"Addiction, To Prison, to MMA Champion": A Story of Triumph - w/ "Mr. Unbreakable" Adam Vigil

Join host Omar Calvillo in an inspiring podcast episode as he interviews Adam Vigil, an MMA fighter with a powerful story of redemption. Raised amidst the crime and drug culture of Denver, Colorado, Adam shares his journey from a troubled youth, marked by gang involvement and addiction, to becoming a world champion fighter. His transformation, driven by faith in Jesus Christ and the support of ministry initiatives, highlights the struggles of overcoming addiction and finding purpose. This episode delves deep into Adam's early life, his battles with addiction, experiences in the criminal justice system, and his remarkable recovery and comeback in both his personal and professional life. It’s a testament to the power of faith, perseverance, and the strength of community support in reclaiming one's life.

https://unbreakableministrires.webflow.io/

https://www.facebook.com/adam.vigil.9277

Transcript

0:15

From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for its crime and violence. On this podcast, we will be sharing stories of redemption from individuals raised in the tough streets of Chicago and from around the country. Some of them were gang members, drug dealers, incarcerated victims, and perpetrators of violence. Listen to my guests as they share their experiences, struggles, trauma, but also the strength, Hope, faith and perseverance. These have developed in them to keep pushing and moving forward in life. Tune in to hear how their lives have gone from darkness to light and from wrong to strong.

Omar: 1:05

I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo and tonight I'm excited about this interview that we're about to get into, I'm going to interview my brother, his name's Adam Vigil. He's joining us all the way from Colorado. I believe it's Colorado Springs where he's at right now. But this brother, I was connected with him, through Sean Ray, sean Ray grew up out here in the Chicago land area. I was able to interview him via zoom. And then, he was able to fly out here. I believe it was last year sometimes. So we were able to connect in person. And through him, I was able to also interview a Rob Decker, who's another friend of Adam's, and I've been wanting to interview this brother for some months, but. Well, we're going to get into a story. This brother's a MMA fighter. So he's really busy. He got a real busy schedule, you know, training, uh, got businesses, ministry going. So we're going to get into all that. But I'd like to welcome to the show, Adam Vigil, Mr. Unbreakable. Welcome to the podcast.

Adam: 1:58

Thank you. Thank you for having me, man. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I appreciate you, man.

Omar: 2:05

Sure, brother. And like I said, man, this has been a long time in the making, but here you are. So man, let's get into your story. Okay. Could you tell us what part of the country you grew up in? And if maybe you could describe that area for those that haven't been out there.

Adam: 2:19

Yeah, I grew up in Denver, Colorado. Um, so I mean, there's, I mean, just like any part of town, there's, there's some rougher parts and there's some, some better parts, but, uh, Denver, Colorado, you know, there's, there's the gang area, there's the, you know, the drug area, there's the, the nicer areas, but, you know, I grew up in and out of the system. So the system was kind of, you know, My my home, so to speak, you know what I mean? So unfortunately, I grew up in the system as a juvenile for most of my I did more than a third of my life behind bars. Um, so I mean, unfortunately, that's what it was. But God had a plan for me to get out of that system and come out and, you know, no more world champion now. But, um, you know, I was a knucklehead growing up, you know what I mean? Um, so this is the grace of God. This is what sobriety in Jesus Christ looks like. This isn't anything that I've done, but it's the glory of God. Right. So what a beautiful thing

Omar: 3:07

for sure, brother. But you know what, could you take us through maybe those early years, you know, when you were young, is any like, can you tell us how life was like, was mom and dad in the picture during those young years?

Adam: 3:16

Yeah. Yeah. So, um, you know, you know, For lack of better words, my, my parents were in a, the, the club scene, right? Now I grew up, both of them were, you know, in drugs and, and alcohol and, and partying and stuff like that. That's how they met, um, you know, into, they were addicts themselves. Right. But they were trying to make it, you know, I understand the journey in everybody's life, right? God is behind the scenes. We've been together a story for us, uh, before we even know, knew who God was. Right. Before I knew who God was. Right. Um, and so they grew up in the club scene and, and that's, you know, as soon as my Uh, they found out, I think it was, um, I forget what time, but they, they found out that I was, uh, being born and they separated, right? And then, so my mom tried raising me for the first couple of years, and she was fighting addiction herself, right? And she was just trying to make it and she was trying to do what she knew, right? Um, so we, we can point the finger. At our family, but or we can just kind of acknowledge that, you know, they had a journey as well, right? So, in her journey, the first couple of years, she was struggling with addiction herself and so she went to get sober at the age of 2 when I was 2 years old and so she gave me over to my father at the age of 2. And then my dad took over. She's been sober ever since. So what a blessing that is, um, to be sober ever since that. Um, then my dad took over, uh, from that point, you know what I mean? And me and my dad were more friends than we were, you know, a father and son.

4:38

We grew up sports and kind of partying a little bit, way too much,

Adam: 4:41

you know what I'm saying?

4:42

Drinking and doing our thing, you know, we dabble in a little bit of powder

Adam: 4:45

and whatever, you know what I mean? And not to glorify it, but it was just what it is, what it is. You know what I mean? Um, so kind of growing up in the system. Um, well, grew up with my, with my pops, you know, he tried to teach me everything that he knew, but that's what he was, he knew, you know, growing up as well, um, kind of, uh, you know, get violence, uh, violence is what you got, what you wanted, you know what I mean? Um, and someone told me when I was a kid, you know, if you want something, you, you would rather be feared than respected. And so I grew up with that mentality, you know, you got to put the fear of God into somebody to get what you wanted. Um, and it didn't take me until I was like 30, 31, 32 years old to kind of come out of that mindset and really kind of, you know, submit to God, the father and find out who it was to be a real man. Right. Um, and so, yeah,

Omar: 5:29

That mindset, like, you know, you know, like, I'd rather be feared, like, like at what age, or do you remember like when you started just fighting or, or had that mindset, like, man, I'm just going to start.

Adam: 5:39

I got my first taste of that. I think I was in fourth grade, uh, beginning of fourth grade and I fought two sixth graders and I remember, uh, and I ended up, you know, I've been wrestling since I was five years old and I remember one of my boys was going to fight these two sixth graders and he ran away and he watched me fight these two sixth graders, but my dad had instilled a mentality in me that I knew how to fight from a very young age. I wasn't that big, you know what I mean? But I could fight. Yeah. You know what I mean? And, uh, I was a wrestler as well. So, you know, I ended up whooping two sixth graders. And I remember we went into the office and I remember the principal was like, man, are you training this guy? So they, they, they bring me in. And I remember the parents were like, this is the kid that whooped you two guys. And I was a little guy, right? But how proud my dad looked, you know what I mean? He was like, yeah, that's my boy. Right. And so that made me feel great. So like from that point on, I ran with that. Right. I'm trying to whoop everyone. If it's one, you know, My dad was, you know, everything to me, you know, he was my God. I didn't know God, the father. Right. Um, so I looked up to him with everything in me, you know what I mean? I wanted to make him proud and everything I did. So whether it be sports, uh, whether it be anything, but

6:45

I realized when I fought and I whooped somebody, I would get his approval. So, um, and they're like, man, you're training this kid to be a killer. And he's like, yep.

Adam: 6:53

And how proud he was. So, um, you know, and I've learned a lot from my dad, you know what I mean?

Omar: 6:58

So, so you did that also into that like wrestling and MMA

Adam: 7:02

and yeah, he's just a fighter. He just, he's a scrapper. You know what I mean? Yeah. And he's a wrestler himself. Yeah.

Omar: 7:11

He didn't have like, I guess no training. He just, he just liked to fight.

Adam: 7:15

Yeah. He's a bad dude. I'm telling you.

7:17

People would tell me like, man, your dad was feared. You know what I mean? In the streets. So you'd hear at bars and back in the day and all these different stories and he would tell me and I didn't believe and then started hearing all the stuff that he used to do.

Adam: 7:28

He was, he was crazy. He was bad, but it wasn't a trainer. No.

Omar: 7:33

So that's at your young age. Uh, I know you mentioned like, like partying, even I believe even with your own dad, like at what age did that start that you maybe started going into like drugs?

Adam: 7:44

I mean, we were young. Um, I remember I was And as long as I can remember, I would have a beer with him even like Monday night footballs and stuff like that. And, and just, you know, um, I can't even remember, but I would say as young as I can remember, I know I was drinking beers with my pops. You know what I mean? As I grew over, it progressed, grew older, progressed. Um, then as I got. I don't even know what age it was, but, um, started dipping it in powder and other things like that. And, uh, you know, just before, before you know it, I was a full, full fledged addict. You know what I mean? I didn't know. But then also, I mean, there's a lot of things that happened to me growing up that I, I, uh, tried to suppress, right? A lot of, uh Physical, mental and sexual abuse things that had happened to me as I was growing up, you know what I mean? Some things that, uh, reality, you know, and I couldn't run to my dad with none of those things because he was my pops, right? He was everything to me. So I couldn't, you know, run to him for all those things. So I kind of stuffed all that down. Right. And then, you know, trying to, you know, uh, kind of kill myself every single day since I was a kid, because as soon as all those things happened, I couldn't run to the person I looked up to the most. Um,

8:46

I wanted to be high reality. Wasn't. Okay for me, you know what I mean? I just wanted to get high on everything and I was, and I'm an extremist, anything I do, whether it be training, working, anything,

Adam: 8:56

you know what I mean? So, uh, when I, I wouldn't just drink, I would drink to blackout or get high too. Yeah. It was bad.

Omar: 9:03

Yeah. No. No. You know what? Like, uh, you mentioned like, uh, like, uh, like a bunch of like bad stuff that happened to you as a kid. Now part of wanting to run to your dad is like, was maybe some shame in that like, man, this stuff happened to me and it shouldn't have happened to me. Like, well, what is my dad going to think of me or? Yeah,

Adam: 9:21

man, it was, it was all kinds of things, you know, what he would have thought of me, self worth issues. Uh, I deserved it kind of thing, you know, there's so many different. And so that's why my unbreakable ministries is why we have our ministry now is to help people out with cognitive therapy and, and mental health and suicidal ideations is because I understand that process and that pain and the residual effects of what that does to people. Because. Man, still to this day, in certain conversations, I still feel that lack of self worth, you know what I'm saying? Trying to hold on to me because of the things that happened to me when I was a kid. So, uh, my heart goes out to anybody listening to this that is going through those things, you know what I mean? It's, it's nothing easy to deal with, you know what I mean? And we talk about surrendering those things and forgiving people for those things, but it's a, it's an ongoing battle, right? They say

10:03

surrender is a one time thing. It's not. It's an everyday, every thought, every moment,

Adam: 10:07

you know what I mean? Take the thoughts captive and surrender those things. And forgiveness is. Is, you know, you could forgive somebody, but sometimes you have to forgive somebody multiple times, right? Because something will draw that back up. You know what I mean?

Omar: 10:18

Yeah, for sure. Now, I know you mentioned those things, you know, led you into drugs and we just wanted to escape. Uh, and I know you mentioned becoming like a full blown, uh, addict. How do you remember how life looked like maybe during those times or those years?

Adam: 10:32

Yeah, I mean, it was kind of a blur because I mean, I was drunk 24 7. I was drinking a gallon. I remember apple McCormick's. That was my thing. You know what I mean? And I had a liquor store that would sell to me when I was young. And so I would get up, uh, even before school and I take a gallon of liquor in my backpack and I would chug it, you know, start chugging at me and my, me and my boy, um, and him and I would pop polish a gallon of liquor every single day. And man, that's include, you know, we were, you know, still trained wrestling, football and baseball. You know what I mean? Play, play sports, but man, I was. You know, dabbling in some things and, you know, and then, you know, the, the liquor leads to bad choices, criminal mischief, assaults, you know what I mean? Drug cases and stuff like that. And so before you know what I'm in the system and I ended up doing like about five years in the system as a juvenile, you know what I mean? Cause you know, I just messing up nonstop talk about sabotaging my success, you know, every, every time that I would go to succeed. Um, even for the state finals, I went to state as a freshman and I got caught drinking it, you know, at the state championship because, you know, I was an addict, right?

Omar: 11:36

So the, they didn't, allow you to participate in the match, I guess.

Adam: 11:40

They, they kicked me out. Yeah. So not only did I do that, but I also got expelled from school. So suspensions expelled. Uh, then I caught a couple of court cases before, you know, what I was getting two years at a time. It's juvenile. Um, and then right when I was going to, uh, you know, growing up a little bit, uh, at like 17 years old, I was supposed to get off of my juvenile case. I was at a halfway house and I had like, I think it was like three months left or something like that. Talk about sabotage my success. You know, I was about to be off and I went in it. So I think I turned 18.

12:13

Three months away from being finished in my juvenile sentence, and I escaped from the halfway house. So they gave me an adult case right after that.

Adam: 12:21

So then my juvenile case went right into adult jail time. And before you know it, I'm doing another, I think, 4 years is an adult. Yeah. So 1 thing, you know, and that's case after case after case, never get in prison until I got a little bit older. You know what I mean? And, um, Uh, you know, I get out, you know, start fighting, but, you know, and I had to my at the age of 21, I had, uh, my son and my daughter were everything faith and Jensen, um, and I remember I was, you know, kind of half and I didn't know the Lord still at this time. I was, you know, you know, I was lost. You know what I'm saying? I didn't have no family. I felt my mom was, you know, getting sober and she was out in Colorado Springs. I really didn't know her very much. Um, and I had brothers out here. I didn't know them at all. Right. Um, but, uh, started fighting, you know, and, and had my, my kids, but I, I still wasn't fully surrendered to the Lord. Right. And I was still being an addict. Um, and I, I remember I started fighting. I turned four and oh, as a professional fighter. And I remember, uh, I. It was, I think it was, yeah, four and I was undefeated fighter. I was on my way to the ultimate fighter and, you know, I was like, man, I'm, I'm on my way to make it, but I still hadn't surrendered addiction, right?

13:30

I had an ankle monitor on and most people don't know this, but every time, uh, before weigh ins, they would take off my ankle monitor.

Adam: 13:37

I would weigh in, I would fight the next day and then they put the ankle monitor right back on, um, which was crazy, you know what I mean? So, I mean, it was, it was, it had its purpose and I was, it was crazy they let me do that. But four and O and. I remember, uh, I, I had an ankle monitor on and I had like, I don't know, 20 cases in four separate counties, plus I was on, uh, adult probation and just spiraling out of control. Right. Um, and I remember I was on my way to the ultimate fighter. They were even going to let me take off my ankle monitor and go to the ultimate fighter for the TV series. And um, God knew I wasn't ready. You know what I mean? So trusting God's timing and everything, I believe that 100%. Um, and I remember there was a situation where. I'm not going to say who it was because out of respect to them, but they were going to come with me and come out to the bar that night. Um, and I remember they're like, if you drive all by right. And I was like, all right, yeah, let's go. Let's go. You know what I mean? And I remember I pull up to a stop sign and, uh, I felt the presence of the Lord the first time in my life. You know, I've never heard the Lord. I would pray, but there would be like. I didn't know what I was really doing. I'm just praying to something that I had no idea about. I didn't internalize the Lord at all. And I remember

14:45

I pulled up to this stop sign and I felt like just this chills all the way through, and I felt the presence of the Lord say your way or my way,

Adam: 14:53

and I was like, what, you know, am I going crazy? Am I hearing things? I must've done too many drugs. What's going on? Anybody been hitting the head too many times? What's going on? And I knew though, that it was get sober and follow me now. Or, or choose your way. Right. And so, you know, I'm going to stop, sat in the car behind me, honks. I'm like, I drive away and you're aware of my way. What what's going on. And I remember the next, I think it was Saturday that that was. And on Monday was I think Martin Luther King day. And I was like, well, I'm going to get sober on Monday. And you know, when you know, you're going to do anything on your time. It's always like, you know, as addicts know it's by the end of the bag or the end of the day or whatever it is, right? It's convenient to you. But the Lord says, pick up your cross and follow me now. You know what I mean? It's, you know, let the dead bury the dead. You know what I mean? It's not when it's convenient for you. Uh, he gave us breath in our lungs and a beating in our heart, so it's time we're paid in full already. So it's time to, you know, be obedient. Right. And I remember, uh, so I ended up going out that night. We get into a fight at the, the club and I, at the end of the night, I, I, we get pulled over and I had dope in my, uh, my, my sock and I'm trying to eat. I get pulled over on a DUI stop. I didn't have my lights on. High as a kite on, uh, meth. And I remember, uh, they pulled me out of the cop car cause I was like sweating because of the fight that I was in. I was high as a kite and I get out and I try to dive at the dope that was on the floor. And before you know it, I'm fighting eight police officers. Um, you know, and plus I had seven second degree assaults prior to this. And I'm, you know, for, they said for like 30, 40 minutes that they were trying to fight to get this dope out of my mouth and I'm trying to swallow it, right? Um, and they tasered me three times and, uh, thank God. And I still have the scars on my wrist from the cuffs that were on my hands. Right. Um, and before you know it, by the end of the night, I was sitting in a padded cell, uh, because I was acting up, you know what I mean? And they, they're, they said like for 40 minutes, they were trying to get me subdued, but, uh, assault an officer times eight,

16:48

I was facing 158 years. And so. My whole life. Not only was I going to fight again, but I wasn't going to see daylight or see my family ever again.

Adam: 16:56

Um, it was over for me at that point in time, right?

Omar: 16:58

How old were you at the time here?

Adam: 17:00

This was 2027 if I'm not mistaken. Yeah. Yeah. So kind of, um, in and out and this is, you know, you know, to backtrack a little bit kind of, you know, growing up, still trying to find my family and gangbanging and stuff like that grew up in Denver. around all this and, and I remember the, just to, to recap on this, you know, I remember going in and out and trying to fight for family and fight for, you know, my stripes and all this other stuff, you know what I mean? Fight to be, get power and control and man, in and out of the system, I was controlling full prison yards, you know what I mean? And, and that gave me control, sense of power, right? You know what I mean? And, and falling into that, but I realized it wasn't, you know, homies are snitching on each other, you know what I mean? And, and taking each other's stuff over dope. There was no. There's no family, you know what I'm saying? Um, and I, I remember I was sitting in, uh, in a, in a, um, a chapel sitting there and I remember, cause that's where we pass notes and, you know, people would slide dope to each other and do all those things, right. Because that's where we, you know, meet, meet each other. Right. And I remember one of my homies, I just got out of the, uh, the, uh, the hospital. Right. I got into a fight and I got jumped and stabbed. I remember I get out and my homies were supposed to have my back, but they ran. And I'm like, sitting there mad as hell. You know what I'm saying? Like this is supposed to be my family. You know what I'm saying? And I'm fighting for something that, you know what I mean? It's they're, they're not even fighting with me. You know what I'm saying? And I remember, uh, uh, the pastor. So one of the homies was like, this is, this is, they used to call me Rocky. Uh, this is Rocky and you know, I gave him DAP said what's up to him and stuff like that. And I remember the pastor, um, Looked at me, says, what's your story, young man? And it was like God looking at me. And I was like, man, I was like, and I was fed up, you know what I mean? I was just tired, you know what I'm saying? Like, tired of the, you know, called gangbanging, you know what I mean? Whatever it is, running these yards, holding the keys for the yard, and I was like, man, you know what, and I knew the Lord was working on me, right, working and working on my heart while I was sitting in the, the, the hospital, you know, in the jail cell, and in the infirmary, and I remember I got out, I said, you know what, I'm a man of God, you know what I mean, and that's, that's it, I bow to nobody, you know what I'm saying, with nobody else, and the homies looked at me, right, and they're like, Like, yeah, I'm done with this. You know what I mean? And I knew I had to, you know, take a whooping to get, you know, what comes with that, right, to get out of that. But I, I remember I took that whooping and I was like, so relieved. Like, that's all I had to take to, to deal with that. Now I don't have no, no politics or no, none like that. I'm like, all right, I'm free from all that. You know what I'm saying? Now I, I can breathe, you know what I'm saying? And people that understand that been in the joint with politics and stuff like that, um, You have to follow orders and rules. And that's not how I wanted to live my life. You know what I'm saying? And so, uh, I gave that up and I remember that was the time that I gave up gangbanging at that very point in time. Um, and again, uh, you know, I got this after that kept messing up. You know what I mean? I was halfway in, halfway out, still battling the flesh, right? Still battling addiction and haven't surrendered to sobriety. That's one God. One thing God wanted from me is sobriety, right? To have my says a first Peter five, I think. Right, be sober minded and diligent for the enemies like a roaring lion waiting to devour you. Man, I felt like that was every corner. You know what I mean? As soon as I would take a sip and the thing was, is the enemy worse was the enemy in my head, right? The biggest enemy is the inner me, right? The battles we fight within our mind. Um, so, Yeah, it was, it was powerful, but, um, you know, fast forward. So when I was 27, uh, ended up facing 158 years, um, and in Adams County. And so my life was over and I'm saying, and, and I didn't know if I was going to see daylight ever again, I had two kids out here, um, and I didn't care about fighting. I wasn't going to see breathe fresh air ever again. You know what I mean?

Omar: 20:41

No, no. And on those cases that they give you like actual like sentence or like that there was that, that, uh, number.

Adam: 20:47

Yeah, so I ended up, so I went in facing 158 years and so I'm, I'm going to try and I'm still upset at the world, right? Still like almost in a victim mindset, right? The handcuffs were behind my back. So I'm like, like still like, Oh, well, I can sue the state because my hands were behind my back. I'm going to get them for millions. You know what I'm saying? Still, I'm a victim, right? I'm a victim to all my circumstances. And I remember, you know, I, I got into a fight, right? And I still hadn't read the Bible through and through, right? I read little. Things about it, but I'm mad now. So I'm religion relationship with the Lord was nothing I was trying to have. And I remember, so I got into a fight and I went to the whole, right. For, I think it was like a long stand. I don't know what it was. And I remember I'm asking the guard and, uh, I'm like, Hey, can I get a, uh, the book cart? Right. And he's like, no, he's like the book carts down. All we have is religious books, Bibles. You want a Bible? And I'm like, nah, man, get that by those Bibles out of here. Right.

21:42

But sometimes you never realize God is all you need till God is all you got,

Adam: 21:45

right? You're, you know, God, you know, and for some of us knuckleheads, God will sit you down with four walls and nothing else to do, right? So literally I was in the hole with nothing else to do sitting there with four walls sitting in my bed, just twirling my thumbs. So I'm like, all right, well, you know, a couple of days goes by or a day goes by and I'm like, man, I remember hearing those war stories about David and Goliath. I'm like, oh, maybe I'll read some of those stories. You know, there'll be something cool in there. You know what I mean? So I'm like, give me one of those Bibles, right? And, uh, sure enough, man, uh, for three days, I was hooked. You know what I mean? I, and the Lord grabbed a hold of my heart, the spirit grabbed a hold of my heart and off to the races we went, you know what I'm saying? And after three days, it was like the guard, the guard, he knew what it was. Right. He was like an angel. Right. And he's like, you know, you want one of those, uh, those, uh, books, the book cart came in. I was like, man, get those books out of here. He laughed and walked off and I was like, and I was hooked day and night. Every little bit of light that I could get, I'm reading the Bible. I was hooked. You know what I mean? I realized, you know, that's, When my the paradigm shift happened going from a victim to a victor, right? An overcomer, right? And now there was work to be done. Matthew 28 19 20 go there for make disciples of all my nations or or when he says that in the other gospels that speed my sheep, there was work to be done. Right? Um, and so there was a heart check, but the Lord wasn't just going to give me right like a foxhole prayer and answered prayer. Um, he wanted to see some work out of me. So. Mhm. I remember I'm doing like purpose driven life, uh, groups, uh, prayer groups, Bible studies, whatnot, you know, still fighting my 158 years. I got a, uh, a deal for 72 years. I got a deal for 24 years. Got a deal for 12 years. I'm like, man, I ain't taking none of that. My life's going to be over. You know what I mean? And so right before trial, I think it was at like 13 months. I remember getting a deal for 7 years. So if I took the year, the deal for 7 years, or I roll the dice and go to trial and they habitualize the habitual criminal 158 times 3. Right? And so that don't talk about ever seen daylight again. You know what I'm saying? That's a wrap, right? Throw away the key. So, man, I either do that or take the 7 piece and hopefully I got good behavior. And so I took the seven piece. Uh, it was either, uh, probation, halfway house or DLC. But when I went to sentencing, of course, the, the, the judge was like, man, we see a change in you, Mr. Vigil, but you've tied our hands up to this point. You're going to go to DLC. So I was like, all right, you know what I mean? And I remember, you One of, there's a, the daily breads that we get in prison, right? The, the daily readings and stuff. And I remember one of the daily readings on that day was feed my sheep, right? And so everywhere you go, you're going to be asked to feed your sheep. No matter how scary it gets, no matter what happens in your life, feed my sheep. And so, and then one of my other pastors that comes down, there was a pastor. He was an alcoholic, but he hit somebody drunk driving. So he was, he never talked to nobody. But when he came down, he had a word from God. He's like, can I talk to you? Yeah. And he hadn't read the daily bread or anything like that. He's like, I got a word from you, brother, a word for you, brother, from God. I said, what's up? And he's like, man, he's, you're going to go to some scary places. You're going to do some things, but the Lord is going to be with you. You got work to do as an evangelist to feed his sheep. All right. And I was, it was crazy because I was like that one thing, right? So I'm like, all right, well, yeah, straight up. It's not synchronicities. The Lord just speaking. Right. And, uh, So I go to go, uh, to DRDC, the reception center to get classified, right? And for, for, for DOC. And so we go there and I was like, all right, Lord, you want me to, you know, feed your sheep. So I'll open up the Bible anywhere I go. You know what I mean? We go to a minimum yard and there's like, you know, I opened up the Bible, starting a Bible study and there was like two, three, People at the study, you know what I mean, but the stories were, they're, they're just going to get out. They know they hadn't learned their lesson yet. They're going to get out in like four or five months, eight months, two years. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to get back out and do this dope and get with this chick. They hadn't learned their lesson. Right? Well, I go to see my case manager and they're like, uh, 32, you got 32 points. Hey man, that's, that's more than a serial killer. I said, are you sure you got that right? And they're like, yeah, Mr. V Hill, you got 32 points. I'm like, all right, well, so they sent me off to max. Right? Right. Right. And I'm sitting in max and I'm nervous. You know what I mean? One of my boys says

26:04

if it can breathe, it can kill you.

Adam: 26:05

Right? So they don't, and the bigger you are, they don't care if you can fight, they're going to stick you. Right? Like, Oh, all right. Well, that's, that's good to know. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, I'm nervous, right? I'm just shaking. Right. Yeah. You know, I don't care how big I am. They're going to try to kill me. So I go up and I remember I had a single cell. There was four single cells. It was like four, four, four stories. It was like Shawshank Redemption style, right? And so I go up to my unit or my cell and on the back of the cell was a big old, like, uh, the brick wall, uh, cylinder, cylinder things. But in the, the, the wall was a big old cross with a number eight in the center. And I didn't know the significance of the eight at the time. Right. I just saw the crosses. All right, Lord, you're with me. I'm like, but are you sure? Like, is this where I'm supposed to be? So I closed my door. And on the back of the wall with prison toothpaste is that exact daily bread stuck to the back of the door to feed my sheep, somebody had stuck it to the wall, right? Oh, all right. God, I got you. I'm like emotional now. I'm like, okay, so this means there's work to be done. So as soon as this door cracks, we're in maximum security. So when we get one hour out, right? So I got work to do. I take my Bible. I'm shaking, right? You know what I mean? I know I'm in max and I go down and I ask the first guy, I'm like, uh, just add a small talk, right? Man, how much time are you doing? I mean? He's like, I'm doing 350 years plus a life sentence, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, Ooh, I lied about my seven years. Cause I don't want him to think, you know, I'm sorry. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, I got a hundred something years, you know what I mean? And, uh, I was like, okay. So I asked the next guy, how many, how many years are you doing? And, uh, he's like, I'm doing five consecutive life sentences plus this, this, this. So I lied to him again, you know what I mean? I'm like, I'm not asking that question again, you Like, all right, so, but I see the table that I'm supposed to sit down at, right? And, uh, I'm just, the Lord's just like tugging on my heart. Go over there and open up that Bible. So sure enough, I did. I sat down, I opened up that Bible and I cannot tell you, uh, The amount of people that came in, not only was it, there was eight seats, that whole thing was filled, but there's people standing around the seats. The Lord was there, right? Talk about, uh, all they had, they burned every bridge in their life. You know what I'm saying? All they wanted is a chance of redemption, a chance with the Lord. You never realize God is all you need. So God is all you got. That's all they had left is a chance for the Lord. And, um, so it was very different from the minimum security. Right. And we'd open up and I would read one scripture and man, these guys would just, the spirit would just flood that table, right? Grown men just. Or now in tears because they realized they made a mistake. They just got sentenced to the rest of their life in prison. They're never going to see daylight again or hug your family again. So for me, it was a hard check, right? You know what I mean? I had work to do. Um, and I was excited every little hour that we got, I mean, I was excited. I went up to my room. I'm studying the scripture. You know what I mean? I'm just waiting to get back down there and do it again. So three days passes and I remember, I'm like, I gotta get back down there, you know, open up this Bible, there's work to be done. And, uh, you know, the story, I mean, they, they taught me more anything than I could, I could ever taught them. Right. You know what I mean? Cause it just, yeah, it was, it was incredible. Rather the spirit was moving, but, uh, because of the obedience, I feel I got a kite underneath my door. Uh, that says, you know, we did your points wrong. Whoever did your points, uh, was a new case manager. Didn't know what they were doing. Did your Kate, your points wrong. You're going to a medium. Uh, secure. So I wasn't going to a minimum, but at least I wasn't going to a max, right? That was a permanent hole, right? So they, they transferred me back over and I learned a lot of, a lot of, uh, I mean, a lot there, you know what I'm saying? The heart check was for real there. Uh, just and through obedience, the Lord was like, okay, you're going to feed my sheep. I, you know what I mean? It's almost like checking my heart to make sure I was going to be obedient to what he was saying. And I trusted he was there, right? Um, it was a beautiful thing. Um, so waiting to go to my next prison yard, um, you know, I was going to go to Ordway, right? It just a yard and they had some punching bags and stuff like that. Um, Um, but we're waiting for two months and I remember there was a God behind bars, right? As a prison ministry that went, there was my home ministry back in Denver and they were going to the prison. There was right where I was at. And so I either waited for two months to go to this other prison yard or they can get me right to a prison yard in like two days. Right. And it was with. Got behind bars that was there. I said, God, this is where you want me to go. I'll go. So sure enough, I went to, uh, one of the oldest prisons out here, uh, and spent, uh, I did three and a half on a seven and, you know, I was doing everything that I could, you know what I mean? Uh, I gave my life to the Lord, 100%, you know what I mean? And, uh, Bible studies, purpose driven, my purpose driven life is one of the things that changed my life. And I would do groups, get big old groups of men together. And we would just, you know, fellowship. Um, it worked out like crazy nonstop. All I would do is work out and just read the, read the word and be an evangelist. Right. Um, and so I went up and got denied halfway house again and again and again and again. I'm like, all right, well, I surrender whatever I know. You know what I'm saying? My heart posture was there. Um, whenever you want me to be free, I'll be free. So my first parole date comes up and they paroled me on my first time so which was a beautiful thing now You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson right 100 percent and I would have Changed my life and everything would have been good and off into the sunset I had a great plan, right? My heart was in the right place, but that's why I'm breakable ministries and the people that we have out here Are so adamant about creating the relationships inside a prison and walking people out, right? We want to give you resources. We want to disciple with you alongside you, right? We want to give you workout programs so you can go after your dreams and do whatever it is you dream of, right? As long as you stay sober and stay connected, right? Um, because right when I got out, I mean, I not only failed, but I started shooting up dope. I'm an extremist in everything I do. Yeah. And you know, being as disciplined as I am, it just goes to show like

32:10

you can be the most disciplined, hardworking man in the world, but if addiction or the enemy gets ahold of you, sometimes you fail,

Adam: 32:17

right? And that's, that's the lack of having the Lord in your life. Right. You know, halfway in and halfway out, Lord, you're, you're all the way out in my eyes. You know what I'm saying? So, um, I not only started shooting dope, but I mean, I was selling dope, shooting dope and to an extreme amount. I mean, this is for months straight. I was doing this. Um, and so I remember for, you know, they would test the dope. They'd have little fentanyl strips to test that the fentanyl was killing everybody. Right. And, um, I remember I was doing heroin, meth, fentanyl, and drinking a gallon. I wouldn't drink water. I was just, I was just, I just wanted to numb everything. Right. I was a failure in my eyes. I failed my family. I failed myself and I failed everybody. I felt God. Right. So I gave up, you know what I'm saying? And, um,

33:02

You know, I wrote my own obituary death by suicide by overdose. That's that's what I had already envisioned.

Adam: 33:07

Even everybody in my family was like, Adam, we're just waiting to get the call. And I mean, you're, you're going to die. You know what I mean? And they saw what I was doing. I was just on a crash course. Um, and it was unfortunate, but it was what it was. You know what I mean? And, um, I remember we were at a trap house and I remember we were, we were testing the dope and we tested it for fentanyl and it came out super strong. And everyone's like, oh man, we can't do it. And I know the enemy had me convinced like death by suicide. That's a rat. Uh, well, I'm going to do it. You know what I mean? That's it. I'm gonna do it. Right. And not only do I did, I did as much as the syringe would hold as strong as it would possibly go. And I did it right. And it was unfortunate, but, uh, I did the dope and I remember sitting there with an owl over my head, ice and a fan and all this other stuff. And I remember, um, it didn't, you know, didn't take me out. Um, and I remember I want to do even more, right. And cause the enemy said, do more. And I knew that this next one was going to be it. And, and I hate to be graphic, but I went to put the needle in my arm and I'm pressing and it wouldn't go in. Right. I'm pressing with everything in me. I'm like kind of force it and everyone is like, what's going on? And the crazy thing is nobody was going to stop me. They all sat there and watched, you know what I'm saying? It was just the enemy. Um, you could see the demonic presence everywhere. You could feel it. It was scary. And, uh, I remember the girl next to me, you could see her eyes were pitch black. It was the most. demonic thing I could ever imagine. You know what I mean? And she's like, let me do it. And I was like, huh? So I was like a little kid that had surrendered his life. Right. I was like, okay, well, this is it for me. Right. I gave it over to her and she was trying, she couldn't get it in. And she was growling. Right. And I'm like, and we're just watching and she's pressing and pressing and pressing. And then she went to squeeze the syringe and it exploded. Right. And we're like, and. Since then, I've tried as strong as I am now to, to do this just to test it, it won't break. You know what I mean? I've tried it, right?

35:08

That was divine intervention. You know what I'm saying? I gave up and I tried to commit suicide.

Adam: 35:13

Um,

35:13

but at that point in time,

Adam: 35:15

uh,

35:16

God had a different plan, right?

Adam: 35:18

Um, and so praise God, but, um, I remember I getting God to get out of there. So I remember I get in my truck and still the first, first one was in my system. I get out of the, you know, get out of the parking lot and I drive about two miles down the road. And when I woke up, um, I remember there was like, uh, blood and throw up and, and, and, and vomit. And I broke my nose on the steering wheel. I was messed. I had overdosed behind the wheel. And I remember hearing the Lord say, yeah, yeah. Lord said, you know, Death or life. It wasn't your way or my way. This time it was death or life and it was so scary. I cannot, I cannot tell you what the feeling that I felt there. I would, I was so scared for my life. Literally what I mean that

35:59

I knew if I got high one more time, that was it. I would never breathe again.

Adam: 36:03

Right? And so it was on 2 21 22 that I had overdosed and on 2 22 22 was my first day sober. I'd never, Look back and gotten high again. So I've been sober ever since. Um, and

36:16

I told the Lord, man, if you know, I didn't care about fighting, I didn't care about nothing else. I just wanted to breathe. I wanted to live.

Adam: 36:22

You know what I mean? I wanted to be sober. I wanted to, you know, give back, you know what I mean? You want me to start a ministry? You want me to do something? I'm doing it with everything I have in me. I'm coming after every addict. I'm in trying to break these strongholds and do everything that I possibly can to, to break addiction and generational curses and whatever it is you call me to do. I didn't get, you know, this was not even in the scope. I did not care about fighting ever again. Uh, I just wanted to breathe and give back.

Omar: 36:46

What were, so that, that two 22, 22, man, that's it. What were some of those first steps you took or what, what helped you in those like, I guess in the, first few days or weeks, you know what I'm saying? Like what helped you like, stay, stay on that path.

Adam: 37:00

Honestly, so I mean, the sad thing is, is I had burned so many bridges, uh, that I had nobody left to turn to but myself, right? So like, who am I gonna get? Me? You know what I'm saying? All I had was me and God, right? But that's, that's when I knew that's all I needed. God's like, oh, that's all you need. And unfortunately, I was still in a survival mindset. I still had dope in my pocket. And I, I had no urge to get high, but I knew as a survivor, that was my rent or my food. Right. So I literally was, and it's, it's so stupid. I look back, but it was what it was. Right. I was in a trap house. I was in a, uh, a trailer and this guy was. getting high probably like 15 feet away from me. I did not want to get high with anything in me, right? He would like, and I would sell him dope just to let him stay on his couch for a week in like by peanut butter. And all he would do is eat sleep and go to work, right. And sweat off everything that I possibly had. I was in such an urgency to get better and get right. But I knew I couldn't sleep on the streets and I knew I had to survive. Right. So, um, and that's one thing I've always done has been a survivor. So I'll make it work. It sucks that I had to do it in a trap house, but.

38:06

That goes to show like when someone says like, yeah, like when someone says, you know, you can't, you can't cold turkey, fentanyl, you can't cold turkey, heroin, you can't cold turkey, meth or liquor. I did all four of those.

Adam: 38:19

That is by Jesus Christ himself that it delivered me from those things. Um, was it hard? It was horrible. But, uh, God has delivered me from those things and praise God, because now we're on a mission. Right. Um, and so it was a fight, you know, my dad taught me how to pour concrete. I was pouring concrete sweat. I would wear long sleeve shirts, sweat, and just all the toxins out. It was just, it was horrible, but we bounced back slowly, but surely.

Omar: 38:47

Okay. So, so you went from, from the, you, you got cleaned up at a trap house. That's crazy. And then you go to work. When do you decide to go back to training? Cause I know we, we see that bell back there. Yeah how did that path look once you like,

Adam: 39:01

yeah, so I mean, I was, I was basically just going to the gym to literally like, I'd have a 24 hour fitness membership and I would go there just to sweat. I just didn't want to feel disgusting. I didn't want to feel that dope in my system anymore. I could taste it sometimes, right? How much I was doing. Um, and I wanted anything that was not. You know, not me out of me. I wanted everything evil out of me. Um, so I'll go there and I would run and run and run and I would go into the sauna, the steam in the sauna. I would just sweat out everything again for probably, um, a month or two. And then I knew a bunch of bunch of people and they're like, you know, come into the boxing world, you know what I mean? Come, come wrestle. And so I would kind of dabble just to get a workout in. I would throw in my whole sweatsuit, a sauna suit on and I would start hitting the bag and then, you know, You know, I started feeling right and I would pray on it, but I didn't want to go anywhere without the Lord's green light, right? And so I was like, you know, Lord, if you want me to, to fight, you know what I mean? That's on you. I'm grateful to be alive and sober. And I know I shouldn't be, I shouldn't be free. I shouldn't be alive, but I am. So you give me the green light, I'm gone. You know what I mean? And so, um, sure enough, I got the green light. Um, And you know, my first fight back, I was so nervous. I was four and oh, so coming back out of prison off of addiction. Um, I was literally fighting out of my truck and I would, and this is during the winter and I would go to the, it was a VASA at the time of asset loss or however they call it, but in the little. I was in a yoga room and my coach was holding mitts for me and I remember there was no fight camp really. There was just me hitting mitts in a, in a yoga room and just running. Um, and I went and fought in Florida and I remember, you know, it was just one of those camps, you know, you're supposed to now the level of training that I get, you know, I'm sparring every day. I'm grappling every day. You know, you're getting that work, that real work. Um, but I was in a yoga room just trying to make it, make it by right. Um, and I cut all the weight all the way down to 185 pounds. We fought and I ended up getting beat. Yeah. But one of the things that was beautiful about that loss was that was the biggest win of my career, right? Because I started taking it serious from that point on, right? That loss made me take things serious and really kick it in, right? I was so nervous about a loss, but I knew God was with me, right? Um, so from then on, I, you know, I went on a tear. You know what I'm saying? I'm training with some of the best in the world. Thank God, God, I said, God, give me your kingdom people. And sure enough, did he, you know what I mean? As far as recovery, training partners, uh, some of the best of the world. What I mean, and, uh, I find the honor to trace with train with some of the best coaches that I've ever, ever known, you know what I'm saying? And, and so they've had my back and, uh, I wouldn't be anything without my coaches and my support team right now. So, uh, we went on a tear and I was up in, uh, Denver for a while and I had to get away. You know what I mean? From Denver. Um, that was where I knew too many people. I sold too much dope. I did too many, too much chaos. Right? And so, you know, they talk about Jesus not being welcome in his hometown. Kind of, I've made too many mistakes out here, right? I had to get away, you know, regroup, you know what I mean? Even for my family, I didn't even talk to my family for three months because, you know, they could have been saying something negative about me. They might have been right. You know what I mean? But I had to cut away that negative mind mindset because I was saying enough negative things about myself, right? So I had to cut everybody off, um, and regroup. I had to produce or introduce myself, uh, reintroduce myself as a new man, as a new man of God. Cut loose the flesh in the world and come new as a new man, a sober man of God that has been surrendered and, and work, work hard. Um, and so I introduced that to my family and, um, came out to Colorado Springs and that's where I've been ever since. And now we've been training on a tear. You know, I signed up with Fury Fighting League and L. F. A. And, you know, I'm 10 and one with five finishes now and four of them being in the first round. So I've been on a tear coming after everything, you know what I mean? And I'm coming back, you know, with a purpose, you know what I'm saying? And it's not about me. Professional fighting was, you know, That's, that was the goal. They talk about Ephesians 3, 20, far more than you can think or imagine. What I mean, if we put God first in our life, he just uses our goals and our dreams is just a platform. Right. And so, um, yeah, I was, uh, blessed July 21st to get this bad boy right here. Uh, went in and, and held it down and, and

43:14

it goes to show what God can do in your life when you get sober and you give your life to the Lord and you surrender to his will.

Adam: 43:20

Right. Uh, you're not only blessed, but be a blessing. Right. Um, and that's what this looks like, man,

Omar: 43:27

man. Hey, you know what, uh, speaking of that belt, you want to tell us what weight class and, uh, Um, you said, uh, that's a Fury, right?

Adam: 43:34

Yeah. So this is the Fury middleweight, uh, world championship. So, uh, Fury's the one right below the UFC there's Fury LFA. Um, and these are the ones right here. And so you can kind of see it right here, but, uh, it's a, yeah, it's 185 pounds right there. And so I cut a lot of weight.

43:53

I cut from 230 pounds under 185 pounds. Um, I don't know if I'm going back to 185 cause I got a little bit bigger this time.

Adam: 44:01

So, but, uh, I might go up to like,

Omar: 44:07

What's the next one? 205 or what's next after 205? Yep. Yep. 205. Got it. Okay. Now you, you do what, I know you, uh, um, mentioned, you know, the, the steps, um, ministry wise, like I know you, you know, you worked. You did the training. What, what, what part did a ministry church play during this time?

Adam: 44:28

Yeah. So I, I mean, I've been blessed beyond belief with my ministry team and my church family. Right. Um, you know, they say family's thicker than blood and I will tell you my kingdom family means more to me than anything. Right. Because they have guided and been there along the way more than anybody. Uh, they didn't see they, cause they knew what it was, right. They didn't see me for my mistakes. They see me for what God saw me. Right. And they believed in me before I believed in myself. So talk about people that saw this coming before I did. I was still doubting myself. Right. And they were still pouring into me. Right. Um, and so I've had a team, you know, and I always talk about this. It's like a chessboard. Right. The dark versus the light. We're playing a game against the enemy. Right. It's no game. It's a war. Right. We're in a battle against the enemy. And we have to have the right pieces right in line to beat the enemy. Right. And we get so worried about controlling our pieces. Right. We start to lose. And the enemy starts to. Take control. But

45:22

as soon as we take, we surrender, we take our hands off the pieces. It's checkmate because then God takes control, right? And the battle is won,

Adam: 45:28

right? And so, uh, in, in the ministry, that's, that's what I've done. We got to be obedient, you know, be have active faith, not passive faith, right? Be proactive with the God that's within us, right? Uh, because, you know, it wasn't David to be Goliath. It was God through David to be Goliath, right? So, Realize that the God that we serve, whose children we are, and the God that's within us, you know, we can do anything, right? God is for us who can be against us. Um, and so, you know, we're, we're, we're on a mission right now, right? To open up our own community center, uh, to open up our own everything, you know what I mean? So we have prison ministries, we have mental health, we have cognitive therapy, we have, The, uh, the youth fight club, we have our boxing program, our MMA program. Um, and we're actually, you know, hopefully opening up sober living homes and everything we want it all. Right. There's nothing. Um, it sounds like a lot, but you know,

46:21

when you're, you're, your cup is filled by the Lord, there's nothing that's too much.

Omar: 46:26

That's like a vision and not just a vision. I mean, you got to like a lot of stuff going on there that you are. Yeah.

Adam: 46:36

And we're just getting started. I promise you that. You know what I mean? So, uh, I, I like this belt, you know, going after the UFC belt next to plus, you know, bare knuckle might be in my, my near future. I'm not going to spoil anything or say no news until it's blocked in, but I love their knuckle. You know what I'm saying? And, uh, it's yeah. So whatever God calls for next, I'm, I'm here and I'm ready to.

Omar: 46:58

Ready to roll. Hey, you know, somebody sees this and they're like, man, no, no, Christian should be over there punching and kicking nobody, man. What would you say to somebody who has that mindset about sport? You know, like as violence, you know what I'm saying? I guess from a Christian perspective, you know, I guess.

Adam: 47:16

Well, it's an art, right? It talks is, you know, it is 100, you know, they said MMA makes martial arts. It's an art to me, right? Um, and it's, it's an outlet. It saved my life. And so many people, it teaches us this. And that's why we teach it to the youth because it teaches them discipline and self control. Um, you see some of the, you know, the loudest person in the room is usually the weakest person in the room. It's because he's unconfident about himself, right? The people that are the baddest dudes in the, in the, in the world. Right. Um, uh, are the most silent, right? And they say a warrior, a warrior in a garden versus a gardener in a war, right? That's the mentality I want to have. Cause I'm humble, right? And that's what we teach our youth. That's what we teach everybody to be humble first. Um, and if it need be, you ought to protect your people, then handle business. But that's a last resort because, you know, the Lord will take care of you. So when people think it's barbaric, yeah, you know, you get out there and you got to handle business, but, um. I know what it's done in my life and what it's done to all the people that I love. You know what I'm saying? Oh, you get in there and I want to teach you hard work. I want to teach you self control and discipline. Um, you know, once you learn that you, you got a whole new mindset that you unlock for yourself. Um, yeah.

Omar: 48:22

Hey man, how do you transfer that? Or like, let's say when, when you're, uh, When you teach, let's say the youth, you know, obviously, you know, the, the mixed martial arts, uh, you mentioned the word, to be disciplined as far as, you know, like the workouts or training and all that, how could they transfer that, like to the spiritual, um, I guess, side of life?

Adam: 48:42

I love that question, man, because when I'm hitting mitts with somebody, like I'll hold pads for somebody and I can see their pain, their trauma, you know what I mean? And through their life. So there's so many parallels. We're in the fight of life, right? This, the spiritual battle is the toughest battle we could ever face, right? So having self control, they talk about being armored up, right? Ephesians 6. Yeah. Um, and, and being armored up and having that self control and that discipline is absolutely crucial to who you are as a spiritual warrior more than you are a physical warrior, right? Um, and that's, that's getting up, you know, putting God first before anything, right? And building a personal relationship.

49:18

I don't believe in religion. It's a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Adam: 49:21

Um, and that's, that's self. Self control and discipline, right? That's discipline. Do you get up and do you give your life to the Lord? You give him your first and your best. Um, and then are you armored up? Right? They talk about battle partners, right? Do we have people that are evenly yoked with us? That'll go to battle to go to war, these spiritual battles for us. Are we interceding for our people, right? Our family, our people that were alongside with, um, I mean, there's so many parallels I can, I can tell you, man. And the thing is, is I try to speak. Right. These parallels as I'm hitting mitts and training everybody because these parallels are, are spoken to myself. Right. Um, and you know, we talked to these kids and, um, that's, that's that discipline that they need to have. Right. And that's the, that's the whole reason I want to train them more than anything. Yeah. Here's an outlet punch things and express your anger, have an outlet. We want you to know that first and foremost, you know, you need to have a connection and a relationship with Jesus Christ more than anything.

Omar: 50:15

And that's beautiful, man. Uh, that's the physical and the spiritual, man. That's one thing that I love, you know, that's for a while here in my home. I was doing the workout in the word. We will, uh, I just got like a little weight set here, so I'll get some guys over, we'll have weights for about an hour and then we'll get into the work. So I definitely love that, you know, to, to combine the two. Cause, uh, the, the physical tool helps too, man. Like, I mean, I don't know the whole analogy of what happens in the brain, but I know when you work out, you know, you release stress and you begin to feel like better too, you know?

Adam: 50:44

Yep. Yep. And so when I was getting sober, talk about rewiring your brain, right? Reality and conversations was hard for me to do because I knew being high my whole entire life, but to fast track all that, um, so people getting sober, if you want to fast track rewiring your brain and coming into reality and becoming a better self, you know, elevating to a better mindset, uh, physical therapy is the best way to do it. There's no high in the world that will match in the endorphins that will shoot when you're, when you get a good workout in, you know, when you're exhausted, you're like, who? It's tough in the moment, right? But, uh, the payoff is, is beautiful, man. Amen.

Omar: 51:18

Amen, brother. Hey, you know what I was gonna ask you, I know you mentioned everything you've done, you know, like as far as MMA as well, but I, I believe you, you started a business as well and all. Yeah. Do you wanna share like

Adam: 51:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I own unbreakable concrete as well, and I've done concrete since I was a kid. My dad taught me. Uh, to run a business and to pour concrete since I was, I think I was 12 years old when I started wheelbarrow and concrete and stuff like that. Um, so I started my own business. That's when going to unbreakable concrete. We started a new fencing company, unbreakable fencing and landscaping as well as a tree trimming service as well. Unbreakable tree services. Uh, tree service as well. Um, as long along with unbreakable ministries, but, um, that's, that's just the beginning of things. We're going to have unbreakable general contractors and house housing and, and sober living and all these things in Jesus name. So, um, it just gives me an opportunity to employ people to start a second chance program, uh, but also to fund the things that we're doing. Right. So I've been blessed to have a business mindset, you know what I mean? And start these businesses. So, um, this is just the beginning. You know what I mean?

Omar: 52:24

You know what, uh, uh, earlier, like on my way home, I'm like, man, I, I'm, I'm gonna jump online and I gotta find like a testimonial from this brother. I, I wanted to like to, uh, uh, to get, like to, I guess hear a little bit about your story and, and I ran across one that you did with your mom. And that was like a year ago. So I was watching that man. It was pretty deep. I only got like 45 minutes into it. I believe it was like an hour plus maybe like hour 40 or something. When I looked at the time, I believe she's like business minded as well. Right? Like, uh, absolutely. Yeah.

Adam: 52:56

Well, you know, my dad owns a concrete company. My mom owns a real estate company and she's, man, she's been, I mean, talk about. You know, paving the way, right? She got sober, right? Been sober now, 32 years. Uh, now she owns a real estate company. She owns a investing company. She owns so much property. You know what I mean? She's doing, she's finding financial freedom, right? Um, in so many areas and I'm sure I'm not even listing all the things that she's doing because she's doing a lot. She's an inspirational speaker as well, a national inspirational speaker. Uh, she's given her testimony around the nation. She's doing a lot. So she's a she's a juggernaut in the powerhouse herself.

Omar: 53:35

Amen. Amen. You know what? I wouldn't want part of the story that I want to that that that spoke to me. I guess when you were going through through your years of struggle, you know, with drugs. That I think she asked somebody for help and they told her that, that she had to release you. Uh, but the, the statement I, I, I believe she made was you got to release him like, like if he were dead, man. And when I heard that, I mean, she, she started cheering up, man. And I, I, I actually got choked up when I heard that. I mean, I had a, you know, but she said that once she did that, I think that's when it started. I guess. To bring a change about that, that it was something hard to do. Uh, but I guess it spoke to me cause I, um, I believe you, you mentioned that that I was, I mean, even though it seemed bad, that was actually turned out to be good, you know,

Adam: 54:25

Yeah, it was a turning point. It was a pivot point. It was the most, it was a blessing. You know what I mean? They, uh, they talk about surrender. They say the greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender. The more that we surrender, the greater we become, right? Um, and she had to surrender me as an addict. Um, and she says, one of her things she says is, I had to realize that I wasn't her son. I was God's son, right? And then God was going to take care of me, right? And so to release all the pain, because, I mean, I cannot imagine what they went through, you know, waiting to hear a phone call the strength. Oh, my God, my son's going to die any moment. You know what I'm saying? Because I was a knucklehead. You know what I mean? I'm when I say

55:03

I was 1 of the worst addicts this world's ever seen. I mean, yeah. It was bad, bro. I was, I was an extremist.

Adam: 55:09

You know what I mean? There was, it was bad. So I feel, feel for the parents going through this. And then you go to look back on the other end of things. You know what I mean? Addiction is so selfish, right? So it's, you're a selfish person, right? You don't realize the people that you're affecting. And, uh, I mean, everybody in my life, my kids, my parents, um, breaks my heart looking back on it. You know what I mean? Now I feel like I'm playing catch up. You know what I mean? It pouring into so many people, but trying to speak life. Into the, the parent to child, uh, uh, uh, situation, you know what I mean is, is, you know, and I'm sure we're going to do more podcast together. Her and I, and, um. To speak into that, right? She had to surrender that. Um, and she said, when I realized like, you're not my child, you're God's and the God will take care of you. And if this is what needs to happen, this is what's going to happen. That's when she released all that, that pain, that hurt, or maybe the thing that she felt guilty for, right. That she might've felt some things. Right. Um, and it wasn't her to feel guilty for it was my mistakes. I'm a grown man. You know what I mean? I was making decisions to, to, to take away my own life. Right. Um, Peace by peace. She was watching. Everybody was watching me slowly die. I was right. Um, so I, you know, you make decisions in life and you have to deal with those consequences. So, um, it almost took me out, but praise God that God still had a plan for me. And he delivered me from all these things. So

Omar: 56:28

he delivered you, he could deliver others or one, one, one more thing that stood out to me. Uh, that you mentioned, uh, that you don't believe in, in, in intervention, like that's usually, let's say, when a family has a, uh, has a family member that's going, that's struggling, that there's an addict, like you mentioned, they're just out there, like, ready to probably die at any moment. Why, why, why do you say that, like, intervention is not something that you believe in when somebody's going through that?

Adam: 56:55

You can do it. And I've, I've, I've helped, you know, you know, with intervention and stuff like that. But, um, I don't believe in it because they have to want it right. You can lead a horse to water, but you got to make them drink. And as an addict, they have to, it's, it's like the video that I did today. It's the difference between sobriety and recovery. Someone can get sober. Right. And to be sober away from addiction, away from drugs and alcohol. But are they working on their recovery? Right. Do they want it from the inside out? You have to want it with everything in you. Uh, and as, as a personal addict, it was one of the worst. If I didn't want it with everything in me, I would, I still would've been higher dead. Right. So why I say intervention, I don't believe in it because they have to want it. If they don't want it, it's not going to stick. You know what I'm saying? I guess that's a cry, an external cry for help from the people around you. Right. But the biggest thing you can do, like what my mom did was release them. And, and tough love is the only love with an addict sometimes. So if somebody is listening to that, um, sometimes pulling the cord and letting them, you know, be an adult and pick up their pants by themselves and, you know, handle business. Uh, is what needs to happen because I was, you know, everybody was enabling me if not right, you're enabling people if you're not, um, you know, cutting the cord and letting them, you know, handle business. So, um, that was the biggest blessing when I realized I had no one to turn to. I didn't have nothing to do, but I had to handle business. Adam, what are you going to do? All right, it's time to get sober right now. I couldn't do it. Like God, I'm on my knees. I remember I'm like crying out to the Lord, like, God, give me sober, please. I can't do it. And I remember I would like get high. I would cry on my knees. Just, uh, just, I mean, just, uh, taken by addiction. The enemy had me pinned by addiction. And, um, I was like, Lord, please. And I would get high right after I would cry. Um, but that's what the power of addiction does, right? But if we surrender those things, uh, and we, we are proactive in our recovery, uh, we can do anything, right? You know, the Lord will deliver you. You know what I'm saying? Uh, but you can't enable somebody you can't, you know what I mean? That's the worst thing you could do because then it's also their reason that I was blaming everybody else. Again, I was a victim to my own circumstance. Oh, this is, I'm getting high because of you guys. Whatever. You know what I'm saying? Like Don't say that to somebody else. It carries, you know what I mean? Like handle business. You know what I mean?

Omar: 59:15

What, what, what, what, like, uh, what would you say to somebody like a parent that, that, that is going through that? And they feel like, man, there's no way I could just, let's say, kick him out or turn my back on him. Like you said, release him. Like, that's not a loving thing to do. What would you say?

Adam: 59:31

There's steps to it. Obviously, everybody's different. So when, when we're as I'm a recovery coach, so to meet somebody where they're at, meet them in their journey. Of course, that's probably not what you want to do. You give them resources. You number one, pour out that love, that agape, reckless, unconditional love, right? That godly love. It's our duty, no matter who they are, where they're at to pour out that love unconditionally. Recklessly selflessly, compassionately. Um, and what that means is sometimes that love might come in a different form. That love sometimes is tough love for me because I had not, I chose to get high again and again and again. Tough love was the only way, but there's stages to it, right? There's a process, right? Pour into your kids. I'm not saying give up on kids. Absolutely not. You know what I'm saying? Uh, Pour into your kids, you know what I'm saying? Give them resources, give them options, show them you care about them. And, and it's not that, you know, what's, you know, it's not your fault, you know what I'm saying? Because we all make our own decisions. I know that the younger age, you know what I mean? You can kind of make a little bit more decisions for him, but, uh, pour into him, you know what I mean? And what some, most of the kids just want to know that you love them, you know what I'm saying?

1:00:34

My lack of self love, self worth, self care,

Adam: 1:00:36

you know what I mean?

1:00:37

Was, was trash,

Adam: 1:00:38

you know what I mean?

1:00:39

So I lashed out at the world and I got high.

Adam: 1:00:41

So, uh, show him you love him. And important to him is cutie

Omar: 1:00:46

man. And one thing I believe you also said in that, that you were always Uh, yearning for your father's approval or your, uh, you wanted to make your father proud and that it wasn't like, uh, I believe to re like recently, uh, because of what you were doing, I don't know if the MMA, the men, uh, the ministry, I believe you mentioned as well. I don't know how the conversation went. Do, do, do, do you, do you wanna share the conversation and then maybe Yeah.

Adam: 1:01:10

Yeah.

Omar: 1:01:11

The insight, you know?

Adam: 1:01:12

Yeah. Man, that's probably one of the most powerful things that's happened in my life. Uh, I was searching for his approval for everything, right? And some of us, we have these people that we idolize or we look up to, or do we consider our gods at the time? Right. Um, I, I just wanted to make him proud. Right. With everything in me, if I didn't make him proud, I felt like I'd failed everybody and everything. Right. So my self worth was trash. If I failed him, I was nothing. Right. Um, it wasn't until I grew older that I finally was like, all right, you know what I mean? I'm obviously a failure and all this other stuff. And the Lord grabbed a hold of my heart and my focus shifted off of making the world happy to making me. Him happy, right? And when you surrender that to the Lord and you focus on being obedient and surrendering to the Lord, um, and so I wanted to make God proud and God proud only, uh, everything else comes after that, right? Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be given unto you. Right. Um, so I was seeking the approval of my Lord, God, the father, right? And I remember that's all I cared about. I didn't care what anybody else thought, like, you can say what you want about me, about my past. You know, there's that saying, this is a. You could try to rob the house that I used to live in, but I don't live there anymore. That's not who I am anymore, right? You know what I mean? That's, that's the old me. So you can say what you want because that's not who I am anymore. So, uh, start walking in the new presence of who you are first and foremost. But, um, I remember when he called me one day and man, this, it got me emotional cause, uh, yeah, he was, uh, I love him so much, right. And, uh, he, uh, he told me, he says, you know, son, I love you. Um, And he never gets emotional and stuff like that, but he was like, man, he's like the father figure that I was supposed to be to you. You are now to me. I was supposed to be your inspiration and your role model. And you're now that to me because he saw the videos and the inspirational and the impact that I'm having. And he's like, man, we meet people all the time to say that you're, you know, saving lives and saving their life and making an impact. So, um, for me to talk about breaking generational curses, we can even start to backtrack these generational curses and try to make an impact on our, on our parents and our grandparents and stuff like that. But that's walking in the light so vibrantly that, uh, that everybody else wants a piece of that, right? Because I saw the knucklehead, the flesh, this knucklehead Adam, right? But with God, a surrendered life, man, you can make changes and impact anybody, right?

Omar: 1:03:32

I love what you just shared right now. Cause a lot, a lot of times, like we think, you know, like we're like, when I get saved, man, I'm going to break generational curses, generational strongholds so that my children and grandchildren don't got to go through what I went through. But even up started like backtrack to my, to my, to maybe my uncles or those that are older than. Man, we could be impact them and it'll, it's not just that are going to follow, but even those that that we're following, man, that we could read through God through his spirit, man. That's awesome.

Adam: 1:04:05

Straight up.

Omar: 1:04:07

Yeah. This did this man been an awesome conversation. You know what we, um, Um, could, could you share like where, where people could, could, I know you mentioned a lot, you're doing business ministry, you know, the, the MMA, uh, uh, uh, fighting, uh, where, where, where, where could, uh, people find you? Social media links that, that you have out there, you know.

Adam: 1:04:24

Yeah. Uh, Adam bi Hill number eight is my Instagram, so A-D-A-M-V-I-G-I-L, the number eight, uh, on Instagram. Um, and then, uh, unbreakable ministries.com. It is our ministry page and then we have unbreakable. group is all my business page. So I have my concrete company. I have all my other companies underneath that one as well. So yeah.

Omar: 1:04:49

Like when I, when I release this, uh, I'll put links, you know, like to, to, to everything that we just click on there, they'll be able to, to, to reach you. Uh, but my brother, any final words, anything on your heart? Uh, that you want to show those that are, that are going to be hearing your story before you sign off.

Adam: 1:05:06

No, man. My biggest thing is don't be a victim. You know what I mean? If you want to change your life, uh, and it's crazy. I made this post today, uh, by no coincidence, but what you got to heal from your past, right? We're trying to speak. Life enjoy into other people's lives, but we gotta heal. You know what I'm saying? You can't just go about your life and not heal from your past because it's going to come up to bite you in the future, right? You're going to lash out at somebody or some of us is addicts. You know, we're relapsed. The relapse happens before the relapse even happens. So, uh, You know, if you don't want to see these things continuously happen, you know, we're going to keep repeating the season again and again and again until we heal and the Lord will continue to give those same things to you until you heal. So heal from your past. You're not a victim to nothing. And I mean, I'm a little bit different. You know what I mean? I like to recycle some of that, that pain, pain for fuel pain for purpose, right? Because some of those things happen for a reason. And just like in the book of James, it says, you know, we look forward to trials and tribulations for it's a chance for us to grow stronger. Right. So we're like a sword in the fire. We're fortified. Right. Um, and, and in Jesus name, there's nothing that will take us out. It only makes us stronger. Uh, there's lessons and blessings or both and everything. And I choose to see blessings and everything that happens to me, including the bad things. So, um, your mindset is everything.

Omar: 1:06:21

Man, that's deep, man. I love that image of the sword in the fire. You know what I'm saying? It's got to be right. It's, it's, it's for a purpose, for a good purpose. Amen. Awesome brother, man. I love the conversation that we had, man. Dude, do you mind if you could close out in a prayer before we go? Amen.

Adam: 1:06:39

Yeah. Father God, we just thank you so much for everything you've done in, in and through all of our lives. Father God, your hand in our lives. Uh, what a blessing. To have this opportunity to show what you've done in my life, because we know it's not me, it's not none of us for the God, you know, you gave us breath in our lungs and a beat in our heart. So we have purpose. So I urge everybody out there to go forth and do what we're called to do. And that starts with loving. You first and loving on our brothers and sisters and that's being an evangelist if you love your people Then that means going and speaking about the lord speak jesus into their life So that they can gain a personal relationship with you father god. That's what it's all about Because when we get to know you on a deeper level father god, we get to know love joy, peace, clarity, the things that can only come from you in such a beautiful level. Uh, we love you, Father God. We thank you for this opportunity. Uh, we thank you for everything you've done in, in, in the message that you bring to this world, Father God. Um, and we, we thank you for your guidance. Uh, you're the ultimate physician, Father God, you're the lighthouse. So let us stay focused on you, Father God, uh, for we can walk on water. Uh, like Simon, you know, he, he was able to walk on water, but as soon as he focused on the storm, he began to sink, but the Lord is right there immediately to, to grab us when we do, but don't focus on the storm, focus on Jesus Christ and everything that we do for the God. Uh, we thank you. We love you. When we praise you in all glory, to your name, in Jesus name, we pray. And

Omar: 1:08:04

amen. In Jesus name, man, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. You know,

Adam: 1:08:08

Yes, thank you very

Omar: 1:08:11

much for your time, brother. Thank you for sharing your story with us. And I got to get it out there. I know it's going to bless many people, man, that they need to hear this. I need some encouragement. They know that, man, that they could be delivered that even though they might be You know, addicted for a while, man, there's freedom through Jesus Christ, our Lord, you know? Yeah, man

1:08:29

went from addicted three years ago to a world champion. God can do anything if you did something with this knucklehead

Omar: 1:08:35

And I know there's more to come and you know, make sure you keep us updated What's next? I know you say you don't want to you know, share too much now, but We'll definitely keep an eye out for that, man I appreciate it. Love

Adam: 1:08:46

you guys. God bless. Hi

Omar: 1:08:47

brother. And with that, we're going to get ready to wrap up, uh, Matthew 4, 16 reads the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those that sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned alongside my brother, Adam V Hill. I'm Omar Calvillo and we are wrong too strong.