Everything You Went Thru Brought You Here (Braxton Fleming)

From a relationship ending due to "not doing enough" with his life to being an inspiration to trans men and entrepreneurs around the world, Braxton Fleming's life path is full of fascinating connections. Braxton and Leo discuss Braxton's nursing career lending itself to him founding Stealth Bros & Co, a luxury medical supply company; his commitment to the trans community being a "missing link" that, once discovered, allowed him to unlock his maximum potential; the meaning behind his signature hashtag #OnAMission; and how to tap into your inner strength by trusting yourself.

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By: Leo Yockey

Transcript

0:14

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Leo Yockey show, the podcast where I, Leo Yockey interview guests about how their unique life path led them to define success and fulfillment. The goal? You know, I've been saying for a while that the goal is to provide us some relief for our existential dread, but I don't really think that's it. You know, it's a nice side effect sometimes. But what's really happening here is we're creating connection. You know, it's not every day that we get to really stop and think about how we got to where we are, and how the communities that we built or been a part of, or the random experiences that we've had, the people that have come in and out of our lives, and the the training that we've had, it all culminates to where we are today, each of us as individuals, and I love being able to have conversations with guests where, you know, one, or both of us says, oh, whoa, like, I've never thought about it this way. And and I know because I know how it works when we're all connected. If one of us is having that moment, then y'all or at least some of y'all are probably having to listening to this show. And, you know, I really think that that's what life is all about. We've had people on this show from all over the world, we've had people on this show from all kinds of different vocations, and interests. And there's still a few things that always come up every single episode. community is really, really important. There's usually some sort of hint, where the thing that we're doing right now, we've kind of been preparing for it our whole lives, even if we didn't know what we were doing. And no matter how successful we are, no matter how much we've accomplished, there's still some imposter syndrome that comes in. Because at the end of the day, as much as things change, things still also stay the same. You know, no matter what I experience in life, I'm still the kid from Lancaster, California, that doesn't really know what direction his life is going in, you know, I'm still the kid that thinks that every new experience that I have is a gift. And you know, I still want to enjoy everything to the max. And I still think that there's so much to learn, and there's so much to explore. And that never goes away. You know, there's there's certain things that no matter how much things change, they all stay the same. And no matter how random and unconnected things seem, the more that when we really look at our lives. It's kind of the spider web, you know what I mean? Like this beautiful web of connections and inter woven experiences. And I think that all of that is really cool. And I don't think that we talk about it enough, especially now, when we can really do anything that we want, you know, the The world is changing, and for the better, in my opinion, arbitrary barriers to entries are coming down in countless industries now that we can do anything. The real question is, who do we want to be? Yeah, I've, I've mentioned in previous episodes, that this has been a great anchor for me, as I navigate through change in my life. And it really is, it is an honor and a privilege to be able to create and host the space where these conversations are happening. You know, it's real talk about real life from real people doing real things. And honestly, I think that's real cool. Anyway, my guest today is someone that I've really admired from a distance for a long time and, you know, talk about an honor and a privilege. It was just, it's so cool to be able to have this space where I can be like, hey, person I've admired let's talk, and they say, okay, you know, I don't I don't want to give too much away, but Braxton Fleming, you know, he's the founder and CEO of a company called stealth, stealth Bros. and co it's really cool how again, you know, the barriers are coming down, and he he provided a solution for Something that our community, our community as, as transgender men really needed, and, you know, back before the internet, the ability to create this product to market it to the right people to find a big enough community to be able to market it and turn this into a profitable business. It just wouldn't have been possible before. You know, that's the thing, it doesn't matter how hard you work, if if the world isn't ready, if the infrastructure isn't there, it's just not there. But now that it's here, you know, go getters, like Braxton are able to bring solutions that you know, initially was just for the transgender community, but it's, it's helping people with all kinds of medical needs. And I think that that's really cool. Can you hear my cat scratching in the background? I hope not. I've had to record this so many times already. And now my cat is in his litter box scratching at the wall. That is that is great. You know what? I'm gonna take that as a sign to bring you over to the conversations the interview. Hey, if you like what you're hearing, yeah, tag us on Instagram, take a screenshot of this, make it your Instagram story. You know, a five star written review goes a really long way. I mean, that's basically currency in this world, if you want to support the show, those are some great ways to do it. let your friends know that you're into it, and discuss it with them. You know, what, what, what do you think is interesting? What did anything provide an aha moment for you? You know, like I said, I love creating moments of connection. So you know, share this with people start a conversation. And you might be surprised where it leads you. Anyway, here's Braxton. Braxton. How are you doing today? I'm doing good, man. How are you? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. I was just saying off mic or off recording, I guess it's zoom. So I have to use my mic. But I was just saying how excited I was to finally meet you, you are someone that, you know, I've been following on Instagram since really early on in my transition, and to kind of see both your personal growth and the growth of your business has been, I mean, I'm just gonna say it's been really inspirational for me on my path. So I appreciate you coming onto the show and sharing your story. Thank you. Thank you so much that that really means a lot to me. And I'm excited to be here. Yeah, absolutely. So for the listeners who are less familiar with you than I am, you know, who is Braxton Fleming, you know, when you when you're introducing yourself to people, you know, what are what's kind of like your elevator pitch for yourself. Okay, so my name is Braxton Fleming. I'm 32 years old. I'm the CEO and founder of a company called stealth brozen. Co, which is a luxury dopp kit company that provides home and travels storage for all of your medical injectable needs. And yeah, that's pretty much it. And I'm also a licensed practical nurse for the past who were going on 12 years and January. So yeah, that's that's pretty pretty much about me, um, you know, just trying to be more involved within our community as always trying to make a difference and just showing up for everybody every day. That's, that's my main goal. Yeah, that's awesome. I love that. I didn't know that you had been a nurse for that long. So you if I'm doing my math, right, you became a nurse when you were like 1920 years old. Was that correct? Yes, that's correct. That's correct. I actually was in nursing school when I was eight. Teen yet no, yeah, go 18. Gone is 19. And I graduated a year later. And then, like, a couple months after that, I passed my boards and I've been working as a nurse ever since. That's really interesting. I find that really interesting. Just because the path that we go on as, as trans people is really anybody who has to really figure out who they are, you know, to kind of have a career and stick with it through all of that consistently is. I mean, it's the exact opposite of what I've been doing. But it seems like the opposite of what a lot of people have done from what I've seen, so like, what, what what led you to nursing initially, um, honestly, I wanted to be a plastic surgeon, initially, because when I was growing up my mother, she said that too much cartoons and everything was too much. So every day we would have to watch, specifically me, but every day I would have to watch something educational on TV and what I used to gravitate to was back in the day, way back when there was something called discovery health like you have Every channel but there used to be something called discovery health, which is now by obrah. But discovery health would have so many different things on with like, just so many different things I was just really attracted to like the medical field. I liked watching, I liked surgery, I just like the connection with the patients. I liked seeing I like helping and then seeing the results. And as I got older, I realized that being a plastic surgeon was a lot of work. It was a lot of schooling. And when I was in college, um, you know, obviously I wanted to make money and things of that nature. So I actually ended up saying, you know what, I'm going to just go to the trade school and get my LPN as a licensed practical nurse, and then I'll work my way up from there. So my goal was to originally be a licensed practical nurse, and then get my Rn and then focalize and like anesthesia, and then actually be in a war room consistently. That was the goal then. And as I progressed, in my nursing career, I realized that that wasn't it because my life was changing. I was changing. I just didn't. I like I still love nursing, but it's just not my path. But I needed to do it in order for me to get right in now. So it's like when I always talk about stealth bros, and like how stealth bros was created. People always ask me like, you know what, what led you here, and I always say that stealth bros is not just my business, it's my life. It literally is my life. Because everything that I went through, is what has brought me to where I am right now. And if it wasn't for those circumstances, and everything that I've learned, then I wouldn't have been able to apply myself like I am now with my business. So it's like, it's like a life's path. I guess you could say like, that's how I just look at it. Like, the nursing is necessary for me to run stealth Bros. It was necessary for me to do I still do it. But part time not full time anymore. You're a part time nurse now. Yes, yes. So I work part time nursing now that I'm actually in the middle of a leap of faith right now, like the past couple months, I've like back down on my nursing hours, and I pick up I need to pick up and then I you know if I have to work more if I feel like I need to work more, or get some for my kids or something, then I'll put the extra hours in. And I'll just work the double time like I've been doing the past five years. But I'm trying to lean more on the business because we've been doing really well. So I'm like in between of like, some weeks, I may work, I may work. Two or three days, I worked 12 hour shifts. So I might work two or three days one week, which is full time. But days on my only work one day a week. So it just depends on how my schedule is looking what my month is looking like. It just it just depends. But I'm in that middle stage of trying to stop working full time as a nurse and then working full time only on my business. So yeah, it's it's hard. But that's what growth is. It's hard growth is hard. Yeah, that's really cool. Congratulations on being in this like leap of faith period that was actually going to be one of my questions. Because there are, there are pros and cons to both. And I you know, I've had other people on the show who have businesses who have like, intentionally kept it part time because there's, there's different freedoms that come from your business, being part time and keeping your full time job and not having to make you know, some and I guess is different, especially if your business is a creative one, you know, because it's like you can make decisions that aren't necessarily the best for marketing or whatever. So, but that's really cool that you're able to like, take this full time. So you said you said you need you kind of you know that experience of nursing has helped you with stuff, brothers, is it? Do you mean that in like a really, really practical sense, like being a nurse and working with needles helps me figure out the best products for stealth brothers? Or do you just mean there's something about, like the work ethic behind being a nurse that is helping you like grind as an entrepreneur? Or is it a little bit of both? I think it's a little bit of both. But I really think that like my assessment skills is what led me to realize that there was a void. And that is what was able to say, hey, look, I know about these sharps containers I know about these needles and the sizes and all these things. So you know, I need somewhere to places so why not create something for us all to place it and just from like, binge watching YouTube when I first started transitioning is what really made me make that general assessment that nobody had anywhere to place their tea, like it was in shoe boxes. It was all over the place. And I was like, Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is a big No, no, like, people are just like throwing their needles around and they don't know what the hell to do with this. So I said let me come in here and fix that. So so so pretty much that's what happens. You know, that's I was just making a general assessment on everybody as I'm watching their videos indirectly. You know what I mean? It wasn't like, I'm like specifically trying to find an issue. But as I started, like, my wheels start to turn on like, yo, nobody has anywhere to put their stuff like what's going on here. And when I went to the store for my stuff, I really didn't have nothing. So I'm like, Okay, well, let me try to figure out what I can do. And I actually had this idea for like, literally, since I was like, three or four months on T, and then I didn't start this business until, like, a year on T. Yeah, like a year and one month on T. And then that's when I actually started the business and, like, started to push it in, like, you know, a few months prior to that. I was like, you know, getting all my T's and dotting my eyes and things like that. But yeah, it was, it's, that's why I always tell people, it's a life path. Because it's, it's not one thing that led me to creating self Bros. It's like, it's my life has led me here, all the things that I've been through, you know, pushed me to start the business and to do what I do, you know? Yeah, I love that. There's, there's a couple of things there that I love, actually. I mean, I love that. I love the idea that you're over here, you know, because, you know, like, you work a job. And then you see that job portrayed on TV. And you're like, this is never how that would go, you know what I mean? Like, like, EMTs will watch like, the, the medical dramas is like, This isn't how it just goes. And so you're you're watching these YouTube videos, and you're watching these people, you know, kind of mishandle their needles, and you're like, you're like practically ripping your hair like, What are you guys doing? And you and you see this need? i? And I think that that lends itself exactly what you're saying, like no experience ever goes wasted. And I think that that's so cool that you were able to kind of like, put those things together. But so you have that idea. When you were three months on T you started when you were a year on T i saw somewhere, I think in a different interview that she did or something that stealth brothers was initially started as like a top surgery fundraiser for you. So do you Yes, yes, it was I actually. So while I was going through my transition, obviously, I was working as a nurse, but I was like, I'm tired of this. I don't feel like putting OT and I could definitely put ot in and just paid for my surgery. But I didn't want to do that. Because I felt at this point in my time. I mean, I still do feel this way. But I felt so connected to the community because I felt so relieved once I realized, like that missing link in my life. Because years prior to my transition, I was feeling this void. I was telling everybody, my family, I don't know what's wrong with me. Like, I'm trying to figure this out. And once I connected with the transgender community through YouTube, I was like, these are my people like, this is my APR, you know what I mean. And when I was watching all the YouTube videos, not only was I assessing everybody, but I was also seeing who was like, I don't want to say the most popular but I was watching those guys who were obviously getting a lot of attention because they were really showing a lot of their transitions. They were really being open with the world and sharing their stories. And some of these guys had businesses and they were running apparel companies and things and I'm like, oh man, they're helping they're making money to get top surgery. I'm like, maybe there's something I can do for the community too. So like, all these things were like rolling in my head. So as these things are all in my head, I was also on Instagram making relationships because we're reaching out to I'm reaching out to other trans men. I'm like talking about my beard growth. And like I got four hairs here. Like it's making that genuine connection. And throughout the first year of my transition, I like just talked to everybody. I just talked to everybody because we were all kind of going through the same thing. There was a lot of guys started tea when I was starting tea. So it was like a sense of community. And then once I was able to say I actually went through a breakup before I started my business because I really get it pushed me to start the business my breakup because sorry, this is kind of like crazy, cuz there's just so many things that are involved. But yeah, no, I love it. My breakup. I was with this woman for like, I think it was seven years at this time. We were together for 10 years. But yeah, we were together for like seven years at this time. And we broke up because she was telling me I wasn't doing anything and all this shit. And I'm like, bro, I'm gonna go get her like I stopped my life nursing and furthering my career in nursing so I could help you further your career in nursing and I stopped my life and now I'm moving for my life in my transition, and I'm going through all these changes. You know, it was a lot for her it was for me, but either way I ended up moving out of that house and I moved back into my dad's house. And at that point, I said, You know what, I can't curse but I'll just say big fu to everybody. Oh, you can curse on this show. If that's what you're just say, you know, big fu to everybody. And I said I am somebody I can use. I've been a go getter since I was born like I was born. So I just focus I had so much more time. So I wasn't worried about a woman, I was just focused on me. So I was doing homecare Nursing at the time. And I was taking care of a six month old baby who had issues going on. And I had 12 hours in this woman's house and 10 out of those 12 The baby was sleep. So I would be computer research and research and research and, and, you know, talking to everybody, and then once I came up with a product, I had the samples, I had everything kind of emotion. I reached out to all the people I had made connections with over that past year and said, Hey, do you want this product? And they're like, yeah, I want this product. I'm like, Okay, cool. If you like it, repost it. If you don't, you don't. Yeah, and people's reposting it like crazy. But I'm trying to get back to your question. I'm sorry. Because like, I get excited. I'm like sweating. I love it. But the the top surgery was, I figured, okay, I will create this for my top surgery, and I'll get it, I'll sell like 300 bags a year. And I'll get my little bit of money. And I can put that towards my top surgery. But after like the first month, and I sold out of like all the products, I realized at that moment that people really liked this. And then people were like, I need a smaller one. So then like six months later, I came out with the junior DOP. And then once the junior DOP came out, it was like it was on like, it was crazy, because everybody was this is really what I need to, like, keep my stuff together. So after that, I just kept dropping collections, dropping collections. And then the whole first year, I made a good amount of money. But I put all my money into the top surgery fund because I said, I'm gonna raise money for myself, but I can't have this money, if it isn't for my community, like this business was built on the foundation of them. So I have to give something back as well. So I was taking 15% of the profits, which was just too much at that time. But I didn't know because I was just doing this. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. But anyway, I saved a shitload of money. And I said, Okay, I'm going to give all this money to this guy. And the profits I had, I didn't really have any profits, because all the expenses and photography, content payments and everything else that involves running a business, I didn't have the money, but I had this 2500 sitting in my savings account from all the 15% that I took away. So I gave it away. So I didn't get my top surgery that first year it was it wasn't until actually, the second year of still rose, I was actually able to apply for credit. And then I paid off my top surgery literally like I think beginning of June, January this past year, like I just finished playing. Yeah, thank you. But and so the pros paid for that they paid for that monthly payment, which was amazing. So I didn't have to come from my own pocket to pay that. But it just, it's just like and that's why like I say it's my life because it's like one thing happened at it's like, all these little things just we're happening in the moments of moving forward. And now, it's like not only do we serve the transgender community, but now we're like hitting major pharmaceutical companies of diabetics and insulin companies that actually need this product. There's IVF clients that like to use this product. There's stud masculinize lesbians that like to put their tampons in here. I mean, you can really use it for so many different reasons. But I want to keep it a medical luxury company because there's really no other medical luxury company dopp kit that's out there right now. So I want to keep it like that. So people know that hey, look, you're not looked at so much but I'm looking at you I'm here for you. I'm going to support you through something that always isn't the greatest experience you know, I mean, giving yourself an injection always isn't the greatest experience that comes with a lot of anxiety. So if you can something that looks good and makes you feel good on your dresser everyday then it's okay take that shot it's okay to do that every day or once a week or bi weekly or monthly or however you need to take it you know what I mean? So yeah, I talked a lot sorry but it goes great I really love how how interconnected all this is right you know, cuz it's like you I can fully relate to that feeling the void in the in the community and meeting the community and kind of feeling like after transitioning and meeting this online community being like, this is it these are my people. And I love that, you know, like you were able to kind of pour back into the community and still kind of have the top surgery paid off. I think that's fantastic. And honestly, I think what you're saying about that breakup really kind of goes back to what we were saying before we hit record you know, because you you are obviously this huge go getter. I mean you became a nurse practically straight out of high school, like you're doing all that you're you're essentially building community and doing market research kind of simultaneously Almost subconsciously, because it's just so ingrained into who you are to be a Dewar, I know you've been on a big fitness journey, we'll probably be able to talk about that in just a minute. But um, you know, your, your ex, you know, was kind of saying, you know, in this breakup, like, you're not doing enough, and bla bla bla bla bla. And I think that that really kind of goes back to what I was saying before, where our ideas of success and our ideas of kind of figuring out who you are, in this society is really white centric, Sis, gender centric, you know, hetero normative, all these things. And when you don't fit into that, your path into being a Dewar and living your path or in living, your truth is going to look a lot different. And there are periods where it's going to feel and even look on the outside, like, you're not doing enough. But like, look at where you've ended up between now and however many years ago that was, you know, like you were, from what I can tell from you know, and this is obviously, like, I'm basing this off of your online persona, a peek behind the curtain for the listeners, this is my first time actually having a conversation with braxted, ever. But you're very busy. I mean, I do not imagine that anybody would say now that you're not doing enough that you're not to do or you know, but it's like, we have to have those periods of kind of putting the puzzle pieces in place. And because the path isn't so clear and obvious and kind of laid out ahead of us, for us by society, it does take time, you know, what I mean? Like is that that totally makes sense that that, you know, that's that not everybody is going to be able to understand that. But, you know, as long as you got it, and you understood it, and you knew you knew the path, like I said before, like your story, you're the only person that has to buy it, you're the only one that has to like, live it and feel it. And as long as you live in and feel it doesn't matter what anybody else is saying, because you know what your truth is? Yeah, it's so true, I actually, I really want to pull my old Mac up, because it has a video on there. And it's when I received the first samples of the JR dopps. And I recorded myself opening the bags, because I was really excited about because I had read in the dimensions numerous times, I had read the material numerous times. So getting these official ones that I was gonna really start to sell meant a lot to me. And I was like crying on the video. And I'm like, I don't give a shit. Who doesn't love these, I love this so much. I'm like, I love these so much that I didn't care if they sold or not, I just, I was so happy with the work that I put into it that I told myself, I don't care, like I don't care if they don't sell like, it doesn't matter. Like I just really love these so much. And, you know, I think having that, you know, just for like other young entrepreneurs or anyone who's just starting out in their business, you know, a lot of people want to start a business nowadays, because they're like, Oh, I want to make my own money. Like, everything is wrong around the finances. And that was a that was something that I learned very early on, which I don't know how I knew. But, you know, like I said, it's my life path. So God just placed that in front of me. So I don't know, but you can't build a business off of wanting to create money. Like I obviously, I wanted to raise money for my top surgery. But I wanted to I had passion behind this I I wanted to be more part of that community more than anything. And that's why when I had that first 20 $500 I didn't care, because I was already I'm already making $30 an hour as a nurse, I don't care if I didn't get that 20 $500 I already have my own money from my career. So yeah, I was just so happy that I could say, Hey, you know, I can help this person like, and so many people helped me up into that point that it was just like, I want to do this, I want to do this. I want to do this. You know what I mean? And that's pretty much I feel like what has pushed my business so far, because it's not really about, oh, I'm making X amount of dollars every month off self Bros. It's like, Who am I going to meet next? That's gonna push me to the next level. Like I'm more excited about talking to somebody like having this podcast and someone who's the one person that I need to hear this to take me to the next level. Yeah, that is what I'm excited about. You know what I mean? I don't care about if I make $1. Or if I get four orders off of this shown on your Facebook or your Instagram. I don't care about that I care about who am I going to meet next like Carmen carerra just like five of my pictures on Instagram. Like, I don't know who that is, you know? That is Carmen Carrera. The name sounds familiar. I know. I've heard it before. Yes, just just go on Instagram. She has like 500,000 followers. She's like the number one transgender woman in the world. Like, it's just super Yeah, like it's just like, wild and to see like people are really seeing me and like making those connections and having people have high statues and stuff. Say like you are doing a good job with it. Like, that's what I'm running after I'm not really running after making self bros, the next billion dollar company, even though that's in progress, I just am after the relationships that I'm creating and building those genuine friendships, through everything that I'm doing, and, and teaching people and motivating people like, that's really, that's why I do it, it's not about the money. And I think when you move like that in your business, that's when you really become successful, like when you're when you're not worried about it. And that's why I'm having such a hard time with the leap of faith because I don't want to use my business money because I've never used it before. Unless my kids want something extravagant or brand new computers or something crazy. I'll I'll drop $1,000 on them, because I have it in there. But I'm not going to spend it on my bills, I'm not going to spend it on eating and things like that. I use all my career money for that, because that's why I work. But now I have to spend some of my self bros money. So it's like, I don't like to do that. Because I look at it as such its own entity rather than this is actually my money, I've worked for this, I cry over this every day, people don't realize I belong in fetal position, a lot of nights trying to figure out what I need to do next. Like, they don't see that. But that's what that that's what it takes, you know, I mean, that's, that's just what it is. So it's it's pretty crazy. Still bruises, wild, ya know, and, and the fact that, you know, you're kind of in this and you're like, I don't even care how much my This makes, I'm just so proud of it. And it's more about the connections and all these things. That is exactly what you're saying. That's what makes it grow. And to that, to that end, I mean, thank you for being vulnerable about kind of how you're feeling about this leap of faith period. But, you know, I would look at it like this, you know, like, it's great that for the most part, you only have to work once, maybe twice a week. But that's still 12 to 24 hours if you are not dedicating to self brothers. So yeah, it might feel weird to have that money coming in and be you know, spending on your bills and stuff. But it is it's part of making, it's part of being more available to your community, it's part of being able to have more time to come up with other ideas and to have more reach in to bring visit more visibility into the trans community in the struggles that we face, you know, and it's almost like, it's almost like self brothers. If you see it as an entity that is in some way separate from you. It's like your South brothers are sponsoring you to keep going with your mission. And you do use that hashtag all the time hashtag on a mission with your workout stuff with your with your car tops, where you're kind of just distilling advice and wisdom. And I asked you one time, like, Why are you always whispering in these, you're like, I'm usually just coming right out of a meditation when I do this. So you're, you're sharing all these different parts of yourself? Hashtag on a mission? What? What is that mission? Exactly? I've been so curious about that. mission is to ultimate legacy and wealth for my grandchildren's children. That's what I mean, you gotta be paying the bills with stuff, brothers, if you're gonna be, you know, building wealth and stuff like that, right? Yes, no, absolutely. And that's, I actually started on the mission. I think it was back in 2014, or 15, or 16. It's 2016. I think 16 or 15. But I actually I know which post it is, I'll have to go find it for you what after this call, but I, I was actually at one of my old jobs. And I told myself, I actually this was when I few few months on T I think, and I really, I wasn't really sure if I was gonna move in the whole stealth, like, I didn't even have self bros wasn't even a name in my mind at that time. But I knew that I wanted to create something because I couldn't find anything but I wasn't putting in a focus on it. So I was like, Okay, I'm going to further my career. And this is when I was thinking about going on to do my rn. And I was actually in college finishing up some of my prerequisites and things of that nature. And I said, I'm on a mission because by the time I by the time I hit 30 I wanted to be secure in my nursing career. So I told myself like, it was like one day I took like a random Instagram picture and I had put on there like on a mission. And like ever since that day. I've been on a mission. It's just like ever since that day. I don't know why I did it. I don't know what clicked in my mind. But I knew that I had to go get it. I knew that I just had to get it and I'm very like, big on visions. And I've had like, a permanent vision in my mind of how my life is and it I've had it since I was little like super little. Like I just have these visions and it's like, I can't stop until I get that so one, I was not even that I would stop because it's it's always going to Keep going, but once I've reached that point in my life, then I'll know that okay, I'm I did what God asked me to do. I did it. So I know that I'm good. Like, I know that I'll be good by the end. But right now I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet. What? What is that vision? Do you mind sharing what that is? that vision is it's it's actually white pillars on a home. It's actually white pillars on a home. And yeah, it's it's very like when I grew up, just so you have some background story on the white pillars. My mom used to take me to open houses of multimillion dollar homes because I was failing in school, I was doing really, really bad and she took me I don't know if you are familiar with Camden, New Jersey, but it's probably one of the like, the worst places to live next to like Trenton, New Jersey, it's a really bad high crime area. So no, that's not where I'm from. She took care. She took me there because I was doing so poorly in school, I was doing so poorly. I was young, I was like an eighth grade or something crazy. Um, but she took me there. And she told me to get out and walk. And that would be that and it put me in a place where I didn't want to be it put me somewhere if I kept not doing well. This is where I was going to be and then she put me back in the car. And then she took me to multimillion dollar homes in Vorhees which is another part of New Jersey, which has a lot of beautiful mansions. So we went and we would go inside these mansions and we see these homes and all these things. And she said, if you work hard enough, you can have this but you have to work. And it changed my life. It changed my life. And it showed me what I could have. And if I worked hard enough what I could achieve and who I could be and a lot of people are like, Oh, well, you know, they think oh, you're just showing off if you buy this and you buy that but you know people who are wealthy people who people who understand the longevity of what it takes to obtain a home with four pillars like if you watch my ID story, the Mayweather clip I just posted you'll see a home that had four major pillars on it, which was beautiful as probably like a $40 million house. But either way, I just I just knew that I just saw something in my mind just click and it just said this is where you need to be like my mom would put me in like Range Rovers and Lamborghinis at the dealership just to just to push push me and I was 12 years old, 14 years old. I was young I was I didn't even know but I knew that if I worked hard that's the point I'm trying to get I'm sorry. Was that all these things like? Yes Okay, you get rich you want to buy a Lamborghini want to buy a G wagen all these great things but you know, you're just showing off but it's so much deeper for me than that you know having four pillars on my home is not because I want to show you that I own a $40 million home it's it's it's a it's a trophy. You don't understand the foundation I had to bill you don't understand that. I'm crying you don't understand how late I stay up and how early I wake up to make this happen. For me to continue to do this and having those pillars on my home will be the ultimate trophy for me. It'll be the ultimate trophy when I'm running around in my G wagen. NASA trophy I'm not running around to show you that I have a G wagen. I'm running around the G wagen. Because I earned this because I worked hard to get here. So that's like, that's like kind of the perception that I work around. But yeah, it's so deep. It's so crazy. But yeah, I don't want to get too crazy on here. But it's it's a very, very deep meaningful thing for me to obtain certain things and not because just to say I have it for the status, but it's a trophy. It's it really shows, you know the work that you put in so when I see people that are getting all these nice things, I'm like damn, like they worked hard because I'm busting my ass. And I'm not there yet. So I know you've worked hard I know what it looks like behind the curtains. You know, everyone thinks my life is great on Instagram, which it is and I I show the bad parts to sometimes but they don't really know how hard it gets. They don't they don't understand that when I'm waking up at 5am I'm crying. There's there's days I'm crying on the way to the gym. I am literally in tears because I just I'm tired. I work hard every day. I'm tired. I've been doing this for five years straight 365 24 seven every day I've missed a day. I'm tired and that's okay though. But I know that when I get to that point I know that a breakthrough is coming through and that's what I try to teach people to the breakfast card talk like it's okay to be tired. It's okay to be broken down. It's okay to do that. But you can have a moment of rest if you need it. I personally you know, you have to everyone takes rest but some people take too much rest. So Have a moment, not a day a moment, and then finish it. Because once you accomplish that, the feelings that you have on the inside of your body, and the knowing that you can pull through even on your worst of days will help you on that next obstacle that you'll go through because the obstacles never stopped, they're going to continue coming. So as long as you can go over these obstacles and do these things, it's nothing to that's why is nothing for me, I will cry all day long. Look at this, look at this. Look at this. This is all sample cereals, and everything, I will cry, I will cry through it all. But I do it because I love it. I love it, I will cry through it, I'll look through it. And it'll be hard. I don't know what I'm doing. I'll cry through it. But I will make sure I get it done. Because I know that once it's done, the feeling that I get is more immense than crying for a few days. You know what I mean? Not saying I cry all the time. But I'm just saying, you know, it's okay. It's okay to cry, it's okay to be broken down sometimes. But that's what it takes to push the next level, you know what I mean? So, yeah, and, and a lot of that kind of comes down to like trusting yourself, like the kind of like you said, like you like knowing that you're going to be able to get it done, knowing that you'll be able to kind of take that foundation and get yourself to the next level. And, you know, like, these are, these are the words in this mission. And Gosh, shout out to your mom for doing all that with you with taking it to the to you know, where the where the your bottom could end up. And then also, you know, the heights that you could store, I mean, and to do that to you so young until like really plant that into your head. Because I think that is a thing where a lot of us are not brought up understanding that that is possible and the how to get there. And I really, you know, having that foundation of the community that kind of propped you up and understanding all the way through that this is, you know, that that the community is what got you here and the community is what's going to get you through. And and having this void kind of filled for you like, how does it feel to know as you're doing all this stuff, as you're kind of, you know, like you said, crying through it all, but knowing that you're on this mission and knowing that you have your community has your back? What does it feel like to know that while you have this void, you are now filling that void for other people, you are now the big brother that other people are seeking out and and are finding, right? How does that feel? It feels very wild. Sometimes I don't. I for I don't realize the impact that I have until like the messages come in. And they are very frequent, which you know, even just thinking about it in this moment. It's like, yeah, like, it's very wild. That's really all I can say. It's, it means a lot to me. And it's like, I I don't know, it's like, I'm very happy. It's like, it's like an overwhelming feeling that doesn't have words. It's like, I just want to always do this like that. That's just kind of how that's like the words that come to my mind when I think about like, when people reach out to me, and they're like, Oh, I need this so much. And this is where I really need to hear today. Or like, Oh, I got through TSA and I traveled all the way to Thailand with my bag. And I felt so comfortable or, you know, like this, you know, I talked to my doctor and they told me they love this product. Like, you know, just little things like that is like is sometimes I'm like, Who are you? Like? Like, like sometimes I don't even realize like, It's me, you know what I mean? Even with my wife, she's like, you know, that's your money. You know, that's your business. It's not self Bros. I'm like, I'm still trying to make sure that that is, you know what I mean? And it's very, it's very, it's, it's hard. It's weird. It's cool. It's fun. It's so many different things. It's so many different things. But I still even to this day like I was on the phone with one of the supplier diversity is from Kellogg company. And just to even say that I'm just like, I was like, what I mean, like, it's very wild. It's very wild. Like even right now I'm in a program through CVS health for executive learning, like what like what's great doing what and that's the whole thing and I'm blown away I'm I'm blown away by the own my own things that I'm doing so it it's like I have out of body experience. It's like not me, but it is. So it sounds like you despite all the success you know imposter syndrome. It's still something that you deal with. It's still a real thing. It's a real thing. It's a whole thing. Yeah, it's it's very, it's very weird, but it's so fulfilling. And it makes me so happy. And I know that in those days, I am really sad. It's like, I'm not because I know people are watching me. And I know that they're looking for me to like, continue to feed them with things that they need. And that motivates me to want to keep doing it. Yeah, it always comes back to the community. Yeah, it's like, I'm excited. Like, even if I'm sad, I'm like, I know, I don't feel like doing this, but I'm gonna crush it anyway. Because I know that I have so many people looking at me. And I know that I ultimately, I really like now that I have kids and stuff, like what my wife and everything is like, they're watching me on Instagram, they watch me they're nine and 11. They watch me. I can't just be saying anything anymore. You know what I mean? I can't just doing anything anymore. Like I have to. I really, because you know, you can talk to your kids all day, like I talk to the kids all day, like you shouldn't be doing this. You shouldn't be doing that, like China's school them and stuff like that. But when they watch me on Instagram stories, they get to sit with that, you know what I mean? They get to really absorb what I'm saying. And you know, my youngest, he always comes back to me, and he was like, brax, you remember when you were saying, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, you remember it? Like, you remember that? He and he does, you know, I mean? So I know that. It's sticking in. Like, I know that if he sees me pull through my hard days, just like the other day, I wrote something on there, like a couple paragraphs on my Instagram story. And they could see, you know, they didn't know I was having a bad day that day, because I'm good. I show you I'm good. You know what I mean? But I'm letting them in a little bit to understand that, hey, you know, I am moving forward. But I have a hard day too sometimes. And that's okay. And they can digest that on their own. You know what I mean? Yeah, and it helps, it helps. So it's like, all these little things, keeps me going to just continue trying to be the best that I can plus my father, I have a really great dad, my dad is one of the best dads ever. So like, trying to be the man that he is like, I know that I have to continue to embed I know I'm a little bit more crazier than he is. But it's like, He's such a great human being like as a person that I want to strive to be like that. And I think that's what really pushed my transition was that I wanted to be a father, I really wanted to be a father. I want it to give my kids what my father gave me. And I couldn't be a mom, I couldn't I couldn't be a mother. I didn't have that even though I love my mom. But that's just who I was right? And having my dad like, my dad's Also, I'm both my parents were entrepreneurs. So my dad was an entrepreneur as well. And every day on the way to school because I actually was raised by my father, I live with him majority of my life. He used to always try to figure out an invention so that we didn't have to live in New Jersey because we wanted to move to Florida my entire life. He we need to he is too cold. So he would always say, you know, it's the, it's the simplest ideas that filled a void that will make you rich. And he said this to me 1000s of times as I was growing up throughout middle school, high school, whatever you want to call it, because he would drive me to school every day. And that was one of the things when I told him about stealth bros the initial before I even let everybody know, he was like, are you sure 300 bags is going to be enough. And I was like, Dad, it's going to be I'm not going to sell these things overnight, blah, blah, blah. And he's like, I don't know. He said, what you're doing people need this and I'm like, Okay, yeah, and that's like, it just like kind of went on from there. So yeah, my story is crazy. There's just like so many intricate pieces to it. You know, I mean, absolutely. Because Yeah, that's exactly it you you filled a simple need, you know, you provided a safe space for people who have to inject themselves, whether they're trapped, I mean, starting with transmitted testosterone, but whether they're also you know, diabetic and things like that, just providing a safe space for them to put their needles. And it's so interesting that you you know, your dad was telling you this from childhood and that ended up being what you what you did. So yeah, shout out to the parents shout out to the community. You know, we're just about out of time. Is there is there anything else that you'd feel remiss if you left it out? And is there anything that you would like to promote? No, I mean, I think we touched base on everything. And I think the one thing we didn't talk about was like my fitness. But I really, you know, fitness is my stabilizer I would like to say it's my meditation time. It's your anchor in It's my anchor, it's my anchor. Amen to that. Yes, for sure. If I did not have the gym, I would be wild as hell. That's just to be honest with you, because I would, I would be way too overwhelmed. I would be just all over the place with everything, it really builds my confidence to like, you know, I always tell everybody, you got to stop caring what people think about you, you got to just let that go. And when I entered that, I let it all go. And then when I come out of there, I'm like, like, right now I'm still sweating from the gym, sweating talking to you, because I'm so pumped. Like, I'm just so pumped, I had it, I had a great start to my day, I went to the gym, I did what I had to do, you know, I've been hitting all my meetings, we're on time for everything. I got another meeting at two o'clock, everything is aligned, everything just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And when I have that gym in the morning, I'm ready, I can go all day, all night, it doesn't matter. But without that gym, I'm just not the same. I'm just not the same person. I just, I'm more angry. I'm more irritable. I'm, you know, I'm not given the love to my family like I should. I'm more focused on making money and doing stupid shit. You know what I mean? And my anchor down into the gym, it brings me to a place where I can connect with God, I can connect with my body, in my mind, and once I'm able to do all of that for myself first. That's why I like to go 5am because I like to start my day for me, and God. And then once I get that out the way that I can handle everybody else's problems, because I handle everybody else's problems all day long. Yeah. And that's a lot. So is long as I take my time for me first before the kids before my wife before anybody, it's just me and God. I think I can kill it. But if I don't get that time, I might kill you. Just kidding. No, I mean, I think I think that's real. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you for adding that. Yeah, I mean, that's a big common theme is the importance of starting your day just for you huge common theme that's come up on this show. So I'm glad to hear that that's part of your thing as well. But yeah, I don't want to I don't want to hold you up. I know you got other stuff to do. Like I said, You are very busy. So thank you so much for coming on to this show. I really appreciate being able to chat with you. And I loved hearing more about your story and how interwoven all of it is. I mean, your life is a damn spider web. I love it. I'm telling you, I'm telling you. It's crazy. But and I really appreciate you having me on. And it's always fun sharing my story and getting it out there. So I really appreciate you creating a platform. And I hope everybody enjoys it. Thank you. Yeah, we'll definitely talk soon. Thank you. Excellent. All right, once again, that was Braxton Fleming behind Braxton. Thank you so much for coming on to the show. I got so fired up listening back to that conversation, when I was editing the interview earlier today. And I mean, it's several. Okay. So I think that there's several really cool things that I wish I could have breaking it down more with Braxton, but you know, he had to go. I think that it's really interesting that in the beginning of the interview, he shared with us how he had this relationship that ended and in the breakup, you know, his ex said that he wasn't doing enough with his life. And now here he is talking about like, Oh, you can take a moment of rest, but not a day, just a moment. And then you get right back into the hustle. You know what I mean? He knew even during that break, he knew that he was a go getter. He knew that he was just putting some of the puzzle pieces together. And then once he kind of figured out the direction that he was going, he would hit the ground running again. And I think it really just goes to show that sometimes, you know, it might feel or even look on the outside that we're not doing a lot with our lives. But it could be that we're just figuring out what direction we need to go. I don't think that it's good to be busy just for the sake of being busy. Right? When it's time to put the pedal to the metal, as they say, you know, you'll be able to do that. And that's exactly what Braxton did. I mean, he knows exactly what his vision is exactly what his goal is. And he's not letting anything get into the way. But if you don't know what that vision is, why, why are you running around in circles? You like a damn dog trying to chase your tail. You know, I also thought it was very kind of him that he let me say stuff brothers the whole time instead of self Bros. Listening back. I'm like, Oh, we were not saying the same thing. So sorry about that Braxton self Bros. It is a great company. I actually I've never had to like take testosterone home and inject it so I never really had a need for the dopp kits. And I was really excited when I saw that he came out with a fanny pack because I've kind of been wild For a while, and I bought one, so yeah, and there's there's usually a parallel on there too. So you know if you're someone who really got excited about the mission of stealth Burrows, but you don't necessarily have a need for a dopp kit, you know, check out their website Anyway, you might find some cool stuff on there and give him a follow. We did we ran out of time before we could talk about his you know, the stuff that he wanted to promote but I talked to him a little bit after the interview and he just wants you to follow Him and follow stealth bro. So I put the links to all that into the show notes. Braxton is sire brax on Instagram and tik tok stealth bros is just stealth bro co on Facebook, Instagram and tik tok, he puts out really good stuff on both platforms. Check it all out. You know, like I said he is he's just a great example of what it looks like when you have an idea of what your purpose is and the direction you want to go. And moving forward with it. And I really appreciate that he led us into the the more human side of that, that that he does still experience imposter syndrome. In some days, he he's crying because he doesn't want to do this, you know, like, that's as real, that is real life right there. You know, and I just I love to what he said at the end there about the the gym and being in the flow. I mean, he didn't say being in the flow. That's what I heard listening back to this, you know, he said, he goes to the gym, it's his anchor, you know, he's able to just not care what anyone thinks and and put it all out there. And then he comes back and everything is just in perfect alignment. And his meetings are going smoothly and and he's locked in with his family and his community. You know, that anchor can look like a lot of different things for a lot of different people. But whatever it is, I hope that you're able to find something like that. And, you know, hey, again, if anything that you heard here resonated with you, you know, leave us a five star rating a written review, you know, hit me up on Instagram or tik tok. Let me know what you liked about the show. Take a screenshot make it your Instagram story. Again, I'm all about connection. I try to every once in a while, you know, post questions on my Instagram stories, you just get conversations going because and hey, half of the time when I'm putting out these these questions, I don't even really know where I stand on these things because they get weird and philosophical Like, right now I'm I'm debating whether or not we changes people at all, or if we just evolve more and more and become more transformed versions of who we always were, which now that I say that out loud. I'm like, does this even make sense? I don't know. But let's have a conversation. And yeah, thank you for being on this journey with me. I'll see you next week. Stay evolving.