When it's time for Hibachi, my protein comes from ButcherBox and ButcherBox only. Go to butcherbox.com.com to get $20 off your first box. Hosting is AI builds your website in minutes. No coding needed?
Go to hosting.com.com.com and use code MICK for 10% off. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com.com.com. Go to im8health.com.
Right now, or click on the link in the description and use code MICK for a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. And so instead of saying, survivors remorse is survivor's life, you know, it's a remembrance of, to remind everyone that life is short. You never know, check on each other. Be with each other.
Never take a grin. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of MICK Unploged. And today, not only is a bucket list moment, but we're about to have a conversation with a guy that really sparked me into understanding mental health awareness and how I can contribute to make sure that mental health awareness stays on the forefront of everyone. We're talking about the White House chef who turned into a viral sensation.
He was a U.S. Army combat veteran and mental health advocate with biceps as big as his heart. From the battlefield to the kitchen, from disciplined inspiration. He is fearless, he is passionate, he is unstoppable, and he is someone that I call a mentor.
We're talking to none other than chef Andre Rush. Chef, how are you doing today, brother? Brother, I'm doing absolutely blessed. And thank you so much for that amazing introductory.
I was saying the same thing right back at you, your inspiration to me. I think things were everything that you do in being here. Man, chef, you know, I was telling you before huge fan of yours, but where I became a fan, man, was when you were talking and promoting 22 push-ups a day, what that meant to veterans and the suicide rate. And it really touched me, man.
Like, I wasn't someone who served, but I have a lot of friends and family who did. And I understand everything that you were saying in those messages. And that truly inspired me, man. Like, you don't have to be the person going through it to help.
You can be the person that can check in on your friends. As I like to say, doing a checkup from the head up, right? Like, just asking people how they're doing, just talking. Go such a long way.
But I didn't get that until you, bro. So I just wanted to tell you, thank you for that. And what that means to me and the people that I'm in connection with as well. No, thank you.
Thank you for that. You know, it's crazy because I didn't know how much I needed. You know, my mind, what I do and giving back is having me even more. So people say thank you, Chef.
And I say thank you back. They have no idea how much and how heartfelt when I say it back to them. Because they're actually really helping me. You know, and it's funny because a lot of people started at 22.
You know, I was doing it a day and that started at 222. That started at 22, as a little distillation, strategically because I wanted that number to mean something. You know, say, 22 a day like, OK, you kind of blew it off. But even when I started doing those high numbers, people would always say, wow.
And they're like, what's the significance for it behind it? You know, that's the hoodline and sinker. And then bring some money into your world. And then you realize that you're both sharing the same world already.
And they didn't even know it. And so when they started doing it, you know, I've had so many people to come and just say it, you know, from, you know, from the neck up head up, how not only did it change their lives, you know, physical aspect and mental aspect and the health aspects of social aspect as well. Yeah, man. Like you inspire so many.
I guess I got to get mine up to 2,222 a day. So I can one day look like you. But speaking of looking like you, man, like there's so many places I want to go. A lot of people don't know this.
Looking at you, you would think, oh, Chef was a linebacker or whatever in football. But you had some sweet feedback in the day high school hot. Mr. Running Back Chef.
I was, you know, I did a couple of things. Trackstar running back. Football was my passion. You know, I want to try these women's superwood.
I worked my butt off and had a few scholarships, but I chose the military route. Even though Olympics, I had to try out for that. I actually decided to go to the military and skip it all, you know, because I want to do something at a time as a young kid, you know, that wasn't important to me. My dad kind of from the south was like, you know, the man go to work, the girl's go to school.
You know, so my mindset was service to service to what can I do? How can I help my family? So for even not myself, you know, so I was like, I sacrificed myself meaning that I didn't do any of that school stuff, but I did a later on in my career. And it's crazy because every rank I would put on, I put it on myself.
Every degree, I never walked. It was just a check for me because I had so many more things to do. And even now from getting so many accolades from humble by, they're all stealing their boxes because I'm not done yet. You know, from the key to the city, I'm Mississippi to, you know, recognition from California for suicide awareness to this, that it doesn't, it means everything to me, but right now, and that's getting ready to get into veterans hall of fame coming up, you know.
That's important to me. It shows me. But at the same time, it is I will never become complacent. That's what I tell people all the time, never become complacent.
Yeah, I love it, man. Like I always tell people you're different, right? Like in a good way, right? Like you're a role model again.
I know you're humble. You're not going to see it, but you're a role model. You're an inspiration and you're different. And you allow others to say, hey, it's okay to forage my path because how many of you in high school would have taken the college scholarship?
How many of you in high school or, you know, in your early 20s would have said, I want the glory of the Olympics, right? Like you were never a look at me kind of individual. You always had that spirit of what can I do to help others? And I'm like, you just talked about your dad a little bit.
Is that where it started? Was that mentorship and leadership and guidance from your dad? Well, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, my dad was that person. He was tough as nails and he taught me to value your hard work.
You know, he taught me to do things in my life as a young age. I didn't understand at the time. He said, always be the hardest work in a room. And no matter where you go, someone wants you to fail.
What's the matter? What is it going to want you to fail? You know, because people are going to see you go through your paths. They can look at you, they can look at you.
They can look at you just, it can be any monetary clothes, whatever it is, they want you to fail. It can be family members. It can be somebody as you step up into ladders and go through success or your terrorism. Believe me, I have many, many failures.
You know, and I still go through those and you know, it's talking about the Olympics and all that. People say, what if you know you had to look at that path? I didn't. So there's no what if there's only right now.
I go forward. I don't go backwards. Right? Those things that happen back then, I can't even imagine it because it never happened.
I think about what I'm doing because even if I had done that, I wouldn't be here helping millions. You wouldn't be here talking to me. We wouldn't be here talking to me. I want to get to be my brother.
You know, so that was the thing you think about when you say, what if it's what should I be doing right now? I love it, man. I love it. So talking about the right now, you know, I love to ask people about their be caused.
That thing that's deeper than your why, like that passion, that personal mission that you have. So for you today, the giver that you are, the leader that you are, the inspiration that you are, what's your be caused? What's your purpose today? Well, you know, as soon as you say that word, something popped in my head.
You know, you go through trials and tribulations in your life. And the one thing, I'm a faith-based person. And I've been open about that and I always will be. I will never and I tell people, don't wave around who you are and what you believe in.
That's your right, your privilege. Any part. Just monitor anything that you say, believe, always. Don't ever, especially with the kids.
Don't ever, kids, especially with stereotypes, say you think of because you believe in something. I believe in something. And that's him above. But it's been times in my life, lots of them, where I thought that, I thought, okay, this is going to settle down.
You know, I've had some really bad things happen. I've lost a lot of people. I think you know about my daughter and her brother and her two brothers and you know, I lost my mother and my father. I lost my best friend.
And it was all along the same route. And after my daughter, which was just two years ago in the anniversary, it was at the highlight of my career. I was going to New York City with Gordon Ramsey with my TV show, everything going when I got that phone call at four o'clock in the morning. And I was just like, I've done all this work constantly.
I've given back, I've given back, I've done everything you asked me to do and so forth and so on. And it just hit me and I'm like, you know, I was almost gave up on my mother way and my father went away right back to back. And I'm just like, I can't keep doing that. But she reminded me, you know, from above that this is what I was going to do.
And did not happen. And I had to catch myself because I said, he makes no mistakes. He makes no mistakes, you know, you can get tested and whatever. And you said because because I have no choice.
There's no there's no choice. I have no choice, brother. I have to do this. Everyone I do is for this.
It's for the kids for the veterans. It's for all the people that I know that can take my place. The ones who can't believe, do believe, want to believe, the ones that need it as much as I need it. So because it's because I have no choice.
Man, I'm sitting here trying not to get emotional, bro, because you have a story and I resonate with it. And you know, I kind of told you why I connected with you. But one of the things I don't live life in regret, right? Ever because I live in the moment.
Like we're all here for a purpose for a reason. But I do have one, you know, like my best friend from high school, years after high school, I got a call that he had committed suicide. Literally five days before that, I had reached out to his uncle to ask how he was doing. I could have called him directly.
And I always wonder if I would have called him, instead of calling his uncle to ask how he was doing, could would, if anything. And I don't know the answer. I never really tried to go back there, but I never know the answer. But part of why I do what I do is because you always reminded me of him and of the things that I could do.
So bro, like you just mean so much to me. I just want you to know that. But you know, we do this all the time. We talk all the time and I talk to so many.
And it's not everyone I can talk to where the energy is extremely, perfectly aligned. And like, you know, as you say things, I'm living through you. Like you live through me. And when you say it that, and it's crazy because my first one years ago, I started during he called me and I was helping a bunch of soldiers.
And I talked to him every day and that one day I said, I'll call him back. I'm with the guys and that day turned and night, that night turned into three in the morning. And I got a phone call and it was someone, one of my soldiers from Iraq and saying, Hey, it's about something. I'm like, yeah, I'll call him back the day.
And he was like, he's gone. I'm like, what are you talking about? You know, and that same question that you asked. It is crazy because the same thing you said is back then, I was like, what if, what if, why, what, what, you know, this is kid, he's, you know, 25 years old and you know, as a wife and two kids and you know, it was a smiles and I don't get it.
I don't understand. What if I had picked up that phone, you know, and then all these years later, he became part of the story and the reason you get it. He became part of my cause. And so instead of saying, survivors remorse is survivors' life, you know, it's a remembrance of to remind everyone that life is short.
You never know, check on each other, be with each other, never come, never come to place in a grave for all those things that we kind of do in the U.S. that we become so humanized to, but we have to take a moment back and step. And that's why I have so many calls and people say, she'll do so many different things. Why?
Because I have no choice because this is important to someone, even if it's one person, it's important to me because there's a reason why. So if I'm going from suicide awareness, the military, the federal, the federal, the civil, civil, all-hymas, this, this, the cancer society, we don't speak in next month, everything's a reason. Everything's a choice. And you have to be that person that has that empathy, compassion to understand that everybody's human because you want them to treat you, exactly like you want to treat them.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Again, man, just such inspiration and such a big brother figure. You know, I want to go back to a moment for you, September 11th.
We all remember the day, right? It all touches all of us, but for you, it was much different, right? Like you were at the Pentagon, you were working out in the gym, right? And then you made a decision.
Again, going back to that person that you are, right? It's almost like when you talk about your because, you have no choice. You don't even think, right? You're just like, I have no choice.
I'm going to step up and do what I do. Take us back to that moment. It's honestly, it's reflex. You know, it's like, you know, I have to say, you know, the military embedded in so many different tenures, I never knew I had, especially leadership tenure at a very young age, and which fortunately for my mom and my dad, because I got up every morning and held and was on the farm and did this and, you know, had jobs and I didn't have a normal childhood.
At one point in time, I used to think, man, this sucks. I don't have a normal childhood. Now I think, man, I had the best childhood I could ever possibly have. It taught me everything that's doing.
There's nobody that can work me out, beat me out, run me out, task me nothing in the sort. When that day happened, I'll be honest with you. I say, when that day happened, but it's when that day happens, it happens every day in my head. As soon as you say it, it resonates right away at this flashbacks.
Those were our triggers and things that come back where people understand. When they say, I have triggers, no, we have triggers. They're all different, but they're all meaningful for each person. But for me, when that happened, I didn't know what was happening.
All I know is that people need to help and need some guidance, whatever, no matter who I am or where I am and to put myself in a situation where I hurt myself, which I did. And then also, in another situation where I was part of behind the scenes where I want to do more and do sweeps and find out how I can help. And that was a part I think after the fact, when I'm a young kid, I'm a young driver, but all my guys, I lost some guys that I worked out in the gym. It was a DoD guy, it was a gun, the cops, the swaths, all those, those are my big brothers.
It was crazy because I didn't know what was going on. You know, back then PTSD was kind of stigmatized. Even though they said it wasn't, it was very stigmatized. It was when I was, hey, don't talk about this.
That normal sequence was not there. And when some of my guys were much older said to me because I was there with them, they said, hey, Chef, we're going to go get some help. They have somebody here. And actually said, we have some people here you can talk to.
They didn't say who the people were, but we have people that you can talk to if you feel in a certain way. That's the kind of dumbing down. You know what I mean? I don't say we have therapy, it's the old site just because you may have common with this and that.
It's just people talk to and they say this to me and I went back to my chain. And I said, hey, I think I may want to talk to someone. And they said, do you like your job? That's English to me, I understand.
And for the next 20 years, there was, as soon as I think, no, I don't think, as soon as that happened, it was a timer. It's a ticking timer. It's a time bomb. How was that time bomb?
I had no idea how I would internalize it, how I would deal with that, how volatile, how dangerous. I had no idea what was happening or what could happen. You know, you think you're especially me and I, and this is going to talk to my man, you know, big drone, you know, I can live four or five, six hundred pounds and do a run forever. And us being our mind is nothing can touch us.
Nothing can touch us. And that's a lie. We get touched even quicker than anybody else. Because we try to criminalize and say that I'm invisible.
You know, when I was one of those guys, I was partly like that. And to the point where I started snapping and I was a big guy and I did a lot of stuff. And it was one of my general who actually called me out because he saw it and I got really upset. And that was the first time I had to go to therapy when I walked out his office, slammed out his office, got a call and so he'd go into therapy.
And the end is right here was, you know, he works in so many ways. I was in West Point because I was coming from back to my rack. And I went there to see the therapist. And it's on his West Point.
Over the castle and going through is the top floor. And it's only built only, only office there. So if you go there, everybody knows you're going there. And I go there.
I hear it. He talks to me and I just nothing, one in and one here and another. And I'm walking out. I'm like, I get out of here and I'm walking to the elevator, which is down about like a 25 or 30 meters, about 40 meters or so.
And this green hat comes out and passes each other. And I kind of glanced over and kind of put my head down a little bit. Don't look at him. And he did the same.
He got to the desk. I'm pushing the elevator button. And all of a sudden he runs back down to me and he sees me. And he looks at me and we just stop and he says, brother, if you're here, I know I need to be here.
And then we embraced and it just gave me, it just gives me chill bones because that said everything I need to know. That's everything I need to know. And from there, there was no ever looking down. There was only determination.
And let's move forward. Man, like I got goosebumps from that man. That's so inspiring. And that's the part of who you are.
You know, like one of my mentors is Les Brown. And we talk about the power to keep going, right? And when I think of you, that's what I think of, right? Like no matter what, keep going, like one foot in front of the other, right?
I'm going to say this for you. This is how I feel your mentality is. If your heart is beating, you have more to give. You have more to do.
And so talk to the viewers and listeners about that, man. Just like that mentality that you have that no matter what, just keep going. Keep moving. Keep going.
It's right here. Keep going. Never give up. You can do anything.
That's the first thing that works on. Keep going. Never give up. You can do anything.
Keep going. Never give up. With purpose. You work hard for your money.
Paying fees just to keep it somewhere? That deserves a second look. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional banks that charge fees and gate keep perks and rewards.
Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking. No overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. Get 5% cash back on Chime Card in a category of choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check. Grow your money faster with a savings rate that's 9 times the national average.
And in a pinch, Spot Me lets you overdraft up to $200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash mick. That is chime.com slash mick.
Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a FinTech, not a bank. Banking services and Chime Card provided by Chime's bank partners.
Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for detail. Say it to your kids.
Keep going. Never give up. You can do anything. I'm telling you it's reinforcement.
It's an internal thought. If you say something long enough, they will know it to be true. But if you say somebody you're not worth anything, you're garbage, then they think that way. My part of it was when my family, even living in a project, would not like money or anything to have, we had each other.
Believe me, I would have sang shoes every day. All the time, people laughed at the kids, laughed at me. I didn't have a normal lifestyle. Trust me, that was perfectly fine with me.
My dad and my mom, everybody worked hard. Everything happens for a reason on this part. So it's what is very day. The same part of it is I stay the same way I was back then.
This is the reason why I do everything I can do. I can have 3,000 people in a room, 3,000 want to go picture. The first one I take a picture with, and the last one I take a picture with, they get the exact same treatment each and every time. I want them to know they worked it.
I'm not going to wait for them to say, oh my god, this is long, whatever, so forth, so on. And you think about what you're doing and what you're reason, why. Everybody needs a reason. People say, oh, those are your workouts.
No, push-ups are not my workout. They're my cause. There's a reason. I tell people people, people ask my workout.
They ask my food. I say it needs to be associated with a reason, a cause. Don't just have to do it. I can do it.
It's the reason why I want to breathe. The reason why I want to live. You know you are what you eat. You have to have that mindset.
So it is doing this for the last, it's not a year's, and I did a million miles last year. I've done 150,000 miles this year. I've been home in LA 15 days out of this year so far. And I've talked to so many different people.
I've been so pretty tough. So many kids and a lot of from HBS to higher to a food bank. And I'm so surprised that because they know my platform, they all talk to me, but they ask the right questions. Right.
They ask the right questions because they know who I am and what I stand for. They see my funny content, but they know my serious side. They know that, okay, I don't relate him to the funny part. And they all say it.
Thank you for your service, Chef. Okay, thank you for your service. They associate me with that part of the first and then go into the conversation. And so it's all me, your great rapper, your great singer, your great dad.
Oh, I love this. You know, they connect it with something. So I tell people, like, seriously, to connect your kids, your family, and even other people. You'll be amazed with just a simple smile that a hell of a greeting could do for someone.
They could have it worse their lives. So don't look at the person and just say, okay, they're just a negative person. Just a nasty person. You have to try to at least try.
Yeah. Yeah. Love it, brother. Love it.
So let's get to the chefing part of your life, man. So you have to shirt on. Call me Chef, damn it. My mom is a preacher.
Mom, I can say damn it too. Chef, Chef. Okay. Just close your book.
So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So when, how, why was that your next calling?
Great question. Had no idea what to call it. It was nice. I want to be a chef and I grew up.
Not good, but whoever. Nothing, not even close. I was, my mom is my reason for this one. Like I told you, my dad, he believed boys could work, boys also don't cook.
You don't cook. That's in the south. Ladies and girls cook. They go to school, they do all this part of it.
So I used to actually sneak with my mom and cook, right? And it was the best feeling in the world. That's when I became a complete, I was already a mama's boy. But that time I became a complete mama's boy.
And what I did during the military in his side too, went from one direction. I wound up switching over because of my mother with the cooking part. Now when I did it in the military in the army, it was not the same. It was, it was hard and terrible.
It was mass cooking. It wasn't any family environment. It wasn't hospitality. It was like, I'm like, what did I get myself into?
This is like, people are like, what are you doing here? Being in this food service. You're too big. You're too big.
I'm like, I like cooking. Yeah. And again, he took care of me at a very young age. For some reason, I'm private.
And this sorry, command, sorry, major, saw me and they had this culinary show. They were doing, and he, you had to trial for it. I didn't try for it because I'm at the bottom of the totem pole. And I even know what culinary was.
I had no idea. And he brought me in. He told him, said, I want this guy. Who is he?
He's like, oh, that's actually, I'm sorry, private rush. And he was like, I want to like, why? He was like, I don't know. I just want him.
I just want him. Some of how him, I don't know. I just want him. I know I did what he saw, but went there.
And I'm like, wow, I just fell in love with it. I was like, this is cooking. You can make pics and this. So I became a pastry chef and I became a choc de tier.
I was on overload. My only problem was that was back then. There wasn't any Google. There wasn't any trial.
You can go to Torrios, you know that stuff. The books are expensive. But we did it one time a year every year. And I got hooked.
I mean, really hooked on it. And I practice and I spent all my money. I failed a million times. And the one thing about culinary party is that it's not learning by seeing.
My scene is learning by doing, right? You got to have hands on where somebody's actually an instructor. So literally a book, it's just like, it didn't make any sense. So I had to wait every year to go to a show to practice.
So every time I would compete, I would compete like 20 events. When an overuse would compete in three or two or one. I would do 20 just so I could fail in all 20. Just like the experience.
Just so I can get that time and tension. So I can just feel the blind of it. And people, they said, you know, there's so many like, you know, you're not going to do anything. I had no mentors on that part to find out how to do it.
Because I was doing things I never knew about. And long story short was, I used to have a psych myself out. And I would tell everybody that I competed against. I said, you ready to lose?
And they're looking at me like, kid, what are you talking about? And when I did lose, I had a loss. I would say to them, I told you, you're going to lose. And they looked at me like, he's crazy.
And I'm like, they didn't lose. I won. I also won. I got that experience.
And from then I kind of turned into my own. And I'll be honest with you, I was in coming on. So they didn't appreciate that part of the world. They'll take the accolades for it.
But once it was back to the field, get rid of it. Back to the field, back to the field. And someone, but I was always a helper. So I used to help people when I learned to do stuff.
And people found out I started doing things on my own. And I taught myself taught in the beginning. And someone saw me and asked me if I want to come over to the trial for the culinary at the Pinnagun in DC. I'm like, what?
What is already culinary with Pinnagun? What is that about? Like, you want to be a special agent or something? I'm like, oh, no, I want you to come over and I'm like, what is this?
And I said, why not? And I went and I tried. Long story short was that I had four days. And it was three other people competing for the same position.
But they were there for 30 days. I had four. They had 30. And I did it.
And I worked my butt off. Went back to Fort Campbell. And I'm like, oh, that's that. I forgot about it.
It wasn't a big deal. How could I compete against three people that's there for 30 days? And Long story short was about a month later, they called me back up and said, hey, you ready to come? And I remember this because my commander was really upset.
He didn't want me to leave. And he said, if I get about that part of the world, this is nothing. You need to be on here. And long story short was, he gave me a rubberman.
And I was like, he gave me a rubberman. And I'll be honest with you, at this point in time, I was on E4. And I was just kind of very hardcore. And I remember sitting in the office, you know, I'm in the first sergeant.
And he gave me his rubberman because he hated it. I was leaving because he wanted me to stay. And I said to him, who he gave it to. And I said, hey, sir, do you want me to tear yourself now or later?
Because once I leave the office, he's avoiding. So it was just a struggle zone ego. Right. And it's the first time I'm like, I'll wait till later.
And so I love. And the funny thing was the general, I'm sorry, the colonel that was there who gave orders to let me go. I met him. Oh my god.
15 years later, he was a general, three of four star three star. And he remember me and back me, general back me. And he was like, chef, I'm so proud of you. So proud of you.
And I said to him, why did you let me go all those years ago? He said, because I need you to go out and do something that a lot of people can't do. And he said, I knew you would. Right.
And it was crazy. Because if you knew the whole story, just how it kind of transformed. And I was very humbled and grateful for it. And he said, you're doing us proud.
And I appreciated that. And I continued to do him and everybody else that gave me an opportunity, gave me a little sliver of opportunity to do things just like with you, sir. We take a little crack and we just open it up until now. Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. You know, Chef Rush, I don't know a lot about the White House. But I do know everybody doesn't get to be a chef in the White House. And I also know that if you're not good, you probably don't get to do it multiple times.
What was that experience like cooking? I'm going to say it's got to be for us US residents. Right? It's got to be like the pinnacle.
When that's your profession and you get to do it for that seat. What does that like, brother? I mean, humbling. I mean, there's something, you know, I'll be honest with you that when I first went in there, you know, I kind of went into my set of failure, not meaning failure, though.
I'm going to fail. I went in there as though somebody's not going to want me there. And that was kind of my mindset about everything I did. So I had to overly achieve and over improve each and everything that I did.
Because I found out through my tenure throughout my whole military career that everywhere I did go, it happened a lot, right? For no reason. You know, hard as we're in a room, the reason why I'm saying call me chef, because my mentor who I love now to death never called me that. He didn't want me there.
You know, even when I went to the White House, I went to the Pentagon, he was the one to say, don't bring him here. And it was actually a Navy person that brought me there. Because he said, this guy's amazing. But later on, you know, apologize, I said, hey, I was intimidated.
I didn't want you to, you know, you came in new fresh. And I'm like, it's the story of my life. But long story short is that when you go inside a place like that, it's a different mind. You know, when you work with a lot of people that has no intentions, no egos, no attitudes, and we're all there for one coming denominator.
And you have to be your best of the best all the time. That was the point where you say how the stars align, they're aligned perfectly, because everything has to be perfect. Perfect. You don't have to have any elevation.
You're going to blame anybody but yourself. You're accountable for yourself. So for me, it was a perfect world. You know, for me, it was a perfect world saying, okay, here's what it is.
But, you know, even now, I can shoot at my mindset in business and life. And I was in progress from my TV shows, my businesses with speaking engagement. Everything has to be aligned. I am accountable for my own actions.
So going inside there, it showed me the best of the best and who, especially working for the top tier of anywhere, you know, each other, the president of the United States of America. You know, you talk about, you know, anybody, everybody comes through there. But also you got to think about the part that a lot of people don't think about is the mechanics behind it. That is the beauty of it, the mechanics.
Not the actual being a chef there, it's mechanics of how it works, because you say, well, how this happens or why this happens, I don't understand, and it's a lot of things we don't want, we're never understand. That's kind of like the bring and see behind it, along with the crew, the people, the team, and just making everything happen. All right, let's go there. Call me chef, dammit.
We teased it a little bit. Some of the questions I've been asking purposely have been around some of the principles that I know are in the book. What was the thought process? When did you know you were going to write it?
And then who was the book for? I didn't know I was going to write it. I was talking about cookbook. Cookbook is coming out next.
This is my memoir. The memoir was actually from the publisher. I wanted to do something before I did the cookbook. I didn't want to just have a cookbook saying, hey, I'm the greatest chef, and here's all my recipes and so forth.
I wanted to have a reason behind why I do what I do. I wanted to have a community base, an understanding where, okay, I'm a chef, but here's how the came to chef. Here's a reason to think that I went through the comic chef. I want to tell you everything.
I want to tell you everything how I fail. I want to talk about my failures a lot. I talk about a lot of theories in there, but at the same time, it was it happens. Don't make an excuse to keep failing.
Don't make an excuse to blame everyone besides yourself. You have to have accountability. You're going to have opportunity. So what?
Right? Now you do make it happen on that part of it. And even when I say what call me chef, it was because it was titled that because my mentor, who I stayed, who I love to death steal with great friends, love him to death, but he didn't want me to be there because I came in for that interview. And he immediately said, no, he looked at me because I always got a big kid.
You know, I've always been like, I'm not intimidating. You know, like you, you know, you, you know, this guy right here. But I was always had, you know, just I'm ready to work. What do I do?
You know, what's that? Oh my God. Who are you? No, I'm like, I just, that's not my nature.
I didn't take pictures of everyone. I go, what about Hanuman. I never did all this stuff. I just did my job.
I did it perfectly. I did it diligently. I did it hard, right? And better than anybody else.
But at the same time, some people want you to give them extra attention and let you know. Say, you should be happy that you're here. You should be a pre-ditch here. I'm like, I am happy.
I am appreciative. Just let me be that, but let me also work. So I had one day with this, called me and called me Chef. Damn, he was, he called everybody's chef except for me.
And one day I'm a kid. Like I said, remember I'm a kid. I'm young. Right.
He didn't call me that. And he said something else, even though I was working my butt off and I kind of grabbed him and picked him up and said, call me Chef. He said, yes, Chef. And from there, we would go to him.
That's all it took. There's a little recognition. But it truthfully is, I joke about it, but I was very honored and humbled to be under him to even go through that situation just so I could have the knowledge base of it. It happens that way.
I put the book out, talking about everything from 9-11 to, you know, the Pentagon to suicide awareness, which the book got at plays for number one for dealing with suicide, grief, leadership. So I wanted all those things to kind of be encompassed in the book and kind of go on. It wasn't your traditional memoir. It was a storytelling book about how to get through life and how you deal with life and then you carry on from it.
But also attribute to the women also my mother in his world to remind people everyone that is started with the females, the women or our body and soul. I don't care who you are, where you are. They are our strength and our power. And that's what I have on here.
This big strong arm right here. That's not my arm. That's why women because they are the strongest of us. And so I accomplished them all the time on their part, a load of kids.
And so the book just has a collaboration of things that I literally believe in and puts anecdotes with my cootie skillsets inside of it to lead up to the cookbook. Love it. I love it. So everyone can go get this book because it is life changing.
It's insightful. On Mic Unplugged, we talk about showing up with purpose. For me, that includes taking care of myself without overcomplicating my day. That's what I appreciate about IM8.
One drink makes my daily routine simpler and easier to stick with. IM8's daily ultimate essentials bring 16 supplements into one drink with 90 ingredients across nine major organ systems for $2.61 a day. Co-founded by David Beckham, it was built by leading doctors and researchers. I use IM8.
Give it a try. Go to im8health.com or click on the link in the description and use code MIC for a free welcome kit, 5 free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. That's code MIC at im8health.com. Code MIC at im8health.com.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. You work hard for your money. Paying fees just to keep it somewhere?
That deserves a second look. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional banks that charge fees and gatekeep perks and rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking.
No overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. Get 5% cash back on Chime Card in a category of choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check. Grow your money faster with a savings rate that's 9 times the national average. And in a pinch, Spot Me lets you overdraft up to $200 fee-free.
Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com.com.com. That is Chime.com.com. Sign up now.
It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a FinTech, not a bank. Banking Services and Chime Card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required.
Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com.com.com.com for details. Some things I didn't know about you, I thought I knew almost everything about you, right? But some things are in there.
What do you have coming up next? So we talked about the cookbook, right? I'm going to need some help because you know what you said it. Men like, where, how we grew up, Chef, right?
Like we were on the grill. That's true. We were not in the kitchen. That is true.
It's a grill. You switch a bit off. Right. We're on the grill.
But I will tell you man, one of the things again that I admire about you is that you've taught me patience in the kitchen because I just don't have it. Like naturally, I'm not a patient person. But I realize that my wife appreciates it because she knows, oh, you got that from Chef Rush because she knows I'm taking my time. Like if she sees me in the kitchen for an hour or so, she knows I'm cooking up one of your recipes, man.
I know that. Tell us a little bit about what we can expect in the cookbook. The cookbook patience is very true. You know, the cookbook is going to just kind of go, it's going to be a story telling cookbook.
I'm going to put a bunch of things in there from my times in the White House. What I've noticed with my community base, I'm going to a lot of people now, young people who are talking about diabetes. Chef, what do I do about diabetes? So I want to put a lot of feel good stuff as far as how you use food as it should be used in the beginning, as meditation, as love, as holistic.
All those parts we got away from. Now everybody wants to go to the five-star, Michelin star creams and butters and this and this and so forth. I'm also going to give you a bunch of remedies for cooking, with tips, things. I'm going to do some stuff on a Schwarzenegger for his pump club.
I'm also going to have a spice line that's coming out that's going to be out in August, which is going to be a very special spice line that is going to give you your natural essential vitamins and soup foods throughout your day. And also taste living from it. So taste my first principle with that. But the cookbook I'm excited about just because I get to do an expression myself, not want to eat though.
I'm not going to be fancy. I don't want to be a reporter. So I'll give a little bit to everybody and also some that's meant to be done with your kids. I want your kids to get involved.
Now when I go around, all the kids start saying they're cooking because of me. I love that part of it that there's been a lot of boys, a lot of little boys. So I love the little guys are getting inside of that and they're doing the cooking part. So the book is going to be a pretty, pretty fun book.
Okay. All right. Well, Chef, you've been graciously with your time. I want to do a quick rapid fire for questions off the dome.
So your buff, I know you're in the gym, your chef, your culinary guru, you got to cheat meal. What's your cheat meal? A sushi, lots of it. A whole boatload of it.
I eat sushi all the time. I mean, I'm talking about the big one for like six people or so. Just I know what I do here. I love sushi.
But I can sit in half half's, cheat meal because of carbs and the sushi. But I do that. If I had to have a whole piece of side. All right.