Nick Gray:
0:00
Hi, a quick reminder of what this podcast is all about Win Building, achieving success in something. I've interviewed a whole group of amazing people who will achieve something worthwhile. And they tell an inspiring and interesting story each each one of them. So that's what the podcast has been here for. I'm particularly passionate about helping people to achieve their dreams. I'm a trained coach, both a mental coach, but also helping sports teams. I'm fascinated by how people put together a successful achievement. So that's what the podcast is about. Today, I have a very special episode at Mark Lewis, who's a UK YouTuber, he's in fitness. And today we talk about his journey, we talk about where he would like where he got his drive from, but also his thoughts on inspiration. And we talk a little bit about men's mental health, which is a topic I'm particularly passionate about at the moment. And so yeah, I hope you enjoy it. Please stick with it. Like, subscribe, comment down below. Yeah, and go and check out Mark's channel on the YouTube as well. It's definitely worth it. And I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Hi, you're listening to Win Building, hosted by me, Nick gray. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. Finally, I get started again, with this podcast journey, I've taken a bit of a break back on it. And I'm very excited, as usual. And I've got a special guest today. So Mark Lewis, probably introduced him beforehand, but I'm going to throw it over to Mark now to tell us mark Why Why are you here on this podcast? Why do you think I want you here?
Mark Lewis:
1:39
Well, the second part of that question, I have no idea we'll find out. I am, I suppose what what am I might might be a easy way to describe that. I'm a fitness YouTuber, which even as I say out loud now sounds ridiculous. I'm 48. Not that you can't be a anything YouTuber at 48. But it's it's less common. I have a background that is unusual for a fitness YouTuber, in that I don't have a fitness background at all. So go back to when I was 35. I was working in an office very unfit and had been hugely overweight and not exercising since my teenage years. Just to be fair, probably like many people sat in an office in their mid 30s. And figured that I should probably get in shape. And so started a journey of doing that losing weight and getting into fitness. That got me to a point where I was fitter than I'd ever thought I could be not elite athlete level by any stretch. Not at all, but fitter than most. And I've realized that getting fitter than most actually just came down to, for me at least doing what most people won't do, which doesn't really mean kind of going all out mad and training for hours hours a day like a professional athlete. It just means going out on a Sunday to jog when it's raining and ever people wouldn't bother or it means on a Sunday, going to the gym when other people probably wouldn't bother. And just by doing those little things, there's little bits that most people don't bother doing. You, hopefully avoiding injury and have bad luck and so on just progress to a point where you end up better than most people at the thing you're doing. So for me it was running. And I got to a point where I was running better than most I wasn't a good runner by any stretch. But if you took 1000 random people in the high street, I would be faster than 500 of them. That was my my plan was always just to be better than most people. And that was a few years ago where I reached that I got to a point where I was doing things like Park runs, which was my bread and butter really just going on a Saturday into the park when the car was getting faster. And I was coming in the top 20 Old runners out of hundreds, which was something that was complete opposite to when I started when I was coming in the back literally. And then I thought well, this is quite fun. I would talk to other people and explain what I'd done and they'd find it quite interesting. So I thought I'd put it on YouTube. That's pretty much it really and over the last couple of years. I over the edge the duration of COVID in a way because it allowed me more time to sit at home and do nothing other than YouTube. It's I was gonna say it's blown up. People keep saying to me, Oh, your channel is blowing up and the numbers are very good compared to where they were but these things are relative. I am in the YouTube world. By no means a large YouTuber. There are people out there as my kids are constantly telling me with millions of subscribers that I don't have. So that's keep you honest. Right? They do but As I point out to them, I am better than most most YouTubers don't have, whatever I have, I think I'm on now 16,000 subscribers. So I've moved into a place where I can regard myself as YouTubing. For for a living, actually, I'm in the process now of transitioning from my old job, which I still have to do a bit to sort of wind up into being a full time YouTuber, that that's in a very, very simple summary. That's for the last 15 years, which is the interesting bits.
Nick Gray:
5:32
Yeah, well, I'm interested in the whole journey as well, though, so I'm actually interested in backing up even more, because I think, what I what I feel about you, and I've watched a lot of your videos, and I was I was sort of intrigued, and I've really enjoyed your videos. But you're extremely sort of positive, outgoing, you clearly have this funny as well, as we just discussed it, you did some stand up, back in back in the day, just before we started recording. And so you've got this kind of real nice, like, manner. And I think that's part of the reason you have that charisma to be able to be a YouTuber as well, right? That's obviously plays a part of it's not just the fitness and the fact that you've changed. But where does that all come from? And like, Have you Have you always had that sort of urge to be a performer or be charismatic? Or like, how did that Where do you think that came from?
Mark Lewis:
6:25
So I suppose so I, I was a, I guess let's go right back then. So I was a gym instructor when I was 14, which would have been. So I was born in 73. So late 80s, early 90s, back when rules and regulations and health and safety didn't exist. And I was a tall, 14 year old pretended I was older, and somebody gave me a job in a gym. So from a very early age, I was coaching people training people, not in anything particularly fancy or complicated. But more in circuitry, I'd run circuit training classes, for example, I'd be playing with basic consistent playing the rocky soundtrack, and telling people to do press ups that that was it. But as a 1415 year old, telling grown adults to do things, I suppose it gave me what they were taught me that actually, you can just if you appear confident people will do as they're told when they listen to you. So a lot of people were very hesitant when they talk to groups of people or individuals that, that they're not going to come across the way they want. I learned from an early age, if you just appear that you know what you're doing, and say it confidently enough, then people will just listen and do and do as it was told in a good way. So I did that for a bit. And then when I got to 20 is 21. Maybe I was still working in the gym. And then I had my first child and realized that it was it was borderline impossible back then I don't know the situation now, but you couldn't raise a child on a gym instructor salary? Not not really you'd have to sell the child would probably be more profitable. So I went and left I literally quit, I thought I I need to find another job. And so I moved into life insurance sales, which would have been in the mid 90s. And back in the mid 90s. You could just literally go into life insurance sales, you just just went to a big life insurance company and said employ me please. And they would. And you got six months to see if you could sell anything. And if you did, they kept you in if you didn't they sacked you nowadays, quite rightly, that's a completely impossible path to take you. You can't do that I've had to employ people. And we look for people with degrees in economics and stuff that I never had a score of 16 Yeah, indeed. So I've employ people that are massively more qualified than me. But back then you could do it. So I started selling life insurance for life insurance companies, and within a few years, found that my ability to talk to people older than me, confidently, that I'd learned as a 15 year old gym instructor actually translated reasonably well to to that role. I was told once I learned what life insurance was, and mortgages were and investments and so on, I found that talking to people that were much older than me, was as easy to talk to him about life insurance as it was talked about doing some some star jumps or something. And that then meant that I was able quite early on to start my own business and and that that whole career path became quite straightforward for me, again, in a way that would probably be harder now with the rules and regulations are much much different. But back then, in very simple terms, and it wasn't good, but if you have had the ability to talk. I was gonna say, well, well, it's not the right word. Basically, if you were a bit of a sort of traditional salesman type, you could do very well. They, they, the industry got rid of a lot of those people, quite rightly. And the people that were there for the people who could talk quite well, and also paid attention to their exams, and study and so on, as I did. So basically, my ability to be a decent life insurance salesman caught up with my ability to be a talkative one. And that was it, I then I then just spent the next while I still do, I still, it's still my job today, my proper job. The problem I had, when I reached my mid 30s, was that it was something that I'd done, I thought temporarily to solve the problem of the problem. That's the wrong way to describe my beautiful daughter.
Nick Gray:
10:50
I understand where you're coming
Mark Lewis:
10:51
from. But what the hell yeah, the problem, I have my child, so And she, she still needs money today. So so it hasn't changed. It was a temporary solution to that. And it ended up just being I use the term. And I'm always very careful, careful what I say this often, and I often worry that comes across wrong. Basically, I got myself into a sort of a successful rut. So by time I was in my late 20s, early 30s, I was thinking, I don't like doing this particularly I don't, I don't mind it. But it's not a lot. I have a passion for this. I'm quite good at it. And I love talking to people. But the subject matter doesn't in throw me at all. But I can't do anything else because I'm earning reasonably good money. And if I was to stop doing this, I'm trained for nothing else at all. And by now I couldn't even go became instructor because the rules are changing now. So I literally could do nothing. And so I carried on and friends would say to me why on earth you moaning about you make you make a good living? Why are you complaining? Sharper go to work. So I was just stuck. I wanted to do something that that that I loved, which I didn't know when that would be or what it was. But I was stuck doing this thing that I was just too good at to, to just walk away. I had by then four children. So I was literally I had I there was no way out. And I shouldn't complain about it. Because because I have four great children, I had to have a great job. It was all on paper. There are I'm sure millions of people around the world that would have jumped at the opportunity to have either my lovely family or my my very prosperous job. So I shouldn't complain a lot. But but it wasn't it wasn't like my fire. I know 35 mid 30s as well as deciding that I wanted to start getting in shape. That was basically the whole it was a midlife crisis, where the best best way to describe it 35 minutes bit early for a midlife crisis. But it was a crisis. I thought I need to get in shape. That's one thing. And I really would love to find something to do that was that just that just made me laugh, actually, that that was the I remember, this is literally the moment that I I was reminiscing at the age of 3334 35. So this previous 15 years ago, maybe I was reminiscing with it with a friend who had worked in a gym with about when we were 17 or 18. We'd been sent on a course to learn about how to resuscitate people that were dying in our gym from heart attacks, health and safety type thing. And on that course there was me and this guy Steve, that was a gym instructor with me and a new guy. I can't remember his name. But he was a South African guy. And he come over to live in the UK and was found you instructing as as temporary. Were making some money. So we're all sat on this this training course. And the guy gets up at the front and it's all very Dan is telling us about people having myocardial infarctions, heart attacks and how to resuscitate them and so on. And at one point, he said we're just bored out of my mind. And at one point he says, heart attack Heart disease is the biggest killer in the northern hemisphere. At which point, the South African guy says my South African is not very good. says Good job. I live in South Africa then. Which is just, I mean, it's not really that funny. But we just started laughing like little children and we're supposed to be adults in it. And we just we ended up getting asked to leave because we were just crying with laughter stupid. And I remember 35 Remembering that and thinking you know what, I haven't laughed like that. Since I'm happy I'm successful. By right just laughed. What can I do to laugh? And at the same time, this sounds a weird one, Ricky Gervais, who's also from Redding, where I live, went to school not far from where I am now, actually, was, was doing quite well with the office and stuff. I remember thinking, there's a guy that's 40, a bit older than me at the time. And it's just thought, I've just found what he can do at 40. And it's just nailed it. It's not to think at 35 It's too late. It's not too late. A hit he hit Oh, this sounds stupid. But I just thought, if he can do it, how hard can it be? That's not. So I literally signed up for a stand up comedy course. And just thought this will be funny to do, it just made me laugh. And I went to London for six weeks, every weekend, Saturdays and Sundays and did a stand up comedy course that had been done by a bunch of people that are now successful are brought Gilbert, the wells guy did it, Greg Davis, just really come bunch of people to do this course. And I just laughed for six weeks at the end of it. We got to do a little presentation to friends and family. And none of my friends and family came because no one knew I was on it. I was I was sneaking off every weekend to DC. And I did quite well. I was asked to close the show, because I had my stuff during the six weeks had been good. And I thought I should give this I should give this a go. People say to me afterwards, you're actually quite funny. Why aren't you? What do you do now. So I go back to being a financial adviser again. And they said you got to just you got to try this, just do a bit of it. So I started going to do stand up open mic gigs, and spent six or seven months doing it. And got to a point where as I was on TV, I did a sort of the equivalent of a sort of Britain's Got Talent type show that actually I got beaten by Josh reluctant on that who's gone on to be a very successful stand up. And, and realized, we were talking about this earlier, I realized that actually you can just you sort of put yourself on stage, not literally, although that was literally put yourself on stage, do your thing. And just see to see how it goes. You don't there's no, I was I was never frightened of getting up on stage. As they were flying to talking to clients. I was never frightened in the gym of talking to people and saying to your press, absolutely frightened of it. But what I was always slightly unsure of was whether what they were hearing from me was being received well, the people in the gym appear to be tired. And the clients at work appeared to just invest the way I suggested. So I assumed it was okay. But there's nothing really obvious. And the thing I learned to stand up was that you got up on stage, you did your thing. And instead of wondering, how's it been received, you know, because instantly people are laughing or not. And that for me was this kind of click moment where I thought, oh I, I this, this is what I would if I was 2122 I wish I'd done this because this is amazing. I can sit in the car on the way to a gig, refine a joke, laugh to myself that it's funny half hour later do it. And a few 100 People are laughing back at me. And I was just I thought this is what I want to do forever. Most of the time,
Nick Gray:
18:32
it's the immediate feedback loop. It's so it's so instantaneous, you can't avoid it. And so you know, if something's hit Well, or, and so you can tell whether your goal or your whatever is being achieved. It's an interesting thing that parallels with sport, right? Because sport is great for that you have a very direct feedback loop. Usually, whether it's a team sport, and you need to score goals, or whether it's a run and you need to hit yourself your own time or your best, but you know, pace or whatever it is. So it has vary. And that's actually one of the things I'm very interested in because I find it interesting how business is so much more complicated to get the immediate feedback loops, especially with like life insurance. Of course, you've probably got monthly goals and yearly targets and whatever and you've got, you know, you've got a profit and loss account and things. But it's still it's not as it's not as instantaneous and you can manage those numbers to sort of say different stories depending on how good your accountant is and things so, so yeah, I think stand up is
Mark Lewis:
19:30
and also the people people are when you're selling something to somebody, even if it's something they really do need. There is you're never quite sure if they've said Yes, they've agreed to because you could say well hang on a minute you suggested that person does that investment and they've just invested a million pounds. Obviously, that's your feedback loop. But But I I would sometimes wonder are Is that Is that really the case? Have they done that? It's not explained it's very badly with laughter in stand up. Somebody has no control over that. The joke is funny and it's just they laugh. They haven't you can't sell someone to laugh. You can't phrase things in such a way that they end up sort of handing over their money and then thinking oh, what what on earth happened? laughter that they're either laughing or they're not. And so with with my job, I was I was very good at selling things. I that kind of clouded my understanding of whether people were genuinely responsive to what I was doing. I was just regular sales but it was just it was kind of murky. Stand up I just found incredibly raw I'm saying this and you're either laughing or not laughing and it was just I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Yeah, I mean, I have gone back to it only in the former doing things like wedding speeches and stuff that I just jumped at the chance I stopped doing stand up dead in the water at one point because it because it wasn't working in terms of a long term career. But but if i Whenever I get the chance to stand up and be funny, I love it. I love doing it. I'm I do my wedding. My wedding. My my wedding was last when was my wedding last year. My my topia my group, my dream speech was was gonna run about 35 minutes, people saying you're insane that no one does that. And it was just part of the part of the getting married. But that's pretty cool, too. But
Nick Gray:
21:37
just in case your way. Well, hey, just in case your wife watches this, and is still listening.
Mark Lewis:
21:42
She laughed. It was. Yeah, most people say a lot of people say I'm nervous. It's the worst bit. I was just I woke up that morning thinking I'm gonna get married. That's very cool. I get to do my my weddings. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, I wonder if people laugh and so on. That's awesome.
Nick Gray:
22:01
So listen, I think I want to I kind of planned out what I wanted to ask you about, but you've struck something with me because it's a seen a theme. You said you left school at 16 You're working at 14 as a gym instructor. I know. Because I've tried to run a YouTube channel myself, there's a lot of hard graft, and I'm a total nerd actually with YouTube. So I know a lot about YouTube, I'm just not a very good YouTube myself. But I know that there's so much work involved in planning and persistently, you know, going through and just delivering constantly videos which you've managed to achieve. And I'd say with your work ethic, what you were the kind of what you've just described in the way you've worked through your life and the way you then set up your own business which I know through my own experience as well is extremely difficult and challenging. I'm I'm seeing a pattern of work ethic right I'm seeing a pattern and I know your trait I've seen you train so I know there's a hell of a work ethic there as well. However you want to frame it as above average or whatever you're putting in a lot of hard hard graft to get fit and challenge yourself. So like Do you think that's from something even earlier than like gym instructor like Is it is it was there something in you which was like and why did you leave school at 16? Like what was the pattern for you that was like going to be a graft? I don't know if that's not sounds bad graft is a bad thing. But I mean, it's a hard workout. Yeah, no, no, not a grifter graft
Mark Lewis:
23:38
Yeah, it's tricky one time I mean, the the let's do the YouTube thing first then then jump backwards. What I actually what what I learned at work and in fact actually this covers everything you say the work ethic leads to the success at any at anything and there is that but the other thing that I have stumbled upon it might be the wrong word. But when I look at what other people are doing so with YouTube for example, I started YouTube with no fitness background other than me getting in shape. I don't look I look in I look in shape for an average 48 year old but I'm not the classic YouTuber kind of jumping around looking like the rock or something I'm not I'm not what are not what other people are. Exactly. In fact, there aren't there aren't many older youtubers do fitness anyway. So there's that. So I thought, How am I going to be different? I've got the qualifications, got the training, I can't really talk about my training in detail and none of my YouTube stuff is this is how many reps do how many sets you just do or this which deed it is literally this is what I'm doing. I hope you find it funny. I hope you find it motivating. Get off your butt and go and do something I don't care with you then go and play guitar or you copy me it doesn't really matter at the moment As long as you're motivated, I don't mind. So I thought, Well, what I need to do then is I need to make sure that my kit is top notch. And luckily because my job it allowed me the ability to treat YouTube like a business and invest into it, and people said, Wow, the amount of money you're spending on camera gear and stuff. So hang on a minute. If I was setting up even a little tiny cafe, I'd be spending 1000s and 1000s of pounds on things to run that little business not only treat YouTube as little business, which I did, even though that seemed wildly optimistic at the time to spend a few 1000 pounds on on the gear to make it look professional, actually, to me made perfect sense. And the same when I ran my own business as a visor, I started looking very slick and professional because because because why not your starters, you mean to go on? I don't want it. I never want to say when I was a gym instructor, I would prepare my rocky soundtrack cassettes so that everything that I did was was basically I didn't want people to have an opportunity to sit and think, Oh, he's only 14. So we listened to this guy. I wanted him to be thinking, Oh, wow, he's nailed it. The music's perfect. Everything's laid out ready. So I just made sure there was nothing that that that I could control. That wasn't perfect. And so with YouTube, I tried to be as as I still tried to be as professional as possible. Not to make up for not being able to do anything else. But just to make sure that that isn't an issue. And then if people don't like it, it's me they're not they're not not tuning in because the video quality is rubbish or the still the audio is rubbish or whatever. It that that is taken care of. So there's that with work ethic, because work ethic done badly not done smart, I suppose, is work ethic in the wrong years. But yeah, exactly that I could be as diligent as like holding my iPhone wobbling about stopping work. Going back until it was a waste of work ethic come so the making sure it's all looks very professional just came from learning that over time, with with anything I ever did. I thought if I if I take care of the things I can do, then that's half the job done. Where does the worker that come from? I've actually no idea. I've no idea. It's um, yeah, I don't know. I've always I left school at 16. Because I didn't like school. It wasn't because of some sort of drive to go and work. But I wanted to work because I figured that was more enjoyable. Basically, I could go to the gym. I said to my boss at the gym, I'm going to quit school tomorrow. Can I come and just do full time job instructing? And he said, Yeah, it'd be lifeguarding and stuff. And yeah, stop tomorrow. So after doing two weeks of a levels, I went in, quit and went to the gym and just picked up more hours there. And that was that was paid. Pound 11 hour. So it was just so it was just a better, better thing. It wasn't a work ethic thing such as didn't like school when I did like working in the gym. So I don't know, I honestly don't know. One thing I always remember. My dad worked incredibly hard. still around today 117 or 70 years. He worked.
Nick Gray:
28:33
I Dad, you're watching this your son's still funny.
Mark Lewis:
28:38
He doesn't. He doesn't even know what a podcast is. So I'm perfectly. So he worked incredibly hard, but never a huge amount of money. Or was that enough? I mean, I also lived in a generation where your house became your pension and everything. So they my mum and dad are fine. But he ever worked really hard. I suppose watching that I remember thinking watching him. I'm thinking, I wonder, I wonder what I wonder how to how to not be better than that. That's the wrong way of describing it. But just to have just just to have, I wasn't really thinking you know what he works, he should be rewarded more for the amount of work he does. There was that I always thought he's doing way more work than people making more money. And that doesn't seem fair to me. So I was always very aware, which is why we're in the financial services of trying to find things where hard work did equal decent reward. Because there are many people there are many people who work incredibly hard, but they just kind of picked the wrong thing to work hard in and therefore the reward is low and life is clearly not just about financial reward. But equally if you're going to throw yourself into something, throw it into something with a financial ought to seems to make sense. So, I've, I've always been, I know that Capri has to work and smart again, if I'm going to put the effort in, do I put it into being this or that? If YouTube is a good example, if you only have to look around at the kids making an absolute fortune, and realize that it is a world where if you do okay, you do okay. So why not put my effort into that? Equally stand up comedy is another example. You can put all the hours of the Sun in, unless you're just lucky. Yeah, yeah, it doesn't have it's
Nick Gray:
30:37
a really interesting point. And I think they're working smart. And I mean, again, it goes, I've told you the chapters of my book, but like understanding the game you're in or whatever it is, you're in to try to achieve a win. And whatever that win is, whether it's financial gain, whether it's winning a championship, whether it's getting your best five, you know, your best Park, run time, whatever that is, understanding what it is, and then understanding what parameters can I control within this to achieve that win? Like, what's the best strategy for achieving that win? And then those parameters come in around? What can I actually affect it? Because there is an element of luck to everything in life, right, where wherever you born, how we'd how you, you know, how you are and all of that, in the end, there's a lot of things you can control yourself to. And I think that's what you've just said, speaks perfectly to that.
Mark Lewis:
31:26
Yeah, the I always footballs example, I've never watched a game of football in my life. Ever. I watched the 1990 World Cup. I think that was that was Lineker, and gas going crying and stuff, wasn't it? I probably watched 15 seconds of that, because my dad made me. So I'm not a football fan at all. I know nothing about it. So I've spent many, many, many years as we were hearing people moaning about about football as earn. And as somebody who's not a football fan, you think that I might be somebody that would agree with that and say it's outrageous, the immediate payment is bounds. And I always just occurred to me, what are these people moaning about it? The only way the reason you can vote is if you tried footballer, you put in all the time and effort, and it didn't work out for you, then you could maybe have a legit moan about your bad luck. But to be someone that picked to be a whatever, cafe owner, and moaned about what somebody who picked to be a footballer earns makes no sense to me, because you could have tried to do that. And the win in that world is that it's a known thing. We no one's no one's going into the world today, not knowing that the winds over there are astronomical. If you fancy them go have a go at them or don't. But then don't mind that the guys that did did remember, Tracey Emin did that bed sculpture thing, which was just her bed, and it sold for millions of pounds. And people said, was rubbish, anyone could do that? And she said, Yeah, but they didn't. I did. And that I that was stuck in me. I thought Yeah, exactly that you had a conversation with a guy today moaning about how much Instagram models make for just being an Instagram model. I say I hear but equally you could get yourself in incredibly good shape and wander around half naked take photographs yourself and have what they have. Why don't we do that? Well, then don't but then don't mind that they do because you could try and do it too. So I've always been very aware of where the where the opportunities lie and then and then focus on those I guess working smarter Yes. But But yeah, I've I've always tried to say to my kids as they're going into work now that 2321 1815 I say to them, If you love your job that's great. Absolutely, that's great but but just think 510 years time where does that job go? And if it's not if it doesn't go the direction you want it to just be aware of that just just think a bit a bit more. Not intelligently is wrong word just a bit more down the line when I started YouTube it always was a goal for me to have I thought well yeah 100,000 subscribers a million subscribers well so what does that mean? It doesn't mean I get it but if I'm starting on a road where does the road go? And there are there are some jobs where you think well no matter what this road this road only ever goes for example what I'm trying to think of a job that doesn't belittle anyone doing that job which which I don't intend to do but there are everyone can think of careers jobs where you know that no matter how good you do it and I
Nick Gray:
34:43
counted into makeup person in as let's say Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
34:47
indeed indeed. Although the back of my mind is where you work your way up to being a manager the
Nick Gray:
34:51
stores but but I other people doing it, doing it to to get access to somewhere else probably. I mean, I think that's probably
Mark Lewis:
34:59
absolutely The and if that's the plan, that's cool. But don't don't do it thinking this on your do this for 1015 20 years, unless you don't mind the rewards that come from that, and some people might be perfectly happy with. That's absolutely awesome. That's amazing if you are, but But it always annoys me when people say, Oh yeah, they have this they have that. I think Well, what did you try and have that? Whatever are the Spice Girls and millions of pounds? Well, how did your
Nick Gray:
35:30
spice girls? Yes,
Mark Lewis:
35:31
exactly. When they were 14 during dance lessons, you know what then what
Nick Gray:
35:37
is interesting. And I think it's also interesting to think about, you know, the talents and things I was I was kind of intrigued about your kids, actually, because you mentioned them quite a lot. And there's one or two cameos in videos, but you've kind of generally get them off. And you mentioned the story a few times. I don't know which son it is. But poor guy, you keep telling this story about the challenge of why you started YouTube and the fat the 1000 views your son Yeah, I'll tell it for the for the, for the the son basically got 1000 views on his YouTube channel was quite chuffed with himself came to his dad and said, Oh, Dad, look, I got 1000 views and you're like, that's nothing. That's easy. And he said, No, it's not. And then you said, alright, I'll set up a YouTube channel and prove you wrong. And that is am I getting it more or less? Right? Because I feel pretty bad for your son. Right?
Mark Lewis:
36:24
I'm hoping his YouTube Yeah, that's pretty well, actually, the only a part of that, that that. That's wrong is that when he came to me said 1000 views. I didn't say that I had no idea what that meant. I knew nothing about YouTube. I had never watched YouTube for anything other than tutorials or how to fix my boiler or something. So I said to him, that must be if you use it must, it must be anyone could do it clearly, because you just did and your stuffs rubbish. And he said no, it's not. Yeah, you couldn't do 1000 views. So I said Haha, I will show you. So yeah, September 11 2018. I set up a YouTube channel. Actually, he set it up for how to set up. And and then I and then he said, Well, you're going to be rubbish because what are you gonna film it on? So and what are you gonna edit it on? So I literally went to the Apple store and bought iMac and Final Cut Pro when went and bought a DSLR camera and, and basically spent 1000s of pounds to make my kid Harvey Lux.
Nick Gray:
37:35
And this ongoing project is now 60,000 subscribers deep. You just went over a million views on your Elliot capture of a video.
Mark Lewis:
37:43
I did. Yeah. That's incredible. That was that was quite cool. To be fair, he's he's actually the heartbeat is the one for kids. Harvey is the one and the reason they only have minor cameos is because they are all young people. And I know the implications of putting myself on YouTube, which is there forever. They even if they think they do want to put themselves on YouTube forever, they might not think that in 20 or 30 years time so I'm I'm I sort of regulate how much they appear. Just in case they decided 2530 35
Nick Gray:
38:23
Pull me out of all your videos, Dad, you're too famous.
Mark Lewis:
38:28
I'm not gonna go back and blur their faces on Yeah, 1000s of videos, so they have their own occasionally. But that's all so hobby. Because he was he's now 15 Because he was 11 when it started. He actually found it really quite cool game. Apart from being him. He would, for example, still does, he watches every single one of my videos before it goes up to check it for problems and errors. And also Mater it's funny, because I figure if my 11 year old now 15 year old is laughing at me. And I'm laughing at me. Then I've I've covered a big enough range. The older kids, the older kids. My daughter who's in her 20s has her own daughter now just regards the whole thing is just you know, Dad just be nuts has no interest in it really? And why should he and my two middle sons George and Joshua who are 21 and 18 I think they just find it all slightly embarrassing mainly because a lot of especially Joshua, he's very into his fitness himself. So and so all his friends all his peer group into fitness and they'll often say to him Hey, so he does latest video. It's amazing. He'd had an awesome shape and, and it's a hard balance for for an 18 year old when you're told or your dad's your dad's amazing and he's What do you think as a kid? Do you think that's the most embarrassing I've ever heard? Do you think it's quite cool? That's my dad. So there's there's quite a weird
Nick Gray:
39:57
mental conflicts gonna go out there on a limb and say one day At least if he doesn't already, he's going to be pretty proud of you. I feel like you're you're, you're already. I feel like I'm wrapping up. Now I'm not wrapping up at all. I got plenty more to ask you. But definitely, you're already a great role model for lots and lots of people out there, especially men, I'd say, but also your sons. I mean, that's, that's one of the main things I have in the back of my mind for all of it, including this it's not a I've said it before in the podcast is like leaving something behind for my kids to sort of hear interesting conversations dad had when he was in his 40s with interesting people around the world. Like, how cool was that? Like, hopefully, you know, and maybe they'll never listen to it. But
Mark Lewis:
40:38
they do. And to be fair, you know, that when the CryptoKey vide going through a million was something that they they had to say that they actually came to me normally what happens is I will go to them and say look 50,000 views, submit in their face, not just just you. But with crypto ag that when it got close to a million they were coming to me and saying, Hey, your videos on 900,000 views. I know. I'm refreshing every five seconds. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, this should be that. Yeah, it's um, they are, in fact, fine enough. I've got I've got this is quite cool. Here. This is when you when you do YouTube, and you get 100,000 views, YouTube sends you a little plaque, not 100,000 subscribers, YouTube send you a little plaque that you stick on your wall. I know when you're 100,000 yet, but at 10,000 subscribers, my kids made me this 10,000 subscriber thing for Christmas two years ago. So instead, that's quite cool. So that's my 10,000 subscribers
Nick Gray:
41:49
for me. So they are they are
Mark Lewis:
41:53
they have although I told me the other day that when I get the 100,001 it
Nick Gray:
41:59
doesn't surprise. So until that until that is maybe like go to a slightly more serious topic because I feel like there's something within your story, which you mentioned about midlife crisis. And I listened to a really interesting podcast yesterday, which I can link below if people are interested. But and I'll also send to you it's so GEICO is a podcast called Modern wisdom. And I just got really interesting because he's had a lot of conversations about kind of masculinity and sort of modern day issues with masculinity. And, you know, it kind of faces up to a lot of the woke stuff, but in a positive way of talking about men and helping men and things I just kind of been fascinated by it. Because I went through a pretty rough moment in my life in my mid 30s, as well, in fact, and fitness kind of turned that around for me as well. And I recognize a lot of things that I hear about in the press and stuff about mental health and things and I feel like I'm fascinated by it. Because I feel like people recognize especially young men, it's the, it's the leading cause of death is suicide in young men in under 40, in the UK, I think and many places around the world. And so what I find interesting is people are worrying about like, the moment that guy is in a crisis moment, but then we're not having many conversations about all the things leading up to it. So I listened to this one, one guy yesterday, and he was talking about all of that they talked about all these different things that men in their middle life, kind of go through this, this u curve where you know, you're supposed to have made it at that point you might be successful, you might have got into a certain position in your career, you maybe your kids have become sort of self sustainable and or to some extent and you know, the they're no longer needing you in the same way as young young kids do and things. And so they were they were talking about this and I was like this is kind of fascinating, because it's like I know a lot of people who've been in similar situations and I've myself found myself comparing to others and having those insecurities and having a very secure and quite well paid job that I was that I had previous to Coronavirus. Give me a look. And then and then you know, like just the fear of losing that the fear of not being able to provide for my family in a in a kind of conventional sense. So I've just rambling at this point, but I'm kind of wanting to throw it a little bit towards you in terms of like, Have you got thoughts around that topic because and the reason I asked you is is not because I'm working on a unit some make some giant confession or they don't expect that whatsoever. But the guy on the podcast had a really nice expression called the midlife doldrums because what he said was like a midlife crisis means you if you have a crisis, you have to do something about it and you have to take action, just kind of what you said you'd like. I'm going to get fit. I'm going to take these actions and move forward. But a lot of men are going through his like doldrums, which is like okay, things are going well I can't really have really got anything proper to complain about and my life is, you know, on paper great. Why do I feel this shit? You know, why am I feeling like this? Because I was just I was just kind of wanting to throw that at you if you've got any thoughts around that any kind of experiences because your, your YouTube channel, and presumably this is one of the good reasons for doing it is having a positive influence on men, maybe even in that situation, maybe in those situations. So I just wanted to kind of write your thoughts on that. And like, go,
Mark Lewis:
45:31
yeah, no, actually, yeah, on your last point first, one of the one of the things that I never expected. But as every day I'm motivated to just make more content is the number of people that contact me from all over the world and say, yeah, things things, either were bad, or they are bad right now, but But watching your stuff, not necessarily only your stuff, but your stuff is part of how I have either got to where I want to be, or getting to where I want to be, or tomorrow, I'm gonna start getting to where I want to be because of what's on your videos. And, and I reply, and I almost dread the day when I'm too big of a nice problem to worry about too big on YouTube to not reply to those sort of things. I'd reply to every one of those people on Instagram or wherever they're contacting me, but those are, those are the fuel. For me making another video, there'll be times where I think I don't want to do two videos this week. And somebody will say, Tomorrow, I'm gonna get my dog, we're gonna go for a run. And I'm 50 pounds overweight, but I've watched your video on whatever binge eating or something I've, I'm, I still, I still ate too much. But I know that that isn't a reason to throw the rest of the week away. Because what you said, so tomorrow, I'm out for a run. That to me is brilliant. I mean, I would I would that that is yeah, that's the fuel for for what I do. So there's that some of what I'm well aware that there are an awful lot of people and men and the majority of my viewers are men. I wish they weren't. The numbers are getting better. But but they it is still still heavily male. Which is which is a pity I'd rather it has been more more diverse. But it is what it is. Not a lot of men. Yeah, they are. They're they're struggling. In terms of my the doldrums thing is that that makes a lot of sense. I can remember being in my 30s or just thinking yeah, this is just I'm not having fun. This is not this is what I kind of wonder if I now looking at friends of mine that are same age as me, often with slightly younger children, because they're my children quite young. So lots of guys in their 40s have got kids that are a bit more a bit younger at school. I know my kids are all independent, pretty much even a 15 year old looks after himself. And I wonder if I like zero qualifications in anything, especially this. I wonder if part of it is when you're a dad, I do wonder if it's a dad thing. Some of it. I do wonder if if guys you know that they their focus is their partner, then then their job then their kids. And those things are providing for the family providing for the children that their spouse, or whoever. And I just wonder if people take enough time to just provide for themselves that that was the thing for me that the switch I went through a divorce so I got divorced when I was 10 years ago. And coming out and no divorces or very few divorces are good. So I don't need to dwell on the the intricacies of the divorce but it's pretty standard divorce and it's horrible. When I came out of it or was coming out of it, I can remember thinking that I need to be incredibly selfish in a in a really good way. Because if I'm not selfish if I people were saying to me oh yeah, the most important thing is look after your kids, you got to focus on your kids, kids, kids, kids, good kids. And I thought that yes, I hear you. But equally if I if I put all my time and effort and attention and emotion and an energy into my children in my current state of newly divorced still pretty out of shape person in their doldrums. I'm going to end up failing them anyway because I'll just be a useless mess. What value is that to them? Really? What I need to do is to be incredibly selfish. I make sure that I am good, and then see what I can do for them. And the analogy that I use in my head, I've never actually done this on YouTube, but it will pop up one day, no doubt. When I was a lifeguard, in between sessions of deconstructing, we were taught, the first thing you do when you're rescuing someone is make sure that you're okay. So if someone's in danger jumping in the water is your gut reaction is a stupid thing to do, when actually you can lead them drowning a bit longer, go and get a rope or throw the rope because then when you do rescue them, it's more likely to be a good process. So that was what I thought I thought if I if I throw myself into rescue, my children were literally jumping into the water. Post divorce, we're just going to be two drowning people, or this four kids will be five drowning people. So I won't do that. What I do is I leave them drowning. And they were drowning because young kids going through a divorce are metaphorically, very family. I mean, they were Yeah, indeed massively so and I left them slightly drowning while I went off and found a rope. But then came back to them soon after, and was able to rescue them might be the wrong term. But but I was there for them in a way that meant I was better. And, and it worked. And that, you know, we as a family look back and I even spoke about this in my wedding speech, we went through a a bumpy time, dawn came out of it massively, massively better. So I feel because I'm selfish, massively better able to look after my family. Here's, here's how I think of it. My wife, my wife, my kids, my dogs, my mortgage, whatever it is, it gets 50% of me, that's all I can give it. 50% But, but that 50% is quality 50% They're getting sort of fit healthy, that's going to be here for years, hopefully, can can provide financially that 50% is amazing. Or as good as I can get it. The other 50% is for me, I have friends that give 90% But because they only get 10% for themselves, the 90% they're given there's almost not even worth bothering to give and yet people will think Oh, you do so much for your kids and yeah, you do but but you do 90% But it's just it's all a bit lame. And when you drop dead from a heart attack because you're grossly out of shape at 55 how much percentage you're gonna give them then not very much. So for me learning to be selfish and understand that that made me better for anyone around me was was a big eye that's the one good thing to come out of of that whole bearish breakup was was was that was learning. I need to I need to be Mark first. Not dad first. Not not husband first. And my my wife isn't wife first, January's Jenna. She has her own life, her own wants and goals. And they come rightly at least alongside me if not ahead of me because she isn't happy she isn't doing what she wants to do. Then Then what value is that to me as a partner so so yeah, and the kids the time the kid The Kids Are All told, Look after yourself number one, and then see we have left for others. And you'll probably find that what you do have for them is quality. So that that solve my solved that helped me understand where I am. I
Nick Gray:
53:45
think it's fun. It's in light tastic as I see, do you have done a video on it? Actually, I forget your acronym or something like sec, and I was like he has to put an S on the end of that to be his second or something like that. You've done a video on it. Yeah, I did. You're right efficient. And I was interesting when you said that because I think I'm probably one of those people who's struggled to find that balance and I understand the value of it very much. I also divorced in 12 Whatever it was years ago, I'm gonna get in trouble with my now wife for not knowing how long ago I divorced but, she'd never listened to these anyway. I had a similar sort of pathway in that in that way and I understood that I learned about the selfishness and the fact that I think everyone like human nature we need to be selfish actually to get ahead in life to be able to succeed. There's some level of selfishness that you need to have everyone and I love being a dad like it's my number one thing I've got a six year old and three or, so I'm way I came in way late compared to I'm I'm a late starter. Probably I even took my earpiece out because I'm hearing and crying in the night now. But go to bed I'm interviewing someone I learned not that long ago just how much more selfish I need to be. And it's especially with fitness because for me my fitness journey has been one of like, I realized back then I need, I need to have a level of fitness, I need to have a sustained sort of activity level to keep my head in shape like to keep myself mentally healthy. If nothing else, I call it an engine, I don't call my heart, my engine on my it's good, good engine work, you know, and I keep working out that I love challenging myself in a similar similar way to you're not quite as extreme. But with the young with these young kids, it also throws everything up in the air because it's it becomes a lot of unpredictable things. As you'll no doubt remember, like, you don't have a lot of opportunity to sort of really structure a training week when you know, they're getting up between six and seven. But I know you mentioned that in one video as well. You can said like, if you've got young kids, I can help you if you guys and I'm like you can help, funnily enough, but you don't realize you're gonna help but I understand where you're coming from because with young kids is just it's like a hurricane, you just gotta kind of get through. And then hopefully things settle down a bit when you stop having to change. Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
56:23
I was lucky because exactly. I mean, I remember how hard that that is, I was quite lucky because when I had that sort of click moment in my head, if I can remember the moment I had to go to London to see a client. I got off the tube in London, and I was stood on the platform, and there were a group of mums. And they were out for the day. They all had their push chairs and their kids in there was six of them. And I was waiting for the next train are saying so I'm just watching them. And I thought you know what, every single one of them looks exactly the same. They've they are mums, they have effectively handed in their whoever they work hard, and exchanged it for I'm just a mum. Their conversation was about being mums there. They put they put the effort they put into into their kids and the pram yeah that 500 quid mama and papa prams and stuff. But but then that's not how they were dressing that they're the money's all gone? Am I truly thinking? That's amazing. And they're probably and if you ask them, they probably delighted with how they go about their life. And that's good. But I do wonder when your kid is no longer the posture when it kids? Girls, have you had a girl 15 And so I'm I've out tonight, or Johnson advice and some help and some guidance and know that when you're talking about i, i You have nothing to offer me that at all on a 15 year old girl. I'm going and then you're left thinking, Oh, that's a dad, what else can I do? So I was quite lucky in that. The moment that I thought I need to stop not stop being a dad. But that isn't the top of my whatever CV dad, I was quite lucky because my kids were almost old enough to me to say to them, you're all going to struggle for six months while I go and discover what it is I want to do. If they would have been three years or four years or five years, I couldn't have done that. Or if I had been able to be able to go very badly that they were teenagers. It wasn't great, but long term it worked out. So I Yeah, it's a tricky one when you have young children. I just think there are some things you can do. I might my gym is near a playing field. And every time I go there, there's the parents have stood on this along this line watching their kids play football or whatever. And I've done I took my kids to basketball, they were quite good at basketball. So I spent 1000s of hours watching them play basketball. And looking back if I took them to basketball, and then while they were playing basketball, went for a run, and then came back and pick them up and maybe watch them once a week rather than watching the five times a week. Would it have made a difference to their basketball? No, not at all. Would they? If you said to my 21 year old George now is your life any different? Better? Worse, because your dad watched every one of your basketball games? No, it makes no difference? Would it make a difference to me? Absolutely. I would have been fitter, healthier, I'd be more excited about going. And so it's just it's just that it's just about thinking okay, I need to be a dad or a husband or I need to do my job, whatever. But I have to find time for for me otherwise I'm no use as a dad and a husband and an employee or wherever it might be sticky kids and a push to take them to parkour and shove them around. Maybe maybe you don't go and watch your whatever you can, trampoline or ballet or whatever things kids do that they never take all the pointless waste of money anyway. If you don't watch all of those things, does it really matter? And sometimes it does. And some people think, yes, that is my life. Okay, that's cool. But one day it won't be your life. Yeah, my kids now. I see them occasionally. The older ones literally come and go normally intoxicated and just falling over. I'm around for them when they need me. But I if I was the sort of person that was just, Hey, what are you doing this weekend? Kids? My boys. What are we? Nothing? We're going to the weekends to the pub, or we're going to we're going here. We're doing this. Yeah. We don't want it to be don't hang out. No, to right. So yeah, indeed. Yeah. Go make a video you embarrassment. So I'd be there think you want me to do that? And what I would do what other 50 year old men do, which is I'd sit in front of TV, and just watch TV. Because there's what else can't you that's what you've got left. But I haven't I come in here and I do what I love doing. So yeah, there is I'm very passionate about people abandoning their children to look after themselves to then come back to their children and say, Hey, I'm, I'm now going to be more used to that would have been otherwise. I appreciate it's a gamble. And I think everyone
Nick Gray:
1:01:23
can I don't do a throwaway comment. I don't I don't agree. I think it is great advice. It is difficult in some cases to do it. And also it depends on very much on the relationship. If you're co parenting. It depends on your relationship with your parents and how you expect one another. I think it's absolutely possible. And I mean, I'm the I'm the embarrassing dad that takes a skipping rope to the playground and I'm standing on the side of a playground skip. I don't do it. Don't do it all the time. The kids, even the six year old walked up to me and it was like that it's a bit embarrassing, like already embarrassing.
Mark Lewis:
1:02:00
That's what you should be doing if I you mentioned it as far as we didn't shut ups on
Nick Gray:
1:02:03
the idea and I do try not a Spartan I need to get better at the monkey bars and stuff. As you pointed out in your videos.
Mark Lewis:
1:02:12
Yeah, well there you go. Ski kids parks are made for dads to practice as far as obstacle courses on now that that's that yeah, you can do that the parent the co parenting is an interesting one. Because again, I was very lucky. And we we've said already so much in life comes down to just pure luck. January's my, my new my wife would knew why.
Nick Gray:
1:02:37
I did on that. Thank you.
Mark Lewis:
1:02:41
Yeah, just my wife. So she's the stepmom to my to my kids, my boys are and add step parents are quite handy in what I've been describing. Because when I say to her, I think we should abandon the children this weekend to go and do a race or something that will be really cool for us. And a Monday we'll be back but they'll have happy fun parents in the house. That's good for them. Because she's a stepmom. She said, Yeah, of course we should, because because your kids are paying the neck anyway. So I again, very, very lucky if she were a she I can I can see how people with a classic, motherly, wrong, adopting spouse when they bump into problems with some of that mice my situation has is very, very lucky in that everybody around me just agrees with what I want to achieve, which is, which is I looked after me and they look after themselves. And then we all come together. And we're all independent, but therefore great, great team, rather than than just just team members that Yeah, who knows who's doing okay, within that group, because no one's really
Nick Gray:
1:04:00
appreciated me, even if they don't watch your YouTube videos, like even if your dog doesn't watch YouTube videos, she's seen a transition of this dad into a very positive, healthy man who is now really taking control of his life. And I think that if nothing else, that is a great role model status and a positive thing within the family dynamic, right? So they're going to be happy that they've got that versus what they see around them in other circumstances.
Mark Lewis:
1:04:29
Yeah, hopefully, if they take nothing other than at any point in your life, no matter how old you are, or what shape you're in, or what just whenever you like, you can think I'm going to try this. That that's really all I if they could take one thing from it, it's that and not worry about what anyone else thinks. You know, when I did stand up, people said to me, Oh, who who did you tell it's only because because we've got to do it. Anybody I'm sorry, I don't care. I did it for me. I want to do too. I just, I didn't I didn't tell anybody that I had. I didn't tell it. I had no friends or family subscribe because no one knew. And yeah, I just said, No, I'm just gonna try it and see if it's rubbish. It just doesn't work. So what I'm what I'm at, I get this about tattoos. I got my first tattoos. On my 45th birthday was 45. So I was old. I was old enough. I thought I'll be old enough that I'm not going to make a mistake. And and the important thing, someone said to me the other day, yeah, but what about when you need it?
Nick Gray:
1:05:39
I've said this for years now. Why does everyone care about what you think about your body? When you vote? You're going to be a wrinkly old man. The least of your worries will be absolutely.
Mark Lewis:
1:05:51
Exactly like 85 I'm going to get out of bed look in the mirror thing was great. But the tattoos the tattoos are degraded slightly over the years. It's just complete nonsense. It's just it makes no sense to me. Just you don't you don't regret the things you did. But what I might do at five. I've got a gap here. I've got I've already sort of had that still been before the skins. So yeah, the tattoo thing is like that for me. I just I I never really wanted tattoos. I'm a huge tattoo fan. I just thought, why not? I try a tattoo. I feel good. Yeah, but what if you didn't like it? Or what if I like it? What? You know, what if? What if I get these conversations from people with your mates who have big beer bellies? Do you like your big beer belly? Yeah, maybe you do. Maybe you don't. I've got a tattoo. And it's just, yeah, I get very confused. Sometimes it's the people's reasons to not do something, when actually the consequences of it going yeah, actually completely inconsequential. If I had the latest tattoo I got. I didn't even I had no idea what was going on. Like, I didn't care, because I gave the guy an idea of what I wanted. And he cracked on. And I thought if I leave and it's not quite. So what, as it turned out, it was amazing. That's cool.
Nick Gray:
1:07:19
And I'm exactly on the same wavelength. Yeah. So the only thing is if you're in a job or a work environment where they will negatively judge you and I think that is kind of old school thinking but it's still sometimes relevant, because I had my mind pop out once I got there just Yeah. And of my dragon, which comes all the way over here. I've got fire of my hearts up at the end of my dragon just came out in a meeting and it was quite fresh. And then the big boss was like, Okay, maybe wasn't the best.
Mark Lewis:
1:07:52
I'm quite lucky. Again, lucky. My tattoos are all I made sure that they were. Yeah. put a shirt on. You can't tell. Yeah. And visible tattoos. Interesting. Because because you're right, people are becoming a bit more a lot more tolerant. Maybe just because they're overexposed to it. So it just becomes the norm. But but it does when people have tattoos on their hands and stuff. I don't mind that. I don't see that and go. Of course, I don't need to tattoo wherever you like. But it does make me question that the motivation I do think you're 18 years old. You got a tattoo on your hand. Face. Those are the sort of things that I have faced I don't I'm like, Oh, yeah.
Nick Gray:
1:08:35
Extreme. I don't big statement. Exactly. Prepared. Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Lewis:
1:08:39
And if you're Mike Tyson, you think okay, do what you like. But if you then want to go and work for Microsoft or something, you know. Yeah, decision making. So So tattoos is an interesting one. But But yeah, that the people that say Oh, but but relative what's what if? Yeah, well, that applies to so much in life. You know, what if you
Nick Gray:
1:08:59
got over an hour and I love this conversation, I just wanted to ask a couple more things and if I can to keep you keep talking, I'm interested. And the reason I mentioned that is whether you have pondered on this or not, you're a member of a lot of different communities your park run Zwift Spartan Hi rocks, dogs running events, which we haven't even mentioned Nixon trail running events, YouTube community, presumably motorbiking because I watched your South Africa video and you don't really talk much about your bikes now but your first Youtube videos were all about motorbikes which I know nothing about by the way.
Mark Lewis:
1:09:37
Absolutely. I know I'm still involved in social
Nick Gray:
1:09:40
business as well life insurance as I know it is business ownership. So like, do you find yourself like is that by design or it was just kind of let you fall in in these things. You get quite into sort of specific community style events or something like I just said kind of wanting throw it at you a little bit because I was thinking about was like, part of the reason you're successful I believe on YouTube as well as you're hitting quite a few different channels, you've got the dog thing you know, it is great and Nick's and super cute. And it's awesome to see that running as well. I'm really interested like, dogs. I don't have a dog for other reasons. But, you know, I love dogs and I love seeing that running and then and then you've got the kind of the Swift thing, which I know is huge. And you bastard. You've made me go on. I'm now in the process of buying a very cheap at home trainer so I can get on Swift. Which I'm dreading. Yeah, well, I
Mark Lewis:
1:10:35
probably won't regret it.
Nick Gray:
1:10:38
Comfortable, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna do your fancy Wahoo kicker thing. I can't afford that. So I'm just buying a really crappy one. Hopefully, hopefully it will work. No, but then then the Parkland thing. Obviously, that's kind of what you said, that's your bread and butter of what start you out on this, this fitness journey. So just kind of interested about your thoughts on that from community and stuff.
Mark Lewis:
1:10:59
Ya know, whether there's two things that firstly, in terms of the diversity of the topics on YouTube, that's the reason I do that is because when I started with the motorbikes because I, my very first video, almost, if I was it was motorcycling. Because that was all I did. That was all all I had. And I was going to South Africa, we generally ride motorbikes round round the the crew desert, and I thought this would be good for you. This would be my kid. So that's how it started. And, and then, when I got into the fitness thing, it was I was video my spot and runs that YouTube for two years, almost three years from 2018 until until the winter of 20. So So months into Coronavirus. YouTube was very, very quiet, relative to what it is now as it was a few 100 views a day was was an astronomical day. And then on Zwift, I started using Swift online cycling as a means of just training indoors when I couldn't go to the gym, because COVID Shut the gyms. I fell off my bike. And whilst I'd exercise until I was so tired, I felt like and so the views went up massively. It was and it was again, relative to now it's not so good. But at the time I was over the moon, I'm a Christmas day 2020 Just, I got in so much trouble because I spent all day refreshing my numbers on YouTube. I couldn't believe subscribers were just going up and up and up. Again, relatively speaking. And I thought oh, this is this is cool. So I started doing lots of Swift videos. And the trouble with them was that I looked at the top swift YouTubers or guys that do cycling as YouTube. And there's a bit of a cap, I mean, it's it is massively popular. But if all you do is cycling, there's a kind of a ceiling as to how many subscribers you're gonna get. And I thought, why don't I fall into that trap. So this goes back to start as you mean to go on when I started doing stand up comedy on the very, very first, maybe the second week of doing doing stuff, I didn't swear in my style of comedy that I was writing. And some other people in the course of me said why you'd never swear It'd be funny if you said this. I see I don't because if I ever want to get on TV, it doesn't stop you get on TV, but it just it leaves more doors open if you're not swearing, and they said he gave me a lot if you're on a, you're on a training course for beginners, that you're gonna go and do open mics or nothing TV and you're nuts. So within nine months, I was on TV, doing my non swearing material. So I figured with YouTube, but the same. Again, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. But why start off in a way that makes it less likely. So what I don't want to do is get stuck just doing swift videos and only having that so what I try and do is are like a drug dealer, aka hooking with a swift, but then I show them a little bit of Nixon going for a run, or I show them me in the gym or something and I'll make it funny so that the people that think I'm funny will still watch that. And now I've built up a community of people that are watching anything I do, because because they they're buying into the the idea that it's all the laugh anyway. So if I'm not on the blank today, so well. And when people email me or DM me and say I joined your channel because I cycle hate run it but man your running video was good. Yeah, that to me is I nailed it. That's brilliant. So that's why I diversified that the subject matter just to just to basically hit more people. And the CryptoKey video shows why that works. Running video, numbers numbers going up. The reason I surround myself with communities is and I'm not a community person, really, I'm very if one things I like about YouTube is that I do it here. I'm on my own. There's no one else here. It's just me and the camera. But it then goes out and I get that instant feedback loop because because I get people feedback to me even though I don't have to actually interact with them other than typing. So it's a weird one. It's a committee At but but it's not in a way. The reason I go to park run or I put myself in situations where I'm surrounded by the people is that I mentioned this on my recent David Goggins
Nick Gray:
1:15:11
video. Amazing was our graduations on that as well.
Mark Lewis:
1:15:14
Thank you. Yeah, it was it was fine enough, my ankles are still swollen from just running.
Nick Gray:
1:15:21
So it's nice to see Jefferson running as well. I mean, I'm a big fan here. So I just I know all about it.
Mark Lewis:
1:15:28
The dog Gibson still asleep now for Lazy, Lazy, useless. So I mentioned when I was out running at four o'clock in the morning, that I love being on my own running Linux and over a mountain Minix and the end of this month are in Wales doing a mountain race and there'll be a section I know, we'll be on our own in the route of in the woods, just us. And I love it. I love thinking, just me doing this. No one else is doing this. The reason I'm getting a degree of success in in fitness and health in this competition is race today in life, whatever, is because most people just aren't doing what I'm doing. So I absolutely love I use the analogy of an empty classroom. What my kids moan are no one else stayed behind to do the extra study at school, on an empty classroom, miserable, miserable. All my mates, were there playing the PlayStation good. You want to be in an empty classroom? Because everyone else in that classroom is your competition in life, and they aren't even there. What do you moaning about? So empty classrooms, you want no one around you doing what you're doing? Because then you'll be better than them all things considered. So I love training alone. I love running in the rain. I love running in the middle of the night, just me and the dog and thinking no one else does this? Of course they do. But no, it feels like that. It feels like you're on your own. And then the success you get feels feels obvious what that's obviously why we're getting here. The trouble with that the trouble with that philosophy, that very isolated philosophy is that sometimes you end up feeling I do I end up feeding. I literally am Oh my No one else. Why would anybody else even care about what I'm doing? Who cares? I'm running at 4am? No one because if they did, wouldn't they be running too. So what I like to do is to balance my running around in the middle of the night with going to park run with going to high rocks to get any of those things go into a local 10k. Because when I do do that, I suddenly look around I think, wow, there are hundreds of people in all these metals on the wall here. These are just fun runs. Most of the most of these are just they just local runs that I go and do. So that every now and again I can look back to and two people here all out after the same goal. The same thing. If you went and found 200 random people in the high street, you're only going to find two or three that can even run. But when you go to an event like that, because you pluck them from all over, you bring them together, you are everything. Okay? We aren't the norm. But when you gather us together, there are still plenty of us. And I find that inspiring, I wouldn't want to live like that I wouldn't want to be so immersed in those communities. That it's all I know. I love that the balance I have I remember taking Jenna to a Spartan Race for the first time that she came down to Phil. And she was just so I really the 45 to 50 age group. Jen is Jen's bit younger than me 15 years younger than me. And so her experience of men in their late 40s is apart from me being in reasonable shape, most of them are not. So we're arriving with the other people in my age group and Sparta and all the guys in their 40s and 50s are jacked. And she was just looking around I can't believe these people exist. These guys are your age and older. And I know it's amazing. It is about you, you can't you if you build it, they will come you bring them all together. So I love that that community spirit of being on Swift on a Sunday morning thinking there's just me and my Gary's no one else is doing this logging onto a race and boom is there's 100 other people around the world, also in their marriage or wherever, on a Sunday morning or in Australia or Sunday night or whatever, whatever it might be doing it as well. And so I get that gives it just gives me a perfect balance. YouTube's a say, it allows me to stick out something that I find interesting that most people probably wouldn't, and most people would most people wouldn't find. David Goggins interesting, but when you say to the entire world, who out there does as a lot 10s of 1000s or 10s of 1000s of people say Oh, me, and so that's why YouTube is so brilliant. You can just you can just find your community in a way that if you're a David Goggins fan and YouTube, didn't you This, who you're going to talk to about David Goggins, you might have one might even knows who he is. That's it. But YouTube, millions of people know who he is when you take 8 billion people as your pool to gather from. So, yeah, the community thing for me, I love remembering that there are plenty of people out there doing what I'm doing. But when I then go and do it, I also like to feel just as motivated for myself. No one else is doing this when I did a row in the gym today I did a row and at the end of the row, I worked so hard I fell off I was rolling around the floor like an idiot. And in the back of my mind was no one else is rolling around on this floor today in this gym. No one everyone else is just kind of coming gone through their you know, their car, half hearted effort doing whatever they're doing then kind of wandered home, if anyone is rolling around this floor today.
Nick Gray:
1:20:50
But if your wife filming,
Mark Lewis:
1:20:53
we've I might be the only person who rolls around on the floor with a why filming it. Around around the world today, there would have been plenty people rolling around on the floor of their gyms or so. So I love the balance of thinking, no one's doing what I'm doing. And then be reminded as a few people. Yeah, it just it just meshes together nicely for me.
Nick Gray:
1:21:13
I love that I love attitude. You've mentioned a couple of times. I've heard you mentioned Hunter McIntyre, who is someone I quite I really admire that guy as well. I don't know if you saw the series on YouTube of Spartan Games or something of Spartan, something like Spartan Games, there was a web series they did. And that's where I found him. And he has gone to all these elite athletes coming together and going at it. And yeah, his attitude I like I like that. He's kind of like, I mean, he's extreme, but he's also so you know, wanting to be different and doing different things and putting the air
Mark Lewis:
1:21:49
and also completely unafraid to just be cocky and arrogant. Yeah. And in the best possible way. I mean, it's all with with such a tongue in cheek. I mean, some people don't don't get that I'm sure. Same with some people don't get me. They think they think he's arrogant. And they'd like that. But he's, when I watched him. I just I'm just laughing. But equally, yeah, it any cause of the bulk pony and all that sort of stuff. And before an event, he'll be kind of tweeting the other people in it and turn them you know, who's who's going to be second and all that sort of stuff. I just love it. Absolutely. But equally, I saw him he raced in Dallas, High Rocks recently. In the run up to it, he's on Instagram winding up the people that he's going to beat. And he gets beat in himself. Yeah. Right. And, and the next day, he's not you, you could be thinking of Wow, he's made himself look a bit stupid. Or the big talk. The next day is on Instagram, in back in the snow in Colorado, wherever he lives. Running just run. And he's Yeah, I'm running because I sucked yesterday or last week. I'm back at it. I'm out. And I'm just I'm getting after it again. And next time, it'll be better. I love his attitude.
Nick Gray:
1:23:11
And he also is like, really congratulating the guy who won I think it was Omen, German guys. Something like that.
Mark Lewis:
1:23:17
Right? Ryan Kent? Brian can be Yeah, he was he was? Yeah. Just just a perfect a perfect sports person.
Nick Gray:
1:23:26
Yeah, he's good. He's a good guy. So listen, let's Oh, I got one more question to ask you. So long term above average, right? I mean, I've noticed and a lot of your audience if they've stuck with us this long, by the way, thank you so much for sticking with us. This line is awesome. But I've noticed and I'm sure a lot of your audience have noticed that, you know, you've been now you've moved into a category that is significantly above average in certain aspects and you can't deny that yourself, you know, certain things you're achieving, which are definitely well above average. How do you do that? How what's what's the long term goal now? I mean, you've got 100,000 viewers to get rid of your kids YouTube plaque, you know, that'd be nice under 1000 subscribers. Sorry. But then what's next? What are you hoping to take? Where do you see yourself going with all of this and what will keep you motivated and a sense of purpose and positive? Yeah.
Mark Lewis:
1:24:22
It's good. Good question. I mean,
Nick Gray:
1:24:24
finally.
Mark Lewis:
1:24:29
To get a good question. Yeah, I mean, to a certain extent, I almost don't care the wrong word because it because if it goes badly, if it fails, I would care. I'm just intrigued to see where it goes. That's probably the best way of describing it. For example, one of the problems I have right now on YouTube is that because I've had so many kilowatts, I keep chugging video. There's a part of me that thinks well hang on a minute. That has boosted my numbers not artificially because they're have real people watching a real video. But I need another one to do that I need I need another million view video to come along in the next few months. And what if it doesn't? What if it doesn't? And one of the things I learned from from working in sales, I'd have a boss that would always say to me, Mark, you've, it's been it's been three months since you lost big investment, what's your plan, and my plan was, I always say My plan is to do what I've always done and just just wait for another big investment and it will happen. And, and after 1015 20 years of it happening, he stopped asking me the same thing. I just assume, you know, I've done a few videos that have had hundreds of 1000s of views. Why won't I do another one? And it's not arrogant to think that I did. After a while it just becomes I can go back and look at videos where I know, that's a good one. Why might that WHY WON'T that happen again. So I'm just going to upload on in that sense, the back of my mind 100,000 subscribers would be I say it would be a man talking as though like, Oh, well that happen. The numbers are the numbers, they are moving in that direction. So there is a slight inevitability to it really, it almost becomes a snowballing effect. You can't stop. I could not make any more YouTube videos, and just people watching the old stuff would would keep them as taking away a little bit. And that isn't the plan. So 100,000 subscribers would be great. Doing it. My old business is getting sold and on YouTube will be what I do full time. Because of the sale of the old business. I don't I don't I don't need millions of subscribers on YouTube to make a business from it. I 100,000 would be would be amazing will be ample. In terms of what I want to do on YouTube. It's it's a tricky one. The reason I'm doing things right now like high rocks like rowing, where I am more physically suited. And I am there is no doubt I am better than better than average at some of those things. So for rowing, for example, just just through natural gift of being huge. No real rowing skill. I am at an elite level of indoor rowing, just through luck. I mean, I didn't ask to be 6x to down and it becomes slightly it becomes slightly unrelatable. And I don't want that to happen. One of the reasons Kip Tony video was so good is because six or 600 kilo person is never going to be anywhere. I mean, I am I am right with no appeal. And all people could watch me and go, Oh, he's a bit faster than me maybe or maybe he's not. But I can see what he's doing. He does a 20 minute Park run I do a 27 minutes. So I can I can see what he's doing. Yeah, Kip chunky is doing 14 minute Park runs eight times in a row to do I can't see what he's doing. So people see me as a sort of a conduit to understanding what someone else is doing. The trouble with things where I'm getting quite good is that I become too far from the norm. And then they can't they can't see me as a conduit to that. They just say that he's just another elite person. It's a bit like I'm six foot six. People sometimes say to me, Oh, he was tall, wasn't he? I think was he gave us mean six one. I don't know 6158, it all looks the same to me. They're all so short. I can't tell. Unless but when I see someone at six, seven, I owe you you are taught because you're so I don't want to be so far away from normal people that they can't tell whether 667 foot all the same. So Hi, Rob hierarchy has a bit of a treat for me, it's an opportunity for me to go and do something that I do find myself physically suited to. Not not an elite level at all. But but that's pretty good. And I'd have a play out. And that's what I'm doing now until April. I work real hard training for high rocks, I would love to get on the podium for my age group. I have a potential problem there because the London event has become so popular, because my video that the numbers are huge for it. So that means there's an awful lot of people and more people means means obviously more competition. So it may not happen but a podium at hierarchies in my age group would be mind blowing. Once I've done that, once I've raced wherever I can wherever I do, that will be the last time probably the eye race High Rocks solo. Because because it is a bit of a treat for me. Excuse me, it's not it's not relatable to average people to watch someone turn up at an event like that and get on the podium. That isn't what I'm trying to do. That is what YouTube is about for me. So the next Hi rocks I'm doing I'll do with Jenna. We're gonna go do pairs. Because because that's that's cool. It's fun, and I genuinely am more excited about doing that in Birmingham in October and again, we're gonna go back in November London, Dubai. Again, I'm more excited about that in a way than racing on my own. Because because we're going to be at the back on some things, Jen is not a great she can run, she's not a great runner, we're going to be, we're going to be struggling to stay off the back on something. Yeah. And I love that I love being I love, I talk about this in the videos a lot, I would rather be almost lost fighting to not be lost, thinking there is so much more I can do to improve Yeah, than where I am now with high rocks, where I'm thinking, it's literally what I've always said you shouldn't do. I'm close to the top, but not at the top. And so you become just fueled by this irrational desire to improve tenths of a second here and there. It fills your day, it fills your time, it sucks, quite frankly, my training in the moment is killing me to do what to go from a one hour 18 hierarchs to a to a one hour 11 or so. It's It's nonsense.
Nick Gray:
1:31:00
How I remember if I can interrupt you, sorry, I feel like you're speaking back to the kind of attitude of a little bit about selfishness, but also a little bit about taking care of yourself. Maybe, you know, maybe over time you have evolved, you have evolved into what you are now. So forgiving yourself for wanting to have that competitive moment because I think your audience, I my guess is your audience will totally forgive you for that. Because you are a good role model. And you've tracked this journey, you know, anyone looking back over your videos, you can I even show my wife and I'm mentoring this girl. This is like, just two years ago, whatever. And this is him now. And she was like, wow, you know, two years ago, whatever you were already pretty fit, right? I mean, you're you know, your southern stuff. It was like, yeah, it was you're in good shape. But like, clearly you had a really good progression. And I think anyone watching is going to find that inspiring, as well. And and it's it's fun to watch people compete to win something or compete a podium or compete to go against themselves. It's fun to see those parameters and understand that you detail in your videos about you know, knowing the split times and various things, and the time you're spending in the waiting areas or whatever it's called the the transition areas. Yeah. Yeah, that is like, it's interesting for a viewer. So I think, you know, you shouldn't maybe define my advice not that it was asked for or is probably useful at all, is that you know, don't worry too much about what the audience needs from you in terms of like, being the average guy and having that, you know, worry more about what you you need and hope that they'll come along with you on that journey. I think that's probably you so far. And
Mark Lewis:
1:32:47
I think so I do. I mean, there is no question that while I'm saying the more important thing to me is racing with with Jen. If I was to get on the podium, when you get on the podium, you get this sort of cheap looking tea towel thing with the position on it is high rocks, call it a flag is a tea towel. But if I had one of those hanging up here, I would be incredibly proud. And I mean, that'd just be amazing. So I do Oh, one that the thing I tried to do as well. I still tried to keep it fun. So for example, my training day to day was rest day, and I'm doing a 2k row in the gym, that really kills me for another video. And last weekend, my rest day was the Goggins challenge. So Mike, my heart was coach, Dave Peters is probably pulling his hair out because he's, he's put it up here. He's he's put together this training program that I'm supposed to be following that says rest day, and I'm off doing so stupid. So I'm not taking it super, super serious. And also, I already know the video that I make about the transit that the journey the eight 910 week journey to hyperox London is going to conclude. I know it is with the summary that it was cool, it was fun, it was exciting, and it achieved x whatever that turns out to be. But it wasn't worth it. In the literal sense, the achievement I could have trained, I could have done a lot less and still being 99% as happy as how it turned out. And so that the advice is not the advice, the advice that is going to be the message I knew it would be from day one it would be that training like an elite athlete unless you are an elite athlete does yield returns but nothing like as fun returns as you get the other end. So for example 26th of March men next are racing in Wales mountain race. I'm not a mountain racer, I'm I get overtaken by little old ladies who are lightweight and have been doing it for so many years and just crushed me and I cannot wait I can't wait to make sure that I come in the top half. So if there's 100 runners, I want to be 49 And that to me, is almost a more exciting challenge where everything's against me. You My dog is too small. I'm too big the mountain is too high. The people doing it do nothing but Ultra run. And I'm I'm trying to
Nick Gray:
1:35:18
top dog last year. Is that the same we Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
1:35:21
2019 Dixon was fastest. So we got a video that yeah, it was it
Nick Gray:
1:35:28
called beast. Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
1:35:31
Beast. They do two ones called beast of board maintenance is Bobby Moore. And the other one is beast beast of the blacks. Because that's
Nick Gray:
1:35:42
what I think I saw.
Mark Lewis:
1:35:43
Yeah. Okay, so so we got Yeah, so we want to be fastest dog. And I want to be top half human. And I love I love that. To me. That's the sort of things I'll be doing after hierarchs London and going forward I already thinking about how fun it would be to try and wonder what the new sport is. I was watching I follow a guy called the vegan cyclist who's
Nick Gray:
1:36:10
mentioned your vegan community. I mean, how did we get through something and not mentioned veganism?
Mark Lewis:
1:36:14
Yeah, well, I know it's a good example I never talked about being vegan everyone thinks vegans do nothing but rabbit on about so the vegan cyclist is a road cyclist he's recently got into doing cyclocross, which is basically gravel riding. I just looked it was awesome fun, just kind of racing on a road bike with bouncy tires over over gravel. And again, I'd be rubbish at it because I'm just the wrong shape for that sort of sport. But I I'm really tempted this summer to try there's along the Ridgeway, there's a gravel bike race. I just said that sort of thing to me that I would love to turn up and do with no experience of it and no chance of doing well. But looking at the results afterwards and thinking five and two people, you know, race, and I was 250 that those are things that I like. And hopefully those are sort of things that have a real kind of appeal to everybody that can just go it's not because I don't I don't like I know what I know some of the comments, I'll get on some videos where I do well, because they get the comments already where people say well, of course you can do that you're you're you're this you're that you're bigger. And that those sort of things. I've got a video coming on this actually saw my list of videos pending people. People seem to have forgotten how to be inspired by people and social media has caused it. So what used to happen when I when I was a kid, actually how old are you? 44. Okay, so 48 Okay, so when I was a kid, I would be inspired by Brian Jaksta and superstars, or Daley Thompson at the Olympics, or watching Sylvester Stallone take off his robe in Rocky four and never having seen anyone so ripped,
Nick Gray:
1:38:01
by the way. In preparation for this. I'm not even joking. I've watched rocky just to prepare myself for this. I've seen jokes about the rocky soundtrack all the time. I'm sure he's gutted that he can't have it on his YouTube videos for Oh, whatever.
Mark Lewis:
1:38:19
One day, I hope Stallone will give me a call and say, Hey, you can go for it. I'll let you have I got that that's about as much as I can ever use. So
Nick Gray:
1:38:35
ya know, in the in the
Mark Lewis:
1:38:36
spine, right? Absolutely. So I would then use that motivation to go and do what I did, whether it whatever it was at the time. I didn't want to be a decathlete like David Thompson. I didn't want to I certainly want to be a boxer. That's terrific. And who has other one Brian Jack's, I can do dips. So I just took from them inspiration and then took it and went and did my thing. And what seems to have happened now is that because social media people think that they have much closer affinity with the person they're seeing that they think that inspiration means copy. So when they see someone doing something on on Instagram or YouTube whatever it is, they think that what they're supposed to do is look like that or be like which is why it's so many people complaining about how people look it's an unrealistic this that any other Well, is it unrealistic? Yeah, probably but but so what you're not supposed to copy them was rocky for Stallone was unrealistic then. Stallone stone train for Rocky for under Franco Colombo, one of our sports knickers mates. Stallone was remotely natural when he did rocky four. But it doesn't matter. I'm not supposed to become an Italian American. take steroids and take a boxing that isn't what I'm supposed to do. And so what's happened now? Is that people Yeah, they watch stuff on YouTube, they think, Well, I can't look like that we're not supposed to look. That's not the message. When you watch my videos, you're not supposed to do what I do if you want to do what I do, absolutely cool crack on, but you're supposed to simply be entertained and motivated to go and then do what you want to do. I watched Alex Honnold, free solo thing, we climbed up El Capitan. So crazy. I watched it. And all I could think about the next day was I want to I need to go achieve something today. It's not because that's bonkers. But I'm inspired to achieve something and as someone who grew up learning that that's how you're supposed to be inspired. me perfectly. So yeah, the the, the inspiration thing is the interest rate. I find that people are very hung up on it. For example, with the CryptoKey video under Bradley Wiggins video. I put up those videos and people say yeah, yeah, but you know, but he's he's light or but Bradley Wiggins was on a on a bike made in a wind tunnel. But I just think what are you people talking about? That is a human being doing something incredible. I don't care if he's on a million pound bike, and he's had his arms removed to be lighter. He's doing something incredible, be inspired by it and then go wrong with your dog. You're not supposed to go? Well, it means nothing. I had a guy say to me once I can learn nothing from you. Because for your channel, because you're you're just as you're huge. You don't you don't understand you've got a natural ability to do this. What do you mean, you can learn nothing. The same day as I had that text message from someone saying it's pointless you showing us you doing this benchpress or saying because you're physically gifted bla bla bla bla bla, I had another DM from someone that said, I'm, this is a lady in Canada, she said I'm 50 pounds overweight. But today, I've decided I'm going to be above average, and I get my dog and we're gonna go for a run. And you've motivated me to do that. And I just want to say thank you. I thought wow, the guy that thinks you can learn nothing from from from my channel needs to talk to that woman who's gone through a run in the Canadian woods with a dog. I haven't done that. It's just so so yeah, this recently, I even changed recently on YouTube, my banner to say entertainment motivation. It's not instruction. It's not advice. Really. It's sometimes it's not. The vegan thing is a good example. I don't say be a vegan, I'd say Hey, this is how I eat. Hopefully, it's funny and entertaining, don't you? Like? I think it is good. If it motivates you to eat better. Yeah, I
Nick Gray:
1:42:37
do find that a really good balance, actually. So I was actually laughing because I realized I have this behind me here. I don't know if you can see it. I know you can't see the atomic habits, which you did. Like, she did a whole book. I finished it yet, because I'm a very, very slow reader. And I haven't got audible here because it's not available. But
Mark Lewis:
1:42:56
I was gonna say I bought the book for you to listen to an audiobook.
Nick Gray:
1:43:01
Because I actually have trained as a life coach and an executive coach and I have talked most of my life about goals and stuff. And I've been really ever since a trainers coach really into goals and very goal oriented and your video. Plus a few other things I'd heard it wasn't just your video, but like, it sparked this thing of like, yeah, that's what I meant habits. It's so much about habits because the goal is pointless if you don't take a step and do something about it. And I loved that video that you made there. And it's like, so yeah, you weren't being super preachy. You weren't instructing but what you had to say about it was extremely inspirational and change change. She did make a change. So yeah, I think. I mean, people always talk about Don't, don't read the negative comments, don't read the comments and whatever. But of course, I understand it's difficult not to and you clearly want to engage with the audience as much as you can. So I understand that temptation.
Mark Lewis:
1:44:01
There's an interesting flipside, I remember watching Joe Rogan years ago where he said, to whoever I think it was, sorry, sorry, newly famous on his on his podcast, and he said, don't read the comments. Just don't. I never do it. Job saying themselves. And I remember thinking, Oh, if I ever became super famous, I wouldn't I do what Joseph?
Nick Gray:
1:44:22
I think I know. Exactly. So I've gone off Joe Rogan recently. But Lex Friedman, I think is the guy he was talking to. I know. And he's one of my favorite podcast is actually
Mark Lewis:
1:44:31
i He also I remember him talking to Dave Chappelle, who says the same thing Dave Chappelle does famously doesn't mean these negative comments. And I agree, I've also I haven't listened to much since he went Spotify, but I'm thinking when I'm famous, I won't read the comments when I'm famous. And now I do read the comments. And part of me thinks like, in a way, you kind of want to read the negative comments. I fail. I like constructive negative comments, if someone because they're actually quite Use what someone is saying, Oh, it's good. It's good. It's good. That's lovely to hear. But it isn't a for someone saying, it'd be better if it was this. I'll take that on board. It's when people just say, just stupid negative. Yeah. Or your video, if someone said to me, Oh, the kip chunky video was funny, somebody said, Are you on a running machine and a running machine scientifically will be easier to travel on the ground? As I do, what do you what are you on about running machine? I'd ask the two minutes that can tell you space and then die.
Nick Gray:
1:45:33
And who's sitting there in the world? Yeah, has got time to watch your video, watch your video, then go. I'm going to get them now. And don't really type on my keyboard.
Mark Lewis:
1:45:47
What was funny was I took that guys comment, and I pinned it to the top of the comments on that CryptoKey video, I said, I said something like, this is good that you've said this, this is quite beneficial. Because my worry was that CryptoKey would watch the video and feel embarrassed by how good my performance was. But now he can, you know, take some solace from the fact that I was basically cheating on the running machine. And of course, with the number of subscribers that I have now. They kind of all waded in and rip the guy apart, which so yeah, it's pretty it did make me think you're supposed to watch that video and just think, man, I'm gonna pick up that guitar I wanted to learn, or whatever it is, you're not supposed to go. All but the running machine, blah, blah, blah. Just
Nick Gray:
1:46:36
listen, Mark, that is a great place to finish on. Because I want to say you're an inspiration. You're awesome guy. And I wish you all the success that is coming your way. So you will be famous one day and who knows, maybe there's podcasts we'll be getting listened to by a few people. So I hope you enjoyed the conversation. I loved it. I didn't know I talked about keep being a fan of yours. And and I hopefully run into you in some race at some point. I'll soon be in your age range. So you know, I better get training.
Mark Lewis:
1:47:07
Although I then move above, constantly. Yeah,
Nick Gray:
1:47:10
very briefly. Oh, find your next year and yeah, absolutely. Yeah. But listen, thank you so much for your time. And just before we wrap up completely. Is there anything you kind of want to promote? I know, I noticed you haven't been good at promoting your Instagram. So I think people should go and follow you there. Because that seems to be a place where you get like some interesting snapshots in your life. And
Mark Lewis:
1:47:33
yeah, Instagram is kind of is what it is. It's kind of behind the scenes stuff. So that's Mark Lewis pics, Mark Lewis was was stolen and are not famous enough for Instagram to just rip it from the actual monitors. So he isn't given to me. And also, I now have a website as well actually, the website is quite useful. So Mark Lewis dot current UK. It's a work in progress. But it is a place where I've collected everything. So from there, you can find YouTube, you can find the gear I use, because lots of people always ask me what gear I'm using that that's gonna be up in a couple of days. So yeah, anything you want to mine, Mark lewis.co. UK and off you go. Yeah.
Nick Gray:
1:48:14
And obviously go and subscribe to his YouTube. Anyone that's still listening at this point in the podcast, as well subscribe for my YouTube as well while you're at it. Just because you know, make me feel better. And these girls out there. But yeah, thank you so much, Mark, and all the best. You take care of yourself and good luck in that race in Wales. Thank you. Okay, thanks for listening for those still here. If you're still here, please do review it. It would be really useful to me. I haven't really pushed too hard with these podcasts. It's been a personal project so far. But I figure why not ask. Yeah, if you if you've got a chance to review or rate on on Apple podcasts or whatever platform you're using, that would be super useful. Thank you so much, and I'll see you in the next episode.
0:00
Hi, a quick reminder of what this podcast is all about Win Building, achieving success in something. I've interviewed a whole group of amazing people who will achieve something worthwhile. And they tell an inspiring and interesting story each each one of them. So that's what the podcast has been here for. I'm particularly passionate about helping people to achieve their dreams. I'm a trained coach, both a mental coach, but also helping sports teams. I'm fascinated by how people put together a successful achievement. So that's what the podcast is about. Today, I have a very special episode at Mark Lewis, who's a UK YouTuber, he's in fitness. And today we talk about his journey, we talk about where he would like where he got his drive from, but also his thoughts on inspiration. And we talk a little bit about men's mental health, which is a topic I'm particularly passionate about at the moment. And so yeah, I hope you enjoy it. Please stick with it. Like, subscribe, comment down below. Yeah, and go and check out Mark's channel on the YouTube as well. It's definitely worth it. And I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Hi, you're listening to Win Building, hosted by me, Nick gray. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. Finally, I get started again, with this podcast journey, I've taken a bit of a break back on it. And I'm very excited, as usual. And I've got a special guest today. So Mark Lewis, probably introduced him beforehand, but I'm going to throw it over to Mark now to tell us mark Why Why are you here on this podcast? Why do you think I want you here?
Mark Lewis:
1:39
Well, the second part of that question, I have no idea we'll find out. I am, I suppose what what am I might might be a easy way to describe that. I'm a fitness YouTuber, which even as I say out loud now sounds ridiculous. I'm 48. Not that you can't be a anything YouTuber at 48. But it's it's less common. I have a background that is unusual for a fitness YouTuber, in that I don't have a fitness background at all. So go back to when I was 35. I was working in an office very unfit and had been hugely overweight and not exercising since my teenage years. Just to be fair, probably like many people sat in an office in their mid 30s. And figured that I should probably get in shape. And so started a journey of doing that losing weight and getting into fitness. That got me to a point where I was fitter than I'd ever thought I could be not elite athlete level by any stretch. Not at all, but fitter than most. And I've realized that getting fitter than most actually just came down to, for me at least doing what most people won't do, which doesn't really mean kind of going all out mad and training for hours hours a day like a professional athlete. It just means going out on a Sunday to jog when it's raining and ever people wouldn't bother or it means on a Sunday, going to the gym when other people probably wouldn't bother. And just by doing those little things, there's little bits that most people don't bother doing. You, hopefully avoiding injury and have bad luck and so on just progress to a point where you end up better than most people at the thing you're doing. So for me it was running. And I got to a point where I was running better than most I wasn't a good runner by any stretch. But if you took 1000 random people in the high street, I would be faster than 500 of them. That was my my plan was always just to be better than most people. And that was a few years ago where I reached that I got to a point where I was doing things like Park runs, which was my bread and butter really just going on a Saturday into the park when the car was getting faster. And I was coming in the top 20 Old runners out of hundreds, which was something that was complete opposite to when I started when I was coming in the back literally. And then I thought well, this is quite fun. I would talk to other people and explain what I'd done and they'd find it quite interesting. So I thought I'd put it on YouTube. That's pretty much it really and over the last couple of years. I over the edge the duration of COVID in a way because it allowed me more time to sit at home and do nothing other than YouTube. It's I was gonna say it's blown up. People keep saying to me, Oh, your channel is blowing up and the numbers are very good compared to where they were but these things are relative. I am in the YouTube world. By no means a large YouTuber. There are people out there as my kids are constantly telling me with millions of subscribers that I don't have. So that's keep you honest. Right? They do but As I point out to them, I am better than most most YouTubers don't have, whatever I have, I think I'm on now 16,000 subscribers. So I've moved into a place where I can regard myself as YouTubing. For for a living, actually, I'm in the process now of transitioning from my old job, which I still have to do a bit to sort of wind up into being a full time YouTuber, that that's in a very, very simple summary. That's for the last 15 years, which is the interesting bits.
Nick Gray:
5:32
Yeah, well, I'm interested in the whole journey as well, though, so I'm actually interested in backing up even more, because I think, what I what I feel about you, and I've watched a lot of your videos, and I was I was sort of intrigued, and I've really enjoyed your videos. But you're extremely sort of positive, outgoing, you clearly have this funny as well, as we just discussed it, you did some stand up, back in back in the day, just before we started recording. And so you've got this kind of real nice, like, manner. And I think that's part of the reason you have that charisma to be able to be a YouTuber as well, right? That's obviously plays a part of it's not just the fitness and the fact that you've changed. But where does that all come from? And like, Have you Have you always had that sort of urge to be a performer or be charismatic? Or like, how did that Where do you think that came from?
Mark Lewis:
6:25
So I suppose so I, I was a, I guess let's go right back then. So I was a gym instructor when I was 14, which would have been. So I was born in 73. So late 80s, early 90s, back when rules and regulations and health and safety didn't exist. And I was a tall, 14 year old pretended I was older, and somebody gave me a job in a gym. So from a very early age, I was coaching people training people, not in anything particularly fancy or complicated. But more in circuitry, I'd run circuit training classes, for example, I'd be playing with basic consistent playing the rocky soundtrack, and telling people to do press ups that that was it. But as a 1415 year old, telling grown adults to do things, I suppose it gave me what they were taught me that actually, you can just if you appear confident people will do as they're told when they listen to you. So a lot of people were very hesitant when they talk to groups of people or individuals that, that they're not going to come across the way they want. I learned from an early age, if you just appear that you know what you're doing, and say it confidently enough, then people will just listen and do and do as it was told in a good way. So I did that for a bit. And then when I got to 20 is 21. Maybe I was still working in the gym. And then I had my first child and realized that it was it was borderline impossible back then I don't know the situation now, but you couldn't raise a child on a gym instructor salary? Not not really you'd have to sell the child would probably be more profitable. So I went and left I literally quit, I thought I I need to find another job. And so I moved into life insurance sales, which would have been in the mid 90s. And back in the mid 90s. You could just literally go into life insurance sales, you just just went to a big life insurance company and said employ me please. And they would. And you got six months to see if you could sell anything. And if you did, they kept you in if you didn't they sacked you nowadays, quite rightly, that's a completely impossible path to take you. You can't do that I've had to employ people. And we look for people with degrees in economics and stuff that I never had a score of 16 Yeah, indeed. So I've employ people that are massively more qualified than me. But back then you could do it. So I started selling life insurance for life insurance companies, and within a few years, found that my ability to talk to people older than me, confidently, that I'd learned as a 15 year old gym instructor actually translated reasonably well to to that role. I was told once I learned what life insurance was, and mortgages were and investments and so on, I found that talking to people that were much older than me, was as easy to talk to him about life insurance as it was talked about doing some some star jumps or something. And that then meant that I was able quite early on to start my own business and and that that whole career path became quite straightforward for me, again, in a way that would probably be harder now with the rules and regulations are much much different. But back then, in very simple terms, and it wasn't good, but if you have had the ability to talk. I was gonna say, well, well, it's not the right word. Basically, if you were a bit of a sort of traditional salesman type, you could do very well. They, they, the industry got rid of a lot of those people, quite rightly. And the people that were there for the people who could talk quite well, and also paid attention to their exams, and study and so on, as I did. So basically, my ability to be a decent life insurance salesman caught up with my ability to be a talkative one. And that was it, I then I then just spent the next while I still do, I still, it's still my job today, my proper job. The problem I had, when I reached my mid 30s, was that it was something that I'd done, I thought temporarily to solve the problem of the problem. That's the wrong way to describe my beautiful daughter.
Nick Gray:
10:50
I understand where you're coming
Mark Lewis:
10:51
from. But what the hell yeah, the problem, I have my child, so And she, she still needs money today. So so it hasn't changed. It was a temporary solution to that. And it ended up just being I use the term. And I'm always very careful, careful what I say this often, and I often worry that comes across wrong. Basically, I got myself into a sort of a successful rut. So by time I was in my late 20s, early 30s, I was thinking, I don't like doing this particularly I don't, I don't mind it. But it's not a lot. I have a passion for this. I'm quite good at it. And I love talking to people. But the subject matter doesn't in throw me at all. But I can't do anything else because I'm earning reasonably good money. And if I was to stop doing this, I'm trained for nothing else at all. And by now I couldn't even go became instructor because the rules are changing now. So I literally could do nothing. And so I carried on and friends would say to me why on earth you moaning about you make you make a good living? Why are you complaining? Sharper go to work. So I was just stuck. I wanted to do something that that that I loved, which I didn't know when that would be or what it was. But I was stuck doing this thing that I was just too good at to, to just walk away. I had by then four children. So I was literally I had I there was no way out. And I shouldn't complain about it. Because because I have four great children, I had to have a great job. It was all on paper. There are I'm sure millions of people around the world that would have jumped at the opportunity to have either my lovely family or my my very prosperous job. So I shouldn't complain a lot. But but it wasn't it wasn't like my fire. I know 35 mid 30s as well as deciding that I wanted to start getting in shape. That was basically the whole it was a midlife crisis, where the best best way to describe it 35 minutes bit early for a midlife crisis. But it was a crisis. I thought I need to get in shape. That's one thing. And I really would love to find something to do that was that just that just made me laugh, actually, that that was the I remember, this is literally the moment that I I was reminiscing at the age of 3334 35. So this previous 15 years ago, maybe I was reminiscing with it with a friend who had worked in a gym with about when we were 17 or 18. We'd been sent on a course to learn about how to resuscitate people that were dying in our gym from heart attacks, health and safety type thing. And on that course there was me and this guy Steve, that was a gym instructor with me and a new guy. I can't remember his name. But he was a South African guy. And he come over to live in the UK and was found you instructing as as temporary. Were making some money. So we're all sat on this this training course. And the guy gets up at the front and it's all very Dan is telling us about people having myocardial infarctions, heart attacks and how to resuscitate them and so on. And at one point, he said we're just bored out of my mind. And at one point he says, heart attack Heart disease is the biggest killer in the northern hemisphere. At which point, the South African guy says my South African is not very good. says Good job. I live in South Africa then. Which is just, I mean, it's not really that funny. But we just started laughing like little children and we're supposed to be adults in it. And we just we ended up getting asked to leave because we were just crying with laughter stupid. And I remember 35 Remembering that and thinking you know what, I haven't laughed like that. Since I'm happy I'm successful. By right just laughed. What can I do to laugh? And at the same time, this sounds a weird one, Ricky Gervais, who's also from Redding, where I live, went to school not far from where I am now, actually, was, was doing quite well with the office and stuff. I remember thinking, there's a guy that's 40, a bit older than me at the time. And it's just thought, I've just found what he can do at 40. And it's just nailed it. It's not to think at 35 It's too late. It's not too late. A hit he hit Oh, this sounds stupid. But I just thought, if he can do it, how hard can it be? That's not. So I literally signed up for a stand up comedy course. And just thought this will be funny to do, it just made me laugh. And I went to London for six weeks, every weekend, Saturdays and Sundays and did a stand up comedy course that had been done by a bunch of people that are now successful are brought Gilbert, the wells guy did it, Greg Davis, just really come bunch of people to do this course. And I just laughed for six weeks at the end of it. We got to do a little presentation to friends and family. And none of my friends and family came because no one knew I was on it. I was I was sneaking off every weekend to DC. And I did quite well. I was asked to close the show, because I had my stuff during the six weeks had been good. And I thought I should give this I should give this a go. People say to me afterwards, you're actually quite funny. Why aren't you? What do you do now. So I go back to being a financial adviser again. And they said you got to just you got to try this, just do a bit of it. So I started going to do stand up open mic gigs, and spent six or seven months doing it. And got to a point where as I was on TV, I did a sort of the equivalent of a sort of Britain's Got Talent type show that actually I got beaten by Josh reluctant on that who's gone on to be a very successful stand up. And, and realized, we were talking about this earlier, I realized that actually you can just you sort of put yourself on stage, not literally, although that was literally put yourself on stage, do your thing. And just see to see how it goes. You don't there's no, I was I was never frightened of getting up on stage. As they were flying to talking to clients. I was never frightened in the gym of talking to people and saying to your press, absolutely frightened of it. But what I was always slightly unsure of was whether what they were hearing from me was being received well, the people in the gym appear to be tired. And the clients at work appeared to just invest the way I suggested. So I assumed it was okay. But there's nothing really obvious. And the thing I learned to stand up was that you got up on stage, you did your thing. And instead of wondering, how's it been received, you know, because instantly people are laughing or not. And that for me was this kind of click moment where I thought, oh I, I this, this is what I would if I was 2122 I wish I'd done this because this is amazing. I can sit in the car on the way to a gig, refine a joke, laugh to myself that it's funny half hour later do it. And a few 100 People are laughing back at me. And I was just I thought this is what I want to do forever. Most of the time,
Nick Gray:
18:32
it's the immediate feedback loop. It's so it's so instantaneous, you can't avoid it. And so you know, if something's hit Well, or, and so you can tell whether your goal or your whatever is being achieved. It's an interesting thing that parallels with sport, right? Because sport is great for that you have a very direct feedback loop. Usually, whether it's a team sport, and you need to score goals, or whether it's a run and you need to hit yourself your own time or your best, but you know, pace or whatever it is. So it has vary. And that's actually one of the things I'm very interested in because I find it interesting how business is so much more complicated to get the immediate feedback loops, especially with like life insurance. Of course, you've probably got monthly goals and yearly targets and whatever and you've got, you know, you've got a profit and loss account and things. But it's still it's not as it's not as instantaneous and you can manage those numbers to sort of say different stories depending on how good your accountant is and things so, so yeah, I think stand up is
Mark Lewis:
19:30
and also the people people are when you're selling something to somebody, even if it's something they really do need. There is you're never quite sure if they've said Yes, they've agreed to because you could say well hang on a minute you suggested that person does that investment and they've just invested a million pounds. Obviously, that's your feedback loop. But But I I would sometimes wonder are Is that Is that really the case? Have they done that? It's not explained it's very badly with laughter in stand up. Somebody has no control over that. The joke is funny and it's just they laugh. They haven't you can't sell someone to laugh. You can't phrase things in such a way that they end up sort of handing over their money and then thinking oh, what what on earth happened? laughter that they're either laughing or they're not. And so with with my job, I was I was very good at selling things. I that kind of clouded my understanding of whether people were genuinely responsive to what I was doing. I was just regular sales but it was just it was kind of murky. Stand up I just found incredibly raw I'm saying this and you're either laughing or not laughing and it was just I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Yeah, I mean, I have gone back to it only in the former doing things like wedding speeches and stuff that I just jumped at the chance I stopped doing stand up dead in the water at one point because it because it wasn't working in terms of a long term career. But but if i Whenever I get the chance to stand up and be funny, I love it. I love doing it. I'm I do my wedding. My wedding. My my wedding was last when was my wedding last year. My my topia my group, my dream speech was was gonna run about 35 minutes, people saying you're insane that no one does that. And it was just part of the part of the getting married. But that's pretty cool, too. But
Nick Gray:
21:37
just in case your way. Well, hey, just in case your wife watches this, and is still listening.
Mark Lewis:
21:42
She laughed. It was. Yeah, most people say a lot of people say I'm nervous. It's the worst bit. I was just I woke up that morning thinking I'm gonna get married. That's very cool. I get to do my my weddings. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, I wonder if people laugh and so on. That's awesome.
Nick Gray:
22:01
So listen, I think I want to I kind of planned out what I wanted to ask you about, but you've struck something with me because it's a seen a theme. You said you left school at 16 You're working at 14 as a gym instructor. I know. Because I've tried to run a YouTube channel myself, there's a lot of hard graft, and I'm a total nerd actually with YouTube. So I know a lot about YouTube, I'm just not a very good YouTube myself. But I know that there's so much work involved in planning and persistently, you know, going through and just delivering constantly videos which you've managed to achieve. And I'd say with your work ethic, what you were the kind of what you've just described in the way you've worked through your life and the way you then set up your own business which I know through my own experience as well is extremely difficult and challenging. I'm I'm seeing a pattern of work ethic right I'm seeing a pattern and I know your trait I've seen you train so I know there's a hell of a work ethic there as well. However you want to frame it as above average or whatever you're putting in a lot of hard hard graft to get fit and challenge yourself. So like Do you think that's from something even earlier than like gym instructor like Is it is it was there something in you which was like and why did you leave school at 16? Like what was the pattern for you that was like going to be a graft? I don't know if that's not sounds bad graft is a bad thing. But I mean, it's a hard workout. Yeah, no, no, not a grifter graft
Mark Lewis:
23:38
Yeah, it's tricky one time I mean, the the let's do the YouTube thing first then then jump backwards. What I actually what what I learned at work and in fact actually this covers everything you say the work ethic leads to the success at any at anything and there is that but the other thing that I have stumbled upon it might be the wrong word. But when I look at what other people are doing so with YouTube for example, I started YouTube with no fitness background other than me getting in shape. I don't look I look in I look in shape for an average 48 year old but I'm not the classic YouTuber kind of jumping around looking like the rock or something I'm not I'm not what are not what other people are. Exactly. In fact, there aren't there aren't many older youtubers do fitness anyway. So there's that. So I thought, How am I going to be different? I've got the qualifications, got the training, I can't really talk about my training in detail and none of my YouTube stuff is this is how many reps do how many sets you just do or this which deed it is literally this is what I'm doing. I hope you find it funny. I hope you find it motivating. Get off your butt and go and do something I don't care with you then go and play guitar or you copy me it doesn't really matter at the moment As long as you're motivated, I don't mind. So I thought, Well, what I need to do then is I need to make sure that my kit is top notch. And luckily because my job it allowed me the ability to treat YouTube like a business and invest into it, and people said, Wow, the amount of money you're spending on camera gear and stuff. So hang on a minute. If I was setting up even a little tiny cafe, I'd be spending 1000s and 1000s of pounds on things to run that little business not only treat YouTube as little business, which I did, even though that seemed wildly optimistic at the time to spend a few 1000 pounds on on the gear to make it look professional, actually, to me made perfect sense. And the same when I ran my own business as a visor, I started looking very slick and professional because because because why not your starters, you mean to go on? I don't want it. I never want to say when I was a gym instructor, I would prepare my rocky soundtrack cassettes so that everything that I did was was basically I didn't want people to have an opportunity to sit and think, Oh, he's only 14. So we listened to this guy. I wanted him to be thinking, Oh, wow, he's nailed it. The music's perfect. Everything's laid out ready. So I just made sure there was nothing that that that I could control. That wasn't perfect. And so with YouTube, I tried to be as as I still tried to be as professional as possible. Not to make up for not being able to do anything else. But just to make sure that that isn't an issue. And then if people don't like it, it's me they're not they're not not tuning in because the video quality is rubbish or the still the audio is rubbish or whatever. It that that is taken care of. So there's that with work ethic, because work ethic done badly not done smart, I suppose, is work ethic in the wrong years. But yeah, exactly that I could be as diligent as like holding my iPhone wobbling about stopping work. Going back until it was a waste of work ethic come so the making sure it's all looks very professional just came from learning that over time, with with anything I ever did. I thought if I if I take care of the things I can do, then that's half the job done. Where does the worker that come from? I've actually no idea. I've no idea. It's um, yeah, I don't know. I've always I left school at 16. Because I didn't like school. It wasn't because of some sort of drive to go and work. But I wanted to work because I figured that was more enjoyable. Basically, I could go to the gym. I said to my boss at the gym, I'm going to quit school tomorrow. Can I come and just do full time job instructing? And he said, Yeah, it'd be lifeguarding and stuff. And yeah, stop tomorrow. So after doing two weeks of a levels, I went in, quit and went to the gym and just picked up more hours there. And that was that was paid. Pound 11 hour. So it was just so it was just a better, better thing. It wasn't a work ethic thing such as didn't like school when I did like working in the gym. So I don't know, I honestly don't know. One thing I always remember. My dad worked incredibly hard. still around today 117 or 70 years. He worked.
Nick Gray:
28:33
I Dad, you're watching this your son's still funny.
Mark Lewis:
28:38
He doesn't. He doesn't even know what a podcast is. So I'm perfectly. So he worked incredibly hard, but never a huge amount of money. Or was that enough? I mean, I also lived in a generation where your house became your pension and everything. So they my mum and dad are fine. But he ever worked really hard. I suppose watching that I remember thinking watching him. I'm thinking, I wonder, I wonder what I wonder how to how to not be better than that. That's the wrong way of describing it. But just to have just just to have, I wasn't really thinking you know what he works, he should be rewarded more for the amount of work he does. There was that I always thought he's doing way more work than people making more money. And that doesn't seem fair to me. So I was always very aware, which is why we're in the financial services of trying to find things where hard work did equal decent reward. Because there are many people there are many people who work incredibly hard, but they just kind of picked the wrong thing to work hard in and therefore the reward is low and life is clearly not just about financial reward. But equally if you're going to throw yourself into something, throw it into something with a financial ought to seems to make sense. So, I've, I've always been, I know that Capri has to work and smart again, if I'm going to put the effort in, do I put it into being this or that? If YouTube is a good example, if you only have to look around at the kids making an absolute fortune, and realize that it is a world where if you do okay, you do okay. So why not put my effort into that? Equally stand up comedy is another example. You can put all the hours of the Sun in, unless you're just lucky. Yeah, yeah, it doesn't have it's
Nick Gray:
30:37
a really interesting point. And I think they're working smart. And I mean, again, it goes, I've told you the chapters of my book, but like understanding the game you're in or whatever it is, you're in to try to achieve a win. And whatever that win is, whether it's financial gain, whether it's winning a championship, whether it's getting your best five, you know, your best Park, run time, whatever that is, understanding what it is, and then understanding what parameters can I control within this to achieve that win? Like, what's the best strategy for achieving that win? And then those parameters come in around? What can I actually affect it? Because there is an element of luck to everything in life, right, where wherever you born, how we'd how you, you know, how you are and all of that, in the end, there's a lot of things you can control yourself to. And I think that's what you've just said, speaks perfectly to that.
Mark Lewis:
31:26
Yeah, the I always footballs example, I've never watched a game of football in my life. Ever. I watched the 1990 World Cup. I think that was that was Lineker, and gas going crying and stuff, wasn't it? I probably watched 15 seconds of that, because my dad made me. So I'm not a football fan at all. I know nothing about it. So I've spent many, many, many years as we were hearing people moaning about about football as earn. And as somebody who's not a football fan, you think that I might be somebody that would agree with that and say it's outrageous, the immediate payment is bounds. And I always just occurred to me, what are these people moaning about it? The only way the reason you can vote is if you tried footballer, you put in all the time and effort, and it didn't work out for you, then you could maybe have a legit moan about your bad luck. But to be someone that picked to be a whatever, cafe owner, and moaned about what somebody who picked to be a footballer earns makes no sense to me, because you could have tried to do that. And the win in that world is that it's a known thing. We no one's no one's going into the world today, not knowing that the winds over there are astronomical. If you fancy them go have a go at them or don't. But then don't mind that the guys that did did remember, Tracey Emin did that bed sculpture thing, which was just her bed, and it sold for millions of pounds. And people said, was rubbish, anyone could do that? And she said, Yeah, but they didn't. I did. And that I that was stuck in me. I thought Yeah, exactly that you had a conversation with a guy today moaning about how much Instagram models make for just being an Instagram model. I say I hear but equally you could get yourself in incredibly good shape and wander around half naked take photographs yourself and have what they have. Why don't we do that? Well, then don't but then don't mind that they do because you could try and do it too. So I've always been very aware of where the where the opportunities lie and then and then focus on those I guess working smarter Yes. But But yeah, I've I've always tried to say to my kids as they're going into work now that 2321 1815 I say to them, If you love your job that's great. Absolutely, that's great but but just think 510 years time where does that job go? And if it's not if it doesn't go the direction you want it to just be aware of that just just think a bit a bit more. Not intelligently is wrong word just a bit more down the line when I started YouTube it always was a goal for me to have I thought well yeah 100,000 subscribers a million subscribers well so what does that mean? It doesn't mean I get it but if I'm starting on a road where does the road go? And there are there are some jobs where you think well no matter what this road this road only ever goes for example what I'm trying to think of a job that doesn't belittle anyone doing that job which which I don't intend to do but there are everyone can think of careers jobs where you know that no matter how good you do it and I
Nick Gray:
34:43
counted into makeup person in as let's say Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
34:47
indeed indeed. Although the back of my mind is where you work your way up to being a manager the
Nick Gray:
34:51
stores but but I other people doing it, doing it to to get access to somewhere else probably. I mean, I think that's probably
Mark Lewis:
34:59
absolutely The and if that's the plan, that's cool. But don't don't do it thinking this on your do this for 1015 20 years, unless you don't mind the rewards that come from that, and some people might be perfectly happy with. That's absolutely awesome. That's amazing if you are, but But it always annoys me when people say, Oh yeah, they have this they have that. I think Well, what did you try and have that? Whatever are the Spice Girls and millions of pounds? Well, how did your
Nick Gray:
35:30
spice girls? Yes,
Mark Lewis:
35:31
exactly. When they were 14 during dance lessons, you know what then what
Nick Gray:
35:37
is interesting. And I think it's also interesting to think about, you know, the talents and things I was I was kind of intrigued about your kids, actually, because you mentioned them quite a lot. And there's one or two cameos in videos, but you've kind of generally get them off. And you mentioned the story a few times. I don't know which son it is. But poor guy, you keep telling this story about the challenge of why you started YouTube and the fat the 1000 views your son Yeah, I'll tell it for the for the, for the the son basically got 1000 views on his YouTube channel was quite chuffed with himself came to his dad and said, Oh, Dad, look, I got 1000 views and you're like, that's nothing. That's easy. And he said, No, it's not. And then you said, alright, I'll set up a YouTube channel and prove you wrong. And that is am I getting it more or less? Right? Because I feel pretty bad for your son. Right?
Mark Lewis:
36:24
I'm hoping his YouTube Yeah, that's pretty well, actually, the only a part of that, that that. That's wrong is that when he came to me said 1000 views. I didn't say that I had no idea what that meant. I knew nothing about YouTube. I had never watched YouTube for anything other than tutorials or how to fix my boiler or something. So I said to him, that must be if you use it must, it must be anyone could do it clearly, because you just did and your stuffs rubbish. And he said no, it's not. Yeah, you couldn't do 1000 views. So I said Haha, I will show you. So yeah, September 11 2018. I set up a YouTube channel. Actually, he set it up for how to set up. And and then I and then he said, Well, you're going to be rubbish because what are you gonna film it on? So and what are you gonna edit it on? So I literally went to the Apple store and bought iMac and Final Cut Pro when went and bought a DSLR camera and, and basically spent 1000s of pounds to make my kid Harvey Lux.
Nick Gray:
37:35
And this ongoing project is now 60,000 subscribers deep. You just went over a million views on your Elliot capture of a video.
Mark Lewis:
37:43
I did. Yeah. That's incredible. That was that was quite cool. To be fair, he's he's actually the heartbeat is the one for kids. Harvey is the one and the reason they only have minor cameos is because they are all young people. And I know the implications of putting myself on YouTube, which is there forever. They even if they think they do want to put themselves on YouTube forever, they might not think that in 20 or 30 years time so I'm I'm I sort of regulate how much they appear. Just in case they decided 2530 35
Nick Gray:
38:23
Pull me out of all your videos, Dad, you're too famous.
Mark Lewis:
38:28
I'm not gonna go back and blur their faces on Yeah, 1000s of videos, so they have their own occasionally. But that's all so hobby. Because he was he's now 15 Because he was 11 when it started. He actually found it really quite cool game. Apart from being him. He would, for example, still does, he watches every single one of my videos before it goes up to check it for problems and errors. And also Mater it's funny, because I figure if my 11 year old now 15 year old is laughing at me. And I'm laughing at me. Then I've I've covered a big enough range. The older kids, the older kids. My daughter who's in her 20s has her own daughter now just regards the whole thing is just you know, Dad just be nuts has no interest in it really? And why should he and my two middle sons George and Joshua who are 21 and 18 I think they just find it all slightly embarrassing mainly because a lot of especially Joshua, he's very into his fitness himself. So and so all his friends all his peer group into fitness and they'll often say to him Hey, so he does latest video. It's amazing. He'd had an awesome shape and, and it's a hard balance for for an 18 year old when you're told or your dad's your dad's amazing and he's What do you think as a kid? Do you think that's the most embarrassing I've ever heard? Do you think it's quite cool? That's my dad. So there's there's quite a weird
Nick Gray:
39:57
mental conflicts gonna go out there on a limb and say one day At least if he doesn't already, he's going to be pretty proud of you. I feel like you're you're, you're already. I feel like I'm wrapping up. Now I'm not wrapping up at all. I got plenty more to ask you. But definitely, you're already a great role model for lots and lots of people out there, especially men, I'd say, but also your sons. I mean, that's, that's one of the main things I have in the back of my mind for all of it, including this it's not a I've said it before in the podcast is like leaving something behind for my kids to sort of hear interesting conversations dad had when he was in his 40s with interesting people around the world. Like, how cool was that? Like, hopefully, you know, and maybe they'll never listen to it. But
Mark Lewis:
40:38
they do. And to be fair, you know, that when the CryptoKey vide going through a million was something that they they had to say that they actually came to me normally what happens is I will go to them and say look 50,000 views, submit in their face, not just just you. But with crypto ag that when it got close to a million they were coming to me and saying, Hey, your videos on 900,000 views. I know. I'm refreshing every five seconds. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, this should be that. Yeah, it's um, they are, in fact, fine enough. I've got I've got this is quite cool. Here. This is when you when you do YouTube, and you get 100,000 views, YouTube sends you a little plaque, not 100,000 subscribers, YouTube send you a little plaque that you stick on your wall. I know when you're 100,000 yet, but at 10,000 subscribers, my kids made me this 10,000 subscriber thing for Christmas two years ago. So instead, that's quite cool. So that's my 10,000 subscribers
Nick Gray:
41:49
for me. So they are they are
Mark Lewis:
41:53
they have although I told me the other day that when I get the 100,001 it
Nick Gray:
41:59
doesn't surprise. So until that until that is maybe like go to a slightly more serious topic because I feel like there's something within your story, which you mentioned about midlife crisis. And I listened to a really interesting podcast yesterday, which I can link below if people are interested. But and I'll also send to you it's so GEICO is a podcast called Modern wisdom. And I just got really interesting because he's had a lot of conversations about kind of masculinity and sort of modern day issues with masculinity. And, you know, it kind of faces up to a lot of the woke stuff, but in a positive way of talking about men and helping men and things I just kind of been fascinated by it. Because I went through a pretty rough moment in my life in my mid 30s, as well, in fact, and fitness kind of turned that around for me as well. And I recognize a lot of things that I hear about in the press and stuff about mental health and things and I feel like I'm fascinated by it. Because I feel like people recognize especially young men, it's the, it's the leading cause of death is suicide in young men in under 40, in the UK, I think and many places around the world. And so what I find interesting is people are worrying about like, the moment that guy is in a crisis moment, but then we're not having many conversations about all the things leading up to it. So I listened to this one, one guy yesterday, and he was talking about all of that they talked about all these different things that men in their middle life, kind of go through this, this u curve where you know, you're supposed to have made it at that point you might be successful, you might have got into a certain position in your career, you maybe your kids have become sort of self sustainable and or to some extent and you know, the they're no longer needing you in the same way as young young kids do and things. And so they were they were talking about this and I was like this is kind of fascinating, because it's like I know a lot of people who've been in similar situations and I've myself found myself comparing to others and having those insecurities and having a very secure and quite well paid job that I was that I had previous to Coronavirus. Give me a look. And then and then you know, like just the fear of losing that the fear of not being able to provide for my family in a in a kind of conventional sense. So I've just rambling at this point, but I'm kind of wanting to throw it a little bit towards you in terms of like, Have you got thoughts around that topic because and the reason I asked you is is not because I'm working on a unit some make some giant confession or they don't expect that whatsoever. But the guy on the podcast had a really nice expression called the midlife doldrums because what he said was like a midlife crisis means you if you have a crisis, you have to do something about it and you have to take action, just kind of what you said you'd like. I'm going to get fit. I'm going to take these actions and move forward. But a lot of men are going through his like doldrums, which is like okay, things are going well I can't really have really got anything proper to complain about and my life is, you know, on paper great. Why do I feel this shit? You know, why am I feeling like this? Because I was just I was just kind of wanting to throw that at you if you've got any thoughts around that any kind of experiences because your, your YouTube channel, and presumably this is one of the good reasons for doing it is having a positive influence on men, maybe even in that situation, maybe in those situations. So I just wanted to kind of write your thoughts on that. And like, go,
Mark Lewis:
45:31
yeah, no, actually, yeah, on your last point first, one of the one of the things that I never expected. But as every day I'm motivated to just make more content is the number of people that contact me from all over the world and say, yeah, things things, either were bad, or they are bad right now, but But watching your stuff, not necessarily only your stuff, but your stuff is part of how I have either got to where I want to be, or getting to where I want to be, or tomorrow, I'm gonna start getting to where I want to be because of what's on your videos. And, and I reply, and I almost dread the day when I'm too big of a nice problem to worry about too big on YouTube to not reply to those sort of things. I'd reply to every one of those people on Instagram or wherever they're contacting me, but those are, those are the fuel. For me making another video, there'll be times where I think I don't want to do two videos this week. And somebody will say, Tomorrow, I'm gonna get my dog, we're gonna go for a run. And I'm 50 pounds overweight, but I've watched your video on whatever binge eating or something I've, I'm, I still, I still ate too much. But I know that that isn't a reason to throw the rest of the week away. Because what you said, so tomorrow, I'm out for a run. That to me is brilliant. I mean, I would I would that that is yeah, that's the fuel for for what I do. So there's that some of what I'm well aware that there are an awful lot of people and men and the majority of my viewers are men. I wish they weren't. The numbers are getting better. But but they it is still still heavily male. Which is which is a pity I'd rather it has been more more diverse. But it is what it is. Not a lot of men. Yeah, they are. They're they're struggling. In terms of my the doldrums thing is that that makes a lot of sense. I can remember being in my 30s or just thinking yeah, this is just I'm not having fun. This is not this is what I kind of wonder if I now looking at friends of mine that are same age as me, often with slightly younger children, because they're my children quite young. So lots of guys in their 40s have got kids that are a bit more a bit younger at school. I know my kids are all independent, pretty much even a 15 year old looks after himself. And I wonder if I like zero qualifications in anything, especially this. I wonder if part of it is when you're a dad, I do wonder if it's a dad thing. Some of it. I do wonder if if guys you know that they their focus is their partner, then then their job then their kids. And those things are providing for the family providing for the children that their spouse, or whoever. And I just wonder if people take enough time to just provide for themselves that that was the thing for me that the switch I went through a divorce so I got divorced when I was 10 years ago. And coming out and no divorces or very few divorces are good. So I don't need to dwell on the the intricacies of the divorce but it's pretty standard divorce and it's horrible. When I came out of it or was coming out of it, I can remember thinking that I need to be incredibly selfish in a in a really good way. Because if I'm not selfish if I people were saying to me oh yeah, the most important thing is look after your kids, you got to focus on your kids, kids, kids, kids, good kids. And I thought that yes, I hear you. But equally if I if I put all my time and effort and attention and emotion and an energy into my children in my current state of newly divorced still pretty out of shape person in their doldrums. I'm going to end up failing them anyway because I'll just be a useless mess. What value is that to them? Really? What I need to do is to be incredibly selfish. I make sure that I am good, and then see what I can do for them. And the analogy that I use in my head, I've never actually done this on YouTube, but it will pop up one day, no doubt. When I was a lifeguard, in between sessions of deconstructing, we were taught, the first thing you do when you're rescuing someone is make sure that you're okay. So if someone's in danger jumping in the water is your gut reaction is a stupid thing to do, when actually you can lead them drowning a bit longer, go and get a rope or throw the rope because then when you do rescue them, it's more likely to be a good process. So that was what I thought I thought if I if I throw myself into rescue, my children were literally jumping into the water. Post divorce, we're just going to be two drowning people, or this four kids will be five drowning people. So I won't do that. What I do is I leave them drowning. And they were drowning because young kids going through a divorce are metaphorically, very family. I mean, they were Yeah, indeed massively so and I left them slightly drowning while I went off and found a rope. But then came back to them soon after, and was able to rescue them might be the wrong term. But but I was there for them in a way that meant I was better. And, and it worked. And that, you know, we as a family look back and I even spoke about this in my wedding speech, we went through a a bumpy time, dawn came out of it massively, massively better. So I feel because I'm selfish, massively better able to look after my family. Here's, here's how I think of it. My wife, my wife, my kids, my dogs, my mortgage, whatever it is, it gets 50% of me, that's all I can give it. 50% But, but that 50% is quality 50% They're getting sort of fit healthy, that's going to be here for years, hopefully, can can provide financially that 50% is amazing. Or as good as I can get it. The other 50% is for me, I have friends that give 90% But because they only get 10% for themselves, the 90% they're given there's almost not even worth bothering to give and yet people will think Oh, you do so much for your kids and yeah, you do but but you do 90% But it's just it's all a bit lame. And when you drop dead from a heart attack because you're grossly out of shape at 55 how much percentage you're gonna give them then not very much. So for me learning to be selfish and understand that that made me better for anyone around me was was a big eye that's the one good thing to come out of of that whole bearish breakup was was was that was learning. I need to I need to be Mark first. Not dad first. Not not husband first. And my my wife isn't wife first, January's Jenna. She has her own life, her own wants and goals. And they come rightly at least alongside me if not ahead of me because she isn't happy she isn't doing what she wants to do. Then Then what value is that to me as a partner so so yeah, and the kids the time the kid The Kids Are All told, Look after yourself number one, and then see we have left for others. And you'll probably find that what you do have for them is quality. So that that solve my solved that helped me understand where I am. I
Nick Gray:
53:45
think it's fun. It's in light tastic as I see, do you have done a video on it? Actually, I forget your acronym or something like sec, and I was like he has to put an S on the end of that to be his second or something like that. You've done a video on it. Yeah, I did. You're right efficient. And I was interesting when you said that because I think I'm probably one of those people who's struggled to find that balance and I understand the value of it very much. I also divorced in 12 Whatever it was years ago, I'm gonna get in trouble with my now wife for not knowing how long ago I divorced but, she'd never listened to these anyway. I had a similar sort of pathway in that in that way and I understood that I learned about the selfishness and the fact that I think everyone like human nature we need to be selfish actually to get ahead in life to be able to succeed. There's some level of selfishness that you need to have everyone and I love being a dad like it's my number one thing I've got a six year old and three or, so I'm way I came in way late compared to I'm I'm a late starter. Probably I even took my earpiece out because I'm hearing and crying in the night now. But go to bed I'm interviewing someone I learned not that long ago just how much more selfish I need to be. And it's especially with fitness because for me my fitness journey has been one of like, I realized back then I need, I need to have a level of fitness, I need to have a sustained sort of activity level to keep my head in shape like to keep myself mentally healthy. If nothing else, I call it an engine, I don't call my heart, my engine on my it's good, good engine work, you know, and I keep working out that I love challenging myself in a similar similar way to you're not quite as extreme. But with the young with these young kids, it also throws everything up in the air because it's it becomes a lot of unpredictable things. As you'll no doubt remember, like, you don't have a lot of opportunity to sort of really structure a training week when you know, they're getting up between six and seven. But I know you mentioned that in one video as well. You can said like, if you've got young kids, I can help you if you guys and I'm like you can help, funnily enough, but you don't realize you're gonna help but I understand where you're coming from because with young kids is just it's like a hurricane, you just gotta kind of get through. And then hopefully things settle down a bit when you stop having to change. Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
56:23
I was lucky because exactly. I mean, I remember how hard that that is, I was quite lucky because when I had that sort of click moment in my head, if I can remember the moment I had to go to London to see a client. I got off the tube in London, and I was stood on the platform, and there were a group of mums. And they were out for the day. They all had their push chairs and their kids in there was six of them. And I was waiting for the next train are saying so I'm just watching them. And I thought you know what, every single one of them looks exactly the same. They've they are mums, they have effectively handed in their whoever they work hard, and exchanged it for I'm just a mum. Their conversation was about being mums there. They put they put the effort they put into into their kids and the pram yeah that 500 quid mama and papa prams and stuff. But but then that's not how they were dressing that they're the money's all gone? Am I truly thinking? That's amazing. And they're probably and if you ask them, they probably delighted with how they go about their life. And that's good. But I do wonder when your kid is no longer the posture when it kids? Girls, have you had a girl 15 And so I'm I've out tonight, or Johnson advice and some help and some guidance and know that when you're talking about i, i You have nothing to offer me that at all on a 15 year old girl. I'm going and then you're left thinking, Oh, that's a dad, what else can I do? So I was quite lucky in that. The moment that I thought I need to stop not stop being a dad. But that isn't the top of my whatever CV dad, I was quite lucky because my kids were almost old enough to me to say to them, you're all going to struggle for six months while I go and discover what it is I want to do. If they would have been three years or four years or five years, I couldn't have done that. Or if I had been able to be able to go very badly that they were teenagers. It wasn't great, but long term it worked out. So I Yeah, it's a tricky one when you have young children. I just think there are some things you can do. I might my gym is near a playing field. And every time I go there, there's the parents have stood on this along this line watching their kids play football or whatever. And I've done I took my kids to basketball, they were quite good at basketball. So I spent 1000s of hours watching them play basketball. And looking back if I took them to basketball, and then while they were playing basketball, went for a run, and then came back and pick them up and maybe watch them once a week rather than watching the five times a week. Would it have made a difference to their basketball? No, not at all. Would they? If you said to my 21 year old George now is your life any different? Better? Worse, because your dad watched every one of your basketball games? No, it makes no difference? Would it make a difference to me? Absolutely. I would have been fitter, healthier, I'd be more excited about going. And so it's just it's just that it's just about thinking okay, I need to be a dad or a husband or I need to do my job, whatever. But I have to find time for for me otherwise I'm no use as a dad and a husband and an employee or wherever it might be sticky kids and a push to take them to parkour and shove them around. Maybe maybe you don't go and watch your whatever you can, trampoline or ballet or whatever things kids do that they never take all the pointless waste of money anyway. If you don't watch all of those things, does it really matter? And sometimes it does. And some people think, yes, that is my life. Okay, that's cool. But one day it won't be your life. Yeah, my kids now. I see them occasionally. The older ones literally come and go normally intoxicated and just falling over. I'm around for them when they need me. But I if I was the sort of person that was just, Hey, what are you doing this weekend? Kids? My boys. What are we? Nothing? We're going to the weekends to the pub, or we're going to we're going here. We're doing this. Yeah. We don't want it to be don't hang out. No, to right. So yeah, indeed. Yeah. Go make a video you embarrassment. So I'd be there think you want me to do that? And what I would do what other 50 year old men do, which is I'd sit in front of TV, and just watch TV. Because there's what else can't you that's what you've got left. But I haven't I come in here and I do what I love doing. So yeah, there is I'm very passionate about people abandoning their children to look after themselves to then come back to their children and say, Hey, I'm, I'm now going to be more used to that would have been otherwise. I appreciate it's a gamble. And I think everyone
Nick Gray:
1:01:23
can I don't do a throwaway comment. I don't I don't agree. I think it is great advice. It is difficult in some cases to do it. And also it depends on very much on the relationship. If you're co parenting. It depends on your relationship with your parents and how you expect one another. I think it's absolutely possible. And I mean, I'm the I'm the embarrassing dad that takes a skipping rope to the playground and I'm standing on the side of a playground skip. I don't do it. Don't do it all the time. The kids, even the six year old walked up to me and it was like that it's a bit embarrassing, like already embarrassing.
Mark Lewis:
1:02:00
That's what you should be doing if I you mentioned it as far as we didn't shut ups on
Nick Gray:
1:02:03
the idea and I do try not a Spartan I need to get better at the monkey bars and stuff. As you pointed out in your videos.
Mark Lewis:
1:02:12
Yeah, well there you go. Ski kids parks are made for dads to practice as far as obstacle courses on now that that's that yeah, you can do that the parent the co parenting is an interesting one. Because again, I was very lucky. And we we've said already so much in life comes down to just pure luck. January's my, my new my wife would knew why.
Nick Gray:
1:02:37
I did on that. Thank you.
Mark Lewis:
1:02:41
Yeah, just my wife. So she's the stepmom to my to my kids, my boys are and add step parents are quite handy in what I've been describing. Because when I say to her, I think we should abandon the children this weekend to go and do a race or something that will be really cool for us. And a Monday we'll be back but they'll have happy fun parents in the house. That's good for them. Because she's a stepmom. She said, Yeah, of course we should, because because your kids are paying the neck anyway. So I again, very, very lucky if she were a she I can I can see how people with a classic, motherly, wrong, adopting spouse when they bump into problems with some of that mice my situation has is very, very lucky in that everybody around me just agrees with what I want to achieve, which is, which is I looked after me and they look after themselves. And then we all come together. And we're all independent, but therefore great, great team, rather than than just just team members that Yeah, who knows who's doing okay, within that group, because no one's really
Nick Gray:
1:04:00
appreciated me, even if they don't watch your YouTube videos, like even if your dog doesn't watch YouTube videos, she's seen a transition of this dad into a very positive, healthy man who is now really taking control of his life. And I think that if nothing else, that is a great role model status and a positive thing within the family dynamic, right? So they're going to be happy that they've got that versus what they see around them in other circumstances.
Mark Lewis:
1:04:29
Yeah, hopefully, if they take nothing other than at any point in your life, no matter how old you are, or what shape you're in, or what just whenever you like, you can think I'm going to try this. That that's really all I if they could take one thing from it, it's that and not worry about what anyone else thinks. You know, when I did stand up, people said to me, Oh, who who did you tell it's only because because we've got to do it. Anybody I'm sorry, I don't care. I did it for me. I want to do too. I just, I didn't I didn't tell anybody that I had. I didn't tell it. I had no friends or family subscribe because no one knew. And yeah, I just said, No, I'm just gonna try it and see if it's rubbish. It just doesn't work. So what I'm what I'm at, I get this about tattoos. I got my first tattoos. On my 45th birthday was 45. So I was old. I was old enough. I thought I'll be old enough that I'm not going to make a mistake. And and the important thing, someone said to me the other day, yeah, but what about when you need it?
Nick Gray:
1:05:39
I've said this for years now. Why does everyone care about what you think about your body? When you vote? You're going to be a wrinkly old man. The least of your worries will be absolutely.
Mark Lewis:
1:05:51
Exactly like 85 I'm going to get out of bed look in the mirror thing was great. But the tattoos the tattoos are degraded slightly over the years. It's just complete nonsense. It's just it makes no sense to me. Just you don't you don't regret the things you did. But what I might do at five. I've got a gap here. I've got I've already sort of had that still been before the skins. So yeah, the tattoo thing is like that for me. I just I I never really wanted tattoos. I'm a huge tattoo fan. I just thought, why not? I try a tattoo. I feel good. Yeah, but what if you didn't like it? Or what if I like it? What? You know, what if? What if I get these conversations from people with your mates who have big beer bellies? Do you like your big beer belly? Yeah, maybe you do. Maybe you don't. I've got a tattoo. And it's just, yeah, I get very confused. Sometimes it's the people's reasons to not do something, when actually the consequences of it going yeah, actually completely inconsequential. If I had the latest tattoo I got. I didn't even I had no idea what was going on. Like, I didn't care, because I gave the guy an idea of what I wanted. And he cracked on. And I thought if I leave and it's not quite. So what, as it turned out, it was amazing. That's cool.
Nick Gray:
1:07:19
And I'm exactly on the same wavelength. Yeah. So the only thing is if you're in a job or a work environment where they will negatively judge you and I think that is kind of old school thinking but it's still sometimes relevant, because I had my mind pop out once I got there just Yeah. And of my dragon, which comes all the way over here. I've got fire of my hearts up at the end of my dragon just came out in a meeting and it was quite fresh. And then the big boss was like, Okay, maybe wasn't the best.
Mark Lewis:
1:07:52
I'm quite lucky. Again, lucky. My tattoos are all I made sure that they were. Yeah. put a shirt on. You can't tell. Yeah. And visible tattoos. Interesting. Because because you're right, people are becoming a bit more a lot more tolerant. Maybe just because they're overexposed to it. So it just becomes the norm. But but it does when people have tattoos on their hands and stuff. I don't mind that. I don't see that and go. Of course, I don't need to tattoo wherever you like. But it does make me question that the motivation I do think you're 18 years old. You got a tattoo on your hand. Face. Those are the sort of things that I have faced I don't I'm like, Oh, yeah.
Nick Gray:
1:08:35
Extreme. I don't big statement. Exactly. Prepared. Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Lewis:
1:08:39
And if you're Mike Tyson, you think okay, do what you like. But if you then want to go and work for Microsoft or something, you know. Yeah, decision making. So So tattoos is an interesting one. But But yeah, that the people that say Oh, but but relative what's what if? Yeah, well, that applies to so much in life. You know, what if you
Nick Gray:
1:08:59
got over an hour and I love this conversation, I just wanted to ask a couple more things and if I can to keep you keep talking, I'm interested. And the reason I mentioned that is whether you have pondered on this or not, you're a member of a lot of different communities your park run Zwift Spartan Hi rocks, dogs running events, which we haven't even mentioned Nixon trail running events, YouTube community, presumably motorbiking because I watched your South Africa video and you don't really talk much about your bikes now but your first Youtube videos were all about motorbikes which I know nothing about by the way.
Mark Lewis:
1:09:37
Absolutely. I know I'm still involved in social
Nick Gray:
1:09:40
business as well life insurance as I know it is business ownership. So like, do you find yourself like is that by design or it was just kind of let you fall in in these things. You get quite into sort of specific community style events or something like I just said kind of wanting throw it at you a little bit because I was thinking about was like, part of the reason you're successful I believe on YouTube as well as you're hitting quite a few different channels, you've got the dog thing you know, it is great and Nick's and super cute. And it's awesome to see that running as well. I'm really interested like, dogs. I don't have a dog for other reasons. But, you know, I love dogs and I love seeing that running and then and then you've got the kind of the Swift thing, which I know is huge. And you bastard. You've made me go on. I'm now in the process of buying a very cheap at home trainer so I can get on Swift. Which I'm dreading. Yeah, well, I
Mark Lewis:
1:10:35
probably won't regret it.
Nick Gray:
1:10:38
Comfortable, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna do your fancy Wahoo kicker thing. I can't afford that. So I'm just buying a really crappy one. Hopefully, hopefully it will work. No, but then then the Parkland thing. Obviously, that's kind of what you said, that's your bread and butter of what start you out on this, this fitness journey. So just kind of interested about your thoughts on that from community and stuff.
Mark Lewis:
1:10:59
Ya know, whether there's two things that firstly, in terms of the diversity of the topics on YouTube, that's the reason I do that is because when I started with the motorbikes because I, my very first video, almost, if I was it was motorcycling. Because that was all I did. That was all all I had. And I was going to South Africa, we generally ride motorbikes round round the the crew desert, and I thought this would be good for you. This would be my kid. So that's how it started. And, and then, when I got into the fitness thing, it was I was video my spot and runs that YouTube for two years, almost three years from 2018 until until the winter of 20. So So months into Coronavirus. YouTube was very, very quiet, relative to what it is now as it was a few 100 views a day was was an astronomical day. And then on Zwift, I started using Swift online cycling as a means of just training indoors when I couldn't go to the gym, because COVID Shut the gyms. I fell off my bike. And whilst I'd exercise until I was so tired, I felt like and so the views went up massively. It was and it was again, relative to now it's not so good. But at the time I was over the moon, I'm a Christmas day 2020 Just, I got in so much trouble because I spent all day refreshing my numbers on YouTube. I couldn't believe subscribers were just going up and up and up. Again, relatively speaking. And I thought oh, this is this is cool. So I started doing lots of Swift videos. And the trouble with them was that I looked at the top swift YouTubers or guys that do cycling as YouTube. And there's a bit of a cap, I mean, it's it is massively popular. But if all you do is cycling, there's a kind of a ceiling as to how many subscribers you're gonna get. And I thought, why don't I fall into that trap. So this goes back to start as you mean to go on when I started doing stand up comedy on the very, very first, maybe the second week of doing doing stuff, I didn't swear in my style of comedy that I was writing. And some other people in the course of me said why you'd never swear It'd be funny if you said this. I see I don't because if I ever want to get on TV, it doesn't stop you get on TV, but it just it leaves more doors open if you're not swearing, and they said he gave me a lot if you're on a, you're on a training course for beginners, that you're gonna go and do open mics or nothing TV and you're nuts. So within nine months, I was on TV, doing my non swearing material. So I figured with YouTube, but the same. Again, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. But why start off in a way that makes it less likely. So what I don't want to do is get stuck just doing swift videos and only having that so what I try and do is are like a drug dealer, aka hooking with a swift, but then I show them a little bit of Nixon going for a run, or I show them me in the gym or something and I'll make it funny so that the people that think I'm funny will still watch that. And now I've built up a community of people that are watching anything I do, because because they they're buying into the the idea that it's all the laugh anyway. So if I'm not on the blank today, so well. And when people email me or DM me and say I joined your channel because I cycle hate run it but man your running video was good. Yeah, that to me is I nailed it. That's brilliant. So that's why I diversified that the subject matter just to just to basically hit more people. And the CryptoKey video shows why that works. Running video, numbers numbers going up. The reason I surround myself with communities is and I'm not a community person, really, I'm very if one things I like about YouTube is that I do it here. I'm on my own. There's no one else here. It's just me and the camera. But it then goes out and I get that instant feedback loop because because I get people feedback to me even though I don't have to actually interact with them other than typing. So it's a weird one. It's a committee At but but it's not in a way. The reason I go to park run or I put myself in situations where I'm surrounded by the people is that I mentioned this on my recent David Goggins
Nick Gray:
1:15:11
video. Amazing was our graduations on that as well.
Mark Lewis:
1:15:14
Thank you. Yeah, it was it was fine enough, my ankles are still swollen from just running.
Nick Gray:
1:15:21
So it's nice to see Jefferson running as well. I mean, I'm a big fan here. So I just I know all about it.
Mark Lewis:
1:15:28
The dog Gibson still asleep now for Lazy, Lazy, useless. So I mentioned when I was out running at four o'clock in the morning, that I love being on my own running Linux and over a mountain Minix and the end of this month are in Wales doing a mountain race and there'll be a section I know, we'll be on our own in the route of in the woods, just us. And I love it. I love thinking, just me doing this. No one else is doing this. The reason I'm getting a degree of success in in fitness and health in this competition is race today in life, whatever, is because most people just aren't doing what I'm doing. So I absolutely love I use the analogy of an empty classroom. What my kids moan are no one else stayed behind to do the extra study at school, on an empty classroom, miserable, miserable. All my mates, were there playing the PlayStation good. You want to be in an empty classroom? Because everyone else in that classroom is your competition in life, and they aren't even there. What do you moaning about? So empty classrooms, you want no one around you doing what you're doing? Because then you'll be better than them all things considered. So I love training alone. I love running in the rain. I love running in the middle of the night, just me and the dog and thinking no one else does this? Of course they do. But no, it feels like that. It feels like you're on your own. And then the success you get feels feels obvious what that's obviously why we're getting here. The trouble with that the trouble with that philosophy, that very isolated philosophy is that sometimes you end up feeling I do I end up feeding. I literally am Oh my No one else. Why would anybody else even care about what I'm doing? Who cares? I'm running at 4am? No one because if they did, wouldn't they be running too. So what I like to do is to balance my running around in the middle of the night with going to park run with going to high rocks to get any of those things go into a local 10k. Because when I do do that, I suddenly look around I think, wow, there are hundreds of people in all these metals on the wall here. These are just fun runs. Most of the most of these are just they just local runs that I go and do. So that every now and again I can look back to and two people here all out after the same goal. The same thing. If you went and found 200 random people in the high street, you're only going to find two or three that can even run. But when you go to an event like that, because you pluck them from all over, you bring them together, you are everything. Okay? We aren't the norm. But when you gather us together, there are still plenty of us. And I find that inspiring, I wouldn't want to live like that I wouldn't want to be so immersed in those communities. That it's all I know. I love that the balance I have I remember taking Jenna to a Spartan Race for the first time that she came down to Phil. And she was just so I really the 45 to 50 age group. Jen is Jen's bit younger than me 15 years younger than me. And so her experience of men in their late 40s is apart from me being in reasonable shape, most of them are not. So we're arriving with the other people in my age group and Sparta and all the guys in their 40s and 50s are jacked. And she was just looking around I can't believe these people exist. These guys are your age and older. And I know it's amazing. It is about you, you can't you if you build it, they will come you bring them all together. So I love that that community spirit of being on Swift on a Sunday morning thinking there's just me and my Gary's no one else is doing this logging onto a race and boom is there's 100 other people around the world, also in their marriage or wherever, on a Sunday morning or in Australia or Sunday night or whatever, whatever it might be doing it as well. And so I get that gives it just gives me a perfect balance. YouTube's a say, it allows me to stick out something that I find interesting that most people probably wouldn't, and most people would most people wouldn't find. David Goggins interesting, but when you say to the entire world, who out there does as a lot 10s of 1000s or 10s of 1000s of people say Oh, me, and so that's why YouTube is so brilliant. You can just you can just find your community in a way that if you're a David Goggins fan and YouTube, didn't you This, who you're going to talk to about David Goggins, you might have one might even knows who he is. That's it. But YouTube, millions of people know who he is when you take 8 billion people as your pool to gather from. So, yeah, the community thing for me, I love remembering that there are plenty of people out there doing what I'm doing. But when I then go and do it, I also like to feel just as motivated for myself. No one else is doing this when I did a row in the gym today I did a row and at the end of the row, I worked so hard I fell off I was rolling around the floor like an idiot. And in the back of my mind was no one else is rolling around on this floor today in this gym. No one everyone else is just kind of coming gone through their you know, their car, half hearted effort doing whatever they're doing then kind of wandered home, if anyone is rolling around this floor today.
Nick Gray:
1:20:50
But if your wife filming,
Mark Lewis:
1:20:53
we've I might be the only person who rolls around on the floor with a why filming it. Around around the world today, there would have been plenty people rolling around on the floor of their gyms or so. So I love the balance of thinking, no one's doing what I'm doing. And then be reminded as a few people. Yeah, it just it just meshes together nicely for me.
Nick Gray:
1:21:13
I love that I love attitude. You've mentioned a couple of times. I've heard you mentioned Hunter McIntyre, who is someone I quite I really admire that guy as well. I don't know if you saw the series on YouTube of Spartan Games or something of Spartan, something like Spartan Games, there was a web series they did. And that's where I found him. And he has gone to all these elite athletes coming together and going at it. And yeah, his attitude I like I like that. He's kind of like, I mean, he's extreme, but he's also so you know, wanting to be different and doing different things and putting the air
Mark Lewis:
1:21:49
and also completely unafraid to just be cocky and arrogant. Yeah. And in the best possible way. I mean, it's all with with such a tongue in cheek. I mean, some people don't don't get that I'm sure. Same with some people don't get me. They think they think he's arrogant. And they'd like that. But he's, when I watched him. I just I'm just laughing. But equally, yeah, it any cause of the bulk pony and all that sort of stuff. And before an event, he'll be kind of tweeting the other people in it and turn them you know, who's who's going to be second and all that sort of stuff. I just love it. Absolutely. But equally, I saw him he raced in Dallas, High Rocks recently. In the run up to it, he's on Instagram winding up the people that he's going to beat. And he gets beat in himself. Yeah. Right. And, and the next day, he's not you, you could be thinking of Wow, he's made himself look a bit stupid. Or the big talk. The next day is on Instagram, in back in the snow in Colorado, wherever he lives. Running just run. And he's Yeah, I'm running because I sucked yesterday or last week. I'm back at it. I'm out. And I'm just I'm getting after it again. And next time, it'll be better. I love his attitude.
Nick Gray:
1:23:11
And he also is like, really congratulating the guy who won I think it was Omen, German guys. Something like that.
Mark Lewis:
1:23:17
Right? Ryan Kent? Brian can be Yeah, he was he was? Yeah. Just just a perfect a perfect sports person.
Nick Gray:
1:23:26
Yeah, he's good. He's a good guy. So listen, let's Oh, I got one more question to ask you. So long term above average, right? I mean, I've noticed and a lot of your audience if they've stuck with us this long, by the way, thank you so much for sticking with us. This line is awesome. But I've noticed and I'm sure a lot of your audience have noticed that, you know, you've been now you've moved into a category that is significantly above average in certain aspects and you can't deny that yourself, you know, certain things you're achieving, which are definitely well above average. How do you do that? How what's what's the long term goal now? I mean, you've got 100,000 viewers to get rid of your kids YouTube plaque, you know, that'd be nice under 1000 subscribers. Sorry. But then what's next? What are you hoping to take? Where do you see yourself going with all of this and what will keep you motivated and a sense of purpose and positive? Yeah.
Mark Lewis:
1:24:22
It's good. Good question. I mean,
Nick Gray:
1:24:24
finally.
Mark Lewis:
1:24:29
To get a good question. Yeah, I mean, to a certain extent, I almost don't care the wrong word because it because if it goes badly, if it fails, I would care. I'm just intrigued to see where it goes. That's probably the best way of describing it. For example, one of the problems I have right now on YouTube is that because I've had so many kilowatts, I keep chugging video. There's a part of me that thinks well hang on a minute. That has boosted my numbers not artificially because they're have real people watching a real video. But I need another one to do that I need I need another million view video to come along in the next few months. And what if it doesn't? What if it doesn't? And one of the things I learned from from working in sales, I'd have a boss that would always say to me, Mark, you've, it's been it's been three months since you lost big investment, what's your plan, and my plan was, I always say My plan is to do what I've always done and just just wait for another big investment and it will happen. And, and after 1015 20 years of it happening, he stopped asking me the same thing. I just assume, you know, I've done a few videos that have had hundreds of 1000s of views. Why won't I do another one? And it's not arrogant to think that I did. After a while it just becomes I can go back and look at videos where I know, that's a good one. Why might that WHY WON'T that happen again. So I'm just going to upload on in that sense, the back of my mind 100,000 subscribers would be I say it would be a man talking as though like, Oh, well that happen. The numbers are the numbers, they are moving in that direction. So there is a slight inevitability to it really, it almost becomes a snowballing effect. You can't stop. I could not make any more YouTube videos, and just people watching the old stuff would would keep them as taking away a little bit. And that isn't the plan. So 100,000 subscribers would be great. Doing it. My old business is getting sold and on YouTube will be what I do full time. Because of the sale of the old business. I don't I don't I don't need millions of subscribers on YouTube to make a business from it. I 100,000 would be would be amazing will be ample. In terms of what I want to do on YouTube. It's it's a tricky one. The reason I'm doing things right now like high rocks like rowing, where I am more physically suited. And I am there is no doubt I am better than better than average at some of those things. So for rowing, for example, just just through natural gift of being huge. No real rowing skill. I am at an elite level of indoor rowing, just through luck. I mean, I didn't ask to be 6x to down and it becomes slightly it becomes slightly unrelatable. And I don't want that to happen. One of the reasons Kip Tony video was so good is because six or 600 kilo person is never going to be anywhere. I mean, I am I am right with no appeal. And all people could watch me and go, Oh, he's a bit faster than me maybe or maybe he's not. But I can see what he's doing. He does a 20 minute Park run I do a 27 minutes. So I can I can see what he's doing. Yeah, Kip chunky is doing 14 minute Park runs eight times in a row to do I can't see what he's doing. So people see me as a sort of a conduit to understanding what someone else is doing. The trouble with things where I'm getting quite good is that I become too far from the norm. And then they can't they can't see me as a conduit to that. They just say that he's just another elite person. It's a bit like I'm six foot six. People sometimes say to me, Oh, he was tall, wasn't he? I think was he gave us mean six one. I don't know 6158, it all looks the same to me. They're all so short. I can't tell. Unless but when I see someone at six, seven, I owe you you are taught because you're so I don't want to be so far away from normal people that they can't tell whether 667 foot all the same. So Hi, Rob hierarchy has a bit of a treat for me, it's an opportunity for me to go and do something that I do find myself physically suited to. Not not an elite level at all. But but that's pretty good. And I'd have a play out. And that's what I'm doing now until April. I work real hard training for high rocks, I would love to get on the podium for my age group. I have a potential problem there because the London event has become so popular, because my video that the numbers are huge for it. So that means there's an awful lot of people and more people means means obviously more competition. So it may not happen but a podium at hierarchies in my age group would be mind blowing. Once I've done that, once I've raced wherever I can wherever I do, that will be the last time probably the eye race High Rocks solo. Because because it is a bit of a treat for me. Excuse me, it's not it's not relatable to average people to watch someone turn up at an event like that and get on the podium. That isn't what I'm trying to do. That is what YouTube is about for me. So the next Hi rocks I'm doing I'll do with Jenna. We're gonna go do pairs. Because because that's that's cool. It's fun, and I genuinely am more excited about doing that in Birmingham in October and again, we're gonna go back in November London, Dubai. Again, I'm more excited about that in a way than racing on my own. Because because we're going to be at the back on some things, Jen is not a great she can run, she's not a great runner, we're going to be, we're going to be struggling to stay off the back on something. Yeah. And I love that I love being I love, I talk about this in the videos a lot, I would rather be almost lost fighting to not be lost, thinking there is so much more I can do to improve Yeah, than where I am now with high rocks, where I'm thinking, it's literally what I've always said you shouldn't do. I'm close to the top, but not at the top. And so you become just fueled by this irrational desire to improve tenths of a second here and there. It fills your day, it fills your time, it sucks, quite frankly, my training in the moment is killing me to do what to go from a one hour 18 hierarchs to a to a one hour 11 or so. It's It's nonsense.
Nick Gray:
1:31:00
How I remember if I can interrupt you, sorry, I feel like you're speaking back to the kind of attitude of a little bit about selfishness, but also a little bit about taking care of yourself. Maybe, you know, maybe over time you have evolved, you have evolved into what you are now. So forgiving yourself for wanting to have that competitive moment because I think your audience, I my guess is your audience will totally forgive you for that. Because you are a good role model. And you've tracked this journey, you know, anyone looking back over your videos, you can I even show my wife and I'm mentoring this girl. This is like, just two years ago, whatever. And this is him now. And she was like, wow, you know, two years ago, whatever you were already pretty fit, right? I mean, you're you know, your southern stuff. It was like, yeah, it was you're in good shape. But like, clearly you had a really good progression. And I think anyone watching is going to find that inspiring, as well. And and it's it's fun to watch people compete to win something or compete a podium or compete to go against themselves. It's fun to see those parameters and understand that you detail in your videos about you know, knowing the split times and various things, and the time you're spending in the waiting areas or whatever it's called the the transition areas. Yeah. Yeah, that is like, it's interesting for a viewer. So I think, you know, you shouldn't maybe define my advice not that it was asked for or is probably useful at all, is that you know, don't worry too much about what the audience needs from you in terms of like, being the average guy and having that, you know, worry more about what you you need and hope that they'll come along with you on that journey. I think that's probably you so far. And
Mark Lewis:
1:32:47
I think so I do. I mean, there is no question that while I'm saying the more important thing to me is racing with with Jen. If I was to get on the podium, when you get on the podium, you get this sort of cheap looking tea towel thing with the position on it is high rocks, call it a flag is a tea towel. But if I had one of those hanging up here, I would be incredibly proud. And I mean, that'd just be amazing. So I do Oh, one that the thing I tried to do as well. I still tried to keep it fun. So for example, my training day to day was rest day, and I'm doing a 2k row in the gym, that really kills me for another video. And last weekend, my rest day was the Goggins challenge. So Mike, my heart was coach, Dave Peters is probably pulling his hair out because he's, he's put it up here. He's he's put together this training program that I'm supposed to be following that says rest day, and I'm off doing so stupid. So I'm not taking it super, super serious. And also, I already know the video that I make about the transit that the journey the eight 910 week journey to hyperox London is going to conclude. I know it is with the summary that it was cool, it was fun, it was exciting, and it achieved x whatever that turns out to be. But it wasn't worth it. In the literal sense, the achievement I could have trained, I could have done a lot less and still being 99% as happy as how it turned out. And so that the advice is not the advice, the advice that is going to be the message I knew it would be from day one it would be that training like an elite athlete unless you are an elite athlete does yield returns but nothing like as fun returns as you get the other end. So for example 26th of March men next are racing in Wales mountain race. I'm not a mountain racer, I'm I get overtaken by little old ladies who are lightweight and have been doing it for so many years and just crushed me and I cannot wait I can't wait to make sure that I come in the top half. So if there's 100 runners, I want to be 49 And that to me, is almost a more exciting challenge where everything's against me. You My dog is too small. I'm too big the mountain is too high. The people doing it do nothing but Ultra run. And I'm I'm trying to
Nick Gray:
1:35:18
top dog last year. Is that the same we Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
1:35:21
2019 Dixon was fastest. So we got a video that yeah, it was it
Nick Gray:
1:35:28
called beast. Yeah,
Mark Lewis:
1:35:31
Beast. They do two ones called beast of board maintenance is Bobby Moore. And the other one is beast beast of the blacks. Because that's
Nick Gray:
1:35:42
what I think I saw.
Mark Lewis:
1:35:43
Yeah. Okay, so so we got Yeah, so we want to be fastest dog. And I want to be top half human. And I love I love that. To me. That's the sort of things I'll be doing after hierarchs London and going forward I already thinking about how fun it would be to try and wonder what the new sport is. I was watching I follow a guy called the vegan cyclist who's
Nick Gray:
1:36:10
mentioned your vegan community. I mean, how did we get through something and not mentioned veganism?
Mark Lewis:
1:36:14
Yeah, well, I know it's a good example I never talked about being vegan everyone thinks vegans do nothing but rabbit on about so the vegan cyclist is a road cyclist he's recently got into doing cyclocross, which is basically gravel riding. I just looked it was awesome fun, just kind of racing on a road bike with bouncy tires over over gravel. And again, I'd be rubbish at it because I'm just the wrong shape for that sort of sport. But I I'm really tempted this summer to try there's along the Ridgeway, there's a gravel bike race. I just said that sort of thing to me that I would love to turn up and do with no experience of it and no chance of doing well. But looking at the results afterwards and thinking five and two people, you know, race, and I was 250 that those are things that I like. And hopefully those are sort of things that have a real kind of appeal to everybody that can just go it's not because I don't I don't like I know what I know some of the comments, I'll get on some videos where I do well, because they get the comments already where people say well, of course you can do that you're you're you're this you're that you're bigger. And that those sort of things. I've got a video coming on this actually saw my list of videos pending people. People seem to have forgotten how to be inspired by people and social media has caused it. So what used to happen when I when I was a kid, actually how old are you? 44. Okay, so 48 Okay, so when I was a kid, I would be inspired by Brian Jaksta and superstars, or Daley Thompson at the Olympics, or watching Sylvester Stallone take off his robe in Rocky four and never having seen anyone so ripped,
Nick Gray:
1:38:01
by the way. In preparation for this. I'm not even joking. I've watched rocky just to prepare myself for this. I've seen jokes about the rocky soundtrack all the time. I'm sure he's gutted that he can't have it on his YouTube videos for Oh, whatever.
Mark Lewis:
1:38:19
One day, I hope Stallone will give me a call and say, Hey, you can go for it. I'll let you have I got that that's about as much as I can ever use. So
Nick Gray:
1:38:35
ya know, in the in the
Mark Lewis:
1:38:36
spine, right? Absolutely. So I would then use that motivation to go and do what I did, whether it whatever it was at the time. I didn't want to be a decathlete like David Thompson. I didn't want to I certainly want to be a boxer. That's terrific. And who has other one Brian Jack's, I can do dips. So I just took from them inspiration and then took it and went and did my thing. And what seems to have happened now is that because social media people think that they have much closer affinity with the person they're seeing that they think that inspiration means copy. So when they see someone doing something on on Instagram or YouTube whatever it is, they think that what they're supposed to do is look like that or be like which is why it's so many people complaining about how people look it's an unrealistic this that any other Well, is it unrealistic? Yeah, probably but but so what you're not supposed to copy them was rocky for Stallone was unrealistic then. Stallone stone train for Rocky for under Franco Colombo, one of our sports knickers mates. Stallone was remotely natural when he did rocky four. But it doesn't matter. I'm not supposed to become an Italian American. take steroids and take a boxing that isn't what I'm supposed to do. And so what's happened now? Is that people Yeah, they watch stuff on YouTube, they think, Well, I can't look like that we're not supposed to look. That's not the message. When you watch my videos, you're not supposed to do what I do if you want to do what I do, absolutely cool crack on, but you're supposed to simply be entertained and motivated to go and then do what you want to do. I watched Alex Honnold, free solo thing, we climbed up El Capitan. So crazy. I watched it. And all I could think about the next day was I want to I need to go achieve something today. It's not because that's bonkers. But I'm inspired to achieve something and as someone who grew up learning that that's how you're supposed to be inspired. me perfectly. So yeah, the the, the inspiration thing is the interest rate. I find that people are very hung up on it. For example, with the CryptoKey video under Bradley Wiggins video. I put up those videos and people say yeah, yeah, but you know, but he's he's light or but Bradley Wiggins was on a on a bike made in a wind tunnel. But I just think what are you people talking about? That is a human being doing something incredible. I don't care if he's on a million pound bike, and he's had his arms removed to be lighter. He's doing something incredible, be inspired by it and then go wrong with your dog. You're not supposed to go? Well, it means nothing. I had a guy say to me once I can learn nothing from you. Because for your channel, because you're you're just as you're huge. You don't you don't understand you've got a natural ability to do this. What do you mean, you can learn nothing. The same day as I had that text message from someone saying it's pointless you showing us you doing this benchpress or saying because you're physically gifted bla bla bla bla bla, I had another DM from someone that said, I'm, this is a lady in Canada, she said I'm 50 pounds overweight. But today, I've decided I'm going to be above average, and I get my dog and we're gonna go for a run. And you've motivated me to do that. And I just want to say thank you. I thought wow, the guy that thinks you can learn nothing from from from my channel needs to talk to that woman who's gone through a run in the Canadian woods with a dog. I haven't done that. It's just so so yeah, this recently, I even changed recently on YouTube, my banner to say entertainment motivation. It's not instruction. It's not advice. Really. It's sometimes it's not. The vegan thing is a good example. I don't say be a vegan, I'd say Hey, this is how I eat. Hopefully, it's funny and entertaining, don't you? Like? I think it is good. If it motivates you to eat better. Yeah, I
Nick Gray:
1:42:37
do find that a really good balance, actually. So I was actually laughing because I realized I have this behind me here. I don't know if you can see it. I know you can't see the atomic habits, which you did. Like, she did a whole book. I finished it yet, because I'm a very, very slow reader. And I haven't got audible here because it's not available. But
Mark Lewis:
1:42:56
I was gonna say I bought the book for you to listen to an audiobook.
Nick Gray:
1:43:01
Because I actually have trained as a life coach and an executive coach and I have talked most of my life about goals and stuff. And I've been really ever since a trainers coach really into goals and very goal oriented and your video. Plus a few other things I'd heard it wasn't just your video, but like, it sparked this thing of like, yeah, that's what I meant habits. It's so much about habits because the goal is pointless if you don't take a step and do something about it. And I loved that video that you made there. And it's like, so yeah, you weren't being super preachy. You weren't instructing but what you had to say about it was extremely inspirational and change change. She did make a change. So yeah, I think. I mean, people always talk about Don't, don't read the negative comments, don't read the comments and whatever. But of course, I understand it's difficult not to and you clearly want to engage with the audience as much as you can. So I understand that temptation.
Mark Lewis:
1:44:01
There's an interesting flipside, I remember watching Joe Rogan years ago where he said, to whoever I think it was, sorry, sorry, newly famous on his on his podcast, and he said, don't read the comments. Just don't. I never do it. Job saying themselves. And I remember thinking, Oh, if I ever became super famous, I wouldn't I do what Joseph?
Nick Gray:
1:44:22
I think I know. Exactly. So I've gone off Joe Rogan recently. But Lex Friedman, I think is the guy he was talking to. I know. And he's one of my favorite podcast is actually
Mark Lewis:
1:44:31
i He also I remember him talking to Dave Chappelle, who says the same thing Dave Chappelle does famously doesn't mean these negative comments. And I agree, I've also I haven't listened to much since he went Spotify, but I'm thinking when I'm famous, I won't read the comments when I'm famous. And now I do read the comments. And part of me thinks like, in a way, you kind of want to read the negative comments. I fail. I like constructive negative comments, if someone because they're actually quite Use what someone is saying, Oh, it's good. It's good. It's good. That's lovely to hear. But it isn't a for someone saying, it'd be better if it was this. I'll take that on board. It's when people just say, just stupid negative. Yeah. Or your video, if someone said to me, Oh, the kip chunky video was funny, somebody said, Are you on a running machine and a running machine scientifically will be easier to travel on the ground? As I do, what do you what are you on about running machine? I'd ask the two minutes that can tell you space and then die.
Nick Gray:
1:45:33
And who's sitting there in the world? Yeah, has got time to watch your video, watch your video, then go. I'm going to get them now. And don't really type on my keyboard.
Mark Lewis:
1:45:47
What was funny was I took that guys comment, and I pinned it to the top of the comments on that CryptoKey video, I said, I said something like, this is good that you've said this, this is quite beneficial. Because my worry was that CryptoKey would watch the video and feel embarrassed by how good my performance was. But now he can, you know, take some solace from the fact that I was basically cheating on the running machine. And of course, with the number of subscribers that I have now. They kind of all waded in and rip the guy apart, which so yeah, it's pretty it did make me think you're supposed to watch that video and just think, man, I'm gonna pick up that guitar I wanted to learn, or whatever it is, you're not supposed to go. All but the running machine, blah, blah, blah. Just
Nick Gray:
1:46:36
listen, Mark, that is a great place to finish on. Because I want to say you're an inspiration. You're awesome guy. And I wish you all the success that is coming your way. So you will be famous one day and who knows, maybe there's podcasts we'll be getting listened to by a few people. So I hope you enjoyed the conversation. I loved it. I didn't know I talked about keep being a fan of yours. And and I hopefully run into you in some race at some point. I'll soon be in your age range. So you know, I better get training.
Mark Lewis:
1:47:07
Although I then move above, constantly. Yeah,
Nick Gray:
1:47:10
very briefly. Oh, find your next year and yeah, absolutely. Yeah. But listen, thank you so much for your time. And just before we wrap up completely. Is there anything you kind of want to promote? I know, I noticed you haven't been good at promoting your Instagram. So I think people should go and follow you there. Because that seems to be a place where you get like some interesting snapshots in your life. And
Mark Lewis:
1:47:33
yeah, Instagram is kind of is what it is. It's kind of behind the scenes stuff. So that's Mark Lewis pics, Mark Lewis was was stolen and are not famous enough for Instagram to just rip it from the actual monitors. So he isn't given to me. And also, I now have a website as well actually, the website is quite useful. So Mark Lewis dot current UK. It's a work in progress. But it is a place where I've collected everything. So from there, you can find YouTube, you can find the gear I use, because lots of people always ask me what gear I'm using that that's gonna be up in a couple of days. So yeah, anything you want to mine, Mark lewis.co. UK and off you go. Yeah.
Nick Gray:
1:48:14
And obviously go and subscribe to his YouTube. Anyone that's still listening at this point in the podcast, as well subscribe for my YouTube as well while you're at it. Just because you know, make me feel better. And these girls out there. But yeah, thank you so much, Mark, and all the best. You take care of yourself and good luck in that race in Wales. Thank you. Okay, thanks for listening for those still here. If you're still here, please do review it. It would be really useful to me. I haven't really pushed too hard with these podcasts. It's been a personal project so far. But I figure why not ask. Yeah, if you if you've got a chance to review or rate on on Apple podcasts or whatever platform you're using, that would be super useful. Thank you so much, and I'll see you in the next episode.
