I Am The Immortal
At first, I didn’t want The Immortal to be my nickname. I actually thought it was fucking corny to have my nickname tattooed on my stomach.
A lot of people think the tattoo came from my overdose. But let me give a quick origin story.
So this was probably a few months after I overdosed. I was with my friends and one of my friends made a joke in passing.
He said I was immortal because I survived the overdose and had a few other brushes with death.
When I heard him say that, it kinda set off a lightbulb in my head. Like man, that’s pretty intense.
This was also around the time I was making my transition to a new life. I wanted to get out of the life of partying, drugs, and alcohol.
So the day I decided to get Immortal tattooed on me was the day I decided to change my identity.
I’ve talked about this before, but one of my knocks on AA is how you introduce yourself. You stand up and say, “Hi my name is Matt and I’m alcoholic.”
You’re immediately identifying as the person you don’t want to be anymore.
The way I made the change is by identifying as a warrior and a fighter. I am Matt Brown, I am a warrior and a fighter.
I am Immortal.
What Immortal meant to me was that there’s nothing you can do to stop me. Stab me, shoot me, or bury me six feet under. I’ll dig my way up and fuck you all up.
So the reason I got the tattoo on my stomach is because I wanted to be able to wake up in the morning and have that be the first thing I see.
In a sense, this was my mantra before my actual mantra. It’s a reminder of who I am.
So during that period of time, it made it easy to get away from all the people I was hanging out with and that lifestyle in general.
I’d see the tattoo and remember – I am a fighter. I am a warrior. I am Immortal.
So what does a fighter or warrior do on a day-to-day basis?
He goes to train. He runs. He hits the bag. He finds some people to fight.
That’s why I’m so big on mantras. It changed my life and hopefully sharing this can help change other people’s lives.
And here’s how the nickname stuck.
I remember going to a local show I was fighting on, and the announcer just called me The Immortal. He didn’t even say my name.
I do remember writing down a random nickname on the fighter sheet, but the guy was like, “Dude it’s tattooed on your stomach. You’re The Immortal.”
So as I made my way through the local scene and gyms, everyone knew me as The Immortal. A lot of people didn’t even know what my name was.
From there, the rest is history.
Putting Together Your Mantra
So piggybacking off last week, it’s time to put together your mantra. Maybe you’ve thought about it, now we’ll go deeper.
So here are some things to think about.
Your core values
What do you want out of this life?
Why are you doing what you’re doing?
What drives you and gets you up in the morning?
Who are you? Who are you deep inside?
Those are the foundational elements of how this mantra will be created. They all kinda flow together and crossover in some way.
It all goes back to knowing who you are. A lot of people find outside distractions in the world so they don’t have to really look into themselves.
In The Art of War by Sun Tzu, he says:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
These answers exist within everyone. You just have to take the time to dig deeply and be introspective.
Another great book called Start With Why helps people understand what their “why” is.
Because in life, you’re going to go through some hard times, shit isn’t gonna happen, some days suck, and some days you don’t feel like getting up.
If you don’t have a strong why, then you’re gonna be lost.
When you put this stuff together, make sure you’re congruent with what you’re putting down. Make sure it’s not someone else’s thinking you're regurgitating.
And once you’re done thinking through this, you should have a good base for your mantra.
Maximizing Who You Are
I think to get the most out of this sport, it’s about maximizing who you are as a person.
Throughout the years of watching this sport and all the different personalities that have come through, there's only one conclusion to me.
There’s no right way to do this shit. There’s no right technique. There’s no right mentality. There’s no right personality. There’s no right way to think about things.
So to me, it’s about taking advantage of your natural gifts. Squeezing all the fucking juice out of yourself.
We’ve seen guys who shut off their brains and do what they’re told like a video game and find success. Guys like Wanderlei Silva remind me of this archetype.
But we’ve also seen guys who are smart and tactical find their success as well. Guys like GSP.
So the real game is figuring yourself out. Finding what is the right way for YOU.
It’s also the hardest thing.
I would argue that the game is evolving to the point where you kinda need a little bit of both archetypes. And I think the cerebral, analytical side is taking a bit of precedence.
Because at a certain level, everybody has that dog in them. Everyone’s tough and they’ve been through wars.
So it’s probably not gonna be who’s more of a dog. The separator could be in your strength and conditioning or your actual skill set.
Justin Gaethje is a great example. He won a lot of fights just by being a dog. And then he evolved into this guy who has that cerebral, strategic side too. He’s been talking about this for his last few fights.
Instead of just brawling, he’s adding a bit of intelligence and focus on the game plan.
So always know your strength and natural gifts. And try to sprinkle in some of the other side with it too.
Slay Your Inner Demon Weekly
The real game is on the inside.
Every day I wake up and pick a tougher fight. A fight with that bitch ass inner demon inside of me. Every day my purpose is to starve that motherfucker of any little drop.
He never dies though! He’s always there, ready to strike at any moment and take over my mind and take me where I don’t need to go.
So in this weekly series, I’m gonna document challenging shit I’m doing to test myself. I hope this encourages you to do the same and unlock your highest potential!
I’ve been sticking with the cold plunge. When I first got this Redwood Outdoors cold plunge, it was fresh, it was new, and exciting for me.
Now it’s kind of a habit for me and I don’t think much of it. But that doesn’t mean the cold plunge has gotten any easier.
It’s still hard to get up first thing in the morning, walk out into 20-30 degree weather, and freeze your balls off in the plunge.
I’m so happy I get to do this every morning.
Truthfully, I don’t know what all the benefits are. I read some of what Huberman has to say and other sources.
At this point, I don’t even fucking care. Physically and mentally, it’s been amazing for me.
And the hard part is staying on it consistently every day.
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That ends it for this week’s Immortal Wisdom Weekly.
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Matt “The Immortal” Brown