Episode · Mar 25, 2026 · 1 hr 51 min
Drugs, Destruction, and a Second Life Through Art
with Tyler Ramsey
Tyler Ramsey is a mixed media artist who has worked in reality television and speaks publicly about recovery through Punk Rock Sober.
Summary
Tyler Ramsey describes growing up in Tulsa after his father survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and how his early pull toward storytelling led him from screenwriting into reality television, including work on Survivor and Fear Factor. On Survivor in Africa, he drank heavily, disappeared into the jungle after a conflict with production, and ended up in a local jail before the crew brought him back. He explains how alcohol and pills escalated, and why several short rehab stays did not hold.
Ramsey says a longer, strict Christian recovery program helped him stop drinking and rebuild his relationship with his family. He talks about faith, forgiveness, and trying to be of service, then returns to his work as an artist, describing collaborative projects with TOMS and Aviator Nation. He and Ken discuss Banksy, the appeal of owning art, the changing value of possessions, and how online labels shape public opinion. Near the end, Ramsey describes hosting recovery meetings and working a 12-step program.
Show notes
Tyler Ramsey is a mixed media artist whose work lives somewhere between chaos and clarity, but his story is even more extreme than his art.
Before the galleries, collaborations, and global recognition, Tyler was deep in addiction, alcohol, pills, and a lifestyle that nearly destroyed everything. While producing reality TV shows like Survivor and Fear Factor, his life spiraled into a breaking point that led to a jungle disappearance, jail in Africa, and ultimately rehab.
What followed wasn't overnight change. It was years of relapse, rebuilding, and finally a complete reset: faith, service, and nearly five years of sobriety.
Today, Tyler is not only a working artist with global collaborations (TOMS, Aviator Nation, Ferrari), but also someone dedicated to recovery, honesty, and purpose through his "Punk Rock Sober" mission.
This is a conversation about addiction, identity, creativity, faith, and what it actually takes to rebuild your life from nothing.
Transcript
Made from YouTube's automatic captions and lightly corrected, so a few words and names may be off. Click a time to play the video from there.
Ken Rideout
Tyler Ramsey, welcome to the show.
Tyler Ramsey
Hey, brother. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to meet you.
Ken Rideout
First artist ever. I am a huge art fan, but not an art snob. I think when people start telling me their interpretation of art, they kind of lose me. I look I like, "Hey, I like this painting. I don't need to know how you interpret how it fits into the art world." I just love it.
Tyler Ramsey
I know what I like.
Ken Rideout
Exactly.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. I know what I like. There's plenty of us are just Look, I know what I like. I'm not even into discussing it. I just know what I like and it clicks instantly.
Ken Rideout
I know enough to be dangerous and I'm staying with a friend. I won't say who, but I'm staying in his house and he's renting the house furnished and I go, "Dude, is that a [ __ ] Rothko painting? Please tell me that that's not a real Rothko." He's like, "You know what's funny? It is." And I was like, "Dude, come on." And it's a it's an insane story, but like that's an example where if I told my wife, she'd be like, "How do you know a Mark Rothko painting?
I'm not like an art collector. I'm not like wealthy enough to have that kind of art, but I I have a weird like ability to me to remember things. Yeah.
Like high-end women's handbags. We don't have them. We don't collect them. My wife's not into that. But I'll tell her like, "Oh, look at that girl. She's got a Birkin bag and pay less shoes. It makes no sense." And she'd be like,
"How the [ __ ] do you know either one of those things?" And I'm like, "I don't know. It's a blessing and a curse." And the same thing with art. I couldn't tell you anything about Mark Rothko or Jasper John's, but you see the painting and I'm like, "Oh, look. Wow, they have an incredible art collection."
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
So, coming in here, I'm just like I'm on system overload. My My senses are exploding with all the color.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. The the In case the audience doesn't know, the context is this. We're in a We're in a really big space and every pretty much every inch is covered with art.
Ken Rideout
All bright colors.
Tyler Ramsey
All bright colors.
Ken Rideout
Neon signs. It's It's stunning.
Tyler Ramsey
Even my black and white I would still describe as bright colors.
Ken Rideout
I would agree with that.
Tyler Ramsey
It pops. Rothko though, he p he's he creates an easy target. If so, if you're going to pick out a painting, Rothko is a is a is easier than most to pick out. That's fair.
And which is the genius of it, I think. Same with Jackson Pollock. Like the genius of it.
Um and then what's interesting is Picasso went through like seven different phases. Yes. Still, you could always tell Picasso Miro. I think Maro is like I Miro is one of my favorite artists of all time and I just love the like the little almost childish delights in it. But um Rothko, that's like the man.
Ken Rideout
Who's the pointist? Go go goan go
Tyler Ramsey
Pisaro is a pointalist. Uh, and I think that your um the the pointless piece that everyone really knows is and I hope I'm not butchering which artist it is, but it's it's in a movie Ferris Beller's Day Off. Yes.
And and he and C that guy his buddy Cameron goes into the Chicago the Art Institute of Chicago as mesmerized by I think it's called Sunday Walk in the Park. Yes. And he and he's he just sees it and he and he goes in further and further and further. That's one of the main reasons like one of the big more impactful things that has that I've responded to as an artist that I just like wow.
Ken Rideout
Do you know an artist called Will Cotton?
Tyler Ramsey
Will Cotton? No. Huh.
Ken Rideout
He paints like Candycape art. He did. If if you know Katy Perry had an album cover where she's laying kind of nude in a cotton candy cloud. It's like a pink cloud. But people who know Katy Perry won't know this. But anyway, he I've just been following him. His stuff's too expensive for me. Like he would paint a model in his studio life real model with a like with a wedding cake on her head for instance and he would mock it up and paint it. It's really like
Whimsical and cool but it's it's gotten very expensive. But I just I just love it. He's one art pop artist or
Tyler Ramsey
So a realist painter. Yes. But then he sets up these
Ken Rideout
He creates the settings in his studio like nude nude models in like candyland settings really like fun and but in a lot of ways it's like a lot like this in the sense that it's really bright colors and really captivating and I just I just love it. I love everything about art but I feel completely unqualified. Like if I go in a gallery, I always feel like I always feel like the gallerist is kind of looking down their nose at me like if I'm not there to drop a hundred grand, they're like it's like going into Prada.
Tyler Ramsey
They're like
Does galleries galleries are awful for art.
Ken Rideout
Yes.
Tyler Ramsey
Mostly.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
They there's such a weird vibe that happens. One I mean you have to respect the fact that there art galleries generally don't get a lot of visitors. They don't get a lot of foot traffic. Yeah. So these people are sort of um antisocial because of the fact I they're just they're a lot of times they are usually given a series of like they're normally it's like they're probably they spend half the day cold calling. Yeah.
On the you know emails and everything and then and then the the the the employees and then once someone comes in they don't want to seem too eager eager and they don't want to they want to seem as if it's important. I mean it's a real dance. It's a real dance
Ken Rideout
And they almost act a bit snobbish if you're not an art connoisseur and they start interpreting the painting for you and start telling you what you should be looking for and I'm like [ __ ] I got eyes. I can see what this thing. It's like a real estate broker saying look at the view. The view is stunning. I'm like don't tell me anything else. Like I'm not blind. I can see what kind of like baseboard it has. I can see the view. Like
Stop selling. Let me look. Let me appreciate it. So, sorry if I'm boring everyone with my art uh my art um diet tribe. Um we were connected via my dear friend Rob Moore and Andrew Huberman Friends PL Legends.
Tyler Ramsey
Legends.
Ken Rideout
We were connected through Legends.
That's right. So, I was I'm in LA doing some stuff promotion stuff for my book. And I said to Rob, who first person comes to your mind, I need a great guest for the podcast. And Rob said, Tyler Ramsey. And you're going to love him. He's he knows I like art. He's like, "If you're interested in some of the stuff that we discussed while I was with him," he's like, "You have to have Tyler." And I was like, "Set it up." And I just for the audience, like, and what I told you,
I don't enjoy interviews when it's so obvious that the the interviewer has overprepared and I and they could I could almost tell you everything about the guest before I get there. Like, oh, like I don't want to my my goal isn't to impress people with my intellect, milk, how prepared I am. My goal in this podcast is for people to learn about you the same way I'm learning like two guys having a conversation. I know enough about you to be dangerous and now I want to hear from your mouth what the talking points that I've heard which are effing crazy.
Let's get into your background. Where'd you grow up?
Tyler Ramsey
Tulsa, Oklahoma. I sp I spent most of my uh formative years growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and which was a killer place to grow up.
I was born in San Francisco.
Yeah. only spent a little bit of time there. And uh my family moved to Oklahoma City because of uh oil. And at a really young age, I was like in second grade, my um father shot himself in the head.
He was a Vietnam vet.
There was just like a kind of a tornado of events that that came together and he shot himself in the head. He had PTSD from Vietnam. He just saw all kinds of He had two purple hearts. Saw tons of action. too much and he couldn't get a lot of the images out of his head. It was really rough on him and he was going through a divorce and he was drinking and he was cleaning his guns and all that stuff together just created a situation where he was able to act impulsively and shot himself in the head in the brain and but he lived through it and he was mangled as a result.
Um but he was intact emotionally and intellectually which is really wild but physically he had um handicaps similar to what a stroke victim would have. So he wasn't the same father figure that I kind of was expecting at you know in second grade but but I had a a relationship with with him that was lovely but suicide is something that runs in my family. his brother later on killed himself, didn't want to make the same mistake, shot himself in the heart with a shotgun. And both of these two guys were so wildly charismatic.
And for a long time, I had this uh really kind of, you know, thing where I always felt like I was supposed to kind of have an live an exciting life. so exciting that it would be enough for for two people because I always felt I I could just kind of sense that I in some ways he was it was never expressed to me but I thought if he is trying to live through the things that I'm going to go through since he was kind of cut short I want to make him interesting.
So it was like a really motivating thing for me for a long time.
Ken Rideout
For a kid in the second grade this must have been like overwhelmingly difficult to understand. And there's no way you could comprehend that. And
Tyler Ramsey
No, it was it was it mean it was a horrible thing. I didn't even I didn't I didn't even come close to understanding what the deal was for years. Um and my parents or I should say my mother um she I think this was probably the best thing, but for the longest time she sort of explained it. There was this accident that occurred. Yeah. And there was some other things where it's like even, you know, there was like fighting that was happening and all kinds of other stuff.
And I for the longest time I thought I I just I don't really even know what was the true part of the story or what wasn't. And I would if God forbid if anything happened, I would probably do the sort of
Give my kids an explanation that they could handle for the moment. Yeah. But it was but it be but it became confusing for me for a while because I didn't really understand exactly what was going on. It's terrible. It was like then I started lashing out really l like I had the stepdad that was just rough. He was a super cool guy great parent but it was like Oklahoma and if there was an issue he just kind of roughed it up until it stopped. I just was filled with like rage and I was it was difficult.
It was difficult for my whole family.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, that's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that.
Tyler Ramsey
And they handled it really they handled it as best they could. And in hindsight, I think they handled it really well.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. And then in what age were you when you moved to LA?
Tyler Ramsey
Second I graduated from college. I I raced to LA.
Ken Rideout
Where did you go to college?
Tyler Ramsey
I went to SMU in Dallas.
Ken Rideout
Oh wow.
Tyler Ramsey
School.
Yeah. The best.
Ken Rideout
Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?
Tyler Ramsey
I always knew that I wanted to tell I actually there was a period of time where I thought I wanted to work in on Wall Street. Spent a couple summers there. Spent enough time to realize that want to do that.
And uh but so I always wanted to tell stories. When I came out here, I thought I was going to be a screenwriter
And wrote some screenplays and uh wrote a screenplay with a buddy. got optioned and it and and then it it oh we just got we just got like led along and along and it was kind of a heartbreaking experience but there's something that sucks about screenwriting and about dude you wrote a book it there's so you wouldn't know this there's something that's also just writing in general I best case scenario you can hand something some someone something to read yeah
It takes a crapload of a long time for them to read it
They're usually going to go somewhere. I all of the period of time that they go somewhere and I'm waiting to get feedback, I'm thinking the worst and it's I'm it's just killing. I mean, emotionally, writing was not for me.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
And uh visual arts, I can just show someone what I'm into immediately. Uh but to make money for the longest time, I I produced and directed reality TV shows. I directed a bunch of stuff for MTV.
You ever heard of a show called Making the Video? It's killer. I make Is it like making the band?
I also worked on making the band
Ken Rideout
With Did he?
Tyler Ramsey
With Did he? I
Ken Rideout
He didn't go to any of his parties, did he?
Tyler Ramsey
I didn't, dude. Jeez. Um
Although Although I would have like if I was in,
Ken Rideout
Dude, who wouldn't?
A lot of these things when they talk about these people like uh I mean, I don't want to compare anyone to Epstein, but like you know, people like, "Oh, he was there. He sent an email like for the longest time." I mean, until he was arrested the first time, like he was in connection with like presidents all over the world. I mean, it's not like it's just funny how people rewrite history like look at this guy. Like, dude, he was coorting with presidents. Of course, people were trying to get in his good graces.
I mean, when you start people sucking up to him and their emails get exposed, that looks a little bit silly, but um
Tyler Ramsey
If he was like, "Hey, I want to talk to you about commissioning a piece of artic." What do you need?
Ken Rideout
Yeah. And dude, even with Diddy, like I mean, until this until all this stuff went down, the whole thing seems a little fishy. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but anyone would have gone to a Diddy party. Hey, Diddy's having his white party. Hell yeah. Go. There probably people selling tickets on the black market.
But um
Tyler Ramsey
There was one year where I had a friend that was invited and he ended up taking this girl instead and I thought he was going to he was my buddy. I thought we were going to go together. So pissed. So pissed. And uh yeah, dude. It was like the place to be.
Ken Rideout
How was recording the show? cuz he looked like an real [ __ ] at times on the show to the contest. And I know some of it's acting, but
Tyler Ramsey
No, no, it's not. It wasn't acting. Is it wasn't acting and you make everyone wait forever for a hundred years all the time.
Ken Rideout
Isn't it funny how you run into I I I've worked with some like clinically narcissistic people when you know that they're intentionally being dicks and making people wait and they're like, "Yeah, I'm important." And it's like, have you never had any karma hit you in the ass? like where you're like, "Oh, I was a jerk to that person uh in high school or college." And then I run into them and they're in a position of authority and it's like I get the favor gets returned. These people, some of these people, they they seem to think that nothing's ever going to come back to him.
Like like as an example, Diddy just being nasty to people to be nasty. Keeping the production anytime I've worked on any kind
Tyler Ramsey
Taking his girl down the hallway.
Ken Rideout
Oh, that was [ __ ] up. I mean that's that's like I mean that's next level. That's a [ __ ] psychopath. He deserves everything he got for that. I'm saying
Not even pimp slaps, but kicking her down the hall of her. I'm talking when people know that there's a a crew waiting a crew waiting for you. Like I've recorded some commercials and some other stuff and people have come to my house to like record content. I'm like, "Guys, what do you need from me?" And they're like, "Oh, no, no. Like, we're good. We'll set up." I go, "Dude, we're a team. We're doing this together. Like, no one I'm on the camera, but no one's more important than anyone else.
The [ __ ] guy holding the light is just as important as the person in front of the camera." Of course,
That's at least the attitude. I'm not trying to be like, "Look at me. I'm the nicest guy." But it's the truth. I've been holding that [ __ ] light. And I don't want people treating me badly.
Tyler Ramsey
Well, they say hurt. What is the phrase? Hurt people. Hurt people. So, normally it I I most of the time it's not someone that's just been coddled that's that treats someone crappy. It's someone that has been bullied or treated or been, you know, in the trenches. They [ __ ] ate a bunch of [ __ ] Yeah.
And all of a sudden, they decide someone else is going to eat a bunch. I You know what? One, this is something I'm sort of embarrassed for. I it while I was in school at SMU, I was in a fraternity and there was hazing.
Ken Rideout
Oh, they're crazy.
Tyler Ramsey
And I got hazed worse than for whatever I think I was entertaining to Hayes. Yeah.
And and I was just I mean at one point I was like giving up a ton of acid, locked in a crawl space under a house, [ __ ] beaten, and then let And it's like all these like near blackouts active just went [ __ ] crazy on me. It was crazy. So when it was my turn to haze, instead of thinking, "Oh, I know what it's like and it's not fun. I'm going to be cool to people." I wasn't like that.
I was like a maniac.
Ken Rideout
Oh my god.
Tyler Ramsey
I hate
Ken Rideout
And especially those southern schools, too. They're a little bit extra crazy, I think.
Tyler Ramsey
Oh, we we were expelled from campus permanently for hazing, fighting, all kinds of stuff.
But it was a great time.
Ken Rideout
So, on the on the set of Making the Band, Diddy was a dick to everyone.
Dude, he he was intolerable. He was he just his his ego and his attitude is not not made up. And this is what happens, man, when you [ __ ] enough people and then you get on the wrong side of like a situation like that, no one has any sympathy for you because no matter what you think of him
In in our legal system, you're innocent until proven guilty. Meaning theoretically, everyone should be entitled to bail. Cuz until you go through that trial, you're considered innocent. So when they hold you without bail,
You are [ __ ] And the fact that he was held without bail and then was found innocent by the jury is crazy. I mean, you know, he was convicted of something, but he was facing like 65 years. If he got less than, you know, four years, that's crazy. But then you would go
Tyler Ramsey
I think he also he was such an escape risk.
Ken Rideout
That's what they were saying. But I don't I mean, if the government wants you here, you ain't going anywhere.
Tyler Ramsey
I don't know why he didn't escape before. I mean because he anyone any anyone know I mean if just the jury I assume they got I didn't really follow the trial but any anyone that ever saw him kicking that chick down the hallway would be like I don't care what you're here for.
Ken Rideout
By the way he wasn't he wasn't even charged with that wasn't domestic abuse he was charged the real charges were like uh you know interstate transport of um uh human trafficking. So the the domestic abuse charge wasn't even a thing. It was like Yeah, he domestically abused that girl, but the charges were Anyway, the guy's a [ __ ] lunatic. So he got no sympathy from anyone. But um you went on to do was it Survivor?
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. So I So So like when I was getting good at directing and producing and working in reality TV, reality TV was opening up and and exploding. And it was a situation where I was at the right place at the right time and I could feel it like I knew that I was it was like it was a moment and sometimes you can be in the moment and not really be aware like this is a mo I was aware of it and the opportunities were all over the place and so I worked on Survivor.
I worked on Fear Factor. I worked
Ken Rideout
With Rogan.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
I love Joe Rogan. He's my friend.
Tyler Ramsey
I was casting the show. So So Joe Rogan was in production. Yeah, I was I was um on a casting team traveling the country finding people. We and it was before the internet. So I would like have these open calls at like a bar in like uh Florida and it would just I would and I would interview hundreds of like the hottest people in town
With hundreds of people. Like how do you pick one? Dude, it was normally in one we would go to a city and we would end up with about two um episodes worth of people. So, it's like, you know, 12.
Ken Rideout
What would you be looking for? Was there anything that someone said where you were like if anyone comes in and says uh Rumble still skin, they're in
Tyler Ramsey
Goodlooking moxy. No one was ever like black, white, anything like that. You know, they wanted a diverse team of course.
So, you just you don't want everyone to look the same. So you kind of want to and you know charact you want someone come in and character dude it's the best job ever. I could sit down with someone and go hey what's up douchebag and one out of every 15 would come back at me and be like who do you think you're talking to and I'd be like that's what we're looking for.
Ken Rideout
If someone said to me I'd be like you want a [ __ ] smack.
Tyler Ramsey
You would be chosen. You would be chosen. That's what we wanted.
Ken Rideout
That's awesome. So okay. So, if someone were going for a casting right now for a reality show along those lines, what's like two or three tricks you could tell them like, "Make sure you do XYZ." Just from your experience, top of your head, what what should I do? I'm going for an interview for a new survivor show.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Okay. So, the first thing you should do is like identify there are things that are different about you than other the other people around you and you need to make sure that in an a minute or two that you get those across.
Okay? And you need to do it without fronting a personality that's not you because that's just going to seem phony.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
So, and if you don't know what's different about you, then don't even bother with the experience. Gotcha.
And it's like we're both grown-ups and like we've lived our whole lives. And if you haven't figured that out, then um I don't know, do some more work on yourself.
Yeah. Um and if that's too complicated, um then tell them why you want to be on the show and just have a great time with it. And
So those two things feel like they're not really direct and it's not but they those are actually the keys that will get you on.
Ken Rideout
Gotcha.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
While you're casting this, you had a extensive career with drugs and alcohol.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
And this while you're working in reality TV, are you still in the throws of like party life addiction?
Tyler Ramsey
Dude, party life. It had turned from some it had actually changed from from party life to almost just something I was kind of managing maintenance and maintenance. You know, it's like the reason that I or one thing one one thing that got me like um it's difficult to make a a a jump from one position to another. And at one point um I went from being a crew guy to being someone that could interview people and and um direct people on camera. And it was because I spent um a year working for this internet company that uh I would produce and make my own videos and it was like it was kind of like a pre-YouTube.
Ken Rideout
Yep.
Tyler Ramsey
They just blew all their money too early otherwise I'd be a billionaire. It was amazing. It's called Low TV. And um I produced my own content. It was killer. And I would do extreme sports or I would interview celebrities. And I got the job because I was like on ecstasy at a Chemical Brothers concert. I was having such a good time and the CEO of the company was like, "Dude, you're fun as shit." And and it he's like, "What?" And we talked. He's like, "What? You have experience like in production?
We could use someone like you." So, I've had a lot of victories as a result of drugs. And I've had a lot
Ken Rideout
I feel the same way
Tyler Ramsey
In a lot of situations, parties, met people that were important to me like that that really helped me. A lot of this art that you see some I mean it's taken thousands and thousands and thousands of hours. Some of it I could never have done without mountains of aderall. And and and I I for a long time have been convinced that I needed drugs and alcohol to get everything done. Turns out to be the biggest lie I've ever told myself.
Ken Rideout
That's drugs in general are a big lie. What was your drug of choice?
Tyler Ramsey
I love mountains of aderal and I I I like to to get it from like seven different sources. like seven the the the month supply of several seven or eight different people. I'd go through.
Ken Rideout
The crazy thing is they have like a database now. You can't get a controlled drug from like more than one doctor cuz they can see nationally who's prescribed.
Tyler Ramsey
It got harder and harder as I went along, but I could buy it from someone else.
Yeah, of course. So, uh, and then I loved, um, all pills. Xanax was Viking, any anything I could get my hands on, all pills. But alcohol was the thing that really caused me a lot of wreckage. You know, something traumatic would happen. I'd have a DUI. I get into a car crash. I'd break my face. I' um, you know, something really terrible would happen and I and it would cause me to stop. But then what would bring me back is that I would tell myself I needed to take start taking Xanax again to for a deadline or something and then I need to come down eventually.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
And so then and and you know the pill some kind of pill wouldn't be enough or some and it would I'd get back into alcohol.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
And even though it was it it was I can't tell you how much money I spent crashing my car crashed my car so many times. I'm so ashamed at how many times I've got behind a wheel drunk. I'm so ashamed of it. I It's It has never hurt anybody. Thank God.
Ken Rideout
Thank God is right. But that's part of the uh whole addiction cycle is like living in a constant shame storm.
Tyler Ramsey
It's the other thing that keeps you in.
Ken Rideout
I tell people like it was so bad. Like imagine I was like a really welladjusted like normal young guy. I was very confident. I played a lot of sports. I had high self-esteem. So to think that I would end up contemplating ending my own life to get out of the hell that I was in is just insane. But that's how much havoc drugs and alcohol re not alcohol really drugs. I didn't even care for drinking but I would like you. I could find a drug for anything man.
I'm smx anxiety. Uh okay Xanax ambient. Uh I need to get high aderall but my drug of choice was um opioids. So like percoet, fentinyl, oxycontton, anything.
Tyler Ramsey
Dude, all the good ones.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. But I had prescriptions for everything. Like I mean at one point my wife was like, "Why do you have prescriptions for Adderall, Xanax, and Percoet?" And I'm like, "Oh, different things. If I need to study, you know, I would make up a crazy line of bullshit." And it was crazy in hindsight to listen to myself, but my wife didn't have experience with addiction and drugs like that. So it sounded reasonable to her. Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
So you're working on Survivor. Yeah, I was working on Survivor and and I' I've worked on three seasons of Survivor and I think it's the be I think it is the best show on television. I watch it with my kids. You you have amazing conversations with kids about like the psychological interactions between the contestants and the Anyway, I was in Gabon, Africa working on a season.
Ken Rideout
Oh, that's what I was going to ask you. Where in Africa? Where is Gabon?
I mean, I'm really good with geography. And is it is it bottom left?
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Yeah, bottom left. Okay. But I'm left more a little bit west coast.
Ken Rideout
Ivory Coast.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Around there.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
And then I also spent time in a country called Southame Africa. Africa which is also the west coast and it's an island.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
It's the smallest country in the world.
Ken Rideout
I never even heard of it and I'm like good with jobs.
Tyler Ramsey
It's Portuguese colony. Killer. It's cool as hell.
But so I was I went with a group of contestants that had been kicked off. Like they there was something called sequestering. Yeah. They go sequester room and they're just like, "Dude, keep these kids happy. Keep these people happy."
Ken Rideout
Oh, so you were basically overseeing the crew that had been kicked off the island.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Okay. And pro this is the third season or was this your first season? Is
Tyler Ramsey
This is the third season? And I had already decided that I didn't need I was like I'm I'm a professional artist. So I deal wasn't taking it professionally as seriously as when I had way more responsibilities on
Where were the first two seasons? Uh the first season was in uh the Marcesus Islands and the second season was in uh the Amazon.
Ken Rideout
Oh, damn.
Tyler Ramsey
You know what's funny is those
Ken Rideout
In trees,
Those localals sound exotic and sexy to people, but having been on like production sets, there's nothing fun going on. It's like incredibly hard work. Everyone is grinding all the time. People snapping and barking. It's reminds me of like a chef show where like a kitchen show where everyone's like screaming and yelling quiet on the set. I'm like Jesus relax everybody.
Tyler Ramsey
But reality TV there's one thing that's awesome which is there's a camaraderie that develops because everyone is it's like a bunch of people on a fishing boat.
Everyone's looking for the to for the big story.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
And when you get it it's it's like a high and so like
Amongst the cast or the crew. amongst the crew.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
Like, you know, so you set all this stuff up, you got the perfect group, you put it together, and when things pop story-wise, when when a season pops, you can all feel it. Yeah.
And the camaraderie on a set of a reality show that's going well is killer.
Ken Rideout
Are the crew drinking at these things or is there no drinking allowed?
Tyler Ramsey
There's no drinking during work.
Ken Rideout
No, no, but I mean at night.
Tyler Ramsey
Oh, yeah. Major blowing off steam.
Oh, okay. Okay. But I went in on this um I hadn't I had had a period of where I wasn't really drinking and then I the second I got on an airplane I was like I'm not I'm not an alcoholic in Africa that doesn't exist and and went on this like really hardcore just drinking non-stop.
Jesus. And and then I was ex, you know, I was kind of dealing with this group of contestants and they had just been kicked off. So they were all in party mode.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
And this is Ingabone. So this is season 3. You're on you're on a bender. You're drinking all the You're drinking every day. And they send you during the day
And they send you with the cast offs to a separate island where you're not recording. You're just monitoring these kids. But they can't send him home because the show's recording and they don't want people to know, oh, Joe got kicked off, so we know he ain't winning. Yep.
Okay. And now what's going on there? Are people like
Tyler Ramsey
We're partying
Ken Rideout
But no one's like hey how can I get back on this show or are people like I blew my shot to be a reality
Tyler Ramsey
Steve? We're all partying. One of them got one of them's super depressed and I have to deal with that a little bit but for the most part we are partying okay
And having a freaking good time and I developed this like thing with this beautiful contestant. I'm like I thought I was like in love with her immediately and and I and and when I got there the other dudes were like we got this mapped out. We are all after this one girl. And I was like yeah good luck. What I forgot is like these people have been chosen amongst thousands of people because they see everything.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
And they could they figured out that we had a thing going on and they told on me. I I like got told on. So, I got this call from production. Hey dude, are you having like a thing with a contestant and they're like, "We did something happen in these bushes." Like, nothing happened in these bushes. Was in the ocean. And and because of this technical confusion, I didn't like fess up. I was like, "You're you got the wrong guy." And instead of really taking any responsibility, I decided to just like disappear.
And I like ran off into this into this jungle. And I found this dude, this like translator. And I was like I was acting like such a child. Like I'm gonna go I'm going to run away and go missing. And then they'll they're going to have to look for the missing crew guy and they'll be sorry. And I found this guy help me around translator. Turns out that guy was wanted for abductions. The guy that I hired me a man.
No. Was he wanted for abducting men or women? I don't know who he was wanted for abducting. I just know that he was
Ken Rideout
I'm confused. So you run off into the jungle on this African island.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Like ran away.
Ken Rideout
Okay. So you run away like I'm a big baby. I'm not going to deal with this and they'll all see that they shouldn't have f with me and somehow they're going to be like
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. They'll be sorry.
Ken Rideout
Okay. And now explain to me. You're in the jungle and you run into a stranger like a [ __ ] bush person.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Like like a strange local guy.
And where's he? Okay. But he's living in a house. He's not living out in the bush.
He wasn't living. He's kind of like a street kid.
Okay.
Ken Rideout
And is it a city setting or are you out in the It's like a little town, a village.
Tyler Ramsey
Little town to say it's a city. It's let's call it a village.
Ken Rideout
A village. Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
It's village. It's all very village.
Ken Rideout
I'm just imagine you out in the out in like the African bush and you come across a guy like living in a tree. He's like, "Hey,
Tyler Ramsey
Think more jungly."
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
But I mean, you're kind of right. Okay. Found this guy. And I'm like, "Dude, can I You speak English? No one speaks English here. Will you help? I'm I want to stay hidden for like a week. I mean, I need to get some stuff. Will you help me?
Ken Rideout
While you're doing this,
Tyler Ramsey
I I had stolen a backpack full of vodka from our place I was standing. Drinking all the time. Making terrible decisions.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, I'd say
Tyler Ramsey
Making awful decisions.
Ken Rideout
This is This is awesome. I had no idea you like ran away
Tyler Ramsey
Like a child. So, in the meantime, Survivor is panicking. Oh, they're freaking out. And the girl my who is now by I should say my wife. I've married this woman
And we have kids together. We have a great family. So, she even wants to go looking for me. So, she goes missing for a while. It causes a serious like [ __ ] show. So, they send from By the way, we're in South Africa. They send a mercenary and like a psychologist to come figure out what's going on on like a huge plane. So, and that's happens. Eventually, my wife ended up going back and then she all kinds of trouble, but I stayed hidden for a while, but eventually I needed more alcohol.
And so we came up, we me and my translator popped our heads up into this village and uh they immediately everyone was talking. It's like the only white guy in town and there was kind of an APB find this white guy and they found me and they asked the guy that I was with some questions. I couldn't understand anything and they got really pissed off and they ended up taking us to a jail in the town.
Ken Rideout
translator drinking with you? Are you guys trying to score drugs?
Tyler Ramsey
He's not drinking with me. I've given him some money.
Ken Rideout
Oh, he's trying to milk you for money.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Is But he's Is he being nice to you or is he plotting?
Tyler Ramsey
He's being super cool.
Ken Rideout
Oh, he's just he's to him. It's novel, right? Oh, I'm hanging out with an American guy in the freaking No Man's Land Africa.
Tyler Ramsey
This is the weirdest situation that's ever happened to me. Yeah, it's so weird. And and um I also stole like a tuna tuna salad sandwich and I gave him half of it. He ate it. It was like it was as if he was the best food he'd ever have in his whole life.
Ken Rideout
And where are you guys sleeping?
Tyler Ramsey
We stayed. It was it was a really short time, but we we um they kind of just passed out in this jungle on the ground as soon as we popped up these kind of these cops found me and and they put us in this van after some questioning and we went to this like little jail and I I didn't know what was going on. And then finally the mercenary that survivor had sent had showed up at the jail and was like, "Hey man." And by this time I had sobered up because I was in this little jail and I was like so sorry.
I was so sad. I love Mark Burnett who's the EP of the show. I think he's great.
Ken Rideout
When he finally talked to you, was he like, "Dude, what are you doing?"
Tyler Ramsey
I thought I didn't even talk to him for a while. He was so pissed.
Ken Rideout
But I did talk I ran into him. But you were senior enough on the show that you were in in in communication with the main man whereas you could easily be like
Tyler Ramsey
I was in communication with the executive producer.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
He was like, "Dude, just get some help."
And they they had me go back with the psychiatrist and the mercenary and go directly to rehab
In America. That's what the agreement was.
Ken Rideout
Okay. And had you been to rehab before?
Tyler Ramsey
And I've run into Mark Burnett at like a we ran into him at like a charity function. He was awesome. He was so cool. I was like, "We're married.
Ken Rideout
It was worth it.
Tyler Ramsey
I'm in I'm sober. Hey." And he was so nice. He I think the dude is the ultimate class act.
Ken Rideout
So, when you went when you came back from that stint in Africa and go to rehab, is that your first experience in rehab?
Tyler Ramsey
That was my first experience in rehab and it and it really it took it was great and it took for a long time. It kept me from drinking for a long time. But what happened is I went in there just thinking my only issue was that I can't drink and that eventually turned into aderall and pills to come down and then it became then when I want to have fun I can take what is it Molly or something like that. And then eventually I needed alcohol to squash all of those when I needed to go to sleep.
And so that was the first time I I ended up having a DUI later, a couple years later. Um ran into a tree and then that caused me to go to rehab again and I did the same thing. I just was like, I just can't drink. Finally, my wife gave me an ultimatum. like, "Dude, you have I'm going to give you a third time and this is it." And I went to this hardcore like Christianbased recovery center and it was the wor it was the most difficult program and it worked and stuck.
Ken Rideout
Hold on. Explain to me what was when you say it was the most difficult program for people that don't have experience with addiction or treatment centers. What made it difficult and um harsh?
Tyler Ramsey
The previous rehab places that I've been were only for 30 days. One of them we'd spend the day jet skiing
And you know we'd go to therapy and everything but I love jet skis. So that wasn't a big problem.
Ken Rideout
Love jet skiis. That reminds me of Kenny Powers from Eastbound and Down.
Tyler Ramsey
Great character.
And then the other w was it was in Betty. It was at Betty Ford in the desert. It's a delightful place to get silver.
Ken Rideout
It's so funny those places almost advertising for like repeat customers like guys it isn't that bad here you get a nice 28 day break people feel sorry for you I always think that like
Send someone to like boot camp
Tyler Ramsey
For third place was like boot camp
Ken Rideout
Okay
Tyler Ramsey
Betty Ford is sincere and it should have worked but I did not have the attitude of get off everything first place was joke I hate to my mom will watch this and be so mad that that she sent she wasted the energy sending me to a place But the jet ski place was not going to work.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
But man,
Ken Rideout
So the harsh place, the Christian rehab center. And I want to talk to you about your faith journey. Were had you been religious growing up or previous to this stint in rehab?
Tyler Ramsey
I had had been introduced I I I would go to church growing up.
Ken Rideout
What church?
Tyler Ramsey
Christian Science. Okay.
Christian Do you know anything about Christian Science?
Ken Rideout
You know what? I I've I've been talking about this on different shows. I talked about it recently with Nick Bear that I'm starting my kind of faith journey and I'm just like exploring and honestly I think when I see people that are living a good Christian what you would call a good Christian life they have something that I want and some level of peace that I don't have and I've resisted it for a super long time and you know I'll be honest to a certain extent I almost feel like some religious people that are super religious it feels culty to me but at the end of the day
If the cults, if the only downside is that they're kind and yeah, they're culty and they're into their religion, but it all ends with like super kindness. And I tease my Mormon friends about this. I'm like, if you just describe the religion to me, no offense to anyone, it sounds crazy.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
But I don't know a Mormon person that I don't admire. And I I'm serious. They're successful. I think of Mitt Romney. I think the ones that I know, and someone's probably going to be like, I know a Mormon guy who sucks. I know a person of every religion that sucks. Yeah. But the point is, say it, I say it with incredible like humility and kindness. Some of it feels culty. So, I've resisted,
But my wife takes my children and I feel like I'm missing something. And when I told people that I'm exploring this, Tyler, the level of love and kindness that I have received from people, an effing pastor came and had lunch with me. I all I wanted to do is like, "Tell me how you set up your church. How does it work financially? What's your incentive?" And he was like, "Yeah, here's it." And he's like, "Yeah, I spent time in prison for uh smoking crystal meth, selling crack, doing heroin, doing this, doing that.
I turned my life around. Turned my life over to Jesus. I've never been better. Here's how my church works. We raise this much money. I take this salary. It's all accounted for. Yes, I have a house. The the church has paid this this." But I just went through a whole breakdown. I'm like, "What's the incentive? And what I realized, he's like, "Listen, I don't want anything from you. I want to help you find Jesus. I want to." And he sent me a bunch of books on Amazon the next day.
He's like, "Don't read at all. Don't feel compelled. Here are highlight markers. Read what you like. Read a word. Read a page. Take your time. When you need or want me to come back, I'll come back. Sit down with you. I'm not trying to sell you anything. I don't want anything from you. I just want you to explore finding Jesus. That's my job in life. being of service to other people like like recovery. So
That's a bit of a background about where I am on the journey. So I'm starting to explore it and I'm like super interested and my youngest son I'm going to get emotional saying this. My youngest son said I went to church with them Sunday this past Sunday. We have I have an Ethiopian daughter and um
Tyler Ramsey
Oh wow.
Ken Rideout
And we have a very diverse neighborhood and and there's some wonderful black families there.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
I grew up in a very diver a very racist place in South Boston. There was nothing nice. I didn't grow up in South Boston, but I grew up in Somerville. But South Boston is famous for the busing, forced busing. Okay. So, it was very segregated, but I never felt like racial tendencies, but racism was a huge thing when I was a kid. So, when we moved when we move Yeah. Exactly.
Exactly. So, when we moved to Nashville, I will tell you that one of my concerns as like
What I like to think is like a pretty like normal guy. I'm like, man, my daughter is going to get to college and like, she really doesn't know black culture cuz we're friends with a lot of black families and I can tell you
That when enough black people are together and I'm the odd man out, they I know there are things that like a white person just isn't going to know about things that go on in their house, like cultural things, no big deal.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
And my biggest fear is my daughter gets to college and people are like, "Yo, this girl doesn't know whether to [ __ ] or go blind. She's completely out of the loop. She doesn't know any TV like the TV shows we watch. And in telling some of the families in our neighborhood this that my concerns cuz they're my buddies and they're like, "Dude, we got you." And they help me with like they're not overbearing. They're not pandering. They're not patronizing. They're just like, "So, they invited us to one of them invite one of the families invited us to church Sunday and I was like, I'm into it.
Let's go. The whole family there. By the way, we're the only white people there. No big deal. People couldn't be nicer to us."
After 90 minutes, I was like, "Yo." I'm looking at my wife like, "Yo, how long is this?" Like, "I'm going to faint. I haven't eaten."
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Two and a half hours later, I'm like, "Holy cow, it was great, but too long for me." And the people were super nice. But my when I was here,
Tyler Ramsey
My and my son said to my
Ken Rideout
What are you doing?
Singing. Everything was singing. It was great, but it was just too long for me. My son said to my wife and the whole point of this diet tribe is to say my youngest son said to my wife and she text me said Cameron said to her mom I'm really happy that dad is starting to get religious because I really want him to come to church with us and it really like touched me cuz I'm like that's something we can connect on because they don't really know much about religion in the Bible and one of the things I've been talking about is like where do I start?
Do I just open the Bible and just start reading? Is there like a protocol? Do I read this chapter, this book? So, the the pastor has been helping me like read these the read the books like Mark,
Tyler Ramsey
You know what I would do?
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
Uh if the story of David is one of the most in incredible stories in all of the world in my opinion.
Okay. Um, it's awesome to me that the one of the most broken uh, flawed men is one of the great champions of Christianity and and of the and it's someone that had an a like a an incredible love for God and had a direct relationship with God and still made some of the greatest mistakes of all time he had an affair with a with the wife of a friend of his and to cover it up he had the friend killed.
Ken Rideout
Good lord.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. The worst. And he was overcome with the guilt of that. And he was also overcome because he had disappointed um God who he loved more than anything else. But God describes this guy David as a man after his own heart. And he has he he has a special place for this one guy. So if you start reading about the experiences of this one man that has m made mistakes that are probably bigger than any mistakes that you'll go through and
I've definitely never had anyone killed. It's an incredible um way to see how cool it is to have a relationship with God to this this amazing loving incredible like the source of love who also is dying to have a relationship with each of us. and then even has this son Jesus who is the coolest dude and whatever you're doing he still loves you and forgives you and and so you so we each have the ability to always reach out to this best friend this person that all this this thing with whatever that always will love us with unconditionally no matter what we do and it's a source of love that never goes away diminishes and is there every time
Ken Rideout
we ask What do you say to the cynic who says, "Well, in that case, like why should I consider like if that guy made me angry, I'm going to punch him in his face and then I'll just say to Jesus, "Jesus, can you throw
Tyler Ramsey
Me forgiveness, please?" You can do that. You can you can you can even you can get forgiveness if you mean it. But it's like um if you really have a relationship with God and and you have that much love for God, you don't want you're you're not going to make choices that an [ __ ] would make
It because he's going to bring out the best in you.
So this guy that's just looking for a loophole, maybe that will help him develop a relationship with God, but he's not there yet if he's in the loophole mindset.
Ken Rideout
It's interesting how it's gone for me personally. Just it's been a very slow evolution. like it's something that I want,
But I've been lazy. I'm like, ah, I got to take the time to figure it out. I got this going on, that going on. But there is something
That's compelling me and pulling me closer. I literally feels like it's just inching up on me. And I'm sure the pastors and the people that follow me out there were like, "We're going to get him. We're going to get
A fish. We got a fish. I think we got
Tyler Ramsey
Fish on. Fish on." The whole idea of fish on is, I think, something that causes people that have found how wonderful it is to have a relationship with God to maybe get a little too to a little like
No one's been over when a salesman is trying to
Ken Rideout
I don't want to be sold.
Tyler Ramsey
Okay, you're pushing me away.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, I don't want to be sold. Just show me like give me some examples. And when this guy from Kentucky, like literally nothing in common with me from Kentucky doing crystal meth, like you can imagine like guy from Boston and a and a crystal meth user from Kentucky.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Like but but the dude came over to my house and I like I liked him. He answered all my crazy questions with like grace and wasn't like,
"Oh, this guy's like gonna test me here." He was just he loved it. The more like
Question the more in-depth I got about his business, the more he was like, "Yeah, this is how it works."
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. I think the only thing that really keeps the fish on is when someone else can just see that you're having a blast.
Ken Rideout
Yes. That's
Tyler Ramsey
Living with this spirit. It's like, but if you try to explain it.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
I've been a Burning Man. I think it's amazing. And when I try to convince someone of Burning Man, I usually push them. They're like, "I don't
Ken Rideout
Oh, you seem like you I've never been to Burning Man, but now like looking around and looking at you and kind of knowing a little bit about you, I'm like, "Oh, that you'd be a fun dude to go to Burning Man with because like
Tyler Ramsey
Blast sober." Honestly, it seems intimidating to me,
Dude.
Ken Rideout
I don't like being dirty. I don't I want to take a shower every night. I want to do the posh experience, but I do want to be out there on like
Tyler Ramsey
You just You just crushed a book. Use some of that money. Take go in style.
Ken Rideout
Oh, I'm not worried about the money. I'm just saying I don't want to go outside and get all covered in sand and dirt on it like big baby.
Tyler Ramsey
Listen, you get an RV. RV with a shower. Oh my god.
Ken Rideout
I like all the outfits though. They're crazy.
Tyler Ramsey
Oh my god. Love it.
So the the attitude is you just go whatever you would have the most fun wearing, wear that.
Ken Rideout
You ever see um certain movies like I'm I'm the furthest thing from a creative, but there is something visually appealing to me when I see cinematography that is moving. And I'll give you an example. Like obviously Mad Max would be one extreme. I just look at that. I'm like, dude, all I can think the whole time I keep stopping the movie driving my wife crazy. I'm like, look at the costumes.
Like who designed that? What psychopath picked that? They're they're a genius. And then I'll give you another example. Um, Hate the Hateful Eight by Quinton Tarantino where they're out in the de the mountains.
Tyler Ramsey
Magnificent.
Ken Rideout
I could watch that movie 55 times in a row and just look at the at the the the costumes. I'm like, dude, I love cowboy and Indian themes. I loved like the winter, the the fur a coat, all of it.
Tyler Ramsey
Mad Max is a specifically killer series of costumes and that is I I had this um like the the bad guy, I forget his name, but it's like the bad guy from Mad Mad Max that had the mohawk and the and the football shoulder pads. I had that outfit like it for Burning Man.
It's like felt so cool the whole time. I was like this is how I've always wanted to dress.
Ken Rideout
We went to my wife and I in Nashville went to a white party recently and I'm like what the heck? We get invited to a costume party and it's the white party like I want someone to do a cowboy and Indians themed party.
Tyler Ramsey
Jeez,
Ken Rideout
I love a good cowboy outfit.
Tyler Ramsey
Of course,
Ken Rideout
Dude. I bought a um I bought a western tuxedo fromRl Ralph Lauren. It's like a brownish suede. It's got a checker pattern on it and it's got a velvet lapel velvet stripe on the side. This thing is the most badass outfit. but I don't have the balls to wear it anywhere. Every time I think I'm gonna put on my western tuxedo tonight to go to this party and then I put it on with my boots and my wife's like, "That looks sick." And I'm like, "I don't have the guts.
I feel like I'm in a costume and I'm going to a party." And I'm like, "One of these days I'm going to put that sucker on." So, if anyone has a cowboy and Indian themed party coming up, please invite me.
Tyler Ramsey
I'm in. You got to throw one. Just throw one like the throw a party. The theme is western.
Ken Rideout
Just throw Just throw a party. So, sorry to get people sidetracked here, but I love having I love talking to guys like you where we can just riff on topics cuz I'm just having fun.
Tell me about the hardcore rehab, though. So, you go to the Christian rehab. Like, you you knew enough about religion to like understand what they're talking about. What happens when you get there for people that might be entertaining
Rehab?
Tyler Ramsey
Dude, they take all of your stuff and all it's like um I have no contact with the outside world. I've like I'm I'm allowed a phone call every month. They even to this place they took all your books, your iPad, all that stuff too,
Everything.
And like here's a Bible and here is uh another type of like here's like something that accompanies a Bible. And I was allowed the surrender experiment, a Bible. I was able to listen to um a few churchy albums. One of them was uh Kanye's uh he has a gospel album that is killer.
Ken Rideout
Really?
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
So interesting.
Tyler Ramsey
He used to be a hero of mine before he turned into this mega dick. Um
Ken Rideout
Do you think that he's a mega dick or do you think he's trying to get a reaction? Please don't tweet at me and [ __ ] come at me with vicious comments. I'm just asking a question like I feel like at times he might have mental health issues and then I feel at other times he's trying to get a reaction to people. I I completely disagree. like the Nazi [ __ ] I'm like, dude, you're just trying to be hurtful and now it's crazy.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah,
Ken Rideout
But go ahead.
Tyler Ramsey
I think that he maybe feels that just being a dick is sort of an art piece in itself. That's something he's wrapped his head around.
Ken Rideout
I guess I feel like he's lashing out like he's very very
Tyler Ramsey
Clearly has mental health issues. He also as a father couldn't it's like anyone that takes their beef into an online world is horrible if you ask me. Like I I think that it's there. He's he's just did enough where I I couldn't be more disappointed.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, I know. I mean, you can't support someone that even jokingly wears a uh a swast sticker. That's what I was like, dude, why are you doing this? It's okay to dislike people, but not generalize the whole group.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Like those people those you think those people screwed you,
Those six people that that company, then be against them. But you can't generalize against an entire religion because you're going to get hit trapnel into people that don't deserve it. And in every group, there's good and bad.
Tyler Ramsey
There's there's a an art exhibit or there's let's say there's an exhibit and it's about the experience of the people at the concert during that October 7th massacre. It's called the Nova exhibit. Um this guy Scooter Braun put it on.
Ken Rideout
Yes. Yes.
Tyler Ramsey
It's one of the And it's like
It's heavy. Yeah.
Heavy. And to say that I'm biased now is in such an understatement. So I just I mean it's like dude if you're gonna bag on the Jews in a time like this like [ __ ] you.
Yeah
Is my attitude.
Ken Rideout
No no no I'm with you.
Tyler Ramsey
Anyway I was able to listen to his album which was awesome. Really helpful. But you know I'm there with like there's like c this place they it's this really killer place. It's called the Los Angeles Dream Center and they'll let in criminals and people from host the street and all they they open their doors and they and they tell anyone if you want to follow these rules and kind of go through this very strict program we will house you and feed you for a year if you want
Ken Rideout
And it's free.
Tyler Ramsey
It's free. It's incredible.
Ken Rideout
Pretty intense rehab.
Tyler Ramsey
So intense. I had um donated art and had been really active and raising money for the place until I found myself like needing a rehab. My wife was just like these cushy places did not work for you. Go to this place. And I had so much guilt and I you know it's like I was so used to hiding this thing that from everyone and I don't like being around someone that hides stuff. I don't like be I'm not friends with liars. And so how so the idea I I just had lost all love of myself and I sat was in this bunk bed and below me was like a male prostitute named Princess Skittles that was there.
He just been got the [ __ ] kicked out of him from some situation and then a hardcore gang banger below him
Ken Rideout
Really.
Tyler Ramsey
And it was just like this really mly crew and someone came like by my bunk and they just go dude I'm some something's speaking to me. I think you need to forgive yourself. And he said this prayer over me. I said it with him. We kind of said this prayer together and the craziest thing happened. I forgave myself. And in that moment, I was just like, "Home boy." Like talking to Jesus like, "Homeboy, I'm down with you forever. Thank you for washing this off of me." And I was able to ask my wife for forgiveness.
And I was like, listen, I've I this hasn't just been a struggle of alcohol. It's been a struggle of everything. And so it's like it may I told myself it's like I'm not touching anything ever again. And I and I done that.
Ken Rideout
How long has it been?
Tyler Ramsey
Tomorrow will be five years.
Ken Rideout
Damn, dude. Congrats.
Tyler Ramsey
Thanks. I'm really proud of it.
Ken Rideout
That's awesome. You should be proud. I think getting sober. I like I'm on this book tour talking about all the different things that I've won. World championships, mega ultra races across Mongolia. And I tell everyone like definitely I'm proudest of like getting off those opioids. That was hell on earth and it was a waste of time. And it's still hard. It's hard now. I mean, every time something bad happens to me or something something anxietyridden happens, I'm like, "Oh, I just want to check out a reality for a few minutes, but it's never just a few minutes.
It just makes the situation worse cuz all I'm doing is prolonging the time that it's going to take me to fix whatever is going on." And maybe fixing is just simply absorbing and getting past it. And it takes a time. Takes time and it's a process. But by getting high, I've just prolonged it by a day of the freaking agony. And I've got the holes gotten a little deeper.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. My purpose for living now is being of service to other alcoholics and and because my kind of journey also is, you know, I've really been affected by my father's suicide and and and the mental health issues that go along with that. I have expanded my kind of passion to not just include addictions but just recovery of all kind. Um, and I found myself like a a new purpose. And it's also fortunately been an extension of my art. I I've been very blessed that this like change of life works with my, you know, it works with my family, works my career, it works with that.
Like this pod, I have a podcast called Punk Rock Sover. Yeah.
I think the most punk rock thing you can do is feel feelings. Yes.
Without smashing them with alcohol. It's like without hiding. I think the most punk rock sub you can do is walk around, be real honest.
Ken Rideout
I agree. Yeah. Do you know uh John Joseph, lead singer, The Crowags?
Tyler Ramsey
No.
Ken Rideout
Back in the day, heavy metal band. He's friends with Andrew Huberman as well. He's like a legendary like hardcore rocker, sober vegan.
Tyler Ramsey
Hubman has got like dude, that guy knows everything about punk rock.
Ken Rideout
Oh yeah. How did you meet Andrew Huberman?
Tyler Ramsey
We went to a a place called Hoffman Institute together.
Ken Rideout
That's where you met him?
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. We went to this retreat.
Ken Rideout
I have friends that have gone there. I went to um
Helped change my life. I went to on-site workshops in Nashville.
Tyler Ramsey
Oh, on-site is has a amazing reputation.
Ken Rideout
It was incredible. Life changed my life.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Context for any listeners. Hoffman is a week-long program where you go and and we all have some baggage and some [ __ ] we're carrying that we might not realize how heavy it is or even what it is. So, it's an opportunity for you to explore what that is. And by the end of a week, you're able to drop some of that [ __ ] permanently. I I had suicidal I I like I I had fears that I would kill myself someday for my whole life and that place got rid of him.
I don't think I would have ever been successful in permanently getting sober if it wasn't for that experience, the relationship I developed with um Christ. And I even there was something at productive that I did this one iawaska experience I did that really was kind of really productive but it didn't that wasn't enough the hoffen thing wasn't enough to get sober. What was was finally this incredible
Spiritual awakening that I was able to have but I think it was a one two three punch.
Ken Rideout
It's funny we're on like a very similar journey cuz I went to the what I call on-site workshop is technically they call it a trauma healing center. And basically what you're going there to do is same thing what you describe but focused on like why are you feeling these feelings? Where are they stemming from? And and analyzing like childhood and stuff which on the surface I would never have considered.
I knew my childhood was effed up but I never thought like let me like really look at this deeply. And when you're in it it's it's like any it's like rehab. The reason rehab works is cuz it's that's the only focus. You have one focus staying sober. So it's easy to stay on the path more or less versus being at home and trying to be sober dayto day. Unless you change something dramatically it's hard to do that otherwise people would be so getting sober wouldn't be such a novel idea.
Tyler Ramsey
Sure.
Ken Rideout
The onsite it was only four or five days but it felt like you know when I was signing in it felt like six years. It was very intimidating
And uh like you I met a really uh great friend Eric Decker there. I write about him in my book and it was uh who was an NFL receiver and very famous like super handsome dude. He's just a cool guy
And uh we have a lot like really good friendship now. So now I've done all that. I tried DMT. That was kind of helpful. There was some benefits there and now I'm talking to um uh Ambial Life about going to do an Iberine experience.
Tyler Ramsey
Talk to Mar I connect you with Marc Marcus Capone.
Ken Rideout
Talk to him. Yes, I'm going to talk to Marcus and I'm in touch with the CEO of Ambio cuz the his head of business development or someone reached out to me about having the CEO on my podcast and I said I'll do you one better.
I'll go do it and then we can do the interview about. So,
You know, a lot of parallels between our stories,
Tyler Ramsey
I think. So, I just referenced uh a Navy Seal who has spearheaded um the recovery from PTSD and addictions for um these really high performing special forces community.
Yeah.
Using Icane treatment, which was really controversial. Yeah. And all of a sudden they realize how productive it is. I think that what that guy is doing is more interesting than anything in the world right now. Yeah. I think I think I think he is leading the charge of a mental health golden age and I think there are so many
Exciting incredible ways for people to ditch this trauma and I think the ripple effects of generations going forward that won't be hand dealt this like generational trauma is incredibly exciting. Yeah, I'm I'm with you. I'm I'm
Ken Rideout
I'm excited, but I'm also scared shitless. Like I This is not something I'm doing for fun. I'm like nervous, scared,
But I know that when I see what people have gotten out of this treatment, it's has appealed to me. So, super excited about that.
Tyler Ramsey
I'm finished doing anything like that. I'm I'm excited that I have had all of the experiences that I've had. Um, but I have it took me trying everything, experiencing rock bottom all to get to a place where I'm I'm pretty happy.
Ken Rideout
That's good.
Tyler Ramsey
And I'm and I have a terrific relationship with God and and I have had this spiritual awakening where I don't where I I wake up and I'm excited to be present and aware. So, I'm not I have no intentions of doing anything that could alter that. But I'm equally excited for all the people that haven't found something like that that maybe these other experimental options might be just the blessing that they need. Whether it's my training, recovery, or work, it all depends on how I fuel myself.
Tyler Ramsey
Let's talk more about art.
Ken Rideout
Great. What do you think about they just said that they uh they figured out who Banksy is? I don't want them to know who Banksy is. I like it. I like
Tyler Ramsey
No. Do I saw a photograph of him? He looks like he works at a gas station. I
Ken Rideout
I don't want to know who the guy is. There's something There was something cool like when he shredded the painting when he pops up and does all starts doing art around LA and everyone's trying to find him. It's like trying to find a leprechaun. I'm like, I like it.
Tyler Ramsey
I'm going to stop looking. I'm going to stop opening articles cuz I saw the photo I saw. I'm like, oh my god, looks like a baseball coach. Yeah, it's not. I'm like I'm like, dude, what I've built in my head is way cooler. Yeah, dude. And and what an amazing influence on art that guy has been in general. It's like whatever. I don't want to know who it is.
Ken Rideout
Thing I love about him is it's not like he's making this like fine art like uh like a classic artist.
He's his art has like incredible messages in him and it's so freaking creative. You know what I mean? Like a person throwing like a bomb or throwing flowers. It's like I it just gets you thinking about it.
Tyler Ramsey
But then the whole process of the whole the entire process, the fact that it's this kind of secret thing that he does,
Uh the fact that it has to be hidden and it's at night and there's a whole adventure involved
And the killer thing where he, you know, at a I think it's I think it was a Sabbes auction. Then the the thing shredded the painting.
Ken Rideout
They announce the winner of this multi-million dollar Banksy that's in a beautiful like gilded frame. Soon as the auction closes, all of a sudden it's on a motor and the and the canvas drops down and there's a shredder at the bottom and all that comes out is the shredded canvas.
Tyler Ramsey
So cool.
Ken Rideout
Which I'm sure that they then glued together piece by piece and put it back together. But it was just so cool. It's like, "Oh, see you later, suckers." It's like that exit through the gift shop.
Tyler Ramsey
It's amazing documentary.
Ken Rideout
What was that guy's name?
Tyler Ramsey
Terry.
Ken Rideout
No, what do they call him? Uh,
Tyler Ramsey
Oh, Mr. Brainwash.
Mr. Brainwash. So, it's like, what do you what's your take on that?
I've met that guy. He delivers. He He's every bit as interesting and colorful and cool as you would hope. That guy delivers.
Do you think he's just like an eccentric putting it out or do you think deep down he's like a Sasha Baricone's like, "These people are stupid. I'm just making the stupidest art and selling it for millions of dollars and I've got them all duped." Yeah, I think that it I don't I think his intention is noble. I think he wants to have an exciting life and this is and he has figured out a way to to have a great adventure.
Ken Rideout
When you see the story being the other way around where you're like this isn't the greatest art like this isn't the he's not a master painter and he's making this pop art and people think whoa it's Mr. Brainwash it must be great.
Tyler Ramsey
I think like whatever negative uh color you put on that. Yeah. However like much you take away or talk down, he does that to himself times a thousand.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. So, and by the way, I'm not talking bad about I'm saying I wonder what like what what it'll take as an artist.
Tyler Ramsey
I Some people are like, "Oh, what a phony. What a funny." The interesting thing I think is that I I haven't met him. I mean, I I know I have met him. We didn't discuss this. Yeah. Um he his own voice at times is probably harder than any critic could ever be.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
But overall I think he wants to deliver an adventure to the public. That's his big goal.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
So probably both are true.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. I was telling someone I was running with Rob Mo this morning and I was saying when I worked in New York back in the day I worked at 9 West 57th. Yeah. and it was owned by Sheldon Solo and he had one of the greatest art collections in New York and he had an a real estate empire and one of the things that he did in 9 West 57 is in the lobby he displayed fine art so you could look through the window you couldn't go in there was no signs it was just there must have been some tax tax benefit to displaying the art in the lobby and it was high-end art goes like
And in the in the lobby as you went in the elevator bank there was a tall slender super skinny bronze scul sculpture and I didn't know what it was and it was just you know it was cool looking just a you know big bronze gouge. So one day I'm in the office in that building and I'm reading a story like Jacomedi sculpture trades for $135 million. I'm like holy [ __ ] I say to the guy next to me I go dude this is a jocky sculpture.
The guy has one in the lobby when we rush down there. I'm like I want to take a picture of it. Gone. They all took it right out of there. Wow. 135 million. And then I started that which led me to start thinking about art theft and the idea of like the uh the gardener museum in in Boston and someone stealing these like incredibly rare canvas paintings and cutting them just cutting.
Tyler Ramsey
What about at the Lou?
Ken Rideout
Oh my god. But didn't they catch those guys?
Tyler Ramsey
They caught them.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. Like
Tyler Ramsey
I don't know if they cut all of them, but they
Ken Rideout
Did they get the art back?
Tyler Ramsey
I don't know if they got the art back. Those
Ken Rideout
I just love the idea that someone wants stolen art. Like Yeah. I have this displayed like uh the Thomas Crown affair where you have it in your living room cuz you're a billionaire and you press a button and the and the painting comes down and it's exposed as like yo I've got the Mona Lisa here and we everyone's looking for it but I got it.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
It's like why would you want something stolen? Like you can't it's so famous like the gardener paintings. You can never show them to anyone.
Everyone knows they're stolen but somebody like is relishing the fact that they have them
Tyler Ramsey
Cuz and for some people just the action is the juice. The action is the juice. That's just that's a quote from Heat. So, I have I have a friend that just commissioned a he's commissioned me for a piece of art and he's like, "Dude, all I know is that I'm very inspired by this quote from Heat and it's the action is the juice." And I was like, "All right, let's get it on."
It turned out great. I think about art thieves and bank thiefs and I'm like, dude, if I was to get into being a thief right now, you see all these rappers with their watches like the I think it's this there's that big billionaire kid or something that had all this Indian. He I think has like a billion dollars worth of watches. Oh yeah, that like go after those schmucks. I know.
Anyone is wearing that much crap on their arm. How I'm like, why are you trying to Why are you trying to steal from a museum or something? Yeah.
Go after There's I I see freaking rappers. Do you know who Wes Watson is?
Ken Rideout
Of course.
Tyler Ramsey
The the influencer. That guy's flashing all kinds of crap every day. I'm like, go after that schmuck.
Ken Rideout
I don't understand that the approach of those types of people that are like there's no there's no like delineation between fame and infamy. Like I don't want to be hated like universally hated. Like that guy has his like super fans,
But like the people that are
Tyler Ramsey
Talking about West I'm fascinated by that guy.
Ken Rideout
But like he has his super fans, but then you're like, do you even want to be friends with the people that are like admiring that guy? And then he has like rabid haters.
Tyler Ramsey
Rabbid haters.
Ken Rideout
And it's just crazy. Like I don't want anyone to feel like
Tyler Ramsey
He's just excited to have he just wants views.
Ken Rideout
Yes.
Tyler Ramsey
So all the people that are hating on him and comments
Ken Rideout
That mindset is interesting too.
He loves them. He loves that. But I mean, speaking of speaking of all,
Tyler Ramsey
He's very insecure though. Very like
Ken Rideout
Insecure would be the [ __ ] understatement of the century, Tom. Century.
He's a [ __ ] He's deeply flawed. He
Is going to see this and want to beat me up, which I would say I'm very easy to find.
Tyler Ramsey
The worst thing he could be do is looking for people to beat up. He got arrested for beating that dude.
Ken Rideout
I mean, in in Wesy's defense, you come down to a gym and tell me you're there to fight me, you should expect to get the [ __ ] kicked out of
Tyler Ramsey
You should expect to get beaten.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. You come in, you came here seven feet tall, too.
Yeah, he was big. I mean, Wes did beat him up, but I mean, if you come looking for a fight, you should expect one.
Tyler Ramsey
Agreed.
Ken Rideout
I tell my kids if you
Tyler Ramsey
I love his message, though. I actually I should say before he seemed to he seems to have gone crazy or he seems to
I think he's on drugs because he's lost too much weight,
What seems to be prostitutes and stuff. But before that, he was just all about grinding and about then being of service. And I and there and I was I think he I went through a whole workout grind because I was like, "Dude, I'm falling this freaking nut that's like build his life up after prison." I thought it was a terrific example. I hope that guy has
He seems to be lost.
Ken Rideout
Yeah, definitely.
Tyler Ramsey
I messaged him one time. I was like, "Dude, do you know what I would do if I were you? I would like it doesn't seem like you travel. Don't you want to travel? Like what what like just going in a bubble?" And he wrote back and he wrote back. He's like, "What do you know?" I was like, I'm pretty happy.
Ken Rideout
I seem to have something you don't. Peace. Yeah.
It's not even happiness. It's peace.
Tyler Ramsey
You seem [ __ ] pissed all the time.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. You don't have to be angry all the time. You can be aggressive.
Tyler Ramsey
What a fascinating character.
Ken Rideout
Fascinating.
Tyler Ramsey
I'd love to interview that cat. Love it. I
Ken Rideout
I don't know. I feel like you've if you've heard one of his interviews, you've heard them all.
Tyler Ramsey
I just would like to I just I would be interesting just to have a chat with him.
Ken Rideout
What would you want to know?
Tyler Ramsey
Well, okay. I just want to know where's this cat at right now. Where's this guy at right now? Has he lost his mind or not? That's what I would be trying to figure out.
Ken Rideout
I mean, it looks like he's on some kind of and I don't want to speculate drug, but some form of like upper because he's losing too much weight and he his whole persona was tied up in being a muscle man. Yeah. And being jacked and he's not
Tyler Ramsey
He's not as big as he used to.
Ken Rideout
No. And it was all like
I don't know. I get you about the being aggressive, but to me, when your whole message is stuff, have a Bugatti, have a this, a that, I tell,
Tyler Ramsey
What a what a fool's errand.
Ken Rideout
I was telling
Tyler Ramsey
Only to be about the Flash.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. I did an interview yesterday with Dr. Andy Galpin on the Huberman uh network. You know, Dr. Andy Galpin has a crazy an incredible podcast about sports science and performance. And I said, "Having stuff isn't fun. Getting stuff is fun."
Getting stuff is fun. When you get a painting and hang it up for the first time, it's never going to be better than that.
Tyler Ramsey
Y
Ken Rideout
And I and and hopefully you buy art that every time you look at it, you're like, I like that. But not like you like it the first time you get it. When you get a brand new car, if you were ever lucky enough to buy something like a Ferrari, that first drive,
Tyler Ramsey
This car is mine.
Ken Rideout
The next ride will never be as good. You can still love it. Like I love cars. I love when I get in my car, I love it. It's like
I mean it's not a Ferrari.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah, a new truck is pretty
Ken Rideout
Yeah. You get a new truck. It's got the best wheels. But after a couple weeks, it bang a bang a curb with your rim, you're like this car. Yeah. Right. And it's and I always tell especially young athletes and anyone that I've been in a position to like kind of advise slashmentor, I say, "Listen to me." Especially pro aletes with big profile of all the people, you don't need to waste money on diamond watches and and diamond necklaces. Get them all fake. When you I'm just using Tom Brady as an extreme example.
When Tom Brady walks into the bar, he can have on a free t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He's the man.
He's taking all the girls. He take whatever one he wants. Your wife, his wife. Like Tom Brady's the man.
Then you got like a Stefon Diggs who's draped in diamonds and this and that. Anyway, these guys, they're like, they have to have designer everything. I'm like, why? I mean, I get it if you like nice things, but every single thing doesn't have to be labels. You don't have to be dripped in like super high-end stuff. like you're already the man with your actions and the people that are going to like you or admire you because of your watch, news flash, you don't want their attention.
Yeah.
If someone's going to like you more because you have a Richard Mle watch, like do you want to be friends with that guy?
Tyler Ramsey
Dude, when I worked for MTV, I went through this phase where I just wanted to wear helmet lang all the time and I just I mean, dude, I look back, I'm like, what a dumbass waste of money that was. And but by the way, don't get me wrong. I love nice stuff and I think you should have nice stuff invested.
Ken Rideout
But when but when your identity is tied up in your stuff
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Agreed.
Ken Rideout
You're an idiot.
Tyler Ramsey
Agreed.
Ken Rideout
And especially clothes. Clothe clothes come and go and like especially that's most expensive will be out of style next year and everyone knows that's last season.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Art is yours forever and it comes with a story, an interpretation. Like I have I have some Warhol prints, you know, like prints on paper that are like that they're they're they weren't cheap,
Tyler Ramsey
Like a numbered thing.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. Numbered, signed by Warhol. Like I have New England clam chowder because I'm from Boston. I've got an original one of a kind. Great one to have.
Tyler Ramsey
I love it.
Ken Rideout
And and someone's like, "What do you think it's worth now?" I'm like, I would light it on fire before I sold it. I I don't buy art with ever or anything with the intention of selling it maybe other than gold. When I worked at Caner Fitzgerald in London, when I was negotiating the contract, it's a big story in the book, but they at the time before 911, one year before, they had the largest private collection of Rodan sculptures in the world. Whoa,
Dude. They had hundreds. So, they had like a Rodan hand, a limited edition of the Thinker, three shades. They had every gates of hell. They had everything and they were everywhere in the office. And I said to the guy Liamus who was the CEO of Europe. I said, "Dude,
We were negotiating a contract and it was big. I was making a lot of money and I was also on drugs. It was a nightmare." And I said to him, "Hey," he had a Thinker Limited, like a real Thinker, a real Rodan version of the Thinker. And I said, "If you give me that sculpture, I'll sign this right now." And he's like, "You sign that contract right now. Uh, when you come and do your first trade, I was living in New York. I'll give you the uh sculpture." And I did my first trade.
And he gave me like for all I know it could be fake but the point isn't what it's worth. Yeah.
I have this Rodan sculpture that it's real. Now it might not be, but again, they had so many he may have just been like, "Here's the real thing. I've never bothered to check. I don't want to know."
Tyler Ramsey
There are some art pieces like that where you're also touching century. I mean, it's like you're you're there's art and then there's also, you know, it's like, let's say you get
Ken Rideout
Antiquities.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Where you're like, whoa. I just feeling like history move through me.
Ken Rideout
Dude, I love it. The house that had the Rothko also had like a samurai suit. Like a legitimate samurai suit and some like I I said to him, I go, "Dude, I can walk around here all day looking." Wow.
Yes. The samurai suit compared to a Rothko, it's like not even on the in the same stratosphere. So yeah, it was like and there were some like really limited edition photographs cuz Mike, who's um Huberman's photographer, he's a legend skateboard photographer. He's awesome. He was over there and my buddy whose house was renting the house, he goes, "Yeah, playback was over here." He goes, "You know those are uh" It wasn't Peter Beard, but some, you know, those are Peter Beard photos. And Rob's like, "Who's that?" And he's like, "Dude,
Tyler Ramsey
Killer photographer."
Ken Rideout
All African photos, all African themes. It was [ __ ] awesome.
Killer.
Tyler Ramsey
Who are your favorite artists? Uh, I like Mo. Um, I think Miro is one of the greatest painters of all time. Uh, I like um conceptual artists. I really love uh Marcel Duchamp. He is the one that did the uh urinal and I think that was like the most clever thing. Um there is there's a photographer and his name is Charlie White and he does these incredible photographs of kind of like this um it's like a dinner party in uh Palm Springs and all these kind of Palm Springs colors and then he creates this hideous awkward monster in the middle of it and they're all kind of having this incredible dinner party and he has this creature he calls Joshua.
Ken Rideout
How does he get the monster into the photo?
Tyler Ramsey
It does a whole like hires a movie making monster team and they create this monster and then he's, you know, creates a a, you know, he sets up a party.
Ken Rideout
Oh, so he casts the
Tyler Ramsey
Creates this entire vignette almost like you do a movie, but he does photographs. His name's Charlie White.
Ken Rideout
Do you know him?
Tyler Ramsey
I've never met him before.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
And I'm not even in contact with him. I've tried to figure it out. Um, and then there is a photographer that I like. Her name's Katherine Brolan. Uh, she's married to Josh Brolan.
Oh, okay.
Ken Rideout
Do you know how many times people have watched my video and go, "I didn't know Josh Brolan had a podcast."
Tyler Ramsey
You look like him.
Ken Rideout
I get it. Like, I don't know certain angles people are like, "Dude, Josh Brolan has a It's the same thing every time." Josh Brolan has a Instagram under another guy's name.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. She has this photograph of of like a sheep that I is incredible.
Ken Rideout
Do you know Josh?
Tyler Ramsey
I do.
Ken Rideout
Okay. Yeah. He works out with Lar and Gabby, I think, up at their house frequently.
Tyler Ramsey
Dude, they're the coolest.
Ken Rideout
The best.
Tyler Ramsey
They've Man, they're amazing. Well, I should say I have actually I've met Gabby. I've never met Lar.
Ken Rideout
Super nice guy.
Tyler Ramsey
Gabby's awesome.
Ken Rideout
Gabby is the best.
Tyler Ramsey
What a legend.
Ken Rideout
She came to my book event last night at uh in West Hollywood and she walks in. I'm just like every time
Tyler Ramsey
Has come to your book. What's
Ken Rideout
I know a production company uh Jamie Harowitz at Omaha Productions and Wheelhouse Group planned it and it was like I just flew in. They did everything.
Tyler Ramsey
Cool.
Ken Rideout
And I'm like I'm pissed because I would have loved to have had you there. I'm an idiot. I just I You know what it was, dude? I've been overwhelmed. I was in London all last week. I'm overwhelmed things.
Tyler Ramsey
But uh Oh, I have this I have a mentor. Yeah. His name's Trek Thunder Kelly.
He's one of the most interesting people I know and have ever met. He spent um a year of his life wearing one shade of blue. He spent another year of his life wearing a tuxedo every day to everything, including working out. He had tu shorts. Um, and he like lives the life of an artist. And I was really inspired by him at a moment where I was getting tired of of screenwriting and wanted to tell stories in a different more immediate visual arts way. And he kind of changed my life.
Went I went to Burning Man with him and some buddies and and was just like blown away.
Ken Rideout
What is his like medium?
Tyler Ramsey
He's got a something called super pop. So it's like kind of pop art. He'll do like a an image of um like a Prada model with an Abraham Lincoln head. Different cool kind of things. He's got this one uh it's like this um it's called the Indian. It's like it's looks like it's a ad for Prada. It's like, you know, someone's wearing a suit and looks like very something you would see Prada do and then it's like an Indian head
Ken Rideout
With a headdress.
Tyler Ramsey
Killer killer stuff.
Ken Rideout
Really cool. And is it a painting?
He paints. But is that is that piece a painting or a photo?
Tyler Ramsey
It's a painting. It's a painting.
Ken Rideout
Do you know um have you ever heard of the guy? He's he's I know him because he's given artwork to um Rogan. I think his name's Greg Overton. He does like American Indian art and color.
Tyler Ramsey
I know. Yeah. I've seen Oen Rogan hold up his paintings and I looked it up, looked them up.
Ken Rideout
So cool. It's got like it's got a series of like American Indians with war paint on like all old like I'm sure I'm assuming
Tyler Ramsey
Rogan has a cool neon piece in his background, too.
Ken Rideout
Oh, does he? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
Really cool.
Ken Rideout
Yeah. I love this. Ian, like what what compelled you to go work with neon,
Tyler Ramsey
Dude? You know, it's um
Ken Rideout
And how hard is it?
Tyler Ramsey
Neon is difficult. It's difficult to maintain. It's It's It breaks easily. There are issues with it. Um and but bending it's called bending glass. Yeah. It's not very hard.
Um sometimes I like there are pieces in here that I've had like I have to have a lot of help on.
Ken Rideout
Okay.
Tyler Ramsey
Um I'm I am what you call like a multimedia artist. I like bringing I like collage. I like painting. I've never got stuck into one thing. Um, I love artists that get kind of narrow more and more narrow their focus. There's an artist named Sage Vaughn that is really cool that does um like these amazing just paintings of flowers and butterflies and mushrooms.
And you can you could pick a sage vine out from from a mile away. There's a there's a photographer named Michael Mohler that does photographs of sharks.
Ken Rideout
Oh, that's cool.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. human. He's also a friend of Andrews.
Ken Rideout
Oh, cuz Andrew does a lot of like like fear work with shark tanks and stuff and trying to
Tyler Ramsey
Really cool cool photography. Um,
Ken Rideout
Speaking of these, um, the neon, you know what I, as I was looking at your stuff, one thing that I could
That I would love to see to have for myself is I love shamrocks from Boston Irish.
Like a painting like this with some green and gold themes in black with a with a neon green shamrock interpretation on in the neon that maybe is like has some kind of like wording or something underneath it. I'm the least creative person in the world.
Tyler Ramsey
Would you want it to be in your podcast?
Ken Rideout
Yeah, like in the background or like behind me in my set where I like have this
Or maybe in between the guests where it's kind of like this, but not a centerpiece, but just like in there like
Yeah. Cool.
Hard work.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah, that's what I do. The if so, if you were going to have it in a podcast, I would I I would actually recommend that we we would I would kind of pitch you a design or something and then I would do it on top of a painting. But I think it makes more sense if it's in a podcast um to do it in LED or there's actually something called neon plus which is a which is they do it with like
It looks exactly like neon but anyway you can um control you can dim it.
You can even change the colors but sometimes for a podcast studio you want to be able to dim it.
Ken Rideout
Yes. Yes. Yes. The problem is it when I do Zoom like not in my podcast studio but in my Zoom background I have digital images behind me. The problem is when people film with camera. Yeah. Like when I used to record a podcast about fighting that Rob Mo produced called the fight with Teddy Alice. We would record
With the better the camera got the more the images flickered.
Tyler Ramsey
Oh yeah. Yeah.
Ken Rideout
Dude, it would drive me crazy cuz I'm like I want the images like I would change the images based on the fighters. So I'd put the fighters image there and they'd be like dude is that a picture of me? And I'd be like, "That's the wall of fame. When you win a title, you get your picture up here." Even though it's just for the episode.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Awesome.
Ken Rideout
But yeah, man. I'm going to I've got a bunch of ideas. We're going to jam on a bunch of stuff. I like I love it. I I love to buy art and and have things from people I know. Like I would rather have a painting from you than a like super famous artist that I don't know. Like there's no story there. Yeah, I bought this. Like anyone could have bought it. It's it's for sale.
I want stuff that you can't get. This is mine. You know, like
Tyler Ramsey
I think it's cool to have a an adventure tied to the piece or like a the point is you have a story.
Ken Rideout
Yeah,
Tyler Ramsey
That's the whole I mean I come from screenwriting and writing and stuff. I want everything to have a story. I love it.
And every it's like the point is there's a story and it's not I don't I think the least interesting exper story is oh the art artist worked with green because they this one thing the green I think what is a great story is like dude I went out there and we had a great time and it's this happened. Yeah. One of the great times of my life is I have a buddy and he started a company called Tom's Shoes.
Ken Rideout
That's what I was going to ask you next. Talk about your collabs. Let's start let's start with Tom.
Tyler Ramsey
Wow, this was the greatest collaboration of my life. He he he created TOMS Shoes and a big part of that was um they would donate shoes to kids all over the world. And so for a while I would I they would have send me all over Asia. I went to like a bunch of different countries in Asia and I would have these art shows. So I would bring these big loose like behind me are these big loose canvases.
Bring these big loose canvases and unroll them and have these kind of big art shows and um we would actually cut up the painting and I give everyone
Their own little painting and they would frame these little pieces. It was like a really fun collaborative thing to do and then I would also go and there would be something called a shoe drop. So they would donate a whole ton of shoes to these kids in some small village nearby. It was changed my life. was the coolest experiences of all time. And like I've I've just been lucky enough where I've been able to travel the world and have all of these adventures related to art.
I went to Panama one time and like made a painting by having all these kids walk and paint and then walk all over this painting. I went to Liberia.
Ken Rideout
Oh my god. Liberia is supposed to be one of the like gnarliest places on earth.
Tyler Ramsey
It's insane. It was the I went with this group that was where we were like saving women from uh being trafficked. Not just it wasn't even trafficked. It was just like being prostitutes in their area.
So they would pull them and they would they would um it was the most amazing thing ever. in this like slum of slums. They would they would go where how much can we pay this kid or pay you so that this kid can go to school instead of being your per you making money selling her to the village.
Ken Rideout
Oh my god.
Tyler Ramsey
And yeah, killer stuff. Like talk about ground zero. But they got all these girls in this school to dip their hands and then paint this big huge painting. Coolest thing I've ever done ever.
Ken Rideout
So you're doing Tom. So were you painting shoes as well?
Tyler Ramsey
Paint. Oh, dude. Yeah. paying shoes. They had this this like my buddy Blake the entrepreneur had this moment where they had ordered, you know, way too many white shoes.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
And it was a big issue. So, he had me hand paint all these hund like a 100,000 pairs of shoes.
Ken Rideout
Holy cow.
Tyler Ramsey
And I got this great commission, too. It was changed my life. It was the best thing ever.
Ken Rideout
Okay. And what about the um Aviator Nation? I love I love Aviator Nation sweatpants for men. I love them. Like, but only the unique ones. Dude, they did like a Mexican themed like stripe. They were like a Mexican looked like a Mexican blanket theme.
I know the I went in there one time a couple years ago to the one in Malibu. I'm like, "Hey, you guys had these like cool striped Mexican themed pants. I loved them, but I can't find them anywhere. They were in blue, pink, like the overall theme of them." And they go, "Well, we got a lot of push back for um appropriation of Mexican heritage." I go, "We
Tyler Ramsey
I bet they just sold out."
Ken Rideout
No, the guy was dead serious cuz I was like, "Are you [ __ ] serious?" Like appropriation, they own they own the like patent on Mexican looking stripes. But it was like I think that a lot of people get caught up in this like woke mindset where you're like, "Oh, I don't want to offend anyone." Like I always say to people like, "Dude, you're responsible for your own feelings." Yeah. I mean, it's one thing if if someone's being racist or like very offensive, but there's a there we all know what very offensive is, and there's another thing where you're like, you hurt my feelings.
I'm like, I'm sorry, but I'm not responsible for you. You're responsible for you. I like I know what my intent was, and if I'm you're offended, okay, let me explain to you. I didn't mean to offend you. This is what I meant. Yeah, but it offended me. [ __ ] off. Be take up responsibility for yourself.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Aviator Nation is is unique because it is it's a gi first of all it's a giant company and it is the single vision of the of this chick Paige Mikoski that I think is a is maybe one of the great geniuses when it comes to just what colors can dance together.
Ken Rideout
I live in these pants that's when I'm home it's the only thing I wear. I've got like 30. And my wife will be like, "You bought another pair of Aviator Nation pairs."
Tyler Ramsey
They make it They make them in LA, too. It's like there's like they the highest quality.
Ken Rideout
I said to her like, "What do you care? I don't wear suits to work. One suit would cost a hundred pairs of sweatpants if I was still working in finance. I like what I'm doing now and I like wearing sweatpants and I like the to your point, the colors always work.
Tyler Ramsey
They always work. My kids when they wear that stuff, it looks so much they just look so much cooler than when they don't. I mean,
Ken Rideout
So how did you link with them to do the collab?
Tyler Ramsey
One of the best things I've ever done. I'm I It's something that's always worked for me is I've always invested in relationships.
Ken Rideout
Yes.
Tyler Ramsey
I let the this brother or sister live on my couch for a while and it has been the gift that keeps on giving. So, and I so I have this relationship with both of them. Um, and Aviator Nation really never does collabs. They never or they might they might they might d um create a line that's sort of influenced by a band or something. Yeah. But they but creatively she does she in no way dilutes her image. And but they did this one single that I know of collab and they asked some some artist to throw and splatter paint on some on thousands and thousands of shirts and sweatpants in this warehouse and it was one of the coolest collabs I've ever one of the art you were one of a few artists that were involved.
One of only a few artists.
Okay. and it killed. They sold out instantly.
Ken Rideout
Do you get the hook up there? Does she send you whatever you ask for?
Tyler Ramsey
I have a discount. That is one of the most valuable things I have in life.
Ken Rideout
Hell yeah. You know who I see decked out in um Aviator Nation all the time. That's one of my I say one of my friends. I've like only met him a handful of times in person, but we have a really good relationship in Texas. Uh Reggie Miller, the basketball player. He wrote a sick blurb for my book. Like I met him. He's an he's an insanely good mountain bike rider, like a competitive racer. And I would be running in the in the trails at the top of um Palisades and he lived in Malibu right on the other side of the mountain.
As the crow flies, we were close, but to drive would be [ __ ] 2 hours. Yeah.
But I'd be running up there. He'd be mountain biking and you know going up those hills. You're going the same pace like a mountain bike and and he would be out there and a few days in a row he's riding next to me. I'm like, "Hey, what's up champ Re? What's up?" And then he realized like, "Wow, this guy is crazy, too. He's out here no matter what. I'd see him in the rain. I'd see him in the heat, the clouds, the cold, you know, when you get a rare freezing cold day." And I'd see him all the time and I'd be like, "Reggie." And then I don't know if he sent me a DM or I sent him a DM.
We just struck up a friendship
And he would like run a race in Hawaii and be like motivated by my friend Ken R tag me and I'm like I showed it to my wife like [ __ ] can you believe Reggie Miller knows I'm alive? I'm like look at this. The guy's like he admires me. He wrote me a great quote. He was like, "If I'm walking down that dark alley with my life on the line, I'm picking Ken Ride out to go to war with me. He's just Yeah, dude. It was awesome." But anyway, I see Reggie, he that guy only wears he either wears the freshest suits on TV or Aviator Nation or or cycling gear, but
I just love when people like are loyal to a brand and they're like
Tyler Ramsey
Adam Sandler is he he like
Ken Rideout
Sandman.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah, he he loves this stuff too, dude. It's the best. She's And she's a genius. I might like I love I went to I went to I went to her wedding. She got married to
Um her best friend, this other cool chick.
Ken Rideout
Yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
Jessica and they had the most incredible incredible wedding you could imagine. Mexico know Mexico is like
Ken Rideout
Just the coolest thing ever. the I used to ride my bike like a ton when I lived here and I'd be riding on that um on PCH on the road right next to the ocean like parallel to the right before you get to um Palisage you know there's that road where all the nice houses are on along the ocean and uh Sandler had a place there so I would when I would be riding with like my buddy Rob Moore and we'd ride through and I go oh there's Sandless House and every time as a joke when we ride by be like Sandman and then he'd be out there playing basketball and like I again I wouldn't say we're friends, but every time he saw him, he's like, "Hey, what's up?" Cuz I saw him one time in the village in the Palisades and I had a t-shirt on.
It just said Boston. It was just kind of generic from the marathon
And he's like, "Here's a Boston guy right here. I can tell right now he's a troublemaker." And uh we just like kind of bullshited it off. My wife was there. And that's Sandler though. Sandler, if you meet him, like you would never know he's famous. He doesn't there's no security. There's no [ __ ] He's just like a man of the people. And I love everything about him. He's the one of the nicest guys. Have you met him?
Tyler Ramsey
I have.
Ken Rideout
He's so awesome. Does he collect your rock?
Does he What?
Does he buy you a rock?
Tyler Ramsey
No, I don't know him that well.
Ken Rideout
Come on, Sandman.
I think he'd dig it. I think he would dig it.
Tyler Ramsey
He hasn't been here. I've I've only met him once and um I was blown away by how cool it was.
Ken Rideout
Super cool.
Tyler Ramsey
So blown away.
Ken Rideout
So tell me about Do you talk about your recovery activities and your meetings and stuff? Is that uh something you talk about hosting a meetings here?
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah, I host meet I host um recovery meetings here. Yeah, I'm I I'm very open about Okay.
That I'm in recovery and I work a program. It's the appropriate thing to say is I work program
And it's a 12step program and it is the best thing of it's like the best part of my life. I feel it. uh it if I'm working this program which is being of service as doing kind of personal inventory. I think that's the big thing kind of holding yourself accountable looking for ways that uh I can improve as opposed to looking for reasons I've been wronged. Um looking for different different things that I can forgive as opposed to harping on different resentments that I need to nurse.
Ken Rideout
Yeah,
Tyler Ramsey
My life is way better. I have an incredible relationship with my wife and a I think a lot of it is because I spend a lot of time working on myself and part of that is uh a daily encouragement that I'm not trying to find fault in her. I'm trying to fault find fault in me because I can fix that.
Ken Rideout
Yes, that's where everything stems from. When I have an argument with my wife, I even though I get angry, I might like you know lash out, I eventually come back to what am I doing to warrant this behavior? What am I doing? Even if it's even if it's like self- serving, like what am I doing that makes her treat me like this? Cuz at the end of the day, if you don't like someone the way someone's treating you, you have to evaluate why. You have to analyze why are you why are they doing this?
What is it about me? And it might be they're just a jerk. But I know my wife long enough to know she's not a jerk. So I have to like question what am I doing? And eventually when you accept responsibility for everything in your life, good and bad, you can usually d you can usually figure out exactly where the problem is originating from.
Tyler Ramsey
You can make changes. You can you can make improvements. You can actually make an improvement.
Ken Rideout
100%.
Tyler Ramsey
The idea I can't get my wife to say sorry when she doesn't want to say sorry. I can't get her to
Decide that I'm correct about something. I just can't.
Ken Rideout
How proud is she of you now that you like living the life that you're living versus the life you were living?
Tyler Ramsey
Oh, she's with that. She's my biggest cheerleader. She's also in her own right such a badass. She started this company called the fresh test. She used to sell like medical devices and and that's was a great gig and she spent a lot of time in the OBGYn rooms. She realized that there's a a drink that every pregnant woman drinks and it determines if they have something called gestational diabetes and they all hate it.
So, she made a replacement for that.
Ken Rideout
Oh, cool.
Tyler Ramsey
I think that she's found one of the all-time most obscure niches and I think we're going to be like it's going well.
Ken Rideout
Oh, good.
Tyler Ramsey
And then she has another product that she's preparing to unroll that I think is it's great. So, a big part of I think my happiness is because my wife is crushing it.
Ken Rideout
Oh, that's awesome.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. That whole happy wife, happy life.
Ken Rideout
That's right. People feel like they're on their um that they found a purpose. It's massively meaningful.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
So, if someone wanted to come to your the meetings that you host, can they come to it? Is it open to the public?
Cuz I have a lot of people that follow that are in their own that are sober people.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. Have them reach out Tuesday nights.
Okay. Have them reach out.
Ken Rideout
Tuesday night, Ramsay Art. If you're in the program,
Come through.
Tyler Ramsey
Come through. Dope meetings in town.
Ken Rideout
That's the word on the street.
Tyler Ramsey
You're amazing.
Ken Rideout
What am I What am I missing? What else do I need to know about you before we say goodbye? Because I feel like I could talk to you forever about so many different topics.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah, this is a real jam. I'm having a ball. You're I I feel like we could we if we were on a road trip together, I'd be like, "Did we even listen to the radio?"
Ken Rideout
Dude, I love it. I I like even just talking about art. I could keep talking about individual artists. I could like ramble forever and I know that people are going to be like, "We don't care what you think, Ken. We want to know more about Tyler." Is there anything that we haven't discussed that you think that we're missing that people need to know about you or that you need to let the world know about?
Tyler Ramsey
No, there's nothing I'm trying to I feel like I mean, the answer is there's a ton, but there's nothing I feel it's like, you know, I think I'll get we'll get to that eventually. I'm excited to interview you for my podcast.
Ken Rideout
Hell yeah, man. I'm excited to do it. And um I'm also excited to jam with you offline about some commissions and some pieces that I can proudly display in my house and on the podcast because now that I know you, like I love knowing interesting people. I love knowing clothes designers. I love knowing artists. And one of my pet peeves is when someone's like, "Dude, my friend is Tom Brown, the designer." Clos designer, very famous guy. And people like, "Dude, you know Tom Brown, do you get everything for free?" I say, "If you had a friend who was a house painter, would you ask him to pay paint your house for free or would you pay him a premium because he's your friend and you want to help him out?"
Tyler Ramsey
That's a great attitude. I think that's
Ken Rideout
Cuz I dude I would love to be like, "Hey dude, I can display your can you give me this stuff for free?" But what kind of friend would want you to give away your way of like your the way you feed your family?
Tyler Ramsey
Andrew Huberman came by. He's like, "Dude, I I what what I'm not trying to get a discount. I want to do this and it's amazing. I do love the discount that I have been offered from Aviator Nation.
Ken Rideout
That's a different thing.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah. No, no, no. But, but I'm I think that what you're like if someone is an artist, if someone is um especially anyone that has a small business, uh an entrepreneur that's just starting out, you like I I think it's so important to be like, "Dude, I got I'm excited to be a customer. I'm excited to support what you're doing."
Ken Rideout
Well, it's like friends are like, "Send me a signed copy of your book." I'm like, "Absolutely. Do me a favor, buy a copy right now and send me a screenshot of the review and I'll send it to you. Not because I want you to spend money, but because I want to, which by the way, I just found out on the way over here that I'm a national best-selling author.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah, dude.
Ken Rideout
Just found out like 1 hour ago. So, I made the like USA Today like bestsellers list after one week. And but you know, like dude, I'm trying to be I'm trying to like sell books. I like it a $30 book or $23 book ain't going to break the bank. And I need your support. I don't need you to like get a like I give you all the signed books you want but can you buy one?
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
So that's how I feel about artist is like dude support the cause. Like I as an artist I'd be like yeah this guy bought a piece of art couple piece of art. Hey thank you. Here's something else for your office.
Tyler Ramsey
Sure.
Ken Rideout
You know what I mean? Things like that. Do you know an artist called Eric Hayes married to the great Rosie Perez? H A Z.
Tyler Ramsey
I know Rosie Perez. Oh yeah. You told you you've looked him up. Yeah,
Ken Rideout
He designed the logo for the album cover for um Public Enemy. He did the Beasty Beasty Boys Check Your Head in that block script and he's done a um he he's a incredible painter and getting into fine art and he had a uh his interpretation of a crown. It's big broad strokes in graffiti style. And I had a Formula 1 racing suit from Jos Van Straen who's Max for Strappen's dad.
Tyler Ramsey
Wow.
Ken Rideout
I bought it in S. I got it in Monaco in like 2001 at the Grand Prix. At the Mon Carlo Grand Prix. Wow.
And I had it and I was like, I'm not going to hang up a Formula 1 suit. I'm not that into car racing.
Tyler Ramsey
Yeah.
Ken Rideout
But Hayes is. And I go, hey,
I have this signed suit from this famous driver.
I'll trade you this for a canvas. And he's like, put it in the mail. You're done. And he sent me this painting that I think they probably sell for 20, 30, 50 grand. Like I've seen him sell $250,000 paintings. So a friend of mine. So, I got this beautiful canvas, but again, there's a story there. Yeah. Oh, what's up with that painting, dude? Let me tell you. Let me tell you who that is and what that is and what it's like. I just love the story behind it.
It has sentimental value to me beyond anything someone could give me for it.
Tyler Ramsey
Cool, brother.
Ken Rideout
So, I'm excited to get your art and tell people the same story about the great Tyler Ramsey.
Tyler Ramsey
Well, I'm Dude, I'm I'm excited to continue to uh champion this podcast of yours.
Thank you, brother. the I'm I'm pumped about it. And I also you have the A team behind you.
Ken Rideout
Oh, hell yeah.
Tyler Ramsey
Like you had Herman's team helped set it up.
Ken Rideout
They produce it.
Tyler Ramsey
They're producing it. There's the A team.
Ken Rideout
A team in terms of producers. A team in terms of quality human beings. Mike has any picture that you see on me of me online that looks like a real head shot or a an action running shot. Every single one Mike has taken. You know what he's ever asked me for? Zero.
Tyler Ramsey
Wow.
Ken Rideout
He's like, "Hey, you going to be out here? Let's shoot some photos on the beach. Hey, you going to be out here? Come in early. I want to get head shot of you." This and that.
Tai is the best. And every time they use him in magazines at Rob, make sure you credit playback.
Tyler Ramsey
Become the podfather.
Ken Rideout
Rob Mo is the podfather. He literally like pioneered the podcast industry with
I mean it existed before him, but no one was selling at like doing brand deals with podcasts the way Rob has innovated. And now he's got the Senra Founders podcast. He's got Dr. Andy Galp and all on Sycom
And the other side of hard with Ken Ride Out.
Yeah. Cool.
The like redheaded stepchild.
Tyler Ramsey
I'm excited to to cheer for you.
Ken Rideout
Thank you, brother. I appreciate you doing this. And next time I come here, we're going to definitely turn the AC on before I get here.
You could cook a [ __ ] chicken in here on the desk.
Tyler Ramsey
It's It's like the hottest day. It's the hottest day of the year in Los Angeles.
Yeah. Punk Rock Sober is my podcast. Anything I want to throw in.
Ken Rideout
Punk rock. Ramseyart.com.
Tyler Ramsey
Ramseyart is my Instagram.
Ken Rideout
Yep.
Tyler Ramsey
And uh yeah, I'm very passionate about the the mission that I'm on with Punk Rock Sober. Thanks, brother.
Ken Rideout
Thank you, man. Great meeting you.
Thanks for being here. Boom,
Tyler Ramsey
Dude.
Ken Rideout
And thanks for letting me use your studio.
Tyler Ramsey
Of course.
Boom.
Ken Rideout
All right, guys. I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. Please take a quick minute to subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening. This is a new show, so subscribing makes a huge difference. Please also take a minute to give it a review and leave a comment on Apple Podcast and on Spotify. You can also subscribe and leave a comment on YouTube. Again, this is really important for us, especially now since we're just getting started.
You can learn more about me, this podcast, and also find links to purchase my upcoming memoir at the other sideofhart.com. My new book is called Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Hard, and it comes out March 10th, available everywhere you buy books. Or again, go into the other sideofhart.com. There's multiple links there where you can find all the retailers carrying the book. Thanks a lot for being with us and we'll see you next
Key takeaways
- Several short rehab stays did not stop Ramsey's relapses; a longer program finally gave him time and structure to change.
- Ramsey says showing up and listening to professionals mattered when his own decisions had led him to treatment.
- His reality TV work took him into difficult situations, including a disappearance in Africa that ended in jail.
- He sees service and personal accountability as daily parts of recovery.
- Ramsey's art collaborations took him from studio work to projects with TOMS and Aviator Nation.
Nowhere to Hide
A weekly letter from Ken Rideout about doing the uncomfortable part, and the reasons we use to avoid it.
It starts with 3 Days, 3 Hard Things: one short story from Ken and one hard thing to do, every day for three days. Then one letter a week.
One letter a week. Unsubscribe any time. We never share your email.
