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Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one long. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian Nightmare, Nikita Kolov. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, the Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, Questions and Answers, where you get a personal phone call from yours truly, the Russian Nightmare, and you get to ask me a series of questions.
And it can be on any topic, and I very rarely ever know what you're going to ask, but that's okay. And with me today, I'm excited to have Jonathan Lovelace with me. Jonathan, welcome to Q&A with Kolov. Hey, Kolov, thank you for having me. It's great to be here. It's an honor. Well, great to have you with us. And of course, you're down in, if I'm not mistaken, you're down in the peach state of Georgia.
Is that right, Jonathan? Yes, sir, in Dallas, Georgia. I'm not making people know I'm in Dallas, Georgia, but it's about an hour west of Atlanta. It's interesting. Dallas, Georgia.
Okay, good. Obviously, yeah, most people think of Dallas. Of course, they think of the great state of Texas.
Exactly. But we've got a Dallas, North Carolina. In fact, a little sidebar footnote here. Years and years and years ago, I had a gym, a workout facility in Dallas, North Carolina, and didn't even know that existed until we opened up a gym there. So anyway, well, you're down in Dallas. Well, tell our listeners what you do down in Dallas, Georgia. What keeps you busy down there, Jonathan? Yeah, what keeps me busy? I'm actually a video editor, so I edit athlete podcasts. So I edit stuff like this. I listen to plenty of podcasts. And yeah, it's just a passion of mine.
I've been doing it for a couple of years. And so yeah, but I, let's see. Let me just jump in there real quick because Nick, my producer across the way, is just kind of grinning here like a Cheshire cat because he can identify with what you do because that's what he does for me, right? Yeah. So let me throw this out there too because we met just a while back, a while ago, actually at something called Man Camp.
Of course, many of our listeners are very familiar with Man Camp, but you were attending and the youngest one at camp at 21 years of age, right? Yes, sir. Yeah.
Yeah. I've helped out with a youth group for about three years. And one of the You're Now staff members, Matt, he helped with the youth group that I was helping out with.
So that was the connection there. And he just came to the Man Camp. When he came back, he was just like a totally new, different person. He's like, dude, he's talking to every man he knows. Like, you gotta, you gotta go to Man Camp.
It's like a walking hybrid kind of banner for Man Camp. And after another buddy of mine went too, he was just like, dude, it's crazy. They were just like, all right, all right, I'm going next April. And it was very good. It was very timely. I think, yeah, just the timeliness of it. It was just definitely very refreshing, refreshing for me and much needed. So, yeah. And it's also been a unique viewpoint to see it work in other, God work in other men's lives as well.
It's like at the beginning of the week versus the end of the week, how they just kind of come out without going into any details, but just see how God works. Yeah, just the overall experience for you, right? And I think what was pretty cool too, though, for me, you know, as a facilitator and watching it all happen, you know, as you're talking about watching it unfold is, you know, you're 21. Our oldest one attending camp in this particular camp was 69, getting ready to turn 70. And Bunkie Griffin, Bunkie Griffin, and Bunkie is a nickname, but he had stuck with him from basically from birth. But all that said, and then you had the opportunity to kind of, in a sense, team up. So we had the youngest and the oldest kind of team up together for the week.
And was that a cool experience for you as well? Yeah, yeah. I think it was a good pairing. Like there's just something about the youngest and the oldest. And that's the kind of company I do like. I mean, I love having people around my age too, but to just learn from people who are older than me. And I mean, I'm the youngest of seven siblings. And something I always say is I like to, I like being the youngest because I get to learn from everyone else's mistakes. So, yeah, I get to hear about other people's experiences from people who are older than me and just glean wisdom.
And that's always a place, that's always a company that I want to have. So yeah, it was a great experience. Well, and for our listeners out there, some are familiar, some may not be familiar, but it's almost kind of a, from a Bible standpoint, almost a Paul, the Apostle Paul and young Timothy kind of perspective, right? How Paul was kind of mentoring and discipling young Timothy and how Bunkie was able to sow into and pour into you. And let me, let me add last question regarding camp. So you're 21 years old and for all of our young listeners out there now, you know, we kind of, 18 is kind of the limit. You got to be 18 or older to attend camp, but what would you say, what would you say to inspire someone younger, maybe in their twenties or even an 18, 19 year old to want to attend man camp?
What was, what would be one thing you say to them to inspire them to seriously consider it? Yeah, I would say, um, there's lots of things that the world is going to have you do and goals to set and just all types of things that you should like touch the party scene or whatever that is going to be the natural flow of where you want to go. And something like going to this thing called man camp and, and you know, you don't really know what it's about.
It's like something to do with God or something, but they just do something and it's supposed to be good. It doesn't feel like the natural, um, natural desire, the natural inclination for what you want to do. But if you want to be like everyone else, that's cool. But also at the same time, if you want to call yourself a Christian, then we can't be just like everyone else. So there, there, there's something really powerful in, in wanting to be different and, and being the Christian that's different to, to not go along with the flow with the world. I mean, just like in Romans 12, it says, don't be conformed to the image of this world. Um, so really think about like, how, how am I going to stand out from the crowd?
How am I going to be a light in the world? Right. So would you say, Jonathan, would you say, jump in here a second.
Would you say then, uh, for, to consider coming because some of the, we'll just say tools or some of the equipping you receive at camp can help you go home and live and live that, that, that life different from the rest of the world. Would that be fair assumption? Okay. For sure. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Well, very cool. Well, Jonathan Loveless, 21 years old, uh, impacted it at man camp. Go to mancamp.info if you want more information on that. And for all the ladies who listen to Q and A with Kolov, maybe you've got that special man in your life, be something you might want to consider encouraging them to consider.
So, well, Jonathan, go ahead. Last thought I would say, yeah, I would say it's, it's, uh, something that any man could use, whether it's a man camp or not, just something we're just retreating for a week, getting away from all the distractions, all the responsibilities to just really focus on him. Focus on the Lord or just, um, just move forward in being a man.
Um, it's something that any man needs, any, any man can use growth in. That's good advice. Yeah.
Good advice. Yeah. Okay.
Cause that's part of the goal is to send men home, men of all ages, send them home better equipped, you know, to be godly men, godly husbands, godly fathers, and, and just to be more productive in society. So, well, all right, so let's transition this Q and A with Kolov. And so I want to give you, Jonathan, the opportunity to ask, ask me a couple of questions, two or three questions. So if you want to fire away at your first, let's roll. Yeah. All right. Well, hopefully my questions won't have already been asked like 20 times before, but I will.
Even if they have, they never heard you ask it. So there you go. Fresh perspective.
So I want to go back to your, um, your wrestling days. So, um, the, there was like a conservative estimate, the money that you missed out on by leaving when you did. So like something like 30 to 50 million, that was, that was your guys estimate. Um, there are people out there, Christians included myself, even distracted at times, um, who are basically chasing how much money they can make. And sort of making that the goal. Um, so for you being in that, you know, unique opportunity, um, what was that process like for you in taking on the goals that God has for you and not what the world has? Yeah.
Great question. Cause, and, and just to put it in perspective for people listening out there, you know, Luger and I, Lex Luger and I sat down and kind of try, try to, as you said, conservative, conservatively calculate, you know, had I spent another 10 years there or, or more, you know, between wrestling and, and even marketing, right. Action figures and no lunch boxes and all kinds of other stuff that, that evolved, you know, what, what did I, what did I walk away from now for the record?
Did I know I was walking away from all that in November, 1992 at the tail end at 92, you know, no, I, I, I didn't, it wasn't till after, you know, with the explosion of pay-per-view and all of that, you know, that I, right. That I finally realized, or I really realized, you know, what I walked away from, but for the same on record saying no, no regrets either, you know, because I'm reminded of a scripture says, you know, a couple of things, a couple of scriptures. What shall the prophet man gain the whole world, but loses soul and the other scripture, Jonathan, I'm reminded of is you can store up treasures on earth that moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, or you can focus on storing up treasures in heaven that they can't steal and they can't break in. Right.
And it's not going to be destroyed. And so when I made that transition from the wrestling ring and giving my life to Christ and then becoming a Christ follower, and then him setting me on this path of whether it's a man camp or a man up conference or man up steak dinner or breakfast or preaching on a Sunday or just out doing autograph signings, you know, which I still do. My whole focus shifted away from, you know, as Lex says, you know, you know, the, the chasing after the wind you know, after all the baubles and trinkets and all those sorts of things to, to shifting to storing up treasure in heaven, not, not treasure here on earth. And so it was an inch looking back, it was an interesting transition. Um, but a person has to one come to that resolve in their heart, one that they're, they want to be a Christ follower.
And then once they make that decision, trusting the Lord to lead them on, on the ultimate path, a holy calling, if you will, that he has for each and every one of us, does that make sense and kind of answer your question? Yeah, that's good. That's good.
Okay. 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. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. 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. When your eyesight is at stake, it pays to travel to one of the world's leading eye surgeons. Dr. Johnny Gaten is an author, speaker, Christian leader, and a committed family man. He is also a pioneering cataract and glaucoma surgeon. That's why I chose him for my eye surgery.
Check out Dr. Johnny Gaten at eyesightassociates.com. If you would like to support Koloff 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.koloff.net and donate today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. You got another one for me? Yeah, and so in the same vein, in the wrestling days, what's maybe like a big takeaway, and maybe this might intertwine with your last question, with your last answer, but a big takeaway of what God has taught you through all of that stuff in that world of BC, before Christ. In wrestling, the fame, the money, probably women, whatever, all these things that so many people are chasing after, and they feel like they really want. They think that that's ultimate.
That's what's going to bring them happiness. Yeah, so big takeaway of what God has taught you through all that. Well, and again, great question again, and it does kind of tie in, because the thing that immediately comes to mind is King Solomon, who Scripture says, the wealthiest guy ever to walk, there would be nobody wealthier before him, there'd be nobody wealthier after him. And if you consider that for a moment, think of the Jeff Bezos and the Zuckerbergs and the Elon Musks of the world, and how many billions of dollars they have, but yet God said, there'd be nobody wealthier than King Solomon ever.
Wow, how do you calculate that, right? And so, Solomon, you go read the book of Ecclesiastes that he wrote, and of course he wrote, I think he wrote or was a part of like 3,000 proverbs, and I mean, he did a lot, right? And he went after it all, right? He, in his account, did everything under the sun, and at the end of the day, Jonathan, he's kind of penned these words, meaningless, meaningless, or another translation says vanity, vanity, it's all vanity, it's all meaningless. And he concludes, right? So he concludes in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, he says, he boils it down to basically three things, right?
He says, here it is, he says, fear God, right? So he boils it down, concluding the thoughts, everything is meaningless, says the teacher, completely meaningless. Keep this in mind, the teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew, he listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them, he sought to find just the right words to express truth clearly, right? He goes on to say, my child, let me give you some further advice, be careful, you know, writing books is endless, much study wears you out, here's the whole story, ready? So here it is, folks, here's his final conclusion, the wisest man it says on the planet, the wealthiest man on the planet, he says this, fear God, and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. So really just kind of distills it down into really one thing, and then he says, God would judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
Whew, that's pretty sobering, right? So that's kind of, in this stage of life where I'm at, for the best advice I can give anyone out there listening, you might want to consider that to be your focus moving forward. So yeah, great question. That's, you know, the epidemic is like, I think, I've heard it said that the best way to run from something is to run to something. I've also heard it that like, so you have a basketball gym, and at halftime they switch goals, and maybe at halftime, if it's a team, they're less experienced, they start going after the goal that they're going at the first half, but the goal is switch. And so that's what it can be like with life, is like, we're going after the wrong goal. It looks the same, it looks good, but it's actually the wrong goal, and you're making your focus the money, the fame, whatever accolades, when really it's about seeking him first and putting treasures in heaven.
Let me jump in on that. What a great visual you just gave. Now, I'm not a big basketball guy, but I am familiar with the game. What a great visual, John.
Listen, 21-year-old young man here, just spouting wisdom right now for you listening out there. Listen, a basketball, so at halftime, they switch and go, and of course, obviously, football, they switch at halftime, right, and go the other way as well. So different sporting events, but what a visual to say, okay, we're going towards this goal, but wait a minute, is that the goal I'm supposed to be going towards?
Maybe I need to do a 180 and go in the other direction. So that's amazing. All right, we got time for one more. Have you got one more? Yeah, yeah, I won't take credit for that. I've heard it myself. Again, nothing new under the sun, right, but hey, you brought it into the light for somebody, Jonathan.
All right, you got one more for me? Yeah, I would say how to push past what you feel, just in any area of life, especially if it's been like, if it's like a long rut of feeling a certain way, feeling undisciplined, feeling whatever. Maybe you don't have, maybe you've never had a season where you've felt undisciplined or whatever, but how to push past what you feel. If what you feel is contrary to what you know you should be doing, whether it's just growing as a person, growing spiritually, whatever. The word motivation comes to mind.
What I, in a sense, kind of hear you saying is how do you motivate yourself to get out of the rut and push past that? I'm going to use the gym equation because 53 years I've been working out in the gym. And for whatever reason, there have been plenty of days I did not feel like going to the gym. And it would have been easier just to roll over and not get out of bed and go, ah, I'll do it tomorrow.
Right? But I feel fortunate, Jonathan, that I guess innately inside of me, I'm like, no, I'm getting out of bed, I'm getting dressed, I'm going to the gym, I'm going to work out. I couldn't even begin to count how many days I have felt like that, only to say walking out of the gym, I was like, whew, man, I'm so glad I went.
And Jonathan, it doesn't even have to be the best workout on the planet. It may not have even been my best workout, but the fact I just, I still went. And so I would say for those out there who struggle with that, struggle getting out of the rut or, you know, or you lack motivation, you just got to search, do some deep, I'd say, inner searching.
Right? To say, what, why, find out why, what, why, what, why can I not get motivated to go, whatever it is, whether it's the gym or anything else, you know, to get out of bed. You got to find your why. I'm going to summarize by saying this, find your why, what motivates you to get out of bed.
And if you don't have that, it is going to be easier just to roll over and, and remain in a rut and, and not, and not move on to either something else or, or achieve a greater success in your life. And so the why you've got to figure out what motivates you and why. So, all right. Well, great questions, man. And you know what? I don't know. Lisa, I don't know.
I've been asked them in that way before. So you brought some new things to the table today, Jonathan. Cool. Well, I'm glad, glad to hear. Jonathan Lovelace, Dallas, Georgia, and, uh, one of, one of our younger attendees for, for man camp.
But it was great to be able to spend a few days with you, spend some time with you. I know Matthew Hitch, who encouraged you to come. I know he was excited that one, that you were coming and then two, uh, he and I talked post camp. And, and so here's the challenge for you and for anyone who's attended camp is that it's to continue to walk it out, right? To take the tools you were given, the lessons you were, you learned and, and continue to apply them.
I was at lunch today with a friend, uh, actually one of the producers of Man Up show, Robbie Dilmore, and he's got several shows of his own. And the word he brought or the phrase he brought up, Jonathan was, was lasting fruit. It's one thing to go to a camp or you said, or anything else, um, you know, a business seminar or whatever else. It's one thing to go to that, that event. It's another thing to come home and apply it. And then there'll be lasting fruit, you know, months and years down the road.
So it's not just a, you know, a mountain high, but it's something that, that, uh, you implement into your life as a lifestyle. Right. So, awesome. Awesome, Jonathan. Well, thank you for being a part of Q and A with Koloff today. Yes, sir.
It was great. And we'll look forward to, I'm sure I'll get down. I get down to the Peach State often and go down and visit my buddy Lex. And of course I'll be doing some more ministry down there in the future. And so I look forward to seeing you somewhere down the road. Cool.
All right. And to all you out there and listening to Anne, thank you for being so faithful each and every week to tune into Q and A with Koloff. And my challenge to you today is go out and live a God-filled, God-blessed 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.
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 wsmcthenumberone.com because you are number one. If you are enjoying Q and 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.
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