Sobriety, Spirituality, & Sales Ep. 31 - Doug Bopst

**Mike Curry** (0:00)
Hey guys, good morning, welcome to Sobriety, Spirituality and Sales.
We got a quicker start than we did last week.
We had a little incident last week. We're glad to be back on the show today. And man, I am so stoked for today's episode. We've got a fantastic guest. First of all, gotta give credit where credit is due. The show is brought to you by Michael Bader, State Farm Agency, First and River. Guys, if you're in the market for an insurance quote, Mike is your guy, he has an office full of ladies that truly love to serve and help. If you're in the insurance space, or excuse me, if you're in the need for insurance, please reach out to Mike at First and River. And Doug Bopst, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for the opportunity to connect and just saying yes to be on the show, man. I'm super excited.

**Doug Bopst** (0:44)
Mike, thanks for having me.

**Mike Curry** (0:46)
Yeah, dude. So I was watching some of your shorts and some of your clips, just getting prepared for the day.
And first and foremost, I just wanna congratulate you on the business model that you have, the amount of followers that you have, and the impact truly that you're making. I mean, I saw a bunch of episodes about marijuana, which I think isn't talked about enough. I saw a bunch of episodes with thought leaders, business leaders, and just, man, what an incredible experience for you sitting across from somebody with so much knowledge in so many areas of life, right?

**Doug Bopst** (1:16)
Yeah, man. It's been kind of a huge blessing. I mean, I started the show to help people. And one of the interesting things that kind of came out of it was being able to break bread with people that inspired me. And it's just been cool to kind of sit at the same tables with people who I've seen them at tables with other guests, like on YouTube or on TV or whatever. So yeah, it's super humbling.

**Mike Curry** (1:40)
Yeah, man. And, you know, for those that don't know, I do. But, you know, your story goes back to 2008, getting sober in a jail cell and, you know, getting involved with fitness. And I know you speak to that often.
And you want to commend you on, you know, 16 plus years of sobriety. That's incredible.

**Doug Bopst** (1:58)
Thanks, man. Yeah, I never thought in a million years, I'd find recovery. And oddly enough, a place like jail kind of gave me that gift. I mean, I was a complete mess back in 2008, like you mentioned. I mean, I was a convicted felon.
I was heavily addicted to opiates. I was depressed. I was fat. I was out of shape. I was miserable. Like, I mean, I was broken in every which way possible, but super grateful for my experience in jail. I mean, it was like, it was so weird. I cried the day I went into jail for obvious reasons. And then because my transformation was so impactful when I was behind bars, I actually ended up crying when I left as well, because I felt that this place had given me such an unexpected gift. I mean, with the help of my cellmate and finding fitness and just reinvention behind bars.

**Mike Curry** (2:51)
Yeah, that's incredible, man. You never know where a life lesson will come from. You never know where that new perspective on life will come from. And sometimes I feel like, for me, God puts me in places to keep me there, to really teach me a lesson. And jail was one of those places for me, too, man. So I do have a quick question for you while I'm thinking of it. So you mentioned being broke and you mentioned being overweight and all these things. Can you think back at that 2007, 2008, Doug, what were you thinking about yourself at that time? Did you have that self-realization at that point? Or what was your thought process at that time?

**Doug Bopst** (3:28)
I mean, I knew I was completely out of shape and broken and all the things at that time.
The issue I had was I just didn't have any self-confidence and I didn't have any kind of hope to be able to fix anything. Because I had compounded so many losses along the way, and I say that because I tell people when I tell my story that I didn't just end up a drug addict. I didn't just end up behind bars. There was a lot of self-esteem stuff that led to me being broken. I mean, I was picked on and bullied a lot as a kid, so I felt like something was wrong with me or why is this happening to me or how come I'm not like other kids. Then I loved sports and I loved playing sports. Watching sports, I was the guy that stayed up late to watch ESPN. I got up early to watch Sports Center. I did all of that and yet I sucked as an athlete. So again, it's like this what's wrong with me mentality. So all that just compounded over the years. Then throwing the fact that I became a drug addict, which makes your self-esteem even worse.