Gospel Unfiltered
Gospel Unfiltered is a one-hour weekly podcast that goes beyond the pulpit to create space for honest conversations, real stories, and Kingdom truth. Hosted by author, motivational speaker, and community advocate Cornell Bunting, the show explores faith as it is lived—not only on Sunday mornings, but through life’s struggles, relationships, healing, leadership, purpose, family, and service.
Each episode features authentic conversations with pastors, ministry leaders, authors, entrepreneurs, community advocates, and everyday people whose testimonies reveal the power of God at work. No masks, no judgment, and no polished religious performances—just meaningful discussions about the victories, questions, failures, lessons, and faith journeys that shape us.
Listeners will be challenged to grow spiritually, confront difficult truths, strengthen their relationship with God, and turn their faith into action within their families and communities.
Gospel Unfiltered airs every Friday.
Beyond the Pulpit: Honest Conversations. Real Stories. Kingdom Truth.
Gospel Unfiltered
From War to Wellness: Ronald Marshall’s Journey of Faith, Fitness, and Purpose
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On the latest episode of the Stories to Create Podcast, Cornell Bunting sits down with Ronald Marshall, CEO and founder of Beyonddivine717, a nationally recognized personal trainer, for a powerful and inspiring conversation.
Ronald shares his journey from his upbringing in New Orleans, Louisiana, to relocating to Fort Myers, a path shaped by discipline, faith, and resilience. He opens up about serving in the United States military during the events surrounding 9/11, being deployed to Iraq, and overcoming the realities of war. From those life-altering experiences, he transitioned into becoming a fitness trainer and later a competitive bodybuilder.
In this episode, Ronald breaks down the essential do’s and don’ts of living a healthy lifestyle, while also speaking candidly about his relationship with God and the difficult decision not to return home, choosing instead to follow the path he believes was divinely set before him.
This is more than a conversation—it is a testimony of purpose, transformation, and unwavering faith.
Listen as the story unfolds.
Thank you for tuning in with EHAS CLUB - Stories to Create Podcast
Yes, yes, yes. Welcome to another episode of Stories to Create podcast right here at ES Club. I'm your host, Cornell Bunting. I'm really excited today. Fully pumped, people. Yeah, baby. It's a beautiful thing. We got a guest in the house today that is all about fitness. It's a beautiful thing. Man doing this thing right now. Also, veteran. So you guys will get to learn a little bit about that. We're gonna dive into that journey. So, right now, help me welcome my brother, Ron. How we doing, man? What's going on, man? Mr. Marshall is in the building, people. What's up, brother? What's up? What's up? It's good to be here, man. How are you doing, brother? Man, listen. I gotta say though, the last two days I was a little overwhelmed, bruh. It was a lot going on. You know, hey, when you don't have an assistant and you're getting busy, you can overbook yourself. Yes. I was overbooked like two different times this week that was just, I didn't want to miss out on those. And it was that's the that's the worst part.
SPEAKER_00And that's what happens a lot of times, man. We're going, going, going, man. You know, we get double booked and be like, man, I forgot I was gonna do that. You're trying to fit everything in there. Right, right. You know, and it's about getting back to that calendar, man, and getting everything into the schedule the right way. So that way you're not double booking. That's it. You know, that's it.
SPEAKER_02Refocusing everything. Man, so listen, we're gonna treat her guests today to a tale, you know. We want you to take her listeners back to the early years. Where were you born? What was that? What was that?
SPEAKER_00Well, I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Okay, okay. It was in this in a small, not small, but of course in the city. It was called Mid City. Okay. Uh born and raised there, grew up there. Okay. Um, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yo, so I gotta tell you, man, we we gotta break for a little bit here. So this is where you guys do the Mardi Ground happy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. The best place, the best series. The best thing ever. And you know what? You know, I tell people all about the second line. The second lines is the one-of-a-kind thing that you do. I know they do it other places like Carnival and everything else, other ways, but the second line with that brass band playing, and everybody just everybody just having a uh a blast, a good movement, man. There's nothing like it. Yeah, it happens every Sunday, too. Man, they call it Super Sunday.
SPEAKER_02Man, I be like, man, I that that just sounds like an instrument that even if you don't want to move, your body parts are moving and just like, hey, I don't know what you're doing, but we moving.
SPEAKER_00You just gonna move, man, because everybody else moving and you're just having a good time, and that's just what it is. You know what I mean? Like there's nothing to it, man. It's the lifestyle, man, that you just indulge into and you just want to have fun. You know what I mean? Like, and that's what it's all about. That's what life is all about. Yeah, you know what I mean? And I always tell people, go back to the Bible. Right. What was Jesus' first miracle? Right. Right? Changing water into wine.
SPEAKER_02Listen, right? And it's crazy you say that because he wasn't even ready to do all that. His mom was like, hey, hey, listen, whatever he tells you to do, just do it. You do it.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? Like, like, man, it but I I I look at that moment and you go back to that time, yeah, right? That Super Sunday in New Orleans and how we just have a good time. Yeah. I believe that that's what Jesus was intentionally what was happening in this moment. It wasn't even Jesus, it was God, you know, just telling his mother to say, hey, look, this is the time I need you to show them how to have a good time. That's it. To relax a little bit, to take a break, to wind down. Yeah. Life is not, life is serious, and I want you to take it seriously. I want you to be obedient. Right. He said, but I want you to have a good time.
SPEAKER_02That's it. We gon' we gonna bust out the good wine.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? Take, take, take, right, not just any kind of wine, but literally the best wine.
SPEAKER_02See how that doodles, man? He was like, bruh, you gonna wait until everybody's drunk before. Good wine?
SPEAKER_00Come on, bro. Like, I'm telling you, but but that's what that's how it is in New Orleans, man. It's just all about just people coming together and just having a good time, and that's what it's all about.
SPEAKER_02I love that, man.
SPEAKER_00You know, not the hate, not not the not not the you know, gossip, but literally just enjoying yourself. And the jazz and the blues is pretty big there. Big, huge there, man. That's it. Big presence, man. You know, the nightlife, everything is just all about lounging and just enjoying each other, man. Enjoying fellowship and enjoying connection and just joining, enjoying life.
SPEAKER_02You gotta do that, man. Now, back then, going to school, what kind of kid was you?
SPEAKER_00I was active, man. You know, you know, into sports. Okay. I I I've I've done every sport you can possibly think of. I've done track, I've done football, uh, I was in a marching band, I've done karate.
SPEAKER_02Wait, wait, wait. We gotta stop for a minute. What you mean a marching band? What did you do in the marching band?
SPEAKER_00Oh man, a marching band, I did uh I played a bass drum, a baritone, and I was a drum major. Wow. I was a drum major in middle school. So my my last year in middle school, I was a drum major. Yeah. And then going into high school, I I started playing a bass drum.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00But I started off playing a baritone, man. I mean, you're talking about a good time. Again, you just going back to that, having a good time, celebration. Celebration. That's and that's what we did. We prepared. Yeah. We went out there, we went out there. It was, it was, it was, we called it uh a battle of the bands. Okay. You know, playing what one band would play, another band would play at the be at the start of every parade route. Man, it was just a blast. It was just always a good time, and we will always find a way to just have a good time. I love that. I love that. Now you had siblings. Yep. I have two brothers and two sisters. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02Where did you fall in that?
SPEAKER_00I fall in the middle of all that. I was the third child. I was the third child, man. I w I fall in the middle of all that, man. You know, I was always the out-the-box thinkers, always the one that would go, right? I was the one that would leave, you know, uh at the when I when I graduated out of high school and I was going into the military, right? My my my I signed up, the recruiter came back, he was like, You ready to go? Yeah. I was like, when it when is my earliest date I can leave? He said, Listen, it was it was a Friday. He said, You can leave Thursday if you want to. Come on. I left Thursday. Wow. I told my, I went back and told my mother, I was like, listen, I'm getting ready to leave in a week. She thought I was lying. You was ready to go. Everybody didn't believe I was getting ready to actually leave and go. But I was there. I was gone. I said, give me the first flight on. I was I was gone.
SPEAKER_02So you made that decision on your own. That had nothing to do with the parenting. Like the the mom and dad didn't say, hey, son, I think you should go into the no, that was all me, man.
SPEAKER_00I was I was I was in in high school, I did JRLTC for four years, and I liked it, I liked the concept, and I liked the lifestyle. I said, you know what, I think this is gonna be the direction for me. Yeah, you know what I mean? I experienced growing up in in New Orleans, you know, it was always shootouts and everything else. It was, you know, growing up and everything, I'm like, this is not the lifestyle I want. Right, right. I want something better. So I chose the military. It's beautiful.
SPEAKER_02Now, what one time you couldn't think of or remember, like, you know, when you were in the military, like you was like, yo, this is serious.
SPEAKER_00Well, shoot, when I first went in, you kidding me? I went in during 9-11. Right? This is this this is this is for real. This is for real, for real. You know, and again, after doing four years of JROTC in high school, yeah, I uh it it was already a registered thing for me that I'm serious about this before I even went in. So I knew drill a ceremony. I knew, I knew how to do everything that that pertains to the military itself. Right. So upon going in, even in basic training, or upon going into basic training, they had put me in charge already. Okay, okay. Right? I was already marching soldiers, I was already uh showing people how to do driller ceremony because people didn't know how.
SPEAKER_01Right. Right.
SPEAKER_00So I was teaching drill and ceremony just in processing. Yeah. Right? Processing in there and everything else. So I went in as a specialist versus a private, yeah, right, because I already had four years of JROTC already. So I already had major experience upon going in. So it was serious for me, and I knew they would always tell us upon going in, because it was 9-11, you're probably gonna go to war after basic training.
SPEAKER_02Oh man.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? So in my first duty station, you know, 101st, within a year, I was in Iraq. Wow.
SPEAKER_02You had a bit nervous, like, you know what? Hey, I'm going out there today, but I don't know if I'm coming back.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, hey, that was the mindset you really gotta get in now, right? Because now you're getting ready to go into a danger zone that you don't know what's gonna happen. Yeah. You know what I mean? So you gotta get in a different mind frame of, you know, you can't be emotional, you can't, you can't tap, you gotta get focused. That's heavy, bro. You know what I mean? Like it's a whole different mindset you literally gotta get into. Wow. Because this is life or death right here.
SPEAKER_02Man, you had any big friendships that you lost out there?
SPEAKER_00Yes. I had I've lost quite a bit of people out there. Some, you know, uh first sergeant, I've I've lost sergeants, you know, good friends that, you know, that we used to train together and everything else, but yeah, we uh I've lost quite a bit along the way.
SPEAKER_02Wow, wow, man. So, you know, we gonna we gonna move forward a little bit, you know, because we got that done. You got back to the states. And you were like, okay, what's next?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, uh after Iraq, well, I after my second tour uh in Iraq, I went was coming from Germany and uh coming to DC area and uh I was in the process, I'd say about a year or two later, I decided I was gonna get out of the out of the army and I was gonna open up my own business. So I started going to school for personal training. Okay. While in the military. And I was already a master fitness trainer in the army. Oh, come on. So I was already training soldiers and things like that in the army itself, doing hand-in-hand combat as well, as a hand-in-hand combat instructor.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00So I did a lot it with fitness while in the military. Okay. Uh, so it always was a a part of my life and everything that I did. So it was so upon getting out, I was getting my my my certification to be a personal trainer. Okay. And when I got out, I had finished that personal training certification and went straight into opening up my own business. Started doing boot camp classes. Yeah. I was also doing catering because I was a, I was a I was a cook in the army. Oh, okay. You know what I mean? So that was my my main job. So two skills there. Oh, so I kind of did. So it was the best of both worlds. So teaching people how to eat and teaching people how to take care of their bodies at the same time and get more healthier was has has always been a thing for me.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. Wow, man, that's beautiful, bruh. Now, you got this whole workout thing down to the T where you're like, okay, this is the direction I'm going. Where was the first area you target? You said what was the first area that you target. As far as like who I'm gonna be working with.
SPEAKER_00Well, that was just the general populations of people, right? So it was just the people that just want to lose weight. Yeah. That was the first direction of things, just to get into the industry itself. Right. Uh, and then from there, I started doing bodybuilders. Okay. Uh, started training bodybuilders and became a bodybuilder myself. Okay. Uh for a period of time, for about seven years. And uh then from there it was just, you know, training, training people who's serious about themselves and really taking it to the next level. And I've always seen myself training leaders.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00You know?
SPEAKER_02You know, when it comes to like the working out like that, you know, and some people get a little confused with it because they you they see certain bodybuilders that was killing it back in the day, and then when they see them now, you know, they got all this weight on, they look crazy, bro. But people are like, yo, what happened? What are those people was doing before why when they get like when you get older where you lost all of that?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's easy to lose what you've built up when it comes down to bodybuilding if you don't create a lifestyle out of it. Okay. Right. So a lot of people go into bodybuilding and they they train for that period of time. It becomes very serious for that timing, right? But when it's over, there's no goal. Right. There's no purpose, there's no direction. So people fall off. Right. So I always tell people create a lifestyle, even if you're gonna become a bodybuilder, still create a lifestyle out of it. Do all natural things. Don't do steroids, don't do things that you're not gonna do for the rest of your life.
SPEAKER_01Right, right. Right?
SPEAKER_00Do things that's gonna build it up. Yes, it's gonna take a little bit longer to get yourself where you need to be at, but it's gonna be all natural and you'll be able to do this for the rest of your life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, wow, man. I, you know, and it it almost seemed like with a lot of the guys that was competing a lot, steroids was a big thing for them to go to.
SPEAKER_00It was a big thing because people want to want the big muscles, right? And they want the big muscles fast. We have a microwave society, yeah, right? And if we can get something faster, then we're gonna try to do it that way. Right? No matter whether it's illegal, whether it's gonna hurt us in the long run, right? We all about, hey, how am I looking right now? What can I do right now to get me where I need to be at? That's the reason why people go do what? Pay $5,000, $10,000 to get in to get surgery, right? To go from now being 300 pounds to now 150 pounds. Like, what? Yeah, why? You know what I mean? Is that really sustainable?
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_00Right? So we want to take steroids to get bigger, we wanna we wanna do surgery to get smaller, right? That's what that you mean with men, that's men and women. That's that's that's the mindset.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But if we think long term, like business, right? Business doesn't happen overnight, right? It happens over time, right? With consistency. So that's the same thing that happens with the body. If I begin to go on a focused direction with my body, that's all natural, right, right? Not the steroids, not not not the surgery, but just take it one day at a time and live in the moment and enjoy what I'm doing, right, right, and enjoy this process. Guess what? It's gonna be a lot more sustainable. Definitely, definitely. I love that. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00And you you you you have those celebratory moments now. You have those moments and times where you say, you know what? I work for that. Right, right. You know what I mean? Not I pay for that, right, right? But you work for that.
SPEAKER_02I work for that. That's a big difference right there, people. I I like that. And when you got back, how was your parents doing?
SPEAKER_00Were they excited that you were back or they were just Well, well, back from the from from the army. So my my my my mother was excited the fact that I got out, of course, because now I don't have to go back to Iraq anymore.
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_00So now I'm in DC. Um because I didn't go home home, right? Oh, okay. So now I went I went to I I got out of the Maryland area and stayed there for a period of time. And because I didn't go back home. I wasn't trying to go back home. Oh, I'm not sure. I'm trying to go do new heights and see where God is taking me.
SPEAKER_02Right. I thought you were to go bless your parents with a present for a minute.
SPEAKER_00No, I ain't go home. I didn't go home. I I continued on where God was taking me at, and you know, I didn't want to get out of the military. I I felt it was something that God wanted me to do in that time and in that moment. So that's what I did. I wanted to retire. God had a different direction for me. So I took that faith, that leap of faith, and I got out and started going in the direction in which I believed that God was taking me. That's beautiful, man.
SPEAKER_02I love that. And, you know, it's important because a lot of us don't necessarily understand the relationship that we can have with God and what that looks like. And even now the listen, you know, because that's that's hard in itself. Because you, you know, when you talk to someone that's all about the physical, yeah, they see it, they can relate, they can talk on it and all that stuff. It's hard for them to comprehend what that all looks like.
SPEAKER_00Right, because you gotta you, I I believe that, you know, even as I was going to school for personal training, I I I made everything spiritual, kind of in in in in such a way that I if I would learn it, I'm like, how God is connected to this. Right. Right? If I would learn about the biceps, how God is connected to this. What why did God decide decide to design us this way? Yo. Right? Why does the muscles run in this direction? Right, right. Right. So I'm I'm asking God these things as I'm learning, I'm like, okay, this is interesting. Yeah. You know what I mean? So the the the bicep has three parts and everything else, and the tricep has three parts, you know, you know, you you you look at all these different things and you're like, okay, God, what why did you design us like this? So these were my questions as I began to learn about the human body.
SPEAKER_02You know, bruh, it's kind of crazy you're saying all that, what you're saying right now. Because I was always wondering if I'm the only one sometime that be questioning God, like, okay, God, me, I'm me. Right. I'm me. Like, why me, me? You know, like why, why, you know, like it's crazy, bro. Like, it's crazy that we can just be vibing sometime, be like, okay, man, help me understand, let me help me put it together.
SPEAKER_00And that, and that's the the thing, you know, because we were we grew up with the with the notion of don't ask God questions.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Right? Yeah. And when I was thought, when I was able to really break through that mindset of don't ask God questions, I began to really question God on everything.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Because I wanted to know. I wanted to know the truth. I didn't just want to know what I experienced, but I wanted to know the truth. God, what's what's really happening? Yeah. What's really taking place? How are you talking to me? Yeah. Right? How do I experience you? You know what I mean? And all these things I got going on in my life, right? With fitness, with nutrition, with all this. Like, what like what is all this stuff? You know, what is what is what are you doing in my life?
SPEAKER_02What is our relationship like here? I I love that, man. And you know, with the way society is going right now, with the mass of people watches the media, you know, whether that's TV, social media. Yeah. How do you feel a lot of people are handling that right now, bruv, with all the messages that are being thrown out there between the politics, the religion, all that stuff?
SPEAKER_00As far as their mindsets, well, I would say overall, I believe that, you know, you have a on the spiritual side of life, I believe uh, I hear a lot of people saying, you know, God got us in transition right now. Right. There's a transformation happening in the world, right? There's a there's a resting taking place with a lot of different people right now. And then on the other hand, whether you got a lot of people that's just kind of, you know, taking it one day at a time. Right. Right? Then you got another group of people who's just who's afraid because we got, you know, the war taking place, and you know, we can't find a job. Well, they say helias are starting the left. You know what I mean? So you got all these different things happening in our world, and you and you, and you sit back and think and you look at it all, man, like, and you just gotta and as a believer and as a as a as a child of God, it's like, okay, God, at the end of the day, again, I gotta go back to my foundation scripture. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. So I'm like, God, you know what? You're in control, not me. You I I know what you promised me. Right. So the chaos that's happening only takes me back to the beginning of the Bible. When the Bible says God created heaven and earth, and the earth was without form in the void. That was chaos happening, everything was empty, everything was chaotic, nothing was in order. Right, right, right. Like right now. Yeah right? So it's a move of God that's about to take place, I believe, that's really gonna put things into alignment.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02You know, man, I just saw a video where these kids were asking questions about things that they would like to see that we used to have, that we don't have no more. Like the landline phone.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I believe it's important because you know, you got the landlines. I I believe we will be and it we don't even need not necessarily a landline, but a a house phone. A house phone, right, right. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? So what what happens to the house phone? Because why? Because we got a phone on our hip at all times.
SPEAKER_01Right, right, right, right.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? We're constantly relying on this thing at all times.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00No matter where we go.
SPEAKER_02We're relying on this. You know, one of the things I so I was just in Connecticut, you guys know because you guys got to to to see me up there on the journey. But I so my dad is a music guy. You know, he has a big sound system, got a lot of record, LPs, 45, all this stuff. And you know, you look at me and he was like, you know, man, the crazy thing we used to just buy the record and we have the record. And we can play the record whenever we want.
SPEAKER_00Now you gotta subscribe to a specific platform to hear that, whatever that music is, and if you can't pay for that subscription, you can't you don't get it on a Spotify or one of those different places, because you know, you got of course you got free free platforms that and that and they're free for a period of time as well, you know, depending on where you're going at. So you got you got certain platforms, but you're right, you we we we now have to subscribe to certain things in order to now receive what we used to get, right? And used to pay for one time and now have all the time.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? Right, right. And and I and I guess it's like still like that, depending on where what platforms you're on. You know what I mean? So life has you know, has evolved, shall we say, not changed. I always say evolve because it's all the same, but it's a different way. You see I'm Saying it's it has evolved into something more accessible. Right. Right. Something more what they say is easier to get to now, versus having that disc that we gotta now find that might be scratched. Right.
SPEAKER_02You know, and you know it's crazy. You know what I mean? Yeah, as you were talking, man, I was thinking when I was in Africa and and we had gone into Soweto and uh, you know, they took me down in the village, and the people had no technology, man, knows civilization as it is now, for them is like where they're comfortable, bruv. And the guy was like, we would never accept this type of things. This will bring us complications. And a lot of people wouldn't even understand that because they're like, yeah, how could you deny all this technology stuff that's moving faster? Well, bruv, there's so many bad to this right now. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00There's a lot of bad to the technology happening in our world today. As it, again, as everything evolves, you know, we as a people, we we we know how to build. Right. Right? Like you go back to the Bible, right, when they built the Tower of Babel, right, right, right. All the way up. That's serious. Yeah, to stop them from doing that because it was going too high. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. So now that's kind of what's happening now today that with technology. Yeah. Technology has advanced so much to the point to where, you know, do we really have control over it now?
SPEAKER_02Well, well, you you see now, they're trying to make sure these robots can walk good and balance themselves and all that.
SPEAKER_00But that's what they're doing. You saw they had a robot walk out with uh uh the f the f the the the the what's her name, the president's wife the other day, you know, walking in front of her walking in front of her and they did a whole demonstration, talked and everything. Oh, introduced itself the whole nine yards. I was like, Oh they're definitely advancing it. Of course, they've been working with special forces for quite some time as well. I missed that. Uh, where they're teaching the robots how to fight and everything else. They've been doing that for a very long time.
SPEAKER_02You know what I mean? You know the crazy thing, bruh. It's the and I don't know, us humans, you know, and the Bible do compare us as sheep. Yes. I don't think we we have comprehended on that. You know, I don't think we fully understand what that is. You see how a sheep function? Yeah. If if a flock of sheep see a sheep walking off the cliff, they walking off the cliff behind that sheep. I'm just saying, unless the shepherd is there to say, hey. So pull them right back in with that rod.
SPEAKER_00Right. Right. They say your rod and your staff will comfort me. Yes. Right? That means I'm gonna pull you in when you get get get out of the outfold. Oh, yeah. Right. I'm gonna use my ride and staff, and I'm gonna pull you right back in because you're getting out of out of alignment. Yeah, man, bruv.
SPEAKER_02Why are we not taking this serious, bruh? Like we we got the tools, we got the tools to guide us into that direction that we need to, but we don't necessarily, some people don't even care for that book, bruh. Because we don't know it to be truth.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00We don't know it to be truth. We've been told so many different times that the Bible is the Bible is just another book.
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_00That that the words that contradict themselves. Right, right. Right? That how how does God contradict himself? Right. Right? God says what he says. And again, even if he tells you one thing and then tells you a different thing based on that one thing he told you, that's what God said. Right. Because that's what he wants you to do in that moment, because this is the process, right? Right, like baking a cake. I gotta mix everything up first before I put it in the oven. I can't just, I can't just pour it all into one, one, one, one pan, and then just put it into the oven. Right? So I gotta put it into a bowl, I gotta mix it and then pour it, put put butter in the pan, or put some type of oil in the pan, and then pour it in. Right. Make sure it's at the right heat, and then put it put it and put it into the oven. Yep. Right? So, so so I believe that's the exact same process that that we also have to go through. Right. When God was telling Abraham, hey, go sacrifice your son, your only son. Right. So then when he journeys along, gets there, right, he gives him a different a different direction. Right, right. He gets there, he said, hey, I got a ram in the bush that I want you to sacrifice. But again, this is not contradiction. Oh, right, it's not. This is a process of faith that I believe that has to take place that God has to know, will you listen to me? Right. Will you be obedient to what I'm saying, not you saying?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but yeah, yo, his faith had to be so strong. Right. Can you imagine your only kid? And you're like, listen, we we need you to bring him up here. We gonna we're gonna do a sacrifice. And you're like, my son? Or my daughter? Like, if not, my only? Yeah, this is all I have? What we doing here?
SPEAKER_00Right, right. You know what I mean? And that's a process of life. So with all this chaos that's happening in our world, yeah, I believe that you know that's this is a time where we step up and be and say, you got what? God, you're in control.
SPEAKER_01Right, right, right. Not me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I don't have I don't have control of all this. I don't I don't know what to do. We we that's when we have to relinquish. Right. You know, and that's the reason why when I tell people about fitness and getting themselves into shape, getting themselves right, getting focused, you don't know what you're doing.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Stop thinking you know what you're doing. Right. Right. I don't care what worked 10 years ago, it's not gonna work today. No, no, no. You have to get that's the reason why the the the best NFL player, the best in the NBA player, the best soccer player, the best tennis player, right, they all have what? They got a trainer. They got a trainer. They got a trainer. Not just their coaches, they got trainers, right?
SPEAKER_02That that keeps them sharp. Hey, bruh, I'm glad you said that because listen, I and for a lot of you guys that have followed my journey knew about when I died in 20 and all these different things that have happened. You guys know, like when they reach out and they're like, okay, you know, you can you can get back to the the workout world and all that stuff, but you gotta go back in slow. I'm like, listen, I have no idea what I used to do or how I was doing it and all, and if it was even right. So it's like, okay, now gotta get a trainer. Gotta get a trainer.
SPEAKER_00And we you don't know what slow is. Because we think I can I can I can I can get back going where I started off, where I left off at 10 years ago, right? So now you get into the gym and now you're trying to do the same stuff you used to do, and now you hurt yourself. Yeah. Now you're back out again for the next three months. You know what I mean? Because you didn't know what you were doing.
SPEAKER_02Right, right, right. And and that would work like that. Because bro, when I tell you, I have seen some stuff in the gym where I'm like, yo, if only they have made a choice to get a trainer to help them, bro. That that would not happen. And it just evolves, man.
SPEAKER_00Like for me, you know, when when when when you when you're faithful, again, when you're faithful over certain things, faithful of a few things, God would give you more.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Right. And I've done fitness for so long, right? And I've always wanted a concept where I can help my clients recover their muscles, you know, faster. Yeah. Right? So I designed this candle. Right. Right. It started making it. God gave me a candle where it melts down into an oil and you can put it over your whole body.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right. And it's amazing. And it helps the muscles recover in 24 hours. That's beautiful, man. Right. So if you're sore today, you put that candle on, right? And it really helps the muscles recover where you're back at working, working out again tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. That is awesome. You know what I mean? And it's the evolution of life. Everything goes from one thing to the next. If you're faithful at that one thing, keep building and growing, God will give you more to go with it.
SPEAKER_02Let me ask you, man, because females get crazy about this one thing when it comes to guys. The abs. What why is that, bro? Why you you know why you feel females go so crazy over it? Even even after they find out maybe the guy's gay or whatever it is. They go, they go nuts.
SPEAKER_00I mean, uh you got because you gotta think about this. Uh do you want a woman that has a big belly? You know what I mean? Like, let's think about let's listen to make it make sense. Yeah, yeah. Do we as men want a woman with a big belly?
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? No. We don't want a woman with a big belly. Right, right, right. She don't necessarily have to have abs, but we want her to have that coke bottle. Yeah. Right? We want the coke bottle. Right? Or something close to it at least, right? Yeah. So at the end of the day, that's the same thing we gotta think about when women think of look at a man. Yeah. Does she want to see that big belly? Right, right. You know what I mean? Yeah. She wants to see a man that that that has a nice, good-looking physique. Right. Right? That that she can touch on, yeah. That she can look at on a regular basis and enjoy.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Right. Versus saying in her mind, oh, he needs to go work out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So, but here's the crazy part now, ladies. Hey, I know some of you guys are gonna want to come on the show after this and be like, oh, we need to talk about all this stuff. So, and I know they're like, a woman can look at a man and say, hey, you you're you need to go work out because you're you're not looking so good. But when a man looks at a woman and say that, no, we can't say that.
SPEAKER_00Oh no. Oh, no, no way. Right? Again, as a man, we gotta just know our place. You gotta, again, move with wisdom, right? You know what I mean? Like, not foolishness again, not to your own understanding. Right, yeah. Right? Again, go back to that scripture. Right. Because that right there is gonna get you in trouble. Oh, yeah. You already know. Did you just what? Like, you can't say that, man. Like, what? You know what I mean? You you gotta say that in a very creative way. I go to her friend, say, look, you should tell your friend she gotta work out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Because you can't say it. And don't go snitching on me either that I that I said this to you. Bro, it's it's so interesting now because now we have guys that are like, you know what, man, it is so hard to deal with a female. And I just want you guys to know that show is coming where you guys will get an opportunity to hear from some very opinion opinionated individuals that will speak on that. But you know, guys are struggling right now with how to communicate with a female. With a lot of the questions that a lot of these guys have right now, and I know some will be like, okay, man, you know, what would someone like like Ron say like to us not knowing how to even be ourselves around a woman? What would you say to those dudes?
SPEAKER_00Well, uh I would say not being able to be yourself around a woman. Yeah. That's hard. You know, cuz because I I'm all I'm all about identity, right? And and I believe it it comes with confidence, right? And that comes with working out, that comes with, you know, repr consistency, right? What you do every day. Right, right. Right? To represent to present you. What are you what are you doing to present you? Whether that's going to the gym, whether that's reading a book, whether that's going to church. What are you doing that really begins to refine or identify who you are in you, right? What is telling you, you know what, this is who I really am. Right. Right? Because I believe it's something that we do every day that allows us the alignment process that's happening as we indulge into life. We're experiencing, we're going through life, we're reflecting, right? We or we pray, we study, we're doing all these different things in what are you doing consistently that's identifying with who you are. So now when you approach someone or that that you may be interested in, how are you approaching and how are you introducing yourself? And you know, those are the things I believe that we have to think about. What are we doing consistently every day to re-r to identify, to know who are you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So what I'm hearing is you gotta be consistent with who you are, you know, to really to know who you are, to be consistent with what you're doing, yeah, right? To know this is who I really am, versus saying, hey, how you knowing this is what I do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Now you're in a situation where you get to meet, you can only pick one of these guys, run DMC, MCMer. Who you going with? Run DMC. All day.
SPEAKER_00You kidding me? Run DMC all day. Run D.
SPEAKER_02All day, man. You know, shoo. You know, hey, nothing against you, NCM. Yeah, yeah. No, without a doubt, man.
SPEAKER_00You know, I want I wanna I wanna I wanna I want to give mentor it from the the best, right? Yeah. Want some who really brought the culture together that that that really got out there and did some things and really spoke to us in a very wise way. Right. You know what I mean? Let me ask you, man. When Jerry Curls came out, what was you doing? I had a jury curl. Yo, I I would have I had the bush, I had dreads, I had, I had braids, I had the whole nine yards. You know what I mean? All throughout high school, man. Like I had all that stuff, man. Wow. You know what I mean? Like I used to go, I I had I man, my mind. You had the spray. Man, look, I had the jury curl, bro. I I had it for just a short period of time, too. I didn't have it for a long time. Because right after the jury curl, I went straight into having braids. Okay, okay, okay. I had the braids going down my back, you know what I mean? You know, I didn't have they weren't real real long, but they went to my like my shoulder. Right. You know what I mean? And then right after that, I I went bald.
SPEAKER_02You went bald.
SPEAKER_00I cut it all off. Everybody was like, Yeah, what happened?
SPEAKER_02Why? Dude, we do it. Oh man, that's serious.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, man. But that was the good old times, man. That was the good old days, man. Just again, evolving and growing.
SPEAKER_02Right. Experiencing life. You know, man, for a lot of individuals, you know, even that's who's watching now, if you was to compare some of the times, the 80s, 90s, 2000s, which time would you say was more enjoyable?
SPEAKER_00Man, I'm gonna say the 90s, man. I'm you know, yes, you got the 2000s, which is is is great right now, and it's that you but the the the 90s, man, was man, that was a good time. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was you're talking about celebration, partying, and it's not even about the party, it's really about the people coming together.
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_00The good times. You know, back in the day, we used to call, we used to have a tree uh in the hood where we used to call under the tree.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Okay, everybody used to meet up under the tree and have deep conversations about life and just just joke around. Just have a good time. You know what I mean? Like it was just, we even went a shirt that said under the tree. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Like, and we used to just hang out, whenever we used to just have get togethers, and it was that was that was life, man. You know, and we don't have that now today.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? Like that, that, that coming together. I mean, we do have it, like you go to New Orleans, man. I and I see it all the time. I'm just like, I gotta get back home.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? Like, we're coming together, we're doing those big things, we're celebrating, we're doing it. It's still it's still that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? It hasn't been lost. It hasn't been lost, and I believe that that's where we all should be at. Oh, definitely. Community's big. I love that. Community is the I believe is the the biggest thing of life that keeps us living, yeah, that keeps us growing, that keeps us as people evolving. Right.
SPEAKER_02Now, for everyone that's watching, listening, if you was to give them one gem, you know, this is this is free right here for you guys. You don't have to pay for this. What would you tell them would be a good routine workout without telling them too much?
SPEAKER_00Well, I'll say for the person that's trying to gain weight, like myself, I'm always, you know, gain in the process of gaining weight is the hardest thing to do. And we have more of a small body frame, and it's uh that challenging of gaining that one pound or that two pounds that you're trying to gain. I would say go to working out three days a week, pick about four to five different exercises, go heavier weight that's challenging, that you can only do eight reps at. Right. Uh, and that will be a great direction for people that's trying to gain weight. If you're trying to lose weight, I would say the best way, the best direction would be for you working out four days a week and doing six to eight different exercises, doing it three sets at about 12 to 15 reps. Okay. Right? With a with with a 30 to 60 second break. People who's trying to gain weight, I would say, break for 90 seconds to two minutes at a time. Okay. Between sets and doing two to two to three to four sets.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Okay. So it it all depends on what you're doing based on your break time, based on where you're at in your journey. Uh and just picking healthy foods. And uh, and you I I believe that we all know what healthy foods are. Right, right. But it's you the the the how often to eat, I would say if you're trying to gain weight, I would say eat every every two and a half to three hours. If you're trying to lose weight, eat every three and a half to four hours.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00You know what I mean? To kind of balance everything out throughout the day. So that that should be that equal to about three meals a day for people who's trying to lose weight, and about four to maybe five meals a day for people who's trying to gain weight.
SPEAKER_02Come on. Wow. Wow, that was beautiful. Hey, you guys are welcome, by the way. Wow, that's beautiful, man. Right now, with people wanting to engage, you know, find, you know, their niche or you know, find uh an engaging event or place to go and and but they don't really know what to look for, uh how to approach what that looks like. What would you say to them?
SPEAKER_00As far as like where it goes for is like a gym?
SPEAKER_02Well, or anywhere.
SPEAKER_00Like going out, going out, all that stuff. Well, I well, I would say I would tell a person, I would tell you to first of all, what what what brings you what what puts a smile on your face, number one? Ooh, I like that. You know what I mean? First of all, you have to reflect on your life and what has put that smile on your face. Yeah. Right? Not another person, not a but what that event. What what what put a smile on your face? Yeah. And now begin to connect with people that associate with those types of events. Right. And go there because I believe that's where our connection is. Yeah. And that's where we grow at. I love it. Right? And that's where we can find ourselves. Right.
SPEAKER_01You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00Because now we're not restricted to what we want to do, but we're free to do what we want to do. I know. To figure out who we really are.
SPEAKER_02Right. And you know, a lot of females are looking right now and they're like, okay, Cornell, can you ask him? Can you ask him? I got you. Got you, guys. For those ladies that are curious, single or available. Which one? Which what we going? What we don't? Oh no, I'm not available.
SPEAKER_00I'm I'm I'm I'm focused on my journey in direction with my business and God in this moment right now. My focus is really to just Hey. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I know what some of you guys are thinking right now. How can I meet him and break him? Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. This is the beautiful thing. I love that, man. For people that would love to connect with you, you know, possibly, you know, hire you as a trainer, what does that look like? How can they find you?
SPEAKER_00Well, if you can find me on Facebook, Candleman17, again, I make candles, massage oil candles that melts down into an oil. Uh again, Candleman17 on Facebook. You can connect with me on there. That's beautiful.
SPEAKER_02You know, as you said, that the whole candle thing, because if it is so crazy, bruv. When the when it's so hot, for people that are like thinking of doing that, you know, dropping that on them when it's melting.
SPEAKER_00What advice would you give them? Well, it it does, it's not even hot, I'm gonna be honest with you. It's a very warm feeling. Okay. Uh it has 100% therapeutic gradient essential oils, 100% organic soy wax, vitamin E and vitamin C in the base of it, is almond oil. So by the time you light that candle and it and it melts down and you put that onto your skin, uh, it's a warm feeling, it's a soft feeling, it feels amazing. I have different scents from lavender to centranella, uh to eucalyptus. I mean, again, it depends on what's going on with your body. It helps out with cuts, burns, bites, sore muscles. The main reason why I started making them is for people with sore muscles. Oh, come on. But it helps out with so much more and it does so much more, and I really enjoy making candles. I don't know. It's it's a really a good time that I'm having when I'm by myself making those candles, man. Candleman! Yeah, man, it's it's it's it's it's the best, man. It's a spiritual moment for me, man. Yeah, I like that.
SPEAKER_02I like that, bruh. I just even with you being in devotion before you start your day. You know what? Before we close the segment, guys, I want you to touch on that. Because a lot of people don't necessarily understand the importance of that or how to get into a routine, or how often they how long do they need to do this before they can. Get in a habit to just be doing that every day. And it's like it's a part of their normal routine.
SPEAKER_00First of all, you gotta want it. That's the number one thing I believe that you gotta want it. Because I've I I I've tried to start a devotion first thing in the morning time at one point, and I couldn't be consistent because I wanted it, but I didn't want it as bad as, you know, you know, as bad to really be consistent. Right. And I believe that it's something that you gotta really, really want to be consistent. And you gotta go ahead. And once you really, really want it, now you begin to create a discipline, right? Yeah. You create a routine behind it. So you say, you know what? I know I'm free at 6 a.m. every morning. Right. So you know what? Let me set my alarm for 5:45 so that way I'm up at 6 a.m. and I'm getting my devotion in. And this is gonna be my time because I know I'm free at 6 a.m. Yeah every morning. So I'm gonna start doing that consistently, right? And it starts with that consistent every day. And once you get into that routine, just like working out, it becomes an enjoyable thing. So now you get more interested at what it is that you're doing, and you start creating things that's gonna allow you to grow and evolve in that space. Right. Right? To where now, you know what? You realize I didn't have as much faith before.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But because I started on this routine, I can see changes happen in my life. So I want to do this more.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right? It was like when I started having faith, I practiced having faith first. Right. Right? It's kind of like you fake it till you make it kind of thing, because I really I don't believe I had faith before, right? Right. But when I started practicing it, I realized this actually works. Right. That not my resources, right? Not nothing I did, not nothing I knew, but because I I obeyed God and I gave my time to God that this happened in my life, so you know what? Let me do this more.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00So I believe that if we begin to really, if we don't have that faith, if you don't see yourself in that space just yet, I would say start, pick a routine that you know you can be consistent with every day, not once a week, but literally every day. Yeah. And then see God work things out in your life. And I believe that you know you're gonna want to have more of that time, more of that routine to see more of God happen in your life. That's beautiful.
SPEAKER_02We drop the mic, people. We drop the mic. Hey man, thank you for being on the show today. Thank you, brother. This was beautiful. Listen so much until our next episode where we have another decorative guest right here at ES Club.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.
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