Sevan Matossian (00:01):
Bam. We’re live Caleb. Thanks for hosting the show. Bye bye. Ah, good to have you on dude.
Eli Wehbe (00:11):
You Graham. I’m happy to be here, brother.
Sevan Matossian (00:14):
Hey, I like that. Uh, oh, you have a video camera pointed at you.
Eli Wehbe (00:18):
I do.
Sevan Matossian (00:18):
That’s. Oh, and that’s how you have that shallow depth of field.
Eli Wehbe (00:22):
That’s all only reason
Sevan Matossian (00:24):
You are slick. You are slick.
Eli Wehbe (00:29):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (00:29):
I love having guests like you on, because then I can brag that. I read a book, even though I just listened to it. I can be like, oh yes, like my wife’s like, where are you going? I go, well, just I’m going to do a podcast with this book, this author of this book. I read like all like just a little swag.
Eli Wehbe (00:45):
You did the whole audible. Yeah,
Sevan Matossian (00:47):
I did. It was great. And, uh, it has all of the, um, it has your, your homeboy interviewing you in kind of in between chapters getting like deeper insight into, into the chapters.
Eli Wehbe (00:56):
Yeah, my boy Woody, he was in like a, a really big rock band called, uh, our last night. He he’s got two bestselling books too. I mean, the guy knows how to talk. So I think he made the, the, he made it more interesting.
Sevan Matossian (01:07):
Was that your idea to do that for your book? Or did your agent or your manager was said
Eli Wehbe (01:11):
So, no, I didn’t have an agent or manager. I, uh, I was just like, yo, this would be dope to run it. Like podcast style. You know,
Sevan Matossian (01:17):
I’ve never seen that. I listened to a lot of audio books. I’ve never, I’ve never seen anyone else do that.
Eli Wehbe (01:20):
The only other person that did it was, uh, David Goggins. He ran it, not the same exact way, but pretty similar. I think he’s probably the only other person
Sevan Matossian (01:28):
It’s, it’s pretty seamless. How, how did you do that? Did he come in with notes and then, and then he’s like, okay, let’s talk about chapter one. Okay. Let’s talk about chapter two. Or
Eli Wehbe (01:37):
We actually just did everything off the riff. It was kind of crazy cuz he, uh, he had printed out, like he had printed out the whole book and then he started like me making notes as he was reading it. And then I was just like, when we went in, I was like, yo, let’s just do everything off the riff, whatever comes to your mind stop. And let’s just start talking and that was it. We didn’t edit anything. We just went just, we just did it super raw, you know?
Sevan Matossian (01:59):
Um, what was the, um, why did you write this book? You’re so young to have already written your first, uh, autobiography
Eli Wehbe (02:09):
Man. I went through, uh, you know, as you read, I went through like the whole cancel culture and, and I, and I kind of wanted to just kind of talk about, I wanted to get my whole, the whole truth of that story out there. And then I kind of wanted to talk about, you know, just what kind of the, the, the truth that’s going on, you know, behind closed doors and, and the belly of Hollywood. And, and I did it in a way where I use myself as a references instead of bringing other people down in that sense. But I was able to just kind of like explain just how the whole industry works and how there was no happiness for me, at least inside there. And, and, and how I would, was able to start living my truth now and, and be able to, you know, share that and be in service with others.
Sevan Matossian (02:47):
Uh, excuse me, one second. While I whoop someone’s ass in the comments, uh, why wouldn’t he write a book? Listen, chord you motherfucker. Why wouldn’t you write a book? Why haven’t you written a book? God, go, go back to jumping rope. You just, just listen, Cory, you don’t no more comments from you. Get your hands off the keyboard.
Eli Wehbe (03:05):
I didn’t realize you book into, uh, live comments.
Sevan Matossian (03:08):
Ah, yes, yes. This is it’s. It’s a rowdy. It’s a rowdy talk shit and talk shit group. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Eli Wehbe (03:13):
Yeah. Let’s get it fucking pop in there. Good,
Sevan Matossian (03:14):
Good, good. Corey. You’re good dude. Double unders thousand double unders. Well, you’ll listen to the buddy. Um, it, so, so, uh, Caleb, can you bring up a cover of the book? The book is actually really, really, really, really cool. Uh, I listened to it, um, on audio as I drove my kids all around town to all of their shit and it was sweet and it’s a fun book because those of us who don’t live in the LA scene, it gives us a peak into it in a really cool way. And it could have been a downer book because, you know, it’s, um, sex drugs in rock and roll, not enough sex, but um, lots of, uh, drugs in rock and roll. And, um, you, you need to do a tell all sex book by the way. And, um, is a, it’s a fun read, but with tons of lessons.
Sevan Matossian (03:53):
So it’s a guy who’s giving us a fun peak so that we can kind of live through him vicariously. And then there’s, you know, like in the, uh, good journey, there is a, um, there’s some demons to battle and, uh, and, and it’s fun to watch how, um, Eli overcomes it. And since a lot of my people who listen to this podcast are hardcore CrossFiters and are pretty hardcore extreme athletes. I think you’ll be very happy with some of the outlets that, um, Eli finds. Uh, so, so when you, when you think about is, is writing the book, your idea. So there’s, there’s a couple easy things to say. I could be like, oh, you wrote the book because you didn’t like the way you were treated in the press. You wanted to get your own voice out there, or you wrote the book for your own, um, psychotherapy, your own, you know, cathartic, you know, it’s like taking a massive shit, you know? Um, it was like maybe fasting for you. You wanted to purge yourself of it. What, how does it, how did it happen?
Eli Wehbe (04:43):
It was crazy. Cause I, when I was going through all the, you know, the bad press and the council culture stuff, I had just kind of disconnected from the world. I just changed my phone number. I disconnected my social media, sat in front of the mirror. One day just started bawling. And I was like, yo, how the fuck am I gonna turn this shit around? And then I was like, you know what? Everyone’s always wanted me to write a book on my life. So I live such a gnarly life.
Sevan Matossian (05:03):
Oh. So people had said that to you. Oh dude, you gotta write a book.
Eli Wehbe (05:07):
Yeah, for sure. You know, with, you know, the celebrity connections that I had and friendships, the club that I ran, all that type of shit. And, and everyone’s like, yo, you’ve just lived the craziest lifestyle. Don’t you write a book about it. And at that time I was like, there’s no way I can write a book on this. Like, wow, I’m still in this industry. And when all that went down, I was like, for, this is like the biggest kick in my ass to be like, yo, this is your chance to get out and, you know, change your life around. And I guess like when I went to write that book, the whole point of writing that book to me was just if I could change one life with it, that’s all that kinda mattered to me. And then
Sevan Matossian (05:36):
Besides your own
Eli Wehbe (05:39):
Hundred percent.
Sevan Matossian (05:41):
Wow. And, and do you remember the first day you’ve that down and started writing? Like, was it real, were you like holy shit I’m yeah,
Eli Wehbe (05:47):
It was, yeah, it was crazy. I had never even finished a, I had never even read a full book in, in, in my entire life, up until that month. And then that’s awesome.
Sevan Matossian (05:53):
When, what was that book and what was that book?
Eli Wehbe (05:55):
Um, I think it was rich rolls, uh, finding ultra, have you read that book or no?
Sevan Matossian (06:00):
No, but I’m going to, is it good?
Eli Wehbe (06:02):
Yeah. It’s fucking great book. Yeah, that was, uh, actually my friend Allie. I was like, yo, you got like, she had been telling me about this guy forever. And when I was in the nightlife, like I didn’t give a shit about like the health. I mean, I cared about the health world, but like the dudes that were like pushing all the good stuff out there, stuff I wasn’t paying attention to that I was just paying attention to what was whatever was like what was in my world with nightlife and stuff. So, um, yeah, that’s the book right there. It’s a fucking great book. And uh,
Sevan Matossian (06:29):
Do you know him?
Eli Wehbe (06:31):
I don’t know him. I, I, we have mutual friends. He, he doesn’t, he doesn’t actually live that far from me either. And he does a lot of running as well too. And, uh, no, but we don’t, we don’t personally know each other. We’ve talked on, uh, you know, Instagram, DMS here and there, but that’s about it. But yeah, I just got down to there. I started, I read that, I read that book and then I started writing. I had no idea how to write. I just started like Googling shit and then didn’t really tell anybody what I was doing for months. I stayed off in, I stayed off social media completely for eight months. I didn’t even know that we had even riots going on here. Pandemic didn’t even really happen for me. I was just literally getting up every day, meditating, reading, writing, running 15, 20 miles per day. And then just doing this on repeat every single day.
Sevan Matossian (07:09):
Oh shit. So, and you talk about that in the book, which is just fascinating to me. It’s kind of like what a lot of people say when I talk to ’em about the news or what’s going on, they’ll be like, Hey dude, I have no idea. I’ve completely unplugged. You actually had riots going in your town. That was like during the whole Ferguson, when George Floyd, uh, got, got, um, busted for fentanyl meth and ran into a cop, put his knee on him and he died. Right. That whole mess.
Eli Wehbe (07:34):
Yeah. There was like a hundred thousand people on like Hollywood on the Hollywood Boulevard. I had no idea. I had no idea. It was even going on.
Sevan Matossian (07:40):
People were shopping for free in Beverly Hills.
Eli Wehbe (07:43):
They still are. It’s gnarly out here.
Sevan Matossian (07:46):
Hey, total totals, total side, subject. Do you think we’re gonna get a, do you think it’ll ever, um, it’ll ever go back to normal to like where it’s like in my town, in Santa Cruz, California, it’s okay. To steal stuff like $950 or less. You think that? Yeah. Do you think that ever goes away? Do you think we ever get a governor? Who’s like, okay, everyone’s gonna be accountable and responsible for their behaviors again. And
Eli Wehbe (08:07):
I think, I think it, I think, I think things get fixed eventually, but I don’t think anything’s ever going back to normal. Like this is the fucking new normal now, you know what I’m saying? It’s like this, like I don’t, and nothing’s going back to the way it was two years ago. That’s for sure.
Sevan Matossian (08:19):
Yeah. Is, is LA the, when I, when I visit LA like California in general, in my opinion is really bad. It, it is the home of woke culture, blame other people lack personal accountability, lack personal responsibility. I made it to the top. And instead of telling you how hard it was and how hard it worked, I’m gonna feel sorry for you and throw you crumbs down and make you eat. Do, but I think of LA as kind of the birthplace of that shit. Like when I go down there, I’m like, holy shit. Like, is it, is it, is it, yeah.
Eli Wehbe (08:49):
I mean, there’s a lot. There’s definitely a lot of people like that. And then there’s definitely a lot of people like us. I mean, I mean, we all got a sad, fucking story, work harder, motherfuckers, you know, like I don’t, I don’t feel I’m, I’m not empathetic for any of those people, man. Like, we’ve all, we’re all going through shit every fucking day, man. Like people just gotta a man to fuck up and just, we just live in a weak ass society right now, man. It’s insane. And nobody wants to take accountability. Everybody wants to point fingers, but at themselves, but, but at themselves, you know, and it’s just, it’s just a, our time we live there.
Sevan Matossian (09:16):
Did you ever have a wake up moment? Like, were you ever, were you ever like realized that Hey, feeling sorry and pity for people? Like maybe isn’t the way to go. It’s better to just tell people like, Hey, no, one’s coming for you. You gotta, you gotta do it.
Eli Wehbe (09:29):
Yeah. You guys. I mean, I guess like when I went through everything, I knew that no one was coming to fucking save me. I know no one’s coming to help me. I was like, fuck, you gotta be your own hero. Don’t get the fuck up and, and figure it the fuck out. No, one’s no one’s coming to do this work for you. Especially at that time, like I felt like the whole world was against me, so I didn’t have a choice. I was either fucking go, go down, go down world, go, go back downwards, go spiral, go get back on drugs and party and run away from it or fight it. Uh, fight it face forward and fucking come back stronger.
Sevan Matossian (09:56):
Um, you guys there’s PE although he changes the names in the book, there are people that you will, uh, figure out when you read the book that Eli rolled with the biggest names, everyone that you know, all the people you grew up with on Instagram, all the people who sing your favorite songs, all of these people make, um, appearances throughout the book. And Eli was a, um, was a very Ambi ambitious entrepreneur who became an entrepreneur. Are you familiar with that term? Entrepreneur,
Eli Wehbe (10:28):
Entrepreneur, entrepreneur
Sevan Matossian (10:30):
Intrapreneur.
Eli Wehbe (10:31):
That’s a new one for me.
Sevan Matossian (10:32):
Yeah. I just learned it. You are an amazing entrepreneur. You know what I, I was reading. Do you know, Patrick bed day is,
Eli Wehbe (10:39):
Sounds familiar.
Sevan Matossian (10:40):
Armenian is Syrian guy six, five worth several hundred million has an insurance company with like 20,000 employees. Anyway, he, um, he entrepreneurs are people who act like entrepreneurs inside of a business. And if you can find entrepreneurs, you’re stoked because they just run with shit. And that’s what you did. You entered the club, the club scene, and basically every club you entered, um, you acted like it was your own and gave it your all, like, you’re the kinda dude, if, if you work for someone, when you’re in the bathroom, if there was toilet paper on the ground, you picked it up and threw it away.
Eli Wehbe (11:13):
Yep. A hundred percent,
Sevan Matossian (11:14):
Right?
Eli Wehbe (11:15):
Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was just pumped it like, I mean, you know, was always a long haul play to me in my mind. It was never like short term. Most of these guys that were coming to the game were just people that were promoting and working for clubs. They just go to the next best thing next best thing. But like, I always had loyalty with whoever I was with and it paid off in the long run.
Sevan Matossian (11:32):
Yeah. There’s not a lot of people like you.
Eli Wehbe (11:38):
I mean, gonna have to agree with you, man. They fucking
Sevan Matossian (11:43):
It’s, it’s weird. Right? Because it’s a lot of hard work what you did. But the good thing is, is that there’s not a lot of competition cuz there’s not a lot of hard workers, but you have to kind of be in it for the long haul. You can’t be stealing twenties out of the drawer because you’re in it for the long haul
Eli Wehbe (11:58):
Hundred percent. I mean the majority of people, man, they just can’t see it. And then today’s today’s generation. It just like everybody wants the QuickBook. It’s just how it is. Nobody wants to work anymore. There’s no hard work. Just nothing, man. Like it’s just only getting worse and worse. It’s it’s bizarre.
Sevan Matossian (12:14):
And, and you went and there’s this whole culture of people who be like, you need to have boundaries and you need to tell people what you want and you need to stand up for what you believe. But I loved your story of when you got the job at the Warwick, didn’t ask him how much it cost didn’t no,
Eli Wehbe (12:27):
No that one was, that was at playoffs at the start.
Sevan Matossian (12:29):
Oh, okay. Sorry.
Eli Wehbe (12:31):
Yeah. That’s a playoffs playoffs at the start. Go ahead. No,
Sevan Matossian (12:34):
No, no. You go ahead. I wanna hear that story like from your mouth.
Eli Wehbe (12:37):
Yeah. I mean that one was crazy. I think I was just at the start of it. I just got in there, you know, financial my way in there and then just started working for maybe like over a month with no pay, created my own job title and then, and started from there. And then I eventually got like 400 bucks a weekend, something like that, but it wasn’t even about money was all the connections that I was making and that’s like, I, and I saw the long picture with it, you know?
Sevan Matossian (12:59):
And you worked for free basically. Yeah. And from there you climbed the charts O over how many years to eventually get into the most prestigious night club in LA?
Eli Wehbe (13:12):
Um, I think I was with the playoffs guys for like five years then I was with the war guys maybe for like two years or, and then I partnered with the Warwick guys.
Sevan Matossian (13:20):
Yeah. It’s nuts. Is, is, is the club scene in LA? Um, dangerous.
Eli Wehbe (13:27):
I mean, what do you define dangerous?
Sevan Matossian (13:29):
Uh, um, uh, obviously there’s a lot of temptation there, but you know, through drugs and alcohol and all that fun stuff, but by, uh, physically dangerous, like, um, like any night you could get a, a bottle broken over your head or a fight breaking. I
Eli Wehbe (13:45):
Mean, yeah. I mean, anything like that can happen anywhere you go, you know what I’m saying? I mean, people are fucking drunk. They’re high. Like, you know, then you got crazy Xes here, crazy Xs there. But like, yeah. I rarely like, I mean, I think at the start of my career, I used to see like gnarly fights and then things slow down. But I mean, obviously I haven’t been out to a club in like a real club or anything in like almost two years now, but I mean, I heard shit’s been fucking hectic with people leaving the clubs now because these dudes are waiting for the people with money to leave and then they’re following home and then fucking beating them, taking all their shit, robbing their houses. It’s just fucking, it’s just crazy. There’s like a new story. Like two days ago in the middle of a fucking day in Beverly Hills, they just fucking stole like 5 million worth of, I think 5 million. I’m not exactly sure, but like just all this jewelry from a fucking window in the middle of broad day line, Beverly Hills fucking mass on breaking everything and just dipping out in a really nice area too, dude. It’s it’s just crazy.
Sevan Matossian (14:36):
Is, is that the area over there by, I only know, um, there was a hotel there used to stay a, uh, two hotel. I stay at the four seasons over there and the montage and the montage was kind of on that fancy,
Eli Wehbe (14:46):
Um, yeah, that’s a, yeah. Yeah. That’s in a nice area. This area was super nice too. I don’t know the exact cross streets of it. I know where it’s at in the top of my head, but it’s pretty close to there. I mean, there, there was people getting robbed in the like for their fucking watches being outside of Eleo and all these, you know, fancy restaurants and stuff. I mean, unless like you’re, you know, you got like some private security guard rolling around you all the time. It’s just like, there’s not much more you can do. And these guys aren’t there’s no, there’s no consequences for these dudes. It’s just crazy.
Sevan Matossian (15:15):
Yeah. At some point, um, these people who have voted these people in power are gonna have to say enough is enough.
Eli Wehbe (15:22):
I, I think it’s, I think it’s getting there, man. I think it’s fucking getting there. It’s so fun. Chrisy there you go. This is the jewelry store.
Sevan Matossian (15:28):
Holy shit. You’re not joking.
Eli Wehbe (15:31):
Yeah, man. Is the video on there? Yeah. Watch that video. It’s bizarre. Oh wait. No, that’s not. That’s like the after, unless they play like the before, how do they not actually have the video on there?
Sevan Matossian (15:43):
Wow. Were there, did you see fights every night in the clubs when you were there?
Eli Wehbe (15:49):
No, it was rare, man. I mean like things would get broken up pretty quick. Especially our club. We didn’t have like, it wasn’t too rowdy. It wasn’t like that. But I mean, dude, you know, like you’re dealing with people that are just fucking outta their minds every night. So there’s no like it’s just, it’s just one year and out the other, it doesn’t matter. There’s no, there’s no like there’s no fixing anything with these people at that time. Right? Like there’s, if they’re angry, they’re fighting it. Doesn’t like there’s no stopping them. It’s just like, it’s just, you’re talking to a wall. I dealt with it forever now.
Sevan Matossian (16:20):
Yeah. Ex you described it perfectly. It’s like talking to a wall. Um, what was your position in the nightclub? I know you talked about, I was,
Eli Wehbe (16:28):
I was an operating partner.
Sevan Matossian (16:31):
And what does that mean for those of us who have no fucking clue?
Eli Wehbe (16:34):
I mean, other people I’d be considered an owner, right? Like they’re was like a few partners and then there’s investors and stuff. And then there’s the face guys. And like we were the face. I was like pretty much the face of the club. And then I had pretty much two other guys that were with me that were always, always there as well. And um, they’re considered managing par partners or operators as well, too, but to the outside world, like, God, those are the owners, you know what I’m saying? There’s just like, there’s like, you know, there’s always like a, a guy that puts up most of the money. Then you have the investors and you have the managing partners and you have the managing operators. And then that’s just kind of how that situation works.
Sevan Matossian (17:07):
And, but, but, but in terms of like the guests, they viewed you as the host of hosts,
Eli Wehbe (17:13):
Pretty much. I was the face of the club, you know? So majority of any celebr he’s coming in, uh, majority of the money spent there, I was bringing in like, um, I pretty much had it all from a to Z with everything I was doing, but that was just, you know, 10 years of just fucking grind and working and, you know, just being very authentic and real with people because in this city, you know, all you see is bullshit. So most people can read you in the first 30 seconds. So, you know, I definitely had some times where, you know, ego took over, you know, when money started coming in and you know, the fame started coming around and stuff, but for the most part, I still stayed true to who I was from day one. And, you know, people saw that and they just were like, all right, cool.
Eli Wehbe (17:51):
Like, yeah, maybe Eli was like this every once and there, but he’s a good dude. He’s got a good heart and that’s why we fuck with him. Like, he’s just real. He doesn’t fucking bullshit. There’s no bullshit. That’s like me too. Like I can meet somebody in the first 30 seconds. Like I don’t like that motherfucker. I do like, that’s it like, I, I just know like, and if I get a bad feeling, like it’s like a point, I know, 1% chance that I was wrong about it, but cuz it’s, I’m, I’m usually always fucking right with my gut with people just right off the break
Sevan Matossian (18:16):
D during your, during your lowest moment is that moment in the book where you’re going through those trials. I don’t wanna ruin the book for anyone. Um, were those lowest moments in your life or had you experienced that in your youth at all?
Eli Wehbe (18:30):
I’d say that was pretty rock bottom for me. Um, yeah, I’d say, I’d say that that moment was rock bottom. I mean, being accused of shit, you never did was like the worst feeling. And then having to, you know, have the public against you without even having your voice out. There was like one of the toughest things I had dealt with and, uh, you know, I’ve had other rock bottoms where, you know, you know, hitting, hitting lows with drugs and stuff like that, but that was just on a whole nother level. I felt like I was like the most loved dude in LA to the most hated within 24 hours off of being scammed in a fucking story, had nothing to do with,
Sevan Matossian (19:05):
Um, did you ever con uh, contemplate suicide?
Eli Wehbe (19:10):
I’d say I thought about it. And I was like, when I was at my lowest point, I was like, man, this what it fucking feels like I would never, I would’ve never done it, but I had felt it like, I was like, fuck, this is what it fucking feels like. This is it right here. Like, this is like where it’s at, but I’m just a fighter man. Like, you know, I, I won’t be outworked. You cannot outwork me, man. Like I will figure the fuck out. Like I will just get back up and figured out. And that time I had no idea what I was gonna do at that. At that low point, I didn’t even know I was gonna write a book. I just had no idea what I was going to do yet. And then I think that disconnect from social media and the media in general, like was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Eli Wehbe (19:44):
I just got to like really focus on like what mattered and what I could do, what was best for myself in that moment, how I was gonna put things around. I mean, if I was sitting on social media, there’s no way. And I would’ve been fucking consumed and all the negativity and the whole world was like fucking falling apart at that time, it was like at the worst, you know, like, and just watching all this at the same time, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. So just that like daily meditation, the daily running is what really did it for me, man, like running those 15, 20 miles per day, I was running like a hundred miles per week for almost a year. And during that running. Yeah. And during that running man, like, whew, so many, so much, so many highs, like it was great, man. It was, it’s literally that thing that, that running kept me going. And that’s why I still do it, man. Like every time I start to, like, I take a day off here or two, and then I’m like, and then I get back out and I’m like, nah, this is why I fucking run right here. Like, there’s just so much growth that comes out. It every time through that voluntary suffering man,
Sevan Matossian (20:35):
Uh, Caleb, well, you bring up the cover the book again, when you titled this book mask, you refer to the mask a bunch late in, in the late chapters of the book and, and putting on the mask. Um, will you describe that to us for, for the people who haven’t read your book yet? What, why you titled this book? The mask or mask?
Eli Wehbe (20:47):
Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. I had no idea what I was gonna title the book. I had all these ideas in my head and then I, and then I think, I, I can’t remember what chapter it was in maybe chapter five or six, one of the two I talk about, you know, getting, you know, I talk about getting sober for a little bit and going through a breakup or whatever, and then putting the mask right back on, putting all the bullshit back on, you know, starting to do drugs again, starting to come out, smile act like I’m having a fucking great time act like I’m getting along with everybody on the outside looking like I was the fucking man, but I was just rot on the inside. So that mask just kept coming on and on and on. And I’d go home, I’d take the mask off. Be fucking miserable. Put the mask on second. I was back out in the dinners and the clubs and the restaurants, you know,
Sevan Matossian (21:31):
Would you have talks with yourself too? Like, okay, Eli, you’re going out, put the fucking mask on. Like, would you hear that?
Eli Wehbe (21:36):
Yeah, for sure, man. Like, I, I just, it just felt fake, you know? Like it just felt like, like every time I would just shake people’s hands, I didn’t like, or this and that or people that I know fuck me over. I would just like, fuck, like this shit’s getting draining, man. It, it was, it started to hit me, like when I turned 30 I’m 33. Now it started to hit me when I turned 30. Like just wanting to get off drugs, all that stuff. Like not even wanting to be out. Cause I started getting into running maybe in 2018. And then, um, I was getting up early, like even on the days that I was out. So I’d be out sometimes then after party or club fucked up to like five or six the morning, then I’d still get up at eight and then be like, fuck it. I’m gonna go run eight miles. You know? Or like whatever it was. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (22:13):
That’s a neurotic shit. I love it. Yeah.
Eli Wehbe (22:17):
So you know, people or I’d go like on a two day fucking bender and everyone’s sleeping for like a day and a half after. And they’re like, you know, this motherfucker with this post at Equinox, like he ran 10 miles. Like what the fuck is wrong with this guy? And I was just like, I, I knew I wasn’t gonna, I on the outside appearance of the public, uh, appearance, I didn’t wanna fall off. So I was like, fuck it. If I still get up and go grind, it looks like I’m still on my shit. But I was fucking miserable during those runs. Like it was me.
Sevan Matossian (22:41):
That’s an interesting way to leverage the ego though. That is the ego should be leveraged.
Eli Wehbe (22:47):
Yeah, man, it was uh, I don’t know. I, I, I, I was living like three different lives, man. It was, it was nuts. I was fucking just living like three different fucking lives. Like I had the whole daytime, the whole nighttime. And then I barely sleep coming off fucking drugs and alcohol go straight to the fucking gym. I go to the gym leisure. I was going to the gym twice a day, even back then because it felt like my only escape from this fucking dark world that I was living in, that everyone thought was so glamorous and that I was just having this great fucking time in. But I knew it was like my time just kind of be off my phone, turn on some fucking music and zone out and go run and work out. And like, I was just away from it all. Nobody could fucking bother me at that time.
Sevan Matossian (23:24):
What, what is, what’s the best drug? Like for fun to have fun.
Eli Wehbe (23:28):
I like, I like anything with voluntary. So suffering man. So like for me, anything voluntary suffering, man, like I
Sevan Matossian (23:35):
Thought you were gonna say, well, if you can get some pure MDMA and a couple really good friends,
Eli Wehbe (23:40):
You know, what’s funny is, is, I mean, you would’ve asked me that four years ago. Yeah. I would’ve fucking told you that, but I, no, there’s no high compared to like this fucking high with suffering man. Like I I’ve done it all. You know what I’m saying? I’ve done it from fucking a to Z and like the dopamine hit and this shit just, it stays, it lasts, you know, it’s just kinda like the cold punch. I cold plunge every day too. I hit it up a, I hit a, like a six minute cold plunge every day on 39 degrees and fucking hate getting in that thing. But every time I get out, I’m like, fuck man, this shit I’m in some fire. It just feels so good.
Sevan Matossian (24:10):
What do you use for your cold plunge? What tub?
Eli Wehbe (24:13):
Um, it’s a company called the cold plunge. Oh, okay. Have you heard of that? Have you heard of
Sevan Matossian (24:17):
That? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Eli Wehbe (24:20):
I actually started working with them now and started doing stuff, uh, celebrity seating and stuff like that with them and helping them and uh, yeah, they’re their plunges. Great man. It’s something that I, what
Sevan Matossian (24:29):
Does that, what does that mean? Celebrity seating? You go over to some singer’s house, set the tub up and you’re like some friend of yours and you’re like, dude, jump in. Tell me what you think and make quick some yeah,
Eli Wehbe (24:37):
No, I send them plunges or, or I just send out plunges to, you know, you know, I have like a Rolodex of people that I still talk to and that I’m connected with and you know, um, sending one out to Diplo right now sent one out to Nicole. Sure’s, you know, there’s just, there’s a bunch of people. Um,
Sevan Matossian (24:54):
When you, when you turned your phone off during the chaos, you guys gotta read this book mask. It’s so fun. It is a fun book by the way. Has anyone ever told you it’s a fun book?
Eli Wehbe (25:04):
Um, I haven’t heard the word fun. It’s inspir, you know, motivating. A lot of people
Sevan Matossian (25:09):
Were like, it’s that too, but I’m old. So like, I, I, I went through that in my ex almost exactly what you went through in your thirties, too, you know, just, just different characters and different scene. But, um, uh, but I guess it is kinda like, do you know, sidhartha have you read that book? Sidhartha by Herman HESA
Eli Wehbe (25:25):
I haven’t read
Sevan Matossian (25:25):
It. You I’m gonna send you a link to it. You got to read that book. It’s basically the story of the Buddha, but he banks, some chicks are pregnant and then has to roll. At least you didn’t get anyone pregnant. Did you get anyone pregnant?
Eli Wehbe (25:35):
Not that I know of.
Sevan Matossian (25:36):
When you turned your phone, when you turned your phone back on how many text messages were on it, was it nice? Well,
Eli Wehbe (25:42):
What I’m gonna tell you what happened. So I changed my phone number off the break, so I got a new number and like I only gave it to like five, five or six people or something. So what was crazy is though, was I still had my Instagram up for like five days before I deactivated. And there was so many DMS in there of like support and people like you’re gonna get through this and celebrities and people, but I never saw it cause I didn’t go look through it because I didn’t know if it was negative. I know if it was positive and I wasn’t in the right mental state. And then the dude that had had fucked with me that I talk about in the book, I was like, fuck, I wonder if this dude’s gonna, like, now that he knows my number’s changed. I wonder if he’s gonna try to get my old number and act like it’s me and start reaching out to people or whatever. So I was like, fuck, I need to get my old number. But I’ve had that number since I was 17 years old. It’d probably like 15,000 people that have that phone number.
Sevan Matossian (26:24):
Right. Wow. That would be some fucking con Ivy shit. If that dude,
Eli Wehbe (26:28):
I hear did a lot of conniving ass shit. So I was like, this motherfucker’s, this is probably right up his alley. He’s a smart dude. He knows the fuck he’s doing so,
Sevan Matossian (26:36):
Hey, I know who that guy is. Right. I think I figured out who he is.
Eli Wehbe (26:40):
Yeah. I don’t wanna give him any creditor.
Sevan Matossian (26:42):
No, but what if it’s so crazy to think that he does that, that person’s like that that person has too much going on to be mean
Eli Wehbe (26:50):
It’s so fucking crazy. It’s so fucking bizarre. Yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s bizarre, man. But, um, uh, what were we saying?
Sevan Matossian (26:58):
Your phone? So your phone came, so, so you get your phone number back.
Eli Wehbe (27:02):
I got the phone number back on the last day. So now I have two phone numbers. So I have my old number and I have that number and it was crazy how many people were texting me. Like two months after the incident, they had no idea even changing my number. And then a lot of people were like, yo, like we couldn’t reach out to you. We tried hitting you up. So like, we don’t know what you’re talking about with people. Like you were saying that like kind of people turned their back. So whatever, but like a lot of us did try to reach out to you. And I said, no. I said that to the people that I tried to reach out to that never had said anything back to me, but I didn’t. And then there was a lot of people, man. Like a lot of people they all wrote.
Eli Wehbe (27:31):
I mean, my ins like the day that I reactivated my Instagram, I had to stay up for 24 hours straight to even get back to like 50% of the messages. It was, it was so fucking bizarre. Yeah. It was bizarre. I CRI I don’t, I’ve never cried of joy and I cried of joy day. I was just like, wow, man. Like I, it just felt good. It felt good. It just had like, I felt like the whole world was against me. And then everyone was like, fuck that. We’re with him. Like we support him, you know? And like, it felt great, man. It was that running video. Did you watch the running video?
Sevan Matossian (27:57):
I did. Yep.
Eli Wehbe (27:58):
Yeah. Yeah. That was it.
Sevan Matossian (28:00):
That’s very cool. Um, when I was, um, when I, I was 34 when I found CrossFit and I was a packa day, clove smoker. Do you know those disarm cloves? The brown ones crack crackled ones. And I was smoking. And then after about three or four months, I was like, Hey, I can’t do both. I can’t do CrossFit and smoke. Did you have that moment too ever with running like, Hey, I can’t, I can’t do.
Eli Wehbe (28:25):
I said I, but I was, I’d be like, yo, here, I’m gonna fucking go through an eight ball, fucking blow and fucking, still get a or go run still wide awake on this motherfucker just to get my eight or eight to 10 miles in. You know, I was fucking, I was gnarly, man. I don’t, I now, when I look back on it, like, I didn’t even think I was crazy back then. And then after I wrote the book, I was like, fuck, I was fucking bizarre. Now I didn’t think I had any problems. You I’m hanging around the same environment doing the same shit. So they’re like, no, you’re good, man. Like we all do this shit. You only do it when you’re out. And I’m like, motherfucker, I’m out every night. What are you talking about? Like, right. It’s like, yeah. You know? So like you’re, you’re, you’re talking to people with the same issues of you trying to get some sort of satisfaction from them or, or, or some sort of agreement that like, what you’re doing is fine. And nah, man, it, it, it just, it, it was just so bizarre. But yeah, I, I definitely went through times where I’m like, fuck, like I could be like way better at running or way better at this Fe lot. What I would do though, if I had like a marathon was, I’d go sober for like three and a half weeks before like completely. And then after the marathon, I’d go celebrate it with fucking, you know, alcohol and drugs.
Sevan Matossian (29:28):
So how did you get, how did you muster that discipline? You didn’t go through withdrawals. Did you turn into an asshole?
Eli Wehbe (29:35):
Like after I stopped?
Sevan Matossian (29:37):
Yeah. Like if you’re like, okay, I’m gonna run a marathon, uh, Los Angeles marathon. I did not do Coke for three weeks. Um, and then run the like, would you just turn into an asshole? Did you smoke?
Eli Wehbe (29:46):
Did you smoke cigarettes? No, I never, no. I never smoked blowing. Alcohol was probably like the worst for me. Um, no
Sevan Matossian (29:52):
Nicotine,
Eli Wehbe (29:53):
No nicotine more. It was mainly blow, but like, I wouldn’t just do it just to do it. It would be like, you know,
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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