Q&A With Koloff- #123

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A lot of times I'm just calling you, right? You're getting a call from the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolov, but occasionally somebody's local and has the time to come into the studio, and with me today, Harold Dyer. Welcome to the Q&A show with Kolov. Thank you, sir. Happy to be here.

Well, great to have you here, and of course, Harold, you and I have spent some time. I sometimes call it the mountaintop experience, and it may not literally be a mountaintop. It may be more figurative, but I say that meaning we've spent some time at the masculine journey bootcamp. I believe that's really where I first met you, correct? Yeah. Yeah. And I think about roughly about a year and a half ago, of course, yourself, Robbie Dilmore, Sam, Danny, and many others that are on staff there facilitate these camps, these bootcamps.

I do want to explore that a little bit. Before we get there, though, tell our listeners, who's Harold Dyer? Where do you call home?

What's your past trade? I'm not going to assume you're retired because you're out there. You look more refired to me than you do retired, Harold. That's a compliment. Thank you very much. Yeah, I've been retired since February the 29th, 2008.

Not by my choice, but the company decided that I was already at retirement age and passed it for me. But thank you. Come July the 28th, I'll be 82.

82, which you don't look 82, for the record. I mean that sincerely. And I'm just going to throw this out because I remember at the camp, you were talking about how you were running circles around 22-year-olds on the pickle court or something like that, of that nature.

The Lord has been very good to me in many, many respects. And that's being one of them that at age 82, I can still go out and play pickleball. Used to play tennis a lot, but don't do that much anymore. I had knee replacement and that kind of stifled a lot of really hard long running. Pickleball is a much smaller area to cover.

Easier to cover. I've never played pickleball yet, but yeah. I've heard about it.

It's a great game. And so what company, like you were in a sense kind of forced into retirement, so to speak, or pushed out the door. What did you do as a trader?

Well, for almost 44 years, I was a computer programmer and systems analyst. I graduated from Auburn University in 1964. Oh, I remember that from the camp now. Yes.

Auburn Tigers. Oh yeah. And immediately started working with computer systems that were pretty rudimentary at that time, compared to today's. Yeah, for sure. Well yeah, quite the advancement in technology, right? I'm sure you had to have seen over 44 years, right?

Oh yeah. The progression was amazing. And it was one of the things that always surprised me is how quickly you adapted to the new speed. Things were so slow and you were so aggravated and a new one comes along and oh boy, for the first week and a half it is blazingly fast and then it's too slow. So we adjust very rapidly to the changes in technology. Yeah. I remember the old days, like, you know, the doc, cause she had, it was like, I guess called dial up or something.

And the little thing would spin and you're like, Oh man, come on. Right. Or what to your point. Right. But so, so, so what, what, just out of curiosity, why Auburn University?

Well, I was born in Alabama and grew up there and we lived in Columbus, Mississippi for eight years right before coming to North Carolina. Okay. And so you've got family.

Yes. One son lives out in Northern New Mexico. That's a very interesting situation. He's totally off the grid. He's seven miles from the closest asphalt. He's three and a half miles past where the power line and phone lines stop. Okay.

At an, at an elevation of 8,750 feet up a forest service road. But with, is he in forestry? Is that? No. No. Okay. Okay. He has a varied background. Okay. He does work as a massage therapist.

Okay. So he's an entrepreneur and does his own work. He's capable of doing many things that most of us are not. He built his own house out there and he's got solar panels for power and it's quite amazing. Yeah.

You're not kidding. You said I had a, I had a vision what I say I had, I don't know that it was God's plan, but I thought, man, I want to be off the grid one day, kind of what you're describing. I thought I want to do that one bit. So I don't, I don't know.

But anyway, that is pretty fascinating though. So you got the son out there. And I have a son who lives locally in Mocksville where, where my wife and I live. Okay. How long have you guys been married? We will have been married 59 years come June the 6th of this year.

59 years. Wow. And did you meet at Auburn?

Yes. That's a, that's a really good story in and of itself. Her brother tricked me into a blind date on the Friday night before Thanksgiving in 1962. At Christmas of 1962 I found myself down on one knee asking her to marry me. Wow.

And she was foolish enough to say yes. And here we are today. 59 years later. Wow.

Congratulations on that. She is she is still my sweetheart. Wow. The attraction is strong.

Still there. It's Oh, she's wonderful to me. Okay, give our listeners Okay, so what give give a nugget there for our listeners that 59 years later, you know, she's still your sweetheart the attraction is still there.

What, what's just one thing you might attribute to that? God. Pretty good answer.

Pretty good answer. Did you catch that out there listening land God God has been in the, the, he's been your anchor the anchor to your marriage. Well, yeah.

And there's no doubt in our minds that he was behind all of it, because my ambition for years growing up was to be a fighter pilot in the Navy. And two weeks after I passed the written exam for aviation officer candidate school is when her brother tricked me into the blind date. Okay. And then in, you know, almost six weeks.

Here we are. And I when I went there to their house for Christmas. I had no intention of asking her to marry me. And it was I mean, God put it in me. Yeah, had to because it wasn't there to start with. Wow. So I gave up my idea of flying, because she said she couldn't be married to a pilot.

She was too nervous for that. And so I changed my whole direction. And it had to be God, because had I gone on with with what I wanted to do and had been successful in getting there, I would have been probably hitting over at Nam at just the wrong time.

When the Sams were taken down the pliers. You remind me of there's a scripture in the Proverbs, many of the plans in a man's heart, but the Lord directs his steps. Yeah. That that proverb, it seems that you're the epitome of that proverb, what you just shared, right? We have we all we all have kind of have our own plan. Like I have my own plans for like 34 years.

And then for the first time, found out figured out and found out that somebody else had a plan for my God, God, once again, God and he's been with us throughout there's so many instances in our lives and in mine in particular that I see God's hand. Because back in 2002, I was having heart issues, didn't originally know what it was about. But they put me on the catheterization table for South hospital, paddled me back twice. And then the next morning opened me up and did five bypasses. Wow.

I had 100% block in the major right. I had over 90 in the widow maker. I was just gonna say, call that the widow maker, right? Yeah.

Yeah. Fortunately for me, it happened there in the hospital. They said if I'd have had a heart attack, I'd have had one. You would have been done. One and done.

Right. So that was one instance. There's been several instances involving automobiles and motorcycles that I came out smelling like a rose when thousands of people every day don't. I'm curious to see, I really am curious to see how many times, I hope the Lord reveals to me just how many times those guardian angels saved me. I can think of some instances right now, you know, driving on the roads and different things that, to your point, that had to be God's protection as guardian angels. Oh, absolutely. Preventing from something more tragic happening.

Absolutely. I've made the joke numerous times that I'll be the only guy walking around heaven with two black eyes because those guardian angels are gonna get even with me. They had their work cut out for them, huh? I've put them through it. Well, let me ask this before we get to your questions. Just real quick, give us a, how'd you get connected with Masculine Journey Bootcamp? How'd that come about?

Well, that's pretty interesting as well. My sweetheart found out about the Thursday morning meeting at the Brock with Robbie and Gaither and stuff and she wanted me to go. Well, I'm not an early morning person. I did not want to go to a 7.30 in the morning meeting.

Like a Bible study or something? Yes. Okay. Okay. But eventually I conceded and we went and now I wouldn't miss it for the world. Wow.

So I met Robbie there. Okay. And then they started after me about going to a bootcamp. Well, I didn't want to go to a bootcamp. Less than you wanted to get up early and go to a Bible study, right? And so finally after my sweetheart had, you know, kept prodding me, I said, okay, I'll go.

Well, that first one didn't start off all that well because I can't remember why, but I couldn't get there so I got there at night after pretty much everybody else was in bed. The only bed available was a top bunk with no ladder to get up there. Now, I'm a little guy.

I'm like 5'6". Okay. And I was probably already in my mid-70s at that time and I had to try to climb up and get in that bunk.

The guy on the bottom bunk below me snored like a freight train. Okay. So it was kind of a miserable beginning, but through my contact with other guys and going through the bootcamp, I became very interested in that, which then led to becoming a part of the Masculine Journey Band of Brothers.

Yeah, part of the staff. So I'll be back over here tonight. How many approximately have you been involved in, just roughly? Well, this is Truth Radio, so the truth is I really don't remember.

Okay. How many years? When was that first bootcamp? When was that first bootcamp? Probably about six or seven years ago. Okay.

All right. So six or seven years ago. And for those of you listening out there, masculinejourney.org. If you want to learn more about the bootcamp that Harold is now a part of, masculinejourney.org. Go and check it out, and if you attend, I feel safe to say you may meet Harold and him run circles around you out there at the bootcamp at age 82 and on fire for the Lord.

So that's amazing. So, well, let's segue. Let's get to your questions that you might have for me today. And so what do you got first for me, Harold? Well, one of the things that struck me is you're not native to this area as I'm not. I know how I got here.

How did you get here? You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Nikita Kolof here, and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement?

Well, maybe it's a minor announcement. Anyway, Facebook, go look up my new fan page, Nikita Kolof Fans, and like it and follow today. If you would like to support Kolof for Christ Ministries for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of $50, Nikita will include his book, Wrestling with Success.

And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption. Go to www.kolof.net and donate today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Yeah, I'm not a native Carolinian. I almost, essentially I call myself a native Carolinian now only because I've been here longer than anywhere else. And I love the area. I had never been to the Carolinas prior to coming in 1984.

It was my first trip to the Charlotte community. Really kind of fell in love with the area knowing, you know, go a couple, you know, maybe two and a half hours west and you can be up in the mountains. You know, go three and a half hours east and you can be at the ocean.

You know, that was appealing. And of course the climate and the weather was appealing. And then probably more than anything, just as the old expression goes, the southern hospitality. Right.

Just, you know, the people are just loving and just, you know, they'll communicate, they'll say hi to you if you're walking down the street or whatever. So all that to say, so a five minute phone call is what brought me to the Carolinas. And that was with a promoter named Jim Crockett Jr. He was the promoter of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Some of my buddies had gotten into this wacky, crazy world of pro wrestling. I was training for a pro football tryout and they shared a storyline with me.

They were looking for a big guy who wouldn't mind shaving his head and becoming a Russian Herald. And so one of my buddies goes, I think I know the guy right now. I think I know the guy. So he called me.

His name is Road Warrior Animal, Joe Lornitis. So he called me, shared with me the storyline. He gave me the promoter's number. I called the promoter, had a five minute conversation, sight unseen, and made sure he understood I had no amateur wrestling background, no professional training, none, zero. And he said he knew that, was good with that, just gave me a date to be in his office with my head shaved. And I loaded up my car with everything I owned, my name up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, drove to a city I'd never been. You might say he took a risk and rolled into his office in the day he said to be there. And Nikita Koloff is born in the hallways of Charlotte in 1984.

Yeah. Well, I had not been to Carolina either, but I was in Columbus, Mississippi at the time, but needing to make a job change. And I saw an ad in Computer World magazine for a job in Moxville, North Carolina.

Well, obviously I didn't know anything about Moxville, but I looked it up on the Atlas. And when I saw a little tiny town surrounded by three interstates and near several other larger towns and cities, I thought, yeah. And so I pursued it. And when I came up for my interview here, it was mid-October, the leaves were turning and it was, oh, man. Beautiful.

I was like one of Robbie's fish that sees the lure and gets on the lure and can't shake it. I love that. Well, and of course, what you're referring to for our listeners, because this show goes all over the world, is the Triad area, Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, right? Right. Those are the three largest cities.

And of course, the interstate system as well is what you're referring to. And of course, Moxville is kind of near, closer than Charlotte is to that mountainous area, right? And of course, all the leaves turning and everything. Yeah, I characterized it with my sweetheart after I was up here. I said, sweetheart, I found the Garden of Eden.

Oh, nice. Come on. Well, and hey, I got to say this too, because you've already given your age, but some of the listeners, actually, Harold, may not know what you're referring to when you said you looked at an atlas.

They're like, he looked at what? Even Richard's sitting in the studio here today is shaking his head going, what's an atlas, right? I thought for sure you were going to chime in and say, Harold, so you were at the Garden of Eden? Well, I didn't want to go down that path, Robbie. I didn't want to go down that path. Oh, that's a path that we tried regularly.

I bet you do, a little bantering goes on. I got a feeling at the bootcamps there in Moxville. So yeah, for all our listeners, that was the old-fashioned form of Google, okay? So where now all of you Google to find or put in your GPS, which brings back a memory, Harold, actually.

Back in my early wrestling days, we had, Richard, I'll show you one one day, okay? It was a Rand McNally atlas. That's probably what you got out, right? A Rand McNally atlas. Yeah, it's a collection of maps. Yeah, of every state and as well as other things. But man, that was our lifeblood. Somebody's like a little town like Moxville?

We would have never got there if it hadn't been for an atlas to get us there, you know? So that's crazy. Well, all right. Well, that's interesting. You have another question for me? Yeah, I'm also curious.

Of course, those Saturday mornings back when my boys were young and growing up, we used to love to tune in and watch you and the other guys. I remember some of the, it seemed like there was one guy that had a big old snake that he'd carry around with him. You are correct.

He would be known as Jake the Snake Roberts. Okay. Yes. I couldn't remember the name, but I remember the snake. Yes. And the road warriors, you and the road warriors were very intimidating characters at the time. Yes, sir. Animal and Hawk, yep.

So I'm curious about the transition from that environment to the current environment that were you? Yeah. Well, let me make a reference to the snake just for a moment here, because I actually was in the ring a few times with Jake the Snake Roberts. And for the record, I am not a snake lover.

I'm just not. And so I made sure Jake knew, because see what he did, what he'd do when he'd beat an opponent, I just recently saw a clip. He had, I guess, like only one match ever against a guy named the Big Boss Man.

And it was over in Japan. And he'd beat a guy and the guy would like be out, right? Like he's just out, out. Then he'd pull that snake out of the bag and let it slither all over your face and all over you. And I'm like, it ain't happening, not with the rest of the nightmare. I may be the rest of the nightmare, but there ain't no snake slithering or climbing all over me. So I informed Jake, I go, you ever take that snake out of the bag, Jake? I'll be in the back. You can get your hand raised. I don't care.

But you won't, you won't be right anyway. So just a little side note there for Jake the Snake Roberts. But yeah, he was well known for that snake in the bag. He had a nickname for it, too.

I don't remember what it is. But anyway, and so, so I have this wrestling career. So as you heard, you know, I come to Charlotte in 1984, have this career. In some people's eyes, a storied career, climbed the ladder rapidly. You know, within 13 months, I'm the world heavyweight or world six man champion, world tank team champion. In 13 months, I think almost to the day, I'm wrestling a blonde haired guy better known for his, woo, more so than a snake, nature boy Ric Flair, wrestling him for the world heavyweight title at the first ever Great American Bash. So I had a pretty accelerated career and I'd already determined when I broke in at what age I would retire from wrestling. And that number was 35. I'd already made up in my mind I was going to walk away on top of the business, you know, not be washed up or be around so long that I just couldn't move in the ring or whatever.

And so, so I actually was slightly ahead of that goal. I was 33 going on 34 when I made a decision, walk away on my own terms, had some injuries in my last match, actually right here in Winston-Salem where the Truth Radio Network is headquartered. And against a guy named Big Van Vader, do you remember that name at all?

450 pounds, he had this weird mask on his face, big behemoth guy, right? Got a hernia, you know, picking him up for a body slam. And then we were fighting out on the floor and he injured my neck and pinched a nerve and all that. And so anyway, all that to say, made a decision. They weren't career ending, but I made a decision to walk away from wrestling, had the hernia surgery. It was over Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's.

I'm like, I'm done. And I'd met a Christian couple, you know, I was diversifying. I'd had health clubs and gyms and other businesses I was diversifying into. Met this Christian couple through one of those businesses, eventually invited me to their church. And 17 October 1993, took them up on their invitation, went to the church.

I was at that very first service. I went forward to the altar. The Lord was just tugging on my heart. And I knew the story, Harold. You know, the man Jesus, I knew the story. But on that day, the story made the 18 inch trip from my head down to my heart. Opened up my heart, confessed, repented, received Christ, became a child of God. And then committed to becoming a follower of Jesus for the rest of my life. And fast forward, that's what brings me here today.

You know, talking with you on the show, going to an advanced boot camp and all of that. Yeah, it's interesting how the Holy Spirit works to accomplish what God wants done. I remember I mentioned earlier having the bypass surgery. And I was laying there in recovery a couple of days later, I guess, when I was awake. And I thought, you know, why me? Lord, why me when millions of people around the world die from what I had? And yet, here I am. You survived, yeah. And I thought, you know, why?

And it occurred to me that he had work for me to do. And I decided that what I needed to do was to explain to people some of the symptoms of heart disease that may be a little different. Like in my case, I had no chest pain, no shortness of breath. But I would get a tightness in my throat and my jaws when I would be exercising. Most people don't associate that with heart disease.

I didn't for almost too long. But the other thing is that we also have a spiritual heart that needs to be responded to. That's right. We need to take care of both the physical heart and the spiritual heart. And I thought that was why I'm still here, is to kind of spread that word to the best of my ability. That's good. And God's the best at doing spiritual surgery, isn't he?

Yep. He gets that spiritual scalpel and can do what he does best and bring restoration, heal hearts, as you guys have seen there at the boot camp. And Harold Dyer going 82 years strong, 82 years young, still running circles around 22-year-olds on the pickle court. And man, it's such a pleasure to have you in the studio today. masculinejourney.org. Go find out more about boot camp. Meet Harold and others that we've mentioned on the show today. Robbie Dilmore, who piped in with us there as well. But thank you for being on Q&A with Koloff. I've loved it. And for anybody out there that would be interested in the boot camp, a side benefit is you'd get to see beautiful downtown Mocksville.

Because the boot camp is at Carolina Bible Camp just outside Mocksville. That's it. And don't blink if you're going through it. But anyway, well, God bless you. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Q&A with Koloff. And until next time, have a God blessed, God filled day. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support, and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to koloff.net and donate today.

Hi, Nikita Koloff. Be sure to check out The Man Up Show. Now available on television, broadcast, and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or the Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download the Truth Network app today. If you are enjoying Q&A with Koloff, would you help us spread the word?

Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your neighbors to download, subscribe, and leave a comment. Hi, Nikita Koloff and I am excited to announce that I will be hosting my first ever Holy Land Tour. That's right, a trip to the Holy Land with the Russian nightmare. And I am extending a personal invitation to you. Join me December 27, 2023 to January 5, 2024 for a once in a lifetime trip. Go to NikitaKoloff.com and get registered today for the Holy Land Tour. Nikita Koloff here. If you're needing to buy a car and have marginal credit and considering using buy here, pay here, that's worse than taking the Russian sickle. Winston-Salem motor cars will put you behind the wheel of a car you can rely on while helping rebuild, repair, or establish your credit score. Conveniently located on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem, be sure to check them out today at wsmc1.com because you are number one.