The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka
139. Mike Rashid: Why This Fitness Icon Trains at 5 AM & Fasts All Day To Achieve Peak Performance
Tue, 11 Feb 2025
What if the most powerful optimization tool wasn’t a supplement or a workout plan, but the psychological resilience forged in life’s crucible of adversity? In this episode, I had a fascinating conversation with fitness icon and entrepreneur Mike Rashid, whose transformation from the volatile streets of Brooklyn’s cocaine-era 80s to building a wellness empire reveals profound truths about human potential and biological optimization. The science behind Mike’s transformation is impeccable - early morning training combined with intermittent fasting creates a powerful neurobiological environment that optimizes hormone profiles and enhances neuroplasticity. What early life challenges could you transform into your greatest competitive advantage? Share your story in the comments below! Join Gary Brecka’s FREE 3-Day Morning Routine Challenge! 🗓️ LIVE February 19-21 👉 Sign up now: https://bit.ly/4gaZ8DK Gain exclusive access to Gary Brecka’s proven wellness protocols: https://bit.ly/4ai0Xwg Connect with Mike Rashid: Website: https://bit.ly/4aS4TnN YouTube: https://bit.ly/4jNu1QU Instagram: https://bit.ly/4jIcwkP TikTok: https://bit.ly/40PtTYe Facebook: https://bit.ly/411WPh1 X.com: https://bit.ly/411HHjD Thank you to our partners: H2TABS - USE CODE “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4hMNdgg BODYHEALTH - USE CODE “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: http://bit.ly/4e5IjsV BAJA GOLD - USE CODE "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3WSBqUa EIGHT SLEEP - SAVE $350 ON THE POD 4 ULTRA WITH CODE “GARY”: https://bit.ly/3WkLd6E STRENGTH TRAINING EQUIPMENT - THE ULTIMATE HUMAN: https://bit.ly/3zYwtSl COLD LIFE - THE ULTIMATE HUMAN PLUNGE: https://bit.ly/4eULUKp WHOOP - GET 1 FREE MONTH WHEN YOU JOIN!: https://bit.ly/3VQ0nzW MASA CHIPS - GET 20% OFF YOUR FIRST $50+ ORDER: https://bit.ly/40LVY4y VANDY - USE CODE “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: https://bit.ly/49Qr7WE PARKER PASTURES - PREMIUM GRASS-FED MEATS: https://bit.ly/4hHcbhc AION - USE CODE “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/4h6KHAD HAPBEE - FEEL BETTER & PERFORM AT YOUR BEST: https://bit.ly/4a6glfo CARAWAY - USE CODE “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: https://bit.ly/3Q1VmkC Watch the “Ultimate Human Podcast” every Tuesday & Thursday at 9AM EST: YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RPQYX8 Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RQftU0 Connect with Gary Brecka: Instagram: https://bit.ly/3RPpnFs TikTok: https://bit.ly/4coJ8fo X.com: https://bit.ly/3Opc8tf Facebook: https://bit.ly/464VA1H Website: https://bit.ly/4eLDbdU Merch: https://bit.ly/4aBpOM1 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/47ejrws Ask Gary: https://bit.ly/3PEAJuG Timstamps: 00:00 Intro of Show 11:05 Getting into Fitness (Boxing and Other Sports) 13:02 Fitness and Strength as Their Foundation 17:24 Mike’s Entrepreneurial Journey 20:05 Morning Routine and Diet 25:31 Passion, Providing Value, and Authenticity 32:49 The Rewards in Serving the Community 36:40 Mentality of Thought-Leaders 38:12 Mike Rashid’s Ultimate Goal 40:56 On Faith and Spirituality 51:49 Number 1 Killer in the US is Food 54:46 Experience with Psychedelics and Intensive Therapy 58:46 Views on MAHA and Public Policies 1:03:16 Social Media is the New Media 1:10:58 Sigmund Freud’s Slave Morality vs. Master Morality 1:15:12 Final Question: What does it mean to you to be an “Ultimate Human?” The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The Content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What inspired Mike Rashid's fitness journey?
Hey guys, welcome back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. I'm your host, human biologist, Gary Brekka, where we go down the road of everything anti-aging, biohacking, longevity, and everything in between. And today we've got a twist on your usual guests, as you probably heard from his background. He's a fitness icon, an entrepreneur, but like many of my guests, passion and purpose-driven individuals.
So welcome to the podcast, Mike Rashid.
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Chapter 2: How did Mike Rashid's early life influence his success?
It's an honor and a pleasure. Thank you, man.
Indeed.
I appreciate that. You know, it's a very, very common theme that I talk about at the beginning of most of my podcasts, and that's that I find that the most impactful people, the most passionate and the most purpose-driven people in the world, have solved some kind of problem in their life. And I look back at your background.
You didn't have, I mean, I would call it a troubled background, if you're okay with that term. And I'd love for you to talk about, we're going to talk about some of your successes and some of your passions and some of your purpose, your supplement company, what you're doing in the area of fitness and entrepreneurship. But I really want my audience to kind of get to know you.
For sure.
Like, where did you come from? How'd you emerge from that? How'd you overcome obstacles? What sort of brought you into this chair today? And, you know, what's your driver, man?
Yeah, well, I'm from Brooklyn, New York, and I grew up in the 80s. So we like to call it the cocaine 80s.
Because that's when... I didn't grow up in Miami, but I'm from the cooking cowboy era in Miami.
There you go. So, you know, as you can imagine, it was a very truculent time, right? Very volatile times. And... I'm talking about, it was infestation of crack in our community, especially my neighborhood, especially my house, because my stepfather was one of the biggest drug dealers in New York. So our house corrupted our entire area. Literally, I lived there. Yeah, so I seen a lot.
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Chapter 3: What role does fitness play in Mike Rashid's life?
How old are your kids?
19, my son, Elijah. Kaya is 18. She just turned 18. And Ivy is my baby girl. She's nine. She's about to be 10. You look too young to have a 19-year-old. They say black don't crack. They say black don't crack. Yeah, they don't, man. They don't. The dark skin, man, you guys. But I'm tapping into my ultimate human, so, you know.
thanks to people like you with the research, I'm able to like walk in, you know, the pathway of, you know, biohacking and trying to reverse aging to a degree.
So I've heard you talk about how sports, fitness, particularly boxing was something, because I think everyone needs to have an outlet and something to gravitate to. You know, they say idle time is the devil's workshop. And I would imagine in the kind of environment you were in,
you know, a lot of your peers had a lot of time on their hands and maybe gravitated towards things that weren't longevity in terms of their career, maybe not even in terms of their life. So talk a little bit about that transition. You know, it's also really astounding to me the number of successful entrepreneurs I know.
Stephen A. Smith actually wrote an entire book on it about how they grow up in difficult environments, but the love of a mother is,
uh was enough of a foundation and uh enough of a grounding force that you could actually make decisions that were different than what your environment was leading you to believe because i've got to imagine if you're in that environment the cool thing to do wasn't to go the opposite direction right so like give give a little insight into you know what led you out of that that
that life, that environment anyway. And I want to say the lifestyle because you weren't in that lifestyle.
It's really interesting. It's somewhat of a paradox because, I mean, my mother was married to this guy. However, my mother protected me from everything, right? So when he died, we had a period when we went to Florida for a while. And it was just as bad there where we was at a place called Sanford, Florida. And it was just, put it like this. There was, this is crazy. It was in the projects.
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Chapter 4: How did Mike Rashid transition into entrepreneurship?
Where does fitness, where does boxing, where does your love of that skill come on board and start to take you in that direction?
All right, so first of all, in New York, where I lived at, I have friends that was probably better athletes than you'll ever see on TV. It's just the lives were not ideal to go the routes to get put on. So we lived in a very competitive area. We played every sport outside in the snow. You know what I mean? So you grow up being really athletic. You have to be to get noticed.
In a place like Brooklyn, especially when I was growing up, I think New York City is small. It's tiny, but it's a lot of people. So it's overcrowded. And a lot of competition. Everything is competition, literally. So I grew up extremely competitive. And I also grew up in an era of He-Man, G.I. Joe, Mr. T, like WWF. So did I. Incredible Hulk.
Yeah, so I wanted to be big and strong like what I saw on TV. And I was fixated on being strong and being fat, like just fit. I never thought about looks because when I started getting into, I guess, training, I was 12, 11 or 12. Oh, okay. So I wasn't thinking about how I looked. I was just trying to be strong, right? Right. So I just had that mentality.
And my father got me into boxing at a very young age. And that was, like, all I needed. I played basketball, baseball. And I box and I love boxing the most because it was all on me. You know, like I played baseball. I was really good, but our team lost every game. I didn't like that.
I don't want to lose because of this guy. Right.
So boxing, if you lose is your fault. Yeah. But if you win is your glory. So that was like the ultimate competitive sport for me. And so how much time were you, I mean, were you like a gym rat? Were you? Were you in it? All my life. I've been a gym guy since I was 11 or 12 years old.
And how has that shaped you as an entrepreneur? Because I think people really omit the physical fitness part. I mean, there's a lot to be said for what a lot of people think is being selfish, which is like giving time to yourself so that you can be selfless and give your time to the rest of the world. I mean, I always give myself, for example, the first 90 minutes of every day.
I always say the first 90 minutes of every day belongs only to me not to my kids not to my wife not to my business or you know my my clients but after that 90 minutes is over i give everything else away you know i try to be present for my wife for my kids for my business for my clients but i think the only way that i'm able to be that present is because I take some time for self-care.
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Chapter 5: What is Mike Rashid's daily routine for peak performance?
and I'm auditing different churches and I see the pastors, right? And you're supposed to be living by these seven deadly sins, right? Adhering to the gospel. I don't know what you're doing behind closed doors. I just got to go watch telling me, but I can see that you're overweight. I can see that you're a glutton. I would think that that's the easiest thing to hide to not be because we see you.
I can't trust you, right? So I feel like that's just a foundation. Like being in shape is loving yourself, right? you cannot properly love other people if you don't love yourself yes just being selfish by being you know dedicating your mornings to yourself i don't see that as a problem at all one of my favorite biohacks outside of breathwork by far is mineral salts baja gold sea salt it's got
all of the trace minerals that the body needs you know most of us are not just protein deficient meaning amino acid deficient or fatty acid deficient we are mineral deficient so a quarter teaspoon of this in water first thing in the morning will make sure that you get all of the essential minerals that you need it tastes amazing in fact i made a steak today i actually made a grass-fed steak with grass-fed butter and i put just mushrooms and a little bit of rosemary and i sprinkled baja gold sea salt all over the top try it it'll be your new favorite for cooking too it's the cheapest
And one of my favorite biohacks, I don't know, a $15 or $20 bag of this will probably last you five years. And it's literally the world's best biohacking secret.
Now let's get back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. I don't see that. I see it as an absolute necessity. I see it as a non-negotiable. And, you know, I've heard other entrepreneurs talk about it. It's like when I see somebody who's physically fit, and this isn't to shame other people, but when I see somebody who's physically fit, I immediately know at least a few things about them.
they're consistent because you can't can't fake that you can pull up in a ferrari and i may or may not know whether or not you're wealthy right but um because you can fake a ferrari you can't fake being physically fit so what it means is you've had a commitment over a long period of time you care for yourself um you know you're dedicated you probably have discipline not just motivation um
Meaning this consistency over time requires discipline, not just to be excited for a period of time. And I tend to believe that. I have a lot of friends that are not physically fit and I do business and counsel a lot of clients that are not physically fit either. But I would agree with you that
that that first part of the day if that belongs to you and and there's there's such a physical connection to the mind i think if you are weak physically you have a tendency to be weak mentally and i think that we have a
pandemic not of mental illness in this country i think we have a pandemic of a lack of mental fitness um so i love that that's a foundation for your uh community you know so so boxing is your your passion your purpose for your while i you know i might go so far as to say maybe that's what kept you steady and and maybe kept you from being tugged in the wrong direction in an environment that didn't have a lot of good choices um but
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Chapter 6: How does community impact Mike Rashid's work?
I got one of those pill boxes.
Oh, see, I got you. I got a care package for you. Okay. So I do Nectar. And then while I'm training, we have a product called Hydroglyph that is a hydration product. but it's more than just hydration, right? We have amino acids in it and we have HMB in it. We have ingredients in it that, because we're big on fasting or at least intermittent fasting, and we don't want people to lose muscle mass.
So it's preserving muscle mass. It's increasing muscle protein synthesis and hydrating you to a high degree and kind of like keeping the hunger off. So I do that. Train, train, train. And then at the office, I'll have a shake. We have the top plant-based protein in the country. Right on. Yeah, so I have a glass of plantain. I just drink it with water because it tastes that good.
And as I'm starting my day, I'm sipping on mental juice, which is the nootropic. Okay. Right.
So that's pretty much my... So this was your foundation. Was this the first real company in the supplement industry? Because then you have Trifecta Nutrition, which is a meal plan.
I had a company before. It was a way smaller company. Wasn't this level of quality as far as what we had because I didn't have a team like that. But it did me well financially. But it wasn't like a legacy thing. you know, we were limited in what we had access to at the time.
So when I got, you know, you just get with people who have different expertise and we put our brains together, you know, cause that was just me back then. So with Ambrosia, we took it to a whole nother level. So yeah, this is like the first big real thing. This is my passion. This is a passion project that actually ended up becoming very lucrative and became a big company.
We didn't expect that at all. We just didn't want to lose money. You know?
When you see a big company, like how many employees you got? I mean, what do we have? About 20?
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