for 10 years.

And so by the time I got to about 18 or 19, and there was a guy called Mike Mensah suddenly started to appear in magazines.

And I read what Mensah was writing or what he was allegedly writing because I don't think it all came from him.

And it just made sense to me.

And even though I wasn't very big and I wasn't very good, I weighed about 168 pounds at the time.

I was entering a lot of bodybuilding contests.

And I started training using the men's approach.

So what advice would you give somebody that was in your shoes of being over when you were overweight and just not feeling your best, but maybe they hadn't done any strength training before? What would you give? What would you tell somebody that was just thinking of starting out?

Um, w- how do you think that's gonna make a positive impact for the future of recreational fishing, uh, in the state of Connecticut? And, and also, you know, what the listeners probably don't know, but a little bit about the Confluence of States too.

Sure, I can take this one.

Yeah, no, um, I was, I had the distinct honor to, uh, sign the Confluence Accords, which is, uh, the foundational principles, common principles of the Confluence of States.

Uh, there's five, which are conservation, stewardship, public health and wellness, economic development, education workforce, and educat- and opportunity and experience.

Uh, and that is all embedded in, again, getting more people outside and having good experiences and growing the outdoor recreation economy.

Um, and I think, again, uh, being the 22nd state that's, uh, joining a movement that started in just 2013, so it's still a relatively young, growing, uh, movement, uh, that sh- just shows like half the country has, has, uh, thought about this, um, and they see it as a strategic investment and, in time resources, uh, to again, uh, grow the outdoor recreation economy, access and opportunities for more people, uh, or for the residents of their states.

Um, it's just gonna be great access to more very, uh, like-minded but also probably smarter people than I am.

And so Jeff, maybe you can talk to, a little bit about how folks can share some of their ideas with us, um, on a formal level.

Here's Jeff.

In high school, I got my first job.

regular job.

I started out as a busboy for a restaurant.

It was called Ranch House Restaurant.

It's kind of a combination between a Denny's and Texas Roadhouse.

I worked for them on and off until I was 26 years old.

Let's return to Jeff with the rest of his story.

What's wrong

with Joffrey? I went to Starbucks to get a skinny latte because I'm a skinny hotte.

Yeah, you are.

And the barista said, sir, can I have your name for the cup? And I said, yes, it's Jeff.

And she said, is that Jeff with one F or two Fs? And I said, two Fs, good catch.

Because I'd hate to see what would happen if you only wrote down one F on my cup.

Skinny decaf latte for Jeff.

I'm surprised the health department allows you in the

What's wrong

with Joffrey? I went to Starbucks to get a skinny latte because I'm a skinny hotte.

Yeah, you are.

And the barista said, sir, can I have your name for the cup? And I said, yes, it's Jeff.

And she said, is that Jeff with one F or two Fs? And I said, two Fs, good catch.

Because I'd hate to see what would happen if you only wrote down one F on my cup.

Skinny decaf latte for Jeff.

I'm surprised the health department allows you in the

What's wrong

with Joffrey? I went to Starbucks to get a skinny latte because I'm a skinny hotte.

Yeah, you are.

And the barista said, sir, can I have your name for the cup? And I said, yes, it's Jeff.

And she said, is that Jeff with one F or two Fs? And I said, two Fs, good catch.

Because I'd hate to see what would happen if you only wrote down one F on my cup.

Skinny decaf latte for Jeff.

health department allows you in the