Q&A With Koloff- #57

This is Andy Thomas from the Masculine Journey Podcast where we discover what it means to be a wholehearted man. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

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 Q&A with Kolov, Questions and Answers. This is where you get the opportunity to ask me the questions, and most of the time they're spontaneous.

I have no clue on what you're going to ask, and I'm okay with that. Sometimes people will submit them, but hey, if you'd like to get a phone call from me, just submit some questions. Go to Kolov.net.

Go to my website, Kolov.net, and just submit some questions. I'd love to give you a call and talk with you and get you on the Q&A with Kolov show. But today, in studio, so no phone call today.

This is like in studio. I've got with me Tim Sethna. Tim, welcome to the Q&A with Kolov. Thank you. Good to be here. Great to have you here. Tim, for our listeners out there, for those who might not be familiar with Tim Sethna, you're a Marketplace guy.

I know what I mean by that is you're out there grinding it every day in the Marketplace. You've got a great name. Your business has a great name. Victory Restoration. Right. Victory Restoration.

What does Victory Restoration do? We mainly do roofing and siding. That's our bread and butter. And then, of course, we do other stuff as well, whether it be trim work or any kind of exterior renovation. Gutter work, right? Yeah. Stonework? Stonework, right. You're a stonemason. Not a stonemason. Okay, okay. We've got a different type. It's not a synthetic stone, some of it is, but it is amazing stuff and not near as messy. You remind me of, like in the Bible, there were some guys who were gifted specifically to cut stone and build the ark.

I mean, just all kinds of different things, right? Are you looking at Noah? I wouldn't put myself up that high, but the stuff I have is easy to install. And it's not going to take you 120 years either. Exactly. Exactly, yeah. I've always wondered, it took Noah 120 years to build that ark, man.

I'm like, wow. I didn't have a power drill or cobalt or power tools. Right, but he was persistent, though, wasn't he? He was.

120 years. I was just reading Genesis just recently and reintroducing myself to the specific details God gave him, like windows 18 inches from the top and three floors and pitch tar. I can't figure out how he did it.

It was amazing to me. Led by God, that's for sure. Right. So you're a brother in the faith, you're out there in the marketplace. Let me just ask you this, and by the way, Victory Restoration is such a great name, but I know it parallels your own life, how you've had victory in your life and how God restored you.

A lot of times. Many have heard us talk about Man Camp, Lex Luger and I co-facilitate along with a great staff, a camp that you have attended in the past, and man, it was life transforming, life changing for you. That's an understatement. That's an understatement because there was some restoration that took place at camp.

Unbelievable. Yeah, gave you the opportunity, I know you and I have talked a number of times, gave you the opportunity really to let some things go, just to release some things that have kind of hindered your own life. Yeah, it kept a dark shadow over me per se, and I was able to break that and find out really what the Spirit is all about and to understand it and to just gain that knowledge, and like I was telling you before, when I read now, I never read before, and I feel bad. When you read the Bible. Right, read the Bible. Yeah, I do read, but not the Bible.

I don't think I've ever read a whole, well, I've read one whole book and that's it, but you know, to read it and to feel it to come to life, and you know, I'd always see people in your Bible. I look at yours and I'm like, man, that man has read that book a lot of times. He's got a little wear and tear to it. I need to get you a new one, but you know, to me, it just speaks volumes about who you are, and you know, I'm thinking, why can't I get all this out of it, but now I can, and there's not enough highlighters.

I'm constantly highlighting stuff. That's awesome. Tim, this expression comes to mind, if I remember it right, if your Bible's falling apart, there's a pretty good chance you're not.

Oh, that's good. If your Bible's falling apart, there's a pretty good chance you're not falling apart. And the opposite of that, if it's not, and then there's something else falling apart. There might be a little red flag there, you might want to pay attention. Which somebody goes, actually, I just bought it, it's brand new.

Yeah, you just bought it 20 years ago and it still looks brand new. Exactly. That's a whole other story. So let me ask you real quick, how do you translate your faith out in the marketplace, because I know you have a heart's desire just to be salt and light out there, whether it's roofing somebody's house or putting on some siding, but you've shared that, you're like salt and light to the world now.

I'm still trying to figure some of that out. I've got a good friend of mine named John Curran, love him to death. He's like a second father to me and has really been there for me. But I talked to him one day and I said, I don't want people to feel like I'm using God as a selling tool. I want my faith to show through my work. And he said, it doesn't matter what you do, somebody's going to think something.

Don't let that worry you. Just pay attention to what you're doing, do what the Lord tells you to do. And so the principles that we wrote out for the company were biblical principles. And my idea is to do what I can. And of course I want to sustain my own living, but be able to give back and whether it be help the guy that needs to go to man camp, or whether it's volunteering or helping this organization out or that organization. And I let God tell me where I need to put it.

Carolina Breast Friends was one of them. So that was the purpose of it, is to be able to give back. Investing in others and serving others. I want to share something with you that you hear that expression, I love him to death, right? We hear that expression a lot. And I actually learned this from NFL Hall of Famer, a legendary Hall of Famer by the name of Deion Sanders. You know that name? Incredible athlete, right?

He's coaching down at Jackson State University and doing phenomenal. I love following the guy. But I noticed he tweaked that slightly about every single person. If he makes a comment like that, he says, I love them to life. I love them to life. Because you hear that expression, I love them to death.

And words matter, right? And I'm like, hmm, do I really want them to die? Well, not yet, but maybe I shouldn't say I love them to death.

I love them to death. So I'm sure that's why he probably does that. So Deion, if you're listening, shout out to you, man, the Russian nightmare. Learned something from the superstar Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders. I love him to life.

So anyway, just a little thought. The only bad side is he played for the Cowboys. Well, he played for several teams and won a few rings along the way.

He did. But as near as I can tell, and I've never met Deion personally yet, face to face. But as much as I can tell him, he absolutely loves Jesus. And he's not shy about it. And apparently the school has no problem with it either. Because it's all over his walls, and it's on all of his social media. I didn't know that. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Check it out sometime, man. He's got God in his office. He gives glory to God.

I mean, he's not shy about it at all. That's awesome. So, yeah. He's got a great platform. Now I feel bad about making a comment. Yeah. He's got a great platform.

But so do you. Restoration. Victory.

Restoration. So, okay. Hey, I've been kind of rambling on, so my apologies. Because we're here to let you ask me some questions. And so let's transition here and fire away with your first question.

Okay, this might sound kind of weird. What is the oddest or the hardest question you've had to answer? What's the hardest question I've had to answer? Or the strangest question you've ever asked? The strangest one. Man, Tim, I don't know. Because I've been asked a lot of strange ones. No, I'm kidding. I have been asked some really, really hard questions. Gosh. And again, this is spontaneous, right? So I'm trying to rack my file.

You know, the Rolodex here, the old school Rolodex or the modern day files. I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I think maybe the hardest was, you know, just talking about maybe one of the biggest struggles I've ever had in life. Or what would I view as one of the biggest struggles? And relationships. Relationships. And more specifically just to be totally transparent, marriage for me has been a, in the past, has been a real, real struggle. And I'm currently not married.

And it takes two to tangle, they say, or two for the dance. So it's not usually one or the other, although one may be a struggle more than the other. But everyone comes into marriage, into relationships, broken, right? Because we all live in a fallen, broken world. We're all flawed. There are no perfect people. And so that's probably looking at, when I was asked about my biggest struggle, I'd say, you know, the marriage relationship in the past has been my biggest struggle.

And the hardest question has probably been asked. I can understand that. I can understand that. So do you still talk to the guys that you used to wrestle with? Of course Lex, I know you do. I do, yeah.

Lex Luger, of course. Obviously we're co-ministers, right? We co-minister, co-facilitate ministry, command camp and other things together.

And do other ministry together, other things together. Autograph signings, those sorts of things. Still communicate with Sting. The Stinger. The icon Sting.

We communicate. Tully Blanchard. Magnum TA, MAGA TA. Oh, I forgot that name. Holy cow.

MAGA TA. So Terry and I talked from time to time. You did another podcast with him, didn't you? We've done some podcasts together.

We've interviewed him as well as Tully and others. Chad Lael, who was several years with WWE under a number of different names over the years. Chad Lael. Lody, who was part of the Ravens flock back in the Attitude Era of the WCW in the late 90s. Lody.

He and I still talk from time to time. Gosh, who else? Those are some of the names that come to mind anyway.

I'll probably think of others later. I never knew that about Sting. Knew what? That he was born again. Stinger is sold out, absolutely loves Jesus, born again. Of course he's been with AEW for a period of years now.

Sewing into the younger guys there. But the Stinger, Tully Blanchard is a minister of the gospel. Probably been in over 2,000 prisons at this point. He's on staff at John Hagee's church in San Antonio.

And Tully and Magnum T.A. is a believer, a Christ follower and a believer. And he credits overcoming the broken neck.

His car wreck that was supposed to leave him paralyzed from the neck down. He gives God all the credit for that. He has a powerful testimony of his own.

Gosh, Lody. See, a lot of the guys I'm still in contact with are Christ followers. That's not to say I don't talk or communicate with guys who are not.

But if I run into those guys, it's usually at autograph signings and those sorts of things. Of course, we talk and fellowship with each other. But on a different level. Gotcha. So, yeah. Cool. So the day that you got saved and I know you remember your birthday.

I did. That birthday is more important to me than my physical birth. But 17 October 1993. What was it like before that? You know, some have said, you know, I wasn't a horrible guy. You weren't a bad guy. I mean, I didn't come. You know, part of my testimony, part of my story isn't that I, you know, came out of drug addiction or I was an alcoholic or any of those types of vices. Because, you know, I wasn't. You know, looking back, I like to think, you know, I tried to treat people well and treat people good. Going back to the days when we first met in Nikita's gym, Nikita's Fortress of Fitness when you were 18 years old.

But by the way, I mean, that's a whole another story for another time but you have such a powerful story. As you've told, you walked in the gym at 335 pounds as an 18-year-old and now fast forward all these years later. What are you going on? About 230? 235? Let's just go with that. Okay. All right.

Yeah, but you're not 335. I'm not. No, I am not. Right.

Thank goodness. I know you gave credit to Nikita's gym helping transform your physical health and then Man Camp transformed your spiritual health. More than anything. I feel fortunate to have that role, that part with you. But anyway, I'm rambling on again. And so I'm just grateful and thankful for everything that I get to do and the people whose lives I hopefully get to touch and make an impact. I think you make an impact on more people than you know. You know, so here's what's interesting.

I wanted two things come to mind. So I watched just, you know, over the Christmas holidays, one of the most famous movies is It's a Wonderful Life with George Bailey. But you don't only have to watch that at Christmas time. In fact, for those of you listening out there, if you've never watched It's a Wonderful Life, go watch it.

George Bailey. Are you familiar with the show, the movie? Because what it illustrates is what you just said, how many people's lives you actually impact that you really don't even know. Because for those who've never seen that movie, it's a classic.

I think it was made in 1946. But it's an all time classic. But what it illustrates, and not to give the movie away too much, but there's a point in the movie where he's like, I wish I'd never been born. And the angel's like, OK.

He's like, huh? And so he gets a glimpse at what life would have been like in that world had he never been born and how different it was. And then just to find out later in the movie just how many people's lives he impacted. But Tim, here's what it did for me. It reminded me what you just said. We'll never really truthfully know until we get to heaven just how many people we have touched. And that, by the way, can be negatively or positively, by the way.

But just how many people we've touched in our lives. But here's something else I'm reminded of, the book Pilgrim's Progress. And actually they made it into an animated movie. It's kind of a condensed version of the book. It's the biggest book I've ever read. It's like over 400 pages. But your story reminds me of Pilgrim's Progress.

For those not familiar with that story, go watch the movie and that may inspire you to read the book. But as he went through life, it's illustrated in there how he's got this boulder on his back. Really it kind of looks like a backpack. But the more he struggles in life, the bigger the backpack, in other words, the more he's weighed down until he finally surrenders life to Jesus.

And boom, the backpack just like rolls off his back and it's gone. It's gone. I had never heard of it. It's an incredible book. My dad always talked about it for years, the Pilgrim's Progress. It was his all-time favorite book next to the Bible. Bible number one, Pilgrim's Progress number two.

But you can go rent the animated movie and it'll give you a condensed version of this. It's a phenomenal, it's an incredible story. Written in the 1600s. Oh, wow. In prison. Really? For a man who was thrown in prison because he wouldn't stop preaching about Jesus. Wow.

And wrote the infamous Pilgrim's Progress. All right, we've got time for one more question. If you have another, you may not have another. You know, I can't think of another question right now. Okay. We should end on that note then.

Sounds good. But it's been a pleasure to have you on the show. It was fun.

I'm glad I came. Q&A with Kolov, Tim, Seth. Hey, real quick, Victory Restoration. It's based in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Where can people find out more about Victory Restoration? They can either get it on our Facebook page, Victory Restoration. They can go to the website. Website, still trying to get some things on there, but that's callvictory.com. Callvictory.com? C-A-L-L, victory.com. Okay.

And then, or they can call or text our phone number. And that's 704-960-6358. Victory Restoration, Tim, Seth, and I've got an incredible story. Thanks for being in the studio today. Thank you.

God bless you. Thanks for tuning in to Q&A. If you've enjoyed the Man Up radio show and or the Man Up podcast, well, guess what? It's time to Man Up TV style. That's right. You heard me. Man Up 22, the Man Up TV show, the Man Up show on MorningStarTV.com. That's right. Tune in. Dial in to Man Up on MorningStarTV.com. This is the Truth Network.