Anthony Thomas - Model, Actor, Golf Entertainer, Host - Afterhours
This podcast episode delves into the nuanced interplay between personal experiences and professional aspirations within the realm of golf. We engage in a profound discourse with Anthony Thomas, wherein he reflects on the significance of mentorship, the art of tailored introductions to the game of golf, and the essence of building meaningful connections within the golfing community. Our conversation traverses Anthony's cherished memories of lost figures, his adoration for the autumnal beauty of Vermont, and his aspirations to play at the esteemed Bandon Dunes course. We further explore the complexities of personal fulfillment in professional endeavors, the challenges faced in the golfing industry, and the imperative of self-improvement as a precursor to broader societal contributions. As we conclude, Anthony imparts a resonant message: the importance of initiating change from within oneself before aspiring to influence the world at large.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Golf newsnet
- High Fives Foundation
- Jones Golf Bags
- Jones Sports
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
Welcome to Grilling at the Green After Hours.
Speaker A:The conversation that took place after the show ended.
Speaker B:Hi, everybody, it's JT and this is a special version of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker B:Grilling at the Green is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker B:Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker B:That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker C:Welcome to After Hours, everybody.
Speaker C:I guess I should start the clock.
Speaker D:Do that over.
Speaker C:Welcome to After Hours, everybody.
Speaker C:Here on Grilling at the Green.
Speaker C:I. Jt Today we got Anthony Thomas with.
Speaker C:If you didn't listen to the regular show, go back and find it.
Speaker C:It's really.
Speaker C:And you can hear the regular shows on Golf newsnet.
Speaker C:One of these days, we're actually going to put After Hours on there.
Speaker C:Ryan and I have been kind of batting that around for a while.
Speaker C:So as usual, these questions have absolutely no meaning, but they're fun.
Speaker D:All right.
Speaker D:All right.
Speaker C:What's your favorite color?
Speaker C:Lifesaver.
Speaker A:I don't eat Lifesavers, but if I had to pick, it would probably be red.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:Just not the grapefruit or the lemon ones.
Speaker A:That's absolutely no grapefruit.
Speaker A:Anything.
Speaker C:Yeah, whatever that is.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker C:If I gave you a box, Anthony, with everything you've lost in your life, what would be the first thing you reach for?
Speaker A:Everything I've lost in my life will be the first thing I reach for.
Speaker A:It would probably be a person.
Speaker C:Yeah, it could be person, place or thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, it would be a person.
Speaker A:It would be the only sort of.
Speaker A:I didn't have grandparents really.
Speaker A:You know, in my life.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:There was this one figure who was kind of like a grandfather figure and he passed away.
Speaker A:That was my first time dealing with death like I was in third grade.
Speaker A:And he was the most legendary man you could ever think of.
Speaker A:At 70 something years old, standing up, riding his motorcycle down the road without a helmet on and throwing fireworks out at the kids while we're playing basketball in the street, all that stuff.
Speaker A:And, and had I had him around more, I would have probably been way more entertaining, if nothing else.
Speaker D:So there you go.
Speaker A:He would be one for sure.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:You're on the road a fair amount these days.
Speaker C:Is there a, a place that you always look forward to going?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Vermont.
Speaker A:Sugar Bush, Vermont.
Speaker A:Every fall, if you have never been to New England, particularly Vermont, during there's like a three week window when the leaves changing are at their peak.
Speaker A:It's usually end of September into October.
Speaker A:Let's say if you've never been out There at this time.
Speaker A:It is one of the most magical things I've ever seen.
Speaker A:You don't even have to be a nature person, but I will sit raising money for High Fives Foundation.
Speaker A:I will sit on a tee box, see the whole view from the, you know, the mountains, Sugar Bush Resort and everything.
Speaker A:And you just literally in one day you can see the leaves change.
Speaker A:So you start, you start the day with, let's say, you know, 30% are yellow and then, you know, 20% are red.
Speaker A:By the end of the day, you're going to have like 40% red leaves.
Speaker A:And you can literally see that it's just mind blowingly beautiful.
Speaker C:Cool.
Speaker C:Cool.
Speaker C:Name an unsung hero in the golf world.
Speaker A:Every person that doesn't try to introduce somebody to the game of golf in their own style, but takes somebody to introduce them to the game by learning more about that person.
Speaker A:For example, hey, do you want to go out here and party and drink a beer a hole, or do you want to have a competition to where we bet a dollar a hole, or do you want to just have a nature walk with your friends where every once in a while you'll hit a golf ball?
Speaker A:Every person that introduces somebody to the game in a way that's tailored to the person expressing interest.
Speaker A:Unsung hero.
Speaker D:Okay, good.
Speaker C:What do you do when you're getting ice out of the ice machine?
Speaker C:If you have one in your refrigerator and that errant one or two pieces of ice, after you're done fall out and hit the floor, do you A, kick them under the refrigerator or B, do you give them to the dog?
Speaker C:Or three, do you pick them up and throw them in the sink?
Speaker A:It's d, some of the above.
Speaker A:It depends on the size.
Speaker A:Depends on the size of the ice.
Speaker A:If it's smaller than like a pinky nail, I'm just gonna kick.
Speaker A:I'm kicking it away.
Speaker A:But if it's larger than a pinky nail, it's going in the dog bowl.
Speaker A:If it's summertime, if it's not summertime, it's going in the sea.
Speaker C:Yeah, I'm a, I'm an AI.
Speaker C:Right under the fridge, Never to be seen again.
Speaker C:Right until that.
Speaker A:Until it rots the floor out and the whole fridge just collapses through the subfloor.
Speaker C:We won't be here by then.
Speaker C:Is there a course you would like to play that you have not had the opportunity to play?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Being right here in the Northwest, I've never been out to band in dunes, so that would be where I would want to Go play.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:Well, maybe we'll go together one of these days.
Speaker C:You can, you can drive all putt.
Speaker C:How's that?
Speaker C:If you could dine with a historical figure, who would it be and what would be on the menu?
Speaker A:Any historic dead or anybody.
Speaker C:Anybody dead live.
Speaker C:If they're dead, we'll bring them back for a couple hours for you.
Speaker A:I, I love that.
Speaker A:And what would be on the menu was the other part of that question?
Speaker C:Yep, yep, yep.
Speaker A:Historical figure.
Speaker A:For me it would be.
Speaker A:That's really good.
Speaker A:I don't know why this has never come up before, but what comes to mind for me is Genghis Khan.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:So you wanted to go to be a shaman mom, you know.
Speaker A:Fair, fair, fair.
Speaker A:Genghis Khan having been one of the largest rulers of the planet in history, as I'm to understand.
Speaker A:Because I would just want to pick the mind of like for what, what drives you to do what you do?
Speaker A:Why do you.
Speaker A:Where are you thinking this is actually helpful for humanity?
Speaker A:And then on the menu would probably be whatever would take the longest to eat.
Speaker A:So I can maximize time conversing.
Speaker A:So, you know, some call it like a bison or elk or something like that.
Speaker A:That spend a good time, you know, good bit chewing and so on.
Speaker C:It's going to be on the spit for about six hours at least type thing, right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Speaker C:And secondly, what's the first thing you think about when you get up in the morning?
Speaker A:First thing I do is walk to the kitchen.
Speaker A:I squeeze fresh lemon into a glass, fill it with water and then drink it.
Speaker A:And then I follow that up with 50 squats.
Speaker A:Just body weight squats get the blood flowing, you know, flush your lymphatic system.
Speaker A:And then the first thing that I think about usually is something around my content team.
Speaker A:So I have a virtual assistant and an editor who there in the Philippines.
Speaker A:So a lot of times I'll wake up to messages from them and so on or wake up to an edit or something like that.
Speaker A:So the first thing I usually do is like, you know, how's the edit?
Speaker C:Where are we at?
Speaker A:And is this going live soon?
Speaker D:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:If you could play around to golf with one of your golfing heroes, who would it be?
Speaker A:It would probably be.
Speaker A:I mean Tiger is a for sure.
Speaker A:Like we're, we're talking golfing heroes, right?
Speaker A:Not relationship heroes.
Speaker C:Yeah, golfing heroes.
Speaker A:Golfing heroes.
Speaker A:For sure it would be Tiger.
Speaker A:But I, I also love, I Mean, Gary Player would be an incredible, incredible time to loop with.
Speaker C:I bet he would.
Speaker C:I. I always remember the story about Barbalou, Barbara Nicholas saying that he used to stay with him when he came to Ohio to play.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker C:And then when in Florida, too.
Speaker C:And Gary's all this fitness stuff, you know, always allows himself one shot of whiskey a month and one square of chocolate or all this.
Speaker C:She laughed and she said, yeah, he'd go, like to the Walmart and buy two bags of candy bars and stuff them in the.
Speaker C:In the closet.
Speaker C:Didn't think we know about it.
Speaker C:And you eat like three or four of those a day.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:That's so good.
Speaker C:Anyway, if you could re.
Speaker C:Erase one mistake from your past, Anthony, what would it be?
Speaker A:Erase one mistake from my password.
Speaker C:Some people don't have any, or they don't care to erase them.
Speaker A:No, no, no.
Speaker A:I definitely do.
Speaker A:One for me would be quitting baseball.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:It's sort of always.
Speaker A:It's been the only sort of like, life regret that I have.
Speaker A:But the oldest brother I mentioned, seven years older, played baseball, played college ball.
Speaker A:He was a catcher.
Speaker A:I was a pitcher.
Speaker A:I had all the wisdom and skill set from him.
Speaker A:And, you know, I stopped playing baseball at about.
Speaker A:I was 12 years old, and I was throwing 70 plus miles per hour.
Speaker A:I was throwing no hitters, you know, all kinds of stuff.
Speaker A:A lot of promise there.
Speaker A:And the pacing that I was on, as I was told at the time, is definitely major leagues, like, without a doubt, because I could field as well.
Speaker A:But baseball, Quitting baseball.
Speaker C:Okay, if we put your life to music, what would the music be.
Speaker A:Like?
Speaker A:A genre or specific song?
Speaker A:My choice.
Speaker C:Your choice.
Speaker A:It would be some island reggae music to the tune, sort of of like E Colu 3plus or Kao Crater Boys.
Speaker C:Okay, that's fair.
Speaker C:Name a player that you think is underrated.
Speaker A:A player that's underrated.
Speaker A:I'm assuming PGA Tour player, underrated.
Speaker C:Lpga, PGA Korn Fairy Champions, Wilsonville Chamber.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker A:You can't.
Speaker C:You can't say me because, you know, I think I. I think I'm rated fairly, like, poor.
Speaker C:So there you go.
Speaker A:You know, I'm gonna actually, I'm gonna list a group of players, which is if you know Jones Golf Bags.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Jones Sports.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:Their entire staff, especially their core, like, 10.
Speaker A:These guys.
Speaker A:I'm talking club championship.
Speaker A:Club championship.
Speaker A:Still winning.
Speaker A:Some of them played college golf, U of O and all that.
Speaker A:But still to this day, having not competed in years for these guys.
Speaker A:Joan Sportsco have some of the Best golfers that nobody's aware of.
Speaker C:All right, I tried to get.
Speaker C:What's the guy that runs that place?
Speaker A:There's Matt or Chris.
Speaker C:Chris.
Speaker C:I tried to get Chris on the show earlier in the year.
Speaker C:He just got back from vacation and then they were having issues.
Speaker C:I don't know what they were, but I think he'd just been gone on vacation for a little too long or something.
Speaker C:And so he was having to sort some stuff out.
Speaker C:And I never followed up with him after that, but I will.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:What's the first thing you reach for when you're done playing around a golf?
Speaker A:It would probably be a Topo Chico.
Speaker D:Oh, there you go.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:What do you think is the best part of your job and what is the toughest part of your job?
Speaker A:Best part of my job is fulfillment.
Speaker A:You know, feeling like, man, I actually get to make a difference, not just in the charities that I'm helping to raise funds for.
Speaker A:You know, when I.
Speaker A:When I turn in that money at the end of the tournament, it just feels amazing to see the eyeballs light up because I usually, more frequently than not, I set a new fundraising record for that.
Speaker A:That tournament or that organization.
Speaker A:That feels amazing.
Speaker A:But the best part is just the reactions from the players when I do certain shots.
Speaker A:You know, hit a lefty driver upside down, hit a putter and out drive the team.
Speaker A:You know, put her off the deck.
Speaker A:You know, things like that.
Speaker A:The react I get are just priceless for sure.
Speaker C:What's one thing you wish that spectators would not do?
Speaker C:I mean, you watch golf on television.
Speaker C:I'm sure to degree.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:You've been to pro tournaments and stuff.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker C:What's one thing you wish they wouldn't do?
Speaker C:Me yell mashed potatoes.
Speaker C:It makes no sense.
Speaker A:But I think that.
Speaker A:Jt, all due respect, I think that's more of a generational, you know, in the meme.
Speaker A:In the meme era of man, that was smashed, that was mashed.
Speaker A:You, Matt, you know, that's that sort of bit.
Speaker A:But I'm.
Speaker A:I am for the yelling and you know, yell what you want, whatever.
Speaker C:But after they hit the shot, bingo.
Speaker A:The timing of it is what matters.
Speaker A:So the etiquette of golf spectators past.
Speaker A:I would love to see present day until at least half a second, a full second after they have held the finish.
Speaker A:The ball's still in the air, right?
Speaker A:You can still.
Speaker A:You don't have to be the first one, whatever.
Speaker A:But yeah, so I. I'm with you on that.
Speaker A:But for me, it would probably be just be really, anything negative, like whether you're saying something negative in person or whatever it may be bringing negative energy at all is right.
Speaker A:Absurd to me.
Speaker A:It's like, go do something with your life.
Speaker A:Why are you taking this energy out here now?
Speaker A:Sure, a lot of these guys have incredible mental strength, and it takes more than that to ruin a day for them, but still, it's like a lot of other people don't want to hear whatever nonsense you're talking and chirping away at people and all.
Speaker A:This isn't basketball.
Speaker A:I dealt with that for years, all the way up to the state championships and all that stuff.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker A:Totally different ball game than golf.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, that would be.
Speaker C:I do think that on occasion, they want to take a seven iron over and go.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker C:You know, just kind of saying, if you were an animal, what animal would you be?
Speaker A:I would be a gibbon.
Speaker A:If you're familiar with the.
Speaker A:Yeah, they.
Speaker A:They swing and they're so playful.
Speaker A:They're launching.
Speaker A:They're strong, but at the same.
Speaker A:And they can be fierce and ferocious, but at the same time, they could be teddy bears.
Speaker A:And I'm fully aware that, you know, there's somebody out there that if we went hand to hand, there's plenty of people that would take me out, but I can handle my business in most senses of the animal kingdom, I would say.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:You have a favorite movie, Anthony?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Shooter with Mark Wahlberg.
Speaker C:That's pretty good movie.
Speaker D:That's pretty good movie.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Mine's my.
Speaker C:I think my favorite.
Speaker C:I've got a lot of movies that I like to see, but I think The Godfather Part 1 should be taught in every business school.
Speaker C:You know, why?
Speaker A:Why is that?
Speaker C:Just professional ethics.
Speaker C:You don't cross the line.
Speaker C:If you cross the line, you pay the price.
Speaker C:Theirs is an extreme example, I grant you that.
Speaker C:But, you know, anyway, that's.
Speaker C:That's just me.
Speaker A:Extreme examples make some of the best lessons.
Speaker C:So what do you want to do when you retire?
Speaker C:If you ever retire?
Speaker C:Me, I'm not retiring, so.
Speaker A:Correct.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm with you.
Speaker A:I don't ever plan on retiring.
Speaker A:There's always something that I can do and contribute to society and by society.
Speaker A:I'm very much focused present day on my core, within arms reach of society.
Speaker A:So I'm not out there doing the marching, protesting this or protesting that or whatever.
Speaker A:I'm like, how do I fix my.
Speaker A:Myself, my household, my neighborhood, my community?
Speaker A:And then if we can get that sorted, we'll expand from there.
Speaker A:I Never want to retire.
Speaker A:There's always going to be some work to do.
Speaker A:There's always going to be something that I can contribute.
Speaker A:So cool.
Speaker C:Two last things.
Speaker C:We're almost done.
Speaker C:What would be your last meal if you were on death row?
Speaker A:My mom's biscuits and gravy.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:Does it have, like, sausage or anything in the business?
Speaker A:Oh, yes.
Speaker A:Maple, maple sausage, little homemade gravy.
Speaker C:Some beautiful cream gravy.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:You got this.
Speaker C:You got this.
Speaker C:All right, now here's your opportunity.
Speaker C:Anthony, what would be your message to the world right now?
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:Fix yourself first.
Speaker A:Whatever you have going on, whatever areas that you know you can do better and you should do better, fix yourself first.
Speaker A:Stop trying to fix everything outside of you.
Speaker A:Because once you do that, you not only become the example for the next people that are looking to you in that transformation, but you also can then reach out and fix the next people, whatever that is, one other person, three other people, and so on.
Speaker A:Don't try to go out and change the whole world all at once.
Speaker A:Fix yourself first and move that momentum as it grows outward.
Speaker C:There you go once again.
Speaker C:Anthony, how can people find you if they are, in fact, interested?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:On Instagram, Anthony Thomas, 33, on YouTube at Dynamic Daddy.
Speaker A:And my website is anthonyjthomas.com I also have a podcast out there which you can find just looking up Anthony Thomas podcast.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker C:It's been a real pleasure.
Speaker C:I'm glad I met you last week.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Same here, J.T.
Speaker A:thank you so much.
Speaker A:It's been an honor to be sitting right here across from you and diving in a little bit, the after hours included.
Speaker A:I appreciate your time for sure.
Speaker C:No problem.
Speaker C:We will be back next week with another edition of After Hours and of course, grilling at the Green.
Speaker C:We got Jim Myers coming up who's the golf course superintendent for Columbia Edgewater.
Speaker C:Jim's been on the show a number of times over the years, and they've got the LPGA tournament coming up the middle of the month here in August, so we'll get an update from him.
Speaker C:Until then, for Anthony and myself, go out there, play some golf, have some fun.
Speaker C:But most of all, be kind.
Speaker C:Take care, everybody.
