The Original Co-Host of This Podcast Passed Away (Suicide Prevention Episode Honoring Joe Liverman)

0:00 Welcome to The Unapologetic Man Podcast, the only podcast that's all about self-improvement, confidence, success, women, and being a man without making any apologies for it. What is up, gentlemen? Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the UMP. And you read that title correctly. My original co-host, John Anthony, his real name is actually Joe Liverman, committed suicide. I just found out about this a few days ago and I'm beside myself with shock because you think somebody has it all together. You think they have the perfect life.

0:37 Joe was definitely an example of that. You think that would never happen to somebody like that. And you get a phone call out of the blue that they ended their life and you just can't believe it. I mean, I was in denial for at least 24 hours. I just couldn't believe it. The guy absolutely had it all. He was completely shredded, super successful online. I mean, was an absolute girl magnet, had sex with over 100 girls and showed me pictures of many of them. Unbelievably beautiful women. It seemed like the dude had it all.

1:09 So to hear that this happened to him, I'm still in shock and I hadn't spoken to him in several months. I mean, we catch up every now and again, but I didn't really delve deep into, you know, what was going on with him. And we kind of grew apart after he left the podcast and we didn't leave on bad terms or anything. He just wanted to travel. He didn't want to have to show up every week to a specific time and day to do the podcast.

1:34 So he decided to let me take it myself. And we did about the first 30 together. And I actually left one of the episodes that him and I did together called Three Mind Hacks to Get Girls to Chase You. I strongly suggest you guys listen to that one and just hear the brilliance of this guy. I mean, he was absolutely on point. And this just goes to show you don't know who's suffering. Marissa actually showed me this Instagram of these two guys attending a soccer game and one guy was always glum and kind of depressed looking.

2:05 And they would keep going to the soccer game together again and again and again. And then one day one guy didn't show up, but it wasn't the depressed guy. It was the guy who always seemed to be happy. And that was Joe to the letter, man. I mean, the guy, as I said, just seemed like he had it all together. So I think this is an important lesson on many levels. And I want to go over today certain things to do if you two are feeling depressed, feeling sad, feeling stressed.

2:30 And of course, most importantly, feeling suicidal to be able to get through that challenge and get into things getting better because they always do. And that's something I wish I could have told Joe is this too shall pass. No matter how bad it gets, it'll always get better. And nothing, in my opinion, is worth ending your life for. But I also will say is that probably the most of you guys listening have thought about doing that before, as I have too. I was actually put in a sanitarium for a couple of days because I was so suicidal.

3:02 And I'm sure a lot of you guys are nodding. You've had that situation too because life is fucking hard. And sometimes situations happen where you're just like, dude, fuck this. I could just end this right now. I could just get out of this mess once and for all and be done with it. And obviously, Joe is in that situation. He didn't come to me. He didn't come to other mutual friends that we have and tell us that he was going through this. But obviously, he went into a really dark place.

3:27 And again, even when a guy seems to have it all, it's not always true. So you have to sometimes check on your brothers and just be like, hey, man, how you doing? And they're like, fine, I'm fine. You just be like, no, seriously, how are you, bro? Like, how's your mental health? So I left Joe's obituary in the links below if you guys could be so kind to check that out. And also, Joe was really into charity. And he supported something called the North Virginia Family Service.

3:51 He actually used to go volunteer over there. And Joe's family is asking for donations to the Northern Virginia Family Service in Joe's name. I actually just donated myself. And if you guys could be so kind to do that as well, doesn't have to be much. Whatever you can come up with, Joe, as well as me, will really appreciate it. So, gentlemen, let's jump into this podcast today in Joe's memory. And let's do for him what I always tell people to do for those who have crossed to the other side, which is live the best you can in their honor.

4:22 And Joe actually had a tattoo on his arm that said, follow your fears, which I always absolutely loved when he got that tattoo. I was like, dude, that is fucking sick. And I want to leverage Joe's memory today to inspire us, not bring us down, to try to get us to that next best version of ourselves, rather than dwelling on, yes, how difficult life is and how much it can suck. Because life, too, can be very beautiful. And while it ended tragically for Joe, he had an amazing life.

4:50 He was an amazing human being, unbelievably intelligent, articulate. He was a philosopher, obviously a girl magnet. The dude was completely fucking shredded. If you go to his website, there's also a link to his website, Masculine Development. Right there on the landing page, you see the guy and you're just like, dude, that guy's a fucking alpha. And he most certainly was. So let's try to get up to that level that Joe set for us and figure out how if we, too, get depressed as he did, we can get through it without ending it in the same tragic way that Joe did.

5:22 So first of all, gentlemen, it is extremely and unbelievably important that you have relationships. Somebody who you care deeply about, and I know for myself, even though, yes, I have considered suicide many times, mostly in my early 20s, but I've considered it, as I'm sure you have, too. Now that I have a daughter, that option is completely off the fucking table. And I'm sure a lot of you guys listening have daughters, sons. You have people who are really important to you that you have to live for them.

5:52 Now, in Joe's case, he was only 29 years old. I don't even think he had a girlfriend at the time. He was probably just playing the field. But he didn't have that special relationship, as far as I know. Of course, I didn't really talk to him about those specifics as of recently. But I'm pretty sure he didn't have anybody, and I know for sure that he didn't have any children. So when you have that kind of special relationship, be it with a woman, be it with a really good friend, even be it with God, or your religion, or anything else that means something very dear to you, that's worth living for.

6:25 And we always have to have that person or that relationship that's worth living for. In addition to that, it's extremely important to have a mission, something that you feel that you are here on this earth to do. Anytime people ask me, well, how do I find what my mission is? I always ask them, what would you do if you had no chance of failure? Now, in the case of Joe, he lived his mission for many years, and I'm not really sure what happened. I don't know if maybe he got away from it, and maybe he got into drugs.

6:56 This is how little I knew about him at the end, because we were kind of drifting apart. But I can tell you that when he was on mission, for example, doing the website Masculine Development, doing this podcast for the first 30 episodes and coaching dudes, just as I do, I know for a fact that that dude was fulfilled. And we can all get lost sometimes, but you always have to ask yourself, am I on purpose? Is what I'm doing bringing me excitement? And this is the barometer that you have inside of you that your soul communicates to you with.

7:29 Follow your excitement. When you do, you know that you're on purpose because it's your soul pointing you in the direction that you need to go. Does what I'm doing make me excited? And if it doesn't, ask yourself that all-important question. What would I do if I had no chance of failure? Even if it seems like something you can never get paid for or never make millions with, I assure you, brother, there is something put in your heart, and every single one of us has it, that you are supposed to accomplish on this earth.

7:58 And if you're moving towards that, depression becomes less and less likely. So going back to my relationship with Joe, the way we met initially is I was a copywriter. I used to write sales pages, and he hired me to write some of the sales pages that he had on his website. We struck up a friendship. Eventually, it came out that I was an inspiring dating coach who failed time and time and time again. I just wouldn't fucking quit. And then I said, hey, bro, would you want to do a podcast together?

8:26 And the reason we named it the Unapologetic Man Podcast is because his website was masculine development. So it was all about being masculine and being unapologetic about it. So in a lot of ways, Joe got me my start because I failed many times as a dating coach before I met him. And it was only when we launched this podcast that I started becoming really successful. Then unfortunately, he stopped wanting to do the podcast. Sometimes I wonder, especially the last 24 hours, I've been wondering what if he stuck with it because he was really good.

8:59 You guys should please listen to the episode I left below where it's me and Joe talking about how to get a girl to chase you. The guy was super skilled and it wasn't until this podcast hit about like episode 80, episode 100, which again was when I was unfortunately doing it alone. Did it take off? Well, had Joe stuck with me and had that deep purpose to help others, then perhaps the chances of that happening would have gone down. But I don't know if it was a situation, maybe he lost all his money, maybe he was on drugs, maybe a million different things.

9:31 But if you're on purpose, once again, asking yourself, what would I do if I had no chance of failure? Or even what would I do with $90 million? What would I do with my life? When you have that purpose, when you have that mission that keeps you in a positive energy flow and makes depression, suicidal thoughts, et cetera, that much less likely to happen. The next thing, in my opinion, and this goes directly into Joe, is to follow your fears, just like that tattoo that he had.

10:00 And I don't know if he was still doing that. I don't know if he was still training his mind to overcome those things. But when you move into pain willingly, in a weird, ironic way, it makes you happier. So I always say, and Joe used to say this too, do what's easy and your life will be hard. Do what's hard and your life will be easy. So we always want to choose the path of discipline, the path of healthy eating, the path of working out, exercising, trying to get to that next level in our own lives.

10:31 Not only on the spiritual plane, the philosophical plane, but also the physical plane. Because when you do that, you're rewarded with more dopamine than when you succumb to transient sensory gratification. Transient, short-term, sensory of the senses, gratification, gratifying yourself. What is transient sense gratification? Instagram, eating like shit, masturbating to porn, being a lazy fuck eating Cheetos out of your belly button on a Friday night, rather than getting out there and getting after it. In addition to that, simply exercising consistently brings so much dopamine into your system that it's literally more difficult for your brain and your chemistry to go into a depressive state.

11:15 Because when you're exercising consistently, you guys all know this, more oxygen comes into the body, more dopamine, serotonin, all those important chemicals are released and you simply feel better. Meanwhile, you're on mission, you have good relationships with those around you, perhaps you have children that you're doing your best for and you have a reason to live, a real why to live. These are the things that get you out of that depression. But let's say you're listening to this and you are alone. You are out of shape.

11:45 You don't feel like you have a purpose. You're working a job that sucks and you wish you could unceremoniously launch your boss out of a catapult this coming Friday because he's such a douche canoe. Should you be in that situation and should you be edging towards depression and suicidal tendencies, these are the steps to get you out of it. The first step is no job is worth your mental health. Quit that shit and reevaluate and ask yourself, what would I do if I had no chance of failure?

12:12 Then you get resourceful and you ask yourself, how could I do that thing even though I may not be making me money in the very beginning? I know for me, when I first started as a dating coach, I just threw caution to the wind and I just fucking went for it. And somehow, I always got my projects funded. Things would come to me at the last minute, seemingly from the universe, from divine intervention, whatever it was, to make it so that I can continue forward. And in my opinion, the reason why I failed so many times as a dating coach is so I could be a good dating coach, which means guys come to me having failed many times.

12:48 Guys come to me and while we're together, they go through some failures. So I needed to have the same perspective of failing many times so that I can empathize with them and say, brother, I've definitely been there, not only with women, but also in this very business. So I will tell you that failure cannot cope with persistence, which means if you don't fucking quit, you keep fucking trying, it will work for you no matter what you want to do. So let me ask you, brother, if there was no chance of failure, what would you do?

13:19 Think about yourself doing that very thing and how does that make you feel? Does it make you feel excited? If it does, that's your soul pointing you towards where you need to go. And I'll tell you this, and there's a little spiritual so you can agree with me or not. If you go into your excitement with complete faith that it will work out, it will work out for you because the resources you need will be delivered to you by source, God, the universe, whatever you want to call it, because that's what your soul is here to do.

13:48 And finally, boys, my last point is I believe that part of living a good life is doing it in the honor of others. You hear stories all the time about valor during war where another guy will save his buddy from getting blown up by jumping on a grenade or doing some insane shit where he, like, wins the Medal of Honor. What's the reason they do it? They do it for the dude beside him, the dude who they love. All of us have lost loved ones, be it grandparents, parents, siblings, friends.

14:20 You've probably even lost some people due to suicide. And I can guarantee there's somebody on the other side who is watching you that it's your duty to make proud. And I don't know about you, but this motivates me greatly. My dad died when I was 10 years old. I would not be the man who I am today if I didn't believe that he was looking down on me and I needed to live my life the best I could to honor him because he's no longer here. And it's my job to seize this precious gift and make the best life possible.

14:55 And I want you to do that, too, with whoever it is that's on the other side who's watching you and know that they want you to make it. They believe in you. They are supporting you from the other side. And your soul is given no challenge that it doesn't have the strength to overcome. So now you have all these resources gathered up in front of you, and you're doing this quite tactically. You are on purpose following your excitement. You have relationships and people who you would die for or, better yet, people who you would live for.

15:25 You're doing what's challenging in life knowing that the rewards are far more than the effort you have to put into them and that, indeed, when you do what's hard, your life will be easy. You're taking care of your fitness. You're being cognizant of the kind of stuff that you put in your body. And you're living a disciplined life just like Joe Liverman did. And most importantly, in my opinion, is that you're doing it for the brothers on the other side. You're doing it for whatever source energy gave you this gift.

15:52 And you're doing it out of that appreciation for that gift. I've been given this precious gift of life, this one chance for all we know. And I'm going to make the meanest hand possible. I am going to kick so much fucking ass for my dad, who died when I was 10, for friends that I've lost, not only to accidents, but also to suicide. And in this episode, boys, I am doing it for Joe. Joe was an inspiration to me. He helped me start my business. The guy was an absolute fucking champion.

16:22 And I consider it my job to get to that next best version of myself. And also, I am not going to give up. I'm not going to give up on me. I'm not going to give up on him. I'm not going to give up on you guys. I'm going to keep fucking going. Why? Because failure cannot cope with persistence. And gentlemen, no matter how hard it is right now, I want to tell you from my own experience, 47 years of getting kicked in the fucking teeth over and over again, while at the same time getting blessed with utmost abundance and love, this too shall pass.

16:56 No matter how bad it gets, it will always get better. So you just keep riding it. You don't fucking quit. You are never out of the fight. And eventually, energies will change, things will shift, and it will start getting better. If I just had a chance to talk to Joe, that's what I would tell him. But I know Joe's watching me on the other side. He's expecting me to kick ass in this life, to be as he was, who was disciplined, intelligent, a go-getter, an entrepreneur, a fucking girl magnet, a dude who wouldn't take no for an answer, and who got into a rut and unfortunately thought that taking his own life was the only option.

17:34 Let's not make that same mistake, gentlemen. Let's take his sacrifice and learn from it and continue this fight. Joe, this one's for you, brother. Tomorrow, we ride again. I do appreciate you listening, gentlemen. Please click on the links below. Read about Joe. Go to his website. There's tons of good info on there. Just spend a little bit of time in his energy. Spend a little time honoring all the work that he put into his website, Masculine Development. There's also an episode that I left below. Again, it's three mind hacks to get girls to chase you.

18:07 That's me and Joe on that episode. Please check that out. I just want to give some love back to the guy and send him that love that he needed so much in his time of need. He was an absolute fucking champion, and I want more people to recognize that. And finally, if you could please donate something to the Northern Virginia Family Service in his honor because he used to volunteer there. He would donate there, and I think it's great that we do that in his honor.

18:33 I'd personally very much appreciate it. Gentlemen, I draw podcasts on Mondays and Thursdays, so please stay tuned for the next one, and I will see you in the next episode. We'll see you in the next episode.

This transcript was made automatically, so a few words may be off.