Mike Maljak On Working With Logan Paul Making His Wwe Debut And Interviewing Shaquille Oneal

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Logan pretty much tore everything in his knee.

They're going to have to amputate the leg.

Okay.

Completely.

He's going to continue to wrestle in the WWE.

It's like a pirate-based pseudonym. Captain Jack IHOP.

After the amputation, we'll be adding a wooden peg.

Correct. Which is going to make his frog splashes a little bit more difficult.

Or more dangerous.

Yeah, I think he'll be able to pull it off.

Mike Malak, welcome to the Courtside Club.

Thank you for having me.

Like I said earlier, I don't know why you'd want to, but here I am.

Well, my fans, I'm sure, know you from The Night Shift, from Impulsive, of course,

and your WWE debut, Saudi Arabia. Is that where you were?

Yeah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Okay.

WWE Crown Jewel, Logan Paul, Roman Reigns.

Just over-the-top, all-out war battle.

Some are calling it one of the top ten matches in WWE history.

I mean, this was a 35-minute...

House of Pain.

Just over-the-top slams, frog splashes with the athletic Logan Paul.

And then me and my friend George, co-host of Impulsive, the world's number one podcast.

We did a little bit too much s*** talking.

It happened to us in real life.

So can you break it down for our listeners, viewers, who might not have seen the clip on your Instagram page of you getting beat up?

Yeah, so Logan had already been engaged in this battle royale with Roman.

For the championship belt of the WWE.

You know, the whole world was watching.

We were in this massive stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

And there was a part of the match where Logan was going to get on the top rope,

jump and frog splash on top of Roman on top of a table, right?

Through a table.

Right.

And so he came over.

He asked George if he could use his cell phone to record it.

He was going to shoot it selfie style.

So Logan asked George.

Correct.

Okay.

So he takes the phone.

He gets up on the top rope.

And he, like, selfie modes.

He's jumping through Roman Reigns through the table.

The crowd goes crazy.

Now, in that moment, the Usos, who are Roman Reigns' bloodline, like his brothers,

they came out and they realized that the person that gave Logan the phone,

the person that fueled this viral social media stun was me and George.

So they came over.

And I was drinking a Prime, the world's number one hydration drink.

We'll get to that.

We'll get to that.

And I was just drinking it.

And he came and he smashed it out of my hands.

And then.

And then.

So I shoved them.

One of the Usos.

I shoved them.

And they just started.

They pulled us both over the barricade.

Started pummeling on our heads.

Like, beating the crap out of us.

So at that point, I'm just talking, like, you know, praying to God for life.

You know, like, help me, please.

And then he rolled me into the ring.

And I was dazed and just in a stupor.

Just stumbling around the ring.

Like, what do I do?

Like, who can I call for help?

Like, no one's going to help me.

And then out of nowhere, I just felt this kick.

This super kick right to my, like, neck, chest line.

After that, it was lights out.

Rolled out of the ring.

I guess the same happened to George.

Luckily, Jake Paul was there.

Came in and saved the day.

But, you know, it was a night I'll never forget.

And a night I can't really remember.

So wait.

So Roman has a team, right?

It was his team who beat you guys up.

Are you joining Logan's?

Is Logan going to recruit you guys?

You, George, and Jake?

You know, I'm old.

And so I don't know if my body would be able to handle that type of abuse.

You know, that was very real.

Because you've got to understand.

Like, there's a lot of, like, talk about WWE.

A lot of talk about that, you know, organization and, like, what they do.

But I don't think people truly understand the toll that it takes on these people's bodies.

And how athletic these people are.

Like, I mean, these guys are, like, superhuman.

Like, what they're able to do just night after night.

So, I mean.

So, I mean, yeah.

Logan pretty much tore everything in his knee.

Yeah.

So it's basically the meniscus that's messed up.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Wordless, like, he told me before I came on the show today.

And I hadn't even known this yet.

That they are, they're going to have to amputate the leg.

Okay.

Completely.

Very interesting.

That would be tough.

It's not ideal news.

But I think he's going to continue to wrestle in the WWE.

He told me he was going to be going under a new.

He told me he was going to evolve to a pseudonym.

I think it was Captain Jack IHOP.

Or something like that.

It was going to be.

It's like a pirate-based pseudonym.

You guys heard it here first.

First.

So he wanted me to share that with you guys before anyone else.

Okay.

So this is a courtside exclusive.

Courtside exclusive.

Like, no one has this info.

Captain, what's it?

Captain Jack IHOP.

Captain Jack IHOP.

Yeah.

After the amputation, will be adding a wooden peg to his leg.

Yes, a peg leg.

Correct.

Which is going to make his frog splashes a little bit more difficult.

Or more dangerous.

Who knows?

I think he'll be able to pull it off.

You did bring Prime with you today.

Yeah, great.

World's number one hydration drink.

Fastest growing company.

Uh-huh.

I mean, this is some great stuff.

If you're thirsty, if you're, you know, spending too much time in Texas and all the sand and

dust gets in your mouth and you just need a drink, this is the drink I would drink.

So 0% equity.

Logan is one of your best friends.

You guys host Impulsive together.

Sure.

Done a lot of, obviously, videos and business ventures.

You went on stage with him.

You got beat up on behalf of him.

Yeah, I even pulled a Prime out, you know, on the grand stage for all to see.

Why?

You know, honestly, just...

I feel...

I feel like a lot of people underestimate what 0% of this company could be worth.

It's...

It's...

The company's growing very quickly and I believe we'll have a multi-billion dollar valuation

in the next five to 10 years.

And so, you know, my hope is that the 0% will get boosted to maybe 0.00000001% at some point.

Now, I can't make...

You know, I don't know if that's actually going to happen.

But until then, yeah, you know, Logan, he is my best friend.

We started Impulsive together, which has been a great run.

And I kind of do owe the guy a lot.

You know, he gave me my platform.

He believed in me when no one else even knew who I was.

And it's kind of like he's, you know, he's Jay-Z and I'm...

Well, I don't really want to use Kanye as an example right now.

It's kind of like he's Lil Wayne and I'm Drake.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, he kind of put me on...

Why did you say, like, 21 and Drake?

Well, no, because he's like Birdman if I'm Wayne.

It's like a trickle-down effect.

You know, I hope someday to put somebody else on now, you know, that I'm put on.

You know, so it's like he, you know, he...

That's real loyalty there.

Real loyalty.

Speaking of Impulsive, you guys do a great job on the show.

I told you that when I met you at the fight.

And I've seen, like, the evolution of your guys' hosting abilities

and just, like, where the show has gone.

It's super entertaining.

Thank you.

I think the ceiling is endless, so keep up with that.

But when you have sports guests on,

or even when you have guests on that start getting into, like,

a sporty...

Topic, I can see you wanting to go there,

if I'm being transparent.

And then sometimes Logan and George kind of just go back to, you know,

another topic.

And so I was like, I want to have Mike on

because I feel like he wants to chop it up about sports sometimes.

Yeah, we have...

Go ahead.

Because you're into, like, the 80s, 90s.

I hear you talking about MJ, or you, like, say something about magic

or when you had Shaq on.

You know what I mean?

Like, you want to dive into it, but haven't had that opportunity.

Am I wrong?

No, you're right.

I mean...

We have an interesting dynamic on the show.

Like, we bring three very different, like, styles and skill sets

and knowledge base and interests to the podcast, right?

So, like, you've got Logan.

He, as you would say, is the table, right?

Like, he brings the, you know, mass audience together.

What's Logan Paul up to?

Like, and he is a great entertainer and storyteller.

You've got George, who brings a grounded, you know,

kind of relatable energy to the...

to the podcast.

He talks about, you know, real-life issues

that are outside the L.A. culture bubble.

You know, he talks about Jesus.

He talks about family life.

He talks about love and that kind of stuff

that I think a lot of people relate to.

And then you've got me, and I try to be the cultural side.

I try to bring in, you know, the music, the sports, the movies,

the, you know, a lot of the guests, just those relationships,

and try to stay up-to-date on what's going on in the culture.

So that's, like, kind of what I do.

I would say that all three of us are terrible at sports.

Like, knowing anything about sports.

I used to be massive.

The first show I ever watched was SportsCenter.

I mean, I grew up in Connecticut, not far from Bristol,

like, sitting on my dad's lap watching SportsCenter

when I was one year old and grew up collecting sports cards.

And, you know, I had every...

Stephon Marbury and, like, all these different, like,

basketball players and baseball players' cards.

But I think as time went by,

I kind of moved away from sports just a little bit.

But I still have...

I still try to keep up knowledge on it.

But I'm definitely going to piss off and annoy your audience

as it pertains to sports conversations.

It's okay.

They won't judge.

I'm taking you out of your comfort zone,

which I like to do with my guests.

I want to warm you up with a little game.

Okay.

I'm sure you're familiar with start, bench, cut.

You down?

Yeah, I'm down, but I'm just going to...

I'm going to fail, man.

There's no fail.

It's your start, bench, cut.

It's subjective.

First up, we have basketball for you.

Jordan, LeBron, and Kobe.

Oh, man.

This is such a hard question.

I mean, dude, like...

Just talk us through it.

Okay, I'm going to...

I'm going to start Michael.

I'm going to start MJ.

I mean, I look at MJ as the greatest basketball player of all time.

He is electric to watch.

He is a point-scoring clutch machine that can win games.

He's just magic.

Did you watch him as a kid?

Yeah, absolutely, I did.

So, Bulls era.

Absolutely.

Bulls era, Bulls Knicks, Pistons, like that dirty, grungy,

refs, let them play, let them fight type era.

Yes.

LeBron and Kobe being Bryant.

It hurts to say it, but I'm going to have LeBron on the bench,

and I'm going to cut Kobe, dude, honestly.

And I hate to say that because it has so many, like,

just factors and things involved in it.

In major respect to Kobe, this is not, like...

Of course.

No, no, of course.

Let's make, you know, let's not mince words or make any mistakes.

Kobe Bryant's one of the greatest basketball players of all time in history.

But you put him in a pot of, like, really tough choices.

LeBron is a powerhouse.

As far as GOATs are concerned, I would say it's Michael,

then it's LeBron in second place.

And so, like, you know, if you need somebody that's going to show up

and, you know, drive fear into the other team and get to the hoop

and, you know, do what he's supposed to do to win games,

I mean, I got to take LeBron.

What puts MJ ahead of LeBron for you?

I just think it's his ability to clutch up.

I think it's just his ability to make,

like, plays happen.

And I talked about...

Two three-peats?

Yeah, you know what I'm saying?

And I talked about LeBron driving fear into the hearts of the opposing team.

But, like, dude, nobody wanted to play against MJ.

Like, Shaq talked about it on the podcast.

He was like, dude, that's the guy.

Like, he, you know, like, when you have other players,

I feel like the NBA is all in agreeance on who the greatest player of all time is.

I think we have a lot of conversation about it.

I would say no.

No, oh, really?

I would disagree.

Really?

Yeah.

Really?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's a lot of differing opinions on it.

I think it's hard just because of eras, right?

And you're getting to a place now, even with, like, LeBron, he's not retiring yet.

Like, he still has a few more years in him, but he's almost on his way out.

And these younger guys don't even respect him in the way of these, like, middle-tier guys.

Right.

They obviously respect him, but they don't fear him as much.

So there's this kind of, like, new wave coming.

And then a lot of people take into consideration just, like, the timing of the world right now

and all the, like, exterior facts.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, and also, like, what's the metric for the decision-making, right?

It's hard to have that.

It's hard to have that.

talk about rings it's like okay well bill russell has 11 so why isn't he up there right you know

yeah and then you've got point champions you've got you know you've got assist champions you've

got all these people that you have kareem is like the leading scorer which like lebron will pass

that but then it's like okay now lebron's on top and and michael's not and he's played for 20 seasons

so it's like you know it's hard some of it's just subjective some of it just comes down to like

it's completely unrelated but it almost goes back to this sounds so stupid it almost goes back to

the cheeseburger conversation that we're having everyone knows that shake shack and five guys are

superior burgers to in and out in and out is in and out is is a $3.99 cheeseburger price-wise value

a lot of those things but if you ask someone in socal or if you ask someone in um in in texas

about what a burger the regional subjectivity to that decision making is so based and yo that's

where i went after t-ball games like when i when i grew up and you said yo who is your hero who is

the person that you're going to be the next person to be the next person to be the next person to be

the next person to be the next person to be the next person to be the next person to be the next person

that that means everything to the person that that changed your life the person that made you

believe that anything was possible that was michael jordan was it for so many of us that grew up in

that you know what i'm saying and so it's like what is the real metric for deciding who is the

greatest of all time is that your favorite player ever and that was your favorite player i mean

honestly alan iverson ai is a is a legend legend let ai marbury was one of my favorites and then

i loved sean kemp sean kemp out of seattle super supersonics with gary payton

that was like another like that was my nba jam team by the way i went to china with kobe and

stefan marbury and it was around like fiba world cup time he's an absolute icon in china yeah oh

really insane yeah because he stayed over there and like his whole family and stuff is over there

and it's kind of i don't know cool to see that transition he's like i found a home in china

because he was playing over there making a ton of money super successful and he's like i just

love it here so as far as ball handling is concerned like that now you're talking about

now you're getting into like another um what are those called like superlatives where you're

talking about like like i should have done that with you i mean dude ai is like the remember the

crossover and when you were a kid everybody wanted to nail that ai crossover like oh dude he

to me most influential nba player of all time for the culture oh 100 and then i think right up next

is steph curry steph curry that's now you now another superlative

there's a category where there's no discussion no debate oh yeah the purest shooter of all time

hands down no questions asked no comparison no debate we don't have to talk about it we don't

have to bring the electoral college into it you have the best shooter in the history of basketball

yeah it's scary it makes no sense disgusting it's so good okay i want to move on to music i know

you're a music guy too we have drake jay-z and tupac start bench cut who did this dude yo like

i did this horrible right now welcome

to the courtside club yo oh i feel like you're you're not really stumped like this on other shows

no because you're asking me questions that don't have answers like these are this is this one

specifically have an opinion mike once again what's your oh my god dude this one is so hard

and and and like will drive listeners crazy and everything okay having grown up not grown up but

having spent the majority of my life

in an unsavory place that i'm not sure how familiar you are with or or the audience is

um jay-z gave me the belief that you could flip a life of crime to a life of something else and be

successful at it um you know he was a he was a street guy who who was in a in a you know really

crappy upbringing and a really terrible marcy projects and

brooklyn and found a way to convert the crack life to the rap life and you know for people that

don't know my story they they probably look at me and are like dude like how the hell can you relate

to that but like for someone that spent you know eight years of my life as a opiate addict and as

a person that was involved in you know the that lifestyle he his rhymes and and um you know like

um you know in my lifetime all like reasonable doubt all the stuff that he put out has real

meaning to me and a lot of a lot of importance and i think it's it's hard for people in this

current day and age to understand the importance of jay-z to hip-hop but once again i mean he's he

is one of the most important and iconic people in the hip-hop industry for so many different reasons

for like you look at kanye west who's not on this list right on these three kanye west is a result

of jay-z kanye west is a result of jay-z believing in his beats believing in him as an artist right

and and rock and rockefeller signing him so jay-z the rapper jay-z the businessman jay-z the um

the catalyst and and creator of so many other careers not to mention married to to potentially

the hottest you know female artist in the game right that's my that's my guy so that that would

be my starter we're starting jay-z starting jay-z um

it would be really hard to cut drake in this current setting um having just dropped this

album with 21 um he needed a an album after what he put out with never mind uh you know no offense

like i just right maybe i was one of the people that he described that just like didn't understand

it but like his new album's incredible the album with 21 is the old drake that we're all used to

like the um um if if you're reading this

um if you're reading this

too late type drake that i just love like that mixtape drake um but tupac talked about some

serious stuff in his music you're having like a crisis here with your conscience because like

you're asking me questions because well no because like jay-z and tupac's lyrics seem

to speak to you more in like a deeper way from what i'm gathering than drake at the moment

how could they not right like you got you got jay-z talking about

socioeconomic conditions and how to make it out of the hood and all the things that he talked about

right and inspiring you know the black youth and also the youth of of you know underprivileged

communities you've got tupac doing that even to a greater extent right and so now the question

becomes am i trying to uh inspire and motivate or am i trying to go to uh encore and bet twenty

five thousand dollars a hand on the blackjack tables with drake i love both of those things

those are both like chocolate chips that win like at encore

like you know like that that's amazing like that's right up my alley right but

once again i mean it's so hard to say it but like for the time being until he like until drake climbs

that second mountain and starts to really like make an impact on like the world i guess i gotta

start i gotta start jay make sure pac is on the bench and and caught drake and that hurts because

i love drake but i feel like i'm making the right decision i think i saw some of your tweets where

you were like you know what he took one for the team okay speaking of team logan george and jeff

dude come on bro jeff which jeff you're jeff you're you're side wittig wittig yeah

he's made a ton of appearances lately on the night shift dude how am i supposed to answer this

question okay okay okay okay ready yeah ready okay let's hear it okay this i'm gonna give you

an interesting answer here so i would i'm gonna give you an interesting answer here so i would i'm

i would start jeff because that's that's my guy right now right like like me and jeff i think like

as a duo on youtube right now and just in all content is incredible like me and him two east

coast scumbags he's right across the long island sound from me like yeah just just two idiots right

and like we we love hanging out we make great content together we make each other laugh like

he's a person that i like just love to spend time with right on the bench i need george bro because

he's like

there to talk to me like yo like the route you're going down right now read john 318 he's that angel

on your shoulder yeah yeah he's like dude like that girl bro she's not right for you like you

know what i'm saying like you shouldn't be you should go to sleep right now we have a big podcast

tomorrow like you can't stay out till 4am read corinthians you know like bro you can't you got

to stop eating cheeseburgers you're putting weight on read revelations like it's always

going to be read something in the bible you know what i'm saying which is great okay and then so

he'll be on the bench and then i'm going to cut logan i'm going to slice him dude i'm going to cut

him one he has one leg he has a peg leg he's a pirate two regardless of what i do to him he's

fine he doesn't he like he's got a lot of equity in prime i have zero percent he has a wrestling

career i get beat up in wwe you know what i'm saying like he's good he doesn't need me like

so like i feel like it's almost like with him he's a butterfly

and i gotta let him go you know what i'm saying it's almost like a um like a ben simmons situation

you know what i'm saying like i just like if you love something let it go yeah just like see if it

like flies away and just like let it come back you know ben simmons he came back he stayed with

the nets but like who knows what's gonna happen right he may end up going to you know somewhere

else right so peace logan starting jeff benching george cutting logan you did a great job with

start bench cut thank you it was very thoughtful of you to be here with us today and we'll see you

those questions are incredible we don't even we don't ask questions like that on involves

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1-800-522-4700 getting back to impulsive you brought up shack part way through because you

guys recently interviewed shack yeah how did you like that and what did you think about it

it was a different setting for impulsive i was really excited for that episode

it was awesome it was different because you had a you had a live audience also yeah so there's

there's so many different factors and i think like being 350 episodes in now like we've especially

for me and logan who have been there since the start we've kind of mastered all atmospheres

we get these like little like um like these nerves sometimes before like a big show and we realized

like around episode 250 maybe that every time we would have nerves before a big show we would meet

after the show and be like dude we crush that and it got to a point where we finally just programmed

our minds to understand the fact that we're just gonna win on every episode like we don't we we are

we come to the to the table prepared we know everybody knows their role they know what they're

gonna do now the live audience is definitely throws things off and also something you could

relate to i'm sure we travel for our podcast there's no like like imagine if you never got to

play a home game like we don't ever get to play a home game we're constantly on the road where

every game for us is an away game we're in different houses different hotels villas different

countries we've done podcasts in iceland we've done podcasts in dubai we've done podcasts in

puerto rico and la yeah um and so we've we've gotten extremely versatile and comfortable and i

i so so for the shack episode there was a live audience but it was a it was a uh uh a warm

audience because it was distributors for prime and it was like people that were like you know like

we knew like we're excited to watch the show and they were fans um but shack he's a very interesting

podcast guest he uh it's his show let's just put it that way like you you're on the shack show for

the time that you have a podcast with him right he's he's a entertainer he's a celebrity he would

hate that i called him that but he's you know one of the greatest and he knows exactly what he's

doing and how to talk and so um it was good uh logan had a brain fart and can't like called the

show early like he was like well i know you have stuff to do and i saw that i was bummed when you

i mean we didn't know nobody would have ever known unless you guys were transparent about it which

was cool that you were like we would have just thought that was you know the time right um but

i was like damn he goes well man that's i guess that's it for you shack and i look at him like

bro what are you talking about it's in 30 minutes we have an hour with him and i didn't say that to

him because you you know you get in a habit of not like really second guessing the flow of the

show and like going back on stuff but it was great i mean it was it was awesome um

and and for me you know as a sports fan and as an nba fan like to just

it was another like check box and another situation in my life where i had a moment

where i said to myself like like yo soak this in dude and i've had a lot of moments like that

and i'm really grateful for that do you know that i was in nba 2k yes okay so when i hosted nba 2k tv

just like a little story for you that's like you're like

your rise right is is that was my first big opportunity for sure yeah yeah so i was there

for five seasons but um and and i had interviews with 2k and then my audition was to actually

interview and produce and direct the shoot with shack and ernie johnson so i interviewed both

of them like at different times but my first interview for nba 2k tv was with shack it was

my first time meeting him and it was my audition right so it's i always

like he's been in my life since then i see him every year and like he's coached my celebrity

basketball games he's giving me life advice like when i was going through a breakup he was like

there for me like he's just an awesome dude and i always bring him up but i'll always just like

be indebted to him for that too because it's partly the reason why i got the biggest opportunity

that i've had so it was so cool so so he has like a lot of meaning to you oh yeah he's awesome

and so that's why like when i saw you guys interviewing and i could tell

to be honest i could tell you guys were a little bit nervous in the beginning too but and i get

that because he's such a big presence but that's also a part where i kind of pinch myself like

i'm lucky that i have this relationship where like when i see him i just run up and hug him

and say how are you doing but that's not normal like he's still this larger than life human

i just have like you know gained that so i think like we there's like different levels of the

nerves and i think i'm i'm for as far as just interacting with celebrities or

i'm probably the lowest on the nerve scale like i i feel great with everyone now yeah

logan's the middle and then george is still not new to the show but like when he sits down in

front of an audience with jack like he's he's feeling it a little bit you saw that kind of

reflecting no he's a big personality and presence and it's nothing against you guys either like the

nerves went away in like two seconds right but like i could just see that with like the live

audience on that show i was i was nervous so the fact that you saw that i i definitely was um

did you see the show on the show on the show on the show on the show on the show on the show on the show on the show on the show

did you see uh did you see his beef with kanye on twitter this week yeah wild bro well wild times man

because i know jamie salter too okay like really well i know i know the whole salter family like

shout out to the salters are incredible people yeah um phenomenal people and so i saw that and

and and shaq's clap back was like incredible like he just slammed them and i was like dude

this is crazy right now well he's not really one to like

get into drama on purpose do you know what i mean like he's not really into that he's not running

his mouth about a bunch of people but when you pull him in he's also not gonna back down do you

know what i mean he's freaking jack like please keep my name out of your mouth you know what i

mean i know his i know his son uh miles really well too we're good friends and i mean great

family great dude but uh yeah he's definitely he's definitely ready to protect his brand for

sure which is an incredible time for it and his family for sure yeah

what other guests have made you a little bit nervous any i can't even begin i mean we've had

so many insane shows like like it would be hard to even like begin to scratch the surface but i mean

we did the debut episode of six nine like coming out of prison like we we like yeah got six nine

he showed up at this was prior to like steve will do it putting him on and on youtube and

making and humanizing them and we got him you know he rolled up with like 20 security guards

like he's obviously at that point coming out like believed to be a massive target of the people that

he he kind of right you know snitched on yeah um and so that was like a really heated episode um i

mean we got into massive debates with you know uh shapiro we had shapiro on the show we had alex

jones on the show which were you know super heated episodes um you know one that you guys did an

excellent job with was antonio brown wild episode park city i mean just no but you guys did such a

good job with it

it was one of his first when he was going on his little interview tour after he kind of danced and

like ran off the field everybody's like what's going on went on full send was it wasn't maybe

not their greatest work if i'm being honest well it's early for them they were just like just kind

of coming up yeah i mean just the the interview in general i i didn't get as much as i got out

of your guys interview i thought you did a really great job with it and that was one where i could

see you being like a little bit nervous because there's just so much on the table and also just

so much on the table and i think it's a really great job and i think it's a really great job

unknown and he is also somebody you never know which way he's gonna go on most one of the most

unpredictable people i i ever i mean he that was one of the weirdest shows i've ever done i mean

he just was you know showed up sat laid down on the couch right and you know me it was uh george

wasn't there it was me and logan we were in this you know ski villa in park city having just skied

i mean that's one of the other like weird parts about the show is like because of the travel

aspect of it we just end up in these very strange scenarios like we're in this you know

we're in iceland with um with the mountain from uh game of thrones like you know this massive man

in his home territory in in reykjavik i probably slaughtered the pronunciation but like we just

end up in these very strange environments and we've gotten really good at at um at maneuvering

through these kind of strange and tough interviews with people that you know a lot of times like

they don't do podcasts like you know we've we've done a bunch of podcasts we've done a bunch of

podcasts we've done a bunch of podcasts we've done a bunch of podcasts we've done a bunch of

recently like you know we we have a david get a podcast coming out soon and there's a language

barrier there to an extent i mean he obviously speaks english but a cultural at least barrier

there and you know we've got a rob dyrdek episode coming out we put out a bobby lee episode today

who's one of the most eccentric you know out there characters uncensored characters of all time on

on the internet and so um it that that show changed my life that show changed all of our

lives logan included i think impulsive was a massive part of his life and i think it's a

huge part of his redemption arc and i think everyone would agree with it because it gave

with that because it gave people a look at what this guy's really like and what's going what the

inner workings of logan paul is is versus or are versus uh you know a oh good morning low gang

what's popping which is what people knew prior so wait what was it uh that it was logan's intro to

his vlogs hey oh good morning low gang what's popping so i guess i never watched those probably

better off while his quarantine vlogs were great okay i i came on this this

tail and you mentioned it briefly about your story which i know the guys kind of give you

crap about when you when you bring up your book or whatnot but i think it's really it really is

inspirational um do you see yourself well first of all your book the fifth vital yep usa today

best-selling book congratulations on that you've told us in podcast interviews on impulsive whatnot

that a lot of fans come up to you and say that that book has changed their life do we have another

book in the works will there be a new book in the works will there be a new book in the works will

there be a new book in the works will there be a new book in the works will there be a new book in the

works will there be a new book in the works will there be a new book in the works will there be a

follow-up there will be i'm working on it uh the the book writing process is a completely different

animal um i think there's a lot of celebrities and influencers and just regular people out there

who work with ghost writers who and and there's nothing wrong with that and work with people that

you know um write their stuff i wrote my entire book from start to finish it took me years to

write the fifth vital which is the reason it's as authentic and truthful and transparent

and honest and painful and moving to read um that that you know i i spent so many nights

just covered in tears like writing that and just it i remember it would it would it would

floor me like cripple me to write about this these really like painful tragic events that

um i i kind of put myself through in my life um as a result of my addiction and and as and and

something that's so

many people in america right now as we continue to navigate this uh opiate epidemic continue to

struggle with and um so for my second book uh i've been writing a little bit but it's it's very

slow because i'm doing podcasts i'm doing the circuit i'm putting out vlogs every week i'm

doing impulsive i'm working on cheeseburger ip i'm working on you know all these different

programs um and you need to really dedicate yourself to the craft of writing it's a very

intimate process

that demands you know this your utmost attention and um and so it's been a slow process but

i do really want to get it done i have some framework for it um and basically what it is

is it's just picking up where the fifth vital left off and it's uh a a series of stories

that are from today to this current time period and the learnings that i've absorbed as a result

of those those stories and the learnings that i've absorbed as a result of those those stories and the

lessons that i apply to my life and i would want the reader to apply to theirs

crazy stuff i mean overseas trouble and you know obviously my dating life which is kind of

precarious and strange and just like that whole situation and um so i'm working on it but uh it's

it's it's a slow process right now we'll be on the lookout for it before i let you go

we have some buzzer beaters on the courtside club are you ready for those

i love this what is the best game that you've ever been courtside for

i don't go to a lot of courtside games like like games you've been you oh no i have for sure

usually at msg um wait i was can it be it doesn't have to be basketball no okay so i was side field

side ring side so i was just this year i was at the win field club at the raider stadium in vegas

it is one of the coolest experiences on the planet for sports fans you base it's basically a club

that is on the field so you're field level

they've got bottle service they serve you king crab legs a5 wagyu they spray champagne there's

that infamous shot of the people spraying champagne thinking the raiders were going

to win the game and then they lost it was all over espn i was there for uh uh that i think it was that

game it was it was raiders cardinals okay and it was the everybody thought the game was over and

the cardinals ended up coming back to winning yeah which was like a major depressing day for

the raiders fans that was probably one of the cooler games i think it was one of the most

exciting games of this current season then then another one i was at the uh i was at the xfinity

center in philly when the eagles won the super bowl and so that's not obviously courtside or

field side but i was up there and then because i'm an eagles fan great season for me right now

obviously and so i got to celebrate on broad street in philly um and so you know i've got

so many cool sporting memories but if you do have courtside seats and you'd like a a

fun and entertaining person to join you and you're watching this program right now please

reach out via instagram i would love to sit courtside with you well speaking of who is

one person dead or alive that you'd love to sit courtside with i've seen so many personalities

like change and like come in and out of my desire to like want to be friends with them lately like

i think people have been a lot of people been showing their true colors and my answer might

have changed over the past like year to be honest with you because of just how like political and

like weird we've gotten

as like a country but i would say probably

i would say pro you know actually there can i give you two go for it they're both dead

unfortunately actually can i give you three they're all dead yeah it's like such a horrible

way to do it okay because that just sucks we're gonna bring all three back to life who are they

number one is mac miller okay uh massive inspiration to me a person that like literally

pulled me from out of addiction and and it was with me through my early recovery through his

depression and then unfortunately we lost to his demons which kills me and and hurts me every day

still to be honest i'm still not over that uh that would be one number two all similar kind

of story would be anthony bourdain who i look at as kind of like one of the gurus of food travel

culture i look at him as an inspiration to me for my content i would love to like become a travel

and culture explorer like anthony was and then three would be robin williams also similar story

i know all three answers are like kind of depressing but it is but it's not a good answer

i know all three answers are like kind of depressing but like all but at least they're

kind of depressing i think we should be more open to the open and open and open to the real world

in life even though there's a lot of people out there but when people are these people are just kind of

It is, but no, they were all life-changing people, and we were all sad about their deaths, for sure.

It's an unfortunate juxtaposition, or whatever you want to call it, that unfortunately, a certain level of genius tends to dance with a certain level of illness.

We're seeing it now with Kanye, to be honest with you, and it sucks because I've looked at Kanye as a culture shifter, an interrupter, one of the greatest to ever do it in hip-hop.

And it's sad and unfortunate to see his current trajectory, and I hope that the people around him will jump in and kind of offer the help to him that these other guys didn't get, unfortunately, and that sucks.

But those would probably be my three answers. I wish I had an easy, happy answer.

No, that's okay.

My mom, you know?

What event in history would you have loved to have been courtside for? It could be a sporting event or other.

I'm just going to...

Bring it back to the birds again.

Miracle at the Meadowlands 2, okay?

The Giants are destroying the Eagles, and you've got this super dynamic Mike-Vic-Deshaun Jackson combo.

Hate Mike-Vic, love Mike-Vic, whatever the case.

That was one of the coolest combos to ever grace the Eagles' starting team, right?

And so you've got them down by this massive score, and all of a sudden, they just start to put on this show where Vic is just going down.

I'm getting goosebumps right now.

Where Vic is just going downfield and hitting Jackson with these passes that just don't make sense.

Bombs. Bombs.

And for whatever reason, the Giants are still up, and all they have to do is kick the ball out of bounds.

All they have to do is not kick the ball to Deshaun Jackson.

Like, the easiest thing of all time.

Do not kick the ball to Deshaun Jackson.

So the punter kicks it off.

So what happens next, Mike?

It goes straight to Jackson.

He grabs the ball and just turns the afterburners on.

And just, I'm sitting there, like, in a state of shock.

Like, for me, it's similar to the Patriots-Falcons game that everybody obviously always talks about.

Just, I don't know how to express the feeling.

So to have been at that game, that would probably be my answer.

Where were you watching that game?

My friend Don's house in Orange, Connecticut.

Like, just the most random place.

I'll always remember that day.

But, like, if I had been at that game, it would have been crazy.

That would be dope.

Before I let you go, where can our courtside audience find you?

And what should they be on the lookout for?

Just more impulsive episodes, to be honest.

That's kind of like the bread and butter right now.

I mean, the night shift will probably take a little bit of a transition in 2023.

I don't know how much longer I could, like, run the map doing these vlogs.

It's so exhausting.

Definitely buy the Fifth Vital.

I mean, that's my biggest thing.

That's what made my life, you know, made me feel like I was accomplished in life.

So if you want to know more about the background story, then that's Fifth Vital on Amazon.

Love that.

Thanks for coming on.

Thanks for having me.

I appreciate it.

Anytime.

Let me know whenever you want me back.

Big time Mike.

The wrestler.

What's up, guys?

It's Rachel Demita.

Thank you so much for watching this week's episode of Courtside Club.

Make sure that you like, rate, and subscribe to ESPN's YouTube channel and wherever you listen to your podcasts.

We have new episodes coming to you guys every single week, so stay tuned for that, and I'll see you soon.