Nick Santonastasso - Zero Excuses

Nick Santonastasso personifies the concept of inspiration. Nick was born with a very rare condition called Hanhart Syndrome, only 3 out of 12 others Born with this condition are alive . Although he survived, Nick was born legless and with only a portion of one of his arms. Nick has not allowed any of those challenges to stop him from achieving his biggest dreams. He doesn't use prosthetics to get around—he is pictured usually standing upright on what is left of his legs, rarely without a massive grin. Santonastasso gained fame as a teenager with his prank videos—notably, one where he dressed up as a zombie and scared Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus. Today, he spends most of his time in the gym and doing motivational speaking. I am rarely speechless in any interview and don’t lose my composure or control of my emotions. However , there is a moment in this interview of such incredible emotion inspiration that I couldn’t quite pull it together. I know you will feel the same. This interview will change your life, PERIOD. Your life and the lives of your family, friends and colleagues will never be the same again. I’m humbled, privileged and honored to share this inspiring conversation with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ed Mylett?

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• 0:45Ed Mylett?

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• 1:01Speaker 01

  Mr. President, my company, for me, of the explosion on our rig.

• 1:05Speaker 02

  On October 2nd.

• 1:06Speaker 01

  Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me.

• 1:11Speaker 02

  Tom Cruise is. Digger got us into this mess. And Digger's gonna dig us up. From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 1:18Speaker 01

  What would happen if I stopped drilling? You stop, you freeze to death, that's what.

• 1:22Speaker 02

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 1:25Speaker 01

  I'm not the first nanny.

• 1:27Speaker 02

  Digger. See the trailer online. Only in theaters October 2nd. Rated R. Under 17. Not a middle without parent.

• 1:32Speaker 03

  Welcome to the Ed Mylett Show. The place for leaders, dreams, and champions.

• 1:43Ed Mylett?

  Welcome back to Max Out with Ed Mylett. This man to my left, I think, is one of the most inspiring people on planet Earth today.

• 1:51Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 1:51Ed Mylett?

  And an unbelievable public speaker, for the record, that you're going to hear about in a minute. But this is Nick Santasasso. And as you can tell, Nick and I have been friends now for a while. But Nick has a story to tell, as you can tell, that's probably different than anyone you've ever heard before. And so, I'm excited to have you here today, brother.

• 2:10Nick Santonastasso?

  I'm grateful for the opportunity, brother.

• 2:11Ed Mylett?

  You know how much I've wanted you here, and we've been connecting through social media for a while, and I consider you a friend.

• 2:16Nick Santonastasso?

  I appreciate that.

• 2:17Ed Mylett?

  And I'm so excited that I'm gonna help even get you further exposure to the world.

• 2:22Nick Santonastasso?

  I'm excited. I'm excited.

• 2:23Ed Mylett?

  I am too, brother. And so, they need to know more about you. So, let's get right into your story, man.

• 2:28Nick Santonastasso?

  Alright.

• 2:28Ed Mylett?

  Let's get into it, because I know there are people watching this. You know, it's interesting, man. People are listening to this podcast, or watching it on YouTube, and they find us in different conditions in their life. Some of them are rocking right now, and they want an edge to go to the next level. Some people are sort of trying to find their why. And then, there's people that are watching this today that are not where they want to be. They feel like they're falling behind. They're hurting. You know, they're just hurting. Emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually, they're hurting. And I think it's the third group, although I think you reached the first two, I think it's the third group that you reach in a way that nobody I know can reach. And so, I'm hoping to reach those of you today that are in that category in a very deep way. Those of you that are in the other two, I think you're gonna take it a notch higher after you hear this. But, let's talk about you for a second, and not them.

• 3:13Nick Santonastasso?

  Okay, let's do it.

• 3:14Ed Mylett?

  So, you were born with something called Hanhart Syndrome.

• 3:17Nick Santonastasso?

  Yes.

• 3:17Ed Mylett?

  Right? And, take them through, sort of, what that is, and then, sort of, what it can really mean for the other people that were diagnosed with it. 1996, you were born.

• 3:27Nick Santonastasso?

  Yes.

• 3:28Ed Mylett?

  And so, there were 12 people born with it at that time, right?

• 3:30Nick Santonastasso?

  I was the 12th.

• 3:31Ed Mylett?

  You were the 12th, and so, talk about that.

• 3:32Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, so, I was the baby of the family. I was the last kid my mom was pregnant with. And, you know, the pregnancy was going fine, until my mom, we went in, well, they went in for an ultrasound. And basically, they sat my parents down and pulled up, you know, the baby on the screen. And the doctors are like, looking at each other and saying, "There's something wrong." My parents are like, "What do you mean, there's something wrong?" And it says, "Well, from the looks of it, it doesn't look like some of his limbs are being developed. It looks like he's missing his legs and his one arm." And, you know, after that, they finally diagnosed me with Hanhart Syndrome.

• 4:02Ed Mylett?

  In womb? Was that in the womb they diagnosed it, or after?

• 4:05Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah.

• 4:05Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 4:07Nick Santonastasso?

  They said I had a bunch, they said like my face was messed up, cleft, like cleft lip. They said a bunch of things to my parents before the birth.

• 4:13Ed Mylett?

  Well, that wasn't true, right?

• 4:14Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah.

• 4:15Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 4:15Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah.

• 4:15Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 4:15Nick Santonastasso?

  And so my parents looked at each other and said, we're gonna see where life takes this. You know, we're gonna just have this kid born and see what he's capable of doing.

• 4:22Ed Mylett?

  Thank God, because some people might have reacted differently to that news.

• 4:24Nick Santonastasso?

  Absolutely, absolutely.

• 4:25Ed Mylett?

  Thank God, right?

• 4:26Nick Santonastasso?

  Okay. Yeah, so I was born and, but before that, they said, he's gonna be the 12th baby born. And out of the 12, 8 of them have passed away due to undeveloped organs.

• 4:34Ed Mylett?

  Oh, boy.

• 4:34Nick Santonastasso?

  So what that means is, you know, the baby's born and it can't breathe on its own, or it can't eat on its own, and later passes away. So they gave me a 30% chance. And when I was born, you know, the first thing they did was do tests of my organs. And my mom, I remember my mom saying, the first thing she remembers is, I had a full head of hair and a big smile, and she's like, oh, my God, this baby's gorgeous. And, um, yeah, I can remember that. And she, they did tests of my organs, and it came back 100% healthy, that the only thing were affected were my limbs, all my organs were 100% healthy.

• 5:01Ed Mylett?

  Thank God.

• 5:01Nick Santonastasso?

  And so, you know, that's why, that's one of the reasons why living in a state of gratitude, you know, is so important, and I shouldn't be here. So like, every day, you know, every day we live, every day we're alive is, is an amazing day.

• 5:12Ed Mylett?

  God bless your mom, though. So of the 12 that were born, 8 didn't make it?

• 5:15Nick Santonastasso?

  8 passed.

• 5:16Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, and bless your mom. Imagine the anxiety of even going into labor that day, you mothers out there, imagine how difficult labor was for you, but also on top of that, knowing that there was this gigantic percentage chance that the baby wasn't gonna make it anyway. Your parents are amazing, man.

• 5:30Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, I, I always thank them for, that, they made me who I am.

• 5:33Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 5:34Nick Santonastasso?

  You know, my mindset.

• 5:35Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, you're amazing, by the way.

• 5:36Nick Santonastasso?

  I appreciate that.

• 5:37Ed Mylett?

  You are. So I, I'm fascinated by this. When did you figure out you were different than other people? Was there an age that you remember going, hey, I'm different? Or did you like, never think you were?

• 5:48Nick Santonastasso?

  Well, from the earliest of ages, my parents basically sat me down from when I can remember and said, Nick, the world's not gonna stop for you because they're born like this. You know, the world's not gonna stop, and you're basically gonna have to figure out how to do each and everything your way, you know? Nick, getting on, getting on a chair is gonna be a little bit harder, feeding yourself. So basically, in the most polite and nice way, my parents would put food, food in front of me and say, Nick, figure it out.

• 6:10Ed Mylett?

  Seriously?

• 6:11Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, or put, put my clothes in front of me and say, Nick, just figure it out, like, try your way. And that's all they wanted me to do was, you know, try my best to figure it out. And what that did was, it got my mindset in the, in the earliest of ages, got my mindset of the rhythm of, okay, it's not can't, but it's how. You know? And that's like, taking different approaches, and that's for everyone, you know? We're gonna, we're gonna have challenges in our life and they might scare us, they might freak us out. We might be like, oh my god, but if you sit back and be like, okay, how, you know, how am I gonna do this? How am I gonna approach this? So, you know, basically throwing reality at me at an early age because you know, mom and dad are not gonna be around all the time. You're gonna have to figure out how to dress yourself and feed yourself. Because when I was born, the doctors basically handed over a list of my parents and were like, here's all the things your son won't be able to do.

• 6:53Nick Santonastasso?

  Your son won't be able to feed himself, your son won't be able to dress himself, you know, walk. Your son will, your son will basically be a big baby for the rest of their life. And that's what I tell people, I said, you know, we have that same choice that my parents had in a different situation. And that is, we can either let other people dictate what we're capable of doing, or go out and see what you're capable of doing.

• 7:11Ed Mylett?

  Oh my gosh.

• 7:11Nick Santonastasso?

  And that's the choice, that's the choice we all have.

• 7:13Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, you know, you also give a lesson, your parents give a lesson. This is gonna be unreal, everyone, just so you know, get ready. You also give a lesson, though, in building a child or building a team. It's like you can't do everything for them, right? They've got to, you, you need to be willing to let people figure things out for themselves so they build that resiliency, I think, in life. I think as a parent, too often, we're trying to do everything for them. Or even as a leader in business, we try to provide every perfect thing for them. Let people figure things out for themselves and build that sort of resiliency amongst themselves. How old were you, by the way, when you could do those things? Like, I'm curious, were you a certain age, you're like, I, I can dress myself? I mean, things like that that most people take for granted.

• 7:52Nick Santonastasso?

  I think, it was probably like, I don't know if it was like three or four, but they, they threw me into a bunch of things. And the one thing that I always tie into life is skateboarding. That was the one thing.

• 8:02Ed Mylett?

  You skateboarded?

• 8:03Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, yeah, so it was the one thing, my parents or my brother, I'm not sure who put me on first.

• 8:06Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 8:07Nick Santonastasso?

  But I compare skateboarding to life is because I started off like a surfboard. They put me on my stomach and it was a cool way for me to get around, I loved it. My brother skateboarded. So, I realized, okay, laying on my belly, I'm not going fast enough, I wanna, I want more. So then Nick realized that if he stood up like this and got his balance and I could really get some speed. And, um, and then I, I, you know, through falling on my face and getting back up and figuring out, you know, what I can do, I wanted more. And one day I said, mom and dad, you know, come outside to learn a trick. And they were like, oh god, you know, what is Nick about to do? I'll do, I'll do it here real quick. And, um, so I, I went up to the top of the hill and like, mom and dad, you ready? And they're like, what is this kid about to do? And I'm coming down, I'm coming down so fast. And I go by them and I go by them like this.

• 8:48Nick Santonastasso?

  And you know, phew, Nick's going by in a handstand and my face is like two inches from the pavement and my mom's like, "Oh my god." And I'm like, "You know, did you see that?" And the message that I always tell people with that is, they saw, you know, when I posted that, people saw the handstand, but they didn't see how many times I fell on my face. They didn't see the journey, they didn't see how many times that, you know, I scraped myself up and got back up again, and that's the same thing for everyone. We look up to these people. We look up to artists, we look up to DJs, whatever it may be, we look up to all these people. But what you see currently is where they are at now. You know, you didn't see how many times they got denied, how many times they said they weren't pretty enough, good enough, strong enough, whatever it may be. They didn't see that. So, you know, documenting the journey is so important and just seeing the grind.

• 9:29Ed Mylett?

  I gotta be honest with you, that's the first time since we've talked today, I'm not kidding you by the way, that's the first time since we've talked today that I sort of, this is gonna sound so weird to everybody, but I'm gonna tell you how, really the truth. That was the first time since we've talked today that I was conscious of the fact that you did lack limbs. Do you know that? Like, the whole time we've been talking, I haven't really been conscious of that since we've known each other, because I don't know why that is. I mean, I just think it's that your spirit's so infectious, you're just, that was the first time I went, "Oh yeah, that's right, by the way. Isn't that interesting? That's really interesting, bro." So, you knew you were different. I interviewed a guy that's a great friend of mine now,

• 10:11Ed Mylett?

  and his mom's been a friend of mine for, gosh, 30 years, Cody McCaslin. Cody's missing, or he's had both legs amputated. And he told me, "I just wanna know if the lesson's true for you," he knew he was different when he was young, and he said, "One of the things that's most difficult when you're in a situation like that is people not asking you about." He says, you know, "They just stare at you, right?" And he said to me, he goes, "You know what? My advice is, if you see someone who's different than you," by the way, I think this is even true culturally. You know what I mean? Like, if you grew up Jewish and there's someone Muslim that you meet, I think they prefer you say, "Hey, how did you grow up? What's it like?" Right? So, you see someone different than you. And so, is that true even as you were growing up? Would it be easier for you if someone just came over and go, "Hey, man, what's the deal?" Was that better?

• 10:53Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, absolutely. When I got into middle school, I say that was a big slap in the face for me because before that, honestly, I didn't realize. You know, I didn't, I was just going through the motions. I had, I have to say, I was blessed with a great school system, a great set of friends, and you know, I never ran into like bullying too much, but you know, when I got into middle school, I realized that, you know, since I had an Aiden school, that people thought I was mentally slow just because I had an Aiden school and that I was getting pushed around and I realized I was getting different treatment. And you know, I always say, middle school and high school, we can all agree that that's the most judgmental time of a kid's life going into that. And that's when I did realize, you know, the kids were pointing or, you know, whispering and, and growing up, like being like this, you always realize in public, people looking at you. Like, it's just a sense you have because you, I just

• 11:36Nick Santonastasso?

  feel like people, you're different, you know, so people are gonna look. So definitely, it is better for people to just be like, hey, like, what's going on or what happened?

• 11:42Ed Mylett?

  What's up?

• 11:42Nick Santonastasso?

  And you know, I, I get a lot of people come up and say, oh, thank you for your service. I'm like, oh, no, you know, I'm not that type of hero.

• 11:47Ed Mylett?

  They thought I was an IUD or something like that.

• 11:49Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, and I'm like, because I got the tattoos and everything and I'm like, no, no, no, I'm not that type of hero. I'm not that hero, you know, I was born like this. And it's, it's, it's a lot better when people ask you because would you rather someone staring at you or be like, hey, like, who are you?

• 12:00Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, 100%. It's just like, but by the way, speaking of tattoos, I think you have a, you have a bunch of really unique ones, but I like this one. Tell them what this says right here. Does everybody see this? By the way, I don't know if the camera can get in there on that or not, Nico. Oh, tell them what that says.

• 12:12Nick Santonastasso?

  So this says, you laugh at me because I'm different and I laugh at you because you're all the same?

• 12:16Ed Mylett?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 12:16Nick Santonastasso?

  And I think, I'm pretty sure it's a Kurt Cobain quote, but that's what everyone's trying to do is trying to fit in and trying to, you know, especially, like I said, in middle school and high school, you're sitting with your little groups and your cliques, but like, wouldn't you rather the people that organically flock to you? Those are your tribe. That's your group because those are the people that love you for your authentic you, rather than wearing this mask, you know? So that, that's not like, hey, like, I'm way different than you, I'm better than you know. That's like, yo, be yourself, you know, because you are going to organically attract the right things in your life, the right people in your life because you're being who you are.

• 12:47Ed Mylett?

  Oh, bro. Come on, man. That's good.

• 12:50Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 12:50Ed Mylett?

  That's good. And so, I'm curious, you did sort of get into this sort of, you know, you said those were the hardest time of your life was middle school and high school, at least the beginning of high school. Did you kind of go into a little bit of a depression, sort of down on yourself? And then if you did, how'd you get out of it?

• 13:04Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, so, middle school, high school, I was at an all-time low for me, you know, and my big question was why? You know, I realized I was different and I realized, you know, some of the negativity of kids staring at me. I was just like, why? You know, there's billions of people, why do I have to be on this earth with no legs and one arm? These kids don't know what I'm going through. Why? Like, why? I was pissed off, you know, the universe, God, whatever it may be, I was just pissed off that I was in this situation. And when I got into high school, I, I realized, you know, that I was in the slump and I realized that, you know, confidence is a skill. It's not just something that you wake up with. And that's what I thought. When I thought in middle school and high school, I was like, I guess I'm just not born with confidence. You know, I thought you either had it or you didn't, but to show people that's a skill and you gradually work on it. So I needed to work on myself.

• 13:45Nick Santonastasso?

  And I'm lucky that I realized that the only person that's going to make a drastic change in your life, you know, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, like you were talking about, is you. You know, you have to take control of yourself. And I realized, I was like, man, like one choice, you have one choice. I can either look at all the negative I have in my life and focus on that, which won't propel me, it will dig me to a hole, or I can focus on all the good and all I'm capable of doing and that will elevate me. So when I was, when I was freshman year, it was funny, um, my best friend, we're still best friends to this day. And all my wrestler best friends are, you know, we're still best friends, but um, he was a bowler. And in my high school, you know, I was like, man, if I could be part of a team, you know, just like a group, something, a support system, I'll feel better about myself. I'll be labeled as, you know, an athlete, if it's a bowler, whatever it may be.

• 14:26Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 14:26Nick Santonastasso?

  You know, I'm an athlete, Nick's an athlete. So I, I, that fired me up. So um, I remember our varsity team was super good and our JV bowling team was undefeated until I joined the team. And I joined the JV team and I remember, I, dude, I totally remember, they didn't even have the correct like jersey for me. I had an older jersey. So like, it's me and like, people are like, how's this kid gonna bowl? And I was just like throwing a ball down the lane. And um, I realized that I wanted much more, that it just, it wasn't challenging me enough. And I, I wanted something more physical. And so I got my, I got into my sophomore year and all my best friends. So that best friend wrestled his younger years and like Matt Rats when he was younger. And so sophomore year, they all were on the wrestling team. They all were like all stud wrestlers for my high school.

• 15:09Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 15:09Nick Santonastasso?

  My older brother was a wrestler for that same high school, but I never got to go to high school with him. So like, the coaches knew me.

• 15:14Ed Mylett?

  They knew your family.

• 15:15Nick Santonastasso?

  And so I was like, man, I thought wrestlers were the coolest thing, you know, the hardest physical sport, like physically and mentally, I want to be a wrestler. So. At the time, this arm was about five inches longer than it is now. And my bone was growing faster than my skin. So it was like your finger, but super pointy. So I couldn't really touch it on things. It was super sensitive. Painful too, right? Yes, painful. So I used to tuck it because if I would have hit my arm hard enough, my bone would have came through. That's how like, yeah, sorry. But that's how like, you know, light it is. Yep. And so I made that decision to myself. I said, if I could become a wrestler, you know, if I could be with my friends and just get after it in the room, you know, it would make me feel so much better about myself and just lift me up. And so I came home one day and I said, Mom and Dad, I want to be a wrestler. And I remember I waited for my dad to be home. Yeah.

• 16:00Nick Santonastasso?

  And my parents supported me in everything and anything throughout my life. You know, Nick, as long as you're happy, you know, we want you to do it. But this was a little bit different. I said, Mom and Dad, I want to be a wrestler. My mom was like, oh, my God, Nick, you know, wrestling is the most physical sport. If you're out there, you hit your arm. And I was like, I was a 17, 18 year old kid. I looked at him and I said, can we cut it off? Oh, my gosh, bro. And they were like, what? And I'm like, can we take care of this? Like, it's not helping. And, you know, it took me a couple of hours, but I persuaded my parents to schedule an amputation. So we found like the best doctor and they basically lasered five inches of my arm off and did a skin graft. So they pulled extra skin and pulled it over my bone. So I'd have, you know, padding.

• 16:42Nick Santonastasso?

  And I always tell people, the only little mountain, the only little challenge that I saw that was stopping me from wrestling was the fact that my arm hurt. It wasn't the fact that I was born with no legs or arms. Amazing. I knew that my hard work and dedication, if I worked harder than the able body, it would make up for my lack of limbs. If I put the work in, you know, work my butt off, that I would, this wouldn't matter. You know, it wouldn't matter. So I made that decision. And so my sophomore year, I always say I was the happiest kid to cut his arm off. Come on, bro. Yeah, so we amputated my arm my sophomore year. And I remember I love food, we're Italian. And I missed Halloween that year because I was in a cast. I had like, you know, 17 stitches in my arm. And I remember going back to school and I was so happy. Like I said, happiest kid to just cut his arm off. And people are like, dude, what did you just do? Yeah.

• 17:27Nick Santonastasso?

  And I'm like, oh, I amputated my arm. I'm going to be a wrestler. And it was the same old, it was the same cycle. It was people, dude, you can't wrestle. You know, it was, dude, how are you gonna be a wrestler if you have no legs and one arm? Like dude, let's be real. You know, the outside noise, the naysayers, the haters. And I looked, I said, you're right. I'm not gonna become a wrestler. I'm gonna become a varsity wrestler. And, and you know, I think, I think from the earliest of ages, from, you know, my parents telling me what the doctors told me and all this, I always carried a little bit of chip on my shoulder to show people what I'm truly capable of doing.

• 17:55Ed Mylett?

  Bro, can we just stop for a second here?

• 17:57Nick Santonastasso?

  We can stop.

• 17:58Ed Mylett?

  You, you, to go, to go wrestle. So, there's all these, by the way, a lot of you are parents or you're a young athlete watching this. You go, man, I'm wrestling, man, it's so hard, so hard to cut weight. Or I gotta go to the gym, or man, I gotta miss my party on the weekend to go to practice. This guy cut his arm off to go wrestle, right? And, and by the way, that's going into it knowing, I don't actually have every other thing going for me to go dominate in this sport. It's actually after bowling, which by the way, I would love to see you bowl. That just to me is like the coolest visual in the world. But the fact that you go for bowling just to belong to a team, you're like, you know what, screw it, I'm going to a next standard, a next level. I wanna go wrestle. Then to have your parents kind of still back it though, man, and you go to that extreme. Like, what are you willing to do to chase your dream?

• 18:42Ed Mylett?

  This guy's willing to cut his arm off, right? Part of it. I mean, what are you willing to do to chase your dream? What's the sacrifice you're willing to make? And how's it compare to that? Right? And with no guarantee he makes a team, and then to up the ante, go, you're right, I'm not gonna wrestle. I'm gonna varsity wrestle. I, I don't know this, by the way. Did that actually happen?

• 18:58Nick Santonastasso?

  So, my junior year, I remember getting in the room and I said to my, to my buddies, because most of my buddies, they're all my buddies now, you know, and I was like, beat me up. I said, beat me up, slam my face in the mat as hard as you can, you know, do whatever you need to do. Because if you hold back on me, I'm not gonna know how to become the best wrestler I could possibly be. And that's the same thing for my parents. If my parents held back and gave me everything, you know, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have the mindset I have. I wouldn't be the man I am today if people held back on me. So that was my first thing, my, my message to everyone, yo, beat me up. Like, don't feel bad. Like, I'm here, I'm here for me, like, beat me up. So my junior year, what I, what I was doing was basically just trying to figure out... Where my strengths were, like what I was good at. And with wrestling, if you go to your back, if you both your shoulder blades touch, it's a pin, it's six points. And that's the most amount

• 19:42Nick Santonastasso?

  of points you can give up. So I knew that, you know, I needed to work on staying off my back. You know, even if I couldn't win, if they could tech fall me and get, you know, a lesser amount of points than a pin, I'm winning. So my junior year, I was like, like I said, I was like 1 and 20. And but my, my coach threw me out for a forfeit win, um, to get my varsity jacket. And I came off, I was like, I don't want it. You know, I never even got my varsity jacket. Um, I never got it. And I, because to me, I didn't earn it, you know, I, it was given to me. And I didn't want to wear something that, you know, it was just given to me. So my junior year, got my butt kicked, big learning experience. In between the summer of junior year and senior year, I kind of got in the weight room a little bit, not too much. Um, but my senior year, I came out as Central Regionals 106 pound varsity wrestler for my high school.

• 20:26Nick Santonastasso?

  Come on, dude. Come on. And, um, you know, like I said, we talk about moments of confirmation, moments of reassurance. It was just like, this is what you're, you know, regardless of, you know, how I got to 106 pound varsity wrestler, it was, you know, I stuck through the journey and I made it. So at that point, I'm still trying to find my why, you know, Nick's confidence is, is, you know, I got a little bit, you know, I'm part of the wrestling, I'm hanging with the wrestlers, I'm a senior wrestler, you know, I'm a varsity wrestler. Um, but I would go out and there would be gymnasiums packed to watch me wrestle. There would be standing ovations when I lost and I, I was, I hated it. I was like, why are you clapping for me if I just got my butt kicked? You know, I did give it my all, you know, I always gave it my all, but why are you clapping for me? You're not supposed to applaud losing, I'm a competitor. And I came off the mat one

• 21:11Nick Santonastasso?

  day and this, this lady came up to me and she was crying and I'm like, oh my God, you know, what did I do wrong? And she said, Nick, I want to thank you. And I said, for what? You know, 17 year old, 18 year old kid, what? And she said, my son or daughter never wanted to do a sport. My son or daughter never wanted to do an extracurricular activity. They want to try all these things. They saw you on the mat and they're like, oh my God, I want to try this, mom, I want to try that. And that was my quantum moment of, I was just trying to live my life to the fullest. I was trying to find my purpose and I was motivating and passively, I was motivating and changing lives passively on the sideline. Imagine how many people I could change for the better, how many perspectives I can change for the better and motivate people if I focus my energy in helping people. And that's when I realized that I... Boom, here's your why Nick, you are an example.

• 21:56Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 21:57Nick Santonastasso?

  You are an example, you know like, you accepted this life before you even were in here and you are here to be an example for those that think they can't. A lantern, a lantern for others, to spread light.

• 22:07Ed Mylett?

  Dude, you are that, and I told everybody when we started you would inspire. I'm trying right now not to tackle you myself because I'm so friggin fired up and I'm afraid you might wrestle me back to the ground. I don't want to be pinned. But I'll be honest with you, brother, like, there's so much here. Usually in interviews I want to jump in and add, but this is too good. And so, I do want to say one thing to you. That part about telling the guys to beat you up is such a great lesson for everybody to be watching this because you wanted to go through the real deal. And I'm thinking about, I'm thinking about all the things that people use to, they use as an excuse to stop, they use as an excuse to hold back, right? And you've just, you've never done that before. And it's, it's sort of just crazy to me. And one of the things I found out about you, obviously you're a competitor, right?

• 22:52Ed Mylett?

  And, but you're also real grateful. And I think that would surprise a lot of people that someone who, you know, got a little bit bullied and teased as a young guy, nothing came out perfect, nothing's easy for you, right? But yet you're really a grateful dude. Talk about how important gratitude is for you in addition to all of this intense competition you've been through. How important is gratitude?

• 23:15Nick Santonastasso?

  I feel like gratitude, if a person can just live in a state of gratitude, it could change their whole entire life. And I can make this quick and simple and easy for everyone to comprehend. Me, a man with no legs and one arm. There are millions of people as we sit in this couch that would switch places with me in an instant because they just don't have it like me. There are kids and adults that are confined in wheelchair beds. There are kids and adults that are paralyzed in wheelchairs that look outside and say, "Man, I wish I could just go outside and breathe the fresh air. I wish I could just listen to the birds. I wish I could get out of this hospital bed." Like, it gives me chills, that's all the motivation I need because I know that my situation isn't bad. And the sad thing is that there's people with full bodies that say, "Oh man, his life's bad." No, it's not, you know? The biggest disability is a bad mindset.

• 24:00Nick Santonastasso?

  It's not this, it is not this. It's people don't have their mind right, Ed. People are just like, "Oh my god, I can't do this, I can't do that." No, you can, you're truly capable of anything. You put limits on yourself. The only limits you have are the ones you put on yourself. So to- To go back to gratitude, like, I'm, start being grateful that you woke up today. You know, start being grateful that you were in a bed. There's people sleeping, you can go outside, there's people sleeping on the sidewalk. Like, how can you not be grateful? You know, so, living in a state of gratitude and, and waking up and starting your day off with gratitude, you know, listing five things you're grateful for, thinking about five things you're grateful for, you'll notice that your mind gets in a rhythm and at first it may be big things, like, oh, my family, my house, whatever it may be, but then your mind will get in the rhythm and start thinking about the little things.

• 24:45Nick Santonastasso?

  The little things you're grateful for, like, man, I got good health, or, man, I got food in the refrigerator, or, you know, I got friends, you know, the little things. Your mind starts to just become grateful for the things around you, and you realize that the things you complain about on a day-to-day basis, in the grand scheme of life, they're not problems. We don't have problems. Like, man, you know, you know what I'm saying?

• 25:06Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, I do, but you live it, and I think there's something powerful about people who are authentic, who actually walk the walk, that do the things they say they're going to do, which is what you do. And like, you're walking the walk, isn't the same as other people, because you have to walk differently. Are there days you're down? Are there days you're like, hey, man, even today, are there days now, this, look, you're accomplished, you've, you're now a sought-after speaker, right? You, you inspire people like me, who, it ain't easy to always inspire me, right? Like, there's gotta be something special about someone to inspire me, like, sitting here with you, I can feel my emotions, I'm trying to hold them, right? Like, my intensity, my passion, my tears, for some reason, like, I'm holding it in because I want to have a good interview with you, right?

• 25:51Ed Mylett?

  But like, you induce that in people, you're special. But are there days you're down?

• 25:55Nick Santonastasso?

  Absolutely, and I, I always tell people, I'm not the Energizer Bunny all the time, you know, I do have those low days, yeah. And I actually had a low day, I'll be honest, I had a low day, it was my birthday, the May 20th, and that weekend, we went to Miami, and I had a low day because... You know, I went out in public and just trying to, just trying to, you know, mingle and talk to girls. And maybe the one interaction when a girl didn't go the way I wanted to. And all these thoughts going in my head, oh my God, she thinks you're disgusting. It's because you have no legs and one arm. And you know, these are the, the, the, the things that you go through, those moments of like down and I was down. Like those guys, they were like, do you want to go out? And I'm like, no, like I'm good. I'm dude, it's your birthday weekend. No, I'm good.

• 26:37Nick Santonastasso?

  Because like one moment, it's important to know that one moment can, can induce those toxic thoughts in your head. But the important thing about that is when I'm in those low moments, and this is for everyone needs to do this, when you're in those low moments, embrace it. What are you feeling? How are you breathing? How do you feel? And realize that this is not a state I want to be in. So embrace that low time and be like, oh my God, I feel like, I feel like poop. You know, I don't feel good. I feel, this is my low state. You know, these are all the things that I don't want to go through and the thoughts that I don't want to think about. And that's the thing, you know, embrace that time, embrace that state and realize that, oh my God, I don't want to feel like this. And then get out of it. And, and the way to get out of it is start thinking positive affirmations, you know, start thinking about,

• 27:17Nick Santonastasso?

  because your mind can only think about one thought. So if you're thinking about something negative, you know, change that thought. So I start to think to myself, I am beautiful. I am confident. I am an athlete. I, if that girl doesn't want to talk to me, that it's an organic filter and that's the type of people that I don't want to be around. Nick, Nick, it was, it was helping you. She's not the girl you want to be around. She's looking at you for this.

• 27:38Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 27:38Nick Santonastasso?

  You know, so that's the one of the things that helped me so much because I'm not gonna lie, girls was a, is still, still a tough part for me, you know? And you know, especially as a 22 year old guy, you know,

• 27:48Ed Mylett?

  Sure.

• 27:48Nick Santonastasso?

  It's a hard, it's a hard, it's a low point for me, but to realize that me being in a situation, it, like we said about the tribes, it organically attracts the right people you want to be with. So if a girl is gonna not talk to me or, or you know, just not even respect me for my lack of limbs, okay, fine, like take a hike, you know, because you are not the person that I want to be around.

• 28:07Ed Mylett?

  Bro, remind yourself of that, please, because that's, shoot, this is good. Like it's so true because there's.

• 28:15Ed Mylett?

  All guys 22 years old or like have these deficiencies and then by the way, why does she like you? She like you just because you're good looking? That's the reverse. She like you just because you got a couple bucks? She like you just because you're an athlete? Then you end up, it's an odd filter for you that's actually to your benefit.

• 28:29Nick Santonastasso?

  Absolutely.

• 28:30Ed Mylett?

  It is because eventually you're gonna find a woman who loves you for you and as you're blowing up like you are now, she's actually gonna love you for you whereas like if you do have money, if you are successful, if you're like in someone's mind, perfect looking or whatever, right? Like you'll never know if they love the you that's you. So you actually have this, it's bizarre that you're right about that and I want to acknowledge that you're right about that and thank you for being honest about it too.

• 28:52Nick Santonastasso?

  Got it.

• 28:52Ed Mylett?

  Because I have down days too, all the time and I'm curious that, how you would advise somebody though that faces their own adversity? Like, hey man, I'm facing my own adversity right now. I don't, you know, I'm looking at you, man. I'm like, okay, this dude goes out for bowling, then he goes for wrestling. We're talking a minute of, by the way, that's not the end of this guy's athletic career. Okay, it ends up getting even better if you're wondering if that was like the end of it. No. By the way, was he a dominant wrestler? I think the most inspiring thing is, you didn't win all the time.

• 29:20Nick Santonastasso?

  I had two wins my senior year.

• 29:21Ed Mylett?

  By the way, that's massive, right? Because those two wins are more inspiring. See, I think the 14 or 15 not wins makes you more inspiring. Well, I was 17 and won two. You're like, alright, so he just crushed everything, whatever. I think it's more inspiring. I told you that beforehand. But I'm curious, what would you say to somebody who's going through their own adversity right now? If they could get advice, they get to sit here with you and go, hey man, I'm going through some crap right now. What would you say to them? I'm going through adversity.

• 29:47Nick Santonastasso?

  I would say, you know, realize that for the things that you may think are disgusting, right? Or may think are bad about you are probably your biggest strengths and your biggest influences. Because that was, that was the case for me. You know, when I was at that low point, I was like, I'm disgusting. I don't want to go in public. I hate the fact that I'm boring with no legs and one arm. It turned out the things that were, I thought were the most negative about myself, the most unattractive, disgusting, became my biggest empowerments and biggest influences. So people who, you know, they're going through adversity, you know, Embrace your difference, you know, it stands out embrace embrace you, you know, embrace what you struggle with and and what you're good at and focus on what you're good at. And you know, I think it's about working on yourself.

• 30:27Ed Mylett?

  I do too.

• 30:28Nick Santonastasso?

  And people, I feel like people don't work on themselves enough. And if that's just like, hey, I'm gonna wake up a little 30 minutes earlier, a little bit, you know, this week.

• 30:35Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 30:36Nick Santonastasso?

  You know, and pat yourself on the back, or I'm gonna eat healthy, you know, just work on yourself a little bit, a little bit, a little bit. And it's like you talk about the relationship you build within yourself.

• 30:43Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, right.

• 30:44Nick Santonastasso?

  You know, people may not have that relationship with themselves and they're looking to try to build relationships with other people. You need to start with you. You need to start with your relationship. So it's just like little micro steps, little, little stepping stones to, to becoming a better you.

• 30:55Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 30:56Nick Santonastasso?

  And that's what I say, as long as we are, as long as we're moving forward, you know, a little bit, a little bit at a time, progression is winning, you know, and as long as, as long as you're not going backwards, I always tell people, you're either growing or you're dying. Pick one.

• 31:08Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 31:09Nick Santonastasso?

  And you, and as humans, we love the feeling of progression. We love the feeling of growth and, you know, moving forward. So if you just take those little steps of moving forward, you'll, you'll start to, you know, you're like, ooh, I feel good, you know?

• 31:18Ed Mylett?

  Bro, it's so true. And like, you, I'm gonna tell you one thing, you've, I'd have to go back and look, but you've used the word disgusting five or six times. I just want to point out something to you right now. And you said earlier, you said embrace the state you're in. One of the reasons you need to embrace the pain of where you're at is it's a catalyst to change. And by the way, it's okay to have down days, it's okay to feel pain, because I want to, I want to say this to you too, because it's the contrast of life that give us our richness. Because it's on the days when you feel the most studly, the most fit, the most strong, which we're gonna talk about next.

• 31:49Nick Santonastasso?

  I got an amazing story for that too.

• 31:51Ed Mylett?

  Okay, I want to hear it, because the contrast between those two is what gives you the juice in life. It's okay to embrace those days, like, I don't feel like I look good, I don't feel strong today. So give me your story on that, though, I want to hear it.

• 32:01Nick Santonastasso?

  Well, real quick, we wouldn't know what the wins feel like if we never lost.

• 32:04Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 32:05Nick Santonastasso?

  So we need to embrace that hard time.

• 32:06Ed Mylett?

  I totally believe that, by the way.

• 32:07Nick Santonastasso?

  And, yeah, so, one of the things that I talk about is the meaning you attach behind things, right? Because like, I can have an event that you may think's tragic, but I see all the good in it. And, you know, we talk, I always, for the kids, you know, I like to break it down and be cultured with the kids, I'm like, Take an L, that you think an L, extract all the good from it and turn it into a W. Because it's a learning experience. Everything's a learning experience. You can pull a good thing from every negative event, well, every negative event that you think's negative. It's good. It happened, you know, it happened for you.

• 32:33Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 32:34Nick Santonastasso?

  And so, for example, I mean, we're jumping around, but for example,

• 32:37Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, no we're not.

• 32:38Nick Santonastasso?

  The meaning you attach behind things, this was in a perfect example, how I took, you know, a negative moment. And, you know, I can't snap my finger, but in a snap of finger, you know, took it to a good. So I was, I had the opportunity to work a UFC event.

• 32:50Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 32:51Nick Santonastasso?

  In Madison Square Garden, so I got to work the red carpet, interview some of the fighters, celebrities. Nick was feeling like the man, on top of the world.

• 32:57Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 32:58Nick Santonastasso?

  You know, nothing could stop me, I'm rolling. And it was time for me to go home, I was traveling alone. So I got to the airport and with flights, it's either, you know, you have assigned seating or it's first come, first served.

• 33:07Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 33:08Nick Santonastasso?

  And I'm in a wheelchair so your boy gets to skip the line.

• 33:09Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, right.

• 33:10Nick Santonastasso?

  So I get there and I get in the best seat of the plane and I sit towards the window, so there's two seats here, you know. And best seat in the plane and I remember the flight attendant. She said, this is gonna be a full flight. I'm like, sure, you know, I already got my seat, lady, you know?

• 33:22Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 33:23Nick Santonastasso?

  And the plane started to fill in. And people were like looking at me and looking away. Or they were like, hey, look, look at this guy, or, you know, and I see that stuff.

• 33:30Ed Mylett?

  Do you?

• 33:31Nick Santonastasso?

  And so, you know, the plane started to fill in, every seat's getting taken except these two. And I'm, I'm looking out the window and I'm starting to cry. You know, I'm starting to tear down and, you know, I'm, like I said, I'm feeling, I was on top of the world, Ed.

• 33:42Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 33:43Nick Santonastasso?

  And I'm looking out the window and it got me, it brought me back to that time in middle school, you know, when, when people were just like, freak, you know, it, it, all those, all those little voices came over my head and I started crying. And finally, you know, the plane filled in and two gentlemen had to sit down. And they're, they're here and I'm, I'm looking out the window and, you know, I'm trying not to let myself cry and I said, Nick, what would you tell the kids? You know, in this situation, if a kid was in this situation, what would you tell them? If an adult was in this situation, what would you tell the people you speak to? I said, it's a meaning I attach behind it. You know, it's a meaning I, I put behind this event. So I told myself, I can either let this, I could be so upset this whole ride home, cry home. I could cry that day, let it affect me for a week, a month, you know, we stack things. So I could let this affect me for, you know, however long. Or Nick could be so pumped up about the fact that he has the most legroom in his plane.

• 34:27Nick Santonastasso?

  And that, in that second, I was like, "Oh my God, I'm grateful." Like, "Oh my God, you know, look at all this space." And I needed to take myself to that negative spot, but like, say, "Okay." And then switch it and say, "You know, you have the most legroom in this plane." That's what you need to be happy about. Not the fact that these two people don't want to sit next to you. You're so spacious, you know? Pulling the good from a situation. And that is the importance behind you, the meaning you attach behind things. Because we all have, we all have low events. You know, we all have events where we just, we think it's bad, but in the end, it's working towards us.

• 35:02Ed Mylett?

  I'll never forget that story, bro.

• 35:04Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 35:05Ed Mylett?

  Bro.

• 35:08Ed Mylett?

  I never stop interviews, so I'm not gonna stop. I will never forget that story.

• 35:11Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 35:14Nick Santonastasso?

  I'm glad I got to share it with you, bro.

• 35:15Ed Mylett?

  I've never been quiet on one of these.

• 35:19Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 35:20Nick Santonastasso?

  Give me some.

• 35:21Ed Mylett?

  Dude, it's so good. Thank you for sharing that.

• 35:24Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you, man.

• 35:25Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, man, I think you're amazing, brother.

• 35:26Nick Santonastasso?

  Likewise.

• 35:27Ed Mylett?

  I just think you're amazing. That got me. I want to talk a little bit about some of the things you've achieved. That's just, that story is just, wow.

• 35:37Ed Mylett?

  Beyond just wrestling, this guy ends up, I've watched this, by the way, we'll feed in some B-roll as you guys are watching this now. This guy's a weightlifter and a bodybuilder and a really good one. We were talking off-camera about our diets and training and the pros and cons of doing that. And it's interesting, bro, I just keep flashing back, I just keep wanting to say this to you, but it's only when you tell me a story like that, or when you make that move, that I think about you, like, "Oh, he does have that." Because your spirit's so massive.

• 36:05Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 36:05Ed Mylett?

  I just don't think about it. And it takes me aback that I don't, frankly, right? Like, you're a stud in every sense, man. Like, a massive frickin' champion in every sense. By the way, the Lord also wired you with this unbelievable ability to communicate your thoughts in a really passionate, intense, emotional way, which is why he's such a sought-after speaker. Because it's one thing to live what you're living and to achieve what you've achieved. It's another thing to be able to articulate it where people can actually picture it and see it emotionally. Like, "I'm picturing you on that airplane." That's a gift. So, God also wired you with the gift to speak. And so, if you have an organization, everybody, right? And you want somebody to come in and inspire them and teach them, take their excuses away,

• 36:49Ed Mylett?

  give them the tips and strategies that does it. This man has just got the example beyond belief, but also the ability to communicate it. And so, before we move into the bodybuilding stuff, we might as well tell them in the middle, because you always don't want to wait till the end, right? So, how do they find you? Do they go to your social media? If they do, how do they find you there? And how do they find you to speak? Because I know people watching this are like, "Okay, I want more of this dude, more than I'm even gonna get in the time with Mylett." How do they find you?

• 37:13Nick Santonastasso?

  So, on all my platforms, it's @NickSantoNastasso, my Instagram. If you type in "Nick No Legs," you know, your boy pops up.

• 37:19Ed Mylett?

  That's all right.

• 37:19Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, key words, Ed.

• 37:21Ed Mylett?

  Nick No Legs, okay.

• 37:23Nick Santonastasso?

  But it's my... For booking, it's [email protected]. But, you know, that email is linked to my Instagram. And my Instagram's @NickSantoNastasso. And so, they can find me there, but I'm on YouTube and everything.

• 37:34Ed Mylett?

  He's everywhere. Which, by the way, Wes will do that before bodybuilding. Let me go there first. So, one thing you may not know about him, but this dude blew up on Vine, right? And doing... I love that you took your gift, right? Because I actually consider this now your gift. Amazingly, it's your gift and what you've done with it has magnified it, right? And so, you've taken that gift and you used it for like humor and pranks and stuff. So, a lot of them may not know this, but like also, social media is a place where they can be entertained and informed and inspired, which they can through with you. And some of these videos are out there, still YouTube and stuff. So, tell them a little bit about what you did, because it's like, man, you talk about parlaying something. Like, taking something, some of my things are deficient. You go, "Nope, flipping this into a massive strength." You did that on Vine with these pranks and stuff. So, tell them about that.

• 38:18Nick Santonastasso?

  So, when I was a senior, when all that wrestling stuff and, you know, I was gaining that confidence, the app Vine came out. And I was like, "Oh, I'm gonna put myself on the internet," you know? And my thing was, okay, if I can motivate and inspire people, that's great. But I also want to make them laugh, because I love making people laugh.

• 38:31Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 38:31Nick Santonastasso?

  And so, you know, I had a mastermind, little like group session with my friends. I'm like, "What has never been done before?" You know, what has never been done? Because if I post something that's never been done, it's gotta go viral. And I'm like, guys, how many, is there any legless guys crawling around Walmart pretending to be a zombie? No. And they're like, exactly. They're like, no. I'm like, let's go. You know? So I lived in New Jersey. I was in regular clothes and I put fake blood on my face, fake blood, you know, on my clothes. And I said, let's go to Jersey, which that Walmart had been kicked out like three times. They're like, dude, just don't come back anymore. You start too much trouble. Did they really? Yeah, yeah. I've been kicked out of that Walmart for pranking. And so we were looking for a victim and there was a, we, we go down the aisle and this guy's looking at paper towels. And I'm like, yo, pull out the camera. And so I come around this corner like, braaah!

• 39:14Nick Santonastasso?

  And he throws the paper towels at my face. And I'm like, was it six seconds? And they're like, dude, we got it in six seconds. You gotta have six seconds on mine. Yeah, six seconds. So be creative as you can in six seconds. And so I'm on my way home, still in school. Yep. And on the way home, I told myself, I said, if this reaches 500 kids, 500 kids and adults, and they could just see, they could see, look how happy Nick is. Yes. Look at how happy Nick is joking around. Maybe I could be a little bit happier in my situation. That's all I wanted. I woke up the next day, had over 80,000 likes and over 80,000 revines. And it went internationally viral. And you know, news articles from all over the world. But Ed, the one that stood out to me the most, it, the title was NJ Teen: Born with Disability Turned Into a Positive.

• 39:56Nick Santonastasso?

  And that's all I wanted from people. That's all I wanted people to say, well, look at him making the best of a situation. Because life hands you one hand, one hand, and you gotta make the best of that hand. You gotta play it to the best of your ability. So I wanted people to show, oh, maybe my situation's not that bad. Or maybe I could play my hand a little bit better. That's all I wanted for people. Damn. So you know, that picked up and I posted a bunch of, now I was just funny. Now I was just posting funny videos, some zombie pranks, some other things. And I gained a million followers in under a year doing that and created this outlet. And that led me to Fox International hiring me to scare Norman Reedus, the main actor of The Walking Dead in Tokyo, Japan. Yes. Which, you know, I always tell people, the meaning, the, the meaning behind all this is when you start to... Focus your energy on serving others and helping others, the universe comes back with amazing opportunities. Amazing opportunities.

• 40:41Nick Santonastasso?

  And it's not, that's not some voodoo stuff, like that's real, like, you know, the, the energy you put out, it comes back tenfold when you try to help people.

• 40:48Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 40:48Nick Santonastasso?

  So that's all I wanted to do is help people. And so, yeah. Just wanted to make people laugh.

• 40:52Ed Mylett?

  No, but seriously, like you, you, you like fully embraced the, the noise in that to me, like it's hilarious, it's funny, but you're like, hey dude, it's like you just say, look, I know you're thinking this about me, I'm gonna make it hilarious, right? And I, I gotta tell you, like, I'm picturing this dude in middle school, starting to get pointed at and made fun of, and then he finds himself just a few short years later in Tokyo, Japan, million views, doing something that high profile. It's just freaking unbelievable to me, right?

• 41:18Nick Santonastasso?

  I appreciate that.

• 41:18Ed Mylett?

  You've also though, I talked about earlier, I don't want to just tease it, cause you know I'm an athlete, or I like, I used to be, or I think I am.

• 41:24Nick Santonastasso?

  You're an athlete, Ed.

• 41:24Ed Mylett?

  I think, I still think I'm an athlete. You've turned this thing into now, like, you lift real weights, bro.

• 41:29Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 41:30Ed Mylett?

  Like, I, it's not like cute, like, oh, he lifts weights, isn't that neat? I'm like, watching your stuff, I'm like, you have found, it's like, you just won't be stopped, it's like, okay, I'm gonna do bench press, you think I can't do bench press, I'm gonna do it. And you, I'm watching your, I'm like, what the heck? This dude's unreal. So, you end up going, nah, I don't want to just like lift weights, like, I want to do some bodybuilding.

• 41:47Nick Santonastasso?

  Well, yeah, so.

• 41:48Ed Mylett?

  This is awesome.

• 41:50Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, so I, I was posting the pranks, and I actually moved out to LA, I was supposed to be a core cast member of like an Impractical Joker Show, with like a disabled cast, so you could pull some pretty cool pranks.

• 41:59Ed Mylett?

  Oh gosh, yeah, that would be, that's a great idea.

• 42:00Nick Santonastasso?

  I moved out there, yeah, I moved, I was 18, I moved out there with a roommate, um, just me and my roommate, and, you know, 18 year old kid, LA's expensive to live in.

• 42:07Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 42:07Nick Santonastasso?

  And I was living, it was paying $2,000 a month for a little shack of, of like a loft. And two weeks after I signed my lease, they canceled the show. And I didn't have any income, and I went broke. I went, and I, and, and, you know, talk about how my, my mom was like, as long as you're happy, you know, we love you. My dad was like, well, you're happy, but you need to be independent, you need to make money. So that was always in my head, I was scared, I didn't know how to be financially independent, I didn't know that, I can't work some regular jobs, like people, oh my god, like what am I gonna do? So. I'm sitting in LA and I'm broke and I refuse to tell my dad I'm broke. I mean, I'm eating like peanut butter and tortillas like, you know, low, low point for me. And but like, I'm grateful for that experience. I'm grateful because I live like that. I know, I know that I can live like that if I ever went, you know?

• 42:48Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 42:48Nick Santonastasso?

  So I moved home, I moved home back to my parents in Jersey and I said, Nick, what's next? And I said,

• 42:54Ed Mylett?

  That could have been a low point.

• 42:55Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, yeah, but I was like, you need to stay on, what's next? And my, the kid I wrestle, one of my best friends, Josh, that I wrestle with, you know, we're still best friends to this day. He was always a big dude. He was always lifting. And I thought to myself, I said, well, if I get in super good shape, which I don't know how to do it yet, but if I get in super good shape,

• 43:12Ed Mylett?

  I love that.

• 43:13Nick Santonastasso?

  If I get in super good shape, how marketable is that? Because you can't buy a fit body. They can't take away from me my shape. I put, you know, put my blood, sweat and tears in this. They can't, it's very marketable too. So from a business standpoint too, but I did, I did want to look good naked, you know, I wanted to look good. And, and I knew that would, that would instill more confidence in me. I'd be more comfortable with my body because I was out of shape doing pranks. So I'm like, Josh, you know, Josh, and I had another buddy, Ryan, that helped me right in the beginning. And I said, you know, this is what I want to do. I want to take over the fitness industry because there's no one like me. I'm a unicorn, you know, so if you put me in the industry and I excel, it's gonna, it's gonna catch.

• 43:45Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 43:45Nick Santonastasso?

  So for the first year, I posted, you know, these lifting videos. I had no idea what I was doing. And that's what I always tell people, we are the architects of our life. And each and every day, we have the ability to learn whatever we want to learn and implement it. You know, if you don't know it, learn it and implement it. But that's the thing, we just maybe, maybe people are just learning things and not taking action, but you know, you gotta implement it. So I'm posting these fitness videos for a year and, you know, I, I told people, I told all my following from, you know, pranking, I said, Guys, this doesn't, this doesn't make me happy anymore. This doesn't fulfill me. And, you know, when I have kids, I want them to know me for much more than crawling around Walmart. So I was like, I want to become a fitness model. I want to become a bodybuilder. I want to become a keynote speaker and I want to break into the mainstream modeling industry. I put out all my goals. I put out all the things that I wanted to accomplish. I said, these are the things I want to, want to accomplish. I don't know how I'm gonna do them.

• 44:29Nick Santonastasso?

  You either support me or not, but this is what, this is what I want to do. So for the first year, I was posting these lifting videos with, you know, my buddies and I was getting unfollowed, you know, hated on. Dude, we love your pranks, you know, why are you doing this? You know, how are you gonna become a bodybuilder? You have no legs, one arm, like all this stuff, same cycle, you know, when I wanted to be a wrestler, same cycle. So I was used to it. I was used to the people.

• 44:47Ed Mylett?

  You've seen this show before.

• 44:48Nick Santonastasso?

  I was like, I was like, you, I was like, you guys are thinking, thinking this is a phase for Nick, but this is gonna be a lifestyle. I'm gonna, I'm gonna crush this. So. That's what I tell people. I was going into the gym and it was just trial and error. And that's life, you know, falling on your face and figuring out which approach for you, which approach works for you because I couldn't go in the library and say, oh, no legs and one arm, this is how you lift, you know, it wasn't there for me.

• 45:07Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 45:08Nick Santonastasso?

  So we would go into the gym and figure out, you know, how to work, well, actually, the first six months, I wasn't even working this side. I was like, I don't need this side, you know, I'm just gonna bench press on this side, work this side. And then I fell in love with bodybuilding. I fell in love with the way it felt, you know, therapy, you know, the iron, this is the therapy. And so I was like, this is something that I really want to do and, you know, I don't want to, you know, I don't want to do it half ass. I want to do a hundred, hundred percent. So I need to, I need to figure out this side. So basically, it was just like going in there, which micro-movements can hit this, you know, with the bands or with resistance and how I'm gonna activate the lat. Just going in and figuring out different ways. And my knowledge in nutrition got better, my knowledge in training got better, my physique started to change. And people are like, uh-oh.

• 45:45Ed Mylett?

  It changed big time, though. What ended up happening? Tell them what happened. I mean, one of the things that happened is you ended up being competitive in shows, right?

• 45:51Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, so I, I wanted to immer, you know, immersion. I wanted to basically just get in a better environment. In New Jersey, there wasn't much of a bodybuilding environment.

• 46:00Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 46:01Nick Santonastasso?

  So I moved to Tampa about nine months ago. I moved to Tampa nine months ago and when I moved, I promised myself, I promised my family, my friends and my supporters. I said, guys, I'm going to step on the stage, the competitive bodybuilding stage for men's physique, before 2017 is over. So not only was that holding me accountable, but that was basically throwing myself in an uncomfortable situation. It forced me, forced me to level up. And that's what people need to realize is if you don't think you're ready for something, jump into it, you know, like, just because it's going to force yourself to learn what you need to learn to excel.

• 46:31Ed Mylett?

  Damn.

• 46:31Nick Santonastasso?

  And so embrace the uncomfortable times. So I'm like, Nick, you know, you don't know it, but you'll learn on the way. And so I did a 12-week prep and my, my, my best friend to this day, Cody, Cody and Mitch, Cody trained me, you know, basically dedicated, you know, my whole 12 weeks of the prep to training me. And, you know, I, I gave everything to that prep because I was basically making, making history. You know, no one stepped on the stage looking like this. So I was like, I was, and, and the thing is, Ed, people would have gave me an, an applaud if I stepped out at 12% body fat. But that wasn't me. No way. I'm like, you know, people clap anyway. I'm coming out shredded.

• 47:05Ed Mylett?

  Just like the wrestling, same thing. Don't cry when I lose, I'm gonna win.

• 47:07Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, exactly. So I was like, I'm gonna come out like the, the best I could possibly be.

• 47:11Ed Mylett?

  How shredded were you?

• 47:12Nick Santonastasso?

  I was pretty shredded. I was probably like 5 or 6%. And so 12 week prep and actually 10 weeks into my prep, I went out to Mr. Olympia to, because I had a big, I have a big following in fitness, you know, bodybuilder. People know me all over for bodybuilding. So I wanted to go there and that's a recharge for me for people saying, you know, oh my God, you motivate me. You know, that's where I get my fulfillment is, you know, people telling me how I impacted them.

• 47:33Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 47:34Nick Santonastasso?

  So I'm going there, I'm recharging and, you know, we talk about like moments where guided, you know, moments that were just like, oh my God, this happened for a reason. The Friday, I didn't, I went to the expo. Saturday, I went to the expo. Sunday, you know, I was chilling. I was like, I'm not gonna go to the expo. I'm just gonna hang. I was in a hotel room and I'm like, you guys wanna go to the gym? And they're like, yeah. So we went to City Athletic Club, which is a super famous gym in Las Vegas. And I remember my boy Casey Mitchell, he, right when I walked in, he was like, dude, The Rock is upstairs lifting. I'm like, really?

• 48:02Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 48:02Nick Santonastasso?

  And I'm like, he's like, yeah. I'm like, well, I need to still get a lift in, you know, I'm on prep, like, I still lift. And he's like, yeah. So I go up there and here Dwayne was, you know, with the security guards. And prior to that, he had retweeted one of my bodybuilding videos on Twitter. So just like, Nick, much respect, love what you're doing. So I was like, I told my guys, I'm like, he already knows who I am. We don't need to bug him. I don't ever, I wouldn't wanna be bugged in the gym, you know, if I was him. So let's just like chill. So like, we're lifting, we're lifting and he was in the corner and he pulled off his headphones and, you know, everybody bombarded with pictures. And, you know, everyone's taking pictures. C.T. Fletcher was there, Kai Green was there, a bunch of studs.

• 48:34Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 48:34Nick Santonastasso?

  And then, you know.

• 48:35Ed Mylett?

  That's a stud gym.

• 48:35Nick Santonastasso?

  Yeah, that is a stud gym. And, you know, I'm sitting there and I'm posing in the mirror, you know, I'm like two weeks out, just like doing me. And a security guard comes up and he's like, can Dwayne meet you? And I'm like, yeah, like, please. And he's like, we'll escort you, escort you so you can privately meet him. And so they put me in a corner, have it all filmed and, you know, we dabbed me up and he's like, hey, man, how you doing? You know, I love your stuff. And he's like, I'm a big fan. And I'm like, dude, I'm a big fan of you. And I was like, I'm gonna do what you did. And he's like, what do you, what do you mean by that? And I'm like, dude, you're The Rock. People knew you for college football, flag football, and then you went into WWE. And then you just took over every industry, bro. You're like crushing everything. I said, I'm gonna do what you did. And he said, Nick? You're right, because people like me and you, they put us in any industry and we adapt. We adapt and we overcome and he's like, "You're gonna do it."

• 49:19Nick Santonastasso?

  And talk about a moment of confirmation for me that I was doing the right thing. And after that, he's like, "Can I grab a picture?" And you know, another fangirl moment. I'm like, "Dude, of course, you can grab a picture. I love you."

• 49:28Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 49:28Nick Santonastasso?

  So we took a picture and I told him about my competition. He's like, "Dude, you're shredded." I'm like, "I'm two weeks out. That's the only reason why I'm shredded."

• 49:35Ed Mylett?

  Right.

• 49:35Nick Santonastasso?

  And so I told him about my competition and everything. Flew home and two weeks later, I'm backstage and I'm pumping up. I'm pumping up for my show and Cody comes over and he's like, "Dude, The Rock just posted you on his Instagram."

• 49:46Ed Mylett?

  Come on, man.

• 49:46Nick Santonastasso?

  I'm like, "Really?"

• 49:47Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 49:47Nick Santonastasso?

  And he wrote this really heartfelt message. It's still there if you scroll down. And a very heartwarming message. And at the end, he said, "Nick, I want to thank you for sharpening, sculpting my perspective a little bit more on life." And I tell the guys, I tell my buddies, when I'm up on stage, it's really hard for me to... It's still hard for me to realize the impact it has on people because it's Nick, just Nick.

• 50:08Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 50:08Nick Santonastasso?

  Like, I forget to tell people that I drive a car, but I drive a car. It's just me doing me.

• 50:12Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 50:12Nick Santonastasso?

  So for someone like that to be like, "Dude, you are moving people." It was just like, "Oh, my God, I'm going the right way. I'm going..."

• 50:19Ed Mylett?

  How'd you do on the show?

• 50:20Nick Santonastasso?

  I took... So I placed third in men's physique novice. So it was my first competition, like the amateur. I took third. And I beat some able-bodied guys. And I'm like, "Yes!"

• 50:30Ed Mylett?

  You crushed.

• 50:32Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 50:32Ed Mylett?

  How cool is it, by the way, because by the way, all of you should know this too. You can someday inspire your own heroes, which is what you did with Dwayne, right? You can someday, your example can inspire your heroes. You said a couple of things that I just want to go back to because we're like, "Here we go." Flying out of time again, right? Because this is like unreal. Number one, several times, you said, "I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I'm gonna do it." So many people are stopped by thinking they need to know how to do something without chasing it. More important is why and your passion for it. The how will reveal itself in the chase. So many people are held back by, "I don't know how," right? Get your butt in there, start chasing it. The how begins to get revealed. Also, I think Dwayne used an unbelievable word for you, which is "adapt." He said, "Guys like you and I adapt." If you think about it, your life, because of the way that you were born, you've had to adapt all of your life.

• 51:17Ed Mylett?

  And champions in anything, yeah, they have drive. Yes, they have goals. They have their incantations. They have the gratitude. They have all that. They also have the ability to adapt. It's one of the things not covered on my show. Often enough, or any shows that I see like this, is adaptation, adapting to your environment, adapting to conditions, adapting to circumstances that happen to you. And I agree with him. Guys like you, me, and him, and I'll just say you, specifically, we adapt and we become great at whatever we do. You're about adapting your entire life, and so stud story, dude. Like, now you go dominate. Because it's interesting, you did the bowling thing, not real good at that. Wrestling, you got even better. Then you've taken the fitness and the bodybuilding to like a legitimate world-class level now, brother. It's like, I want to acknowledge that.

• 52:01Ed Mylett?

  I think it's friggin' awesome, so. We are almost out of time, and I do, I feel like there's something special about you for every audience. You obviously know why you should book Nick to go speak. Let's be real here, okay? You're not gonna have somebody like him ever come into your life, come speak to your organization, your school, or your company, who's literally, I mean, his example's unreal, but his ability to put these words together is unheard of in this space. And then like, you're gonna come speak to my company, I can tell you that for sure. I told you that even before we went on air. But I also think you have a special gift with young people, because you are young. There's a big age difference, even though you can't tell from looking at us. Right, everybody? Between Nick and I. Why are you all laughing, by the way? I don't understand that. But what would you say, there's young people watching this,

• 52:44Ed Mylett?

  and I think a lot of you parents that have this, this is the part where you want to send them to this. So, you get to speak to a lot of schools. You spoke to one yesterday, as a matter of fact. But if you could give a message to just young people about their life, maybe they're going through something, they're, they feel awkward, or self-conscious, they're being bullied. Maybe they've got dreams and goals. Whatever it is that you could say, particularly to the younger group of people watching this, what would you say to that group of people?

• 53:08Nick Santonastasso?

  I would say, you know, it's great to have other people believe in you, but it starts within. Like, you need to be your biggest cheerleader, you need to believe in yourself, and that's if, whether that's, like I said, we said before, working on yourself a little bit, that you have to do that for yourself, and that's the beauty behind it. The only person that needs to believe in you is you. The only need to, the only person that needs to believe that you can obtain your vision, obtain your goal, is you. No one else is gonna do it for you. So, be your biggest cheerleader and embrace being different, you know? The sexiest thing you could be is different, you know, whether that's, you know, personally, professionally, in business, whatever it may be, being different stands out. So, you know, that and, and follow what you love, you know, because I say the majority of people are on earth dying. They're not living. They're, they're working jobs they

• 53:52Nick Santonastasso?

  don't like, or they're doing things that they just don't enjoy. But you have one life. So I would much rather fail and fall on my face at something that I enjoy, that's something that I'm pursuing, that I love, than trying to then work a job that I don't enjoy, or living a life that I don't enjoy. I'd much rather keep failing and, and, and working on something that I love than something that I hate. And that's what I tell people, you know, live, live on this earth, don't die, you know, be you, be, follow what you want to do, you know, and, and forget the outside noise. Use it as jet fuel, use it as motivation and elevate yourself, because everything around us, whether it's negative or bad, you know, you can use it in a good way. And, and, and mostly the negative stuff, because these kids have so much going on, you know, in, in their life, whether it's social, you know, at home. I know it's not all sunshine and rainbows, but use that as drive, you know,

• 54:36Nick Santonastasso?

  switch that energy, because life gives us energy. We, we dictate whether it's negative energy or good energy. We have that choice. So for them to realize that, you know, you, you are the, you are the architect of your life. You sculpt your life. So just follow your dreams, follow your passion. And like, like you said, it sounds so cliche, but you're never working a day if you truly love what you're doing. And that'll drive you more than anything. That why will get you out of bed on those hard days.

• 55:00Ed Mylett?

  Why that's ridiculously awesome, what you just said, is I'm listening to you and I'm like, I'm 47. That applies to me. And so the best advice isn't age centric. It's not, it's not religious centric, right? It's not specific just to an ethnicity. The best advice applies to everybody. What you just said is true for everybody. There wasn't a 60-year-old person listening to this that shouldn't take that advice, or a 16-year-old person. I think you're special.

• 55:24Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 55:25Ed Mylett?

  And you inspire me. And I know that today you just started the journey of inspiring even millions more people, bro. And I'm so excited to watch your future. I'm here to help you with it.

• 55:38Nick Santonastasso?

  Thank you.

• 55:38Ed Mylett?

  I'm here to collaborate with you. I'm here to support you. I believe in you. You affected me today. I'm really grateful you came here. Thank you for coming to my home. We've got a nice view for you today too.

• 55:50Nick Santonastasso?

  I'm grateful for the opportunity.

• 55:51Ed Mylett?

  And I'd go anywhere in the world to listen to you because you're the real deal, brother. So, thank you so much for today.

• 55:56Nick Santonastasso?

  I want a hug.

• 55:57Ed Mylett?

  I'll give you a hug.

• 55:58Nick Santonastasso?

  I'll give you a finger. I appreciate it.

• 56:00Ed Mylett?

  Oh, man, you're like, yeah, I appreciate you so much, brother. Did you enjoy that, everyone? Yeah, I know. I know. I can already feel it. Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to give him some love on his social media, and I'd like some love back too for bringing him to you. You know that's what we do on Max Out. You know this program is called Max Out. And let me ask you a question. Does Nick exemplify maxing out life or what? I don't know that we've had anybody sitting there in the kind of posture at your age, bro, that's maxing out life at the pace that you are. I'm so proud of you. And if you enjoyed today, follow this man on social media. I know you know where to follow me because you're here. And so, what I ask you to do, we were number one in the world last month on all podcasts in the business space. I'd ask you to keep that up by going on iTunes and writing a review.

• 56:45Ed Mylett?

  If you're on YouTube, give it a like or a comment. That helps it move up too. And spread the word to your friends. More people need to know about this. Again, there's a two-minute drill on Max Out every single day, everybody. When I make a post, if you make a comment within the first two minutes with hashtag Max Out, every day we draw a winner, and you get access to gear from me or a coaching call with me. But I'm also starting to weave in our guests where you get a surprise coaching call with one of them. Would you agree to do one of those for us?

• 57:10Nick Santonastasso?

  I'm in.

• 57:10Ed Mylett?

  So, you could get a call with Nick if you're posting as well. That's huge, brother. So, thank you for that. So, make those comments on Instagram, everybody. Follow me on all social media. I hope you enjoyed today like I do. I'm grateful for you, bro. Thank you.

• 57:20Nick Santonastasso?

  Likewise, brother.

• 57:21Ed Mylett?

  Such a great experience. Max Out, everybody, and God bless you.