Q&A With Koloff- #54

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Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, The Russian Nightmare, Nikita Kolov. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, The Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, Questions and Answers, where we flip the table and you get to ask me the questions, because I'm usually the one asking them. Hey, if you want to get a personal phone call from The Russian Nightmare, Nikita Kolov, just submit your questions to kolov.net, and we'll reach out and let you fire away. But today, a special guest on the show today, Mr. Tom Alcas in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tom, welcome to the Q&A with Kolov. Hey, Nikita, thank you.

Pleasure to be with you today. Well, it's great to have you on the Q&A show, and no idea what you're going to ask me, but before we get there, just to give our listeners a little backdrop on Tom Alcas and fill him in on who you are. Well, sure, Nikita, we're Tom and Bethany Alcas, and we have been married 40, 41, soon to be 42 years. We have three beautiful kids, Chris, Brad, and Amy, and two beautiful granddaughters, Jordan and Sage, and we just count our blessings every day. We've got so much to be grateful for, and we continue to continue. We've had just a phenomenal life in business that we're so grateful for, and that emanates from just so many amazing people that had, so to speak, a footprint or a handprint on our life and teaching us things that we've learned over the years in business. So, yeah, Nikita, it's great to be here with you and have a few minutes to talk again. Well, it is, and of course, we met, you and I, our paths crossed roughly 15 years ago, and through a nutrition company now known as Body Pro, BK Bureko, the founder of that company, and running that, and of course, I was a part of your organization and certainly enjoyed getting to know you over the years and your family and just had so much fun, so much fun being a part of that company and helping other people.

Anyone who knows Tom Alkazin is going to know this is a man who likes to help other people, and I think if they hadn't already garnered that from even your introduction that if they got to know you and spent any time around you, they're going to know that's who you are. You like to help other people, and of course, being a part of a nutrition company, that was the catalyst for, as you have said in the past, it's a people business. The product is almost secondary to the involvement, right?

Yeah, it really is. I mean, everything is, no matter what occupation I think people find themselves in, everything emanates from relationships, right? And how not only the relationships we have and that we're on the receiving end, the benefits, the people that we can come in contact with and learn from, the opportunities that are there, but also the people that we can impact, the people that we can touch and the people that we can make a difference in sometimes in their life. And that could be as simple as being an encourager.

It doesn't have to be business. It could be just somebody that's there for somebody when they need somebody. And so, yeah, I think everything is relationships, everything is people. I think business is all about that, and it always starts with a relationship in terms of even the buying and selling processes.

Somebody has to like you and feel good about you, right, before they do anything. And I think, you know, probably it's certainly a reflection of the incredible ministry that you've built and that you continue to build. Why are people attracted to you because of who you are and the difference that you make in in their lives? And so, yeah, everything comes back down to relationships. And so that's what we learned that early on in our life, and it's made a huge difference for us. Well, and I appreciate, I really appreciate that. And, you know, in a minute, I'm gonna let you put me on the spot here with your questions. But before I do, for our listeners, for our audience out there, you have so many pearls of wisdom that I have learned from you over the years.

Let me put you on the spot, Tom, and just give our audience one pearl of wisdom. Well, I think, you know, I think if it comes to anything that you are doing, whatever area of life that you're involved in, one of your, I talk about six major areas of your life, right, your spiritual life, your family life, your physical life, your business life, your mental life, and your social life, you know, all six of those. I tried to help our kids understand and evaluate periodically how are you doing in all of those areas.

And I used to always have my kids grade themselves on a scale of one to five in terms of how are they doing in those specific areas, because it's so easy in life to get out of balance, right, in terms of one of those areas. People focus so much on business, they forget their family, they focus so much on social, they forget their business, or, you know, you go back and forth in all kinds of different areas. So balance becomes such a critical thing to continue to strive for and to think about and to reflect on.

But no matter what area it is that you're working on or that you're working in, right, I think the one, so to speak, pearl of wisdom is that you can have anything that you want in life if you help enough other people first get what it is that they want. And so that is not necessarily a selfish principle, but it's a principle that I think people will discover tremendous fulfillment when they continue to push other people and try to make other people first. You know, you can often find or even see that when people have conversations and you notice how some people just dominate a conversation and they never stop and ask questions of the other person. You know, conversations or relationships are a lot like a tennis match, right, pushing the ball, you know, back and forth. But boy, you learn so much and just watching how people converse and whether people can actually really have a genuine interest in other people. You know, sadly, that's hard to find nowadays. It seems like people become so centric on themselves and what they want, they forget about zeroing in on other people. And so I think that pearl of wisdom is to stay focused on other people and I think when you do that, you'll find that you're going to gain everything that you want in life and you'll achieve a balance in doing that as well.

Well, that's some solid advice right there. I hope everyone... I'm only mad I didn't have a sheet of paper and a pen in front of me, but my man Robby in the studio was taking notes, Tom, just so you know.

Like for real, like literally, he's taking notes here as you were talking just to encourage you. You're always teaching, Tom. I love it. I love it.

You are a master. You know, this whole balance thing in life, if you think about it, Nikita, you think about how hard that is. You know, it's again, it's easy to talk about, not easy to do, right?

And boy, we can get just so out of whack and we get so overbalanced in things that we're pursuing or things that we're after. That's a fun little exercise, if your listeners will do it, to, you know, chart how they do once a quarter in those six areas of life. And I learned that years ago at a weekend seminar I attended up in the mountains of California in Idlewild, and I'll never forget it. A gentleman by the name of Skip Ross who was teaching that weekend and boy, was that ever valuable in terms of what I was trying to do. That's awesome. Actually, and I was young, I was in my 20s and learning, you know, which way did I want to go in my life, and boy, no matter what occupation I ended up choosing or what I ended up doing, this is applicable in ministry, it's applicable in business, it's applicable in anything. Right, in life itself. Well, I appreciate you sharing that. Well, all right, so you might have a couple three questions for me, let's transition and see if I hopefully can answer whatever it is you're gonna throw at me.

No, absolutely, I got number one. Number one, Nikita, what motivates you every day? What causes you to get up out of bed and to go to work? You know, what's the driving force for you?

Man, that's a great question, and I don't know that I've been asked that one before, so that's a really good one. Really, honestly, Tom, it's me, really what we've been somewhat talking about, you know, wanting to make a difference is what initially comes to mind. Wanting to make a difference in anything I do, whether it's a podcast, a radio show, soon there'll be a television version of the Man Up show airing now, and of course you mentioned my reference to the ministry. I've still engaged in the wrestling world through autograph signings, and so whatever it is I'm involved in, my hope is, my hope is in some way, shape, or form, that I can make a positive impact on somebody else's life, whether it's through a conversation that we were just referencing, or through my actions and maybe serving or helping somebody else. It can be preaching a sermon, a message on a Sunday morning in a church in some community, or sitting down one-on-one with an individual who's struggling in their life with whatever, an addiction or anything else, but my hope is that I can make a difference, a positive difference. Tom, even posting, you know, something on social media, typically every day, something of encouragement, something of inspiration, the books I've written, I mean, anything and everything that I'm doing at this point and juncture in life, that's the motivation, that's what gets me out of bed, and hopefully come the end of the day, I like to, I'll say it this way, I'll summarize by saying this way, hopefully I've left a mark and not a stain in building God's kingdom and building other people. Wow, I love that.

A mark, not a stain. That's fantastic. Yes, sir.

All right, now, here's the next one. So, tell me, I just, how did the, maybe most of your listeners know this, but the ministry, how did you transition? How did you, because I'm assuming, because I'm assuming, I don't know, way back when, you know, in terms of when you started the ministry, but how did that evolve?

What's the short answer in terms of how that happened? I think that's inspiring for me to know. Yeah, the catalyst behind that, of course, I, you know, as I think everyone, well, I shouldn't even assume that because I still meet people, Tom, that think I really am from Russia, believe it or not, like even, like, I'm like, go read the internet, do something, go Google my name or something, you know, go to Kolov.net or, you know, read the story, but I'm not, I'm not from Russia, you know, hail from the great state of Minnesota. And so, I did grow up in Russia, I didn't grow up in church. Now, I knew the story, I understood the story, you know, the man Jesus, you know, nailed to a cross and spikes through his hands and his feet and a spear through his side, but the story never made the 18-inch trip from my head down to my heart the first 34 years of my life. And then 17 October 1993, I found myself at an altar surrendering my life to the Lord and I encountered, I had a genuine real encounter with Jesus, life's never been the same, but Tom, on that very day, an elderly man named Buddy came up to me and shared with me how he had been praying for me for five years, didn't even know me, but saw me doing an interview on television for wrestling and God spoke to his heart and said, pray for that man's salvation, I have a call to ministry on his life.

And I, yeah, and I didn't fathom fully. He had been praying for you for five years? Five years, every day he said, you know, didn't even know me, just saw me on an interview and he wasn't a wrestling fan, he said, he stopped and he's watching wrestling and God says, pray, I'm doing an interview, he says, pray for that man's salvation, I have a call to ministry on his life. And that day he goes, I wasn't even coming to church today because I've been sick and he looks sick. And he goes, but the Lord prompted me and his eyes welled up with tears and he said, God blessed me today to see you, Nikita. As soon as you walked to the altar, I knew it was you, I'm like, oh my gosh, that's the man I've been praying for for five years. And so, amazing. Yeah, and so from that, and by the way, I didn't just launch into ministry from that word he gave me that day, I actually went through a discipleship process for five years before the Lord launched me into full-time ministry in 1998.

And since that time, Kolah for Christ Ministries has been around the world, 30 different countries, all 50 states, and now a radio show, TV show, and a podcast. So it's crazy to think about, Tom, it's crazy. What a phenomenal story. I mean, I don't know that I've ever heard anybody say that someone had been praying for them, I mean, outside of your family, you know, or specifically for five years. That's just... It's crazy, right? It's unheard of, right? Yeah, I was like blown away.

I'm like, and the guy didn't even know me, you know? And yeah, and so let that be an encouragement to someone out there, whether you're praying for family or... No one's beyond hope. That's the moral of that story. Well, I've sure learned that, Nikita, you know, and at this stage in our lives, you know, there's certain people even in our families and close friends that we're praying for every day, and thinking about... Somebody, I heard in church a couple months ago, there was a guest preacher there, and he said something that was so striking. I mean, it just like, about knocked me over, when he said a hundred and seventy thousand people a day die not knowing Christ. Wow. And I thought, oh my gosh. And it made me start to think about, who do we know, right?

That doesn't have that knowledge or awareness, or even had that, or have that opportunity. And so that's been heavy on our hearts and minds, and really spurred us into activity. I won't go into all that, but... That's good.

Yeah, that's incredible. Hey, another question for you. What are your goals for the ministry? That's a great question, because every year at the... So at the end of every year, well, at the end of every year, I kind of take...

In fact, I'm involved in a conference called Vision Conference. It's a three-day conference in Morningstar Ministries, Fort Mill, South Carolina, and it's there that a lot of times I'll take the time, intentional time, to say, Lord, what do you want me... What's the next year look like? And so I'll do that.

I'll write out the goals, and then at the end of the year, also, I'll reevaluate and see how close I came to achieving them or reaching them. And so presently, though, to be specific, presently is to... I want to see the radio show, the Man Up Radio Show, syndicated. My hope is 200, 300 stations across the country. The podcast has been downloaded into 59 countries, but I want to see it downloaded.

But I want to see it downloaded in over 100 countries. And then the television show, you know, taking on a life of its own and just reaching people with, you know, hopefully some of those 170,000 you just made reference to with the gospel message. And just... And I'll say this real quick, too. Before I ever launched a radio show, a podcast, or a TV show, you know, my prayer had been almost like the prayer of Jabez, Tom. You know, Lord, expand my territory, expand my reach, expand my voice, my influence. And then when I was approached by Stu Epperson of Truth Radio, you know, that you need a radio show, and I'm like, I don't know about all that. And it was like, aha moment.

Like, well, wait a minute. I mean, airwaves, right? I mean, what greater way to reach the masses with my message, with His message, and I'm the mouthpiece, than through radio, television, and podcasting. And so that's the short list of where I want to see the ministry get to. That's awesome. Here's my last question. Did you ever think... I mean, those are impressive statistics that you just shared in terms of from 1998 to now, your ministry. Did you ever think that it would become as large as it has become, number one? And number two, can you look back and see, can you see certain things that happened at a certain place in time that made a huge difference in moving your message and your ministry ahead? Well, so, never in a million years. I mean, if Tom would, you know, prior to meeting you, now I was already a Christ follower when you and I met, but if we'd met 30 years ago instead of 15, and you said, Nikita, I foresee you're going to be an evangelist, traveling the world, telling people about Jesus. I would have, like, Tom, what are you, like, smoking? You know, like, for real.

Right. I mean, like, for real. Like, it just... Never in a million years did I fathom I'd be a minister. I'd be an evangelist.

You know, I'd be, you know, traveling the world teaching and preaching. So that's first and foremost. And I'm just grateful and thankful that it has grown and blossomed into what it has. And the second part of your question, I can clearly see.

So here's the crazy part of this. I look back on my wrestling career. I didn't look to get into wrestling either. Just like I didn't look to get into ministry, I didn't look to get into wrestling.

I mean, but a door of opportunity opened up. I took advantage of it. And I look back now, and I would summarize your question by saying this.

When I look at wrestling, okay, what do I do in wrestling? I flew on airplanes. I rented cars. I stayed in hotels. I talked on microphones in front of cameras, entertaining crowds. Well, it's almost like God's sense of humor, because I get saved to give my life to Jesus. Now I look back, Tom, and I go, okay, what have I been doing in ministry? Oh, I know.

Flying on airplanes, renting cars, staying in hotels, talking on microphones in front of cameras many times, not to entertain a crowd. Although I can do that, but to bring a more important message, the gospel message. And so it was like wrestling was a training ground for me to fulfill the ultimate call on my life. Wow. Yeah. So. Wow. Crazy. I love that.

The ultimate call, and it is the ultimate call. It is. I mean, it's just amazing what you've done and what you continue to do, Nikita. This has been such a treat, such a pleasure to have a chance to visit with you and to hear what not only drives you, but how it started and how it's developed and where it's going to go from here. Well, I appreciate it. I can't, I thank you for being a part of the Q&A.

And please, please, please, if you think about it, give that lovely bride to your hugger neck for me and send my love her way. And I just appreciate you and Bethany, Tom, and your whole family. And thanks for being on the show today. My pleasure, Nikita. Thank you for having me. Tune in for another episode of Q&A with Koloff, and we'll see you, well, you'll hear us next time. This is the Truth Network.