The Teen Fighter

Hi, guys.

Happy Friday as I'm approaching episode 100 of Carondoles.

I can't even believe it.

This is episode 97, and I honestly am not sure how this is gonna go.

And I'll tell you guys why.

Usually, my episodes are kind of fun and light and silly, and we crack jokes about all these bosses that we date, and relationships that go right, and relationships that go wrong.

Today, I'm going to interview a super, super special guest.

Her name is Erica Cooney.

And the first thing I want to say about her before I say hi, she's a teenager.

She's only 17.

And I couldn't believe when I met her.

Hi, Erica.

Hi, Kat.

How are you?

Thank you so much for doing this.

Absolutely.

I really, really appreciate you being here.

So let's explain to my listeners how you ended up here.

I was in Vegas this week for work.

And I was having dinner with some friends at a restaurant, a local restaurant, and you showed up with a girlfriend and they introduced us, correct?

Right, then you sat by my side and we started talking.

And when you told me, because it was all adults on the table, even your friend that took you there, she's a lot older than you, right?

Right, right, yes.

And she's super cool.

Old enough to be my mom.

Yeah, there you go.

So am I.

But yeah, I'm going to interview her as well because, oh my God, all the Vegas girls have a lot of crazy dating stories.

But when you and I started talking and you told me you were 17 I was like no way

not because you physically look so much older but you look mature beyond your years so I was super super surprised when you told me you're only 17 do people say that to you all the time

every single day of my life there's always someone telling me that and it's been like that for forever

Yeah, I'm not really sure why that is exactly.

I think, I don't know, I think you're an old soul, soul, and I think you're obviously very mature.

And that's what I want to talk to you a little bit about.

I just want to put in context,

context for my listeners.

You are a teenager, you live in Las Vegas, you are

a, how do you say, martial, it's martial arts, or how do you call your fighting that you fell in love with?

So, I

am a Muay Thai fighter.

A Muay Thai, okay.

Yeah, that's the

People

Muay Thai just because they don't understand what Muay Thai really is, but I just say Muay Thai because it's what I fought in.

Yeah.

And that's what I do.

So at the moment, but my transition is starting now.

So students going to be MMA.

How long have you been fighting Muay Thai?

So I've been training for

this actually, this

This month is my four-year anniversary of training.

Oh my god, so you started

14 years old, you ended up going to,

how did you get into that?

So

I

actually,

it was because of my dad.

I was going through a really rough time in my life where it was just, there were so many problems I was having emotionally.

My dad wasn't really sure what to do.

And he wanted to get me into something,

whether it was like a therapy or some sort of like hobby I guess to help me cope with what I was going through because it was it was a really rough time for me so he had a friend whose son was going to the gym I was going and he was like oh why don't you try it why don't why don't you have her try it out see if she likes it and the first thing I actually ever trained in was jiu-jitsu and that's where I started.

I actually started at a different gym, but when I got invited to do Muay Thai by my dad's friend, I was like, okay, yeah, I'll try it.

And then after my first day, I met the coach, and I fell in love with it all.

And

I just knew that that's what I wanted to do.

And you've been doing ever since.

I'm going to post the pictures of Erica fighting on my Instagram so you guys can check it out.

I actually asked her before we started the podcast because of her age, especially if she wanted to remain anonymous.

And she was like, No, you can show everybody who I am, and your fighting photos are incredible.

But the reason why you're here is because I think you have an amazing story to tell.

So we're going to dive into it.

And I told you also, right, Erica, before we started, if I ask you anything that you don't want to answer, just tell me, Kat, I don't want to talk about it, okay?

So don't feel like you have to talk about anything that you don't want to.

You,

you grew up in Vegas.

Yes, I did.

And tell me what happened because you don't have a mom.

So I,

well, I don't want to say I don't have a mom, but my my mother currently is not present in my life.

Oh, okay.

Uh-huh.

Just as a choice because

she had gone through a divorce after cheating on her husband for over a year.

And, you know, it was just becoming very aware to me and my older sister, she's 20, that my mother was just psychologically unstable.

And

it was taking a lot on me emotionally because

I'm an older sibling.

I have to watch my younger siblings go through this.

And I already went through one divorce with my parents.

And then now watching my brothers go through the same emotional,

like,

oh, shoot, what happened?

Yeah, just like going through like the same problems.

It's just starting out, just seeing changes in their behavior.

It's just, it was too much to see it and to see the person causing all those problems continue to act the way they are and just treat people and treat their, treat her children on

kindly so how many brothers and sisters do you have

okay so i have three half brothers two from my mom's second marriage okay uh and then one from my dad that i actually have never met he's actually in california he's about 10 nine or ten years old i've never met him and then i have I have an older sister, she's 20, and then I have a step sister from my mom's new

relationship.

So now you live only with your father in Vegas?

Yeah.

So now your dad is taking care of you?

Yeah, I've been with my dad for

so in the beginning of my life, it was I was living with my parent, my mom and my step, my grandparents actually moved from Mexico to come take care of me and my sister, which Spanish is my first language, so that was really the only reason why

I needed to know English.

You don't have any accent at all.

Oh, no, no, no accent at all.

Just, um,

you know, that's actually that's really surprising to me that I don't have one because,

you know, they were the ones who raised me and my sister.

So I would think that, you know, I would have one, but no.

Yeah, they came from Mexico to come and take care of me and my sister.

And

after

about 10, no, not even 10, maybe like seven-ish years when I started getting older.

That's when I started like seeing my dad.

And it was back and forth, just like weeks with my mom, weekends with my dad.

And it was just, it was emotionally a lot.

So, yeah, I can imagine for a kid having like an unstable childhood and growing up.

I mean, obviously, you're kind of still a kid, but you had to become a mature adult.

way too early in your life but it must have been tough right maybe that's why you're so mature for your age

yeah i i uh

i don't like i don't like having like a pity party but i didn't have like the greatest childhood that i wish i had i could have had um

there were just so many things that when i look at other people my age like there's so many things that i didn't get to do there's so many things that i didn't experience like there's always those milestones that i think you're supposed to go through like through your teen years and your childhood but a lot of them i didn't experience and some of them like i experienced some milestones that i think you're not really supposed to experience until like you're in your 20s maybe like what like way early on

like um

i learned about like for example your podcast has to do like with like relationships and sex and dating and i learned about sex at a very like super young age just because like I had my dad's ex-girlfriends were just they were

too verbal about it or like it was exposed to me at a really young age which I think kind of messed me up in the long term because it's just it's just something that I think you have to naturally learn on your own versus it being such a prominent thing when you're so young and other than that like

having to adapt to not necessarily

like um

I didn't I didn't get to have like the whole like

like friends kind of thing like I never really had like friends I would really hang out with or see just because like,

my parents were very controlling.

My dad, especially, was very controlling because he knew I just wasn't stable,

you know, and so that I was really confused about that for the longest time.

And like, I felt really alone.

And, like, I felt like because my parents were in a business setting and that's what I grew up into,

that's what I had to adapt to, and that's what I had to become.

And it just naturally became a part of me.

Like, I was so used to, I was so used to waking up in the morning, training, and then going to an office.

Were you going?

Did you go to high school at all?

I was in an online program.

So it was like a, it was, it was technically like a charter school.

I would go in like once a week for four hours just to get like help if I needed it, by teachers and

whoever.

And I was pretty much the only kind of like public school I had for high school.

I was in public school up until I was about 12 years old just because things really hit the ceiling

and it was just it was too much to handle being a public school and I just did not like it at all and like it was an absolute disaster for me.

Okay.

I just I couldn't emotionally handle it and like I was taken in and out of schools moved so many times like it was just too much.

I was like I'm doing this online.

I'm done.

I'm good.

Yeah, I can totally understand that.

And I think maybe when you found fighting, it was kind of like a second home to you, right?

And it makes you feel better about the whole situation.

Honestly, I hate to say it but fighting is a first home for me because

i mean the majority of the day i spend about 80 percent of my time alone other than like when i'm working or like training but 80 of it honestly i'm alone and i enjoy it actually where's your 20 year old sister she doesn't live with you guys

I'm say that one more time.

Your 20-year-old sister, she doesn't live with you guys?

She

does, but the relationship with her is somewhat strained.

And there's just always been a lot of tension within my family.

And I've been working on

getting a better relationship with my dad because,

you know, he's not a nurturing person.

He's never been a nurturing person.

The person that I looked for for comfort was my mother.

My dad was always a discipliner.

So I kind of learned like, you know, I'm going to just...

He supports me for what I do.

because he

was the one who wanted me to get into this and I loved it.

And he was a wrestler and he really supported me doing this.

So that's like the only real relationship I have other than like trying to mend what happened in the past, you know,

my sister.

It's a whole nother boss.

It's so complicated.

Does your dad work or he works from home?

Oh, he works.

My parents, my dad, and my stepmom are business owners, actually.

They're brokers in finances.

Oh, okay, cool.

So you're living with your dad and his wife?

Yes.

Oh, okay, got it.

So at least do you feel now that you have a little bit of more a stable home than you did growing up?

Absolutely, 100%.

It's a very weird situation with

my dad, actually, because my stepmother is 29 years old.

Oh, my God.

She's super young.

43?

44?

Oh, my God.

But I actually really, I really love that dynamic, though, because I myself, I'm attracted to older men as well.

And

my sister is as well.

And

she, having someone actually closer in age as a stepmom, I really like it a lot because she, you know, I can have fun in ways that I never could with any of my dad's ex-girlfriends.

And she's a really big supporter of what I do as well.

And honestly, like.

She's kind of a better mom than my own mom was in a lot of ways.

And it's crazy because she went through a whole

she had her own stuff when she was younger too like her dad committed suicide oh my god that's why like she's so like he wants she wants me to have like a really good relationship with my dad and yeah you know she's a big supporter so yeah so it seems like she's a great influence regardless of her age

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Age, yeah.

The age thing doesn't even faze any of us.

It doesn't even matter to us because it's the level of maturity she has.

But she was able to, from, I met her when she was like 18 years old oh wow she was able yeah she was young she was young and she was actually in my dad's business so they worked together for a while and eventually you know

they they started liking each other and

she

was such a big influence on my life okay so you're 17 you're living in las vegas you're doing your fighting now i was gonna ask you if you have dated if you started dating already and you tell me you're attracted to older men so how does that story go how is dating in laser are you also like way ahead of your age in this game

oh yeah I'd like to think so oh my god yeah I

I um

oh boy

look again if you want to answer something you do and if you don't you're like I don't know no no you're good you're no worries I I don't mind answering any of these questions actually because this is like the first time I think other than like in private with other people that I'm actually like talking about about it so with me when it came to dating it's always been super private because there's a lot of controversy with age gaps which is understandable i i come from a mexican background so that's not new let alone my dad and stepmom you know that's that's just a normal thing for us and it's such a

It's a very normal thing in my life and to other people.

I know it's not.

And I've had situations before where it's like I have been with older men, but it just didn't work because there was just so much more gray space.

For example, I was with someone who didn't like that I was a that I was a fighter, didn't like that I was training, didn't like that I was around men all the time.

When you say older man, how much older?

He, I, okay, I was 16, he was

28, 27.

He was older than me.

He was much older than me.

And it, that's why, like, I say, like, it's not about age at that point because this guy's level of maturity was just not there.

He was ex-army.

You know, he

was almost 30, didn't have his life together.

He had no idea what he wanted to do.

Thank God you noticed that.

Yeah.

And the thing is, with me, is that, like, I've always, I've always liked older.

I've always attracted older.

I've never, like, I've only had one boyfriend in my life that was close to my age, one.

And that did not work at all because probably probably because you're so mature for your age

yeah and it was a problem of like he had no idea what he wanted for himself he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and i already knew what i wanted and so that was a big conflicting thing and i think it's also difficult when you're female to find someone that if they're not in the same sport they feel emasculated in a sense because

you know

I don't want to say like I had the penis in the relationship is what I'm going to say that's what it was I was the one who was like the masculine one, even though I'm female, you know, and I kind of, I kind of like that dynamic, but as I like started getting like older and like I started realizing what I really want and I had met someone that kind of like fit those qualities, you know, same sport, same, you know,

goals, same, and he already had shit going for himself too, which I liked.

I mean, there was a lot of others, other things about him that were not in check yet, which takes time, you know, I'm not going to knock on you for that.

but you know

it's it always comes back to again it's controversial it control i can't say that word yeah controversial

so you know um yeah it is because you are under age

so technically right it's something complicated for for an adult

it can be complicated in nevada the legal the age of consent is 16.

so yeah legally you can't.

I believe it's 18.

And I honestly, I don't want to battle people on it because I had a similar situation where, like, there was someone my sister was seeing, and this, my dad did not like this person because he was married and he, well, he was legally still married to someone.

He lied to my sister about a thousand things.

And, like, he went to the cops about it.

He went to my dad, went to the cops about it, and there was like, just, your daughter is over 16.

We can't do anything about it.

Unless he actually, like,

may like like harmed her in a way or like did something without her,

then they legally couldn't do anything.

Yeah, so by law, you can date in Nevada, you can be dating, you can do whatever you want, you can have sex with whoever you want.

So you've had your dating and your relationships.

How do you think dating life is in Las Vegas?

How do you meet people?

So I've come to notice that, that at least for me, I always tend to meet people in person and it always seems to be like

I have to connect.

For me, I'm kind of like demisexual.

I have to really connect with someone.

I really feel like an emotional attachment to really have like good sex.

But

I also, honestly, I'll be honest, I was doing the whole casual thing for a while.

Like I would just, if I met someone I actually like felt comfortable with, vibed with and I knew that they weren't like

into some crazy stuff you know I

I would pursue that person even just on a casual basis just because for a while like that's what I was going with but I come to learn that for myself at least like I don't I don't like the casualness because I'm a natural person that wants to have a natural intimacy with someone.

I want to have that

emotional, that sexual intimacy and and really feel like I'm connected to someone because that's my natural nature is to like be open and be receptive and show affection.

Yeah, I am that way too.

Yes.

Okay, we're going to take a two-minute break.

We're talking to Erica Cooney.

Believe it or not, this lady that speaks so insanely well is 17 years old.

You are a lot more mature than a lot of guests I had in the past.

So we are picking her brain because it's pretty obvious that nowadays, when you're 17, you're dating, you're acting like a mature adult.

You have your life, you're having sex, you're meeting people,

you are a Muay Thai fighter.

And I want to talk about you're also a published writer.

So you're like multi-talented.

I was reading before the podcast a little bit about

the poetry you wrote.

And I'm like, wow,

it's incredible.

It's incredible.

So So, we'll be right back, and I want to talk a little bit more about what do you think about the dating scene in Vegas, especially for people your age.

We'll be right back.

All right, guys, I'm back here with Erica Cooney.

She's a very special guest because I feel like she's so young.

I kind of like want to put on, I'll give you a big hug and protect you.

That's how I feel.

I feel over-protective of you.

I think you're growing too fast, and I think we have that in common because I was kind of the same at your age.

When I was 17, my parents got divorced when I was 14.

And my mom ended up going back to Brazil.

My father was here in LA, but he traveled all over the place.

And I ended up staying here by myself.

So, yeah, we have that in common because I think when you don't have like the cookie cutter perfect family, you kind of feel like you got to fend for yourself.

And I think that makes us just grow up and mature much faster than than other teenagers and I think that's what happened to you right

yeah I would say so that that's pretty accurate with me I felt that a lot

you know I remember my sister telling me like

whatever negative things have happened to me in the past with my dad you know she would tell me like you gotta just face the facts and just realize like he's never gonna change right our mom's never gonna change people are never gonna change.

So you got to just focus on you.

And, you know, that was a really big piece of advice that she gave me.

And like after like, after she told me that, like, my whole world kind of changed because I was just thinking in this like mentality of like,

I'm going to stop desiring the love that I wanted from my dad or like the emotional connection I wish I would have had.

And

that really changed my life.

So yeah, I would definitely say that that's a very accurate statement.

Yeah.

Do you feel, because we said on the first half, obviously you're actively dating, you've had relationships before,

despite the fact that you're super young, do you feel

you try

to, and I know that's a deep, tough question, but so if you don't want to answer, if you can't, that's fine.

But do you feel sometimes you, because you said you like older guys,

and

I'm wondering if maybe you feel like you want to try to find a guy that an older guy that will treat you with respect and kindness and get the love from them that you feel maybe your dad didn't give you or you don't think that's related at all

you know I actually I do think deep down that I've always wanted someone to treat me those ways or like to I to honestly I don't even think it is like I want someone to parent me necessarily I want someone that you know I've learned that I've learned a way to handle myself handle being on like my own terms and like taking care of myself, because pretty much that's what I do.

I just live here.

Everything else I take care of, you know, and I've always felt like, you know, I don't want someone to be my dad.

I don't want someone to, you know, I don't want that.

I don't want that at all, honestly.

So I could see how someone would think those two are related, but for me, it's really not because I'm looking for someone that

just wants to do the same thing as me who wants to fight, who wants to have a career, who wants to have, you know, someone whose passion is the same.

And that really is a big thing for me.

And I've always, I've made it a thing now that I will not date guys that are not either

that are not like fighters or I'm even good with grapplers too.

It's just because there's a lifestyle difference and I want someone who's on the same page.

And I just like them older because usually you would think a man that's older knows what he wants for his life, knows what his passions are, knows what his goals are and what his career is.

You know, that was the massive part for me other than the fact of like you know you think that someone older is wise yeah you know and i've you know that's that is a fact of course normally yeah i'm sure a 17 year old teenage kid or an 18 or 19 year old they are not ready for anything at all absolutely not

And I compared it the one time I did actually date someone that was close to my age, I compare it to a time that I was dating someone who was much older and

there was massive there was a massive difference because this teenage kid didn't know what he wanted he didn't sorry sorry no it's totally fine i you can swear as much i have a i have a pouty mouth you can swear all you want

totally fine

he had no fucking idea what he wanted and i pulled him out on that a lot and i was just like

Because, Erica, let's face it, when you're 17, you may think you know what you want.

Maybe you're an exception, but you're just learning everything about life.

Women usually mature faster than men.

I never met a 17, 18-year-old kid, boy, that is mature ever in my life.

So, yeah, of course, I think that would be tough.

Now,

I've been very in tune with what I want and what I have deal breakers for relationships.

I have very big deal breakers.

Good for you.

Good for you.

How does your father think about you dating?

Is he okay with it?

Does he want to meet the guys or not at all?

So, actually, you know, my dad was actually very controlling and very,

what's the word?

Like, he was very strict with when it comes to me dating and boyfriends and all that in the past.

And for good reason, I was a wild child, so kind of am.

But

I actually, this, this, I actually had a conversation with my dad a couple of days ago about this.

And like, I was just talking to him about, like, honestly, like, I had this conversation with my dad that I never thought I would have.

I was talking to him about like my, my past relationships, my dating life, my sex life.

And he knows all of it.

So to me, you know, I have an understanding and that he doesn't care how old someone is.

He just cares about how this person treats me because from all of my life, he's always told me like, hey, I don't want you to be dependent on someone, like, at least financially.

Don't depend on someone, don't rely on someone else.

And, you know, I'm a lot of people parents struggle with that.

So I was just like, yeah, you're right.

And he really just wants someone to just treat me well.

And he wants someone who obviously has a life, has a career, because he knows that I have those things.

And having someone not have those things is just

not gonna

blend well, yeah.

Match well.

I think your dad gave you really, really good advice.

I don't care how much

you're breaking up a little bit, but I don't care how much money.

And I made that mistake.

I was married for a multi-millionaire for 14 years who didn't support my work.

Yeah, I wrote the book about it.

The whole book is there

because

my husband didn't support my work at all, at all, at all.

And I tell all women out there: don't make this mistake, especially younger girls like you.

Don't ever make the mistake of giving up your dreams, giving up your money freedom for any man.

It's not worth it.

I don't care if you marry the richest man in the world.

Guess what?

Pursue your dreams, pursue your work, pursue your jobs, pursue your passion, because you never know the future.

And I am living proof of it.

You sound like you have your head in amazing in the right space but do you wonder sometimes if you're maybe a little too young to be thinking about having a relationship already

you know honestly I've had a lot of people tell me like because one of my biggest fears is getting pregnant honestly early is because as a fighter as a female fighter you can't be pregnant and train the way you want to train or fight.

That's a big commitment, let alone, I mean,

18 years years is a commitment I don't think many people are really ready to make when they do actually have a baby, which makes sense because there are a lot of people that don't do well in their parenting, probably for that reason.

And

I do think about, like,

you know, sometimes,

you know, people, people do tell me a lot that I'm too young to think about those things, but I always think about it.

It's not my age, it's where I'm at and what I've done, you know?

Yeah.

I don't need a lot of people my age that are doing what I'm doing right now

especially like even on a business standpoint because that's something I do with my family as well

I've not met I haven't met one person doing it so I tell people when they tell me my age is a restrictor I tell them no you're just not used to it you're just not used to seeing someone like that so me taking like

It's those milestones.

It's those milestones.

I just, I went, I hate my milestones before usually people would at this age, you know?

I am so glad you talked about getting pregnant that you're scared of it because it's definitely life-changing.

And I have seen a lot of girls your age, they get pregnant, and all of a sudden you think you're going to pursue whatever it is that you want to do, in your case, fighting, and your life gets takes a completely different turn.

So, yeah, if I were to say anything to you, it would be, yeah, put that dream on hold, don't get pregnant at such an early age, Concentrate on your goals of having a fabulous career.

And even if you do find the right person to have a relationship with, yeah, just put yourself and your career on top.

That's, I guess that's what I would say to you.

Absolutely.

Go ahead.

The way I look at it is like, for me, relationships are like a milkshake, or at least

they're like, so you're a milkshake.

You have a milkshake.

It's the actual milkshake.

The whipped cream and the toppings on top.

And I always think that relationships are the whipped cream and the cherry on top.

They're not the whole milkshake itself.

It's just an add-on to being whole.

And I can't, I always tell, I was telling my sister the other day, because

we've been having problems with our emotions because we are witnessing a divorce happen.

And she was like, what about me?

Because I'm the kind of person where it's like, when I have feelings and they're very strong, I won't talk about them usually because it just, it's so deep-rooted and it hurts so much for me.

So I kind of become cold.

And my sister was telling me, like, well, what about me?

What about me?

Like, you know,

sorry, my dog is waking up.

Because the neighbor, sorry, Erica, sorry.

Usually, he's really good because he knows I'm doing the podcast and he just lays on the couch next to me.

But the neighbor walked out.

So he's like, what the hell?

So sorry, go ahead.

I like the milkshake.

I like the milkshake analogy.

That's very smart.

Yeah.

I am freaking shocked at how brilliant and smart you are.

I just, like I said, I just look at it like I can't love someone if I'm not whole.

So I always like that person, whoever my, I quote unquote, Prince Charming, because why not?

You know, just it's stupid and cheesy, and that's how I am sometimes.

But

I always look at it like that person's going to be the cherry on top of the whip.

But the milkshake itself, that's my career, that's my family life, that's my passions.

And, oh man, good far.

Like, people would think that when you're this young, relationships and boys are all you think about.

But for me, it's like, you know what?

I love sex.

I love men.

I love

being,

what's the word?

I love, I'm a sensual person.

I'm a very sensual person when someone really gets to know me on like the deepest level.

And that's a level I don't get with a lot of people because I'm not very trusting as a person because I have my own reasons, you know.

So I, I'm more of like, I just was raised to be independent and I don't want to rely on someone, you know, I want to be good for you.

I want to focus mainly on me, but I also want to have my cherry on top.

I want to have

you know, and you will, I'm very impressed here talking to you because like I said, I cannot believe you're 17.

I feel like we're the same age.

Sometimes I feel you're more mature than me.

But we do have that in common.

I went through the same thing when I was your age.

I was alone.

I was fending for myself.

I had to become super independent really quickly because I didn't have my parents

around me.

So I know how it feels to grow up super, super fast.

And I think as long as you like you're thinking the way you are, think about your career first, put yourself first.

I think, and maybe a lot of people are going to send me messages about it.

I think even at your age, I agree, we would be hypocrites if we say, oh, kids your age are not having sex, because you are.

I was having sex when I was 17.

But I think as long as you know you're doing it the responsible way, protecting yourself,

respecting your body,

picking and choosing the relationships and putting yourself first, I honestly, even if I were your mom, I would say go for it and just make the right choices.

But when I talk to you, I am absolutely shocked and impressed at how, you know, smart you are about your choices and everything that you're pursuing.

Thank you.

And I think you're going to be a super successful fighter, too.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

I love

your photos.

And on top of being a fighter, before I let you go, you also write amazing poetry.

Thank you.

It's incredible.

You're super, super talented.

So, you wrote a book?

Where?

I've read several.

Wow.

Where are the books?

Where can people find them?

So, I actually have a link.

I believe I have a link in

my bio at the moment.

I sell my books on Amazon, actually, as like kind of like in Kindle form.

Oh, my, yeah, like me, like I sell mine.

Okay.

Awesome.

I eventually want to make make them into physical copies, and I have the ability to make them into physical copies, but at the moment, I keep them as Kindles because yeah,

it's I mean you're super, super talent, so I'm gonna say go for it.

You can be a fighter, you can be a successful book writer, you can be anything you want to be, and of course you can have any relationship you want, but just put yourself first, always.

I am super impressed, Erica.

I want to tell people your your insta.

And I'm going to, guys, I like always, after I finish

downloading this episode, I'm going to put a video of Erica there.

If you guys want to follow her work, I actually know a few people in the fighting industry.

I'm going to send them your story.

I don't know if they can open doors or if they want to see you, but I would love to hook you up.

I think your story is amazing.

And I hope it encourages other young girls out there.

Yeah, because I think you're a role model, you know, to other young girls out there.

Yeah, maybe they're lost.

Maybe they're like, oh my god, I hope if anybody out there with a daughter your age or anybody close to your age gets inspired by you.

I really do.

What is can you explain?

Because your Insta has a bunch of

underscores, right?

What is it,

Eric?

Oh, she's breaking up a little bit.

Oh, you're back.

Okay, go ahead.

So, my handle from my Instagram, I believe, is

it is

it's underscore.

Hold on, let me look here.

It's a little complicated.

Why do you have so many underscores in your Instagram?

I can't even find you now.

I didn't know what to have my user, my handle last, so I was just like, well,

I'll just put my name, but okay, so

if you guys want to find her, it's underscore er underscore I underscore C A I found it

there you go Erica Cooney well it was such a pleasure having you you're such a brilliant intelligent gorgeous young woman you have a long fabulous future ahead of you and what i told you in las vegas stands if you need a friend if you ever need anything at all i am here for you because i already admire you so much, and I really appreciate you doing this because it takes courage to talk about your life and what you've been through, and dating, and everything to people out there.

So, you're a very brave, gorgeous young lady.

When do you turn?

When do you turn 18?

When do you turn 18?

April 13th.

April 13th.

Yeah, you're almost there.

You're close to your Aries.

Mine is March 6th.

Okay.

Almost there.

That's a huge milestone.

18.

I'm literally turning 18 three days after I compete.

Wow.

Where's the competition?

Is it in Vegas?

I'm out there to Arizona for

a national tournament.

So we're going to go out there.

And I have another friend who also trains with me that his birthday is the weekend before, so we're just gonna celebrate it over there.

And then, after, when I come back home, I'm probably gonna do something too with my friends, but we'll see what happens.

Fantastic!

I'm gonna follow.

So, you're training for this major, massive competition you're gonna have in April.

Incredible!

I'm definitely gonna follow your career and your fights because it's super exciting.

I love a strong woman, your pictures fighting are just incredible.

Good for you, Erica.

It was such a pleasure.

Thank you so much for doing this, guys.

This was Cat on the Loose

Friday.

We're approaching the 100th episode.

I'm coming back next Tuesday with another super special guest.

So, stay tuned.

And I hope everybody, no matter what your age is, be safe, put yourself first, respect your body, respect your mind, and do whatever you want to do after that.

Thank you, Erica.

It was such a pleasure having you.