Do you ever look back and think about all the mistakes you made, all the stupid things you did in high school?
Have you ever quit something you loved to stop being bullied?
What is it like being away from home and coming back to find your sibling all grown up?
Do you still think about the crush that got away?
My old buddy from high school, Travis Birmley, invited me onto his podcast where we talk about all those things and more!
Check out the video with timestamps below to hear about our experiences being bullied, crazy stories from high school, our first job, growing up, racial identity and racism, and much more!
0:00:00
Travis was technically obese
What caused Travis to gain weight?
1:24
When did Travis meet his wife?
2:13
Travis locked her in before he became lazy
2:53
How did Travis meet his wife?
5:26
His wife’s super short shorts
5:43
A guy giving a girl his phone number
Sliding into Facebook DMs
6:39
Does Travis not want me to tell stories from back in the day?
6:55
We had some fun times in high school
How did Travis and I become friends?
Travis and I separated for talking too much
John being nervous about working a new job
8:28
It was a good job for high school. A wild cowboy job.
10:15
Travis being Mexican
10:58
Why does Travis get so much stuff dry-cleaned?
11:50
How does Travis view his own race?
How other countries view Americans and race
Discussion on race and views between conservative and liberal settings
18:18
Being even-keeled politically
Not being tribal about politics, not just being Democrat or Republican
19:28
A brief bio of Travis
Travis moving to Texas during high school and being the California kid
21:12
People’s conceptions of California vs the large conservative, rural and agricultural areas
22:59
Travis’s experiences being bullied
Popular kids bullying
Travis’s older brother
Feeling good seeing a bully doing shitty in life
25:58
Travis being good-looking and Travis’s game back in high school
Flirting with our hot older co-worker
27:04
Our work was like the movie Waiting
The coworker not to piss off
Off-the-wall cowboy shit as a high-schooler
Stories from Bakers Square
30:22
Regrets over missed opportunities with girls
Travis getting in his own way
31:50
Travis’s dad cockblocking him
The one that got away
33:10
Missing out but setting himself up for an adventurous 19 and 20
33:30
Travis reading John’s post on bullying
John snapping and turning violent from bullying
John carrying steak knives
34:50
Why didn’t we tell people we were bullied?
Is girl bullying worse?
36:19
Most of the time you’re getting bullied, it’s when you’re by yourself
Travis getting rolled up on by a group of bullies
All the kids grew up together and knew each other
Wishing he would have punched them in the face.
Quitting basketball from being bullied
Hindsight is 20/20 like in standing up for yourself
41:53
Why don’t people tell their coaches, teachers, or parents that they’re being bullied?
The no-win situation
47:16
Would any of his friends listen to this and think “Yeah, he was kind of a douche.”
47:22
Would John want an apology from his bullies now?
Would Travis want an apology?
One category of people who are still pieces of shit and one category of people who are sorry
49:50
Why Travis getting bullied might have been a good thing for John
50:22
What would Travis do if he saw his bully later?
51:04
Validation from knowing other people hate your bully
52:13
How would the bully feel about these things now?
How would Travis feel if he apologized now?
We should do a documentary about it
Are his friends even friends with him anymore?
58:26
We had a lot of good times
Going to Santa Cruz
John getting his first job
John getting along really well with Travis’s dad
The different array of people we worked with
Older woman having John feel her boob
Manager of Bakers Square
Our fat manager had game
John going to a bar looking like he was 12
1:03:18
John spanking the manager with an electric fly swatter
1:03:29
John almost moved in with Travis
Travis hanging out with Tanner
Seeing a policeman chase and beat a guy down in the middle of nowhere
Party stories
John watching James Bond while his friend tries to hook up with a girl
1:08:18
Who has Travis seen from back in the day?
We haven’t seen each other in 17 years
1:09:08
Embarrassing stories from when Travis was young
Does his wife know about them?
1:10:13
Can’t remember why we randomly left Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
John being on the top of Sara’s car doing donuts in the parking lot
Ghost riding the whip
Travis, John, and Sara’s anthem: Ridin’ by Chamillionaire
Songs were more special when you couldn’t play them on demand
1:12:25
John not being able to work anymore, tough situation
Having a work family
1:15:30
Who else gets to go to school together, work together, and hang out after?
1:16:14
John stabbed himself in the leg while on the phone with Travis
1:17:20
Travis not getting along with his dad post-move and reconciliation later
Travis growing closer to his mom Travis’s parents getting horses
1:21:55
How is Travis’s sister doing?
The shock of being away from siblings and coming back to them being grown up
1:23:38
Why does Travis live in Beaumont?
1:24:19
Does Travis get along with his wife’s family?
1:26:05
All the places John has lived
California vs Florida vs Michigan
How people are during disasters?
Alligators are everywhere in Florida
1:28:58
Has Travis been to Florida?
How did he like it?
Differences in people wearing masks or not
1:30:33
Did John like Florida?
The Everglades are a must-visit
The snow sucks
1:31:50
Ann Arbor vs Berkeley
Detroit vs the Bay
1:32:49
Michigan Football
Michigan finally beating Ohio State
The rivalry
1:35:36
Travis has been a lifelong Vikings fan
1:35:55
Who is Travis’s basketball team?
Sacramento Kings was the Central Valley’s Team
Becoming a bandwagon fan for the Warriors at the perfect time
1:37:37
Who is Travis’s baseball team?
1:37:58
Why didn’t Travis play baseball?
1:38:20
Could have played baseball with our friend Jose
1:40:14
Sports rivalry with his wife Natalie
1:41:00
What does Travis think of Tom Brady?
Travis’ dad’s obsession with him
Talent vs hard work
1:42:51
Drive is innate
1:43:15
Michael Jordan has both talent and obsessive drive
1:43:57
Tiger Woods was the same
1:44:14
How valuable is potential?
1:45:53
Travis is turning into his dad
1:46:08
Stories about his dad’s management style
1:48:15
Would you pick the talented one or the hard worker?
1:48:29
Is it good to boost people up with compliments?
1:49:50
Most people are just mediocre
1:50:32
Workers that aren’t great
1:51:06
The effects of a bad manager
1:52:36
What does Travis want out of a podcast?
1:53:50
What podcasts did Travis listen to?
Joe Rogan becoming too political
1:55:15
The Lost City of Atlantis
1:56:05
The Unknown and Aliens
1:57:02
How did the pilots treat Travis in the Navy?
Trusting 17-, 18-year-olds with millions of dollars of equipment and people’s lives
2:00:24
What ship was Travis on?
UFOs
2:00:57
Travis’s thoughts on my interview with Robert McIntyre, the CEO of Nectome, the brain preservation startup
Waiting for people to die to preserve their brain
Why should we preserve brains now?
The DNA analogy
2:03:56
Could they make new memories?
2:04:54
Virtual consciousness in the Captain America movies
2:05:49
VR and living in perfectly simulated worlds
2:06:26
The argument that we’re living in a simulation
2:08:01
It’s like the Matrix movies
Morpheus “What is real?”
2:10:18
Personal identity and the Mars teletransportation thought experiment
2:11:08
Religion and death
Religion is cultish
Similar origin stories in religious figures
Who said newer religions are the true ones and older ones aren’t?
Travis is going straight to hell
2:14:47
Travis is alienating his listeners and going to get canceled
2:16:00
We should record a podcast with Travis’s dad
2:16:55
We covered a lot of topics
2:17:19
Why Travis stopped doing his podcast before?
2:17:33
You have to stop waiting for other people
2:18:34
John doesn’t care about horses. Travis is afraid of them.
Thanks for listening!
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