On a Love Crusade to "Our Nation's Seniors & Veterans"

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Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, the Kita Kolob. Now, the Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. My special guest today has been compared by audiences for years as the voice of Robert Goulet. He's a powerful, encouraging singer through music, drama, and I love this quote on his website.

It says, on a love crusade to our nation's seniors and veterans. How's that for an introduction? Today with me, Michael James Fosseani. That sounds like a really good Egyptian name or something, Michael, or I don't know. Or Mexican name, no, no. Spanish name, no. I'm thinking Italian, Michael.

I'm thinking Italian. Well, Nikita, what a privilege to be with you, and there's a funny story I told you before we started here. Do not even worry about the pronunciation on my name. When I moved from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, where I was born and raised, to Iowa in 1979, I went to the top. I went to the godfather of our family, my pap. You know, grandparents were called Pap there in southwest Pennsylvania. I said, Pap, Pap, I said, how do you pronounce our last name? I said, because everyone pronounces it different here, and I have a hunch no one's really pronouncing it right. And so when I moved to Iowa, I said, we're going to start pronouncing our name correctly. So my pap, my grandfather, he said it's pronounced facciani, which means with small face in Italian, is what he said. And so when I went to Iowa in 1979, and that's where I still live, we started pronouncing my name correctly. Now, you hear also, last night I was in Ohio, and the pastor there, he's got my favorite pronunciation of my last name. He calls me Franscalati. And I don't even correct him.

I don't want to because I love that pronunciation. That's right. And you know what you mentioned? I didn't expect you to lead off with the Robert Goulet thing.

But you know what? In 1983, when I started singing, for those that are listening that don't know who he is, that you'll appreciate the story. In 1983, people started hearing this. People come up to me and they say, You sound like Robert Goulet. I said, Whoa, Robert Goulet. I said, Who's Robert Goulet? I didn't even know who that was. You didn't even know.

Okay. So over the years, you know, you listen to my voice and you listen to his and there's a lot of notes that are just like identical. And then you can tell the difference, of course, because he was a great, great singer. But what a privilege to be with you today.

What a comparison, though. What a compliment, right? Well, you know, we probably wouldn't have to go into the whole story of how I started singing, but I didn't have a voice, Nikita. I believed God for one.

And I'm only 5'6", 177 pounds. But back in 1979, when I was at a fellow friend's church, we talked about him, Tommy Barnett. I was at his church and a young man got up on the stage and he was the youth pastor at the time and he sang a beautiful rendition of The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power. Now, Nikita, I was back then, I was two years into knowing the Lord and he was still working on me. He's still working on me now. But I was arrogant.

You know, it's kind of full of myself, a little obnoxious to tell the truth. And he got up there and he sang this song and I had not sung since second grade Glee Club. And when he sang The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, I prayed a prayer in Tommy Barnett's church, which was my church where I was going. It wasn't a prayer like, Dear God in Heaven, if you'd give me a voice, I promise you I will sing for you the rest of my life.

It was never like that. I said, Lord, give me a voice like that. I'll sing for you. And you know what? It was kind of like an arrogant kind of a prayer. And I said, the Lord got the last laugh. He said, OK, I'm going to put the voice of a 350 pound man in your little body, a little squirt. And so that's how I tell that story.

So I'm a little guy, but my voice is a little bigger. Well, I tell you what, and of course, we met just not long ago, actually in Ohio. I was ministering on a weekend. I didn't know you were going to be there. Pastor Gary, a dear friend of mine, and him and his brides, the First Lady Sandra there.

And I'm doing a men's conference, you know, my man up intensive men's conference that Saturday. And then Gary's like, Oh, by the way, we're going to have some special music tomorrow. And I'm like, awesome.

You know, I know a lot of, you know, a lot of churches do that. And, you know, they've got, you know, sometimes, you know, some of the elderly ladies in the church might come up and sing a song or two or and they kind of, you know, told me, you know, told me who you were. And I'm like, all right, cool.

And so, you know, I sat back, you know, you know, just waiting to, you know, take the platform, you know, once you once you wrapped up. And and I've got to say, I mean, I was just so blessed by by one, by your voice and certainly by your songs and intrigued by what you're doing. I mean, just in my introduction on a love crusade to our nation's seniors and veterans and just Michael, just that alone. Really, really intrigued me because because, you know, I realize both seniors and veterans over the years, there's a tendency for them to be, if you want to say, discarded or neglected, if you will.

And so, you know, the fact that you you've you're reaching out to them is is so commendable. But let me just ask before we go there, because your bride was actually with you in Ohio when when we met. And so give us a quick backdrop. I know you say you live in Iowa, but you're originally from Pittsburgh. Tell us about your bride and your family before we go any further.

Well, thank you very much. Yeah, we've been married for thirty four years and she actually previously was, you know, from Ohio. But we met in Iowa and got three beautiful girls and a son that's twenty five. I say he's my only begotten son.

I call him my gentle giant, too, because he's about a foot taller than me. Everyone pretty much is. But, you know, like you, I've I've looked a little bit about your background there, too. And we appreciate our family so much and our wives. She's a nurturer, Nikita. You know, she doesn't go on the road with me very much. But Pastor Gary there in Ohio, I get to his church two, three times a year.

He says, this is your last chance. If you don't bring your wife this time, you can't come back again until she visits with you. But, you know, she nurtures the kids and she nurtures the grandkids and stands with me in our ministry. And I'm so very glad for that. And it was a real neat thing for her to be there at the church and to meet you, too. And meeting you there was really neat because we won't have time to go through everything. But I spent time with some professional athletes that were evangelists, members of the power team and strength team, that I helped found the strength team and then traveled with them as a road manager. I miss that athletic stuff and the gospel. You start mixing those two things together.

You're going to start touching a lot of lives. And that was a real thrill to be there. But yeah, I'm thankful for my wife. Her name is Mia. She spells that M-E-A. And there was a little girl in the church. Her name was Mia there, too.

So they made that bond. She was anxious to meet my wife. So a privilege for us to both meet you and be there. A special church there with Pastor Gary and Miss Sandra.

Well, I'm glad I got the opportunity to meet her then, knowing she doesn't travel that much. So how many grandchildren do you have? We've got seven. We've got seven. And I'm sure we'll probably get a couple more in there.

But we're grateful for them, too. And I Googled and looked at your age, too. I think I'm your senior by a year, year and a half, maybe. I'm 65 now. And I've known the Lord a little bit longer. But I'm proud of what you do, too.

Just proud of the platform you've used to reach out and share Jesus Christ. So, yeah, the grandkids are growing. My oldest daughter, 38, back in March, she turns 38. She said, Dad, how do you feel about me being 38 years old? I said, horrified.

I'm horrified. I cannot believe how fast time has gone. It's crazy. It's just the clock does not stop ticking, does it? It's just I've got a Jewish friend of mine, Jeffrey Getimer, who says the days and weeks fly by, but the years drag on. Or maybe it's the opposite.

No, I think it's the opposite. The days and weeks drag on. Anyway, anyway, I think people get the picture. Well, that's pretty me. No, the years do fly by. I mean, to me, they really do.

I mean, you blink and you miss it, right? I just had 11th grandchild, and holding that 11th grandchild was the 14-year-old grandchild. So from four days old to 14, you know, presently. Well, that's pretty amazing. So growing up in Pittsburgh, of course, there's a lot of wrestling history there. I know you're not necessarily a big wrestling fan per se, but there was a legendary name there. Some of my listeners will know Bruno San Martino. They'll know that name. Yes, I figured we bring up that name there.

Bruno San Martino from Pittsburgh. For those of your audience that know the geography, I'm from a famous little town that's actually 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, which is Johnstown, Pennsylvania. And I did wrestle. I wrestled all through high school. Most of my wrestling fandom was back in the years of Bruno San Martino and Haystacks Calhoun and Andre the Giant, but I knew who you were.

I knew who you were. And there's a couple times I wanted to reach through the television and strangle you. In a Christian way, I mean. In a very loving way, right?

That's right. I was just, Michael, I was just at the church I was just at this past weekend, they said, my grandma, oh my gosh, she's no longer living, right? She's like, man, did she hate you. She'd wear her little moo-moo dress and be sitting on the edge of her couch, and every time you came on, oh my gosh. Same thing, if she could have reached through the television and choked my neck, she would have done it, right? Well, back then, you know, back in the 80s, when you were playing the part of a Russian wrestler, I mean, I really believed you were from Russia.

Come on. Now, there's a little bit of show business there in professional wrestling, I understand, but I really believed that you were Russian, and for those that don't remember, you probably got a lot of younger people to listen to. That was a difficult time during the Cold War in the 80s, and you, mister, had a lot of nerve. I got to tell you that. So I had a question for you. I wonder if you even had any death threats along the way. Well, actually, actually, yeah, yes.

The short answer is yes. They would get those, the Crockett office, Jim Crockett promotions. They're like, ah, no worries, we'll just beef up security. And of course, yeah, I'm ten foot tall and bulletproof, so I'm not worried about it, you know, whatever. So anyway, hey, now, on that note, though, like, so you're in Iowa, and in Waterloo, Iowa, and when we were together, I'm like, so have you ever been over to the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum and Hall of Fame? And see, I don't even know that I knew you were an amateur wrestler, but knowing that now, I encourage them, like, dude, you've got to go buy, I mean, because, you know, anyone who is an amateur wrestler knows the name Dan Gable, right? Legendary Dan Gable.

I mean, Olympic gold medalist and the whole deal. And then they opened up a professional wing to it, and you sent me some pictures, and because you're like, all right, I've never gone, I'm going to go next week. And you're mad at your word. You went. I did. Give us, give me a snapshot of what that experience was like there at the Dan Gable Hall of Fame Museum. Well, I walked in there and I said, I was sent here by Nikita Koloff.

And so someone comes flying out of the office. And I said, well, you need to tell me where I need to look up. I don't have a lot of time because I was getting prepared to drive to the Pittsburgh area an hour later. But I said, I'm going to go there.

My son went down with me. I said, yeah. She said, really? I said, yes. Nikita Koloff sent me in here. I said, I'd come a long way. I'd come 10 blocks away from the museum.

That's where I live. Come on. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.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. Would your company, business or you personally like to partner with me in supporting Koloff for Christ Ministries, The Man Up Show and Man Up Minutes? Go to koloff.net and click the donate button.

You can give monthly, annually or one time. God bless you for making a difference around the world. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. So she took me back there and she showed me where your singlet was, you know, the wrestling attire that you wore. And then we went over to computerized illustration there where they showed me your picture.

I read some stuff about you and I knew some of it, but I was really touched and moved at how expansive your ministry is and how God has used you. But that was a pretty big deal. My son knew I was geeking out. You were a fanboy for just a moment there, Michael, just a moment.

Absolutely, absolutely. So I got that picture there and my son, I took that selfie, you know, pointing up to your picture there on the screen. Dad, you want me to take that picture?

I said, I can do it myself. And so the museum, I do feel bad that I hadn't been there before, but they had a lot of paraphernalia and a memorabilia from some of the famous wrestlers and everything. It was a treat. And he liked that too, my son, because I didn't know that you worked with Dusty Rhodes. And of course, my son, he's big into UFC, but he knew about Dusty's son. I can't remember his name.

Cody Rhodes. There you go. There you go. Yep. Well, it was a great experience.

Yeah. That's awesome. Well, I do appreciate you doing that. And I felt like you would enjoy it.

I really did. And so that's pretty amazing. And for those of you out there in Listening Land, if you ever get through Waterloo, Iowa, like for real, especially the avid fans, but any kind of a fan at all, whether amateur, professional.

I'm going to tell you, stop into the Dan Gable Museum Hall of Fame there. And you could easily, Michael, you probably say you could easily spend several hours there. Right. Just kind of seeing everything and oh, for sure. No.

Yeah. If you're a wrestling fan, you know, you spend a lot of time in there. It is fascinating.

Well, it's a great sport. Well, let's. All right. So let's say let's get back to your story, because that's what I want the people to hear hear about. Because and again, this even your quote on a love crusade to our nation's seniors and veterans. So so what? So what prompted? I mean, they heard you pray your prayer and the God put the voice of a 350 pound man in your smaller frame. And so the Lord. So so and you talked about giving your life from the Lord at a younger age than me.

So you have that encounter with Christ. At what point did you then determine or decide I'm going to I'm going to make this a career? And and at what point?

So two parts of the question. At what point did you decide seniors and veterans? Give us some back story. Well, you know, the short version after coming to Christ in 1977, feeling like that I was a good person. I mean, when I was in high school, I won the Good Citizenship Award. I mean, I was the most outstanding senior athlete. I mean, I wanted to be a pro baseball player. I was good, but not that good.

So I never did the drugs and alcohol and stuff like that. But I had to realize that I was a sinner like everyone else came to Christ April 1st, 1977. And I was in engineering school then at the University of Pittsburgh, went there when Tony Dorsett was there.

And we were number one in 1976, by the way. So then I changed courses and went to chiropractic school in Davenport, Iowa, Palmer College. And that's where I met Pastor Tommy Barnett and was inspired under his ministry to go into the ministry. And so I spent a lot of time in different areas of ministry, a senior pastor for a while, youth pastor. But I really wasn't called to that, Brother Nikita. I really wasn't. And I found myself in contemporary Christian music.

And so we started a small network there in Iowa. It's still on the air, by the way, owned by Air One now. But I was singing in 83, but I really didn't know how to take it seriously. I didn't really know what to do. So for 25 years, approximately, my voice was dormant. I mean, I would sing for funerals. My pastor would put me up and I'd sing a little bit. And he'd pull me aside. My pastor, who was a great evangelist to Don Cox, Pastor Don Cox, he spoke with a real deep voice like this. He'd pull me aside and encourage me. He said, Mike, Mike, you're the biggest secret in America, Mike.

You're the biggest secret in America. Now, I'm not all that right now, but he encouraged me, and that kept my gift on life support. Then I've been traveling now. I'm in my 13th year full-time traveling with music, mainly to, I just have a big heart, Nikita, for smaller churches, retirement communities. I do a lot of gospel and I sing in retirement communities.

13th year on the road. But approximately 20 years ago, my wife prophesied, so to speak, I'm being funny there, but she said, someday, you're going to travel and sing for a living. And I told my wife, I said, the fifth floor of the hospital is the psychiatric ward. You immediately need to check yourself in there, because that's never going to happen. And you know, you've heard the stories of, don't tell God your plans, because they'll end up changing in about 10 minutes.

Right, and or never say never as well, right? Yes, exactly. So now, when I was invited to travel with members of the power team, and then I traveled with the strength team itself, especially into the deep south and down where you're at down there now, I would sing during the offerings at these crusades. For those that don't know the power team or the strength team, they're the guys that go around and bend the steel bars, break the concrete, blow up the hot water bottles, light the stage on fire, and it attracts people that would never darken the doorstep of a church.

And many, many thousands, and literally millions, have been won to Christ through those ministries over the years. But they would put me up, Mike Hagen at the time, he was the vice president of the power team, and then I helped him found the strength team. Our church was the first to host a strength team crusade. He said, Mike, he said, I want you to sing on Sunday mornings in the church services. And I said, Mike, I said, I didn't sign up for that, but you're the boss. I said, I'll sing on Sunday mornings. And from church to church, Nikita, I would get up and I would sing a song called Why Am I Having a Block on This?

Save the Day by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. And I was getting these standing ovations everywhere. I was shocked.

It's like the churches where everybody was in a jack in the box and got up and clapped and encouraged me. And afterwards, it was the seniors that would come up to me at the strength team table and say, you need to use your voice again. You need to be singing. I mean, I was scared to death. I didn't have any confidence.

I didn't have any courage for that. But they kept sowing those seeds of encouragement in my life. And encouragement is when you impart courage. And then they encouraged me to do that. And in June of 2011, some of the pastors that I met, they said, hey, if you're ever traveling, give us a call and we'll have you come.

And I've been traveling full time ever since. And so I fell in love with my senior friends because they encouraged me. And so I feel like now I want to return that encouragement to the seniors and the veterans. Like you said, many times seem discarded or forgotten. They've used up their usefulness, so they just need to sit on the sidelines.

And so that's not the case. God still powerfully used them. You and me, I used to think 65 was as old as the hills, brother.

And you're about a year away here. You know, the Bible says the outward man perishes, but the inward man is renewed day by day. So we've still got a lot to give. Maybe we can't do everything we did physically, but we still have a lot to give from our spirit on the inside. So that's what really drove me to really want to minister and encourage them. And I just tell people, hey, it's been a love affair with seniors and retired people around the country.

And I'm a senior now, too, but Nikita, you put me in a room with people from 75 to 95, and I am right at home. All right. All right, Michael, I'm going to I'm going to before we're out of time.

All right. Sixty seconds. You're going to because people are going to go, OK, I got to hear his voice. So give us a 60 second rendition.

Ready? Go. A rendition of my ministry? A song.

No, no. A song. Sixty seconds of song. Come on.

Come on. OK. Then sings my soul, my savior does to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my savior does to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

I didn't have much left, not much left in my tank. I know you had a whole weekend of singing and I know I put you on the spot, but you know what? I here's what I wanted to do that. And I'm going to give a credos to Robby Dillmore.

Robby Dillmore, my production. He's like, dude, I got to hear we got to hear him sing because I want all the pastors and anyone, anyone related to church out there. I want I just wanted them to even get a clue. Obviously, it's not like being on a platform and with all the mics and all the instruments and all that.

But before we run out of time. OK, so there's churches and pastors and people from all backgrounds that listen to the show all over the world. How can they find out more about Michael James Fosseani?

Thank you, Nikita. I've got a number of Web sites, but my main one is MJFMusicOutreach.com. So my initials MJFMusicOutreach.com.

Lots of links to YouTube and different places where you can hear some of my songs on there that I do and whatever contact information you need. I travel on a love offering basis, so I would love to come in and bring encouragement, especially to my senior friends and veterans. So faith based. And I can I can certainly relate to that because the Lord has had me operate from day one. And so and you'll go you'll go coast to coast, border to border, wherever the Lord opens the door.

Amen. I will. OK. And so, you know, and I just want to encourage you, if you are a pastor or introduce Michael to your pastor, go to YouTube. Check him out. You'll find him on YouTube. Go to his Web site. Check him out there on his Web site. There's lots of information on his Web site, everything from his mission to his story, to a demo, contact references, tour dates.

I mean, how to book them and promotional things as well. And so I just want to encourage you to do that. And man, I'm so glad. Thank you, Pastor Gary.

You're listening out there. I'm so glad that the Lord crossed our paths, Michael. And I look forward to see him. Hey, maybe one day down the road, we will tag team again. Amen, brother.

Let's do it. Michael Faziani, the voice of the voice of Robert Goulet, powerful encouragement through musical drama on a love crusade to our nation's seniors and veterans. Man, if you're a senior or you're a veteran out there listening today, man, I hope I hope you were blessed by by Michael's story and that you're not forgotten. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your baseball players, support and generosity. May God bless you for your continual contributions.

Go to coop.net and donate today. And for all of you seniors, we know there are pearls of wisdom that we can learn from all of you on this life journey. Michael, thanks for being on the Mad Up show today. God bless you, Nikita. And God bless you and all of you out there. Tune in again for another great episode.

Until then, have a God-filled, God-blessed day. The Mad Up network app today. If you are enjoying the Mad 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.

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