Theo sits down with Chris Nikic, the first person with Down Syndrome to complete the Ironman Triathlon. They discuss the challenges Chris faces during his training, what he uses to motivate himself & others, and what he's looking for in the perfect woman.
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You know, today's episode, man, we just taped it and I'm still kind of just really hit me in the heart.
And honestly, I don't even know why a little bit.
You know, I don't even know why I feel, but it just filled me with a lot of feelings.
And I think it's making me feel...
Let me just try to think what I'm feeling right now.
So just give me just a second.
It made me feel like I can be a...
Is that what it made me feel?
It made me feel...
...
And that whatever that bigger thing is, that it has good intentions.
I think, honestly, that's what it made me feel.
You're going to love today's episode.
Today's guest is Chris Nikich.
He is the first Down Syndrome human ever to finish an Iron Man marathon.
He's here today gracing us with his presence.
Him and his father, Nick Nickic, are here today.
And I hope you will enjoy this episode.
Be patient.
There's some communication that takes some time to kind of build.
But this was one of the best hour or so amount of times I'd ever spent in my life.
And I hope you all enjoy it.
Shine that light on me I'll sit and tell you my story Shine on me And I will find a song I'll be singing just so I'll be singing just so People complain about everything.
Yeah.
But I'm telling them, look, you guys, you guys stop talking like that.
Yeah.
That's bullcrap.
No excuses.
Yeah, no.
Excuses.
You guys do this to fight back.
You got to work hard.
You got to work hard.
If you work hard, you succeed nice.
Who taught you that?
My dad.
And your dad's here today?
He is.
What's his name?
Nick.
Nick Nickic.
Yes.
Nick Nikic.
Is he a role model?
Yes.
What's another role model that you have?
Perseverance.
Perseverance is a role model.
Oh, interesting.
When you're competing, do you feel like you're competing against yourself to make yourself better or do you feel like you're competing against the other competitors?
What is it like for you to compete in Iron Man?
Does it feel like you're competing against yourself or against other people?
I'm competing against myself and other peers as well.
I was better than yesterday.
I wanted to stay active.
To stay forward.
To stay, keep going forward?
Yeah.
What is the toughest part when you're doing the Iron Man, what is the toughest part?
Like, was there a moment that you felt like you couldn't go anymore?
Was there a moment that felt like maybe you wouldn't be able to do it?
What were some tough moments like?
My tough moments was the pain.
The pain?
Where?
Where was the pain?
Like, the butt, the lower back.
I had to sit upward by one of the people at the IR machine making the bike so I could lean forward.
Oh, you got a new bike that helps you lean forward?
Yeah.
And does that make it easier to compete?
Yeah.
When you were doing the Iron Man, was there a certain mile where you wanted to give up, maybe?
So at some point, I said mile 13, or they hit the wall.
At mile 13?
Yeah.
Wow, that's early in the race, right?
No, that's in the marathon.
Oh, that's in the marathon only.
I knew that The pain's coming.
The pain's coming.
I knew that.
My dad come and hugged me.
He came and hugged you?
Yeah.
And what did he say?
He said, what's going to end?
The pain or the dreams.
And it said, between.
And then you just kept going?
I fought my way through.
When you're competing, do you know that you have a disability or does it feel on the inside like you have a disability or it doesn't feel like it?
I have a disability.
It's called Dyson.
Connect disorder.
Restbone.
Does it feel like you have it or does it feel different inside of you or does it feel normal inside of you?
I have it now.
It feels bad.
I need someone to kiss my heart.
And that could be my woman.
Oh, you need someone to touch your heart, huh?
Yeah.
That might cure it, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tears to my soul.
Yeah.
Have you been in love in your life?
Once.
When I clasped my bike, I saw her.
I saw a smoking hot.
A smoking hot person?
A smoking hot woman?
She came and helped you?
She did.
Oh, yeah.
Dad, are you buying this one?
I'm not buying this one.
No, I'm not buying it.
You're just making stuff up.
I remember, I'll tell you a story for me.
I'll tell you a story for me, Chris.
I remember, kicked his dad just now.
I'll tell you a story for me, Chris.
When I was young, I remember I was maybe like seven years old, and I was in Texas, and I went outside, and there was a girl by a stream, and she was just getting like a bucket of water out of the river or stream.
And that was the first time in my life I ever felt like I was in love with a girl.
I just remembered I never had felt that before.
And then I saw her, and something about her made me think that I loved her, and I felt like, oh, I'm in love with her.
Do you remember the first time you had a moment like that where you felt like attracted to a woman like that?
Yeah.
I was at the magic game with my dad.
The Orlando Magic Game?
Yeah.
And I saw a pretty dancer.
Yeah.
And she's in my photos.
And she was attractive.
She was smoking a lot.
Yeah.
Cute.
I would doubtless say she's the most absolute best friend woman.
Oh, so she really took your heart away, huh?
She really took my heart.
Yeah.
What did you ask her?
And decided to front with me.
And what did you ask her?
And I fought back.
Yeah, baby boy.
You actually asked her something, didn't you?
And what ah, I said, wanna go out and date?
Nice.
And her response was like, sure.
Amen.
And after a moment, I looked in the eyes of a beautiful woman.
Stay right there.
Yeah.
And from there I said, will you marry me?
Oh, wow, you went straight to marriage, huh?
Yeah.
Strong move.
And what did she say?
She's like, sir.
Wow, right there at the moon.
At the magic room.
But there, when I got home that night, I said to my mom, Mom, I found a woman.
It's just like, she must have.
She's quite older.
I'm like, I don't care.
I don't care her age.
I don't care how old she is.
And I said, Ma, I asked her on a date.
And she's like, for real?
I'm like, I'm dead serious.
Amen.
She said, what makes you want to make a move on this woman?
Good question.
Amen.
I said, Mom, I've got no choice.
But take my woman now.
Amen.
What day I said?
Mom, I asked her mammy.
Amen.
My mom said, Where did she come from?
I'm like, her family.
Amen.
Her family told her that when I confront her father, her father gave me a present to me's daughter.
Her father, what?
I wanted to get a present.
Oh, a present?
Blessing.
Blessing.
Oh, you had to get the blessing from the father.
From her father, so I could marry his daughter.
So did you do it?
Yeah.
No, you didn't.
Now you're making stuff up.
Everything was true up till that point.
I know.
At some point, the mom noticed me.
And she said, are you the man who's about to meet my daughter?
Who's a freaking magic dancer?
Okay, now let's stop because now you're making stuff up.
So he's going to cut this out.
But it was a good story, though.
He'll tell you a story.
So that was the first woman that you felt like you really fell for, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tell him what you said when you saw Rachel on Instagram.
I've been telling her that.
Tell him.
He wants to know that stuff.
Oh, okay.
So you saw Rachel on Instagram.
What did you say to me?
I saw Rachel.
And who is Rachel?
A girl?
Yeah.
Okay.
She lives in Tampa.
Oh, nice.
She's the Miss Wanders Florida.
She's what?
Miss Wanders Up.
Runner-Up Miss Florida.
Oh, she's Miss Runner-Up Miss Florida.
Wow, beautiful.
And what did you say when you saw her?
I said that's the one.
That's the one.
Yeah.
But I figured she's got autism.
Risking said difficult.
She has autism, so it makes things difficult?
Yeah.
Is she able to communicate?
She is.
Oh, she's amazing.
She sounds really cool.
Yeah.
But she's fucking hot.
But she doesn't understand the term meaning enough.
That's because she has autism, so you've got to teach her how to get more.
Social?
Social.
So, so.
Well, I bet she...
Not enough.
Not that you know?
Well, you guys get together all the time.
We always get together.
Do stuff.
She was at your house for two days this week?
She's at my house.
Okay, so there's definitely a possibility there.
Nothing.
Just intense talk time.
Okay.
You got to give her time.
What's harder for you to compete with to compete physically or to compete with women, trying to meet women?
What's a tougher obstacle in the world, do you think?
I say I compete against women.
It's hard, huh?
You know, it's not hard, but it's called easy, simple favor.
If a woman who enters into my world, she must be the one.
Oh, I love it.
I like your attitude.
I'm the same way.
If I see a woman, I fall in love with her.
And when I do see a woman, she must be a smoking hop.
Oh, yeah, it's a good attribute, man.
I like it.
And when I clasped the bike, I knew that the smoking hop on would directly come to me.
Oh, I see.
It's almost like a story out of like an Aesop's fable or something.
Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
She pulled her sword out.
She pulled a sword out?
Sore.
Sore?
What?
What?
Pulled one out?
She poured out.
Oh, she poured a sword.
She poured out her soul on you, God.
Yeah, there's some.
I think as men, we all have that.
Like, it's hard with women.
It's hard.
That's for me.
Oh, okay, my bad.
Because I'm keeping asking my tip women to be my date.
Hey, look, and what did Dad say whenever you were having trouble at the halfway point of the marathon?
What was the options?
The fake pain or the three.
That basically said the three.
It's the dream, baby.
And he said, okay, it's time to get the rift.
Yeah, that's the next obstacle, huh?
Yeah.
I love that.
But you must feel pretty confident in yourself if you're able to take on an Iron Man and finish.
And then if you have the next obstacle in your life, maybe is to meet a woman and settle down.
I bet you feel very confident, do you?
Yeah.
In my 20 years of my life, I knew that the next Iron Man, if I to the next Iron Man, if I come in on time, then at the finish night, there's going to be a smoking hot one by dayo.
And in that instance, I'm going to grab my mail.
And then basically my stuff could be at her hotel.
Oh, I see.
And then my woman could take me back to the hotel.
I like it.
You got a whole plan.
Sour, safe, contrast, And then basically, like, there's no way any woman would put underwear on me.
But I would definitely put my own underwear on.
But after you put on my pants and then the belt.
Then she's going to help me with the dress shirt.
Oh, she's going to help you with your dress shirt.
Yeah.
Oh, that's romantic.
Yeah.
I like that.
That's because he can't do his own buttons.
Oh, you can't do your own buttons.
No.
Wow.
Doesn't have the fine motor skills.
But you can do an Iron Man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But he can't tie his own shoes.
Good thing they don't have any buttons on the Iron Man.
Oh, no, right.
And I put on a dresser.
She buttons it.
She puts her tie on.
She puts her jacket on.
And then she might say, then, where are you going off, honey?
Where are you going, honey?
And where are you guys going to?
And then we might go to a nightclub.
To a nightclub.
Yeah.
Okay, I like that.
And then all the family, the coaches, the peers will be at the nightclub.
Oh, I love this.
By the time I arrive.
Yeah.
Amen.
When I arrive, the doors could be closed.
The nights are off.
And we're going to have a poppa, spinoz.
Yeah.
I probably DK.
We're going to have like drinks.
We're going to have campaign.
yeah, scars, whiskey, appetizers, wine, beer, snacks, appetizers, yes, dinner, yes, dancing, I'm gonna dance for, yeah, I'm gonna reserve a table only for two, so you're gonna distract me, yeah, and so your dad won't be at that table with you.
No, no, you better not be at the table with me because he's gonna be with my mom.
Yeah, he's gonna be with your mom and you're gonna be with your lady.
Yeah, someday.
This is a fairy tale.
I love it, though.
And you can make, I believe you can make it happen, do you?
Yeah.
I love that.
I love your confidence.
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You know, Terrence Ross plays for the Orlando Magic.
Yeah.
He does, right?
He's a friend of mine.
So next time you go to a game, we will have to have him come over and tell you hello.
Hi.
He's a really special guy.
Who are some athletes that you look up to?
I look up to Intikumpo.
Who is it?
Intacumbo.
I'm not sure.
Thomas?
MVP last year?
Uh-uh.
From Milwaukee.
Oh, how do you say his name again?
Intercumbo.
Intikumpo.
Yeah, I never knew how to pronounce it.
I've seen it written in the middle of the moment.
Yeah, he's exceptional.
And who's better than him?
Who's the boy from Dallas that's your favorite?
Nuka Dantas.
Yeah, Luca Dantes is dope.
And every time Nuka Dantes Chris crosses Ichikumpo, Itchi Kumpo gets a tanker and gets kicked out.
Tell him what you want to do with Luca.
I beat him.
I am massive harpy.
I love that.
Look, I'll be a cheerleader.
If you beat him, I'll be the cheerleader.
Nope.
There must be a woman.
Yeah, okay.
And the woman is going to be the smoking hot.
Yeah, of course she is, man.
And when I do beat, you guys doctors, then I take my woman.
But if he beats me, I'm going to still take my woman there.
I love it, man.
Wow, you really...
You're such a...
Like, their first date?
Yeah.
34 years.
34 years from Minnesota.
And they met in Minnesota?
Yeah.
What was the first date that your dad took your mom on?
Do you know?
Yeah.
He took my mom by the hand and he said, because she may her, the radar, I'm not my woman.
On a first date, Nick, is that true?
So I met my wife in a nightclub in Minnesota.
Ah, on a Saturday night.
We talked a little bit.
I went home.
Next day I called her from New York.
That's where I lived.
And she told me she was going to marry me.
Wow.
So I see where this fairy tale really hits close to home.
Yeah, look, I need a wife by waiting.
You ready?
I am.
You think so?
Yeah.
I'm freaking ready.
Look, I'm going to be trying to next year.
I'm going to say this.
Dad, did you mess with my knife?
I'm going to get that woman.
You stop it.
When I get my woman, I'm going to see my guy.
I'm going to say.
You're going to tell dad to step aside, huh?
Yeah, step aside.
Stop hitting me.
Potential.
Do you...
What are some things about the disability you have that are tough that people wouldn't know are tough?
They couldn't know what I'm capable of.
They thought, I couldn't do much.
But I told them, you need to stop telling me what I can't do.
And I told them to effectively take the knit off.
Take the what off?
Lid.
Take the lid off.
You need to stop treating kids with their disparities.
Wow.
If they're succeed in life, I can do it.
If they're ready to work hard, I can work hard too.
Wow, that's so amazing to hear.
A lot of people with disabilities don't have the same mindset as you.
Do you think people don't give them an opportunity?
Do you think people look at you and think you can't do it?
Well, okay.
So people think I can do it.
But I say to them, look, here are the basic reasons.
The first reason is, if they can do it, I can do it.
If they're willing to work hard, I can work hard.
If they succeed, I can succeed.
I can be a better father, better husband, with a wife.
I love it.
What are some things that, like you mentioned earlier, like buttons are hard to do, right?
What are some regular tasks that are tough for you?
Obviously, you're an Iron Man champion, so you can do anything in the world.
I believe that, and so do you.
But what are some basic little tasks that might be tough?
Okay, so for instance, after my wife, Barce African, she basically, like, Thomas Hughes.
Okay, so tying your shoes is tough?
Yeah.
So let's talk about other stuff, but he wants to know what is unique about Down syndrome that makes everything hard for you.
Give him three or four things that make Down syndrome hard.
I definitely say poor balance.
Poor balance.
Oh, poor balance.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Why do you think?
Do you know why poor balance?
Because we don't know why, right?
But tell them, like, you know, how hard it is to learn how to ride a bike.
How long did it take you to learn how to ride a bike?
It's giving me six years.
Wow.
I'm a freaking life.
What else is hard about Downs?
No tone.
Low tone.
Low tone when you talk?
No, low tone muscles.
Oh, really?
So what do you have to do to build muscles?
I think they're strong.
How much harder do you have to work to build the same muscles as you?
Five to ten times harder.
No way.
Just to build the same muscles as you.
What else is hard for Down syndrome?
Delayed reaction.
Delayed reaction.
When I crashed my bike, I see smoking hot.
So reaction time is slow.
Okay.
So when you're riding your bike, you need quick reactions to it.
Quick reaction.
So it took a long time to learn how to react fast enough.
Like when you're, right now you can ride 28 miles an hour.
You've got to have fast reactions to when stuff pops up in front of you.
That took a long time to learn how to do.
Wow.
And did you do it?
Did you learn by actually riding a bike or did you take a simulator?
No, actually riding.
Actually riding.
Thousands of times around the neighborhood.
Thousands.
Thousands and thousands.
One time, I was riding in my neighborhood and there's a car driving.
And I was freaking fast.
You were faster than the car?
No, he was going fast.
Car was coming.
So the car was coming.
And then basically I was on the side.
And the car came.
And when I saw that car, I knew I had to react fast.
And I started speeding down the whole freaking neighborhood.
I passed the freaking sign limits.
And what happened?
And I passed a freaking car.
And then?
And the freaking car blew a horn.
And the person was like, what the hell?
Is that when you crashed?
And when I got to the other side, I saw that fucking hot one.
Distracted.
She distracted him.
She left my bike.
You crashed your bike.
I crashed my bike.
She heard their boom on the street.
Oh, they ruined Emmy.
Yeah, they ruined everything, man.
It just ruined everything.
But there, she fight.
She's beautiful, though, huh?
Yeah.
Boofer.
Smoke that.
Yeah.
She floats with a biker.
I feel her bad.
I can relate, man.
think about, I always think about girls.
Girls make, girls are, I think most guys are that way.
Yeah, yeah, you know.
But not me.
Oh, not you, huh?
No.
I'm a humor.
I've got a great taste of humor.
That's true.
And I'm a lover.
I'm a servant of God who stands empty women.
I like that.
And smoking holidays.
Then they come up to me one by one and they say, Chris, walk with me.
I like that.
You're just like me, man.
I think you and I are very similar.
Well, when I was born, they thought I had Down syndrome when I was born.
And so I can really relate to, I don't know, I think I just feel sometimes I feel almost trapped inside of myself.
And I don't know if that's what your life is like, but sometimes I feel like, I don't know, I just feel like trapped inside of myself.
Now that you've completed an Iron Man, is there a new goal?
Or is it, will you continue to compete in Iron Man?
Or do you want to do professional bowling?
Is there something new?
I want to be a professor golfer.
Really?
And I'll get married.
I'll get freaking married.
Oh, yeah.
Golfers always get married.
They always have chicks.
Yeah, he just started his golf program.
Really?
Goal three years from now to be a par golfer.
Wow.
And how is golf different in competing than Iron Man and triathlon?
Because Iron Man is hotter and I don't take a risk of getting injured.
I would stick to golf and make my woman.
Is golf easier?
Yeah.
Golf is easy because when I get a fatty Thomas, I've got to be my woman.
She'll be right there.
Yeah.
She could be your caddy.
A caddy, a wife.
And wife.
And a mother.
And a mother.
Yeah, there's just some.
Look, if I could find a woman that could be all three of those, I want that woman too.
Whenever I make a good song, she kisses me.
Oh, I like that.
And when I make a dogger's pie, everything goes in for a boy.
She kisses me.
Oh, I like that.
She sounds like a nice lady, whoever she is.
This goes so nice.
Yes.
I pour it out.
She's quite smoking hot.
She's smoking hot, baby.
I said smoking hot.
Smells nothing.
Whatever.
I mean, dark inside, smoking hot kisses me.
Yeah, I love that.
That's her nickname, smoking hot, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, I like it.
I would say, most fucking hot.
Most fucking hot woman.
No one knows.
I'm going to make you smoking hot.
Now, if you get married, where would you have the what's the dinner called before a marriage, Nick?
The night before.
What is that?
The rehearsal dinner.
Yeah, where would you have your rehearsal dinner?
What would be a restaurant you would have it at?
I would definitely have it in Hawaii.
Ooh.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Where is pre-fancy?
Yeah, it's nice.
Pre-fancy for a smoking hard woman.
Oh, yeah.
You could be a fan of rest.
Yeah.
Hawaii is a good place to fall in love.
Yeah.
What does love feel like to you?
Can you do you have like when you think about love, what does it feel like?
Love is like hard woman.
Kind.
Loving.
A person who cares for me.
A person who loves me.
The way I love my mom.
A person who wants me be a better husband.
A person who wants me be a better father.
Look, when I have my own woman, then my woman could say, Honey, how can we stop doing what we're doing and make out?
Oh, yeah.
And you know, I would say, Waffy, when you call, when you call makeup, does make out rhymes with sex.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Hey, it's normal, man.
Don't go there.
I know.
Hormones, baby.
Hormones, baby.
Hormones, man, they're wild.
What does it feel like when you are about to start a race?
When you are about to start the Iron Man, do you feel at peace or do you feel aggression?
What do you feel like if you're at a starting line?
How do you feel?
I feel like I'm in Korea.
I feel like I'm a part of the family.
What is it?
I'm sorry.
Can you say it again?
Included.
Included in part of the family.
Oh, wow.
I'm included in the part of family.
That's what you feel like at the starting line?
Yeah.
Wow.
So there's a big sense of inclusion for him in being in those races.
That's number one out of everything is the inclusion.
Number one out of Africa.
Those people there feel like your brothers and sisters, huh?
They are.
And when you're going through the Iron Man, do you ever have to help people up that have fallen?
I have.
And what does that feel like?
So, when that person who falls down, I got back there.
I picked him up and said, keep going.
You're almost there.
You're almost there.
And keep going.
And maybe you keep going.
Then looking down, where I mean.
Saying whether it's up or down to my hero.
If it's up and down, to Spyard.
I just got a portio.
I got a studio.
I got the world record.
And that's so far.
I've been living.
I'm happy.
Happy prince.
I like your attitude, man.
It's so goal-oriented.
Do you feel tired?
Like, when I feel tired, I feel like kind of weak, and I feel exhausted, and I feel thirsty, and I feel like I need a break.
Those are things that I feel like when I feel tired.
What do you feel like when you feel tired?
So, when I feel tired, I'll correct.
When I'm exhausted, I can say suck it up.
I have a question for your dad.
Can I ask your dad a question?
Sure.
Okay.
Nick, so do you, is it hard to know when to push Chris and motivate him and know when to is it hard to know what his capabilities truly are?
Is it hard to know when he's being earnest about if he's had if he's too tired or not?
Like, I could imagine that might be tough to kind of know.
Has that been interesting to learn?
Great question, because he has learned how to manipulate all of us.
My man.
He has learned when he wants something, how to actually put on an act.
And so at first, when he hit that wall, I would think, oh, he's done.
But then I started to test him a little bit.
And I realized that that was an act and that he could keep going.
And so it was a learning experience.
And I've learned how to help him mentally overcome a lot of what's going on in order to help him build a strong mental attitude that helps him fight through.
Because as you can imagine, everything I've been told, Iron Man is 90% mental.
The body can handle so much more than the mind can handle.
So a lot of the training was mental.
It was teaching him how to overcome that mental pain that hits you.
And so for him, tired is pain.
And so I had to learn how to figure out when that was real, when it wasn't, how to deal with it.
And it's been a fascinating journey the last year, teaching him mental toughness.
He is as mentally tough as anybody you're ever going to meet now.
Wow.
What he had to go through to do that Iron Man, you know, he essentially went from a 14-mile sprint, which is what a lot of people start out with, to a 140-mile Iron Man in about 10 months, which is unbelievable.
And he did it with all kinds of obstacles, including that he can't ride arrow, right, which is in a downward position, which is about 30% more efficient than the average person.
He can't ride with clip-ons on his feet.
He has to ride with flat, which is another 30%.
And then he crashed his bike in the middle of the race.
So he had to stand up with the blood and the pain.
He got bit by fire ants, and so his legs were all swollen up throughout the whole thing.
All of that is about mental toughness.
Physically, he was beat up and bruised and everything.
And when he wanted to quit at every stage, he just got tougher and tougher.
And at mile 13, as he said, when every bone in his body, every muscle ached, everything told him to quit, he just toughened up.
And mentally, the whole year was about teaching him mentally how to overcome those obstacles.
And now I know that he can handle anything in life because mentally, doesn't matter what hits him, he's not never going to quit.
He knows how to fight through it.
Was he always like that?
Or it's definitely you've noticed something that was learned?
No, it's something that's been learned in the last year.
He was never like that.
It's been, and that's the good news, right?
For anybody, is that you can learn mental toughness.
He learned mental toughness in the last year.
You must be so proud of him, huh?
I think he's amazing.
Every day he just surprises me by how tough he is, how resilient he is, how much he learns, you know, and what a great attitude he has in terms of what he does.
And what I've noticed, the greatest thing of all, is the impact he's having on other people.
Love you, baby.
Yeah, me too.
He's changing lives, man.
He's showing people like me and my wife, who were devastated when he was first diagnosed with Down syndrome.
For 20 years, we thought he couldn't do anything.
Now, what he's showing the world is that there's a whole world of possibilities out there.
So yeah, I'm proud of him, but I'm just so excited about the mission he has to make a difference in the world and to help others like him and like us.
Which one sweeping?
When I was in the bike.
When you were on the bike?
Oh, they were everywhere.
They came to see you because they had kids with Down syndrome and they wanted to see it.
Wow.
And people came from everywhere.
Did they?
With their kids with Down syndrome and they wanted to see if this was real.
Do you feel like, you know, I noticed it even just in my own life, like, you know, like I had to work so hard and even just in comedy to get a foothold of my own, you know?
And then at certain points, you feel like God has, he wants you to be a part of a mission or, you know, like, and it's natural, I think, to have those thoughts.
It's normal because you're like, why has so much been, and it's not a ton, but why have I been focused on?
Why has, you know, the light of the world or whatever or a journey of the world been kind of like attached to me in some way?
I can only imagine that a lot of that kind of happens with Chris.
Chris, do you feel like God has a special plan for you?
Yeah.
That's pretty cool, huh?
Yeah, prayer to make sure that I need that woman.
Yeah, yeah.
I think that's going to happen easy.
So, Chris, I know.
So, what about all of those social media posts from all the moms and dads with kids with Down syndrome that you read all the time?
What are they saying?
Those moms with Down syndrome, they're saying, I'm the hero.
or To the kids, and everything turns out.
Does that make you, how does that make you feel?
It feels like I'm a scholar and ready to work harder.
That's interesting, man.
Yeah, you're definitely an inspiration.
Yeah, I can't imagine what it's like to feel like you're then kind of part of this bigger journey, this bigger picture journey of inspiring people.
Well, I'll tell you, we believe that God has his hand in this one for Chris, and he's using Chris as a way to give hope to a lot of others like him and create a community of inclusion.
And one, because what Chris is doing is not just for Down syndrome, he's actually creating a whole community around him who people are volunteering and helping, and they're seeing how wonderful it is to be part of a community like that.
And I tell people, if you don't believe that God had his hand on this one, let me tell you a story.
You know, before November 7th in 2020, every full Iron Man in the world was canceled.
Right, buddy?
After November 7th, every one was canceled.
But November 7th, when Chris was doing it, it was the only one that was on.
Really?
The only one in the world.
You guys had already booked that in advance.
We booked it a year in advance, and we told everybody, God's not going to let this one get canceled.
Wow.
And people said, you're crazy.
They're all canceled.
They're all being canceled.
I said, yes, except this one.
God wants Chris to do something special in this one.
So he's going to make sure this one doesn't get canceled.
And it didn't get canceled.
And Chris shocked the world.
And so the only one Chris was registered for is the only one that happened.
Wow.
Oh, that's powerful.
And then everybody told us he's not going to handle the water because the waves are so big and wild.
I said, don't worry, God's going to calm the water that day.
And then he said, well, you know, he's going to this.
I said, don't worry, God's going to take care of it.
And were you scared, Chris?
Were you scared or not?
At first, I knew that the copy, but kept going.
And how close is your dad when you're actually racing?
Do you have someone that, like, are racers allowed to have a assistant with them?
Yeah.
For Special Olympics, there's a guide, someone who's with them the whole time.
Okay.
So he had a guide, Dan Greb, who's been an angel sent to us to help him through this.
Right.
And Dan was like the perfect person brought into his life.
And then, you know, you had Carlos, who's also helped him.
Carlos is a, Dan's a business person in Orlando.
Carlos is a federal judge.
Jennifer is an executive at Disney.
These are all people who came around him, who got brought to him, who are the perfect personality, the perfect people, the perfect backgrounds to guide him through this journey and to help him do something, something big.
So God had his hand in this the whole time.
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I feel, I think when I hear about your story, it makes me feel.
Can I tell you how it makes me feel?
It makes me feel when I hear about your story, it makes me feel like I can do things that maybe I'm afraid to do, you know?
And it makes me feel like there is a bigger that there is a bigger purpose in the world than just my own purposes.
And it makes me feel excited.
That's how you make me feel when I hear about your story.
So, thank you.
We bought a couple of shirts earlier today, one for myself and one for my producer, Nick.
Can you tell us about the 1% better?
Sure.
Really?
The concept of working hard to be successful.
And to stay small.
Advice for kids is that stay small.
Stay fit.
Use positive words.
be in the moment and um, when it's pain I can't tell them to take pain.
I don't know that.
They're going to be lying.
Yeah.
You're like Martin Luther Chris, man, I feel like.
So golf is next, huh?
Yeah.
Who should be worried out there?
Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods?
Who should be scared?
I would say F-R.
Good.
And my wife would say.
Why should I get scared in this golf course?
I'm like, because you're my wife.
And we're not make a knock your size.
Kiss me.
Yeah.
Kiss me.
We all want love, man.
You are pure enough.
Yeah, we all do.
So I told her, and she said...
She's so dawson.
Let me kiss.
Hey, look, that's not a bad.
Look, a kiss is a good start.
A kiss is a good start.
Hey, on the lips, it's a good place for a kiss, man.
Are there any actresses that you see on television that you think are cute?
Yeah, I've seen actresses.
Cute.
I've seen actresses smoking hot.
Which ones?
Any show in particular or movie in particular?
Yeah.
I would say LA.
In LA?
NCIS LA?
Yeah.
Oh, NCIS LA.
Which one?
Which one do you like?
Burnett.
Which one?
What's her name?
Kenzie.
Kenzie.
Yeah.
And then what about freaking Burnett?
And what about Chicago PD?
Huh?
Chicago PD.
Which one do you like?
Haley.
Haley.
Yeah.
She's quite freaking sparkling hot.
A lot of beautiful ladies out there.
Yeah.
She's sticking down towards me, saying, when you cross the I'm in Hawaii, you gotta come up because I've got a podcast.
Yeah.
Only woman, man.
No one knows.
No one else, huh?
Nope.
Just you and her and a podcast.
I like it.
That's her and I baby.
I love it.
Look, she's my woman.
And she's not pure enough.
And no one would know.
We should go on a double date sometime.
Definitely.
We'll get two ladies and take them somewhere fun.
Aye.
Maybe I'm thinking like, have you ever been to a water park before?
I have.
Do you like it?
Yeah.
Maybe we could do a water park or...
Yeah.
On the bumpin'.
Yeah, bumper cars.
That would be fun.
Oh, on the go-karts?
Yeah.
Yeah, it's fun.
What else could we do on our double date, you think?
Where could we go to?
I think we should go to a fancy restaurant.
It'd be romantic.
Yes.
Get some candlelight.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Maybe a couple roses on the table for the ladies?
Yeah.
A little bit of champagne.
A little champagne.
Yeah.
A little scotch.
Yeah, a little scotch, damn, okay.
Dang, bro.
If I have too much scotch, I'll have down 10 more, bro.
Too much, man.
Some dance 10. It's some fun kissing.
Yeah, fit it for some kissing, man.
Dad gets nervous when you say it.
I think it's awesome.
I'm trying to think of any other message that you want to leave our listeners with, Chris?
Okay.
Any positive message you want to leave our listeners with?
Sure.
And the message is simple for kids by saying, start training for the Iron Man.
Uh, but it's hard, but, dude.
Whatever your Iron Man is, start training for it, huh?
Yeah.
Man, well, I just feel so lucky, Chris, that you came here today.
Can we be friends from now on?
Is that okay?
Yeah.
Okay, cool, man.
I want you to meet my friend Terrence Ross, who plays for the Orlando Magic.
He will love you.
Okay.
He's really cool.
He's very tall, though.
Okay.
But you could probably beat him.
I would.
Yeah, I think you would.
That's cool.
That would be a lot of fun.
And if I be here, then I'll be going to...
I'm in.
I believe that.
But If he beats me, I'm not going.
But if I beat him, you're going.
He's gone.
I'm going.
All right, Chris, let's close it out with.
There's one thing that's kept him motivated and on task for a year working hard.
And it's his dream.
Yeah.
Okay, Chris, because you know he keeps referring back to it.
So, Chris, tell him your dream, the one you talk about every day that you see on your board every day.
Tell him your dream and why you work so hard.
And first, tell me, what is your board?
Tell him about your board.
So the board has goals.
The board has the dreams.
The board has other workouts.
And where is the board?
In my bedroom.
So you see it every day?
Yeah.
And do you have to wake up at a different time each day?
Do you like to wake up at the same time?
What do you like to do?
I usually wake up in the morning in my dream.
In a dream.
Hard task.
Buy a house.
Buy a car.
Maybe smoking hot park.
Be a park offer.
You have your dreams right there.
Every day.
So you wake up and see your dreams.
Yeah.
And then you go get them.
And I can't tell my dad.
Dad.
You can't make decisions for me.
I've got to make my own decision.
So please, Dad, give me that right now.
And he said, why?
You're too young.
I'm like, first of all, dad, I'm not young.
Second far, I'm a man.
Go reason.
If you don't get my woman, I'm moving now.
Just get my own woman.
So stop messing with me in my life.
That is important, right?
You remind me of a professional wrestler.
It's so funny, Chris, because it's so funny the way you talk.
Because I will often just go off and tell stories that I like to tell.
So it's so funny sitting here with you and watching somebody else do it.
It's so refreshing to not have to be the one to do it.
But I love the idea of having a dream board.
I love the idea of seeing your dreams every day.
It's so important because otherwise they're just in our heads, you know?
It was the single most critical part of his success is seeing his dreams and his goals and his plan every single day.
There was no getting away from it.
And when things got hard, he always went back to his dreams.
Wow.
And that's where I think most people fall short.
They don't have a clear goal.
They don't have a clear dream.
And then they don't have a plan.
And then they just wander.
With him, he had one goal, Iron Man, November 2020.
He had three dreams, his own house, his own car, and smoking hot blonde like his mom.
Yeah.
And the rest was just, you know, every day, 1%.
And that's it.
That's his whole plan.
A big dream, a big goal, and 1% a day.
Is that it, Chris?
Yeah.
And before I got back home, I'm going to downtown Nashville to have lunch.
And I'm going to grab this fucking hop on woman.
Yeah, oh, look, there's a lot of beautiful women in this city.
Yeah.
So, oh, yeah.
I'll give it pre-woman.
Yeah, we'll make it happen.
We're all looking for them, man.
Chris and Nick Nikic.
Nikic.
Sorry, it's one of those names.
It scares you every time I start it.
Thank you guys for letting me be a part of your life today.
Thank you.
Thank you for inviting us.
This has been amazing.
This is cool, man.
This is really inspiring.
And I just feel, I honestly just feel grateful to have been in you guys' presence.
Thank you so much.
It's our pleasure.
Thank you for inviting us and giving Krista this opportunity to share with your fans.
It's fun.
Chris is a cool guy.
Yeah.
Yeah, he is.
He is a cool guy.
Yes.
You are a cool guy, aren't you, buddy?
Yeah.
I love being around you.
I'm the most sassy, classical and the sexiest guy.
I love it.
Are you really?
Yeah.
I'm the like the most popular sexist.
So like I'm the most popular sexy man on this earth.
You don't even know what that means.
You know what I mean?
Well, I like your attitude, brother.
He'll figure it out.
You know what I mean?
Oh, I mean, sexy man.
Who wants to be sexy man wants to have a sexy woman?
We all want it, man.
We're all looking forward.
Maybe he'll teach you something.
You stop it.
Can he be like a big brother and teach you stuff?
Yeah.
What do you think?
You want a big brother who can teach you stuff?
Let's connect.
We'll connect.
You got it, man.
We will.
We'll connect.
Chris, thank you so much for being here.
Now, I'm just folding on the breeze, and I feel I'm falling like these leaves.
I must be cornerstone.
Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found.
I can feel it in my bones.
But it's gonna take a little time for me to set that parking break and let myself hold on.
Shine that light on me
I can tell you I've been moving way too fast on the runaway train with a heavy load of past.
And these wheels that I've been riding on, they're walls so thin that they're damn near gone.
I guess now they just weren't built to lay.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jonathan Kite and welcome to Kite Club, a podcast where I'll be sharing thoughts On things like current events, stand-up stories, and seven ways to pleasure your partner.
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