Living a Life of Purpose and Impact with Bubba Almony

Speaker 1 This is Wake Up to Wealth, a podcast dedicated to helping you change the way you think about wealth. And now, here's your host, Brandon Brittingham.

Speaker 2 All right, what's up, everybody? We are in the Wake Up to Wealth studio today, and I've got a really special guest, also a very interesting guest. And, you know, it's just funny how the world works.

Speaker 2 You guys know I believe in law of attraction. We're sitting here talking about just a couple of things and find out we both went through the same struggle of autoimmune.

Speaker 2 So it's just wild how some of that stuff happens. So today, I want to welcome a very special guest today.
Bubba, thank you for joining us today and thank you for taking the time to come in here.

Speaker 3 Yes, thank you so much. You know, I appreciate you having me on this platform.
And also would like to give a special shout out to Brandon Hudson, who I know he connected us. Yes, sir.

Speaker 2 Thank him so much so man um

Speaker 2 i so just looking at your social media and just talking with you over here man you've done a lot of really cool things um but man i i saw like you got a award from the white house recently like tell me about that like how does that even happen like that's i mean that's amazing thank you and uh you know so since a very young age about you know since a teenager i've been uh you know involved in the community works uh volunteerism um you know i started uh i'm sure many people remember the Winter Fest of Lights in Ocean City.

Speaker 3 And, you know, just volunteering my time there at the hot chocolate stand all the way to now to being able to bring the Ali family into this community to

Speaker 3 speak about bullying, prevention, manners, etiquette, kindness, respect, you know, visiting Stephen Nikator High School, middle school,

Speaker 3 you know, Glenn Avenue School in Salisbury.

Speaker 3 and you know just a lot of different things you know with uh working with nonprofits and um you know troubled and at-risk teens mentoring mentoring them, and just doing a lot of community outreach,

Speaker 3 helping the homeless, giving out meals,

Speaker 3 winter essentials, different things of that nature. And just being somebody,

Speaker 3 being the best leader I could be. And I was able to accumulate in that span from a teenager to now over 4,000 hours community service in my lifetime.
Wow.

Speaker 3 And was recognized by the president and received a, they call it the president's called a service award or the presidential lifetime achievement award for my leadership and over 4,000 hours of community service in my lifetime.

Speaker 3 And that was in December of 2022.

Speaker 3 So that was a really big honor.

Speaker 3 And some most like the most notable people that have received that award, because very few Americans have received it, are most notably the founder of Make a Wish Foundation and also the founder of Chick-fil-A.

Speaker 2 That's awesome, man.

Speaker 2 So,

Speaker 2 you know, another really cool thing, well, lots of cool things just looking on your social media. So you're a celebrity bodyguard.
Yes. Right.

Speaker 2 A lot of cool celebrities I saw. Like, how did, you know, was that like, that was your dream as a kid? This is what you wanted to do.
Like, you know, did you just say, one day I want to do this?

Speaker 2 And then how did you get there?

Speaker 3 Yeah. So, um, you know, since since I was young, you know, I either, I had kind of had three dreams when I was growing up.
I either wanted to, you know, like go to college for basketball,

Speaker 3 you know, or become a police officer or become a bodyguard. And, you know, you know,

Speaker 3 when I was younger, I started very young. You know, it's not typical that many people start at 17.
I started at age 17 in the security industry. And,

Speaker 3 you know,

Speaker 3 I started at the dutour. I'm sure many of the, you know, listeners remember that was a major BMX concert escape venue on the beach in Ocean City.

Speaker 3 And, you know, I just got an opportunity and it was, it was strange, you know, like right away, I was just able to discover that that was what I wanted to do in life.

Speaker 3 Like, um, and it was early in my experience within the first day or two, you know, I worked like 20 hours straight.

Speaker 3 And, uh, you know, I just remember my sister picking me up from there and I just fell asleep in the backseat of her car. And, you know, because I just.
I was so passionate about it.

Speaker 3 And, you know, God just put something over me that, you know, that was going to, that was going to be my passion, purpose, and divine calling in life.

Speaker 3 And, you know, when you can discover that in life, especially at a young age, it's a very beautiful and powerful thing.

Speaker 3 And, you know, above, just as important as protecting people and property, I understood at that age as well, a very mature mindset of, you know, I can make a difference.

Speaker 3 You know, I could show people that, you know, oftentimes, you know, sometimes maybe security might have an ego, but just show people you have a heartbeat.

Speaker 3 You know, just humanize yourself, even if you're working in security, because life is all about people.

Speaker 3 You know, they won't teach us that at Harvard or anywhere fancy in life, but through everything, whether it's investors, clients,

Speaker 3 relationships and life networking,

Speaker 3 teammates, whatever that is,

Speaker 3 it's all about people and it truly matters how you treat them. And

Speaker 3 yeah, so then my first bodyguard experience was about at 19 years old, Vinnie Guadanino from the hit show on MTV's Jersey Shore.

Speaker 3 I was the security manager at the Princess Bayside next to Secrets. And I just remember him like walking through our parking lot.
And in my mind, I'm like, oh, wow, that's Vinny, you know.

Speaker 3 And then I came up to him, introduced myself,

Speaker 3 you know, and then I noticed like the lobby he was getting ready to go into in the hotel on our south building on our bayfront,

Speaker 3 you know, it was a lot of people coming out of secrets. And I said, hey, you know, I have the keys.
I can get you up the stairwell, get you to your room. And he, you know, he appreciated that.

Speaker 3 And just off of that, every summer when he would come back to the to Ocean City and vacation, you know, him and his entourage would reach out to me to bodyguard him.

Speaker 3 And, you know, so that was a blessing. And then

Speaker 3 a little bit after that, I found myself in the New York, New Jersey area and came across Cardi B's music producer Swift from Love and Hip Hop New York.

Speaker 3 And within just literally the first day I met him, within minutes, within probably 10 minutes or less,

Speaker 3 you know, he was like that he wanted me to work for him. And the first day I had already went to the mall with him to start bodyguarding him and his girlfriend.
And so that was a blessing. Yeah.

Speaker 2 And then so where did it translate from there? Like, I think I saw one of your memories, Grant Cardone at Live,

Speaker 2 a bunch of other ones I saw. Like, you know, so did it just spiral from there? You know, you just got, you got into this world and then more and more people start asking you to help them.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 3 You know, in that industry, it's a lot about word of mouth, you know, especially when you're around people with, you know, large followings, influence,

Speaker 3 you know, that,

Speaker 3 you know, different things of that nature that, you know, when you go above and beyond for them, they'll recognize it. And to tell you a little story about how I ended up working with Grant,

Speaker 3 so I reached out to him because I seen like just different opportunities that were coming up for his 10x, you know, conferences and, you know, things of that nature. And

Speaker 3 I had reached out and, you know, submitted like a 60-second video about myself and what I felt the value that I could bring to him.

Speaker 3 And, you know, I just, you know, I just wasn't, it wasn't even about the money for me. It was about the opportunity.

Speaker 3 I saw, you know, like, I saw the value that could, you know, be brought to me as well being around somebody of his caliber. And,

Speaker 3 you know, I, I, long story short, they replied back to me, like either his assistant or the COO, um, Sherry Hamilton. And eventually I found myself having a meeting with her, Ms.

Speaker 3 Hamilton, um, at his offices. And I believe it's Aventura.
And, um, you know, like came in and everything with myself and another bodyguard. And

Speaker 3 just remember, like, you know, we walked into her office, like

Speaker 3 as we're walking through, like, she just like, she said, everybody, welcome, Bubba. And, you know, the other person I was with, everyone like started clapping.
And just like, it felt very welcoming.

Speaker 3 And, you know, we're in a, we're in a career respectfully that is like thankless, you know. Yeah.

Speaker 3 We're often the times we're the first looked at if something goes wrong and we're the last thanked if everything goes right respectfully. And,

Speaker 3 you know, just sat down, had a meeting with her. And before you know it, we,

Speaker 3 you know, I was able to be the head of security for the 10x growth conference while it was in Miami.

Speaker 3 I believe that was a few years back. And, you know, it just shows like, you know, when you see opportunities in life, you got to be, you have to reach out.
You know, like there is. Shoot your shot.

Speaker 3 Absolutely. You know, like I'm a firm believer in stay prepared so you don't have to get prepared.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 And, you know, anytime you feel that, you know, like I pray often.

Speaker 3 So like it was just in my prayer channel, like something, you know, I asked God to bless me, the opportunities there, you know, you got to pray and go get what you prayed for, you know, and,

Speaker 3 you know, through that in a few days, was able to make over $12,000,

Speaker 3 you know, with working with him and his family. Was able to be around him, Elena, the children,

Speaker 3 and also.

Speaker 3 was able to be around these powerhouse titans, you know, Alex Rodriguez, people from Shark Tank, you know, female billionaires.

Speaker 2 And you got to go to live.

Speaker 3 Yeah. Which is a pretty cool place too.

Speaker 3 And yes, went to live with him and 50 Cent and

Speaker 3 things of that nature. So I was, you know, got to be on a yacht with him and Fat Joe and all these just different experiences.

Speaker 3 And again, you know, because I saw an opportunity, I reached out, you know,

Speaker 3 there's opportunities in life. They're not always going to come knocking at your door, though.
You got to, you got to go out and get what's yours, you know?

Speaker 2 So you've been,

Speaker 2 I'm a huge, I'm a huge believer in like getting around around

Speaker 2 people like that. Right.
That, you know, let me learn from somebody that's farther ahead of me in life than

Speaker 2 I've gotten to. So you've hung around a lot of famous celebrities, a lot of wealthy people, a lot of people that have done some really cool things.

Speaker 2 Like it's probably a ton, but if you could give us like what's one lesson you think you kind of gleaned from being in that circle of like what you've picked up?

Speaker 3 Yeah.

Speaker 3 I would just say,

Speaker 3 you know,

Speaker 3 you know, something I learned from the Ali family is just like...

Speaker 2 And this is Muhammad Ali's family.

Speaker 3 Yes. From his former wife and the mother of his four children, Dr.
Khalila Ali is just pray every day. And also,

Speaker 3 you know, just to be humble, you know, like, you know,

Speaker 3 you know, when you, when you are humble in life and you help others and you are

Speaker 3 inspiring the youth and just different things, I mean, that's like you're opening yourself to a world of,

Speaker 3 you know,

Speaker 3 you're opening yourself to so many blessings. And, you know, the right people will, at the right time, will see those things.
And most importantly, God will see those things. And,

Speaker 3 you know, just every day, just, you know, like, like I said, just pray and be good to people. Be kind, you know, be kind always.
And, you know, the universe just has a way of,

Speaker 3 you know, what you're putting out. It's going to come back to you in tenfold.

Speaker 2 So correct me if I'm wrong. I think I saw something else.
You're also in the the martial arts hall of fame.

Speaker 3 Yes. Yeah.
How did that happen? Yes. So I was recently honored with that in December of 2023.

Speaker 3 And kind of how that came about, I've been training for approximately two decades in American Kenpo, Taekwondo, and the art of the ninja.

Speaker 3 I'm advanced level in those. And I'm also a three-time national martial arts champion in sparring weaponry and forms.

Speaker 3 And, you know, I was reached out to one of my close friends, Mike Tyson's trainer, Aaron Snowwell. And he was like, you know, that, you know, he was recommending me, you know, for the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 3 And, you know, that meant the real, you know, to for him to, you know, say I was a champion. And most importantly, I was a Hall of Fame person.

Speaker 3 You know, that is something that, you know, I'll forever be, you know, grateful to him for. And, you know, kind of how that came about is,

Speaker 3 you know, mostly as a martial artist, like

Speaker 3 I really stepped up on the leadership side of, you know, like going out to speak to tens of thousands of children from private schools, public schools, sports programs, national nights outs, and instructing them about bullying prevention, personal safety, situational awareness,

Speaker 3 things of that nature

Speaker 3 to really just also important to their dreams, you know, like that same kid I visit, you know, they could be a white belt today, but they could be a master in, you know, 15, 20 years.

Speaker 3 They could be the next UFC fighter. They could be the next, you know, president, whatever it is their heart desires.
And it's very important.

Speaker 2 Man, to get to the hall of fame of anything is remarkable for a couple of reasons. Number one, you only get there if you're one of the greatest.
And number two, it's forever.

Speaker 3 Yes.

Speaker 2 I mean, it's forever once you're in it. And that's remarkable.

Speaker 2 You've had an incredible journey in a short period of time. Like, what do you think?

Speaker 2 you know, it's something you're doing, right?

Speaker 2 What do you think, just one thing you think that has helped you along your journey as to how you've gotten here?

Speaker 2 Because you've done a lot in a short period of time and you've done it at a really high level. Yes.
Thank you.

Speaker 3 And, you know, I would just say, you know, for me personally is having a strong faith and

Speaker 3 also,

Speaker 3 you know, just being good to people, you know, like.

Speaker 3 you know, being good to people and going above and beyond, you know, like whether I'm training or whether I'm, you know, bodyguarding a client, like, you know, those, those relationships will forever be, you know, like money spends once, but knowledge and connections monetize forever, you know, so we can go into the gas station and say, hey, I'll pull that out as a clip.

Speaker 3 I want $20,

Speaker 3 you know, on pump two. Yeah.
You know, we can never get that money back, though. We can't go in.

Speaker 2 Say that one more time. Yeah.
Because that, that's, you should quote that.

Speaker 3 Money spends once, but knowledge and connections monetize forever. Yeah.
So,

Speaker 3 you know, like, for example, you go into the gas station, you pay for $20 a gas on pump two. You can't pay for that, pump the gas and go back in and say, hey, can I have that $20 back?

Speaker 3 Even though I filled my tank up. But knowledge and connections, you know, nobody can take them from you.
Those are, they will always work for you.

Speaker 3 The only person that can ruin those connections is you, you know, if they're strong enough. And, you know, like, I just, I'm just a firm believer in that.
Like, you know,

Speaker 3 and really too, like sometimes, you know, I can't always even explain how good God has been in my life. Like, you know,

Speaker 3 you know, to be around certain people and things of that nature is just, it's really just his goodness.

Speaker 3 You know, it's like, it's, I'm just using the tools, resources, and skills he gave me and really he belongs with the glory.

Speaker 2 So I'm going to ask you two more, two more questions.

Speaker 2 I don't, you know, we don't call it a favorite, but you've hung out with a lot of celebrities. You've bodyguarded a lot of them.

Speaker 2 Like, what, what's one of the ones that you just really enjoy being around?

Speaker 3 Yeah, I enjoyed, there's a couple of them. I really enjoyed Grant Cardone, you know, just to be around that knowledge and

Speaker 3 energy.

Speaker 3 Yes, and like he's the type of person. He's in

Speaker 3 I say this respectfully is like my mindset is kind of like his in the sense, you know, like I remember he talked about a story one time, like he was doing an event during Super Bowl weekend.

Speaker 3 I don't know, you may have heard this if you keep up with him or other people may have heard. Like, and they told him, like, don't do that.
You're, you know, you're competing with the Super Bowl.

Speaker 3 He ends up doing this event. Yeah.
Sells out. People from all 50 states

Speaker 3 over 60 countries come to this event and i'm the same you know like i could have um people tell me like there could be dream stealers haters naysayers but you know whatever your dream is in life you got to hold on to it whatever your aspirations and ambitions are in life hold on to them protect them and never let them go like that's yours for a reason it's not those people you know like and only have people around you that love you pray for you inspire you uh empower you and uh you know that whether whatever your dream is even if you say i want to be governor i want to run this fortune 500 company whatever it is, you know, that they believe in you just as much as you believe in that dream.

Speaker 3 And don't just be around good people, be around great people that are,

Speaker 3 you know, phenomenal people.

Speaker 2 Yeah, it's funny you say that because I was having this conversation with somebody the other day. It's like, usually it's the craziest people until they're not, you know, and it was.

Speaker 2 You know,

Speaker 2 the people that change the world are the ones that invite you into their dream. And what I mean by that is like Elon Musk, we all, we all drew a version of the Cybertruck in school, right?

Speaker 2 And this guy went out and created it. And how many, you know, you can't start a car company.
You can't send people, you know, all the crazy things that he's done.

Speaker 2 I'm glad you made a point of that because that is so profound and powerful is a lot of times a crazy idea sounds crazy until you prove that it's not, right?

Speaker 2 And how many crazy ideas have shaped and changed our world.

Speaker 2 So that's a profound statement that you made.

Speaker 2 Another question I ask everybody is, we call the show Waking Up to wealth and that has nothing to do with money yeah it is just um i just believe we've been taught a lot of things wrong in this world about education um you know what to do with money just things of that nature so my question that i ask every guest is like what is waking up to wealth mean to you and that has nothing to do with money it's just your version of it yeah I will say, you know, waking up to wealth means to me is a great question.

Speaker 3 You know, your mindset, like

Speaker 3 your, your discipline, you know, your health, your,

Speaker 3 you know, just, you know, just, you know, going to sleep in prayer, waking up in prayer, linking your subconscious mind to your conscious mind,

Speaker 3 you know, and, you know,

Speaker 3 waking up to wealth is like.

Speaker 3 You're awake and

Speaker 3 you're the type of person that you could dream a dream, you vision it and you go after and you chase that dream, you know, every day, no matter what cost.

Speaker 3 And eventually one day you'll wake up to that wealth. And like you said, it's not always just about the money.

Speaker 3 It's about, you know, saying that you did something that nobody could ever take away from you.

Speaker 3 When you fulfill those goals and those dreams and those ambitions and that inspiration goes to our children, and that's a powerful thing.

Speaker 2 Powerful, man. Well,

Speaker 2 we'll wrap with that because you dropped a lot of good stuff today.

Speaker 2 Number one, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to be here with us today. And number two, thank you for pouring into our audience and giving us the knowledge that you did today.

Speaker 3 Thank you, you're welcome. Thank you for having me.

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