll be at 375. And the body in the yoga case becomes more malleable and becomes more receptive to the movements and the body and the strength case becomes stronger. The connective tissues and ligaments, the tendons, they become stronger. And the whole body strengthens as you practice that patients as you go towards 500 or you go towards a Down Dog. Yeah, right. So it's really the same thing for yoga teaches us is the same thing. It's not attachment patients as I go to it towards us as I put one foot in front the other and keep chopping away at it. As a yoga say chopping wood carrying water chopping wood carrying water, they asked the Yogi's, what do you do before you became enlightened? I chopped wood and carried water. What do you do afterwards? I chopped wouldn't carry water, you know,
like that? Is it fair to say that strength training and yoga are Yin and Yang.
Unknown Speaker 13:40
I think that Pete you know, as well as I do, maybe better so that the body has to be progressively overloaded to become Shonda you can get to a certain level of strength doing calisthenics. But what kind of strength is that that's more endurance isn't it's not maximum strength, the ability to create force against your external object. So yoga would take you so far, strength wise, but I see people my classes now for 20 years. And it's fine because they're not chasing what we're chasing. But their body hasn't changed a bit. Matter of fact, maybe they got heavier, maybe they got weaker, maybe they haven't improved at all. But you give me the same person in strength training, and they're going to change because it's going to force an adaptation, yoga before snap PEX. 90. Yes, it works for about nine days. And then it's over. Because it will you not adapt past that unless you progressively work harder, more volume, more frequency, more more load, right? So I think it is I do both, like I trained four days a week, and then I try to get my yoga in two or three times a week, the science, the yoga community will hate me because the science on static stretching isn't so good anymore. know if you read about it. So as far as what static stretching does for you, athletically is not very good. What does for you mentally is beautiful, because it's a form of the way I teach it is a form of meditation, insight meditation, I'll say things like, feel the heal the right foot, bear down and turn the foot counterclockwise without turning the foot. And that will resonate into the hip joint, for example, some weird, esoteric shit like that. So mine's more meditative. And so when I train people in yoga, I don't expect her by doing anything. So what we're doing is this Mom, I expect them look the same way in 20 years, unless, of course, they get crazy and clamp their diet and do something else. But strength training is totally different. So I think it is the yen to the strength training Yang, I do. But I think Conversely, the strength training can be performed, just like yoga is performed with a connection to the breathing connection to feeling the muscles working just like you doing yoga, right? Today's the same, the psychological harassment is about the same, there's no psych up, there's no big fired up things, you know, it's just a constant steadiness
Pete Koch 15:49
Can everybody who engages in strength training benefit from yoga or form of stretching, and vice versa, because we've got, you know, a huge part of the population that's either taking a yoga class, and now these, you know, actually identified kind of stretch classes, which I think is kind of cool, too. And yet, there's a lot of people that go and take a yoga class, but they never engage in any strength training throughout the course of their life. So is this a way to optimize your body, the strength and the and the yoga?
Rudy Mettia 16:16
Yes. Now at this stage of my life with what I've learned, and what I've experienced, if you took one of these two things away from me, the strength training or the yoga, and I had no choice, I would say, take the yoga, I can give what the yoga gives me sitting in a chair and meditating, but I can't get from strength training, anything that any other place them from strength training, the loading the joints, the restoration, and if not the, the conserving mus cle mass. And you and I talked in gym one day, we thought maybe that number was a half a pound a year or a pound a year, whatever wasting whatever it was sacarthapy, or whatever that name is, for the wasting and how that affected longevity, how that affected independence. Um, if you want to have a nursing home longer maintain your muscle mass, because the minute you get frail, I mean, you start to lose your independence. I mean, hormonally what it does for you, cardiovascular, what does for you, metabolism, your insulin sensitivity. So to maintain and to restore muscle mass, I think is the ultimate fight every single day. Everything even as pro LIC, pro athletes, you know, they leave your your anomaly, they leave their the specimen, then you see him six months later, 300 pounds are way out of shape overweight. And I understand I think I understand for professional athletes, like Michael Jordan, even you're in such a peak performance on the edge of this thing at all times anything of less now you wants to use, I would imagine, right? I would imagine,
Pete Koch 17:47
I think so I think some guys do get discouraged by the they're no longer have this great challenge when they're training so and I went through a period that was about three or four years, that when my NFL days and did before I really got a handle is probably three, four or five years for really got a handle on, on how I was going to go about the training as a lay person for the rest of my life. And then I kind of Finally, well, it's still evolving all these years later, I'd have gone through different phases where I'm more bodybuilding centric, versus more power, lifting centric, and then incorporating and CrossFit as a stone of CrossFit gym and had went through that CrossFit training was really, really neat. That pulled me back into the Olympic lifts, and sort of energized me in a certain way and some flight metrics and jumping on boxes. And yeah, that was interesting, too. And I do I think they have their place in a general fitness program. I do. I do. But it's it's, you know, in that but it needs to be the program needs to be unique to that individual to optimize their result.
Yeah. And, and their risk reward or have you
Pete Turner 18:50
measure, you know, yeah, like with the CrossFit, you want to compete as an adult and I, every time I have a friend, I'm going to do a prospect something and they're doing like, you know, however many representing four minutes, like it's a torture chamber, I can't stand watching because I see bent backs and bad form and just getting the weight off the ground. And I'm just like, oh, you're gonna hurt. And you know, and I know that people get hurt doing that,
Rudy Mettia 19:11
I mean, the rate of injury in that I just read a study. Now take it with a grain of salt, you can always you can always read a study towards your biases. But something about 50% within the first year of cross fitters get tweaked to hurt in some way. You know, I love what CrossFit is done is cutter it's it's trade this boom in this industry, that now more interested in that I am in the yoga industry, to be honest with you, because I just done yoga now for 20 years. I'm not bored with I just want to grow into another aspect. And the answer your question earlier Pete? I don't know if they're stretching now with the new science of stretching. I wouldn't include the stretching necessary static, dynamic stretching like I see you do sometimes. That's kind of stuff I get it. But the static stretching, I think teams now undefeated sex with the Raiders of the chiefs, with teams now don't do a lot of static stretching the game, I don't think it's more of a dynamic thing. Can you give us kind of like a 32nd primer on the difference between the two, what static stretching peak about give you a better dynamic stretching? I could the static stretching is like going into a lunge position and holding it for like, a minute. Right? And maybe jumping back and forth in that lunch position. Right. Okay. Something like that. Yeah.
Pete Koch 20:19
Yeah. dynamic stretching or kinetic stretching? Yeah, yeah. So it says movement than the stretching in the old. We all remember from gym class, sit on the ground and extend your your leg and then try to touch your nose to your neighbor. Yeah. And hold that for 10 a 10. second count, you know, those those days, what they've, what they've determined through sports science, is that stretching that way a static whole stretch before an athletic performance, let's say before a tennis match before you are going to throw the jab is going to actually diminish your your your athletic performance and sort of deadens the nervous system. Fine. You want the nervous system and the muscles to be excited. Yeah, for taking on a you know, a peak perform from your body. So the place for static stretching might not be totally gone. But it might be the best place to position it for an athlete might be at the end of the workout.
Yeah, I think that's that's more clear. I the studies that did we were prior to performance, because the explosion of contract without power that muscle for 24 hours, and we have Yeah, for 24 hours was somewhat limited. Not limited, but somewhat diminished. diminished. Yeah, compromise. And if you're an athlete playing at the top of the game, and you don't need any diminishment,
how does somebody go from being a marine to a doorman? Getting into yoga? I mean, we jumped straight into the depths. Yeah, let's talk about the farmer. But how did you as a kid was the attraction for a marine and a power lifter? Well, how does that guy say I was a,
Rudy Mettia 21:52
I was in your turf. I was at Gold's Gym fitness in 1990. And back then there's a background for fitness in the back corner where the treadmills are now. And they used to boxing. They're actually boxing with a guy named James in there. I remember he is. And I was still training most and I had a labor and thing. And I looked in a window and there was like, 20 women and down dog. And that's all I need to know. Yeah. And I said, What the hell's going on in there. And we looked on the schedule, I said, yoga and I went yoga. I saw what try that I said, my shoulder hurt, I can't do anything. I went to yoga The next day, and did down dog like you're talking about and it feels so good. And funny thing about it was I remember like, there's just I went, I've got this that I know this, I know this stuff. because like you said I was a bodybuilder, lat spread, right? Fix this muscle turn this way do that I knew how to control my body in those ways. So I was very intimate with my body. Because my whole life, that's all I had was my own physicality. And so I become somewhat of an expert of movement. And so when he says, spend the outer Hill back, or Turner, or left to right, hit point, come forward and line with the left hip point, whatever the queue was, I got that I totally understand it. My coordination was on my coronation was like I was some world class gymnast in day one, just coordinated wise, I just, I knew everything. Because like up, I did sports my whole life. I'll give you another example. It's not about me, a dancer comes to yoga. They got it in the first minute, as far as the physical stuff. So I thought I had it. And then I practiced for about five years, and I went got trained by the top trainers in the world when the most famous yoga in the world trained me. And from there just once I got that knowledge I what I inherently knew, had validation with the verbiage of how to teach it. And like you played, I was an actor for a while. So it's easy for me to stand in front of 50 people and yapping, yapping, yapping, yapping like it is now. So for me it was easy to be a ham, which is part of the teaching of a group exercise person, whatever they rip exercises. So for me that was fairly easy. So that's how I got into yoga. So I went to gym, did one yoga class felt great, was working nights. But here was I was coming up on 40. Yeah, my first job was 40 teaching yoga. So I started nine coming up on 40. And I've worked at night. So three o'clock in the morning. I was like, I can't do this much longer. And Brian cast. If anyone knows yoga, they know exactly who he is. I went his class, he goes, you should teach this stuff. He said, You're pretty good at already. I went, Okay. And he says, matter of fact, when you get your training, come back, you can teach for me. And so I got my trainer came back, he says, teach for me tomorrow. I taught for him that day. And I was in the people walking out of the class. He'd been the leading teacher in the world. People work on the class, go, don't tell Brian, but you're better than Brian, we empty compliment. They were just being nice. But it gave me a lot of confidence. And about a week later, he opened a studio, a second studio, and I got like six or seven classes. And within a month I had 100 people in class. And all sudden I was an act anymore. So soon, I wasn't bouncing at the clubs anymore. And that happened quick and two or three years. And now I've been teaching yoga full time for 17 years or not full time, because it's very sporadic, just but it's a great job for me. I've 10 classes a week, but that's sporadic to two hours at a time. So yeah, 17 years later. That's all I've done for income in 17 years. So that's how it happened. And it's almost like, number one is that a desperation, I needed a job. And I got better at it quicker than I thought. And the money came a lot quicker. And I thought and next day I know there was rolling around, you know,
Jon Leon Guerrero 25:23
this episode of the break it down show is brought to you by lions rock productions, that's us. We publish, evaluate and develop podcasts just like this one, consult others to build their own and create associated content and content marketing strategies.
Pete Turner 25:37
So if you're launching or expanding your social media presence, your business or your personal brand, or if you just want to take your media presence to the next level, reach out to us on Twitter, at Pete a Turner or at john LG 69 and break it down show.
Jon Leon Guerrero 25:50
There's 1000 ways to get ahold of us. Now enjoy the show.
Rudy Mettia 25:54
I needed a job, and I got better at it quicker and I thought and the money came a lot quicker. And I thought Santa there I was rolling around.
Pete Koch 26:02
And you make yoga now accessible to people, like so many activities in this world. Virtual right because we can find you the yoga warrior 365 by going to tell me how that works. How do you read a diet
calm is the name of the company. You know, when I was acting back in the day, I was chasing a man named Avi Lerner and I've learned those has produced probably five or 600 theatrical motion pictures. Rambo being his last one. He just didn't Rambo five, just last week, and the expendable franchise was his and about 100 and about 500 more. London is falling the White House is all those you know, he does all those. I used to chase him for jobs all the time. And one day 10 years later, this guy comes and goes, have you ever worked for my company Millennium films? I go, yeah, work for obby learning because that's my father, I'm your learner. How to Make sure you know, and he says, I want to learn how to teach yoga to train, you start training to teach yoga. At the same time, he was thinking about doing videos, online videos, because remember his film company, Millennium film. He loved yoga though his father was still the CEO of millennium. So he just wanted to have a little side project that he loved with the umbrella of Millennium films over top of it. So he become a subset of say of his father's company. And his father company has a place in Sofia, Bulgaria called NW it's the biggest film studio in the world outside of America. And they just shot Rambo there they shot 300. They're all these with films I think about so we'd go there every August and we shoot hundreds of hours contest. We have stages like the Romans, you know, we've used some of the 300 sets. Yeah, so our sets were like these amazing sets. And we use the same crew, three cameras, dollies, ad directors, we use the same crew, they just shot Rambo the day before segue and then they were just segue on to shooting our yoga DVD these edit became this amazing thing. And then we've shot thousands of hours. And my going back to that my yoga DV Yoga warrior. 365 is a 13 class series originally was on a DVD, but DVDs are kind of dinosaurs now. So now streaming through a diet calm, not just me. But now with hundreds of teachers. Thousands of classes were subscription based, I think it's like $18 or $15 a month and you get all the yo you can want at home. So that's that's that's how that came about. It came about. And now the Father obby learners now retired and now your learner's now the CEO of new buy in. And he's also still running the yogurt company. So I think I think we got good job security, because it's just that it's just a labor of love for him. Yeah, I think we're actually becoming sovereign now. And maybe even the black after six years of building the company,
Pete Turner 28:52
you take a lot of your success and kind of just gloss over it. So I want to dig into some of this stuff. I mean, LA is a town full of yoga studios. Yeah, super high. And like I went off India, and you know, all that kind of thing. But you've been the number one teacher here four times. So what is the top of the mountain look like? I mean, how did how does one different? I mean, I get it, you're better than Brian early on, whatever. But what does
Pete Koch 29:14
that mean? always took the bet. You know, number one teacher, I was actually one time you'll get you'll get Bob john. He's the guy who created yoga West. Anyway, he was a famous famous yoga from the 60s and 70s. He was still alive when when the first articles about me came out. And they had him ranked sixth in this article, and then I was in the top then I was ranked seventh. I thought to myself, how in the fuck am I rank below this guy who's considered frickin God. So it took it took it is like really, really. So you can't really take that seriously. And then the other four times, I think they're just probably fans of mine who liked my work. And then they didn't have any context to it. But I'll take it, right. It's like, you know, the Academy Award goes to so and so. And you go really, I thought that performance is better. So subjective, so I'll take it.
Pete Turner 30:00
But you also have success. And
Unknown Speaker 30:03
the fact they did it four times, you know, one time it's a fluke four times cause something to it. I don't know, because the greatest teachers in the world are here if you if you name, the 50th, and the greatest yoga teachers in our say great to success. Now like anything, a trainer, who has 8 million followers on Instagram, that's not with a crap. And a trainer who has 1000 followers, Instagram is the greatest trainer world. So popularity doesn't really mean anything, right? As far as skill sets. But let's say you take the 50 greatest yoga teachers in America, I would say 30 of them have been trained right here in Los Angeles, right. And now the 20 just sporadic. I mean, we set the pace, it's like we are we are Wall Street to yoga, right? Or we are we are we are to yoga what California is to film and entertainment. Sorta. So the best have migrated here. I won't mention names for that may not be meaningful to anyone, but the names are just great people to you in the city. So to get there, I don't know maybe cuz I brought a little humor to it. But a lot of times people go you know, they got teachers, he's really funny. They'll say that a lot of times, he's really funny. Or they'll say the big buff guy, the big bald buff guy, which differentiates me from the dreadlocks skinny guy. Right. So I think all those things together, maybe the only conservative Republican yoga teacher in history of the world. Right. I see your foot I mean, what time what time, famous famous yoga name Sean corn, who I really love Sean, she's amazing. Someone passed on a conversation she had with someone they were talking about me and she she ends a group of people. She leans in She goes, you know, he's Republican, right. Within yoga, where we get you tarred and feathered, and thrown out of the city. And actually, you know, I'm more, I'm registered independent, but I lean I lean center, right, for sure, you know, conservatively on national fence and things like that. But I'm totally I'm totally, like, Don't socialize social things, you know, so they kind of want to pigeonhole me. But I think that helped a little bit, because, you know, little bit of controversy is not bad, either. Right? Well, yeah.
Pete Koch 32:10
And, and I just from knowing you, Rudy, and I think I took one or two of your yoga classes over the years. And I think, you know, what I took away from being instructed by you was a very pragmatic approach to what is sometimes I think, an esoteric,
that that may be a really good explanation for it without me, you know, me seeing it for the forest for the trees, but I didn't really strip it down. So just the prayer, I tell people all the time, I said, we're not gonna sit down in class very much today. Because a lot of times in yoga, you sit for 20 minutes to sit and do poses for 20 minutes, and then you'll get up and do a couple things, then you lay down, and then you leave. As soon as we walk in, you're on your feet, and I keep you on your feet for about the whole class. Because I think life is athletic event, and I want you on your feet.
Pete Turner 32:57
I can't even sit on the ground, like my body
Pete Koch 32:58
doesn't work, like I can't say comes from the ground, either without like a pad or something. A lot of bricks probably to be supported, probably because I didn't make it pragmatic and more accessible. Because now that if you see Pete in your size, and even you've never done before, you could come to my class you go, theoretically, I can do every post he taught. Now, I didn't do it good. But there's no real limitation me other than the mean, not quite knowing that maybe didn't work because I had a knee injury. But if my knee didn't hurt, I could do this pose, you know, so everything is accessible. There's nothing that I've been even known a bit. I've heard people say, Yeah, he teaches kind of a beginner style. I do well, if me, if me sitting cross legged, leaning forward, put my hands on the floor and press up into a handstand where my leg still crosses advanced. Yeah, I'm gonna teach a beginner style because wearing the fuck do you ever need that from in real life? Right. So to make it pragmatic and make it accessible, I think that's probably helped me as much
Pete Turner 33:53
But yeah, why would you? Yeah, that move particular. That's great. Beautiful. I want to watch someone do it. But
Unknown Speaker 33:58
yeah, people can do it. And I'm a was impressed cuz to me. It's impressive. Because I think that took a long time to master. Somebody showed a lot of patience. And I had a friend of mine who do other things. And he confessed to me goes, dude, my OCD about killed me. I did this for eight hours a day to I could do it. Oh, wow. You know, so he was obsessed with it. That's not yoga. Yeah, that's okay. attachment. Man, that is you. That was your image that you're invested in. I am this guy that can do this thing for the ego. Yeah, it's very funny. Someone came up to me Oh day and they go. I've taken yoga with you for 20 times. I've never seen you do a single yoga pose. Because a lot of teachers will demonstrate it. Okay, when sit down and watch how I do this, and then they'll do a handstand and come into a split. I don't know if I could do that. I may have them sit down and watch me do it too, because it's kind of cool, right? But I can't do it. So they go. Do you ever do yoga? I said, it's a mystery. Not very good at it. I'm not gonna do it. And it looks good when I do it because I move slowly and I'm precise. But I do what I do. I do what I know I do well, and
Pete Koch 34:58
I won't to go a little bit further.You know, just just your the amount of muscle mass that you carry. You're like in a category of one. Yeah.
As far as anyone you know, this become have any type of recognition. I'm sure there's some big block head out there somewhere teaching really good yoga. You know, who's a bigger and stronger man. Matter of fact, there's a rumor that Ben Polonsky guy is a bodybuilder. Yeah, where there's an article on what I said, I just saw today on one of the YouTube channels by so and so, it says, bodybuilder Master, Yogi Ben, Paula, I went, I didn't know Ben did yoga. Now he's a big old monster today. He was doing yoga now all the time. Dorian Yates? He's addicted to yoga now. Interesting. He's post pictures of him doing yoga all the time. Dorian Yates?
Well, I saw him at gold's gym at six months ago. I thought he looked all things considered. I thought it looked really good. Yeah, I think loves yoga now that he found that sweet spot where he gave up all that incredible m uscle mass but he doesn't look thin. Either. Know
the athletic. Yeah, yeah. Good. Yeah,
Rudy Mettia 35:58
yeah, he's he's over yoga now.
Pete Turner 36:01
So the the person who's sitting there in their car in traffic hearing this and like, yeah, you know what I got? I got it. I gotta start doing this. I gotta add muscle mass. I don't want to go to a home and all these things, right? Because we all feel this, this poll that you like, Hey, I'm getting all sucks, but I can find it. So what does that person do? Like, look, I've got to take care of my kids. I've got to fix the water heater. I gotta I gotta I gotta.
Pete Koch 36:23
I tell you, I think what they have to do they have to be a little bit selfish. And by being selfish, they're being generous. Because by being selfish, I'm going to be with you longer. Yeah, I'm going to be less of a drain on you. Yeah, I'm gonna be able to support you and provide for you live been in the man, let's say typical man's tradition. And I think with my child's mother, the eight and a half year old, she came when I was 15. And right when she came, I went to the hospital with a 99% blockage on my lower descending artery. Yeah. And I was dead lifting. I go, I've got the worst chest pain I've ever had. I not chest pain. I said I got the worst. It felt like a miserable burning, like indigestion. And I remember Oh, my kid had a cold. I called her cold. I think anything of it. I did my said deadlifts is my last set anyway. And I put it down. I felt good. Matter of fact, on Facebook An hour later I posted feeling like a world champion some braggadocio thing. I was feeling so good. Yeah. Well, the next day, I was with my girlfriend time in my head start hurting so badly. I said, hang on a minute. And she got offended. You don't want to watch TV. So just let me lay here for a minute. And she went storming off another room. I laid there for a minute, and I felt terrible. And then went away. And the next morning, I had to get them go to work. And I jumped up and I went on ship. And I went call the ambulance. And I sat down I went and I had to work. I had 12 people who just pay me $3,000 to teach him yoga for 12 weekends as a teacher training. And and I said Hang on a minute. I'm okay. I just anxiety for this teacher training. I got up at work for 12 hours. got home. I was laying on the couch and my kids watch says my kids. Mom says are you okay? You look bad. Okay. Yeah, I think so. And the VA is right up here. Yeah, there it is. Right there. It's right there. Right here. Yeah, she goes what you just go to the VA real quick and have them look at you, honestly. All right. I'll go over there.
Pete Turner 38:15
Thank God, she was there.
Pete Koch 38:16
Yes, I go to VA. And he says, Yeah, your blood pressure's 115 over 70. And you Everything looks good. He said, What's your family history? So I get my fan. He said, Oh, he said your father died at 32. Your mom died at 42. You know, and the doctor walked into the ER and there's the Asian doctors, Rudy, my yoga teacher and I was like a cheese. Because he was there he goes on the menu tonight. I said, Really? I'm fine. He goes, listen, I want to go to yoga Saturday. I want to go to yoga Monday. I don't want you dead. So you can stay here tonight. Okay, I'll stay and he says I'm gonna put you in a private room to the VA. Yeah, I go. Alright. So he put your room so cool enough when I yoga students saved my life. Basically, I go in and they put me on one of those drips that sends the blood right away. You know, and since the Claudine or whatever it is, they don't know but they put me on the edge just in case. Now cardiologists don't come into Monday. So I'm there Sunday night, finally Monday night a cardiologist comes in he goes we're going to test you Tuesday, Sunday for four days for this thing and now by now I'm feeling great still on a drip thing and the drip things whatever that message is it makes the blood thinner. So you know vapor lock man that's a guy comes up to me goes he goes I've trained with a lot of athletes. Here's why we're fine. We're going to go in there you got some frayed arteries. He said because a lot of athletes with high intensity training have afraid arteries and it shows as heart like angina whatever that word is in China. He said that's what's gonna be he's gonna put you on about a week rest and you'll be fine. He says I could be wrong very cocky, as most cardiologists are he said could be wrong, but I never AM. Okay. So we roll me into the place where the the angioplasty right but they stick the thing up your leg and go into your heart. Number one a strip me down but naked, they put this thing on my penis that looks like a garden hose. Right? And it goes down to a urine collection thing at the end of the bed. And I want to butt naked on this thing in lights that are this big that come down on you for surgery, right? They bring four nurses in and I'm you know I'm laying there with it. Penis this because it's like traumatized and the nurses go, I go by the way, it doesn't always look like this. Yeah. So they go we're gonna shave you now and all this stuff and then I'm going to totally humiliated. They come in, they do that thing. They they cut you in the in the femoral artery. And they run a thing up there. And remember what he said, we're gonna find a daughter is gonna be out of here and don't worry about it. So he's looking and they got a TV screen, you know, twice as big as there's two screens, giant eight inch TV screen and your hearts to zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. That's your heart. Right? Oh, going back to yoga for my when I laid on the table before they started my heart rate was like 110 as to how I started. You're doing my yoga breathing. And I looked at again, there's 90 other you know, 70 other Dino's? 5555. Now, I'm looking at the screen. The surgeon walks in 5565. So they put the thing in they shoot the dying to heart right? He walks away and to him to two other doctors are talking. Remember all this stuff. And now look down there the other end up because I'm laying on a gurney, I'm awake. They just numb you. Look down the other end. There's another team of doctors scrubbing up. You know, doing all this? I think I heard a few of those guys. He comes back the first doctor comes back goes. I don't believe it. We got a problem. I go What's the problem? It goes, You got a 99 cent block of the of the widow maker artery, the widow. It's called the widow maker because when that thing goes, you hit your dead for hit the ground. I go 99%. He goes yeah, he says, Now we have a second concerned. Here's the big artery. We have a little Kepler already crosses, not as big as pinky and it's coming. Typically speaking, it's a smaller, yes. And he says the block is between the two arteries. So what's that mean? He goes, I don't know if I can get to it. I said, you know, through the angioplasty because they run a cord up there and they do their thing. I said once you can't get to he says there's another team of doctors on crack open. I said that's the last thing I want. Right? Because I'm thinking how long? How long was that recovery? You know? So he goes in he does he goes, comes back to me. He goes, I think I can get to it. But here's what's gonna happen. When I take that block out. It's going to kill this little capillary. I go slow capillary, what's that mean? He goes, Well, you can have a heart attack in a minute. I want. It says only give you we're going to do some hard tech to kill this capillary. I go is so hard. I'm thinking the worst gets hard it out. Right? I go what's that mean to my long term health? He goes, I don't know. He says maybe 5% of your heart function will be damaged. I said, What does that mean to me walking down the street? He goes, you never know. So I go. Alright, right. He says that we can crack it and do a bypass and not kill that part. I got not fucking kill it. Because it says when I inject this, he says he said when I open this, you'll feel it. You'll feel it. He said, you're ready. I go, Well, I'm in the hospital is no better place to slow down? Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 43:15
I say I say go for it. And so he says, Here he goes. And as soon as he said, I felt some like, you know those same elephants in on your chest. He said, how you doing? Pretty good. He goes, What's the pain? I go to seven? He goes, What about now? Better? Eight. What about now but a nine? He said they should cop off? He said hang on there. Hang on, hang on. Was it now? But an eight now seven. Now? 6543? What is it now? About to? How do you feel is awesome. I'm not okay. He said that's it. He said you're clear. He said, you know, no more blockage. And so they take into the ICU, and they take your blood Pete every three hours. And there's an enzyme that tells you how much damage your heart was. I said, What's the rate he said can go from one to 100. And I think he says and when it raises up, let's say gets to 10. And it drops back down. 10 was where you ended up at. So then they came in every three hours to blood to Bob to blood. He said You said you max out about four. He says I predicted 5%. He said you're at 4%. He said you know and I've never noticed that since you know, I don't have to go fat tangent but something about anyway. So that was my heart thing. However, I got off on that. Yeah. Wow. Oh, I know it was what about how to get the guy who doesn't have any time? Yeah. Well, when I came out that I said, Man, whenever when I thought I'm gonna lose all my muscle man. Because at first the doctor say, Well, you know, you're just having your 220 pounds and you got too much muscle and you can't lift anything over 20 pounds for the next six months and deadlift ends. I had a question for you and never do squats again. And all this stuff. They warned you about Ryan, that's your job to tell you don't do anything. And two weeks later, I was dead lifting again squatting again, scared, because for six months, I had this place between my shoulder blades that hurt. I was like, Hell, I thought I'd put a trap or something. Right. And it turned out right behind that spot was that lower descending order. And that's exactly the the injury was so I had that place behind my heart forever. I tell my students all the time now and yoga. I said, Listen, this practice is a diagnosis for you. If you guys will pay attention, it may save your life. Because you're diagnosed yourself you go, I don't know what this thing is, or this thing or this thing. And it can help you. So I started training again and I'll get that little pain behind my shoulder blade again and scare the crap on me. So for that sick I was really wasn't very confident. And then I'll sudden that went away, I get think I healed. And that went away and it hasn't bothered me since. But the guy who can't make it to the gym, he just has to make the decision to be selfish for himself though and go Yeah, it's hard. What? What Jocko say given for 30 give a fo ur o'clock you know, go to bed sooner, that type thing. Soit's really just choices to make.
Pete Turner 45:48
We were in Iraq, and we changed TOCs jump from here to there a couple miles away, and everybody had to move all the shit. You know, the military, I was moving things. And there's this reservist officer, God bless. But he's there to do his job. But he's like, Sergeant Major was Sergeant Major. I need some help moving all my stuff. You know, I was working all day. And we were till three in the morning. It's hard to like, move at 315
Pete Koch 46:15
it for this stationary guy or the guy who just sits around. I think people tell you walk out the house for 15 minutes. Yeah, you know, go that way. Like you're catching a bus? Go 10 minutes. Yeah, that way, like you catching a bus. And then when you get there, you gotta come home. That's 20 minutes. Yeah, and then go 15 minutes that way. Next thing you know, you're walking an hour. Forget strength training, forget yoga, walk an hour a day, that's going to increase your longevity from a guy who's just not doing anything. And it's so simple. And there's no excuses, right? You walk out of your house, you walk up the street, you walk back down the street, work up to an hour a day, every day, you know, or 15 minutes walk four times a day or something like that. Just get them moving. Get it? I'm sure Pete I'm addicted to movement. Yeah.
And I'm addicted to success stories. And every time I meet somebody that I haven't any chance at all to find out how they succeeded in as relates relates to this, increasing their physical fitness or losing weight. It's a big, big topic, of course, in this country. And it wasn't long ago that I spoke to a man just about my age in his 50s. And he lost about 100 pounds. And he probably had another 5070 pounds to go admittedly. But he was in a real crisis in his mid 50s with his weight. And I said, how'd you do it? How did you lose that hundred pounds and says he feels so much better. And he was going to lose the rest. And I'm sure that it will but important strategy for him was buying a dog or adopting a puppy. I don't know the course of events Exactly. But he lived. He worked largely from home. He's very successful business guy. He traveled a bit, but he had a chance to spend a lot of time at home he goes, I feel like NE lived in a place that had access to rural roads, hiking trails, say Yeah, perfect neighborhood to get at. And he goes, because he tried to motivate himself to go walk as to your point by himself, but he found himself quitting on the walks or not even moving. But he knew that if you had a dog that dog needed to get outside times a day, and do his business, and those turned into really long walks that he embraced that change to his lifestyle. He really enjoyed connecting with nature. And he lived in New Jersey, so we had weather there. But he said that's okay. You know, I'm not gonna
Rudy Mettia 48:37
probably enjoy the company of the dog,
Pete Koch 48:39
dog. Yeah, the whole thing, you know, was set and I was like, it doesn't have to be complex. But I'm a but but I'm a fan of behavior ism. And if it's that dog, it's going to make you elicit the response in your brain to get you to walk, find out what that thing is. And do it embrace it.
Pete Turner 48:56
That makes sense. Make sense? said that thing that doctor at told you about like, breaking out for 90 minutes, unlocks your ability to do a lot more work to
Pete Koch 49:06
Yeah, so Dr. H, you know the shirt of Dr. Robert heisting of Harvard trained medical doctor he I first met him when he was the team doctor for the Los Angeles at that time Raiders and that's the Howie, long Marcus Allen. Yeah, Raiders for you fans of football in the 80s. And he sort of evolved his career in many different directions. He's been my doctor and a friend of mine for the three decades now. And he was the supervising physician on the reality show The Biggest Loser. I think they ran 17 seasons on the didn't do a show a year they would do like a show every eight months. I think it ran about 13 years, but they had a anyway, hundreds and hundreds of obese contestants came through the show and had an outstanding results. He kept copious medical records on all those people. And he determined that you need to move if you're if you're obese, you need to move for 90 minutes, it's a day move 90 minutes a day and how you feel that in Look, if you're way, way off the mark with your weight and strength levels, that movements going to basically be walking and then but but he does like to incorporate some bit of strength training in there. And as the weight comes off, and you become more physically fit more in tune with your athleticism, then it's going to be more strength training and less of the walking interesting. So there's that that sliding sort of a continuum there. But he also has a flip because he's a he works out for 90 minutes a day, six days a week himself. He was, you know, he is he's in his 60s and he's 8% body fat. He's making physique. And he believes he goes and here's a man, you know, who studied biochemistry at Michigan before he went to Harvard Medical School. His father was a nuclear physicist, what he's got an extensive background in the natural sciences and he says I can't explain it. But I believe that when I exercise 60 to 90 minutes a day, I get more out of my day, I get I get more production out of my day. It's everyone wants to view that time at the gym or on the exercising as a subtraction. He goes, I've worked at RFID a pure addition to me.
Yeah, I believe that it gives you I mean, I think a jumpstart sees you more so it is important to do it in the morning, though, you know, the earlier the better. I think a lot of times your day gets so it gets ahead of you. And next thing you know, it's four o'clock. Yeah. If you get it four o'clock and you get on the couch, it's a good chance. You're like a move right? Yeah. But I think that's that's a street page to start with walking. And then move up from there.
Pete Turner 51:38
Yeah, we're going to run out of time with you. Well, that's okay. Just once again where we can find you and everybody's riveted by your heart attack story and everything else that was crazy. Well,
Rudy Mettia 51:46
I'd like to I'd like them to look for me on new diet calm, UDAYA calm. And then my new project is squat box gym. Squatbox gym one word.com which will be launched tonight as far as a website. And also squat box him on Instagram, or reading to him at TIA on Facebook. The best way to find me and and join in with the conversation but to hear from him.
Pete Turner 52:15
Come on again because you've got a hard
Rudy Mettia 52:18
time sorry to drone on and on.
Pete Turner 52:20
That's great.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Hey, this is john Leon Guerrero. Our guest today is Rudy Mettia. If you know the world of yoga, especially if you live in Southern California, Rudy needs no introduction, but for the end initiated. He's one of the most engaging practitioners of movement and wellness and mindfulness out there. And he's putting it out to the world and his new book yoga warrior, the Jagat road to enlightenment. That jagged road started when Rudy's father died when he was just a baby, and his mother raised him on her own until she passed away when he was just nine years old. He struggled through 20 different foster homes by the time he was 18. And by then he probably joined the Marines just to take it easy a little, but serving made him a warrior. When he got out he rode with biker gangs made his living for a time as a bouncer. He knows all about strengthening and conditioning the body like forging metal, but he became a first time father at age 50 is a beautiful little daughter, and he's centered like few other people you will ever meet. This episode is brought to you by Pete and Pete. But make no mistake, I'm a huge follower of Rudy, and I love everything about him just as much as the Pete do. And while we're on the subject, Pete catch that fuckers in a national commercial for Apple of all things. So keep your eyes open for it. No pun intended. It's the commercial where Pete's iPhone recognizes him. When he rolls over and just barely opens one eye. It's clever. You're going to dig it. Congratulations to Pete catch everybody follow Pete catch on Insta, you'll be glad and follow Rudy Redy Mettia on Instagram, as well on Facebook, wherever you can get ahold of him. He's got YouTube videos, he will enlighten your ass and get you moving and get moving. And as always, if you dig what we're doing, please subscribe on YouTube and turn on those notifications by ringing that bell or give us those five stars in iTunes and drop a review on us. It helps the show get profiled and noticed and we share love and appreciate you for doing it. And for listening in. Here's our guest today you are going to fucking love this guy a lot. We all do. Just you wait. Here's Rudy Mettia
Joel Manzer 2:10
lions rock productions
Jay Mohr 2:15
This is Jay Mohr.
Jordan Harbinger 2:16
This is Jordan harbinger
Unknown Speaker 2:18
from the Navy Sebastian youngsters Rick Marotta,
Unknown Speaker 2:20
Stewart Copeland.
Jon Leon Guerrero 2:23
Scott Baxter, Gabby Reese. Rob LE this is Johnny and gray. And
Pete Turner 2:27
this is Pete a T urner
Rudy Mettia 2:31
Hi its Rudy Mettia with squat box gym.com and you are listening to it on the break it down show.
Niko Leon Guerrero 2:38
And now the breakdown show with john Leon Guerrero and Pete a Turner.
Pete Turner 2:45
Yes, yes. I'm going to turn it over to Pete.
Pete Koch 2:47
Yeah. Pete and Pete is Pete at it again. My old friend Rudy Mettia. Thanks for sitting down with us today. I told Pete Turner that I've got one of the most interesting people in the 30 years that I've lived in Hollywood, and I think he'd be great asset to the show Rudy Mettia aka Rudy Smith.
Rudy Mettia 3:03
So long story, yeah. Not criminal related or legit.
Pete Koch 3:08
Rudy and I met many, many years ago when Rudy was the and this isn't just opinion this is factual or the number one doorman in Hollywood and he operated at the door of the most coveted nightclubs to get into what all the stars and the multi millionaires and the this the they wanted to get into. And they had to get to get through that impossible line. And to get into the hottest clubs in Hollywood yet to get through Rudy with his purple sport jacket.
Rudy Mettia 3:37
Yeah. That purple is sports jacket was it was inspired by Magic Johnson in 1989 or something. You know, it's funny because that job was coveted. You know? And you think doorman That's terrible. But the fact of the matter is, and the vanity in the powerful of people in Hollywood issue, one time friend of mine named Mark, he kind of took over where I left off. He was named the 100 most powerful person in Hollywood because he's a doorman a star at what was it the gate and no nothing up there by the Mondrian hotel, the
Pete Koch 4:07
sky Bar, yes.
Rudy Mettia 4:08
Back in the day, so it was a pretty good four seasons job and it actually opened so many doors for me that would have never had opening ever in my life as a country boy coming from a pig farm and you know, North Carolina, but I digress.
Pete Koch 4:19
But I just like to always mention to people Rudy is as you'll hear in just a second I want to get to the the yoga warrior 365 your your your legacy there. But out of the gate from North Carolina moraine served our country proudly thank you for your service. Beyond that educated at East Carolina University pirate,
right. Yeah, didn't last long. lasted about a semester half of I came out of the Marines. East Carolina University was 30 miles away from Cherry point North Carolina was stationed and I was 22. We had a football team. We had all marine football team, I played linebacker, and I think Terry long was training to the gym down yet that you know, Terry Terry long was training down at NFL he was telling me Who says you shouldn't you can walk on East Carolina and give a shot. So with the East Carolina for a month, and that's going to try to walk on that twist my ankle on the first on the first thing and being a walk on 22 years old. I didn't get a lot of time to heal or anything. So that was it. I was there for about a month and I was all
Yes, yes, sir. It's a tough business. You know, it's not a business life in college is highly competitive. But at least you got a little taste of that. I respect that. And we're about same age. But at the same time, I was playing football at the University of Maryland, you're doing some things there. But not long after that. And you got the Hollywood the doorman thing, but I want to I want to and then we'll work our way back. But I want to talk about the fact that yoga warrior 365 is a brand those people that are yoga aficionados are familiar with and you diet company that facilitates these amazing products. And you're that you're the man, you are the yoga warrior. And this is something to be very, very proud of. It's something that you've built up over the span of half a decade, I suppose. And so here I just just to paint the picture for the folks at home, six feet one inches tall, 240 pounds 9% body fat, deadlift 500 pounds, and is a world class yoga instructor. And in this not just my opinion that you've been cited in the yoga magazines around the world, for your ability to get into these challenging positions, to instruct people at the highest level that you do you lead from the front. Very few people I dare to say the only man on the planet that can do both the carry so much yoga skill, and athleticism and mobility and flexibility. And couple that with a 500 pound deadlift, a 300 pound plus bench press etc. How does that happen?
Jon Leon Guerrero 6:34
Well, it doesn't have as much as they used to. And I'm actually better. I think, honestly, transparency, I'm probably better at teaching it than I am doing it. I can do it. But you know, the statue mentioned six foot and 200 we're about to 25. Now, it's hard to get into some of what we think consider yoga poses that are contemplative. So I think what I've done that has helped me and Los Angeles, I was named Best yoga teacher for different times and thought Los Angeles says that she is the mecca of yoga in the West and the greatest teachers in the world live here. So I'll take that I'll take those acknowledgments with a grain of salt because there's some amazing teacher I look up to here in this town. But I think what happens is I took something that could be complex and and approachable. And I didn't dumb it down. But I simplified it a little bit. I didn't see a reason to sit on my butt, put my foot between my behind my head, or do a one hand handstand, although that looks pretty cool. And I like to be able to do it. But I thought it was more about loading the joints maintain a periphery range of motion, you know, our talents are taken away from us at the very edges, right? We used to be able to sprint, now we're just walking right now we start to lose those abilities that the edge. So if we just reach out to the edge and tap those ranges of motion efficiently, and as you mentioned earlier, something functionally, I think it helps I think maybe not dumbing it down but maybe making it more accessible for that really good. I think I bring a lot of people to it who are not the things you mention about being an athlete, man causes usually 70% women, maybe women' s dudes will see that and say if that can can do it I can do it. You know, so maybe that helps with the, with the acknowledgement I've gotten in yoga.
Pete Koch 8:09
That's a great point. I think so Yoga is that 70% women, and that's instruction works out about the same statistically about it's instructed by women more times than not it is
and I think most of the hierarchy. I think it's very funny. I like to when I practice, I practice with women as women teachers, and then I had usually my class maybe 80% women, right? So it's funny, most women it seems like a teacher practice where the man and me as a man like to practice with a woman I may I may be an outlier best where I like
it. I remember a few years ago, I ran into youth kind of randomly and shoot Rudy, I hadn't seen you in so long where you been? And you you told me that you were in had been in India. That's what brought you to India. And you said I was learning.
Unknown Speaker 8:50
Yeah, I was learning the yoga thing. I mean, everyone's doing when I first got in I was wearing beads and I was chanting and I was playing harmonium and doing Vedic chanting Na Na that's so I thought that's what Yogi's did. I mean, I let that go a little bit, because that doesn't make us more about the physicality of it. That's what appealed to me. So I went there. I think I need to learn that but very funny. Yoga in America is so different from yoga and India and India, they just sit and meditate and that's their yoga here. If you're not doing a handstand, you know, not any good at it. So it's funny that discussion. As a matter of fact, yoga came to America but hundred years ago, because the sage said, If Yoga is going to survive, because at the time was dying in India as a practice, they said if it's going to survive this and survive in the West, it's going to survive on the backs of the women. And sure enough, under years later, surviving on the back of women, okay, now if you come to the newest era, listen, the last 30 years in America, all sudden Madonna started doing yoga. Remember back in the day? Yeah. So then everyone starts doing yoga and Robert Downey is doing yoga, David, the company's doing yoga and the list goes on and on and on now. So now it's peaked and it's valid, it's plateaued and it's it will go
Pete Turner 9:54
on. You know, what I think about yoga, I first came back from combat, I tried doing it come order to get more suppleness and my joints. My joints are just beat up. Yeah. But I struggle a lot because it is, in my mind a very feminine practice. And so it's taught by women a lot of times who don't identify with like, a bulky male body in a lot of ways. I don't like like for me, downward dog. impossible to do. my triceps blow out. And I don't get I do n't get any benefit from the position and everybody will argue it. Yeah, well, it's okay. And like no, but I'm just with standing like my triceps only thing getting any kind of real
Unknown Speaker 10:29
triceps a burning up and you bet to come at the post. We don't feel he got anything other than the triceps on fire.
Pete Turner 10:34
That's exactly my point.
Rudy Mettia 10:35
Yeah, I've been that to this I called tricep domination where they dominate the push position. Yeah. Well, you know, you're missing out on the whole philosophical underpinning of the yoga practice. Sure. Right. Where it's like unattached Yeah, you know action without expectation. Yeah, this and do the best I can. That's what happens with dudes right. We're competitive type of thing. Well,
Pete Turner 10:53
let me say this parts you like so again, I just come back from combat zone. So the teachers like, I want you to I paid for some private lessons. Like I see the Rose Garden over there mechanic shop folk. I see every sec not laser, not laser at a Mac. Right. Soft book. And it
Pete Koch 11:11
is almost like everything's blurry. Yeah. Because if everything sharp on the outside, on the inside, so you soften your gaze. You ever seen a Buddha statue like this? Yeah. Never. always like this, right? Because they're looking inward. I'm doing it wrong. Yeah, so that harshness that horses this way. creates a harshness inside a not heart wise bait. tension. Right? If I'm looking at someone, I'm about to kick their ass. I'm wired ready to go. Right. So that stare at somebody that deaths they're creating, you know, you look at somebody younger, you know, and they're your body reacts to that thing. It's instinctual, right fight or flight. Let's go right now. So yeah, you got a gun that will come right at combat for I see, that could be a sniper behind that.
Pete Turner 11:52
That was my whole thing was I trying to get past that part? Like, I love the mental part and the spiritual part. But I struggled to get to that spot physically where it kind of got a tuned patient, you know? Well, yeah, fair enough. Thanks, Tom.
Pete Koch 12:04
Yeah, I mean, when you do want it, when you're paying for classes that can be expensive, and how long how much you can invest in that kind of time, right? So it's almost better to go somewhere where you can get a lot of yoga for less money and let it let it take root. You know, plant the seed lead time. So I know I was a kid, I used to take the seeds. And I plan a secret. I worked on the farmers when I live in an orphanage when I was a kid. And we had a farm that we worked on. And we planted all the time and I would take my own seed and plant in the backyard. And soon as I planted I got the next day dig it up to see if there's sprouted Well, that's like the practice you can't dig up your practice every day. See if it's sprouted, you just planted your water and you assume that's growing, you know. And that's how the yoga practices sound is it to get to a 500 pound deadlift, right? I'm a to 25 a day I'm going to be at 230 next week, and then next week by project this out. In 18 months, I'll be at 375. And the body in the yoga case becomes more malleable and becomes more receptive to the movements and the body and the strength case becomes stronger. The connective tissues and ligaments, the tendons, they become stronger. And the whole body strengthens as you practice that patients as you go towards 500 or you go towards a Down Dog. Yeah, right. So it's really the same thing for yoga teaches us is the same thing. It's not attachment patients as I go to it towards us as I put one foot in front the other and keep chopping away at it. As a yoga say chopping wood carrying water chopping wood carrying water, they asked the Yogi's, what do you do before you became enlightened? I chopped wood and carried water. What do you do afterwards? I chopped wouldn't carry water, you know,
like that? Is it fair to say that strength training and yoga are Yin and Yang.
Unknown Speaker 13:40
I think that Pete you know, as well as I do, maybe better so that the body has to be progressively overloaded to become Shonda you can get to a certain level of strength doing calisthenics. But what kind of strength is that that's more endurance isn't it's not maximum strength, the ability to create force against your external object. So yoga would take you so far, strength wise, but I see people my classes now for 20 years. And it's fine because they're not chasing what we're chasing. But their body hasn't changed a bit. Matter of fact, maybe they got heavier, maybe they got weaker, maybe they haven't improved at all. But you give me the same person in strength training, and they're going to change because it's going to force an adaptation, yoga before snap PEX. 90. Yes, it works for about nine days. And then it's over. Because it will you not adapt past that unless you progressively work harder, more volume, more frequency, more more load, right? So I think it is I do both, like I trained four days a week, and then I try to get my yoga in two or three times a week, the science, the yoga community will hate me because the science on static stretching isn't so good anymore. know if you read about it. So as far as what static stretching does for you, athletically is not very good. What does for you mentally is beautiful, because it's a form of the way I teach it is a form of meditation, insight meditation, I'll say things like, feel the heal the right foot, bear down and turn the foot counterclockwise without turning the foot. And that will resonate into the hip joint, for example, some weird, esoteric shit like that. So mine's more meditative. And so when I train people in yoga, I don't expect her by doing anything. So what we're doing is this Mom, I expect them look the same way in 20 years, unless, of course, they get crazy and clamp their diet and do something else. But strength training is totally different. So I think it is the yen to the strength training Yang, I do. But I think Conversely, the strength training can be performed, just like yoga is performed with a connection to the breathing connection to feeling the muscles working just like you doing yoga, right? Today's the same, the psychological harassment is about the same, there's no psych up, there's no big fired up things, you know, it's just a constant steadiness
Pete Koch 15:49
Can everybody who engages in strength training benefit from yoga or form of stretching, and vice versa, because we've got, you know, a huge part of the population that's either taking a yoga class, and now these, you know, actually identified kind of stretch classes, which I think is kind of cool, too. And yet, there's a lot of people that go and take a yoga class, but they never engage in any strength training throughout the course of their life. So is this a way to optimize your body, the strength and the and the yoga?
Rudy Mettia 16:16
Yes. Now at this stage of my life with what I've learned, and what I've experienced, if you took one of these two things away from me, the strength training or the yoga, and I had no choice, I would say, take the yoga, I can give what the yoga gives me sitting in a chair and meditating, but I can't get from strength training, anything that any other place them from strength training, the loading the joints, the restoration, and if not the, the conserving mus cle mass. And you and I talked in gym one day, we thought maybe that number was a half a pound a year or a pound a year, whatever wasting whatever it was sacarthapy, or whatever that name is, for the wasting and how that affected longevity, how that affected independence. Um, if you want to have a nursing home longer maintain your muscle mass, because the minute you get frail, I mean, you start to lose your independence. I mean, hormonally what it does for you, cardiovascular, what does for you, metabolism, your insulin sensitivity. So to maintain and to restore muscle mass, I think is the ultimate fight every single day. Everything even as pro LIC, pro athletes, you know, they leave your your anomaly, they leave their the specimen, then you see him six months later, 300 pounds are way out of shape overweight. And I understand I think I understand for professional athletes, like Michael Jordan, even you're in such a peak performance on the edge of this thing at all times anything of less now you wants to use, I would imagine, right? I would imagine,
Pete Koch 17:47
I think so I think some guys do get discouraged by the they're no longer have this great challenge when they're training so and I went through a period that was about three or four years, that when my NFL days and did before I really got a handle is probably three, four or five years for really got a handle on, on how I was going to go about the training as a lay person for the rest of my life. And then I kind of Finally, well, it's still evolving all these years later, I'd have gone through different phases where I'm more bodybuilding centric, versus more power, lifting centric, and then incorporating and CrossFit as a stone of CrossFit gym and had went through that CrossFit training was really, really neat. That pulled me back into the Olympic lifts, and sort of energized me in a certain way and some flight metrics and jumping on boxes. And yeah, that was interesting, too. And I do I think they have their place in a general fitness program. I do. I do. But it's it's, you know, in that but it needs to be the program needs to be unique to that individual to optimize their result.
Yeah. And, and their risk reward or have you
Pete Turner 18:50
measure, you know, yeah, like with the CrossFit, you want to compete as an adult and I, every time I have a friend, I'm going to do a prospect something and they're doing like, you know, however many representing four minutes, like it's a torture chamber, I can't stand watching because I see bent backs and bad form and just getting the weight off the ground. And I'm just like, oh, you're gonna hurt. And you know, and I know that people get hurt doing that,
Rudy Mettia 19:11
I mean, the rate of injury in that I just read a study. Now take it with a grain of salt, you can always you can always read a study towards your biases. But something about 50% within the first year of cross fitters get tweaked to hurt in some way. You know, I love what CrossFit is done is cutter it's it's trade this boom in this industry, that now more interested in that I am in the yoga industry, to be honest with you, because I just done yoga now for 20 years. I'm not bored with I just want to grow into another aspect. And the answer your question earlier Pete? I don't know if they're stretching now with the new science of stretching. I wouldn't include the stretching necessary static, dynamic stretching like I see you do sometimes. That's kind of stuff I get it. But the static stretching, I think teams now undefeated sex with the Raiders of the chiefs, with teams now don't do a lot of static stretching the game, I don't think it's more of a dynamic thing. Can you give us kind of like a 32nd primer on the difference between the two, what static stretching peak about give you a better dynamic stretching? I could the static stretching is like going into a lunge position and holding it for like, a minute. Right? And maybe jumping back and forth in that lunch position. Right. Okay. Something like that. Yeah.
Pete Koch 20:19
Yeah. dynamic stretching or kinetic stretching? Yeah, yeah. So it says movement than the stretching in the old. We all remember from gym class, sit on the ground and extend your your leg and then try to touch your nose to your neighbor. Yeah. And hold that for 10 a 10. second count, you know, those those days, what they've, what they've determined through sports science, is that stretching that way a static whole stretch before an athletic performance, let's say before a tennis match before you are going to throw the jab is going to actually diminish your your your athletic performance and sort of deadens the nervous system. Fine. You want the nervous system and the muscles to be excited. Yeah, for taking on a you know, a peak perform from your body. So the place for static stretching might not be totally gone. But it might be the best place to position it for an athlete might be at the end of the workout.
Yeah, I think that's that's more clear. I the studies that did we were prior to performance, because the explosion of contract without power that muscle for 24 hours, and we have Yeah, for 24 hours was somewhat limited. Not limited, but somewhat diminished. diminished. Yeah, compromise. And if you're an athlete playing at the top of the game, and you don't need any diminishment,
how does somebody go from being a marine to a doorman? Getting into yoga? I mean, we jumped straight into the depths. Yeah, let's talk about the farmer. But how did you as a kid was the attraction for a marine and a power lifter? Well, how does that guy say I was a,
Rudy Mettia 21:52
I was in your turf. I was at Gold's Gym fitness in 1990. And back then there's a background for fitness in the back corner where the treadmills are now. And they used to boxing. They're actually boxing with a guy named James in there. I remember he is. And I was still training most and I had a labor and thing. And I looked in a window and there was like, 20 women and down dog. And that's all I need to know. Yeah. And I said, What the hell's going on in there. And we looked on the schedule, I said, yoga and I went yoga. I saw what try that I said, my shoulder hurt, I can't do anything. I went to yoga The next day, and did down dog like you're talking about and it feels so good. And funny thing about it was I remember like, there's just I went, I've got this that I know this, I know this stuff. because like you said I was a bodybuilder, lat spread, right? Fix this muscle turn this way do that I knew how to control my body in those ways. So I was very intimate with my body. Because my whole life, that's all I had was my own physicality. And so I become somewhat of an expert of movement. And so when he says, spend the outer Hill back, or Turner, or left to right, hit point, come forward and line with the left hip point, whatever the queue was, I got that I totally understand it. My coordination was on my coronation was like I was some world class gymnast in day one, just coordinated wise, I just, I knew everything. Because like up, I did sports my whole life. I'll give you another example. It's not about me, a dancer comes to yoga. They got it in the first minute, as far as the physical stuff. So I thought I had it. And then I practiced for about five years, and I went got trained by the top trainers in the world when the most famous yoga in the world trained me. And from there just once I got that knowledge I what I inherently knew, had validation with the verbiage of how to teach it. And like you played, I was an actor for a while. So it's easy for me to stand in front of 50 people and yapping, yapping, yapping, yapping like it is now. So for me it was easy to be a ham, which is part of the teaching of a group exercise person, whatever they rip exercises. So for me that was fairly easy. So that's how I got into yoga. So I went to gym, did one yoga class felt great, was working nights. But here was I was coming up on 40. Yeah, my first job was 40 teaching yoga. So I started nine coming up on 40. And I've worked at night. So three o'clock in the morning. I was like, I can't do this much longer. And Brian cast. If anyone knows yoga, they know exactly who he is. I went his class, he goes, you should teach this stuff. He said, You're pretty good at already. I went, Okay. And he says, matter of fact, when you get your training, come back, you can teach for me. And so I got my trainer came back, he says, teach for me tomorrow. I taught for him that day. And I was in the people walking out of the class. He'd been the leading teacher in the world. People work on the class, go, don't tell Brian, but you're better than Brian, we empty compliment. They were just being nice. But it gave me a lot of confidence. And about a week later, he opened a studio, a second studio, and I got like six or seven classes. And within a month I had 100 people in class. And all sudden I was an act anymore. So soon, I wasn't bouncing at the clubs anymore. And that happened quick and two or three years. And now I've been teaching yoga full time for 17 years or not full time, because it's very sporadic, just but it's a great job for me. I've 10 classes a week, but that's sporadic to two hours at a time. So yeah, 17 years later. That's all I've done for income in 17 years. So that's how it happened. And it's almost like, number one is that a desperation, I needed a job. And I got better at it quicker than I thought. And the money came a lot quicker. And I thought and next day I know there was rolling around, you know,
Jon Leon Guerrero 25:23
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Pete Turner 25:37
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Jon Leon Guerrero 25:50
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Rudy Mettia 25:54
I needed a job, and I got better at it quicker and I thought and the money came a lot quicker. And I thought Santa there I was rolling around.
Pete Koch 26:02
And you make yoga now accessible to people, like so many activities in this world. Virtual right because we can find you the yoga warrior 365 by going to tell me how that works. How do you read a diet
calm is the name of the company. You know, when I was acting back in the day, I was chasing a man named Avi Lerner and I've learned those has produced probably five or 600 theatrical motion pictures. Rambo being his last one. He just didn't Rambo five, just last week, and the expendable franchise was his and about 100 and about 500 more. London is falling the White House is all those you know, he does all those. I used to chase him for jobs all the time. And one day 10 years later, this guy comes and goes, have you ever worked for my company Millennium films? I go, yeah, work for obby learning because that's my father, I'm your learner. How to Make sure you know, and he says, I want to learn how to teach yoga to train, you start training to teach yoga. At the same time, he was thinking about doing videos, online videos, because remember his film company, Millennium film. He loved yoga though his father was still the CEO of millennium. So he just wanted to have a little side project that he loved with the umbrella of Millennium films over top of it. So he become a subset of say of his father's company. And his father company has a place in Sofia, Bulgaria called NW it's the biggest film studio in the world outside of America. And they just shot Rambo there they shot 300. They're all these with films I think about so we'd go there every August and we shoot hundreds of hours contest. We have stages like the Romans, you know, we've used some of the 300 sets. Yeah, so our sets were like these amazing sets. And we use the same crew, three cameras, dollies, ad directors, we use the same crew, they just shot Rambo the day before segue and then they were just segue on to shooting our yoga DVD these edit became this amazing thing. And then we've shot thousands of hours. And my going back to that my yoga DV Yoga warrior. 365 is a 13 class series originally was on a DVD, but DVDs are kind of dinosaurs now. So now streaming through a diet calm, not just me. But now with hundreds of teachers. Thousands of classes were subscription based, I think it's like $18 or $15 a month and you get all the yo you can want at home. So that's that's that's how that came about. It came about. And now the Father obby learners now retired and now your learner's now the CEO of new buy in. And he's also still running the yogurt company. So I think I think we got good job security, because it's just that it's just a labor of love for him. Yeah, I think we're actually becoming sovereign now. And maybe even the black after six years of building the company,
Pete Turner 28:52
you take a lot of your success and kind of just gloss over it. So I want to dig into some of this stuff. I mean, LA is a town full of yoga studios. Yeah, super high. And like I went off India, and you know, all that kind of thing. But you've been the number one teacher here four times. So what is the top of the mountain look like? I mean, how did how does one different? I mean, I get it, you're better than Brian early on, whatever. But what does
Pete Koch 29:14
that mean? always took the bet. You know, number one teacher, I was actually one time you'll get you'll get Bob john. He's the guy who created yoga West. Anyway, he was a famous famous yoga from the 60s and 70s. He was still alive when when the first articles about me came out. And they had him ranked sixth in this article, and then I was in the top then I was ranked seventh. I thought to myself, how in the fuck am I rank below this guy who's considered frickin God. So it took it took it is like really, really. So you can't really take that seriously. And then the other four times, I think they're just probably fans of mine who liked my work. And then they didn't have any context to it. But I'll take it, right. It's like, you know, the Academy Award goes to so and so. And you go really, I thought that performance is better. So subjective, so I'll take it.
Pete Turner 30:00
But you also have success. And
Unknown Speaker 30:03
the fact they did it four times, you know, one time it's a fluke four times cause something to it. I don't know, because the greatest teachers in the world are here if you if you name, the 50th, and the greatest yoga teachers in our say great to success. Now like anything, a trainer, who has 8 million followers on Instagram, that's not with a crap. And a trainer who has 1000 followers, Instagram is the greatest trainer world. So popularity doesn't really mean anything, right? As far as skill sets. But let's say you take the 50 greatest yoga teachers in America, I would say 30 of them have been trained right here in Los Angeles, right. And now the 20 just sporadic. I mean, we set the pace, it's like we are we are Wall Street to yoga, right? Or we are we are we are to yoga what California is to film and entertainment. Sorta. So the best have migrated here. I won't mention names for that may not be meaningful to anyone, but the names are just great people to you in the city. So to get there, I don't know maybe cuz I brought a little humor to it. But a lot of times people go you know, they got teachers, he's really funny. They'll say that a lot of times, he's really funny. Or they'll say the big buff guy, the big bald buff guy, which differentiates me from the dreadlocks skinny guy. Right. So I think all those things together, maybe the only conservative Republican yoga teacher in history of the world. Right. I see your foot I mean, what time what time, famous famous yoga name Sean corn, who I really love Sean, she's amazing. Someone passed on a conversation she had with someone they were talking about me and she she ends a group of people. She leans in She goes, you know, he's Republican, right. Within yoga, where we get you tarred and feathered, and thrown out of the city. And actually, you know, I'm more, I'm registered independent, but I lean I lean center, right, for sure, you know, conservatively on national fence and things like that. But I'm totally I'm totally, like, Don't socialize social things, you know, so they kind of want to pigeonhole me. But I think that helped a little bit, because, you know, little bit of controversy is not bad, either. Right? Well, yeah.
Pete Koch 32:10
And, and I just from knowing you, Rudy, and I think I took one or two of your yoga classes over the years. And I think, you know, what I took away from being instructed by you was a very pragmatic approach to what is sometimes I think, an esoteric,
that that may be a really good explanation for it without me, you know, me seeing it for the forest for the trees, but I didn't really strip it down. So just the prayer, I tell people all the time, I said, we're not gonna sit down in class very much today. Because a lot of times in yoga, you sit for 20 minutes to sit and do poses for 20 minutes, and then you'll get up and do a couple things, then you lay down, and then you leave. As soon as we walk in, you're on your feet, and I keep you on your feet for about the whole class. Because I think life is athletic event, and I want you on your feet.
Pete Turner 32:57
I can't even sit on the ground, like my body
Pete Koch 32:58
doesn't work, like I can't say comes from the ground, either without like a pad or something. A lot of bricks probably to be supported, probably because I didn't make it pragmatic and more accessible. Because now that if you see Pete in your size, and even you've never done before, you could come to my class you go, theoretically, I can do every post he taught. Now, I didn't do it good. But there's no real limitation me other than the mean, not quite knowing that maybe didn't work because I had a knee injury. But if my knee didn't hurt, I could do this pose, you know, so everything is accessible. There's nothing that I've been even known a bit. I've heard people say, Yeah, he teaches kind of a beginner style. I do well, if me, if me sitting cross legged, leaning forward, put my hands on the floor and press up into a handstand where my leg still crosses advanced. Yeah, I'm gonna teach a beginner style because wearing the fuck do you ever need that from in real life? Right. So to make it pragmatic and make it accessible, I think that's probably helped me as much
Pete Turner 33:53
But yeah, why would you? Yeah, that move particular. That's great. Beautiful. I want to watch someone do it. But
Unknown Speaker 33:58
yeah, people can do it. And I'm a was impressed cuz to me. It's impressive. Because I think that took a long time to master. Somebody showed a lot of patience. And I had a friend of mine who do other things. And he confessed to me goes, dude, my OCD about killed me. I did this for eight hours a day to I could do it. Oh, wow. You know, so he was obsessed with it. That's not yoga. Yeah, that's okay. attachment. Man, that is you. That was your image that you're invested in. I am this guy that can do this thing for the ego. Yeah, it's very funny. Someone came up to me Oh day and they go. I've taken yoga with you for 20 times. I've never seen you do a single yoga pose. Because a lot of teachers will demonstrate it. Okay, when sit down and watch how I do this, and then they'll do a handstand and come into a split. I don't know if I could do that. I may have them sit down and watch me do it too, because it's kind of cool, right? But I can't do it. So they go. Do you ever do yoga? I said, it's a mystery. Not very good at it. I'm not gonna do it. And it looks good when I do it because I move slowly and I'm precise. But I do what I do. I do what I know I do well, and
Pete Koch 34:58
I won't to go a little bit further.You know, just just your the amount of muscle mass that you carry. You're like in a category of one. Yeah.
As far as anyone you know, this become have any type of recognition. I'm sure there's some big block head out there somewhere teaching really good yoga. You know, who's a bigger and stronger man. Matter of fact, there's a rumor that Ben Polonsky guy is a bodybuilder. Yeah, where there's an article on what I said, I just saw today on one of the YouTube channels by so and so, it says, bodybuilder Master, Yogi Ben, Paula, I went, I didn't know Ben did yoga. Now he's a big old monster today. He was doing yoga now all the time. Dorian Yates? He's addicted to yoga now. Interesting. He's post pictures of him doing yoga all the time. Dorian Yates?
Well, I saw him at gold's gym at six months ago. I thought he looked all things considered. I thought it looked really good. Yeah, I think loves yoga now that he found that sweet spot where he gave up all that incredible m uscle mass but he doesn't look thin. Either. Know
the athletic. Yeah, yeah. Good. Yeah,
Rudy Mettia 35:58
yeah, he's he's over yoga now.
Pete Turner 36:01
So the the person who's sitting there in their car in traffic hearing this and like, yeah, you know what I got? I got it. I gotta start doing this. I gotta add muscle mass. I don't want to go to a home and all these things, right? Because we all feel this, this poll that you like, Hey, I'm getting all sucks, but I can find it. So what does that person do? Like, look, I've got to take care of my kids. I've got to fix the water heater. I gotta I gotta I gotta.
Pete Koch 36:23
I tell you, I think what they have to do they have to be a little bit selfish. And by being selfish, they're being generous. Because by being selfish, I'm going to be with you longer. Yeah, I'm going to be less of a drain on you. Yeah, I'm gonna be able to support you and provide for you live been in the man, let's say typical man's tradition. And I think with my child's mother, the eight and a half year old, she came when I was 15. And right when she came, I went to the hospital with a 99% blockage on my lower descending artery. Yeah. And I was dead lifting. I go, I've got the worst chest pain I've ever had. I not chest pain. I said I got the worst. It felt like a miserable burning, like indigestion. And I remember Oh, my kid had a cold. I called her cold. I think anything of it. I did my said deadlifts is my last set anyway. And I put it down. I felt good. Matter of fact, on Facebook An hour later I posted feeling like a world champion some braggadocio thing. I was feeling so good. Yeah. Well, the next day, I was with my girlfriend time in my head start hurting so badly. I said, hang on a minute. And she got offended. You don't want to watch TV. So just let me lay here for a minute. And she went storming off another room. I laid there for a minute, and I felt terrible. And then went away. And the next morning, I had to get them go to work. And I jumped up and I went on ship. And I went call the ambulance. And I sat down I went and I had to work. I had 12 people who just pay me $3,000 to teach him yoga for 12 weekends as a teacher training. And and I said Hang on a minute. I'm okay. I just anxiety for this teacher training. I got up at work for 12 hours. got home. I was laying on the couch and my kids watch says my kids. Mom says are you okay? You look bad. Okay. Yeah, I think so. And the VA is right up here. Yeah, there it is. Right there. It's right there. Right here. Yeah, she goes what you just go to the VA real quick and have them look at you, honestly. All right. I'll go over there.
Pete Turner 38:15
Thank God, she was there.
Pete Koch 38:16
Yes, I go to VA. And he says, Yeah, your blood pressure's 115 over 70. And you Everything looks good. He said, What's your family history? So I get my fan. He said, Oh, he said your father died at 32. Your mom died at 42. You know, and the doctor walked into the ER and there's the Asian doctors, Rudy, my yoga teacher and I was like a cheese. Because he was there he goes on the menu tonight. I said, Really? I'm fine. He goes, listen, I want to go to yoga Saturday. I want to go to yoga Monday. I don't want you dead. So you can stay here tonight. Okay, I'll stay and he says I'm gonna put you in a private room to the VA. Yeah, I go. Alright. So he put your room so cool enough when I yoga students saved my life. Basically, I go in and they put me on one of those drips that sends the blood right away. You know, and since the Claudine or whatever it is, they don't know but they put me on the edge just in case. Now cardiologists don't come into Monday. So I'm there Sunday night, finally Monday night a cardiologist comes in he goes we're going to test you Tuesday, Sunday for four days for this thing and now by now I'm feeling great still on a drip thing and the drip things whatever that message is it makes the blood thinner. So you know vapor lock man that's a guy comes up to me goes he goes I've trained with a lot of athletes. Here's why we're fine. We're going to go in there you got some frayed arteries. He said because a lot of athletes with high intensity training have afraid arteries and it shows as heart like angina whatever that word is in China. He said that's what's gonna be he's gonna put you on about a week rest and you'll be fine. He says I could be wrong very cocky, as most cardiologists are he said could be wrong, but I never AM. Okay. So we roll me into the place where the the angioplasty right but they stick the thing up your leg and go into your heart. Number one a strip me down but naked, they put this thing on my penis that looks like a garden hose. Right? And it goes down to a urine collection thing at the end of the bed. And I want to butt naked on this thing in lights that are this big that come down on you for surgery, right? They bring four nurses in and I'm you know I'm laying there with it. Penis this because it's like traumatized and the nurses go, I go by the way, it doesn't always look like this. Yeah. So they go we're gonna shave you now and all this stuff and then I'm going to totally humiliated. They come in, they do that thing. They they cut you in the in the femoral artery. And they run a thing up there. And remember what he said, we're gonna find a daughter is gonna be out of here and don't worry about it. So he's looking and they got a TV screen, you know, twice as big as there's two screens, giant eight inch TV screen and your hearts to zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom. That's your heart. Right? Oh, going back to yoga for my when I laid on the table before they started my heart rate was like 110 as to how I started. You're doing my yoga breathing. And I looked at again, there's 90 other you know, 70 other Dino's? 5555. Now, I'm looking at the screen. The surgeon walks in 5565. So they put the thing in they shoot the dying to heart right? He walks away and to him to two other doctors are talking. Remember all this stuff. And now look down there the other end up because I'm laying on a gurney, I'm awake. They just numb you. Look down the other end. There's another team of doctors scrubbing up. You know, doing all this? I think I heard a few of those guys. He comes back the first doctor comes back goes. I don't believe it. We got a problem. I go What's the problem? It goes, You got a 99 cent block of the of the widow maker artery, the widow. It's called the widow maker because when that thing goes, you hit your dead for hit the ground. I go 99%. He goes yeah, he says, Now we have a second concerned. Here's the big artery. We have a little Kepler already crosses, not as big as pinky and it's coming. Typically speaking, it's a smaller, yes. And he says the block is between the two arteries. So what's that mean? He goes, I don't know if I can get to it. I said, you know, through the angioplasty because they run a cord up there and they do their thing. I said once you can't get to he says there's another team of doctors on crack open. I said that's the last thing I want. Right? Because I'm thinking how long? How long was that recovery? You know? So he goes in he does he goes, comes back to me. He goes, I think I can get to it. But here's what's gonna happen. When I take that block out. It's going to kill this little capillary. I go slow capillary, what's that mean? He goes, Well, you can have a heart attack in a minute. I want. It says only give you we're going to do some hard tech to kill this capillary. I go is so hard. I'm thinking the worst gets hard it out. Right? I go what's that mean to my long term health? He goes, I don't know. He says maybe 5% of your heart function will be damaged. I said, What does that mean to me walking down the street? He goes, you never know. So I go. Alright, right. He says that we can crack it and do a bypass and not kill that part. I got not fucking kill it. Because it says when I inject this, he says he said when I open this, you'll feel it. You'll feel it. He said, you're ready. I go, Well, I'm in the hospital is no better place to slow down? Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 43:15
I say I say go for it. And so he says, Here he goes. And as soon as he said, I felt some like, you know those same elephants in on your chest. He said, how you doing? Pretty good. He goes, What's the pain? I go to seven? He goes, What about now? Better? Eight. What about now but a nine? He said they should cop off? He said hang on there. Hang on, hang on. Was it now? But an eight now seven. Now? 6543? What is it now? About to? How do you feel is awesome. I'm not okay. He said that's it. He said you're clear. He said, you know, no more blockage. And so they take into the ICU, and they take your blood Pete every three hours. And there's an enzyme that tells you how much damage your heart was. I said, What's the rate he said can go from one to 100. And I think he says and when it raises up, let's say gets to 10. And it drops back down. 10 was where you ended up at. So then they came in every three hours to blood to Bob to blood. He said You said you max out about four. He says I predicted 5%. He said you're at 4%. He said you know and I've never noticed that since you know, I don't have to go fat tangent but something about anyway. So that was my heart thing. However, I got off on that. Yeah. Wow. Oh, I know it was what about how to get the guy who doesn't have any time? Yeah. Well, when I came out that I said, Man, whenever when I thought I'm gonna lose all my muscle man. Because at first the doctor say, Well, you know, you're just having your 220 pounds and you got too much muscle and you can't lift anything over 20 pounds for the next six months and deadlift ends. I had a question for you and never do squats again. And all this stuff. They warned you about Ryan, that's your job to tell you don't do anything. And two weeks later, I was dead lifting again squatting again, scared, because for six months, I had this place between my shoulder blades that hurt. I was like, Hell, I thought I'd put a trap or something. Right. And it turned out right behind that spot was that lower descending order. And that's exactly the the injury was so I had that place behind my heart forever. I tell my students all the time now and yoga. I said, Listen, this practice is a diagnosis for you. If you guys will pay attention, it may save your life. Because you're diagnosed yourself you go, I don't know what this thing is, or this thing or this thing. And it can help you. So I started training again and I'll get that little pain behind my shoulder blade again and scare the crap on me. So for that sick I was really wasn't very confident. And then I'll sudden that went away, I get think I healed. And that went away and it hasn't bothered me since. But the guy who can't make it to the gym, he just has to make the decision to be selfish for himself though and go Yeah, it's hard. What? What Jocko say given for 30 give a fo ur o'clock you know, go to bed sooner, that type thing. Soit's really just choices to make.
Pete Turner 45:48
We were in Iraq, and we changed TOCs jump from here to there a couple miles away, and everybody had to move all the shit. You know, the military, I was moving things. And there's this reservist officer, God bless. But he's there to do his job. But he's like, Sergeant Major was Sergeant Major. I need some help moving all my stuff. You know, I was working all day. And we were till three in the morning. It's hard to like, move at 315
Pete Koch 46:15
it for this stationary guy or the guy who just sits around. I think people tell you walk out the house for 15 minutes. Yeah, you know, go that way. Like you're catching a bus? Go 10 minutes. Yeah, that way, like you catching a bus. And then when you get there, you gotta come home. That's 20 minutes. Yeah, and then go 15 minutes that way. Next thing you know, you're walking an hour. Forget strength training, forget yoga, walk an hour a day, that's going to increase your longevity from a guy who's just not doing anything. And it's so simple. And there's no excuses, right? You walk out of your house, you walk up the street, you walk back down the street, work up to an hour a day, every day, you know, or 15 minutes walk four times a day or something like that. Just get them moving. Get it? I'm sure Pete I'm addicted to movement. Yeah.
And I'm addicted to success stories. And every time I meet somebody that I haven't any chance at all to find out how they succeeded in as relates relates to this, increasing their physical fitness or losing weight. It's a big, big topic, of course, in this country. And it wasn't long ago that I spoke to a man just about my age in his 50s. And he lost about 100 pounds. And he probably had another 5070 pounds to go admittedly. But he was in a real crisis in his mid 50s with his weight. And I said, how'd you do it? How did you lose that hundred pounds and says he feels so much better. And he was going to lose the rest. And I'm sure that it will but important strategy for him was buying a dog or adopting a puppy. I don't know the course of events Exactly. But he lived. He worked largely from home. He's very successful business guy. He traveled a bit, but he had a chance to spend a lot of time at home he goes, I feel like NE lived in a place that had access to rural roads, hiking trails, say Yeah, perfect neighborhood to get at. And he goes, because he tried to motivate himself to go walk as to your point by himself, but he found himself quitting on the walks or not even moving. But he knew that if you had a dog that dog needed to get outside times a day, and do his business, and those turned into really long walks that he embraced that change to his lifestyle. He really enjoyed connecting with nature. And he lived in New Jersey, so we had weather there. But he said that's okay. You know, I'm not gonna
Rudy Mettia 48:37
probably enjoy the company of the dog,
Pete Koch 48:39
dog. Yeah, the whole thing, you know, was set and I was like, it doesn't have to be complex. But I'm a but but I'm a fan of behavior ism. And if it's that dog, it's going to make you elicit the response in your brain to get you to walk, find out what that thing is. And do it embrace it.
Pete Turner 48:56
That makes sense. Make sense? said that thing that doctor at told you about like, breaking out for 90 minutes, unlocks your ability to do a lot more work to
Pete Koch 49:06
Yeah, so Dr. H, you know the shirt of Dr. Robert heisting of Harvard trained medical doctor he I first met him when he was the team doctor for the Los Angeles at that time Raiders and that's the Howie, long Marcus Allen. Yeah, Raiders for you fans of football in the 80s. And he sort of evolved his career in many different directions. He's been my doctor and a friend of mine for the three decades now. And he was the supervising physician on the reality show The Biggest Loser. I think they ran 17 seasons on the didn't do a show a year they would do like a show every eight months. I think it ran about 13 years, but they had a anyway, hundreds and hundreds of obese contestants came through the show and had an outstanding results. He kept copious medical records on all those people. And he determined that you need to move if you're if you're obese, you need to move for 90 minutes, it's a day move 90 minutes a day and how you feel that in Look, if you're way, way off the mark with your weight and strength levels, that movements going to basically be walking and then but but he does like to incorporate some bit of strength training in there. And as the weight comes off, and you become more physically fit more in tune with your athleticism, then it's going to be more strength training and less of the walking interesting. So there's that that sliding sort of a continuum there. But he also has a flip because he's a he works out for 90 minutes a day, six days a week himself. He was, you know, he is he's in his 60s and he's 8% body fat. He's making physique. And he believes he goes and here's a man, you know, who studied biochemistry at Michigan before he went to Harvard Medical School. His father was a nuclear physicist, what he's got an extensive background in the natural sciences and he says I can't explain it. But I believe that when I exercise 60 to 90 minutes a day, I get more out of my day, I get I get more production out of my day. It's everyone wants to view that time at the gym or on the exercising as a subtraction. He goes, I've worked at RFID a pure addition to me.
Yeah, I believe that it gives you I mean, I think a jumpstart sees you more so it is important to do it in the morning, though, you know, the earlier the better. I think a lot of times your day gets so it gets ahead of you. And next thing you know, it's four o'clock. Yeah. If you get it four o'clock and you get on the couch, it's a good chance. You're like a move right? Yeah. But I think that's that's a street page to start with walking. And then move up from there.
Pete Turner 51:38
Yeah, we're going to run out of time with you. Well, that's okay. Just once again where we can find you and everybody's riveted by your heart attack story and everything else that was crazy. Well,
Rudy Mettia 51:46
I'd like to I'd like them to look for me on new diet calm, UDAYA calm. And then my new project is squat box gym. Squatbox gym one word.com which will be launched tonight as far as a website. And also squat box him on Instagram, or reading to him at TIA on Facebook. The best way to find me and and join in with the conversation but to hear from him.
Pete Turner 52:15
Come on again because you've got a hard
Rudy Mettia 52:18
time sorry to drone on and on.
Pete Turner 52:20
That's great.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
