S05E91 - Ron Ananian: 'The Car Doctor' and CrossFit Athlete – Radio Icon and Lessons of Perseverance

Ron Ananian @ronananian, famously known as the "Car Doctor," takes us on an exhilarating journey from being an auto mechanic to becoming a celebrated radio host with over five decades of experience. The episode is pulsating with Ron's passion for all things automotive and fitness, as he shares captivating stories from his nationally syndicated show that has almost a million downloads. We also delve into Ron's dedication to CrossFit and the life lessons he has learned about humility, perseverance, and the beauty of small steps in personal growth.

(Bonus tip: Ron shares which app he used to lose 25 pounds over the past several months!)

With over 50 years of automotive expertise and a nationally syndicated radio show (now back on WOR!), Ron recounts poignant interactions with listeners that illuminate the profound impact media can have. With an engaging narrative, he explores how podcasts are becoming the new talk radio, while traditional formats adapt to stay relevant.

Transitioning into personal territory, Ron reflects on his philosophy to embrace change and maintain a zest for life. His insights into the automotive industry's future—balancing electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, and traditional gas-powered cars—provide an enlightening perspective on current challenges and opportunities.

This episode isn't just about cars and radio; it's a testament to adaptability and passion. Ron shares his personal preferences for simplicity amid the fast-paced automotive landscape, and how his love for a reliable Chevy Suburban symbolizes his approach to balance and security.

With anecdotes of overcoming fears, maintaining discipline, and the importance of having a Plan B, Ron's narrative is a vibrant reminder of the power of passion and adaptability in achieving long-term success. Whether you're an automotive enthusiast, a fitness buff, or someone looking for inspiration, Ron's journey offers valuable insights and motivation to start making changes, no matter your age or circumstance.

#TheCarDoctor #BotoxAndBurpees @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness

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S05E91 - Ron Ananian: 'The Car Doctor' and CrossFit Athlete – Radio Icon and Lessons of Perseverance

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00]

Sam Rhee: Welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees. I'm here with my most famous guest, the car doctor, Dr. Ron Ananian. He is an experienced auto mechanic, a renowned radio host, show host, and a fitness enthusiast. He's had over 50 years of repairing cars and since 1991 on the radio helping you repair them.

He is an expert at everything automotive. He's known to millions as Ron and Amy and the Car Doctor on Talk Media Network's nationally syndicated show. It's live 2 to 4 p. m. on Saturdays, has over 1, 400 episodes to date. And he's also on iHeartRadio iHeart Podcast, which is the number one podcast publisher globally, more hit shows than any other podcaster.

And I think you're creeping up on a million downloads pretty soon.

Ron Ananian: Yeah, we're kind of getting there. Thanks for having me, Sam. It's a pleasure to be here.

Sam Rhee: I appreciate it. I appreciate you coming. Um, you can find his, uh, His show on the, uh, sorry, CardDoctorShow. com. You can also call in, which is pretty cool.

Anytime, [00:01:00] anywhere, 855 560 9900. You have a, uh, it's live, it records everything. So you just call at any time, have a question. They'll, uh, pick up on it. It doesn't have to be between two and four on Saturdays and they'll use it. Right.

Ron Ananian: Yeah. You know, you just call in and then somebody, somebody in the team will call you back and say, Hey, can you be ready for Saturday at two 30 and we'll schedule you up and we'll put you in the live broadcast.

The other thing we do with the 855 number is sometimes I'm doing a tape delayed show. I want to go see the grandkids. So, but I always want to put fresh content up. So we will make a show. We'll do Wednesday night. I spend Wednesday night with the car doctor. I'll call people back and schedule them and we'll answer the question.

The goal is to answer everybody's question. That's right. I think we can fix every broken car in America. That's what it's about. That's really how the whole concept started.

Sam Rhee: You are also working full time, uh, at your auto body, or your auto shop, R. A. Automotive, which is on 59th West Prospect Street, Waldwick, New Jersey.

Uh, and their [00:02:00] website is raauto. com. I love your motto, We fix everything but a broken heart.

Ron Ananian: Yeah, that just kind of crept up on me, you know. It was, and a lot of the things I've done here, as you're going to find out, as they're going to find out, it just, I didn't really plan any of this. This just sort of happened.

Sam Rhee: Well, yes, but chance, uh, the chance favors are prepared minds, let's put it that way. I guess. Yeah. Okay. I'll give you that. Okay. So, uh, I remember, uh, I was on the Hertford podcast with David Syvertsen two years ago. We interviewed you then, and we really went on a deep dive on your start, like how you started.

As an auto mechanic, how you started your radio show, uh, and also your fitness, your CrossFit start story. So that was, uh, episode, season two, episode 73. So if you want to listen to more about Ron, uh, definitely, uh, check that episode out, uh, HerdFit podcast. Um, and now you're still going strong. I coached you at 5 a.

m. And this is just an example of a typical workout that, [00:03:00] that Ron does every, you know, almost, how many days a week are you crossfitting now? Four. Yeah. Four. You were five. Now you're four. Um, It was an eight round workout, six hang, dumbbell clean and jerks, three right, three left, ten dumbbell lunges, three wall walks, and ten sit ups.

You remember that workout? I remember that workout. What were you thinking about? How was it for you? How can I be upside down at this age?

Ron Ananian: Uh, you know, it's just so amazing when I, a lot of my life I never planned. And I think that's true for a lot of people. You know, and I just, Life changes by the minute.

You know, we're going to be here one minute and the next minute we're not, is kind of how I've lived my life. And I'm always trying to be ready for the change and to be upside down, doing wall walks at 5 a. m. at this age or any age. Never got up one day saying, this is what I want to go do. I just, I've always approached life, what can I learn next?

What's the next thing I can learn? What's the next bit of information? What's the next thing to do? And I [00:04:00] think that you gotta have a bon vivant, you gotta have a zest for life a little bit. And

Sam Rhee: that blew me away. I've known you for seven years now. And, um, You are not someone who just came in, who's, you know, we have some athletes that are just totally fit to come in.

They figure out how to do bar muscle up or ring muscle up right away. You're like me. You're just, you know, a regular guy. You came in and now to watch you in seven years in to. Get up onto a wall, literally walk your way up and walk your way down, blows me away. Like that's skill learning, uh, on a pretty elite level that shows me no matter what capability you have or what age you are, you can always learn new skills.

And I think, uh, you know, certainly as a physician, that really makes me know that a lot of our, uh, mental plasticity, what we do as human beings. doesn't stop. Like you can continue no matter what age you are to, to improve, to get better, to, to grow. [00:05:00] Right. And

Ron Ananian: I,

Sam Rhee: I agree

Ron Ananian: with that. And I think, I think a lot of it is genes.

All right. I have good genes. Uh, you know, to Armenian parents, you know, I always think of the Billy goat at the top of the mountain. I think that's the Armenian thing, right? Mom lived to be 95 at 95. She, you could see her. She went downhill fast. She was gone in six months. I want to be that. I want to make a hundred.

If I can't make a hundred, I'm going to be mad. God, God's going to be upset. He took me early. Um, you know, in plain English, but, but I, I think it's attitude. You know, I do some prep. I try to, you know, I know we're going to talk about this later, but you know, I try to eat right. I try to watch, um, I have a lousy sleep pattern.

I admit that my sleep pattern could get better, but I think it's what's inside. I think you got to have that. I think the word is intestinal fortitude. You've got to have that drawing. I see too many guys, I went to my, I looked at pictures of my high school reunion. They just had their 50th, right? Yeah. I looked at the pictures and I went, Man, they're a bunch of old people.

Look how old [00:06:00] these guys are, like, holy cow. I don't see myself like that. I'm glad. I, I, I don't think anything about what I do. Whether it's, whether it's wall walks upside down, whether it's the deadlifts. I was at the deli yesterday and we were talking. We're getting lunch and somebody was there and we're talking, they're talking about fitness and I don't know how we got on the subject, but we got on the subject of deadlifts.

And uh, the one guy was telling me how he does a 240 deadlift and I said, yeah, that's great. You know, what do you

Sam Rhee: do?

Ron Ananian: Well, you know, he said, he's telling me about his 240 deadlift and he says, he asked me, he said, do you work out? He goes, you look like you're pretty good. I said, yeah, I work out. I do CrossFit four days a week.

And he went, he's at the gym. I'm at CrossFit. Um, and And he said, do you deadlift? And I said, yeah. He goes, what do you do? I said, I do 310. And he was like, you do what? I go, I do a 310 deadlift. He goes, get out of here. I said, it takes everything I got, but I can do a 310 deadlift. That's

Sam Rhee: pretty amazing.

Ron Ananian: You know, it's, it's, I think it's attitude, Sam.

I think for everybody watching or listening, I think it's, you got to get up in the morning with intent and you [00:07:00] got to get up in the morning with desire and you got to get up in the morning with, yes, I can do this.

Sam Rhee: Easier said than done at 5am. Let's put it that way.

Ron Ananian: We get up at 3. 30 to be at 5am.

Sam Rhee: That's right.

So, you know, speaking of your parents who are Armenian, uh, I, I know and I've, uh, we talked about it before that you were in large part inspired by your father, who was, uh, an Amer uh, a mechanic who worked for American Airlines, serviced President Roosevelt's DC 3 aircraft during World War II when he came into LaGuardia, and he helped you get the repair bug.

And he taught you respect for tools and machines and you know, we all have mentors like that. They might be our parents. They might be somebody else in our life. What do you remember? Like when you think of your dad, is there a particularly specific memory or an impactful memory that you have about him?

Ron Ananian: I remember my dad, I can tell you, I can tell you where it was.

It was, it was 1964. We were at Lake Stockholm. We had a lake house up in here in New Jersey in Sussex County and he sent me [00:08:00] across the street. To Uncle Seymour's house. He was my Jewish uncle from Brooklyn. Um, go, go see Uncle Seymour and ask him for a stilson wrench and for a, for a, for a 7-year-old. I couldn't.

And he took me by the army and he said, still, son. He said, look, anytime you have a problem and you don't understand something, stop, pause and think about it. Stillen still, son, you know, I'm, I can be working on the hardest car problem in the world. All right. And I can still, I can feel that moment of calm.

You know, he also, he also told me at some point, not particularly that day, he always said, there's going to be that moment where you're going to be in total panic and pandemonium. Stay calm and just think your way through it. Think your way through the problem. He said, remember, 000 feet and check the carburetor to see if it's lean or rich.

You have to do it on the ground.

Sam Rhee: You know, that reminds me of some of my mentors, the ones that I saw get into the crap like this. Yeah. [00:09:00] The ones who didn't lose their crap, like when bad stuff was happening and when you were feeling like you were losing control. Not so much in, in plastic surgery, but especially in, say, trauma surgery or some of these other, like cardiac surgery.

Like you could tell the people that, like you said, we're able to keep it together. Calm, calm, the mental approach. Like I feel like that, uh, is universal probably for approaching any problem.

Ron Ananian: Anything.

Sam Rhee: Anything.

Ron Ananian: You know, and it, and it comes from in here. And, and I remember that. I, I, I can, I can, I can, I can feel those two moments.

And I think that's important because I think, you know, I think as human beings, we have that ability to recall that. And it comes from our strength from within to be able to manage it.

Sam Rhee: You know, you've learned a lot over your career so far. I mean, you're still learning. Like I said, we're all capable of continuing to learn, but you've done 34 years of radio.

So what would you say at this point are the biggest takeaways from that experience gained [00:10:00] over 34 years of doing talk radio?

Ron Ananian: Not realizing the impact of what I do. Um, you know, it's funny people meet me on there and go, my God, you're Ron and Amy Asparupto. I'm like, And I look around like this.

Sam Rhee: Really?

Where? Uh, I've seen comments that are like, you don't look anything like I imagined you to.

Ron Ananian: Yeah, it's, it's, yeah, they told me I'm, I'm this or I'm that. Um, you know, you don't realize the impact of radio. I, I, and I didn't understand it at first. I, you know, I never, I never, Started this wanting to do radio, never, I never woke up one day and said, yeah, I'm going to go do radio.

That's what it was. Just, I started doing it as you, as you know, from my stories with Dave and everywhere else that, uh, somebody was, I was teaching mechanics how to fix cars. And somebody said, Hey, I'm going to do an infomercial about my shop. I want you to be the co host. I've got the questions. You've got the answers, you know, and from there, here we are

Sam Rhee: chance favors a prepared mind,

Ron Ananian: you know, it's that moment.

Um, But I, I think it's what [00:11:00] radio is, what radio means to people, the impact you can have without even trying to have the impact. I had a, we had a, I had a, I had a woman call her a couple of weeks ago. She just lost her husband. Okay. She wanted to know, she has a handicapped van because he was handicapped.

She, you know, she has to sell the handicapped van and at 73 years old, she has to go out and buy a car for the first time on her own. How to do it. And I explained it to her. I told her what to do. I told her how to do it. It's in the podcast, a couple of weeks back, if anyone wants to catch it. And she said, you know, at some point in the conversation, I don't remember if she said it on air or if she wrote me the email follow up, but she told me, she said, you've changed my life and you've given me the ability to do this.

That's like, wow. You know, who am I? To have that ability. I'm just this guy.

Sam Rhee: Do you think that podcasts now are the new talk radio? Because I feel like it's the same type of feeling when I listened to podcasts and I was listening to [00:12:00] you on your talk show. It's the same thing. It's like, it's just. Instead of me turning on my radio, I'm clicking a button and listening to it on my computer or on my phone.

Ron Ananian: I think podcasting is the future. I think it's a digital future without a doubt. I think radio is going to be there for a long time yet to come. Um, I think it's the ease of being able to walk over and click and turn the knob, uh, you know, here in the house or although here in the house, we could do it with a computer.

Uh, you know, so it's not that hard. I think it's a generational thing. You know, the people that are ahead of me, that generation is still radio. They're learning podcasts. They're, they're, they're getting it. And, you know, now they've got podcasts in car. You, you plug your phone in and it's, so it's, it's going to be interesting.

It's, it's part of why radio is going through the metamorphosis that it is, which it is, uh, but. You know, the majority of radio that you hear here in New York city on the weekends is paid programming. You know, it's, it's pimple cream and [00:13:00] things you rub on your head. And it's, it's, it's, it's, you know, and some of it's about as interesting as listening to paint drawing, right.

You know, it's just, it's horrible. Right. Uh, but it's, And that's not what radio was to me. To me, I'm supposed to give you a piece of information. I'm supposed to explain, you got a question. I'll give you the answer. You know, um, I've had people call me up and they say, I want to bring my car to your shop.

Yeah, this is the wrong place to do that. I will not address that. Um, I won't tell anybody where I am. Uh, you know, my standard answer is you want me, you got to find me, um, because I'm not here to do that. I'm here to answer your question. So to me, that's the purpose of radio. And that's what I, I think radio is always going to have that.

That position, I just don't know if it's going to be as big a position in the future as it currently is. I think it's going to shrink.

Sam Rhee: Now, you're now a pretty experienced crossfader. You've been doing it for seven years and we started, we talked about your start story before, but And I just want to mention, like, I knew your daughter before I knew you.

She was ex military, served in Afghanistan. She was the one who came to our box first [00:14:00] and then she got you turned on at CrossFit. Yeah. Yeah. I'm still getting even with her for it. And her and her husband are both awesome. They're both ex military. Um, but, uh, now that you've been doing it for seven years and I've seen you up and down, like we all do, you know, with trials and tribulations, sometimes we're healthier, sometimes we're not as healthy, but you've been really consistent, more consistent than most, regardless.

What are, what have you taken away from doing seven years of CrossFit at this point?

Ron Ananian: Uh, you know, I think about the day I started a lot and how I walked in there, you know, feeling very high school cocky, you know, like, you know, I'm still an athlete, you know, for her. Um, and then after about 20 minutes, you realize that's gone.

You know, I think. My first times with CrossFit were humbling and you have to be willing to accept that and and you know I think you've got to just say go for everybody out there. That's thinking, you know I really got to get to the gym, but I'm afraid to I can't on this on that You [00:15:00] just got to go you just just just just begin, you know, you ever see that movie the Martian Yeah, at the end of the Martian, Matt

Sam Rhee: Damon,

Ron Ananian: and he's talking about, you know, you know, space is going to kill you and he gives that whole speech and then he says, and you just look at the problem and then you just begin, right?

You just have to begin. I always think of that scene. It's, it's, it's classic to me. It's to me, that's the story of problem solving. All right. You just have to begin. You want to get to the gym. You don't like the way you feel. You don't like the way you look. Um, I'm not going to promise you that you're going to, you know, you're going to, you're going to be svelte and skinny in a week, but you're going to feel better about yourself.

Uh, one of the things I've learned in CrossFit is something I've learned in radio is that look at the percentage of the population that's going to That's doing it. And the fact that if someone can get to CrossFit, you know, how many people CrossFit versus how many don't? Nevermind how many people CrossFit versus how many go to a gym, because I, I, I've got to believe there are more gym people than CrossFit.

Oh

Sam Rhee: yeah. Way more.

Ron Ananian: Way more. Yeah. Right. [00:16:00] Yeah. Yeah. You know, I tell people I'm doing CrossFit, they tell me I'm crazy. Yes. Uh, you know, my answer is, listen, I can get hurt because that's always their concern. You're going to get hurt doing CrossFit.

Sam Rhee: Right.

Ron Ananian: And I've got an answer for that. But my primary answer is, You know, I could get hurt.

I could step off the curb and get hit by a bus. You know, it's, it's CrossFit is about how you scale it. Some days I go, I just want to move. All right. It's not my best day. I'm achy. I'm tired. I'm beat up. You know, it was a very physical week in the shop and some days, you know, you got it and you can just, and you can, it's, it will stroke you in the sense that it makes you feel good that you did a wall walk at 5am, that you did a 310 deadlift, and did a 245 back squat.

Because. You know, you look at that high school picture and go, my God, those are old people. Um, and you're not one of

Sam Rhee: them. I don't know of another. I love that humble brag with the 245 back squat, cause I don't know any 68 year olds who, and if I can do 245 at 68, I'll be, I'll be, you know, smoke.

Ron Ananian: I'm going for 260 next.

So that's, you know, and that's the [00:17:00] other thing you've always got to be. You know, life is about reaching Sam. Yeah. Okay. And life is about not being complacent. If, if, if we get complacent, then we get stale. If you're not growing, you're dying and you've got to have that attitude. And I'm not saying you got to every day has to be a hundred miles an hour, but you know, it's life is exciting.

Let's live it. We're only here once.

Sam Rhee: What I really like is that I seen you with like problems, like your foot or other issues. Yeah. My knee. Yeah. And it never. Like it would be enough for a lot of people to be like, I'm going to lay off of this. I'm not, but it never seemed like it was an option for you no matter what.

And so I would say for everyone who does any kind of sport, fitness activity, injury, or whatever you're feeling, like you said, it's a part of life, but it never made you say, I'm going to stop doing this. It was more like, I'm going to lay off of running or I'm going to do this. I'm going to figure out this, but I'm still coming in at 5am no matter what.

Because it, [00:18:00] it, it.

Ron Ananian: It fills my cup. It just fills my cup. And you know, I found something that works. I've tried a lot of things. You know, I gymmed a little bit, I've treadmilled, I've done weights on my own. You know, CrossFit's a different thing. It's like joining the Marines. It really is. All right. You know, I always, you know, the Marines are this elite fighting force.

They're very special to us. to us as they protect us. Yes. And I'm not, you know, saying anything wrong with the other branches of the armed service, but the Marines are special. The Marines make you raise your eyebrow, always a Marine, you know, always a CrossFitter.

You know, that's, that's different and, and, and that's, you know, you get recognition and maybe we all need a little bit of a stroke and there is some, there is some ego involved in CrossFit.

Of course. You just have to learn to balance it. And I think that's, that's key. Um, it just, it's just very important. But if you just. Just begin is the best advice I could give anybody.

Sam Rhee: I love that. Now, being the car doctor at this point, like you said, 34 years, um, [00:19:00] how do you think about your demographic changing over this time and how do you keep that show engaged to a wider audience at this point, like, I've listened to it, it's a great show.

I, I, I

Ron Ananian: watched the questions. I look at the questions coming in and, you know, auto repair, let's talk about auto repair. Auto repair is a national phenomenon with regional consequences and effects.

Sam Rhee: What does that mean?

Ron Ananian: That means, so here in New Jersey, right, here in New Jersey, the concerns and what we fix in New Jersey are very different than the concerns and what we fix in Florida.

Sam Rhee: Oh yeah.

Ron Ananian: In Florida, What's the number one thing they want to work? Saltwater. The air conditioning.

Sam Rhee: Oh,

Ron Ananian: that's right. In Florida, they want their air conditioning to work. That's right. In New Jersey, it's brakes and tires. Air conditioning is okay, but it's brakes and tires. All right. They want, they want the basics.

Sam Rhee: Yeah.

Ron Ananian: Uh, you know, in Southern California, it's They want the body to be clean. They want it, you know, nice paint job. They want it to shine because it's all about blitz and gling. Oh, that's so

Sam Rhee: interesting.

Ron Ananian: Right. It's, it's, it's just different in Texas. They're, [00:20:00] they're fighting dust and dirt and, you know, it's, it's a harsher environment and it's, it's regional stuff.

So when I look at the questions that come in and I look, who's asking them. All right. And every once in a while, I want to take a survey. I start with the, and I haven't done in a while. I should probably do this. Um, I always ask everybody, you know, what kind of vehicle did you learn to drive on? Hmm. And it's really interesting, you know, you've got, you've got 75 year old women telling you about, they learned to drive on their father's 39 Ford, you know, and you know, you know, they're that World War II generation, you know, it's, it's, it's just, it's just crazy.

Sam Rhee: What did you learn to drive on?

Ron Ananian: Um, I learned to drive on a 65 Chevy C30 dump truck. Um, I was 13 years old. I was shoveling horse manure, uh, for a buck an hour, um, you know, so I could help my mom at home cause my dad had passed and that was my, I was, I, it's this big, massive dump truck. Uh, you know, I went for my driver's test and it was like, I had a fight not to one finger the thing through the, you know, parallel park and the guy [00:21:00] goes, you've been driving a while.

No, sir. Not me.

Sam Rhee: Um, but yeah, I could drive at 13. I was driving dump trucks. That's a funny story. Now, technology has changed. And what amazed me is I listened to your last episode from you broadcast yesterday. And you talk about all the normal stuff I would expect an auto repair show to talk about like torque converters and water pumps and a lot of stuff that goes way over my head as someone who doesn't know about auto repair but then you also answered a question someone had a 2024 Equinox and they're trying to play mp3s off of their, or music off their USB drive, and you knew more about like WMA format and like how it works than I think I do, and I've been playing around with computers for a long time, so clearly it's amazing how much you've kept up with technology in terms of cars.

Like, how do you do that? I read a lot. Um, I, I read

Ron Ananian: a lot and I, I think my memory has slowed down. But, you know, I used to have a guy who worked for me, Chris, and Chris is now teaching for Automotive [00:22:00] Training Group National, National Association, and I'll sit in the back of the classroom. I'll go to Chris's classes and I'll sit there and I'll just absorb the material and the information.

And every once in a while, somebody will engage with me and Chris will say, don't do that, you know, because he'll, he'll, because he'll, he says it best, he goes, he's got a photographic memory that'll embarrass you. Um, and it will. It, you know, there are things I just remember. It just gets stuck in my head and I can't, you know, I can't, I can, I can, I can see words to a degree.

I don't know any other way to explain it. I've always, I've always had that ability. Uh, you know, there's, there's, there's another line in a movie somewhere about what a piano is. A piano is a bunch of wood with black and ivory and yada, yada, yada. Some people look at a piano and they don't have a clue.

Mozart looked at a piano when he understood what it was. I look at a piano. It doesn't mean it's a, it's a box with wood and ivory and blah, blah, blah, blah. I look at this and like, yeah, the third line is this. And I just, I just hold it in here. Um, I wish I had that, you know, now I'm getting older. So now I'm starting to, I remember the third line, but I won't remember the fourth line of the page that I [00:23:00] saw three days ago.

So it's starting to fall off. Oh my gosh. What a lot. Let me, um, uh, it's just, it's, you know, and I do that, you know what I find I've got to, I've got to constantly do it because when I, when I stopped doing that Um, it goes away even more. So I try to, I try to remember. That's why you hear the show when I'm, when I'm spouting out wire colors.

Um, I just, I just remember it. I remember, I remember cause I did it. I looked at it. I did it 10 years ago or two, 10 days ago. I remember seeing it and

Sam Rhee: it's there. I think that is the, the key as we get older is to keep trying to do that because for me, it's much easier as I go along to rely on what I know already versus learning it I'm a problem when I solve a lot of problems because I've had a lot of experience and I've seen things similar to that.

And so I know how to deal with it, but trying to come up with newer solutions or trying to figure out something new, like I've [00:24:00] seen this with my kids and I, like if I have to learn a new skill, especially a physical skill, like playing a game. on my phone or something. Like they are so much faster than me.

But when it comes to figuring out stuff, a lot of times I have an advantage just because my depth of knowledge is deeper. So I've seen that pattern before. I know what that issue is.

Ron Ananian: You have wisdom with, you know, that expression is true. With age comes wisdom. You know the balance. You know the yin and the yang.

Uh, you know, but I don't think age is a limiter. for learning something new. Well, what were we doing the other day? We did, um, in the warmup, you made us do, um, one leg deadlifts. I couldn't do, I couldn't be that coordinated when I started. Now I can do one like that, I can bend there. I'm not as far as everybody, but I can, and you know where that applies.

And I, and I tell this story and it makes everybody laugh, but for me, I'm always getting dressed in the dark because I get up at three 30, I go to bed, it's, you know, um, putting on your underwear in the dark. Yeah. How do you put on your underwear? I [00:25:00] put it on one leg at a time in the dark and I can do that without falling over.

Um, and, and, and that's, you know, and to quote, to quote coach Dave, right, that's functional fitness. That's,

Sam Rhee: that's. Listen, balance is such a important predictor in terms of functionality and survivability as you get old because Right. Listen, what are one of the biggest causes of mortality and morbidity for older people?

Falling and breaking their hip. And if you lose your balance and that sense, so the fact that we're working on and developing it, like that is critical for longevity.

Ron Ananian: Now, it took a long time for me to learn that. It took a long time for me to gain the strength, but everything takes time. Of course. You know, everything takes time.

I started 2024. I said, by the end of 24, I'm going to do a pull up. I can now do a pull up.

Sam Rhee: I've seen you do a pull up. Right. Blows me away. Yeah,

Ron Ananian: I can, I can, I can almost, depending on the day and how my arm feels, cause my right elbow's a little tender at times, uh, I can do two pull ups in a row, you know?

So I'm only, I've only got a year and a half. I got a year and a half. So I promised Dave, I promised you guys by 70, I'm [00:26:00] doing a muscle up. It's coming, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm going to try like hell. It's just, it's coming. It's, it's, you know, but everything's, everything's is a session, right? You got to start with the pull up and you got to go here and then you got to go down.

Sam Rhee: I will say this, even if you don't get it, the fact that you. We are working on these skills is enough to make our brains more active and to continue to learn. It's when we're not trying. Right. Whether we actually achieve that goal, the fact that we are actively working to achieve those goals.

Ron Ananian: If you're not growing, you're dying.

That's right.

Sam Rhee: So now, in terms of growing, I, I feel like electric cars are no longer as interesting to people as they used to be a couple years ago, and there's a resurgence, I don't want to say a resurgence, but there's more of a return of gas powered cars, and I know, I've heard you, you know, a little bit on the, like, you know, in the morning sidebar commentary as we're warming up and stuff, you know.

I don't, I don't take you as the biggest fan of electric vehicles. And what do you think the automotive industry is going to be like in 5, 10, 15 years when it comes to gas versus electric? [00:27:00]

Ron Ananian: I think, I think automotive vehicles have their place. All right. I want to start there. Um, I think there's a rationale for them.

They're not for everybody and they're not going to be for the masses for a variety of reasons we're not going to get into. We don't have the time. Uh, so I think you're going to see a percentage stay as electric vehicles. I think you're going to see more gas powered vehicles. Uh, I think you're going now, now, now they're talking about, we're going to dabble in hydrogen, hydrogen fuel cell.

I don't think hydrogen fuel cell is going to work cause you're going to have the same problem that you had with electric. The single biggest problem with electric is distribution. And you know, how do you get electricity that you don't have or have the ability to make? To all these places, the numbers are overwhelming.

Um, I challenge anybody, the next time you're on the road in, in, in crowded traffic, start looking at all the cars. Start counting cars. You want to see something crazy? Start counting all those cars. Now they're all electric. Now we all go and get ourselves charged up. Where, what does that [00:28:00] grid look like? Um, you know, I know why we want to go to Mars.

We want to go to Mars cause we're going to use earth as a giant electrical power distribution center because there's going to be nothing left. Uh, you know, it's crazy. I think the purpose of EVs and I understand why they've pushed for it is to get us to the stars. That's really what EVs are about. How does that get us to the stars?

Because when we're on Mars. You need to get around in an electric vehicle. Oh

Sam Rhee: yeah. You need that EV technology to really good. You need to need the technology to be really good. Yeah. To explore planets. Yeah. You're not gonna have gas up there. You're

Ron Ananian: not gonna have gas up there. And I understand that. Yeah.

Um, but I don't think it's gonna be the predominant way. We, we, we, we do transportation here. Do you like working on EVs? Um, we haven't seen a lot of them. Yeah. We've done some tires and stuff, but mm-hmm . You know, they don't really break. Hmm. Uh, and the stuff that does break is at such an extreme cost to repair it.

It goes back to the manufacturer.

Sam Rhee: Is this like. Like phones, for example, like 10 years ago, you could repair your own phone. You could take it apart. Now it's like, if it breaks, you like, they almost [00:29:00] don't fix it. They just like give you a new one. Just give you a new one. Cause it's all like integrated so tightly that you can't like take the screen off or the, and they don't want you to like, they like, they don't want you to actually be able to fix any,

Ron Ananian: but you notice they want your old phone back.

Sam Rhee: Why is that?

Ron Ananian: Well, because of the technology that's in there, the chips, because they can also refurbish it and sell it in a different market. Um, and they do that with cars. Now they do that with a lot of cars, a lot of the cars that were, you know, you hear the ads, you know, cars for kids and all that. And then what do they do with all these junk cars?

You ever think about it? They're going overseas. They're going, they're going to the islands. They're going to the Bahamas. They're going to Bermuda, different economic places in Africa. A 20 year old Toyota Corolla is worth 20 grand. Uh, you know, with, with 300, 000 miles on it and dents in every fender because over there they just need transportation.

Sam Rhee: And it's easily fixable.

Ron Ananian: Right. It's easily fixable. There's tons of them made. So back to your question, what does the future of auto repair look like? Or what does the future of the automotive industry look like? I think they're [00:30:00] learning. I think there's some simplification in terms of, you know, General Motors used to have cars where you could pick from 24 different side view mirrors.

They've gotten it down to. You need six. You need a chrome one, a black one, one that blinks, one that doesn't blink and so on. All right. So they've, they've simplified that. Um, I think you're going to see consolidation. There's conversation now where Honda's going to buy Nissan. Nissan's in danger of going out.

You know, they're giving Nissan 12 to 14 months and it's gone. Like that's, that's kind of scary. I think if I own an EV, I would expect to see the participation level we've got for about 10 years. And then I think you're going to see it sort of quietly go away. Uh, but I also think, and I'll leave it here, is that the future of EVs, the future of the auto industry is very political.

And who's in office and what are their ambitions? Oh, President Musk. Right. Well, you know, are we going to open the pipeline? Are we going to, you know, what and how and environmental impact? And we've [00:31:00] got all this juggling going on.

Sam Rhee: Yeah. It's going to be complicated. It's

Ron Ananian: going to be very complicated.

Sam Rhee: What do you, what's your daily driver?

What do you drive every day?

Ron Ananian: Uh, most of the time I'm still driving my 04 Chevy Suburban. Um, I just like it. Why? It's, it's, it's, it's basic. It's simple. Um, you know, I've got a pile of parts for it because I can't buy parts for it anymore because it's 20 years old. Oh,

Sam Rhee: so you stockpiled parts? I stockpiled parts.

Ron Ananian: Um, you know, listen, if I went out and bought another one, I'd buy another Suburban. I really would. You know, we don't have, the kids are all gone and it, you know, my wife thinks I'm crazy.

Sam Rhee: I know it's big because we have a Suburban, but we did, because we did all the soccer stuff and the carpools and stuff.

Ron Ananian: I like a Suburban. I just, I just like a big vehicle. I, it, it gives me, I feel secure on the road. Um, you know, because the road is a very unforgiving place. There's all these, you know, rocket ships running around you. My God, people pass you on 287, you're doing 80 and they're flying by you. Like, you know, you're just trying to keep up with the flow of traffic.

I'm in a new Suburban, it's a hundred grand.

Sam Rhee: Right. I don't,

Ron Ananian: you know, it's, you know,

Sam Rhee: So if you get dinged or something happens, you're not going to like, cry over it. I'm not [00:32:00] crazy. I'm not going to cry over it.

Ron Ananian: Right. Um, some days I came here today in the plow truck, my 22 Silverado, which I keep because it plows the parking lot of the shop and the house.

Sam Rhee: Oh, that's nice.

Ron Ananian: Um, I've got a 97 Ranger. That's the beater. That's got 230, 000 on it. Um, if I want to go somewhere, if I want to go to the junkyard and throw out junk and, you know, recycle steel and whatever, um, I've got something else. Oh, I've got a black two door 55 Chevy, um, which has been with me forever.

I, you know, that's, that's my right arm. I get that car. Uh, you know, that's an emotional thing. I saw American graffiti as a kid. I was about to say. Yeah. And, and I saw, and, you know, you know, um, uh, it, it, You know, I want it to be that guy.

Sam Rhee: How often do you take that one out? Uh,

Ron Ananian: it depends on the day, the weather, the time.

Um, you know, it's, it's, if it's, if it's a nice day, even like, like a day like today, it's sunny and cold. I would drive it today, but there's salt on the road, so I don't want to take it out. Um, and I'm working on, I've got a 72 Monte Carlo at the shop that I'm putting back together. Ah. Uh, it's a 40, 000 mile Texas car [00:33:00] that I've had for six years.

I probably could have driven it the day it came off the trailer, but Ronnie's got to play.

Sam Rhee: Uh, so I, I love the fact that you have your own hobby cars that you like still like messing around and

Ron Ananian: it depends what comes my way. Listen, I had a, I had the chance to buy it and I did. I bought an O2 Thunderbird, uh, for my wife this, this year.

She liked it. You know, she does the Queen's way, the top down and she does the whole thing. You know, it's, it's, you know, it was a cheap car and it's, it's, and you know, that's what cars are sort of Sam, you know, it's, They've all got their personality. They've all got their reasons for existence. And, and, you know, if you listen close, a car will talk to you, it'll tell you what it wants to be and what it, what it, what it's capable of doing for you rather than just a driver.

Um, I

Sam Rhee: think, uh, that was a line from Robert Duvall in Days of Thunder. I think he said something like

Ron Ananian: that. Did he? Maybe that's where I got it. Cause I've seen that movie.

Sam Rhee: So, if you had to be a car, what is, what kind of car would you be?

Ron Ananian: Easy, 63 Chevy Impala.

Sam Rhee: Is that right? Why are you a 63 Chevy [00:34:00] Impala?

Ron Ananian: Basic, 327 two barrel, power glide transmission, two speed, um, reliable, runs forever, just kind of plods along, nothing fancy, doesn't attract a lot of attention, and you get to sneak by a lot of people and do what you gotta do and get the day done. I love that, that's pretty cool.

Sam Rhee: You know, the only other car show I've ever listened to on the radio was Car Talk on NPR.

And, I was listening to your show, and they're no longer around. They're gone. They're gone. So, what was it like, because you've been all around when they were around, like, what was it like? Were you guys competitors? Did you guys, like, date each other? No, we, we knew each

Ron Ananian: other. We would, yeah, I, I, I talked to them, I last talked to them in 2008.

I think it was. Um, we ran across each other out in Vegas at the trade show at SEMA, uh, once in a while. We, we talked to each other. Um, just very different approaches. They were, you know, they, they, they were funny.

Sam Rhee: Yes.

Ron Ananian: You know, they were funny.

Sam Rhee: Yeah. They did a lot of laughing and joking.

Ron Ananian: Um, I don't know why, but I just take cars seriously.

Well, I, I kind of do know why I didn't, [00:35:00] you know, I graduated high school without a car. I didn't have a car in high school. I couldn't afford one. My mom, my mom and I, you know, tried, but we couldn't afford to buy me a car. We were trying to put food on the table. Um, you know, it's, I said this to someone the other day, they said, how come you have seven cars?

And I said, cause I didn't have one in high school yet. And it, it makes my little kid in here feel better. You know, it's just, it's that, you know, like I can go do this. Yeah. Um, and I do. Um,

Sam Rhee: so you take it serious.

Ron Ananian: I take it serious. And, You know, you ask me a car question, I'm going to give you the best answer I can.

And that's what The Car Doctor is all about. I'm just there to answer the question because I realize people just don't know cars.

Sam Rhee: And

Ron Ananian: it's very intimidating to a non car person.

Sam Rhee: Yes, for me for sure.

Ron Ananian: Like I just look at a car and go, Don't you know that?

Sam Rhee: Um, no, I, listen, I got a flat tire on my way down in North Carolina this past year and I had never changed a tire before.

And I would, I called AAA and [00:36:00] they were like, it was going to take forever. So I pulled out the manual. I started watching YouTube on the side of the road. I pulled out the kit and I managed to do it by myself, which is not hard, like technically, but if you've never done it, I'm like, wait, I'm supposed to make sure I don't over tighten this.

And I got to do this. And like, And when I did it, I was like, it was very much a, yes, I have capability.

Ron Ananian: There's that feeling of like, wow, look at me, your chest pumps up and you're like, look at my, and your little kid goes, wow, look at what you did. Um, by the way, we're going to do that next year. We're going to do some, we've got some topics written down for our YouTube channel, changing a flat, jump starting a car.

Buying a used car. We've got like, you know, four or five little quick, simple we're going to put together. So look for that next year. I

Sam Rhee: would think that'd be very cool. What is the most weird, interesting, unusual car problem you've, you've had, or at least one of them on your show or in your shop?

Ron Ananian: In the shop.

I think it's, well, the one on the show, I still think about the woman that called in with the [00:37:00] 65 Mercedes Benz two seater. And she had taken it to her regular mechanic to have a battery replaced, and he couldn't do it, so he sent her to another shop around the corner. Okay. And the other shop went and put a battery in the car, she went in, she paid for it, she said, I walked out of the office and I was walking up to the car, the mechanic who was still working on it closed the hood.

When he closed the hood, they put the wrong height battery in the car. Okay, and they put it in for 66 I think it was. She was a 65. 66 used a different group size battery. It was a little bit taller. So the guy dead shorted the positive and negative terminals together. And he closed the hood, caused that dead short, blew a hole right through the Like the top of the battery exploded through the hood of the car, okay?

The battery, the remnants and the fragments of the battery fell onto the convertible top of the Mercedes. The convertible top's on fire, right? She's describing this to me, I'm just like, right? And, and I was like, And I, and, and, [00:38:00] and I, when I regained my composure, because I, you know, don't, don't panic under fire, there you are.

Um, I said, and your question is, and she said, do you think there's any long term damage for the car? And I went, battery, acid, fire, lady, you got it all. Um, I said, well, where's the car now? She says, well, it's in a body shop and the insurance company's appraising it. And I just, yeah, I don't think you're getting that back.

And I felt so bad. She described, you know, I had this pristine, that was, The first time I'd ever heard the word is pristine white with the blue interior and leather on.

Sam Rhee: See, this is why people are afraid of working on cars, because they could do something stupid like that.

Ron Ananian: Well, you can get hurt. You can get hurt working on a car.

It's, it's, it's, you know, you're, you're, you're always, you're always looking, you know?

Sam Rhee: So, where do you think the car doctor you show is going to go at this point? Because, like you said, there's a lot of change in flux and where it's pretty complicated in terms of like how the car industry is going to go.

We, we're not exactly sure what's going to happen, uh, With EV [00:39:00] versus, uh, uh, you know, gas powered, the technology's changing. You know, you ran a huge show for 34 years. Uh, but like you said, things are, the way people are consuming media is different. Where do you, you're constantly, you're not someone to just be like, I'm in a dynast where I'm just going to stop.

You're going to try to figure out how to continue to grow and expand, so what is it that you're going to do?

Ron Ananian: Um, well, I can't talk about one of the things I'm doing because I gotta, I can tell you this. Um, again, life changes in the blink of an eye, uh, so I had an opportunity come to me this week. Um, you know, one of those opportunities that you don't talk about until you sign the paperwork.

Oh. Yeah. Um. That big? Yeah. The real deal. Um, like the lawyers are going to deal with it, you

Sam Rhee: know, between

Ron Ananian: now and New

Sam Rhee: Year's. Can it be safe to say you're going to have a large, potentially larger platform to work off of?

Ron Ananian: Um, I can say that if you're in New York, in the New York [00:40:00] market. You're going to be able to hear me on a local radio station.

That's pretty freaking cool, man. Yeah, it's, it's crazy. It just, it came out of the blue. Um, matter of fact, when the individual called me, I answered the phone and I said, Merry Christmas. What kind of car problem is this? And he, he laughed at me cause he, he, he knows me. And he said, he said, no, no, no, no, no. He says, you're sitting down.

And I said, yeah. And they offered me a job and I went. Really? I said, matter of fact, I asked him three times in that phone call and I texted him the next morning. Like, did we really have this conversation? He goes, yeah. He goes, Merry Christmas. Call me Santa. All right. Um, so by the time this airs, this should happen, it's supposed to happen January 12th.

They've got a date. They've got a time. They know the time slot. Yeah. Like it's crazy. That's pretty exciting. Um, so that will lead to more podcasting. Mm

Sam Rhee: hmm.

Ron Ananian: Um, talk media network is. told me the other day that they're working with, um, I think I can tell you this, Armed Forces Radio. They want to get me on Armed Forces Radio and get me distributed on their radio network.

That's awesome. [00:41:00] Um, you know, and then they're also working with NPR to put me up on NPR, you know, SANS commercials. So, you know, there's, There's always something different coming at me, uh, you know, which is probably leads back to it's why it's don't panic under fire thing because I never know what, Sam, I never know what's coming next.

Sam Rhee: Well, I think what you've done is stayed consistent. Like you had, your goal wasn't to say, Oh my God, someday I'm going to be on AFN or someday I'm going to do this. Right. You just, like you said, you want to. You want to answer, uh, questions about your passion, which is repairing cars and you do a really good job at it.

And you have enough, you know, you got the charisma, you have a voice. Uh, I think that you should also be more on visual mediums too. I think, uh, you do really well in terms of like visual as well. So like all of those things made your content. Great. Like people [00:42:00] identified that at, and you've been doing it for 34 years.

So it's the consistency too. Like had you given, you know, said, ah, I'm just so sick of this. Like 20, you know, 25 years in, you would not have these opportunities. You wouldn't, if you didn't ride all the changes. You gotta ride the wave. Right. Like, you know, I've seen, like, you, you were with, what, WOR for a while, and then you did this and that, and when you got dropped or this happened, like, it wasn't like you were like, okay, well, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm over.

Like, you just kept plugging along.

Ron Ananian: You know what, you know what the secret is, and I think this is true in all aspects of life, you gotta have a plan B. You always have to have a plan B. I don't care if it's in, in your job at the gym, you know, what do I, what's the first thing I do when I, when we, when we talk at the gym, right?

Well, we're going to do this, this, this, and this, right? The scales are right. So to me, that's my plan B. And then there's my plan C. Um, and you've got to have, you've got to have backups. And I think that's the way it is in life. Uh, you know, it's, it's, if I'm not [00:43:00] fixing cars, I'm going to do radio. If I'm not doing radio, I'm going to go work for somebody.

If I'm not working for somebody and so on and da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. Um, You know, that's, that's life. You know, life is gonna change and you just gotta be ready for it.

Sam Rhee: Is that something you can learn or is that innate in you? That mental toughness, that willingness to just keep going regardless?

Ron Ananian: Mental toughness I think is a product of environment. You know, I, I was driven the way I was driven and still am because I don't want my family to go through what I went through. I saw the ugly, I saw the hard times, you know, lost my dad, taking care of my mom. I remember coming home and the electricity, you know, sitting there, like we're sitting here in this room, and the lights get turned off.

Mom, what happened? Oh, I forgot to pay the bill, I didn't have the money. And we'd scrape together 13 and go down to the rock and the electric and turn, pay the lights, put the lights back on. Um, I don't want anybody to go through that. You know, that's, that's, that's a learned thing. That's a shock value.

Sam Rhee: Yes and no, because I know people who have gone through similar [00:44:00] experiences, but they use that as a crutch and an excuse.

And I've seen that all the time. Like, I'm never going to be an alcoholic because my, my father was an alcoholic or I am a raging alcoholic because my father was a raging alcoholic. So you can take those experiences that you had, your father passing away at age 12, you're, you know, living and struggling with your family and use that.

as motivation not to be in that situation or have anyone around you in that situation, or it could be your excuse why you never were able to get out and do the things that you quote were supposed to do.

Ron Ananian: Yeah, you know, and that's fair. I, I could, I could see that. I always, I always liken myself to, If you got a bucket of crabs, I'm the crab that always, you ever notice there's always one crab that tries to climb out of

Sam Rhee: always never giving up, it's just like scrabbling around.

Yeah,

Ron Ananian: and it's, it's, it's, it's, it's guts. It's, you know what? It's, it's, I want to be the crab that climbs out of the bucket in every situation and get to the top, even though everybody's trying to pull me back. And that's just the way I've always been. So [00:45:00] maybe, maybe it is bread inside and it can't be, but I'd like to think.

I'd like to think in terms of hope for humanity that we can all learn and we can all try to be the crab that gets out of the bucket because we know that outside the bucket it's a better life.

Sam Rhee: Are you intrinsically an optimist or do you think you have also like a side of pessimism? I have a

Ron Ananian: side, I have a side of pessimism.

I'm human. I'm not, I'm not up all the time. I have my piccadillos. Um, I think the older I get, the more I recognize them, the more I go, you know, Oh geez, you're in a bad mood. Stop what you're doing. Relax, unwind. Um, you know, empty your head. And, and, you know, tomorrow, and there's a dadism, right? My father always said, go home, go to bed, get up.

It always looks better the next day. It's always better in the morning. A day makes a huge difference. It's, there are times I will use that. I will get a bad piece of news, you know, an email and you want to respond, oh, fuck it. Wait a day. You know, wait a day before you respond.

Sam Rhee: How do you keep to your schedule?

Because I know coming in five days a week, like [00:46:00] I only have to do that. Well, actually I've been going to the 5am class more often lately, but like I have to live like a fricking monk. To be consistent at 5 a. m. Like I have to go to bed super early. I have to make sure I don't need anything crappy. I have to, you know, make sure that I'm all good.

Cause otherwise I'm just not motivated enough to get up at that 5 a. m. And then have a full day afterwards, which I know you have, uh, at your work. So what is it that you do? Like how many hours of sleep do you get? I know you said you have poor sleep habits. I think we all do as we get older, it's tough, but what else do you do outside of working out to make sure that you're healthy?

Ron Ananian: I, I think the thing that there, there are moments to motivate me. There's a, there's a couple of parts to that question. You know, I think fear comes into it. Fear, fear, you know, fear of losing what I have. So fear can be a motivator. That is true. All right. You know, you look at what you have, you know, you have, you know, you have this house, you have your seven cars, you have your, you know, your, you have your empire, you have this fear of [00:47:00] losing it.

So, you know, I think I think if you do it right, the more you accumulate and realize they're just material things, but you like that lifestyle. You, you, you want to do things to maintain that lifestyle. Yeah. You can't take it with you.

Sam Rhee: Right.

Ron Ananian: Um, but you want to enjoy it while it's here and that's where I have it.

Right. So fear, I think fear is something, fear is always in the back of my mind. Like, God, you know, if I, if, if I don't go to the gym today, if I don't go to the gym today, I might lose my edge. I might lose my, I might lose my grit. I might lose my id to want to go and do this. Um, so if I'm not coming, uh, cause I very rarely miss a, a 5 a.

m. Am I hurt? You know, what's bugging me if my body telling me to take it easy and, and you got to listen to your body and once in a while, you know, I'm not there. Um, I think that, you know, we struggle with it. insides. And, um, I, I think we have to recognize that struggle.

Sam Rhee: So how do you do, do you do well on your nutrition?

Are you good with your [00:48:00] sleep? I

Ron Ananian: started doing Noom this year and I've, I've, I've been a diet guy my whole life. That little powder thing? No, I do, um, I count calories. Oh, the app. The app. Oh, right. The app. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, really. My mother was Armenian. All right. You know, it's, mom, I want to, you know, when I was, when I was 15, you know, and you, you realize that, you know, There's girls, you know, Ma, I want to talk to you about girls.

Yeah, that's good, Ronnie, sit down, eat something here. That's everyone from the old country. Yeah, it's the whole, you know, Ma, I don't feel you, eat this, Ronnie, here, try this, you know, So, you know, you can go to my mother at two o'clock in the morning and she could feed 17 people, you know, out of the refrigerator without even turning the stove on.

I mean, that's just the way it was. So it was always food. Um, we never had any food, but it was always food. So food became an emotional thing for me and, you know, I've struggled my whole life with weight. And I've tried a bunch of different things, but you know, in the last year I lost 22 pounds and I've kept it off.

You look better than ever. Then, you know, just doing Noon because it, it taught me calories. It taught me. Yeah. You know, and I eat everything, but I know if I [00:49:00] have, if I have this slice of pizza, I can't have, Three dinner rolls and a hot dog on a bun. So you log your food into Noom? I log my food into Noom and it counts my calories for me and it teaches me.

And then what I'm doing now is there are some days I don't use the app and I will mentally just try to count the calories. Go, well, I know this was five, this was a 500 calorie meal. This was a 400 calorie meal. I try to do like, Between 800 calories a day. Um, and then some every once in a while I'll go, okay, today we're going to do 1, 500 to 1, 600 calories because today we're going to lose a half a pound and keep it off.

Mm. So that's, that's part of what I do. Um, I try to get to bed every night at. Between 9 and 9 30. I try to declutter my mind. I, you know, I'm funny, I, I know a lot of people sit and live by their phones. I get home, I throw my phone in the office, I put it on the charger, I don't look at it.

Sam Rhee: We didn't grow up with phones, which is why.

Ron Ananian: Yeah, I guess, yeah, I, you know. So I'm not on my phone a lot. I try to get to bed [00:50:00] at a reasonable time, but there are a lot of times that I'll get to bed 11, 1130 and then I get up at 330 and go to the gym. And, and, you know, how do I do that? Cause that's how I did it. You know, listen, there was a time period in my life where

Sam Rhee: Doesn't it get harder though as you get older?

Ron Ananian: Um, only if you let it. You know, it's here. You know, it's, it's Listen, not to be morbid, when you're dead, you're going to sleep a long time. I don't want to miss a thing. You know, I don't want to miss anything that's out here. It's, it's, there's, it's just fascinating to me, the world. Uh, you know I think

Sam Rhee: that blows me away that at, um At 66 for the past two years, you've been using an app, which is extremely popular with young people, actually, Noom, and used it successfully to manage your calories.

Do you, do you count macros on that thing too? Like,

Ron Ananian: Wow. I started it this year, 24. I started January of 24. So it'll be a year this coming January.

Sam Rhee: So I feel like if you can do it, anyone should be able [00:51:00] to help themselves with their nutrition.

Ron Ananian: You know, it's a discipline. It's a, it's a self discipline. And, you know, it's, we're, we're, we're all accountable.

Sam Rhee: Why did you start? Why did you start with Newman in the first place?

Ron Ananian: I, I, I felt like I'd run out of things to try. And who told you to try it? Um, I can't remember. Wow. I think I, I just kind of came across it. Yeah,

Sam Rhee: you just were like, I need some help. And then you started looking around.

Ron Ananian: I knew I needed help.

Look, I don't think there's a human being out there that they're being honest with themselves. Yeah. Good. that doesn't realize they need help in some area. None of us are perfect, right? We're going to be perfect when we're dead. I guarantee you when you're dead, you're not going to make any mistakes. Um, you know, it's, it's, uh, you know, it is what it is.

Um, I just think that I, I came across it and, you know, and it works and it's a discipline. Um, you know, do I reward myself? Yeah. Once in a while I have a soda. I still drink a little soda. I like a Dr. Pepper. Yeah. That's like my big vice. But, you know, if, if you're out there every [00:52:00] day and you're, you're, you're eating badly, uh, and I, I'll put the question this way, I'll put it as a question.

How do you feel? Not you, but how does the audience feel if you're out there today and you don't feel good and you've got aches and pains and, and you know, you're, you're, you're not in the shape you want to be and you don't feel good about yourself and clothing and you look at yourself in a mirror naked in the bedroom and you go, ugh, you know what?

Be honest with yourself.

Sam Rhee: Go see a plastic surgeon.

Ron Ananian: In time, um, you know, but, but, but, you know, there's that, there's that moment you can do something.

Sam Rhee: Yes,

Ron Ananian: you should

Sam Rhee: and need to.

Ron Ananian: Right. Yeah, absolutely. Um, it's not easy for people. It's not easy. It's, it's,

Sam Rhee: it's, what is the end goal? What do you want to be and how do you want to get there?

But you've always done that your whole life, which I think is the difference. That's why, because you applied the same drive and attitude you've had for everything. And you What do I need to do? But, but that is something that. I don't [00:53:00] think everyone has experience with or the knowledge to do or even like just knowing that that can be done.

And I think that that's why, uh, us talking about it might be helpful because even people who are like, you know, like, I think this might be something I can try doing.

Ron Ananian: I, I, I, and I, and I think, I think it is something a lot of people can try doing. Look, I don't think, and I know we have to move on, I don't think, There isn't a problem in life that can't be solved with a car, right?

We'll talk about cars, what else? You know, I think every car is repairable. Yes. Every car, every problem. Yeah. It's just, how fine do you have to neck it down to get to the nitty gritty, to get to that moment where something went wrong before the 14 other parts got added that created three other problems.

Sam Rhee: Unless you're a 65 Mercedes who battery exploded. Battery exploded. Yeah,

Ron Ananian: I can see that. All I can see is that car on fire, and the horrified look of that woman in my eyes, and I'm just like, oh my god.

Sam Rhee: I just see this, like, debutante [00:54:00] looking lady. Yeah,

Ron Ananian: exactly, right? Coiffed hair, the pocketbook, the whole thing, you know?

Oh, my car is done! It's on fire, like, wow, you know? The car was on fire! It's done! Like, next! It blew battery acid all over the paint! Like, really?

Sam Rhee: Ugh. Ron, you are the best. I love talking to you. I love the fact that, like, you have so much potential. Experience and more than that, just your whole mindset. Like, I just love people who sort of inspire me to do stuff.

And just talking to you right now, I'm inspired to do so much more. Thank you. Just because of that. So this is the car doctor, Ron Ananian, auto mechanic, radio show host, also going to be on, hopefully, even a bigger platform and format where, uh, I can't wait to see what happens with that. Fitness enthusiast.

Fitness enthusiast. I'm telling you, like. If everyone could just sort of take no matter where they are in life and say, you know [00:55:00] what, I can do more. I can, I can

Ron Ananian: just one thing

Sam Rhee: grow more. Yeah.

Ron Ananian: Just one thing. You know what? If you're, if you're out there and you're listening to this and watching us and you're having pizza.

Have one less slice, have, have one less soda. Just make it simple. Simple is where it starts. It doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to be this dramatic overhaul. I'm not telling you to go out and empty your closet and go buy a whole new wardrobe. Change one piece of clothing and you change one and then you change another and you change another and with each moment, And movement, change begins, and that's how you begin.

Sam Rhee: You might start be doing wall walks and deadlifting 310. Who knows where you might end up. Who knows? You might get a muscle up at 70. Ron, thank you so much. You're welcome. It's been a pleasure. It's

Ron Ananian: been a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much.