WEBVTT - Ariel Helwani 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.600 This is cut to it with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.879 production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.200 Steve Smith Senior and I'm John And this is cut 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:16.840 to it. Good do What good do? They's getting down 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:20.520 to do with good do it? We asked the questions 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.880 you always want to know, but no one ever asked, 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.560 let's cut to it. You ain't heard them about it? 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:40.199 Then we're about to let you know. It's all I 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.320 came across this just looking for, you know, questions and banter. 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:47.320 So text messaging. So we got a little intern in 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:52.000 here be Um, what are be come? Come get to 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.800 the mic a little bit. Yeah, the Lord ain't gonna 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.960 help you, just fix your hair. So we're good. Intern 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:02.520 intern Intern B is on the way RB so um, 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:07.200 text message, you're you're you're pretty good into text message 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:12.360 and short tex. What's it called? Yeah? Him too? Abbreviation, 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:16.520 So give me some abbreviations if you're talking to people 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:21.120 that of your age and your circle, like, oh my gosh, 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:25.440 what what we it's called? OMG, oh my god. I 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.080 guess l L is another one that I use kind 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.640 of ironically. I guess laugh out loud l m F 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:36.199 A oh excuse me. Wait, wait a minute, what's what's 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.560 l l L M F A O. What's that mean? 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:44.920 Hold on? You cuss a lot of your text message 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:56.160 just in general? Why? Yes? Answer? She looked at me like, 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.640 of course, why are you cussing a lot? How do 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:12.520 you I'm sixteen? Oh my gosh, you barely gotta my pearls. Wow? 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:14.800 All right, So give me some of those that's not 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.560 cuss works, it's not customers like, yes, because I used 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:19.880 some of those and I'm thirty six, So give some 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:24.160 like the new the new ones on that old timers. Yeah, 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:30.320 m f R is for real, that's one. I guess. 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:33.160 I guess it can also be Instagram. Yeah, I would 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:36.160 have never got I would have guessed Instagram. I feel 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:37.680 like we're missing that on the good ones because we 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:39.640 don't want her cousin. That's what it feels like to 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:45.160 make I don't think so, Mom and dads. She lying, now, Yeah, 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:46.880 the thing is she's trying to come up all those 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:49.480 things that you can't decode those text mess That's what's 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:53.079 that's what's going on. We're parents. That's the difference in this. 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:58.520 And so those are my two are well, we appreciated 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:04.880 thank you back, go back sitting your in turn chair. Um. So, 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:09.080 so here's I have some text mesters on senior texting code. 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:14.440 All right, so I'm gonna say senior citizens. Yes, I'm 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:19.119 gonna say it, and you guys have to guess yes, 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:22.280 that includes you. Yeah, it does. Listen, don't get your 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.320 don't get any your feelings right now? Okay? Sometimes Oh 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.639 my gosh, l O L what does F you mean? 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:34.560 Is that one? I'm just asking. Yeah, So I'm I'm 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.200 gonna throw it out there and then you guys get 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:40.800 the guests. All right, So first one A T D. 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:50.520 Think about senior sentences. A T D. Uh uh? I 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:54.160 got at the doctors. Are you looking about the doctors 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:59.080 right now? You don't don't cheat? Taylor at t at 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:02.920 the nobody you know somebody's done a penalty when they 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:04.560 put their hands up. That was the first thing she 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.880 went to. So at D was at the doctor's. At 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:15.880 the doctor's h b F f uh come on, best 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:22.080 friends forever? So I got best friend fainted. What's senior 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.800 senior citizens? Man, I wouldn't listen. I had a wrong game. 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.520 I'm no, I didn't know. I'm go ahead. Here's one 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.320 and I'm pretty sure your grandmother. We use bt W 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:47.520 bring the the cream of wheat, Willie, bring the wheelchair. Yeah, 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:55.080 B y o T bring your own teeth. Why did 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:57.080 you know that? So fact? I don't know. I was 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:04.080 gonna say, bring you on testing ah CBM C b 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:09.280 M yep, could somewhere. This is so sad covered by medicare. 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:16.560 Oh my goodness, every senior citizen would know this, and 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:18.680 if they even have a phone to help you. So 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:24.040 c g U, I have no idea, can't get up. 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:31.840 Brought you my life alert, all right, f w B 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:42.440 get your minds out of go alright, friends with beta blockers, 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.039 all right? Last last I didn't know what the beta 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.440 blocker is. I don't know either, but just heard of 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.920 blue blockers back in today from a commercial. Alright, So 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:59.080 every every I think every old person has found this. 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:03.560 Um as as as as went through this fl W 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:11.960 I W for what it's worth, kind of pass away, 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:17.880 forgot where I was. No, God, that's wrong. It was 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:25.880 r O F L dot dot dot c GU rolling 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:30.599 on the floor. I can't get up. Yes, yes, good job, 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:33.480 I mean it was it was in the last to dude, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:37.640 it was go back and review good a context clues. Yes, 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:39.760 this is the last one. This is the best one. 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:44.720 G g P b L. I forget all those letters already, 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:52.160 g g P b L. Gotta gotta go. Is bowling 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:56.520 there anywhere? I gotta go. I gotta pass a kid close, 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:01.080 gotta go, pacemaker battery low damn. That's hey, we cut 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:04.240 to it. Do not stand by AGESM I just want 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:06.599 to put that disclaimer out. No, I'm just saying it 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:08.640 was it was. It was cute. I just was like, 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:11.840 so there's some other was w t P last one? 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:18.000 W t P? What where's the prunes? Yeah, that's what 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:23.640 we're saying. All right, Well listen, hey, if you don't know, now, 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:27.680 you know, seniors have a abbreviation text code. Youngsters have 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.320 abbreviation test code that obviously, uh has a lot of 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:35.760 cuss words in it, but appreciate it. Hey, who we 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.160 got coming up next on the Cut to It podcast? 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:42.800 We have Montreal, Canada native and mixed martial arts journalist 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.040 Ariel Helwani. Ariel is one of the leading voices in 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:48.960 the hand to hand combat sports world. Has been named 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:52.160 m m A Journalists of the Year consecutively from two 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:56.080 thousand twelve to two thousand nineteen, an old school Montreal 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:59.880 expos fan Ariel Helwani on the Cut to It podcast. 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:04.880 Oh it is an honor. Thank you, guys, I appreciate 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:08.560 you having me. Well, we do a section called get 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.240 I sed Up, and there's, uh, there's gonna be some 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:15.280 random questions and no one knows what these questions are. 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.160 When I say, no one knows, I have the questions 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:25.280 right here. I get all these questions randomly through miscellaneous, stupid, 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:29.240 random places that you would not even think about. But 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.680 then when I ask you, you will have a such 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:36.000 a profound look on your face that that just gives 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.520 me understanding that that was a damn good question. And 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:41.800 I will say, I know. We're deep on the Cut 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:45.560 to It podcast. So you're ready, I'm ready, I'm ready. 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.280 Buckle up, butter cup, here we go. All right, let's go. 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:56.240 Let's all right. What was your favorite child hood meal? Oh? See, 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.120 gave it to me. He gave it to me. This 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:02.160 is deep, This is really deep. I thought you were 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.120 going to go in a different direction there when you started, 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:08.720 you know, pausing after each word childhood meal, probably pizza, 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:10.160 every you know what I used to do as a 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.160 kid and I think you would appreciate this. We had 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:16.120 a tradition every Sunday night, uh in my house, we'd 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.760 order from Dominoes. And I know Domino's isn't great these days, 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:20.920 but the one near my house was really, really good. 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:22.800 And I know a lot of people don't like my 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:26.720 toppings choice, but I will maintain today I die green 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:30.160 olives and pineapple, a little sweet, a little salty, but 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:31.920 now I could taste it right here in the back 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:40.959 of my throat, taste so good. Don't don't you ever 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:45.200 again on any podcast say the back of my throw 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:49.280 and do that. Okay, don't do that right here? You know, 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:51.720 you know what the tradition was. I'd sit with my 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.680 brothers in our kitchen and we'd watch NFL Prime Time. 0:09:54.720 --> 0:10:00.240 That was the Sunday tradition. Which historical time period would 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:06.680 you like to visit most? Oh man, that is a 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.920 tough one. Um. So you just thought you was going 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:13.640 on so weak as dudes podcast. This is great, God, 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:15.720 this is refreshing. I thought we're going to talk about 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:20.680 boring career stuff sports. This is great stuff. Um. You 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:24.400 know what I'll give you the I'll give you the 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:26.679 one that first came to mind right off the top 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.200 of that, that's what I would like, that's what we want. Yeah. 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:33.360 The first one that came to mind was, um May, 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.360 that's when the State of Israel was was born, and 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:39.960 I'm I'm proud of you. I believe strongly in the 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:41.800 State of Israel. And that seemed like a really important 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.559 time in my people's history, coming off the Holocaust in 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.160 World War Two and they needed at home, and so 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:49.080 I think it would be pretty damn cool to be 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:51.000 there when the State of Israel was born. So that 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:56.000 is awesome. Been at Israel? Love it? Oh wow? Um 0:10:56.160 --> 0:11:03.640 and uh for my son's junior senior year, junior year 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:08.959 of spring break? Uh, me and my son for Easter. 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.280 Would you like to know where we spent our time 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:17.559 at I'm gonna gainst Jerusalem. No, I wish okay um 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:21.199 in Poland? Oh wait a second, you went? Did you 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:23.920 go on the March of the Living? Is that what 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:25.640 it's called the March? Did you did you go to 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:29.280 like the concentration campt Oh? So I went wait what 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:34.240 year was that? Uh? I probably went listen, Uh, Covid 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:39.360 is screwed up my my my time back yonder that's uh, 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.319 it would be two years. It was he's a he's graduated, 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:48.480 so about probably two years with COVID, so three years ago, okay, okay, 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:54.560 So I went in he was ninety nine, he was three. 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:59.559 He was too bad. That's amazing, though. Wow, So you 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:02.560 went to out. I went to Auschowitz. We did that 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:04.880 in the beginning of our trip and then we went 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:07.600 to Iceland at the end because we kind of needed 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:10.640 some something up lifting. It was it was awesome and 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:14.920 it was depressing. Um we it was tough. What prompted 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:18.040 you to do that? I So the interesting thing is, 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:20.880 h when I was you know, I grew up in 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:26.760 l A and UM back when we were our ages, 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.760 back in the eighties and nineties, that's when they talked. 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.760 They taught history in its entirety. It was nothing about 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:41.200 sex or um people's you know, sex or gender people's opinion. 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:43.560 It was it was our history. It was history. Wouldn't 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.960 it wasn't parsed out what they wanted to do. And 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:51.000 so in most times back then you would always have 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.880 to read and frank and that's what it was. And 0:12:54.920 --> 0:13:01.600 so I've always had a really a very intellectual mind 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:07.560 on the Holocaust. What has done the impact My ultimate 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:11.400 place I would love to go is her museum, the 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:15.240 museum that they made out of her home ne Netherelands. Yes, 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.280 and so I'm just I love history. I love I'm 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:23.240 a little weirdo on like what type of history I love? Um, 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:27.640 informational history, like something that I can gather and obtain, 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.920 and how I can apply it to my personal life, 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.920 for my business life in which that can cultivate growth 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:39.959 in me. That is awesome, man, much respect. I went. 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.440 I grew up Um going to Jewish school and in 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:45.720 the eleventh grade we had to apply to a trip 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:49.240 called the marchin Living where they took a select few 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.160 of us and we went in April, so around the 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.679 same time that you were there, Um, and we went 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:56.439 to Auschwitz. We went to Poland we were there for 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:59.040 about eight nine days, and then on the back end 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:01.319 they take us. So it's kind of it's exact same 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.240 thing that you did, but at a different place. We 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:06.040 needed some uplifting after that because it was very depressing, 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.200 a trip that changed my life forever. We went to 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:14.600 Israel to celebrate Israel's independence, so uh, it's around its 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:17.480 birthday May and then we go there and uh, I 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.000 don't know if there's two days that go by that 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:22.520 I don't think about being in those you know, gas 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.920 chambers and seeing the scratches on the walls or all 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:33.800 the shoes, the shoes man, silver, it's tough. I would 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.160 I would talk a one living on this earth would 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:38.560 go on that trip and to give you some perspective 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:40.560 about how precious life can be. You want to talk 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:44.880 about even something so talking about Israel, my son Peyton, 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.600 my son Boston, and my daughter Um I baptized him. 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:54.880 Yeah in the Jordan River. Wow. Yeah, when we were 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:57.280 on our trip back in two thousand and eight. So 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:03.320 that's great, man, respect that's cool, all right? Uh? And 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:07.680 then last one, you being a Canadian, what do you 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:12.240 love about your hometown? Oh, man, I love a lot 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:17.320 about my hometown. Yeah. Yeah, Montreal, the greatest city in 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:22.600 the world. I will say that I love how um, culturally, 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:26.680 culturally diverse it is. I love that, you know, there's 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:30.320 French speaking people there, there's English speaking people. You go there, 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:34.520 you think you're in Europe. Um, it just feels, you know, America, 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:36.520 God bless. It can be a bit of a melting 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:40.800 pot in in Canada and in Montreal. I feel like 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:42.880 everyone is sort of accepted for who they are and 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.200 where they come from. And it's a lot of immigrants, 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:47.280 and it's a lot of people from different backgrounds who 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.240 speak different languages. Everything has to be bilingual. I just 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:53.560 love how different it is. Uh, And so it's an expectation. 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.280 There areals of what you're saying. I don't know if 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:58.480 it's an expectation, but I mean, like half of the day, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.240 by law, if you live in Quebec and the province 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:04.200 of Quebec, half of the day has to be in French. 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:06.120 So it doesn't matter what kind of school you go to, 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:09.440 your school day has to be in French. And so 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.160 you're just grown up, you know, you kind of you know, 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:17.680 I'm still figuring out English. Yeah, it's just a great thing. 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:20.200 In fact, that was born French, like my first language 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.320 for life, for six years of my and you listen, 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:28.040 I just you know, you know, uh was French and 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:30.120 now I can hardly speak it because I haven't been 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:36.400 home for twenty years. Victim, Okay, exactly. No retention in 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.560 the Montreal school system. Listen, I'm messing with you because 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:42.920 I done some research on you. Man. I got some questions. 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:48.840 I just got some questions about your personality, which is 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.880 it's very intriguing to me. It is, I can I 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:56.520 see this interview as a why receiver me and you're 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.720 the dB, You're the d okay, So in other words, 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:01.840 your the fon digs. My man, you know the Bills 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:03.040 are about to win the Super Bowl. I don't know 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:04.919 if you know this. I'm a lifelong Buffalo Bill fans 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:10.639 actually actually didn't care. But continue, I mean, are you 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.120 Jordan Jordan Poyer? I don't know. That's not a good 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:16.800 one because he used to play for another team before 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:19.680 he was with Buffalo, used to play with you. Should 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:21.199 I'm talking about that. I'm talking about the two thou 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.800 one Buffalo understand. But if but if you're if you 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:29.000 are technically rolling with a dude that has a history 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:34.080 with me. You a guy you may be counting on 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.520 when you when you when your game comes my game. 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:41.800 He may be liked you. Just say, well, Steve now 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:50.240 won't like Jordan. He just had to cancel that order 0:17:50.240 --> 0:18:03.200 from Amazon. Street lights her own. That's right. I love 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.120 cut to it, and I love it even more when 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:10.479 you download us and subscribe and you can follow us 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.480 on social media too. Smithie where where at? That's at 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:17.760 cut to it on Instagram? What about Twitter? At cut 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:21.679 to It Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr. 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:25.160 What about online? And you can follow us at cut 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.320 to It podcast dot com, where you can buy merch 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.720 and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:35.800 I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:39.160 all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.080 cut to a podcast dot Com. I love starting this 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.560 off this way. I love asking this way because with 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:49.439 the right people you ask this question in the right manner, 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.359 they light up and they talk about it. So where 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:57.440 are you from and the place you call your hometown. 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:02.080 I'm from Undo, Quebec, Canada. I was born there July two. 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:05.320 I'm extremely proud to be from Montreal. I'm extremely proud 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:09.320 to be Canadian. Um for many reasons, but one of 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:11.800 the reasons why I love Canada so much is because 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:16.560 Canada was a place that accepted my parents. My parents 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.080 aren't from Canada. My mom is from Beirut Lebanon, and 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.879 my dad is from Alexandria, Egypt, and my parents had 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:27.320 to leave the Middle East in the late seventies because 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:31.199 of the rise of anti Semitism there. My grandparents in 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:35.840 nineteen eighty were kidnapped by the PLO because their neighbor 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:39.080 in Beirut wanted their jewelry store. He wanted the location, 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:41.320 so he called the PLO to come kidnap them in 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:45.320 the middle of the night. Ji POLO was the Palestinian 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:51.080 Liberation Organization uh and so they were, you know, in 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:55.560 many respects, a terrorist group that just clashed with the 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.440 Israelis and the Jews, and that's part of the reason 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:02.080 why there aren't any Jews left in Lebanon anymore. Um. 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:04.600 And so luckily they were let go after a week. 0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:07.960 It's a long story, but they fled to Canada, and 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:10.320 for me, I have always felt very strongly about the 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:13.520 fact that Canada and no other country accepted my family 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:16.960 and gave them a home and an opportunity to live 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.440 out their dreams. My dad's first job was working in 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:25.399 a factory graveyard ships sweeping up and eventually some fifteen 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:27.840 years later, he ended up buying the company and and 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.320 that gave us, you know, a great life, and I 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:33.560 learned a lot about work ethic and following your dreams 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:37.400 and doing right by others from him, and so, uh, 0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:40.080 you know, obviously, America has given me a lot, and 0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:42.920 I'm able to have a family here and work here. 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:45.920 But I will always consider myself Canadian first and foremost. 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:48.600 I love the way Canadians treat people. I love the 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.520 way uh Canadians are viewed around the world. I love 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:54.760 the reputation that our country has. And I'm just very 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:58.119 very proud to to calm myself a Canadian because of 0:20:58.119 --> 0:21:00.480 that reputation. And for the most part, you know, I've 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:02.640 had a really great life and a lot of great 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:05.000 memories and a lot of great experiences. But the twenty 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:07.840 years that I spent in Canada from zero to twenty 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:10.480 are memories that I'll never forget, just because I just 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:13.960 think it's a phenomenal pace place to to raise children 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:16.680 and to have a good life. And and so when 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:18.440 I talk about Canada, people are like, well, you don't 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:20.280 live there, how can you feel so strongly about it. 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:23.679 I accept the fact that there are opportunities available to 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:25.840 me here in the United States that aren't available to 0:21:25.880 --> 0:21:29.280 me in Canada, But without a doubt in my heart, 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:32.600 Number one for me will always be the Great White North. Wow, 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.200 We've had a lot of guests on and everybody's pride 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:38.800 fullo over their hometown, and everybody speaks highly of it. 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:41.200 I consider and tell you, out of all the episodes 0:21:41.240 --> 0:21:44.360 we've done, the passion and the exuberance in which you 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:48.520 rep your city is really amazing. I mean, that's that's 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:52.080 something else. Oh thank you, and it's it's legit, like 0:21:52.119 --> 0:21:59.080 even on my Twitter, Avatar and Instagram. That's right, that's 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:02.000 my team. And they no longer exist. Two thousand four, 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:03.800 they left, and it broke my heart because I grew 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:06.679 up a massive sports fan. You lose in the playoffs, 0:22:06.840 --> 0:22:09.120 you stumble, Okay, there's always next year. But they were 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:12.720 just gone, and I had great memories going to that stadium, 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:15.439 the Olympic Stadium, to watch them play. Did you have 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:18.560 a Tim Rains Jersey? Tim Rain is actually one of 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:20.960 the first people I ever interviewed, which was a crazy 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:23.320 story in its own right. I had a Moises lose, 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:27.560 my favorite player, Yeah, remember him, number eighteen, the son 0:22:27.600 --> 0:22:31.640 of Felipe Uh. They had the best record in baseball 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:34.400 and then the strike happened on August twelve. They were 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:38.199 six games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the in 0:22:38.240 --> 0:22:40.760 the NL East and that kind of killed the team 0:22:40.800 --> 0:22:41.879 and they had to get rid of a lot of 0:22:41.920 --> 0:22:43.760 the players, Larry Walker being one of them who was 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:47.280 just inducted into the Hall of Fame. That picture is 0:22:47.320 --> 0:22:50.840 a very old picture, is because that's me representing my 0:22:50.880 --> 0:22:55.919 hometown that was before snacks actually existed. Yeah, I mean 0:22:55.920 --> 0:22:57.840 it's not that old, but no, I'm just I'm just 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:01.480 saying that in the way and the way that that 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.919 structure had that is an old school hat. That is 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:12.280 that is specific and intentional on your part, so that 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:15.000 I reckon absolutely. You know what I love about it. 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:16.639 You know what I love about it. It's like you 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:18.680 know now that my you know, like you get more 0:23:18.840 --> 0:23:22.160 fame and notoriety whatever attention and people like will use 0:23:22.200 --> 0:23:24.960 your tweets and it will show up on TV or whatever. 0:23:25.400 --> 0:23:28.600 And I think it was always like it makes me laugh, 0:23:28.760 --> 0:23:32.000 warms my heart's like, man, the Expos are dead, my 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:35.640 favorite baseball team dead. They've been dead for now seventeen years. 0:23:35.960 --> 0:23:38.879 But the hat, I'm doing my part and keeping them alive. 0:23:39.080 --> 0:23:41.119 And so it's that that logo is popping up in 0:23:41.160 --> 0:23:43.119 places that it shouldn't be popping up on and a 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:45.040 lot of people probably don't even know what it symbolizes 0:23:45.040 --> 0:23:48.440 and what it means. Most don't, but the right people 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:52.320 paying attention. Yeah, I'm you know what I can tell. 0:23:52.440 --> 0:23:55.119 I can see that, I can hear the inflection in 0:23:55.160 --> 0:23:57.520 your voice, and I can see your face. You are 0:23:57.920 --> 0:24:01.800 enjoying sitting down with me a lot more than you anticipated. 0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:03.920 Look at the green and that's like that was a yes. 0:24:04.080 --> 0:24:06.840 But I can't give him credit. I've been married for 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:09.879 twenty one years. I'm used to it. I didn't I 0:24:09.880 --> 0:24:12.600 didn't resist this. I got the call and I and 0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:15.240 I said, wait a second, are we talking about Steve 0:24:15.280 --> 0:24:17.760 Smith of the Atlanta Hawks or Steve Smith of the 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:19.840 Carolina Panthers, Because if it was the Hawks, guy would 0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:21.359 have said no. Just for the record, I mean, I 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:25.960 appreciate that funny story. I have been text by a 0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:31.159 person wishing me happy birthday, thinking I was him, and 0:24:31.200 --> 0:24:35.000 I'm like, no, it's not my birthday. I'm pretty sure Steve, 0:24:35.200 --> 0:24:37.479 it's not your birthday. And I finally looked it up 0:24:37.480 --> 0:24:41.639 and I was like, you're texting the wrong Steve. To 0:24:42.480 --> 0:24:44.760 give Ariel a little credit, he did a little research 0:24:44.800 --> 0:24:47.480 as well, too, so so when I reached out to 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:49.800 Ariel and said, hey, you know Steve Smith, you know, 0:24:49.880 --> 0:24:52.560 come on the podcast. And I started going into my 0:24:52.720 --> 0:24:55.920 normal elevator pitch speel, and he said, let me cut 0:24:55.920 --> 0:24:59.480 you off right now, he goes, already listened, already understand it. 0:24:59.560 --> 0:25:02.080 And you probably wouldn't be doing this if I didn't 0:25:02.080 --> 0:25:04.359 know the level of detail that you guys get into. 0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:10.600 So come on, you know I do have I do 0:25:10.720 --> 0:25:15.840 have one moises Alu, random question for you? Ready? So 0:25:15.960 --> 0:25:19.119 I'm the king of random information and Steve's looking at 0:25:19.119 --> 0:25:20.960