Chad Bonham- Using Your Talents Effectively

Hi, I'm Joanne Vickner, Memaw with It's Storytime Memaw, an answered prayer for stories that point children to God on the Truth Network for kids. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network.

This is the Truth Network. Man Up Men's Conference, a champions summit at Morningstar Ministries in Fort Mill, South Carolina, June 15th through the 17th. Why should you attend the Man Up Conference? There's never been a more critical time than now for men to stand up, step up, rise up, and man up. This is a rally call for men of all ages, young and old alike, teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, who desire to grow in their manhood and masculinity, enhance their marriage and fathering skills, be better equipped as a godly man, godly husband, godly father, be more effective in the marketplace as salt and light. We'll have a special father-son workshop and rite of passage ceremony to celebrate this special Father's Day weekend. Be there! Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw.

Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolob. Now, the Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Hey, today, what an opportunity for you to learn not just about, how would I phrase this, not just about movies and books and someone's life story, but how your life can be impacted and even what you can do with a vision for your own life.

Do you have one? I hope you have a vision for your life. Today, with me, Chad Bonham. Chad, welcome to the Man Up show. Hey Nikita, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me. Well, great to have you with us and, you know, as I said in the opening about vision, really kind of challenging the listeners out there to their own life story, their destiny.

Each and every week, you know, we come into this show with someone's life story and everyone's got a story. And of course, we go back. I was trying to remember, Chad, how far back do we go? When did we first meet? Do you remember? It would have been probably 2000, somewhere around there, yeah. Okay, over 20 years ago.

Yes. Is that kind of crazy to think about for just a moment there? It's really crazy because whenever, you know, I started working on the project, Wrestling with God, the book that I wrote was my first book, I was brand new married, didn't have any kids yet, have three sons now. So much has changed in my life since then and so many things have happened.

The last 20, 23 years has been crazy. So it is really crazy to think about that much time passing since we first met. Yeah, and all that you've done.

And so you kind of threw a teaser out there, Wrestling with God. We're going to talk about that as well as other projects and things that you're doing. But before we get there, you know, you mentioned your wife, you mentioned the three boys. Tell our listeners just a little bit like, you know, where are you currently living? Where are we talking to you from today? And tell us about those three boys and tell us about your wife. Take a minute.

Yeah, sure. So, you know, depending on where people are listening from and may not be aware of my hometown, it's Broken Arrow, two words, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, pretty good sized town of 100,000. But people may be more familiar with my kind of the town that we're connected to, which is Tulsa, Oklahoma. And, you know, a lot of great things going on here in a lot of the business world and in the ministry world and sports where a lot of really cool activity for our town and our city. But I've lived in this area.

I lived in Oklahoma all my life, but one year that we lived in Texas. Otherwise, I've been here and grew up in a ministry family. My parents were in the ministry. You know, we were really involved with music and a lot of really cool things.

I grew up loving sports. Then I went on to the University of Tulsa, which was kind of unexpected, but a really cool thing that I was able to do. And there I got involved in writing. And I had some writing skills that I kind of knew about when I was in middle school and high school, but I never really anticipated like, you know, actually going into it as a career or even as a hobby for that matter. So I got involved in the school newspaper. I was also involved with the athletic department at the time working as a student. You know, basically part of my job helping to pay for school was working with the athletic department. And I thought I was going to get to public relations and publicity, especially on the athletic side, working maybe with a pro sports team or even staying there at the university.

But it didn't work out. And, you know, just some really strange twists and turns left me kind of figuring out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. So I got back into writing. I'd been writing the whole time and started working for some Christian magazines. And, you know, I went quite a while trying to figure things out.

You know, it wasn't an instant thing. And so around 2000, actually late, late 90s, really, I got involved in media, got a little taste of maybe some production work and film. But I really still didn't know what I was going to do. And the crazy thing is, is I finally, you know, figured out who I was supposed to marry a little later in life in my late 20s. And we got married in actually December 31st, Y2K. The older folks out there might remember Y2K.

We got married actually on that very day when the world was supposed to kind of come to an end because of the glitch in the computer system. That was brave of you, just for the record. That was brave of you. My dad was scared to death. He was a he was kind of a little bit of a prepper. You know, he had like, you know, 100,000 cans of green beans and a generator. So he was a little concerned about it. He was ready. He was prepared.

He was he was prepared. We made it through it. And we did. I got I strangely took another weird turn and got involved in radio, started a Christian radio show that turned into a radio station here in Tulsa.

And then that was just kind of unceremoniously taken away as things happen in the radio business. And next thing you know, I'm without a job. And, you know, we haven't started having kids yet, but I was getting a little concerned.

My wife is a teacher. And so I got back into writing full time and then also started to pick up the idea of maybe doing some production, you know, and maybe coming up with some concepts for some programs, television programs and things like that. So so so really things really honestly started in terms of a national level for me writing this book called Wrestling with God.

And so what happened was basically I had I don't know what I don't even remember why this happened. I just remember I was I was always a wrestling fan and had been watching, you know, a lot of the WWF superstar stuff. You know, as a kid and and we had Mid-South Wrestling here in Oklahoma.

And I used to watch that on TV every Saturday morning. And I got really fascinated because I'd heard that this wrestler who was really big at the time got in state and his name was Sting. The Stinger. Yeah, the Stinger. Right.

Yeah. And he came out with a sesame icon. I found a way to interview him. And I did a story about him for a magazine called New Man magazine, which was connected to Charisma magazine. And it was a cover story.

It was really exciting. It was my first cover story magazine. Some interest kind of developed. And then basically what happened was I did a follow up story because there was a lot of guys at the time who were starting to come to faith.

And and, you know, Ted DiBiase had already been a Christian for a while, but, you know, he was a part of the article. And and and so anyway, that generated some interest. And I pitched the idea to a few places and lo and behold, a Tulsa based publishing company called River Oak doesn't even exist anymore. But back in the day, they were really a great publishing company. And they said, let's do a book.

And so I wrote my first book and it was 10 different stories of pro wrestlers and their their their testimony. All right. Hold on. Hold on.

That's how we met. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. OK, that's a lot. That's a lot. What our our listeners are, you know, to be able to take all this in.

You you give him a lot in a short period of time already. So I'm just trying to recap all that you said. So I'm just going so that Tulsa, Oklahoma, broken arrow. That sounds that sounds like. Hmm. That sounds like there's like some maybe some Indian history there or something in broken arrow.

I'm just to go out on a limb right there that. Yes. The history of Native American history in Oklahoma. But yeah, broken arrow is kind of a symbol of peace is what that means, you know. But yes, there is a lot of that here.

Yeah. So the Native American Indians and and I know two legendary well, several legendary wrestlers really come from that area. Two that come to mind or were brothers, Jack and Jerry Briscoe, come to mind, as well as Dr. Death. Steve Williams comes to mind as well.

And a lot of guys that have come out of Oklahoma that made it into the pro wrestling ranks. Let me go let me go back just for a moment here to your interest in writing. You said in junior high school, you had already recognized kind of a gifting, you might say, of of writing, is that right? I actually started a little before that, actually, maybe eighth grade.

Actually, I had a creative writing teacher who told me, you know, she kind of really planted that seed. But it didn't, you know, you know, when you're in eighth grade, you're not sitting there thinking too much about your long term future. So when I went to Tulsa, University of Tulsa, I actually went into marketing at first. And I had a miserable first semester in business school and realized I was in the wrong place. So I switched over to the arts and sciences. And that's where I started to get more involved writing with the college paper. And and so, yeah, even then I didn't see it as a future. It was just more of a fun thing and something as a side hobby. But it took me a while to figure out that that writing was going to be a long term part of my future. Yeah.

What you might do. So how how young were you when you were when you first started? Do you remember when you first started watching wrestling? I know you said you were watching a lot of the shows and all of that. But do you remember it was around the same time? How old were you? I was probably around 12, you know, 12, 13 years old. It was because they had those Saturday shows, you know, and I always tried to get my dad. You know, occasionally the Mid-South guys would come through Tulsa, play the fairgrounds, perform there and, you know, do their thing. And I always tried to get him to go.

We didn't have a lot of money. So I think that was part of the reason why he never took me. But I would watch that. And then, of course, you know, the WWF at the time had the, you know, the superstar show with, you know, they had that was when Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger. All those guys were huge.

You know, British Bulldog, all those guys. And so that it really captured my imagination. And I think a reason I loved it so much because I love story. It was all built around story.

That's right. That's I think was my attraction. It was sport kind of action, athleticism and stories and that it was just such a unique combination. You know, and again, it just really fueled my creative brain, you know, so I really loved watching that.

It's pretty cool. And so, you know, I'm just I remember the fairgrounds actually in Tulsa. I didn't have a ton of matches there, but I did have a handful of matches at the fairgrounds in Tulsa. And of course, Miss South, you're referring to any old school wrestling fan will know the name Cowboy Bill Watts, who had a lot of the guys. A lot of the guys got their start. Hacksaw, Jim Duggan. You mentioned the million dollar man, Ted DiBiase, Junkyard Dog, JYD. Oh, you know, a lot of a lot of the old school guys got kind of got their start in the midst of Magnum, Magnum, TA, one of my, you know, my main nemesis spent time in the Mid-South and the list goes on and on.

But it's a Dr. Dusty Williams, who I mentioned from Oklahoma. And so do you have do you have a favorite memory, Chad, from from those?

I know you said you tried to get your dad to go down with you watching me, but do you have a were you a hokey maniac or did you have a favorite memory? You're listening to the Truth Network and Truth Network dot com. Nikita Koloff 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 Koloff fans and like it and follow today. If you would like to support Koloff for Christ Ministries for a gift of twenty five dollars, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration for a gift of fifty dollars. Nikita will include his book Wrestling with Success and for a gift of one hundred dollars or more. Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption.

Go to www.koloff.net and donate today. Well, I'm listening to the Truth Network and Truth Network dot com. I remember also Magnum TA was a guy that I remember watching a lot and that was more on the local side. But then, you know, I don't really I just loved all of it. And I think there was actually a guy that I don't remember if you remember him, he was called the spoiler. He was one of the bad guys.

And and I just remember really not liking that guy. Did he wear a mask? I think. Right.

Did he wear a mask? Yes. Yeah. One of the mask.

One of the mask guys. Yeah. It might have been more than one of them, you know, but I later on, as I got more into WWF and WCW, I started to become more a fan of the High Flyers, the Luchadors, you know, that was a lot of fun. But yeah, I mean, it was just a crazy time. And then you get into kind of like the 90s, late 90s and and with the resurgence. And I think that the WCW versus WWF, those wars were really fascinating. I tended to kind of lean more towards some of the interesting, creative things that WCW was doing to compete. And and so I watched that probably a little bit more than I did WWF at that point.

Yeah. But yeah, that that was where that kind of all started. And then, you know, Ted DiBiase, you get saved and you're starting to see some interesting personal stories come out of that that world. And I just started to kind of pay attention, you know, because I was always looking for great stories to tell.

And so that was kind of the genesis of where I ended up, you know. Right. To now. Right.

To early 2000s. Yeah. Monday Night Wars.

And of course, some don't. I just mentioned quickly that some don't realize Magnum T.A. actually got it was Andre the Giant. You mentioned Andre the Giant is actually the one who gave Magnum T.A. He was wrestling in the Mid-South, but I think just as Terry Allen or I forget. But but Andre looked at him and said, boss, boss, you look like, you know, the guy there was a TV show back then called Magnum P.I.

Right. And and and you look like that guy on Magnum P.I. And so that's kind of where Magnum T.A. came from.

It was Andre the Giant. Well, let's let's talk about that wrestling with God. So so I know you mentioned Sting. You know, you reached out to me at some point at Tully Blanchard. And so so you got this obviously the listeners can can hear just from, you know, just from your passion that that you got some real creative juices that flow.

And certainly wrestling kind of helped give you that idea and that and then this book is launch wrestling with God and you reach out 10 different stories. Right. Of all pro wrestlers that were a part of that that book project. Right. Correct. Yeah. You know, a lot of different areas. There were some, you know, older guys, some more current guys at the time.

There was a couple of independent guys that maybe weren't as well known, but most of them, you know, if you were a wrestling fan at the time, you would have known most guys. And and it was funny because even leading up to that point, you know, I was writing a lot and I remember just I kind of had a prayer, you know, with God. I was like, Lord, you know, I I'm really enjoying this. I would love to just, you know, write one book. If I could just I would feel like I'd really accomplished something and really use my talents. Well, if I could just write one book and I had no idea it would lead to way more than that. But excuse me.

But yeah. So I just started reaching out and I became very, you know, just you have to kind of develop a certain kind of confidence when you start calling strangers. And ask them to be a part of a project. And I just did.

I just kind of had to become fearless because, you know, that's the only way that you're really going to get anywhere. So, yeah, I just started calling people. I think, you know, I think probably Ted and Sting, you know, I had an interview with Sting previously, so I already had that contact. And then I reached out to Ted and that became kind of the foundation that I was able to build this book upon with those two guys. And then I reached out to you and Ivan and, you know, it just kind of just continued to build until I had 10 people on board. Tonka was another guy that was a great conversation.

One of the one of the ones I really enjoy talking to. Just snowballed from there, right? Yeah.

Just snowballed from there. And, you know, you for our listeners out there, you know, you just really put something out there for our listeners. You know, you mentioned, you know, it took some some courage, you know, really a step of faith in the sense that but also a risk, right? You know, you had to take take a risk. And and of course you did that. And I just want to say to all our listeners out there as you're listening to Chad's story and hopefully you're inspired by by his enthusiasm that maybe there's a vision, a project or something that you've been holding yourself back for and not stepping out and really going for it.

Be inspired by his story today to step out and take that risk. And Chad, let me ask you this, is that is that book still in circulation or can people still get a hold of that? Because the stories were phenomenal, especially anyone who's a wrestling fan.

Even if you're not a wrestling fan, just the stories are great. Can people still get get that somewhere, anywhere? It's not print anymore, but there's a lot of copies of it that are circulating around on Amazon and different book sites. So, yeah, I mean, it's funny because I thought, you know, with it being out of print in that company, I could potentially re-release it or I could maybe do an updated version.

Obviously, it would probably be a good idea. But yeah, there are still copies out there. I actually did a radio interview with a gentleman in San Diego who is a big wrestling fan on a Christian station out there. And he had ordered, he ordered a copy of this book that, you know, out of print. But yeah, over 20 years old.

And he sent it to me so I could autograph it and send it back to him, which was kind of funny. But yeah, people can still get it. There's still copies out there that are floating around.

Still copies floating around. Gotcha. Yeah. And so what are, are there some other, okay, so you did the Wrestling With God that opened the door, obviously, for other things. I know you mentioned, you even mentioned film. And of course, most recently, you had reached out, you were part of a movie project.

I'm going to talk about that before we run out of time. Are there any other book projects since Wrestling With God that you have done or you are doing? Well, it's funny, I mentioned that, you know, I was like, Lord, you know, if you could just give me an opportunity to write one book, I'd feel blessed. I've actually been part of now over 40 published books.

Okay. So I think I kind of far exceeded my own vision for what I was going to do in that realm. But I've worked on, you know, I have a book that I did called Faith in the Fast Lane, which was about the history of the faith movement within NASCAR. I did a book called Life in the Fairway, which was about integrity, biblical integrity compared to the game of golf. And that was featuring a lot of PGA golfers that worked on that with me. You know, I've co-written a lot of books with different athletes and coaches.

I've worked with SDA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as a writer for them for almost 20 years. I've probably done about at least 12 or more books with them. So that's just kind of what I've done on the writing side.

And there's a lot. I guess I don't really have a website for me personally right now. But if people wanted to see a lot of the work that I've done as a writer, they can go to Amazon and type my name in.

I have author page. Yeah. And they can see pretty much most of the majority of the books I've worked on are available on Amazon.

I was going to say they just go type in Chad Bonham. And well, hey, you bring up another interesting point for our listeners. And so let me pause right here and say to you out there in Listening Land around the world.

He just brought up another valid point. You know, he said, Lord, if I could just if I could just do one book and you just heard him say he's really been a part of over 40 projects. And anyone who knows me knows I'm a goal guy like like this year, 2023, at the beginning of the year, I said, I'm going to read 12 books this year.

And and so, you know, here we're only just a just a few months into 2023 at the time of this recording. But here's the deal. OK, consider this. Think about this.

All right. In just a few months in, I've read six books so far. So I've already exceeded the goal of 12 books for the year.

Now, where I land or where I end up, I don't know. I may end up only doing only reading 12, but I may end up reading 20. And so I want to challenge you, along with stepping out and taking a risk.

I also want to challenge you to consider setting goals for yourself, writing them down, written goals. And hey, maybe you end up like Chad. Hey, I just want Lord, I just want to read one book, write one book. And you end up working on over 40 projects. And so, Chad, we got just a few minutes left.

But I do want to get to the the other projects you're working on. And most recently, a movie, His Only Son. Were you a part of that movie? No, I wasn't a part of that movie. I've been part of similar films to that, but not that one, unfortunately. I've heard great things about it. Everybody's really loving it. Yeah, well, there's been several.

His Only Son, Jesus Revolution. I mean, there's been some really left behind with Kevin Sorbo, who I've interviewed on this show. Well, tell us, just take just a minute or two.

We only got a couple minutes left. Tell us what, beyond writing, you've been doing. Yeah, sure. So, I mean, it was actually back in 2009, I had a chance to work on a documentary called Life Happens with some friends. And it was actually put out there by American Center for Law and Justice, ACLJ, which is kind of a Christian alternative to the ACLU.

If you've heard of it, Jay Sekulow's group. And that launched me into kind of a film career. I've done marketing on a lot of those movies you referenced. But, yeah, I've worked on about a half a dozen documentaries. And I'm currently working on, actually, the last one that I did came out in 2020. It was called Divided Hearts of America. It was a pro-life film with NFL player Benjamin Watson as kind of our lead guy.

And that's currently on Fox Nation, or you can watch it for free on Tubi or Freevy, some of those apps. And then also, you know, just working on a lot of things like that. You know, I've written a couple of screenplays that we're trying to pitch based on true stories that I've worked on in the documentary realm. And currently also working on a, we're actually trying to work with Angel Studios right now on a series called The Gospel of Rock and Roll. And I'm partnering on that with Jonathan Cain, who is famously a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member of Journey, the rock band Journey. So a lot of crazy stuff. You know, on the book side, I'm working on a book right now with Coach Tom Osborne, the legendary coach from Nebraska.

And Larry the Cable Guy is going to write The Forge for us. So it's just nuts, the kind of people that God's allowed me to be a part of in the last few years. I don't even understand it at this point.

I just roll with it, you know? Well, which brings up another valid point in our closing minutes here. And again, for our listeners, as you're listening to Chad's story, you know, as you walk by faith and not by sight, and just have a vision for your life, man, there's no telling the doors of opportunity that God can open up. I mean, this radio show is evidence of that, Chad. I mean, you know, I wasn't looking at getting into broadcasting or radio or have a show or a podcast, which now at the latest count has been downloaded in over 76 different countries. So your story will go far and wide.

And that led to the Man Up TV show. That's on Morningstar TV network, on AllNationsTV.com and Truth Radio. There's so many opportunities that even if you're not looking for them, I want to encourage you to pay attention because opportunities are everywhere. And so as you're listening to Chad's story today, there's some very valid key points that come out of this story with Chad Bonham. And Chad, I appreciate it, man. I appreciate you reaching out 20-something years ago and that leading to really to this interview today. And I'm excited to see where life takes you and where the journey, where the Lord takes you in the future, man.

Thanks for being a part of the Man Up show today. Well, I appreciate the opportunity to share my story and I just encourage people, whatever they do, take your purpose with you. Whether you're happy where you're at or not, your purpose is always to reach others for the Lord and then just trust Him for the rest, you know. And that's my story and sticking to it.

Take your purpose with you. I like that. So, hey, I just want to encourage you one more time, you know, go on to Amazon, type in Chad Bonham. Chad, spell your last name for them so they know.

Sure, yeah. B-O-N-H-A-M. There's a town in Texas, Bonham, Texas.

So not a really common name, but yeah, Chad Bonham on Amazon and probably find some other things that I'm working on as well if you just Google me. Lots of projects for Chad. So, hey, thank you, all of you, consistently, week after week after week, tuning in, dialing in, downloading the Man Up show. Why should you listen to the Man Up show?

Because it's time to Man Up. God bless you. Have an amazing 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 the Man Up show, would you help us spread the word? Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your neighbors to download, subscribe and leave a comment. 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. If you are looking for the perfect gift for your pastor, well, look no further. Bless him with a trip to the Holy Land with yours truly, Nikita Koloff, the Russian nightmare. I'll be hosting this once in a lifetime trip, December 27th, 2023 to January 5th, 2024.

Your pastor will never be the same. Go to Koloff.net to get registered today. This is the Truth Network.