32 Lifestyle Movement, Mental Transformation and a Killer Positive Impact with Travis Brewer

Want to know the key to living a life where your default attitude in every instance is positive instead of negative? How would your life be if you looked at each experience as an opportunity for growth, rather than something negative that holds you back from achieving your greatness? Travis Brewer, the American Ultimate Ninja […] Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

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

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 32 with Ultimate Ninja Warrior Travis Brewer. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 0:33Lewis Howes?

  What is up, greats? Thanks so much for joining me today in the studio. Super pumped for this episode because it's with my good friend Travis Brewer. Now, if you don't know who Travis is, in my mind, he has the most inspiring Instagram account because of all the cool images he is posting. He's got him running off of palm trees in the sunset, doing backflips off these palm trees, doing huge sweeping windmills off of rings and bars in Venice Beach, and really just creating some amazing things. How he's able to move his body, flip through the air,

• 1:11Lewis Howes?

  and create visual poetry is astonishing to me. And it's always cool to watch gymnast-type athletes see what they can do with their bodies. I'm a tall, bigger guy. I'm 6'4", 225, and it's a stretch to really flip in the air and twist my body in the ways that some of these gymnasts do. And Travis is amazing. Again, he's an Ultimate Ninja Warrior. He does parkour. He does bar calisthenics. He's a former gymnast. He's a Reebok athlete. And he's also a lifestyle clothing designer. I've got actually one of his shirts on right now. I wear his clothes pretty much in every workout in CrossFit, basketball, or whatever I'm doing. Amazing stuff what this guy's creating.

• 1:55Lewis Howes?

  And I bring Travis on to kind of talk about his lifestyle and the positive impact that he has in what he does every single day and what his mission is. It's pretty cool what he's up to and how he inspires the world through, I guess, poetry in motion is what I would say, through him actually.

• 2:15Lewis Howes?

  Creating poetry with his body and what he's able to do. It's very inspiring to watch.

• 2:22Lewis Howes?

  And if you go over to the show notes at school of greatness.com, you'll be able to see a video of what this guy can do. It's amazing. The ultimate ninja warrior competition. He's a semifinalist in and some of the things he can do is extremely cool. So I'm very pumped about this episode, but I want to give a quick shout out to the fan of the week. And this was from Bella numero, what is this Bella numero Cinco on Instagram. So Bella numero Cinco on Instagram and she put a picture of my big mug on Instagram with a couple of other pictures on there with her workout plan and said three weeks to go on her workout goals and then had a quote from Les Brown.

• 3:07Lewis Howes?

  So I thought this would be great. Be the quote of the week and the fan of the week. The quote she had was leap and grow your wings on the way down. Put all your bets on you and on your ability to achieve your goals. Throw caution to the wind. And that's from Les Brown and I really love that. And it ties in great with this week's episode because so many people that I encounter that reach out to me online on Facebook or in person that meet me are afraid to take action and to move forward on their goals and their dreams. And greatness is inside each one of you.

• 3:51Lewis Howes?

  It's waiting for you to rip it out of your heart, out of your gut, out of your mind and step into it. It's just waiting for you. You're like a caged beast right now, waiting to let go of all this doubt, all this fear and just break through it and step into your greatness. And I thought this was a great quote because for me, I've always been afraid. I'm going to be honest with you. There is fear all the time. If I lied and said I had no, if I said I had no fear, I'd be lying because I am afraid. And fear actually allows me to be courageous and express my courage.

• 4:34Lewis Howes?

  Because if I feel the fear and don't take action. Then I'm scared and I'm a little wuss really. If I'm not going to take action on my dreams because I'm afraid of failure, or I'm afraid of what people are going to think of me, or that they're going to leave me, or not accept me, or mock me, or make fun of me, then how am I showing up and really giving all of my gifts to the world? If I hold them in, hold them back, and allow fear to control me sharing my gifts with you and with the world? It does not serve me, and it does not serve the world.

• 5:12Lewis Howes?

  And we're really here to share our gifts with everyone, not just ourselves and be stuck in our own little world, but really share it with the world. And so fear is something that allows us to step into this greatness, be courageous, and break through it. So I always talk about feeling the fear and doing it anyways, taking this action. Or as Les Brown says, leap and grow your wings on the way down. So sometimes you don't have to have wings to be able to jump and fly. You've just got to have the faith and belief in yourself that you're going to figure it out on the way down, on the way up, however you want to use the analogy. But again, I want to see you guys creating amazing epic things in your lives.

• 5:56Lewis Howes?

  I want to see you stepping into your greatness, whatever that looks like for you. If that's being a better husband or wife and supporting an amazing family and stepping up for them, then that's what that means. However it looks to you in creating an amazing life that impacts the people around you and shows your greatness every single day, that's what's possible for all of you. You've just got to be willing to feel the fear and do it anyways. So I hope you guys enjoyed that one, the quote for the day. Again, go check out the show notes over at schoolofgreatness.com. And we're going to have some really cool videos and pictures of Travis over there.

• 6:38Lewis Howes?

  But with that, I want to get you guys going and get you started with this week's episode on The School of Greatness with Travis Brewer.

• 6:59Lewis Howes?

  What is up everyone? Back in the studio again with my good man Travis Brewer, who's in the house. What's up Travis?

• 7:05Speaker 01

  Hello, hello everyone.

• 7:06Lewis Howes?

  Good to see you brother.

• 7:07Speaker 01

  Hello Mr. House.

• 7:08Lewis Howes?

  Good to see you. Now Travis is a freestyle movement extraordinary. You remind me a lot of Carl Pauly. Do you know him?

• 7:16Speaker 01

  I don't.

• 7:17Lewis Howes?

  He is like a CrossFit gymnastics trainer and does a lot of freestyle movement stuff, but not to the extent of you. He actually auditioned for Ultimate Ninja Warrior. I've had him on the show a few episodes ago. But I want to get your take on some things. Now you are, you're semi-finalist in the Ultimate Ninja Warrior competition.

• 7:35Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 7:36Lewis Howes?

  Back to back years or how many years have you done it?

• 7:38Speaker 01

  Uh, two years now.

• 7:39Lewis Howes?

  Two years now. And did you finish? Did you ever, has anyone ever completed the full, uh, the last event?

• 7:45Speaker 01

  No American has ever completed, uh, the final stage four of Mount Midoriyama.

• 7:51Lewis Howes?

  Why not?

• 7:52Speaker 01

  Uh, they're waiting for me to do it.

• 7:55Lewis Howes?

  Do you think it's possible?

• 7:56Speaker 01

  I, it's definitely possible. I had the, uh, I got to go out to Vegas this year and test a lot of the, uh, the course and just get out there and, and see a lot of Mount Midoriyama and it definitely can be done. It's kind of the beauty behind Mount Midoriyama is that, you know, one fall and you're out. So it's, uh, it's, it's a mental game just as much as a physical game.

• 8:16Lewis Howes?

  So you have to have like a perfect.

• 8:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:18Lewis Howes?

  Run at it.

• 8:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:19Lewis Howes?

  You can't fall one time. If you fall once at anything, then you're done.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  Hmm. So it's, it's definitely can be done. It's just having the stamina, being able to do it under the right time and being able to, uh, you know, just put, put everything in line and have a perfect run is, is, is really the hard part. I mean, it's, it definitely physically can be done. I physically know I can do it.

• 8:38Lewis Howes?

  Physically. Now, so actually I think I've seen it like once. Like people attempting to do it. I haven't seen the show that much, but I've seen it and. It's just basically like a huge mountain of an obstacle course, right?

• 8:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:51Lewis Howes?

  How many, how many different things are on it? How many different stages of the mountain are there?

• 8:56Speaker 01

  So there's four stages and then with each stage, there's probably between six and 10 different obstacles.

• 9:03Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 9:03Speaker 01

  Except for the final. Stage four is actually like a 70 foot rope climb.

• 9:08Lewis Howes?

  No way.

• 9:09Speaker 01

  Just straight up.

• 9:09Lewis Howes?

  That's not that hard. I mean, if you're a rope climber, you can do that pretty easily.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 9:13Lewis Howes?

  Are there mats underneath us if you fall?

• 9:15Speaker 01

  Uh, there are. There's like a mat that floats up as you climb up.

• 9:19Lewis Howes?

  Oh, that's pretty sweet.

• 9:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:20Lewis Howes?

  So it's only like 10 feet below you the whole time.

• 9:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 9:22Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Now, on the rope climb, do you have to do it all arms or can you use your legs?

• 9:26Speaker 01

  You can do either one, but you have to.

• 9:28Lewis Howes?

  Do it at times?

• 9:29Speaker 01

  Do it a certain amount of times, so.

• 9:30Lewis Howes?

  I feel like the legs would be the easiest, right?

• 9:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 9:33Lewis Howes?

  But the arms might be the quickest?

• 9:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's that, again, it's a mental game. You gotta.

• 9:37Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 9:37Speaker 01

  Kind of do that combo of, of, you know, how long your legs will last and then go to the arms.

• 9:42Lewis Howes?

  Wow, interesting. 70 feet.

• 9:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:45Lewis Howes?

  That's the final thing. What's the, what's the hardest obstacle for you to overcome?

• 9:50Speaker 01

  For me, um, one thing I've really been working on in the last year is my grip strength and getting like the forearm strength to do like, doing a lot more rock climbing. There's a, uh, one obstacle called the ultimate cliffhanger where you're just on your fingertips and you have to traverse across some gaps and, and jump across and.

• 10:08Lewis Howes?

  Jump on your fingertips on a node?

• 10:10Speaker 01

  And literally you're like, uh, imagine.

• 10:12Lewis Howes?

  Little spider monkey.

• 10:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, you're, you're on your fingertips, you know, there's a wooden board and then you have to reach up, you know, three or four feet up to one piece and then you actually have to swing your body and down and.

• 10:23Lewis Howes?

  And then catch on a small little.

• 10:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:26Lewis Howes?

  On your fingertips.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  On your fingertips. So, you know, most people don't get to experience or practice doing stuff like that every day. So that's one thing that, you know, I feel a lot more comfortable doing, for example, the, the quad steps or the salmon ladder or, you know, uh, most upper body strength stuff I do pretty often. So it's, uh, working on that is, is something that's, uh. I've been working on lately.

• 10:48Lewis Howes?

  For a long, long time. Now, you used to be, you do also parkour, bar calisthenics, you're a former gymnast.

• 10:54Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 10:54Lewis Howes?

  Mostly the rings, right?

• 10:56Speaker 01

  I did all around. I was ranked highest in the rings and vault.

• 11:01Lewis Howes?

  Rings and vault. And then you're also like a Reebok athlete, I guess, right? You like test a lot of their products.

• 11:06Speaker 01

  Correct. Yeah, a lot of their CrossFit gear.

• 11:09Lewis Howes?

  And then you're a lifestyle clothing designer now as well.

• 11:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:12Lewis Howes?

  You've done many things, but I think it's really cool that you have been able to like compete and train at a high level of all these different kind of, what do you even call this? Like extreme lifestyle workout competitions? Or what do you call these?

• 11:27Speaker 01

  Advanced body weight training or advanced calisthenics is probably the easiest classification. We're using our body weight in our movement to, you know, complete our tasks. So from parkour to free running to, to calisthenics, to, you know, bars and muscle ups, that kind of stuff. It's all, you know, using body weight.

• 11:45Lewis Howes?

  Now, what, what prepares you the best for the Ultimate Ninja Warrior competition or for the mountain? Which, which workouts? Or is it a combination of everything?

• 11:55Speaker 01

  It's, it's a combination of everything. As if you watch the show at all, you'll, you'll see world-class rock climbers and you'll see world-class parkour guys. But everyone is, has a certain strength and, you know, probably does better on certain obstacles. I really, you know, as you'll see, you really need a combination of all around. It's like you're, you know, your, your top free runners in the world aren't doing any better than, you know, than any other competitor than like a rock climber or a calisthenic guy. It's, it's, in my opinion, it's going to be a combination of all.

• 12:27Lewis Howes?

  It's like being a decathlete, basically.

• 12:29Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 12:29Lewis Howes?

  You've got to be great at everything. You can't be an amazing pole walter and try to run, you know, the hurdles, if you've never done the hurdles, because you're going to fall on the mountain somewhere. Interesting. Now, what I like what you said was you can physically do all the things on the mountain probably, right? Like one at a time, you could do them.

• 12:45Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 12:46Lewis Howes?

  But there's no room for.

• 12:49Lewis Howes?

  The time, I guess, failure, right?

• 12:51Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 12:51Lewis Howes?

  Is each stage, you have to do it under a certain time? Or is it?

• 12:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, each stage is timed.

• 12:56Lewis Howes?

  Timed. So you have to do it under a certain time. And if you fall on something, you're out, right?

• 12:59Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 13:00Lewis Howes?

  So it's more of, how do I step up to mentally prepare myself? When I know I only have one shot at something?

• 13:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:09Lewis Howes?

  And how do I prepare myself mentally? Because you can do all the physical training.

• 13:13Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 13:14Lewis Howes?

  You say you're good enough. But what's it take for you or for any athlete or any entrepreneur? When there's one shot on the line? When it all comes down to this one thing? And if you fall or slip once, there's no second chances?

• 13:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:26Lewis Howes?

  How do you prepare for that? Or how does anyone prepare for that?

• 13:29Speaker 01

  Well, I think we've all heard the saying, practice makes perfect.

• 13:32Lewis Howes?

  Uh-huh.

• 13:33Speaker 01

  Um, practice, I think, does a great job of preparing you to be able to get to a certain level, to be able to do the physical obstacles. You know, if you've never practiced on, in any of the equipment or practiced on the, you know, obstacles, it's going to be a lot harder or near impossible to do it. But beyond practice, I think what practice really does for you is it prepares you to be a believer. And you have to believe that you can do it. Um, if you go in scared or you go in, uh, you know, timid, you know, you're not gonna, you're not gonna make that extra push. You're not gonna make that extra jump. So it's just believing that you can do it. And, and a big factor for me is just relaxing and realize that this is a game show and have fun with it.

• 14:14Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 14:15Speaker 01

  I think, uh, well, if you go with that mentality, that, you know, it's, it's for fun. Um, I, I've, I've done a lot better.

• 14:22Lewis Howes?

  But what if it's, uh, you know, let's say there's an entrepreneur that's got a big deal on the line? Or maybe someone who's a job seeker?

• 14:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:29Lewis Howes?

  Who's been looking to get a job for six months or a year? And has been doing interview after interview? And this is like the last chance?

• 14:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:37Lewis Howes?

  It's kind of hard to relax.

• 14:38Speaker 01

  It's true.

• 14:38Lewis Howes?

  When you're like, I'm broke, I'm in, you know, in debt, whatever it may be. Or I'm trying to pitch this company to investors to raise income, or whatever it may be.

• 14:47Lewis Howes?

  What do you still say, just have fun?

• 14:48Speaker 01

  No, no.

• 14:49Lewis Howes?

  Relax, or what do you, what do you think?

• 14:50Speaker 01

  I'd say, um, a lot of it being like, if this is your destiny and this is what you're, you're trying to do, then you know, you gotta go out there and you gotta own it. I mean, like if this, if you feel that you were meant to be the next ninja warrior, you're supposed to be the, the next, uh, get the next book deal, or you're supposed to, you know, get that next gig, you know, you get, you just gotta walk in that door and let them know, you know, like, why is, you know, eyes wide open and be like, hey, like this is, this is me and this is what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna sit here, I'm gonna own it, and this is why.

• 15:19Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, you gotta prove it.

• 15:20Speaker 01

  You just gotta go out there and prove it.

• 15:22Lewis Howes?

  You gotta prove it.

• 15:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:22Lewis Howes?

  That's your slogan. You gotta prove it. Now, okay, I like that. Now, let's talk about belief, cause you talked about that. I did an episode on belief, uh, I think back like my 10th or 11th episode. And belief for me is something that's huge, something that I think it's like the difference maker in actually getting what you want and being second best. And like you said, you've gotta believe that you've done the work, you've done the practice. But how does someone increase their belief or their confidence in themselves?

• 15:53Speaker 01

  Uh, I think you really gotta manifest your destiny. And best way to do that is if you believe you can do it, then you're, you know, you get your mantra out and you do it every day, you know, I am going to be X, you know, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna get a book deal and this, you know, and I'm gonna do this every day and this is who I'm gonna reach out to and this is how I'm gonna do it.

• 16:11Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 16:11Speaker 01

  Um, it's, it's following up with your dream and never giving up, you know, there's, you know, you gotta put that energy and that focus into it and you get other people believing that you're gonna do it as well. Cause once you have not only your self believing, but you know, your, your girlfriend or your business partner or your best friend, your roommate, you know, like your whole group, tell every one of your friends that this is what you're gonna do. Because if more people know that you're trying to do this, they can reach out back to you and link up to you. It's about, you know, setting that goal, getting the energy out there and get those intentions out there. And then, you know, you know, what you dream up, you can create and you can be.

• 16:43Lewis Howes?

  Right. Now, it's one thing to say, tell everyone what you're gonna do, but then what do you do every day? Like, what do you do to prepare for achieving your goals? Are you, are you on the, I know you're on the bars in Santa Monica a lot, or you're doing CrossFit? What else are you up to?

• 16:57Speaker 01

  Uh, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm training, uh, every day physically and, and mentally, whether that be, you know, either.

• 17:04Lewis Howes?

  Do you meditate every morning? Do you go like to the beach and do a certain exercise every day? What's the routine?

• 17:08Speaker 01

  So every morning I have a, I have a, I meditate and I read in the morning. Um, read a book that, you know, usually a self-help or, um, Based off of like a self-realization.

• 17:18Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 17:19Speaker 01

  Um, and then I do, and do as well as a stretch that goes with it. So just kind of.

• 17:24Lewis Howes?

  Like yoga, some type of yoga stretch?

• 17:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. So in, in doing a, uh, improving the body and improving the mind at the same time. And then throughout the day, um, it's trying to improve myself either physically or mentally within my business as well.

• 17:37Lewis Howes?

  Okay. Interesting. And do you switch it up? Cause I know you do a lot of different workouts. So do you do something different every day when it comes to like CrossFit one day, then you go parkour another day? Or do you focus one week on a specific exercise? Because again, you've got to be great at everything going into Ultimate Ninja Warrior. Uh, and in life, really, you've got to be great at everything to have an amazing life. You can't just be great at one thing. So how does that work for you?

• 18:02Speaker 01

  Uh, I definitely switch it up. I definitely, I don't do like CrossFit one week, calisthenics next week, parkour the next. Um, it's usually kind of a case by case, project by project. A lot of it depends on either it's something I'm filming or a, a, uh, an episode or some sort of gig that's coming up, you know, I will prepare for that if it takes precedence. But otherwise, if it's just a, uh, you know, nothing formatively planned that week, I, I all do, I try to get at least a, I do a yoga every week. I'm, I'm doing a calisthenic every week. I try to also get a CrossFit in every week.

• 18:37Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 18:37Speaker 01

  And then, um, it's all about maintaining the body and keeping it healthy, you know?

• 18:42Lewis Howes?

  That's it, man.

• 18:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:43Lewis Howes?

  I love it. Now, what's your, uh, what's your dream, man? What's your biggest dream?

• 18:48Speaker 01

  Uh, biggest dream really is to inspire more people that you can, you know, get out there and get healthy and, and improve your body, but improve the world at the same time.

• 18:59Lewis Howes?

  Uh huh.

• 18:59Speaker 01

  And creating a platform, um, through the clothing line that you can, you can get workout gear that can, you can use to improve your body. But this will impact the world at the same time, not only through a purchase that you make, but also we can get together and hopefully inspire other people who buy the clothes or don't buy the clothes to, you know, to get together and like, let's form charity fund runs or let's form different, let's have a meeting park to, a place to meet and to congregate and to, you know, collaborate on how we can improve our bodies and the world.

• 19:31Lewis Howes?

  So that's what you're doing with Pi Lifestyle, right?

• 19:33Speaker 01

  That's what I'm doing with Pi Lifestyle and then a lot of the the different shows that I do as well is really just to kind of inspire that, you know, I I train really hard and I set my mind to something. Um, and show that, really to show people the progression of, of what you can do if you set your mind to something.

• 19:50Lewis Howes?

  Now, what is, what's the athletic goal for you? Is it to, or what's the athletic dream? Is it to just have fun doing all these different activities and being, traveling with your different groups? Um, or is it to win the Ultimate Ninja Warrior? Or is it bigger than that? Is it beyond that?

• 20:05Speaker 01

  Uh, definitely. The, one of the largest dreams is, is to be the first American to win, uh, American Ninja Warrior. And, but beyond that, it's, uh, it's inspiring people to move. Um, I want to eventually, I'm going to create these, you know, these parks where you can hopefully inspire people to get out there and move, kind of like Muscle Beach. But, um, you know, to be able to teach people how to, you know, do some basic techniques. Um, I'm working with a, a friend, uh, getting certified in yoga, but to be able to eventually kind of teach my own version of the yoga. So I'll, I'll, I'll develop that at some point, just kind of my own take on, on a yoga, um, and combining. So that's, that's another ultimate goal of mine, but winning Ninja Warrior, winning, uh,

• 20:49Speaker 01

  uh, creating my own yoga and then also, um, I'm pretty involved with a calisthenic organization called World Calisthenics Organization. It's really to promote the calisthenic movement. I, I was able to win, uh, best move at Battle of the Bars competition in January. I'll be competing again next year. So it's to kind of retain that title and to promote that calisthenic and kind of, I want to bring the calisthenic movement to a level more like a CrossFit where it's more people around the world can get not only involved in it, but have some sort of competition element or some sort of, you know, games where you could, you can, you can do that as well. And then I, I really enjoy the parkour spaces and free running as well. So to continue to be active in that environment.

• 21:33Lewis Howes?

  And what?

• 21:35Lewis Howes?

  What can entrepreneurs learn about movement? And some of the principles that you've embodied over the years? Just about moving your body, what can they learn about? How is it gonna improve their business and their life?

• 21:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, you know, if you're looking at, if you look back into religious sayings that, you know, there's the mind, body, and the spirit. And, you know, it's, the body is just one-third of who we are. So being able to master that, that body is really being able to master the vehicle that, you know, our, our spirit is in. So in mastering the body, you can, you know, and it also educates. And, you know, I highly recommend exercising the mind as well. And being able to master all three of those. It just allows you to be more of who you are, which I think is our ultimate goal. It's just finding out who you are and mastering the best that you can be. So I think that's, it's, it's just a third of, of what we are.

• 22:29Lewis Howes?

  The body is?

• 22:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:31Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. And who inspires you? Who's like the ultimate person for you? Like?

• 22:35Speaker 01

  Uh, in terms of movement, there's a guy named Ido Portal, who's, who's pretty cool. Um, there's a couple, uh, parkour guys that I, I get to train with, uh, pretty often that I find very inspiring. Um, the Team Tempest is pretty incredible, uh, trainers. I guess from the business world, Tim Ferriss is a, is a big hero of mine. And pretty excited to be filming a show with him, uh, next week, teaching him some parkour moves. So that'll be pretty cool.

• 23:01Lewis Howes?

  Interesting. And what inspired you in the first place to get into everything? To be active, to be doing all these crazy extreme sports? Moving sports, I guess?

• 23:10Speaker 01

  Uh, having a gymnastics background and then going off and playing sports in high school. And, you know, uh, and then on through college, I was always active and had that, I guess, discipline in my life. And then when I graduated, I didn't really know how to fill it. So I, I, I got certified as a trainer, but I, being a trainer wasn't really a passion of mine. So I was just kind of, always just stayed on top of my workouts, but didn't really know how to, where it would take me, but I always just kind of stayed in shape just because I enjoyed it. It's where I get my physical outlet and my enjoyment is, is being active and.

• 23:45Speaker 01

  It wasn't until I was actually kind of more or less discovered on the beach one day. By and discovered in a gym. They're like, hey, you should join this. This bar group where we're doing these competitions and we're doing these performances and then. I was at Tempest Gym and one guy who was on American Ninja Warrior was like, hey, you're really talented. You should try out. So. It wasn't, it was, it kind of found me, I guess.

• 24:09Lewis Howes?

  Found you. Interesting. And then you found a passion for it and stuck with it. Now, let's talk about. Evolving and how you've evolved. I'm assuming, you know, a few years ago, when you just, how long did you get into it? Like a few years ago?

• 24:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, a couple of years ago.

• 24:22Lewis Howes?

  So when you just got into it, you had kind of like your basic gymnastics movements that you knew. You learned some stuff from parkour or whatever. And you had some tricks that you were making up, but now. Each year that you you go into the bar competitions and everything else, Cal's any competitions. The bigger the trick, the bigger the win, I'm assuming, right? It's kind of like, you know, BMAX or X Games, whatever. It's like, there's always another trick that no one's ever created. So. What do you do to mentally prepare? To think of the bigger tricks and then to attempt it, knowing that, holy crap, I could break my neck. I could, you know, really hurt myself trying this thing off this bar. What do you do to prepare mentally?

• 25:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, you had a great analogy. I, you know, I always tell people, it's kind of like, you know, when when skateboarding and X Games first came out, you know, it's like. You know, 720 was a big deal and then like Tony Hawk did the 900, but you know, now if you watch the X Games, you know, if you can't do 900, you. You're not even in the top 10, you know, it's like, so, you know, there's a progression within our, our sport as well. Um, but it's, it's the best way to be prepared is, you know, we have a group that we train with all the time. We invite a bunch of people to come out and it's being able to. We, instead of being like a competition, we'd like to make it more of a community. And so we bring people out and, you know, we kind of push each other to, to learn new tricks and to, um. And to, we've kind of brainstormed together. Me personally, I really enjoy the creativity.

• 25:46Speaker 01

  Of creating new tricks. And so, um, that's something that I've always kind of been passionate about is, you know, as, as more of a creative mind thinking of like, how could I? Make something neat in, in, in the, in the fitness world. So that's something I really enjoy doing. I think it's more probably of a, a natural knack of mine. And then, but kind of, but beyond that, it's, uh, in doing the unknown, you have to really try to eliminate fear. And just believe that you can do it, going back to belief that you know, hey, if I'm gonna be doing a backflip off this bar, you know, I'm not gonna hit my head. I'm kinda landing on my feet. You don't really know it, but um, it's, you know, it's progression. Um, starting off in, you know, a gymnastics gym or in a foam pit or, and then moving off from a small bar to a high

• 26:30Speaker 01

  bar. Um, you know, it's, you know, like I, like I, I did an interview with Be Somebody Blog the other day and I, I highlighted the fact that, you know, it's not like I could, you know, wake up and do, you know, a backflip or a 360 off of a bar or doing handstands off of, you know, 15 foot bars. It's something that I work at every day. You know, you gotta start small and, and baby steps, you know, it's like, you know, Michael Jordan become the best basketball player, you know, overnight, you know, it's, it's a lot of, a lot of dedication, but it's, it's exciting to see the progression if you, if you mark it down and, and, and journal it.

• 27:04Lewis Howes?

  So is that how you overcome your own fears as well? Just like the progression and the baby steps and working from the foam pits up? Is that's how you overcome it?

• 27:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:11Lewis Howes?

  So what happens when you do attempt a big, uh, trick and all this fear starts rushing into your heart and your brain and your stomach? Well, what do you do to overcome that fear or to push through it? Or do you, when you feel it, do you stop and say, okay, maybe I shouldn't do this?

• 27:27Speaker 01

  Uh, I mean, that's, that's really where my belief comes in, you know, I believe, you know, I believe that I can do anything, um, with the right amount of practice. So that's what you practice for and that's what, uh, you know, you get, and the people wanna see. So, uh, this is what I like to do is I like to entertain and I like to work out. So it's, um, I look at it not of, I, you know, you have to have a positive mental attitude in life. Um, and that translates not only to how you live your life, but also when you're doing scary stuff. So.

• 28:00Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. And your clothing line is called Pi, Pi Lifestyle.

• 28:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:02Lewis Howes?

  And, uh, the P I can stand for many things, but one is positive impact, right?

• 28:07Speaker 01

  Absolutely. Yeah.

• 28:08Lewis Howes?

  So positive impact in your own life, positive impact in other people's lives. And that's kind of how, what you're kind of, what you embody is living a positive impactful life. And do you think that attitude is what has supported you in achieving a lot of your dreams is being positive? I mean, you're one of the happiest guys I've ever met. I never see you frown or upset or angry. You're all love. And you believe that that's like? A major part of your success is being so positive?

• 28:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's the lifeline. It's a huge, huge part of who I am and also what I'm trying to, you know, teach others, you know, you know, continue, you know, living a positive lifestyle is a choice, you know, like we are, you know, we are all dealt bad news. We all have, you know, bad circumstances, but it's how you adapt and how you, how you look at it and how you change is how you know, how you can live your life. And so I try to have a positive attitude with everything that I do. And it's made my life, you know, so enjoyable and I've been able to do some really great things so far. And I, you know, have all the belief in the world that I will achieve even greater success, you know, in the future. And that's all based off of the positive impact and the positive,

• 29:20Speaker 01

  you know, mental attitude that I have with life. I mean, if you, I highly stress to anyone, you know, try living that lifestyle for, you know, a month or two and see how, see how much success you have. And it's pretty hard to go back.

• 29:33Lewis Howes?

  Now, what's the worst thing that's ever happened to you? Darkest moment, worst moment, scariest time of your life?

• 29:42Speaker 01

  That's a great question. I can think of a couple, but one of the darkest moments of my life. So as I told you, I'd been doing gymnastics for a number of years and then I quit to, to, to play sports in high school. And I did football, soccer, lacrosse and track, you know, sports were my life. It's, you know, I was playing at least two sports every season, one out of school and one on a club team. And the dream was to go play sports in college. And so was being recruited by a bunch of schools to play sports and play soccer in college. And my senior year, I blew out my knee. I tore my ACL, LCL, PCL, and I tore all the nerves in my knee as well, which I couldn't even wiggle my toes.

• 30:24Speaker 01

  You know, so they didn't know if I'd be able to walk again, let it alone, you know, have, have toes that wiggled at the end of the day.

• 30:31Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 30:31Speaker 01

  So that was a pretty dark moment because I didn't know. What my life would be like without sports.

• 30:37Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 30:39Speaker 01

  Uh, going from there, having surgery, I ended up tearing my knee twice in college. So thinking that my sports career was over, you know, I, uh, it was, it was a scary time in my life. You know, and, and in college I joined a fraternity because of it and, you know, chose an alternative life and realized that it wasn't quite for me, but I was able to experience other things and, and, you know, which ultimately led to me really getting into, you know, personal training and rehab and learning, uh, getting certified and, and learning more about the body and learning about nutrition and, uh, you know, it wasn't meant to be on a certain route, but I learned to be able to adapt and change and, uh, I think it made me a better all around athlete.

• 31:19Lewis Howes?

  Sure, sure. Kind of similar, similar experiences with my injury as well.

• 31:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:23Lewis Howes?

  Do you feel like you were always positive before that experience or did that experience and seeing what was possible that you could create after it made you more positive?

• 31:34Speaker 01

  I'd say I was always a pretty positive guy, but, um, it definitely was a dark time in my life. Um, I definitely think learning from those experiences made me a more positive person overall at the end of the day.

• 31:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Interesting. I love it, man.

• 31:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:49Lewis Howes?

  Cause a lot of people can't, don't have that positivity like you do. Like every time I see you're just smiling.

• 31:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:54Lewis Howes?

  And people aren't, people don't, not a lot of people are doing what they do every single day and you're blessed to be going out on the beach, on the bars, on the rings, doing parkour, traveling the world, creating a clothing line that you love, that you stand for. You're doing pretty much everything you want to do, right?

• 32:10Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, and, uh, you know, I, I get to say every day, like my friend, uh, Mr. How's over here, living the dream.

• 32:17Lewis Howes?

  Living the dream, baby.

• 32:18Speaker 01

  But you have to know what your dream is to live in. So I think that I did a lot of self reflecting, a lot of meditation on what, who I am, I guess, and, and what is, and what does Travis Brewer stand for? And then how can I recreate that to the world? And so that's a, a lot of the photos and videos and the company was, was based off of. Recreating, you know, who I am and I I I'm a strong believer in anyone and everyone, you know, going through self-realization and figuring out who they are and just being the best that they can be. And if everyone focuses on being the best that they can be, and once they've reached the happiness level of who they are, go out and inspire other peoples to be themselves.

• 33:00Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 33:00Speaker 01

  I think the world would be an incredible place.

• 33:01Lewis Howes?

  I love it, man. And I always see, you know, you've got some amazing pictures on Instagram of you doing crazy backflips off palm trees and the self, what is it, the Self-Axualization Center?

• 33:10Speaker 01

  Self-realization.

• 33:11Lewis Howes?

  Self-realization Center. You're always there, meditating. I see your pictures there. So what is, uh, what's your definition of greatness, my man?

• 33:18Speaker 01

  Definition of greatness is really being who you are and being the best that you can be and inspiring others to be that, be the, be the best that they can be.

• 33:28Lewis Howes?

  I love it.

• 33:29Speaker 01

  I think that's what greatness is.

• 33:30Lewis Howes?

  I love it. So when is the, the next competition, the, uh, American Ninja Warrior?

• 33:35Speaker 01

  Uh, American Ninja Warrior will probably start filming it in March.

• 33:38Lewis Howes?

  March, okay.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, March, April. Um, and then it'll, it'll, uh, it'll air, um, over the summer again.

• 33:45Lewis Howes?

  So when are you gonna be the first American winner?

• 33:49Speaker 01

  Uh, 2014 looks pretty good on my calendar, so, uh, that's what I'm shooting for.

• 33:53Lewis Howes?

  You want to make it happen?

• 33:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:55Lewis Howes?

  All right, we're gonna hold you to that commitment.

• 33:56Speaker 01

  Absolutely. I will, uh, I look forward to putting on a good show for you guys.

• 34:01Lewis Howes?

  Awesome, man. And when, where can we find you online? I know you're on Instagram. Is it, uh?

• 34:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, you can, uh, I have a website on travisjbrewer.me, um, or my Instagram and Twitter is T Brewer 314.

• 34:14Lewis Howes?

  There you go. I love it, brother. Thanks for coming on the show, man.

• 34:16Speaker 01

  Absolutely. Thank you very much, guys.

• 34:25Lewis Howes?

  And there you have it, guys. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Travis, my good man. Again, one of the coolest cats around, someone who's always smiling, always a positive impact in creating change in other people's life through doing what he loves. It's a guy who does what he loves every single day, and he doesn't allow other people to bring him down. Now, what is that, where can you use that in your life? Are you allowing people to bring you down? Or are you doing what you love every single day, no matter what it takes? Because really, what's the point of life if you're not doing what you love and not chasing your dreams? So again, check out the show notes over at schoolofgreatness.com. Please leave a comment over on the blog if you enjoyed this. Share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, and post a picture on Instagram of where

• 35:10Lewis Howes?

  you're listening to this episode. And make sure to tag me on there so I can check it out and give you a shout out hopefully in the next episode or two. And also, if you get a moment, I would greatly appreciate a review and your feedback, a written review and your feedback over on iTunes. So let me know, I would love for you to review the podcast because the more reviews that I get, the more people see the podcast and the word spreads about these episodes in the show. So head over and over to iTunes and leave a quick review and rating and I would love, love, love, love, love you. Other than that, guys, you gotta step into greatness today.

• 35:52Lewis Howes?

  Take that leap and grow your wings on the way down. You guys know what time it is. It's time to make sure to step up and do something great.