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From Nothing to a Brand: The Story Behind Off The Bench London · Off the Bench - London

0:02
And gentlemen, allow us to reintroduce your hosts,
0:08
Malcolm the Milkman Noel and Scott the Visionary
0:15
Home. This is the show where life and sports
0:20
collide. Monday night lights and the ball comes
0:24
alive. The base getting loud while the fans all
0:27
arrive. From the rink to the field to the court
0:29
where it's live. Breaking down the plays while
0:31
we ride. We'll be right back. What up? What's
1:28
up? I'm Malcolm the Milkman. Scott the Visionary
1:32
Hone. Welcome to Off the Bench. Let's get off
1:35
the bench. Let's get off the bench. Episode 33.
1:38
34? We're working on it. We always get the numbers
1:41
wrong. We're so bad at this. Yeah. Hey. Hey.
1:44
I recently got punched in the head a bunch. True.
1:48
True. You're about to get punched in the head
1:49
a bunch. True. Or not. We'll see. So, obviously,
1:53
this episode's coming out randomly because it's
1:56
on a Saturday now that this is coming out compared
1:58
to our normal rotation where it's either it comes
2:02
out on Monday or Wednesday. Yeah. Sorry. So,
2:04
like. Let's switch it up. Get out of here. Oh,
2:14
this is weird. Do we have to switch mics, too,
2:16
so the audio goes to the right place? No, no.
2:19
We'll fix it in post. That's what they say, right?
2:21
We can always fix it. I say they. Yeah, I am
2:25
them. All right. Now you're in the hot seat.
2:28
This is weird. The lighting hits different on
2:31
this side. Right? I know. Oh, yeah, it does.
2:34
This is, yeah. I don't know how to deal with
2:36
this. Anyway, let's get into it. So we are, you're
2:43
about to get in the ring, but let's, let's bring
2:47
it back. Let's find out more, more about you.
2:51
So I guess, I guess the people, the people got
2:54
to know. What's up? You are the owner operator
2:59
of Milky Way Apparel. Yes, sir. Our fantastic
3:04
sponsor. Yeah, we got some sweet swag. Actually,
3:08
I love these new shirts. They're amazing. Appreciate
3:11
that. Plus, I don't know if anyone really read
3:14
what's on the back of my shirt, what's on the
3:17
back of our shirt, but it's from the heart. It's
3:20
from us. It's true. I love it. But tell us about
3:25
Milky Way. What got that started? That's yeah,
3:31
that's that's fun. During 2020, when the whole
3:35
world collapsed, whether you're from Canada,
3:38
Japan, Russia, everyone was affected by COVID
3:41
-19. So once things started opening up later
3:46
in that year, during the football season, you
3:51
know, we're all trying to get back into sports.
3:52
And I ended up going to Collins formal wear and
3:56
I saw this pink, bright sweater. It was a kangaroo
4:01
pink sweater. I was like, I want that, but I
4:03
don't want the kangaroo on the shirt. I was like,
4:06
I don't resonate with the kangaroo. It doesn't
4:09
do anything for me. So at the time, my brother
4:13
-in -laws, they weren't brother -in -laws at
4:16
the time, but they were there. They were working
4:17
there. So I reached out to them. I was like,
4:19
I want a pink sweater, but I want to put something
4:21
on it. They're like, well, what do you want to
4:23
put on it? I went through like numerous things.
4:27
I was like, I put milk man on there and I was
4:31
just like, uh, uh, and then it's like, I kept
4:34
being resonated with like the concept of Nike.
4:37
Yeah. Right. So then, you know, the whole joke
4:41
is I'm the milk man. So I was like, how can I
4:46
flip Nike, make it local and make it still a
4:49
part of me? So I ended up putting milk. I'm laughing.
4:52
Cause I know. Like I, for starters, I didn't
4:55
know that whole story, but, uh, I have a pink
4:57
milk sweater. Yes. You have an OG. You have an
5:00
OG. I got, I got an OG. Yeah. Uh, so that was
5:03
when I used to work with Collins formal wear
5:05
to like design a lot of my shirts and sweaters.
5:08
I got to bust that out and bring it out. So I,
5:10
Oh, like I've improved dramatically since then.
5:14
I know, but we still got to bust that, that old.
5:15
It's true. Um, so yeah, so milked man started
5:20
milked and then, uh, that was like one of the
5:23
ogs and i started going to like crabby joe's
5:27
downtown in london ontario and i had random people
5:30
coming up to me it's like yo that's a sick sweater
5:32
that's a sick sweater and i was just like thanks
5:35
cool like nothing to do with us being trapped
5:37
in our houses for so long no like it's possible
5:40
so after a while i was like getting to the point
5:44
was like yo can i get a sweater i was like yeah
5:47
like sure so i ended up finding uh tyler mccollins
5:52
and trying to work a partnership and kind of
5:54
work a deal to make things work out and uh next
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thing you know uh within like the first few months
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i had people messaging me on instagram being
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like yo i want a sweater how much and i'll be
6:07
like this and it was like send me your address
6:09
and i'll deliver it to your house yeah so that's
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what literally hand delivered started it and
6:14
like i'm gonna do a huge shout out uh To like
6:18
one of the people who kind of did force me to
6:21
take the next step and actually started as a
6:23
real company. And that's Rory Mitchell. If it
6:26
wasn't for Rory Mitchell, I wouldn't have taken
6:28
that next step to, you know, start a Shopify,
6:31
look for, you know, different enterprises and
6:34
other ways to go about it. And then once that
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was done, another huge shout out to Tyrone Berry,
6:39
who taught me a little bit of things with the
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camera. So then I had, you know. I learned how
6:45
to, you know, build a POS, market it. And I did
6:49
go to school for marketing and I kind of put
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it all together. And that's how Milky Way is.
6:53
And because of that, now we have Off the Bench.
6:56
Right. Hey, I love it. I can't say enough. Every
7:00
time you put new stuff out there, I'm like, man,
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I want that. I got you. I got you. I just remember
7:10
the adventure when I first moved. trying to get
7:14
stuff to my new address when I didn't have a
7:15
buzzer code. Oh, my God. That was a nightmare.
7:18
Now I've smartened up and just sent it to my
7:20
parents. Unfortunately, because of how I do my
7:23
distribution, if I can't get access to, my drivers
7:26
can't deliver it to you. Yeah. It becomes a hassle.
7:31
But it's okay. We're moving. Yeah, for sure.
7:34
Progress. But no, it's crazy how you started
7:39
that. And, like, shout out to everybody that
7:42
pushed you to get it going. For sure. Because,
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well, you just gave a shout out to Rory Mitchell.
7:50
Yep. Who also has a podcast. Yep. Who was your
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first opponent. And when I went to a boxing match,
7:56
yes. In Fight to End. Yep. So you guys are just,
8:01
like, that connection piece. Yeah. Which is,
8:03
like. You're it'll always be entwined. Yes. Yeah.
8:07
And you'll always live rent free in my brain.
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Yeah. Yeah, man. So, and then the other great
8:13
thing is like during that time, I was also working
8:15
for a hundred house. Yeah. So, and I, the one
8:19
thing that, you know, you were also worked at
8:21
a hundred house and other ventures is that one
8:25
nonprofits don't get enough recognition and they
8:30
don't get enough donor ships. And they can never
8:34
have enough. They they have to go through the
8:36
government to get more donations. And then it
8:39
becomes, you know, liberals versus conservatives
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and blah, blah, blah. Exactly. Every every election
8:44
you're like, OK, are they going to cut funding
8:48
to this program? Are they going to because everybody's
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worried about this, this like this and other
8:53
things. And like you don't know what they're
8:55
going to do. So the one thing that my goal is,
8:58
is to keep growing the Milky Way apparel so that
9:00
you can also fund. nonprofits like hunting house
9:03
for example because obviously hunting house soft
9:07
spot in my heart you know a shout out to all
9:08
the team out there uh they definitely helped
9:11
me move forward in my career and without them
9:15
i wouldn't be where i am today yeah i there it's
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an amazing group of people and i'm i'm actually
9:23
so thankful for my experience with that i because
9:27
having that experience working with a non -profit
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changes your perspective on everything especially
9:36
how you work in corporate world again exactly
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because like you're not you're going in and being
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like oh right i can do this but i can also be
9:46
a good person while i'm doing exactly it's not
9:48
always about the numbers it's also figuring out
9:50
the impact you have on other people exactly and
9:53
that's why we're doing like that's why we've
9:57
got this podcast going we're doing these Doing
10:00
these charity events. Working with people that
10:03
are fantastic people. True. And are doing things
10:08
for the right reason. True. Actually, to that
10:12
sentiment, the hat that I'm wearing, it's actually
10:15
a uranium company. It's basically a landscape
10:19
company that kind of started in London and it's
10:22
kind of like exploded. But the actual meaning
10:25
is seed. and as a small company this kind of
10:29
resonates with me so like i want to do a huge
10:31
shout out to them uh as they keep growing and
10:33
keep making an impact in the landscape industry
10:35
that's amazing i that's funny because i've seen
10:39
you wear that hat and i've just like it's a hat
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but like because you're a tall person i don't
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see the logo that often fair fair yes yes yeah
10:49
so and then there you go oh yeah there you go
10:53
perfect so shout out to them Yeah, so tell me
10:56
a little bit more about what you're... Okay,
10:59
I realize I'm also part of this podcast, but,
11:03
like, I'm going to say, like, 86%, 87 % of the
11:09
brains of the operation, all the technical stuff,
11:12
most of all of the marketing is you. Yeah. So,
11:16
like, you're doing a lot. Yeah. Tell me what
11:21
the podcast means to you. You know what? That's
11:24
a really good question. I'm going to be honest.
11:28
I didn't know what to expect. Going and checking
11:32
out, going for two when they used to be here,
11:36
when they would record weekly or going to their
11:38
private studio and recording with them. I got
11:43
that bug to like, I wanted to be on a podcast
11:46
and I wanted to own my own kind of. So I did
11:49
talk to them at one point about. venturing off
11:52
and having a sideshow from them. I know you've
11:55
done a couple podcasts. A great example of being
12:02
on a podcast and starting one is it's very similar
12:06
to what you just experienced in a boxing ring.
12:08
The anxiety of not sure if people are going to
12:11
like you. Sometimes they do. The other thing
12:15
that's really, really tough is understanding
12:18
that you may hate your own voice. yeah that is
12:22
honestly not a lot of people like their own voice
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it's true it's hard because when you're editing
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you're editing your own voice yeah um so a lot
12:31
of it was like trying to get over those like
12:34
those challenges yeah um but now i'm at the i'm
12:38
at the point and i think you can agree to this
12:40
is that The people now who are resonating with
12:43
our podcast and like whether it's from our football
12:48
weekly updates to like our boxing venture that
12:51
we just like segued into. A lot of people are
12:55
saying that they appreciate what we're doing
12:56
and we're building awareness and the fact that
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we're growing. Yeah, I actually at the fight,
13:02
I got recognized like, oh, you're on the podcast.
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I'm like. sure am it's it's a cool feeling and
13:09
i get it now and like like you're out there oh
13:12
i guess i am yeah yeah people i know uh are like
13:16
oh yeah real popped up in my like just popped
13:19
up like cool yeah it's kind of cool and like
13:23
now that i've like i've dived down i've changed
13:26
i'm starting to change a lot of it because at
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the start of it was a lot so i did rely a lot
13:32
on an ai And I'm not going to lie about that.
13:35
And now that I'm dialing down, trying to make
13:37
sure things are fine tuned, you know, there's
13:41
people out there. And I'm going to do a random
13:44
shout out. Shout out to Tara, who recently slid
13:49
into my DM on TikTok. You know, like there's
13:56
random people out there who are like, who are
14:00
reaching out. So, like, we're on TikTok. We're
14:03
on Instagram. Yeah, yeah. We're on TikTok. We're
14:06
on YouTube. We're on Instagram. Yeah, we're on
14:08
everything. But it means a lot. It means that,
14:11
you know, it's not just our opinions, but what
14:13
we feel and what we think about. People are resonating
14:17
with it. And, you know, we have viewers every
14:20
week. It keeps growing. And the amount of impact
14:22
that we're having on the community and people
14:24
who want to come out and actually share their
14:26
story. You know, we talked about MS. We've talked
14:29
about referee side. Like, not a lot of people
14:33
have had the network that we can build with having
14:37
a podcast. It's honestly, it's kind of a cool
14:41
feeling, like, knowing that you're actually,
14:43
like, saying things. And, like, now we're realizing
14:46
that, like, okay, when we say stuff, like, it
14:49
actually matters. And people are listening. And
14:54
you don't know who's listening. Sure. It's so
14:58
weird. Like, we just say things and, like, I've
15:03
never really thought about it, how, like, our
15:07
podcast can get so many viewers, countless, at
15:13
least, like, 30 plus. Yeah. We're still growing.
15:19
Yeah, exactly. But I don't get anxiety doing
15:23
this for some reason. But, like, for the fight.
15:26
It's just different. It was totally different.
15:29
Also, no one's going to jump out of the bushes
15:31
and punch me in the head during this. Maybe me.
15:33
But the one thing that is Shane, my buddy Shane,
15:37
he definitely contacted me. He's like, the one
15:40
thing that he loves about our podcast is he feels
15:43
like. there's a chair right next to us and he's
15:46
having the exact same conversation that we would
15:48
have if it was at his house. Yeah. Or if I was
15:52
at his house or we were all at a bar, these are
15:55
all the same things that we're all talking about.
15:56
But now he can be at work and be like, yo, I
15:58
was thinking the exact same thing and being able
16:01
to like express that and being like, yo, you
16:04
know, filling those gaps when we have those pauses
16:06
and like, they can have a conversation and next
16:08
thing you know, we're budding that. I have that.
16:11
Sometimes I'll listen back to it. And then you'll
16:13
be talking. And then I'll be like, in my head,
16:16
I'll be thinking something. And then your co
16:19
-host will say something. And I'll be like, man,
16:21
that's exactly what I'm thinking. It's crazy.
16:25
It's funny, right? It's always fun to listen
16:28
to that podcast. And it's hard for me, too, because
16:31
once I edit it, I'm in my lab for hours fine
16:36
-tuning it. So it makes it hard for me to watch
16:40
it on YouTube. Listen to her on Spotify. Shout
16:43
out to those. The hardest part is writing the
16:45
whole script. You actually write all of this
16:47
out beforehand? Improv. Improv. Come on. Come
16:50
on. I don't got that much time. My wife would
16:52
kill me. Sheesh. Could you imagine trying to,
16:57
like, actually write this? Oh, my God. Yeah.
17:01
No. No. No. Improv. Could you imagine trying
17:04
to get me to stick to a script? No. Yeah. No.
17:08
That's not happening. All right. So. All right.
17:14
I'm interviewing you. Yes. So I had my fight.
17:20
Well, guy, we got an episode coming out about
17:23
that later on. But before we get into that, you've
17:29
got your fight coming up today. When this comes
17:33
out, May 9th. Yep. What are you thinking? Tell
17:39
me what you're thinking this time around. Because
17:42
I know this is your third fight. Yep. You've
17:45
had Fight to End. You did Punch Out last year.
17:49
You were at RBC Place. Then you were at Music
17:54
Hall. And this show is going to be a lot more
17:57
intimate. Yep. So what are your thoughts on this
18:00
show coming up? It's definitely going to be different.
18:03
I'm not going to lie. And what I mean by different,
18:06
it's like... This whole experience has been different.
18:11
Yeah. This year has been a whirlwind. And I can't,
18:15
like, I had to start it from the beginning. It's
18:18
like, I'll just do a huge shout out to Pesce
18:20
Sanera for sponsoring me this year. You know,
18:23
this is the first year being sponsored by a fighter.
18:25
So now he's over there. That's me, guys. This
18:29
is the first year I've actually been sponsored
18:31
by a fighter. And, like, I feel like the expectation
18:34
has been risen. Where, like, I can't let my sponsor
18:37
down. Yeah. Max. So, like, it's one of those
18:41
things where it's just like, now I'm trying even
18:43
harder because I have someone sponsoring me before.
18:47
It's not just family. It's like someone's taking
18:49
their hard -earned money through their company
18:51
and pushing me forward. Slap a sticker on you
18:55
and call that man marketing. Yeah, you know what
18:57
I mean? But, you know. But, yeah, no, like, I
19:01
get being, like, old man somewhat. A business
19:05
wants to be like, hey, that guy's ours. Yeah.
19:10
Not ours, but, like, we respect that individual.
19:14
Yeah. But, like, they want to put a label on
19:17
you being like, like, they want to be connected.
19:21
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like getting drafted in
19:25
the NFL. Yeah, you're representing that company.
19:27
Yes, yes. So that's different. It's not just,
19:31
like, before. Like last year, I was fighting
19:33
for MS. Now I'm fighting for MS in Pest Case.
19:36
Yeah. That's the best scenario. So, no. So, like,
19:44
this whole year has been a little bit different.
19:45
So, I've been taking training a little bit more
19:48
serious. And I've split my time. So, I train
19:51
half the time at MPT and my other time at Boomers.
19:56
And then now, like, I don't scout my opponent.
20:00
Yeah. Because I can't. Well, it's so weird because,
20:03
like, at the beginning of this, obviously, you
20:06
roped me into signing up. And then, obviously,
20:10
through mostly your own fault, you're very hard
20:14
to match up. And, like, for myself, it was probably
20:18
significantly easier to find an opponent. Which,
20:21
ironically, Jay's an amazing coach, and he finds
20:27
matchups that are... Fantastic. And like my opponent,
20:31
we are within the 10 pounds of each other. I
20:36
think we're within like five pounds of each other.
20:38
Within two kilograms of each other. And our birthdays
20:41
are like a week apart. So we're basically the
20:44
same age and everything. That's amazing. Like
20:46
he's a little bit taller than I am. Anyway, amazing.
20:49
Shout out. Can't give enough shout outs to him.
20:52
H2O. H2O. H2O. Yeah. If you know, you know. But.
20:57
For this year, you've had, like, you didn't have
21:02
an opponent in the beginning. No. So you're like,
21:05
I don't know how, like, because you train harder
21:10
once you know it's real. Yeah. And then you were
21:13
like, it was humming and hawing about you and
21:16
Alcides going. Yep. Alcides has tons of fights
21:20
to the point where. They're like, okay, this
21:26
is probably not a good idea. Which, at the same
21:30
time, is nice because you guys are friends. But
21:35
then once you finally had an opponent, it all
21:41
changed for you. So then you're like, okay, game
21:44
time, lock in. Then I'm seeing you... I mean,
21:49
I feel like the last month we really locked it
21:52
in. And you start... Going like going to it doing
21:57
two -a -days Focusing hard. So like what's that?
22:01
What was it in clicks for you? Oh My diet, yeah,
22:08
honestly, I changed my diet once I realized who
22:11
was fighting I decided to like hone down on my
22:15
diet. So Basically, I start the day off with
22:18
two cups of coffee No, honestly, start the day
22:22
off two cups of coffee on an empty stomach. Then
22:24
a bathroom break. Yes. And then I actually, my
22:28
next, I have another drink right after that.
22:31
And it's a mixture of apple cider vinegar, lemon
22:35
juice, and hot water. Right? Sounds gross. It
22:39
actually is not that bad. It's what I do. And
22:42
then I'll have lunch and then I'll start training.
22:46
Basically, I'm putting myself in a deficit, but
22:48
I'm just cleansing myself out. And then I'll
22:52
just, like, stop the drinking of alcohol. Yeah.
22:55
To the point where, like, if I do go out with
22:56
my wife, I'll have one drink and then stop. I
23:00
remember when you were, like, after soccer, you're
23:03
drinking wine. You're like, well, one glass of
23:05
wine a day is good for you. It's like you're
23:08
just playing a soccer game and you're like, well,
23:09
have a glass of wine. Yeah, it's so, like, dope.
23:12
The way I view it is I was either drinking a
23:14
glass of wine or I'd have one glass of Guinness.
23:17
Yeah. Right? Because Guinness is technically
23:19
a light beer. Guinness is shot. It's so weird.
23:23
Everyone is like, Guinness is like a meal. Like,
23:25
it's not. It's actually the lightest beer there
23:27
is. There's less calories in a pint of Guinness
23:30
than there is in a pint of orange juice. And
23:31
there's more protein in it, actually. Yeah. So,
23:34
it's crazy. So, yeah. So, that's what I did.
23:37
And then I just started training harder and just
23:39
listening to people from, like, Mark. tanner
23:42
jay yeah um and even in a sponge like i'm honestly
23:46
i don't for me what i'm training is i'm in i'm
23:51
i'm a dummy yeah just teach me all right like
23:54
for me most of most things i'm a dummy like just
23:58
tell me what's going on tell me what i'm doing
24:00
wrong um even lj he's uh he was one of the coaches
24:03
there he's telling me like oh my stance is off
24:05
i'm just gonna listen And I'm trying to take
24:09
everything that everyone says and put it together.
24:11
Yeah. And that's how, like, I keep improving
24:14
and keep improving. To the point where, like,
24:16
last year I sparred a guy named Will. And he
24:21
was caught off guard with some of the moves.
24:23
Because, like, you never pulled these. I was
24:24
just like, I know. It's like, I feel more natural.
24:27
I lost a lot of weight. I lost about 10 pounds.
24:33
10 pounds. And I'm still trying to lose a little
24:35
bit more. even though my opponent's a little
24:38
bit heavier, but I just feel more natural. And
24:43
my clothes fit so much better, so I need to keep
24:45
this weight. Our one sponsor that keeps showing
24:51
up, the first thing he always says is, he's probably
24:54
going to call the cops because my guns are always
24:56
showing. So if other people are noticing it,
25:00
then it's actually working. Notice he never comments
25:03
on my guns. Mine are so bigger. What? You're
25:10
a bigger guy. It's not my fault. That's fair.
25:13
Yeah. So, yeah. That's what really happened.
25:17
I just dialed in my diet and then started focusing
25:20
on, you know, my training and hitting hard and
25:24
traveling to different gyms. Because I've trained
25:27
at a lot of gyms this year. Yeah. Well, it's
25:29
cool. I don't know. I feel like once you start
25:32
dialing in the... The health aspect? Yeah. It's
25:37
jumping into your life more than just the gym.
25:42
True. It's not just a go to the gym, turn it
25:44
on, leave the gym, turn it off. It's, no, I'm
25:48
actually training 24 -7. I'd say 24 -7, 365,
25:53
but it's like 60. It's like a month. That's the
25:58
one thing that Jay was talking about. He's like,
26:00
he's always shocked because I'll dog it for the
26:03
first three months. And then that last month,
26:06
it's like, oh, where was this the whole entire
26:07
time? He's like, imagine if you did this the
26:10
whole time. Yeah. It's just like, well, life
26:13
hits you, right? Yeah. There's so much things
26:15
that we're doing. So from soccer to flag football
26:19
to... podcasting like it's actual jobs yes not
26:24
that this is like from tasting room to you know
26:27
flight line training services like i'm doing
26:28
we're doing a lot so like try to find that balance
26:31
where you actually work yeah but yeah so no just
26:35
putting everything together yeah to health to
26:39
health as i drink non -alcoholic i'm looking
26:43
forward to like having two beers after my fight
26:47
but Or I'll probably stick to the die because
26:50
you never know. I might sign up for novice tournament.
26:52
That's true. That's coming up in August. Yeah.
26:55
But so everyone's going to hear my whole story
27:00
in our next episode. But you've been through
27:05
this before. Yep. How do you handle the anxiety
27:11
and the adrenaline dump that you get? Because,
27:16
like, that adrenaline dump is a real deal. You're
27:19
not wrong. You're not wrong. I was. I didn't
27:23
even think I talked. Anyway, my hands were, like,
27:28
jittery for, like, the next hour after my fight.
27:36
To answer your question, I'm going to be honest.
27:40
It's my theme song. Every theme song that I play.
27:46
literally kind of like grounds me back to ground
27:49
zero. So for my first fight, I had Meek Mill's
27:53
Nightmares and Dreams. So listening to that,
27:56
I got back into like my grounded place of like
28:00
remembering the first time the Eagles won the
28:02
Super Bowl. You know what I mean? And the feeling
28:05
that I had during my walkout, I was just like
28:09
reliving that moment through my head. And then
28:13
last year I had one of Will Smith's new songs
28:16
that he had at the time. And at that time, that
28:20
song also resonated because it was Will Smith
28:23
coming back out of his entanglement situation
28:25
that he had to go through. Yeah. And like how
28:28
he's kind of recreated himself after that slap.
28:31
So it was like kind of his redemption song. I
28:34
was trying to listen to that again. I was trying
28:36
to redeem myself after the first time because
28:40
I felt. after my first fight that was cheated
28:44
out of a fight. Yeah, no, I get it. You know
28:47
what I mean? Like I trained extremely hard for
28:49
my first one and it didn't go the distance. It
28:53
felt good, but like I felt I had more left on
28:58
the table. Yeah. So then I tried to go the second
29:02
time and that song was like that redemption.
29:05
I was trying to redeem myself. And then I did
29:08
redeem myself because like I left it all on the
29:10
table in the first round. And put my opponent
29:14
in a situation where he couldn't go anymore.
29:16
Yeah. And it was like, that was kind of more
29:18
fulfilling because like my opponent kind of was
29:20
like, you know what? Thank you. You, you, you
29:23
awoken something. And I was like, actually you
29:25
woken something in me. So this year I have a
29:29
song that kind of puts everything that I've done
29:34
for the past year. And for my previous fights,
29:39
that's going to ground me in a way that. it's
29:42
going to be different. When people hear it, it's
29:45
not going to make sense. But for me, it does.
29:49
Yeah. That's the important thing. I remember
29:52
even my walkout, I'm like, the anxiety is real.
29:58
And you just got to think back because I was
30:03
doing exactly what Heather said. Heather, the
30:09
amazing ref. Yep. Amazing person. Amazing ref,
30:14
coach, person, mom, boxer, everything. The whole
30:17
trinity. Listening to it on my way to boxing
30:20
every day. Yep. And then it just gets you a little,
30:24
not that it got rid of any of the anxiety, but
30:27
going in and you start bumping to it. And then
30:33
you're like, okay, it just gets your mind right.
30:35
Yep. And, man, I don't know how this is your
30:40
third one. Hopefully for you, it's going to be
30:46
a totally different experience. It's true. But
30:50
that's a slightly smaller venue, which is going
30:54
to be an amazing show. But it's going to be different
30:59
because this feels like almost a fighter's show.
31:04
Yeah. Because you're going into the Bushido house.
31:09
and we're a spark where me and my opponent have
31:12
sparred right yeah because we had like i punch
31:17
it was going to bushido on sundays yeah to get
31:22
some sparring in because obviously 16 weeks goes
31:26
by real fast it's true and go you get a little
31:29
bit get a little bit of work in you the coolest
31:32
part is at the time you had no idea that was
31:36
going to be the guy you were yeah You were going
31:39
to be fighting. Yeah, I know. I have a video
31:42
of it. And the thing is, I was trying stupid
31:46
things like I always do in sparring. Yeah. And
31:49
that could be a reference point for my fighter.
31:51
So he could be training off of that video that
31:54
he has, not knowing that. I was actually getting
31:59
ready to train for Alcides, and I changed my
32:01
whole complete style and my mentality for Alcides
32:04
to go back to now fighting him. So now he gets
32:08
my game plan for Alcides. So what I think is
32:11
interesting, so when your opponent can see you,
32:16
especially for the first fight, do you think
32:19
it's better to sandbag it and let your opponent
32:25
think they have the upper hand? or to show them
32:30
what you can do so they have the anxiety they're
32:35
more nervous because if you like you could either
32:39
go crazy make them nervous or you could not go
32:44
crazy give them confidence and then shock them
32:47
in the ring because i feel like i did a little
32:52
bit of that I've had both aspects. My first time
32:55
my opponent saw me train, and then once I got
32:58
into the ring, he was just like, oh, I didn't
33:00
know you were actually hitting this hard. Yeah.
33:03
That was the first time. And then the second
33:05
time, my opponent watched my fight to end video
33:08
numerous times. And I'm not saying because of
33:12
that, he might have got scared and was worried.
33:16
I don't want to put words in his mouth. But I
33:20
think... I'd rather the first. Yeah. Than the
33:24
second because I don't want you, I want you seeing
33:27
me train, but then really. You want me to, you
33:31
want to have that extra gear. Yes. Game time.
33:34
Yeah. Yeah. I'd rather that instead of my opponent
33:36
knowing that I can finish you off. Yeah. And
33:39
then train and then realize that they can't.
33:42
Because it allows that opportunity that I'm not
33:46
good enough. Yeah. To give it my best. And all
33:49
I'm asking for is you to give it your best because
33:51
I'm not necessarily doing it for a boxing event.
33:54
I'm doing it for charity. It's true. Right? And
33:58
honestly, shout out to Punch Out MS. Yeah. It
34:02
is an incredible event that they put on. How
34:07
often is it, do you get such an amazing response
34:12
from the community to join to... work with an
34:16
event that they have to do too like that doesn't
34:21
happen honestly it's true it's true i i'll say
34:25
this from the i've been saying it from the get
34:27
-go i don't even know where it goes from here
34:28
it's only up probably another gym starting their
34:32
own yeah for another charity event like the way
34:35
lennon is standing up like bigger Budweiser,
34:38
sorry, Canada Place, Canada Life Place. I know
34:42
it as JLC, you know, JLC. Or maybe, you know,
34:46
it becomes to a point where it's like some gym
34:50
in London starts doing a world tour of like amateur
34:53
boxers across Canada. That would actually be
34:57
kind of cool. You know, where everyone then gets
35:00
to connect and then you have a showcase at either
35:02
like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal. Yeah. You
35:06
know what I mean? Be able to like travel with
35:08
other amateur boxers who want to make a difference
35:11
in the world and just spread out that awareness
35:13
of like whether it's homelessness. Or MS or Parkinson's
35:19
or like, you know, the world is like rheumatoid
35:23
arthritis. Like there's so many things that people
35:25
can venture out to. But that's the cool thing.
35:28
Like the way like Jay is setting this up, the
35:30
connection, the connections that he's making.
35:34
I he could he probably I don't know how his wife
35:38
would feel about it, but if he wanted to do like
35:41
a Canada tour and do like, OK, I do here for.
35:45
16 weeks I go there we work with some coaches
35:50
we organize like building like he's built the
35:53
framework not just him but yeah oh exactly yeah
35:56
the the entire team has built this framework
36:00
and he's got connections at all these different
36:02
gyms all over the place especially when you have
36:05
people like I like Nathan doing it whose son
36:12
Cassius who's just on the podcast is at that
36:17
national level. So they've got connections at
36:20
all these different places all over the place.
36:22
That could easily be a thing. Everything keeps
36:25
growing. It's snowballed in the right way. I'm
36:29
looking forward to the future because it's only
36:31
going up from here. If someone is looking and
36:34
they're like, I have a cause that matters, you
36:37
can find ways of raising funds and the people
36:41
will come. Yes. That's the thing that people
36:45
need to realize. People are always finding a
36:47
reason to give back. Exactly. Finding a reason
36:49
to get off the bench. Everybody wants to. They
36:54
just don't always know how. That's correct. So
36:57
for us being able to talk about this and to participate
37:01
in the event, I am so happy my round is done.
37:07
I'm pumped to go see yours. I appreciate that.
37:10
To see you fight. Main event. Of course, main
37:14
event. And I finally get the right corner. Yeah,
37:17
there you go. I finally get the right corner.
37:19
You finally get to wear all of your red clothes
37:21
that you love so much. I'm probably not. I already,
37:24
I'm not. It's black, red. Yeah. Black, red, red.
37:30
Yeah, just make sure it's not red shorts. Oh,
37:32
it's black shorts. Nice. I'm not going over and
37:36
above. I don't know much about my opponent. I
37:38
haven't had the chance to talk smack about him.
37:41
Yeah. Nor that I would anyways. I mean, like,
37:46
the brief amount that I saw him at sparring,
37:49
he seems like a nice guy. Seems like a great
37:51
guy. Yeah. His girlfriend was great. Like, I
37:53
have nothing bad to say. It's cool that she reached
37:55
out to you and was like, hey, I know you guys
37:58
are fighting. Here's the footage from when you
38:00
guys sparred. Which is, like, that's respect.
38:05
Yeah. Well, I got the video before we were fighting.
38:09
Oh, really? Yeah. And then she's like, oh, damn,
38:12
I shouldn't have done that. But yeah. So I got
38:15
the video. Whatever. It's great. So obviously
38:18
this comes out later. So they won't know that
38:22
I changed my whole style. So they don't know.
38:24
But like. Unless they listen to it the day of.
38:28
He's going to listen to his coach though. He's
38:29
going to listen to Jay. I'll see this. Did he
38:31
change up his style? Did he not change up his
38:34
style? That's the real mystery. The only thing
38:37
is I'm a big guy that fights like a little guy.
38:39
That's true. Like, it's hard. It's hard. Yeah.
38:46
That's the one thing a lot of people say is,
38:47
like, stop fighting like a little guy. It's like,
38:49
I'm sorry, but a lot of people I spar with are
38:51
little. Yeah. Well, exactly. And, like, you are
38:55
the product of the people you're surrounded by.
38:57
And if you're, like, there are not a lot of people
39:00
that match up with you. It's like the fight last
39:04
weekend. With Brandon Smalls and Matthew Worthington?
39:12
Yes. Matthew, for one, he's a warrior. But he's
39:20
huge. So sparring him was like you're always
39:25
punching up and he's always punching down, not
39:30
having to move as much. But he fought Brandon.
39:35
Yep. Who is gigantic. 6 '8". Yeah, 6 '8". I don't
39:42
want to guess his weight. Yeah. I don't want
39:44
to guess his weight. Massive. Yeah, big guy.
39:47
Big sexy. Big sexy. Big sexy indeed. Yes. But
39:51
for him having to switch up his style and instead
39:57
of fighting like a big guy, fight like a small
40:00
guy, it was really cool to see. And he did an
40:03
amazing job doing it. Despite the wreck at the
40:06
end, he did a great job. Understandable. Like,
40:10
he couldn't fight last year. Stuck out with it
40:13
for a year. Yeah. To then eventually show up
40:16
today, or show up last week and fight. And he
40:21
got a black eye out of it. But, like, you know
40:24
what? He came in, and he was a warrior for MS.
40:27
Yeah. So, shout out to him. Crazy. Yeah. But,
40:32
so he... You're not nervous? No. You're not lying
40:36
like I was? No, no. I don't, I don't, like, and
40:40
this is, like, my wife can also say this, is,
40:42
like, I don't get nervous the same way, like,
40:44
everyone else does, because, like, I'm not, I
40:47
don't care about the impact, or, sorry, I don't
40:49
care about the outcome that much. The first time
40:54
I got... It's lucky that you don't, you're not
40:57
talking shit. I talked way too much. Well, if
41:02
my opponent talked. Then I would talk back. And
41:04
I'll make subtle jabs to the coach and be like,
41:08
you're not on my corner. You know what's going
41:10
to happen. But to the fighter, like, no, it's
41:13
all going to be respect. I know he's training
41:16
for Quebec Open. So this is like his prelim for
41:21
Quebec Open so he can get an understanding of
41:23
what type of fighters that he's going to see
41:25
at that. Get some experience. I hope nothing
41:29
but the best for him. And I hope that I allow
41:32
him to give it his all for the Quebec Open. But
41:36
the problem is, and I'm going to say this now,
41:38
is it's like if I sense any blood in the water,
41:43
I'm a shark. Yeah. And I will come hunting. So
41:49
shut me down. And I feel like this guy will.
41:51
I think this guy is going to give me a good challenge.
41:53
I like it. I like just seeing the card. It's
41:59
going to be a banger. Yeah. I'm so looking forward
42:04
to it. I am a little bit disappointed that I'm
42:06
not fighting Alcides, but I'm also grateful that
42:09
I'm not fighting Alcides because I'm not at that
42:11
point yet. Yeah. Whether if I get there or not
42:14
is a different story. One day you got like 15
42:18
fights to catch up to him. It's true. It's true.
42:21
As an animal. The one thing I'll say is it doesn't
42:24
matter about the experience. I'd still beat him.
42:26
Yeah. I'm calling you out Alcides. One day, once
42:29
I get there, I'll be able to knock you. There's
42:33
a ring at MPT. I think he has keys, too, so we
42:36
can do that Rocky closed -door session. He can
42:41
be Rocky. I'll be Creed. Spoilers. No, it's all
42:50
love. Just don't fight again after that. Yes.
42:54
Or at least have a kid first. True, true. I don't
42:59
make those decisions. But overall, I'm just looking
43:06
forward to having a great time. And I just want
43:08
to say thank you to Jay for reuniting that love
43:13
for boxing for me. And for Brett for making me
43:17
realize I do love boxing. Because if it wasn't
43:20
for Brett getting me into Fight to End... I would
43:23
have never done a boxing event. And then Jay
43:25
kind of lit that fire for me to keep going. And
43:29
it's funny. And now I got to rope you into it.
43:33
I tell a lot of people, you need to get into
43:36
the ring. You need to get into the ring. I'm
43:38
the only one that's stupid enough to do it. Well,
43:40
I took the opportunity for you to say no away.
43:42
So what's your email? Yeah, seriously. So I was
43:46
like, what's your email? You're getting it. Because
43:47
if I ask you to do it, you're not going to do
43:50
it. I know. You're like, ah, sign up. They're
43:52
like, ah, I signed you up. Show up this day.
43:55
Yeah. Like before last year, the only reason
43:58
why I got back into it was because my brother
44:01
-in -law at the time, Luke, was like, eh, you
44:05
know what? I could do it. Yeah. And then I got
44:08
him in. Hey, shout out to everybody that when
44:12
someone Asks them to do something. Or tells them
44:16
to do. They show up. Like that's. Showing up
44:19
is half the battle. Just like boxing. You may
44:22
not be having the best day. Show up to training.
44:25
It's true. Because. You know what's better. You
44:30
know what's worse than having a bad day at training.
44:33
Not showing up. Not showing up. Yeah. Because
44:35
then you're just letting yourself down. You're
44:37
letting the people that are putting their effort
44:38
into you. But. Here's the thing. And a lot of
44:43
people don't realize this about boxing is it's
44:47
a team sport, right? You don't know who you're
44:51
actually impacting every time you do go to class,
44:54
whether you're going to class at one gym or the
44:56
other, you are making a bigger impact on someone
45:00
else for them to win a fight because you sparring
45:03
them or you trading with them in training is
45:05
making them better as well as making you better.
45:09
Like sometimes you may get hit and get a concussion,
45:12
unfortunately, and have to deal with those consequences.
45:15
But now, you know, the awareness of keeping your
45:17
hands up. Well, yeah, true. Like, but even just
45:21
like those little things, like we, everybody,
45:24
we've all been like giving each other things,
45:27
like things you notice. Yeah. Like, I don't know,
45:32
over at training, you're talking about like turning
45:35
over your punches more. Yeah. Like. It's those
45:39
little things that, like, obviously, once that
45:43
bell rings, it's a different story. Yes. But
45:47
it's the repetition, all of those little things,
45:51
all the people you've trained with, that's what
45:54
gets you prepared. And then if it all works out
45:59
properly and you listen to your coach, they're
46:01
basically using you as a video game character.
46:06
That's true. Yeah. That's true. And even for
46:10
the coaches, that's a cool experience for them.
46:13
They get to box, but they're not the one getting
46:16
hit. Honestly, it's going to be a great show
46:21
at the Encore show. And obviously, hopefully
46:23
you stay around because if you're there for my
46:26
fight, you're going to understand what Encore
46:30
means. Do you seriously think I'd leave early?
46:34
I'm just saying for anyone who's listening. Be
46:38
prepared for a good encore. Because it's going
46:40
to be an encore show. If anything, I'm like,
46:42
nah, man. I show up. I show up for things. I'm
46:47
so pumped, though. Even for myself, going through
46:55
that experience, one of the cool things was having
47:00
you there. I don't know for you, but for me,
47:07
going in there and be like, no, I'm like, I'm
47:10
warming up with my boy. We got like, we're doing
47:14
this. Like it was, it was like that. My fight
47:18
felt like us as a, like we're a team. Oh, for
47:23
sure. Well, like we're off the bench, right?
47:25
So I, we've, we've, as a podcast, we've been
47:29
telling people to get out there, get off the
47:31
bench, make an impact. And the. the best way
47:35
I knew how was like, I had to make sure that
47:37
you were ready for your fight. I was in your
47:39
corner just in case you needed the advice you
47:41
needed from me. I needed all the advice. Like,
47:46
honestly, it's like, it was just a great representation
47:49
of what we've built since September to now. You
47:53
get into that ring, just show that this podcast
47:56
is not just about a podcast, but way more. Yeah.
48:00
Right. So I had to be there. And that's exactly
48:03
what it says on the back of our merch that you
48:07
can buy at Milky Way Barrel. So I appreciate
48:12
that. I appreciate that. I love it. I love it.
48:15
I love it. So I always got your back. Any final
48:21
thoughts on what we got coming up? I'm looking
48:27
forward to a few episodes that we're going to
48:28
have, obviously. A breakdown of your flight that's
48:32
going to get released after this. Yeah. Then
48:36
I do have some other guests that are going to
48:37
come on that are going to show, shine a little
48:40
bit of the behind the scenes of Punch Out. I'm
48:45
looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward
48:47
to our transition moving forward after this as
48:51
we're coming to the end of like our boxing saga.
48:54
Wait till everybody gets to hear about us riding
48:57
bikes. ooh you know what i mean um that's yeah
49:01
it's just like we're off we're almost over we
49:04
still gotta uh we still gotta talk about doing
49:07
some disc golf stuff too it's true it's true
49:10
There's a lot of things that we do want to talk
49:11
about to make sure that Off the Bench does stay
49:14
connected within the community. Still has that,
49:18
you know, football feel as well for September.
49:21
But I do think that moving forward, this podcast
49:24
has dramatically changed from what we started
49:27
in September. Yeah. Dramatically. I had no idea
49:31
what it was. We're just flying. Yes. We're already
49:36
talking about we're in May right now. September's
49:38
just around the corner. So I'm looking forward
49:41
to still giving out jerseys, but it's not going
49:44
to be a TSN show anymore. We're not going to
49:47
be like Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless and
49:49
all of them. This is us. We finally found our
49:53
identity. You know, if it wasn't for Jay, Brett,
49:58
for Boomers, MPT, Bushido, Ring London, you know,
50:04
all these different gyms, you know, even like
50:08
BMO Center for the Soccer League, FFEFF for fun,
50:16
flag football for everyone. Like, there's so
50:19
many different sports that we could definitely
50:20
venture out to. I kind of do want to join a baseball
50:24
league at one point. But, you know, there's also
50:27
golfing season coming up. And the other great
50:29
thing is we're always at clubhouse. Yeah. So
50:32
you get actually it's the cool thing is like
50:34
you just list off a bunch of sports. They can
50:37
do it here. You can do it all here. You can train
50:39
here. Yeah. You have the same. You can even come
50:42
here with a bunch of people and watch the game.
50:44
Like right now we're watching Minnesota versus
50:48
the Spurs round two. Yeah. You know what I mean?
50:51
So it's just like you get that feel. Unfortunately,
50:54
the Raptors are out. Unfortunately. You know
50:56
what? And I'm going to say this now. It's very
51:00
unfortunate because your opponent last week got
51:03
two L's. He lost in his boxing match and his
51:07
Raptors lost. That's his own fault. His name
51:10
is Hasan H. Two O's. Sorry. Sorry. Hassan, I
51:31
love you. I'm sorry. I had to put that in there.
51:35
It's unfortunate. Other than that, I just want
51:38
to thank all my friends, my family, and everyone
51:40
who donated. And everyone who, you know, put
51:44
their time and effort into me while I trained
51:46
and get ready for a fight where, you know, I'm
51:49
putting that O on the line. Yeah. And whether
51:52
the outcome is the way I want it or not, I gave
51:56
it my best. That's what it's all about. We're
51:59
in here. We're doing this to help people fight
52:06
who need the help. Those are the people that
52:09
they needed the most. We're choosing to be...
52:13
front and center, fighting the fight. Like we've
52:18
said before, at the end of the day, we get to
52:20
step out of the ring and our fight is done. But
52:24
they don't. It's true. And then I also want to
52:29
do a huge shout out to Gus. If it wasn't for
52:32
Gus coming onto our podcast, our realization
52:37
of what MS actually is. I think helped us push
52:43
a little bit further and harder in our training
52:45
because of what he told us on our podcast. And
52:49
for everyone that I do know who has MS, you're
52:53
not alone. You're not alone. And I appreciate
52:55
everything that you guys have done. And I'm fighting
52:59
for y 'all. Cheers. Cheers. Let's get off the
53:04
bench. Yeah. Another one in the books. Off the
53:10
bench. London. Where life and sports collide.
53:15
Let's go. If you're rocking with the show, let
53:17
me hear you say yeah. Hit the like, subscribe,
53:20
show the love. Everywhere from the city where
53:22
the fans never sit on the fence. Every week we
53:24
bring the heat. Off the bench. If you're rocking
53:27
with the crew, let me hear you say whoa. Spotify,
53:30
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53:33
up loud when the episode ends. We'll see you
53:35
next week. Off the bench. Big love to the sponsors
53:38
that keep this alive. We'll be right back. We'll
53:44
be right back. Don't forget what to do. Tap that
54:13
like button and subscribe to share it with your
54:16
crew. Let the whole city know off the bench.
54:18
London is the place to go off the bench. If you
54:21
rock it with the show, let me hear you say subscribe.
54:24
Now help the movement grow here from the bar
54:27
conversations to the stories. We tell every episode
54:30
feel like ringing the bell. So until next time,
54:33
keep your passion intense from the whole team.
54:36
Hear it off the bench. Malcolm, the milk man.
54:39
Noel.