Transcript of Chef André Rush: Strength Through Service

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And so instead of saying survivor's remorse, it's survivor's thrive. You know, it's remembrance of— to remind everyone that life is short. You never know. Check on each other, be with each other, never take it for granted.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today, not only is a bucket list moment, but we're about to have a conversation with the guy that really sparked me into understanding mental health awareness and how I can contribute to make sure that mental health awareness stays on the forefront of everyone. We're talking about the White House chef who turned into a viral sensation. He was a US Army combat veteran and mental health advocate with biceps as big as his heart. From the battlefield to the kitchen, from discipline to inspiration, he is fearless, he is passionate, he is unstoppable, and he is someone that I call a mentor. We're talking to none other than Chef Andre Rush. Chef, how you doing today, brother?

Brother, I'm doing absolutely blessed, and thank you so much for that. Amazing introductory. I'll say the same thing right back at you. You're an inspiration to me, and thank you for everything that you do and being here.

Man, Chef, you know, I was telling you before, huge fan of yours. But where I became a fan, man, was when you were talking and promoting 22 push-ups a day, what that meant to veterans and the suicide rate. And it really touched me, man. Like, I wasn't someone who served. But I have a lot of friends and family who did, and I understand everything that you were saying in those messages. And that truly inspired me, man. Like, you don't have to be the person going through it to help. You can be the person that can check in on your friends. As I like to say, doing a checkup from the head up, right? Like, just asking people how they're doing, just talking goes such a long way. But I didn't get that until you, bro. So I just wanted to tell you thank you for that and what that means to me and the people that I'm in connection with as well.

No, thank you. Thank you for that. And, you know, it's crazy because I didn't know how much I needed it. You know, my— what I do in giving back is helping me even more so. When people say, thank you, Chef, and I say thank you back, they have no idea how much and how heartfelt when I say it back to them because they're actually literally helping me, you know. And, uh, it's funny because a lot of people started at 22, you know. I was doing it, the 22 a day, and then I started doing the 222, and I started doing the 2,222 as a logistician strategically because I wanted that number to mean something, you know. Yeah. You say 22 a day, like, okay, you kind of blow it off. But even when I started doing those high numbers, people would always say, wow. And they're like, what was the significance for it, behind it? You know, you know, that's the hook, line, and sinker. And then you bring somebody into your world, and then you realize that you're both sharing the same world already, and they didn't even know it. And so when they started doing it, you know, um, I've had so many people that come and just said, you know, from, you know, from the, you know, neck up, head up, um, how not only did it change their lives in a physical aspect, in a mental aspect, in a health aspect, the social aspect as well.

Yeah, man, like you inspire so many. I guess I gotta get mine up to 2,222 a day so I can one day look like you. But speaking of looking like you, man, like there's so many places I wanna go. A lot of people don't know this, looking at you, you would think, oh, Sheff was a linebacker or whatever in football, but you had some sweet feet back in the day in high school, huh? Mr. Running Back Sheff.

I was, you know, I did a couple of things, track star, running back. Football was my passion, you know, art. I wanted to try to be as whimsical, but I worked my butt off and had a few scholarships, but I chose the military route. Even the Olympics, I had the trials for that. I actually decided to go to the military and skip it all, you know, because I wanted to do something. At the time, as a young kid, you know, that wasn't important to me. My dad, kind of from the South, was like, you know, The men go to work, the girls go to school, you know. So my mindset was servitude. Servitude. What can I do? How can I help my family? So forth. Even not myself, you know. So I was like, I sacrificed myself, meaning that I didn't do any of that school stuff, but I did it later on in my career. And it's crazy because every rank I ever put on, I put it on myself. Every degree I never walked, it was just a check for me because I had so many more things to do. And even now, from getting so many accolades, which I'm humbled by, they're all still in their boxes because I'm not done yet.

You know, from the keys to the city of Mississippi to, you know, recognitions from California for suicide awareness to this to that, it doesn't— it means everything to me. But right now, as a matter of fact, I'm getting ready to get inducted into the Veterans Hall of Fame coming up. You know, that's important to me. It shows things. But at the same time is I'll never become complacent. And that's what I tell people all the time, never become complacent.

Yeah, I love it, man. Like, I always tell people you're different, right? Like, in a good way, right? Like, like, you're a role model. Again, I know you're humble, you're not gonna, you're not gonna see it, but you're a role model, you're an inspiration, and you're different. And you allow others to say, hey, it's okay to, to forge my path. Because how many of you in high school would have taken the college scholarship? How many of you in high school or, you know, in your early 20s would have said, I want the glory of the Olympics, right? Like, you were never a look-at-me kind of individual. You always had that spirit of, what can I do to help others, man? Like, you just talked about your dad a little bit. Is that where it started? Was that mentorship and leadership and guidance from your dad?

Well, it's true. My dad was that person. He was tough as nails and, Uh, he taught me the value of hard work. You know, he told me 2 things in my life is, um, um, as a young age that I didn't understand at the time. He said, always be the hardest worker in the room. And no matter where you go, someone wants you to fail. Doesn't matter who it is. They're going to want you to fail, you know, because people are going to see you go through your path. They can look at you and be intimidated. They can look at you just— it could be any monetary, clothes, whatever it is. They want you to fail. It could be family members. It'd be somebody as you step up in the ladders and go through success. success or your failures. And believe me, I had many, many failures, you know, and I still go through those. And, you know, it's talking about the Olympics and all that. People say, what if, you know, you had taken that path? I didn't. So there's no what if. There's only right now. I go forward. I don't go backwards, right?

Yeah. Those things that happened back then, I can't even imagine it because it never happened. I think about what I'm doing because even if I had done that, I wouldn't be here helping millions. you wouldn't be here talking to me. We wouldn't be talking together. I wouldn't get to meet my brother. You know, so those are the things you think about when you say, what if? It's what should I be doing right now?

I love it, man. I love it. So talking about the right now, you know, I love to ask people about their because, that thing that's deeper than your why, like that passion, that personal mission that you have. So for you today, the giver that you are, the leader that you are, the inspiration that you are, What's your because? What's your purpose today?

Wow. You know, as soon as you said that word, something popped in my head. You know, you go through trials and tribulations in your life. And the one thing— I'm a faith-based person, and I've been open about that, and I always will be. I will never— and I tell people, don't waver on who you are and what you believe in. That's your right, your privilege. any part, race, color, monetary, anything. What you say, believe always. Don't ever, especially with the kids, don't ever— kids especially, don't get stigmatized. Say you think because you believe in something.

Yeah.

Um, I believe in something, and, um, and that's him above. But, uh, it's been times in my life, lots of them, where I thought that, um, I thought, okay, this is gonna settle down. You know, I've had some really bad things happen. I've lost a lot of people. And I think you know about my daughter and about her brother and her 2 brothers. Yeah. And, you know, I lost my mother, my father, I lost my best friend. And it was all along the same routes. And after my daughter, which was just 2 years ago on the anniversary, it was at the highlight of my career. I was going to New York City with Gordon Ramsay with my TV show, everything going. When I got that phone call at 4 o'clock in the morning, and I was just like, I've done all this work constantly. I've given back. I've given back. I've done everything you asked me to do and so forth and so on. And it just hit me. And I'm like, you know, because I almost gave up when my mother went away and my father went away right back to back. And I'm just like, I can't keep doing it.

But she reminded me, you know, from above that this is what I was meant to do. Yeah. And then that happened. And I had to catch myself because I said, He makes no mistakes. He makes no mistakes. You know, you can get tested and whatever. And you said, Because? Because I have no choice. There's no choice. I have no choice, brother. I have to do this. Yeah. Everything that I do is for this, is for a cause, for the kids, for the veterans. It's for all the people that I know that can take my place. The ones who can't believe, do believe, want to believe, the ones that need it as much as I need it. So the cause is Because I have no choice,

man. I'm sitting here trying not to get emotional, bro, because you, you have a story and I resonate with it. And, you know, I kind of told you why I connected with you, but one of the things— I, I don't live life in regret, right? Like, ever. Because I live in the moment. Like, we're all here for a purpose, for a reason. But I do have one, you know, like my best friend from high school Um, years after high school, I got a call that he, um, had committed suicide. Literally 5 days before that, I had reached out to his uncle to ask how he was doing. I could have called him directly, and I always wonder if I would have called him instead of calling his uncle to ask how he was doing, could, would If anything, and, and I don't know the answer. I never really try to go back there, but I never know the answer. But part of why I do what I do is because you always reminded me of him and of the things that I could do. So, bro, like, you just mean so much to me. I just want you to know that.

Brother, um, um, You know, we, you know, we do this all the time. Yeah. Like, we talk all the time, and I talk to so many, and it's, it's not everyone I can talk to where the energy is extremely perfectly aligned and like. And, you know, as you say things, I'm living through you like you live through me. And when you said that, and it's crazy because my first one years ago with Sergeant Durden, he called me And I was helping a bunch of soldiers and I talked to him every day. And that one day I said, I'll call him back. I'm with the guys. And that day turned to night. That night turned into 3 in the morning. And I got a phone call and it was someone, one of my soldiers from Iraq, and saying, hey, it's about so-and-so. I'm like, yeah, I'll call him back today. And he was like, he's gone. I'm like, what are you talking about? You know, and that same question that you asked, this is crazy because the same thing you said is back then I was like, Whoa. What if? What if? Why? What? What? You know, this, this kid, he's, you know, 25 years old and, you know, has a wife and 2 kids.

And, you know, it was the smiles. And I don't get it. I don't understand. What if I had picked up that phone, you know? Right. And then all these years later, he became part of the story and the reason. You get it? He became part of my cause. And so instead of saying survivor's remorse, it's survivor's thrive. You know, it's remembrance of— to remind everyone that life is short. You never know. Check on each other. Be with each other. Never take it for granted. Right. Never become complacent and grateful. All those things that we kind of do in the US that we become so humanized to, but we have to take a moment back and step. And that's why I have so many causes and people say, Chef, you do so many different things. Why? Because I have no choice. Because if it's important to someone, even if it's one person, it's important to me because there's a reason why. So if I'm going from suicide awareness to mental health, to the military, to veterans, to sexual assault, sexual trafficking, Alzheimer's, this, this, Cancer Society, which I'm speaking next month, everything's a reason. Everything's a choice.

And you have to be that person that has that empathy, compassion to understand that everybody's human because you want them to treat you exactly like you want to treat them.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Again, man, just such an inspiration and such a big brother figure. You know, I want to go back to a moment for you. September 11th, we all remember the day, right? Right? It all touches all of us. But for you, it was much different, right? Like you were at the Pentagon, you were working out in the gym, right? And then you made a decision. Again, going back to that person that you are, right? It's almost like when you talk about your because, you have no choice. You don't even think, right? You were just like, I have no choice. I'm gonna step up and do what I do. Take us back to that moment,

brother. Honestly, it's reflex. You know, it's like, you know, and I have to say, you know, the military embedded, installed so many different tenures in me that I never knew I had, especially leadership tenure at a very young age. And which fortunately for my mom and my dad, because I got up every morning and helped and was on the farm and did this and, you know, had jobs and I didn't have a normal childhood. And at one point in time, I used to think Man, this sucks. I don't have a normal childhood. And now I think, man, I had the best childhood I could ever possibly have. It taught me everything there is to do. There's nobody that can outwork me, outbeat me, outrun me, outtask me, nothing of the sort. And when that day happened, I'll be honest with you. I said when that day happened, but it's when that day happens. It happens every day in my head. As soon as you say it, it resonates right away. It's flashbacks. Those were triggers and things that come back where people don't understand when they say, I have triggers. No, we have triggers. They're all different, but they're all meaningful for each person.

But for me, when that happened, I didn't know what was happening. All I know is that people need help and we need some guidance, whatever, no matter who I am or where I am. And to put myself in a situation where I hurt myself, which I did, and then also in another situation where it was part of behind the scenes where I want to do more and do sweeps and find out how I can help. And that was the part, I think, after the fact when— I'm a young kid. I'm young. You know?

Yeah.

I'm a driver, but all my guys, I lost some guys that I worked out in the gym. It was the DOD guys, the Pentagon, the cops, the squats, all those, those are my big brothers, you know? And it was crazy because I didn't know what was going on. You know, back then PTSD was kind of stigmatized.

Yeah.

Even though they say it wasn't, it was very stigmatized. You know, it was one of those, hey, don't talk about this. You know, that normalcy was not there. And when some of my guys who were much older said to me, because I was there with them, they said, hey, Chef, we're gonna go get some help. They have somebody here. And they actually said, we have some people here you can talk to. They didn't say who the people were, but we have people that you can talk to if you're feeling a certain way. That's to kind of dumb it down. You know what I mean? I don't say we have therapists here on site just because you may have trauma or this and that. It's just people to talk to. And they said this to me, and I went back to my chain and I said, hey, I think I may want to talk to someone. And they said, do you like your job? That's English to me. I understand.

Yeah.

And for the next 20 years, there was As soon as I think— no, I don't think. As soon as that happened, it was a timer. It was a ticking timer. It was a time bomb. I was that time bomb. I had no idea how I would internalize that, how I would deal with that, how volatile, how dangerous. I had no idea. what was happening or what could happen. You know, you think you're— especially men, and let's go out to all my men, you know, big, strong, you know, I can lift 400, 500, £600 and do a little run forever. And us being our mind is nothing can touch us. Nothing can touch us. And that's a lie. We get touched even quicker than anybody else. Yeah. Because we try to criminalize and say, that I'm invisible, you know. And I was one of those guys that would party like that. And to the point where I started snapping. And I was a big guy and I did a lot of stuff. And it was one of my generals who actually called me out because he saw it. And I got really upset. And that was the first time I had to go to therapy.

Wow. When I walked out of his office, slammed out of his office, got a call and said, you're going to therapy. And the end of this right here was, you know, he works in so many ways. I was at West Point because I was coming back from Iraq the last trip. Yeah. And I went there to see the therapist. And it's on West Point over the castle and going through, it's the top floor. And that's the only building, the only office there. So if you go there, everybody knows you're going there.

Yeah.

And I go there, I hear he talks to me and I just— nothing, in one ear and out the other. And I'm walking out, I'm like, I get out, get out of here. And I'm walking to the elevator, which is down probably like, uh, 25, 30 meters, um, about 40 meters or so, uh, and this green hat comes out and passes each other. And I kind of glance over and kind of put my head down a little bit, don't look at him. And he did the same. He got to the desk, I'm pushing the elevator button, and all of a sudden he runs back down to me and he sees me and he looks at me and we just stopped. And he said, brother, if you're here, I know I need to be here. And then we embraced and it just gave me— even just, it still gives me chill bumps because that said everything I needed to know.

Yeah.

That said everything I needed to know. And from there, there was no ever looking down. There was only determination and let's move forward.

Man, like, I got goosebumps from that, man. Like, that's so inspiring. And that's a part of who you are, you know? Like, one of, one of my mentors is Les Brown, and we talk about the power to keep going, right? Like, like that. And when I think of you, that's what I think of, right? Like, no matter what, keep going. Like, one foot in front of the other, right? Like, I'm gonna say this for you. This is how I feel your mentality is. If your heart is beating, You have more to give. You have more to do. And so, talk to the viewers and listeners about that, man. Just like that mentality that you have that no matter what, just keep going, keep moving, keep doing something.

It's right here. Keep going. Never give up. You can do anything. That's the first 3 words. Keep going. Never give up. You can do anything. Keep going. Never give up. You can do anything. I'll say it to myself and I tell everybody to say it to your kids.

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Say it to your kids. Yeah, keep going, never give up, you can do anything. I'm telling you, it's reinforcement. It's a, it's a, it's an internal thought, you know. If you say something long enough, they'll know it to be true, you know. But if you say to somebody, you're not worth anything, you're garbage, then they think that way. My part of it was with my family, even living in the projects with not a lot of money or anything to have, we had each other. And believe me, I wore the same shoes every day, all the time. People laughed at— the kids laughed at me. I didn't have a normal lifestyle. Trust me, that was perfectly fine with me. My dad, my mom, everybody worked hard. Yeah. Everything happens for a reason on this part. To this very day, the same part of it, is I stay the same way I was back then. This is the reason why I do everything that I can do. I can have 3,000 people in a room, 3,000 want to take a picture. The first one I take a picture with and the last one I take a picture with, they get the exact same treatment each and every time.

Yeah. I want them to know they're worth it, right? I'm not going to wait and say, oh my God, this is long, whatever, so forth, so on. And you think about what you're doing and what your reason why Why? You know, everybody needs a reason. You know, people say, oh, those are your workouts. No, push-ups are not my workout. They're my cause. There's a reason. You know, I tell people, even when people ask about workout or when people ask about food, I said it needs to be associated with a reason, a cause. Don't just say, I need to do it. I need to do it. Do it for something that's detrimental. Your kids. Yeah. It's the reason why I want to breathe, the reason why I want to live. You know, you are what you eat. You know, you have to have that mindset. So it is, You know, doing this for the last X amount of years, and I did a million miles last year, I've done 150,000 miles this year, uh, I've been home in LA 15 days out of this year so far. Hmm. And I've talked to so many different people.

I've been so privileged to talk to so many kids, and a lot of them HBs to, to higher to, you know, food banks. And I'm so surprised that because they know my platform, they all talk to me, but they ask the right questions.

Right.

They ask the right question because they know who I am and what I stand for. They see my funny content, but they know my serious side. They know that, okay, I can relate him to the funny part. And they've all said, thank you for your service, Chef. Young kids, you know, thank you for your service. They associate me with that part of it first, and then they go into the conversation. Instead of just, oh man, you're a great rapper, you're a great singer, you're great this, you're great that, oh, I love this, you know, they connected with something. So I tell people vicariously to connect your kids, your family, and even other people. You'll be amazed what just a simple smile or a hello or greeting could do for someone. They could be having the worst day of their lives. So don't look at a person and just say, okay, they're just a negative person, just a nasty person. You have to try to at least try.

Yeah, yeah, love it, brother, love it. So let's get to this chefing part of your life, man. So you got the shirt on, Call Me Chef, Damn It. You know, my mom is a preacher. Mama, I can say damn it to Chef Rush. Okay, it's okay.

Disclosure, it's a

book. So yeah, yeah, yeah. So when, how, why was that your next calling?

Uh, great question. Had no idea it was a calling. It was not something I said, I want to be a chef when I grow up. Not right whatsoever. Nothing. Not even close. I, I was— my mom is my reason for this one. Uh, like I told you, my dad, he believed boys go to work. Boys also don't cook. Yeah. Men don't cook. That's from the South. Ladies, the girls cook and they go to school. They do all this part of it. So I used to actually sneak with my mom and cook. Right? And it was the best feeling in the world. That's when I became a complete— I was already a mama's boy, but that time I became a complete mama's boy. And when I did join the military and decided to, um, went from one direction that I wound up switching over because of my mother with the cooking part. Now, when I did that in the military, in the Army, it was not the same. Right. It was hard and terrible. This was mass cooking. It wasn't even family environment. It wasn't a hospitality. It was like, I'm like, what did I get myself into?

This is like, people were like, what are you doing here being in this food service? You're too big. You do this. You do— I'm like, I like cooking.

Yeah.

And again, he took care of me at a very young age. For some reason, I'm a private and this sergeant command sergeant major saw me and they had this culinary show that they were doing and he— you had to trial for it. I didn't trial for it, of course, because I'm at the bottom of the totem pole. pole. And I didn't even know what culinary was. I had no idea. And he brought me in. He told them, he said, I want this guy. Who is he? He's like, oh, that's Special— I'm sorry, Private Rush. And he was like, I wonder like why. He was like, I don't know, I just want him. I just want him. It's something about him. I don't know, I just want him. I have no idea what he saw, but, um, um, went there and I'm like, wow, I just I just fell in love with it. I was like, this is cooking? You can make cakes and this? So I became a pastry chef and then I became, you know, a chocolatier. I became— I just was— I was on overload. Only problem was, is that was back then.

There wasn't any Google. There wasn't any— you can go tutorials. Yeah. None of that stuff. The books are expensive. Um, and, um, but we did it one time a year, every year. And I got hooked. I mean, really hooked on it. And I practiced and I spent all my money. I failed a million times. And the one thing about culinary part is that, uh, it's not, uh, it's not, um, learning by seeing, by, by seeing, it's learning by doing, right? So you got to have hands-on where somebody's actually an instructor. So looking at a book, it's just like, it didn't make any sense. So I had to wait every year to go to a show. to practice. So every time I went to compete, I would compete in like 20 events when a normal person would compete in 3 or 2 or 1. I would do 20 just so I can fail in all 20, just so I can get the experience, just so I can get that time and tension so I can just feel the grind of it. And people, they said, you know, the sorority, like, Chef, he said, you know, you know, you're gonna— you know, you're not gonna do anything, you know.

And I had no mentors on that part to find out how to do it because I was doing things I never knew about. And long story short was I used to have to psych myself out, and I would tell everybody that I competed against, I said, you ready to lose? And they'll look at me like, kid, what are you talking about? And when I did lose, um, when I did lose, I, um, had a loss, I would say to them, I told you you were gonna lose. And they look at me like, he's crazy. And I'm like, they didn't lose, I won. I also won. I got that experience. And from then I kind of turned into my own. And I'll be honest with you, I was in combat arms, so they didn't appreciate that part of the world. They'll take the accolades for it, but once it was back to the field, get rid of it. Right. Back to the field, back to the field. And someone— but I was always a helper, so I used to help people when I learned to do stuff. And people found out I started doing things on my own and I taught— I was self-taught.

in the beginning. And someone saw me and asked me if I wanted to come over to the trial for the culinary at the Pentagon in DC. And I'm like, for what? What is over in culinary with Pentagon? What is that about? Like, you want to be a— do you want me to be a special agent or something? No, no, we want you to come over. And I'm like, what is this? And I said, why not? And I went and I tried. Long story short was that I had 4 days and it was 3 other people, uh, competing for the same position, but they were there for 30 days. I had 4, they had 30. And I did it and I worked my butt off, went back to Fort Campbell and I'm like, oh, that's that. I forgot about it. It wasn't a big deal. Um, how could I compete against 3 people that's there for 30 days?

Right.

And long story short was about a month or so later, they called me back up and said, hey, you ready to come? And I remember this because my commander was really upset. He didn't want me to leave. And he said, forget about that part of the world. This is nothing. You need to be on here. And the long story short was he gave me a reprimand. And I was like, he gave me a reprimand. And I'll be honest with you, at this point in time, I was a E-4, and I was just kind of very hardcore. And I remember sitting off with him and the first sergeant, and he gave me this rubber band because he hated that I was leaving because he wanted me to stay. And then I said to him when he gave it to me, I said, hey, sir, do you want me to tear this up now or later? Because once I leave the office, it's voided. So it was just to stroke his own ego. Right. And the first sergeant was like, Private Rush! I'm like, okay, I'll wait till later.

Yeah.

So I left. And, um, the, the funny thing was the general— I'm sorry, the colonel that was there who gave orders to let me go, I met him, oh my God, 15 years later. He was a general, um, uh, 3 or 4, 4-star, 3-star. And he remembered me and Bagby, General Bagby. And he was like, Chef, I'm so proud of you. So proud of you. And I said to him, why did you let me go all those years ago? He said, because I needed you to go out and do something that a lot of people can't do. And he said, I knew you would. Right? And it was crazy because if you knew the whole story, just how it kind of And I was very humbled and grateful for it. And I— he said, you're doing us proud. And I appreciated that. And I continue to do him and everybody else that gave me an opportunity or gave me a little sliver of an opportunity to do anything, just like with you, sir. You know, we take a little crack and we just open it up into a mountain.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. You know, Chef Rush, I don't know a lot about the White House. But I do know everybody doesn't get to be a chef in the White House. And I also know that if you're not good, you probably don't get to do it multiple times. What is that? What was that experience like? What is that experience like cooking? I'm gonna say it's got to be for, for us US residents, right? Like, it's got to be like the pinnacle when that's your profession. And you get to do it for that seat. What is that like, brother?

Mind-blowing. I mean, humbling. I mean, it's something, you know, I'll be honest with you, that when I first went in there, you know, I kind of went in a mindset of failure, not meaning failure that I'm going to fail. I went in there as though somebody's not going to want me there. That was kind of my mindset about everything I did. So, I had to overly achieve and overly prove each and everything that I did because I found out through my tenure throughout my whole military career that everywhere I did go, it happened a lot, right? For no reason. Being the hardest worker in the room. The reason why I'm going to say, call me Chef Tim, because my mentor who I love now to death, He never called me that. He didn't want me there. Even when I went to the White House, I mean, when I went to the Pentagon, he was the one that said, don't bring him here. And it was actually a Navy person that brought me there because he said, this guy's amazing. But later on, he apologized and said, hey, I was intimidated. I didn't want you to— you came in new, fresh.

And I'm like, it's a story of my life. But the long story short is that when you go inside a place like that, it's a different mind. part of it where everybody has to be on the same key, on the same music. When you work with like people, it has no intentions, no egos, no attitudes, and we're all there for one common denominator. And you have to do your best of the best all the time. Um, that was one point where you say how the stars align, they align perfectly because everything has to be perfect. Perfect. You don't have to have any alibis. You don't get to blame anybody but yourself. accountable for yourself. So for me, it was a perfect world, you know. For me, it was a perfect world saying, okay, here is what it is. But, you know, even now I contribute that to my mindset in business and life, and also in progress with my TV shows, my businesses, with speaking engagement. Everything has to be aligned. I am accountable for my own actions. So going inside there, it showed me the best of the best and who especially working for the top tier of anywhere.

You know, you talk about the President of the United States of America, you know, you talk about, you know, anybody and everybody that comes through there. But also you got to think about the part that a lot of people don't think about is the mechanics behind it.

Yeah.

That is the beauty of it, the mechanics, not the actual being a chef there. It's the mechanics of how it actually works. Because you'd say, well, how this happens or Why this happened? I don't understand. And there's a lot of things people don't— will never understand. That's kind of like the brilliancy behind it, along with the crew, the people, the team, and just making everything happen.

All right. Let's go to Call Me Chef, Damn It. We've teased it a little bit. Some of the questions I've been asking purposely have been around some of the principles that I know are in the book. What was the thought process? When did you know you were going to write it? And then who was the book for?

Um, the— I didn't know I was gonna write it. Um, I'm supposed to do my cookbook. My cookbook is coming out next. This is my memoir. Uh, the memoir was actually from the publisher. I wanted to do something before I did the cookbook that I didn't want to just have a cookbook saying, hey, I'm the greatest chef and here's all my recipes, so forth. I wanted to have a reason behind why I do what I do. I wanted to have a community base, an understanding where, okay, I'm a chef, but here's how I became a chef, and here's the reason and things I went through to become a chef. Wow. I wanted to tell you everything, and I want to tell you everything how I failed. I want to, I want to talk about my failures a lot, and I talk about a lot of failures in there. But at the same time, it was— it happens. Don't make an excuse to keep failing. Don't make an excuse to to blame everyone besides yourself. You have to have accountability. You didn't have opportunity. So what? Right now you do. Make it happen on that part of it.

And even what I said with Call Me Chef, Demi, was because, uh, it was titled that because, um, my mentor, who I said I, who I love to death, still with great friends, love him to death, but he didn't want me to be there because I came in for that interview and he immediately said no. He looked at me because I've always been a big kid, you know. I've always been like— I'm not intimidating, you know, like you. You know, you, you look like this guy right here. But I always had, you know, just, I'm ready to work. What do you— what do I need to do? You know, it wasn't, oh my God, who are you? No, I'm like, I, I, I'm just— that's not my nature. Yeah. I didn't take pictures with everyone. I didn't go running behind them. I never did all this stuff. I just did my job. I did it perfectly. I did it I did it hard, right? And better than anybody else. But at the same time, some people want you to give them extra attention and let you know, say, you should be happy that you're here.

You should be appreciative that you're here. I'm like, I am happy. I am appreciative. Just let me be that, but let me also work. So that one day with this called being called me chef, damn, it was, he called everybody chef except for me. And one day I'm a kid, like I said, remember, I'm a kid, I'm young.

Right.

He didn't call me that. And he said something else, even though I was working my butt off. And I kind of grabbed him and picked him up and said, call me chef, damn it. And he said, yes, chef. And from there we were golden. That's all it took. Just a little recognition. But truthfully is, I joke about it, but I was very honored and humbled to be under there, under him, to even go through that situation. just so I can have the knowledge base of it. It happens that way. I put the book out talking about everything from 9/11 to, you know, the Pentagon to the suicide awareness, which the book got accolades for. Number one, for dealing with suicide, grief, leadership. Yep. So I wanted all those things to kind of be encompassed in the book and kind of go on. It wasn't your traditional memoir. It was a storytelling book about how to get through life and how you deal with life, and then you carry on from it. But also a tribute to the women, also my mother in this world, uh, to remind people, everyone, that it started with the females.

The women are our body and soul. I don't care who you are, where you are, they are our strength and our power. And that's what I have on here, this big strong arm right here. That's not my arm, that bicep. That's for women because they are the strongest of us. And so I pay homage to them all the time on their part, along with the kids. And so the book just has a collaboration of things that I literally believe in, and it puts anecdotes with my cooking skill sets inside of it to lead up into the cookbook.

Love it. I love it. I'm going to make sure I get all of the connections to the book, so I'll have links in the show notes so everyone can Go get this book because it is life-changing. It's, it's insightful.

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Some things I didn't know about you. I thought I knew almost everything about you, right? But some things are in there. What do you have coming up next? So we talked about the cookbook, right? Like, I'm gonna need some help because, you know, like you said it, men, like, in where— how we grew up, Chef, right? Like, we were on the grill, right? But we were not in the kitchen.

That is true. It's a grill you sweat your butt off, right?

We're on the grill. But I will tell you, man, like, one of the things again that I admire about you is that you've taught me patience in the kitchen because, you know, I, I just don't have it, bro. Like, naturally, I'm not a patient person, but I realize, and my wife appreciates it because she knows, oh, you got that from Chef Rush, because she knows I'm taking my time. Like, if she sees me in the kitchen for an hour or so, she knows I'm cooking up one of your recipes, man. But,

um, I love that.

Talk to us a little bit about what we can expect in the cookbook.

Uh, the cookbook, Patience is a Virtue. I didn't— you know, you just— the cookbook is gonna just kind of go— it's gonna be a storytelling cookbook. I'm gonna put a bunch of things in there from my times in the White House. Uh, what I've noticed with my community base, I'm getting a lot of people now, young people, who are talking about diabetes. Chef, what do I do about diabetes? So I want to put a lot of feel-good stuff as far as how you use food as it should be used in the beginning, as medication, as love. as holistic. All those parts where we got, we got away from. Now everybody wants to go to the 5-star Michelin star creams and butters and this and this and so forth. I'm also going to give you a bunch of remedies for quick cooking, quick tips, things. I'm getting ready to do some stuff with Arnold Schwarzenegger for his Pump Club. I also have a spice line that's coming out that's going to be out in August, which is going to be a very special spice line that is going to give you your natural essential vitamins and superfoods throughout your day, um, and also taste flavorful.

So taste is my first, my first principle with that. But the cookbook I'm excited about just because I get to do an expression of myself, um, not with an ego. I don't want to be fancy. I don't want to be every part. So I'll give a little bit to everybody. And also something that's meant to be done with your kids. I want your kids to get involved. Now when I go around, all the kids start saying they're cooking because of me. I love that part of it. That there's a lot of boys, a lot of little boys. So I love that the little guys are getting inside of that and they're doing the cooking part. So, uh, the book is going to be a pretty, pretty fun book.

Okay. All right. Well, Chef, you've been gracious with your time, man. I want to do a quick rapid fire, 4 questions off the dome. So you're buff. I know you're in the gym. You're a chef, you're a culinary guru. If you got a cheat meal, what's your cheat meal?

Sushi. Lots of it. A whole boatload of it. I eat sushi all the time. I mean, I'm talking about the big one for like 6 people or so. I know it, I do it. I love sushi. I mean, I can consider it half-half cheat meal because of the carbs in the sushi, but I, I do that. If I had to have, I have a whole pizza beside it.

All right, so now let's go your culinary skills. In your opinion, the best dish that you make?

Every dish. Every dish is always going to be the best dish.

I knew you were going to say that.

You knew that, right? I know you can't have a favorite in this game. Everything has to be perfect on that part of it. I can never have just one and say that's my go-to dish. Everybody asks me, what's your go-to? I said, Every dish is gonna be— I don't care if it's a bologna sandwich, it's gonna be the best bologna sandwich you ever had.

There you go. What's your go-to routine in the gym? What's one workout you're definitely getting aside from push-ups? What's one workout you're definitely getting in?

You know what? I gotta get these arms in. They 24 inches for a reason. You know, biceps and triceps. I like it. You know, they say you spot them a mile away. They get your attention right off the top of it. I do everything, but that's bread and butter.

Getting it. All right, this one I know is going to be personal. It's you, it's Madison Square Garden— or no, we'll go Crypto because you're in LA. Crypto, 19,000 people, you got a microphone. What song you going to to perform?

I got a microphone?

You're on stage, you're the performer.

What are you singing?

What are you rapping? What's your— what are you going to?

You know what, I'm, I'm gonna probably say Welcome to the Jungle.

Okay.

I don't know, it's like, it's LA. LA is a jungle. I think about it, it's crazy out here sometimes.

Yes sir, yes sir. Chef, brother, I appreciate you, like I said, more than you know. You're, you're a mentor to me. You're someone who has You've changed my life. You're someone who's helped me inspire. And as Pasha and Robert Irvine will tell you, you've helped me focus on making impact, not just being present. And so I have to thank you for that, bro.

Thank you, brother. I'll say the same thing to you. I appreciate all you do. Please keep it up. You're inspiring so many millions, to include myself even more so. Just so you'll know, I'll always be here for you. I have a signed book coming for you, by the way, just so you know that part of it. You do owe me a little bit more than 22 push-ups though, just for that part of it. Or you owe your wife an amazing meal from me with patience, right?

With patience.

With patience. But honestly, brother, I just want to say bless you. Keep doing what you're doing. Uh, it's been an honor and privilege being with you here today.

That means the world to me, brother. That means the world to me. For the viewers and listeners, remember, you're Cause is your superpower. Go unleash it.