Jennifer Cohen argues that modern parenting trends like participation trophies and helicopter parenting have stripped Gen Z of resilience, while social media filters drive dangerous body dysmorphia and cosmetic surgery. She contrasts this with her disciplined upbringing, emphasizing exercise over fleeting motivation to build mental toughness. Addressing political polarization, she defends her criticism of Kamala Harris and support for Israel against accusations of anti-Semitism, noting that true patriotism requires independent thought. Ultimately, Cohen asserts that longevity depends on discipline, strong social connections, and rejecting the coddling culture that fails to prepare young people for reality. [Automatically generated summary]
No, I'm saying, so we can either continue that right now, or we could talk about habits, we could talk about hustle, we could talk about crazy California, which is where you live, the city that I fled, Los Angeles, or a whole bunch of other stuff.
But what brings you to Miami besides the Rubin Report?
So my entire premise and what I'm really passionate about, because now I have two kids, you have kids, it's something that I'm really struggling with, to be honest, as a parent, because I'm really about...
Basically doing hard things, letting my kids fail, and how failure is how everybody learns.
That's how I learned. I grew up similar to you, we're the same age, where we had to figure shit out.
Am I allowed to say that on the show?
You can say, yeah. You had to figure shit out.
There was consequences to bad behavior, and then that's how you learn not to do that thing again.
And now there is, you know, no score games, participation trophies, helicopter parenting, safe zone, you know, safe spaces, trigger warnings, all of these things that are kind of, they're creating a very soft next generation of weaker and weaker children, which is not really good for anybody, not really good for them, not good for like the world, society, and it kind of is a ripple effect.
And so I guess my intention is to kind of bring it up yet again into whatever echo chamber
I'm talking to and hopefully try to get people on board to help change the social norms of
What I kind of talk about and what I've noticed and what the research has even shown is that people who were born after 1995, all the things that you and I grew up with, like you said, riding our bike, getting into trouble, dating, flirting, just kind of like having fun or fighting with your friend even.
Mm-hmm. 80% of that shit is now gone, and it's replaced by screen time and smartphones and Instagram, which is then, I think, led to a lot of these other issues that we're dealing with.
is of course this coddle culture that's kind of happened with people and emotional triggers
and parents who have now been overprotective and safetyism.
I just feel like it's really kind of a troubling time because people are just now soft because
they're not even allowed or it's not even a thing to even go on a bike ride.
People are not even doing it.
People don't even have bikes anymore, right?
Or they're not even participating in sports.
You're saying after here you're going to play basketball with a bunch of people.
Kids are not even doing that as much as they used to because they're stuck on a screen the whole time.
You know, it's interesting because I mentioned to you right before I started, I'm going to play basketball after this and I play with guys that are all ages and a few of them now bring their kids.
So even though it'll be a guy in his 60s, he's bringing like a 22-year-old or sometimes even like a 17-year-old, something like that.
And I've noticed that the younger ones, when they play, not all of them, they get discouraged very easily.
So if they make a bad play or a bad pass or something, they're like head down, like they have no coping mechanisms to deal with it.
That's just one anecdotal thing, but I think it's indicative of something.
Like me, I have kids who are, like I said, 9 and 11, and what's happening is if kids are not the ones who are starting the game, the parents complain, right?
And if your kid's not one of them, you'll hear it from the parent.
Or if the coach raises his voice, parents complain.
Or the best is, there's now silent games where you're not allowed to cheer because you may hurt the feelings of someone else on the team.
Oh, I haven't even heard of that one. Or you can't say the word don't.
Have you heard this one? You can only start a sentence with do.
So I went to my kid's soccer game and I'm like, don't go that way!
And the mom beside me was horrified by me.
We don't start sentences here with don't.
We only start with positive do.
And so this is the way we've been trained.
We don't do this.
We only do that.
So now what's happening is we're bubble wrapping our kids into making them kind of the environment to kind of adapt to them versus the child or the person to adapt to the environment.
It's... So I will grant you that it is hot in Florida.
California and Los Angeles have crazy homeless drugs.
Terrible. The amount of people. I'm sure you have tons of friends that have left.
The thing that was driving me the craziest, like there were all of that stuff, and I left during COVID, so then there was very specific things, COVID-related, and masks where I was getting yelled at all the time.
But I found actually the thing that...
That was driving me the craziest was that anytime we had dinner parties, which we had all the time, all the dinner parties were about who's leaving and when are you going to leave and how are you going to get out of here and what's your plan?
You know, for a long time, I kind of kept my mouth shut.
You know, I didn't want to, like...
I didn't really... I never really did.
So I kind of just like never did it.
But then everyone else was doing it, speaking their opinions.
I'm like, why the fuck should I not?
So I think what happened was after October 7th happened, that's when things like the floodgates kind of opened.
And I was already speaking up on Israel and being pro-Israel and kind of having an opinion where it came to that, which, by the way, became a very political thing, which I never thought in a million years that that would become a political thing, but it did.
Actually, what I actually really believed was it was so obvious and clear to me that Israel was attacked.
Israel has a right to defend themselves.
And so they are defending themselves.
Like, I thought it was, like, common sense.
But what I learned quite quickly was common sense isn't very common.
And people, without even having the knowledge or education, just pounced on me yet again.
It became the uncool thing to be a proud Jew or to someone who would defend Israel.
And so when that started, I was like, fuck this.
I'm going to go all in on this because what I did notice, as I'm sure you can tell, is that the left or those people or the woke kind of generation was very anti-Israel.
And still is and have continued to be worse and worse.
And that's where anti-Semitism has been very much like bread.
And so with that happening, it kind of, I just ricocheted into politics a little.
I don't know. I don't, I don't, I don't pretend to know all the nuance about any, everything, but I do know what's like to me, what's obvious and was clear as day.
And so I speak up about it.
And, um, Yeah, that's how it kind of happened.
And then, like, it's been difficult because people don't want to—people are very offended by that.
And they're very, like, disgusted by the fact that, like, maybe I may not be—maybe what you're not a Democrat and what you don't like, Kamala Harris, how— How dare you?
You know, like, how can you just, how can you speak this?
Oh, right. So it was in that weird time where they were about to do it because she hadn't taken over still right after.
I don't think so. Exactly.
Where it was still going to be Biden.
Yeah. What has some of this taught you about women in general?
Because there's been a lot of talk about this, about the temperament between men and women, how that's different, and that women who tend to be more sensitive are more into this social justice thing, or even that there's a certain type of guy who's actually a little more feminine, having nothing to do with sexuality, that's more into this thing.
Has that taught you anything?
Well, first of all... Or have you learned anything regarding that?
What I find interesting about the whole thing is that I've never been someone who believes that just because someone is a certain gender, then you automatically have to support that person.
I always support the person who's the best, right?
It's ridiculous to me.
Like, women empowerment.
Like, well, she's a woman. You have to support this.
To me, it's like the best person, whoever has the chops, whoever has the...
the qualifications, whoever has the grit.
Like I'm a big person who believes in grit and someone who has like work ethic
and the whole like certain attitude of, and it's not about just because they're a girl or a boy
or a cat, it doesn't matter to me.
And so I do notice that like that to me is a problem in itself.
And so what I always find is like, just because someone is something,
you're gonna vote for somebody based on zero policy.
And she's hanging her hat, of course, on the women's issues.
But what bothers me is that people don't even care to dig a little deeper to know what they're even doing just because someone has a woman body part or a more feminine way.
Now, by the way, I'm not saying, I'm not even sitting here saying that I love Donald Trump.
I just don't think we have any good options, to be honest with you.
I think that we have a list of people who, like, the people who are actually, who should be running this country, who have the wherewithal, don't want to run the country.
It's funny that you have to make that qualification, because we could have done an hour here without you saying Trump once, and people might have thought you're voting for him, or maybe not.
And by the way, even though I'm obviously going to vote for him, and I'm definitely supporting him, Like, is it in some world that there would be better, you know, quote-unquote better people doing this?
Yeah. Of course, of course, but this is the world we got as far as I know.
That's what I'm saying. I think that this is my point.
It's like, I don't like any of the options that much, but of the options we have, do I prefer him?
I do prefer him, right?
Also, it's like kind of like...
I think people get really stuck on optics a lot, right?
And so when people aren't...
What she has going for her, she's more polished, let's say.
She was a prosecutor, so she knows how to...
She practices certain things.
She says things more... That can be much more appealing to the average person.
But I'm not someone who stands on ceremony and who's all about the optics so much.
And I personally like people who are kind of clumsy in that way.
I think it's an endearing quality.
And so anyway, my point is, I don't know, you asked me, I'm like going around and around, but I don't, I'm not someone who believes in just because someone's a girl, you should vote for a girl or help that girl.
You're definitely resilient and have a great endurance from running around in this heat.
But I would say the first thing, honestly, is exercise.
I think people really under-index the importance of taking your fitness and your health seriously.
I think health is a number one thing.
If you don't have that, you have nothing.
And I started doing that at a very young age.
And I think it really did teach me a lot of foundational, fundamental skills in life that people maybe just maybe papoo and not really think about how it has been.
Like, fitness to me was like a microcosm of everything else because it teaches you discipline.
It teaches you patience.
It teaches you, like, you need to be consistent in anything you do to be successful.
It teaches you patience.
All of these things that I was learning while I was on a fitness journey.
I think there's a lot of fake asses now everywhere.
Plastic surgery has become a massive business beyond just for the rich and famous.
It's become, you know, very, very prevalent and popular for like 18, 19, 20-year-old peak girls who are like going to Starbucks and they're like, yeah, I'm going to get my nose done tomorrow.
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Yeah, what do you make of that trend?
There's this huge thing now, you're seeing a little backlash on it on Instagram or some of these things, that young girls started doing all of this.
So like 17 or 18 or 20 year old girls who have just no reason to be doing any of this, fillers and injections and all of this stuff, and they start looking much older.
It's actually kind of insane.
It's crazy. They start looking like 60 year old women who are trying to look 40 when they're actually 18.
And then with the Kardashians, a whole new version of what beautiful was, right?
With the big fake butts and this.
I'm not even saying they have a fake butt.
I don't want to get defamation lawsuits around.
But you know what I'm saying? People can judge for themselves.
Exactly. But what has been considered beautiful has changed and morphed over all these years.
And now what I think that people, because of social media and Instagram and all of these fake phony...
Influencer, beauty influencers, or just regular people who are now so full of plastic surgery, that has now become what people believe to be beautiful.
And if you're natural and you're normal, that's considered ugly.
And I think what's happened is COVID really fucked us up.
Because what happened was people were looking at their natural, normal face on Zooms all day.
And all they were noticing was all their imperfections.
And when you're on Instagram, you're using a filter.
Most people are using filters.
So now you're not even seeing yourself as you really are.
You're only seeing yourself with a filter.
So when you don't look at yourself with a filter and you're only seeing yourself in natural form, like on a Zoom or just like in a mirror, you're horrified.
Of how you look. Right.
Which then creates a situation where why?
Plastic surgery is up like a thousand percent.
You can't even get an appointment with these people.
And prices for plastic surgery has skyrocketed to like, I don't know, let's say a nose job used to be
5,000, 8,000, 10,000, it's now like 25,000.
And you can't even get in to see a doctor.
And I think it's become a real sad state of affairs.
And then that's kind of what's happening with women.
Like their body image and their self-esteem is wrapped up in this like fake and phony world
Did you also notice that during COVID there was like a sort of a month or two where people kind of got into better shape or something like that?
Yeah. And even if you were supposed to be at home, people were somehow working out one way or another.
And then suddenly, once it was like three months in after they kept saying, keep ordering Chinese food and pizza and don't go out and anything, then everyone started getting fat.
And I think there's been some studies on this that people like 18 to 25 gained like seven pounds each over that, you know, something.
There was either one group of people that got really fit and really started to dial in their health and their fitness and kind of became consistent with it because they had nothing else to do, or they were home more than they...
They weren't able to go out, obviously, so they spent that time exercising.
And then there was the other cohort who actually gained a lot of weight.
And they started to drink more, they started to eat more, they started to basically become degenerates of the time.
And I think there was two groups of those people that happened.
I noticed it was both. But remember, like, it's like also, I'm in the space of health, wellness, optimizing your life, productivity.
So I'm going to, I'm going to look at the, I'm going to be much more gravitating to the people who actually ended up doing Because those are the people who I was talking to.
I was involved in a lot of these home fitness programs as a strategy and brand person for a lot of these brands and companies.
So I was really involved in that side.
But I would say the pendulum has swung now back.
I would be curious what's happened, what it is now.
I'm pretty sure Kale's better for you than Ozempic.
Like, I don't know exactly what's going on there, but like, I've seen some people on Ozempic that it just, yes, you look better for a little bit, but then something starts happening to your face and it just can't be good for you.
I think this is like a, this actually is like a hot topic, right?
Especially in my world, because, uh, Almost everybody, if you look around California, people who actually do have diabetes aren't even able to get the medication because every rich housewife is now taking all the meds.
So now they have all these.
You can buy it in a compound form, though, right?
And it's much cheaper.
So now I think there's more readily available.
But this is what people are doing.
And the real harm is that people are not learning healthy habits.
Right. Taking the easy way out.
And what's happening is, which is very, very scary and detrimental to your health, is when you're not exercising and working out and you are aging, you're losing all of your lean muscle mass.
Because when you lose fat, you're also losing muscle with these GLP-1s, right?
And so what happens is the pendulum swings the other way, and then you end up actually becoming more fat than you were before.
I know a guy, he probably watches the show, so he's not going to be happy.
I'm not going to say his name, but he was one of my good friends in LA. You may have crossed paths with this guy, who is a little kind of chunky, but he loves steaks.
And he was one of the people that really got me into tequila and loved life and joyous.
Got an Ozempic, lost a lot of weight, so I suppose he looks better to an extent.
Barely eats. Had them over.
Made a freaking Wagyu tomahawk.
Took one bite, couldn't do it.
Barely could get down one gulp of tequila.
Like, it takes away the joys of life.
It does. Then what is the point?
So you're skinny, starting to look a little scary, and you don't, I mean, to me, if you don't like food, like, what's the point?
He's probably like... He's also starving, for God's sake.
Even if he doesn't think he's starving.
So the neurotransmitter in your brain shuts off to tell you you're hungry, let's say.
But your body is starving.
Your body is saying, please feed me.
And it's just...
You're not able to eat.
which is interesting because what I've actually heard and noticed a lot was that like anything in life,
that the more you do something, your body will acclimate to it.
And so again, you can't change your behavior.
It's not changing your behavior.
So eventually you'll get hungry again because medicine can, like if you're taking,
let's say whatever the dosage is, let's say whatever it is, like five or 0.5, let's say,
but then eventually your body gets used to that.
So unless you, let's say, increase that medication again, your body will then acclimate and then you'll start to be hungry because the effects of it are not working as well.
So where do you go eventually?
You can't just keep on increasing a dose and dose.
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So let's shift in the remaining time away from the physical part for a second and talk a little bit about the mental part because the habits and the hustle are also largely mental.
I will tell you one thing that has hugely helped me in the last two years.
And I guess this is somewhat, well, it is somewhat physical, but I think it's helped on the sort of mental side, which is I try if possible, and I can't always do it, but a couple days a week, I try to get a 20-minute nap in around 3 o'clock.
And I have found that that has been unbelievably helpful for me.
In terms of productivity for work, whether I'm in the studio or not, but especially having kids with boundless energy, it's not even that I'm sleeping for those 20 minutes exactly.
It's just that I just put my head on the pillow for a second, the phone's there 20 minutes, I set the timer, and just to just that, Allows me to have like a little bit of a reset in the day.
Well, everyone that's watching this has probably heard me read ads for it, but in essence, it's constantly telling you what you're—it's gauging your metabolic health, basically, or when you're burning fat, when you need food, in essence.
You know what? I just find, like, all of these things are a nice additive, but, like...
They're not the ultimate. You have to be doing the things yourself.
All those things are fun, but it's about what you eat.
It's about exercise.
It's about basic stuff.
But to get back to your nap, just because you're asking me about the nap, I think another great thing to quiet your mind, and I'm not good at it at all, but people say it's been the number one change for their stress levels, is just something basic like meditation.
You don't need a nap. You could use one if you want.
But it's like just sitting still and sitting quietly in your own In your own space for even like a minute can like really lower your stress levels and your cortisol.
But I think, you know, again, it's all about doing these little things.
But to answer your question, like that all is, it's all these little habits.
What works for you may not work for somebody else.
And what works for me may not work for you.
But it's about like figuring it, like you have to try a lot of things.
It's like you got to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince, right?
I would say exercise is always, but very regularly.
And taking it seriously, like I said, fitness, number one, is always across the board.
People have said meditation has been a real big one.
Then you have all these other things, right?
I think... Mm-hmm.
And they can be like, for me, I'm a big person eating protein every morning, right?
Because it satiates me, it balances my blood sugar, so then my brain works better.
I think another big one is like...
For drinking, I take a whole lemon, not just squeeze the lemon, I take the rind and I put that whole thing in water and I eat that in the morning.
Again, it's just like a detoxifier.
These are all things that they're not just for your overall well-being.
It's not because I want to get abs or a great ass from it, but it puts you in...
You do things for your health that help optimize you, that really has a ripple effect later on.
And like you can do other things like reading 10 pages a day to help with your brain and for your memory and all these other things to keep things like cognitively going well.
I do my fitness videos all the time and I'm not doing it like that.
But what I'm saying is, do you know how many guys follow my page?
Like I have 50% men and they're not following me necessarily for habits and hustle.
They like my fitness videos, right?
And believe me, I'm old.
They don't even care about me. What I'm saying is there's a fine line between like sex and And a lot of the very provocative, let's say, content on social media.
And I'm just being honest. Like, that's what it is.
Until, like, I'm, like, basically I'm kvetching because I hurt my knee and I couldn't move as fast.
But in our... I think that, like...
I believe I'm still the same young 22-year-old that I'm not.
I'm very flippant when I say, oh yeah, I'm old now.
I don't feel old.
I don't think I necessarily look 120.
I feel that I'm also in a very youth culture.
So are you. What we do has a lot of youth and young energy around us that keeps us young.
Plus, like I was saying earlier, if you want to be young and want to stay young...
Create habits and rituals that keep you young.
Exercise. Walk a lot.
Walking is the number one exercise.
People can laugh at me all they want, but I think walking a lot is so good, not just for your physical health, but for your mental health.
For your mental health, it helps you with being focused and thinking and being creative.
And so all of these things, like these healthy habits that they seem, like I said earlier, like These things seem very frivolous, you know, like, oh yeah, they're just stupid, like, oh yeah, like walking and like maybe exercise.
But the people who I see who've done these things, you know, consistently over time have truly optimized their lives, not just professionally, but personally.
They're the most successful, not just professionally, but personally, because they've trained themselves to like, to To what is important in their lives and like figure out that if you want something bad enough, you need to work for it, you need to be consistent with it, you need to practice it.