More than an Overcomer Pt2

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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. With me, part two.

I hope you were inspired, intrigued by this man's story on part one. We're back with Freddie Clark. Welcome back to part two of The Man Up show.

Glad to be here. And, hey, before we, you know, we mentioned, you made mention that you grew up, I guess, a professional wrestling fan, or as some say in the South, a wrasslin' man. I'm one of them wrasslers.

Of course, you're from the Carolinas. So, what piqued your interest in professional wrestling? Was it your amateur wrestling background, or what caught your attention there?

You were one of my top guys I'd watch. You and, of course, the Ultimate Warrior. And Lex himself. Total package.

Total package. And the Warriors and stuff. And it was just neat to watch, entertaining. People didn't realize how much it took for y'all to train to do what you do without getting so hurt.

And taking care of your body, because you want to be presentable in that ring. And it really intrigued my mind, along with my bodybuilding. And I was like, man, that's awesome.

I love that. So, you kind of gravitated towards the guy who already appeared, had that interest to take care of their body, or kind of a bodybuilding physique, you might say, when you mentioned the Ultimate Warrior, Lex Luger. I'm reminded of what Lex has said, if he's said it once, he's said it a million times. Pro wrestling is not an exact science. And what people don't realize is it is entertainment, but guys really get hurt. Yes, sir. And we do our best to not get hurt. Yes, sir.

However, because it's not an exact science, I mean, timing only has to be off maybe a fraction of an inch or a nanosecond. When you got 253, 400, 500, Lex wrestled Yokozuna, who I think tipped the scales at 623 or 27 pounds. That's awesome. And so, injuries are a part of professional wrestling. So, you're drawn to that. Did you ever go to any professional matches, just watch on TV?

Oh, yeah. Many events. I watched years, many events. In my hometown of Morzil, at my gym, there was Nelson Royal, that he would train people. I think that was the NWA, wasn't it, at the time? It was the NWA. He was the NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion.

I'm not even sure how many times. And yeah, he had a wrestling school there. He had a country and western store. Still there.

Still there. And yeah, his daughter, somebody runs it, right? I remember the western store. And then in the back, he had a barn, man, with the ring set up. Exactly.

Been there many times. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he put some guys through some grueling workouts in that barn. He would send his guys to my gym to train, and then Nelson would come hang out every day and drink a protein shake or talk to me, all the way up till he died.

Wow. I mean, he would drive up there, and I was really scared, because I think he had some dementia and different things going on at the end. And I was scared for him to drive. And he would come up there and just, I never charged him anything.

You know that? Because he was just, he was, He was Nelson Royal. He was good. He was the WWE Champion. But he loved the gym. He loved the people there.

He'd come and talk. But learned a lot through him. And you know, watching you guys, people don't realize a sport is a sport, and you've got to give it your all. And you've got to put everything in. And at the end of the day, you've got to put in the work, man.

Whatever you do, whatever. You've got to put in the work. I tell people, I didn't just walk in the gym and look at a bench and go, oh, I feel my chest growing now.

You know, or look at an Easy Girl bar and go, wow, my biceps feel so much bigger now. Oh, yeah. You've got to put in the work. You've got to put it in the work.

It takes effort, right? Yes, sir. So let me ask you this, Freddie. So you were a fan of it. You knew Nelson Royal.

So you never entertained the idea of, or he never talked to you about getting? He did. And I was always afraid, because I'm 5'8 and a half, and I was like, man, I don't think I need to. Well, he wasn't tall either, though.

No. And I said, let me just train him. So I would do strength training. And, you know, Ken Shamrock and Ricky and Tommy Angel, all them boys, we'd train together and do benching and stuff. But I was a strong guy. And really the only one that could out-rep me was Ken Shamrock.

Okay. And Ken was a really good guy. He lived there in Mooresville. Now he has his own fighting.

I didn't realize he lived in Mooresville. Oh, yeah, for a couple years. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And he's in California now, has a school for kids fighting, a fighting school. Yeah.

And defense. And I love that. He's a beast. He is.

Awesome guy. And, you know, anyway, but I use my gym as a billboard and my body as a billboard for my business. To draw people in.

To draw people in. And then the biggest thing that God's brought to me is, I keep asking him every day, and I know some people do, is, what do you want me to do, Lord? What am I doing?

What do you want me to do? And he always tells me, stay in your lane. And a lot of people said, Freddie, you don't realize the lives you are touching. Yeah. And helping. I'm a Christian, but I mess up every day. Yeah.

The good Lord's got grace to take care of me. We're all flawed, right? Yes. We're all broken. Yes.

Just broken vessels. Yes. Just flawed people. We have our, everybody's got their idiosyncrasies. Yes.

The little things that get under somebody else's skin. I mean, that's just reality, right? It is. You know, and it's strengthened me in so many ways through the tragedy, the operations. I think I've been put to sleep, I think she said 23 times. 23 times for operations. Yes, sir.

Under the knife, so to speak. Yes, sir. Wow. And I had to give God all the glory, because I wouldn't be here today without him. Yeah.

And it's drawn me closer. I'm going to have to say, when I got the cancer and stuff, not that I wasn't closer to God, I went through my times. Mine wasn't drugs and alcohol, it was women. Yeah. I mean, and I had to get over that, you know, in my time of life. That was your fault line, so to speak. Yeah. And I had to get over it, because I got to respect them, I got to respect myself.

Yeah. And God's really put things in line for me and in place. I have a men's clinic now in Destin, Florida. I have three gyms.

I've had five gyms. I cut it down to three. And, you know, then guns are my, not my passion, it's my hobby.

I want everybody to have one that, the right people that know how to use it. Second Amendment. Yes.

And protect the Second Amendment. Yes, I am a patriot. And everybody that walks in my gym knows. There's a sign on my door that says what we believe in.

Yeah. And we still say, Merry Christmas. We still say the works, and we give all the glory to God. And with that being said, I've got challenges that I want to do, and I've got a new challenge coming up. But all my gyms we keep, not whether we're trying to throw Jesus down your life, but we want you to have a relationship, personal relationship with Jesus. We have a team, our team is called Team Get Some. Our shirts, our logos, it's a body-sealed armor of Christ with Philippians 4, 13, which is on my arm.

And then it has angel's wings over it and a barbell in the middle of it. So what that means is, Get Some means you've got to go out and get it. Nobody's going to give it to you, but you've got to step up every day, get up and earn it, and then give God the glory. I used to tell my children, you learn more by what you earn than by what you're given. Yes, sir. And not that you can't give your children or grandchildren, in my case now, or others, you know, we want to give. Jesus was a giver, right?

Yes, he was. And we want to give. But at the same time, you know, Scripture is very clear, you know, and go read Proverbs and talks about, you know, the sluggard or the lazy person. Yes, sir.

You know, doesn't even bring their hand, you know, their hand to their mouth, right? And that we are to go out and earn a living as well and not just expect a handout or that sort of thing. There's a couple of things you said there.

I want to go back for a moment here. There's a couple of things you said there that so your gyms are really just an outlet or a platform or an opportunity really to spread the good news, spread the gospel. And you're not trying to shove it down anybody's throat, but you want everyone to know clearly where you stand. And so all are welcome, right? Right. You know, you mentioned, you know, when we go back to the bodybuilding for a moment and I can understand this where you said, you know, women became kind of a, you know, your shortfall, right?

And, you know, man looks at the outward appearance. Yes, sir. God looks at the heart. Yes. Right?

We see that in Samuel for Samuel and talking about the anointing the next king of Israel. God makes that clear. I look at the heart of an individual. Right.

Man looks at the outward appearance. But I can see where through your bodybuilding days where women would have been attracted to that. Yes, sir. And so no shortage of that attraction.

I know even that from professional wrestling, right? And so whether you're a rock star, a wrestler, a professional bodybuilder, you know, corporate business guy, you know, God created us, especially as men, I feel very visual. Yes, sir. And so there's the challenge there is, and I believe, and maybe you might agree with this, you know, men are attracted to the female body. Absolutely.

I believe in reality, right? Absolutely. And so therein lies where we have to keep in check. Yes. I think it was Job who said, I make a covenant with my eyes, right?

Not to lust. Jesus raised the bar, right? Right. In the Old Testament, you knew he could get stoned for adultery. Right. And fornication, right? Sex outside of marriage. And then New Testament, Jesus raises the bar, goes, hey, if you even lust in your hearts.

Yeah. You've already done it. You've already done it.

You've already committed adultery. You're like, man, really, Jesus? We all gotta answer to him one day.

Right? Yeah. But let me go back to your faith, too. So your faith has helped you overcome that shortfall of when you're falling in love for the Lord.

And your dad, you said on part one, was very instrumental, I'm guessing, in teaching about the importance of having your life built upon the rock, upon Jesus. Yes, sir. And then over the course of your life, through all the tragedies that you've overcome, we said you are a poster child for an overcomer.

Yes, sir. And so you have drawn closer to the Lord. Let me ask you this, being an overcomer of cancer, a cancer survivor, so what was that experience like, Freddie? From the initial diagnosis of, Freddie, you've got cancer, and you said stage four, right? Pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer. So for those listening out there that maybe they're facing that right now, or a loved one is, what was your initial response? And then, of course, the Lord helped bring you through that, but what would you say was kind of your initial struggles with that? Well, my fiancee, Kim, was with me. She's my better half.

If you all ever want to say a pretty blonde, she's at my Concord gym. So anyway, she was by my side, and we went in because I had a raise in my stomach. My stomach doctor did breath tests, this, that. He called me on cell phone. He's a friend of mine, and I keep his body in shape, and we just have a good relationship. He calls me and says, Freddie, you need to be back at the office. And I said, when? He said, first thing in the morning.

I said, okay. So he, as a friend, told me, said, Freddie, you got to go to the cancer doctor. He wasn't supposed to tell me I had cancer, but he did because he was my dear friend. He said, I've already got it scheduled for you. And he got me in that week to Dr. Martini. He liked the drink, Martini and Charlotte. Awesome doctor.

He's a pancreatic special. So Dr. Ryan Dollar already called ahead and said, look, this man knows the body. You'll learn from him. He said, so when I met him, he says, I already know you know everything about eating, this, that, that. He said, I want to learn from you. I said, I want you to help me. So I said, are you a Christian? He said, yes, sir. I said, okay, we can talk. So he did my scans. We did my MRIs. I was going. Kurt and I trained NASCAR guys, too, and do a lot of body guarding.

We'll get into that later. But anyway, Kurt and Kyle Busch said, look, if you want to go to Houston, Texas, which is the biggest cancer center in the United States, we'll fly you tomorrow. I said, let me see if this guy's got good bedtime manner and let me see how I feel about him. So we went in and he took the scans. He pulled up on six TVs and showed me everything. And I was like, wow.

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?

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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. I was just speechless. He said, Freddy, you got stage four cancer. It's the size of maybe a small prune. He says, but it's going to grow.

He said and he knew anything I'd done, ate. So anyway, long story short, he says, here's how we do it. We'll cut the pancreas in half.

Pancreas is shaped like a fish and it's got a tail on it. So we're going to cut the pancreas in two. We're going to do this. There's going to be a team, I think, five doctors that go in.

We're going to do it Friday. And he says, we're going to take this thing out. And I said, well, what about chemo ready?

We don't even talk about that yet. He said, let me take care of this. So it was a seven hour surgery. I prayed and prayed and prayed that night. The next day, I said, God, if you get me through this, I'm going to change the way I live. It humbled me. I started loving people more.

Appreciating life more. And they did the surgery. When I woke up, my eyes, all I seen was angels. I didn't know if I was dead or not. Okay. But maybe you're in heaven.

Yeah. And next thing I know, there's doctors coming in. Kim's by my side. And my preacher at that time was with me the whole surgery. He stayed there because pancreatic cancer, guys, I don't know if you all know this or not, but 95% of the people die from pancreatic cancer. From pancreatic cancer. Wow. Yeah. That's one of the hardest cancers out there.

Wow. So they explained they cut the pancreas in half and they had to take all my spleen too because the blood vessels were connected to it. And to this day, six years ago, I go every year, do the MRI. There is still lesions in the bottom. I had to be careful.

I've never listened to these guys. God blessed me. He saved me. And there is a reason he left me here on earth. And I think it is to make a difference in people's life, whether through the gym or the people I meet.

You meet somebody every day in your life for a reason. And I think he left me here to spread his word, to love people more, and be a protector. I am a protector. And anyway, long story short, I do have a lesion still there. We get them checked every year.

They're not growing. Thank the Lord. And God saved me through this for a reason. And so I give him all the glory. And people out there, when you're on your deathbed or whatever, I'm telling you, don't just wait until you need him. Love God every day. Talk to Jesus like he's your buddy.

Talk to him like your friend. Yeah, you don't need a tragedy in your life to run to the Father, to run to the Lord Jesus. And I think what your life really illustrates too, Freddie, is, again, for those listening out there, you're listening to your story. You're a bodybuilder. Your body's a temple.

You're taking care of it. And we know from Scripture there's no promise of tomorrow, no guarantees. So you can do, let's just say, everything right when it comes to eating and exercising and doing all that and still get cancer. But what an opportunity then to put your faith and trust in the one who created you.

And if that's the case, like you've surrendered your heart to Jesus, the best outcome is, if you don't survive, in this case, the cancer, well, then you're with Jesus. Well, the ultimate prize, right? As far as that goes. You mentioned being a protector.

And I kind of tease the people at the end of show one that there's another passion in addition to all the other things we're talking about. And that is rescuing women and children out of trafficking. Can you just touch on that and why you're involved in that? And it's a major epidemic, right? Yes, sir.

Trafficking is, I think, the latest statistic has $150 billion industry. And it's demonic, as far as I'm concerned. It's evil. It's wicked. Yes, sir.

It's Satan, the devil, taken as something and perverting as he always does, something that God created to be beautiful, that being women and children. Just touch on that for a moment and why you... Is that part of the protection part of you? Yes. Back in the past, I've been a bodyguard forever for NASCAR, for all kinds of rock stars, even Kid Rock, down to the days and stuff. But anyway, about 10 years ago, I started building gyms for men's clinics and stuff like that, so it'd be their drug working out instead of drugs and alcohol. So I did that for Teen Challenge and a couple of different companies, and I'd build gyms and go speak to them and do that.

So then it come into another avenue. Me and Kim was talking one day, my fiance, and we said, we really need to help the women, too. And I said, let's figure out how we can help sex trafficking. So we started working in on that.

And then when all this kid stuff come up, 10 years old and less, it really struck my heart to help the kids more than just women. So right now, I've got 12 guys. We call them the 12 disciples that work with me. We do a lot of security stuff. We do some undercover stuff that we'll get into later or whatever. But anyway, I want to man up with other people that is doing this, and I want to be on the front line of saving these kids from sex trafficking. They don't have a voice because they're scared to death.

It's their life. You know, I really want to go down in Miami, the different places that has the cargo boxes and stuff, and just start cutting locks. And I do have credentials to do certain things, and very, very heavily armed.

Don't want to hurt nobody. I want to help people. And I think that's my next challenge, that God really wants me to rescue people, not just people here local, but people that are out there that don't have a voice or can't help their self. Yeah. And so what's interesting about that, in fact, on Truth Radio Network, a part of it is an organization called Lantern Rescue.

Yes. And they got their own radio show podcast. And these guys do similar to what you're describing and what you do. I've got to connect you guys together.

We're going to make sure that that happens. And just recently, I was watching some things too, and trying to better understand how do people get sucked into that. And of course, these cell phones that we all are attached to nowadays, I saw someone say the other day that the young men can now see more beautiful naked women in 15 minutes than a king could have in his lifetime at their fingertips.

Yes, sir. And so the enemy goes after them younger and younger and younger to try to suck them into the whole pornographic world. And then the images just don't become enough after a while. Or you mentioned being a bodyguard for Hollywood and how many encounters can you have before you get bored with it and then have to stimulate yourself with something else.

Want something else. And it just gets more and more and more perverted, right? And then the innocence of children. I'm reminded of the scripture.

Of course, I saw the movie Sound of Freedom with Tim Ballard, which is a real life story, a real life story. I saw it twice. Yeah. It bothered me so bad. Yeah.

And I understand. And because it's just sick. Yes. It's just sick. And what's crazy is he quoted, which I found out Jim Caviezo, who played Tim Ballard in the movie, quoted a scripture that says it'd be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and you be thrown into the depths of the ocean than to hurt one of these little ones, one of these children.

I don't know if you're familiar with it or realize it, Freddie, but that was not in the script. Yeah. That was a God moment. Yes. That as Jim is shooting the scene, that scripture came to his, it bubbled up in his spirit and he delivered that and they're like, oh my gosh, wow.

So well, we only got a few minutes left. I mean, but so you mentioned, you know, just you have that, that may be the next thing on the radar for you that God is putting your heart to pursue. The overall arching theme, I'm walking away from here when I think of Freddie Clark, when I think of your life and your life story is, of course, we have said over a couple of times, you know, Overcomer, you're an Overcomer, all the different surgeries and health issues and complications of cancer for stage four survivor and so your overall arching, you feel purpose, mission, maybe there's somebody out there that doesn't, they're like still trying to figure that out, right? What's my mission? What's my purpose? And what might you say to them? I mean, you got the clubs, you're on your heart to rescue women and children and what would you say to someone out there still maybe searching for their purpose or what they can get passionate about? Just pray every day that God is putting you in the line of people that where you need to be and you might be doing God's work already and you might need to take it to the next level and that's where I'm at now because he's took me to the next level and I've asked him and he got survived me from cancer and I said, God, I'll change my life more humble, help more people make a difference in people's life and that's what I'm doing for the people out there, biggest thing is just pray and listen. My biggest problem as a man, we're a fixer and I would always pick up our problem whether it's relationship, whether it's business or whatever, I would pick it back up and I should have left it in his hands and walked with him.

So when you're praying, talk to God like he's your buddy, man, talk to you like he's your best friend and if you'll sit back and listen, he'll tell you what to do next and it get emotional sometimes but that's because I've got a heart for God and people look at the outside and they know you as a bodybuilder and gym owner, I don't want them to know the Freddie Clark legacy about that, I want them to know that I'm doing, trying to do God's work and everybody out there has decisions to make, you turn left or right at the end of a road, always turn right, Sid, because you know, drugs, alcohol, sex, all this is not gonna... It's a dead end. It's no successor. It's a dead end, right? Yes, sir. Leads you to a dead end. Yes, sir. And you gotta take the right route. Leads you empty.

Yeah. And get around the right people, the right people. The fellowship of the right people. You're a great man of God and I love you and I respect everything you're doing and that's what I wanna do and I wanna be known for that. Well, I think you've got an incredible story, Freddie, you really do. You are genuinely an over... Be encouraged out there today as you're listening to Freddie Clark's story that you too can be an overcomer no matter what trial, tribulation, no matter what situation or circumstance you find yourself in today, no matter how negative it might be, if you turn your life over to Christ if you haven't yet, that's where it starts, that's the foundation. And then as Freddie just said, surround yourself with the right people and let God... And I like what you said about talk to the Lord, talk to God, but listen, listen.

If we'll learn to listen, scripture says, He'll be a light unto a path, a lamp unto our feet, He'll direct our steps and we'll be able to make a difference. And so how can people find you? Where can they learn more about you, Freddie? Freddie can find me through 24-7 Total Fitness, either Statesville, Concord. You got a Facebook?

Yes, Facebook page, Freddie Clark, Freddie with IE and Clark with an E. Okay. Have nothing to hide. We all make mistakes in life. The biggest thing I want to say out there for the men, man up, guys, that means man up, do God's work, be a man, take care of your body, take care of your health, take care of your loved ones, and be ready for things that's coming in this world. Well, and you said on part one that your dad's objective was to teach you about Jesus, how to respect women, and how to make money. Yes, sir.

And I would say at this point, your dad should be smiling from heaven because just hearing your story the last couple of weeks, there's no doubt that if those were his goals and objectives for his son, you are fulfilling that. And so, and I want to thank you once again for tuning in, dialing in to another show, another episode of The Man Up Show. And I just hope you go out today and live a God-filled, God-blessed life, and you were inspired by Freddie Clark's story. Thank you, sir. 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 Kolob.net and donate 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 Kolob here.

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