#2557 - Yakov Smirnoff

The Joe Rogan Experience

Yakov Smirnoff recounts his dramatic career shift from a high-profile American comedian to a struggling performer following the collapse of

Key takeaways

• Yakov Smirnoff's career plummeted after the Soviet Union fell because his 'Russian' persona lost its comedic relevance.
• Smirnoff successfully pivoted to Branson, Missouri, by creating a family-friendly brand and even serving breakfast in his theater.

Main topics

• Career Resilience
• The Fall of the Soviet Union

Notable quotes

Laughter is medicine.

Conclusion

A powerful testament to the ability to reinvent oneself through educat

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:03) The Joe Rogan Experience. Train Speaker 3 (0:06) by day, Joe Rogan Speaker 1 (0:07) podcast by night, all day. Speaker 2 (0:12) Let's go, Yakov. What's happening, baby? How are you? I'm doing good. Good Speaker 3 (0:16) to Speaker 2 (0:16) see Speaker 1 (0:16) you. Speaker 2 (0:16) Nice to see you. I know. Jamie snuck it up on us. Bam! Just turn it on. Bam! That way you don't have a chance to freak out. Thank you. What's in the bag? What do you got in there? Speaker 1 (0:27) Okay, so there are a couple of things. Speaker 2 (0:29) Oh, a couple of things. Speaker 3 (0:30) One is a piece of Speaker 2 (0:35) the mural that I painted Speaker 1 (0:36) at the Ground Speaker 3 (0:37) Zero. and I thought it would be interesting for you to have. Speaker 2 (0:41) You painted a mural at Ground Zero? Speaker 3 (0:43) Yeah. Speaker 2 (0:43) Oh, wow. Yeah, Speaker 3 (0:44) so that was something, and I actually sent them, Paul Harvey did the... the rest of the story about that. And I sent them a video if they wanted to. Yeah, I don't know if we can play that, unfortunately. Speaker 2 (0:59) I Speaker 3 (0:59) think Speaker 2 (1:00) it's got like a copyright to it. Speaker 3 (1:02) Actually, I Speaker 2 (1:03) was... We were told. Isn't that what they said? Speaker 3 (1:06) Yeah. Speaker 2 (1:07) Right. So there's the mural. There's a photo of the mural. Speaker 3 (1:11) Right, right. And it was... I was in touch with Paul Harvey Jr. asking if that would be okay and they said it's fine and they'll send you. Yeah, but Speaker 2 (1:21) I don't think they own it, you know what I'm saying? They own Speaker 3 (1:25) his voice. Speaker 2 (1:27) Right, but it's probably, if it's on Paul Harvey's television show, right? Speaker 3 (1:31) No, no, no. A radio show. It was a radio, yeah. Right, Speaker 2 (1:33) if it's on Paul Harvey's radio show, it's probably copywritten. Did we have a problem when we played the Taylor Sheridan one? Remember we played that whole thing? It's just an issue? It's Speaker 1 (1:44) an issue. Speaker 3 (1:45) It's an issue. Don't sweat it. So Speaker 2 (1:46) anyway, you had a mural. Yeah, that's, and Speaker 3 (1:50) there Speaker 2 (1:50) was a couple of other little. Speaker 3 (1:52) You got to Speaker 2 (1:53) talk into the microphone. Sorry. That's all right. You wear headphones if you want, that way you can hear yourself. Yes. You don't have to. This is real. This is Speaker 3 (2:02) real? What Speaker 2 (2:03) do you Speaker 3 (2:03) mean? No, like I watch you and I'm in such an awe of what you were able to, your career, your trajectory, how you were able to sustain that longevity and then transition to this amazing. voice. It's just, it's been an honor to know you and be here. So I'm a little nervous. Well, Speaker 2 (2:30) don't be nervous. Speaker 3 (2:31) Because Speaker 2 (2:32) listen, it's all just dumb luck. There's a giant percentage of it that's dumb luck. That's a fact. I mean, I'm very persistent. That helps. But this thing, the podcast, is a lot of it is luck. You know how people talk about having a vision board? Oh, I had a vision board I imagined. People say that to me all the time. I'm Speaker 1 (2:50) like, Speaker 2 (2:50) I'm sure you did that with this show. I'm like, I didn't Speaker 1 (2:53) do anything of the sort. I just kept doing it, and it got big. But it's Speaker 2 (2:57) just people talking. Simple. Just like you and I Speaker 1 (3:00) talk in the green room. Yes. We're talking here. It's no big Speaker 2 (3:03) deal. It's just a bunch of people get to listen to it. Yes, yes, yes. It's Speaker 3 (3:06) nothing. Speaker 2 (3:07) That's spectacular. The spectacular thing is my guests. That's the fortunate thing. I'm the fortunate one because I get to talk to so many cool people. Look at you with your fucking American flag on your phone cover. Look at that. Don't get fooled by the Speaker 1 (3:22) accent, ladies and gentlemen. Speaker 2 (3:25) You know, we were talking about your story in the green room, and I was like, we have to do a podcast because your story is so crazy how when the wall fell. So did your career. Yes. Like you had this massive career. I remember you from The Tonight Show. Yes. I remember you all the time. Yes. Speaker 3 (3:42) You Speaker 2 (3:42) know, in Russia. You always have these jokes about Russia. Speaker 3 (3:44) Yes. Speaker 2 (3:45) And it was great because like you were a Russian comedian doing stand up in the United States. Yes. And then once the Soviet Union fell. Speaker 3 (3:55) Yes. The Letterman, David Letterman had a top 10 list. of things that will now change, that the Soviet Union is no longer there. And I made number one on the list. Yakov Smirnoff will be out of work. And I thought it was humorous because I was living in Pacific Palisades next to Tom Hanks and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean, I thought the American dream will never end. And all of a sudden, six months later, none of my contracts in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Tahoe, none of them were renewed. And I could not find work, literally. And I tried back to clubs, and they wouldn't have me either. Speaker 1 (4:40) What? Speaker 3 (4:41) Yeah. It was the comparison. There was Van Meter that was impersonator of John F. Kennedy. He was an impersonator. He was very popular at that time. And then after the assassination, his career went nowhere right away. And so somewhat, in some ways, it was similar to that, that I was associated with the Soviet Union and my humor was... associated with that. And it was helping. I was helping President Reagan write jokes for his speeches for when he would go to Moscow. You have a picture somewhere, Jamie, of I mean, it was amazing. All of a sudden, I was like a joke supplier for the White House. And it was my career was just growing. higher and higher, and all of the sudden, it was gone. And I wasn't- It doesn't make Speaker 2 (5:53) any sense. I mean, you still had great jokes. Yeah. And I'm sure people still wanted to see you. That's what didn't make any sense. Speaker 3 (6:02) It wasn't, I guess I wasn't relevant because they associated me so much with that. And so I started after not having work. and not be able to pay mortgage, I start looking for a place where they did not know that the Soviet Union collapsed. And I ended up in Branson, Missouri. I joke about this in my show, but it was a blessing in disguise because I was, all of a sudden, my humor was family friendly and this town is very much like that. And they embraced me. And I mean, it wasn't right away, but it grew and grew and grew. Speaker 2 (6:50) Wow. And what is Branson like? Because I would always hear about it. Like it was always like we would hear about it in L.A. that it was just like freaky Bible town, that it's like. creationist museums and stuff like that. Like, here's a reconstruction of the Ark. Like, that's the kind of stuff that you would hear. Obviously, I never went, so I don't know. Speaker 3 (7:10) Yeah. I didn't want to go to Branson, okay? I was living in L.A. I didn't, I mean, I... Did you move to Missouri? Eventually, I had to, yeah, because I had to sell my house. I mean, the whole thing went, yeah. So what happened is I didn't have, I didn't know where to go. I mean, it literally was scary. I have two little kids at that time, and I can't find work. So my agent calls me, and he said, Willie Nelson is doing this Farm Aid concert, and would you like to co-host with him? And I didn't have it. You know, I said, sure, but I don't think farmers would know who I am. And I got there, 50,000 people. I did my set. And they gave me a standing ovation. And I went like, wow, this is, I didn't expect that. So I go to say goodbye and say thank you to Willie. And I opened the door and the smoke comes out. And I was proud to say that I. You know, I didn't do drugs, but after I opened that door, I couldn't say that anymore. So through the smoke, he goes, Yaakov, you should go to Branson. They'll love you there. And I was like, okay, I heard about it, but I was not sure. So I go to Branson just to check it out. And it's... March of 1993. And I've been struggling now for two years after the Soviet Union collapsed. And I go in and I walk into one of the shows and it was Soji Tabuchi show. It was a Japanese fiddle player that was just playing country music. I didn't know about him. And I walk in, and it's a matinee, and there are 2,000 people in that room. Speaker 2 (9:13) Whoa. And Speaker 3 (9:14) I'm going, what is going on? Right? This is crazy. I was in Vegas. I didn't Speaker 2 (9:19) see. Speaker 3 (9:19) Right. So then I go, Andy Williams' show, and it's the same thing, 2,000 people full. And I'm going, well, if they can do this, I can do it as well. And so I, in May, I rented the small theater and I just set my shop there, put my name on the wall. And I got, for a show, 17 people came in. And I'm going, oh boy, I don't have a place to go, but this is not going to work. But then I started doing, I was. Pretty creative. I started, I said, I'm going to serve breakfast in the showroom. I'll call it yuck in a box. And I'm just going to make my mother recipe of breakfast. And people will pass it, eat, and hopefully more people will come. Speaker 2 (10:19) Wow. Speaker 3 (10:20) So I would do two shows a day in the morning and in the evening. Dinner and breakfast. And little by little, it grew, it grew, it grew. And then a year later, my average was like 400 people a show. And then the buses, that's the big business there, is the people come by bus in those days, a lot of them. And they just discovered me. And I started to become more and more popular. And then I bought. 2000 seat theater and now I entertain over 6 million people there and it became yeah this is this is kind of it's that's your theater yeah look at you yeah Speaker 2 (11:11) yeah yeah Speaker 3 (11:12) so it's been a very successful journey overall I'm you know I'm kind of the the only celebrity or national known person there now. Speaker 2 (11:27) Wow. And so how often do you do shows there? Speaker 3 (11:30) Now I got down to like 30 shows a year towards fall. But I used to do 400 a year just to make more money. And people were coming and it worked out for me. Speaker 2 (11:48) Well, good for you for adapting. Speaker 3 (11:49) I'm Speaker 2 (11:50) sure that must have been. Very nerve-wracking, though. It was. Especially with young children. Big time. And you're from another country. You come to America. You're killing it. You think, oh, my God, I'm the American dream. This is incredible. And Speaker 3 (12:04) then it's nightmare all of a sudden, and you don't know what to do. Speaker 2 (12:08) That's the problem with the world before social media, right? Because before social media, you couldn't just put some clips out there and show that you're still performing and still going places. Yeah. Yeah. Because back then there was like a narrative. And if that narrative got out, you were done. You know, so the narrative was canceled. Speaker 3 (12:27) Yeah, it was canceled. And I didn't have anything to do with it. It's not like I had a scandal or something. It just I was helping Reagan to chisel the wall down. But there was a writing on the wall that I didn't see. It says get a day job, you know, and I Speaker 2 (12:44) didn't see it. Right? So that's how it happened. It's amazing that you found Branson. What would happen if you didn't? That's what's really crazy. Do you think you would have been able to figure out a way to tour? Was it that clubs wouldn't book you or people wouldn't come? Both. Speaker 3 (13:03) Because people were not buying tickets, the clubs didn't book me, and the whole effect is just... Speaker 2 (13:11) So it was just the fall of the Soviet Union that people got in their mind, oh, Yakov is done. Yeah. Wow. It was that quick. That's what's fucked up about it. It's because, like, you have very funny jokes. I did. Like, you're a good comic. It's like the idea that you can't be a great comic and talk about other stuff is so stupid. But what happened, Speaker 3 (13:32) it was an evolution for me. I think that. I look back and I'm going, thank you for this, because it was kind of a one-note tune. And then it forced me to go, okay, that topic is not necessarily the right thing right now. It's not, nobody cares, because Soviet Union not there and nobody's scared of it, because I was kind of like a... It was a headache or a pain in the butt, Soviet Union, and I'm preparation age. And they used me. And then after swelling and itching went away, you don't need it anymore. So that's how it happened. So I went into it. That also coincided with my divorce. Speaker 3 (14:33) And I was struggling trying to figure out what direction do I go. And I realized that I was helping the Cold War to end in some ways by being involved with Reagan and helping with that. And when that happened, I figured, you know, my divorce is happening. I know laughter helped the world. become a better place. Why is there laughter in the beginning of the relationship with men and women? And then when there's divorce, the only people laughing are attorneys. And I put that question to my audience. So it became kind of like my laboratory of laughter. I just start asking people, I said, how many of you remember laughter being? part of that honeymoon stage of your relationship, and they all applaud. And I go, how many of you would go on a second date if you didn't have laughter on the first date? And no one applauded. So I became like, this is kind of a universal thing that I was, my dad was an engineer, an inventor, so my brain is kind of constantly. I'm looking for reverse engineering. Why is it that laughter goes away in a relationship? So as comedians, we gauge our relationship with the audience with laughter every time. Did Speaker 2 (16:05) the relationship fall apart because you had to move to Missouri? Or was it just going south? Speaker 3 (16:11) Yeah, it added to this. But I think I was looking for the root of this, more like what is that that I am missing that I didn't do? Because, you know, I was... You had a gimmick. I had a gimmick. But that was with my audience. What was happening with my wife? Why was that falling apart? So I start seeing... the parallel and the kids were little at that time and I was trying to explain to them what was going on and I can show you what I did. I brought this with me. Speaker 3 (16:52) I showed this to, I know, show and tell. I brought Speaker 1 (16:57) it for my, Speaker 3 (16:59) I started, I took magnets and I was showing my kids. I said, look, mommy and daddy, and we attracted one another and we had you and we had love and laughter and what was happening. And then something happened. And I don't know if you can show it, Jamie. There's people Speaker 2 (17:21) listening as well. Speaker 3 (17:22) Okay. Oh, okay. The magnets, they attract, but then when things don't go well, they repel. Speaker 2 (17:30) So Speaker 3 (17:31) I was going, what is it that's attracting us and what is it that's repelling us? And then after doing this, and I went to University of Pennsylvania, got my... a master's degree in psychology, got my doctorate degree at Pepperdine. I mean, I was digging in. You did all Speaker 2 (17:50) this while you were doing Branson? While Speaker 3 (17:53) I was performing Speaker 2 (17:53) Branson, yeah. How Speaker 3 (17:54) were you doing that? I would travel. I would just go do a weekend, just I would take my schedule, make it the way I wanted, and whatever I had to do, I would just travel to Pennsylvania. Speaker 3 (18:12) And do that. And you were Speaker 2 (18:13) taking in-person classes? Speaker 3 (18:15) Yeah, yeah. But how were you doing that? On Speaker 2 (18:17) the Speaker 3 (18:17) weekends. Speaker 2 (18:17) You were on the weekends. On the weekends. You Speaker 3 (18:19) can Speaker 2 (18:19) do that? There were Speaker 3 (18:20) classes, yes. Wow. So you would Speaker 2 (18:22) work all week and then fly on the weekends. Why were you doing that? Well, it's interesting. That Speaker 3 (18:28) sounds exhausting. I was searching for a purpose. I think that was, I noticed something that was universal. And I wanted to prove that scientifically to myself and I did because it was important to me. And what I figured out, and as a comedian you'll understand that every time we tell a joke, we're this setup. is we're meeting their needs. They're interested in that topic. You and I talked in the green room, like you need more topics, for example, for your one hour more to add. And so the topics that you're looking for are you're meeting the needs of people. They want, they're curious. And then your humor is the punchline and that creates laughter. If you don't meet their needs, if they're not interested, then your humor doesn't matter much. So in a relationship, the same thing happens. So if I put this, and I know people are listening, but they can maybe picture that. If you put needs in the middle, then Speaker 2 (19:46) you... You're talking about magnets. You got to remember a lot of these people are not watching. Okay, so I'm Speaker 3 (19:51) going to abandon that. Speaker 2 (19:53) Yeah, let's abandon Speaker 3 (19:54) that. Speaker 2 (19:54) This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. There's no excuse for a bad website anymore. Squarespace makes sure of that. Squarespace's AI website builder gets you something that looks genuinely professional in just a few clicks. No design skills required. You can lock down your domain, build something that actually looks like you, and keep it all protected in one place. Head to squarespace.com slash rogan for a free trial. And when you are ready to launch, Use the offer code ROGAN to save 10 % off your first purchase of a website or domain. I get what you're saying. Yeah. Speaker 3 (20:31) The needs is the flexible thing in our humor stays the same. But the needs or the setup is different. So if every business is successful when they figure out what is the need. Like Apple, for example, they say we develop product that you don't know you need, but then you can't live without it. That's their model. So the same thing, a restaurant, if they figured out what need is that community has, they're successful. You figured out what is the need that people have and they're listening to you and they love it. Speaker 2 (21:19) Is it a need? Like we're talking, the word need is a weird one because for me, need is like food and shelter and community. That's the real needs. Everything else is desires. Speaker 3 (21:30) Well, in the hierarchy of needs with Maslow, they just go higher and higher. So when you find, he called them needs. Speaker 2 (21:42) I Speaker 3 (21:43) couldn't find a better. Speaker 2 (21:44) That makes more sense now. Yeah, I get it. Yeah. Speaker 2 (21:49) It's uh, I feel like the most important thing about comedy is you have to be actually Excuse me. You have to actually be interested in what you're talking about. Obviously it has to be funny That's the most important thing but other than Speaker 1 (22:00) that the second most important thing or the thing that like really resonates with people is When someone's Speaker 2 (22:05) on stage and they're talking about something that means something to them, I get invested. Speaker 3 (22:09) Exactly. Speaker 2 (22:09) I'm invested in people that are fascinated with stuff. I'm invested with people that have hobbies that they love. Even if I have no interest in it at all, I want to hear them talk about it. Exactly. Speaker 3 (22:22) You found that whatever you want to call it, desire, need, whatever you want to call it. But whoever zooms in on that and understands it, they're successful in what they do. So in marriage, my focus switched from the Cold War between countries to Cold War between couples. And understanding that men and women are different is very important because they have different needs. And so part of my dissertation was to give that understanding. So then the person is not like searching and doesn't know what he's looking for. I'm married and I'm happily married now. And my main goal is to figure out what this... my wife need. And if I can anticipate it, then we have love and laughter and it's living there. But if I don't, or if she doesn't, then we start arguing and that happens in every family. Speaker 2 (23:32) So Speaker 3 (23:33) I'm easier. So there's a book by Dr. Willard Harley called His Needs, Her Needs. And what he did, he was dealing with a lot of couples that was getting a divorce and he was trying to help them in marriage counseling. And he asked, he identified like 10 emotional needs and he asked these people to prioritize men and women. And it was interesting that he said, I was shocked that five top needs for men were totally different from five top needs for women. So if we don't know that, so the needs for women were affection, conversation, openness and honesty, family commitment, and financial support. Not for every woman, but that was majority. And then for men, it was sexual fulfillment, it was admiration, sexual fulfillment again. But it was admiration, attractive spouse, recreational companion, and domestic support. Speaker 2 (24:48) It makes men seem really base. They are. Base and stupid. We are. That Speaker 1 (24:54) sexual attraction is number uno. Yeah. And then it's in there. Speaker 2 (24:57) How's it in there twice? That doesn't make any sense. No, I just. You just fucked it up? No, I was joking. Yeah, I was joking around. Yeah, that's funny. Like admiration is a funny one. Speaker 3 (25:06) That's funny. Admiration Speaker 2 (25:07) is huge. That's hilarious. I ask. Speaker 3 (25:09) You Speaker 2 (25:10) need admiration from your wife. That's hilarious. Speaker 3 (25:11) Well, but it's not because if you think. If you think that I ask the audience, so here is what I do in my show. And they're laughing, but they're also learning something. I say, how many of you gentlemen here, at least once in a while, would like to hear your wife said, you're such a good man. Thanks for doing things for us. Applaud. And few people applaud. And I go, well, not every man is applauding. because they're scared and they laugh. And then I go, so let me ask you the same question from an opposite point of view. Any of you gentlemen disagree with that? Silence. Then I go, you see, ladies, you used to do it. You don't do it now, but you used to do it in the beginning. That's what that attraction was, is was the man needed that. And women... They don't want to be acknowledged or admired for what they do. They want to be loved for who they are, kind, beautiful, smart, selfless. And I ask women, is that true? And they applaud. And it's subconscious, but I know for me that's a very important thing, that if I'm doing something, all I need is, like, thank you. Speaker 2 (26:35) And sometimes it's overlooked. And that doesn't feel right. That's interesting. It definitely resonates that men don't necessarily care if a woman does a thing. Like if she's really good at a thing. Right. Like men, I mean, this is obviously a great generalization because there are probably some men that one of the things they love is the talent that a woman possesses or the drive. Absolutely. But for the most part, what men want is someone to be nice. Yeah nice to be pretty yeah like my friends have joked around about this before my single friends about like I don't give a fuck if a girl works at McDonald's is she nice is she pretty is she nice you know and it's not like completely annoying to talk to she fun to talk to like you don't care what her job is well if she's cool and she's fun but a woman meeting a cool good-looking guy that's nice that works at McDonald's like you fucking loser no Speaker 2 (27:31) No shame to the people working at McDonald's. I worked fast food when I was younger, too. I worked at a couple. The first place I worked at was a burger place called Newport Creamery. I worked at a place called Papa Gino's. It was an Italian fast food place. Nothing wrong with working at McDonald's. Point is, women don't respect it for whatever Speaker 1 (27:51) reason, Speaker 2 (27:51) especially the women that want to have a family and settle down and all that jazz. They look at a guy working at McDonald's like, you don't have any ambition. And that's the thing that women want from men, that men don't seem to really care that much from women. Women want a guy that has ambition and men do not care generally. Although I got to say, Phil Hartman, when he obviously did not have a good marriage because his wife killed him and then killed herself, obviously didn't have a good marriage, right? Speaker 2 (28:23) He had almost got divorced a few times. And I remember one time he and I were having a conversation about it. And he said, he goes, Speaker 1 (28:31) if Speaker 2 (28:31) I fucking get divorced, he goes, my next wife, she has to like something. He goes, I don't give a fuck what it is. I don't care if it's Speaker 1 (28:36) a Speaker 2 (28:36) rock client. You have to be into something. So that was his thing was like that he was really into things. Like he got his pilot's license. Like the place that I actually bought in California, I found out about that part of. California because of him because he took me up on a plane and he was explaining to me like there's other counties that you could live in and these counties like they have land that's like you're yeah it's a drive but it's like more peaceful and relaxed you don't have to be like in the heart of everything Speaker 2 (29:07) So he was into being a pilot. He played music. He always had a bunch of different interests that he was pursuing on top of being an actor and being a comedic actor. And so he was really frustrated. One of the things he was frustrated is that his wife didn't have any ambition. She didn't have any interests. Speaker 3 (29:27) Well, but she also probably didn't admire him for what? His accomplishments were? I Speaker 2 (29:34) think she wanted to be famous as well. I mean, we probably shouldn't talk about this too much. And I think there was probably some resentment in his success. I think she was trying to be famous as well. Well, Speaker 3 (29:44) that's like those magnets repel. Yeah. Speaker 2 (29:46) Well, it's like sometimes when a couple, I've seen it the opposite. Like a friend of mine, she was dating this guy who was a comedian. And when she started doing well, he started getting really shitty with her. Speaker 1 (29:56) He Speaker 2 (29:56) started getting very resentful and he would be insulting. And she could tell that there was shit. he was not happy that she was doing well. Yeah. Because she started to take off and he wasn't. Yeah. And it was like he was very frustrated and they broke up. And she was like, that always really hurt because I really felt like if I was doing well, if he loved me, he was going to be happy too. And he wasn't happy. It's Speaker 3 (30:17) nice if this was discussed in the beginning of the relationship. Well, sometimes Speaker 2 (30:22) the man doesn't know and the woman doesn't know how they're going to behave. You don't know what your character flaws are until you're presented by something that tests you. Absolutely. Absolutely. So my goal Speaker 3 (30:32) was to understand it better. And there's a painting I sent Jamie. I painted this painting that kind of helped me, if you can find it. It's a tree of love. And it helped me to understand better what my role is. Because my first marriage, I did not know. what my role was. I met a woman, American girl, beautiful, everything was great. When I shook her hand or she shook my hand, she almost broke my hand. And my subconscious was like, my mother was very strong in my parents' relationship. Mom was the leader and dad was creative, wonderful man, but he would follow her. And I... subconsciously went with that script, the manuscript of my life. And so this helped me to see something that I wanted, who do I want to be? I wanted to be that strong man who is able to give life to a woman that she can be free, creative, bring our... you know, fruit, children. So she doesn't have to worry about that. In my previous marriage, I didn't understand that. So on stage, I came across like I was this, you know, strong guy who was invited to the White House to perform. I was... I was commanding a big group of 2,000, 3,000 people, and she saw that. And then in the relationship, I became like, now she knows what to do. I don't have to do anything. So I said, I do, and I didn't do it. I didn't know what it was, what my role was. So it took me 20 years and all of that education to get to that place. That who do I want to become to attract a woman that wants to be in that role? Damn, dude, you thought about this shit deep. I did. Speaker 2 (32:52) You Speaker 3 (32:53) were going Speaker 2 (32:53) through it, man. I Speaker 3 (32:54) got to Speaker 2 (32:54) tell Speaker 1 (32:54) you. Speaker 2 (32:54) You Speaker 1 (32:54) were going Speaker 2 (32:54) through it because you're going through that, which is always a bummer for people, especially with children when you're getting divorced. But then on top of that, your career goes away because the Soviet Union collapsed. Yes. And then you said, fuck it. That's very admirable. You said, fuck it, I'm going to get educated and figure out what's wrong with me. Exactly. Speaker 3 (33:12) Yes. And I don't know if you have a picture of my wife and the kids. Now I'm 75 and I have a one-year-old. Speaker 2 (33:21) What? Yes. Speaker 3 (33:22) When did you get Speaker 2 (33:23) married? How long did you? Speaker 3 (33:24) Seven years ago. So you Speaker 2 (33:26) spent like 20 years single. Speaker 3 (33:29) Just Speaker 2 (33:29) trying to figure yourself out. Damn, man. You went on a walk through the wilderness. I went to all Tony Speaker 3 (33:33) Robbins. What? Yeah, all of his trainings. I mean, I needed to become. I wasn't that strong person. I was more like my dad. And I needed to become who I wanted to be. I wanted a woman to trust me that I can sustain no matter what. And I have a feeling there's my wife. Did you meet your wife in Speaker 2 (33:58) Missouri? Speaker 3 (33:59) No. She is from Ukraine. That's an interesting... You Speaker 2 (34:04) have a one-year-old? Dude, it's time to get you on some peptides. That's crazy. You're Speaker 3 (34:09) 75. Speaker 2 (34:09) You have a one-year-old? I do. We got to go to work on you. We got to keep you alive. Speaker 3 (34:14) That's nuts. It's wonderful. Speaker 2 (34:18) You're almost 20 years older than me and you have a one-year-old. That's crazy. Well, I'm Speaker 3 (34:22) excited. That's crazy. I'm excited because... I figured that I figured out something. So the way, so I was. you'll get a kick out of it. So I was married to an American woman. Then I was dating other women. It wasn't happening. So I took my kids, grown kids, to Ukraine. And I wanted them to show, I'm from Odessa, right? So when they're with them, they were like probably in their 20s. And so, and on the way back, I forgot my passport on the plane from Odessa to Kiev. And I had to stay behind for a day to get a temporary passport. So I went to a park and I was waiting for this. And I see this lunchtime and this gorgeous women are going to lunch and back. And they're like, I feel like I'm in Paris watching a runway show. I mean, it's like. beautiful women and I'm going