Joe Fazzini === Vince: [00:00:00] Cool. And so we don't ever really look at the cameras other than, yeah, I'll do a when do an intro and an outro, but other than that, just. I'm looking at you guys. Yeah. Sorry about that. No, Daniel: I can put a bag around. No, no. You guys are, Joe: you guys are awesome. No, no, no, no. We should get some masks. Yeah. Daniel: Yeah. That would be, I just watched point the right guest have a, have a mask like that we, uh, that we wear. Joe: Like I just watched the original point break, so Oh, okay. Great movie. I was on the bike on the trainer and I was just watching. Yeah. You know, Ronald Reagan and LBJ. It was like, right. Yeah. Oh, this is good idea. This is a classic. Yeah. Daniel: I like that. How long were you on the trainer for? What was, did you watch the whole movie on the trainer? Joe: Usually? Yeah. Okay. I mean, uh, my, my normal on a trainer ride is an hour and a half and I'll go now that I'm ramping up. Okay. It's two hours. It'll get to two and a half and then it'll go to four. Okay. You know, as it as I keep getting closer and I'll pick up a lot of gravel rides. Yeah. I love the ride gravel. You know, because you get the, you get the vertical. Vince: Yep. You know, Joe: you get the vertical climbs and you know, it gets to [00:01:00] heart rate. Where I hate doing, I hate doing intervals on a trainer. It's just so tough. I'd rather do hills. Yeah. On the regular bike, Daniel: do you have a mo movie queue? You work, you're working through? I'm working. Or you just kinda like get on and say. Okay. What am I in the mood Joe: for? I'm rewatching Sons of Anarchy right now, so I have plenty of seasons to Nice. To continue to watch. Yeah. You forget how good that show really was. Yeah. So, yeah. So I mean, I'll get bored and, and I'll, and I'll switch it up, but I saw, I saw a point break pop up and I go, oh no, I gotta, Daniel: this is Vince: it. Joe: Yeah. This is a long ride Vince: movie. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. That's a good movie. Yeah. It's been a while. Uh, suppose did they make a remake of that? Yeah. Which is, it was. Joe: It was average. I can't remember how those remix go. Yeah, yeah. It was a pretty, you know, at least I came to believe some of the things that could happen in the original, and then you look at the stunts in the second you go, yeah. Okay. Daniel: Right. I Joe: know it's theater. Yeah. You know, Daniel: that's kind of like, uh, the, one of the series that, you know, uh, as far the stunts go, that really jumped. The Shark is Fast and Furious. Started with like Joe: Yeah. Daniel: Street [00:02:00] racing and then all of a sudden went like, we're going to outer space. Joe: Yeah. Daniel: I don't know that this, this has really moved away from the original movies here. Yeah. Vince: Fast and Furious Nine kind of Daniel: loses Vince: Yeah. It loses the plot a little bit. Yeah. Daniel: Yeah, it Vince: still made about a quarter of a billion dollars. I mean, can't, you Daniel: can't sniff at the amount of money you get the Rock in Vince: anything. He does cartoons and they. Yeah, they draw, right? Yeah. So we're still waiting for him to accept our invite to join the podcast. You keep Daniel: trying. Vince: Yeah. Doesn't happen man. That would be so cool. So if you have any connections, let us know. Joe: The only connection Vince: I have Joe: is seen when you Vince: do, but I wouldn't give up. I would keep trying. Well, um, Joe, you said your ancestors, uh, come from Southern Italy. Uh, one of the screenshots on that, uh, rotating image or screen there is, uh, picture of the Dolomites in northern Italy. Yeah, we had it guessed. Um, a while ago who was doing a, doing a trip there or had just recently done a trip there. Yeah, I just come back, I think. So we said, well, let's do the podcast episode there. So now we have Southern Italy covered and yeah, we'll just have to go to find Central Daniel: Italy. Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure we can find somebody. [00:03:00] Yeah, just avoid all of Rome for the Jubilee and the new Pope and everything like that, because that's gonna be a mess for a while. I'm Joe: from the south suburbs of Chicago, so the Pope's a Sox fan from the south, south suburbs. It's like, trust me, it's like actually his dad. Was a pastor of the church that I went to when I was a kid. No kidding. Really? San Rocco was in Chicago Heights. I was born in Chicago Heights. Daniel: Okay. Joe: So yeah, it, there's not that I could say, I can remember 'em. Yeah. Because I was young. Yeah. And, but yeah, there's, there's some lineage there to that family, to the south suburbs. Wow. That's cool. Of Chicago. Yeah. There we go. See, we. Gone full circle. I know. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I brought it all back. We can go to the Vatican now. Anytime I go, Hey, you don't remember me as long as you're wearing your socks, actually, should your ranch shoot right Vince: in? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's wild. Okay, well, uh, we'll keep that in mind when we do some international, uh, recordings. I mean, let's face it, cancer, uh, pretty much affects all of us. So we could Yeah. Certainly find some, some candidates over there. Oh yeah. And consume some good food. Just a couple bites. A bunch of, yeah. Here and there. Exactly. Yeah. Alright, well let's get [00:04:00] rolling now that we've, uh, brought the Pope into this. Yeah. We better get started. We need everything we can get to go downhill from here. We better? Yeah. Is this thing on. All right guys. Welcome back to another episode of the Summits podcast. Thank you all for joining us from wherever your podcast or for joining us on the Heroes Foundation YouTube channel. Thank you for tuning in. While you're doing so if you haven't hit that subscribe button, we'd greatly appreciate it. If you did so, the pope would bless you. I'm sure if you did it, uh, it won't cost you a penny. And also hit that little notification bell icon when you're on there so you can be alerted when new episodes like this one drop. We greatly appreciate it. Alright, today's guest, Mr. Joe Fazzini. We've already talked about from the south side of Chicago, ancestors from Southern Italy. But we're not gonna hit that, that's not why we're here. Um, [00:05:00] we'll go into a little bit, but we'll let Joe kind of give his own little background on himself and then, uh, go from there. So, Joe, welcome to the Summits podcast. Thank you so much for having me. Joe: I appreciate you. You're welcome. I do, I do. Uh, Joe Fini. I'm, uh, born in 1958, which makes me a boomer, you know, in, in a lot of ways I hope. But, uh, uh, born and raised in south suburbs of Chicago. Um. I'm half Italian, half polish, which meant the holidays were very interesting in my house. Yeah. I'm a father of two, uh, grandfather of four. Nice. And awesome. Yeah. Piper's, uh, just gonna be three and uh, my youngest was just born two weeks ago. Little Luca Fini. You gotta love that. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, so my, my life is blessed. I've got a lot of things to be very, very grateful for, including being a survivor. And, uh, but I got down here in Indianapolis in around, uh, 2000. I came down here for work, uh, left, uh, [00:06:00] the city of Chicago. And I always said, if you can't make a living in Chicago, you can't make it anywhere. Until, uh, until I couldn't. And I came down here to Indianapolis and, and worked for. Still one of the best companies I've ever worked for at that time. Sally May, I was in the student loan business. Mm-hmm. And, uh. Was recruited by, uh, I had one of the best bosses you could ever ask for a guy by name of Jeff Worley, who's, uh, been very important to my career. Um, but I've had a great running corporate America. I, I retired at, uh, 65. I'm semi-retired now. I still do some work for a company out of Ohio. Uh, specifically in the accounts receivable business. I'm in the collection business. Daniel: Okay. Joe: And, uh. And that's how I, I landed here and our plan was my wife and I was always to move back to Chicago when that position at Sally Mae ended. But you know, we ended up loving it here in Indianapolis. Uh, both my kids graduated from Indiana University. Nice. Yeah. So there kids. Yeah, so I'm an honorary Hoosier. I just feel [00:07:00] like I put a couple bricks in one of those buildings there. So, yes. Thank you for that. Yeah, you're welcome. It. God, they loved it down there. I think my daughter would still live there. Uh, 'cause she really had a good time at Kilroy. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And, and my son couldn't wait to get out, so. Okay. Uh, Daniel: are they still here in the area? Joe: Yeah, this area. Everybody's in Carmel. Okay. Both my, my son's family and my daughter's family. My daughter graduated, moved to Chicago. Back to Chicago. Then la. Mar met a guy from Purdue out in la. Really? Wow. Yeah. Married him then moved back and they did not know each other before they were out there? No, they did not. Okay. You know, as Charlie, her husband tells the story, it was that, you know, we heard these girls from in, from IU had moved into town because she moved down there to a group of her, uh, sorority sisters. Okay. And, uh, that's how they met and yeah. Interesting. You know, life is, you know, there's only a million Purdue graduates here in the state of Indiana, so, but she had to go out to LA to find the right one, right? Yeah, yeah. My daughter met a, met a young lady. I mean, my son met a young lady up in [00:08:00] Chicago when he went to work for guaranteed rate. Um. You know, and that was the best thing that happened about his trip to Chicago is that he met Tegan and, uh, they moved back. So my grandkids are here. Awesome. Um, my family's here. You know, I've been with my, my wonderful wife, Sherry. We're, you know, between dating and marriage, it's coming close to 40 years. Wow. Yeah. So, I mean, that's just a little personal background of, of how I got here at Indiana, how my life is, you know, I'm a pretty. Outside of my training, I'm a pretty boring guy, you know? That's okay. I, yeah, I'm a very loyal guy and, uh, I, I believe in, in spiritual principles that, you know, honesty, integrity, fidelity, those types of principles, just very basic block and tackle the way I live my life, and it served me well. It has served me well. Yeah, I bet. Yeah. Vince: Um, we'll probably go into this, but at what point did you start getting into running and cycling and such? Wow. Joe: Um, 1976 I la up for the first time I had, uh, a sports injury, a broken ankle. [00:09:00] I. Same ankle. I broke to, to find out my cancer journey and, uh, and I, and I had a hip, a hip level down to my toe cast for nine months. Oh, wow. 'cause they, I, I broke with the doctors, the orthopod's called a, uh, growing bone in my ankle. Yeah. And I had to stabilize it for nine months. So, you know, I, uh. I ballooned up to like 240 pounds, you know, after, you know, nine months of being in a, in a cast, right? And, and I found, uh, painkillers and chased those down with a couple Miller lights, you know, and, and, and, and the food addiction kicked in and just gained a bunch of weight and. I remember when they cut the cast off in 76. I said, I, I just can't be this guy anymore. So, uh, I laced up a pair of pro headss and tried running around the block and it was virtually impossible. So that's how it started for me. But I started my senior year in high school at two 40. By the time I graduated, I. I had picked up the running bug and I was [00:10:00] 155 pounds. Nice. At graduation. Wow. Yeah, so I mean, I ran twice a day for almost that whole, that whole season. Mm-hmm. You know, from my senior year in high school. And that's how it stuck with me. I bought my first cycle, my first bike in 1977, which was a Schwinn Voyager. It was as close as I could get to a racing bike. Back then, it was a steel crow Molly frame and it weighed a ton, but you know. I had a couple of buddies. We would just, uh, get on our bikes and, and we'll ride 150 miles. We'd ride from Park Forest, Illinois at that time to banger Michigan, and then, then down a Saturday and then ride back on a Sunday. Wow. So it was like, yeah. Well, those were great weekends for me. Sure. Yeah. You know, a lot memories, camaraderie, and, and fitness. Right? Mm-hmm. Yeah, but you know, gotta remember our meals back then, we didn't know anything about carb loading or anything. It was a Burger King Whopper and some french fries. Vince: You know, back when can you eat that? It would never Yeah. Burn it Joe: off an hour. Yeah, absolutely. So that's [00:11:00] how I got started and it's been part of my daily routine, literally for 50 years, 48 years of, of training. I, I don't ever see stopping until I can't. Vince: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. You know what, uh, what aspect, or maybe I should say what discipline, I mean, I do triathlons. Is there a particular discipline that you enjoy the most or you love all three equally? Joe: I, I've gone through phases where times it was running, there's times it was cycling and running, and I didn't learn to swim till I was 57. Yeah. Yeah. I've done a couple tries the sprints over the years and, you know, I was, I was a rock with arms and, uh, so I, I learned, I, I, I learned to swim at 57 and, you know, it wasn't pretty, but it got done. Sure. And, uh, so I spent most of my time cycling, running and lifting. You know, those were my disciplines. There was times I was a gym rat. There was times you couldn't get me off the bike or, you know, one of the things that, that really sticks out in my mind when you, when we talk about training my, my [00:12:00] son. We were at dinner a couple, couple, I guess maybe a year ago with one of my buddies and we were talking about fitness and training and everything else, and, and he said to me, he goes, I don't remember. My dad ever not getting up in the morning and the first thing he did was train. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: No matter what it was, you know? And that's how I've pretty much still lived my life. I like training early 'cause my energy levels are high. Sure. Whether I'm 66 or 26, it was just way I lived my life right now. Yeah. Walks into a habit and Vince: Oh, it's a stay have. Yeah. It's a lifestyle. Absolutely. That's awesome. Yeah. When was your Joe: first, uh, triathlon? Well, it was probably in the nineties. It was just a little backyard try that was a 500 yard sprint triathlon with 12 mile bike and, you know, and then, you know, get, I had two kids at that point, kind of that type of training. I had to fit it in when I could, which is why usually it was four 30 in the morning when they were sleeping mm-hmm. To get up and get my training. So it just became predominantly lifting and running at that point while [00:13:00] the kids were young. Uh, but it got done every day. I had a gym in the house. I, you know, I go back to Bally's Fitness, the times where Bally's was there and, you know, and that's where I would get my, my, my lifting in and things like that. Um, but I, I gotta say, after 48 years of training daily, it's taking its toll on my body. It's, it's, it's tired at times. Mm-hmm. I have to get my recovery days though. Yeah. Uh, but I still try to hit 340 days a year training. Okay, nice. Daniel: Nice. That's Joe: impressive. Yeah, Vince: yeah. I know, I know what you mean by the, the aging processes. I've, and I'm 52 now. 50, yeah. 52. Whatever I am. Uh, it, it's amazing how all of a sudden little things are popping up and I'm like, oh, yeah, what, what, what? Where's that come, come from? Where'd that come from? Yeah. I used to be able to, what was Daniel: that sound? Vince: And then I'd have to like, stop doing something for a month or two and I'd go back in the gym and be like, holy crap. Did I really? Drop that much, lose that much two months. Absolutely. Apparently I did. Yeah. It's not fun. A week Joe: is a difference. Vince: Yeah. Yeah. Made a pretty serious elbow thing I'm dealing with and [00:14:00] it's, uh, it's kind of a pain in the ass. Yeah. Frankly, Joe: it no Vince: doubt. Joe: And I liked that you said the word ass. I was worried about it's a pain of the elbow. I was a pa I was worried about cussing. So Yeah. No, no, no. We're good. We're good. Yeah. Um, Vince: but yeah, it's, it's, it stinks. But then, then you try to find a way. It's like, okay, well. If it's gonna prohibit me or the doctor's saying, Hey, don't do the, these sets of exercises and for a month, two months, six months, whatever it is, what can I do? Because yeah, I'm 52 now, not 25. You know, things will re regress pretty quickly and, and all that. So what, what else else is there still to do? So it's, uh, it's an interesting stage of life, to say the Joe: least. Yeah. Well, I've learned, I've learned that, that swimming is my friend, even though I hate it. Vince: Yeah. I, you know, I, I've never really gotten into swimming a handful of times. Years ago I tried to, I was like, wow, that's a lot harder than I thought. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Um, I'm sure I wasn't doing it right, but it. It's, uh, where's you at? It is difficult. Yeah. And I've, I've heard that from sev, maybe not all, but several folks who've gotten in triathlons. [00:15:00] They were either a runner or a cyclist first. Yes. And the last thing was swimming. And they all, and not all of them, but those, those folks were like, yeah, I, I hate the swimming part. Yeah. Joe: I use it as recovery modality now. Okay. Versus a discipline that I'll get up and run. I mean, for, for years while I was training for Ironman, it was, first thing was, was the swim. Sure. Yeah. The pool. I hate chlorine anymore. If I can't get to open water, I'm not, I'm not going to the pool. I just seem like it makes me feel sick. I can't breathe. Mm-hmm. My head's congested. Mm-hmm. It's, it's not the way, you know, I'll wait till I get to get to the lake and, and that, that opens up here in the next couple weeks. Sure. I'll be back in open water. Right. So, where do you typically go? I have, I have a place up in Michigan on Diamond Lake. That's why Diamond Lake Sports is where I run my coaching business. And so, yeah, I, I swim up there. Um, usually once the water gets above 55, 58, I'll be in with a wetsuit and start putting some. Some yards in. I was gonna say, the water's gotta be pretty chilly right now. It is. Yeah. It is. The pier's in, so once the pier goes in, I can start to ease my, [00:16:00] my way in. I've tried swimming when it's, when it's colder than that, and it's like, nah, I'm not worth it. Yeah, yeah. I'm done. I'm getting out. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've literally swam on the shoreline and said. Now I'm walking back, I get out, I can walk through all my neighbor's yards coming back. 'cause it's just, it's, it's not worth it. No way. Yeah. No way. There's no polar bear club today. No, it's okay. I always tell people it's supposed to be fun. Yeah, sure. It's supposed to be fun no matter what. At the end of the day, it's gotta be fun or, or it, it hurts too much to do it. Yeah. Vince: That's fair. Yep. Well that's probably a good segue. We had the privilege of hearing part of your story before we got on there. Mm-hmm. But, uh, I think now's probably a good time. So, Joe, what is your cancer story? Well, I'm a Joe: prostate cancer survivor. Uh, I was diagnosed in, uh, 2008 and, um, yeah, I guess as the story goes, I can remember being on spring break with my family down in Cancun. We were taking the kids down there and, uh, when we landed, I told my wife, I said, I need to go. I was training for the mini marathon. [00:17:00] And I said, I need to go out and get a 10 K in before we do anything just to get, get shake loose and keep my, my training where it needs to be. So I went out for a run about halfway in my turnaround point, I stepped in a hole and I, I broke my ankle, that same ankle I broke in high school. Right. Um, so I, I limped back and normally I was, at that point I was doing a 10 k in, in, in just around an hour, give or take a few minutes, depending upon the terrain. And, uh. My, my wife knew when I wasn't back in an hour that something had happened. Vince: Yeah. Joe: So I limped back, I came back and by then my, my foot was swollen inside the shoe and it was just a, a gnarly mess at that point. Mm-hmm. Uh, went to the hospital in Mexico. They, they treated me for, uh, a sprain, you know, gave me anti-inflammatories and crutches and, uh, so when I came back, I went to see my, my normal pc, my, my primary care doctor. And, um, you know, he said, well. It shouldn't be this swollen still this swollen. He goes, let's, let's [00:18:00] do an MRI. And then, um, he goes, but you haven't been here in five years, so let's do some, let's do your routine blood work while you're here. And, um, a couple days go by. I was shopping at, at. At the mall for my kids, getting them a new bed. And he calls me on a Friday night, like seven, eight o'clock. Doctor kept weird hours, I guess, but uh, and he said, Hey, I got good news and I got bad news. And he goes, uh, I said, well, gimme the good news. I'm a good news guy. I wanna hear the good news first. He goes, well, the good news is your ankle's broken. Put you in a booth for six weeks, you'll be fine. He goes, the bad news is your PSAs, which is the marker. For prostate cancer or through the roof and I'm, I'm sending you to see a specialist. And uh, I said, well, great, just pass along the number and, uh, I'll schedule an appointment. He goes, now you don't understand you're going Monday. So, um, uh, push came to shove. I went Monday and they did the ultrasound and he said the, I don't like what I see. We need to do the biopsy. Mm-hmm. So I did do the biopsy and it came back. It was, [00:19:00] uh, I think they took 10 cores and it was an eight and it was a Gleason score of seven. And, uh, he says, needs to come out. And, uh, so I scheduled a, a surgery at that point to have an, uh, open prostatectomy. And, uh, the, the surgery actually took place on my 50th birthday. Oh, wow. Well, happy birthday. Happy birthday. And that's the same thing the nurse told me that morning that she was checking me in, getting me all hooked up for the IVs and everything. And she goes, date of birth. I go, 6/27/1958. She goes, oh my God, it's your birthday. I mean, it's five o'clock in the morning. Right. I'm getting ready for surgery. And, uh, she goes, you couldn't pick a different day. I said, no, this is, we're doing it today. Yeah. You know, so, uh. Yeah, it was on my 50th birthday. I had my prostate removed and as my surgeon says, I said, how many lymph nodes did you take out? He said, I don't know, a couple handfuls. Uh, but my pathology report at the time surgery was, was good. It came back that they had no margins. Everything was good. The markers were all good. [00:20:00] Um, but the unfortunate thing for me is it came back, it had escaped the, the prostate capsule and, uh, had worked its way through somewhere in my body. They didn't know where. It had all the PET scans and everything, and it, it came back, uh, by then I was already seeing a, uh, uh, let me take a step back. I saw Dr. I, when, when it came back, I grabbed my file and went to see Dr. Michael Cook at the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center downtown, and turned out to be one of the best things I could ever do. Uh, going to a, uh. A hospital that, that had a great reputation. Vince: Yeah. Joe: Um, and, and the reputation that drew me and I, I told you a little bit earlier that if it's, that's where Lance Armstrong went for his, his treatments. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: And I'm being a huge cyclist and a huge Lance Armstrong fan. I mean, and I'm still a huge Lance Armstrong fan. Yeah. I mean, he's got his demons and we all do. But, uh, I said it was good enough for Lance in my brain. I said, it's good enough for me. And I showed up at Dr. Cook's [00:21:00] office and, uh, he read my file. They did the blood work and it still came back as elevated PSAs. And, uh, he said, you're starting radiation. He goes, I'm sending you down to medical oncology right now. I didn't even, he didn't even let me leave. Hmm. And they fitted me for the, the body thing. So I don't even know exactly the terminology, but So you don't move during the, the radiation chamber, right? Yeah. And, uh. You know, I had 39 sessions and, um, the unfortunate thing for, for me is it, it, it didn't work. It came back. It was, it never left. Yeah. But my, uh, my PSAs were still extremely elevated. And, uh, so they started me on, uh, antigen deprivation therapy, uh, with a drug called Lupron. And at, at that time, Dr. Cook explained to me, he goes, we can't cure this. He goes, all we can do is make it abate. Mm-hmm. So they, they started injecting me with, with this drug called Lupron every 90 days. And I was on that for [00:22:00] almost eight years. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: Wow. Eight years. And, and during this time, I, uh. I still trained. I mean, it was very difficult. I still trained, uh, at that point in time, it was, it, I lived right off the Monan Trail here in Carmel. Okay. So it was like I would get out and try to, and try to run. It was more like run 10 feet, walk a hundred yards. Mm-hmm. Run 10 feet, walk a hundred. And that served me well to a time, uh. Where by my endurance started coming back. But you gotta remember, during, uh, androgen deprivation therapy, they had shut my testosterone down to zero. It was undetectable. Um, because this prostate cancer, you're aware with all your interviews and your, your own knowledge is that prostate cancers survives off of male testosterone. So, uh, they had to shut me down to zero and I was in and out. For eight years with Lupron, uh, until I went to Dr. Cook and I said, I wanna be an Ironman. [00:23:00] I wanna do an Ironman. Yeah. And he said, well, it's gonna be very difficult, um, to do this while you're on Lupron. He goes, you, you know, I mean, he goes, how many hours a week will you be training? I said, anywhere between 15 and 20 hours a week. Daniel: Yeah. Joe: Um, swim, bike, and run. Daniel: What was the, what was the prompting for you Wanting to do an Ironman? Oh, yes. Was it just like you woke up one morning with the bug, or Yeah, Joe: yeah. Well that was 1982. Okay. I woke up with them. If you ever watch Wide World of Sports, it's growing up. When I did in, in the seventies and the eighties wide world of sports is how you, how you got your information. There was no internet there. Mm-hmm. You get some magazines in the mail and, but I saw Julie Moss and uh, when she crossed the finish line. In, in a very difficult race. And, uh, I said I wanna do that someday. And I had already back in the eighties, like I said, I was always pretty fit. But a twist to my story is I was always hanging around with guys that were athletes and guys that actually did go on to do Kona in the early eighties [00:24:00] after they saw the same show I saw. Daniel: Yeah. Joe: Um, except I picked up a, uh, at that point in time, I like to call these moments of truth, like being diagnosed with cancer. And coming to terms that I had picked up a drug habit. Vince: Hmm. Joe: And, uh, was at, at that time I was addicted to amphetamines and alcohol and, and, um, and I realized at 24, and I've been clean ever since, so I'm not California clean, I'm legitimately clean. Vince: Yeah. Joe: And, uh, could pass the drug test at any time, anywhere. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And, uh, you know, I had to, had to recover from that. I saw it help for that. And, uh. I've been clean ever since March 13th, 1983. Vince: Wow. Joe: Yeah. So, I mean, uh, but my buddies were going on to the, the, you asked about how I got here. Yeah. I watched them go on and. Saw their pictures at the finish line in Kona and I said, I got, I have to do that someday. Yeah. Unfortunately for me, it didn't become a reality until I was [00:25:00] 57. Mm-hmm. That's when I passed my first Ironman finish line, which was Ironman, Arizona. But my conversation with Dr. Cook, um, ended up going like, he goes, well, you probably won't be able to do it with the testosterone is zero. We gotta get at least up to some sort of baseline. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: Uh, so he said, the only way I know how to do that is to take you off the drug. And see how your body reacts. If it, if, if, if it comes back, we've gotta, you gotta go back and take the needle. And, uh, I said, well, I'm willing to try it. And, uh, he let me, he was, he heard me. Vince: Yeah. Joe: And um, so he took me off the Lupron and I zipped up, laced up. And rode up and I just did what I need to do. I mean, back then I was able to start ramping up to, you know, running 30 miles a week and biking a couple hundred and swimming. I was never a good swimmer. So it was 10,000 yards was, were big weeks for me. But that's how I got, uh, hooked up on, on [00:26:00] Ironman and how I wanted to do that. It was, it was a vision I always had, never thought it would be possible until. These moments of truth happens when I was faced with cancer and, and, and drug addiction and, you know, put things on hold. But it was, uh, it was a journey. Well, we're taking, because the, the happy ending to this story is that through this training and a restricted diet, I had gone, uh, completely vegan at that point. I stopped eating all. I mean, I haven't had a steak since, uh, 25 years, so I haven't had any red meat since, you know, 25 years. And, uh, so I ended up making that, uh, transition to vegan. Now I've introduced some eggs and some fish back into my diet. Mm-hmm. As I've gotten older, the protein has become extremely important for me. But that's, you know, between the vegan diet and the amount of training I was doing, I was very blessed. And I really, as I told you earlier, I'm one of the lucky ones. It never came back. That's, that's, that's crazy. My PSAs to this [00:27:00] day still remain undetectable. And, uh, you know, my DI love when Dr. Cook sits me down and we do my annual test, he goes, Joe, he goes, you're just not in any textbook. He goes, I, there's just no case study. You're not in any textbook. And I, I get goosebumps when I think about it. Mm-hmm. Because, you know, I I, I try to live a spiritual life. I have a tremendous faith. Vince: Yeah. Joe: And, uh, and I, and I believe that. My story needs to be told, not if it's not just for me, but there's probably somebody out there who faces these challenges on a daily basis. And, uh, and I know I touched on earlier, we don't really talk about the mental health aspect of cancer. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Enough. Yeah. And, and the trauma that not only caused me because I'm, I'm, when you're suffering from any disease, you become very self-centered. You know, and, and you know, every thought, every headache, every time your knee hurts, every time your wrist hurts, you think it's a tumor. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: You know, it's back. You know, now I gotta go back. So, you know, I mean, I [00:28:00] watched what it did to my family and, uh, my wife was my biggest supporter through all that. And I can remember one time, and this, this is. Honest to God candid conversation is that I just saw Dr. Cook and my PSAs had hit a new level high of nine at that point. And my wife was sitting there with me and he goes, we have no choice but to go back on drug. And I told him, wife, I said, you don't wanna see this, you don't want need any of this. You need just go home and I'll meet you there. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: So she left and she ended up, um. Getting in an accident on Meridian, driving home, totaled out her car. I mean, you know, the, the, yeah. What it causes, what cancer causes the pain and anguish in the family and the worry. Yeah. You know, um, she was tremendous. You know, I remember I pulled up at the scene and funny thing, she happened to hit a cop Vince: on Joe: top of it. So there was, there was like 15 squad cars, sta locals. I mean, it was like, the guy goes, [00:29:00] anytime I go, I go with the cop. I go really? He goes, yeah, he goes, anytime one of our own get in an accident, this is what happens. Like, okay. But the good news is my wife was okay. We had to have the car towed and you know, I took my medicine and you know, the rest is history. But, you know, I, one of the other stories that I need to tell you about the how tremendous my family is, is through this, is that I can remember laying in my hospital bed after I just had, I was in the hospital for. Nearly five days after I had my prostate and the lymph nodes removed. And my son was, I don't know how old he was, but then, and I always used to tell my son, I still do your old man's tough as nails, you know? And, uh, I can remember coming out and, and just waking up and my son's sitting next to the bed and he just looks at me. I got tears coming down my 'cause the pain was intense. I'm, again, remember now I'm not taking any pain medications. Right. Yeah, Vince: yeah. Joe: Coming from a, a disease of, of addiction. Mm-hmm. I told my surgeon this is. I can't do it and, and know he listened. You know, [00:30:00] just like you tell a doctor I'm not, no matter what, I'm not doing it. And, uh, my son's sitting there and he just looked at me. He goes, you're tough as nails. So, uh, I need a second. Those are moments that stick with me. Sure. Mm-hmm. Vince: Uh, Joe: but you know, they've been great through all this and, uh. Guys, I'm sorry. No, no, it's all Vince: good. I think we need to add a, uh, the slogan on the side of that hat says hashtag tough as nails. Yeah. Uh, I don't know if that's true, but you know, I'm a survivor. I think everything, based on everything I've just been taking notes on, I would say it's true. A hundred percent. And we just met today. Joe: You're very kind. Thank you. I mean, uh, you know, I love my life. You know, that's like I was, I was telling my wife the other day that. Death. Death doesn't scare me anymore. What scares me is how, how will I die? Sure. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: You know, because I know there's an expiration end. I'm gonna be [00:31:00] 67 next month and I don't see anybody get out of this thing unscathed, you know? And, uh, I just told her, I said, you know, that's what scares me the most is how's it gonna be? Yeah, yeah. You know? Mm-hmm. You know, will I be in a wheelchair? Will I have to race a wheelchair? I mean, you know, I'll, I'll, because I'll find something to race. I'll find, I will find something to, to make sure I can get some motion in. And, uh, but yeah, that, that's my, my cancer story. I mean, I, I can't tell you. I've had hundreds of healthcare professionals, you know, between radiation technicians, medical oncology, uh, nurses, I mean doctors. Yeah. They, they've all been great. And anybody struggling. I, I mean, IU Simon Cancer Center saved my life. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: You know, and if it was my connection to reading Lance Armstrong's books and being a huge Lance fan during his heyday saved my life, so be it. I'm giving it a hundred percent credit for that 'cause. Yeah. That was part of my, what drove me mentally. Yeah. And I liked when I went down the metal oncology that [00:32:00] Lance had all his posters and jerseys up there. It was like I just sat as close to the, as I could open to get some of the mojo from that. So, uh, but, but that's. Yeah. Really it's, if I could sum up my cancer story for you, that would be it. Daniel: Yeah. Joe: You know, Daniel: what was the, so obviously Complete Ironman was a big accomplishment. Yes. Right. So what was the first thought you had when you crossed the finish line? You said, Ironman Arizona. Ironman, Joe: Arizona. It was 2017. And I, I did Iron Man Louisville in 2019 as well. Had a lot of haves in between. Mm-hmm. And, uh, but that first one was, was pretty special. 'cause a lot of my team, I'm a member of the Tri Locos. Vince: Okay. Joe: So I had, uh. A lot of my teammates were doing, that was a, it was our club event that year. Nice. Yeah. So they, you know, they were all, they're all fast. So, you know, they're all 10, 11, 12, 13 hour people. And, and I came in at 16 hours, 14 minutes, you know. Okay. And, uh, so they were all there at the finish line, the, the, [00:33:00] the bonuses. So was my, my wife and kids, they've been at any of my big finish lines. Yeah. Any of them, you know, and, uh. How did it feel? I, I can't even tell you. There's videos of me trying to climb over the barriers to get to my teammates. Mm-hmm. Because they, you know, everybody's younger than me. Yeah. They're just younger than me. Yeah. So they, it was always an inspiration for me because they're, they're doing big, big things and I wanted to big things, so I figured, let me hang around with these guys. And I joined that club in 2015 and, um, hired a coach. To help me get through the Ironman. I had a coach, Nick Tran Barger for five years as he got me through the, the both Ironmans. Okay. Uh, but inspired me to go out and get my, become a coach myself. Vince: Mm-hmm. Joe: Um, I would really like to focus on master athletes, but to ask, I can't even describe to you how it felt for me to cross. Yeah. To live a lifelong dream. Literally a dream for 50 years. Yeah. To pass that line and step over it and.[00:34:00] And then, you know, I got, I, I got to my Ironman poster, you know, and I, I signed it, put my time on it and brought it in to Dr. Cook, had it framed. That's awesome. Nice. That's awesome. Yeah, I got pictures of it hanging in his office. Uh, that's like, I love when he tells me you're not in any textbook. Yeah. You know, Uhhuh and, uh, but I, I guess I got to show 'em a little bit about what, what the mental aspect, the mental health aspect of this disease is. It could be your best friend, it could also be your worst enemy. Yeah. And, uh, but, but the drugs, they put me on the antidepressants to get me through the treatment. I wouldn't, I wouldn't be here if they didn't do that. Vince: Hmm. Joe: And, and they, and the communication that they, they gave me, Vince: yeah. Joe: You know, I've got, I've got a buddy who's a psychiatrist on staff down at, uh, Emory University, and I worked with him as we went through being an recovering addict. I went through the transition of the antidepressants with him. Um. You know, I went through my [00:35:00] cancer history with him and he went to the, the clinical, uh, pharmacist to make sure what was going on was literally legitimately what I was telling him. Yeah. I mean, I went to the right professionals and I talked to them, and when they put me on the Zoloft, um, I was on it for four years and I was in remission then. And Dr. Cook said, he goes, let's, let's try taking you off of it. So I worked with my, my doctor, I'll leave his name off. I worked with my buddy down at Emory to come off and I went, I took a. Extended cycle of, of withdrawal off the, off the Zoloft to give my natural serotonin a chance to come up to the right levels. Mm-hmm. And it worked. I mean, he took me through a six week process of getting off that, and I haven't been on it ever since, so I haven't needed it. I've been in remission. I'm eight, I'm in remission now for eight years. Awesome, awesome. Yeah, so I mean, I ended up taking my last shot in, uh, 2016 Okay. Of Lupron. Vince: Yeah. When you went off Lupron, about how long did it take for you to start feeling like, okay, [00:36:00] I'm starting, maybe not myself, but more like myself than I was before? For sure. Joe: I wouldn't say it was instantaneous, but it was quick. I mean, it was within a three month period that I felt like, all right, I got a little bounce on my step. Right. All right. I'm not, I, I'm not. Fatigued all the time. I'm starting to get my natural, but my testo, I, my testosterone levels have never been high ever since then. I mean, it's, it's never rebounded past, uh, maybe like a 360, 370. My readings have been at, I just had one done this this last week. Um, 'cause I keep a monitor on it. It was 3 51. So I'm still at the low end of normal. What is, what's the normal range? I don't even know. I think it's 300 to a thousand. Okay. For, for, you know, um. And that's what, that's what you read, right? I mean, what, what I think normal is, is how do I feel? Yeah. Mm-hmm. How do I feel and, uh, feel good right now? You know, I feel good. So it's, uh, I've got a couple of races coming up and, you know, I'm doing, [00:37:00] uh, as a Relay Ironman, Rockford 70.3 in June. I got a team put together. I'm doing the cycling portion. 'cause you asked me earlier what's my favorite. I love the bike. I got eight bikes. Yep. You know, Chris built me a, a really, really nice road bike and Chris Carr. Yep, sure. We talked a little bit about, and I gotta give emotion, cycling this, a shout out here and Chris Carr. And I think it's important I tell Chris's story because, uh, I was, I was in the middle of treatment. And I don't know, it was one of the caramels, one of the first ones. I did the very first one and I did several after that. But I was out running the marathon. Mm-hmm. And this kid on a bicycle. And I, and I told Vince earlier, this kid pulls up and he's got legs that look like secretariat veins and everything. You know, I hated him, but I, he wa he started riding with me. 'cause I had on my Livestrong cutoff. S, you know, with F Cancer on the back. And he wrote up next to me, he goes, what's your story? And I told him, I said, well, this is my first marathon back. I've been in Reer for cancer. [00:38:00] And he's riding with me. And I'm talking and talking. I'm a talker, as you could tell. I love to talk, especially telling the story. And, uh, he's riding with me, riding with me, riding with me, you know, and he picked me up like around mile 10, and he's still riding with me and he goes, Hey, I'll be back, but I gotta go check on my girlfriend. Never caught this guy's name. All I remember is lemon, yellow shoes, cycling shoes and legs that I was jealous of. Mm-hmm. And um, next thing I know, he's back. He's riding with me, riding with me, riding with me. How you feeling? Terrible. How you feeling? Terrible. You can do this. Okay, so we're still riding. Riding. Next thing I know he's gone. Never caught his name, never knew who he was. Um. A few years passed by, I finished a marathon a few years passed by, see this guy riding a bike, bright orange, cycling shoes, and he's on my street where I live. I go, I know that guy. [00:39:00] So I follow him down. I'm walking a little bit and then he pulls in the driveway, four houses down from me. I go, I told you, don't remember me. He goes, yeah, I do remember you. And I introduced myself. I'm Joe Fini. I'm Chris Carr, motion cycling and fitness. And, uh, I, I said, well, I just want to thank you for getting me through that day. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I don't do anything bicycle anymore without going to see Chris. And, but that's my relationship with Chris and how I got here with you guys today Yeah. Is 'cause I, I called Chris and said, Hey, I'm really getting back in the cycling. Where's the club I can join mm-hmm. That I could get some, some motivation at. And he said, well, you need to go to the Heroes. And I reached out through, and I think I clicked in through Instagram and, um, tied me up and eventually I got to talk to Annie. Mm-hmm. And Mary, they're doing my fundraising page and I wanna plug the event I'm doing. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I'm, I'm doing the, uh, 24 hour cycling challenge in Lafayette on August 2nd and third. Okay. Uh, it's as many miles you can ride in 24 [00:40:00] hours. And, uh, last year I did it. I wasn't expecting, uh, as, as cold as it got. And I ended up done getting 200 in under my legs, uh, in 24 hours and I could have done more. Uh, so this year my goal is 300. Okay. Wow. You know, and, uh, if I can get more in, I'm, it's 300 or die, that's how I'm looking at it. For me right now, it's, it, it's all in and pushing all the chips in and, yep. Uh, so I'll have my tri bike out there to ride during the day 'cause it tends to be windier during the day. Mm-hmm. And I'll bring my road bike out at, uh, at night. Um. 'cause you gotta ride with lights on and everything. Sure. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But it's a two mile track. It's a, it's a test track for cars. Okay. Okay. It's as many loops as you can do. Oh, you said Vince: the super facility. Yeah. For Joe: 65 there. You pass it every time you go up to or south and Vince: 65. And uh, yeah. I try not to go to LFA yet. Isn't any more than I have to. Yeah. Joe: You're, I'll go iu, right? Yeah. Oh, we got another boiler maker. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're a mixed couple. Yes, exactly. We're, I'll say that [00:41:00] Thanksgiving's interesting. Vince: Real quick. Um. Yeah, we, we banter all the time between IU Purdue and then of course the, the Notre Dame Domers that get involved. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. They immediately think they're above here. We won't go there. Um, it's, it's fun to talk about the athletic side of the, the competition or whatever. Sure. But here's an interesting thing about Indiana, um, and I didn't learn this until the last handful of years. Um, typically from a cancer research perspective, you think of iu, right? Yeah. 'cause of the med school, et cetera. However, what we've learned is Purdue and Notre Dame independently are doing cancer research on their respective campuses. Nice and better yet, as I had asked, I'm I go docs, I'm gonna ask a dumb question, but are you guys working together? I mean, I'm so used to the athletic competition, like, we won't talk to Purdue, we won't talk to Notre Dame, whatever. Yeah. Um, he's like, well, obviously with, with IU having the medical school and the fact that you have three major institutions within, you know, a couple hours of each other. Yeah. Yes. We actually do all work together. I'm like. Perfect. Yes sir. That's awesome. And I think that story needs to be told. Daniel: Yeah. Joe: Well, you know, my radiation [00:42:00] oncologist that ended up leaving IU right after my treatment, Dr. Co. And he ended up landing at Purdue. Okay. I mean, I know I follow my doctors. Mm-hmm. Because I, in case I need them. Yeah. I wanna keep a role with that and you know where they're at. Yeah. Relationships are important and my medical oncologist, Dr. Noah Han, is heading up bladder and prostate cancer at Johns Hopkins now. Oh, wow. Vince: Yeah. Joe: So that's like, if I. You know, if Dr. Cook ever retires, which I hope I get a couple more summers out of them, you know, and uh, I'll end up tracking those guys down. Mm-hmm. Yeah, because they were just spot on. Yeah, they were just spot on. They were, I'll tell you, the healthcare I received that I used, amazing. You know, that's good to know. So, yeah, tremendous. I would recommend it to anybody. Yeah. Vince: Cool. Well, Joe, we wish you much luck Yeah. With the, uh, 24 hour cycling event, sir, up in Lafayette. Um, yous the first weekend of August. Yes, sir. Okay. If people wanted to follow you or contribute to your fundraising campaign, where [00:43:00] can they go to do that? Joe: Well, two, I'm on Facebook and Instagram. Okay. Uh, you can, you can connect with Joe Fini on Instagram or, uh, diamond Lake Sports on Instagram. I have a pH page for that. Same on, on Facebook. Uh, but. You, you guys are kind enough to develop a fundraising page for me, for the Heroes Foundation. Mm-hmm. Yep. Everything I do this year is for you. Well, we appreciate that. Well, you know, I've been, I've been organizing triathlons up in Michigan for the last 10 years and I've all these connections and this year I finally retired from event planning. It's just way too much. I'd rather train. I got bucket lists of things I wanna do for grandkids. Mm-hmm. You know, I want my summers to be worrying about tubing. My grandkids versus making sure nobody dies on my, on my start line. Yeah. Or finish line. Um, so, and that's what I plan on doing. But you guys have been kind enough working with your crew to help develop my landing page and my fundraising page. And as soon as I get that established, I'm gonna start working my network and my goal is to raise [00:44:00] $5,000 this year. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. You know, for, for the Heroes Foundation and, uh. You know, God willing, we can double it. Mm-hmm. I mean, that's absolutely, you know, I, I have some very, very good friends out there that have supported me through my journey and, uh, you know, and like I said, I, I, I, and I do want to close with reminding people that, you know, if you need. The mental help is you're struggling and your family as well is struggling with the, you know, the hit the afterburn of cancer. Please get it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Because help is available if you ask for it. That's right. Yep. And that's what I needed to do. It's like when I needed help to get off the drugs, I asked for help, and help became available, you know, and, and when I needed help to get through the mental part of, of cancer, when I, when I made my plan, I said, I need help. Mm-hmm. And that call was on a Sunday afternoon. I couldn't take take it anymore. Vince: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Joe: And Monday morning they were right on me. To make sure that I was gonna be okay. So the [00:45:00] right healthcare professionals made a huge difference in my life. Yeah. Vince: Yeah. Huge difference. Well said. Well said. Well, once we establish that link to the, uh, fundraising page, we'll get that. Um, guys, we'll put the link in description. Mm-hmm. So please check that out and make a contribution to Joe's efforts. Um, both, I'm sure Joe, obviously personally, as well as the Heroes Foundation. We greatly appreciate that. And as Joe said, goals are meant to be broken, so the goal might be five grand, but if we don't hit 10 K, then shame on us. Yeah. We didn't do our job right, exactly. Absolutely. Alright. Well Joe, thank you for joining us today. Yeah, thank you. We appreciate your time and, um, openness to sharing your stories. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me today. You're welcome. Thank you. And thank all you guys for tuning in this episode. Of the Summit's podcast. We appreciate you guys for joining us, uh, wherever you get your podcast or if you're joining us from The Heroes Foundation, YouTube channel, raw on the YouTube channel. We appreciate that as well. Um, don't forget, check out Joe's fundraising page, make a contribution, cheer him on, leave some comments of encouragement for him. Um, until then, don't forget Beat [00:46:00] Cancer.