Latest / On Your Own Time Podcast / I started From Zero | Mike Rosney on Leaving an Garda Siochana & Starting Again
Transcript
- Declan Toland: Hi Mike, what's the crack? You're very welcome to On Your Own Time podcast. How are you keeping? Cheers, Dece, not a bother at all. Thanks for having me, man. Appreciate it. I said to you, I seen you before, but we've met before in the gym. House fitness, yeah. We're sure we cross paths. When am I not there, so to speak? My last two guests now are all house fitness. There you go. tell you, that's something that was a big growth there, so to say. Must be a bit of a stalker, I mean. I don't know. I don't look like you go to the gym here. Not a bother on you, man. There's not a bother. That's what it's all about. It's good for the body and mind. Mike, before we get into it, you get your guard alive in your fitness life, so tell the listeners who you are. Yeah, so my name is Mike Rosney. I'm an online coach. I kind of made that switch for a couple of years ago from Ross Gray in County Super area originally. And I was living in Dublin up to just May gone. The wife brought me back down home, so she did. yeah, it's all a bit new to me, the area and things like that. We're just living outside at Lone. towards for band direction, Belmont to be the kind of the townsland and... Farmerland. Farmerland. I'm not a farmer. I've never farmed in my life, even though the accent might sound like it. I didn't lose the accent when I was in Dublin, but when I was in the guard, obviously I was living in Dublin and when they left, I stayed up there and Callie and my wife, she moved up and we were living there for about 18 months together. But obviously I was there for a combined of about five years. Yeah, it was all go and left the guards and went and pursued coaching full time and it's been a roller coaster so it has since and it's probably now that I'm looking back on it's been the best roller coaster of me life but at the same time I didn't know at the time when there's no answers coming out and you just have to kind of stick with it and grin and bear it sometimes. She's like life can be a roller coaster but we talked about guard life in a few minutes to make that jump was massive. yeah big time. But yeah, it's just gone 30 and this was bodybuilding and gym and all that was always a factor in my life in terms of from the time I was kind of 20. I was quite heavy at that stage. I was just over 16 stone, 16 and half stone was my heaviest. And that wasn't of muscle, unfortunately. Put it that way. And it was just poor lifestyle choices of just constantly eating poor and things like that. And when I look back, it scares me because I know if I had... done that for another 10 years to appoint him 30 now. It would have been a scary one. would have been a £600 life contest. I'd say at that stage, because if I didn't have the gym and stuff, would definitely, I'm a fat kid by heart, so I am. So you're still like a sweet today. I like me food. Yeah, big time. Yeah. Since you grew up in Roscrea what was growing up there like? Not great, but not bad. Roscoe, just as much as any other town or village has as good and as bad parts and as good and as bad people. I definitely was happy to get out when I did, but it's still home and I'll never forget home, you know, that kind of way. Worked part time there, worked in bars, worked in hotels, done all that kind of thing. That was kind of my start. People knew me through that. And I suppose it was, I was never, I was never troublesome or I was never well known by, by the guards, so to speak or anything like that. So. But the area that I was in was quiet. And then I'm an only child myself. So I never had that massive social circle. Spoiled child, yeah? Definitely not. Well looked after, but definitely not spoiled. I still had the earnings, that's for sure. I was still taught that you can't have things just handed to you. Yeah, and you mentioned that in your release form before this. You've always said you've worked hard and never wanted to ease you out. So what's that mean to you? I suppose I've, I never, I never got the easy way out, but I ever, I always worked for, to make sure that I had perfection, so to speak, in whatever I was doing, whether that was a file in the guards for a certain case or whether that was something so trivial. I played a lot of golf when I was younger ages. I always wanted perfection. never, I never a scratch golfer. I was never anything like that, but I was always looking for the next best thing, the next best way. And the same with bodybuilding nowadays, it's Nothing comes easy. And the likes of that, I always seem to do things harder than they should, but it comes out tenfold the results in the end, know, that kind of way. yeah, nothing, nothing was ever handed to me and, and I never expected it to be. I always knew that I was, I, it was me against basically the world, so to speak, to make sure that I give myself the next platform and the next level up. So what did you think life was going to look like growing up like when you were 18? I always thought that it was never going to be college full time or was never going to be a fancy degree or anything like that. But I knew that I wanted to work. I wanted to make sure that I had money, because like I it was I wasn't the silver spoon boring me out. So it was always to make sure that you worked hard for things and that. I got my jobs. I was working part time when I was in every, you know, in bars and nightclubs and things like that, all the way up along. Even when I was doing my apprenticeship, I was in apprenticeship and plumbing. And I went from that, obviously, into the guards and things. A few factory jobs when I school. Like the day I got my leaving cert results, I had a job interview in Grant Engineering Borough, you know, to get myself a job straight away. The day I literally picked up my leaving cert results and an hour later I had an interview. So you're planning your, you're planning your new job, wherever else is planning. Exactly. It took me, it took about two months or that to even try and celebrate that. Thankfully I got a good leave on third, but it was never something that I knew I had to overly rely on to get into a college or something like that. I knew there was other ways in life that I can make a living, also provide further down the line. know, your medical point to you, you worked in pubs and bars during times as well. Yeah. Which are pioneer. Pioneer. Absolutely. mad, isn't it? Like that never threw me or deterred me from drinking or anything like that. I've seen how reckless it can be. But in the guard uniform side of things, know, people, best of people have ruined their whole life in one night because of alcohol and drugs. But also as well, I've seen happy things come from it and it can be a great social aspect and celebration and everything like that. But I never, I never wanted that. If I was going out with friends or anything like that, there was the odd peer pressure and there wasn't maybe nights where the peer pressure was worse than others, but I never gave into it because I never had that love or want to be like, me a pint or give me Jesus a whiskey or whatever the case may be. That never fazed me. And I was just quite happy doing my own thing. Once it was with friends or whatever the case may be, I was happy enough, you know. I actually mentioned this recently to a friend of mine. was like, I like my few points. The next day as we get older, it gets fucking hard. Yeah. And that's the even thing with my own clients that I work with online that I'm always kind of been making them aware that like it's great going and enjoying it. But on their next check in, they're always like, that was rough in terms of I can feel that more. And that's going to happen more and more as they get older because I have lads that are 21, 22. but I've also lads that are late or mid to late 40s. And that's where it starts to get really hard because they're sound five, six, 10 pints of Guinness and they might feel fine at the time and it might take much out of them when they're in the pub and they're like, he's seasoned at drinking and whatnot. But the next day they're ropey and they can feel that for the next four or five days after. In your 20s, you can drink and up for work now. I'm sure you can. I've never, as I said, I've never experienced it, but, know, it's a case that I never understood why you put that suffering on yourself either. You know, that's a good mindset to have growing up though. It's a strong mindset. Just to not give in to it. Yeah. Like that's something that I've never done is give up. If I want something, I'll work for it and I'll make sure that I'll get there. I'll manifest it in my own head. It might sound completely ridiculous, but you know. Like, for example, I always took take that quote from a fella I used to play golf with. was quite a good golfer. But in terms of I used to play with him, he was club golfer. And he said to me, always remember if you aim small at the hole, so pick a small spot around the hole, you'll miss small. It's the same thing if you pick something in life and you aim at the smallest part of it, you'll miss small. So you'll be barely missed a mark. and you'll come back and you might be more accurate the next time. And you will hit your mark eventually. And did you make, in your younger age, did you make mistakes? Yeah. Yeah. Likes to that, you learn from them. I was always told to be here on the side of caution. And that made me more of a risk taker later in life in terms of taking the risk to jump into coaching, which we'll obviously touch on, to go from a guard of life, steady life. to jumping into something that's not guaranteed. But the risk is always there. it's like that, I suppose, leaning into even knowledge around Formula One. Zach Brown is the CEO of McLaren Formula One team. He's an American guy and he's the team boss and he's multi-millionaire. He has all the fancy cars and everything, everything like that now. But he was on a program and I think it was... moneymaker or something like that. It some trivial program as a young man. had nothing. He had zero. He won a million dollars on that program, I think. He won it out. won the program at the time and he invested. He put the whole million into a share in a racing team. And the rest is history. Yeah, no, no, no. That's a big, that's a big, how many million dollars at the time? He just gave it back away. That's mad. Like he literally handed it and then handed it to invest. It's a massive risk. Like that could have blew up in his face and then he could have definitely been homeless. Guard of Life. So what made you join the guards in the first place? grow for it. I always knew I'm strong minded and very stable in adverse situations so I know that it takes a lot to get me excited in terms of to trigger that fight or flight mode but I also like the adrenaline so when something kicks off or that blue light moment goes off I kick into gear and I just become alive then whereas I'm sitting here with you now something downstairs will have to blow up or there'll have to be a bomb here for me to really ignite because I give so much energy in the gym and I give so much energy to clients and everything like that in my job now that when I have moments like this that I'm very calm and when people come to me and they're having their moments, whatever the case may be, you have to put out a few fires for people, you know, that's why I always say if they have a problem, they might have to come to you and you have to put out their fire. I always find that that's something that made me join the guards as well, that I'm a problem solver just as much as anything else. And I think that that really attracted me to the job, but also I'm disciplined and like that, think it was came from the time I was a pioneer from a young age that developed into having a good head on my shoulders, mature and very early being an only child. Like I've seen things before my time and I was never sheltered from that. And that was something then from that, I really made the progression in headspace from just being a mature mind early on. And then from that then it obviously spiralled I suppose I had a good head on my shoulders then working in bars from 17, 18, whereas I could have been like, I was exposed to thousands. I could have taken the thousands, you know what I'm saying? Obviously that would have got me in serious trouble. But also just as much as I was exposed to alcohol. That could have sent me down a bad path, but I had that stable mindset. And that's kind of, I knew that would carry me through in the, the job that I knew it was kind of meant for me. Did I know it was, did I think it was going to be forever? Absolutely. That's why I joined. Was it forever? No. Do I have regrets? No. And would I do it again? I'd tell anybody to do it. And was the job what you expected? Everything and more, without a doubt. I would say that. the best way to put it, it's a job as the motto goes on the adverts, it's definitely a job worth doing and it's very rewarding on the best of days, but it will suck life out of you if you let it and that's what can happen and that's what is happening a lot around the job and clients that I'm working with are Garedy, they're firefighters, they're paramedics, each one of those has their own challenges and I think obviously being able to coach all of those types of people makes a person working in a 95 job makes their job look very trivial. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and is there support there for a guard? Not enough. And I feel that's where my calling comes in as well. And my town woo woo and a bit spiritual with my calling. But it's not a calling when it's it's not a task to me. Coaching is not a task. And I am only more than happy to help all types of people from all walks of life because like I somebody could be in the army, somebody could be working at this job or a receptionist job. It doesn't matter. Somebody could be literally mind in a post over a murder scene. Everybody's going to be exposed to different things and you have to treat everybody with their own relative respect because their stress levels are going to be different. You always see that as well, like stress. the guardie stress when they check in and they're checking and things like that. When they mentioned, you any stress that week? It's so small and nothing is going to be ever stressful as the job. So when they're on their days off, if they're off holidays, everything's a one hour 10 on the stress where a 10 hour 10 is obviously full whack. Yeah, like I have a lot of friends that are guards and fellas who are left the guards and they were like, that's the biggest thing. Like you come through any serious incident, you're running and stuff like that. You're literally expected to forget about it the minute you the scene. Yeah. And you have to get good at that. Yeah. How do you do that? You practice. Again, that's why I was very good at it. I've carried so many things that I've seen and I can remind myself of them all and I can remind myself of the smells. I can remind myself of the graphics, what I've touched, I haven't touched, what I've done. It doesn't keep me awake at night and to separate yourself from that takes time and practice. But you also need to know that going into the job, can you do that? Because what I'm exposed to was, sorry, what I was exposed to was multiple calls of graphics, graphics shit, Whereas somebody might be only exposed to that once or twice in their whole life. Whereas I could exposed to that multiple times. And it probably depends where you're based as well. Yeah, like I was in the Ridewell in Dublin. When I came out first, was during, just at the start of COVID. So I was stationed in Borough originally and that wasn't too bad. It was close to home. It was close to home because we couldn't rent and they deployed us out early and things like that. And then went back into the college and we were redeployed then after another 10 weeks into college. But I definitely think that it is... based around like policing in Boris, different policing in Dublin, like even the style of police and the internals of working in the Garda Siachána, how one station operates is not how another Garda Station operates, you know, because the sergeant is different, superintendents are different, inspectors are different. They all have similar ways and they'll see the same outcome, but the operation around it is different. That's probably on every job. Probably it's probably similar in the Army as well. Is it? Okay. Probably similar, different leadership styles, probably leadership processes behind it. like different units would have different ways of processing and stuff. I know they have their SOPs, but people will have different ways of processing and stuff. Like sergeants, if you give them a particular file and they obviously they to put their mark on it then as well. And they have to write upon the file. So, and then it gets handed up the latter for prosecution then when you have to go to court. So. It's funny, every sergeant has their own thing that they are niggily with. And one could be literally down to grammar. Some people, some sergeants are fucking English teachers. You know what I'm saying? Whereas some are not that bothered on that. But it could be literally down to the last little piece of legislation. And that's probably important as well. Very important. As it gets something wrong. I've learned from the best of sergeants. All my sergeants, thank God. And I'll say that wholeheartedly that they've all been fantastic. in their own ways, they've all brought something different. Gaird was telling me there, said he was brought up on the stand in the court and the barrister or was barrister or solicitor must be barrister Thoram in New Arsloch and in terms of his report on the scene and he was only out of college. Yeah. So he was like, they don't teach you this. Yeah, you do have to become, you almost have to become brazen. And sometimes like the Gaird has to become brazen. If you walk in with confidence, a barrister think they can talk you down. Whereas if you have all your ducks in a row, foolproof everything, all you need to do is stick to your legislation. That's a whole different ballgame. It's actually funny because one of the fellows I talking to while ago, he left the army, went to the guard to come back to the army. He said, man, ring me, we'll have a game about legislation. really? And I said, first off, I don't know, I haven't a clue what I'm talking about, my point of view. said, never going to follow a fellow who left the guard to come back. Yeah, like you have to remember, as well as that. you're up against somebody, a barrister that's done seven years of training in law. You've done fucking 40 weeks plus two years then of probation to learn that. Where's the balance, you know? And that's the pressure. And in the job, like so in the college and stuff like like we've been saying in the army, like we can put on a promotion course, but you don't learn everything on the promotion course. You actually learn more hands on the job. Is that the same with guys? It's like this temple more. does Templemore prepare you for the job? really. Not as much as it could. Does it prepare you at all and get you ready in the right mindset? Yeah, definitely a mindset shift. It will change you in a good way to get you somewhat more mindset ready. But to be exposed to the day-to-day routine of the job is definitely head out and do your time. And you've actually idiots now. idiots video and they're recording, they're putting people and they think they're barristers. Yeah. They know people recording. Tick tock heads. Yeah. I just see that tick tock there. Fucking artist. Yeah. They go looking for trouble. Yeah. Like I get that even with content that I put up on Instagram and things like that. Even about the protests. it was pepper spraying kids and pepper spraying this one. I didn't do it. And maybe there was a reason behind, you know, X, Y and Z person getting pepper sprayed. You have to remember pepper spray has an overspray or as the wind will affect it. So if a child gets it, that's then the parent that's a bit unruly, you know, and that's another ballgame. also the guards around it are also getting it. The guards, if they're in the vicinity, if they're around. I got it once. I tell you, it was the fucking most horrible thing ever. It just feels like it goes on forever. You know, and that was just an overspray where the wind changed direction, you know. I'm sure the guards, I'm sure the guards, some of the guards don't like doing what they have to do in terms of like The they can't have a job to do. They don't want to be there either. Not one of those, Gairdí, wanted to do that protest. And again, I have a few guys and girls that are clients of mine that were on those protests and they were on those posts and they were like, they were the longest days ever because people were ratty with them, whereas they didn't need to be. It was funny because they'd done a full 360. It was like handing in chocolates and tubs of biscuits and whatnot to stations during COVID. tanking the guards and everything. Then it was, fuck the guards in from that point on, the protests. think people think then, were like, they have an option here to do that. Fucking option. You're under direction. It's your job. They have to get paid. It's not on them. As I said, they have to go home to families afterwards as well. People forget that it's just a uniform, a human behind it. They have a boss telling them to do the job. Correct. And if they don't do it, it's a please explain. Absolutely. same with the army. So I remember around that time as well, couldn't even walk into the shop with the uniforms. Even the army had very little to do. We could walk in the shop, you shouldn't be doing that. I'm sitting in a training school and I was nowhere near that. They don't understand that at all. No, no, people are very, yeah, I'm not even going to put a word to it. Yeah, we're we're moving on for sure. How does shift work affect your health and training? You said you're always in the fitness, but how does shift work affect it? It affects your, even your, right down to your memory. Okay. Your brain fog is unbelievable after a night shift. Like you feel like you're in a different realm and that's very tough for somebody to try and get fit or be more of it. But obviously there's ways and means around it. And that's something that I can always touch on, you know, with people and give them that structure. But it's, it affects their health big time and you are knocking years off your life with shift work alone. Nevermind the stresses of the job. They remind the strains of getting up and you have to remember that then somebody could, for example, you could somebody that you were arrested for in the morning and you're due to be on four days off after that because most people are four on four off depending on units. you could be finishing up at seven a.m. that morning for four days off. But if you pick up somebody and there is somebody with a bench warrant at four a.m. you have to stay on and go to court at half ten that morning. It was actually funny because I was on my way home from Garmastown with that fella who was in the garage and we came across a road accident and he looked at the watch and it was 10 minutes before the change to shift. They're there until it's cleared. He says, the poor fuckers, they have to stay out until it's done. Because they thought it would like, I'm sure I'm going to just go and No, because they were first in the scene. Madness. Madness. that's the whole aspect of where it takes from your health. There's not a guarantee it's 7 to 7. But you can't plan your life either. That's where it takes from then. And lot of marriages have suffered from it as well. I know I wouldn't be married if I was in the job. Because I hardly went in 10 dates. I was in the job. You had the first dates though. I went in first dates. I tell you what, that's another day as well. I had a day off that day. yeah, Jesus. So what did being a guard give you? Or even teach you? More discipline. I doubled down on it. And but it also when I left, gave me a lot of fear and Jesus, the fear was crippling. But I knew that I still had to get on with life. I knew it was definitely it gave me so many positives as a person as well. But it took a lot from me. You know, I was definitely not as bubbly of a person as I was before the job. I wouldn't say I was childish, but I was definitely a different person. Why do think that? Probably exposure to calls and things like that and exposure to public that just do not understand. And that's no disrespect to any member of the public that if you were never seen what we've seen, it's a different ballgame and you cannot relate to that. You can think that you understand and say you understand until you're in those situations. The only ones that do is the person that's sharing the car with you. But it also made me a better person. It made me more rounded. It definitely made me more assured of who I wanted in my circle. And it made me double down on my independence. I was definitely more independent after the job and joined it. Well, even during the job, as that was kind of my personality was changing. And I. The only thing is my trust levels would be different now than they would have been. I would have been definitely a little bit more open. always a little bit closed because obviously the only child thing and trust and everything like that, but definitely I always aired on the side of caution. They're doing a job that people are probably 90 % trying to pull the wool over your eyes. swear, you know, like that's, that's, the case. and when did you, like how long were you thinking about leaving the job before you actually made the jump? Probably, probably nine months. Okay. 18 months. Definitely. Things were changing rapidly and not. Not in the way that was positive. I've never seen a job change from the time I joined to the time I left. That's a short period of time. Like I went into the college in November 19 and I finished in Irish Econa in November 2023. A lot had changed. The landscape had changed very, very quickly. you know, certain events and incidents that would have been broadcast over the news and how... Gare dee were treated during that time would have probably changed the landscape of that. Everybody started to feel a little bit more cautious and everyone had to look out for themselves even more because was that back in there just as much as it was maybe before that. So you're saying look look out for themselves. Would that be a case of not in a selfish way? Selfish way? No, no, no. It's in the case of we to protect our jobs and we have to protect with the wonder, are we doing everything right in terms of is everything nailed down 100 % foolproof that we don't get suspended or we don't get, you know, in trouble for something that we anyone would have done in the right minds. You get me? think you're dealing with like you could go to a call today and then you could have another call after that and you could have another call after that. Someone said to me that the processes of like phone and intersystem use could take hours. That's wild. So like I know for a fact that we used to love to try and get back to the station around half six in the evening, if possible. And that's not even early enough to get someone in, especially in Dublin. Like the way we used to do it was the person in the passenger seat with the car would take the first call of the day and then it go over and back. So person A could get landed with three fucking stinkers. but you might have six handy ones and you might be able to clear them very, quickly. It depends on the classification of the call. Again, you could draw the short straw. could draw, not draw the short straw. It's very different each and every shift, but it's also, the system is not refined enough for the volume of calls. Are we living in the oldest? definitely. when I left, unless there's new systems there now, But like the call systems and things like that is pre-war stuff. And mental health. World War II stuff. Someone told me that before and they said to me, it's absolutely mad. Madness. Like that leads on to we talked about stress really, but mental health within any organisation, not just the guys. And when you were there, did you see much, much people suffering from that? Yeah, countless times, but at the same time, it was always the I'm grand. And that's something that needs to be highlighted. Like there is... there is people, wellness officers in the job. Yeah. But they don't have the fucking time to do it because they're guards themselves. They're actually guards as well. Most of them are. You know. dealing with the same shit. They're dealing with and more because it could be of higher rank. Yeah. And you want to go to your super and say, super I'm feeling X, Y and Z. Yeah. Because if you do, is he going to be like, he could have a final say and you getting a promotion. And in the back of his or her mind, be like, they were a bit rocky, they're on stage. Do we give them the promotion? You're not going to be as open. Whereas you need an independent source that still understands the job, but also has a separation from promotion aspects to be able to talk in confidence without being like, don't give horror to promotion or him to promotion. It's just not the same. It can affect your promotion and stuff. So you made the decision to leave a secure job. Talk to me about that. So obviously I left and... So what was your main goal for leaving? I didn't have a main goal. I just knew that it was time to go. Okay. That was the biggest thing. In the back of my head, I knew that there was an answer somewhere to, I suppose, find a way to be happier. Was I happier straight after leaving the job? No, that was my lowest point. And that lowest point was very sustained for a long time. everything was dark enough. Would you say dealing with your own mental health issues or just with life? I wouldn't say in terms of an answer to the next step. I got a job, I got a full-time job again. I was working in swords and seamen, seamen's helteneers and things like that. Everything was stable that way. But at the same time, I knew that I had to find something else and the bright light of it all was obviously now my wife, Callia. And I met her in the start, towards the end of 23, early 24. And she got me through those. hard months because like I I was living in Lusk at the time, small little village in North County Dublin, lovely little place, lovely little house, grand housemates to all of, a great landlord. And I was just about to pay, I was just about paying my bills because I sunk my money into getting PT courses and things like that. And I didn't have anything. And When I didn't have anything, it was the biggest risk I ever took. But I knew if it paid off, which if could have left me in big trouble. Well, Callie was the one that said, go and do it. You're good at it. You're passionate about it. Follow it. You're already in the middle of a reset. Let's throw the fucking kitchen sink at it. No, obviously I had to throw the kitchen sink at it to get there. Has it paid off in the end? Yes. Am I at the peak of where I should be now? No. I'm always ever growing, but I'm always ever learning and I'm always ever investing. But definitely it was, it was a need that it was something, a means to an end. And that brought about such positivity today. You know, like I get up from bed now can't fucking wait to speak to clients and, you know, knowing that I'm doing something that I worked damn hard to get to right now. Sometimes you have to eat shit to find the roses, you know. But you have to. That's learning. But it's very scary when you empty everything and you have nothing. The biggest scare is when you have nothing. Callia wasn't living with me at the time. I had money to even go down to see her for diesel. I had barely money to get me from A to B to work. Tax me car. and get weak shopping and like to that and I was trying to gym so I was trying to fuel myself as well because I knew that the gym was what was keeping me mentally right during the week. Cali was what I was looking forward to. I was looking forward to seeing at the weekends. We'd prepare power in the house so we'd always put in the money into the house because obviously it was easier then because obviously all the tenants there was three tenants and it was a grand quite house anyways thankfully but it likes it that it was We, I didn't even have enough to put 20 quid in it for a month there straight. I was scared. Was there a point at that stage, you regret why the fuck did I leave? Yeah. I was probably, I made two attempts to try and go back, but then I was like, I made two attempts, but they weren't solid attempts. were like half assed in terms of do I go back? I started scratching the surface and speaking. to people that obviously I worked with and things like that. obviously the answers weren't coming back to what I was thinking that it would be. So I was like, no, let's leave it as a closed chapter. And was there people around your life, around your closed circle, I'd say, said, don't fucking leave. Why did you leave? Don't leave. No, even like my parents obviously don't have me. So I know that when I was on nights, My mom and dad used to be scared shitless. And they told me after I left that sometimes they wouldn't sleep at night properly. And they definitely did age from it. My mother especially. Probably me in the job age of 10 years, you know. She was quite fresh even when I was living at home and things like that. But like it did age her and it did take its toll on her probably as well mentally. Dad was a little bit more like me, he's very... independent, but he's also, you know, inside his, he's he's warrior inside. Rather, Rather than him externally expressing it. He's very inwardly. He'll do the suffering inside just as much as me. And that's what I done when I left the job. I'd done all the suffering, I kept it in. And that's something that nobody should ever have to do. But that was my coping mechanism. And it was always, and it's something that I try, I teach people to do, to not do all the time. Definitely get used to being in your own thoughts and get comfortable with uncomfortable thoughts. But at the same time, when it becomes too much, get them out. That's a point. What happened next then? After I left. Obviously I was getting my qualifications and I was working, but obviously I was being, I was never, I'll never forget. I went. I went two months without pay because obviously when I joined Siemens, was obviously a time, was monthly pay. So that was, that was very difficult. So I had no money coming in. I was hardly able to put a tenner or diesel in a week, only for Calia. Again, my parents were sending me money up for me weekly shopping. And that probably killed you, was I was never like that. Because I like before that August, before I left in November, 2023, the August. 2023, I went to Formula One on my own. I paid for the whole trip myself and everything like that. I was able to afford it without even thinking about it because I worked. I was working hard. And I went from that and having savings to having fucking nothing. You couldn't put 20 meters on a fucking ESB. That's hard point, man. Jesus. And that's why I'm so grateful to be able to put a roof and keep a roof over myself and Calle's head. Obviously she's a social care worker as well. So, but we need it in this day and age. You need two incomes coming into a house. So in around that point, so anybody that's suffering with the same situation, like even thinking in the back of their head, want to leave this job. I'm not happy. I'm going into work every morning. I'm dreading Any bit of voice for them? Never ever put age into consideration to think that you can never reset. You can always reset. If you have to reset your life authority to make a career change. fucking do it. I promise you it's to be the best decision you'll ever make. Cause it's obviously my decision was when I was, I said 23. So I was like, when I was 27, 23, 23, I was 20, 20, I was 27 years of age going on 28. I thought I was getting older to make a reset and I was like, okay, sure. Now this is the time where I should be just settling into the guards and maybe going for fucking promotions. And you know, by the time I'm 30, maybe I'll be sergeant and you can reset. when you're 40, you're near 50. And that's the thing that I remind anybody to do. Don't be scared. It's easy to that now. But I've gone through a scary time to try and pursue a dream. I never thought I'd be an online coach now full time. My goal was obviously to get my PT qualification. I knew I had to work on gym floors. I knew I had to live that life for a while, but I knew damn well that I was going to be an online coach full time because I've created. my own life from that and come hell or high water, I was making that life happen for both me and Callia because I want to repay her just as much as anything. And she's a drive before still. She believes in me still. And I'll always ever want to grow. know, it's a good point to talk to your wife and like the under release form I sent out to you or the questionnaire I sent out to you repeatedly give credit to your wife. so you said your wife, this is exactly what you said. You said that your wife believed in you when you were at your lowest. Yeah. So what did she see that you couldn't see in yourself at that time? The passion for fitness and to still want to help people. Obviously, when you're in a guard of Sheikhan, you're helping people at different, at a different level. know, you're helping them maybe at their worst, but you're also helping people as a coach at their worst, fitness wise or health wise. So it's still bringing people from maybe a rock bottom to an elation or a point of wow, this is a different life now, you know, or this is an outcome that is needed. There's never a fucking outcome in fitness, I can tell you that for free, but you'll always reach for more. But at the same time, Callian knew that I had the passion for it. I still trained, I still made sure that I got up every morning, trained before work, even on five hours, four hours sleep, because I knew that was what was making me feel better, even though I was getting up half asleep, but come head or eye water, I was doing it. I was studying, I was getting everything done, but I don't know what she seen in me, but she definitely knew that it was meant for me. you know, I suppose I, I played, I tied with that idea with my parents before I ever met Callia. And I wouldn't say it was shot down, but it definitely wasn't supported. And my parents were very great support for me all through my life. But I was wanting, they never supported me for, because they... taught that it wasn't a reliable income or that there's too many coaches out there. But I know for a fact I'm made different and I'm a different coach because I can tap into people. very intuitive and I always was as a child. And I maybe think Callia saw that because I know there's something wrong with Callia when even she doesn't. Yeah. And that come from the guards? As a child, I used to go and be like as As a child, Mam even reminds me to this day of how intuitive I was. If I, at the age of five or six, I'd be like, that person doesn't sound very nice. And my mother said after, obviously when I got older and I understood what people were, you were right about every single one of those people. But also that person was very sad, Mam. She, she sounded sad or he sounded sad or that, that guy's fucking angry, you know. didn't say a fucking at that age, you wouldn't given me a clown here. But he was like, I was like, that guy is angry or, you know, is he okay? And would your parents be like that? Because you don't pick it up. You have to try it off someone like. Mam a little bit. Dad, no. Dad's very blasé, not in the way he's very clued in, but he's blasé about emotions and things like that. He's very old school, the Irish dad. But at the same time, he's loving and caring. And so is my parents are still that way. and they still would die for me. But when it came to the support of what I'm doing now and even bodybuilding, Calia is the one that keeps me moving forward. But then the buildup of momentum as my clients are able to fulfill me as well. And was there a particular conversation between the two of you? Between me Calia? Yeah, between you and your wife, Calia, that actually gave you that more drive to go and do it. What was one particular conversation? The one where she was like, I know you can do this full time. was definitely I remember her saying that. you were because in your in you said to me, you're a lowest, leaving the guards. So there are obviously there's a story there, but there has to be some point at some point was the lowest point. Definitely. Definitely when like the lowest point was definitely when I had to ask her and we're only dating a short while money for electricity. That was the lowest point. And then from that, she was like, congratulations, you got a new job. And I was like, this can't be what I'm just going to do forever. There's nothing wrong with working in Seaman Health and Ears. There's some fantastic engineers there and there's some fantastic brains and everything like that there. It's a very technical company. But I knew that that's not where I wanted to expend my knowledge. As I said, I've too much knowledge built up from the fitness industry on my own mistakes. Never mind what I'm learning as a... you know, PT, biohacking, nutrition, all of that. Those are all things that are massive skill sets that not many will have that will say they're online coaches. Yeah. We'll have the certification that I have plus the knowledge that I bring to the table as well. You know, I think being there, done it and having the knowledge is better than any sort. It is obviously the sort is the is the point where it's secure. It's like, OK, he has that. Yeah. But he's also made the fuck ups. But he's also lived life. I didn't come out with a call or I didn't come out with school and go straight into P18. I lived, I done the university of life and the hard university of life, you know, and I think that's something that is, is, is invaluable, but I think I'm very relatable. Like I'm 30, but I could coach a person that's fucking 60. Do get me? Because I have life experience and knowledge as well. But you've probably different ways, different ways of dealing with different people, different characters. Everybody's different. There's no two people the same. There's no cookie cutter sentence. And that's why I was saving to people that like are signing up to coach and or anything like that. You can find all your influencers with a hundred thousand followers with the fancy, you know, kit with editing and everything like that, but they're influencers. You were challenging them about life and something happened. Can they respond to that in the right way? I don't think so. How important is it when your Rebellioners have to have someone in their corner? because we were so early on in our relationship, Callie was still not fully there in terms of like she wasn't, we weren't living together. So I was, it was literally the coping mechanism I needed, but I knew that I needed to repair and build up something before we ever moved in together. And we fucking, I done that and she was obviously the driving force in terms of just kept me going. When the days were really tough, but I was like, I need to do this. Cause it's like anything. If you corner a rat or a mouse, they'll do anything to get out of there. And I said, I'm cornered. I'll do anything to get out of here. And I worked my ass off to get out of there. But Calio was yeah, definitely the sport that got me to the next level to be happy again. And it was funny because the following year I didn't have money even to pay for the holiday properly. We went on our first holiday nine months after and Callia petted for it because of how hard I worked. And yeah, it was tough. You mentioned here, you mentioned in your release form that she gave you strength and resilience. Like to someone for a male to open up and say someone gave you strength and resilience. That's something not in everyday life for someone. No. And I think when you say it out like that, like even for somebody to pay for a holiday that. I knew from the first day I knew I was going to marry her, but I didn't know. That was that Formula One event that we went to a year after when I was on my own the previous year, thinking I was Mr. Independent. A year later, I had nothing and then I had everything again. Happened financially everything again, but I had it in life and I knew if I work hard enough, the finances will return itself with my hard work because the people that will understand the genuine coach will sign up to that rather than the influencer who will sell them a plan rather than coach them. And that's the difference. And I think that from that Monza Grand Prix that we went to was our first holiday. That was the turning point where the sun started to shine again as much as the fucking sunburn was that weekend. yeah. That would have been my next question. When you start feeling yourself again, what would have been the holiday? That holiday was definitely like, like, obviously I wouldn't have seen a holiday for five, six years after that point, after my lowest point, only for Calia. Yeah, Jesus. You also wrote that doing things in your own terms is liberating. So what's the price of freedom that people don't see? time but it's worth every every bit of it in the end because the allation and the reward at the other side of being relentless and just head down and drive The reward is amazing after it, suppose. I don't know whether that answers the question or not. it does. And I was going to finish up this part of the block with like, like everything you mentioned here is that you've obviously, Calle, helped you a good bit. But if you don't want something in life, if you want something so bad in life and you put the effort in, you'll get it. Yeah. Yeah. And like being a coach, you're the product. You're basically, you're selling yourself to people to help them with a problem that they have. and I have the answers and I am, if I don't display that properly, then what value are people going to see from me? People have to see me as the person to have the answers that they need. So I have to be relatable. Are you a tough coach? When I need to be. If you deserve your pat on the back, you will definitely get it. I'll say I'm proud. I'll say everything like that. But if you don't put in the effort, I'll call you out on it. Okay, so talk to me, where did you love to actually set up? I know we talked a lot about the garage, leaving the garage, you wanted to do the coaching. So when did you actually decide, okay, this is it, I'm in the business now, what I'm doing, I've made the jump? When did I decide it was full time or? Yeah, full time. I was doing little bits of online coaching, say, I had to do it for free at the start to try and get a name there, you know what I'm saying? So I was kind of helping people I was working with. But I knew I needed to do that first and I didn't advertise anything. I just told a few people, I was like, I can help you for free. I'll build it up because I still obviously had a full time job in Siemens. So I didn't leave straight away when I got my certifications because I knew that I still needed to pay bills and... you know, pull me with it because I, nobody will ever go from zero to a hundred like that. And it probably was like I launched my online coaching page in April, twenty, twenty five. What's the name? So it's it's Mike Rosney underscore project professional. OK. Well, I started out as fit by Mike. OK. Yeah. Funnily enough. And that's magic Mike. no, definitely not magic. My fit by me. We'll go back. we'll definitely keep it PG. Anyway, that's for sure. But I'll just walk the size. No, definitely not. Definitely magic with the results. Well, definitely. No, no. Yeah. But like to that, was it was I launched that in April of twenty twenty five and it's a slow burn. Yeah. And then I left Siemens a month later and I then went on. gym floors full time. was renting gym floors as independent PT. So four and 500 quid a month before I even met. That was a big risk. That was my next scary move was renting your own space on a gym floor without clients. And I was like, I need to fucking do this because if this pays off, this will be good. So that started happening and it was built up reputation there. Few online clients came from that. then it was really, it was, was, well, it this time last year, started to pick up with the online stuff. And then there was a few tough months where, and there's always tough months. This was, this is a tough one for me right now. Well, the last few months have been pretty good, but it's funny. Every, every month is different and you just can't predict it. know, it's a season. I thought so, May, June and July for me were fucking unbelievable. Whereas I thought that would be quiet. Whereas I thought September would be a little bit quicker in terms of the pickup. And it's not the case, but like so that it started to pick up this time last year and definitely December, November or December wasn't too bad. February was quite. this year then going into the new year, new year wasn't too bad. Then I lost a few clients just along the way. It's just a natural process of people not investing into a fully or not getting on as a coach. Life got in way. Life gets in the way. There's multiple different factors because you're not going to work well with every coach either. But then the right clients need to come to you as well. And the ones that do click and they'll stay, you know. But then from literally I came back after we came back after our honeymoon in April. We got married in September, this time last 26th of September. You're married at the end of September. So there you go. Yeah. Honest to God, it all happened. And we, we came back from our honeymoon and I said, I'm going to start niching a little bit more into like the emergency service society things just due to my knowledge, just see. And things started to go haywire. Followers went up. journeys when, you know, just people inquiring, everything just happened from that. I think that was able to post related content. But because there's so much coaches out there that aren't knowledgeable in what's the job inside like, nobody can relate to that. Even the shift work. Yeah, like shift work can be like there is shift work coaches out there as well. OK. how much knowledge they have on it. I don't. like the question. It's just a name. Yeah. It's just it's just the niche that they picked. You know, did they work it? I don't know. Did they did the work factories, sites, nightclubs, retail like I did? I don't know. Guards. I don't definitely don't think so. So probably, yeah, that was the that was where it picked up. But it was great. But it also annoyed me because. I want to coach normal in terms of people that's outside of that niche as well. Likes the bodybuilding. Obviously it'll take me time to build up that niche because I'm stepping on stage in a few weeks time. But also as well, people aren't going to relate to me because who's this fucking bodybuilder or fella? You know, he's a nobody when it comes to stage and stuff like that. But the likes of the other people that's not in the emergency services, I can teach, I can coach them. I did before I niched properly into emergency services. Can I have the skills to bring everything to the table? Absolutely. It just takes the right people to hear that and understand that I'm more than an emergency services coach as well. Do you know? So you're an open book. I am. If someone wants to be coached. Definitely. Like that's the thing it take. Like I have the life knowledge, but I also have the knowledge of mistakes that I've made from bodybuilding and things like that as well. And what's the one thing you'd love your clients to know before the start? that nothing's going to come easy and that work is definitely like, I give my heart and soul to them, but they have to give that back. If they're willing to invest in me and giving them a fantastic service back, but I also expect that effort back. You also used the phrase zero to hero on the farm. What was your zero? In life? Everything. It was a few zeros as it was, you know, in that kind of way. The reason I said it's because of all the clients of that, I guess I had on the show, like you were very, the coach you used, like zero to hero. I just was interested to see, did you have anything in relation to that? Like, or was that, was that, that meaning in terms of coach? I'll bring you from zero to hero. Like, nothing, nothing will come easy, but you work with me and we'll build it up slowly, but surely. You're zero. What you feel now will be hero in time, but it takes time and it takes effort and it takes some sacrifice. A little bit of saying no to certain things will get you to where you are. And that delayed gratification is the best gratification you'll get. Don't mind your early, like don't mind your scrolling for TikTok dopamine, quick dopamine that does not last. Dopamine through delayed gratification. is that a long has a long ester has a long half life. it has and will last in the body much longer. If you were able to do something hard, like go to the gym in the morning before work, you might drag your ass out of bed and be like, fuck this. Would you do that? You will be more productive throughout the day. I the hardest part about going to the gym is getting with your front door. Correct. Correct. And if you do that and you do that enough for times, it becomes a habit. Absolutely. Like a lifestyle. I'm training for Dublin Maritain. and most of my runs are done at 5am. Yeah. Because I'm a morning person. like to get up. Me too. Do your run. Yeah. And then have the whole day. Yeah. You know. Where I see people, and maybe it's down to my job as well, maybe it's down to early mornings. Early mornings. I just can't train in the evenings. I hate to train. I would hate to train in the evenings again. I haven't done that in years. like, are you like, everybody had, all the fitness people had on the, as a guest, I said, what are you like when you don't train? I don't know because I don't leave that stone unturned, you get me? I'm like, that's my outlet. I don't go to bars and nightclubs and all that on regular basis. That's my outlet. the AirPods go in, I'm in. I'm locked in. I'll train fucking hard. And that passion and that blood, and tears will be poured out in the gym because I know that that's fulfilling me. What's your go to music? Jesus, there's everything. you could go from literally the heaviest fucking mix of anything dry through to Abba could come up. know that kind of way. Like Kristy Morgan come up in the middle of a fucking pendulum squat. You know what I'm saying? Or else fucking something heavy like a head of guard DJ or something like that would come up. Okay, we're going to change it. We're going to change the vibe a small bit now. So before you met the wife. Okay. You're on Ireland's first date. First date Ireland. I was first date Ireland. Okay. That was a, that was, that was an experience in fairness. Talk to me about that. Jesus. I can, I remember, I remember applying and I told my mother and I was like, fucking hell. This is, this is, this is a bit wild.