135: A Conversation with Jon Langston

Country artist Jon Langston visits HQ and joins the show for a special bonus episode—we discuss how faith, fatherhood, and fitness transformed his path from football to country star. He opens up about chasing dreams in Nashville, the lessons of perseverance, and what it means to fully commit to growth. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction and Warm Welcome 01:21 Transitioning from Military to Business 03:04 Musical Beginnings and Breakthrough 04:52 Moving to Nashville and Early Struggles 06:51 The Importance of Being Coachable 19:09 Life in Nashville and Music Industry Challenges 34:42 Finding Focus with Horse Blinders 36:55 The Challenge of Comparison 40:42 True Friendship and Support 43:01 Health and Fitness Transformation 49:03 The Journey of Running 55:44 Marriage and Personal Growth 01:00:18 Embracing Independence in Music 01:06:00 The Power of Flexibility and Speed 01:09:16 Joining the BPN Family ORDER MY BOOK HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Go-One-More-Intentional-Life-Changing/dp/1637746210 FOLLOW: Become a BPN member FOR FREE - Unlock 20% off FOR LIFE https://bpn.team/member IG: instagram.com/nickbarefitness/ YT: youtube.com/@nickbarefitness Ozora Farms http://ozorafarms.com/ Jon Langston IG: instagram.com/jonlangston/

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

• 0:06Nick Bare?

  Today on the podcast, we have John Langston.

• 0:10Speaker 01

  What's up, man?

• 0:11Nick Bare?

  Man, good to be here. Thanks for having me. This is, it's pretty crazy, honestly. It's full, it's full circle for me.

• 0:17Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 0:18Nick Bare?

  And then we'll get into it. Epic morning though, so far.

• 0:22Speaker 01

  It was awesome.

• 0:23Nick Bare?

  So we started off on the track, Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas. 800 meter repeats, which for me is like a staple workout. It's actually called Yaso 800s. So the traditional Yaso 800 workout is 10 800 meter repeats, 60 seconds of rest in between each. So we hit that workout, came to BPN HQ, you, me and French just did some cold plunge sauna sessions.

• 0:53Speaker 01

  Much needed.

• 0:54Nick Bare?

  Yeah, dude, like recovery is just as important as the training right now. Threw back some food, recording this, and then we're going to the gym afterwards. This is an ideal day for me.

• 1:04Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 1:06Nick Bare?

  So what are you doing in Texas right now?

• 1:08Speaker 01

  Uh, we're going to visit some family down here. Uh, my wife's family, she's, we got some family down in Houston. So we're passing through, figured we'd come and say what's up. It's my first time here at the new HQ. It's awesome.

• 1:19Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  Pretty awesome, man.

• 1:21Nick Bare?

  Well, dude, the way I wanted to start this conversation.

• 1:26Nick Bare?

  You know, when I transitioned out of the military in 2017.

• 1:31Nick Bare?

  This is a very pivotal point in my life. And I started BPN 2012. Spent four years activity army, nine months of that I was over in South Korea, building the business. When I transitioned out of the army in 2017, that's when I went all in on BPN. 2017 was one of the best years of my entire life. Like, there are so many core memories between me, Preston and Joe, who you just met, Joe Pivots. And it was just us three trying to figure out how to turn this passion, this dream into a business. And what it has become today is, was, was never part of what we expected or, or the journey.

• 2:14Nick Bare?

  But in 2017, I have so many memories about that year. That's the year I came across your music. And I played the same songs of yours over and over and over again. Forever Girl was like, was and still is to this day, one of my favorite songs.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  That's awesome.

• 2:35Nick Bare?

  So I just wanted to share that with you because like, I think music is so powerful that it can take us back to these memories and like these core moments of our life and allow us to relive those. Like when I listen to Forever Girl, I think of myself driving my truck, leaving BPHQ, 10pm at night, hot summer, windows rolled down, just being like, this is it.

• 2:59Speaker 01

  Nostalgia.

• 3:00Nick Bare?

  We're doing it.

• 3:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:01Nick Bare?

  Yeah, man.

• 3:01Speaker 01

  That's awesome.

• 3:02Nick Bare?

  So that's what it takes me back to.

• 3:03Speaker 01

  That's cool, man. I mean, yeah, that song, man, that, that song changed my life. Uh, when I was in college, I was playing football at Gardner Web and had my last concussion and couldn't play no more. So picked up a guitar, started playing, learning how to play and started playing just random gigs and you know, here and there, just begging bar owners to help me play it. I, uh, I wrote Forever Girl by myself and it changed my life. Put it up on YouTube. My buddies were like, yeah, man, you need to put that song out. So I, that Christmas, during Christmas break, I had a buddy who had like a basement studio. We recorded that song for like a couple hundred bucks. It was crazy and it changed my life. Like I put it up on, I had to literally had to Google

• 3:49Speaker 01

  how to put a song up on iTunes. I had no idea. And, uh, and yeah, like a couple of months later, get a call. It's like, hey, man, everyone loves this song. You want to come open for Chase Rice at our frat party? I was like, alright.

• 4:00Nick Bare?

  That's wild.

• 4:00Speaker 01

  That's crazy. I never played a show, never played a full band show in my life. And, uh, we played the show and at the end we played Forever Girl and there's 800 college kids there screaming every single word. And that's when I knew, I was like, up until that point, it was just like a, it was a fun hobby. It was like something I loved to do, but I didn't know it was going to be anything with longevity towards it. And uh, but right then I knew when I was like, all right. People are singing a song that I wrote down on paper. And they're screaming the words back to me. This is the craziest, coolest feeling I've ever felt in my life. And I was, you know, at a time it was all football, football, football, and then it just changed in that moment. It was

• 4:41Speaker 01

  found purpose and I found something that uh, I love to do and it was a feeling like a new dream, you know?

• 4:47Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 4:48Speaker 01

  It was really cool. And I was like, man, I don't know what I'm, how I'm gonna do this. I don't know what I'm doing, but let's move to Nashville and figure this out. So it's been a wild ride.

• 4:58Nick Bare?

  When you were in high school and early college, like what, where did you picture your life going? What, what was the?

• 5:05Speaker 01

  I thought I was just gonna.

• 5:06Nick Bare?

  Vision?

• 5:08Speaker 01

  A football coach or something, or taking over my dad's business, like.

• 5:12Nick Bare?

  What was that business?

• 5:13Speaker 01

  It was a equipment rental business. And uh, so I just figured I'd go to college, play football, either go back home and take over his business or be a football coach somewhere. It was never music, ever.

• 5:25Nick Bare?

  Was music part of your life growing up though?

• 5:28Speaker 01

  Here and there, like I took guitar lessons in eighth grade and, and, but I never was like, man, I want to be a country music singer when I grew up. I'd never said that. But I always like enjoyed like writing poems, like growing up, like I was always good in like English and writing those type of like stanzas and stuff like that in school. And I'll, you know, I always found myself excelling in that, but I never thought it would translate into writing music.

• 5:51Nick Bare?

  Do you know you had like the ability to sing?

• 5:53Speaker 01

  It took a while. I mean, I, I always enjoyed it like by myself in the, in the car, in the shower, blah, blah, you know? Not around people. And then um, I remember I was in college, I was writing songs and my roommate was yelling at me, he's like, gosh, man, like, will you shut up? This is, you know, it was just one of the, I was just practicing in my room, you know, just being obnoxious with it. And uh, one day, you know, he, I was just watching YouTube videos, just learning how to play and sing at the same time and both just had, he was like, hey, man, that was pretty good. And I was like, all right, I'm on the right, I'm on the right path. And uh, it just took practice, man, just like anything else. Um, you know, and, and football, you know, I kind of took a lot of what I learned in my football days into like my music, cause I was never the.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  Fastest, biggest or strongest, you know, but like I was coachable and I was, I always had to like work to get, you know, to get better every day. And that was the same thing with music, with writing, with singing, performing live. And I just kind of carried that over into my music.

• 6:51Nick Bare?

  That is such a important trait for someone to have is to be coachable. Like we find that in the business all the time. And I think that's something that I've

• 7:03Nick Bare?

  accepted and like realized early on is, you know, I didn't have all the answers. I still don't have all the answers. I still don't have any of the answers, really. But if you put yourself in a position of like humility and, and being coachable, you open yourself up to being able to do so much more.

• 7:25Speaker 01

  Absolutely. I mean, that's, I mean, it was, uh, it's pretty crazy that we're talking about this because, you know, when I moved to Nashville, I didn't, I was just, I dove in headfirst. No idea what I was doing or what to do. And, um, I met Red Akins, you know, and he, uh, he reached out to me on Twitter on a DM and I was like, are you kidding me? My, my hero is like reaching out, like he's heard my music and wants to hear more. And, um, I ended up living with him for a year. And I just, he was like my coach. He took me under his wing and just coached me like, you know, how to write a song and like, how to write a hook correctly and just make a song make sense instead of just, back then I was just writing whatever I

• 8:07Speaker 01

  thought sounded cool or whatever. And just, uh, forming a song, forming a story. And, uh, it just took practice and practice and practice, still practicing to this day to try to figure it out. I mean, every single day is, uh, I'm learning so much about the music industry and like everything, you know, just trying to get better, but I'm getting off track here, but, um, but yeah, he was my, like, without like having that coach or whatever, without him being my coach in that sense, like, I mean, I don't know if I would have excelled or anything without, you know, without his guidance, without like him just kind of pointing me in the right direction.

• 8:45Nick Bare?

  Was he charging you or was it just?

• 8:47Speaker 01

  No, I mean, yeah, I paid rent for sure, but, um, it was, uh, your regular Nashville rent. He was pretty nice about it and thanks, Brett. Appreciate it, buddy. If you're listening.

• 8:58Nick Bare?

  That's pretty rare, actually. You know, it's what I found is a lot of times. I find myself in positions where someone will make themselves available that wants to help. And initially, oh, this person actually wants to help.

• 9:13Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 9:14Nick Bare?

  And then you either get an invoice that lands in your email inbox. Or it's like, well, for me to continue, this is what it's going to cost you. This is the investment you're gonna have to make with me.

• 9:23Speaker 01

  Right.

• 9:24Nick Bare?

  Like, man, I thought you were just like doing this because you you believed in me.

• 9:28Speaker 01

  He was, he was, from the get go, he just believed in me. And I think that's all I needed to give me the confidence, like, okay, someone believes in me. I got a chance at this thing. And, you know, when I went over to his house and played him some songs, um, he looked at me and said, I think you got what it takes, but this town is tough. And I don't want you to tuck your tail and run back home to Georgia when it go and gets tough. Like, I'm gonna help you. But I'm not gonna sit here and stick my neck out for you if you're just gonna, you know, when it gets tough, you quit or just, you know, leave me hanging. I was like, I told him, I was like, man, this is all I want to do. I've never felt a purpose like this ever. And I'm in it for the long haul. I'll be the hardest worker you ever met.

• 10:13Speaker 01

  And he's like, all right, I'll sign you to a publishing deal. And four months later, it was a co-venture with him and Sony Publishing. And I've been there ever since. It's pretty, pretty crazy.

• 10:24Nick Bare?

  That's incredible.

• 10:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, wild.

• 10:26Nick Bare?

  So you're in Georgia at college?

• 10:30Speaker 01

  So I went to college in North Carolina at Gardner Web and, but I was, I didn't finish. So I was on scholarship playing ball, got hurt. And I was like, well, I'm doing the music thing. And at that time, you know, I was going everywhere, just anywhere but class. I was, uh, I was fully into this whole music dream. After that one show with Chase Rice, I was like, man, I was going up to Boone, North Carolina, App State, met Luke Combs, and we were playing, you know, Klondike, we were playing all these like little bars here and there. And, uh, he came down to Gardner Web, and we played the Mexican restaurant and, you know, after a football game one night.

• 11:12Speaker 01

  And it just kind of snowballed into this, like, this dream, like, okay, like, this is fun. I'm having a great time, like, writing songs with my friends and.

• 11:21Nick Bare?

  What gave you the confidence to make the move to Nashville and go all in?

• 11:28Speaker 01

  Well.

• 11:28Nick Bare?

  It's a huge decision.

• 11:29Speaker 01

  Huge decision. I was, you know, I was doing all this in that spring. I was like, well, wasn't going to class anymore. So I was like, I'm not going home to tell my mom I'm not finishing school and I don't want to keep on trying to, you know, I wasn't going home to tell my mom I wasn't finished in school. So I went straight to Nashville. Never been to Nashville in my life and I Googled a cheap apartment outside of Nashville. Found one. I had enough money saved up from iTunes money that I was making off Forever Girl. Put a deposit in, packed up the dog, got a U-Haul, headed there.

• 12:07Nick Bare?

  Were you making good money off that song?

• 12:09Speaker 01

  Not, not crazy, but like my, my first check I got for Forever Girl. It was, I mean, I spent it all on a dog, a trailer and a four wheeler. It was, I was, I never seen that much money come into my account ever.

• 12:26Nick Bare?

  Does iTunes still pay out like, like?

• 12:28Speaker 01

  Not like they used to. I mean, people aren't like buying on iTunes, but back then like it was before like streaming was like huge. And so, I mean, I remember getting my first check. I was like, oh my gosh, like I'll probably never see this money ever again. I'm gonna get what I always want. I want to get a, I want to get a dog and a four wheeler and a trailer. I'll be set for life. But, uh, but yeah, like I just kept working the social media game and, and just saw how my songs were growing. Forever Girl was taking off and, um, and it was coming in consistently. So that's what gave me the, I guess, the, gave me the courage to make the jump to Nashville. It's like, okay, I got a little, got a little floating money that I can move to Nashville and,

• 13:10Speaker 01

  you know, play college, you know, town shows on the weekends and figure it out. And, uh, so, but God's good, man. He, that song has changed my life in more ways than I can even say. And, um, but yeah, that's the reason I got to Nashville is because of that song.

• 13:28Nick Bare?

  I like the acoustic version of that song the best.

• 13:32Speaker 01

  I agree, but there's, I agree. That song.

• 13:39Speaker 01

  Are you talking about the 2015 version?

• 13:41Nick Bare?

  I'm not sure which version is. It, it, it might be.

• 13:45Speaker 01

  So there's two versions out.

• 13:46Nick Bare?

  I have a hard time finding one of them.

• 13:49Speaker 01

  I think it's the original 2013 version is, I think is the one that is hard to find. Because on Apple, it's like one of the top songs and on Spotify. The 2000, the more acoustic version is one of the top. Like two or three songs on there, but that acoustic version, it's got piano and stuff in it. And I call, you know. I love that version, but I want to put out a third version.

• 14:15Nick Bare?

  Oh dude, I'm, I'm down for this.

• 14:16Speaker 01

  So we, we can get into this. But um, I'm coming out with a record next year, but after the record, I want to put out an acoustic EP. With some throwback songs and also maybe a couple of new ones.

• 14:28Nick Bare?

  I love all things acoustic dude. Like that is my acoustic shows, acoustic shows for me too are my favorite.

• 14:37Speaker 01

  How, do you, uh. Do they do like radio shows, those are like guitar pools, I guess in Austin?

• 14:45Nick Bare?

  Yeah, there's, there's a, um. There's a spot in Cedar Park, it's called a hotspot. Where it's like they'll bring in a few different artists, they just are on stage and they'll each play one song acoustically. Those are my favorite type of shows to go to.

• 14:58Speaker 01

  Those are fun, because it's like you get to play shows with your buddies, you ain't seen in a while and. Cutting up is, there's no like pressure on this, on those type of shows, it's just, you know, you get to trade off. Tell stories behind the songs. I think that's the coolest thing about those shows.

• 15:13Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 15:13Speaker 01

  It's like, I think that's what, you know, people. Country mu- music fans want to hear what made that song, like how that song come to be. And I think that's what's really cool about country music is. There's, there's such a story behind each song and each one is so different and when you go to those types of settings. You know, the artist is able to like, hey, this is how this song came to be, this is who I wrote it with. This is, you know, I was, I got. Broken up with and she left me and my dog died and you know, all this stuff and you hear the whole story and. Um, but you hear it and it's such a different, you know, setting where it's just the guy and the guitar. And it's the story. I think that's what makes it so special. So I, I agree with you. I love the acoustic stuff.

• 15:56Nick Bare?

  Yeah, the shows that I really don't. Care much for or like the overly produced or like the transitions are perfect.

• 16:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:05Nick Bare?

  The setlist is the same, like there's nothing set in between.

• 16:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:08Nick Bare?

  My favorite ones are it's like, it's just someone with their guitar.

• 16:13Speaker 01

  It's raw.

• 16:14Nick Bare?

  And it's really raw and there are stories shared and like there's changes to the setlist around. Like when we saw, um, we were in Nashville, actually, we, we, me and Steph went and watched a bunch of different shows. And went to a few writers' rounds, which we really enjoyed.

• 16:30Speaker 01

  It was fun.

• 16:31Nick Bare?

  But the, the show that we saw at the hotspot in, in, uh, Cedar Park, this was probably like a year and a half ago. You should actually try to play there. That'd be a super cool venue for you to play at. But it was, uh, Randy Hauser, Dylan Scott, Tyler Hubbard, Kip Moore.

• 16:47Speaker 01

  What a lineup.

• 16:48Nick Bare?

  It was.

• 16:48Speaker 01

  That's crazy.

• 16:48Nick Bare?

  It was a great lineup.

• 16:50Speaker 01

  That's awesome.

• 16:51Nick Bare?

  And, uh, it was like a really fun show to be at.

• 16:54Speaker 01

  Randy Hauser sings his ass off. When he sings Like a Cowboy, that's my favorite thing he does.

• 16:59Nick Bare?

  Dude, that was my first time seeing him live.

• 17:01Speaker 01

  He's crazy good.

• 17:02Nick Bare?

  He is crazy live.

• 17:03Speaker 01

  It's awesome.

• 17:04Nick Bare?

  When we were, uh, we went to see a, a show at Red Rocks earlier this year. It was our first time ever being at Red Rocks. It was a hardy show and Randy Hauser opened up for him. And dude, that guy, like, his voice is so good and he brought his son out on stage to sing a song with him. And since I have kids, I, I can cry at, at like, you can drop a pin and I can cry. So we're, I'm watching this, Randy Hauser brings his son out and they start singing the song together. Instantly I could feel this lump forming my throat. My eyes started to swell up. Steph looked over me, she's like, what, what are you doing? What's wrong? I was like, I can't, I can't like hold in this emotion now. I just started bawling, crying, dude. Watching Randy Hauser just belted out at Red Rocks with his son.

• 17:48Speaker 01

  It's amazing.

• 17:50Nick Bare?

  Man, but yeah, for me, live music, I like the more intimate experience.

• 17:57Speaker 01

  Get it.

• 17:57Nick Bare?

  Where it feels like custom.

• 17:59Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 18:00Nick Bare?

  You know what I mean?

• 18:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, man. I mean, I feel like when you get, I'm guilty of it because of those produced shows and like, I want everything to be perfect. And like the transitions and everything, those are fro, those are fun, especially for those settings where it's like, like when we were opening up for Luke Bryan, like we got 30 minutes. I was like, how do I fit in? As many songs I can in this thirty minutes. I think, actually, I think it was twenty five. And I was like, so we would like play half of like a intro, going straight into like Right Girl Wrong Time and then Forever Girl. It was just like bam bam bam bam. Thanks, I'm John Laxton. Have a good night.

• 18:37Nick Bare?

  Yeah, it's fast.

• 18:38Speaker 01

  It's fast, but like when you get in those settings where he's like, you know, i- i- it's, you're right, it's just so, you can have those powerful moments. Instead of, you know, hey, it's me, I'm John, like, please like my music, you know, you know, when you're just trying to get your name out there. Um, that's part of it. And like, you know, you're just trying to get in and get as many songs as you can and there's time, place for everything, but those acoustic shows, man, like, like those guitar pulls, tho- those are fun.

• 19:07Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 19:07Speaker 01

  I enjoy them.

• 19:09Nick Bare?

  When you got to Nashville, was it as hard as you were told it was gonna be?

• 19:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, dude, there's so many, everyone's good, everyone's great. Like, there's so much talent in that town and competition's crazy. And, you know,

• 19:29Speaker 01

  not only is like, is it hard?

• 19:32Speaker 01

  The road's hard, the song, getting in the rooms are hard, but like, just getting people on board with you, like, is it, your team is huge in, in Nashville, like having a group around you that champions you, that believe in you and your vision and as an artist, songwriter, all the above, that's like the biggest thing is having people in your corner. And like, I was, I'm so blessed like to have like guys like Red Akins, Luke Bryan, like they, those guys that were championing me and like, you know, you know, taking me under their wing and really showing me how it's done and, and, uh,

• 20:10Speaker 01

  you know, it's hard to sustain and hard to keep up in that town sometimes when you're riding every single day and you're, and you're on the road, hundred and fifty, hundred and sixty days out of the year, hundred and fifty shows sometimes, you know, like it, it got pretty wild in two thousand seventeen, eighteen, nineteen were the busiest years of my life and barely ever home and, you know, You gotta take care of yourself. You gotta all these things. It's it's it's a it's tough out there, but um enjoy every single second of it. But I mean, the competition's crazy and to be, you know, fighting for spots and fighting for um any type of like, you know,

• 20:54Speaker 01

  playlisting or any of that stuff. It's it's it's a, I mean, it's it's cutthroat out there. Sure.

• 21:00Nick Bare?

  Do you find that's one of the hardest parts in the music industry is that once you kind of punch your your ticket and get started?

• 21:08Speaker 01

  Better bring it.

• 21:08Nick Bare?

  It's like you you gotta you gotta keep that feeling the gas for as long as possible.

• 21:12Speaker 01

  Absolutely. Absolutely. Because like, once you let off, someone is going past you. And someone's gonna take that spot. Everyone's fighting for that spot. So once when you have it, do not let go and just keep hammering, like, keep going. And I feel like, you know, that's, I mean, a lot of things happened, like COVID, like, was a huge, like, let off the gas for me because I was off the road for a whole year. And that really put a put a hurting on our touring and stuff. And getting back in the swing of things after that was a challenge, but we're in a great place now. It took a while to bounce back from COVID, but um with new music and stuff like that. But um just overcoming that adversity was huge. And it was a lot to overcome. But um that's what I learned, learned about, you

• 21:57Speaker 01

  know, putting your foot on the gas, keep going. And um but yeah, it was, that was a tough time. And but I learned a lot, for sure.

• 22:04Nick Bare?

  Have you seen a lot of artists or do you have friends that just couldn't sustain that like a level of effort and just and fell off in that process?

• 22:13Speaker 01

  Um, no, I mean, if anything, I saw a bunch of my buddies, like Morgan Wallen, just boom, just during that time, just kept hammering, kept putting his foot on the gas. And you see where he is now. I mean, that was inevitable. But um guys like Hardy, like I remember, like, um, talking with him. I was so jealous. I was talking with him because we were all off the road and he was down in Florida playing shows. I was like, man, this lucky son of a gun. Like, I was like, I want to be out there too. And, you know, he just found a way and just kept hammering. And, you know, it was just, you know, so I was, it was very inspiring to see my buddies like just keep hammering, keep going.

• 22:51Speaker 01

  And, you know, we eventually got, got rolling again. It just took a minute and it was, uh, it was just awesome to see guys like not let their foot off the gas.

• 22:59Nick Bare?

  Yeah, for sure. Do you guys stay pretty connected?

• 23:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, we, I mean, we're all like dads now, you know, as you know, like it's hard to get all the boys together and, you know, and like we used to. But, um, but yeah, I mean, we're during, you know, a few years ago, we had a softball team. We all, you know, played a few seasons. Played a few seasons. That was fun, you know, just all coming back together, hanging out and just cutting up. And, you know, we don't really get to do stuff like that. That started with COVID too, because it was like, well, we're off the road. What do we do? Like, let's play some softball. So that was fun and, you know, but, uh, but yeah, I mean, we all, you know, all pretty tight. And, um, and, uh, we try to like, you know, have each other over, cook out stuff like that, but, you know, it's harder now being,

• 23:46Speaker 01

  have families and stuff. It's a different time, different season of life. We're not out, you know, on Broadway till 3 a.m. throwing it down anymore. You know, we're, you know, we're at home with our wives and hanging out and, you know, but it's, it's a good life, right?

• 23:58Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 23:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:59Nick Bare?

  Is there, uh, is there anyone in particular in the industry that you look at, you're like, dude, that guy works or girl works so hard? Because someone who like really stands out, like the way they, they got to the top is like this person just, just does it.

• 24:20Nick Bare?

  Or is it just like people catch the right break? Is it?

• 24:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, a guy who works his absolute ass off and I'll say Lou Bryan, you go watch his documentary on how hard he works and what he's done and what he's done. And, and like from, I kind of got to see like how he works and how he.

• 24:43Speaker 01

  Just loves on people and gives back to people and like how he treats his crew and how he really just uh his work ethic is crazy like I I was so like people don't really see the behind the scenes and like he's doing a thousand things at one time and that's where I really learned like if I really want to be a superstar I need to be like that guy because he just absolutely is relentless and and he looked at me he goes buddy you gotta write every single day you gotta play your shows like it's the last one like all these cliche things but if you really think about it I was like man this guy is top of the world he's multiple

• 25:27Speaker 01

  time entertainer of the year like he knows what he's doing he like and I see that he's worked his ass off to get where he is and um you know country music can seem so glamorous and all the hurrah and whatever and but it's really gritty it's really like just getting down and digging down deep in a lot of areas of you know getting up every day and and really being crea- being creative and you know when a guy like that like when he's got a family at home and he's still hundred miles an hour

• 26:07Speaker 01

  doing American Idol doing you know doing all his headlining tours and doing all these working with um the farmers um down in down in Georgia all these things that he's doing uh it really I was like man I I really got a long ways to go and I really but like see watching him work that really inspired me for sure.

• 26:34Nick Bare?

  Steph and I went and watched him play at Bridgestone.

• 26:40Nick Bare?

  Maybe two years ago at this point and the show that we were at. He was sick and he was losing his voice and he, I mean, he had cups of water all over the stage and every chance he got, he was like grabbing a drink of water. He was coughing like in the middle of show, he actually had to end up like calling the big performance and just pulled the band out and they went to the end of the the stage and just did like whatever his voice could get through. But like, we were pretty close, like we, we were probably twenty feet from him from where we were standing. But you could see the frustration in him like he, he really was disappointed in himself that he couldn't

• 27:23Nick Bare?

  provide the experience that he wanted for people and you could tell it crushed him like at his core.

• 27:31Speaker 01

  I remember that show because our, we had the same manager and she was like, it was bad. Like she said, he was super sick, but he wanted to play anyways and did the best he could and fought through it and like, and just knowing him, like you know, it was killing him and but like the fact that he still like went out there and gave a hundred percent. And even though he knew people were gonna be throwing on TikTok, oh, he's doing this, doing that, but like he's giving them everything he's got, you know, that that's a testament of who he is.

• 28:00Nick Bare?

  I had so much respect for it.

• 28:01Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 28:02Nick Bare?

  You could tell it wasn't like a little cold, like he was sick.

• 28:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:05Nick Bare?

  And he was out there just giving everything he had.

• 28:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:09Nick Bare?

  And just being able to watch someone do that. You know, like that's passion behind your work.

• 28:15Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 28:16Nick Bare?

  That's truly caring for the person that is receiving it and paying for that experience like

• 28:23Nick Bare?

  I felt bad.

• 28:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:24Nick Bare?

  I felt bad he was like struggling through.

• 28:26Speaker 01

  I mean, a lot of people going from all over to go to those shows. They spend a lot of money to pay for a hotel and all the gas and the tickets and find the merch and stuff and they come to see a show and. And uh, when you like think about it's like, man, this is about them. I've had to do that a bunch of times and there's been a few shows where I just couldn't do it. And I just, I was like, there ain't no way I'll be able to sing one note tonight.

• 28:51Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 28:51Speaker 01

  And luckily I've only had to cancel two shows ever in my, in my uh, career so far. But um, there's been a lot of times where I've had to dig down deep and just looking at a guy like that and like, you know, he, he'd be out here giving all his God and I've had to tell, tell the fans be like, listen, I'm giving all I got. Thanks for sticking with me. Thanks for singing along with me, helping me out through these songs and um, because the road will take a toll on you, man. I mean, people think it's all, you know, glamorous or whatnot. And like a lot of the, you know, six out, you know, six years I was in this band, just like, just road dogging it with my best friends in the world, just like having the time of our lives, but

• 29:35Speaker 01

  it's rough. A lot of flat tires, a lot of, a lot of uh, regs. We got hit by a drunk driver one time and you know, just a, just all kinds of crazy stuff happen, man. It's just like, you know, get you down, you know, especially like you go travel like, you know, 10 hours to go play a show and 20 people show up and drive back home. It's like, what am I doing?

• 29:57Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 29:57Speaker 01

  There's been a lot of that too. A lot of uh, you know, a lot of like, am I even doing, like, is this even worth it anymore? And I've had, you know, so many mental things that, you know, that come with the, the chasing that kind of dream. It's like, man, am I, is this even right what I'm doing? Is this where I should be going? Should I be, you know, eight hours from home? I got a little newborn baby girl at home and I'm out here playing for like 10 people sometimes just to like, try to like make a living and do all this. Is this worth it? Like I'm spending time away. Like there's been so many conversations. It's like, keep digging, keep driving. And, but then there's the shows that,

• 30:39Speaker 01

  you know, we sell out and it's like, oh, this is all worth it. You know, it's just, it's that constant grind, constant battle of uh, you know, of uh, trying to figure out like, i- is this the right thing to do? And you know, I think it comes with a lot of like, prayer for sure. And you know, with the understanding of like, okay, this is.

• 31:04Speaker 01

  What the hand on Dell like, of course, I'm not, not every single show is going to sell out. But like, you know, it came to a point where I almost, I, I almost quit music. I almost just said, I'm done with it. Like I was very low point in my life. Like, you know, a lot of stuff personally were happening and I got to the point where I was like, I just, I just wanted to quit everything. And, uh, you know, that's when I had a, that's when I had like a transforming self-transformation. I guess when I turned, I just surrendered everything to God. And I was like, man, like, I can't do this alone anymore. Like, I'm tired of just trying to force, I'm trying to

• 31:49Speaker 01

  force success. I'm trying, I'm tired of just all these like, this is going wrong because I did this. There, I should be doing this, you know? When I finally like came to peace with like, okay, this is what I love to do. And I'm not, I'm not having fun anymore. Like I'm just like killing myself out here. When I finally just surrendered and just, I found peace and started having fun again. And I, and when I turned my life to God and just said, I can't do this anymore by myself. That's when it all turned around for me.

• 32:27Nick Bare?

  I mean, there's so much power in belief.

• 32:29Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 32:29Nick Bare?

  Not just in, in, in yourself personally, but also just in, in God having a plan for you.

• 32:38Nick Bare?

  You know, it's like, if you don't have that belief, then the journey might not be worth it. But like those are the moments where like you have to turn to, to faith and just be like so driven behind your purpose. To reinforce I'm on the right path. There's going to be suffering. There's going to be hardship. There's going to be struggle. Like it's, it's cliche, but everyone knows like on the opposite side of struggle is where growth occurs.

• 33:10Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 33:10Nick Bare?

  There's no one that has achieved success that hasn't gone through the mud. I mean, I had so many years within VPN where I was like, is this, is this the path I'm supposed to be on like? I'm looking at all my competitors and all these other people building businesses. I'm like, I'm so far behind where they are at. I can never get caught up. It's gonna take me decades and decades to get caught up. Is this like, is this really what I'm supposed to be doing? Is this going to turn into what I hope it will one day? And even the moments where I question that, it's just the belief of I'm on the right path. I'm going to keep pursuing this path. I'm going to keep working towards this vision.

• 33:53Nick Bare?

  And eventually you dig, you dig through the mud and you get the other side. And there's never a moment where it's like snap of the fingers. Oh, like this is what I was waiting for.

• 34:02Speaker 01

  Right.

• 34:02Nick Bare?

  It's like this dimmer switch that slowly turns on of, I'm seeing the forests of the trees. Now I'm seeing the fruits of the labor. Things are starting to work out in my favor because you went through the tough times, the struggle.

• 34:18Speaker 01

  That's crazy you say that too, because me and my tour manager JD, he would always say, man, put your horse blinders on and worry about the other artists and what they're doing. They got their own journeys. They're doing that, you know, their success, their, their journey is a whole lot different than ours. And, because you know, that's when I kind of like realized that I was like, man, I'm worried too much about what other people doing. Oh, they're, they're putting out music whenever they want. I should be, you know, all these things that like distracting me from like what I need to be doing right in front of me. And once when I, you know, like surrendered and put those horse blinders on, it's when I was like, I was writing the best music that I have in a long time.

• 35:02Speaker 01

  I was happier because I was just focused on what I needed to do and nothing else. And having those horse blinders, I was, you know, I didn't have any distractions. I still, I had to constantly remind myself every single day, all right, horse blinders on. I ain't worried about what everyone else is doing. I, what do I got to do today? And once when I, you know, started getting in that rhythm, it's really when I started having fun again. Cause uh, you know, in this industry, like. Being on the road and stuff like there's no like structure like I me personally I need structure in my life so like when I have my horse blinders on and I have like okay I'm doing this this and this when I have a routine when I have it's when I win day by day and

• 35:44Speaker 01

  once when I started incorporating that in my life and staying consistent with that that's when I started to you know have better relationships in my life have you know better confidence in myself and um just was more productive and like and it just like it snowballs right and and so that's when it's you know when I so I always just you know so I always look back and uh think about what JD says when I put your horse blinders on and and uh do what you gotta do and that's what um I mean that's what I've been incorporating the past couple of years and it's really helped me for sure.

• 36:22Nick Bare?

  I'm a big fan of this podcast called Founders. Uh it's it's hosted by this gentleman named David Senra and he talks about

• 36:33Nick Bare?

  the the greatest athletes in the world entrepreneurs founders world leaders and there was this recent episode I was listening to I can't remember exactly what episode but he used the same analogy of horse blinders of of pursuing a vision of yours or a goal or building a business in this case and it's so easy to remove those horse blinders and look to the people to the left and the right of you and compare where you're at and where they're at and it's so much easier said than done you know just don't don't let that bother you don't you know don't don't watch what they're doing avoid it

• 37:14Nick Bare?

  again it's easy to say that but then you're on social media and you're talking to people and it's like Look at where they're at. Look at what they're doing. Look at this song they just released. Look at this business they just sold. And like instantaneously, you feel bad about where you're at. But when I actually implemented the, the horse blinders and this podcast with David Senna was explaining how when this founder of this business actually put up the horse blinders and stopped worrying completely stopped worrying about competition and just focused on what they were building, who they were serving and how they were going to get there. Everything exploded for him. And there's this lightness that comes along with it.

• 37:58Nick Bare?

  Like you, me and French were in the sauna talking about like the lightness you get when you surrender everything to God. Like deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. Like the lightness you get from that. That's where you get this, this clarity and this depth of thought. I, I have never been able to be

• 38:21Nick Bare?

  proactive and productive of any pursuit, whether it's like a fitness goal, leading my family, building the business. When I've been focused on other people and I've been distracted by all these other things that take away from the clarity of thought and depth of this is where I'm going. These are my core values. These are my beliefs. This is what I want to accomplish and do. Let everyone else do their thing. And everyone like the, one of the things I've learned in life is and I used to struggle with this so badly that I used to think that someone else's win took away from my win. So like, you know, compared to the music industry, like this artist is crushing it. That means that I'm not crushing it.

• 39:07Nick Bare?

  But that's just nonsense. Like everyone can crush it in their own space in a way. And someone else's win doesn't take away from your win.

• 39:14Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 39:15Nick Bare?

  And like, when I actually started believing that and adopting that, my whole mindset around competition and comparison and like where I'm at right now and where I'm trying to get to. It changed. It just felt lighter. There was less stress. There was less anxiety. There was less pressure. It's like, I've surrendered it all. Now let's just go pursue in the right path.

• 39:42Speaker 01

  Um, I mean, it's really, like you said, I think the toughest thing for me is like, you know, we can, it's easier said than done. We got social media and always, you know, constantly having to be on social media, you know, seeing all that. And then, but once we can find that peace and stuff, it's like, cool, happy for them. You use like kind of switching into like, awesome, good for them. And that's what I've kind of definitely told myself and definitely have tried to practice more of just being happy for other people and just, you know, just like they're crushing it. It's awesome. Not just like, like you said, like they're crushing it. I'm not, you know? And it's so easy to fall into that. And that's been one of my biggest struggles for sure. And but, um,

• 40:24Speaker 01

  it's definitely a constant bell every day. But, um, you're right, man. It's, I'm having fun again and finding peace and what I'm doing. And, and, uh, I feel like so many people in all areas of life can relate to that for sure.

• 40:39Nick Bare?

  Yeah, I was, uh, listening to this Alex from Ozzie podcast a few weeks ago. He was talking about how you can like really identify who your true friends are. And like sometimes you'll have these friends who are, I don't want to say less successful, but like they're, they're not, they're along. Say like you and your friend are on the same journey. And your friend isn't as far ahead

• 41:07Nick Bare?

  of the journey as you are. So they're rooting for you. They're like, dude, I'm like, I want you like, uh, or, or you're rooting for them. Like they're, they're behind you. You're like, dude, I'm like, I'm so happy for you. I keep going. Like I'm, I want you to win. And they start getting closer to where you're at and you're still rooting for them. And they surpass you and you stop rooting for them. That's not true friendship. Like your true friends, even when, when they surpass you, you should be so proud and excited.

• 41:37Speaker 01

  Hype them up even more.

• 41:38Nick Bare?

  And hype them up even more. Yeah.

• 41:40Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 41:41Nick Bare?

  And that's also hard to do. Like when, when, when, you know, you have someone who's a world champion at something and then they get surpassed. They don't want someone to be the world champion above them. They don't want someone to succeed, whether they're friends or not. But I think that's like one of those moments where you gotta sit back and be like, I should be really happy for them and proud of them. So I'm going to be.

• 42:03Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 42:05Nick Bare?

  Those are the moments where you find out who's actually your friend. It's when you, in some cases, surpass where they're at. If they start rooting for you and cheering for you and supporting you still, it's a good friend.

• 42:16Speaker 01

  I think that's what's so awesome about country music community. And like, because I feel like everybody is just cheering on everybody to like, you know, I'm sure there's might be a few out there, you know, whatever, like, might be just be just putting on a show. Who knows? I don't know. I haven't come across that. But like, you know, my friend, like the guys I I'm close with, like, we're all just hyping each other up. Yeah. And we might like, dang, like, you know, I they got this new tour. Like, man, I wish I had a tour. Like, you know, you can get into that. But like, for the most part, I feel like, you know, a lot of guys, like, you know, the country music community is so, you know, that's what I love about country music because everyone's cheering on everybody.

• 42:58Nick Bare?

  That's awesome.

• 42:58Speaker 01

  It's pretty cool.

• 43:00Nick Bare?

  So I want to talk about your transformation with like health and fitness. And I'm assuming that like this lifestyle, as you previously mentioned, it gets crazy really fast. You sign a record label, you go on the road, you run road like six years, you're you're on the bus at all times, late nights. Like, at what point in your career touring, playing music, did you rise? Dude, something's got to change.

• 43:32Speaker 01

  It's probably, man, a couple of years ago, I was playing a show down in Florida and

• 43:42Speaker 01

  man, I was having a blast, you know, I was. Drinking all day, we're all on the water and you know, I saw this, you know, a video of me and I was like, man, like I just, I don't, I don't like that guy. That guy is just, he's a little reckless right now and I've, and, and I just came to that realization. I was like, man, I've been pretty reckless for a long time with my health, with like my attitude, my, just every, all areas of my life, I've just been kinda winging it and just not, not the guy who I wanted to be. And it started with, you know, just, you know, I'll, I'll back up a little bit.

• 44:27Speaker 01

  So growing up, playing sports and being active and when I came out of football, I went straight into music. And it's, you know, late nights at the bar, you know, traveling all the time and just getting out of that structure. And I lost all structure in my life. It was sleeping whenever you want, wake up whenever, all these things and it wasn't until I had my daughter is when I was like, okay, I need to start straightening up and that even after that for a little bit, I, it was a process. A lot of wake up calls, probably too many. And now there's a song that'll, that'll be a, coming out either soon or on this new record that it kinda explains.

• 45:12Speaker 01

  That was one of those wake up calls and but uh, remember that day? I was like, something's gotta change. Something's gotta change and that was a wake up call and then a few months go by, do okay and like start straightening up and you know, not drinking as much or like, you know, trying to eat right or try to wake up at a decent hour and get some stuff done and, or whatever it may be and then.

• 45:39Speaker 01

  I felt like I was flirting with the idea for a long time. And it wasn't until it was like, all right. I'm just gonna, I've always kind of

• 45:50Speaker 01

  liked running here and there. It would just make me feel good for like, run a couple of miles. And then, you know, you know, flush out the, the seventeen beers I had from the weekend. And then I'll be good for the week and then do it all over again, you know?

• 46:05Speaker 01

  But like, that wasn't the lifestyle, like, I was, knew that was setting me up for success in my life or anything. It wasn't good. Some people can just roll like that and they're great for, but for me personally, I knew that that was not the way.

• 46:19Nick Bare?

  Like, fitness at that point was essentially a cleanse?

• 46:22Speaker 01

  It was a cleanse. It was like a Sunday, I get home from the road, I go on my two mile, three mile run, go sit in the sauna and I'm like, I sweat it out. My, my craziness and, you know, you know, be good for the week and then do it all over. And it just was this constant cycle. And I, I think when I saw that video of me down at that show, I was drinking way more than I should. Just, I was like, I just got, something's gotta change. And so I started seventy-five hard that next week. And I just quit drinking for like eighty, it was like, I, I went more than seventy-five. I went eighty days without, I felt the best I ever did.

• 47:05Speaker 01

  But like, I was, you know, just going on walks every day or just working out twice a day, doing that whole deal. And I felt amazing. I was like, this is cra- I haven't been this long without alcohol and shoot, since I was probably nineteen. And, you know, and it just like, I loved how it felt. I love how, what direction that was feeling like. And then, man, I just, uh, I found your YouTube. And I was like, man, this guy, I look up to this dude. I've been watching. I was like, man, like, I wanna be like, this guy's running, he's got his life, like, he's building a business, like, that is so inspiring. And

• 47:46Speaker 01

  And it all starts with like getting right and taking care of yourself. And I knew I was like, I am not taking care of myself. I'm doing these crash diets, these crash cleanses, like a lifestyle change needs to happen. So I just like started running just little here, a little there. And then I kind of got the bug and, you know, I just, it just took off from there and I just felt, I started, the longer I ran, the more I had clarity and the more I got that runner's high or whatever you want to call it, I started becoming like creative and the more I started falling in love with

• 48:26Speaker 01

  running and stuff like that, it was like that lifestyle began to slowly switch from, oh, I don't want to go eat all this because I, you know, I'll feel like crap tomorrow. I want to get a good run in tomorrow. And then that's when I was like, oh man, what's happening here? Something, something's clicking a little bit. And it just kind of snowballed into this, into this love for just taking care of myself. And, and then I got, you know, I got baptized last year and it was a, it was a whole

• 48:56Speaker 01

  transformation of like getting my life in order. It started with just take, getting healthy.

• 49:03Nick Bare?

  Well, you remember the first time we ran together?

• 49:04Speaker 01

  Yeah. First time I ran, I, first time I ran 11 miles. I was scared as, I was, I was like, man, what am I doing here? I have no business.

• 49:12Nick Bare?

  That's when we were living in Nashville. It's the first time we ever linked up.

• 49:15Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 49:16Nick Bare?

  Shelby Bottoms Park.

• 49:17Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 49:18Nick Bare?

  Uh, East Nashville. And I was in marathon prep. I was like, I got, hey, let's go for a run. I got 11 miles on the schedule for the day. You down? Like, yeah, I'm down. And, uh, I mean, you, you like, obviously it was the longest run you ran at that point. Before that, what was the longest you ever ran?

• 49:35Speaker 01

  10, 10 miles.

• 49:36Nick Bare?

  10.

• 49:36Speaker 01

  That was like a month before that.

• 49:38Nick Bare?

  I mean, you, you, you pushed through.

• 49:40Speaker 01

  Yeah. I remember that last mile, you were like, there you go. I was like, you have no idea how hard I'm pushing around.

• 49:45Nick Bare?

  That was, you got it done. I fully respected it, man. Like, you came out and just like threw down. And, and you know, and we talked pretty much the entire, entire run.

• 49:57Nick Bare?

  And the journey's tough, like getting started. I mean, no matter what you do, but I think this is like the beauty of of fitness and health is like the hardest part is getting started. And you get started and you find your rhythm and you find your routine and then all these things like you said, they just sort of fit together. It's like you're not just running because you know, running is good for you, but you actually start craving running. And for people who aren't runners, like they hear that and say, you crave running. And it's not necessarily like the the way you feel during the run, but when you finish the run, like when we finished those 10 miles on the track this morning, it's so rewarding.

• 50:37Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 50:38Nick Bare?

  And so we put in all this work as the sun's coming up to set us up for success the rest of the day. And now we have to make these smart decisions around our diet to support that run so we can wake up the next morning and and run again or train this afternoon and like all of these things in terms of like food choices and diet and training and sleep and

• 51:03Nick Bare?

  you know, like avoiding alcohol or at least consuming in moderation, like all of these things start to fit together. And they benefit every aspect of your life. But it takes time.

• 51:16Speaker 01

  That's what another, that's what I've learned probably the most. It takes a lot of time because like it it's crazy how much work it takes to just be okay at running and and it's it, but it's fun. I enjoy the journey. I enjoy the the efforts it takes to get better and it's fun. I'm, I mean, I just have fun with it and I don't think of it as like, God, God, it's like I'm looking forward to my runs every week. I'm looking, you know, yeah, there's some days I'm like, I do not want to do this today. But the

• 51:50Speaker 01

  The feeling you have after you complete it, after you didn't want to is weighs a whole lot more than than anything.

• 51:57Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 51:57Speaker 01

  And um, like you said, it's like, you know, it just sets you up for the rest of the day and like, you know, some one of my buddies like, what are you, what are you training for? I'm like, I mean, I'm just, I don't know, like, I just, I just enjoy it. Like, it's a whole lot better. I sing so much easier on stage now. I'm jumping around, running around, like singing on stage is easy now. It's never been easy. If you ever come to one of my shows, I'm all over the place, jumping around and I would be gassed after shows. Like, I would be toasted. Now, like, it's like, I can sing easily, like, running around, like, it's just, like, it's not just, you know,

• 52:37Speaker 01

  because like, oh, I'm training for the marathon this fall or whatever. It's like, it's my life, it's my work, it's just longevity, you know, being, living longer for my kids, you know, stuff like that. It's just a whole lot more than just like, just, you know, I'm just running to run and running for this marathon. It's like part of my life now. And it's just, it's really cool how it's transformed.

• 52:59Nick Bare?

  Yeah, there's people who ask me sometimes, even when I'm not training for something, what are you training for? Or if we're out to eat, I make a healthier food choice compared to like what some other people are ordering. What are you dieting for? I'm not dieting and I'm not training for anything necessarily at certain points, but like, there's no finish line. And I think that's like such a a problematic approach mentally to anything in life. See, let me just like get to this finish line and then I can cheat or then I can relax and I can slow down. I think part of it's building a plan and a protocol that is sustainable.

• 53:46Nick Bare?

  But like as I'm, you know, as we were sitting in the sauna, like I already brought up, we're talking about our faith. And I'm reading this book right now by Mark Comer called Practicing. I think Practicing is the Way or Practicing the Way. And it's talking about like prayer. And when you start like actually spending time in a quiet place, in your secret place, and you pray, it's uncomfortable, it's challenging, you don't know what to say, you don't know to like, ask God for or thank Him for, like, what do I do in this, in this time and space? And Mark Comer says like, you just, you just gotta keep showing up.

• 54:32Nick Bare?

  Like, there is no finish line within, within faith. It is a forever journey.

• 54:37Speaker 01

  That's awesome.

• 54:38Nick Bare?

  And it is so applicable to your fitness, your health, like leading a family. When I think about leading my family, like it doesn't end when the kids turn 18 and they go off to college. It's, it's forever. So it's like, I have to build any sustainable practices that I know don't end at a certain point or age or time. But it's like, I have to constantly be learning and growing and implementing and testing and refining and being humbled. Like everything we're doing right now in life, everything, if you attach a finish line to it, you've already set up yourself up for, for failure.

• 55:19Speaker 01

  I mean, I'll just iterate what you said, like, there's no finish line of becoming, you know, you know, becoming a dad was, you know, will always be a dad, you know, but like, I feel like constantly learning every single day how to be a better husband. I mean, that's, I mean, we just, I just got, I've been married almost a year now, but October, um, November will be a year.

• 55:43Speaker 01

  But, uh,

• 55:44Nick Bare?

  Marriage is tough.

• 55:45Speaker 01

  Yeah. No, I mean, they say it's tough, it's hard work, but like, it is. I mean, I mean, I'm the luckiest man in the world being married to, uh, to Abby and it's, it's just, but it is tough. It's like we're constantly learning, constantly figuring out, you know, issues and, and, and problems and.

• 56:06Speaker 01

  We're constantly growing together and I think that's what is awesome about marriage and like what I've learned most this year. And my marriage is like we're we're growing still. You know, there's no finish line, like you said, and it's gonna be a constant. Constant growth together, constant, you know, learning experience, constant like just how to love each other, how to communicate. That's been just.

• 56:33Speaker 01

  So a challenge, but it's an awesome challenge and it's a it's such a beautiful like. You know, it's such a beautiful way to grow together is just.

• 56:44Nick Bare?

  This October, yes, October will be five years for Steph and I.

• 56:49Speaker 01

  Awesome.

• 56:49Nick Bare?

  Of being married. And um.

• 56:54Nick Bare?

  I think what's so interesting about like marriage and relationships. Like when you when you meet someone when you're younger. You you both are individuals. And to expect. Each one of you not to grow and change over the course of like ten, twenty, thirty, forty years. I think it's pretty unrealistic. So I was once told, you know, when you're approaching marriage and.

• 57:24Nick Bare?

  And building a partnership and like really.

• 57:29Nick Bare?

  Learning from it. It's like there's someone you. The person you marry.

• 57:36Nick Bare?

  That is like one person.

• 57:39Nick Bare?

  And you love them and you're committed to them, but you also have to be committed and prepared to love the person they become. Over the next ten, twenty, thirty, forty years.

• 57:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:50Nick Bare?

  Cause even the last five years, like Steph and I have both grown and changed. Dramatically, like significantly, we are much different people. Different, but the same.

• 58:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:04Nick Bare?

  Because we've had life experiences, we've had two kids now, we've made multiple moves, you know, like more than. More than I'd like to admit. And just like life itself.

• 58:16Nick Bare?

  Provides like experience and hardship and struggle and all of these things and you grow and change in that process. And one of the things that we talk about often is if you get to a point in your life and there's a miscommunication or there's an argument or disagreement. It's like, well, when we first started dating and we first got married, you said this.

• 58:42Nick Bare?

  Again, I did say that or do that or want that. But we've both changed over time. I think that's the, that was like a light bulb that went off my head when I was told that. The person you marry, it's the person you love. You used to love them for who they are, but who they will become in the future as well. Oh, that makes sense. Yes, like with that being said,

• 59:10Nick Bare?

  you guys now have like this new part of marriage that you're about to experience with a baby coming here soon.

• 59:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 59:17Nick Bare?

  So that will again then like change everything.

• 59:20Speaker 01

  I mean, we're just trying to figure it out with one kid now that we're gonna have two. Like it's, uh, so if I'm hitting you up, asking for notes and advice, just be ready.

• 59:30Nick Bare?

  It's exciting.

• 59:31Speaker 01

  We're excited, man. Uh, we're doing December, so it's gonna be here real quick. We're excited, baby girl. We got a couple of names picked out. We don't know. I feel like it's gonna be a game time decision.

• 59:42Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 59:44Speaker 01

  I feel like we'll know when we look at her. It's gonna be one of the, you know, we got two names. We're, I think we're sold on one, but I think it's gonna be, it could switch last second. Who knows?

• 59:54Nick Bare?

  I really gave Steph like a full freedom of, uh, naming our son Nico. Charlie, you know, our first, like we went back and forth for a while, but with Nico, it's like,

• 1:00:06Nick Bare?

  Steph, you go ahead, like pick some options. I'll like, I'll see where we're at and we'll pursue one of those. How, how do you anticipate like your career changing and the way you approach music moving forward?

• 1:00:18Speaker 01

  Well, a lot of, a lot of things have changed with my, in my career this past year. Um, got a new booking agent, got a new manager, JD, my best friend who's my tour manager for 10 years. He, he's my manager now.

• 1:00:35Speaker 01

  Gosh, so many changes, a whole new, pretty much a whole new bank. It's just pretty much a clean house of, and then got my team together. It's like, all right, in this next chapter of my career, we're gonna work and we're gonna get after it. And, uh, but, and I left my label too, which was huge.

• 1:00:55Nick Bare?

  It's a big move.

• 1:00:55Speaker 01

  Big move to go back independent, to not have the big machine, you know, behind. I was with Universal for six years and great, it was, it wasn't one of those nasty splits. It was, hey, this is, I went to, I went to the Universal, I said, hey, this is what I believe is best for my career right now. Take a step back from being with a big label, I need to go back independent and just kind of do it the way how I started this whole thing, go back to the basics. They were so cool. It was a, it was a clean split and everything was fine and I love everybody over there. They've been super huge supporters of me and my career for so long and still are. And, um, Mike Harris is such a great guy. He's running,

• 1:01:41Speaker 01

  running the ship over there and he's doing an amazing job. And, but, uh, we had dinner and we just talked and, and, uh, he's like, okay, you know, like, we're gonna, we're gonna part ways, but you know, we wish the best for you. And it was scary too, because I was like, I'm on my own. You know, but it was exciting too, because it was like, I can put out music whenever I want. I don't have to go on anybody's timeline but mine. And

• 1:02:09Nick Bare?

  Does that mean reason for more like freedom and flexibility?

• 1:02:11Speaker 01

  Absolutely. I mean, you know, like I wrote us that Real One song I've just put out, like I sent you. I was like, I was in between like a couple of songs and I sent them to my buddies and, you know, I couldn't pick which one and everyone said, Real One, absolutely.

• 1:02:25Nick Bare?

  That means it's a great song.

• 1:02:27Speaker 01

  I appreciate.

• 1:02:27Nick Bare?

  It's a great song.

• 1:02:28Speaker 01

  Thanks, dude. And I was like, I was fired up because everyone said the same song. And I was like, all right. Well, I had the freedom, just, all right, let's put this one out. I didn't have any other, you know, I, I definitely reached out to see people's opinions, but I was You know, decision maker. It wasn't like I had to go through all the red tape or someone else's timeline. Okay, well, you know, well, we have these releases and, you know, we can do this and we have this date, this date. I was like, man, I could put it out whenever I want. And I love having that freedom. And I love having the, you know, being fired up about a song and being able to put it out right then and have the creative direction.

• 1:03:09Speaker 01

  Because, you know, if I was like, you know, oh, we'll put out real one. I can't put it out for next six months. I was like, I'm gonna write twenty, thirty more songs until then. I might be fired up about another one. Let's get it out. And I have this plan for this song right now. Like, you know, you might, the energy I put out, the energy I put towards like one song might not be the same in six months. You know, I might not be as fired up about it. I might be on to the next subject or next song that I'm fired up about. So it's cool and it's very, I feel like in where I'm at in my career is very effective to be able to have that freedom. To just put it, give the, give the fans that have been with me for the past ten plus years,

• 1:03:53Speaker 01

  the amount of music they deserve. And like, you know, I have all these songs that have just been compiled for so long. And I feel like I'm finally being able to just dish them out, whatever. And it's really cool.

• 1:04:03Nick Bare?

  It sounds similar to the, the book publishing space, actually.

• 1:04:06Speaker 01

  How was that, by the way?

• 1:04:08Nick Bare?

  Uh, it was a, it was a good experience. It was a long experience.

• 1:04:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:04:13Nick Bare?

  Where like the publisher that I worked with, Ben Bella Books, great publisher, a great team to work with, super helpful through the editing process. Uh, like the editors that I, the, the copywriters and the editors I worked with were very thorough. Like when I, I submitted my manuscript and I got it back, I didn't know what to expect. It was like, maybe there's like a thirty, fifty edits, six thousand edits. Now, some of those were like grammatical errors.

• 1:04:43Speaker 01

  That's still overwhelming.

• 1:04:44Nick Bare?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 1:04:45Speaker 01

  That's crazy.

• 1:04:46Nick Bare?

  Dude, I remember looking at these thinking, I'm never gonna get through six thousand, uh, edits. But what's, uh, well, I say there's like similarities in the book publishing, what sounds like the music publishing space. The manuscript was done. Edits were completed. And I was ready to like, let's send it. Let's print it and let's sell it. But then they have to look at what books are coming out in the next 12 months, how it fits into their like, schedule. So we didn't release it for another 12 months after it was done. So the whole process ended up being about two years from like, starting the book to publishing the book. Because it's not.

• 1:05:31Nick Bare?

  It wasn't part of my timeline. Like, I had to work with their timeline.

• 1:05:35Speaker 01

  It's frustrating.

• 1:05:36Nick Bare?

  But that's just like publishing as a whole.

• 1:05:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:38Nick Bare?

  So you do lose some freedom and flexibility. And then like for me to be able to, if I wanted to write and release another book, there's a certain timeline in which I have to wait to let the first book breathe. So like. You can see how like it does limit you. In some sort of capacity.

• 1:06:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, that, I mean, I feel like striking when the iron's hot is like crucial and like, sounds like it in that space too. Cause I mean, say like, on social media, you have a song that's blowing up on TikTok, like earlier this year. That Find You song, I just had the acoustic version out. I already. Had the full band version done, but we, I was gonna plan on, you know, just teasing the acoustic version first and. That went crazy on TikTok. Well, I had the freedom. I was like, hey. Got on the phone. It was like, we got like a million views in like a couple of days on this Find You acoustic. Like, we need to get this up. On Spotify and every, all the other platforms ASAP.

• 1:06:45Speaker 01

  And like, you know, who knows how long that would have took, you know?

• 1:06:49Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:49Speaker 01

  If I made a call to the label, like, hey, you know, like, well, there's, I'm sure we would have figured something out, uh, but I mean, just the fact that I could just be like. All right, let it rip. Like, that was like so much fun to me and like, it's making the whole like creative process and like. Being independent fun and it's just enjoyable that like.

• 1:07:13Speaker 01

  You know, I can do whatever I want and not not just be at the mercy of somebody else. I feel like there's there's power to that and it's and also it gives like power to fans like that. They created the demand. They they said, we need this song now and I was able to give it to them. And there's and those fans, I mean, they've been with me for so long and, you know, there've been so many times long. Called the drought where I just wasn't able to put out any music and I feel like that was like really hindering. Um, the momentum we had and now, like you said, like staying consistent with the music rollouts and

• 1:07:53Speaker 01

  just staying on top of that. I feel like that's crucial, especially today's and then day and age and how people consume music.

• 1:08:01Nick Bare?

  Yeah, being able to operate with speed, the team here knows, like they have an internal rule. Don't send me something if it's not ready to be posted because if someone sends me like a photo that I think is like, looks really good or a video that's super cool or a podcast clip, I will post it instantaneously.

• 1:08:21Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:08:21Nick Bare?

  It's almost a joke where like, like we literally sent this to you five seconds ago and it's already posted.

• 1:08:28Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, I think that's cool though, because like a lot of people, a lot of companies like, you know, like you're in control, like you post that, like it's coming from you and I feel like that's part of BPN, you and your brand like this is you and like you're saying, hey, like I'm in control, like I'm posting whatever. It's not like you have. Yeah, you have a team, like a digital team, but like it's you, like you're posting, you're actually the one pressing post.

• 1:08:53Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:53Speaker 01

  And I think that's super cool and that translates for sure.

• 1:08:56Nick Bare?

  It's not as people reach out, like, can you connect me with your assistant so we can get something scheduled?

• 1:09:01Speaker 01

  Really?

• 1:09:01Nick Bare?

  Like, that's me.

• 1:09:02Speaker 01

  That's me.

• 1:09:03Nick Bare?

  Yeah, we can talk and like I got my calendar pulled up right now. So what do you want to put on the the schedule?

• 1:09:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:09Nick Bare?

  Well, we got to coordinate with like your team, like, no, I'm good.

• 1:09:12Speaker 01

  I got Instagram on my phone.

• 1:09:13Nick Bare?

  Yeah, let's do it.

• 1:09:14Speaker 01

  So funny. It's awesome.

• 1:09:16Nick Bare?

  Well, dude, I appreciate just like your commitment and buy in to me, my mission, BPN over the years.

• 1:09:25Nick Bare?

  I mean, like the hat you're wearing now, you've worn in music videos.

• 1:09:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:28Nick Bare?

  You know, it's like so cool to see that. And it's been so cool. Just like feeling the love and support from you.

• 1:09:35Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 1:09:35Nick Bare?

  And to have you as an official partner of BPN now is like super meaningful for us and and we're excited to support your journey.

• 1:09:42Speaker 01

  I appreciate that, man. Like, I mean, when I started watching your videos a couple of years ago, man, I was it was really cool. I was like, man, I feel like me and him would be buds. Like, I felt like, you know, we hit it off on like on that one run. I was like, dude, I feel like I've known this guy forever.

• 1:09:58Nick Bare?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:58Speaker 01

  And like, we just have such a connection with like, goals and dreams and like, you're CEO and building this brand and this company and like what you stand for. I was like, man, that's super inspiring. That's how I want to be in my career, my business model, like everything that you stand for. It's like, man, like, I want to surround myself with people like that. And the fact that you believe in me and and like, as like, I believe in you and like, it's just really cool how our worlds collide and how everything goes full circle. I just want to say I appreciate you. And uh, being a great friend and just uh, being awesome and just, you know, having me on board, be a part of this BPN team. Um, you know,

• 1:10:40Speaker 01

  it's a, I never thought like I would be a part of something like this, but it's so cool that like, that there's a space for a guy like me in this industry or this space is like, hey, like, yeah, I do music, but like, I'm also like committed

• 1:10:55Nick Bare?

  Mm hmm.

• 1:10:56Speaker 01

  to like change my life. And that's, I feel like that's what y'all are all about.

• 1:10:59Nick Bare?

  So this brand's all about. It's it's for the committed.

• 1:11:02Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 1:11:03Nick Bare?

  Like, we don't have to be professional athletes, but it's a commitment towards like the journey, the goal, the purpose, the beliefs, the values, our family, the mission, like all of those things. Like, we're a brand for the committed and everyone's journey looks a little bit different.

• 1:11:22Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 1:11:22Nick Bare?

  But like, we're all fighting that mission.

• 1:11:24Speaker 01

  That's awesome, man.

• 1:11:25Nick Bare?

  I appreciate you, man.

• 1:11:26Speaker 01

  Appreciate you, brother.