 I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. My books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game are about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence, which is what this show is all about. My special guest today went from being an orphan in Ukraine to becoming a fitness champion in the United States, and much, much more. He is Michael Vitaly Vernon, and today we are going Beyond Fitness. Hey, Michael, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Well, hello. Welcome, and thank you for the introduction. Michael, I know for a few years now, and you have such an incredible story. I mean, I'm so excited to feature you and to have people just really know where you were and where you are now, but let's start from the beginning. Can you tell me about some specific experiences that you had as an orphan in Ukraine? Well, Rusty, I was kind of born as an orphan, basically. My mother, she was a drunk and prostitute, so she abandoned us early on. I was four or five years old, so at that age, early on, I learned to survive, survive for myself, and part of that survival was stealing food from the neighbors and looking back on the hindsight, I had to do what I had to do to survive, but day in, day out, it was quite obvious that we didn't have food, so I would always be stealing food from the neighbors. That's just what you do. The challenges was that I didn't have an adult figure, so I was raised with my two sisters who were also orphans. They ended up going to orphanages at the age of six. When my mother abandoned me, my father died, I went to the orphanage, and at the orphanage, there was a good amount of kids there as well, and amongst those kids, I made friends, and part of that is that we would talk about our parents who weren't there for us, so that really made us bond as people. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know what else to tell you other than that it was tough. No, Michael, when you're saying that food, just basic survival, that you actually had to steal food to survive, that really says a lot right there. I'm not proud of it, but I had to do what I had to do to survive, and that character, at that time, it really, moving forward as an adult, it created a mindset of survival. I'm not saying, don't steal. I'm not saying steal, and I'm not condoning stealing, but what I'm saying is the mindset of survival that I have today is there, and it's been able to help me throughout my life. Michael, tell me about you being adopted at age 12, and your brother at age 10. Well, first of all, when I was adopted, it's a miracle really, Rusty, because it's unheard of to get adopted at that age. You were quite old. I know what helped me was the fact that I looked like I was a seven-year-old, so that helped a lot. Obviously, I didn't have the nutrition to look like a 12-year-old, but that was a miracle. My brother and I, we were both orphans, we were raised together, we're close, and my mother, who's a big figure in my life, she went to Ukraine with my father. They had cash on them on each side of the, like the raincoat, the raincoat, when I had to travel to be concealed, and at that time, that's what they had to do. Looking back at that, I realized the sacrifice they made to go to Ukraine at that time, a third-world country, with all that cash to adopt us, because it's a cash society. Looking back at that, being a 12-year-old, get adopted as a miracle, you know, with my brother. No, that's truly extraordinary, and it says a lot about your mom, and can you tell me how Arnold Schwarzenegger has influenced you? Yeah, as we were talking earlier, being in the United States, the culture is different. I had the language barrier, the culture barrier, so I would often find myself in the library looking at books. I would look at a lot of pictures, and one of the books, early books that I found was a book by Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he had pictures, and that paved the way for my career today. He's a very inspiring and very active individual at that time. And in Ukraine, at the gyms, we had a lot of posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger, so I kind of already knew what to look for in the USA. Now Michael, you became a United States Marine in 2010 to 2015 for five years. Why did you decide to join the Marines? That's a great question. I've always been in the mindset of doing something that's difficult, and at that time, I wanted to start my new country, USA. And I thought that joining the most respectable force would be the way to go. So I joined the United States Marine Corps in 2010, three months after graduating high school, graduated high school, and off I was to boot camp. And I haven't looked back since. So what are some things that you learned during your time as a Marine? Well, I'm grateful to be out. But the Marine Corps really taught me discipline, farther discipline. It taught me to grow up very, very quickly. And it taught me that brotherhood is everything because there's a lot of young men who are going through the same hardships that we are in the military. The Marines get two types of people. There's people that come from the affluent families, and there are people, young men joined who are from troubled families. And Marine Corps, it doesn't discriminate. Everybody is one. And people are able to really bond over their different diversified backgrounds. And for me, I kind of fell in between. And I did all the typical things military does, you know, all the stereotypical things such as drinking. And this is what I've learned from the Marine Corps. I'm seven years sober today. And I've learned that that behavior in the military was really, if I was to get out, it was really kind of holding me back as an athlete, as a professional, and as a friend. So I did learn that I don't need to drink to cope with life. And Marine Corps really creates that foundation with the hardship that a lot of young men, they drink and they're to cope with, you know, with the military industrial complex. And I was that story. I drank through military, but today I'm sober, I'm seven years sober, and I'm grateful for that. But that's what I've learned as well, is that I don't have to drink to live life. No, that's great insights, hearing, you know, those things from you, Michael. And, you know, you you have won multiple bodybuilding competitions, you're a fitness champion. You won the Paradise Cup. Tell me tell me why you wanted to or how you got into these competitions. Funny story. One of my dear friends at that time in the Marine Corps, he I've always been fit, you know, ever since I picked up that Arnold Schwarzenegger book at the age of 12. So I've always had that fitness foundation. And that's that's my medicine. But I remember a Marine approaching me in the gym and he said, Hey, Michael, you should join this competition. You'll be very good. I bet you'll do very well. And I said, I'm good. Thank you. I'll stick to what I love to do. And that is workout. Then he approached me again and he said, Listen, I'll pay for the entrance fee. I'll pay for for you to compete. It'll be worth it. Well, sure enough, I signed up and it was a novice bodybuilding middleweight. I prepared for about three weeks, you know, and I ended up winning my division. So that was in 2014, as I was transitioned out of the Marine Corps. And I went on to win another show in 2015, physique. And then I went on in 2016, a classic physique. So I ended up winning three, three fitness shows on Hawaii back to back. So that was encouraging. And then as I went on into California, I won a show over there in California. And then the somebody said, Hey, Michael, you know, you should try fitness modeling. Okay. I went and did that, ended up, I ended up going to a fitness modeling search at the Olympia is in 2015, 16 ended up placing top seven at the, in the world for the modeling search. But my height wasn't there, you know, all those, all those guys are very tall. But that didn't discourage me, you know, I didn't win, but that didn't discourage me. And I didn't win with, with just working out and, and having living a healthy life like that. Well, Michael, I got to say, I mean, you, you have muscles everywhere. I mean, you have muscles in places where I didn't think muscles exist. And you're, you're also a very highly sought after personal trainer. Can you tell me about that? Well, thank you. I work with clients today who are willing to change. I don't, I'm not chasing anybody today. I have one client, Brian, who, who has lost a hundred pounds. And I really work with them closely. It's, it really is like raising a child, you know, it's, it's mental, physical and emotional supportive as well. I use the same philosophy like in your book, you know, consistency, consistency, consistency, consistency. And that's my philosophy, just be consistent. But this gentleman, he, he is willing and anybody that is willing, Rusty, you know, I'm there to serve them really, I'm there to serve them. I'm not there to make money. I'm there to serve them. I'm here to serve people. No, that's so, that's so good to hear, Michael. And, you know, besides family, who is someone that was a positive influence in your life in the success that you have now? I remember in, in 2015, I met, I needed a, as I was going into college and in college and getting established as a young athlete and model. There's a lot of, a lot of the attention goes all over the place. And a lot of things come to you, right, on the path of success. And I needed to have, I prayed on having a holistic life coach. Right. And it was shout out to Brandy Kiana Joe, who is wonderful. I've worked with her for five years now. And she's, she's a great role model, very professional, and she's really paved the way for me to really be vulnerable when, when, when sharing my story. And she was that first professional person who really paved the way to, to be able to open up and share the story, paint a picture with others. And that led me to go into acting school as well. So I can be more vulnerable and share the experience. And that's a whole different conversation there too. No, Michael, and you and I met each other because a few years ago, we were guest speakers at one of Brandy's amazing events. And what's, what's, what do you feel is one of the biggest things that she helped you with as a life coach? You know, Brandy, she's, she's really taught me to, to tap into that spiritual side of the, as beings, really to tap into that spiritual side of us. And, and she's, she's always, her words just kind of flow out of her mouth and always so soothing, you know, like a mother and, and really positive experience, but she really taught me to kind of open up that third eye. Right. This pineal gland and really to see the world in a bigger picture. So I'm really grateful for that. No, that's great to hear. And I want to ask you, Michael, about my books, you know, earlier, you mentioned about how important consistency is. And I definitely talk about that. And, and what are some, what are some other things in the book that really stood out to you? You know, early on, you say, you mentioned this, you know, this and I see this from all the successful coaches and you're, you're just an anomaly, Ross. You congratulations on the 22 championships. That's, that's unheard of waking up. We all have a choice and that is when we wake up, I would kind of make the better or not. It's a, it's such a simple analogy, but it goes very, very far. You know, in life, in life, we can either look at our failures, or success, right? We can, you know, one failure can define us, right? And the 99, 99 successful things will be ignored, right? So it's, as a leader, it's important to, to continue evolving, continue looking at all the, all the, you know, all the mistakes we made and grow from them, you know? And I, you know, you mentioned that it's, it's the key to learn from the mistakes and continue evolving and don't let the mistakes create your future, right? Don't let that bad experience define you in the future, learn from it. Yeah, no, for sure. And Michael, I mean, you, you also are huge about mindset. And I talk a lot about mindset in the book and choices that you make. And, you know, for you, as, as a successful fitness champion, as a model, as a successful entrepreneur, you know, talk to me about what your mindset is and how you have discipline to do your workouts every day. Yes, the mindset, the mindset is huge. The earlier example, I use making that simple choice, making the bed, that is, that is the commitment every morning we wake up, we're committed to making the bed, right? And, and for me, I'm committed, whether it's my client that I'm training, I'm committed, whether it's my blockchain business that I'm involved in, I'm committed, whether it's the TV show that I'm involved with, I'm committed. The discipline has a lot to do with it. Obviously, being an athlete, the discipline is big element in the mindset, as you know. So with that being said, the mindset, the mindset has, has a big, is a big foundation in being disciplined and committed. Now, Michael, you're, you're also a producer of a show. Can you tell me more about that part of your, of what you're doing? Well, in 2018, I graduated Hawaii Pacific University with a finance degree, an organizational change in development. And three months later, I went into acting school. Joanne Lee Strasberg, Fillman Theater Institute in Los Angeles, prestigious theater. A lot of legends are made there, including Marilyn Monroe, Danza Washington, I mean, any name, they all went there and studied there. So for me, being there, surrounding, be able to see, smell, feel and touch some of the pictures of the past great artists and who are currently acting in the industry, that really created a foundation for me and created a legacy. So I feel like I have a legacy to live to. So right away, there was an opportunity presented with, with a TV show called Sungra Negra. It's up and running on Tubino and Amazon Prime. And being, having that business background, education and being a Marine, the opportunity presented itself. And I made a choice to get hands-on involved in the production right away. There's no, no better teacher than being involved hands-on right away. So I've been with the TV show for two and a half, three years now, called Sungra Negra. It's a political crime drama, a film in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. And I'm an executive producer on the show and I have a little cameo later on, and later on in episodes. So that's, that's pretty exciting as an actor too. So yeah, it's Sungra Negra. It's called Sungra Negra. Oh, that's fantastic, Michael. And earlier you touched on, you know, that you're, you're part of a blockchain cryptocurrency company. And, and, you know, you're on the cutting edge of that. Can, can you tell me a little bit more about that part? Yes. Well, the, I've been, I've been surrounded in the, in the blockchain space. I've known about it since 2012, since the military. And, and as I graduated college with a finance degree, again, I had to make a choice. What I'm going to do for the career as far as the, all that education I got. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies is a big factor in the finance and the way the economies can move in the future. And I started studying that in 2018. And I've been involved with a company called the Duo Blockchain Solutions that is focused on their remittance industry, mobile payments. And it's, and it's on blockchain runs on the blockchain technology. Man, that's, you know, it's fascinating, Michael, because as you know, last week, Bitcoin passed $40,000. And, you know, it's, it just seems like, you know, to be where you were at the beginnings of it and learning more about it, a lot of people really don't know about cryptocurrency because it's so, so new. What are your thoughts about that? I laugh because I, you know, you ever have a, I'll give back to you, to your question, but just to, to give insight to the audience who, who may be watching and involved in sales. I'm, I'm sure I'm that guy that's on my, you know, on my social media that's always posting about blockchain. And they're always saying, oh, here goes Michael again, posted about blockchain. What's new? Here goes Michael again, posted about blockchain. Consistency, right? My, my thoughts on that is that it's, it's going to be the future, Rusty. It's the future. We're seeing health industries. We're seeing, we're seeing finance banking sectors. We're seeing big retailers utilizing the technology, the blockchain, which is an blockchain is very simple put in layman's terms. It's a, it's an open public ledger that's transparent and it keeps records forever. That's what basic definition of the blockchain on that sense. Well, no, it's it, you know, people are, are afraid of the unknowns, right? And then that's, that's just normal. But to see the, the immense growth that, that part of the market has had in the last few years is just mind blowing. And Michael, you know, when you look back on your life so far, what's, what's something that you want to do, but you just haven't had a chance to do it yet? Well, going to Mars is, is going to be, is I'm going to put that on my bucket list. But getting, getting grounded, right? Back to the earth. One of my goals is, I have a nonprofit and one of my goals is to open up a blockchain as a 21st century employment opportunity. You know, you school that offers AI, blockchain, coding. I want to do that in Ukraine, my home country. It's, I feel that would be the best way to get back to my people. That's something that I want to do. I've been visiting Ukraine the last seven years. Go over there, volunteer, give my time and resources to kids. I love doing that. It's every leader, every influencer should have some sort of a philanthropic cause and I do that and it gives me, it fulfills me, it gives me purpose. But if I had a wish list right now, I would love to build a school there and empower the next generation youth to, to, to empower them to be sick with getting career. That's kind of makes sense in the 21st century. Michael, okay. So you, you said you've been back to the Ukraine to, to really help the kids. How many times have you been back to the Ukraine since you got adopted? And what, what has been the response from the kids? You know, when you, when you're able to interact with them? I've been in back for about, you know, six, seven times now. This year, you know, the COVID, the travel restrictions would have been my seventh time. The kids, the kids are amazing, by the way. They're just, I mean, if you could go adopt, adopt, you know, I'm definitely kind of adopt. The kids, they're, the kids, you know, when you're a child, there, you got no worries in the world, right? And that's how they are over there. When they, when they see a former orphan, when I get to share a store with them, they're really uplifted and inspired and motivated. And my message to them, love one another. Let's not, let's not compete. Let's not divide, but love one another. Because as a, as a team, together, everyone will achieve more, right? You know what I'm saying? It's been really wonderful, Rusty. It's been wonderful in the sense that I can just, you know, anytime I'm there, I get it, I get bags of groceries, right? Bananas, fruits, all the healthy things. And what we do, we'll go out in the park and we'll exercise and we'll eat the fruit and we'll just, we'll just chat and we'll share messages, good stories and good messages. And being a role model is, is, is great over there. Well, you know, Michael, it's amazing. You're, it seems like you're following the path of your idol, Arnold Schwarzenegger. And I wouldn't be surprised if you become governor someday as well, right? You never know. I am involved, I am involved here locally with the sustainability modeling. So there's, the world needs a lot of help, you know, and, you know, I would complain early on, especially in the Marine Corps, in the culture. And what I've come to realize to learn is that if you want to see the change, you've got to be change. You've got to be that change, you know, it's very simple. Yeah, no, I like hearing that. And Michael, I want to thank you for taking time to be on the show today. I mean, you are someone that definitely goes beyond the lines. I mean, you're very inspiring. And I know you're going to continue to impact a lot of people in your life. Well, thank you, Rusty. I'm grateful to be here. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on your wonderful show beyond the lines. Thank you, Michael. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com. And my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Michael and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.