141： Live Life on Your Terms ｜ Hunter McIntyre
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Summary
Hunter McIntyre is a professional obstacle course racer and two-time winner of the Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge. He is also the author of the new book, "The Big Guy's Big Deal" which is available for pre-order now!
Transcript
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There was a time in my life when I felt as if I was living for everybody else. I woke up to a
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marriage that was in shambles, a business that was failing a bank account. It seemed to be in
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the red more often than it was in the black and a lifestyle I hated. That has all changed for me
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and my guest today, Hunter McIntyre, although taking a different path was also living a life
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other than what he really wanted. And that was until he found obstacle course racing
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and the passion for life that you're going to hear in his voice.
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Today, we talk about how that discovery of his changed his life, how to identify where you need
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to grow the most, the power that comes in trying new things, and how to live life on your terms.
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You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest. Embrace your fears and boldly chart
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your own path. When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time. You are not
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easily deterred, defeated, rugged, resilient, strong. This is your life. This is who you are.
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This is who you will become. At the end of the day, and after all is said and done,
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Men, what is going on today? My name is Ryan Mickler, and I am the host and the founder of
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this podcast, The Order of Man. What an amazing, an amazing couple of weeks for me that has been.
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I just got back from my very first hunt in Texas. I know a lot of you guys who listen to this show are
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hunters, and I had some success there. I took two bucks, one with my rifle, one with my bow. That was an
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exciting time. I'm going to talk with you about that in an upcoming Friday Field Notes. But between
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that and trying to get back on top of everything this week and Thanksgiving and the couple events
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that we have coming up, things are extremely, extremely busy, but I wouldn't have that any
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other way. For those of you guys who are joining us for the first time, I do want to welcome you.
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This is a show about becoming a better man, a better protector, provider, and presider over
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ourselves and those that we have an obligation and responsibility for. So each week to that end,
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guys, we are interviewing some incredible men from all walks of life. This week is no exception,
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and we're going to deliver those conversations straight to you each and every week. Now,
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I do have a couple of quick announcements before we get started and into the main conversation today.
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If you haven't heard of our meetup yet, you need to make sure you get registered. Do that quickly.
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We're starting to fill up, and those spots are going to go. So we're going to be hosting this
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meetup in Nashville, January 26th and 27th. This is also a book launch party. A lot of you guys know
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about the up and coming book that's going to be available in February. So when you register for
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the meetup, you're going to get an early signed copy of the book, and then you're going to join me
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and a hundred other guys or so for a couple of days of brotherhood and camaraderie and gaining
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access to the tools and the resources and the conversations and the men who are going to help you
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on your journey to become a better man. You can do that at order of man.com slash Nashville.
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Again, order of man.com slash Nashville. I hope to see you there. Now, outside of that,
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make sure that you subscribe to the show so you never miss a single episode. And if you would do
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this for me, do me a favor, just share it with the other guys that you know, who could use the
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information that we're sharing. And of course the mission behind the order. Now guys, today I have
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the privilege of introducing you to Hunter McIntyre. He is a professional obstacle course racer.
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He's a two-time winner of Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge, and he's one of the highest paid
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obstacle course racers in the world. What's even more interesting is that what you might recognize
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in Hunter today was nowhere to be found when he was younger. Most of his younger years were spent
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doing drugs, getting drunk, run-ins with the law. He had several rehab stays, but eventually he found
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his way into modeling, working with companies like J.Crew and Abercrombie & Fitch. But it really wasn't
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until he found obstacle course racing that he truly transformed his life. I just watched this
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guy compete in the Spartan World Championships in Tahoe. He is the real deal. It's pretty incredible
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for as big a guy he is. He's loud. He's in your face, but there is no doubt he thinks big. You're
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going to hear one of the announcements he has. And of course he lives life on his terms.
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Hunter, what's going on, man? Thanks for joining me on the show today.
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Hey man, happy to be here. Thank you very much for having me. It's been a while in the scheduling.
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It has been a while. I know we've just played phone tag and back and forth, man. We just talked
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before I hit record on this podcast and you are a busy man, my friend.
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Well, yeah, it's interesting between a couple of ventures in television and the OCR industry
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really blossoming. It's something that kind of has fully taken over my schedule, but I get a few
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days down in between and it's nice to be able to sit with somebody like yourself and talk about the
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world. Well, I'm excited to dig in. I've got a lot of things I want to talk with you about today,
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but I think the way we need to lead this thing off is they call you the sheriff. And I'm really
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curious as to why they call you the sheriff. What's behind the name, man?
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Honestly, it was a party persona in college. It was something that me and my friends really just
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enjoyed laughing about, kind of just getting ourselves into trouble. But then when I came
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out to California, I started racing and started to kind of get a little bit more intense.
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I kind of started to really live the lifestyle of like, you know, being one of these wild men and
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kind of living in the world, like I might be a professional wrestler type attitude.
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And I just put it down. I think like kind of all of the most badass dudes in the world,
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like The Rock and, you know, Mr. T, those kind of names, those guys, they have their names for a
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reason and it kind of really adds to their character and their lifestyle. So I just kind of put it in
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there and it's been working ever since. But I don't think that this is just a persona. I mean,
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getting to know you and researching and understanding a little bit more about what
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you're about. I mean, you live this attitude. It's not a persona. This is your life. I'm really
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curious as to where this drive and ambition and motivation, and we're going to get into some of
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your races and the things that you're doing. But I'm really curious where all this comes from, man.
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Honestly, I came from a family where success was something that was on the dinner table. And,
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you know, if you didn't put your fork in it first, somebody else would. And I grew up with
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three older brothers. My father was very ambitious and competitive. My grandfather's the same. You
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know, not to say that the women in my family weren't as well, but, you know, I kind of learned
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from the men and it kind of absorbed that attitude of masculinity and also having, being the first
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person in line is always the best position. So I just was the person who kind of really fed off
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that kind of attitude and lifestyle. And, you know, my, my dad was a Harvard graduate and he
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ran big media businesses. My brothers are doctors, lawyers, hedge fund men. And I just, I didn't have
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that in my blood. I didn't want to be that person, but I also didn't want to be the person who was
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going to not have anything to talk about at the dinner table. I wanted to be the guy who was
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appreciated and also respected across the board. So my real strength with us was athletics and just
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kind of my all around courageous attitude towards life. You know, whether it be getting on a skateboard
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and jumping the biggest stair set, whether it be on the wrestling mat or, you know, hanging out with
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a bunch of friends at a frat party and arm wrestling, it had to be something where I was always
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challenging myself to be the greatest in the room. And I couldn't really understand what day started
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it, but I just was born with it. And, uh, I've refined it now. And I think it's something that
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you can always improve upon. And I always try to tell that to people who look up to me and reach out
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to me and say, Hey Hunter, how'd you get to be so like yourself? And I'm like, well, dude, you gotta
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work on it every single day. You know, I wake up and I'm sore and it hurts and it's hard,
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but, um, it's a, it's a process and you grow, it grows on you. Yeah. I'm really curious how
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this was received by your family. Cause you talk about your dad being a Harvard business grad. You
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talked about doctors, lawyers. I think your grandfather maybe is a military man. So you
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come from this very rigid, maybe structured environment. I don't want to put words in your
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mouth. And then you've got you. I mean, are you looked at as the black sheep? How does your family
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receive this compared to maybe the rest of them, if you will? Well, I would say black sheep was
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definitely the start of it all. My mother would come to me and be like, Hunter, would you please
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just stop this and go back to college? Like it will, it will be so much better for you.
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I don't think my mom was trying to get in the way of my success, but I think she just didn't
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understand it. She was, she was just terrified by the idea of why it wasn't taking the normal path
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of what everybody else in the family was doing. And my brother and my father, Garrett and my father,
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Douglas, they were the first people to ever like kind of really sponsor me. They said,
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Hey, look, you're a pretty bad-ass dude. We'll put a couple of dollars behind you. And they paid
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for my flights and hotels to a couple of these races. From there, I kind of, I flew my own kite
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after that. But I think everybody in my family really respects it now. It took a while because
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it's a pretty crazy industry to get into. It's a little bit odd to say that I told them, I was like,
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I'm going to become the best mud runner in the world. And not many people put that into a sentence.
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And it was hard for them to really fathom that that was going to be a job. But now my parents
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see me on television all the time. My mom's a real estate agent. They'll say, wait a second,
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are you Hunter McIntyre's mother? And they'll be like, we saw him on television the other day.
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So I think my family finally understands that it's, it's something that is real and is something
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that they, they can all appreciate and be proud of. So I hope that answers your question. I'm not a
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black sheep anymore. Yeah, no, it answers my question. I'm really curious what you would say
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to the guys who are starting a new business or going their own path, because we have these
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conversations a lot. And I think a lot of guys feel like they're entitled to their family or their
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friends support. But based on what you're saying, in a way you had to earn that because now you're
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one of the top earning obstacle course racing athletes in the world. Is this something that
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has to be earned? What would you tell a guy that's trying to go his own path?
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I would say that I think it's more exciting to have someone tell you that it's not going to work
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out than it is going to work out. Like, I'm not going to lie. I don't like it when people come up
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and they're like, Oh my gosh, you're so fricking amazing. Like you did so well in this, or you're
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going to do so great at that. That right there kind of doesn't really appeal to me because it doesn't
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give me a reason to work harder. It gives me a reason to take it easy and think to myself,
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well, all these people think I'm so great that it's just going to work out. Having people like
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reach out and pat you on the back constantly isn't necessarily what you should be looking for.
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I think really that you take that kind of grain of salt that comes with it all and you work with
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it. You make it more part of your passion and it's always going to be hard. You know, I've tried
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to start a couple of small businesses and I've gotten involved in gyms and stuff. And a lot of people
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have said, no, don't do it. Don't do it. Some of them have certainly been failures. I've lost a lot
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of money and a lot of time, but the ones that have been successes, you know, it's yours and it's
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something that you and you only can really say to yourself that I did this. So I look more for those
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kinds of opportunities than I don't. You know what I mean? Like I, I'd rather have somebody get in my
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way a little bit and tell me it's not going to work out. Well, and one thing that I see from my
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perspective is that you're always willing to push the bounds and you're always willing to try
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something new, regardless of how wild and crazy it's going to be. How do you determine what you're
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going to do next? Like what is the next adventure in your life? You know, I'm a big time reader.
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I spend a lot of time, oddly enough, on Twitter and trying to find source information of just like
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kind of the wildest challenges. Then I spend a lot of time on the phone with my friends and I will
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kind of spitball with them and try to figure out what would be the craziest idea and what could we do
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next? And I have a lot of free time on my hands and I just allow this stuff. I have a pad of paper
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everywhere I go and I'll write out goals of what I want to do or what might be crazy or what kind of
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storylines I would like to make out of things. And it kind of just is my imagination, to be honest.
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I've gotten out of the boundaries of what a typical season would look like for me. And the majority of
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the athletes in our sport will only do certain championships to get certain points, to get certain
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money and certain titles. I've walked out of that because I really would like to define my life
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in ways that would challenge me and that I can look back and really realize that I have done
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everything that I wanted to do rather than what other people wanted me to do. Like an example I'll
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tell you right now is on my desk in front of me right here, I only have medals and race bids of races
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that I didn't do well in. Like this Chamonix race is a mountain bike race. It's the hardest one in the
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world. You go across the French Alps. I quit halfway through and it destroyed me. I have that on my desk
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every single day because it makes me recognize that that's something I didn't finish. I need to go back
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and do and it challenged me more than anything. But I have in my closet where no one looks, tons of gold
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medals, plaques, covers of things that I've been on. And I put those things in the closet because I don't
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need to look at those anymore. I look at things and try to reach out to things that I've lost that
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or I haven't done yet or scare me. So once again, I hope that answers, but it was a long answer.
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One thing that you said is this idea of storylines. I'm really curious what you mean by that,
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because I think when I hear that, I think it's somebody who's literally crafting the story of
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their life. Help me understand and wrap my head around that a little bit better.
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One of my mentors tells me that, you know, this is not a dress rehearsal.
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You only have one chance. So for me, I really try to take it into the idea that I'm part of a
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show. I really try to think to myself that if I was watching this or people were watching me,
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what would they really be amazed by? And I try to make it the most exciting,
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most hysterical thing that I could ever be a part of. Now, that might not necessarily be a write down
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of like how Hunter's going to get a gold medal, but do it while wearing like pink tights. Not that
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kind of stuff, even though that would be funny. It's more so me saying to myself that I'm going
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out to go race this Swim One World Championship over in Sweden. And I don't really have a chance,
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but I'm telling everybody that I do have a chance. And I keep on going online and telling people that
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I'm going to beat the crap out of those Europeans. And I'm going to do it in an American way.
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And I'm going to do it for the rest of the world to see how great we are at it. And no Americans
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have ever won that title. Now, I'm a pretty fit dude, and I've got a good chance, but I wouldn't
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say that I'm the number one pick. And I write that storyline in my head, and I build it up so much,
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kind of like Rocky. The story of Rocky just being underground, working hard, and these montages,
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I build it all out in my head because that right there gives significance to it. And even though
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nobody else might be watching, in my mind, I've created this gigantic story of why it's going to
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be a great success. And it may sound like a crazy person doing it, but it's really guided me in the
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right direction. And I put that really towards a lot of the things I do because that's the only way
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I can really give energy to it is like 110% and on these grandiose scales.
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Have you ever done anything like this where you've either fallen short or it's backfired and walk me
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through that experience? Oh, 100%. I lose all the time. I did a show called Boundless a couple
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years ago where I signed up and I thought I was Mr. Tough Guy. And it was these 10 episodes of going
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to do all the hardest races in the world. They were all super long distance and the craziest weather,
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the craziest terrain, the craziest obstacles, whatever you had in front of you, it was just
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above and beyond. And I dropped out of four of the races and it was on television. I looked like
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a total fool. But I also was talking up a big game the entire time I was doing them like, oh man,
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I'm going to win this race. I'm doing so amazing. And a lot of the time I got embarrassed, but never
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once did I ever look at that and say, maybe you should shut your mouth next time. I said, maybe you
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should train a little bit harder and maybe you should be a little bit more prepared. So the next time you
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go run in your mouth, you're going to prove people wrong. And that was pretty embarrassing to have to
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drop out of all those things. Like, you know, I haven't been beaten by a lot of girls, but I was
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humbled by my friend Rory who was on the show and she's probably the best ultra endurance athlete in
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the world for chicks. And she beat me on, I think every single race, but one of them. So I teased her a lot
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saying that I was going to whoop the crap out of her, but she beat me every time. And I learned my lesson.
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It sounds like this persona that you have and the way that you communicate and even hype yourself up
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is more for you than it is for anybody else. I think a lot of people from the outside looking in
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would say you're trying to get at other people or whatever it may be, but it sounds like it's
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the opposite. You're trying to hype yourself up and prove to yourself you can do it.
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Yeah. I think that the most important streamline of communication has to be with yourself.
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I mean, you can't ignore the rest of the world, but it's you and you only. And those really
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tough times that you have to really fall back on. And if your mindset and your communication
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line between yourself and some of those deep, dark places is weak or just, you know, not refined,
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then things are really going to get bad. But I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm much of a meditator,
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but I will sit down and I will do kind of powerful, positive self-talk in the mornings.
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Like this morning I sat down for 10, 15 minutes and I just repeat lines over and over to myself.
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Now that could be in ways of just saying that, you know, going through certain obstacles,
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preparing myself for certain ways that I'm going to talk to people, really kind of going
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over places where I failed before and just saying that you can do better here. You're stronger
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than that. You will be better next time. And I talk to myself constantly. And those lines really
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end up showing up and coming to me when I'm in the, in the toughest moments. It all of a sudden,
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when I rely back and think to myself like, Oh man, you're going to fail this. Instead,
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that line that I rehearsed like a dozen times in my head ends up being the words that come into my
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mouth at those points in time. And it makes a big difference. Yeah. I mean, I know this has been
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true for me. I've talked with the guys about an experience that I had doing the Spartan-a-goge,
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which I'm sure you're familiar with. Have you participated in the Spartan-a-goge yet?
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No way, Jose, man. That is, that is some crazy people stuff. You did it?
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I did it. Yeah. I did the summer one too, the class two for the Spartan-a-goge.
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Yeah. You met my friend Dylan. I think he was one of the coaches for that thing.
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Okay. Yeah. It was brutal. And I remember there was certainly times where I was,
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it's a little scary to look back and think about how close I was to giving up. But
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rather than the lines, the things that I went back to was the visualization of being able to
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get on the phone and tell my kids I hit all 60 hours. So I definitely can see what you're saying
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there and how powerful that can actually be. For sure. For sure. That's honestly the greatest tool
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I think that anybody can have is really rehearsing those things. So obviously you have your skill set
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as well. You have mentioned the word refine a couple of times now. And based on me knowing a
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little bit about who you are in your past, it sounds like you are the same person, but you
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refined a lot of who you are and even a way honed who you are to, I guess, serve yourself better and
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maybe those around you. Can you talk to me about the process of refining yourself and how we might
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do it for ourselves? Man, that is the golden question. For me, I would say I really started to
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understand that idea when I watched Pumping Iron a couple of years ago, many years ago. And I saw
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Arnold Schwarzenegger talk about how he was not just a bodybuilder, but he was like an artist putting
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clay on a sculpture. I was really into bodybuilding and modeling at the time. And I, it was very,
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very applicable to me where I was able to say like, wow, well, that's exactly what you have to do.
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Ever since then, I've recognized that for me now, I can't say that for people who are business
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developers and things like that, because I don't have as much experience, but in athletic endeavors,
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it's always been a way of trying to kind of trim away the fat and find that some things like I
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write down in a notepad every single day, what I train, what I eat, where I sleep. And I try to
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keep those metrics in. And that for me is the easiest way of doing it. Now I can tell people who
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are doing things that are outside of that. It can be very similar. You just have to find ways of where
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you're spending your time, who you're spending it with, how you're spending it, so on and so forth.
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And if you start to track those things down, you can really create formulas in your mind of where
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you're going to become better, become more efficient. And I think you're always the same
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person. Like someone told me once that you're always the same person. You just get better at
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being yourself. And that's something that I really hold true to myself. Like I, I think I've always
00:21:02.740
been the same person since I've been five years old and I've really kind of started to develop my
00:21:06.500
mind, but now I'm better at explaining myself. I'm better at really portraying myself in front of
00:21:13.240
certain people. And I can really, I found who I want to be in the highest power, meaning that
00:21:20.500
I used to want to model and I just wanted to be really, really fit and be really, really
00:21:24.560
good looking. But then all of a sudden I said, that's not who I really am. I want to put my body
00:21:29.240
to a different test. So I want to go to athletics. So I did athletics. Now I'm understanding that I
00:21:35.120
really want to do athletics, but I also want to be able to consumer of just how exciting the world
00:21:41.640
can be. So I start to do YouTube blogs and I've even reached out to the WWE and I've, I got the
00:21:48.100
opportunity to work with them and maybe take it into that kind of athletics meets theatrics world.
00:21:53.260
And I keep on refining myself to find where I'm going to be most happy and I'm able to get the
00:21:59.940
most out of myself. So I am never going to be content necessarily from the start, but by the
00:22:06.220
time I get to the finish line, that means the day I die, I've tried out so many different things to
00:22:12.620
the point where my last days on earth, I really know myself to a T and I've also done everything
00:22:18.320
and tried everything to know where my limits are, where my weaknesses are and how to improve on all
00:22:23.940
of those things. And I'd say the most important thing of all of it is I've never been scared to
00:22:28.960
give it a chance in any realm, whatever it might be, even if it means massive failures or great
00:22:34.920
successes, each and every single one of them has this value. Is that part of the way that you define
00:22:39.900
success for yourself is just trying as many new things as possible and experiencing everything
00:22:44.240
that life has to offer? For sure. I think you have to, it kind of breaks my heart when I see
00:22:49.580
somebody go through high school, straight into college and then get a job and hold onto it for
00:22:55.860
the next like 50, 60 years of their life. And some of the people it really might make sense for, but
00:23:01.660
I have noticed a lot with my friends. I'm only 28 years old now. I feel like their lives, they haven't
00:23:07.660
seen any of it because they picked a career path at the age of 15 and now it's almost 15 years later
00:23:14.720
and they haven't really even figured out who they are. They've only figured out how to be a doctor
00:23:20.320
or how to be a lawyer or how to be an engineer. And they haven't seen the rest of the world or really
00:23:26.360
test themselves. So I think I see those people and I want to live the life that they never get through.
00:23:32.740
And I'm not trying to tell anybody who's listening to this podcast, quit your doctor job and go travel
00:23:38.660
the world and test yourself out. But maybe learn a little bit from hearing these words and recognize
00:23:43.800
you have a lot of opportunity and live the years that you have to the fullest, I guess.
00:23:49.140
So through that refining process that you've been going through and sounds like you'll continue to
00:23:53.000
go through, what are some things that you've had to let go of? Whether that's behavior, mindset,
00:23:59.800
thoughts, vices, or even friends, what are some of the things that you've personally had to
00:24:04.640
let go? Well, I'll tell you right now, being in my position, you have to become professional at using
00:24:10.780
the word no. It's very heartbreaking at times. I've had a lot of trouble with relationships,
00:24:16.380
girlfriends, friendships, family, because to be the best of the best at whatever you are is a very,
00:24:24.880
selfish thing at times. And it is very hard for other people to understand the amount of commitment
00:24:30.820
and attachment to your own time that you have to develop. I'm very much like a house cat. When I'm
00:24:37.700
home here in Malibu, you can't get me outside of my house. I need to train. I need to rest. I need to
00:24:44.260
focus. And I need to be so dedicated to my time that when my family wants me, needs to see me,
00:24:53.100
I have to say no. I've missed a lot of funerals, weddings, birthday parties. And it's been tough
00:25:02.400
using that word no. If you want me to elaborate more, you'd have to really repose the question.
00:25:07.540
But I would say that the word no is probably synonymous with the word success.
00:25:14.360
Just a quick break to talk with you about our show sponsor, Stitch Fix. It's starting to get a
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keep all five items. Again, that's stitchfix.com slash order of man to get started today, stitchfix.com
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slash order of man. You've heard me talk about our exclusive brotherhood, but I think it's way
00:26:23.980
more valuable and probably a little bit more credible to hear about it straight from our
00:26:28.340
members. So here's what Kip Sorensen has to say about the iron council. My name is Kip Sorensen and
00:26:34.340
I'm a member of battle team echo within the iron council. I could probably spend a great deal of time
00:26:39.660
explaining some benefits of the iron council. However, I'd like to just focus on one thing
00:26:44.920
that I think makes the biggest impact on me. And I do believe it makes the biggest impact
00:26:49.720
on the other men within my battle team. And it is certainly something that rarely exists in our
00:26:55.220
society today. And that is accountability. Far too often. I think we have people in our lives that
00:27:00.960
just buy into our bullshit excuses. They listen to your reasons. They listen to your stories.
00:27:06.540
Meanwhile, they just use that as fuel to justify their own lack of progress and ownership.
00:27:12.120
Most people live life being victims and not owning the outcomes or the circumstances of their lives.
00:27:18.520
This lack of responsibility, as well as having a limited mindset is at the very center of what
00:27:24.700
holds us back from becoming better men. And that is what we address within the iron council.
00:27:29.700
We identify what we need to work on. We focus on removing that limited mindset.
00:27:34.420
We take responsibility for our lives and we hold each other accountable. I can truly say that I
00:27:40.780
am a better man because the men within my battle team, and that is because they hold me accountable
00:27:45.520
and because we stand for one another. If you are interested guys in learning more and joining us
00:27:51.280
on the mission of becoming a better man, you can claim your seat at order of man.com slash iron
00:27:56.140
council order of man.com slash iron council. Now let's get back to the conversation with Hunter.
00:28:01.520
I'm really interested in going into this deeper because we've had guys like Grant Cardone,
00:28:06.900
for example, who just wrote a book called be obsessed or be average. And I think this is very
00:28:11.980
in line with what you're talking about. And then we have other guys who will say everything is more
00:28:18.760
important than me to almost an unhealthy level where it's all service and not taking care of me.
00:28:23.880
How do you reconcile wanting to show up big for yourself and be successful and obsessed with
00:28:29.960
what it is you're doing, but then also finding that time to serve others and participate in
00:28:36.040
things that you also care about? It's a fine line. I know that there's a finite amount of time that I
00:28:41.780
have to do what I'm doing right now. So, you know, I do want to have a family. I do want to really be
00:28:47.860
able to delve into the relationships that I have now deeper, but I know that probably I have about
00:28:54.000
five, 10 more years to really dedicate myself to find out who I am and test my body to its limits.
00:29:00.960
That right then and there is a big thing that's in my mind. But also I probably within those 10 years,
00:29:05.660
I'll find another passion and it will prolong itself and I'll have to dig deeper into whatever
00:29:10.800
that might be. But the idea of dedicating yourself to success is kind of like a stoic kind of thing.
00:29:18.800
It's an idea that, you know, the world and all it has to offer might not be part of your dinner
00:29:25.900
plate. You might only have just one thing to focus on every single night for the rest of your life
00:29:31.640
if you really want to find that path of righteousness and absolution when it comes to whatever you're
00:29:38.820
trying to do. I think those are truly the most epic people you've ever met or the people that they
00:29:45.100
write books about. I mean, Muhammad Ali can't say his own name anymore for Christ's sake because he
00:29:50.340
got beaten into a bloody pulp so many times, but he's recognized as the greatest boxer of all time.
00:29:57.400
Now, do you think he would come to you right now if he was able to tell you and say that I would take
00:30:02.460
that all back just to have my mind now? I don't think he would. And it may sound sad saying these
00:30:09.200
things, but I think these kind of extreme lengths of sacrifice are meant for only a few. And that's
00:30:16.480
why there's only so few people who are so great. And, you know, there's only a few Bill Gates in the
00:30:21.160
world. There's only a few Muhammad Ali's and such as like, you know, so on and so forth. And they might
00:30:27.580
not have these incredible lives that they're able to tell you that are so rich and beautiful, full of
00:30:32.040
friendships, laughter and love. And when it comes to people who sacrifice themselves for everything,
00:30:39.360
you know, there's a place for that in this world. I think there are those people who do need to offer
00:30:43.100
themselves completely because the world needs a lot of help in that way. And, you know, people are going
00:30:49.240
to become better for that. I'll say I'm not that person. I don't have that piece of me that I can just
00:30:55.360
give absolutely everything to the world. And I recognize that and I accept it. So I don't try to get
00:31:01.480
upset when I when I'm the person who's not putting in that kind of time. But I think everyone who's
00:31:06.640
listening to this has to recognize that finding even middle ground between the two of those things
00:31:12.220
is something that you can take yourself down and be very, very happy with in life. But if you're ever
00:31:16.920
going to be somebody who's the absolute best and, you know, to either end of the spectrum, you have to
00:31:23.140
recognize that you're going to have to cut out a lot of things that will get in the way. And that's
00:31:29.560
where I'm at right now. And I'm sure a lot of people are recognizing what I'm saying is
00:31:36.780
You say that you're not one of those guys who is willing or able or maybe capable to give
00:31:42.020
everything that you have. But I imagine to some degree, because you've been so willing to put
00:31:46.740
yourself out there and you're so passionate about what it is you're doing, that you do feel like the
00:31:51.120
world needs something from you, whether that's inspiration or motivation or a message. If that's true,
00:31:56.340
what would that be? What does the world mean from you?
00:31:59.380
I don't know. I'll take this in a little bit of a different direction and come back.
00:32:03.340
I will say that I met with a man named Sam Dancer at a competition recently. You should look him up
00:32:08.240
and have him on your show because he's a brilliant man, one of the top CrossFitters in the world.
00:32:12.760
He told me that what I've done with my life as I've led a path and also shined a light on this kind
00:32:19.360
of lifestyle. And he also let me know that there's a lot of people who follow me, look up to me and
00:32:25.740
really need me to continue the story that I'm telling. I told him, I was like, I have a really
00:32:30.780
tough time sometimes really keeping that fire alive and working super hard. But he's like,
00:32:36.400
that's part of the process. And you need to, you know, it's part of your job and your responsibility
00:32:41.560
to continue to carry that torch. For me, if I had to say anybody who's listening to this or follows
00:32:48.320
me closely, I would say that every single day and the rest of your life is an opportunity to make the
00:32:55.920
most of it. Wherever you came from, whoever your family was, whatever your circumstances are,
00:33:01.080
you need to make the most of it. And you always have a chance to just make a complete 180 and do
00:33:07.360
something with yourself that you never thought you could do before. I mean, 10 years ago in August 24th,
00:33:13.920
I was released from rehab. I was sent to rehab after high school. I had lost all my scholarships,
00:33:20.060
all my opportunities because I just kept on screwing up. And I was the biggest mess up in all of our
00:33:25.540
county, if not the state. I was just a mess. Everybody thought I was going down this gutter hole
00:33:31.540
where I was never going to come back from. Now I've completely changed my life in a way that
00:33:36.960
I wouldn't even recognize the person I was back then. It's all because one day I just woke up and
00:33:43.260
said, I can be better than everybody else if I dedicated myself to it. And everybody has that
00:33:48.440
opportunity. You know, if you look at yourself in the mirror and you say, I'm going to become an
00:33:51.840
Olympic weightlifter and you weigh 110 pounds, that might not be the case, but you can find out
00:33:56.440
what you're the best at and really chase that dream. For me, that's what I've done. And I hope that I
00:34:02.220
can show that to people every single day that I'm getting better at it every single day. And I might
00:34:08.420
do another 180 even at this age and I'll find a new path and I'll chase it till the day I die and be
00:34:13.940
content. You know, that's just part of it. Talk to me about this next step on your journey,
00:34:20.020
on your path of the WWE. I mean, tell me how this came about and what that process looked like for you,
00:34:25.160
because that's pretty exciting news. Yeah. I don't know if it's 110%, but it was amazing
00:34:31.000
to take the opportunity to go try out with the WWE. Steve Austin, a friend of mine now through the
00:34:37.640
show that I compete on, he said, go for it, man. Just give it a try. Go learn about it. If you love
00:34:42.840
it, take the chance. If not, you know, at least saw what it was all about. I see where I am right now
00:34:49.360
with my life and I love it. I've reached the top and I'm very content, but at the same time,
00:34:56.000
I'm not a hundred percent. I still have a little bit of room to grow. Part of me wants to take that
00:35:00.720
risk and just kind of hit the restart button and go into this world of wrestling where it's just such
00:35:06.700
an incredibly high level of athleticism, but also a level of showmanship where there's a hundred
00:35:13.920
thousand people in a room who are there to watch you just put them in awe. Part of me wants to just
00:35:20.040
do that. Saying it right now has got me excited. My heart rate's going a little bit faster because I
00:35:25.160
want the challenge, man. It's honestly an incredible, incredible environment. Getting to meet those
00:35:30.280
athletes and the coaches and the amount of work that they put in and to hear the schedule that they
00:35:34.840
have, you recognize that I have to say they're the hardest working athletes on earth. There's nobody who
00:35:40.640
competes as often, as hard as them. It's incredible to see. And I'll admit I'm a little bit scared of
00:35:48.580
it, but if it, if it does come, you know that I'll put my best foot forward. So maybe you'll see me in
00:35:54.420
my tights and ring in the next year. I do. And I don't want to see that man. So, so I think you'd be
00:36:01.160
more excited than you wouldn't. Well, I know my, I know my son would be excited because we'll sit there
00:36:06.960
in the afternoon or take a lunch break and we'll watch some WWE for ourselves. So it's incredible.
00:36:13.160
Yeah, it is incredible. And hopefully we'll, we'll see you there, man.
00:36:17.860
So where do you feel like you need to grow most? I mean, you talk about,
00:36:20.820
you feel like you're not a hundred percent and there's room for growth. What does that look like?
00:36:24.060
Where do you feel like you're falling? I don't want to say falling short, but that you need to grow in
00:36:27.660
your life. I'll tell you something that struck me really, really deep. Not too long ago,
00:36:32.040
my friend Bobby opened up this book and it's a book of love cards. I don't know if that's a proper
00:36:38.700
title, but it's called love cards and it's the 52 cards in the deck. And every single card is
00:36:45.300
basically one person. And it's based on your birth date and a few other things. And I ended up being
00:36:51.680
the ace of spades. It says you have this insane hunger to achieve and, you know, accrue riches and
00:37:00.160
all these things, but also you have the greatest opportunity for failure when it comes to
00:37:05.780
spirituality. And that's kind of what we were just talking about. It's like, there's two sides to the
00:37:10.980
coin and I'm so focused on one side of it. I can't even see the other side. And that's kind of
00:37:15.860
my spirituality, my, just my depth of understanding myself, the world, and kind of the connections
00:37:21.860
between all of it. And I think that's probably the next big thing for me is really kind of heightening
00:37:28.460
that sensitivity. And I don't know if the WWE will help that, but it would also put me in front
00:37:33.760
of a lot more people and it would take a lot more pull on different cords. So whether or not it's the
00:37:40.380
job that gets it out of me or just my own personal growth, that's kind of the thing that I'm probably
00:37:45.380
going to have to work on next. Right on, Matt. Hey, well, Hunter, we're bumping up against time
00:37:49.620
right now. I want to ask you a question that I gave you a little bit of a heads up on. And that
00:37:54.200
question is, what does it mean to be a man? I think being a man is to be recognized as
00:38:01.040
successful, caring, loving, and substantial in your community. I'll give a quick example.
00:38:08.040
My grandfather, to this day, we can walk anywhere in Rhode Island and someone will say,
00:38:12.620
doctor, how are you doing? Doctor. And he is respected and loved by everybody he has touched.
00:38:18.320
And to me, that is success. Now, he is not a guy who has millions of dollars or has books
00:38:26.000
written about him or anything like that. But what he's done is he's created a community where he's
00:38:30.260
respected, loved, and he's made an impression on the world, at least in his world. And I think that's
00:38:35.720
what everyone should strive to be. I don't think you need to think about being on the cover of
00:38:39.180
magazines, television shows, or having a big bank account. You just need to affect those around
00:38:43.960
you positively and hold that standard of what it is to be a man.
00:38:48.540
Right on, man. I love it. I appreciate you sharing. Well, how do we track you down? How
00:38:52.000
do we connect with you, learn more about what you're doing, and follow you into maybe what
00:38:56.540
could be the next WWE career for you? Let's just start out by saying you can
00:39:03.340
follow me on Instagram, Facebook. They call me Hunt the Sheriff, as you asked earlier. And
00:39:09.900
I'm very easy to get a hold of. I'm a very talkative person. If anybody listens to this
00:39:14.040
and ever wants any help, just reach out and I'd love to speak with you.
00:39:17.280
Right on, man. We'll make sure we link all of that up in the show notes so the guys can find you.
00:39:20.740
I got to tell you, man, I appreciate you. I've been following you for a couple of years now. And
00:39:24.560
the way that you show up and how you show up is inspiring to me. And it makes me want to think
00:39:30.340
bigger too. So I appreciate that of you. In fact, I think I just got in the mail. Were you just
00:39:35.120
recently on the cover of Men's Health? Or was it Men's? I can't remember. Men's Health? Men's
00:39:39.740
Journal? I was part of Men's Health. I was part of Men's Health. I wasn't on the cover in the near
00:39:44.140
future. But if you flip through there, you'll see some pretty exciting pictures.
00:39:47.940
Right on. Yeah. I got that just a couple of days ago as I knew I was going to have a
00:39:51.280
conversation with you. So that was pretty cool to see as well. So Hunter, I appreciate you, man.
00:39:54.960
Thanks for taking some time, imparting some of your wisdom and joining us for the show today.
00:39:59.200
Of course, man. Thank you for your time. Thanks everyone for listening.
00:40:01.460
Gentlemen, Mr. Hunter McIntyre. I hope you enjoyed this conversation and you're walking
00:40:07.120
away with some ideas to live life on your own terms. If you want the links for this show,
00:40:12.060
you can grab them at orderofman.com slash 141. And if you would, let me know. Let me and Hunter
00:40:17.660
both know what you thought about the conversation on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, wherever you are.
00:40:22.220
Let us know what you thought. Again, remember we have our meetup in Nashville, January 26th,
00:40:26.620
27th, 2018. You're going to want to be there. You're going to want to get a copy of the book.
00:40:30.740
And of course, we're going to have all those conversations, brotherhood and camaraderie
00:40:33.740
with that. You can get registered at orderofman.com slash Nashville. And then also, if you would,
00:40:39.340
again, look at the iron council, this is going to be a big life changer. A lot of us are thinking
00:40:43.180
about what we're going to do moving into 2018, no better time to try something new and hopefully
00:40:49.660
look at life a little bit differently in the way that you're showing up in it as a man. Again,
00:40:53.960
Kip had some great things to say about the iron council. And I think you're going to find
00:40:57.860
what he said to be true. When you decide to join us, you can do that at orderofman.com
00:41:02.820
slash iron council, orderofman.com slash iron council. Gentlemen, I will look forward to
00:41:07.720
talking with you on Friday for our Friday field notes, but until then take action and become the
00:41:12.180
man you are meant to be. Thank you for listening to the order of man podcast. You're ready to take
00:41:18.500
charge of your life and be more of the man you were meant to be. We invite you to join the order