Start The World Jack Donovan

Caskey is hip-hop artist whose recent album "This Isn't Even My Final Form" topped the iTunes hip-hop charts. Caskey has been a successful artist for 10 years, but recently made some positive life changes. Today, he aims to be a productive and inspiring influence on his fans, on other artists, and on the broader hip-hop community.
Caskey and I connected recently through social media, and I managed to book an interview with him and then go meet him and see one of his shows (he's currently on tour). We talked about fitness, art, poetry, spirituality, and staying focus.
Caskey's energy is infectious, and in a world where everyone seems to want to become a motivational speaker -- right now, the man just can't help it. By the time I was done talking to him, I wanted to go out and take over the world.
To paraphrase "Thus Spake Zarathustra," Caskey went to the mountain with ashes, and now he's coming down into the valley and he’s bringing fire.
Caskeyhttps://bakingwithcaskey.com
https://www.instagram.com/caskey/
Books MentionedFire in the Dark by Jack Donovan
Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche
Odin and the Mead of Poetry -- told well originally in the Prose Edda, but told recently and well in Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology
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Instagram
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Ian Smith is the co-owner of Atilis Gym in New Jersey, which has openly and publicly defied the state's draconian lockdown orders. He and his business partner have been arrested, had their business license pulled, and have been fined over a million dollars. (They’re still being fined over $15,000 a day). He made a decision to take a public stand — because someone had to do it. He’s doing what millions of men are afraid to do, and I think he deserves to be recognized and applauded for it. 
We had a really animated conversation about bullies and freedom and masculinity. 
Follow Ian on Instagram @iansmithfitness and consider contributing to his legal defense fund. 
https://atilisfundraiser.com/

John Sonmez is the man behind  @Bulldog Mindset  -- a large and growing community of men working to better themselves physically, socially, and financially. John started out as a nerdy software guy, then worked to become a millionaire, retire at 33, and transform himself mentally and physically. Now he spends a lot of his time coaching other men. I met John recently when he spoke at the  @21 Studios  convention in Orlando, and he's the real deal. We talked for an hour about philosophy and some of the problems men face today, but one part of the conversation that stood out was his story about "becoming a finisher." A lot of guys have great ideas, but end up leaving a trail of unfinished projects behind them.
Mentioned : Seneca's letters to Lucilius

https://bulldogmindset.com
 @Bulldog Mindset 
Instagram @ bulldogmindset

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Trainer and speaker Alexander Cortes had a wild 2020. He was on vacation in Egypt as the lockdowns started. He ended up flying to Thailand and decided to live there for the rest of the year, where he trained Muay Thai under Sagat. We also talk about Ancient Greek training, training outdoors, and much more.
To purchase AJAC's research into Ancient Athletics, follow this link:
https://gumroad.com/l/UKOld
Sign up for my mailing list for exclusive essays, news, special offers, and more.
https://bit.ly/2Y69xdt
Support this podcast, the growing mailing list, and get early access to new content and offers via Patreon.
https://www.patreon.com/starttheworld

Warming up to start recording the audiobook for Fire in the Dark by reading this grim but perhaps uncomfortably relevant poem by Lord Byron.
Darkness
by Lord Byron

I had a dream, which was not all a dream. 
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars 
Did wander darkling in the eternal space, 
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth 
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air; 
Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day, 
And men forgot their passions in the dread 
Of this their desolation; and all hearts 
Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light: 
And they did live by watchfires—and the thrones, 
The palaces of crowned kings—the huts, 
The habitations of all things which dwell, 
Were burnt for beacons; cities were consum'd, 
And men were gather'd round their blazing homes 
To look once more into each other's face; 
Happy were those who dwelt within the eye 
Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch: 
A fearful hope was all the world contain'd; 
Forests were set on fire—but hour by hour 
They fell and faded—and the crackling trunks 
Extinguish'd with a crash—and all was black. 
The brows of men by the despairing light 
Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits 
The flashes fell upon them; some lay down 
And hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest 
Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smil'd; 
And others hurried to and fro, and fed 
Their funeral piles with fuel, and look'd up 
With mad disquietude on the dull sky, 
The pall of a past world; and then again 
With curses cast them down upon the dust, 
And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd: the wild birds shriek'd 
And, terrified, did flutter on the ground, 
And flap their useless wings; the wildest brutes 
Came tame and tremulous; and vipers crawl'd 
And twin'd themselves among the multitude, 
Hissing, but stingless—they were slain for food. 
And War, which for a moment was no more, 
Did glut himself again: a meal was bought 
With blood, and each sate sullenly apart 
Gorging himself in gloom: no love was left; 
All earth was but one thought—and that was death 
Immediate and inglorious; and the pang 
Of famine fed upon all entrails—men 
Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh; 
The meagre by the meagre were devour'd, 
Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one, 
And he was faithful to a corse, and kept 
The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay, 
Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead 
Lur'd their lank jaws; himself sought out no food, 
But with a piteous and perpetual moan, 
And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand 
Which answer'd not with a caress—he died. 
The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two 
Of an enormous city did survive, 
And they were enemies: they met beside 
The dying embers of an altar-place 
Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things 
For an unholy usage; they rak'd up, 
And shivering scrap'd with their cold skeleton hands 
The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath 
Blew for a little life, and made a flame 
Which was a mockery; then they lifted up 
Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld 
Each other's aspects—saw, and shriek'd, and died— 
Even of their mutual hideousness they died, 
Unknowing who he was upon whose...

I met Elliot Hulse last year at the 21 Convention and was psyched to have him on the show to talk about why he wants to make men strong again. We discussed the importance of strong father figures, myth, and the concept of chaos vs. order in life and in society -- especially relevant now that chaos seems to be running wild in cities across the nation. We also got to talk about current events, and I highly recommend his video "The American Mind Virus" to get an introduction to where his head is at these days.
The American Mind Virus
https://youtu.be/6oUYP6uj3EQ

https://elliotthulse.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/elliottsaidwhat
Instagram: @elliotthulse