Chuck Shute Podcast

Former Army Sniper Wesley Kendle Discusses the Recent Assassination Attempt

Wesley Kendle Season 5 Episode 448

Wesley Kendle is a fitness trainer and former U.S. Army sniper.  In this episode we discuss the assassination attempt on former President Trump, health & fitness, life in Scottsdale and more!

0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:13 - Gym Life & Progress
0:02:20 - Joining the Army & Becoming a Sniper
0:07:40 - Psychology, Counseling, PTSD & Risks
0:12:00 - Army Training & Trust
0:13:24 - Secret Service & Army Requirements
0:18:05 - Attempted Assassination Attempt & Sniper Strategy
0:33:23 - Sloped Roof Excuse, Blame Game & Problems
0:39:33 - Theory of Staged Event & Media Terminology
0:45:30 - Becoming Interested in Health & Fitness
0:48:30 - Protein & Mistakes in Diet & Lifting
0:57:42 - Steroids & Ozempic
1:03:50 - Famous Clients & Rich People in Scottsdale
1:08:10 - Five Star Shout Outs
1:10:24 - Outro

Wes Kendle IG link:
https://www.instagram.com/wkendle_mft/?igsh=dGJ1dnZvcTY5M29n

Chuck Shute link tree:
https://linktr.ee/chuck_shute

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Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!

Chuck Shute:

Welcome to the show my good buddy, bro. Right Instagram buddies. Right that count?

Wesley Kendle:

Yes. Yeah, I mean, we chat at the gym too. So I feel like we've we've known each other over a year like was it almost two years now? A year and a

Chuck Shute:

half. I joined in November of 2023. It was right before Thanksgiving. And I was just going to check out this gym because I had heard things and I was like, I should probably like get some information. And then your sales woman there Lexi. I don't know what it was about. Or I guess I have a weakness for blondes. Just convince me. I was like, Alright, I guess I'm signing up two days before Thanksgiving for I was like looking at New Years. Oh, she convinced me.

Wesley Kendle:

She's a good sales woman. So you know? Yeah. Yeah. It's been a good journey ever since so made a ton of progress.

Chuck Shute:

It took me a while to kind of get on board. But I've lost over 30 pounds since since I first joined. It's pretty

Wesley Kendle:

impressive. That's way more than the average person. And 10% body fat. I think that's even more impressive.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I know. I'm trying to get down to 15. But what do you because what is your body fat? You're like your, I mean, at least at one point, I saw a picture you like before and after? It was like you were doing that? What do you call those, uh, shows real tan and everything. And you look like you're like 7%?

Wesley Kendle:

Well, thank you. Yeah, I feel like I at least got to 10% Maybe a little bit more. We didn't have our scans back then. So it's kind of like by eye. But yeah, I did have Men's Physique show when I first got started with my training, which is how I met Jay, actually, you know, that's how he got me, you know, going in the gym. He trained me up for that show. And then after, you know, I decided to work with him. So it's been a lot of fun since then.

Chuck Shute:

So how long have you worked at a gym since when

Wesley Kendle:

I worked with him starting like 2018 2019 Part time. And then after the gyms got locked down, and we lost a few trainers, because they have to do other jobs. You know, we couldn't work out in the gym for a few months, then I had an opening to go full time. Okay,

Chuck Shute:

gotcha. Okay, so, before that you were in the army and you joined the Army in 2008? I believe, right?

Wesley Kendle:

Yes. 2008 out of high school, and then, you know, went straight to Italy as my first assignment.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, so then you were an army from 2008. Until when, so I

Wesley Kendle:

did two different contracts, the army kind of separates it by like your the years of the contract that you do. So I did, you know, initial four and a half years active duty. That's when I was, you know, overseas, I spent time as, you know, infantry soldier, and then also in a recon team, sniper team. And then in my second tour, that was more for the Army Reserve military intelligence, we did more like stuff in the background, kind of like focusing on the tactical side, as opposed to the technical side.

Chuck Shute:

So what is your like official credentials? Like sergeant or what? Like, what is it?

Wesley Kendle:

Okay? Yes, it's Staff Sergeant Kendall or, and I was an 11 Bravo, which is infantry. And, and, you know, from there, we specialized, you know, went into recon teams. And then as a military intelligence analyst, I was at 35 Fox, which is all source intelligence, which is more for like collecting, you know, data from all the different intelligence branches, creating a product for the like the officers and commanders to make, you know, intelligence decisions. So, should

Chuck Shute:

I didn't know about the intelligence thing. That's great. So you're your sniper. So you were sniper. Before that, then?

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, that was while I was active duty. And then in the reserves, they do a thing where you can do like, one weekend a month plus training in the summer. And then that's kind of like a different job, usually then on the frontlines. Okay,

Chuck Shute:

so to become a sniper, is that? I don't know, like, is that really hard to do? Like, how do you how many people do you have to beat out to become a sniper? I

Wesley Kendle:

think a lot of it comes to, you know, being in the right place at the right time. Like when I was there, they were doing tryouts. So I just happened to be there and knew ready to try out. And, you know, you have to be physically fit. Obviously, they make you go through like training, make sure you can hack, whatever the challenges are going to be as far as like, not being weak on endurance, or also mental strength, stuff like that. You do like a physical eval, you do a psych eval, and then you also do, of course, the training to get qualified as a sniper. So usually, what they do is they'll have tryouts and if you get selected, then there'll be like, Okay, we're gonna have you do your physical, and then after your physical, then you start applying for a school date to go get qualified.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, so like, Do you know how many people you had to beat out to? Sorry?

Wesley Kendle:

Yes, yeah. Well, it's, it's not like a only so many people can pass. So say like a class is like 4050 people All them could pass, but I'd say probably like, at least 30 40% Don't pass. So like, almost half, don't make it. But a lot of times people are coming back around and doing it again. So that that helps people, you know, get qualified does if they don't pass the first time, they can come back around due to a second time when they held in school next year.

Chuck Shute:

And then what is it like, people kind of cheat on these tests? Like, you're like, aren't you supposed to not use your contacts or glasses? And then some people do? Or how does that work?

Wesley Kendle:

Well, you know, they, they don't like check everything. I know, for example, when I applied for my physical, this wasn't for sniper school. This is just for my physical. They had some, you know, low ranking soldier checking your eyes, and he just has you go up to this machine. And he's like, Hey, what's what do you see for 2020? And then you read the line? And then he's like, Do you have any context? And you're like, No, he's like, Okay. And then, you know, so what I did is, I didn't tell anyone I had contacts. And when I went through my physical, I read the 2020 line, because I corrected 2020. And then I didn't need to report you have glasses. But turns out, they allow people to have glasses, you know, for the most part, unless you're doing certain types of training or missions, which I was never involved in. So fortunately, because some

Chuck Shute:

that, like if you if you have contacts, and then the gas you then that can like fuck things up. So Exactly,

Wesley Kendle:

yeah. So that would be the issue is if there's ever a nuclear, biological or chemical attack, that you'd be blinded, basically. And then that would not be covered by the VA or whatever. You'd be out of luck. Yeah, I mean, obviously, that's, in my opinion, that's one of the least of your concerns, if you're getting gassed. But yeah, yeah, we haven't been gassed like that in years. You know, it's been like, what, since? I don't want to say Vietnam or before.

Chuck Shute:

Gotcha. So for the site test, gosh, that's got to be Yeah. How do they because it's so weird. To me, when I look at you, I'm like, this does not seem like somebody that's a trained killer. Like, you're so nice, like, how do they train? How do they test for that in the psych test?

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, it's not like, you know, what do you think in the movies, it's more just like, are you, you know, sound of mind and a threat to other people? You know, it's not like you're looking at the what are they those Rorschach paintings or anything? They just kind of interview you and talk to you. And like, you know, as long as you give them normal answers, then it's kind of like, less intense than I would say, like a security clearance interview. That's even more digging into your past and into your like, you know, what, is dirt? You have stuff like that, you know?

Chuck Shute:

So do they give you some sort of like training after you leave the army like, okay, like, you know, you saw combat? Like, here's how we debrief this, like, oh, counseling or something else

Wesley Kendle:

soldiers. Yeah, not just for like a recon or sniper team, I'm sure, like, for Special Forces are those guys probably even get even more of this attention? I'm sure. Especially nowadays, but for us, when we got back from our deployments, we saw a, you know, therapists that met with us at least two or three times. And then, you know, we had a couple of follow up meetings, they offered us a lot of opportunities to also meet with people. But it wasn't like, I don't know, I feel like it was a lot of rushed through process, because like, a lot of us are just back from Afghanistan. And we haven't seen our families or been, you know, off work for, you know, like a year. So we're just like, hey, let's get this done. Like, you know, get me through it. When, if maybe we would have done it, you know, months later or at a different time, it would have been better.

Chuck Shute:

Right? Because do you think that's like a big issue right now with like, PTSD and soldiers, and I just feel like that's kind of being neglected. And then I think there's two, there's like this thing where, oh, okay, well, this guy has PTSD, okay, he's on disability, okay, well, he's fine. We'll just throw him in an apartment with a check every month. And he goes to counseling once a week. And so I'll hear some antidepressant so you'll be fine. It's like, I don't think that's really the proper way to deal with this.

Wesley Kendle:

No, it seems like that seems to be an answer, in my opinion, to a lot of our medical, you know, problems in America is they're like, just throw some pills at it, you know, so it doesn't surprise me that they would do that with PTSD. But honestly, the work to get better at PTSD is tough. It's like, you know, similar to other mental things, you have to kind of like, do work on yourself and like, figure out why you're having these issues and face them and deal with them. And it takes like practice and like daily, like, not necessarily like mode of meditation, but you know, like, you have to kind of affirm certain, you know, things and it takes daily work, kind of like working out in the gym. And that's harder than taking a pill. And honestly, I've had, you know, some luck at the VA where I've had some, you know, therapists that they actually want me to do that kind of work as opposed to just like, hey, here's some antidepressants or something like that, you know, should

Chuck Shute:

I mean because I'm assuming that pretty much does it almost every veteran that's seen combat have some level of PTSD? I mean, I guess it depends on how you define PTSD, but some sort of trauma from being in combat. Yeah,

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, I think that everyone is dealing with something. You know, I've seen it affect other people and more of like a, you know, manifesting way in their life where it's like, you know, seems like they have trouble dealing with real life situations, or it, you know, is affecting them more like, actively than passively. And then also I know, people, including myself, where it affects me more on like my sleep than, you know, anything, not like bad dreams, but I have a hard time staying asleep and like staying, you know, I guess in a relaxed state at night. So, you know, just kind of covered ways. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

I would think so. But I also think that you are probably mentally tougher than a lot of people like such as myself, I couldn't I couldn't see eye combat, I would I'd be running for the hills. I mean, I say that. I don't know, I don't know, maybe I would rise to the occasion. But I don't know. I feel like I wouldn't. You know, I feel like a lot of people would really struggle with that. I

Wesley Kendle:

mean, I think you're right, it does take some toughening up and putting yourself through some training to get to there. But what they the army, when they do a good job at this, what they do is they, they make you part of a team where you feel like you have to be there for your team, you know, they do a really good job at that, especially like, if you're on the front lines, because they, you know, you work together in a way that you trust your buddy to the left in the right, or at least hopefully you do. And then if you do, then you're more willing to take those risks, because you know, they'll be there for you. And you honestly, like, usually, it's your first instinct is to react to the team and look out for the team, as opposed to look out for yourself, when you get there. It takes a lot of training to get there. And obviously, it doesn't work out that way all the time. But that's why I wanted to be on the recon team is because I didn't want to be stuck in like a basic, you know, average team that the people didn't care about it. I wanted to be surrounded by soldiers that were good. And you know, I can depend on that.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, you're explaining to me the differences off air about how, like, when you join the army, they like explain to my audience, the training thing, how they have, I never heard of this, they have the small, the biggest, sorry, the smallest person, attempt to carry the biggest person as kind of a motivation to both like, Hey, if you're really small, you need to get stronger. And as the big person like, you might need to lose some weight.

Wesley Kendle:

And that it's also building that trust that we talked about, like, if you can see that that smaller guy can pick up the big guy and carry him like, you know, if he's shot or wounded, he can carry him out of battle, then you trust your team. But you know, if not, then you're like, oh, that's extra pressure. We're like, Hey, I gotta lose weight, I can't be fat and you know, not be able to be functional and support each other, or I can't be weak, I have to be able to carry every member of my team if I have to. So it's like, you know, external pressure to keep you in the right mindset.

Chuck Shute:

But you said in the recon team, that was it was that, you'd have to worry about it there because everybody was like strong and in shape. And yeah,

Wesley Kendle:

even though it's an all volunteer army, right now. It's like, still, there's people that are just they're kind of coasting through it. I knew if I pick the Recon recon team, because we had to try out. And it was a pretty tough tryout, that, you know, you had to want to be there to be there. So it tends to work out.

Chuck Shute:

So as a former military, Army sniper, you're looking at these events from Saturday, the attempted assassination on former President Trump, like and you're looking at this team that they've assembled like, is this the best of the best? Like, because it seems like there was some mishaps? Yeah,

Wesley Kendle:

I know, I, we've all seen the pictures and videos. I mean, I feel like there's a lot of critiques that people have made, and it's only been a week, I'm sure there's going to be even more critiques that we hear on the Secret Service and the police and how everyone responded to it. Yeah, I saw those, you know, several officers that kind of stuck out, looked like, you know, they weren't going to be able to do the same job the the female officer in that photo, what seemed to be out of place from, you know, guarding the president, or the sort of the former president and presidential nominee. And I don't know, it seems like it may have been, she may have been there as a, you know, in place to fill a spot or di or something that's not, you know, the norm. But if you look at the security the next night, when he went to the RNC rally, he was like, all these seven foot tall dudes, they'll look like boar. So it's kind of funny how it switched.

Chuck Shute:

Right? And it's just it's weird, because I'm sure that there are some women that probably could do that job. I mean, there are some very tall strong women but I just feel like she grew up here requirement of the job like like you were saying, like, you have to be able to in the army, you have to be able to carry everybody like how could she carry? I mean, what if she was the last What if all the other secret service got shot? And she's the only one there and she had to carry the the former president like could she do it?

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, I know there's women out there, because I've seen it, and they go to our gym to like, we've seen them at our gym. I've seen it in the army. So there's gyms, there's girls that can carry, you know, men that are twice as big as me. So, I know, it's, it's possible that and obviously I want to, you know, emphasize, I don't think it's, you know that women can't do the job. I think it's, you know, just like, I wouldn't want a man who was unable to carry that the President to do the same job, you know, he would also be disqualified to do that, too. So I feel like it's most important that, you know, you can put people's safety first and be proficient at what you need when it counts. And I mean, when people's lives are on the line, something like that. I think that's even more important.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, do they? I mean, you can't speak of the requirements for Secret Service. But I was listening to podcasts where the guy was former secret service, he said, the requirements are 30% lower for women. Is there a similar requirement for Army in terms of like the army physical test is it 30%? Lower? Well, they

Wesley Kendle:

used to do this thing where they had like a different graded test, you know, and they'd say, like, here's like, the, you know, male version, here's the female version. And now they kind of when they scored it differently, basically, but now they have it, where it's more like, teared on what job you want. So if you want to do the Combat Arms job, then you have to score like, I forgot what the exact number is on the new test, but it's like, I think a 400 or something like that out of 600, which, you know, to pass, you only need like a 300. So, I think that makes it a little bit better, as far as you know, making sure people are qualified. But I mean, I think it depends on the job. Like if you're going for like a Navy SEAL job. I think that obviously, is a much more grueling test. They have other mechanisms in place that make people who can pass the test, but shouldn't be there not be there. Like weeks of, you know, getting hazed and in the surf and all that other stuff. All the all the crazy stuff we see in the David Goggins videos.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, well, and were you the one or somebody was telling me that, like, a lot of those Navy SEALs, they cheat they take, they go to Mexico or something and get like, zero.

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, that's for rumors about that. I know, we've, there's a famous video of Dan Bilzerian talking about that, where he talks about how he did that, him in his other, you know, vote members went across the border, they got shot up with whatever steroids and then they came back. And that's what they do on the weekends, which, I mean, honestly, those guys get put through so much. Hell, I'm sure like, a lot of people are doing it. I didn't notice any of that in my training in basic training. It was a, we didn't get the weekends off like that to go do things like that. But I'm sure it's pretty common in the military overall. I know when I was overseas, I witnessed a lot of people, you know, purchasing and using steroids overseas, just to kind of like, stay physically fit, but we were like walking 12 hours a day up and down mountains with the hundreds of pounds. So it makes sense.

Chuck Shute:

Crazy. Well, so Okay, back to the assassination thing, like, yeah, when you look at the shooter, How perfect is the spot that he chose, in terms of like the angle and like, was there was a cover from a bush a little bit so that the counter snipers couldn't see him? And? Yeah, like, how did was that just a coincidence that or do you think he kind of scope that out ahead of time.

Wesley Kendle:

So that's called a loophole, what you're describing right there, where he could see the target, but the target could not see him. And it's something snipers trying to look for. Because there's an obstruction close to you, where like, it's like this. I can't see past this. But if it's far away, like that, oh, I could still see you, but you can't see me. So that's what they're using, as far as like, you know, creating that really good spot. And usually, that's really hard to find. So I don't know if he's just like, got lucky. Or you know, how he found that spot, but it was very, very good for him. As far as the counter snipers concerned. What was that, like? 130 meters away. That's pretty close. That's a very close new poll. So that's a really prime spot.

Chuck Shute:

It's it seemed like he wasn't concerned about protecting himself from counter snipers. Obviously, he, they once they shamed, they killed them immediately. But typically, how do you protect yourself from counter snipers as a former sniper? Like, is there a strategy with that?

Wesley Kendle:

Well, one of the things that they always made fun of on movies is, they're like, Well, unless you aren't worried about being discovered, like him, you know, you don't go on the roof. The roof is one of the last places you go on because you can be spotted very easily. So they kind of like steer us away from doing that as a sniper. Instead, you'd go like in a building behind a window or door, or like you'd make it so you're inside behind some type of screen or, you know, anything you can put in front of you so you could be concealed. Because if you're out there in the open, then you'll get spotted. Obviously, in a perfect world. That's what you do. A lot of times I was on the roof when I was a sniper. I spent I would say, you know, almost 50% on the roof, unfortunately, because sometimes that's the only option you have. But ideally, you want to look for something more recessed inside of a building. Holy shit. So

Chuck Shute:

50% of the time you're on the roof with basically no.

Wesley Kendle:

Yes. But that was because I was in like, a, I was in an infantry unit. If you're in like the Navy SEALs, or like, you know, Greenbrae that's a little bit different. They're more of a small team, so there'll be kind of like, more concealed. But sometimes they're like, Hey, we're doing a patrol over there. I need you on top of this building to make sure no one takes shots at us. And yeah, we're exposed, but so is everyone else. So it's kinda like a bigger unit, you know?

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. So what, what kind of gun did you use? I mean, I saw one picture of you. I mean, it looked like it had a pretty heavy duty gun versus the kind of gun that this kid use, because I think it was an AR 15. Which, but can we define ar 15? Because everyone thinks ar 15 stands for assault rifle or automatic rifle. It's not assault rifle. It's not automatic rifle. They're not automatic or semi automatic. It's ArmaLite rifle.

Wesley Kendle:

Exactly, yeah. So that's, it's a civilian model of the end for basically thinking they said, I heard it was two to three, which is just millimeters smaller than a 556. NATO round. And that's pretty small arms. You know, it's meant for, you know, person, person to person, basically, which is a smaller bullet than what we were using. But from what the angles show from the photos, you know, the back of the head being the target, that would still be lethal. Now, what I was using, I was using a 762 by five, I think, one and then a five by five, three on the three 300 Win Mag. So we used a three a weight and a 300 Win Mag for our teams. And that's a much bigger round that you'd like to use for deer hunting or something like that. Okay,

Chuck Shute:

and I'm told it's not very difficult to make the shot that the kid was attempting, that basically every infantry man is supposed to be able to make that they're expected to make 300 to 500 feet away, but he must have practiced this and I read that he was a member of Claritin Sportsman's Club, which has a 200 yard range. So he probably practice, right. I mean, this wasn't like, Okay.

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, he had a pretty accurate shot, he just from whatever it says Trump moved at the right time. So if that's the case, then, you know, he was pretty dead on before that moment, moment. But that's the difference between the range and real life is, you know, that movement of a target, which, unless, you know, you have practice hunting or doing that type of thing. It's hard to be ready for that. You know, so I'm not saying that, like, you know, he was a bad shot, but it seems like maybe, obviously, if he was only 20, he doesn't have as much experience as someone who's been doing it longer.

Chuck Shute:

Well, how do you, how do you how much time do you typically take to set up a shot like that? And what factors are there because I heard the wind could be a factor, right? When you move it, how much wood when not

Wesley Kendle:

much? At 100 meters? No, I mean, it could move it maybe like inches. I mean, that's enough to save his life, obviously. But that's, that's why a lot of times in sniper school, they teach you to aim center mass, not at the head, because it's a bigger, bigger circle to miss, you know, so if you have a bigger range of a target, then you have like, you know, 42 inches across the shoulder as opposed to like, you know, I don't know, I forgot what it says head is like nine inches or something like that. So if you are slightly pushed up by wind from 130 meters, which is not very far, so it's not gonna be a lot of wind, then it might only be like an inch or two. If it was 500 meters, 700 meters that could push it like feet, you know, that's way different.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, gotcha. And he was using a rangefinder. And what's so weird to me is that I read that the police saw this kid walking around with a rangefinder. And then they they lost sight of him. But but so it wasn't a rangefinder be a red flag immediately or is there something else? Can you explain to my audience what a rangefinder is? And does it have any other uses other than for target shooting?

Wesley Kendle:

It does? Yeah. Well, it's a laser rangefinder, I'm assuming it's like one of the hunting ones probably, which they also make it for golf. So people for hunting or golf, use it to zero in the rifle, which at 130 meters again, you don't need to zero that it's so close. Usually, like, if you're practicing on the 200 meter range, like he was he's already within that range zero. So it'd be more important if he was like, beyond 300 meters, I believe. But it would help him a little bit.

Chuck Shute:

Isn't it suspicious of I mean, he's not going to be going over the roof and hitting golf balls.

Wesley Kendle:

And I guess I said that incorrectly. I'm not saying that he, you know, oh, I can't believe he had that. Like, it was just an amateur move. I think I think he didn't need it. Need it? It was like something that he? I don't know why he had it. It's kind of dumb. But I don't know, if you, I guess if you don't know the distance already, then that's something you need. So like I bet the Secret Service agents had laser rangefinders? I'm sure they did.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. Did you think based on what you've seen, do you think this kid had some sort of military? I mean, he obviously there's no record of him being in the military. But do you think he had some sort of military training? Maybe somebody who was in the military who helped him a little bit, or,

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, maybe, but it's just that was like 100 130 meters with a AR is very amateur, very easy. I'm not saying Oh, I wish he made it, or he should have made it. But it was like, kind of like a shot that anyone should have been able to make. It's just Trump literally moved at the right second. It was so

Chuck Shute:

yeah, so what is the strategy as a sniper, when you're aiming? And then the person moves like that? What is the striker then do just because there was multiple shots after that? Was he trying to aim and aim it back up? Or was he just rapid fire and hope one of them hit?

Wesley Kendle:

It sounded like when I heard the audio, that there was a first two or three shots were slower. So he probably was doing more of like a, you know, reset every time, which is what you're supposed to do, you you you follow through with the shot, you pull this pull the trigger, which on an AR 15, there's not very much recoil at all, it's pretty small. And you probably like go back a little bit, and then boom, settled back into your target, which is what sound like he did. But after that, I heard a lot more shots quickly, which I can tell that was him or the Secret Service. But maybe that was the rest of the shots that he popped off quickly after.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, that's like some of the things that they're saying that these audio experts are saying that there might have been three different shooters, so obviously, he was one. And then the counter sniper was another and then there may have been a third shooter that was either on his team or could have just been other fire from the counter sniper or just could be we're confusing the audio and it's hard to say and then for investigation, but from you from time to time. Yeah, it's hard to tell. Okay, so there's you don't have a theory on that. I

Wesley Kendle:

don't know, I haven't heard too much about a third shooter, I could tell like there's two different tempos in the shooting, from what I hear there's the slower, more deliberate one, that first few rounds. And then there's a high rapid fire one after which could be him trying to just finish the job. Or it could be the snipers returning fire. Or even multiple snipers, because there's so quickly. So that could have been when people were like, maybe there's three shooters because it was like pop up, you know, really quick. And it could have been that could have definitely been two people as fast enough. You

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. So the counter snipers. They had better equipment, right? Like, do they? Yeah, they said, I mean, you could see a picture of it, right? Like, what cuz some of the I heard some of these old school snipers did not have this kind of tech, they had to use like a notepad and do the math. There's like math involved, right? With the wind and all this, like if you're making a longer shot.

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, and again, this sort of factor at 130 meters, because it's so close, like the wind doesn't really have a chance to take control the bullet from that close, especially with a round like that. So they do have all that equipment, they didn't really need it, though, for that type of shot, unless they were way far away. They like if they're pushed way back, then they would probably need it. What I bet they did, and this is what we would do, because we were just starting to get those. What are they called those data pads, and forgot, I want to call an iPad, but whatever the data pads that they would put it in, for as far as like their data and like to go up and down with elevation or side to side for wind, we would have to write it out or calculate it in our head. And but we would use these little maps that we would have of our area where like every building, we would have a number on how far away it was. And like which building it was as far as like an ID. So we can call up, hey, building number two is 200 meters away, you know, and we can quickly dial in on that instantly, and then be able to take the shot, which it sounds like the Secret Service. They had that but they they didn't account for that building due to you know, whatever reason. So they should have been right on target with that.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, and is there some sort of like, because I think in the military, I don't know what you call like the rules of engagement, like, because that's what I've been told that they couldn't. They spotted him before he fired, but they couldn't shoot him because they weren't sure if it was a threat, which I don't understand if they could see a guy with a gun pointed at Trump or pointing at people. I mean, how is that not a threat? Or can they just see the top of his head?

Wesley Kendle:

I'm not sure like all the vantage points they have. But I think we said earlier one of the vantage points couldn't really see him fully right, because he was shadowed or something. So I think they didn't have a clear visual, but also I heard that they You know, were informed that that building was secure already. So maybe they thinking that the building is secure, that they didn't treat it as a threat, which was a mistake. But it was a friendly. Yeah. Which is a failure, I think more on like, no communication, because that should have been happening right away is like communication between whoever like was alerted, and the Secret Service on the ground or on the sniper's nest. So it's like, that whole, you know, point was dropped to the point where there was like, That guy was able to get a shot off if he wasn't able to get that shot off, because, you know, they would have had that building secured, then it would have been at the word of that situation. Like, we wouldn't be worrying about this or talking about this right now. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

do you typically do I mean, obviously, you can't speak for Secret Service and law enforcement, because your military, but I'm assuming there's some similarity there. In terms of checkpoint rounds, like, you know, blah, blah, blah, building secure, blah, blah, blah, you know, like, you would check that every 15 minutes or something? I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I feel like isn't that your job? Like, I

Wesley Kendle:

don't want to assume that. I hear everyone's saying there was like, no, like, manpower that they didn't have enough funding or something like that. But yeah, I mean, I would think if I was in charge, I would have a roving person as well as like the people up high, you know, and once they hear like, hey, they're suspicious guy walking around with a rangefinder, then the roving people would go looking for him. That's what I would do, but I don't know what their plan was. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

it's so crazy. So you said that like, you know, the, the counter snipers probably didn't need a bunch of fancy equipment. But I was just reading like, Dan bond, Gino, who was he was at Secret Service. He said it was, it was actually it was a very difficult shot, simply because that tree was in the way so only have like, a nine inch window to take the shot. I mean, that's. So it is kind of a hard

Wesley Kendle:

shot news angle, the Secret Service or from the

Chuck Shute:

guy counter sniper. Okay,

Wesley Kendle:

well.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, it says it was one of the most difficult shots in the sense, they had a nine inch window to take the shot because there was a tree in the way the counter sniper team that took out. The shooter was a secret service team. It's one of the most difficult shots any team has taken in a long time. They obviously had seconds to respond. Crazy. Yeah.

Wesley Kendle:

I didn't know that. But that's pretty cool. Like that. You know? I mean, obviously not cool that they had to defend the president or the previous president. But it's pretty wild that I didn't know that info. That must mean that that loophole was pretty good that the guy was behind. So he was pretty shielded. Which is, it makes sense. You know, if you can't see the target of this tick here.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, this kid is just really smart. 20 year old or he got lucky. Or he had some help. Like, I don't know, it's just seems a little like, it's almost like too perfect. Like, just, there's a lot of things that like fell into, but then at the same time, I guess the former president was got very lucky by not getting him to so.

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure he's like, I'm just happy. I'm alive. But you know, you're right. There's a lot of questions. I don't really know any, like thing for sure. But I hope we find out some more answers. I like I've seen videos recently about like, the Secret Service Director, like avoiding questions and all this other stuff. So I don't know. I hope I hope we get something definite soon.

Chuck Shute:

Well, yeah. And then so I didn't understand her response said, The reason there wasn't somebody on the roof with a straight face. But what she said You can Google the video she said it was because it was a sloped roof, which makes zero sense if you saw the roof that and there's pictures of them over the guy's dead body. And it's not fun at all, versus There's pictures of the counter snipers, and their roof is way more sloped. So I don't know what she's talking about. Do you understand that as a former Army sniper, you must have some, some sort of professionals

Wesley Kendle:

have definitely been on the sloped roof before. Like, they'd make the bipod legs where you can make them shorter or longer to deal with that. And what you do is you put like a sandbag down or your backpack, and then you prop it up and put your rifle on top. Or something we'd be done with. It's kind of silly.

Chuck Shute:

It's not a slow, it's not the craziest, biggest sloped roof you've ever seen as a sniper?

Wesley Kendle:

No, it's definitely not. You can manage that. And I think I saw like a little graphic. I think he was using the slope to prop his weapon up. Anyway, so it wasn't like hindering him. So it seems like she was just from what it sounds like to me making an excuse, because she didn't know what to say, you know? It's like, Oh, it's you know, it's a slippery, you know, like, that's what it sounds like to me.

Chuck Shute:

Like, it's almost like she didn't even look at the footage. Or just the most bizarre response to me like that was the worst excuse I've ever heard. And I used to work in middle school in high school. So I heard that I've heard the worst excuse me. That's crazy, laughed out loud. One of their excuse have been like, oh, that sounds kind of like bullshit. But this one I mean, I literally laughed out loud when I heard I was like, What the fuck is she talking about? It was bizarre that

Wesley Kendle:

it seems like you think that through at all before you said it, you know, it's like, come on you really people won't believe that. I think it's just grasping at straws. So the fact that she thought that people would that we would buy that I think is hilarious. Well,

Chuck Shute:

yeah. And then it sounds like there's kind of the blame game because she seemed local law enforcement was supposed to cover that building. And the local law enforcement said no, we were only supposed to be on traffic duty. So there's some sort of disconnect there, which, again, it just seems crazy that people weren't making the rounds and saying, Hey, there's, there's nobody on that roof there. Or, you know, when there was somebody, there's somebody on the roof, but before that, you know, bah, bah, bah, roof clear, why isn't someone guarding that or guarding that building? I mean, it just, I don't know, I'm not a security expert. But some of this just seems like common sense to me. Just

Wesley Kendle:

seems like the radio communication was the biggest failure, in my opinion, out of everything, you know, that's probably like the most clear evidence we have of what went wrong to like, just as far as like the multiple shooters or like, you know, where everyone was, and things like that. Like, that seems to be a little bit more abstract. But right off the bat, everyone talks about how soon everyone knew about the shooter, and the fact that nobody informed Secret Service. Think that's insane.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, it's so crazy. And then explain this to me, because I mean, I've shot guns. I've dealt with guns. I don't, I've never like, holstered a real gun, like I don't have a gun holster that I use. But in the video, the female Secret Service's pulls out a gun, and then she tries to holster it and she misses that she can't do and then she just pulls it back out. Like, is that common in the moment? Or in the heat of the moment of the adrenaline that you just, you would not be able to Holster your weapon? Or is that like a basic skill that you should be required to do if you're in law enforcement or military?

Wesley Kendle:

Well, I mean, I think I, I saw like, where she had her holster, it didn't seem like the best spot, in my opinion, it was like she had to reach Ray back here, which, in my opinion, like, if you're going to be carrying a holster, you should have it a little bit more accessible. So you can draw it quickly. And then a lot of people when they practice drawing, they always practice out. And then back, you know, over and over they a lot of times in the military, you just do that for like, you know, an hour just to practice the motion over and over, make it really quick and really smooth. So I don't know if they have different requirements in the Secret Service as far as where they put their weapon, but I think she should have either had a leg holster, or like one of those like, once they James Bond has with the suits, or you know, like a front drop. So I think that was just an experience, you know, not taking the time to practice your draw 1000 times just to be really good at it.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, it's just, I don't know, it seems like there were some mistakes made. I guess it's hard for us to speculate whether these were just mistakes made on accident, or is this like, I don't think that it was like on purpose that they purposefully fuck this up. But I think what they're saying, I think you were the one there for referred me to the Tim Kennedy breakdown. He's a former sniper, and he was very good. Yeah, he used the term knowingly negligent? Like, like, I don't know, like, they almost kind of like, hold the goalie, I guess you'd say kind of like, you know, just kind of almost like Daring someone to do like, we don't know, we haven't looked at previous things and seen was their shitty security on on all these. And they were just, it was just a time bomb waiting to happen.

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, I feel like, I've heard an interesting take on all this. And it's, I think it's described as the white pill look, and it's, maybe all this stuff has been happening this whole time. And we just had no idea. You know, it's just like, all the all these failures in like, for this or Boeing or whatever, you know, and it's just now that we're, you know, aware of it with social media and the news and everything kind of like more, you know, places to locate your info. So, maybe we're finally breaking through and figuring these things out for the first time. And this whole time we've been like, you know, shielded and blinded, that's what I think.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I saw a recent survey showed that about 1/3 of Democrats think the shooting was a staged event. So as a former Army sniper with combat experience, do you think this event was real? Like, are the bullet sounds and people's reactions real? Or is there any chance this was staged?

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, like, That's so crazy, I think to like stage, someone actually shooting real bullets at somebody. If it was like, fake bullets, then I mean, still that but uh, I don't think that was the case. Obviously, people die. So real people died. That firefighter you know, got shot in the head, and then that other lady or whoever got injured, Trump got shot in the head. I think it's anyone who thinks that it's fake is not informed, or they're trying not to be informed. That's what I think.

Chuck Shute:

Gotcha. Yeah. I mean, it's surely it's real to me. I don't know. I've never had combat experience, but got it scared the hell out of me just freaked me out any sort of thing like that. Like, I don't want to see anybody get hurt. Paul, I mean, I don't really like politicians. I'll be honest, but jeez, Louise, like, I don't want to see people get shot. I mean, it's just, and that would have been if they would have succeeded. I mean, everyone would have seen that on the national. I mean, it was being televised live, right.

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. Like, do you see some of those reports were like, the initial reports were loud noises at convention, you know, Trump carried off stage. And it's like, didn't even mention like that there was a shooting or other ones that I saw another crazy one that was like, The New York Times photo, instead of showing, like, you know, Trump in the rally, it just showed, like, the debris in the trash after everyone gone. So it's like, literally, like making it seem like it was like a terrorist attack or, like, some type of really bad thing, or like, you know, like a massacre when they didn't show anything about Trump, you know, survived the assassination. You know, it's completely like rewriting a different narrative where it doesn't, you know, acknowledge what happened.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I mean, I think they're hesitant to use the term assassination attempt, and I just, I don't understand this language thing. I mean, I just, I don't know if you saw my clip from yesterday when I had the Registered Dietician on and she's a registered dietician. Okay. This is what she does for a living. She said that somebody told her, she couldn't use the term obese because it was derogatory. She, it's a medical term. She's a dietician. Yes. To understand language that we, it's like, you can't use this word. We can't say, assassination. I don't know. It doesn't really makes sense to me, because that's what it looks like, to me is an assassination attempt. I don't know what else you'd call it. But

Wesley Kendle:

it's controlling a narrative is what it is. It's trying to put out a certain message. And that's like, not what happened in from what we saw, you know, with our eyes. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

it's crazy. It's, uh, I don't know, it's interesting to see different people's reaction. So this whole thing if you saw today's Zuckerberg, you know, Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook. Yeah. I'm not a fan of his. But he was saying how like, he thought that, you know, moment was so iconic and Trump's a badass. And I was like, Wait, you're saying this? I thought you hated Trump. And all this. So? I don't know. It's interesting to see the narrative shift. For some people.

Wesley Kendle:

He's not the only one. Several other people are doing that. Like, I think more and more people are gonna start, you know, publicly, you know, changing their tune.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I mean, it's just, it's interesting. I think what true when they said, you know, everyone, they kept calling him Hitler. But then, when he was almost got shot, they said, oh, like, our thoughts and prayers go out. And it's like, Well, wait, if he's Hitler, shouldn't you be glad that someone tried to kill him? You shouldn't be thankful that he's not dead. You should be like, mad that they missed. Right. So it's like, it seems like there's some hypocrisy there. I don't know. Yeah.

Wesley Kendle:

I mean, there's definitely like, you know, they're trying to be like, oh, forget all the stuff that we said, I don't know if you saw the compilations but there's like a video of like, all the mean tweets, where people call them Hitler all put in a row. And it's like, you know, I haven't really done a lot of them. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

I know. I've watched it for since 2015, or 16, or whatever. So I've seen that I think like

Wesley Kendle:

we've seen tweet, tweet, tweet. Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

We've almost just kind of like made ourselves numb to that. Like, I feel like, I feel like they did that with, with Bush and Obama to I saw I remember, like, I was living in Washington, and there was like, big posters of like, blushes, Hitler. And then it was like, when Obama was there was like Obama's Hitler. And like, Okay, we can't just call every politician, you know, like, Hitler. Like, it just doesn't kind of like loses its meaning after a while, but

Wesley Kendle:

I agree. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't seem to it seems to be like, demonization, to the point where, like, you know, no one's rational anymore. Like, I still have people that like, you know, I can't talk politics with not that I'm, like, huge into politics, but I know that we're gonna get into an argument because I know we'll never see eye to eye on it. And it's frustrating. I don't know what to do about it, to be honest. Because I feel like I'm right. They feel like they're right. And I don't know how to make us see each other's side, you know? Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

And I just try to understand, I mean, I had this girl on, she's the best term. She goes, I'm a radical centrist. I was like, Oh, my God. Like, that's such a because that's kind of how I feel. I feel like I'm kind of in the middle. And but it's weird because I feel like people on both sides. Call me the other thing. You know what I mean? Like people on the I think I'm too liberal and people who are liberal call me a right wing conservative. So I'm just like, I don't know how to respond all that. So yeah, I just tried to listen, I tried to understand. I think that's the best thing you can do is just try to understand everyone's perspective. Even if you think they are crazy. Just try to understand that.

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, yeah. I mean, try not to disrespect people try and, you know, stay, I think, say it's self sufficient, and, you know, look out for you and your friends and do good things. That's what I want to do. You know? Yeah. And

Chuck Shute:

let's talk about what you because you are doing good things like, let's, let's shift and talk about health and fitness. When did you first get into, like health and fitness and weightlifting, and all that stuff. I mean, was that before you joined the army or was after

Wesley Kendle:

I joined the Army. You know, I was pretty light, I was right out of high school. So I was like, you know, 19 years old. And I was really into cardio, and like I did swimming and running. And I was always really good at that. So I kind of did, mostly that type of training, even after I joined. But then once I got to Afghanistan, we had to, like, you know, carry heavy backpacks and, you know, go up and down mountains. And just like I said, you know, if you couldn't carry the biggest guy on your team, then you are not reliable. So they I was heavily encouraged to start working out and lifting by some people on my team. And at first, I wasn't into it at all. And I was like, you know, just doing it because it was like, something we had to do. But what, here's a funny story, my platoon sergeant was talking to me. And he's like, he's like, oh, you know, that's cool that you can run really fast. And do your PT tests really good. And you score really high on that. But girls don't care how fast you can run. And unless you want to look good, you better start lifting. I was like, Damn, you're completely right. And then the next day I like went in the gym. 100%. And I was like, Okay, I gotta get after this. And I haven't looked back since it's been like 10 years.

Chuck Shute:

Wow. So that was the moment. That's awesome. What is there anybody else that currently inspires you in terms of health and fitness?

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, I mean, I always I remember, like, a long time ago, when I was growing up, my dad kind of did a little bit of training, he had a benchpress in the backyard. And, you know, he used to do like, squats and everything before his knee surgery. And we would watch like, you know, have you ever seen that old documentary with Arnold Schwarzenegger pumping iron?

Chuck Shute:

No, but you've told me about it.

Wesley Kendle:

It's very old. It's like the 80s or something like that. And it's like, kind of, I want to say at least parts of it are in black and white. And, you know, it's Arnold when he was like, 2528, something like that. And he's just like, doing his thing getting ready for Mr. Olympia. And, I mean, it's a little weird now looking back at it, but I watched it with my data once and like, that kind of got me a little bit interested into, you know, fitness. And I appreciated bodybuilding for what it was, you know, started looking up to Arnold, things like that. And then, you know, after, you know, I was in Afghanistan, we're kind of bored, we didn't have much to do on our off time between missions since we're in Afghanistan. So I started like really looking into like, who were the current competitors and bodybuilders and I got way more into like that style of training and learning actually like that skill. So that's when I kind of got interested as far as like, Mastering the Art. Gotcha.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, so and so as a trainer, like you've seen you work with so many different people at the five star fitness gym, and you've seen people like you guys recommend kind of more of an omnivore high protein diet, which is what I'm trying to follow your guys's diets like 50% protein 30% carbs 20% fat I think that's like a kind of a approximate breakdown of what most people are trying to do. But you've also I know there's certain people you've worked with that are probably 100% vegan and 100% carnivore? What kind of results have you seen from the people that you've worked with that have done those three different diets? Like how would you rank and would you say that the Greg the diet you guys are promoting is the best do you think carnivore kicks it up a notch?

Wesley Kendle:

Um, I Well, this is tough because I think the I don't know anyone doing full carnivore. I have the guy that a couple of people actually, that are doing high protein meat diets, highly meat based diets, but they're also including a lot of fruit as a counter, so I don't know if that counts is carnivore, but those two people are very lean, and they are very strong, like for their size. So they're not like bodybuilder size. But you know, they're, they look very athletic. They look like they work out. And, you know, for example, one of the guys on our scan, it registers him at 3% body fat, which, I mean, he's definitely lean. He's lean as hell, but I don't he's not 3% our machine obviously is a little bit room for error. But, you know, that's like to walk around and live like that. Yeah, I mean, bodybuilders get there when they compete, but it's not like they're, you know, living their day to day For the year, but

Chuck Shute:

this guy is doing carnivore so that's high fat diet, but he's 3% body fat as well. Yeah, he's

Wesley Kendle:

eating like, I don't think he's eating like no fat, but he's eating leaner meats like he's eating. He's not eating like, what I've seen some carnivores eating, you know, more bacon or like only rib eyes or something. You know, he he's eating mostly like chicken, Greek yogurt, protein, avocados, watermelon blueberries. And I think, I don't know if he's doing a he might be doing eggs. I don't remember. But that's about it, you know, just a couple of fruits. Hmm.

Chuck Shute:

So what is the biggest mistake that you've seen with people's diets? Um,

Wesley Kendle:

well, first off is like, most people aren't, you know, have no idea how much they're eating. And then the second thing I think, is eating too little protein from what I see. So like, that's one of the biggest things that people get used to when they start dieting is like eating the protein up as you go as you make progress. And you know, a lot of people that don't do that part end up hitting a wall and STOP MAKING PROGRESS long term. Like, for example, this happened with you once you started paying attention to the protein and like paying attention to like the other foods, the fats, carbs, once you started upping the protein over time, you're you hit like a second, like sprint of progress, you know, like you when you first started, you're you made some really good progress right off the bat, and then kind of slow down. And then we got really serious about the nutrition and then boom, another sprint. So it's kind of crazy watching that happen.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, I just did that third leg of upper body, like I'm happy, like I'm, some people might think I'm too thin, but I'm happy with my definition up here. And so it's just like that little like, pooch, you know, like, on my stomach, a little bit of love handles left, like, I don't know, like five pounds? If I could, there's a way to shave that off. What what is it? How do I kick it up to the next level, it's like adding a third workout twice a day. Yeah,

Wesley Kendle:

I don't think it's actually might be, might be pulling back a little bit to push more later. So like you made a ton of progress. I think we talked about this a little bit, what I would do is, wait till you stop making progress with your scans like it may be slowing down and like just being like small jumps right now. But once you hit like a wall for two or three scans in a row, it's like, okay, we've hit a wall, you're we don't want to do less carbs, we don't want to do more cardio, you're already working on twice a day, we need to go into like a little bit of a metabolism building phase, where we add a little bit more, you know, high days, and then maybe pull back on the cardio a little bit, let your body build up your metabolism. So when we have like more fire, we we burn more fat, if you know what I mean. Like once your metabolism burns hotter, you have a little bit more muscle, you're you're ramping up in your activity, then we can actually torch the fat a little bit quicker again.

Chuck Shute:

I think trying to tell David Goggins that he needs to pull back a little bit like not that I'm David Goggins. But

Wesley Kendle:

well, he happened him, I hear what you're saying. You're you're you're going into a building things not into a right now you're in a tearing down phase, right, and your body, like, tears down a little bit, a little bit, a little bit, and your metabolism slows down as that happens. And that's what happens when you cut, that's not like you're doing anything wrong. And as you get to this point, where it slows down, then you have to kind of like build back up and ramp the metabolism up into a furnace, where it's building, burning a lot of fat again, and David Goggins probably had those moments unintentionally, when he like, you know, got time off from training, or like, you know, switch careers or whatever. But what you're doing is, you've done a lot of the work ahead of time, you lost all that fat, where like, you couldn't build back up and re, you know, ignite your metabolism when you had all that fat before, because you had insulin resistance. Now that your insulin is way more sensitive, when we add the carbs back in, it's actually going to improve your metabolism, when before it actually make your metabolism worse. That's the difference. Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

The insulin resistance things that's huge. I mean, that's what I was talking with a registered dietician about the other day, just I mean, she says that's one of the biggest problems with people in consuming way too many carbs and simple carbs, the simple sugars and things. Even

Wesley Kendle:

over 20% body fat, you have a hard time using carbs well outside of like working out. So we would have a hard time building up then we wouldn't say, you know, hey, we need to rebuild, I would tell you, Hey, you haven't gotten there yet. We got to keep pushing. But you know, as we're getting closer to 15, you're probably hitting that point where we might need to up your metabolism to keep burning fat at a fast rate. And one thing you'll notice like a lot of guys that are you know, holding 5060 pounds of muscle, maybe 80 pounds of muscle, whatever they're holding extra. Those guys like they can cut so quick. In a few weeks. They can lose like 5% body fat because they have such a fast metabolism. Wow.

Chuck Shute:

What about so a lot of guys it's interesting because like that's one thing A change that I've made is I've been more consistent with leg days, because a lot of guys skip leg days, but legs are one of the biggest muscle groups. So if you're trying to cut body fat, and you're not exercising your legs, I feel like it makes it harder. So, I mean, what is your sales pitch for leg day? Because you've been good about? I think,

Wesley Kendle:

thank you. Well, yeah, I'm encouraging everyone, you know, going to five star, you've noticed that we specialize in like date. Like, that's a lot of what we do there. A lot of our clients, especially the female clients, go up to two or three leg days a week. And, you know, sometimes we have to like days for the guys to most guys do one or two, but you're right. I feel like I've kind of joked about it a lot on the side, like, Oh, you better not skip leg day, you know, kind of pressuring like, lightheartedly, you know, people to do it. I know that like, there's some guys that are gym that didn't want to do it at first, and then after they get more comfortable start doing it, they see oh, yeah, it sucks. But, you know, you do make more progress. Like I, I've really seen, you know, you and Mike and some of these other guys, like really get serious about it. And that has made the progress improve, you know, for everyone. So I my sales pitch is a you want to set yourself apart from all the other guys out there, especially with the ladies because they notice and then be you want to get faster and more results burning fat, more energy, higher testosterone, then you gotta hit legs.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, no, I think it has helped me for sure. And I think with core to because I think that's a huge thing there. Yeah, I'm trying to get that six pack abs. And I think a lot of the leg exercises you have me doing, I feel like I am building the core.

Wesley Kendle:

That's a huge thing. Yeah, a lot of times, like, I'll get a client who comes in pretty lean already. Like maybe they're like, you know, under 15% already. And they they're like, I just want to like get my abs to pop out. And we keep cutting, we get them down to 1211 10%. And their abs still really aren't showing. And a lot of times it's because they haven't built up that thickness and development in their abs from doing heavy leg days. So like as you do bar squats, deadlifts like or not like press, but like the other, you know, heavy loaded exercises, you have to build those abs to the point that you build them beyond what crunches would do. So I've noticed Personally, myself and other people, those people who are doing those leg exercises their abs kind of like poke out more. And that kind of cheats a little bit because like, hey, maybe you are like, you know, a little bit over, you know, in body fat percentage, then someone whose abs are poking out, like when they're skinny. If you have like bigger, thicker abs, you could probably have them showing up through your skin like 12% or less, you know, where like some people might need like, 8%

Chuck Shute:

Yeah. What about steroids? How common is that for people at the gym? Like have you seen that inaction? Have you seen the side effects of steroids? Or is it because I know they obviously work? We can? Nobody's gonna deny that steroids don't work at work. But what is the cost of that? Do you think that's something that they're going to deal with later in life? Or have you seen any side effects like, like, currently, like when people were using them? Like at the moment you're like, Well, you got some acne or like rage or roid rage?

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, there's been some of that and our other shame. I would say brutal for the gym. We went up the road. I don't know if I should name the name of it. But you know, the one we used to train at before we had our own gym. I feel like there was a little bit of like road rage or roid rage or like, you know, I'd see people with like tons acne on their back. Shit. I even saw like, someone left a bottle of like, it was a hormone blocker for steroids in the treadmill, like pocket, you know, I'm talking about like, I even saw a bottle that

Chuck Shute:

it wasn't like on the tread, I thought it was something had to do with

Wesley Kendle:

like, someone probably took the last one and just left it there that cubby you know, or I'm the cup holder. And then like there would be like sometimes there'd be like needles in the parking lot like not often but once in a while. I'd be like, that's an insulin needle that's for that's for steroids, but I had not honestly at our gym. I have noticed very little like most people that I know who may be enhanced are on TRT through a doctor, which is like, you know, that's for testosterone replacement. They're not like juicing like bodybuilders, you know, I'd say that's more common than anything. A lot of people in Scottsdale, a lot of men, like over 30 yard on TRT, like replacement levels, or at least they say

Chuck Shute:

that dangerous to them as their side effects from that. Yeah, like,

Wesley Kendle:

here's the problem. A lot of people that when they go onto TRT, they go on like some generalized dose, like they just stick them on 200 milligrams a test and then they slap them with some Arimidex which is an estrogen blocker, and then it will like hey, just take this, you know, twice a week and check back in in six months. And that's like, you know, not probably a good dose for everybody. That's probably only good dose for a certain amount of people. And then, you know, some people might need like, 150 like, you know, milligrams as opposed to 200 milligrams and or they go Need the estrogen blocker or maybe they don't even need testosterone, they need something else, you know. So I feel like a lot of that comes down to poor TRT management. And then also like, maybe like higher than they should doses like a lot of people call it TRT plus, it's like they're on TRT, they're getting whatever they're supposed to from their doctor, but then they just freak a little extra on top, you know, maybe blackmarket, maybe not. And then they're on TRT plus, and they just like, walk around like that all the time. So that's a common thing, too. Yeah.

Chuck Shute:

Well, and what about what are your thoughts on ozempic? Because how common I mean, I think I saw something like it was going to be like, one in three people are going to be on this in the next five years. Some so crazy, so scary. Maybe it was one in 10, I don't know, it was something seemed like a lot where I was like, this should not just be handed out like candy. We don't know the long term effects of this. And I feel like this kind of hurt your guyses business, because you're helping people get in shape naturally. But if they just take ozempic, it's like a cheat code, and then they're not. And if they don't work out, I mean, yeah, they're gonna lose weight. But then like, don't you lose a lot of muscle by taking those.

Wesley Kendle:

So yeah, that's, that's the biggest thing I've seen, because I have a couple clients who are on herbs epic, or have taken ozempic in the past. And I've seen this scans and you know what it does for the body. Honestly, I've had a couple clients who have taken ozempic and eaten really clean, high protein and trained, and they have really good results. Like, I'm not trying to advocate for it. Because, honestly, the work that they were doing, they should have just like they did that without the exhibit, they would have gotten great results too. So they could have done those same things with how discipline they were without it. So that that was kind of ironic, but they did their scans look good. They kept muscle, they lost body fat, it works. Then I had clients that take ozempic, they don't eat their protein, they eat shitty foods, they are inconsistent with their training because they don't feel good because they're eating shitty foods. And then they lose a ton of muscle, a little bit of weight, and their body fat looks like it goes up because they lost so much muscle. That's happened more often.

Chuck Shute:

Yeah, well, just scary. Because I saw I saw some article that just came out recently said, some people are going to go blind in one eye. That's a potential side effect. Not everybody, obviously. But some that's a risk that you're taking with those employees that you could go blind from taking a stroke. I'm like, I just and that's just, this is what's coming out. Now. We don't know, again, we don't know the long term after taking us five years, like 10 years down the road. 20 year, you don't know what it's going to do. I don't know, to me, it just seems not worth the risk. But I guess it's people's decisions to do that. There. I

Wesley Kendle:

think some people it's actually helpful for like, if you you know, maybe it could be a better option than bariatric surgery, or, you know, if you are obese, and you're having, you know, trouble, like cutting down food and making that initial, like, progress cut that you need, then maybe it is

Chuck Shute:

good. But I think if you're like 600 pounds, and you might you might, you're gonna die, then yeah, maybe it's better than that. Maybe it's worth the risk at that. But these people that are like 4050 pounds overweight, and they're taking ozempic. I'm like, I don't know why they're taking that risk. If

Wesley Kendle:

it's as bad as we're hearing, like, I think, obviously, that's going to come out more and more over time. But that also goes back to what you said, when you're like, are you worried that's going to take away from business? I don't think it will long term, like, maybe not ozempic I bet they'll eventually come out with something better. But at some point, you know, having that like side effect risk or like a thing where you can't stop taking it without going back makes it where you have to do some type of fitness someday, unless you're gonna take it forever. Seems like a bad idea.

Chuck Shute:

Crazy. I don't know if you can answer this question. But I'm just really curious, like, can you say who's the most famous person that you've trained at the gym? Because I've seen a lot of like, I mean, there's an ex NFL players that have worked out at that gym and like, influencers and only fans people. Crazy gym that we belong to?

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, I mean, it's right in the middle of Scottsdale. So we get a little bit everything and seems like trying to think because I'm not too good at the sport stuff. So like, probably as far as you know, we probably I know. We have that guy from the, from the I think he was the Seahawks and he was training while he was injured. And then we had the other player was he from the Patriots?

Chuck Shute:

I forgot. I think it was on the

Wesley Kendle:

sportstyle boys.

Chuck Shute:

I forgot I forgot. Where I see him every day. And I was always Yeah, I always told myself I'm like, I gotta go to ask him to do my podcast and then I just kept checking out and then I haven't seen him now. I think he left so

Wesley Kendle:

yeah, I forgot what his first name is. But his last name was Pope and like, he was like, Ontario poem. That's right. Yeah, he's probably more famous than a lot of people. We've had a couple like, you know, influencers there. Jesse James West we've had what's his name? Joey swore a couple other like minor influencers. I don't know. We had a couple only fans here. roles less than we used to. I feel like we've lost him. How

Chuck Shute:

does that I don't understand. This is so fascinating to me about like, I thought like, if you're only fans like you're like, Oh, they're not telling you buddy and keep it a secret. They tell everybody like it's not like just you're not breaking like, I feel like everybody knows like, oh yeah, she's only fans. Or he there's a there's a male only fans got Oh, yeah, that's true. Everybody the only fans? Well,

Wesley Kendle:

it's like they are but they aren't because they have like, but to the people that you're referring to have like profiles that aren't linked to their only fans at all. It's like, it's like, Hey, my name is Greg. And here's my fitness blog. And then on the side has like a huge only fans page that, you know, makes a ton of money and stuff like that. And you never know, looking at another page. So like, I thought that was kind of crazy. I didn't honestly know about that till someone told me and then the other girl like that does only fans, I guess she was pretty public about it. But yeah, she doesn't even hide it on her page at all. She has it all over there. But apparently they're making good money. They drive nice cars, they, you know, have a pretty relaxed schedule. Seems like they're doing pretty good. Yeah, I would do that. No,

Chuck Shute:

I know. It's just crazy. Like Scottsdale, such an interesting, there's a lot of fancy cars and stuff. But then I kind of like Wonder how many people are like, on the up and up like doing legit businesses? Like how many people are scamming people for money? Like did you see that article I posted? It was like these people this couple they have like $900 million. And they what they were doing is they were like give charging Medicare and hospice patients to do this like rap or something. I don't even understand what it is. You're telling they needed it and then bilking the Medicare payment and made $900 million. Now they're going to jail. It's crazy. It's

Wesley Kendle:

yeah, it's kind of crazy. I hear there's a lot of scammers in Scottsdale. And I saw you post that and you know, a lot of people my dad always told me when I was younger, he's like, if you see someone like bawling out like that, you know, it's usually not someone legit, you know, they're, they're making some money on the side illegally, that they shouldn't be involved. They're doing something, you know, out of the, you know, the law, probably. And I mean, I've seen it personally. You know, I had, you know, some clients that are not me personally, it's not my client, but there has been a guy in the gym that was involved in like a crypto scam. He was ripping off like, you know, people who were, you know, major league, ballplayers and other celebrities here in Arizona, and he was this is at our previous ship that we were at an undercurrent gym. We didn't own that one. So he was a member at that gym, and he got arrested and like, you know, he's gone now, like, no one's heard of him since but he was like, rolled up by the Feds and everyday is pretty wild.

Chuck Shute:

damn crazy stuff. Well, you're doing amazing stuff. And I appreciate your help with me. Like I said, you know, I lost 30 pounds since I've joined that gym. And it's definitely your guidance and wisdom and help with the training. And definitely shout out to you and shout out to Jay and all the trainers at five star fitness in Scottsdale. And you guys have other locations. Right? Isn't there one in

Wesley Kendle:

China open one in north Scottsdale soon. I know that's in the works. And then we j also has a business in Avondale where he has trainers working out of there. So that's a I think only women's classes. So there's no men's classes out there. A bit smaller. Okay, but yeah, besides that, it's been you know, pretty good. Scott sells the home base. Awesome.

Chuck Shute:

Very cool. Well, thank you so much for doing this. I appreciate it. Anything else you want to promote? Or people can follow you on Instagram posting stuff on there?

Wesley Kendle:

Thank you. Yeah, I'd love to follow that W Kendall on under underscore MFT that's my fitness page. You can always apply for training through there. Or, you know, hey, if you want to jump in with Chuck on a workout, you know, we'll get get you in there. You know, see if you want to try out a session. It's a challenge. But you know, we get good results that you can see right here Chuck, it speaks for us. It makes us look really good. So yeah, appreciate you.

Chuck Shute:

Look at this muscle. It's not that big, but I mean, it's bigger than it was.

Wesley Kendle:

Yeah, that's probably why I'm impressed. And you should be to make

Chuck Shute:

sure that you don't work out with Jay and your first session. He is intense. And I was not ready for that when you're out of shape when you're 30 pounds overweight and out of shape. That's not a good place to start. He's He's a ex football player and yeah, he's he's but now I want to try. I will try some workouts with Jay now but I feel like he doesn't have any at our gym anymore. Or maybe I maybe they're too early.

Wesley Kendle:

He doesn't do them once in a while. Usually like once or twice a week but you know, he's managing and there's his skincare business and you know, working like more than as a as a manager role, but I know he likes to get out there and remind everyone that he he's the boss gets it done. So we we've all done that we've all been through a workout with them and it's it's definitely like it's a mental challenge. You have to be ready. Absolutely. Yeah. Try it out guys. It's a challenge if you think you can hang. Yeah,

Chuck Shute:

absolutely. Well, thanks again so much for joining us. I'll get this episode two.

Wesley Kendle:

Oh yeah. Thanks so much for all we'll see you Monday.

Chuck Shute:

Okay, sounds good. See ya.

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