Stuntin Like My Daddy

Grief, growth, and goofy cousin energy. In this episode, Torrean (aka “Daddy”), Mondo, and Mac unpack the 30-year anniversary of Mondo’s mom’s passing and what healing looks like three decades later—faith, family, and the power of prayer. We trade memories (Mortal Kombat ’95, Grandma’s hot house, Grandpa’s phone-call diplomacy), talk about how grandparents transform into softies, and reflect on the traits our kids carry from the ones we’ve lost.

Then we pivot to the viral Rampage Jackson/Raja incident: Was it a storyline or out of bounds? We wrestle with integrity vs. entertainment, how words shape our kids (“power of the tongue”), and whether parents should shield their children from consequences. We close on “beyond success”—chasing something deeper than trophies, letting God steer the next chapter. It’s tender, funny, and real.

Transcript

Torrean: 0:00

Yo, yo, yo. What's good y'all? Welcome to another episode of the they Call Me Daddy Appearance Podcast. I got my co-host, I got the writer, aka Mondo, and I got Mac. I'm looking for my water on the floor, phillips. My name is Torrean, aka Daddy. What's going on y'all? How y'all doing?

Mondo: 0:19

We straight man Writer.

Torrean: 0:25

I don't know what is that you said, like a ride on looking for water on the ground. You just told me you could ride with whatever you know. I'm saying, so you could be the writer and uh, okay you left you. You left your water. I figured it was on the ground, you know, in a bowl somewhere. So what's going on? I got you, bro.

Mondo: 0:38

All right, you be dropping nicknames and you just so happen to give yourself the nickname daddy huh, okay, yeah, that's great never, never self-giving, you know, never, never, self-giving.

Torrean: 0:49

Okay, I'm an adoption of the people. You know, the people appointed me anyway, the people, the people, your, your house. What's going on?

Mondo: 0:59

y'all not, it, not even there, not even there not even even there, not even there, hey, hey, true question, real question. Do you remember the first time another grown man called you daddy?

Torrean: 1:10

Nah, not really.

Mondo: 1:12

Oh, okay, that happens, though Does that happen?

Torrean: 1:19

You hear it from women and men. Sometimes it's kind of you know, I don't judge, it's just whatever. Oh okay, all right, all right, what's going on, though? And me, sometimes it's kind of you know, I don't judge, it's just whatever. Oh okay, all right, all right, what's going on, though?

Mondo: 1:30

man, today is yo. Today for me is honestly a new season, man. I had recorded some content last night because, uh not to start the podcast on a low moment, because it's not that uh, but last, uh, last night or yesterday was 30-year anniversary of my mom's passing and so just for me, man, it felt like an end of a saga. Right, 30 years is a long time. A new chapter is just starting in life.

Mondo: 2:00

I have no lingering kind of trauma from that. I just feel like a healed human, like I've done all the things to like reconcile, growing up as a black man who had lost their mom in a tragic accident at 10 years old. And so, 30 years later, bro, it just feels surreal to like be in this healthy of a state and, honestly, man it it. I'm blessed like that, like that's the only way that I could like frame how I feel right now, like I am truly blessed to have had so many friends and family and loved ones just be there from that moment in 1995 all the way to right now. So shout out to to the fam that's dope nah, for sure, for sure.

Torrean: 2:51

I seen that jazz had posted that on facebook and I could probably say this was the first year I didn't reach out to you or jazz to see how y'all were doing on this day and it just didn't typically. It's like a mindful thing, right. I got to call Mondo, I got to call Jazz to check in and after I seen Jazz post that it never even crossed my mind I need to check in on y'all and I think it's because I think y'all are in such a good space Both of y'all are in good spaces with yourselves, right, like you've been working on yourselves a lot spiritually and everything else spiritually aligned. I don't know it. Just nothing came over, like maybe auntie would be like hey T, check on your, check on him today, but nothing came over me like that today, uh, yesterday. So, um, I didn't know if we were gonna talk about on the pod today, but I'm glad you brought it up yeah, same.

Mack: 3:51

I seen jazz's post, man, and I agree with you, Torrean, like seeing the post something about social media, right. Like you see people on there, they're writing posts or statuses whatever and you just assume in your mind like oh they're, they're all right. But in reality I wish I would have reached out just to just talk to y'all, man, and just seeing the picture of your mom like I was probably one of the younger ones out of our family Like I wish I had a memory and experience with her myself, because all I hear is great things from her and about her. But I'm happy y'all are doing okay, man. I'm happy y'all are doing okay, man. I'm happy you know you guys went on your spiritual journey. Y'all are doing all right, bro.

Mondo: 4:29

She would have been proud of y'all for sure. No, for sure, man I. One of the things that I talked about when I like documented some words last night was how, when that moment happened, like I can now say like, oh, I lost my Jesus piece in that moment because she was the foundation of God in our lives. And so, as a kid I was just, I ran the opposite way. Rather it was intentional or unintentional. I was just like I'm cool on that and so fast forward 30 years to now be the cat on the podcast or in every room like hey, hey, where god at in your life, right, like it's definitely been a full circle, lived experience and uh, yeah, man, I love you mom yeah, that's dope, no, that's dope.

Torrean: 5:19

my dog, if I could ask you a question, man, I don't think I've ever asked you this before, but growing up, losing a parent early, and growing up and you see other people with their moms, or maybe mom and dad at the same time, or whatever, like I never, ever heard y'all ever say like man, I wish I met. I really miss my mom and I give that credit to your dad, you know, because like he did, man, he was exceptional, like more than exceptional to make sure that y'all were good. But I guess my question is is like, did you ever feel like that as a kid? Like man, I really I'm seeing, let's just say you know, uh, mac and auntie, I'm seeing them and I'm just really missing my mom. I'm sure, like you had those moments, but like, was it something that was carried on with you every day or did you just kind of bury it?

Mondo: 6:10

Yeah. So one great question. Yesterday it was so simple, right, that I just gave Jazz a big hug, said I love you. And then I gave my dad a big hug and said I love you. And like we didn't really need more than that yesterday, aside from my dad making some buffalo chicken sandwiches which were fire.

Mondo: 6:34

But anyways, when I gave my dad a hug he had brought up just passively, like yeah, you know, we never really know what life would have been like if your mom was here. And he said there are moments in his life where he reflects like I wonder how my life would be different if my dad was around longer. And I was like yo one, thanks for saying that out loud, like that. You have had those thoughts before, but for me I actually never have. I never sat back and reflected like man, how dope would life be? Or how would it be different if my mom was here? And I attribute that to just the overwhelming love that I just had everywhere and I just never felt like I was lacking in femininity or support. Right, there definitely was a piece of me that I buried, that I needed to go heal for sure.

Mondo: 7:32

But like my mom dying early and like auntie Rita, right, max mom I'm talking about bro there all the time, forever, no matter what.

Mondo: 7:44

And then, as I got older, I built a stronger relationship with Alina, my mom's younger sister, and so like there were just those two relationships that were like staples of just women in my life.

Mondo: 7:56

And then in between there, auntie Tassie, right, who is a mom's, mom's mom, right, and so, man, I just never felt like I was missing the balance of having a mom, and I don't want to say that in a disrespectful way, because I know my mom would have brought a different type of energy and a different type of perspective, yes, and she also would have probably put me on a straighter line earlier in life and I would have had to follow a certain protocol, whereas I feel like I'm the person I am now because of the freedom that my dad allotted Right, like I was able to do certain things because my dad was like son, I gave you all that I could give you.

Mondo: 8:39

Go explore life and I know you'll be good, or I have faith that you'll be good. Where my mom might've been a little bit more rigid in the approach, like here's the expectations, do it this way and, uh, I just feel grateful that you know God painted this picture the way that he did and, uh, the rest of this story is going to be more epic than in the last 30 years, so that's real no that's real, mondo.

Torrean: 9:04

I think uh, I think we kind of talked about this like uh, on a private call, you know, uh, not too long ago, but it's just like um everybody deals with differently, and seeing like how you handle that as a, as a child, child, you know uh.

Torrean: 9:23

You know uh, mac, your dad was in a tragic accident when you were younger.

Torrean: 9:28

So just seeing how y'all maneuvered, that is um something I always just like give y'all credit for, like the strength inside of you, you know um, give you credit for, like I knew God always had y'all for whatever you may have been missing at that moment in time.

Torrean: 9:46

But, with that being said, it's like you know I'm seeing my grandfather right now be you know he's got dementia and him leaving that home, and how the impact is on, like my family, and so just having that staple or somebody that's really very key in your life and then have something happen to where they can no longer be in the capacity they once were, I just think it's very interesting how people kind of handle themselves in those moments because you know like, for example, my best friend, matt one of my best friends, matt like he lost his mom and he's very visible, like. That's something that he that he he misses her on a daily like is very open about how much he misses her. You know how the last 30 years has shaped you as a man, uh, as a brother, as you know, as who?

Mondo: 10:52

you are today and then, uh, yeah, so thanks for sharing.

Mondo: 10:54

Yeah, to that point, I actually am curious if mac would be able to, or willing to, share more words, given his experience with his pops, because for me I say now in retrospect, it was very much of a Jason Bourne type experience for me, right, so like my trauma was buried because God was like oh, I'm going to take the memories that you have had from birth to 10 years old, so like I wasn't as connected to my mom mentally, because I actually had only remembered one experience with my mom prior to her death, and that experience was a dope one, right, it was just her throwing my previous birthday party.

Mondo: 11:40

And so to live a life where the only memory that I have of my mom is one memory that was good, it was kind of easy for me to like hold on to that. And when everybody else around me is saying like she was an amazing human, I was just like, oh, ok, dope, well, like let me just step in and be my version of an amazing human. But then my question to Mac then is like, were there some different strategies? Were there a different set of things that you had to consider or people you had to talk to or things that you had to work through as a young man, not having that relationship with his pops.

Mack: 12:19

I mean, y'all know me, bro, I'm not I'm not going to be saying my emotions, wanting to talk all the time. But similar to you, Mondo, I have two memories of my dad. So one I remember me and Jazz were at Maxfield. We were riding bikes back to Grandma's house and Jazz went across the street and I'm like, oh, let me catch up to Jazz. And a car almost hit me. It was super close and I remember my dad yelling at me and I'm like, oh, my dad's mad at me. We went to grandma's house but then he just hugged me real tight and was like, man, I love you, Like I'm not mad at you, but I love you. And then I just went on and started playing again with jazz. That was one of the memories.

Mack: 13:00

My other memory is uh, I remember we was at some restaurant or something and I had to go to the bathroom we talked about this previously, I think and I went to the bathroom, put my pants all the way down and he's like, hey, man, don't be showing your ass in public, put your pants on. That's what the hole's for, right? And it's just funny that those are my two memories, I mean, aside from, you know, going to the hospital and stuff when he was in there but he couldn't talk. It was just bad energy, bro.

Mack: 13:29

I try not to remember myself because it was just dark, my bad dark moments for me. So like sometimes I thought about my dad like more so now that I have boys and I have children I'm like dang. It would have been dope to see my dad with his grandsons. Like I think about it more so now than when I was younger and living life. But like praying always got me through everything. So shout out to mom and grandma Like they taught me prayer real young. So I always felt like I was always good and I know one day I'll have that interaction with my dad again.

Mondo: 14:10

So you know yeah, now that's dope, just hey, we started this podcast off with some I know okay, okay for sure yeah, yeah, definitely that's.

Torrean: 14:20

I think that's a, I think that's a dope story. I just remember your dad, mac, is uh, I'm gonna say it like this, but just there, you know, like I don't remember like a specific, because he liked me, bro.

Mack: 14:32

He probably didn't had no words, he was just probably like what's up?

Torrean: 14:35

no, but he liked the kids, though he always messed with us as the kids, like he always played with us. But I just remember him as, just, like you know, being a kid you don't remember, like you don't think about it in terms of, oh, that's auntie's boyfriend or you know whatever. It's just like, oh, he's there. And then when they kind of split, I remember that, like I remember, I remember that whole thing because he wasn't there. No more Like, oh, where is he? You know, but I remember he was just always cool to play with the kids, like you know, was really just like us, you know, yeah.

Mack: 15:08

So yeah, and it's good, like whenever I'm with my dad's side of family, they always remind me like man, you just like your dad. So for you to say like he, the kids appreciate it, like being with him, I'm the same way and I do my all my cousins like man, your dad, uncle mac, like you could just hear it in their voice, like, oh, they really appreciated him and I kind of think I'm like I see the same thing within myself, sort of say so yeah yeah, that's fire.

Mondo: 15:34

It sounds like. Sounds like today we're gonna be talking a lot about how we're supposed to show up as dads or men in this life, man yeah, straight up.

Torrean: 15:42

Yeah, I do want to kind of pivot back. You know, I know you a little little bit though. Uh, because mondo, I always tell you this story but like your mom took us to go see mortal combat right before she passed, and like I remember that, because that was like the um, the two times I hung out with mondo, that I remember without lex we hung out like twice that week and I think that might have been the summer. I stayed with my dad for a lot of the summer and she had just took us to mortal combat, and me, you and jazz and maybe marie's I can't remember if he was there or not, but y'all took a reach over me.

Mack: 16:19

That's crazy.

Torrean: 16:22

That's crazy so he went to galtier downtown when the galtier uh movie theater was down there. I remember that, so that's why I have no memory of that, bro yeah, nah, because I always in my mind I always thought it was mortal kombat 2 and then I'm like nah, but it was in world kombat 1. So I just looked up the dates and world kombat actually came out august 18 1995. So it just looked up the dates and Mortal Kombat actually came out August 18th 1995.

Mondo: 16:52

So it just came out the movie theater, or it just came out and she had took us to go see it. Yeah, the one thing I remember in my mom's house was playing Mortal Kombat, bro, when that game came out. Wasn't no good what.

Torrean: 17:06

You oh, come on, bro, come on. Wasn't no good what. You oh, come on, bro, come on.

Mondo: 17:09

Wasn't no good. My bad, I made it. No, it's all good. Look, the audience is probably just going to have to see us stream something on Twitch, right where I just whip you up on something so we'll save that man. That would be fire. Yeah, competition, I'll beat you in a golf game. Look, he's biting his lip, getting nervous. It's cool, though.

Torrean: 17:29

It's cool. Look, I bite my lip like I'm about to whoop his ass again.

Mondo: 17:32

Yeah, yeah, now I'll lob it back to you T. I was just saying like, when Mortal Kombat came out, man, as a little kid I sat in front of that TV playing that Sega Genesis for so many hours, putting in that blood code before each fight. And yeah, man, it was just a random memory for sure.

Torrean: 17:51

Yeah, from what y'all can remember about your parent, your mom, mondo and Mac, your pops uh, how do you think, like your kids emulate them, if you have any? Uh, I have any thoughts on that. Like, is there any anything that you might be like yeah, cadence kind of reminds me of my mom's demeanor or anything like that. Or people may say like yo, you know, uh, Mac, like one of your sons really just reminds me of your dad. Like, has that ever came up? And at all.

Mondo: 18:25

yeah, I mean, I gotta for me, for me. I believe this to be true. One because of my relationship with cadence and also my dad's relationship with cadence. Like my dad always says like, yeah, me and your mom didn't stay together, but we were the dearest of friends, and like that was really, that was really meaningful to me. Yeah, like to my understanding how the story is told, the only reason they separated was because my mom had a high desire to be married and at the time, my dad just said I have no desire to be married. And she just said, well, this isn't going to work any further than this, but, like all the rest of their relationship was on point.

Mack: 19:11

And so that's funny.

Mondo: 19:21

But when it comes to like cadence tethered to my mom her middle name is Tyra my relationship and my dad's relationship with Cadence is so dope and so comical and just so fun. It's hard for me to not feel like part of my mom's spirit lives in Cadence, because there's just so much like love and deep connection and I know we might say that about our kids like oh, we're supposed to love our kids, but when Cadence and I kick it, I'm like I can imagine that if my mom and I were together growing up, we would have fun like this, we would crack jokes like this, we would be roasting each other like this, right, and so instead of having it with my mom, I have that type of connection with Cadence that I imagine surpasses the relationship that he has with his actual kids. Like my dad always say, you know, I love my kids all the same, but I just feel like there's a different connection to a grandparent and their grandchildren and I'm just so grateful that they have each other too.

Mack: 20:40

Yeah, for sure, and for me I want to say this, but I don't want to turn and be talking stuff but so what I was told from my uncles and my older cousins is my dad was a hothead, right, you know, it's probably little man syndrome. What was he probably like? Five, six five. So he's a smaller dude, but mac. So mac is a chill kid, but when he get mad he get mad. So I'm just like now. We probably got that from my dad. So that's probably what I could correlate the most. It's just our temperaments, you know, and my dad was a cool dude. He's a, you know, ladies man, you know, flashy, like to dress nice.

Torrean: 21:23

So a few things you are your daddy's child you're giving him more credit now, mondo yeah, except for the angry part.

Mondo: 21:34

I'm you know I'll be trying to be chill yeah, I mean, you and Torrean both try to be chill.

Mack: 21:39

You know I'm saying yeah, what about you, though? T like you know, I know your grandfather was very influential in your life. Like, do y'all like what were some of the main things you picked up from him?

Torrean: 21:55

yeah, my grandfather man, he, uh, he is a hell of a man, best man I ever knew. Um, when I say that because I know he was redeemed right, like he had his flaws in his younger days and everything else. But you know, as a grandfather he couldn't ask for a better example, like you know, from driving around kicking it to seeing all the other, his uncles and you know those who first laid foundation in Minnesota to just kind of how he even treated my grandmother, to how he treated the rest of the kids. You know, I definitely I take naps every day. He took, he took a nap every day. So that's, that's probably a part of it as well. But just, really, just how to carry yourself as a man.

Torrean: 22:42

I remember being a kid or being a young man at 19,. And I had my first apartment and I'm listening to Lil Jon cleaning my car, minding my own damn business, and this neighbor dude pulls up in an umpire uniform. He's like hey, shut that nigger music off. And I was like my first thing was I'm going to have to whoop his motherfucking ass. You know what I mean. Like you said, my dog, I don't play. And so then I went to. I was like I'm going to calm down.

Torrean: 23:16

I called the police and then my next call was to my grandfather. Right, grandfather was like T, you did the right thing. You didn't put your hands on him, whatever Cause. I found out where the guy lived. He lived like there was a grass, a field across from the townhomes he lived in. So I seen where he lived and the cops came to me. It was like yeah, basically it's a free country, he could say whatever he wants to say. And I called my grandfather and told him my response and he was like give me the call, give me or put the, put the cop on the phone.

Torrean: 23:52

And about an hour later that cop had changed his entire tune.

Torrean: 23:57

I don't know, I don't know what my grandfather said to him, what that conversation was like. Said to him what that conversation was like, but the cop apologized to me and was like I'm gonna go have a conversation with this guy and like that's just leadership, like that's a strong man that can use his words. And I don't I mean those words was probably some cuss words for show, but uh, you know, just being able to carry yourselves with in having that much authority, um, over the phone, right, like the cop could have just hung up on him or whatever, but he had that much respect for my grandfather who, who was a uh, a veteran, like that was that was dope. So like it's just lessons like that that I've learned to realize, like how, how I got to carry myself as a man, like I'm carrying his legacy, you know, just like our uncles, I'm carrying our all our family legacy, but it's just one of the things that just really helped shape me as a man. That's a great story.

Mondo: 25:00

Yeah.

Torrean: 25:01

It's yes, there's a lot of stories like that. Yeah, it's, yes, there's a lot of stories like that, but yeah, it's fun. And then you know just another tip too like you know, shout out to my mom and my pops, uh, because you know, I've gotten to see both them be the grandparents and it's just. Like you know, when I heard y'all talking about your relationship with your kids and stuff, I'm just thinking like man, that parent switch up is real though, like cause my mom and my dad be treating rainy Like you know she is? Yeah.

Torrean: 25:29

All of it Like like this reminds me that I'm chopped liver.

Mondo: 25:32

Basically yeah, hey, but but it's the thing that because we are loved so much, right, we're like that's cool, right. But it's the thing that because we are loved so much right, we're like that's cool right. Continue to pour into that next generation. Because we're at a season in our lives where we feel full and we're not sitting back wishing our parents did something else. We're like no, we are really good with our relationship right now and let's keep growing.

Mack: 26:06

Yeah, in fact, not to mention, like, whenever I go to grandma's house, house, like sometimes I just sit back and just watch the boys interact with her like bro. I'm so grateful that all my boys got to meet grandma because she's so dope, she's so funny and I'm just happy that they they get to experience that they don't get saturday breakfast but you know, they get a piece.

Mondo: 26:26

No, that's fact. Yo Just honestly like when somebody really reflects on, like, what is required to change the world. Like somebody could definitely write a story about Grandma Bert One thousand percent. Grandma Bert, One thousand percent, just like yo. Here is this little Mexican lady that raised a family and her offspring, like every one of them, created a different branch of a tree of new families that are just changing the world in every good way possible. Rather, it is just in their household or on their block, or in the community, or through the world, through music or athletics or whatever, like it all started with that foundation that grandma just infused and it was just, it's, it's epic, it's just an amazing story. So shout out to Grandma Burt.

Torrean: 27:24

Yes, sir, so fast forward 40 years and damn, I guess we all grandparents, maybe some of us great grandparents, whatever you ever think about what that life would look like.

Mack: 27:44

No, I don't. To be honest, I still got a four-year-old, so I'm trying to survive.

Torrean: 27:51

I'm trying to survive around here I feel you, I still got an eight-year-old too. Plus, it's just like, you know, I look at it like man, for, statistically, as black men, we all still alive. That's crazy in itself. So I think, you know, 40 years down the line, that's something that's, that's great. But I just think that, uh, you know, hopefully, hopefully our kids got the message. You know, hopefully the generation's got the message and hopefully we got a world that's still around to be able to be able to have them, uh, where there's originals in the pocket vibes.

Mondo: 28:24

You know I just feel like we're at this intersection where the life expectancy of humans is just going to increase and so, 40 years from now, I feel like if we still want to feel like we're in our 40s, it's going to be possible.

Mondo: 28:41

So, like 80 year old grandparents still being like you want to race is going to be a real thing.

Mondo: 28:48

You know, I'm saying like I don't know, I just I just feel like what's coming next is going to be so different than what we expect and, honestly, part of why I believe that is because our family is so dope, like our family is so dope to me that when I talk to God, I'm like God, you can't just have created this for 100 years. The love that we have created with each other is so pure that meaningful change can continue to happen through just the essence of our family being here. And that's not to say that other families don't love each other the same way. That's not to say that we don't ever fight or have arguments, but like at our core, yo, like it is unconditional love and it's the only reason that I was able to beat Torrean and everything, our entire life. And like we can still like, hug each other and talk on this podcast, and so if it was any other family, he'd probably hate me. You know what?

Torrean: 30:00

I'm saying Okay, delusion has been inserted, we got it.

Mack: 30:08

Man, I'm laughing because when he said it, I don't know why, I just had a flashback. You remember when torrent used to be super into uh, ultimate warrior oh yeah, fight, he'll think he'd be super charging.

Mondo: 30:19

Hey y'all got me reminiscing over here yeah, that dude too man they gotta ask us.

Torrean: 30:28

Since we just going back to childhood real quick, let me ask mac a question why did you always have to be so close bro?

Mack: 30:37

like I love my family. Man, I don't know, and I was the youngest bro. All I wanted to do was be like y'all, kick it with y'all.

Torrean: 30:45

You know what I'm saying I know man, I'm talking about man. There could be a foot of space between me and ma. Make some room. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if grandma's house wouldn't have been so damn hot, but that should be studied too. The heat in grandma's house.

Mack: 31:04

I swear that's not normal bro made us stronger, though my guy, yeah, for sure speaking about?

Torrean: 31:14

uh, all right, so speaking about how we, we show up for our kids, or how, uh, you know, our parents have, you know, shown up for us and shown up for our kids. There's the Rampage Jackson situation. Raja Rampage, who is Rampage Jackson's son. For those that don't know, rampage Jackson was a UFC champion at one point in time, one of my favorite fighters of all time. But with that being said, his son got in an incident in a wrestling ring recently. There was an altercation before the wrestling event. He comes in the wrestling ring recently, where there was an altercation before the wrestling event. He comes in the wrestling ring, he slams the guy he was in the altercation with previously and beats the guy unconscious, or at least that's what it appears. Basically, he did his dad's signature moves, which is the rampage, slam and ground and pound to the point where it's reported that a wrestler actually had to go to the hospital, was on life support for a little bit, but now is is on recovery. I think both of y'all have seen the incident that happened. No-transcript.

Mack: 32:32

I think it was on call for it. For sure, I think I did see that they banned him from kick for that situation, which is going to lead to some financial burdens and other type things. I don't know if he deserves to go to jail or not. How do y'all feel about that? Y'all think he needs to pay some jail time for that.

Mondo: 32:56

I don't know man. I honestly I just feel like there is. There is an unhealthy set of habits that, like folks do goofy stuff to to go viral on the gram or on whatever the platform is right, and so I feel like you know they. There are great examples, like on YouTube, of like cats doing dope stuff and being healthy in their behavior, but then, like when people try to duplicate it and they're like, well, we got to be more extreme, like I feel like stuff like this happens, and so just me, like seeing it for the first time today, and so just me, like seeing it for the first time today, I'm just like man mentally. There's something about this young cat that, like he was looking for some type of validation or some type of attention and he needed to like show up with this like masculinity, that like got approval from somebody, even if it was from himself, and I just feel like, as black men, we need to find a different way to like find our validation or like or or feel fulfilled, as opposed to like doing goofy and foolish stuff. But I do think that it it does start with the wiser parent, though, right, so, like I don't know Rampage is, as a dad. I don't know the type of lessons that he's taught his son, but listening to Torrean's story earlier, talking about his grandparents having that conversation with the cop, clearly his grandpa, to his language, has been redeemed and he has this different level of wisdom redeemed and he has this different level of wisdom. So Torrean doesn't have to feel like he has to go do what Rampage's son did.

Mondo: 34:41

After Torrean had that experience, he literally recognized, like yo, somebody completely changed this story with their words over the phone and that memory stuck. He was savvy enough to string together some words that a cop was like. I changed my mind. I apologize, let me go do something different. My question then becomes and this isn't just about Rampage, so I'm not trying to single him out but my question is like, as parents, are we showing up for our kids in a way? But we're giving them an example of, like yo, what just happened to you was super OC and not OK, but I'm a step in with some healthy words and watch how I change this environment. And so it's possible that Raja may not have experienced that before, and so he's going and doing what he knows, which is what he did yeah, him and his dad.

Mack: 35:34

They're pretty wild on social media together. He's going and doing what he knows, which is what he did. Yeah, him and his dad, they're pretty wild on social media together. But to your point, like you know, sadie's always be like there's power to words. Watch the words that you say. I did see before this happened.

Mack: 35:47

I think Rampage has three sons. Maybe, if I'm right, I know he has other kids. But for Raja he was like, oh, that's my son, that's gonna end up going to prison or getting in trouble. So like that's why I do words do have power. You know I'm saying so for you to look at him like that. I'm sure he's seen the interviews and listened to things that his dad says. So that little, that little uh, extra rah-rah he has in him is probably from that and his dad was a fighter. You know he probably wants to follow in his dad's footsteps a little bit.

Mack: 36:16

But power of the word, man, like you can't. You can't say stuff like that, because eventually your kid's gonna hear you and that's always gonna be in his mind like I'm, I'm the bad child. So I just be mindful. As parents, you gotta be mindful of the way you talk to your kids. Like I remember growing up like, oh man, yeah, my son, he's bad. Like I'm real intentional on not saying that. You know, I think grandma going back to grandma, she was one of the people like, hey, watch how you talk about your kids, don't hit them in the head, don't call them bad.

Mondo: 36:47

It's a real thing. No, it is man. Just hearing that I didn't know enough about Rampage and hearing that is wild to me.

Torrean: 36:58

But I'll let Torrean chime in, because I imagine you definitely have a strong opinion on this. Yeah, so here's my opinion on it. For one, I agree with everything you said, mondo. I think social media definitely. Uh man, everybody's just trying to be the next star, right, and so like we're gonna be a star, no matter how we can. Like you know, I see Mac got arrested recently for sniffing butts, but anyway, um well, I don't know what I said, it again for sniffing butts, man, like they do, they gotta anyway, man why you?

Torrean: 37:26

keep getting arrested for sniffing man.

Mack: 37:30

They need to lock him up, for sure. Yo, I usually for black being being incarcerated, but lock him up, bro. Hey, you can't be walking around sniffing people's ass, bro. That's wild straight up.

Torrean: 37:44

Yeah, you can't be sniffing, no booty, but anyway, man, uh, but yeah, everybody just be doing all this crazy shit for some money. Man, it's crazy. It's like you're selling your soul, you're selling your future, you're selling out for, uh, for something you didn't have to do. I think, raja, he didn't realize being young or whatever, you sometimes don't realize that you're actually building a future for yourself. But you just have to be more patient. And so by overcompensating, uh, overcompensating, or figuring like, oh, I gotta do this, I gotta do this, instead of just building that foundation, um, you know, you're trying to rush the process and shit like this happens right, like if you're going to do reckless stuff.

Torrean: 38:29

But, with that being said, I'm not all the way sold that. It's not a fit. You know it's, it's pro wrestling they blurred lines is good for the industry. I'm not all the way sold that what they're saying happened, happened. You know, uh, because right now, if you're in that industry, if you're a pro wrestler, nope, you know, that organization is owned by rikishi, apparently, but, uh, you, it's a small company. No one's really ever heard of it. You bring in a kickstart to be at your event and boom, you're all over, all over and in that industry, bad publicity is still good publicity. So I'm interested to see, kind of, how this all plays out. If he's actually you know, it sounds like lapd is investigating it, but it's interesting to me to see, like yo, did he actually do what they're saying he did? Or you know, was he? Was he holding back a little bit in terms of the punches?

Mack: 39:33

so but yeah, I didn't go ahead.

Torrean: 39:37

Now I was gonna say, even if it is fixed, all the backlash and the negativity that he's getting now is it worth it I mean, I think if it comes out that it was fixed, it's like you know, we, we watch storyline, your storyline, your storyline we're gonna watch mankind get thrown out the cage. Like you know, at the time that was, at the time that was that was the most wild shit I think I ever seen is like 13 or whatever. We were when that happened was like how was that dude still alive? So I'm just saying like maybe he did such a good job and they did such a good job of selling the story that the publicity he got was actually like oh no, that was just a storyline, but that was crazy, and that it actually went that over.

Mack: 40:27

That's all I'm saying I just don't like the hate that comes from that, from social media and everyday people. Um, like I told you guys before we pot it like now the backstorystories are coming out of who the guy is. He's a war vet who suffers from PTSD, walks around with a big flag. I'm assuming he's a conservative. Now that friction between black and white liberal, conservative, all that is uprising again on social media, is adding more fuel to the fire. So I'm one who I don't like that. If you don't play around with stuff like that because that's everyday citizens, we're the ones who really gonna have to deal with it. Just you know, unknowingly, or it just might blindside us one day, like that dude who said that to you when he was doing your car t like somebody could be at home scrolling, see this and then see a black dude and something happens instantly just because of this situation. So I don't like when it's fixed like that. If that is a storyline, I don't like it yeah, that ripple effect you're talking about is wild.

Mondo: 41:25

Because, again, going back to Torrean's story, right, that cat that drove up that said that might have just experienced something with somebody else, right, or saw something clearly there was no social media at the time, but somebody told him a story about this black dude that did X, y, z, and so he driving home mad. And so then he hears that and like, there goes the next, the next domino that falls. And so T, I get what you're saying, that like it's an organization and as an organization yo create the plot, create the storyline, and it's something super unique to that industry. But then it kind of also goes back to integrity. Like you doing this this way.

Mondo: 42:14

My question is is that of high integrity? And then, if it's not, does that mean that, like, you're building on a foundation of sand, right, like, like, there's just so many people that are just like to your point, to like, let's get there as fast as we can, and their foundation is quicksand, and then they just continue to keep trying to build on top of that quicksand, to like get to the next level, next level, but then eventually they're like we can't build that fast, and then they sink. And so, man, I just feel like, as humans, yo, we need to do a better job of building a stronger foundation so like things can actually sustain.

Torrean: 42:49

Yeah, I think. I mean, I think it's interesting, right, like, is it? You know, this is a? Obviously it was a you know MMA fighter going into a pro wrestling ring. So you're, you have the narrative of MMA versus pro wrestling, right? He picks them up, he slams them, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Let's just say it is a, it is a part of the storyline, right? Mma star beats pro wrestler. He had to go to unconscious, he, whatever, whatever, whatever. These are stories that WWE tells every single week, selling an injury or whatever. So I guess my question is let's just say this is a part of the story. So I guess my question is is let's just say this is a part of the story, and because it was MMA versus pro wrestler, is it you know, in this entertainment world we live in, is it the entertainer's responsibility to put forth the, the social net narrative that you're talking about, mac, I guess that's where I'm trying to go with. It is like is that his responsibility, or is it MMA fighter versus pro wrestler? This is what would really happen.

Mondo: 43:59

You know the story is. I got you so like I hear what you're saying to you, where you're like you know this is, this is good promotion. If this was all part of the plot from the start, right, I get it. They so the heck.

Torrean: 44:14

If LAPD doesn't press charges, we know what's up, right?

Mondo: 44:19

Right. But then the flip side is is he really hurt? If he is really hurt, then the conversation becomes yo, as an organization, y'all want to sell tickets, so y'all bring it in this MMA fighter. And now you just sacrifice my health, right? This non-professional wrestler you're bringing in to participate and now you're injuring your actual employees. That's whack, right, I agree. And so then it then becomes well, if he's not actually really hurt, and now you're just trying to oversell the narrative about him being put into the hospital.

Mondo: 45:01

And now to Max point you hear all this backlash. Then it's like is it your responsibility, Is it your duty to be like we were bluffing? He, you know all this extra stuff that we believe is probably going to be adversely affecting the community, all this extra stuff that we believe is probably going to be adversely affecting the community. Like we apologize, we bluffed on this. Like, is it up to them to now say something out loud because this was the response? I don't have an answer to it, but I'm just like.

Mondo: 45:28

I think there's more than just the, the one perspective of like they sold a good story. It's like, again, the integrity piece is all of this true, or some some of it true, or does some things happen a certain way that made it go viral, but because it went viral and an added value to the bottom line that now the organization isn't going to fully be truthful and now they're just going to ride the story because it's just growing into something that they didn't even expect. I don't know, man. I just feel like we have to do better as humans of just telling the truth, no matter what Like yo, it don't matter what the situation is. Be honest and allow the story to unfold in a way that you can't see, because you've never been honest consistently. I just feel like the world would just be different if folks just choose to be honest and and reap the repercussions that happen immediately but receive the benefits that happen long term I'm with you, mondo.

Mack: 46:29

I agree, 100 brother okay, okay.

Torrean: 46:32

So then, what have you seen? What Rampage's response was to this whole thing?

Mack: 46:37

I've seen a few responses. I've seen that he said that he was sparring and suffered from a concussion not too long ago. I don't know how accurate that is. It's true.

Mack: 46:50

There's a video of it yeah yeah, so he was just pretty much just trying to back his son. Um, he also did admit like my son was wrong for for what he did. But and then you know people don't want to hear it. And just me, as being a dad, like I wouldn't want people saying all these negative things about my kid, so like that would put me over the edge, so then it's just a domino effect. I would think for me that's how I would react. Don't make those eyes. You know how I get down.

Torrean: 47:17

Man, yeah, I know, you see what happened to that wrestler bro. That would have been somebody talking about your kids like that. It would have been like five of them laid out, you know Exactly, no, exactly. But I mean, that's say, your kid is something so outlandish that was out of character, or was even accused of something that was so outlandish and out of character, like, are you riding with them or are you going to kind of be like, nah, they shouldn't have did it and they got to suffer the consequences, like as a as a dad, how much are you, are you riding with your kid on that?

Mack: 47:53

Like man, this is this. This is is a great question, because I did see recently a mom Her son, did a hit and run, actually killed someone, and his mom bought him a ticket and they were fleeing the country, but they caught him at the airport so they arrested both of them. So this is like a real thing that happens. That's a great question. Would I take the bid for my kid?

Mack: 48:20

Y'all have daughters, I have boys. I'm not trying to make this a gender thing, but me having boys kind of like, hey, fool, that was dumb, you got to figure this shit out to where. If I had a daughter, oh, no question, bro, I'll be trying to do whatever I can to keep her from in there, um, but it happens like even in real news, like you see, all the time, like someone to kill someone and then their dad will try to, you know, keep them at the house, hide them away for a little bit and then they both go to jail, um, but to answer your question, it depends on what they did, okay, yeah, well, long, long way to not really give you a full answer. But man, it's tough, bro, it really is all right.

Torrean: 49:04

So this is you know, is it? Is that the case for all four of your kids, or?

Mack: 49:10

man. Hey, I don't know why toian thinks I got favorites right. He swears that I'm mean to my third oldest, Matthew. That's my dog man. I love that kid.

Torrean: 49:23

The other day. I'm on the phone with Mac and Mac's like Mir, you want to go home with Mommy, you want to go home with Mommy, or Daddy, you want to come home with Daddy? He's like all right, matthew, I'll see you later. I'm like you ain't got to ask Matthew if he's going to home.

Mack: 49:36

No man, you got to stop that. It's funny though, but you got to stop that.

Torrean: 49:40

Yeah, like you know Matthew be getting, he be getting the Heisman from his own dad. Sometimes you know, but oh man, that's my guy. All right, mondo, so you answer it.

Mondo: 49:58

Yeah, my perspective is way different than it used to be. Right, like for sure it used to be. Oh, I, I take the rap, no matter what. Like you know, I got enough resilience and mental toughness that, like I do it, I do the time, do whatever, and I think that I am clever enough to create a story that everybody else would be good. But honestly, man, now, like what I believe, like there just ain't no secrets, like guys like fam, all things are true. Mac got something to say.

Mack: 50:24

Go ahead, mac I just got a question. Yeah, so does the time matter when you're in that mind, in that mindset? Does the time matter though? So what if it's like 10 years?

Mondo: 50:35

well, that's what I'm saying before like it just don't even matter. Like I felt, like, okay, I felt like it was, it is. I used to feel like it is your responsibility as a parent to protect your kids, no matter what. But now it's a little bit different, because it my first question is is protecting your kid, removing them from the consequence? Like that actually might not be protecting the kid, right? It might be like, oh, they look at that, like, oh, I can get away with everything.

Mondo: 51:08

My dad took this rap, my mom going to take the next one, my, my homeboy going to take the next one, and they just keep doing foolish stuff.

Mondo: 51:13

And so, like, like it's actually not protecting the kid, giving the kid, but like, on the spiritual side, I just truly believe there just are no secrets and so if something were to happen I'm talking about, I lean into my faith so much and really like the verse where it's like yo, if you believe, without any doubt, that if you tell this mountain to jump into the sea, it'll jump into the sea.

Mondo: 51:43

Like, like I truly believe, like yo, if me and my daughter believe all the way, like, yeah, we really messed up, we, we really made a mistake, or she really made a mistake. But like we're going to pray all in that, like God, please somehow resolve this. If I step in and be honest and be truthful or instead of 10 years, you just give me three months, or whatever it is Like if we pray and believe all in, I do believe that like God would make a way and that's possible. So that's just where I'm at right now, bro. Like I would 100% lean into prayer in a way that, like yo, this ain't even really considered a miracle when you think of the miracles that god has really done. Like yo find a way to clear this up.

Mack: 52:25

So that's where I'm at. Come on, I'm with you. I'm with you, 100% bro, but it's just funny cause I'm getting madder and madder cause we both answered the question without answering the question. So if a cop comes they like, hey, I'm taking you, or you?

Mondo: 52:52

oh yeah, I mean I'm gonna be honest, like I'm gonna look at him and be like yo you get like hey, you gonna tell him, or am I gonna? Tell him hey, you gotta be impeccable with your words, bro oh man, that's funny.

Mack: 53:21

My bad, that is hilarious. What about you, Torrean? I'm busting up over here.

Torrean: 53:28

I am too, cause mine done always been that way. Like you know what that look like, that's on you oh man, that on me, that's on you.

Torrean: 53:39

But uh, now I was hearing mondo talk and I'm like man with just different energies, because at first I'm like you know me, I'm a protector, you know. And then all of a sudden my mind just went to the eight ball mjg song don't make, don't make me, kill me, kill nobody anyway. So you know, I'm, I'm right with rainy all the way, you know, especially when she's I mean, she's only eight years old. So it's like, hey, whatever we gotta do to protect her right now, I'm gonna do that, you know. But I just pray that one day that she don't end up being some ratchet, some ratchet woman or something, and at that point then, yeah, she on her own. But you know, as long as I know she's who she is right now and you know always has a good nature, heart, good spirit or whatever then you know dad's going to protect her. However, I need to See, that's all right.

Mondo: 54:31

So I'll be more personal right now. Right Like Cadence is in college and the first few weeks of her college experience she feels like isn't going the way that she thought it was going to go, right, and so she's struggling with integrity. Right, I don't want to say too many words, but there are just things that have happened around her where she's just like yo, that's not of high integrity and so in the grand scheme of life, it's not huge, but, like at 18 years old, it's a real big deal to her. And so, instead of trying to like strategically solve it or find a solution, kind of to max message earlier like yo, pray on it, like be so disciplined in your prayer, like step into that space and use prayer as a way to get out of some conflicts that you have, or ask God to like lift some things off your shoulder, like it's part of the tools that we have as humans, and it's a tool that I didn't use until a year ago. Right, like prayer just wasn't part of my lived experience. And so I bring that up because Cadence can go through this situation and not pray, and then there could be a more challenging situation three years situation and not pray. And then there could be a more challenging situation three years later and not pray. But eventually I feel like the challenges get harder and harder and harder until you're like prayer is my only answer. And so, like I want cadence and, like anybody else, to be like yo embrace prayer early on so that the challenges doesn't get so hard down the line that like that's your only option and you don't even know how to do it. And so I just feel like those unforeseen circumstances like Mac talked about, when like like hitting somebody, hitting run and all that, and you know, mom got a slide in or whatever.

Mondo: 56:33

I don't know this for sure, but to me I'm like there was probably like six other situations prior to that where like some different choices could have been made, where they could have leaned into prayer, and like they wouldn't have ended up in that situation in the first place. So I just feel like man stuff just happens in a certain way for humans to like build that relationship with God and they just have the choice to lean into that relationship or not. And then life just continues to get more challenging and as it does, it's just another opportunity to to build that relationship. So that's my two cents on that man, but that's why I just feel like prayer is just so key and it's new to me, like I'm saying it's a brand new, like I'm brand new, to like adding prayer to my life. But it's it's new to me, like I'm saying it's a brand new, like I'm brand new, to like adding prayer to my life, but it's.

Torrean: 57:19

it's definitely changed my life, for sure, mm. Hmm, not for sure For sure. Yeah, I think it's. You know, I always think there's going to be a time where I hope there's not a time, but I always, you know, in my head, in my office office, just my anxiety growing up or whatever, but in my head it's gonna be us in the car, rolling on somebody and and having to write them down. You know.

Mondo: 57:46

so you know, at the end of the day, what hey, hey, I don't know what cryptic thing tori just said, but yeah, we probably gotta edit that out, hey, I?

Mack: 57:57

don't know what cryptic thing Tori just said. We probably got to edit that out.

Torrean: 58:04

It's all good, anyway, who wants to wrap it up today?

Mondo: 58:12

Mondo, I think you should To wrap it up today, man, I truly believe that in my life, and maybe in the world, has deemed success, and you want to go beyond that further, like past the standards, or past the trophies, or past the roles or money or whatever that, like, you've set for yourself, like once you hit those marks. There's actually something beyond that, and so in this season of my life, yo it's all about that beyond success story, and allowing God to guide me in a way that I hit all the things that he would like me to hit. That is beyond success. And so, man, to whoever's listening, yo continue to pursue whatever you feel like is necessary for you to hit in front of you. But there's something beyond that, and that beyond success story is is almost incomprehensibly more fire than the story that you set for yourself. And so you know, shout out to everybody on their beyond success story journey.

Torrean: 59:48

But no, no, no, no, all right, and for so for Raimondo and for Mac, I'm Torrean aka daddy. Uh, thank you for tuning in to another episode of the they call me daddy appearance podcast. We out.